Fred Wilpon spoke with Steven Marcus of Newsday on Monday and said he is confident in Sandy Alderson’s plan for the Mets. The Mets owner added that things will improve now that the big unproductive contracts are coming off the books.

“We’re coming to the end of the time when we have had an overhang of players who got hurt or didn’t play well, and I think that Sandy Alderson and his staff have a plan.”

“I know some people are impatient about it. But they do have a plan and they’re executing on their plan and I think things are in the right direction. It’s hard to say that when the team loses four, five in a row.”

“I get it, I suffer with it. I think that we have to see that plan become successful because in today’s world it’s not how much money you spend — although we have invested a lot of money.”

My position remains the same as always, I’ll believe they are spending when I see it. The onus is on them.

As far as I’m concerned Alderson was brought here by Bud Selig to keep the current owners from losing control of the team, and everything Sandy has done since taking over has been to that end. He has helped them to become entrenched and stave off any financial uncertainty.

Alderson actually spoke to fans on Friday and said he was ready to spend and add quality major leaguers.

“This is excruciating, I know,” Alderson said, “It is excruciating for the fans and excruciating for me. I know people don’t want to hear this, but we are approaching the end of the cleanup. I’m not using that as an excuse. I’m not writing off the season. But there are reasons why we are where we are.”

“People want to know when we’re going to have more good players,” Alderson continued. “I believe we’re about to have more good players. Zack Wheeler pitches Tuesday. And if the right trade presents itself down the line, believe me, we’ll make it.”

I wish I could believe that… But we were promised good players before the Winter Meetings. Where are they? We were promised good players after the Winter Meetings. Where are they? This is an awful team. The outfield is still a train-wreck, the bullpen is again the worst in the majors for the third year in a row, and now we have gaping holes at first base and shortstop with no solid options to fill those positions.

As for “The Plan” and the “Rebuild” that is not a rebuild, I’ll weigh in after I see at least one .500 season first. At least that would symbolize a modicum of some progress albeit a small one.

For now, the team is on pace for 100 losses. This much is true.

There’s still a lot of work to be done… We have been losing more games than we’ve been winning for three straight years now – five if you want to count the last regime. Meanwhile all we get is these semi annual pleas for patience…

It’s hard to smell any future success when we are still surrounded by the stench of failure.

Put your money where your mouth is, Fred and Sandy…

This morning at Citi Field, Sandy Alderson, Terry Collins, and a few of the players, participated in a Q&A session with season ticket holders. We have John Delcos there and will file a full report later, but here’s a quick summary for you to chew on until then.

• Alderson said that he believes the team has reached the stage where he can begin to add veteran major league talent to the roster now. He expects to add some players in the next six months.
• Alderson cited that with some of the organization’s top young prospects either here already or coming soon, that now is the time to start filling in the gaps with seasoned major league talent.
• “What I’d like to be able to do is maybe acquire a player or two who will not only be with us this year but into the future,” Alderson said. “That makes sense and is consistent with what we’ve been trying to do longer term. We’re going to keep working at it and I’m sure you’ll see some different faces between now and say the end of July or the All-Star break.”
• Alderson described this new strategy as a shift in organizational planning, and they intend to seriously pursue major league talent from outside the organization within the next six months, and that fans should expect to see some new faces between now and the All Star break
• “I do believe that over the next six months or so we will be in position to make some significant acquisitions, whether it’s through free agency or trade,” Alderson said. “We’re certainly looking forward to that possibility.”
• Alderson said that while there will larger amounts of money on hand to to invest in these veterans for the short-term, and acknowledged that the team has not gotten the return they wanted on money invested in players in recent years.
• “When I got here,” Alderson said, “I always understood that I was looking at some of these contracts, from which we were either going to get production, or simply have to wait for them to expire. Now we’re in a time frame where in another half-season, because the players didn’t perform for various reasons (injury to Santana, total ineptness from Bay), those contracts will expire.
• “Listen: The reality of our situation is that we owe Bay and Johan a total of around $52 million, out of a payroll of about $107 million. One of them is hurt and one of them is gone. But we’re still paying them. When you take away that money, you are talking about a payroll that is in the bottom three or four. For now. That’s not an excuse, that’s the fact of our situation.”
• Alderson wants to build a team that fans will be happy and proud of and urges just a little bit more patience.
• “We’re working at it, The problem is, at some point, the best thing you can do is have a little patience and unfortunately I’ve been preaching that for two-and-a-half years and it’s wearing thin. But we’re almost there.”
• “All I care about is happy Mets fans,” Alderson said Saturday morning, on his way to talk to season-ticket holders, whoever they are at this point. “That is my motive in life. And I know that’s not happening right now. And if they’re unhappy, believe me, I am even more unhappy.”
• Wilmer Flores could be promoted to the Mets at any time. (Unless Valdespin turns it around quickly, he will be the player that is replaced. – Joe D.)
• Sandy has no say in whether Gary Carter’s number should be retired, but if it were up to him his number would be on the wall next to Seaver, Casey, Hodges, Shea and Robinson.

