Josh Hejka (Liz Flynn/Brooklyn Cyclones)

Good morning, Mets fans!

Mets minor leaguer Josh Hejka posted on his Instagram that he underwent Tommy John surgery. The sidearming righty made it up to Triple-A Syracuse in 2022, posting a 4.70 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings across three levels.

Hejka has also been a guest on MMO Weekly and even written an article for the site.

Latest Mets News

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported yesterday that Carlos Beltrán is leaving the YES Network to join the Mets’ front office. He is expected to serve as a baseball operations assistant for Billy Eppler. The seven-time All-Star was hired to become the team’s manager shortly after the 2019 season but resigned just two months later after being named in the report about the Astros’ cheating scandal. Buck Showalter reportedly considered bringing Beltrán onto the coaching staff as an assistant hitting coach this offseason.

Former SNY sideline reporter Kevin Burkhardt is set to announce the Super Bowl this coming Sunday. Mike Puma of the New York Post sat down with Burkhardt to discuss his career and his partnership with Greg Olsen.

Latest MLB News

The Twins have signed left-hander Locke St. John to a minor league contract according to his MLB.com transactions tracker. The southpaw spent time with the Cubs and Mets organizations in 2022, compiling a 5.88 ERA in 49 innings in Triple-A.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the Rays have held talks with right-hander Jason Adam about a potential extension. The team has already extended Yandy Díaz, Jeffrey Springs, and Peter Fairbanks this offseason. Adam is coming off a career year in which he turned in a sparkling 1.56 ERA in 63 1/3 innings.

Latest on MMO

Christian De Block ranks the right fielders of the NL East.

Ricky Keeler profiles non-roster invitee Grant Hartwig.

On This Date in Mets History

1998: The Mets are the latest beneficiaries of the Marlins’ firesale, acquiring left-hander Al Leiter and infielder Ralph Millard in exchange for right-hander A.J. Burnett, lefty Jesús Sánchez, and former first-round pick outfielder Rob Stratton. Leiter is coming off a bit of a down year with a 4.34 ERA in 151 1/3 innings, but he was an All-Star and received Cy Young votes in 1996.

2008: The Mets sign right-hander Nelson Figueroa to a minor league contract. A native of Brooklyn, Figueroa was a 30th-round pick by the Mets out of Brandeis University in 1995. He hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2004 with the Pirates, spending 2006 in the Nationals organization and pitching in the Mexican League in 2007.

The post Morning Briefing: Minor Leaguer Josh Hejka Undergoes Tommy John appeared first on Metsmerized.

Of all the mistakes Sandy Alderson has made as Mets GM, none look more egregious than the non-tendering of Justin Turner. In fact, letting go of Turner looks like one of the all-time bad moves in Mets history.

Friday night, even more salt was thrown into the wound. The infielder clubbed a three-run homer off Taijuan Walker in Game 1 of the NLDS to help propel Los Angeles to victory. In a playoff run consisting of players of the Mets past, Turner’s high level of play perhaps stings the most.

Unlike some of the Mets’ prior mistakes that made sense at the time, this one was a head scratcher from the get-go. Turner, who could play all four infield positions, had batted a respectable   .267/.327/.371 in 295 games from 2011-13.

That’s far from elite, but you could definitely do a lot worse than that. It would have been one thing to trade Turner, but to let him walk for nothing in return was completely and utterly absurd.

Even more puzzling was the Mets rationale for the non-tender. Alderson and crew reportedly cut Turner over a perceived lack of hustle, despite the fact that there were no reports about Turner’s “lack of hustle” in the media prior to the non-tender, nor were there any publicly apparent instances of this. Even then-SNY reporter Kevin Burkhardt expressed shock at the “lack of hustle” reports.

I’ll say this about report on Mets releasing Justin Turner. He didn’t hustle? Show me the game. Never saw it or heard it while he was here.

