The Good

There isn’t much that I’d define as “good,” but how about we go with “encouraging” instead? Let’s apply that to the fact that General Manager Omar Minaya has decided to infuse a touch of youth onto the roster. I don’t know if there’s anybody who doesn’t like Alex Cora, but we all know he wasn’t going to start the amount of games necessary for his vesting option to kick in, and he wasn’t very effective anyway. Jesus Feliciano is a guy who I’ve never seen swing so hard to hit a ball 6 feet in front of him. The Mets welcomed Ruben Tejada and Fernando Martinez back to the Majors, and Luis Castillo has been delegated to a bench role. Is this the answer? No. But it is encouraging that some young guys are here to play.

The Bad

Can anybody answer what the hell’s going on with Mike Pelfrey? Anybody? Bueller? I remember how, after a month of a half into the season, Small Pelf was a part of early Cy Young and All-Star game discussions. Any discussion concerning Pelfrey now pretty much always starts with “I don’t know…” Why? He’s a guy with all the talent in the world, and clearly has the ability to be an extremely effective pitcher. His fall from grace this year has been nothing short of alarming, and if the Mets are going to at the very least make the last two months of the season remotely interesting, they need him to return to form.

Other problems with the team pretty much all concern the heart of the order. I’m talking about Carlos Beltran, David Wright, and Ike Davis. This trio are 11-62 over the last week, with Ike responsible for 6 of those hits. Together, they have 3 RBI. If you’re head didn’t just completely explode, and I hope it hasn’t, you’re probably thinking that that is completely unacceptable. Because it is.

The Ugly

Jose Reyes has been absolutely brutal with the glove - and more confusingly, his arm - last week. The only thing that’s worse than Reyes making an error is the fact that it seems as if it always leads to at least a run, and usually more.

Someone needs to teach Jerry Manuel how to use a bullpen. After walking Chipper Jones in the Mike Pelfrey game, why he was left in to pitch to Brian McCann, who already had 2 hits on the day, is beyond me. How about leaving him in long enough to hit a batter with the bases loaded to force in a run? The only thing I’ve been able to say whenever the manager makes a mistake like that is: “Oh, Jerry.”

Then, there’s this:

Submitted by Dave Rosado

I grant you that there are still 2 weeks left in spring training, but these guys are so exciting to watch that I’m confident in making the following arguments.

Slugging percentages of .917 and 1.000. Batting averages of .472 and .500. 6 homers between the two in exactly 60 at-bats. 57 total bases. And they said the Mets farm system was weak. Who am I talking about? Anybody who’s paid attention this spring should know that these are the numbers of Ike Davis and Fernando Martinez. These are a couple of guys that we’ve heard plenty about (moreso about F-Mart) the last couple of years, but only now have gotten to see just how good they can hack it. And how about that Jenrry Mejia?

F-Mart

Martinez used to be called the “teenage hitting machine,” but has taken a bit longer to be noticed because of all the injuries he’s had to deal with. Last year, when up for a cup of coffee, Martinez struggled at the plate and in the field (type his name into a Google search and look at the auto-fill options. “Faceplant” is one of them). His value took a little bit of a hit, and he wasn’t spoken about too much for the rest of the season. This spring, however, has been Fernando’s coming out party. Unfortunately, however, there’s a pretty slim chance we see him patrolling center field at Citi anytime soon, with Angel Pagan likely getting the nod. Martinez has not been playing center in Florida, and I’m guessing the logic is that they’ll keep him at AAA to get uninterrupted playing time while Pagan keeps Carlos Beltran’s spot warm for him. Might he end up being a blue chip in a trade deal down the line?

Ike Davis

There’s been less hullabaloo concerning Ike Davis when compared to Martinez before this spring, but it’s clear this “kid” (he is 23 today) can hit. And hit. And hit. He’s made a few errors in the field, but his reputation is that of a more than capable defender. So why is the prevailing thought that he’ll start the year in AAA? Daniel Murphy, whose hype machine (through no fault of his own) ran completely rampant last year, will get every opportunity to fail at first base in 2010. He’s hitting a paltry .133 this spring, but look! He’s got a new, taller batting stance! I like Murphy a ton. He’s a hard worker, he’s great when interviewed, and you can really tell that he cares. Can you hit a ball into the gap with caring, though? We’ll get a chance to find out, and I’m far from alone in saying that Murphy’s leash will shorten in a hurry if he continues to struggle into April and May.

Jenrry Mejia

The guy I least want to start the year in the Majors is the guy who’s most likely to. Go figure. Still, he’s having a very productive and impressive spring, basically using one pitch to strike out 8 in 9.1 innings pitched. Talk about efficient. There are guys who, when pitching, are just fun to watch, and he’s one of them. It’s easy to see his potential, and his “I’m ready now” attitude is always a plus. Thing is, the bullpen does not look like a weakness on this year’s Mets team, but manager Jerry Manuel, perhaps in a bid to save his job, insists that Mejia be a part of it when the squad comes north anyway, and that’s the unfortunate part. I believe he should be in the minors to get some more seasoning as a starter, which would potentially make him much more valuable to this team down the road. Instead, he’ll probably be pitching in the 8th inning, which certainly might be an upgrade from Bobby Parnell, but in a role that might interfere with his development, especially if he hits a snag and starts struggling against some bonified Major League lineups.

Man-Crushes

These guys are the reason to watch spring training this year. They’re energetic, full of talent, and are basically pounding on the door to the MLB. That’s why this trio of Mets prospects gets my nod for Man-Crushes of the Spring.

brooklynmutt:

Prominent Mets Blogger : Francesca’s “One Nasty Fuck”

WFAN’s Mike Francesca used his little-watched “Mike’d Up” program on WNBC/Ch. 4 last night to insist he and David Wright have “made amends”, and while it’s tempting to imagine the Mets 3B breaking the ice with  an appropriate gift, it’s more likely both parties realized they have little to gain in furthering the feud.

For Steve Keane of The Eddie Kranepool Society however, nothing short of the radio host losing his job will suffice.

By not conceding that Wright is one of the top 10 players in the game today, it showed Francesa’ ignorance and his nastiness. Make no mistake Mike Francesa is one nasty fuck and both Wright and Church gave him their ass to kiss and rightly so.  I mean for David Wright not to agree to come on his show, that’s all you need to know that Francesa either needs to get a personality transplant –a la Tom Coughlin—or he needs to pack it in as no one is tuning in to here his political views or reviews of movies made 60 years ago.

His one on one with Fernando Martinez was embarrassing as he really had no clue on the kid’s accomplishments, his age or what he has done as a 20 year old playing in Double A. No ,all Francesa could talk about was the injury factor. The best interview was with Oliver Perez who blew Francesa off after two questions. Of course, there is the Wright/ Church matter that both players who made it known to Jay Horowitz that no way in hell were they going on with Francesa. So WFAN wasted all that money to send Mike down there just to wear those hideous sunglasses and model his collection of black shirts. Can’t Stop The Bleeding