Mets pitching in to make ace comfy

03/08/2006
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Here's the latest dirt on Pedro Martinez and his tortured toe.
Perceived as the difference between the Mets winning a World Series championship in 2006 and not, Martinez stood on an auxiliary pitcher's mound at the club's Spring Training complex, dragging his spikes across the area in front of the rubber as 10 a.m. ET Wednesday came and went.
By 11, a force far greater than even the purposefully pawing Martinez was in the same location, doing the same work, tilling the baked clay that had made the mound harder than hitting Tom Seaver in twilight.
The Mets may not move heaven and earth to satisfy Martinez. But they will move earth and do so with a sense or urgency.
No sooner had Martinez disappeared into the clubhouse than a crew of five groundskeepers attacked with shovels, rakes and implements of destruction in an effort to make life easier for the ace's persnickety piggy.
It was another part of what was a pretty good day for the pitcher who still hasn't abandoned hope of being on Shea Stadium's presumably softer mound April 3 when the games count.
One day after Willie Randolph suggested Martinez needed to "speed up his progress," the pitcher did. New York's ace produced positives and smiles. Neither had been in abundance on Monday, the previous time he threw. He called his Wednesday "a very progressive day" and said "I'm still on track" as far as Opening Day. And he acknowledged Tom Glavine's need to know if the schedule changes.
After a few minutes of catch, Martinez threw 62 pitches from the granite-like bump -- and he did so without gelliin'. No gel packs were in his right shoe. The location of his pitches was more precise.
"I flipped a couple of changeups," he said. "Maybe [I will throw] breaking balls next time."
A batting practice session remains unscheduled and pitching in a game comes after that. But after not throwing from a mound Monday and increasing his workload Wednesday, it was easier to the Mets to feel encouraged -- or less discouraged.
Martinez walked off saying, "No panic, no panic" after providing an update.
He had removed the pads before he threw so he could gain a greater sense of how his violent foot twisting and dragging affects his large right toe.
"I know where I'm hitting now," he said. Recalling the pain caused, he admonished himself: "I should not take the gel pads off."
But he said he had done so and also increased his workload not because of urgency but because he felt better -- apositive development for sure.
The mound he had thrown from is one of six that are connected. Each was equally hard as the crew discovered after the rubbers were removed and the larger tiller began its work. The mounds were watered before the process began, but the water was hardly absorbed. Florida sun bakes the clay, and small burrs that appear and feel like stones are formed.
Maybe it won't be so hard for him the next time.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Mets erupt early in big win

03/08/2006
Indians at the plate: Jhonny Peralta notched the Tribe's first hit of the game in the third inning, when he laced a double to right field off Yusaka Iriki, scoring Brandon Phillips from first. Other than that, the regulars in the lineup were kept pretty quiet on this sunny day at Chain of Lakes Park.
Mets at the plate: The Mets had an answer to everything Paul Byrd floated their way. Todd Self had an RBI double and Chris Woodward had an RBI single in the first. In the second inning, the Mets batted around, as Sandy Martinez led off with a home run, Anderson Hernandez had an RBI single, Jeff Keppinger hit an RBI double and Lastings Milledge drew a walk with the bases loaded.
Indians on the mound: Byrd had trouble getting his fastball by the Mets, who pounded him for seven runs on nine hits in 1 2/3 innings. Non-roster invite Ben Howard pitched well in relief of Byrd, and Bob Wickman and Guillermo Mota each pitched a scoreless inning. Prospect Fausto Carmona looked pretty strong in pitching three scoreless innings.
Mets on the mound: Iriki had the Indians frustrated in his first two innings of work. He walked three batters in three innings, but his only costly mistake came when he hung a breaking ball to Peralta, who lined it for an RBI double to left. Juan Perez held the Indians scoreless for two innings of relief.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Notes: Glavine's schedule altered

03/09/2006
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Tom Glavine merely shrugged. The assignment that may become his -- starting the Mets' first game on April 3 at Shea Stadium -- is not one he takes lightly.
He saw what an Opening Day loss can do last year and in 2003. And for his own personal reasons, he'd prefer to begin the season successfully. But it is hardly a daunting task for a two-time Cy Young Award winner who has won at least 20 games in a season five times in his career.
So when the Mets altered Glavine's work schedule so that he might be in line to start Opening Day -- in case Pedro Martinez can't -- he accepted it and moved on.
"They realized I needed to know," he said. "It's better this way, just in case."
So rather than start Saturday against the Marlins, Glavine makes his next Spring Training appearance Tuesday against the Orioles. His subsequent start comes after five days free of pitching, rather than the customary four. He will throw two sides sessions between starts.
Ace absent from camp: Martinez was not scheduled to throw Friday, and chances are he won't be in camp anyway. Another day off, his third of the spring, was approved for the Mets pitcher. The club explained that it was aware of Martinez's need for time away, that the need is ongoing and that all members of the club's hierarchy are aware of it. Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said the reason for this absence and the second are related. He didn't identify the reason.
The X-factor: Xavier Nady, who strained his left hamstring on Wednesday, played seven innings and produced one hit during three at-bats in the Mets' 3-2 loss to the Astros in Kissimmee on Thursday. He clearly favored the leg as he ran out a double-play ground ball in the sixth inning, but said he merely was being careful.
Nady has seven hits and seven RBIs in 15 at-bats.
Making an impression: After praising the work of right-handed rookie Brian Bannister, who allowed one hit while striking out three batters over three scoreless on Thursday, pitching coach Rick Peterson was asked whether there was anything about Bannister he didn't like.
Said Peterson: "I haven't seen his photography."
Manager Willie Randolph acknowledged he wouldn't rule out Bannister as a potential member of the bullpen, but everyone from Fred Wilpon to Bannister regards him as a starter. He is most likely the pitcher to leave the Minor Leagues this season if and when a starter is needed in the big leagues.
Tickets: The Mets announced single-game tickets for Opening Day, the May series against the Yankees and the six-game Family Pack are sold out. Two other Six Packs -- the Pedro Pack, featuring tickets to Opening Day (April 3), Merengue Night (July 21) and Hispanic Heritage Night (Aug. 25) and the '86 Pack, which includes tickets to the Aug. 19 on-field reunion of members of the 1986 World Series champion Mets -- are nearly sellouts, too.
Season tickets, ticket plans, six packs and single-game tickets for the 2006 season have exceeded 1.75 million sold and are 25 percent ahead of the pace of last year. Those purchasing season tickets and ticket plans will have postseason ticket purchase options. Incumbent season-ticket holders will have priority in purchasing season tickets in the Mets' new stadium, scheduled to open in 2009.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Mets keeping close eye on Wylie