— Kevin Burkhardt (@kevinburkhardt) Dec. 10, 2013

Even before Turner became an All-Star, this move was questionable. And this lack of rationale is precisely what makes this Alderson’s worst move. During other bad moves, Alderson at least had a motive that was defensible at the time:

When he didn’t re-sign Daniel Murphy, he had Neil Walker to play second base. When he traded Collin McHugh for Eric Young, he at least thought they were getting a solid speedster in return. And when he signed David Wright to a long-term deal, he couldn’t have possibly foreseen  Wright’s body breaking down at 32.

In the case of Turner, however, there was nothing to be gained from releasing him at all; not at the time, and certainly not after the fact. He made just $1 million in 2014, which is a reasonable price for a utility player coming off of a  .280/.319/.385  season. Why someone like that would even be a non-tender candidate defies logic, even considering the Mets’ frugal ways.

Of course, nobody could have predicted that Turner would turn into a star. He’s batted .303/.378/.502 since leaving the Mets. And given the Mets’ track record, there’s a good chance he wouldn’t have done that had he stayed in Flushing.

But he was still a solid utility infielder with a low-ish price tag, making him well worth the $1 million salary.  Even if Turner had not become a star and remained a solid utility player, releasing him would have still been a bad move.

The post Non-Tendering Justin Turner Still Stings appeared first on Metsmerized.

Well, the Mets are not in the playoffs for the first time in three years but there are still reasons to get excited for playoff baseball. Reason number one is the chance to mock your friends who root for the team across the town if they lose tonight. Ervin Santana and the Twins will face Luis Severino and the Yankees at 8:10 p.m. on ESPN.

Latest Mets News

Keith Hernandez will join FOX Sports’ playoff baseball team. The crew is led by former Mets’ field reporter, Kevin Burkhardt.

The Mets will have the No. 6 pick in the 2018 draft. The last time they picked in the top 10, they took a right-hander named Matt Harvey.

Jacob deGrom cut his hair, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

Marc Carig of Newsday gives an insight of what is in store for the Mets this offseason.

Latest NL East News

Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post answers questions from Nationals fans.

The Miami Marlins are officially owned by Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported that Braves GM, John Coppolella, resigned. Coppolella is in trouble for issues with international signing rules.

Matt Breen of Philly.com speculates some Phillies’ managerial candidates.

Latest on MMO

Rob Piersall takes a look at the Terry Collins era in New York.

Joe D. sends his best wishes to the people of Las Vegas.

This Day in Mets History

1979: Pope John Paul II comes to Shea Stadium.

Birthdays: Jack Lamabe

The post Morning Briefing: It’s Time for Playoff Baseball appeared first on Metsmerized.

We all have dreams in life. We all strive for something better, something that fulfills us and makes us feel like we truly found the right calling.

Whatever the desired goal is, it’s usually an arduous uphill battle to achieve it. No one ever said it would be easy. Hard work, sleepless nights, and, at times, self-doubt creep in and try to deter us from reaching our desired ambitions.

Sometimes we don’t achieve those dreams right away, as if life is testing us to see if we have the stamina and wherewithal to continue pushing and not let go of what makes us truly happy.

We can all relate to times when we’ve doubted ourselves and wondered if it was time to move on to something else. That’s what happens at times; we adapt and roll with the punches in life. Move on and don’t dwell on the past, we tell ourselves.

But what if that wasn’t the right plan to take? What if giving up on a dream that too many might seem improbable is one that you need to continue fighting for?

What good is life without a dream?

Kevin Burkhardt encompasses this idea perfectly. A man who had aspirations of joining his heroes like Bob Murphy, John Madden, Pat Summerall, and Gary Cohen in doing what they all loved: sports broadcasting.

With a personable charm and a mellifluous voice, Burkhardt yearned to be a sports broadcaster, forever hoping his desired goal of working on television would someday materialize for the New Jersey native.

Gone were the days of working his high school football games on a local access channel or recording himself broadcasting a Nintendo baseball game; Burkhardt wanted to take the next step: the big leap into the world of professional sports broadcasting.

His journey is a perfect case study for how one should never fully give up on a passionate ambition. While he never abandoned his aspirations for broadcasting, he realized that he needed to take opportunities as they were presented, which meant working at a local Chevy dealership while continuing to pursue his ultimate goal.

