Yes, yes, I know. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, as the old cliché goes. It’s April 12. It’s only 11 games. When the inevitable “crash” comes – by “crash, I mean something along the lines of a three-game losing streak -- it will feel lousy. But hot damn does this start put a smile [...]
So far, in this early portion of the 2018 season, you can say with a fair amount of certainty, this edition of the New York Mets is tough as nails. If they trail in a game, it isn't for very long. Such was the case this cold afternoon in Washington. Steven Matz started against Gio [...]
It's not where you start, it's where you finish. That hoary cliché fits this game to a T. Jacob deGrom squared off against Stephen Strasburg in Washington's home opener and the Mets sent the crowd to dinner in a funk. It didn't look that way at the beginning. After the Mets went out 1-2-3 in [...]
It’s April 5. Most years, this date would be baseball’s Opening Day, the herald of sunshine and warm weather. If you live in the New York area, you might have noticed this is not most years. April 5 and the Mets are already five – and should be six – games into the 2018 season. [...]
“It’s opening day. Or Opening Day, depending on your perspective.” – Jim Bouton, Ball Four It starts now. This is when stuff starts to get real. “Starts to,” because while yes, the games count this early, you still can’t really tell anything about anything. There are guys who play the game who say, “Hey, why [...]
If you’re a seasoned baseball watcher, over time, you start to think you know it all. Oh, sure, scouts get paid to evaluate talent, but a long-time fan can recognize talent just as well. Or so we think. While scouts get fooled sometimes, we get fooled far more often. I know of one fan who [...]
It’s spring training. We know. It doesn’t mean beans or predict anything. It’s only two starts. We know that, too. Even if the games meant something, two starts covering five innings is no sample size at all. But it is spring training and if you’re a baseball fan who can’t let your mind wander to [...]
OK, let’s address the elephant in the room right away: that throw. That throw lives in Mets’ infamy along with Carlos Beltran’s take, Timo Perez’s trot, Dwight Gooden’s fastball, Luis Castillo’s drop and Yogi Berra’s pitching rotation. Yes, that throw. In game five of the 2015 World Series, with the Mets fighting for their lives [...]
Baseball is closer than we think. Here in New York yesterday, the temperature got up to 78 degrees. On February 21. Exhibition games start tomorrow. The Mets have a small controversy. Heck, it may as well be June. It’s that mini-controversy we’re going to discuss. As spring training moves along apace, the usual articles and [...]
It’s finally here. Spring training is officially on, as pitchers and catchers had all reported by Monday’s mandatory date. Coincidentally, maybe, the New York area has emerged from its winter-long deep freeze to have a relatively warm week. So spring – actual spring -- is definitely visible on the horizon, even without squinting. And not [...]
A little bit ago, some smart guy wrote a piece exhorting the Mets to sign Todd Frazier. The idea was that he would fill a position of need -- third base – as well as the leadership void left by the departure of Curtis Granderson and the physical deterioration of David Wright. Well, almost two [...]
Editor's Note - Before leaving a comment for this story, make sure you have read our new comment policy. Mets’ owner Jeff Wilpon gamely – if not bravely – met with the media the other day to discuss the state of the team. The fact that he spoke at least semi-candidly about the team’s payroll [...]
