Deadman Walking

The Mets win again, but Heath Bell gives up two runs. That could have been his ticket to Norfolk since this regime seems to favor old retreads like Roberto Hernandez. Out with the new and in with the old. That is the long standing mantra of the New York Mets.

The Mets are tied with the Blue Jays for the best winning % out of every Major League team this spring. The only other NL East team over .500 is the Atlanta Braves at 13-12. I love Spring Training, but I'm done with it. The lack of televised games and games on the radio is driving me nuts. You have to hear from your friend who has a cousin Vito who lives in Miami and is in the witness protection program who has a bookie in Tampa who has a illegitimate son in St. Lucie that is the Spring Training ball boy that relays what happens.

The Season starts on Sunday and I'm officially on board with the idea that Mets can take this division after this spring. Their offense looks like it is really going to click and they will be tearing up the base paths. You know Martinez will be great, Glavine should be solid (even if he regresses a bit), and Benson will have a breakout year. The last two are somewhat of mystery as to what they'll bring, but it's fair to say they will win some games out of the #4 and #5 spots in the rotation. The mysterious bullpen will be mysteriously effective.

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Best headline of the day goes too (drum roll....)

Martínez and Zambrano Are Sharp and Efficient

Zambrano and efficient in the same sentence?

The day's bigger surprise, however, was the performance of Victor Zambrano, who did not walk a batter over seven simulated innings on the same field.

He did not walk anyone, but gave up five runs and twelve hits.

The Mets hope Zambrano's effort will carry over to Sunday, when he is scheduled to pitch their final exhibition game, in Washington, and to his first regular-season start, on April 8 in Atlanta.

I'll actually be in DC rooting Victor on. Hopefully he puts it all together. We all know spring means nothing and as long as he is working and learning and making his innings count towards making him better in the future, I'm ok with him getting shelled. However, we are not actually sure if he is actually working on anything or doing really bad.

My favorite coverage of Victor's game was from the NYPost:

On the plus side, Zambrano did not walk a hitter and struck out four. On the minus side, he allowed 12 hits in five-plus innings and hit Fernando Lunar twice in the same at-bat (game rules were such that the player was not automatically awarded the base).

"I'm ready for the season," Zambrano said.

Ready? Fernando Lunar must have soiled his undies after he had to stay in there after getting plunked twice.

Barry Zito was kind enough to show SI.com some inside photographs from Spring Training. However, some things were just not meant to be seen. Thanks Barry...

From Newsday:

David Wright was the lone starter to make last night's trip to Viera, and still batted sixth.

You think the papers are going to have fun with Wright batting at the bottom of the order?

In all seriousness, if no other starters are in there, why not move him up to #2 or #3 to get as many hacks as possible?