By now, you’ve lapped up all the ink spilled in praise of the Washington Nationals and their forward-thinking signing of Max Scherzer. The Scherzer deal wasn’t an old fashioned, Steinbrennerian, throw-bags-of money-at-Scott-Boras kind of agreement – although, in effect, that is surely what happened. No, this one actually took a page from the Mets’ old [...]
For the third week of January, there’s an awful lot of baseball talk around here. First there was the QBC on Saturday. Then, last night, there was a gathering called Pitch Talks at B.B. King’s Blues Club in mid-town Manhattan. The Pitch Talkers included – but were not limited to -- FOX/MLB TV bowtie man [...]
It was cold. I mean it was really cold. When your intrepid columnist left the friendly confines of suburban Jersey for an ad hoc trip to Queens for the Second Annual Queens Baseball Conference – the QBC – it was twelve degrees. That’s 12, as in “one-two.” There were important football games looming in the [...]
If you listen to Mets’ hierarchy – by whom I mean GM Sandy Alderson, his lieutenants, Paul DePodesta and J.P. Ricciardi as well as Manager Terry Collins: Fred and Jeff Wilpon have been silent so far this winter, and wisely so -- the year has finally arrived. Since 2010, we fans have been subject to [...]
Another offseason is blowing by us quickly. The Super Bowl is less than a month away, Valentine’s Day is the following weekend, and then it’s time for pitchers and catchers. Yes, it’s going quickly and not a moment too soon. The Mets still haven’t gotten themselves a shortstop. Did I write this last year, too? [...]
The 2014 Winter Meetings have started and the Mets haven’t made their long-awaited splash. Sandy Alderson has, instead, gone through his annual litany of tempering enthusiasm, lowering expectations and pricking lofty thought balloons. Since the Mets’ contingent arrived in San Diego, we’ve heard: • The payroll – currently sitting at $100 million – is more [...]
On Metsblog.com earlier today, proprietor Matthew Cerrone compiled a few quotes to show that there is a louder-than-quiet confidence in the Mets’ clubhouse. “I think 2015 is going to be a good year for us,” says manager Terry Collins. “We should be able to make the playoffs next year,” crows pitcher Jacob deGrom. “I know [...]
“Well? How did I get here?” – David Byrne, Talking Heads, “Once In A Lifetime” Right now, the Mets find themselves in a strange place. Their division, the National League East, entered the 2014 season with one team that was clearly head-and-shoulders above the rest. It had another team that had been a Wild Card [...]
It seems like the Mets are one of everybody’s talking points lately. Juan Lagares won the Gold Glove in center field. Jacob deGrom won the Rookie Of The Year Award, the same day the signing of Michael Cuddyer – the opening shot of this year’s free agent skirmishes – was announced. There hasn’t been much [...]
It’s been quite the week...and it’s only Thursday. There’s been a lot of activity swirling around Citi Field and Opening Day is five months off. It started with the announcement of the Mets signing Michael Cuddyer late Monday afternoon, followed later that evening by Jacob deGrom’s coronation as NL Rookie Of The Year. The Veterans’ [...]
Yesterday, the Mets made a long-awaited offseason splash, signing erstwhile Colorado Rockies' outfielder Michael Cuddyer to a two-year free agent contract. The move certainly blind-sided a number of members of the MSM and more than a few fans – including this one. The surprising part is that a Cuddyer-to-the-Mets scenario seemed dead in the water, [...]
The Mets have never been big on awards. In its history, the franchise has had one Batting Champion, four Rookies of the Year, eighteen Gold Glove winners, five Cy Young Award winners, three Home Run Champions and no MVPs. That’s in the span of 53 seasons, folks. While collecting trophies is nice, winning pennants is [...]