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 [...]

Lately, it seems the only thing the Mets excel at is finding ways to lose. Shaun Marcum had his first quality start as a Met, going 6.2 innings allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits while walking one and punching out three. He threw 96 pitches, 65 of which for strikes, however fell to 0-4 on the year in easily his best effort for the Amazin’s this season. After matching goose eggs with the [...]

Are the Mets in desperate times now?  With how our offense has failed to click lately, I think so. I was under the impression that we had a few guys that could actually play the outfield for us – and then we went out and signed Rick Ankiel. I remember the player Ankiel was after he switched positions from pitching to play the outfield, so there is hope for production.  But, if we needed a player with [...]

The Dominator took to the mound for the Binghamton Mets tonight, in temperatures that made it seem more like an April night in the upstate New York city, than a night in the middle of May. Rafael Montero stood on the mound, with his glove in front of his face, so the batter could only see a pair of eyes staring in, and his mouth breathing steam like a locomotive. He didn’t shut down Akron [...]

Starting Lineup Mike Baxter – RF Daniel Murphy – 2B David Wright – 3B Ike Davis – 1B Lucas Duda – LF John Buck – C Rick Ankiel – CF Ruben Tejada – SS Jeremy Hefner – RHP Game Notes The Mets signed Rick Ankiel and is in the lineup starting in centerfield tonight and batting seventh. Ankiel, 33, was released by the Astros last week after hitting .194 with a .231 OBP in 25 games. [...]

Mets historians will recall how former GM Frank Cashen declared, ““those who contribute the least spray the most champagne” after being doused by reliever Randy Niemann during the 1986 NLCS championship celebration. I think it’s time to take that mantra when it comes to Jordany Valdespin, except those that contribute the least shouldn’t be made the story. With Twitter, Facebook and blogs – both mainstream and otherwise – available throughout the 24/7/365 news cycle, it’s impossible to [...]

The draft is slowly creeping up on us, and is now less than a month away. It’s do or die time for scouts, and for some draft hopefuls, coming down to the wire to show that they deserve a shot to call baseball their profession. On June 6, everyone is expecting the Houston Astros to take Stanford Pitcher, Mark Appel, with the first pick in the draft. After that, it’s really anyone’s guess. The Mets [...]

Among the highs and lows to already come out of the first month of this season, the continued improvement of Daniel Murphy has certainly been one of the brighter spots to this point so far. Playing out of his natural position, Murphy has slowly made the proper adjustments on both sides of the diamond. After being jostled all over both the infield and outfield, Murphy has finally found himself a home at second base with [...]

There will be days like Sunday, where the meltdown is complete in all phases, beginning with Jon Niese, who had an inability to get hitters out, an offense that offered little resistance to Tim Hudson, and a porous defense. It’s not alarming the Mets couldn’t do anything against Hudson, but what should be a source of concern is Niese, who was hit hard in his fourth straight start – all lost by the Mets – [...]

When you live on the West Coast, sometimes you have to listen to the other team’s broadcast. It can be excruciating. When your team starts winning, especially in clutch fashion, there’s nothing better. That’s what happened to me while listening to the Braves announcers last night. When the Braves made a move, the Mets had an answer. Clutch offense was the theme of the game. Evan Gattis hit a home run off Brandon Lyon and [...]

 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. [...]