Left field has always been used as a kind of defensive dumping ground for many teams trying to find a way to get a bat in the lineup.  Not requiring the arm strength considered de rigueur for Right, and less daunting in the presence of a fleet centerfielder, it is often a place for players whose offense demands playing time, but are not “natural” outfielders and have been blocked from a preferred position by a [...]

The early season struggles of Ike Davis have been well-documented. Following his second four-strikeout game of the season yesterday against the St. Louis Cardinals, he’s now hitting an awful .157/.245/.268 in 127 at-bats. That line is hard to look at, but it gets even harder when you realize it only includes four home runs, nine RBIs, and 45 strikeouts. I’ve been in favor of sending Ike down to the minors for a couple weeks now [...]

This is getting utterly ridiculous… According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, Mets Manager Terry Collins said that he could see the Pirates retaliating against Jordany Valdespin for his admiration of his ninth-inning homer on Friday night, but added that he doesn’t think Pittsburgh would go after David Wright. “I think every situation is different. I don’t think you retaliate on David Wright,” Collins said. “You don’t take it out on David Wright. Now will they [...]

Jordany Valdespin was initially slated not to start against LHP Chris Sale on Tuesday according to Terry Collins and as reported by Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. That’s irrelevant now that Sale was moved up to pitch on Monday and will not pitch against the Mets after all. Michael Baron of MetsBlog pointed out that against left-handed pitching, Valdespin is hitting just .182 with a .545 OPS. But what he failed to mention was that he only has [...]

 Starting Lineups Game Notes The Mets’ losing streak has reached six games after the club failed to protect a one-run lead with three outs remaining for a second straight day at Marlins Park. It matches their longest losing streak of the 2012 season. They are now in fourth place in the NL East, just two games ahead of the last place Marlins.They are 1-6 in one-run decisions this season and have dropped five straight one-run games. [...]

Most baseball pundits cast off the Mets’ outfield as being the worst in the league heading into the season. On paper, maybe that is correct, but based on performance, the Mets outfield hasn’t been all that bad. Lucas Duda has looked good offensively, Marlon Byrd has had some big hits, Mike Baxter gives all-out effort every time he’s on the field, and Jordany Valdespin proved last night what a great asset he is to the [...]

Baseball is a game of adjustments. The Mets under Dave Hudgens’ tutelage have adopted a doctrine of selectivity that emphasizes seeing lots of pitches, running up pitch-counts, zoning in on your pitch, and ultimately getting on base one way or another. There has been a lot of discussion on MMO about whether this approach is effective. The consensus, bolstered by a pile of data, seems to be that it is. Teams that take lots of [...]

I thought about the first three spots in the Mets lineup. While the two and three holes seem locked by Daniel Murphy and David Wright respectively, the leadoff spot has been somewhat of a revolving door. Here is the list of starts in the leadoff spot with Murphy and Wright at No. 2 and 3: Collin Cowgill – 6 Jordany Valdespin – 6 Mike Baxter – 1 Kirk Nieuwenhuis – 1 Justin Turner – 1 [...]

Update by Joe D. at 2:20 PM Well that didn’t take long… The Mets announced that Juan Centeno has been promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas to replace Travis d’Arnaud who was officially placed on the DL moments ago. Centeno will get the majority of the starts while Landon Powell will continue to remain the backup. Now read about how Mitch just speculated that would likely happen about 30 minutes ago, as well as his other [...]

With Terry Collins’ contract due to expire at the end of this season, speculation is rife that along with a shift in the talent level (and hopefully the fortunes) of the team, a move may be made to replace the Mets’ skipper.  GM Sandy Alderson having been typically circumspect when the question of a managerial extension has been broached, imaginations have run, if not wild, at least as far as the idea of his bringing [...]

In the television broadcasts this spring in which Keith Hernandez has been in the booth, he’s provided his insights into the best potential Mets’ batting order. He said that the best lineup will have length, and I agree. The team isn’t exactly an offensive powerhouse, so it will have to create ways to get the maximum production. The potential lineup would be the following: Jordany Valdespin, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Collin Cowgill, CF Ruben Tejada, SS Daniel [...]