Logan Verrett looks to turn questionable start into a bigger role

The Mets are doing the right thing for the wrong reason Sunday when they give a start to Logan Verrett. Now, that’s better than doing the wrong thing for the wrong reason, like calling up a lefty reliever to go to an eight-man bullpen because their useless LOOGY makes their relief corps too thin. Still, [...]

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Gut Reaction: Mets 14, Rockies 9 (8/22/15)

The Mets continued their mastery over the Rockies with a 14-9 victory Saturday night in a game that was as good for the team's batting average as it was bad for the fans' eyes. It was New York's 10th straight win over Colorado and the second straight by this particular score. All eight of the [...]

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Curtis Granderson has elevated his defense

Curtis Granderson made a great throw from right field in yesterday's game, albeit a close call, to throw out a runner tagging up from third. It was his eighth outfield assist, placing him 11th in all of baseball among outfielders in that particular stat. That's the total he had the entirety of 2014. It's this [...]

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Defensive grades that Strat-O-Matic might give the 2015 Mets

Broadcasters Howie Rose and Keith Hernandez sprinkle allusions to the Strat-O-Matic Baseball game they played extensively in their teens. It is a game that is still going strong and the defensive grades it assigns players are respected for accuracy and consistency. In recent years as a service to my fellow league members I give them [...]

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Gut Reaction: Mets 14, Rockies 9 (8/21/15)

The Mets prove that nothing's better for slumping bats than a trip to Coors Field, as they jumped out to a 7-1 lead and hung on for a 14-9 win over the Rockies Friday night. The Mets' win and the Nats' loss gives New York a five-game lead in the East. Yoenis Cespedes had one [...]

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More late-inning arms a must for playoff hunt

Carlos Torres, the Mets reliever who continued the bullpen’s recent struggles allowing a walk-off home run against Baltimore Wednesday night, said location wasn’t a problem on Henry Urrutia’s first career home run. “We called for a fastball up. I threw the fastball up. These guys, unfortunately, they’ve been seeing [Noah] Syndergaard and [Jacob] deGrom, so [...]

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Steven Matz and 15 cups of coffee

Technically speaking, it is incorrect to refer to a September call-up as “cup of coffee.” This old baseball term was historically used in reference to a short stretch spent in the majors to fill in for an injured player, not for a player filling out a roster spot for the last month of the season, [...]

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Mets fans’ apprehension is informed by the past

The Mets lost last night in excruciating fashion. We should be used to that by now, and the team did have a four-and-a-half game cushion going into it, but a loss like that still stings. The fact that the Washington Nationals were able to shave a game off that lead didn’t help. The collective “uh-oh,” [...]

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Fans should lower their expectations for David Wright

The New York Mets continued another week in first place, amazingly enough. The starting pitching has been good, the bullpen has been shaky and the offense has been streaky at best. With all of this inconsistency, it's a wonder the team is still holding on to their spot atop the NL East. They have been [...]

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