Six weeks into a season that stretches over six months may be a tad early to make pronouncements on expected outcomes for this year’s Mets squad, but the indicators of relative strengths and weaknesses have at least given a reasonable hint of what can be looked for going forward. A sub-.500 record with a propensity for generosity by the bullpen and parsimony on the part of the offense hasn’t inspired a great deal of optimism [...]

About two weekends ago my church had a men’s breakfast meeting, and the guest speaker was none other than Dwight Evans, the very productive right fielder for the Boston Red Sox from 1972-1990. Listening to Evans speak about his life in baseball and the many things that affected his game, brought me back to the only game that mattered in my life when I was a kid. Dewey didn’t mention the 1986 World Series, but he didn’t [...]

Baseball is such a great sport. There is something for everyone, offense, defense, strategy, statistics, history and pitching. I’ll take a well pitched game over a slugfest any day. When you look at the Washington Nationals starting rotation, you just got to love what you see: Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez (one of my favorites), Jordan Zimmermann, and Dan Haren. This is a team with the potential go on a super long winning streak. Looking at [...]

John Buck, 32, has started the season with blinders on. He is focused and locked into every pitch the second it releases a pitcher’s hand and it’s almost as if it heads to the plate in super slow motion for him. He’s kept criticism at bay and been one of the bigger surprises for the Mets in the early part of this season. Buck continued his hot streak with another home run in yesterday’s loss to the Phillies 3-7. [...]

Championship seasons are invariably marked by certain games and plays that are later tabbed as “turning points” for posterity.  For the 1986 edition of the Mets, their turning point may well have occurred in only the 6th game of the season when, after winning their first two contests but dropping the next three, the team sat a game under .500. Although another 157 games remained to be played, many fans and even tabloid back pages cried [...]

The Mets made it official this afternoon and named David Wright the team’s captain, joining a select group that includes John Franco, Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter. “This is probably one of the proudest days of my career so far,” Wright said. “I’m honored and very proud to be on that short list of guys that have been considered captain of this franchise. For me, it’s a dream come true, to say the least.” There has been speculation for years [...]

Updated on 3/21 Terry Collins just announced that the Mets have named David Wright the captain of the New York Mets. Wright becomes the fourth captain in team history, joining Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, and John Franco. “This is probably one of the proudest days of my career so far,” Wright said. “To be viewed in this light – by ownership, by Sandy and the front office, the coaching staff, and most importantly by the players [...]

Nearly flawless in his last start, Matt Harvey took his lumps today, but on a positive note rebounded and regained control. Harvey gave up a three-run homer to Washington’s Bryce Harper in the first inning, but rebounded to throw three scoreless innings and strike out six in an 8-5 loss. Harvey settled down to retire 11 of the final 12 hitters against him; a very good sign for any pitcher let alone a young one after a rough start. [...]

I was walking around the mall yesterday with my wife, trying to get her to go into labor with our second child (first son). They say walking is good for kick-starting the labor process at this point, and as we were walking around, I decided to duck into the sports memorabilia store. I was pacing through the store, looking at the autographs of all the great players hanging on the wall, and I came across a beautiful autographed picture of Gary Carter. [...]

One year ago today, Gary Carter lost his battle with brain cancer at the young age of 57.  Carter’s loss was felt throughout the Mets community, with tributes ranging from t-shirts to a home plate candlelight vigil to commemorative patches on the team’s jerseys and the outfield wall at Citi Field. Carter was a leader both on and off the field, despite his relative short time as a Met.  His five years with the team [...]

Keith Hernandez flied out to center for the second out of the inning. A tomblike silence fell over Shea. Fans stared in disbelief. The 108 regular season wins plus 6 more in the post-season meant nothing. Vin Scully announced Marty Barrett was chosen player of the game. And then…number 8 stepped to the plate. In a career that spanned nearly 2300 games and 8000 at-bats over 19 seasons, there are many memorable moments. However, the [...]