We Now Interrupt This Mets Spring Training To Bring You An International Tournament

I could not post this weekend because I was too busy holding my breath over the Johan Santana Elbow Crisis. Now that the crisis has passed(?) and the winter storm has passed as well, I can write a few words about Spring Training. Just in time for Jerry Manuel's first Mets Spring to get blown up by the World Baseball Classic. Can anyone even remember who won the last time they held this thing?

So, in case you missed it, here's a round up of the goings on at Mets camp, other than us all freaking out about Johan and until Jose Reyes, K-Rod and company took off to play for the WBC.

Schmuck Francessa had a feud going with Ryan Church and David Wright. Wright and Franny have patched things up, but apparently Mikey doesn't want to admit he was wrong about Church so he isn't willing to try and smooth things over. Schmuck and His Lap Dog were ignorant as a duo, but at least they were entertaining. As a solo act, the WFAN drivetime show is so tediously dreary that I'd rather just listen to music. Speaking of which, check out the Heartless Bastards' new album. It is great!

Newsday's David Lennon has an interview with Pedro Martinez. Petey says he's not willing to accept a low base pay with incentives deal at thi spoint because he feels "a lot better than the last four years," and that the only team he's personally sat down with is Omar Minaya and the Mets, because he pays people to do that. Speaking of Newsday, I've thought a lot about Newsday's plan to pay for their online service since posting about it on Friday. Maybe I rushed to judgement before finding out the intended terms? Or maybe it's the fact that Cablevision charges for internet service, and then charges to read media coverage (Newsday.com) about the other entities it owns (Knicks/Rangers) that is so troubling. Either way, check out Neil Best's watchdog column (while you still can) for an interesting back and forth between him and his readers. Food for thought, whichever side of the debate you're on.

Former Mets pitcher Tom Sturdivant has passed away at the age of 78. Tom pitched 16 games as a reliever for the Mets for the better parts of two months in 1964.

Look for SNY to soup up their Mets broadcasts this season with some new high-tech HD features. They are called

• SNY magnify
• flow motion
• pitch differential
• speed tracker
• distance tracker

Check out this tech-y article for details on what the heck these things are. It remainds to be seen how long these things will be in placed before we find them intrusive. Also not mentioned is what corporations will be sponsoring these gadgets. I predict the LensCrafter Magnifyer, Moen Flow Motion, Empire Roofing Pitch Differential, Illy Espresso Speed Tracker, and Garmin Nuvi Distance Tracker. wocka wocka wocka.

OK, that's all for now. I guess I didn't write all that much about Mets spring training? Anyway, today transplanted ex-Mets pitcher Mike Hampton was roughed up by the A-Rod-less Junkees, allowing four runs and six hits in two innings.