We are getting close to the end of Spring meaning it is time to once again look at the bench and see who is going to be going to New York with the big league squad and who will return, also to New York, but to play with AAA Buffalo. Assuming the Mets carry a five person bench (they will most likely start with a 6 person bench and then drop to a five person bench when its time to get the fifth starter) the Mets probably have two spots open on the roster. Tatis has a guranteed position on the bench, he can play both corner outfiield spots, third base and can play first base if he really has to, he is also a big bat off the bench. Castro has the spot as the back up catcher. Cora has the spot as the back up middle infielder. With Pagan injured, that leaves two spots open for the following players:
    Anderson 34 AB, R, 9 H, 2 2B, 3 RBI, .265 AVG
    Reed 47 AB, 10R, 20 H, 6 2B, HR, 9 RBI, .426 AVG
    Sullivan 45 AB, 10 R, HR, 3 RBI, .222 AVG
    Kielty 43 AB, 6 R, 15 H, 3 2B, HR, 10 RBI, .349 AVG
    Evans 64 AB, 11 R, 19 H, 5 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, .297 AVG
Right off the bat Reed gets a spot on team. He can play all three outfielder spots and his bat is doing pretty well right now. Defensiviely he is very similar to Sullivan but I think due to his hitting skills he gets the nod over Sullivan and gets to the big league club. That means there is one spot left.

Evans will most likely not get the spot (although he could get that sixth spot because he has options). That means the competition is down to Kielty and Anderson. The advantage that Marlon has over Bobby is that Marlon can play in the corner positions and he can play second base and first base. Kielty can play first base but is pretty much restricted to the outfield. I really like Kielty's bat over Anderson, but I think do to defense alignments Anderson will get the spot so the Mets have another middle infielder on the bench. If he doesn't produce though, I really hope the Mets do not hesistate to make a switch. Also the problem of keeping either one of them is moving them around, because they have to go through claimers and all of that. Overall, its probably a wash between the two of them because you are talking about the last bench spot, a position that is going to change and change and change as the team goes on.

Well folks it all comes down to tonight. 16 teams have played well in this tournament and now only Korea and Japan are left, and tonight they will battle it out for the fifth time in the tournament. Winner not only gets the advantage in these countries head to head record but the winner will also get the WBC championship. Japan comes in defending their championship from 2006 while Korea comes in 2008 Olympic Gold Medals. Both of these teams are extremely qualified to win this championship and both of these teams have a ton of international experience.

Tonight is going to come down to who can play their fundamentals the best. Both of these teams stress being able to perform baseball at every single level, and they bring that on the field by making very few mistakes, and taking advantage of opportunities when the time arises. Personally for me, I still feel that team Japan will win, as I felt going into the tournament just because over all their pitching is better, however, I can really see Korea winning this too (I am also starting to think that I have a Japan bias because I know the players on the team better, but after seeing Korea play a few times, I can easily see them winning this tournament as well).

If you have not seen any of the Korea and Japan games yet, then you should really watch this game because it has the same emotion and passion as watching a Redsox vs Yankees, UNC vs Duke, Jets vs Patriots type of feel to it. This game should be a good one tonight, and its the last stop before we really start counting down to opening day.

Well the USA is out of the WBC after tonight's loss to Japan. The score was 9-4 and basically what it came down to is USA had a lot of opportunities that they didn't capitalize on. They would get runners on in scoring position and only twice did they really do something about it. Wright had an RBI in a clutch, runner on second with two outs situation in the third, and then DeRosa hit a triple with two runners on, however that is the only time that USA rallied. USA actually looked like they could make another run like they did against the PR, but they weren't able to thanks to Dunn who really had an all around off night. He looked bad at the plate and he looked bad in the field as he helped Japan get runs across the plate.

