There is today’s winner for best banner during today’s Mets Banner Day Parade before the game. If I might say so myself, they did a fantastic job and out of the banners the Mets posted on their Twitter account today, I liked this one the best myself.

Here are some of the other images the Mets tweeted or re-tweeted today, and also a few from New York Newsday:

I loved the message in this particular one. Very cool…

Looks like David Wright was well represented today. This one was looked great…

Kevin Burkhardt was one of the judges and he seemed very impressed with this one.

This was one of the first ones to go before the judges. Kudos for originality.

When it comes to originality, nobody beats Mets fans!

I knew there would be a few for John Buck…

A well-deserved banner for second baseman Daniel Murphy!

Homegrown stars are always the best!

We’ll end this on a high note: The future looks bright!

The left fielder’s .417 on-base percentage was 11th in the majors entering play Saturday and his .538 slugging percentage ranked in the top 30.

But his remarkable selectivity could also be detrimental on a team that relies on the slugger to drive in runs from the middle of the order.

In 24 plate appearances with runners in scoring position this season, Lucas Duda has walked 33.3 percent of the time, tied for the highest rate in the league. But he has just two hits, both singles, and two runs batted in. He has struck out twice. His slugging percentage in those circumstances is just .133, the 12th-worst in the majors with runners in scoring position.

“You don’t want to change a guy’s approach too much, but there’s certain times — his swing percentage on first pitch is like seven percent or something — I’d like to see him swing,” Mets hitting coach Dave Hudgens said this week.

During one of the games in the Marlins series, SNY analyst Keith Hernandez sounded frustrated with Duda during one at-bat where he took a first pitch strike down the middle, and then a second fastball for another strike. “What the heck is he doing up there? What’s he waiting for? There’s a runner on second and he should be looking fastball and swinging – I don’t understand any of this.” Duda popped up on a changeup leaving Wright stranded at second.

Then in Wednesday’s win against the Marlins and right after a John Buck two-run double, Duda took a couple of fat ones before working out a walk when Ron Darling sarcastically said, “big walk.” The Mets barely hung on to win the game 7-6, but an extra insurance run would have been nice to have after a six-game losing streak going into the game.

Duda did hit a solo home run on Friday night when the Mets beat the Braves 7-5., but he has been very passive as a middle of the order hitter and the Mets have him batting 4th or 5th in the past week.

Manager Terry Collins hinted at that after the game. ”He’s trying to be more selective, which is going to ultimately get him better pitches to hit,” Collins said. “Now, do damage.”

Jordany Valdespin

That’s irrelevant now that Sale was moved up to pitch on Monday and will not pitch against the Mets after all.

Michael Baron of MetsBlog pointed out that against left-handed pitching, Valdespin is hitting just .182 with a .545 OPS. But what he failed to mention was that he only has 11 at-bats against left-handed pitching this season and an average fan will just look at those numbers and say he can’t hit LHP and nothing could be further from the truth.

Ike Davis, who has three times as much playing time against LHP this season is batting .138 with a .435 OPS.

I just wanted to throw that in to be fair to Valdespin while providing some actual context.

You don’t get better at something until you get more opportunities to learn and improve. Davis has gotten those opportunities and done nothing with them.

Valdespin, on the other hand, hasn’t been given enough time to make a judgement on him or write him off against left-handed pitching. In Spring Training, Valdespin batted .429 against LHP and led the team overall with a .883 OPS. Valdespin batted .276 against LHP from 2010-2012 in the minors.

The Opening Day Lineup will look like this:

1. Collin Cowgill, CF
2. Daniel Murphy, 2B
3. David Wright, 3B
4. Ike Davis, 1B
5. Marlon Byrd, RF
6. Lucas Duda, LF
7. John Buck, C
8. Ruben Tejada, SS
9. Jon Niese, LHP

Niese will oppose San Diego Padres right-hander Edinson Volquez at 1:10 PM at Citi Field.

