Good morning, Mets fans!

Trey Mancini of the Orioles and Buster Posey of the Giants earned the Comeback Player of the Year award in their respective leagues on Monday.

Mancini posted a .255 batting average in 2021 after missing the 2020 season due to treatment of his stage three colon cancer.Posey earned his seventh All-Star appearance this past season after sitting out the 2020 season as his adopted twin girls were born prematurely.

Let’s get into this morning’s briefing.

Latest Mets News

Southpaw Steven Matz has “had a lot of interest” in rejoining the Mets in 2022, according to Joel Sherman of MLB Network. Sherman also says Matz is expected to make a decision on Wednesday.

Mets righty Tylor Megill helped distribute 5,000 turkeys to those in need with the Amazin’ Mets Foundation.

Mets pitcher Tylor Megill helped the Amazin' Mets Foundation distribute 5,000 turkeys last week to those in need. The project covered 11 community groups in all five boroughs. pic.twitter.com/1yupZxgCsM

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) November 22, 2021

Jeffery Paternostro and Jarrett Seidler of Baseball Prospectus list their top prospects from the New York Mets farm system.

Latest MLB News

The Red Sox announced they will exercise the 2023 and 2024 club option on manager Alex Cora on Monday. Cora led Boston to the ALCS after being suspended a year for his involvement in the 2017 Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.

The Yankees have traded Tyler Wade to the Angels in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Wade hit for a career-high .268 batting average in 103 games last season.

Giants hitting coordinator Michael Brdar has been hired by the Padres to become their hitting coach, per Robert Murray of FanSided. Brdar is a rising star in baseball coaching at just 27-years-old.

Latest on MMO

Michael Mayer breaks down the Mets’ current 40-man roster.

Meghan Kalenborn fills out her report card for righty Tylor Megill’s performance in 2021.

Matt Musico writes on how the Mets are about to take another page out of the Dodgers’ book.

On This Date in Mets History

1964: The Mets purchase eventual hall of fame lefty Warren Spahn from the Braves. Spahn would go 4-12 in 20 appearances for New York before finishing the 1965 season and his career in San Francisco.

Birthdays: Justin Turner (37), Ryan McGuire (50), Rich Sauveur (58) and Tom Hall (74).

Let’s go Mets!

The post Morning Briefing: Posey, Mancini Earn Comeback Player of the Year appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

For the second consecutive game it was a walk-off at Fenway for the Boston Red Sox, sending the favored Tampa Bay Rays back to Florida with another bout of postseason sorrow.

Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez redeemed his ALDS Game 1 early exit loss with five innings of two runs on three hits, striking out six without a walk.

He won a 17-pitch battle over Austin Meadows in the top of the third getting a swinging strike on an 82 mph slider, exiting the game with a commanding 5-0 lead.

But both team’s calls to the bullpen backfired, beginning with Rays manager Kevin Cash replacing Collin McHugh with Shane McClanahan, the expected starter for Game 5.

Boston hammered the ball all over Fenway against the 24-year old starter, playing reliever, who’s used to coming out of the dugout instead of the pen.

The same guy, who fired five scoreless innings against them in Game 1, was mauled for five runs, sparked by Rafael Devers three-run blast. Christian Vazquez, basking in the glow of his 13th inning solo walk-off homer in Game 3, began the barrage by ripping a single up the middle, followed by Schwarber’s one-out four-pitch walk.

Devers, who’s been silenced by a right forearm injury, rocked a 98 mph offering over the plate 404 feet. After Devers’ blast, Boston’s relentless line-up had McClanahan on the ropes, like a wounded prizefighter.

Xander Bogaerts laced a single to left. Alex Verdugo launched an RBI double off the Monster, and J.D. Martinez roped an RBI base hit off the Green One, as well.

But the fat lady was far from singing as the resilient Rays bounced back. In the fifth, Jordan Luplow, hitting a buck sixty and change, led off with a double to left, scoring on Meadow’s groundout to first.

