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2011 Spring Training Plans

Spring Training Workouts
Spring Training Workouts

Due to a deadline to book a free flight with JetBlue I’m departing Florida Sunday morning March 20th.  This has made it easy to pick a weekend to go to Spring Training this year.  The only decision is how many days to take off and how long to stay.  Spring Training is in a way the Mecca of baseball fans.  It’s a great experience that everyone should experience at least once. There is excitement in the air, the players are working out and more relaxed, and there are more opportunities to get close and get an autograph.  The seats are much closer and much cheaper.  It’s warm and really gets those juices flowing for the season to come. 

I looked at the tenative schedules, since nothing is completely official yet, and came up with a plan.  The Mets are about as far away from home as they can be on Wednesday and Thursday of that week, playing the Twins and Red Sox on the other side of the state.  Disappointing, but to make up for it I’m thinking of taking in the Red Sox against the Braves in Disney on Wednesday, and then going to Universal Studios and the new Harry Potter ride on Thursday, and of course a Shamrock Shake for St. Patricks Day.
The Mets are home on Friday against the Braves.  This will be a perfect day to go to the park for the early morning workouts.  Saturday they have a split squad game in Disney, so a lot of the younger guys will be away from Port St. Lucie, but the rest of the team plays the Nationals at home.  After that I’ll fly home, and anxiously await the Mets to join me and start the season. 

Are you going to Spring Training this year?  What type of plans do you have, or are you thinking of?

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Aftershocks of the 2009 Mets Season

aftershockThe 2009 season for the Mets was a disaster.  After careful review, it appears that the specific type of disaster was earthquake.  Even after the disastrous season ended we’ve been hit with aftershocks.  Aftershocks are known as smaller earthquakes that follow after the original quake, not to be confused with the alcohol beverage that was needed for us fans to get through the season.  They can still be dangerous, but generally get smaller and farther apart as time goes on.

Carlos Beltran’s scoped knee surgery was the first aftershock of the 2009 disaster.  While final damage totals are not yet in for this one, it’s expected he’ll miss up to a month of real time.  The last report I heard suggested that he’d be cleared to resume baseball activities right around the time the Mets head north for Opening Day.

The Jose Reyes Thyroid aftershock hit last week, when blood work revealed that Reyes has an overactive thyroid.  The results and treatment for this are still being determined, but many opinions suggest that it shouldn’t be a big deal and he can get back to playing soon.  This smaller aftershock was still upsetting, but it seems like it won’t be one that did much damage.

Other smaller aftershocks have occurred throughout Spring Training for the Mets.  Francisco Rodriguez came down with pink eye, pinkeyebut didn’t become a zombie.  Fernando Tatis is batting some knee issues, and Nick Evans strained his forearm.  Neither is considered serious and Frankie is back and pitching again.

The big thing to remember here is it’s not 2009 anymore.  You can check the calendar if you don’t believe me.  Every tweak or setback or injury is not indicative of disaster, and the bad luck that plagued the Mets in 2009 was just that; bad luck.  The way Reyes did not adequately recover from his hamstring injuries has nothing to do with what his thyroid may or may not be doing right now, and the bone bruise that Beltran had does not relate to his recovery from having his knee scoped in the off season.  Right now we’re still in limbo waiting on how Reyes will be treated by doctors and when he’ll get back down to Florida to continue Spring Training, but once he does everything will be alright.  Soon it will be time for baseball to count, and we can start obsessing over wins and losses and pitching performances and home run totals instead of thyroid levels and pink eye symptoms.

Visit The Real Dirty Mets Blog for lively discussion on this, and other, Mets topics.

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The Anti-Mets

Many Mets fans would fall into a more doom and gloom mindset than a positive one.  Whether that’s because of persistent disappointment, a “younger-brother” mentality associated with the Yankees, the attitude of talk radio hosts, or something else, Mets fans tend to approach the team waiting for the other shoe to drop and the team to fail.

From Baseball

As the self-proclaimed Optimistic Mets Fan, I tend not to take this approach anyway, but I’ve found that this rule is not true across the board.  Oddly enough, there are two Mets players that never fail to bring out smiles and optimism; Johan Santana and Jose Reyes.

From Baseball

These two Anti-Mets, more than any other player, bring out positive vibes from Mets fans.  Carlos Beltran, despite being very clutch, has the cloud of his strike out against the Cardinals in the 2006 playoffs.  David Wright has been considered almost un-clutch by many fans.

Even if it’s not true, when David Wright comes up with a runner on third, many are expecting a strkeout.  When Oliver Perez lets up a leadoff double, most fans expect him to walk two following that.  Jason Bay hasn’t even played a game yet and you just know many fans are already expecting every opposing runner to score from second on a single to left field.

Reyes is different.  When Reyes gets on to lead off an inning, Mets fans give him second base like it’s a foregone conclusion.  They expect him to score on any ball hit to the outfield.  They expect opposing pitchers to get nervous and possibly balk in runs.

