Adam Rubin of ESPN tweeted yesterday that Jordany Valdespin would be playing right field in the Dominican Winter League. This went against what most believed – that Valdespin would be playing second base this winter. I recently did an end of the year review for Valdespin on another Mets website, so this is the perfect time for me to share my perspective on what this means for the Mets in 2013. My Thoughts on Valdespin [...]

Unless the Wilpons hit the Powerball jackpot in the next couple of months, the Mets are not likely to sign any big name free-agents, a la Josh Hamilton, to play centerfield. Barring any off-season trades (I don’t see anything significant occurring), Kirk Nieuwenhuis will be the Mets opening day centerfielder. Beam me up, Sandy. Captain Kirk is heading back to Queens. The question is whether or not Kirk can handle the everyday duties of being [...]

The four things the Mets have to do this off-season to keep the Moneyball project going strong according to the movies… 1. Hire Jonah Hill immediately to assist Sandy Alderson in the front office. 2. Trade Ike Davis. Find a guy with nerve damage in his throwing arm to play first base. Why? Because walks are better than 30+ home runs. 3. Adopt Norman Dale’s “hoosiers” philosophy when up at the plate. Norman Dale didn’t want [...]

By the time 1975 rolled around Al Pacino was considered box office gold. He’d already been nominated for Oscars for both of ‘The Godfather’ films as well as ‘Serpico,’ With the release of “Dog Day Afternoon,” Pacino was catapulted into the Hollywood elite. The film was a true story about a bank robbery in Brooklyn three years earlier. In the role of Sonny Wortzik, Pacino earned yet another nomination. The movie has gone on to [...]

A lot can be said about the culture of a franchise and what it can do to both the confidence of the players and the fan base.  The best example unfortunately comes from the Bronx where we find the Yankees who are almost synonymous with winning.  In Queens though, things never seem to go as well.  I don’t want to flat out call it a culture of mediocrity, but watching the fan base embrace the [...]

The Minnesota Twins places All-Star catcher Joe Mauer on revocable trade waivers earlier this week, and, not too surprisingly, no team put a claim in for him. The 29-year-old is due $23 million per season through 2018, so team’s likely balked at that salary. I heard some reports that the Mets should have gone after Mauer if the Twins were willing to work out a deal. I know it’s slightly after the fact (at least [...]

Sandy Alderson announced at a press conference yesterday that Johan Santana has been placed on the 15-day Disabled List with inflammation in his lower back retroactive to August 18. Alderson also said that he does not expect Santana to pitch again this season, but said he would be ready for Spring Training. You never want to see this happen to your ace, or any of your starting pitchers. Back injuries often linger, especially with pitchers. However, there [...]

Despite four consecutive years of bad baseball, I think most of us can agree that some things are more frustrating than losses.  What I’m talking about is insult to injury.  Its having your fandom dragged through the proverbial mud as a result of not just the team’s performance on the field, but their disastrous attempt at public relations off of it. Some highlights of the franchise’s ineptitude in recent years… There was Omar Minaya’s claim [...]

Its no secret that the Mets are in a rebuilding period.  Mired in what will likely be their fourth consecutive losing season, its apparent that change is necessary.  The process by which that change occurs is where the debate begins.  How the Mets should proceed is the topic of countless blog posts and endless radio debate.  Build through free agency, versus building through the draft.  Both avenues have their merits, but neither encompasses the big [...]