Spring training is here! Even if the games don’t count for anything, it’s still good to see live baseball once again. Welcome to my first pre-season installment of Hot/Not. So far this spring, we’ve had the good, the bad, and the Freddy Garcia. The Good*Jose Reyes looked really good coming out of the three hole this week. At first, I was opposed to this move because his stolen base count might go down, but I’d [...]

Update 3:00 PM – Adam Rubin reports that Johan Santana may not appear in a Grapefruit League game for at least two weeks because of elbow tightness, and the ace wouldn’t rule out missing an Opening Day start in Cincinnati on April 6. Original Post 10:17 AM – Newwsday is reporting that Johan Santana met with GM Omar Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel for 40 minutes this morning about the best way to handle his [...]

Redding Will Pitch Today – According to several reports, pitcher Tim Redding will throw a bullpen session today. It will be his first time pitching since he was shelved with some soreness ten days ago Just Call Him Babe – Bobby Kielty decided to abandon switch hitting yesterday and then came out to pinch hit in the ninth inning… The result was a Ruthian blast that.went for a three-run homer. The Mets came up short [...]

Righthanded reliever Juan Cruz was signed by the Royals on Saturday. Cruz signed a two-year contract with an option for 2011. The deal was believed to be worth $2.25 million for this year, $3.25 million for 2010 and a club option for $4 million for 2011 with a $500,000 buyout. Cruz, 30, last season had a 4-0 record with a 2.61 ERA in 57 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He led all National League relievers with [...]

Two of the key players in the competition for the number five starter delivered performances that were on opposite sides of the spectrum. Freddy Garcia was slapped around for four runs in two-thirds of an inning. He walked three and allowed two hits before being removed from the game. Afterward, he spoke to reporters. “I’m always slow, but this year is different. I’ve got to be ready. I’m fighting for a spot. I cannot sleep. [...]

Great piece based on some nice information gathered from The Fielding Bible – Volume 2. In 2008, it wasn’t close.  The New York Mets clearly had the best defense, based on Defensive Runs Saved from The Fielding Bible–Volume II.  Outfielders saved 56 runs for the Mets last year.  Using the rule of thumb that the value of a win is about 10 runs, that’s five to six extra victories based on outfield defense alone for [...]

Johan Santana was supposed to make his spring debut today against the Cardinals, but he was bumped from that start on Wednesday because of a little soreness and tightness in his elbow. The plan was that we would be shipped until his next scheduled start on Tuesday, but now several sources have confirmed that he will not make that start either. David Lennon writes: Johan Santana already had been scratched from today’s start against Italy because of [...]

I’ve spent the last two hours listening to Mike Francesa who is broadcasting live from Tradition Field at Mets Spring Training Camp. Ryan Church and David Wright have struck a big blow today against WFAN’s Mike Francesa. The two of them decided against appearing as guests on Francesa’s show because of comments Francesa has made against both players since the end of last season. Both were scheduled to appear and had been advertised to be special [...]

Adam Rubin of the Daily News is reporting that the Mets have signed lefthander Ron Villone to a minor league contract. Add another lefthander to the Mets’ mix in camp. Ron Villone has signed a minor-league contract. Villone, 39, went 1-2 with one save and a 4.68 ERA in 74 games with the Cardinals last season. Villone is a New Jersey native, and has a career ERA of 4.75 and has logged over 1,000 innings [...]

This off season was speckled with some speculation that Mike Pelfrey might be a candidate for burnout or injury due to being overused too soon at such a young age, a condition known better as “The Verducci Effect”. I don’t really subscribe to that theory, and that’s all it really is, because it relies too much a selective cases for it’s foundation that seemed to be cherry-picked to make their case stronger. However, I’m no [...]

Mets pitcher, Tim Redding has been on the shelf with what’s being called a minor sore shoulder. Redding was considered a solid contender for the number five spot in the rotation, but has yet to appear in any game action. He had been scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Thursday, but pitching coach Dan Warthen scrapped that plan for an unexplained reason. The team is reporting that Redding will continue to long toss before stepping on a mound [...]