But even so, the players wore special blue jerseys to honor the area of the metro area affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Instead of the player’s name, the words “Breezy Point,” “East Rockaway ” and Coney Island, as well as the other areas, appeared on their backs.

Some of the jerseys were raffled off to fans after the game was called, and the others will be raffled off at a later date.

Check out the photos below, and stay tuned for a few feature pieces on the start of the season.

Shortstop Gavin Cecchini

Infielder Ismael Tijerina

Second baseman L.J. Mazzilli

Manager Rich Donnelly

Photo courtesy of Christian Abraham

The New York Mets fourth round pick, second baseman L.J. Mazzilli, has officially signed with the team according to the company’s official Twitter page.

The Mets made the announcement early on saturday posting a Tweet which read,

“Mets 4th rounder UConn 2nd baseman L.J. Mazzilli, Lee Mazzilli’s son, has officially signed and will be sent to @BKCyclones”.

The announcement marks yet another 2013 draftee to come to terms with the organization. Mazzilli, the 116th pick in the 2013 draft, was scheduled to appear at second base for the Brooklyn Cyclones and this recent announcement makes it official.

L.J. Mazzilli is the son of former Mets player Lee Mazzilli, who played right field for the 1986 championship winning team. He was chosen by the Mets with the 14th overall pick in the 1973 draft before going on to play with the team from 1976-1982 and 1986-1989.

Coming out of The University of Connecticut, L.J. Mazzilli is an offensively skilled second baseman who hit six home runs and stole 29 bases this year.

L.J. was drafted by the Twins in the ninth round of last years draft, but opted to return for his final year of college. His decision resulted in a senior year where he hit .354 with 51 RBI’s and went on to lead the Huskies to a Big East Title.

Usually at this time, the team is at least still somewhat relevant and playing somewhat exciting baseball.

But not this year.

Sure, there are some good things to look forward to with the big-league club, especially the much-anticipated debut of Zack Wheeler on Tuesday.

However, later on in the day Tuesday, the Mets’ short-season Single-A affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones, will open their 13th season in Coney Island.

I have been tabbed the Cyclones’ beat reporter for Mets Merized Online, and I’m excited for this opportunity to get to know the prospects who are way down on the farm.

Many of these guys are right out of high school and college and have a long road ahead of them. But they surely will be showing up each night with enthusiasm as they begin their baseball careers.

Just look at the Mets’ roster right now. Daniel Murphy, Bobby Parnell, Lucas Duda, Dillon Gee, Josh Satin, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Jordany Valdespin and Juan Lagares all were Brooklyn Cyclones. Not to mention some first baseman in the Mets’ farm system named Ike Davis.

I will be covering the majority of the home games this summer and will try to provide brief updates on road games. I will have player insights, and maybe I will try to develop a weekly spot with manager Rich Donnelly – a coach who has seen it all in his experience with baseball.

I’m always open to suggestions about my coverage. Got a question for a prospect? Got a story idea? I’d love to hear about it. I will be checking the comments section of my stories frequently, so drop me a note and I’ll take care of the rest.

I hope you enjoy the coverage of the future Mets. It’s certainly a luxury to have a minor-league affiliate so close to the parent club.

And MCU Park is truly a great venue to watch a ballgame. After Hurricane Sandy, the Cyclones ripped up the damaged grass field and installed a beautiful FieldTurf surface. It will be interesting to see how this affects the game.

I’ll be bringing you all that and more this summer. Thank you in advance for following the Cyclones!

Notes, Quotes, Tweets, and other assorted Mets Minors news from scouring the web…

Las Vegas 51s

Officially installed as the team’s closer, Jeurys Familia picked up his first professional save in Las Vegas’ 4-3 win at Fresno on Monday night.

The big news today is that Zack Wheeler makes his second start for Las Vegas tonight at 10:05 ET as he looks to bounce back from a rough season debut. He will be opposing former Met prospect Yusmeiro Petit.

Travis d’Arnaud continues to rake, but so is John Buck for the Mets. This is going to be interesting to watch.

Binghamton Mets

After a slow offensive start, the B-Mets rallied to score seven unanswered runs to defeat Erie, 7-2, in the series opener. RHP Rafael Montero will make his second start of the season tonight after a brilliant performance on Opening Day against Akron. Montero struck out eight batters without walking any in 5.2 innings.