(Photo by Mets)

“It’s always good planning to have a baseball in the dugout with shoe polish on it, just in case.”

That is the expression coined following the infamous Shoe Polish incident, when in Game 5 of the 1969 World Series, Cleon Jones hit the deck to evade a Dave McNally pitch that skidded into the Mets dugout, only to be retrieved by Mets skipper Gil Hodges to reveal a smudge of shoe polish, awarding Jones first base and eventually leading to a Mets victory and clinching their first World Series title in franchise history.

The incident capped off one of most incredible World Series upsets in baseball history. The Miracle Mets, just months prior labeled the lovable losers of baseball, needed just five games to best Earl Weaver’s 109-win Baltimore Orioles and become champions.

I spoke to one of those mighty 1969 Orioles, last week at the MLB Draft regarding this controversial moment in Mets history; Hall-of-Famer Frank Robinson, and he did not hesitate to speak his mind on the subject.

“It had to be [a trick],” said Robinson, amid applause after Bud Selig announced the selection of the Rangers thirtieth overall pick, Travis Demeritte roughly 100 feet away. “People forget the length of time that ball went into the dugout before Gil Hodges brought it out to show it to the umpire.

“That ball didn’t go into the dugout with black shoe polish on it, but it came out with black shoe polish on it,” He said.

Several different Met accounts have come out over the years including Ron Swaboda claiming that the pitch hit an open bag of balls, spilling identical baseballs all over the dugout, one of which Gil picked up that had a black mark on it. Of the most recent claims was Jerry Koosman, who in 2009 stated that Hodges instructed him to rub the ball on his shoe, however neither accounts put to rest whether the pitch actually hit Jones, a truth that will likely never be known for sure.

Although even if Jones wasn’t awarded first base in Game 5, Robinson doesn’t believe it would have made all that great of a difference in the outcome of the game or the series.

“The Mets deserved to win, they did what they had to to win,” said Robinson. “I still watch it on classic sports and I still don’t believe we lost.”

Like Robinson, many were in disarray at the fact that the lowly New York Mets, just seven years into existence, stood atop the baseball world. After their improbable comeback to beat out the Chicago Cubs for the division crown, they had an even greater upset of the Orioles and the ‘Bird’s Big Four’ in stunning fashion. Robinson recalls what he found most impressive of the Mets in that series.

“They got contributions from everybody, the little guys we used to call them, and they did what they had to do,” said Robinson almost begrudgingly. “They also had some great pitching.”

Despite his high praise of the team, it was clear that the Miracle Mets to this day are still not Robinson’s favorite subject as he brought the conversation of the Amazin’s to an abrupt close.

“That’s all I’ve got to say about ‘69.”

The legend of the 1969 Mets lives on to this day as one of the greatest Cinderella stories in the game’s history, who with the help of a little shoe-polished baseball, were able to put National League baseball in New York back on the map with their first World Series title.

Here is the rest of my interview with Lynn Worthy, who covers the Binghamton Mets as the regular beat writer for the Press & Sun Bulletin. Lynn provides some great insight on

Which player’s performance has impressed you the most thus far and do you believe it will eventually translate well in the majors?

The most impressive so far would have to be Rafael Montero because of the command he’s displayed. Cesar Puello’s recent play has made it a close call, but Montero has performed so well all season. While his stuff isn’t at the level of Matt Harvey or Zack Wheeler, he has consistently demonstrated remarkable control beyond what I saw from either Harvey or Wheeler at this level.

