Less than three weeks to go before opening day and we can only hope the baseball gods gives weather like today. How does 70 degrees sound ? So today seemed like a good day to take a look at what the 25 man roster for the Mets could look like on April 5^th.

1^st base

Daniel Murphy is making Omar’ job very difficult by having a lousy spring, while Ike Davis has done everything short of healing Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran of their woes. With both those bats out of the lineup to start the year, it will be very interesting to see if the club is bold enough to give Davis the opening day start.  If Davis does make the big club does Murphy stay as a lefty bat off the bench over Mike Jacobs?

2^nd base

For all the shit I give Luis Castillo he is producing offensively, Alex Cora will be his understudy

3^rd base

D-Wright. ‘Nuff said

Shortstop

Just give the damn job to Ruben Tejada already. Let him play as much as possible at the position to be ready for opening day. Alex Cora is what he is a backup. Between Tejada and Castillo, Cora will get enough playing time to be effective.

Catcher

Barajas/Blanco.

LF

Jason Bay

CF

Here is where it get interesting again. As great as Fernando Martinez has played this spring and by the way, if there is any positives coming out of St. Lonesome it’s we have discovers life on the farm. The death of the Mets minor league system has been greatly exaggerated. Maybe this is F-Marts coming out party but with his history of injury as much as the Mets would love to give him the CF job until Carlos B comes back, it may be better for him to go to Buffalo and get 400 AB’s. It’s also easier to send Martinez down as both Angel Pagan and Gary Mathews Jr are producing this spring. 

RF

For all the positive influence stories about Frenchie so far this spring has anyone noticed he’s been awful at the plate? Good thing he has endeared himself with Wright and HOJO otherwise the discussion would be keeping F-Mart over Frenchie in right.

Tomorrow I’ll look at the pitching and bench. Busy day today.

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With the witch hunt by guys like John Harper and the Legion of Ignoramuses A/K/A the callers to WFAN talking out their ass about Jose Reyes’ Thyroid (how is this for a man bites dog story, Joe Benigino and Evan Roberts are now the best and informative hosts on the station since they had an actual Endocrinologist on their show to talk about thyroids unlike the Hot Air Balloon that’s on from 1-6 whose show is as dated as the old Lawrence Welk shows that run on WLIW. I wish I had a tape of Francesa trying to figure out how Twitter works, did you see that Mikey? that was the 21st Century passing you by) and all the other righteous assholes dogging Mark McGwire  I thought about this song and how great would it have been if McGwire would have preformed it before Congress

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I’m sure you all heard by now that Jose Reyes will start the season on the DL and could be out till the middle of May. The thyroid condition that he claims the doctor told he didn’t have will have him sideline from any physical activity for awhile as doctors check his thyroid gland and blood for the next few weeks.

This not a woe- is- us post or a bash Omar and management post as we will have all summer for those, no this one is let’s get on the phone and find a shortstop post because even when (if ?) Reyes comes back, the days of him playing 150+games look to be over.

So who is out there for the Mets ? First off, forget about getting a replacement for Reyes, the Mets are going out and getting anyone close to what Reyes brings to the table, so the player you need to go after has to be a defense first shortstop and the first name that pops into my head is Paul Janish of the Reds. Janish is a terrific defender and makes just $435K which fits into the Skill Sets budget. Jed Lowrie of the Red Sox could be had for a song (and maybe a dance) too bad Wilson Valdez has let go to Cleveland as he had a slick glove as well.

Who I don’t want to see is Alex Cora or Anderson Hernandez. No knock on Cora, once or twice a week is ok for him to play but he is no longer an everyday player and Hernandez shouldn’t even be in camp as he’s as done as a Christmas ham.

It looks though as if the Mets will go with Ruben Tejada and I guess Cora twice a week. But I would still try to find a guy like Janish or Lowrie to spell Reyes this year once a week at least. It’s not like I’m nailing Cora to the bench, he can play some second base when the Tree Stump needs a day off.

25 days until opening day YIPPEE-EYE-O-KI-A  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Again it’s one of those days where the minutia in my head is overflowing so the floodgates are now open:

As any Mets fan I am concerned for the health of Jose Reyes but I’m trying to get a handled on the hysteria over the revelation of Reyes having an overactive thyroid . I guess it’s due to the fact that my wife has had problems with her thyroid for years and takes Synthroid for an under active thyroid and it hasn’t been a huge hindrance to her so that leads  me to think Reyes will be fine. You want something to worry about, worry about the bullpen.

I’m getting worried that the manger and the front office are going to screw up on Jenry Mejia big time. Yesterday Mejia gave the team a dominant performance in relief and with the bunch of  JAG’s (just another guys) roaming the pen, how much temptation is there for Jerry Manuel, with April now a job/career saving month,  to put pressure on the front office to bring the 20 year neophyte north at the end of spring training ?

