COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

A big day offensively for veterans Asdrubal Cabrera, Todd Fraizer and Yoenis Cespedes propelled New York to a 6-2 victory over the Cardinals, and the club’s first 2-0 start in more than five seasons. On a day where plenty of focus was on Jacob deGrom’s first start of the season, the Mets gave their star pitcher more than enough run support with a barrage of power and clutch hitting against Cardinals righty Michael Wacha. It didn’t take the Mets long to set the tone for the day. In the lead-off spot for the first time this year, Cabrera wacked a Wacha fastball to right on a 3-2 count to open the bottom half of the first. After Cespedes walked and Jay Bruce grounded into a Fielder’s Choice. With Bruce and Cespedes aboard, Todd Fraizer took the first pitch he saw from Wacha and lined it down the right field line for a two-run double. Even when the Cardinals scratched out a run on a Jose Martinez RBI single in the top half of the fourth inning, New York quickly responded...

YANKEES 6 - BLUE JAYS 1 It didn't take long for Giancarlo Stanton to adjust to the American League East. The former NL MVP blasted two home runs in his first regular season game as a Yankee -- staking himself to a very, very early claim to what could be a big year for the Bronx Bombers. Stanton was 3-for-5 in his debut with four RBI; his first hit was a home run to right that gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Then in the top of the fifth, with his fellow Bash Brother Aaron Judge off of first base after a walk, Stanton crushed a two-out double to center, scoring Judge to give the Bombers a 3-0 lead. The big guy wasn't done. He had one more statement in his first game as a Yankee and what a statement it was, a towering solo-homer to right-center to push the Yankee lead 6-1 in the top of the ninth inning. What a day; what a premier. Teams in the American League were on notice before the season started, now they are really on notice. Giancarlo Stan...

METS 9 - CARDINALS 4 It may have been overcast with a slight chance of showers, but it didn't dampen what was a great day for the Mets in the opener of the 2018 season. The Mets road a 10-strikeout performance by Noah Syndergaard, and a huge day at the plate for Yoenis Cespedes to a 9-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field. The Mets (1-0) are now 37-20 all time on Opening Day. While Syndergaard gave up four runs, including home runs to Yadier Molina and Jose Martinez, he was still his awesome self. His fastball topped over 100, his off-speed pitches were in the mid-to-upper 90s. He was solid when he needed to be. The 10 strikeouts Syndergaard recorded made him the first Met since Pedro Martinez to strikeout 10 or more hitters in an Opening Day game. After a tremendous spring training, the outing was a positive first step for a guy making his first regular season start since coming back from a lat injury last September. Offensively, the Mets took advantage of a wild ...

The New York Mets open the season Thursday afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals. Before the season begins let's see what is in store for the Mets and whether they can get back to the postseason. I talk everything Mets with John Pielli of the Passed Ball Show.

It doesn't take much to stoke a fire in New York. When Jets coach Todd Bowles gave some praise to Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield on Tuesday, of course the media ran with it making it out that the Jets are definitely going to draft the controversial quarterback with the third overall pick in next months draft. However, if you read through the tea leaves that is the NFL rumor mill, the Jets are heads over heals for Mayfield as Brian Costello of the New York Post points out. "There has been heavy buzz at the NFL League meetings that the Jets love Baker Mayfield, and he is the one they want to pick in next month's draft." When Bowles was asked about Mayfield, he gave a lot of generalities and some praise, including that Mayfield's size isn't an issue as long as he finds a way to win ballgames. The praise might be deserved. Mayfield is a Heisman trophy winner after all, and he did complete about 70 percent of his passes while in college. Yet there are a ...

The 2018 Yankees were supposed to be an unbreakable team, a locomotive with its sights set squarely on hoisting up the World Series trophy at the end of October. That might still happen -- the regular season begins Thursday, but it will begin with a dark cloud hanging over the team. First baseman Greg Bird will miss 6-8 weeks after he undergoes ankle surgery to remove a bone spur.  The Yankees might be forced to use a platoon of Neil Waker and Tyler Austin at first base. Keep in mind the team doesn't have Todd Fraizer anymore, who signed with the Mets -- otherwise he would have been an ideal replacement. This is hard news for the Yankees who had visions of a lineup that featured Bird in the middle of a 21st Century version of Murderers Row alongside Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregarious. Instead Bird is out for two months -- which at this point means the Yankees may night see him until June at the latest; late may at the earliest. The injury has to ...

