The All Star voting is now open.  Now, I could use this space to tell you to head on over to mlb.com and vote as many Mets in as possible.  Partly, because they deserve it.  Reyes has a crazy amount of RBI's for a lead off hitter, tons of runs, stolen bases, and will probably end up leading the league in triples as well.  Wright has been playing great, Beltran should go again, the Stache rocks the defense, and Tom Glavine might have his 300 by then. But you're all Met fans, and you all know this.  And lets face it, even if they didn't neccasarily deserve it, as fans most of you would probably go vote for them anyway.

And this, is what brings me to the point of this article.  Its April. Mid April.  And most teams have played somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 games. Some starters haven't appeared for the third time yet. And with the weather the way its been, a lot of players around the league haven't quite hit their stride.  The All Star game is supposed to be the best of the league (and one representative of the Royals).  Whether you define that as the quickest, the best batters, the most powerful hitters, the dominating pitchers, or the best gloves after just a few weeks of play its too early to say who that would be.  To open voting this early is to just come out and admit what everyone has always known deep down anyway: the All Star game is a popularity contest.

Now I understand the game is realistically meaningless, but perhaps a step towards changing that would be to change how players are selected.  The starters should be selected by the league or manager or whatever, and then the fans of each club can select their representative.

It has been pointed out by some (well, most everyone) that Jose Valentin isn't quite carrying his weight at the moment at the plate. And this, is something even I couldn't argue. He's started nine of ten games, during which he's recorded five hits, four of them singles and the last a double, and five walks.  He's batted in three runners, and logged four runs. Throw in his 8 strike outs, and we have Valentin batting a subpar .167.  And here in New York, when you have an aged veteran putting up those numbers, and a rich farm system and a good though somewhat underused bench, well thats the sort of thing that starts the speculation towards if we really need him.

I however, think we do. When the Mets get into their groove, we have plenty of bats. Beltran and Reyes provide the speed to turn anything hit hard into an extra base hit. Wright and Green have proved able to get their way on base. Delgado has power.  Lo Duca, the willingness to sacrifice himself to move runners. Valentin, is here for defense. In his nine games, and 79 innings so far, Stache has committed 0 errors. During which he's contributed 27 put outs, 35 assists and participated in 11 of the Mets 17 double plays, and has a range factor of 7.06. He's got the experience to know where to play, allowing him to adjust to the pitcher and batters, giving us those diving stops that even if they don't produce outs, turns doubles to singles. 

Those contributions in the field, outweigh his struggling at the plate. Perhaps Newhan, who's never been a fulltime second baseman, could perform better at the plate, if given the chance.  But could he adapt like Stache did to being fulltime there, and contribute defensively? Probably not.  Perhaps Easley could fill the role in a platoon with Stache, though we have not seen enough of him yet to know if it would be an improvement.  He also hasn't put considerable time in at second since he was with the Tigers in 02.  Until such time Stache becomes a liability on the field, I think we should leave him where he is, as the every day second baseman.

David Lennon over at Newsday is reporting that Pedro Martinez could be throwing from the mound sooner than planned, and might be joining the team while he rehabs by the end of the month. Martinez hasn't thrown from the mound since his last start in September, and is still not expected back in the rotation till August.

Its always good to hear that Pedro is healing quicker than expected, though after the Dauner situation I'd rather they not go too overboard as far as rushing Pedro. Our rotation, so far, is keeping things under control, keeping the good starts outnumbering the bad by a proper ratio.  So as long as the Ollie Perez meltdown are the rarity and not the norm, its better to make sure Pedro gets healthy the right way. Don't forget we have some arms down in AAA too, plus whatever trades are bouncing around in Omar's mind. Its best to think of Pedro as there for moral support, and any games we get out of him as just a bonus.

Its that time of the year, the Blogger's Choice Awards. Now, far be it for me, as a blogger, to tell you who to vote for.  But there are a few Mets blogs up there in the Sportsblogger category, including the Foot, Metsblog, and Shea Faithfull.  In a perfect world, there would be a three way tie, and somewhere in the far below of last place, would be a Yankees blog. But we don't live in such a place, but as Mets fans, we can at least try to make sure a Mets blog wins.

At the moment, Metsblog is in second, behind Bronx Bloggers (boo).

Go here to vote.

For those who haven't heard, Mike Pellfrey has been moved to the Mets 25 man roster, and is expecting to pitch tonight(assuming there's not a monsoon in Queens right now). El Duque will be bumped a spot in the rotation to get an extra days rest. To make room, Lastings Milledge has gone to AAA New Orleans.

Well, that was pretty much expected. Not a shocker. I know everyone wants to see Lastings start, but Green has been doing quite well so far, his BA has been more active than a lot of the rest of the lineup, and his defense isn't as horrible as predicted. He's actually made a few good plays out in right, though granted he's made one or two bad ones as well. Its probably better for Lastings to go down to AAA and play more often, then to keep him on a bench where he isn't even getting an at bat a night.

Todays NY Post carries an interview by Sandra Guzman with bench player /utility outfielder Endy Chavez. Check it out to hear about Endy's family, musical tastes, his thoughts on baseball, fame back home, and a little smack talk.

The best advice Endy has ever gotten?

Head on over to the Post, and check it out.

Some good stuff on an important Met who's probably overlooked by nonMet fans.  Hopefully Endy will remain overlooked by the rest of the MLB, because it would be tough times if we lost him from our bench.

Fox Sports reports that ex-Met Mike Cameron is working with the Padres on a contract extension. According to Fox, Cameron is seeking a 3 year deal, while the Padres are hoping for a shorter contract due to Cameron's age.

