Good morning, Mets fans! Let’s end the weekend on a positive note. Remember: stay healthy, happy and home!

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Latest Mets News

Dan Martin of the New York Post caught up with Steven Matz, who is trying to keep in the best shape he can as he monitors the COVID-19 crisis from his home in Nashville, Tennessee. Matz is particularly focused on Long Island, where the majority of his family still resides.

Latest MLB News

Per Starting 9: In a picture posted to Instagram, Jim Edmonds stated that he has admitted himself to a hospital in order to be tested for the coronavirus. As of Saturday evening, no updates on tests results or Edmonds’ condition were given.

Latest NL East News

In case anyone missed this, there’s a “Beltway March Madness” tournament going on, in which top athletes from the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area go head-to-head in order to determine the greatest Beltway athlete. Gregory Lee Jr. of The Athletic presented the upcoming Sweet 16 match-ups on Saturday.

Latest on MMO

Joe D. turned back time once more as he revisited Opening Day 1975 and newly-acquired Dave Kingman‘s mammoth home run that ensured the Mets’ 2-1 victory over the Phillies.

Joe D’s got one question for you all: Do you know the Top 25 Mets WAR Seasons for hitters?

This Day in Mets History

2000: Pitcher Mike Hampton makes his Mets debut in Japan’s Tokyo Dome. This also happened to be the first ever Opening Day to be held outside of the United States.

Birthdays: Scott Atchison turns 44, Alex Ochoa turns 48, Eric Gunderson turns 54, and Billy Beane turns 58.

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Played In Japan 20 Years Ago Today appeared first on Metsmerized.

In a recent article by Dan Martin of the New York Post, Triple-A pitching coach Frank Viola commented on the recent struggles of Matt Harvey and the steady rise of Rafael Montero.

Montero and Harvey’s professional careers have been polar opposites to this point. Matt has enjoyed immediate success, while Montero’s career has been an uphill climb. However, Viola sees some similarities between the two starting pitchers.

“He’s just pounding the strike zone again,” Viola said of the difference in Montero’s performance. “He was picking at the corners and nibbling and, like with Matt, that’s not who he is.”

Montero, who was recently named the PCL Pitcher of the Week after back-to-back scoreless outings, still has work to do.

“He’s not where we’ve seen him before,” Viola said. “For him to need 90 pitches to get through five innings, something’s still not right. But he’s establishing his fastball and he’s a good learner, so we’ll get him back.”

Viola added that he is not too worried about Matt Harvey, and that he expects him to return to his old self in the near future. The most important thing for Matt’s success is his health and his confidence. This is simply a learning curve that Matt will pull himself out of in the near future.

“Every pitcher goes through a period where they doubt there stuff, so I don’t think it’s a big deal,” Viola said. “It’s a short term thing. He’s healthy, so he’ll be fine. He just needs one outing where he puts it all together.”

As far as Matt Harvey is concerned, he is not only a talented starter, but he is also a cerebral pitcher. He simply knows how to get guys out without throwing too many pitches. His ability to throw strikes on the inside and outside corners consistently have made him a phenomenal starter.

However, this season has been a different narrative for Harvey since his command has been uncharacteristically erratic. Harvey has never really experienced a slump like he has now, but he is only 27 years old with his best baseball in front of him.

It is nice to see that Viola has confidence in Montero. Once Montero can figure out a way to locate his pitches consistently, he will become a viable asset for the big league team. Hopefully his last two starts suggest that he’s almost there.

The post Frank Viola Weighs In On Rafael Montero And Matt Harvey appeared first on Metsmerized.

Daniel Murphy, who was named MVP of the NLCS, has been absolutely incredible this postseason. In nine games, he’s batting .421 with seven home runs and 11 RBI against both the Dodgers and Cubs,

While he’s never had a stretch quite like this in his career, the Murphy we are seeing now might not be a fluke after all. Hitting coach Kevin Long says that Murphy’s power outburst is the result of the all work they did throughout the season.

