THE PROBLEM AT SECOND BASE

Right now, there is no problem at second base for the Mets...and there might not be for a few years. Luis Castillo was a great trade acquisition - by far an upgrade over Jose Valentin - and the Mets would be wise to give him a three-year deal at year's end. But that doesn't hide the fact that the Mets have had problems at second base for the past three years, all because of one man - Kaz Matsui.

It's not that Kaz Matsui was so awful with the Mets (though he certainly wasn't good...and I was an ally of his for a long time). It's more what the Mets missed out on by committing to him for as long as they did.

First of all, the Mets dodged a big bullet in the failed "Move Reyes" experiment. When they first signed Matsui, the Mets wanted to appease him by putting Reyes at second base and allowing Matsui to stay at shortstop, his preferred position. Reyes risked injury, and Matsui was an average (at best) shortstop, so that came to an end after one season. Thank goodness.

When the Mets had signed Matsui, they were coming off a year where a young man named Marco Scutaro had shown promise in a September callup. Scutaro was shipped to Oakland as Matsui became a Met. Scutaro put up decent numbers in the Bay Area on some playoff teams...those could have been years where he was a Mets second baseman. But he wasn't, because of Kaz Matsui.

The Mets traded Ty Wigginton in 2004 because he had become their regular third baseman, and they needed to open up third base to bring up David Wright. The Mets traded Wigginton because they couldn't move him to second base (despite his tremendous versatility), because that position was being blocked by the money they had invested in Kaz Matsui. Wigginton has been a very good hitter and player with a few teams since his Mets days - but imagine if the Mets had been able to keep him as a second baseman - they would have had three-fourths of their infield coming from their own farm system. Too bad.

Finally, and most recently, there is the case of Jeff Keppinger. I've liked Keppinger since his quick call-ups, and followed him for a while in the minors. I had thought that when the Mets finally gave up on Matsui, the position would be handed over to Keppinger. There was a time last year when I thought Keppinger actually earned the job out of spring training. You may also remember a couple of years ago when Keppinger was hot at Triple-A, and was on the fast track to a call up, and he was spiked on a sort-of-cheap-play at second base, and ended up breaking a leg. Anyway, I feel like the Keppinger star has been rising for some time - but it may finally have arrived. Keppinger was called up about a month ago by the Cincinnati Reds (the Mets had traded him to the Royals a year ago for Ruben Gotay...who, incidentally, is hitting .340), and since then has been on fire. Keppinger is hitting .368 in about 30 games, with 20 RBI. Another missed opportunity for the Mets.

But all's well that ends well...and though I may wonder what could have been with some of these young guys manning second base for many years, I'll take the here and now, where an established veteran could be filling the role of what had been the missing piece on a championship team.

METS FIND THEIR BATS IN THE DESERT

Mets 15, Diamondbacks 2 (NYM: 39-23, ARI: 34-29)

I feel a little silly now about being worried about this trip out west for the Mets. I did say that they could be catching the Diamondbacks at the right time, with this Jason Grimsley thing swirling - but I never expected a 4-game sweep. I would have been happy with a split in Arizona, after taking two out of three from LA, I'm ecstatic with a sweep. Honestly, if the Mets only won a game in Philadelphia, it would be OK. Two out of three would be fine. Another sweep would pretty much wrap up the division.

The only thing I'm upset about right now is that the Mets have dominated the Diamondbacks their last two trips out there. But when I was out in Arizona, what did I see? Total domination by the Diamondbacks. It was awful. I wish they would have found out how to win out there a little sooner, that's all.

Nice that the Mets finally got Pedro Martinez* some runs - he got his first win since late April (through no fault of his own). I didn't get to see this game - but from the box score, it looks like Pedro* might have labored a bit. He pitched just 5 innings - and threw 91 pitches. I saw 5 innings and thought Willie Randolph might have been resting him with the big lead, but the 91 pitches is a lot. And he only struck out 3 - so that's not the reason he was throwing a lot of pitches.

Everyone's hitting (see below), the pitching has been great - this next series in Philadelphia should be fun to watch. The Mets enter the series with a 6-and-a-half game cushion in the NL East. Cliff Floyd is supposed to be back Tuesday (the Mets are off on Monday), so just add another bat to the arsenal.

WEEKEND RECAP: On Friday, Steve Trachsel was less than great, but still managed to get the win in the Mets' 10-6 win over Arizona. His start resuled in a lot of work by the bullpen - but each time the Mets gave up a run, the offense answered. On Saturday, it was all Alay Soler. He threw a complete game, 2-hit shutout, and the Mets won, 5-0. It's almost getting to the point where I'd rather see Soler and Orlando Hernandez pitch rather than Trachsel.

The Mets' bats re-awoke this weekend - Carlos Delgado is out of his slump (he hit two homers Friday night), and Carlos Beltran* also slugged two homers on Friday, bringing his season total to 17 - more than all of last year. I guess he was pretty hurt last year, and not able to do all he's capable of...let's see what happens the rest of this year.

David Wright continues his hot hitting - he hit homer number 11 on the year (52 career) over the weekend, and is now hitting .336 after Sunday's game.

INTERESTING NOTE: The Mets are off Monday, but there may be something worth watching Monday night for Mets fans. ESPN.com has Kansas City's starter for Monday listed as B. Keppel. I'm not positive, and I can't find much information about him, but I'm pretty sure that's Bobby Keppel, who the Mets traded to Pittsburgh in the Kris Benson deal. I remember him not pitching too well for the Pirates' minor league teams, but I don't remember reading about him being traded. (Guess no one's considered too bad to find their way into the Royals' rotation.) I'll see what I can find out about him - I might not get much information until I watch the game Monday night.

**OK - here's what I found out on the Royals' website. This is not Keppel's debut - he's pitched in 4 games, made 2 starts, and is 0-1 with a 2.11 ERA. He's struck out 12 in 21.1 innings. He has given up 2 homers - they came back-to-back in his Major League debut against Seattle. His numbers in the minors even this year haven't been good.

But it's definitely the former Mets' prospect, and he's apparently been plagued by injuries in recent years. No word yet on how he got from Pittsburgh's organization to Kansas City's. I'll be watching tomorrow night.

KAZ TRADED: The Mets finally traded Kaz Matsui on Friday, in exchange for Eli Marrero. Since spring training you got the idea the Mets were trying to showcase Matsui, in order to work out a deal, hoping he would play well, and they could get something of value for him. That didn't work out too well, resulting in a 1-for-1 deal. But I like Marrero. He's been a member of some winning teams in St. Louis, and he offers the Mets some versatility. He started out as a catcher, and then Tony LaRussa put him in the outfield and at first base. So with all the injuries the Mets have had lately, he gives them a little bit of depth. And I read he also allows Willie Randolph to use Ramon Castro and his bat off the bench a little more liberally, since there is now a bona fide third catcher on the roster.

The problem with this trade is that the Mets are committed to Marrero at the Major League level (unlike the Rockies, who sent Matsui to Triple-A). So what happens when Xavier Nady gets healthy? (Probably around June 19th.) They are probably not going to send Lastings Milledge back down - it looks like he's in the majors for a while now. When Nady comes back, the Mets will be playing some games in AL parks, so Milledge could play the field while Floyd DH's. But someone's gotta go - and barring other injuries, right now it looks like Heath Bell is again the odd man out (he was rescued for a while after the Mets traded Jorge Julio. Too bad for him - he's going to be up and down between New York and Norfolk all year long.)

THE KID'S KIDS: The St. Lucie Mets are rolling. The Mets beat Daytona on Saturday, 7-1, for their ninth straight win. Their game against Palm Beach on Sunday was rained out, and will be played as part of a doubleheader on Monday. The Mets are 38-24, and have opened up a 4-game lead in the standings.

FANTASY UPDATE: Just when I thought things were starting to turn around....the What If Mets won 5 in a row Friday into Saturday, getting back to within two games of the wild card spot. But now I'm one of those streaky teams - because I've gone on to lose 4 in a row. Now I'm five back of the wild card. I guess I can't give up on post-season hopes...but it will be luck that gets me in - because it's definitely not skill.

