So we finally got past the first day of cuts that mattered a little. Farewell, Bob Keppel, Anderson Hernandez, Craig Brazell, Danny Garcia, Aarom Baldiris, Joe Nelson and Andy Dominique. If they hurry they can catch the just-cut Tim Hamulack, John Pachot and Jesus Flores.

I suppose Brazell and Garcia are the only vague surprises in […]

Two new transactions — and

weirdly, both involve players that were involved in run-ins with boys

in orange and blue. Hence the title of this post….

1. Joey Hamilton: Signed to a minor-league deal,

because having Scott Stewart and Roberto Hernandez didn't let us quite

corner the market on washed-up pitchers. Hamilton's crime during

his San Diego days was offending Todd Hundley […]

Leave it to Cliff Floyd to come up with the year's first great line.

Seems Clifford lost a $16,000 earring (Never mind whether or not it can

dangle from your ear — do you have anything in your house that costs

$16,000? Me neither.) and a reporter suggested he might be in trouble

when he explains the loss to […]

Ah, the first cutdown day. Philip Humber, Yusmeiro Petit, Jose Rosado

and Grant Roberts were all sent to minor-league camp, while Todd Van

Poppel retired. Or at least the consensus is that he retired — he left

camp, at any rate. (If his hatchback's just broke down outside of

Okeechobee, he's going to be PO'ed at Omar Minaya.)

Turns […]

I've adopted Heath Bell as my first sentimental favorite of 2005. Part

of it's reading about him rollerblading with his daughter in the

driveway, which I thought was a sweet story. More than that, though, is

the fact that he's straight out of the Moneyball template.

One of my favorite parts of Moneyball

is the chapter on Chad Bradford, the […]

Maybe it's just the years of trouble and embarrassment — or my own paranoia — but I can feel the controversies and woes swarming us like horseflies on a fishing trip, trying to land and draw some blood. So far no bites, but the buzzing is making me edgy. 

Was 60 pitches too many on a cold day for Pedro and […]

A rainout?! On March 3? For the first telecast taking place outside work hours? That hurt. All rainouts before the last week of April are cruel, but when it's the second day of the exhibition season and New York resembles the surface of Pluto, that's twisting the knife something fierce. I sulked, bi-doop bi-doop bi-dooped my way through a […]

The first day of spring training went pretty much as I thought it would: After an inning I paid almost no attention (though being at work ensured I couldn't), the Mets lost and made like 47 errors and I was still giddy.

This morning the papers are surprisingly upbeat, oohing and aahing over Matsui's two […]

Victor Zambrano (19 strikes out of 30 pitches) is the papers' subject du jour, which of course means Scott Kazmir's riding shotgun. Zambrano said he doesn't concern himself with Kazmir, but our local scribes won't give him that choice. You just know some paper or other will run a graphic comparing every start of Zambrano's with every start of […]