RHP Erik Goeddel logged the second quality start of the season by a B-Met starting pitcher as he threw 6.0 innings and gave up two runs in last night’s win. RHP Logan Verrett also went 6.0 innings in his first start of the season. So far, every Binghamton starting pitcher has gone at least 5.0 innings on the mound.

St. Lucie Mets

The Lucie rotation has been as good as advertised and keep throwing up goose eggs.

Savannah Sand Gnats

Logan Taylor tossed five scoreless innings in his Savannah debut last night, but the Gnats lost to Augusta, 6-5. Savannah’s 2-3-4 hitters Brandon Nimmo , Kevin Plawecki, and Jayce Boyd are a combined 26-56 (.464) with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 12 RBI, and 12 bases on balls.

The Gnats send RHP Luis Cessa (NR) to the mound against RHP Jose Reyes in game two of the three-game series Tuesday at 7:05 pm.

Mike Newman says: After scouting Nimmo, he understood the comparison in terms of size and projection. However, Nimmo’s baseball movements are more fluid and easy. When he barrels the baseball, it’s one of the prettier prospect swings scouted in person. His contact skills and present power have me thinking there’s more in the tank as he fills out too.

Newman also took some footage of Plawecki yesterday:

Brooklyn Cyclones

Monday night’s Cyclones Alum of the went to Josh Satin who went 3-for-4 for Las Vegas as the 51s beat Fresno.

The 600 box seats they put on sale for $1.50 in a promotion to honor the birthday of Ebbets Field sold out in less than three minutes. Happy Birthday Ebbets Field!

Tweet Nothings…

Just another day in paradise!

— Gavin Cecchini (@GavinCecchini2) April 9, 2013

@_robbieshields flashes more mitt than Romney. Follow him!

— Matt den Dekker (@UpperDekker) April 9, 2013

Doc just looks lost out on the mound. Hate to see it happen to such a great pitcher, but #LGM!

— John Mincone (@Jmincone) April 9, 2013

Love those blue uniforms.#LGM

— Hamilton Bennett (@Ham_Bone28) April 8, 2013

There were no injuries to any of the players.

The players however were stranded on the side of the road for quite some time as they waited for their bus to get fixed. Several of the players took to Twitter to talk about their traveling adventures and well…you can read for yourself.

#FridayThe13th 

We would hit a Semi during a 7 hour bus trip. Happy #Fridaythe13th. #FML

— John Mincone (@Jmincone) July 14, 2012

Who gets electricuted by an outlet on a bus.

— Matt Koch (@mattykoch20) July 14, 2012

Nothing like hitting a semi and the guardrail on the bus to wake you up for this 7 hr drive

— Beck Wheeler (@beck_wheelerr) July 14, 2012

@pevans28. Why ain’t yo mechanic ass ain’t fixing this truck?

— david wynn II (@Dwynn6one9) July 14, 2012

Even If we don’t make it to the bigs, at least I know a couple of my teammates can be stand up comedians #comedytweets

— Beck Wheeler (@beck_wheelerr) July 14, 2012

Just got in a collision with a semi… Good thing @dwynn6one9 was in his car seat

— Jay (@Jay_C_One) July 14, 2012

@b_welch21 I don’t trust people with an egg as there twitter picture..oh wait that’s just your head..

— Phillip Evans (@PEVANS28) July 14, 2012

You think dominoes delivers to the side of the freeway #stuckofI95

— Beck Wheeler (@beck_wheelerr) July 14, 2012

Movie “the Grey” is horrible & we just got in a finder bender with a semi. Stuck on the side of the road! 5 more hours till our destination.

— Kevin Plawecki (@kplawecki26) July 14, 2012

And yes everyone thanks for all the corrections. We got in a fender* bender, not a finder bender. #spellingbee

— Kevin Plawecki (@kplawecki26) July 14, 2012

@kplawecki26 we all know you haven’t won any spelling bee’s in your day…

— Phillip Evans (@PEVANS28) July 14, 2012

@dwynn6one9 Do you need a stack of phone books to see this movie were about to throw in?

— Phillip Evans (@PEVANS28) July 14, 2012

Been on the road for three hours but parked for two hours…so naturally I made a twitter #finally

— Stefan Sabol (@UceDeuces_22) July 14, 2012

“@dwynn6one9: @jmincone #fail.” likeYour growth spurts?

— John Mincone (@Jmincone) July 14, 2012

@dwynn6one9 you’re in a twitter time out. Sit in the corner and think about the absurdity of your tweets.