“He changed his mechanics,” Long said of Murphy tweaking his approach throughout the season, using his legs more and dropping his hands. “This isn’t like all of a sudden he tried to do something he hasn’t done all year. … Basically, he went from a guy seeking base hits to a guy seeking to do damage — and there’s a big difference“ (Dan Martin, NY Post)

Even though Murphy struggled mightily in April, Long never lost confidence in him and knew the adjustments would pay off in the end.

“April was a lousy April,” Long said. “I always tell guys, ‘You’re probably gonna go backwards before you go forward.’ That’s why you have to trust what we’re doing and kind of sell them on ‘If you stick with it, it will turn.’”

“He does not swing and miss [and] if you take a guy who doesn’t swing and miss and shrink the strike zone, you can do more damage. The only part we didn’t know was if he was gonna be able to incorporate it into his game. That’s a gift. Robinson Cano could get the barrel of the bat to the ball quickly. Not everybody has that.”

It’s been amazing to see Murphy breakout like this during the postseason. While he’s been a solid and consistent member of the team for years, he’s taken his performance to a whole new level during the playoffs.

He looks like a completely different hitter, which is a testament to Long as well as Murphy’s hard work and dedication.

He will certainly get rewarded for it with a big new contract this offseason, and hopefully the Mets do what it takes to keep his dangerous bat in the lineup.

The post How Kevin Long Helped Unleash Daniel Murphy’s Power appeared first on Metsmerized.

It was a disappointing outing for Bartolo Colon last night, who allowed three runs and five hits during 6.1 innings pitched. He was in complete control of the game early on, but it suddenly fell apart for him in the 7th inning.

He yielded three singles to the final four batters he faced. Terry Collins turned to Addison Reed to finish the inning, but he ended up allowing all three runners to score.

“I didn’t see many good swings the entire night,” Collins said. “He was outstanding. … Just all of a sudden he gave up some hits. I went to a guy who was pitching brilliantly.” (Dan Martin, NY Post)

After a rough stretch in the middle of the season, Colon has performed much better of late. He has a 5-2 record with a 2.74 ERA since the beginning of August.

Overall. he has a 4.15 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 188.2 innings this year. He is also just one win away from posting back to back seasons with 15 wins.

Hopefully Colon will get much better luck in his next probable start against the Phillies, a team that he has pitched brilliantly against all year long.

The post Colon Falters Late Despite Strong Start appeared first on Metsmerized.

Noah Syndergaard was scheduled to start on Saturday against the Tigers in Lakeland. But was scratched after he took a ball off his left ankle while playing catch on Thursday.

Sandy Alderson said X-rays taken on Friday showed that Syndergaard was more or less fine, but the Mets decided to option him to minor league camp anyway. Steven Matz got the start in Lakeland in place of him.

Dan Martin of the New York Post caught up with Syndergaard afterward and the tall, young right-hander made no secret of the fact he plans to force his way into the majors.

“I won’t fall under the pressure that happened last year,” Syndergaard said. “Last year, I was pressing the panic button a little bit because I wanted to get to the big leagues as fast as possible. … I’m slated to go to Vegas to continue to work on things to get better and hopefully push Sandy to make that phone call.”

Syndergaard,  22, is expected to make his major league debut this season and he is eager to prove he’s better than what he called an underwhelming and disappointing 2014.

“To be in the big leagues has been my dream ever since I was a little kid. I use last September as a little extra motivation, because I don’t want to hear that phone call again.”

The Mets top prospect was referring to the call he received from GM Sandy Alderson informing him he would not get a September call-up.

Alderson hopes to see Syndergaard follow through on his commitment and push the envelope.

“He just needs to go down and pitch the way he’s capable of pitching,” Alderson said. “And focus on the job at hand, which his job in Las Vegas and not worry about what openings or opportunities may arise in New York. When they do, assuming he’s focused on his own performance in Vegas, he’ll get an opportunity.”

Alderson also stressed that Syndergaard wouldn’t necessarily be the first in line, perhaps a reference to our other top prospect Matz who is impressing Mets brass a lot these days.

The Mets will wait at least 21 days to ensure the extra year of team control before revisiting Syndergaard’s MLB debut. And perhaps even wait until June 1 to ensure he doesn’t become Super 2 eligible, giving him an extra year of arbitration.

