Many anticipate the local teams to work diligently on improving their roster this week. I believe the winter meetings will serve Omar Minaya and Brian Cashman more as the foundation of future moves than tangible results. The Matt Holliday and Roy Halladay sweepstakes most certainly won’t be finalized this week, but should start to develop. […]

The wildest week of the hot stove season begins tonight as Howard Megdal of SNY and I kick off the 2009 Winter Meetings in Indianapolis. We will talk about the Yankees during the first half hour and will be joined by former big leaguer, and Yankees scout, Jalal Leach. We will give the latest on […]

It isn’t that Henry Blanco is a bad signing. As Sam Page points out this morning, Blanco, for $1.5 million, provides exceptional defense and decent enough offense for a backup catcher, giving the Mets a presence behind the plate they didn’t have last year. But both Blanco and Alex Cora have something in common with […]

While Mets fans complain about Alex Cora (a move I am indifferent about), Chris Coste (not something I care about), and Henry Blanco (a move I like) they may have missed some of the moves the competition made this week. The Braves replaced Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano with Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito. The […]

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 […]

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 […]

In a week where war over WAR broke out at NYBD, I spoke to Vince Gennaro of Diamond Dollars, and the sabr community again doesn’t get my position on the utilization of statistics NYBD reached out to a MLB executive to see his thoughts on moneyball and advanced metrics. Mind you this is not just […]

Look, I like the number 24 as much as the next person. It’s a multiple of eight, it looked glorious on the back of Willie Mays, and it’s been a popular show for many years. But why do the Mets insist on playing with 24 players at all times? The league allows 25 on a […]

The Houston Astros were dead and buried back in 1990. During the month of August they made a trade which seemed innocuous at the time. The Boston Red Sox, in need of a right handed reliever, traded a rookie named Jeff Bagwell to Houston for Larry Andersen, Houston’s top flight right handed set up man. […]

- You get the feeling that if Alex Cora makes that double play it would have been a completely different ballgame. The Yanks four runs in the second are about the cheapest runs any team has scored all year - The visiting team really likes the right field corner at Citi Field. Gary Cohen calls […]

- Game ball goes to Brian Stokes for a great job “slidering” Albert Pujols to death. I have always liked Stokes since he was brought up last year. He has a live fastball, a slider with some bite, and his splits against RHB are very solid. The two times he was lit up (Boston, Yankee […]

Yes, I know the Mets lost Thursday’s game. But while the focus will be on K-Rod’s first real blown save of the season or the failure to get within two games of the Phillies, the shame of the loss is that had the Mets won, credit would have gone to Luis Castillo. Make no mistake […]

Call it the ultimate double whammy. JJ Putz is on the verge of elbow surgery and Jose Reyes has a torn hamstring. Rather than spend useless time crying about bad luck I will give you the formula to save 2009: The remaining Mets to step up. Not a single mathematical equation necessary, just “strap it […]

Great night of radio as I was joined by former WFAN host Sid Rosenberg and Durham Bulls broadcaster Scott Pose. We all know that Sid is still looking to get back on the radio and signs point to a major announcement in the near future. We also talked about his upcoming book “You’re Wrong and […]

There has been discussion all offseason about what happens if Luis Castillo is unable to perform? Reports to date have been solid, but there is a real possibility that the Mets are going to need another second baseman at some point in 2009. Alex Cora reeks of a good bench player, but not someone who […]