Mets Demote Michael Conforto, Promote Brandon Nimmo

I love Conforto, seems to be a great guy, plenty of potential, had a very nice 2015, got off to a great start this season and who didn't love that throw he made the other day to throw out Emilio Bonifacio in Atlanta for an inning-ending DP? But damn, if Confronto hasn't been slumping at the plate lately, especially against left-hand pitching. And you can't just bench him. So sending him down and giving him consistent at-bats in the minors so he can hopefully work out his issues and come back later, while giving Brandon Nimmo a shot definitely seems like the wise move right now.

I Don't Want Jose Reyes Playing in the Outfield

So the Mets put a stop to all the rumors and speculation and finally sign Jose Reyes and now we gotta hear about the possibility of them turning Reyes into a jack-of-all-trades, including possibly playing in the outfield?!? Can Reyes learn how to play 3rd base (a position he's never played before either) first? Then too, recalling the Daniel Murphy and Todd Hundley disastrous turn's in the outfield, can the Mets please put a stop to this infielder-to-outfielder experimentation? If heproves capable, then let Reyes hit leadoff and play 3rd and keep it moving. After all, we're supposed to learn from our past mistakes, not repeat them.

Lineup-wise, Jose Reyes Just Isn't A Good Fit For Mets

I honestly don't care about the domestic violence charge. The guy screwed up and paid the price with his suspension--is he not entitled to a second chance in a professional sports world where athletes have done far worse and been given second chances? I think Reyes would be highly motivated to comeback and play for the Mets and Lord knows that we could use his speed. But where exactly is he gonna play? Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walked have made for tremendous tandem, offensively and defensively for the Mets. Wilmer Flores is hitting and playing pretty well at 3rd since David Wright went down. And Walked hasn't played 3rd base in like 6 years. So yeah, Reyes costing a penny and coming back to the Mets is certainly intriguing, but you're not bringing him back to come off the bench and be a pinch-runner.

Mets Should Definitely Have A Tom Seaver Statue Outside Citi Field

Yet another example of the ineptness of the Wilpon's when it comes to public relations and team history. I mean, this is a no-brainer that only Fred and Jeff could turn into an issue. Hall of Famer. Best player to ever put on a Mets uniform. The Franchise. 3 Cy Young's. 1969. Do the right thing and give the G.O.A.T. a statue already.

Cuban Slugger Yulieski Gourriel To Privately Work Out For Mets

ESPN.com:

NEW YORK -- Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said team officials plan to work out Cuban defector Yulieski Gourriel, who has been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball.

ESPN's Jim Bowden reports that the Los Angeles Angels, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Houston Astros also are interested in the 32-year-old infielder. The Mets have lost David Wright, potentially for the season and beyond, after the captain underwent a discectomy and fusion to address a herniated disk in his neck on Thursday.

"We're going to do our due diligence on that player," Alderson said Tuesday about Gourriel. "So we've made arrangements to do that. At the same time, this player hasn't seen live pitching for weeks if not months. It's not clear how long a player in that situation would take to be ready. And, of course, there is the investment and all the other issues -- and making an evaluation currently of the player based on workouts and not game competition. But we're going to go through that process."

The Mets have not participated in the market for players directly from Cuba during Alderson's six-year tenure as general manager, but the team is now getting more serious about that route.

The Mets need another big bopper in the starting lineup....badly. I say that if Gourriel is in shape and can hit major league pitching, you have to sign him.

Mets Swept By Braves, Fall To 3rd Place, 6.5 Games Behind Nationals

No expects you to win every game and go 19-0 against the pitiful Braves, but getting swept bt ATL at home? There's just no excuse for that. Then too, you can't pin this hitting slump on Wilmer Flores or James Loney, who've both played really well since becoming fixtures in the starting lineup. Hell, even Curtis Granderson's finally come around and hitting like he should of late. The starting pitching has been fine, but the relief needs a tuneup, namely Antonio Bastardo and Hansel Robles. And let's face it: Michael Conforto just can not hit left-hand pitching. The All-break isn't here and they're only 6.5 games out, but if sending Conforto down to the minors and giving Brandon Nimmo a shot can help turn things around and boost the lineup then I'm all for it. Travis D'Arnaud is coming back next week, but with his track record, it's only a matter of time before he gets injured again. Still, with a series against the Nats soon coming up and Zack Wheeler's impending return getting closer and closer, I wouldn't panic or look to make a big trade just yet as the Braves sweep could just be an aberration.

David Wright To Have Neck Surgery, Could End His Season

Great guy, hard worker, great Met and the team captain. But spinal stenosis and now a neck injury/surgery, in addition to looking like he's on the downside of his career anyway...just equates to the idea that chances are likely that it might be best for Wright to put his long-term health first and retire after the season.

Is Carlos Beltran a Hall of Famer?

What with Carlos Beltran being 39 and currently leading the Yankees in home runs, there's been some talk lately on whether or not he's a Hall of Famer. Looking over at his career stats, I granted Beltran with about 10 HOF seasons entering 2016. And he's had a couple of great postseasons (one with Houston in 2004 and the other with St. Louis in 2012), but unless he does something incredible with the Yankees before his career is over, unfortunately he'll be remembered mostly for this moment to us Met fans. But he's also an 8-time All-Star, won a Rookie of the Year, has 3 Gold Gloves and finished in the Top 10 in MVP voting twice. I don't like that Beltran's been on so many teams (6) and he's never struck me as a 'great' player (more like 'pretty good'). So all in all, I'd say that Beltran is a borderline HOF'er.

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?