That Baseball Mood

Spring Training, at least for me, has been mostly a study in the mundane. I barely know what's going on with the Mets; I don't particularly care whether or not they win or lose, just so long as the players that need to play well do so and there are no significant injuries. The less there is to talk about, the better.

That being said, since it's now merely two weeks until Opening Day, I figure I ought to get back into the swing of things, and there's a spate of new literature for me to go through in preparation for the season. With apologies to Greg Prince, whose book was unavailable during a recent trip to The Strand (hardly a good excuse on my part), my current reading material is the latest offering from our own Ron Darling.

I've always been a fan of Darling's analytical abilities; perhaps I'm biased from having not only watched him in my youth but also having listened to him broadcast the Mets for the last decade. This of course comes forth in his writing, his first book offered up a study of specific games in his career as opposed to a particular memoir. This book is more of a memoir, but condensed into his life approaching, and during, Game 7 of the 1986 World Series.

You'll of course remember the result of the game. Most tend to forget that Darling started for the Mets but was long gone by time things were decided. He's the first to admit that under the harsh glare of the World Series spotlight, he didn't have a very good game, lasting only into the 4th inning and departing down by 3 runs.

But in reading this book (aside from learning the odd fact that Darling lived on 33rd and 3rd, while I, 7 years old at the time, resided at 36th and 3rd and on occasion frequented the same Italian restaurant on 34th Street owned by former Red Sox pitcher Jerry Casale) I kept drawing the parallel between Darling pitching in the 1986 World Series and the crazy ride that we followed the Mets through last season. Probably because I've been carrying it around with me all Winter. Not so much the ride to get to the World Series, but particularly the way it ended, and that final Sunday Night where the bottom fell out so quickly.

The end result is usually what's remembered more than the journey that gets you there, particularly when it comes down to a Championship series, and yes, perhaps even if the Mets had won that final game, they could have just as easily lost the next one and had their season end with the same result. Darling talks about being too much in his own head going into that 7th Game, and feeling out of rhythm, and out of sorts, and those such things can wreck a pitcher's night. It doesn't detract from the fact that he had a generally good career and is remembered fondly among Mets fans, although maybe if that 7th game had ended differently, that might not be the case.

And this is the sort of stuff I've been thinking about all winter, because consider that 5th Game against Kansas City and what ended up happening to Matt Harvey. The prevailing thought, what everyone remembers, is that Hotheaded Matt Harvey demanded to stay in the game for that 9th inning and blew it, and the Mets lost (and they suck and Harvey sucks).

I sometimes have a tendency to over-romanticize games like this but while most of the talk this Winter made a punchline of Harvey, I don't think what happened in that game up to the 9th inning should be overlooked. I've gone over many times about Harvey pitching angry, and how he's at his best when he has that look, and for 8 innings, he had that look. The Royals couldn't touch him. Harvey was pitching with smoke coming out of his ears. You know that's what's going on when he comes charging off the mound screaming at the end of a key inning. By contrast, when you consider the fragility of an athlete's psyche in a big spot, Darling allowed himself to be psyched out. Harvey had no such problems.

But in the end it's the final score that determines everyone's perception of the game. Mets 8, Red Sox 5, and Darling is a footnote. Royals 7, Mets 2 (12), but Harvey shit the bed.

Sometimes the perception of the players can bother you just as much as the end result. Particularly when you're on the losing end of things.

Not Taking The Bait

You know it's Spring Training when you hear all sorts of prognosticators talking about the upcoming season and heaping praise on whoever the hot team might be, and I have to say it's kind of strange this season coming in to Spring Training and seeing the Mets drawing a near-unprecedented
amount of positive ink. I guess, as much as I kind of hate to admit it, the Mets have to be regarded as a front-line contender to return to the heights they reached last season. This sort of worries me, mainly because I've seen the Mets come into a season like this before and it didn't turn out well. Then again, not many Mets teams have had the kind of roster that this Mets team does.

From the point of view of someone who'd rather his team play the underdog and silently lurk on the sidelines waiting to strike, this is uncharted territory. Now, the Mets are supposed to do well, and rather than being dismissed by other teams, they're not going to sneak up on anyone.

This, of course, brings me to the quote that popped up today from Bryce Harper, who happens to be the best player on the team the Mets will probably be scrapping with all season long for NL East supremacy, saying that he thinks the Mets are "The team to beat."

And the first thing I thought was, "No no, Bryce. We've been through this before."

I'm going to venture that this reverse-Jimmy Rollins was some weird effort by Harper to fire up his own team, but I take it as disingenuous. We're supposed to buy the lather job from a guy who proclaimed he didn't give a crap about us while his own team burned? It made sense last Spring when Harper came into camp with his chest puffed out and Zack Wheeler had some interesting things to say about that, but he stopped short of that legendary 4-word sentence, because at that point, he probably would have drawn no end of ridicule.

When Rollins said what he did, most people scoffed at him because how could the Phillies, mostly an also-ran in 2006, stand up against the Mighty Mets? But it provided him and his team with the juice to get through the season, rally together and not just kick the Mets in the teeth but really embarrass them in the process, and really, that quote from Rollins was the kickoff point for the greatest era in Phillies history. Harper and the Nationals aren't a bunch of up-and-comers now. They're a team that has done nothing but underachieve for 4 seasons now and it really came to a head when the Mets—who made no proclamations about themselves or anyone else last season—pulled a 2007 Phillies on them.

Point is, the Mets continue to make no proclamations other than to show a universal front that they have unfinished business from last season to take care of and that's going to be the story of their season. And to get to that point, they have to beat the Nationals, hopefully in a large majority of the 19 games they'll play against each other this season.

Back Where He Belongs

I had, for some reason, blindly assumed that the Mets first Spring Training game of 2015 was today, against the Tigers in Port St. Lucie, and that the Mets had decided to give Matt Harvey the ball to mark the occasion. Turns out I was totally off, because the Mets first game was actually on Wednesday and whether or not it was on TV, I yakked on it completely. I don't know if they won, I don't even know who pitched. Not that it matters, especially. Spring Training games are only useful if you want to see some veteran guys assured of a roster spot half-ass it for a few innings, and then a bunch of young kids looking to make a good impression hit the field in the late innings and play like tigers (not Detroit Tigers, actual Tigers). Turns out that Friday was a first game of sorts, but only because it was the Mets first Home Game of Spring Training, and also the first game of the Spring to be shown on TV.

Then, there's the case of Matt Harvey, who finally took the mound in some kind of a game situation against live hitters that were up there to hit the ball and played for a team that isn't the Mets. I went so far as to DVR the game from 1pm until 2pm, because all I was really interested in was seeing Harvey. Sure, there was a rest of a game to be played, and the Mets ended up winning courtesy of a Matt Reynolds walkoff Home Run, but nobody was tuning in for Matt Reynolds. Even Noah Syndergaard, fresh off his lunch break, was relegated to the undercard. Harvey was the story, and he'll be the story all Spring as he hit the mound for the first time since August of 2013. It seems like so much has happened since then, but the short of it is that Harvey can basically be treated as though he were a Free Agent acquisition, because he's now being added to a loaded pitching staff that fared reasonably well in his absence in 2014.