BEAT THE STREAK: Big doings in "Beat the Streak". Rocco Baldelli got me a hit on Friday, so I was at a season-high 10-gamer. Then I picked Michael Young, thinking he'd be playing two games on Saturday. That was rained down to one game, but he still got a hit, and me an 11-gamer. Then on Sunday, in the rescheduled doubleheader, I took CoCo Crisp of the Red Sox. It took him almost the entire first game, but he got me a hit in the 9th (ahead of David Ortiz's game-winning homer), so it's 12 games in a row now. I think I'm going to go against Bobby Keppel (if that's who it is), and take Vladimir Guerrero on Monday night.

The annual frustration that is Sunday night after the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. I'm having one of my worst years ever. (Did anyone except me, notice, by the way, that during the Bradley-Pittsburgh game, the CBS score on the bottom right of the screen read: "Brad Pitt"?)

MATSUI: Kaz Matsui's spring training push for the second base job took a big hit since the last time I wrote - he sprained his knee during a game last Thursday, and will be out three weeks - and will definitely not play Opening Day. The biggest problem this presents is that the Mets can't shop Matsui - because the ultimate solution to their $8 million problem at second base is that the Mets will trade him.

It also means the Mets' Opening Day lineup will look something like this (as I continue to work on the newest feature on johnnymets.blogspot.com - good pictures):
Anderson Hernandez is the favorite to now start at second base Opening Day, leaving the right field spot as the only one still up in the air (although Xavier Nady looks to have the advantage right now over Victor Diaz).

WBC: The WBC Championship is Monday night, with Cuba playing Japan. The good news about that is that the Mets have all their key players from the WBC back in camp, with two weeks to go until the regular season begins.

I hear some people saying it's shocking that the first WBC doesn't have the Americans in the final four. I can't say I'm shocked - the way they were playing, the set-up of the thing, with the U.S. really not even having time to play together (and coming off a winter where a lot of them didn't touch a baseball), and the quality of the other teams indicated to me pretty early on that the U.S. was going to have a tough road. I love the fact that Roger Clemens gets the loss in the deciding game, too, against Mexico.

How many Cubans do you think will try to defect after the game on Monday night? I think the over/under has to be set at 1.5. Even with Castro's son posing as a team doctor to prevent such things.

SNY: Perhaps I'm wise not to hitch my star to the SNY wagon (or it's a good thing I was too lazy to ever give them a call). The station debuted on Thursday night, and there have been lots of errors - from blackouts to dropped ads. I'm sure things will get ironed out - but we're talking about a New York City television station - not something on the third floor of Boston University's College of Communication. Let's get it together guys.

SPEAKING OF WHICH....: Congratulations to the Boston University men's hockey team, champions of Hockey East, after a 2-1 overtime win over Boston College Saturday night. This is a fun team to watch - hopefully the Mets aren't the only champs I'm watching this year...the NCAA Hockey Tournament gets underway Friday - I'll keep you posted on BU.

ON A LEITER NOTE: Al Leiter announced his retirement on Sunday. He was one of my favorite Mets to watch - ever. He'll also have one of the most successful broadcasting careers by a former player ever. More than the third-man-in-the-booth-for-big-games role he's been filling on FOX the past few years. I wonder if he'll do national broadcasts on an ESPN or FOX station, or do local team stuff.

'86 METS ROUNDUP: Some distressing news - Dwight Gooden was arrested again on drug charges. Very sad. I doubt we'll be seeing him at the big August reunion. Also, a couple of interesting notes about 1986 World Series rings, both involving Hurricane Katrina. Barry Lyons, backup catcher on that team, lost his ring when his home was destroyed in the hurricane. Keith Hernandez told a story that he was having some work done on the ring, to give part of it to his new wife, and it was sent to a jeweler in New Orleans around the time of the hurricane. The jeweler was evacuating, and walked out of his shop, and Hernandez said the man went back in because he remembered the ring was in a safe - and got the ring. Hernandez said the man was a Cardinals fan, and liked him, otherwise he may not have the ring.

Coming this week: My predictions for the 2006 season...standings-wise, anyway.

TOE WATCH

I'm still not worried about Pedro Martinez*. Tom Glavine's schedule has been shifted in case he has to make the Opening Day start, which does worry me a little bit, more on that in a minute. But I'm not worried about Pedro*. He will pitch the first week of the season, even if it's not Opening Day. I just think Pedro* had an out from the WBC, and pushed it a little too far, not realizing he might not be ready for Opening Day of the Mets' season. Pedro* will pitch to batters soon, and maybe in a game following that. He's behind schedule, but he'll be OK.

Tom Glavine, though, worries me a bit. He got rocked in his spring training start Monday. Not a huge concern, but a little one. He wasn't crazy about shifting his schedule to accomodate the Mets, in case of problems with The Toe. But he did it, reluctantly. And now I think it's in his head a little bit. I think Tom Glavine is a great pitcher, but I don't think Tom Glavine adjusts to changes very well. This is what I've come up with. It took Glavine about a year and a half to pitch well in New York - the first major change in his life in 16 years. Then this week it comes out, in John Scheurholz's new book, that Glavine regretted agreeing to a free agent deal with the Mets, and the day before he was supposed to sign it, went to Schuerholz, asking what he should do. Glavine doesn't deny the story, he just says he wished he was asked permission for it to appear in the book. So that supports my thought a bit.

Now Glavine is being asked to change his schedule, something he doesn't want to do. At all. And the early returns, 4 runs in 4 innings, are not great. Just something to watch for. Hopefully Glavine will adjust.

MATSUI: I haven't heard much about Kaz Matsui in the New York papers. Could be because he's actually doing well, and we only hear the negative. He had three singles and three RBI on Monday, and drove in two runs with a hit in the Mets' 11-4 win on Tuesday.

EMBARRASSING: Driving back from New York on Sunday morning, I was able to listen to Ed Randall's "Talking Baseball" on WFAN, which is always a good listen. But there was a very unusual (for his show) and uncomfortable (for any show) moment.

Randall had (and this shows the respect most ballplayers have for Ed Randall) former players call into his show after arriving in Minnesota for Kirby Puckett's funeral. Don Baylor and Gary Gaetti called in after their planes landed. Baylor was first, and it was a little awkward, but nothing very noticeable, when Randall asked him about Game 6, and what it was like when Kirby Puckett told the team he was going to carry them on his back to win that game. Baylor, I guess, spun the question around to mean Game 6 of the 1987 World Series, in which he was a teammate of Puckett's, and in which Puckett went 4-for-4. (And until this moment, I didn't realize Puckett was 4-for-4 in that game - it's Game 6 of the 1991 World Series Puckett is remembered for...and I think Randall was asking about, as you'll see below...and in 1991, Baylor was no longer a baseball player.) So I guess the Baylor situation wasn't that uncomfortable....but.....

When Gary Gaetti came on, Randall asked him the same question, to describe the scene before and during Game 6, then what it was like to watch Puckett go out there and play a great game, with the catch and the homer. Gaetti's response was, "Ed, I hate to tell you this...but when he made that catch, and hit that home run, that was 1991. I wasn't on that team." (Gaetti left the Twins after the 1990 season - he was a teammate on the 1987 championship team.) Randall, after about 3 seconds of silence (a lot on the radio), said to Gaetti, "But Puckett was really a genuine person, on and off the field, wasn't he?" It was very awkward. But let me stress here, this wasn't a case of an ignorant reporter - it was just an uncomfortable moment for a quality broadcaster who made a mistake.

ANOTHER BALLPLAYER CALLER: Incidentally, Jeff Bagwell also called into Randall's show, and it was a very good interview. Bagwell talked about his situation in Houston this year, and he was very candid. First of all, Bagwell is definitely one of the good guys in sports. I like listening to/watching his interviews, because he always comes across very well. He talked about being traded from the Red Sox back when he was in the minors, and said Butch Hobson told him. Bagwell walked into the clubhouse, Hobson had hung up the phone, and was throwing stuff around, and told Bagwell he was pissed because Bagwell had just been traded. Bagwell also said, with the situation the Red Sox were in then, he would have traded himself for Larry Anderson, too. He also says Larry Anderson apparently has a good sense of humor about being part of one of the worst trades ever, telling Bagwell whenever he's in a slump, you'd better pick it up, or else people are going to forget who I am. I thought that was funny.

