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 !!!)

Well yesterday was yet another showdown between Jonathan Neise and Fernando Neive for the battle of the number five rotation spot. So far neither have overwhelmed me. They both have had very good starts and both at times have been god awful. Neise so far this spring training has a e.r.a of 7.04 which included two earned runs ( three runs total) over three innings yesterday , while Neive is sporting a hefty e.r.a of 6.00 allowing just two earned runs in his start yesterday. If I was a betting man I still think Neise gets the nod while Neive gets sent to the pen along with Japanese import Hisanori Takahasi, who has turned many heads with his dominant off speed pitches. I don’t know what to expect from Ryota Iragashi. He (from the information I can find) has pitched decently, but if there is a spot for him and his guaranteed two year contract up in Flushing remains to be seen. That leaves us with The much maligned Nelson Figueroa. Nelson has pitched his ass off so far this season . In nine innings he has not let up a run - neither earned nor unearned. But I feel that Nelson will be designated for assignment and will either be picked up by a team with a need for a long reliever/ spot starter and might have success elsewhere. If not expect to see him as extra depth in Buffalo when the season starts.Is this fair to him? the answer is no , he has been a good soldier the past couple of years but there is a stigma attached to him as being a quality AAAA pitcher who can’t have sustained success in the majors. I feel he hasn’t been utilized properly but he that’s just my opinion. But there is still about two weeks left in this competition and maybe one of the pitchers that I have just mentioned will make a good case for themselves to become the fifth starter that this team has been sorely lacking since El Duque in ‘06.

                                                      ” I hear he has a nasty fastball !”

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

Happy birthday wishes go out to original Mets back up catcher Hobie Landrith (1930). Hobie would be traded 23 games later to the Baltimore Orioles for future Mets icon ” Marvelous” Marv Thornberry .
Utility infielder from the ‘74 Mets, Rich Puig is 57 (1953).
Reliever from the ‘95 team , Don Florence is 43 (1967) . It is strange that Dan only pitched one season for the Mets. His record was 3-0 in fourteen games with a e.r.a of 1.50. But disappear he did , and he was never seen in the majors ever again.

Utility infielder from the ‘08 team , Abraham Nuñez is 34 (1976) .

New York Mets traded reserve outfielder Bob Gallagher to the San Francisco Giants for reserve outfielder Leon Brown on March 16, 1976.

New York Mets released one time outfield prospect Danny Garcia on March 16, 2005.

And don’t forget - There are just 20 Tommie Agee days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.

I have a man crush on Jenrry Mejia !!! - There I said it !! But with that being said I feel under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should Jerry Manuel be allowed to bring him up north when spring training finally breaks . First off the kid has yet to play and excel above AA ball, and as we saw yesterday , although he was dominant for the most part, you could see that he was having some issues with his control giving up one run in the two innings that he pitched. I can see how it could be a tempting option to put him in the bullpen as a setup man for Frankie Rodriguez with his blazing fastball and nasty curve - but I feel that Jenrry’s better suited as a starter. Imagine this starting rotation next year
Johan Santana,
Mike Pelfrey
John Maine (or) Oliver Perez
Jonathan Neise
and Mejia
This could be a dominant rotation, filled with young arms that could dominate most line ups! The future is Mejia - but in my opinion , the future is not now .

                                                                    ” Be patient Mets fans - Be patient !”

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

New York Mets claimed pitcher Fernando Nieve on waivers from the Houston Astros on March 14, 2009.This was a great under the radar pick up for the Mets. Fernando started his season for the Mets Buffalo farm team where he showed that he had major league stuff. He pitched well for the Mets last season until he became a member of the not so exclusive Mets disabled list with a torn quad. He is currently in the mix for either the Mets fifth spot in the Mets starting rotation or in the bullpen.

And while you are getting your NCAA brackets in order, don’t forget that there are just 22 Ray Knight days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.

