Second spitter

For no reason in particular, other than this is one of the best scenes in Seinfeld.  Ever.

Ike Davis: Rising star

First-baseman of the future, Ike Davis, was named to the Arizona Fall League’s Rising Star Game.

Davis is batting .340 (17-50) / .370 OBP / .640 SLG with six doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI in 12 games.

Davis, who in my mind will be playing first at Citi Field in 2011, has quickly become one of the hottest prospects in the Mets minor league system.  Hopefully this isn’t just another product of the hype machine.  So far, with these numbers and his minor league stats, he might be the real deal.

Francoeur has successful surgery

Via the Mets…

Francoeur today underwent successful surgery to repair a tear of the collateral ligament in his left thumb. The surgery was performed in Atlanta by Dr. Gary Lourie. Following the surgery, Lourie and Mets Medical Director Dr.David Altchek of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York discussed that the surgery went according to their plan. Francoeur is expected to be ready for spring training.

Seems like they’re intent on keeping him for next season.

NEW SHIRT: LOLidge [Part II]

This one is just beautiful.

The design was sent to me by David W. Ciccocioppo and I absolutely love it.  Check out these shirts!

Click here to buy this design on a bunch of different designs!

Francoeur under the knife

Jeff Francoeur, who tore a ligament in his left thumb this season, had surgery to repair the ligament this morning, according to Adam Rubin.

Francoeur, who I believe the Mets will re-sign, even if I don’t want them to, injured the thumb making a diving catch against Philadelphia.  Rubin notes that was mere moments before hitting into an unassisted triple play to end the game.

You may remember that Alex Cora had the same injury and subsequent surgeries on both his thumbs.

Twitter Poll: Holliday or Bay (or neither)?

I took to Twitter to ask that very question.

Which outfielder would Mets fans most want to see patrolling the grass in Citi Field next year (or, if they thought the team would be better off without them, why?).

Here are some responses…

saffir_99 said: Hmm.. Holliday, he could hit and is a better defender than Bay. I still think Minaya makes a huge offer to Johnny Damon.

mattclausen said: i'd love Holliday, but how likely is he to punch balls out of Citi?

jessespector said: I think both would be a nightmare in left field, especially with a question of Beltran's legs. One bat won't fix Mets.

swirlywand said: Bay!

charlieryczek said: Bay. Wouldn't cost as much as Holliday.

cutiepie0319k said: Holliday!

jdemayoNYBD said: please Holliday..

djeffreys said: If it had to be JUST one guy, I'd rather Lackey than either. But out of those two I'd definitely say Holliday

csball2000 said: Neither. I'd rather spend on pitching, pitching and more pitching

The overwhelming majority of fans (and outsiders) would rather see Holliday.  Interesting.

How about you?

New Shirt: LOLidge

A new shirt design added to the collection.  I think both Mets and Yankee fans (not to mention Braves, Marlins and National fans) may all enjoy this one. Click here to purchase the shirt.

While in Austin…

I’m in Austin, TX for the National College Media Conference. Unfortunately, there is no free wireless in the rooms.

Instead, you can follow my tweets, where I will post any news I come across and musings on the World Series.

(To help, send any Mets news links you may find to @theropolitans)

Report: Mets to hire Chip Hale as 3B coach

Chip Hale, a recent castoff by the Arizona Diamondbacks, is expected to be hired as the Mets third base coach, according to Adam Rubin.

Hale spent the last three seasons with Arizona and will replace Razor Shines, who may be named Jerry Manuel’s bench coach.  But Rubin notes that another ex-DBack may be on a list of people to join the coaching staff: Bob Melvin.

It’s not set in stone who will be on the staff or even where they will be coaching, but I’m glad the Mets seem to be taking this task very seriously.

Yee-haw!

I’m off to Austin, TX for the next few days for a college media conference.

I will try to post if/when I can, so don’t fret.

Yee-haw!