Kevin Kiermaier followed suit in the sixth, dumping a leadoff two bagger giving Rodriguez the hook for Tanner Houck, who kept Boston in it to win it in Game 2.

This time the tall drink of Mid-western water allowed Tampa Bay to chip away by surrendering a two-run homer to rookie Wander Franco, cutting Boston’s lead 5-3.

In the eighth, Red Sox manager Alex Cora dipped into the bullpen for Ryan Brasier, and the lights out right-hander unraveled. Mike Zunino doubled to right, Kiermaier brought him home on a double right of center, and Randy Arozarena roped a game-tying base hit, booting Brasier to make way for Garrett Whitlock.

The Georgia native retired six straight, and just when you thought it was going to be extra innings all over again, in the bottom of the ninth, Vazquez snuck a single through the hole past a diving Yandy Diaz, making his way to second on a sac bunt by Christian Arroyo. Travis Shaw was safe on a PH infield single putting Vazquez on third, and the man of the postseason hour, Kiké Hernández, hit the most important sac fly of his life, sending the Sox to the AL Championship Series.

I’m glad I’m not a betting girl because I had Tampa Bay going all the way.

The post Red Sox End Rays Season With Another Walk-off appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred addressed the media on Sunday and touched on several topics including the buzzers allegedly used by the Houston Astros to steal signs, the investigation of the 2018 Boston Red Sox  among other things.

Here’s what we learned from Manfred’s press conference:

Houston Astros Buzzer Use In 2019 World Series

Manfred said it remains unclear if the Astros used buzzers in order to gain an advantage in 2019, especially during the World Series.

The commissioner also said that he doesn’t know why the players, who were granted immunity, would lie about the buzzers in 2019 when they were already honest about what happened in 2017 and 2018. Manfred also said that MLB was aware of potential buzzer use even before the investigation.

“Can I tell you 100 percent certain that (buzzers) didn’t happen? No. You can never know that,” Manfred said to ESPN. “The piece that no one appreciates is that we found no evidence — not a single witness — who could corroborate that there were buzzers being used during the 2019 season or that they were doing anything during the 2019 season.”

More Astros

Manfred said that there will be warnings given starting in Spring Training to avoid retaliation from other teams, or pitchers throwing at Houston Astros hitters. The commissioner added that he thinks the recent discourse around MLB that has gone on is unhealthy.

“I’m sort of a civil discourse person. It must be because I’m old,’ Manfred said. “But, yeah, I think that the back and forth that’s gone on is not healthy.”

Manfred also said that he thought about stripping the Astros of their World Series title but ultimately decided against it. He added that he disagrees with the notion that the Astros got off easy, saying that it’s something they will have to deal with the rest of their lives.

Additionally, Manfred was agitated talking about the beginning of the whole debacle:

The irony in this was that during this very same presser, Manfred essentially confirmed the belief that REPORTING from Ken and Evan — along with the honesty of Mike Fiers — is the only reason baseball now has a true chance to be clean of cheating. https://t.co/YMUQ2axAM9

— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) February 16, 2020

Boston Red Sox

By the end of the following week, there should be a resolution on the Boston Red Sox, with the investigation on the team coming to a close.

“There have been a couple developments in the Boston thing that slowed us down, people who had to be reinterviewed as a result of things,” Manfred said.

The Red Sox dismissed manager Alex Cora last month after his name surfaced as a key component to the Astros cheating during the 2017 World Series.

Other Tidbits

• Manfred said MLB will have “really serious restrictions on player personnel access to video in-game” in 2020, after the Astros debacle came to light.
• MLB playoff expansion has been discussed but no final verdict has been made.
• Other teams could still be investigated by MLB.

The post What We Learned From MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on Sunday appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Boston Red Sox will promote bench coach Ron Roenicke to interim manager according to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.

Speier added that it is possible and perhaps very likely that Roenicke’s interim label is dropped once MLB completes its investigation. However, in the meantime he will retain that title heading into spring training.

