Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest » Nelson Figueroa

Nelson Figueroa a Yankee

Thursday, April 19th, 2012

It looks like former Mets pitcher Nelson Figueroa just signed a Minor League Deal with the Yankees. He informed everyone of the news over at Facebook.  Looks like the Yankees brought him in for pitching depth with the injury to Manny Banuelos, I spoke to Nelson on my radio program last year. He is a […]

LI Ducks A Great Way to Get Back to the Show

Friday, July 8th, 2011

Every Friday I take a look at what is going on with Independent Baseball. Today we take a look at members of the Long Island Ducks who made it back to the big leagues.  Ever go to a game at Bethpage Park and wonder how many times a Long Island Ducks player makes it back […]

Listen: Frank Viola and Nelson Figueroa at 8pm

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

I have a couple of local New York hurlers joining me tonight as we kick off the first Wednesday show we will have during Spring Training. New Brooklyn Cyclones pitching coach Frank Viola will join me. Known as “Sweet Music” during his career we will remember his Cy Young days in Minnesota, the ’87 World […]

Maine and Figueroa

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

I have made no secret of my belief that the Mets misused Nelson Figueroa. But I think yesterday illustrated to what extent this is true. Earlier in the day, Figueroa was claimed by the Phillies. That night, John Maine pitched against the Marlins. Now, there is ample reason for the Mets to give Maine a […]

Figueroa May Be Headed North- Mejia Out?

Friday, March 26th, 2010

In a move that surprises me a great deal, Marty Noble reports that Nelson Figueroa may have secured a spot on the roster out of the bullpen. It appears that Jerry Manuel and Dan Warthen view him as a “staff saver” who can eat innings. On a staff with so many question marks he will […]

Gaudin Can Be Valuable to the Mets

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

There are rumors of the Mets having interest in former Yankees pitcher Chad Gaudin. In reaching out to NYBD contributor Frank Russo, he told me there were some concerns around the Yankees that Gaudin’s health may not have been 100%. Of course, that is unconfirmed and we have to assume the any team that signs […]

Bullpen Bingo

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

So we learned yesterday that Jon Niese is all but certain to be the fifth starter. This is a perfectly reasonable outcome- in fact, to hear Sam Page tell it (and when Sam speaks, attention must be paid), Niese is likely to be the second-best starter on the Mets this season. In other words, this […]

Mets Should Use “Options” Wisely

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

According to MLB Trade Rumors Pat Misch, Nelson Figueroa, and Fernando Nieve are out of options this spring. Essentially they make the team or will be placed on waivers. If you wait till later in the spring the chances of them clearing might be good, but the state of MLB pitching makes it likely you […]

Mets Staff With Takahashi in Rotation

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Hisanori Takahashi has opened some eyes with his spring performance. As mentioned before, he has thrown six shutout innings while striking out nine in the Grapefruit League. Many, including me, have him penciled in as the long man in the bullpen. It’s the same type of role that Darren Oliver performed so well in back […]

Listen: The Latest Mets Talk on the Grapefruit Roundup

Monday, March 15th, 2010

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 […]

No One is Talking About Nelson Figueroa

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

All spring you keep hearing how the Mets brass wants Jonathan Niese to grab the fifth spot. If he doesn’t, then Fernando Nieve very likely would be the next choice. Even Japanese import Hisanori Takahashi is talked about in the five hole. The ironic part is the best of them all, Nelson Figueroa, doesn’t seem […]

Biggest Key: Maine and Perez

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

I was a guest on The Happy Recap Radio Show last night. An interesting point was brought up during the segment regarding what is the biggest key to a successful 2010 campaign for the Mets. Are John Maine and Oliver Perez the two most important players on this team? More so, can they survive a […]

Positional Battles: Mets Starting Rotation

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

For all the criticism the Mets starting rotation has received Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, and Oliver Perez all have benchmarks of being solid pitchers. No one had a problem with these three behind Johan Santana in 2008, or when Perez and Maine combined for 30 wins in 2007. There is little doubt, barring injury, that […]

Poll: Who Do You Want for the 5th Spot?

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

Earlier today I discussed the Mets rotation, and yesterday gave my thoughts on internal options. Some of the readers asked for a poll, so here you go: Who do you want to see get the 5th starter job? I gave an “other” write in option so you can add someone we haven’t been talking about. […]

Smoltz & the Internal Options

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

It looks like the Mets will sign John Smoltz, and rely on numerous in house candidates for the rotation. Personally, I wanted Ben Sheets. As I predicted, it was going to take about $10 million dollars plus incentives to sign the righty. All winter we have told fans the Mets did not want to take […]