Eleven Days until Opening Day and we see our boys back on a Major League field facing Major League opponents and the outcomes finally matter.

A couple random Mets topics:

What to expect of Delgado? He won’t be the Delgado of years past. Like many aging players, I predict he would be reminiscent of Mike Piazza in his last years as a Met. A shadow of what he was, but still a rather looming shadow. I would hope Delgado will put up similar numbers as last year, but I expect to see slumps interrupted by commanding blasts reminiscent of what he once was, and an aching reminder to leave us pining for what he no longer is. He’ll win a few games, carry the team on his back in a few but unable to contribute drastically on a daily and consistent basis. Don’t worry, the man on the other infield corner should be ready to shoulder the load.

The Trade that never came. Apparently the imminent and essential trade for a corner outfielder speculated to include everyone from Coco Crisp to Barry Bonds is now neither imminent nor essential.

In case you were wondering, Sidney Ponson’s promising spring results for the Rangers, along with a general lack of common sense, have kept Nelson Cruz in a Rangers uniform. The hard on is over, there’s no outfield help on the way [Editor’s note: I have no idea why I just wrote that.]

The Mets are likely going with some combination of Damian Easley, Endy Chavez, Marlon Anderson and Angel Pagan. Don’t pencil in Pagan as the April and May everyday leftfielder just yet. He is having a promising spring, but on March 31 the minor leaguers go back down and Pagan comes back to earth. Not to mention Willie doesn’t like to play young talent over veteran players, even at gunpoint.

[Editors Note: Anyone who writes the headline “Angel in the Outfield” will be sodomized with a pipe wrench and set on fire. Twice.]

Reserve your Blue and Orange BP Jersey today. We got the All-Star Game in 2013. First of all, I am not ready to let go of Shea just yet to be jazzed about this. Secondly, I put Mets fans in attendance at around 35%. The coolest thing about this will be the All-Star Batting practice jerseys in blue and orange. I’ve already decided to buy one. There’s no way to tell who’ll be representing the Mets five years from now, I just hope the Mets have more than one to choose from.

Behind the Plate. Ramon Castro and Brian Schneider are both experiencing hamstring problems. Doug Mirabelli is available. Sure he hit .202 in 114 at bats last year, but that’s .198 than Mike DeFelice’s lifetime average. There’s Mike Nickeas, remember him? We got him and a broken bat for Victor Diaz. It’s him, Robinson Cancel, Raul Casanova Salomon Mariquez and Gustavo Molina. Since all those names annoy me, I choose Nickeas. That was easy. Mirabelli would be an inexpensive insurance policy and less unproductive than Mike DeFelice.

Good God, I hope Mike Pelfrey is the real deal. I think El Duque’s done. Marty should have called this article they know who did it but they just can’t figure out why.

On an unrelated note, No Country for Old Men was one of the best movies I’ve seen in the past 5 years. If you haven’t seen it, buy it. It’s a modern classic. I bought it, sight unseen, on Blu-Ray (yeah, I’ve got that kind of money) and have already watched it several times. I went to college in West Texas and the accents of the characters made me feel like I was back in the Llano Estacado.