Daily Archives: February 15, 2008
…just talked with SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt 
again…he says Orlando Hernandez talked with reporters a few minutes ago, and said, “I think I’m in the rotation. I not go to bullpen. I’m happy on mound as a starting pitcher.”
…according to kevin, el duque didn’t say it in a defiant way, it was sort of like he was just stating the facts…
…also, el duque says, because of his injury last season, he did not start his ritual running program until late in the off-season…nevertheless, he feels good…
…i’ll be honest, burkhardt’s first words to me were, “Orlando Hernandez is here, and,” and then there was a bit of pause…so, of course, i was prepared to hear, “and he’s hurt already,” but, fortunately, that was not the case…
…talk about classic conditioning…
Burkhardt will air a portion of Hernandez’s chat with reporters during Geico SportsNite at 6 pm on 
.
…got another text message from SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt, who says it is a very quiet day at Tradition Field since most of the players are just getting physicals, doing some light workouts and then heading home earlier than later…
…in his opinion, the big news of the day will revolve around Willie Randolph’s talk with reporters, scheduled for 12 pm…
…Oliver Perez, Billy Wagner, John Maine and Oliver Perez each threw a bullpen session, and are packing up for the day…
…Ryan Church talked with reporters by his locker…church is excited, because he feels most of his doubles from last season at RFK would have been home runs at Shea Stadium…
…Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana were spotted talking to one another…they did a lot of laughing…both santana and pedro will throw bullpen sessions tomorrow…it’d be pretty cool if they do so side by side…
By the way, tonight at 6 pm on , Burkhardt will have one-on-one interviews with Duaner Sanchez and Mike Pelfrey.
…am i the only one who has a sudden urge to go outside and play 
catch…it’s killing me…of course, it’s freezing here in New York…but, all of this talk about spring training, sunshine, workouts, etc, has me feeling very sedentary…
…apparently, SNY is sending me down to Port St. Lucie during the first week or March…my goal is to just live blog the entire week…you know, diary style, like a blog is supposed to be…
…i’m bringing my glove, though…i’ll be damned if i don’t wrangle free a chance to play catch with some one…
…from SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt, who will be sending me random text messages over the next few days, keeping us updated on what’s happening at Tradition Field:
…Ryan Church is in camp, and he’s very excited, saying, “Look at the names on these lockers.”…
…by the way, his wife is due with their first child in March…talk about a lot going on, man…
…i feel like church will essentially be like an Xavier Nady do over, but faster, left-handed and better on defense…i’m sure that is not fair to either player, but i envision church hitting around .275 with 20 HR or so and knocking in roughly 80 or so runs, which is about what nady did for the Pirates last season, and was on pace to do during his time with the Mets…
For more on Church, go to Delcos’s blog for the Journal News…
Tagged Ryan Church |The Mets officially announced the signing of OF Brady Clark to a minor league contract and have invited him to spring training.
RHP Orlando Hernandez and 2B Luis Castillo both arrived to camp this morning.
…according to a text message from SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt, castillo and Johan Santana are already hanging out by their lockers, which has to be great for those two, who are very close friends…a) it gives santana a friendly face in a new camp, and b) probably makes castillo more comfortable, who was the new guy last fall…
Position players are not required to be in camp until next week.
…by the way, i wonder how many bags of ice castillo and el duque will use through the course of a single season…i’m thinking it could be the equiviliant of the North Pole in a plastic bag…
According to John Delcos in the Journal News, “The Mets keep talking with agent Scott Boras in the hope of avoiding arbitration 
with left-hander Oliver Perez by signing him to a long-term contract.”
In the report, Delcos talks with Perez, as well as Mets Ass’t GM John Ricco, about the discussions.
Perez is seeking $6.5 million for this coming season, his final year before becoming a free agent. However, the Mets have countered with a $4.7 million offer. Therefore, the two sides are scheduled for an arbitration hearing on Feb. 21.
…of course, while the Mets logically push for a long-term deal, which could cover this season, plus a few years in to free agency, there is still time for the two sides to meet in the middle before the hearing in late February…
Tagged Oliver Perez |
Today, at his blog for the New York Times, beat writer Ben Shpigel will be online answering your questions about the Mets.
Submit your questions and comments for Shpigel at his blog throughout the day and check back regularly for answers and more updates.
At Bobby’s Way, Bobby Valentine wishes you a Happy Valentine’s Day with pictures from his team’s spring training on Ishigaki Island.
…seriously, i need to get SNY to do a Bobby V 
Reality Show, because i want to watch it…talk about your compelling television, folks…
It’s Flashback Friday at Faith and Fear in Flushing, where Greg writes 4200 words about a win against the Blue Jays from 1999 at Shea Stadium.
Andrew Beaton debuts Beaton’s Banter in a post to Hot Foot, which is a weekly column, on a blog, which is not a newspaper.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Met Fan essentially gives us all a round of applause for making it through a long and tedious off-season, which officially ended yesterday as pitchers and catchers reported to Port St. Lucie.
In the post, he also writes…
“If SNY aired coverage of morning workouts I swear I’d watch it. They wouldn’t even need announcers to get my Neilson rating cuz I’d be riveted to peek at Santana, Pedro, Sanchez, The Big Pelf, Wagner, Maine, Perez…throw from the bump.”
…i…totally…agree…instead, we get paid programming…ugh…
Lastly, at Mets Today, Joe asks himself, and answers, 10 Questions for Mets Spring Training.
…the buzz from Port St. Lucie is that, in addition to signing OF Ben Johnson yesterday, the Mets also signed free-agent OF Brady Clark to a minor-league contract and invited him to spring training…
…the team is expected to make an announcement in the next day or so…
Clark, 34, is a right-handed hitter who has played all three outfield positions during his seven-year career.
In 47 games with the Dodgers last season, he hit .224, but hit .306 in 21 games for the Padres.
He hit .308 against left-handed pitchers last season.
From 2003 to 2006, Clark played in roughly 140 games per season for the Brewers, during which he hit .283.
Clark played 10 games for the Mets in 2002.
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