I tuned into the Mets spring training win over the Astros on Saturday at different points. The few times I tuned in, Keith Hernandez was talking about Mayor Bloomberg's large soda ban, cats, and how he jinxed the last out of the game when, soon after he said "this could do it" on a simple 3-1 play, Bobby Parnell dropped it and gave up a run before the game could end. From this I gathered that on March 9th, everybody besides the players and coaches are pretty much ready to start the season, and nobody is going to get too excited over Lucas Duda's three hits, which included a 4-3 ground out that turned into a hit against the dopey shift, and a fisted double down the left field line. Against the Astros, no less.

But I have to admit, and this might be akin to admitting that I own a Justin Bieber CD (or, uh ... so I would imagine because I don't have one, and you gotta believe me, right?) I'm diggin' this World Baseball Classic. Sure, I initially thought that this whole cockamamie tourney was nothing more than Bud Selig trying to cement a legacy for himself. And I kinda still feel that. But ya know what, I'm into it. And not just because David Wright hit a grand slam to single handedly turn the United States' tournament around ... though it helped. But with the Olympics not recognizing baseball anymore as a sport (because we really need to have golf), in terms of international competition this is all we have. And it's much easier going down now that it isn't all about marketing. It's merely a tournament and not strapped into the back seat of the hype machine. And while it isn't perfect ... while the entities that pay tons of money to Stephen Strasburg and Justin Verlander smartly don't want to see their elbows explode throwing a pitch in March to Chinese Taipei, what we have is a lot of fun. Who doesn't want to ... just once ... sit in one of those crowds in Asia that's up and singing the whole game and not because a scoreboard tells them to or because people are throwing t-shirts at them? Sure, maybe 82 games of thundersticks would want to make me want to jump off a tall building, but when I see these crowds in other countries a part of me asks myself what I'm doing wrong?

(Editor's note: I was recently told that a game in Japan is like sitting with 50,000 of me. And I didn't quite know how to take that.)

Also, how about that fight between Mexico and Canada? Aside from the fact that Mexico didn't understand that bunting with a six run lead in the eighth is acceptable because run differential matters in pool play, how funny was it to see Karim Garcia with this "hey I'm bad" look on his face at the end of the game, as if he was going to pretend that Justin Morneau was a pizza delivery boy. Jackass. And what of Oliver Perez? The last time there was a World Baseball Classic, he was free basing McRibs with Teddy Higuera. Yet on Saturday he was trying to go all Billy Blanks on the Canadian team? Sure, now he has some fight in him on the field. The only time he fought as a Met was when there was a demotion to Buffalo involved. He tried to pound a Canadian like he used to try to pound the strike zone, with the same level of success at that.

Then there was Sunday's win or go home battle between the U.S. and Canada. First off, you know that Canadians were looking for any reason to remind us that the first organized baseball game was played in Canada. Second, they already beat us in hockey. Twice. If they were to do that in their game, then knock us out in what has widely been thought of as "our" game, then no longer would Canada be a loft apartment over a really great party. They would have been the party. And we would have been smacking the end of the broomstick on the basement ceiling. Think about it ... a Canadian victory would have set off a chain of events that would have caused football to be an Olympic sport. And no one wants that.

Luckily, Sidney Crosby wasn't at the bat rack for Canada. (He was busy setting up Pascal Dupuis, James Neal, and Pierre Larouche while making the Islanders cry.) And despite Joe Torre ridiculously asking Adam Jones to bunt in the second inning, the United States outlasted Canada thanks to a go ahead hit by Jones and a soul crushing three run insurance double by Eric Hosmer, and they will be moving on to Miami to face Puerto Rico. USA coach Willie Randolph threatened to sabotage the whole thing by mentioning before the game that he was looking forward to eating at Joe's Crab Shack, which is the 2013 version of "it'll make the champagne taste sweeter." That, along with telling the Mets to pack for Detroit in 2006 threatened to put Randolph only 84 horrible predictions behind Patrick Ewing on the all-time list. But like he did over and over again for Randolph while he managed the Mets, David Wright saved him with an excellent round one. Adam Jones and Eric Hosmer were huge against Canada, but since Wright is already ruler of the world (just as he was in 2009), Jones and Hosmer will have to battle over who gets to rule Australia. But after their performance, they deserve a little beachfront property.

Hey, good news kids! We're getting closer to the return of the closer ... Frank Francisco!!!

Aah, what's with your collective groans. This is good news! And no, I'm not about to launch into some diatribe about why Bobby Parnell is the devil incarnate. This is good because Francisco will be healthy, and you can't trade players when they aren't healthy. Now, I know what you're thinking: "Who in their right minds would want Frank Francisco?"

