"SMOKE AND CHEW "YUM YUM" TOBACCO."

Ted Berg has a great blog post about Roger Conner, the player whose career home run record Babe Ruth broke to take over first place.

The whole read is a good one (as are most of Ted's pieces) but the part that stood out for me was the advertising at the bottom of the baseball card itself that reads: SMOKE AND CHEW "YUM YUM" TOBACCO.

It really was a different time when Roger Conner made his major league debut 132 years ago tomorrow.

Reese Havens returns for the Binghamton Mets!

Guess who homered on the first pitch he saw and went 3 for 4 overall?

I asked Mets.com beat writer Anthony DiComo about Havens' status, which he answered in his mailbag column a few weeks ago. I hope Havens' (and the new Mets management) has finally figured him out because he is too great a talent to be wasted as a minor league retiree.

Dan Capwell of Mets Today makes a great point that makes me feel optimistic about Havens:

"Comparisons to Fernando Martinez abound, but Havens’ injury history reminds me more of the Jay Payton saga. Like Havens, Payton was taken as a compensation pick for losing a lefty free agent pitcher (Payton: Sid Fernandez, Havens: Tom Glavine). Drafted in 1994 and highly-touted, Payton had four surgeries, three on his elbows and one on his left shoulder. After spending the better part of his first several professional baseball years on the DL rehabbing, he finally made his debut late in 1998 season, only commit to a major base running gaffe in a key loss to Atlanta. The good news is that he later rebounded to help the Mets to a World Series berth as the starting CF in 2000. Hopefully Reese’s story has a similar outcome."

Considering Havens plays 2B and not CF, and hits much better than Payton ever did, I'm getting more and more hopeful about Reese.

Mets dress western for flight to Houston; hockey theme planned for Toronto

You have to like this idea for building team chemistry.

I'm curious to see pictures of the hockey theme for the upcoming interleague series in Toronto.

Checking In On The Mets 2011 Draft Class | Mets Merized Online

Mets Merized Online checks in on the Mets top six picks in the 2011 MLB draft. Aside from Brandon Nimmo still playing in Extended Spring Training awaiting the start of the Brooklyn Cyclones season, the pitchers have looked very good.

Add in Domingo Tapia's performance at Lo-A Savannah on Friday (5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K) and the Mets could one day find themselves with more pitching prospects than they know what to do with.

It would be a nice problem to have. Hopefully this time they'll keep the one that would go on to pitch a perfect game and instead include the inconsistent one in a trade for a superstar.

Are the Mets good or lucky? (Or both?)

Ted Berg has an interesting way of looking at things. I think this line sums it all up nicely:

"What once seemed very unlikely now seems just unlikely."

In the Wall Street Journal, Brian Costa writes that the Mets may actually be this good.

Both are great reads to help you come up with your own opinion.

Q&A: Matt Harvey, Mets Ace in the Making | FanGraphs

The title of the article says it all. A great read into the mindset of Matt Harvey and what a competitor and his manager have to say about him. Also, a great general post on how a pitcher pitches and thinks about his arsenal of pitches. It almost sounds like he's a craftsman talking about a tool belt.

New York Mets' David Wright is looking to fix what was wrong | Tom Verducci - SI.com

Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci has a great profile of New York Mets third baseman David Wright. He also mentions this important point:

"If you watched Tiger Woods hack and shank his way around Augusta National last weekend, his mind cluttered with swing thoughts, you understand what can happen when an emphasis on mechanics passes a tipping point and becomes destructive. Wright might not have been baseball's Woods, but in 2008 noted baseball writer and stats guru Bill James told 60 Minutes that if he could pick one player to start his dream team, it would be Wright, who was then embarking on his age-25 season. "He does everything I like. And he's very young," James said."

Let's hope Verducci is right about Wright beginning the third act of his career.

Today's Mets win, Mets team captains, and Double-A 2B Reese Havens (a hodgepodge of stuff)

The Mets start the season 2-0 powered by an opposite field home run from David Wright and two homers from Lucas Duda. However, the moment that stood out in my mind is the scene of Wright calming down Ike Davis after a strikeout during the game. A little over five weeks ago, I wrote the Mets should officially name David Wright and Johan Santana as team captains, since that's the role they serve the team anyway. More recently, a question was posed to Anthony DiComo, Mets beat reporter for Mets.com asking a related question:

"In Mets history, have they had many captains? I can think of John Franco, maybe Gary Carter or Keith Hernandez?
-- Ralph G., Rahway, N.J.

