I got mine

I got my Francisco Rodriguez Mets shirt the other day at Modell's. They also had blue ones, but instead of "Rodriguez" on the back, they only had "K-Rod." It struck me as a little weird, but that is his nickname.

As of now, we only know K-Rod will be No. 75 and J.J. Putz will wear No. 40. The other acquisitions haven't been assigned numbers yet.

I wonder if they'll mass produce Putz shirts? Would you buy one if they did?

Anyway, I'm wondering who else picked up their Rodriguez shirt already? Or are you waiting for Christmas or Hanukkah?

2008 MotY: Blue Bracket results

Here are the results from the Blue Bracket Round 1 voting of The 2008 Met of the Year Award.

2. Mike Pelfrey vs. 15. Argenis Reyes -- 98.18% to 1.82% (54-1)

3. Oliver Perez vs. 14. Brian Stokes -- 67.35% to 32.65% (33-16)

7. Ryan Church vs. 10. Duaner Sanchez -- 95.83% to 4.17% (46-2)

6. Brian Schneider vs. 11. Luis Ayala -- 79.59% to 20.41% (39-10)

Here is an updated bracket, all the way through Round 1.

For a full-size image, click here.

I feel like I can predict who is going to win these next few matches, but 12-seeded Daniel Murphy has seemed to quickly garner a big following, as he was the biggest upset in Round 1, toppling the fifth-seed in John Maine.

Stay tuned. Voting in Round 2 begins tomorrow morning at 9:30 am. The matchups will be from the Orange Bracket.

2008 MotY: Blue Bracket voting

Voting closed. Here are the results.

This is the final voting in Round 1. The Blue Bracket in the Piazza Division.

Here are today's matchups. (There are four polls. I notice the top poll has more votes than the others, so make sure you scoll down for the others!)

The case for Tim Redding

Back on Thursday Dec. 16, I proposed a plan for the Mets to sign Tim Redding. Not only would he help the back of rotation if he has a strong spring training, but he could also serve as the long man out of the bullpen if need be.

I was also tickled by his relation to a character on The Honeymooners and had a whole host of ideas planned out for him.

Well it seems like this Redding-Mets thing is gaining steam. I present the case for Tim Redding.

In the Major League Baseball System the players are influenced by two separate, yet equally important groups. The teams that want to sign the players and the agents who represent them. These are their stories.

DUN-DUN

Exhibit A: Jon Heyman links the Mets and Redding as a "Category B" type starter. Filed Dec. 19 at 2:45 pm.

Pitchers on that list include free agents Freddy Garcia and Tim Redding, plus Cubs starter Jason Marquis.

Exhibit B: Ken Rosenthal makes a similar claim, as the Orioles are attempting to sign Redding as well. Filed the same day, a few hours later.

The Mets and several other clubs also are interested in Redding, who is seeking a two-year contract. The Orioles likely will be reluctant to go two years, but that might be the only way for them to get him to Baltimore.

Exhibit C: Rosenthal has a new lead, citing sources, he claims the Mets will make a push to sign Redding.

The Mets, trying to create additional options for their rotation, are attempting to sign free-agent right-hander Tim Redding, major-league sources say.

Rosenthal goes on to confirm my statement of having Redding possibly challenge and compete with Jon Niese for the 5th spot in the rotation.

And finally, Exhibit D: Peter Botte spoke to Redding's agent. Filed Saturday Dec. 20, 1:51 am.

"The Mets are very much in the mix for Tim, he's a Northeast guy and loves the city," agent Tom O'Connell said of Redding, who is from Rochester. "We're still relatively early in the process, because Tim just got on the market, but we definitely are considering New York, 100%."

The case is not closed yet. The teams have a chance to make closing arguments and offers to Redding before he chooses.

DUN-DUN

2008 MotY: Black Bracket results

Here are the results from the first round of Black Bracket voting. We had our first big "upset" and also the closes match so far.

4. Billy Wagner vs. 13. Nelson Figueroa -- 79.07% to 20.93% (34-9)

5. John Maine vs. 12. Daniel Murphy -- 31.71% to 68.29% (13-28)

8. Damion Easley vs. 9. Ramon Castro -- 44.44% to 55.56% (20-25)

1. Carlos Delgado vs. 16. Nick Evans -- 97.62% to 2.38% (41-1)

2008 MotY: Black Bracket voting

Update: Polls fixed. Vote away!

Here are your polls for the Black Bracket Round 1 voting.

4. Billy Wagner vs. 13. Nelson Figueroa -- VOTE!

5. John Maine vs. 12. Daniel Murphy -- VOTE!

8. Damion Easley vs. 9. Ramon Castro -- VOTE!

1. Carlos Delgado vs. 16. Nick Evans -- VOTE!

To make up for the delayed voting, this poll will run until 9:00 am on Dec. 21.

Enjoy!

2008 MotY: White Bracket Round 1 results

Sorry for the delay everyone. The site I use, PollDaddy, was down for a long time and I just got yesterday's results. I'm also fighting a might sickness, so sorry for the sparse posting.

Here are the results from the White Bracket Round 1:

6. Joe Smith vs. 11. Angel Pagan -- 82.56% to 17.44% (213-45)

3. Jose Reyes vs. 14. Endy Chavez -- 98.04% to 1.96% (250-5)

7. Pedro Feliciano vs. 10. Pedro Martinez -- 66.4% to 33.6% (166-84)

2. David Wright vs. 15. Jorge Sosa -- 98.41% to 1.59% (247-4)

Not surprised as all the favorites won yesterday. Nice to see Martinez get a handful of votes though.

Results and next vote coming soon

The website I use to run the polls is down for maintenance right now.

As soon as it's back up, I will post the White Bracket results and the Black Bracket polls.

Quoted in Newsday

It's not the best quote in the world, but hey, I'm in Newsday!

Barbara Barker sent out a feeler on David Lennon's Newsday blog the other day asking fans about the recession and baseball. I shot her an e-mail, and she asked to talk to me over the phone.

Unfortunately (or is it fortunately?), I'm not from Long Island or New York, so I almost didn't make the cut. I must have persuaded her when I told her I can see the Long Island sound from my school -- or at least the sports center, to be more exact.

Here's my quote:

The signing even has brought a mixed reaction from hard-core Yankees fans, judging from responses to a query posted on Newsday's baseball blogs. Some, particularly younger fans, feel like Andrew Vazzano, a junior at Quinnipiac University, who says "a team has to spend money to make money." And other fans, even those who are thrilled that the Yankees are trying to improve, seem somewhat taken back by Sabathia's contract.

Now I'm not sure if I'm used separate from that Yankee statement, as just a baseball fan in general, or if she goofed. Obviously, I bleed orange and blue.

I did talk a lot about the Yankees on the phone, so I can see why she could have made the mistake. I guess it's because I feel like the Mets got Francisco Rodriguez for a steal, and traded for J.J. Putz while the Yankees went out and spent considerably more money for their big acquisitions.

Either way, it's pretty cool to see your name in print. Maybe one day I'll be writing the articles...Wouldn't that be nice!

Check out the full article right here. It's worth the read.

2008 Met of the Year Award: White Bracket voting

Here is the second groupings of votes in the 2008 Met of the Year Award tourney.If you're behind, check out the original post and the results from the Orange Bracket.

Today's matchups:

[Voting is over.]

Make sure you vote for the correct Pedro!

Voting ends at 11:59 pm.