Well, somebody who is in their very right mind actually would want Frank Francisco ... and I have the proof:

Brennan Boesch to the Mets for Frank Francisco and cash ($1m). MAKE IT HAPPEN DD.

— David Tokarz (@tokarzontigers) March 6, 2013

Yes indeed. There is a Tigers fan/blogger who thinks it is a good idea to acquire Frangag Frantsisk. Now while you're letting loose with uncontrollable laughter (and I know you are because I did the same thing), this wouldn't be a bad idea for the Tigers. Look, I've long said that Francisco is a reliever posing as a closer. And thankfully, the Tigers wouldn't need him to close. They've got Bruce Rondon getting ready to close, and if he can't get it done, the Tigers have a host of guys (Joaquin Benoit, Al Albuquerque) who can step in ahead of Frantsisk. And since they would only be relying on him for depth, it won't be the end of the world for them when he inevitably gets injured punching a water cooler or eating a cheeseburger or something.

As for Boesch? He had a .799 OPS in 2011, and the Mets would be buying low after a down season in 2012 (.659 OPS). But why not buy low/sell high on another outfielder? At best, he could platoon in right field with Marlon Byrd and send Mike Baxter to the bench where he's most effective. At worst, he fills in for Lucas Duda when he gets sent to Buffalo this season to work on his swing, or Kirk Nieuwenhuis he goes to the disabled list after trying to step on a leprechaun to improve his luck (and then finding out that the leprechaun is actually Justin Turner.) With the outfield in place now, what could it hurt?

The one thing about Boesch is that his UZR is at -22 for his career, so that would be something to hold your breath about. And while I was holding my breath I thought "well, even Duda's UZR can't be that bad". Oh contrare ... it's -35. Yeah kids, -22 is a significant improvement over something. Let that rattle around your brain.

To only lose Francisco for Boesch? As horrendous as he was last season and as injury prone as he is now? This bullpen can be just as dysfunctional without Frantsisk as they were with him. And they'd be out from under some of his money. Besides, they can always replace him with Frankie Rodriguez.

"To come back and redeem myself would be great, because I’ve got to be realistic and honest. You would have to be real blind to not see that I fell when I was there. That’s not even a question. To be able to get one more shot and get it done would be great."

Oh I'm just kidding. Sandy Alderson in his right mind would never sign any pitcher that walked Mariano Rivera with the bases loaded.

The solution to having a bullpen short one Frank and one Frankie is to not go to them. And if Matt Harvey keeps pitching like he did on Thursday against the Marlins (4 and 1/3 innings, 0 hits), then they might not have to worry about that for 20% of the season. Of course, you'd be wise to question the validity of any good outing against a lineup containing both Juan Pierre and Chone Figgins, but still.

(And thus it hits me like a ton of bricks ... at 3:38 AM on the morning of March 8th, 2013, that the Marlins have Juan Pierre and Chone Figgins on their team. And I'm complaining about the Mets' outfield? No wonder the lines are so long for Marlins season tickets.)

The Braves defeated the Mets 4-2 in Port St. Lucie today, so the next 2013 eulogy will appear on a mainstream website any second now.

The most hilarious moment came in the fifth inning when a pop fly went towards Lucas Duda and he did his impression of Ike Davis after those benders that the Mets think he goes on all the time. (Lucas had better hit 40 bombs if that's what we have to look forward to all season.) Duda's bacon was saved when his throw and Ruben Tejada's relay nailed the runner at the plate thanks to Travis d'Arnaud's play at the plate. This of course spurred a discussion about whether d'Arnaud's play will be legal in a few years, a discussion I could care less about except to say that we wouldn't be having it if the catcher affected by it was Hobie Landrith and not Buster Posey.

Jeremy Hefner was all right after giving up a monster shot to Justin Upton, giving Mets fans a glimpse of the horror they'll have a front row seat for in the N.L. East for the next ten years. The best part of this game might be the airing of the 1962 Mets Yearbook afterwards, especially the part where Ralph Kiner talks about how rabbit food, along with coffee, is brought out to the clubhouse to keep the players in shape. (Spoiler Alert: Coffee didn't help the Mets, who won 40 games that season.)

"We talkin' about practice, man. How silly is that?"

"What’s practice? To get you better. That’s what I’m doing right now."

"Oh. I get it now."

