Lately, I’ve talked some about lineup construction and the traditional approach to filling out the batting order and an optimized lineup. Perhaps the biggest difference is that most teams bat their best hitter third while the optimized lineup would have that hitter batting second or fourth. The optimized lineup is the result of thousands of [...]
1964 TOPPS GIANTS ROY MCMILLAN If I asked you to name the worst-hitting season by a Mets player with at least 400 PA, you would probably name someone like Rey Ordonez or Doug Flynn or Bud Harrelson. Those are all good guesses but not the right answer. An inspired selection would be Rafael Santana, who [...]
In 2008 the Mets did not have a starting left fielder. Angel Pagan drew the Opening Day assignment but he made just 20 starts that season. Pagan was one of 12 players to start in left for the Mets in 2008. By September manager Jerry Manuel had a platoon in left field featuring 22-year-old Nick [...]
Don’t look yet, but Reese Havens may finally be back. The 22nd overall pick in the 2008 draft is in the midst of his best stretch in nearly two seasons, highlighted by a pinch-hit, 12th-inning walkoff homer Saturday for the Binghamton Mets against Altoona. Coincidentally, Havens was playing next to rehabbing shortstop Jose Reyes, perhaps [...]
The Mets are 62-68 but they have been hit with a ton of injuries again. In fact, I bet you don’t know which player has made the most starts this year for the Mets. Carlos Beltran was leading the team until he got traded. Jose Reyes was leading until he went on the DL for [...]
Since the inauguration of Citi Field in 2009, the topic of conversation involving the ballpark has been the dimensions. Many seem to feel the walls are ridiculous all around. You look at that left field wall and see how high it is at 12’ to 15’. Hitting a home run that way seems a little [...]
Since the middle of 2004, David Wright has been a fixture at third base for the Mets. Since then, he’s made the All-Star team five times, finished in the top 10 in MVP voting three times and he’s claimed two Gold Glove Awards. Wright is the Mets’ all-time leader in doubles and total bases and [...]
On Capuano, you seen him that good before? “Oh, yeah. If you look at my numbers against him, he’s that good all the time. No, but that’s the first time I’ve seen him like that since he’s come back. His fastball was better and he was moving it in and out along with his changeup. [...]
A lot has been made this week about David Wright being placed on waivers. The thing is many players-and even stars- go through waivers to see how they are “valued” throughout the league. It didn’t stop many in the mainstream media from declaring that Wright was persona non grata with the Mets, and that the [...]
At the start of Spring Training, one of the biggest questions facing the Mets was who was going to be the club’s starting second baseman. Nearly 130 games into the season, not much has changed. Sure, Justin Turner has held down the position for the great majority of the year but his hold seems tenuous, [...]
Remember a couple of months ago, when a small portion of the world was convinced the end of life on Earth was at hand? There’s a lot of talk right now – with an East Coast earthquake behind us and the prospect of a hurricane looming – that maybe it was just the calendar that [...]
As injuries continue to ravage the Mets, and with the team flailing as the season comes to a close, many players will get an opportunity to make their case for future inclusion with the Mets. Enter Nick Evans. Evans has really turned a corner late in the summer and is in the midst of an [...]