Collins said that center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis has officially made the Mets active roster as the fourth outfielder along with Mike Baxter.

He also admitted that Cowgill will not be platooned and will be there every day even against righthanded pitching.

Lucas Duda will man left field on a regular basis and Marlon Byrd will start everyday in right field.

So expect to see Duda, Cowgill and Byrd start every game this season unless something changes. That is essentially the 2013 outfield for the season going forward.

Nieuwenhuis is expected to be the defensive replacement for Duda late in games, while Baxter will give Byrd an occasional break now and then to keep the 35-year old fresh.

It was later learned that the reason Jordany Valdespin was not considered for playing time in the outfield was because the Mets were not comfortable with his fielding. Spin was one of the top hitters in camp this spring, but for now all he’s earned was a spot on the back of the bench to pinch-hit against right-handers.

Quote of the Day

“You look up and down our roster, you’re not going to see a lot of household names, you’re not going to see a lot of flash or that sexiness per se, but I think you got a room full of guys that don’t have those egos, that know how to play team baseball. We practiced that this spring, playing that winning, team baseball and unselfishness. I think the teams that do well are the teams that have bought into that team concept where it’s that win at all costs, who cares who gets the big hit, who cares how many hits you get. Bottom line is wins and I think we have a group of guys that have bought into that.” – David Wright

MMO will have about ten writers at Citi Field and we’ll be Live Blogging the event from the press box as well as featuring tweets, images and thoughts from the rest of the staff in attendance.

Stick with us for all the action and Lets Go Mets!

In an article by Robert Passikoff on Forbes.com, the Mets fan base ranked almost at the bottom when it comes to team loyalty.

According to their Sports Fan Loyalty Index, Mets fans ranked 26 out among all 30 MLB teams when it comes to supporting the team.

The top five loyal fan bases are:

1. New York Yankees
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. San Francisco Giants
4. St. Louis Cardinals
5. Atlanta Braves

The Mets ranked at the bottom with the Astros, Pirates, Royals and Mariners. That’s embarrassing.

The factors that are used to determine the Loyalty Index are not based on attendance alone or won/loss record:

Everybody loves a winner, but it’s important to note that win/loss ratios do not entirely govern fan loyalty. Losing may have little to recommend it, but it turns out there are more important things than the final score. – three other emotionally based things, in fact, that really must be taken into account when calculating the loyalty score for a team:

• Pure Entertainment: How well a team does, sure. But even more importantly than a win-loss ratio, how exciting is their play? Think St. Louis Cardinals.
• Authenticity: How well they play as a team.
• Fan Bonding: Are players particularly respected and admired?
• History and Tradition: Is the game and the team part of fans’ and community rituals, institutions and beliefs?

Look at those factors and then calculate where the Mets fit in with each one. You can easily account for why the loyalty isn’t as high as it should be, and the fault lies with the team not the fans.

Many of the players who connected with fans are long gone. It took the team a few years just to add some Mets history to Cit Field – and only after much prodding from fans. And where is the pure entertainment value?

What bugs me most is seeing the Yankees, Braves and Phillies ranked so high. I hate those teams!

If you want to get your Matt Harvey fill on this Mets off-day, check out this post by Marc Carig of Newsday, who caught up with the Mets right-hander after yesterday’s start against the Cards.

Carig says that during one point in the game, Harvey reached back and unleashed a 100 mph fastball against the Cardinals’ Jon Jay according to the scoreboard at Roger Dean Stadium.

Scouts behind home plate, who he said were “armed with more accurate radar guns,” had the pitch at 98 mph, but that’s still incredible considering we are still in March. I can’t wait to see what Harvey does once he’s in mid-season form.

Harvey allowed two runs in 51/3 innings in yesterday’s 3-2 win over the Cardinals, and is now 1-0 with a 2.95 ERA in five Grapefruit League starts spanning 18.1 innings. In those innings, the young fireballer has racked up an impressive 24 strikeouts.

