New Mets reliever A.J. Minter talked about his offseason of change, mentioning that while Atlanta holds a close place in his heart, he is “here to beat them,” per Manny Gómez of NJ.com. A hectic offseason, which has included rehab from hip surgery, found himself landing in a rival town, moving from Atlanta to Queens. In the article, Minter also mentioned that he plans on throwing four more bullpens before he graduates to facing hitters. 

Mady Mertens-USA TODAY Sports

Latest Mets News

It will be Clay Holmes going against Ryan Gusto of the Houston Astros in the Mets’ Grapefruit League opener on Saturday. Click here for more on the pitching matchup.

Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic went into depth on how the Mets’ reinvigorated hitting lab could help spur development amongst all levels.

Frankie Montas told reporters that he’s “feeling pretty good” after getting a PRP shot yesterday, per SNY.

The Mets signed right-handed pitcher Connor Overton to a minor league deal, per Mike Mayer of Metsmerized Online. Overton had a 4.85 ERA in 59 MLB innings from 2021-2023.

Matt Allan is healthy and expects to be pitching for a minor-league affiliate when camp breaks, per Will Sammon of The Athletic. This would be the first time Allan has appeared in a game since 2019.

Carlos Mendoza said that he’s currently leaning towards hitting Francisco Lindor leadoff and Juan Soto second in the lineup, per SNY. To learn more about the lineup decision, click here!

Over the course of the season, the Mets will hold 13 theme nights, they will also feature four games with additional specialty ticket package items via special event ticket purchase.

The Mets are showing interest in bringing back José Quintana, per Pat Ragazzo of Mets on SI. For more on the report, click here.

Latest MLB News

Outfielder Lawrence Butler and the A’s are in talks on a contract extension, per Evan Drellich of The Athletic. The former sixth-round pick posted a .262/.317/.490 slash line with 22 homers in 125 games last season. 

The ABS challenge system will be in use during spring training and Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com broke down how the system works.

The Colorado Rockies signed left-handed pitcher Scott Alexander to a one-year deal.

Dustin May revealed that his season ending emergency esophagus surgery was due to his tearing his esophagus while eating a salad, per Jack Harris of The LA Times.

Latest on MMO

It seems like Francisco Lindor will lead off for the Mets yet again in 2025.

The Mets are showing interest in bringing José Quintana back.

Met hitters are embracing the recent lab study.

On This Date in Mets History

2021: The Mets and Taijuan Walker agree to a two-year, $20 million deal. Walker would appear an All-Star game while posting a 3.98 ERA as a Met.

2003: The Mets sign Tony Clark to a minor league deal.

Born on This Date: Luis Severino (1994), Justin Verlander (1983), Liván Hernández (1975), Shane Spencer (1972), Phil Lombardi (1963).

The post Morning Briefing: A.J. Minter Here To Beat Old Team appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Chris asks….

Why are the Mets ignoring Cuban prospects? They showed no interest in Jose Abreu, Yoenis Cespedes or Yasiel Puig. They also passed on Jose Fernandez who was selected immediately after the Mets drafted Brandon Nimmo, and made no attempt to sign Aroldis Chapman. Who is in charge of Latin America scouting for the Mets and why are they ignoring one of the hottest international markets in baseball?

Teddy replies…

First of all, that is an age – old question. The Mets haven’t really invested in any Cuban player since Omar with Alay Soler, El Duque, and Livan Hernandez, and those were just very minor signings. They have historically shied away from big-ticket Cuban players, and have been unwilling to spend for Chapman, Ramirez, Puig, Cespedes, and Abreu.

The main word to describe any of these cases has always been “spending.” Many of these players come from leagues with drastic areas of skill, some of whom are in the AA range and others in the MLB range. And even though they are the elite, they are still unproven. It’s a big risk to throw millions of dollars into that unknown void (Then again “spending” hasn’t really applied lately anywhere for the Mets).

The Jose Fernandez failure was a domestic scouting blunder under draft director Tommy Tanous. But the most important question was about the Latin American Scouting Director, who had changed from the great Ismael Cruz (who was there for Chapman only) to unknown scout Chris Becerra. He didn’t seem to have any scouting experience in Latin America which makes him puzzling.

However, I doubt he would harness enough power to convince the ownership to spend tens of millions of dollars, especially on the advice of an unproven Latin American Scouting Director. That responsibility falls on the General Manager who has the ultimate decision, and so does the fault if these players excel.

