New York Mets

It’s open season on Mets starter Oliver Perez.

Billy Wagner ripped him for failing to compete, after Perez gave up five walks and seven runs in 1 2/3 innings on April 30. Earlier, Willie Randolph had criticized Perez for failing to go deep into games, even though Randolph twice removed Perez in the sixth inning when Perez had yet to allow a run. After his recent poor outing, the New York Post led with, “The Mets are running out of patience with the maddeningly consistent Oliver Perez.”

OK, so now what?  read more »

Heading into the 2008 season, the Atlanta Braves were the fashionable pick to win the National League East. Seven different ESPN writers had Atlanta on top, with one picking them to win the World Series.

That’s nothing new, particularly. Atlanta is expected to be successful, having won 14 consecutive division titles from 1991-2005, a feat that hasn’t even been approached in baseball history.

But unlike those championship teams, this iteration of the Braves suffers from a lack of overall talent and health, particularly on the pitching staff. Those limitations were on display during this weekend’s series with the Mets, as New York won two of three games.  read more »

With Pedro Martinez eyeing a late-April return, the Mets would appear set to move forward with their planned five-man rotation intact. But if New York wants to make the decision best for the team now, later in the season and even for 2009, they ought to consider a wacky idea: expanding to a six-man rotation as soon as Martinez or Orlando Hernandez is healthy enough to take the mound.

While the starting rotation has been a strength thus far, much of that success has come from the young Mike Pelfrey’s development, and from surprise success story Nelson Figueroa.  read more »

During pre-game warm-ups Tuesday night, Lastings Milledge was a whirlwind as he prepared to show Shea Stadium that the Mets’ decision to deal him to the Washington Nationals this past offseason was a huge mistake.

He launched batting practice bombs into the left field stands, several landing in similar spots to the two home runs he hit in last season’s second-to-last game. Then he raced to the dugout, grabbed his glove, and shagged fly balls. When few fly balls came his way, he asked a Nationals coach to hit him ground balls, then pop-ups.  read more »

While Nelson Figueroa, scheduled to make his first start for the Mets on Friday night, may be unknown to most American fans, observers from Mexico to the Dominican Republic to Taiwan know the 33-year-old journeyman pitcher as an ace. So do those who have seen Figueroa dominate at nearly every minor league level for more than a decade.

At the major league level, it’s been a different story. He has pitched for seven clubs, and has succeeded in sticking with exactly none of them.  read more »

Jimmy Rollins may have killed the Mets, but he’s not owning up to it just yet.

“Last year is last year, and that team knows it,” Rollins said of the Mets following Philadelphia’s 5-2 win on Tuesday. The game was the first between the two clubs since New York squandered a seven-game lead over Philadelphia with 17 games to play at the end of the 2007 season—one of the greatest, most humiliating collapses in baseball history.  read more »

Mets fans might be forgiven for having unsettling flashbacks when New York took a 6-2 lead in the fourth inning of their first game of the season. Even during the horrendous 5-12 finish last year, the Mets had plenty of early leads—seemingly losing their advantage in the middle and later frames.

But Opening Day, a 7-2 victory for New York against the Florida Marlins, was an encouraging demonstration of why this year might be different.  read more »

It is impossible to overstate the magnitude of the collapse suffered by the Mets at the end of the 2007 season. Seven games up with 17 to go, New York finished 5-12 to land one game behind the Phillies. It was a choke to top all chokes.

And yet, to judge by the lack of radical restructuring over the off-season, the team decided that while the embarrassment was huge, the actual personnel problems that needed fixing were small.  read more »

The Mets sent a pair of pitchers, Orlando Hernandez and Mike Pelfrey, to the mound on Sunday in Port St. Lucie in an attempt to settle on someone to take the fifth spot in the starting rotation. Neither provided much in the way of results—Hernandez gave up five earned runs in three innings, while Pelfrey was touched for eight earned runs in four and one-third in a 14-4 loss to the Cardinals.

But while both are, in many ways, learning how to pitch—Pelfrey due to inexperience, Hernandez with an altered delivery due to an ongoing bunion problem—only El Duque seemed to show any progress.  read more »

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.—It is said a criminal shouldn’t return to the scene of a crime. But Washington Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden was on hand Friday to see his team take on the Mets in Port St. Lucie just months after he lifted Lastings Milledge from New York for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider.

