It is easy to like the signing of Alex Cora, especially if you have any dealings with Alex Cora. The hard part is reconciling it with the needs of the 2010 Mets. But by signing Alex Cora to a one-year, $2 million contract for 2010, the Mets are showing willful indifference to the offensive, defensive [...]

First picked up by Joe Demayo on Twitter and confirmed by a North Dakota Newspaper the Mets have signed former Phillies catcher Chris Coste and added him to the 40 man roster. Not sure how this impacts the catching situation, but if Henry Blanco is signed than perhaps the Coste signing signals the Mets will [...]

On Saturday Ken Davidoff wrote a column that should have received more national recognition. It’s not often that anyone, mainstream media or otherwise, admits to being wrong about something, much less a position on Mark McGwire. It’s easy to take the high road and treat McGwire’s career as the baseball version of the anti-Christ. His [...]

The Mets are close to a one-year deal with a vesting option with infielder Alex Cora, reports WEEI’s Rob Bradford.  Bradford believes Cora will again be guaranteed $2MM.  The agreement is pending a physical. I know Mets fans will complain about this based on the “value formula”, but obviously the Mets see positives in Cora’s [...]

Last offseason Andy Pettitte didn’t sign his one year deal until late January. Although I’m sure the Yankees knew about his intentions before then, it certainly took a while for the veteran lefty to decide. It appears this offseason will be more of the same as I don’t forsee Pettitte signing any earlier. What do [...]

Last night Howard and I got into what seems our weekly discussion on NYBD Radio Hot Stove about Joba Chamberlain and whether he is someone to keep or make the centerpiece of a deal. You all know that I would trade Joba while his stock is still relatively high. Howard would not. I also proposed [...]

As I did with the Mets earlier this morning I put together a Yankees “All Homegrown” Team. These are active players that were drafted by the Yankees or signed as international free agents. Interesting to see how the 2009 Bronx Bombers would look like without free agency or trades. One note: I didn’t add Alfonso [...]

Did you ever wonder what a fully homegrown Mets team would look like? Well here is our chance. I went to Baseball Reference and sorted all the active players that were drafted by the Mets and put together a team. For purposes of rounding out the lineup I made international signings part of the mix [...]

Coveted Toronto starting pitcher Roy Halladay is on record stating he will not block a trade to the Yankees. Meanwhile, some in the Boston organization are talking in terms of their club doing all it can to set up such a roadblock. That leaves us with the unlikely “love triangle’’ of Brian Cashman, Theo Epstein [...]

Join us for some holiday, or shall I say Halladay, leftovers in the latest edition of NYBD Hot Stove. Howard Megdal of SNY joins me over the course of the hour. We will also be joined by Matt Cerrone of Metsblog as well. Hear us talk about the Mets branding problems, why I think Kelly [...]

Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker relays a report saying Takashi Saito has eight teams interested, including the White Sox, Cubs, Braves and Mets. Saito is an interesting pick up provided he is low risk and signed to a heavy incentive deal. His strikeout rate has dropped by a third since his rookie year of 2006 [...]

You won’t hear any disappointment from this corner regarding Bud Selig stepping down after the 2012 season. I am not one to throw praise at the “owner’s commissioner” during this difficult period in baseball. To be fair Selig faced the ultimate work stoppage, steroids, the new media revolution, and an economic shift during his tenure. [...]

According to an article in Friday’s Daily News, a Brooklyn judge tossed out a lawsuit against the city by property owners in Willets Point. “The city has no right to deny sewers and other essential services to a neighborhood so it can drive down property value and condemn it on the cheap,” said Michael Gerrard, [...]

We are just a little over a month away from the announcement of the 2010 Hall of Fame inductees. Here are my thoughts, and how I would vote, on some of the candidates. Roberto Alomar – YES Something tells me he will get in on the first try, but it will be close. Not sure [...]

Kevin Kernan of the NY Post caught up with Ron Davis, father of Mets prospect Ike, this week. It’s natural to be excited about the power and defense Davis can bring to first base. According to Ron he believes his son can play 10-15 years in the big leagues. The Mets haven’t really developed a [...]