As you know, the Mets traded MI Anderson Hernandez to the Nationals for Luis Ayala earlier this off season.  Hernandez has always been a plus fielder, but was never good enough at the dish to ever earn a full-time job with the big club, and he never really seemed like he’d find a full-time job in the majors. 

Because of his history of being a mediocre hitter, authorities have been wondering who kidnapped the real Anderson Hernandez and replaced him with this mysterious player that has been hitting .462 for the Nationals in 26 at-bats. 

Those close to the situation are fairly certain that the player hitting well for the Nationals is not the same Anderson Hernandez that was batting .203 for the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs this season.  The Hernandez replacement has only struck out once in 26 MLB at-bats this season for the Nats.  The real Anderson Hernandez struck out 95 times in 479 ABs this season for the Zephyrs and has always been a very free swinger. 

If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of the real Anderson Hernandez, please contact your local authorities.    

I’ll miss Anderson Hernandez . Maybe not the player, but the name. Anderson Hernandez. It just flows, you have to say it. Granted, we didn’t get to say it often, since he frequently boasted a batting average so low that most assumed it belonged to a relief pitcher. Somehow, being in DC for two days he remembered baseball players need to hit. He’s gone 5 for 9 with an RBI and a run scored in two games. Keep in mind, it took him 25 games to get to 10 hits in 2006, and he has just 3 RBI’s as a Met, spread over 3 seasons. Clearly, this is Anderson Hernandez’ career year.

The question remains, where did this offensive outburst come from? It wasn’t like he was hitting .400 in AAA. Was the jet exhaust above Shea his kryptonite? Was there too much pressure caused by trying to live up to the Hernandez name in New York? Or maybe Paul Lo Duca left some steroids behind in the lockerroom. We’ll probably never know for sure. But best of luck to Anderson Hernandez, who at the very least has found a team that actually has a roster spot for an oft poor hitting middle infielder.

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.

After a bad slide, sure lock for a bench spot Ruben Gotay is on crunches and awaiting test results. Nothing is broken, but a serious injury could still result in a trip to the DL to start the season. With many a Met, especially reserve infielders, currently ailing, we could see something I never thought would happen again: Anderson Hernandez on the roster.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are things I like about him. For one, its the most fun Met name to say. Do it, right now, out loud: Anderson Hernandez. You can’t call him just Anderson or Andy. I guess if you’re some sort of jerk or tool you could say ‘A-Hern’, but personally, that sort of crap should be left to the losers in the Bronx. Its got to be said all at once. Anderson Hernandez. Oh, also, he fields pretty good. The man can turn a nice double play, isn’t prone to errors. And the rumor mill says he makes a mean casserole.

Of course, theres the big problem. Anderson Hernandez cannot hit. I don’t mean he’s one of those singles guys, though he is. In three off and on seasons with the Mets he has one double, one triple, and one homerun, though he has speed that usually results in more than 3 extra base hits. He just can’t hit. Every off season he tears up the winter leagues. Bloggers and sports writters proclaim he’s finally learned to hit. Spring training comes around…and he in fact still cannot hit. Career .138 as a Met to date.

 Unless Stache is healed up enough to play, or Gotay turns out to be only minorly hurt, this late in the game it seems likely we will see Anderson Hernandez come opening day. Perhaps he really has finally learn to hit. Perhaps he attended a pool party at Jose Conseco’s during the offseason. Perhaps his failure to do well in the big league was merely an eleberate conjob to give Gotay a false sense of security. Chances are, we will find out soon.

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.

Well there’s no game in New York, and its storming in the vast majority of the state. So a perfect day to take a quick look around the minor league system.

Chan Ho Park gave up eight runs and ten hits in four innings in a Zephyrs loss yesterday. It was the teams second straight loss to the Nashville Sound, with a final score of 1-14. In Fridays loss, Fernando Tatis went 1-4 with a solo homerun, and Carlos Gomez went 2 for 4. In ten games, Gomez is batting .389 and 4 RBIs. He has stolen 6 bases, and been caught once. Anderson Hernendez continues his struggles at the plate, batting .200, with two doubles and two RBI’s. Since joining New Orleans, Lastings Milledge is 0-7 with 1 walk. He’s struck out four times. Ben Johnson is currently on the DL, after an injury diving for a catch in Thursday’s game.

On the pitching side, his rough outing ups Park (1-1) to a 7.2 ERA. He’s struck out nine, but given up three homeruns. Jorge Sosa (1-0) has yet to give up an earned run in 13 innings, while striking out nine and walking 3. Humber (1-1) leads in strikeouts with 10, and has given up five runs, all earned.

The Zephyrs are now 5-5.

John Delcos reports that the mets made some decisions today, announcing that Sele and Smith will both be on the 25-man roster and in the bullpen once the season starts. Ben Johnson and Anderson Hernendez were both sent down to New Orleans, as was Jorge Sosa.