There's a distinction that fans used to get wrong all the time. It revolved around natural talent and hard work, and the best of the best. Take Michael Jordan, for example. I'd be willing to bet that for every hundred people that rave about his natural ability, there might be one that focuses on how hard Jordan worked. You can dispute whether Jordan was the greatest basketball player of all time. What I believe to be indisputable is that no basketball player reached the highest level of athletic ability, hard work, and a desire to be the best that he could be and leave nothing on the table. And when you look at the GOAT in any sport, they all have that combination: ability, work ethic, inner focus and drive.

Now you're probably thinking "Oh Lord, which New York Met is this idiot going to compare to Michael Freakin' Jordan?" Be skeptical all you want. But when I see the ability that Matt Harvey has, and then combine that with his desire to want to be "perfect" as he told Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez on the WPIX broadcast on Saturday, I think to myself that we could really have something special here if the Mets don't do something stupid like trade him or let him walk if he asks for any more than minimum wage. And again, this isn't to compare him to Michael Jordan (despite the fact that I titled this post "MH", in what is a pure troll move by me). This is only to illustrate that Harvey seems to have the entire package to be an upper echelon pitcher in this game.

Harvey went two and two-thirds on Saturday against the Marlins, only giving up a leadoff home run to Christian Yelich (giving up home runs to left handers seem to be his bugaboo so far this spring) in an 8-8 tie. (This game also featured a home run by Lucas Duda to center field, which makes everybody feel a little bit better about life for a day.) After his outing was when Harvey expressed his desire to be perfect, knowing full well he won't be. Baseball players are nothing more than a cross-section of life. Think about your job. You have people who want to be the best at what they do, and others who just show up and do enough to earn the paycheck. Some baseball players have top shelf ability, some have top shelf work ethic. The ones who have both stay in the league the longest (barring injury, of course.) If Harvey lives up to the ability we've seen, and never lets up on that desire to be perfect, then ... let's just say the possibilities are endless.

Of course, we all thought the possibilities were endless when the Mets traded for Johan Santana. And outside of some solid seasons and some fleeting moments, it wasn't what we thought it would be. Now, when we're all hoping that Santana can do just enough to keep his trade value up so that Sandy Alderson can pull off another trade deadline miracle, it looks like Johan won't be quite ready to start the season, and the reason is puzzling:

The Mets believe ace pitcher Johan Santana wasn't in pitching shape when Mets camp began, which is what led to his shutdown early in camp. The team has found no soundness issues with his arm, beyond him not being ready to go. He's working hard now so he won't miss his Opening Day start, which is in jeopardy.

"(The) arm seems to be fine, (he) just was not in pitching shape when he arrived,'' Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said by text.

"He tried to rest physically and mentally (this winter) and use spring training to get in shape,'' Santana's agent Peter Greenberg said by phone. "The goal was to be ready Opening Day or as close as possible. Mentally, as much as physically, he was burned out. He decided he needed a full break.''

I understand Santana being burned out, having spent most of the last two seasons or so rehabbing. And Johan did need to have a normal, restful off season. But did he take it too far? Was he eating Malomars with Oliver Perez and Teddy Higuera? The line about using spring training to get in shape is baffling, mainly because this isn't the 1950's anymore and players no longer come into spring training with pot bellies and work it off in the spring. Players come into the spring in shape because they don't want to lose their job, and because the best way to get in shape is to stay in shape.

My reported view on all this:Santana thought best for team/health to rest. Didn't work out. Some mets ppl cranky, some give benefit of doubt

— Andy Martino (@MartinoNYDN) March 2, 2013

So some people are mad, others like Dan Warthen don't see the big deal. I don't know what to think. There always seems to be some underlying crankiness among anonymous Mets types when stuff like this goes wrong, so I'm not sure I trust these people who are cranky, nor their motivation for being cranky. I mean, are we talking coaches, who want him on the field to win ball games? Or suits who want a big name on the field to market? I just don't know, and I'm not going to pretend to know. But what I do know is that if Santana worked out like a fiend and pulled a muscle lifting weights we'd be killing him for that too. If Santana really thought resting was the best thing for his health and for the Mets this year, then even though he might be wrong I'm not going to kill him for having everyone's best interests in mind. It is a shame that it has to come to this ... another bad turn for a pitcher whose Met possibilities were once as endless as Matt Harvey's are now.

It's not every day that a major league team faces Stephen Strasburg on one day, and Justin Verlander the next. It's also not every day that a team matches their effort on both days. Though it is only spring training, the Mets starting pitchers did that. Today was more impressive than the previous day as Jon Niese matched zeroes with Verlander for three innings in a 6-2 Mets victory. Of course, he didn't match every zero as Verlander was perfect against the Mets and Niese gave up three hits, but Niese's 2013 exhibition debut was strong enough to allay the fears that you may have about Johan Santana perhaps not being ready for the opener (which is a fine way to avoid the awkwardness of having Santana start Opening Day on reputation when Niese's numbers last year earned him the start ... along with the trade of a certain knuckleballer.)

