This list was a combined effort of Joe Demayo, who you can check out at St. Lucie to Flushing, Jed Weisberger who covers minor league baseball for MILB.com, and Mike Silva. We used a combination of statistics, upside, scouting, and readiness to the big leagues in formulating our opinion. We also added the recent Rule [...]

After the 2008 season—a season where he pitched better than he had in years—Mike Mussina abruptly retired. Never mind that his ERA was the lowest it had been since 2001; likewise his WAR—the lowest since 2001. And never mind that Moose had won 20 games for the first time in career, putting him at 270 [...]

Once again, I find myself in the unfortunate position of strongly agreeing with those who believe Jeff Bagwell belongs in the Hall of Fame, while finding myself embarrassed over the personal attacks by many who share my view. Two primary punching bags, Dan Graziano and Jeff Pearlman, have taken a huge number of insults. To [...]

Let’s take another look at the history of the Mets. I recently gave you my “Top 10 Teams in Mets History” list, now today I will give you to Top 50 Players in Mets history. Doing any type of list is difficult as it’s subjective, unless you use some sort of metric, or point system, [...]

Earlier in the week I gave you my Top 10 Mets teams. Today, we move across town to the Yankees as I list what I believe are the best teams in their history. This is just not a statistical list, but one that combines various intangibles I compiled through my research.   1. 1927- Probably [...]

There is no doubt that Mariano Rivera is the best closer in baseball history. Last night the MLB Network was doing a short montage about closers, and Dennis Eckersley‘s transition from the starting rotation to the bullpen was highlighted. It’s been so long that you forget how good Eckersley was during a five year period [...]

A couple of weeks ago Jose Canseco was lobbying for a spring training invite on Twitter, and even called out Mets GM Sandy Alderson, saying that he would even play first base for a tryout. Canseco claims he can still lead the league in homers if given the opportunity. For fun, I decided to throw [...]

According to Pete Caldera, Andy Pettitte is spending the holidays in Hawaii, and a decision regarding his future may be near. Pettitte is the best “post Cliff Lee” option for the Yankees, as he still can provide top of the rotation quality at age 38. Although there have been reports the team is holding out [...]

I have been discussing on my radio show, and this site a recent column by Devon Teeple regarding the new SEC Play Clock. I received this comment from a Facebook friend named RuleBook Guru: “re: 20 second time limit between pitches that the SEC instituted. That rule exists in the MLB, but it’s actually 12 [...]

Sandy Alderson said weeks ago he envisioned Ruben Tejada spending 2011 playing shortstop for Triple-A Buffalo. The acquisition of Chin-lung Hu from the Dodgers for lefty prospect Mike Antonini indicates the Mets now have the roster depth to make this happen. Before the Hu trade, the Mets had Tejada and Luis Hernandez as the backups [...]

I am a big fan of independent film as I can admire the work, money, and time that is required to create something for broadcast. We have discussed various projects on this site such as Playing for Peanuts, The Joy of Sox, The Emerald Diamond, and Touching the Game: Alaska. I recently reviewed another great [...]

This is a loaded question with an easy answer, but with a caveat. ESPN’s Buster Olney reiterated in his latest column (subscription required) the dangers of signing relievers to three year contracts. This was something I also discussed a week ago. Take a look at some the most recent relievers that received multiyear deals before [...]

In addition to voting for our “Man of the Year,” I want to gather an unscientific Hall of Fame vote from the NYBD community. Last year NYBD readers selected Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven for the 2010 class. The BBWAA disagreed and only elected Andre Dawson. This year I will be using Survey Monkey to [...]

December 27th Updated Version Each year I discussed who I believe should be elected into the Hall of Fame. Although I don’t have a vote, it’s fun to submit a ballot just like the writers of the BBWAA for discussion purposes. Last year I voted for Robert Alomar, Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris, and Edgar Martinez. [...]

Since 1927, TIME Magazine has chosen a man, woman, or idea that “for better or worse,” has most influenced events in the preceding year. I decided to steal this idea shamelessly and announced on my radio program tonight the start the annual NYBD “Man of the Year” here in 2010. Our criteria will be the [...]