— John Mincone (@Jmincone) July 14, 2012

Your Brooklyn Cyclones … RT @jay_twennyfo: Just got in a collision with a semi… Good thing @dwynn6one9 was in his car seat

— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) July 14, 2012

That’s absolutely hideous, I’m trying to see what row your in but the seat backs are over 3 feet tall, where you at Pooh Bear?

— John Mincone (@Jmincone) July 14, 2012

In the midst of all this I’m just worried about the entire starting rotation being deported… #nohablaingles

— Logan Taylor (@Loganreese36) July 14, 2012

Semi 1 Cyclones 0

— Tyler Vanderheiden (@CallmeVandy) July 14, 2012

There are no easy roads to the show. Sometimes a semi truck and guardrail get in the way.

— Tyler Vanderheiden (@CallmeVandy) July 14, 2012

I don’t think he purposely does it but it feel like everytime I talk to@ucedeuces_22 he wants to spit on me #suckeringsuckatash!

— david wynn II (@Dwynn6one9) July 14, 2012

@ucedeuces_22 translations= splease stop staking all the spenut sbutter!

— david wynn II (@Dwynn6one9) July 14, 2012

I’m on this bus almost in tears

— Jay (@Jay_C_One) July 14, 2012

This has got to be the funniest bus I’ve ever been on!

— Rob Whalen (@RobWhalen38) July 14, 2012

On this bus right now there’s is nothing but laughing and spanish mumbling… Why are we still not moving bro

— Logan Taylor (@Loganreese36) July 14, 2012

2 hours later… We are still sitting here on the side of the road.

— Rob Whalen (@RobWhalen38) July 14, 2012

Would like to give a huge shout out to the semi driver who made this night even longer.

— Matt Koch (@mattykoch20) July 14, 2012

Brandon Nimmo (Photo by Jim Mancari)

First at-bat: Nimmo grounds out to first base with pitcher covering. 0-for-1

Brandon Nimmo batting (Photo by Jim Mancari)

Update: Nimmo ranges nicely to his right into left center field to record the final out of the top of the third inning. No score yet in the ballgame.

Brandon Nimmo in center (Photo by Jim Mancari)

It gets lonely out there with all that space. Then again, Nimmo’s from Wyoming so he used to be surrounded by nothing.

Update: Nimmo chopped a ball to third in his second at-bat. The throw was short hopped to the first baseman and popped out of his glove, allowing Nimmo to be safe at first. He advanced to second on a base hit.

Nimmo rocking sweet Under Armour cleats (Photo by Jim Mancari)

Nimmo and Cyclones manager Rich Donnelly (Photo by Jim Mancari)

Nimmo’s ready position (Photo by Jim Mancari)

Update: Nimmo comes to plate with a chance to drive in the game’s first run. Two on two out, bottom five.

Nimmo makes good contact up the middle by the second baseman snaps it and goes the easy way for the 4-6 putout. Nimmo 0-for-3.

Update: Nimmo reaches first with a walk. Winds up scoring the game-winning run on a bases-loaded walk.

Nimmo jogs to first after a walk (Photo by Jim Mancari)

Nimmo leads off first (Photo by Jim Mancari)

Another rough night In Binghamton…

Pawtucket 6, Buffalo 1

Sunday was the final game of the four-game set, and the end result was no different from the first three. The Bisons fell 6-1 to the PawSox, drifting eight games behind in the divisional race heading into an 8-game road trip to Norfolk and Durham.

Inefficient starting pitching doomed the Herd this weekend, and the case was no different Sunday. Garrett Olson got the start for Buffalo, and a 39-pitch first inning was a sign of things to come. Although Olson escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first, he would not have the same good fortune in later innings.

After Pawtucket drew first blood with a run in the 2nd, the PawSox broke the game open with a three-run 3rd. Mauro Gomez led off with a single to center field, and a walk put two men on base with one out.

With a nice RBI chance, Che-Hsuan Lin ripped a double to center field that scored Gomez. Next up, Mike Rivera knocked another ball into center field for a single that scored two more. Just like that, the PawSox had a 4-0 lead, and the Bisons were in rally mode.

After Tony Thomas followed with a single, Bisons manager Wally Backman pulled Olson from the game. The left-hander lasted only 2.1 innings. When the starting pitcher fails to eat up innings, the effect trickles down to the rest of the staff.

On a positive note for Buffalo, the Herd bounced back from Saturday’s sloppy fielding effort. After committing four errors Saturday, the Bisons committed none on Sunday.

