Daily Archives: March 20, 2008
John Maine is starting to grab the attention of the baseball pundits. On ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, Peter Gammons mentioned Maine could be a 20 game winner this season.
Meanwhile in the “Around the camps” segment of his latest article for SI.com, Jon Heyman had the following to say:
“John Maine (2-1, 2.63) of the Mets looks like a star this spring. Anyone who figures he’s a middle-of-the-rotation starter may be underestimating him.”
…maybe it’s because he doesn’t have an intimidating figure, blow people away all the time with overpowering stuff, or a unique name like joba, but for some reason it’s taking maine longer to get recognized as a potential stud than it would most young people having success in the new york market…
…sure, he stumbled a bit the last two months like the rest of the mets, but in his first 21 starts last year he was 12-5 with an era under 3.00 and did come through with a phenomenal last start to keep the mets’ playoff hopes alive…he’s already had some success in the post season and now he has the luxury of improving while pitching behind pedro and johan…
…he sure seems like the real deal to me, especially when his slider is working…i’m looking forward to watching him win with the mets for a long time, and anxiously awaiting the aflac trivia question years from now asking who the mets gave up to acquire maine…
The Mets take on the Orioles in Tradition Field tonight at 7 pm.
Johan Santana will start for the Mets. In four starts this spring, Santana has allowed 13 hits, eight runs and struck out 14 in 14 innings.
Duaner Sanchez, Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman and Pedro Feliciano are also scheduled to pitch.
Carlos Delgado is expected to be in tonight’s lineup, two days after being cut on the arm by a broken bat.
For tonight’s lineup, check out John Delcos at the Journal News.
During last night’s broadcast, the camera caught 
Carlos Delgado wearing a bright orange t-shirt with a clown on it and the words, “Enough.”
…from what i can gather, according to delgado, the t-shirt was originally made and given to players last season by Paul Lo Duca, as a joke, in response to how the coaches had been treating the players during practice…
…also, according to eyewitnesses, the Mets have been huddled around the television watching No. 3 Xavier defeat No. 14 Georgia in the NCAA Tournament…which is totally expected…
…by the way, in case you’re curious, i added 
a feature to the end of each post at MetsBlog.com, which allows you to forward the particular post to a friend via e-mail, or have it post to your preferred social networking site…
O’s RHP Steve Trachsel was scheduled to start against the Mets tonight, but has been pulled from his start by Baltimore.
In a post to his blog for the Newsday, David Lennon wonders if the O’s are simply protecting Trachsel from facing his old team.
…nah, i’m sure he’s on his way, he’s just taking 30 minutes between traffic lights…ugh…i do not miss him…
Meanwhile, in the Journal News, John Delcos wonders if Johan Santana has thin skin when it comes to dealing with media.
Lastly, according to Adam Rubin in the Daily News, David Wright does not see himself as the team’s captain, instead Wright believes that Willie Randolph is the team’s captain, saying, “Our true leader I think is Willie, and then everybody else just brings in small roles to the team as far as leadership.”
…so, for those of you who love to send me rants about how much you hate willie, please send them to wright instead…
…i’m kidding, of course…
In the latest edition of 1st Person with SNY, Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana explain what it means to be a mentor.
To watch Martinez and Santana, click here: 
In the segment, Martinez says:
“The first thing I try to do is get them loose, I try to make them feel comfortable. I don’t mislead anybody, and I make them feel like they can approach me at any time…In some sense, that’s just the way I am, I like to exchange with every body and, you know, have fun out there.”
…we’ll never know, but i can’t help but wonder how last season would have played out had pedro been with the club all year long…by the end, when things really got out of hand, and he returned, his presence may have been too little too late…had he been there from day one, his attitude, energy and desire to win may have been enough to keep things on track…but, like i said, i guess we’ll never know…
Tagged Pedro Martinez |According to the ‘Duk, at Big League Stew, based on his time traveling from locker 
room to locker room in spring training, “Each team has its own NCAA tournament pool and each squad had players who were poring over their picks in front of their lockers.”
In a video on Mets.com, John Maine has picked Memphis to win the NCAA Tournament; David Wright likes North Carolina; Brian Schneider, Billy Wagner and Scott Schoenweiss pick Duke; Aaron Heilman naturally picks Notre Dame; Damion Easley picks Kansas; and Howard Johnson likes any team not from the ACC, because, as he put it, “David Wright will not shut up if the ACC wins it.”
…and since people keep asking me on e-mail, my Final Four is: UNC vs. Georgetown, UCLA vs. Marquette…
During last night’s win over the Indians, John Maine struck out seven batters through five innings, while allowing just 
one run.
Maine, talking to reporters after last night’s game:
“They’re a good hitting team, they foul a lot of balls off, they made me work, and it’s great to face a team like that to get ready for the season…I’m ready to go, I’m bored of St. Lucie (laughing).”
To watch Maine speak with reporters, click here:
For more on Maine, read Bart Hubbach in the New York Post.
Duaner Sanchez told reporters yesterday that he hoped to pitch in last night’s game against the Indians.
He did not. Instead, he once again worked with rehabilitation pitching coach Randy Niemann as the rest of his teammates prepared for the game.
Willie Randolph, talking to reporters yesterday, on whether or not Sanchez will be ready for opening day:
“Is he on the borderline of not being able to break with us?. Yeah, if he doesn’t start to pitch in succession and get his work done, then yeah, that’s going to become a real issue. But now let’s wait and see how he gets through the next couple of days and go from there.”
Sanchez had seven days rest between his first two appearances, then three days rest, then four days rest, and it has now been two days since he last appeared in a game.
Anthony De Rosa is in St. Lucie reporting for SNY.tv, who will soon run a quick Q&A he did yesterday with Sanchez.
Sanchez, on whether he is ready to pitch on back to back days, as quoted by De Rosa:
“Well, that may take a little bit longer than what it was supposed to. It’s not a setback, not a setback, I’m taking my time to be all the way.”
…frankly, if he needs more time, so what…let him stay at extended spring training, get his work in, all while the Mets can get a better look at Matt Wise or Steven Register, both of whom have done quite well this spring…
For more from De Rosa, on the current state of health in camp, read his recent column for SNY.tv.
…can i just say how proud i am of anthony…this is great, man…keep up the great work…
Last night, the Mets reassigned RHP Tony Armas Jr., RHP Nate Field, RHP Joselo Diaz and OF Fernando Martinez to minor league camp.
…wow, tony…that was quick, but understandable…since he just arrived, it’s like he just reported to pitchers and catchers…so, he may as well get out of the way and keep working in extended spring training…
Meanwhile, in 47 at-bats this spring, the 19–year-old Martinez hit .373 with just seven strike outs.
Willie Randolph, on Martinez, as quoted in the Journal News:
“Of all the young kids we brought to camp, he was the one I wanted to see most, and he didn’t disappoint…He has a chance to be a pretty good player and be a big part of our future.”
…as i have said, i would not be surprised to see martinez get a quick stint at shea this year, especially if the team suffers a wave of outfield injuries like it did last season…
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