The NY Post has yet another rumor about Mets interest in what I assume would be a temporary replacement for Moises Alou, this time concerning Shannon Stewart (no, not this one) and Reed Johnson. Unfortunately for me, Matthew Artus over at Always Amazin' has already beaten me to the punch and punched the rumor senseless.

So, for those of you keeping score, that now links the Mets to EIGHT (8) possible outfielders to either replace Alou or platoon Church: Xavier Nady from Pittsburgh, Marcus Thames from Detroit, Randy Winn from San Francisco, Juan Rivera from Los Angeles by way of Anaheim, Barry Bonds and Kenny Lofton via Free Agency, and now Stewart and Johnson.

First off, the Barry Bonds rumor irks me more each time I hear it. To think Omar wouldn't immediately rule him out as a free-agent signing possibility boggles the mind. Could anyone imagine what the Mets clubhouse would become with the Bonds cancer camping out in it for a full season? Under the Minaya regime, the Mets have been as concerned about getting good players as they have been about getting good people. Bonds fits into that formula how exactly? While we're on the subject of answering the unanswerable, how many championship teams has Bonds played on during his 22-year career?

I have to wholeheartedly agree with Matt's take on Angel Pagan. Would it be asking too much to give Pagan a shot, see how he performs, then reassess he situation in May? As I typed those words, Angel Pagan hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the 7th to put the Mets up 4-2 over Baltimore. 10 RBIs and hitting over .400. It' spring, I know. All I'm asking is give the guy a shot. Do the Mets have to resort to Yankee-like tendencies and wind up with a player who commands an All-Star salary and performs at a no-star level? It would be unrealistic to assume Pagan will hit like this over the entire season, but having a switch-hitting outfielder on the bench available for platoon/pinch-hitting duty can only help NY in the long run.

On the funnier and non-nostalgic side, Armando Benitez is now a Blue Jay. We always knew his pitching was for the birds; now it is quite literally. Downside: Met don't get to face him this year.

Mets win 6-2 today and are now 9-5 so far this spring. Oliver Perez looked much better than his previous two outings, giving up 3 hits and a run, a K and BB over 4 innings. Arm slot and delivery looked more consistent, if you can call falling off the mound 10 feet towards the 3rd base bag consistent. If Maine and Perez can win another 15 games apiece this year, the Mets will be in the catbird seat in the NL East. No offense Armando.

For me, Port St. Lucie is only 4 days away. I'm already in vacation mode, just ask my boss. I'm all prepared for those days I'll be spending chasing the kids around some theme park. I picked myself up one of these yesterday; I'll be hooking it up tonight for "testing purposes". The plan is this: On the days we're not going to Tradition Field and have plans for the Seaquarium or a theme park, I'll record the games at home, set myself up by the pool at night after the kids are in bed and watch the Mets game I recorded on my DVR in NY. They don't air as many games in Florida as they do up here. That's right, DVR'ing Mets spring training games from NY so I can watch them in Florida at night. Anyone got a problem with that?

The weather has been flat-out cold and dreary in NY all winter. I don't know what I'm looking forward to more; the screened-in pool in the backyard, the beaches down there or finally getting to see the Mets live in '08. Decisions, decisions. Already I'm worried about finding time to pack. I suppose blogging less and packing more would solve that problem.

Nah....