NEED MORE

BY MIKE RIFKIN

One of the things I thought the Mets needed at the trade deadline was another starting pitcher. There are a few reasons why they did need a starter, the biggest being the rotation as is has been ineffective. Outside of David Peterson no Met starter has gotten out of the sixth inning and they are taxing the bullpen. Right now the Mets are clinging to a half game lead over the Reds for the last wild card spot. 

One of the reasons Mets fans were excited entering the second half was they were getting both Sean Manea and Kodai Senga back from injury. But those results have been not been good, Manea has an ERA of 5.15 and Senga has an ERA of 6.00 over his last six starts. Senga’s first 14 starts he had an ERA of 1.39. The Mets staff in the first half was great with reclamation projects Griffin Canning and Clay Holmes. But Holmes is looks tired as he has a career high in innings and Canning tore his Achilles. Had David Stearns acquired a starter, they could move Holmes to the bullpen for the stretch run, instead he acquired a couple relievers to solidify the pen.The Mets have called up prospect Nolan McLean, who was great in his first start. Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong are in Triple A and probably close to a call up. But let’s look at the National League as a whole. In Philadelphia, the Phillies lost Zack Wheeler (who hopefully has a safe recovery), but they are able to withstand it because Christopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo have been fantastic. The Dodgers’ rotation has been able to withstand a ton of injuries as well. Both those teams have top of the rotation arms, the Mets have a need for an ace. So whether it’s a trade for Sandy Alcantara or signing a guy like Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen or Framber Valdez the Mets need a proven guy at the top of the rotation in 2026, especially if 2025 doesn’t pan out their way.

Keeping Up With the Jones

By Mike Rifkin

Earlier this summer I wrote an article based on Quarterbacks who are under pressure entering the season. (https://thesportsinsanitynetwork.com/2025/07/14/quarterbacks-under-pressure/) One of the QB’s on the list is Anthony Richardson of the Colts. During the draft process a lot of analysts talked about Richardson’s upside, but also noted that he had played 24 games at the college level, in comparison Bryce Young, the number one pick in that draft played in 36 games. Richardson the fourth overall pick in 2023 has played in 15 games through two seasons compiling a 50.6 completion percentage, 2,391 yards, 11 touchdown passes, 13 interceptions and a 67.8 Quarterback rating. Richardson also has 635 rushing yards along with 10 touchdowns, nine fumbles, losing two of them.The Colts signed Daniel Jones this offseason to compete with Richardson. Jones, a former first round pick himself with the Giants found himself released during the season after another tough season. In 70 games with the Giants Jones compiled a 64.1 completion percentage, 14,582 yards, 70 touchdown passes and 47 interceptions. Jones also ran for 2,179 yards on 399 carries with 15 touchdowns, but did fumble 15 times losing seven of them. 

Jones is still 28 years old, so if he can redeem himself in Indy he could put himself in a nice position after the season. The Colts have put themselves in a really tough spot, because unless there is an  injury to Jones, I’m not sure you can go back to Richardson. Daniel Jones was brought in to compete with Richardson, not take the job, Richardson losing this battle is bad for both he and the organization. If Jones struggles, the Colts will have to continue their search for a franchise QB, something they haven’t had since Andrew Luck.

THE TREND CONTINUES : PRESEASON INJURIES

BY MARK HALPERN

     We all know that injuries happen before the season starts (preseason) or obviously during it. The NFL season kicks off in just under a month and there has been more than a 200% increase of preseason injuries than last year. Is it because teams are pushing players too much, is it because most practices are held outdoors in scorching heat making players practice (with all that gear) or is it young guys trying to make an impression and trying to win a roster spot? It is a little of everything. Let’s take a look at the major blows to this season.

Los Angeles Chargers: Rashawn Slater tore his patella tendon during a practice where the field was over 100 degrees. He also got hurt after signing a massive extension.

Indianapolis Colts : Quarterback Anthony Richardson was leveled and was forced to leave the game against the Ravens.He did play this week.

Baltimore Ravens also suffered a huge loss in Bilhal Kone, a rookie cornerback. He tore his ACL and MCL in his left knee.

Arizona Cardinals: They’re waiting for the return of Edge rusher BJ Ojulari, who tore his ACL during training camp last season. 

