While I wish ownership wouldn’t have sold the naming rights and called it Citifield (Metropolitan Stadium was my choice), I will be imortalized in front of the rotunda on the Fan Walk.  My family (almost entirely comprised of Met fans) got me this awesome gift for Christmas!  Pretty cool!  Now, I’ll definitely be there for every home game :).

I can’t wait to get the map to see where it’ll be!  Well, even though I’ve had some great moments at Shea and will be sad to see it go, I’ll have even more to look forward to on that first Citifield opening day in 2009.  Hopefully we’ll also get to see our World Championship banner raised and our guys getting their rings.

Let’s Go Mets!

It seems to me that, once again, our cross-town rivals are making all the big news.

A-Rod - signed, Posada - signed, Mariano - still questionable…  Alright, so they’re not totally big splashes as things haven’t changed much since last season except Joe T has been swapped for Joe G…

Tommy G is gone, back to ATL.  Castillo is going to be back with a 4 year, $25 million contract (holy cow!) and, well, that’s about it.  LoDuca is still out there, the Torrealba deal is dead (thank goodness) and no changes have been made to the staff.  There’s lots of time left and the winter meetings are upcoming, so I don’t expect the status quo to remain.

I guess we’ll just have to watch.

Well, 4 days left until the season starts and it seems that the rotation is in place.
Glavine gets the nod for Opening Day and another shot at impressing the arrogant Pujols. El Duque is the number 2, John Maine, Oliver Perez & Mike Pelfrey round out the rotation.

Let’s start with the wows.
I was happy to see Pelfrey make the rotation.  I think he’s got a decent major league career ahead of him.  He probably won’t be the dominant power pitcher everyone thought he would be, but that’s OK — as long as he’s effective at getting outs, I don’t care how he pitches.  I guess with some seasoning he’ll probably get stronger and more powerful but right now, he seems to be a groundball pitcher.  I think we have to remember that he is only a few years removed from pitching in college.  It’ll be good to see him out there on a regular basis.  Pelfrey had a good spring.  He looks (pitches) like he belongs out there, now.  The fans like him (as they do most home growns) and he’ll be well received when he takes the mound for the first time this year at Shea.  Hopefully Humber isn’t too far behind as some of the age in this staff will be leaving soon and there’ll be a need for new young guns.

Oliver Perez pitched pretty well this spring.  He had an OK outing last night against the Nats, but he seems to be making strides.  His previous two outings were good.  The start against the Red Sox was very good.  Again, this is only spring and things change when you climb the hill in front of 50,000 people.  I really think the Mets have something with this guy.  He needs to learn to control his emotions and I think his relationship with El Duque could help with that.

John Maine had a good spring.  He looks like he belongs and has an almost veteran feel about him.  It was as if he was just getting ready for the regular season during his spring outings.  He pitched like the spot in the rotation was his and, ultimately, it was. 

El Duque was OK this spring.  He had a good performance in his last start.  I saw him pitch this ‘Bugs Bunny’ like curve to a hitter and it just froze the guy.  It was a strike but was called a ball.  The crowd knew it and even the batter knew it.  He should be good if he can stay healthy.  He’ll keep you in the game and come up big in the big spots.

Glavine has been, well, Glavine.  He’s been really good at spotting his pitches and getting outs.  I think he’ll duplicate the year he had in ‘06.  I want to see him make his mark with 300 wins and I believe he will.  Then he can sign baseballs with HOF 300 (well, in a couple of years, anyway)

Now, for the woes…
Ugh…Sanchez is out for months…After an intervention with Willie and some of his fellow players regarding his work ethic, or lack thereof, he has another set back.  A bone in his shoulder has a hairline fracture in it.  It looks like it’ll be at least 4 months before he can take the mound in a game (8 weeks to recover from surgery if he elects to have it and 8 weeks to rehab).  All this due to one late night cab ride….  I say we no longer allow Met players to ride in cabs.  Glavine would still have his front teeth and Sanchez would still be in the pen.

Jorge Sosa has been ‘Jorgable’ Sosa.  How many runs did he give up this spring? 100? 200? jeez!  He’ll be in New Orleans to start the year.  I had high hopes for him as he throws hard, but now I just don’t know.  Maybe a little confidence building with the Zephyrs will help.

That brings me to Ambiorix Burgos…I really want to see him get better.  It’s a combination of a head and location problem with him.  He pitches in the mid to high 90’s but, if you leave them up, MLB hitters can and will whack ‘em.  I don’t care how hard you throw - a ML hitter will get the timing down and knock it out of the park.  Even with the smaller batters – the power will be supplied by the pitcher.  You have to keep it down and make them pound the ball into the ground.  I think he’ll be something…but I guess that’s what people said about Rick Ankiel and now he’s an outfielder.

