Off Season Activity Grading

Jon Heyman of SI gives the Mets the highest grade for off season activity this year. I agree that the Mets did very well with the Santana trade/contract extension. But I think the Tigers had the best off season. Their lineup is a modern day murderers row! It looks like Ivan Rodriguez is going to be hitting ninth. Now that’s a lineup. They added Edgar Renteria and Miguel Cabrera, and don’t forget they got Dontrell Willis too.

Johan Santana is a fantastic acquisition for the Mets, but the Tigers were better this off season.

El Duque isn’t going to the Bullpen

El Duque told reporters this week that he isn’t willing to pitch in relief. He says that he signed with the Mets to be a starting pitcher. The NY Post has a recap of his comments.

My opinion is that El Duque isn’t in a position to demand anything. He pitched very well when he was healthy last year. But he isn’t healthy enough to make demands on the Mets about his role with the team.

Competition is a good thing for the Mets. El Duque and Mike Pelfrey should be fighting for the fifth spot in the rotation. There are no free rides for El Duque or anyone else.

Carlos Beltran Calls Out Jimmy Rollins

Soft spoken Carlos Beltran called out Jimmy Rollins and the Phillies. He said that with Johan Santana the Mets are the team to beat in the NL East this year. You can read about it everywhere but David Lennon at Newsday has a good account. Beltran said he doesn’t care if he gets booed in Philly either since he already gets the same treatment in Houston.

Roger Clemens, Andy Pettite, Drugs and Baseball

Unfortunately, I feel compelled to comment on today’s proceedings in DC. First, it’s a waste of time for highly paid government employees to be working on this case. Second, Clemens, Pettite, McNamee and others deserve the public shaming that they’re getting. Third, I almost wish that I didn’t know anything about the depth of steroid use in baseball.

It’s hard to decide whether Roger Clemens or Brian McNamee is a seedier character. They both seem untrustworthy. I didn’t watch the entire hearing today, but from what I did see Clemens seemed more evasive. McNamee seemed like he was more forthcoming in his answers. That’s just my gut reaction.

It’s difficult to imagine that Clemens’ wife, Andy Pettite, and Chuck Knoblauch all corroborate McNamee’s story and the lurid tales about injecting Roger Clemens are fabrications.

I’d like to think that members of Congress are exposing this public embarrassment for the purpose of educating kids that it’s wrong to take steroids. The reality is that it’s a great way for them to get their faces and names on public TV. That’s the sad motivation for us getting to see this tale of two liars play out in front of us.