FYI, you can see Mets spring training photos here.

Am heading out to Tradition Field now to get more photos and will be posting more pictures and captions later this afternoon … as well as notes regarding the game.

It just wasn’t fair … the clean, unadulterated Mets had no chance against the juiced-up Cardinals, who appeared to be sponsored by Deca-Durobolin.

OK, OK … it’s not right to suspect the Cardinals of using PEDs. Albert Pujols, after all, wasn’t named in the Mitchell Report as had been erroneously reported before the masterpiece was published. And I’m sure that Rick Ankiel, Troy Glaus, and Juan Gonzalez all did it “once” because of an injury and stopped immediately, realizing it was the worst mistake of their lives.

Anyway, enough about them. This is about the Mets.

So here’s what I saw with my own two eyes in Jupiter on Thursday afternoon; first, the pitchers:

John Maine

Looked good in the first inning, not so good in the second. He got two quick outs and appeared to have a third on a strikeout of Glaus, but the umpire was intimidated by Troy’s bulging biceps, terrible breath, and apparent ‘roid rage. Maine was a bit flustered by the call, as well as a subsequent one, and finally allowed Glaus to single up the middle. From then on, Maine was a mess, looking completely uncomfortable working from the stretch. He was working from the 1B side of the rubber, opening up a hair too early, falling over a bit too much toward first, and therefore leaving his pitches up and in (to RH). From the windup he didn’t seem to have these issues, and was throwing both a good fastball and a nasty changeup.

Scott Schoeneweis

The Show came on to throw one pitch to get Maine out of any more damage and end the second inning, then threw a scoreless third with mediocre fastballs and sloppy changeups. His velocity was somewhere in the mid-80s by my eyes. I thought for a moment I was watching Kenny Rogers.

Juan Padilla

Juan looked very loose, relaxed, and comfortable on the mound. His velocity was so-so, in the mid 80s, perhaps hitting around 87-88 here and there, with good sinking movement. His location was where it needs to be – down in the zone – and he kept his pitches over the plate.

Ruddy Lugo

The New York boy didn’t look so hot. His velocity was probably touching the mid 90s, but he was wild high and his arm was under the ball — looked like he was pushing it at times. He walked two and gave up a few Texas Leaguers and a few hard liners; not a good day. However, he did throw one nasty off-speed breaking pitch to strike out Glaus, who was faked out of his biceps.

Joe Smith

Not a good day for Joe. He was wild, off the plate, and when he was around the plate, his pitches were up and flat and were getting hit.

Steven Register

This kid was somewhat impressive. His stuff was decent, and he looked very sharp: on the plate and low in the zone. Velocity looked to be in the 92-93 range, and he was working in what looked like a slider. He was pitching like it was midseason to batters hitting like it was the first week of spring training; still, he’s clearly trying to make an impression and win a spot.

Nate Field

This AAAA pickup threw high, straight fastballs around 88-90. That’s called “BP” in the bigs.

There wasn’t much to say about the hitting, so I’ll just offer my random notes.

– Fernando Martinez started in centerfield and batted second. There’s no question he’s an athlete, and his body is starting to fill out. He’s much faster than I thought, and has a strong arm; he threw one ball from the warning track to the edge of the infield dirt on a line. The kid takes a big, hard cut at the ball that causes him to spin around on occasion — reminds me of Reggie Jackson in a way.

– Carlos Delgado looks trim, in good shape, and very happy. He was smiling and cracking jokes the entire game, and spent considerable time talking to the young pitchers and trying to keep them calm.

– Jose Reyes did some smiling, but more concentrating. He and David Wright were FOCUSED and playing like it was a regular season contest.

– After Brian Schneider left the game I thought Ramon Castro was catching, but it was Robinson Cancel. That man is THICK. Poor kid has no neck, but he certainly hustles.

– I wouldn’t waste a fantasy pick on Juan Gonzalez. He’s in fantastic shape, is clean shaven, but lost his bat speed. That big, long, loopy swing is OK when you’re 25 years old and juiced up on PEDs, but hard to get away with when you’re age 38 and deflated.

Unfortunately not much else to report. However, I’ll be at Port St. Lucie on Friday morning and hope to have good reports on Johan and possibly Duaner Sanchez.

By the way, game photos are here.

Word down here in Jupiter is that the Cardinals have released Scott Spiezio, based on his the outstanding warrant for his arrest in California.

“We had heard some things about this,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. “Ultimately nothing was ever confirmed to the level it was today. To have this warrant put out there, it completely changes the landscape of what we’re dealing with.”

The more interesting quote comes from manager Tony LaRussa, who when asked about the release stated:

“I think it’s a consistent message about what the team represents.”

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

OK, we won’t get on LaRussa for his DUI charge last spring. Nor will we point out the unfortunate death of Josh Hancock due to a drunk-driving acccident. Never mind Rick Ankiel and his HGH deliveries. The St. Louis Cardinals are not going to associate themselves with people who break the law!