Mets fans remember Burkhardt from his time as the Mets’ field reporter from 2007 to 2014. His role expanded over time to doing play-by-play for select spring training and regular-season games, pre- and post-game shows, and hosting the offseason show, Mets Hot Stove. 

He was the fan’s reliable source of information on all things Mets, from the day-to-day material to human interest pieces to showing off a particular stadium’s nuances.

If there were a story to be had, Burkhardt would be on the prowl.

Many took notice of the rising fame of Burkhardt during the Mets telecasts. He joined Fox Sports in 2013 and worked as a play-by-play man for their NFL coverage. At the conclusion of the Mets’ 2014 season, he left SNY for Fox Sports in Los Angeles.

Since his departure from Queens, Burkhardt has handled play-by-play duties for Fox’s NFL coverage, is the face of their MLB pre-and post-game coverage throughout the season, and also works on the network’s college basketball studio programming.

Burkhardt’s ascension in the sports broadcasting world is a testament to his tenacity, desire, and patience that bigger and better things were on the horizon for him.

I had the privilege of speaking with the former sideline reporter last week, where we discussed his earliest memories of wanting to work in the broadcast industry, his time at the aforementioned Chevy car dealership, and some of his fondest memories working for the New York Mets.

MMO: When did you know that you wanted to be a broadcaster? Did you have one of those “aha” moments in your life?

Kevin: I knew I wanted to do it for a long time. I guess high school was the first real time that I knew. We didn’t have much at our high school at that time; we had one video camera. I remember we had access to the local access channel, which was a channel that was played in town. We would go and set up a camera and record the football games, and I would do the play-by-play and my buddy was like the color guy.

They would run a couple of days later on the town’s local access channel. We had that, and I used to call Nintendo games on a tape recorder as a kid, just trying to emulate people that I really loved.

Honestly, there were a couple of games I used to do it with, but there was this game, Baseball Stars, which at the time was a pretty revolutionary game. You could pick your team, and if you win, you get cash and you power up your team.

Back in the day, I had a radio with a dual cassette, and what I would do is I would call the baseball game into the tape recorder, and then I would do like Mets Extra. I would take the first tape where I record the game, and then I would record onto the second tape, like highlights, just like they used to do. I’d be like, ‘Okay, in the second inning it was so-and-so up,’ and then I’d play the clip.

I basically tried to do my own version of Mets Extra back in the day. With that, I knew I always wanted to do it. I didn’t know how far it would take me, but I always dreamed of doing it.

MMO: Who were some of your broadcasting idols growing up?

Kevin: There were a lot of them. I can’t say that there was one particular person that I emulated myself off of because there isn’t. I paid attention to a lot of different people, and my family was always Mets fans, and we didn’t have cable growing up. I know that’s unthinkable to people now in this age, or I guess it’s not because there are a lot of people who don’t have it now.

We listened to a lot of games on radio in the summer out in the backyard. Bob Murphy and Gary Cohen obviously were a big part of our soundtrack growing up. There are so many other guys.

For football, any time Sunday was on, [John] Madden and [Pat] Summerall; I lived for those guys. It just felt big with them, and I always remembered how that felt listening to them.

I think I’ve tried to take a little bit from a lot of people that I grew up really liking. But there isn’t one that I try to pattern myself after or one person. I think it’s a lot of people that had an influence on me.

MMO: You worked as a car salesman for a local Chevy dealership in New Jersey prior to making it big. Can you talk a little about that particular time in your life?

Kevin: I was a struggling broadcaster. I was doing the same thing knocking my head on the wall just trying to get a break. It’s harder to get somebody to get you in the door.

I was working at a small radio station in Jersey at the time, and I was doing a bunch of other things, just trying to add things to my resume. I just kind of woke up one day and I was like, Screw it! I’m sick of making $18,000 a year, and I’ve got a bunch of friends that are working on Wall Street. What am I doing? Not that I really thought at the time that I was giving it up because I never did. I just thought I needed a jump start, and I thought I needed to see something else instead of the same routine every day because you get complacent a little.

