I guess I should be more sympathetic towards Highlander fans who have to sit in a cold nasty drizzle for opening day, but since I know not one of them would show us Mets fan any sympathy fuck ‘em let them freeze.

So as I wait for tomorrow night’s 7:05PM real opening day in South Florida, I guess this would be a good time to make my season predictions,

NL East

Chipper’s Chumps

Phuck Phaces

The Amazin’ New York Mets

Minnows

D.C. Follies

NL Central

Brewskies

Dusty’s Red Legs

Bird Brain Genius

Residents of the Friendly Confines

Bucos

McLane Gang

AL West

Height-Asbury Freaks and Beards

Hollywood Bums

Box O Rox

Friars Club

Snakes in the Sand

Wild Card

Phuck Phaces

NL Champs

Chippers Chumps

NL MVP

Ryan Braun

NL Cy Young

Tim Lincecum

NL Rookie of the Year

Freddy Freeman

NL Manager of the Year

Terry Collins

AL East

Team Dirty Water

Men of Maddon

Bronx Bastards

Ontario Audubon Society

Bucks O’s

AL Central

South Side Loco’s

Grady’s Gang

Motor City Cats

Midwest Monarchs

Woe is Wahoo

AL West

The Ghosts of Cornelius McGillicuddy

Ryan’s Express

Hello Halo’s

Space Needlers

Wild Card

Men of Maddon

NL Pennant

Team Dirty Water

AL MVP

Evan Longoria

AL Cy Young

Jon Lester

AL Manager of the Year

Joe Maddon

World Series Champs

Team Dirty Water

Check out THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN Podcast on Blog Talk Radio part of the Seamheads National Podcasting Network 

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I had the honor of being invited to a bloggers conference call with Mets manager Terry Collins last night. Collins is upbeat , excited and quite confident about his team. I posed the question to Collins on how will he keep this club together when adversity hits, as it always does in a 162 game baseball season. Thanks to Michael Baron, here is my question and a full transcript of the conference call. I tip my Mets cap to Michael for doing this transcript under adverse conditions as there was a load of background noise during the call:

Steve Keane: This Spring, camp has been upbeat, although there have been a few bumps in the road. It seems the players have fed off your enthusiasm. Over the course of the season, there will be losing streaks, and in the past, those spread and festered. The Mets, over the past few years, haven’t been known to be mentally and physically tough. How do you combat that?

Terry Collins:   Not everyone has the answer. People think there is a process we go through to get through it. In a losing streak, a lot of guys get concerned with individual stats, and we need to combat that. Its all about communication, and making sure they continue to believe in themselves. Not sitting back, and waiting for things to happen.

The toughest part of managing or coaching is getting your players to buy in to what preaching, getting them to put team ahead of self and so far this spring from the quotes and stories from Mets players, they seem to be buying what TC is selling.

Caryn (Metsgrrl) Rose had a great question for Collins about him being a players manager and I think this was a real honest and revealing answer from TC:

I think it means a lot – in the past, I was probably not a players manager. Through the years, I have realized the importance of constant communication, and never taking anything for granted. That is done with experience – from my first few years, I was worried about only managing the game, and thinking everyone was on board with it. I look at it as a compliment.

Keeping the lines of communication open is KEY for a manager. When the players have to guess what you’re thinking or feel you’re playing head games, you are destine to lose that player and your team.  I would say TC learned that lesson in Anaheim and will not make that mistake again.

Izzy has agreed to stay in extended spring training for two weeks as the Mets try to fit this bullpen. It worked out as well as Sandy Alderson could have hoped as he gets to keep two or the three relievers he had to decide on.

The more these stories keep coming out about the Skill Sets shaky financial status, it seems the only conclusion I can see is the Skill Sets selling the team.  Freddy Skill Sets has his heart set on keeping the team in the family for generations to come but I doubt if his wish will come true.

As I was typing up this post, word came down that Luis Castillo has been cut by the Phuck Phaces. Andy Martino is getting ready to file a discrimination lawsuit against the Phuck Phaces on behalf of Castillo.