And while spring training results are often skewed, the evidence so far is making the Mets look more and more like victims.

“He’s had a very good spring,” Bowden said as he made his way down the visitor’s clubhouse tunnel. “He’s impressed with small things, too—he hits the cutoff man, he runs the bases well. He’s been a good fit.”  read more »

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.—The Mets certainly hope that last night’s events serve as foreshadowing of the 2008 season.

In front of a sellout crowd at Tradition Field, Johan Santana quickly took command of the game against the Orioles in the first inning. A recent criticism leveled by former major leaguer Jack Morris is that Santana is relying too much on his change-up. And considering that a change-up is merely a slow fastball, such a pattern could be problematic.  read more »

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 A strong and fond memory of being a kid and growing up in New York City was my first trip to Yankee Stadium. You came out of the tunnel that led to the stands and you looked up to see the beautiful blue sky standing in contrast to the white façade above the upper deck. Then your eyes focused downward and the field came into view—and it was the deepest green you could ever imagine. The Stadium really was an urban field of dreams. Recently, major league baseball decided that more than the field should be green.

Baseball is, in many ways, a preindustrial 19th-century sport. Its pace is slow, leaving lots of time for beer and relaxed conversation between pitches and between innings. This week baseball came full circle. Billy Crystal may have stuck out, but he was a Yankee for a day. And this week both the Mets and Major league baseball went green.

The Met’s new stadium, Citi Field, will be built using recycled steel, water efficient plumbing and other green principles.  read more »

When last we saw the New York Mets, they were a defeated, injury-laden bunch that had just completed a historic collapse. Worst still, they were rife with overpaid, underproductive mercenaries more notable for what they had accomplished on other teams than anything they had done for the Mets. Curiously, Met brass concluded that the solution to the team’s troubles lay in exchanging most of the organization’s top young prospects for even more mercenaries. The net result is that owner Fred Wilpon and GM Omar Minaya have placed a large wager on what is, in some respects, the same horse that failed so miserably in 2007.
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While spring is supposed to allow fans of even the most untalented teams to dream of an October championship, the early returns of spring training have not been kind to the Mets. From a draw against the University of Michigan to a home run allowed by Johan Santana in his very first inning as a Met, there has been precious little in the way of good news to help New York move past 2007’s epic collapse.

And then there are the injuries in camp. The good news is that it’s still a long way until April, let alone October. The bad news … Well, here’s a rundown of the injuries, from least worrisome to most.  read more »

While the Mets solved the single largest question about the team’s roster with the acquisition of Johan Santana, there are still a number of issues at the margins of New York’s makeup that spring training will help to answer.

Ultimately, the number of at-bats or innings pitched in the spring is too limited, and the competition too uneven, to make any educated baseball decisions based upon the statistics compiled in Port St. Lucie. But here are a few indicators that will begin to answer the question of whether this team can be great, or merely good:  read more »

The New York Mets have completed a trade for the best starting pitcher in baseball, dealing four prospects to the Minnesota Twins for lefthander Johan Santana late Tuesday afternoon.

The Mets will give up outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. The deal is still pending both a physical by Santana and an agreement between the Mets and Santana on a contract extension—Santana is a free agent following the 2008 season—but neither is expected to be a stumbling block.

It is believed that Santana will sign for between 5-7 years, at an annual rate of more than $20 million per season.

Despite the outlay of players and likely of cash, make no mistake about it—this may be the finest trade in Mets history.  read more »

New York, evidently, needs Johan Santana.

Since the Minnesota Twins made their star pitcher available in a trade, the Yankees’ Hank Steinbrenner made it known that the team is negotiating to put him in pinstripes. Meanwhile, Mets general manager Omar Minaya is fixated on landing Santana to throw the first pitch at CitiField, and resolve a three-year obsession with landing a number-one starter.  read more »

The old baseball trade saw, “You have to give up something to get something,” only partially explains the Mets’ trade of relief pitcher Guillermo Mota to the Milwaukee Brewers for catcher Johnny Estrada.

While the trade provides the Mets with a viable catcher to pair with the returning Ramon Castro, far more important is what the trade allows them not to do.  read more »

Since the Mets are talking with Alex Rodriguez, it's worth considering how the team would make room for the All-Star third baseman.  read more »

As has been argued in this space, the Mets can put themselves in a position to win next season with a few meaningful, if not flashy, moves this winter. Signing middle reliever David Riske would solidify the bullpen, for example, but is unlikely to earn headlines from the Daily News or the Post (provided they can resist the endless possibilities his name provides).

