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There may not be many Mets taking part in this season's WBC, but they had the chance to face the Venezuelan entry into the tournament yesterday. They'd end up losing with a football-esque 14-10 score, with the bulk of the damage coming early in the game. At least Jon Niese had his velocity.
With the Mets facing Venezuela, former Met Francisco Rodriguez had a chance to chat it up with the New York media again. Amazingly, the unemployed pitcher would welcome the chance to come back to New York. On a cheap one-year contract, this could be an excellent idea.
Playing teams like Venezuela might end up being more common going forward, as both the Nationals and Astros are nearing the end of their current leases nearby.
Jenrry Mejia has been sent back to New York for further evaluation, and Adam Rubin is reporting it's due to a thyroid issue. Here's hoping it doesn't turn out to be anything serious, and that he can finally get his spring underway soon.
Yesterday at AA
Patrick Flood came aboard, and had a piece on the potentially not-terrible Mets outfield. We're all thrilled to have you here Patrick.
Matthew looked back at the night the Hugo Chavez threw out the first pitch at Shea Stadium. The uniform pants and cleats are my favorite part.
If you didn't already know, Matt Den Dekker is a bit prone to strikeouts. So what?
The top 50 Mets of all time list continued, with #37, Todd Hundley.
Finally, David took a look back at March 6 in Mets history.
Around Baseball
There have been rumors that the Tigers may be willing to trade Rick Porcello for a "proven closer", but what about simply installing Porcello as the closer? Jeff Sullivan took a look.
Grant Brisbee took a look at five players to watch in the NL East this season, talking up Zack Wheeler when discussing the Mets.
On the other side of town, first baseman Mark Teixeira will be missing the next 8-10 weeks with a wrist injury. He's been replaced on the Team USA roster by Eric Hosmer.