buck showalter

If Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer can stay healthy the rest of the season, and that’s a big if, the Mets can win the World Series.

New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom was feeling mild soreness in his shoulder on Monday ahead of Thursday’s simulated game.

True New York Mets fans hold their breath, wait for the next shoe to drop, etc, until about the second week in October. When that rare occurrence happens and their beloved team makes the playoffs, they will be generally satisfied and begin to enjoy the winning experience. Until that point, it's early and plenty of bad stuff can and has happened to this franchise.

The loss of starting pitcher Max Scherzer for 6 to 8 weeks comes at a time when the Mets are already dealing with the loss of their other ace Jacob deGrom.

On Monday at 4pm, Major League Baseball teams have to reduce their rosters to 26 from 28. The first place New York Mets were wrestling with different scenarios. The first move was painful but easy. Relief pitcher Sean Reid-Foley was put on the Injured List on Saturday. The pitcher that replaced him for Sunday's game was Yoan López.

The New York Mets are red-hot coming off of their doubleheader sweep of the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday. The 9-3 Amazin's sit in first place going into Wednesday's game. ESPN's Buster Olney told The Drive with Charlie & Dan that new manager Buck Showalter is a big reason in that turnaround.

Back in November, when New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and general manager Billy Eppler decided on Buck Showalter as the next Mets manager, deciding on who would be the Opening Day starter for the New York Mets, seemed like a problem for a later date. Well, the day has come and circumstances not foreseen a week ago, have clouded the skipper's choices.

On Thursday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced the adoption of the universal DH rule for 2022. Now National League pitchers will no longer have to hit. So, who will fill that role with the Mets? Given the New York's endlessly deep pockets, thanks to billionaire owner Steve Cohen's determination to bring a winning team to Cit Field, there are quite a few roads to pursue an answer. The Amazin's have several internal designated hitter options, given the number of defensively challenged players that fill their current 40-man roster. At times, superstar right-handed pitcher Jacob deGrom has been the best hitter in the Mets line-up, making this question even more interesting.

Matt Quatraro has been in professional baseball for 24 years. 16 of those seasons have been coaching. In his early coaching days, Quatraro would spend off-seasons volunteer coaching for the University at Albany Great Danes baseball team. Matt is a smart man. He is easy to be around. He is a team oriented and understands an organization's structure and each individual's role in its success. That is the baseball business today. That's the kind of person, if I had Steve Cohen's bank account, I would have representing my $2.5 billionaire dollar team on the field. Oh, and Matt's a competitor to the core and knows how to win at the Major League Level. Louis Rojas unfortunately didn't have that experience.