Over at Metsblog.com, Matt Cerrone links us to a story in the NYPost that relates the Mets Willie Randolph to the Giants Tom Coughlin, in the sense that Willie needs to take this team deep in the playoffs to stay as manager.

I, for one, do not believe Willie was responsible for the collapse at all..The players bats went cold, nothing you can do. It should be interesting to see how Willie responds this year, as we all know how Coughlin’s season went…

SI.com is reporting that Pedro Martinez threw 59 pitches, 43 for strikes, and hit as high as 87 mph on the radar gun in a simulated game before he makes his first Grapefruit League start later this week.

Pedro, on the outing :

“The main key right here is to feel healthy,” Martinez said. “That’s how I felt today, I felt like I’m really, really healthy.”

Pedro’s is the variable in the formula for this team’s success. If he can throw like he did at the end of last year, were in good shape.

The Mets tied the Red Sox this afternoon by a score of 1-1 in 10 innings. Johan Santana pitched brilliantly, allowing 2 hits in 4 innings, while striking out four.

• Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado went 0-3 and 0-2 respectively in their returns to the lineup
• David Wright and Jose Reyes had a hit each, and are both batting under .250 for the spring.

Only Spring..

• Matt Wise pitched a perfect inning, and his spring ERA still stands at 0.00

Off their first loss in their last seven games, the Mets play host to the Houston Astros in St. Lucie today. Pitching for the Mets will be John Maine. Pitching for the Astros will be minor leaguer Jack Cassel.

Game is being shown on the CW11 and is also available on MLB.tv.

Lineups made available by John Delcos at his blog.

Astros

• 1B Darin Erstad
• SS Tommy Manzella
• RF Hunter Pence
• 3B Ty Wigginton
• 2B David Newhan
• LF Reggie Abercrombie
• CF Nick Gorneault
• DH JR Towles
• C Humberto Quintero

Mets:

• SS Jose Reyes
• CF Endy Chavez
• 3B David Wright
• LF Ryan Church
• DH Olmedo Saenz
• LF Angel Pagan
• 1B Jose Valentin
• C Ramon Castro
• 2B Anderson Hernandez

Valentin playing 1st today.

To chat during the game, head on over to The Hot Foot Bleachers

The Mets will play host to the Florida Marlins in Port St Lucie in game 10 of Spring Training play. The other half of the team will travel to Ft. Lauderdale to take on the Orioles. Mike Pelfrey, who has yet to allow a run this spring, will take the mound in Port St Lucie. Jonathan Niese will pitch the other game. The game in St. Lucie will be televised on the CW and will also be shown on MLB.tv.

Lineups:

Marlins

• SS Robert Andino
• 2B Dan Uggla
• DH Luis Gonzalez
• LF Josh Willingham
• 1B Mike Jacobs
• 3B Jorge Cantu
• RF Brett Carroll
• CF Alejandro De Aza
• C Matt Treanor

Mets:

• SS Jose Reyes
• LF Brady Clark
• 3B David Wright
• LF Ryan Church
• 1B Olmedo Saenz
• CF Endy Chavez
• DH Damion Easley
• C Brian Schneider
• 2B Argenis Reyes

Easley, Chavez, Church, and Schneider all make their return today..

Yahoo! is reporting that Braves P Mike Hampton left his start in the 2nd inning after straining his groin. He is Day to Day.

This is good news, now its our 10 injuries to their 1..

MLB.com is reporting that tonight’s game between the Mets and Nationals in Viera has been rained out. Pedro Martinez, who was scheduled to start, will throw a simulated game tomorrow morning keeping him in line to start the 2nd game of the season.

The Mets reeled in their fifth straight win today with another walk off win against the Dodgers. 2B Anderson Hernandez won it with a hit down the line in the 9th. Joe Smith got the win for the Mets, and Tom Martin took the loss for the Dodgers.

A few notes

Johan Santana pitched 3 innings of 1 run ball, striking out four.

Hernandez, who could make the team if Ruben Gotay goes down with an injury, went 3-5 including the game winner.

“Teenage Hitting Machine” continued his nice spring showing, going 2-3 including a double.

Tomorrow the Mets travel to Viera to play the Nationals. Pedro Martinez is scheduled to make his first start of the spring.

CBSSports is reporting that Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez is working on a new windup that does not include the high leg kick he has used for so many years. The new windup will help El Duque keep his foot flat on the rubber during his delivery. He plans to use it in a bullpen session on Wednesday.

I guess this is it for El Duque. If this doesn’t work out, we might not even be looking at a bullpen spot, maybe at not seeing him pitch again..

In his latest mailbag for MLB.com, Marty Noble touches on subjects such as El Duque’s inevitable move to the bullpen, what was the most glaring reason the Mets missed the playoffs, and why Jose Reyes’s slump could have been influenced by the absence of Julio Franco.

Via Metsblog, Rotoworld is reporting that 2B Ruben Gotay is scheduled for a CT scan tomorrow. Gotay had X-rays on his sprained ankle yesterday that came back negative.

The Mets (2-3) face off against the Braves (3-1) in Game 6 of Grapefruit League play. Pitching for the Mets will be Mike Pelfrey, who pitched 2 shutout innings in his first start of the spring against the Tigers. Jo-Jo Reyes will be making his spring debut for the Braves. The game is slated to start at 1:10 PM.

The game will air live at 1 pm on SNY and online at MLB.tv.

Lineups

Braves:

• Kelly Johnson (2B)
• Yunel Escobar (SS)
  
• Jordan Shafer (CF)
  
• Scott Thorman (1B)
  
• Javy Lopez (C)
  
• Matt Diaz (LF)
  
• Josh Anderson (RF)
  
• Martin Prado (3B)
  
• Brayan Pena (DH)

Mets:

• Jose Reyes (SS)
• Anderson Hernandez (2B)
• David Wright (3B)
• Moises Alou (LF)
  
• Angel Pagan (CF)
  
• Ramon Castro (C)
  
• Fernando Martinez (RF)
• Michel Abreu (1B)
  
• Robinson Cancel (C)

This is Abreu’s time to show that the Mets don’t need to go pickup that backup 1B.

As always, head on over to The Hot Foot Bleachers to talk with your fellow Mets fans during the game.

On a day where the Mets started no players slated to be in the opening day lineup, they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 behind three runs in the ninth inning. Journeyman Nate Field got the win, and Joselo Diaz got the save. For the game’s recap, head on over to MLB.com.

A few notes:

Angel Pagan continued to make a case for a spot on the opening day roster, going 3-5 and bumping his average to a scorching 412 for the spring.

Oliver Perez started the game, allowing 3 runs in 2 innings, but had some sloppy defense played behind him.

Anderson Hernandez and Ruben Gotay had 2 hits apiece, and “The Teenage Hitting Machine” went 1-4.

The Mets are now 2-3 in Grapefruit League play.

Carlos Delgado was back in camp after his MRI results came back negative on his hip. He is expected to miss a few days.

The MLB 2K8 video game comes out tomorrow for an array of systems, including Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and the Nintendo Wii. The player on the game’s cover will be none other than our Mets Shortstop Jose Reyes.

I know all you video game freaks out there will be buying the game, but for all you people who do not enjoy video games, I say buy the game, and frame it.