SNY drinking game

Zoe, over at Pick Me Up Some Mets!, put out her SNY Drinking Game.

It's amazing.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Gary sings: 1 drink
Keith gets his ice cream: 1 drink
Gary impresses Ron and/or Keith with some esoteric baseball-historical detail: 1 drink
Keith SHOWS his footwear (or lack thereof): Drink until done
"And it's out of here!" 1 drink

If you follow this game during a broadcast, you'll probably be out cold by the third inning.
Gosh, I just love Gary / Keith / Ron. They're the best.

(This blog does not endorse drinking, but if you must, you better be of age!)

Game Recap: Orioles 4 -- Mets 3

In the battle for the fifth starter spot, it seems that El Duque has come out on top and will be in the rotation for the Mets to start the season. In a fitting finish to the game, Mike Pelfrey gave up three runs in the bottom of the ninth as the Orioles beat the Mets by a scored of 4-3.

El Duque got the start today, and with his old leg kick back, pitched five innings, only allowed one run. Hernandez ran into a bit of trouble in the third inning, but benefited from a base running blunder and got out of the inning with only the one run. He gave up four hits and one walk while striking out two.

Welcome to the fifth starter spot, Mr. Hernandez. Please don't get hurt and be, at the very least, somewhat effective. I like you, we all like you, now go out and perform like all the fans know you can.

Pelfrey took over for the rest of the game, and only allowed one hit through the first three innings while he was on the mound. In the ninth inning Pelfrey allowed three runs to score, blowing the game and taking the loss. Pelfrey walked three and struck out two today.

El Duque's performance punched his ticket to New Orleans today. I'm absolutely, 100 percent sure that he will be up with the Mets within a few months due to injuries.

The Mets will have a hot Jose Reyes coming into the season, as he went 2-3 on the day, with a double, scoring two runs. Reyes hit .328 in spring training this year.

Good stuff from Reyes as usual. He's going to be a new player this year. Much more focused and driven. I will miss the dances though.

David Wright, Endy Chavez and Marlon Anderson each added a single for the Mets to round out their hitting on the day. Both Wright and Carlos Beltran walked twice in the game.

In the battle for the final bench spot, between Fernando Tatis and Brady Clark, there was no clear winner determined today. Tatis went 0-4 with one strike out and one man left on base. Clark went 0-3 with one walk and one strike out.

It looks like Tatis has the spot locked up, but you never know with the Mets. All we know is it won't be Ruben Gotay.

Game ball: El Duque.

Gotay claimed by Braves

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news Doug...

The Atlanta Braves have claimed Ruben Gotay off of waivers.

Mets fans, prepare yourself for all the time Gotay gets a hit off of us in the coming year(s).

In other news, Steven Register was returned to the Colorado Rockies and Anderson Hernandez was optioned to AAA.

So long Cash, we barely knew ye. AHern, stay healthy, you're our backup infielder waiting in the wings, again.

9/11 game

For those who are nostalgic and also love America, the first game after 9/11 is airing on SNY right now.

I love Tsuyoshi Shinjo and all his arm bands.

Duque's mechanics

I'm so confused.

After all the talk and work to get El Duque to change his delivery and his leg kick, he has apparently abandoned it and returned to his normal high kick.

This makes no sense. So was all of his spring training a sham to try and trick other teams?

He's held the O's to one hit through two innings, if that means anything to anyone. He's faced the minimum, inducing a double play ball after allowing his first hit.

Lineup vs. the Orioles

The Mets will take on the Orioles in Ft. Lauderdale in the second to last game before the season begins. The Mets will have El Duque and Mike Pelfrey face off to see if one takes a definite lead for the fifth starter spot.

Lineup:
SS Jose Reyes
2B Luis Castillo
3B David Wright
CF Carlos Beltran
1B Carlos Delgado
RF Ryan Church
LF Fernando Tatis
C Brian Schneider
DH Brady Clark
RH Orlando Hernandez

The first six in that order will be your opening day lineup. It looks like the Mets want to see if Tatis can play in left and if Clark can hit a bit. Glad to see Schneider behind the dish.

