Tankersley dominating LHB in Grapefruit League

Every year you hear some variant of the theme that “Spring Training stats are useless.” Yet, each year countless jobs are determined by how well players perform in this period. The Mets this season are no different. Several bullpen jobs are up in the air, a situation made even more competitive with the last-minute addition [...]

An interview with Mets LHP Taylor Tankersley

One of my freelance jobs is working as the official scorer for the Copperheads in the Coastal Plain League, a summer collegiate baseball league a la the Cape Cod League.  Last week I received a call from David Camp, the team’s general manager, who told me that new Mets pitcher Taylor Tankersley was working out [...]

What to expect from Mets’ newest pitching additions

The unanimous feeling amongst Mets fans this offseason was that the franchise needed to acquire more arms to compete, especially with the loss of ace Johan Santana, who will most likely be out for half the year with a shoulder injury. Many Mets fans were upset that the team stood idle while divisional-rival Philadelphia snatched [...]

Manny Acosta and the bullpen competition

After a flurry of moves in the past 10 days, the Mets seem set with the people they will bring to Spring Training to compete for jobs. There should be plenty of competition for a slot in the bullpen, as there should be no fewer than nine relievers vying for the final four spots. Earlier [...]