New York Mets 2009

[Sausy]

Despite the rain delay a great night for Mets baseball with the inaugural MLB game at Citi Field.Mets win 4-3 in game 1 of a 2 game exhibition with the Red Sox.Highlighted by clutch offense from Carlos Beltran,Carlos Delgado and Fernando Tatis(ironically now having a minimal role in the regular season due to the signing of Gary Sheffield today)and a solid debut for JJ Putz(gave up a run though in the eighth)and great initial outing for Francisco Rodriguez,who especially displayed top notch form on his off speed pitches.Love the raise the arms ritual he has after the victory and that will become a fan favorite if he routinely ends games like that as anticipated.

Great start and looking forward to Monday's season opener in Cincinatti....and Monday,April 13 at
CitiField against San Diego with staff ace Johann Santana scheduled to start both season openers.It will be Metstastic!

 

[sonny10305]

You said it,sonny!I'm going to try and watch tomorrow evening's(I believe it's a 6pm start) between the Mets and Red Sox and take in some of the excitement in seeing what Citi Field offers.The begfinning of hopefully some great memories.Like you said quoting David Wright,Citi field will offer a new beginning and clean slate to write a greater Mets history.

WOW, WHAT A GREAT BALL PARK!

it sure has some intersting nukes and crannies and I am wondering about that wall that jets out into the field down the first base line.How many balls are gonna hit that and bounce away and create problems. Also that overhang in right where a ball that could have been caught will now be a home run. But there is waaaaay to much to talk about here just now, we need time to study the field and watch a few games to see all of the pros and cons. Not many cons from what I have seen so far.
Watching last nights game was so much fun, I was like "oh man look at that" and just salavating through most of the game.imagine how the guys felt the first timem up to bat or in their positions on the field. That had to be awesome.
The rain did not bother me at all cause it was a oman of good things from above, showering the field with a blessing from heaven.


That's all Kevin has to do when he gets the opprtunity to call games...be professional and respected for being honest and fair.I like it best when broadcasters are honest but constructive and don't think the Mets regular rotation of announcers have to change much of anything in their approach at all.

I hear ya, but like I said that would not be Kevin. Anyways he is done calling the games, and unless Gary gets sick or has some unforseen emergency will be calling all the games this season. Kevin will do what he does best and that is be with the players and fans.


I would be surprised(pleasantly so I may add but indeed surprised)if any Mets are reading your or my criticisms....and we can be somewhat more passionate and excitable than we want oiur announcers to be(Maybe it's in our Italian blood)

Now you make me paronoid about writting anything negitive, But I mean what are the chances any of the guys read our stuff??

/QUOTE]

I didn't look carefully enough....saw the rumors the Mets were serious about Sheffield,dismissed it as a nonstarter but reread what sonny was saying after I saw the report online he did sign with the Mets.It looks like Ryan Church will be in a platoon situation after all.Don't know if he has anything left in the tank but at least will be the first 500 home run guy to perform that achievement in a Met uniform...hopefully Carlos Delgado gets to do that later this season.I don't like his occasional snippiness but when focused he does get it done when things are on the line.

I just gotta hope it works out and he can perform well enough to be a positive impact on the lineup.Helping the Mets to a playoff berth would be a great way to end his career.