If Harvey had any lingering ill effects from the Big Boy Surgery he had back in October of 2013, he didn't display them this afternoon, as his two innings of work went off about as well as you could hope for: 2 innings, no hits, no walks, 3 strikeouts, 25 pitches, 16 strikes and touching 99 on the radar gun. The effort was so good, it gave the impression that he'd never left, never been injured.

It's always tough to tell how a pitcher will respond to the Big Boy Surgery, which is why it's so nerve wracking to see it happen to a star player like Harvey. Most pitchers seem to recover just fine and end up back at the level they were before getting injured (see Wainwright, Adam; Smoltz, John; deGrom, Jacob). The fear, as I've said many times, is that the pitcher ends up turning into another coming of Bill Pulsipher, and we as Mets fans are once again left holding our jocks while other teams laugh at us. I know it's one game, and it's a Spring Training game no less, but to see Harvey go out there and look like he was all the way back from this can only be viewed as highly encouraging, and I'm as cynical as any Mets fan can get.

Eat and Run

I mentioned last week that Spring Training tends to proffer up very little in the way of newsworthy items in the early going. Mostly, what you get are stories of reclamation and/or human interest, with the occasional tale of internal strife that gets blown out of proportion because it's generally much ado about stuffing.

The Mets had one such story come out of camp this afternoon when, during an intrasquad game, an incident occurred when Noah Syndergaard was admonished by David Wright for taking a lunch break while the remainder of the team was in the dugout watching and/or playing in the game.

If this is the most excitement the Mets have going on, I have to say that's fine with me. For one, it means that David Wright has really taken this whole Team Captain thing to heart, and while he still may be mostly unexciting and speak in cliches, he's not just leading by example, he's actually getting on his teammate's cases in order to keep everyone focused and in line. It's a fairly minor offense; the sort of thing that would get a player hung up in Kangaroo Court were it someone of veteran status, but for a younger player who hasn't established himself on a team that's relying on a youth movement to return them to prominence, it's important to set an example of discipline and professionalism, and Wright more than anyone else understands that. Syndergaard wasn't scheduled to pitch and I assume just had a case of the munchies, but if nobody else is chowing down during the game (and I'm not sure why a ballplayer would want to eat during a game), perhaps Noah should have just popped some sunflower seeds and waited it out.

This probably wouldn't have been much of a story had it not happened in front of several members of the 4th estate, who watched and immediately pounced on the story, ready to make it into something more than it actually was. Wright spoke to Syndergaard, and apparently while the two were conversing, Wright was abetted by Bobby Parnell, who took it upon himself to clear Syndergaard's dishes right then and there, immediately ending the youngster's impromptu lunch hour. Later in the day, the press tried to blow the story up as they are wont to do, but Wright was mum on the topic, Syndergaard was contrite and admitted he was in the wrong, and pretty much all the veterans, and Terry Collins, praised Wright for vocally showing who the leader on this team is.

So, that was today's Mets news. Quite honestly, if the Mets drama needs to be artificially pumped up by the media, that's probably a good thing as far as team chemistry is concerned. By tomorrow, there will probably be plenty of jokes about it and we'll all move on.

Mr. Excitement Returns

As with any offseason, particularly in the dark days of February, a month where many Presidents and a ragtag Mets Blogger celebrate birthdays, it's often a lot of grasping at straws when it comes to finding things to write about. So you end up with weeks on end where I have little or nothing to say regarding the Mets, but with the team now starting to crank into action, I have to crank myself up too.

News around the Mets isn't really what I would call news so much as little bits and pieces of information to get excited about. It is, after all, the first time in about 6 years that we can really get excited about the team so these things are often approached with baited breath. And, of course, no single player on the team merits as much baited breath as Matt Harvey, who is the story of the Spring as he finally returns from Big Boy Surgery.

He's facing live batters for the first time since his surgery on Friday, which is about as newsworthy as things get in the early part of the Spring. There's not much more to say other than it's good to see him making progress and the hot word I've heard is that he's going to be slotted in to pitch the Mets Home Opener on April 13th. I, of course, already have my tickets for that game so if you didn't have any incentive to be excited already, now, if you're not juiced for Opening Day at Citi Field, you either died or you're not a Mets fan. Still, a ways to go before we get to April 13th, and Harvey will be likely pitching to batters who aren't going to swing at anything. The real acid test will come later, when he finally gets into a game. But, baby steps at this point. It's been baby steps for the Mets for several years now, so what's a few more?

Je Me Souviens

 Baseball, in some marginal form, returned to the Great City of Montreal Friday evening, when the Mets squared up with the Toronto Blue Jays in the former home of the Montreal Expos for the first of two exhibition games. The second came this afternoon. For the teams involved, at least, they're just two exhibition games. For the city of Montreal, a city I've visited twice in the past year and each time come away with an even more enhanced opinion than I entered with, these are Exhibition Games, with capital letters for the entire city.

The results of the games, both Mets losses, were sideshows to the fact that the games were happening at this locale at all. It harkened back to an era where the Mets would come to Montreal for no less than 9 games a season, my formative years as a fan when Montreal was a vibrant Baseball town, the Expos always boasting the kinds of players that would give the Mets trouble. What happened to the team doesn't need to be revisited, but ten years after the city of Montreal was dismissed as a wasteland for Baseball, over 96,000 fans showed up and packed Stade Olympique for these two games. 

These were less Mets/Blue Jays exhibitions as much as they were celebrations of the city of Montreal and a tribute to the Expos and the players that played there. Friday night, Gary Carter was honored in a ceremony that included his former teammates Tim Raines, Steve Rogers and Warren Cromartie, in a nod to a wonderful era of Expos teams in the late 1970s and early 1980s that ultimately ended heartbreakingly short of greatness. This afternoon, the marvelous Expos team from 1994 was given tribute, with many members of a team that seemed destined for a deep October run before the strike hit, on hand.

It's easy to forget, particularly when you consider just how much of a disparate wasteland Montreal became for Baseball in its final years, just how good a Baseball town Montreal can be. I don't believe that fans of the Expos can be blamed for the failures of Ownership and Provincial Government to invest in the Expos. Perhaps they can be blamed for not showing up, but it's never good for fan morale to have to continually go out and see a team that its own ownership won't support. I think as Mets fans we can slightly identify with that sentiment (though our team isn't going anywhere, fortunately). The stadium itself was one of many problems; Stade Olympique was miscast as a Baseball stadium in its heyday, and now age and years of deferred maintenance have turned it into an outdated, leaky relic. But for the return of Baseball this weekend, Montreal didn't care. They showed up anyway.