It’s a very interesting question to consider how well Montero’s actual stuff translates to a major-league level. I’m not sure. I would tend to think his margin for error will be even smaller against those hitters. There could be a real possibility of him getting hit hard at times. This certainly isn’t an exact comparison, but Collin McHugh had tremendous success and command of multiple pitches in Binghamton and also pitched well at Triple-A. His first start in the big leagues was also stellar, but he has also been hit hard at times.

Montero’s command will be a big plus, and I do think he’s shown a strong ability to work through a lineup a second or third time and keep hitters off-balance. On several occasions he has racked up the majority of his strikeouts after the first time through the lineup. It will be interesting how he gets used if/when he does reach the big league level.

Joe D. – Sandy Alderson spoke very highly of Montero on Monday during his WFAN interview, and we may see him skip a Triple-A assignment and jump straight to the big league team.

“Montero went up and pitched one game at Triple-A, and pitched very well. He’s got 23 or 24 straight scoreless innings at Binghamton. There has been some conversation. Look, he won’t need to go to Triple-A, but very soon we’ll either decide to leave him at Binghamton or promote him to Las Vegas. If we decided to leave him at Binghamton, you could probably infer from that that he could join us directly from Binghamton.”

Is there a player you’re most excited to see promoted to Binghamton from the lower levels?

I’m very interested to see righthander Noah Syndergaard pitch. It looks like, based solely on statistics, that he is another strike-thrower. His strikeout to walk ratio seems impressive. He’s been a highly-touted prospect in both the Mets system and the Blue Jays system prior to the trade.

I’m also curious to see the power Aderlin Rodriguez has in person. I’m not sure how soon he’d be promoted. When it does happen, it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to Eastern League pitching. Specifically, can he make adjustments when pitchers get an idea of what his strengths and weaknesses are. The pitchers certainly make adjustments in the Eastern League.

Joe D. – Syndergaard has been making quite a name for himself since joining the Mets and more than one scout has told me he will ultimately be the prize from the Dickey trade and not Travis d’Arnaud. Syndergaard was the only pitcher from a very talented St. Lucie rotation to be named to the FSL All Star game.

With players like Puello, Leathersich, Montero, and Verrett getting a lot of attention, which B-Mets player is flying under the radar and impressing you with their play?

Darrell Ceciliani has really hit well as of late. He batted just .228 in April, but he was just under .300 in May and is hot lately. He is an exciting player at the plate because he has good speed and can blast balls into the gaps for doubles or triples. He has made some mistakes on the bases (getting picked off), and he does strike out. He is also just an energetic guy who definitely has fun playing the game.

Allan Dykstra has tremendous power as a left-handed hitter. He works counts well and draw a lot of walks. Though he’ll strike out a lot too. If he would go the other way once in a while, I think he’d be a nightmare.

Wilfredo Tovar’s defense has been eye-opening since he got here. His offense shows flashes at times, but those are flashes that come and go.

Satish - Wilfredo Tovar is quite the young player. He is the most talented defensive player in our system but has trouble mustering even below-average offensive skills. If he can find his way with the bat, he would immediately jump into real prospect status in my eyes. Otherwise, I can’t say that I’m that crazy about him right now. I’m also on the fence about Allan Dykstra, but in a bit more of a positive fashion because he has shown consistent flashes of talent. His ’11 season saw him slug 19 home runs and 22 doubles in 475 plate appearances, resulting in a .474 slugging percentage. His numbers this year have improved on that, with eight home runs and 17 doubles already through only 209 plate appearances. Although you usually hope for more power from a first baseman, prospects like Dykstra or Jayce Boyd could turn out to be solid stop-gaps until we get a player of that caliber.

Who was your favorite player that you’ve covered and do you maintain friendships with many of the players that you get to cover?

The players who have been here for multiple years or who have been here for an entire season usually get to be fairly friendly. In some cases, I may drop a line to via social media to the guys who have gone on. I’m not sure if I have a favorite guy, but there are several I’ve enjoyed just talking to about things that weren’t directly related to their own play.

I’d list Rob Carson, Greg Peavey, Erik Turgeon (now retired) and Reese Havens among those. Mark Cohoon is back here this season, and he’s a great guy to cover. McHugh was always good to talk baseball and pitching with. I’m sure I’m forgetting some.

Looks like Travis Taijeron is off to a nice start, but wow… Cesar Puello is on fire. What can you tell us about him?

