Starting Lineup

1. Daniel Murphy – 2B
2. Justin Turner – 1B
3. David Wright – 3B
4. Marlon Byrd – RF
5. Lucas Duda – LF
6. Anthony Recker – C
7. Ruben Tejada – SS
8. Juan Lagares – CF
9. Dillon Gee – RHP

Game Notes

The Mets have scored three or fewer runs in 10 of their last 12 games and in 15 of their last 21 games. Overall, New York is averaging 4.25 runs per game, the seventh-most in the NL. New York ranks 28th with a .231 team batting average.

The Mets are hitting .216 (16-74) with runners in scoring position over its last 12 games. They are fifth in the NL and 12th in the majors with a .259 (77-297) batting average with RISP. The club has 11 home runs in such situations, tied for the seventh-most in the majors. David Wright is hitting .429 (15-35) with RiSP, the seventh-best mark in the National League.

Daniel Murphy went 2-4 yesterday. Murphy is hitting .368 (14-38) with three doubles and eight RBI in 10 career games at Wrigley. He is 13-for-his-last-24 (.542) over his last six games and currently has a seven-game hitting streak (14-28, .500). Murphy is batting .392 on the road this season, the third-best mark in the NL.

David Wright extended his hitting streak to six games going 1-4 yesterday…Wright is batting .417 (10-24) with four RBI during this span. Wright is hitting .357 (20-56) with three doubles, four home runs and eight RBI in May. He ranks second in the NL and fourth in the majors with a .409 mark during day games.

Justin Turner is hitting .319 (15-47) in his 12 starts this year. He has multi-hits in four of those starts. Overall, Turner is batting .305 (18-59) with three doubles and five RBI in 24 games this year.

Game Preview

The Mets look to bounce back from yesterday’s loss this afternoon as Dillon Gee takes on Travis Wood in the rubber game in Chicago. Yesterday the Mets just could not get it done on all fronts, but Rick Ankiel still hit a homer. Anyway, let’s hope for the the best today!

Dillon Gee is 2-5 on the season over 8 games with 39.2 innings of work while posting an ERA of 6.13. In the month of May he has made two poor starts sandwiched around a good start thus making 1-1 over 14.0 innings of work with a 6.43 ERA while walking 7 and striking out 9. Last year he was 1-1 over 13.0 innings with a 3.46 ERA. The Cubs have the following numbers against Gee:

Castro 3-9
Barney 2-9
Soriano 1-8, 2B
DeJesus 3-7
Rizzo 3-6, 2B

The Mets bats will get a crack at Travis Wood today who is 4-2 over 8 games and 53.1 innings of work with a 2.03 ERA. He’s 2-1 over 3 games over 21.1 innings with a 1.69 ERA while walking 6 batters and striking out 13 batters. Last year he was 2-0 against the Mets over 13.0 innings with a 1.38 ERA. The Mets have the following numbers against Wood:

Byrd 2-9, 2B
Tejada 0-8
Wright 3-9, 3B
Davis 1-5
Duda 1-6, HR
Buck 1-4, HR
Turner 3-4, 2B
Valdespin 0-1

Lets Go Mets!

There are many adjectives that are used in conjunction with the 86 Mets. Confidence. Arrogance. Swagger. Obnoxious. But they were good, damn good. And they knew it. That’s a far cry from the 2013 Mets.

However, it’s not just wins that count. It’s playing as a cohesive unit. It’s playing as, no pun intended, a TEAM. And that is something this club does not do. You don’t have to get along off the field. You don’t even have to like it each other. But when you’re on that field, you play as a team. You fight as a team. The Jordany Valdespin situation shows in glaring fashion how incredibly dysfunctional this “team” is.

The 86 club was a bawling and brawling brazen bunch of ballplayers chasing women and partying. But there were exceptions. For all intents and purposes, Gary Carter was an outcast. He was a family man, religious and clean-cut. Heck, the guy was so pure he did a commercial for Ivory soap. Mookie Wilson was one of the longest tenured players on that club. Yet, he graciously accepted becoming a platoon player with Lenny Dykstra. Or moving to left. But yet, they won. 108 times. The 4th highest win total in the last 50 years.

That club had issues. No doubt about it. Darryl referred to Wally Backman as a “(expletive) redneck.” In his 1985 book, “Bats,” Davey Johnson referred to Dykstra as “an ***hole kind of guy.” When they were posing for their team picture in the spring of 1987, Keith Hernandez and Strawberry came to blows about seating proximity to Davey. What is this, 3^rd grade? But yet, on the field, they pulled together.

After being chided with chants of “Daaaah—ril” in Fenway, Straw answered back. In the 8^th inning of Game 7, it was he who hit a towering blast off of Al Nipper that was the final nail in the Sox coffin. And then he strolled around the bases in probably the longest HR trot in history. Confidence. Swagger. The following spring Nipper beaned Darryl. And the dugouts promptly emptied. Who else but the Mets could get in a bench-clearing brawl in spring training? Straw was not overly popular with some of his teammates. But they immediately came to his defense. Why? Because that’s what teams do. That’s what winners do.

When Valdespin gets set-up by his manager to get plunked, what do the 2013 Mets do? They sit on their ass. And then rub salt in the wound by condoning the actions of the Pirates.

This is a team?

Baseball is filled with players that did not get along off the field. But yet, they pulled together and they won. The Oakland A’s of the early 70s bickered constantly. Yet, they won 3 straight World Series. Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent loathed each other. But they put their differences aside and gave their team 2 division titles and 1 pennant over 6 seasons. Ruth and Gehrig were polar opposites who disapproved of the other’s lifestyle. Yet, the Yankees of the 1920’s and 30’s seemed to do okay. And how about ‘The Bronx Zoo’ of the late 70’s. Those guys not only clashed off the field but on the field. And in the dugout on national TV. When Reggie Jackson wasn’t avoiding being punched by Billy Martin, he was getting into it with Thurman Munson. Talk about a dysfunctional mess! But yet, the Yankees won 5 divisions, 4 pennants and 2 World Series over a 6 year span.

The Mets, meanwhile, bicker amongst themselves. Then, go out and lose.

Did Valdespin act bush league by hitting that HR and then showboating on a very small scale? Did he act inappropriately for a rookie? Personally, I don’t give a damn. He’s a New York Met and as such he should be defended by his, pardon the pun, “team” mates. Terry Collins set him up to get beaned. I guess we should be thankful Collins allowed him to wear a batting helmet.

Had any other rookie done that they’d be praised for trying to light a spark on a team where no spark exists. Last season Bryce Harper played with arrogance rarely seen in a rookie. And although Valdespin is no Harper, I don’t recall Harper getting blowback from his teammates. He gets praised while Valdespin gets violently slammed in the face by John Buck. John Buck who is on his 4^th team in the last 5 years. John Buck who will be riding the pine once D’arnaud arrives. Can you imagine back-up catcher Ed Hearn violently slamming a pie into the face of Lenny Dykstra? I can’t either.

Kevin Mitchell was a rookie in 86. Does anyone think had Mitch been purposely beaned like that, the Mets would not have retaliated? Tell me Bobby Ojeda wouldn’t have had someone kissing the dirt the next inning. In 1969 Wayne Garrett was a rookie. Garrett was unassuming and quiet. But can you imagine Gil Hodges setting up Garrett to get beaned? I can’t either.

Why should we expect the 2013 Mets to fight the other teams in the NL when they don’t even fight for each other?

You can clearly see the dissension on this “team” by some of the quotes of Valdespin’s “team” mates.

Latroy Hawkins: “What, now we’re supposed to get into a fight for that?” First of all, I didn’t even know Hawkins was still in the majors until the Mets found him on the scrap heap. Secondly, to answer your question, Latroy, yes. Yes you are.

Marlon Byrd: “The Pirates did what you’re supposed to do. We would have done the same thing.” With all due respect, Marlon, I disagree. When was the last time the Mets protected one of their own and retaliated?

If the Mets are going to lose, at least lose with some dignity. Losing is one thing. Being a doormat is unacceptable.

And to David Wright, you’re the captain. Avoid the politically correct statements and settle this in the clubhouse. You’ve got that “C” on your jersey. Now act like a captain. I can’t imagine Keith or Gary or John Franco allowing this to fester. Isn’t it David who said, “You play for the name on the front of your jersey, not the one on your back.”

One vivid memory of 86 was the all-out bench-clearing brawl when Ray Knight decked Eric Davis in Cincinnati. Dugouts emptied…except for one player. Former Red George Foster sat on the bench and watched the Mets fight his old team. And although Foster was the 2^nd highest paid player on the team (and yes, an outcast even before), GM Frank Cashen had no problems immediately getting Foster out of New York. Why? He realized that Foster was not a team player.

Thank goodness Alderson was not the GM in 86. He would’ve kept Foster and gotten rid of Ray Knight.

And ask yourself this: What’s easier to imagine—a guy like Valdespin fitting in with the 86 Champions…or a guy like Keith Hernandez fitting in with the 2013 Mets?

So, to Valdespin, I say, hang in there. Your time here is probably limited. The fact that you’re exciting, try to light a spark and want to win, is clearly not in synch with the 2013 Mets. Management wants everyone to be nice and quiet. We don’t want to upset anyone else in the league.

Shhh. Heaven forbid someone gets mad at us. So, sit tight, Jordany. We’ll probably get rid of you like we did Beltran or Pagan. You know, two ex-Mets who escaped this madness. Two ex-Mets now wearing or pursuing World Series rings. Yes, World Series rings, something Terry  Collins can only view on Google Images.

