As many of you faithful readers that follow this blog know, I was very disenfranchised with the perceived lack of significant off season moves. But as pitchers and catchers reported to Port St. Lucie during the frigid month of February my anger started to ebb and a wave of positivity came rushing forth ( thanks for the pep talk Kong ). So far I see the positives outweighing the negatives . I see a team that for the most part that has taken the perils of last year to heart and are vowing to avenge their reputations for blip in the road for what was the ‘09 season. I see smarter defense being played ( especially Daniel Murphy). I see that hitters are being patient at the plate. Our bullpen might be one of our biggest strengths this coming season. And how can a smile not crack your face when you think of the strides that Mejia, Davis, Martinez and Neise are making ! But then you either listen to the radio whether it is WFAN or 1050, or you watch SNY and Espn and you sense the utter lack of respect that is being heaped on this team , not just by the hosts and the talking heads - but by our fellow fan base as well !!! I was listening to Evan Roberts on WFAN yesterday, and he has been a bit more positive about the Mets of late . But some caller with the brain of a typical Yankee fan ( lobotomized) went on to kill the Mets about their off season , he kept to the usual script about how we have a poor farm system with no prospects and went on to pontificate how the Mets signed a bunch of AAAA ringers to play in Buffalo ! Both mine and Evan had the same reaction which was WHAT!!!! This alleged Mets fan ( I suspect he was really a Skankee fan) was in my opinion way out of line and although my views have clashed with Roberts of late , we were on the same page that it seems fashionably to knock our team at every possible moment. I swear sometimes I feel like our team is the Rodney Dangerfield of baseball. But remember Rodney always did get the last laugh - and so shall the Mets !

                                                                              ” Our Patron Saint !”

And with that said …. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!

Happy Birthday to one time catching prospect and understudy to Mike Piazza from ‘01-04 , Vance Wilson . (1973)

New York Mets signed free agent outfielder Jerry Martin of the Kansas City Royals on March 17, 1984. Does anyone here have any recollection of him playing in ‘84 ? Because I sure as hell don’t !

New York Mets traded pitchers Pete Walker and Luis Arroyo to the San Diego Padres for outfielders Roberto Petagine and Scott Adair on March 17, 1996.

New York Mets signed free agent Timo Perez on March 17, 2000. Timo in my opinion was the first incarnation of Angel Pagan. Both were fourth string outfielders who were thrusted into playing everyday , could hit, and made great defensive plays. But both suffered brain farts when running the bases - see the ‘00 World Series game one for a prime example.

New York Mets released ” Super” Joe McEwing on March 17, 2005. There was no position that Joe didn’t attempt to play to keep himself in the line up. He was a average player at best, but man did he ever own Randy Johnson !! He is currently a manager in the Chicago White Sox organization.

And don’t forget - There are just 19 Tim Foli days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.- ( Yes I know that Bobby Ojeda also wore the number 19 - but this is my countdown so deal  with it !!!)

Even those watching may have questioned if Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez took the mound this afternoon.  Against the Cardinals earlier today in his Spring debut K-Rod pitched a 1-2-3  7 pitch inning that you could have missed if you blinked an eye…just the way he likes it.  Rodriguez tossed a hitless 9th with the Mets down 5-4, keeping the game in tact, and then earned the win as Angel Pagan smacked a 2 run walk-off homer just over the right field wall. 

“I’m going to be a secret weapon this year,” Rodriguez said after the game.  “In and out.  Pay attention”

Met fans have to love the confidence of their closer heading into Opening Day, especially after struggling in the second half of the season and not having many chances to redeem himself  last year.  However, at this point I’m not sure anything K-Rod does will ever be a “secret”. 

It was still good to see Rodriguez in top form…let’s just hope we actually need him this year. 

The Mets will need K-Rod's curve to break even harder this year

Who would you like to see play centerfield until Beltran returns from the DL, Angel Pagan or Gary Matthews Jr.?

"Sometimes I'm in a jam/I've gotta make a plan/It might be crazy/I do it anyway"

Angel Pagan arrived at camp this morning (as well as Alex Cora and Fernando Tatis). Dave Lennon, Adam Rubin, and Steve Popper got a couple questions in to the potential Mets center fielder.

