Mets blow lead and end trip on sour note

The New York Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 5-3 this evening. They led 3-0 mostly with the help of poor defense by the Cardinals. John Maine pitched better but once again his pitch count was up to 115 in 5 innings. He gave up a 3 run homerun to Colby Rasmus in the 5th inning. The Mets offense once again was no where to be found. They didn't do anything with Adam Wainwright after scoring 3 runs. They had 4 hits all game and they just haven't been able to get it going offensively. Jason Bay has started off bad and Jeff Francoeur after being so hot has not had a hit in the last 2 games. Jose Reyes is still in spring training mode and although Wright has hit a couple of homeruns he isn't doing much either. The Mets are expected to call up super 1st base prospect Ike Davis tomorrow and see if that injects some life into them. If they don't win on this homstand the manager will get fired and maybe even the general manager. The question is who would come in to take over. The rumblings right now are Bob Melvin or Bobby Valentine. If Valentine comes in then most likely it would be a whole new staff including general manger but if it is Melvin then maybe Omar Minaya will buy some time. It will be a interesting week and the Mets better get some wins.

Regular Season Game 10-Rangers at Yankees

The New York Yankees will take on the Texas Rangers in game 1 of a 3 game series. This game is weather permitting as their are thunderstorms in the forecast and a 80 percent chance of rain. I looked outside and it is dark out there. Here are the lineups and some notes for the game if it is played tonight. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Johnson(DH) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Thames(LF) Granderson(CF) Cervelli(C) CC Sabathia is starting opposite C.J. Wilson for the Rangers. The Yankees are 6-3 which is their best 9 game start since 2003 when they were 8-1. They won their first 3 series for first time since 2003. Robinson Cano completed his 5th multi homerun game last night. Granderson tripled twice in same game for 5th time in his career. Cano and Jeter have both hit safely in first 9 games, the last yankees teammates to do that were Jeter and Matsui in 2006. No Yankees teammates have ever done it in the first 10 games. Yesterdays game marked the first time a yankee had 2 homeruns and another had 2 triples in the same game since 4/24/60 when Elston Howard and Tony Kubeck did it. Joe Girardi needs 2 more wins for 200 in his career as a manager. Jeter is 2 doubles shy of tying Don Mattingly with 442 for 3rd on alltime Yankees list.

New York Mets Recap and Postgame Notes

The New York Mets defeated the St. Louis Cardinals at Tradition Field by the score of 6-5 today. The starting pitcher was Fernando Nieve and he pitched 3 innings giving up 5 hits and 2 runs. He also walked 1 and didn't strike out a batter. The offensive star was Angel Pagan who hit a 2 run walkoff homerun for the victory. Here is how the other players performed. Pitching wise Jon Niese was the worst of who pitched today. His line was: 3 innings giving up 4 hits and 3 runs, only 2 were earned and he did strike out a couple. Sean Green, Pat Misch and Francisco Rodriguez all pitched scoreless innings. K-rod had a perfect inning with a strikeout in his debut. Sean Green walked 2 batters but didn't give up a hit and Pat Misch had a walk but gave up no hits. Luis Castillo had a hit, Ruben Tejada had 2 hits and a rbi. David Wright and Mike Jacobs each had a hit and Jason Bay and Fernando Martinez each had 2 hits. Fernando Martinez also had 2 rbi. Jeff Francoeur had a hit, rbi and walk. Francisco Rodriguez was sporting new goggles and told Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News after the game he has to get used to them. According to Gary Cohen Fernando Martinez will start the season in the minors. He said this during todays broadcast and said that GM Omar Minaya said this.

Recap of the day in Mets Camp

Jenrry Mejia threw live batting practice today. He was wild but Jerry Manuel was impressed with the natural cut on his fastball. Jon Niese and R.A. Dickey also threw batting practice and according to SNY producer Matt Dunn, Niese was happy to just be throwing again. The team had a media training this morning and Darryl Strawberry, John Franco and Mookie Wilson all spoke during the meeting. The Mets announced their will be a interleague game on Monday and Nelson Figueroa will open the grapefruit league on Tuesday. Arturo Lopez has cleared waivers and will return to camp as a non roster invitee. Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News is reporting the Mets have made an offer to lefty reliever Joe Beimel. Top prospect Ike Davis is drawing a lot of buzz around camp. Jerry Manuel said today he envisions a opening day lineup of Angel Pagan, Luis Castillo,Jose Reyes,Jason Bay, David Wright, Daniel Murphy, Jeff Francouer and Rod Barajas. He said he could flip flop Bay and Wright. He said he thinks Ike Davis would best be served down in the minors. I agree with this you don't want to rush the kid, he is the first baseman of the future, you have to be patient with him and let him develop. He also said he thought Luis Castillo had a good year last year despite the dropped pop up agains the Yankees and expects him to be good this year. To see some video and photos of todays action in Port St. Lucie visit here