Starting Lineup

1. Ruben Tejada SS
2. Daniel Murphy 2B
3. David Wright 3B
4. John Buck C
5. Justin Turner 1B
6. Marlon Byrd RF
7. Andrew Brown LF
8. Juan Lagares CF
9. Dillon Gee RHP

Game Notes

New York will play consecutive four-game series (vs. Pittsburgh and at St. Louis) for just the third time since 2008. The Mets played two straight four-game sets last year, July 26-August 2 at Arizona and at San Francisco. The Mets played two four game road series, July 1-6, 2008 at St. Louis and Philadelphia.

Over the club’s last nine home games, the Mets have scored 22 runs (an average of 2.4 per contest) while hitting .181 (51-282). They have scored two runs or less in six of those games. Overall, the Mets have plated 71 runs in 17 home games (4.2 runs per game).

The Mets are averaging 4.70 runs per game, the third-most in the NL and the eighth-most in the majors. David Wright is tied for third in the majors with 23 walks and Lucas Duda is tied sixth in the majors with 21 walks. The Mets are sixth in the National League with 106 walks.

The Mets are fourth in the NL and 11th in the majors with a .272 (62-227) batting average with RISP. The club has 10 home runs in such situations, tied for the third-most in the majors. John Buck has four of those home runs, tied for the major league lead. David Wright is hitting .414 (12-29) with RISP, the seventh-best mark in the National League. As a team the Mets have stranded 203 runners, including seven last night, ranking 27th in the majors.

Frank Francisco pitched 1.0 scoreless inning yesterday for St. Lucie (A) of the Florida State League vs. Daytona. He did not allow a hit, issued two walks and recorded two strikeouts. Francisco has not permitted a run in five rehabilitation outings with St. Lucie. He’s worked 5.0 innings, allowed one hit, issued two walks and fanned six.

Matt Harvey will be presented with his NL Pitcher of the Month Award for April in a pre-game ceremony. Harvey will also receive an engraved watch for his Player of the Week (April 8-14) honor. In April, Harvey’s 1.56 ERA ranked third, his 46 strikeouts were tied for fourth and he limited opposing hitters to a .153 batting average, the lowest mark in the NL…He was one of only two NL starters to post four wins in April without suffering a loss.

Game Preview

The Mets fresh off of a split with the White Sox start a four game series with the Pirates tonight. Last night the Mets offense was flat, and too little too late. It wasn’t until the end of the game where the Mets started to get hits but they still couldn’t get runs. Anyway, Pittsburgh comes to town today and they are second in the NL Central with a 18-15 record. Tonight Dillon Gee will go up against Jeff Locke.

Dillon Gee is 2-4 this season over 6 games with a 6.16 ERA and 30.2 innings of work. In his last two starts he has allowed 8 ER over 11.0 innings of work. Gee hasn’t faced the Pirates since 2011 where he was 2-0 in as many games pitching 15.0 innings with a 2.40 ERA. The Pirates have the following numbers against Gee:

Tabata 4-10, 2B
McCutchen 1-9
Jones 2-7, 2B
Martin 0-5
Harrison 2-4
Alvarez 0-2
Barmes 0-2

The Mets will get a look at Jeff Locke today, who is in his 3rd season in the majors. This is the season where Locke is starting to put it together pitching 33.2 innings over 6 starts with a 3.21 ERA. At the start of the season, he wasn’t doing too well as he allowed 9 ER over 15.2 innings but in his last three starts he has allowed 3 ER over 18 innings. He has made one start against the Mets where he allowed 5 ER over 3.2 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

Buck 1-3
Murphy 2-3
Tejada 3-3
Davis 0-1
Duda 0-2
Recker 1-2, HR
Wright 1-2

Let’s Go Mets!

DAVID WRIGHT, 3B

MMO PLAYER OF THE WEEK

David Wright copped his third MMO Player of the Week honor after what may have been his most productive week of the season.

The feisty third baseman had a few run-ins the umps this past week which is something we don’t see too much of from him, but it’s what a player does in the box score that matters most for this weekly staple at MMO.

Wright posted an incredible .333/.368/.889/1.257 batting line to lead the team while also clubbing a team high three home runs – all of them coming in his last three games to close out his week with a BANG!

Additionally, he led the team with 16 total bases and six runs scored, more than double any of the other players for the week.

Wright saw his franchise record of 77 games without an error come to an end, and it was also the longest active streak among all MLB third basemen.

Honorable Mentions

John Buck

John Buck may have had a rough day yesterday behind the plate, but offensively he batted .278/.350/.667/1.017 in 18 at-bats with two more home runs to give him a team-leading ten homers for the season. He also drove in six runs and now leads the NL with 29 RBI.

Matt Harvey

Matt Harvey didn’t get the win, but delivered another solid start in which he allowed just one earned run in 5.1 innings pitched. The right-hander allowed seven hits and uncharacteristically walked three batters, while striking out seven. He’ll get the start tomorrow on seven days rest as the White Sox roll into town.

Jeremy Hefner

Hefner was the hard-luck loser after pitching the best game of his young career against the Miami Marlins last week. The righty did a nice job of changing speeds and using his assortment of pitches to keep the Fish off balance all night for eight solid innings of work. He allowed two earned runs on just four hits and struck out three while walking three.

Player Of The Week Scoreboard

1. David Wright – 3

2. John Buck - 1

2. Matt Harvey - 1

As I expected, the Mets have demoted Josh Edgin to Double-A Binghamton to clear a roster spot for Shaun Marcum.

I even speculated that he should go to Binghamton which is where he ends up.

We’ll see him again, I’m sure…

Updated on 4/26

I got an interesting email from Kevin (K Maxx) this morning who asked, “if Terry Collins is so concerned about Josh Edging being overworked, why does he keep overworking him?”

I did a quick check and was shocked to see that Edgin made 75 appearances last season between the Mets and the minors. That would have placed him tenth in the NL.

The 75 appearances was the largest workload of his pro career and more than a 50% increase from his previous high of 49 appearances.

So far this season, Edgin has appeared in 10 of the first 20 games and is on pace for 81 appearances.

K Maxx may have a point.

Original Post 4/24

What happened to the Josh Edgin who came up and immediately became one of the more reliable and dominant relievers out of our bullpen last year?

As if his his 10.80 ERA and 1.97 WHIP in 10 appearances wasn’t bad enough, I took a quick glance at his splits and it really showed me how bad things really have gotten for Edgin since last season.

• Versus LH Batters – 368

• Versus RH Batters – .333

Those batting averages against are just plain awful to look at and clearly a sign that something is amiss. He no longer exudes the confidence he once did and his entire demeanor on the mound has done a complete 180. This is not the same intimidating and effective force we saw in 2012. It’s as if he was replicated by one of those giant seapods from Invasion of the Body Snatchers?

Good God, what’s happened to Josh Edgin?

Edgin burst onto the scene sporting a fastball with that had great late life and came in at 93-95 mph. The velocity and the movement are just not there anymore. His slider, which was so effective last season, is now “big and sloppy and flat”, according to Bobby Ojeda.

Terry Collins had a lot to say about Edgin after the game, and to say he’s very concerned is an understatement.

“One of the things I’m a little concerned about is that last year Josh Edgin made a lot of appearances. He also warmed up in the bullpen a lot of times and then didn’t come into the game. That also puts a lot of stress on your arm. Edgin pitched a lot last season and I’m afraid his arm isn’t responding well. I’m a little concerned that’s what we’re facing right now with Edgin.”

“I’ve had pitchers in the past where after their first full season the arm doesn’t respond well. I think that’s what’s happening. We’re going to talk to him and work with him tomorrow and try to see how we can get him back to what he was.”

You’ve lost that lovin’ feeling.

Collins was visibly frustrated while talking about Edgin and it sounded to me like his patience may be running out on his young southpaw.

“Command is everything when you’re in the major leagues,” Collins said. “Right now Edgin needs to do what got him here if he wants to stay here.”

When the Mets announced that they were calling up Robert Carson, you may remember I thought Edgin was as good as gone. Instead the Mets decided to part with Greg Burke. That was surprising to me. Now I see no other solution than to send Edgin to Triple-A Vegas or even Double-A Binghamton to recharge his batteries and get some of that confidence he once had back.

Edgin has lost his edge

Starting Lineup

1. Mike Baxter – RF
2. Ruben Tejada – SS
3. Daniel Murphy – 2B
4. David Wright – 3B
5. Lucas Duda – LF
6. John Buck – C
7. Ike Davis – 1B
8. Jordany Valdespin – CF
9. Dillon Gee – RHP

Game Notes

• The Mets have scored 110 runs in their first 20 games (5.5 runs per game). The 110 runs are the fourth-most the Mets have scored after 20 games in any season. New York is scoring 5.5 runs per game ranking first in the majors.
• Mets starting pitchers are 7-6 with a 3.72 ERA (45 earned runs/109.0 innings). The 3.72 ERA ranks 13th in the majors…The staff is 7-4 when they toss a quality start.
• The Mets turned four double plays yesterday. New York has turned at least one double play in 10 of its last 11 games. The club has not made an error in a season-high five consecutive games. New York is eighth in the NL with a .984 fielding percentage.
• John Buck leads the NL and is third in the majors with his 22 RBI. Buck is also tied for third in the NL with seven home runs. Jeff Kent holds the team record with 26 RBI in April in 1994.
• Lucas Duda ranks third in the National League with a .459 on-base percentage and David Wright is fifth with a .438 on-base percentage. Wright is second in the NL with 18 walks and Duda is third with 17. New York ranks ninth in the majors as a team with a .329 on-base percentage.

Game Preview

The Mets look to bounce back from dropping a series against the Dodgers by taking one from Phillies tonight at Citi Field. Yesterday was a frustrating day as the Mets offense just could not build any rallies off of Hefner’s strong start and ended up losing 3-2 after winning the previous game with a walk off grand slam. Tonight Dillon Gee will take the mound for the Mets as he squares off against Kyle Kendrick.

