Good Morning Mets Fans. Zack Wheeler‘s road back to the show continues today as the Mets take on Gio Gonzalez and the Washington Nationals. Wheeler will look to build on a successful first Grapefruit League start in the 1:10 PM ET game. Today’s game will not be broadcasted on TV or radio, unfortunately.
LATEST METS NEWS
Brandon Nimmo advises that his hamstring pull is better than initially thought and has an outlook of opening day being a possibility. The young outfielder will reportedly test the hamstring soon to see if he may be able to continue play sooner rather than later. “It’s good. I am going to go through active warm-up today, go test it out and see what we’ve got,” Nimmo said. “It feels fine. It’s really improved a lot over the last couple of days. I think the saving grace was that when I felt it, I kind of just shut it down. Read more from columnist Kristie Ackert in the NYDN.
Matt Harvey‘s struggles with his velocity continued in Wednesday’s start as the right-hander sat mainly in the 92-93 MPH range. Kevin Kernan of the NY Post writes on how Harvey’s best hope may be that of how Jacob deGrom survived. Kernan writes, “The reality here is Harvey may go through the kind of difficult season Jacob deGrom went through in 2016, when he had to fight through a lack of explosion and velocity issues every time out and became more of a pitcher. Just to survive.”
Tim Tebow had his biggest day yet in Wednesday’s game as he went 2-for-3 and made an eye opening catch. It was reported after the game that it would indeed be Tebow’s last Grapefruit League game this season as he will be returned to minor league camp. Tebow was thankful to be able to get the chance to play with the big league club as long as he was able. “This is an awesome opportunity,” Tebow said. “I am trying to make the most of it as far as a learning opportunity. Learn from as many of the guys and coaches as possible and try to absorb as much knowledge as possible.” Read more from columnist Matt Ehalt on NJ.com.
NL EAST RUMBLINGS
The Washington Nationals officially released veteran backstop, Derek Norris on Wednesday. Norris spoke on what he will be looking for in a team as he hits free agency. “Where it gets a little different for me is trying to find somewhere with the best interests for myself and getting with a team that I know I can have not necessarily an everyday gig, but a chance to determine my own destiny,” Norris said, “where if I’m doing well, my playing time goes up. And if I’m not, then we’ll see what happens. So I’m just trying to find a place where I’m given an equal opportunity to go out there and kind of put myself back on the map.” Read more from columnist Jamal Collier on MLB.com.
Check off Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves as another player who enjoyed his experience playing in the World Baseball Classic. Freeman was a member of team Canada and was quite fond of the atmosphere the tournament brought. “It was one of the coolest experiences I’ve had in baseball,” Freeman said. “I never got to play winter ball or anything [before I got to the Majors]. That first game [of WBC ’17], there were over 25,000 people playing music, dancing and cheering the whole game. It’s something I’ll never forget.” Read more from columnist Mark Bowman on MLB.com.
RECENTLY ON MMO
Joe D gives his thoughts on Matt Harvey’s current velocity issues.
Over at MetsMinors.net, Corne Hogeveen holds an exclusive interview with pitcher, Adam Wilk.
TODAY IN METS HISTORY
On this day in 1961, the New York State Assembly voted in favor of the building of a 55,000 seat stadium in Flushing Meadows, located near the original World’s Fair site.
New York Mets players born on this day include, Curtis Granderson (36), Abraham Nunez (41), Don Florence (50), Rich Puig (64) and Hobie Landrith (87).
