Eddie Colman who follows the Mets for WFAN spoke with Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts today. Here are a few notes from their talk,

• Eddie thought the Jose Reyes story was interesting, more because of the timing. The fact that Carlos Beltran went to Reyes before his big night on Tuesday. So, it may have had an immediate impact. Also, Eddie thinks Beltan looks at Reyes as a little brother and gets a kick out of him and his antics.
• Beltran is different than when he first got here, more comfortable. Still sensitive to the boos and he knows he’s been knocked for not being more vocal.
• Half of the Mets games have been against left handed pitchers and Ryan Church has handled it well. Likes the number two spot.
• Joe Smith has been so good there is no rush to bring back Matt Wise. Last year Smith hit a wall. So far this year he has been nasty.
• John Maine has just walked too many guys. He is usually better than that. He was really angry with himself. I think your gonna see the John Maine from spring training real soon.
• Pedro Martinez, I’ll wait and see. But I do think he’ll be back sooner than people think. The Mets just don’t want to rush him and cause a set back.
• Nelson Figueroa said something like sequels are usually bad but I want to prove that wrong tonight.

I always enjoy Eddie’s reports. I feel he’s just relaxin, maybe having a brew, talkin Mets baseball. But with the extra bonus of some inside dope. Interesting take on the Reyes, Beltran little brother thing.

ESPN’s Jayson Stark’s list of “Impact Injuries” places the combination of Pedro Martinez and El Duque fifth.

Stark quotes a scout,

“You add the loss of those two guys to the inconsistency of [Mike] Pelfrey, and I’ll tell you what it does,” said one scout. “It really puts a lot of pressure on Santana. This is a team lacking in starting-pitching depth. So getting as much as they can out of those two guys is critical to the Mets. And I don’t know how much they’ll get.”

I think it’s all about Ollie, if he pitches well the Mets starting pitching will be fine. It’s not like there’s a ton of teams that go four or five deep with their starting staffs.

As I gathered the Jose Reyes quotes, posted earlier, I, like anyone else reading or listening to Reyes, realized that Carlos Beltran really took the initiative with Reyes. I was surprised by Jose’s chat with reporters; I assumed he was going to tone things down this year and to be honest I didn’t think it would be a big deal either way. But obviously Beltran felt a totally different way and did what leaders do. He did something we all thought he wouldn’t do: he went to Reyes and told him “be yourself, we need you to be the old Jose Reyes.” Now, if the team actually “needed” Jose to revert back to his entertaining self, only players with their finger on the pulse of the team would know. But you can’t deny this is Carlos Beltran taking on a leadership role.

The Daily News Christian Red quotes Beltran

“I had a conversation with Reyes. I said, ‘Don’t change.’ When he’s doing that, jumping around, we like it. We’re happy,” Beltran said at his locker last night. “He’s a fun guy.”

Most saw the change in spring training when somewhat tongue in cheek Beltran stepped out of his usual quiet, cliche baseball talk style and declared the Mets as being “the team to beat in the east” adding with a smile to reporters “you can tell Jimmy Rollins that”. But I remember during spring training reading about the stress he was under along with his wife Jessica, who had two miscarriages. Carlos said in a article by NYT Ben Shpigel that it was a big concern and a distraction.

“Sometimes you’re out there and you start thinking about how your wife’s feeling, what she’s thinking and why is this happening to us,” he said. “I think that’s normal.”

Now, with that behind him it seems a huge weight has been lifted with the birth of his baby girl Ivana back in October. Later in the same article Shpigel quotes Carlos again.

“I used to care about what people said about me and what kind of player I am. I don’t care about that anymore. I know that every day I do whatever I can to help the team win. And even if I go 0 for 4, not that I ever want to go 0 for 4, I come home and see my baby girl, see my wife, I feel like I never went 0 for 4. I never thought that could happen.”