It's proof that although the Expos are gone, they are certainly not forgotten. When I visited Montreal last Summer, I was a bit taken aback at how little the Expos appeared to be remembered. Not so. The passion lies within the hearts of the fans. I returned to Montreal in early March, knowing that these games were going to be played at the end of the Month (and although I would have loved to have the chance to go to these games, timing was not in my favor), and the city seemed to have a buzz for the impending return of Baseball. Where I barely saw any Expos representations in the Summer, it was much more prevalent around the City in March. Montreal was excited to have Baseball back. A faction of fans, the appropriately titled "Expos Nation," seemed to treat these exhibitions as a crusade to put Montreal back on the MLB Radar. Sunday, they've teamed up with many former Expos Players, led by Cromartie, to hold a rally in support of MLB returning to Montreal.

Expos Nation is not alone in their crusade. Many former Expos, among them Tim Raines and Larry Walker believe Baseball can thrive in Montreal. Keith Olbermann has gone so far as to float a particular proposal to move the Tampa Bay Rays there (and I strongly considered listing the Rays as the "Montreal Expos" in my AL Preview, but decided against it). Certainly they, or the Mickey Mouse Marlins ought to be likely candidates to move to Montreal—their current fan support is about as miserable as any of the Expos' worst seasons. That's not to say moving a team there would be easy. Much needs to happen, most notably a new stadium and an ownership group that can adequately fund the team. But I'd like to think that these two games this weekend helped to serve notice that there is a place for MLB in Montreal. At worst, perhaps, these Mets/Blue Jays exhibitions can become an annual event. Certainly, 96,000 voices proved that there remains an audience and a voice for Baseball in this wonderful city.

Enter The Hammer

For the third year in a row, the Mets are poised to add a prized pitching prospect to their starting rotation in the middle of the season, in spite of heavy debate as to whether or not said pitching prospect should be in the Minor Leagues at all. But so far, this has been the plan the regime has stuck to, and as such, Noah Syndergaard was sent down to Minor League camp earlier in the week. This was mere formality; in spite of the Mets need for some juice in the early going this coming season, it behooves them not to rush Syndergaard too much in the name of a team that's still not quite ready to contend. Plus, to this point, he hasn't pitched above AA, and, sure, while the Marlins shit a diamond with Jose Fernandez in this instance last season, the Marlins were grasping at straws (and given the Marlins state of affairs, he'll end up getting traded to Detroit that much sooner). The Mets appear to have a much more measured approach to this end.

That being said, we can expect to see Syndergaard dropping his hammer at Citi Field some time around June or July, and the Mets seem to be prepping for him to be able to extend himself once he gets called up. It's a bit of a bizarre plan that Paul DePodesta laid forth on Wednesday, but, hey, it might just work. The idea is that the Mets will potentially carry a 6-man starting rotation on their AAA team, in addition to a 5-inning/60-pitch limit until he's called up to the Majors. This isn't optimal when you take durability into consideration, but maybe the plan will be relaxed to give him more innings/more pitches just to get him stretched out shortly before he's recalled.

The hard cap on Syndergaard's innings this season is 150, which is certainly a low number for a guy who's going to be 22 at the end of August. But given his career path to this point, it's probably smart. Syndergaard, for all his hype, only threw 117.2 innings in the Minors last year, and in 2012 only 103. The thought process is to try to extend by about 20 or so innings each year, so it may yet be a few seasons before we really get to see just how durable Syndergaard can be. He's built in a similar mold to Mike Pelfrey, sort of a large (6'7"), loafy (240lb) type, and that certainly served Pelfrey well as an innings-eater for a few seasons until he fell victim to the dreaded elbow reconstruction. Of course, Pelfrey had large innings jumps early in his career with the Mets due to the team being in a pennant race and the lack of other options, and ended up with a 40+ inning jump between 2007 and 2008, which could have contributed to later troubles. But that theory only works if you really believe in it, and aren't convinced that elbow injuries are just random things that happen frequently if you repeatedly use your arm to continually repeat an action that the human arm isn't necessarily designed to do.

Point is, the Mets are once again being excessively cautious with a young arm, which is fine for now. We can expect a nice soupcon of Syndergaard some time this summer, and I'm sure it will be tantalizing, just as Harvey in '12 and Wheeler in '13. And it's nice that the Mets are sort of thinking that saving his innings for when he's called up will get the fans juiced up that much more. But in the larger scheme of things, it's not going to make much difference until these three guys are performing up to the expectations everyone has for them.

Back In Playing Shape

Once again, I had these great grand ideas about keeping up with things to talk about here and there through February and bridging things in to Spring Training as opposed to last year where I didn't write anything for a month, and, of course, I did none of it. And now Opening Day is less than two weeks away and I'm out of condition for the daily grind of Blogging after several months of Football and not much to write about, at least as it pertains to the Mets.

The new faces in camp, a majority of whom I'm only vaguely familiar with, don't merit great amounts of discussion, or at least not until I see them lining up along the first base line at Citi Field on March 31st. Other, bigger names were either discussed (Granderson), or not, because I could say everything that needs to be said about Chris Young and Bartolo Colon in a few sentences. Chris Young: Get your act together and show what you are, otherwise you're gone (and on a 1-year deal he's got a lot to prove). Bartolo Colon: Lay off the clubhouse spread. Or not, if that's what's doing it for you.

Young and Colon aren't going to make or break the Mets this year. I had, in February, some blind thought that maybe there was something to the 90-win talk. But a lot had to go right for that to happen. Based on what little I've seen (and lots that I've heard) from Spring Training, it seems like things are already off to a bad start. Jonathon Niese, the de facto Opening Day starter, is suffering from some sort of general malaise that's caused him to pitch poorly and return to New York twice for MRIs that have proven inconclusive. Ruben Tejada, who's in every Mets fan's doghouse, has done nothing to inspire any confidence that he'll return to the form he showed in 2012 that had us all excited. Regardless, it seems he'll be handed the Shortstop job, over Wilmer Flores, who if nothing else is a change of pace, or Free Agent Stephen Drew, probably because a move like that makes too much sense. Travis d'Arnaud, in spite of taking control of the pitching staff, hasn't hit like we hoped he would. Laverne and Shirley (or, more appropriately, Ike Davis and Lucas Duda), haven't even set foot on the field. And the back end of a rotation that was supposed to be pretty damn good is now looking like a mishmash of retreads because nobody among John Lannan, Jenrry Mejia and Daisuke Matsuzaka has stepped up. So, you know, we can look forward to Mejia ostensibly being wasted in the bullpen while Lannan pitches to a 6.34 ERA in 5 ill-advised starts and Matsuzaka only does slightly better.

