bmfc1

I want Spring Training for 2011 to begin now. Let's see what Duda and Carter can do in real games. And no more Castillo--we know what he can do. If they are going to hire Bobby V., then hire him now so he can learn about the team. If they are going to hire Wally, then hire him as soon as Brooklyn's year is over for the same reason.

Official - Francoeur to Texas for infielder Joaquin Arias

KBurkhardtSNY Francoeur's locker cleaned out. He's outta here. #Mets

What size is Font? Bazinga!

I found something good about Joaquin Arias: he can play all 4 IF positions: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/ariasjo01.shtml?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker&utm_campaign=Linker

Good work! Thanks.

I hope he can find a dog walker in Texas.

Pagan is day to day with right wrist tendinitis. Tonight's bench is Hessman, Thole, Reyes, Hernandez, Pagan. If Francoeur is traded before the end of the game, and Pagan can't play, who takes his place in the OF?

Mejia tonight: 8.0 ip, 5h, 1r, 1bb, 9k. Wanna bet he takes the Misch start on Saturday?

Bravo!

[u:1ng5j09t]METS:[/u:1ng5j09t] Pagan-CF Castillo-2B Carter-LF Wright-3B Davis-1B Francoeur-RF Thole-C Hernandez-SS Misch-LHP [u:1ng5j09t]Braves:[/u:1ng5j09t] Infante - 4 Heyward - 9 Prado - 5 Lee - 3 McCann - 2 Diaz - 7 Gonzalez - 6 Cabrera - 8 Jurrjens - 1 For those that don't get EI or MLB.tv, it's on ESPN.

Friggin' umps have one job do it and they can't do it right. Good thing they get 4 weeks vacation so they can rest after working so hard.

[u:3r2bsvk6]METS:[/u:3r2bsvk6] Reyes-SS Pagan-LF Beltran-CF Wright-3B Davis-1B Francoeur-RF Thole-C Castillo-2B Niese LHP [u:3r2bsvk6]Marlins:[/u:3r2bsvk6] Maybin cf Morrison lf Ramirez ss Uggla 2b Sanchez 1b Stanton rf Helms 3b Hayes c Sanchez p

Fman--keep an eye here: http://www.springtrainingonline.com/features/master-schedule.htm The Mets usually release their ST schedule later than most teams. This site aggregates all of the other schedules so you'll see it here before the Mets release it.

Good news for MGIM (from WFAN): Travel plans for next year, Mets road interleague will be Texas and Detroit. Sorry, no Minnesota as we originally thought.

I'm floored by the reaction to a bad player--featured in every montage of Mets embarrassing moments--putting himself before the team, especially at a rare moment of joy. Just because he was asked doesn't mean he has to say what's on his mind and embarrass his employer even if they deserve it. Castillo should be on his knees (interpret that however you want) thanking Omar for paying him too much money for too long a period of time. Good for him that he wants to play more. If he hit .300, maybe he would.

You guys are condoning a player on your team bitching while the season goes down the tubes. Yes, he wants to play more but say it in private. What ever happened to putting the team first?

I'm wondering if these documents will renew the call for a salary "floor" so owners are forced to spend at least a minimum amount on salaries.

"I don't see anything jerky there. He was asked; he answered; and he was ready to play despite his frustration. He accepts the authority of those responsible for his fate, but he can't be expected to celebrate that fate." Castillo has $25M reasons to shut his yap. He's under performed and is one of the reasons why the GM may be fired. If he was hitting .300, maybe he could bitch but he's not. He is fat, lazy, takes 2-0 and 3-1 pitches no matter what the situation is and who is batting behind him, and if management wants to play Tejada, who is a far superior defender, then that's their decision whether or not he concurs. Further, even if he's not "celebrating his fate", at a time when the team won a game in thrilling fashion, he should have been selfless and thought of the team and the fans that were celebrating the win instead of himself but he is apparently incapable of such behavior.

Part 3 is out and it's as illuminating as parts 1 and 2: http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/columns/story?columnist=rubin_adam&id=5494308

Yes, he was pouting. Jerk: "I'm in a hard situation here," Castillo said. ... Asked before the game how things were going, Castillo replied, "Not good, man. I don't play so much. I like to play. It's hard sometimes when you've played every day for 14 years and things change so quick. I hope I can play more and try to do better. "But that's not my decision. They make that decision and I have to respect the decision. But I don't say that I agree with it." After this season, Castillo still has one more year remaining on the four-year, $25 million deal he signed before the 2008 season. Some critics point to his contract as one of the failures of the Met front office, but, as Castillo points out, he played well last year, batting .302 with a .387 on-base percentage. He's hitting only .238 this year with a .336 on-base percentage. "Sometimes you have a bad year, but last year, I didn't have a bad year," Castillo said. "But this year, I only have like 200 at-bats (actually 210). I think I can play more. I've prepared this year, physically, better and I thought I'd have a good year." http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2010/08/24/2010-08-24_luis_castillo_hits_gamewinning_walkoff_rbi_single_in_new_york_mets_win_over_marl.html

How long do you think David to lift his eyebrows, say the line, and then take a step, and say another line? An hour? Hours?

Part 1 was like every "out of town" or national broadcast of the Mets as every national or local crew feels compelled to run down the bullet points of misery that we know so well. Wainwright! Collapse! Collapse again! Injuries! Scandal! I hope that Adam offers some new information in the next two parts rather than telling us "bloated, long-term contracts will have a negative impact on the Mets for years to come" and "while the minor league system is improving, things won't change unless ownership changes its philosophy." We know.

Part I: http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=5485760 A rehash. One line stood out: "Ownership blames Minaya for failing to lean harder on the southpaw to accept a demotion."