It’s similar for Johan Santana.  If it’s an Oliver Perez start, fans are betting the over/under on how many walks he gives up.  Or how many foul balls John Maine has.  If it’s a close game in the 6th or 7th inning and Pelfrey is pitching and lets up a leadoff single, Mets fans think “Here we go again.”  If Santana lets up that same leadoff single even many of the pessimistic fans are just thinking about double plays and are recalculating how many pitches it’ll now take to get the next three guys out to see if Santana can pitch another inning afterwards.

This is the true meaning of the phrase, “As Reyes goes, so do the Mets.”  Mets fans expect winning results from Reyes and when they get it they feel the Mets will win.  Johan is such a fierce competitor that as fans we’re surprised when the opponents’ bats don’t literally explode under his gaze.  It doesn’t matter that the Mets have never pitched a no-hitter; when Johan strikes out the leadoff batter, the first thing we think of is “26 to go.”

This post is also visible at The Real Dirty Mets Blog.

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New York Mets Memorabilia of the 1970s

I came across some old Mets (and generic Hall of Fame and Yankees) stuff this off-season.  I scanned a few of my favorites to share.  This is the first set.  Here’s the scoreboard shot after Seaver set the NL record with seven consecutive 200 K seasons.

seavercontract

Here’s the back of the 1974 Mets schedule.  Box Seats for $4?  I’ll take it.

metsticketguide

Here’s the front of the schedule, with the rarely seen Lady Met.

metsschedule

Wayne Garrett and his wife Donna scouting the competition.  Apparently the Mets and Phillies used to have their wives play a couple of innings of softball occasionally.  Seems like a cool idea.

DonnaGarrett

This post is also viewable on The Real Dirty Mets Blog

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Excited for Spring, Rooting for The Mets

From Mets

20 Days until Pitchers and Catchers and Injured Players report to Port St. Lucie.   I’m excited.  To me, it’s hard not to be. It’s still Mets baseball, and no matter how you feel about the Wilpons, the front office, or the team, there are still fun games to be played this season, and fun players to watch.

Johan Santana’s due to make 33 or so starts, and every one of those games is worth watching.

Jose Reyes is reportedly healthy and is always a joy to watch play the game. He’s due to be out there on the field at least 155 games or so.

David Wright, Jeff Francoeur, and Daniel Murphy may have varied amounts of upside or talent, but all three of them play their hearts out.  You can’t ask for more out of a baseball player.  You can truly believe that these guys want to win at least as much as you want them to.

From Mets

Exciting rookies like Josh Thole, Jonathan Niese, Fernando Martinez, and maybe even Ike Davis are candidates to make appearances this year.  It’s always fun to watch homegrown guys try to break out and become major leaguers.

You may be down on Mike Pelfrey a little, but he’s going to work out to do better this year.  He’s still a young, talented, homegrown pitcher who will hopefully have a bounceback type season, and there is a good chance we see Niese come up and pitch this year.

The 2010 season won’t be won in January, it won’t be won on paper, and when April 5th comes and the Mets take the field, they’ll do so tied for first place.  This is small consolation right now, but anything can happen.  There is still time for a trade to happen for another pitcher.  It’s entirely possible that one of the Mets starters has an excellent season and pitches great to compliment Santana.  The offense isn’t bad, and it’s entirely possibly Beltran is back and healthy by May and Francoeur continues his resurgence and everyone plays well.  If some of these things happen, the Mets will be extremely competitive and rather than berate the players I think will fail I’m going to focus on rooting for them to succeed.  Isn’t that the point of being a fan?

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A Healthier Orange and Blue 2010

Last night a player, wearing Orange and Blue, returned to play after an injury-plagued 2009.  I’m going to take this as a sign of good things to come for those other injured orange and blue wearing professional athletes, even if it is a different sport.  Last night Rick DiPietro made his first start in goal for the Islanders in over a year.  He’s one of their franchise players, and having him back with the team means a ton to their long term success.

From MetsStuff

In 2010 the Mets will be getting Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, Oliver Perez, and John Maine back from injuries in 2009.  Even David Wright missed time in 2009.  Maine and Beltran actually returned before 2009 was over, and the others are all on schedule to be healthy by Spring Training, with Oliver Perez already working out.

Of course, this doesn’t guarantee anything.  Filling out the lineup card doesn’t count as a win, but the Mets had been competitive the three years prior to 2009 and with these guys back it’s hard to expect they won’t be again.

We could spend time breaking down lineups, breaking down the Phillies lineups, analyzing trades and offseason acquisitions, evaluating players and prospects and predicting what 2010 will bring. We can and will do that, but the rosters aren’t set yet, and Spring Training is not quite here.  There will be time enough for everyone to declare who the favorite is, and why.  There will be time to document what the Mets need to do, and what the other teams need to do to get to the playoffs.  Right now it’s about formulating the roster that will take the field on April 5th.  Omar’s working on a catcher and a pitcher, and time is working to get those players we already have healthy and back on the field.

I’m going to take Rick DiPietro’s return as a sign that the 2009 orange and blue injury bug is over, and that 2010 will bring much success.