The Mets have a double-header today as they travel to Jupiter Florida to take on the Marlins. Here is the A Game lineup courtesy of Andy McCullough/The Star-Ledger

TODAY’S GAME
Mets at Florida Marlins, 1:05 p.m.
No TV/WFAN 660 AM

If you can’t watch game you can follow it here on Gameday of MLB.com

You can listen to Ed Coleman & Wayne Hagin do the radio call the game over the internet here WFAN Live.

Mets lineup
1. Gary Matthews, Jr., CF
2. Luis Castillo, 2B
3. David Wright, 3B
4. Jason Bay, LF
5. Daniel Murphy, 1B
6. Jeff Francoeur, RF
7. Alex Cora, SS
8. Omir Santos, C
9. Johan Santana, SP

In the bullpen: John Maine, Kiko Calero, Sean Green, Ryota Igarashi, Bobby Parnell.

Marlins lineup
1. Chris Coghlan, LF
2. Bryan Peterson, CF
3. Hanley Ramirez, SS
4. Dan Uggla, 2B
5. Wes Helms, 3B
6. Logan Morrison, 1B
7. Jai Miller, RF
8. Brad Davis, C
9. Anibal Sanchez, SP

In the bullpen: Seth McClung, Tim Wood, Renyel Pinto, Jose Veras, Mike MacDougal.

I apologize for not posting yesterday but after the Jose Reyes thyroid fallout this past Thursday, I just felt I needed a 24 hour break from everything Mets related. Yes during this hiatus I even managed to stay away from the negativity box that is WFAN placating myself by listening to the soothing sounds of the new Slayer CD entitled ” World Painted Blood” ( I recommend it highly !). So as I was regrouping my thoughts ( and cleaning my high powered rifle ), I had a epiphany. This might be the best thing that could ever happen to the 2010 Mets. Okay so now before you reserve the rubber room for me just hear me out. With both Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran out for a period of time ( who knows how long before they take the field again), this could be a rallying call for this team, a incident that could quite possibly band this team together. I feel that if Jerry Manuel Would instill a “fight or die”" us against the world ” mantra, this team could find the fire that it has been sorely lacking since game seven of the ‘06 NLCS. I believe that Ruben Tejada is the best in house option to hold down the fort until Jose gets back, with Alex Cora serving as backup . From the stats I saw Tejada has a better than adequate bat and is possibly the most defensively sound shortstop other than Reyes in the organization He might not be the human highlight reel like Santana is, but if he is more like Rafael Santana than Ramon Martinez I feel that this team can win. I feel the Mets would be making a big mistake if they traded for a temporary replacement ( remember Mike Bordick).
But to get back to my main argument here, it seems that almost every media outlet is predicting nothing but doom for this organization this year. This team has to channel this negativity - get angry and DOMINATE !!!

                                                         ” The Mets have to get ANGRY !!!”

And now …. ON WITH THE INFAMY !!!!!

Happy Birthday wishes go out to back up outfielder from the ‘66 -’67 campaigns , Al Luplow (1939)

Utility-man for the ‘65 team , Gary Kolb is 70 (1940) .
One of the best pitchers the Mets never gave a real chance to , Terry Leach is 56 (1954) .

Former third base coach, Luis Aguayo is 51 (1959) .
Back up catcher for the ‘98 team , Jorge Fabregas is 40 (1970) .

Happy 31st birthday to our Ace - Johan Santana (1979)

New York Mets traded reliever Mardie Cornejo to the Detroit Tigers for reliver - and Pride of Flushing - Ed Glynn on March 13, 1979. It is common knowledge that Glynn was once worked for the Mets as a concessionaire when he was a teenager, and he was a decent reliever in his two year tenure as a Met, garnering eight saves and a e.r.a of 3.53

Detroit Tigers claimed infielder , Shane Halter of the New York Mets on waivers on March 13, 2000.

And don’t forget - there are just 23 Doug Flynn days until the Mets open the 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.