Dillon Gee is now 1-3 on the seasoon with a 5.85 ERA over 19.2 innings of work. He looked a lot better in his last start against the Nationals where he allowed 3 hits and no runs over 5.2 innings of work and tonight he has a shot of redemption. In his last start against the Phillies, the second start of the season for Gee, he allowed 7 ER over 3.0 innings. Now he gets the Phillies outside of their sand box and inside of Citi Field. The Phillies have the following numbers against him:

Mayberry 4-11, 2B, 2 HR
Rollins 7-11, 2B
Utley 2-10, 2B
Howard 3-9, 3 HR
Nix 2-6
Young 4-5, 2 HR

Kyle Kendrick is 1-1 this season over 4 starts with a 3.28 ERA. Kendrick’s only bad start was the first of the season where he allowed 5 ER over 5.2 innings, after that he has allowed 2 ER or less between 6 or 7 innings (including a 2 ER, 6 IP outing against the Mets). On the bad side, he has allowed 8 hits in three of his four starts this year. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

Wright 11-34, 2 2B, 2 HR
Davis 4-19, 2 2B
Murphy 3-17, 2B
Duda 3-12, 2 2B, HR
Buck 1-10, HR
Baxter 3-6, 2B, HR

Lets Go Mets!

Mets Starting Lineup

1. Jordany Valdespin – LF
2. Daniel Murphy – 2B
3. David Wright – 3B
4. Ike Davis – 1B
5. John Buck – C
6. Marlon Byrd – CF
7. Mike Baxter – RF
8. Ruben Tejada – SS
9. Jonathon Niese – LHP

Game Notes

• The team called up right-hander Jeurys Familia from Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday, optioning submariner Greg Burke to the Minors. Familia, who broke camp with the Mets in an eight-man Opening Day bullpen, has not allowed a run in five innings since his early-April demotion to Vegas.
• With an MLB-worst six errors in 13 games at shortstop, Tejada entered Wednesday’s play with more miscues than eight Major League teams.They’ve been mostly throwing errors. Terry Collins insists that Tejada is doing nothing technically wrong and will stick by him. Good call.
• Lucas Duda is second in the National League with 11 walks and also ranks third in the NL with a .469 on-base percentage. The Mets’ left fielder is hitting .368 (7-19) with two home runs and three RBI on this current road trip.
• Meanwhile, Daniel Murphy continues to rake and is hitting .393 (11-28) with eight runs scored, six doubles and five RBI on this road trip…Overall, Murphy is hitting .340 and is tied for 11th in the National League with 11 RBI, is tied for third in the NL with six doubles and is tied for third with nine extra-base hits. Nice!
• The Mets will not need the fifth starter’s spot again until a week from Saturday according to Adam Rubin’s calculations. That means Shaun Marcum, who is supposed to pitch in Port St. Lucie today, could be ready to return and make his Mets debut. We hope he’s armed and ready!

Game Preview

The Mets will try to salvage a game of this series today this afternoon in Denver. After dropping both games of the doubleheader, the Mets were postponed due to snow yesterday. The Mets are playing their regularly scheduled game today and there is no word yet on when a make-up game will be played. Jon Niese will get his normal start today, yesterday’s starter, Hefner, will get pushed to Saturday which will push Laffey out of the rotation this time around.

Jon Niese is 2-0 over 3 starts with a 3.57 ERA over 17.2 innings and 9 runs, 7 earned. Niese’s numbers were fantastic before the Minnesota game on Friday night however Niese had problems throwing/gripping the ball in the cold and snow, thus laboring through innings. It also didn’t help that the Mets bats stayed out forever in the first and second inning. Anyway, Niese looks for some normalcy today. Niese hasn’t faced the Rockies since 2011 where he allowed 10 ER over 12.1 innings. The Rockies have the following numbers against Jon:

Helton 7-16, 3 2B, HR
Tulo 5-13, 2B, HR
Gonzalez 0-7
Fowler 1-6
Herrera 3-6, HR
Garland 0-2

Garland is 1-0 this season over two starts and 12 innings of work allowing 5 ER and 10 hits in that stretch. He missed the 2012 season in its entirety and in 2011 he had a 4.33 ERA with a 1-5 record over 9 starts and 54 innings of work. In 2011 he had one start against the Mets where he allowed 3 ER over 6 innings and 7 hits. The Mets have the following numbers against Jon:

Buck 10-42, 4 2B, HR
Byrd 5-18
Wright 2-15, 2B
Murphy 2-7, 2B
Davis 2-5
Tejada 0-3

Let’s Go Mets!

Updated by Joe D. at 3:50 PM

It’s official. The Mets just announced that they have recalled RHP Jeurys Familia from Las Vegas (AAA) and optioned RHP Greg Burke to Las Vegas.

Hat tip to Mr. North Jersey….

Original Post 2:40 PM

The Mets’ bullpen allowed 14 hits, 10 runs, eight earned over 9.0 innings during yesterday’s doubleheader and appear to be showing some leaks. Entering the Colorado series, the bullpen had posted a 2.08 ERA in their previous six games.

Overall, the Mets relievers are 2-1 with a 4.21 ERA (20 earned runs/43.2 innings) and they rank seventh in the NL in ERA.

The backend of the Mets rotation is certainly not helping matters and only adding to their woes.

With that in mind, the Mets have opted to call-up righthanded reliever Jeurys Familia, who is on his way to Denver to join the Mets, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.

This looks like a Taxi Squad move and it’s not immediately clear whether Familia would be activated upon his arrival or if he would be activated at all, writes Rubin.

Familia has allowed five hits in five innings with one save in four relief appearances with Triple-A Las Vegas and has yet to allow a run. In his last appearance, Familia pitched a hitless ninth two strikeouts.

The young fireballer ranked No. 7 in our 2013 Met Top Prospects Rankings where we wrote:

There is so much to like about Jeurys Familia. I am going to go out on a limb and say that Familia could be a successful reliever in the MLB right this second because of his electric stuff.

I saw a lot of this kid down the home stretch at Citi Field in 2012 and his fastball is everything scouts say and more. Electric and explosive.

Josh Edgin (7.50 ERA), Greg Burke (7.35 ERA) and LaTroy Hawkins (6,75 ERA ) have all struggled, and if I had to guess I’d say the 31-year old Burke will be the first to go if the team does activate Familia from the Taxi Squad..

Updated by HoJo at 10:45 PM

Pedro Feliciano tossed a scoreless seventh inning for Advanced-A St. Lucie tonight in his first game action in nearly a month and the results were encouraging.

The Mets’ southpaw allowed one hit, one walk, and had one strikeout. But his velocity was in the 84-86 mph range, according to Adam Rubin, which was up from 82-83 in spring training last month.

Original Post 7:00 PM

Other Mets News

• Tonight’s game between the Mets and Rockies has been postponed due to snow. The two teams will play a split doubleheader tomorrow, the team announced. The first game will begin at 3:10 PM, and the second game will  start around 8:40 PM. It was the Mets second straight postponement for the Mets after wintry conditions in Minneapolis on Sunday forced the game against the Twins to be called off. It was rescheduled for August 19. Weather forecasts call for additional snow on Tuesday.
• Pedro Feliciano has officially joined Class A St. Lucie, the team announced today. The lefty reliever spent the past two weeks building up shoulder strength. According to Adam Rubin, the Mets asked Feliciano to give them a month in the minors from Opening Day before leaving the organization.
• Frank Francisco is set to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with Class A St. Lucie, a club source told ESPN New York. Francisco underwent surgery in December to remove a bone spur from his pitching elbow. He experienced inflammation upon arriving at spring training. An official rehab assignment starts a maximum 30-day clock after which the pitcher is due to be activated. The right-handed Francisco has disappointed since signing his tw year, $12 million deal before the 2012 season.  He went 1-3 with a 5.53 ERA in 48 relief appearances last season.
• Shaun Marcum will not be ready to be activated from the DL until the middle of next week at the earliest. He has been on the 15-day disabled list with biceps tendinitis, retroactive to March 22. Marcum is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Tuesday and then throw a three or four inning simulated game in Port St. Lucie on Thursday. Marcum, who signed a guaranteed $4 million dollar deal in January, has been injured with one ailment or another since he reported to spring training.
• A Monday morning fire damaged parts of the administration building at Citi Field, the club announced, though sprinkler systems contained the blaze before it was extinguished by FDNY. The cause of the fire is under investigation, according to the team, though it did not damage areas accessible to fans and nobody was injured or harmed.

Sandy Alderson and Jay Horwitz chat before start of today’s game. (Photo: Matt Balasis, MMO)

Updated by Joe D. on April 15 at 12:00 PM

The reaction to Matt’s interview with Mets GM Sandy Alderson has been stunning. Over 25,000 different visitors have read the post and as I was telling Shannon of Mets Media Relations, it’s been talked about on WFAN and posted or linked to on over two dozen mainstream sites including MLB Trade Rumors, ESPN, Fox Sports, Yahoo, USA Today, MetsBlog and the Daily News to name a few.

In all fairness, regarding the Giancarlo Stanton rumor which originated with Andy Martino of the Daily News, and was covered on MMO in a post that eclipsed 300 comments, Martino offered a reply to Alderson’s denial that there were any recent conversations and wanted to add his comments here:

Just updating our item from last Thursday on the Mets’ interest in Miami outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. Two pieces of news trickled out over the weekend that both confirmed the Mets’ end of the story and moved forward the Marlins’ end beyond what we wrote.

In the original column, I reported that Sandy Alderson and Marlins GM Larry Beinfest spoke at a minor league game in Jupiter, Fla. This was probably early March. One good Mets source told me that two discussed Stanton, and that “there was heat there.” He was not talking about the temperature in Florida, but his team’s strong interest in the young slugger.

