Big day on WFAN for the Mets – or at least during Mike Francesa’s time slot. After a 10 minute rant against the Mets to open the show, he had Sandy Alderson on for 15 minutes a few hours after that. There was a lot said by both of them – good and bad. Tonight you’ll get the rant, tomorrow you’ll get the interview along with my thoughts and summary. This wasn’t easy to transcribe [...]

“Valdespin knew that was coming. I don’t think it’s fair to say that since we didn’t hit one of the Pittsburgh hitters that he doesn’t have a friend. The notion that he was hung out to dry I think is a mistake. I’m not telling you he’s the most popular guy in the clubhouse, but I don’t think he was hung out to dry.” * * * * * * * * * * * There is a problem with the current Mets. [...]

The newest Met, Rick Ankiel, couldn’t hold onto Ty Wigginton’s sinking line drive for a double. Wigginton then scored from second on an infield hit off pitcher Scott Rice. Matt Holliday followed with a two-run homer, and just like that it was over and the Mets had their fourth straight loss, 6-3, at St. Louis to fall seven games below .500. ON THE MOUND: Jeremy Hefner had his third straight quality start, giving up three runs in six [...]

Starting Lineup Mike Baxter – RF Daniel Murphy – 2B David Wright – 3B Ike Davis – 1B Lucas Duda – LF John Buck – C Rick Ankiel – CF Ruben Tejada – SS Jeremy Hefner – RHP Game Notes The Mets signed Rick Ankiel and is in the lineup starting in centerfield tonight and batting seventh. Ankiel, 33, was released by the Astros last week after hitting .194 with a .231 OBP in 25 games. [...]

WFAN is confirming that the Mets and Rick Ankiel have come to an agreement. Ankiel is expected to be in uniform on Monday night for the Mets and Andrew Brown already has been told he is being dispatched to Triple-A Las Vegas according to Adam Rubin. Ankiel, 33, was released by the Astros last week after hitting .194 with a .231 OBP in 25 games for the Astros. He also hit five home runs and drove [...]

Updated by Joe D. at 2:30 PM Just caught this on MetsBlog who seems to have just caught on to what has been a two day debate here: It almost sounds like Collins put Valdespin in a situation he knew would end up with a hit-by-pitch, maybe in an effort to teach Valdespin a lesson, right? If that’s the case, is that why Valdespin threw a ‘tantrum,’ as fans and media have described it? Unfortunately, we’ll never [...]

In my game recap last night I mentioned the remarkable catch by Mets outfielder Juan Lagares as the highlight of the game. Here is the video of that catch; Opposing pitcher Jeanmar Gomez looked like he hit a sure-fire single against Mets starter Matt Harvey. But wow, what a grab. Lagares hasn’t gotten it together yet at the plate, but he will. back in February I spoke highly of him and said he’d be a Met before the All Star break and that [...]

Including this weekend’s 11-2 flameout loss to Pittsburgh, the Mets have lost Jon Niese’s last five starts, with him giving up 22 runs and not getting out of the fifth inning in three of them. He has not come close to resembling what the Mets think he should be, and that’s the No. 1 starter in their rotation. The first game in that slide, April 18 at Colorado, and the one preceding it, April 12, at [...]

Mets historians will recall how former GM Frank Cashen declared, ““those who contribute the least spray the most champagne” after being doused by reliever Randy Niemann during the 1986 NLCS championship celebration. I think it’s time to take that mantra when it comes to Jordany Valdespin, except those that contribute the least shouldn’t be made the story. With Twitter, Facebook and blogs – both mainstream and otherwise – available throughout the 24/7/365 news cycle, it’s impossible to [...]

Usually, it isn’t until after the All Star break, when we need to combine series to come up with 3 Ups and 3 Downs. This week was an exception with the Mets winning 2 out of 6 games against the Chicago White Sox & the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unless the Met offense wakes up real soon, we’re going to be in for a long season. Sorry to say, a first baseman batting .190 in the middle [...]