Well if you were listening to the Mike Francesa show at three o’clock yesterday afternoon you heard a war. You see clogging up the airways yesterday was a modern day ” Battle of the Bulge between resident know it all Mike ” The Sports Dope ” Francessa and Chris ” Pangea” Carlin. Francesa had Carlin on the show to clear up a report where Carlin had intoned that UCONN Mens Basketball coach Jim Calhoun  might retire.  A local Conneticut paper ripped Carlin is a article and Mike figured he would have Chris on to clear the air - or at least one might think that why he had him on the air. Francesa went on to rip Carlin a new third orifice about how he’s a journalist and why would Carlin report something that was a non- story since Calhoun never admitted that he’s retiring. Carlin getting quite irked explained that he had inside information  that said he “might ” ( key word - might) retire but Carlin never said that he “was ” retiring. The battle of the words became even more heated with Mike pretty much intimating that Chris was irresponsible for going with the story and that Carlin should name his sources ( a journalism 101 no-no - shame on you Mikey !) and Carlin held his ground and refused to take abuse from Francesa. When Francesa saw that he wasn’t going to win this battle of the porcine gods, he called Carlin a clown and abruptly hung up on Carlin - very classy Mike ! Oh and in a bit of disclosure Mike did admit that he has a relationship with Calhoun , so is it quite possible that Mike had a personal axe to grind with Carlin? - Or did Chris steal Mike’s last Diet Coke before he left for SNY ?

Now back to the Mets. Chris Carter continues to make a case for him self, hitting a two run home run is yesterdays loss to the Atlanta Braves. Jonathan Neise had a shaky first inning where he gave up three runs on two hits, walking two. The other fifth starter candidate, Fernando Neive also gave up three runs in three innings, while Bobby Parnell pitched one scoreless and minor leaguer Eric Niessen gave up a walk off homer that ended the game.

It was reported by Tim Dierkes over at www.mlbtr.comthat Kelvim Escobar is considering retirement if is surgically repaired shoulder doesn’t improve. He goes on to say that Escobar , who signed a $1.5MM contractwith the Mets in December World “ further weaken the already-thin New York bullpen and it certainly wouldn’t look good on the Mets given the team’s myriad of injuries last season.” So the media’s negative bent on the Mets continues .

                                     ” That was no earthquake that was Mike & Chris fighting !”

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

Happy Birthday wishes go out to the late Dock Ellis (1945)  - the only known pitcher to ever pitch a no- hitter on L.S.D.  Unfortunately the no - hitter happened early in his career when he was Pittsburgh Pirate and by the time he came to the Mets in ‘79 he was a shell of his former dominant self.

Pitcher from the ‘02 team, Steve Reed is 45 ( 1965). Steve will forever be known as the player the Mets traded Jason Bay for !

And don’t forget there are just 25 Amos Otis days until the Mets open their 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field .

All I know is that after the chain of events that happened in Mets camp yesterday , I wish I was a fan of curling at this moment. I kid I kid !  But anyone who thought Johan Santana in his first appearance since mid August was going to be dominant and show no signs of rust needs to have their heads examined. Okay so the Mets lost to the Houston Astros by the score of 8-4  , but lets look at the bright side. David Wright had another home run yesterday , which was encouraging, and first baseman of the future, Ike Davis is still making his case by going 1-3 with a solo homer ( he still needs to start the year in Buffalo). But of course there always has to be some controversy surrounding  regarding a interview that was published last night by ESPN Deportes in which Jose Reyes contradicts earlier reports that stated that he is suffering from a over active thyroid. He claims that the doctors told him not to worry and to lay off seafood that contains high amounts of iodine. Whatever the case may be it seems that whatever Jose is suffering from can be treated with medication, and I expect ( or is that holding out all hope ?) to see Jose in a  Mets uniform when I see the Mets on Opening Day at Shea -Err I mean Citi Field.

This leads me to my next question. I will be attending Citi Field on Opening Day  - will there be anyone else there also? If so  I would like to have a pregame meet up so that we can all put the faces to the names . So if you are expecting to attend either write me at rustyjr@nleastchatter.comor write in the comments section where you think a good location to congregate .

                                                  ” Don’t worry about Johan , The force is with him !”

With that said  HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!!

Happy Birthday wishes go out to original Mets reliever from ‘62- 63, Ken MacKenzie (1934). Ken was one of the better Mets pitchers from that era, posting a record of 8-5 with a e.r.a of 4.96.

