Joey's Soapbox: Hope Springs Eternal As Winter Ends

Hi, everyone!  I'm Joey Beartran.  Did you miss me?  If you can believe it, I haven't written anything for this site in over two months.  But like the groundhog, I just popped my head out of my hoodie and declared that winter's over and spring has arrived.  And how do I know that?  Because Mets baseball is back and on the air!

When we last saw the Mets, R.A. Dickey was picking up his 20th victory in the Mets' last home game and Scott Hairston was hitting his career-high 20th HR in the regular season finale.  At that point, I should have had 20/20 vision and clearly seen that neither of them would play in a Mets uniform again.  And I would have been right, as Dickey was traded to Toronto for the man with a large P on his back and Hairston signed a free agent contract to lose repeatedly in Chicago.

Since Dickey and Hairston played their last games in New York (as well as Jason Bay, Andres Torres, Ronny Cedeño and a bunch of relief pitchers), I've done many baseball-related activities to keep active with the sport I love.

Are you ready for some Mets baseball?  I sure am!

In November, I went out to Seattle with my sister Iggy.  We took an awful tour of Safeco Field and attended a Seattle Seahawks game.  It wasn't the tour of Safeco that was awful; it was the tour guide.  I actually think Safeco is a beautiful stadium and can't wait to see Jason Bay suck there as much as he did at Citi Field.  At least he'll have company in Seattle, as his teammate from 2010 (Oliver Perez) is already a rusty staple in the Mariners bullpen.

In December, I wrote a letter to Sandy Claus asking for a number of presents underneath my blue and orange tree.  I asked for an upgrade to the bullpen (supposedly accomplished), a set outfield by Opening Day (Sandy Claus must have ignored that one), the re-signing of Scott Hairston (denied), Johan Santana making more than 21 starts (perhaps that's why he's missing time now rather than in the regular season), a dependable fifth starter in the rotation (thank you for Shaun Marcum) and patience with the team's minor league talent (I'll be patient as I await Sandy's decision on that).

In January, I was invited to attend a Q & A session with the Mets front office at Citi Field.  At this event, I met a man who bore a striking resemblance to Sandy Claus, but it couldn't have been him.  If it had been, I'm sure he would have mentioned receiving my letter when I asked him to pose for a photo with me.

Where are my presents, Sandy Claus?  I've been looking everywhere for them!

The calendar has now flipped to February.  Pitchers, catchers, infielders and a plethora of wannabe outfielders have descended upon the newly-renamed Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie for six weeks of spring training.  After nearly two weeks of hitting and fielding drills, as well as sharpening up those "fundies", the Mets will finally play an actual game against another major league team, taking on the division rival Washington Nationals today at noon on SNY.

This winter has been a harsh one for Mets fans and people in the Northeast in general.  We've seen a massive snowstorm.  We've seen the defection of our best pitcher and our slugging outfielder to other teams via a trade and free agency.  We've seen Jason Bay and Bobby Bonilla become our highest paid outfielders despite Bay taking his hustle and ineptitude to the Pacific Northwest and Bonilla not giving up his day job of being a Bronx tour guide.  We've seen it all this winter, but none of it matters anymore.  And why is that?

Because today we're seeing the Mets take the field.

It's time for this ice to melt away.  The Mets are back and they're here to stay!

It doesn't matter how much you think the Mets aren't going to compete this year.  It's irrelevant if you think the only race the Mets will be involved in is the race to finish ahead of the Marlins in the NL East.  Today, everyone is on the same page.  Today, no one player is better than any other player.  Today, the Mets play ball again.  And our hope springs eternal as another long, hard winter comes to an end.

Are you ready for some Mets baseball?  I've been ready since last October.  Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks (and an order of chicken nachos).  I'm so glad the Mets are back!

Bears Gone Wild: Port St. Lucie Edition

Studious Metsimus decided to send one of its bloggers to Port St. Lucie to cover the Mets and their activities. Since Joey is cuter and stands a much better chance of getting away with things that might cause other bloggers to have their Blogger Union membership revoked, he was sent to Tradition Field. We now turn things over to Joey (seen in the picture to the left with Slider) with his PSL report.

Thanks, esteemed colleague! This is Joey Beartran reporting for Studious Metsimus. I had a great time covering the Mets in Port St. Lucie during Open Workouts. From sampling great breakfast dishes to delicious lunches to sumptuous dinners (and an occasional Mets player here and there), I did my best to bring you the most complete coverage of what the fan experience is like at Open Workouts. So sit back, turn on your favorite sports radio station to listen to the latest Mets pitcher getting rocked while throwing strikes and enjoy what I like to call "Bears Gone Wild: Port St. Lucie Edition".

