Santos gets the start behind the plate tomorrow, and this could be his big chance.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Jerry Manuel has decided that he is going to shuffle the Cards, so to speak. No pun intended. Okay, you got me. All pun intended. Tomorrow, we are going to see three of the regulars take a seat as Luis Castillo, Daniel Murphy and Ramon Castro will all take a seat in favor of Alex Cora, Gary Sheffield and Omir Santos. Another thing of note that Manuel said is that he is considering flip flopping Wright and Beltran because Carlos is hitting the ball well right now. Maybe it’s time for a shake up.

You really have nothing to lose by going with Santos. The guy is capable of hitting, and we have already seen that this season. We also saw him make a picture perfect throw to nab Ryan Braun when the Mets played the Brew Crew. I support this move without question, especially when the Mets are playing a day game after a night game. Ramon, go to the cages and work on your swing.

Sheffield seems like he is waiting to burst out of his bubble. I am a big fan of Daniel Murphy, so I never love the idea of having him sit, but the day off will probably be good for his mind. Maybe the media will get off of his back for a day, and the kid can focus on baseball. On the other hand, if Sheffield has a breakout day, the media will surely approach Murphy to see if he feels threatened by the wily veteran. Welcome to New York kid.

The move I am most skeptical about is Alex Cora, who seems like another addition to the ever so popular “ground ball to second base” squad. Brian Schneider is a member, and Marlon Anderson was as well. Jeremy Reed could be the next after Cora to join the squad, but I have a little more faith in him. Castillo is one of the best bats in the lineup right now. I think a day game after a night game would be a good test for him, but Jerry isn’t taking any chances this early in the season. I guess I can’t get on him for that.

Beltran. Time to seize the opportunity. If you hit in the three hole, show David what it is like to get a clutch hit.

Until tomorrow. Thank god the Rangers won.

Marlon Anderson effectively gets thrown out by the Mets.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

The Mets diced today that Marlon Anderson will go in place of Livan Hernandez, who gets the start against the Marlins tonight. Anderson was re-signed prior to last season on a new two year contract, but he really didn’t hold up his end of the bargain, which led to the Mets’ designating him for assignment.

He was marginal at best, and the bottom line is that he certainly became expendable, and that is not something you want to become as a become when you are a bench player. There’s certain steps once you make the 25 man roster. You are either a starter, a reliever, a bench player and the next step is not a good one. After that, you either go to the minors or get released. And, because Anderson has a guaranteed contract, he got the boot.

Livan Hernandez’s first start is an important one for the Mets. Although they got a good start out of Maine yesterday, they weren’t willing to push him due to the fact that Maine is coming off of off season surgery. I certainly support that move, but it also means that it was another busy night for the bullpen. Livan was brought here because he is known as an innings eater, and the Mets are going to need him to do exactly that.

I know what you were all saying when you saw the title of the post. How corny is that? Well…get over it. I like puns. Either way, I think it is kinda funny that the Mets have decided to rid themselves of Anderson in Florida. I am sure he will land a minor league deal with somebody, and like most ex-Mets, he will probably come back to burn us later in the season.

Marlon Anderson May be Playing his Final Game as a Met Tonight

BY MATT MATSIL
STACHE WRITER

According to Adam Rubin of the Daily News, Marlon Anderson is likely to be dumped from the roster in favor of Livan Hernandez who will be activated prior to Saturday night’s game

Really it’s the only move the Mets can make right now. You can’t send Jeremy Reed down as you need his defense in the outfield, and with the way the Mets rotation has looked so far you cannot afford to go down to 11 pitchers. Marlon also hasn’t made a huge case for himself as he hasn’t looked like a major league hitter since September 2007, and with Nick Evans waiting in the wings it’s not like his position couldn’t be filled internally if a need for an extra bat arises in the coming weeks.

The Mets would be smart to stick with Darren O'Day, a rule-five acquistion from the Angels.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

With the addition of Gary Sheffield, the Mets have some new decisions to make. They already made one unplanned decision by sending Nick Evans to Triple A about five days earlier than expected. Originally, the Mets were expected to cut ties with veteran pinch hitter Marlon Anderson, but those plans have been put off for the moment, leaving many to wonder whether or not the Mets will cut Anderson at all.

Let’s first think at some potential alternatives. The two guys who could be next on the pecking order would probably be Darren O’Day and Jeremy Reed. The Mets are high on both guys, and cutting either one would be a major mistake. O’Day would likely be offered back to the Angels, who would stick him in Triple A, unless the Mets can work out a deal to the same themselves. Reed, on the other hand, was acquired as part of the J.J. Putz deal and I am sure the Mets didn’t acquire him just to see him go by the waste side.