But what I want to talk about today revolves around Thursday night's starter, Rafael Montero. Do you remember when the Mets got swept by the Rockies last season, and Mike Francesa went on an epic rant about the series, and about how not to drink the Mets' kool-aid, as it were? Let me refresh your memory:

"I don't want to hear any more about these Mets pitchers ... Don't let the Mets, or SNY, or Kevin Burkhardt or anybody else try to force feed you these pitchers that they're the second coming of Seaver and Koosman."

Now I try to avoid watching or listening to Hall of Hate inductee Mike Francesa if I can help it. I know we as bloggers have collectively made an effort to comb anything Mets related for news and soundbites, and that includes having to listen to Francesa. Well I hope the rest of the bloggers are having fun with it, but I can't do it. If I listen to him, it's an accident. Friday was one of those accidents. And the portion that I heard was Francesa interviewing Sandy Alderson from Port St. Lucie. The smaller portion of that interview I heard revolved around Montero, and here is a loose transcription of the key components (go to about the 20 minute mark of this if you want the exact context):

Mike: Do you have a young guy here who you think is maybe a year or two away from doing something good?"

Sandy: The guy who pitched for us last night, Montero.

Mike: I don't know much about him. Tell me about him.

Sandy: He's got four pitches and a fastball around 94-95 and he's got great command.

Mike: Wow ... and he throws 94?

Sandy: 94, 95

Mike: And he has four pitches?

Sandy: Four pitches, and great command.

Mike: Wow, really! That's a lot, that's a mouthful. What's his first name?

Sandy: Rafael.

Mike: Rafael Montero, I haven't heard about him. Is he a right hander?

Sandy: He's a right hander. You know, we've got a number of quality pitching prospects below the Harvey, Wheeler level.

First off, if this doesn't prove that any outrage that Mike Francesa has against the Mets is merely for show, then I don't know what will. Hearing Francesa eat up what Alderson was saying about Montero and the rest of the pitchers just six months after telling all of us not to eat the same portions up is absolutely freaking hilarious.

Second, way to do your homework, Michael. If I asked Sandy Alderson what Rafael Montero's first name was and if he was a freakin' righthander ... the night after he pitched in a major league game ... he would laugh me out of the interview room, as he should. But I guess it's true that being an entertainer is more valuable than being prepared. Living in a world where Honey Boo Boo is popular, this shouldn't shock me. But it still makes me shed a tear ... especially when at the same time as Francesa was asking whether last night's starting pitcher was righthanded, the other local sports option in town (give you a hint, it starts with an S and ends in an NY) was asking its viewers: "Is the Miami Heat's Harlem Shake video the greatest viral video of all time?" It was then that I shut off the television and contemplated the possibility of taking my brain out of my skull and beating it with a ball peen hammer, just so I can get through the day.

Then I realized that I should save that step for that August series against the Royals when Jeff Francoeur hits three HR's in a game against them.

I wouldn't know Reese Havens if he came up to me and hit me over the head with a baseball bat. That's assuming he wouldn't swing and miss. Although if he hit me, he probably would pull an oblique muscle and miss a month, the poor bastard.

Point being: I don't get paid to recognize Reese Havens. And contrary to what you might think, I don't carry a spring training roster with me everywhere I go. Nationals announcer Bob Carpenter does get paid for this. But apparently he had a tough time with it on Thursday:

Reese Havens has been playing second base for 2 innings now but the Nats' announcers still think he's Wilmer Flores.

— mistermet (@_mistermet) March 1, 2013

Hey Nats announcers, Reese Havens and Wilmer Flores are not the same dude.

— D.J. Short (@djshort) March 1, 2013

hahahaha Wilmer Flores!!!!! stupid Nats old men... He's Reese HAVENS

— Francisco Sarceño (@Frank_Guate) March 1, 2013

When referring to Reese Havens, Bob Carpenter has called him Wilmer Flores twice and Brandon Hicks once.

— Brian Canell (@bcanell) March 1, 2013

this is incredible. reese havens has been playing 2B for like 4 innings now and they call him "flores" and "hicks" every single time

— Jon Presser (@metsjetsnets88) March 1, 2013

Reese Havens gets no respect. First he's mistaken for Wilmer Flores multiple times at 2B, then they call him Brandon Hicks at the plate.