03/09/2006
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The uniform number on his back has two digits -- five and nine. No. 59, Mitch Wylie. A pretty distinctive name, a pretty mundane number. These days, the Mets find the five the more conspicuous part of Wylie's ID -- five as in Rule 5.
Wylie is on New York's 40-man roster, and -- if the Mets are to retain him -- he must be on the 25-man roster when the regular season begins, when it ends and every day in between. Such is the obligation for a club participating in the Rule 5 Draft, staged each year at the Winter Meetings. Draft him, pay $50,000 for him -- to the Giants, in Wylie's case -- keep him on the big-league roster or offer him back to his previous employer at half price.
Which course of action the Mets will choose remains an unknown for now. Nine spots in what will be either an 11- or 12-man staff are virtually decided -- Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine, Steve Trachsel, Aaron Heilman, Victor Zambrano, Billy Wagner, Duaner Sanchez, Jorge Julio and Chad Bradford.
Beyond that, you can throw a blanket over a dozen or so and wonder. Some left-handed -- Royce Ring, Pedro Feliciano, Matt Perisho, Mike Venafro and Juan Perez. Some right-handed -- Jeremi Gonzalez, Yusaku Iriki, Alay Soler, Steve Schmoll, Henry Owens, John Maine and, if he's healthy, Juan Padilla. And Wylie.
Gonzalez, Iriki and one left-hander -- no one knows which one yet -- appear to have the best chances, unless a vacancy in the rotation develops, in which case Brian Bannister would likely move up from Triple-A Norfolk. Otherwise, it's a dozen for one spot, and only one of them has Rule 5 as part of his ID.
"I guess that works in my favor," Wylie says. "It doesn't force them to do anything, but it kind of guarantees that I get a long look.
"The rest is up to me."
Indeed, general manager Omar Minaya says that Wylie is almost assured to be in camp so long as the Mets are in Florida. Most Rule 5 selections are handled that way, provided they demonstrate some degree of value. Even if the Mets decide that Wylie is unlikely to begin the season in the big leagues, the longer they retain him, the more likely it is that the Giants will have diminished interest in him and the less likely it is that they would pay the Mets $25,000 to bring him back.
Wylie is, after all, 28 years old and probably closer to the end of his career than the beginning. But he has something that appeals to the Mets, and when the Giants' last-minute decision was not to protect him, the Mets put their money where the "might-be" was.
Wylie had produced a 3-5 record, a 4.50 ERA and two saves in 22 appearances with San Francisco's Triple-A Fresno affiliate after the Giants found him pitching effectively for Sioux City in the independent Northern League and his native Iowa.
Wylie had seemingly been on track for a big-league career with the White Sox. He had a 15-4 record with Chicago's Birmingham affiliate in his first exposure to Double-A in 2001. But his shoulder betrayed him the following year.
Not until last spring, when Wylie was still with the White Sox, did he regain some of his lost promise when his arm regained its strength. Nonetheless, Wylie was released.
"What I remember," he said, "is sitting in my rental car wondering, 'Do I retire now? What am I supposed to do?' " He called his father, but "I couldn't get myself to say the word 'retire' to him," Wylie said. "So I went back home and figured I'd sit by the phone."
When the phone did ring, the caller wasn't one that Wylie had hoped to hear.
"I always told myself I wouldn't play in an independent league," Wylie said. "But the phone wasn't ringing off the hook. They wanted a No. 1 starter, and I really wasn't interested. Then he said Sioux City."
When Wylie arrived at the Sioux City Spring Training complex, he realized that the stadium was the same one he had played in as a freshman at St. Ambrose University. The field had been re-sodded, so the workouts were at a different field, the same one he had played on in the 1995 NAIA World Series.
"In 10 years, I had gone full cycle," he said.
The Giants saw Wylie pitch in Sioux City's first game, and they eventually signed him. But they left him unprotected shortly after re-signing him for 2006.
Now, Wylie is with the Mets and trying not to handicap his chances of reaching the big leagues. The older he gets, the harder it is to ignore the calendar. The No. 5 assures Wylie of a chance and nothing more.
"It's up to me now," he says.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Floyd dealing with health concern

