News: Mets To Sign Scott Schoeneweis

You thought Doug Mientkiewicz was difficult to spell? Buster Olney says the Mets are set to sign free agent relief pitcher Scott Schoeneweis to a three-year deal.

I can't wait to hear Omar Minaya hype this signing, as it was just last week when he said the rest of the available free agents were of the bottom feeder ilk.

32 year old lefty Schoeneweis had 29 K's in 71 appearances last season for the Reds and Blue Jays, and though he has been used mostly as a reliever the past few years, he did make 19 starts for the White Sox in 2004. He is "a sinker-slider pitcher who's significantly more effective against lefties," according to Baseball America's Jim Callis.

His 16 games for the Reds down the stretch last season were his first in the National League, and he had 11K's in 14 innings, converting 3 saves and posting a 0.63 ERA. For his career, he's allowed one out of every 3.6 inherited runners to score.

What Is Your All-Time Least Favorite Mets Team?

The authors of Always Amazin', Hot Foot, and MetsBlog have undertaken ESPN's Bill Simmon's challenge to name our least favorite Mets of all time, at each position. Here's my list:

1B Todd Zeile
2B Jeff Kent
3B Bobby Bonilla
SS Kaz Matsui
RF Roger Cedeno
LF Vince Coleman
CF Juan Samuel
C Mackey Sasser

SP - Shawn Estes
SP - Steve Trachsel
SP - Bret Saberhagen
SP - Kenny Rogers

Setup Man - Mel Rojas
Closer: Armando Benitez


Man, the names on my list evoke some baaad memories.

What are your nominees? Maybe the Mets can build a promotion around this idea, like when they named the all time greatest Mets at each position a couple years back.

Got Opening Day Tickets!!

I was successful in landing tickets to Opening Day (and six other games) this morning, when I bought the Mets Opener Pack, a group of seven games pre-selected by the Mets.

As soon as I got the confirmation from Mets.com, I put in my request to HR to take Monday, April 9th as a "Floating Holiday." Not a vacation day, not a personal day. Opening Day is a bigger holiday than Thanksgiving for me. And lucky for us Opening Day falls the Monday after Good Friday this year, so I'll be able to make it a four day trip up to New York to see the Mets play the Phillies in Shea Stadium's penultimate home opener. As for the other six games I bought tickets to? Doesn't look promising. But I am slotting Labor day weekend for a trip down to Turner Field.

Opening Day 2007! Hope to see you there!

Mets to Pay Dirty Sanchez A Filthy Amount Of Money

Duaner Sanchez was a linchpin of the Mets stellar bullpen last season, and even though his season was cut short by a taxi accident, the Mets feel confident enough in his ability to double his salary for 2007. He'll bring home 850 big ones next season, more than enough to pay restaurants to deliver late night snacks to his hotel room.

Acquiring Sanchez was a very successful move by Omar Minaya last offseason. He was acquired from the Dodgers for Jae Seo, who was then shipped to the Florida Rays in June for Mark Hendrickson.

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Roger Cedeno and Miguel Cairo

Roger Cedeno is back in baseball, agreeing to a minor-league contract with the Baltimore ex-Mets. If he makes the club, he'll earn a half-million dollars and get the privilege of sharing a locker room with Bruce Chen, Chad Bradford, Kris Benson, Melvin Mora and Jay Payton.

Miguel Cairo re-signed with the Yankees this weekend. He will either be the Yankees utility infielder, or else he'll serve as the righthanded platoon at first base to fellow 2005-era Met Doug Mientkiewicz.


By the way, I am about to switch over to Google's "new" blogger utility. Hopefully this site won't crash or delete all my old posts or anything like that. They tell me the transition will be seamless, but I'll believe it when I see it. Hopefully there will be a benefit to the change, of which Google has been selling hard. Wish me luck!

Mets Announce "Seven Packs"

Still no word yet when single-game tickets for the 2007 go on sale, but on Friday, January 12th, the Mets will offer for sale, "seven packs," groups of seven pre=selected games. There are seven sets to choose from, including the "Rival Pack," (with games against the NL East as well as the Yankees Giants and Cardinals), the "Champion Pack," (with games against all the 2006 division winners), and the "Jose Jose Jose Pack," with Friday night games including something called Merengue Night and Fiesta Latina*.

Last season the Mets offered a six-pack, but due to drawing 3.5 million fans in 2006, they must figure they can squeeze a few extra bucks out of these "packs." This is not unprecedented at all. In the mid-nineties they sold six packs, but by the time they went to the World Series in 200, they started selling eight-packs. Then after a couple lean years, they worked their way back down to a six pack in 2006. So, this does not bug me too much. What is annoying however, is that there is just one seven-pack that features the home opener (the "Opener Pack,") and it does not include a Yankees game. This is a new scheme by the marketing folks over at Shea. Last season, my buddies and I bought the "Pedro Pack" after getting shut out of Opening Day tickets, which got us Opening Day tickets and a Mets vs. Yankees game. We didn't mind shelling out money for six games even though we weren't sure how many we'd be able to go to (especially me, living in Greensboro, and all), but it was well worth it because it was a heck of a lot cheaper than paying a scalper for Opening Day or Mets vs. Yankees tix. In 2007 though, all the seven packs feature a Mets vs. Yankees game, except the Opener Pack. The other six games are all weekday games as well, minimizing the opportunities for me to attend any of the other games. At least a Saturday game I'd have the option of flying up for the weekend. Alas.

