Carpenter, Not Looper, says ESPN
ESPN has reported that Chris Carpenter, not Braden Looper, will start opening day for the St. Louis Cardinals against the New York Mets.
Opening Day: Mets at Cardinals
On April 1, the defending NL East Champions NY Mets head to St. Louis to take on the
defending World Series Champions, St. Louis Cardinals, at Busch Stadium at 8:05 PM (ESPN).
The Mets are going to send 41-years-young veteran lefty Tom Glavine, a 15 game winner last season, to the mound to take on former-Met Closer Braden Looper.
Looper, who had a role in the bullpen last season for the Cardinals, has transformed into a starter, an experiment they are willing to test.
Most likely, but not definite, the Mets are going to leave 3B David Wright in the number five spot in the lineup, and leave Catcher Paul Lo Duca in the number two spot in the
lineup for opening day. When Paul Lo Duca is not catching, which is about once a week, and day games after night games, David Wright will most likely bat in the two hole after the Speedy Jose Reyes. Willie Randolph, even to this day, is still curious of what he wants to do with that situation.
The lineup should look as follows:
Visitor: Mets Home: Cardinals
- Jose Reyes SS 1. David Eckstein SS
- Paul Lo Duca C 2. Chris Duncan LF
- Carlos Beltran CF 3. Albert Pujols 1B
- Carlos Delgado 1B 4. Jim Edmonds CF
- David Wright 3B 5. Scott Rolen 3B
- Moises Alou LF 6. Juan Encarnacion RF
- Shawn Green RF 7. Yadier Molina C
- Jose Valentin 2B 8. Adam Kennedy 2B
- Tom Glavine P 9. Braden Looper P
This Game is the first of three. The second game is on April 3rd, and the third game is on April 4th.
Broncos looking to trade LB Wilson, Giants interested
The NFL Network is reporting that the Giants are having “substantive and heated” talks with the Denver Broncos about a trade for 5-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker Al Wilson. Al Wilson will turn 30 
within the next few days…
The Giants are looking for another linebacker after they recently cut the always-injured LaVar Arrington.
However, Al Wilson’s agent is denying that any deal is imminent… “It’s a little premature,” said the agent. “There are a number of teams that are interested in Al - Al is a player who is definitely in high demand - but no decision has been made even whether Al will be traded. There’s a number of moving parts. We’re just going to take it one move at a time…The Giants have expressed interest. We’re exploring all options. We want to make a decision that’s best in Al’s short-term and long-term interests.”
The NFL Network also noted that the Eagles and the Lions are interested in Wilson.
Delgado will play Opening Day
Mets 1B Carlos Delgado found out yesterday that his wife is going to have her baby soon, so he’s headed back to Puerto Rico. He will be available Opening Day, which is April 1.
Recent Mets scoop
A few days ago, Mets 1B Carlos Delgado flew home to Puerto Rico, to see his wife, who is
pregnant and is expecting their baby on April 1, the day that the Mets open the season against the Cardinals.
…meanwhile, at Cardinal Camp, everyone is in shock from their manager’s recent screw up… last night, St. Louis Cardinals Manager, Tony La Russa, was caught still at a green light in his car sleeping on his steering wheel. His blood alcohol was over the legal limit, and he was arrested and imprisoned. He returned later this morning for the Cardinals morning workout, and said that he told nearly everbody he knew that he was sorry…
At Mets Camp, where the Fans are happy from the recent production of their starting rotation, are also getting a chuckle or two out of the Tony La Russa deal. The Mets rivalry with the Cardinals just got heated up last Octobter in the NLCS. The Mets and Cardinals had a rivalry in the past, but it had settled for a few years. They also faced each other in the 2000 NLCS. The Mets won that time…
Oliver Perez, who opened Spring Training with a miserable start, has turned everything
around. Mets coaches and front office have every reason to believe that he will at least win 12 games this season. Also, since the Mets aren’t looking to need a fifth starter in their rotation until mid-April, they hope to give young pitcher Mike Pelfrey about two games in AAA before catching up with the team right around then… The Mets won’t need a fifth starter only because there are so many off days that it lets the starters rest and move starts up a few days…
…After the 7-1 loss to the Braves today, where starting pitcher Aaron Sele, who hopes to make the team, did very well, manager Willie Randolph expressed his concern for right field… Outfielder Lastings Milledge has been having an outstanding Spring, while Mets starting Right Fielder, Shawn Green, has not. The Mets acquired Shawn Green last year at midsummer when the Mets needed some pitching to replace the injured Duaner Sanchez. The Mets were forced to give up outfielder Xavier Nady…
Willie Randolph said that he is open to platooning Lastings Milledge and Shawn Green throughout the season… some people truly believe that Milledge should wait a bit longer at AAA, but come on… Milledge is getting a bit old to be chillin’ at AAA, although, I know there isn’t much room on the roster for him, which brings me to my next topic…
As posted on the right sidebar of the site, I am curious to what people think about 48 year
old Julio Franco. I think it is great that he is playing until he is 50, and he has been doing pretty good…but wow…. come on Julio, wake up, this is a team that has great potential with young players. I don’t want to get rid of Franco by any means, but I want him to be a Mets coach, not a player. The sole reason is that he is really hogging up space on the Mets roster…
At the beginning of Mets camp, most people stated that Lastings Milledge wasn’t making a good impression. He wasn’t taking things too seriously, he hasn’t been nice to everyone, (as I saw when I was bat boy), etc… But now, everyone has said that he has turned around, gotten better as a player, became more nice as a person, and it shows… he looks more relaxed at the plate, and also, he got himself a haircut… I think he’s been raising some eyebrows at Mets camp…in a positive way.