In an article for Yahoo!, Steve Henson relays a story how after the Dodgers and Padres finished their game in China, a group of Korean fans asked Chan Ho Park for his autograph but was unable to sign because he was blocked by a group of Chinese guards who felt they were protecting Park.

Interesting story, who would have thought Chan Ho’s name would appear on this site again?

Chan Ho Park threw three scoreless innings for the Dodgers, which is give or take about three more scoreless innings than he threw for the Mets. Park is a non roster invitee to the Dodgers, but so far has gone seven scoreless innings while allowing just two hits.

I’m just going to assume, for now, that Chan Ho Park has been replaced with his twin brother. Or a robot, sent from the future to kill John Connor and Matt Cerrone.

Before you get too freaked out, in the same game, Trax gave up three earned runs in four innings.  No word on how many hours those four innings took.

Shawn Estes, now with the Padres, gave up three hits and four runs, only one of which was earned, in his most recent attempt to not be retired. Estes participated just once over the last two seasons, a loss where he gave up three runs in six innings, back in 2006.

I think I’ve actually run out of jokes about Estes and throwing four feet behind someone. I think that means its time for him to retire, do something stupid, or just stop appearing in these.

Brief Met Chan Ho Park is expected to sign a minor league contract with the Dodgers, at least so claims the LA Daily News. He appeared in just one Met game, giving up seven runs in four innings before disappearing into the abyss.

Hopefully I’ll never have to write about Chan Ho Park again. Maybe they’ll give a contract to Lino Urdanetta too.

And as a side bonus, earlier in the article they note that former Torre assistant and current SNY studio analyst Lee Mazzilli will most likely not join Torre and Donnie Baseball out in Los Angelos.

Writing this up I discovered we have a Chan Ho Park tag but not a Lee Mazzilli tag. That just seems wrong.

Chan Ho Park has been released by the Mets, according to Roto World.

Park was 4-4 with a 5.57 ERA with AAA Zephyrs, and 0-1 with a 15.75 ERA with the Mets. He won his last minor league start, yesterday, against Salt Lake City.

I'm going to miss Chan Ho Park. The way he err…you know…and…yeah. I would assume that his release is a sign that newer acquisition Brian Lawrence has shown signs of better potential. And that any potential deal with Baltimore didn't pan out.  Lets face it, after his performance in his sole time up here, we weren't seeing Park again anyway. Especially considering how well Perez, El Duque and Sosa are doing. Pelf has been looking decent, Vargas is…well, better than Park, by a little. At times. Either way, Park never seemed comfortable on the mound, or with his role in the organization.

thanks to Gary for the link

Matt over at Metsblog is reporting that Baltimore is shopping for pitchers, and NO Zephyr Chan Ho Park is one of their options. While with AAA he's gone 3-1 with 7.29 ERA and given up 17 earned runs over 4 starts. In a brief stint with the Mets, he lost. Lost big time. His Mets ERA is 15.75, with 4IP, 2HRs, 2BB and 7 earned runs with 6 hits.

First, I can see Duquette making this deal. He seems to love guys that we don't want. I'm looking at you Benson and Rain Delay. Eventually Baltimore will have an entire roster of failed Met Pitchers. That, or Duquette will get fired. Its a tough call on what happens first. Secondly, if I'm Omar any sort of one for one trade involving Park would get my stamp of approval. Take Park, give us any player in your AAA system you don't want, lets call it a deal. I wouldn't package up any of our better prospects as part of the deal, but I'm sure we have a couple of guys who could be packaged off. I don't know Baltimore well enough to know what they need aside from pitching. But lets face it, if Baltimore will give us enough crab cakes to feed the Mets active roster dinner for one night, that'd be worth guaranteeing Chan Ho Park will never wear a Mets uniform again.  Not like he will anyway.

As predicted, Chan Ho Park, much like his pitches, are no longer at Shea.  The pitcher has been sent back to AAA New Orleans, Lino Urdanetta has been sent up to Shea in his place.

I'm assuming Urdanetta is merely holding a roster spot warm for someone else, he's pitched just 12 innings this season with an ERA slightly better than Park's was.  My money says we will see one more roster mvoe this week: Urdanetta being sent back down in exchange for Jorge Sosa.

Just some thoughts on the Mets starters, now that we've gone a whole month into the season.

As you know, coming into the season, the age of our first two starters was put to question.  Many in the media felt Glavine was close to done, past his prime. At his age he'd be good for five innings, then back to the clubhouse for Murder She Wrote and a tv dinner. He's now 3-1, but has a no decision that was a win blown by the bullpen. He's given up 11 earned runs, for a 2.80 ERA and has 18 strikeouts.   Glavine is some sense has been better on the road, where his ERA is lower at 1.93 (its 4.5 at Shea), though he's issued 10 of his 13 walks on the road, as well as hit 3 batter. Overall, Glavine's been solid. He's had a few shakey starts, but tends to correct himself as the game goes to recover. Just as important as all this, Glavine serves as the mentor for the young starters.  Someone such as Maine, Pelf, and Perez don't always know what needs to be done to improve, and Glavine is there to help them along.