By the way, if you're like me and bought a six-pack last season, you'll have a three-day exclusive window to buy these sets, starting Tuesday morning, before the general public gets a shot at them. Good luck!



Still another thirty-eight some-odd days until Pitchers and LoDucas report. Like Greg at Fear and Faith in Flushing, I distrated myself from teh lack of baseball by watching a bit of football this weekend. I watched the Cowboys lose Saturday night, and since I know Mike Francesca is personal buddies with Parcells, a little schadenfreude made the night go by.



*Side note: The Mets are tempting fate with the Jose Reyes-themed pack. Last season they had the Pedro Pack, and I'm fairly certain he didn't pitch any of those nights, including Opening Day. This, after the Mets allow David Wright to be Santa Claus at the Christmas party? What, the Wilpons don't believe in curses? I hope we're not about to see them on the cover of Sports Illustrated anytime soon...

What The Heck Is A Zephyr?

The Mets have named Ken Oberkfell the new manager of their new AAA franchise, the New Orleans Zephyrs. What is a zephyr? A zephyr is kind of an obscure word meaning "a light breeze," and coincidentally my dad used to be on a softball team that named their team "The Zephyrs" as a joke. Why would a team name themselves that without irony?

Prior to 1985, and while the franchise operated out of Denver, the Zephyrs called themselves the Bears. Their current logo features a rodent, a coypu, representing their mascot who's named Boudreaux D. Nutria. Doesn't quite roll off the tongue like "Mr. Met," now does it? But back to the question at hand: Why did a baseball team named the Bears change it's name to Zephyrs, move to New Orleans, and adopt a muskrat-like animal for a mascot?

Wordnet says a Zephyr is the Greek God of the West Wind. Boy, nothing screams Creole heritage like Greek mythology.

This franchise is screwed up. I hope the Mets affiliation with the Zephyrs is short-lived.

By the way, Ken Oberkfell played 16 seasons as a major league player, mostly with the Cardinals, where he won a World Series in 1982. A lifetime .278 hitter, he was best known for his glovework. He asks that you please not confuse him with Ken Ober, former host of MTV's Remote Control.

Hello, Newhan.

The Mets signed supersub David Newhan to a one year contract yesterday. Newhan, a 33 year old lefty, has played every position on the field except pitcher, catcher, and shortstop, but has mostly appeared as an outfielder. Even though Newhan is 33, he has only 293 games on his resume. Newhan's a career .256 hitter, with 20 homeruns. He played just 39 games for the Orioles in 2006, missing most of the season with a broken leg, suffered sliding into second base in April.

Interestingly, Newhan had been signed by the O's last Spring to be a reserve outfielder, but played so well that he found himself starting regularly until the injury. Newhan will have to be twice as effective this spring if he wants to find playing time in the Mets crowded outfield, but may see playing time in the infield if Jose Valentin takes a step backward. Figure Newhan to be this year's Chris Woodward.

Which Free Agent Pitcher Should The Mets Sign?

Let me borrow a technique from Rob Neyer.

Consider these still available free agents, with their 2007 ages and their 2006 regular season stats:

Pitcher A (RHP, 30 years old) 8-14, 5.76 ERA, 107 K's in 172 innings
Pitcher B (RHP 31 years old) 4-5, 4.82 ERA, 50 K's in 97 innings
Pitcher C (RHP 29 years old) 9-12, 5.03 ERA, 97 K's in 154 innings
Pitcher D (RHP 36 years old) 15-8, 4.97 ERA, 79 Ks in 164 innings

Pretty much a no-brainer to try and sign Pitcher D, huh? Problem his, Pitcher D is one Stephen Christopher Trachsel. Of course, there's hardly a chance of the Mets re-signing him. And can you believe with the contracts handed out to pitchers this offseason that we haven't heard a rumor of him signing anywhere?

Now, I'm not advocating re-signing Trachsel. But, if we don't think much of Trachsel, why should the Mets sign any of the other guys. If they are worse than the guy they'd replace, then why bother? I've got a lot more faith in Perez, Maine, Pelfrey or Humber than:

Jeff Weaver (RHP, 30 years old) 8-14, 5.76 ERA, 107 K's in 172 innings
Tomo Ohka (RHP 31 years old) 4-5, 4.82 ERA, 50 K's in 97 innings
Tony Armas (RHP 29 years old) 9-12, 5.03 ERA, 97 K's in 154 innings
Steve Trachsel (RHP 36 years old) 15-8, 4.97 ERA, 79 Ks in 164 innings

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Minky's a Yankee

Transplanted ex-Met Doug Mienkiewicz is headed back to the Big Apple, coming to terms with the Yankees to back up Juicin' Giambi at first base.

