Good Morning everyone. The New York Mets held their 2017 home Grapefruit league debut at First Data Field on Saturday, falling to the Washington Nationals by a score of 8-6. The biggest news of the day though came in the form of Lucas Duda‘s ongoing injury issues as he is still dealing with back issues as well as receiving cortisone shots in both of his hips.
Manager, Terry Collins is thankful that it is still quite early in camp. “We’re very, very fortunate at this time, we got a lot of camp left, a ton of camp left,” Collins said. “We’ll be able to assess it as we go. The first day, all coming in here feeling great, and now less than 10 days in we’ve lost a pretty big piece for a few days.”
Catcher, Kevin Plawecki had an injury scare of his own on Saturday as the Nationals’ Rafael Bautista collided with him at the plate. He was later diagnosed with a knee contusion as a result of the play.
LATEST METS NEWS
Mets Captain, David Wright made his 2017 Grapefruit league debut as the designated hitter in Saturday’s game. Wright was 0-for-2 on the day and received a standing ovation from the fans at First Data Field. The Mets third baseman knows this was just the first step of many more to come on his road to recovery. “You have got to be able to contribute on both sides of the ball, and this was a nice first step for me,” Wright said. “But there are plenty more hurdles and plenty more steps to take before I really fulfill and have the satisfaction of coming out and being able to actually take the field and play a real game.” Read more from columnist Mike Puma in the NY Post.
Outfielder, Michael Conforto had another hit in yesterday’s game as he is off to a nice start through the first two games. Conforto had pinch-hit for David Wright, singling in a run. Manager, Terry Collins spoke of what the young outfielder must do to fight his way onto the opening day roster. “He’s got to show that he belongs back in the big leagues,” Colins said. “That’s what he’s got to do. He’s got to go show that he can swing his bat and he’s going to play all three outfield positions this spring and show us that his bat is back. This was a good start.” Read more from columnist Abbey Mastracco on NJ.com.
Sean Gilmartin started Saturday’s game for the Mets while providing two solid innings to start his Grapefruit league season. He allowed just one hit on the day which ended up being a home run off the bat of Bryce Harper, which gave the Nationals an early 1-0 lead in a game they would go on to win by a score of 8-6. The Mets’ versatile reliever was pleased overall with his performance. “First outing of the spring, it’s basically trying to mix in all four of my pitches,” Gilmartin said. “Working off the fastball, trying to get ahead early, I think I was able to do that pretty effectively today.” Read more from columnist Glenn Sattell at Mets.com.
NL EAST RUMBLINGS
The girlfriend of the late Jose Fernandez, Maria Arias, gave birth to their baby girl this past week. Their daughter was named Penelope, a name Jose reportedly picked out for his child once learning of the baby’s sex this past August. Fernandez’s agent, Scott Boras spoke on the subject of fatherhood in his eulogy. “He wanted to know, am I going to be a good father?” Boras said. “And I told him, you’re going to be a great father because you’re going to treat your child in the same way that your mother treated you and you’ll know exactly what to do. The next day he ordered a baseball glove in all those colors he loved and he put ‘Penelope’ on it.” Read more from columnist Clark Spencer in the Miami Herald.
Philadelphia Phillies third baseman, Maikel Franco had an eye opening day on Saturday as his team defeated the Yankees by a score of 6-5. Franco went 2-for-3 on the day with two homers and two RBI. One of those home runs was an inside the park blast to left-center as the ball became stuck under the padding of the outfield wall and was not called a ground-rule double. Franco spoke of his focus at the plate this season with the help of new hitting coach, Matt Stairs. “He told me my focus should be when I stay to the middle of the field, I’ll have a lot of success,” Franco said. “I am trying to work on it and put focus on it. I talked to (Howie) Kendrick about hitting and he’s helped me. I’m going to stay on it every single day. I’m trying to do my job, trying to do the best I can. Read more from columnist Jim Salisbury at CSNPhilly.com.
Bartolo Colon made his Grapefruit league debut for the Atlanta Braves on Saturday. The former beloved New York Mets pitcher went two innings on the day while allowing three hits and one run in a game the Braves would go on to win by a score of 7-4 over the Toronto Blue Jays. Colon spoke of what his main focus was going into the game. “My primary focus is location,” Colon said through an interpreter. “I’m just trying to get my command and placement where I want them to be. That didn’t really feel like it happened today. But the most important thing is I feel good.” Read more from columnist Mark Bowman on MLB.com.
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TODAY IN METS HISTORY
New York Mets catcher, Kevin Plawecki was born on this day in 1991 as he turns 26.
TWEET OF THE DAY
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