In 2008, the Mets had one of their better drafts in recent years.  That year they selected five players who have since made their major league debuts.  With the 18th overall pick, the Mets took Ike Davis, who rewarded them with a 32 HR, 90 RBI campaign in 2012.  They also selected Kirk Nieuwenhuis (3rd round), Josh Satin (6th round), Collin McHugh (18th round) and Chris Schwinden (22nd round). Nieuwenhuis and McHugh contributed to the [...]

Keith Hernandez was the heart and soul of the 1980s Mets teams that went from languishing at the bottom of the National League East to winning two division titles and a World Series championship.  The former first baseman was a leader both on and off the field, and was given the captain’s “C” to honor his leadership on the team.  However, despite numerous pleas by Mets fans to retire his number 17, the Mets have [...]

R.A. Dickey.  Gio Gonzalez.  Both pitchers are gunning for the Cy Young Award.  Only one will get it (assuming we don’t have a tie a la the 1979 NL MVP vote that got Keith Hernandez a co-MVP Award). You can go to any site and find comparisons between the two.  Anyone will tell you that Gonzalez leads Dickey by one win and that Dickey leads Gonzalez in innings pitched, strikeouts, ERA, WHIP, shutouts and complete [...]

I am a David Wright fan.  I’ve been an ardent supporter of the Mets’ third baseman since his first call-up to the big leagues in 2004.  I’ve seen him produce some of the greatest offensive seasons in franchise history and I’ve seen him make outstanding defensive plays.  I’ve also seen him represent the Mets at the All-Star Game more often that not. I have never been a Chipper Jones fan.  I’ve disliked him since before [...]

On Saturday, R.A. Dickey pitched seven strong innings to defeat the Houston Astros by the final score of 3-1.  In doing so, Dickey improved his record to 16-4.  Despite the win, the Mets are still 11 games under .500 with a 58-69 mark. A few weeks ago on my Mets site (Studious Metsimus, for those who have never ventured there), I wrote a piece on R.A. Dickey accomplishing two things that had never been done [...]

Jonathon Niese was drafted by the Mets in the seventh round of the 2005 amateur draft.  Niese was good, but not great in the minors, winning 11 games in each minor league season from 2006 to 2008 and averaging nearly a strikeout per inning.  But his ERA was just under 4.00 and he averaged over three walks per nine innings.  However, he went 5-1 in seven starts with AAA-New Orleans in 2008 and became one [...]

At first glance, one look at the title of this piece might elicit a sarcastic chuckle or a roll of the eyes.  After all, what could Daniel Murphy possibly do to make Mets history?  Well, it’s not just what he’s already done that’s historical in the Mets universe.  It’s also what he’s poised to do. Through the Mets’ first 108 games, Daniel Murphy is batting .307.  This comes on the heels of a season in [...]

With Sunday’s win against Arizona, R.A. Dickey improved his season record to 14-2.  He threw seven strong innings, striking out eight and allowing one unearned run, which dropped his ERA on the year to 2.83.  Clearly, Dickey has been phenomenal this year.  But Dickey has been outstanding throughout his entire Mets career.  In fact, he ranks right up there with the best pitchers in franchise history. In three seasons as a Met, Dickey has pitched [...]

How the mighty have fallen.  Johan Santana, whose bounceback campaign hit an unexpected high on June 1 when he threw the franchise’s first no-hitter, has not only come back to Earth, but he’s done it in a way no one could see coming. Through his first 11 starts of the season, which ended with the hitless gem, the southpaw was vintage Santana, going 3-2 with a 2.38 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 68 Ks in 68 [...]