Last night, Pedro Feliciano was hit by by a ground ball that bruised his right knee, forcing him to leave the game.

In a post-game report for Newsday, David Lennon says Feliciano seemed fine, as he was able to throw warm up pitches after being hit, but Jerry Manuel felt it made more sense to remove him from the game.

…sure, why risk it… good call, jerry…

Speaking of relief pitchers…

Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com believes the Mets are still in talks with free-agent LHP Joe Beimel.

Beimel is 10–9 with a 3.25 ERA in 225 appearances over the last seasons, while pitching for the Dodgers, Nationals and Rockies.

In that time, he has 106 strike outs and 64 walks in 171 innings, during which left-handed batters hit .240 against him, while righties hit .282.

Yesterday, it was reported that the Rockies have shown interest in Beimel; and, today, according to the Kansas City Star, they are showing interest in Royals reliever Juan Cruz.

Last season, Cruz, 31, had a 5.72 ERA in 46 relief appearances for the Royals, but had been 10–1 with a 2.85 ERA in his previous 120 appearances with the D-Backs in the National League.

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The Mets defeated the Marlins by the score of 5-2 tonight at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter.

For a full recap and box score, click here.

Oliver Perez started for the Mets this evening, and he had a good outing, walking just one, and allowed two runs on six hits while striking out two in four innings, but also threw a wild pitch.

According to Brian Costa of the Star Ledger, Perez was focused more on throwing strikes and less on avoiding contact tonight.

Ricky Nolasco started for the Marlins, and didn’t allow a hit until Jason Bay doubled in the fifth inning, and then Jeff Francoeur followed with a two run home run to tie the game at two a piece, and then in the top of the seventh, against Renyel Pinto, David Wright singled and then Bay connected for a two run home run of his own to center field, his second of the Spring, to make it 4-2.

In the bottom of the seventh with two outs, Pedro Feliciano was hit by a comebacker off the bat of Brett Hayes, and according to David Lennon of Newsday, Feliciano threw a couple of warmup pitches before having to leave the game, but Brian Costa of the Star Ledger says Feliciano sustained just a bruise to his right knee.

In the top of the eighth, Fernando Martinez hit for David Wright and made it 5-2 with an RBI single to score Fernando Tatis.

Martinez is now 15 for 27 on the Spring with two doubles, two triples, three home runs and 11 RBI.

Hisanori Takahashi secured the victory with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, extending his scoreless streak to 8 1/3 innings this Spring.

Game Ball:

Goes to Jason Bay and Jeff Francoeur for their two run home runs tonight.

Up Next:

The Mets return home to Tradition Field tomorrow to take on the Twins. Game time is 1:10 pm and can be seen on SNY.

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Nathan K: After hearing Yusmeiro Petit was released and Phil Humber gave up 10 runs in two innings yesterday, it occurred to me that most of the guys the Mets traded away in the last four to five years have turned out to be duds.  We always hear about Heath Bell, but we rarely hear about all the flops we’ve pawned into great players.

Matthew Cerrone:  Yes… Bell and Matt Lindstrom, and maybe Xavier Nady and Jeff Keppinger, are players the Mets might wish they could have back. I do think they’ll eventually regret trading Mike Carp, Ezequiel Carrera and Maikel Cleto to the Mariners.  But, all in all, Omar Minaya has traded away a TON of minor leagues, very few of which he regrets.

For instance, in the five years he has been at the wheel, he’s traded away: Ian Bladergroen, Petit, Grant Posmas, Gaby Hernandez, Dante Brinkley, Jae Wong Seo, Evan Maclane, Victor Diaz, Brian Bannister, Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, Humber and Kevin Mulvey – very few of which would even have helped with adding depth to last season’s injury-plagued roster.  He traded away Mike Jacobs, who signed with the team as a free agent a few months ago; and he traded Henry Owens, who was auditioning for a minor-league job at Tradition Field last month.

Yes, I do trust Minaya’s ability to asses his young talent, which is also a credit to his staff.

The question is: will he acquire the right talent, as the business of baseball continues to change.

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The Mets play the Marlins tonight in Jupiter, Fla., at 7 pm.

Here is today’s batting order:

1. CF Angel Pagan
2. 2B Luis Castillo
3. 3B David Wright
4. 1B Mike Jacobs
5. LF Jason Bay
6. RF Jeff Francoeur
7. SS Alex Cora
8. C Henry Blanco
9. SP Oliver Perez

Oliver Perez will be today’s starting pitcher, followed in relief by Pedro Feliciano, Hisanori Takahashi, Pat Misch, Ryota Igarashi and Francisco Rodriguez.

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In this column for the New York Post, Joel Sherman explains why the Mets should not abandon their plans to develop Jenrry Mejia in Triple-A to fill in a short-term need in the major-league bullpen.

However, in this column for the New York Post, Kevin Kernan says, if they do not promote Mejia, “The Mets are wasting a golden arm and opportunity, because, as he explains, ‘It’s Mejia Time.’

