213 Miles From Shea

Game 1 is in the books, and it is some what fitting that it ended in a tie. Well actually, I'm not sure why that is fitting. Anyway, today was the first “game” for both Manager Terry Collins and Freddy Gonzalez, and it was some what strange not seeing Bobby in the other dugout. For the story lines today, we should start with Mejia, who although he had to throw 42 pitches, threw two good innings and showed some maturity on his curveball. He will continue to be a player to watch in AAA. The other pitcher the Mets wanted to get a look at was Pedro Beato who had a small mistake (a homer to Hinske) but besides that looked great and remains to be a player for the pen.

Another battle that we saw a small preview for today was second base. Castillo didn't look great but he didn't look bad. He had a single. He then hit into a ground ball double play. He also turned a good double play, and it may be questionable if Emaus/Murphy would have been able to. Murphy had one plate appearance in this game, which he drew a walk and then was pulled for Willie Harris to pinch run. Oh, speaking of Willie Harris, after hitting a homer in yesterday's Intrasquad game, he did it again today, this time a two run shot. F-Mart did the same, which was nice to see.

Anyway, the Good:

Valdespin 1-3, 2B, RBI
Hairston 1-2, 2B, R
Harris 1-1, HR, 2 RBI
F-Mart 1-2, HR, 2 RBI
Mejia 2.0 IP, H, R, 0 ER, BB, 3 K
Bucholz 2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 K

And The Bad:

Lutz 0-2, BB, 2 K
Nickeas 0-3, K
Duda 0-3, 7 LOB

While this afternoon we will be treated to the first real game of Spring, yesterday the Mets played themselves in a game where Team B, the home Team, rallied from three runs down in the bottom of the sixth to beat the away team, Team A.

The game started off poorly for DJ Carrasco who after two strikes allowed a lead off homer to Scott Hairston. After that DJ calmed down and didn't allow any more runs for two more innings and struck out 4 batters. So what started off bad for DJ actually became a pretty good afternoon. Going back to Hairston though, he would later hit another homer. Actually, homers were a theme of the game as Ryan hit one for Team B and so did Willie Harris (it fits that both Hairston and Willis would hit homers today). So anyway:

The Good:

Hairston 2-3, 2 HR, 2 RBI

Ryan 1-3, HR, RBI

Harris 1-3, HR, RBI

Stinson, Igarashi, O'Connor – 2.0 Scoreless IP

The “Bad”:

Emaus 0-3

Evans 0-3

Martinez 0-3

Alvarez 1.0 IP, H, 2 R, 1 ER, BB, K (So Not Really That Bad)

I don't put too much weight in this game, but Scott Hairston surprised me. Let's see how he does today as the starting DH for the Mets.

Seriously can this guy get any better?

We learned two more things about Dickey this week that makes him even better than the nearly God like image of him we have already built up.

For those of you who lived under a rock last year (understandable – maybe), or just aren't Mets fans, R.A. Dickey arrived in our lives as a way back up option for the rotation in Spring Training. In the early part of the season he was called up and instantly entered Mets lore. The pitcher, who makes amazing faces while pitching, rocked the stats last season as he started 6-0 in his first 7 games. Overall, he was the most dependable pitcher for the rest of the season and finished with a sparkling ERA below 3. Dickey amazed fans with his knuckleball that just kept hitters so off balance during the game.

What drove Mets fans to Dickey was also his attitude on the field. He always played his hardest, and honestly spoke about everyone needing to play their best. His story was fantastic too ranging from making sure his children (who are young by the way) understand the human condition while reading all the way to his humble beginnings working in a doughnut shop.

What's more to like?

In a baseball sense, Dickey has started to use a pitch he was developing last season in Spring this year. It's a very slow knuckleball to complement his fast knuckleball. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. I can't wait to see it.

Oh, he also bikes to Spring Training. Yeah, you know that thing with two wheels and no gas needed. Dope.

Well, R.A. Here's hoping for another awesome year.

