A full year of Yoenis Cespedes anchoring the middle of the lineup. This was clearly a different offense once Cespedes came aboard. Even when he’s not red hot, his presence in the three or four spot allows hitters like Lucas Duda and David Wright to see more fastballs. Michael Conforto patrolling left field and thumping [...]
With just 17 days to go until opening day, the Mets coaching staff and front office are busy making their final judgments before finalizing the 25-man roster for opening day. For the first time in years, Port St. Lucie has seen very little competition. The starting lineup and rotation are virtually set in stone, unless [...]
Aside from ingratiating himself with Mets fans with a broken leg caused by Chase Utley's violent playoff clipping slide, Ruben Tejada has a real value to this team that should cement his roster spot, at least in the short term. With the starting infield set with Lucas Duda, Neil Walker, Asdrubal Cabrera and David Wright, [...]
The sight of Daniel Murphy in a Washington Nationals uniform just doesn’t make sense. The eyes see it but it somehow doesn’t register properly in the brain, like a hotdog with ketchup or a Prius with a spoiler. Yet there he was yesterday, one of our favorite players of the last decade, suited up for [...]
Sandy Koufax, widely considered among the most dominant pitchers in baseball history, had his career end at age 30 due to unbearable pain in his left elbow. It was thought to be incurable arthritis, but we now know it was likely a torn ulnar collateral ligament – the all-important elastic piece of the elbow that [...]
This is a bigger question than you may realize. For a playoff contending team, the primary setup man is a key cog in the team’s success. Many close games are won and lost in the pivotal 8th inning. If Addison Reed is up to the task, the Mets will have a strong and deep bullpen [...]
The 2016 National League is sharply divided between haves and have nots. Six teams, two in each division, are in rebuilding mode, stripped bare of quality veterans, save a few overpaid, untradeable ones. The other nine, three in each division, are talented enough to compete for one of the five playoff spots. The have nots [...]
Mets fans old enough to remember the 1986 season will readily recall a talented and arrogant team that blew through the National League with 108 regular season wins on their way to the epic World Series win. Thirty years ago 100-win seasons were not uncommon. In most seasons, at least one if not more teams [...]
Highlights: Mets sign lefty Antonio Bastardo to solidify the back end of the pen. Spring Training will feature 12 pitchers competing for three roster spots. Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins will largely determine this relief corps’ success. Improving the bullpen was clearly a high priority in the Mets offseason plan. Recent acquisitions Addison Reed and [...]
While every Met fan counts down the days until the 2016 season starts, we each have our own great expectations of what our favorite players might accomplish. The rookies Michael Conforto, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz will now have a full season to display their immense talents. Perhaps this is the year Travis d’Arnaud avoids [...]
A big part of the Mets’ success in 2015 was their 47-29 record within the National League East. It certainly helped to have two teams in clear rebuilding mode, a third suffering injuries to its two key players, and the division favorite imploding down the stretch. However, can we assume a similar division dominance in [...]
A good bench is essential to any team’s success over a long season. Aside from providing pinch hitting and running, late-inning defensive replacements and needed days off, bench players are often thrust into every day duty following an injury to a starter. For the latter purposes, the Mets will rely on their bench more than [...]