GET METS-MERIZED! GET METS-MERIZED! Cheesy? you bet Sharp Cheddar Baby!

The everyday menu at Foley’s NY is always first rate but with the start of the 2011 Baseball Season, they have added a bunch of specials to commemorate the season openers:

Appetizers

Francona’s Terry-Yaki Steak Skewers: $5.00

Thai (Cobb) Chicken Skewers: $5.00

Dustin Pedroia’s Buffalo Shrimp: $5.50

Miguel Cabrera’s Loaded Fries: $5.00

Welkes’ Wings (Bucket = three orders): $12.50

Entrees

Cliff’s Phil-Lee Cheesesteak Sandwich: $5.95

Justin Morneau’s French Dip $5.95

Sean Casey’s Irish Burger $6.50

Coursi’s Chicken Club Wrap $5.50

Additionally, Foley’s has named a menu item for every team in the major leagues:

NL

Mets: David Wright Sandwich

Phillies: Philly Cheesesteak Wrap

Braves: Fried Chicken Dinner

Marlins: Fried Fish Sandwich

Nats: Washington Apple Pie

Brewers: Bratwurst

Cardinals: Toasted Ravioli

Pirates: Pittsburgh Steak Salad

Cubs: Chicago Dog

Astros: Texas Sirloin Steak

Reds: “Reds Hot” Chili

Dodgers: LA Pizza

Padres: Fish Tacos

Rockies: Beer Battered Onion Rings

Arizona: Chicken Southwest

Giants: French Dip

AL

Yankees: “Swish” & Chips

Red Sox: Shrimp & Scallops

Toronto: Poutine (French fries topped by cheese curds and gravy)

Orioles: Maryland Crab Cake Sliders

Rays: Cuban Sandwich

Tigers: Mini Chili Dogs

White Sox: Chicago Dog

Twins: “Juicy Lucy” Burger

Royals: KC Burger

Indians: Cleveland Carrot Cake

Rangers: Texas T Bone

Angels: Artie’s Nachos

Mariners: Chicken Eggrolls

A’s:  Garlic Wings

Looks like tomorrow or Friday will be a long lunch day for me to sneak over to Foley’s

Don’t forget to check out the THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN Podcast from last night with my guest Matthew Silverman author of 50 AMAZIN’ SEASON . You can listen here at Kranepool Society (lower right side bar) or at the show page or as a download on iTunes.

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Tonight my guest on This Call To The Bullpen Podcast on Blog Talk Radio is Matthew Silverman, author of “NEW YORK METS 50 AMAZIN’ SEASONS: The Complete Illustrated History (MVP Books) as well as the editor of Maple Street Press 2011 Mets Annual

If you can’t join us live tonight, you can always hear the podcast right here at Kranepool Society (see ride side bar) at the showpage on Blog Talk Radio or download the podcast on iTunes

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The Mets bullpen situation is such that Sandy Alderson and his staff are trying to do some creative bookkeeping to by some time.

The Mets have asked Jason Isringhausen to stay an extra week in St Lonesome so to make sure his elbow is sound. The biggest fear the team has is keeping Izzy and he craps out in May. They have asked Blaine Boyer to accept a minor league deal when Boyer figures if he’s released he’d get a major league deal in a heartbeat.  The two moves come with the realization that Many Acosta and his 90+ fastball will be snatched up on wavers as well.  For a team that everyone feel s is a MLB bottom feeder, it seems there is some talent worth scheming for.

I’d like to see Izzy staying an extra week just to prove he can pitch without pain. The Mets want him on this team badly and if it weren’t for the pop he heard in his elbow a week ago, all this maneuvering wouldn’t be happening. Izzy is on the record as saying he will not take a minor league deal it’s big leagues or retirement for him . Boyer is interesting as he has also has an out in his deal with the Mets and they love his 90+ fastball that he gets down in the strike zone that converts to tons of ground ball outs.