The Mets will play their annual Intrasquad Spring Training Game Today. This is generally an interesting game, because its the Mets vs the Mets! It's fun, we normally don't watch it (because we can't usually), and reporters usually stop live blogging it midway through to get quotes from the bigger names in the lineup. The real story from today's game will be the second basemen, Emaus and Murphy, who will be starting on opposite sides of the diamond. The Lineups Are:

The Visiting Team:

Hairston
Emaus
Duda
Martinez
Lutz
Hu (SS)
Chavez
Glenn

The Home Team:

Pridie
Harris
Murphy
Turner (3B)
Nieuwenhuis (RF)
Adams
Tejada (SS)

Pitching for the Visitors (Warning: I may have the Visitors and Home Pitching Rosters Mixed Up):

Brydak
O'Connor
Carrasco
Stinson

Pitching for the Home Team:

Igarashi
Boyer
Alvarez
Tankersley

As you can see, we already get to see some of the competitions already lined up in this first game, that isn't really a game. We already discussed Emaus vs Murphy, we also see Hariston vs Harris today. Making that outfield spot more complicated, the team will also get a look at Pridie, Duda and Captain Kirk (although the latter 2 may be best served playing everyday in the minors).

In terms of pitchers, we will get to see some of the outside contenders for pen. I am very curious to hear how Alvarez performs as blogs and Newspapers have been swooning over his fastball for the past week. Brdak and Igarashi are two quasi-big names trying to find a spot in the bullpen and finally Carrasco starts his quest for the final spot in the Mets rotation today (but he also has a spot in the pen pretty much locked up).

It should be a fun one today, mainly because its baseball, and I'm done with Winter.

On Sunday I was reading MLB Trade Rumors and saw the news that the Mets resigned three players to minor league deals. They resigned Jesus Feliciano, who I wish would get a chance to play in the majors everyday with another team, but I'm thankful to have him as a backup in case of disaster. One of the players the Mets signed was Chris Shelton. Sound familiar?

He was a bit of a wonder kid at the start of the 2006 season. It was his breakout season with the Tigers, and really his only good season in the majors where he hit .276 with 16 homers. However it was the start of the season that made him so notable. In the first 13 games of the season he homered 9 times, and ended with 10 homers in the month of April. During this month he also hit .326 before completely falling apart. The impact of his hot streak was magnified by it being the start of the season, it made him seem like he was always this good. By the end of April his rookie card was one of the best selling baseball cards as the collecting world was trying to grasp “Who is this guy”.

He hasn't played in the majors since a limited stint in 2009. As for the Mets, he really doesn't factor in too much. We have Ike Davis starting at first base and the back up at first is Dan Murphy. After Murphy on the depth chart there is a long list of 1B-OF players the Mets are trying to get into the game, but have no way to due to the bottleneck at those 4 positions, with no clear standouts yet. In essence, Shelton doesn't mean much to the team but it is a really interesting story just to have him, as he is part of a short captivating time in baseball.

I do not understand game used dirt. I understand it on game used uniforms, that's cool. Actually that's really cool. What I don't understand is putting game used dirt into memorabilia and then marking the products up to a ridiculous price, make it seem valuable, and sell it to the public. Well, I do understand it, they are trying to make money, I just wish they wouldn't do it.

Infield dirt items range. They are all not that bad, some of them are kinda cool. Like a great idea for a sports den would be to include these coasters. They are unique and are great for starting conversations. Also, they add to the room.

Then there is item. It is designed to look valuable, but it really isn't. I guess the only real purpose I can think of is for an executive office or something.

The last of the “good items” comes in this knicknack. It is a reasonable price, and you can take it with you anywhere. It is a good recreation of the use of infield dirt.

So the last three examples have been fairly positive, which begs the question why was the opening of this article so negative. Well there is one other line of product's I haven't displayed yet: the dirt plaques. You see they take a picture of your favorite player, put some dirt in a disc, frame it, and sell it to you for a fee. Sometimes you get players you want but they also carry players no longer on the team and players you would not want on your 2011 Mets team.

On Saturday, Carlos Beltran said that it is hard to believe that the is starting his seventh season with the New York Mets this year.

It's hard for me to believe too, Carlos.

The upcoming baseball season will be Beltran's 14th. He had six seasons with the Royals, one split between the Royals and the Astros, and the rest with the Mets. There are very few Mets that have been on the roster longer than Beltran now. David was on the team for only one year before Beltran. Jose Reyes only two seasons. Pedro Feliciano was there for three years before Carlos, but he's gone now. Actually, when you look at the 2004 Mets roster, the only two players that are still on the Mets are Reyes and Wright.

