Die Hard Mets Fan

Yesterday, bowling was on ESPN so I’m really getting ancy for some baseball games.  The Mets will play their first Grapefriut League game tomorrow against the Tigers at 1:05 p.m. at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, FL.  Mike Pelfrey is scheduled to start for the Mets opposite Jeremy Bonderman.  I’d prefer to skip Spring Training and fast forward to March 31, 2008.

 Martinez will not broach contract talks - Marty Noble reported that “Pedro Martinez will not approach the team about a contract beyond 2008 — though he would be willing to discuss the matter if the club broached the topic.”  Pedro needs to show he can go out there and pitch before the Mets should even have to talk to him.  How many millions of dollars has Pedro collected while on rehab?

Mets salvage tie against Michigan - A tie between a college squad and a pro team?  How are the Mets supposed to beat the Marlins on opening day?  Marty Noble provided a summary of the game, and he pointed out that David Wright and Michael Abreu each hit a 2-run homers.

Citi, Mets unveil Citi Field logo - Anthony DiComo has an picture of the new Citi Field logo.  Willie was able to lie through his teeth by saying, “It’s a beautiful logo, it’s a great marriage with Citi Bank and the New York Mets. It’s a great day, and I can’t wait to see it all over Shea Stadium. It’s going to be fun.”

Notes: Sanchez takes first step - Marty Noble takes us through the return of Sanchez.

Mailbag: Who else will be a leader? - Marty Noble fields questions from the fans.

Newsday:

Sanchez is relieved to be back

Citi Field mock-upgives feeling of new home - Yesterday’s intrasquad game was played on a Citi Field mock-up so they can see how Citi Field will play, according to David Lennon.

SPRING TRAINING: E-MAIL FROM PORT St.LUCIE - I cannot figure out why David Lennon wrote this email.

New York Daily News:

Mets want ’small ball’ from Jose Reyes - John Harper stated that the Mets want Jose Reyes to go back to beating out ground balls.

Sanchez, Padilla off to solid start - Adam Rubin lets you know how Duaner Sanchez and Juan Padilla performed in yesterday’s outing.

Tony Bernazard high on minors

New York Post:

WHATTA ‘RELIEF’ - The Amazins’ are ecstatic about Duaner’s first outing, according to Bart Hubbuch.

SMITH LIKELY ODD MAN OUT - Joe Smith hit a batter and gave up a two-run triple while Sanchez threw a scoreless inning so Bart Hubbuch believes that Smith is less likely to make the roster.  Hubbuch also wrote a few other things:

• “The Mets open their exhibition schedule here at noon today against the University of Michigan, which was invited in part because it’s the alma mater of Amazin’s owner Fred Wilpon.”
• “Pedro Martinez, who has yet to throw to hitters this spring while the Mets move at his pace, was excused from camp yesterday to tend to personal business.”
• “David Wright returned after his grandmother’s funeral and went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in the scrimmage.”

WILLIE HOPES TO BE ‘POPS’ TO METS’ YOUNGSTERS - Willie must be thinking he’s aged quite a bit.

The Star-Ledger:

Theme of the morning — bullpens

How Hard Is It To Say Goodbye to El Duque? - Matthew Artus got his hands on an article written by Jon Heyman of SI.com.  In this article, Heyman wrote,

The Mets quietly sought trade offers for Orlando Hernandez late this winter, with the idea that if anyone bit, they would sign Lohse. But apparently there were no takers.

Artus examined how ‘08 would be with and without El Duque.

Catching up in a hurry - Jeremy Cothran pointed out that Schneider is establishing a rapport with Mets pitching staff.

Big step for rehabbing reliever - Jeremy Cothran also lets us know how Sanchez performed in yesterday’s outing.

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I have expressed my concerns regarding the Mets already as we head into ’08.  On of my biggest concerns is this guy, Duaner Sanchez.  I was thrilled to hear that Sanchez was able to pitch today, and he didn’t give up any runs in his first outing since ‘06.  Duaner is the one player that I’m going to zone in on more than any other.  The biggest reason why the Bullpen was so much better in ‘06 then in ‘07 was primarily because of Sanchez not being there.  Bradshaw was also very successful, but Omar let him go so it’s not worth arguing that point.  It is very infrequent when pitchers come back from injuries and pitch as well as they used to.  So what we will get out of Duaner?  Your guess is as good as mine, but I’m looking forward to watching him.  If he can hold down the 8th inning like he used to then the Mets are going to have a great season.

