It’s been a few weeks since Topps Update came out. In one sense, Topps did a nice job with their selection of Mets players – six of the nine had not appeared on a regularly-issued baseball card as a Met before. In another way, the player choice was terrible – just three of the nine are still part of the Mets’ organization.
Here’s a look at the Mets cards in the Topps Update base set:
Topps Update baseball cards were officially released this week, marking the traditional end of the collecting season that started when Series 1 came out back during spring training.
I wanted to pick up a couple of packs when I stopped in Target this afternoon, but they hadn’t made their way to the retail shelves yet. So I’m left looking at the pictures of other people’s cards online instead,
(I’m not likely to see one of these in person anyway.)
Continue reading “Topps Update gives Mets cards to Daisuke Matsuzaka, Bobby Abreu & Jacob deGrom”
(Check out more of my photos from Bobby Abreu’s final major league game at my Flickr account.)
There are just two games left to play after Friday’s Mets loss to the Houston Astros, but the game last night provided a strong reminder that there are more important things than baseball.
Jonathon Niese exited in the sixth inning with an elevated heart rate, the third time in his career that the issue has come up during a game.
“It’s certainly something that you can’t mess with at the time,” Terry Collins said after the game. “He said it was really racing fast, so we took him out.”
While Niese said that “it’s not really that scary,” he’s due for another round of medical testing so that doctors can make sure. According to MLB.com reporter Anthony DiComo, Niese was originally scheduled to undergo a surgical procedure to correct a problem with his heart in 2012, but doctors told him it was unnecessary and he cancelled it.
I hope that Niese is right, that his elevated heart rate isn’t a cause for major concern. But I’ll disagree with him on one point – any time we’re talking about heart issues, it’s scary. I know that I’ll be keeping him in my prayers.
Dropping three out of four games to the San Francisco Giants this weekend seems to have put an end to any talk of the New York Mets being part of a pennant race in 2014.
I refused to believe in the phantom playoff run while the Mets’ record was under the .500 mark, but they definitely can still play a role in deciding who wins the National League East.
Tonight is the first of 13 games the Mets have left against the Washington Nationals. While I’m loathe to see them help out the Atlanta Braves, I’d love it if the Mets were able to knock Washington out of the playoff picture.
I’m also encouraged by the Mets’ decision to remove Bobby Abreu from the active roster. While the former Phillies star was briefly one of the Mets’ best hitters, he turned out to be completely unsuited to a pinch-hitting role.
I hope that Terry Collins actually plays Kirk Nieuwenhuis so we can find out if he can be a contributor at the major league level now and in 2015. There is no reason to continue to start Chris Young on a regular basis, and little reason to keep him on the roster except to salve Sandy Alderson‘s ego.
Nieuwenhuis, Eric Campbell and Eric Young Jr. can all play left field. They may or may not hit more than Chris Young did when given regular playing time, but they are all under team control in 2015. Chris Young’s contract mercifully expires at the end of the season and he’ll be left hoping that his agent can find another major league general manager who believes he can return to his 2010 All-Star form.
PaulHadsall.com 