ODDS AND ENDS

Seeing as how I'm not sure when the next time I'll be able to update will be (keep checking back - you never know when it'll be - it'll be a fun surprise!), a couple of the more time-sensitive issues that I've been meaning to get around to:

-From winter ball, some good news. Anderson Hernandez discovered his stroke. After hitting .246 in the minors last season, and .152 with the Mets, the second base prospect hit at a .287 clip during the winter ball season. He also hit .310 in 6 games of what I think is the equivalent of the winter ball post-season. We'll watch to see if he carries that type of hitting into spring training. I think that would be important because I'd much rather see Anderson Hernandez and his glove at second than Jose Valentin, who I don't feel so good about as the Mets' regular second baseman this year.

-The Mets did not tender a contract to Victor Zambrano back in December, making him a free agent. There were rumors the Mets would re-sign Zambrano at a later date, but he ended up signing with Toronto. That officially makes the Scott Kazmir trade a disaster (as though there were any doubt), and if Zambrano comes back strong from Tommy John surgery with the Blue Jays, look for lots more criticism headed Rick Peterson's way. I feel Peterson could be doing a better job for the Mets...at least, the Zambrano thing was a huge failure on his part.

-On the subject of Peterson, he was one of seven coaches the Mets locked up under contract this off-season. Peterson got a three-year deal, third base coach Sandy Alomar, bullpen coach Guy Conti, hitting coach Rick Down, and bench coach Jerry Manuel all got two-year extensions, and newcomers Howard Johnson (first base coach) and Tom Nieto (catching instructor) got one-and-two-year deals, respectively.

HoJo beat out Gary Carter (among others) for the first base coaching job. Remember, Manny Acta has left the staff to be the Nationals' manager.

-Finally, another Blue Jays connection: John Thomson also signed with the Blue Jays, after receiving overtures from the Mets as another possible arm for the pitching staff. And after he turned down the Mets because he didn't want to pitch to Paul LoDuca or for a team with Cliff Floyd in the outfield. Wow. Talk about taking shots. I don't remember LoDuca having a response to that, a little surprising, since he can be a hothead.

Floyd, though, shot back, saying from Cubs camp last week, "From what I've seen, he's not one of the greatest pitchers in the game. It didn't really affect me in terms of my pride....People who talk a lot seem to always be on the short end of the stick. I wish him the best of luck. Hopefully, his luck can change in Toronto because it didn't change in the National League." Nice job, Cliff. Well said.

Thomson did make 9 starts for the Mets, incidentally, in 2002, going 2-6 with a 4.31 ERA.

FLASHBACK: I've mentioned many times how my mom is cleaning out lots of my old stuff as my parents renovate their house. Recently, I got a bunch of stuff, and I just went through some of it today. Among the books were a few years' worth of the old Topps Sticker Yearbooks. I remember my brother and I competing over stickers to fill every page. Fun stuff. Surprisingly, the price was just 35 cents. And I was going through the 1987 edition, and came across the 1986 World Series page. Thought it was a good excuse to use the new scanner at the House sponsored by DirecTV. So here it is:

METS ARE THE ONLY GOOD TEAM IN THE NL EAST

Mets 1, Braves 0 (NYM: 16-7, ATL: 9-14)

I didn't really get to see much of this game. I was out for much of the night, but heard a little bit on the radio, then saw the end on TV. Paul LoDuca provided the only offense worth mentioning in the entire game with a solo homer in the sixth, backing up Tom Glavine. Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner combined to finish off the shutout. I chose to go with this headline because it's becoming clear that the NL East is weaker than originally suspected. But who cares. For too long the Mets languished in the toughest division in baseball, top to bottom. (They could have won the West last year.) They deserve this. But here are the nasty numbers:

W L GB
NY Mets 16 7 --
Philly 9 13 6.5
Atlanta 9 14 7
Wash. 8 16 8.5
Florida 6 15 9

There were plenty of positives out of the Mets win...but I'll start with a negative. The Mets left 8 men on base, and obviously scored only the one run. But they always (for some strange reason) struggle against John Thomson. So the fact that they beat him is a good thing.