I need to write about this Sheffield mess, I really do
I am confused as hell as to the reasons the Mets brought this guy in. It just upsets the whole chemistry of the team, and has to be a morale killer for Tatis and Church. What do we need him for? A right handed “power bat” well maybe once but he is no more. Plus the dudes been a DH for most of the time he has had very little playing time in the outfield. He will never be as effective as Church or Tatis out there. The new outfield is a challenge to be sure, lots of uncharted territory for the guys to cover. Even mighty Beltran is going to have to get acclimated to it. But Sheffield? He will be a train wreck out there dropping balls crashing into walls, and the first time he gets called off my Beltran and ignores him. Oh baby watch out!The Mets reasoning for this guy is they want another right handed bat, ok I get that but pssst, we got one, his name id Nick Evans and he can play in the outfield as well. Sheffield can not play in the outfield and would be useless in the infield. Oh by the way Omar, Nick can do that too.
Manuals said he will train Sheffield and if he performs he will give him playing time. “IF HE PERFORMS WELL!! Am I losing my mind or does this make no sense at all. We can’t even count on his bat, his spring batting average with the Tigers was .225 which is one of the reasons the tigers dumped him. I mean think about it, the Tigers were so anxious to get rid of this guy they ate $14 million. Of course we can expect to hear plenty about that from Sheffield himself over the next few weeks cause that’ s what he does best, bad mouth his team and complain. It’s why he has played for o many teams over the years and why every time he leaves a team they have a party to celebrate him leaving. By the way Jerry, I seem to real hearing you say “Team First” on more than one occasion, how does that apply exactly? “Team Player”, Sheffield? I don’t think so.
Well at least he can cheap so that when he crashes and burns the Mets can recover from this lapse of good judgment and get rid of that clown at very little cost.
So let’s weigh the cost here, first one to probably feel it is Ryan Church and that just makes me sick, what is this doing to him? Next is Tatis who is proving in spring training that last year was no fluke and he is a force to be reckoned with. By the way where exactly will he fit in on the rooster? Obviously it’s adios to Marlon Anderson and now Nick Evens won’t even get to play for a few days till Hermandez gets activated. So it’s bye bye to Anderson and Evans, Church and Tatis will loose playing time and in return we get tired ole pain-in-the-ass Sheffield. I admit I won’t miss Anderson all that much, in fact I wanted to keep Evens and send Marlon packing anyways, but this is NOT how I wanted things to play out.
I guess we will see him today in the game with Boston in the DH position, since he can’t pay defense, which by the way is odd for spring training to have a DH anyways. BUT the first time I see him pout in right running, fumbling dropping balls while Church watches from the dugout is gonna be a sad day for me.
So that’s about it in a nutshell, I am not happy with this turn of events, not at all.
The news just kicked me in the gut, as I am sure it did Ryan Church

 

[syam24]

I agree with what he ^ (Sonny) said.

 

[sonny10305]

I agree with what he ^ (Sonny) said.

Glad to hear how you feel about this,I am getting a lot of that from my friends.
So far I have not spoken to one single person who understands or supports the Sheffield thing.

I did not mention the great ending to yesterdays game. Watching K-Rod save a game, saves were something we saw very little of last year. It sure felt good

 

[Sausy]

Glad to hear how you feel about this,I am getting a lot of that from my friends.
So far I have not spoken to one single person who understands or supports the Sheffield thing.

I did not mention the great ending to yesterdays game. Watching K-Rod save a game, saves were something we saw very little of last year. It sure felt good

Love what you said about the park....and it wqill take some time to just drink it all in but what a fucking fantastic improvement over Shea....like I wrote in Ab's thread the Mets finally have a park to crow about!

Now to the negative stuff.Unless everyone else is comp[letely wrong about Gary Sheffield essentially being finished,this could be the biggest bungle Omar has made with the offense.Gary Sheffield is the 2009 Moises Alou....old,brittle and defensively challenged though Moises still had a quick,productive bat.
The Wilpons had to have been so seriously burned in the Bernie Madoff swindle they couldn't even think of going for Manny Ramirez...who even with his bullshit prima donna behavior has at least two more big offensive seasons left.He is the impact bat the Mets needed to take a likely poisitive gamble on.....not an injury riddled malcontent two years past eing a significant force.We most likely now have the shell of the player Sheffield once was....and with his distraction rich past behavior we get the booby prize with no payoff potential.Putting his 40 year old ass in rightfield(or even worse leftfield potentially taking time away from Daniel Murphy,a real head scratching move if the Mets try it)is going to prove ugly.He couldn't even DH anymore...now he's going to rediscover the fountain of youth?Hardly likely.I tried to get myself to give this the benefit of the doubt but hey,the doubts have very good foundations.

If he can't hack it after a few weeks,like you said dump him and at least the only thing it cost us was minimal money.But if his presence does cost the team offensive ad defensive chemistry and interferes with the development of Daniel Murphy,Nick Evans as a solid swing role guy and the revitalization of the confidence and productivity of Ryan Church it will be yet another huge stain on the record of Omar "Oops" Minaya.

