Daily Archives: February 19, 2009
Update, 7:55 pm:
I was able to ask Dan Warthen a few questions after his segment on air.
I asked him about doing the live show in front of fans, and how he and the other coaches help push Manuel’s team-first message through camp.
He seems very happy to be part of this organization, which is good to see.
The video of my talk with him should be posted tomorrow.
Lastly, a young Mets fan asked me to sign a baseball for him, since he’s a big fan of thr blog. This is still very awkward to me, but quite flattering and I’m happy the blog is helping fans connect to the team.
Update, 7:10 pm:
Pelfrey has a slight cold, and looks like he feels a bit under the weather… but he was still a good sport, signing a few autographs, doing the live apperance, and even laughing at himself off camera when they showed him on the big screen wearing the military helmet from last week.
Update, 6:57 pm:
Mike Pelfrey arrived to cheers from the crowd in Duffy’s, who also gave a nice ovation for Jay Horwitz.
Dan Warthen got a nice ovation, and looked rather uncomfortable.
The show is about to go live (see below).
Original Post:
The thing that hits me most about being in this town, this time of year, is how Mets-dominant it is. It’s awesome.
There are Mets hats, shirts, jersies, every where, in dads, friends, daughters, sons, fans and even the waiters in some of the bars and reataurants.
In fact, it’s hard to find memorabilia of any other team in any bar, which is great to see.
I’m going into Duffy’s now, with my new, white, 86 Mets, t-shirt on, to film another video diary behid the scenes of SNY’d Mets Hot Stove, which airs live tonight at 7 pm.
Here’s my shirt, with Duffy’s behind me:
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post caught up with Carlos Delgado after the team’s first full workout today.
Delgado finished second to Alex Rodriguez for the 2003 AL MVP, but harbors no grudges, saying:
“It’s funny, because a lot of people brought that up. It is what it is. I can’t change what happened. I thought I had a pretty good chance to win it myself before any of this came out. But it didn’t happen, so I wasn’t going to let that kind of overshadow the season I had. Obviously, five years later, I’m not going to let that bother me. It is what it is. All I can do is go out and try to have a great year this year.”
…people have been saying that if a-rod did steroids, how do we know who else is or isn’t on that list…i suppose i could be suspicious of all the players from that era, but i’m going to take delgado on his word since i have no reason not to…with spring training finally being here, i for one am extremely tired of the whole steroid discussion…
…thanks again to mike for the lego carlos…
Update, 4:10 pm:
Here is the official press release from the team:
“The Mets will wear a new cap for the entirety of the 2009 season featuring a patch on the left side commemorating the opening of CitiField. The team will wear the new caps on Monday for team photos, and then the caps will debut officially on Opening Day. Designed by MLB and the Mets last year and manufactured by New Era, the caps will be available for purchase beginning next week (week of 2/23). The caps, available in blue, black and black/blue (blue attached and below), will have a one-week exclusive at MLB.com, Modell’s, Mets Clubhouse Stores and at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, the Mets’ Spring Training camp.”
Original Post:
My email box is being flooded with questions about the new, nicely designed, Citi Field patch that has been seen on the Mets hats today and are being sold on Mets.com.
From what I can gather, this is the official Citi Field logo for the building, which will appear on team-issued items, such as hats, t-shirts, etc., at Citi Field, and sold on their website, Modells, etc., and will appear in the building, on the walls, in documents and so on.
The old, controversal, dare I say boring, “pizza patch,” will still be on the jersey they wear on field and will sell online.
Carlos Delgado talked to reporters from the dugout in Tradition Field and said he has nothing to worry about when it comes to steroids because he has never used illegal drugs.
For more on Delgado’s talk with reporters, check out Adam Rubin’s blog for the Daily News.
Later in the day, Jerry Manuel talked to reporters about the 80–pitch batting practice drill, and said the goal is to develop better hand-eye coordination, while getting their hands strong and taking the body out of the swing.
