National League teams traditionally field a seven-man bullpen. So let’s take a look at what the Mets currently have assembled: Bobby Parnell (closer), Vic Black, Jeurys Familia, Scott Rice, Josh Edgin, Gonzalez Germen and Carlos Torres (Long man). If the team had to start the season with this crop of pitchers, I guess it would not be terrible. There is a decent mix of power and finesse arms as...
February 4, 2014 Free agent closer Fernando Rodney now has three teams who are expressing strong interest in his services according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports. Those teams are the Mariners, Orioles and Mets. You always have to be wary whenever Sandy Alderson downplays interest in someone. It almost always seems like he’s doing the exact opposite of what he says he is. Sneaky...
According to Jim Duquette of MLB Network, the Mets will meet with the agents for free agent relievers John Axford and Kevin Gregg. I’m not such a big fan of Axford, but I do like Gregg a lot for the Mets and he’s a proven shutdown, late-inning reliever we can use. Axford, 30, posted a 4.02 ERA and 1.355 WHIP in 75 relief appearances last season for the Brewers and Cardinals. His 10.1...
If you want to get a better sense of where the Mets are heading, here’s what Joel Sherman of the New York Post sees as the Mets 2014 Opening Day Lineup after meeting with team officials, rival executives and agents over the last few days. Norichika Aoki, LF Daniel Murphy, 2B David Wright, 3B Andre Ethier, RF Jhonny Peralta, SS Lucas Duda, 1B Travis d’Arnaud, C Juan Lagares, CF Now...
7/31 Update It’s been a very quiet deadline with the Jake Peavy to the Red Sox trade being the loudest shot fired in the last 48 hours. But things are picking up on the Marlon Byrd front, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Mets are suddenly getting hits on the veteran outfielder and they have apparently made counteroffers to some clubs and are now waiting to see if anyone...
Nothing went right for Valdespin and the Mets against the Cubs on Saturday. The Mets dropped their second straight against the Cubs in a 5-2 loss at Citi Field on Saturday. Cubs starter Scott Feldman had the Mets number and held them to just one run and retired the last 12 batters he faced in a row. Jon Niese started for the Mets and pitched well enough to win, but clearly didn’t bring his...
Couldn’t help reading today that Bobby Parnell deserves to be an All Star on MetsBlog. Sorry, but I beg to differ. Parnell ranks 13th out of 15 National League closers with 9 saves. The leader, Pittsburgh’s Jason Grilli, has 22 saves, while Edward Mujica of the Cardinals and Craig Kimbrel have 17 saves each. All three have ERAs of 1.93 or lower. Do those three deserve to be All...