The end result could have been much worse if not for the sound defensive outing, and Matt Den Dekker played a large role in the effort. With just one out in the 3rd – and Pawtucket having already scored three runs in the inning – the bases were loaded, and the PawSox looked ready to break the game open.

Cody Ross hit a high fly ball to center, and Den Dekker made the catch for the easy out. Mike Rivera tagged up at third and headed home, but Den Dekker had other plans. The center fielder made a perfect throw that needed only one hop to make it to catcher Lucas May, and May had plenty of time to tag Rivera out. The double play ended the inning, limiting the damage.

Den Dekker also made a resilient defensive play in the 5th, tracking down Tony Thomas’ fly ball to center and making a diving catch.

After a disappointing series, the Bisons look to take all the positives they can into the upcoming road trip. The bounce-back fielding performance Sunday is a start, but the Herd will need a wholesale all-around improvement in order to battle back in the standings.

Herd Rumblings: A rough relief stint for Jenrry Mejia who was only able to get one out. He hit a batter, threw a wild pitch, allowed two hits, walked one, and was lucky he only got charged with one run. RHP Collin McHugh has been called up from Double-A Binghamton and will start for the Herd Monday night in Norfolk. In 12 starts this year for the B-Mets, McHugh is 5-5 with a 2.41 ERA. Raul Reyes had a multi-hit game for the Herd Sunday, going 2-for-3 with a double and RBI. The Bisons concluded their 8-game homestand with a record of 2-6. Compiled from team report.

Altoona 15, Binghamton 6

By Tim Burns

The Binghamton Mets dropped the series finale against the Altoona Curve on Sunday afternoon at NYSEG Stadium, falling to the Altoona Curve by a score of 15-6. The B-Mets pitching staff allowed the Curve to belt out twenty hits in the game, while the defense committed four errors for the home team. It was the second most runs allowed by the B-Mets this season, eclipsed only by a 16-3 drubbing put on the team by the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in April.

Starter Greg Peavey took the loss in the game, giving up seven runs (four of which were earned) on eight hits in his five innings worth of work. Peavey struck out one Altoona batter, walked two, and surrendered two home runs, one of which was to the games leadoff batter Robbie Grossman. Peavey threw 102 pitches in the game, 62 of them for strikes.

Ryan Fraser relieved Peavey in the top of the sixth and cooled the Curve’s bats down a bit, if for only one inning. In his one inning on the mound, Fraser allowed one hit and no runs.

Adrian Rosario was brought in for the seventh, and for the third time in the last four games he has appeared in had a rough outing. Rosario threw two innings for the B-Mets, and gave up three runs on four hits, including a solo home run by Stefan Welch, while striking out three and walking one.

Robert Carson was brought in at the top of the ninth inning, and lasted only 1/3 of an inning in a very uncharacteristic outing in an otherwise strong season. In that 1/3 of an inning, Carson gave up five runs – all earned – on six hits. His lone out recorded in the game was a strikeout of the Curve’s Drew Maggi.

Edgar Ramirez was the final pitcher of the day for the Binghamton Mets. He worked the final 2/3 of the ninth inning for the home team, giving up only one hit and recording no strikeouts or walks.

At the plate, first baseman Travis Ozga contributed to half of the runs the B-Mets scored in the game with his second inning three run shot over the right field wall. Reese Havens was 1/3 on the afternoon, with a double and an RBI. Pedro Zapata was 2/4 with an RBI and run scored. Eric Campbell, who has now hit safely in his last five games, was 1/4 with an RBI and run scored as well.

B-Mets manager Pedro Lopez was ejected from the game in bottom of the seventh by third base ump Shaun Lampe. Lampe called the B-Mets Reese Havens out at third as he tried to leg his double into a triple. Lopez felt Havens beat the tag and argued his case to no avail. It was only the second time in 2012 that Lopez has been ejected from a game, the last time being in early May.

B-Mets Buzz: The team has Monday off before heading out on the road for an eight game swing through Akron, Ohio and Erie, Pennsylvania. With the departure of Collin McHugh, Pedro Lopez will keep a six man starting rotation as it appears that RHP Cory Mazzoni will join the B-Mets from St. Lucie. Mazzoni, who is 5-1 with a 3.25 ERA in 12 starts for the StL-Mets this season, will get the nod for the B-Mets at some point in the Akron series.

 Savannah 5, Rome 2

By Fonzie13

Sunday afternoon the surging Sand Gnats defeated the struggling Rome Braves (ATL) by a score of 5-2 behind 6 outstanding innings by RHP Marcos Camarena, to complete a 4 game sweep and 7th straight win.

