Matt Harvey Leads Mets to Victory

Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry Are Friends Again

Newsweek.com:

Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry have ended their public feud from last summer and attended Monday’s Mets opener together at Citi Field.

Gooden posted a picture of himself with Strawberry and former Mets closer John Franco on Twitter, and Strawberry retweeted it.

This came a day after both Gooden and Strawberry turned to social media to say they’re no longer at odds. “Life is too short for madness,” Gooden wrote on Twitter.

Gooden, reached by phone, declined to comment. Strawberry hasn’t returned messages seeking comment.

The two former Mets stars from the 1980s feuded last August when Strawberry publicly accused Gooden of a drug relapse. Gooden denied it at the time, then said during a surprise appearance at Mets spring training that he no longer was angry with Strawberry.

“Maybe one day we get together and talk, but right now’s not the time,” he said.

This is good news as these two will always be attached via their long history together in New York sports lore. Still, if and when there's another time Strawberry thinks Doc using drugs, hopefully he'll go to Gooden privately instead of through the press.

Jay Bruce Doesn't Care If He Stays A Met

Newsday.com:

For Bruce, those boos for a childhood hero served as an eye-opener. They would be behind the first steps in an ongoing journey toward emotional detachment.

It is a strategy born not from bitterness but from pragmatism. The method may be cold. But the years have taught Bruce that to endure the wild swings of this game, it is necessary.

“First of all, and this is with all due respect to everyone reading this, how the fans think I feel — or how they create to themselves how I feel or how I look — could not have less of an impact on my day-to-day life. Someone the other day was like, ‘Oh, I could see it.’ No, they couldn’t. They assumed. They assumed that because I had a bad stretch, it’s ‘Oh, the market, New York City is too big.’ Oh, like I’m not able to perform under this pressure. Well, they’re lying to themselves.”

 ------------------

“I believe that teams care about their players to the extent that they are required to, essentially. I believe that every team, every smart team, should always be looking to improve upon what they have. And if trading me helps you improve your roster, then I say go for it. I don’t care, I really don’t.”

What a dumb thing to say. I get that he's frustrated with all the trade talk and critics saying that he can't handle the spotlight of playing in New York. But why not let your bat do the talking and prove them wrong, instead of letting the fans think that you don't care if you play well or don't. Jay Bruce gets paid millions of dollars to play baseball, pretending like you don't give a shit just sends the wrong message.

Mets Break Camp with 26-Man Roster

Mets Add Zack Wheeler and Robert Gsellman to Rotation

NYTimes.com:

The Mets answered most of their lingering roster questions on Thursday, and in doing so gave a big morale boost to Zack Wheeler, who missed the past two seasons after Tommy John and forearm surgery and, at least for now, is in the starting rotation.

Sandy Alderson, the Mets’ general manager, told reporters in Port St. Lucie, Fla., that Wheeler and Robert Gsellman would form the back end of the rotation — behind Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey.

The Mets had been waiting for clarity on Steven Matz’s status to complete their pitching staff. After irritation and soreness in Matz’s throwing elbow persisted early this week, the Mets sent him for a magnetic resonance imaging examination. The results did not show structural damage, Alderson told reporters.

Personally, as a big Seth Lugo fan, I would've preferred hi min the rotation. But the WBC messed things up for Lugo's chances, Wheeler made it known he'd prefer to start and Gsellman's been sterling during spring rotation, so it is what it is. Either way I'm sure that Lugo will get his opportunity to be a regular starter soon enough.

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Sandy Alderson on Steven Matz’s Latest Injury: ‘It’s Worrisome’

Newsday.com:

It was accidental Sunday morning that Steven Matz wound up pinned against the brick wall outside the Mets’ clubhouse, where he fielded questions about the elbow discomfort that scratched him from Monday’s start.

But the uncomfortable locale was a fitting metaphor for his increasingly tenuous standing in this rotation, a situation caused by frequent injuries that are testing the team’s patience with the former Ward Melville ace.

Bottom line, the distance between what the Mets dream for Matz, and the reality of what he actually is capable of giving them, stretched even further Sunday with this latest episode of elbow tenderness, which is very likely to land him on the disabled list to start the season.

Yet another sudden malady, seemingly out of nowhere, also raised the same familiar question: What good is Matz’s elite-level talent if he can’t be trusted to pitch on a consistent basis? Unfortunately, the Mets know the answer.

“It’s worrisome that he continues to be injured, off and on,” Sandy Alderson said. “That’s the difficulty. We don’t think it’s serious. On the other hand, we have to be able to, with starting pitchers, to rely on them every five days. We’re not sure exactly where this is going to take us.”

