The sun shines on this gloomy SNY viewer

I thought today was going to be a bad day. Seems I was way wrong as SNY has brightened my day significantly.

First thing to note: Scott Ferrall, or as I like to call him "The Reason No One Watches 'The Wheelhouse,'" is gone for good. Neil Best notes that his contract was up, and SNY wisely chose to set him to pasture. Maybe I'll actually watch that show (or at least not scramble for the mute button when the commercial comes on).

Secondly, SNY is going to make watching Mets baseball a lot more interesting. According to Multichannel (via Retire 31), SNY will be one of the first channels to embrace the new MVP Enhancement system.

This new system will allow SNY and its on-air team to enhance the game story with post-production capabilities in real time. With this new technology, SNY will incorporate five new features into its 2009 Mets telecasts: SNY magnify, flow motion, pitch differential and speed and distance trackers.

SNY magnify will not only hyper-zoom over the magnified area, but it will move with the player or object as the clip is played. SNY will be able to use this enhancement for plays at any base, a hit batsman, a ball near the foul pole or outfield wall. For example, on a close pickoff play at first base, the ball, glove and foot or hand of the runner can be magnified and followed into the bag.

With flow motion, SNY analysts Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez can dissect a pitcher's motion or batter's swing through overlays on repeated plays that will identify patters over the course of a ballgame.

The regional's pitch differential feature will illustrate a sequence by zooming in to where a catcher sets up, where the ball finishes and the point of contact with the bat.

As for the speed and distance trackers, SNY will be able to trace the speeds and distances of players on the base paths or in the outfield, as well as on balls that are pitched, hit or thrown by the fielders.

The article notes that SNY will also debut a new graphics package.

Oh, how exciting. I can't wait to listen to Keith Hernandez gush over all his new technology. I want to be a fly on the wall during that training session...

"Wait...so now we not only have the Coors Light Freeze Frame...but...HYPER ZOOM?!? I don't even know what that means, but I like it!"

Yes, Keith. You're going to have too much fun this season.

Well done, SNY. I'm very proud of you.

Gasp! I agree will Wallace Matthews

In my life long love/hate relationship with Wallace Matthews, I usually find myself shaking my head and pounding my fist when I finish up reading his columns. Only once in a blue moon do I sit here and nod "Why yes, Wally...you're actually right!"

Well today is one of those days (it's also Square Root Day, which only happens nine times a century -- coincidence? I think not).

Matthews column today focuses on Johan Santana's elbow and how the Mets magically declared him fit as a fiddle after zero medical tests and 31 pitches on a mound.

Yet based on one bullpen session, in which Warthen acknowledged Santana threw at about 80 percent velocity, not only did the Mets proclaim him recovered from whatever elbow woe caused him to be scratched from starts Friday and today, but they canceled plans to fly him back to New York for an MRI.

I'll concede them the weather yesterday, which made flying home iffy at best, but how can they possibly declare Santana healed when no one more qualified than a pitching coach has even looked at him? One with glasses, no less?

He's so right it hurts.

The Mets better be taking the utmost caution with their prized possession. He is the single most valuable person to the franchise, both monetarily and talent wise.

My train of thought here is that he will hang around in Florida a little while longer before heading back to New York for tests once the weather is a bit nicer. There is no reason not to heed caution and get him tested no matter what. Haven't they heard "Better Safe Than Sorry"?

Santana is a gamer. He pitched through the pain of a torn meniscus last year -- what makes them think he's going to proclaim himself injured now?

I would also like to know why he has to go to New York. The Mets have been hosting spring training in Florida from their inception, first in St. Petersburg and now in Port St. Lucie. Could it have occurred to them in that time that maybe the better thing to do is to find a doctor in Florida whom they trust instead of shipping every injury back to New York for "tests."

I'm sure there are plenty of MRI machines in the state of Florida with all the old people escaping to warmer weather. They break their hips a lot, if you hadn't heard.

The Mets need to get Santana tested, be it in Florida, New York or Kalamazoo. He's too important to the team and there is no need to make assumptions about his arm without taking a good, hard look at it.