Anyway, the big news out of this interview came when Randall asked Bagwell if he feels disrespected (the Astros don't want Bagwell to play this year, because if he's too hurt to play, the Astros get back by insurance 15 of 17 million dollars owed to Bagwell) by the team he's played for his whole Major League career. He hesitated for a long time before answering the question, then said he understands the business side of baseball a lot better now than he ever did. He still doesn't have a lot of hard feelings towards the organization.

Bagwell says he feels pretty good at this point....so we'll see what happens over the rest of spring training. And hopefully this is the last Astros report for a while...why does it feel like I'm always writing about the Astros?

BONDS: My schedule's been a little jammed, and I realize I haven't had my say in the Barry Bonds deal - so hopefully I'll get around to that later in the week.

WEEKEND THOUGHTS

The Mets split their first two spring training games with the Cardinals. Saturday, they played the Nationals, and for what it's worth, Aaron Heilman, Brian Bannister, Chad Bradford, and Duaner Sanchez all pitched effectively (I think, according to the pitching schedule). Mike Venafro, who I like to watch, but I'm not sure will make the Major League team, (he's formerly of the Oakland A's) gave up three runs in the sixth....again, I think.

The eventful news from Friday night's game is that Steve Schmoll blew an 8-7 lead in the 9th inning - as the Mets lost 11-8. Good thing we now have Billy Wagner.

I imagine, since Wagner didn't pitch Saturday, we'll probably see him on Sunday in the ESPN-televised game against the Puerto Rican WBC team. Although, now that I've written that, he could be pitching in the other split squad game, meaning we wouldn't see him.

The other thing from spring training is that it seems if Kaz Matsui makes an error or doesn't get a hit, it's a big deal. If he does OK, it's not worth mentioning. I know Matsui is making a lot of money, and he hasn't performed well yet - but I really hope he wins the job, and plays well. He's got a lot going against him right now...I want to see him do well. Incidentally, I never mentioned how the Bret Boone retirement affects Matsui - it doesn't guarantee him a job, that's for sure. Anderson Hernandez (who had three hits and three runs on Saturday) is getting a real shot, and Jeff Keppinger has been cleared by doctors to start playing again. So it's still wide open.

2 NOTES FROM 'WALDENBOOKS': I was out shopping with the wife on Friday night, and we stopped into Waldenbooks. As I am wont to do, I went straight to the sports section. I saw a prospects report, and picked that up to read - I think it was from Baseball America. A couple of things caught my interest. No surprise that Lastings Milledge was rated the best prospect in the Mets' system - but I didn't realize he has a sketchy past - accusations of sexual misconduct in high school. Apparently he's been a model citizen in the Mets' organization, so that's good news. And I know Cliff Floyd has set a good example when they've been together in spring training situations, so that's good. I was a bit surprised that 2B Anderson Hernandez was only the fifth-highest ranked prospect in the organization. He's apparently all-glove, no-hit...which was pretty much the case during his 1-for-18 September call-up last year. Finally, I went to the Orioles page to look up John Maine, the prospect the Mets got in the Kris Benson trade. He wasn't ranked very high in their organization, and his numbers haven't been great in a couple of years at the Major League level. Here's the thing I'm haning my hat on with Maine, though - he now gets to work with Rick Peterson. I have yet to see Peterson fail (we'll see what Victor Zambrano looks like this year), and maybe Maine lives up to his potential by working with Peterson this spring.

The other note from Waldenbooks is that they are selling a coffe table-type book on the history of the World Series. It's basically a photo book, with pictures from every World Series. (For some reason, though, the most recent World Series have only a couple of pictures, as opposed to 10 or so from the others. Not sure why.) It's on clearance for about 15 bucks - even though it includes last year's World Series. Here's my problems with books like this, though. They're full of errors. As I usually do with books like this, I turned to the 1986 World Series page, and in one of the captions it says something like, "Mookie Wilson dodges wild pitch....he would later hit the game-winning single that forced Game 7." Game-winning single?!?!?!?! The whole premise of that World Series is that Bill Buckner made an ERROR!!!!!! My problem with books like that is if I can find an error on the one page I looked carefully at - how many other pages in the book have mistakes?! There is another case like this - a big Baseball Encyclopedia-like book, which I don't remember what it's called...but I'll find out. It noted year-by-year, day-by-day events in baseball. I looked at the October 25, 1986 entry, and it said something like the error by Buckner came in the bottom of the 9th inning (it was really the 10th). So factual errors like that in these big ol' books make me believe the authors are trying to make a quick buck, without getting all of their facts straight.

PLUG FOR NO REASON: I'm not too big on giving other people plugs, because there's no way they would ever link to my site, but I think I may have found the Saint Louis Cardinals fan version of me. I was going through some other blogs, and came across a Cardinals one: bellyitcher.blogspot.com. (I'm not making it a link - you're going to have to go through the effort of putting it in your browser if you're going to check it out.) Apparently the guy is in downtown Saint Louis, because he has pictures from his window of the new stadium - it actually looks great. Worth a trip to Saint Louis (like I wasn't going to go anyway...). He loses a bit of credibility, though, with that lineup for Saturday's game - he doesn't know who Kit Pellow is? Did he not see a Colorado Rockies game at all last year? I thought Cardinals fans were supposed to be knowledgeble about baseball. (Upon further review - Pellow was with the Rockies in 2004 - in the Mariners organization last year. My bad. But he still should have heard of him.)

That's all for today - tomorrow I'll update after the game on ESPN.

DAY TWO OF CAMP

I guess the most important thing to note from Day Two of camp was the lack of Pedro Martinez*. He had some "personal business" to attend to, and left camp, but will be back on Saturday. Willie Randolph said Martinez* was still in Florida, within two or three hours of Tradition Field. Martinez* has been a good soldier so far, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that this was something important, and not Pedro* up to his old tricks (read: pulling a Manny).

Speaking of Pedro*, and Manny, the big news in the Friday papers was that Manny would not be participating in the World Baseball Classic, and it looked "very doubtful" that Pedro* would be participating too. Well, I don't know what's up with Manny, but I said here on Thursday that Pedro* would probably play, just not in the first round (based on what I could glean from various reports). On Friday, a date was set for Pedro*'s participation - he's scheduled to pitch in a second-round game in the Classic on March 13th. I like getting one over on the papers.

There's some good stuff in the Friday papers too. It might be too late by the time many of you read this, but John Harper had an excellent article in Friday's New York Daily News basically outlining why it's impossible not to like David Wright. In case you can't get to it in the Daily News archives, Harper told how there was a photo shoot on Thursday for ESPN The Magazine, on which Wright is supposed to be the baseball cover boy in a couple of weeks, and how Wright also has an endorsement deal with Wilson, the glove manufacturer. He quoted Wright as saying these types of things bring attention to him, which means he only has to perform better. The article also talks about Wright's friendship with Cliff Floyd, and how he has stayed well grounded despite his growing fame. (I just hope he stays that way throughout his career - I would hate to see him change into the cocky athlete that has come to typify Major League Baseball.)

Here's the best thing about Wright - which is touched on in the article. He talks about how much he wants to win - and how much he wants to win for the fans of New York. He says there was a game last year, when the Mets were chasing the Phillies, and were just a game out, where Shea Stadium was sold out, and was rocking because it was so loud (say what you will about Shea, it's a dump, good riddance when they get a new stadium.......but when that place is packed and gets loud, it's an awesome place to be). He says he wants there to be 50,000 cheering like that all summer. Here's a point that comes up a lot - and in most cases I believe it. I heard this argument last on Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPNRadio. The argument: fans care more about the results on the field, in some cases, than the athletes playing the games. Athletes say they have to put losses behind them because they have to turn around the next day (or in the case of pro football, the next week) and get ready for another game. For the fans, the loss sits with them until the next win. And there's no reward, really, for being a fan. The athletes get paid, we pay lots of money - on merchandise, tickets, etc. So, in most cases, I believe a fan cares more about a game than certain athletes do. But it's players like David Wright (at this stage in his career...and hopefully, throughout his career) that appreciate the fans, and want to win as much as the fans want a win, that make it worth rooting for. So a good article on Wright by John Harper in the Daily News, with some editorializing by me.