I hate to say this, but Rollins really looked good tonight and has looked good the entire tournament. He is hitting like his MVP season, and thats a dangerous thing if you are a Mets fan. Team USA did well in this tournament and it is important to remember that. When it comes down to it, they finished in the top 25% of the tournament and didn't have a disappointing early exit like last time around. It would have been nice to to see them get to the finals, but now we have an intense set up tomorrow with Japan vs Korea for the fifth time in this tournament. They have split the previous four games in the tournament and the intense rivalry finds its way to the main stage. Predictions tommorrow!

As bad as the Mets were yesterday they were that good today and a lot of that stems from the ace that took the mound today. Santana pitched today and showed that he is still the same Santana. He had a good outing, except he gave up his one weakness, which was a solo homer. With the amount of homers he gives up, I really wonder how he will play in Citi because a lot of the homers that he gives up are to left, and not only left almost as deep as Shea, it has a huge wall. This could really drop his homers allowed numbers and potentially pad his ERA, so that is a story to keep your eyes on this upcoming season. Anyway, the Mets lost yesterday 12-1 and today they won 12-1, against the same oppenent, the Atlanta Braves, and no one really did bad, so the two listed there just looked bad compared to everyone else today, here are the box highlights:
The Good:
    Castillo 2-4, 3R, BB, 2B
    Murphy 2-4, 3R, RBI, BB
    Reed 4-5, 2R, 4 RBI, 2 2B
    Tatis 2-4, R, 3 RBI
    Santos 1-1, R, 3 RBI, HR, BB
    Santana 5.0 IP, 2H, ER, 2 BB, 7 K
    Green 1.0 IP, 2 K
    Gee 1.0 IP, H
    Feliciano 1.0 IP, H, K
The "Bad":
     Reyes 1-4
     Rivera 0-3
Reed was just smoking the ball today. There are two weeks left of Spring Training an you have to think with this performance plus his other performances (and the injury to Pagan) he is moving up the latter to getting that bench spot. Tatis also showed today why he is going to be a key player on the Mets bench this year. With that, starting left fielder Murphy also had a great day smoking the ball around the field as did Castillo, and both of them liked finding homeplate, because they each did that three times today.

On the pitching side today, we already discussed how good of a day Santana had, but he wasn't the only one who really performed well today. Green, who seems to be battling Parnell to get the seventh inning job, really did well today as did prospect Gee and specialist Feliciano. I am very excited about the pen this year because not only do the players have roles, since there seems to be a 9th, 8th and 7th inning guy, I think Feliciano will be able to be used as a specialist, which is what made him so good and so deadly in the 2006 season.

What a sports week this has been. First there is championship week of College of Baseball which is followed by the NCAA tourney, there is a lot of Spring Training Games and finally there was Round 2 of the WBC and now the Semifinals. Last night Korea beat Venezuela badly by a score of 10-2. If you were watching the game, it was over by the top of the second once Korea was up 7-0. Korea was the Pool 2 Runner Up while Venezuela was Pool 1 Champion. I talked yesterday about how if Korea won and Japan won, then those teams would play for the fifth time in the WBC, and for the entire tournament.

Now USA has a hard task ahead of them tonight as they must beat Japan in order to advance. The only team that Japan has lost to is Korea (a couple of times) and Japan has beaten a lot of hard competition as well, like Korea twice and then Cuba twice. Need less to say, the USA will have to be on the mark in order to win. The advantage that the USA has tonight is that Daisuke is pitching tonight for Japan, who several members of Team USA have seen before. That being said, it is still hard to hit against Daisuke. The keys for team USA tonight is to hit the ball hard and often, and early ralley can give them room to breathe because Japan's fundalmentals are so strong, that they will rarely make mistakes. The keys for Japan is to just shut down the USA offense, because the pitching behind team USA is not as strong as Japan.

The game tonight should be closer than the semifinal last night. Should be another great night of baseball!

