So you start off pitching well, but the second you falter you get canned. The Mets released Alay Soler this afternoon. You can’t try to deny the fact that it was as much a money move as it was performance based. The Mets wrote him off last year and Soler wasn’t in the Mets future plans. He would have had to thrown virtually hitless innings before he would even be considered for a spot in the rotation; he never had  a chance.

Shawn Green Homered in this afternoon’s game. From what I heard, a lot of the guys held a hitting "intervention" for him last wednesday, and it seems to have lit a spark in him.

Park or Pelfrey? I think this ones gonna go down to the wire. In the end I think it will be Park, but it sure will be nice if Pelfrey was on the roster opening day. Though when you consider the fact that the Mets wont use a 5th starter until mid-april, they may just leave Pelfrey behind to get a start or two and not ride the pine for half a month.

Mike Carp has put up some awesome numbers thus far. Where exactly would he fit in with the Mets long term however. An interesting fact, In Mike’s 5 rbi game a week or so ago, when up with the bases loaded he hit a bases clearing double, The combined age of the runners he knocked in… 128! (Franco,48 Alou, 40 Alomar, 40) When you consider the fact that Carp is only 20 years old, it kind of boggles your mind.

I dont know why everyone is Comparing side-armer Joe Smith to Chad Bradford, He throws more like Pedro Feliciano, from the right side, than he does Bradford.

Last night, while at Target, I was ******** into the Topps marketing ploy and bought 3 packs of the 2007 set in hopes to pull one of those nifty Derek Jeter cards. I opened the third pack, and there it was. I was excited at first, until I realized that I used all my luck up on the stupid card and lost my chance at 370 million dollars in mega millions.

So it looks as though Carlos Delgado believes Shawn Green can hit 40 homers again. Wishful thinking on his part, I suppose. Green needs to get his swing in order, because Lastings Milledge is tearing it up this spring and the Mets won’t bring him north if he’s not gonna start.

David Newhan has had a good spring thus far and seems as if he’ll fit right into the role that Chris Woodward vacated by signing with Atlanta.

I dunno if I like the way Willie’s been tinkering with batting David Wright second in the order. Not the David couldn’t handle the two spot, but it’s gonna diminish his RBI opporunities. In all likelihood he’ll be back in the five spot by opening day, I’m sure Willie’s just experimenting for now. Godforbid Lo Duca goes down for an extended period of time and we need him to hit there.

The pitching has been up and down thus far, with everyone still working out the kinks. I think Alay Soler has been the biggest surprise thus far, not just with his trimmed up frame. Noone really mentioned his name while talking about the starting rotation, and still don’t, but he’ll be an excellent addition to the bullpen if he keeps it up. Especially if Jorge Sosa keeps giving up the long bombs like he has been.

Oliver Perez had a rough outing in the first game but seemed to bounce back well in his second start. Joe Smith and Ambiorix Burgos have also looked good out of the bullpen thus far. I don’t like the way Philip Humber got roughed up but hopefully he’ll bounce back as well. He’s really a long shot to make the team anyway, but it’d be nice for him to show the guys in spring training what he’s capable of.

Aside from the Mets, I’ve been really impressed with Andrew Miller, from Detroit thus far. Being a big UNC sports fan may have something to do with it. Although he’s not as tall, his delivery just screams Randy Johnson at you. It looks slow and methodical but before you know it,the ball is in the catchers glove.

It’s only Spring Training, and I know the games don’t mean much of anything, but still it’s what I look foward to all winter long. The Mets kick off the Grapefruit league today at 1 and Oliver Perez will get the call.

For the past week in a half, you still remain a little bit in denial about that the season has actually kicked off. Living in the cold upstate New York will do that to you, but seeing the guys on TV today will be the proof that you need to believe the season is just around the corner.

What can we expect? Maybe one or two regulars for a few innings? It doesn’t really matter, Baseball is back! Now if only I could melt all this **** snow!

How do you go about improving on a major league leading 97 wins in 2006? For most teams, one would think not much, but with as many question marks the Mets had in their rotation at the end of 2006, a lot could have been done. Unfortunately, not much was.

Not that they didn’t try, I think many fans were counting on Barry Zito arriving at spring training in a Mets uniform. The winning atmosphere, a familiar pitching coach, a great city, all things Mets fans thought would surely lure Zito to New York. Unfortunately, our minds forgot that we live in an age in which a player would rather play for a few more dollars then play for a contending ball club.

We added a decent, Right-hand hitting, aging Left fielder to replace our Left-hand hitting, and aging Left fielder. Moises Alou will hit better than Cliff Floyd did last season, but will probably see some time on the DL this season. He’ll be another threat against left hand pitching and provide David Wright with some protection in the 6th spot in the lineup.

One of Omar’s top priorities for the off season should have been re-signing relief pitcher Chad Bradford. Though the lure of a three year contract sent him packing for Baltimore, who spent much of the offseason bolstering their bullpen. The Mets added Ambiorix Burgos from Kansas City and should plug the hole left by Bradford. Jorge Sosa, although fighting for a spot in the rotation, would best be served in the long relief role that Darren Oliver heldlast season. One should hope that Duaner Sanchez returns from his season ending taxi ride in 2006 and performs as well as he did before his injury and that Guillermo Mota’s late season performance wasn’t the result of the Steroids that cost him his 50-game suspension

  The Mets will have to get by with what they have as far as the starting rotation is concerned. We can only hope that Glavine and El duque stay healthy throughout the entire season. It’s asking for a lot though from two 40+ year old starting pitchers. As much as Mets fans want to see Mike Pelfrey and/or Philip Humber start the year in New York, they’ll be better off starting the season off in New York’s new AAA home, New Orleans. John Maine proved last year, with his 26 inning scoreless streak, that he could hold his own in the middle of the rotation. The bottom of the rotation however is currently up in the air. Oliver Perez showed signs, with his game seven performance, that he could be the top caliber major league pitcher that he was first thought to be. The Mets hope to catch lightning in a bottle with either Jason Vargas or Chan Ho Park to round out the rotation.

If the Mets don’t have their starting pitching situation straightened out by late June, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Lastings Milledge packing his bags and heading somewhere else. I don’t think that the organization has given up on Milledge to the point that they’re looking to get rid of him, but if they’re a pitcher away, and one becomes available, they may just pull the trigger.

In a prediction that is sure to go wrong, simply because I made it, the Mets will drop a little bit from last year and only win 95 games. Ok, not that much of a drop off, but they’ll be a much stronger fight put up by the Phillies this season as opposed to last. We’ll win the division again and the Phillies may have a shot at the wild card, turning in their own 90 win season. Other than the Phills, the Mets don’t have much opposition in the NL East. Atlanta’s division leading days are done, Florida is still young and trying to put the winning pieces together, and poor Manny Acta down in DC, the Nationals don’t have a chance.