It seems like just yesterday I was angry about the Yankees, who seemed poised to overpay to get Carlos to come to the Bronx, then shocked to find out that he with Pedro were coming to Queens. Over the last 6 seasons we have experienced so much with Carlos. His failure in 2005 and collision with Mike Cameron. His silent leadership in 2006 when he belted 41 homers. His consistency in 2007 despite the collapse of the team around him. His engagement with the Phillies around this time with the team to beat nonsense/sideshow/spectacle. The frustration and the blame in 2008, although he remained a key player. Then came the injury shortened 2009 and 2010.

We have no idea what will happen after this year, and where Beltran will go. It is sometimes popular to belittle what Beltran has done for this team in his first 6 years but at the same time, it is really important to remember his yearly numbers, with the exception of 2005 and 2010, have been quite good. He says he is open to playing Right field this year, if it is better for the team, and that is the attitude that I expect out of Beltran. He is not a selfish player, which is why at the end of this season, whether he stays with the Mets, or goes to another team, I will have fond memories of Beltran's time with the Mets.

I'll be the first to tell you that I was really skeptical on the Collins signing when it happened. I'll also be the first to tell you that it is too early to make any strong opinion about his effectiveness, as he hasn't had time yet to do anything.

That being said, this past week has showed me one thing: I miss managers with energy, and I am so happy we have one.

I didn't complain about Randolph and Snoop so much because at points I liked them and I generally work in the same way they do; keep my head down push through, etc. However seeing someone with energy really makes the Mets more exciting. Terry has been reporting literally running between activities. He shows the passion he wants his players to have, rather than just saying it. Krod has been reported as saying that Collins is his type of manager.

Actually lets go back to that discussion. Krod, through the NY Post, said that with Collins, he has been told once he gets up in the pen, he will be used. How awesome is that? A lot of times for the last several years we focused on how Jerry used the pen too much in games. What we didn't go into at all is not only does he use them a lot, but he has them warming up constantly. They are throwing innings worth of pitches before they can even get in the game.

He has also been fairly frank with his opinions about struggling opinions. That's refreshing too.

The beginning of Spring this year is busy again for a lot of teams that are making last minute minor league deals to get additional players into camp. The first one I wanted to highlight is really to correct an article I posted two days ago. On Wednesday, based on an Adan Rubin report, I speculated about Maine joining the Phillies and the media reaction, or lack there of, that would ensue. Well now that article was for naught as it looks like he will sign with the Rockies, according to MLB Trade Rumors. According to that source, the deal looks to include an opt out clause if Maine does not reach the major league team and if he does make the team, a payday of about 3 million. In addition to the Phillies, the Royals also showed interest.

The more interesting note for the Mets has been the signing of Jason Isringhausen. After a long trip away from the Mets, one third of generation K returns on a minor league contract. You are probably aware of the entire story, but I'll sum it really quickly for you. He was an overhyped prospect in the Mets system, along with the other members of Generation K, he made it to the bigs, stunk, left the Mets, and then was amazing. Also he got to wear this gem during his time with the Mets. Izzy right now is in that class of players the Mets have in camp as rehabbing from surgery aka reduced price. If he has a strong camp, and due to his past history, he could be a pleasant surprise on this team. I'll withhold judgement until I actually see him pitch though.

As discussed before, it seems this year is the three year change for BP jerseys for all teams. The obvious Mcdonaladization of batting practice uniforms is getting ridiculous but at least it gives us something to talk and gripe about. Anyway, from looking at the templates for the all the unifoms, the common theme now is the jersey top is one color with a different color underarm. Then there is a plate on the back of the neck, above the players name, that can be a different color. Some times have decided to go with this, others, like the Mets, have not. Which is a good call because the uniforms lose their baseball feel. Some teams have also been able to escape certain aspects identicalness by choosing to have either full script team name on the front, or just a pocket logo.

Anyway, here is the National League set and the American League set. First off, shout-out to the National League, where are zero teams that decided it was necessary to have a home and away batting practice uniforms. (Here's looking at you Yankees, Tigers and the Blue Jays. And especially they Orioles, who not only have a home and away set but have that strange color thing going on in the back).

The uniforms are not all bad. I think the Dodgers one looks pretty good. It marks their two real colors, and then adds that red accent on the front number. Also, for some odd reason I like that Pirates uni. Maybe its the copious amount bright yellow.

What makes the Dodgers uniform good as well is comparing it to the blue/white Tigers uniform, which just looks odd, almost like a bad soccer kit, in the front with the ring of white around the front and the back.

Well….see you guys in three years for probably an identical article.