Die Hard Sports Fan

I have expressed my concerns regarding the Mets already as we head into ’08.  On of my biggest concerns is this guy, Duaner Sanchez.  I was thrilled to hear that Sanchez was able to pitch today, and he didn’t give up any runs in his first outing since ‘06.  Duaner is the one player that I’m going to zone in on more than any other.  The biggest reason why the Bullpen was so much better in ‘06 then in ‘07 was primarily because of Sanchez not being there.  Bradshaw was also very successful, but Omar let him go so it’s not worth arguing that point.  It is very infrequent when pitchers come back from injuries and pitch as well as they used to.  So what we will get out of Duaner?  Your guess is as good as mine, but I’m looking forward to watching him.  If he can hold down the 8th inning like he used to then the Mets are going to have a great season.

Mets.com:

Smith aims to regain early ‘07 magic - As a Mets fan, I also want Joe Smith to regain that early ‘07 magic.  I’ve read that Smith just ran out of gas in ‘07 so he hopefully he got on a better conditioning play this offseason.

Notes: Santana leaves mark — literally - In batting practice, Carlos Beltran ended up getting hit by one of Johan Santana’s pitches in the tricep.  Beltran said “he got me pretty good.”  Marty Noble was seeking for a story and came up with this, John Maine went on the internet for the first time last week.

Newsday:

Beltran survives Santana fastball, but sidelined - David Lennon also lets you know how Beltran is feeling after getting belted by Santana in BP.  Beltran is a big boy…he’ll tough it out.

SPRING TRAINING: E-MAIL FROM PORT St. LUCIE - David Lennon reported that Santana pitched his second BP yesterday.

SPRING TRAINING: Willie carries message to Reyes’ home - David Lennon tells us about a “14-person Mets contingent that visited Reyes at his parents’ house in a village outside of Santiago” which Willie was part of.  Willie stated that “I went because I wanted to talk to him about his mind-set moving forward. We didn’t get into what happened last year.”  If 14 Mets go to DR to see Reyes then it goes to show you how important Jose is to the team.  Does anybody find it odd that they went to Reyes’ parents house?  Does Jose have his own house in DR?

Randolph in better humor for 2008 - David Lennon pointed out that Willie Randolph is smiling and cracking jokes now.  That’s all good during Spring Training, but Willie needs to crack the whip in ‘08 after the collapse.

New York Daily News:

Duaner Sanchez pitches scoreless inning in Mets’ intrasquad scrimmage - The AP reported that Duaner got to pitch as expected, and he threw a scoreless inning in his return.

John Maine is Mets’ ace in the hole - John Harper raises this question.  How good is John Maine?  Then Harper tried to get the answers to his question.

Duaner Sanchez springs into action - Sanchez was expected to pitch in a game today for the first time since ‘06.

Ex-Mets adjusting to life with Twins - Anthony McCarron lets us know how Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra are doing in Twins camp.

Carlos Beltran not ready for spring games - Adam Rubin provided the status of six Mets that will not be ready in time for the start of Spring Training.  These players are Beltran, Castillo, Chavez, Easley, Johnson, and Valentin.  All of them are suffering from leg injuries.  Also, Rubin wrote that El Duque threw his second BP.  Juan Padilla was supposed to pitch today after not pitching since having Tommy John surgery performed in March 2006.  Last, Angel Pagan swept every event to become the best athlete in camp and the first Met to do that.

New York Post:

PLEADING THE 5TH - Bart Hubbuch has the latest and greatest on that final spot in the rotation.

MINAYA’S BRAND OF BASEBALL - Mike Vaccaro lets you know what kind of GM he thinks Omar is.

FROM BELTRAN TO WELT-RAN - Bart Hubbuch also provided the details about Beltran getting belted by Santana.

New York Times:

The Skinny on the Mets’ New Reliever? Great Changeup, Bad Luck - Ben Shpigel tells the story of Matt Wise.

The Star-Ledger:

Citi Field Logo: Thoughts? - Yesterday, Jeremy Cothran was very excited about seeing the Citi Field logo.  He has a picture of it and it is ugly.

Don’t Call It a Comeback - Matthew Artus wrote about the return of Sanchez.

No rush to play ailing players - Jeremy Cothran also covered the injured Mets.

Mets pitcher regains control of his career - Jeremy Cothran also discusses Wise.

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Right before Super Bowl Sunday, the Mets signed Johan Santana which got me really excited about ‘08.  The Giants won the Super Bowl and I was on cloud 9 ever since.  Well, I’m no longer riding that high.  Since I came back down to Earth, concerns about the Mets began popping up in my head.  The collapse still bothers me.  The majority of the team is still in tact.  The challenge is on those players to bounce back.  The optimist in me thinks that have to feel horrible inside which will make them come out with a chip on their shoulders this year.  The pessimest in me thinks that if they couldn’t do it last season, how are they going to do it this season?

