Benjamin Grimm

SURFIN' BIRD A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird B-b-b-bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word

That, along with 1985, are my two favorites of the Opening Days that I attended. Too bad Seaver's return only lasted one year.

Inspired by Chase Utley?

Baseball season officially begins in just over two hours, with Atlanta at Washington and Detroit playing in the Bronx. Later in the afternoon, Milwaukee at Cincinnati, Anaheim at Kansas City, San Diego at St. Louis, and tonight, San Francisco at Los Angeles. Among today's scheduled starting pitchers is one former Met: The Nationals' Livan Hernandez. It will be either Livan or C.C. Sabathia who throws the first pitch of the season.

Frayed Knot wrote: So depending on the exact lineup and the batting order, Emaus, or maybe Hairston or Harris, becomes the first "next" Met out of this season's newbies - which is a way of saying that we've got to re-start that thread. Then, with Paulino on the shelf and Young & Capuano not scheduled for a few days, a variety of PHers and relievers to follow depending on the order in which they're used. Yes... soon the mystery of the 900th Met will be solved. The count has been at 895 since the end of the 2010 season.

I'm having a hard time being too disturbed about Jason Bay missing a few weeks. I know he's probably better than whoever they'll put out there, but is he significantly better? I have my doubts.

I think it will be an interesting year. How will Davis and Niese progress? What will happen with Beltran and Reyes? When will Santana come back? Will Bay redeem himself or doom himself in New York? What does Brad Emaus have? What kind of a manager will Terry Collins be? I really think this will be a more interesting mediocre season than most others.

Willets Point wrote: That is awfully strange!

Heyman neglected to mention that Bay spelled backwards is "yab." Hopefully Bay won't get the news at 3 a.m.

I'd like to get to Citi Field early in the season, before all of the positive energy is sucked from the place, but the schedule doesn't look too accommodating, at least for April, where I have conflicts with my girls softball team. Haven't looked at the May games yet.

Enjoy it! Opening Day was an annual event for me from 1978 through 1992. Haven't done it since, but it was always fun, especially in the years when the Home Opener was also the Season Opener.

Looks like we're likely to have a first-time winner for the Pitcher of the Year in 2011, unless Santana comes back sooner and stronger than we expect, and everyone else struggles. Pelfrey and Dickey are probably licking their chops at the chance that they have this year to dethrone Johan. It'll be nice if somebody were to step up and give David a strong challenge for Player of the Year. The betting in Vegas, last time I looked, has him as a very strong favorite. Reliever of the Year, our quirkiest category, is as wide open as ever.

I suspect that a lot of other teams also have roster space issues at this time of the year. A team that claims Evans would likely have to waive somebody else.

A little bit of recapping here: Past Annual Winners: PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2005 David Wright 2006 David Wright 2007 David Wright 2008 Johan Santana 2009 David Wright 2010 David Wright PITCHER OF THE YEAR 2005 Pedro Martinez 2006 Tom Glavine 2007 Tom Glavine 2008 Johan Santana 2009 Johan Santana 2010 Johan Santana RELIEVER OF THE YEAR 2008 Aaron Heilman 2009 Francisco Rodriguez 2010 Hisanori Takahashi Number of times players have won the monthly awards: PLAYER OF THE MONTH David Wright 10 Johan Santana 6 Carlos Beltran 5 Jos� Reyes 3 Cliff Floyd 2 Tom Glavine 2 Carlos Delgado 2 Mike Cameron 1 John Maine 1 Angel Pagan 1 Jeff Francoeur 1 R. A. Dickey 1 Ike Davis 1 PITCHER OF THE MONTH Johan Santana 9 Pedro Martinez 6 John Maine 5 Tom Glavine 3 Mike Pelfrey 3 Orlando Hernandez 2 R. A. Dickey 2 Alay Soler 1 Steve Trachsel 1 Oliver Perez 1 Livan Hernandez 1 Tim Redding 1 Dillon Gee 1 RELIEVER OF THE MONTH Brian Stokes 5 Francisco Rodriguez 2 Raul Valdes 2 Billy Wagner 1 Aaron Heilman 1 Duaner Sanchez 1 Scott Schoeneweis 1 Pedro Feliciano 1 Sean Green 1 Fernando Nieve 1 Hisanori Takahashi 1 Elmer Dessens 1

Boof Bonser?? He didn't even make the team! He may never throw a pitch for the Mets. I don't think he's entitled to dibs.

