Martinez has a changeup too

We've all heard the talk and seen the dissection of Johan Santana's changeup, so some might forget that Pedro Martinez has one too.

From Ben Shpigel:

Martínez said he was pleased with his changeup and fastball, although his curveball needed refining. His body, he said, felt “sluggish” because he was not used to pitching so early in the morning. But his arm felt good, and so did the rest of him, he said.

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“As far as my health and my pitches, I’m right there, I’m right there,” Martínez said. “I’m making pitches and I’m getting the amount of pitches that I need.”

If Pedro thinks he's "there," I'll take his word for it.
The Mets need Martinez to put together a nice string of starts, eating some innings and keeping games within reach, which I believe he is perfectly capable of. The team no longer needs the dominant, shut down pitcher he once was, but a crafty guy, a la Tom Glavine.

Photo of the Day: Pagan

Angel Pagan does his best Michael Jordan impression, but cannot come up with the baseball as two runs score on the play.
Pagan, who is hitting well over .400 during spring training, is my leading candidate to start in left field.
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Game Recap: Mets 8 -- Indians 6

Oliver Perez was not on top of his game today, giving up 6 runs (3 earned) in only 2 2-3 of an inning. Still, the Mets triumphed by a score of 8 to 6.

Ollie's final line was 2 2-3, giving up 6 hits, the 6 runs (3 earned), while walking 2 and striking out 2. He's sporting an 11.57 ERA so far this spring.

I didn't see the game, the Mets staked him to a 2-0 lead in the first, and 4-1 lead in the third, where 5 more runs where charged to OP.

Nelson Figueroa made his case for a spot in the bullpen, with another strong outing today. Figueroa pitched 3 1-3, giving up 3 hits, while walking 1 and striking out 2 batters. He's still maintaining a 0.00 ERA.

As good as he looks, I can't see him making the team. He'll probably head to AAA and wait until an injury comes along for him to make it to Shea.

Matt Wise, Pedro Feliciano and Carlos Muniz each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the game. Wise gave up 2 hits and Feliciano gave up 1. Wise struck out 2 and Muniz struck out 1, while earning the save.

Wise will make the team, as will Feliciano. Muniz, maybe in a few years.

Angel Pagan continued to tear up spring training, going 2-4, scoring and driving in one run.

Endy Chavez will be back in the lineup this weekend, but Pagan may have leapfrogged him for the starting left field position.

Olmedo Saenz went 2-4, driving in two runs and scoring two runs. Saenz hit a HR in the 4th inning off Rafael Bentancourt. Robinson Cancel, who started at first base today, also added a home run, a solo shot off Joe Borowski. He also drove in 2 and scored twice.

Surprise! I'm amazed Saenz did anything. Anything at all. Cancel at first? Anyone? Anyone? Thought so.
The Mets continue to stay hot, especially with this "C" team out there and a struggling Ollie. The Mets are undefeated in March!

Lineup vs. the Indians

The Mets will take on the Cleveland Indians at 1:05 p.m. and it will be televised on ESPN.

Lineup:

LF Ezequiel Carrera
SS Anderson Hernandez
CF Angel Pagan
DH Olmedo Saenz
C Raul Casanova
RF Fernando Martinez
1B Robinson Cancel
3B Dan Murphy
2B Argenis Reyes
LHP Oliver Perez

Boy, they're really running out the A-team for the national crowd.

I'm shocked that Cancel, a catcher, is getting the start at first base today. I'm not expecting anything out of Perez today, especially with this lineup behind him. He just needs to get the reps in and hopefully stays uninjured.

Pedro pitches in sim-game

Pedro Martinez, who was rained out of his first spring start last night, pitched in a simulated game this morning, facing Damion Easley and Endy Chavez.

Pedro threw 53 pitches to Brian Schneider, who was behind the plate for the simulation, according to Bart Hubbuch. There were no fielders for the game.

John Delcos quotes Pedro as saying, "I didn’t feel as comfortable as the other day, but I still got pretty good work in."

From Delcos:

It’s hard to judge in a simulated game, but Martinez threw only two swing-and-miss and miss pitches, and indication his ball wasn’t moving as well as he would have liked.

Easley had the most success, as he hit what would have been two doubles.

It's good to see Pedro finally throwing real pitches to real batters, but I sitll want to see him in a real game. This 1-2 punch of Johan Santana and Pedro only works if Pedro can stay healthy and effective.

Martinez will not be rushed

Any hopes you might have had to see Fernando Martinez starting the season at Shea have just been crushed by Omar Minaya.

Minaya told reporters that bringing Martinez up to be a part of the Mets bench "won't happen," according to John Delcos.

There is no doubt in my mind that he'll be a staple of the Mets very soon, but he just has to wait his chance. This leaves the option to keep Brady Clark on board as a possibility.

Updated: The first cuts of the spring (full list)

I reported the six unofficial first cuts of spring yesterday, and now the full list is out.

From Jeremy Cothran:

• LHP Adam Bostick
  
• RHP Robert Parnell
• RHP Eddie Kunz
• RHP Juan Padilla
• RHP Andy Cavazos
• RHP Brant Rustich
• RHP Ivan Maldonado
• LHP Jonathan Niese
• LHP Ryan Cullen
• C Salomon Manriquez
  
• C Mike Nickeas
• INF Anderson Machado
• OF Ben Johnson

Not really surprised by any of this. Wish we could have seen some of the guys like Kunz, Rustich and Niese for a few more innings, but this is expected for young guys. I'm sure we'll see a few of these names pop up during the year.

Photo of the Day: Martinez

19-year-old prospect Fernando Martinez tries to out run the rain and onto the Mets 25-man roster. It's a long shot at best.
It's still weird to be sitting on my couch writing about this kid, who is 3 months my junior, while he tries to make the major league squad.
(AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

The first cuts of the spring

Six players are heading to minor league camp as part of the first cuts of spring training.

Bobby Parnell, Brant Rustich, Ivan Maldonado, Adam Bostick, Mike Nickeas and popular name, Jon Niese will report to the minor league camp at neighboring fields for the rest of the spring, reports Adam Rubin.

Niese has quickly become one of the most talked about names recently, quickly jumping up the ranks of the pitching prospect ladder for the Mets since Philip Humber and Kevin Mulvey packed their bags for Minnesota. We'll hear a lot about Niese over the next few years, if he stays on track.

Game cancelled

Pedro Martinez, and any possible injury that would probably occur to him, will have to wait to make his first start of the spring.

Tonights game against the Nationals has been called due to rain.

Pedro will have to be put on the waiting list to see when he'll make that first start of the year. He might face some live batters in the care instead of in a game, but we shall see.

Update: Lisa Kennelly reports that Pedro will pitch two simulated innings tomorrow.

Also, if there was a game, Damion Easley was penciled in at DH and Marlon Anderson was going to start in LF.

What I'm more interested in is who was going to start at first? Brady Clark?