Comparing Amed Rosario to other recent star shortstops

Over the last year or so, I have found myself mentioning quite often that I feel Amed Rosario’s career path is trajecting like Xander Bogaerts’ and expect similar results. Rosario was the top prospect in baseball upon being brought to the big leagues and Keith Law called him “a tool shed.” Too, FanGraphs rated him [...]

Unanswered questions for the Mets as the 2020 season approaches

Spring Training is the time for optimism. The Mets are going to win the NL East, Jeff McNeil is going to win the batting title, Jeurys Familia has lost 30 pounds and is in the best shape of his life, Michael Wacha is throwing harder than ever – yada, yada, yada. Optimism is good and [...]

The difficulties in making a Steven Matz deal now

Rumors are swirling about a potential Steven Matz trade, with the idea that the Yankees are among those interested in the Mets’ lefty. It seems pretty unlikely to me that the Mets would deal Matz, or any starting pitcher, during Spring Training or before the trade deadline. The Mets are in the enviable position of [...]

Looking deeper into the PECOTA simulations for the National League East

Almost nothing brings a smile to winter-weary baseball fans than the reporting of pitchers and catchers to camp, followed by position players, then the first crack of the bat for a Spring Training game. We know it’s almost really here, actual baseball cannot be far off. And nothing accompanies actual visual contact of the team [...]

The roster and records of Mets teams five years after a World Series appearance

The Mets made the World Series in 2015, which isn’t that long ago but, in some respects, seems like it was a different lifetime. The average age of that World Series team was 28.8, perhaps slightly older than one might expect but it wasn’t exactly the 1980 Phillies “Wheeze Kids,” who averaged 30.9 years of [...]