But the idea that they need to sell because their players will be facing stupid questions is a weak position. I don't think he was saying that at all. It reads to me like two separate observations: 1. He thinks the Wilpons will ultimately have to sell the team. (That's my guess too, but only time will tell.) 2. This is going to be distracting for the players (and the broadcasters.) For posterity: New York Daily News wrote: Tim McCarver thinks there is only one way for Mets ownership to extricate itself from the financial squeeze it is in. "It's agonizing. I personally feel the Wilpons have to sell the ballclub," McCarver, Fox's No. 1 baseball analyst, said Tuesday during a conference call. "I don't see how they can escape by selling a minority position, particularly when they don't allow any control." McCarver, who worked behind a Mets TV microphone for 16 seasons (1983-1998), said the financial plight of the team will weigh on the players until it is resolved. "It's deplorable. I would not want to be a player on the Mets right now," McCarver said. "Not because they are not talented enough, but because of all the questions surrounding the team this year will be (about) the off-field problems. It's very difficult to play under those circumstances." On the field, McCarver said he can't see the Mets doing much. "But if they finish second or a close third (in the NL East) it wouldn't surprise me as far as their talent on the field," he said. "However, they are going to be asked questions about these off-field matters all year, every place they go." McCarver said the Mets' TV broadcasters, SportsNet New York's Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez, will be under pressure too. "It's very difficult to broadcast under those circumstances. That's just because you have to tell what you deem to be the truth," McCarver said. "It can't be a soap opera about the owners every day and I'm sure Gary, Keith and Ron will keep it between the lines."

themetfairy wrote: Thank you BG - I'm looking forward to this You're welcome! Hard to believe that this silly little tradition is entering its seventh year!

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I would prefer all players wear stirrups than just those who choose to. It's a uniform! Word!

I think Terry Collins should be able to nip this "distraction" thing in the bud. Just tell the players to respond to financial questions with something like, "I really don't have much information about what's going on with the financial situation. I'm just focused on what's happening on the field." Enough responses like that, and the questions will stop. And even if they don't stop, they won't be a "distraction" because the questions will be asked and answered very quickly.

Voting for the 2011 Schaefer Mets Player of the Year Award will begin on Friday, April 1, the Crane Pool Forum has announced. This will be the seventh season that Crane Pool Forum members will be participating in Schaefer voting. The Schaefer Mets Player of the Year Award was established in the 1970's, and Schaefer points were awarded by Mets broadcasters Lindsey Nelson, Ralph Kiner, and Bob Murphy. The award was re-established by the Crane Pool Forum in 2005. Third baseman David Wright has been the winner in in five of the six years of the revived prize, with pitcher Johan Santana's 2008 win being the one interruption to Wright's winning streak. A voting thread is opened in the forum at the conclusion of each regular season Mets game, according to CPF spokesmodel Benjamin Grimm. Voting generally stays open for two business days, after which the votes are tallied and the results are posted in the voting thread. In addition, says Grimm, each month a Schaefer Mets Player, Pitcher, and Relief Pitcher of the Month will be named. Voters are asked to adhere to a specific format, which is outlined at http://archives.cranepoolforum.net/6200/f9_t6278.shtml

I think it's a good idea. A couple of years ago, the Mets might have been more willing to sideline Ryan Church for 7 days, where they were obviously reluctant to do it for 15. Had he been immediately shut down for 7 days, things might have gone better with his recovery. (No guarantee of that, of course, but maybe...)

MLB adds 7-day DL for concussions March 29, 2011 | 11:36 am A seven-day disabled list will be used for major league baseball players with concussions this season, the commissioner's office and players' union announced Tuesday. The list is intended "to allow concussions to clear, prevent players from returning prematurely and give the clubs a full complement of players in one's absence," according to the announcement. The seven-day term is a minimum, and players needing more than 14 days to return will be transferred to the regular 15-day disabled list. The list will be used on a trial basis this season. Baseball's new policy for concussions also requires players to take a baseline neurological examination each spring, and whenever they join a new team. In addition, the policy establishes protocols for evaluating players and umpires for possible concussions and for clearing affected players and umpires to return. Finally, the policy mandates that each team associate with a brain trauma specialist in its area who can evaluate players and umpires as necessary. "This policy, which reflects the collective expertise of many of the foremost authorities in the field, will benefit players, umpires and clubs alike," Commissioner Bud Selig said, "and I am proud of the spirit of cooperation that has led us to this result." Said Michael Weiner, executive director of the players' union: "The MLBPA is pleased to have worked with the Commissioner's Office, members of club training and medical staffs and some of today's leading experts in neurology to develop new protocols for the diagnosis and treatment of concussions. Player safety is a major concern of the collective bargaining parties, and these new protocols and procedures should enhance our ongoing efforts to protect the health of players and umpires."

The question mark appears to apply to Paulino, not to Bay.

Very misleading post there, Ashie. The article says that Bay could begin the season on disabled list. He has not been assigned to the DL, it's just a possibility. (Or maybe a probability. Who knows for sure?)

The waivers on Evans are revokeable, right?