Hansel Robles to the rescue

The Mets bullpen is going to be under some pressure early in the season due to the expected suspension of closer Jeurys Familia for domestic violence issues. Nothing is official as of this writing but the suspension could be for 30 games, or even more. The expectation is that Addison Reed, the set-up pitcher in [...]

Continue reading "Hansel Robles to the rescue"

It’s too early to write off Travis d’Arnaud

Mets' catcher Travis d'Arnaud has had more than his share of injuries during his career and this has severely limited his playing time and his productivity. Some of his injuries have included three concussions, a chipped elbow, a fractured foot and a torn PCL in his left knee. These injuries were all before 2015 and [...]

Continue reading "It’s too early to write off Travis d’Arnaud"

Gil Hodges, the Hall of Fame, and how managers are judged

In recent years with respect to baseball statistics, some new stats have been created, and some older ones downgraded. A prime example of this is pitcher wins, at one time it was probably the most important stat in grading pitchers, but not so much lately. There is a trend to advanced metrics like FIP and [...]

Continue reading "Gil Hodges, the Hall of Fame, and how managers are judged"

Ben Zobrist a Met? A what-if scenario

A year ago this month, the Mets were targeting a high profile free agent, Ben Zobrist, late of the 2015 World Series champion Kansas City Royals. The Mets had seen more than enough of Mr. Zobrist in their losing World Series effort, and they wanted the versatile player on their side. Reports at the time [...]

Continue reading "Ben Zobrist a Met? A what-if scenario"

Denny (Ribant) and the Mets, a notable 50th anniversary

The year 2016 has been celebrated all year as the 30th anniversary of the 1986 World Champion Mets. But 2016 is the 50th anniversary of another Met team, the 1966 Mets. While not nearly as successful as the '86 club, that '66 team did notch a few milestones. The Mets had played four seasons before [...]

Continue reading "Denny (Ribant) and the Mets, a notable 50th anniversary"

A first base plan for the Mets in 2017

In 2014 Lucas Duda took over as the Mets starting first baseman. He played 153 games that year, and in 2015 he played 135 games. However, in 2016 he was limited to only 47 games due to a back injury, although he did return late in the season. Assuming his back has healed, should the [...]

Continue reading "A first base plan for the Mets in 2017"

Meet the most popular Mets of all time

Picking the most popular Met players of all time is by nature subjective, but hey, I'm willing give it a shot. I am only going to go with players who were regulars for at least a few seasons with the Mets, and who won the affection of fans and teammates. There will be no stars [...]

Continue reading "Meet the most popular Mets of all time"

A possible successor for Terry Collins

During the World Series one of the announcers stated something to the effect that Chicago Cub catcher David Ross liked to shadow manage along with the real Cub manager, Joe Maddon. Then after the play he would see if his pretend decision was the same as Maddon's real decision. The next day I had a [...]

Continue reading "A possible successor for Terry Collins"

The prototype for Bartolo Colon

A right-handed pitcher has a long and successful career in MLB. Toward the end of his career he is acquired by an underdog New York club and eventually helps to propel his team to the World Series. He becomes very popular with the fans, despite the fact he packs a fair amount of weight on [...]

Continue reading "The prototype for Bartolo Colon"

The 1986 Mets… Best NL team ever?

Thursday, October 27 is the 30th anniversary of the Mets' World Series victory over the Boston Red Sox. The Mets had a terrific team that year. Were they perhaps the best National League team ever? Lets take a look. I am limiting this ranking to National League teams because there are subtle differences between the [...]

Continue reading "The 1986 Mets… Best NL team ever?"

Plan B if Yoenis Cespedes departs

Three days after the 2016 World Series ends, Yoenis Cespedes can opt out of his contract and become a free agent. All signs point to this happening. If it does, the Mets could still sign him, but there will be plenty of competition for the consensus choice as the best free agent player on the [...]

Continue reading "Plan B if Yoenis Cespedes departs"