Amazin' Avenue

SB Nation's 2010 MLB Previews: New York Mets, The High Cost Of Low Expectations

2010-03-20T21:07:39Z

SB Nation's 2010 MLB Previews: New York Mets, The High Cost Of Low Expectations

My preview of the Mets on SBNation.com. 2,600 words, hundreds of which are brand new and not taken from one preview or another that I had written previously (like the one for the Talking Chop Annual, for instance).

Josh Fogg to be released

2010-03-20T20:40:40Z

Josh Fogg to be released

The Dragon Slayer moves on.

Open Thread: Mets vs Cardinals, 3/20/2010

2010-03-20T17:04:02Z

John Maine gets the nod today in Jupiter against the Cardinals. Jenrry Mejia, Kiko Calero, Elmer Dessens, Francisco Rodriguez, Pat Misch, and Sean Green are also on the docket.

The Cards' teevee broadcast is available on MLB.tv, and the WFAN radio broadcast is available as well. You can also follow along online with Gameday.

SB Nation Survey + Chance to donate $500 to a charity of Amazin' Avenue's choice

2010-03-20T00:47:49Z

>> Take SB Nation Survey

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Twins 7, Mets 3: Jenrry Mejia Is Human

2010-03-20T01:15:09Z

More photos » Richard Drew - AP

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Today's game was generally uninspiring, though not nearly as soul-crushing as the defeat of a certain #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament last night. I missed Mets-Twins on teevee, so if you're inclined to ask "do you even watch the games?", the answer is no. Luckily the MLB.com boxscore is quite detailed, providing all kinds of exciting info about this afternoon's matchup.

Johan Santana was knocked around a bit in 3.1 innings of work, allowing five runs on nine hits, including two home runs to players with zero major league experience. On the plus side, he struck out three, walked one and had an uncharacteristic 6:1 GB:FB ratio.

Jenrry ~~"The Ace"~~ (way too early for that) ~~"The 8th"~~ (let's hope not) Mejia pitched one inning, surrendering a run while failing to strike anyone out. He also walked one and threw a wild pitch, to the dismay of Kevin Kernan, Craig Carton and the rest of the New York media fatcats clamoring for the 20 year-old to travel north come April. Bobby Parnell and Pat Misch threw two scoreless innings apiece, with the latter even striking out a couple batters. Misch has performed admirably this spring but is basically the definition of replacement level. He'll probably account for some innings this season but likely won't, and shouldn't, be on the Opening Day roster.

The offense was led by Omir Santos and Ruben Tejada. Future minor leaguer Omir will not go quietly into the night, as he blasted his 2nd homer of the preseason while raising his average to .353. Tejada ripped two doubles, and is now batting .378. Perhaps he was motivated by the news that Alex Cora will likely start on Opening Day, should our man Jose Reyes be unavailable. Jason Bay kept raking, going 2-2 with a walk.

Daniel Murphy, Fernando Tatis and Jeff Francoeur continued to struggle, combining to go 0-9 while lowering their respective OPS's to .410, .200 and .544.

***Nick Evans Alert***

Nick Evans pinch-hit for Misch, drawing a walk.

The Mets face the Cardinals at 1:05 tomorrow.

In lieu of WPA graph, here is an edited-for-spelling text message I received from a friend today:

Just heard a Mets beat writer [ESPN Radio's Rich Coutinho] say that Jacobs will win the job over Murphy because he hangs out with Francoeur and Wright, and Murphy is not "warm and fuzzy".

Open Thread: Mets vs Twins, 3/19/2010

2010-03-19T16:58:37Z

Johan Santana takes the mound against the Twins. The game is on SNY and MLB.tv and can be followed online at Gameday.

Better Late than Never Applesauce - Beltran rehab, Francoeur green light, Mets and Beimel

2010-03-19T16:24:42Z

Meet the Mets

I'll start with some good news this afternoon. Carlos Beltran's rehab is going fine and hopes to be back by May.

And I'll even throw in some laughs. I really have no idea when these Wilpon video blog things started, but I hope he keeps them up.