Well, we’ll see how today’s outing goes and go from there.
See you later.  But for now, LET’S GO METS!

Well, Willie will be here for a little while longer.  He signed a deal good through ‘09 with an option for the 2010 season.  I really like Willie and the way in which he manages this team.  They respect him as he was a winner throughout his career — both player and manager.  He know what it takes to be sucessful and has a good spirit.  He didn’t get down when he lost his first 5 in ‘05 and the players seem to respond to that positive attitude.  He knows how the game is supposed to be played and relays that to the team.

I’m glad the deal is done, going into spring with a decent managing staff (minus Manny Acta but plus HoJo) and a bunch of young players.  Willie likes the competition and I think there’s going to be plenty of it!  Pitchers and cathers report in 19 days!

Well, the Mets added Scott Schoeneweis & Jorge Sosa to the bullpen today.  Jorge is a pitcher I’ve seen fairly often, having come from the Braves organization but Schoeneweis is an unknown quantity to me.  Having been in the AL for most of his career.  I think Omar knows that the ‘pen will have to be strong this year as the starting staff is such an unknown quantity.

I can’t wait until spring training!!! Mini camp has begun and we’re on our way!

Well, Friday the Mets signed Dave Newhan to be a bench player.  He’ll be a lefty bat off the bench and has options as far as fielding.  He can play all the outfield spots and has played corner infield positions as well as second base.  I guess it’s not a bad deal as he has pretty decent numbers but we’ll see how that translates when he’s in his new role.

Well, it looks like Milledge may not make camp this spring — with the Mets, at least.

Word is that the Mets and A’s are talking about a possible trade for Milledge, and most likely more, for one of their starters.  I have mixed emotions about Milledge going.  I really think he could be something special, once he gets his head ‘right’ and realizes that he has an opportunity afforded to one tenth of one percent of the population.  He surely has the talent!  Unfortunately, the need for starting pitching is real and has to be addressed before the start of the new season.  Who knows what you’ll get out of the current guys.  Glavine is proven durable and crafty, but he’s getting up there in age — he’ll be 41 this March.  El Duque is, well, who knows how old he is.  He also can be spotty in the regular season but money in big game situations.  Maine (debut in 2004), Perez (debut in 2002), Pelfrey (debut in 2006), Vargas (debut in 2005)….All young guys with limited ML experience. 

Maine pitched some big games and seems to have the makeup to pitch in the big city.  I’ve personally seen a handful of his starts and it seems like, early in the game he gets ahead of the batter and is very successful.  Later in the game (3rd or 4th inning) he falls behind the batters and has to try to get back to even, ultimately making a pitch he doesn’t want to make.  It’s no secret, the more pitches a batter at the ML level sees, the greater his chances for success become.  Some of it I figure is the batter adjusting, not swinging at his high heat (read: out of the strike zone).  Still, I like his potential and think under Peterson’s tutelage he’ll be really good.

Perez has the most ML time and looks to have great stuff but he seems to just lose it, at times.  He probably has the most potential of the current crop of young guys at the Mets ML level.

Pelfrey is just a giant.  He really has the build to be a power pitcher and I think he’ll get stronger and stronger as a few years go by.  Remember, he’s just out of college with 4 ML starts - the first one was a 17-3 laugher in favor of the Mets — great for taking the pressure off of your first start with the big club but not great for determining your readiness.  I think he’ll be in the mix for a spot on the rotation but I don’t know if he’s ready.  I don’t think it’ll be a (get out the duct tape) Kazmir scenario — he’ll be up sooner than later, but it may be toward the end of the season.

Jason Vargas is another young pitcher (24 years old) with promise — and a high ERA.  I hope Rick has his magic warmup jacket on (you know he does — he never takes that thing off!) as he’ll need it!

So, you see, pitching could be an issue.  Couple all that with a stronger NL East and 2007 could be a tough go for the M-E-T-S.  I personally like the youth movement and am happy to see the back end of the rotation filled with youth.  I just hope the potential the present turn into success at the major league level.  I guess we’ll see!

PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT IN A LITTLE OVER A MONTH!!!