Am I in the minority about this air traffic controller at Kennedy Airport letting his kid talk to the pilots? I know he just told the kid what to say and if this was little air field in the Midwest, I wouldn’t give a shit but to do this at one of the busiest airport in world, to me is the height of irresponsibility. I don’t want to see the controller lose his job but a suspension and fine seems to be in order here and maybe a rule like NO KIDS IN THE FUCKING TOWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sometime Marty Noble can come off as big fat windbag but in his Noble Thoughts column today he has some good nuggets like Frenchy breaking Ike Davis’ balls over an error he made at 1^st base and then turning the tables on himself by proclaiming he will take three base on balls today and maybe win the leadoff spot in the bullpen. Also Frank Catalanotto and Jason Pridie are making heads turn early in camp.

Victor Rojas has been named as the TV play by play man for the Angels thus his leaving MLB Network. On his blog, Rojas details his taking the Angels job, it’s a great read and I wish Victor all the best with the Angels. Oh and a Happy Brithday to Victor’s dad Cookie

It’s hard to imagine how corrupt and out of control the sate government of New York is right now. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or Democrat an Upstater or Downstater as tax payers and residents of the state, the way we are treated by these bunch of bungling assholes in Albany is fucking disgrace. Should Governor Patterson resign? No, he should thrown in jail! along with every fucking member of the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

I am a fan of Bill Simmons and have been from as far back as his days at AOL as the Boston Sports Guy but his take on Tiger Woods coming back to golf and comparing it to Muhammad Ali’s comeback after being banned from boxing for not joining the military is so ridiculous that there is no way in hell you could defend that opinion. But of course Keith Olberman not only has to make the point that Simmons’ opinion is so off base but he has to attack him personally. That’s what Olberman does. I know first hand. When I started doing Kranepool Society, I had e mailed Olberman a few of my posts (I got his e-ail address for the SABR members list as I’m a member as well) just to see what he thought of my work. All I got back was a nasty e-mail from him stating how dare I send him these post and then commanded to never send him anything again. To say the least I was a bit upset. As time went on and I saw that Olberman has a problem in work and social settings so I didn’t feel so bad. So now that he ripped Simmons a new asshole, I feel like a little camaraderie with The Sports Guy. Olberman is not the Worst Person in the World just the biggest douche bag.

Ooops I’m late for my anger management class!

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Read it and weep Mets fans, from Adam Rubin Twitter account, Jose Reyes scratched from the lineup again today due to: 

UPDATE: May be imbalance in thyroid levels with Reyes. Headed to New York. Test is Monday.

It never ends it never FUCKING ends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UPDATE 1:54PM: I wonder if this problem with Reye’s thyroid has anything to do with the procedure Dr.Galea did to him up in Toronto last year? If I’m Mets I want answers NOW!!!!

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Reports out of Mets camp is Jose Reyes has a doctor’s appointment today to go over results of a blood test he took during his physical. Yeah I ain’t buying either. Something is very fishy here.

 First of all the game is at 1PM, so why not see the doc either at 9AM or in the afternoon ? It’s not like Reyes is going to go a full 9 today. Why can’t the sawbones come to Mets camp to see Reyes or even co-ordinate with the Mets training  and medical staff to handle this in camp?   Besides it’s Thursday, everyone knows that doctors take off on Wednesday to play golf. 

Reyes says this had absolutely nothing to do with his legs that his hammy is dandy so that makes this trip to the doctor even more curious.

You would think with the teams track record on medical issues and the fragile psyche of  it’s fan base the front office would handle this a bit differently.  

So now let’s add Beltran’s knee, Escobar sore arm, Frankie Rodz pink eye to this mystery doctors appointment of Reye’s to the legend of the Mets front office reign of error

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The Mets get hammered in this town for a multitude of offenses and in most instances, the bludgeoning is warranted but when it comes to the decision by J-Man to work Jose Reyes into the 3 spot of the lineup, the criticism is not only unwarranted but it’s also senseless.

In today’s NY Post, avid Mets hater Joel Sherman (there are lot’s of Mets haters in MSM, Jon Heyman, Bill Madden, Tom Verducci and of course their Emperor Mike Francesa) has a full page column today take the Met to task for batting Reyes third, even though he admits it’s out of necessity and just something Manuel pulled out of his ass:

 The shift is a reaction to Carlos Beltran’s knee surgery, which will cost him at least a month of the season. Without Beltran to hit third, Manuel fears the lineup lacks length if he simply has David Wright bat third and Jason Bay fourth. The order would dip precipitously at No. 5, likely with Daniel Murphy. In addition, Manuel wants to preserve Reyes’ legs and feels batting him third will translate to fewer steal attempts to limit the risk of having runners thrown out in front of your best RBI men, Wright and Bay.

