Good morning Mets fans! Former Mets radio play-by-play announcer Josh Lewin will be a part of the Boston Red Sox’s radio play-by-play rotation, in addition to his new job as the San Diego Padres’ radio pregame and postgame host. Lewin confirmed the recent news about both jobs in a letter to Mets fans. Lewin will also continue to call basketball and football games for UCLA.

Latest Mets News

Jacob deGrom was in the headlines for a few reasons on Thursday.

DeGrom indicated to the media that he has a desire to stay in New York, but that contract extension talks have been stagnant so far. Both he and the Mets have set Opening Day as the deadline for an extension.

Also Mickey Callaway confirmed the expected by stating that deGrom will be the Opening Day starter.

Finally in regards to deGrom, his National League Cy Young Award plaque was slightly damaged as it was shipped from New York to Florida according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Mets are returning the award to the manufacturer for a repair.

Infield Chatter caught up with Keon Broxton who returned to his hometown to reminisce about his childhood.

Bruce Markusen of Fangraphs interviewed Wayne Coffey, the author of They Said It Couldn’t Done: the ’69 Mets, New York City, and the Most Astounding Season in Baseball History.

Ron Darling spoke about Michael Conforto on MLB Network after he was ranked 60th on the network’s “Top 100 Right Now” list by saying, “Opposite field power, as good as any left-hander in the game. I’ll make that argument.”

Former Mets hitting coach Pat Roessler is returning to the New York Yankees as a consultant in player development per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News.

Latest MLB News

Los Angeles Angels manager Brad Ausmus said that Matt Harvey strained a glute muscle during agility drills and will be sidelined for about 10 days per Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times.

Johnny Cueto will start throwing next week according to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.

Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports wrote that the Toronto Blue Jays plan to manipulate Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s service time as inferred from general manager Ross Atkin’s comments in which he would not commit a time of arrival for Guerrero Jr. in Toronto.

The Blue Jays signed southpaw Ryan Feierabend to a minor league deal according to Keegan Matheson of Baseball Toronto. The 33-year-old has not pitched in the Majors since 2014, but has since reinvented himself as a consistent knuckleballer and pitched the last four seasons in Korea.

Latest NL East News

Philadelphia Phillies general manager Matt Klentak mentioned that he is happy with how the team’s offseason has went and is willing to wait on Manny Machado and Bryce Harper and play out the situation.

Don Mattingly announced that Jose Urena will be the Miami Marlins’ Opening Day starter.

Mark Zuckerman of MASN wrote about the Washington Nationals’ spring training plans for Howie Kendrick and Ryan Zimmerman.

Latest on MMO/MMN

Matt Mancuso covered the news about the Mets farm system being ranked 19th by Baseball America.

John Sheridan continued MMN’s top-50 Mets prospects list with No. 8, Thomas Szapucki.

Sheridan also wrote about the Mets’ contentious talks with St. Lucie county in their renovation project of First Data Field.

Tim Ryder wrote a piece about Edwin Diaz who recently told Matt Ehalt of The Record that he is happy to be in New York with the Mets.

Mr._O wrote a Fan Shot in which he argued that the Mets should trade for Zack Greinke. If you are interested in writing a Fan Shot, find out more information here.

This Day in Mets History

1961: Mets chairman and minority owner, M. Donald Grant, offered Branch Rickey a contract to become the Mets general manager. Rickey turned down the offer and George Weiss was offered and accepted the position instead.

2001: After Bobby Jones turned down the Mets’ offer of salary arbitration which would have been worth at least $2-$3 million, he signed with the San Diego Padres for $625,000. Jones went on to pitch to the tune of a 5.12 ERA and put up an 8-19 record for San Diego in the 2001 season.

Birthdays: Barry Jones turns 56 and Chuck Estrada turns 81.

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The Mets are once again moving radio stations, ending a four year run with WOR. According to 710 WFAN, the organization has reached a multi-year deal with Entercom, the leader in sports radio.

The deal will make 880 WCBS the new home of New York Mets baseball starting in 2019 and going through the 2025 baseball season. The station will provide in-depth pregame and postgame coverage.