Cesar Puello has been in one of those stretches where he hasn’t missed his pitch many times, if any. He had a three-game series here against Trenton where he went 7-for-12 with two doubles, four home runs, eight RBI, four runs scored, and only ONE strikeout.

He’s had several reporters like myself ask him about the reports that he could possibly face suspension because of Biogenesis, but he hasn’t let any of it distract him. He regularly talks about being faithful and reading the Bible. I believe one time I saw him carrying a Bible in the clubhouse.

He talked to me a few times about working on getting on top of the ball more instead of upper cutting, and allowing the strength in his legs and lower body to generate power.

He really seems locked in to the point where he is looking for a particular pitch or location, and he’s not giving in and chasing other pitches early in the count as he may have done earlier in the season.

Satish - Puello enjoyed perhaps the best week of his MiLB career last week when he crushed six home runs in just 25 at-bats. He posted a .600 average, going 15-for-25, with three doubles, six home runs, and 15 RBIs. He also stole three bases. Puello’s recent hot hitting has catapulted him to the front of our outfield prospect corps. By the way, Puello is day to day with a bruised finger after being removed from last night’s game in case you were wondering why he was pulled.

* * * * * * * * * *

I want to thank Lynn for taking some time to answer a few questions for us. Follow him on Twitter at @PSBLynn and make sure to read his daily coverage of the B-Mets at the Press & Sun Bulletin or PressConnects.com.

Mark Hale of the New York Post spoke with Zack Wheeler who told him that he;s ready for the challenge that awaits him.

“Overall, I feel like I’m ready,” Wheeler said. “My past two starts, I haven’t been happy with my command, especially my last start. In the fifth inning I started to leave a lot of balls up. It happens. You just need to find the command and feel more comfortable with your mechanics.”

Ready or not, Wheeler is on his way and will finally make his debut on June 18th.

I reached out to Lynn Worthy of the Press & Sun Bulletin, who was kind enough to answer several questions for me about the Double-A Binghamton Mets who he does a great job covering. I’ll be posting his insights throughout the day along with some of my thoughts.

Oddly enough (not really), my first question to him was regarding a pair of former B-Mets… I think some you may have heard of them…

You were fortunate enough to see both Matt Harvey in 2011 and Zack Wheeler in 2012 pitch for the B-Mets. What are some of their similarities and differences? And based on your own observations how do they compare?

The obvious similarities were how hard they threw (hitting 96 miles per hour regularly), the fact that they were highly-touted prospects before they got here, and how after a few starts opposing hitters just started jumping on the first fastball they saw from each of them. For that matter, that all applies to Jeurys Familia when he was here too.

Harvey wasn’t as consistently dominant in Binghamton as Wheeler was. Remember Harvey came here during his first pro season, and he came after starting the season at St. Lucie. He made 12 starts in Binghamton, and in several starts he didn’t make it late into games because of his pitch count. He’d have rough innings where he would walk batters early in games because – as he even admitted – he would try to establish all his pitches right away.

Harvey actually only threw more than five complete innings twice with the B-Mets. He hit 10 strikeouts once. He didn’t record a win until his seventh start. He would have starts where he’d struggle a little early and then be overpowering an inning later.

He was very intense. I still recall talking to him after his final start – he went just three innings, gave up four runs and walked four – and he wanted no part of talking about the season as a whole. All he could do was boil over his last start.

Wheeler began the season here, and he was dominating almost right away. He made 19 starts here and went five innings or more in 16 of them. At times he struggled to command certain pitches, but he still seemed to find a way to get guys out. He rarely got hit hard. He only gave up two home runs, and one came in his last start in Binghamton.

It seems to me that Wheeler fluctuated more in sharpness and command of his off-speed pitches. He threw some curveballs and sliders that were absolutely nasty at times, and other starts they were just okay. However, he seemed to be able to adjust within the game and get through five, six, seven innings. Even on bad days, he jammed hitters and broke bats.

When you looked at Wheeler, he didn’t give off the intensity that Harvey did. However, Wheeler always seemed confident in his stuff even when he didn’t have his best.

I want to thank Lynn for taking some time to answer a few questions for us. Follow him on Twitter at @PSBLynn and make sure to read his daily coverage of the B-Mets at the Press & Sun Bulletin or PressConnects.com.

Mike Puma of the New York Post writes that David Wright has zero regrets, and continues to believe in the direction of the franchise.