But, there's always something to complain about. How about how the opening day lineup looks right now? Or the fact that Jeff Francoeur has been given a green light to steal bases?

Then there's also just the random stuff. Like Joe Beimel is still on the Met radar. And Johan Santana's slider may not be as effective as it used to be.

Or we could just do some psychoanalysis on Big Pelf.

Around MLB

I got worried when I saw Vin Scully was hospitalized (it's the only time I watch the away broadcast on MLB.TV for Met games), but he will be fine after he bumped his head.

Stephen Strasburg's college coach Tony Gwynn sat down with Sirius/XM's Inside Pitch to talk about baseball's top pitching prospect.

Adrian Gonzalez hinted that he would be willing to take deferred money to stay in San Diego.

Paul Lo Duca may not be done in the majors.

Aroldis Chapman is quickly becoming a Cincinnati legend.

Mike Jacobs, Emergency Catcher

2010-03-19T16:12:19Z

Mike Jacobs, Emergency Catcher

According to Adam Rubin, the Mets have asked Mike Jacobs to catch to increase his versatility. Jacobs hasn't caught full-time in about six years and didn't impress defensively back then. Chances are he won't appear behind the plate at all this season.

Regardless, it's nice to see the organization looking to improve the usefulness of its players, even if it likely won't yield any positive results. Should they do something similar with Daniel Murphy, like having him play the corner OF spots, 3B and even 2B, it might turn into a value-added endeavor.

Compromising with Jerry Instead of Compromising Jenrry

2010-03-19T10:00:21Z

More photos » Steven Senne - AP

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I could very easily write a few thousand words on how foolish I think it is for the Mets to carry Jenrry Mejia as a reliever this year. Many others have already done so. You can read about it here, here, here, here, here, and here, and I'm sure in many other places as well. Instead of rehashing many of those ideas, I'd like to work under the assumption that Jenrry will break camp in the majors (though that's hardly written on high) and discuss a way this might actually work .

Disclaimer: I cannot emphasize enough how strongly I oppose putting Mejia in the major league bullpen, this is simply a hypothetical designed to explore how this situation might play out in the interest of all parties involved.

First things first, lets establish the objections and problems that would need solving in throwing Mejia into the Major League fire:

The long term goal with an arm like Mejia should still be starting pitcher. It would be wasteful to relegate an arm like his to relief at such a young age.
If he spends a full year in the major league bullpen, his innings total would likely be reduced from last year's, despite the fact that he was a starter and is yet to throw 100 innings in a season. If the long term development goal is still starting pitcher, his innings total should be increasing in a controlled manner, not decreasing in an erratic manner, as it would if he was held to the standard of typical Major League reliever.
He needs to work on his secondary pitches. His fastball is Major League ready, but his curveball and changeup are not. The best way to get them there is to put him in a starter's role where he's forced to sequence his pitches against the same hitters multiple times per game instead of just using his fastball to blow through three outs at a time.
His command was a serious issue in Double-A and to expect an immediate improvement against Major League batters is wishcasting at best. His performance this spring--specifically the fact that he's yet to walk a batter--is encouraging, but realistically does no more than offset his poor performance in the Arizona Fall League.

Of course, the oft cited advantage of putting Mejia on the roster is that he may legitimately be the best option, at least talent-wise. Command aside, his "stuff" has certainly been as impressive as anyone to come through Mets camp in recent memory. There's certainly no one competing for a relief role who has Mejia's upside, and no pitcher in camp period this side of Johan Santana.

