Thoughts on Game #1

My quick hits on spring training game #1 vs Nationals:

1. I was really impressed with Josh Thole. He had said all offseason he worked on his stance and keeping the same one. He had said last season his stance would change often. it seemed to me that was a big difference as he made several good throws from behind the plate and threw out a runner. His throws seemed to hit the same target at second base.

2. Andres Torres, that was the Torres we know from 2010. Hitting .212 & .321 OBP like he did in 2011 is not going to cut it and will bring Kirk he sooner rather than later. Last night he got on base and STOLE ON THE FIRST PITCH! When was the last time Reyes did that? A good sign since Sandy values OBP from his leadoff hitter.

3. Matt Harvey was definitely nervous. He once stated he struggles when he gets promoted to each level due to nervous and being excited. It was nice to see him induce the double play last night to get out of the jam and give up no runs. After giving up 3 hits and hitting a batter, goot to see him settle down and get out of the inning when he almost got yanked.

4. Daniel Murphy will be adequate at 2nd base. He was good enough at first a few years back. his problem is he is very aggressive and needs to work on his footwork. He does a good job with the DP ball but just the footwork is the issue there. I do not see him making errors due to bone headed moves or plays AKA Angel Pagan.

Judge Rakoff ruled today that the trustee was entitled to collect up to $83 million in fictitious profits from the Wilpons. This clears the way for a jury trial on March 19 in which the Wilpons could be on the hook for an additional $300 million.

Even as Jude Rakoff denied a bid by the Mets’ owners to dismiss the remaining counts against them, Rakoff said he was “skeptical” that the trustee, Irving H. Picard, can prove that the Wilpons acted in bad faith.

If they appeal Rakoff’s ruling, they will have to post a bond worth 110 percent of the monetary damages. If the figure is as much as $83 million, they would have to come up with $91 million.

It remains to be seen how the Wilpons can come up with $91 million when they twice have asked MLB for an extension of a $25 million loan and thias offseason borrowed an additional  $40 million from BOA. I personally do not understand the total financial ramifications the Wilpons are in but if Wilpons must pay an additional $91 million plus anywhere near close to another $300 million don't you figure the Wilpons are finished?

I would just caution fans who want the wilpons out that the grass isnt always greener on the other side. There are some horrific owners out there like Dan Snyder of the redskins and Steven Ross of the Dolphins. The Wilpons when they did not have these financial problems did spend maybe not wisely but did spend a lot. Obviously the farm system was ingored and  money was not allocated in the correct way but there sare some really bad owners in sports. I much rather would have the Wilpons own the team than Donald Sterling of the LA Clippers.

AJ Burnett/Johan Santana

Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett will undergo surgery on Friday to repair a fractured right orbital bone. AJ injured himself participating in bunting drills. Pirates have not announced an immediate time table for his return.

Johan Santana faced live batters today for the first time this spring. He threw 43 pitches to several mets hitters including sitting down for four plus minutes to simulate innings. He is scheduled to long toss over the weekend then pitch against the cardinals March 06, Tuesday. Santana said he threw his fastball and changeup and felt good. Johan also stated he is not worried about velocity or hitters. Just about feeling good at this point.

Pudge to mets?

In a post on twitter, Mike Puma of the NY Post reports as recently as 10 days ago the mets spoke to Pudge and have not ruled out signing him as a backup catcher but before they spend the roughly $2 million in their budget the mets want to make sure Johan is healthy in case they need to spend the $ on a starting pitcher. This is great news and I hope they can sign pudge. He plays hard, would be a good veteran presence & a good influence on Thole. Obviously he is at the end of his career but it would be a great move.

Fred Wilpon Comments

Today Fred Wilpon spoke to the media and had a lengthy, about 22 minute long chat in which he made several statements which make me angry.

Let me begin by saying I do believe in the quote "the grass isnt always greener on the other side." If the Wilpons did sell the team, yes they could sell to a total idiot like Dan Snyder or Donald Sterling. I get that. But this charade has gone on long enough. It is completely obvious that the Wilpons can no longer afford to own the team and run it like anything but the Kansas City Royals. I do not expect the team to have a $150 million payroll every year but I sure as hell expect the team to be able to afford player who make more than $2 million per year which right now they cannot even afford that.

Fred made some of the following statements and these quotes are from ESPNNY.com:

"We're OK," said Wilpon, who has been stung by the Ponzi scheme involving Bernard Madoff, in response to a question about his finances.---------------------------------------------->

Yea they are ok but that is why they have twice asked MLB for an extension on the $25 million loan and this offseason they had to take out a $40 million bridge loan.

"They shouldn't be concerned about us owning the franchise, because we intend to own the franchise for a very long time," Wilpon said about his message to fans.

Notice Freddie says the word "INTEND."

Wright is under the team's control through 2013, including a team option. Wilpon said it will be a baseball-operations decision whether he ultimately signs an extension, walks away as a free agent or is traded beforehand.

So if Wright does not stay with the team it has nothing to do with finances it will be a baseball operations decision? OK WHATEVER ASSHOLE!

As for his future, Wilpon said: "As long as I can, I plan to be the owner here."

LOL Again notice he says "as long as I can."


Just absoultely a bunch of lies IMO and just ridiculous statements.

All has arrived in mets camp

Now that everyone has arrived we can get down to the business of baseball. The issue of why Tejada was late is over and done with. I think if Tejada works hard, is in shape and shows a commitment he will be ok. Some mets players have been upset with Tejada not showing up early but now it is up to Tejada to show his commitment and all can be forgiven. There are obviously still one major off field issue that is the Wilpons trial scheduled to start March 19 and last a few weeks. I do not think this is a distraction as the mets players all know they need to step up. All have something to prove. As Sandy Alderson said, no one had a career year last year. There is room for improvement by all. Some are trying to come back from injuries and some are underperforming. This is a team that won 77 games last year despite trading KRod & Beltran at midseason, lost Ike for 5 months, Bay had another terrible year & DW for 2 months. I personally like the upgrade defensively at CF with Torres & a full season from Duda, who hopefully can keep his solid 2nd half going for a full year. I don't see any reason why mets cannot win 77 if not more games in 2012. What do you think?

Mets to honor Gary Carter

To honor Gary Carter, the Mets will wear a number ’8′ over the home plate cutout on their jerseys, according to David Lennon of Newsday. Lennon says the 8 will be placed on the jersey ‘sooner rather than later’ and will be placed on their Spring Training jersey as well.