Everyone knows that Minky made the put out that brought the Red Sox their 2004 World Championship, and that he stunk up the plate at Shea Stadium so badly he resorted to booing himself. What nobody knows is how to spell his name.

Offensively, Dougie Eye-chart had a bit of a bounce-back year for the Royals last season, hitting .283 with 43 RBIs in 91 games before his season ended in August due to back problems. He had season-ending back surgery on August 29th.

Thanks to Metsblog for the news.

How about Ohka?

So, this is what it's come to, huh? We dreamed of Dontrelle Willis, came within an eyelash of Roy Oswalt, flirted with Barry Zito, but now the top remaining free agent pitcher available to us is one Tomokazu Ohka. Oh boy. Mets fans have a right to be less than excited about the prospects of signing this guy, as he has a lifetime 3-7 record with a 4.10 ERA in 13 career starts against the Mets. He went 4-5 with a 4.82 ERA in 18 starts in 2006, missing two-and-a-half months with a partial tear in his right rotator cuff, following a season in which he was run out of D.C. after showing up Frank Robinson. For his MLB career, the Japanese righthander is 48-58 with a 4.04 ERA.

Most people will say the Mets desperately need an ace, but what they really need next season is quality innings from their starters. The Mets got just five complete games last season, with one from Steve Trachsel and one from Alay Soler. None of the starters logged 200 innings, and bringing in Ohka wouldn't solve that issue. He's never pitched 200 innings in his career, and he's coming off surgery. On the other hand, he'd essentially be replacing Steve Trachsel, who only logged 201 innings over the past two seasons, while Ohka pitched 277 over the same time period. And while Ohka got in trouble for not wanting to get taken out of a game, Trachsel's reputation was marred for the opposite reason.

Photos of Citi Field Construction

My buddy Tubby and I drove to Shea Stadium last week to try and get some photos of the construction of Citi Field. You can't see anything from the parking lot, so we had to buy a Metrocard to get onto the subway platform.

Here are the shots I was able to get, on Flickr.

For more photos, visit the stadiumpage website.

Let me tell you, it will be a nightmare to park at Shea the next two seasons. Mass transportation will be the way to go! Or, you can do what Derek Bell used to do: park your yacht at the marina, and ride your bicycle over to the stadium!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Mets fans! I look forward to this space being even more heavily posted than in 2007. Check back here often for all things Mets!

Bad News Wednesday - MLB.com says Zito to Sign With GiantsMets days on WFAN May Be Numbered

I hate to post negative posts, but I must. I am fortunate enough to be in New York this week, seeing my family and friends to ring in the New Year. There is also some Mets business to take care of. My buddy and I are off to Shea Stadium to take an early glimpse of Citi Field construction. If there's anything to see, I'll post the pictures when I get back to Greensboro.

MLB.com has a story posted where it's said that Zito's representatives have told the Rangers he will not be signing with Texas. For some reason, the Rangers took that to mean he will soon sign with the San Francisco Giants.

Metphistopheles has a posting speculating that the Mets days on WFAN are numbered, as one by one, Infinity stations are giving up their rights to local baseball teams. This is bad news for transplanted, out-of-market Mets fans who are within WFAN's signal, which extends pretty far at night. The Mets contract with WFAN ends after teh 2008 season, and Infinity has the rights to Yankees games on WCBS. Theoretically they could let the Mets go and move the Yankees broadcasts down to their sports station.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I just report what I read, folks!

The Zito Chronicles

Almost everyone suspects that the Mets have been the frontrunners all along for aquiring Zito's services, it really comes down to dollars and sense. It's a big cat and mouse game between the Mets and Boras about how much to pay Zito.

First we heard Zito was uber-interested in playing for the Mets and reuniting with his old pitching coach Rick Peterson. Advantage: Mets

Then we heard Texas would get involved in the derby, with Tom Hicks and his deep pockets firmly in pursuit of Barry. Advantage: Boras

Contracts begin being signed by lesser free agents for ridiculous dollar amounts. Advantage: Boras

Tom Glavine re-signs with the Mets, lessening the Mets desperation. Advantage: Mets

Zito and Boras meet with the Rangers in Texas. Advantage: Boras

Jeff Suppan, the Mets fall-back option, signs with Milwaukee. Advantage: Boras

The Yankees look to trade Randy Johnson, and it's speculated that successfully moving him would put them in the Zito sweepstakes. Advantage: Boras.

Texas lets it be known that if they don't come to an agreement with Zito this weekend, they'll move on to pursue other options. Advantage: Mets?

We fans are just caught in the balance!