By John Jackson
Good morning Mets fans! The Houston Astros defeated the New York Yankees 8-3 in Game 4 of the ALCS. The Astros are now one more win away from reaching the World Series and eliminating the Yankees from the playoffs, both of which they did in the 2017 ALCS.
Latest Mets News
The Mets told Edgardo Alfonzo that his managerial contract with the Brooklyn Cyclones would not be renewed.
The Mets interviewed Joe Girardi for their vacant managerial position, per Andy Martino of SNY. However, Rich Mancuso of NY Sports Day reported that Girardi is not likely to be the Mets’ next manager.
Joel Sherman of New York Post wrote about the only reason why the Mets needed to interview Girardi.
Tim Britton of The Athletic gave an oral history of Robin Ventura‘s grand slam single.
Latest MLB News
The Astros will look to finish off the Yankees on Friday night at Yankee Stadium as they send Justin Verlander (21-6, 2.58 ERA) to the mound. The Yankees will counter with James Paxton (15-6, 3.82 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:08 p.m. EDT and television coverage will be provided by FS1.
The MLB Players’ Association announced the finalists for their Outstanding Player award. Rafael Devers, Alex Bregman and Mike Trout are the finalists in the American League, while Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger and Anthony Rendon are the finalists in the National League.
MLB investigated the claims made by the Yankees that Astros players were stealing and relaying signs from the dugout to Astros batters by whistling. MLB found “no evidence of cheating going on with whistling,” per Martino of SNY.
Latest NL East News
The Phillies will be giving second interviews to Girardi, Dusty Baker and Buck Showalter for their vacant managerial position according to Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. While they have not made a decision on any of the three yet, Martino reported that they have “heavy interest” in Girardi.
Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post wrote a piece on the original Washington Nationals of 2005 and argued that as many of them as possible should be able to come back and take part in some of the World Series pregame ceremonies.
Latest on MMO/MMN
John Delcos wrote about Ventura and his interactions with him as a reporter, on the 20th anniversary of his grand slam single.
Matt Musico wrote a piece on what was key in Amed Rosario‘s second half surge.
Kyle Newman gave some pros and cons of hiring Girardi as manager.
Ryan Finkelstein wrote an “MMO Free Agent Profile” on Madison Bumgarner.
Christopher Soto wrote about how Andres Gimenez, Ryley Gilliam and Patrick Mazeika fared in Wednesday’s Arizona Fall League action.
John Sheridan wrote about Alfonzo’s managerial contract with the Cyclones not being renewed.
This Day in Mets History
1973: The Mets shut out the Oakland Athletics 2-0 in Game 5 of the World Series behind the pitching of Jerry Koosman and Tug McGraw.
1986: The Boston Red Sox shut out the Mets 1-0 to take Game 1 of the World Series. Both teams’ bats went quiet, but Bruce Hurst just outdueled Ron Darling to lock up Game 1 for Boston.
2006: The Mets defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 in Game 6 of the NLCS and lived to see another day in the playoffs. Jose Reyes started out the game with a leadoff home run and finished the game 3-for-4 with a home run, RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases.
Birthdays: Kevin McGowan turns 28, Yoenis Cespedes turns 34, Garrett Olson turns 36, Alex Cora turns 44 and Andy Hassler turns 68.