Add this all up, and this Spring Training hasn't exactly shown much for me to get incredibly excited about. And that sucks, because I was actually starting to believe that the corner had been turned. And that may yet be the case, but after 5 lost years, I think I can be excused for being a little impatient. The upshot is that by 2015, the Mets hold the potential to have some seriously good pitching at the top of the rotation, if Wheeler builds on last season, Noah Syndergaard ascends as advertised and Matt Harvey returns strong, leaving a back of the rotation that features Jonathon Niese (if he can get his shit together) and Dillon Gee, no slouch in his own right. The best part about this equation is that it means no rotation spots will be wasted on John Lannan-types. The downside is, of course, that this is at least a year away, and that's assuming things go right.

Unfortunately, for the Mets, things going right has been a dicey proposition in recent seasons.

Spring Training for Bloggers

I wasn't exactly planning to not write anything for a month, but the combination of a nasty Super Bowl Hangover (still stewing), lack of a niche topic or anything especially newsworthy meant I took an unplanned Winter Break. But, with Opening Day now less than 3 weeks away (still waiting on my tickets), I figured I'd better get cracking and get myself back into shape for Opening Day.

There are several things I've done in the past, for example picking 5 Key Mets and naming the All Ballclub Team, which I haven't done this year. I tended to think of Key Mets in the sense of the success of the team really hinging on their own personal success. Though I hate to admit defeat, I just don't think the Mets are going to be especially successful, at least from a win-loss standpoint. No few players playing better or worse than hoped will swing the fortunes of the team at all, at least not this year. But this isn't a rebuilding year. The rebuilding has already been done, for the most part. This is now an evaluational year, just to see what the hell the Mets have going forward.

I suspect I'll be complaining an awful lot about how the Mets don't hit this season. I don't think that's much of a surprise to anyone. Though David Wright has been tearing up the World Baseball Classic, who's to say this will translate to regular season success (Though Beltran in '06 comes to mind)? If anything, the WBC has just reminded us how good Wright can be when he has a stocked lineup around him. It's nice being able to hit in between Ryan Braun and Eric Hosmer. That'd help any hitter. But most of us are more concerned with how he'll hit in between Ike Davis and Daniel Murphy or Ruben Tejada or Colin Cowgill or whoever ends up hitting 2nd. What kind of a start will Ike Davis get off to? What kind of a start will Daniel Murphy get off to? Will Lucas Duda get started at all?

The Outfield is frightening. I haven't seen a ton of Spring Games, but other than the fact that Lucas Duda appears to have borrowed Zach Galifinakis' beard, I don't think anybody has done anything of note. Colin Cowgill has shown some spunk, and I guess he'll start, but I'm not sure if it's because he's decent or because he's just better than Nieuwenhuis, Baxter, Byrd, Valdespin or whoever else is out there. This is a group that has all the makings of submarining rallies and innings all season long and making me want to bash my head into the counter at Blue Smoke.

The Pitching, particularly the starters, actually look good. Unfortunately, they'll probably fall victim to my favorite types of games, the 3-1 losses where the Mets get 8 hits, hit into 3 Double Plays and in at least one instance, they will have the tying runs in scoring position with under 2 outs and won't score a run. Niese and Gee have looked good, and Shaun Marcum was a signing I really liked, because he's better than you think if he's healthy (see: Capuano, Chris, 2011). Then, there's Matt Harvey, who's beginning to inspire the kind of superlatives that would merit his own blog. The conventional wisdom is that, with Santana unavailable on Opening Day, Jon Niese would get the start. But I'd strongly consider giving the ball to Harvey that day. He's clearly up to the assignment and it would make quite a statement as to the direction this team is going. If he doesn't, I'm inclined to believe that this is the last year for a while where he's not the Opening Day Starter.

There's a bullpen here too, but I don't want to talk about it.

The Mets as a whole are still a ways from contending, and even the heartiest of optimists would have to agree. But whether contention comes in 2014 or 2016 depends on what happens after this year, and isn't something I think we should be worrying about right now. Optimism for a Mets fan in 2013 has to be looking at Matt Harvey, and then seeing players like Zach Wheeler and Travis d'Arnaud about to ascend because if they're as good as advertised, then success should follow. That's about as optimistic as I can get, though, at least for right now, because everything hinges on a futures market. This is somewhat frustrating, rooting for a large market team that's been embarrassingly bad for several years now. But, you try to make the best of what's available, and right now, this is what's available.

Inside the Mind of the Mets Fan

In celebration of Pitchers and Catchers reporting to Spring Training today, I offer you some of the Mets-related thoughts that have popped through my mind since the end of the 2008 season.

• Citi Field will be a beautiful ballpark, won't it?
• Sheets? Wolf? Ollie?
  
• Why couldn't Wright have swung at the 2-0 pitch?
• Cole Hamels was 0-2 with a 6 ERA against the Mets last season.
• What is the music they played at Shea when Carlos Delgado hit a Home Run?
• Between A-Rod and the Torre book, I wonder if the New York Media will even bother showing up to Mets camp?
• Jose...JoseJoseJose...
• I really love Carlos Beltran.
• Gawd, that last day at Shea was depressing.
• Manny.
• I know that it's illegal to implode a building in NYC, and that they probably couldn't blow up Shea because of how close it was to Citi Field, but if they had planned to blow it up, Fred Wilpon would have probably charged fans $50 a head to watch.
• I should have gone home as soon as Spiezio hit the triple.
• Jose...JoseJoseJose...
• As bad as the Wilpons may appear, it could be worse. The Mets could be owned by a guy who called the players greedy while standing on his $4 million yacht and outbid himself for Alex Rodriguez by about $75 million. Ladies and Gentlemen, Tom Hicks!
• Since it's probably safe to assume that a large chunk of Major Leaguers were on steroids throughout the 90s and early on this decade, and the playing field was hopelessly skewed, wouldn't it somehow even out in the grand scheme of things? Moreover, why do people care about this so much? Why is the media so consumed by this?
  
• Jose...JoseJoseJose...
• I'm not worried about Mike Pelfrey hitting a wall.
• I'm worried every time the door to the Mets bullpen swings open. We probably all have PTSD.
• I plonked down $355 for a Weekday plan, and, quite honestly, I'm not ashamed I did it. I never quite understood these indignant people who scream about how they're "never going to another game again!" for one reason or another. These protests don't work. Someone else will always buy the tickets.
  
• The more I think about it, the more I truly have no clue what to expect out of Daniel Murphy.
• Jose...JoseJoseJose...
• Freddy Garcia. I must have drafted him every year from 2000 to 2004 in Fantasy. Him and Javier Vazquez.
• I wonder if I'll be able to see car fires in the parking lot from my new seats?
• Jose...JoseJoseJose...Jose...Jose...
  

Final Preparations

There's no one particular thing to write about today, but I do have a few odd items that bear being addressed before the season begins on Monday. Consider this the final brush-up before the storm begins.