Tennessee Titians Lost  Quarterback Will Levis and starting wide receiver Trelyon Burks

The Texans: Joe Mixon is yet to practice with an ankle injury. Rumors are out that he might miss the first two games of the season.
    There are a lot more injuries out there. But, with only ONE bye week for teams to attempt to recover from various injuries and the fact that today’s game is faster and players are bigger and stronger than before. Teams need to lobby for a second bye week. Especially with the league wanting to expand the season an extra week or two. One bye week is not going to cut it, so what should happen is the league gives two bye weeks and spreads them out, every team gets one bye week prior to week 10 and another one after week 10.

POLAR HISTORY

BY MIKE RIFKIN

Gary Cohen said it best on Tuesday night saying “The Polar Bear is on his own private iceberg.” when Pete Alonso homered in bottom of the third inning of the Mets 13-5 win over the division rival Atlanta Braves. Alonso homered twice in the game giving him 254 career home runs, passing Darryl Strawberry for the most in franchise history. There is also some irony in here, when Alonso hit his 53rd home run in 2019, the rookie record that also came at the expense of the Braves, and 200 homers later Alonso makes more history against the Braves.

This Winter Mets fans didn’t know if this moment would come. Alonso was a free agent, and remained on the market for a long time. The Mets and their slugger came to terms on a two year contract (one year plus an option). Since his arrival in 2019 Alonso has embraced the Mets fans and organization similar to another Mets legend, who spent their entire career with the team David Wright. During Wright’s tenure with the team the Mets made big splashes in signing guys like Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez, etc… During Alonso’s tenure the Mets have signed Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto. While signing free agents is great, there’s something special about the relationship between the fans and homegrown players. If Steve Cohen wants special nights like Tuesday night, he has to re-sign Alonso and make him a Met for life, and just like Wright before him Alonso’s number 20 will be retired.

OFF TO A VERY SLOW START BUT DON’T WORRY

BY MARK HALPERN

     Cedric Mullins has been a consistent player in the MLB for better than the last 7 years. He was a staple in Baltimore’s lineup from 2013-2025 (when he was traded to the Mets) and plays Center Field well. The one thing that has fallen off a little has been his bat but, that isn’t the reason David Stearns acquired him. 

     The Mets haven’t gotten consistent offense from the  Center Field position in a long time. With Jett Williams just waiting for his opportunity the Mets needed a Center Fielder that could produce some offense. With the Orioles having a down season and Mullins being an impending free agent, the Mets and Orioles were able to strike a deal.

  Mullins is 4-24 thus far as a Met and hit his first homer in Sunday’s loss to the Brewers. Mullins is adjusting to his first new team in a decade and is starting to come to life. With his experience and his capabilities of hitting better than 20 home runs in a season. Mullins also gives the Mets speed and another player who has the ability to steal bases. If Mullins’ offense comes around, the Mets will reap the benefits.

BOONE-HEAD MISTAKE

BY MIKE RIFKIN

The Yankees lost 5-3 on Friday night to the Houston Astros. This loss makes the Yankees 19-30 since June 13th, the worst record in the AL in that span. Going further the Yankees have 24 wins since June first, the same amount of wins as the White Sox. 

Once again in a big spot Aaron Boone went to Devin Williams and once again Devin Williams failed the Yankees. Williams gave up two earned runs (three overall) in the tenth inning Friday night, including a two run homer to Taylor Trammell, which was the difference in the game. On the season Williams has a 3-5 record, along with being 17-20 in save opportunities. Williams has a 5.73 ERA, he has allowed earned runs in five consecutive outings. Prior to this he had never gone three straight outings giving up runs. 

At the trade deadline the Yankees acquired David Bednar from the Pirates and Camilo Doval from the Giants, both of whom were closers in their prior spots, and have Luke Weaver, who closed big games for the Yankees last season. So the question is why does Aaron Boone continually go to Williams in big spots? The answer is simple, the Yankees think they know more than everyone else. Williams shouldn’t be the closer nor should he be put in big spots right now. Bednar went 1.2 innings in a huge win on Wednesday, and tonight (after a day off) Bednar wasn’t used. 

Entering Saturday the Yankees are hanging by a thread to a playoff spot, a half game up on the Guardians and 1.5 games up on the Rangers, and trailing the Mariners by 2.5 games. But right now the Yankees cannot afford for Devin Williams to cost them more games. It is imperative for Boone to find a way for Williams to regain his confidence, but if I’m a Yankee fan I trust Boone about as much as I trust Williams. And if Williams is the reason the Yankees miss the playoffs, Aaron Boone’s loyalty to him should also land him a pink slip.