You named them all. The Mets did not name a captain until Hernandez in 1987, who shared the captainship with Carter from 1988-89. Franco was captain from 2001-04. The Mets have not had one since, though David Wright has served as sort of a de facto captain for most of his tenure in New York."

So, in a way, putting that 'C' on the jersey (which I'll admit, is more common in football and hockey than baseball) would only be stating the obvious. However, it would also be sending a message to the team and the fans where the team's priorities are.

By the way, if you go to the same Mets.com link, you'll see this question at the very end:

"Where is Reese Havens? We haven't heard any reports of his injury. Is the team keeping it quiet because of his history or is he really making no progress?
-- Amod V., Montclair, N.J.

Havens made little progress after experiencing a bout of lower back stiffness early in camp, and he began the Minor League season on Double-A Binghamton's seven-day disabled list.

I have yet to meet a talent evaluator inside or outside the organization who does not believe Havens can thrive offensively at the Major League level. But at some point, the injuries began consuming him. Now 25 years old, Havens is hardly young for a prospect. He is running out of time to prove he can stay healthy over a full season, and the more time he misses this summer, the more difficult his path will be."

Yes, Mr. DiComo answered my question! And I'm glad to see the part about how successful Havens could be if he could put it all together. A first round pick taken four spots after Ike Davis, let's just hope he finally does.

Zack Wheeler is the #6 prospect in MLB? Not yet, but he will be.

It's still the first week of the Major League Baseball season but Bullpen Banter takes a humorous look at who will be the top ten prospects in the MLB heading into 2013. Checking in at #6 on the list is none other than Mets RHP Zack Wheeler:

"6 - Zack Wheeler - Right Handed Starter, Mets

After the Mets unshackled Wheeler in 2011 his confidence skyrocketed and his control problems dissipated. The Georgian has early trouble in Binghamton's cool air, but slays the Eastern League after May 15. His strikeout rate, which has never dropped below 10 SO/9 in his young career, reaches a Strasburgian 12.5 SO/9. Still, scouts are concerned that his overpowering arsenal is masking command issues. He spends the full year at Binghamton and is caught at a Phi Lambda Phi slip-and-slide mixer. His actions cause the New York Media to question the 22-year-old's makeup, dedication and to wonder aoud [sic] why he can't be more like Tim Tebow."

All joking and superfluous Tim Tebow references aside, the fact that they consider Wheeler to someday be a top ten prospect in all of the Major League Baseball says something about the kid's potential. In case you're wondering, here are the prospects ranked #6 overall by Bullpen Banter and its individual writers, going back to 2010:

2010 - LHP Brian Matusz, Baltimore Orioles
2011 - RHP Jeremy Hellickson, Tampa Bay Rays
2011 (JD Sussman) - 1B Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals
2011 (Jeff Reese) - OF Wil Myers, Kansas City Royals
2011 (Al Skorupa) - LHP Aroldis Chapman, Cincinnati Reds
2011 (Steve Fiorindo) - RHP Jeremy Hellickson, Tampa Bay Rays
2012 - 3B Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals
2012 (JD Sussman) - C/DH Jesus Montero, Seattle Mariners
2012 (Jeff Reese) - RHP Shelby Miller, St. Louis Cardinals
2012 (Al Skorupa) - RHP Taijuan Walker, Seattle Mariners

Walker and Rendon are still minor leaguers and check in at #1 and #5, respectively, on the projected 2013 list. Hellickson won American League Rookie of the Year in 2011, while Hosmer came in 3rd in the AL RoY voting. Walker and Montero are expected to produce this season so the jury is still out on them.

Of the nine players listed above, Chapman has been an enigma as no one seems to be able to harness his raw talent, Matusz is entering Mike Pelfrey territory in terms of disappointingly maddening consistency, and Myers' stock has dropped since 2011.

So Wheeler checking in at #6 seems to have a better than 50% chance of becoming a successful major leaguer (and perhaps a 40% chance of becoming a bust).

5 Truths for Mets Fans in 2012 (and my take on each of them)

A fan op-ed submitted on Mets Merized Online summed up a number of important points about the 2012 New York Mets. I don't have any experience to comment on #5 (5. Shake Shack is Ridiculously Overrated) because I have often looked at the Shake Shack line and preferred to watch baseball during that time instead (you know, like you're supposed to do at a baseball game). However, #'s 1 through 4 are pretty accurate, which are listed here with my thoughts on each:

1. The 2012 Mets Don’t Suck - They are not the worst team in the National League and have the unfortunate position of being in the NL East with teams that have not weakened. I think the Toronto Blue Jays can relate to the Mets' predicament.

