Bring on the Dodgers. The Mets have proven they can beat that club, so go ahead and pencil in six wins for 2008.
Now, how the team might fare against the rest of the league remains to be seen.
Speaking of being seen, Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran, Damion Easley, Jose Valentin, Endy Chavez, Pedro Martinez, and El Duque have yet to show themselves in a Spring Training game. Willie has been reluctant to give these guys a start due to recovery from injuries, surgeries, root canals, and bunions.
Pedro is slated to see some time on the mound on March 6th.
Let’s take a look at how the rest of the Amazins have performed in their first week of spring action.
Starting Pitchers
Mike Pelfrey has been the stud of the bunch, not giving up a run in his first appearance.
Johan Santana, John Maine, and Oliver Perez all got knocked around but still have their health. Youngsters Jonathan Niese and Eddie Kunz were effective.
Relief Pitchers
Willie is preparing Billy Wagner and Aaron Heilman for a lot of work. They’ve already appeared in multiple games and are on schedule to throw some more frames at the beginning of the upcoming week.
Both have been effective, excepting the game against the University of Michigan.
Jorge Sosa, Brian Stokes, Matt Wise, Ruddy Lugo, Steven Register, Pedro Feliciano, Joselo Diaz, and Nate Field have been solid. Joe Smith, Scott Schoeneweis, and Duaner Sanchez were inconsistent.
Still, the fact that Sanchez actually pitched should be seen as a positive.
Catchers
Brian Schneider has been suffering from "leg soreness," so Ramon Castro has seen the bulk of behind-the-plate time, with the unimpressive cast of non-roster invitees filling in as well.
Infield
Carlos Delgado is already bothered by a hip. His replacement, Marlon Anderson, got into a collision.
Cuban defector Michael Abreu—a first base candidate—started off hot, but has since cooled down. Hot at the plate is Ruben Gotay, who homered from the right side against the Cardinals.
Anderson Hernandez has also seen a lot of time and has even been able to get his bat on the ball.
David Wright has performed, well, as David Wright. Jose Reyes has been hustling, looking to be back in pre-September 2007 form.
Outfield
Ryan Church was involved in the collision with Anderson and suffered a concussion. We have heard no updates on his condition as of yet.
Brady Clark and Angel Pagan have looked solid at the plate, but shaky in the field. Against the Cardinals, Clark let a pop up fall right in front of him. Pagan has had similar troubles judging the ball.
Fernando Martinez has shown some flashes of ability, getting a hit against Michigan and making a great diving catch in left field against St. Louis.
With Easley yet to see action, Delgados’ nagging hip, and the Church-Anderson collision, Omar better get on the phone and look for some more help with the right field/first base/bench situation.
Anybody know what Bobby Bonilla is up to these days?
2 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Vivianna Velazquez about 1 year ago
Re: Outfield; "...Pagan also having some trouble judging the ball..." How is that? He's played 39 innings and no errors (thats more play time than any other outfielder in the NL). He's actually an all around stand out this spring...only one other outfielder with as much playing time has a better batting average right now.
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Dan Siegel about 1 year ago
Errors in judgment aren't reflected in the scorecard. If you saw the Cardinals' game on Friday, the Mets gave up two triples. At least one of them could have been cutoff by Pagan had he taken a better route to the ball. He is also letting balls fall in front of him that Beltran or Endy Chavez would normally get to.
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