I’d let Acosta go and hope Boyer agrees to a Minor League deal, if he doesn’t the you have no choice but to let him go as well and take a chance on Izzy even though you know he could be done by June.

One thing I better not see is Bobby Parnell getting optioned to Buffalo that would be a Minaya-like move.

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Allright back to blogging after a weekend of freezing my ass off on a camping trip in Northern New Jersey.  I spent the weekend with my son and his Boy Scout Troop at Camp No-Be Bosco in NJ, if it wasn’t bad enough the woods were snow covered, the temps were in the mid-teens on Friday night and Saturday morning, but I have to admit this was what we call “fat-ass camping” we slept in cabins with propane heat but still, we did a 5 mile hike into the mountains which was nice until we discovered a couple of huge bear paw prints. That’s when my bowels started to churn a bit.

Anyway, here it is with opening day just five days away and it feels like football season more than baseball but never the less for us Mets fans Friday night at 7:05pm at “Your Name Here Stadium” in South Florida it will be the start of the Mets 2011 season but between now and Friday the decision makers of the Mets have some tough roster moves to make.

The starting eight look set now that Carlos Beltran is confident he will be good to go on opening day. Day two of the season he may not be and that looks to be how Beltran’s season will go. He is not an everyday player any longer. If he plays two or three games in a row we will surely need a day off to rest his hurting knees.  That would make Scott Hairston or Willie Harris, Beltran’ caddy. Hairston has some power but he hasn’t played much right field so this could be problem if Beltran’s knee woes become chronic.  Harris fits the bill defensively (as we Mets fans know too well) and he has that nice OBP that’s all the rage in Metsville. Depending on the pitcher the day Terry Collins will need an understudy will determine if Hairston (bats right) or Harris (bats left) gets the nod.

The four everyday infielders are set with Brad Emaus taking over second base on a futures bet by the Mets. Emaus didn’t light up spring training but with a big endorsement from J.P. Riccardi, Emaus gets to show his stuff on opening day and beyond, how far beyond will be up to Emaus. The infield bench consists of a no hit (Chin-lung Hu) no glove (Daniel Murphy) and a man of many gloves (Willie Harris who I bet will be the emergency third catcher) and some bat, what this does is it makes Nick Evans an ex-Met, which is kind of sad.

The catcher position is becoming a mess. Josh Thole is the starter but who will back him up? The Mets waited and waited for Rony Paulino knowing he came with some carryon baggage in an 8 game suspension for PED use. He then added another piece of luggage with his visa problems and now he’s added a steamer trunk with news that some blood work that was done on him looks problematic. Mike Nickeas is ok for a week but no way can the Mets go a full season with him as the backup catcher, so if Paulino has an illness the Mets may have to scramble for a backup catcher. Anyone have Bengi Molina’s phone number?

The starting pitching is set, as is 6/7ths of the bullpen, with the competition between Blaine Boyer and the surprising Jason Isringhausen comong down to a last minute decision.  Izzy has been a great story this spring and looked to be a lock to win a job until he heard a pop in his elbow and Boyer has been fabulous this spring. As much as the club wants to keep Izzy, the worry is he will breakdown in a month or two, and Boyer has an out in his contract and will scooped up by another team in a heartbeat. 

Sandy Alderson admitted during the bloggers conference call that the decision on who gets the last bullpen spot is a very tough call.  Izzy brings a battle tested pitcher to the pen and has shown he wants to pass on his knowledge to his mates.  It’s really really tough but since the medical staff says it was just some old scar tissue that’s popped and Izzy has returned to pitching and has still been effective, I’d take a shot at keeping him on the 25 man roster.

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I was fortunate to be invited to a conference call last night with Sandy Alderson and my fellow Mets bloggers. This is the second cc Alderson has done with bloggers and he seems genuinely happy to talk to us and values our input about the team. As great as it was talking to the Mets GM, the biggest kick for me was reading all the Tweets from other baseball bloggers who were soooooooooooooo jealous that we were granted access to Alderson and reading how they wish the head of the team they root for would give the same courtesy. Imagine that, the same wise ass’ who like to joke and make sarcastic remarks about the Mets, are envious of Mets bloggers.