Roenicke will replace Alex Cora, whom the Red Sox fired on Jan. 14 in wake of his involvement in the Houston Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal when he was their bench coach.

Roenicke managed the Milwaukee Brewers for four-plus seasons from 2011-15. He went 342-331 with the Brewers, with his best season coming in 2011 when he led the Brew Crew to a 96-66 record, first-place in the National League Central and Game 6 of the NLCS.

Prior to his time in Milwaukee, Roenicke was a member of the Los Angeles Angels’ coaching staff from 2000-10.

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The New York Mets officially began spring training on Monday and kicked off their 59th MLB season. As with every year, the phrase “Hope springs eternal” from Alexander Pope’s “An Essay on Man” echos in the background of all 30 MLB clubhouses.

Yet in the end, only 10 teams will make the playoffs at the end of September. A month later only one team will stand as World Series champions. However, there still lies at least a glimmer of hope in sections of every fan base.

New beginnings such as the start to spring training and Opening Day bring out immense excitement. What’s not to like? After months without baseball, fans are treated with a preview of a sport they get to enjoy watching for the majority of the year. With this preview is the benefit of a blank canvas which each team can write a completely new story on, with hope that it may be remembered for years on end.

While teams like the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers enter the season with high hopes of winning the World Series in 2020, they currently sit in the same spot as the other 28 teams in the standings.

Spring training serves as a restart button, and after a messy offseason for the Mets and for baseball in general, it is very much welcomed.

On Nov. 12, Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic released a bombshell article that exposed the Houston Astros’ use of technology to steal signs during their 2017 World Series championship season.

That immediately became the story of the offseason and led MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to open what he called, “a really, really thorough investigation.”

The investigation lasted nearly two months and resulted in MLB suspending Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow for a year, stripping the Astros of the team’s first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021 and fining the team $5 million. Both Hinch and Luhnow were promptly fired after MLB handed down their suspensions.

Some deemed the penalties light and wanted to see the players get punished and/or the team lose its 2017 title. While MLB’s penalties were limited to the Astros’ franchise and personnel, the punishments had a ripple effect that followed.

The Boston Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora one day later due to his involvement with the 2017 Astros when he was the bench coach.

Two days after Cora’s firing, the Mets fired manager Carlos Beltran due to his involvement with the Astros’ cheating scandal when he was a player.

The hard-luck Mets, who had nothing to do with the scandal, had to make a difficult decision whether to fire a former star player of theirs that they only hired as manager two-and-a-half months prior. In the end, his past involvement with the Astros and lack of communication with the Mets about it, made firing him feel like the only way to move past this distraction heading into the 2020 season.

While putting Beltran’s firing in the rearview mirror was not an easy task to accomplish, it seems the Mets’ latest blunder has helped to do so.

On Feb. 4, reports surfaced that billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen would be ending negotiations to buy an 80 percent stake in the Mets. Cohen, whose wealth and passion for the team ignited a hungry fan base, was reported to have had disagreements with the Wilpon family on the level of control they wanted to continually have on the team.

Mets COO Jeff Wilpon released a statement on Monday regarding the failed deal and indicated that they will be “moving forward to find a new transaction” and that they will “work hard to earn and maintain everyone’s confidence and trust.”

However, the Mets fan base was left devastated after pinning their hopes on an owner who has spent more money on a piece of art than the Mets ever have on a free agent.

Now on this day in February 2020, we are left with many unknowns. It is unknown as to how Luis Rojas manages in place of Beltran. It is unknown of whether the Wilpon family can make a transaction with another Cohen-esque person. It is also unknown on whether the Mets will perform like they did in the first half of 2019 (40-50 before the All-Star break) or the second half of 2019 (46-26 after the All-Star break).

However, what is known is that after over 100 days, baseball is back, the canvas is blank and hope springs eternal during spring training.

The post After Messy Offseason, Hope Springs Eternal Once Again appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

MMO Fan Shot by Matt Dorritie

And just like that, Carlos Beltran’s tenure as manager of the New York Mets is over before it began.

