Author: Vinny Messana

Photo Credit: Recruiting Cycle I have been posting thoughts on this site about various topics in Major League Baseball. As you can see, I am a huge Mets fan. But now that the college season is right around the corner you will not be seeing any talk about the Mets or the Hall of Fame voting.  The season will be starting at the end of the month. There are plenty of significant players ready to make ...

There are very few things in this world that can withstand the inevitable dilution upon aging. Everything has an expiration date and–aside from the Great Pyramids of Giza–nothing remains unscathed over time. With that being  the case, it is no wonder that Baseball’s Hall of Fame is not the mystical place it was when it was founded in 1936 and continued to be for many decades. It ...

Last time I checked in, I criticized the Mets for consistently finding reasons to not sign free agents. At the time it was warranted; GM Sandy Alderson would set a figure that he was comfortable with signing a player for, and he would not budge from that figure. From the outside, it was unclear whether he was given orders to not overpay for any player. They finally showed that they were willing to...

Even the captain is getting impatientPhoto is credited to Corey Sipkin/Daily News “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson. Mets fans have been forced to remain patient over the past five seasons in which they have faded as the second half has begun. The one silver lining was always the company line of, “once we have money coming off the books we w...

Photo credit: Kelly O Connor Keith Couch, a 24-yard old pitching prospect for the Boston Red Sox is putting himself on the national scene  for his increasingly dominant performances on the mound. He is coming off a tremendous season in which he compiled a record of 11-3 with a 3.47 ERA. He threw 129 innings, walked only 3.0/9 IP and struck out 6.4/9 IP. Despite the Red Sox being loaded with pitchi...

Photo credit: BronxBaseballDaily.com The transition from college to pro ball is not always an easy one. Plenty of players have seen their production drop considerably against elite talent, and in many cases it was due to a drastic life change such as being located across the country from their home. For Dillon McNamara, the transition was made much easier by the incredibly short distance he had to...

AL MVP: 1) Mike Trout .323 AVG, 27 HR, 97 RBI, 33 SB, .432 OBP, .557 SLG, 10.4 WAR 2) Miguel Cabrera  .348 AVG, 44 HR, 137 RBI, 103 R, .442 OBP, .636 SLG 3) Josh Donaldson  .301 AVG, 24 HR, 93 RBI, 89 R, .384 OBP, .499 SLG, 7.7 WAR NL MVP: 1) Andrew McCutchen .317 AVG, 21 HR, 84 RBI, 97 R, 27 SB, .404 OBP, .508 SLG, 8.2 WAR 2) Paul Goldschmidt .302 AVG, 36 HR, 125 RBI, 103 R, .401 OBP, .551 SLG, 6...

Photo Credit: Matt Slocum/AP For every Bryce Harper or Mike Trout that become superstars in the Major Leagues before they can legally have a celebratory drink, there are a bunch of Matt Daley types. While everyone dreams of signing a lucrative seven figure contract before their first professional game, there are people that are forced to do it the hard way. Of all those who are lingering in the mi...

One of the things I’ll never forget about my dad was his way of motivating me to be the best baseball player I could be. Among his most common phrases was, “If you wanna be the best, you gotta beat the best!” To me, there was no doubt he was referring to Marcus Stroman when he said “the best.” His name was the one in almost every conversation regarding the best player...

The NL MVP has no clear-cut winner, with most of the favorites either succumbing to injuries, being a part of a mediocre club or lack of standout statistics. Here is my top three for this week, which could change significantly in a week. 1) Andrew McCutchen Stats: 127 G, .321/.399/.507/.907 OPS,  17 HR, 73 RBI, 60 BB, 81 K, 26/35 SB After years of elevating his level of play despite suffering thro...

With about six weeks remaining in the MLB season, most of the key awards are becoming extremely tight. This will add intrigue to a season that will feature little-or-no-drama in many of the division races unlike the past two seasons. Here is my take on the AL MVP. AL MVP: 1) Miguel CabreraStats: .360 AVG, .452 OBP, .689 SLG, 40 HR, 120 RBI, 89 R, 306 TB, 72 BB Cabrera looked at his 2012 numbers an...

Seven years since the apex and five years into the stadium the fans have yet to experience anything close to prosperity, aside from Johan Santana’s no-hitter on June 1, 2012 and Matt Harvey’s All-Star Game start on July 16 of this year. While not all teams are able to create a new identity immediately as the 2008 Rays did by changing their name, logo and uniform, it was realistic to ex...