Cameron played CF for the Mets, and was moved to right after the signing of Carlos Beltran.  His career ended with the Mets with an off season deal for Xavier Nady, and finished his playing time hurt after an on field collision with Beltran.

I liked Cameron as a Met,and its a shame he left the team in the offseason after leaving due to injury.  Its hard to say what the Padres will do.  It looks like there will be some CF talent out there next year, but I guess it comes down to if they prefer to risk spending more money, over risking Cameron staying healthy. He would be in his late 30s by the time a three year deal expired.  That being said, with the likes of Julio Franco and Tom Glavine on our team, who's to say late 30s is too old to play ball.

Bob Raissman over at the Daily News takes a look at Lee Mazzilla as he begins his career as the in-studio analysts over at SNY. According to Raissman, Maz looks to his hometown roots to help him at the job.  From the article:

Mazzilli, a Brooklyn native, was drafted by the Mets in 1973, and was extremely popular primarily due to his NYC roots. Maz was oddly enough traded for fellow SNY employee Ron Darling,  though he resigned by the Mets during the 86 WS run.  He played 9 of his 14 seasons with the Mets.

I'm sure it'll take some time, but hopefully Maz will get into a good groove in his SNY gig. The Mets have always seemed to have that one hometown NY guy (John Franco, Paulie Lo Duca) and that was Mazzilli in the late 70s. His popularity wasn't always justified by his performance, but the fans still loved him, not just for his local roots, but because he was always out there putting in the extra effort. 

Former Met and current Oakland A's designated hitter Mike Piazza knocked his first homerun of the season.  The blast came in the 9th with two outs giving Oakland the edge they needed for a 4-3 win over the Angels.  This is Piazza's first season in Oakland, and as a DH.  He currently holds the record for most homeruns from a catcher.

Its good to see Mikey doing well.  Him and Paul Lo Duca are two very different players, both with their pluses and minuses. Hopefully when he enters the Hall it'll be as a Met, but till then its good to see he's still got some swing left in him.

Tom Gatto at the Sporting News names his top five players who are poised to be unexpected successes this year, including at #2 Mets' own Joe Smith.

In the internet age, with more Mets blogs alone then one can count, we tend to know who all our prospects are.  That being said, entering spring training I'm sure no one expected Joe Smith to be ready and make the opening day roster. So if he does live up to the hype this quick, it will definitely be a bit of an unexpected surprise. Not that any of us will complain.

Matt Cerone over at Metsblog is reporting that Donnie Baseball is currently holding a lead over the one and only Keith Hernandez in Rowlings Gold Glove voting.  You can help us fix this error on the part of baseball fans, by going here to vote.

Well, there's nothing I love more than to argue why Keith should be honored. Whether it be retiring his number (which needs to be done), put him in the Hall of Fame (I'm looking at you Veteran's Committee), or rename our AAA farm team the New Orleans Keith Hernandez's. But today, its about the glove. We can sit here and talk forever, but we all know that Keith was the best defensive first baseman in the history of baseball, and that all Met firstbasemen will be compared to him, and pale in his shadow.  So head on over to Rawling, because even Donnie Baseball himself thinks Keith deserves this.

For those who haven't heard yet, the final ten songs for Wrights batting music have been selected.  If you head on over to mlb.com you can vote, and the top four will be used in rotation. All ten have been David Wright approved, so there's no worry about any NHL style shennanigans going on if Wright doesn't like the way the vote is going.

The ten songs:
Born to Run - Springsteen
Fame - David Bowie
I'm Not a Player - Big Run
Me and You - Cassie
NY State of Mind - Nas
Paradise City - GNR
Right Now - Van Halen
That Was a Crazy Game of Poker - OAR
The Second Coming  - Juetz Santana
Theme from the A-Team

And just a heads up to our older readers: Nas' NY State of Mind has nothing to do with Billy Joel.

Personally, I like the cheese factor, and am going 80s hair music all the way.

There's no baseball today, at least no mets baseball. A perfect time to share some random thoughts following yesterdays season opener.

Loved Keith's blue and orange color combo last night. Its good to see him putting aside any problems he had with the Cards organization aside, but its even better to see him showing his Mets colors. It was a little dissapointing to hear his daughters are Cards fans.  Don't worry Keith, I still think we should retire your jersey. And at least they're not Yankee fans.

Some might say its jumping the gun, but personally it seems like Shawn Green isn't going to be as bad as everyone thought.  He went two for four, and although he isn't hitting for power (yet), he's connecting and hitting safely.

And while I'm sure we can talk on end about the potency of the Mets lineup, more important: the defense.  All those double plays, the Beltran outfield assist, Stache making the stops, thats what I like to see in Mets baseball, because those are the plays that will be more important as we hit the 4 and 5 spots of our rotation. And while these guys tend to make it look easy, we shouldn't forget that it really isn't. Only guys like Beltran and Endy can make some of those throws to catch a guy.

As cool as it was to see Glavine get a hit, I'm sure I'm not the only one who was relieved to see him removed before he was required to do more running.  Met pitchers on the basebaths just give me Brian Bannister flashbacks.

As part of their preview of the upcoming season, Sporting News did quick Q&A's with a player from every team, including Mets' own John Maine. When asked what he'd take from five teammates:

Don't worry…the season starts pretty soon. In the meantime, there's a few interested Q&A's to kill some time.

In their AL East preview, Kevin Millar says the days of the hotfoot are over, though we of course disagree.