Beltrán’s dismissal should not come as any great surprise. His name was one of the first linked to the Astros sign-stealing scandal when the story first broke, and he was the only player named in Commissioner Robert Manfred’s report detailing the league’s findings from its investigation.

While he was not in a position of authority at the time of the incident – unlike fellow recently-fired managers A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora – it has been reported that he was one of the key figures responsible for setting up the scheme.

When news of the scandal first broke in November – a mere eight days after the Mets hired Beltrán – General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen proclaimed, “Anything that happened, happened for another organization. I have no idea if anything did or did not (happen). But at this point, I don’t see any reason why this is a Mets situation.”

In this context, there is an argument to be made that the Mets could have stood by their selection of Beltrán as the team’s manager. The Mets are not culpable for the actions of the Houston Astros, and finding a new manager three months into the offseason is a position no general manager wants to be in.

Manfred also explicitly stated that no players would face penalties for their roles in the scandal, so it does not appear that the league was putting pressure on the organization to remove Beltrán.

However, the upside of keeping Beltrán was minimal. Past transgressions don’t necessarily equate to future ones, but the mere mention of Beltrán’s name in Manfred’s report immediately damaged his reputation in the game.

When Van Wagenen was hired as the Mets general manager last offseason, he spoke at length about his intent to build a positive, winning culture in the Mets clubhouse. Keeping a new manager, especially one Van Wagenen hand-picked himself, who was directly involved in one of the biggest cheating scandals in league history was not beneficial towards instilling such a culture.

From a game management perspective, Beltrán has no prior experience as a manager at any level. The ethics of the situation notwithstanding, the Mets may have been able to publicly justify keeping Beltrán on board if he had a proven track record as an accomplished Major League manager. However, no such record exists, making it impossible for the organization to publicly declare its trust in Beltrán to lead the team solely based on his merits as a game manager.

Herein lies perhaps the biggest issue in this ordeal: trust. It is difficult to guess how Mets players would have reacted had Beltrán remained at the helm. Some may have reserved judgment or viewed his involvement in the scandal as a one-time mistake. However, others may view him as the ringleader of the scandal, which would have immediately put his credibility in the clubhouse into question.

The issue of trust also extends to Beltrán’s relationship with the front office. In their public statement announcing Beltrán’s removal, Van Wagenen and COO Jeff Wilpon declared their belief that Beltrán was honest and forthcoming with them. Yet, trust, like much else in life, comes in shades of gray.

The fact is that Beltrán lied publicly about his involvement in the scandal prior to the Mets hiring him as their manager. Given that the relationship between managers and the front office is more entwined than ever, it is hard to imagine that Van Wagenen and ownership would have felt comfortable instilling him as the team’s new leader had they known his involvement in the scandal.

In the end, Beltrán’s removal, however disappointing, was inevitable. Now, it is the organization’s responsibility to find the right manager capable of guiding this team in the right direction moving forward.

*******

This Fan Shot was contributed by MMO reader Matt Dorritie. Have something you want to say about the Mets? Share your opinions with over 26,000 Met fans who read this site daily.

Send your Fan Shot to GetMetsmerized@aol.com or ask us about becoming a regular contributor.

The post MMO Fan Shot: Why Beltran’s Removal Was Inevitable appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Mets have announced that they mutually agreed to part ways with manager Carlos Beltran. This comes after many rumors and speculation over his status and involvement in the latest cheating scandal, and follows the firings of Jeff Luhnow and AJ Hinch as well as the mutual parting between Alex Cora and the Red Sox.

Below is a statement from Mets COO Jeff Wilpon and Mets Executive Vice President & General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen:

“We met with Carlos last night and again this morning and agreed to mutually part ways. This was not an easy decision. Considering the circumstances, it became clear to all parties that it was not in anyone’s best interest for Carlos to move forward as Manager of the New York Mets. We believe that Carlos was honest and forthcoming with us. We are confident that this will not be the final chapter in his baseball career. We remain excited about the talent on this team and are committed to reaching our goals of winning now and in the future.”

