Inside Pitch

Herd announces spring slate

Pitchers and catchers report Thursday around major-league spring camps, including the Mets' complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Plenty of players who will likely be on the Bisons are scheduled to be there and the Herd today announced its spring training schedule of exhibition games.

All games will be at 1 p.m. and will either be at the Mets' complex or the joint Marlins/Cardinals complex in Jupiter against the New Orleans Zephyrs (Florida) or Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis). If you're thinking about the trip, both locations are on Florida's East Coast. The schedule:

March 19 New Orleans (Port St. Lucie)
March 20 at Memphis (Jupiter)
March 21 Camp Day (Port St. Lucie)
March 22 at Memphis (Jupiter)
March 23 at New Orleans (Jupiter)
March 24 Camp Day (Port St. Lucie)
March 25 at Memphis (Jupiter)
March 26 at New Orleans (Jupiter)
March 27 Camp Day (Port St. Lucie)
March 28 Memphis (Port St. Lucie)
March 29 Camp Day (Port St. Lucie)
March 30 Memphis (Port St. Lucie)
March 31 New Orleans (Port St. Lucie)
April 1 Camp Day (Port St. Lucie)
April 2 New Orleans (Port St. Lucie)

Thanks to Adam Rubin's fabulous Surfing the Mets blog at the New York Daily News, here's the full list of Mets campers. A large number of the players under non-roster invitees at the bottom are the six-year free agents who should be joining the Bisons. 

The Bisons, remember, open the season April 8 in Scranton and play their home opener April 14 against Pawtucket.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

   

Cabrera signs with Mets, could return to Herd

The Mets keep signing minor-league free agents to vie for spots on the Bisons' roster and Thursday's group includes a familiar name -- utility man Jolbert Cabrera, a cornerstone on Buffalo's 1998 International League champions.

Cabrera, now 37, spent last year at Triple-A Norfolk in the Baltimore chain. In parts of four seasons with the Bisons (1998-2000, 2002), Cabrera posted a .301 average that's fifth in the franchise's modern era. He was an IL all-star in 1998, when he batted .318 and set a franchise-record 157 hits that stood until IL MVP Jhonny Peralta collected 181 in 2004.

Also signed today was outfielder Val Pascucci, a former Mets farmhand who led the PCL in home runs with 34 in 2007 at Albquerque and added 28 for the Mets in '08 at New Orleans. He had 19 last year between Albuquerque and Portland.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Oberkfell a winter winner

Ken Oberkfell didn't do too much winning in his first season as Bisons manager but he's making up for it during winter ball. After winning the Dominican League's winter ball championship, Oberkfell is managing the Dominican entry in the Caribbean World Series. The GM of Oberkfell's team is former Bison and longtime major leaguer Moises Alou. His roster includes 2009 Buffalo pitchers Nelson Figueroa and Tobi Stoner and outfielder  Fernando Martinez, the Mets' top position prospect.

Figueroa, in fact, threw a complete game in Wednesday's 7-1 Dominican win over Mexico. You can watch Carribean Series play on MLB Network. The Dominican plays Venezuela tonight at 7:30 and Puerto Rico Friday at 3:30.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

More from Manto

Be sure to check out today's Monday Extra feature catching up with ex-Bisons great Jeff Manto, who is in the coaching world now for both youths and minor leaguers (with the Chicago White Sox). Wanted to give Web readers the chance to see some great Manto quotes from his recent hitting clinic in Coca-Cola Field that were in a graphic in our print edition. They make great sense. Check 'em out.

Look like the (MLB) logo when you hit.
Finish the swing.
Better footwork helps the head and hands.
You need a baseline to hit before you get a style.
Check your feet after every pitch. They matter.
Refuse to strike out.
Never relax. Concentrate more.
You're only responsible for giving yourself a chance to get a hit, not to get the hit.
We're all pitchable to.
How would you tell someone to hit? Hit the way you would teach.
Figure it out. Don't use a crutch. It's not the coach or the umpire.
Hit the inside part of the ball every chance you get.
How come we buy a $300 bat and a $50 glove? Because we want to hit.
You've got to be nuts about hitting, crazed about it. Hitting has got to matter.
Don't think. Stay with your strength or you'll think yourself right back to the dugout.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Photo: Harry Scull/Buffalo News