Joel Sherman of the NY Post reports that Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez came to camp in good shape. Those of us who follow the team day in and day out, know just how good that news is in the case of Sanchez. Only two springs ago, Sanchez was sent home after reporting to spring training out of shape and unmotivated. And while it’s nice to see him show up and be ready to compete, Sherman believes that [...]

Just read a fantastic article by Tom Verducci (yes, that Ton Verducci) on SI.com about Carlos Delgado. Verducci does a great job of pointing out Delgado’s accomplishments in the tainted era we all now refer to as the steroids era. He establishes this era as being from 1996 through 2003. I define the heart of the Steroid Era as beginning in 1996, when Ken Caminiti won the MVP on steroids and the first full season [...]

Baseball America released it’s 2009 Top 100 Prospects list only moments ago. Four Mets made the list and here is where they placed… 30 FERNANDO MARTINEZ OF, METS 0: Players in Double-A younger than Martinez last season. Opening Day Age: 20 ETA: 2010 47 WILMER FLORES SS, METS 0: Players younger than Flores (who turned 17 on Aug. 6) in full-season ball last season. Opening Day Age: 17 ETA: 2012 77 JONATHON NIESE LHP, METS 178: [...]

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one… Many baseball folk have opined that the Mets look pretty good in terms of pitching, but that hitting remains a question mark, since we are supposedly missing that crucial power-hitting corner OFer, and it’s foolish to rely on Delgado to repeat last year’s performance. (Because CDOG is so inconsistent from year to year???!!!) Despite the talk of batting orders and the surging confidence [...]

It must be great to be down in St. Lucie watching the Mets play baseball in the sun while most of us freeze out tushes in the tri-state. I envy Matt Cerrone from MetsBlog who seems to be having the time of his life at Tradition Field during the day, and then at hot spots like Duffy’s at night. You should read his daily updates if you can as he documents not only all the action [...]

Okay so here’s the deal on Freddy “Start Me or Release Me” Garcia… If only he could put as much velocity into his pitches as he can with his advice on the rotation… The NY Post had this little tidbit tucked neatly at the bottom of this mornings Mets Notes. Former All-Star Freddy Garcia’s soft tosses in batting practice this week aren’t convincing anyone he is fully recovered from reconstructive shoulder surgery. Manuel said Garcia, [...]

Thanks to David Lennon of Newsday for posting the official roster of all Mets participating in the World Baseball Classic. AustraliaStefan Welch CanadaShawn Bowman Dominican RepublicJose Reyes MexicoElmer DessensOliver Perez PanamaRuben Tejada Puerto RicoPedro FelicianoNelson FigueroaAlex CoraCarlos DelgadoCarlos BeltranJesus Feliciano United StatesJ.J. PutzDavid Wright VenezuelaFrancisco Rodriguez Please fasten your seat belts and keep your trays in the upright position. We may experience a little turbulence along the way so please remain seated at all times. [...]

I know that a lot of you were convinced that the Mets should not bring back Oliver Perez. I certainly had a lot of fun debating that with you on this blog over the last few months. Toward the end, as the free agent pool became murkier and the pickings became slim, many of us agreed that Oliver Perez had become the best option left to sign, but clearly you were disappointed that we didn’t make a bigger [...]

On June 17, 2008, Jerry Manuel was promoted from bench coach to manager of the New York Mets.  That day ushered in a new day for the New York Mets: The Era of the Gangsta!  Jerry is as different as you could get from Willie Randolph.  Willie was very reserved with the media, would not answer their questions where as Jerry Manuel is open and loose with the media.  He has a way of giving [...]

The battle for the fifth spot in the rotation has only just begun, but it was young Jon Niese who delivered the first impressive performance of the spring. Tim Redding is already nursing a sore toe and shoulder. Freddy Garcia is reluctant to throw hard because he doesn’t want to push it. Livan Hernandez may actually be ahead of both of them right now, and that might not be a good thing. However, don’t count [...]

If you love Texas Hold-em as much as I do, then you’ll know what I mean when I say the Mets are “all in” on Dan Murphy. While many fans including myself, mostly moaned and groaned about the left field platoon of Tatis and Murphy, it turns out that we were on the outside looking in. It’s become quite obvious that the Mets had big plans for Dan Murphy all along. They never swayed from [...]