But this isn’t to say there aren’t some potential blockbusters out there that would improve the Mets significantly for 2008.  read more »

To: Fred Wilpon

Well, as you once hoped for, your Mets played plenty of “meaningful games” this past September. Even in the season’s final week, they were involved in seven vital contests at Shea Stadium.

Unfortunately, the Mets won just one of them.

Changes are undoubtedly needed. But it’s vital here that you resist calls from fans for a mass execution.  read more »

After the loss to the Marlins that ended the Mets season, Willie Randolph spoke to his team and cried.

"I told my players this is a life lesson in baseball and in how to become champions," Randolph said to reporters afterwards. "And when you get to that road you have to seize it because you never know when it's going to come again."

The speech Randolph gave his team was a rare one. His attitude during a disastrous 5-12 run over the season's final 17 games was to reaffirm his faith in his players publicly, and to let them play without any undue managerial interference.  read more »

The Mets lost today by the score of 8-1, missing the postseason after having led their division by 7 games with 17 to play.

I know this to be true because I was at Shea Stadium to see it. Otherwise, it would be difficult for me to believe that any professional baseball team—let alone one that spent nearly the entire season in first place—could end its year in such spectacularly poor fashion.  read more »

It took until the last game of the season, but the Mets managed to miss the playoffs in the most miserable fashion possible.  read more »

After another hellish Mets loss last night that capped what may be the most dramatic collapse in franchise history, Willie Randolph, again, stood behind his players.

“I’m never going to question the character of my team,” he said during a post-game press conference. “Just cause you lose or get into a rut doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with your character.

“I know these guys and they want this very badly. Right now, it’s just tough to get a win.”  read more »

With the Mets’s 3-0 loss to the Cardinals last night, squandering the last vestige of what had been a seven-game lead over the Phillies with 17 to play, what lies ahead now is a free-for-all: three days, five teams—New York, Philadelphia, Arizona, San Diego and Colorado, separated by two games, fighting for three playoff spots.

Nobody in the National League has clinched a playoff berth—the Mets can still finish either out of the money or with the league’s best record. An unprecedented five teams could finish in a tie.  read more »

Of what indestructible alloy could Willie Randolph’s innards be made?  read more »

Mets fans, rejoice: Atlanta is set to crush the October hopes and dreams of another franchise for a change.  read more »

Again, the Mets led in a crucial game in this final stretch of the season.

And again, last night in a near-empty Dolphins Stadium against the humble Florida Marlins, the Mets blew it.

The story was remarkably similar to the recent run of bad form against the Phillies and Nationals, with their defense and pitching letting them down at crucial times, leading to an extra-inning, 8-7 loss. The Mets have now lost 6 of their last 7 games and, almost unthinkably, their lead over Philadelphia in the division is a mere 1.5 games.  read more »

Despite the Mets’ recent downturn, Willie Randolph has loyally stuck to the players, and strategy, that got the Mets to Sept. 12 with a seven-game lead in the National League East. But in the case of reliever Guillermo Mota, Randolph ’s unwavering confidence in the face of overwhelmingly disastrous results would leave even Tammy Wynette shaking her head.  read more »

It's tempting to dismiss the potential impact of first baseman Carlos Delgado’s strained hip flexor. But that would be a mistake.  read more »

New York Mets All-Star David Wright has closed on a Manhattan penthouse spread for a cool $6 million, according to city records. The closing date was August 23.

The Observer’s Max Abelson broke the news back in December that Mr. Wright had gone to contract on the 4,100-square-foot penthouse at Infinity Flats, a condo development at 21st Street and Broadway. The listing price for the apartment was $6.5 million, but a source told Abelson that the third baseman was getting a slight discount.

That discount now looks to be about $500,000. Oh, the cachet that comes with being a baseball player in New York City these days.  read more »

The results of Pedro Martinez’s return to a major league mound were heartening to New York Mets fans.