I literally picked up the Sunday paper one morning and I went through it. I just put my finger in a random spot, and it landed on a car dealership. I went in and asked for a job, and that’s how it went. I didn’t care what it was; I just knew I needed to do something different. I needed to make some money.

I got the job, and I went in and did it. As a little time went on, my boss, who now is a great friend of mine, heard me one night at home as I was doing some part-time stuff with WCBS in New York. He’s like, “Holy cow, you really are on the radio!” He said, “Whatever you need, let me know. I’ll help you work around your schedule.”

It kind of became a good jump start for me. It kind of was like, Hey, I don’t want to give this up yet. I think I need to give this another shot before I move on to do something else.

I worked there for a year, and it was like the greatest life lesson ever. I just learned so much there about myself, moving forward from that job and from the people that I worked with, that I don’t think I’m here today without that.

MMO: From there, how did you go about landing the Mets job?

Kevin: There’s a lot between then and then. Essentially, after the car thing, I got breaks and I started taking advantage of them. I got into WCBS and started working more there. Then I got full-time there, and while I was full-time, I started doing part-time at the FAN. Then I got full-time at the FAN, and I was there for a couple of years. I had people opening doors for me because you’re there, and people obviously hear you at that station.

I always wanted to do TV since college. I just never had the opportunity, and so I started doing little guest appearances or little, little roles wherever I could find them. Then SNY, I was covering the Jets for the FAN; they had me do a couple of Jets shows when they needed some fill-ins, and actually worked out pretty well.

When Chris Cotter decided to leave the Mets gig, they interviewed [for it], and I interviewed. I didn’t think there was any way in the world I was going to get it. I just kind of went in like, Oh cool, this would be great. I really truthfully just put it out of my head.

Then when I got the call that I got the job, I was like, What?! [Laughs.] It was kind of fast and furious after I left the car dealership, I guess, in some ways.

MMO: Your work on the broadcasts was superb, and I think a bit before its time. You would interview starting pitchers mid-game after they came out, would kayak in the bay in San Francisco, among many, many other fun and interesting sideline reporting you would do with the Mets. Were you given a lot of freedom to test out certain things, was it a collaborative effort, or a mixture of both?

Kevin: It was an accumulative effort. We had, and they still have, a great producer, a guy by the name of Gregg Picker. He’s awesome. When I got the job, I knew the Mets and I knew baseball, but I had no idea what I was doing.

I had a vision in my head of what I wanted it to be, but I’m coming from the FAN, where I’m doing talk shows overnight for five hours by myself. Now it’s like, you’re going to be a reporter, which is fine. You’re going to be the in-game reporter, which I had no idea. You’re talking about making something that’s 25-30 seconds interesting.

From the get-go, he had great advice for me. I think a lot of time with field reporters in baseball, I think there is this mantra that you have to have X amount of material, you’ve got to have four hits or five hits, you’ve got to be on the broadcast seven times or whatever it is.

He said, “I don’t care how many times you’re on. I don’t care if it’s one or ten; there are going to be days when you have a lot and days when you have nothing.” Which, by the way, is true when you work every single day of the year.

He said, “I’d rather you work on stuff and do stuff that’s interesting and be on once. Have something that’s really interesting and memorable, then be on just to hear yourself talk.”

That was the best piece of advice I had ever got because then I never was just okay, I’m just going to speak BS garbage just to hear myself speak.

I always tried to give something that was, even if it wasn’t lengthy, just a nugget that was interesting in some way or different. Or at the very least add to what Gary, Keith, and Ron were saying. From there, it just kind of went.

Obviously, we started out where I’m getting a lot of advice and a lot of help, and then Greg and I trusted each other so much that we were always on the same wavelength. We got to a point where I wouldn’t even tell him what I was doing until before the game, where it’s like, this is what I’ve got. We would work it into the broadcast because we just had such trust that it was seamless.