I like that Syndergaard has that chip on his shoulder, and I was very impressed with his last Grapefruit League start where he showed an explosive fastball and that killer curve.

The cream always rises to the top and you can bet Syndergaard will soon be making his presence felt in the middle of the Mets rotation this Summer.

The post Syndergaard Vows To Force His Way Onto Mets Rotation appeared first on Metsmerized.

Here’s something I found in an article by Dan Martin of the New York Post.  almost passed on it because it’s not exactly news, but then thought otherwise.

It was something Noah Syndergaard said when asked about his chances of making the Mets Opening Day roster. It wasn’t so much what he said, but how he said it. Check it out:

Asked if he hoped to make it tough for the organization to send him down, the right-hander had a straight-forward answer.

“I know it’s inevitable,” said Syndergaard, who is scheduled to pitch about four innings in relief of Daisuke Matsuzaka on Thursday when the Mets visit the Nationals in Viera. “With the finances and everything, I understand it’s a game, but it’s also a business.”

“With the finances and everything…”

What an interesting way of putting it and an obvious reference to the current financial state of the Mets who are entering Opening Day with what could be their third consecutive decline in payroll barring a significant last minute signing.

While most of us fans, media and major leaguers alike are in the know regarding the Mets finances and the possibility they will have the seventh lowest payroll in baseball, I found it odd to hear such an observation from a 21-year old minor leaguer.

That’s not to say that Syndergaard said anything wrong – he didn’t.

It’s that after doing what I do for the last 10 years you kind of learn what kind of answers players give to certain questions, you know, the usual cliches.

Not this time. I really like this kid. i didn’t know he could also throw a cutter.

Photo by MMO’s David Conde.

The post With the Finances and Everything… appeared first on Metsmerized.

February 7th, 7:13 PM

Matt Harvey was a guest of Mike Francesa on WFAN today and said things are going really smooth as he continues his rehab from Tommy John surgery.

He basically repeated much of what he told the Post yesterday, but there was one thing that stood out to me.

Harvey told Francesa that he expects to spend all of spring training with Mets and ALSO intends to spend the regular season with the team. He looks at is as a way of staying connected to his team and teammates which I found to be very profound and admirable.

The Mets former first rounder wants to stay close to the action, chart the games, and study the hitters all in an effort to comeback better prepared and with a good working knowledge of opposing hitters.

Harvey could have opted to stay home like most every player does when they are out for the year, but not this kid. This one is cut from a different cloth. This kid is old school. I wish we had a dozen more like this one…

Get back soon, dude…

February 7th, 9:00 AM

Matt Harvey says he is set to begin a throwing program in as soon two weeks he told Dan Martin of the NY Post on Thursday.

“They said I should be able to start throwing four months after the surgery and that’s Feb. 22, and I haven’t had any setbacks,” Harvey, who had elbow surgery in October. “I can’t wait. Even if it’s 10 feet, I just want to pick up a ball. As if right now, I don’t see why I wouldn’t be able to do that.”

Harvey, who will be at Port St. Lucie when the other Mets pitchers report on Feb. 15, hasn’t been shy about his desire to pitch before the end of the season, but said he’s aware teammates and others in the organization are concerned he may try to rush back.

“I completely agree that I shouldn’t come back too soon. I haven’t touched a baseball yet so I don’t know how things are going to go once that happens. But if things are still progressing and it shows I’m ready to go and I get cleared, I want to be able to play.”

Harvey still has it in his mind that he wants to pitch in 2014.

“If I get to throw a couple of innings in August or September and then have a normal offseason without having to go into next year with all those questions still out there, that would help me significantly,” Harvey said.

“I’d love to face hitters to build my confidence up back up and not just jump into a new season having not seen anyone.”

Like most players, Harvey hates not being on the field with his teammates. He’s a baseball player and his only desire is to get out there and play as soon as he can. It’s up to the Mets to make sure they keep a safe and deliberate pace as to his return and to protect Harvey from himself.

