I'm not feeling too well right now, so it's a good thing Dave from Brighton did all the work today. Without further ado, here is Dave's summary of the Mets' first spring training game (I have italicized his entry, just so it's clear we're reading his thoughts):

I almost missed the start of the game because I had to shovel snow out of my spot on the street. Lousy Smarch weather. In contrast, it’s beautiful and sunny and breezy at Space Coast Stadium (cap. 8,100) near Viera, Fla., spring home of the DC Nationals, who beat the Mets 5-3 the first spring training game for both teams.

ESPN was kind enough to open this afternoon’s coverage with the final out of the 2004 World Series, accompanied by the WEEI radio call. It’s nice to have baseball back on TV, and I’m celebrating with two hot dogs and a Bud Light.

Some of the Mets regulars did not make the one-plus hour trip. Most notably, Mike Piazza remained in Port St. Lucie. This means Jason Phillips did the catching and Doug Mientkiewicz hit cleanup. I know JohnnyMets isn’t a Mientkiewicz fan, but “Eyechart,” as he’s called on the Sons of Sam Horn board, will always have a place in my heart. Even if he is a ballhog.

In case you were wondering, Jeff Brantley says moving Piazza back to catcher full-time is a good move. The rest of the broadcast crew is Dan Shulman on play-by-play, Sam Ryan on the field, and former Mets GM Steve Phillips to do color. This is like having John Kerry do color at the State of the Union address.

The Mets Lineup
SS Reyes
2B Matsui
CF Beltran
1B Mientkiewicz
C Phillips
3B Wright
RF Diaz
LF Valent
P Glavine

Pitchers tend to be ahead of batters early in spring training, and the top of the first confirmed that. Though Nationals starter Tony Armas, Jr. had a little trouble finding the strike zone initially, going 3-0 on Jose Reyes (I’ll leave out Reyes’ usual moniker), he ended up with a 1-2-3 inning, getting Carlos Beltran* looking to end the inning. Beltran* made up for this later with a rocket up the middle.

Tom Glavine started for the Mets. I’ve always liked Glavine and thought that one day he’d pitch with Pedro Martinez*. Of course, I thought they’d both be on the Red Sox when it happened, so I guess I was only half right.

Glavine turns 39 this month, with a 262-171 lifetime record over 18 seasons. Had he stayed with the Braves, he might have hit 300 wins, but he’ll need a pair of 19 win seasons to get there by age 40. I’d take the under, for entertainment purposes.

Glavine had a 3.60 ERA in 200+ innings last year, but went 11-14 because of the Mets anemic offense and troublesome infield defense.

One of the keys to the Mets’ success will be how that defense improves, with Reyes playing short and Kaz Matsui at second. They looked good in the first, turning a 4-6-3 double play, a play sometimes described as nifty.

Reyes’ throw was a little low and off target, but Mientkiewicz dug it out, something Red Sox fans came to expect last year. On a high, weak bouncer in the second it looked like Matsui and Reyes both waited for the other to commit to the ball, resulting in an infield single. But in the third Matsui made two good-looking charging plays, one of them barehanded.

The Nationals are basically last year’s Expos, with a few additions. They brought in veteran Vinny Castilla at third, Cristian Guzman to play short, and Estaban Loaiza for the rotation. They also took a risk on hothead Jose Guillen in the outfield.

Steve Phillips on the Nationals: “They’ve done a great job with the uniforms. The colors look great.”

Glavine looked good for his first outing of the spring. Some rust, including a 58-foot curve in the first and a HBP in the second (which he erased with a pickoff throw when the runner was going). 24 pitches in 2 innings work. Braden Looper relieved him, getting some work against the Nationals starters.

Reyes delivered the Mets’ first hit of the spring with 2 down in the third but did not try to steal. Reyes was thrown out twice in an intra-squad game earlier this week. Naturally, JohnnyMets took this as a good sign. Other bloggers might say that if you can’t steal off the Mets battery in spring training, you’re in trouble.

Nationals Double-A righty Michael Hinckley had some control trouble in the fourth, leading to a pair of Mets runs. Beltran scored on a Jason Phillips single, and Mientkiewicz scored on an error.

The Nationals tied it in the bottom of the fourth with a 2-run homer from Guillen. It came off righty Aaron Heilman. He went 1-3 in 5 starts for the Mets last year, with a 5.46 ERA. Jeff Brantley and Steve Phillips say Heilman has good stuff, but sometimes has trouble with command or situational pitching. He recovered nicely after the homer, working away with offspeed stuff for a strikeout then getting a 3-1 grounder to end the inning.

Against the tallest pitcher to ever play in the majors, the Nationals’ 6”11’ Jon Rauch, Matusi managed to drive the ball about 360 feet to left-center and have it bounce off Endy Chavez’s glove for a two-base error. He scored on another two-base error when Jeffrey Hammonds misjudged a Jason Phillips fly ball to left. Phillips accomplished this despite his creepy glasses.

The Nationals again answered the Mets in the bottom of the inning, on a homer from non-roster invitee Keith Osik. Again off Heilman. Again he recovered nicely after the home run.

The bottom of the 6th was for former Yankees, with Felix Heredia on the mound and Cairo replacing David Wright at third.

Steve Phillips on Wright: “He has that twinkle in his eye.”

Another replacement in the field: Andres Gallaraga at first. He’s one of my favorite players. I hope he makes the Mets 25-man roster, because he needs just one more homer to reach 400 for his career.

One of the major problems facing the Mets this year middle-relief and set-up work. As I mentioned earlier, Glavine is getting old and Martinez’s* struggles beyond 100 pitches are well documented by the Fox Television Network, meaning reliable 7th and 8th inning work could make or break the Mets’ season. So the late innings of spring training games are a great time to assess the team’s options for relief.

In the 6th, Heredia picked up right where he left off in the 2004 postseason, throwing some light BP and giving up a run. Of course, there were 2 errors in the infield behind him, one by Cairo and another by Danny Garcia at second.

And in the 8th, lefty Mike Matthews was unable to pitch around 2 more errors, both from Garcia. He gave up one run.

Heredia’s and Matthews’ games were the difference in the game, the Mets losing 5-3.

So the 2005 Mets are 0-1. I suppose that doesn’t mean much, since it’s spring, except that New York has never won a game when John doesn’t write the summary, all but guaranteeing this is the first and last guest write-up on JNYMDBSDC.

Dave in Brighton