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 [...]

Once upon a time, not so long ago, the Mets had a top ten prospect named Zack Wheeler who was deemed the heir apparent to their oft-maligned rotation.  It had to be Wheeler, who would assume the role of staff ace.  Especially with the controversial trade of surprising knuckleballer, RA Dickey.  It seemed unanimous that Wheeler, his high nineties fastball, and array of formidable secondary pitches were just months away from changing everything.  That was [...]

It had been a sweltering hot summer in NY, so hot that my dad and I had taken to sitting out in the backyard to listen to the games.  It was July 13, 1977, and the Mets were playing the Cubs. They were losing 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth in spite of  an 11-strikeout effort by Jerry Koosman. We were eating watermelon and cheese. I remember spitting watermelon seeds out towards the tomato plants occasionally bouncing a [...]

Most everything about the Mets these days is about the future. From Matt Harvey, to extending David Wright, to the trade of R.A. Dickey and protecting Zack Wheeler, we’re talking about 2014 and beyond. Sure, it would be great to compete now, but 2013 is mostly for establishing the foundation. It is the development of Harvey and Jon Niese; giving Wheeler major league experience – while avoiding free agency for a year – and hope Ike Davis and Lucas Duda improve their offensive efficiency while still producing [...]

Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus cashed in a big way by agreeing to an eight-year, $120 million contract extension. The deal hasn’t been finalized, but should be made official on Thursday. There is a clause that would allow Andrus to opt out after the fourth year if he chooses, but since the extension doesn’t kick in till after his current contract expires after 2014, that means he’s signed at least through 2018, which would be [...]

A couple of weeks ago, the great Mets historian and author Matt Silverman, was nice enough to give me a sneak preview into his newest publication, Swinging ’73: Baseball’s Wildest Season. The verdict is in, and Matt has done it again – delivering another Amazin’ Book that should be a part of every Met fan’s library. This isn’t your regular everyday telling of the “Ya Gotta Believe” season, and in fact it was not what [...]

To turn attention away from Mike Piazza and the Hall of Fame vote for just a minute, let’s discuss the future Mike Piazza, or so we hope. The Mets acquired Travis d’Arnaud, their catcher of the future, in the trade that sent R.A. Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays. But why can’t the future be right now? d’Arnaud said he’s ready to play and recovered from a knee injury that ended his minor league season [...]

While details about the new CBA are still coming in, it seems one thing is quite apparent about this new deal. It was an exercise in balancing the inequities in the league. It starts off by balancing the AL and NL to have the same number of teams. While this does not appear to have much of an effect on team building it does balance one of the inequities inherent in the interleague play that [...]

The New York Mets have once again had to place Jose Reyes on the disabled list as a result of a hamstring strain. However, this bit of bad news for the team, may have at least one positve side effect to it. This scenario could actually be helpful for the Mets when you take a deeper look. It has been rumored that Reyes could get Carl Crawford money when he becomes a free agent this off-season. However, this [...]

With all the hype this week surrounding Carlos Beltran and the trade deadline, I felt it necessary to throw in my two cents. Most likely, before the week is through, Beltran will be playing for another team. I’m normally optimistic about matters concerning the Mets, but I’m definitely realistic when it comes to this impending trade. Carlos Beltran will no longer be a Met when this week is through. Besides missing time due to injury [...]