Baseball Equipment and More

• 2 1/4” barrel • Long barrel design • Rolled end • Synthetic grip, 7/8” standard handle

CNT carbon nanotube technology strengthens composite structures, optimizing designs for maximum performance. Designed for more handle flex - two times greater than aluminum. New 13.5″ Extended barrel - longer barrel equals longer sweet spot. Patented Extended Flex™ design lengthens the sweet spot by increasing the barrel flex towards the contour and end of the bat to allow maximum performance across the entire barrel. Hot 98 MPH performance. Patented IMX™ - Integrated MatriX technology optimizes the relationship between materials, design and manufacturing process. Balanced swing weight Ultra-thin 29/32″ handle with Pro-Tack cushioned grip. Meets all 2007 Bat Performance Standards - ASA, USSSA, NSA, ISA, SSUSA and ISF.

Building on the dominance of our Combat youth baseball line, Combat’s 2 5/8” big barreled Virus Senior League bat is a top performing bat in the senior league category. The Virus SL features our patented ultra soft feel and large sweetspot. Foul balls will be a thing of the past as you are sure to get this big barreled bat around with its –8 or –10 drop. Also features Nanocomp Technology Inside (NTI) for added durability.Side effects of the Virus may include superior performance, home runs, the intimidation of others and popularity in general. All Composite Senior League Bat. Extreme Allowable Performance. Ultra Soft Feel. Large Sweetspot

Train for strength and control with the new Akadema Barbell Bat. The Akadema Barbell Bat is a weighted wood bat that can be used during training or in the on deck circle. The Akadema Barbell Bat features a standard wooden bat knob and tapered handle but then explodes into a monster barrel measuring approximately 2 ¾ inches in diameter. The bat is weighted to provide a player with a strength-training and warm up bat. The Akadema Barbell Bat can be used in the on deck circle for warming up in the game as well as in training sessions to strengthen the players swing and increase overall power. The Barbell Bat helps increase overall bat speed and increase strength through the hitting zone for harder hits and longer home runs! Use it off the tee, in the on deck circle, or in the back yard. Improve your game with the new Akadema Barbell Bat.

Righty allows four runs in four innings; Pagan drives in a pair.

ATLANTA — As much as the Mets want to put 2007 behind, they can not do so — not readily, not yet, not if their bullpen performs as it did on Saturday in a rather ugly loss to the Braves. Losing to the Braves wasn’t particularly reminiscent of what the Mets endured late last season. But parallels were easily drawn between the method of losing then and how they lost, 11-5, on Saturday.

It wasn’t merely the pinch-hit grand slam Kelly Johnson hit against Jorge Sosa — Sosa playing the role of discarded Guillermo Mota — in the seventh inning, or the two runs the Braves scored in the eighth against Nelson Figueroa, though those runs seemed to be pieces of unwanted nostalgia. But the bullpen let down the Mets even before Sosa was summoned. The Braves, having scored four times against losing pitcher John Maine, added a run to their lead in the sixth inning against Joe Smith and Scott Schoeneweis. So the Mets trailed 5-3 before the slam.

The Mets scored twice against the Braves’ already suspect bullpen in the eighth inning, but they couldn’t offset the damage. Maine, arguably the best pitcher in Florida last month, lasted merely four innings in his 2008 debut, allowing runs in three of them. He surrendered eight hits, three walks and four runs. He needed 96 pitches to achieve 12 outs, an unhealthy ratio.

The Mets scored once in the second inning and twice in the fifth, when the reversal of an incorrect call on a line drive struck by Jose Reyes changed an inning-ending double play into a run-scoring single. But even that assist was insufficient.

Smith retired the Braves in order in the fifth, But a leadoff single by Ruben Gotay, waived by the Mets in the final days of Spring Training, and an RBI single by Mark Kotsay against Schoeneweis doubled the Mets’ deficit.

The Mets managed six hits in six innings against Tim Hudson (1-0), the winning pitcher. David Wright was hitless in four at-bats; his hitting streak, carried over from last season, ended at 20 games.

Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

The Easton SCX14B Composite technology optimizing barrel design for maximum performance. Patented Extended Flex™ design lengthens the sweet spot to provide maximum hitting area along the entire length of the barrel. Patented IMX™ - Integrated MatriX technology optimizes the relationship between materials, design and manufacturing process. The SCX14B has a super lightweight –11.5oz. design. Evenly balanced for maximum swing speed. Painted and clear coat finish, great looking 4 color graphics. Ultra-thin 29/32″ handle with Pro-Tack cushioned grip. Meets all 2007 Bat Performance Standards - ASA, USSSA, NSA, ISA, SSUSA and ISF.

