Daily Archives: February 25, 2008
As of now, SNY will be sending me down to Port St. Lucie from Saturday, March 1, through Friday, March 7, to live blog my experience watching the Mets from Tradition Field.
…i’m beyond excited, as this will be my first time ever going to spring training…in the true spirit of a blog, my plan is to roam around with my laptop and camera, and press credentials, and basically keep a diary of the experience, which will hopefully include a Q&A or two, some exclusive access to different parts of the complex, and who knows what else…
On Saturday night, March 1, me and few other bloggers, who will also be in town, plan to hang out at Duffy’s Sports Grill.
…if you are in town, feel free to stop by…it would be pretty cool to get a MetsBlog Night in St. Lucie going, but i have no idea how many of this site’s readers will actually be in town…
…so, if you’ll be in St. Lucie, and would like to hang out, send me an e-mail so i can put together a rough count…
Tagged MetsBlog |This is the logo for Citi Field, unveiled by the Mets this morning from Port St. Lucie:
Jeff Wilpon, as quoted in the team’s press release…
“With the unveiling of the Citi Field logo,
and the construction of our new home, we are one step closer to bringing the dream of a new home for Mets fans to reality. This marks the start to the official countdown to our April 2009 opening of Citi Field.”
According to eyewitnesses, Omar Minaya, Willie Randolph, Carlos Beltran, Billy Wagner, David Wright, Jose Reyes and Johan Santana wore the logo on a hat while at the unveiling this morning.
…i guess this is supposed to bug me, but it doesn’t…i understand the nexus of money and baseball…i just hope to never see corporate logos on the actual team hat and uniform…that’s all…otherwise, i realize it is what it is and i, as a fan, really have no say over how the team makes money…i just want them to look good while doing whatever it is they need to do…oh, and win too…that’s pretty important, as well…
…that said, it’s a solid logo…i don’t quite get the angle, and it feels more like a logo for a special bank account than it feels like a logo for the stadium…then again, maybe that’s the point…
…Update…10:10 am…
At his blog for the Star-Ledger, Jeremy Cothran 
has a picture of the hat people were wearing.
…a reader in the comment’s section wrote that the logo looks a lot like the Domino’s Pizza logo, and he’s right…which is not a good thing, if you ask me…
…by the way, to win a hat, go to cothran’s blog, as well as Steve Popper’s blog for the Bergen Record…
This morning in Port St. Lucie, the Mets and Citi will unveil the 
official logo for Citi Field at 9 am, after which the team will play an intrasquad game on Field 7 (the Citi Field replica) at 12 pm.
According to an announcement over the weekend, the following pitchers will throw during today’s practice game:
Joselo Diaz, Robert Parnell, Jon Niese, Adam Bostick, Joe Smith, Ruddy Lugo, Steve Register, Juan Padilla, Duaner Sanchez, Ivan Maldonado and Andy Cavazos.
For the rest of the week’s pitching schedule, click here.
…i think it’s pretty obvious that all eyes will be on duaner…there is no getting around it…
Willie Randolph, talking to reporters yesterday about Sanchez…
“This guy was one of the better set-up guys in the game a few years ago. If he bounces back and gets anywhere close to that he’s going to help us tremendously…The key for him is being healthy and facing hitters, getting out there and facing guys, because it’s a different feel.”
To hear from Sanchez, check out the Daily News.
…also of note will be padilla, who had two arm surgeries over the last year…the buzz from camp has long been that padilla will need more work, and may not be ready until after the season starts…but, this should be a good indicator of where he is truly at…
Also, Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo, Damion Easley, Endy Chavez, Jose Valentin and Ben Johnson, among others, will not play in today’s game as they continue to nurse random injuries.
Carlos Beltran was then hit accidentally on the left tricep by a fastball from Johan Santana.
Beltran told reporters he is fine, though the pitch left behind stitch marks and a black-and-blue.
Later on, Willie Randolph talked to reporters and explained that beltran wanted to face Santana specifically, because he knew Santana would throw strikes.
…so close to irony…so close…but still just a coincidence…
Randolph only categorized the hit-by-pitch as a ‘nick.’
…seriously, it’s like beltran is just a magnet for pain…
In the Star-Ledger, Dan Graziano talked with Beltran 
about his goal for this season.
Beltran, on winning an MVP…
“That’s a goal for every player that plays at this level, and it’s definitely a goal of mine. I work every single year to be the MVP. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to win one yet. But I try every year.”
…beltran is sneaking in…so far, i am most excited to watch Duaner Sanchez and Ryan Church this season…but, little by little, i’m becoming more and more intrigued by beltran, who seems poised to turn a page in his career…he has never been my favorite player…i like him…just not a favorite…and i’m not sure why…his relationship with the fans has always been sort of distant…and just as we get to rallying around him, he tends to get hurt and disappears for the next few weeks…i hope this changes…
…as for the MVP, he’s such a subtle player…so much of what he does well, he does quietly…he’s not going to bombard the voters with a fat stat line, so i wonder if he’ll ever win an MVP – even if he ends up truly being the best player in the league…for the same reason, i wonder if he’ll ever be viewed as the best player on the Mets, even if he ends up being so…
The Brooklyn Met Fan tells Oliver Perez that he should dump his agent, Scott Boras.
At Faith and Fear in Flushing, Greg takes a look back at 20 Mets from 2007, who are playing elsewhere in 2008.
In a post to Shea Nation, David Rubin and Company dedicate 4900 words to breaking down the State of the Mets.
Eric Simon is back with the Make-the-Mets-O-Meter, at Amazin’ Avenue, which focuses on the increased or decreased chances of each player making the opening day roster.
…eric did this last season, and i love this feature…good stuff…
Speaking of the roster, at Mets Geek, Russlan Abouhassan gives his thoughts on the team’s entire roster.
In his latest Going Nine for Gotham Baseball Magazine, Mark Healey continues to stump for the return of Wally Backman.
Lastly, speaking of Gotham, last night on Gotham Baseball Live, host Mike Silva talked with Hot Foot’s Anthony De Rosa and the great Toby Hyde of the Mets Minor-League Report.
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