Category: Latest News

John Franco Returns To Coach Mets

John FrancoSeveral media outlets are reporting that Johnny Franco will be back in a Mets uniform during the week of March 8th in Port St. Lucie. He’ll be doing a guest coaching gig for the week. It’s great to see Johnny come back, since he left the Mets after 2004 with some ill-will toward the team. He wanted to play one more year but the Mets didn’t see him as a fit.It turned out to be a good decision as he pitched in 31 games for the Astros in 2005 to a 7.20 ERA.

Franco is #4 all-time in saves and was the last team captain that the Mets had. He’s a tremendous leader evidenced by becoming a team captain as a relief pitcher. Generally, pitchers aren’t team leaders. It’s usually everyday players. Especially for a relief pitcher to become a captain is very impressive.

I’ve heard Johnny on WFAN occasionally and he does a decent job. But he should bring some terrific knowledge to the table for the Mets pitchers.

Photo courtesy of slgckgc

Phillies’ Rollins Ends Mets Talk

Jimmy RollinsPhiladelphia Philles shortstop Jimmy Rollins spoke to reporters yesterday at spring training in Clearwater, Florida. Among other topics he discussed, he said that his World Series hardware will put an end to his talk about the Mets.

The Mets and Phillies have engaged in a three year war of words. And the Phillies have come out on top in the standings for the last two seasons. Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes have continued the verbal sparring this spring, mentioning their disdane for Cole Hamels calling the Mets “choke artists” during a radio interview in December.

From SI.com:

It has been pretty funny just to hear it going on and on and on,” Rollins said. “I sit there and I laugh and say, ‘This is still going on. They’re still rolling with that?

It’s going to be a fun game any time we play them,” Rollins said. “But I guess when Cole is pitching, they are going to step it up and, of course, we are going to stand up for Cole, so that is going to force us to step it up. But that just brings out the best in both teams. We’re going to win, but it definitely will bring out the best in both teams.

I have to say that I’m surprised we haven’t seen the war of words spill out onto the field over the last few years. There haven’t been any bean ball wars that escalated the situation. Hopefully, it’ll stay that way. Now that the Phillies are the world champs they can rest on that without engaging with the Mets this season.

Luis Castillo Arrives At Mets 2009 Spring Training

Luis CastilloThe goat of the 2008 Mets team arrived in camp today. He’s been working out all winter at the Mets academy in the Dominican Republic. According to Newday’s David Lennon, Castillo declared himself “a new man”.

That has yet to be seen. But Castillo sure has something to prove this season. Lennon reports that Castillo lost 17 pounds over the winter, which is a good start. He looked like a little meatball last season with gimpy knees. He’s listed at 5′ 11″ but he looks more like 5′ 9″ to me. Lennon writes that Castillo played at 210 pounds last season. That’s ridiculous for a guy his size. Apparently, there isn’t a weight clause in his Mets contract.

The worst thing about seeing Castillo show up at spring training is knowing that Orlando Hudson still hasn’t signed with a team. What a shame that the Mets’ hands are tied by Castillo’s contract. It was reported months ago that Castillo contacted Omar Minaya begging not to be traded and promising to get into shape. Well, now’s the time to prove it. Because if Orlando Hudson shows up at Citi Field ten times this season in a Washington Nationals uniform, it’ll be hard for us Mets fans to watch.

After playing in only 87 games last season and hitting 47 points below his career average, Castillo needs to have a monster season or he’s gone after 2009. Minaya won’t stand for another season out of him like last year. He’s starting his second chance.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

Power Rankings: Mets Start 2009 At #7

7I’m not saying that I agree with it, because I don’t, but Larry Dobrow of CBS Sports put out his first MLB power rankings today and listed the Mets at #7. There are some egregious errors on here like having the D-Backs ahead of the Mets on the list.

But I agree with the Phillies and Yankees and 1 and 2 respectively. The Phillies are the defending champs. How could you start them anywhere else? They deserve the top spot… for now. And the Yankees have added some incredible talent this offseason: Sabathia, Burnett, and Teixeira. They’ve got a big-time roster.

The Indians are ranked too high at #9 and the Marlins are too low at #18. The Marlins are going to be in it until the end. I hear that Hanley Ramirez has bulked up this offseason with some visible muscle. He could very well be the NL MVP this season. He can carry that team.

The biggest disagreement that I have with Dobrow is that he has the Nationals at #24. There’s no way that they should be ranked higher than the Royals, Rockies, and Astros. Maybe they’re better than the Padres and Mariners. Maybe. I assumed before I finished reading the list that the Pirates and Nationals would be at the bottom of the list.

What do you think of the list? Comment below.

Mets, Livan Hernandez Agree To One Year Contract

Livan HernandezNews is breaking from Christian Red of the Daily News this morning that the Mets have signed another potential starter/long man/minor leaguer in the form of Livan Hernandez. There were rumors last season that Omar Minaya was looking at Hernandez but never pulled the trigger. It comes one season too late for El Duque and Livan to be able to play together.

Hernandez will be 34 years old next week and he’s listed at 6’2″ 220 pounds. But he looks more like 240 pounds to me. He’s got a bad body and really hasn’t pitched very well since the 2005 season with Montreal. He was waived by Arizona last season and picked up by Colorado in August.

His contract is a minor league deal for 1-year/$1 million plus $1 million in incentives. My guess is that he spends most, if not all, of the season at Triple-A Buffalo. He’ll be a third level insurance policy in case there are catastrophic break downs in the bullpen or the fifth starter spot.

Mets Players Begin Arriving In Florida

David Wright

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

Mets Re-Sign Oliver Perez To Three Year Deal

Oliver PerezMedia outlets are reporting the Mets re-signed starting pitcher Oliver Perez to a 3-year/$36 million contract. The native of Mexico will be 28 years old in August. Perez has been with the Mets since being traded at the deadline in 2006 with Roberto Hernandez for Xavier Nady.

Perez is 26-20 since he joined the Mets and is noted for his high ceiling and inconsistency. He did seem to flourish last season after pitching coach Rick Peterson was fired and Dan Warthen took over the coaching duties. He went 6-2 after Warthen took over in June.

It’s nice to see that Mets GM Omar Minaya is keeping the length of contracts to pitchers to a minimum. By signing Perez and Francisco Rodriguez this offseason to three year contracts the Mets are able to maintain financial flexibility by not locking into long term contracts.

Flickr photo courtesy of slgckgc

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