I’m slowly getting used to the frank and honest way Alderson does business, whereas in the past, I’ve always felt you had to read between the lines to find the truth out of anything coming out of Flushing , but now it seems we’re getting the straight skinny from the Mets GM.

On the release of Castillo and Perez, Alderson said that to some extent fan sentiment was a factor in releasing both players, more so in Castillo’s case as the front office had hoped that Perez could make some kind of contribution. Alderson felt it was only fair that the new regime look at both players first hand instead of relying on hearsay.  

With Emaus winning the 2^nd base job, it’s clear his Rule 5 status helped him in winning the job over Justin Turner who had options. Alderson said that Emaus would only make the team as a starting baseman and not a bench player.  Alderson said he was happy that Emaus has come around with the bat and has shown signs of being effective turning the DP.

My question to Alderson was about the fight for the last spot in the bullpen, but first I added a bit of editorializing:

“Between the offseason and spring, it seems that there’s a minority in the fan base and a majority of the mainstream media that likes to dwell on the negative things that go on with the organization. They seem not to want to talk about that the team offensively has been terrific this spring, it seems that batters have been taking to Dave Hudgens’s way of hitting, a lot of walks, a lot of doubles, and the defense has been pretty good, too, maybe very good this spring, but the big thing is the pitching. The pitching has been outstanding this spring and hopefully it will carry over to the season. Now you spoke about the bullpen, and you do have decisions to make. How close is it in that seventh spot? It seems that we kind of figured the first six guys are in that pen, and that last spot, that seventh spot, seems to be the one that’s up in the air. How are you going back and forth on that decision?”

Here is Alderson’ reply:

“That’s a very good question. If you look at the guys who are competing for the last two or three spots. You’ve got a young kid, a Rule 5 pick who is untested, who has improved, we think, greatly since the beginning of camp, at least mechanically, has shown a lot of command, has shown good velocity, and we think has real upside. As compared to somebody like Jason Isringhausen, who is a veteran presence and not only because of what he can do on the mound but how he might influence the rest of that bullpen, is an attraction for us. Then you’ve got a couple of guys, [Blaine] Boyer, Manny Acosta, who are very, very close in terms of overall results, but they get there in different ways. Boyer is basically a ground ball pitcher. Acosta has the livelier fastball and is more of a strikeout guy, maybe a little more command, but occasionally gives up a three-run homer as he did yesterday. So not only is it a close competition, but interestingly, each of those guys represents a very different choice beyond how they perform, and that’s what we’re trying to balance right now is the desire to win, the feel-good story of somebody like Jason Isringhausen, who has also performed well, against the potential of somebody like Pedro Beato, and then the two guys that we brought in. And we haven’t resolve those yet. We just had a meeting today with some of the front office people here with the coaches and Terry Collins and we resolved a few things but the bullpen is still unresolved.”

The problem is Boyer ,who has had a great spring, has an out clause in his contract to become a free agent if he doesn’t make the OD 25 man roster. In a perfect world I believe Alderson would take Izzy north and hope Boyer doesn’t get a ML contract from another team and he signs him to a minor league deal. The odds of that are slim.

There were great  questions  from all who participated and to read the entire transcript check out the post Eric Simon of Amazin’ Avenue   put together in detail of the conference call.

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I’m sure by now most of you have either heard or read the attack article by T.J. Simmers of the LA Times about Marcus Thames. There have been a whole lot of opinions on how Simmers went after Thames with the nastiest of attitudes, basically calling Thames are no talent bum and also calling out Don Matingly as being clueless on how to manage a big league team. If you have ever read Simmers columns before this one, you know he plays the Angry Old White Guy perfectly and he takes pride in being an asshole.  As much of an asshole as Simmers may be, I have to give him credit for being an accountable asshole.

