Daily Archives: March 5, 2009
In a post to his blog for Newsday, Ken Davidoff lists the Winners and Losers of the off-season, such as the Mets, who he categorizes as Winners with Downside, and says:
“If the offense and starting pitching replicate their 2008 performances, they’re in great shape, with J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez closing down the opponent. If Daniel Murphy and Ryan Church, falter, however, there might be a fans’ coup at U.S. Taxpayers’ Field.”
Lisa from Subway Squakers talks with Matthew Berry of ESPN.com, who gives the Mets some fantasy baseball advice.
Marty Noble of MLB.com explains why Jerry Manuel’s 80–pitch batting drill is paying off for the Mets, so far.
By the way, in case you missed it, while in St. Lucie, we filmed Muprhy doing Manuel’s drill, which you can watch here.
For other Mets spring training video, click here.
‘The Mets front-office sees Angel Pagan as a favorite to be a reserve on the team,’ according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post
Pagan is hitting .467 with no extra base hits and a .529 OBP in 15 at-bats this spring.
Last year, Pagan also had a productive spring, he made the Opening Day roster and hit .275 in 31 games before missing the rest of the season with a dislocated shoulder, which was followed by surgery.
…pagan is the ideal fit, because he can hit from both sides of the plate, he’s 27, he has experience with the club, he is a good situational hitter, management likes him a lot going back to his days as a prospect in their system, and he plays all three outfield positions very well…
Sherman also looks back at Omar Minaya’s decision to trade Heath Bell and Matt Lindstrom, both of whom will pitch for Team USA in the WBC.
According to Ken Rosenthal, of FoxSports.com, free-agent C Pudge Rodriguez is looking for a major-league job that will allow him to catch at 
least five days every week.
Rosenthal believes the Mets are intrigued by Rodriguez, but would be unwilling to name him their No. 1 catcher.
Rodriguez will play for Puerto Rico in the WBC, alongside Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran.
Yesterday, David Lennon of Newsday wrote, “If Rodriguez has a strong showing, the Mets’ pursuit could heat up quickly.”
Rosenthal also gives insight in to other teams interested in Rodriguez.
Yesterday, free-agent RHP Pedro Martinez pitched two innings and allowed two runs, three hits and one walk with two strikeouts against the 
Orioles while pitching for the Dominican Republic.
Following the game, Martinez told reporters that he is healthy and feels ‘great.’
According to Newsday, “His fastball reached 91 mph on a scout’s radar gun.”
…uh oh… i feel tempted… i know i should ignore this feeling, because i believe the team’s clubhouse must move on from The Pedro Show… but, 91 mph… 91 mph, healthy and a hungry pedro… it’s just so, so tempting…
On Monday, Martinez told reporters he is unlikely to accept an incentive-laden contract from a major-league team.
Meanwhile, in a post to his blog for Newsday, David Lennon explains why he wouldn’t rule out Martinez returning to the Mets.
Yesterday, 58 percent of people who responded said they feel Livan Hernandez is leading the race for the fifth starter spot, ahead of Tim Redding (24 percent), Jon Niese (16 percent) and Freddy Garcia (2 percent).
[poll id="223"]
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