Archive for March 1st, 2010

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

I just received an email from Scott Ragowsky of 12angrymascots.com, who sent me this very inspirational video regarding the remaining free agents in baseball. I do warn you. I got a bit emotional while watching this, and I think we should all thank Sarah McLachan for dedicating her time to this wonderful cause.

Joe Beimel's value to the Mets keeps on increasing. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY FRANK GRAY
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

As February comes to an end, we can take a look back at the present condition of the New York Mets after an interesting month. Upon examining the ball club closer, the Mets have the potential for a solid bullpen. However, just as the stadium is falling apart, so may that bullpen be as well. This is an area of the club that I have broken down previously, but there are several stories emerging that may cause another look.

First, the dynamic closer Francisco Rodriguez. He has pink eye and is quarantined from the rest of the team for the time being. It will heal, so as long as he doesn’t spread it, this is not a concern.

Next, on the agenda, is Hisanori Takahashi. He is throwing impressive sessions down in Florida, which is fantastic news. The problem here is that his work visa hasn’t come through yet, which is troubling news, but not the worst thing to hear.
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Why has Jose Reyes become a suspect in the HGH controversy? (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY FRANK GRAY
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

There is an interesting topic brewing in spring training. A revisit of an old topic that just will not go away. The use of performance enhancing drugs. Every spring, it seems as if this question is raised or brought up. Whenever a player comes into camp, trimmer or more muscular, they are said to be ‘in better shape’. In the back of everyone’s collective mind, however, it is pondered. Last season it was Alex Rodriguez facing a whirlwind of media. Who’s under the microscope now? Two leaders of the New York Mets, David Wright and Jose Reyes.

First, let’s discuss Jose Reyes. Reyes has been involved in a public relations nightmare involving a Canadian doctor, Dr. Anthony Galea.

“A lot of people talked about (Galea),” Reyes said. “I wanted to come back so bad to the field to play, so I say, ‘Why not? Let’s try this guy and see if he can fix me.’ ”
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Can David Wright step up his home run total? (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY FRANK GRAY
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

David Wright has two Gold Glove awards. He has all star appearances. He even has the ‘captain’ status on a major sports franchise in New York. He seemingly has everything. That everything includes a power outage in his teams’ new ballpark. We’ve all been through this, I know, but the numbers don’t lie. Allow me to briefly visit this topic in light of a recent interview David Wright has given. Since he broke into the league in 2004, he has not had a full season of less than 26 home runs or 100 RBI’s until last year. He had a career high in season strikeouts with 140 and career low in season hits with 164.

This could just be one bad year. Let’s hope so, after all every major player has a bad year or two. We don’t have to look too far for an example of this. For all of the slack that Carlos Beltran has had recently, he has been a very productive player, not only for the Mets, but in his career. Beltran has had only three full seasons of less than 20 home runs. Two of them occurred while injured, one of which was last year. The other was directly after signing a major contract and having to adjust to the media jungle that is New York. He bounced back to have a monster year after that.
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