Want to be the first one on your block to purchase single-game Mets tickets?

Beginning at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 10:00 a.m. and through Thursday, March 1 at 11:59 p.m., MetsToday readers can go to Mets.com/blogs and purchase tickets for 2012 games. When prompted for a presale code, type in these letters: HODGES.

A limited number of tickets for Opening Day (April 5 vs. Braves) and the Subway Series (June 22, 23 & 24) games will be available in this Presale. Each ticket purchaser is limited to a maximum of eight tickets per game, subject to availability.

Again, this offer begins at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday and continues through Thursday night.

Has David Wright finally grown a backbone, and discovered a voice? Is he now ready to speak his mind, rather than provide diplomatic canned quotes? Are we going to find out who David Wright really is this year?

From the Daily News:

COO Jeff Wilpon on Monday presented each member of the team with an orange T-shirt depicting the “U” symbol from the 1960’s TV cartoon “Underdog.” While most Mets, including manager Terry Collins, appeared to enjoy the stunt, Wright wasn’t thrilled.

“I don’t really like using the whole underdog thing. I don’t really like playing that card,” Wright said. “I think it’s just a way to remind everybody in here that the outside expectations aren’t the expectations that we have for ourselves.

“But we in here kind of have to rally around that and get it going,” Wright continued. “I guess, at the end of the day, that is kind of an underdog theme, but we shouldn’t view ourselves as that. We’ll let everybody else view ourselves as that, because I think we kind of know what we’re capable of doing.”

Mr. Wright makes valid points. He also has blatantly poo-pooed an ill-conceived motivational tactic by his boss. The idea of the “Underdog” T-shirt in and of itself may not have been ill-conceived, but the fact it came from Jeff Wilpon destroyed any hope of it having an impact on the players. Stuff like that has to come from the players themselves — not from an outsider. And yes, the COO of a baseball team is an outsider. Sorry, Jeff, but that’s the way baseball teams work — you’re not “one of the guys”, you’re the boss, and therefore whatever you provide them as “encouragement” is seen as something forced, something they have to do.

I wonder, Will Wright make more comments like this going forward? In other words, is he coming out of his “good boy” shell to say what he really feels, rather than try to fulfill the image of The Face of the Franchise? Could this change in behavior be in any way related to the rumors that Wright will be traded by July 31st, and/or the Mets’ inaction in regard to initiating a contract extension for Wright?

Stay tuned, this could turn into an (under)dogfight.

The inaugural inductee.

It’s a little-known fact that the Mets have a special wing of their team hall of fame.  It’s reserved for players who meet the following criteria:

A player who puts up awesome numbers every year until the exact moment he puts on a Mets uniform.

It’s called the Roberto Alomar Wing of the Mets Hall of Fame.  It’s not for every bad trade or free-agent signing.  It’s not for a player the Mets acquired who was obviously past his prime.  It’s only for the most dramatic examples of a player whose career takes a nose dive as soon as he dons a Mets jersey.

The committee in charge of the Roberto Alomar Wing of the Mets Hall of Fame will keep a close eye on Jason Bay this year.  He’s virtually a lock as it is, but if he happens to pull off a miracle season, the committee might change its mind.  It will be one of the more intriguing storylines of 2012.

With that said, here are the current members of the Roberto Alomar Wing of the Mets Hall of Fame.

Roberto Alomar – The inaugural member.  Alomar was well on his way to a hall of fame career (he would eventually be inducted into Cooperstown in 2011) when he came to the Mets in 2002.  He had hit over .300 9 out of his 14 seasons in the majors up until that point.  The only time he finished the season with a batting average under .280 was in his rookie season, when he batted .266.  In 2001, he hit .336 with 20 HRs, 100 RBIs, and a career-high .956 OPS.

Then he became a Met.

From Anthony DiComo on Mets.com, I’ve ripped off several quotes regarding Jason Bay, what has happened with him the last two years, and what he’s planning to do this spring: