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February 18, 2007
Cacti & Grapefruits
In the midst of all the heckling and badmouthing, we all failed to mention the beginning of training camp! In the past week, pitchers and catchers have been arriving to their respective ballparks, participating in their first workouts, and patiently awaiting their first chance to impress the coaches in a Grapefruit or Cactus League showdown.
The announcement of the arrival of pitchers and catchers made me excited. But it also made me a bit nervous. The Mets had 31 pitchers arrive to training camp, with 11 of them vying for a spot in the 5-man starting rotation. This wouldn’t be a problem if there were 3 or 4 solid guys who were guaranteed a spot. With an injury-riddled Pedro Martinez out until at least midseason, Tom Glavine moves into the #1 spot, and El Duque Orlando Hernandez moves into the #2 spot. No one else is guaranteed a spot. El Duque as the #2 starter on a team that barely missed a World Series appearance scares me a bit. The early favorites for the #3 and #4 spots are Oliver Perez and John Maine. Although Maine is a solid young pitcher, I’m extremely nervous entering the season with this rotation.
Hopefully, everyone will throw a little bit harder and show their true capabilities in the spirit of competition…
I wish the best of luck to the Twins and White Sox in their Spring Training. And yes, I did leave out the Yankees.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/sports/baseball/18mets.html
Posted by bryblum at February 18, 2007 10:02 PM