Down in Port St. Lucie

The New York Mets held their first official full squad workout today. Here are some of the highlights. The team had a meeting with the coaches this morning and then hit the field for the workout. The workout was focused on running the bases and defensive fundamentals. Johan Santana threw a side session and Oliver Perez, John Maine,Mike Pelfrey and Fernando Nieve all threw batting practice. Jerry Manuel talked about last year and how you have to move on. He said the team is more angry then embarrassed about last season but they have to put it behind them and move on. He said that K-rod has pink eye and is not with the team. Manuel spoke about David Wright and said he was impressed with his batting practice session today. Jerry Manuel said that Citi Field didn't have a negative impact on David Wrights power it was just one of those years. I don't buy that at all, I think he changed his swing because of the field and then got all out of whack and it just led to a down year. Jerry Manuel said he didn't get to see Oliver Perez bullpen but heard he was outstanding and this was his best yet. Jerry Manuel believes that Perez has made a concious effort to be mentally and physically ready this year. If you want to see some good pictures and some videos of the days events down in Port St. Lucie then go to http://metsblog.com This is Matthew Cerrones great Mets blog and he is down in Port St. Lucie with the team, he has videos and pictures and lots of good information so make sure you go and check it out.

A Year Later and A Different A-rod

Alex Rodriguez was under a tent last year in Tampa admitting his steroid use. He went through a very difficult press conference and then had to go to Colorado to have surgery and rehab his hip. He came back to the Yankees on May 8th and was a different person buying into the team concept. He went on to become a World Series Champion and playoff hero and now he was under the tent again this year in a very different press conference. Today was all about how last year was, how he has changed. He said he will continue to do the things he did last year and just focus on baseball. He said the taste of being a champion only leaves him hunger for more. Here are some of the quotes from his press conference today " I kind of divorced myself from the idea of numbers." This is what he said on Johnny Damon "I was just crossing my fingers, hoping he would come back." This is what he said about Derek Jeter " He was born to be a Yankee." The full audio of the press conference can be found at http://yankees.lhblogs.com/ It can also be heard at http://mlb.com/ and http://yankees.com/ The springs first live batting practices were today and basically the pitchers called out the pitches and location and for the most part the hitters just stood there. Here are the pitchers who threw batting practice and the 2 groups they were in. Field 1: Chad Guadin, Sergio Mitre,Jon Albaladejo, Royce Ring, Grant Duff and Arias Field 2: Alfredo Aceves,Jason Hirsch,Dave Robertson,Segovia,Sanchez and Sanit. They tried to mix up the outfield assignments for instance both Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson were in LF. Ramiro Pena was at second. CC Sabathia will start the second spring training game. One of the 5th starter candidates will start the opener and it won't be Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes according to Joe Girardi. He made that announcement today so it will be Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre or Alfredo Aceves.

Weekend Notes from Yankees Camp

Javier Vazquez asked to throw on Sunday and was allowed to do so. I know you may ask why I am saying that well all the Yankees starters have been held back because of their workloads last season. He said though that he was throwing in Puerto Rico and hadn't thrown in about a week and a half and wanted to get back out there. There wasn't much excitement in camp on Sunday, it was expected that Johnny Damon would be a hot topic but there wasn't much said about him signing yesterday for 1 year and 8 million with the Detroit Tigers. The people that did speak about him like Joe Girardi wished him well. I still think that he overplayed his hand and should of come back to the Yankees for 2 years but that is his fault. Almost all of the pitchers have now thrown 2 bullpens and with the exception of Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes are up to 40 pitches. They have only been throwing fastballs and changeups but will now start throwing their breaking pitches. Chad Jennings heard a lot of good things about Andrew Brackman who was one of the Yankees top picks a couple of years ago. Nardi Contreras who is the roving pitching instructor had some good things to say. If you want to check out more on that you can visit http://yankees.lhblogs.com. Brett Gardner was in the clubhouse for a little while today and sat talking with relief pitcher Kevin Whelan. It is not known what they were discussing. The pitchers who threw today were in Group 1 Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Javier Vazquez and Edwar Ramirez. Group 2 was Mark Melancon, Boone Logan, Mosely and Christian Garcia. Group 3 was Kei Igawa, Zach McAllister, Ivan Nova and Kevin Whelan. The last group was Jeremy Bleich, Andrew Brackman, Mitchell and Noesi. The position players are reporting on Tuesday and then Wednesday is the first full squad workout. March 3rd is the first game so things will start heating up after tomorrow and there will be more news coming out of Tampa. It has been very quiet for the Yankees but that should be expected after a World Series Championship and not much else going on.