The post Why Are The Mets Ignoring The Cuban Market? appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Yes, today is the 14th anniversary of when  Todd “The Tank” Pratt went boom to lead the Mets past the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 1999 NLDS.

I remember waking up just in time to see Todd Pratt, the Mets back-up catcher who was subbing for the injured Mike Piazza, take Diamondbacks closer Matt Mantai’s fastball over the centerfield wall.

I was working for the heavy metal band, Shango at the time, and I had gotten home at around 6:00 AM from an overnight gig. I generally don’t sleep into the afternoon, but I was so tired from the night before and I missed the first nine innings of the game. I turned on the television while still being barely conscious to hear Chris Berman utter (more like scream) that now famous play by play:

Oh… That’s hit well to centerfield…

Finley goes back… BACK! BACK!!!!! (long pause)

IT’S OVER!!!

I remember watching Diamondbacks centerfielder, Steve Finley make what looked to be a leaping grab of the ball, but I saw the look of despair in his eyes and when he bowed his head in shame. I was totally awake (hung-over, but awake) and screaming at the top of my lungs!

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Yes the Mets would be eliminated by the insidious Atlanta Braves in the NLCS, but if it was not for Todd Pratt – a man who just a scant years before was out of baseball and working at a Dominos Pizza franchise – the Mets may not of gotten that far.

So what are your memories of that incredible Mets moment?

We at MMO wish Todd Pratt all the best in his battle with head and neck cancer which he revealed in August. So far so good, for the former Met catcher… After surgery to remove the tumors, his cancer is now in remission and he says he feels good and doctors tell him he’s healthy.

And with that said….. HERE COMES THE INFAMY!!!!!!

Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today include:

Utility man from the ’98 season, Jim Tatum is 46 (1967). In his lone season with the Mets, Tatum played every position except for shortstop, second base and pitcher!

One third of “Generation K” Bill Pulsipher is 40 (1973). Oh what could have been!

Starting pitcher from the ’06 season, Alay Soler is 34 (1979). Soler was the one of the few Cuban defectors the Mets signed in the past decade. But unlike an El Duque or a Livan Hernandez, Alay never lived up to the hype. He only pitched in eight games for the Mets, posting a record of 2-3 with a 6.00 ERA.

Reserve outfielder from the ’11 season, Jason Pridie is 30 (1983). Pridie played in 101 games for the Mets that season, batting a paltry .231 with 4 homers and 20 RBIs.

Other notables include:

The  Oakland Athletics claimed both reserve outfielder Matt Watson and utility infielder Marco Scutaro of the New York Mets on waivers on October 9, 2003. As of this past season Scutaro was still an active player with the Giants, makes you wish the Mets never put him through waivers huh?

Mo Vaughn nearly choked on his third helping of Dominos Pizza when he saw Pratt hit that homerun!!!!

The post This Day In Mets Infamy With Rusty: The Todd Pratt Goes Boom Edition! appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

But the type of music a ballplayer uses when he steps up to the plate or runs out to the mound is rather important as well. It can create a feeling of fear or anxiety to the opposing batter/pitcher. This is sometimes purposeful – case in point the use of the Metallica song “Enter Sandman” as Mariano Rivera‘s intro song. If you are a batter and you hear that song , well you know you have a Sisyphean task ahead of you.

Oftentimes their musical choice is just a play on their name or personality, and yes sometimes they mean absolutely nothing at all… But not in this exercise…

I now present you with my list of songs that our current Mets players should be using as their walk up/intro music:

David Wright should be walking up to the strains of “I’m Your Captain” by Grand Funk.

Middle reliever, Scott Atchinson should enter the game to “Old Man” by Neil Young.

The recently promoted Travis d’Arnaud should use “New Kid In Town” by The Eagles as his theme until he gets more experienced.

The case of Marlon Byrd it is quite simple – “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Matt Harvey should walk to the mound with the song “Eye Of The Tiger” by Survivor blasting through the P.A. system.

And an appropriate song for Zack Wheeler is “Wheel In The Sky” by Journey .

Last but not least, if there was a song that should best describe the Mets future it should be “Movin On Up” – The theme from The Jefferson’s!

So what do you think ? Agree/disagree? What song would you use for a player that was either mentioned or not? Feel free to write your choices in the comments section.

And with that said….. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!!!

Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today includes:

Utility player from 1962, Cliff Cook is 87 (1936) .

Reserve outfielder from the ’09 season, Cory Sullivan is 34 (1979).

Middle reliever from the ’09 season, Lance Broadway is 30 (1983).