Statement from Carlos Beltrán

“At a meeting this morning with Jeff and Brodie we mutually agreed to part ways. I’m grateful to them for giving me the opportunity, but we agreed this decision is in the best interest of the team. I couldn’t let myself be a distraction for the team. I wish the entire organization success in the future.”

When Beltran was hired as a first-time manager just a couple short months ago, it would have been crazy to think that his managerial tenure would end before he even managed a single game. Beltran, who will undoubtedly go down as one of the best Mets in franchise history, was a beloved figure who, despite having no managerial experience, was mostly welcomed with open arms by the Mets’ fans and staff.

While Beltran’s involvement in the scandal has been known for some time, only recently has the issue truly come to light as Major League Baseball announced one-year suspensions to Luhnow and Hinch.

Beltran’s case is a tougher one to evaluate than that of Luhnow, Hinch, or Cora, as those men were all in positions of authority while Beltran was a player at the time of the scandal. However, he was a veteran player who younger players looked up to and who some even viewed as a coach in some ways.

Beltran was the only player specifically named in a statement by commissioner Rob Manfred, as part of a group of players who “discussed improving the team’s system of decoding signs and communicating them to the batter” (via Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Beltran’s short-lived time as Mets manager will certainly come as a disappointment, as we will no longer get to see one of the all-time greatest Mets suit up in orange and blue for one last ride as a manager. The team will now have to hire a new manager, and will likely go back to one of its previous top candidates such as Luis Rojas.

The post Mets And Carlos Beltran Announce They Mutally Agree to Part Ways appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Jessica Mendoza became the first Mets employee to comment on the Astros sign-stealing scandal on Thursday when she appeared on the Golic and Wingo Show.

Mendoza, special assistant to Mets’ GM Brodie Van Wagenen, called out whistleblower Mike Fiers during the interview, “to go public with it and call them out and start all of this, it’s hard to swallow.”

The Mets hired Mendoza last year to work in baseball operations while she stayed on board with ESPN for Sunday Night Baseball.

“To go public with it and call them out and start all of this, it’s hard to swallow.”

–@jessmendoza on former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers revealing the Astros sign-stealing scheme. pic.twitter.com/LSQY6B0dSC

— Keyshawn, JWill & Max (@KeyJayandMax) January 16, 2020

Fiers, the former Astros pitcher, talked to Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic back in November about how Houston was stealing signs beyond the norm.

Mets new manager Carlos Beltran was named in The Athletic’s second article on sign stealing and in the Major League Baseball report. Alex Cora (Red Sox manager), A.J. Hinch (Astros manager), and Jeff Luhnow (Astros GM) were the only other names in the report, and all have been fired.

The Mets have been quiet up to this point on the status of Beltran as the manager for 2020 and beyond.

The post Mets’ Employee Jessica Mendoza Calls Out Mike Fiers appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The findings from Major League Baseball’s investigations of the Houston Astros’ 2017 cheating allegations have already resulted in two managers losing their jobs, and as fate has so drawn it up, a bomb has fallen in the Mets’ lap with their own skipper.

The fallout surrounding the infamous camera-trashcan relay system (we’ll call it that for now) began surely enough with the league suspending and Houston promptly firing both their manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow. The saga then spilled over to Boston, where the reports revealed their own manager (and then-bench coach) Alex Cora to have designed and orchestrated the scheme, and by midnight Tuesday, the Red Sox had cut him loose.

The only remaining name cited in commissioner Rob Manfred’s nine-page statement is that of current Mets manager Carlos Beltran, who, as part of a larger, nameless group of teammates, “discussed that the team could improve on decoding opposing teams’ signs and communicating the signs to the batter” (2). Two months prior to the final ruling, an article from The Athletic (courtesy of Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich) had suggested that Beltran “played a key role in devising the sign-stealing system the team used that season.”

