Daily Archives: March 2, 2008
…well, i kept trying to post video of Oliver Perez warming up in the bullpen, but it was pulled from YouTube on two occasions…so, clearly, this violates some MLB rule…who knew…
During today’s game, Perez allowed three runs on five hits through two innings of work.
…to his credit, he had some ugly defense going on behind him…
…around the fourth inning, i saw perez all dressed in his street clothes, 
heading to hang out on the bus…
…i’m still sitting in the back of the bullpen…it’s too nice back here, and too many interesting people keep walking by for me to leave…
…Joe Smith is warming up…obviously, i will not take video…however, here is a picture…i’d like to think i could still hit a major-league fastball…i know i can’t…but i’d like to think i can…anyway, i could not hit smith in my wildest dream…i’ve been watching him for a while now, and i just can’t pick up the ball coming out of his hand…it’s such an odd angle, and so quick…
…also, Brad Penny is watching me blog…he’s in shorts, an army hat, with sunglasses on, talking on his cell phone, and he’s just staring at me writing my blog…he’s making me nervous…
…i tried to get in to the media room at Dodgertown, however there were no work stations available…of course, of there were only two writers, but each station had a laptop and papers in front of it…so, i left…
…i found a picnic table under a palm tree…thankfully, i can pick up the wireless network…i’m drowning in wires, cables, cameras, etc, being all tech-geek and trying to get all of this content up on the site, only to turn around and realize i am essentially blogging from the bullpen – as you can see here…
…i’ll take this over a media room any day, thank you very much…
…i need to get some food…after which, i may try and walk up that hill and see if a can get a quick Q&A with a player, which may not even be allowed…
…i interrupted Rick Peterson and Sandy Koufax to ask why Billy Wagner was intentionally bouncing his curve ball in to the dirt, one-hopping it to his catcher while throwing earlier today at Tradition Field…
…the pitcher will do this in an effort to train his arm to be in the appropriate slot…also, the over-exaggeration reinforces the pull down motion of the pointer and middle finger…oh, and i just talked about throwing a curve ball with Sandy Koufax…unreal…
Sandy Koufax, Rick Peterson, Don Mattingly and Joe Torre, followed by a shot of Andruw Jones:
…i only got a shot of his back and number, but, yes, he had that smirk on his face…i think he always has that smirk, quite frankly…
…i just finished watching Billy Wagner working on his curve ball…at first, he did a drill with Guy Conti supervising, during which he overemphasized the motion, while bouncing the ball intentionally on the ground to the catcher…
…Rick Peterson then waltzed up, and wagner switched to throwing from a full wind-up, which was odd to see…he looked like a starting pitcher, as you can see in the video below…in standard peterson fashion, a long line of string runs across home plate, held up by two sticks…it’s roughly a a foot or so off the ground…wagner was testing out the curve ball at full speed, and it looked good…every pitch was just around the line…
…as i mentioned last night, thousands of miles away, and this is totally Mets country…so much so that the local Starbucks has the Mets schedule on their community calendar section…
…at any rate, i am in the media room, which is more like a kitchen with desks to write from…which is odd…it’s quiet in here…several of the team’s beat writers just walked in, plunked down and are now tapping away on their laptops in silence…i am not totally sure if they know i am in here, which is pretty funny to me…i will introduce myself in a bit…
…the Mets dish out the day’s lineup and game notes in print on a table for reporters to grab on their way in to the media room…
According to today’s notes, SS Anderson Hernandez will bat leadoff, followed by 2B Ruben Gotay, LF Brady Clark, CF Angel Pagan, C Ramon Castro, RF Fernando Martinez, 1B Michel Abreu, DH Robinson Cancel and 3B Anderson Machado. Oliver Perez is today’s starting pitcher.
…i think i am going to get out here and hit the road for Vero Beach…i don’t have a ticket, but i plan to use the video camera from SNY and just sort of hang out, film the day and see what happens…wish me luck…
To keep an eye on my photo album from the trip, click here.
…alright, i’m going to Tradition Field…i have no idea if any 
one is there, where to go or how to get in…but, apparently, i’m supposed to go and get my press pass for the week, which will also allow me to hit Vero Beach this afternoon…
…i feel insanely unprepared…
…but, i guess that’s the point…
…i’ll be back shortly…wish me luck…
Carlos Delgado is expected to be back in St. Lucie today, after leaving the team for an MRI, which revealed a hip impingement that is expected to keep him out of action for several days.
…this is the same hip situation that kept delgado out of action towards the end of last season…
For more on Delgado, check out Bob Klapisch in the Bergen Record, the New York Times, and Kevin Kernan in the New York Post, who writes that Delgado has not been the leader the Mets had hoped for.
In the fourth inning of yesterday’s game, Ryan Church and Marlon Anderson collided, sending both players to the hospital for bran scans.
According to the team, Church has a Grade 2 concussion and a sore jaw, while Anderson bruised his chest.
Both players are expected to be out for several days.
Also, Brian Schneider did not play due to tightness in his legs.
…jeez…well, let’s get it all out the way now, i guess…
By the way, Carlos Beltran, Damion Easley, Luis Castillo, Endy Chavez, Jose Valentin and Ben Johnson have yet to play in a game this spring.
Talking with reporters after yesterday’s game, Willie Randolph said that Chavez and Easley are close to getting in a game.
In his always-informative Sunday Q&A for the New York Post, Steve Serby talks with Duaner Sanchez about his attitude on the mound, the taxi accident, his issues in camp last spring, watching the ‘collapse,’ losing 20 pounds, his favorite food, and whether Duaner would pay to watch Duaner, among other 
things.
Sanchez, when asked to name three people he’d like to have dinner with:
“Two ugly guys and Halle Berry.”
…best…answer…ever…well played, duaner…
Speaking of Q&As, Jeremy Cothran in the Star-Ledger talks with Mike Pelfrey, during which they discuss everything from his struggles and success from last season, to his off-season workouts to who can play basketball on the Mets.
Tagged Mike Pelfrey |
During yesterday’s win over the Dodgers, 21–year-old Mets LHP Jon Niese began the game by tossing two no-hit innings while striking three of the six batters he faced.
In his talk with reporters after the game, Willie Randolph spoke highly of Neise, saying, “It’s a good to get a look at the future.”
…he seems to be turning a lot of heads…as i have said before, he has had a lot of supporters within the organization for years…now that he’s in big-league, the hype machine is in full effect…
…in fact, last night, hanging out with Mets fans in St. Lucie, more people mentioned niese and Eddie Kunz than Johan Santana or any other pitcher…
Pedro Martinez will start on Thursday, instead of Neise.
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