It is the same in every spring training camp with winners and losers. Booms and busts. With camp ending today, the Mets had their share of both. THE WINNERS Jon Niese: With Johan Santana a question going in, Niese entered camp No. 1 in the rotation and pitched deserving of that title. Not surprisingly, he was named Opening Day starter. With Santana gone for the year, he’s the de facto ace, at least until Matt [...]

Daniel Murphy passed the audition and said it was worth the risk. Murphy, playing for the first time in a major league game this spring because of a strained right intercostal muscle, singled in three at-bats against Washington’s Gio Gonzalez, played five innings and declared himself ready for Opening Day. Had he kept playing minor league games until Monday and was re-injured, his DL stint would be backdated deep into spring training. Should he get hurt now [...]

At this point, I think everyone knows that I am a Matt den Dekker fan. I’ve argued in his favor since early spring training, when he leaped through the St. Lucie night and pulled a would-be home run from beyond the left-centerfield wall. Many Mets fans never knew who den Dekker was until that moment. That catch brought him into the limelight. But maybe it was just one catch, people thought. If you’ve read the scouting [...]

Clayton – Collin Cowgill is the biggest winner. The guy has yet to see a single pitch for the Mets in the regular season and he already has the number and comparison to a Mets great, not to mention most likely a starting outfield job. My loser is Johan Santana. It could have just as easily been Captain Kirk or Frank Francisco, but when R.A. Dickey was traded, everyone in the baseball world knew the [...]

Updated 3/23 On Friday, Sandy Alderson told reporters that there are no plans to add anyone to the outfield and that what you see is what you get. ”We’re going to go with the guys we have,” Alderson told Marc Carig of Newsday. “How exactly they’re used is something that we’ll talk about over the next week or so. What we have is what we’re going to have, and we’re not entirely displeased with that.” Lucas [...]

Updated 3/22 I wanted to share Adam Rubin’s projected Opening Day roster which is not too dissimilar to what I projected. Rotation: Jon Niese, Shaun Marcum, Matt Harvey, Dillon Gee and Jeremy Hefner. Bullpen: Bobby Parnell, Brandon Lyon, LaTroy Hawkins, Scott Atchison, Josh Edgin, Pedro Feliciano and Greg Burke. Infield: Ike Davis, Justin Turner, David Wright, Ruben Tejada and John Buck. Outfield: Lucas Duda, Collin Cowgill and Jordany Valdespin. Bench: Marlon Byrd, Mike Baxter, Anthony Recker, Omar Quintanilla [...]

With two weeks to go before Opening Day, Kirk Nieuwenhuis should be thinking about where he would live in New York rather than Las Vegas. Nieuwenhuis, who made a strong first impression with the Mets last year, came to camp penciled in as the center fielder and first in line to win the leadoff spot. However, a hitless streak at the start of the exhibition schedule punctuated with a rash of strikeouts followed by a deep bone [...]

They wouldn’t be the Mets if things came easily. So, on the day after losing third baseman David Wright indefinitely, they lost his back-up, Justin Turner, to a sprained ankle. Turner was injured in the fourth inning of today’s 4-2 loss to Miami, when after fielding a ground ball, his left leg buckled while making a wild throw and he landed awkwardly on his right ankle. “I think just getting up, going to make a throw, I caught [...]

Nearly flawless in his last start, Matt Harvey took his lumps today, but on a positive note rebounded and regained control. Harvey gave up a three-run homer to Washington’s Bryce Harper in the first inning, but rebounded to throw three scoreless innings and strike out six in an 8-5 loss. Harvey settled down to retire 11 of the final 12 hitters against him; a very good sign for any pitcher let alone a young one after a rough start. [...]

The Mets are holding conclave this spring as they seek out a center field replacement for the departed Andres Torres. Jordany Valdespin is not an easy person to like, and especially hard to cheer for, but he’s become a leading candidate. Ask him a question and he’ll often mumble an indifferent and inaudible answer. He exudes confidence on the field, but crosses the line with a brash attitude, tendency to showboat and not always hustle. Off [...]

Here it was, the fifth inning and Terry Collins was sending out Matt Harvey again. With his pitch count down, Collins had sent Harvey out for the fourth and was doing it again. Harvey’s command was that good. “I was very impressed (by his pitch count),’’ Collins said. “If he’s going to pitch 215 innings, he’ll be getting deep into games and pitching to contact.’’A lot of things will have to click for that to happen, notably his change-up. [...]