So far, Manuel said he likes what he sees from Luis Castillo, who he feels has a lot to prove this spring.
Manuel talked to his team this morning in private about how difficult it is to win a World Series, stressing the importance of preparation and team work, noting that the end of the last two seasons was all part of the preparation, in terms of experience, towards a larger goal.
Manuel also used the newly installed flat-screen TVs in the clubhouse to highlight how his players could better work to hit the ball towards the opposite field.
Also, Manuel said Fernando Tatis will back-up first place, among other guys, on days when Delgado gets a rest.
Manuel believes Delgado struggled last season with some health issues, which may explain why he was so up and down. Manuel believes Delgado could be the leader this team needs.
Lastly, Brian Stokes pitched from the mound today, despite having an issue with his hamstring earlier in the week.
By the way, don’t forget, later tonight, Kevin Burkhardt will be hosting SNY’s Mets Hot Stove LIVE from Duffy’s in Port St. Lucie.
…i’ll be heading down to Duffy’s to film a behind the scenes look at the show, and catch up with a few readers while i’m there…
Tagged Notebook |The following is from my first video diary from Tradition Field for SNY.tv:
Tagged SNY |
At his blog for Newsday, David Lennon asks, ‘are you ready to forgive Luis Castillo?’
…i don’t think it’s about forgiving castillo, as it is more of letting him have a fresh start…i’m certainly going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he has recommitted himself before delving into any criticism…
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post points out when the Mets take the field on opening day their caps will have different Citi Field inaugural patch than the one on their uniform.
Meanwhile, Stever Popper of the Bergen Record notes both David Wright and Luis Castillo had adventures throwing the ball during infield drills.
Tagged Mike Nichols |Here are some photographs from my day in camp so far.
To keep an eye on my entire photo album from Tradition Field, including hi-res versions of the pictures in this post, click here.
The last photo is of Fred Wilpon, up on a perch in the center of the complex, talking on his cell phone, turning to watch each field, as his players work out for the 2009 season.
Tagged Notebook |On the main field, I watched the outfielders take batting practice, doing Jerry Manuel’s 80–straight pitch batting drill, which Marty Noble wrote about earlier in the week on MLB.com.
The goal is to exhaust yourself, but be aware of your swing, working hard to keep it consistent, even when tired.
I was tired just watching them. Seriously. Ryan Church came out of the cage, dripping in sweat, looking beat, and he ran right for the Gatorade cooler. Daniel Murphy was no different.
Razor Shines was feeding the pitching machine, and was pushing these guys hard, motivating them to finish strong.
Murphy finished, looked tired, exhaled and shook his head, to which Shines said, “That’s right, Murph. That’s the price you pay to win a ring.”
The following video is of Murphy finishing up his session, after which you can hear Shines talking to him:
Tagged Notebook |Update, 11:30 am:
The outfielders are taking batting practice on the main field.
Fernando Martinez is in center field, shagging pop ups.
Ryan Church came in from the cage looking exhausted, from doing the 80-straight pitch batting practice, and I don’t blame him.
Murphy just finished, and was clearly muscling through, working hard to keep his swing consistent.
Update, 11:10 am:
The bullpen is on Field 3 playing pepper. Most interesting to me is seeing K-Rod shag for the hitter. Some make more money than others, but it’s team first
Also, it appears JJ Putz is now wearing No. 22, not 40 like at the press conference.
Jeez, a loud air horn just blasted, to tell each group to switch fields, but it made me jump.
Update, 11:04 am:
The pitchers are working in their bunting in the batting cage (see below).
I yelled to Pelfrey, “You working in your home run swing, Mike,” to which he responded, “It’s hard to work in when you don’t have one.”
Ouch.
My neck us getting sunburn.
Ouch, again.
Original Post:
Wright and Valentin are at third, Reyes, Cora, Jose Coronado are at short, Castillo, Marlon Anderson and Green are at second and Delgado, Evans and Abreu are atbl first.
Odd, the infield in Field 2 is all turf.
It’s like 1985.
