Barring hail, frogs, locusts, murrain and whatever other plagues Cablevision brings on viewers, a pretend Mets game will air on MSG Friday night. Seeing as how darkness was one of the Top Ten Plagues of The Week brought forth on the Egyptians by The Big Guy (God, not Chris Berman), I wonder why the hell […]

So we finally got past the first day of cuts that mattered a little. Farewell, Bob Keppel, Anderson Hernandez, Craig Brazell, Danny Garcia, Aarom Baldiris, Joe Nelson and Andy Dominique. If they hurry they can catch the just-cut Tim Hamulack, John Pachot and Jesus Flores.

I suppose Brazell and Garcia are the only vague surprises in […]

The first time I saw David Wright in the flesh was his second game, the one in which he got his first hit. On the scoreboard a bit later, when they greeted groups and individuals, a message flashed: THE METS WELCOME JIMMY DIAMOND. That's what I privately called Young Mr. Wright for the next month. […]

Two new transactions — and

weirdly, both involve players that were involved in run-ins with boys

in orange and blue. Hence the title of this post….

1. Joey Hamilton: Signed to a minor-league deal,

because having Scott Stewart and Roberto Hernandez didn't let us quite

corner the market on washed-up pitchers. Hamilton's crime during

his San Diego days was offending Todd Hundley […]

Don't know who was playing the Bowery Ballroom, but if it was Joe Cocker, I hope you gave Sloanie, presumably following the tour in a van, our regards. I doubt he's any more amenable to interruptions in person than he is via phone, pager or text.

AREN'T YOU […]

Leave it to Cliff Floyd to come up with the year's first great line.

Seems Clifford lost a $16,000 earring (Never mind whether or not it can

dangle from your ear — do you have anything in your house that costs

$16,000? Me neither.) and a reporter suggested he might be in trouble

when he explains the loss to […]

Split-squad games are unique to spring training. Too bad. Wouldn't it be great to keep an extra contingent of Mets on hand for those occasions when they could be helpful? Let's say it's one of those days when the Mets and Yankees are both home and we'd like to help out whoever's visiting the Bronx. […]

Ah, the first cutdown day. Philip Humber, Yusmeiro Petit, Jose Rosado

and Grant Roberts were all sent to minor-league camp, while Todd Van

Poppel retired. Or at least the consensus is that he retired — he left

camp, at any rate. (If his hatchback's just broke down outside of

Okeechobee, he's going to be PO'ed at Omar Minaya.)

Turns […]

After I am elevated to the position of Maximum Leader Regarding All Things Baseball Or At Least Those That Interest Me, my first act will be to decree Gil Hodges inducted into the Hall of Fame. If some heretic waving a list of “similar players” who came along later dares to dissent, I, as a […]

I've adopted Heath Bell as my first sentimental favorite of 2005. Part

of it's reading about him rollerblading with his daughter in the

driveway, which I thought was a sweet story. More than that, though, is

the fact that he's straight out of the Moneyball template.

One of my favorite parts of Moneyball

is the chapter on Chad Bradford, the […]