Today was an all around tough day for the Mets as they struggled on both sides of the ball. The big problems really came from Maine and Figueroa. Maine could not locate any of his fastballs today, and that made innings go longer as he would get two quick outs then allow hits and walk the bases full, and then walk in runs. That doesn't happen during the season with him so lets hope that today was a bump in the road. Also today, I saw my dream fade away with Figueora, which I will explain after going through the box "highlights" of today's game:
The Good:
    Kielty 3-4, RBI
    Evans 1-4, R, 3B
    Church 2-3
    J Feliciano 1-1, 2B
    Nieve 1.0 IP, K
The Bad:
     Maine 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2K
     Villone 1.0 IP, 3H, 2 ER
     Figueora 1.0 IP, 3H, 5 ER, 2 BB
     Cora 0-3
     Green 0-4
     Murphy 0-3
     Campbell 0-3
So I have spent a lot of time over the last week how I think that Figueora could become the fifth starter for the Mets and he proved today that probably won't happen. I wasn't listening to the game when he started pitching (instead I got to watch my Terps get destroyed by Memphis) but he just could not get people out. After shutting down some of the best talent in the world he couldn't get someof the Team B and Team C Braves out at all. I really hope this was just a blip for him, and he will turn it around the next time he comes out to pitch.
Kielty and Evans continued to play well today, and if they keep this up, it will be a tough battle for that last bench spot. I feel that Evans will most likely be sent down before the season starts because a player at his age and his talent, it is much better if he gets to play every day (remember Carp, Murphy and Evans last April? They really hit the ball well). The regular season is right around the corner, Lets Go Mets!

Even though we are in March right now, it is that time again to get ready for the MLB draft. The MLB draft is so different than drafts by other leagues because as long as a couple of players make the majors from a draft year, than its considered a good draft. This year thanks to free agent signings and retaining type A free agents, I know for sure that the Mets do not have any first round picks and I am pretty sure that they do not have any first round supplemental picks. Today, I want to go back a few years and look at what we picked up in the first round and where those players are going to be this year:

2004- Phil Humber: No Longer with the Mets, Traded to the Twins with a bunch of other prospects for Johan Santana. Last season he pitched in 5 games and almost 12 innings for them.

2005- Pelfrey: No need to expound here, he is in the Mets starting rotation, and could be our number 4 guy all the way up to our number 2 guy.

2006- No First Round Picks

2007- Kunz: He is still a highly touted prospect who hasn't lived quite up to his hype yet. He did good in AA last year but struggled in AAA and in the majors. He has had a pretty good spring so far and with injuries to the major league club, he will find his way into the club this year again. If not by then, he will get there as soon as rosters expand in September. If he has a good year this season, then he will be a big factor and player to watch next Spring. Here are his numbers from this last season:
    Mets: 4 G, 2.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, BB, K
    BNG: 1-4, 44 G, 48.1 IP, 25 BB, 43 K, 2.79 ERA
    NOL: 0-1, 6 G, 5.2 IP, 2 BB, 4 K, 7.94 ERA

2008- In 2008 the Mets had two picks in the first round, then a supplemental pick making a total of three first round picks. So far they all have been impressive, although one, Brad Holt, seems to be standing out as the brightest. Ike Davis was the first overall pick for the Mets and then Reese Havens. Here are their write-ups:
Ike Davis: Davis is a 1B/OF type and seems to have some extra base hitting ability. He didn't hit any triples or homers in the minors yet, but he was able to smoke 15 doubles. His speed is a little below average, and if something holds him up in the minors, that will probably be the reason. He has seen some playing time with the Mets this Spring, including a 2-4 performance yesterday with a double. These are the numbers he put up last season:
    BRK: 58 G, 215 AB, 17 R, 55 H, 15 2B, 17 RBI, .256 AVG
Reese Havens: Havens mainly plays SS, but the Mets have been gving him time now at 2B (I wonder why). His play was really hampered last year because for the first time in his playing career he was hampered by a few nagging injuries. If he can get healthy he is also a player to watch in the season to come. In his short time playing last season, he was very impressive:
    BRK: 23 G, 85 AB, 13 R, 21 H, 6 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, .247 AVG
Brad Holt: He has been very impressive because of his fastball. He gets it down fast and he has been causing all sorts of trouble for hitters. The Mets do not want to rush him but would love for him to develop, because he can be a major pitcher in the future. These were his very nice numbers from last season:
    BRK: 5-3, 14 G, 72.1 IP, 33 BB, 96 K, 1.87 ERA

