Mets season ticket holders were gathered at the Caesar’s Club at Citi Field tonight, where Sandy Alderson and his front office fielded questions about a variety of issues. Adam Rubin of ESPN New York did a nice job of covering the event and retweeting some of the quotes from those who were on hand. Regarding the lack of spending this offseason, Sandy Alderson insisted this was his decision and not ownership imposed. “The reason we [...]

The Mets announced they have signed free-agent RHP LaTroy Hawkins to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. If Hawkins makes the team, he will earn a base salary of $1 million with chance to earn more in incentives. The 40-year old Hawkins spent last year with the Los Angeles Angels where he went 2-3 with a 3.49 ERA. In 42 innings pitched he posted a 4.9 strikeout rate and 2.8 walk rate. Hawkins has missed chunks [...]

On Wednesday I was driving home and was listening to Matt Holliday who was a guest on SiriusXM MLB Network Radio, with Casey Stern and Jim Boweden. Holliday was discussing the issue of PED use in baseball, and gave his thoughts about increasing the penalties for players who are caught using. Here were Holliday’s suggestion. First positive test:162 game suspension (one full season), without pay. Second positive test: Suspended indefinitely, lifetime goes into effect. Give players the ability [...]

“Home runs are over-rated. You don’t have to hit home runs to win. If I don’t get a home run all year, and the team wins, I’ll be more than satisfied.” – Steve Henderson (1981) The Reccoppa family piled into Dad’s burnt orange 1970 Plymouth Duster for the short ride across the bridge on Route 37 to Seaside Heights. A visit to grandma’s summer house, a sure sign school would be out soon. Anthony, 10, [...]

According to a report by Bill Madden, Christian Red and Teri Thompson of the New York Daily News, Alex Rodriguez’s Yankees career could be over. Alex Rodriguez is unlikely to ever wear the pinstripes again, sources familiar with the Yankees’ situation with their troubled third baseman told the Daily News, no matter what happens regarding new allegations that he is again involved with performance-enhancing drugs. According to numerous baseball sources, the hip surgery Rodriguez is now recovering from [...]

The Mets seem to be rolling the dice when it comes to bringing in veterans on minor-league deals to compete for spots in the bullpen. The team will likely head north in about two months with seven relievers, but spring training will decide who those lucky seven are. LaTroy Hawkins and Scott Atchison were recently signed to minor-league deals. Do these guys have enough left in the tank to be contributors to this year’s bullpen? [...]

Updated by Joe D. on 1/31 Here is a breakdown of Shaun Marcum’s deal including the $4 million in incentives which are all tied to him staying healthy. (Courtesy of Adam Rubin, ESPN New York) Shaun Marcum is guaranteed $4 million as part of his major league deal with the Mets. He also can earn as much as $4 million in incentives. Here’s how that potential bonus money breaks down, via the Associated Press: • $250,000 [...]

Last night, during an event for season ticket holders at Citi Field, Sandy Alderson said that Michael Bourn was not worth losing the 11th overall pick. I was never all that excited about getting Bourn and could have gone either way. I wouldn’t have had a problem signing him or taking a pass. About that first round pick, Iv’e heard mostly two debates regarding losing or keeping it, but there is another side that seems to [...]

Which players had the most balanced offensive seasons in baseball? Lets consider for a moment a not so arbitrary selection of statistics and some specific and exemplary thresholds for them. We can avoid a random “pick and choose” group by simply going with all of them — the seven major offensive categories: Home Runs, Runs Scored, RBI, SB, AVG, OBP and SLG. Now lets set up our “Top 10 in the League” performance thresholds. By this [...]