Middle reliever from the ‘79 team, Wayne ” The Twitch” Twitchell is 62 (1948). He was one of the few bright spots on that ‘79 team - so bright that they sold him to the Seattle Mariners in August of that year because the team was strapped for cash.

Mets  bullpen coach for much of the ’90’s, Greg Pavlick is 60 . (1950)
Emergency starter from ‘92 - ‘95, Mike Birkbeck is 49 .(1961)
Brooklyn’s own John Cangelosi is 47 (1963) . He was a reserve outfielder for a horrible ‘94 Mets team. He didn’t play all that well, but he became a fan favorite .

New York Mets released Duaner Sanchez on March 10, 2009. Lets face it , Duaner was never the same after that car accident in ‘06 , in ‘07he came into spring training out of shape and proceeded to reinjure his shoulder. And by the time spring training ‘09 came along he was not the dominant reliever he once was. He later signed with the San Diego Padres , where he was released two months later.

And don’t forget , there are just 26  Dave Kingman days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.

One Month to go.
One month until baseball comes back to Citi Field.
Thirty days until ” meaningful games”.
One month before Jose steals his first base.
Thirty Days until Johan wins his first game.
One month until David, Jason, Frenchy and the Murph hit their first home runs.
Thirty Days until we see amazing fielding plays being made.
One month until Frankie notches his first save.
Thirty days until the demons from ‘09 are exorcised.
And sixty days until Carlos Beltran comes back to the line up ! (knock wood !)
One month the BELIEVE !!

                                                                      ” I think this says it all!!!”

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

Happy Birthday wishes go out to the Mets third base coach from ‘97 - ‘00 , Cookie Rojas (1939)

Los Angeles Dodgers signed backup catcher Rick Wilkins of the New York Mets as a free agent on March 6, 1999.

New York Mets signed free agent Tony ” Bong Hit” Tarasco on March 6, 2001. It appeared that he hit the bong more than he hit the baseball and was not resigned by the Mets after the ‘01 season had ended.

New York Mets signed free agent relief pitcher, Orber Moreno on March 6, 2003.
And don’t forget - There are just thirty Mike Scott ( he wore the number 30 when he was a Met) days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.

So yesterday was not much of a eventful day for the Mets, losing to the Atlanta Braves at the “ESPN Wide World Of Sports”  Stadium in Orlando Florida by the score of 9-5. Pat Misch and the Mets rotation pitched well , keeping the Braves at bay while the Mets scored four runs. Fernando Martinez - the forgotten prospect looked great, going 2-3 with a r.b.i scoring triple. But Eddie Kunz along with the Mets defense gave the game away. Kunz gave up four earned runs ( not helping his cause), while the infield let us 3 straight errors including one by uber prospect - Ike Davis. But lets look at this from a optimistic perspective, for the most part this was not your opening day line up- far from it, so to get all upset because the Mets didn’t win yesterday is ridiculous ( yes I am reinforcing that point to myself). Today Jason Bay will make his Mets debut against the St. Louis Cardinals at what used to be known as Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie ( maybe they should rename it Shea Field as a nod to the old stadium - but I don’t think the Shea’s could or would pay for the naming rights).

                                                                                          ” He’s such a Kunz !!!”

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

Today would have been Clyde McCullough ninety third birthday (1917) . Clyde was a coach for the ‘63 team.

Utility infielder for the ‘67 team Bob Johnson is 74 (1936) . Bob would be traded that off season to the Cincinnati Reds for future Mets hero , outfielder Art Shamsky .

Jack Fisher, The first Met to ever pitch at Shea Stadium is 71 (1939) .

One time Mets reliever, Danny Frisella would have been 64 today.(1946) Danny died tragically when he flipped his dune buggy on New Years Day in 1977.

Reserve first baseman for the ‘78 Mets , Tom Grieve is 62.(1948)
One time Mets third base coach , Sam Perlozzo is 59. (1951) .

On this day in 1986 the New York Mets signed one of my all time favorite Mets scrubs - back up first baseman , Tim Corcoran as a free agent. He would only play in six games with the Mets - getting on base once ( intentionally walked) before being released that June.

And don’t forget - There are only 32 Tom Hausman days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.

