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 [...]

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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 [...]

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Mets issues in 2023 can be traced to poor drafting

Late last week, a graphic made the rounds on Twitter showing all 30 MLB teams ranked by the percentage of their draft picks from the last 10 years who made the Major Leagues. It was very simple, not controlling for how good the players were, just factoring in who played at least one game and [...]

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Inside Carlos Carrasco’s struggles, and a possible fix

Sunday was another in a long line of rough outings for Carlos Carrasco, allowing six runs (five earned) on five hits and three walks over three innings in an 8-7 loss to St. Louis. His ERA shot up to 6.34, and his 6.66 FIP is his highest since his 22.1 inning cup of coffee with [...]

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Kevin Parada: A big bat in Brooklyn

One of two selections in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft, Kevin Parada was considered one of the best hitting prospects in last year’s class. When he fell to the Mets at the No. 11 overall pick, the team got a bargain in selecting him – Baseball America rated his as the sixth-best [...]

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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 [...]

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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 – [...]

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Mets should inquire about Manny Machado

Only one week into spring training and there is already drama afoot concerning San Diego Padres infielder Manny Machado and his announcement that he plans to opt out of his contract at the end of the season. The market has only gotten more player-friendly since he signed with the Padres, and Machado’s camp is reportedly [...]

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Willie Mays and the fight for dignity

The baseball offseason is a great time to chat about the hot stove and look back at some of the more historical moments in the rich history of baseball. With this in mind, 2023 is the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Mets team that won the NL East with an 82-79 record, then captured the [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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Breaking down Sunday’s 20-K game

In Sunday’s 7-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, four Mets pitchers combined to tie the Major League record by striking out 20 batters in a nine-inning game. While that ended up being a footnote to the late comeback sparked in part by speedster Terrance Gore, that is still an eye-opening performance that merits a look. [...]

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