He pitched well, giving up two runs in five innings, and got a win. But the numbers don’t begin to tell the story.  read more »

While New York’s bullpen is far from perfect, those of the teams chasing the Mets in the National League East are much worse.  read more »

The prospect of adding Martinez to a team that already holds the best record in the National League could lead to the Mets' first world championship in 21 years.  read more »

Though the rivalry does not date back very long, Mets fans are entirely familiar with the script. If Chipper Jones and the Braves come to town, bad things happen.

With Thursday’s 7-6 victory over the Mets, Atlanta has now won all four series, and 8 of 12 games, against the Mets this season, dominating the rivalry just as they have most years since the late ‘90’s.

Braves manager Bobby Cox, true to form, dismissed any notions of Atlanta-as-bogey-team.  read more »

The team hires an unlikely shepherd; former cocky player now says he just wants to ‘help guys reach their goals.’  read more »

It’s the hitting, not the rapping.  read more »

Brooklyn Cyclones general manager Steve Cohen surveyed his team’s sold-out ballpark from the terrace above home plate during the season opener Tuesday night with a look of general satisfaction on his face.

“It’s great, fantastic,” Cohen said about the day. “We’ve got a couple of things we’ve got to fix. Little operational things, things some people wouldn’t even notice. We’ve got to get the lines down for food, thin out the crowds in the concourse a bit.”  read more »

At 37 years old, Damion Easley has settled comfortably into the Mets lineup. It is another surprising bend in his unusual career path.  read more »

If you want to know why New York has become the Mets’ city, don’t look at today’s standings. Look at today’s pictures – the pictures from last night’s 5-4 Met win over the Giants at Shea Stadium.  read more »

Mr. Perez has become a markedly different pitcher in 2007. He’s done so by throwing strikes.  read more »

New York City's buildings produce too much carbon dioxide, according to a new report from Mayor Bloomberg.

City water rates are expected to rise.

Former Newark mayor Sharpe James is leaving politics.

The teachers union may try to grade mayoral control.

The head of the UFT has an op-ed in support of a whistleblower bill being heard in the City Council.

Errol Louis says that said Don Imus' remarks were "sneering contempt for black achievement, playing out the worst fear of many black professionals."

Rudy Giuliani said he forgives Imus, and would reappear on his show.

Bill Hammond thinks Eliot Spitzer could learn a thing or two from Andrew Cuomo.

Part of the pressure on Spitzer to negotiate a budget by the April 1 deadline was the fact that more money was coming into the state coffers, which would have made it harder to cut state spending.

Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi went to the Mets game in an official county car.

"The problem with Obama's reformist message is that it prevents him from singling out Bush and the GOP in a way that's very satisfying," wrote Naom Scheiber in TNR [subscription].

And there's now a "real-time display of the catastrophic accidents, violent weather and epidemic outbreaks unfolding across the globe." -- Azi Paybarah

As spring training turns serious and the Mets and the Yankees limber their hamstrings in the Land of  read more »

Hip clothier Hermian Charles seems entirely out of place on Montague Street.    read more »

It was more than two years ago, over a couple of beers at the West End in Morningside Heights, that  read more »

The cute red umbrella in the Citigroup logo is no more, says Crain's. The bank cut a deal to sell the branding rights to St. Paul Travelers.

Citigroup will need to draft up a new logo now. File this under slightly irrelevant, but what's this mean for real estate? Well, when they create the new logo it will mean a new top for three distinguished city properties: 666 Fifth Avenue; Court Square Two in Long Island City; and the top of the new Mets stadium in Queens.

- John Koblin

Fresh on the heels of news that the city's planning to pay double in subsidies for Atlantic Yards--a nugget Norman Oder broke on his blog--comes word that the city will also likely pay a lot more than originally planned for the new Yankee and Mets stadiums.

Mayor Bloomberg's preliminary capital budget, released last week, has $586 million in funds set aside for the stadiums, up from an original $360 million, according to the Village Voice. And this funding doesn't include tax and lease breaks.

Play ball, indeed.

- Tom Acitelli

Bravo, real estate, said the Mayor on Wednesday during his State of the City address:

And all across New York from the Freedom Tower rising in Lower Manhattan to the new Yankees and Mets stadiums in the Bronx and Queens, to the new rail link at Howland Hook on Staten Island to right here in Brooklyn, where from East New York to the East River, new homes are going up and new businesses are opening. The evidence is all around us. This is a great time for New York an encouraging, optimistic time.

The full text of the address can be found here.

- Tom Acitelli