I woke up at the crack of dawn and to my surprise, I found myself greeted with breakfast in bed. I love the smell of Corn Pops in the morning!


Then it was off to Tradition Field to see batting practice. However, there was not much action going on in the batting cages. Is it possible that Daylight Savings ended and I was the only one who didn't get the memo?


One Mets player did show up and was kind enough to pose for a picture with me. Here I am with minor league prospect Eddie Kunz. I asked him if he felt he had a chance to make the team out of Spring Training and all he did was smile and hide his pitching hand behind my back. Apparently, he was nervous to meet me because he was covered in sweat. That's okay. When you meet the only bear blogger for the Mets, I can understand if you have a sudden case of the jitters.


Later on, I met a member of the 1986 World Champion Mets. He was the starting pitcher in Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS and Game 6 of the World Series. It was an honor to meet fellow lefty Bobby Ojeda.

I talked to Bobby about how he managed to make the transition from the pitcher's mound to the SNY studio in the hopes that someday I can make a similar move from blogger to SNY on-air personality. He just smiled as I overheard him say "am I on Candid Camera?" to our Studious Metsimus photographer.


After a long day of interviewing, photo ops and wondering whose hand was where, it was time to sample the fine cuisine in Port St. Lucie. There was no shortage of fine Floridian food to partake of. Take a look for yourself...



After a wild night of hot wings and brownie sundaes, it was time to hibernate for the evening. Fortunately, Studious Metsimus had enough funds available in the budget (a.k.a. the piggy bank that serves as our petty cash tin) to allow me to stay for another night. Our photographer had to stay in the car, but I promised to share my breakfast the following day as compensation for the room.


As the sun rose and the roosters cock-a-doodle-doo-dooed, (I should know. I accidentally stepped in some of it.) it was time to get back to the field. This time, I arrived a little bit late and the players were already doing some running. Just watching them perform their drills made me tired so I decided to take a load off and rest on the warning track. Had it been batting practice at Citi Field, I would have been in a perfect position to catch a David Wright just-short-of-the-wall double.


After players were done running around (no truth to the rumor that Angel Pagan was messing up the rhythm of the drill by running too aggressively), it was time to meet some more players. I went after a few more lefties and ended up with the motherlode. (sorry, I didn't get to meet my hero, Keith Hernandez. He's the ultimate lefty and the reason why I became a Mets fan. How can any bear not love him after he was caught by the SNY cameras feeding corn chips to a teddy bear in the TV booth during the 17-inning marathon in Houston during the 2007 season? Ah, but I digress...)

First I met the man known as Perpetual Pedro. He's the Mets' all-time single season leader in appearances by a pitcher. He was also the first Mets player, past or present, to actually talk to me when he told me that I looked a little like him. Personally, I didn't see any resemblance other than the two of us wearing a "Mets" on our chests and the fact that we're both lefties. Here I am with Pedro Feliciano.


Finally, I met up with my Aunt Coop and together we were able to attract the attention of the man with the most home runs in Mets history (no, not Tim Bogar). The "Coop" de grâce of the entire trip was getting this picture with the Straw Man himself, Darryl Strawberry!

If I looked like I wanted to be somewhere else, it's because we were about to miss Happy Hour! Fortunately, we were done with our meet and greet session with Mets players, so we headed out to Duffy's for an hour of liquid happiness.

I had to stow away in the bag because I left my "special ID" at home. Fortunately, I was able to partake in Duffy's 2 for 1 offer, although I can't say I remember much after that. I don't even remember being photographed in the picture you see below to the right.



I was told we didn't do anything else after Happy Hour, so we packed up our belongings and headed back to New York. I was hoping to fly over Citi Field to get some overhead shots of the new additions for 2010, such as McFadden's, the reconstructed bullpens and the Mets Museum and Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, the pilot was a Yankee fan so I couldn't convince him to change his flight pattern so that we could land at LaGuardia Airport instead of Newark Liberty.

It's okay. When he wasn't looking, I unbuckled my seatbelt and left him a surprise in the lavatory (and I'm not talking about the iPhone in my lap, if you know what I mean).


Thank you for reading about my experiences as a bear blogger gone wild in Port St. Lucie. With your continued support of Studious Metsimus, we hope to continue to bring you more exclusive content such as this year's Late Winter Training escapades. Maybe next year, our budget will increase. You can never have enough meal money.

For Studious Metsimus, this has been Joey Beartran reporting. Hope to see you all at Citi Field this season!