Basically, I would sit and read, read, read, and I would brainstorm. I would look at things that were going on; I’d try to think of things and questions that I’d like answered. I’d look at the other team: what’s interesting there? Who can I talk to? That would be one part of it, and I’d have a notebook full of ideas going into the series. Then it was really about talking and paying attention. You know you’re at the stadium; pay attention to what you’re seeing and talk to different people.

You’re talking to someone for a story, but sometimes you’re just talking, and you get a story out of it. Or you get an idea for a story just by talking to people at the yard. You’re talking to somebody about something else, and you’re like, Oh, that’s interesting. When did you start doing that, or when did that happen? Then all of a sudden, the next couple of days, you’re working on a story based on that conversation.

There were a lot of different avenues to come up with stories. I think the last thing of this long-winded answer was we’d have long-term goals, too. So he’s like, “Okay, over the next few weeks I’d love for you to work on these couple of things.”

For example, it’s Father’s Day in a few weeks: I’d love to get some stories about fathers and these guys’ lives and the roles that they played. Human interest stuff, which I loved doing. So I’d say, ‘Okay, cool.’ You talk to a bunch of people, and sometimes you get a good story, and sometimes there’s nothing there.

That was kind of long-term, and I’d put that in the can until the week before Father’s Day. It was all of those things going on at once, and hopefully, you have one or two things a night that you can add to the broadcast.

MMO: Is there a favorite moment or two that stands out from your tenure with the Mets?

Kevin: The no-hitter was amazing. Being there for that, a Mets fan, and obviously, you know the history. I always wondered – because we had some days off obviously – if the game at that time was on Fox or ESPN, we’d have off. I’m like, man, it would really suck if they had a no-hitter and we all weren’t working!

I’ll never forget the whole night, especially since it started off so weird. His performance did not feel like a no-hitter at all. The fact that Terry Collins said before the game that he’s not going to throw a lot of pitches. And then the emotions afterward on the field, in the dugout, giving Eddie Coleman and me hugs, it was just so raw and emotional.

The first no-hitter, and I get to ask the first question to Johan on the field; it was great! I’ll never forget that.

That’s the main one, and then there was just a lot of fun stuff along the way. I mean, their play on the field never worked out in terms of going to the playoffs or winning a World Series or anything like that. There were just a lot of really fun games and great relationships that I built and fun stories that we worked on that I loved.

Mainly, for me, on a personal level, it was just getting to spend time with our crew. Our crew was amazing from top to bottom. When you’re on the road and you’re working with these people for 200 nights out of the year, they’re your family. So that was the best thing for me.

MMO: Now working on Fox Sports 1 and hosting MLB Whiparound, was there any difficulty going from focusing on a singular team and their opponents for a series to now having to be in tune with all thirty major league teams on a national level?

Kevin: It wasn’t difficult; it was just different. When you’re with a team, you’re so focused on that team and plugged into that team. I always paid attention to the league, but it’s not on a grand scale like it is now.

Now I’m pretty well-versed on every team. I have to be. I knew what was going on around the league when I was with the Mets; you have to be there, too. But my focus was always on the Mets and who they’re playing, especially in the division.

It’s just the allocation of prep time. I spent – I don’t know – an hour and a half every morning reading articles about the Mets thinking about stuff and brainstorming ideas. Then I’d spend half an hour to an hour on the team they’re playing, and now I’m just divvying that up nationally. It’s just about a change in prep routine.

The hard thing about this is you can’t be an expert on everything. The only remedy I know is reading as much as you can, watching as much as you can, and talking to people when you need answers. I reach out to people, but as far as watching and reading, there’s no substitute because I’m still a baseball junkie. I still love the game and know a decent amount of people in it.

Instead of watching the Mets every night, Mat, the difference is now I’ll watch the Cubs and Rockies tonight. It’s just mixing and matching like that, but I enjoy it. Of course, I miss the Mets, the crew, and the fans, but I love what I’m doing now.

MMO: Kevin, thank you so much for your time today. I greatly appreciate it.

Kevin: All right, Mat. All the best to you, brother.

Follow Kevin Burkhardt on Twitter, @kevinburkhardt

The post MMO Exclusive Interview: Former Mets Broadcaster, Kevin Burkhardt appeared first on Metsmerized.

