MET NOTES
PORT ST. LUCIE – Count Joe McEwing, who played with Mark McGwire for a little over a year in St. Louis, as yet another person to rave about the slugger’s work ethic.
McGwire’s former Bash Brother, Jose Canseco, has alleged in his new book that McGwire used steroids during their time in Oakland. McEwing, of course, never played in Oakland, but he did share a St. Louis clubhouse with McGwire for part of 1998 and all of 1999 and praised and defended his former Cardinal teammate yesterday.
“All I know is, this man’s work ethic is impeccable,” McEwing said. “For somebody to take a shot at him, it’s ridiculous. He’s a guy who worked very hard for everything that he has accomplished, and it’s a shame – you could be talking about so many positive things now about the career that he had and the upcoming baseball season and we’re talking about negativity.”
McEwing remembered McGwire “in the weight room every single day” and recalled “his focus and determination to be the best.”
Said the Met reserve, “I know how hard he worked every single day. Not just in the weight room but mentally. He worked his butt off every single day.”
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The Mets continue to stockpile pitchers, inking RHP Todd Van Poppel to a minor league deal and inviting him to major league spring training. Van Poppel could compete for a bullpen spot, as the Mets have a bunch of candidates – including Heath Bell, Matt Ginter, Roberto Hernandez, Mike Matthews, Orber Moreno, Grant Roberts, Jae Seo, Scott Stewart and Scott Strickland -for two or three positions. The 33-year-old Van Poppel, who went 4-6 with a 6.09 ERA for Cincinnati last season, has also pitched for the A’s, Tigers, Rangers, Pirates and Cubs.
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The early vote for the Met who has changed the most from last season? That would be Bell, the righty reliever who dropped approximately 30 pounds this winter. Bell, who often rollerblades to and from the Met complex in St. Lucie (that’s a 16-mile trip total), doesn’t think he has lost any velocity.
“I think I have a really good shot. The way I feel, the job is mine,” he said.
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PITCHERS & CATCHERS: 1 day