Billy Eppler

Babe Ruth last played for the New York Yankees almost ninety years ago. Yet, when you mention the name Shohei Ohtani to a New York baseball fan, Ruth's name comes up more often than not. There is a pretty good reason.

It is no secret that the New York Mets early season struggles on the mound have fans panicking. Justin Verlander isn't expected to make his Mets debut until late April and Carlos Carasco has been hammered by the Marlins. Add in Max Scherzer's struggles against Milwaukee and, well, all-out mayhem has set-in.

So much has to go right for a major league team to play 162 games, win all of their playoff series and then four games in the World Series, against the other league's best team. Even more would have to go right for the Amazin' Mets. [bran

If one player was a lock to succeed for Buck Showalter in 2022, it was closer Edwin Diaz. When Timmy Trumpet's "Narco" began, that usually meant the game was ending for the Mets' opponents. The "lock" took a big hit in the WBC on Wednesday and in essence, so did the World Series dreams for Buck and the Mets.

A New York Mets prospect angered a Syracuse judge last week by not showing up for a scheduled court appearance. The player's lawyer tried to explain the circumstances behind the player's absence but the judge didn't agree.

Money can't buy happiness, nor can New York Mets owner Steve Cohen buy a World Series for his team's fanbase. Cohen will certainly try but it's not going to happen in 2023. Here are 5 reasons why:

Major League Baseball fans are growing impatient with the cat and mouse game going on between super-agent Scott Boras and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, involving the contract of Carlos Correa. The issue at hand? Correa's lower leg injury, that appears significant enough that the San Francisco Giants pulled away a $350 million deal and now the Mets are keeping the All Star infielder at a little less than arms-length for the same reason. Rumors came out on Thursday night that Correa's agent has reached out to other clubs. That may be true but Correa will end up a Met and this is why.

Back on May 3rd of 2015, Danny Mendick was playing shortstop for UMass-Lowell over at University Field, on the campus of UAlbany. The Rochester, New York native went 1-3 with 2 walks and a run scored in the America East match-up. The former Riverhawk played a flawless shortstop that day. A few weeks later, Mendick was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 22nd round of the MLB draft. Fast forward 7-years and a few months and that former foe of the Great Danes, Danny Mendick, just signed a $1 million contract to play for Steve Cohen's star-studded, super-team in Queens.

Steve Cohen, in an overnight move in the early hours of Wednesday morning, appears to have snatched the highest priced free agent left on the market from the San Francisco Giants. Even weirder, it appears this may have all begun as the Giants were getting ready to introduce Carlos Correa as their new shortstop.

The New York Yankees and Mets spent about half a billion dollars this week on free agents. Aaron Judge, the best player on the market, never received an offer from one of the richest owners in sports, Steve Cohen, from across town. The Major League Baseball Players Union can call it collusion. Most call it doing business in New York. Two successful baseball teams in the Big Apple create a summer craze of headlines and packed ballparks. Now the Mets are in competition to sign a free agent pitcher from Japan and the Yankees may benefit from the star landing in Queens.

Jacob deGrom's career with the New York Mets has come to an end, leaving the team without an elite pitcher in their rotation. So, what do the Mets do now?

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.