The return of Jason Bay has widely been considered a major reason why the Mets have been playing better baseball of late. (Notwithstanding last night’s 10-3 drubbing at the hand of the Phillies). Prior to last night’s game, the Mets had gone 6-1 in Bay’s return and raised their collective batting averages from .238 to [...]
It was a long time coming. Finally the 2011 New York Mets have started to gain momentum. Even though they hit a small snag last night, this team was on a six game winning streak. Yet what caused this surge? What made the team that some felt would not go anywhere, to finding their power? [...]
“The Mets have shown tremendous grit tonight.” – SNY’s Gary Cohen, 4/27/11, 9th inning of an eventual 6-3 win over the Nationals. Really? Did I hear that right? The Mets described as “gritty?” I haven’t heard that since 2005, the early days of Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez, Cliff Floyd & Mike Cameron. Since Doug Mantkiewicz [...]
How about that for a turnaround? Since my last blog, the Mets have flipped the switch and are currently on a six-game winning streak. So, what gives? Is it fundamentals, is it the timely hitting or is it the return of Jason Bay? Well, all of the above. And of course, not so coincidentally, a [...]
One of the keys to Tuesday’s victory over the Nationals was the work of the bullpen. Mets relievers went 4.1 IP and allowed 1 ER and picked up both the win (Ryota Igarashi) and the save (Francisco Rodriguez). Considered by some to be the weak point of the team, the bullpen has been an asset [...]
1966 TOPPS EDDIE BRESSOUD ORIGINAL ART When I was a kid, my friend's dad had LeRoy Neiman lithographs lining the corked walls of his study. Sometimes I'd press my nose against a picture frame and examine the angles and arcades of the penciled signature along the white border. I haven't acquired much original art of [...]
Ike Davis is off to a great start this year, with a .316/.407/.579 slash line. Over at ESPN, they use what the player has done so far and use that to project what the player would do for the entire season if he kept up his current pace. While it’s not serious analysis, it’s fun [...]
Last year’s Mets roster had a bunch of questionable additions on Opening Day that it took until mid-May or later to correct. This year’s roster had fewer head-scratching selections and the new management team has been quicker to address problems. Blaine Boyer, clearly the biggest Opening Day mistake, lasted all of 10 days. Lucas Duda [...]
The New York Mets may be starting to turn it around, but the St. Lucie Mets in the high Class-A Florida State League have been on fire all season. The Mets are a minor league-best 15-2 and their top two starters, Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia, have been getting most of the accolades. The St. [...]
For most Mets fans, their goal for Carlos Beltran has been for him to prove he is healthy and then trade him at the deadline for prospects and salary relief. I did not like that idea in December and nothing I’ve seen the first three weeks of the season has changed my mind. Beltran has [...]
I’m not going to go into detail about this point in this 2011 season. If you’re reading this, it’s already painfully obvious to you what’s transpired. Base running gaffes, lousy pitching, over-eagerness at the plate and a general, overall malaise are the marks of this year. It all seems very Polo Grounds-ish, without charm, or [...]
Mark Cohoon, the Mets Pitcher of the Year in 2010, going 12-5 with a 2.57 ERA combined at Savannah and Binghamton, has shown he’s not just a one-hit wonder despite lacking an overpowering heater that has kept him from soaring up the prospect lists. The 23-year-old lefthander fanned a career-high 11 batters and allowed just [...]