Tuesday, February 14, 2006By Mike Steffanos
...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 almost no news to write about. Except that spring training starts a whole day later than I originally thought (how will I cope?)...
New York Post: The face of the franchise
David Wright is already down at the training facilities in Port St. Lucie preparing for the 2006 campaign. Kevin Kernan quotes Wright on what drives him:
My biggest thing is I want to experience playoff baseball in New York. I want to experience playing in October. That's what's pushed me this offseason. Playing in October is something I want to experience year in and year out.If you look at the pieces that Omar put together this offseason, if you look on paper right now, we have a tremendous opportunity.
TC Palm: Reporting dates
Kevin Van Brimmer reports on the opening of spring training camp for the Mets and other Treasure Coast area teams. Pitchers and catchers will report for the Mets on Thursday and have their first workout on Saturday. This is the correct information, unlike what I passed along yesterday where I jumped the gun by a day.
NY Sports Day: George Foster
Bob Sikes, former assistant trainer for the Mets, is back with another interesting story from his years with the Mets. This one is on the chain of events that led to George Foster being released by New York during the 1986 championship season. Sikes offers this observation of what went wrong for Foster with the Mets:
Foster probably wasn't up to the attention that went with his stature as a highly paid player. The jihad over athlete’s salaries wasn’t yet in full swing and his was one of the first big contracts. He had to carry the load in his early days for the Mets before the arrival of Hernandez. He was quietly religious and a devoted family man. George did not have many friends on the club, but was generally a likable sort with a dry sense of humor. He once turned on the dugout heaters at Shea during a 90-degree day game, and also enjoyed doing Sparky Anderson impersonations with Howard Johnson.
Sikes has his own blog, Getting Paid to Watch, and is also in the process of writing a book on his experiences.
Subscribe to Site Feed