Earlier this season, maybe a week ago, Beltran struck out in a clutch spot and fired his bat down in disgust. It stood out. Not that I’ve never seen any emotion from Carlos, but it is rare. I remember commenting on Beltran’s reaction to a friend that I loved to see that from him. I loved the intensity, my friend remarked, “I would have loved a hit”, funny line, but maybe a little thing like that gives you a window into how Carlos is thinking now. He can actually get caught up in the game or situation at hand, kind of lose himself in the moment more with the worry of his wife and future fatherhood behind him. Maybe, that is what gave Beltran the clarity to notice this thing with Reyes. That it is not good for Reyes to change and it is not good for the team. I know I am playing amateur psychiatrist here but I see a difference and there has been a change in Beltran’s life. A beautiful little daughter named Ivana.

After yesterday’s 5-2 victory over the Washington Nationals Mets Shortstop Jose Reyes spoke with reporters in the clubhouse and told them that Carlos Beltran along with Carlos Delgado approached him on Tuesday and encouraged him to go back to being “the old Reyes” here is some of what Reyes told the reporters. Listen here.

“Beltran came to me and Carlos Delgado and said you have to go back to the way you were before. Do the handshakes, we like the way you were before. Don’t change, because when you change you are fake. It’s not the real Jose Reyes. So I said I’m gonna enjoy the game, give the handshakes with everybody, keep everybody with a smile here in the dugout.”

“That’s the way I am. First I tried to be more quiet, more relaxed. I didn’t know it would affect me like that. But now I’m gonna be the way I was before because that’s better for me. It’s what got me to the big leagues. They came to me and said, the way you were before makes everyone happy, so go back to that don’t change.”

“It’s hard for me not to be that way, like I said it’s what got me to the big leagues. Jumping into Delgado, smiling a lot, you know a lot of different stuff. I’m not gonna care what people say. I’m just gonna enjoy my game, be the way I am. I can’t think about what other people think, other teams, they do it too. So, I don’t care about that I just care about this team. It’s tough for me not to smile and be me in the dugout. It’s the way I am.”

Reyes was asked does that mean the handshakes are back?

“Yes (laughing) everything is back. That’s what Beltran told me to do, and Delgado too.”

“It’s great to hear it from Carlos Beltran, he’s the guy who’s kind of quiet in the dugout. Delgado too, he missed that, the kinds of things I do in the dugout. That’s why they came to me.”

Reyes was asked about how he acted when Beltran hit his home run last night.

“I was waiting for him and I was very happy to do the handshake from last year.”

Then Reyes was asked if he remembered the handshake from last year?

Reyes responded “Believe It.” All the reporters burst into laughter.

Note: Reyes added that his hamstring is feeling good “Real good, it’s nothing to worry about anymore.”

This was nothing but good news for Mets fans. Go do yourself a favor and listen to this. It was a pleasure listening to Reyes, he sounded so confident and genuinely happy. Also, don’t lose sight of the Beltran, Delgado leadership roles here. If you couple the spring training comments, even if said in jest, with approaching Reyes about how he should “be himself” Beltran is definitively becoming a leader on this club and that is something no one would have predicted.

Oh, and Anthony I want the copyright on the “Believe it” Hot Foot T-Shirts.

The Mets according to Forbes magazine are second only to the Yankees ($1.306 billion) in total value and have the best value to debt ratio in MLB and the third highest operating income. The Mets value rose 12% in the last 12 months.

The New York Mets were second at $824 million and the Boston Red Sox third at $816 million, the magazine said Wednesday. After that, there was a big gap to the Los Angeles Dodgers ($694 million) and the Chicago Cubs ($642 million).

Besides the obvious, like attendance, Forbes cites interleague play as a major factor. The article also adds:

Citigroup, beleaguered by the housing market meltdown, is still planning to pay the Amazins $400 million over 20 years for the stadium’s naming rights.

Johan Santana was named the 4th best pitcher for the buck by Forbes, with a salary of $19 million in 2008.

Mets manager Willie Randolph talked today with WFAN’s Mike and the Mad Dog in his usual weekly spot.

They started the conversation with Jose Reyes.

On Jose Reyes:

“He was unbelievable last night. When he gets on he’ll make you look like world beaters.”

On Mike Pelfrey:

“He’s still just a baby, continues to grow. His stuff was electric. Schneider did a great job getting him through the game.”