By the way - it's that desire to win that has David Wright diving all over the field for ground balls hit by a coach during Day Two of spring training workouts,

SPECIAL: In his address to the players on Day One of Spring Training Thursday, Willie Randolph told the players that they needed to "get ready for a special season". This is going to be a fun season - I just hope everyone can stay healthy.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Kaz Matsui has reported to camp in incredible shape. He's been working with his own personal trainer - a former teammate from Japan. (In accordance to club policy, the trainer won't be able to go into the clubhouse, either at home or on the road, but Matsui is welcome to work out with him on his own time.) Matsui's condition has been drawing raves. And on Thursday, in opening workouts, Matsui hit a homer off of flamethrower Billy Wagner. Might not want to read into that too much, though - don't forget that Matsui has homered on the first pitch he's seen each of the past two seasons - so the first day of spring training is no different. Willie Randolph had a funny comment about it too - first he complimented Matsui because at this point of spring training, everyone says the pitchers are way ahead of the hitters, so for Kaz to get a homer was a good sign. But Randolph went on to say that Matsui probably got lucky, and just stepped into one. I'm going to say this one more time - and it might not be the last one. I really have always liked Kaz Matsui, from the beginning. He's started to wear out his welcome, but if he earns the starting second base job, and performs well this year, I'll be thrilled. He has been a great clutch hitter, so I can see him contributing. I would love to see Matsui at second, and let Keppinger have another year at Triple-A, and if that happens, I will be leading the "Comeback Player of the Year" charge for Kaz Matsui.

RESPECT FOR RANDOLPH: I think part of the reason Pedro Martinez* has been such a good soldier for the Mets has been the fact that he has a lot of respect for Willie Randolph, being a former player. There was a throwaway line in one of the papers about Randolph, and how the players respect him since he played the game - among the players mentioned were Martinez* and Cliff Floyd. I'm thinking back to Pedro*'s past managers - Felipe Alou, with the Expos, where he didn't act up - I'm sure he respected Alou. And breaking in with the Dodgers, he would have had to have been crazy to disrespect Tommy Lasorda. With the Red Sox, Pedro* played for Jimy Williams/Joe Kerrigan/Grady Little/Terry Francona. I don't think he necessarily DIS-respected any of those guys, I just think he has more respect for a former player (Randolph) than he did for any of the above. Just a thought.

USING THEIR HEAD: The Mets are among a few teams (I've heard the Angels mentioned as another) that will be using a new form of aerodynamic helmet this season. The helmets are supposed to help cool the head, but also provide better protection. They have air holes in them, and the Mets have one style that will actually be two-tone. Should be neat.

I'm away for the weekend, and school resumes next week, so though I will try my best to keep updating during spring training, I can't promise everyday updates. Please check back often - I'll get into regular updates during the regular season.

9TH INNING BREW

Brewers 6, Mets 4 (MIL: 53-55; NYM: 54-53, 7.5 GB)

Carlos Beltran* and Jose Reyes need to switch salaries this second. At the very least Beltran* should give back this season's salary to the team. They got him to produce like he did last October - maybe not as much as he did last October, with a homer every at-bat, or so it seemed - but at least to be the guy, with the game on the line, who gets the big hit.

Beltran* had that opportunity Wednesday night. And he blew it. Just like he did in Colorado. And in Houston. And on Tuesday night. Jose Reyes, THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, came through in the clutch - he always comes through in the clutch. Let's go back and set the scene.

First of all, the Mets wasted a decent start by Pedro Martinez*. He didn't have his greatest game, but he was effective, striking out 8 in 7 innings of work, giving up 3 runs. (Pedro* didn't get his first strikeout until the fourth inning - and he finished with 8. Not bad.) Roberto Hernandez relieved Pedro*, and gave up the game-tying homer in the eighth. This is after the Mets had a chance to blow the game open in the fifth inning, but stranded runners on second and third. So the game was 4-4, and Braden Looper gave up two runs with two outs in the top of the ninth. You can hardly blame him - after getting two out, he gave up a weak infield hit. Actually, you can blame him, because he walked Rickie Weeks, before giving up the RBI single to Lyle Overbay.

So the Mets have their chance in the bottom of the ninth. Doug Mientkiewicz leads off with a single. Then pinch-hitter extraordinaire Marlon Anderson grounds the ball to second. The second baseman goes to tag Mientkiewicz, but Mientkiewicz drops to the ground and takes out the second baseman, so they can't turn two. Anderson safe at first. Jose Reyes, 0-for-4 to this point, lines a shot over the shortstop's head for a base hit - Marlon Anderson to third. Miguel Cairo then takes a stolen base away from Reyes by swinging at a pitch (he should have taken it - it would have been a ball), then hits a weak grounder that gets Reyes to second, and Anderson stays at third, but Cairo is out at first. Tying run at second for Carlos Beltran*. He swings at the first pitch and tops it to first base. Beltran* had a hit earlier in the game. It's news that he had a hit...they've been so few and far between.

The Mets also wasted a great game by Mike Piazza - who hit a bomb of a home run out of the stadium earlier in the game, and Cliff Floyd also hit a bomb to the apple in right-center field. Piazza also caught pinch-runner Ty Durrington stealing in the top of the ninth for the second out before the Brewers rallied. Piazza's throwing is getting better. I think he's enjoying himself more knowing that everyone knows he's playing his final games in New York.

This is as bad a loss for the Mets as Tuesday night's was a good win. The Braves had lost to the Reds, so the Mets stood to pick up some ground. I'm going to New York Thursday - when the Mets play the Brewers at noon. I'll try to write over the weekend. I will be at Sunday night's game - hopefully I'll leave with a Pedro Martinez bobblehead.

WRIGHT WATCH: 1-for-4 with 2 RBI, no doubles. (He didn't double Tuesday night either.)

SECOND HALF: 6 SEASON TOTAL: 28 TEAM RECORD: 44

WRIGHT NEEDS 16 DOUBLES IN THE TEAM'S FINAL 55 GAMES.

ELTRAN*'S: The 1-for-4 Wednesday means for the second half:

19-for-76 (.250 AVG.), 2 HR, 12 RBI, 9 Runs, 3 SB

THE KID'S KIDS: 23-11. Guess what? Must be more rain. Incidentally, in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader, Hall of Famer Gary Carter managed Kaz Matsui on his rehab assignment. Matsui went 2-for-4 and struck out twice. He could be back with the Mets in a couple of weeks. The Major League Mets, that is.

THROWN FOR (AND BY) A LOOPER

Reds 7 (1-0), Mets 6 (0-1)

I don't know what I can't believe more. Here are the options:

1) The way the Mets lost this game.
2) The fact that of all the suspects likely to blow this game, the least likely man was the one who did it.
3) The fact that I screwed up my entire tape-the-game-avoid-all-human-contact-then-watch-the-tape plan.
4) The fact that even after I screwed that up, I still watched the entire game, convinced myself I saw the wrong outcome, and worked myself up when the Mets blew the lead. (I'll tell this story later.)

The first surprise in this game was that Doug Mientkiewicz hit sixth, and future Hall of Famer David Wright hit seventh. Perhaps Mientkiewicz had good career numbers against Paul Wilson (when Wilson was in Tampa Bay).

It's getting into the realm of torturous listening to Joe Morgan. I'm not going to get into why, but for example, at the end of the game, he says, "What's that Yogi Berra saying? It's never over until the game ends?" Or something like that - he butchered it. Along the same lines...Kaz Matsui homers in the top of the first inning, putting the Mets up 1-0. A good color commentator (or me) might say "For the second straight year, Matsui homers in his first at-bat of the season." But Morgan didn't. I am starting to strongly dislike him. (Not just for missing the chance on the Matsui comment - I'm half-joking about that. But I really think he's slipping into Alzheimer's a little. Something's seriously wrong. Listen to him a couple of times and make a case he isn't slipping...I challenge you.)

Bottom of the first, the Reds take the lead off Pedro Martinez*. Adam Dunn capped a rough first inning with a three-run bomb, putting Cincinnati up 3-1.