Damn season hasn't even started yet and we get this news. Still, with Matz s history of injuries, the Mets can't afford to take any risks which in turn means that Gsellman and Lugo need to be our No/ 4 and 5 starters till Matz is fully healed. The ides that they're still thinking about Wheeler for a rotation spot needs to be nixed.

Who Will Be the 5th Starter for the New York Mets in 2017?

Former Mets Manager Dallas Green Dies at 82

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Wilmer Flores Could Probably Be The Starting 2nd Baseman For a Lot of Teams

NYDailyNews.com:

This isn’t exactly what Wilmer Flores wanted. The Mets’ infielder, who broke into tears at the thought of being traded out of the organization two years ago, is not comfortable with his role, or more precisely, his lack of a consistent role. 

“It’s gonna be hard if you don’t play for three days and you got to go out there and do your thing,” Flores said. “The only thing I can do is get ready to play.”

Flores is most comfortable playing at second base, but he went all in when the Mets asked him to become their everyday shortstop before the 2015 season. When the team then went out and signed veteran shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera before the 2016 season, Flores was pushed into a utility role, benched and used as a platoon player against lefthanded pitchers.

It’s not a comfortable role for him, but he has to deal with it.

“The one thing about his situation is you don’t have to like it,” Mets manager Terry Collins said Friday. “You just have to accept it and be ready to play.”

A starting 2nd baseman who could give you 20 dingers and 70 to 80 RBI's over a full season while playing steady defense is not something that should be taken for grated in the major leagues. And while Wilmer Flores could probably bring that palette to a handful of MLB teams, barring a major injury to one of the infield starters, it's just not going to happen with the Mets. Should Flores think about that more the next time he's a free agent? Sure. Till then, like Terry Collins, he just needs to chill out and accept his backup/utility role with the team.

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Two hits and a Diving Catch for Tebow in Mets' loss

Zack Wheeler Talks Thursday Outing and is ready to pitch for Mets

Matt Harvey is the 5th Best Starter on the Mets

NYTimes.com:

Matt Harvey will most likely make three more starts before spring training is over, giving him more time to fully put behind him the thoracic outlet syndrome that undermined his 2016 season and required surgery last July.

So what Harvey has shown in his three starts this spring should be evaluated with that in mind. Two of the starts have not looked very good in the box score. As for his pitches, his fastball, so far, is slower than in the past, but at the same time he has displayed some encouraging off-speed pitches.

Even though the thoracic outlet syndrome he had last season — a condition in which nerves or blood vessels are compressed between bones in the neck and upper torso — undermined his command and endurance, his fastball still averaged 94.5 miles per hour, according to FanGraphs.com. The year before, his first back from Tommy John surgery, Harvey averaged a career-high 95.9 m.p.h.

Hey, coming back from a major injury and with the way things are going so far in spring training, I think it's safe to say that Harvey is behind Syndergaard, deGrom, Matz and Lugo on the starting rotation depth chart. Either way, it's good to know that Harvey's personal life hasn't suffered.

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Tim Tebow Has Abysmal Spring Training Debut For Mets

Other than being a little surprised that Daniel Murphy, of all people, is helping him out, I honestly don't care about Tim Tebow trying to play baseball with the Mets. But I get it: it's spring training and the guy is a former Heisman Trophy winner so until the real games start, we'll just have to deal with it.

David Wright Shouldn't Play the Field Again

BleacherReport.com:

As much as we crave certainty and finality, the reality now is Wright and the Mets need to just wait and continue to gather information.

If Wright’s shoulder improves to the point where he can throw but not enough to make the long tosses at third base, maybe he can play first base (especially if Lucas Duda’s health continues to be a problem). If Wright doesn’t respond to the latest treatment, he goes on the disabled list and insurance kicks in.

It’s a tougher answer if he can hit but can’t throw, because the Mets play in the National League and don’t need a designated hitter. Perhaps Wright could be sent to an American League team, but with his health history, his contract and his loyalty to the Mets, that seems an unlikely option.

Alderson told reporters the latest setback hasn’t given the Mets “a more heightened level” of concern about Wright’s career. That’s nice, but there was a heightened level of concern about Wright’s career last year, and the year before.

Fact of the matter is if David Wright doesn't want to retire, he just can't be trusted to play the field again. His body just won't allow him to. He should DH and pinch-hit, that's it. I don't think he can even be trusted to play 1st base where throwing to another base is sometimes necessary and there's a risk he could re-injure his shoulder with a single throw. Plus, at the end of the day, maybe Wright on the bench and only DH'ing is best for the Mets as we get to have Jose Reyes bat leadoff and play 3rd every day.