We all share great memories of 1986. One that stands out for me was actually the pre-game show prior to Game 7. Red Sox 2nd basemen Marty Barrett was being interviewed. The reporter asked him if he felt confident the Sox could overcome the Mets miraculous comeback in Game 6. Barrett answered eloquently, in a politically correct way as athletes often do. Then at the end of the interview he added the comment, ‘We should [...]

So much for revamping the bullpen last off season… J.J. Putz – 2 thumbs down… Sean Green – 1 1/2 thumbs down (I sliced half my thumb off on a slicing machine when I worked at the deli. Not!) Frankie Rodriguez – You tell me? According to Newsday, Francisco Rodriguez became the first pitcher since Lee Smith in 1995 to allow two game-ending grand slams in the same season. That’s an epic fail anyway you [...]

In his column Rumblings and Grumblings, Jayson Stark of ESPN raises the specter that Frankie Rodriguez might be concealing an injury. K-Rod not A-OK? Meanwhile, opposing scouts and executives have been buzzing that it wouldn’t shock them if Francisco Rodriguez added to the Mets’ DL total. Clearly, something is up with K-Rod. His first-pitch strike percentage (just 49.4 percent, according to fangraphs.com) is the lowest of any closer in baseball. And it’s been on a [...]

The Mets played one heck of a series against the Phillies this weekend, sweeping Philly and securing their lead atopthe NL East, pushing the Phillies back 16.5 games in the division. At this point, don’t be surprised if the Nats don’t pass the current 4th place team. Then their only hope would be to play spoiler. What a series for this Mets team, that is simply on fire. Who would have guessed at the start of the season, Johan Santana would [...]

Did any of you see the cover story of the USA Today sports page yesterday?  If you didn’t, here is a link, but let me warn you—it’s going to make you both angry and jealous.  It’s about Phillies’ rookie GM Ruben Amaro, Jr., and how the guy has earned the respect of his players by not only going out and grabbing what turned out to be a tremendous free agent in Raul Ibanez over the [...]

The Mets finally snapped their four-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday night. Oliver Perez made his long anticipated return to the mound, but he was as erratic as ever as he toiled through five innings while throwing 108 pitches. He allowed just two runs and was very lucky it wasn’t a lot more. When Perez walked the first batter of the game on four pitches, I wondered how many Mets fans turned [...]

It’s been a brutal 4th of July weekend getting swept by the hated Phillies.  The Mets now sit below .500 for the season.  Clearly the team needs some help – either from the return of our injured stars or via trade – although it appears that the front office is still prudently waiting for the right opportunity and price. Baseball analysts (notably ESPN) have been saying that it is a buyers market (for trades) this [...]

Congratulations to David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez who were each named to the National League All-Star team on Sunday. Both Wright and Beltran were voted in as National League starters by the fans, while Santana and K-Rod were selected by Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. For the third time in four years, David Wright will start at third base and represent the Mets in the All-Star Game on July 14. Last year [...]

If you’re a crazed Mets fan like me, you probably have that little sidebar gadget on your Vista desktop that shows you the updated NL East Standings. And if you are a discombobulated nut like me, you probably knocked over your orange juice this morning when you booted your laptop and the first thing you notice is that the Mets are just half a game behind the Phillies! Second baseman, Luis Castillo will be on his toes for [...]

What a game my friends! The Mets showed some fight, some heart, and some grit… Call it whatever you want, but they played some of the best baseball of the season in taking three games out of four against the St. Louis Cardinals. In today’s finale, they touched up Cardinals ace, Chris Carpenter for three runs thanks to a two-run double by Nick Evans who comes through again in the clutch. Manuel put Evans in the [...]