Some other notables...

• The  New York Mets purchased the contract of spot starter/middle reliever, Bill Connors from the Chicago Cubs on August 20, 1967.
• The New York Mets purchased the contract of starting pitcher Ray Burris from the New York Yankees on August 20, 1979.
• The New York Mets signed free agent utility infielder, Larry Bowa on August 20, 1985. Bowa’s tenure with the Mets was rather short. He played in 14 games for the Mets, batting .105 with just 2 RBIs.
• The New York Mets traded minor league infielders, Sean Henry and Jose Castro, to the Cincinnati Reds for reserve outfielder/first baseman, Jeff  Conine on August 20, 2007.
• The New York Mets released starting pitcher, Livan Hernandez on August 20, 2009.

The song that best describes Mo Vaughn is “I Want Candy’ !!!!!

The post This Day In Mets Infamy With Rusty: The “Songs That Best Describe The Mets” Edition appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

I had reported back in August that Hernandez was being sued over damage done to a rental car.

Unfortunately, now the pitcher’s troubles have hit closer to home…literally.

Robert Snell at the Detroit News, who also broke the two IRS cases against Ron Darling and Darryl Strawberry, is now reporting that the former Mets pitcher is in danger of having his home in Miami, Florida foreclosed.

According to the report, that on top of his home being foreclosed, Hernandez owes a considerable amount of debt to numerous organizations.

Apparently, the pitcher owes more than $6,000 to two different property management groups. The pitcher is even accused of stiffing his pool maintenance guy of more than $1,000.

And, yes, to top it all off the IRS claims he owes more than $300,000 in unpaid taxes. As Snell points out, the right-hander has made over $50 million in his career, so you’d like to think that he will be able to pay off these debts, but who knows.

The 34 year-old pitcher had expressed interest in returning to the Nationals next season, but you have to wonder if these financial woes will deter the team from bringing him back.

What is it with all these Mets not paying their taxes?

Granted, I understand that numerous celebrities are involved in similar issues, but it just seems that as of late these celebrities are somehow connected to the Mets.

The post Ex-Met Hernandez, No Longer Livan’ In The High Life appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The lawsuit, which was filed by a man named Luis Vizcaino, states that Livan had used him as his personal driver throughout the 2009 season for when he was in New York.

According to the suit, Hernandez owes Vizcaino $7,500 for his services as a driver. The suit also alleges that the pitcher totaled Vizcaino’s Lincoln Navigator when it was loaned to him, which is where the other $8,500 is coming from.

If the lawsuit is in fact legitimate, shame on Livan. Here’s a baseball player, who this year alone made one million dollars alone, and is trying to skip out of town without paying off the debt he owes.

The post Livan Hernandez Is Released Then Sued appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Hernandez was 7-8 with a 5.47 ERA. Hernandez started the year off strong, but since July 3rd at Philadelphia, he really hasn’t shown the Mets much.

You know, the one thing I could never stand about him was how he never seemed to care on the mound. He’s very much like El Duque in a sense that they can just throw all day. The big difference was, Duque showed emotion, and didn’t look like he was out there just to collect a paycheck.

Hernandez was scheduled to start on Saturday against Philadelphia versus J.A. Happ.

The post Livan On a Jet Plane appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Livan Hernandez started and he was absolutely torched by the Giants batters who were teeing off on him like it was batting practice. He ended up lasting just 5.1 innings, but in the process he allowed six runs on eleven hits and a walk. Livan is clearly gassed and has hit the skids in the second half with a 6.55 ERA in six starts. Hernandez has an 11.30 ERA in his past three outings. I’ve had enough of the Hernandez siblings.

Elmer Dessens relieved Livan and looked solid, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings without allowing a hit or walk. Not bad at all, but then along came trouble… Tim Redding started the eight inning and got pummeled for three more runs on four hits. His ERA now stands at 6.42 this season. What a terrible addition he has been… In 69 innings pitched, he has allowed 83 hits, 39 walks and 49 runs. Nelson Figueroa pitched the final inning and gave up the Giants’ tenth run of the game.

The Mets lone run came courtesy of Gary Sheffield who singled home Cory Sullivan who had two hits and a walk batting leadoff. Dan Murphy also had a couple of hits while batting in the cleanup spot. Speaking of the cleanup spot, I have to say that as long as I’ve been watching baseball, I have never see outfielders come in and play so shallow when a cleanup hitter comes to the plate. It was so freaky watching the Giants come all the way in and then go all the way back deep when Jeff Francoeur came to the plate.