Pitchers beware! Combat is proud to introduce our first BESR certified 100% composite adult baseball bat called the Virus. Featuring Combat’s legendary soft feel and Hot Out the Wrapper Technology (HOT), this bat is sure to knock the leather off many baseballs this season. The unique sound of the Combat Virus will fool outfielders, leaving them standing in their tracks. Additional features include Nanocomp Technology Inside (NTI) for added durability. Available in a –3 drop, the Virus AB is BESR certified and legal in all associations allowing non-wood bats, including NCAA competition. All Composite Adult Baseball Bat. Extreme Allowable Performance

The 2007 DeMarini DX243 wood baseball bat has a pro-maple barrel and composite handle for unmatched feel and durability. This DeMarini wooden baseball bat uses premium performance grade maple for the barrel and composite materials for the handle to provide unmatched performance and durability. DeMarini’s DX243 wood baseball bats barrel profile is designed for power, with a large barrel to provide more mass at the point of contact with the sound and feel of maple and the durability of composite. The DX243 has a cupped end for maximum swing speed, is a -3 drop bat and BESR certified. These DeMarini bats have a 3 month manufacturers limited warranty.

• Maple / composite baseball bats

• Minus 3 drop wooden baseball bat

• Cupped end

• BESR certified

• 3 month manufacturers limited warranty

Friday’s rainout pushes game against rivals back to May 20.

ATLANTA — Any advantage for the Mets created by the rainout Friday night is likely to be of the time-release quality. After amassing 17 hits and scoring 13 runs on Wednesday night, the Mets didn’t embrace the day off on Thursday, much less the postponement in Atlanta on Friday. The rainout will be played as part of a day-night doubleheader on May 20, and therein lies the advantage, subtle as it may be.

Come May 20, the Mets may be at full strength when they play a four-game series in Atlanta, following three games in the Bronx and a trip to Denver. Indeed, the Mets may have all their broken pieces back together again by then.

Some updates of the wounded follow:

• Manager Willie Randolph said on Saturday that Moises Alou had resumed swinging a bat. The manager wasn’t sure whether Alou was swinging at pitches or balls on tee, but either way, swinging constitutes progress for the disabled left fielder who underwent surgery to repair a hernia early last month.

• The Mets are wont to say velocity is not the end all and be all of all aspects of pitching. And Orlando Hernandez, in what little he does say for public consumption, dismisses velocity as an issue in his on-going effort to return to the big leagues. But the club has concerns that his velocity isn’t increasing, even though his pitch count and stamina have increased in the past three weeks and the precision of his pitches has improved as well. El Duque, assigned to the disabled list, threw 64 pitches in a Class A game on Thursday; most were in the 80-84-mph range.

The Mets believe he will need at least two more starts, no matter what his velocity is.

• As disappointed as Pedro Martinez is by the right hamstring strain that has interrupted his comeback season, he was buoyed by what he was told by the Mets’ medical staff, that the injury was not so severe — the club announced it as a “mild” strain. But the fickle nature of hamstring injuries is a well-recognized variable, particularly for pitchers. Randolph said the prognosis — four to six weeks before Martinez will return to pitching — seemed “conservative.” And knowing how conservative the club is with recovering players, he said he wouldn’t be surprised if Martinez were to miss eight weeks.

• Still assigned to the disabled list, Duaner Sanchez made his first appearance in a Minor League game on Friday night. And it wasn’t a good one. He allowed two home runs and a single in one inning, pitching for the Mets’ Class A St. Lucie affiliate against the Vero Beach Devil Rays. The Mets were pleased by his velocity and how he threw, and they attributed the homers to strong winds and the smallish park at Vero Beach.

Randolph says Sanchez needs to pitch on successive days without after-effects — probably next week — before the reliever will be added to the big league roster.

• Ramon Castro, assigned to the DL because of a strained right hamstring, still hasn’t played in a Minor League game. The club is unsure when he will.

Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Akadema X10 Xtension Catapult Adult Baseball Bat (-3 BESR). The Akadema® X10 Xtension Catapult -3 adult baseball bat utilizes a special Xtension Pro balance design, that’s formulated to give you more control, leverage, and bat speed at the plate. The Pro balance allows for a better distribution of weight throughout the entire bat. The result is a much more manageable bat with increased barrel speed through the hitting zone, creating increased bat speed and power.