To that end, Sandy Alderson said yesterday evening that it’s unlikely Harvey will pitch for the Mets this season. Even if the Mets find themselves in a pennant race.

The post Harvey Wants To Remain With Team During Rehab appeared first on Metsmerized.

Nice article by Dan Martin of the Post who writes that Mets third baseman David Wright would like to avoid many of the things that happened to him last year, and that the broken back that limited him to 104 games and a .254 average last season, now feels good.

“My back feels real good,” Wright said Wednesday. “It was important that I got through a whole offseason to kind of strengthen it. When you get halfway or three-quarters of the way through the season, it’s tough to build up that area. This offseason allowed me to build up the muscles around the bone that fractured.”

He said he doesn’t expect it to be an issue going forward.

“I feel strong,” said Wright, who added he has not had to have any follow-ups with back specialists since he was cleared to play last season. Instead, the training staff keeps tabs on him. “It’s just an extra couple of minutes a day when I’m doing my [workout] routine.”

Wright said he wants to become more of a complete hitter and that he is looking forward spraying the ball more and making more contact.

I’ve had the feeling that one of the driving forces for the decision to move in the fences at Citi Field, was to help David Wright get back to driving the ball as he did from 2006-2008.

The cavernous Citi Field led Wright to some bad habits and an alarming increase in strikeouts. I feel confident that we’ll see a new and invigorated Wright in 2012.

The post Wright Hopeful For A Return To His Former Glory appeared first on Metsmerized.

Dan Martin of the NY Post, had a nice column the other day in which he included comments from an interview with Mets starting pitcher Jon Niese.

Niese made the decision to come to Spring Training early because he wanted to get a jump on the season and prepare his body for the rigors of an entire season.

Some of you may remember that Jon Niese started the season on a positive note and was for the most part very consistent until the end when he seemingly ran out of gas.

He finished with an unimpressive 9-10 record with a 4.20 ERA in 173 2/3 innings. Those numbers suffered due to a terrible finish in which he went 1-3 with a 7.11 ERA over his final five starts of the season.

This year, Niese is a man on a mission and his goal is too finish strong.

“I think I need to work on my focus, especially at the end of the year. I have to focus on finishing the season instead of coasting. It’s all mental. My body is up for the task. I don’t think I hit a wall. It was one of those things that I felt good before and after games and even during games in the first part, but in later innings, I felt myself get fatigued a little bit.”

One of the things he hopes to get out of Spring Training this year is to increase his endurance and stamina.

“I think I’ll try to condition myself better. Maybe not throw as much or have it more controlled, and that will help going deeper.”

Terry Collins is confident that Niese will be get it done and be more improved in his performance and this time better prepared to pitch well and keep it going for a full season.

“Now he knows what it takes to get through 162 games and 30 or so starts,” Collins said. “I think he’ll be a better pitcher. I think he knows how to take better care of himself so in September, he doesn’t wear down.”

I love a lot of things about Jon Niese. In many ways he can be crafty like Tom Glavine was in his prime, but he also has the intensity and ability to get those big outs when it matters like Al Leiter.

We saw Niese at his absolute best last season when he hurled a complete game one-hitter against the Padres in June. He retired the final 21 batters to earn the win.

I think it’s very possible that Jon Niese can win 15 games for the Mets this season, and I see him becoming a reliable number two starter for the Mets by 2012.

The post Can Niese Be A 15 Game Winner For The Mets This Season? appeared first on Metsmerized.

Dan Martin of the NY Post, had a quote from reliever Bobby Parnell who talked about why he didn’t make the team out of Spring Training last season and ended up starting the season with Triple-A Buffalo.

“I got caught up into working on my off-speed pitches too much instead of pitching and I had a couple of bad outings,” Parnell said at Digital Domain Park. “I didn’t really prove anything last year while I was here because I was too complacent in spring training. I felt comfortable about making the team and looking back on it, I was working on my pitches too much and not really pitching when I needed to.”

Parnell says that it will be different this time around and will be focused on simply getting people out.

That’s the spirit!

The post Bobby Parnell Finally Gets It appeared first on Metsmerized.