Oh,and I'm so fucking pissed yet again at Ollie Perez.But sonny's instincts are spot on regarding him.He'll pitch the game of his life and follow it up by shaking the life out of his team.He may never prove worth the big bucks,the three year investment.But the Mets are partly to blame by pussy footing around when the could have pounced on Derek Lowe who everyone knows will give maximum effort every game and really has a proven track record in the big game situation.They had to re-sign Ollie or if only on paper look like they regressed pitching wise.I'm hoping Brad Holt can rapidly prove himself because they need to get him up to the club into the rotation as quickly as they can.

I've got a lot of optimism as the new season draws upon us...but the nagging doubts still tug away.About the competence and leadership from the top,primarily.

 

[sonny10305]

Good to hear I can add Sausy to the list of friends who have supported my displeasure with the Mets over Sheffeld. Sausy you wrote so poetically on that subject regarding the younger players, I am proud of you.

Now I hear David Wright sent Gary a Text encouraging him to join the Mets. David loves the guy and thinks he will "bring a swagger and a talent to help the team win a championship” Oh my, poor David, I can't believe he really feels that way.
Plus what is he thinking? what about the effect on the other players like Church, Tatis and Evans? Did you consider that before you opened your mouth there Dave? HUH? Shame on you.

Speaking of Evans it's official, the Mets optioned him to Triple-A Buffalo Sunday, clearing room on their 25-man roster for Sheffield.
Soooooo it just got worse.

Now we need to see what they do when Hernandez comes in, they will either loose Anderson or give up a 7th reliever and go to 6.
Omar please don't add to this madness by giving up pitching, give up ole lady Marlon. Please.

As for Ollie, well yes I called it, I never had faith that that one good outing meant very much and that he would fall on his ass next time out. He blamed the cold weather. Ok Ollie, what ever you need to tell yourself. But meantime I am sending you a compass to help you find the strike zone or maybe a Seeing Eye dog so you can better see where your catcher’s mitt is located. You do know what sighs are right??? Why was Schneider positing his glove for one pitch while you end up throwing something else???
I don't know how long it will take Ollie to get his velocity back up to were it needs to be. He will never throw effectively to right handed hitters at the speed he is throwing now. (below 90 MPH) THAT used to be was one of his strengths.
And don't get me started on that lop sided balls to strikes ratio, it's just walks,walks and more walks.

HEY!!! This ain't right; I am supposed to be having fun here. All this Ollie and Gary crap has made me nutz, sorry to be so negative guys, but I gotta tell it like it is.

So today we get to watch the boys play in the rain and the snow, it's ok jus as long as none gets hurt. We have been waiting and watching a loooooooooong spring training and that God awful WBS so now it's time, PLAY BALL!!

 

[Sausy]

Thanks for the nice words sonnyand sorry to give both of us agita regarding Sheffield and Perez.But that comes from our basic mistrust of the instincts of Omar Minaya,who just keeps on making unfathomable moves.

I wrote in Abs' thread about my disgust over the win by Atlanta last night over the Phillies,4-1 led by eight shutout innings of two hit ball by Derek Lowe.He's the big game pitcher the Mets should have targeted quickly instead of dawdled until his asking price came down.Atlanta needed him to help regain credibility and though it's just one game he showed what he could mean as a stabilizing force in a rotation.He may not be a true ace but imagine what his presence could have meant for the Mets...a true leader who doesn't make excuse but goes out there to coimpete and whatever way he can to win.Not beating himself goes a long way,unlike nothing but excuses Ollie.Omar does not have the right instincts to get the kind of player who makes winning teams gel...Lowe contributes significantly in positive ways providing toughness and promoting leadership by example.

One thing I liked....Jerry Manuel while saying it's early nevertheless left no doubt he expected Ollie to compete better and seemed cool to the excuse making Ollie resorted to regarding his lack of performance.

Now for good news!!!Mets win 2-1 over Cincinatti with Johann Santana pitching a strong five and two thirds innings,a little off with his control with four walks but competitive and tough when he needed to be....and the bullpen trio of newly acquired Sean Green,JJ Putz,and Francisco Rodriguez pitching the rest of the way without allowing a run!