Troubled Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. might be on his way out of town ... eventually. A day after a story broke in the New York Post that Giants owner John Mara has grown "tired" of having to answer questions about Beckham's antics, and was mum on the idea of committing to Beckham longterm, a potential war between the Giants and the wide receiver is brewing in the background. Ian Rapoport reported Monday that Beckham will hold out if he does not receive a contract extension  from the "Giants or any team." When asked about the report, the Daily News said Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch would not answer any questions regarding a potential hold out or contract negotiations , obviously nobody wants to do these things through the media. However, Giants Wire reports that Tisch told reporters that any speculation on Beckham's future is just that ... speculation. Adding that the Giants and Beckham are opening up talks on a long term contract. Dependin...

As expected the Mets have optioned right-handed starter Zack Wheeler to Triple-A Las Vegas for the start of the 2018 season.  Wheeler got shelled in his last outing of the spring, giving up five runs on seven hits over two innings of work against the Washington Nationals. Outside of a solid outing against the Yankees in the middle of Spring Training, Wheeler really struggled, posting an ERA of 8.10 in 10 innings of work.  The Mets will insert Seth Lugo into the fifth starter's spot of the rotation, taking Wheeler's place.  Lugo pitched four shutout innings in relief of Wheeler on Thursday night against the Nationals. This spring, Lugo has been marvelous, pitching to a 2.84 ERA in 15.2 innings of work as both a receiver and starter. His versatility will be of importance to Mickey Callaway this season.  Jason Vargas, whom the Mets signed before camp opened to a two-year $16 million deal will likely open the season on the disabled list as he recovers from...

On this episode of the Open Mike Program, myself and Karen Vankat preview the 2018 Yankees. We look at the strengths and weaknesses of this year's squad and whether they can get all the way to the World Series. Enjoy!

On March 19, the New York Post published an article about how the New York Mets would finally trout out their “Fab Five” rotation of Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, and Zack Wheeler when the season opens next week at Citi Field. It appears, however that those best laid plans are on hold now after Wheeler failed in his latest opportunity to nail down the fifth starter spot on Thursday night against Washington.   Wheeler lasted only two innings, allowing five runs, three earned on seven hits. While he didn’t walk a batter, the fact is Wheeler was hit hard early and often as the Nationals scratched out a 5-0 lead on the Mets. After 58 pitches, Mickey Callaway saw enough and pulled the plug on Wheeler, giving the ball instead to Seth Lugo to quiet the storm. Lugo answered the call. He shut down the Nationals over the next four innings, allowing only two hits, while striking out five. With Jason Vargas still sidelined by hand surgery to re...

The New York Jets are in desperate need for a quarterback. Even with General Manager Mike Maccagnan spending $25 million combined on Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater, the need for a franchise quarterback is painfully obvious for Gang Green, and the Jets quickly moved to mortgage draft picks to make it happen. The Jets agreed to send the sixth overall pick and the 37th and 49th overall picks in the second round, and next year's second round pick to the Indianapolis Colts for the third overall pick in the this year's draft. In short the Jets gave up three second round picks to move up three spots in the first round. It is a huge gamble, and it must pay off for the Jets. There are plenty of signal callers to choose from, from Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and Baker Mayfield. All are considered top prospects, and all have plenty of red flags as well. The question now is who will drop to the Jets? And, will that player fit what the Jets want? Keep in mind these ar...

The Giants added some much needed beef to their offensive line at the opening of free agency this week. When he took the job as general manager, David Gettleman he said that he wanted to bring in some "hog mollies" to fortify Big Blue's offensive line and he did just that. The Giants signed former New England Patriots left tackle Nate Solder to a four-year $62 million contract. Solder is considered one of the best tackles in the NFL, having played in 98 games and all 16 games last season. For a team that had one of the worst offensive lines in the league last season, adding Solder vastly improves the group. The Solder addition also means that the Giants could move Erik Flowers over to the right side of the offensive line - and relieve him of the pressure of protecting Eli Manning's blindside. In addition, the Giants signed free agent guard Patrick Omameh to file a void at the guard position. While Omameh had a mixed bag at Jacksonville, he has upside and could b...

