Phillie Starters On Cover Of Sports Illustrated

Anyone familiar with the S.I. jinx should know that this is an excellent sign for non-Philly fans.

Terry Collins Screws Up Roster

I'm a huge proponent of the idea that every man counts on the roster. Rare is a team that can go all the way without a productive bench, reliable middle relievers and in general, guys up and down the roster who know and understand their role on the team. That said, call me dumbfounded over some of the picks the Mets made the last few days in finalizing their 25-man roster.

First, Daniel Murphy should be the starting 2nd baseman, not Brad Emaus, who seems to have been given the job moreso because the Mets were afraid they'd have to send him back to Toronto than his actual ability to play. Then there's Jason Isringhausen getting passed over for some schmuck named Blaine Boyer (9-12 with a lifetime 4.63 ERA) and last but not least there's Lucas Duda (who was God-awful last year in a late season callup) being chosen over Nick Evans--a longtime Met whose only done everything the team's asked of him over the years and who just had an excellent spring. Word has it too that Terry Collins desperately wanted Luis Hernandez to be his Opening Day starting 2nd baseman, but thank goodness Sandy Alderson had the common sense to say no.

I know the season hasn't yet, but already the new manager is raking my nerves. Let's hope Wally Backman is paying close attention.

Jason Bay Is Hurt Again

Listen, when a team is as bad and as poorly managed as the 2010 Mets were I don't think even having a healthy Jason Bay would've mattered much. But what with everything going on with the owners, Carlos Beltran and Johan Santana out for a few months, the last thing the Mets need right now is Jason Bay starting the season on the DL. While he deserves a mulligan for last year (consider too how much he had to adjust his swing to the planet that is Citi Park) Bay needs to prove himself in 2011, much less start justifying the Wilpon's giving him that huge contract. Injuries are injuries, but in this case it's so what we don't need right now.

The Night the Mets Lost Duaner Sanchez

Funny how an injury to a middle reliever can change the future of a franchise for years to come, but in this case it certainly did:

It was four and a half years ago when Duaner Sanchez’s ill-fated cab ride in Miami prompted the Mets to look for a new reliever. The team’s setup man for the first 4 months of the season had severely injured his pitching shoulder in a fluke car accident, as it was announced on the day of Major League Baseball’s trading deadline that Sanchez would miss the remainder of the season. Mets’ GM Omar Minaya knew he needed to act swiftly in finding someone to fill that 8th inning role. By the end of the day, the Mets had found themselves two new pitchers – veteran reliever Roberto Hernandez and enigmatic starter Oliver Perez.

Perez, who to that point had a lost season (lost his job in Pittsburgh’s rotation with an ERA over 6.00), would eventually find his way into the Met starting rotation that season following a short stint in AAA. Injuries helped clear the path for Perez in ’06, as the southpaw would find himself becoming the Mets’ starter in games 4 and 7 of the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals.

OK, Oliver Perez Is Gone, But Why Hasn't Sandy Alderson Looked Into David Eckstein?

OK, it's official, we now have a GM who cares about what the fans think and that's great. And what with Oliver Perez finally gone, we can now move on from the stench that Omar Minaya and his horrible signings left here. Still, with all the Mets second baseman problems and their seeming distrust of giving Daniel Murphy the gig, why hasn't Sandy Alderson called David Eckstein? The guy is only 36, was the starting shortstop for two World Series champions, gutsy, hardly strikes out and judging from his stats last year, can still play. To me, this is an obvious move--indeed, it's still mind-boggling to me that Omar never looked into signing Eckstein when he was available. Unless Eckstein is somehow also responsible for Fred Wilpon's current financial woes, why the Mets continue to ignore him just makes no sense.

Mets Finally Cut Luis Castillo

About freaking time. To think yesterday Castillo was wondering why Met fans hate him so much, well look no further than this Luis:

Mets Need To Do Everything Possible To Keep Jose Reyes

Really, why is this even a debate? I don't care what Jose Reyes does this year, the left side of the infield on the Mets should be never be replaced. Forget the fact that a healthy Reyes is a perennial all-star, the guy that gets the Mets going, it's more about what he and David Wright mean to the franchise. They're both homegrown products, fans love them and it's neither one's fault that the Mets haven't won lately. Sandy Alderson needs to stop dilly-dallying with whether or not he'll resign Jose Reyes after the season because if you think things are bad now, the Mets would be doomed without him.