The Sand Gnats Scored 1st with 2 runs in the top of the 3rd. RF Gilbert Gomez (1-4) hit a 1 out single, and SS Ismeal Tijerina reached on an error by SS Elmer Reyes before DH TJ Rivera plated Gomez with a sharp line drive single to RF that was kicked around by RF Will Skinner allowing Tijerina to take 3rd. C Cam Maron (2-4, 1 RBI) drove home Tijerina with a single to CF to make the score 2-0 Savannah.

Gnats right hander Marcos Camarena 5-1, 1.30 took a perfect game into the 6th before Braves light hitting 3B Brandon Drury and his 187 batting average singled to CF and took 2nd as Travis Taijeron booted it allowing Drury to take 2nd. Drury would later get thrown out at 3rd on a ground ball by Braves SS Elmer Reyes to his counterpart Ismeal Tijerina. Drury stayed in a rundown long enough to allow Reyes the trail runner to take 2nd. CF Tony Mueller followed with a single to score the unearned run.

Savannah added 3 more in the top of the 8th as Cam maron worked out a walk to lead things off, Dustin Lawley (1-5, 1 RBI) followed with line drive double into the left center gap scoring Maron from 1B. CF Travis Taijeron (2-4, HR(12), 2 RBI) blasted a long 2 run HR over the LF wall to give the Gnats a comfortable 5-1 lead. Rome got 1 back in their half of the 8th to cut the lead to 5-2.

With the score 5-2 heading into the 9th, Savannah called on RHP Jeffrey Walters to shut the door. After a leadoff single, Walters would get the next 2 before yielding another hit and allowing Rome to bring the tying run to the plate in RF Will Skinner but Walters would induce a weak groundball to SS Tijerina who went the short way for the forceout at 2nd for the 3rd and final out and giving Walters his 4th save of the year.

Camarena finshed up with 6 IP allowing 1 unearned run on 2 hits, both coming in the 6th inning, did not walk a batter and struckout 1. Marcos had his heavy sinker working as he got Rome hitters to pound the ball into the ground for 6 innings. 11 groundouts vs 5 in the air. Randy Fontanez pitched 2 innings following Camarena, letting up a run on 2 hits, striking out 3 before giving way to Walters in the 9th who gave up 2 hits in the 9th but nothing else.

Gnats Stats: Chasen Bradford 2-0, 2.18 ERA, 1.16 WHIP - Jeffrey Walters 3-2, 0.95 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 4 SV - T.J. Chism 1-2, 3.38 ERA, 12 SV - Jack Leathersich 0.75 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 37 K’s in 24 IP, he’s been promoted to Advanced-A St Lucie - Carlos Vazquez 4-1, 3.32 era, 1.03 WHIP.

Gnats Gnotes: Savannah storms into the Allstar Break in 2nd place with a 41-26 record 4.5 behind Asheville (COL) 47-23 after winning their final 7 games before the break. Asheville dropped the last 2 to Lexington to inch Savannah closer to 1st. The Gnats welcome Augusta in for 4 games starting Thursday after the break. Gnats pitching has been outstanding the 1st half of the season. The starters and the bullpen have been lights out thus far, particularly in the Bullpen. Marcos Camarena has been dazzling SAL hitters out of the pen all season with a 6-1 record, 1.30 ERA and 0.79 WHIP.

Brooklyn Cyclones

By Joe D.

The Brooklyn Cyclones open their season at 7:05 PM tonight at MCU Park in Coney Island against the Staten Island Yankees.

The roster includes 2011 first-round pick Brandon Nimmo and 2012 supplemental first-round pick, Purdue catcher Kevin Plawecki. Righthander Gabriel Ynoa, 19, will pitch tonight’s opener. Ynoa, who signed with the Mets as a minor-league free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2009, went 2-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 12 games in Rookie ball last year.

Dedicated to our buddy Sean. Hang in there…

According to the American Diabetes Association, 25.8 million children and adults—8.3 percent of the population—are living with the diabetes. Among these is Mets outfield prospect Cory Vaughn.

Vaughn, the son of former Major League slugger Greg Vaughn, was drafted out of high school by the Phillies in 2007 but opted to attend San Diego State University. He was then drafted by the Mets in last year’s draft.

All he’s done so far in the Mets system is hit, hit and hit some more. He clubbed 14 home runs last year for the Brooklyn Cyclones and got off to a hot start with the bat this year for the Savannah Sand Gnats. He was promoted to the St. Lucie Mets about a month ago.