“I’m disappointed in our performance so far,” Wright told The Post. “As far as specifically what Sandy and I talked about and I guess the plan moving forward, a big part of that plan is pieces we have in the higher minor leagues.”

David Wright, who signed an eight-year, $138 million contract extension over the Winter, is currently batting .300 /.402/.494 with six home runs, seven doubles, 11 stolen bases and 28 RBI in 160 at-bats this season.

“I’m disappointed in our performance as a team. I’m not disappointed in [what] I believe what the plan is going forward and what I believe this organization is capable of doing in the near future.”

The Plan. I hope one day they write a book and make a movie about this plan.

Rafael Montero Looks Intimidating (Photo by MMO Contributor Gordon Donovan)

Some people believe that we were put on this planet to serve a purpose. They believe that we were all put here for a reason. Well if that is the case, Rafael Montero was put on this planet for one reason: to pitch.

Montero was going through the Trenton Thunder lineup with surgical precision tonight, prompting this tweet from Trenton’s beat writer and former MMO Alumni Matt Kardos:

In my three seasons of covering minor league baseball, tonight’s effort by Rafael Montero is the most impressive that ive seen

— Matt Kardos ⚾ (@mattkardos) May 8, 2013

Montero was incredible over six innings of work, striking out five consecutive hitters at one point. Montero was painting the corners and was working quickly. He was in a rhythm, and the Trenton hitters were doing very little to break that rhythm. They let Montero work at his own pace, and it was a major advantage tonight. The difference in the major leagues, when Montero gets there, will be that hitters will step out of the box to break his rhythm.

Through his first six innings of work, Montero had thrown 74 pitches, 55 for strikes. He gave up one hit, one walk, while striking out eight. It wasn’t until the seventh inning where Trenton started to get to Montero. Montero started the inning off by giving up a lead off walk, and it seemed to spiral after that. He ended the game giving up three hits and three earned runs.

The most impressive thing about this start by Montero is that it came off the heels of his worst start of the year. As I stated in this morning’s morning report, this game was an important test for Montero. The entire Mets organization was watching to see how he would respond after last week’s start where he gave up ten runs. Paul DePodesta commented recently that Montero needed to face some adversity. This was Montero’s first taste of adversity, and he passed this test with flying colors. How these young pitchers bounce back after bad starts is a big step in their development. Montero showed everyone that he was for real tonight.

Montero is special. Watching him work through those first six innings was a sight to see. I know most people were watching Matt Harvey dominate the Chicago White Sox, but this kid Montero, he’s pretty good too. I try to avoid comparing prospects to established superstars and all-time greats. I know Montero has drawn some comparisons to Pedro Martinez. I have tried like heck not to accept that comparison, but the truth is, I’m starting to see it.

He knows how to pitch, and he knows how to get batters out. The way he works the ball on the corners is completely masterful. The way he gets hitters to chase pitches out of the zone is equally impressive. Montero is scary good right now, and he’s only going to get better.

Here are some quotes from Matt Kardos’ post game interviews after yesterday’s game:

Montero on bouncing back strong after a bad start last week: “I feel happy because I am progressing as a pitcher and that is big for me.”

Montero on if he ran out of gas in 7th: “I haven’t gotten tired so far this year. I just have a pitch count and that’s why they took me out.”

Montero on the go-ahead hit by Slade Heathcott: “I don’t think it was a bad pitch, he just put it in play and you have to give props to the hitter.”

Thunder Manager, Tony Franklin, on Montero: “Montero is very good, the kid has some very good mechanics that allows him to throw the ball well.”

Slade Heathcott on Montero: “He filled the zone up. That’s the toughest thing. I think at one point he had something like 60 strikes and 20 balls. I think he was anywhere from 90-95. Nothing overpowering, his slider was decent but he filled the zone up & worked both sides of the plate.”

I really can’t stress enough how impressive Montero was yesterday. It was easily the best start I saw from a pitcher this year. Most people were busy watching Matt Harvey, and didn’t get to watch Montero, and the box score doesn’t give Montero any justice.

Watching Montero attack the hitters and be able to put the ball where he wanted made it look like he was a man among boys — he just looks like he doesn’t belong (in a good way). He has fluid and smooth mechanics that almost seem to lull the hitters to sleep at the plate. Before they know it, Montero’s 94 mph fastball just went by and nipped the black ever so slightly…Strike Three! This guy is the goods.

