I don’t remember much about the summer of 2004. I vaguely remember turning 21 that June, taking an ill-advised trip to Atlantic City, and realizing that all casinos are not created equal. (Apparently you have to win twice at the Taj Majal, once at the table, and once again in the parking garage, successfully making it to your car without getting stabbed). AC trips aside, I spent the majority of my summer life-guarding at a [...]

In following MMO’s steadfast desire to provide you with the best in-depth analysis of the Mets Minor League farm system, we would like to introduce you to a brand new weekly feature that will appear throughout the off-season. As you can see it’s called: Mets Minor League Positional Depth Chart, and when all is said-and-done you’ll have a much better understanding of the specific strengths and weaknesses of the farm system, as well as an [...]

Eddie Yost, whose 8 years as a Mets coach is third longest in team history, passed away on Tuesday. He was 86. Born in Brooklyn on October 13, 1926, Edward Frederick Joseph Yost was signed as a 17 year old straight out of high school by Washington. After serving his country in World War II the following year, Yost returned stateside and was immediately put on the Senators roster. He never played in the minors. [...]

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has denied a published report that suggested the Yankees have held discussions with the Miami Marlins about a potential Alex Rodriguez trade. ”It’s not true”, Cashman told MLB.com. Earlier today, Keith Olbermann reported that the Yankees are willing to pay nearly all of the $114 million dollars that is still owed to Rodriguez through the 2017 season. Olbermann also added that in return for Heath Bell they would consider picking up less salary. One thing [...]

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that outfielder Ryan Ludwick will turn down his side of the $5 million mutual option on his contract with the Reds, However, Heyman adds that the Reds will discuss a new multi-year deal with Ludwick in the hopes of keeping him in Cincinnati. Over the weekend, Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News, reported that Ludwick will receive multi-year offers from other teams this winter, and that Cincinnati might be unable to match those [...]

According to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com, Angels center fielder Peter Bourjos could end up being traded this winter if the Angels re-sign free-agent OF Torri Hunter. With the obvious Mets need for a centerfielder, just about any rumor of an available centerfielder automatically has the Mets attached to them, but that doesn’t make it so. When you ask yourself what would the Angels want for Bourjos, the answer would be very similar to what the Mets would want for Ike [...]

JONATHAN NIESE, LHP PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS: Jonathan Niese was another Mets pitcher who went into spring training coming off an injury. He pulled a right rib cage muscle in Sept. 2011, while pitching against the Phillies and was shut down. Two years earlier, Niese’s season ended with a severely pulled hamstring. While the Mets weren’t worried about his arm, two muscle pulls had them wonder if he was susceptible to such injuries. Foolishly, Niese felt discomfort [...]

Mets lefty reliever Justin Hampson has been removed from the team’s 40-man roster and has opted for free agency. Hampson, 32, appeared in 13 games with the Mets in 2012, his first major league action since his time with the Padres in 2008. The Mets southpaw had a seriously good season in Triple-A Buffalo where he appeared in 51 games and pitched to a 2.33 ERA while striking out 59 batters and walking just 22. [...]

I was inspired to write my thoughts on something that has been like an itch I couldn’t reach on my back. You know what I mean? Aren’t those a real pain in the asterisk? I saw a post by Matt at MetsBlog that says Backman and Geren have not been mentioned in manager searches. (Yes, I know, it’s a slow Mets news week). Anyway, it reminded me of a debate on one of our threads last week, where several [...]