213 Miles From Shea

Usually I don't count throwbacks as uniform changes, however the Dodgers will be wearing their throwbacks 6 times this year, so its almost like a half alternate uniform (where as usually throwbacks don't get worn more than 2 or 3 times in a season, if that). If you recall, or maybe not, the Dodgers have a online poll to decide which one of their throwbacks they would be wearing this season, and they finally named their winner.

Someone say Brooklyn? With no NOB (names on back)!

So these are pretty nice. When judging alternate or throwback uniforms, I judge them on a few characteristics. First off, they are very clean looking. There is good spacing, it doesn't feel crowded, etc. The No NOB really helps with this look. Second, it's unusual. They are baby blue / power blue satin -esque. So while the Royals have a similar look, there are enough differences that make this uniform unique. Good Job all the way around. Also – shout out to Uni Watch Blog where I first heard about this uniform change.

There has been one constant with this New York Team starting a few years back in 2007. This organization almost never seems to handle a situation correctly. There are some major examples that can be cited (Firing Randolph in the middle of the night, Minor League Coaches challenging players to fights, Beltran's surprise surgery, “Small” money scandals etc) and they all have a common theme. The Mets found themselves in a difficult situation, they then proceeded to shoot themselves in the foot, so everyone can concentrate on their bleeding feet and the bad situation, rather than just the bad situation.

Well finally something went right for this team, and there are a lot of people to thank.

One of the major questions coming into this season was where was Beltran and Pagan going to play. Beltran was fantastic CF, but with his knee problems, and the rise of Pagan, it seemed like it was time to change the guard over. Beltran graciously stepped over to Right yesterday on his own, giving himself and Pagan the most amount of possible time for the transition to take place.

Here we have a controversial issue, that was handled responsibly, with players taking the team into consideration and listening to outside sources before the switch (Beltran apparently called Delgado). It is almost like we are adults.

So my hat is off to you Mets. For once we can focus on the decision that was made, and not focus on the disaster which has been associated with the way the Mets make moves.

(First off, this is game 3*, earlier I was counting the exhibition against Michigan as a game, but now I decided not to. Big decision).

The Mets took their first loss in spring today as the Mets now fall to 1-1-1 for Grapefruit League. As you can imagine in a game where the score was 9-3, there were some highlights, and there were some lowlights. Big Pelf started the game and pitched three innings allowing 2 runs, one earned over 5 hits and one strikeout (no walks). To be honest, that one run shouldn't have been earned. Pagan got a little twisted in the OF and lost the ball as it came down. If this was closer to April, Angel has that ball and that run never happens. Anyway Mike wasn't lights out today, but he was good, which a promising sign. At this point, what is almost as important as the box score was that he acted like an ace up there, he seemed to have this aura of “yeah I'm the man” which is exactly what the Mets rotation needs.

Outside of Pelfrey, the only other positive pitching performance was Izzy, who pitched a scoreless/perfect inning of relief (so did O'Connor). Tankersley got off to a bad start this spring as he just allowed 3 ER in one inning of work and Carrasco wasn't much better with his 2 innings of work allowing 2 ER. Also, Igarashi also stumbled allowing 2 ER in this game. The only pitcher this really hurts is Tankersley, who is already a longshot to make the pen, but it doesn't hurt him too much, because it was only one game.

On the bats side, Murphy did great today. He made a couple of good defensive plays at third and also hit his second double of Spring, then scored a run. Angel Pagan also had a good day at the plate with his solo homer in the bottom of the first. Two Mets were able to get two hits today, and they both are some of our young guys. Fmart had a 2-3 day, now making him 3-5 in Spring. Tejada got his first two hits of Spring today going 2-2 with 2 RBI's. If he keeps hitting like that, you have to think he really does enter himself back into the conversation at second base. Valdespin and Castillo were the stumblers today. Valdespin went 0-3 and while he continues to impress on the field, it is slow coming this Spring at the plate. Castillo went 0-2 including a GDP, which with Murphy and Tejada's performance, makes it look even worse.

Yesterday was a big day for three Mets players in particular. There were three pitchers eying the rotation that got an opportunity to show their stuff. First up was Capuano, who got the home start against the University of Michigan yesterday. He tossed 3 innings, allowing one earned run over three hits while walking none and striking out 4. It was a very positive start for a player trying to prove his health and that he should be in the rotation.

Also trying to prove his health yesterday was Chris Young who threw a nasty two perfect innings against the Braves in the away game. The only thing Atlanta could do against him was strike out twice. He looked good, or at least the commentary on the radio made it sound like he looked good, and he had good command of not only his fastball, but was also showing off his 12-6 curve. So good job for him as well.

Finally, there was Oliver Perez. It was already going to be an uphill battle for Oliver, who if Young and Capuano succeed, then he really doesn't have a spot on this team. His first start didn't help his case so much. He had some bad defense behind him, but ultimately in the second inning, Perez did himself in. Oliver pitched two innings allowing 4 earned runs on 4 hits with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts. You may be able to forgive one run from his first inning, maybe, but the rest of his outing was trash. Oliver walked in a run, didn't throw strikes. When he did throw strikes, he was good, getting three strikeouts, but that is also typical Perez. He does good an bad in the same inning, and sadly, the bad is overwhelmingly taking over the good we see in terms of results. Things are looking pretty bleak for the Mets starter.

Another pitcher had a good day yesterday, looking to make some space for him. Pat Misch pitched three scoreless innings allowing only one hit and 2 K's. Hopefully we can find somewhere for him.

The offense wasn't bad in either game yesterday, but I didn't want to focus on that right now with so many pitching stories going on.

Imagine every positive, hyperbole laced adjective you heard about Stephen Strasburgh. Convert those statements from pitcher to hitter and you get Bryce Harper. The almost legendary prospect (dropping out of high school to go to junior college to be entered in the baseball draft a year early, record smashing homers, etc) will be taking his talents to the field in the Nationals first Spring Training game of the year against the Mets.

Harper isn't in the starting lineup, but he will be one of the first substitutions in the game playing either Right Field or Left Field.

There are probably a few of you out there that just read that statement with a, “What? I thought he was a catcher?” It looks the Nationals are trying him out in the OF because they think they can increase the longevity of his bat with a position move. The merits of that are something a little outside of what I'm comfortable discussing (I don't know enough about strength and conditioning, although I do know catcher is the most accident prone position).

Also, Jesus Flores, former Met organization catcher, will also be playing today – In an effort to remind us that the Nationals for a period of time was the home of a lexicon of Mets players. He is, of course, blocked in the organization by Wilson Ramos who will be starting today. We also will not be seeing Jason Werth, who is not in the starting lineup.

Looks like it should be an interesting one today. Game on SNY at 1.

I forgot to cover two, key pieces to yesterday's game. The first would be Terry Collins.

He was ecstatic when Willie Harris hit that two run shot to tie the game. It was a spring training game and he showed so much emotion. He would later talk after the game that even though it was a spring training game, and runs scored at the end of the game are really normal, he was happy about the fight the team showed. I can get really used to a manager showing his emotions on his sleeve, since we haven't had that since, maybe Valentine (I don't really recall/care about the Howe era). So yeah, Collins was something to watch yesterday.

More importantly (sarcastically), Gary, Keith and Ron were in midseason form yesterday. Keith talked about how he mispronounced Pedro Beato's name to Beato's face. Then Keith talked about how it gets chilly in Florida in the winter where you have to wear a light jacket, to which the rest of the crew called him soft in his old age. It was good to hear the crew back together to remember that summer is right around the corner.

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.