Carlos Beltran* drew the Mets even with a 2-run homer in the third, making it 3-3. Meanwhile, Pedro Martinez* was striking out everyone and their brother. He struck out the side in the 2nd and 3rd innings, and got the first two guys in the fourth. He didn't allow another hit after Dunn's homer, and finished with 6 innings, 3 ER, 3 hits, 2 walks, and 12 strikeouts. Pedro* threw 103 pitches, and actually left the game with a chance to win. (Red Sox fans are thinking - we've seen this before.) I think I might be able to find it in my heart to root for Pedro*.

On the offensive side, I can't complain. Carlos Beltran* was 3-for-5 with a single, double, and homer. Beltran* and Martinez* are on pace to lose their asterisks by the opening homestand. My only complaint, ironically, comes against future Hall of Famer David Wright. Twice, with two men on, he grounded into double plays. (He did, though, double to the wall in right field.) We need more activity in the clutch from a future Hall of Famer.

Paul Wilson started for the Reds. This allowed for a half-inning or so of talk about "Generation K", the Mets' high hopes for Wilson, Bill Pulsipher, and Jason Isringhausen. Ah, memories.

The Mets took the lead in the seventh. After Jose Reyes, THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, led off the inning with a double, and Matsui bunted him to third, Beltran* drove home the go-ahead run with a single to left. Cliff Floyd then homered to make it 6-3 Mets. More good news on offense - first of all, Reyes didn't get hurt. He's still a free swinger, and isn't going to lead the league in walks (ever - he swung at a pitch that hit him in the foot in the eighth inning), but he showed flashes of being THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED Monday when he singled to right-center field and stretched that into a double. Great speed. And the other good sign on offense was Cliff Floyd was swinging the bat well. He had a great game - 3-for-4, with the homer (that should have provided the insurance in the win). If Floyd can keep this up, and not show signs of fatigue after the first month of the season (he looks in May like other guys look in October after a full season), the Mets will be in good shape in the outfield.

The Mets' bullpen is not one of their strong points. But Braden Looper is supposed to be the strongest part of it. Ironically, he blew this one, while Manny Aybar and Dae-Sung Koo turned in surprisingly good performances to set him up with the 6-4 lead entering the ninth. But Looper gave up a single, homer, homer to end the game, 7-6 Reds. Mets pitchers struck out 16 Reds. The Reds didn't have a hit between the first and seventh innings. But the Reds still won. Very frustrating.

Here's something else that's frustrating. I managed to make it all the way home from work without hearing how old friend Pedro* did (a tough feat in greater Boston, in my opinion). So when I got home, the VCR was still going (but I had no picture), and for some stupid reason, I turned the channel from ESPN to ESPNEWS. I came back to the TV after the VCR timer stopped, and turned on the TV to rewind the VCR. I tried not to look at the bottom line, but before I changed the channel, I saw that Joe Randa had hit a walk-off homer. My thought process was as follows:

"Hmm. Joe Randa hit a walk-off homer. I shouldn't have read that. It could have had to do with the Mets game. Good thing it was just the Royals game. So the Royals must have won, if Randa hit a walk-off. That's good, I guess. I don't mind seeing the Royals win.............wait a second. Randa doesn't play for the Royals anymore. He plays for - (mind racing) - not the Reds. No, he doesn't play for the Reds. OH YES HE DOES YOU STUPID MORON WHY DID YOU LOOK AT THE TV?!?! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST DID THAT. IF RANDA HIT A WALK-OFF, YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS??!?! IT MEANS THE METS LOST, YOU *!?!$#. "

What a dope I am. And then.....and then, I watched the freakin' game. And then.......and then, when the Mets took a 6-3 lead, yes, I believed they were going to win the game. "There must be another Randa in the majors now, because I can't imagine a scenario where the Mets can lose this one," I think. Then Aybar and Koo get the game to Looper, and I think, "There's no way Randa hits a walk-off here. For that to happen, Looper would have to give up three straight hits, or something bad." Needless to say, I am not happy right now.

I don't feel too confident in Looper. I know I put up a good front, saying he's the strong point of the bullpen, but I feel like if the Mets can get someone to fill that closer spot, i.e. Ugueth Urbina, even though he got roughed up a bit on Monday, I'd feel a bit more comfortable with the Mets' chances. In that same game (Urbina's game), Dmitri Young homered three times. Watching his stats on the bottom line during the Mets game was pretty unbelievable. The more believable thing will be when he finishes with 23 homers or so, and everyone says, remember when he hit three on Opening Day?

In other Mets news, Kris Benson was placed on the disabled list with a strained pectoral muscle. Marlon Anderson replaced him on the roster. It'll be interesting to see how the Mets replace Benson when they need a fifth starter...on Saturday they traded away Matt Ginter for a minor leaguer. That would have been Ginter's spot.

A quick mailbagger: (Subject: OPENING DAY SPOILER SPOILER DO NOT READ)

"Dear JohnnyMets,

Hope that subject line was enough to keep you from reading before you'd seen the game.
A question and a comment this opening day....

The question is did you see the look on Looper's face when he gave up the game-winning homer? He looked like a horrible mix of pain and disbelief.

My comment is that Pedro has bad luck on opening day. I can think of 3 instances where the Sox pen blew his win. 12 K in his debut, by the way. Not bad.

Dave"

Dave- I did see the look on Looper's face, and though I was not near a mirror, I'd say your description of "horrible mix of pain and disbelief" would also fit the "I can't believe I just watched that tape knowing full well that Joe Randa was somehow, some way, going to hit a walk off homer to beat the Mets." I'm starting to think right now that this blog might be a little funnier if I started including profanity. I have choice words for Looper. But that's an easy trap to fall into...then all I'd be doing was cursing at the Mets. We don't need to go there.

As for your other comment, I do remember Pedro (no asterisk - we're not talking about him as a Met here) having bad luck on Opening Day, but if I remember correctly, at least one of those games was a 13-10 decision (or possibly no decision) to the Blue Jays in which he actually got rocked.

My hope for the Mets now is to bounce back from this very difficult loss and take two out of three in Cincy. They don't play again until Wednesday.

The blog will hopefully be daily from here on out. I am also going to try to include headlines daily (or at least on game recaps). Some will be hits, some misses. Just giving you fair warning. And because of the move, I never had a chance to do my season predictions. Here they are:

NL Rookie of the Year: Garrett Adkins (even though he just went on the DL)
AL Rookie of the Year: Jeremy Reed
AL Cy Young Award: Randy Johnson (he looked good Sunday night - might not have picked him if I did this before the season)
NL Cy Young Award: Pedro Martinez*
AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero (not very original)
NL MVP: Carlos Beltran (not very original)

NL Champion: Mets (not very original....for me, anyway)
AL Champion: Angels

AL East: Yankees
AL Central: White Sox
AL West: Angels
AL Wild Card: Rangers

NL East: Mets
NL Central: Astros
NL West: Dodgers
NL Wild Card: Cardinals

Those are just my picks - don't ask for justifications. I will reassess at the All-Star break.

The Mets had their Thursday night spring training game with the Cardinals rained out.

I will just make a few comments about the Wednesday game before I go to bed:

-Kaz Matsui reportedly played a good second base...as Dave aptly pointed out. It seems his only miscue was the ball that fell in between he and THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes.

-Another good note about Matsui - he plays up the middle, or at least further up the middle than Doug Mientkiewicz expected. This is a good thing, says Mientkiewicz, because Mientkiewicz can range far to his right. So he says it gives the Mets maximum coverage on the right side of the infield with Matsui positioning himself where he does.

The Mets have a really good infield right now - I'm can't wait to see them play for real. That's all I got for tonight. Enjoy the weekend.

First of all, a big HELLO to all my new fans in the greater Wilmington, North Carolina area. Welcome, and thanks for coming. Sorry I haven't written in a while - I've had computer problems.

A lot has happened in the two weeks since I've last written. Including Saturday's 4-3 win over the Cubs in 11 innings, so that's where I'll start.

