Perhaps the greatest unknown entering Spring Training for the Mets this season was what the team would get from all of the starting pitchers who suffered injuries in 2017. After two Grapefruit League appearances the results were horrific for Steven Matz, an outcome even more disturbing because there was probably more reason for optimism with [...]
Three weeks into Grapefruit League games and the starting pitching situation isn’t much more clearly defined than it was heading into camp. Still, a few questions have been answered, we have both game action and numbers to view and we can combine a few factors to make some educated guesses on how this will play [...]
By far baseball is my favorite sport. But I’m a sports fan and I’ve spent quite a few Sundays watching nine hours of football, too. Despite those two statements, the best day of the year for a sports fan is the first day of the NCAA basketball tournament. And it just so happens today is [...]
The Mets picked up former overall number-one pick and five-time All Star Adrian Gonzalez during the offseason. The idea was that Gonzalez would allow Dominic Smith to get more seasoning at Triple-A after Smith came up last year and did not overwhelm either at the plate or in the field. In an injury-plagued season in [...]
It’s long been my opinion that MLB in general and the Mets in particular spend too much time worrying about which hand a pitcher throws with and not enough time worrying if the pitcher is, you know, any good. It’s how the Mets have wound up giving innings to Scott Schoeneweis and Robert Carson and [...]
Brandon Nimmo has a perception problem. And since we all know that perception dictates reality, well, you can see how this might be an issue. The perception is that he was a bust of a draft pick who doesn’t do anything really well. While he might be just fine as a fourth outfielder, he’s not [...]
We’re 12 games into the Grapefruit League season for the 2018 Mets and a two-game winning streak leaves the squad at 5-7. Few care about Spring Training standings and the number’s not significantly different for Spring Training stats as a whole. But while others take great glee in shouting from the rooftops how numbers in [...]
What a difference a year makes. This time last season, there were a ton of doubts surrounding Jay Bruce and what he would deliver for the Mets. Now he’s viewed as perhaps the surest bet there is among the team’s position players. His durability is well established and seemingly no one talks about him returning [...]
There hasn’t been a ton of news so far in Grapefruit League play on Seth Lugo. That may be a good thing, as the attention for the most part has been on injured guys and a guy who was pulled from the starting lineup because he showed up late. No one should want bad attention. [...]
It’s been a tough past two seasons for Matt Harvey. After a triumphant comeback from TJ surgery in 2015, when he had a 2.71 ERA over 189.1 IP, Harvey has combined for 9-17 record with a 5.78 ERA in 185.1 IP the past two years. There was talk that he was going to be available [...]
The first four pitchers to start a game for the Mets in Grapefruit League play this season combined for 7 IP and 0 ER. Steven Matz failed to record an out in the second inning and finished with a line of 1 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 2 BB and a K, with all of [...]
The Mets’ system doesn’t have any elite, can’t-miss guys. They have a bunch of talented young guys in the lower levels who might develop that way. They’ve got guys with elite skills who haven’t been able to stay healthy. And they’ve got Corey Oswalt. My top 50 list had Oswalt third overall but that was [...]