03/09/2006
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The death of Kirby Puckett on Monday struck Cliff Floyd, and not because the Mets left fielder was particularly close to Puckett. Indeed, Floyd said he hardly knew him. But he considered Puckett something of a contemporary and, more to the point, a young man.
Puckett's passing prompted other considerations, too. It made Floyd more mindful of his own mortality, his father's kidney trouble ... and, now, his own.
"I'm getting myself checked out," Floyd said Monday night. "There was something they found when I had my physical. So I'm getting checked out. You don't mess with your health."
Now, his health is messing with him. Floyd, 33, underwent tests Wednesday to determine whether he, like his father and paternal grandfather, has a kidney disorder. He had been urged to do so by Mets physicians who found irregularities in his blood. Those results already indicate he isn't as healthy as his age, athletic body and demeanor suggest.
"I feel great," he said Wednesday morning before the tests, the results of which won't be available until next Wednesday.
He intended to play and maintain a normal routine.
"[My nephrologists] told me not to worry," he said. "But she messed me up when she told that you can feel great and if your kidneys aren't working, 70 percent of your body can be shutting down without you knowing it. ... It could be real serious for me. I don't know. Some of the things she said ... yeah, they cause some concern. ... And the thing about dialysis is that you don't know until a week before you need it that you need it."
The initial tests detected elevated levels of creatinine and blood urea-nitrogen -- symptoms consistent with early stages of renal failure -- blood in his urine, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. His kidney function was measured at 48 percent efficiency, a figure more alarming than dangerous -- for now. A normal kidney is 80-90 percent efficient.
Floyd was told his health would be unaffected so long as his kidney function remained at 25 percent or higher.
The tests Wednesday were to determine the cause of his diminished function. Floyd was to have undergone an ultrasound examination of his kidneys along with blood and urine analysis.
"I think my blood pressure might have been up when I took the physical [the last week of February]," he said Wednesday. "But now that I know a little bit about what's going on, I'm cool. We'll see next week."
For now -- "and probably for good," he said -- Floyd is at least changing his diet, reducing his intake of soda, salt and, of course, fast food.
"She wants me to gulp down all kinds of water," he said.
Some anti-inflammatory medication, so popular in baseball, may be off his list as well.
Floyd's family history underscores the concern he, his doctor and the Mets have. Cornelius Floyd, his father, required a kidney transplant at age 37. Floyd shared that information with the Mets doctors only after they had advised him of the irregularities. He hadn't told them last year when, he says, his kidney function was essentially the same.
Floyd was merely a teenager when his father's symptoms -- swollen legs, odorous breath and vision problems -- developed "almost overnight." He recalls driving his father to a hospital, even though he didn't have even a driver's permit. He was told his quick response probably saved his father's life.
"They had him in dialysis almost immediately," Floyd said.
That dramatic experience, his father's kidney transplant in 1988 and the good health of 55-year-old Cornelius Floyd has enjoyed subsequently has made the Mets outfielder acutely aware of the critical nature of kidney disorders.
"Everything she talked about ... I remember it happened to my father," Floyd said. "I don't know anything about creatinine. They told me all sorts of things, but I didn't know what they meant until I talked to her."
Now he's learning.
"Once our [doctors] told me I should get checked out," he said, "I was going."
And he wasn't opposed to his circumstances being made public because it might benefit others.
"Right now, anyone can know," he said. "But not many people do. I didn't announce it."
But he willingly shared the information with reporters Monday night and again Tuesday. He spoke mostly of Puckett, victim of a stroke at age 45, and he mentioned the late Astros and Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile, who died at age 33 of a heart attack.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Mets edged by Astros

03/09/2006
Mets at the plate: Catcher Paul Lo Duca swung the bat as if he were in midseason form. He had a single, double and an RBI.
Astros at the plate: With the bases loaded in the ninth inning, Hector Gimenez hit a walk-off single to right field. Left fielder Orlando Palmeiro drove a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right field in the second to score the game's first run for Houston. Jeff Bagwell, who hit in the DH spot, went 0-for-3.
Mets on the mound: Reliever Steve Schmoll took the loss when he gave up Gimenez's single. Right-hander Aaron Heilman worked three innings and gave up two hits and one run, Palmeiro's solo shot. Left-hander Darren Oliver worked two innings, struck out four and gave up an unearned run.
Astros on the mound: Right-hander Roy Oswalt crafted a solid four-inning performance. Oswalt threw 64 pitches (40 for strikes), and he gave up five hits and two runs.
Grapefruit League records: Astros 3-5; Mets 5-3.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Notes: Mets give Trachsel his space

