Coleman's Corner: Strong Words From Wilpon

By Ed Coleman
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It was another jam-packed day of press conferences at Mets camp in Port St. Lucie on Thursday. While son Jeff led things off on Wednesday, it was another Wilpon - father Fred - who did the honors Thursday. And the elder Wilpon did not mince words, loudly and emphatically declaring that the family did not know anything about Bernard Madoff's scheme, absolutely did no wrong, and vowed that they would be vindicated when all was said and done.

Wilpon said what has hurt the most during this difficult time is the attacks on his character and integrity.

And if there was any doubt that the Wilpon family intended to retain control of the Mets franchise, Fred erased it.

This all took place while pitchers and catchers filed out for their first official workout of the spring. Johan Santana - who would later hold his own press conference - came out with his teammates - in uniform - and joined them for stretching and drills. It was the idea of manager Terry Collins, done after Santana had expressed to Collins that he did not want to be a distraction during his rehabilitation process. This was Collins' response.

There's no questioning how good a teammate Santana is, how hard he works and the example that he sets, and how tough a competitor he is between the lines. He addressed how he'll go about that while recuperating.

GM Sandy Alderson detailed the 3-step process that Santana is in the midst of which should deliver him back on a big-league mound somewhere in the vicinity of late June to mid-July, or possibly a little later.

Friday should slow down a little bit before some more of the position players arrive on Saturday. The first official full-squad workout is Monday.

C U on Friday
Eddie C.

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