Logan Verrett is quite the talented young pitcher.

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Las Vegas got rocked by Tacoma, 8-2.
• Binghamton defeated Akron, 7-2.
• St. Lucie blew out Bradenton, 13-5.
• Savannah edged out West Virginia, 1-0.

Prospect Pipeline

• I strongly urge you to click the above link leading to the Binghamton recap, which features a wonderful analysis of Logan Verrett‘s most recent start on Saturday afternoon. I remember writing on Verrett months ago and noting that he came into our system at 21 with fairly advanced stuff, so I expected him to advance quickly. Binghamton was supposed to be a serious test for him, and he seems to be passing with flying colors right now. He embodies a lot of great intangibles that you can appreciate in a young pitcher – he works fairly quickly, he pitches with confidence, and has sound mechanics. Verrett won his fourth game, which is tops in the EL.
• Rainy Lara has been gaining ground as a Mets prospect this season and with good reason, as he is finding success in Savannah. Saturday was no different, as he dominated the West Virginia Power for seven-and-a-third shutout innings, which dropped his season ERA to 1.88. Tempering expectations, Lara could end up being a Jeremy Hefner type player in the future, and I say this in a complimentary sense based on versatility and durability. A lot of people believe his stuff is better suited for a middle relief role, but he throws three pitches, and I refuse to give up on him unless he gives me an actual reason. One of the best things about Lara’s start on Saturday was his first pitch strike percentage – 80% (20/25). If he continues to attack with his pitches and his command stays solid, there is no reason to bet against an MLB future for Rainy Lara.
• The Mets had the choice to go with Collin Cowgill or Andrew Brown to break camp with the MLB team to start the 2013 season. They chose Cowgill and the results have been unpleasant, to say the least, so far. Andrew Brown, on the other hand, has been tearing it up in Las Vegas. The PCL is an extremely offensively heavy league and whatever genius thought the Mets would be better off with a Triple-A team in Las Vegas should be sacked, and if they don’t do it right, that person should be sacked. So remembering to take these stats with a grain of salt, here is Brown’s slash so far: .354/.427/.976.
• Speaking of outfielders playing well, Alonzo Harris has been rocking lately. He hit his second home run of the year last night. In his recent ten-game hitting streak, he has stolen eight bases and complemented it with a .341 average. His ten stolen bases are tied for the league lead.
• Prospect Rafael Montero took the mound on Friday evening and showed that he might actually have a human side, as he walked two batters and allowed two earned runs in five innings. He still managed to strike out eight batters, which leaves his K:BB at 35:3 and his ERA at 1.95. Considering the way he was pitching recently, this might actually qualify as a bad start for the young phenom.
• Are we getting to the point where we can take Kevin Plawecki‘s .400 average and Jayce Boyd‘s .405 average seriously now? We’re almost in May. Plawecki has an OPS of 1.144 so far this season, which leads the entire SAL league (Boyd is second). He also leads the   league in doubles with 11, or as Mr. North Jersey calls them, Plaweckis.
• Dustin Lawley has put together a nice pair of games between Friday and Saturday, as he has gone 3-for-7 with two home runs, one double, five RBI, five runs scored, and two walks.
• You wouldn’t believe how many spell Phillip Evans and Collin McHugh incorrectly by subtracting an L from both names. No big deal really, but I heard FOX used “Zach” for Zack Wheeler…and that’s one of his pet peeves. He told MMO that a while back.

Stat Line of the Night

Rainy Lara: 7.1 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 9 K

Transactions/Injuries

• Josh Edgin arrived in Binghamton, where in other news down there, Richard Lucas has a cramped muscle and will likely not play on Sunday. Lucas pulled up a little lame after running out a ground ball.
• Cory Mazzoni is still on the DL, but he could be throwing a bullpen session by next week.
• Right-handed pitcher Luis Mateo, who made on start with the B-Mets in place of Mazzoni, is no longer with the team. He has returned to the Mets facility in Port St. Lucie, Fla. (Thanks to Lynn Worthy.) Mateo should resume throwing again in the next week or so, based on his elbow strength.
• Michael Fulmer threw twelve pitches over the course of an inning in an extended spring training game. No reported issues.

Quote Of The Day

Some guys out kick their coverage with women. I’m more of a dive in my own end zone and take a safety kind of guy.