“The arm feels great and pretty much, I’m ready to go,” said Harvey.

“Obviously, I’m not happy about giving up runs,” he said. “But my body felt great, my arm felt great. I felt like I was throwing a lot of good off-speed pitches for strikes and I’m really happy about my curveball.”

The 23-year old has a goal of not only dominating and giving his best effort every time he takes the mound, but he wants to be efficient with his pitches because he wants to cross the 200 innings pitched threshold.

“I strive for perfection every time,” Harvey told reporters.

I myself, strive to make sure never to miss any of his starts. You should too.

right-hander Shaun Marcum has been temporarily removed from the Mets Grapefruit League rotation, but is not injured.

Manager Terry Collins said Marcum wants to concentrate on a long-toss program designed to strengthen his shoulder, which gave him trouble last spring. He will return to game action in early to mid-March.

The Mets aren’t calling it a setback, but it sort of sounds like one to me especially when you consider that Marcum dealt with both elbow and shoulder issues last season.

Marcum, 31, missed over a month and was limited to just 124 innings last season going 7-4 with a 3.70 ERA in 21 starts for the Brewers.

The Mets signed Marcum to a one-year, $4 million free agent contract last month and incentives could make the deal worth $8 million.

In the last 36 hours, the Mets have scratched Marcum (shoulder), Zack Wheeler (strained oblique) and Johan Santana (very low velocity) from their Grapefruit League rotation.

This comment from Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, kind of put things into perspective for me, or at the very least it gives one pause to consider what just happened tonight.

So what exactly did the Mets fight to keep? The 11th overall Draft pick has a bizarre history of busts relative to the picks around it. Of the 48 players in history taken 11th overall, only five have amassed more than 10 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference (though two of them, Andrew McCutchen and Max Scherzer, are active and in their primes).

Seventeen of the 48 players never made the Majors, and 10 of those who did finished with negative career WAR.

Wow, I feel like someone just poured a bucket of ice water over my head.

As DiComo concludes, the Mets may fare a whole lot better with the 11th overall pick this year as compared to the last 48 years of the draft, but seriously, what an eye-opener.

You can read the full post here and you can also follow Mr. DiComo on Twitter at @AnthonyDiComo.

Adam Rubin of ESPN New York gets the scoop on what uniform numbers all the players in camp will be wearing this Spring.

1. Jordany Valdespin, if/of
2. Justin Turner, if/of
3. Omar Quintanilla, ss
4. Collin Cowgill, of
5. David Wright, 3b
6. Marlon Byrd, of
9. Kirk Nieuwenhuis, of
11. Ruben Tejada, ss
12. Brandon Hicks, if
15. Travid d’Arnaud, c
16. Brian Bixler, if/of
19. Zach Lutz, if/of
20. Anthony Recker, c
21. Lucas Duda, lf
22. Landon Powell, c
23. Mike Baxter, of
27. Jeurys Familia, rhp
28. Daniel Murphy, 2b
29. Ike Davis, 1b
30. LaTroy Hawkins, rhp
32. Jenrry Mejia, rhp
33. Matt Harvey, rhp
34. Brandon Lyon, rhp
35. Dillon Gee, rhp
36. Collin McHugh, rhp
38. Shaun Marcum, rhp
39. Bobby Parnell, rhp
40. Tim Byrdak, lhp
44. John Buck, c
46. Greg Burke, rhp
47. Aaron Laffey, lhp
48. Frank Francisco, rhp
49. Jonathon Niese, lhp
50. Scott Atchison, rhp
52. Carlos Torres, rhp
53. Jeremy Hefner, rhp
55. Pedro Feliciano, lhp
56. Scott Rice, lhp
57. Johan Santana, lhp
58. Cesar Puello, of
60. Darin Gorski, lhp
61. Wilmer Flores, 3b/2b
62. Elvin Ramirez, rhp
63. Juan Lagares, of
64. Reese Havens, 2b
65. Zack Wheeler, rhp
66. Josh Edgin, lhp
68. Matt den Dekker, cf
70. Wilfredo Tovar, ss
72. Juan Centeno, c
73. Robert Carson, lhp
76. Josh Satin, if
77. Andrew Brown, of
80. Jamie Hoffmann, of
- Hansel Robles, rhp
- Gonzalez Germen, rhp
- Rafael Montero, rhp
- Cory Mazzoni, rhp

