Am I spamming the crap out of you right now?

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If you’re getting annoying emails from me, let me know. When I first started this site, I briefly had a subscription service set-up wherein users got notified whenever I posted anything. Problem was, we actually couldn’t figure out how to add an unsubscribe option to the emails, and when I started posting more often they got extremely annoying. Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore and I shut ’em down.

Last night, I needed to fire the thing back up for administrative purposes. I tried to get all the real, human users unsubscribed from the notifications but if I missed you, send me an email at tberg@sny.tv (or just reply to the spam) and I’ll make sure you’re removed from the list.

So what’s happening here?

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OK check it out. Matt Cerrone at MetsBlog, yesterday:

In talking to people in camp, and others connected to the team, it seems Brad Emaus could end up getting the bulk of the playing time at second base to start the season. That could change, of course. But, as of now, he’s the front-runner.

John Harper in the Daily News, this morning:

Still, if I had to pick a favorite to open the season at second, I’d go with Murphy. The Mets believe he has the most offensive potential of the candidates, and since Emaus and Turner are also offensive-oriented players, Murphy seems to be in line to get the first crack.

David Waldstein in the New York Times, this morning:

After two weeks of exhibition games, it appears that the 35-year-old Luis Castillo, in the final season of his often-belittled four-year, $24 million contract, has the early lead for the Mets’ second-base job.

So what’s happening here? Is one of these reporters lying to us, or relying on bad sources?

Doubtful. My bet is there is no definite frontrunner for the starting second-base job at this point in the spring, and the various decision-makers in camp have varying opinions on which hopeful is best for the position.

There are a ton of coaches and executives around. Look at the Mets’ travel roster, via Adam Rubin. See that right column, 19 dudes deep? That’s the staff list, and that only includes uniformed personnel, and that’s not even the full group — there’s another column that got cut off in this photo. Ask one and he’ll probably tell you one second baseman has been the most impressive. Ask another, and he’ll tell you something completely different.

We can speculate all we want, and since it seems to be the only wide-open position in the lineup (and since so many take Luis Castillo’s continued presence on the roster personally) we eat up these reports. But the amount of conflict in them seems to imply that no decisions have been made. Terry Collins said last week that the competition will be narrowed down by the Mets’ off day on March 14. We will know more then.

Who will play right field if Beltran can’t?

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Adam Rubin suggests that Scott Hairston and/or Willie Harris would be short-term replacements for Carlos Beltran if Beltran can’t open the season for the Mets, but that Lucas Duda or Fernando Martinez could be considered if Beltran needs time on the DL. Using the Minor League equivalency calculator for Duda’s excellent 264 at-bat stint in Buffalo last year yields a .262/.328/.486 line in Citi Field, way better than anything Harris or Hairston is likely to provide. It’s hard to draw too many meaningful conclusions from the best half-season of Duda’s career, but he seems like the best candidate if they need someone playing every day.