While basically every player on the 25-man roster will have to play well for the Mets to be competitive, five players in particular will hold major keys to the team’s success in 2011. In no particular order, Jose Reyes, Jon Niese, Jason Bay, Ike Davis and Frankie Rodriguez will need to bring their A-game to the ballpark every night. Of course, players like David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Mike Pelfrey, Bobby Parnell, R.A. Dickey, Angel Pagan [...]

OK, so that phrase is very overused, but you have to admit it’s true. What you are about to read, Mets fans, should look like solid gold on your screen. “I feel 100 percent,” said Jose Reyes. “I feel pain free.” No more thyroid issues, no more oblique problems, no more batting third, and simply the Jose Reyes that we know and love. Terry Collins introduced Jose Reyes at Citi Field Kids Day as the [...]

Everyone knows I don’t have much confidence in the 2011 Mets and I’m already looking forward to the 2012 season.  I honestly believe this is just a lost season, where .500 would be acceptable, but “what if” the Mets can compete in 2011? Marvel Comics does a series of comics where they explore the road not traveled by their characters. Last week I looked at the starting pitchers and asked what if they perform? This [...]

Opening Day is 3 ½ months away and we all know what to expect in 2011. Not a damn thing. Sandy Alderson has stated that it will be a season to observe, to listen and learn, and rebuild for the future. Safe to say not many of us have hope for next season. It’s December 2010 and already we have set our sights on Opening Day 2012, a mere 480 days away. As we prepare ourselves [...]

As we come to grips with the fact that hope will be the prevailing theme in 2011 and that basically we are playing the same hand we had last season minus Johan Santana, we will all have our patience tested. There’s a lot of things that need to go right where hope is concerned for the 2011 Mets. We hope Jason Bay shows up and performs at a level we all expected when we first [...]

As we know the Mets don’t have much money to spend this off season.  Whether it’s only five million dollars or a little more Alderson is allowed to spend there will not be any top free agent signings this year.  No Cliff Lee or Carl Crawford next season. With signing 2nd or possibly 3rd tier free agents it might not be fun watching the Mets every day next year.  There will be plenty of stories [...]

Today Ken Rosenthal reported that the Brewers would listen to offers regarding several players, one of those players is Rickie Weeks.  Weeks has one year left on his contract.  In 2010 Rickie Weeks will be making $2.75 million dollars.  The Mets we know need someone at second base as it’s highly likely that Castillo won’t be playing full time if at all for the Mets in 2010.  Also I believe that Ruben Tejada would benefit [...]

As Sandy Alderson continues to hire his buddies and show no urgency in hiring a manager, he needs to consider bringing Orlando Hudson to the New York Mets. Hopefully Alderson will finally cut loose the dead weight  that is Luis Castillo.  The Mets should have signed Hudson in 2009, but instead they let him go to the Dodgers.  Once again the Mets had another chance earlier this year to sign Hudson, but Omar didn’t.  Since things are [...]

As expected, the Mets picked up the $11 million option for Jose Reyes for 2011 and left open the possibility of a long term extension. When the Mets signed Reyes to a multi-year deal in 2006, he was on the verge of stardom and being a special player. The injuries that plagued him early in his career were seemingly behind him, he was an All-Star and regarded as one of the top leadoff hitters in the [...]

The Cardinals didn’t make the post-season this year but I don’t expect them to be trading Pujols. The Rockies didn’t make it either but somehow I don’t see them shopping Troy Tulowitzki. The Padres just missed but I am pretty confident they’ll hang on to Adrian Gonzalez. So, why oh why, would the Mets be willing to ‘listen to offers’ for David Wright? This past Monday I watched Kevin Burkhardt’s candid interview with Fred Wilpon. [...]