Posted in Autographs, Baseball Cards, New York Mets

Some baseball cards on a snowy day

It’s snowing again as I write this morning, but we’re less than a month away from the start of spring training. (Yoenis Cespedes, Amed Rosario, Wilmer Flores, and Juan Lagares are already in Florida.)

So I thought I’d share some recent baseball card purchases, my first of 2018. I’m particularly happy with the T.J. Rivera and Josh Smoker cards since they’ve been Mets long enough to appreciate them.

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Baseball Reference tells me that Jamie Callahan and Tomas Nido played for the Mets last year, but I don’t remember them at all. Luis Guillorme made an amazing catch in the dugout last spring, but he’s still waiting for his shot in the big leagues. The A.J. Ramos card is a placeholder until I can get one that shows him as a Met. I think I already had a Matt Reynolds autograph, but he’s sporting the snazzy Mr. Met spring training cap and it was only a dollar… so why not?

Odds & ends:

  • Johnny Monell, who briefly played for the 2015 Mets, has joined the Tampa Bay Rays organization

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeB6FaYFTD7/?taken-by=jmoe220

Posted in Baseball

Mets make mistake in letting Tejada go

Ruben Tejada (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
Ruben Tejada (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

Ruben Tejada‘s New York Mets career came to an end when Chase Utley broke his leg during last year’s National League Division Series.

With the off-season additions of Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera pushing Wilmer Flores into a reserve role, Tejada was slated to be the Mets’Ā second backup infielder in 2016… and with a $3 million salary, Tejada was apparently too expensive for the Mets.

According to published reports, the Mets placed Tejada on waivers – if another team claims him, the Mets would be completely free of Tejada’s salary. If they end up releasing him more than 15 days before Opening Day, the Mets still save 5/6 of the money.

If you thought the Yoenis Cespedes signing signaled an end to the Mets’ penny-pinching payrolls, I guess you were wrong.

Cabrera is hurt and may miss Opening Day. Wright is slated to make his first Grapefruit League appearance on Friday, and there are questions about just how many regular season games he will be able to play this year.

Continue reading “Mets make mistake in letting Tejada go”

Posted in Autographs

Featured Autograph: Matt Reynolds

Matt-Reynolds
Matt Reynolds certified autograph from Panini’s 2012 Elite Extra Edition set

For a few days last fall, it looked like Matt Reynolds might have a chance to make Major League Baseball history by becoming the first player to make his big league debut in the World Series during the modern era.

Reynolds, a 25-year-old Mets prospect, was an emergency replacement for Ruben Tejada after he was injured by Chase Utley‘s takeout slide in the National League Division Series. He never got into a playoff game and was removed from the World Series roster in favor of Juan Uribe.

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Posted in Autographs, New York Mets

Spring Fever

David Wright's 2015 Topps Spring Fever baseball card
David Wright’s 2015 Topps Spring Fever baseball card

Topps released checklist information for this year’s Spring Fever promotion today. It’sĀ a way to help participating retailers move more Series One baseball cards – if you spend $20 between February 10th and February 21st, you’ll get a redemption card for a free five-card pack of Spring Fever cards, which can be redeemed between February 22 and February 29.

This will be the first time players like Zack Greinke, David Price and Todd Frazier are pictured with their new teams.

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Posted in Uncategorized

Thoughts on the New York Mets at Memorial Day, 2015

Members of the New York City Police Department unfurl a giant American flag across the outfield at Citi Field during the Mets' 2015 home opener in April (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
Members of the New York City Police Department unfurl a giant American flag across the outfield at Citi Field beforeĀ the Mets’ 2015 home opener in April (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

Memorial Day is often thought of as the time that it makes sense to start looking at the MLB standings. More than a quarter of the schedule has been played, and we think we’re getting a handle on which teams are good, which teams could be “good enough,” and which teams need to wait until next year.

This Memorial Day certainly went better for the New York Mets than last year’s. No one got fired and they managed to win their game.

ButĀ all the hope and optimism generated by April’s 11-game winning streak are gone. Despite today’s victory, the Mets are just four games over the .500 mark and are mathematically closer to the third-place Atlanta Braves than the first place Washington Nationals.

Over the last seven days, the Mets are 2-5 and have been outscored 43-17. A lineup that had several question marks on Opening Day is now a serious cause for concern thanks to disappointing performances and injuries.

Continue reading “Thoughts on the New York Mets at Memorial Day, 2015”