The Mets have had a pretty good couple of drafts the last few years, mainly because they drafted a chip to get Johan and they got Pelfrey. The class from 2007 and 2008 could start to be heard in New York as early as this year, and more than likely in 2010 and 2011. In the next part of the MLB draft preview series here, I will be looking at the Mets second round picks, as well as the picks they will have this season (and talking prospects hopefully)!

The Mets shut out the Orioles today to improve their Spring Record to 8-10 (on a quick side note, in case you were wondering the Astros finally won a game from the first time since the first game of Spring). Anyway, with any shut out, the Mets pitchers were on key tonight and they really performed well. There has been a lot of worry about Oliver Perez because not only did the Mexican team make him pitch a lot, he got very sloppy with his mechanics during that time, but I think he turned that around today, or at least it sounded like he turned that around today with his box score, and here are the highlights:
The Good:
    Murphy 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 3B
    Davis 2-4, RBI, 2B
    Perez 3.0 IP, H, 2BB
    Parnell 2.2 IP, 5 H, 2K
    O'day 1.1 IP, BB, K
The Bad:
    Riveria 0-2
    Cora 0-4, RBI
    Anderson 0-4
    Sullivan 0-2
Another good day for Parnell gets him closer to making the Mets this year, which I am not sure how I feel about yet. If we can avoid it, I would rather him stay in the minors and work on being a starter, he could be an effective starter. Davis got some good hits today which was great to see. He was the number one overall pick for the Mets last year and he struggled a bit his first year in Brooklyn. He is an firstbase outfield type, and he could potentially develop power. I don't know where he fits in with the Mets plans for the future, but if he becomes good, then that is a good problem for the Mets to have.

The Mets optioned Niese today to the minors and this was pretty expected at this point. Garcia has been struggling, and probably will be cut or optioned or something soon, hopefully far away from the Mets. It is hard to say good bye to Niese but I have a feeling he will be back. He is going to get stronger this season in the minors and unless Hernandez is lights out this season, he will be on that short leash. As soon as he has a couple of bad starts in a row, as long as that happens after April, I have a feeling Niese will come up, and probably bounce around between the rotation and the pen. He just needs a little more seasoning, and as soon as he gets it, he could be the next home grown arm in that rotation. I really do wonder what this means for Redding, I guess its something we will have to wait and see how it plays out for the Mets and their number 5 madness. On another note, I still have this gut feeling that the reason Hernandez has not been publicly named as the Mets fifth starter yet is I think Manuel wants to take a closer look at Figueroa, which he should.

On another note entirely, the Rangers announced they will not be using those two toned red and blue batting helmets, and thats great news for every baseball fan around, because those were some terrible, terrible helmets and now they are gone.

Pelfrey was spectacular yesterday, furthermore showing why the Mets have strength in their rotation, but he also showed something a little more yesterday, his new pitch. From hanging around Livan Hernandez, Pelfrey has developed a new sinker for left handed batters, which usually do damage against Pelfrey. The New York Times actually call it a front door sinker, basically, it looks good, goes out and comes back, which makes left handed batters not swing at it, because it looks bad, but then it becomes a strike.

Pelfrey had a great second half of year last year which really built up his confidence. When you watch footage of him from April, and compare it to Septermber, it looks like a different pitcher on the mound (I think he also has facial hair in the later months since Randolphs no facial hair policy left with him). He is so confident in his pitches, and I think the team is now real confident behind him. He pitched over 200 innings last year, and his arm didn't fall off. This Spring, over his last two starts, not only has he done well, but he has been very effective, and stingy with his pitches.