“Journey,” is how Kevin Burkhardt described his time with SNY and the Mets. It certainly has been a journey for Burkhardt, who 10 years ago made his primary living as a car salesman in New Jersey. However, once SNY entered the picture, everything changed. High quality reporting as the color man on TV broadcasts and a little faith from the network have caused Burkhardt’s career to take off.  Now as a part of Fox Sports’ number two NFL broadcast team, Burkhardt has spent recent weeks preparing for football games by day and working Mets games by night. (He admits that he’s “sleeping no more than 4 hours a night.)

Moving to Fox full time has let the stark reality set in. Come this offseason, Kevin Burkhardt won’t be anchoring Mets Hot Stove, but instead the NFL game of the week on Fox. (Weird, right?)

However, despite moving on in his career, Burkhardt still remains loyal to his roots in New York. He is incredibly thankful to SNY for the experiences he’s had. From Johan Santana’s no-hitter, which he refers to as “something he’ll never forget as long as he lives” to “just being around the ballpark everyday and watching baseball.” He definitely realizes the profound effect SNY has had on him. The network has helped him become a better broadcaster by giving him valuable TV experience and the opportunity to learn from the SNY booth from some of the game’s finest. Burkhardt is quick to sing the network’s praises.

This humble demeanor makes Burkhardt truly stand out. In a broadcasting industry that is known for egotistical talent, Burkhardt is very down to earth. He insists that becoming famous has not changed him.

“I would like to say I’ve been the same person for the past 40 years. I’ve always tried to treat people respectfully, even when I have a bad day, and I think I do. Hopefully, I haven’t changed.”

For the past eight years, Burkhardt has been one of us. He’s a fan like us, and he clearly wants the team to succeed as much as we do.  He is genuine and relatable, he never hesitates to chat with fans or stop to take a photo with them.

“I think the biggest thing that I can say to you fans is thank you.”

Mets fans of the past decade will always hold a special place in their hearts for KB, and an emotional sendoff on the Shea Bridge last week affirmed just that.  I’ll admit it, I even got a little emotional just watching it. Burkhardt has always been classy and cool, and he will be missed

There is no doubting the profound effect Kevin Burkhardt has had on the Mets community.  He’s brought us closer to the team we love while becoming one of the more well liked figures in Mets history.  Here at MMO, we wish you all the best, Kevin, and please, get some sleep.

The post Goodbye and Good Luck, Kevin Burkhardt appeared first on Metsmerized.

Early Wednesday morning, SNY’s field reporter Kevin Burkhardt took to Twitter to thank Mets fans for an amazing journey as he prepares for his final SNY broadcast on September 25th. Here’s what he had to say:

This is actually a really sad moment for a lot of Mets fans, including me. Since 2007, Burkhardt has been there as the voice of stories, happy and sad. He talked to real fans and for many, was the face of the SNY broadcasts. He was there during the pre-game and was the first guy players would speak to after a big win.

Burkhardt’s letter to fans was kind and gentle as was his demeanor on and off the field. On numerous occasions I watched as he talked to kids, signed autographs and talked shop as he mentioned in the Tweet.

Back in December, Howard Megdal (Capital) did an incredible article about FOX “poaching” Burkhardt from SNY. In it, Fox Sports executive producer John Entz described the now veteran broadcaster and why they wanted him at FOX.

“First and foremost, I find Kevin to be a very likeable guy, both on the air, and off the air, frankly. And when you like the broadcaster who you listen to, it makes all the difference in the world. He’s not talking down to you. He’s talking to you as a friend.”

Truer words have never been said. What made Burkhardt so great is that while he was tracking down big stories and talking to players parents, he spoke like he was one of the guys. He was your friend and you trusted his tone as much as you trusted his judgement.

From the entire team at MetsMerized and from me, a lifelong Mets fan through the good and the bad, you will always be our boy KB and good luck at FOX. We’ll be watching.

The post A Somber Goodbye From Kevin Burkhardt appeared first on Metsmerized.