 Smith aims to regain early ‘07 magic - As a Mets fan, I also want Joe Smith to regain that early ‘07 magic.  I’ve read that Smith just ran out of gas in ‘07 so he hopefully he got on a better conditioning play this offseason.

Notes: Santana leaves mark — literally - In batting practice, Carlos Beltran ended up getting hit by one of Johan Santana’s pitches in the tricep.  Beltran said “he got me pretty good.”  Marty Noble was seeking for a story and came up with this, John Maine went on the internet for the first time last week.

Newsday:

Beltran survives Santana fastball, but sidelined - David Lennon also lets you know how Beltran is feeling after getting belted by Santana in BP.  Beltran is a big boy…he’ll tough it out.

SPRING TRAINING: E-MAIL FROM PORT St. LUCIE - David Lennon reported that Santana pitched his second BP yesterday.

SPRING TRAINING: Willie carries message to Reyes’ home - David Lennon tells us about a “14-person Mets contingent that visited Reyes at his parents’ house in a village outside of Santiago” which Willie was part of.  Willie stated that “I went because I wanted to talk to him about his mind-set moving forward. We didn’t get into what happened last year.”  If 14 Mets go to DR to see Reyes then it goes to show you how important Jose is to the team.  Does anybody find it odd that they went to Reyes’ parents house?  Does Jose have his own house in DR?

Randolph in better humor for 2008 - David Lennon pointed out that Willie Randolph is smiling and cracking jokes now.  That’s all good during Spring Training, but Willie needs to crack the whip in ‘08 after the collapse.

New York Daily News:

Duaner Sanchez pitches scoreless inning in Mets’ intrasquad scrimmage - The AP reported that Duaner got to pitch as expected, and he threw a scoreless inning in his return.

John Maine is Mets’ ace in the hole - John Harper raises this question.  How good is John Maine?  Then Harper tried to get the answers to his question.

Duaner Sanchez springs into action - Sanchez was expected to pitch in a game today for the first time since ‘06.

Ex-Mets adjusting to life with Twins - Anthony McCarron lets us know how Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra are doing in Twins camp.

Carlos Beltran not ready for spring games - Adam Rubin provided the status of six Mets that will not be ready in time for the start of Spring Training.  These players are Beltran, Castillo, Chavez, Easley, Johnson, and Valentin.  All of them are suffering from leg injuries.  Also, Rubin wrote that El Duque threw his second BP.  Juan Padilla was supposed to pitch today after not pitching since having Tommy John surgery performed in March 2006.  Last, Angel Pagan swept every event to become the best athlete in camp and the first Met to do that.

New York Post:

PLEADING THE 5TH - Bart Hubbuch has the latest and greatest on that final spot in the rotation.

MINAYA’S BRAND OF BASEBALL - Mike Vaccaro lets you know what kind of GM he thinks Omar is.

FROM BELTRAN TO WELT-RAN - Bart Hubbuch also provided the details about Beltran getting belted by Santana.

New York Times:

The Skinny on the Mets’ New Reliever? Great Changeup, Bad Luck - Ben Shpigel tells the story of Matt Wise.

The Star-Ledger:

Citi Field Logo: Thoughts? - Yesterday, Jeremy Cothran was very excited about seeing the Citi Field logo.  He has a picture of it and it is ugly.

Don’t Call It a Comeback - Matthew Artus wrote about the return of Sanchez.

No rush to play ailing players - Jeremy Cothran also covered the injured Mets.

Mets pitcher regains control of his career - Jeremy Cothran also discusses Wise.

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The Metropolitans continued to sign players while Omar is in Israel - enough of them to put a lineup together. 

 Sanchez signs one-year deal with Mets - I was delighted by the news that the Mets re-signed Duaner Sanchez to a one-year deal for $850,000.  He was my favorite relief pitcher before he got injured in the taxi cab accident in Miami, FL.  This is great news.  I heard stories that he’s a bit of a party animal that I never knew about.  Maybe it’s true.  I just hope his play on the field is equivalent to what he did prior to the injury.

