Meet the Mets
Let's take a look around the Metscamp, where about 40% of the stories actually have something to do with baseball!
Josh Thole is ready to go, you guys. I actually am pretty bullish on Thole this year. His defense wasn't THAT bad last year, and his batting line was brought down some by a rough April. He's probably only an average backstop, but that has a lot of value at pre-arb prices.
R.A. Dickey pours one out for fellow knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. R.A. Dickey is the now the last practitioner of a dying art.
Andy McCullough talks twitter with Mets pitching prospect Zack Wheeler. Yes, it's definitely Spring Training, folks. Anyway, Wheeler's twitter feed is pretty good, but Colin McHugh and Matt Den Dekker's are the clear 80 twitter feeds in the Mets org.
Here's an update on JenrryMejia's rehab from Tommy John. He's probably still a few months away from starting to throw off a mound, and I don't expect to seem him rehabbing in the GCL Kingsport until July or August, but I eagerly await his return to the Minor League Recaps.
Mike Kerwick is taking over the Mets beat for the Bergen Record this year, and he is in midseason form when it comes to Spring Training stories as he talks to Jon Rauch about tattoos and being tall.
ETA: Some early morning notes of interest from Rubin. Pedro Beato will likely start in AAA if he doesn't make the bullpen out of spring training (unlikely), and Ruben Tejada is having some visa issues. I imagine the Tejada thing will get worked out eventually, the consulate probably just refuses to believe he is older than 16. As for Beato, they've talked about this before, I will just point out that the Warthen quote about it is completely bizzarre.
The Times asks David Wright about Jeremy Lin, because of course they do. And the answer to your question, New York Times, is Josh Satin.
Adam Rubin states the obvious.
Toby Hyde has come to his Top 10 prospects, ranking Michael Fulmer 11th and Cory Mazzoni 10th. I just don't have a good read on Mazzoni. I know the college numbers were very good, and he has shown some durability, but he has no change-up and he's a bit undersized for a starter. Just think he ends up in the bullpen, though he probably will move fast and won't be tested until AAA/MLB.
We've all heard about the Jon Niese nose job story now, right? I don't really have to link to it? Good.
I am apparently the only person on twitter who hasn't watched Downton Abbey, so I don't know if this is funny or accurate or what. My mother loves the show, though.
For entertainment purposes only, the MLB over/under lines are out for 2012. BetOnline has the Mets at 74.5, though I heard 70.5 was out there elsewhere. 74.5 seems like a reasonable number. Over on Atlanta is the only bet that really jumps out at me.
Around MLB
Mariano Rivera is probably maybe retiring after this season.So look forward to a season's worth of speculation from beat writers and effusive praise from Mike Francessa. Not me, I gave up the FAN outside of Mets broadcasts a year ago and I feel so much better for it.
Mike Newman has some thoughts on age relative to league as he discusses Collin Cowgill and Brett Lawrie. More generally, when you are talking about one season worth of data, you are veering dangerously close to performance scouting. More on this issue over at The Book Blog, as Brian Cartwright talks about adjusting for age relative to league in the OLIVER projections in the comments.
Albert Pujols just looks weird in an Angels uniform. Not as weird as some other player in a new uniform, though.
An 'In the Best Shape of His Life' story takes a turn for the awkward.
Ryan Braun will be in camp when the full Brewersroster reports next week. Still no decision on his appeal or whether we are going to have a second wild card. This is a pretty good prop bet, actually. Which will come first, a decision on the Braun appeal or a decision on the 2nd wild card?
The new market inefficiency is 100 game DHs. I am technically counting Manny Ramirezas an outfielder (though he probably has as much range as me at this point), so I can again joke about Billy Beane having eleventy billion outfielders on his roster.
Even less shocking than the existence of Ted Berg's "Minor Leaguers tweeting about Chipotle" tumblr is the existence of the bad spring training pics tumblr.
Finally, @OldHossRadbourn, aka Keith Law, is starting an Old Hoss Radbourn Fantasy League. Carson Cistulli has you covered, as he has gone back and given you the best 2011 OHR performers. Must-read draft prep right there.