At the time of the reports, Beltran – who had been hired to manage the Mets just two weeks ago – denied any wrongdoing, texting Joel Sherman of the New York Post, “I’m not aware of that camera… we were studying the opposite team every day.” One day later, in the aforementioned publication from The Athletic, Beltran was quoted with a different tone: “if the catchers get lazy and the pitcher doesn’t cover the signs from second base, of course players are going to take advantage… I don’t call that cheating. I call that using the small details to take advantage.”

It may be worth noting that Beltran is only mentioned once in the entire document, and there are no other players or coaches named in the report itself. According to a separate article from Rosenthal and Drellich from Tuesday, league investigators promised immunity to all players that testified, but there is still no evidence of any kind that Beltran played any greater role, nor is there any potential explanation as to why he is the only then-active player to be reported. Some could speculate the inclusion has to do with Beltran no longer being represented by the players association (which exempts the league from a lawsuit), but in such a case, it would thereby be clear that there couldn’t have been anything more incriminating surrounding Beltran’s role.

Even so, Beltran’s job status remains up in the air to this point. ESPN‘s Buster Olney reported the front office to be “wavering” on whether or not to fire the newly-minted skipper. Mike Puma of the New York Post has added that the team’s concern for carrying itself with “integrity” may be the deciding factor in whether the fan-favorite remains in the chair for 2020.

That media coverage and organizational outlook have driven to this point implies Beltran may not have simply taken part in a group activity. And even at the minimum, a longtime fan favorite and future Hall of Famer has still cheated the system, and the Mets need to assess all sorts of resolutions and optics before they make their call in the coming days.

Thinking about this in the shorter term, ending the relationship with Beltran sooner rather than later would stop an already undesirable situation from potentially getting uglier. It’s already evident that Beltran had at least a mild interest in obtaining further info on opposing pitchers. Considering he also appeared to backtrack on his prior rejection of the camera while rationalizing cheating as an enterprise in “small details,” he may have adjusted his position in order to avoid further incriminating himself – because even if he may have been using advanced technology, he surely couldn’t have been using it maliciously (wink).

Removing Beltran from his post would also prevent the tension and uncertainty from affecting a young, motivated clubhouse. Playing beneath someone that several of the current players may have respected or even idolized from a young age is intimidating in itself. Doing so amidst ambiguity about the moral fiber of this same person could be quite daunting, even more so while subjected to continued scrutiny and persistent questions from the media.

Getting the controversy out the door would be a good first step, but it may also very well make for more of a reactionary demonstration of self-consciousness than an actual stroke of nobility. Although we can point to clues that Beltran may have had a greater role in the Astros’ sign-stealing escapades, we also know that Major League Baseball offered no evidence in the final statement, despite still having a finger on his name.

Succumbing to the fear of Beltran disgracing his standing as both a role model and representative of the Mets without even letting him speak his piece – two months after his last words on the matter – would be unfair to him, but even more so to the players hinging on his leadership. Between some of his one-time teammates (Dellin Betances, Jake Marisnick, Justin Wilson, Michael Wacha, and J.D. Davis) and fellow Latino ballplayers (Edwin Diaz, Amed Rosario, Yoenis Cespedes, Wilson Ramos, Robinson Cano, Jeurys Familia, Luis Guillorme, and Tomas Nido), he already has a clear connection to some of the team’s most important pieces. Taking Beltran him away from them before pitchers and catchers could even report may leave the clubhouse in a worse place than it was when he found it.

If the Mets were to fire Beltran, it would only make sense that their interim manager be appointed from within for this very reason. The most sensible alternative, in terms of accessibility, familiarity, and credibility would easily be Luis Rojas. However, Hensley Meulens and Tony DeFrancesco could also profile well as replacements. There’s never a way of truly knowing how much worse off a team is after it fires someone who has yet to even manage a game, but all three prospective candidates would make plenty of sense. In Rojas’ case especially, the Mets could legitimately improve by accident.