Mailbag: Effects of Pagan trade

New York Daily News:

Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez agrees to 1-year contract at $850,000

The Star-Ledger:

Mets Sign Duaner Sanchez & Eight Others - Here’s the entire release, and the article gives a quick summary on each player:

The New York Mets announced today that they have signed righthanded pitcher Duaner Sanchez to a one-year major league contract. In addition, the Mets also signed righthanded pitchers Juan Padilla, Joselo Diaz and Andy Cavazos, infielders Anderson Machado and Fernando Tatis, catchers Robinson Cancel and Salomon Manriquez and lefthanded pitcher Ryan Cullen to minor league contracts and invited all of them to major league camp.

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The good news is that the Mets added a pitcher, Juan Padilla, who is coming off Tommy John surgery to their bullpen.  That’s as good as it gets.  The bad news is the ties that Big Sid had to Radomski.  The stories are somewhat unclear so we’ll have to see how it plays out. 

Newsday:

Watson denies steroid allegations - Here’s a brief look at the story that Ken Davidoff put together:

Former Yankees and Mets pitcher Allen Watson, accused by Jason Grimsley of using performance-enhancing drugs, issued a statement Friday denying the allegations.

“At no time during my professional baseball career have I used steroids or any performance-enhancing drugs. Not then, not now, not ever,” said Watson, a Queens native who attended Christ the King High School in Middle Village and now is the baseball coach there. Watson last pitched in the majors in 2000 with the Yankees.

It’s all pretty simple…one can admit or one can deny.  Allen Watson choose to deny.  The players listed on the Mitchell Report can do it the Roger Clemens way or the Andy Pettitte way.  The next quote is exactly what Clemens said:

Watson’s attorney, Jay Spillane, said, “Allen is outraged at the publication of these defamatory statements. The unsealed affidavit of IRS Agent [Jeff] Novitzky is nothing but hearsay based upon rumor. Anyone who repeats these false claims against Allen should be prepared to defend themselves in court.”

Can Watson do that?  Wasn’t that excuse used already?  Can all of the players recycle the same excuse?  Should there be some originality to all of this?

New York Daily News:

Sid Fernandez named in Kirk Radomski’s unsealed affidavit - Christian Red and Michael O’Keefe reported that:

Perhaps the most notable new name to emerge from the affidavit is former Mets pitcher Sid Fernandez, who wrote a $3,500 check to Radomski in 2005, almost eight years after the lefty’s last appearance in a major league game. The affidavit doesn’t say what Fernandez got for his money.

This doesn’t make sense at all.  There definitely are people that take steriods that don’t play sports, but looking at Sid…I wouldn’t put him in that category.  Sly Stallone is somebody that juices and doesn’t play baseball.  Is it something he owed Radomiski for past services?  The article didn’t state a reason.  The list of names are getting more and more depressing.

Juan Padilla eyes Mets’ bullpen role - Anthony McCarron wrote:

Juan Padilla, a righthanded reliever who has missed the last two seasons because of two elbow surgeries, agreed to a minor-league contract with the Mets on Friday and said he hopes to compete for a spot in the team’s crowded bullpen.

Padilla, 30, was 3-1 with a 1.49 ERA in 24 games for the Mets in 2005 but hasn’t pitched in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery and another operation on his pronator tendon (in the forearm). But, he said in a telephone interview yesterday, he will be healthy for spring training. He threw a bullpen session recently and was “95%,” he said.

I’m not sure why Omar keeps going after these injured players.  Perhaps he feels like he’s getting a great deal on them.  The Mets signed Juan Padilla to a minor-league deal for now.  They can bring him up if he performs as expected.

New York Times:

Fernandez and Rose Jr. Are Linked to Radomski - Michael S. Schmidt and Duff Wilson cover the Sid Fernandez story from another angle, and they also cover Pete Rose, Jr who barely ever played in the majors.