Special thanks go out to Sharon Chapman and Taryn Cooper for their wonderful photographs and their credit cards. Oh wait, they don't know about the room service I ordered, do they?

We're Off To Flee The Blizzard (To Port St. Lucie We Will Go!)

The weather outside may be frightful, but come tomorrow, it'll be sooooo delightful. While everyone in the northeast is digging their way out of the snow, I will be a special guest of The Coop in Port St. Lucie. That's right, SMFs. I'm on my way to Spring Training!

We'll be checking out the Mets players to see if they're learning their fundamentals. We'll be checking out the Mets trainers to make sure they're not the same ones as last year. We'll be checking out Duffy's for their fine adult beverage selection. (Remind me to bring my "special" ID.)

Maybe we'll take some exclusive photos with players. Perhaps I'll get a Studious Metsimus interview with Sgt. Bay of The Yukon over a plate of cheese fries with gravy. If he chooses to have poutine instead, that's his choice.

One thing we'll definitely have is FUN, FUN, FUN! When we return Sunday night, I will write my happy recap with all the details of our Port St. Lucie trip. I'm sure my colleague will write a blog or two while I'm gone, assuming he doesn't spend his entire weekend shoveling snow.

Actually, I could use that shovel to dig myself out of the Florida sand. What's that? There's no sand in Port St. Lucie? No worries. I'm hangin' with Miss Cooper! (And the Mets!) It doesn't get any better than this! See you when I get back (if I get back...)

Pitchers And Catchers And Bears, Oh My!

Welcome to the latest Joey blog for Studious Metsimus. This blog will pertain to those three words everyone can't wait to hear. No, those words aren't "FREE CHICKEN NACHOS", although those wouldn't be bad right now. The words bring warmth on a cold winter's day. They evoke childhood memories of playing catch with your dad.


Those three beautiful words that all baseball fans love to hear are...


PITCHERS AND CATCHERS!!!

That's right, SMFs! Today the Mets' pitchers and catchers reported to Port St. Lucie to begin their six-week stay in the hopes of getting their groove back. After a dismal 2009 season in which the Mets decided to hibernate months before October, there is hope that the team can bounce back to respectability and perhaps even more than that.

Other than Carlos Beltran, the team has canceled their membership to the Injury of The Week Club. 2010 should be the year the Mets show us if the poor record of 2009 was based on the players losing so many games due to injuries or if it was because the team just isn't as good as they were from 2006-2008, when they averaged 91 victories per season.

The Mets added Sgt. Bay of The Yukon to patrol the vast expanses of the Northwest Territories at Citi Field. But other than that, all they seemed to do was add a boatload of backstops. They did not change any members of Johan Santana and The Four Rainouts. They did not upgrade at first base. They did not get rid of Stupid Is (Fred Wilpon, the Brooklyn Dodger fan formerly known as Mutt) and Stupid Does (Jeff Wilpon, the Daddy's boy formerly known as Jeff), not that they would have fired themselves.

With the Phillies, Marlins, Braves and Nationals all filling in numerous holes on their respective teams, can the Mets seriously expect to be contenders by adding Jason Bay, no starting pitchers and every catcher except Crash Davis and Jake Taylor?



No one knows for sure how the Mets will do in 2010. That's the beauty of spring training. Everyone comes in with equal expectations and everyone comes in tied for first, except the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are already a dozen games out of first place in the NL Central.

If the catchers can settle The Four Rainouts down and get them to pitch effectively, the team might be able to contend for more than just the first two months of the season.

However, there are still too many question marks on this team to consider. Will Jose Reyes be the speed demon he used to be? Will David K. Wright regain his power stroke? Will the Mets stop ending games by dropping infield pop-ups and hitting into unassisted triple plays? Those questions will be answered as the season progresses.

For now, I'm packing up my ball and glove and heading out to Port St. Lucie. That's right, SMFs. Joey's going to spring training! I'll be there with Coop from My Summer Family next weekend, hoping to get exclusive photos of Mets players while they're still uninjured.

When I return, I hope to post another blog about my adventures in the PSL. Maybe I'll interview a player or two. Maybe I'll get Coop to buy me an adult beverage.

Those are too many maybes, but there is one thing I'm DEFINITELY sure about. I LOVE PITCHERS AND CATCHERS! Be sure to come back to Studious Metsimus next week to read my recap on the Port St. Lucie trip...assuming I decide to come back from sunny Florida, of course!

Nah, who am I kidding? After all, I have to be the first in line at Citi Field on Opening Day when the chicken nacho stand opens for business!