Random thoughts on the spring so far.

It's good to have a new season at the ready. After last year's terrible failure, and the signing of Santana, I look forward to the future with great anticipation.

First lets talk about the Pitching.

The pitching seems to be shaking out as we all hoped it would.
Santana has brought a new attitude to the team, and I think it will go a long why to preventing any more lazy play in the field.
Sanchez is in top shape and already appears to be in mid season form. From all accounts he's blowing the ball past the hitters and smoking Schneider's mitt with his heat. He will be almost as important as Johan in turning the teams fortunes around.
Pedro is also looking good and talking as if he's back in 1998, not 2008. If his arm is truly healthy for the 1st time in 10 years, I look for him to have a stunning return to glory. He has a fire in his belly and the attitude to boot.
John Maine is also impressing in live BP. He faced the "A" list [Beltran,Reyes, Delgado, Castillo] and made them look silly from all accounts. I look for John to take another step forward this year. With Pedro and Johan around, I believe he will pitch over 200 innings, strikeout over 200 and lower his ERA by about .5 runs. I've always been a Maine Fan, and I hope he gets to 20 wins this year.
Wagner is talking about making a few changes this year, and I believe it will help him in September. He's talking about using a change-up this year, and asking to only pitch in save situations. I think that's smart. If Willie will keep him out of useless innings and games, Billy should be healthier come crunch time.
Oliver Perez worries me. He was the 1st Mets player to go to arbitration since 1992, and he won his case. He'll now make over $6.5 million and be looking for more this off season. With Boras as his agent, I hold little hope of the Mets resigning him next year. Pitching for a big contract may make Ollie unhittable this year, or make him crash and burn. The Mets were trying to talk contract extension, but Boras would have none of that. I don't believe the Mets are willing to pay $10-13 million per year for Ollie. And I bet that's where Scott is looking.

Now about the hitters.

David Wright reported early as usual. He was there before pitchers and catchers were due. His off season workouts appear to have him ready to continue his improvement this year. He's been working extra hard on improving his fielding and throws. If he continues to improve, as he has done in the previous years, he could be a serious MVP threat this year.
Carlos Beltran has done a Jimmy Rollins this year. When I heard of his boast, I was a little upset. I didn't see where he should be doing any bragging when he's one of the mice that like to hide in the shadows of the clubhouse. If this is a sign of him becoming more of a leader on the team, then I'm all for it. But, if he slinks back into the shadows and doesn't become a leader on the field, then I have no use for his boast.
Carlos Delgado finally reported and appears to be in top shape. He's lost weight and is itching to return to his past form. I still don't like him because of his disrespect to the flag of this country, but the Mets will need him to be more productive this year. He can't continue to hit weak ground balls and strike out when men are on base. His failure at the plate last year had as much to do with the Mets collapse as the pitching did.
Jose' Reyes is talking too this spring. He says he's going to stop all the dancing and showboating BS and worry about his production this year. Too many times it seemed last year, that he was more worried about his hand slapping routines than running out plays. He needs to grow up and play the game the way it's needed. That means no standing at home plate, no loafing to 1st base, paying attention in the field, and attempting to steal fewer bases. He needs to increase his %, and not worry about getting 80 steals. I believe all the steal attempts wore Jose down last year.
Alou' reported to camp the latest of all the starters. I'd think that because of his injury history, that he'd want to get there early. He is talking about playing for 2-3 more years now. I wonder where he'll play? How can the Mets think of keeping him after this year, when he can't play even 2/3rds of a season? Does anyone really think he'll play for less money and except a platoon role in Left Field in 2009? With Fernando Martinez in the waiting, why keep Alou'?


Well that's enough for now. What do you all think out there. Am I off base, or do you agree with my thoughts.

Johan Santana gets a taste of the Media

Today Johan Santana met the NY media. With over 200 people in attendance, I imagine it was quite a sight for him. He handled it well and seemed at ease with all the questions and pictures. I've seen him pitch a few times, and knew of his achievments, but had never seen him conduct himself at any kind of press conference. I think he'll do fine this year with the media. I don't see him as someone who will avoid the questions and slink out of the locker room after the game.

I TiVo'd the press conference and noticed a few interesting things. The first thing I noticed was that David Wright was the only player there. He seemed genuinely excited and happy at the thought of Johan pitching for the Mets. Santana was asked who he talked to after the trade and I found his answer very telling. He 1st spoke to Jose Reyes. He said Jose was excited about him coming to the Mets, and that he and Jose are friends. I hope he can help keep Jose focused this year. He also talked to Castillo. He is good friends with Castillo and seems to have made his choice of the Mets based on Castillo's recommendation. They had frequent talks about what it was like to play NL baseball, when they both played for the Twins. David Wright made a call to Johan also. He congratulated Johan and welcomed him to the Mets. David once again is showing that he is the leader of the Mets and the face of the Franchise. What I was wondering is where were the mice of the club? Johan didn't say anything about Beltran or Delgado calling him. He also didn't mention Alou' or Willie. I find that a very telling thing that major players on the team, who have a habit of disappearing from the locker room, can't take 5 minutes to call Santana. He's the most important person on that team this year, and the mice ignore him.

I've also been reading all the NY papers and seeing what kind of feelings there are out there about the signing of Johan. Most Mets fans seem to agree that this was a great signing. 6 years for $137+ million with an option for a 7th year doesn't seem to matter much. There are a few who whine about giving up 3 unproven pitchers and Gomez, but I believe they're wrong. Most of the negative comments come from Yankee fans. They seem to think that Johan is in the same league as Pavano, Brown, Johnson, Jarad Wright, and the rest of the failed Yankee pitchers. Sounds like sour grapes to me. None of the players traded for Johan would make a difference in the Mets future. Santana already has. The Mets go from a good team in the NL, to the best team in the NL. And regardless of what Guinness says, I don't see anyone in the NL with a better starting pitching staff. The only question mark on the Mets staff is where and how often El' Duque pitches. It's not a stretch to see Johan, Pedro, Maine, and Perez all get 15-20 wins this year. Who else in the NL, or AL for that matter, can say that? Arizona has Webb and Haren. Phillie has Hamels. The Yankees have who again? Oh Yea, they have Wang. LOL. The Sox have Beckett, Schilling, Dice K, and Buckholtz. They're about the only team that might get 15-20 wins from their 1-4 starters.

I really can't wait for the season to start. My father is even excited about this year. He's never been to Shea Stadium, and now he wants to go see Santana pitch this year. Maybe I'll even get to meet Guinness there.