What has been a hot-button debate throughout the baseball world the past few weeks has now been settled: Justin Verlander is the MVP of the American League. The 27-year old Tiger’s ace now has an MVP trophy to put on his mantle along with his 2011 AL Cy-Young, four All-Star selections and the 2006 Rookie of the Year Award. Quickly becoming one of baseballs elite pitchers, this honor has put him on a level of [...]

Another week has come and gone and although no turkey has been eaten yet, teams are gobbling up free agents on the open market. Rumors are beginning to swirl and trades are starting to be discussed as the framework for deals are starting to form. Here is everything you need to know in the baseball world: NEWS: The Pirates will have a new shortstop next season. The team announced the signing of Clint Barmes to [...]

According to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, former Twins closer Joe Nathan has signed a two-year deal worth $14MM with the Texas Rangers. The deal reportedly includes an option for 2014 which is worth an additional $7MM according to SI.com’s Jon Heyman. Last month Joe Nathan, a New York native, told reporters he would like to play for the Mets, but there have been no reports that anyone from the Mets contacted him. The move likely [...]

REESE HAVENS, 2B Welcome back for the 11th installment of the 2012 MMO Mets Top 20 Prospect list. Today we bring you #10, featuring second baseman Reese Havens. The only reason Havens isn’t considerably higher on this list is his significant injury history. If he can stay on the field next year, there is every reason to believe he will soon force the Mets to hand over the second base job at Citi to him. [...]

MMO 2011 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Hey Mets fans, with Black Friday only days away and another holiday shopping season suddenly upon us, here’s something you can get for all those special Mets fans in your life; Unforgetaballs! Artist Emily M. Wolfson has ditched her canvas and easel, and decided to apply her wonderful talents to painting baseballs instead and in doing so she’s created one of the coolest art concepts of the decade. Check these [...]

Last week, Adam Rubin posed a question to his readers that seven days later I still can’t find the words to compose an appropriate response. But I’ll take a stab at it. Mets fans, how do you feel about the prospect of seeing Reyes come back to Queens in a garish Miami uniform? Can a New York team ever justify losing a star player to a team from a smaller market, and what, if anything, should [...]

Interesting comment from MetFanLou: If Bobby V is the new Red Sox manager they will go after Yu Darvish. Bobby speaks fluent Japanese and his expertise with Japanese ballplayers is second to none. You can bet this was discussed during his interviews and may have been the motivating factor. After all he would be leaving a very lucrative job on TV. That’s a great point Lou, and one I haven’t seen mentioned before.

Here’s an extremely disturbing link about the death of Seatle Mariners outfielder, Greg Halman. Rotterdam Police spokeswoman Patricia Wessels said police were called to a home in the port city in the early hours of the morning and found the 24-year-old Dutch player bleeding from a stab wound. The officers and ambulance paramedics were unable to resuscitate Halman. Wessels said the officers arrested Halman’s 22-year-old brother. She declined to give his name, in line with Dutch privacy rules. [...]

Last week, I wrote a little bit about some information I came across regarding Bud Selig, his friendship with Fred Wilpon, Sandy Alderson, and the state of the Mets. I left that post with this: “There is something amiss with this franchise. Can you see it?” Here is another log for that fire to warm you up: According to ESPN.com, the Mets could be increasing their debt, currently well above $400 million, by as much as $140 million. [...]