Daniel Murphy knocked in both Mets runs with a single driving in Luis Castillo
with a single and smacked a solo homer.Way to start things off!I tell ya,he's going to be an incredibly productive hitter in the second slot!

 

[sonny10305]

Now for good news!!!Mets win 2-1 over Cincinatti with Johann Santana pitching a strong five and two thirds innings,a little off with his control with four walks but competitive and tough when he needed to be....and the bullpen trio of newly acquired Sean Green,JJ Putz,and Francisco Rodriguez pitching the rest of the way without allowing a run!

Daniel Murphy knocked in both Mets runs with a single driving in Luis Castillo
with a single and smacked a solo homer.Way to start things off!I tell ya,he's going to be an incredibly productive hitter in the second slot!

I thought the pitching was great. Santana threw 99 pitches and prolly would have finished the inning if it had not been for his pitch count, the crappy weather and Encarnacion, who has given Johan trouble, was up at the plate.
It was a good move and plus it gave us a chance to see our new and improved pen in action

Yeah Murphy was amazing both offensively and Defensively. Ryan Church had a great game as well. Ryan proving he needs to stay in the game, rethink the Sheffeild thing. I am sure everyone thought the same thing I did when Church made that awesome sliding catch, can you imagine had that been Sheffield?

My only compliant is the number of guys who were left on base (12) including loaded bases twice. We saw a lot of that last year and that problem has got to be addressed and go away. Waaaay to many missed opportunities yesterday.
But, we won and that's what matters.

 

[syam24]

That win on Monday was a nice way to start the season, but as Sonny said, waaaaaayyy too many men left on base, missed opportunities. The bullpen, however, was awesome, what a change! Here's hoping for a good outing from Pelfrey on Wed.

 

[sonny10305]

That win on Monday was a nice way to start the season, but as Sonny said, waaaaaayyy too many men left on base, missed opportunities. The bullpen, however, was awesome, what a change! Here's hoping for a good outing from Pelfrey on Wed.

Yes, Pelf has struggled a bit in his last two. I am very anxious to see him pitch.
I would love to se him go strong for 6 and then let the pen take over and finish the job.
How about that, maybe we can actually look forward to seeing the pen come in
now and that's a great feeling.

 

[Sausy]

Agree with the both of you on the need to improve on the clutch hitting.We won't have terrific pitching performances like that all the time.We have a good lineup...hopefully we'll have a few hot bats at a time and guys carry one another when others slump.

The victory in Cincinatti was eye opening in the sense that Ryan Church's great sliding catch(even Murphy,a less accomplished outfielder made a sparkling play as well) demonstrated that defense is paramount...especially when the Mets get back to Citi Field with the quirky bounces off the walls and nooks and crannies in the outfield.Gary Sheffield suddenly isn't going to regain youth and speed.He's been a DH for a reason most of his last few years.....he's injury prone,aging and regressed in the field.Perhaps this is the saving grace that prevents him from taking space out there very day....he will look terrible and cost the team with the glove more than he may be able to provide with his bat.

Did you hear who Jerry Manuel compared the swing of Daniel Murphy's to?Frank Thomas in his Big Hurt days!Manuel really thinks that much of Murphy's promise as an offensive player to compare him with a guy when healthy was a beast out there.Murphy's shocked but pleasantly delighted reaction was
"What"???!This guy really has to play without worrying if Sheffield is going to cut into his time.

 

[sonny10305]

Did you hear who Jerry Manuel compared the swing of Daniel Murphy's to?Frank Thomas in his Big Hurt days!Manuel really thinks that much of Murphy's promise as an offensive player to compare him with a guy when healthy was a beast out there.Murphy's shocked but pleasantly delighted reaction was
"What"???!This guy really has to play without worrying if Sheffield is going to cut into his time.

I sure did, and I gotta say it brought a little tear to my eye
(I can be such a girl in situations like that)

I also loved what D Wright said,
"It's no surprise, he's got a tremendous idea of what he wants to do when he gets up to the plate. He did some things today that aren't necessarily going to show up in the boxscore that helped this team win the game. I like how he went up there with a plan, staying under control. When he needs to get into one, he can do it."