WFAN, the Mets home for 25-years, is also a Entercom owned company. 880 WCBS happens to be the sister-station of 660 WFAN.

“We are excited to join the Entercom family, and look forward to leveraging the power of their portfolio of stations in the nation’s largest market,” said Lou DePaoli, executive vice president of the Mets.

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Gary Cohen has signed a multi-year contract with SNY and will remain the Mets play-by-play man for years to come.

Cohen, 58, has been the play-by-play man since SNY came into existence, and is nominated for the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award in 2017.

The Mets broadcast team is one of the best in the business, with Mets greats Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez also on SNY, and Howie Rose and Josh Lewin on the radio.

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The Mets charter flight bound for Los Angeles made an unscheduled stop in Detroit on Thursday night due to a health issue involving WOR radio play by play announcer Howie Rose.

The Mets were traveling from JFK to LAX for Friday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

WOR released the following statement:

“The Mets flight en route to Los Angeles yesterday landed in Detroit to allow WOR Mets radio play by play voice Howie Rose to see a doctor after feeling ill on board.

Although he is feeling better, due to the lengthy travel, doctors have advised Howies to rejoin the team upon their return to New York next week.”

The nature of the health issue was not disclosed.

We wish Howie a speedy recovery and anxiously await his return to the radio booth with Josh Lewin.

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Here’s the press release from the Mets:

The New York Mets and Clear Channel Media and Entertainment today announced that Seth Everett will join the radio broadcast team for Mets games broadcasts on WOR 710 AM, the new radio home of the Mets.

Everett, a nationally known voice of baseball, will host a 30-minute pre- and post-game show before and after every Mets regular season game. Howie Rose and Josh Lewin are teaming up for their third season together as the play-by-play announcers for Mets games.

Everett will join WOR 710 AM from FOX Sports Radio and WINS Radio in New York – after previously hosting radio shows for ESPN New York and Sirius/XM’s MLB Radio Network. His past experience includes eight years at Major League Baseball Advanced Media as a studio host for MLB Radio and video production for MLB.com.  Prior to launching his national career, Everett spent three years in Seattle as sports director and on-air host at 950 KJR AM, Seattle’s top-rated sports talk station, and two years at KKFN in Denver.

“I’m extremely honored to be joining WOR along with Howie and Josh on the New York Mets broadcast team,” Everett said.  “I’m a huge Mets fan, so this is going to be a thrill.”

Original Post 8:00 AM

No doubt spurred on by my article on Wednesday (relax, I’m kidding), WOR will soon announce that their pregame and postgame host for Mets radio coverage will be Seth Everett, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.

Everett currently hosts a show on FOX Sports Radio. He joins Howie Rose and Josh Lewin in the WOR booth to comprise what should be a very solid Mets radio team.

The Mets SNY broadcast team will remain intact with Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling all returning for their award winning live game coverage and play-by-play.

However, this will be the final year for roving reporter Kevin Burkhardt who was signed by Fox Sports to host their National MLB pre and post game shows this season. Filling in for Kevin when he is unavailable will be Geico SportsNight’s Steve Gelbs, who will ultimately replace Burkhardt next season.

There was a big change in SNY’s Mets pre and post game show as Gary Apple will replace studio host Chris Carlin to pair up with analyst Bobby Ojeda.

I don’t really listen to the radio coverage too much, but as long as Howie is in the booth the Mets are golden. Gary, Keith and Ron are the best broadcast team in baseball, period. I was never really a big fan of Carlin, so I’m looking forward to seeing Apple host the pre and post game with Bobby-O.

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The New York Mets and Clear Channel Media and Entertainment today announced Howie Rose and Josh Lewin will return as the radio voices for Mets games broadcast on 710 WOR, the new radio home of the Mets.

SiriusXM baseball host Casey Stern is the leading — and probably likely — candidate to replace Ed Coleman for the pregame and post game show, multiple sources told ESPNNewYork.com.

Rose will start his 19th season calling play-by-play for Mets games.  He first began covering the team on the radio in 1987, hosting the Mets pre- and post-game shows. The Queens native published his first book last year, “Put It in the Book!: A Half-Century of Mets Mania,” named after his famous catchphrase that punctuates Mets victories.