POST RAW AFTER SUMMERSLAM TAKES

BY MIKE RIFKIN

I was in attendance for Raw Monday night, after SummerSlam. Here are some hot takes for both shows. 

  • Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns MUST wait until WrestleMania : Roman Reigns attempted to get his hands on his former Shield brother on Monday night, only to get caught stomped, and Tsunamied by Bronson Reed. According to sources Reigns is scheduled to film a movie, but when he returns (hopefully for wargames) he must face Reed and Bron Breakker, before eventually getting Rollins in a singles match. It doesn’t need a title, that match alone should headline one of the two nights of Mania. 
  • CM PUNK HAS TO PUT LA KNIGHT OVER : Punk, obviously pissed off that his bitter rival Rollins cashed in his Money In The Bank contract on him Saturday night interfered in Rollins’ match against Knight for the belt Monday. Knight and Punk were arguing all the way to the back, if this is the next program for both Knight needs to go over. Knight, who is one of the more popular acts in the company has kinda floundered since losing the United States title at Wrestlemania. Punk, on the other hand can afford to lose, his name recognition along with his history with Rollins will keep him in the title picture. 
  • Put Up Or Shut Up With Zayn : Every week Sami Zayn cuts the same promo about wanting to be the World Champion. Should Zayn be a World Champ sure, will he be? I don’t know. But at some point they need to decide if they’ll pull the trigger. I also think the WWE Universe is sick of the same promos, as well as fans were cheering Karrion Kross at SummerSlam against Zayn. Fans were all for Zayn when he beat Gunther at Mania 40, but the underdog can only get so far. Imagine the sympathy Zayn would’ve gotten if Rollins cashed in on him instead of Punk. Or if they gave Zayn the King Of The Ring instead of Cody Rhodes. 
  • Tag Division Needs A Makeover : JD McDonagh and Finn Balor cut a promo going over all the teams they’ve beaten. There is one team they haven’t fought yet and that would be the team of Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. If the plan is for Rollins’ vision to hold the gold and have the power, they’ll need the tag titles. If it’s not Breakker and Reed, I’m not sure who is next in line for a title shot.

Does MLB Need a Salary Cap?

By : Mike Rifkin

It’s been reported that over the weekend that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred met with the Philadelphia Phillies in New York to discuss multiple things including a salary cap in the next CBA. The current CBA (collective bargaining agreement) will expire December 1st 2026. According to the reports Phillies superstar Bryce Harper got in Manfred’s face and had a heated discussion after the commissioner suggested a salary cap. But does baseball need a salary cap?

Now, I will be the first one to say that some of these massive contracts handed out in Baseball are ridiculous. I think it’s insane that Shohei Ohtani (who got a 700 million dollar contract) technically makes two million because of deferred money. Quite a few teams did lose money when Diamond Sports Group, which owned Bally Sports went bankrupt, and MLB had to step in and have some local games produced and distributed by them. 

Now, while I think some of the contracts are ridiculous, I also despise owners who refuse to spend money. There’s no reason to punish teams like the Dodgers, Mets and others who will spend money, while teams like the Pirates, White Sox, etc… don’t spend a dime to improve their teams. There’s no reason for people to talk about the Pirates trading ace Paul Skenes, who is in just his second season, but because people in the game know the Pirates will not pay him, we’re already hearing those rumblings. There are times when these small market teams will make a splash and it doesn’t work, just look at the Rockies when they signed Kris Bryant to a seven year 182 million dollar contract. Since signing with the Rockies Bryant has played in 170 games and has 17 homers and 61 RBI’S along with a slash line of .244/.324/.370 along with a .695 OPS and has a WAR of -1.6. Injuries have been the big reason for Bryant’s struggles with the Rockies and you could sympathize with that. When the Rockies traded star third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals, one they didn’t get a ton back for one of the best players in the game, but they also paid the Cardinals 50 million dollars to take the contract. 

Let’s be honest here even if Baseball were to institute a salary cap, I’m not sure that changes things. For me the thing that changes everything are the owners. Do owners want to win or do they want to just profit, if the answer is profit, then they should sell their franchise and allow their fans to get some hope. Despite being in bigger markets, the Mets and Dodgers, who did spend money prior to being sold, they were a little more cautious, but once they were sold they’ve spent money and it has reignited the passion in the fanbases. So, baseball shouldn’t institute a cap, just get owners who are willing to give a damn.

