By now we are all aware of the tantalizing conga line of pitching prospects dancing their way up the ladder to Flushing. The litany of names is familiar: Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, Rafael Montero, Luis Mateo, Steven Matz, Michael Fulmer, Hansel Robles, Jacob deGrom, Jack Leathersich, Domingo Tapia, et al. It is only natural to consider how some of this apparent surplus of talent might be spun off in exchange for pieces needed to shore [...]

“Lucas Duda is the preeminent example of the Mets’ organizational offensive philosophy of patience and power,” writes Jorge Castillo of the Star-Ledger. The left fielder’s .417 on-base percentage was 11th in the majors entering play Saturday and his .538 slugging percentage ranked in the top 30. But his remarkable selectivity could also be detrimental on a team that relies on the slugger to drive in runs from the middle of the order. In 24 plate [...]

This game had a definite carnival atmosphere feel to it as the Atlanta Braves beat the Mets by the score of 9-4 to split the rain-shortened two-game series at Turner Field. What a comedy of errors for the Mets even though the box score would suggest a clean game. I hate sad stories and bad endings so this will be short and sweet bitter. Jon Niese struggled from the word go and while it looks like he [...]

The concept of fault lines in the media is something we all witness on a daily basis, but rarely recognize. Fault lines are a tool that help shape the perception of ourselves, others and events around us. The ones most are familiar with are culture and gender, but they can also contain factors of age, socioeconomic status and geographical location of the subject. Some of these categories can help us in understanding the enigma that is Jordany [...]

Starting Lineup Ruben Tejada, SS Daniel Murphy, 2B David Wright, 3B Lucas Duda, LF John Buck, C Ike Davis, 1B Marlon Byrd, RF Jordany Valdespin, CF Jonathon Niese, LHP Game Notes The Mets earned their first win in Atlanta when trailing in the ninth inning since September 18, 1993. Friday night David Wright tied the game with a solo home run in the ninth before New York plated two runs in the 10th. In 1993, [...]

Jordany Valdespin was initially slated not to start against LHP Chris Sale on Tuesday according to Terry Collins and as reported by Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. That’s irrelevant now that Sale was moved up to pitch on Monday and will not pitch against the Mets after all. Michael Baron of MetsBlog pointed out that against left-handed pitching, Valdespin is hitting just .182 with a .545 OPS. But what he failed to mention was that he only has [...]

Blue chip pitching prospects are professional sports’ most delicate flower. Except, unlike a flower, no scientifically proven method has been established regarding proper cultivation. There’s no “right” way to bring a teenager up through an organization’s system while still absolutely maximizing his production at the major league level. And in the back of everyone’s mind lingers the possibility to a debilitating injury that is always one pitch away. For every David Price or Matt Moore [...]

In today’s installment of “The Summer of 1973; The Forgotten Championship,’’ I chose a game from the month of April and will analyze it through the box score. My pick is the fourth game of the season, April 12, at St. Louis, with Tom Seaver outdueling Bob Gibson, 2-1, to give the Mets a 4-0 start. It was Seaver’s second start, with his first being a shutout over Philadelphia’s Steve Carlton. His third start was a 1-0 loss to [...]

When logging on to Twitter, you’ll often notice the most popular topics bandied about are a daily redundancy of Justin Bieber, a sporting event or athlete that is making news, and middle-schoolers telling you what not to do on a first date. However, every once in a while a hash tag like #MetsBandNames or #MetsYouveForgottenAbout will sneak into the “Trending Topics” column. When that happens, you can be sure it is not the work of [...]

As of now, Terry Collins’ job is safe and deservedly so. Based on getting the most out of what he has been given and basic fairness, there’s nothing justifying Collins’ job being in question. However, fairness is irrelevant in sports. A manager’s job security always becomes an issue when he has lame duck contractual status and his team has lost six straight games.Losing streaks get everybody edgy, with questions directed to management, in this case, GM Sandy [...]

When you live on the West Coast, sometimes you have to listen to the other team’s broadcast. It can be excruciating. When your team starts winning, especially in clutch fashion, there’s nothing better. That’s what happened to me while listening to the Braves announcers last night. When the Braves made a move, the Mets had an answer. Clutch offense was the theme of the game. Evan Gattis hit a home run off Brandon Lyon and [...]