The SNY suits thought that it was possible to find some mature individual to visit with Gary, Keith, and Ron about once every few weeks for an inning or two.  The plan was scuttled as their last three candidates just didn’t pan out.

One of the three was Clint Eastwood.  His audition went south almost immediately when he insisted on talking to Ralph’s empty chair.

Betty White showed potential. She had some wonderfully ribald stories about her dating life with the likes of Tris Speaker and Dom DiMaggio.  Unfortunately she lapsed into some questionable areas when she insisted that she gave the idea to Abner Doubleday to place the bases 90 feet apart.   And anyway Ms. White has enough TV shows on her plate as it is.

Comedian Bob Newhart was also considered a strong candidate.  But in his audition his interplay with Gary and the others was weak.  Mr. Newhart apparently works better in a scripted environment (ask Larry, Darryl, and the other Darryl) or alone on stage doing a monologue.

As you might expect, no one can replace Ralph. And now, thankfully,  no one will.

But that’s not even the big news.  MMO has learned there are now just four final candidates to succeed Kevin Burkhardt as the roving reporter on Mets telecasts.  This is a coveted position.  Once the Leno and Letterman replacements were named this became the most sought after gig in the entire TV universe.

As you’ll see each candidate has something going for him/her but also a bit of baggage.

Ted McGinley –  Ted is a handsome charming comedic actor who brings to his roles about what Anthony Recker brings to the Mets.

The focus group that observed his audition was blown away in a positive manner.

Unfortunately Ted’s problem is that he now has the reputation of being the “Sitcom Killer” as this article discusses.

As gruesome as some Mets losses often are none of us Met fans want to see the telecasts cancelled due to poor ratings.  For that reason SNY may have to look elsewhere for the next Kevin.

Alexa – Forgive us for not knowing her last name or whether she even has one.  We know her from her Mets promo commercials with Brandon.

As one might expect the males in the focus group gave her exceedingly high marks on her audition although when the analysts inquired about what she had said on the air none of the men could actually remember a word.

The women in the focus group were less enthusiastic about her audition (except the two who revealed themselves as lesbians).

Richard Engel –  Richard currently works for NBC News  (NBC is a TV network that you may have never heard of.  Their shows famously air for about three episodes before being cancelled.

They do have a news department though and some people over the years have watched Johnny Carson and Jay Leno there).

Engel has been NBC’s go-to guy whenever some disaster, from nature or man-made, strikes.  It is thought that he would be less affected than others if the Mets win just 75 games again in 2015. The carnage would be nothing new to him.

Steve Gelbs – Steve could be considered the incumbent as he has been used extensively in the Kevin Burkhardt role during this, Kevin’s lame duck season roving the ballpark.

One would normally expect that he would be the natural choice for the Kevin position.  Unfortunately when an analyst walked in to interview the focus group that was observing Steve’s audition…. Well here’s what his report said, “I thought I had accidentally stepped into a sleep laboratory.”

So Gelbs’ chances of landing the job were not enhanced there.

Clearly this will be a difficult call for the powers that be at SNY.  The execs there likely prefer someone who will stay at the position for a number of years and not use it as a stepping stone to a higher profile job.  Should they opt for Alexa there is always the chance that when Erin Andrews ages a few years FOX will throw her over for someone like Alexa just as they recently tossed off Pam Oliver for having the audacity to become 43 years old.

If SNY takes the conservative route and selects Gelbs – no such concern.

We should know in a few months as to who will be our next Kevin Burkhardt.

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To our readers: This article was inspired by a suggestion from my son Brandon.  Brandon lives and works in the city of Philadelphia – in fact his house is about two miles from Citizen Bank Park. I’m sure you join me in saluting Brandon and all the other Mets fans in this country who work and gather intel in hostile foreign cities like Philly.  I’ve had the chance to watch him walk the streets of that city proudly wearing his custom designed red-with-white-lettering cap with the NY logo prominently displayed.  He never takes any flak over it since the cap is the appropriate color and, heck, they’re Philadelphians.

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What an stunning and deflating loss last night. I don’t mind losing, I can handle losing, but it’s the agonizingly, torturous ways we lose that kill me. And last night’s gut-punch was the worst of the season.

