Predicted standings (subject to change with roster changes) New York Mets: 93-79 Atlanta Braves: 90-82 Washington Nationals: 85-77 Philadelphia Phillies: 81-81 Miami Marlins: 67-95 Source: Will Leitch, MLB.com These aren't the five areas of concern that I would point out for each club but it's still nice to see someone not thinking that certain clubs [...]
Few will remember the tenure of former Mets manager Mickey Callaway fondly. But one thing that even his strongest detractors will have to grant him is that in the past two seasons, the Mets’ starting pitchers were very healthy. Was that something that Callaway should get credit for or is that something that merely happened [...]
Edgardo Alfonzo leads the Brooklyn club to a championship. His reward? Well, he got canned. Now he's getting inducted into the club's Hall of Fame. Talk about mixed messages. The Mets are now looking to replace the former role of new manager Luis Rojas -- quality control coach. Wouldn't it be something if Alfonzo ended [...]
If “Robo Umps” are going to continue calling balls and strikes, they need to be ready to hear the good and the bad from the fans, just like their human counterparts. And for that, they’re going to need names. That’s the consensus of the teams of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), which announced [...]
The Mets’ bullpen finished 2019 11th in the National League in WHIP (1.432) and 13th in ERA (4.99) and if we removed Seth Lugo from the equation, the numbers would be significantly worse. The pen was dogged last year by the dreaded combo of injuries and ineffectiveness. But let’s take a minute to dream on [...]
Perhaps no pitcher on the staff has the chance to benefit more from new pitching coach Jeremy Hefner than Noah Syndergaard. Sure, sure – Edwin Diaz' results may be more important to the club. But would Hefner get credit for that or would it be the offseason work with Pedro Martinez that Diaz has supposedly [...]
It's been an eventful offseason for the NL East. The Braves lost Josh Donaldson but gain Cole Hamels and Marcell Ozuna. The Nationals lost Anthony Rendon but bolstered their bullpen, which was such a sore spot last year. The Phillies added Zack Wheeler and Didi Gregorius. Even the Marlins got in on the act, signing [...]
Very few people would argue against the notion that experience matters. You’re going to have open heart surgery, you want a doctor who’s done the operation 100 times before. You’re getting new brakes done, you want someone who’s not taking the wheels off the car for the first time. You’re being sued you want a [...]
According FanGraphs' Steamer system, the 2020 New York Mets are projected to have the top bullpen in the National League and the third-best relief corps in all of baseball with an even 5.0 fWAR. That's a seemingly preposterous notion to a fan base that suffered through a season sunk by what was, for large parts [...]
There are only 17 days remaining until Mets pitchers and catchers report to Port St. Lucie for 2020 spring training. This past week, they seemingly filled the final, very important vacancy in hiring Luis Rojas to be their new manager. They also resigned Rene Rivera to a non-guaranteed contract with big league incentives to provide [...]
Following the search, hire, and controversial dismissal of Carlos Beltran, the Mets opted to replace him with an in-house candidate and one of the runner-up candidates from their previous search, Luis Rojas. Having been with the Mets organization since 2011, Rojas has been an organizational mainstay with managing stints with the rookie league, low A [...]
A couple of days ago, MetsBlog posted video of Yoenis Cespedes working out in Port St. Lucie. The video showed him running, taking BP and making a fun catch with a rifle throw. https://twitter.com/i/status/1219347124485349376 Not bad for a guy who missed all of last year and most of the previous one. If he's able to [...]