Thanks to Dan from Mets Refugees for answering my question about the ramp from the 7 train. As it turns out, there's not going to be a ramp at all. Instead, there's a staircase being built rather hastily in preparation for the impending Home Opener. These Photos are courtesy of Chris S. (aka Islandxtreme26), taken from inside the future home of the Mets. Here's a wide angle shot of the new steps, and a pair of close-ups showing the construction work being done. I still think a major renovation of the station is in order, and I don't know whether or not this is a temporary staircase simply for the '08 season, but it's a staircase nonetheless and it would appear that it might actually make life easier for all of us going to Shea this season.

(The full photo gallery can be seen here, and contains a number of nice shots inside Citi Field, shots of Shea from Citi Field, and a panoramic video of the future ballfield itself)

Tuesday evening, I was listening to Steve Somers on WFAN as I usually do, and sometime around Midnight I heard with half an ear him saying something about Endy Chavez being put on waivers. This nearly gave me a heart attack, given the favor Endy has drawn upon himself during his time with the Mets, and given his standing as the late-inning defensive replacement/4th Outfielder supreme. What could Omar be thinking?

What Omar was thinking was that Steve wouldn't confuse Ruben Gotay with Endy Chavez. Somers corrected himself shortly after Midnight, and all was right with the world. There are a number of people who don't seem to like the move, I don't particularly care, even if it does leave the Mets without a true backup SS. The fact is that although Gotay did show some flashes of brilliance with the bat in a few spots last season, he, like Endy, would be inevitably exposed over a larger sample. This has already been proven during his time with Kansas City. He exhibited an inability to hit lefties, and his defense was also less than desirable. And with the Mets ready to carry 12 pitchers, plus Anderson, Endy, Castro, Pagan and apparently Fernando Tatis or Brady Clark, Gotay became expendable. Neither Randolph or Minaya seem to be fans of his, either. Perhaps, as Gotay feels, this is undeserved. But clearly he didn't fit this team. I'm not going to go nuts over this one. You shouldn't either.

Speaking of Tatis, it appears that he and his ears are going to be making the trip north with the Mets (and put out an alert, MBTN, he's wearing #17!). It's an interesting move, to say the least, and I suspect he'd only last as long as Alou is on the shelf, and the Mets need the extra righty bat. However, he hasn't played in the Majors since 2006, and outside of the 28 games he appeared in that season hasn't played regularly since 2003. He was also named in the Mitchell Report. I'm not sure what he'll bring to the club, but apparently he impressed enough people despite being in camp for 5 days after Visa trouble. Like many other aspects of this version of the Mets, I'm skeptical. Then again, if Tatis hits 5 HRs in April as a fill-in, I take it back. Radar ears and all.

Thanks to Rays Index for giving my AL Preview a shoutout the other day. When I said that my AL Preview wasn't very well informed, I wasn't kidding. As I mentioned, I am very NL-centric, so much so that I wasn't even aware that my pick for the AL Cy Young Award is going to miss just about all of April with a triceps injury. Lackey even talks about it in his own blog. Shows how much attention I've been paying. Nobody even mentioned that at my Fantasy League auction. If I can have a do-over, perhaps I'll say Erik Bedard for AL Cy Young.

Speaking of the Rays, I haven't heard any information on the status of my doppleganger over the past few days. The last I heard was this nugget on Rotoworld.com stating that Eric Hinske was the leading candidate for a roster spot. I'm still pulling for him, though. I'd rather be associated with him than with this guy.

Finally, just to keep everyone aware, votes are still being counted for your favorite Lost Classics. Although nobody seems particularly interested in a 2004 Lost Classic, the turnout has been very solid for 1997 and 1998, and in each case, the leading game does not hold more than a 2-vote lead. So it's too close to name a winner for any season at this point. Keep those votes coming!

It's the longest weekend of the offseason, so enjoy it, folks. Come Monday, time begins anew!

Wanted: Offense

In 2004, the Mets made a trade that was monumentally stupid when they dealt Scott Kazmir to Tampa Bay for Victor Zambrano. That's a rather obvious statement in and of itself. But consider this: At the time the deal was made, Jim Duquette professed a need for pitching. Then-Manager Art Howe was quoted as saying, "You know me, I can never have too much pitching."

At the time, the Mets had the third-best pitching staff in the National League. The problem was an impotent offense that could barely plate runs on a regular basis, anchored by players like Kaz Matsui, Eric Valent and Jason Phillips playing major roles. And with their great new pitchers, the Mets went out and proceeded to lose games 2-1 instead of 3-1.

The case could be made that had Kazmir been dealt for a big outfield bat, or even a passable outfield bat, that helped the Mets stay alive in a race they were probably going to lose anyway, it might have been a better deal. I'm not saying that it would have been, I'm just making this argument.

Right now, the Mets are in a similar position. With a major chunk of the offense either inactive or hurting, the Mets really could use another bat. I think this has been addressed more than once, by more than a few people.

Right now, Moises Alou, who we knew would be injured at some point, will be out at least until May with a hernia. Carlos Beltran hasn't played after offseason knee surgery has hampered his quads. Carlos Delgado has been ailing, and even then we don't know what we have with him. Marlon Anderson and Ryan Church have returned from injuries resulting from last weekend's collision. Endy Chavez has also been battling hamstring problems.

This outfield is in a bit of flux right now. Fortunately, it's still March, the games don't count, and there's still time for things to fall into place. But should these problems re-surface during the season, the Mets could find themselves in a bit of trouble. While the Bullpen certainly has garnered a bit of concern (although the emergence of former-prospect Nelson Figueroa has added another arm to the mix I discussed last week), right now, you can't feel too comfortable about the offense, outside of Wright, and the renewed Reyes, and operating under the assumption that Beltran will come around.

How bad is it?

Last Friday, Buster Olney on ESPN actually made a rather convincing argument advocating the signing of Barry Bonds. This blog (ESPN Insider or a friend with Insider who can e-mail it to you required) by Olney, who is always well-thought out, basically states that Bonds will only cost the Mets money, would provide plenty of offense in Alou's stead, and either way, the left fielder would be replaced by Endy Chavez for defense in the late innings.

It's a convincing argument. I wish I could acquire whatever Olney is smoking.

Bringing in the absolute unadulterated Circus that is Barry Bonds would probably make everyone on the team nuts. Bonds is already under indictment and could likely go to jail by season's end. Minaya would probably be excoriated by everybody in New York, filleted by the media, and chuckled at by Yankee fans. He'd hit, yes, but it's nowhere near worth a) what the Mets would have to pay him and b) the headache. And after the Mets dispatched such "troublemakers" like Milledge and LoDuca, what message would this be sending?

Fortunately, the Mets have deemed this report as ridiculous. At least that's what they're telling people.