The first big positive is that the Mets are going to win their first series in Atlanta in years - it would be sweeter if it came via a sweep on Sunday. The Mets came into this series 21-50 all time at Turner Field. So they're inching that all-time record up a bit. Another one is Tom Glavine's second consecutive strong start against the Braves. Glavine in this one: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. He's up to 3-2 on the season, with a 2.29 ERA. Billy Wagner pitched a very good ninth, by the way, for his 7th save.

Another positive was that Carlos Beltran* came back and started in the game. He played the entire game, and was 1-for-3.

WE'VE GOT COMPANY: I was partly distressed, partly impressed, to see that David Wright (left) is writing a blog for the Mets official website (you're not getting a link on my blog until he links to mine from his - go find it yourself). It's actually pretty good, but from what I can tell, he's only updating it on homestands. So I've got him there. I guess there's nothing else to say but welcome to the blogging world, David. But try to avoid having the blog distract you from your real job....that can be a challenge sometimes.

FROM THE, "WELL, THAT SEEMS TO BE THE NATURAL PROGRESSION OF THINGS" DEPARTMENT: Internet reports have former Met Tsuyoshi Shinjo, a fan favorite on the 2001 team, retiring from baseball in Japan to, what else?, release a collection of nude photos. Of himself. Just thought that would be worth mentioning.

BANNISTER'S REPLACEMENT: Willie Randolph says the pitcher who will fill in for Brian Bannister in the two starts he will miss will come from Norfolk, not the bullpen. So the Mets will have to make a move (perhaps sending Victor Diaz back down) and bring up either Jose Lima or John Maine, the guy they got along with Jorge Julio in exchange for Kris Benson. I'm looking forward to seeing Maine...not sure if this year is too soon, though.

MEDIA NOTE: I heard part of Saturday's Mets game on WFAN, getting my first regular season listen to Tom McCarthy - Gary Cohen's replacement. He's good. Not great, but not bad by any stretch. He's just a good radio guy. Good choice by the Mets. I just looked up his bio, and he's a New Jersey guy, who worked the past five years with the Phillies. Seems like the Mets' gain there. I didn't hear Howie Rose much, but he's still good to listen to. Looks like I can still look forward to catching some Mets games on the radio on the drives to New York.

THE KID'S KIDS: I have no information on Saturday night's game - the Mets against Bravard County - the team that's a half-game ahead of them in the standings, in second place. This series comes on the heels of the Mets dropping 2 out of three to the last place team in their division. The Mets are still 13-8.

BEAT THE STREAK: Occasionally, I like to play a game, which I guess you could call "Baseball Detective". Usually it happens when I'm trying to find out how one of my 'Beat the Streak' picks did. Like today. I picked Carlos Lee of the Brewers, and I missed the top of the first inning, but I saw the Brewers were up 3-0 after a half-inning. So automatically I assume Lee hit a 3-run homer. But then I get the clues, and go to work. The number 7 hitter led off the top of the 2nd for the Brewers, so there was no one left on base (3 runs in, 3 outs). So there could have been a double play - but that wouldn't have been Lee, because he hits 3 or 4, not 6. So there's now a 50-50 chance or better that Lee got a hit. I watch the game, and piece together more clues, until my player comes up or it becomes obvious how the runs scored. In this case, Rickie Weekes came up and it was said he hit his first homer of the season to lead off the game. So there's one run, one hit. Geoff Jenkins had a double, and scored on Prince Fielder's homer. So no hit in the first for Carlos Lee. He also got out his second at-bat. Thankfully, he homered in his third, and had a 1-for-5, extending my streak to a season-high 8 games.

Sunday I go with Derek Jeter, against Gustavo Chacin.