On Ryan Church in the two hole instead of Angel Pagan:

“Pagan being a switch hitter is better behind Delgado. Church is swinging the bat well. Plus, I wanted to get a look at that line-up.”

Later in the interview Willie added this about Church:

“So far he is staying through the middle. I like his approach. I’ve been real impressed with his defense. He’s got a real chance here to solidify himself as an everyday player.”

On Angel Pagan:

“I love the way he is playing. That stuff the other day was a writer taking stuff out of context. I was kidding with the reporters. I was not trying to disparage him one iota.”

On after Sundays game:

“I was upset. I was just talking with some of the coaches about somethings. Don’t read anything into it. Just wanted to calm down in my own mind.”

On the negativity from the fans:

“I understand why they might boo early in the season. I’m a little upset at the reception were receiving, it’s a spin off from last year. But Santana’s one of our big boys, gonna be here for a long time so you’d like to see him get a better reception than that but there’s nothing you can do about it. The players really want to win for this town and for these fans. We want to be accepted of course.”

On Duaner Sanchez:

“I’m not looking for a soft spot for him. But I am not gonna just throw him into the fire unless there’s a match up I really like.”

On Nelson Figueroa:

“He pitched with a lot of heart the other day in front of his hometown fans and threw a great ballgame. He just has to hit his spots. He’s gonna get one or two more starts for us.”

On Luis Castillo:

“He’s not 100% that’s why he’s in the eighth spot. He’s got to get stronger. He was way behind in spring training because of his rehab. So it’s gonna take time.”

On Carlos Delgado:

“I still have a lot of confidence in him. I am not ready to write him off.”

On Johan Santana:

“The extra rest is something he needs. That’s the word from Minnesota. I’m just going by what I’ve been told. We want to take care of him. He’ll take the ball when asked, don’t get me wrong. But with this kind of investment I think it’s better to be cautious.”

The interview closed with Willie saying:

“I feel this team is ready to get on a roll. We are really really pumped up, I’m a little disappointed with the start and the reaction but this team is hell bent to really get it going.”

So are we Willie, so are we. Lets Go Mets Baby!!

This Cubs on-deck circle from Shea Stadium is going for $500 at Steiner Sports.

I just want to know if a black cat comes with it?

via Big League Stew

Yesterday, I blogged here about a rumor that Mike Piazza might one day soon be wearing Yankee pinstripes. But today Mark Healey of Gotham Baseball Magazine updated his story with some good news for Mets fans. He points to Peter Abraham of LoHud Yankee Blog who reports that when Yankees GM Brian Cashman was asked if there is any truth to this rumor Cashman said “no”. The Reds are still a possible place Piazza might land. Read more about the “mild interest” the Reds have at Newsday.

Doc, Cone, Straw and Piazza, that would be too much for any self respecting Mets Fan/Yankee hater to stand.

Is it me or did it seem more than just a little odd seeing Paul Lo Duca in a different uniform. Man it feels like Pauly was a Met for much longer than he actually was. Yesterday, on his WFAN morning radio show with Evan Roberts, Joe Benigno stated emphatically that not only would Paul Lo Duca get a great hand but Lastings Milledge “will no doubt get a standing ovation”, Joe’s side kick Evan did not disagree. Well as we all know Millegde was greeted with loud boos and like SNY’s Gary Cohen said at the time “he’s the enemy now”. Yes, he most certainly is.

Just like everyone else I am thrilled that Duaner Sanchez is back. I just hope, and this not to say he can’t be effective otherwise, to see his 2006 stuff again. Man he was electrifying. I miss that.

Man, did Mike Pelfrey look impressive or what? Seven strong shutout innings, very nice. I know it is logical for Pelfrey to “pound the bottom of the strike zone” like Peterson and seemingly everyone else has said. I am guessing that kind of strategy leaves a pitcher more room for error. But Pelfrey seems to have a little bit of Dwight Gooden in him where as his fast ball rises, like the fastball he used while strikeing out Nick Johnson with the bases loaded. But I guess I should just leave that to the experts.