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Andy Pettitte worked 6 2-3 innings for the Yankees, allowing one run and five hits. The left-hander struck out seven and walked none. Mark Teixeira went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for New York.  It was Edwar Rameriez and not Mariano Rivera who pitched a scoreless 9th for the save.

The Yanks also a key hit from Angel Berroa who drove in 1 run with a pinch hit.  Berroa is competing for a bench spot on the team, and is capable of playing several infield positions, including SS and 3B.

After a rocky World Baseball Classic and a poor start last time out, Oliver Perez (aka Knuckle Head) needed a good outing to ease the worries of his manager and pitching coach.

Perez had his most encouraging outing of spring training, allowing four hits and one run in 6 2-3 innings as the New York Mets beat the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 on Monday night.

It was an important outing for the inconsistent left-hander, who re-signed with the Mets as a free agent in the offseason.

The Mets got another strong outing from the bullpen with J.J. Putz throwing 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief, followed by Bobby Parnell, who got the save and lowered his spring ERA to 2.19. Putz has yet to allow an earned run this spring.

Daniel Murphy went 2-for-4 with a home run Monday night, raising his average to .364 this spring. Before the game, Manuel said Murphy will likely bat second in the lineup against righties and lefties, with second baseman Luis Castillo batting eighth.

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The Yankees won over the Pirates today, but not because of the pitching of their supposed #2 starter, AJ Burnett.  Burnett was horrible today, allowing 7 runs, 6 ER, with 10 hits and 3 BB in only 4 and 1/3 IP.  Burnett was signed to a $95 million dollar multi year contract in the off season.

The Yankees were powered by a HR from Robinson Cano, and RBI hits by Derek Jeter, Heideki Matsui and Nick Swisher.

The Yankees open the season April 6th at Camden Yards against Baltimore.

These two Celebraties love the Mets

Julia Styles

Alyssa Milano

The Mets will take 7 bullpen guys with them to start the season.  Last night they released Ron Villone and Sent Carlos Muniz to the minors.  The 4 deifinite spots confirmed, which are K Rod, Putz, Feliciano and Sean Green.  Here are some canidates for the other 3 spots.

Bobby Parnell : I believe that Parnell may end up being the 7th inning guy this season, and the set up man next year when Putz leaves.  Somehow, the 24-year-old fireballer whose name sounds like it was pulled from the cast list of Grease has become a heavy favorite to make the Mets out of Spring Training. Most of the reports out of Port St. Lucie have Parnell as a lock to crack the squad, and it’s no secret that team brass is high on his abilities

Brian Stokes : Stokes will probably start the season with the club until Redding comes back.  However, if he out performs Parnell during that time, Parnell may end up back in the minors simply because he has options. Stokes, on paper, looks something like an older version of Parnell. He’s a hard-throwing right-hander who primarily worked as a starter in the Minors but never posted dominant numbers in that role.

Darren O’Day : Since he is a Rule 5 guy, he will be on the roster all year unless his ERA is 6.00.  It’s even money that the sidearmer will land on the roster, and I might even be skimping him a bit. O’Day will benefit from his status as a Rule 5 draftee, meaning the Mets would have to send him back to Los Angeles Of Anaheim should they opt not to carry him.

It looks like both Santana and K Rod are ready for the season to begin.  Both hurlers sent clear messages that they are fired up and pitching to the top of their potential right now.  Santana pitched 7 great innings, allowing only 1 run on 4 hits with no BBs in 7 innings yesterday.  He also struck out 6.

 K Rod gave up 2 hits to his first 2 batters and then struck out the next 2 and got the last batter to pop up for the final out in the 8th inning.

 The Mets hitters are in full form as well. Delgado has 2 hits, and Murphy collected 3.  Tatis and Murphy also drove in 2 runs a piece.  Beltran and Wright also each had a hit.  Reyes was 0-4 but hit the ball hard all 4 times, and Castillo reached base twice, 1 time on an error and another HBP.

The only thing the Mets have to worry about at this point is their number 3 and 4 starters, Perez and Maine.  Santana and Pelfrey will be fine, and I have a feeling Livian will be as well.  The bullpen and bench look solid at this point as well.

Stay tuned!

Tonight, Keith and Ron will be flying solo on SNY.  The broadcast duo is usually accompanied by professional sports broadcasters either Gary Cohen or Kevin Burkhart.  Well tonight, the former World Championship Mets Darling and Hernandez will be on the air for the entire game by themselves.

 I am looking forward to this, because I think both of them make great broadcasters and bring a great amount of knowledge and experience to the Mets games.

Either one would also be a great coach or manager one day.

 Tune in on SNY tonight at 7:00 PM EST for the game.

Joba Chamberlain allowed 2 runs to scored via home runs to the Phillies on Thursday, and those were the only runs that he allowed.  Chase Utley hit his second home run in two games and Ryan Howard connected for his seventh of the spring, but the World Series champions dropped to 10-13-2 in Grapefruit League play.  Cody Ransom, Nick Swisher and Melky Cabrera also homered for New York.

Utley, who began playing in Grapefruit games 11 days earlier, hit a 3-1 pitch from Joba Chamberlain in the first inning to right field. Utley homered in his previous at-bat on Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Chamberlain gave up just one more hit - a double to Ronny Paulino - in 4 1-3 innings. The 23-year-old right-hander walked three and stuck out three.

“They crushed them - there’s no getting around it,” Chamberlain said of the homers. “They hit good pitches in hitter’s counts. That’s what they get paid to do.”

After a rocky first couple starts, Joba looks strong and ready to start the season.  Let’s hope he can continue to perform for the entire year.

That’s my 2 cents… I’d love to hear yours!

Here is the former Mets Weekly Host Jocelyn Pierce, wife of Antonio Pierce.  I couldn’t find many pictures of her on the net, but she is a hottie with a body!

Which one do you like better, Jocelyn or Julie?  Please comment below!

John Maine took another step toward being ready for the regular season, throwing 95 pitches in the New York Mets’ 9-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

Maine, who had a bone spur shaved in his right shoulder in September, gave up six hits and three runs - one earned - in five innings. He struck out five, walked three and threw two wild pitches.

 It wasn’t a great outing, but compared to what he has done earlier in the spring it was a step in the right direction.  Although Maine may start the season as the teams 4th starter, I believe he will finish with the 3rd best record behind Santana and Pelfrey.

In other news, Perez was horrible in his last start, and Pitching Coach Dan Warthen is blaming it on laziness during his time spent at the WBC.  Warthen stated that Perez came back to camp overweight and out of shape.  Let’s hope that lights a fire under Perez’s butt!

That’s my 2 cents… I’d love to hear yours!