El Duque finally pitches bullpen session

The walking injury, Orlando Hernandez, finally felt well enough to pitch a bullpen session down in PSL.

Matt Cerrone, who is down in Florida reporting for Mets Blog and SNY, relays that El Duque is toying with his delivery. He is supposedly trying to lose the quintessential El Duque high leg kick, which is most likely causing some of his foot injuries.

From Cerrone:

...honestly, it’s impossible to tell if he looked good or bad…his delivery is a bit different…he was throwing sort-of sidearm at one point…

Sidearm, you say? Well, he's always had a strange delivery, and him dropping to sidearm wouldn't surprise me.

To me, at least, throwing sidearm for me is much more comfortable and smoother, even if I'm only throwing a Wiffle ball. If Duque does stick with a sidearm technique, and can stay crafty, and more importantly healthy, he might keep his career somewhat on track.

Happy Santana Day! (Part 2)

Johan Santana will make his second "start" today against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Tradition field.

It's a dark and stormy day up here in Connecticut, so I'm looking forward to tuning into SNY at 1 p.m. to see a nice, partly cloudy day down in Port St. Lucie.

Photo of the Day: Saenz

Olmedo Saenz dives into the stands, and makes the catch in foul territory.
Most likely the most impressive thing he'll do in camp.
(AP Photo/Rob Carr)

Shea Stadium is smoke free

Mets officials announced that Shea Stadium will be completely smoke free. You are no longer allowed to smoke on the ramps.

Citi Field will also be completely smoke free.

Gotay update: No break

Ruben Gotay can let out a little sigh of relief.

The early readings of the CT scan do not reveal a break. The images will be sent to New York for further inspection, but right now, it looks like it's just a sprain.

Game Recap: Mets 6 -- Marlins 2

John Maine made his second start of spring training, and had his contract renewed by the Mets, getting a bit of a raise.

Maine went 3 innings, allowing 4 hits and one run. The only run came on a solo home run by Jose Castillo in the second inning. Maine walked none while striking out three.

Nice that he's getting a raise, and coming out with a nice performance. Just get ready for the season and be able to pitch effectively.

Pedro Feliciano and Matt Wise loaded the bases in back to back innings, but both pitchers worked their way out of the inning without allowing a run to score. Feliciano allowed 2 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 2. Wise allowed one hit and one walk, also striking out two.

I'm thinking these two are locks for the bullpen.

Jorge Sosa pitched 2 innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 walks, and an unearned run. The unearned run came after an Angel Pagan error in center field. Brian Stokes earned the win, pitching one inning of hitless baseball. Andy Cavazos finished out the game allowing one hit in the 9th inning.

I'd like to see Sosa stick around. He can start and be the long man out of the 'pen. Just never ever put him in with the bases loaded.

Jose Reyes went 1-3 on the day, but left 4 runners stranded on base.
His mid-game replacement, and yesterdays hero, Ruben Tejada continued his theatrics, going 2-2, scoring twice, and driving in one run.

Not a bad two games for Tejada, if I say so myself.

Anderson Hernandez actually made contact with a baseball, going 2-5 with a run and an RBI. He also struck out and left 5 players on base.

The latter is what we've come to know from AHern in the majors.

David Wright went 1-3 with a walk in his DH-ing duties.
Pagan is really making a case for himself on the team, going 3-5, while driving in 2 runs. His batting average is up to .423 during spring training.

He's really impressing me so far. I think he's definitely the 5th outfielder at this point.
Another win for the Mets, their 4th in a row. They are now 4-3 in Grapefruit League play.

Mets renew Maine's contract

Adam Rubin is the first to report that the Mets have renewed their contact with John Maine, during Maine's outing against the Marlins.

From Rubin:

The organization has renewed Maine’s contract. Typically players too young for salary arbitration just sign their contracts since they have no control over the salary, but Maine did not sign his contract, as Aaron Heilman and David Wright have also declined to do so in recent years. Maine indicated there isn’t any hostility toward the organization. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time next winter. The Mets have a scale for players with fewer than three years’ experience, with no one ever making more than $450,000-$460,000.

Good stuff. Maine went 3 innings, allowing 4 hits and one run on a solo home run. Maine walked none while striking out 3.

Lineup vs. the Marlins

The Mets head to Jupiter, FL, to take on the Florida Marlins at 1:05 p.m.

Lineup:
Jose Reyes SS
Anderson Hernandez 2B
David Wright 3B
Angel Pagan CF
Ramon Castro C
Fernando Martinez RF
Brady Clark LF
Dan Murphy 1B
Richard Lucas 3B
John Maine P

Either Wright or Lucas is going to be the DH today, just not sure which yet. Murphy, whoever he is, is getting a shot at first today, let's hope he doesn't get hurt.

Another one bites the dust (Not really)

Michel Abreu, who had a very slim chance of making the team, but a great opportunity to show the Mets what he could do at first base, is the latest Mets to hit the injured list.

David Lennon reports from Jupiter, FL, that Abreu did not make the trip because of a strained right hip flexor.

After a bit of Googling, I found it depends on the severity of the injury to see how long it might keep you sidelined (duh). This Yahoo! Answers thread gives a timetable of 3-4 weeks, with proper care, before the symptoms fully subside.

It should be interesting to see who plays first base today. Every possibility that comes to mind to play first is injured.

Pelfrey catches some praise

Joel Sherman, in his 3 UP for the day, quotes a major league scout on Mike Pelfrey's start yesterday:

His slider is nearing major league average and his changeup is becoming passable. I know that doesn’t sound great, but two years ago his slider was total garbage and his changeup was non-existent. I see growth on both pitches, so to me that means the ability to grow and adapt. Plus, that sinking fastball is such a bat-breaking pitch that if he can spot it to both sides of the plate then the other stuff just has to be good, not great.

I'm glad to see Pelfrey finally getting some recognition, albeit, the scout is not saying he's a bona fide pitcher yet. With Johan Santana and Pedro Martinez manning the front end of the Mets rotation, and two players in John Maine and Oliver Perez who are coming off 15-win seasons in your 3 and 4 spots, I think a guy like Pelfrey can sit nicely in the 5th hole, gain some invaluable experience, and work his way to being a better pitcher.