Everything Simmers said about Thames and Matingly he said to their faces and both knew it doesn’t pay to argue with and asshole, especially an Angry Old White Asshole but again he wrote what he wrote and walked into the Dodger Clubhouse the next day to face the men he besmirched. Got give him credit for that.

Yesterday on Twitter, I got into a bit of a “Tweet debate” with Evan Roberts of WFAN. Roberts sent out this Tweet that I felt made him look like an ignoramus:

“ I’m certainly not a booer, but the guy I will be first to get on if he doesn’t perform would be Jason Bay…”

My response to Roberts was:

“why would you boo Bay? by the way have you ever been in a pro clubhouse or locker room to interview players?”

The reason for the second part of my question was, Roberts and his partner Joe Benigno love to rip players, managers/coaches , GM’s and owners on the air, which is fine but I never remember either of them ever saying they have been in a locker room or clubhouse of the area teams to confront the folks they’ve blasted. I felt the statement that Roberts made was unbelievably stupid.

The Tweets went back and forth with Roberts refusing to answer my question of facing the guys he criticizes but when he finally answered, I felt bad for him:

  @kranepool You think higher of me and my co workers then I do…most of these players don’t know or care who I am..   

My Tweet before that was about Roberts doing a mid morning show on a 50K watt NYC radio station, and doesn’t think the players know who he is? I call bullshit. I think Roberts is either scared or intimidated by the folks he goes after.  Roberts loves to tell listeners that he buys his own tickets to Mets and Nets games and would rather watch the game in the stands than in a press box. Nothing wrong with that. But why not go into the clubhouse after a game and talk to the players or manager/coaches about the game or team’s performance? If Roberts put as much time and effort into his craft as he did in his Twitter baseball games, maybe the players would know who he is.

I think the reason I was so stunned by Roberts’ comments is the fact that the Mets have been gracious in granting Mets bloggers access to players, Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson and I’m not going to lie any time I can talk to someone affiliated with the Mets, I jump at it.

I’m very critical of the ownership of the Mets but believe me I would love to sit down with Fred, Jeff and Dave Howard for an interview.  If they wanted to rip me for sucky writing and poor grammar that would be fine with me, hell they could tell me to hit the gym and drop a few pounds, I’d be glad to take it because if you dish it out, you have to take it, but seriously a sit down between myself and management would allow them to see where I’m coming from as a long time Mets fan who just wants to see the team he roots for given more respect,  work on building a winner, and treating the Mets fans better that they do.  No screaming or yelling just conversation and debate.  I can act like adult when I have to.

I all come back to accountability, I stand by whatever I write and I have no problem going into the clubhouse and talking to whoever I have a beef with.

How the media tide has turned, it’s the bloggers now who are now the most responsible reporters of news.

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Ollie Perez has signed a MINOR yes MINOR league deal with the Washington Nationals. So when the Mets asked OP to go to the bushes he and Scott Boras said “nada” but when the best deal you can find is a bush league contract with a bottom feeder team it’s a deal.

The Nats better hope Ollie-ittes isn’t contagious or they will have more to worry about than Stephen Strasburg’s Tommy John-ed elbow .

Enjoy the bus rides, Ollie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Famous Last Words

One  of the great topics for debate when it comes to team sports is how much does team chemistry play in making a difference between a winning or losing team.  There are many who believe team chemistry is a bunch of bullshit and it’s mostly those in the sabermetric segment of baseball fans who take this position and feel that folks like me who believe in this part of the game are relics of the past and that whether you’re BFF’s with teammates or a big time snob, as long as you produce on the field that’s what counts. In some ways they’re right, Jeff Francouer had a million dollar smile and a ten cent approach at the plate while he was with the Mets.  Barry Bonds was one miserable prick in the Giants clubhouse but he is still considered one the best baseball players of all time (I’ll leave the PED discussion for another time) but there is still something about having a group of people who have the same goal, winning and will do whatever has to be done to achieve that goal. When you have that collective mind set, I feel you have a greater shot of being a winning team than if you have a team that is just a collection of talent who worry about their 2 for 4 day and their statistical resume than winning games.