I do understand the idea that Anderson may still have something left in the tank, but there just isn’t a proper space for him on this roster any longer. They have plenty of left handed bats off of the bench, and their one need was a power right handed bat who can provide some intimidation. Whether or not you like the move, Gary Sheffield is ideal for the void. He still has a quick bat and can hit the ball well. The only questions that remain are whether or not he can play the outfield and whether or not he can stay healthy.

I would love to see Anderson move on and be successful somewhere else, but he just doesn’t work here. He is getting up there in years, and last season, he showed some signs of his age. The Mets should stick with the younger tandem of Reed and O’Day and focus on what really matters most…the future.

Marlon Anderson has had many clutch hits as a member of the Mets.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Marlon Anderson has always been a player who has fit in well wherever he has gone, and he is a guy that fans love to root for. He is a good pinch hitter who understands his role on the team, and he serves as a positive mentor in the clubhouse for the younger guys. He truly appreciates what he has, and that is because nobody really gave him a chance to materialize as a player when he was in the minors, and I would know. I saw him live.

The year was 1998 and Marlon Anderson was just 24-years old. The Red Barons played their home games in Scranton, and my family decided to take a trip to go see them. My uncle explained to me that none of these players really had a shot to make it to the big leagues, but I played devil’s advocate. As I watched Marlon Anderson play with such fluidity, I told my uncle flat out, that Anderson was going to make the majors, and it turned out that the prediction would come true. That season with the Red Barons was important for Marlon, and he exploded by hitting over .300 with 16 homers and 86 RBI. It was quite evident that he would be a quality bench player in the bigs.

I wanted to root for him, but he was playing for Philly, which surely made that difficult. After five years with the Phillies, Marlon gave Tampa a shot, and after a brief stint there, he came to the Mets, and we came to know and love him as the quintessential lead off guy in 2005. Many Mets’ fans were upset to see the Mets not re-sign Marlon after the season, but the Mets were unwilling to go two years to bring him back, and the Nationals were. Anderson wouldn’t play out the entire length of the contract with them, and after one year with the Dodgers, Omar plucked him away again, giving him his second, and most likely final, tenure in New York.

The Gary Sheffield signing makes things look very clear. Marlon Anderson’s time with the Mets is running out, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him land somewhere else in the NL as a pinch hitter and backup first basemen. He still has talent, but he doesn’t fit in the Mets’ plans. If he batted right handed, the Mets would probably have just kept him, but that simply just isn’t the case. Just like most former Mets, Anderson will most likely get his opportunity to stick it to the Metropolitans if they cut him, but I am more partial to the concept of putting him through waivers and sending him to Triple A. I am just not convinced that a team will pick up the money he is owed, but I guess we will soon see.

Catalanotto has always been valuable because of his versatility.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

The Rangers have officially informed Andruw Jones that he has made the team, and Frank Catalanotto is going to be cut because of it. The Rangers are out of roster spots and the fact that Catalanotto hit just .317 this spring didn’t do enough to help his case. Now the superman will get the chance to resurrect his career with another team, and who would be better than the Metropolitans of New York to take him in.

I know what the argument against it is. He is coming off of a couple of down years in which he hit just .260 and then .274 in limited action. But that beats the hell out of Marlon Anderson’s lack of production any day. The Mets can probably try to dangle Anderson, and if they find no takers, they can waive him to the minors. If he gets claimed, then so be it, but Catalanotto would definitely be much more of a help to this team. We are talking about a guy who has a .292 career batting average. In 2001, he batted .330 and he has batted over .300 four different times. His versatility makes him a positive asset to this team, and it is worth cutting Anderson loose.

Imagine it now. He can back up first, second, left, center, right and I think he has even caught a few times in his career. He could serve as the emergency catcher so Carlos Delgado’s nightmares finally stop. Either way, this is a move that the Mets would be smart to make if he comes on the cheap. Look for a team to act quick, and hopefully, he will be in Citifield when the season gets underway next week.

He's here to prove the critics wrong.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

A couple of months back, many Mets fans would’ve thought Marlon Anderson would’ve been assumed a role on the bench for the 209 season. But, with his lackluster 2008 season, and the Mets need for a right handed bat who can play 1B on the bench, the thought of having Bobby Kielty fill the void was certainly tempting. Nobody thought there would be an actual battle though, and that because Anderson’s contract is guaranteed. Kielty, on the other hand, does not have a guaranteed contract, meaning that he would’ve had to have beaten Jeremy Reed or Nick Evans out for the final spot on the Mets’ bench.