Here is one that is going to leave heads spinning. The Jets have agreed to one-year contracts with both quarterbacks Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater. What a mess! The team that couldn't shoot straight, and lost out on Kirk Cousins has rolled the dice on a 39-year journeyman quarterback in McCown, and a once promising quarterback who's career came to a halt two years ago when he suffered a devastating knee injury. Most of the time, signing two starting quarterbacks means that a team has really no clear direction at the quarterback position; and that is exactly where they Jets are. They are twisting in the wind wondering where the wind is going to blow. The Jets will likely draft a quarterback in next month's draft -- perhaps in the first round, but with both McCown and Bridgewater on the roster it is hard to imagine a scenario where that young player gets any playing time. And if we know anything about Todd Bowles, he doesn't like playing young quarterbacks, i.e....

For months the Jets touted their $90 million in payroll flexibility, and promised to be aggressive once free agency began. While the official start of free agent signings does not begin until 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, the Jets have watched just about everyone else make swift moves to sign players, trade players and move picks in the days leading up to the opening of free agency. And thus far the Jets look like a team left with nothing, because, simply they have done nothing. Yes, the Jets wanted Kirk Cousins, and were willing to pay, but Cousins wanted to be a Viking. The Vikings offer him a better chance to win than the Jets do, and even guaranteed all three years of his contract. That is $84 million in guaranteed money. In today's NFL where careers are short and an injury can wreck a career at any moment, his contract could set a precedent for players to follow who are willing to bet on themselves and have collateral doing it. Once the Vikings entered the Cousins sweepstakes, i...

In a rather surprising move the Yankees singed for Mets and Brewers second baseman Neil Walker to a one-year, $5 million deal. The move is surprising because a lot of the Yankees young prospects have been hitting the ball extremely well this Spring. Ronald Torreyes is hitting .316 with three RBI. Brandon Drury, whom the Yankees acquired from Arizona before camp started is hitting .304 with a homer and 4 RBI. Miguel Andujar, who is expected to start at third base is killing the baseball, hitting .281 with four homers and nine RBI. Tyler Wade is hitting .292 with a couple of RBI. The only weak link in the chain comes in the form of Gleyber Torres who is 3-for-23 this spring. Event with Torres' struggles, it makes little sense for the Yankees to sign the aging Walker who's time with the Mets was blistered with injuries and inconsistent play. After playing in 111 games for the Mets in 2016, Walker played in only 73 games, hit .264 with 10 home runs and 36 RBI before he was du...

It was a big day in Port St. Lucie as the Mets couldn't hold a 4-1 lead late against the Yankees. Billy McKinney proved to be the hero as he launched a grand slam home run in the seventh inning to give the Yankees a 7-4 lead. New York would not look back, beating the Boys from Flushing 11-4. Here is our video recap!

The Mets gave their fans a hint at their opening day lineup, while youngsters Phillip Evans, Tomas Nido and Luis Guillorme starred in a 9-5 win. Mets manager Mickey Callaway gave fans a preview of what New York’s opening day lineup may look like in 23 days when the Mets open the season at Citi Field against the St. Louis Cardinals. On a hot-hazy day under the sun in Port St. Lucie, Callaway featured the following order: Brandon Nimmo CF Yoenis Cespedes LF Adrian Gonzalez 1B Jay Bruce RF Todd Fraizer 3B Asdrubal Cabrera 2B Travis d’Arnaud C Aside from shortstop Ahmed Rosario, who did not play Tuesday afternoon in the Mets 9-5 win over the Houston Astros, that order is pretty much what fans will become accustomed to in the near future. It wasn’t a bad game for the Mets starting lineup, they produced three runs on Astros starter Collin McHugh, and displayed the kind of power that can come from the top half of the order. In the bottom of the first inni...