Brandon Nimmo

Some may say that dishing out a record contract to your closer days after the conclusion of the World Series isn't playing your hand slowly. As New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler heads into his second off-season at the helm of Steve Cohen's team, he is well aware that one has to move fast at times and be patient at others to be successful. Eppler made some key acquisitions last winter, like right fielder Starling Marte, left fielder Mark Cahna and third baseman Eduardo Escobar. Those three moves, along with Eppler's hire of Manager of the Year, Buck Showalter, changed the culture of the Mets. Now it's time to continue the improvement. That is what Cohen expects.

Obviously, the New York Mets wanted and expected to go further in the playoffs than they did, especially after a 101 win regular season. However, the baseball gods don't often cooperate with Amazin's best laid plans. Hence, on Sunday night, instead of strategizing to beat the Los Angelas Dodgers, general manager Billy Eppler and manager Buck Showalter began the process of figuring out how to get this team to play a few weeks deeper into October. In other words, how do they make a run at the 2023 World Series? That's what owner Steve Cohen expects in the next two years. What questions are Eppler and Showalter facing?

On the same evening that New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge crushed his American League record, and non-steroid era record, 62nd home run, the Bombers' crosstown, National League little brother was making some MLB long-ball history of their own. After winning the first game of the doubleheader, with a whisper of hope of winning the NL East, the New York Mets needed to come out firing on all cylinders and that they did at a historic pace.

Wednesday afternoon, the New York Mets hosted their first-ever Women's Day. There were pre-game panel discussions featuring women executives from team's front office, as well as the wife of a well-known pitcher. The Mets players got into the action wearing special pre-game shirts that "Women in Baseball" on the back. Even the ballpark sound was different at Citi Field on Wednesday afternoon, as 13 players changed their "walk-up music" to celebrate women. See which players danced to new tunes!

New York Mets right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer has won three Cy Young awards, one in the American League and two in the National League. The $43 million hurler has always pitched well and defended his position. To say that Scherzer puts everything he has into his starts, may be an understatement. Even when he is not pitching, "Mad Max" can look like a caged animal in the dugout.

One bright spot for the New York Mets over the last few years has been the development of outfielder Brandon Nimmo. The lanky athletic leadoff man has been getting better and better. Nimmo was selected with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 2011 draft. Growing up in Cheyenne, Wyoming is a challenge for any aspiring baseball player. Nimmo didn't even have a high school baseball team to play on. His team was an American Legion League team and Brandon stood out enough for then general manager, Sandy Alderson to select him in the 1st round.

Levack and Goz answer those questions and more in this week's Wednesday Why

The U.S. team beat the World Team, 10-1, in the MLB Futures Game yesterday in Cincinnati, officially kicking of the All-Star festivities. Mets 2014 first-round draft pick Michael Conforto shined for the U.S. team, going 2-2 at the plate. Conforto, the Oregon State product, also shined on defense, throwing out Seattle Mariners prospect Ketel Marte at the plate with this throw: Conforto is hitting .