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I really was surprised to see so many Yankees named on the Mitchell report.   At first, I just printed out a list of names last night, went to MLB.com, and checked the teams that they played for.  So many of these players played for the New York teams.  However, it doesn’t mean that they did the steroids in NY (i.e., Paul Lo Duca, Mo Vaughn).  I didn’t read through the Mitchell report last night to determine where they did it.  I still didn’t read it.  But based on what the media put out today, many of the Yankees players didn’t do it until 2001, 2002, 2004, and so on.  It definitely makes you wonder about their reign.  However, when I checked the history of the players, Baltimore seemed like it had the 2nd most amount of players on the list.  And we all know Baltimore has been awful forever.  Many of these players played for clubs that were not in contention.  This whole topic is difficult for me to digest.  Simply put, it disgusts me.

On The Fan today, they said that if Pettitte admitted to using steroids then he would receive a standing ovation on opening day for being honest about it.  Why would Yankee fans give a standing ovation to a cheat?  I don’t get it.  I’m disowning all of the Mets mentioned on the report.  I hate them all.  I read through the NY Post today, and they asked fans how they felt about it.  Yankees fans said they would still buy Pettitte jerseys because he’s a nice family guy.  One fan said it was different than Bonds because Pettitte is a nice guy.  Mets fans said they would no longer buy a jersey of anybody on that report.  Fans of every other team that the Post got to, said that they would no longer buy a jersey of anybody on that report.  What is the problem with Yankee fans?  They dismiss the problem for their desire to win.  It is the same thing with the Playoffs this year.  Since the Mets and Yankees had early exits.  The media took a poll, asking Mets fans and Yankees fans if they watch the Playoffs even though their team is no longer in it.  4-5 Mets fans said yes, and 1-5 Yankees fans said yes.  So who’s the bigger baseball fan?  The ones that no steroids is wrong, even if it is our players.  The ones that watch the Postseason even when our team is not in it anymore.  Mets fans have been through it all.  I love them, and I’m damn proud to be one.  And I want to win a championship without steriod users.  So fire Schoeneweis, and play ball.

 Mets figure in Mitchell Report findings

Radomski at heart of Mitchell’s findings

Mets statement regarding Mitchell Report

Mitchell Report proposes solutions

Newsday:

Players with Mets ties named in the Mitchell Report

The List: Players named in the Mitchell Report

The Mitchell Report: Full coverage

Mets’ Estrada, Johnson, Padilla non-tendered

New York Daily News:

Dan Haren traded from Oakland to Arizona, Jose Valverde to Houston - Now the Mets only have two ‘real’ aces out there that they can sign, Santana and Bedard.

Mitchell Report: Great day for baseball

Paul Lo Duca tagged by Mitchell Report

Fans feel cheated by Mitchell Report - This is one of the biggest problems with the whole situation.  I’m not a Yankees fan, but I thought they did it the right way, besides Canceco.  I feel very cheated, and not just because this occured.  I feel cheated because of the length of the problem.  It’s almost 2 decades.  Nobody fixed the problem.  Owners didn’t fire these people.  The Commissioner did something about it but didn’t do anything by himself.  He needed a Senator to investigate and report on the issue before he can do something about it.  How come in the NFL, the Commissioner has no problem suspending anybody?  Simply, he knows what is right and what is wrong, and he acts on it.  Bud Selig apparently cannot do that.  And why now?  Why in 2007?  This is a decade behind when the problem was at it’s height.  I want to know what Selig’s punishment is.  I want to know what the owner’s punishment is.  The Mets said nothing about the issue.  I listed to every press conference, as well as listened to all of the MLB sports talk since yesterday.  I’m completely consumed in this problem.  It’s upsetting, depressing, and appalling.  I hope Shoeneweis, the last steroid user on the roster, gets sent home during the offseason.

No shocker: John Rocker on list - HA HA HA - I knew that already though.  Do you remember when we through batteries at this duche bag? lol

The Mitchell Report: How it came to be

New York Post:

GAME HAS BECOME DIRTY SHAME

HAREN TO D-BACKS, VALVERDE TO HOUSTON

MITHCELL DEFENDS NAMING STARS IN REPORT

New York Times:

Commissioner Vows to Act Swiftly on Mitchell Report

Steroid Report Cites ‘Collective Failure’

Questions After the Report

A Tough Investigator Calmly Defends His Work

Saying Tests Are Working, Fehr Awaits Change

The Star-Ledger:

The First Chip Has Fallen

Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing

Mets escape relatively clean

Other Mets Named in Steroid List

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