Frantically Waving Goodbye to Frank Francisco

The day after the World Series, 7 Mets became free agents, including a man who a good amount of money was wasted on.

Frank Francisco was a part of what was supposed to be a revamped bullpen in 2012, and signed with the Mets for 12 million dollars over 2 years.

Well, when he did pitch for us, he wasn't very good, and when he wasn't pitching for us, he was satisfied to sit back and laze around while collecting his multiple millions of dollars.

Word is he tried to convince Jenrry Mejia to just chill in Florida, a young man just at the beginning of his career and attempting to gain back his status of being a phenom after injuries and incorrect handling by the Mets.

Sounds like Jenrry was happy to NOT listen to the guy. And though he finished the year needed elbow surgery, he showed how good he can be in the Majors with a solid string of starts.

Now, we should always take sources and reports about people in the public eye with a grain of salt. It is easy to judge based off of things we hear in the media or based off of what we see on television.

Sometimes, though, somebody's true colors just shine through, and this isn't the first time Frank Francisco has come off looking like a douche.

No matter how much the Mets probably wanted nothing to do with Frank Francisco by the time he came back to the Mets later in the 2013 season, it probably made them happy to know he was doing the opposite of what he wanted to do, which was actually earn his money pitching on a Major League mound.

So, our team is freed of an albatross, and who knows what other team will want to pick up such a negative influence?

Goodbye Frank Francisco.

I wish you no success whatsoever.

Johan Santana, however?

I wish you all the success in the World.

GOODBYE. FRANKIE.
LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

A Couple Wins...But More Importantly - Baseball

I've been going on and on how awesome it is baseball is back so early, and of course I forgot it was a 12 'o Clock start time on Saturday. So, I missed Ruben Tejada's 1st inning home run off Stephen Strasburg. I DVRed the rest of it, and crazily (like I'm sure so many other Mets fans) didn't fast forward (once the DVR stopped glitching.)

I'm not gonna elaborately recap it for you or jot down my notes like I did last year (but that was just me settling into blogging.)

For a recap of the first spring game of the year, check it out at Rising Apple here.

And for a recap of Sunday's Split-Squad games, here is where you'll want to click.

........ok, I slightly lied. I'm gonna over-analyze the first games a bit.

Marlon Byrd is a real sleeper in my eyes. He looks determined and ready to win a job after a lackluster 2012, which included a 50-game suspension for PEDs. A Quote From Ted states that Byrd started training with Victor Conte, and was a firm advocate for Conte's changed way, or something along those lines. And then he got busted for PEDs. Though, according to this USA Today article from when Byrd got suspended, Conte might have had nothing to do with it and it was all one of those "careless" moments that we never factor into our thinking when it comes to these 50-game suspensions being handed down. The Human Element and how stupid and absent-minded we can sometimes be (sorry, MANY times) gets completely thrown out of the equation when these news items pop up.

Am I advocating PEDs? No.

All I'm saying is that not every case is the same.

Anyway, Byrd seems like s perfect candidate for, maybe not Comeback Player of the Year, but something along those lines. I pose a question to you all.

What kind of production would be worth Marlon Byrd as the starting right fielder?

If I were to see a line of .260 15HR 75RBI at the end of the year, that would be MORE than enough production out of that spot. And for those of you who are already calling the outfield "devastating," I'm sure you would take even less than that from of a starting Marlon Byrd.

He will certainly be a very interesting storyline to follow throughout the Spring.

Here's a Kevin Burkhardt interview with the man.




Then there is the case of Collin Cowgill.

Another sleeper for sure.

He's got speed, he's got aggression, he's got determination and he's got guts. Sandy might have pulled off quite the under the radar trade that the people who haven't been paying attention will find out soon how under the radar it actually was. With a lack of opportunity at his fingertips in Oakland, the timing might just be right for him to blossom as a New York Met.

Here's Metsblog's Michael Baron interviewing Cowgill.



Anyway, there were of course many other takeaways from the weekend that was the first taste of Mets baseball we have gotten in a while. But I'm going to stop with the potentials for the outfield. No need to go on about The Duda's 0-7 or Matt Harvey's Spring Debut, or Cory Mazzoni's solid outing, or Dillon back from the shoulder surgery.

Let's just soak up the early baseball...

And love the amount coming up next several months.

For those that weren't able to watch the televised game, watch the following videos for no other reason than to see Mets uniforms on grass once more.

There's Ruben's home run.

And Shaun Marcum's Mets Debut, with a snazzy Ike Davis defensive play to boot.

Not to mention Wheeler's ML Camp Debut.

And of course Cowgill's heads up play.

INHALE. EXHALE.
BASEBALL'S. BACK.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.

Greg Prince on the Podcast Today & A Random Song as Well

Today on The Rising Apple Report, Matt Musico is back in the hosting chair with myself and Rich Sparago joining him for the sizzling half-hour of Mets talk. We'll wrap up all the Michael Bourn chatter and discuss the top storylines so far in Port Saint Lucie.

Oh yeah! And "Mets Fan Incarnate" Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing joins us to discuss his books, website and of course the 2013 New York Mets.

So, make sure you tune in at 6:30 PM for the 7th episode of The Rising Apple Report!!!

And visit Converted Mets Fan promptly after at 7:00PM for Julian's Met of the Week

Here's the Random Song of the Day.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.