I bring this up because of four teams I’ve watched over the last month or so, two teams that have that “team chemistry” one that doesn’t and one I think will have it.

I’m a Boston Celtics fan and if there is a team that thrives on chemistry and is the best case study on the subject it’s the C’s. For the bulk of his career, Paul Pierce was the best the Celtics had to offer but as the losses piled up with exception of a trip to the NBA Finals in 2001, Pierce was ready to bolt Boston until GM Danny Ainge made two deals that put the Celtics back into the forefront of the NBA,  obtaining Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. All three players were All-Stars and future Hall of Famers as well; this melding of talent would either be a big success or a major failure. It’s been a rousing success. All three superstars under the direction of Head Coach Doc Rivers have checked their egos at the locker room door and preached the value of teamwork to their teammates. Ainge also added a great supporting cast who all have the same team first mind set. Garnett uses the term “Ubuntu” which loosely translated from African culture means a sense of community. Yes it helps greatly that the team employs four players who are all time greats and one in Rajon Rando who will be in that same group when his career is over. When you watch the C’s play you know right away what the mission statement is, to win Banner 18 and to do it by any means necessary.

A team that is nowhere near having Ubuntu are the NY Knicks. Here is a team that is just a red hot mess.  The best guy in the entire Knicks organization is the GM Donny Walsh, who took over a disaster of a team, got them below the salary cap for the first since the inception of the cap, who then went out an acquired two superstar players and has made The Garden the mecca of basketball once again. For his hard work and dedication what did Walsh get in return, a knife in his back wielded by the clueless owner of the team Jim Dolan. The head coach Mike D’Antoni preaches offense, offense and more offense with his “7 seconds or less” fast break style. A style that will never win without the player’s ability to play even plausible defense, which the Knicks don’t do.  But the biggest problem with the Knicks is they have two superstars who don’t seem to know how to mesh. Amare Stoudemire was THE show for the bulk of the season with the Knicks. He was the focal point of everything from merchandising to promotion of the team, he was anointed the next great Knickerbocker. As the team had early success the chant of M-V-P cascaded from the fans at MSG, they loved their Amare. But wait, all of a sudden another superstar joined the team, this player was born in Red Hook Brooklyn but raised in Baltimore MD and won a National Championship with Syracuse and did everything in his power to be a Knick. Move over Amare make way for Carmelo Anthony.

Both these star players said all the right things at the ‘Melo presser (the same cannot be said of Dopey Dolan) and the first few games, the duo had Knick fans thinking it was 1970 all over again. But as the season has gone on, we see that both players are still trying to figure out who gets the ball when the game is on the line and how to get the rest of the roster to raise their game and guts to do what it takes to win games. We have seen ‘Melo glare at teammates who haven’t gotten the ball to him in crunch time and we’ve seen Stoudemire wonder what happened to the team he was the leader of and the coach trying to figure out how to appease two big egos. I guess you could say the Knicks lack “team chemistry”

Now the other tenant of MSG , is the exact opposite of their basketball cohabitants.  For long time NY Rangers fans like myself , the best trait of this Ranger team is they never quit and even in losses, it’s hard to get mad as they  are what hockey folks like to say a “lunch pail team” . Not only are they a hard working bunch but for the most part the Rangers roster is mostly home grown.  Ryan Callahan is the captain in waiting along with Brandon Dubinsky, Mark Stahl, Dan Girardi, Derek Stepan  and King Henrik Lundquist  are all setting the tone for big run to the playoffs. No matter what happens in the playoffs, as Ranger fans we have to be pleased that the foundation of the team that will be a Cup contender for awhile has been set.  There is a very good blend of veteran and young players on this Ranger team. When you see teams like the Rangers play as hard as they do, as a fan your proud to say you root for that team. With the NY Rangers you have team and fan chemistry.

