Line-up vs. the Tigers

John Delcos relays the line-up for the Mets game against the Detroit Tigers at 1:05 p.m, and also points out it's not much warmer down in Florida. It's about 36 degrees here, and it's only apparently 55 and dropping down in FL.

METS

CF Angel Pagan
LF Brady Clark
DH Marlon Anderson
RF Ryan Church
C Ramon Castro
2B Ruben Gotay
1B Michel Abreu
3B Anderson Machado
SS Anderson Hernandez
RHP Mike Pelfrey

DETROIT

CF Curtis Granderson
2B Placido Polanco
DH Timo Perez
RF Magglio Ordonez
3B Miguel Cabrera
1B Carlos Guillen
SS Edgar Renteria
C Ivan Rodriguez
LF Jacque Jones
RHP Jeremy Bonderman

The Mets are running the B, or even C, team out there against the absolutely stacked Tigers line-up.

Man, that's a good looking squad Jim Leyland is running out there today. If the Mets can squeak out a victory here, at least in the first few innings when the "starters" are in, I'll be pretty amazed.

Can we call it real baseball yet?

Sure, we finally have a game against a MLB team, but with Ryan Church being the only opening day starter to make the trip, does it really count?

Mike Pelfrey will also be at the game, as he is the slated to get the start. It should be interesting to watch Pelfrey this spring training because there has to be the thought in the back of his head that he can make the team with a strong performance and a little help from an injured Orlando Hernandez. Today's first game won't hold much water as to how Pelfrey will look when April rolls around, but as we progress through ST, we can start to see what he's really made of.

The Mets take on the Tigers today at Joker Marcham Stadium, 1:05 p.m.

Photo of the Day: A-Hern

The question remains, can you hit?
If not, the next question is why are you still on the team?

(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Heilman has to sing

According to Jeremy Cothran on his blog for NJ.com relays a few tidbits about todays game against the U of Michigan:

Because Aaron Heilman gave up a run today against the University of Michigan in a game that ended in a 4-4 tie, the ex-Notre Dame pitcher must sing the Wolverine's fight song. Obviously, he's not too happy about it.
...
Billy Wagner, the third Mets pitcher this afternoon, wasn't too happy when a Michigan player dropped a bunt on him in the third inning. The Mets closer shook his head at the hitter while waiting for the ball to come in.

Poor Heilman, that's got to be rough. I can't wait until he hears back from his ND teammates. Hopefully someone gets a recording of the performance.

Sherman rubs me the wrong way

In Joel Sherman's daily 3 Up /3 Down post in the NY Post, he poses a question to his readers about Pedro Martinez:

Do you think Pedro Martinez understands on any level that he probably has to go year by year with contracts for the rest of his career?

Is it just me or is their some angry tone to those words? He could have simply posed the question without the passive-aggressive undertone.

Pedro's contract will be almost entirely based on how he preforms this year. If he can win 13-15 games, and stay relatively healthy, he could be looking at a 2 or 3 year deal. If not, sure, he might need to go year by year, but I'm pretty sure he understands what's at stake.

Santana's first start

Johan Santana is set to make his first start as a New York Met on Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals.

From Burt Hubbuch in the NY Post:

Johan Santana, who threw batting practice twice over the weekend, had a productive bullpen session today and remains on schedule to make his first Grapefruit League start Friday against the Cardinals in Port St. Lucie. Adam Wainwright is starting for St. Louis, and the game is slated for SNY.

We're coming full circle here, pitting our brand new ace, the best starter in the league up against the same guy who took us down in 2006. Sure, it's just an exhibition game, but it'll still be very fun to watch.

This will most likely be the highest rated Mets spring training game ever.

Citi Field logo unveiled

What do you think?
I hate the tilt, but I guess the "Field" kind of works as the dugout to the "Citi" diamond.

Also, what are you going to call it? "The Bank" was a popular early choice, but unfortunately that's already taken by some crap stadium in Philly.

Mets vs. Wolverines

The Mets are taking on the University of Michigan Wolverines today in the first non-intersquad game this season.

The Mets main players, who were mostly pulled in the third inning, jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a David Wright home run that drove in Jose Reyes. Reyes was on second after a lead off double.

Obviously this game isn't too important or relevant, but we're back in the swing of things. Baseball is back. How sweet is that?

Did that just rhyme?

El Duque was shopped around

This offseason, the Mets quietly shopped Orlando Hernandez for a trade.

Obviously, no one nibbled on the bait and El Duque is already showing signs of a mis-season injury. Duque did not have surgery on his bunion as planned, but rather on one of his toes. Duque is already falling behind the rest of the pitchers in terms of getting into season shape.

Mike Pelfrey, who is the next best bet to take the 5th spot in the rotation, is my choice to make the team by opening day. As much as I love El Duque, his style and passion for the game, I think he's on the tail end of his career. He needs to get healthy before he takes a stab at taking the 5th spot.

Pelfrey will get his chance this season, no doubt in my mind. I just think it will come well before the Mets or El Duque want it to.

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