03/10/2006
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- With Mike Piazza gone, Steve Trachsel arrived at Spring Training camp last month as the active player with the most continuous Mets service -- all of five seasons. And what did that do for him?
"Not much," said Trachsel that day. "I lost my parking space."
Trachsel had a space marked with a sign bearing a "29" -- his uniform number -- in the players' long and crowded parking lot last spring, as did manager Willie Randolph and veteran players, Piazza included. This year, with spaces marked for Carlos Delgado, Billy Wagner and Paul Lo Duca added to those for Randolph, Cliff Floyd, Tom Glavine, Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez, as well as for Gary Carter (marked HOF, for Hall of Fame), Trachsel was frozen out.
But the Mets gave him his space on Friday.
"I feel whole again," he said.
Getting ready: Martinez, excused from Friday's workout for personal reasons, reported after 1 p.m., played catch in the outfield and said that he intends to throw off a mound on Saturday. He planned to throw breaking balls for the first time "and see how comfortable I am."
Glavine, his pitching schedule already changed once to line him up for a possible Opening Day assignment, had his plan changed again on Friday. Now he is to make his next start on Monday night.
What about dogs? Seated on a clubhouse stool with ice packs on his left wrist, left elbow and right ankle, 47-year-old Julio Franco said, "Ice ... It's man's best friend."
Out of the zone: Randolph spent some time speaking with plate umpire C.B. Bucknor who, it seemed, was squeezing the strike zone when Mike Pelfrey pitched against the Cardinals on Friday. Pelfrey, the Mets' first-round draft selection last summer, took the squeezing like a man. He made a few faces on the mound but remained tactful.
"The strike zone can be a little small some days," said Pelfrey. "You have to adjust. I didn't do a good job adjusting today."
But he and the Mets liked the way he threw.
Observations: The Mets like what they see in Jeremi Gonzalez, the likely "sixth" starter. ... Each day Xavier Nady plays, Randolph has something positive to say about him. The manager praised Nady's arm after the right fielder threw out Brian Daubach at plate in the third inning and Michael Hernandez at second in the fifth.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Mets hurting on and off the field

03/10/2006
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- On the day Dr. David Altchek arrived in the Mets' Spring Training camp to make a long-distance house call, his services certainly were needed.
Friday proved to be a day for doctoring. Carlos Delgado brought his sore left elbow in from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to be reexamined, Victor Zambrano came in from Orlando to have his back checked. Juan Padilla, his elbow still barking, had a Tommy John conversation with the Mets' primary physician.
And Tom Glavine and Cliff Floyd became candidates for the 15-day disgruntled list.
Neither was injured in any way; each, though, had has his tolerance strained -- Glavine by published excerpts from a new book by his former boss that revealed his second thoughts about leaving the Braves for the Mets, and Floyd by what he considered an invasion of privacy that brought his father to tears.
So for one day at least, the face of the Mets' camp wore a Mona Lisa smile of ambivalence. Some were happy, some weren't.
Delgado was disappointed that the tendinitis that has made his elbow tender would again prevent him from participating in the World Baseball Classic for Puerto Rico on Friday against Cuba.
Zambrano left camp, too, returning to the Venezuelan team. He is to pitch, for a second time, for his country on Monday. Soreness in his back, an apparently minor malady he shared with the Mets but denied to reporters, won't restrict him. And Padilla was to leave to seek a second opinion from Dr. Lewis Yocum, the noted surgeon. Reconstructive surgery was a strong possibility for the 29-year-old reliever who manager Willie Randolph came to trust last season.
Neither Altchek nor Yocum could treat the wounds Glavine and Floyd had suffered. Glavine was clearly irritated by what he considered "inappropriate" storytelling by Braves general manager John Schuerholz in his new book "Built To Win." Floyd was miffed because, apparently, a member of the media had contacted his father seeking insights into his recently-detected kidney issues.
Glavine noted Schuerholz never speaks publicly about negotiations and said, "My situation was private and should have remained private."
Floyd, five days short of knowing the results of tests he underwent on Thursday and thinking the media had "done too much," promised -- and even bet -- his friend David Wright he would withhold public comment about any topic for 30 days.
And so it went. This prenatal period of the Mets' 2006 season had seen better days.
Glavine's face stiffened as he responded to questions concerning revelations in the book. Schuerholz wrote that between the time Glavine accepted the Mets' offer -- three years for $35 miillon -- and the time the then-free agent pitcher signed the contract, he not only expressed misgivings to Braves manager Bobby Cox, but also agreed to re-sign with the Braves.
"I made a mistake. I don't want to do this," the book quotes Glavine as saying to Cox on a Saturday, two days after saying yes to the Mets.
Glavine was quoted in Newsday on that Saturday as saying "What have I done?" when he awoke on Friday.
The Braves went so far as to alert TBS about a "major announcement," the book says. It also suggests Glavine's agent, Gregg Clifton, and the players union, of which Glavine was an active and influential member, convinced the pitcher to the keep his word with the Mets.
Glavine had little quarrel with the book's account, but he said Schuerholz "always was tight-lipped about any negotiations -- except mine," noting that the Braves staged a news conference about Glavine's ultimate decision. He couldn't say what effect the revelations would have on his returning to the Braves after this season. The Mets and Clifton have had preliminary discussions.
Floyd has enjoyed a more than amicable relations with the media in Montreal, Florida and New York. Indeed, the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America presented its "Good Guy" award to Floyd in January. He offered reporters the accounts of his situation this week and spoke openly about his father's kidney problems and eventual transplant. But he was stung on Friday when Cornelius Floyd was contacted.
"I've never heard my dad cry," he told a teammate who characterized Floyd as "pretty upset."
But in typical clubhouse needling, Wright good-naturedly challenged Floyd. "You can't go 30 days -- no way. I'll be reading the clips every day." And Floyd did break a smile -- though not his public silence.
It all made for an uncommon day in the Mets' spring. Zambrano showed up in the morning and after general manager Omar Minaya had explained why -- "He felt something in his back when he was running [Thursday]," Minaya said -- the pitcher said he had made the two-hour trip just to throw a bullpen session with pitching coach Rick Peterson.
Whether he or not he needed it, Zambrano was examined by Altchek on Friday and given the go-ahead to pitch.
Delgado made the 2 1/2-hour ride from Miami after a morning flight from San Juan and then resumed his round trip in the late afternoon.
"I'd like to be there," he said.
Even if he won't play. And he won't.
"It's hard not to," Delgado said. "It's nice to represent your country, to be part of it. It's tough to sit and watch."
Delgado maintained he won't play -- for Puerto Rico or the Mets -- until he feels no pain in his elbow.
"I don't want to look back in June and say, 'I wish I had waited one more day,'" he said. "The morning I get up and feel I can go will be the morning I go."
He said he experienced similar pain a year ago and that "I think it's getting better."
The day could only get better for the Mets, too.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Errors prove costly in loss to Cards

