NOTE: this is a post by Matt Himelfarb; please direct your comments to him.

With Pedro Beato now a lock to make the big league club, Jason Isringhausen, Manny Acosta, and Blaine Boyer are left to fight it out for the final bullpen spot.

The cold, calculating,  pocket-protector-perfectionist in me says the Mets should let Izzy walk, despite his well documented Disney-worthy resurrection this spring. Why fans and beat writers alike are so overcome with nostalgia for an overrated former closer who last pitched for the Mets almost 15 years ago is beyond me. All I see is an injury risk offering little upside, and a man who hopes his Jimmy Morris impression will net him a 15-year pension (Izzy has a little over 14 years of service time) on top of the $56 million he’s already pocketed over his career. Sorry to rain on the parade of the emotionally-driven, ignorant members of boobus Americanus, but Acosta has at least some upside and a clean medical record going for him.

At the end of the day, though, Continue reading →

As much as the Mets owners and upper management consistently deny it, the team’s financial struggles have affected the organization’s overall performance, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future.

Because the team could not secure a line of credit via traditional means (i.e., banks), they required a secret, private loan from MLB just to cover operating expenses. When they burn through that dough, they will be broke again and out of options — they can’t dip into Bud Selig’s coffers again. The Wilpons’ only recourse is to Continue reading →

A few quick notes based on observation of today’s televised spring training game between the Mets and Braves … Continue reading →

Last night I had the incredible opportunity to participate in a conference call with other Mets bloggers and Sandy Alderson, GM of the Mets.

Michael Baron of MetsBlog did the dirty work of transcribing the call; it is below, enhanced by my own transcription skills, and along with my own comments. Continue reading →

The Mets have released Oliver Perez and the Phillies have signed Luis Castillo to a minor league deal.

I’ll write more on both eventually but in the meantime, comment away.

Following with the theme of positive posts (and videos) today, I give you what may be the best Mets commercial since … well … ever …

Nice that there isn’t any nonsensical, unrealistic marketing message attached (i.e., “the magic is back”).

This brilliant piece was produced by Brett Hauze of SNY. You can see more of his interesting work on Vimeo.

Lately, there has been a lot of negativity on this blog. Maybe it’s me. Or maybe it’s because the Mets stink, the Wilpons are broke, and the Mets stink.

So, today I have something positive to report, though it has nothing to do with the Mets (though, it is a New York story).

Carlos Flores, Jr. will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium on Opening Day. He’s the son of the “subway hero” who saved a man’s life last summer. Carlos Jr. is also a pretty good baseball pitcher — despite having only one hand. He says Jim Abbott is his inspiration, but his dad is his hero. Awesome.

In the Mets’ spring training contest against the Nationals on Saturday afternoon, Chris Capuano threw 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball. His outing included 6 ground ball outs, 3 flyouts, and 5 strikeouts; he allowed only 3 hits and walked none. We don’t put too much emphasis on the numbers in the spring, but the bottom line is that he had good command of his pitches, changed speeds well, and overall looked like he could pitch in a regular MLB game and do well.

On the other hand, there was Continue reading →