I smell a bromance brewing

I hope you guys saw Santana in the dugout just before the Reds game, he was going spreading the joy and good spirits with good luck handshakes.
As Gary Cohen mentioned. that was unusual cause generally the pitchers keep to them selves before a game. Check it out, it's a real feel good moment.

 

[Sausy]

I sure did, and I gotta say it brought a little tear to my eye
(I can be such a girl in situations like that) don't tell anyone,sonny...but it has that effect on me too!

I also loved what D Wright said,
"It's no surprise, he's got a tremendous idea of what he wants to do when he gets up to the plate. He did some things today that aren't necessarily going to show up in the boxscore that helped this team win the game. I like how he went up there with a plan, staying under control. When he needs to get into one, he can do it."

I smell a bromance brewing We can only hope!Btw,I love the nickname you gave Daniel,the "Irish Hammer"!The kid is proving to be quite mature for his years and has the work ethic that along with his talent potentially makes him a great hitter.

I hope you guys saw Santana in the dugout just before the Reds game, he was going spreading the joy and good spirits with good luck handshakes.
As Gary Cohen mentioned. that was unusual cause generally the pitchers keep to them selves before a game. Check it out, it's a real feel good moment.

That was great to see!It took him awhile to become comfortable with New York but with his second half brilliance last year and passion and work ethic this season he has become a tremendous leader and presence with the club.I love the infectious enthusiasm and everyone was getting into it!I think he knows that however he contributes to his teammates morale will only help build a positive atmosphere,and doing something like this delights and jazzes up everyone.

 

[sonny10305]

That was great to see!It took him awhile to become comfortable with New York but with his second half brilliance last year and passion and work ethic this season he has become a tremendous leader and presence with the club.I love the infectious enthusiasm and everyone was getting into it!I think he knows that however he contributes to his teammates morale will only help build a positive atmosphere,and doing something like this delights and jazzes up everyone.

I knew you would get that

Another win for us last night, Pelf was uneven and I thought he threw too many fastballs. He Needs to incorporate his breaking balls: changeup and sliders, more effectively. But other than the first inning, not a bad outing. He just seemed a little out of sorts, kinda slow and nervous even. But he is young and not used to the pressure, he will be fine.

Oillie is on the mound today OMG!
Oh well, at least we will have one the Reds series

So Saturday we find out who will go to make room for Livan. Even though it depletes the bench a bit I still want Anderson to be the one to go. Please don’t even think about sending Reed. That would really suck.
Anderson or Reed, please, it’s a no brainer.
They should leave the pitchers alone,
although I fear they might do away with one perhaps O’ day.

As expected, the Mets also put Billy Wagner, Angel Pagan and Tim Redding on the 15-day disabled list.

 

[Sausy]

I knew you would get that

Another win for us last night, Pelf was uneven and I thought he threw too many fastballs. He Needs to incorporate his breaking balls: changeup and sliders, more effectively. But other than the first inning, not a bad outing. He just seemed a little out of sorts, kinda slow and nervous even. But he is young and not used to the pressure, he will be fine.

Oillie is on the mound today OMG!
Oh well, at least we will have one the Reds series

So Saturday we find out who will go to make room for Livan. Even though it depletes the bench a bit I still want Anderson to be the one to go. Please don’t even think about sending Reed. That would really suck.
Anderson or Reed, please, it’s a no brainer.
They should leave the pitchers alone,
although I fear they might do away with one perhaps O’ day.

As expected, the Mets also put Billy Wagner, Angel Pagan and Tim Redding on the 15-day disabled list.

Pelf did a great job after a rocky first,lasting fiver innings without gettingf into further trouble.That's what a good pitcher does,and that's what Pelf is.I don't panic when he gets into trouble because i know from his development out there what he can do....and he has proven to have the toughness and resiliency to battle back.Of course to not have rocky stretches to begin with is ideal,but when you can pitch your way out of an adverse situation,it can't help but build your confidence.

Carlos Delgado is ripping the ball,and is going on like he did last second half...great!The overall offense is showing promise after a relatively quiet opener.

