TransMonk

Collins must be going on Willie's small sample size of at-bats vs. Johnson. He has already hinted that Duda will most likely go Saturday and Sunday.

Milwuakee's John Axford blows a 3 run lead in the bottom of the ninth and Cincy wins on a walk-off three-run homer by Ramon Hernandez. Exciting stuff!

Yeah, I thought Thole, if not Pagan in the 2-hole...but Harris? FIRE TERRY COLLINS!!

Willets Point wrote: There he struggled to capture the form that saw him help the Mets to the World Series against their more illustrious cross-town rivals. What the fuck? Can't they just say "against the fuckin' Yankees?" Why does everything have to be a dig against the Mets and their puniness next to the Yankees? This turns out to be hilarious now! Well played!

The first post in this thread would have been submitted in the wee hours of the April 1st morning in Sydney.

WTF?

HahnSolo wrote: Oh, Dusty, one inning into the season and you are killing me, if Gametracker on ESPN is acccurate. Down 3-0 in the bottom of the first, Stubbs leads off with a double. With Votto on deck, he has Brandon Phillips bunt Stubbs to third. A Votto SF makes it 3-1. But then Rolen walked and Bruce singled, and the inning ended with Gomes grounding out. How on earth do you bunt in the first inning with a guy already in scoring position???? I thought that too. It's the first inning of Opening Day and you're down by 3 runs. Swing away!

Weeks with his second RBI of the day. 4-1 Milwaukee over Cincy in the 2nd.

Rickie Weeks and ex-Met Carlos Gomez go back-to-back with HRs in Cincy to start the game. Then Braun walked and Fielder singled and McGehee sac-flied. 3-0 Brew Crew in the 1st.

MLB.com's Gameday looks pretty slick this season!

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: [youtube]2WNrx2jq184[/youtube] This would get my vote. Peter Griffin and all.

Per Rubin via Metsblog, Misch has accepted a minor league assignment as well. It looks like we may not lose any of our "too many" pieces this spring (Acosta pending).

http://dicomo.mlblogs.com/2011/03/30/the-opening-day-lineup-minus-jason-bay/ A team official said Wednesday that rather than start rookie Lucas Duda against Marlins right-hander Josh Johnson on Friday night, the Mets will play Willie Harris in left field (Harris, a lefty, is 4-for-15 lifetime off Johnson with seven walks and a home run). The Mets do, however, plan to start Duda regularly in left field, beginning Saturday and Sunday against two more Marlins right-handers.

Aren't the Mets historically the best opening day team in the league? They're hella good on OD, IIRC.

We all know what ESPN, SI, MLBN and other national talking heads think is going to happen in 2011, but what about the local bloggers, columnists and rags? They tend to know their teams a little better. They also tend to be a bit more optimistic. What are the locals thinking about their clubs on opening day? Yo, doomsayers: Stop raining on the Phillies' parade Florida Marlins have one eye on 2012 Opening day is here, and the Bravos are excited At Nationals Park, the future overshadows the present Brewers ready for season after injury-riddled spring Quade keeping low profile with Cubs Cards ready for chemistry test Let's play ball Cincinnati Baseball 2011: Pirates' young face first grind Houston Astros 2011 Season Preview: Making The Best Of The Bad Brandon Belt makes SF Giants' roster Dodgers have new sense of purpose Paige: Rockies will roar to 93 wins Questions abound as Padres open season in St. Louis Arizona Diamondbacks not without some bright spots

I'm hoping it has a 2005 vibe where they still won't be obvious contenders, but they will noticeably headed in the right direction on the field.

No more concession lines at Miller Park? The Milwaukee Brewers announced Thursday a new partnership that will allow fans to pre-order and pay for concession items from their smartphone. The system is called Bypass Lane, and is based in Austin, Texas. The app works on Android, Blackberry OS6, Dell mobile devices, iPhone and Palm mobile devices. Here's how it works: Using Bypass, fans can view full food and drink menus of select concession stands in the vicinity of their seats. They pay for it by using a credit card using Bypass' secure payment platform. When the order is ready to be picked up, a text message is sent to the fan. �We are excited to add Bypass Lane to Miller Park,� said Rick Schlesinger, the team's chief operating officer. "This latest technology will provide a convenient and simple way for fans to order concessions without missing the action on the field.� Fans interesting in using the service can download the app from the iTunes store or the Bypass Lane website. There are four locations on the Miller Park Field Level concourse that will offer the service. The service will be available beginning opening day.

I'll be at the June 7th and 9th games in Milwaukee. I've had better beer at Citi, though.

The speculation I'm gathering is that Duda would fill in for a possible Bay DL stint so that Evans doesn't have to go through waivers again when Bay is eligible to return at the end of next week. I imagine it will have to do with the severity of Bay's injury and the likelihood of his return as soon as possible, but if Bay will be ready sooner rather than later, I would agree with going Duda over Evans.

Tim McCarver to the New York Daily News wrote: "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." I'm guessing Joe and Tim will discuss it enough for everyone during each and every Mets FOX broadcast this season.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: 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. This. G-Fafif wrote: ...or we're a little overwhelmed by our own guy. And this. Either way, I'm glad he's still ours in AAA.

Rubin: F-You, TMonk!

Projecting. Saying. Guessing. Assuming. How about reporting some facts, Adam?

STFU, Tim. You too, Joe Buck.