I couldn't watch this game, since the Boston area got the Angels-A's matchup. But the Mets won a game that I would classify as very encouraging. First of all, this was pretty much the Norfolk Tides against the Chicago Cubs, and the Tides won in dramatic fashion. After being shut down all day by Mark Prior, the Mets broke through in the ninth inning, first against Ryan Dempster, then against LaTroy Hawkins. Victor Diaz, who I'll talk a little more about in a bit, hit a 2-out, 3-run homer to tie the game at three, then in the 11th, Craig Brazell hit the game-winning home run. The youngsters came through, and I should also mention Aaron Heilman, the starter, who kept the Mets in it early, giving up 2 runs in five innings. All the Mets have left is to play spoilers, and Saturday's win could very well have contributed to ruining the Cubs' season.

So, I now present to you the guide to the major leaguers, who until very recently were minor leaguers:

3B David Wright: He's a future Hall Of Famer. Enough said...but just because I like to write about him, here are his stats, through 61 games - Wright's hitting .293, slugging .515, 12 HR, and 35 RBI. For good measure, he's also stolen 5 bases.

SS (yes, SS, not 2B) Jose Reyes: He has a long way to go (health-wise) before he gets his GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED tag back. But the Mets are clearly a better team when Reyes is in the lineup. That's why when he plays in just 45 games (like he has so far this year) it hurts so much.

2B (yes 2B, not SS) Kaz Matsui: The first year is done. Maybe he is less nervous next year and plays to his capabilities in the field. I wasn't too upset with his offense - he was one of the best Mets hitters this year when the game was on the line.

RF Victor Diaz: I've only seen Diaz in a couple of games so far this year, and it looks like he's a bit of a hot dog. I hope he has a level head. Diaz came from the Dodgers organization in the Jeromy Burnitz trade last year. His biggest concern, it seemed to me, after he hit the game-tying homer on Saturday, was that he stuck it to the Cubs, who passed over him in the draft, rather than the fact that he helped the Mets win. Maybe that's just my interpretation, but seeing some of Diaz's body language (not hustling out of the box) during his call-up makes me think he might have a bit of an attitude problem.

1B Craig Brazell: Brazell has been in the Mets organization for a while, and just got his first opportunity late last year. He's got some power, but hasn't shown it much at the major league level. I don't really know where he's going to fit in if Mike Piazza's going to be playing first base next year.

P Aaron Heilman: Heilman has had two solid starts in a row, since he's gotten another chance to pitch late in the season. Maybe he's put his disappointments behind him, and maybe Rick Peterson has worked magic yet again.

P Tyler Yates: Yates is working on a modest scoreless streak right now - 8 and a third. It's a start. Maybe his niche is in middle relief.

Some other thoughts on a wasted season:

Kaz Matsui says he'd like to try a couple of games at second base before this season ends...but Art Howe is worried about Matsui getting hurt (a la Joe McEwing). The funny thing, though, is that what does Howe care - he's not even going to be around to suffer the consequences.

Which brings me to the tease portion: Coming soon to johnnymets.blogspot.com - Who should replace Art Howe as manager of the Mets? I already have an idea...stay tuned.

Mets 4, Expos 2 (48-51, 5 GB)

So this is what the Mets are. A team that can barely get above the .500 mark, a team that doesn't score a lot of runs, a team whose best pitcher has a record of 8-8 (Tom Glavine). But you know what, as bad as all of this is, and as bad as things looked after the 19-10 loss to the Expos, the fact remains the Mets are just 5 games out of first place, and to this point, remain buyers, rather than sellers, as Friday's trade deadline approaches.

I received an e-mail from an angry Mets fan who identified herself as "Lauren", saying that Kaz Matsui should be sent to Triple-A because of his 21 errors, and the Mets should trade Mike Piazza while they can get some value for him. Well, "Lauren", I understand you're frustrated, but keep in mind Matsui's bat has probably kept the Mets in more games lately (and I stress - lately) than his errors have cost them. And Piazza's being hurt this past week might be a blessing in disguise, because he now has a week of rest under his belt. That's tough to come by for him at this stage of the season. I bet he comes back hitting the ball like crazy (not counting Tuesday night's pinch-hit groundout), and when he spurs the Mets to a 10-game winning streak, you'll regret wanting to trade him. That said, if the Mets lose the next few games before the deadline, trade 'em all. I can't take many more worthless seasons.

In the mess of Monday's 19-10 embarrassment, I neglected to mention David Wright's first career home run. It was a pretty good shot. As another loyal reader points out, only 754 more 'til he catches Aaron. Unfortunately, now the Mets are 0-1 in games in which Wright homers. And doubly unfortunate, it was just his fourth hit of the season. He needs to pick up the pace if he's going to pass Rose. So much pressure.

Speaking of pressure, Wright's fellow future-Hall-of-Famer, THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, is on fire. He's up to about .262 right now, and is running like crazy. He stole another 2 bases Tuesday night - including third base. He's done that a bunch lately.

OH! How about this?! During Tuesday night's game, Fran Healy, talking about David Wright's batting stance, says, "You know who he reminds me of, holding his hands out like that? A man whose number is retired here in Montreal....and a former Met....." Thaaaaat's riiiiiiight.....None other than HALL OF FAMER GARY CARTER. And then, as an added treat, they do a split screen, showing Wright's batting stance compared with Carter's. If I hadn't gotten married in May, that might have been the greatest moment of 2004 for me. Oh well, I guess it'll have to settle for second-best.

By the way, I'm ashamed to admit I didn't make it home from my damn math class in time for Wright's home run Monday night. I had to see it on replay. I feel like I betrayed my boy. (I strongly dislike this Math class as it is, now it is definitely on my sh** list.) Oh well. At least I saw Wright's first hit. He'll be more of a hits guy than a homers guy in his career anyway.

So Glavine pitches well, the Mets score enough runs to win...that's about as well-rounded a game as you can expect from the Mediocre Mets. (But don't forget - Mediocre is enough to get them into the post-season. I'm done pretending this is a great team, and a good division. I'll take the back door into the post-season and championship.) So they need to put the package together again on Wednesday night for Jae Seo. A nice winning streak here to get the Mets back to .500, then into second place, would be great.

NEWS: Another distraction the Mets don't need. Shane Spencer was arrested for DUI in Florida early Tuesday morning. I've about had it with Shane Spencer. This guy has a serious drinking problem. The funny thing is, the Mets were all about putting together a quality team with upstanding citizens this year. Then they go out and sign Shane Spencer and Karim Garcia. I didn't even know Spencer was this wild. He really kept a low profile with the Yankees, I guess, even though it's the same city. But first there was the pizzaman incident in Florida during spring training, then landing on the DL with a cut foot, which he says he got by stepping on glass while wearing sandals, but in my mind is starting to look like he kicked himself in the tooth because he's a drunken fool, and now this DUI thing. I'm sick of it. Shane should shape up or ship out.

Expos 4, Mets 1 (47-48, 3 GB)

I'm starting to think the Mets may be no better than a .500 team. Luckily, that still leaves them just 3 games out of a playoff spot. But when you can't do better than a split against Montreal, let alone score more than a run in a game, you have to look at your team and think something's wrong.

I have a bunch of problems with Thursday's game. Here's a couple. Tom Glavine pitched great again, and again he gets nothing in return. At least he didn't get the loss. That went to John Franco, who served up a 2-run homer to Tony Batista in the 8th inning, breaking a 1-1 tie. That followed a dribbler of a base hit with two outs. I'm telling you, the Mets can't catch a break. Still, Franco can't keep giving up homers.

OK, another problem...HUGE problem. Why don't these major league baseball players run like they mean it? Good God, you just have to run hard a few times a game, will you do it once in a while?!?! Some instances, and they definitely cost the Mets yesterday:

Bottom 4: Kaz Matsui lines one to center field leading off the inning, Endy Chavez dives for it, misses it, the ball rolls all the way to the wall. Should absolutely be an inside-the-park home run, but Kaz is taking his time getting out of the box, and only ends up with a triple. The Mets go down 1-2-3 after that, so it stays scoreless instead of 1-0, Mets. I have a couple of problems with Matsui's baserunning. I've not once seen him slide into second base to break up a double play - he bails out as soon as the bag is touched. It wouldn't kill him to show a little more hustle.

Top 6: The only run off Glavine, a solo home run. The ball just cleared the wall by a little bit. Why does Mike Cameron give up on it so quick? He just stood and watched it, when I think he might have been able to catch up to it...I'm not positive that he would have robbed the homer, but he sure has done it enough in his career that I wouldn't be surprised if he did. But, oh, I forgot, he's wearing a Mets uniform now, so mediocre fielding is good enough right now.