These are the players in the lineup that I’m concerned about: Reyes, Castillo, Beltran, Delgado, Church, and Shneider.  All offseason, I was hoping that the Mets would release a statement on what happened to Reyes.  I didn’t know if he was injured, if he was being a baby, or if he was in a slump.  If he wasn’t injured, I felt like he should’ve been included in the Santana deal.  Once Reyes reported to Spring Training, he stated that he was in a slump.  The timing of his slump was horrible, and he didn’t play well in the Playoffs in ‘06 either.  Reyes needs to play well down the strecth and in the Playoffs.  Castillo couldn’t even walk to the batters box last year so I’m very worried about his performance this year and for 3 years beyond that.   I never felt like Castillo was that good anyway, except when he was really young.  Beltran is still hurt.  He was very inconsistent last year due to injuries.  Carlos needs to work on that.  Delgado was bored in a season when he had a career low average…go figure.  He reinvented his swing so we will need to keep an eye on how that works out for him.  I don’t know anything about Church.  Supposedly he struggles against lefties, and his average isn’t that good anyway.  Schneider also doesn’t have a good average.  Defense should be the strength of this unit.

Regarding the starting rotation, I feel confident.  The only thing that concerns me about Santana is the transition to New York.  I feel like Pedro should be near the back of the rotation.  I don’t think he will be healthy all year so Maine and Oli should pitch ahead of Pedro in order to keep consistency in the rotation.  El Duque or Pelfrey will fill that final spot.  I’m not too fond of either one of them.  El Duque barely has anything left, but once in a blue he throws a gem.  Pelfrey is as young as El Duque is as old.  With that said, Pelfrey only throws a gem once in a blue as well.

The Bullpen has plenty to prove.  Omar added a ton of people to the pen in the offseason.  The entire Bullpen needs to step it up from long relief to middle relief to the closer.

Mets.com:

Notes: Martinez’s bold prediction - Anthony DiComo provided some quick hits:

• Fernando Martinez was quoted as saying “This year, you’ll see me.”  Martinez believes that he will get some playing time with the Mets this year.
• Peterson had Pedro throw with his eyes closed again today.
• Later this week, Wagner is set to have a cyst removed from the front of the base of his neck.
• The salary-arbitration case with Oli is still pending.
• “The Mets have already sold more than two million advance tickets for the final season at Shea Stadium.”

Newsday:

Wilpon expects Mets to go ‘deep into the playoffs’ - Those are the words of Fred Wilpon according to Ken Davidoff.  My expectations are just as high.

Pedro, Fernando create buzz at Mets camp

Delgado has got Beltran’s back

Contract year could spark Delgado, Mets

Notebook: Bad ankle is Endy’s latest issue - This guy went from ‘The Catch’ to injury prone.  I wish he could get healthy and contribute.

Hagin brings experience to Mets radio

Former Mets traded for Santana see new opportunity - The AP lets us know how all of the players traded to the Twins for Santana are doing.  Those players were Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey, Deolis Guerra, and Carlos Gomez.

E-mail from Port St. Lucie - David Lennon lets us what the preferred choice of wheels is for Mets players in Port St. Lucie.

New York Daily News:

Carlos Delgado vows to bounce back

Who was ‘bored’? Not 2007 Mets - After one of the longest offseason in Mets’ history, Carlos Delgado suggested that he never said that they were ‘bored’ in 2007.  To be honest you, it is the only quote I remember from the collapse.  I remember everybody except these 3 players being ‘bored’ in September: Alou, Wright, and Green.  Green is gone, and most of those ‘bored’ players are back for another year…go figure.

New York Post:

HOPING FOR RELIEF - Mike Vaccaro believes that it’s time for Duaner Sanchez to give the bullpen a boost.

ENDY SEES WINNER IN SANTANA - Endy said “a guarantee for us to make the playoffs”.  Further down in the article, Bart Hubbuch switched topics.  Delgado took some shots at Jose Canseco.

DELGADO ‘FOCUSED’ ON TURNING THINGS AROUND

New York Times:

Long Shot for Reliever Better Than Having No Shot - Ben Shpigel tells the story of Steven Register.

Owner Confident This Year Could Be Mets’ Year at Last

Delgado Uses Off-Season to Rebuild His Swing

The Star-Ledger:

A week for proclamations - Lisa Kennelly pointed out the quote from Fred Wilpon which was “It’s a championship season, we expect to be in the playoffs, and deep into the playoffs. That’s our expectation.”

Delgado Fights Off Brushback Season - Matthew Artus breaks down Delgado’s swing.

Aging Delgado armed with brand-new swing

Chavez over ankle, hamstring injuries

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