There are, in the opinion of many, more palatable options, players who can come in and fill roles. A righty bat who could play left when Alou is hurt, play right and spell, or perhaps platoon with Church, or even play first if Delgado falters. But a deal clearly would have to be with someone looking for some excess bullpen help. It's no surprise that Jorge Sosa and Scott Schoeneweis are being shopped around. The Mets can't afford to deal any prospects, certainly after the Santana trade. But there are players who can be had for this price, one would assume. Xavier Nady is the first such player who comes to mind, someone who has already played here and played well, before being forced into another such reactionary deadline deal in '06 (albeit one that has had much better results). Marcus Thames has also been bandied about as an option coming over from Detroit. A third option is Jay Payton on Baltimore, although he'd be acquired as a part-time player, and he has, in the past, complained about a lack of playing time. In camp, Angel Pagan has performed well, and Brady Clark is, well, Brady Clark. Other options might include Reed Johnson or whatever outfielder ends up on the bench on the Washingtons of the world.

Bottom line here is that something needs to be done. It's not a major deal, and it's not a reactionary deal, so hopefully, the Mets won't try to turn it into one. All this takes is a player who is a ridiculous, useless veteran on another team, who would be a perfect fit on the Mets. I'm rooting for Nady, since the Pirates can trot out an outfield of Bay, Nate McLouth and Nyjer Morgan, and Adam LaRoche at first. Nady has no real spot on that team. Let's bring this guy back. I liked him.

Taking the 5th...

There has been, over the course of the past few years, been a great contest throughout the Mets Spring Training camps over who, exactly, will round out the 5th spot in the Mets starting rotation. In the past, we have seen this role go to such luminaries as Brian Bannister, Tyler Yates, or Masato Yoshii.

Usually, it's a rookie, maybe a marginal prospect. More often than not, that guy hasn't lasted the season.

Things may be different this season.

Although Willie continued to insist right to the end that guys like Chan Ho Park and Aaron Sele had realistic chances at competing for the 5th spot in the rotation, the spot was, today, justifiably handed to Mr. Michael Pelfrey.

Unlike guys like Yates and Bannister, Pelfrey will arrive on the scene with more than a modicum of hype. He's a phenom, no doubt. El Guapo and I thought enough of him to take him late in our recent fantasy league draft--before knowing he would be guaranteed a spot in the rotation. We knew that the talent was there.

But was he ready? That was the question.

Pelfrey appeared in merely 4 games last season, 4 starts sandwiched around the All-Star break. This after being drafted in the first round of the 2005 Amateur Draft, signing late and not appearing in a pro game until the Spring of 2006. He blew through A and AA ball quickly, and fans, tiring of sitting through starts by Jeremi Gonzalez and Jose Lima, began clamoring for Pelfrey to be brought up. He would finally arrive on July 8th.

His debut against the Marlins produced a few sweat-inducing innings, jams he managed to work out of with a minimum amount of damage. He also had the benefit of his offense staking him to a large early lead, ending in a 17-2 rout for his first Major League victory.

Pelfrey's second outing was even better. Pitching in Cincinnati's tiny Great American Ball Park, Pelfrey hurled shutout ball into the 6th before giving up 2 runs and being lifted from the game. The Mets put away a close game late and he was 2 for 2 in the bigs.

But Pelfrey's next two starts would be less than stellar. At home, on a Sold-out Sunday afternoon against the Astros, Pelfrey struggled, allowing 5 runs over just over 4 innings of work. A second outing against the Marlins on August 1st would produce a no-decision, 6 innings, 4 runs allowed.

Pelfrey would be demoted to AAA following this start, and didn't appear in any more games for the Mets in '06. A brief glimpse. Flashes of brilliance, flashes of youth. But definitely a star in the making. We all saw how hard he was bringing it. An explosive fastball in the high 90s. Big, powerful curve. He needed that third pitch to complete the package. And we saw it this spring. The new slider. The one that was shattering Oriole bats all night last week. The one that turned him into a veritable ground ball machine all spring.

The one that would eventually seal his ticket for New York come April.

We likely won't see Pelfrey until Mid to Late April. With the number of off days that the Mets have, he won't be needed. He'll remain in Port St. Lucie, keeping sharp until the Mets are ready to unleash him on the National League, the bullet at the back end of their rotation.

We can expect more flashes of brilliance from Pelfrey in the upcoming season. We can also expect more flashes of youth from this 23-year old fireballer. He'll be great someday, and maybe sooner rather than later. He'll be fun to watch. Most importantly, he's earned the right to be here.

I know we'd all rather see him and have him struggle instead of having to watch Chan Ho Park and Aaron Sele. That's for damn sure.

Randolph names Pelfrey fifth starter [Mets.com]

Running Diary: Mets - Orioles

We're coming to you live from Sports Guy Mans-, I mean, the El Guapodome for a Spring Training lowdown showdown between the Mets and the Baltimore Orioles.

I mean, despite my acknowledgment of the inherent Bill Simmons ripoff, I don't think he's got the running diary format patented. Anyway, here we go, it's the first meaningless baseball running diary of the spring. As Hawk Harrelson would say, "Strap it down!"

Promotional consideration has been provided tonight by Lagunitas IPA.

7:00 - Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie. I've caught a couple of these games so far and still no obligatory shot of the alligator who lives somewhere out beyond the practice fields. They always show that alligator. I say it finally happens tonight, somewhere during the 5th inning. Hold me to it.

El Duque is pitching tonight. intriguing due to the whole neck injury thing. Pelfrey will follow. He had a nice outing first time around.

7:02 - Kevin Burkhardt talks to Chan Ho Park. Is that a scar on Park's face? What's up with that?

7:04 - It's all over for the caveman Geico commercials. The first two, maybe three, were funny. Their moment has passed. Of course, I read some rumor that there'll be a caveman TV series. We can only hope that's a hoax. Speaking of commercials, I don't know how to explain this, but I swear you can actually hear how fat John Goodman is on those Dunkin' Donuts ads.

7:10 - Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez bring you tonight's action. Props to Mets2Moon for a great post on Mets announcers past and present. I enjoyed that.

Actually it's this afternoon's action. I should mention that I'm watching the evening rebroadcast, but I didn't see a score or anything, so it'll all be new to me.

7:11 - The O's brought their D-Team with them. Your leadoff hitter: Ruddy Yan! Why the hell am I blogging a spring training game?

The regular Mets team is in the field, with Milledge in right, which will be fun. One more exception: Julio Franco at first for Delgado, who's out with a stiff neck.

7:13 - Apparently Ruddy is pronounce "Rudy."

7:15 - I loved watching Hernnandez pitch so much last season; I really did. He's already thrown one quasi-eephus slow curve, to start the game of actually. Now he strikes out Chris Gomez on a fastball. Keith calls him "crafty," which is how he'll be described about 1,245,984 times this season. Nick Markarkis taps a check-swing bloop to Wright for the third out. Great start for the crafty Cuban.

7:19 - Here's a reason to watch: Daniel Cabrera is pitching for the O's. 6'7", 267 lbs. Straight over the top delivery. Nasty stuff. He blows through the first inning 1-2-3.

