Benjamin Grimm

="MIKE FITZPATRICK, AP Baseball Writer"]Normally quiet Beltran has familiar message for Rollins: `We are the team to beat' By MIKE FITZPATRICK, AP Baseball Writer February 16, 2008 PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) -- Johan Santana's first workout with the New York Mets had his teammates all pumped up -- even quiet Carlos Beltran. The star center fielder reported to camp three days early Saturday and revealed he probably won't be ready to play when spring training games start because he's still rehabbing from Oct. 3 surgery on both knees. That hardly put him in a sour mood, though. An upbeat Beltran spoke excitedly about the club's new ace and had a right-back-at-you message for Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins. ADVERTISEMENT "Let me tell you this: Without Santana, we felt as a team that we have a chance to win in our division. With him now, I have no doubt that we're going to win in our division," Beltran said. "So this year, to Jimmy Rollins -- we are the team to beat!" Of course, it was Rollins who boasted last offseason that his Phillies were the team to beat in the NL East, even though the Mets had run away with the 2006 division title. The comment made headlines in New York and turned Rollins into a ripe target for angry boos at Shea Stadium. He backed up his words, however, leading Philadelphia's late-season surge past the fading Mets for its first division championship in 14 years. On the strength of outstanding numbers (and perhaps his clairvoyant prediction), Rollins won the NL MVP award. Does Beltran plan to duplicate that feat, too? "I don't know about that," he said. "We'll find out." Beltran's bravado was completely out of character for a placid guy who has even been criticized in New York at times for not showing enough fiery emotion. In fact, his message to Rollins came moments after this comment: "Spotlight for me doesn't mean anything. ... I'm not going to change. I'm going to be quiet. I don't say much. That's my personality." No wonder his teammates were so surprised to hear about such a boast from Beltran, who became a father in October. "Wow!" manager Willie Randolph said. "I guess when you have a little baby girl you get a little confidence." But closer Billy Wagner cautioned that grand pronouncements can backfire. "You create more of a target," he said. "Now, you have to lead." Wagner also said Beltran will have to be around to "answer the questions" and take the "punishment" if he gets off to a slow start or things don't go well. "My teammate, I got his back," Wagner said. Third baseman David Wright thinks it's a good sign that Beltran voiced such confidence. "Different guys have different ways to pump up their team. Personally, I don't feel the need to declare anything because talk is cheap, especially in February," Wright said. "Just for him to make that statement shows that he's stepping up and he's going to do his part." Rollins is scheduled to report to Phillies camp by Monday. When told about Beltran's comment, Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said: "I got nothing to say about that. You have to ask Jimmy. I could see why they'd feel good with Johan." Manuel did say, however, that he prefers when players just speak with their bats. "Let Louisville do the talking," he explained. Beltran, who signed a $119 million, seven-year contract with the Mets as a free agent before the 2005 season, batted .276 with 33 homers, 112 RBIs and 23 stolen bases last year. He had arthroscopic surgery on his knees to relieve tendinitis and said he hasn't been able to try running or turning at full speed yet. "I took all my swings in Puerto Rico, so I come to spring training ready to swing the bat," Beltran said. "But the thing is, who's going to run?" As he works his way back to 100 percent, Beltran isn't sure when he'll be able to play in exhibition games. But he acknowledged he probably won't be ready when they begin late this month. "He can roll out of bed and hit. I'm not concerned about Carlos Beltran," Wright said. "You can give him 10 or 15 at-bats this spring and he'd probably be ready to go."

="Mets.com"]Like father, like son: Sandy Alomar Jr. spoke often last summer of his desire to eventually become a baseball coach, and he's now taken the first step toward that goal. The Mets on Friday named Alomar the club's new catching instructor, replacing Tom Nieto, who will coach first base. Alomar batted .139 in limited duty with the Mets last season, during the final leg of a career that saw him win the 1990 Rookie of the Year Award and play in six All-Star Games. His father, Sandy Alomar Sr., is the team's third-base coach.

Which ones were and which ones weren't, and how do you know?

And you're assuming that none of our guys were juiced?

It's not about the destination, it's about the ride. Otherwise we could just ignore them all year and check next year's World Almanac and Book of Facts to see whether or not the Mets won the World Series.

I agree. 1985 was the most exciting season I've ever lived through. Even though it didn't have a happy ending, I have nothing but fond memories of that year.

="John Cougar Lunchbucket"]I think the 2000 World Series cured me of taking too much to heart. I mean, I was just devastated by Game 1. Tortured. When they blew it this September I was fine by comparison. I know how you feel. My cure came earlier, though, during the 1988 NLCS. 2000 didn't torture me, and neither did 2007.