— Jake Kuebler (@ellskuebler) April 28, 2013

Photo of the Day

I’ll smile if you tell me more about Kevin Plawecki, Satish…

What the hell was the deal with that pie to the face by John Buck?

Check out this GIF courtesy of @MetsKevin11 on Twiitter:

That was messed up.

It was a tasteless act and in my opinion Buck needs to be fined or disciplined.

I want to know who else was behind this and also why Buck delivered the pie rather than the usual Justin Turner who had this to say about it:

This saddens me and I wonder if the reactions would be totally different if it were Matt Harvey who had been the recipient of that?

I bet there would be a lot more outrage… A lot more….

I’m sorry, but this is not how teammates are supposed to act.

Hey Captain, step up to the plate and find out what’s going on in your clubhouse.

What if he had gotten a broken nose or fractured face or eye socket? Did you see the force behind it?

Collins hasn’t help matters because it seems like Valdespin has been in his doghouse since the day he reported to Spring Training. All Spin did was out-produce every single player on this roster in camp. His reward? A bench spot.

Valdespin is currently batting .286 to lead all Mets outfielders. His reward? Getting cold-cocked in the face.

Here is what some of our commenters on MMO had to say about it:

Mike Lloyd – Buck ‘s pie to the face almost looks angry …I don’t care how anyone tries ‘Spinning’ that. WTF?

Return of the King – I actually didn’t think his teammates hated him at all. . . until I saw that. What was that about?

Matt Balasis – Seriously what was the deal with Buck’s pie in the face? I’ve seen him get on Jordany a couple of times and now he almost decapitates him with a pie

Mike Lloyd – Joe D. I keep watching it. That’s just wrong. Somebody needs to ask Buck WTF he was thinking …

Gary S. – The pie to the face is bush to begin with and imho has no place after winning a game in april.What Buck did was a disgrace.Could have busted his nose or messed up an eye with that move.I just don’t get it.

Ray Sadecki – And what about the spanking at home plate? that was totally uncalled for and unprofessional, and they spanked him too hard, Much too hard, He might have gotten injured. Yes, I think there should be an investigation right away.

Jordany Valdespin deserved better than this from his teammates. They owe him an apology.

What happened on that field after the win was not fun or funny. It was sad and pathetic. What should have been a memorable Mets moment was tainted in my opinion.

I was on the phone when the news flashed across my laptop screen. Two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. I quickly closed my laptop and turned on my TV and couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

The latest report says that at least two people are dead and over 100 more are injured, but those numbers could rise.

Authorities say this was the result of two bombs that were left in backpacks and detonated remotely likely using a cellphone.

Police found and defused at least one other explosive device that is intact and has not been detonated.

The carnage in that picture says it all and there are no words other than to say that our prayers and thoughts are with all the victims and their families.

I don’t even feel like watching baseball tonight…

Dominating Grapefruit League play wasn’t enough to keep Travis d’Arnaud with the big league team, and he has been optioned to minor league camp this evening.

After batting .343 this spring against major league competition, there’s no denying that d’Arnaud is ready to call Citi Field his home. However, it looks like the Mets were not willing to lose that extra year of control in order to have d’Arnaud break camp with the team. Now the d’Arnaud watch will start, and some believe that we won’t see d’Arnaud in Queens until after June 15.

“He played very well,” Sandy Alderson said. “He met all of our expectations, which I think for the organization and Mets fans were fairly high. He did a very nice job. We’re hopeful he’ll have a long career in New York. But we’re happy with what John Buck has done. We’ve got an investment in him as well. I think our pitching staff and team overall will benefit overall from John Buck’s presence, and ultimately Travis is going to be a very good player for us.”

D’Arnaud could spend the first twenty days in the minors in order for the Mets to delay his first year of arbitration, but in order for the team to avoid d’Arnaud gaining “Super Two” status, his call up would come some time after June 15. However, an injury to Buck can change that.

“As I said, we’ve got a big investment in John Buck, too,” Alderson said when asked about “Super Two” being a motivating factor with d’Arnaud. “I know people talk about control and ‘Super Two’ and all of that. If John Buck gets hurt tomorrow, Travis d’Arnaud is the front-line catcher.”

