A Boston Spin, Escobar, Koufax & OP, Opening Day IF... and Mets Obstacles

A Boston Spin:


The Red Sox spent the offseason improving their defense and aiming to prevent runs. Maybe the Mets should have as well. While the box score only reads 3 errors, the whole day was an adventure for the Mets infield that, combined with a strong day for the Sox at the plate, left 8 runs on the board. The Sox reunited with Jason Bay for the first time today. The outfielder received a smattering of boos from the Sox contingency in the crowd, and went 0-2 on the day. In this blogger's opinion, there's no call for booing a guy who did nothing but rake for us. I was as against signing him as anyone this offseason, but there's no call for boos. The Sox also reunited with Chris Carter, who went over to the Mets in the Billy Wagner trade last year. Tazawa made him look bad swinging at breaking balls. - link

Escobar:

I realize Escobar was signed to a minor league deal, and in all fairness to the Mets developmentally delayed upper management, Escobar seemed like a low risk deal. The warning signs should have been when Kelvim himself saw his role as a reliever, not a starter. The Mets could have used another starter instead of a cornucopia of less accomplished pitchers. Right now the only problem is if Escobar is preventing a younger player from being on the 40 man roster - link

Koufax & OP:

When Koufax was interviewed by reporters, he made reference to his early career, where he was as inconsistent as Perez. Then, at the age of 25, things changed, and he turned into one of the game’s greats.So, I looked up both Koufax and Perez’ numbers to see how similar they are. Koufax pitched to a record of 36-40 in his first six seasons with the Dodgers. In his first two seasons, he only started 28 games. Perez went 45-53 in his first six seasons, only pitching in 40 games in his first two seasons. While the numbers aren’t identical, they are similar enough to see how Koufax could see himself in Perez.- link
Opening Day IF:
- Alex Cora at short, Luis Castillo at second - now there's a thought to stabilze your baseball hearts ... AND you knwo God ain't doen with us yet. I tell you, someone around here better 'fess up about who signed a pact with the Devil, because this is getting ridiculous. You can't close your eyes, you're afraid you'll mi...ss the real train wreck! - link

Mets Obstacles:

Reyes, Beltran, and 1B Carlos Delgado missed most of the 2009 season due to an injury, which contributed to the New York Mets’ abysmal fourth place finish in the NL East division. The Mets are known for having obstacles in their way of success, and this season will not be any different. They will have to get healthy quickly or rely on a farm system that has not been tested, in order to have a chance at beating the Phillies - link