MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo is continues to roll out his Top 10 prospects at each position as he moves onto second basemen. 1. Cory Spangenberg, Padres: Spangenberg became a great example of the benefits of signing early — getting out and racking up 330 plate appearances while many of his fellow 2011 first-rounders were sitting around and waiting to sign. He also showed that reports of his ability to hit were spot-on, as he put up impressive numbers [...]

The Daily News was at the New York BBWAA dinner last night and posted the following about Jose Reyes who was the winner of the “Good Guy Award”. He is no longer a Met, but Jose Reyes was still a Mets fan favorite at the Baseball Writers of America New York chapter awards dinner Saturday night. Making his first public appearance since he bolted for the Marlins as a free agent, Reyes was cheered by fans in [...]

Q. Ryan has campaigned against pitch counts. Do you agree? A. There’s nothing wrong with pitch counts. But there’s an addendum to that. I presume Nolan thinks the same way. But it isn’t a blanket pitch count. People say, “I bet the pitch count drives you nuts.” Heck no. I had a pitch count. My pitch count as a general rule was 135. And I knew how many pitches I had when I went to [...]

With the hot stove season nearing its end, I’ll be chipping in a lot less on Mets news, and focus more on the upcoming First Year Player Draft in June, as I did last year. I’m currently working on my own “Top 15 Draft Prospects” list and a “Five Players To Watch” piece for the Mets top selections in 2012. Both will be ready in early February. I’m not going to do any mock drafts [...]

Lets take a look at what Joe Janish has to say about the heavily rumored Jason Bay for A.J. Burnett swap. Financially speaking, the deal is more or less a wash. Burnett is owed $33M through the end of 2013, while Bay is guaranteed $35M ($16M for ’12 and ’13 plus a $3M buyout for ’14). Even though the Mets don’t have much depth nor big-time prospects to step into Bay’s spot, there are still [...]

Only 30 days until pitchers and catchers report and then head down to Duffy’s for one of their signature burgers and some seasoned fries. The news this offseason hasn’t been all good, in fact it’s been mostly negative. But don’t blame us, blame the Mets’ circumstances that gave us plenty to debate in what was a very cold hot stove season that saw us lose one of the team’s most popular players in Jose Reyes [...]

Thoughts from Joe D. The Rockies remain strongly interested in the Mets’ Justin Turner, writes Troy Renck this morning in his column for the Denver Post. The Rockies could still move Eric Young Jr. because of a crowded outfield situation with as many as four players competing for reserve spots, including Charlie Blackmon, Eric Young Jr., Tyler Colvin and Jamie Hoffman. Young, 26, is a .246 hitter with 48 stolen bases over parts of three [...]

Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun had his appeal heard n Thursday afternoon according to reporters Bill Madden, Andy Martino and Teri Thompson of the New York Daily News: Ryan Braun, the National League’s Most Valuable Player, pleaded his case Thursday before a three-member panel that will decide whether he faces a 50-game suspension for testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone. The appeal came just two days before Braun will accept his MVP award at the New York Chapter of [...]

MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo is continues to roll out his Top 10 prospects at each position as he moves onto third basemen. 1. Nolan Arenado, Rockies: Sometimes a player gets knocked unfairly because of his surroundings. It’s not Arenado’s fault he played in the hitting-friendly California League and then the equally cozy Arizona Fall League in 2011. What he does deserve credit for is raking in both places. Arenado led the Minors in RBIs with 122. He struck [...]