Also, all the pitchers and catchers are in camp, and here is a list of position players who have arrived a week early. Johan Santana is expected to brief reporters about his health this morning.

The early arrivals among position players include David Wright, Ike Davis, Matt Harvey, Mike Baxter, Josh Edgin, Matt den Dekker, Lucas Duda, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Dillon Gee, Collin Cowgill, Daniel Murphy and Ruben Tejada, Gavin Cecchini (minor league side).

In the book, Piazza admits to using androstenedione as part of a supplement pack until the outcry over Mark McGwire’s use of it forced him to phase it out. He flatly denies ever using steroids.

“It shouldn’t be assumed that every big hitter of the generation used steroids,” Piazza says.

Naturally, Piazza was disappointed that he wasn’t elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame this year.

“I won’t deny there is some disappointment, but I understand it’s a process.”

If Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio did not make it on their first ballots, Piazza says he is in no position to complain.

“I don’t have an ax to grind, I don’t have a bone to pick with people,” he told Waldstein, “I wrote this book because I had a very interesting life and a very interesting career. I wanted to be very positive and say, ‘man, I am so blessed. I had a great run.’”

Always a class act. That’s Mike Piazza.

I plan to read his autobiography when it comes out next week. In his book he also discusses his feelings about Bobby Valentine, why things soured in Los Angeles, and of course his run-ins with Roger Clemens. Although I’m mostly looking forward to reading about his glory years with the Mets, the post 9/11 home run and the 2000 post season.

But it was also reported that the Mets are willing and prepared to go “all-out” to sign Bourn. I must confess that I don’t like the sound of that.

I love that the Mets see themselves in a position to go all-out on a free agent player, I’m just not convinced that Michael Bourn is the player that should be Alderson’s first official free agent over-pay.

I understand that spring trainining is less than a week away and that the outfield options have dwindled to nothing –both on the trade and free agent market fronts. Bourn indeed represents the best of what’s left. But I find it odd that 29 other teams never made the former Brave an offer this late into the buying season. So why overpay him? And who exactly are the Mets bidding against aside from themselves?

Is this the year we’ve been waiting for when the Mets burst out of the gate and challenge for the NL East crown? Are we at the stage where we are one or two pieces away from winning it all and we’ll go “all-out” to get those players no matter how much they want or how old they are? Isn’t this the kind of behavior that got the team into trouble in the first place?

With the numbers I’m hearing, the Mets could very well have $35 milion invested in two players going into the 2014 season That would be over one-third of a $100 million payroll. Do we really want to travel down that road again? And is Michael Bourn the kind of player you commit to like that? Both he and David Wright would be 32 at the start of 2015 and deep into their declines. Frankly, this was the kind of situation I thought we would never see again under Sandy Alderson, so I’m a little befuddled by this talk of going all-out on Bourn. That’s one rumor I hope gets debunked sooner rather than later.

Updated by Joe D.

Here we go again…

Last month’s rumor that Daisuke Matsuzaka was being courted by the Mets, as reported by Hochi Shimbun from a Japanese newspaper, is making the rounds again today.

This rumor was already shot down by the Mets two weeks ago, when a team source immediately disputed the report by Shimbun to ESPN.

Moments after the rumor appeared on various sites, a Mets source told ESPN New York that he does not believe the organization has spoken with Matsuzaka at all.