— mistermet (@_mistermet) March 1, 2013

Poor Reese Havens. Though it has to be some sort of record to be mistaken for two different players during the same broadcast. Kinda like when Joel Youngblood got a hit for two different franchises in the same day. I'd put it on par with that.

Oh, and the Mets tied with the Nationals on Thursday. Stephen Strasburg was apparently pretty good (even while working on a sinker). Rafael Montero started for the Mets and held his own. The Mets kicked the ball around, and Jordany Valdespin went the entire game without posting a picture of himself wearing a Marlins hat on to instagram. And Reese Havens, apparently, can walk across a crowded stage undetected because everybody thinks he's somebody else. Maybe he's leaping from life to life, hoping to put right what was once wrong. (If he was really doing that, maybe he could have helped Hicks with his fielding tonight.)

Havens hopes that the next leap will be the leap home. Unfortunately, after he gets designated for assignment, it probably will be.

Zack Wheeler officially became a Met today ... he was scratched from his start due to injury. It was a mild oblique strain, and according to the broadcast, Wheeler doesn't think it's anything serious and that he'll make his next start. Of course, Ike Davis thought he was playing on May 11th, 2011. And Daniel Murphy is 7 to 10 days away from playing baseball, a revelation that came mere moments after Kevin Burkhardt saw Murphy in the dugout and wondered: "he's gotta be close, right?" Wrong.

All was not lost as Ruben Tejada returned from his strained quad, and the only other things seemingly bruised were Rob Carson's calf on a line drive, along with some of Rob Carson and the rest of the bullpen's pitches in a 12-4 loss to the Cardinals. The humorous part of the afternoon came when Ron Darling said that a fan in the stands looked like Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. And Keith Hernandez said:

"See what happens when you root for the Mets for decades?"

That's right. Keith Hernandez, who won a title with the Mets, made an implied and direct corollary between rooting the the Mets and aging less than gracefully. Not an Internet troll or a wise-ass blogger, mind you. Keith Hernandez said this. Have the effects of rooting for this team become this obvious? And can each white hair on this guy's head be blamed on a particular Mets loss over the last 25 seasons? And would it surprise you to know that this guy is only 32 years old?

That's right, kids. This is your future.

Mejia's day is done after 1 inning: 3 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 1 HR. 30 pitches, 15 strikes. #mets

— Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) February 26, 2013

They say every time Jenrry Mejia gives up a run, an angel stabs herself in the eye. And Snoop Manuel looks skyward and sees what he thinks are twinkling stars and smiles. Except that after today's outing against the Marlins, except it's just angels everywhere trying to off themselves. It's irony. Manuel should appreciate that ... he likes the jokes.

The real joke is that even though today's lousy outing could be attributed to Mejia getting to camp late because of visa issues, it doesn't encapsulate why Mejia's career has been stalled by injuries and ineffectiveness. Rushing him up to the majors and telling him to just throw fastballs to save your job, however, does. So thanks, Snoop. If Clarence ever comes down from the heavens to see you, I hope he smacks you upside the head.

I'm always looking for excuses to rail some more on Snoop. I might get my chance tonight on a very special Around The Citi at 8:30 ET tonight. So tune in, turn it up, and rip the knob off ... or something.

See kids, I tried not to panic about Lucas Duda. And what happens? What happens??!? Duda gets shut down ... not for an injury, but for more practice. This is how bad his reworked swing is right now. It makes the brain trust panic after two games.

But with Matt Den Dekker making a hellacious spring training catch Monday night against the Nationals during a 6-4 loss, it occurred to me: Why are we so worried about Den Dekker's lack of hitting? How about we worry about defense only to start the season and have an outfield of Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Den Dekker, and Collin Cowgill? What is there to lose at this point? It's not like the guy Den Dekker would replace is Tony Gwynn.

They'll catch everything, and any offense we get is a bonus. The UZR goes through the roof, Mike Baxter can pinch hit or platoon as he was meant to do, Andrew Brown can look mean on the bench if a left hander even looks at him funny, and Duda can wear his Paul Bunyan costume and chop wood so that the post game spread can be cooked over an open flame.

Timber Duda.

There you go. Problem solved. I'm like Theo Epstein Jr. up in this bitch. Hey, I should consult. Why not? Couldn't hurt anything at this point. Why wouldn't the Mets listen to me? Oh yeah, because I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. I'd probably run this organization into the ground ... to the point where the only company willing to open a store front at Citi Field is a multi-level marketing company which has been accused multiple times of running a pyramid scheme.

Yeah, only an amateur could do that.