You know some times I just don’t get it. On my way to work yesterday I put on the FAN expecting to hear about all the positive developments that occur ed during Mondays intrasquad game, but instead I heard that Howard Stern wannabe Craig Carton ripping Jerry Manuel for penciling Jose Reyes to start the season in the third hole in the batting order. The ting that really made my jaw drop was that Boomer was in total agreement and was just as pig headed when callers tried to defend the move. It is common knowledge that I am among those who would rather see Jose lead off because he has the ability to get him self in scoring position whether it be from a walk, single or extra base hit, but I do see Manuel’s point of view that he needs to bolster the line up so that the bottom third of the batting order will not be such a glaring weakness. That be said when they had former Mets pitching great and current SNY analyst Ron Darling on, Darling too thought it wasn’t the best use of Jose, but if that line up is utilized until Carlos Beltran comes back from his surgery , which from all reports should be the beginning of May at the earliest, then this shouldn’t have much of a impact on the season. Look Jerry is the manager - I’m not . If he is going to live by this line up , and the team falters - then he’s going to die by this line up and possibly be out of a job by mid-season.
I wasn’t able to see any of yesterday’s game and unfortunately because of the Fat Man it wasn’t aired on the radio, But from what I read , Ryota Irigashi looked impressive, notching the save as the Mets won their grape fruit season opener 4-2 against the mostly A- team of the Atlanta Braves. Ike Davis was impressive , getting two hits and scoring a run. But the big surprise possibly is in house loogy possibility Bobby Livingston who came in for an injured Elmer Dessens and pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Check out Ed Ryan at Mets Fever on Livingston’s bumpy professional career by going here http://metsfever.blogspot.com/2010/03/who-was-that-livingston-guy.html#links .

                       ” The usual voice of reason seen here with Craig ” Yankee fans like myself ” Carton”

And now ….ON WITH THE INFAMY !!!!!

Happy Birthday wishes go out to Armando Benitez clone and relief pitcher Jorge Julio (1979) . Jorge was traded along with John Maine to the Mets from the Baltimore Orioles for Kris & ( Anna - don’t forget Anna !) Benson. Jorge  stunk up the joint as Billy Wagner’s set up man  and was  shipped off to the Diamondbacks for the ageless wonder that was Orlando ” El Duque”  Hernandez.  Jorge is currently pitching  for the Milwaukee Brewers.

And don’t forget - There are only 33 ( Maine ) days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.

I have some good news and I have some bad news about yesterdays intrasquad game. The good news is the Mets won. The bad news is that the Mets lost. But in all seriousness while watching Daily News live last night and seeing Jose Reyes hit that triple on his first pitch in almost eight months , well to quote the almighty Danny Zuco from the movie Grease ” I got chills - They’re multiplying ! ( when you hear this song in your head think of Christopher Walken singing it - it’s hysterical - but I digress). David Wright looked relaxed at the plate and Jonathan Neise among others looked impressive ( two innings- no hits, no runs, one walk). The only damper on the game is that there were four errors committed, I know it is a intrasquad game , and the players are bound to be rusty, but this team will have to play as close to flawless in order to contend with the likes of the Braves , Marlins and the Phillies.
I listened to a little bit of Big Mouth’s radio show yesterday and I caught the Keith Hernandez interview where he was staunchly defending Daniel Murphy against Francesa’s diatribes , but you know once Mike’s mouth is open , it is hard to get food - as well as a word in edge wise.But hey we all know that Mike knows all and he will be the first person to tell you that. And with him being at Mets camp, talking Yankees to some of the Mets players I have to wonder how he actually has credibility within the journalism community. At least when he has Russo with him Chris could and regularly would call him on many of his inflated views, hence keeping Mike’s ego in check. But alas once Chris bolted for Sirius , the flood gates bursted forth and Mike’s stream of self congratulatory ego and biased opinions spewed forth.
Well at least today the Mets will play the Atlanta Braves today on SNY at 1 p.m.

                                               ” Welcome back Jose - We missed you !!!”

And on that note …. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!

Happy Birthday wishes go out to utility infielder for the ‘ 63 team, Chico Fernandez (1932) . Chico was originally signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in ‘56, and he bounced around the majors after that. By the time that came to the Mets in ‘63 his skills had eroded and retired after the season ended.

Sadly on this date in ‘07, one of the original “62 Mets pitchers, Clem Labine passed away.

New York Mets released reserve catcher, Joe DePastino on March 2, 2001. The Mets would resign him the next season, but he never saw much action in a Mets uniform.

And while you watch today’s Grapefruit League game against the Braves - just remember that there are only 34 Nolan Ryan’s until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.