Early in the spring we did a post mortem of the 2012 Met 2nd half in an attempt to discover the ugly specifics of last year’s second half swoon. What we found was interesting in that the culprit was not the offensive approach per se, but rather the downward spiral was precipitated by some hideous pitching performances by both our starters and bullpen alike. At the time of the analysis we’d just come off a [...]

The Mets announced that they have signed right-handed pitcher David Aardsma to a minor-league deal. Aardsma was originally drafted by the San Francisco in the first round of the 2003 amateur draft. He has spent parts of seven seasons in the major leagues with five different teams. most recently with the Yankees in 2012. Aardsma owns a career 4.22 ERA in 255 appearances all in relief. After the Yankees released him early last month, he signed with [...]

Most of the attention concerning the Met outfield the past few weeks has gone to Jordany Valdespin, both for his character and his play on the field. However, there has been one player who has very quietly got on a roll, and may be able to plug a hole in the still-fluctuating outfield: Marlon Byrd. Byrd captured the attention of Mets fans and earned himself a spot on the roster with an incredible spring training, [...]

Including this weekend’s 11-2 flameout loss to Pittsburgh, the Mets have lost Jon Niese’s last five starts, with him giving up 22 runs and not getting out of the fifth inning in three of them. He has not come close to resembling what the Mets think he should be, and that’s the No. 1 starter in their rotation. The first game in that slide, April 18 at Colorado, and the one preceding it, April 12, at [...]

Beginning In 1985, as owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, Bud Selig and numerous other owners colluded to undermine free agency by agreeing not to sign other teams’ free agents. The owners were taken to court and eventually ended up paying 280 million in damages to the players. It was with this failed attempt at collusion that the seeds of the 1994 work stoppage were sewn. In 1992, Fay Vincent, then Commissioner of Baseball, openly criticized [...]

MLB.com reports that the Phillies placed Roy Halladay on the 15-day disabled list Monday because of inflammation in his right shoulder. Philadelphia recalled left-hander Joe Savery to temporarily take Halladay’s place on the 25-man roster. A replacement for Halladay’s spot in the starting rotation will be named before Friday’s game in Arizona against the Diamondbacks. Candidates to make the start include Triple-A left-hander Adam Morgan and right-hander Tyler Cloyd. After allowing nine runs in 2 [...]

I could dedicate an entire post to Ike Davis‘ miserable .169 batting average, or maybe his .315 slugging percentage. The fact that he has hit just four homers and driven in eight runs through 25 games is alarming too, but those are things we’re all made well aware of each day. He’s recorded 15 hits, and we’ve now entered the month of May. Even the 195-strikeout pace Davis is on wouldn’t be as excruciating if [...]

Matt Harvey was named the Pitcher of the Month for April, the first Met to win the honor since R.A. Dickey last did so in June, 2012. Harvey, 24, went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA and 46 strikeouts in six April starts. His four wins tied for the National League lead, while his 1.56 ERA is third in the league for the month. His 46 strikeouts are tied for fourth in the league. Harvey became [...]

With Ike Davis having another dreadful month of April, many fans have lost hope in the New York Mets first baseman. Some have even gone as far as saying he should be sent down to the minors. Despite Davis’ poor start, I believe he should not be sent down and he should continue to be the everyday first baseman for three reasons. My first reason is Ike Davis’ ceiling is far greater than any alternative [...]

Just call him Mr. Clutch or as our own Daniel Nelson likes to refer to him, “El Dramatico”. Yes, of course we’re talking about the incredible Jordany Valdespin who came off the bench once again and delivered another dramatic pinch-hit home run to help the Mets beat the Marlins 7-6 and salvage the final game of the series. Valdespin continues to display an uncanny ability for rising to the occasion whenever the Mets need a [...]