COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

Below are different links to episodes I have done on BlogTalk Radio that focus on specific teams throughout Spring Training. I want to take the time to thank a number of guests who helped me pull of the Baseball Tour throughout Spring Training: John Pielli (Passed Ball Show), Nick Delahanty (Baseball Essential), Chris Hogan (27 Outs Baseball), Michael Saltzman (Baseball Essential), Paul Wezner (Scout.com), and Robert Villarreal (Baseball Essential). Without their help, the tour couldn't have been a success. Seattle Mariners 2015 Preview Show: CLICK HERE Chicago Cubs: Detroit Tigers Boston Red Sox Baltimore Orioles Preview Click Here Cincinnati Reds Preview Click Here   Washington Nationals Click Here San Francisco Giants New York Mets Click Here

My firm belief regarding any bullpen at any level of baseball is that it is the ultimate crapshoot. There is never a guarantee that what worked one year will work again the following year. Yet, the Mets carried a preconceived notion into 2015 that their bullpen was rock solid after some surprising performances by some of its younger relievers.  Yet as Spring Training has worn on, the Mets have learned the hard way. Vic Black is going to start the regular season on the disable list with a shoulder injury, and Josh Edgin is likely to go under the knife and have Tommy John Surgery for ligament damage in his elbow. Suddenly a perceived strength became a weakness.  Mets hope that Alex Torres can help their lefty-starved pen. Give Sandy Alderson credit. For a general manager who has been more unwilling than willing to make significant moves to help the major league club in the past, he made a couple of smart moves by acquiring two lefty relievers on Monday.  Firs...

As seen on Mets.scout.com Below is an article I wrote for Amazin Clubhouse , a new Mets website powered by Scout.com. When word came from  Terry Collins  and company that veteran  Bartolo Colon would be getting the ball for the Mets on Opening Day, a proverbial groan could be heard emanating from Mets’ fans everywhere clamoring for Collins and Sandy Alderson to instead go with ace  Matt Harvey , or any young pitcher the Mets have in their arsenal on baseball’s golden day.  Is it a big deal that Harvey, or even  Jacob deGrom , won’t start the season opener? From the standpoint of winning a baseball game, no it’s not. From the standpoint of setting the right standard out of the gate, absolutely.  The Mets spent a better part of the off-season touting that their young pitching would be the backbone of the franchise, even pumping up the triumphant return of Harvey to the hill as the main event that would get the ball rolling.  Instead the M...

It's only March. Football games will not be played for another five months, and we are six months away from the start of the 2015 regular season. It's a ways off. Yet, the New York Jets are making moves now that have taken them off the funny pages that they seemed chained to during the Rex Ryan era. This week the Jets completed a total facelift of one of the worst secondary's in the NFL by re-signing Darrelle Revis to a five year contract. Then on Thursday night, the Jets reunited Revis with Antonino Cromartie, and signed former Chargers safety Marcus Ghilchrist as well. Suddenly the Jets secondary doesn't look so bad. Cromartie signed a 4-year $32 million contract, after spending the past season with the Arizona Cardinals. The Jets under John Idzik let Cromartie walk last off-season, creating a gigantic hole in the secondary. With the Jets, Cromartie enjoyed some of his best seasons when he was teamed along with Revis. Now that they are together again the Jets wi...

Finally cooler heads have prevailed. Like the old saying goes: "three's a charm," because for the third straight off-season cornerback Darrelle Revis wanted a contract from the Jets, and finally this time, the Jets were willing to listen. The Jets agreed to a brand new five-year, $70 million contract with their returning Pro Bowl cornerback that will pay him $39 million guaranteed, and $48 million over the first three years of the deal. His money for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, which will be $16 million and $17 million respectively, will all be guaranteed. Revis now joins Patrick Peterson and Richard Sherman as one of the highest paid corners in the NFL. The Jets needed Revis back. They had a gapping hole in the secondary the past two years, capped off by last seasons poorly inexperienced group that was one of the worst in the National Football League. Revis gives the Jets that number one shut-down corner they so desperately needed to go along with that nasty front s...

Fred Wilpon spent 20 minutes with Terry Collins on Monday after the teams' 13-2 loss to the Miami Marlins in preseason action. The Mets are now 3-4 on the preseason, and already the owner of the Mets wants his manager to know that his presence will be felt, that expectations have changed. It has been reported that Wilpon plans to be around the team much more than he's been in year's past, with Collins reiterating that Wilpon, "expects (the Mets) to be a much better team. He told me two weeks ago, ' Look I'm going to be here a lot ... A LOT ,' where in the past, he'd come in and he'd be gone for a week to 10 days." This is not to say that Wilpon will echo his inner George Steinbrenner, but with ownership and fans putting extremely high expectations on a team that hasn't cracked .500 since 2008 -- pressuring the manger this early would be alarming. It has been widely speculated for years that Terry Collins is a fall guy for the next m...

The New York Jets pulled a trade for Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall in a move that has both a high risk and high reward potential considering both the talent and volatility of the player. The upside of the move is tantalizing. Marshall gives the Jets their best deep threat since Santonino Holmes in 2010, and maybe their tallest receiver since Keyshawn Johnson left town in 1999.  The potential is there for greatness -- Marshall has had seven 1,000 yard receiving years in his career, and is a terrific red zone threat. But there is one on-field issue: who will the Jets have throwing the football to him and Eric Decker? Does the new Jets regime want to throw its weight around Geno Smith for one more season? Do they want to take a major risk and draft the franchises third rookie quarterback in seven years with, presumably, Marcus Mariota in April's draft? If the answer to both questions is no. Then the Jets need to both find a way and hope that they can make somethin...

On Friday, March 6 I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Saltzman of Baseball Essentials, and host of the podcast From the Bleachers with Candlestick Will, about the 2015 San Francisco Giants. The Giants are coming off a World Series championship, and have plenty of questions as the franchise is once again challenged to defend their title. San Francisco Giants Preview Take a listen and Enjoy!

Less than a week before free agency begins, the Jets have decided to join the NFL trading block party by agreeing to terms on a trade with the Chicago Bears that will bring Brandon Marshall to the Big Apple. On the surface this trade sounds great. Marshall is a five-time pro bowl wide receiver, is a big target at 6'4", and has had seven 1,000 yard receiving seasons in his career. Pairing him with Eric Decker, on paper is very formidable, and if the Jets ever do get a quarterback they could have a dynamic passing attack. And all the Jets gave up for Marshall with a fifth round pick. That being said, Marshall does carry a lot of baggage. Last season the Bears rewarded him with a three-year $30 million extension and he decided to commit himself to part-time media career, serving as an analyst on Showtime's Inside the NFL , rather than being on the practice field. Add injuries to the list and Marshall had one of his worst seasons of his career with only 721 receiving yar...