Nothing terrible earth shattering in this announcement.  It seems like it was pretty much said Sunday that Sele and Smith were making the roster, or at the very least it was strongly implied.  While he seems to have shown some improvement, Anderson Hernendez still didn't seem to be at a high enough level that anyone expected to see him make it either, especially with both Valentine and Easley around to cover 2nd base. Johnson was a probable but unlikely roster addition, depending on how many pitchers the team decides to take.  With him officially optioned down, that would be a stronger indication of Lastings making the roster.  Aside from that though, the only thing now is who our final bullpen member is.  As mentioned the other day, do we go Adkins and if he stinks release him and then try Park? Or do we go Park and write off Adkins as a loss? I know Burgos had a strong finish, but I still think he needs more time, and assume Willie, Omar and Co see him as the 3rd option of those three as well.

Its a slow news day, with the team taking a much needed day off, and I'd like to use it to address the Hot Foot Nation with a topic of concern. I touched on it over in the Bleachers during the game yesterday, but today I'll go into slightly more detail. 

The problem?  A-Hern

Now before you blast on over to the comments section telling me of the tremendous defensive skills of what at one point was our starting 2nd baseman, or tell me that his hitting has actually improved, though he has not quite yet proved capable of maintaining a respectable average while playing on a major league level, my problem is not with the young Mr Hernendez.  Its with the nickname.

Anderson Hernendez is a long name, and I understand the desire to not repeatedly type out Anderson Hernendez when writing about him. Its the sort of thing that can cause carpal tunnels or bloggers cramp. Likewise, I've even seen the occasional reference to David Wright as D-Wright.  And when A-Rod became A-Rod, that style nickname became the rage. Its great for him, but here in Metsville, I think we're better than that. For starters, sharing a city with the Evil Empire, our players are already compared by the media to their counterparts in the Bronx, especially Wright.  Why increase this via the use of a similarly styled nickname?  And could you see past Met greats doing that?  K-Hern? W-Back? HoJo? Ok, ignore that last one.

Perhaps, in time, Wright or Anderson Hernendez will do something to earn themselves a nickname.  Something people will mention when talking about Mex, the Kid, Mookie, Nails, Fonzie, or the Franchise.  But if not, so be it. We'll never forget Ron Darling or Mike Piazza either, and they didn't need a nickname.

So I call to you, readers and fellow metsbloggers alike, put and end to the A-Herns, the D-Wrights, the F-Marts. Before its to late.

Baseball Prospectus gives us the prospects in each organization that took the biggest steps back or who had the most unrealized potential. Here are the Mets prospects they chose.

New York Mets

Infielder Anderson Hernandez was expected to compete
for the starting second base job or at least a utility role in the big leagues,
but he went 6-for-41 (.146) for the Mets in the season's first two weeks and
never got things going at Triple-A Norfolk, finishing at .249/.285/.295.

Honorable Mention: After leading the organization
with 36 home runs in 2005, first baseman Brett Harper lasted 19 homerless
games at Double-A Binghamton before tearing his labrum during a swing. After
giving 2005 fourth-round pick Hector Pellot a sizeable $350,000 bonus,
the second baseman hit .189/.292/.259 at Low Class A Hagerstwon.

I had to share this funny exchange between Willie Randolph and Anderson Hernandez from John Rowe's Bergan Record blog…

Manager Willie Randolph was walking through a nearly empty Mets
clubhouse 2½ hours before Wednesday's doubleheader against Atlanta when
he noticed rookie second baseman Anderson Hernandez, who was recalled
from Class AAA Norfolk on Thursday, sitting on a couch watching a movie
on the overhead screen.

“Nice hair, man,” said Randolph, without breaking stride.

To which Hernandez, sporting the curly Jose Reyes look, sheepishly replied, “thank you.”

With the deadline for postseason rosters arriving, teams across baseball lined up their ducks….

David Wells was traded from Boston to San Diego for a player to be
determined.

Boston
picked up RHP Kevin Jarvis from the Diamondbacks.

Phil
Nevin was traded to the Twins by the Cubs
for a player to be named later.

Marlon Anderson was traded from the Nationals to the Dodgers for RHP Jhonny Nunez

San Diego signed Rudy Seanez.

The Cubs took RHP
Wade Miller off the DL.

Fear not Dave Williams fans, he is not gone for long.

Williams is 2-0 for the Mets with a 3.79 ERA since coming over from the Reds. The Mets recalled Anderson Hernandez from Triple-A Norfolk as insurance at second base with Jose Valentin still feeling some lingering effects of a sore hamstring.

Heres a rundown of yesterdays minor league action courtesy of Toby's fantastic Minor League Report…

AAA

AA

A-

Hernandez just earned himself another couple of months starting at second base with that catch-  talk about extension- way to go kid.  After the catch i had 5 friends sign on instant messageer and sent a bunch of “holy shit's”- got to love the mets- ENTER SANDMAN