Hot Seat, R.A. Dickey, Cliff Floyd, Ryota Igarashi... and Sean Green

Hot Seat:


Perpetually easygoing Mets manager Jerry Manuel may one day lose his job -- maybe even sooner than later -- but he will never lose his sense of humor. In an incongruously happy Mets camp, where some seem to border on delusional, Manuel engaged in a bit of gallows humor that fit his sticky situation. When one writer whimsically suggested that the first ever Mets' no-hitter could occur this July 13, and Manuel was asked what he would say about this, the manager responded, "I might be calling you from California.'' - link

R.A. Dickey:

Dave Racaniello, the Mets bullpen coach, was catching R.A. Dickey when it happened. The small white spheres floated gently through the air like a snowflake in the wind, eventually landing in Racaniello’s catcher’s mitt. According to reports, he just “laughed” and kept right on practicing. Racaniello remembers the last time he saw a snowflake in Spring Training. It was 10 years ago and he was catching Dennis Springer. Racaniello probably laughed on that occasion too, he just can’t recall how he caught a snowflake or – as it’s called in baseball circles – a knuckleball. - link

Cliff Floyd:

"Cliff Lee wasn't even thinking about his surgically repaired foot when he stepped on a mound for the first time this spring. Lee was more concerned with being able to land his fastballs for strikes during a 10-minute bullpen session on Tuesday. It was his first since joining the Mariners, and it came 19 days after surgery to remove a bony mass that had cropped up suddenly on his left "push-off" foot. "I didn't at all think about my foot, to be honest with you," Lee said after throwing about 45 pitches to bullpen catcher Jason Phillips. "I was more focused on locating pitches and trying to get my mechanics where they needed to be. The foot thing is basically behind me. I've felt good for a ... link

Ryota Igarashi:

We all know by now that you never know what you are going to get with a Japanese import, regardless of their success in Japan. We know this especially well as Met fans, as we seem to take more chances on guys like this than any team in the bigs. Therefore, I will not count on Igarashi at all for 2010, even though the Mets did when they signed him to a guaranteed 2 year, $3 million deal this off-season. Once again the Mets like to guarantee contracts to unproven players rather than giving that same money to someone who is proven. My head is in my hands right about now as I take a break from typing this. - link

Sean Green:

There was an interesting article posted about Green here, where there are illustrations on how his delivery has evolved in the past 2 years. There were thoughts that he might be following the development of Chad Bradford, who was a player the Mets should never have let go when they did after the 2006 season. Whether the changes Green has made in his delivery lead to more effectiveness or not remains to be seen. Throughout his career, Green has been an average reliever at best, so any improvement would be welcomed. - link