Pedro’s Taking his Time to Recover
Pedro Martinez probably could come back before he is expected to, but the doctors have told him not to, just to be safe and sure that he’ll be alright… especially if the Mets are in position for the playoffs, that’s when they’ll need him most….
David Lennon reports on his Newsday Mets Blog that Pedro Martinez appeared to be throwing with some velocity to his personal trainer Chris Correnti and looked comfortable
doing it.
In the story, Lennon includes: “I know the Mets are predicting an early August return for Pedro, but I’m betting it’s going to be earlier than that. ”
“…he could not be feeling much better. He even playfully snapped off a couple of soft curve balls when Correnti closed into about 12 feet.”
Willie won’t Choose 5th Starter until mid-April
Prior to yesterday’s loss, Willie Randolph told reporters that he might not need a fifth starter until the middle of April, since the team has three days off through the first month of season.
This will work out, because the days off are actually where the fifth starter would pitch.
I expect the Mets to stick Pelfrey in AAA to get starts, while at the same time, the Mets can hold an extra bat on the roster. The Mets wouldn’t have this problem if Julio Franco wasn’t on the roster. Many people say he should just leave because he’s way too old, but he has a goal, to play until he is 50. And its not like he’s completely hogging up the roster, because when he comes in to pinch hit, a lot of the time he comes through and gets a hit when needed… He just doesn’t make many starts, most likely because of his age. He will make less starts than other spot starters and utility players, but he’ll probably make 2 starts per month or so when Delgado is taking a day off, or just because a lefty is pitching…Delgado isn’t usually successful vs. lefties.
Rotation shaping up
Time is running out for the pitchers who are trying to prove themselves a spot in the Mets Opening Day starting rotation. Yesterday, the Mets sent down Jason Vargas and Philip Humber, two pitchers who were hoping for a spot in the rotation.
As Opening Day approaches, Omar Minaya and co. are starting to look at Oliver Perez
and young Mike Pelfrey for pitchers in the number four and five spots in the rotation. Also in the mix is Korean Chan Ho Park, who recently has impressed.
My prediction for opening day starters are: Glavine, El Duque, Maine, Perez, and Pelfrey, respectively.
In other news, the Mets sent down the following players to minor league camp: Marcos Carvajal, OF Carlos Gomez, C Jose A. Reyes and DH Ruben Sierra.
Ruben Sierra said that he’s thinking over about the big decision about whether he wants to stay.
Tonight the Mets play vs. the Marlins. Glavine is slated to make the start.
There is rain expected for the area, so the game may be rained out.
Mets Release SP Alay Soler
This morning the Mets released pitcher Alay Soler, as they start to trim down their roster to form the starting rotation.
I heard only great things about Soler throughout 
Spring Training, especially on how he lost weight and was in much better shape. I saw him eating a banana as he walked out of the Mets clubhouse into the players parking lot
It turned out that he actually pitched pretty bad. I thought that the Mets would only bump him down to AAA, and see how he would do there… but that is where he was for most of last year, and his career needs to get going soon if he wants to be successful.
Background: Soler is 27 years old. He played baseball for his country in the World University Games in Cuba in 1998 and in Italy in 2002. He also participated in the World Youth Games in 1996 and was a teammate of Jose Contreras in the Cuban National Series. He later played as a member of the Cuban National Team.
Soler defected from Cuba in November, 2003
Jay Feely 3-Yr. Deal with Dolphins
Newsday reports K Jay Feely has signed a 3-year, 6 million dollar contract with the Miami
Dolphins.
Feely said that he wanted to come back to the Giants but the Giants didn’t raise their offer enough