I’m not going to include updates on ANY Wilpon/Madoff stuff in these Spring Updates going forward. !00% Baseball. The word is that Oliver Perez has unveiled a new changeup that he has been working on all winter long. Not only was minor league catcher Mike Nickeas very impressed, but so was Terry Collins. For Perez it was his second consecutive bullpen session that had players and and manager buzzing. In addition to what looked like [...]

  I will be the first to admit that I am giving the new front office every single benefit of the doubt. I mean why not? They’ve only been in charge a little over four months – hardly enough time to pass judgment on the new guys. Patrick Flood who writes for SNY, had me re-thinking my whole attitude on the matter after reading his excellent post which I suggest you all do. Oftentimes, fans [...]

Terry Collins on Friday told reporters that it’s up to Carlos Beltran whether or not he will play center field this year for the Mets. Collins said to reporters that if Beltran decides to stay in center then Beltran is going to have to earn his spot. Beltran who has yet to arrive to camp has a decision to make and hopefully it will be the right one for himself and the Mets. It’s no [...]

The Contenders: Luis Castillo- .235/.337/.267, 0 HR, 17 RBI, 6.7 UZR/150, 0. 6 WAR, $6 million, 35 years old Daniel Murphy- .266/.313/.427, 12 HR, 63 RBI, 1.0 WAR, $400K, 26 years old Brad Emaus- .290/.397/.476, 15 HR, 75 RBI (between AA and AAA), $400K, 25 years old The Underdog: Justin Turner- .316/.374/.487, 12 HR, 43 RBI (at AAA), $400K, 26 years old The Long Shots: Ruben Tejada- .213/.305/.282, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 1.2 UZR/150, -0.4 [...]

If – A noun or conjunction: an uncertain possibility, a supposition, in case that, granting or supposing that. The word “if” will hold much significance for the 2011 New York Mets. Let’s start with the positives. If Chris Young returns to his mid-2000s form and if R.A. Dickey pitches similarly to last year, the Mets will not be severely affected by the loss of Johan Santana. If Jason Bay remembers how to hit, the Mets [...]

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, Jose Reyes has faced right-hander Taylor Buchholz seven times in their careers. He’s 0-for-6 with a walk and two strikeouts. Reyes had this to say about facing Buchholz, “He’s got an unbelievable curveball,” Reyes said. “His breaking pitch was unbelievable. I don’t know how fast he throws now, but he used to throw 95, 96 mph with a big hook. So he was nasty. Hopefully he can be [...]

Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, posted comments Angel Pagan made this morning regarding the ongoing debate of who should start in centerfield. “I was talking to Carlos Delgado this offseason. I told him, ‘It doesn’t matter to me. Sometimes people see this as a competition, as a rivalry. This is not a rivalry. This is for the benefit of the team. I see it as a great problem to have because we’re going to have [...]

It was a busy day at Port St. Lucie as more players arrived to camp including Johan Santana and Jose Reyes who both spoke to reporters and also appeared on WFAN. You can hear both clips over at the Real Dirty Mets Blog. Sandy Alderson told reporters that he hopes Johan Santana can rejoin the team by June or July, and Reyes reasserted his desire to re-sign with the Mets. Rule 5 selection Brad Emaus has been getting most of the [...]

  Mets GM Sandy Alderson updated reporters on how Johan Santana was progressing from his season ending surgery, and talked about his rehab and the recovery process. Phase 1 – Johan has gone through his recovery from the surgery. There was a healing process, a restoration of range of motion, that sort of thing. And that took about four and a half months. Phase 2 – The second stage is a return to throwing, which is the [...]