I am curious to see how he develops this pitch over the season. As long as this pitch doesn't become a crutch (which I'm pretty confident it won't) it will make Pelfrey that much better, make our rotation that much better and we know, especially after last year, when your rotation is better, your bullpen gets better. Go Big Pelf!

With Japan's win last night, the semifinal games are set with the United States vs Japan and Venezuela vs Korea. Both of these games on paper seem to be excellent games. I think it is very possible that Japan and Korea could be meeting each other in the the Championship game and can you imagine that? That will be the fifth time that these two teams have faced this Classic, and right now, the record is an even 2-2, meaning if this was a five game series, the Championship game could really be a game 5. That could be nuts because these fans are ready for this rivalry. This rivalry has grown very strong.

On the other side of the story, Team USA will have a very different look because of all of the injuries. They already had to add Roberts, and now they added Longoria (which is great so they have a sub for Wright, or maybe allow Wright to DH). I still like USA's chances to beat Japan, it will be very tough, but they have a chance. So does Venezuela, they have a chance to beat a very tough team Korea. All of these teams are very talented and its exciting to think that this tournament is almost over, because we will be that much closer to the regular season. 19 Days to go!

The Mets beat the Astros to a score of 12-1 today, making the losing streak from the Astros go to 19 (16 losses and 3 ties). Matsui at one point in the game was a nice 2-39, which shows how much they are struggling in Spring. Now your Spring record really does mean nothing, but it can show a lot of issues going on in camp. For example, the lack of wins by Astros has to be related to the lack of well played defense, which just didn't exist today. They won 86 games last year, so you have to think they should do about the same this season. Anyway, this is a blog about the Mets and not the Astros. Here are some box highlights for the Amazin's today:
The Good:
    Reyes 2-3, R, 4 RBI, 2 2B
    Tatis 1-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B
    Evans 3-5, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI
    Martinez 2-3, 2R
    Pelfrey 6.0 IP, 3H, ER, BB, 3K
    Green 1.0 IP
    Muniz 1.0 IP, K
The "Bad" (No one was really bad at all in this game)
    Sullivan 0-4, R, RBI
    Cora 0-2
Pelfrey was on mark today. He started off the game retiring 13 batters in a row and when he got in trouble, he was able to get out of it. These are two great back to back starts for Pelfrey and you have to start to get excited for what he could do this year. He has a frontdoor two seemer working now on lefties and if that becomes a reliable pitch, then he can easily be the number 2 pitcher on this team and a big force in the National League.
On the bat side, Reyes really came alive today knocking in two good looking doubles and bringing home 4 runners (sending him into double digits for RBI's on the Spring). Evans is really making a strong case to go to the big league squad as he showing off his power. I really like the way he is playing, and I really wish we had another spot on the field we can put him if he is going to continue to hit like this. (To quote Keith "save it for April!".) On the topic of Keith, in response to the numbers that Matsui has this Spring, he said "that will drive you to drink." And this is why he is one of the most entertaining commentators out there.

Hold your breath, its not that bad. Wright fouled a ball off his foot yesterday and it made perfect contact with his toe, splitting the nail. He got some Xrays, and everything looks good so he will play this weekend in LA in the semifinals. Its a good thing he has a few days to keep some weight off of the toe. This is one the few baseball injuries I can relate to, and the first day or so is the worse, the problem is there is a nagging pain, really really really slight nagging pain for a few weeks. Anyway, Wright went 0-4, with an RBI and BB last night as USA lost to Venezuela, they will face the winner of pool 1. On the Venezuelen side, they won 10-6, and Krod played, got an inning in where he allowed a walk and a strikeout and thats it. They will play the loser of Japan vs Korea.

