David Lennon columns

Nobody's played under this level of the pressure, shouldering a record contract, in New York, sandwiched between two warring fan bases.

Hearing Soto bemoan the fact he no longer has Aaron Judge to protect him has to be doubly satisfying for the Yankees.

By almost every measure, the WBC has become a runaway hit, but the one caveat: the specter of injury.

With the exception of Max Fried, all manager Aaron Boone can do lately is hand over the ball and pray.

Kyle Tucker should be headed north of $400 million if he stays on his current trajectory, and some have projected more than $500 million.

Ben Rice's underlying numbers show just how hard and consistently he's hitting the ball. 

When opponents pitch around Soto, Polar Bear is picking up the tab with 15 RBIs

The chances of Pete Alonso staying long-term in Flushing improved dramatically the moment Vladimir Guerrero Jr. agreed on his new $500 million contract.

Opening weekend sweep shows Mets have retained winning knack from last season.

If Vladimir Guerrero Jr. already is rejecting $500 million offers before reaching free agency, he's going to require another serious outlay of cash.

And to think how close all of this came to never happening.

Manager Aaron Boone & Co. are faced with the unenviable task of duplicating the near-miracle they pulled off during the first half a year ago.

In the fourth inning Tuesday night, the torpedo-toting Anthony Volpe was Exhibit A for the new tech, blasting a 94-mph cutter on the lower-inside half of the plate for his third home run.

The Mets didn't anticipate being stretched quite so thin so early in the season due to injuries to pitching staff.

The Mets' closer threw 15 pitches, 12 for strikes, in a 1-2-3 ninth inning

He and Acuna are platooning at the position until Jeff McNeil returns; Baty, coming off a big exhibition season, was in the lineup Friday night.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza's pregame reminder that his new slugger is human proved prescient as he waved at strike three to end Thursday's loss.

It was a long, expensive winter in Flushing. Now, it's time to see if David Stearns & Co. built a real contender. 

In this data-driven era, with AI ripping the steering wheel out of our hands, who knows with any degree of certainty where baseball will be a decade from now.

Darryl Strawberry got to see firsthand how adding Juan Soto can propel these Mets. 

After losing reigning Rookie of the Year Luis Gil and with Giancarlo Stanton's status uncertain, the loss of their ace may have doomed the Yankees' 2025 campaign.

The season opens in about 2 1/2 weeks and there are training camp injuries to the Mets' Francisco Alvarez and the Yankees' Gerrit Cole and Giancarlo Stanton, among others.

It's almost insurmountable to expect to lose the ace of the staff, especially after losing Luis Gil a few days ago.

The Stanton/LeMaheiu dynamic, however, is considerably more troubling because of the thinning options behind them.

Lombard, a 19-year-old shortstop prodigy, certainly looks like A-Rod 2.0. He's tall (6-2), hails from Miami and carries himself with the cool confidence, both on the field and in the clubhouse.

Remember last year, when Gerrit Cole was hurt to start the season? They found a way.

The objective, according to Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez, is to prevent Francisco Alvarez's hips from flying open too soon, a glitch that made him more vulnerable to off-speed pitches in the past.

Blade Tidwell tossed an immaculate inning on Saturday against many of the Rays' everyday players.

The former Mets first baseman is working in the outfield and wearing Juan Soto's old No. 22.

The Yankees immediately had their Soto pivot ready, but outside of L.A., throwing more cash at a pricey rotation was an unusual strategy these days.

Sean Manaea joins Frankie Montas as sidelined starters, so let's see what Mets' boss has planned this year. 

The second baseman and shortstop are spending as much time together as possible.

For the Yankees, what's the point of so-called tradition if it was going to make a valued employee unhappy coming to work?

The Yankees no longer have the luxury of beard bans. Not when they haven't won a World Series since 2009.

As successful as Aaron Boone has been, his personal championship drought is becoming a King Kong-sized monkey on his back.

"I feel pretty good about it," Dominguez said. "If that's where my team needs me, I'll do that."

The Mets are what he does for fun, and being the richest man in baseball definitely helps in the pursuit of that happiness.

After an uncomfortable negotiation, the Polar Bear is back in orange and blue  but will play a second consecutive season with a big payday on the line.

Superstar slugger can say he will approach this season like every other one, but we certainly won't. 

He's checked all the boxes, even without officially wearing the C on his jersey.

Brandon Nimmo still is rehabbing the plantar fasciitis condition he suffered last October. "I'm at like 91% now," the outfielder said. 

Mark Vientos has shown that he not only swings a potent bat but that he can handle adversity.

Cohen was driving the bus in the Pete Alonso talks, but the contract had Stearns' fingerprints all over it.

They don't have the luxury of underperforming at start this time around, especially after owner Steve Cohen just spent $765 million on Juan Soto this winter.

Right now on paper, it certainly doesn't sound like a World Series rotation. But in mid-February, it doesn't have to be just yet.

And for Mets fans, things could not have worked out any better.

On Saturday, Steve Cohen and David Stearns were not shy about going on the record about the popular Met.

Ichiro wasn't unanimous and Billy Wagner probably got in later than he should have, but all three are deserving of their place in Cooperstown. 

And the way things are looking in Queens, this could just be the start as baseball's richest owner and a smart front office keep building the team.

The Yankees may not score as many runs, but they've taken great strides to avoid allowing them.