The newest Met, Rick Ankiel, couldn’t hold onto Ty Wigginton’s sinking line drive for a double. Wigginton then scored from second on an infield hit off pitcher Scott Rice. Matt Holliday followed with a two-run homer, and just like that it was over and the Mets had their fourth straight loss, 6-3, at St. Louis to fall seven games below .500. ON THE MOUND: Jeremy Hefner had his third straight quality start, giving up three runs in six [...]

Updated by Joe D. Here’s a couple of shots Matt sent in from the press box at Target Field. Looks like he has a great view… Bases Loaded For John Buck… Is that Kevin Burkhardt roaming around in the upper deck? Matt tells me he’ll bring a regular digital camera for the Saturday and Sunday games… Starting Lineup Jordany Valdespin CF Daniel Murphy 2B David Wright 3B Ike Davis 1B John Buck C Lucas Duda [...]

Mets GM Sandy Alderson was a guest of Mark Hale and Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post on their podcast today, and he had some interesting things to say about a variety of Mets topics. At one point, Hale brought up the possibility of signing Ike Davis to an extension and buying out his arbitration years, similar to the extension the Mets completed last spring with left-hander Jonathon Niese. “We’re always looking at our [...]

It’s not the pitching line, but the feel of his pitches this time of year. “I felt good. My stuff was very good,” Jonathan Niese said after this afternoon’s 62-pitch outing against the Venezuelan WBC team. “I am not used to that kind of workload (this early in spring training). But, that’s a good thing.” Niese said getting his curveball over and mastering his change-up is what concerns him most. Both are feel pitches requiring [...]

During an interview on WFAN with Mike Francesa, Terry Collins said that Jon Niese would get the Opening Day start if Johan Santana is not ready. The manager still believes Santana has a chance to make the start, “It’s not doubtful,” Collins said. “If he’s not ready for Game 1, I think he’ll be ready for Game 4.” Niese, 26, took a big step forward. He became reliable, proved to be durable, and most of [...]

You can learn a lot about a baseball team from its locker room. The clubhouse is where relationships form, character is revealed and leaders speak out (or not). For the major league rookie, clubhouse real estate is valuable — sometimes priceless. Imagine being the rookie who spent eight months out of the year next to Sandy Koufax? Roberto Clemente? Lou Gehrig? Tom Seaver? These were model athletes, wise and humble men, who used their talent [...]