the first Grapefruit League game of 2009. Per Adam Rubin, here are your split squad rotations:Monday Team A: Jon Niese, Nelson Figueroa, Kyle Snyder, Connor Robertson, & Heriberto Ruelas. Team B: Dillon Gee, Brandon Knight, Bobby Parnell, Carlos Muniz, Eddie Kunz, & Jon Switzer.
Tuesday Team A: John Maine, Mike Antonini, Rocky Cherry, & Tom Martin. Team B: Oliver Perez, Freddy Garcia, Casey Fossum, J.J. Putz, Adam Bostick.
I don't think Mets fans can thank Alex Rodriguez, the Yankee organization, and the beat writers enough right now. The New York sports pages are loaded with negativity from Tampa because of all the PED fodder. There is really only and a blurb here and an article there about drills from Mets camp. I think it has taken a boat load of pressure off of these guys.
As a result, every last sliver of coverage I've followed has nothing but positive energy emanating from Port St. Lucie. The team is focused and appears to be 100% behind Jerry Manuel's message of team unity. Luis Castillo is one of many taking extra BP and getting strong encouragement from both players and coaches. Daniel Murphy is everything we hoped he would be (so far) and is on the fast track to having LF all to himself. JJ Putz is forcing coaches to consider ear plugs due to the pop his fastball makes when hitting the catchers glove. Jose Reyes is special, and will hit from any spot in the order he is asked to.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, from everything I've heard through the grapevine, the attitude in camp is far different from that of 2008. We as fans should throw any cynicism we may have as a result of the last two seasons out the window and get real excited about the good things that are going to happen with this team. It's going to be a great season, and I have no desire to knock on wood after saying so. Bring it on.
Photo by Matt Cerrone of Metsblog.com
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