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.

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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Howard Johnson greets former Mets' coach Cookie Rojas.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Sometimes, when a blogger looks up different things to write about, he or she uses an interesting method to get there. This morning, I took a look at one of my favorite Mets’ sites, the Ultimate Mets’ Database. It turns out that today is the 61st birthday of former Mets’ third base coach Cookie Rojas.

But what many people don’t know is that Rojas’ history in baseball goes much further back than his days as a coach with the Mets.

First of all, Cookie’s father was not a supporter of his decision to play baseball, and his father thought Cookie would be better suited as a doctor, but that wasn’t meant to be. Cookie debuted with the Cincinnati Reds as a second baseman in 1962, but his tenure there was very short.
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Jose Reyes has Mets' fans holding their breath. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY FRANK GRAY
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

This has been a difficult week for the New York Mets. In particularly, it has been especially difficult for one Jose Reyes. Your heart really has to go out to him. At the beginning of the week, reports had surfaced about a connection he had to Dr. Galea in Toronto. Galea is under investigation for using illegal substances to treat clients in rehabbing injuries.

Then, it is revealed, that Reyes was only questioned in the investigation because teammate Carlos Beltran had tipped them to Reyes. He then, has the only bright spot of his week in the form of a triple in his first game.

This is followed by days of being penciled into the lineup only to be scratched before game time for medical reasons and was sent back to New York for further evaluation. Those medical reasons were revealed today and the news may not be very good. Jose Reyes has, by his own admission, an overactive thyroid.
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Can Mets' fans agree with the thoughts of a Yankee fan?

BY MIKE ADAMS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A Yankee fan not completely bashing the Mets? Say it isn’t so! All jokes aside, I’m not giving you my opinion out of sarcasm or to simply make you all feel good about yourselves.

I think Vegas picked the Mets to finish with about 82-83 wins or something. With what you’ve got, and where you finished last year, I think that’s about right. Now, don’t get all testy or angry, I’m not going to play the role of the spoiled Yankee fan and tell you that the Mets have no shot of winning more than 85 games and will not make the playoffs.

People forget that this team, which is based around the same core players, the same ace, and the same All-Star closer, was projected to win the World Series last year by SI. That’s pretty good. Now, they still have to play 162 games, but I wouldn’t bury the Mets before playing a single game yet.
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What can we expect out of Jose Reyes this year? (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

The newest news on the Reyes front is that he is leaving the team to fly back to New York to get the levels of his Thyroid checked. While speaking to the media today, both Reyes and Omar Minaya downplayed the visit, and they are just doing everything to make sure that Reyes is 100 percent healthy.

Call me paranoid, but I am never comfortable when I hear Reyes and Doctor being used in the same sentence.

With all that this guy has been through, I am dying to see him flying around the bases once the regular season kicks off, but more importantly, I am looking forward to seeing a smiling Reyes that is 100 percent healthy.
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Chipper Jones has made a career out of tormenting the Mets. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY FRANK GRAY
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

This time of year brings out many mind boggling stories. There is one in particular that has caught the attention of the fan base of the New York Mets that is extra disturbing. The Mets have a new fan. Larry Jones. You may have heard of him. He goes by the name Chipper. That is correct, Chipper Jones likes the Mets this year.

The same Chipper Jones who had repeatedly bashed the Mets in years past and repeatedly slammed their new home last season. Does anyone else find this as disgusting as I do? I’m sure he was just trying to pay the team a compliment. I’m sure, especially now that his best friend, Jeff Francoeur is a Met, he wants to be on their good side.

This is an impossibility. He can never be on their good side. At least not in the minds of the collective fan base. He can not be allowed to be in the good graces of that fan base or the team, for that matter, if the team cares about their fans. This is a man that has hurt the Mets and their fans for many years in all kinds of ways.
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Do You Aso Like Ike?

BY MATTHEW FALKENBURY
ASSISTANT EDITOR

It was nothing more then a grand slam in the eighth inning of a spring training game in early March. The wind was blowing out and as the legendary Lou Brown once said “It was against a guy who will be bagging groceries in a week.” The fact is that I couldn’t have cared less. I like Ike Davis and if the first few spring training games can be considered an example of whats to come, then you will all like him too.

Ike Davis, the son of former Major League pitcher Ron Davis, was the Mets first round pick in 2008 out of Arizona State. He struggled for power in his first pro season with Brooklyn as he failed to hit a home run in the short season A NY-Penn League. Moving up to Port St. Lucie and then eventually Double-A Binghamton, he found his power and continued to impress both the Mets brass and fans alike. He would hit 20 homers, 71 RBI and hit .298 and would make a name for himself, earning a spot on the US World Cup of Baseball team that won the Gold Medal and as one to Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects.

Ike Davis has a quick powerful swing, good feet around first base and a confidence that is more about his own ability then it is about working harder then the next guy. He is a left handed thrower at first, which is also a big bonus, a bonus that the last two great Mets first basemen, Keith Hernandez and John Olerud had.

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Did Darryl Strawberry really say Mejia might be the next Mariano Rivera? (PHOTO BY THE DAILY NEWS)

BY ANDREW CAVAGNARO
STACHE WRITER

We all need to relax when it comes to Jenrry Mejia. The last time a young pitcher was this hyped, he spent more time on the operating table then the mound(Paul Wilson, Generation K).

Of course young pitchers have blossomed in the past like Dwight Gooden and Tom Seaver, but the Mets’ luck hasn’t been so good recently. Mejia is 20 years-old and has shown scouts and fans alike enough promise to warrant a Big League trip soon. However, when people like Darryl Strawberry are calling him the next Mariano Rivera that’s when we all need to wake up from fantasyland.

Mejia’s 1.97 ERA during his brief stint in St. Lucie is reason to hope, even his minor league career ERA of 2.91 is enough for us to believe this guy has the goods. However, we must not rush a talent like him for the sake of just seeing him up here. At 20, I can’t fathom him being ready for the big city and tough crowd in Queens. Also, in his stint in AA Binghamton he was 0-5 with a 4.47 ERA. Hardly dominance and a clear sign that more nurturing is needed.

Will Jenrry Mejia be a contributer to the Mets someday? I’m sure. However, it’s never good to pull a fruit off the vine before it’s ripe and the same goes for the Mets’ young prospect.

Both of these men are at large.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Major League baseball has released a tentative list of games that are due to be on Sunday night baseball this season. It looks like the Mets got the honor eight times. Check below. Thanks to Jay Morgenthal for the tip.

4/18 @ STL
4/25 ATL
5/2 @ PHI
5/23 NYY
6/20 @ NYY (tentative)
7/25 @ LAD (tentative)
8/8 @ PHI (tentative)
9/26 @PHI (tentative)