It Gives You Wings!!

So I was getting off of the PATH (yes, I work in Jersey...) this morning and all of the sudden I got a rush of excitement. While I definitely think it had something to do with the cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts I had just finished (I don't remember the last time I drank coffee in the morning), I know that it also had to do with the first week of Spring Training. I love this time of year. The end of last season does not really seem that long ago. Every day though, each newspaper has a couple articles about my team. Unless I root for the Yankees of course, who have like 10 articles since they have about 20 different storylines at the moment that have almost nothing to do with them winning the World Series. In any event, I am pumped. The Yankees are once again reinventing the "Bronx Zoo" and the Mets are quietly going about Spring Training. The Mets have more than enough issues of their own, but their problems are on the field, while the Yankees have stuff going on all over the map. This is not a criticism of them, it is just the facts. I think I will list the Yankee storylines and then talk about the two most important Spring Training developments for the Mets. I would go into more detail on the Yanks, but there is just soo much to say that I would be neglecting something.

The Bombers
1. Joe Torres' lame duck status
2. ARODs' daily emotional stability
3. Carl Pavanos' balls (or lack thereof)
4. Missing Bernie Williams
5. Any soundbite/quote from The Boss
6. The Jeter/AROD relationship
7. The Torre/AROD relationship
8. Mariano Rivera contract situation
9. Kei Igawas' adjustment to the Majors
10. The development of Phil Hughes
11. The return of Andy Pettitte
12. Oh...and the neverending pursuit to end those "Year 2000" chants coming out of the bleachers in Fenway

There is a lot going on in Yankeeland, and this is without Gary Sheffield and Randy Johnson. Bottom line in my mind is that there is going to be a ton of off the field stuff go on this season, but as usual the Yanks will make the playoffs. Whether they get Clemens or not, I do not see them winning it all, but I think that Cashman is slowly but surely getting this franchise on the right track with young, power arms and staying committed to the development of prospects.

The Amazins

There are two main things that I am keeping an eye on at Mets camp. The starting pitching and the corner outfield spots.

1. Starting Pitching: In my perfect world the starting rotation at the beginning of the year will be Tom Glavine, Orlando Hernandez, Oliver Perez, Mike Pelfrey, John Maine/Jason Vargas. I can not say that this rotations resembles anything dominant, but I do think that Glavine can be consistent, El Duke can pitch well in big spots, and Oliver Perez can regain some of his composure and win 15 games. I would love Pelfrey to develop, but I can not count on that. I honestly do believe that Perez will have a good year though. I believe that Pedro will be back by the beginning of August and will pitch well down the stretch. I could also see the Mets making a big trade for a starter. They have a ton of young starting arms (Pelfrey, Maine, Perez, Vargas, Phil Humber, Alay Soler, Aaron Heilman) to go along with a Lasting Milledge or a younger prospect. In addition, since the Mets did not commit to any more long term contracts this offseason the word is that they have some money to spend. I am excited to see how this plays out. I will be keeping an eye on Pelfrey and Humber the most for sure...

2. Corner Outfielders: Going into the season the Mets have Moises Alou and Shawn Green penciled in as their starters. Combined these guys are about 100 years old. Alou definitely still has some juice left in his bat, but will almost definitely experience a month (at least) on the DL. Green can stay on the field, but he moves as quickly as my dead Grandmother in right, and has the batspeed looks like hes swinging through peanut butter. Then you have Milledge, Ben Johnson, David Newhan and Endy Chavez fighting for bench spots. I think that Green will not last the year with the Mets. Milledge (if hes not traded) or Johnson will end up starting in right by June and they will piece together left field when Alou gets injured. The Mets have a couple highly touted outfield prospects in the minors, but they are too young to likely have an impact this season. Again, we will see how this develops, but I would like to see Milledge get another chance to start before looking to deal him.

Postscript from the MVP Talk...

I made a mistake on Dirk. The bottom line is that he is without a doubt the best player on the best team in the league. Based on the premise alone, he has to be a top contender for MVP. That was my screw-up. If I had a vote, I would put him in the top five, possibly top three, but I do not think he would be my top choice. I would honestly give it to McGrady at this point. Its gunna be interesting the second half though. A lot depends on the injuries to Nash and Yao, as well as if the Mavs run away with the #1 seed.

This is just a taste of baseball for the moment. I am sure we will get into a lot more in the next month and a half before the season starts. Also, I'm working on customizing the page better. Hope you enjoy...



STKAFI