From The Desk Of...

Good morning.

     1.    A Yankee insider friend of mine told me a true story that I had never heard before. It seems that the Wilpons banned all Mets players and coaches from talking to or being interviewed by anyone that works for WFAN radio. This went into effect the day that the radio station informed Fred and Jeff that they were dumping the team and taking on broadcasting rights for the Yankees. This sounds so Wilpon. An old man who limits the promotion of his own players just because he was pissed off that a radio station with a limited signal would force him to begin anew with a radio station that had one of the best signals in radio. And you wonder why agents steer their clients away from these men.

     2.    Michael Baron - @michaelgbaron - Some positives during the #Mets 3-7 road trip…  Dominic Smith:  9 games, .310/.333/.586, 3 2B, 3B, HR… Amed Rosario: 9 games, .281/.281/.469, 3 2B, HR… Brandon Nimmo: 10 games, .318/.362/.636, 2 2B, 4 HR, 10 RBI… Michael Conforto: 10 games, .314/.444/.571, 3 wB, 2 HR, 7 RBI……………… Mack: These are the guys we want to see production out of. The oldest is 25.

     3.    Zack Wheeler after being told he threw a fastball 99.3 MPH the last tine out, the fastest he has ever thrown a pitch: “frankly, I didn’t think I had that in me any longer”.

     4.    In PED News, DSL ‘prospect’, RP Jaison Paniagua, was busted for 72 games for testing positive for Stanozolol. His current stat line for the DSL-2 team: 5-ap, 0-0, 9.64, 2.36. Yes, he took stanozolol to get a 9.64-ERA. Did you notice the last three letters in stanozolol?

    5.    Anthony DiComo - @AnthonyDiComo - Sandy Alderson says it's "possible" Yoenis Cespedes, who has missed more than a month due to a strained right hip flexor and has yet to begin running, will ramp up activity Monday or Tuesday. But no real timetable. "We've got to figure out a way to get Yoenis on the field." … Mack: see, in my world, I want this guy back only if he is 100%. This also would give the Mets the opportunity to showcase him, even though I don’t think there is anyone out there that would touch this contract. Still, a starting 2019 outfield of Cespedes, Conforto, and Nimmo is fine on my team.

    6.    One of our readers, ‘Robb’, suggested that we keep an eye on SS/3B Shervyen Newton. The 19-year old out of The Netherlands, who was paid a $50K signing bonus in 2015, went .311 last for the DSL-2 team and is so far hitting .526 for Kingsport. He’s a long way away, but, ya never know.

    7.    Three of my 2017 ‘Blue Chip’ DSL starters slipped across the waters without fanfare. Jurgen Jimenez (5-2. 2.40), Miguel Ramirez (6-2, 1.76), and Willy Tavares (8-3, 2.31) all impressed me last year and have quietly wound up on the GCL Mets squad. Ramirez so far have relieved for one game Jimenez has started one game in Florida (6.75), while Tavares has pitched four scoreless innings in his first start.

    8.    Jared Diamond - @jareddiamond - At this point the Mets should honestly just call up Tim Tebow. The team would still lose, but at least one of the players would do some good for the world.

Mack:  Ya know, I’m starting to feel the same about this. Tebow would give the crown something to cheer about though I still wish the fans would boycott this mess and start this team down the road to a sale.

    9.    Joe DeMayo – Mets only top 10 round draft pick unsigned is 3rd Rounder Carlos Cortes. Here are known signing bonuses:  #1 Kelenic $4.5M, #2 Woods $1.85M, #4 Hill $507,800, #5 Gilliam $550K, #6 Meyer $350K, #7 Smith $222,300, #8 Megill $50K, #9 Montes de Oca $152,200, #10 Rodriguez $10K

   10.  Harry - @koosman2pointOh –

I met a girl who sang the orange and blues

And I asked her for some happy Mets news

But she just smiled and turned away

And in the streets: the children screamed

Their parents told them about Mets wins of which they dreamed

But not a word was spoken;

The Pitchers all were broken

And the three men I admire most:

Seaver, Koosman, and Eddie Yost

They caught the last train for the coast

The day the Mets stopped winning.