Mike's Mets: February 2006 Archives

Take your slide rule and shove it

It's debatable that any 22 year old has lived long enough to have a huge impact on the world in a negative way, but, as I have previously written, Joe Reyes has a whole army of math geeks that seem to have it in for him. There can be little...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 8:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Grow Your Own

I link to a story in the New York Post below where Joel Sherman looks at who might provide depth for Mets rotation should a starter go down. We've covered this a lot, and I'm sure it will be a topic of discussion down the road. In yesterday's The Big...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 12:44 PM | Permalink

The Evening News

I'm feeling a little brain-dead tonight, so forgive me if I pass along some interesting news stories without a lot of comment:. Mets.com: New Marty Noble Mailbag Usually something in the Monday Mailbag column gives me a starting point for some sort of reflection, but I'm coming up empty today....

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 9:46 PM | Permalink

The Big Picture

In a story in the New York Post, linked to below, Joel Sherman quotes GM Omar Minaya on how looking at the "big picture" makes his off-season trades of Jae Seo and Kris Benson look like less of a gamble. If you read what's written in both the local and...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Some Confirmation on the Cablevision - SNY Agreement

Both the New York Times and Newsday have stories more or less confirming that a deal is in place between Cablevision and SportsNet New York is in place, as reported earlier by Bloomberg.com. Newsday: SportsNet New York and Cablevision have reached a tentative agreement for the cable giant to carry...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 12:56 AM | Permalink

Bloomberg: Cablevision reaches agreement with SNY

According to Scott Soshnick on Bloomberg.com, Mets fans who are Cablevision subscribers will be able to watch Mets games on SportsNet New York: Cablevision Systems Corp., the New York-area's No. 1 cable television operator, reached agreement to carry the network that shows Mets baseball games, people familiar with the negotiations...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 2:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Victor Zambrano just isn't as bad as you think he is

I know it's a statement that's going to earn me a lot of snickers. It's just not in style in the community of Mets fans to actually admit you really believe that Victor is going to be a solid contributor to the Mets this year. Even my Mom is skeptical...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 12:44 PM | Permalink

Define "fair"

Revenue sharing, which is supposed to make MLB more "fair", can actually be quite unfair to large market teams and their fans. I've written a series of related pieces, beginning with Major League Franchises Need to Be in Major League Cities, where I have discussed the whole large market vs....

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 8:53 PM | Permalink

The Promise of Spring

We've survived the first part of spring training, where everyone gets to know each other a little and nothing happens. Next week things get a little more serious, as the Mets play a couple of intersquad games before spring games against other teams begin Thursday. For myself, I can't remember...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Get off the ledge

We haven't even started intersquad games yet and we're bombarded with one article after another filled with dire thoughts on the Mets pitching. Pedro's toe, Glavine's age, Trachsel's back, Heilman's inexperience, and Victor being Victor are all causing some of us to go into panic attacks. My Mom, who's a...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 8:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Damn Prospect Huggers

There were a couple of excellent looks at Mets top prospect Lastings Milledge that I linked to below. John Heyman's Newsday column was very good. The one thing that I will nitpick slightly is the following statement: If he's thrown into a trade, there will be an outcry completely out...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 11:49 AM | Permalink

Even Kaz gets a fresh chance

Today is the first day of full squad workouts at Mets camp in Port St. Lucie. Some of the storylines that will dominate the spring are already starting to emerge. We've all heard more than enough about Pedro's toe, and the starting pitching depth in general. There are more candidates...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

What, Me Worry?

Bob Klapisch has a Pedro Martinez toe story on ESPN.com. The title of it, Mets need a healthy Pedro ... or else, pretty much says it all. It's a good read, and I highly recommend it, but it could be summed up in these 3 short paragraphs: Ultimately, though, if...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 8:06 PM | Permalink

I'm really trying not to piss you all off

I really struggled to find something to write about this morning. Usually my topic suggests itself after I read all of the morning's stories and something sparks inside of me. The two storylines that everyone seemed to cover today were Beltran and Brett Boone. They both concern players that are...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 12:25 PM | Permalink

No place to hide for Beltran

Bryan Hoch has a nice Carlos Beltran piece on Mets.com. Beltran admits to Hoch that he was trying too hard last year, and looks forward to turning things around in 2006: It was a very difficult year. Last year is in the past. This year, I'm looking forward to a...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 8:37 PM | Permalink

Brave New World?