For the forth time this classic, Japan will face Korea tonight to find the pool winner. Last night in a 2006 Classic rematch, Japan knocked off a strong Cuba team again and now Japan will have to beat Korea, something they havn't done since the first time they met this tournament. In the fist game, it was a rout, and Japan and just destroyed Korea. Then in the next two matchups, Korea won 1-0 in a Classic game, followed by a 5-0 win or in other words, shutting out Japan twice. Just because this game determins seeding, do not expect these players to take this game lightly because this is a major sports rivarlry, and it would be something, and highly possible, that these two teams will meet again in the Championship game. Over the last few years now, Korea has a two game advantage over Japan (that is how close these two countries are). Lets finish up this amazing WBC!

With Hernandez going 5 innings today, the feeling has to be now that he is the clear front runner for the last starting spot. In my personal opinion, I think the only hting that could be holding back the announcement could be Figueroa. He has shown with the PR that he can pitch and pitch against good talent. Figueroa can bring a lot to the Mets because he has shown he can pitch effectively on back to back days meaning he could be a short man in the pen, a long man in the pen or a starter. Even though Hernandez is the fifth starter for now, Figueora's success, if it continues, can keep him on a short leash. Anyway, here are the box highlights for today's game:
The Good:
   Green 1-1, HR, 2RBI, R
   Tatis 1-3, HR, 2RBI, R, 2BB
   Reyes 1-4, SB
   Hernandez 5.0 IP, 5H, ER, 3K
   Villone 1.0 H, BB
The Bad:
   Garcia 2.0 IP, 7 H, 5 E, 2K
   Murphy 0-3
   Chuch 0-3
   Evans 0-3
The big contrast in this game was Hernandez vs Garcia. Hernandez got up there and eventhough he doesn't have a lot of velocity, he was hitting his pitches and getting the Braves to swing and get themselves out. He also showed off the glove and really had an impressive outing, in fact if this was a really game, we would be talking about him as one of the stars of the game. Garcia could not get it going again, and really today might have sealed his fate of not getting into rotation. He will probably start the season in the minors (if he wants to) and will get called up if needed. Between Hernandez, Figueora and Niese, I don't know how needed Garcia will be and I also wonder what will happen with Redding gets off the DL, because Parnell could easily slip into the Mets pen and when it comes down to it, the Mets want Niese, Parnell and Figueora in these spots because not only are these their guys, they are really popular with the Mets fans (especially Figueora being from New York, I would love to see him be successful this season). 

Alright, so maybe we can't go that far, but two important myths were expelled last night. David Wright is not clutch. Team USA does not play with energy. Well with one swing of that bat that all changed. In a very tight game that was played very well, Team USA came up down two runs in the bottom of the ninth. Before the ninth inning they were down 4-3, but the PR tacked on a huge insurance run in the top of the ninth to make the lead 5-3, and the way things were going for Team USA, it seemed like a taunting task. With a couple of lead off hits, walks and so forth, team USA loaded the bases with one out. Youkillis was at bat and he drew the critical bases loaded walk. That means Team USA was down by one, with one out, with the bases loaded, and David Wright was at the plate. Yes David Wright, the player being called on WFAN 660 AM as the Mets unclutch player. He saw a few pitches and just deposited one down right field line. Roberts and Rollins scored and team USA won!

Team USA doesn't show emotion. Wrong. The entire team got out on the field and basically mobbed Wright and the celebretaion continued. It was actually exciting to watch Team USA play and now they will go to the semi finals (after playing Venezuela again to determine seeding). Here are some of the box highlights that Mets fans would be interested in:
    Beltran 0-3
    Delgado 1-3, K, 2 RBI, BB, HR
    Figueora 2.1 IP, 2K
    Feliciano .2 IP, H, BB
    Wright 3-4, R, 2RBI, BB, SB
    Putz 1.0 IP, 2K
The Mes get a lot out of this game. As good as PR played, it is time for them to come back to Mets camp, and they all did really well and now we get to see them play for the Mets and bring those bats home. Something that is not shown in that box line is that Beltran has been smoking the ball in the WBC, just had an off night last night, and last night he robbed McCann of a homer, something he will hopefully be able to do more in the season against the Braves. What I am most excited about is Figueora pitching for the Mets again. After last night, I think he now has a legitimate shot now of making that fifth spot, and that would be great.