But another Mets person, also reliable, said he wasn’t sure if Stanton came up in the conversation that day. Alderson did not return a phone call seeking clarification, so I wrote what I knew to be accurate: One source said they talked Stanton, one said they talked about something or other. Regardless, we know the Mets are eyeing Stanton in their search for a marquee outfielder.

This weekend in Minnesota, Matt Balasis of Mets Merized Online spoke to Alderson. The GM, in a backhanded way, acknowledged that the teams had talked during spring training (he also said there was nothing happening now. To be clear, I never reported, suggested or implied that the teams were talking now).

To be clear, Alderson said they haven’t talked since “early spring training”. So we are talking about well over a month ago. Also, as Matt tells it, the exchange as it took place told more than just the words alone:

I wish I had video footage of the interview. When I mentioned Stanton for Wheeler and D’Arnaud he scoffed and just said “No,” then there was an awkward pause.

I followed up and said, “So there’s nothing to the rumors?”

And that’s when he said they hadn’t spoken since early spring. He was very, very clear that there was nothing to the recent rumors.

Anyway, both Andy and Matt added more context to the story regarding the Stanton rumor. Though while it was incredibly fun to consider, it was never nothing more than a longshot at best and one that ran out of steam over a month ago.

Original Post by Matt Balasis on April 13 at 8:00 PM

I had a chance to chat with Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson today during batting practice before the game at Target Field. I thought he gave me some very interesting answers on a number of different Mets topics. My thoughts follow the interview. Enjoy…

MMO: On the Stanton rumors, they’ve been all over the news, are there any truth to them?

Sandy: No, no we haven’t had any conversations with them since early spring.

MMO: Will adding players and payroll at the break be based on how well the team is doing or whether revenue is up?

Sandy: You mean adding players? If we feel the team is doing well we will add players.

MMO: Adding payroll, will you base that decision more on revenue or performance or both?

Sandy: Performance, but if we are winning, revenue will be up.

MMO: How do you feel about organizational depth as a whole? This is an organization that’s had poor organizational depth for a long time.

Sandy: It’s getting better. We are starting to see some effects of improved depth and we should be seeing more in the near future.

Sandy Alderson watching his team take batting practice before today’s game. (Photo: Matt Balsis, MMO)

MMO: If Buck keeps hitting the way he has been, how will you handle it when D’Arnaud comes up? Will you keep playing Buck or will he take on more of a mentor’s role?

Sandy: We’ll find a way to play both of them.

MMO: Any chance you will trade Buck?

Sandy: No. We are not trading Buck.

MMO: How do you feel about the bullpen, this team has struggled with bullpen depth for the greater part of the past decade?

Sandy: The Bullpen seems to be doing well, we still have Fransicso rehabbing and Familia down there so we feel we have some good depth there.

MMO: How do you feel about the team’s performance as a whole?

Sandy: Well it’s only been 10 games.

Thoughts from Matt

I got the sense that there is nothing to the Stanton rumors at all. A lot of the press around me seem to agree as well. Totally unfounded …

Overall I get the impression from watching Sandy interact around his players that while he does appear to be a consummate professional and an exemplary administrator, this is not the uncaring hatchet man he’s been accused of being.

The players joked around a lot (especially Justin Turner) with Horwitz and Collins, but with the exception of a short exchange between Wright and Sandy, there was little fraternization between Alderson and the players.

Nevertheless, he was intent and focused on the players and I would venture to say passionate even, which came out more during the interview when it was obvious the guy cares about this team.

As fans it’s probably difficult for us to distinguish between the job’s specifics and the person. A good General Manager can’t get too attached to his players, a good GM will deal a player when it improves the team.

As much as many of us have lamented the loss of some of our favorite players, this young season has been a case in point for why big long contracts and players whose game is dependent on their legs are risky propositions.

We want to thank Sandy for being gracious enough to answer a few questions for us. It was a pleasure to hear him respond to so many of the questions on many Mets fans minds. We appreciated the time he took to answer them.

I’ll be back at Target Field again on Sunday, and hope to have more video, pictures and maybe a surprise interview or two.

In 31 plate appearances so far this season, Buck is batting .393/.387/.464 with four home runs and an NL leading 14 RBIs in eight games.

Buck did not hit his fourth home run of the year last year until May 13 (25 games) and did not drive in his 14th run of the season until June 24 (50 games).

He is the first Mets player with four home runs in the team’s first eight games of season since Mike Piazza in 2001.

I tossed the following question out on Twitter and what follows are a few of the many responses.

Some Met fans are excited about Buck because it keeps the Mets in contention. Others are excited because we can trade him at deadline and get more for him if he keeps this up. Where do you stand?

@metsmerized I love what he brings to the young pitching staff. I think that’s valuable then what we could receive in trade at the deadline.

— Ben Yoel (@Ben_Yoel) April 10, 2013

@metsmerized trade, he keeps it up they could get a nice return

— Bosco (@bosco86) April 10, 2013

@metsmerized He’s without a doubt a deadline trade

— Michael C DeLuca (@MiaFins1) April 10, 2013

@metsmerized Dam ngood question. Think I’m the latter, hoping that if they are in contention d’Arnaud can keep them there.

— E.J. (@TheHappyRecap) April 10, 2013

@metsmerized The only answer to this question is . . . both.It all denoends on timing and circumstance.

— Scott M. Dolan (@ScottMDolan) April 10, 2013

@metsmerized keep buck and sign him. Good 1-2 punch behind the plate; maybe Buck can play 1st against lefties when d’arnaud arrives

— anthonynap (@anthonynap) April 10, 2013

Damn… What the Buck will the Mets do….

Guess who’s jazzed about the Mets so far? This guy is.

The Mets won the first two series of the season 2-1 against the Padres and the Marlins—including a furious 9th-inning rally yesterday. Maybe not the most stellar competition, but the team has shown the range of its capabilities.

In the first couple games, the Mets’ offense exerted its dominance as well as its starting pitching. In the latest win, the bullpen was solid and the team rallied back from two down in the 9th to win the game 4-3.

Here are some specifics I’ve taken away this week:

• Before the season, I mentioned that John Buck was an interim catcher at best. He was a stopgap until Travis d’Arnaud was ready to be called up. Man, is Buck shoving my foot into my mouth now. Buck took yesterday’s game off and is still leading the NL in RBIs in the early going with nine. More importantly, he looks like a different player. His approach at the plate has improved and his bat speed has increased. He knows how to call a game, something the Mets lacked at the catching position last year. He seems to have embraced his role as the experienced journeyman. D’Arnaud will get called up at some point. Him and Buck look like a good one-two punch.
• Matt Harvey deals. Period. What more can you ask for in a season debut than seven innings of one-hit ball and 10 strikeouts? Even though it’s early in his career, this could be the season where people outside the Mets bubble ask, “Have you seen that guy Harvey who pitches for the Mets?” Harvey is turning into one of those dependable-every-fifth-day arms. Whenever he’s on the mound, you anticipate a win.
• The bullpen looked sharp yesterday, but Bobby Parnell, Scott Atchison and Brandon Lyon have looked the best. It’ll be interesting to see what the Mets do with Frank Francisco when he comes off the DL. Parnell looks like he has the 9th sewn up. I usually judge closers by how grizzly their beards are. Parnell is turning into a legitimate closer in that respect. His pitch location has also improved since last season so far. Atchison and Lyon look like they’ll be the setup men—Lyon in the 7th, Atchison in the 8th and Parnell in the 9th.
• Lucas Duda looks lost in left field. He’s taking bad routes to balls. Even when he takes a good route, he’s just too slow to get there. If he doesn’t make up for it at the plate, I fear he’ll lose his job.
• I couldn’t write something without mentioning Ego Grande himself, Jordany Valdespin. ‘Spin had a solid game in Friday’s loss. He got on base four times with two hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. He played sound defense in center field too. Keith Hernandez even complemented him on his “fundies” after he helped gun down Placido Polanco at home plate. With a few more quality offensive and defensive games, he could muscle someone out of a starting job. I’d like to see an outfield where Valdespin and Collin Cowgill are starting every day.

What are your thoughts on the Mets start?

Ken Davidoff of the New York Post has a somewhat critical take on the Mets under Sandy Alderson, and yesterday he spoke to a rival NL executive who told him this:

“The big thing for me is it feels like the Mets are stuck in some kind of purgatory,” an official from another NL team said recently, on the condition of anonymity. “They didn’t blow up their club like Houston did, but they also aren’t a serious threat in the NL East behind Washington, Atlanta, and even Philadelphia.”

“Players like Ike Davis and Daniel Murphy have value, but are they going to be part of the next division winner in Queens? Unlikely. They are losing value every day as their salaries increase and years of club control decrease.”

Davidoff adds that the Mets’ first two drafts under Alderson have not received high grades in the industry, nor has the team come up with any under-the-radar finds through waivers or minor league free agency.

They have done better internationally, with 2011 Dominican pitchers Rafael Montero and Luis Mateo climbing the organizational ladder. Their clear need is for position players, as top draft picks Brandon Nimmo (outfielder, 2011) and Gavin Cecchini (shortstop, 2012) have underwhelmed outside observers.

I’m a big fan of Sandy, probably the biggest one on this site. But clearly he’ll need to make some noise in this year’s draft and follow that up with a less rigid approach to how he navigates the off-season next winter.

I doubt he can continue to tell fans that he has the money, is unwilling to spend it, and get away with it.

He’s losing some of his most steadfast supporters lately, and a fifth straight losing season could start tipping the scales the other way. It’s time for him to be bold and start talking more about the present and less about the future which we already know looks bright.

Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer!

The NL East Report is published every Friday and takes a look at the other teams in the division. The reports covers the latest news and notes, injuries and transactions, divisional records versus the Mets, and updated NL East Standings.