New York Mets Notes from Florida

The New York Mets had some news coming out of florida today. According to the Star Ledger of NJ Brian Costa who talked to GM Omar Minaya today he said that Henry Blanco would be the backup and the starters job would come down to either Josh Thole or Omir Santos. The 23 year old Thole hit 321 with 3 extra base hits in 17 games for the Mets last season. It looks like they were impressed with how he handled the pitchers. I think the best thing for him would be to go down to AAA and get some more seasoning in before coming up to the majors later on in the year but with this being the Mets who knows what they will do. Jose Reyes had a informal workout today and there is some video of him on Matt Cerrone http://metsblog.com/. He was at tradition field where he did agility drills, jogging, batting practice and fielded ground balls. He said this " I have been doing so much of my rehab without the team, but now to be back with my team is really exciting. I feel like a little kid bro." He said that he has nothing to be afraid of that " I am able to do everything that I want to do." Mike Jacobs and Daniel Murphy worked together fielding ground balls at first base. Mike Jacobs also took batting practice in front of hitting coach Howard Johnson.

Where will the Damon story end?

The New York Yankees and Johnny Damon seemingly came to a bitter end with a painful divorce the other day. The Yankees signed Randy Winn and confirmed that Damon would not be coming back. The thing is usually when you have a bitter parting of ways there is anger, resentment, talking bad about each other etc. GM Brian Cashman was on the Yankees Hot Stove Show last night on the Yes Network and said that he wanted Damon back but it just didn't work out, he said he just hopes wherever he winds up it isn't for what he could of stayed a Yankee for. Johnny Damon was on WFAN this afternoon with Mike Francessa and said his heart is in NY and even floated the idea of returning to the Yankees in midseason via a trade. He said if not by a trade then maybe resigning with them at a later date. I just don't understand this whole thing. If both sides really wanted each other then they should of made it work. I am not one of those that thinks this is devestating for the Yankees. I like Johnny Damon a lot, I always have but they have gotten younger and they are much better defensively. Damon was not a good outfielder, had a terrible arm and runners took the extra base on him constantly. The good of Damon was he is a clutch player, he is fast and his swing was ideal for the New Yankee Stadium. He will not be the same player on another team, you watch and see his power numbers go down. I think the Yankees with Granderson in left and Gardner in center and Winn as the 4th outfielder are much better defensively. The Yankees are more versatile also as Winn can play all 3 outfield positions. He doesn't have any power compared to Damon but last year was his worst year and in other areas like speed and batting avg he is pretty comparable. He is a much better defender then Damon especially in the corner outfield positions. The comments on sports talk radio today and also on the internet are amazing. There are people so upset over this that they are threatening to not renew their season tickets. I think this is going a little overboard, I undertand that fans are upset but the Yankees are probably a better team right now then last season even without Johnnny Damon. This is a team that will be fine offensively and be better pitching wise and defensively. I know it is hard to say a World Championship team can get any better but in my mind they are and will be tough to beat next year. The Yankees know what they are doing and are going to be fine, they actually had a budget for once and stuck to it and you can't fault them for that. It will be interesting to see where Johnny Damon ends up, in the end best of luck to him and hopefully he won't regret his decision.

New York Mets mini camp

The New York Mets started a 3 day optional mini-camp today in Port St. Lucie,Florida. Oliver Perez, Johan Santana, John Maine, Daniel Murphy and others were there. Johan Santana and Oliver Perez will begin throwing off a mound tomorrow. Johan Santana remains a optimistic person and had this to say. " I believe, if we stay healthy our team is much better." He said that if the team stays healthy they will be good and that they are looking forward to the season starting. Mets manager Jerry Manuel was in attendance and said the team needs to get off to a strong start. He also said he considers Angel Pagan the frontrunner to be the centerfielder in Carlos Beltrans absence. I think that is the right move as Gary Matthews Jr. is a bench player and should not be more. He also said at catcher he considers Omir Santos the starter but it wasn't a ringing endorsement. He did talk up Josh Tole and said it isn't out of the question that he could start. I just don't see the Mets going with a rookie catcher but who knows. If they don't sign anyone they really don't have a starter, they are all backups and then the young kid. He said he is anxious to see Kelvim Escobar and Ryota Igarashi pitch, he considers the 8th inning very important. These are the guys that will be competing for that role. Jerry Manuel said the 8th inning role will be determined by someone that will throw strikes, he considers that a key in the park they play in. He said that they have to play good defense also. He said that the free agent market wasn't very good and that was a challenge they had to add another starting pitcher. Jerry Manuel said that he won't act any different because of the pressure to perform this year. He knows his job is on the line but doesn't seem too fazed by that right now. Here is what the GM Omar Minaya had to say. " I do believe that we are going to have a good team. I think that a healthy New York Mets team will contend for a playoff spot. I think it is fair to say that the Philadelphia Phillies have improved themselves. We have a lot of work to do but I think these guys are committed, Jerry is going to be committed to get back on track to what we did in 06, 07 and 08. Is this guy for real, how can they not be committed and also didn't they lose in the NLCS and then blow playoff spots the following 2 years. I think you want to improve on that not get back to that point. Omar did say they are still considering Carlos Delgado. He was asked a question by Kevin Kernan of the NY Post about the team being a joke. He did seem to be taken aback but said he didn't consider them to be a joke but that you have to win. I personally just think the Mets are poorly run from top to bottom and that is why they have the reputation that they have. They just don't seem to get anything right that they do and they always look worse and worse. The only way for them to get away from that is to go out on the field and win. It is hard to see this team doing that though without getting at least another pitcher, other then Johan Santana you really have to worry. I also need to say that most of the information coming from the mini-camp was via Ken Davidoff of New York Newsday and his blog. I have given my opinions but obviously wasn't there so have to rely on others that were.