The Mets are going to play the Braves a lot now for a period of time and today they lost to them by the score of 5-1. The bats really went cold today as really Church and Murphy provided the only offense. Niese was starting pitcher for the Mets today, and if you stretch out his work to 6 innings, then he did have a quality start, but for him to get that last rotation spot he has to get better than QS. Hernandez will probably not hold the fifth spot the entire season, so Niese has time to get his stuff tuned in the minors before eventually coming up the majors again this season. Anyway here are some box highlights for the Mets today:
The Good:
    Muprhy 3-4, 2B
    Chuch 1-3, HR, R, RBI
    Parnell 1.0 IP, K
    Stokes 1.0 IP, K
The Bad:
    Anderson 0-3
    Valentine 0-4
    Evans 0-4
    Niese 4.0 IP, 2H, 2ER, 3BB, 3K
    Fossum .2 IP, 3H, 2ER, BB
The Mets apparently are going to let Cherry go back to the Orioles today, which is shame because I really like him but at the same time he is very similar to O'day, who has a good chance of making the team (he pitched 1.1 IP today and let up a run). Today was basically a very quiet game, and a lot of that had to do with the bench guys who all had quiet days at the plate. Anderson, Valetine and Evans, all went 0-11. For Anderson that doesn't mean much because he will be on the team, for Evans that is sorta important because he is fighting for that last spot, but in recent days he has had some big days and for Valetine, he is just slipping farther behind the pack, but starting camp he wasn't expecting to make the major league roster.

There were two incredible games last night, one that featured 6 Mets, so lets talk about the game without the Mets first. Mexico last night lost to Cuba, as Cuba stays alive for another day. Mexico is now out of the WBC, and Cuba has to see which Juggernaut will fall today. Will Japan beat Korea and get into the Semifinals, or will Korea win it. Loser has to face Cuba to get to Semi's. Every team is good now at this point. The other game last night was incredible.

Venezuela beat Puerto Rico to a score of 2-0. It was an amazing game. Before we get to the details of the game, this game has a lot of reprecussions for the USA. USA now has to face a stronger opponent tongiht in Puerto Rico, and the loser will go home. So Team USA, who is struggling with injuries will try to avoid another early knockout by winning tonight. This game should be very good tonight, but it could also end up like their first meeting when the PR just embarresed the USA. Anyway, here is how the Mets did last night:
    J Feliciano 0-5
    Beltran 1-1, 3 BB, 2B, SB
    Delgado 0-3, BB
    Cora 0-4
    P Feliciano .2 IP
    KRod 1.1 IP, 2K, Save
Beltran had another great game last night, and although his team didn't win, I am starting to get really excited about what he will bring to the Mets once the season starts. Krod got another save last night, and once again it was a four out save and once again I have the same comment about it. I cannot wait to see his energy in New York, it is going to be electric.

Yesterday started March Madness with brackets everywhere and while College Basketball gets ready for an amazing three weeks of sports, Baseball is fully underway with the second round of their World Tournament. Only two Mets played yesterday, but it was a memorable day overall. Japan showed the world that pitching is better than hitting as they were able to quiet the potent of bats of Cuba to a 5-0 shutout setting up a classic matchup with Korea. This Pool 2 Matchup is a game I am really looking forward too, and if you like baseball, you should be too. These two countries have an intense rivalry and so far in this classic there has beena 14-7 rout of Korea and then a 1-0 Korea win in an amazing game.

