Sheffield's implications on the roster

With Gary Sheffield joining the Mets, someone who spent all of spring training with the team is going to be the odd man out. Nick Evans likely will not make the Opening Day roster.

Here are two other the possibilities for Sheffield's effect on the roster: Marlon Anderson and his $1.5 million guaranteed contract land elsewhere or Jeremy Reed gets sent down to Triple-A Buffalo. He still has options.

From a fans standpoint, the Mets should hold on to Reed. He's a much better defender and with the expanse of Citi Field's outfield, the team is going to need all the defensive skills they can get.

The guaranteed money for Anderson is the main factor standing in the way here. If they do send him elsewhere, they'll still have to pay his contract, essentially making the Sheffield deal worth $1.9 million ($1.5 million from Anderson's contract plus the $400,000 from Sheffield's deal).

Sheffield will likely see most of his playing time in right field, which worries me considering that part of the field isn't fielder friendly (for photos, click here). Ryan Church started taking fly balls in left field, as he will probably see some time there with Sheffield on the roster.

Church has a great outlook on the situation, telling the Associated Press, "Early on in the big leagues I showed I could play all of the outfield spots, and I feel pretty good there. I'll do whatever. Whatever gets me in the lineup, I don't care."

Sheffield adds a right handed power bat off the bench, and possibly into a starting position. It's the model "low risk / high reward" move for the Mets. If it works, they look like geniuses. If it doesn't, they can jettison him with little to no harm done.

Game Recap: Red Sox 9 -- Mets 3

In the final game before the regular season gets underway, Oliver Perez looked absolutely miserable.

On The Mound
Not a start to write home about for Perez. Only 2-3 of an inning, six runs (two earned) and four walks isn't the way you want to close out spring training. Perez couldn't make his way out of the first inning, and didn't help his cause with a throwing error. Jed Lowrie hit a grand slam off Perez before he was removed.

Yeesh. I guess Mets fans should be used to these sort of starts from Perez though. If not, they better get used to it, and quick.

Nelson Figueroa took over for Perez, and allowed two hits in 1 1-3 innings. He walked one and struck out one.

I still don't understand how Figueroa is getting sent to Buffalo. He'd be perfect in the bullpen because he's so versatile.

John Maine got in his final two innings before the real season begins. One hit and two walks later, his day was over.

Can't complain about that.

Dillon Gee had a messy two innings, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks. He did tally three strikeouts, though.

Gee will get time in the minors. He's still a year or two away, if not more.

Michal Antoni and Darren O'Day finished out the game. In Antoni's two innings, he struck out two batters while allowing two hits and a walk. O'Day struck out one in a hitless effort.

At The Plate
The Mets bats were fairly quiet today.

The Mets first pushed a run across the plate in the fifth inning. Daniel Murphy doubled for his only hit of the game, driving in Luis Castillo.

Very good. Good to see by Murphy. Read what Howie Rose and Wayne Hagin had to say about Murphy on Mets Today.

The Red Sox kept the Mets off the board until the bottom of the ninth, when they managed to plate two more before the game came to a close. With two outs, a Jeremy Reed single, one of his two hits on the day, drove in Josh Thole. Ruben Tejada then singled, driving in Cora.

Reed may end up being the odd man out now that Gary Sheffield has arrived, but no one can be sure yet. It still may end up being Marlon Anderson heading elsewhere.

On Deck
Cincinnati on Monday for Opening Day. The game is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.

Twitter-ing from new Yankee Stadium

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Off to Yankee Stadium

To complete my tour of the new stadiums in New York City, I'm heading down to the new Yankee Stadium today with Fletch.

It should be interesting, since I was at Citi Field last Sunday, to be able to compare the two. I wonder how many people have been to both stadiums? I'm in an elite group.

Obviously, posting will be slim to none until later today, but you can follow my Twitter updates, if so inclined.

The Mets take on the Red Sox for the second exhibition game at Citi Field today. Oliver Perez will take the mound to start for the Mets. John Maine will also make an appearance.

Enjoy the day and I'll let you know which stadium is better.

Game Recap: Mets 4 -- Red Sox 3

One game in Citi Field, one win in Citi Field. Too bad it's not the regular season.

On The Mound
Livan Hernandez made the start for the Mets in their first game at Citi Field. Over three innings, Hernandez only surrendered one hit. He walked two and struck out three. He finished spring training with a 2.55 ERA.

If he can duplicate that in the regular season, I'll kiss his feet.

Six pitchers later, the Mets closed up a 4-3 victory. Sean Green allowed one run and Bobby Parnell threw a scoreless inning. Green let up two hits and Parnell one. Each tallied one strikeout. Pedro Feliciano pitched 2-3 of an inning (because of the rain delay), not allowing a hit. Brian Stokes relieved him for 1 1-3 innings (rain delay) allowing two hits and one earned run.

Hello, middle relief.

From there, J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez handled the duty. Putz did allow one run on two hits, but there were some follies in the field to help the Sox score that run. K-Rod looked downright nast at the plate tonight, striking out one.

Both looked absolutely awesome. All Mets fans should be very, very excited about this tandem.

At The Plate
The middle of the order got things done tonight for the Mets.

The Mets got RBIs from Carlos Beltran, Fernando Tatis, Alex Cora and Bobby Kielty.

Tatis went 2-3 on the night, picking up the Mets only extra base hit, a double. Tatis also stole a base, along with Beltran. Daniel Murphy, though, was caught stealing.

Timely hitting by the Mets. Singling when needed, moving runners over. This is what I like to see. The team did leave 12 runners on base. Not so good.

On Deck
Mets vs. Red Sox, tomorrow, 1:10 p.m. game. The game will be on WPIX.

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."
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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.