Sherman goes on in the article to give his hypothesis on why this is bad idea, but gives no solution, which of course there isn’t any. If Carlos Beltran were of sound mind and knee, this would not even be an issue but as we know the best laid plans of mice and Mets never go as planed and so they have this situation to make the best of the lineup until Beltran gets back.

Sherman lays out the answer to the why part of Reyes hitting third when he mentions Daniel Murphy hitting fifth. Murphy is not a #5 hitter. He’s a perfect #2 but the problem is Luis Castillo is also a perfect #2. And there is the problem; the Mets have two #2 and two #1 in Reyes and Angel Pagan.

From the rumbling’s from St. Lonesome, Beltran is progressing nicely and should just miss just the first month of the season (I know, I know you’ll believe it when you see it) so when he comes back Reyes moves back to the #1 spot and Beltran back to #3 and the team will live happily ever after. I hope.

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Lot’s of noise over Jose Reyes being interrogated by the FBI, concerning Dr. Tony Galea , performance enhancer pusher to the stars, who is under investigation for trying to smuggle HGH into the U.S.

Reyes went to Dr. Galea to take part in his experimental procedure of plasma replacement therapy, hoping it would cure his leg problems last season. Reyes was accompanying by his agent Peter Greenberg and the Mets, even if they weren’t exactly on board with Reyes heading north for this treatment, stand by their player.

Of course the fact that Dr. Galea was trying to smuggle HGH into the country using his assistant as a mule is a big story but because it’s Jose Reyes and Legion of Idiots (a/k/a the Mets front office) it becomes a bigger story.

We’re starting to see that Tony Bernazard had more influence in the organization than he had any right to have. From John Harpers Daily News column today it seems Tony B strong armed his hitting philosophy of having Mets hitters concentrate on hitting to the opposite field, a philosophy that worked as well as his motivational speeches. When the season ended, it looks like Howard Johnson flexed his mussels a bit (it helps that HOJO and D-Wright are joined at the hip) and has pushed his way of hitting on the Mets as a more aggressive type of hitting. Wright of course is on board with this as is Frenchie who let Jerry Manuel know that if he had to hit 80 pitches a day to RF he won’t be coming into camp until the mandatory date of March 2. The revelation of the Bernazard way of hitting, is one more indictment of Omar Minaya’ reign of error. 

It’s March 1^st Do you know who your set up man is?

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Before we all go off the deep end here about J-Man contemplating batting Jose Reyes in the 3 hole, let’s remember that (a) this is only because Carlos Beltran will be out until May (cross fingers and toes) and (b) when Beltran comes back, Reyes goes back to the lead off spot. The bigger problem with the Mets lineup is too many square pegs and round holes.

I’ve tossed around a few lineups and the problem I have is not who leads off as the Mets have three guys (Reyes, Castillo and Pagan) who are terrific leadoff men. They also have two nice #2 hitters in Castillo who gives you OBP and Daniel Murphy who hits with some pop. I’m intrigued about Reyes in the 3 spot because with Bay and Wright behind him you know he’s going to see strikes.

So if I were the manager I’d put this lineup out as much as I could this spring to see how it works.

Castillo

Murphy

Reyes

Bay

Wright

Francouer

Barajas/Blanco

Pagan

Pitcher

I’m a little concerned with the 7-8 spot. Barajas is feast or famine and Pagan is the square peg in the round hole I spoke about in the beginning. He’s more a 1-2 hitter but as we see without the potent bat of Carlos Beltran, there has to be some improvisation with this Mets lineup.

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I like the fact that David Wright is stepping up his leadership role with the Mets. In fact one of the best addition by subtraction moves the club made this winter was saying buh-bye to Carlos Delgado, who I felt was a very intimidating presences in the Mets Clubhouse and too many times Wright had to take a backseat to the senior vet. Now with Delgado gone it’s time for Wright to takeover that clubhouse. 

You need an everyday player to be the go to guy and Wright fits that mold better than anyone not named Johan Santana with the Mets. As great a player as Carlos Beltran is, he’s a very low key guy and Jose Reyes who is the on field igniter could be Wright’s tag-team buddy in that clubhouse, in fact in a perfect baseball world the two faces’ of the franchise should be able to say or do what they please with the service time they have with the club, but both are deferential to the older vets on the team sometime to a fault.

If Johan Santana can play the Cliff Floyd role with Wright and give him backup, it would be a major asset to this team. It won’t cure all the ills, but it would help put on notice players, who don’t give 100 % effort physically and mentally, especially the mental part which was as much a reason for the Mets demise as the injuries were last year.

Forget all the bravado of the team to beat bullshit, besides health, the biggest improvement with this Mets team and the whole organization for that matter is accountability. The team motto for this spring and season should be “NO MORE EXCUSES!!!!!”

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