Offseasons can be tough on a baseball blogger.

During the grind of the regular season there’s always something to write about, but the offseason’s a different story.

Of course, this past week’s been a blogger’s dream. There was the signing of Francisco Rodriguez and the big trade for J.J. Putz. On the other side of town the Yankees launched the opening salvos in their bid to sign every available pitcher. Down the interstate Cole Hamels said some pretty unnecessary things. There was no shortage of topics to cover.

The rest of the offseason figures to be more of a mixed bag. The Mets figure to have at least one more big move in them, most likely signing one of Derek Lowe or Oliver Perez. Beyond that, they may sign a leftfielder, trade their second baseman and sign a replacement, sign another lefty for the bullpen, or do something none of us see coming.

So there will be plenty of exciting days left this offseason, but we all know those will be the exception to the rule. We all remember the dog days of winter, those short February days when the hot stove’s gone cold and there’s little going on by way of the Mets.

With three offseasons under our belts here at the site, I’ve finally learned a few lessons. This offseason, I decided to call in some back up.

A month or so ago I ordered a copy of Matthew Silverman’s “100 Things Mets Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die”. What it means going forward is every now and then you’ll happen over to the site and see a headline like the following:

7: Gil Hodges
33: Cleon Jones
78: Cast of Characters

Pretty simple concept — I’ll read the installment in Silverman’s book and write a response.

Now rest assured, this won’t be the only type of post you’ll see on the site this offseason. If and when the Mets sign Lowe or Fred Wilpon goes completely broke, we’ll write about that too.

But for those days when there’s not much doing and the writer’s block starts creeping in, that’s when we’ll go to the list.

Anyway, that’s the game plan. If the book sucks, well, pity me.

– A.F.O.M.G.