The good news is that this will give d’Arnaud and Zack Wheeler some time to get acquainted in Las Vegas. Looks like we will have to wait a couple more months to see these two in Queens…or you can order milb.tv like I did, if you can’t wait

Also sent down to minor league camp today: Aaron Laffey, Brian Bixler, Jamie Hoffmann and Andrew Brown. Brandon Hicks was outrighted which pretty much guarantees Omar Quintanilla the backup shortstop job.

D’Arnaud stayed in the game, but was pulled after the inside of his right forearm tightened up on him.

When leaving the park, he was spotted with his arm wrapped, but team officials said they do not believe it is serious.

Rubin quotes D’Arnaud who said:

“It got enough meat to where I’ll be fine — just let it heal, relax for today,” d’Arnaud said. “Fortunately it wasn’t a couple of inches higher or lower.”

Told it didn’t sound great when he was plunked, d’Arnaud said: “It didn’t feel great, either.”

I think that every little nick and every little ache that D’Arnaud goes through during his first season with the Mets, is going to be very magnified. Anyone else get that feeling?

When the Mets traded Ryan Church for 25 year old left fielder Jeff Francoeur, the Braves as well as every saber-head in the universe said the Mets got hosed. Lately, they don’t chirp as loudly as they once did. I think they are lying in wait for one false move by Francoeur so they could jump out and proclaim, “You see! I told you so!”. I also believe they have a long wait ahead of them.

I never really understood why all that animosity that was hurled his way. At the time it was just a swap of two average players who needed a change of scenery, but the reaction was as if the Mets traded Fernando Martinez and Jenrry Mejia for Francoeur instead of Ryan Church, who incidentally was subsequently released by the Braves. Could you even imagine the Mets releasing Jeff Francoeur now?

The former first round pick immediately showed up and added a much needed offensive jolt to the lineup and a positive determination that had been missing for most of the 2009 season. In 75 games he batted .311 while collecting 32 extra-base hits and finishing with a .498 slugging percentage. It was enough to silence his detractors for the time being, but they still shrug their shoulders and say “small sample size” under their breaths.

Francoeur spent his offseason dedicated to improving as a hitter and becoming a more dominant run producer. He spent some time with Howard Johnson this winter where they focused mainly on pitch recognition and improving his patience at the plate.

All of that aside, Francoeur has been one of the most outspoken and vocal Mets this offseason. He believes in this Mets team… and he wants all of us to believe in them too.

Yesterday, Francoeur told reporters that he is “sick and tired of 2009″ and he believes the Mets have as much of a chance of going to the post season as the New York Yankees.   

“At this point, who cares what happened last year? Even though the Yankees, they won it, but it really doesn’t matter at this point. It’s a new season. Besides Carlos Beltran, you look at everyone is healthy that is supposed to be healthy, and that is huge. We have no excuses now. We’ve got everybody we need here. We’ve got one more guy to get back hopefully in May, and if we can’t win with that, then it’s our fault.”

We need more of that kind of attitude around here. We need that kind of swagger. 

Francoeur has had a positive effect on David Wright who suddenly ditched his choir boy image and now looks and talks a lot like his old friend Paul LoDuca (without the crazy eyes). There are other good reasons to be encouraged this season.

• Jason Bay was lauded by former Met Dave Magadan as a huge presence in the Red Sox clubhouse who motivated everyone on the team. 
• Johan Santana seems determined to make both Oliver Perez and Jose Reyes stand up and deliver the best performances of their careers this season.
• Mike Pelfrey is leaner and oh is he ever so meaner too. Pelf is a man on a mission. 
• I believe Barajas and Blanco will get the most out of our pitching staff after enduring a season where Omir and Schneider got the worst out of them.

Sometimes all you need is one guy to stand up and deliver a solid performance and back it up with a confident swagger. According to all the experts, Francoeur was a zero and someone who would make the Mets worse and not better. They were all wrong. Jeff Francoeur almost immediately began changing the culture of the Mets clubhouse from the day he first got there. He still is.

I’m sure people thought that Ron Swoboda in ’69 and Tug McGraw in ’73 were crazy too. But that’s the thing about swagger… It’s the confidence to believe in yourself even when nobody else does. Soon your teammates start believing in you too, and before you know it they start to believe in themselves as well. We’ve seen it before Mets fans.

Aren’t you sick and tired of 2009 too? Aren’t you sick and tired of hearing and reading how bad we are? Or how terrible out prospects are? Or what a terrible offseason we had? 

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to start believing again.