03/10/2006
Cardinals at the plate: Catcher Michel Hernandez drove in three runs, while former Met Brian Daubach and Junior Spivey had two RBIs each. St. Louis had three extra-base hits, two of them doubles by Daubach.
Mets at the plate: Jeff Keppinger had New York's lone extra-base hit, a double. David Wright had two hits to raise his spring average to .176. Lastings Milledge also had two hits.
Cardinals on the mound: Mark Mulder allowed four hits, one walk and one run in 3 2/3 innings. Adam Wainwright allowed two runs -- one earned -- in 3 2/3 frames.
Mets on the mound: Jeremi Gonzalez, who has a chance to make the team as the long man, worked three innings, allowing three runs -- one earned. The Mets made two of their three errors -- by Wright and Chris Woodward -- with Gonzalez pitching. Kaz Matsui committed an error in the fifth when the Cards scored three times against Mike Pelfrey, who was charged no earned runs.
Grapefruit League records: Cardinals 4-5; Mets 5-4.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Matsui likely to start at second

03/11/2006
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Follow this row of dominoes: At one point in November, the Mets had free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal on their wish list. They believed he might bring his game to second base at Shea Stadium and thereby eliminate the chance of Kaz Matsui playing the position.
But Furcal opted to the sign with the Dodgers.
Furcal was to be a member of the Dominican Republic team for the World Baseball Classic, but surgery on his right knee made him unavailable. So the Dominican team took Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, leaving a temporary void in the Mets' Spring Training lineup. And now Mets manager Willie Randolph says the absence of Reyes has forced him to play Anderson Hernandez at shortstop more than at second base. That, Randolph says, has led to Kaz Matsui playing more innings at second base than he might have otherwise.
And -- now, the final domino -- all that has put Matsui in a better position than Hernandez to win the Opening Day second-base assignment. Randolph, while neither dealing with dominoes nor naming Matsui his second baseman, said as much Saturday afternoon following another uneven performance by the former Japanese shortstop.
"Kaz probably has the upper hand," the manager said after characterizing Hernandez's standing as "probably not as high as Kaz's" and identifying Jeff Keppinger, always the last candidate in this race, as a "long shot."
Matsui, Randolph said, probably will play more innings at second than Hernandez until Reyes' return from the Classic and that his chances of winning the assignment probably will be enhanced as a result. The manager didn't say why Hernandez wouldn't play second more often or even instead of Matsui, and the possibility that the Mets are showcasing Matsui remains a possibility.
The juxtaposition of the three second basemen at this point of the spring isn't a revelation, except that the Mets were confident Hernandez -- like Matsui, a transferred shortstop -- could handle second base after watching him play the position in winter ball. The confidence level in Matsui's defense never has seemed as high.
Randolph, a former second baseman, said there are still elements of second-base play that Hernandez hasn't proven he can handle. But no one is certain Matsui can either.
"If you consider everything -- defense, baserunning, hitting -- there probably isn't that much of a difference between them," one person familiar with the Mets' evaluations of the two players said Saturday. "Kaz has a lot more experience in the game. But that hasn't helped him that much so far. ... I think the idea is to let both prove themselves and give Kaz the first chance."
So a scenario similar what unfolded last season may be possible. Matsui will begin the season at second and, should he falter, someone else -- possibly Chris Woodward -- gradually will play more innings as happened Miguel Cairo last year. And if Matsui succeeds, the Mets will be delighted and, to some degree, surprised.
Matsui's salary and pride are components in this equation. The 30-year-old former Japanese All-Star is to be paid $8 million in this, the final year of his three-year contract with the Mets. The club isn't inclined to pay that salary to a reserve while no less expensive player with conspicuously greater skills is available.
Shortly after last season ended, the Mets began saying they expected an upgraded performance from Matsui in 2006. They noted how injuries hampered him in 2005 when he played in merely 87 games, not factoring in his performance as a reason for limited player. He batted .255 with 31 runs, 24 runs batted in, 16 extra base hits and six stolen bases.
Now they think his professional pride may prompt greater production. A person familiar with Matsui said Saturday that he declined an offered -- from the Tokyo Giants, no less -- to return to Japan because he wanted to prove himself in the Major Leagues.
But he also pointed out that Matsui had the same motivation in 2004, his first season with the Mets.
Matsui hasn't distinguished himself thus far in Spring Training. With a run-scoring double in four at-bats Saturday in the Mets' 10-6 victory against the Marlins, he is batting .160 with three RBI in 25 at-bats. Only Victor Diaz, who has been made available in trade, and Tike Redman have more at-bats. Hernandez, incidentally, has 24 at-bats and a .292 average. The error Matsui committed Saturday was his third.
But exhibition game stats hardly are reliable indicators of anything. And Randolph says he goes by what he sees and feels. For now, at least, he sees Matsui as the more likely second-base starter.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Mets rally late, but fall to Braves

