A beginner’s guide to the ‘Phantom IL’

Shortly after the Mets officially announced David Stearns as their President of Baseball Operations and the surprising resignation of General Manager Billy Eppler, reports poured in that Eppler was under MLB investigation for improper use of the Injured List. MLB evidently took umbrage with his use of what is referred to in baseball circles as [...]

Athletic Jett Williams is exactly what the Mets need

One of the explicitly stated purposes of MLB’s rules changes for the 2023 season was to help players show off their athleticism on the field. For all that has gone wrong for the Mets in 2023, one thing they did not do during the last offseason was get more athletic. However, the good news is [...]

Mark Vientos is raking … against fastballs

As the Mets youth movement has taken hold with Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty in the Major Leagues, utility prospect Mark Vientos keeps working away in Triple-A Syracuse. After smacking 24 home runs and hitting .280/.358/.519 in 101 games with the S-Mets in 2022, the 23-year-old is batting .364/.446/.764 with six long balls in his [...]

Rubber disengagement: The X-factor of MLB’s rule changes

Throughout Spring Training there has been much attention paid to the new playing rules implemented for the 2023 season by Major League Baseball. While the pitch clock, larger bases and banning the shift have been the alterations that have garnered the most attention, there is one that has flown somewhat more under the radar – [...]

Holiday Gift: A look back at the Mike Hampton trade

It was this week in the year 1999 that the New York Mets executed a trade that gave them two of the final pieces of their pennant-winning 2000 squad: acquiring NL Cy Young Award runner-up Mike Hampton and outfielder Derek Bell from the Houston Astros for Roger Cedeno, Octavio Dotel and minor league pitcher Kyle [...]

New playoff system doesn’t need adjusting… yet

In the first year of the newly-expanded MLB playoffs, the Wild Card Rounds and American and National League Division Serieses have been characterized by chaos. Much has been said about the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers and the 101-win Mets and Atlanta Braves all failing to win playoff series. The NLCS features an 89-win San Diego [...]