Nationals Sign Rick Ankiel

The Nationals have signed Rick Ankiel to a minor league contract with a spring training invite, according to Amanda Comak of the Washington Times. Ankiel hit .236 with nine home runs and 37 RBIs in 122 appearances for the Nationals last season. The Mets were reportedly very interested in Ankiel and according to Jon Heyman, they were trying to scrape up the $1 million dollars they’d need to...

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Mets Had Plenty Of Missed Opportunities In Last Quarter Century

Here’s an interesting quote from Rich Couthino via Twitter: https://twitter.com/coutinho9/statuses/166162840623919104 Honestly, I never looked at it this way, but it still doesn’t make me feel any better and that’s mostly because I thought we were good enough to win in about ten of those 25 seasons since 1986. In fact, 86 should have been the start of a dynasty, but it...

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Mets Eye Candy: The 1962 Edition

With the New York Mets celebrating their 50th Anniversary in 2012, I’ll probably end up doing 4-5 1962 Editions of my “Mets Eye Candy” feature. Do you know the story about Hall of Fame writer Leonard Koppett during that 1962 season? While burning the midnight oil at his desk in the newsroom of the NY Post, his phone rang at two in the in morning. “I understand the Mets scored...

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Mets Did NOT Win Santana Trade

I read a blog post yesterday, that claimed the Mets won the Johan Santana trade, based on the talent given up, but lost on the contract extension. This couldn’t be any less accurate or more naive. While it is true the players surrendered didn’t amount to much on the major league level and Santana did have several productive years, one cannot separate the trade from the contract because they are...

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The Often Overlooked Front Office Position

Whenever there is a discussion about General Manager’s talents with regards to a rebuilding team, it often seems like the amateur draft is a measuring stick used, and it’s used improperly. Perhaps it is because the General Manager is seen as the face of the franchise in terms of decisions to be made, but in reality, the General Manager has little to do with the amateur draft. Case in point, if...

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Blue Skies, Smiling At Me

Who’d have thought it? Certainly not Fred Wilpon. But Frank McCourt is about to be his salvation. For if the Dodgers wind up selling for $2 billion or more, the value of the Mets, a signature franchise in their own right, in the country’s largest media market with their own network and new stadium, despite their present hard times, have to be worth close to $3 billion. “What that means,” said...

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