I hate to say that this is about money, but that seems like the absolute truth here. Kielty has been rolling this spring, doing everything he needs to do to earn a spot on the bench. But, even though Marlon Anderson’s play has been mediocre to put it nicely, he will be in the Stadium when play kicks off on April 6, and Bobby Kielty will not. Do I think that is a mistake? Surprisingly…no.

Anderson has a leadership quality that you rarely see in secondary players. He knows how to keep the boys focused, and yet, he can also keep the mood loose in the clubhouse. He is known for being clutch, and when push comes to shove, he has more versatility than Kielty. After all, Anderson has played first, second, third, left and right since being a Met. That’s pretty impressive. I think Marlon is going to regain his touch. I do not think he is going to work his way into playing every day, but he should definitely still be the Mets’ number one pinch hitter against righties on the bench.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

David Wright is having an excellent world baseball classic. He definitely has had to make sacrifices during the tournament though, and it’s become quite apparent that he is operating under 100 percent. Already, Wright has received a knee to the head that he admitted was painful, and now, Wright hit a foul ball off of his foot that caused his toenail to crack. Ouch.

Thus far in his career, David has been a guy who has been able to keep his health and it is important that the Mets don’t burn him out this year. He is a guy that is known for playing every single day, and the Mets may be well-served in giving him a day off now and again. In fact, in three of his first four full seasons, Wright has played in 160 games, which is way more than the average player in baseball plays. Everyone is susceptible to getting tired, and Wright is no different.

The Mets have a couple of options of guys who can fill in at the hot corner. They have Alex Cora, who was brought in to be Luis Castillo’s insurance policy and Damion Easley’s replacement. He is versatile and he knows how to play almost every position. Another guy who can be a serviceable backup would be Fernando Tatis, who has played plenty of third base before.

Marlon Anderson could potentially get a start or two, but he is more fit for the outfield and pinch hitting. That is why he is still on this team. Hopefully, the Mets will be smart and rest their players on occasion, because if they don’t, someone will get hurt. That is when we will have a real problem on our hands.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

When Marlon Anderson came to the Mets in 2005, no one really knew what to expect out of him. Here we had this 31-year old guy that had never hit more than 11 homers in a season. What was intriguing was his 2001 season, in which in addition to the 11 homers, he drove in 61 RBI and batted .293. That was in 522 at bats. There was no way he was going to figure into our plans that much. We needed him to be a solid part time player.

Anderson was solid in 2005, although he wasn’t too good in the clutch. In fact, with runners on, he only batted .241, but if he led off the inning or no one was on base at the time of appearance, he hit a much better .277 clip. The most impressive stat is the one with the bases loaded, in which he hit .286.

In 2006, Anderson landed a spot with the Washington Nationals. A lot of Mets fans were furious that management would not give him a two-year contract, but Washington was willing to make the commitment. Marlon had a nice season for the nationals, batting .274. Once again, his batting average thrived with the bases empty, but he struggled in pressure situations, batting only .243 with runners in scoring position.

In 2007, Marlon ended up with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a rough go of it for Marlon in his first 26 at bats, as he hit just .231, and the Dodgers gave up on him. But there loss was the Mets’ gain, and Marlon resurrected his season by hitting .319 after the Mets picked him up for his second tour of duty with the club. His performance in 2007 was amazing. He not only hit .394 with runners in scoring position, but he also hit .438 with runners in scoring position with two outs. That earned him a two year contract from the Mets in the off season, which is something he definitely deserved.

But what happened in 2008? This was by far the worst we have ever seen Marlon look. He hit a rather pedestrian .265 with the bases empty, but his .127 average with runners on base clearly tells the story. In 2008, he was an automatic out, and he was not someone that opposing pitchers were intimidated by.

Now, going into the 2009 season, the following players are a lock for the Mets’ 25-man roster. Wright, Beltran, Reyes, Delgado, Schneider, Castro, Cora, Castillo, Church, Tatis, Murphy, Santana, Maine, Pelfrey, Rodriguez, Putz, Green, Stokes, Feliciano, Sanchez. Now, if you count whoever is going to be the 5th starter, probably Tim Redding, and the one more pitcher the Mets need to add, that leaves three spots. The guys competing for those spots are Marlon Anderson, Rob Mackowiak, Cory Sullivan, Bobby Kielty, Angel Pagan, Nick Evans and Jeremy Reed.

Right now, I would say Anderson, Reed and Evans are likely additions. Do you think Marlon should stay?