News And Notes

Atlanta Braves: Rookie right-hander Trevor Bauer made his major-league debut Thursday and pitched four innings allowing two runs, five hits and three walks before leaving for a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning. Bauer, the first player from the 2011 draft to appear in the major leagues, was 11-1 with a 2.23 ERA in 16 minor-league starts. CF Michael Bourn has stolen at least 20 bases for five consecutive seasons. Since the start of the 2008 season, he led all major-leaguers with 235 stolen bases through Wednesday. IF Jack Wilson has lost playing time since Andrelton Simmons took over at shortstop. Simmons went into Thursday’s game with nine multi-hit games, seven of them in his last 12 games, and had four multi-RBI games.

Miami Marlins: RF Giancarlo Stanton leads the Marlins with 17 home runs but has only four in June after hitting 12 in May to win the National League Player of the Month award. RHP Josh Johnson has allowed just three runs in 13 innings over his last two starts going into his outing tonight, but he is 0-1 because the Marlins scored a total of one run in those games. The Marlins rank in the bottom half among NL teams in key offensive categories, which can be attributed to a lack of production from players who were expected to blossom this season. First baseman Gaby Sanchez, an All-Star last year, and starting catcher John Buck both are hitting below .200. Left fielder Logan Morrison is hitting .227.

Philadelphia Phillies: One night after Chase Utley made his triumphant return to the Phillies by blasting a home run in his first at-bat of the 2012 season, his longtime teammate Ryan Howard began his rehab assignment with a bang going 2-for-4 with a sacrifice fly and three RBI while batting cleanup. The Phillies rotation has a 5.13 ERA in 30 games since Roy Halladay’s injury and the bullpen has a 4.62 ERA during that same span. RH reliever Chad Qualls was designated for assignment, LH reliever Joe Savery was sent to Class AAA Lehigh Valley (Allentown, Pa.) and LH relievers Jeremy Horst and Brian Sanches were called up from Lehigh Valley.

Washington Nationals: RF Michael Morse went 2-for-5 with a three-run shot, his second homer since returning from a lat injury. He is hitting .341 (14-for-41) over his last 10 games with the two homers and eight RBI. RHP Edwin Jackson has not had success pitching at Coors Field, and  gave up eight runs on 10 hits in three-plus innings during the Nationals’ 11-10, 11-inning loss last night. Jackson had won three of his previous four starts, posting a 2.30 ERA in that span. He is 0-1 with a 17.40 ERA in four career starts in Denver. 3B Ryan Zimmerman has put together a five-game hitting streak. His two-run single started the Nationals’ scoring Thursday after collecting three doubles and two homers in the previous three games.

NL East Standings

This Week shows the divisional record week to date, and is since the last NL East Report.

* Team is currently in line for a wild card spot.

Injury Report

The report only contains updates.

Atlanta Braves: Brandon Beachy (Tommy John Surgery) had season-ending surgery.

Miami Marlins: Emilio Bonafacio (left thumb) cleared to hit off a tee and play catch on June 26.

New York Mets: Mike Baxter (displaced right collarbone) hasn’t resumed physical activities as of June 28. Jason Bay (concussion) cleared to ride bicycle on June 25. Frank Francisco (left oblique strain) was placed on the disabled list on June 24.

Philadelphia Phillies: Ryan Howard (recovery from achillies surgery) had 3 RBIs in Class A rehab game June 28. Lance Nix (strained left calf) continues to rehab in Florida as of June 28. Michael Stutes (right shoulder) had arthroscopic shoulder surgery on June 26.

Washington Nationals: Cole Kimball (recovery from 2011 right shoulder surgery) threw 2 innings in a Class A rehab game on June 25. Christopher Marrero (torn left hamstring, shoulder) went 1-3 in a Triple-A rehab game on June 28. Xavier Nady (right wrist tendinitis) was placed on the disabled list on June 25, retroactive to June 24. Henry Rodriguez (strained right index finger) pitched an inning in Double-A on June 27. Chad Tracy (right groin tear) taking part in baseball activities as of June 27.

Upcoming Weekend Schedule

Now, let’s take a look at the upcoming series for these teams:

Atlanta Braves VS Arizona Diamondbacks

Miami Marlins VS Philadelphia Phillies

New York Mets @ Los Angeles Dodgers

Philadelphia Phillies @ Miami Marlins

Washington Nationals @ Colorado Rockies

The NL East Report is published every Friday and takes a look at the other teams in the division. The reports covers the latest news and notes, injuries and transactions, divisional records versus the Mets, andupdated NL East Standings.

News And Notes

Atlanta Braves: The Braves have lost four straight at home, and have fallen to third place in the NL East behind the Mets and Nationals. During the Braves’ recent skid, they have scored a total of just ten runs. Despite their those struggles, the Braves are still the seventh in MLB in runs scored with 294. With his 2-for-4 effort in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Yankees, right fielder Jason Heyward raised his batting average to .250. After seeing his average dip as low as .233 on May 30, Heyward has 10 hits in his last 36 at-bats (.278) with two home runs, two doubles and seven RBIs. The Braves have designated Livan Hernandez for assignment and recalled Kris Medlen from Triple-A Gwinnett. He was 1-1 with a 4.94 ERA in 18 appearances for the Braves this season.

Miami Marlins: Outfielder Scott Cousins joins the Marlins today, called up from Class AAA New Orleans. Cousins replaces Chris Coghlan, who was optioned to New Orleans after Wednesday’s game. Cousins hit .292 average with 30 runs scored, 10 doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 32 RBI in 50 games at New Orleans. Manager Ozzie Guillen is shaking up his batting order after Miami struggled for offense while losing eight of nine games on its recent homestand. Jose Reyes led off the bottom of the first inning on Wednesday night with a triple for the second game in a row. The last player to hit leadoff triples in back-to-back games was Reyes himself, who did it on June 21-22, 2008. His 15 leadoff triples tie him with Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki for the lead among active players.

Philadelphia Phillies: Phillies pitchers have just three complete games this season. Blanton has two of them. Kyle Kendrick has the other. The Phillies won the final game of their series with the Minnesota Twins Thursday night, 6-1. Designated hitter Jim Thome continued his recent hot streak at the plate as he hit a three-run homer to power the offense. Chase Utley moved one step closer to returning to the Major Leagues when he began a rehab assignment with Class A Clearwater on Tuesday. Utley went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts as the designated hitter in his first game with the Threshers.

Washington Nationals: The Nationals have won six straight, all against AL East opponents, and will look to create a greater gap between themselves and the rest of the NL East as interleague plays continues. Washington currently has a comfortable 4 1/2 game lead over the second-place Mets. Stephen Strasburg, 23, became the first pitcher in the Majors to reach 100 strikeouts this season when he set down eight Blue Jays in six innings on Wednesday. Strasburg, who improved to 8-1, lowered his ERA to 2.45. First baseman Adam LaRoche who sat out to rest his sore right foot, was replaced rookie Tyler Moore on Wednesday and tallied five RBIs, belting his first two Major League home runs after recording his first career RBIs with a two-run double.

NL East Standings

This Week shows the divisional record week to date, and is since the last NL East Report.

* Team is currently in line for a wild card spot.

Injury Report

The report only contains updates.

Atlanta Braves: Brandon Beachy (elbow) is day to day. Freddie Freeman (thumb) is day to day. Eric O’Flaherty (sore left elbow) is day to day.

Miami Marlins: Emilio Bonafacio (left thumb) had stitches removed on June 12. Carlos Zambrano (lower back stiffness) is day to day.

New York Mets: Ronny Cedeno (strained left calf) will begin rehab assignment on June 15. Ramon Ramirez (strained right hamstring) has started long tossing as of June 13. Ruben Tejada (right quad strain) jogged on June 14, but is not close to return yet. Justin Turner (sprained right ankle) played shortstop in a Triple-A rehab game on June 14.

Philadelphia Phillies: Justin DeFratus (strained right elbow) throwing from 120 feet as of June 13. Freddy Galvis (pars fracture in back) will wear brace for three weeks. David Herndon (right elbow inflammation) will be re-evaluated the week of June 17. Ryan Howard (recovery from achillies surgery) went 0-4 in an extended spring training game on June 13. Lance Nix (strained left calf) went 0-4 in an extended spring training game on June 13. Michael Stutes (right shoulder inflammation) will be re-evaluated the week of June 17. Chase Utley (left knee) was DH in third Class A Advanced game on June 14.

Washington Nationals: Roger Bernadina (hamstring strain) is day to day. Mark DeRosa (left oblique strain) will start rehab assignment after June 15. Adam LaRoche (sore right foot) is day to day. Christopher Marrero (torn left hamstring, shoulder) played in Double-A rehab games on June 13 and 14. Ryan Mattheus (plantar fascia strain in left foot) pitched in a Double-A rehab game on June 13. Drew Storen (bone chip in right elbow) threw second mound session on June 11. Stephen Strasburg (minor cut on middle finger of right hand) was removed as a precaution on June 13 and is day to day.

Upcoming Weekend Schedule

Now, let’s take a look at the upcoming series for these teams:

Atlanta Braves VS Baltimore Orioles

Miami Marlins VS Tampa Bay Rays

New York Mets VS Cincinnati Reds

Philadelphia Phillies @ Toronto Blue Jays

Washington Nationals VS New York Yankees

The NL East Report is published every Friday and takes a look at the other teams in the division. The reports covers the latest news and notes, injuries and transactions, divisional records versus the Mets, andupdated NL East Standings.

News And Notes

Atlanta Braves: The Braves paid tribute to former All-Star pitcher John Smoltz today by inducting him into the Braves Hall of Fame. His number will be retired prior to tonight’s contest. Braves’ starting pitchers allowed just one earned run in the three-game series sweep over Miami, and they allowed only six runs in fi ve games (33.2 IP) on the just-completed road trip (1.60 ERA). Martin Prado went 2-for-5 last night and has hit safely in 22 of his last 27 games, with 16 multi-hit games in those 27 contests. Prado ranks sixth in the National League in hitting (.324) and has hit safely in 42 of his 55 games played this season.