03/11/2006
Braves at the plate: The Braves batted around twice, sending nine men to the plate in the first inning and 10 to the plate in the third. In the first, James Jurries hit a grand slam, powering a John Maine offering onto the berm in left field, and added a two-run single in the third for six RBIs on the day. Matt Diaz had three RBIs, including a two-run double to center in the third. Pete Orr added a run-scoring single in the fourth.
Mets at the plate: Ramon Castro got the Mets on the board in the fourth inning with his first home run of the spring, a solo shot to right-center. Leivi Ventura added a pair of runs with a double, and Carlos Gomez had a two-run triple in the eighth. Julio Ramirez drove in a run with an eighth-inning single after striking out his first three times up.
Braves on the mound: Kyle Davies had little trouble with the Mets' split-squad lineup, limiting New York to a pair of hits over three scoreless innings, striking out one. Brad Baker was touched for three runs, including a home run, and Will Startup allowed three more in the eighth.
Mets on the mound: Making his second start of the spring, Maine struggled, allowing six runs in the first inning, including the two-run double to Diaz and the grand slam to Jurries. He settled in to quiet Atlanta in the second, but the Braves batted around again in the third against Alay Soler, who allowed four runs in the frame. Juan Perez, Mitch Wylie and Anderson Garcia all looked solid in relief.
Grapefruit League records: Mets 6-5; Braves 3-7-1.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Mets hook Marlins at home

03/11/2006
Marlins at the plate: Reggie Abercrombie had two RBIs, one coming on a home run against Royce Ring. Scott Seabol had a two-run double. Former Met Mike Jacobs was hitless in two at-bats with a walk.
Mets at the plate: David Wright is warming up. He hit his first Spring Training home run, with two runners on base, in the Mets' seven-run fifth inning. Xavier Nady (RBI triple), Kaz Matsui (RBI double) and Chris Woodward (two-run double) also drove in runs. Todd Self also had a two-run double in the eighth.
Marlins on the mound: Jason Vargas started and held the Mets scoreless for four innings. Travis Bowyer and Harvey Garcia were the victims in the seven-run fifth inning.
Mets on the mound: Once again, Jose Lima pitched effectively -- to a point. He held the Marlins hitless through three innings but allowed four runs and four hits and two walks in the fourth. Ring surrendered one run in two innings.
Grapefruit League records: Marlins 8-2; Mets 6-5.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Pedro solid in latest side session

03/11/2006
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- To the uninformed or those afflicted with Pedro-paranoia, it was cause for alarm.
Pedro Martinez throwing off a mound, Pedro Martinez dropping to the ground, Pedro Martinez sitting and grabbing his feet.
Fans gathered in the stands above the "six-pack" mound where the Mets' primary preparatory project was throwing Saturday morning thought the worst. "What's wrong? What did he do? Is it his toe?"
To their relief -- and to that of any employee proud to identify Martinez as a co-worker -- the foot-grabbing was merely part of his stretching regimen. Seated on the ground, Martinez would pull his feet together as if assuming a yoga position, his heels would touch, and he would lean forward at the waist.
He repeated that chorus after each stanza. He threw 16 times -- stopped, dropped and stretched; then 20 -- stop, drop, stretch; then 23 -- stop, drop stretch; and, finally, 22 -- stop, kibitz and smile. The last 15 of each set were serious.
Each time he stretched, he was symbolically reaching for April 3 and the Mets' Opening Day assignment. It remains a possibility, he said. And no one disputed that -- not publicly, anyway.
At one point, as Martinez stretched, Rick Peterson, the man in charge of slowing down the calendar, squatted near his pitcher, bowed his head and pressed his palms together, as if he were praying. No one questioned the need for that, either.
Eighty-one (60 of them with serious effort) throws -- they don't qualify as pitches until an armed batter stands in -- won't get it done; Martinez knows that. He threw in some breaking balls Saturday, an '06 first. And the 81 qualified as a Spring Training high for him.
Still, he seemingly is at least a few days away from throwing batting practice, and in-game competition is so far away no one ventures a guess. It all makes April 3 seem closer than St. Patty's Day.
No one knows exactly what to think, predict or say about Pedro's Days. He is discussed internally, but publicly, he is a topic characterized with vague adjectives and less-than-definitive phrases. Egg shells surround the topic of Pedro, tread on them at your own risk.
Only Peterson speaks definitively.
"Awesome," the pitching coach said. "He was rehearsing his sequences. Very focused."
Peterson acknowledged that facing batters is the next step, but he couldn't say when that would happen. He recalled last spring when rainouts, and rain in general, forced Martinez to throw simulated games, and that Martinez's focus factor is such that he can benefit from them as other pitchers benefit from facing batters.
Even Martinez isn't so sure of the timing. He says "It depends on how I feel tomorrow" or words to that effect each time he throws.
"If I feel like I did [Friday], I might jump on the mound," he said Saturday. But even his throwing Saturday came a bit of a surprise. "I don't have to work all that much to get used to [pitching]."
Yet, at the same time, he and his friend/coach Guy Conti worked privately -- secretly -- Friday on a remote field on the mundane components of a pitcher's game. Call it PPPPFP -- Pedro's private and personal pitcher's field practice.
Most team's are content with PFP. But it's different here.
The camp focus changes on days Martinez throws. Peterson, the pitching coach, Conti, and trainer Ray Ramirez are constants when he is on the mound. Grounds crew members are present in case the mound is not to Martinez's liking. A Wilpon or two is almost always present. Reporters' reroute their workdays.
Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Doc Gooden, David Cone and Tom Glavine never caused such suspensions of camp normalcy. None of them had the first space in the parking lot, either.
Martinez's shoes have made as much news as those examined in airports, his toe has kicked other developments off the back pages, though now, it seems, his arm -- and its readiness -- has taken precedence.
"You can put that away," he told reporters who had inquired about his shoe and toe. He acknowledged other issues were sure to develop -- a shoulder drooping, a sore elbow -- but every pitcher endures such maladies.
He is not every pitcher, not on this team, in this camp; not this year.
And he found the practice mound better -- softer and less resistant to the pounding it takes when he throws. It took two days of tilling to make it Pedro perfect.
And now Billy Wagner would like to have the mound in the stadium softened, too.
Shovels, fastballs, customized shoes. Rakes, sliders and gel pads. Special practice sessions. It's different here. And Martinez is a unique talent.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Notes: Wright shoring up his defense

