The Astros are moving to the American League at the end of the year so this afternoon is the last time the Mets play in Houston, unless they have a rare interleague series. Houston has never been kind to them throughout their history. As Gary Cohen mentioned during last night’s game, the Mets have a [...]

The Yankees 0-3 start is reminding everyone of the ’98 squad that won a then American League record 114 games. Allen Barra of The Village Voice points out various reasons why this group isn’t anywhere near the class of that historic team. The good folks at Baseball Think Factory linked up this piece and provided their usual pithy comments. [...]

On the second night of Passover, a simple dinner discussion that evolved into an argument between the Matzo Ball Soup and the Brisket was the impetus for this list. Going through the Internet to find any definitive list, this wonderful piece by the ubiquitous Jonah Keri from 2007 was discovered  listing the Top 18 Jewish [...]

The gang over at the Kult of Mets Personalities scored a great guest, Hall of Famer and current owner of the Texas Rangers, Nolan Ryan. Of course, we all know that Ryan started his career with the Mets. In five seasons he was 29-38 with a 3.58 ERA. The deal that sent Ryan to California for Jim Fregosi is [...]

All reports indicate that MLB will expand its playoff system this year to include a second Wild Card team. MLB continues to be the only sport that doesn’t get it. What I mean by that is they don’t have the understanding or ability to create an economic system where the disparity in local revenues between [...]

Yesterday I wrote at Sports Media Watchdog about the public overreaction to the ESPN “Chink in the Armor” story; today I came across a story about MLB messing with tradition in the name of political correctness. Last September, the League prevented the Mets from wearing hats honoring first responders during their game against the Cubs [...]

Here is another cool baseball-football connection this Super Bowl week. I am sure this has been talked about before, but Jeff Bradley did a nice piece in the Star-Ledger about Patriots QB Tom Brady and his near baseball career. You know about the three Super Bowl titles, but did you know that Brady was an outstanding baseball [...]

Update 10 AM: Repoz from Baseball Think Factory has informed me the other Rose supporting is perennial backer Jack McCaffery of the Daily Times in the Philly area. Original Post Last night, I was joined by Marco Maturo, a member of the BBWAA who spent 40 years covering sports for Gannett, which included 7 years on the Mets beat [...]

It was inevitable that Carlos Beltran would be asked about his New York experience one last time during the B.A.T charity dinner on Monday. “I’m not thinking about the fans, I’m thinking about myself,” Beltran said to reporters. He added that “we can’t bring 2006 back to 2012. It has been six years. If they want [...]

The terms “Cincinnati legend” and “lifetime Cincinnati Red” were used to describe Barry Larkin yesterday after his election into the Hall of Fame. He also became the 48th member of the Hall to spend his entire career with one team. Born in Cincinnati, Larkin won the 1990 World Series, MVP in 1995, and become the first shortstop [...]

The Baseball Hall of Fame will announce its 2012 inductees later today. Over the past month I have encouraged readers and listeners to vote in our own BBWAA-style ballot. Here are the results. Jeff Bagwell 61.7% Barry Larkin 57.7% Tim Raines 55.7% Edgar Martinez 43.6% Jack Morris 40.3% Mark McGwire 29.5% Alan Trammell 27.5% Lee Smith 26.8% Rafael Palmeiro 24.8% Don Mattingly 22.8% Bernie Williams 20.1% [...]

Forget any stats – advanced or otherwise- let’s do a fun exercise and vote for the Hall of Fame based on “feel.” This isn’t easy since you would have to see someone play for a majority of their career. As mentioned before, if I had a Hall of Fame Ballot it would include  Jeff Bagwell, Edgar Martinez, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Jack [...]

We are a little over a week away from the Baseball Hall of Fame announcing its 2012 selection. Each year, I give the readers of NYBD an opportunity to cast their own BBWAA-style ballot. Last year Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar garnered the most fan support, but not the requisite 75% needed for induction. In December, Gil Hodges received the most [...]

Back in the 40s and 50s the United States was facing a huge threat – communism. During this era, thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government. Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy led the brigade with the “Hollywood Blacklist” and investigations by the House [...]

In recent months I have discussed the dangers of long-term deals, specifically when it came to the Mets signing Jose Reyes. The years, more than the dollars, is usually the problem. Long-term contracts lead to teams paying premium dollars for players past their prime. The average annual value is often skewed because you have situations (see [...]