Big Limpin’

TMSpanthers

In February, LaTroy Hawkins will be an instructor to young players in Brazil as he tries to expose baseball to regions not known for baseball. It's that kind of baseball philanthropy that probably explains the last year of Hawkins' life … trying to expose baseball to another region that hasn't seen baseball lately: Flushing.

Hawkins' attempts to teach children in Flushing how to play baseball was … ultimately … unsuccessful. So now he must move on. After it was reported that Hawkins would "likely be back" with the Mets in 2014, along came the Colorado Rockies with an offer that blew the Mets away. And now off LaTroy goes to the Rocky Mountains. So it goes.

I wish Hawkins luck, and hope that he remembers his time in Queens as something other than "the year I got harassed by Aryn Leroux." But this all makes you laugh, doesn't it? On the one hand, the Mets are blown away by the Colorado Rockies for a 41-year-old relief pitcher … and yet they're somehow holding secret meetings with Jay Z to "discuss Robinson Cano???"

The hip-hop impresario joined Mets COO Jeff Wilpon, general manager Sandy Alderson and assistant general manager John Ricco for dinner at a posh Manhattan hotel to discuss Cano’s free agency, two sources familiar with the situation told The Post.

Never has "hot stove season" been more hilarious. The Mets are going to pay $300 million for Robinson Cano? The Mets can't even afford to pay for the dinner! Cano becoming a Met is about as "likely" as LaTroy Hawkins coming back. And by the way, I totally believe that Jeffy being at the same dinner table with Jay Z is going to turn into something positive for the Mets, and not with Wilpon causing an international incident by saying something stupid like "So who is this 'Jigga' you keep singing about?" Or telling him that he used to stay up all night learning the words to his hit "Getting Jiggy With It".

Wake me up when this mythical "hot stove" season is over and the Mets wind up with Willie Bloomquist.

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