In his first interview since being denied first-ballot entry into the Hall of Fame, Mike Piazza spoke candidly with David Waldstein of the New York Times ahead of the release of his autobiography, Long Shot, due out on February 11. In the book, Piazza admits to using androstenedione as part of a supplement pack until the outcry over Mark McGwire’s use of it forced him to phase it out. He flatly denies ever using steroids. “It shouldn’t [...]

As an update to the Ike Davis and 2012 fatigue discussion from Wednesday, here is an update from Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, who spoke to Ike Davis today at Port St. Lucie: Ike Davis publicly portrayed his diagnosis of valley fever last February as a non-issue, insisting it was giving him no problems and was a latent case at worst. In reality, Davis confessed Friday, he would retreat home after Mets workouts last spring [...]

Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors posted part of the interview he conducted with Greg Genske of The Legacy Agency, Red Sox GM Ben Cherington and one other NL Executive. It was on the topic of qualifying offers, the draft pick compensation attached to free agents, and how it hurts the good, but not great players. If signing a free agent does require the forfeiture of a first or second round draft pick, how much does it matter to potential [...]

As I watch the snow pile up outside my window, I am thinking of three of the best words in sports, “pitchers and catchers.’’ The official deadline for the Mets is Monday, but the lockers are already being filled in Port St. Lucie. I am planning to get down there this month and have already started booking my flight, hotel and everything else. Most of the prognosticators have the Mets fighting the Marlins to stay [...]

Pundits often say a college football coach deserves at least two years to turn a team over before anyone can honestly pass judgement.  That time provides the new coach with enough time to recruit his own players and implement his own scheme.  General managers in Major League Baseball get no such grace period.  Thus the dilemma Sandy Alderson currently finds himself in. Since taking the helm on October 29, 2010, Sandy Alderson has deconstructed the [...]

Following up on what I reported earlier this morning, Jordany Valdespin is uninjured and was suffering from  cramps after an 18-inning Caribbean Series game yesterday in cold weather, according to ESPN Deporte’s Enrique Rojas. Good news. Original Post 9:00 AM. I was just notified by one of my writers that Mets outfielder Jordany Valdespin hurt himself swinging in the Caribbean Series. Spin decided to stay in the game to complete his at-bat and grounded out. But [...]

In 1980, Baseball in New York featured a Yankee team that was a legitimate contender. Having won it all in 1978, they looked pretty solid. The overbearing and uncompromising Yankee owner George Steinbrenner was determined to establish his Yankees as perennial contenders by sheer force of will. The Mets on the other hand were awful and ended up losing 95 games. It’s almost hard to believe some of the guys the Mets ran out in [...]

The Mets officially announced that they have finalized their one year deal with reliever Brandon Lyon. They specifically highlighted that Lyon had had two 20-save seasons in his career which points to what most of us speculated regarding his chances to close for the Mets should Frank Francisco falter. According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the base salary will be between $750K – $900K. But the total value of the contract can be worth [...]

FanGraphs ranked what they believed were the ten best deals of the offseason. Taking the top spot at No. 1 was the Washington Nationals who acquired Denard Span from Minnesota for what they say was one A-Ball pitching prospect who may or may not be able to stick in the rotation long term. Ranked at No. 5 was this deal: The Mets acquire Travis d’Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard, John Buck, and Wuilmer Becerra from Toronto. As I said above, I like this deal [...]

Ike Davis wraps up a session of crushing baseballs at PSL Hey Jon Niese, nice of you to show up early… Adam Rubin tweeted that the Brandon Lyon deal with the Mets will be officially announced as soon as this afternoon. Anthony DiComo sees the Opening Day Roster like this: He also adds that the acquisition of outfielder Collin Cowgill could be an under-the-radar trade that could significantly impact the offense. Capable of playing any outfield position, [...]

Adam Rubin of ESPN New York tells us that Matt Harvey “appreciates a bright future on the horizon with Zack Wheeler and Travis d’Arnaud among others”, but that he’s not going to let that detract him from the present. The right-hander is focused on getting off to a good start, “I’m here to play this year,” Harvey said. “I’m here to win this year. I don’t want to look ahead to the next couple of years. I want to win [...]