Former Mets 2b Alex Cora had this to say on XM Radio with Jim Bowden: Alex Cora told us that if they are building for 2013 or 2014…they should just come out and say it and then do it. I realize Cora was a respected voice in the Mets locker room and I am one [...]

With the advent of advanced metrics easily available to the layman you can have some fun with numbers from time to time. Although I have been critical of the stat WAR (Wins Above Replacement) when evaluating a players true value on the field, I do believe it can help give you a sense of the [...]

Yesterday I mentioned what a nice job Omar Minaya has done creating a bullpen with some under the radar value this offseason. On the flip side, the Mets bench has never been a strength during Minaya’s regime. The weakest link of the 2006 team, in my opinion, was the bench as an over the hill [...]

I spent this Opening Day (yes, always capitalized, in honor of the national holiday it should be) at home with my wife and brand-new daughter. Seven-day-old Mirabelle was dressed in a David Wright shirt, which turned out to be a far better choice than the Mike Jacobs alternative. Anyhow, here are some preliminary observations, keeping [...]

Alex Cora might be the most debated backup infielder that ever has donned a big league uniform. All winter we heard the media, fans, and blogosphere complain about the 2 year contract Omar Minaya gave Cora. Most point out how the Mets could have signed someone like Felipe Lopez for half the price, but Alex [...]

Okay, so maybe not to the rescue, but Derrick Goold reports that the Cardinals are set to cut Ruben Gotay. I think the Mets would be wise to pick him up. I’d like to short-circuit the conversation that follows, or more to the point, redirect it in a more useful way. I’ve advocated for some [...]

When Ruben Tejada’s name comes up it usually is as a short term replacement for Jose Reyes. By all accounts his defense has been impressive this spring, but there have been reservations about the bat. A career .272 hitting in the minor leagues, the 20 year old is hitting .368 this spring. Grapefruit League numbers [...]

Rich Coutinho of ESPN reported about five minutes ago the Mets may be looking to Cristian Guzman as a replacement for Jose Reyes. This could be a signal that Reyes will be out more towards the eight weeks than the two. Guzman is a slight improvement offensively over Cora and Tejada, but isn’t much better [...]

Jon Heyman reported a few days ago that many still believe Ike Davis and Ruben Tejada will start the season in AAA Buffalo. This just days after many speculated that Tejada will replace Jose Reyes at shortstop until he returns from the overactive thyroid. I wrote about how Russ Adams might be a good choice [...]

Obviously the hope for Mets shortstop Jose Reyes is his thyroid condition is controlled, injuries stay away and he again becomes the dominant player he is capable of. Alex Cora can certainly fill in for a few weeks, but the Mets, in a future without Reyes, have three players who someday could be a major-league [...]

I was joined during the first hour of the show by Howard Megdal of SNY and Matt Cerrone of Metsblog. We talked about the Jose Reyes thyroid situation and if the mainstream media has been fair with their HGH accusations. We also gave our thoughts on the starting rotation, bullpen and which shortstop options make [...]

The worst case scenario became a reality for the Mets as Jose Reyes will be out 2-8 weeks, and probably longer, because of the accelerated thyroid situation. For a team that has seen so much bad happen to them since September of 2007, this appears to be a recurring nightmare. I was confident they could [...]

I said last week I had no problem with David Wright talking championship and Johan Santana exuding confidence about his position as one of the games top pitchers. Since positional players have arrived you hear more good news about the Mets “fresh attitude.” Kevin Kernan talks about Jason Bay and how not only his bat, [...]

Let’s take a look at the Mets bench, which has not been the team’s strength in many years. Locks: Alex Cora, Fernando Tatis, Gary Matthews Jr. Competition: Mike Jacobs, Chris Carter, Frank Catalanotto, Chris Coste, Jason Pridie, Nick Evans, Anderson Hernandez, Russ Adams Long Shots: Andy Green, Jesus Feliciano, Mike Hessman, Mike Cervenak, Jolbert Cabrera, [...]

In a week dominated by Super Bowl coverage, Cliff Floyd gave us some interesting baseball tidbits. If you haven’t listened yet, you should download his live interview with WFAN’s Mike Francesa. First, this really is a game of inches. Talking about the infamous Game 7 against St. Louis, Cliff pointed out how he “just missed” [...]