NFL picks against the spread for Week 14

Before last week’s picks, there was complaining about the previous week being a sister kisser.  Well, a 6-9 week will make you long for the days of making out with a relative.  That brings my season-long record to 47-45-4.  Time to get back into the black this week. All odds are from yahoo!sportsbook, with home [...]

Mets replace Taijuan Walker with Jose Quintana

With Taijuan Walker leaving for Philadelphia, quick-draw Billy Eppler replaced him in the rotation just a day later with Jose Quintana, on a 2/$26 million deal. Much like with Jacob deGrom, the Mets looked to replace a veteran pitcher with an even older veteran pitcher, but on a shorter-term deal. The soon-to-be-34-year-old Quintana had a [...]

The battle of quick-draw Billy Eppler and slow-playing Scott Boras over Brandon Nimmo

The Mets did not rush in hiring Billy Eppler as their GM. Part of that was due to spinning their wheels in search of a President of Baseball Operations. Eppler was hired in mid-November. Perhaps because he was up against the deadline of the owners’ lockout, Eppler did not waste time making his mark on [...]

Mets replace Jacob deGrom with Justin Verlander

The Mets went less than a week with just one ace, as they just signed Justin Verlander to a two-year deal with a vesting option for the third season. According to Anthony DiComo, it's "a two-year, $86 million contract with a $35 million vesting option for 2025." Verlander returned from missing most of the 2020 [...]

A contrarian approach to replacing (partially) Jacob deGrom

The Mets' starting rotation was thin heading into the offseason, and after the departure of Jacob deGrom to Texas, the pitching is even more of a problem. Many fans think the solution is to try and sign either, or possibly both, Justin Verlander or Carlos Rodon. Here is a different approach, a contrarian approach so [...]

NFL picks against the spread for Week 13

My picks went 8-8 last week, bringing the season ledger to 41-36-4.  Time to brush off the sister-kisser and get back to a winning week.  Off to a good start with the Thursday night win.  Let’s keep the train moving forward. All odds from yahoo!sportsbook with the home team in bold.  This is for entertainment [...]

Why the historically pitching-rich Mets have a store-bought rotation and few impact pitchers in the high minors

The Mets used 11 different starters in 2022, with eight of those pitchers making at least nine starts. Those eight combined for 159 starts. Five of those eight pitchers were imports who came from outside of the organization. It’s a trend that doesn’t figure to change this year and might even get worse, depending upon [...]