Mets draft Franco's son J.J. of Poly Prep in draft
John Franco, former pitcher of the New York Mets, throws out the first pitch to former Met, Mike Piazza before the game against the New York Yankees. (May 21, 2010) Credit: Getty Images
The Mets went retro late in baseball's amateur draft Wednesday, selecting John Franco's son in the 42nd round.
A shortstop and pitcher at Poly Prep in Brooklyn, J.J. Franco already has plans to play at Brown University and he said Wednesday that he plans to follow through on that commitment. But he was touched that his father's longtime team gave him the thrill of getting drafted.
"It feels pretty good, especially growing up as a little kid getting brought to the ballfield every day with my dad, playing alongside him and pretending I was part of the team," Franco said. "Now I can say I actually was chosen by them."
Maine to Trenton
John Maine reported "general soreness" in his right shoulder a day after throwing live batting practice, but nothing he said that is cause for concern.
He is scheduled to make a rehab start for Double-A Binghamton Sunday in Trenton followed by at least one more rehab start.
"Two starts is going to be fine, what I need, and I'll be ready after that," Maine said.
Rotation switch
Jerry Manuel switched R.A. Dickey and Hisanori Takahashi in the rotation, moving Dickey to Friday night and Takahashi to Saturday.
While the move was predicated by splitting two lefthanders in Takahashi and Jonathon Niese, Manuel also likes the idea of using Dickey to start the series against the Orioles in Baltimore.
"Some pitching people think when a knuckleballer starts a series it kind of throws them off a little bit for the rest of the series," Manuel said. "We'll see how true that is."
Trainer's room
Carlos Beltran, recovering from knee surgery performed in January, was the designated hitter in an intrasquad game in Port St. Lucie, Fla. He still has not been cleared to run at full speed, so his return to the Mets is still considered at least a month away.
