We can debate the merits of Curtis Granderson or Robinson Cano when it comes to the American League MVP award, but no Yankees player will win it. Why? It has nothing to do with Jose Bautista‘s stats or the fact that three Red Sox are having MVP-caliber years. Its institutional bias against the Yankees by the baseball writers. Take this […]
As I started my car and merged with the happy traffic leaving Citi Field on SUN, the Mets had just put a bow on a 4-2 home stand. The 6-0 win brought them to a 17-6 record for the month and completes a 13-5 Interleague schedule. As we discussed a month ago, June represented a […]
Jerry Manuel is rightfully questioning the value of John Maine returning to the rotation. For a team with playoff aspirations Maine has zero value working with an 88 mph fastball. His lack of command and dubious secondary pitches makes me believe he is a 4-A pitcher for the foreseeable future. There will come a time […]
TRENTON, N.J. – Mets righty John Maine, who was placed on the disabled list May 21 with right shoulder fatigue, started on his road back to Jerry Manuel’s rotation yesterday in Waterfront Park. Maine, who was pulled from his last start May 20 in Washington after facing a single batter, was 1-3, 6.13 over nine […]
TRENTON, N.J. - Mets infield prospect Reese Havens was removed from Binghamton’s game with Trenton in the second inning last night. Havens, who is hitting .343 (23-for-67) in 17 games with the B-Mets, was benched as a precaution. “Reese had some soreness,’’ said Binghamton manager Tim Teufel. “I took him out as a precaution. Let […]
As the Mets woke up in sunny San Diego to wrap up a month that saw them go 4-12 on the road so far, they have the look of a team that has mastered the art of winning ugly and losing pretty. At 26-26, the roller-coaster ride has seen the team take on a ‘damn […]
Recently I was told a former Mets player believed the club “didn’t take losing personally” and that was one of the problems with the team. He didn’t say they don’t care, but rather the “let’s get them tomorrow” mentality isn’t going to get them where they want to be. That statement is probably an indictment […]
The Mets continue to play the “Citi is Burning” on a nightly basis. The owner wants to be a GM, their best player insists to swing for the fences, the closer is an emotional roller coaster, and a former star turned the clubhouse into chaos. If you didn’t know any better I could be talking […]
Jerry Manuel has done a lot of wrong the last year and a half managing the Mets, but last night he sent a message to his ballclub with the removal of John Maine: mediocrity is not acceptable. This is a far cry from the rationalization about poor processes and talk of “competing” that we saw […]
Derek Jeter didn’t even know there was such a thing as the Sports Illustrated jinx, saying the “last time he was on the cover was before Game 6 of the World Series, so there is your jinx.” Well, what Jeter should know is that appearing on the famous sports magazine’s cover isn’t guaranteed to cause […]
As the Mets closed up April will a stunning reversal of what was a 4-8 beginning with their 10-1 homestand and when they added a 9-1 thumping of the Phillies, the DL seemed to be a “divine light” that sent them Ike Davis for Daniel Murphy. Yet sometimes when you’re only focusing on the W’s, […]
I was pleasantly surprised- shocked, really- at how effectively John Maine handled the Dodgers on Wednesday. The six-plus innings, two earned runs were one thing- Pat Misch, after all, threw a complete-game shutout last season- but what really astounded was the nine strikeouts. That’s obviously better than merely adequate. That’s enough to make John Maine […]
This is Livan Hernandez’s line so far: W: 3 L: 1 ERA: 0.87 WHIP: 0.87 1 Shutout ERA+: 499 For the advance metric fans in the audience his FIP is 4.08 so I am guessing it’s only a matter of time before he comes back down to earth - right? Could it be possible that […]
Howard joins me this morning at 10 AM for another edition of the Weekly Digest. We will talk about the A-Rod/Dallas Braden incident, as well as Mark Teixeira’s home plate collision. I think both are great examples of “intimidation and disrespect” that gives winning teams an edge. Hear our take on the early returns of […]
I still don’t feel comfortable with John Maine. Yes, the results have been better against St. Louis and Atlanta (9 innings 4 runs), but he continues to hang around 88mph, topping out at 90, and throwing only 50% of his pitches for strikes. This is not a recipe for success and more importantly, I agree […]