Of course, there is also a chance the Mets revert to old ways and try patching things up with current special assistant Terry Collins, whose old-school style of managing may or may not yield the same late-season success the team enjoyed under Mickey Callaway the last two seasons. What’s more, the idea of the organization digging around for a mulligan weeks before spring training would be a tough combination of embarrassing for the franchise and distracting for the players.

The counterargument, however, to the embarrassment of searching for a new long-term manager at the dawn of a win-now season, is the embarrassment of Beltran damaging the team’s aforementioned integrity.

Even as it stands, the Mets already have egg on their face for hiring a cheater, and they took another egg for hiding from the reality that they hired said cheater until they had no choice. Announcing the team’s decision to step away from Beltran as manager would be a sad and premature end to what looked like a promising chapter, but it also saves face. Even if he was neither a coach nor manager, he was a respected veteran who should have known far better than to (evidently) take part in something so patently dishonest, especially with a respectable 20-year career in the rearview.

But for any member of the Mets brass to pull out their copy of the Old Testament and turn on a game of integrity at the eleventh hour is, put frankly, is rather pathetic. Perhaps this is the most abstract and guttural explanation for the outcry that has largely surrounded the idea of the Mets firing Carlos Beltran. For an organization that has spent the last two decades dodging opportunities to show any integrity, this sure is a curious place to start playing the right way.

The Mets celebrated Pride Night last summer by unveiling their newly sponsored partnership with Chick-fil-A, a fast-food restaurant with a history of donating to notoriously homophobic groups and causes, two days before. They signed a disgraced former shortstop after he was cut in the wake of a domestic violence arrest and nominated him for a “Man of the Year” award after refusing to drop him from the roster for nearly three years.

They were sued by a former ticket saleswoman in early-2015 after she claimed the team’s COO regularly harassed and then fired her over her unmarried pregnancy. They have a 17-page long rap-sheet of callously and recklessly handled injuries featuring such players as (among several others – note three separate links here: one per word) Kazuo Matsui, Pedro Martinez, Billy Wagner, Ryan Church, Johan Santana, Jason Bay, and even Beltran himself at one point.

We all root for the team. We pay money to watch them in their beautiful stadium and buy their merchandise, even when they aren’t winning. But we don’t have to pretend the organization has been worth the trouble when it hasn’t always been. As if the numerous post-Cohen sale tales about the Mets’ current ownership group haven’t told enough of a story, be advised now and forevermore that integrity is not in this team’s vocabulary. If the Mets fire Carlos Beltran – which they’re perfectly entitled to do given the circumstances – this may be one honorable moment the team can hang on a mantel. They can have their moment. But in the scheme of things, that’s all it will be.

The post Mets’ Impending Carlos Beltran Decision Has Pros and Cons appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Mets fans, sports media, and anyone who enjoys sports – today is about Mike Piazza. Let’s not take that away from him.

Everyone has been talking about the cheating scandal since punishment was announced on Monday. During these past few days, two managers involved in the scandal, AJ Hinch and Alex Cora, have been fired by their organizations. Is Carlos Beltran next? He shouldn’t be. It’s absurd that he was the only player named. But I’m going to stop right there because today isn’t about that – it’s about Piazza.

This week should have been a buzz of excitement for the Mets and their fans with this new naming of the street after our Hall of Fame catcher. It is exciting that they’re doing this (and not waiting five decades to do so). Piazza deserves this and more. But what he doesn’t deserve is for the attention from this honor to be taken away. He does not deserve to be asked while down in Port St. Lucie to comment on the situation happening with Beltran. He does not deserve to have this day be paired with an announcement from the Mets as to what they are going to do.

Today should simply be about Piazza and how great it is that they are changing the address of the Mets Spring Training home.

Piazza has been a regular at Spring Training, helping out the team and being there for support. Changing the address of the facility to honor him is fitting, worthwhile, and a great move. Let’s all talk about that today – how Piazza deserves this.

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