Bottom 6: With Richard Hidalgo on first, Mike Cameron rips a double into the left field corner, with the score tied at 1. Hidalgo is being sent home, but after a few steps around third, he stops for some reason. The Expos catch Hidalgo in a rundown. They chase Hidalgo back to third. For some reason, as he's being chased back to third, Hidalgo stops, and runs back towards home. WHEN THIRD BASE IS LEFT UNCOVERED!!!! He could have easily dove (dived?) back into third base safely. But I don't know. Maybe I'm the only one who saw this. Ted Robinson and Fran Healy were too busy talking about everything else under the sun to bother to point it out. So maybe I'm wrong. But man, the Mets are killing me.

Good news: David Wright was 2-for-4, picking up his first two major league hits. His first hit was a double. He's just 2,998 hits from the 3,000 hit plateau, en route to the Hall of Fame. By the way, Wright also scored the only run of the game for the Mets. He was driven in by his co-first-ballot-inductee into the Hall, Jose Reyes. On his plaque, it will read, "THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED". Unfortunately, David Wright's Major League Baseball winning streak is over at 1. And the Mets are now 0-1 in games in which Wright gets a hit.

This weekend the Mets host the Braves. The two teams play for the first time since early April. If the Mets don't take the series, it might be time to spark up johnnyjets.blogspot.com.

Reds 6, Mets 4 (35-35, 3.5 GB)

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

First of all, how about that numerology? Mets are 35-35, 3.5 back. Too bad they didn't lose 5-3 last night.

So, I missed the first five innings of last night's game because of softball (more on that game later), but I saw the last 7. Apparently, I missed a lot more in those first five innings than I saw in the rest of the game.

Kaz Matsui is on very thin ice in NYC. I never saw the replay of where he was thrown out at the plate - but I don't care who you are - there's no way you can get thrown out at the plate on a ball hit to the wall when you're on second base!! I have to see that replay - I can't believe it happened. From what I hear, Jason Phillips could have scored on that play!

But the Mets got plenty of clutch hitting last night through the first 8 innings - they just couldn't get that last hit to get them to two games over .500 in the 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th. Didn't realize there was such a huge difference between .500 and two games over. It's a very sudden drop. The Mets would have been sitting pretty with a win last night...now they need to bounce back.

THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, suffered his first loss of the year in a Mets uniform last night. He's struggling at the plate, but he will come around. In a month, even a week, if the Mets are in the same situation they were in in the 12th last night, down 2 runs, top of the order coming up, they'll win that game. Last night, Matsui singled, then THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED Reyes grounded back to the pitcher for a double play. Very soon, that will be a single or a double, setting Mike Piazza up for a chance to tie or win the game.

The Mets also blew another opportunity to win the game in the ninth. With Todd Zeile on first, Jason Phillips pinch hit and singled to right field. Zeile went all the way to third, but was stranded when Matsui struck out, and "T.G.B.W.E.L." (yeah, I might start abbreviating that) Reyes grounded out. Phillips has kind of been the odd man out lately, since Piazza has been catching, and Eric Valent has been playing first, because the Mets have been winning with that lineup. But maybe that pinch hit will help Phillips heat up a bit. If I were Art Howe, I'd start Phillips today to get him some at-bats. At the very least, Phillips should see plenty of action this weekend, with the Mets playing at the Yankees, and Piazza likely DH-ing.

I don't fault John Franco for the loss. He was just facing a great hitter, and Sean Casey was looking for that pitch. It wasn't a bad pitch - nine times out of ten I think Franco gets a left-handed batter out on that pitch inside. But Casey was looking for it, and yanked it out of the park. Just a good hitter. I wasn't heart-broken when the Mets lost last night's game. It just makes today's game a whole lot more important - thank goodness the stopper is on the hill. Tom Glavine faces Cory Lidle. I know there's no such thing as an automatic win...but Glavine will pitch a great game today. Two out of three from Cincinnati will be good going into a weekend series against the Yankees.

Note: Annoying most of the time, Fran Healy can be a riot sometimes. Last night, Matt Loughlin (for you Boston readers, the "Mets' equivalent of Eric Frede, interviewing fans in the stands") interviewed a couple from Cincinnati who had gotten engaged in Central Park earlier that day. They had a sign that said, "MOM - SHE SAID YES!" Something like that. Anyway, the guy says something to the effect of, "I knew she'd say yes. I wasn't that nervous." So Loughlin tosses it back to the booth, and Fran says, "Confidence is a big thing in a proposal". Like he's talking about Mike Cameron breaking out of his slump or something. I swear, that guy doesn't know what he's talking about half the time.

WRIGHT WATCH: The Tides were off last night.

SOFTBALL UPDATE: Best game of the year last night. Outstanding. After last week's blowout win, which nearly tore the team apart due to the "running up the score controversy" (for those of you who don't know/don't remember, I - and other members of the team - were upset that some members of the team kept hitting the ball to the weak right fielder and circling the bases when we were already up like 30-3 or something like that), we played our most solid game of the year, winning 5-3! A 5-3 softball game, can you believe it?! It was a good one - we played great defense, and got some timely hitting. Although some members of our team were heard saying stuff like, "this game sucks. We scored 30 runs last week, now we can only get 5?!" How about, the other team is actually good this week?

The only other thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was when it was still light out, and the other team wanted to play another inning, a couple of our team members said, 'OK, but we already win the official game'. Come on. What a bunch of wusses. (We proceeded to go on to a 9-3 win, if the extra inning counted.) I can't believe they were scared we were going to lose. Anyway, we're now 4-0. I might miss next week's game - next week's going to be busy. I'll keep you posted, like you care.

Twins 2, Mets 1 (28-29, 4.5 GB)

Tuesday, June 8, 2004

This quote is from the Associated Press story of last night's Mets game:

"Obviously it's upsetting," said Matsui, through an
interpretor, about his 12th error of the season. "That error was
one of the key plays and might have cost us the game."

Might have? MIGHT have!??! It most certainly DID, pal. Up until now I've given Kaz Matsui the benefit of the doubt. But this is getting ridiculous. Something good might come of this, though. Up until now, the bad play has been criticized by some fans, but hasn't really been written/talked about by the media. Even the misplay (should have been an error, but was ruled a hit) in the eighth inning could have slipped by unnoticed when the Mets got out of the inning without it resulting in a run. But Kaz Matsui cost the Mets the game last night, without a doubt...and it's being talked and written about. I don't blame Ty Wigginton, Jason Phillips, or Vance Wilson for the final play of the game - that play should never have happened. Yes, Wigginton maybe should have held the ball, Phillips maybe could have made a better throw, and Wilson maybe could have picked the ball better - but the fact remains Matsui should have turned the double play and ended the inning one batter earlier.

Anyway, Kaz Matsui cost the Mets the game, and he knows it, Art Howe knows it, and the team knows it. They'll either rally around this loss and bounce back, or they'll fall apart. At least we know where we can point the finger.

The Twins are the most dangerous team the Mets are going to play from the AL Central. Brad Radke, last night's starter, was the best starter the Mets will face this series (Johan Santana and Kyle Lohse are next, and they're having awful years). The Mets blew a chance to get the first game of interleague play, and now must bounce back instead of continuing a winning streak. Minnesota is a very good late-innings team - the Mets need to jump out to an early lead and bury them, and win these next two games.

Other things I noticed about last night's game - the Mets bats seemed to be a little off. I hope the off day didn't cool off the players who were hitting well.
Also, in the fifth inning, the Mets ran the bases really, really well. Ty Wigginton started the inning with a single to left-center, which he stretched into a double. Then, after an out, and a Mike Cameron walk, Vance Wilson singled up the middle to score a run - and everyone moved up a base. Of course, if the Mets would have been able to further capitalize that inning, they wouldn't have lost the game, but the aggressive baserunning was good to see.