Why this is being resurrected today is beyond me.

I also don’t get why nobody is mentioning that the team has already denied this from the start?

Slow news day I guess…

Enjoy the game….

Updated 1/17  10:50 AM

I just got an earful and a good lesson as to why Joe D. frowns upon blog sourced rumors that no other beat writer touches. Lesson learned, never again. :-/

Never mind what you read below, the Mets denied it.

Original Post 1/17 9:20 AM

MetsBlog passes along that former Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka told Hochi Shimbun that he is now talking with the Mets, Indians and Marlins, though other teams have expressed interest in signing him this winter.

Dice-K prefers to sign a big-league contract with incentives. However, it is also likely he ends up signing a minor-league deal or could return to pitch in Japan.

Matsuzaka struggled after returning from Tommy John surgery in 2012, going a 1-7 with an 8.28 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in 11 starts for the Red Sox, but Matt Cerrone likes the idea because it will create some excitement:

I like the idea of the Mets signing Dice-K to a minor-league deal, assuming he’ll accept it. The buzz around Matsuzaka is that he wanted to either pitch in San Diego or Japan. However, after pitching in Boston in the A.L. East, he might benefit from moving to a pitcher’s park in the National League. He’s had a series of bizarre, random injuries. If he’s healthy, he’s intriguing, plus he’d add a little buzz to this team, which they’re clearly missing… among other things.

I don’t think it’s a good idea and even if you do pitch in pitcher’s park, it still requires solid skills and performance from a starter. Besides what about when he’s on the road?

As far as creating a buzz, I’m not so sure that Die-K would bring that at this stage of his career and the last think we need is a sideshow.

The Mets announced they have signed free-agent RHP LaTroy Hawkins to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training.

If Hawkins makes the team, he will earn a base salary of $1 million with chance to earn more in incentives.

The 40-year old Hawkins spent last year with the Los Angeles Angels where he went 2-3 with a 3.49 ERA. In 42 innings pitched he posted a 4.9 strikeout rate and 2.8 walk rate.

Hawkins has missed chunks of time in 2010 and 2011 due to shoulder surgery, and last season he was out for nearly a month with a fractured finger.

The veteran righthander will give the Mets another option to consider this Spring as they look to revamp their bullpen.

Despite the signing of Hawkins and Scott Atchison earlier this week, the Mets are still looking for bullpen help according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

The New York Daily News is reporting that longtime Orioles manager Earl Weaver suffered a heart attack early Saturday morning while on an Orioles fantasy cruise in the Caribbean. He collapsed and was unable to be revived.

Weaver guided his teams to six division titles, four American League pennants and the World Series championship in 1970. He often said the secret to his success was “pitching, defense and the three-run homer.”

Also known for his fiery demeanor, Weaver regularly argued with umpires and the unofficial tally of his ejections is estimated to be close to 100. Many of his legendary run-ins with the men in blue included Weaver kicking dirt and turning his hat backward when things really got heated, and many such incidents resulted in suspensions.

In addition to clashing with the umpires, Weaver also had his share of differences with his own players. The most famous of whom was Hall of Fame righthander Jim Palmer.

Weaver was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1996.

Sandy Alderson, who was a guest of Mike Francesa on WFAN, said that if he fails to add another starter for the rotation, that Zack Wheeler will be in a group that will be vying for the fifth spot in the rotation.

“It’s unlikely he starts at the Major League Level,” Alderson said. “But look, hypothetically, let’s say we don’t add anybody between now and Spring Training. We don’t add a starting pitcher. Now, you’re looking at Hefner, Familia, Mejia. You know, Wheeler pops up in that group. That’s not our preferred result by any means.”

I doubt that happens, but I thought it was interesting to hear him say that.

In the unlikely event that Wheeler did make the team out of spring training, he would most certainly become Super Two arbitration eligible.

I can’t see the Wilpons signing off on that.