…these are two thoughtful articles defining both arguments…

…like i said the other day, i don’t know if he should be starting pitcher or a closer… i see the potential for both… the only wrong answer, as far as i’m concerned, is jerking him around…

…i mean, my eyes say he’s awesome… but, my experience watching baseball, and my gut reaction, both tell me he’ll hit the big leagues in April, he’ll do well, but then hitters and scouting reports will adjust and knock him around… and then what… then what happens… i don’t care that Doc Gooden had success at 19… good for doc… the thing is, i’m guessing there are also plenty of pitchers who bombed at a young age too… one has ZERO to do with the other… also, i don’t care that he looks like Mariano Rivera… or, as kernan actually writes, ‘he has a similar vibe,’ whatever that means… guess what, he’s not mariano… he’s mejia… and the Mets need to do what’s best for mejia, regardless of what previous people with a similar age, or ‘vibe,’ or height or eye color, whatever, did before him… again, if the Mets think he can some day be a dominant starter, then stick to that plan… if they do not, and think he’s destine to be in the bullpen, stick to that plan… but, in either case, have a plan, and stick to it… don’t screw this kid up… please…

To read more on Mejia, and how he does not compare to Gooden, Adam Wainwright, Francisco Liriano or Johan Santana, check out Ted Berg’s opinion at TedQuarters.net.

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According to the Denver Post, the Rockies to express interest in free-agent LHP Joe Beimel, now that Huston Street will begin the season on the disabled list.

Last week, Mike Puma of the New York Post said the Mets are interested in Beimel, having offered him a one-year, major-league deal, worth less than the $2 million he earned last season.

The 32–year-old Beimel is 10–9 with a 3.25 ERA in 225 appearances over the last seasons, while pitching for the Dodgers, Nationals and Rockies.

In that time, he has 106 strike outs and 64 walks in 171 innings, during which left-handed batters hit .240 against him, while righties hit .282.

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Yesterday, Mike Pelfrey tossed 66 pitches, 44 of which were strikes, while allowing one run and four hits in four innings.

In a report on MLB.com, Anthony DiComo explains how Dan Warthen has told Pelfrey to rely less and less on his sinker.

Yesterday, Pelfrey said he feels two-thirds of the strikes he threw in the game were curveballs, sliders and splitters, adding:

“I think one day I’d like to become an actual pitcher.”

…it’s a funny quote, on the surface… but, he is obviously talking about the difference between being a thrower and a pitcher… or, like Rick Peterson used to say, ‘You make your money by throwing the baseball, you build a career on pitching.’…

…warthen is on to something too, as D.J. Short points out at Circling the Bases… frankly, like d.j. says, it would be wise for mike to rely less on his sinker, if for no other reason than the poor infield defense behind him…

“Sure, I understand that news about pitchers tinkering with their arsenals is typical spring training fodder,” Short explains.  “But for a rotation in need of a reliable arm behind Johan Santana, the prospect of Pelfrey becoming less predictable to opposing batters just became an intriguing storyline to track this season. Still, nothing can save him from Luis Castillo patrolling second base.”

To read additional quotes and commentary from Pelfrey, read DiComo’s report, here.

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Yesterday, with Angel Pagan starting in center field, and Gary Matthews Jr. starting in left field, 20-year-old Fernando Martinez hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the eighth inning.

To read more about Martinez’s day in Fort Myers, check out Ken Belson’s report for the New York Times.

In 26 at bats this spring, Martinez is hitting .538 with two doubles, three HR, 10 RBI and just three strike outs.

“That would be difficult, in all honesty,” Manuel told reporters, when asked if Martinez could get the starting job in center field.  “The center field part is very important to us right now.  We came in here with the mantra that we’re going to catch the baseball, play good defense, that type of thing, so we’ll see how that turns out.  But right now, we have Gary and Angel slated for that spot.”

…in January, when news emerged that Carlos Beltran would start the season on the disabled list, the first thing i did was ask people if martinez would get the nod, and i was repeatedly told, ‘He’s not a center fielder,’ which would be less curious if he wasn’t always playing center field…

…the good news is that they’re all hitting and playing well… pagan looks good, as does martinez and matthews… i said last week, and the week before, i still think matthews could be traded… yesterday, WFAN’s Mike Francesa said he believes matthews will be traded for pitching, and that the Reds have interest… francesa is also obsessed with finding a way to get Bronson Arroyo to New York, so…

…however, francesa did paint another interesting scenario: what if the Mets start martinez, which mike feels is likely, and the kid does well… then, what happens when Carlos Beltran returns… would the Mets really demote martinez… or, would they move him to right field, and look to do something with Jeff Francoeur… to me, that will never happen, because they love frenchy… unless, of course, francoeur is struggling, which, let’s be honest, is possible…

…the point is, the Mets have options… they have options in center field… they have options in the bullpen and in the back of the rotation… go figure…

In a report for Newsday, Jim Baumbach talks about Martinez with Moises Alou, who was general manager of the team Martinez played on this past winter.

To see Martinez’s three-run home run, check out this video on MLB.com.

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