So now the question is whether there's a way to both solve these issues and let Mejia start the year in the major league bullpen. The near universal answer (Kevin Kernan aside) amongst writers, pundits, bloggers, and people generally more knowledgeable than I is a simple no--there is no way to resolve these problems with Jerry Manuel's desire to have Mejia in Flushing. Being the contrarian that I am, I'm going to do my very best here to disagree and suggest a plan that might be too crazy not to work. Here it is:

Jerry Manuel should be told he has no more than 20-25 innings and until June 15th to use Mejia as a reliever, at which point he will be sent back to the minors and very cautiously stretched back out into a starting role. Through June 15th, the onus will be on Jerry to both carefully use Mejia as an ace-in-the-hole reliever and figure out exactly who else he can rely on in high leverage, non-closer situations. After June 15th passes, Mejia will be given five minor league appearances and 20 innings before the All-Star break. He could make one appearance of two innings, one of three, one of four, and two of five, which would total 19. Then we hit the All-Star break and its decision time. If Mejia was effective in his limited Major League role and the big club is need of a starting pitcher, they can seriously consider re-promoting him and putting him in the rotation. If the starting five are healthy and pitching well or Mejia was ineffective as a reliever, he should be left in Buffalo for the rest of the regular season to make regular starts. In either case, he will have a total of roughly 40-45 IP through the break, which is a bit more than halfway through the schedule. He threw 94.2 innings in 2010, not counting the AFL. That means his 2010 innings total should not under any circumstances significantly exceed 130, and that might even be pushing it. This leaves the organization about 90 more innings to play with. In 15 starts, that would equate to six innings per start, a mark Mejia is unlikely to average as a major league starter this year anyway, and a number which is much more easily controlled if he's in the minors. So 15 starts it is. If the team happens to make the playoffs, he could be re-inserted into the bullpen--especially if he's still well under the 130 total innings mark for the year--and used sparingly.

This plan actually has a number of advantages, and at the very least addresses three of the four concerns listed above in some fashion (#4, command, isn't something that can necessarily be addressed by anyone other than Mejia anyway). It would give Jerry an early season cushion to determine how he's going to use some of the unknown quantities in his bullpen--such as Ryoto Igarashi, Bobby Parnell, and Kiko Calero. It's also a means to limit Mejia's innings total for the year without either shutting him down after 20-25 starts (also preventing a September callup) or limiting the number of innings he could throw per start. It could even buy some time for a wild card like Kelvim Escobar to get healthy. It could also give the Mets a few weeks before the trade deadline to evaluate whether they need to make a trade for an arm or consider riding it out with Mejia. And it could set a precedent for next year. If a plan like this were to work, a similar approach could be taken in 2011, except with Mejia getting sent down and stretched out even earlier, allowing him to come back and make, say, 20 starts instead of 15. Then he could become a full time member of the rotation in 2012, by which time his arm should be built up well enough to handle a full-season workload as a starter. As an added bonus, this would delay his service time by at least two months, thus extending the period under which he would be cost controlled and potentially even holding him back from Super-Two status, similar to what we've seen with players like Evan Longoria and David Price in recent years.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go look for some fire retardant clothing while you all ponder this suggestion.

Feliciano departs after taking liner off leg

2010-03-19T01:54:22Z

Feliciano departs after taking liner off leg

Here's the good news: we can't blame the training staff...

Open Thread: Mets vs Marlins, 3/18/2010

2010-03-18T23:02:20Z

Oliver Perez gets the call against the Marlins, to be followed by Hisanori Takahashi, Pedro Feliciano, Ryota Igarashi, and Francisco Rodriguez.

No teevee or radio, but you can follow along via Gameday.

Mejia Debate Applesauce - Martinez homers, Mejia question lingers, Mets to play in Puerto Rico

2010-03-18T16:10:25Z

Meet the Mets

Some good signs from yesterday's 4-2 win over Boston. Fernando Martinez homered. Mike Pelfrey pitched decently and Jenrry Mejia continued his amazing spring.

I'll use that as a launching point. Mejia news: Count Mike Cameron as generally unimpressed. The Post had a real life edition of Point-Counterpoint about Mejia with Kevin Kernan comparing him to Mariano Rivera. Joel Sherman ~~calls Kevin an ignorant slut~~ disagrees.

Pelfrey stuff: Pelfrey's sinker doesn't appear to be doing its job. Pelfrey wants a bounce back 2010.

General rotation stuff: God Bless Buckner thinks that the Mets rotation will improve from last year's performance. And Surviving the Citi takes a look at what on Earth is going on with Oliver Perez.