2. The Mets Pitching Staff (Including Mike Pelfrey) Doesn’t Suck - The pitching staff's key issue is health (for Johan Santana and Jonathan Niese) and effectiveness (for R.A. Dickey and Dillon Gee). If Johan stays healthy (big IF) and if Niese endures a full season, they will be reliably solid. Pelfrey is just Pelfrey, so consistent that he underwhelms everyone. Dickey needs to stay with the hard knuckler and hope Josh Thole manages it catch it 95% of the time. Gee needs to show he has the smarts to make adjustments since he doesn't have the stuff to blow anyone away. And if he fails, hopefully Jeurys Familia and/or Matt Harvey aren't too far behind in Buffalo.

3. The Offense Will Score a Lot of Runs - Same as the pitching, health is a big key here. Also, people forget that Ruben Tejada is just 22 years old. As Patrick Flood pointed out recently:

"Ruben Tejada, SS – Since 1961, middle infielders to have career .330 or better on-base percentages as 21-year-olds:

Delino DeShields, Joe Morgan, Alex Rodriguez, Jerry Browne, Lou Whitaker, Starlin Castro, Willie Randolph, Edgar Renteria, Rod Carew, Ruben Tejada, Roberto Alomar, Elvis Andrus, Sonny Jackson, Mike Caruso, Alan Trammell, Garry Templeton, Jim Fregosi.

The minimum is 500 plate appearances; that’s not bad company for Tejada. Don’t bet against players who can handle the majors as a 21-year-old."

That's pretty good company for young Ruben and of the group, he is often compared to Elvis Andrus, who is a cornerstone for the two-time defending American League Champs.

4. Fred Wilpon is Not the Worst Owner in Sports - Clearly the "lesser of all evils" argument. I may not have liked Fred Wilpon's meddling at times but it seems Sandy Alderson is more likely to push back and any of the previous General Managers, which is a good sign. That's exactly what the Yankees got when they promoted Brian Cashman to GM in the George Steinbrenner years.

All-in-all, a great post. I would add one more point (or perhaps replace #5, since the writer seems to be in the minority on the whole Shake Shack issue): The $50 million salary purge was a good thing, not a bad one. There was a lot of dead weight on last year's payroll between Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo, not to mention the expiring contracts of Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez, which were replaced by cheaper options while losing some but not a lot of production.

Losing Jose Reyes hurt, not because the Mets didn't match that ridiculous offer but because that ridiculous offer came from a divisional rival. If he had gone to the Angels or Tigers (who may have been better off on the field and financially if they had signed Reyes instead of Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder), I doubt anyone would have been upset. Fans are worried about him hitting triples against the Mets at CitiField, which is something fans will get over, much like Met fans did when Mike Piazza crushed two home runs against the Mets as a San Diego Padre in 2006. He got his ovation and curtain call and rode off into the sunset, only to reappear in a Mets jersey at the official closing of Shea Stadium.

Robinson Cano & Ike Davis in Fantasy Baseball Song Parody: "Should I Pujols or Cano?"

This is really funny! I like the cameos by both Ike Davis and Robinson Cano in this video:

This is how tall tales begin. I'm happy to contribute to this one.

I have a feeling before the season is out, Met fans will be writing stories about Lucas Duda in the same vein as those Chuck Norris "accomplishments". Mets 360 gets things started:

"Duda was born in Fontana, California on February 3, 1986. He attended Arlington High School in Riverside, California. His high school coaches knew they had something special in the 6’4 gawky youth with hope in his eyes and hunger in his heart. He grew into the hulking man he did eating nothing but rhubarb and a special blend of protein shakes mixed with the tears of a unicorn."

"Duda began the 2010 season with the Double-A Binghamton Mets and was promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on June 14. While in Buffalo, Duda homered in five consecutive games, tying a Bisons record and earning a supporting actor nomination for being the inspiration for George Clooney’s entire acting career. In 70 games for Buffalo, Duda hit 17 home runs, 2 triples, 23 doubles, and had 53 runs batted in, while compiling a .314 batting average and winning several underground fighting tournaments run by the Yakuza crime family. At the end of the season, the Bisons named him their Most Valuable Player and presented him with a gold plated AK-47."

Did I mention that the Mets couldn't afford to build the new wall at CitiField so Lucas Duda personally clubbed enough balls off the wall to scare it into moving in 14 to 17 feet? The wall trembled from so much fear of being pelted by Duda's shots that it turned Mets blue on its own.