K-Rod said the Mets are the team to beat in their division.  Carlos Beltran smiled and agreed, and the New York media fired that missile back to Pennsylvania.  Jimmy Rollins laughed, saying he was “retiring” from that kind of talk.  Cole Hamels called the Mets “choke artists” on WFAN, and Beltran said he can’t wait for the Mets to “kill” Hamels, conjuring up thoughts of fastballs whizzing past heads and benches emptying.    Tabloids love [...]

Spring training officially started today, which was a nice counterweight to getting dumped by my girlfriend (keep your violins in their cases ’cause I’m used to it). Late February into March coincides with the winter blahs (except for those of you lucky enough to be in Florida already previewing our 2009 Mets-To-Be), and all baseball fans great expectations that mark the beginning of each new season, unless of course you happen to pull for the [...]

Jerry Manuel made a very casual comment the other day that he was going to try changing things in the order to not only give Castillo more confidence but also to make Reyes a better player, because really, you are only the leadoff batter once a game. If only there was a way for Reyes to bat leadoff, and yet still feel like he is batting second sometimes. Well there is a way, its sometimes [...]

It may take a few more years before the zen of Rick Peterson wears off on me. There were no simple solutions and no easy answers for the complexities of putting together a starting rotation. New pitching coach Dan Warthen, doesn’t worry about such things anymore. He may not be in touch with his inner self, and may not have an otherworldly connection with any of his pitchers, but I like his style. David Lennon of [...]

The Type A Free Agent compensation rules that have kept players like Juan Cruz and Orlando Cabrera from signing with teams this offseason may be changed. MLB and the Players Union have had discussions suggesting that Type A Free Agents may resign with their original clubs and waive the stipulation that they cannot be traded before June 15. In effect, borderline Type A Free Agents would then be a part of sign-and-trade deals. Teams have [...]

Quite possibly! We’ve all been wondering who are the remaining 103 names on the steroid list that A-Rod was found on. Names are being thrown around left and right, including St. Louis Cardinals first baseman, Albert Pujols and former Mets catcher, Mike Piazza. Here’s a name that I never really thought about, but is being mentioned: Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez. There’s an article done by the Associated Press which was posted on ESPN.com where it can [...]

I think most of us agree that Freddy Garcia has the inside track on the final rotation spot and that it’s his job to lose. However, in a post to his blog, David Lennon of Newsday writes: As of today, with everyone healthy, this is the Mets’ rotation to start the season: 1. Johan Santana2. Mike Pelfrey3. Oliver Perez4. John Maine5. Tim Redding Pitching coach Dan Warthen explained that Pelfrey’s better numbers against the Reds and [...]

The Mets and Santana are taking no chances. Both sides have a vested interest in being cautious this spring with Santana who had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in the offseason. The Mets ace Johan Santana gets stronger each day, and yesterday he thre from the back mound which the Mets say was a significant step forward. Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post writes, Santana’s 30-pitch debut at the back pitcher’s mound yesterday was the [...]