Angel is “happy” to compete for the starting center fielder job (while Beltran’s rehabbing). He hopes to learn from Gary Matthews Jr and is viewing the competition as more of a learning experience rather than solely a competition.

Pagan was asked about his base-running blunders of last season, and responded “A lot of people talk about me and the bases. Everyone makes mistakes. Nobody is perfect.” adding that the blunders are all in the past.

What do you guys and gals think? Can we forget and forgive Angel’s brain-farts of 2009 and give him another chance to successfully navigate the infield?

Well I have to admit that I wasn’t able to hear the ” General” Jerry press conference yesterday. But from the comments that I saw in regards of inserting Jose Reyes into the third spot in the batting order - I do believe the man is as clueless as Col. Klink ! I have to disagree with my fellow brother in Mets Blue and Orange - Kingman25 when he says this might be a brilliant idea because it will bring balance to the batting order. The way I see it Jose - like Lenny Dykstra is a prototypical lead-off hitter. Generally when Jose first comes to bat it is usually a barometer of how the game will go ( If he gets on base he will more times than not get himself into scoring position, and eventually score). I do agree that Jose can successfully bat in any slot of the order since he has speed, ample power and good baserunning instincts. I don’t think that Angel Pagan can be trusted in number one slot neither do I believe Luis ” Slappy” Castillo can either. Speaking of Castillo, I believe he is best suited in either the two ( like Wally Backman) or the eight slot in the batting order. The problem with Luis ( or Jerry Manuel) is that he is more prone to sacrifice the runner over with no outs to put them into scoring position than to try to hit away and find a hole in the infield. Remember how that drove us fans crazy last year because it killed many a rally ?!? But the choice ultimately lies with Jerry . He is the manager ( god help us) and he makes the in game decisions. Lets just hope he is wise with this decision and let us hope that Jose really embraces batting where ever in the order he is slotted. Because a happy Jose will go along way - and remember the old saying “ As Jose Reyes goes - The team goes “.

                                                     ” Who is the better  strategist?”

And now … ON WITH THE INFAMY !!!

Happy Birthday Phil Lombardi (1963), the one time fourth string catcher for the ‘89 team.

Utility outfielder and all around punk from the ‘04 team Shane Spencer is 38 (1972) .

Starting pitcher from last season - Livan Hernandez is 35 ( YEAH RIGHT !!! ) (1975) .

New York Mets signed free agent Don Aase on February 20, 1989. It’s funny because exactly a year later - The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Don Aase of the New York Mets as a free agent on February 20, 1990.

New York Yankees signed Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets as a free agent on February 20, 1996. This was the ultimate slap in the face for us Mets fans ! Yes Darryl was successful in a limited role for the Yanks. But Dwight showed flashes of the stuff that endeared us Mets fans to him - and the most painful thing is that he pitched a no - hitter for the enemy ! Look I was one of the jilted fans that called for his release after his last relapse and suspension in ‘94, but I felt that the Mets at the very least should have reached out to him to give him another shot - instead of his comeback being splashed on the covers of local papers in a Yankee uniform. And to have him shut us down in the 2000 World Series was hard to swallow!

New York Mets signed free agent Tony Clark on February 20, 2003.Tony Clark was a good addition for the Mets. He stepped in for the ailing Mo Vaughn ( insert joke here) and he played rather well.

And while we wait for Rob Barajas to sign with the Mets just remember - There are only 44 days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.

The usually old-fashioned and ultra-conservative Jerry Manuel has thrown out a somewhat radical and rather sensible idea.

Jose Reyes batting third, while at first glance possibly seeming unwise, is, after thorough examination, a potentially fantastic move.

Jose’s OBP, while not great, is also not bad. He is a wonderfully dynamic player who definitely does, as the cliche states, make things happen. He is lightning-fast, has extra-base power, scores loads of runs, and seems to always be leading the way when the team wins.

However, batting him third might lead the team to even more wins.

