There are many adjectives that are used in conjunction with the 86 Mets. Confidence. Arrogance. Swagger. Obnoxious. But they were good, damn good. And they knew it. That’s a far cry from the 2013 Mets. However, it’s not just wins that count. It’s playing as a cohesive unit. It’s playing as, no pun intended, a TEAM. And that is something this club does not do. You don’t have to get along off the field. You don’t [...]

It must have been fate that I happened to be in my car at 1:00 pm yesterday. After listening to WFAN’s Mike Francesa, I see the other side to this Valdespin issue – in fact it goes beyond Valdespin. I only was in the car long enough to hear his opening monologue, but you know what? He was dead on. Look, Valdespin is a jerk – he’s an immature bench player who constantly finds himself [...]

Updated by Joe D. at 2:30 PM Just caught this on MetsBlog who seems to have just caught on to what has been a two day debate here: It almost sounds like Collins put Valdespin in a situation he knew would end up with a hit-by-pitch, maybe in an effort to teach Valdespin a lesson, right? If that’s the case, is that why Valdespin threw a ‘tantrum,’ as fans and media have described it? Unfortunately, we’ll never [...]

Mets historians will recall how former GM Frank Cashen declared, ““those who contribute the least spray the most champagne” after being doused by reliever Randy Niemann during the 1986 NLCS championship celebration. I think it’s time to take that mantra when it comes to Jordany Valdespin, except those that contribute the least shouldn’t be made the story. With Twitter, Facebook and blogs – both mainstream and otherwise – available throughout the 24/7/365 news cycle, it’s impossible to [...]

Pinch-hitting is one of the more difficult things to do in the sport. After sitting for up to two hours, you are given little time to get loose and thrust into position of trying to hit a 90-mph., fastball or nasty fall-off-the-table breaking stuff. Few do it well, but the Mets’ Jordany Valdespin has a knack for coming through with power. His three-run homer Wednesday was his sixth in two years with the Mets. He is indeed, a [...]

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 [...]

El Dramático I felt so good after last night’s game that I decided to write two posts. This begins my official campaign to nickname Jordany Valdespin. It’s a great feeling to hit your first home run of the season. That’s not enough for Valdespin though. He has to hit a walk-off home run. Yeah, that should be good enough for ‘Spin, right? Wrong. His first home run of the season has to be a walk-off [...]

One of the least glamorous jobs in baseball is that of the pinch-hitter/bench player/spare part/25th man. But every club has one of these guys, and on occasion they can rise to the level of star performer, if only for a game or two. Jim Beauchamp (pronounced “Bee-chum”) was one of these players, and after kicking around the league with the Cardinals, the Astros (including some games as a Colt 45), the Braves, the Reds, the Astros [...]

First off, I’d like to start this post by congratulating Collin Cowgill. The man had a great Spring Training and a smashing Mets  debut. He deserves to be a part of the Mets outfield in 2013. I look forward to watching him. “It’s a special day. My first time being in an Opening Day lineup. A lot of jitters but it’s exciting. The fans were unbelievable. Beautiful day for that,” Cowgill said. “It was an [...]

It’s a fairytale story to say the least. Childhood Mets fan and Whitestone, Queens native Mike Baxter wound up suiting up for hometown team last summer. Though his playing time was limited, it still must have been a great thrill for him to be playing right at home. But this year, Baxter legitimately won a roster spot in spring training as the fifth outfielder/left-handed pinch hitter. And now, with Jason Bay on the disabled list, [...]

The great thing in sports about having a first or last name that has two “o’s” next to each other or a “u” is that fans love cheering the name, even though it sounds like the player is getting booed. Carlos Boozer of the Chicago Bulls, Mets first base coach Mookie Wilson, Mets farmhand Lucas Duda and scores of others have enjoyed this luxury. When the Mets signed Chin-lung Hu this offseason, they added another [...]