Collins Drinking the Mets Kool-Aid

Terry Collins is already fired up and its only the first week of spring training.  According to Collins, Jose Reyes looks "terrific" and Johan Santana's "presence in the clubhouse will send shock waves."  This guy is so optimistic that it's killing me.  Has he seen this team play the last three years?  Jose always looks terrific until he breaks down.  Johan's presence isn't going to turn Big Pelf into a legitimate front of the rotation starting pitcher or allow Chris Young and Chris Capuano to find their old form.  The only time I will get excited about Johan's presence is when he can actually take the mound every five days.

And can someone please explain to me why everybody is so optimistic when spring training comes around?  It's as if everybody tosses out reality and puts on their rosy colored glasses.  I remember hearing back in 2003 how Mo Vaughn was going to have a monster year after spending all winter shedding pounds.  Yet, he still managed to show up to camp overweight.  Or what about last year - wasn't a main story how Luis Castillo was poised for a bounce back year?  How did that turn out?  And then I believe the discussion was how Frenchy was going to turn back into the player who initially came up to the big leagues with the Atlanta Braves.  At season end, Frenchy ended up with a batting average similar to Rey Ordonez, although you would never know it by the smile that was permanently on his face from ear to ear.

Well, I'm sick of drinking the Mets Kool-Aid during spring training. I can't read one more article about how Daniel Murphy is finally going to find a position and prove to be an everyday big leaguer.  The kid is everything you want in a ballplayer - he's smart, works hard, and says all the right things, but he can't field a position to save his life and he doesn't hit well enough to validate his pathetic defense.  The Mets need to put an end to the Daniel Murphy experiment.  I could see if he had as much potential as Ryan Thompson, Alex Ochoa, or Butch Huskey, but Murph isn't even that talented.