The Mets have a mercifully quick turnaround following Tuesday night’s 9-3 loss in Atlanta. About that, by the way: try not to worry too much about it. Santana is going to have his ups and downs, and Jason Bay’s fielding will settle in somewhere between home run robbing of Monday… Read More →
Like most of the other positions on the baseball field, second base offers a wide range of outcomes for the Mets. The version where Daniel Murphy stays healthy and can hold down the position defensively is actually a potential boon to the team on par with Johan Santana regaining his… Read More →
Welcome to the position-by-position breakdown of the Mets relative to the rest of the National League East. We’ll start at catcher. 1. Atlanta Braves: Clearly, the best backstop in the division is Brian McCann. Now 28 years old, McCann has settled into a routine of posting an .800+ OPS with… Read More →
The decision to leave Daniel Murphy at second base, after years of delay, to find out at last if he can play the position, died Thursday after little more than a week of raising my hopes. Terry Collins said that if Ike Davis is forced to miss more than a… Read More →
Well, the Mets are reporting to Port St. Lucie in droves, and Terry Collins has begun to meet the media. Lots to discuss, but I wanted to focus on one particular comment by Collins yesterday: that his backup first baseman is Justin Turner, not Daniel Murphy. This makes no sense… Read More →
The catcher-hitting derby between Josh Thole and Ronny Paulino has taken a decisive turn: 2011 season: Josh Thole: .712 OPS Ronny Paulino: .699 OPS That’s thanks to this: 2011 season, second half: Josh Thole: .821 OPS Ronny Paulino: .553 OPS I guess this should go without saying, but if the… Read More →
No, I am not talking about someone who hunts New York Mets for sport. It’s the backstop position, and I thought it would be worth checking in again on the state of the team’s offensive production from behind the plate. As I suggested a few weeks ago, the advantage Ronny… Read More →
An interesting, under-the-radar change for the Mets has been Ronny Paulino’s assumption of primary catcher duties. The general consensus was that Josh Thole would face righties, Paulino lefties, which would mean Thole would receive a greater proportion of the at-bats. But entering Wednesday night’s game, Paulino had started 12 of… Read More →
The Mets continue to play unseasonably well for a team that Mike Francesa told us wasn’t worth following back in April. And it now appears that David Wright will return sooner than later, meaning that on the infield, third base and shortstop will be covered. But what are the Mets… Read More →
Over the last few days, I’ve watched and enjoyed what we now know is the greatest four-game explosion of offense in New York Mets history. My wife has taken notice as well, wandering in and out of games. She’s a devoted fan, but wouldn’t necessarily begin furiously computing the run… Read More →
It would be nearly impossible to properly quantify how awful Jason Bay has been, but I think the best way is to compare his .279 slugging percentage to the four full seasons the Mets received from Doug Flynn: .289, .317, .312, .292. I talk about it in my book, Taking… Read More →
It was an encouraging weekend for the New York Mets- an encouraging week-plus, really. New York won its third consecutive series against Houston, and a 3-1 homestand against Florida and Washington can pull the team up to .500- erasing that 5-13 start with 116 games to go. And while nothing… Read More →
There was a lot of demand for Scott Hairston to be replaced on the roster by Nick Evans early this season. And I do understand the sentiment- Hairston struggled early, Evans is a homegrown talent. But Angel Pagan’s injury last night puts the need for Hairston and Willie Harris into… Read More →
Happy Opening Day, everyone! We are about seven hours to first pitch, and much of the discussion about today’s Mets centers around the decision by Terry Collins to start Willie Harris in left field, batting second. Collins cited Harris’ numbers against Josh Johnson, the Florida pitcher, and I certainly agree… Read More →
NEW YORK (AP) – Mets left fielder Jason Bay has been diagnosed with a mild concussion and is out of the lineup for at least a few days. Bay hurt himself when he crashed into the wall Friday night while making a catch at Dodger Stadium. He played Saturday and… Read More →