Outside options at First Base and Shortstop in 2014

Being a Mets fan and journalism student, many of my friends come to me with their trade ideas and ask me if they will work. Some of them are just flat out ridiculous and others actually make sense. Last week, I talked about what the Mets needed to do at the winter meetings in order [...]

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Zack Wheeler is legit and other lessons from Monday’s game

The Mets defeated the Marlins 4-2 on Tuesday at Marlins Park. It took 10 innings, but the Amazins' pulled it off. Here are four things we can take away from this win. 1. Zack Wheeler is legit. Wheeler took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and lost the bid to 31-year-old rookie, Ed Lucas. He [...]

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Grading and evaluating each member of the 2013 Mets bullpen

In the 2012-13 offseason Sandy Alderson was trying to improve a Mets bullpen that had the second worst bullpen ERA in baseball. Many names have departed since opening day and midseason 2012; Jon Rauch, Ramon Ramirez, Manny Acosta, Miguel Batista, Elvin Ramirez, D.J. Carrasco, Garrett Olson, Jake Egbert, Pedro Beato, and Frank Francisco- who currently [...]

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A Win In Miami: A Midsummer Mets Movie

In the classic Hollywood storytelling arc, the formula is “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl.” This basic structure has worked since anybody figured out that you could tell a story with some celluloid and a screen. It’s worked for Gable and Lombard, Hepburn and Tracy, Funicello and Avalon, Hanks and Ryan. It’s [...]

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The word on Marlon Byrd and the trade deadline

Marlon Byrd is having a World Class season.  He’s currently hitting .280/.324/.508 with 17 HRs and 60 RBI on the year.  He’s also due a pittance of a salary and holds no commitment beyond 2013.  All of these things SHOULD make Byrd a highly sought after player at the trade deadline.  Except for the fact [...]

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Notes on Juan Lagares

Coming off an NL Player of the Week Award, Juan Lagares was named the everyday centerfielder, further cemented by Kirk Nieuwenhuis’ demotion to AAA Las Vegas. He has posted numbers like a .352/.400/.537/.937 slash and a .393 wOBA, albeit helped by a .462 BABIP, in July and has played plus defense at a prime position. [...]

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Mets Minors: Jordany Valdespin enjoying Vegas

Early in the season I supported the Mets having Jordany Valdespin in the MLB lineup.  He has speed and power and the Mets future would not be Collin Cowgill.  Then his play stopped justifying my faith. By the end of his time in the majors he was hitting .188/.250/.316 and was only 4 for 7 [...]

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Kevin Plawecki, Jayce Boyd, and age appropriateness Part II

Back in May I wrote an article discussing the Savannah Sand Gnats trio of Kevin Plawecki, Jayce Boyd, and Brandon Nimmo, who were mashing the South Atlantic League (SAL) at the time. Specifically, the discussion centered around the downplaying of Plawecki and Boyd's performances because they were "old for their league" or not "age appropriate." [...]

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