A message from Willie Randolph

This just popped up in my e-mail: A MESSAGE FROM WILLIE RANDOLPH

It goes on and on about how the team is amazing and how we will win and so on.

In closing I want to say one more thing. We all hated the way last year ended for us. For 98 percent of the season we were the best team in our division, but we let it slip away. When I spoke to the team this spring I didn't look backwards that much, I tried to look forward so we can all learn from what happened. The lesson is simple: don't take anything for granted and don't expect things to happen just because you think they will.

The season is here. It's time to make it happen.

Alright, I'm officially pumped. Make it happen.

I think I'm going to adopt that phrase.

Lucky rocket ship underpants

The day us fans have waited half a year for is finally here.

Johan Santana will take the mound for the New York Mets as baseball season is back in business.

The question I pose to my readers is this: What are your superstitions?

Calvin, from Calvin & Hobbes, always had his lucky rocket ship underpants for good luck. What is your version of his underpants?

I know for a fact, I laid out my Carlos Beltran t-shirt last night and dusted off my Mets helmet to prepare for the game today. During football season I wore the same clothes for every game of the playoffs, and it worked.

Do you wear a special shirt? Do a special dance? Create a shrine of Mets memorabilia? Leave it in the comments!

25-man roster set

Joe Smith, Brady Clark, Mike Pelfrey and Raul Casanova all made the roster.

Orlando Hernandez, Duaner Sanchez and Ramon Castro are heading to the DL.

Here's the press release. I pretty much got everything I wish for.

And here is tomorrow's opening day lineup:

Jose Reyes SS
Luis Castillo 2B
David Wright 3B
Carlos Beltran CF
Carlos Delgado 1B
Angel Pagan LF
Ryan Church RF
Brian Schneider C
Johan Santana P

Pretty interesting where Pagan is batting tomorrow. They're breaking up the lefty / lefty against Marlins starter Mark Hendrickson.

18 hours. Only 18 more hours.

Early indications

Today is the Mets final day to finalize their roster before they open the season against the Florida Marlins on Monday afternoon. It seems they are willing to wait right up until the 3 p.m. deadline to make their decisions.

Adam Rubin relays some things he's heard about the final spots that are still up for grabs:

Mets officials appeared to be leaning toward placing Orlando Hernandez on the DL to start the season, paving the way for Mike Pelfrey to make at least two starts

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Joe Smith also looked close to claiming the final spot in the bullpen, a vacancy created with Duaner Sanchez not yet ready for regular-season action.

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Fernando Tatis also seemed to hold a lead over Brady Clark for the final bench spot, but a team insider insisted Tatis — who had a .212 Grapefruit League average — was not a foregone conclusion to be on the roster.

Just to reiterate, I'm supporting Pelfrey (or even Nelson Figueroa), Smith and Clark for the final spots.

If the Mets take Pelfrey, he won't be able to work on his mechanics as much, as he will have to win the game he is in. If he waits and stays in minor league camp, the results don't matter, so he can stay in a game even if he's given up a few runs just to work on his pitches. What do the Mets have to lose if they pitch Figueroa? Nothing. Why not give him a shot?

Smith, who struggled mightily early in spring, has come on strong these last few weeks. Yesterday was a great game for him, when he came in with the bases loaded, and got Alexi Ramirez to strike out on three pitches. Inherited runners was a huge problem for Smith last year and if he can remedy that, it would be a huge accomplishment.

Again, I don't get why Tatis is so wonderful. Sure, he can play pretty much any position besides center field if need be, but he doesn't play any of them especially well. We already have two guys in Marlon Anderson and Damion Easley who can play the entire infield and two guys in Endy Chavez and Angel Pagan who can play the entire outfield. So why do we need a guy who can do all of those, but none well? Clark will be much more lasting and consistent, I feel, and that's why I want him to make the team.

It's a travel day for me, back down to New Jersey for a bit and then back to Quinnipiac tonight. I'll be back with a recap of the day and the finalized roster moves tonight. Enjoy your last day before the season begins!

Photo of the Day: Church

Ryan Church has a ball tip off his glove, and seemingly into the stands for what would have been a 3-run home run. Luckily, the man knocked the ball back in play and the umpires botched the call.

Church has been getting hot at the plate over the last few weeks. He's my pick for breakout player of the year on this team.
(AP Photo/Bill Waugh)

Game Recap: Mets 3 -- White Sox 2

Playing in the second-annual Civil Rights Game, the Mets beat the White Sox by a score of 3-2, rounding out their spring season. The Mets went 20-11 in spring training.

John Maine made the start for the Mets, pitching four innings, allowing only three hits, while striking out five. Maine struck out two in the first inning alone. He only needed 56 pitches, 39 went for strikes.

He looked great today. Easily the best #4 in the league. Would you pitch him ahead of Oliver Perez??

