Sheff's a Met

Gary Sheffield is the newest member of the New York Mets, according to SNY.

It is believed he has signed for the league minimum, which is $400,000.

As I said before, it's a good signing for the price. Ryan Church will likely have his playing time diminish a little and it bumps Nick Evans down a notch. Evans may or may not make the Opening Day roster with the new addition.

Also affected: Marlon Anderson. Which, in my opinion, is a very good thing.

As the saying goes about pitching, you can never have enough. The same is true about position players.

Update - 3:53 p.m.: Salary update, according to Jon Heyman:

It is presumed that the Mets will pay him the pro-rated portion of the $400,000 minimum. The Tigers are obligated to pick up the rest of Sheffield's $14 million salary.

Great move by the Mets. I believe this means they'll be paying him less than Daniel Murphy, Nick Evans, Robinson Cancel, Jon Niese, Bobby Parnell and Brian Stokes, for reference.

Update - 4:12 p.m.: Ryan Punzalan, in the comments, points out something I forgot to mention. The Mets now have a marketing gold mine on their hands. Sheffield is one home run away from 500 and I'm sure they'll be more than happy to capitalize on any marketing opportunities that pop up from that.

Update - 4:35 p.m.: The corner outfielders respond to the signing, via the Daily News.

"He's more than welcome," Church said. "He's a great player and he'd just another piece for us. I can't control what they do, I just have to always be ready to play every day."

Murphy added: "We're here to win a World Series. If the orgranization and Omar (Minaya) think he's going to help, let's go get him."

Great attitudes. Marlon Anderson might not be so cheery.

Report: Sheffield, Mets close

According to Joel Sherman, the Mets and free agent Gary Sheffield are closing in on a deal.

From Sherman:

The Mets were closing in on signing Gary Sheffield, likely today, with an eye on giving him significant playing time, according to two people involved in the talks.

"Unless something drastic happens, he is a Met," one of the sources said. "Someone would have to offer him a second year, and I just don't see that happening."

Significant playing time? Sorry, Ryan Church.

Sheffield would be a significant upgrade for any right-handed bat off the bench, and I'm in favor of the team bringing him on board. He'd obviously come at a discount rate, so the Mets won't be on the line for too much. It's a smart move on their part as an unproven Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis try to tackle leftfield and a concussed Church gets the nod in right.

There is no reason the Mets shouldn't try to stack up their outfield.

His ego and attitude may be a bit of a thorn in the side of the fairly good clubhouse chemistry, but I don't see him being that much of a problem. He'll be vocal, but maybe the team needs that sometimes.

His play in the field isn't anything special, in fact it's just not that good. I'm not sure how the Mets will handle his glove, but he has a big enough bat to cancel some of that out.

Baseball Digest: Mets fantasy questions

I got a chance to ask Roger Rotter from FOX Fantasy Baseball a few questions about the 2009 New York Mets.

Head over to Baseball Digest
to check out what he had to say.

Buffalo Bisons to offer free tickets to unemployed

The Mets new Triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons, are doing something very special.

According to their Web site, the Bisons will offer up to four free tickets to anyone who has lost their job.

From the Bisons:

"Our nation's pastime has seen this country through many tough times, and together the two have always come out on top," said Mike Buczkowski, Vice President/General Manager of the Bisons. "Many of the fans that helped us shatter attendance records are the ones being affected by this unsettling economic environment. The Bisons are honored to make all those fans our guests on Opening Day."
---
How Fans Can Get Their Tickets:
Fans wishing to take advantage of this ticket offer must pick up their tickets at the Coca-Cola Field Box Office or at any one of three One-Stop Career Centers no later than Monday, April 6 at 5:00 p.m. Fans need only to show their unemployment debit card or the letter stating their unemployment funds have been designated into a personal account at the Bisons Box Office (Bisons are not asking people to surrender any documents/identification). Each fan will be able to collect up to four tickets so that their whole family can attend the game on Thursday, April 9.

Well done, Buffalo. A great gesture on their part.

Pitstop in NYC

As the 25-man roster came north from Port St. Lucie to prepare for the regular season, a few minor leaguers came along too.

