“Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?" A four-run lead headed to the bottom of the eighth is supposed to be safe. To paraphrase Howie Rose, I was putting this one in the books before the eighth was over. But we know the narrative these past two weeks, don’t we? This bullpen stinks [...]
The Mets salvaged the final game of their three-game series against the Phillies as the bats finally came alive. The first two losses were tough to take, as the Mets held leads after seven innings in both games. They both fall into the category of toss-up games that I mentioned how the Mets are struggling [...]
The big news yesterday was the impending addition of David Einhorn as a minority investor. It’s interesting to read about the team’s newest acquisition, with my favorite part being how after he implored Micorsoft to get rid of its CEO, he then shouted GO METS. All of the stories talk about how smart he is, [...]
While his stats don’t back up his importance, the return of Angel Pagan (whenever that may be) will be significant to the success of the 2011 New York Mets. While Pagan in the early going hasn’t built off his impressive numbers of 2010 in which he hit .290 with 11 home runs, 69 RBI’s, 80 [...]
My first go round at Opening Day predictions at Mets360 did not go so well. So, I could go one of several ways: A. Try to make “easy” predictions to make me look good in hindsight. B. Make off the wall assertions and when one of them came true, trumpet the fact that I picked [...]
In yesterday’s New York Post, Joel Sherman wrote a column entitled, “Odds stacked against Mets.” In the piece, Sherman laid odds on varying events occurring. It was a mix of positive and negative things. Here’s what the oddsmaker wrote: Carlos Beltran has 500 PA – 20% Johan Santana makes 10 starts – 30% Jason Bay [...]
Fans tend to be either overly optimistic or pessimistic. That is why it is important to look at unbiased, systematic approaches to projections. One of the best sets available are the ZiPS projections from ESPN Insider and Baseball Think Factory Editor-in-Chief Dan Szymborski. Recently Szymborski, an Orioles fan, agreed to a Q&A about his projections [...]
A month-and-a-half after being non-tendered by the Padres, the Mets signed Scott Hairston to a one-year, $1.1 million deal, with an extra $400,000 in performance bonuses. Hairston, who played in 104 games for the Padres last year, should be the Mets’ fourth outfielder. He has some sock in his bat and is capable of playing [...]
Barring any trades, the Mets know that they will head into the season with Jason Bay, Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan as their everyday outfield. What remains to be seen is who will open in centerfield: Beltran or Pagan? However, another issue facing the Mets is who will be the forth outfielder? Do the Mets [...]
The Mets have already had their team Christmas party but they must have decided this year not to exchange gifts. Now, you may be wondering what millionaires give as gifts or what millionaires want to receive as gifts. I cannot answer that question. But I can tell you what players on the Mets really need. [...]
The Mets have a lot of question marks in their lineup for 2011. Previous injuries leave it up for debate what Jason Bay, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and David Wright will contribute. But the Mets also do not know what to expect from Angel Pagan, who played in 151 games last year and finished second [...]
All of the speculation in Mets land recently revolves around who the new manager is going to be. There is a debate going on about how much autonomy the new manager will actually have, but seemingly one thing he will have control over is setting the batting order. Now, for the most part, lineup construction [...]