Josh Thole goes into spring training as the odds-on favorite to get the bulk of the playing time at catcher. Even if manager Terry Collins goes to a lefty-righty platoon with Thole and the newly acquired Ronny Paulino, it would be the left-handed hitting Thole getting the lion’s share of at-bats. If Thole can handle the Mets’ pitching staff and can successfully hit major league pitching on a regular basis, he stands to do something [...]

Updated Post 2:00 PM Yesterday, I posted Keith Law’s 2011 Organizational Rankings which you can see if you scroll down. Today, Law posted his Top 10 Mets Prospects as follows: 1. Wilmer Flores, SS/3B  2. Matt Harvey, RHP (83) 3. Reese Havens, 2B 4. Cesar Puello, OF 5. Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF 6. Darrell Ceciliani, CF 7. Lucas Duda, 1B 8. Aderlin Rodriguez, 3B 9. Juan Urbina, LHP 10. Jeurys Familia, RHP Interesting to see that Fernando Martinez [...]

It looks like the Mets Hot Stove season has come to an official end. Yesterday during the press conference introducing Chin-Lung Hu to the media and fans, Sandy Alderson commented on the offseason moves and confirmed that the Mets were done making moves and they had accomplished all of their goals. “Actually, I feel pretty good about it,” Alderson said. “We’ve been able to address all of our needs. Hopefully, we’ve addressed those needs well. [...]

After two different tenures with the Mets, six as GM and six as an assistant GM, Omar Minaya is probably one of the longest tenured employees in the Mets front office after Jay Horwitz. When Minaya was finally relieved of his duties at the end of last season, he was told that he could stay on with the organization in a different capacity. Yesterday, Alderson spoke a little bit about the situation with Omar and said that he has [...]

Blogger’s Note: I have been thinking about writing a piece about this for awhile.  It’s been a tough one to get all out on paper, so I have decided to break this into two parts: one today, one tomorrow.  In the meantime, here is Part One of “One Way or Another.” ~ Coop If you listen to one part of the Mets fan base, this offseason is a bust and Sandy Alderson is a “hack.”  [...]

Here’s a few things that really caught me off guard this week: Jeff Francoeur Takes Dig At Citi Field Former Mets right fielder Jeff Francoeur during an interview in Kansas City decided to take an opportunity to rip on Citi Field. Francoeur, whose tenure with the Mets consisted of parts of the past two seasons, when asked about the new ballpark stated that “Citi Field…Is a joke”. He recalled his inability to hit home runs there and that it is [...]

Earlier this month, former Mets manager Bobby Valentine was named the public safety director in his hometown of Stamford, Connecticut. We all know Bobby V is a guy who takes his job seriously, but this is going above and beyond the call of duty. A local CBS reporter doing a weather/traffic report on scene at an I-95 ramp, spots Bobby V who is directing traffic and she totally seems to find a lot of humor in [...]

While basically every player on the 25-man roster will have to play well for the Mets to be competitive, five players in particular will hold major keys to the team’s success in 2011. In no particular order, Jose Reyes, Jon Niese, Jason Bay, Ike Davis and Frankie Rodriguez will need to bring their A-game to the ballpark every night. Of course, players like David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Mike Pelfrey, Bobby Parnell, R.A. Dickey, Angel Pagan [...]

According to Andy McCullough of The Ledger via twitter, Joan Santana has yet to begin throwing. To Sandy Alderson’s knowledge, Johan Santana has not begun throwing in his rehab program. Only last month during an interview on WFAN and then again during a conference call with Mets bloggers, Alderson said he expected Johan Santana to begin a throwing program in January and expected him back around the All Star break. With just a few days [...]

Adam Rubin of ESPN New York is reporting that former Mets pitcher Frank Viola will become the new pitching coach of the Brooklyn Cyclones. Frank Viola who had interviewed for the Brooklyn Cyclones pitching coach job during the winter meetings at Disney, has been hired for that role by the Mets, a Florida television station reported. Ahh, “Sweet Music” to our ears… He also mentions that although It had been previously reported that former Brewers and Dodgers third base [...]