New York Mets

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

When Billy Wagner returned from injury last season, I didn’t think the Mets were going to have much use for him. I was actually at Citi Field when he made his return, and the crowd was clearly excited to see him.

He returned with a vengeance, and he pitched so well that the Mets were able to trade him for two players to be named later.

Fox Sports is reporting that Angel Pagan is drawing interest from "several" teams. One of the reported teams is the Kansas City Royals, who would like to trade Jose Guillen.

Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi over at FoxSports.com are reporting that numerous teams have been discussing Angel Pagan to be their potential starting center fielder.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer , Brian Schneider has signed a two-year contract with the Phillies for $3 Million.

After injuries plagued Schneider for 2008 and 2009, the Mets did not stand in the way of him filing for Free Agency.

During the 2008 and 2009 seasons, Schneider had several back and leg injuries and only played in a total of 169 games, and hit .244 with 62 RBI for the two seasons.

Yesterday, Topps released its All-Star Rookie team for 2009 and while there were some justified selections and some questionable ones, the player that has the most intrigue for me is Mets C Omir Santos. He beat out phenom Matt Wieters, who most thought would be in contention to take home the Rookie of the Year award in the American League.

Did Santos’ season really justify the award? First, let’s take a look at his statistics:

The holiday season is among us, and the Major League Baseball 2010 free agent market is open for business. So it's time to do some shopping!

Today's list features the presents that Fred Wilpon, Omar Minaya, and the rest of the New York Mets front office should be trying to give to their fans to unwrap this coming season.

Elmer Dessens very quietly had a nice year for the Amazins in 2009. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Before they became a dysfunctional, injury-ridden 92-loss laughingstock, the New York Mets were actually not a bad team. Sure they had two consecutive meltdowns, one of colossal proportion, yet leaving room for hope until the bitter end, game No. 162.

It seems like ages ago, but the Mets were arguably the best team in baseball three short years ago, and fell a Carlos Beltran gapper short of a World Series berth. Also, remember that that team featured neither ace Johan Santana nor saves king Francisco Rodriguez.

According to FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi, the Mets are interested in bringing back reliever Elmer Dessens for the 2010 season.

In 2009, Dessens was quite the bargain for the Mets, as he had his best year in the big leagues since 2005, posting a 3.31 ERA in 32.2 innings.

His K:BB ratio wasn't the best (14:10), but he was still able to manage to get hitters out.

The 13-year veteran has compiled a lifetime record of 48-62 throughout his career and has an ERA of 4.53.