Street changes tune, says Geren is "good man'' & could team with him again

The Padres closer said he'd "clear the air'' with Mets coach Bob Geren if Street is traded to the Mets and talk out their big differences when the pair was in Oakland.

KANSAS CITY -- Huston Street is OK with Bob Geren. Really, he is.

Street, the Padres' All-Star closer, went so far as to say the Mets' bench coach is a "good man,'' and even partly blamed himself for their obvious differences when the two were together with the Oakland A's, differences that led Street to once tell the San Francisco Chronicle that Geren, who managed Street in Oakland, is "my least favorite person I have ever encountered in sports from age 6 to 27.''

Street has read the reports that he's one of many veteran relievers the Mets are considering to shore up their bullpen, and if the Mets do get Street, Street said he would approach Geren to talk it out. Or as he put it, "If I get to the Mets, that'll be the first bug I go squash."

Street said he suspected they would "be men about it" and "clear the air."

Street might even be conciliatory.

"You're going to have professional differences," he said. "I sometimes think had I been a little older and little more mature, perhaps I would have reacted differently to the decisions that affected me,'' Street said. "I think I'm as much to blame for a lot of it.''

Street is ready to shake Geren's hand, and work it out. "If I were to get traded to the Mets, it would be up to me to handle it and be professional," Street said. "I play hard for my teammates, and he'd be my teammate again."

Of course, if the Mets do get a veteran reliever, it may be one of many who could be available, not just Street. Some other possibilities are Grant Balfour of the A's, Jonathan Broxton of the Royals, Brett Myers and Brandon Lyon of the Astros, and the Brewers' Francisco Rodriguez. So in the end, there may not be any need to make up with Geren.