Some things that might make you feel slightly better. Tim Marchman thinks the Mets have the third best core talent in baseball. And this guy managed to make a video of all the good things that happened to the 2009 Mets. It's about 2 minutes.

Something that might make you feel bad. The Mets had Darren O'Day at one point last year.

Two bits of semi-important news: Mets and Marlins to play in San Juan. Anderson Hernandez has been claimed by Cleveland.

Around MLB

Texas Ranger manager Ron Washington admitted to recently using cocaine. Here's what people are saying. Washington apparently was being blackmailed by a disgruntled former employee.

The Nationals made a somewhat surprising move yesterday by releasing Elijah Dukes. Howard Megdal argues the Mets need to be in on this guy. Fire Jim Bowden doesn't mind the move, but hates the process.

Lenny Dykstra is suing JPMorgan for predatory lending.

Joe Posnanski laughs off the Albert Pujols/Ryan Howard trade talk.

Derrick Turnbow, apparently in Spring Training with the Marlins, was released after a serious arm injury.

Cliff Lee has been suspended for the first five games of the regular season.

Anna Benson has been signed by Arizona to a minor league deal. Also in former Met transaction news, Yusmeiro Petit has been released by Seattle.

Relievers are volatile, up and down. So teams can luck into late-game solutions. You cannot say...

2010-03-18T13:35:41Z

Relievers are volatile, up and down. So teams can luck into late-game solutions. You cannot say the same for elite starters. Put it this way: The Mets have a better chance of unearthing Francisco Rodriguez’s set-up man than finding an internal solution when John Maine, Mike Pelfrey or Oliver Perez inevitably break body parts or hearts.

Joel Sherman gets it dead right on Mejia.

Mets 4, Red Sox 2: Fernando Martinez Owns It

2010-03-18T03:13:38Z

More photos » Steven Senne - AP

Three finger death punch. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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This'll be the first recap of the spring, as we need to get accustomed to banging these out six days a week (and sometimes seven).

Despite the original association of Saint Patrick with the color blue, the Red Sox and Mets were decked out in green today: the former in green jerseys and the latter in chapeaux verts. I wore a green shirt to work and ate a big salad with dinner. Honorary Irishman!

Mike Pelfrey was stretched to four innings, allowing four hits and a run while walking none and striking out two. His sinker was a nonentity, generating just four ground balls to six fly balls (and another four liners). His control was terrific, though, nailing the strike zone on 43 of 58 pitches (74%).

Jenrry Mejia needed just six pitches to dispatch Mike Cameron (grounder to third), Josh Reddick (liner to first), and Marco Scutaro (grounder to short). Kiko Calero made his second spring appearance after Mejia's exit, and worked around a Ruben Tejada error at second to face the minimum in the sixth.

Elmer Dessens likewise faced just three batters in the seventh, getting David Ortiz (first) and Adrian Beltre (second) on ground balls and Jeremy Hermida on a fliner to left. Tobi Stoner allowed a run on three hits over the final two innings, but did get five ground outs to just two in the air.

The Mets didn't manage much offensively, collecting just three hits through the first seven innings. Frank Catalanotto led off the eighth inning against Ramon Ramirez, who followed up that initial fit of ill control by walking the next batter, Chris Carter, too. Fernando Martinez showed everybody what's what by striding to the plate and depositing a Ramirez offering over the right-center field wall to give the Mets a 4-2 lead and, eventually, a win by the same margin.

The WPA graph for your viewing pleasure, courtesy of FanGraphs.

Elijah Dukes for Centerfield?

2010-03-17T23:54:52Z

More photos » Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP

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The Nationals inexplicably released Elijah Dukes today. The Mets' outfield is seemingly "settled" with Bay-Pagan-Francoeur set to be the opening day starters, but any team expecting to break camp with Gary Matthews Jr. has room for one more talented outfielder. Dukes could play any of the three outfield positions in the time Beltran is injured and has the bat to start at either corner. Angel Pagan and Jeff Francoeur project about equally in rightfield (Pagan 50th percentile being better, Francoeur's upside and downside being more extreme) and the Mets have clearly committed to the younger Francoeur in right.