John Maine: Well he's your NL Pitcher of the Month. He's 4-0, has a low ERA (1.35) and really doesn't give up runs.  If theres any cause for concern, its that he is is a pitcher for whom the ball is often in play. Maine has strived quite well with the Mets defense behind him, and could end up suffering if Gotay and Easley prove to be much less talented at second base than Stache.  I haven't seen much of Gotay, but Easley has not yet shown any Stache worthy performances.  He has so far had slightly more fly outs than ground outs (41 to 30), though hasn't given up the long ball that much so far. One could say he's a bit overdue to give one up in the winds over Shea.  He has yet to throw a wild pitch or hit a batter, and gave up just 18 hits. If he can keep his focus, he should be able to continue to perform well.

Remeber like, a minute ago when I made fun of everyone who said the Mets pitchers were old and would fall apart?  Well, El Duque is old and fell apart.  He will miss at least one more start, but its probably safer to assume that it will be awhile. At his age his healing time will probably take longer. So lets just assume he's out of the picture.

Oliver Perez, the Mets man of mystery. At 3-2 we've seen both Ollies.  We saw him go seven innings and give up 1 run on five hits.  And we've seen him go less than 3 innings, walking seven.  The good news is that the evil Perez is showing improvement.  Today was the first start in which he issued a walk since his meltdown on April 11th.  He has gotten his strikeouts up, and has proven the ability to go long, throwing 120 pitches in a loss in his start at RFK.  The improved Perez so far has been decent, but chances are inside still lurks the bad Perez.  I'd expcet to see more meltdowns, but for a number 4 pitcher there's no complaints.  If he can win more than he can lose, and keep the score to something in which our offense can reach, then thats about what we can ask for. We might want to be a bit concerned that chances are Ollie is now our #3 pitcher. But given last year that was Trax, is it that worrisome? Trax too would have his poor days where everyone in a jersey that didn't say Mets seemed to be able to get a hit or a run.  But he ate innings while doing so. Aside from his one horrendous start, Ollie seems able to do that. If he can go 7 innings in a loss and keep the score down enough where we have a fighting chance, then he's better than most of our other options.

Mike Pelfrey: Pelf brings to mind Monty Python.  After his first few starts, the fans had him slung over their back with Omar bringing his cart.  But yesterday he called out and let us know, he's not dead yet.  Lets not sugarcoat it: his first three starts were bad. 12 earned runs bad. Just six strikeouts bad. He didn't seem to have control. He was overthrowing. And in none of those first three did he make it to the end of the 6th, his shortest start lasting just 3 innings.  The good side, he seems to be improving.  He had a shaky 1st inning yesterday, but then figured things out and was fine and went 6 and third, his longest start for the Mets this year. His bad first inning killed him though, giving him another loss (he's 0-3 with one no decision).  But he passed the 100 pitch mark for the first time, and he's young. He seems to be slowly adjusting to the big leagues, but slowly adjusting is better than not adjusting at all (I'm looking at you Chan Ho park).  Due to the injury bug's visit to Shea, chances are Pelf will get more time. Even if Duque is back after the minimum time on DL, they'll keep Pelf around till they're sure he can pitch.  Hopefully he'll see his first Met win soon though. Just remember, he doesn't need to be Tom Seaver or Pedro, he needs to be a decent fifth starter.  His role is to be able to give us a chance when he pitchers, as opposed to the ace who should be guaranteeing it. Previous people in his spot have been Jose Lima, and Victor Zambrano.

Chan Ho Park. I am not writing about Chan Ho Park, because I don't forsee him being a Met come the teams trip to Arizona at weeks end. I would assume, like everyone else out there that Jorge Sosa will be the next one to get the call. I know I have preached patience for Pelf in the past, but I don't have the same faith in Chan Ho. He was weak in AAA. He was weak in spring training. He was bad Monday at Shea. So insert your own joke involving his last name and where his pitches are hit.

Aside from the injuries to Lastings and Johnson, some might be wondering what else is going on down in the farm system.  So lets take a quick look.

Ricky Leedee, who was kind of briefly a Met last season, had a grand slam earlier in the week as part of a 4 for 5 day that helped the Zephyrs beat the Isotopes (Marlins AAA) 17 to 8.  Leedee followed this up by striking out five times Thursday and twice on Friday.  He's now batting .314, the slam was his sole homerun so far. Just remember, one bad diving catch by Alou, and he'll be in blue and orange.

Victor Diaz had four RBI's, which would be much cooler if he was still with the Met organization.  Now a Redhawk, he helped the Rangers AAA team defeat the Zephyrs 5-1. Mike DiFelice had the sole Zephyr RBI in the game, which took place yesterday.  It was his 8th RBI of the season,  he's now batting .360

Carlos Gomez went 0 for 4, this ended a 21 game streak in which he reached safely.  He's stolen 10 bases so far, getting caught 3 times.  The speedy Gomez has an OBP of .366, including 9 walks.