Pedro Feliciano and Aaron Heilman each logged an inning of work, allowing three hits between them. They both struck out two batters. Scott Schoeneweis gave up the runs for the Mets, pitching 2-3 of an inning, walking three and giving up one hit as two runs scored.

Schoeneweis has looked a lot better this spring, and if he is used in the correct situation, I think he's going to have a much better year.

Joe Smith relieved Schoeneweis in the seventh with the bases loaded and got Alexi Ramirez to strike out swinging. Billy Wagner came on to close out the game, getting the side in order. Wagner tallied one strikeout.

I think Smith is going get the call for the last bullpen spot, especially with this last outing.

Carlos Beltran drove a 2-run home run over the left field wall in the fourth inning off of White Sox starter Jose Contreras for the Mets first runs. Carlos Delgado picked up a double, going 1-3. Ryan Church went 2-3, scoring once.

Beltran looks excellent this spring. Those newly cleaned out knees are going to help out a lot. Church is getting hot. I like it.

Game Ball: Maine and Beltran.

Shea will not go boom

According to Richard Sandomir, from the New York Times, neither Shea Stadium or Yankee Stadium will be imploded.

Each stadium will be taken apart by hand, piece by piece.

From Sandomir:

The wreckers will arrive at Shea Stadium soon after the Mets’ final home game in late September or sometime in October. In February or March, Yankee Stadium’s dismantling will begin. The old ballparks will be taken apart piece by piece over two to three months with hydraulic jackhammers, blowtorches and grapplers.

The concrete will be chopped up, pushed toward the middle of the fields and removed by trucks. The steel girders will be cut out, cut up and carted away for salvage.

Shea will then be reclaimed as part of the parking lot, and Yankee Stadium as three baseball fields surrounded by 12,000 trees.

The article also points out that pieces of the stadium, such as the seats, bricks, and signs, will be sold, most likely for a very high price.

Also at the New York Times, Ben Shpigel has a great article about Shea.

From Shpigel:

By any objective standard, Shea is bleak and outdated. It has not aged, shall we say, gracefully, its imperfections and architectural shortcomings growing more prominent over the years, particularly as glorious baseball-only parks have sprouted around the country. Those flaws are now magnified by Citi Field, the Mets' new home in 2009, whose beatific presence beyond Shea’s right-center-field fence prompted Ron Darling, the SportsNet New York analyst and former Met, to make this comparison: “It’s like driving a VW bus with a Maserati in the lot.”

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“It’s dilapidated and obsolete, sure, but I could say the same thing about the apartment where I grew up, in Bayside, Queens,” said Howie Rose, the Mets’ play-by-play broadcaster on WFAN. “That apartment was home. My memories there are happy, warm and indelible, just like they are from Shea. To me, Shea is home.”

That article brought a little tear to my eye. Wonderful, wonderful stuff.

Lineup vs. the White Sox

The Mets are in Memphis, taking on the Chicago White Sox for the Second Annual Civil Rights Game, a 5 p.m. start. This is the last exhibition game before the Mets open up in Miami on Monday afternoon.

Lineup:
SS Jose Reyes
2B Luis Castillo
3B David Wright
CF Carlos Beltran
1B Carlos Delgado
RF Ryan Church
LF Angel Pagan
C Brian Schneider
DH Brady Clark

SP John Maine

There you have it ladies and gentlemen, as this will most likely be the opening day lineup for the 2008 Mets.

I think if Clark can get a few key hits here today, he might make that jump to the 25 man roster. That might just be me hoping for Fernando Tatis to not make the team.

Raining in Memphis

The Mets will face the Chicago White Sox in the Civil Rights Game in Memphis at 5 p.m.

Unfortunately, the weather does not look like it wants to cooperate, as it is pouring in Memphis right now. John Maine is slated to take the mound for the Mets today.

Hopefully, they can get this game in, but if it's a sloppy field, I don't see how the teams would want to play in this final exhibition game before the season and risk someone getting hurt.

A song tribute to Ruben Gotay

Someone going by the name "The Gato" posted this in the comments for Gotay claimed by Braves, sung to the tune of Don McLean's hit "American Pie."

A long, long time ago…
I can still remember How Ho-Jo used to make me smile.
And I knew if he had his chance
Jose Reyes could make those people dance
And, maybe, they'd be happy for a while.
But march made me shiver With every trade Omar deliver.
Bad news on the doorstep;Gotay couldn't take one more step.
I can't remember if I cried
When I heard about the waiver wire,
But something touched me deep inside
The day the Ruben Gotay died.

Hilarious. Becoming a Brave is equal to passing on for Mets fans. The phrase "You're dead to me," comes to mind.

I have never heard of such a public outcry over losing a backup infielder. He was obviously a fan favorite and it stings that much more that he went to a hated rival in the Mets division.