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Regardless of how promising things get for the New York Mets, it always seems the dark cloud hangs over the collective heads of the franchise. After two straight dominating starts, their No. 1 prospect and No. 54 in MLB according to MLB.com, Steven Matz has been shut down due to a slightly torn lat muscle on his left side. It is unclear whether it was injured during his last start in Los Angeles, in which he threw 6 shutout innings against the Dodgers. Now the Stony Brook native will have to sit out and watch the Mets attempt to shave off some of their three-game deficit in the NL East standings. If there is any silver lining it is that a) with the All Star Break and the 6-man rotation, the Mets dont really need Matz for another two weeks and b) with his innings limit on 2015, it could ben...

It’s the seventh inning of a crucial conference game between Hofstra and James Madison University. The Pride’s starting pitcher began the game strong but has began to nibble around the corners too much and walked the lead off hitter to put the tying run at the plate. He has fallen behind the batter 2-0 and the lead is very much in danger. The pitching coach walks over to the bullpen phone to get an arm ready. “Get Weissheier loose,” he says to the bullpen catcher. Not anticipating to hear anything he is about to hang up the phone when he hears the voice on the other end blurt out, “WHICH ONE?!” That is a conundrum not many teams have at the college level. Whereas many high schools have brothers on the same team, by the time college rolls around the broth...

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OClc6YJhYCU] Offense was hard to come by in today’s Hamptons League matinee match up between the Montauk Mustangs and Riverhead Tomcats. The game was scoreless into the top of the eighth when Rob Vani of Adelphi blooped a single to right field off Ben Wright of Briarcliffe. Bryce Packard followed with a hard-hit single past the sliding Tyler Osik into left field. to put runners on the corners. The following batter was Billy McLean of Stony Brook who hit a shallow fly ball to right field. The outfielder camped under it and fired home. Vani went about 1/3 of the way to draw the throw–which one-hopped and skipped past the catcher, Hunter Dolshun, to score Vani and put the Mustangs on the board. Wright struck out the eighth place hitter to en...

When we last checked in with 2014 All-American pitcher Tyler Badamo, he was preparing to make his season debut with the Brooklyn Cyclones against the Staten Island Yankees. He threw 6 innings and allowed only two ER in front of a bevy of his friends and family. Since then, he has improved on every start. In his four starts this season, he has thrown 6, 6.2, 7 and 7 innings. He has allowed only four ER, allowed only 14 hits, walked four and struck out 20. Opponents are hitting only .151 and his WHIP is an incredible 0.67. The 0.67 WHIP ranked him second in the league and the 20 strikeouts is tied for fifth. The offense has not backed him much so he only has one win to show for it. Nevertheless, he has done his job. In fact, he has done it without breaking much of a sweat. In last night̵...

Photo Credit: Steve Mitchell, USA Today Steve Matz proved that last week was no fluke–he actually improved upon his Major League debut that put him on the national spotlight. He shut out the potent Los Angeles Dodgers lineup for 6 innings, allowing only two hits, two walks while striking out eight batters to lower his ERA to 1.32. His 14 strikeouts through two appearances are second in franchise history behind Matt Harvey. Additionally, he drove in a run with a ground out to second base, for his fifth RBI of the season–one more than David Wright. The only inning he faced any sort of trouble was the first when he allowed a leadoff single to Enrique Hernandez and he also hit Adrian Gonzalez but he avoided any damage by inducing Yasiel Puig into a forceout. The Mets broke the game...

The Hofstra baseball team  has received a tremendous boost by signing former Major Leaguer John Habyan as the new pitching coach. The Long Island native was a third round pick in 1982 and pitched 11 seasons in the MLB with the Yankees, Orioles, Cardinals, Royals, Rockies and Angels. He compiled a 3.85 ERA over 532.1 innings. Most recently he was the Head Coach for St. John the Baptist where he has led them to the CHSAA championship. The Pride will certainly benefit from the knowledge of such a bright and seasoned baseball mind. Their pitching staff had a rough 2015, but they will have the benefit of a strong incoming freshman class as well as promising sophomore pitchers such as Patrick Bryant and Adam Heidenfelder looking to bounce back.

Travis Jankowski, the only first-round pick in Stony Brook history, had himself a terrific game at the Double-A All Star Game last night. The Lancaster, PA native led off the game with a solo home run to right field. In his second at bat, he tripled to right center field. It was a rare show of power from the 24-year-old, who has only one home run all season for the San Antonio Missions. He is forcing his way into the conversation for the San Diego Padres future. Despite making noise in the offseason when they traded for Wil Myers, Justin Upton, Melvin Upton and Matt Kemp to upgrade their outfield, only Justin Upton is really performing up to par–which could have them looking towards their top prospects in the near future to provide immediate relief. Their 2012 1st round pick is hitti...

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Thank you Family, friends, and mets fans for an awesome MLB debut. Glad we got two wins today! — Steven Matz (@Smatz88) June 29, 2015 In case you were living under a rock yesterday, you missed Stony Brook native Steven Matz have one of the best MLB debuts in history. He recorded the victory with 7.2 innings, striking out 6 and allowing 2 ER (on solo home runs by Brandon Phillips and Todd Frazier). He really opened eyes with his bat–he went 3-for-3 with four RBI including a long double over Billy Hamilton’s head. He became the first pitcher to have four RBI in his MLB debut since 1900 and the fist Mets player to go 3-for-3 with four RBI in franchise history. Here’s a look at the reactions that people on Twitter when watching it. Who needs bats when you’ve got Matz &#...

Sandy Alderson should probably collaborate with Lil Wayne and make “Sorry 4 The Wait Volume 2” for all the time he made the New York fans wait to see the hometown stud LHP Steven Matz. It was worth the wait, as Matz shook off a leadoff home run to Brandon Phillips and led the Mets to a series sweep over the Cincinnati Reds. Overall, Matz’ line was 7.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 BBs and 6 K as he recorded his first career win in front of a bevy of his friends and family. More impressively, Matz became the first Mets player in team history (pitcher or position player) to go 3-for-3 with four RBI in his debut. He is the only pitcher in MLB history to record such a feat. In his first at bat, he smoked a two-run double over the head of speedy CF Billy Hamilton on a high fastball. In his...

When I was 12 years old I played on a travel team called the Long Island Baymen. Our second baseman used to have his whole family come to every game and cheer for him every at bat. It was not out-of-the-ordinary behavior by any means.What really stood out was that his brother, three years younger, brought his glove to every game and would have a catch with his dad. You could tell that this 9-year-old was going to be something special. Not in the way parents describe their own son but in the way that a 12-year-old would say that he was already better than anyone on his team.That kid was Charles Galiano, who (11 years later) just fulfilled his lifelong dream and signed a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, after they drafted him in the 40th round earlier this month out of Fordham University.He ...

Photo Credit: Anthony J. Causi The New York Mets have finally decided to promote top pitching prospect Steven Matz from Triple-A Las Vegas. He will start on Sunday at Citi Field in place of struggling veteran Jon Niese. Matz, a 24-year-old native of Setauket, was drafted by the Mets in the second round (72nd overall pick) of the 2009 draft out of Ward Melville High School. He dominated Suffolk County that season by allowing two ER in 55 IP and won the coveted Carl Yastrzemski Award. After having Tommy John surgery and suffering a setback, he finally made his professional debut in 2012. He has dominated ever since. This season he pitched lights out in the Pacific Coast League, which is widely regarded as the worst pitching environment in professional baseball. He pitched to an incredible 2....