Because you know what they say about assumptions...

Steve Somers reading Green Eggs and Ham

In honor of Dr. Seuss' 105th birthday, which would have been today, I wanted to re-post this audio of Steve "The Shmooze" Somers reading the classic "Green Eggs and Ham."

Click here for the audio. It's well worth it.

What no Mets fan wants to see

Please...no...

I have tickets to Citi Field...do you?

March 29, 2009 -- My first trip to Citi Field. Unfortunately, the Mets will not be playing. I'll be seeing the St. Johns Red Storm and the Georgetown Hoyas face off in a Big East college baseball game.

I'm not really going for the game, as you probably have guessed. I'm there to take an early peak at the new stadium and see the venue where I will watch thousands of games played over the next few decades.

I'm pretty excited. I will also be meeting up with Kerel Cooper of OnTheBlack.com to film a video from the new ballpark. Should be a great time.

Game Recap: Mets 13 -- Astros 1

An eight run inning paces the Mets to win by a dozen.

On The Mound

John Maine made the "start" for the Mets on Sunday, throwing two innings and allowing only one hit, a home run off the bat of Miguel Tejada. He walked two and struck out one.

After Maine, the Mets had one pitcher per inning. J.J. Putz got the win, throwing one inning, allowing only one hit and notching a strike out.

Pedro Feliciano, Duaner Sanchez, Darren O'Day, Sean Green, Connor Robertson and Nelson Figueroa each threw a shut out inning to finish out the game.

At The Plate

The Mets have played five Grapefruit League games, and now have hit two grand slams. Brian Schneider teed off on Clay Hensley as part of an eight run third inning. Carlos Delgado also hit a home run in the inning, a three-run shot.

Ramon Castro also hit a three run home run, as the Mets catchers pounded out eight RBIs on the day.

Jeremy Reed, Jose Valentin and Michel Abreu each picked up doubles, as well.

In The Field

Jose Reyes committed one error in the field.

Next Up

The Mets have a day off on Monday as many players will vacate camp and head to their respective World Baseball Classic teams. Tuesday will see a home game against the St. Louis Cardinals at 1:10 p.m.

Now Santana is not going to New York

In part thanks to a snow storm threatening the New York area, Johan Santana will remain in Florida. The better part of it is that he feels good enough to not need to undergo the tests.

Via David Lennon:

"At this moment in time, we didn't feel like he had to go to New York," said [Omar] Minaya, reversing his morning plans to put Santana on a plane. "The main thing is that he feels good."

A small victory, but very good news just the same.

Santana heading to New York for tests

Before Johan Santana even threw one pitch of his bullpen session, he already had a ticket back to New York.

Santana will return to NY for tests on his sore left elbow, including an MRI. He is already expected to be back in Port St. Lucie by Monday night, reports David Lennon.

"With the off day, it makes sense just to get it looked at," Minaya said. "Why not send him there and have him see the doctor."

Smart move, Mets, though this does worry me. If it's bad enough to get tests, it's not something to be happy about.

Update: Santana threw 31 pitches, switching between fastballs and changeups.

"I feel fine," Santana said. "It’s the first time in the last four days that I’ve thrown but I feel good. I don’t think there will be any problem."

Jim Bowden resigns as Washington GM

After being investigated for skimming money from Latino players and news that one of the top prospects in the organization had lied about his age, Jim Bowden has resigned as general manager of the Washington Nationals.

Likely the worst team in the league heading into 2009, it's a tough blow for an already shaky franchise.

The team is yet to announce an interim GM.

Bullpen session for Santana

Johan Santana will test his sore arm for the first time today, as he will take the mound at around 10:15 a.m.

Under the watch of many pairs of eyes, Santana will be as cautious as possible. If there is even a hint of pain, I'm sure he will be promptly shut down.

The big news yesterday was that Santana's opening day start was in jeopardy. I think a lot of people got caught up in the fact that he was hurt and it may have gotten blown out of the water. I'm not saying everything is peachy right now, but let the man slowly work back until he is comfortable. Let him get a few sessions under his belt, and then we'll see how it goes.