COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

The Mets topped the Tigers 4-2 at First Data Field on Monday. I was there for the festivities. Here is the recap below! Port St. Lucie, FL – Matt Harvey was his typically sharp-self on Monday afternoon as he whirled three shutout innings against the Detroit Tigers in the Mets 4-2 victory from First Data Field. Harvey gave up only two hits and a walk on 42 pitches. He worked in and out of trouble all day, allowing his teammates to their jobs behind him. Call it a different approach for Harvey. When he was at the peak of his powers back in 2015, Harvey was blowing hitters away with 98 mph heat. Those days were long ago now, as Harvey is trying to bounce back from an injury riddled 2017. Now Harvey is trying to craft himself a little differently. He can still light up a radar gun when he needs to, but the veteran pitcher is just focused on getting outs. If that approach works for him moving forward, the Mets will have their Big Three (Syndergaard, deGrom and Harvey) if all ...

The vlog is up and ready of my first day down in Spring Training to catch up on the Mets as they prepare for the 2018 season. Recap: Port St. Lucie, FL -- The New York Mets dropped their fourth game in their last five in Spring Training with a 7-3 loss to the Washington Nationals at First Data Field in Port St. Lucie on Sunday. However the biggest story of the day had to be another tough day at the office for left-hander Steven Matz. Matz couldn’t get out of the first inning as he gave up five runs on five hits over two-thirds of an inning, with the biggest hit of the day against Matz coming on a two-run single by 24-year old catcher Pedro Severino. The biggest problem for Matz this spring has been control and consistency. He walked two batters on Sunday, and has walked four and struck out only one in 1-2/3 innings of work. Considering Matz is coming off an injury plagued season in 2017 that saw him pitch to a career high 6.08 ERA, some are going to point to these t...

Here is the latest podcast from the Open Mike program as I preview the 2018 season for the Boston Red Sox. I am joined by 27 Outs Baseball writer and editor Chris Hogan to go over the particulars on this year's BoSox.

The 2018 Spring Training Tour has begun, and I kick things off with John Pielli of the Passed Ball Show. We look back at the off-season that was and look ahead to some of the big headlines this spring.

METS 6 BRAVES 2 The Mets opened up the Mickey Callaway era in the win column by rallying late to beat back their NL East rival, the Atlanta Braves 6-2 at First Data Field in Port St. Lucie. While most of the Mets regulars were long gone by the late stages, the Mets were led by a 2-run double by Zach Borenstein that tied the game at two in the eighth inning, and a RBI single by David Thompson that bounced off the glove of left fielder Isreal Wilson that gave the Mets a 3-2 lead. New York would score three more runs in the frame on walks to Patrick Mazeika, Gavin Cecchini and Luis Gillorme. Cecchini and Wilmer Flores were the only major league talent to bat in the inning for the Mets. Early on all eyes were on pitcher Zach Wheeler who got the nod for the exhibition opener. Much had been made about the security of Wheeler's spot in the rotation in light of the recent signing of veteran Jason Vargas. While he only pitched one inning, Wheeler looked good. He surrendered a lead-of...

If reports are accurate the New York Jets are going to do everything in their power to get Kirk Cousins. According to Rich Cimini of ESPN , the Jets want Cousins so badly that they are willing to do, and pay whatever it takes to get him. There is also a report from Pro Football Talk t hat the Jets are considering breaking the bank for Cousins and giving him a fully-guaranteed contract. Again these are all rumors at this point, but when you consider the Jets plight at quarterback; General Manager Mike Maccagnan's inability to draft a good quarterback in the draft not just once, but twice, and the uncertainty of this year's quarterback draft class, the Jets have to get Kirk Cousins. That's right, I said it, they have to !  The Jets have over $70 million to spend in salary cap space, and some believe they will have more cap room after they release Muhammad Wilkerson next month. This is a franchise that has been in quarterback purgatory for far too long and adding Cou...

The Mets signing veteran lefty Jason Vargas to a two-year deal worth $16 million on Friday is going to have a major impact on their rotation this season.  While the name of Vargas doesn't jump off the page like free agents Lance Lynn or Alex Cobb, the Mets made the deal with Vargas as insurance to a starting rotation ravaged by injuries the past two seasons. Vargas has had a rather mediocre career. He's bounced around between five different teams over the past 12 seasons and never had an ERA lower than 3.78 for a full season.  However last season, he seemed to put it together at age 34 when he won 18 games and was an All Star for the Kansas City Royals. His pitching coach at the time? New Mets pitching coach Dave Eiland who had Vargas when they were together at the Royals. Obviously the familiarity between the two is a big reason why Vargas comes aboard. The injury history of the Mets rotation is the biggest reason. So consider the move a shot across the bow of Steven Matz...