A Request for Spring Training Information

but I’ll take the under.

please post them up (looking at you, deal guru Flim). I’ve found affordable flights, but all the hotels in Jupiter seem to be on the expensive side. Anyway, I don’t mean to hijack this thread, but I thought maybe we could use it as a sort of clearinghouse for all spring training info, since there are always a lot of questions and they seem to get scattered. Mods – If that’s not a good use for this thread, let me know and I’ll delete this.

Not when pitchers and catchers were reporting..but for early warmups everything was fenced off and we could walk up and talk to the players and coaches if they wanted to respond.

Could’ve gotten onto the field easily, could’ve easily gotten arrested.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Drive down to the south side of the complex and there will be an entrance for the players and a security guard is usuallly posted there.
2. The guard should have the schedule for the workouts that day and he should be able to give you a copy (I still have mine from last year)
3. He’ll let you know to go east of that gate about 400 yards or so where you’ll be able to enter the complex, but only after the workouts start (usually after 10 AM).
4. At this point, go get some fantastic coffee from the coffee shop located 3 blocks away from the stadium to the south. I ran into Pat Parris and Al Hrabosky at this coffee shop last year and had a fun 10 minute talk with them (Parris used to be the local sportscaster for the Des Moines NBC affiliate when I was growing up)
5. You’ll have access to two of the fields they use, and there will be two other fields that you won’t have access to. Both times I was there they had pitchers throwing off of mounds on one field and catchers working out on the other field. I went back a couple days later and they had pitchers throwing to position players in a batting cage on one field and a pitching machine going on the other field.

Ludwick was signing bats, balls, and gloves and gave a bat he broke against Motte to a kid that was there after signing it last year. There’s a temp fence where the players will gather between stations when there’s time. I got to talk to Tony, Red, and Bill DeWitt last year while a scrimmage game was going on and it was a pretty fun time.

Not sure how the Marlins area works but I’d imagine that it wouldn’t be that different. Some people at the Cardinal workouts were talking about how they had seen Hanley Ramirez take BP the day before and he hit 6 of 8 pitches out of the yard or something…

Manuel over (New GM will decide to fire him or not)

if they let him stay through april, a jose guillen trade may go through.

I am the Mets fan that started this thread, and I thank you for some valuable information.

In regards to the over/under, I am a firm believer that firing a general manager (and for the most part the manager) during the year is worthless. If you don’t have faith in Omar right now, then fire him now. But as we’ve seen over the past few years, every decision with the Mets is not done ideally. Omar should have this full season as the make or break. I do think Jerry Manuel will survive the year, although I’m not his biggest fan.

As far as the Mets outlook for the year, we will be “ok” if we sign Sheets. and I’ll define ok as 88-91 wins. It’s not a guarantee to make the playoffs, but we will be in a position to improve at the deadline if necessary.

Gary Matthews was another interesting acquisition by Omar, but it is a very low cost and little downside. Would I have made the move, no, but it’s not the end of the world either way.

Good luck, and thanks again for the info.

Anthony
(http://longlivesheastadium.blogspot.com)