Lewin enters his third season as a Mets radio broadcaster.  From 2002-2010, he was the television play-by-play broadcaster for the Texas Rangers and was a part of Fox’s Saturday National baseball coverage including serving as the “dugout reporter” for the American League Championship Series and National League Championship Series.  Lewin has also served as the radio play-by-play voice for the San Diego Chargers since 2005.

The 50,000-watt AM powerhouse 710 WOR, the flagship radio station of the Mets, will broadcast 15 Spring Training games, starting Friday, February 28, at 1:10 p.m. against the Washington Nationals.  Regular season coverage begins Opening Day, Monday March 31, when the Mets host the Nationals at 1:10 p.m. at Citi Field.

Original Post

After considering a shakeup, the Mets’ in-game radio team will remain intact with the switch to WOR, reports Adam Rubin..

An industry source told ESPN New York that Clear Channel Media and Entertainment has decided to keep Howie Rose and Josh Lewin as the broadcast team.

Rubin says an official announcement is expected later this week.

This will make a lot of Met fans happy.

Howie Rose is the best and a Mets icon in the mold of Bob and Ralph. Lewin compliments him very well and together make for a great radio team.

I posted the broadcast schedule for Spring Training earlier today, WOR will be broadcasting 15 games.

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Of course I’m kidding, I know that Josh Lewin is that legendary Mets announcer who has entertained the Flushing faithful for decades with that warm and folksy voice that makes one seriously consider turning off the TV and opt for the radio instead. Oh no, wait, that’s Bob Murphy I was thinking about, never mind…

Lewin, who has worked Mets radio for all of two years, has suddenly become yet a new arguing point for a faction of Mets fans that never seem to be happy and always need something to complain about.

As if we don’t have enough problems trying to solve first base and shortstop, apparently many are miffed, perturbed, and downright disturbed that Josh Lewin may be replaced by a former player in the radio booth as the co-pilot to Howie Rose on WOR AM. So what… What is so outrageous about that?

Are we devolving into one of those fan bases that must always cry about something?

Today’s ruckus stemmed from a piece by Howard Megdal on Capital New York which in all honesty, doesn’t even complain about replacing Lewin with a jock.

My take away was that Howard’s piece was just another opportunity to take a jab at team ownership (I’m down with that), point out the lateness in settling who the radio team will be (he’s right), and of course getting a chance to mention “team finances and debt load,” a phrase that has become synonymous with most of his Mets related work.

A week ago, I asked, “What if Lewin’s replacement turns out to be another Ron Darling?” Would anyone still complain?

I think Lewin is a nice compliment to Howie Rose and I’ll be happy if he stays. But if he’s replaced by a Cliff Floyd or a Darryl Hamilton, I’ll be just as happy.

Having a player perspective on radio to go along with Howie’s great play-by-play and Metsian ways, wouldn’t be such a bad thing, and it might even be better than the status quo. So everybody just chill.

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With Darling’s star rising fast in the broadcast world, I feared we might end up losing him to FOX, ESPN or the MLB Network. I’m so glad to hear he’s sticking around to compliment Gary and Keith in the booth. I especially loved Ronnie on those rare occasions where he covered for Bobby Ojeda during the pre and post games. I hope we get to see him do more of that.

We had a chance to interview Ron Darling a few times and each time we came away in awe of his incredible knowledge and baseball presence. He’s always the smartest guy in the room, but his friendly demeanor doesn’t make him intimidating to talk to at all. As a matter of fact you get the sense you’re hanging out with an old friend and having a beer and talking baseball.

Congratulations on your new deal Ronnie!

Here are a few quotes from Ron Darling, a couple of which came from our own interviews:

On Making It In The Majors

“The three things that I benchmark, that I judge pitchers by is their ability to throw fastballs on the corner and both sides of the plate, that they can throw a breaking ball over the plate behind in the count, and that they have a bulldog and a competitive mentality.”