Ewwww, I hadn't thought of this... The following is pasted from MSNBC.com's home page: One of Brian McNamee�s lawyers predicts Roger Clemens will be pardoned by President Bush, saying some Republicans treated his client harshly because of the pitcher�s friendship with the Bush family. I guess, since Roger Clemens has, strangely, become another partisan issue, it's reasonable to speculate that Bush would take the pro-Roger anti-Brian stance.

Have you heard of pig iron? Here's how Wikipedia describes it: ]Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with coke and limestone in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a very high carbon content, typically 3.5 - 4.5%,[1] which makes it very brittle and not useful directly as a material except for limited applications. The traditional shape of the molds used for these ingots was a branching structure formed in sand, with many individual ingots at right angles to a central channel or runner. Such a configuration is similar in appearance to a litter of piglets suckling on a sow. When the metal had cooled and hardened, the smaller ingots (the pigs) were simply broken from the much thinner runner (the sow), hence the name pig iron. As pig iron is intended for remelting, the uneven size of the ingots and inclusion of small amounts of sand was insignificant compared to the ease of casting and of handling.

Love the name. They just should have put a space between the two words. I like Iron Pigs a lot more than IronPigs.

="SteveJRogers"]The neon players are going to be 20 years old this year, should the Mets bring them over to Citi Field? No, but if I was designing Citi Field it would have big corrugated metal tiles. It wouldn't be a tribute to Ebbets Field, it would be a tribute to the Shea Stadium of the 60's and 70's. Our individual senses of nostalgia are influenced, obviously, by when we lived our formative years. My memories of Shea predate the apple by about a decade but I like the apple nonetheless. Saying that it's a "Shea tradition" and not a "Mets tradition" is silly. What's the difference? Other than those two years at the Polo Grounds, the history of the Mets is completely entwined with the history of Shea Stadium. Bringing some of Shea Stadium into Citi Field isn't honoring a defunct building, it's honoring the team's past.

That's kind of a dis on Porky Pig, isn't it?

I just hope they don't break out photos of the "palpable mass on Mr. Clemens' buttocks."

AG/DC wrote: Burton is a complete ASSHOLE! He's ripping MacNamee because his lies are destroying Clemens, but the only lies he's catching MacNamee in are the lies he told defending Clemens. He also pretends not to understand the distinction between things said under oath to Congress and to reporters from the Daily News and Newsday.

Mr. McNamee "injected Mrs. Clemens in her bedroom."

McNamee looks a bit like Andy Dick, doesn't he?

Gary Marshall? You have Odd Couple on the brain today, huh?

soupcan wrote: (It) makes no sense anymore. It's a top hat with an apple coming out of it! WTF is that? And that's exactly why I like it. It's a quirky anachronism.

Willets Point wrote: Love the apple. Indifferent to the dot. Me too.

I'm guessing he has a drinking problem. That's probably what's wrong with him.

I'd think that Sosa would slot above Armas.

Put me on the list of those who want to see Pelfrey usurp Hernandez as the fifth starter. I don't want to dump Hernandez; I think he can play a valuable role. But let's get on with Pelfrey's future. I don't want him to still be an unknown at this time next year.

In my favorite scenario, both Clemens and Hardin end up doing jail time.

True dat. He's represented by Boras, which means he's going to test free agency and he will talk to other teams next winter. There's no reason at all to be certain that he'll be a Met in 2009. If he has a bad year in 2008, the Mets might not want him back. And if he has a great year, there will be competition for him.

Frayed Knot wrote: The basic conclusion was that the post-2008 departures of Pedro, Delgado, Hernandez & Perez could probably be replaced on the open market for a similar cost/production ratio (if done correctly of course) even while carrying Santana's huge contract and dealing with a gutted farm system. I think that's probably true. Finding a (relatively) low-cost replacement for Delgado will probably be the toughest task. I suspect that first base is going to be the Mets' main focus after the 2008 season. (I'd like to see the Mets steal Teixeira from the Braves.) I'm also thinking that the Mets probably won't lose both Martinez and Perez. (They may even retain both of them.) But even if they do, if next year is like this year, there will be a bunch of potential #3 and #4 starters on the free agent market. Guys like Kris Benson and Kyle Lohse and Livan Hernandez (and others) are still unsigned just a couple of weeks before spring training. If the Mets don't spend big on a Sabathia to replace Pedro (and my guess is that they won't) they should have plenty of other options.