Thus, my thinking is a Bay-Dukes-Francoeur outfield until Beltran returns. At first sight, that alignment might seem like defensive suicide, but Dukes is pretty athletic and probably better than his statistically insignificant -22.2 UZR/150. Besides, Pagan is no Carlos Beltran out there. CHONE projects a .354 wOBA for Dukes and a .334 wOBA for Pagan, which over the 150 PA Beltran projects to miss equals a few runs. If Beltran missed extended time, however, the difference would obviously be much more significant. More importantly, perhaps, Pagan (or Dukes) would replace Matthews on the bench, which could be worth a whole win itself, depending on how poorly you project Little Sarge.

As a hitter, Dukes' potential rivals that of any Mets prospect. He is just 25 and one year removed from a .382 wOBA, which is better than all but one Met's (Beltran) mark last season. His plate discipline has always been extremely advanced and he has plus-plus raw power. Not only could he replace Beltran in the field, but his bat would slot nicely into the third spot in Jose Reyes' absence.

Elijah Dukes could also be an important part of the Mets long term plans. Jason Bay and Jeff Francoeur are not the soundest long-term solutions for the corners, Bay because of his knee and shoulder injuries, Francoeur for a million other reasons. Granted, Dukes has had some notorious health and personal problems of his own. Yet, it's been nearly three years since any significant incident for Dukes. The Nationals swear his release was solely a baseball decision; Jim Riggleman spoke highly of him as a teammate. Regardless, it's not as if the Mets would suddenly be in a corner if they became concerned with Dukes' personal behavior. They would not have to trade him for a Carlos Silva contract, like the Cubs with Milton Bradley or pay him deferred money until 2035, as the Mets still do for Bobby Bonilla. It is a low-risk, high-reward signing with the rare potential for immediate payoff.

Open Thread: Mets vs Red Sox, 3/17/2010

2010-03-17T16:37:23Z

Mike Pelfrey takes the hill in Fort Myers against John Lackey and the Red Sox. Pelfrey will be followed by Tobi Stoner, Bobby Parnell, Kiko Calero, Jenrry Mejia, and Elmer Dessens.

The game is on NESN at 1:05pm and can be seen on MLB.tv. It is also on WEEI via Gameday audio. If you don't have either MLB package you can still follow on regular Gameday.

The notes.

The Mets will wear "lucky" green Irish hats today in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.
Yesterday was the Mets' only off day of the spring.
Mike Pelfrey is 0-1 this spring with a 9.00 ERA (four earned runs/5.2 innings).
The Mets have hit 13 home runs over their last eight games.
Including today, there are 20 days until Opening Day. The Mets begin the 2010 regular season at Citi Field Monday, April 5 at 1:10 p.m. vs. Florida.

And here is the current roster breakdown for the 46 players in big league camp (including 11 non-roster invitees).

• Pitchers - 19 total (four non-roster)
- Lefthanded - Six (one non-roster)
- Righthanded - 13 (three non-roster)
• Catchers - Five total (one non-roster)
• Infielders - 11 total (four non-roster)
• Outfielders - 11 total (two non-roster)

Happy St. Patrick's Day Benny Agbayani

2010-03-17T15:00:57Z

When contemplating the Mets and the Irish, most probably think of Joe McEwing, Daniel Murphy or even legendary long-time Mets groundskeeper Pete Flynn. However, my first thought is of Benny Agbayani, the star of Irish Night at Shea Stadium on August 12, 2000.

