In his first chance at closing a game in the absence of Frank Francisco, Bobby Parnell threw a flawless ninth inning and slammed the door shut, preserving the Mets 3-2 win over the Dodgers on Thursday night and recording his first save of the season. So the age-old question arises once again. Is Parnell ready [...]
If you ask most National League lefty batters which southpaw they hate to face in the late innings, undoubtedly most would say Aroldis Chapman of the Reds, who has limited LHB to a .367 OPS while recording an 8.67 K/BB ratio. But the Mets have quite a weapon of their own to neutralize big lefty [...]
Well that was fun, wasn’t it? A day after the immediate future of the Mets was bemoaned in some circles – this one, in particular – they blasted four homeruns, stroked six doubles and posted a 17-1 rout of the Chicago Cubs. (I almost called them the “Flubs,” but then I remembered the Metsian follies [...]
Well, that 17-1 trouncing of the Cubs on Wednesday was exactly what the Mets desperately needed in more ways than one. First, the Mets ended a four-game losing streak and expunged the bad taste left in their mouths by losing their last two games to the Yankees, while also exorcising their demons of comic mishaps [...]
“You are what your record says you are.” – Former New York Football Giants coach Bill Parcells, 2005 “Those were the real Mets.” – Cubs manager Leo Durocher after a Chicago win, June 1969 “I’m afraid we’re starting to see the real team peek out.” – Vince, a Met fan friend of mine, this morning. [...]
Coming into the 2012 season, I had Kirk Nieuwenhuis rated as the #5 prospect in the farm system, ahead of both Wilmer Flores and Cesar Puello. I have been a Nieuwenhuis backer long before that, too, having ranked him in 2011 (#5 prospect) and 2010 (#9 prospect). I was excited when he got the call [...]
Sunday night Terry Collins was faced with a dilemma: Use Miguel Batista for a second inning or bring in Tim Byrdak to face more than one batter. Collins opted for Batista, who promptly gave up the game-winning home run to Robinson Cano, a lefty. The Yankees had Cano, Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher due up [...]
Jason Bay is done. I’m going to say that he should probably just retire at this point because he’s not helping anyone by playing baseball. He’s hurting himself and the organization that pays him. Retire, go to Canada and drink some maple syrup. The Mets might be better off with Hairston/Valdespin, Nieuwenhuis and Duda in [...]
After Friday’s game against the Yankees, Daniel Murphy has now sat the last two games as a starter. Some are left wondering if this will be a continuing theme. Well, after going just 8-58 in his last 16 games, Terry Collins is starting to use the hot hand by inserting Jordany Valdespin and Justin Turner [...]
In his first four games of 2012, the Mets scored six runs for Johan Santana. Since then they have tallied 54 runs in his last 10 starts, an unexpected offensive explosion. Poor run support has plagued Santana since he joined the Mets but he has little to complain about in that department recently. And the [...]
Traditional Trade Partners: Teams no longer in the playoff hunt looking to trade more expensive and older players for young/cheap alternatives or prospects. Currently there are 7 teams I’d lump into this group: Minnesota, Seattle, Philadelphia, Houston, Chicago (NL), San Diego and Colorado. I’m just going to take a moment to outline some of the [...]
They get swept, they sweep. They get swept, they sweep. That’s how it’s looked since Friday, June 8, when the Mets walked into Yankee Stadium, fresh off dropping two in Washington, with Johan Santana making his first nerve-wracking appearance since his no-hitter. It didn’t go well. The gopher was well-fed by the time Sunday afternoon [...]