Here are some Yankee notes

I missed this a couple of days ago but David Cone has been let go by the Yes Network. I am really going to miss him, I thought he grew into his role and the best is when he said crazy things and didn't even realize what he was saying. There was talk when this first started being rumored of Tino Martinez going to the booth but right now that doesn't look to be the case. Sergi Mitre signed a 1 yr deal with the Yankees for $850,000. According to Chad Jennings of the Lohud Yankees Blog who spoke with Brian Cashman, Cash said the Yankees are basically done. They are just looking at a right handed bat for left field to play against lefties and some bench help and non roster invitees to spring training. I think the more and more you interpret this it means Gardner is going to be the left fielder with Reed Johnson signing as a role player. The Yankees did announce as expected that all the coaches are returning in their roles from last season. Cash said as of right now Cervelli is the backup catcher- I hope they don't sign someone else because the pitchers really liked working with him and he even hit a little which a backup isn't expected to do. Cashman said he is not looking for bullpen help, that he is always looking for pitching but with what they have right now that is not his focus. Phil Hughes, Boone Logan, Francisco Cervelli and Romulo Sanchez each have one option left. Joba Chamberlain has three. He also said the team has agreed to several minor league contracts but he isn't ready to disclose those yet.

Here is how the Hall Of Fame voting broke down. Andre Dawson suprisingly was the only one to make it, he will join former manager Whitey Herzog and umpire Doug Harvey who were selected last month by the veterans committee. Andre Dawson- 420 votes 77.9% Bert Blyleven- 400 votes 74.2% Roberto Alomar- 397 votes 73.7% Jack Morris- 282 votes 52.3% Barry Larkin-278 votes 51.6% Lee Smith- 245 votes 47.3% Edgar Martinez- 195 votes 36.2% Tim Raines- 164 votes 30.4% Mark McGwire- 128 votes 23.7% Alan Trammell- 121 votes 22.4% Fred McGriff- 116 votes 21.5% Don Mattingly-87 votes 16.1% Dave Parker- 82 votes 15.2% Dale Murphy-63 votes 11.7% Harold Baines-33 votes 6.1% Andres Galarraga- 22 votes 4.1% Robin Ventura- 7 votes 1.3% Ellis Burks- 2 votes .4% Eric Karros- 2 votes .4% Kevin Appier- 1 vote .2% Pat Hentgen- 1 vote .2% David Segui- 1 vote .2% I just can't believe someone would vote for Ellis Burks or Robin Ventura or even worse is Eric Karros, Pat Hentgen, Kevin Appier and David Segui. I mean ok nice players and all but Hall Of Famers, not even close. I just can't belive people would waste their votes like that, it is insane to me.

New Baseball Committee

Comissioner Bud Selig announced this afternoon that he will have a new comittee starting this season. The committee will review on field baseball issues. There are 14 people on the committee and they are: Joe Torre-Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tony Larussa-St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Scioscia-Los Angeles Angels manger Jim Leyland- Detroit Tigers manager John Schuerholz- Atlanta Braves president Andy Mcphail-Baltimore Orioles president Terry Ryan-former Twins general manager Mark Schapiro-Cleveland Indians general manager Chuck Armstrong-Seattle Mariners COO Paul Beeston-Toronto Blue Jays CEO Bill Dewitt- St. Louis Cardinals owner Dave Montgomery- Philadelphia Phillies owner Frank Robinson-Hall Of Famer and former player George Will-Journalist Bud Selig thought that this group could have an impact rather quickly like within a year. I hope this works and it looks like a good thing but we will see what happens. The umpiring was terrible this past season and especially postseason although Bud Selig the comissioner said he has been thinking of this for some time and it isn't because of the poor postseason the umpires had. It is an interesting group consisting of many different backgrounds which is good.