The Mets already know that they will be without Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes for Opening Day, and that means that once again, David Wright will be last man standing as far as core position players.

Yes, Jason Bay hitting behind him should give him some protection, but is that enough reason for pitchers to not go after hitting Wright or at least backing him off the plate?

Last August, when Wright was already flu ridden and battling leg injuries, Wright was nailed by a 94 MPH fastball by Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants. 

Although he walked off the field on  his own, Wright was very shaken and in a great deal of pain, but only time will tell if concussion symptoms are a thing of the past close to nine months later.

Jerry needs to start resting David Wright More. (Courtesy of the NY Daily News)

While there should be no intent to injure Wright, there is a belief that once Opening Day comes, MLB pitchers will be testing Wright’s comfort level in the batter’s box.

This past winter, Wright bulked up his upper body but trimmed down significantly over all, he looks completely ripped and so far has hit two home runs already in Spring Training.

So far he has not wore the new Rawlings helmet that he had unknowingly endorsed the days before he was beaned.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Another video to share. Jeff Wilpon addresses his naysayers, and it’s about time that the management acknowledges the people. Enjoy, and check below.

The Mets could certainly use a little bit of Turk Wendell.

BY ANDREW CAVAGNARO
STACHE WRITER

The Mets bullpen frightens me. Sure rotation could go kaboom any second, but I really believe the bullpen will determine the fate of our beloved Metropolitans.

Of course the Mets have K-Rod to anchor the pen, but from there lies many murky answers. Pedro Feliciano was great last year, but can he repeat it? Brian Stokes has been traded away and J.J Putz left via free agency. I know Kelvim Escobar isn’t going to be the poster child for health. Sure mix a few Japanese imports and minor leaguers and you have a pen, but is it a good one?

All that can be guaranteed is that eighth and ninth innings in Flushing will be very interesting. Too bad Turk Wendell is retired, I miss those days of rosin bag tosses and solid innings pitched.

This is the first image on google when I searched "What's going on?"

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

For the past 24 hours, the Stache has been down and out. It took me forever to get the issue resolved with the hosting site, AFMU. I just got an email from one of the higher ups, and here’s what he had to say.

“Your site was running a script that took the server offline. The server automatically shut your site down to prevent this. What exactly is your site doing? IF you are bug testing code it is usually best to do that on a local machine. I will put the site back up in just a moment.”

Now, while I have no idea what that means, the site is back up and running, and that is the most important thing.

Anyway, back to normal, and more stuff that I have gotten recently will be posted.

Is Oliver Perez's debut is any indication, the Mets are in for another head scratching season from him. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY FRANK GRAY
STACHE WRITER

Every Family has a black sheep. A rotten egg. The square peg that will not fit in the round hole. The New York Mets are a family as well. As a family, they are no exception. The square peg, I’m thinking of is Oliver Perez. Ollie has been overrated since his arrival in Queens.

He has been highly reported on and highly criticized. All with good reason. The franchise inked him to a longer deal than any other team was offering. Does the league know something that Omar Minaya doesn’t? Perhaps.

Perhaps if a pitcher that has good potential for upside hasn’t figured it out by now, than potential is nothing more than a desert mirage. An oasis in scorching temperatures, existing at a distance, but nothing more than an illusion when you reach it. This could be Oliver Perez, an illusion. A mirage.
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Could John Lackey have been the icing on the cake? We will never know. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY FRANK GRAY
STACHE WRITER

The major story this past off season for the New York Mets was inactivity. I mentioned in a previous article that, the Mets GM Omar Minaya added depth in preparation of the possibility of repeating last year’s injury ward. That is true, however it is not the entire story.

This past week, two stories came out that were disheartening and equally frustrating to a Mets fan. As a Mets fan, the off season was spent clamoring about adding starting pitching behind Johan Santana for the rotation. It also was spent talking about the need to have a premier catcher. The team spent the few months of the off season heavily pursuing players to fit that criteria, or so we were told.

It has come to light that, a pitcher who wanted to come to New York, Jason Marquis was never given a serious offer from the franchise. They had at least five pitchers that were mentioned to the public as considering for the team. John Lackey and Jason Marquis were among them and both were offered contracts.
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BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Scott Ragowsky of 12angrymascots.com, once again has sent me a hillarious video which is a must watch. This video talks about the emergence of “Jeff Wilpon’s” video blog, and he refers to all of his new fans as Wilpals. This is funny stuff. Enjoy it below.

Despite his strong start to spring, Mejia should be in AA in April

BY AARON YORKE
STACHE WRITER

Yesterday afternoon we were blessed with another Mets spring training triumph, this time over the Florida Marlins by the score of 11-2. Two of the stars of the game were Chris Carter, who pinch hit in the 9th and ended up with 2 homers and 4 RBI, and Jenrry Mejia who pitched three scoreless innings and made every pitching-starved Mets fan salivate. Because everyone blows spring performances out of proportion, I’m afraid that the outstanding play of Carter and Mejia will cause management to think about putting one or both of them on the opening day roster. That would be ridiculous.

The problem with Chris Carter is that he doesn’t have a position. He’s been listed as an outfielder, a first baseman, and most prominently, a designated hitter. The Mets do play a handful of games in AL parks every year, so maybe that will come in handy. Or it would if the Mets didn’t already sign a left-handed power bat named Mike Jacobs who also can’t play defense to save his life. I’m confused as to why the Mets bothered to ask for Carter in the Wagner trade or acquire Jacobs off the scrap heap. They did promise to make Buffalo better, but then still they only need one of these guys unless the Mets think it’s worth it to carry a power bat on the bench who can’t do anything else.
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Whoever comes through these gates will be effective. I know it.

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Sorry it’s been so long. I have’t forgotten about my metsies. Business picked up all over the place and I just couldn’t write for a minute. Either way I’m back and pumped. My enthusiasm in the Spring is always off the charts but now it’s even greater because of the PECOTA ratings that were updated. Mets, 77-85. Bullocks I say. But that’s for another column on another day. For now I’ll keep my optimism to just one part of the team. The Bullpen.

That’s right, the worn down, beleaguered bullpen.
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Where does Josh Thole fit in for 2010? (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY FRANK GRAY
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

One week into spring training, and one thing is beginning to become apparent. The New York Mets are developing a log jam at several positions. First, the much unheralded, well documented off season sported multiple catcher signings. Most fans, by now, are well aware of the many catchers that the team signed and tried to sign.

They are all competing for probably only two spots on the major league roster. Omir Santos, Rod Barajas, Henry Blanco, Josh Thole, Chris Coste and Shawn Riggans constitute the current list. That’s six players, again, competing for probably only two spots. This is the definition of a log jam. They spent the money on Barajas, so he will be in the majors.

Blanco and Santos are the main competitors for the backup spot behind the plate. It doesn’t appear there will be three catchers, so from those two players, probably will emerge the backup, given injuries. Coste and Riggans will be only competing for what level of the minors they will be placed in.
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