03/12/2006
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- For the first time this spring, something other than a zero appears in the column marked "E" in David Wright's statistic line. The Mets third baseman was charged with a throwing error in the second inning on Friday on a ball hit by Junior Spivey of the Cardinals. Not that he had erred in any way. And no one, least of all Wright himself, was much concerned about the scoring. March misplays mean no more than doubles in December.
This one in particular doesn't even come close to being a blemish on Wright's Port St. Lucie resume. As he prepared to throw to first base, he noticed first baseman Julio Franco had caught a spike on one shoe on the laces of the other. Wright tried to adjust. The result was an E-5, a set of symbols that, more than likely, will be on the endangered species list at Shea Stadium this season and beyond.
Wright will make errors this season; the best defenders do. Joe DiMaggio made four in one doubleheader. But the defense of the third-year third baseman is apt to be better than it was last season -- statistically and otherwise. The chance for mistakes diminishes each day when Wright takes ground balls with coach Sandy Alomar, be they at third base during batting practice or off to the side, with Wright kneeling and Alomar tapping quick hits his way.
Wright has improved his footwork and, he believes, his quickness. And his glove placement and other facets of his defense have been fine-tuned and polished.
Early last summer, while Wright's error total was steadily increasing, there was a thought, one that had a brief shelf life, that the third baseman of the present and future might be transformed into the first baseman of the future.
The thought died quickly, even before Wright made adjustments during the All-Star break and became a more reliable thrower and an improved overall defender. He slowed himself and less rushing meant fewer errors. Wright committed 15 errors in 233 chances (a .936 fielding percentage) before the All-Star break. After the break, he made nine in 228 chances (.961).
"A lot of getting better defensively is hard work," former general manager Jim Duquette said at the time. "And in David's case, you know he's going to work hard. You're pretty safe expecting him to improve."
People around the game, many of whom have the highest regard for Wright as a hitter, anticipate him developing into an above-average third baseman as well and shortly, perhaps even this season. A Reds scout, familiar with Scott Rolen from Rolen's early days with the Phillies, draws parallels between Wright, entering his third season, and Rolen.
"I think Scott had better hands and feet, and he was a smoother third baseman [as a rookie] than Wright was early last year," the scout said. "But that kid improved a lot by the end of the season.
"And the way he works, he's catching up. Scott's got more natural ability, but give Wright another year. He's going to close the gap."
Wright worked out through the offseason, adding rope jumping to his regimen to "quicken up my feet." Since camp began, Alomar has had Wright adjust how he holds his glove and his body. In a manner remisicent of how Keith Hernandez played, Wright was holding his glove wide open with the pocket facing the hitter. It worked for Hernandez, the former Mets first baseman who won 11 Gold Gloves. But Alomar sensed Wright's glove and arm were too tense, which made it harder for him to adjust to ground balls hit to the hot corner.
Alomar also urged Wright to keep his upper body more parallel to the ground as a means of keeping ground-ball ricochets from bouncing up and into short left.
A hard day and a soft spot: Pedro Martinez said he still had no idea of when he would throw batting practice, but he expected his next "throw" day to be on Tuesday, and he described Sunday's agenda as "working my tail off." He said he and the trainers do something a little unusual before he throws, to prepare his feet for the beating they will take. But afterwards, heat and ice are applied to his problematic toe -- large toe, right foot -- to reduce the chance of inflammation.
The grounds crew watered the area in front of the rubber on the practice mound from which Martinez will throw and covered it with a piece of artificial turf to maintain the moisture and a softer composition.
All that will be well and good so long as Martinez and others throw from different mounds. But what happens when they all share the same mound -- Tom Glavine, for instance, prefers the mound hard -- or when Martinez pitches from a mound the Mets crew doesn't control?
By any other name: Glavine didn't notice, but someone did. The surname of Minor League pitcher Tim LaVigne is an anagram of Glavine.
Timing is everything: Chad Bradford has the unusual job description -- "right-handed specialist" -- and unusual arm angle -- sub-sidearm.
"If you were a clock, your release point would be where?" he was asked Sunday morning.
He checked the clubhouse clock and said "Right now." The time was 11:38 a.m. ET.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Young Mets pitchers working on 'D'