Robinson Cancel has been moved from the B-Mets to the Zephyrs to replace Lastings on the roster.  I…don't know anything about him.  Anyone?

Ruben Gotay has hit in seven straight, including a 4 for 7 day in Tuesdays romp. He's currently looking like the most likely option should we need second basemen (ie, Stache or Easley gets hurt).  Anderson Hernendez is..well, playing like Anderson Hernendez.

Up on the mound Chan Ho Park continues to survive thanks to the Zephyrs offense.  After Tuesdays win, he's 3-1 with a 7.29 ERA after 21 IP.  He's given up six homeruns and 17 runs total. I think the chances of us seeing Park promoted get smaller and smaller as the season goes on. We'll see Dave Williams first.  Jorge Sosa is the current cream of the crop.  3-0 with a 1.38 ERA.  He's given up just 4 earned runs, while striking out 24. 
should Pelf continue to struggle, I'm guessing Sosa will get the first shot at the 5 spot.

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.

Just a quick one here, the Zephyrs (AAA - Pacific League) took both games of a double header yesterday against the Nashville Sounds.  Jorge Sosa threw six scoreless innings in the first game, and Chan Ho Park added another six scoreless innings in the second, including six strikeouts while allowing just two hits.  Carlos Gomez had the sole RBI of game 2, scoring Anderson Hernendez, who had gotten on base with a double.  The Zephyrs are now 3-1.

Though we have no indication so far of needing them anytime soon, its still nice to see our AAA starters throwing well.  If Burgos or one of the other pen guys starts to struggle though, you have to wonder if a call will be made down to New Orleans to start using Park in the pen to get him ready for a trip North. Granted its early, and we haven't even seen Pellf play yet, but it seemed towards the end of spring training that Park's role might be more relief than starting.  Would it be better to interrupt his schedule, or if needed would it be better if we went with someone within the current N.O. pen?

John Delcos over at Lohud reports that Chan Ho Park has accepted his option to AAA New Orleans.  As a veteran, he had to approve of the move. According to Delcos, Park accepted it due to the amount of time he's already put into being with the Mets, and the likelihood of being needed by them later in the season.

Well that makes sense.  He probably assumes we're a contender and since we used somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 starters last season there's probably a good chance we'll use more than five this season.  I don't think I could even name everyone that started a game for us last year.  Its comforting though, since Burgos is for the most part unproven as is Smith. Plus the relative inexperience of Pelfrey, and fragile nature of El Duque.

Chan Ho Park was pulled after 3
innings today, and the SNY and WFAN broadcast teams were both reporting
that Park is no longer in consideration for the 5th starter spot, but
for one in relief.

From John Delcos, this statement from Park:

There is no word yet on if Park will request a release, though he is
scheduled to pitch again Monday.  He pitched 3 innings, gave up no
runs, though the wind provided some assistance in his performance. 

Both teams did lose however today.  The B team put up a good fight however, Lastings Milledge went 2 for 3 with an RBI double and two stolen bases, both of which came in the first.  Anderson Hernendez also went 2 for 3, both singles, with a stolen base bringing his ST average up to .186.  On the mound, John Maine had his worst outing of the spring giving up 4 earned runs and 12 hits while striking out 4 and walking 1 in 5 2/3 innings pitched. The team lost 5-6.

From the A team in St Lucie, Smith, Burgos, Wagner and The Show contributed 1 scoreless inning each as the Mets fell 2-1 to Baltimore.  Feliciano gets the lost, and Sosa contributed one unearned run.  The Mets sole run came off a David Wright single, who then scored off an single by Feliciano, that was misplayed in the outfield.  The offense for the most part didn't produce for the Mets, with just three other singles.  Shawn Green went hitless and is now batting .140 for the spring.

Chan Ho Park is the betting man's favorite to secure the fifth starter job this spring, and he will have his another chance to secure that position today as he takes on the
Nationals.

Mike Pelfrey has pitched 5 innings this spring, giving up 2 runs which were both unearned, and gave up just 4 hits. If Pelfrey were to continue to perform at the level he has so far, is it out of the realm of possibility that he could find himself slottted into the rotation at fifth or higher?

Oliver Perez has been up and down, with 9 hits and 6 runs scored over 6 innings. Would the Mets be better off with a back end of Maine, Pelfrey and Park? Its still too early to tell, but Pelfrey is clearly making a case for himself so far.

Fred Wilpon's buddy and baseball royalty, Sandy Koufax, came to Mets camp today, and according to John Delcos on his Lower Hudson Mets Blog, was giving tips to Chan Ho Park.

Steve Popper has comments by Willie Randolph about Sandy's visit on his Newsday Mets Blog.