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The Next Two Weeks

These are two big weeks coming up. I would like to see the Mets with a couple of games lead in the division by the time it’s over, even with the injuries. While the Mets play seven games against Pittsburgh and the Nationals, the Phillies play the Padres who have been good again, and then four against the Dodgers. The Braves also have a tough stretch, against the Cubs and the Brewers.

The following week the Phillies return to Citi Field where they haven’t won a game. The Mets face the Phillies and Yankees that week, two teams that have some offense, but struggle in the pitching department. These are teams that a good pitching team like the Mets should beat. The Phillies get three against the Red Sox while the Mets do the Subway Series thing.

So these next two weeks are a great time for the Mets to start putting distance between themselves and the rest of the division. Let the Phillies start looking over their shoulder at the Braves instead.

Oliver Perez already had a setback in his recovery to replace the struggling Redding, but if Jose Reyes gets back on target on Friday, and this stomach bug moves along, this team should be ready to go.

Angel Pagan getting injured yesterday wasn’t great news. Yet another outfielder hurt, which has been a theme the past three years. However Pagan doesn’t make or break this team. Given all the injuries, if his MRI today doesn’t say he’ll be back tomorrow, you have to DL him and replace him on the roster. My vote would be for Nick Evans. I know he’s been struggling in the minors, but he played well last year, and in Spring Training. Maybe the boost of being on a major league team is what he needs. While still facing a team like the Pirates that’s basically AAA anyway. Corey Sullivan or Bobby Kielty are both acceptable guys in my eyes too.

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Going down to Florida

I’m going to Spring Training for the first time ever. Thanks to the Netherlands, I get to see Jose Reyes down in camp. While listening to talk about spring isn’t that interesting, I’m sure being there will be a thrill. I’m expecting to come back and be anxious for the season to start. (Well, I’m anxious now too..)

I know most people don’t want to read another Spring Training story anyway, so when I get back, I’m going to go picture happy and post some odd or interesting pictures I take. If I don’t have anything good, I’ll just post a picture of my lunch or something.

For those of you that know what I look like (roughly, none of you). I’ll be in section 120 row A, which is roughly the third to last section down the line, right behind the Mets bullpen on Saturday.

Here is my itinerary.

Thursday: MIN @ PIT. Ho hum right?

Friday: NYM @ DET. Yah Mets!

Saturday: Port St. Lucie. WAS @ NYM. Behind the dugout as I said, if I don’t get a ball at this game, I’m pathetic.

Saturday night: Miami. WBC. Puerto Rico vs. Netherlands winner against the loser of the USA vs Venezuela game today.

Sunday: NYM @ FLA. Then I fly home.

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World Baseball Classic isn’t all bad

I’m not a huge fan of World Cup type competitions. I enjoy some of the Olympic events, because I don’t see those events competitively very often. I’m not overly enthused about the World Baseball Classic as it goes, because ‘USA’ doesn’t actually represent the best of what this country has to offer in terms of baseball players, and as fun as the games may be, it’s still going to be second-rate to the World Series. Second-rate means that since I have a better option, I’m not going to be that excited about it. I feel the same way about minor league baseball and college sports.

However, I’m also not against the World Baseball Classic. The number one reason cited for disliking it usually falls along the lines of injury. This is valid in a sense, but the thing is these guys aren’t robots that live in bubbles. They’d be in Florida or Arizona working out and playing games anyway. I can understand the worry, but you can have that same worry if they were with the club playing games, running in the outfield, or simply taking a taxi cab to the stadium. As far as baseball players go, you generally worry about them getting injured least while they’re actually performing, and that’s what these players are doing in the Classic. Pitchers are also held to a pitch count which is very similar to what they’d pitch in a Spring Training game.

We’re always criticizing players that don’t seem to play hard, or don’t seem to care. We claim they’re multimillionaire athletes playing for the money, not for the love of the game. However, things like the World Baseball Classic suggest that this isn’t the case. These players honestly want to play these games. They are excited to be out there competing for their country, and we should be thankful to have these competitive players on our teams. This has to be better than lulling players to sleep in a sense of complacency with a full month of meaningless spring games.

So far, I’ve enjoyed catching what Classic games I can. It’s certainly more exciting than Spring Training games, and while it’s not quite watching the Mets during the season, it’s exciting in it’s own right. I’m making my first trip down to Florida for Spring Training this week, and it coincides with round 2 of the Classic in Miami. I bought tickets, for what seems like way too much money for Dolphin Stadium, to game two between the Pool C runner up versus the Pool D winner. I’m excited to be there, and I think it will be an interesting experience. It also adds a little bit of intrigue to the round one games. At this very moment, I’m watching Venezuela play Italy in an elimination game. The winner plays the USA team, and the loser of that game is the team that I will see on Saturday. At the very least, I know I get to see the Mets from Puerto Rico on the other side, and as much as I probably should be rooting for the US to win the pool, I’d rather them be second, so I get to see the Mets on the team when I’m there.