That brings me to the NY Mets. If your sole knowledge of the Mets was obtained through the NY beat writers, sports columnists and Twitter, you’d get the impression that this was the worst team in baseball. But if you watch the games and possess an open mind ,you’d come to the realization that the Mets are a pretty good ball club. Are they a World Series contender? Not this year. Will they be better than last year? No question in my mind they will.

There is a lot of familiarity with the players on the roster, most have played together either in the big leagues or in the Mets minor league system. R.A. Dickey had mentioned this during the off season that many of the guys on this team know each other very well. Dickey also mentioned that a baseball clubhouse is just like any work place, some of guys you’re close with and other guys not as close but when you put the same uniform you have that in common and that’s what’s important.

One of the biggest failures of the past front office staff was they let the clubhouse become fractured. The last two mangers seemed to polarize the clubhouse and that led to cliques forming between the players.  You can see this spring that the new regime realizes this has been a problem with the Mets as Terry Collins instituted the Sunday night bowling parties to try to form a bond within the team.

Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying if the whole team sat around singing Kumbaya  it will make the Mets a World Series winner, but if the TC and Sandy Alderson can change the climate of that clubhouse and Collins can get the team to buy into a team first mentality, that will be half the battle in getting the Mets winning games. I feel the seeds of that way of thinking have been planted. If the players realize that no matter how much money or how much time you’ve spent as a Met , means nothing  if you don’t produce something positive to the club, you’ll be gone.

Think about it, the past administration went out and brought in talented players at big money contracts and what do they have to show for it? A division championship and two players calling out their teammates for not stepping up and talking to the media (the infamous “they speak English you know” from Bill Wagner and Red Ass LoDuca towards their Latino teammates)   I think this will be a much better clubhouse and a much better Met team than most think. I can’t wait until a week from tomorrow and I really am excited for April 8^th and the home opener. Forget about the mess the owners are in, forget about the nay sayers in media worrying about who the Mets fans are going to boo next. I’m not saying we should become a bunch of Pollyanna’s , but this Mets team looks like one we should be rooting for.

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It’s nice that the teammates Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez have left behind in the Mets clubhouse have nothing but high praise and fond memories of their released comrades but as has happened in the Mets clubhouse over the last few years, the big picture is out of focus, it is no longer business as usual as the new front office has made it known accountability is back in Flushing.

Maybe that’s why Jose Reyes is a bit stunned by the event of the past few days. He’s never seen anything like it before in his 8 years as a Met. There has never been accountability in the clubhouse, the former GM and managers made excuses the way parents do for their delinquent kids. Thankfully those days are over. Last year the Mets put up a sign in the clubhouse proclaiming Prevention and Recovery in dealing with injuries, this year’s motto should be “Produce or Get Cut Loose”

Enough of the negativity here are some positive vibes as we stand one week away from opening day 2011:

The Mets pitching staff overall has been terrific this spring, pitching to a 3.87 ERA (good for 5^th best in the NL) It helps that the defense has been tight, committing just 22 errors.

As a team,  the Mets have hit at a .267 clip, drilling 53 doubles and more importantly 83 walks good for 3^rd most in the NL.

Ike Davis and Daniel Murphy lead the team in Rib-Eye Steaks with 10 apiece

Scott Hairston is hitting a blistering .425/.500/.725

When Chin-Lung Hu was obtained from the Dodgers he was known as great glove shaky bat but so far this spring he’s gotten 10 hits in 34 AB’s of the 10 hits 3 were doubles plus he stolen 2 bases.

Chris Young and Chris Capuano have been more than effective this spring. Young has thrown 20.1 innings with a 1.33 ERA and a miniscule 0.89 WHIP. Capuano has pitched 10.2 innings with a tidy 1.03 WHIP and just two walks.  

Last night I was a guest on the Who’s On First: The Seamheads . Com Radio Hour for a panel discussion to make our picks for division winners, wild card, pennant and World Series winners along with league MVP’s and Cy Young Award winners. It’s would be well worth your while to check out the podcast as there were some real out on a limb picks by the panel with great  analysis to back them up.

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