It’s great to start reading the columns and stories about the Mets that arrive early to camp in Port St. Lucie. Not only do I start to think of how this ugly winter will soon be over but how the ghosts of the last two Mets seasons may disappear. Like they never happened.
27 blown saves. 1 blown managerial firing. The 2009 season will wash that away with a roar into the playoffs. I hope.
The first few days this week we’ve learned a few things. Johan Santana feels fine after his minor offseason knee surgery. But he likely won’t be representing Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. Classic… what a ridiculous name.
Brian Schneider won’t be representing the U.S. in the WBC. Jose Valentin will be back on a minor league contract. I have a feeling that it won’t be long until he’s managing a team in the Mets organization. He seems like a solid leader.
Maybe most importantly Scott Schoenweiss, Aaron Heilman, and Joe Smith won’t be in Port St. Lucie this year. Heilman and Schoenweiss couldn’t come back after last season. 27 blown saves and now the bullpen has been blown up.
J.J. Putz and K-Rod will be here. Get ready for some “Gasolina” and some “Thunderstruck“. It’s a mostly new bullpen expecting all-new results.
Oh, by the way we haven’t learned of any Mets testing positive for anything yet. Maybe we can have a quiet spring training and get ready to take down the World Series champion Phillies.
Photo courtesy of alpineinc
The Mets Report 