You know, I started to get that feeling of impending doom in the bottom of the sixth when Zack Wheeler came up to hit assuring that he was coming out to pitch the seventh. After laboring hard for five innings last night and going to a full count on half of the batters he faced, it might have been a better decision to end his evening on a high note after Wheeler tossed his only 1-2-3 inning of the night. And wouldn’t you know it, Wheeler is greeted with a line drive single to start the seventh and if not for a brilliant running catch by Chris Young snaring a gapper to left-center, it would have been second and third with nobody out. Only then is Wheeler’s night over and within minutes Kevin Burkhardt was pushing a microphone in front of his face. Wheeler looked beat, disgusted, and down.

What a dreadful eighth inning. For the second time this season, Jeurys Familia fielded a come-backer to the mound and flubbed the throw to second. What are you gonna do, he’s young and it’s all part of the growing pains. You can’t blame Eric Campbell either, he’s played third base about 25 times in the last three years, that’s not his gig. Unfortunately, we’ll see Soup two more times as the Mets will be without Wright’s services until Friday and they’re sticking with this six-outfielder alignment come hell or high water. Juan Lagares made his first error of the season overrunning a ball. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

With Terry Collins as the manager I always get the sense that this team is playing not to lose rather than playing to win. What’s the difference? The difference is huge. Playing not to lose envelops every at-bat, pitch and fielding play with a vast amount of pressure. Pressure that they could all do better without. Pressure changes how we react and even slows down your natural instincts. Not by much, but just a split second that can often affect your execution.

This team needs to get back to basics. The hitters need to get all that noise the front office is cramming into their heads and just do the things that got them to the majors in the first place. Pitchers need to trust their stuff more and not be afraid to pitch to contact. Most of all, play loose and have some fun.

Here’s to a better outcome tonight.

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Kevin Burkhardt will be the host of the all new Fox MLB pregame and post-game show for the 2014 season.

Burkhardt will still continue to work as the roving reporter during Mets games on SNY, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot less of him as mainstream media is now onto his amazing talents behind a mic.

From the official press release by Fox:

FOX Sports lifts the curtain on 2014 by today announcing that Emmy Award-winning play-by-play broadcaster, Joe Buck, the voice of MLB on FOX since its inception, is joined by analysts Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci as the new lead game broadcast team for MLB on FOX.  The announcement was made by Eric Shanks, President, COO & Executive Producer, FOX Sports, and John Entz, Executive Vice President, Production & Executive Producer, FOX Sports.  Reporters Ken Rosenthal and Erin Andrews join the team throughout the regular season, All-Star Game and postseason, including the World Series.  FOX Sports stalwarts Kenny Albert and Thom Brennaman also are scheduled for play-by-play assignments this season.

One of the most talented young broadcasters in the country, Burkhardt (@kevinburkhardt) joined FOX Sports in July 2013, calling NFL games alongside analyst John Lynch and sideline reporter Erin Andrews. An immediate success, Burkhardt, along with Lynch and Andrews, earned a playoff assignment in his first season calling national NFL games. Prior to FOX, Burkhardt spent several seasons with SNY covering the New York Mets in a myriad of roles from on-field reporting to play-by-play and in studio hosting duties.

Congratulations to Kevin…

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There is today’s winner for best banner during today’s Mets Banner Day Parade before the game. If I might say so myself, they did a fantastic job and out of the banners the Mets posted on their Twitter account today, I liked this one the best myself.

Here are some of the other images the Mets tweeted or re-tweeted today, and also a few from New York Newsday:

I loved the message in this particular one. Very cool…

Looks like David Wright was well represented today. This one was looked great…

Kevin Burkhardt was one of the judges and he seemed very impressed with this one.

This was one of the first ones to go before the judges. Kudos for originality.

When it comes to originality, nobody beats Mets fans!

I knew there would be a few for John Buck…

A well-deserved banner for second baseman Daniel Murphy!

Homegrown stars are always the best!

We’ll end this on a high note: The future looks bright!

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