Miami Marlins: The Fish suffered their second three-game sweep of the season, dropping the series finale against the Braves, 8-2. Jose Reyes connected for his first home run of the season in the loss. Tonight, the Citrus Series resumes as Miami welcomes the Tampa Bay Rays to Marlins Park for a three-game series. The two teams last met in a three-game set from June 17-19, 2011 at Tropicana Field, a series that saw the Fish drop three straight. The 2011 Citrus Series went to the Rays, who took four of the six contests. In South Florida, however, Miami has gone 25-16, while also leading the overall series, 42-37.There are only three players in the Majors to record 90 home runs and steal at least 200 bases since the 2006 season, and two of them are playing in this series. Hanley Ramirez has hit 45 home runs and stolen 226 bases, Jimmy Rollins has totaled 114 homers and 212 SB’s, and B.J. Upton has 90 home runs and 208 steals.

Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies have dropped a season-high six straight games to fall three games under .500 after being a season-best three over (28-25). Jim Thome enters play tonight as MLB’s all-time home run leader in Interleague play with 59 and third in game-winning RBI (21). Juan Pierre needs to score 1 more run to reach 1,000 for his career. Once he does, he will become just the 30th player in MLB history to have 1,000 runs, 2,000 hits and 500 stolen bases. The 2012 season marks both the 8th year for Charlie Manuel as manager of the Phillies and his 50th year in professional baseball (since 1963). Through his seven-plus years at the helm in Philadelphia, he has become the franchise’s all-time leader in managerial wins (674) and has led the team to a record five straight postseason appearances. Manuel has a career record of 674-519 (.565) in Philadelphia (2005-12), the best among all NL teams in that time frame.

Washington Nationals: Washington will take a 15-game stroll through the brutal AL East, beginning Friday with a three-game series against the Red Sox. Each team in the AL East is above .500, with Boston at 29-28 and in last place. Washington holds a slim one-game lead over Atlanta in the NL East after a 3-1 loss to the Mets on Thursday afternoon. Two young workhorses will go head-to-head in the series opener Friday, with right-hander Stephen Strasburg taking the ball for the Nationals and lefty Felix Doubront for the Sox. In 14 games dating to a 9-3 win on May 20 vs. BAL, Bryce Harper is hitting .357 (20-for-56) with a double, 3 triples, 3 home runs, 9 RBI, 8 walks and 12 runs scored. He leads the Nationals in that span in batting average, runs, hits, triples and homers. Nationals pitchers have averaged 8.54 strikeouts per 9.0 innings this season. That’s only been produced through 54 contests, but it is currently the 2nd-highest recorded by any club in modern baseball history.

NL East Standings

This Week shows the divisional record week to date, and is since the last NL East Report.

* Team is currently in line for a wild card spot.

Injury Report

The report only contains updates.

Atlanta Braves: Freddie Freeman (bruised left index finger) is day to day. Chipper Jones (left calf contusion) had the stitches removed from his leg on June 6 and might return June 11.

Miami Marlins: Austin Kearns (right hamstring strain) might return June 7.

New York Mets: Mike Baxter (displaced right collarbone) was placed on the disabled list on June 3, after suffering the injury crashing into a wall on June 1. Ruben Tejada (right quad strain) suffered a setback and his rehab was put on hold as of June 5. Jon Rauch (right elbow discomfort) was unavailable for the entire Nationals series, but is expected to be ready for the weekend series against the Yankees. Ramon Ramirez (strained right hamstring) was placed on the disabled list on June 5. Jon Niese (elevated heart rate) left his last start on Sunday, June 3. He will make his next start, and will have surgery after the season to correct the issue.

Philadelphia Phillies: Jose Contreras (torn right UCL, flexor pronator tendon) had an MRI reveal tears on June 2 and will be out the remainder of the season. Freddy Galvis (lower back) is day to day after leaving a game in the 5th inning on June 6. Ryan Howard (recovery from achillies surgery) went 2-4 in an extended spring training game on June 6. Lance Nix (strained left calf) will resume rehab on June 7. Placido Polanco (laceration on finger) is day to day. Chase Utley (left knee) could begin playing the field next week.

Washington Nationals: Mark DeRosa (left oblique strain) is expected to start his rehab assignment on June 7 or 8. Sandy Leon (high right ankle sprain) is running and playing catch as of June 3. Brad Lidge (abdominal wall strain) pitched a perfect inning in a rehab game on June 6. Carlos Maldonado (back) was placed on the disabled list on June 6. Ryan Mattheus (plantar fascia strain in left foot) threw a successful bullpen session on June 6. Wilson Ramos (torn meniscus, ACL in right knee) underwent first of two surgeries on June 1. Drew Storen (bone chip in right elbow) is throwing everyday from flat ground as of June 5.

Upcoming Weekend Schedule

Now, let’s take a look at the upcoming series for these teams:

Atlanta Braves VS Toronto Blue Jays

Miami Marlins VS Tampa Bay Rays

New York Mets @ New York Yankees

Philadelphia Phillies @ Baltimore Orioles

Washington Nationals @ Boston Red Sox

The NL East Report is published every Friday and takes a look at the other teams in the division. The reports covers the latest news and notes, injuries and transactions, divisional records versus the Mets, andupdated NL East Standings.

News And Notes

Atlanta Braves: Uggla ranks second in the NL and fourth in the majors with 34 walks on the season. His career high is 92 walks (2009) and he’s on pace for 108 this season. CF Michael Bourn has hit safely in 12 of his last 18 starts, 25 of his last 31 starts and in 38 of 50 starts this season. He has accounted for four of the Braves’ last nine home runs and has already equaled his career high. The Braves have gone 19-5 with Chipper Jones in the starting lineup this season and 8-19 without him in the lineup. The Braves are inducting John Smoltz into their Hall of Fame today and retiring his uniform number 29. Smoltz, who spent 20 seasons in a Braves uniform, is the only pitcher in Major League history with at least 200 wins and 150 saves, and has the most strikeouts in postseason history with 199.

Miami Marlins: The Marlins are coming off of a three-game home sweep of the Nationals that brought them to within a half-game of first place. They upped their Major League leading comeback wins total to 19 with a 3-1 win over the Washington Nationals. Jose Reyes has fashioned an nine-game hitting streak at home, during which he is batting .324, the switch-hitting speedster has hit at a .322 clip and has collected at least one hit in 20 of 24 games at home. Hanley Ramirez and Giancarlo Stanton are each blazing hot. Ramirez is hitting .354 since dropping below .200 earlier this season and Stanton in May hit .343 with 12 home runs (first in majors) and 30 RBI (third).

Philadelphia Phillies: Three-fifths of the Phillies’ vaunted rotation has been on the disabled list already, with Roy Halladay the latest casualty. The Phillies won just one of Halladay’s final eight starts before he succumbed to a shoulder injury. Cliff Lee has yet to record a win this season. Dating back to the last July, Kyle Kendrick has a 2.65 ERA in his last 15 starts. He’s also averaged 5.9 innings per game, a solid average for any fifth starter. Former Phillies closer Mitch Williams said, “I don’t see any chance of Cole Hamels being a Phillie after this year because of the amount of money he’s going to command.”

Washington Nationals: The Nationals are 15-8 at home, where their .652 winning percentage ranks 2nd in the NL behind only LAD’s .700 mark at Dodger Stadium. The Nationals’ pitching staff paces MLB in ERA (3.01), starters’ ERA (2.95), batting average against (.222), fewest hits/9.0 innings (7.36), WHIP (1.14), baserunners allowed/9.0 innings (10.49), OPS against (.636) and fielding-independent pitching (3.24). In May — thanks to 57 doubles, 10 triples and 34 home runs—the Nationals tallied 101 extrabase hits in a single calendar month for just the 2nd time in franchise history. The Nationals’ 101 extra-base hits in May ranked 2nd in the NL behind only STL (102).

NL East Standings

This Week shows the divisional record week to date, and is since the last NL East Report.

* Team is currently in line for a wild card spot.

Injury Report

The report only contains updates.

Atlanta Braves: Chipper Jones (left calf contusion) is on the disabled list, and had blood drained from his leg on May 26. David Ross (strained right groin) is day to day and caught in the bullpen on May 29.

Miami Marlins: Emilio Bonifacio (left thumb) ran for first time since surgery on May 30. Jose Ceda (ligament tear in right elbow) was transferred to the 60-day disabled list on May 27.

New York Mets: Miguel Batista (strained lower back) pitched 7 innings in a Double-A rehab start on May 30. Jason Bay (rib fracture) started as DH in a rehab game on May 28. Ronny Cedeno (strained left calf) was placed on the disabled list on May 30, retroactive to May 27. Ruben Tejada (right quad strain) is undergoing treatment in New York through June 1st. Josh Thole (concussion) caught in a Triple-A rehab game on May 31. Justin Turner (sprained right ankle) was placed on the disabled list on May 29. Chris Young (torn right anterior capsule) started a Triple-A rehab game on May 31.

Philadelphia Phillies: Justin De Fratus (sprained right elbow) began throwing on May 25. Roy Halladay (right latissimus dorsi strain) was placed on the disabled list on May 29 and is going receive a second opinion. Ryan Howard (recovery from achillies surgery) is running, hitting, and fielding in rehab as of May 30. Michael Martinez (right foot fracture) hit in batting practice in extended spring training on May 26. Lance Nix (strained left calf), on May 30, ran for the first time since being placed on the disabled list. Carlos Ruiz (right hamstring tightness) is day to day. He had a pinch-hit home run on May 30. Jim Thome (strained lower back) is taking batting practice in extended spring training as of May 30. Chase Utley (left knee) is working out with the team as of May 30. Vance Worley (right elbow inflammation, bone chip in elbow) is schedued to throw a second bullpen session on June 1.

