Since Buck Showalter took over the helm for the New York Mets, there was very little question he was a players’ manager, and believed in the analytics, but also would periodically rely on his feel for the in-game moves needed. The Mets got off to a great start and have largely held serve, so there [...]
Three weeks ago, the New York Mets were staring down a tough 21-game stretch, including eight with the Atlanta Braves and seven with the Philadelphia Phillies and two with the New York Yankees – all contenders for the World Series. The stretch started with the Mets just 3.5 games ahead of the Braves. The Mets [...]
The Mets have made it to August with a 3.5 game lead. The next three weeks will be the determining stretch on where the Mets end up. They play 18 of their next 21 games against the better teams in the league, including nine against Atlanta, seven against Philadelphia and two against the Yankees. The [...]
The standings on May 30 showed the Mets with a 10-game lead. Four weeks later it is down to five games. The Mets won 13 of 23, which is a .565 clip, but that is 100 points lower than April-May. The Braves managed to close the gap by winning 19 of 24, making up five [...]
As Thomas Paine once noted, these are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot, and the fair-weather fan will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their ball club; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. June, like hell, [...]
We are 10% of the way through the season and league-wide statistics are starting to take shape and stabilize – home run rates, strike out rates, batting averages, etc. which are going to tell us how the ball is reacting, which in turn can lead us to consider how to manage our expectations for seasonal [...]
With MLB ground to a halt, and no trips to go to Spring Training, I spent some of my weekend going to some local antique stores. It’s a great place to find old magazines, usually LOOK, TIME, SPORT and the like. I happened to stumble across a bin of old Baseball Digests. I have been [...]
I grew up in rural North Carolina, played Little League and collected baseball cards. My dad and I would watch weekend baseball games and during the summer we would watch Monday Night Baseball with Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek. My dad was a Yankees fan, as were so many North Carolina mill town kids that [...]
Lots of electrons have been spilt and will continue to be spilled over the Mets hiring of Buck Showalter as the New York Mets manager. Many believe he has the experience, the demeanor, and the relationships to take this Mets collection of players to the playoffs again. Most importantly, he appears to be the specific [...]
I am a big fan of WAR. Huge. I am also a fan of WAA. Old school statheads will tell you that “Average players have value”, which is why the bar is set at replacement. For the purposes of building or improving a team, replacement level isn’t as intuitive nor informative. Wins Above Average is. [...]
While we wait for the World Series, and the World Series to end and the Hot Stove League to begin, Brian Joura (BJ) and I (CD) touched base to exchange a few thoughts about the Mets, past, present and future. Chris Dial: Hi Brian. Thirty-five years ago the ball rolled through Buckner's legs. Do you [...]
Jack Nicklaus was once asked, as he got older, when he was playing a round of golf, when he realized he wasn’t going to shoot par. He replied, “When I hit my 72nd shot.” When assessing the Mets chances of making the playoffs or winning the National League East (around 88 wins), the question boils [...]