From a young age, baseball dominated Vaughn’s life, and he remembers running around big league clubhouses with his dad. Though he always asks Greg for tips, Vaughn realizes that the two played in completely different eras.

“I’m my own player,” said Vaughn. “My game is a little bit different than my father’s was.”

While Vaughn is most known for his potent bat, he claims that the best aspect of his game right now is his defense. He has a cannon for an arm and worked hard on turning himself in a more complete player.

“It’s inevitable that you’re not going to go out there and get hits every single night,” Vaughn said. “When you’re not getting hits, you have to find a way to make sure that if you don’t get any, whoever’s up to bat isn’t getting any as well if they hit it in your area.”

Though Vaughn is looking forward to future success, he’ll never forget his first year in the minors last summer in Brooklyn. Vaughn loved the fans and atmosphere at Coney Island.

“It was a blast,” Vaughn recalled. “The biggest thing for me was that there was always something to eat after the game regardless of what time it was.”

Vaughn said he couldn’t get enough of the food in Brooklyn, but in one instance, it came back to haunt him.

Pizza is a tough food to handle for diabetics because of all the fat and carbohydrate contents. Vaughn took his insulin to balance his blood sugar, but he wound up taking too much. By the eighth inning of the game, Vaughn had to be removed since he almost passed out. Though this was the only time his diabetes affected his play, he says the Brooklyn pizza was well worth it.

Each day, Vaughn—and teammate Rylan Sandoval who also has Type I Diabetes—checks his blood sugar eight or nine times a day. After a while, Vaughn said he’s grown accustomed to this lifestyle.

“The longer you have it, the more you start to know your own body,” said Vaughn.

Diabetes has far from halted Vaughn’s progress. While at San Diego State, scouts realized he had big time potential. He was actually a college teammate of Washington Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg.

Vaughn describes Strasburg as a “good dude” with some of the nastiest stuff he’s ever seen. How ironic would it be if the two face each other again, only this time in the big leagues with their respective NL East clubs?

With all the recent hoopla surrounding the trade of Carlos Beltran, Vaughn, who is a right fielder, said he couldn’t help but take notice. However, he claims that minor leaguers in general really don’t follow along with how the organization’s Major Leaguers are performing.

“I’m not worried about people ahead of me and how they’re doing,” Vaughn said. “I wish everyone the best of success. I’m just out here trying to be the best ballplayer I can be.”

Vaughn enjoyed playing with David Wright last week when Wright played a few rehab games with St. Lucie. Vaughn said he probably annoyed Wright with the amount of questions he asked, but this just shows that Vaughn genuinely wants to learn and get better.

While he’s been proclaimed as the Mets right fielder of the future, Vaughn is content with taking one step at a time.

“I try not to worry about things that I can’t control,” said Vaughn. “Wherever they want me to be, they’re going to do it.”

Vaughn’s story is an inspiration to the millions of people that suffer from Diabetes. He’s a great example of a person that hasn’t let his condition affect his dreams. Hopefully, if he continues his progress, he’ll be suiting up for the Mets real soon.

With the news breaking that All-Star Shortstop Jose Reyes would run Sunday, which he did, and then fly to Brooklyn today for a rehab game with the Cyclones – it’s just what the doctor ordered for the Mets.

Right now the Mets are on thin ice, they stand 8 1/2 games behind the wild card leading Atlanta Braves, who like the Philadelphia Phillies just don’t seem to lose, making it difficult for the Mets to make up any kind of ground in the standings.

Now the Amazin’s have not helped themselves by doing what every contending team needs to do, which is win in your home ballpark. The Mets are now four games under .500 at home, but have a chance to break even at .500 for the season at home with a win tomorrow in a makeup game against the Marlins combined with a three game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals – a daunting task.

So what does this all have to do with Jose Reyes you may ask? Well, depending on how these next four games go, it could determine whether Carlos Beltran remains a Met before the Mets head out to Florida to open up a 10 game road trip… it could determine if the Metropolitans in fact become sellers sooner rather than later.

A Reyes return will do wonders for an offense that has struggled mightily of late outside of Saturday’s 11-run outburst  and today’s late rally to net the Mets five runs, most of which came when the game was already decided.

With Reyes’ return not only will you get his play, but he will bring back some excitement and energy at the top of the order, something the team has lacked since the 28-year-old went down. No knock on Angel Pagan, but he just doesn’t have the patience or ability to be a leadoff man, he’s best suited either hitting behind Reyes in the two hole, or down in the order in the fifth or six slot.