Believe me, I’m not losing any sleep over Spiezio’s dismissal, and I won’t miss that stupid-looking large-mouth bass lure hanging from his bottom lip.

But you have to wonder — what if it was Chris Carpenter or Albert Pujols in this situation? Would the Cardinals take the same hard line? I do understand this is Spiezio’s “second strike” — he was put into a substance-abuse program during the season last year — but is he being released solely because of his legal issues or because of his baggage and the fact he’s a fringe player at this point in his career? Methinks if Spiezio was a 24-year-old lefty who threw 95 MPH, he’d still be in the organization — getting third, fourth, and fifth strikes if necessary.

Enough of that … will be posting on the Mets and the baseball playing from here on …

There is one big surprise here on the southeast coast of Florida …

It’s friggin’ cold!

OK, I realize most of you are much colder than me … I hear it’s in the teens with snow in some places. Sorry ’bout that. But it isn’t exactly balmy down here … 46 degrees and windy as I type this. Good thing my suitcase is packed with nothing but shorts, t-shirts, and open-toe sandals!

Anyway, the plan today is to head over to Jupiter and watch the Mets play the Cardinals at 1pm. From what I understand John Maine will be starting for the Mets.

I’m on my way down to Port St. Lucie this afternoon to get an eyewitness report on the status of the New York Mets.

While I’d love to say this is an “official” trip specifically for MetsToday, it’s really an early birthday gift from my wife. But, assuming Florida’s power grid turns back on and I can get an internet connection, I will be posting notes and photos from spring training as often as possible.

Yes, part of the itinerary includes seeing Johan in his “debut” as a Met on Friday afternoon.

If there is anyone or anything in particular you want me to check out, leave a comment and I’ll do my best. And if by chance you are in the area, drop me an email so we can meet for a hot dog at Tradition Field.

With the arrival of Johan Santana, who would have believed there’d be so much concern and discussion surrounding Orlando Hernandez at the beginning of spring training?

Only two weeks of workouts, and already pundits are clamoring for El Duque to move to the bullpen, citing his various physical woes.

For example, from Marty Noble in his most recent “mailbag“:

The Mets would be better off now and in the future if they move Hernandez into the bullpen and start Mike Pelfrey in the rotation. Hernandez would stand a better chance of lasting the entire season, and Pelfrey would get some positive big league time.

Really? Based on what? Pelfrey’s 5.57 ERA and 4 1/3 inning starts last year? Because his performances were so glowing and full of potential compared to El Duque’s 6-, 7-, and 8-inning efforts and his 1.17 WHIP?

I hate to single out Noble’s comments, because he’s far from the only pundit who has this stupefying notion that El Duque is somehow better off in the bullpen. In fact, the theory has spread like a virus this winter, and I suppose it’s based on Duque’s miraculous three innings of relief work for the White Sox during the 2004 ALCS and another single, hitless inning of relief in the World Series a few days later (he walked FOUR in that inning, by the way).

Take a look at Hernandez’s career, and you’ll notice that he’s pitched in 219 games — 211 as a starter. But those three innings against the Angels four years ago stick in people’s heads like a moth on flypaper.

I’m not going to argue the fact that Orlando Hernandez is fragile, and the fact that he might be surreptitiously carrying an AARP card doesn’t increase our confidence in his health. He’s going to break down — that’s for certain — and he’s going to spend at least one stint if not two on the DL this season. But we know that going in, and it’s OK because we have Pelfrey waiting in the wings to grab a dozen or so starts. It’s not unlike “the deal” we have with Moises Alou: no one expects more than 100 games from Alou — but no one is calling for the leftfield job to be handed to Endy Chavez, either. We know these guys are older than dirt, but also know that when they’re in the lineup, they’ll be better than at least 75% of the rest of the men who play their position. More importantly, we have Alou and Hernandez for the postseason. That’s really their singular purpose on the roster, to somehow keep their bodies patched together so they’re able to provide October heroics.

The notion of putting El Duque in the bullpen is not only baseless, it’s sheer stupidity. We all agree that Orlando has health issues — so why in the world would we think that putting him into a role of irregularity would somehow keep him healthier? People who opine that a relief role would be “best” for Hernandez based on health concerns clearly have no idea how the human body works in an athletic environment nor have any experience managing pitchers. Talk for a few minutes to a professional trainer or a physician and they will tell you that the ideal routine for an injury-prone athlete is exactly that: routine. Fragile (and recovering) players need to adhere to a strict, consistent program of physical activity — a starting pitcher’s routine, in fact, is ideal. You want to see El Duque land on the DL? Have him sit around the bullpen doing nothing for a week and a half, then put him into the fourth inning of a game for mopup duty. Better yet, tab him for a middle relief role, making him warm up and cool down three or four times during a game before getting in. Remember, he’s been a starter his entire life — to suddenly switch him to relief is not something that he can be expected to adjust to without a) difficulty and b) experimentation. For example, we don’t know if he can pitch on back to back days, because he’s never done it before. We don’t know if he can throw an inning or two, then come back two days later, on a consistent basis. Off the top of my head the only longtime veteran starters who made a successful transition to the bullpen were Dennis Eckersley and John Smoltz — but they were in their early 30s when they did so, not their early 50s. Change is difficult as one gets older.

