Daily Archives: March 3, 2009
According to multiple reports (see below), 
Johan Santana will not, or may not, pitch Opening Day.
From what I can gather, out of people connected to the team, basically, this is all up in the air, and depends entirely on how Santana does over the next few weeks, while working from Dan Warthen’s pitching plan (again, see below).
In other words, if everything goes well, and Santana stays on target, he could still pitch Opening Day – in fact, the team is still operating as though this will be the case.
However, if he is forced to adjust in any way, instead, his first start will likely be at some point during the first week of the season – and this is just fine with team, so long as he makes his 34 starts.
In other words, the date of his first start is not nearly as important as him making all of his starts.
The thing is, to me, this is all just long-term thinking anyway.
I will not be totally comfortable with any of this until I see him take the mound in a spring training game, pitch well and feel no pain.
Then, and only then, will I waste time thinking about Opening Day, or the 33 starts after that.
According to David Lennon in his blog for Newsday, Johan Santana will not start on Opening Day on April 6. Lennon writes:
The delay caused by the tightness in his left elbow is going to push him back to the fifth turn of that first week, which is Saturday, April 11, in Florida.
The Mets have not yet confirmed the report.
…update, 5:23 p.m.…
At the Daily News, Adam Rubin maps out Santana’s throwing schedule according to Dan Warthen, and states that Warthen “wouldn’t rule out an Opening Day start.”
…so it sounds like he’s OK, just a bit off his schedule… i don’t see why this is really that big of a deal unless he’s more hurt than anybody is letting on…
Tagged Ted Berg |The Mets lost to the Cardinals, 13–3, in St. Lucie today.
The least you need to know:
- Freddy Garcia could not locate his fastball, worked behind in the count, and let up four earned runs on three hits, including two home runs, and a walk.
- Dillon Gee actually looked good, but hit a batter, fell victim to some sloppy defense, and let up seven runs.
- Marlon Anderson had two hits in three at bats and an RBI.
- Valerio De Los Santos pitched to three batters, let up a ground-ball single, but got two additional ground balls to end the inning.
- Luis Castillo was hitless in three at bats.
- Jose Valentin was just 1 for 3 with a run scored, but hit the ball pretty well in each plate appearance.
For a full boxscore, click here.
By the way, MLB announced that David Wright will join other Team USA players to read the Top-10 Reasons to Watch the WBC tonight on The Late Show with David Letterman.
Update, 3:30 pm:
To read a post-game quote from Garcia, who allowed six earned runs with 44 pitches, go to Adam Rubin’s blog for the Daily News.
Meanwhile, last week, a scout told David Lennon of Newsday he expects Garcia to be released before Opening Day.
Original Post:
In two innings of work, Mets RHP Freddy Garcia allowed four runs on three hits while striking out three.
Here’s the thing with Garcia, he has a very impressive curve ball working, but he rarely gets to use it because he so frequently works from behind in the count – at which point he must rely on his weak, 83–mph fastball, of which he seemingly has no control, leaving it up and out over the plate.
For instance, on three occasions he had two strikes on a hitter, and was ahead of the count, and got each to swing and miss for a strike out using a strong curve ball.
However, behind in the count against Chris Duncan and Allen Craig, he had no choice but to groove in a weak fastball, both of which were hit over the fence – in fact, Duncan’s nearly landed in the concession area of the berm.
The Game:
The Mets (3-2) continue their Grapefruit League schedule against the Cardinals (3-2-1) today at Tradition Field, starting at 1:10 p.m. EST.
The Lineup:
- 2B Luis Castillo
- P Freddy Garcia
- LF Daniel Murphy
- 3B Fernando Tatis
- RF Ryan Church
- 1B Marlon Anderson
- C Brian Schneider
- CF Cory Sullivan
- SS Jose Coronado
The Pitchers:
Freddy Garcia will start for the Mets.
Kyle Loshe is scheduled to start for the Cardinals.
How To Catch It:
Tagged Mike Nichols |Today’s game can be seen on SNY.
The Mets have created a tentative 
schedule for Johan Santana, who will pitch a side session tomorrow and Sunday, followed by live batting practice or another side session on March 10.
…from what i can gather, he’ll continue to throw around 35 pitches in the two side sessions, then push it a tad in batting practice… after that, he can expect to pitch one or two innings in a live game…
…basically, the way it looks to me, santana will need to maintain this exact schedule and get in to a real game by the end of next week, otherwise he’ll run the risk of missing Opening Day…
The Mets today announced that tickets for two exhibition games against the Red Sox at Citi Field will go on sale this Friday, March 6 at 10:00 a.m.
Meanwhile, single game tickets for April and May Regular Season home games will go on sale, online and by phone only, Sunday, March 15 at 10:00 a.m.
Tickets will be available to purchase in person at Citi Field the following day, Monday, March 16.
According to the press release, ‘The Mets in the weeks ahead will announce the on sale date for single game tickets for the balance of the season.’
In a report for the Daily News, Adam Rubin profiles Mets 22-year-old pitching prospect Brad Holt, who the Mets drafted using a compensatory draft pick from losing Tom Glavine to the Braves.
Holt led the New York-Penn League in ERA, strikeouts per nine innings and opponent’s batting average last season.
According to Rubin, ‘Holt should now begin making limited Grapefruit League appearances on loan from the minor-league side, now that so many player are missing for the WBC.
…i was able to speak with a team executive while in St. Lucie, and when the topic of minor leaguers came up, holt’s name jumped from the guy’s mouth… he also mentioned Jenry Mejia as some one to keep an eye on…
…also, i talked briefly with holt, during the team’s prospect autograph signing… i asked him to scout himself, and, while he spoke proudly of other pitches, his teammates heckled him the entire time yelling from behind him, ‘fastball, fastball, all he throws is a fastball,’ which holt seemed to be embarrassed about…
Holt was ranked the team’s fourth-best prospect by Adam Rubin and Baseball America, as well as John Sickels of MinorLeagueBlog.com, and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.
Speaking of prospects, MetsMerized Online takes a closer look at 23–year-old RHP Dillon Gee, who has the best change-up in the organization, according to Baseball America.
In a poll for the Philadelphia Inquirer, when asked which Mets collapse rates as the ‘most colossal,’ 51 percent of Phillies fans said, ‘The one coming in 2009,’ while 40 percent said 2007, and 8 percent said 2008.
…silly phillies… laugh it up while you can…
Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors writes a guest post for Spring Training 09 in which he looks at the 44 worst contracts in baseball.
Nik Kolidas from Kiner’s Korner has posted a personal collection of old school, Mets photographs.
Lastly, at the Daily Stache, Michael posts an authentic Tryout Letter from the Mets, which was sent to his friend in the early 80s.
The Mets take on the Cardinals today at 1 pm in Tradition Field, which you can watch live on SNY.
Speaking of SNY, the network announced yesterday it will produce a post-game show following every Mets game 
this season – including Mets games on Ch. 11, FOX and ESPN.
Additionally, ‘SNY also announced it will become the first Regional Sports Network in the country to implement the MVP sports enhancement system – a new in-game feature – that will allow SNY and its broadcasters to enhance the story of a game with post-production capabilities in real time.’
According to a press release, ‘SNY will incorporate five new features into its 2009 Mets telecasts – including the hyper-zoom entitled SNY Magnify, Flow Motion, Pitch Differential and speed and distance trackers.’
Tagged SNY | ← Older posts