03/12/2006
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Few elements in a Spring Training camp are more mind-numbing than pitcher's fielding practice. Covering first base is one thing, doing it 20 times in 30 minutes "kills brain cells," Ron Darling once said. But the former Met also recognized it as essential, so he did it with purpose, focus and the skill that made him the only Mets pitcher to win a Gold Glove.
Whether the Mets have a potential Gold Glove pitcher among their current Minor League population is an issue for another day. But they may have several pitchers scattered among the crowd at the Port St. Lucie complex who may be covering first base at Shea Stadium or its 2009 successor. And they'll want it done it right when the time comes. All of which means they're doing it right now.
It's all part of the detailed approach the Mets are taking in their camp this spring. They definitely are sweating the small stuff. Roving pitching instructor Rick Waits has been delighted by the sweat and the attention to detail.
"You can cover first 20 times or you can cover it 10 times, stop, make sure it's being done properly, and then do it 10 more times," Waits said on Sunday. "That's what it's like this year. It's not just that, it's everything -- relays, rundowns, baserunning. It's good to see."
Waits and others -- among them Adam Wogan. the club's new Minor League director -- credit assistant general manager Tony Bernazard for the enhanced focus.
"You can't always make the plays perfectly in the game," Waits said. "But you can make sure you practice perfectly. And we are."
On the pine: Philip Humber took his second post-surgery step on Saturday, throwing a side session five days after his 15-pitch, one-the-mound spring debut.
Names in the game: John Valentin, the former Red Sox and Mets infielder, is serving as the Mets' Double-A hitting coach in his first job -- other than playing -- in professional baseball. Valentin, now 39, played with former Seton Hall and Red Sox teammate Mo Vaughn with the Mets in 2002. He was cut in the two subsequent Spring Trainings and retired. Scouted by current Mets general manager Omar Minaya when he as an amateur, Valentin may been entrusted with Lastings Milledge, the Mets' most highly-regarded position player prospect, who has had only limited exposure to Double-A pitching -- 193 at-bats -- but hardly has seemed overmatched in exhibition games.
They're No. 1: Mike Pelfrey, the club's top pick in last June's First-Year Player Draft, is adjusting to the life he hopes to lead. That means dealing with umpires who squeeze the strike zone and trying to act cool around his hero, Tom Glavine. He handled the changing strike zone of C.B. Bucknor with tact and enjoyed his first days of being around Glavine. The age difference is significant. Glavine turns 40 this month, and Pelfrey was born three months before Dwight Gooden made his big league debut. Pelfrey's 22.
"He's been great to be around," Pelfrey said. "But it still seems a little funny."
Class of '05: He's barely 19, but he was in camp with the big boys. The Mets selected second baseman Hector Pellot in the fourth round of the draft last year and didn't hesitate bringing him to the big-league camp.
"You like the maturity he shows," said Wogan. "It can only help him to be around veteran players."
Pellot is a product of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy in Cidra.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/

Trachsel sharp in loss to Orioles

03/12/2006
Mets at the plate: Julio Ramirez cranked a monstrous home run in the third inning, a shot that traveled beyond the left-field wall and bounced on the infield of one of the back practice fields. Victor Diaz singled, stole second base, moved to third on a throwing error and scored on a double by Juan Tejada in the fifth inning.
Orioles at the plate: Val Majewski doubled off the center-field wall in the 10th inning to score Esix Sneed from first with the winning run. Melvin Mora and Kevin Millar drew walks in the sixth inning, and Mora came around on Jeff Conine's single to give the Orioles their first run. Millar also singled earlier in the game, running his spring average to .450 (9-for-20). Reserve catcher Eli Whiteside singled and double for Baltimore.
Mets on the mound: Steve Trachsel started and threw four scoreless innings on Sunday. The right-hander allowed just three baserunners -- all in the second inning -- and erased one on a 5-4-3 double play. Trachsel retired the final seven batters he faced. Darren Oliver ran into trouble in the sixth, allowing one run and stranding the potential tying run at third base.
Orioles on the mound: Eric DuBose started for the Orioles and threw two perfect innings. Veteran Ricky Bottalico took the ball from him and gave up a home run to the second batter he faced. Bottalico has thrown three innings this spring, allowing 10 hits, four homers and nine earned runs. Winston Abreu and Jim Brower pitched one scoreless inning.
Grapefruit League records: Mets 6-6; Orioles 3-8.

Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/