On Mets Off-Season

“They have to get a starting pitcher with Matt Harvey out. Maybe you get a veteran guy out there on a one or two-year deal to help with the younger pitchers, teach them how to be pros. And they need offense, whether you make a big splash or do what the Red Sox did and get some capable pros. The toughest decision for the Mets is what players on the roster they want to keep.”

On Zack Wheeler

“A bulldog comes in many shapes and forms. In my day, Dave Stewart was considered a bulldog with the stare, but so was Orel Hershiser without the stare. It comes in a lot of different ways. A lot of guys try to fake it, you can see through it. Zack Wheeler might have a different way of doing it; he might be quieter about it, as opposed to Matt Harvey who may be a bit more overt about it. Matt’s from the East Coast, and East coast kids tend to be a little more overt anyway, and Zack might be a little quieter. It doesn’t mean that they both can’t be pitching assassins in their own way.”

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Reports are now coming in that the Mets are close to a deal with Clear Channel Media to broadcast their games on WOR (710 AM), according to Neil Best of Newsday and Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News.

The good news here is that Howie Rose will still be broadcasting as the radio voice of the Mets, however whether Howie’s  2013 co-pilot, Josh Lewin, will join him is still uncertain.

As was the case with WFAN, WOR will likely simulcast Mets broadcasts on one of their many FM stations.

The last few years have not been good for the Mets in terms of Radio and TV ratings.

The Mets and WFAN split after this season severing a 27-year partnership, while SNY experienced a drop of 31.6 percent in viewership from the previous season.

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Two teams that are undergoing a rebuilding process, the Mets and Marlins, hooked up for a three game series in Miami with Fish winning two and the Mets salvaging the finale. Most Met fans realize (I think) we’re looking at 2015 and beyond. While Marlins fans remain shellshocked by the stripping down of their team in only their second season in a new ballpark, Mets fans may need seven years or more before we can begin to talk about things like championships and pennants. Here are the 3 & 3 from this series, with a unique 3 Down, all occurring in a single inning.

Jordany Juices One: Jordany Valdespin gets the top slot with his pinch-hit three-run homer on Wednesday afternoon. JV1l is an exciting ballplayer who brings both speed and power to the plate. You have to wonder, with the Mets offense struggling the way it is, why Valdy isn’t getting more playing time.

A Gem By Jeremy: On Tuesday night, Jeremy Hefner took a shutout into the ninth inning before being undone by poor umpiring and poor catching (more on that below). Big question here is why did Terry even take Hefner out in the ninth inning?

Harvey Hangs In: Matt Harvey did not look sharp in Monday night’s series opener. Much to Matt’s credit though, he hung in there, bore down, and gave the Mets a quality start. That’s what front of the rotation pitchers do.

Where Was Bobby: Going back to the Hefner start on Tuesday night, if I’m the manager Bobby Parnell pitches in that ninth inning. I don’t care what he did the night before, he’s my closer. He’s a young guy who doesn’t need to be babied and he needed to be out there. End of story.

Time To Retire Tim: In the ninth inning Tuesday night, third base umpire Tim McClelland clearly missed the call. The base runner’s foot was clearly off the bag and Wright tagged him out. The SNY replay even went so far to show that McClelland was out of position to make the call. Let’s also give a thumbs down to Keith & Gary who at first thought McClelland got the call right and quickly reversed themselves. McClelland has been an ump for 30 years, and it may be time to say good bye.

What A Reck: The ninth inning yet again on Tuesday night!! Recker was charged with a passed ball, then was unable to block the game winning wild pitch. Recker hasn’t had too much playing time this season, so it’s somewhat understandable. Here’s what I don’t understand… Why didn’t Terry change the battery in the ninth? According to Josh Lewin on WFAN, John Buck wanted to play, and was doing leg exercises in the clubhouse before the game. Maybe it’s me, but when the team is struggling and taking a lead into the ninth inning, I want my best guys out there.

Well, the fun is just starting as the Mets head to the house of horrors known as Turner Field on Friday, and a smoking hot Atlanta Braves team. Lets hope for the best, but expect the worse, and oh yeah, Let’s Go Mets!!

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