Washington Nationals: Mark DeRosa (left oblique strain) took batting practice and threw on May 27. Jesus Flores (strained right hamstring) is day to day. Mike Morse (right lat strain) played two Class A advanced games on May 30. Henry Rodriguez (right index finger) is day to day. Chad Tracy (right groin tear) underwent surgery on May 29.

Upcoming Weekend Schedule

Now, let’s take a look at the upcoming series for these teams:

Atlanta Braves @ Washington Nationals

Miami Marlins @ Philadelphia Phillies

New York Mets VS St. Louis Cardinals

Philadelphia Phillies VS Miami Marlins

Washington Nationals VS Atlanta Braves

The NL East Report is published every Friday and takes a look at the other teams in the division. The reports covers the latest news and notes, injuries and transactions, divisional records versus the Mets, and updated NL East Standings.

News And Notes

Atlanta Braves: On Monday, May 21, Drew Sutton was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash. They also signed Ian Thomas and Lance Zawadzki. The Braves own the division’s best run differential, by a decent margin, at plus-32. The Nationals are plus-19, second best. The Braves have scored 4.87 runs per game, second-best in the National League and up from 3.96 last season. Martin Prado is on a hot streak for Atlanta. In his last 16 games, Prado has hit .429 with eight doubles, a triple, a home run, nine runs scored and five RBIs. With just 11 more RBIs, Chipper Jones will reach 1,596 and tie Hall of Famer George Brett for the all-time lead among third basemen.

Miami Marlins: Mike Dunn was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans and is expected to callup Daniel Jennings. The left-hander has an 0.95 ERA with 17 strikeouts and five walks in 19 innings for New Orleans. Jennings has made two appearances with the Marlins this season, throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Hanley Ramirez (141 homers, 225 steals) is one of just two players since 2006 to record 140-or-more home runs and steal more than 140 bases. Matt Kemp is the other. Ramirez has caught fire at home lately, carrying a seven-game home hitting streak into tonight’s game. In the month of May, the Marlins have drawn a National League leading 84 walks, ahead of the Diamondbacks (77), Braves (77), Giants (76) and Mets (75).

Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies lead the majors in May with a .286 batting average and are third in total bases, with an average of 15.6 per game. Their .783 OPS is also third in the bigs. Second baseman Chase Utley, who hasn’t played a game this season because of chronic tendinitis in his knees, took some ground balls before Thursday’s game. There still is no timetable for his return. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Utley won’t move beyond batting practice and pregame activities until he’s ready to play in a game. After missing three games for the birth of his first child, shortstop Jimmy Rollins led off for the Phillies on Thursday. He went 2-for-6 with a strikeout in the victory and is 94 hits away from 2,000.

Washington Nationals: Shortstop Ian Desmond has hit eight home runs this season, tying his total from 2011. He’s only two away from his career high of 10 long balls, which he clubbed in 2010. The eight homers lead all NL shortstops. The Nationals face off against the Braves for the first time this season in a battle for first place. The Nationals are up one game, so they will have to win the three-game series in order to leave Atlanta in first place by themselves.

NL East Standings

This Week shows the divisional record week to date, and is since the last NL East Report.

* Team is currently in line for a wild card spot.

Injury Report

Newer or updated injuries are at the beginning of each team’s injury report.

Atlanta Braves: Chipper Jones (left calf contusion) is day to day. Brian McCann (flu) is day to day. Jonny Venters (calf bruise) is day to day. Robert Fish (left elbow tendinitis) was put on the disabled list on April 2, retroactive to March 26. It is still unsure when he’ll return. Peter Moylan (recovering from right shoulder surgery last season) is currently rehabbing, and is expected to return sometime in May or June. Arodys Vizcaino (elbow reconstruction surgery) had Tommy John Surgery on March 20, and will be out the remainder of the season.

Miami Marlins: Austin Kearns (right hamstring strain) was placed on the disabled list on May 24. Emilio Bonafacio (left thumb) is expected to have surgery on May 25. Jose Ceda (ligament tear in right elbow) had Tommy John Surgery on April 12, and will be out the remainder of the season.

New York Mets: Miguel Batista (strained lower back) was placed on the disabled list on May 20. Jason Bay (rib fracture) is expected to start DHing in rehab games on May 27. Ruben Tejada (right quad strain) took part in running drills on May 24. Josh Thole (concussion) is expected to catch for the first time on May 25. Chris Young (torn right anterior capsule) makes his next rehab start on May 25.  Pedro Beato (right shoulder stiffness) pitched for Class A on May 22. Mike Pelfrey (partial tear of ulnar collateral ligament) is currently on the disabled list, as of April 24, and had Tommy John Surgery on it to end his season.

Philadelphia Phillies: Justin De Fratas (sprained right elbow) is scheduled to resume a throwing program on May 25. Lance Nix (calf) was able to walk but not run as of May 19. Chase Utley (left knee) ran and fielded grounders on May 17. Michael Martinez (right foot fracture) is taking live batting practice as of May 16. Ryan Howard (recovering from Achilles surgery) is fielding, throwing, and hitting as of May 16. Vance Worley (right elbow inflammation, bone chips in elbow) was placed on the disabled list on May 16, retroactive to May 12. Jim Thome (strained lower back) is taking live batting practice as of May 16. Michael Stutes (mild rotator cuff strain) was shut down for 2-3 weeks as of May 11. David Herndon (right elbow inflammation) was placed on the disabled list on May 1, retroactive to April 30.

Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg (arm tightness) is not expected to miss a start. Mike Morse (right lat strain) is expected to start extended spring training on May 25. Brad Lidge (abdominal wall strain) threw a bullpen session on May 23. Ryan Mattheus (Plantar fascia strain in left foot) was placed on the disabled list on May 22, retroactive to May 21. Mark DeRosa (left oblique strain) started baseball activities on May 17. Drew Storen (bone chips in right elbow) made 100 throws from flat ground on May 16. Sandy Leon (sprained right ankle) was placed on the disabled list on May 15. Wilson Ramos (torn ACL) was placed on the disabled list on May 13, and was transferred to the 60-day disabled list on May 15. He is out for the season. Jayson Werth (broken left wrist) was placed on the disabled after undergoing surgery. He is expected to be out at least 10-12 weeks. Christopher Marrero (torn next hamstring, shoulder) is having lingering hamstring and shoulder issues. Cole Kimball (recovering from right shoulder surgery) had surgery in July of 2011, and won’t return until July at the earliest.

Upcoming Weekend Schedule

Now, let’s take a look at the upcoming series for these teams:

Atlanta Braves VS Washington Nationals

Miami Marlins VS San Francisco Giants

New York Mets VS San Diego Padres

Philadelphia Phillies @ St. Louis Cardinals

Washington Nationals @ Atlanta Braves

The NL East Report is published every Friday and takes a look at the other teams in the division. The report covers the latest news and notes, injuries and transactions, divisional records versus the Mets, and updated NL East Standings.

News And Notes

Atlanta Braves: On Friday, May 11, the Braves signed Felix Pie to a minor league contract and sent him to the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves. Jason Heyward got his first career start in center field on Wednesday, and Brandon Beachy got his first complete game shutout on Thursday. Also on Thursday, the Braves signed Sergio Miranda.

Miami Marlins: Marlins Park is one of the candidates to host the 2015 All Star Game. Ozzie Guillen announced he was done with Twitter. On Friday, May 11, Emilio Bonifacio broke the Marlins record for most stolen bases to start the season with a perfect stolen base percentage with two stolen bases, breaking the record of 15 in 15 attempts. It is now 20 in 20 attempts. Also on Friday, the Marlins recalled Kevin Mattison and Mike Dunn and sent down Sandy Rosario. On Tuesday, the Marlins sent down Kevin Mattison and recalled Bryan Petersen.

Philadelphia Phillies: On Friday, May 11, the Phillies placed Lance Nix on the disabled list, and transferred Justin De Fratus to the 60-day disabled list. On Friday, the Phillies also sent down Brian Sanchez and brought up Raul Valdes, Hector Luna, and Jake Diekman. On Saturday, the Phillies traded Scott Posednik to the Red Sox for cash. They also sent down Erik Kratz, called up Mike Fontenot, and transferred Michael Martinez to the 60-day disabled list. On Monday, Placido Polanco reached 2,000 hits, and on Wednesday the Phillies traded Rich Thompson to the Tampa Bay Rays for minor leaguer Kyle Hudson. They also recalled Joe Savery, and Vance Worley was placed on the disabled list. On Thursday, Placido Polanco suffered a bruised left knee after fouling a ball off of it.

Washington Nationals: Adam LaRoche announced he wanted to remain with the Nationals after this season. On Sunday, Wilson Ramos was placed on the disabled list and Sandy Leon was called up. On Monday, Bryce Harper hit his first Major League home run. On Tuesday, Sandy Leon was placed on the disabled list, Wilson Ramos was transferred to the 60-day disabled list, and Carlos Maldonado was called up.

NL East Standings

This Week shows the divisional record week to date, and is since the last NL East Report.

* Team is currently in line for a wild card spot.

Injury Report

Newer or updated injuries are at the beginning of each team’s injury report.

Atlanta Braves: Robert Fish (left elbow tendinitis) was put on the disabled list on April 2, retroactive to March 26. It is still unsure when he’ll return. Peter Moylan (recovering from right shoulder surgery last season) is currently rehabbing, and is expected to return sometime in May or June. Arodys Vizcaino (elbow reconstruction surgery) had Tommy John Surgery on March 20, and will be out the remainder of the season.

Miami Marlins: Jose Ceda (ligament tear in right elbow) had Tommy John Surgery on April 12, and will be out the remainder of the season.

