The Mets’ bullpen is often considered one of the team’s biggest weaknesses. However, they have had some great seasons from relievers that seem to get overlooked. Whether they’re from journeymen or from guys who fell down the organizational depth chart, these five guys deserve recognition for these seasons they put together. LaTroy Hawkins, 2013 The 2013 Mets had very low...
Now that Carlos Beltran is officially the Mets manager, there is still a small pocket of folks who can’t seem to let go of his backwards K to end the 2006 NLCS. It’s not like the loss was Beltran’s fault then, and it certainly shouldn’t hold any bearing on whether he will be a good manager or not now, but regardless, it’s time to let go. So if you still have a...
Over the last thirty-plus years, baseball has witnessed some of the most dominating back-end relievers to ever play the game. With closers taking a more predominant role during that span, the number of relievers to be considered for enshrinement into Cooperstown will continue to be discussed and considered among the BBWAA for years to come. Two such relievers appear on the ballot this winter,...
Amed Rosario is the Mets’ best prospect, according to Baseball America. He even graced the magazine’s cover recently, so there is little doubt that he will be the most watched minor leaguer in Port St. Lucie this spring. Well, aside from Tim Tebow. But if history is any indicator, that might not be a good thing for Rosario or the Mets. Baseball America has long kept a list of the top...
The Mets have selected 62 players in the first round of the June Amateur Draft since 1965. 41 players have made it to the Majors, which is a 66% rate. Who are some of the first rounders who have seen the most success at the Major League level? Jon Matlack – Jon was the 4th overall pick in 1967 and went onto a 13 year MLB career with the Mets (1971-77) and the Texas Rangers (1978-83). He...
Yes I know Opening Day is about three months away yet I found myself daydreaming during the Curtis Granderson introductory press conference yesterday. Who/what could I be daydreaming about you may ask? Was it Jennifer Love Hewitt ? No. Was it Jessica Alba in a string bikini ? Nope . Could it be about the ’71 Dodge Demon 340 that I lusted over since I was 13 ? Nuh-uh. Then what could it be...
Sandy Alderson retreated from a months-long stance that neither Rafael Montero or Noah Syndergaard had any chance of making the Mets starting rotation out of Spring Training. While a guest on WFAN, the Mets GM announced that the plan for these two exciting power arms will be similar to the tracks taken by Zack Wheeler and Matt Harvey. “No chance,” Sandy said. At the time he also said...
In four decades of rooting for the Mets my most painful memory, without a doubt, was when Yadier Molina deposited an Aaron Heilman pitch over the wall in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. I literally could not believe what I saw. Seeing is believing—but not in this case. 2006, like 1986, was OUR year. The 162 games were a mere formality. It took us all winter to recover but when April 07 rolled around,...
The street I live on is a fairly quiet residential one lane road. Three miles to the south it meanders up into the foothills that look down on the valley. It gives way to an expansive residence, the proverbial mansion on the hill. At night, the home is illuminated in a sea of blackness. There’s nothing close by and the property seems big enough to warrant its own zip code. On many Saturday...
Anyone out there remember Ray Sadecki? He was a starter/reliever for the Mets from 1970-1974 and was the kind of pitcher the Mets could actually use right now because of his effectiveness in that role. They could have also used Sadecki in 2007 or 2008, which is when I chose his name on the LoHud blog when John Delcos was running the site before Howard Megdal. Those two seasons will always be...
You know that feeling when Scott Rice walked the first two batters in the 8th inning yesterday with the Mets clinging to a 2 run lead? Kind of a helpless sense of doom and despair where you can’t bear to watch? With a little help from Jayson Werth the result didn’t turn out like so many other late-inning debacles have, but as I exhaled and wiped the sweat from my forehead it got me...
You can learn a lot about a baseball team from its locker room. The clubhouse is where relationships form, character is revealed and leaders speak out (or not). For the major league rookie, clubhouse real estate is valuable — sometimes priceless. Imagine being the rookie who spent eight months out of the year next to Sandy Koufax? Roberto Clemente? Lou Gehrig? Tom Seaver? These were model...