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Luis Castillo, despite the never-ending whining from some quarters, does have strengths as a baseball player. Those strengths are getting on base, seeing a great number of pitches, and running. Yes, running. He still can leg out infield hits and bunt singes, and he did in fact steal 37 out of 45 bases the last two years, 20/26 last year. Batting him first would, without any question, absolutely maximize his remaining skills. He gets on base better than anyone on the team other than Wright, he is nowhere near as slow as the Nabobs insist, and his tendency to take many pitches is precisely what one wants in a leadoff hitter, especially in the first inning of a game, when his teammates will want to see what a pitcher is throwing, in addition to maybe making that pitcher work to get past the very first batter of a game.

Jose Reyes has just about every skill a player can have. Sure, the old maxim stats that you want your best hitter batting third. Jose did, however, hit .300 in 2006 and .297 in 2008. This also coincided with his OBP increasing from his earlier years. In short, he has been improving in just about all ways. Jose is not a natural at taking pitches, and while some state that he should not be swinging for the fences, an argument can be made that trying to force Jose to be a patient hitter and to draw walks and see many pitches is what is really boxing him in. Maybe Jose should be swinging more quickly and more freely, as he would be perfectly welcome to do hitting third.

If Jose hit third, his extra-base power would almost certainly drive in 100+ with Slappy and hopefully a soon-to-be-healthy Beltran hitting ahead of him. Beltran has often appeared just right for the 2 hole, especially with the way his hitting seemed to evolve in 2009. David Wright hitting fourth behind Reyes would see a steady diet of sluggable fastballs with Jose on base, with or without Slappy or Beltran on ahead of him. This is three fast-to-extremely-fast men at the top of the order, and Wright would have more RBI chances than ever before, and again, with possibly more fastballs offered up than in the past with Jose batting right before him. Pitch around Wright, and Bay comes up 5th. This lineup should excite any rational Met fan.

With all of that on-base power preceding Frenchy, it will be harder to pitch around him and get him to swing at poor pitches.

This lineup would maximize everyone’s skills. It would also put one of the game’s most dynamic players in a batting slot other teams would not be prepared for, and possibly explosively change the Mets’ entire offensive dynamic, which leads to the element of all of this which might be the most genius of all.

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The 2007 and 2008 teams have been thought to have been missing something; even with the spectacular core, they fell short. Batting Jose third would dramatically change the team’s look, feel, and overall dynamic, and without changing any of the core players. This is why it must be done.

This is not to suggest Castillo as a permanent leadoff hitter, but using him in this role in 2010 would, again, maximize the remaining skills that this declining but talented veteran player still has. Pagan, should he be able to handle playing every day without getting hurt or losing games with his inexplicably horrid fundamental play, can hold the second spot until Beltran returns. There would be minimal chances to pitch around anyone in the top six, and, as they say, speed does not slump.

Jose Reyes hitting third is very possibly the best imaginable way to seriously change whatever this offense may have been lacking in recent years. It allows the best pure on-base man to lead off. It allows the multi-talented Beltran to hit in what is probably his best natural position. It places Jose in a spot where he can swing away, and where his hitting ability can be maximized, without continuing to try to make him into a .380-400 OBP player, which he likely will never be. He will still steal bases, but can somewhat conserve his problem legs, and get the most out of all of the doubles and triples he hits-a double or triple hitting 3rd the first time through the order not only puts one of the game’s fastest men in scoring position, but it also almost always clears the bases ahead of him. It allows our best hitter to hit in a spot where he can drive in countless runs, and it also gives the newcomer Bay a most attractive scenario in which to hit 5th, where he will not only have a great many RBI chances, but will also have the opportunity to possibly have a fantastic OBP and give the hopefully revived Francoeur his own chance to drive in 100 while seeing more good pitches.

This space has been relentlessly critical of Jerry Manuel. Maybe Jerry sees that this year could be the last chance he gets to manage a seriously talented, big-market team should he not preside over success.

If this pressure is leading him to consider batting Jose third, serious consideration should be given to re-evaluating Jerry’s leadership abilities as well as his capability to change.

This move should be welcomed, and could in fact be revolutionary for the Mets’ 2010 offense and for this group of players in particular.