Bad Ollie is showing up today......not showing control,getting hit pretty hard....I sure hope John Maine can battle back from the shoulder problem from last year,regain his velocity because we may be looking yet again at unreliable Ollie(with contracts they should only guarantee them for some people only if the performance is guaranteed....like maddening,frustrating,inconsistent,underperforming Ollie)The main problem for the Mets this year may well be an unreliable starting staff after Santana and Pelfrey.....that's why solidifying the bullpen,while great,really helps the Mets settling for Ollie rather than go after Lowe or pursue a trade for a solid young top of the rotation type may bite Omar Minaya and the Mets in the ass.

I get a kick out of the pitcher in you,sonny!You really are a good observer with a keen understanding of how the pitcher is working and wish I could pay attention as perceptively as you do!


I would hate to see Reed sent down too....better offensive diversity and defensive skills than Marlon Anderson.I am hoping Livan Hernandez is not just an innings eater but pitches more consistently than he has the last few years.Last year's 13-11 record but 6.05 ERA isn't comforting when we're already facing shaky 3 and 4 starters.

 

[Sausy]

Ollie was fucking awful.Mets lose,8-6...he gave up eight runs,seven walks.He takes the great results of the first two games against Cincinatti and blows it to shreds!Bullpen was great by if they are called too often,they'll break from overuse.Offense tried to rally but the Mets had been put into too big a hole.I really loathe Ollie now!

 

[sonny10305]

Saucy and all the Mets fans in here, it’s time to accept the fact that Ollie Perez is NEVER going to change. He will continue to let us down, crash and burn all season, game after game after…
Omar you really fucked this up, signing Ollie when you could have had Derek Lowe.
And for what? So that we would have a third lefty in the rotation? Fine, but Perez was not the man for the job. I can’t believe I ended up accepting his coming back after I bitched all winter long that I wanted him gone. Derek Lowe wanted four years but Omar wanted three, so Omar how do you feel about that now??
How sick are we to watch Perez throw the ball and then turn his head to watch the ball fly into the outfield or over the fence. HUH??? HOW MANY???
By the way Sausy, good point about Pelf and how he bounces back.
Now I know why Ollie is our wild card, cause well, they don’t come much wilder.

As if Perez wasn't hard enough to watch, did you guys see Sheffield's at bat?
He never once swung at the ball. Just took all the pitches and then went back to the dugout to sit down.
I mean WTF?? I dono why he bothered to bring his bat with him to the plate.
Good job Omar, yeah we really need him on the team.

That’s all for today, between Perez and the Adenhart thing, I’m just not in the best of moods to talk baseball today.

 

[Sausy]

I understand,sonny.Some days are just like that.The Nick Adenhart tragedy in particular is tough to take.

It's not even that I think Ollie will be useless all year....no,it will be far worse.He'll try to tease and seduce Mets fans with some good outings but will inevitably implode at the most needed times.We ain't falling for that again.
Hopefully,John Maine can restore the optimism of the first two games with a solid effort coming off the bone spur problems.

 

[Sausy]

Such a heartening effort by Livan Hernandez.Six and two thirds innnings,six hits,only two runs allowed.Definitely something good to write home about.

Mets win,8-4 and finally hand the Marlins a defeat.Reyes got into it offensively,Castillo finally exploded for four hits,Carlos Delgado is pounding the ball at an impressive clip....Ryan Church looks as good if not better than before the difficulties caused by complications from the concussion.

This kid Darren O'Day.....don't know if it is related but two very bad outings following the news of the tragic hit and run death of his friend,Angel pitcher Nick Adenhart.Needed to get to Francisco Rodriguez to bail him out,fortunately the damage was contained.But the comforting sight of K-Rod waving his arms into the sky brought sighs of relief from Mets fans.

Don't know what the make yet of the starting pitching,other than Santana.But at least Hernandez gives hope as an arm that will keep the Mets in games.Pelfrey should be fine,but he's got to go around the league again before he can be comfortably considered.Perez is as maddeningly unpredictable as ever.Maine after the two first inning home runs let's cross our fingers looks okay again and can be a big plus.


Read that Jon Niese and Brad Holt had miserable debuts back in the minors(Niese in AAA ball and Holt in advanced A ball)but hopefully it was nothing more than just too much adrenaline and trying to do too much.