Saturday night in the upper deck at Shea Stadium was usually a jovial affair, but Irish Night in 2000 was above and beyond anything I have experienced at a sporting event. It was one part baseball game, two parts Dropkick Murphys concert and one part Girls Gone Wild. The alcohol was flowing, albeit not by 15 year-old me or anyone in my family. The hike up the upper deck steps became more treacherous than usual for the revellers, and many fans endured a hard tumble. One fan intentionally slid all the way down the bannister on the steps, falling on his face as he reached the bottom of the section to the delight of everyone. He received a brief standing ovation and a security escort out of the area. Several young ladies turned the upper deck into Bourbon Street, flashing their, um, assets to surprised onlookers. And all this happened before Agbayani's memorable gaffe in the 4th inning, which will be addressed shortly. Did all fans at the game have a similar experience? Probably not, and maybe I just happened to be sitting in the right (or wrong?) section. Regardless, the action in the grandstand was more intriguing than the low-scoring Mike Hampton/Shawn Estes pitcher's duel occurring on the field.

With one out and the bases loaded for the visiting Giants in the 4th inning, fan favorite Agbayani caught a weak flyball hit by Bobby Estalella in left field. Thinking the inning was over, he handed the ball to a fan and started running in towards the dugout. He quickly recognized his mistake but by then it was too late -- the play was dead and all runners were awarded two bases. Two runs scored and the Giants took a 2-1 lead. Perhaps he enjoyed a few pre-game Harp and Smithwick pints? The play was made even crazier by the presence of a fan who had run onto the field as the confusion was taking place. It took a few moments for everyone in attendance to understand what happened. Most were able to laugh it off since it only put the Mets down one run and there was still plenty of baseball left to play. Plus, Estes was the next batter and promptly struck out to end the inning.

The Mets eventually won, 3-2, sparked by a clutch two-run double by Todd Zeile off then-invincible setup man Felix Rodriguez. This guaranteed that Agbayani's blunder would be fondly remembered. Armando Benitez struck out pre-Playstation stats Barry Bonds to end the awesome night. I left Shea with a Mets win, a cool hat with a shamrock on it and some lasting memories. Agbayani's home state of Hawaii couldn't be farther away from Counties Clare and Donegal but for one night he was an adopted Irishman.

St. Patrick's Day Applesauce - Yet no Daniel Murphy links, Mets look at Guzman, Strasburg as Seaver

2010-03-17T12:25:28Z

Meet the Mets

The Mets had an off-day at Port St. Lucie yesterday, but that didn't put a stop to the random news floating around. For one thing, the Mets might not be content at shortstop and are taking a look at the Nationals' Christian Guzman. It was either that or have Rafael Santana come in to teach Ike Davis shortstop.

Meanwhile, there is still confusion about where Fernando Martinez is going to play when the season starts.

Could the Met defense actually have driven Mike Pelfrey crazy?

Patrick Flood has some fun with the all-time Met leaders and argues that Darryl Strawberry is the greatest position player in Met history.

Hooray for smiles at Met camp.

Dave Doyle at Met Report defends the Met decision to prepare Jenrry Mejia for the 2010 bullpen.

Around MLB

What a weird offseason for John Smoltz. He isn't going to run for Congress. He isn't going to pitch for the Mets. He will join TBS as a broadcaster. And he won't announce his retirement.

Some good Stephen Strasburg stuff today. Is he Tom Seaver? Or is he Kerry Wood? Conveniently, the Nationals are managed by Jim Riggleman, the Cub manager when Wood threw 20 Ks in one game.

Be sure to vote for your favorite Phillie blog.

Sidney Ponson has signed with the Long Island Ducks.

Chuck Knoblauch has pled guilty to hitting his wife.

Oh, and enjoy a happy St. Patrick's Day with some Irish baseball stuff.

Make-The-Mets-O-Meter: Batters, Vol. 3

2010-03-17T09:00:29Z

We have less than three weeks remaining before Opening Day and the roster is beginning to take shape. If we assume the Mets will carry 12 pitchers that leaves us with 13 spots for position players. Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran are likely to begin the season on the disabled list, so our starting lineup looks like this in some order or another:

That's nine so far with four additional bench spots to fill. Fernando Tatis and Gary Matthews Jr. are locks, which leaves just two openings for the rest of the field. Smart money seems to be on Mike Jacobs and Ruben Tejada to round out the 25-man roster, but nothing is set in stone just yet.