New York Mets: Ruben Tejada (right quad strain) was placed on the disabled list on May 7. As of May 13, he was not cleared for baseball activities. Miguel Batista (groin tightness) is day to day. Jason Bay (rib fracture) was cleared for baseball activities on May 14. Josh Thole (concussion) was cleared for baseball activities on May 16. Chris Young (torn right anterior capsule) will return late May at the earliest. He pitched 5.2 innings in a rehab start on May 16.  Mike Pelfrey (partial tear of ulnar collateral ligament) is currently on the disabled list, as of April 24, and had Tommy John Surgery on it to end his season. Pedro Beato (right shoulder stiffness) suffered the injury in late March and currently is on the disabled list. There is no timetable for his return.

Philadelphia Phillies: Placido Polanco (bruised left knee) is day to day. Chase Utley (left knee) ran and fielded grounders on May 17. Michael Martinez (right foot fracture) is taking live batting practice as of May 16. Ryan Howard (recovering from Achilles surgery) is fielding, throwing, and hitting as of May 16. Vance Worley (right elbow inflammation) was placed on the disabled list on May 16, retroactive to May 12. Jim Thome (strained lower back) is taking live batting practice as of May 16. Justin De Fratas (sprained right elbow) was transferred to the 60-day disabled list on May 11. Lance Nix (calf) was placed on the disabled list on May 11. Michael Stutes (mild rotator cuff strain) was shut down for 2-3 weeks as of May 11. David Herndon (right elbow inflammation) was placed on the disabled list on May 1, retroactive to April 30.

Washington Nationals: Mark DeRosa (left oblique strain) started baseball activities on May 17. Drew Storen (bone chips in right elbow) made 100 throws from flat ground on May 16. Sandy Leon (sprained right ankle) was placed on the disabled list on May 15. Wilson Ramos (torn ACL) was placed on the disabled list on May 13, and was transferred to the 60-day disabled list on May 15. He is out for the season. Brad Lidge (abdominal wall strain) threw from flat ground on May 14. Chien-Ming Wang (strained left hamstring) will make his final rehab start on May 19. Mike Morse (right lat strain) will go to extended spring training on May 21. Jayson Werth (broken left wrist) was placed on the disabled after undergoing surgery. He is expected to be out at least 10-12 weeks. Christopher Marrero (torn next hamstring, shoulder) is having lingering hamstring and shoulder issues. Cole Kimball (recovering from right shoulder surgery) had surgery in July of 2011, and won’t return until July at the earliest.

Upcoming Weekend Schedule

Now, let’s take a look at the upcoming series for these teams:

Atlanta Braves @ Tampa Bay Rays

Miami Marlins @ Cleveland Indians

New York Mets @ Toronto Blue Jays

Philadelphia Phillies VS Boston Red Sox

Washington Nationals VS Baltimore Orioles

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 has existed. In the past Interleague scheduling was more based on location and regional rivalry where a team like the Mets had to face the Yankees every year while their competition would or could face lesser teams on their schedule. Now there will be one Interleague game per day and it means more NL teams will have to face the Yankees than just us. How this new scheduling plays out Is yet to be seen, but it does appear to be a step in the right direction as far as interleague is concerned and it does open the possibility to balance it later by adding two expansion teams (one to each league) if it proves to be a problem later on. Then they could go back to targeted interleague matchups if they don’t like what they did.

Where the new CBA seems to do its best balancing act though is in regards to spending. For a few years now the league has limited what the big Free Agent spenders could spend via the Luxury tax that is imposed when you go over a certain spending threshold. The inequity here was that teams that were willing to pay to win would help subsidize teams that were not willing to spend to win. Most of the tax money that was distributed would usually be pocketed by the subsidized teams instead of re-invested. A team like KC or Tampa Bay probably had 10-25% (maybe more!) of their payroll paid for by their share of the luxury tax. The MLBPA has always had an issue with this system not because it limited the salaries that a free agent could get (it did not do that) but because the teams who got the money refused to spend that money on other free agents.

This leads us to FA Compensation and slotting.

These non-spending teams would instead stick to their draft first approach and use that money to go over slot to select a player who would one day net them two more draft compensation picks – hopefully. All while keeping their payroll artificially low. Usually, they may trade these players during their arbitration years and get even more in trade value while maybe lucking out with 2-3 solid competitive seasons.

The changes to the compensatory process will help curtail the practice of letting good players go to collect more cheap draft picks. These NON-SPENDERS will no longer be able to fill their roster with a constant flow of more than normal picks and be forced to enter into Free Agency and spend to fill their roster.

The MLBPA will gain the most here because for one, Free Agents won’t have their offers artificially lowered to compensate for draft losses and two, teams who previously stayed away from free agency and opted to preserve or accumulate picks, will now need to spend.

The Current CBA seems to balance out those who spend in Free Agency and those who spend in the draft and International market.

Draft Slotting was an unenforceable attempt at limiting how much Rookies would get to sign. Most teams did not comply. The Yankees would spend more on Draft picks just as they would spend more on Free Agents. So it never stopped them, and teams who were not big players in free agency and were draft focused gladly went over slot.

What the new CBA does is remove the ability to pay rookies a large bonus so that these players can no longer hold up a team for ransom. I personally don’t think it goes far enough or will work, but it is a decent start. Those first rounder’s will still demand above the slotting guidelines and the end result will be lower draft picks will pay the price for that in what they get as a bonus. The new Tax on rookie signings only applies to the first eleven rounds. What we may see is that the early picks get the same high bonuses, but teams will be unable to sign kids from rounds 6-10.

What it does successfully accomplish though, is balance the process for those who are in the middle of the pack.

The “Have’s” always had the ability to spend and the “Have not’s” could because they didn’t spend anywhere else. Neither side had anything to lose by paying more. It was those teams in the middle who were willing to pay free agents and draft in combination that were hurt the most by the over slotting.

Over slot has always affected the middle round drafters more than the top and bottom round drafters. The guys at the top were worth paying more for and the players selected at the bottom had little leverage.

The top round pickers were usually bad teams, were getting the best players, and had a vested interest in paying more. The bottom rounder’s who were winning teams already, could easily pay over slot whenever they wanted to

The middle round picker’s now will have a built-in excuse to tell their picks, “sorry, we can’t give you more than slot because we need to sign all our picks.” We will see how well that actually works for them.

What is significant though is that many teams will not go too far over slot because of the New Tax plus the possibility that they could lose future picks as well. As many as two consecutive first rounder’s could be forfeited which will certainly curtail the bottom feeders a lot more than the spenders.

A better change to the draft rules might have been to penalize a player who refused to sign by having him sit out “X” number of years before they could re-enter the draft. Once they did re-enter the draft, a comparable pick would then be given to the team that originally drafted him as compensation the following year. This would force these rookies to say “hey if I want to play in the MLB I had better take what I can get or look for some other job”.

Some have pointed out that this new CBA will discourage some athletes from choosing baseball over other sports. I don’t buy this argument at all. The average career in football is 4-5 years. Baseball is usually 10 years or more especially if you’re an above average player. I don’t see anyone choosing football over baseball considering that only the top 5% of football players actually make the big bucks under their league’s salary cap limitations. Not to mention the the added bonus that in baseball you will still have the ability to walk when your 60 years old as opposed to needing a cane by the time your 40.

It is important to note that the biggest complaints about the current CBA comes from both ends of the spending spectrum. The low spenders complain it will hurt competitive balance and the big spenders complain that they will now have another TAX to deal with that makes successful/profitable teams subsidize those who refuse to spend even WITH their collected tax dollars going to them.

You know what that says to me?

This CBA is pretty damn good, And VERY good for BOTH SIDES and baseball in general…

It would appear to shift the balance of spending big or not spending at all, to the middle where it should be.

Free Agents will not be allowed to leave as easily as they have been due to less of a return in picks and you’ll see lower market teams finding ways to keep their stars. It also limits the ability of spenders to take the non spenders or middle spenders out of the IFA market as spending in those areas are also limited, taxed and compensated. It will stop teams from playing market inequities and put them more on a level playing field.

Players will make more, reasonable spending teams will save money in more areas and the draft picks will not be an exercise of shooting craps hoping the kid you picked will sign with you. Non spenders will have to spend more to fill their roster and large spenders will not be able to cut everyone else out of the valuable IFA market or drive up the price on draft bonuses the way they have in the past.

What it does is put more focus on good evaluation over money. You will no longer be able to cheap your way or spend your way to success. And that can only be a good thing.

Does the new CBA go far enough towards this goal? Perhaps not but the fact that the two spending extremists seem the most unhappy about it says to me it is a step in the right direction.

Now I personally don’t like some parts of this new CBA, expanded playoffs being chief among them. But as far as fixing the financial inequities that have been exhibited in the league I think it does a pretty good job in trying to create spending parity as opposed to what we have seen.

Small market teams will complain they have to spend more but maybe they will also see that spending more will draw more fans into the stands. Maybe some are not as small a market as their spending and current attendance would suggest.

Large Market teams will be limited further in how they can throw money around and cherry picking the league’s top stars.

And it finally takes some of the power away from rookies that should be going to players who have worked hard to get to the MLB only to be discarded in favor of some kid who hasn’t proved himself yet.

It will be more about WHO you spent it on, not how much you spent. Evaluation over Valuation will be the order of the day.

The only ones who will be hurt the most are the players who were using HGH to make themselves better, and the teams whose entire plan was based on rebuilding using the inequity of not spending in the name of collecting multiple draft picks.

Sorry Sandy, it looks like you’re going to have to go back to the drawing board.

This Fan Shot was submitted by Mike (Metsie). Have something you want to say about the Mets? Share your opinions with over eleven-thousand Mets fans who read this site daily. Send your Fan Shot to GetMetsmerized@aol.com.