Mets are at it again-acquire another lefty for the pen.

According to the official Twitter account of the New York Mets, they have acquired LHP Jerry Blevins from Washington in exchange for Matt den Dekker. 

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Mets took on Blevin's entire $2.4M deal, in a straight-up trde for den Dekker.

This news comes on the heels of today's first trade for a LHP pitcher, Alex Torres for Cory Mazzoni and a player to be named later.

Jerry Blevins appeared in 64 games a year ago for the Nationals, pitching to the tune of a 4.87 ERA

Plain and simple, Sandy Alderson thinks it's time to compete, and it's pretty obvious. Though it shouldn't have taken an injury for Edgin for Sandy to go out and trade for major league relievers, he did it none-the-less. Now it's time to go out there and compete for real. Let's Go Mets!

Mets find their lefty reliever.

After writing a post on how I personally don't believe a lefty reliever is that integral to a team's success, the Mets just went out to prove me wrong.

The Mets have traded for LHP Alex Torres from San Diego, according to Ken Rosenthal.

Torres posted a 3.33 ERA last season in 54 appearances. Righties hit .201 while lefties his .259.

What the Mets sent the Padres in return is unknown t the moment.

Well, there you have it. After Edgin's injury, no left handed reliever stepped it up in camp, so Sandy went out and got one himself. Torres's numbers are respectable, and he should be a nice addition to a potentially strong bullpen.

Should David Wright be taking advice from the Cardinals?

Recently, Joel Sherman reported that Mets captain David Wright spoke with Cardinals C Yadier Molina and RHP Adam Wainwright on how the Mets can be more like the Cardinals. Are we (Mets fans) ok with this?

My answer: HELL YES! Look, we don't like the Cardinals, we hate the Cardinals. 2006 brings back nightmares overtime I close my eyes. Besides that, the Cardinals have been the class of the National League every year since. You can give me the Giants all you want, but it's the Cardinals. Four straight NLCS appearances, two world series in the past 9 years and three pennants in the last eleven.

If there is any team our captain David Wright should be getting advice from, it's the St. Louis Cardinals. Apparently, the Cardinals all band together and make the road trips the last week of spring training, as sort of a bonding experience and a final tune up. Did anyone notice yesterday, almost every regular was in the lineup during a road game? No coincidence, Wright convinced his team and his manager.

Will this work? Who knows, but it's worth a try from Wright as this team finally transitions from the dark years to hopefully the playoffs.

Should Matt Reynolds Be the Mets Everyday Shortstop?

It has been assumed that Wilmer Flores would be the Mets everyday shortstop this year but shortstop Matt Reynolds has made a real case for himself this spring even though he had been previously under the radar the last few seasons. He has hit 2 homers and shown an ability to hit to all fields. He has proved to be solid defensively with an accurate throwing arm. Reynolds was a 2012 second round pick out of Arkansas with a breakout season in the minor leagues last year. He hit .355 with 1 home run and 21 RBI's in Double-A with Binghamton. When he was promoted to Triple-A in Las Vegas, he hit .333 with 5 homers and 40 RBI's. He also added 14 steals and 16 doubles. I think that Reynolds deserves a chance to be the Mets everyday shortstop this year. I don't feel that Wilmer Flores has shown enough either offensively or defensively to earn the job. Reynolds has been known to have a great work ethnic along with his speed, power, and defense. I think that Matt Reynolds may ultimately become the shortstop the Mets have been looking for since they lost Jose Reyes to free agency. All he needs is a chance to make the team out of spring training so he has an opportunity to win the starting shortstop job.

How important is the left handed reliever?

When the Met offseason began, roughly around July of last year....kidding....in early November, Sandy's Alderson's wish list consisted of three major things: outfielder, shortstop, and right handed hitting bench player. With the success of the Mets bullpen last year, adding a reliever wasn't considered a top priority, at the time.

As the offseason progressed and two of the top three needs were addressed, Sandy kept mentioning his urge to acquire another left handed reliever, preferably a veteran, to help round out the bullpen. Ever since Pedro Feliciano left in 2012, the Mets have had some trouble getting the big left handers out, and with the pitching being the team's strong point, good relief pitching is a must.

The offseason came and went and Sandy Alderson did nothing to address this "wish" of adding a left handed reliever. Names were mentioned, Craig Breslow, Joe Beimal, and other, but none were added. No flack was given to Sandy in this regard because all the attention was, and somewhat still is, on his lack of acquiring a short stop. With Josh Edgin's recent injury this spring, acquiring a left handed reliever has become the team's number one priority. My question is this: how important is a left handed reliever as opposed to a strong right handed reliever.