Today was Julio Franco day in the local dailies. Everyone had a Franco feature today. I pointed to Marty Noble's on Mets.com last night, and clicking on the SportsSpyder link at the bottom of this posting will point you to a dozen more -- good ones, by fine writers like...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Franco to mentor Jose Reyes

As more position players role into St. Lucie, at least a few questions will begin to be answered: Mets.com: Julio Franco Bryan Hoch has a feature on Mets elder statesman Julio Franco, who arrived in camp today. It is the Mets hope that Franco can serve as an effective mentor...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 8:23 PM | Permalink

One gets Right Field, the other gets lost

The papers were full of stories this morning on the upcoming battle between Victor Diaz and Xavier Nady. Both candidates for the starting right field job arrived in camp early yesterday. Both are young: Diaz is 24 and Nady 27. Both are considered talented young players that have been somewhat...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Young arms to get excited about?

Today's Mets news features a lot on first round pick Mike Pelfrey and an intriguing look at young relief prospect Henry Owens, about whom we've been hearing more and more. Yesterday we read about 2004's top pick Phil Humber, who is beginning his comeback from Tommy John surgery and trying...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

2006 National League Preview: San Diego Padres

2005: 82-80 (1st) Note: This preview, along with ones on the Braves and Astros, was originally written for the Mets Daily web site which is no longer in operation. I worked pretty hard on them, so I'm posting them here for Mets fans who might want a heads-up on the...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 8:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

She's out there, but can we find her?

One of my favorite shows from a few years ago was MADtv. They had a ongoing feature that parodied dating service commercials called Lowered Expectations. The premise behind it was that it was a service for those that had given up on finding the love of their life and were...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

At last, it all begins

It's finally here. Tomorrow, workouts will begin in earnest for pitchers and catchers in St. Lucie. Next week the position players will show up. Soon after that spring training games will start. Of course, my cable company here in CT still has no idea what SNY is -- I'm scouting...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Just how good is Jae Seo?

There was one more news item I meant to talk about this morning, but I got sidetracked with Rickey Henderson and Jose Lima. In Newsday this morning, Jon Heyman offers the following: The Mets say they dealt Seo and Benson to build their pen, and that is true. ("Pennants are...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 2:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

What's Omar thinking with Rickey Henderson and Jose Lima?

I was talking with one of the few friends I have that's an actual Mets fan. I hadn't seen him for a while, so naturally our conversation turned to all things Mets. I figured we'd debate the Delgado and Lo Duca trades and the 4 year contract that Wagner received....

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 10:42 AM | Permalink

I think I'm going to like Lo Duca despite myself

I remember back in November when rumors started cropping up that the Mets were interested in Paul Lo Duca. This is just a ploy, I thought to myself, Omar is just trying to keep Hernandez and Molina's agents from getting too cocky. No way he's going to do something this...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 8:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We probably need to stop talking about feet

It occurs to me that I've spent more time thinking about Pedro Martinez' toe this winter than I've spent thinking about my own feet for all of my 47 years. I'm not sure if that's funny or vaguely disturbing... I've never been one of those weird guys that builds an...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 10:29 AM | Permalink

Bench Strength?

Our evening news go-round features a look at the Mets reserves, a couple of thumbs ups from ESPN, more on Pedro and a look at the farm system. Mets.com: The bench Marty Noble completes his Around the Horn series on Mets.com with a look at the team's bench. Noble sees...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm not ready to go into panic mode over Pedro's toe...

Pedro's toe has dominated a full morning of Mets news. While Mets fans are right to be concerned about it, I'm not ready to panic over all of this stuff yet. I want to see how it works out for Pedro once he actually receives the shoe -- supposedly today....

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 12:49 PM | Permalink

Pedro's Shoe; Rolling the Dice with Lima

It's been a busy Valentines Day for the Mets as they prepare to open spring training camp. Pedro Martinez has reported to camp, but is still waiting for that magical shoe Nike is making for him. In need of insurance for a starting rotation beset by age and question marks,...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 12:15 AM | Permalink

Mets Picked Behind Braves; Top Prospect List; Rosenthal Interview

Mark SI's John Donovan down as a skeptic when it comes to the Mets overtaking the Braves, and Minor League Ball's John Sickel as not impressed by the Mets farm system: Sports Illustrated: NL East Preview John Donovan, a baseball writer that's good enough to know better, pens the kind...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 5:05 PM | Permalink

You gotta love Valentine's Day...

...Except for the fact that it comes in February, one of the suckiest months of the year in the Northeast. Except that those flowers that make your honey happy cost you more than a pair of box seats. Except that you're excited to get the season started and there is...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 7:36 AM | Permalink

Should Beltran Bat Second?