Original Post 1/16

Anthony DiComo’s latest mailbag column on Mets.com is a particularly good one this week as he tackles many good questions including this one:

I know that Zack Wheeler is untouchable for the most part. But if you were the Mets, wouldn’t you have to entertain the idea of trading Wheeler and a couple of other prospects for Giancarlo Stanton?

If I were the Mets, I would certainly consider trading Wheeler for Stanton — or anyone even close to that echelon of player, for that matter. While Wheeler is a fantastic-looking pitching prospect – ranked No. 1 by MLB.com in the Mets’ organization — he is still just a prospect. He has not proven anything at the game’s highest level, and he is vulnerable to the same types of injuries that derail even the most promising pitchers on an annual basis.

That said, I understand why Alderson has made Wheeler untouchable. The right-hander has risen so rapidly as a prospect that he now carries a certain “mystique,” as one team insider described it last year, making him ultra-valuable for a team in transition. His name alone gives fans something to latch onto, something to look forward to. Same goes for Matt Harvey and, now, catcher Travis d’Arnaud.

Unlike Stanton or any other non-rookie, Wheeler also still has six full years under team control. That’s a factor. The Mets are certainly staking a big chunk of their future on Wheeler, hoping he turns out to be the ace that everyone envisions. They understand the risk involved and are willing to take it.

I’ve never been one for untouchables, especially when a team is as bad as ours currently is. But I agree with holding off on trading Wheeler. Maybe DiComo is right and like most fans I see Wheeler as the poster boy for the Mets resurgence that’s supposed to begin in 2014.

So yesterday ESPN released their Sunday Night Baseball schedule for the first half of the 2013 season, and as it turns out the Mets will have one nationally televised game against the Braves on Sunday, May 26 at Citi Field.

No big deal, right?

WRONG! That Sunday also happens to be BANNER DAY!

Quick, sound the alarms, alert all the drama queens, we now have ourselves a Metsian disaster of Ruthian proportions on our hands!

How can ESPN do this to us? I bet Adam Rubin was behind this… it’s no secret that he’s still irked about that Omar Minaya press conference.

How are we supposed to tell those two kids up there that they won’t be allowed to go to this year’s Banner Day…err Banner Night because the game will finish way past their bedtime and they have to be up for school the next morning?

How can the Mets just stand there and allow hundreds of eight, nine and ten year old kids to walk away with tears streaming down their poor angelic faces?

How can the New York Mets be so evil???

Okay, I kid, I kid…  I’m just re-purposing some of the things I’ve read about this latest drama today. Obviously, some Met bloggers have crawled onto their ledges over this situation and never mind the fact that none of this was the Mets’ doing.

All the good will the Mets mustered up last year when they brought Banner Day back to the masses is now just a distant memory.

After the thousands upon thousands of cries from unwavering fans to revive the age old Mets tradition, Banner Day was back in 2012.

It was a thrilling victory for the fan base, and although they were only able to fill half the ballpark (barely), the Mets were even gracious enough to bring Banner Day back again for the 2013 season. But damn it… how could it all go so terribly wrong…

Who ever heard of a Banner Night? It doesn’t roll off the tongue as nicely as Banner Day does. But alas, there seems to be nothing we can do, but grin and bear it. The Mets have no plans of rescheduling it and Banner Night will proceed as planned.

Sorry, for continuing to revert back to my false outrage over this.

Let’s look at this like adults, shall we?

If I were a betting man, I’d wager that the Mets will top last year’s attendance and participation by a significant amount.

This whole children’s bedtime outrage sounds like just another convenient excuse to bash the Mets unmercifully.

Most of the best Mets memories in team history all took place way past a kid’s bedtime. (The Miracle Mets, Game Six, Grand Slam Single, Post 9/11, The Catch, No-Han) Somehow, thanks to my mean old parents, I remember them all.

