Tommy Lasorda didn’t look this good after drinking SlimFast (the first, second, nor third time). Weight Watchers wishes Ron Darling would have done as well.

Before

After

WOW.

Last year at this time, Duaner Sanchez weighed in at a sloppy 230 pounds. Now he’s down to 205.

“Now I’m in the best shape of my life,” Duaner Sanchez said. “I haven’t looked like this since I was 19.”

His weight and lackadaisical attitude drew the ire of Willie Randolph, who reprimanded him on more than one occasion — and sent him home.

“I had to get more serious than before and be more responsible,” Sanchez said Tuesday after a workout at the Minor League complex. He has arrived before many of his fellow pitchers. “I wasn’t giving it my best last year. Willie was right to be mad.”

(from Marty Noble, Mets.com)

What motivated him to lose all the weight?

“That picture on MetsToday.com made me sick to my stomach — and I had a big stomach at the time so you can imagine how sick I was. Just because my nickname is Dirty and my stuff is filthy doesn’t mean I have to look like a big fat pig. If not for seeing my sickening, bloated self on MetsToday.com I would have never had the motivation to lose the fat. I owe it all to MetsToday.com.”

OK, that last quote wasn’t REALLY from Duaner …

Hallelujah! Spring training has begun!

The Mets open spring training today in Port St. Lucie, FL, with pitchers throwing to catchers and catchers throwing back to pitchers. Then some “PFP” (Pitchers’ Fielding Practice, a.k.a., cover first), then a bunch of running, then a 2 o’clock tee time.

And isn’t it amazing … each pitcher will go through the drill of covering first about 10,000 times between now and the end of March, yet in the first week of real games in April, we’ll see some genius hurler forget to cover the bag on a slow grounder to Carlos Delgado.

In addition to the moundsmen and backstops, a few positional players will be getting a head start and working out at the Port St. Lucie facilities. David Wright was already in camp, as was Brian Schneider. Schneider of course needs to be in camp as of today — or else there will be a lot of passed balls, as Casey Stengel might quip. Not sure yet who else will join Wright as an early bird, but we’ll likely see several players drop in day by day.

FYI, I’ll be covering Mets spring training live in Port St. Lucie as of February 27, so if there’s anything or anyone you want me to check out specifically, let me know via the email form.