There's no doubt about it, the Mets have talent on the right side of the bullpen. When the above question is asked to Mets fans, and baseball fans alike, there seems to be two arguing positions: one being a left hander, at least one, is a must. The other says that a good right hander should be able to get lefties and righties out. I personally agree with the latter. I would rather see Vic Black, who I know is a capable reliever, pitch to a big time leftie, Matt Adams of the Cardinals for example, than a sub-par Jake Lethersich. WFAN's Mike Francesa recently critized a caller who agreed with this view point. But, is it so crazy to think a good right handed reliever can get lefties out? Why is acquiring a left handed reliever now a make-or-break for this team? It isn't. There's plenty of capable arms in that pen, arms that weren't here a few years ago when lefties and righties in the Mets pen couldn't get me or you out.

All in all, the Mets will break camp with a leftie, which is fine. My point: it should never have been this big of an issue. Have a strong bullpen, end of story.

Let's get the games started already!!

With spring training beginning on March 4th this year, five days after it's beginning a year ago, it's felt like an eternity watching minor leaguers take swings under the Flordia sun while Citi Field undertakes melting it's own snow for upcoming baseball.

Spring training does this to me every year, and I'm not the only one. Thirty or so practice games is enough, especially when injuries creep in and out-and the Mets have had their share.

A quiet spring training in the past could have meant one of two things: either the Mets simply weren't good enough to make any noise, or the GM has been so embarrassed in the past he set out to take the team out of the media spot light ever chance he got. Finally though, this spring training has been noisy...and for good reason.

We are no longer arguing over who it is in the starting rotation, but where they will be pitching. Bartolo Colon will take the opener, with deGrom and Harvey to follow. Everyone knows, even with the loss of Wheeler, the Mets rotation is beyond stacked, fortified with phenoms in Triple-A.

No longer are we arguing about who it is in the Mets lineup, but where they will be batting. Aside from the general anger of not acquiring a short stop, the Mets lineup is set, with some big names. Terry Collins has recently flirted with the idea of batting Juan Lagares 9th and Matt Harvey 8th. Sure, this is going to stir up some controversy but it's better now that the team matters. 

It's been a long spring, but Harvey will be here, Murphy and Flores will likely be ready for opening day, Granderson, Wright, and Cuddyer are on fire, and the season is still a week and a half away.

In other words, let's hurry this up!

3/25/15 Headlines: Wheeler, Forbes article, Mets vs. Yankees

Today the Mets will continue their Grapefruit League schedule against the New York Yankees. Regulars in today's starting lineup include Lucas Duda, Travis d'artaud, and Juan Lagares. 
Rafael Montero will get the nod to start today's game which can be seen on the YES Network. Montero is all but certain to pitch in New York's bullpen now that Dillon Gee has moved in the starting rotation, taking Zack Wheeler's place.

Speaking of Zack, he had successful Tommy John surgery earlier today, expecting to miss all of 2015 and not return until 14 months later, June 2016. Wheeler had been complaining of pain in his elbow dating back to last year, but doesn't think the Mets handled the situation poorly. Good luck, Zack. 

A recent article from Forbes lists the Mets as the seventh most valuable franchise in all of Major League Baseball, behind Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Giants, Cubs, and Cardinals. Some nice company to be in, now lets just win like those teams! 

Forbes values the Mets at $1.35 billion.

I'm back, you're back, the season is back! Mets roster and headlines

Hello everybody, I'm back! Once again, the school year has bogged me down with a heavy work load as I near the finish line of my college career.

Last time we met was early in the Mets' offseason, right around the time Michael Cuddyer was signed. Well, this time I'm back (hopefully for good) right in time for the 2015 Mets season. Below is the best estimate of where the Mets stand today with their opening day roster:

 Lineup

1. Juan Lagares-CF
2. Daniel Murphy- 2B
3. David Wright-3B
4. Lucas Duda-1B
5. Michael Cuddyer-LF
6. Curtis Granderson-RF
7. Travis d'Arnaud-C
8. Wilmer Flores-SS

Starting Rotation
1. Bartolo Colon
2. Jacob deGrom
3. Matt Harvey
4. Jon Neise
5. Dillon Gee

Bullpen
1. Jhenry Mejia
2. Jeryus Familia
3. Vic Black
4. Rafael Montero
5. Carlos Torres
6.TBD
7.TBD

Bench
1. Ruben Tejads-ss/2b
2. Eric Campbell-1B/C
3. Anthony Recker-C
4. Kirk Niuwenheis-OF

Terry Collins has announced the opening week rotation against the Nations is as follows: Bartolo Colon April 6, Jacob deGrom April 8, Matt Harvey April 9th.

Jacob deGrom will pitch the home opener, followed by Matt Harvey.