How many parents turned to their kids during the seventh inning of Johan Santana’s no-hitter and said, “sorry guys, off to bed”? What kind of a nurturing Met fan parent would do that? I know I didn’t.

My kids can stay up late with me and my wife during special occasions including when a Mets pitcher has a no-hitter through seven. And if Banner Day is THAT special to you, then don’t let the fact that the parade starts at 5 PM rather than 12 PM stop you from enjoying it with your family and keep you from showing up.

Fans are fanatics, and fanatics got that moniker because we’d do just about anything to watch and root for our teams. That means catching every West Coast game as late as 2:00 AM with a transistor radio tucked neatly under your pillow, even though you had to be up in five hours to get ready for school.

Updated on Jan. 15 by Joe D.

Some interesting tidbits from Jon Heyman tonight regarding our boy Scott Hairston…

Heyman tweeted that the Mets balked when Hairston asked them for $8 million over two years. That must have turned Sandy ten different shades of purple. It’s a significant raise for Hairston who has never made more than $2.45 million in his career, but not totally unreasonable either. Hairston was paid $1.1 million a year for the past two seasons with the Mets and has never had a multi-year deal in his career. It is believed the Mets countered with a one-year offer worth $2 million, leaving the two sides at a stalemate in negotiations.

Heyman also says that the Chicago Cubs have tossed their hat into the ring so the Mets do have some competition, but it’s been well documented that he prefers to stay in New York.

Earlier today, Jim Bowden of ESPN XM reported that Hairston is expected to make a decision this week.

If Hairston does re-sign with the Mets, their outfield which was going to be significantly upgraded, will remain virtually unchanged with utility outfielder Collin Cowgill replacing Jason Bay.

Isn’t it amazing the smallish things that make the Mets balk these days?

This is still New York right?

Updated on Jan. 11

In case you were wondering, the reason the Mets haven’t yet signed Scott Hairston is not because they don’t like him, it’s because… Wait for it… they would like to acquire a bigger name outfielder first. That’s what Jon Heyman is reporting this afternoon.

So in other words a big name outfielder is Plan A, and Hairston is Plan B.

So in other strange but true news…

Original Post Jan. 10

It appears the Yankees are backing off free-agent outfielder Scott Hairston, and the buzz from the Phillies has trickled to a halt as well.

If the the New York Mets are willing to give Hairston the two year deal he craves, he’ll most likely be in the Mets Opening Day lineup.

Hairston, 32, continues to hold out for a multi-year deal even though his agent said he was with days of reaching an accord on Monday.

The other sticking point is that Hairston wants a starting role and no team views him that way. But the Mets can be the one team that can give him the most playing time by virtue of how weak their current outfield array is – made up mostly of Quad-A players and utility types.

It’s well know that Hairston’s greatest asset is his ability to mash lefthanded pitching. His OPS is almost 100 points higher against southpaws than righties over his career. The Mets can certainly use his bat.

On Saturday, in his weekly mailbag post for Mets.com, Anthony DiComo took the following question about the Mets outfield.

What do you think about the acquisition of Collin Cowgill? No disrespect to the man, but why don’t we add someone else who actually has good career numbers in the Majors and not the Minors? Who do you think they would’ve gone after?

If you’re asking who’s the best lefty masher on the market, he’s still out there: Scott Hairston. The Mets could still acquire Hairston and fix a lot of their outfield problems. Kirk Nieuwenhuis would fall into a center-field platoon with Cowgill, while Hairston would fill in regularly at the corners for Lucas Duda and Mike Baxter. It would not be an ideal scenario, but at least it would be a workable one. And it’s one that still might happen.

The previous paragraph defines Cowgill as a player: a platoon outfielder on paper, but possibly a legitimate one. The Mets aren’t likely to give Cowgill many at-bats against right-handers, given his extreme splits over an admittedly small Major League sample. But because Cowgill can play center field, he fills a critical need for the Mets, who are wary of relying on Nieuwenhuis every day.