7:23 - Keith Hernandez is repping Baseball Prospectus pretty hard, which he tells us his wife bought for him. He also voluntarily describes himself as "mentally challenged."

7:26 - Hey, it's Jay Payton! He rips a one-out single to right, looking good. Any 2000 Met is okay in my book, except for maybe Mike Hampton.

7:29 - El Duque covers first on a double-play try but misses the bag. Hey, it's Spring Training for the players too.

7:32 - Ooh! A grounder right off El Duque's shoe! He's okay but a brief second of panic for yours truly. Payton scores from third on the play.

7:33 - Someone named Adam Donachie knocks a three-run homer to deep left and it's 4-0 Orioles. That pitch stayed way up in the zone. You could hear it off the bat that it was a homer. Now the next batter singles and the wheels have come off the wagon for El Duque, and missing the bag on that DP try has officially come back to bite him in his crafty Cuban ass.

7:37 - Did you know that Nick Markakis pitched for the 2004 Greek Olympic team and threw 94 MPH? Thanks to Gary Cohen's press guide, now you do! Yes, this inning is still going on. It's 5-0 Orioles and Orlando hasn't gotten an out since the hit off his foot. And now Markarkis singles. Duque, ya gotta get out of this so I can go rescue my frozen lasagna from the oven...

7:43 - Burkhardt interviews 20-year-old first baseman Mike Carp. Folks, remember Mike Carp, because... you know what, don't bother remembering Mike Carp. What ever happened to Chris Cotter doing the sideline stuff? No offense to Burkhardt.

7:46 - I still think Green's problem is that his swing is just too long. He's talked all this stuff about finding a "hitch" and whatever, but I just think he's past it. That swing worked when you he was younger and his hands were faster, but no more. I hate to say it because I always liked Shawn Green, but I just think his moment as a power-hitting outfielder is over. If he proves me wrong, trust me, I'll be thrilled. He strikes out to end the inning (he's DH-ing today). Cabrera is rolling.

7:51 - Pelfrey has come out firing sharp-looking sinkers and sliders. Two quick outs and an infield hit up the middle, then a weakly hit grounder for the third out. I'm a fan.

7:57 - Cabrera is throwing strikes. He makes Valentin look silly waving at strike three. Too bad the Orioles will finish in fourth place this year.

It's my boy Lastings! Aaaannd he strikes out to end the third...

8:02 - Keith and Gary (I never realized how much that sounds like the Ambigously Gay Announcing Duo before) are discussing Pelfrey's chances to make the team, and Keith thinks he's definitely starting the year in AAA. I hope not. I don't see the point, if he's healthy. Who else? Chan Ho? But I think Keith might be right, not in terms of what should happen but what will happen, which I think is a shame.

8:04 - Mike Pelfrey is a groundball machine!

8:07 - Reyes rips a liner down the first-base line and beats Payton's throw to make it a double. Bartender, make Jose's a double! Keith has a fantastic moment that I can't quite do justice to: "Reyes hits it right on the bunny ... money." Right on the bunny? Is that even a Freudian slip, or what? Very strange. All I know is I'll be saying "[Insert player] hits it right on the bunny!" after every single Met line drive this year, and I'm glad you were here for the genesis of that.

8:12 - Reyes steals third, after falling and recovering. How is that even possible? Oh, because the catcher threw to second instead of third for some reason. Wright strikes out with two runners on to end the threat.

8:17 - Pelfrey gives up two quick singles to start the fifth. Still no sight of the alligator. Does he have a name? Keith complains that he's only now getting his coffee, which he asked for three innings ago. I could make fun of him, but I sympathize. Without coffee I'm useless. However, I think Keith is really just trying to slyly give himself an excuse for the whole "bunny" thing.

8:20 - Payton doubles. 7-0 Orioles. Milledge almost nails Jay at second but a bad hop eats up Reyes receiving it. Keith astutely points out that Alou should have come in to back up the play. I guess his coffee kicked in.

8:22 - Mets get out of it. They gave Milledge an error on that play.

8:24 - Now they've switched it and given the error to Reyes, which makes more sense. Shawn Green strikes out.

8:28 - Keith: "You should always never take anything for granted." Well, maybe they gave him decaf. I don't know. Franco slaps his second opposite-field single of the afternoon. You could start spring training in December and Franco would be there ready to hit.

8:30 - Second and third, one out for Milledge. A chance to show us something. Oof, and he's buzzed along the shirtsleeve for an HBP. Bases loaded for Reyes. The O's Jon Leicester has hit two batters today. LoDuca was the first, his last time up.

8:31 - Leicester walks Reyes on four pitches to bring in Franco. Meanwhile, Burkhardt interviews David Wright in the dugout:

Burkhardt: "How'd it go at the club last night, David?"
Wright: "Yo, Kev, I hit it right on the bunny, son."

8:35 - Beautiful up the middle line drive from Beltran, 7-3 Mets. Pitch was high in the zone and a little bit away, a fastball. Pitching change for the O's.

8:37 - A Nirvana song is featured in the ad for Major League Basball 2K7, and presumably they use it in the game itself. An improvement from the usual video game music, to be sure, but I wonder if it's wrong somehow to use Nirvana in a video game. Will Nirvana fans (and I can't say I was one) object? M2M, what do you think?

8:38 - The O's get out of it with their new pitcher on one pitch, whose name I missed pondering the whole Nirvana thing. Whatever.

8:41 - Sixth inning, time for the wholesale lineup changes! Should I bore you? Eh, forget it. Anderson Hernandez is in at short. Jason Vargas is pitching, and a couple more switches happened too. How's that?

8:43 - Vargas looks great so far this spring. Strikes out his first batter here. Could be a good swingman or fifth starter. I think the Marlins really set him back by bringing him up too early, but easily salvageable.

Yan can hit! One-out single up the middle.

Yan can't steal bases. He's picked off. Really nice tag by A-Hern at second, for the record.

8:48 - Heard the new Arcade Fire yet? I went in with no expectations one way or the other, and so far I'm really liking it.

8:51 - Shawn Green has his first hit of the spring! He's off the schneid (sp?). Wright, who walked to lead off the inning, advances to third, and we've got a genuine rally going with no outs. I'm not going to bother naming the pitchers anymore unless I've heard of them; deal?

8:54 - Ooof! And the Orioles catcher gets hit in the nuts by a Valentin foul ball. You hate to see that. The camera catches him rubbing his, um, cup as he crouches over in pain. Keith asks for a new camera angle.

8:56 - Valentin strikes out as Green improbably steals second. Okay, the O's pitcher is named Berkins, and he's a tough looking lefty. I'll mention him because he's pitching well.

8:59 - Milledge walks, and it's Endy Chavez with the bases loaded! Big cheers for him every time he comes up this spring. But he grounds it weakly to third for the third out.