Another thing that stings about last night's game is that while the Mets were losing a game they should have won, the Marlins won a game they should have lost, putting the Mets 4 and a half games out. The Marlins were down 5-4 in the ninth, when with two out, Miguel Cabrera homered off the foul pole to tie the game. Then after a walk to Jeff Conine, Damion Easley also homered off the foul pole. At least the Marlins did that off the same Indians bullpen the Mets will soon face. But what the hell is going on with Damion Easley?!?! Why is he experiencing a re-birth all of a sudden?!

Finally, lock up your belongings: the Mets called up Gerald Williams yesterday and sent down Danny Garcia. You might remember Gerald Williams from his days with the Yankees, where he started his career back when they sucked, and was shipped out when they started to win championships. He is best known in my mind, however, for two reasons. He brawled with the Red Sox and Pedro Martinez as a member of the Devil Rays when Pedro hit him with a pitch a few years back - and the coup de gras from his second stint with the Yankees, in 2001-02...Gerald Williams was released for stealing items out of teammates' lockers (Derek Jeter, to name one) and selling them to memorabilia stores. Nice to see another quality "character" guy on the Mets' roster.

Mets 8, Giants 2 (12-15, 4 GB)

Wednesday, May 5, 2004

(First of all, the home computer virus is gone, and due to a lack of sleep the previous night, I fell asleep during the rain delay last night. But it was a good feeling waking up on the couch at 2am to see Mets 8, Giants 2!)

Are you back on the bandwagon yet? Three in a row!! And it's not just that they're winning consecutive games, it's the way the Mets are winning them. I read up on last night's eighth inning - all with two outs!! And clutch homers. Spencer and Cameron. Matsui again putting some icing on the cake.

And Mike Piazza finally putting that damn record behind him. Now he'll be pressure-free. I smell four in a row...

A couple of thoughts about the early part of the game. Man, San Francisco is an ugly team. For a team that was so good the past few years, they continue to make horrible plays. Second inning - the pitcher, Williams, throws away the Jae Seo bunt (which was an outstanding bunt, by the way), and allows the Mets to score a run. Just bad defense, like Tuesday night.

And on the other side of the coin, Kaz Matsui made his best play as a Met on defense last night. In the third inning, he went to his right, backhanded a grounder, then immediately threw to first to get the out. It took a great stretch and scoop by Jason Phillips on the other end, but that was a great play, showing the most range Matsui has shown yet in a Mets uniform.

OK, I have to run some wedding errands. Al Leiter goes tonight. This is getting good.

Dodgers 3, Mets 2 (8-13, 6 GB)

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

I'm not discouraged at all by last night's loss. I know I tend to be too positive when it comes to the Mets, but they didn't lose that game. The Dodgers beat them. There's a difference. Things are starting to come around for the Mets, and if they play like they did last night, they're going to win a bunch of games.

First of all, a few words about Milton Bradley's catch. (If you didn't see it, he robbed Mike Cameron of a home run leading off the sixth inning - probably the best play of the year so far.) What made this play so great was all of the ground Bradley covered to make the catch. Cameron crushed that ball, and it was headed out of the park in a hurry. But Bradley tracked it down, timed the leap perfectly, and made the catch look pretty easy. (As an aside, I was watching the game on California's broadcast - they only kept showing replays at the wall. I wanted to see the entire play develop again, because Bradley tracked that ball so well. Hope the New York station did a better job.) Cameron will make his share of those catches this year, but last night, he was on the other side of it. That play saved the game for L.A., especially considering what happened after that (oh, and also considering Bradley was playing on a bum ankle).

The Mets had plenty of chances in last night's game, and came through in some of them, just to see their efforts stymied by great defense by the Dodgers. First, a quick recap - Kaz Matsui led off the game with a homer to make it 1-0, Mets. The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead on a 2-run homer by Dave Roberts, then made it 3-1 after a solo shot by Adrian Beltre. Roberts homered off Steve Trachsel (2-3) at the end of an 11-pitch at-bat. Beltre just crushed a bad pitch. Otherwise, Trachsel was great.

So then comes the sixth inning. Cameron was robbed of a homer, but the Mets continued to hit Odalis Perez hard. Piazza rocketed one off the shortstop's glove, then Shane Spencer singled (he's been hitting the ball well). Todd Zeile followed with a liner towards right that the second baseman deflected. Piazza had to hold at second, thinking the ball would be caught...but when the ball trickled into right field, any other runner (except Jason Phillips) would have scored. With the bases loaded, Phillips flew out to center, scoring Piazza to make it 3-2. Then Karim Garcia struck out looking. Man, I hope the Mets trade him.

Fast forward a bit. John Franco struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh. Top 8, Spencer gets a one-out walk. Then he steals second! Zeile hit a hard grounder that Guillermo Mota snagged, so Spencer has to stay at second - otherwise, he might have scored. The Dodgers brought in Eric Gagne to face Phillips. Nice matchup, right? The struggling Phillips against a man who has converted a record 68-straight save opportunities. But you saw the johnnymets guarantee yesterday - Phillips is out of his slump. Unfortunately, like the Zeile groundout, luck just wasn't with the Mets last night. Phillips blasted one that was headed up the middle, until it hit Gagne in the thigh. Gagne recovered to throw Phillips out at first, and then gave up two 2-out singles in the ninth before finishing the game (and extending his record to 69 games).

This was a great game to watch, even though the Mets lost. It's up to Jae Seo tonight against Jeff Weaver for the Mets to get 2-out-of-3 against L.A., and make the series a success.

Other thoughts: The Dodgers are now 7-0 in one-run games, the Mets are 2-6...More aggressive play, which was good to see. In addition to Spencer stealing second in the 8th, pinch-runner Jeff Duncan stole second in the 7th when the Mets needed runners in scoring position. With their lack of speed, they need to make up for that by using the speed they have and by being aggressive...Trachsel's been the victim of the long ball this year - if he didn't give up homers, he'd pitch a shutout every game...Kaz Matsui and Ricky Gutierrez are starting to look good together turning double plays. It's a good thing, though, Gutierrez is heading back to the bench, because that means Jose Reyes is back. Gutierrez has been pretty good in the field (he committed just one error, and that came at third base), but awful at the plate (.161 BA, .242 OBP). The rumor before the Mets acquired him to sub for Reyes was that Gutierrez was swinging the bat well - that scout should be shot...Matsui's leadoff homer last night was the second one of his career. That puts him about 94 or so behind Rickey Henderson's record, right?

Wow, I wrote a lot today. Thanks for reading.

Pirates 7, Mets 6 (5-5, 3 GB)

Friday, April 16, 2004

This was a rough one. I generally give Art Howe the benefit of the doubt, but I don't know about tonight. I was at the game, and on the way home, the radio post-game show reported Howe said Tom Glavine's shoulder was starting to stiffen, and that's why Howe pinch-hit for him in the 7th inning. I hope that's the truth. Because if it's not...man, that was a tough one to swallow. The Mets led 2-0 after a 2-run single by Ricky Gutierrez in the second inning. Glavine was cruising, giving up just one hit in 7 innings. The Mets blew a couple of opportunities to get some insurance, including stranding Shane Spencer on third base after he hit a bases-empty triple. But even still, they should never have an inning as bad as the 8th inning at Shea.
Orber Mareno - 3 straight hits. Booed off the field.
Mike Stanton - Walk, infield hit. Game tied at 2.
David Weathers - Hit, bases loaded hit by pitch (are you kidding me??!)....in all, a 7-run eighth inning for the Pirates. 7-2 in the middle of the eighth. Someone's gotta put that fire out.
The encouraging sign here is that the Mets fought back. With 2 outs, the Mets closed to within a run when Eric Valent hit a pinch-hit 3-run homer to make it 7-6. Jose Mesa got them 1-2-3 in the 9th, though.
This team will battle every night, but if the bullpen keeps pitching like this, that's going to be a long, uphill battle every night. And you don't win many of those battles.

Notes: Man, was it chilly at Shea last night...The scoreboard lights make the out-of-town scores much easier to read...Credit my dad with an interesting point - should we be concerned about Kaz Matsui's range? There were a couple of balls hit his way that he either didn't make much of an effort to get to, or wasn't able to reach. It could have been the angle we were sitting at, but it seemed like he should have fielded a couple more grounders than he did...It looks like Mike Piazza's pressing a bit for that record-tying home run. He better get that out of the way soon so he can just worry about playing ball.