A new daily feature that will keep you fully briefed on the current state of the Mets. One post with all you need to know until tomorrow.
Domestic Policy
Nick Evans is making it very hard for the Mets to send him back to Buffalo. He is now batting .313 and lead the team with 20 total bases. His right handed bat could be a big asset, but will the Mets ignore all these things and send him back to AAA for fear he may not get enough work on the Mets?
Johan Santana was extremely positive and upbeat after his start last night where he allowed three runs including a homer to Dan Uggla who is slowly creeping up my batters who like to torment the Mets list. Santana threw all his signature pitches with no problems, and by all accounts all is well and Santana will start on Opening Day. (yeay!)
Tim Redding is another story. He had another brutal outing yesterday against the Marlins and allowed nine runs in two innings including three homeruns. Can you imagine this guy coming out of the bullpen in relief? Shades of Guillermo Mota. It was the second time he got torched. In his last outing he couldn’t get more than one out against the University of Michigan who lambasted him for five runs before they applied the mercy rule and pulled him. He has now thrown 2 1/3 innings and allowed 14 runs and 5 homers. He has a $2.25 million dollar contract which isn’t a whole heck of a lot, but unless he does a complete 180, the Mets may hold him back for extended spring training is my guess.
Jose Reyes joined the growing list of Mets that have openly lobbied for the return of Pedro Martinez. The others include Carlos Beltran, K-Rod, and Carlos Delgado. The Mets still insist they are not interested, but depending on how Freddy Garcia does in his start today, things could change in a hurry. This story isn’t going away yet.
Left-handed relief candidate Tom Martin fell down the stairs at his home here on Wednesday and suffered a broken right wrist. Martin is expected to miss several weeks, ending his hopes of making the Mets’ Opening Day roster.
The more I see of Dan Murphy, the more comfortable I am getting about him being our left fielder. He may not have the power you expect from a corner outfielder, but he brings a lot to the table with his hitting prowess and I’m thinking that all those crazy angles in the new stadium could mean 35 or more doubles for Murph. Couple with a .300 batting average, it will still translate into some nice production from left field.
Foreign Policy
Formers Mets pitcher Ambiorix Burgos was convicted Thursday of beating his girlfriend in a hotel near Shea Stadium in September after she tried to leave their room to go register her young daughter for school.
The Seattle Mariners signed one-time Nationals closer Chad Cordero to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. The Mets had shown some tepid interest in him during the off season.
Randy Wolf struck out four in 3 1/3 scoreless innings Thursday as the Dodgers beat Korea 4-2 in an exhibition game. Wolf was considered a top target by the Mets this offseason and after he signed the pace picked up in the Oliver Perez negotiations.
Pirates outfielder Craig Monroe hit three homers to double his spring total to six and lead the Pirates to a 6-4 win over the Twins on Thursday.