After the game, Jerry Manuel said that Livan Hernandez will remain in the rotation. Now don’t go flipping out on him, as the fact of the matter is what other options does he have? Obviously, all those untouchable arms we apparently have in the minors can’t seem to get AA batters out so what help can they offer? There’s really nothing else he can do and his choices are not only limited, but pretty bad as well.

The Mets begin a three-game series against the Braves tonight; Derek Lowe versus Oliver Perez. How fitting.

The post Livan Gets Rocked By Giants 10-1 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Livan Hernandez started the game and delivered his third straight solid performance. Hernandez held the D-Backs to just two runs on four hits in six innings of work. The two runs came courtesy of two solo homers, one by Mark Reynolds (his 29th), and another by Miguel Montero (his 10th).

The Mets scored both of their runs on solo homers, one by Daniel Murphy who crushed his sixth homer of the season to rightfield. The other homer was by David Wright, his seventh of the season. Wright also had two walks in the game. That was all of the scoring as the Mets were held to just four hits in the game.

The Mets did have a chance to break the game open in the bottom of the sixth when they loaded the base of  D-backs starter Doug Davis. But Jerry Manuel decided to pinch hit Angel Berroa for Livan Hernandez, and Berroa grounded into a fielder’s choice on the first pitch for the third out.

The Mets were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base tonight.

With the score tied 2-2 tie in the eighth, reliever Pedro Feliciano allowed a single and was replaced by an ineffective Sean Green who then loaded the bases with a walk and a hit batsman. Daniel Murphy than made a spectacular 3-2-3 double play and it looked like the Mets were going to get out of the inning without any damage. But Green uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Justin Upton to score from third base and put the D-Backs up 3-2.

That was about it, as the Mets went quietly in the eighth and ninth innings.

Frankie Rodriguez has still not pitched in a save situation since before the All Star break.

Angel Pagan and Luis Castillo are 1-for-15 in the last two games batting first and second, and Jeff Francoeur is hitless since Manuel put him into the cleanup spot, although as GKR mentioned, he has hit the ball as hard as you can.

The offense has reverted back to the one we grew accustomed to before the five game winning streak. During the pre game, Bobby Ojeda said that the Mets needed to trade for someone if only to reward the team for trying so hard this past week. Another bat, especially Victor Martinez, would have provided a nice boost and helped the Mets try to secure that wild card spot. However, it wasn’t meant to be.

Oliver Perez takes the hill tomorrow at 7:10 PM.

The post Snake-bit Mets Fall To Diamondbacks 3-2 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Livan Hernandez started the game and it looked like he wouldn’t survive the first inning after allowing three straight run scoring doubles. But the Astros ran themselves out of the inning, getting thrown out at the plate for the second out and then Schneider gunned down Hunter Pence at second base for the third out. Livan would shutdown the ‘Stros for the next six innings. He walked just one batter and struck out a season high, seven batters. It was the second straight solid start for Livan who picks up his seventh win of the season. Stay focused Livan, we need you!

The Mets would come roaring back and scored three runs in the third to tie the game, and then two more runs in the fifth inning to take the lead and never look back.

The Mets had three triples in the game and all three figured into the scoring. Castillo, Pagan, and Jeremy Reed each drove in runs. Angel Pagan has been a spark-plug since rejoining the Mets, and has produced with his bat, his glove, and his arm which he showcased today; nailing Geoff Blum at homeplate. He has an eight game hitting streak. A real Angel in the outfield, I love it!

Alex Cora, Luis Castillo and David Wright each had two hits, Wright nearly homered in the ninth and had to settle for a double. Jeff Francoeur drove in two more runs today and now has 14 RBIs in 12 games as a Met. After the game, Manuel said that Francoeur has energized a number of players that needed some recharging including David Wright. He said the clubhouse has had a positive energy and different dynamic since his arrival. Wow!

Everybody in the Mets lineup had a hit today. Teamwork!

Sean Green earned a four out save in the game, his first of the season. Nice job Greenie!

It was a great series win for the Mets who looked like a team with something to prove. This team ain’t done yet!

The Mets now hop on a plane back home, and will host the Colorado Rockies for a big four game series starting Monday. The Rockies currently lead the Wild Card chase, but with a few wins the Mets could resuscitate their season and get back in striking distance. Wouldn’t that be nice? Oliver Perez will try to keep the momentum going.

Lets Go Mets!

The post Mets Rocket Past Astros 8-3, Take The Series 2-1 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.