Gotay's fate TBD

Ruben Gotay will be in limbo for a few more hours.

It is believed that Gotay was placed on waivers on Wednesday, after facing Pedro Martinez in a minor league game. The game ended around noon, and Gotay is on waivers for three days. That means sometime in the next few hours, it will be determined if Gotay will stay with the team.

Rumor has it that Gotay will refuse any assignment to AAA. Gotay could refuse assignment and become a free agent.

This stinks. Even though he might not have the best glove, he makes some fine plays in the field. If he gives up on switch hitting, he could be a really good hitter.

I'd love for him to stick with the Mets, because I don't see one of Damion Easley, Marlon Anderson, or (ugh) Fernando Tatis not going down with an injury at sometime during the season. The first guy the Mets will turn to would probably be the light-hitting Anderson Hernandez, again.

Gotay, take the assignment if you make it through waivers. Please. You're going to get your shot with the team, you just have to wait until some people come to their senses.

Pelf vs. Duque, take 2

Here we go again...

The Mets will have Orlando Hernandez and Mike Pelfrey face off, again, tomorrow against the Orioles to see who might be best suited to assume the role of the fifth starter role.

This is insanity, and I hope if El Duque puts together one good start that he is automatically good enough to go for the season. I would much rather see Nelson Figueroa or Jorge Sosa take the spot while Pelfrey and El Duque get healthy and fine tune different aspects in their respective motions.

We shall see tomorrow.

Game Recap: Mets 9 -- Braves 4

The Mets made their only trip to Orlando to face the Atlanta Braves, and Oliver Perez came out and pitched very well in his final tuneup, leading the Mets to a 9-4 win.

Perez lasted 6 1-3 of an inning, allowing 7 hits and 3 earned runs. He only walked one while striking out 4 batters. Perez induced 10 fly ball outs and 5 ground ball outs. The third run was given up by Joe Smith.

Perez scared fans a bit when he made a diving toss to first to end an inning, and stayed down on the ground. Trainers were quick to react but luckily he got up and came out for the next inning. The best part about his outing here is the one walk. That's what we need to see more of from Perez.

Smith pitched 1 2-3 innings, walking one and striking out one. As noted above, he allowed one of Perez's runners to score. Ricardo Rincon pitched the final inning, allowing one run on two hits. Rincon also walked one and struck out one batter to end the game.

Smith is still battling for a bullpen spot, and even though he let in one run, he still put up a good performance on the day. Rincon has pitched very well through out spring, but his name hasn't really come into contention for a spot. Too bad.

Endy Chavez, who was batting in the leadoff position, went 2-4, driving in 2 RBI. Marlon Anderson went 2-3, with a double. He scored one run and drove in 3 RBI while playing first base today.

Meet: The Super Subs. These two are absolutely invaluable off the bench, and a lot of people forget about how strong our bench is going to be this year.

Ryan Church, the DH today, went 3-5 with a run and an RBI. Church knocked out 2 doubles today. Raul Casanova, who is going to be the backup for the Mets while Ramon Castro is down and out, had a great day, going 2-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI. 'Nova picked up a double and knocked a solo home run in the 7th inning.

Great to see from Church, who seems to be finding his swing late in spring. Casanova has been on a tear, and will be a great guy to have come off the bench or come up from AAA when the team needs him.

In the battle for that final bench spot, which seems to be between Fernando Tatis and Brady Clark, Tatis seems to have the advantage. Today, Tatis went 1-5, striking out once and leaving 6 players on base. Clark went 1-4 with a walk and a run scored.

I still favor Clark, just because I think Tatis is going to fizzle out in early April.

Game Ball: Ollie P.

Register clears waivers

Steven Register has cleared waivers, and the Mets are trying to keep him with the organization.

The Mets are currently trying to work out a trade with the Colorado Rockies which would allow them to keep Register on the team.

Register would head to AAA for the Mets, as he has been surpassed by other players for the spots in the bullpen, such as Nelson Figueroa, Joe Smith, and even Brian Stokes.

Hey, Colorado, have any use for Ruben Gotay??