IS THE POLAR BEAR GONNA STAY?

BY MARK HALPERN

The New York Mets lineup is one of the deadliest lineups in all of baseball. When the Mets signed Juan Soto, there were a few purposes. One Soto is an elite talent and two if the Mets were to be able to re-sign Pete Alonso, he’d have protection in the lineup for the first time. The Mets were able to re-sign Alonso to a two year contract. And to this point Pete’s having a fantastic season with 22 homers and 81 RBI’S along with a slash line of .263/.354/.499 with a .853 OPS. The slash line is way better than it was a year ago, probably when his contract was weighing on him. Alonso’s slash last season was .240/.329/.459 with an .788 OPS. 

          The one constant in the Mets lineup this season has been Alonso hitting behind Soto, where that’s in the two or three spot in the order. But now the emergence of Jeff McNeil along with Baty, Vientos, Mauricio and Alvarez are all looking like they’ve found their groove.          Alonso will turn 31 in December, and we are pretty sure he’ll opt out of his deal after the season. Most people believe Pete didn’t want to leave in free agency last winter, so what would change now? Well for one Pete’s having a better season than he did a year ago, but how many teams are going to be willing to pay a 31 year old big money on a long term deal? With the trade deadline approaching, and the Mets having needs in both the bullpen and rotation, is it possible that the Mets deal Mark Vientos, and what would that tell, that the Mets either believe prospect Ryan Clifford is close, or they’re willing to give Pete what he deserves. Now, as Met fans we got to witness something last week and that was the jersey retirement of David Wright, who is the greatest player to play his whole career for the Mets. Alonso, has a chance to surpass that if he were to play his whole career in Queens. So how do David Stearns and Steve Cohen make this happen? For Alonso to stay Mike Rifkin and I are pretty close on a deal : Mike at 6/180 and I’m at 5/200 w/player option. That would put Pete at about $40 per year and I think after this season and what could be the start to a Mets dynasty, I believe it is in the Mets best option to get this done sooner than later however, Alonso might want to wait until the season is over to keep distractions at a minimum.

PLEASE SHUT UP

BY MIKE RIFKIN

We aren’t even a week into training camp and already both Jerry and Stephen Jones are putting their foot in their mouths on the same subject paying Micah Parsons. On Saturday in Oxnard, California fans were chanting for the Cowboys to pay Parsons. Stephen Jones was asked about this on Sunday and said “ We want to pay Micah too. He’s got to want to be paid.” I don’t consider myself a genius, but something tells me Parsons wants to get paid. Jerry Jones said to open camp even if they paid Parsons, it doesn’t mean they’ll have him because he missed four games last season. Jerry went on to say “ He made Dak Prescott the richest player in football and he missed two-thirds of the year.” Yes, Jerry injuries happen all the time and that is part of the risk when you sign guys to long term contracts.

I don’t understand what the Joneses are thinking here, there’s no reason to poke Parsons. Parsons is not holding out unlike receiver CeeDee Lamb last season. Speaking of Lamb, Jerry said on Sunday regarding the fans chanting for him to pay Parsons, “That was a feint little sound compared to the way they were hollering last year, Pay Lamb. But it was a big loud chant last year on Lamb.” 

Unlike Lamb, who held out last year before getting his contract, Parsons is at training camp this season. Now, where Jerry is right is the fact that Parsons did miss four games last season. Despite missing the four games Parsons was still tied for fifth in the league with 12 sacks. Also the 12 sacks were a career low for Parsons, who has 52.5 since being drafted 12th overall in 2021 by the Cowboys. The 52.5 sacks are fifth in the NFL only trailing Myles Garrett, TJ Watt, Trey Hendrickson, and Nick Bosa. Parsons has seen both Garrett and Watt get new deals this offseason, while Hendrickson sits at home and is waiting for the Bengals to pay him as well. 

If I was in the Parsons’ camp, I’m not sure I’m happy with how the Cowboys are handling this. Jerry mentioned during the season that he doesn’ t know Parsons’ agent. Now they’re talking openly about the contract and some other stuff. If I was Parsons I might just test the market, unless the Cowboys show him his true worth. Now, remember last season, the morning of week one the Cowboys made Dak the richest player in Football. Either way, if I’m a Cowboy fan I want my owner to shut up and pay the man.