Pitchers Dillon Gee, Mike Antonini, Nelson Figueroa, Ken Takahashi and Jose Sanchez, catchers Josh Thole and Omir Santos, and position players Bobby Kielty, Jonathan Malo and Ruben Tejada will be making a pitstop in New York City before making their way to Buffalo, according to Steve Popper.

We'll see a few of them in Citi Field later this year, no doubt.

Tatis at second?

Another Jerry Manuel confession or just words?

Manuel has said a few things and never followed through on them. This smells like one of those times.

Fernando Tatis played his first few innings at second base in the spring training finale against the Baltimore Orioles and now Manuel claims he will use him at second base to get him into the lineup.

"I would start him there," Manuel told reporters.

I call shenanigans. If Manuel was planning on playing Tatis there, why hasn't he seen any time there until the last few innings of spring training? That just doesn't make any sense to me.

The Mets also have Alex Cora for a reason.

Manuel, just play Cora as the backup second baseman. Maybe even Marlon Anderson. Find Tatis time elsewhere. Not every player is suited for every position.

'Wow.'

It's not often that a news article will move you, but for fans of the New York Mets, this is a must read.

Ben Shpigel caught up with the team as the players and coaches entered the finished Citi Field for the first time. It can be boiled down to this: Like kids in a candy store.

This is Shpigel's feather in his cap so far this spring. He caught the emotions, the newness, the exciting feeling one gets when opening a present all from grown men. That is what the stadium is to the Mets players and fans -- a present that will get unwrapped every time they walk in.

Please, go read the New York Times article by Shpigel. You might want to get some Kleenex ready if you're a little emotional.

Game Recap: Mets 9 -- Orioles 8

And that's a wrap! The Mets close out spring training with a rallying victory.

On The Mound
Let's just say this didn't go very well for Mike Pelfrey. Four innings for Pelfrey resulted in 10 hits and eight runs for the Baltimore squad. Pelfrey walked only one and stuck out two, facing 23 batters in four innings. The O's scored in all four innings against Pelfrey with one in the first, two in the second and third, and three in the third.

Yikes! Not exactly the numbers you want to see for the last start of the spring. I don't think it'll be a need to worry. Everyone has a bad start once in a while, though a 7.77 ERA for spring training isn't the most comforting number.

Newest Met Ken Takahashi threw two innings, allowing one hit. He walked three. Roy Merritt (hey, there he is again!) pitched a scoreless inning, striking out one and allowing one hit. Tim McNab pitched a hitless inning. Nelson Figueroa struck out two, allowed one hit, and earned the win as the Mets came back late.

Enjoy the minor leagues, you guys. I'm sure we'll see some of you soon.

At The Plate
What's with the catchers?

Ramon Castro went 2-2, scoring once and driving in three runs. Brian Schneider also drove in a run.

Jose Reyes and Daniel Murphy each drove in one run. Alex Cora knocked in one run as well, while Fernando Tatis drove in two.

I'll take it.

I'd also like to tip my cap to Carlos Delgado who finished a shortened spring training with a .500 batting average. That's not easy.

On Deck
Heading North. Two exhibition games against the Red Sox at Citi Field (both on SNY). Cincinatti for Monday's first game of the season.

Things I found at Citi Field: Part 12 -- Really cool trash cans

The next in a series of photos and findings from Citi Field...

While wandering the kiddie area out in center field, I happened upon these really, really awesome trash cans. I want one. Badly.

Awesome.

Things I found at Citi Field: Part 11 -- The scoreboards

The next in a series of photos and findings from Citi Field...

Ah, the scoreboards. The giant screens where fans will be treated to Professor Reyes and replays of great plays on the field.

Here are a shot of the large scoreboard in straightaway center field...And the video screen, up close. One note about this screen is that there is a line down the middle separating the two physical screens. When they showed replays or action, the one screen was a little slower than the other one, making for a choppy image right down the center.

Hopefully they can recalibrate or something, because such a nice screen shouldn't be ruined by something so petty.Here is the backside to that screen, so when you're out in the food concourse area, you will still be able to see the action on the field. This screen is much smaller than the one on the front, but it will serve it's purpose well.And finally we have the auxiliary scoreboard where the line score of the game will be shown, along with player's batting numbers and pitchers pitch counts.
Now, I'll pull back a little so you can see the supports and all the advertising that will surround it.
A set of beautiful screens to complement a beautiful park.