Mets Do The Right Thing and Pick Up James Loney

Loney is a lifetime .285 hitter who can hit the occasional long ball, is well-known for playing pretty good defense at 1st base, comes cheap and I believe wants to prove that he still belongs in the big leagues. In other words, this move was a no-brainer:

The New York Mets have acted swiftly to offset the loss of first baseman Lucas Duda, acquiring veteran James Loney in a trade with the San Diego Padres, the team announced Saturday. The Padres will receive cash considerations.

The Rays released Loney on April 3 and are still responsible for his salary, meaning the Mets will be on the hook for only a prorated portion of the major league minimum for this season.

Loney, 32, had been playing with Triple-A El Paso in the Padres organization. He was hitting .342 with two homers and 28 RBIs in 158 at-bats with the Pacific Coast League club.

Face It, Chase Utley Just Loves Killing The Mets

When I think of Met Killers, yunno guys who always seemed to step it up a notch when they faced us, the first ones that come to mind are Tim Raines, Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones and pretty much any Philadelphia Phillie player in the late 2000's, but damn if Chase Utley doesn't rank highest on the list now. Because I sincerely feel that Utley just relishes faces the Mets, to the point that it's become personal. Of course, the Ruben Tejada take-out slide last year didn't help, much less the crucification from Mets fans Utley's gotten since because of it. Yet, like I mentioned before, Utley's been a Met killer since his career started and screw that rookie umpire for totally overreacting and throwing out Noah Syndergaard yesterday instead of giving both teams a warning and basically motivating Utley to bury us again with two home rums. All said, thank goodness after this series we don't have to see Utley again for the year...during the regular season anyway.

Mets Beat Dodgers Despite Terry Collins Best Effort To Lose The Game

Top of the 9th inning, 4-run lead and the manager brings in...his closer (who just pitched two days before on Wednesday, so no one can run with the old excuse that he 'needed the work') in a non-save situation because 'You’ve got to win tonight, so you bring him in.'

So basically either you don't believe that anyone else in your bullpen has the ability to hold a 4-run lead or you just forgot that your team is only a game out of 1st game and it's only May 27th for chrissakes. Since when do teams a game out of 1st place have must win games in late May, anyway?!? This was just a dumb decision by Collins and it almost cost us. Now Familia, who had no business being on the mound last night is reportedly upset at his meltdown and thanks all those pitches he threw last night, in a game he had no business being in the first place, will most likely be unavailable to pitch tonight and possibly tomorrow night when we face Clayton Kershaw. SMH.

Schein: It's Officially Time to Panic About Matt Harvey

Sorry, but I don't buy that it's time to 'panic' about Harvey--not yet anyway. It's still May for chrissakes and the Mets are only 2.5 games out of first place as I write this. I'm more worried about my leadoff hitter batting below .200, David Wright's alarming strikeout rate and why the Mets don't release the awful Eric Campbell and call up Dilson Herrera already. If Harvey's ERA is still above 5 come say mid-July and the Mets are...say more than 7 or 8 out of first place, then I'll start panicking. Till then everyone needs to calm down and let Harvey figure it out.

Curtis Granderson is Killing the Mets

It's a wonder that the Mets are a game out of first place what with the horrific start of their leadoff hitter Curtis Granderson and 2nd place hitter David Wright. Dykstra and Backman they're not as Granderson is barely above the Mendoza line with a .207 batting average (and .296 OBP) and zero stolen bases, while Wright's batting a meek .233, but leading the team with a robust .375 OBP (which alone warrants him staying in the 2nd hole despite his alarming amount of strikeouts.)

Your leadoff guys are supposed to be your table-setters and here we are in mid-May and Granderson especially has been terrible. I realize that Granderson has a big contract and that he tends to be incredibly streaky, but for the sake of the Mets season Terry Collins needs to at least address this issue (the same way he recently addressed Kevin Plawecki not hitting enough) and possibly move Curtis from the leadoff spot and put him down in the order, maybe 6th or 7th in the lineup...till he gets his bat right. If that doesn't happen anytime soon, then screw it, give Juan Lagares and/or Alejandro De Aza a chance to play more.

Bartolo Colon's Home Run Card Shatters Sales Records of Topps Now

ESPN.com:

A baseball card of Bartolo Colon's home run shattered sales records of Topps Now, the card manufacturer's new on-demand printing business.

The company sold 8,826 cards of the 42-year-old pitcher hitting a home run on Saturday. The card went on sale at 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday and stopped production exactly 24 hours later.

"This moment was the perfect storm," said Jeff Heckman, director of product development and e-commerce for Topps. "It was the right player in the right market and it happened on a weekend."

So Far, Asdrubal Cabrera Is Proving All the Critics Wrong

NYPost.com:

“I believe scouts. I trust them, [but] I’ve got to tell you something: They’re wrong on this guy. This guy can really play shortstop,” Collins said. “And I think he’s gotten this opportunity because he likes to play shortstop to go out and show people that he still can. That play he made [Friday] night in the hole, no disrespect to the guys who have been here the last few years, we haven’t made that play. So he brings a lot to the table.”

Part of what the two-time American League All-Star brings is the .300 average he fashioned in April. And Cabrera is a switch hitter, another aspect of his game that causes tears of joy for managers.

“He’s dependable, that’s probably the best word,” Walker said of his new double-play pal. “You know when he steps to the plate, he’s going to give good at-bats, put good swings on balls. He understands situations. That’s the sign of a dependable player. And he’s a switch hitter, he uses the whole field and takes his walks when he has them.”

Plus he proves the scouts wrong virtually every time he takes the field. He showed it Friday — and for anybody to rave about one mid-game defensive play on a night when the offense exploded for 12 runs in one inning says something.

The guy has played solid defense, is hitting .300 and seems to be a great teammate. What more can you ask for out of your shortstop?