Robert Gsellman – PaulHadsall.com

All good things…

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Paul

As I write this, we’re less than 48 hours away from the final out of the 2017 New York Mets season… and already, manager Terry Collins has been kicked upstairs, pitching coach Dan Warthen and trainer Ray Ramirez have been relieved of their duties, and coaches Dick Scott, Ricky Bones and Tom Goodwin have been encouraged to seek other employment.

A 70-92 record and the worst team ERA since 1962 will bring changes, and they’re already starting to happen.

I said my goodbye to this year’s Mets team last week at Citi Field. My friend Vinny pointed out tickets would probably be really cheap for a midweek season finale between two teams that had been out of the running since Memorial Day, and he was right – I got a pair of seats 13 rows behind the third base dugout for about what it would have cost to go to a Brooklyn Cyclones game.

Continue reading “All good things…” →

Uncategorized

2017 Topps Series 1 Mets

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Paul

I know I’m late to the party, but I just got my 2017 Topps Series 1 Mets team set in the mail this week.

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Player selection is pretty good, considering Topps has to save some recognizable names for Series 2 in a few months. I haven’t double-checked the 40-man roster lately, but I think everyone pictured is still part of the Mets’ organization. (I’m puzzled by the decision to include Matt Reynolds over printing a T.J. Rivera rookie card, but I can easily overlook it since it’s the biggest head-scratcher.)

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Baseball

We want playoffs

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Paul

A September Citi Field sunset *(Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)*

The New York Mets wrapped up their regular season home schedule with a 17-0 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday. I made it to two of their 81 home contests, my fewest since Citi Field opened.

I’m ok with that, though I wish I’d gone to at least one game on my own so I could wander around the ballpark without annoying anyone else. I have less patience for the travel – going to a game in Queens means I spend almost as much time on trains as I do watching baseball. And I have to admit, the ballpark was easier to get around when there weren’t 30,000+ people there most nights.

Back in April, I think we all had visions of the Mets repeating as National League East champions and going back to the World Series, this time to win it all. The second part of that dream could still happen, but Daniel Murphy is the only one who got to celebrate two consecutive division titles. Continue reading “We want playoffs” →

Autographs, Binghamton Mets

Featured Autograph: Robert Gsellman

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Paul

Continuing to look at my recently-purchased autographs, today we have New York Mets’ prospect Robert Gsellman. This baseball card, from one of Bowman’s 2014 sets, cost me $2.74 and was my most expensive purchase of the group.

Gsellman, 22, was a 13th round selection out of Westchester High School (Los Angeles, Calif.) in 2011. He split the 2015 season between the Single-A St. Lucie Mets and the Double-A Binghamton Mets. Gsellman was honored as the Mets’ Sterling Organizational Pitcher of the Year and was also a Florida State League midseason All-Star last season.

Unfortunately, Gsellman struggled a bit once he moved up to the Eastern League, where he posted a 7-7 record with at 3.51 ERA in 16 starts. Those are not bad numbers by any means, but he saw his strikeouts per nine innings dip to 4.8 and his strikeout/walk rate fall to 1.88.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Gsellman opened the 2016 season in Binghamton again, but following last season’s deadline trades and the ascension of Steven Matz to the major league level, Gsellman is the best starting pitcher prospect the Mets have in the upper levels of their farm system.