If you have a problem with Sandy Alderson, you have a problem with Major League Baseball. The Mets, as of 2010, have been essentially an MLB operation under virtual MLB oversight with Sandy Alderson a de facto appointee. His job, presiding over this financial and organizational overhaul, has one purpose — to facilitate profitability. That is why he was sent to Queens. Bud Selig does not care about Met fans, he doesn’t give a rat’s [...]

The Cyclones’ Hurricane Sandy relief effort is under way. This summer on “Meaningful Mondays” the Cyclones will contribute $3.00 from every ticket sold to one of seven neighborhoods damaged by the hurricane. Every Monday the Cyclones will also post stories of Hurricane Sandy at BrooklynCyclones.com. Help promote the effort to rebuild a region that inspires magical childhood memories for so many of us. Below is the press release for the “Meaningful Mondays” initiative. Please feel [...]

Something struck me as odd earlier this spring as I watched SNY’s first broadcast of the season from Tradition Field. Our splendid announcers were interviewing Collin Cowgill and at one point I believe it was Ron Darling asked whether Collin was getting a lot of ribbing about something or other in his background (I think it was about an underperforming college team he was affiliated with – I can’t remember exactly). The thing I found [...]

Every team has them, one or two players who’ve had flashes of brilliance here and there but have never quite put it together. Those of us who’ve partaken in the Fantasy Baseball arts can tell you there’s nothing like taking a flier on a high upside kid who makes a splash in the big pool, with the big fish, and doesn’t get eaten. Of course you don’t always get Trout, sometimes you end up with [...]

There’s been a lot of talk this spring about turning points. How this season may become a watershed campaign, kind of like the Mets of the early 80′s when it became obvious the team was on the ups. Baseball itself is a game of turning points. Who knows, the season may feature it’s own change in fortune if things break right when d’Arnaud and Wheeler get the call. It got me reminiscing 27 years back [...]

In January of 2008, a few months after one of the more epic collapses in baseball history cruelly deprived Met fans of a chance at redemption for the call third strike that kept us from the 2006 Fall Classic, The Mets acquired arguably the best pitcher in the game for 4 unproven prospects. In Minnesota, a land of 10,000 lakes and 10,000 heartaches (if you’re a Twins fan) this was the latest gut wrenching expulsion [...]

I probably wasn’t the only person frustrated last year watching Kirk Nieuwenhuis, or Lucas Duda, or Ike Davis appearing to take fat pitches down the middle of the plate only to see them swing at a breaking pitch in the dirt or a fastball at eye level. On several notable occasions Keith Hernandez himself went off on hitters taking 2-1 fastballs “right down the pike” as he’d say. There was a perception among many fans [...]

Kirk Nieuwenhuis came up last season after CF Andres Torres went down. Billed as an athletic and toolsy outfielder with some promise, Nieuwenhuis hit the ground running raking to the tune of a .325 batting average in March and April. Then came some strike outs, and more strike outs, and then came a whole lot of weak grounders and even more strikeouts, which led to his demotion in July when he batted .105  — deer [...]

Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to restrict the rights of the Clubs to manage and direct their operations in any manner whatsoever except as specifically limited by the terms of this Agreement. During the championship season, each Player shall receive a daily meal and tip allowance for each date a Club is on the road and for each traveling day. No deductions will be made for meals served on an airplane. Any Player [...]

I’m so very tired of all the complaining and whining about how bad the Mets are. The Mets aren’t really that bad and unless some crazy stupid series of unfortunate events take hold, things should get better. There are far more hideous things in the world than the state of the 2013 Met roster. For instance, what if the Mayans were only off by a few months? Sure how smart could they be if they [...]

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 [...]