The regular Monday installment of Marty Noble's Mailbag is up on Mets.com. Noble obviously had a ton of mail regarding the batting order. Noble foresees a batting order that looks like the following: Jose Reyes (S) Paul Lo Duca (R) Carlos Beltran (S) Carlos Delgado(L) David Wright (R) Cliff Floyd...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 10:13 PM | Permalink

On the edge of the season

An exciting off-season for Mets fans is drawing to an end as the eagerly anticipated baseball season gets ready to take its first baby steps. Pitchers and catchers will report on Wednesday, with the first workouts beginning the following day. GM Omar Minaya's frenetic winter has the Mets poised for...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sandlot

I wrote my post from earlier today while watching snow pile up outside of my window. The heavy snow outside combined with the knowledge that spring training gets under way this week made me a little nostalgic for the sights, sounds and smells of baseball -- the sport of summer....

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

Even winter can't stop baseball's return

It's funny that there's a snowstorm raging outside of my window and yet a real warmth in my heart. Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to the Mets spring training complex in Port St. Lucie, Florida on Wednesday, with the first workouts beginning Thursday. Actually, there are players down there...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 10:08 AM | Permalink

No Minor Concern

Today's Mets news is focused on the development side of baseball, one that is often overlooked by fans. You may know the names of a handful of Mets minor leaguers, but do you ever think of the process that helps them reach the majors? Omar Minaya has been very proactive...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

2006 National League Preview: Houston Astros

2005: 89-73 (2nd) Note: This preview, along with ones on the Braves and Padres, was originally written for the Mets Daily web site which is no longer in operation. I worked pretty hard on them, so I'm posting them here for Mets fans who might want a heads-up on the...

Continue reading "2006 National League Preview: Houston Astros" »

By Mike Steffanos, posted at 5:45 PM | Permalink

Your time is gonna come...

For every voice that says that this will be the year the Mets finally come through, you find another that thinks the Braves will win it again. There certainly is an element out there that wants to see the Braves -- with some home-grown talent and a reasonable budget --...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 11:53 AM | Permalink

No greenies for you

Yesterday I looked at a column by Mike McGann on Gotham Baseball's web site regarding MLB's new Amphetamine policy. I agreed with his conclusion about "greenies": Put simply, I don't see greenies as performance enhancers (unlike Viagra, which remains legal for ballplayers to use, as Pfizer is really good at...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 9:01 PM | Permalink

2006 National League Preview: Atlanta Braves

2005: 90-72 (1st) Note: This preview, along with ones on the Astros and Padres, was originally written for the Mets Daily web site which is no longer in operation. I worked pretty hard on them, so I'm posting them here for Mets fans who might want a heads-up on the...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 7:48 PM | Permalink

Does it scare you that it's all about Willie?

As the Mets sit poised (and favored) to win the NL East, they have a lot of history to overcome. For the Mets to win it, they're going to have to shake off a decade-and-a-half of bad karma, and they're going to have to figure out how to win games...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 1:23 PM | Permalink

You can almost feel the warm spring breeze...

A trio of interesting features from Marty Noble are posted on Mets.com, whetting our appetites for baseball: Mets.com: The Outfield In the weekly Around the Horn series, Marty Noble looks at the Mets outfield. With Floyd and Beltran a given, the biggest question for the Mets lies in RF, where...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 9:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Better make that a Double Expresso...

Gotham Baseball's Mike McGann looks at MLB's new policy of testing and punishment for Amphetamine use by ballplayers. "Greenies", first brought into the public consciousness by Jim Bouton's book Ball Four in the 1970s, have been used by ballplayers to handle all of jet lag and fatigue caused by the...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 7:37 PM | Permalink

Good to Be Home

I stopped updating the BlogSpot version of this blog in the interest of simplifying things. Most traffic is now coming in here. This is the permanent home of Mike's Mets. For one last time (I promise) here is some information for regular readers: If you have this site bookmarked, please...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 3:21 PM | Permalink

Eight Days to Pitchers and Catchers

A great look at a beloved former Met leads off the morning news wrapup: New York Sports Day: Tough as nails Former Mets assistant trainer Bob Sikes has another excerpt from his upcoming book up at New York Sports Day. In this one, he offers some insights into Lenny Dykstra....

