With two weeks to go before Opening Day, Kirk Nieuwenhuis should be thinking about where he would live in New York rather than Las Vegas. Nieuwenhuis, who made a strong first impression with the Mets last year, came to camp penciled in as the center fielder and first in line to win the leadoff spot. However, a hitless streak at the start of the exhibition schedule punctuated with a rash of strikeouts followed by a deep bone [...]

Matt den Dekker, CF Bats: L Throws: L Height: 6’1″ Weight: 205 lb. Position: Centerfield Age: 25 (26 in August) ETA: 2013 MMO Top Prospect Rank: #12 Background: Here is a brief player profile from the recent 2013 MMO Top 25 Prospect series: Matt den Dekker has only been in the Mets farm system for three years, but his name has been relevant since the Mets tabbed him as a legitimate centerfield prospect. Den Dekker torched Binghamton upon his [...]

As winter creeps onto the landscape and the offseason crawls along, its becoming apparent that the sweeping changes that were promised by Mets GM, Sandy Alderson, are likely to be held off another year.  Instead of renovating the roster to resemble that of a organization poised for a resurgence, the Mets remain in a holding pattern.  The team’s front office had declared the World Series, then the Thanksgiving holiday and now the start of the [...]

Andres Torres, Scott Hairston and Ike Davis all hit home runs to support Jeremy Hefner in the last game of the season, a 4-2 win against the Marlins Jeremy Hefner had a good outing, going seven and one-third innings, allowing two runs on five hits, walking two and striking out seven. Hefner continually coaxed poor contact, and has continued to show that he may have a role in the 2013 bullpen because he has shown [...]

I know what you thinking.. How on earth could we spend the entire season talking about the bullpen…that woeful bullpen…and suddenly decide that the team’s offense should be the top priority this offseason?  Heres why: Mets rank 8th in MLB with 1,169 strike outs. Mets rank 22nd in MLB on the year, hitting just .242 with RISP Mets rank 24th in MLB with only 407 extra-base hits, resulting in a .383 slugging percentage.  Good for [...]

Its hard to fathom now, but the Mets had a realistic shot at the playoffs only one month ago.  Since then the team has taken a turn for the worst with a lot of poorly played baseball compounded by additional injuries.  In the process, the current situation has re-highlighted some glaring issues that the team’s successful first half had given us the luxury of forgetting about. First and foremost, the team’s pitching staff desperately needs [...]

Chris Young was victimized in late innings as has been the theme, the bullpen faltered and despite a ninth inning rally including two solo home runs, the Mets lost the second game of the series, 4-3. Game Recap Chris Young had a pretty solid outing, going six innings allowing two runs on six hits, walking one and striking out two. Young was good for the most part, but as has been the case in his [...]

Chris Young had a good outing but ran out of steam in the seventh, and the bullpen faltered in the 9-2 loss against the Phillies Game Recap Chris Young went to the mound and has kept with the theme of quality outings, going seven innings allowing  three runs on five hits while striking out three and walking none with all of his runs allowed in the seventh inning. Chris gave up two big home runs [...]

Daniel Murphy hit two home runs, Scott Hairston hit a grand slam and the Mets offense had a banner day in their 17-1 win against the Cubs Game Recap Jonathon Niese had a great outing, allowing one run on eight hits while walking one and striking out six in seven innings. Niese consistently drew weak contact, and after allowing a second inning run, settled in to hold the Cubs scoreless for the next five innings. [...]

Chris Young looked good in his first start since May of 2011, but a comedy of errors lead to a thrilling game that was decided in the twelfth in the Mets 7-6 loss. Game Recap Chris Young coming back to the Mets in his first start in over a year pitched admirably, going five innings while giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits, walking one and striking out two. Young consistently coaxed weak contact, and [...]

The 2012 New York Mets season has already seen its share of injuries, tough luck losses  and just outright poor, frustrating play. However, the positives in defeat, losses and watching players fail is you can determine what are your weaknesses as a team, and how can it be improved. So far, some hitting flaws have been exposed, some hitters have adapted better to new roles under the tutelage of Dave Hudgens while others have struggled [...]