If the Mets can get hot here in the next week or so, imagine a lineup that would feature the likes of Reyes, a healthy David Wright, Carlos Beltran (if he’s not traded), Daniel Murphy, Jason Bay, and Angel Pagan. All of a sudden, the Mets could have themselves one of the NL’s stronger lineups to go along with a starting rotation that’s been better than anyone expected, considering they’ve been without their ace Johan Santana all season.

If Reyes hits the ground running on Tuesday, it could put the Mets back on track and prolong what some believe is the inevitable trade of Beltran

(C) Diana Colapietro

Former Mets pitcher Frank “Sweet Music” Viola is back with the team, but this time he’s not with the big club.

Viola signed on as the pitching coach for the Brooklyn Cyclones—the Mets Single-A short season affiliate.

The St. John’s University product and East Meadow, Long Island native says he’s happy to be back in New York, though in a different capacity than last time.

“Getting my foot back in the door in the coaching aspects of professional baseball is a big plus, and I’m very much looking forward to hopefully making a difference in the development of some of these kids,” said Viola.

Viola enjoyed a 15-year MLB career and played three of those seasons with the Mets. He is still the last Mets pitcher to win 20 games in a season (1990).

Many of the Cyclones players were unfamiliar with him, since most weren’t born during his playing days. However, the players found out that Viola is a former World Series MVP (1987) and Cy Young Award winner (1988).

“Once they realized what I did, I got instant recognition,” said Viola. I’m out here working with each kid individually and hoping that I can help in any small way to give them a chance to go up levels here with the Mets.”

In addition to teaching the young pitchers the mental part of the game, Viola has been instrumental in helping the pitchers develop change-ups. His change-up—which he learned from Brooklyn Dodgers great Johnny Podres—was his main pitch during his career.

“If you can teach one kid a change-up to go along with a fastball, slider, curve, all of sudden you’re giving him a chance to succeed and keep on moving,” said Viola.

Jeff Walters—one of the Cyclones starters—believes Viola has helped him make his change-up better.

“He’s very comfortable with knowing when he was going to throw it and who he was going to throw it to,” said Walters.

Walters, as well as the other pitchers, have responded well to Viola thus far and look forward to working with him all season.

“When he speaks, we all listen because we know he’s been there and been at the very top,” said Walters. “We listen very closely and take all his words to heart and know that he’s here to teach us and hopefully one day make us as good as he was.”

Cyclones lefty reliever T.J. Chism believes the fact that Viola is left-handed has helped give him an edge in the pitching learning curve.

“I think it’s a huge advantage not just over every other team here but over some of the right-handers we have,” said Chism.

Though Viola knows when to be serious, he loves having fun with the guys and keeping everyone loose.

“We have a lot of fun,” said Cyclones pitcher Hunter Carnevale. “I love competing, and he [Viola] loves it too. I think when you create a winning atmosphere, having fun takes care of itself.”

Viola and the Cyclones will continue to provide competitive baseball in a family atmosphere at MCU Park. It’s great to have a genuine Mets fan helping in the development of the organization’s young pitchers.

“Once a Met fan, always a Met fan,” said Viola.

While the big club has played good baseball over the past few weeks, New York Mets Single-A short season affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones, open their season this Friday night on the road against the Staten Island Yankees.

The borough of Brooklyn is preparing for another exciting summer of baseball, especially after the Cyclones came up one game short last season for the New York-Penn League Championship title.

The team held its preliminary workouts this week, as several of the new players will be beginning their professional careers in Brooklyn. Still, six Cyclones players from last year will return to this year’s team—pitchers Hunter Carnevale, T.J. Chism, Chris Hilliard and Guillaume Leduc; catcher Amauris Valdez; and infielders Jet Butler and Brian Harrison.

Though legendary Met Wally Backman won’t be a stalwart this season at Coney Island’s MCU Park, the Cyclones will have a plethora of Major league experience manning the dugout.

Rich Donnelly takes the helm as the Cyclones new manager, with Backman being promoted to Binghamton. Donnelly has over 25 years of coaching experience for the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was an advisor for player development for the Pittsburgh Pirates before being named the Cyclones manager.

Highlighting the offseason coaching acquisitions, former Met Frank Viola takes over as the team’s pitching coach. Viola pitched for the Mets for parts of three seasons and is the last Mets pitcher to win 20 games in a season (1990). The lefty hurler, who also attended St. John’s University in Queens, will be a valuable resource for the young Cyclones pitching staff.

