2/16/10

Snow logo [Photo]

In stark contrast to players arriving in Port St. Lucie for Spring Training, good friend of The ‘Ropolitans, Ben, sends in this photo…

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Don’t worry.  Baseball, and warm weather, will be here soon enough.

2/15/10

Ex-Mets: Endy catches on in Texas

Endy Chavez, of “The Catch” fame, has inked a minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers, according to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports.  The deal is worth up to $1.25 million, says Jon Heyman.

Many fans wanted Chavez back, but honestly, there was no room.  The Mets have enough fourth (or fifth) outfielders right now.  He will forever be etched into Mets lore, though.

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Aside: Two men named “Jon” in one article.  Weird, isn’t it?

Link: Photos from Port St. Lucie

Adam Rubin passes along photos from unofficial spring training in Port St. Lucie.

Yes, baseball is back!

But no, Sandy Koufax is not an option for fifth-starter.

Results: How many games will the Mets win in 2010?

After 785 votes, the results are in.  The majority, over 56 percent of votes, have the Mets winning between 81-90 games this season.

VotesIf they do end up landing in that bracket of wins, at least at the higher end, they would have a shot at making the playoffs.  (The Twins made the playoffs last year with 87 wins, so it’s possible.)

Later in the week I’ll have another poll on where you think the team will finish.  I’m really interested to see the results of that one.

Who is already in camp?

According to Adam Rubin’s tweets

  • Mike Jacobs
  • Josh Thole
  • Daniel Murphy
  • Jon Niese
  • John Maine
  • Carlos Muniz
  • Bobby Parnell
  • Sean Green
  • Mike Pelfrey
  • Ryota Igarashi
  • Pat Misch
  • Hisanori Takahashi
  • David Wright
  • Eddie Kunz
  • Sandy Koufax

…are all in Port St. Lucie today.

2/14/10

Poll: How many games will the Mets win in 2010?

Short, simple and to the point: How many games do you think the Mets will win in 2010?

Vote below and leave your thoughts in the comments section…

Citi Field from an RC Helicam [Photo]

Check out this photo from SkyCamUSA of Citi Field, shot from one of those remote controlled helicopters…

Citi Field from the air

To follow SkyCamUSA on Twitter, click here.

2/13/10

Strawberry on The Celebrity Apprentice: Will you watch?

Darryl Strawberry will be on “The Celebrity Apprentice” this coming season.  I’ve never been a fan of the show, but I might tune in just to see Strawberry “at work.”

But I’m wondering, will you watch this show purely for Strawberry?

2/12/10

Link: Who will be in camp

Head over to Adam Rubin’s blog to see all the players and coaches that will be descending upon Port St. Lucie for Spring Training.

It’s a long, long list.

Mets philosophy: Sign a lot, see what sticks

Perusing the always-updated MLBTradeRumors.com, the latest headline reads, “Mets Won't Add Barajas; Delgado Possible.”

Which leads me to my point: The Mets, even after signing Mike Jacobs to a minor-league deal, might still bring back Carlos Delgado?  Why?  Well, because they don’t trust any of the guys they currently have.

The Mets are employing the “Sign a lot and see what sticks” method.  Not necessarily going out and signing the big names (Orlando Hudson), but rather pulling from the scrap heap and overseas to, most literally, patch together a baseball team.

Kevin Kernan quotes Omar Minaya as saying, “There's going to be a lot of competition in camp. That's something we've been trying to do.”

Well congrats.  It’s working.  Too bad the competition level won’t be very high.

I’m glad the team is stockpiling.  After all the injuries last season, it’s a wise move.  As of now, it seems the Mets have six candidates for the 5th starter, a few pitchers vying for the bullpen, four first baseman and a whole cast of catchers.

I’m fine with bringing in more arms than needed.  Pitchers always seem to get hurt and Buffalo needs all the help they can get.  But first base and catcher need to be positions that are focused and fine tuned in spring training, not constantly rotated.

As we all know, pitchers and catchers develop a rapport.  Some catchers make some pitchers better, others vice versa.  With so many catchers in camp and likely seeing time in games, will the Mets pitchers suffer?  Will the get the chance to develop the same rapport?  We’ll have to wait and see.

And as for first base, everyone gets on Daniel Murphy for his lack of experience and talent.  Is bringing in (at least) three other men to compete with him going to help or hurt?  Will it push him to be better or disrupt his rhythm.

I think Murphy should get a bulk of time during spring training, but only if that’s who the team wants to go with at first, and it seems that’s the truth.  If the team want to see him improve, he needs reps at first.  That is what spring training is for.

Spring training in Port St. Lucie will be interesting to say the least.  Seeing the team that Minaya assembled this off-season will be exciting, no matter how they play.  But it will also be interesting to see who will make the team come opening day.  The jobs are their for the taking, it seems.  Who will step up to claim them?