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 12:30 PM | Permalink

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

After a couple of days spent moving the web site, I will now slide back into doing what I really enjoy -- talking about the Mets: Daily News: Pedro's Shoe Roger Rubin reports that the special shoe that Pedro Martinez has been waiting for from Nike may arrive today. Or...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 2:29 PM | Permalink

Pardon the Interruption

Note: This is the new site. The move is complete. Sorry I didn't have time to post any news this morning. I'm in the process of moving this blog to its own domain name and web hosting. I made the decision to do this last week. Blogger started experiencing a...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 4:12 PM | Permalink

Have a Super Day

Today is justifiably all about the Super Bowl. There was so little New York Mets news around today it just wasn't worth writing about. (You could check out this article about the Caribbean Series. Mets 2B prospect Anderson Hernandez is really lighting things up -- and possibly working himself to...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 2:01 PM | Permalink

Twelve days until pitchers and catchers report

The Mets news on this Super Bowl weekend features new Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez, a positive review of the Carlos Delgado trade, and the signing of another Cuban defector. Mets.com: Duaner Sanchez Bryan Hoch reports on new Mets setup man Duaner Sanchez. After closing games in LA at the end...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 12:36 PM | Permalink

New York Mets Hot Stove Moves Overview

This week I took a look at all of the significant moves that Mets GM Omar Minaya made during this off-season. For your convenience, here is a list of all 5 parts and the transactions they covered. New York Mets Hot Stove Moves, Part 1 11/9/2005 - Signed LHP Matt...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 12:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New York Mets Hot Stove Moves, Part 5

We finish our look at some of the moves Omar made this off-season, from significant signings to controversial trades. 1/21/2006 - Traded RHP Kris Benson to the Orioles for RHP Jorge Julio and RHP John Maine. If the Jae Seo for Duaner Sanchez trade from earlier in the month stirred...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 6:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Why is the Mets' own network ashamed of the Mets?

The above title is the $64,000 question for today: Sports Illustrated: What will SNY be? I really was just going to ignore this article. Alex Belth, who is a Yankee Blogger, is a fairly promising young baseball writer, but not when it comes to putting aside the typical obnoxious Yankee...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 12:48 PM | Permalink

New York Mets Hot Stove Moves, Part 4

We continue our look at some of the moves Omar made this off-season, from significant signings to controversial trades. 1/4/2006 - Traded RHP Jae Seo and LHP Tim Hamulack to the Dodgers for RHP Duaner Sanchez and RHP Steve Schmoll. Many of us spent most of the season clamoring for...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 6:52 PM | Permalink

Remaking the Farm

Today's news roundup features an interesting look at the future of the Mets farm system: Gotham Baseball: Starting from scratch Mike McGann is back with another strong column, this one on the gutting and what we all hope will be the eventual rebuilding of the Mets farm system. As McGann...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New York Mets Hot Stove Moves, Part 3

We continue our look at some of the moves Omar made this off-season, from significant signings to controversial trades. 12/8/2005 - Selected RHP Mitch Wylie from the San Francisco Giants Triple-A Fresno roster in the Rule 5 Draft. Once a decent prospect who suffered through multiple injuries, as a rule...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 6:51 PM | Permalink

Let's trade Jose Reyes before it's too late

Before I get to the small amount of Mets news this morning, I'd like to once again offer my helpful assistance to GM Omar Minaya. Watching shortstop Jose Reyes finally make it in one piece through a full season last year, I began to feel pretty good about the chances...

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By Mike Steffanos, posted at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Mike's Mets

New York Mets discussion, news and historical perspective -- now getting by with a little help from my friends.

February 28, 2006

Take your slide rule and shove it

Grow Your Own

February 27, 2006

The Evening News

The Big Picture

Some Confirmation on the Cablevision - SNY Agreement

February 26, 2006

Bloomberg: Cablevision reaches agreement with SNY

Victor Zambrano just isn't as bad as you think he is

February 25, 2006

Define "fair"

The Promise of Spring

February 24, 2006

Get off the ledge

Damn Prospect Huggers

February 23, 2006

Even Kaz gets a fresh chance

February 22, 2006

What, Me Worry?

I'm really trying not to piss you all off

February 21, 2006

No place to hide for Beltran

Brave New World?

February 20, 2006

Franco to mentor Jose Reyes

One gets Right Field, the other gets lost

February 19, 2006

Young arms to get excited about?

February 18, 2006

2006 National League Preview: San Diego Padres

She's out there, but can we find her?

February 17, 2006

At last, it all begins

Just how good is Jae Seo?

What's Omar thinking with Rickey Henderson and Jose Lima?

February 16, 2006

I think I'm going to like Lo Duca despite myself

We probably need to stop talking about feet

February 15, 2006

Bench Strength?

I'm not ready to go into panic mode over Pedro's toe...

Pedro's Shoe; Rolling the Dice with Lima

February 14, 2006

Mets Picked Behind Braves; Top Prospect List; Rosenthal Interview

You gotta love Valentine's Day...

February 13, 2006

Should Beltran Bat Second?

On the edge of the season

February 12, 2006

Sandlot

Even winter can't stop baseball's return

February 11, 2006

No Minor Concern

February 10, 2006

2006 National League Preview: Houston Astros

Your time is gonna come...

February 9, 2006