Mets baseball blog

Burgos and Milledge make roster, not Park

The Mets completed their Opening Night roster only minutes before Friday's game against the Marlins. Pitching coach Rick Peterson gave the first hint when he approached Chan Ho Park in the hectic clubhouse and told him he would be starting in place of Ambiorix Burgos. Swapping one relief pitcher for another seemed subtle at the time, but the decision already had been made to ask Park to accept a demotion to Triple-A New Orleans, where he would become a starter again and provide insurance for the rotation.

The Mets liked Burgos and his mid-90s fastball better in the bullpen, and the other roster vacancy went to Lastings Milledge, who simply had to prove he was healthy after suffering a bruised right hand Sunday. Milledge was nailed on the hand by two pitches this spring, but he rebounded from both and also repaired a damaged reputation to make it back to the majors. Continue

Is Milledge right guy?

A few months ago, Shawn Green never truly believed that his job in rightfield might be in jeopardy before Opening Day. The Mets didn't really think that way either.Too much had to happen, and Green's main rival, Lastings Milledge, already was being talked about in the past tense. Whenever someone in the Mets' hierarchy spoke glowingly about the future, the names that came up were Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez. In that vision, Milledge probably was wearing the green-and-gold of the Oakland Athletics.

Here's what Milledge had on his to-do list when he showed up at Tradition Field in mid-February: basically a complete makeover. Not just saying and doing the right things but winning back the trust of his teammates. All while hitting around .300 and not screwing up in rightfield. Continue

A special delivery for Daddy Delgado

Before Carlos Delgado could catch up on baseball activities, he needed to catch up on some sleep. "Coming back," Delgado said, referring to his chartered flight from Puerto Rico at 7a.m. yesterday, "I'm not going to lie to you, I was tired. So I took a nap."

The first-time father and longtime first baseman returned to Mets camp yesterday, six days after the birth of his son, Carlos Antonio. Delgado didn't do anything baseball-related during his nearly week-long trip to Puerto Rico. In fact, he didn't leave the hospital for three straight days, not even straying outside to get a cup of coffee, because his wife Betzaida had complications from a C-section performed last Friday night. She was released Wednesday at noon, which allowed Delgado to fly back to Florida yesterday morning in time to go 1-for-5 with a double and play five innings at first base against Mets minor leaguers at the team's complex. Continue

Sele, Smith make it; two more spots left

With the Mets packing everything in boxes for the trip north, GM Omar Minaya did some housecleaning of his own yesterday with the roster, but it appears that the final version won't be ready until this afternoon. About an hour after the Mets beat the Dodgers, 13-2, in Vero Beach, Minaya huddled with manager Willie Randolph and his front-office staff to figure out all but two remaining spots on the 25-man roster. After players were informed of the cuts, Minaya announced that Aaron Sele and Joe Smith had made the team. Continue

Willie may turn 2 David

Willie Randolph doesn't intend to commit to a lineup, not like he committed to his childhood sweetheart Gretchen. But batting David Wright second, behind Jose Reyes, seems to agree with the Mets skipper.

Since meeting with veteran players nine days ago and asking the team to tighten its play, Reyes and Wright have started every day but one. Each game, Wright has batted right behind Reyes. "I like it, but I'm not going to make any announcements on our lineup or anything like that," Randolph said. "But I like it. "I like it with (Paul) LoDuca there, too," he added after a brief pause. Continue

At long last, Glavine set for 300 club

Tom Glavine started to believe reaching 300 wins was attainable during a career-high, 21-win season in 2000. Not that the longtime Brave and now longest-tenured Met foresaw reaching the milestone in Flushing. "When I got to around 200 wins, you started doing the math at that point in time," Glavine says. "With my age, I felt, obviously, if I stayed healthy that I would have a chance to do it. Here I am. I have a chance. So, hopefully, I stay healthy for one more year."

Glavine, 41, enters his 21st big-league season 10 wins shy of 300, a plateau reached by only 22 pitchers before him. He ranks fifth all-time in wins by a lefty, trailing only Warren Spahn (363), Steve Carlton (329), Eddie Plank (326) and Lefty Grove (300). Among active pitchers, Randy Johnson (280) and Mike Mussina (239) are the next closest to joining the elite 300-win group. Continue

Wagner likes his pace

Billy Wagner spent yesterday afternoon like he usually does when not scheduled to pitch. Sitting on a stool in the corner, chatting with his neighbor, Scott Schoeneweis, maybe antagonizing some other reliever within earshot.

This time, it was Joe Smith, who already has enough on his mind wondering if he's punched his ticket to St. Louis. Smith picked up the save in Monday's 6-5 win over the Dodgers."Hey," Wagner yelled over, "what was the score last night, closer?" As Smith muttered an answer, Aaron Sele quickly chimed in, "He's sniffing your job." To which Wagner responded, "I haven't even had a save opportunity this spring. That shows you where I'm headed." Continue

For Lastings, injury erases upper hand

Lastings Milledge reached for the bat leaning against teammate Ruben Gotay's adjacent locker, gripped it despite the blue athletic wrap on his right hand and took a few faint mock swings. "Same," Milledge said afterward, referring to the lingering discomfort at the base of his bruised pinkie - an injury he suffered on Sunday when Houston's Matt Albers struck him with a ninth-inning pitch. Continue

Milledge injury lends hand to Ben's chance to make Mets

The pain in Lastings Milledge's bruised right hand had not noticeably decreased a day after being struck with a pitch - raising the possibility Milledge won't be with the team despite playing well enough to earn a spot. X-rays showed no break, but Milledge said of the bone bruise: "Sometimes contusions take just as long. You never know. It's kind of like either five days or two weeks. At least you know when it's broken you have six weeks to go." Continue

Mota's teammates willing to forgive and forget

Guillermo Mota was banned 50 games for violating baseball's drug policy, but the Mets hardly made him feel like an outsider yesterday when he showed up at camp for the first time. He was universally embraced by his teammates, who are willing to forgive and forget the fact that he tested positive for steroids last season.

"You name me one profession where there ain't something - where everything is hunky dory and cushy - and I'll give you a zillion dollars," said Paul Lo Duca, one of Mota's closest friends. "It's over with. There's nothing we can do about it. You're innocent until you're proven guilty and you go on with life. There's guys in jail that probably didn't commit crimes. There's also guys on the street who've committed crimes. Life ain't perfect. Deal with it." Continue