Two days ago I speculated that Hairston would probably agree to a deal with the Mets or some other team by Friday. But his insistence on a two year deal may keep that from happening now.

Since Sandy Alderson took over as general manager after the 2010 season, the Mets have attempted to compete in the short-term while always keeping an eye on 2013 and beyond. That future is now upon them, but questions still remain — particularly these 10, which should form the outline of another intriguing season according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

Among his ten questions, I found these to be the most compelling:

How will the starting rotation fare without Dickey?

One of the top rotations in the game absorbed a significant blow in December, when the Mets traded away the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner in a seven-player deal. Though the deal stocked the organization with talent for the future, it left the Mets without an obvious ace.

The hope is that Matt Harvey, who thrived down the stretch last season, continues developing into a top-of-the-rotation arm. But as good as Harvey was in 2012, even he is sure to absorb a few growing pains during his first full season in the big leagues. Jon Niese is an established innings-eater coming off his best year as a professional, and the rotation’s only sure thing. Behind him are two question marks in Johan Santana and Dillon Gee, both of whom dealt with health issues in 2012. Further down the depth chart is top prospect Zack Wheeler, who will almost certainly start the season in Triple-A.

Will the Mets really start adding payroll?

Alderson said in November that the team plans to have more financial wiggle room in years past, though he clarified a month later that they might not use all of it — at least not right away. That David Wright and Jason Bay both agreed to defer guaranteed money can only help the Mets, who have shown a reluctance to delve into the free agent market in recent years. But until the Mets start spending, fans will remain skeptical.

The assumption is that when Santana and his sizable contract come off the books after this season, the Mets will finally begin spending. But Alderson also said last summer that the Mets were looking to add payroll prior to the non-tender Trade Deadline, before their rapid fall from contention changed plans. It will be interesting to see where they go from here — not only this winter but also at the deadline. Claiming financial flexibility is one thing. Exercising it is quite another.

Will David Wright’s play justify his new contract?

Alderson is the first to admit that in general, long-term contracts for players in their primes tend to be bad deals. But Wright presented a unique situation, negotiating his eight-year, $138-million pact as the face of the franchise. He wanted to be a Met for life, and the Mets wanted to make him one.

It’s a warm, fuzzy story, which hides the fact that the Mets desperately need Wright to produce on the field. He may never hit 30 home runs again, now that he has reached his 30th birthday and settled in as more of a mid-20s homer threat. But Wright displayed markedly improved defense last season and was no slouch with the bat. The real question will come later, when he reaches the latter years of his contract and his production begins to slow.

“What outfield?”

Alderson posed this tongue-in-cheek question himself back in November, wondering who might populate his outfield come spring. Despite moving in the fences at Citi Field, the Mets received virtually no thump from their outfielders in 2012, and will continue to struggle on offense without significant improvement in that area.

Even with new pawns in place, this figures to be a problem area for the Mets, who are relatively strong in their rotation and infield. Without rapid improvement in right, center and left, it will be difficult for the Mets to reach their goals in 2013.

We also have questions about the bullpen, which Ike Davis will show up to start the 2013 season, or which Johan Santana for that matter? Can Zack Wheeler be the ace everyone is expecting him to be and when does he join the rotation? What about Lucas Duda and Kirk Nieuwenhuis? Are they everyday players?

The questions are many and probably more of them now than we had in the first two years under Sandy. The answers will start trickling through beginning in April.

Fred and Jeff Wilpon made ESPN’s list of the 10 most loathed New York sports figures of 2012.  You can click here to view the list, and here to rank them yourself.

Here are the latest rankings which has Alex Rodriguez leading in points and Fred and Jeff Wilpon leading in most first place votes.

I don’t know how ESPN determined their nominees, but I found it odd that the Yankees had three players on the list while ownership and management got a free pass. Yet on the Mets side only ownership made the cut while lets say Jason Bay managed to avoid the list.