Personally, I think bullpen management is challenging enough for Willie Randolph — he doesn’t need the added pressure of wondering whether he can use El Duque or not from day to day. Let’s remember that, when healthy, Hernandez put forth some of the best starts we saw all year — and with that in mind how should he be used out of the ‘pen? You certainly don’t want to waste his talent in a long relief, Aaron Sele role, where he may or may not pitch for weeks at a time. But does he have the physical ability to be useful in a middle relief or setup role? It might turn out that his body doesn’t recover quickly enough to pitch EFFECTIVELY more than once a week — and if that’s the case, wouldn’t you rather try to get 7-8 innings out of him rather than one or two? If he’s going to falter, I’d rather see it happen in the third or fourth inning of a game that can be salvaged, rather than the seventh or eighth frame of a 4-3 ballgame.

In a fantasy world, where all we rely on are PECOTA or Strat-O-Matic cards, having Orlando Hernandez in the bullpen seems like a great idea. In reality, where we must deal with the quirks and inconsistencies of the human body, it’s not so clear-cut. Maybe El Duque’s body will easily transition to the rigors of relief — but maybe it won’t. In a rotation where he’ll take the fifth turn — a turn that won’t be needed until late April — and isn’t expected to make more than 20 starts, is it worth the gamble?

As mentioned earlier, Ruben Gotay is “out of options”. If we are to trust the list on MLBTradeRumors, there are a number of players who could be available at the end of spring training, and might fit into the Mets’ plans.

Although the Mets’ roster — other than the 25th man — appears to be set before an exhibition game is played, anything can happen over the course of the spring. For example, an injury could open up a spot. A trade is not out of the question. Someone might be caught with PEDs. Or, it could be that no one player clearly grabs the 25th roster spot.

We’re assuming that one of Ruben Gotay, Olmedo Saenz, Angel Pagan, or Brady Clark win the spot. We can’t completely count out Ben Johnson, Jose Valentin, Michel Abreu, Fernando Tatis, and Anderson Hernandez, either. But, it’s possible none of those players overwhelms the Mets’ coaching staff. There’s also a slight possibility that the Mets figure out a way to bring one less pitcher north, since they won’t need a fifth starter for most of April, and therefore another roster spot opens up — albeit temporarily. With those ideas in mind, plus the fact that it’s fun to contemplate other teams’ players, let’s take a look at a list of players out of options who may become available and could be of interest the Mets.

Rangers – Jason Botts and Nelson Cruz
I’ve mentioned this pair several times this winter. They’re both righthanded hitting outfielders, who hit with power, and still young. One or both could be available in April.

Indians – Andy Marte
The Mets have no use for the young third baseman, but he was the top prospect in baseball a year ago. Maybe he could be transitioned to 1B or the outfield.

Athletics – Dan Johnson
I have some kind of weird man-crush on this guy, because he takes his walks and in the past looked like he’d be a great hitter. The Mets will need a first baseman in 2009.

Red Sox – David Aardsma
We’ve mentioned him before — he was a big-time NCAA closer who has been bouncing from one team to another since being drafted in the first round by the Giants in 2003. He’s only 26 and still has time to emerge as a setup man in the mold of Dan Wheeler.

Royals – Justin Huber
Wouldn’t it be interesting to see Huber return to the organization? The big Aussie still hasn’t earned an MLB spot, but he’s hit well in the minors. There’s no guarantee he makes the KC roster, where Ross Gload, Billy Butler, and Ryan Shealy are ahead of him at his primary position of first base. He’s a righthanded hitter, he plays first base, the outfield, and can catch in a pinch. Hmm … sounds like exactly the kind of utilityman the Mets need.

Dodgers – Delwyn Young
A switch-hitter who has proven he can hit in the minors, but hasn’t proven he can play anywhere defensively. He’d be a decent outfield option off the bench — but is he any better than Angel Pagan?

White Sox – Gavin Floyd
Once the jewel of the Phillies’ organization, Floyd has been a bust in Chicago and may not make their big club after a 5.27 ERA last season. If no one takes the long relief role, it might behoove the Mets to consider this 25-year-old as a reclamation project for Rick Peterson.

Rays – Edwin Jackson
As Floyd was to the Phillies, Jackson was to the Dodgers only a few years ago. Like Floyd, he’s been a bust since being part of a major trade. He went 5-15 last year, but is only 24 years old. The Rays might keep him around despite his struggles.

Braves – Chris Resop and Royce Ring
I always liked Royce Ring, though it’s doubtful Omar Minaya would bring back a “Duquette guy”. Resop has been mentioned here before — he’s a converted outfielder still learning to pitch who throws in the mid-90s.

Anyone else out there worth thinking about? Post your comments below.