Team USA at least delayed an early exit last night while knocking out the darlings of the tournament Netherlands. Wright went 1-3 and RBI in the game as USA rolled on to win 9-3. I think USA needs to hope for the PR to win today so they can face Venezuela. If they have to face PR in the elimination game, I don't know if USA can win. So, lets hope for a PR tonight and then a USA win against Venezuela to set up an incredible semi-final game of USA-Puerto Rico.

Mexico is on life support after a pretty shotty performance by Perez with 4.2 Innings pitched, 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, and three homers allowed. With Cuba losing yesterday, Mexico will have to fight back against a very strong Cuba team for a chance to play either Japan or Korea for a chance to come out of this tournament. My personal opinion is that it won't happen and Cuba will eliminate them.

The Mets opened up this game allowing 4 runs in bottom of the first inning to the home team, the Florida Marlins. They then would score 10 runs themselves allowing the Marlins to score only one additional run to win the game with a score of 10-5. One player that it wouldn't be fair to put either in a Good or Bad category today was John Maine because he really had two performances. In the first inning, he fell apart allowing a two run double and then a two run homer. He then came out though for three more innings, and had over his four innings, five strikeouts and no walks. So he was very very bad, and then he was very very good. I really wonder what we will get out of him this year because when he is on, he is very on. His line today was 4.0 IP, 5H, 4 ER, 0BB, 5K. Here are some box highlights from the rest of the Mets today:
The Good:
    Castillo 1-3, R, 2RBI, 3B, BB
    Kielty 2-4, R, RBI, BB
    Evans 1-3, 2 RBI, 2B
    Green 2-3, 2R
    Tejada 2-5, 2B, 2R, RBI
    Green 1.0 IP, K
    Fossum 1.0 IP,
    Muniz 1.0 IP, H, K
The Bad:
    Anderson 0-2
    Sullivan 0-4, SB, R
A rare bad day for Anderson and Sullivan, meaning the next time they take up a bat, they will be slugging. Castillo had a very nice triple today and he also had a nice defensive day. I was listening to the game on the FAN today and they brought up a good point, that is easy to forget and I forgot it, Castillo is a carear .290 hitter, its almost certain that he is going to have a better year this than he did last year. Kielty continued to show that he has the ability to bring a lot of power from the bench, its going to come down to how the Mets want to play him with other players options vs him having to go through Waivers. Evans also got into double digit RBI's for the Spring, and he is really tearing it up. I am very glad I do not have to decided the Mets bench because they have a lot of players who, at least statistically, are bringing very similar numbers down to thw wire.

Redding has been shut down, Garcia has been pretty terrible and Livan Hernandez has been tolerable. That is the state of the Mets fifth rotation spot. The struggles of these three has left the door open for Niese, and the door possibly open for bringing back Pedro but there is another pitcher who is starting to impress in my mind and that is Figueroa. Figueroa has pitched 8 innings this spring between the Mets and the WBC (official games). Over those eight innings he has been very, very good:

     Mets: 2 G, 3.0 IP, H, K, BB
     PR: 3 G, 5.0 IP, 2H, 4 K, 3 BB

Over these eight innings, he is yet to allow an earned run, and when he gets in trouble, he gets out of trouble without allowing anything to effect the score. He is pitching at least well enough to be allowed to compete for that last starter spot when PR's ride is over with the WBC. There are also a few things that will work in his, and the Mets favor. The Mets do not need to declare their fifth starter at the beginning of the season because they can survive at first with a four man rotation thanks to off days. That means the Mets will have more time for deciding their fifth starter. Also, the fifth starting spot will probably change as the season goes on, so there is nothing wrong with starting with Figueroa and then switching over to a healthy Redding, or whoever on the Mets decides to wake up one day and take that last spot.

That being said, this is probably extremely unlikely. It seems right now that the Mets will either go with Hernandez in the pen as the long man and Niese as the fifth starter, or just Hernandez period as the fifth man, and neither option is a bad option. This entire situation will become more clear as we get closer to opening day.