Mets now 3-2,and one more game in Florida before the heavily anticipated regular season premiere at CitiField on Monday evening.Marlon Anderson was designated for assignment with the calling up of Livan Hernandez to pitch in Saturday's win.

Going with my family to my sister's for Easter tomorrow so I wish sonny and everyone a Happy Easter.

 

[sonny10305]

Such a heartening effort by Livan Hernandez.Six and two thirds innnings,six hits,only two runs allowed.Definitely something good to write home about.

Yes sir, I was very encouraged by that as well, plus he helped himself out with a couple of successful sac bunts. Not to shabby. Anytime I see a pitcher who can help the team out on the plate makes me a go all a flutter.
At least we did not have to watch Perez today, that is to painful and aggravating. Here is an idea for the Mets, how bout going after Roy Halladay, I think he may be on the trading right around the deadline in July. Would I be willing to give up a prospect or two for him? Hell yeah.

Mets win,8-4 and finally hand the Marlins a defeat.Reyes got into it offensively,Castillo finally exploded for four hits,

I was concerned because he went into kinda of a slump after being dropped in the order but he sure squashed that fear yesterday. Te dude has to do well cause otherwise when he gets to NY on Monday the fans are gonna eat him for lunch.

Ryan Church looks as good if not better than before the difficulties caused by complications from the concussion.

You got theta right; Ryan is in as good a form if not better that his knockout start last year before the injury. He is basically telling Mets management, “ Hey, we don need no freakin Sheffield”

This kid Darren O'Day.....don't know if it is related but two very bad outings following the news of the tragic hit and run death of his friend,Angel pitcher Nick Adenhart.Needed to get to Francisco Rodriguez to bail him out,fortunately the damage was contained.But the comforting sight of K-Rod waving his arms into the sky brought sighs of relief from Mets fans.

I hated to see Frankie have to come in and save it. Would have been nice for O’day to get the job done. Adenharts death did hit him pretty hard, during an interview about Nick after the accident, Darren’s legs were shaking the whole time.

Don't know what the make yet of the starting pitching,other than Santana.But at least Hernandez gives hope as an arm that will keep the Mets in games.Pelfrey should be fine,but he's got to go around the league again before he can be comfortably considered.Perez is as maddeningly unpredictable as ever.Maine after the two first inning home runs let's cross our fingers looks okay again and can be a big plus.

The jury is still out for me as well. Maine was much better last time out and Pelf,
who is going to be very very important for us this year, he just needs to cut back on the fast balls and start using more of his breaking balls. I am sure Dan is on him on about that.

Read that Jon Niese and Brad Holt had miserable debuts back in the minors(Niese in AAA ball and Holt in advanced A ball)but hopefully it was nothing more than just too much adrenaline and trying to do too much.

I am keeping track of just about everything Holt does, I am a big big fan.
He got a little roughed up at the ST Luice opener allowing nine runs on seven hits and four walks in I think 4 innings.
But I have watched him pitch a bunch of times in Brooklyn; in fact I thought he dominated with the Cyclones
You wanna remember he led the New York-Penn League in ERA (1.87), with just under 100 strikeouts. He will be a stud some day. Trust me.

Marlon Anderson was designated for assignment with the calling up of Livan Hernandez to pitch in Saturday's win.

Which is what I was hoping (praying) for. It will be interesting to see if anyone picks him up. He is a veteran lefty but he comes with a guaranteed salary so anyone picking him up
on waivers will have to eat that as well. I hope someone goes after him cause I doubt he will want the alternative which of course is the Minors. That would suck for him.

Going with my family to my sister's for Easter tomorrow so I wish sonny and everyone a Happy Easter.

Same to you babe. I will be on Staten Island all day with the family. First up is to take Mom and my Grandmother to the cemetery for their “visit with the deceased relatives. Laying the flowers yeah know, it’s important to them. Fine with me I love taking them as long as I am back for the first pitch this afternoon. Should be a real pitchers duel, Santana (who has never lost to the Marlins)
and Johnson (who has never lost to the Mets)

Big day Monday at Citifield. Seaver and Piazza throwin out the first pitch, the cast of "West Side Story" singing the National Anthem and the Empire State building will be lit in Orange and Blue...very cool