 - Jeff

$126,000,000 and 7 years, with an $18,000,000 option for 2014 with a $7,000,000 buyout.
I put the zeros in there for effect

Well, I didn’t get Zito for Christmas…
When the Giants hit NY this year (May 29th), the boo-birds will certainly be out in full force!
I guess you can’t blame Zito…he didn’t have to move far and SF guaranteed him security.  Surely I expect him to perform well as he’s coming to a different league with players who aren’t used to facing him.  I would’ve had liked seeing him in the orange and blue but I don’t blame the Mets for not chasing him.  7 years for a pitcher is tough.  Zito has been relatively healthy in his career so far but when you start getting up there in later years in a pitcher’s career, things happen.  He’s pitched over 1,400 innings, so who knows.  Glavine, for example, has said that he never throws or swings as hard as he can and credits much of that to his mostly injury free career.  I don’t know if Zito has the same approach, but it does make sense that the power pitchers turned finess pitchers like Pedro start getting injured later in their career.  Figure on a knuckleball pitcher like Wakefield pitching as long as he wants — and as long as he’s still effective.

All in all, I’m not really sad that Zito isn’t here.  I think it would’ve helped, sure, but I think Omar will be ready to go next year with a big war chest for pitchers who actually are worth the money.  Pitchers like D-Train (just lay off of the drinking and driving).  You also have to remember, Omar isn’t done.  Things happen during the season and Omar has said he’ll upgrade when he can.  We’ll just have to see.

Brian Bannister is no longer a Met.  He’s been traded to the Royals in exchange for their closer, Ambiorix Burgos.  Probably not a bad trade.  The Mets were getting short in the ‘pen — the strongest part of their pitching last year.  He’ll fit in there well as he’s only 22 years old and it’ll give him some decent experience.  Let’s see if Omar can push the right buttons, getting players that make you scratch your head when the deal is done but work well once the season has begun.

 - Jeff

Man, I really miss baseball.  Football is in full swing and I just can’t get into it.  I miss the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd.  I find myself scouring the Met’s official site for new videos or episodes of “Next Stop Shea.”
I even watched the fly-through of Citi Field (YUCK!) a few times…

There are, however, a few bright spots in my dismal, baseball-less existence.  Tommy Glavine is back, helping take some of the burden off of Omar this off-season.  I still think a front line guy is needed.  Someone with a little youth and, unfortunately, the only pitcher fitting that description is Boras’ client, Zito.  That one’s going to hurt the wallet, no doubt.  The market looks to be out-of-whack, for sure.  Mediocre players such as Dave Roberts and Durham are getting these ridiculous contracts.  Yeah, I know…Roberts is a spark plug and Durham has some pop but, 6 mil a year for Roberts?  Seems a bit excessive.  Makes some of these ‘big’ contracts of a few years ago (Beltran, A-Rod, etc.) seem like good deals!

So, the Winter Meetings are under way and there have been a few little deals with some West Coast teams but that’s about it.  I hope the Mets get everything they need to be as dominant as they were last season.

I’d like to see a legit #1 starter like Zito get signed and then fill the rotation from mostly within.  Basically, what I’d like to see is:
1. Zito
2. Glavine
3. El Duque
4. Maine/Perez
5. Pelfrey/Bannister
Then, when Pedro comes back (hopefully after the All-Star break but who really knows) see how he fits in.  He has mentioned retirement if he’s not back to normal.  We’ll see.  I doubt he wants to leave baseball with the bad taste last season left him with.

It may not be as easy a season as the last one was but I still think you’d have to put the Mets on top as favorites in the NL East, if not the whole NL.  The offense hasn’t changed too much.  You still have Reyes, LoDuca, Beltran, Delgado, Wright, Alou (new piece of the puzzle), Green (ugh) & Valentin (see if he can duplicate last year).  Maybe switch Green & Valentin…who cares.  I’d like to see Anderson Hernandez get a shot.  I’m sure he can field but I know he needs some work in the box.  If he could learn to hit ML pitching, he’d be awesome.  I think he’ll figure it out as he’s so young still.  Think of the DP action that’d be (we saw a glimpse last year for a bit).  He’s a great fielder.  I think in that line up, you could hide him a little – this is the NL, after all.

What about Milledge?  I still like his upside and I think most teams do as well.  Yes, his stock has fallen a little as he had some locker room problems and showed some warts out in the field.  All of that will go away with playing time, I believe.  He does have to learn to ‘know his place, rook.’  Hey, you’re not a superstar yet.  As Willie put it, “they’ll know your name soon enough.”  He’s not the first rookie player to be hazed in history…it’s a learning experience.  D. Wright went through it and I’m sure Reyes did as well.  I’d like to see him get an opportunity at this level, without all the hype.  He needs to settle down and put in a little time.  There’s always a low man on the totem pole.  He happens to be it right now.  Jeff Kent went through the same thing and he acted just as Lastings did — actually, worse.  Granted, Kent is now a HOF player and I hope Milledge can be the same — if he allows himself to get the chance.

Let’s go Mets!  Omar, I want a Zito under my tree this year!