Kuzul

David Wright sounded optimistic after his first spring training game on Monday.“I feel good,” he told reporters after his four innings of play. “I feel healthy. I got a chance to dive around a little bit, run the bases a little bit, see some pitches, get some at-bats. Now it’s just a matter of getting reps.”That isn't a small matter.The Mets third baseman sat out most of the spring recovering from a torn abdominal muscle. Now he's got just two weeks to get ready for Opening Day.For a player of Wright's caliber, that's not too much to expect. But there are other factors that are likely to slow Wright's progress.Here are five reasons why Wright may not have the right stuff in April.Begin Slideshow

Ash sucks.  Bleacher Report.  Please delete this article.  And the Mets. Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

For as long as most of us can remember, the Dallas Cowboys have been America's Team.  A lot of that has to do with the teams locale, the dearth of professional teams that existed in America's heartland when the 'Boys broke onto the expansion scene in 1960. Mostly though you'd have to say it's been their great on field success—almost from the word go as they quickly came to challenge Vince Lombardi's Packers for NFL preeminence in the reasonably early '60's—that has dictated to their becoming not only a storied franchise, but one of the two or three most highly valued in all of sports. There are challengers to the throne no doubt. Incrementally teams will rise up each year and capture the fancy of the rooting public, the New Orleans Saints of 2009/2010 for example, and in a bigger picture, love/hate/you just can't take your eyes off them sense, the Pittsburgh Steelers, ...

The Wilpons may be forced to sell the Mets as early as this season. The New York Times reported yesterday that Major League Baseball will not loan any more money to the New York Mets. This comes after the league loaned $25 million to the team last November to help the club "meet operating costs."  For the Wilpons, their ownership of the Mets appears truly endangered. The article goes on to state that should the Wilpons, who are currently facing a $1 billion lawsuit by victims of the Bernie Madoff fraud, be unable to financially continue to operate the franchise, the league may change their position on loaning money to the Mets to "avoid a fire sale of one of its elite clubs" or "help the Mets avoid defaulting on certain payments, like player salaries." However, the article states the league would not offer enough money to protect the Wilpons' ownership of the team. ...

Several reports have surfaced that the Wilpon's have reached out to Donald Trump in regards to purchasing a minority share of the New York Mets.Earlier this year, Fred Wilpon was encountered with a lawsuit seeking up to $1 billion to repay victims of the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme.As a result, the Wilpon's have explored selling up to 25 percent of the club to offset a potentially staggering settlement. The Wilpons certainly have suitors for the Mets, but like Trump, current buyers are only interested in a majority share, something Fred Wilpon has been uninterested in sacrificing.When asked about his interest in a minority stake of the Mets, Trump responded in third person, "If you look at Trump's record, he is only interested in things he can control."Trump added, "The Wilpons are friends of mine, and I really hope it works out great for them. But if anything doesn't work out for them, I'd be interested ...

  Mets owner Fred Wilpon owes lots of people lots of money. According to published reports, his total sports-related investment debt exceeds $1.5 billion dollars. Add to that a $300 million-$1 billion exposure in lawsuits filed against him by the victims of Bernie Madoff, and he finds himself in a significant hole.   It suddenly dawns on you why the Mets can’t afford to play in the free-agent market anymore. They’re lucky if they can afford the subway fare to Citi Field.   Meanwhile, attendance is sinking, the fan base is deteriorating and the Mets have gone from being championship contenders to the laughing stock of the Major League Baseball.   Mets fans—what’s left of them—deserve better. And Wilpon, despite his financial and legal woes, has a great chance to give it to them.    Right here—right now.   Fred can get out from under his sports-enterprise debt, redeem his reputation as a sportsman and rescue the Mets—simply by selling the ...

As news continues to come out about the Wilpons’ connection to Bernie Madoff, it only seems to get worse. In an outstanding piece written for the New York Times by Serge F. Kovaleski and David Waldstein, the Wilpons’ link to Madoff is examined. A former Mets employee was quoted saying, “Bernie was part of the business plan for the team.” It turns out that Madoff was a huge part of the Mets business plan. The Mets would place any deferred money that they owed to players in Mr. Madoff’s investment firm (yes, that means that the team will need to find another way to fund paying off Bobby Bonilla’s seemingly endless deferred payments). Regarding Bonilla, it has been reported that his money was in an account. It is now obvious why ownership was so willing to except the Bonilla buyout. They expected to earn 18 percent on the money they invested with ...

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Mets, Fred Wilpon, and Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Wilpon, issued the following statement today: "As Sterling Equities announced in December, we are engaged in discussions to settle a lawsuit brought against us and other Sterling partners and members of our families by the Trustee in the Madoff bankruptcy. We are not permitted to comment on these confidential negotiations while they are ongoing. However, to address the air of uncertainty created by this lawsuit, and to provide additional assurance that the New York Mets will continue to have the necessary resources to fully compete and win, we are looking at a number of potential options including the addition of one or more strategic partners. To explore this, we have retained Steve Greenberg, a Managing Director at Allen & Company, as our advisor. Regardless of the outcome of this exploration, Sterling will remain the principal ownership ...

Free agent pitcher Cliff Lee agreed to a five-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies Monday night, just the most recent example of Major League Baseball being incredibly cruel to New York Mets fans in recent years. Carlos Beltran was caught looking at strike three in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS with the bases loaded. Then the Mets had back-to-back September collapses. The Phillies went on to win the World Series and faced the Yankees in the World Series the following season.  Mets fans have spent a lot of time hating the Phillies over the last few seasons, and with good reason. A long dynasty was supposed to start for the Mets in 2006. That dynasty crashed before it even got off the ground.  Instead the Phillies have won the division ever since, they've won a World Series and returned to the World Series the following season. They have been ...

Like The Who said, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” Technically, your New York Mets have yet to officially name Sandy Alderson as the new General Manager, but that’s mostly out of respect for the World Series than anything else. Mets fans everywhere can rejoice as the hiring of Alderson is set to start a whole new era of Metropolitan baseball. Or is it? The “Sandy Plan” was the topic of an article in this mornings NY Post by Dan Martin. It’s a good read for any Mets fan who wants to know more about the new guy in charge and who had little interest in watching the Knicks open the season in Toronto. Even as a Yankees supporter, I recommend checking out the article. That being said, the following quote from a former Alderson co-worker should come with a few red-flags:“It’s a totally different job when you have the revenue ...