The final roster is still uncertain, since the Mets have yet to sign all of their draft picks. First-round pick Brandon Nimmo remains unsigned, but the Wyoming outfielder may make his debut this season with the Cyclones. He’s likely in for a culture shock playing in Brooklyn.

The 2011 draft picks that will be playing for the Cyclones are the following: Fresno State switch hitting shortstop Daniel Muno; outfielder Jonathan Clark from Lee University in Tennessee; 6’4” outfielder Charley Thurber from the University of Tennessee who was born in Elmira, NY; and outfielder Travis Taijeron from Cal Poly Pomona.

Though there will be some new faces, the same hard-nosed style of baseball will be played this season.

Who on this year’s squad will be the next Cory Vaughn, Darrell Ceciliani or Rylan Sandoval?

Head to MCU Park to find out!

Vaughn is the son of notable power hitter Greg Vaughn, and was drafted by the New York Mets in the fourth round, out of San Diego State University. He signed with the Mets a couple of weeks later and then reported to Brooklyn and homered in his first game. He’s been belting home runs ever since.

On Sunday, Vaughn hit a three-run homer and officially tied the Cyclones’ long-standing franchise record for the most home runs in a single season with 13 round trippers. His RBI total surpasses the previous high of 46, also a franchise record.

Besides his exploits as a slugger, Vaughn is very capable as a hitter and has great speed as evidenced by his .304 batting average, 40 runs scored, 12 doubles, 4 triples, and 11 stolen bases. So far, this kid has shown an enormous amount of versatility as a player as well as a tremendous amount of potential as a five tool player.

His homeruns are more than just a big flyball to pad his stats. In the 12 games in which Vaughn has hit a home run this season, Brooklyn has won 10 of those games. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to have a a home run hitter who can do that for the Mets someday?

Keep an eye on this kid. I know Nieuwenhuis and F-Mart get all the ink lately, but Vaughn is clearly one to watch closely as well.

In other Cyclones’ news, congratulations to Wally Backman and the Brooklyn Cyclones for clinching their division this weekend.

The Cyclones, who are an impressive 44-21, clinched the 2010 McNamara Division title with a huge 10-0 win over the Connecticut Tigers on Saturday. For Brooklyn, it’s their fifth division title in 10 seasons, and the first since the 2007 season.

Brooklyn now sets its sights on locking up home field advantage throughout the postseason, and possibly setting a new single-season club record. (52-24 is the all-time best mark.)

I think Wally Backman’s odds of replacing Jerry Manuel just shot up.

Lets Go ‘Clones!

The return date might have been a little off, but Carlos Beltran has returned to professional baseball for the first time since June 22.  He was in the starting lineup as the designated hitter tonight for the Brooklyn Cyclones against the Hudson Valley Renegades.

Beltran picked up right where he left off the last time he played a game in New York.  He laced an RBI single and later tested his knee by sliding into second in an attempt to break up a double play.

According to Brian Lewis in the New York Post, an MRI performed on Beltran’s ailing knee showed improvement.  However, it also revealed that the bruise was not completely gone.  Despite this, Beltran still wanted to get back into the swing of things in an attempt to get back onto the playing field in Flushing.  He could have hung up his spikes for the rest of the season and let the winter heal his bruise naturally, but Carlos did not feel right about that.  In fact, he had this to say.

“A lot of people are telling me, why don’t you sit back for the rest of the season. I don’t want to sit back. I’m a ballplayer. Your job is being able to rehab yourself; and if that’s the last game of the season, then play the last game of the season. That’s what we get paid for.  If I got home without playing this season, my mind is going to kill me thinking.  You don’t want that in your head. You want your head to be clear.”

It’s great to see that Beltran wants to earn his salary on the playing field instead of the trainer’s table.  He’s no longer in his 20s, so he should see if this injury has eroded his above-average athletic skills.  He’s smart enough to know that with the Mets out of contention in the National League East and Wild Card races, any pain or discomfort that he feels after returning to the team should take him out of the lineup immediately.

When he first suffered the injury in June, the Mets were still within striking distance of the Phillies.  He wanted to play through the pain to help them compete.  Now that competing for the division title is no longer an issue, he won’t have to keep any discomfort to himself.  If he feels pain, he’ll come out.  If he doesn’t, he’ll stay in.  And if he remains healthy for the final month of the season, he can go into the offseason with his head clear, knowing that he was able to play again.