Oh, the O's catcher who got the ol' cup check is Adam Donachie, the guy who hit the home run in the second. So, there's some justice.

9:02 - Bulls-Magic on TNT. I'm thinking of simulcasting over on Fortuitous Bounce. Okay, maybe not. It's 37-23 Chicago.

9:04 - I'm back in time to witness the O's 37th hit of the day. What the hell inning is it by now anyway?

9:05 - Endy Chavez, in at center, throws out a runner at the plate on the O's 38th hit of the day. Don't fuck with Endy, man. Keith points out that it's Endy's approach to the ball, his momentum, plus the fact that he doesn't waste any motion coming up with the ball that lets him make the play. See, we're not kidding, Keith really does have something to say from time to time.

9:08 - Ugly play as Mike "The Future" Carp tosses offline to Vargas covering first, causing Vargas to drop the ball and almost getting him bowled over by the runner. Thanks, Mike. Run scores, 8-3 O's.

9:10 - Vargas recovers to get a strikeout to end the inning. I'm telling you: Jason Vargas. You heard it here first.

9:13 - Oh my god, it's only the 7th inning.

47-24 Bulls.

9:18 - Is that a moonshine still on Iron Chef America? Nice.

9:21 - I cut back to the game in time to see them showing some tape of a boat, but playing in reverse for some reason. Keith: "Don't try that at home!" Gary: "We must be well into Margaritaville by now." Indeed. The guys in the truck have gotten into that Iron Chef moonshine.

9:23 - Are they not doing the trivia question in Spring Training? I don't remember seeing one so far in these games. They better bring it back for the regular season. I never get it right, but I always enjoy them.

Scott Schoeneweis gets through the top of the 8th 1-2-3.

9:28 - The Iron Chef special ingredient tonight: mango. They haven't shown that big copper still again, so no confirmation that it's really moonshine. What else can you make in a still? Anyone know?

Yankees over Braves 5-3 in the 10th over on the YES rebroadcast game. Al Leiter is the color guy. Al! Come to SNY! Or better yet, have Tim McCarver killled and take his job. Please.

9:33 - We learn that Mike Carp, now up to bat, was the Mets minor league player of the year last year. I don't know why I've singled Carp out to pick on. Seems like a nice kid. He draws a walk to make it two on, one out for Milledge (0-1 with a walk and an HBP today).

Milledge singles! And it's an eight to four ballgame! (That's for all you Simmons fans, but Cohen really did say, "And it's an eight to four ballgame!" just like that.)

9:37 - 8-5 now on an RBI groundout by Chavez scoring Carp. Milledge to second. Get those rally caps on.

9:38 - "And it's outta here!" Ben Johnson goes yard to deep left, making it 8-7.

A-Hern flies out to right to end the 8th.

9:42 - Joe Smith on for the 9th. Oh my goodness, it's Roger Cedeno at bat for the O's. He hits a slicing ball to left that Ben Johnson reaches out and grabs on the run. Nice catch.

9:44 - Smith K's a C/1B named House. "You're risking a patient's...!" Okay, the shameless Simmons ripoffs end here.... But his name really was House.

9:47 - Smith works around a two-out double to set the Mets up for last licks.

9:49 - Mango, for Mario Batali, "brings back one giant, beautiful memory of Vietnam." Okay then.

9:50 - David Newhan leads off. He's from the Bronx? All right, Newhan. But he strikes out.

9:52 - Now it's Damion Easley's turn, Shawn Green on deck. Easley strikes out, and it's all up to Green.

9:54 - Grounder to second, and that's your ballgame. 8-7 is the final. 3 errors, 3 unearned runs given up by the Mets, but a nice day for Mike Pelfrey and a couple of highlights for Ben Johnson, so you take your silver linings where you find them.

It's been real, folks. We'll do this again when the real baseball starts.

Welcome to Meaningless Baseball '07

Couldn't let the opening day of meaningless baseball pass by without notice, so I tuned in to SNY's evening rebroadcast of today's spring training game against Detroit. Though I have to admit, I was flipping back and forth between the brutal Knicks-Celtics game (and thinking about my contribution to the belated first half review coming up over on Fortuitous Bounce). As usual for these games, the positive, negative, and simply curious were all on display. And none of it meant anything, of course. Which is part of the joy of spring training, to be honest. It's stakes-free. You could lose 100-0 and not give a damn; you're just happy to be there, on your ass, able to watch baseball, miraculously, in February.

The positive
Jose Reyes stole a base, naturally. Your first RBI of the spring? That would be newcomer David Newhan, late of the Orioles, with a sac fly in the sixth, scoring Ben Johnson. Random note on Johnson for the curious: doesn't look like he runs that well. He did drop in a classic "Bermuda Triangle" ball on a converging 1B, 2B, and right fielder in the eighth, the kind you can see coming a mile away as the fielders collapse on the ball. Johnson saw it coming too and dug in for two bases.

I'll say it: I missed the announcer banter, I really did. Keith and Ron had some fun reminiscing about the time the light-hitting Rafael Belliard, now a Tigers coach, tagged Ron for two home runs in a spring training game in the early Eighties. Darling cheerfully noted that Belliard had exactly two homers in his entire 17-year major league career. It will grow old quickly, and Keith in particular can get irritating, but there's nothing quite like baseball announcer b.s., at least when it's not of the obnoxious Michael Kay or Hawk Harrelson varieties. Really.

Neifi Perez had two errors, which is always fun to see. I have no idea how it is that reasonable baseball executives keep giving jobs to Neifi Perez. It's one of those ongoing mysteries, like, What did the cave drawings mean? or, What the hell is nougat made of? We might never know.

The negative
Let's not focus on this too much, but since I brought it up: As the game got started there was poor old Shawn Green staggering around right field while Lastings Milledge and Endy Chavez looked on helplessly from the bench.

Oliver Perez got off to a decidedly rocky start, pitching two innings and leaving everything up in the zone and out over the plate. As Keith and Ron are quick to point out, he's just airing it out, stretching his arm and getting into the habit of repeating his motion and arm slot. If I had the stomach for it, I'd have tuned in to WFAN later to hear the fans overreact and tear their collective hair out giving up on Ollie for the season, but you know what? Life's too short.

The just plain curious
Odd starting lineup: Reyes, Beltran, Alou, Delgado, LoDuca, Wright, Green, Julio Franco, Damion Easley. I think it's safe to say David Wright won't be batting sixth this year. And Beltran hitting second raises the ol' eyebrow. I always wonder about these spring training moves that don't end up amounting to anything. There's no problem with them, but what's the point? Just for the hell of it? Why not, I guess.

Mets2Moon will like this: we had a Timoniel Perez sighting! I keep forgetting he ended up with the Tigers. He flied out harmlessly in the seventh.

The tigers have spoken
Down 5-1, the Mets rallied to put up three in the eighth, but that was as close as they got. And Spring, the season of glorious meaningless baseball, is underway.