The 2014 season didn’t get off to a fast start for Vic Black. In ten spring training appearances, Black pitched to a 5.79 ERA and 2.46 WHIP in 9.1 IP, a showing that promptly had him demoted to minor league camp much earlier than anyone could have expected. Fans and upper management envisioned Black as a key component to this year’s bullpen, but with his setback in spring, reassurance was needed as criteria for a…
Mets’ fill-in closer Jose Valverde has been awful over his last three appearances. During that span of just three innings, he’s given up 8 runs (5 earned) on six hits. Four of those hits were home runs. It’s almost like he’s no longer a viable, high-leverage closer. Who would’ve thought it? Except for the Tigers, who released him after multiple failed attempts at reviving his closer role with the team. Also, all of the other…
On Opening Day, the Mets had big free agent acquisition Curtis Granderson hit cleanup. He started his Mets career 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. And it hasn’t gotten much better since. Last night, Granderson heard Mets’ fans boo him, as he twice came up empty with multiple runners on base in the late innings. With runners on first and second in the eighth inning, he weakly popped up to third base. Then in the ninth inning…
“I’m a steady rollin’ man. I roll both night and day. I’m a steady rollin’ man. I roll both night and day.” —Robert Johnson So far, so good. At least as far as Carlos Torres goes this year. He has maintained a very effective approach to hitters throughout all his appearances out the New York Mets’ bullpen. He’s a steady rollin’ man. As of the end of the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Torres has…
As the New York Mets came back to Queens to start their 10-game homestand last night, the team brought up Daisuke Matsuzaka on Friday while reassigning John Lannan. With the Mets having five healthy starters (save for Jenrry Mejia’s blister issues and Bartolo Colon’s back problems), the only chance where Matsuzaka can make his mark with the club is in the bullpen. It’s not a place Matsuzaka is used to, as he only made one…
After 18 months of teasing, the New York Mets have finally broken up with Ike Davis, sending him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league reliever Zach Thornton and a player to be named later. According to CBS’s Jon Heyman, the PTBNL is “significant”, so there’s that. Right now, this trade looks like nothing to celebrate but not necessarily a loss. The biggest part of this trade is that we never have to hear about…
Important caveat, 15 games is a good hitting streak, not a good base to establish trends. Warning aside, something interesting is happening with the 2014 New York Mets. A seemingly terrible omen in the form of an opening series sweep at the hands of the Washington Nationals has been settled for now with an 8-7 season record. In those first three games the starting pitching had a combined ERA just under 5, Mets batters hit…
One of the unsung stars of the early going for the Mets has been the offensive production of Lucas Duda. Slowed by an injury in Spring Training, Duda has also suffered somewhat from management’s refusal to solve the three-headed first baseman issue. But when he’s got on the field, Duda has been a productive offensive player. Among those with at least 20 PA, Duda leads the Mets with a 133 OPS+. We’ve seen a much…
My strong preference was for the Mets to sign Shin-Soo Choo this past offseason. However, Sandy Alderson did not want to put all of his eggs into one basket and instead spent $32.25 million on Bartolo Colon, Curtis Granderson and Chris Young. While it will be interesting to see the value the Mets get for their free agent dollars versus what Choo puts up, it will also be interesting to see at the end of…
Recent Comments