Shawn Bowman, Andy Green, Mike Hessman, Mike Cervenak, Jesus Feliciano, Josh Thole, Luis Hernandez, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis were all reasigned to minor league camp earlier in the week. I removed Jolbert Cabrera and Chris Coste from the list because they're not really playing and there's no chance they'll actually make the team.

Player		Comment
Russ Adams, IF		Adams is probably a poor man's Fernando Tatis: He won't embarrass you in the corner infield or outfield, but the Mets already have Tatis so Adams will be shuttled to Triple-A soon enough.
Chris Carter, 1B*		He's hitting a ton but isn't actually getting much playing time, which probably tells you all you need to know about how the Mets feel about him. With Murphy, Tatis, and Jacobs all in queue ahead there isn't really room for Carter right now anyway.
Frank Catalanotto, OF		He may be a Proven Veteran™, but he'll be plying his trade in Buffalo when camp breaks.
Ike Davis, 1B		.692 BABIP doesn't look sustainable. Still, he's hitting the crap out of the ball.
Nick Evans, 1B/OF*		Who?
Anderson Hernandez, IF*		Tejada's emergence as the likely Opening Day starter is bad news for Hernandez, who probably won't care for the early April weather in Buffalo.
Mike Jacobs, 1B		Batting .250/.429/.625 with just a .167 BABIP. Five walks and just two strikeouts in 21 plate appearances doesn't sound right, but I double-checked it.
Fernando Martinez, OF*		1.678 OPS this spring, but he'll begin the season in the minors.
Jason Pridie, OF*		Solid .476 slugging for someone with Pridie's defensive reputation. .273 on-base percentage is woeful. Could be a decent option as a fifth outfielder/defensive replacement.
Shawn Riggans, C		He's basically a bullpen catcher in camp, netting just four at-bats so far. Maybe fifth or sixth on the depth chart, so don't expect to see him again ever.
Omir Santos, C*		Santos is hitting a ton in limited action, and if the Mets don't trade him he might be a useful guy to have on the farm. You know, in case they ever need someone to hit dingers off Papelbon.
Ruben Tejada, SS		He's hitting .357 in spring training action with a gaudy .400 BABIP. He's the favorite to start at shortstop in Jose Reyes's absence, so let's hope his glove is all it's said to be.

Key:
= Chance of making the Mets is unchanged.
= Chance of making the Mets is going down.
= Chance of making the Mets is going up.
* = player on 40-man roster

Highlights From Brian Costa's Live Chat

2010-03-16T19:19:01Z

Click here for the full replay. Some snippets with brief commentary:

On the new-and-improved clubhouse: "Jason Bay and Jeff Francoeur have been tremendous additions from a clubhouse standpoint, so it has improved in that sense from where it was a year ago." -- Yay!
On the final rotation spot: "Niese, Nieve or Takahashi for the fifth spot. Maybe Figgy for the last spot in the bullpen, but they're not looking at him as a potential fifth starter right now." -- Niese and Figgy seem like the best options. Give Fig a chance.
In response to questions about who will be on the bench: "Tatis, Jacobs, Cora (when Reyes returns), Pagan (when Beltran returns), Matthews Jr., Blanco... I think that's everyone." -- No Chris Carter? Costa did address a question about Carter later on, writing "if he keeps hitting this way, he'll definitely earn strong consideration".
Opening Day bullpen prediction: "K-Rod, Igarashi, Parnell, Takahashi, Feliciano, Nieve, Green." -- Parnell and Nieve are the biggest question marks. The remaining five sound about right, with Kiko Calero something of a wild card right now.
On keeping a positive clubhouse atmosphere in perspective: "Francoeur is definitely a good clubhouse guy. I don't think "the right attitude" is more important than good seasons from Maine, Pelfrey and Perez, and the return of Reyes and Beltran, but it helps." -- Yep.
On John Maine's somewhat controversial comments after his recent poor outing: "People made too much of Maine's comment the other day. It's spring. Relax." -- Agreed.

Thank you to Brian for taking the time to field some questions today.