The Marlins and Mets took the field around 7:10, with Dominic Smith and Billy Hamilton leading the way for New York.

All of the players took their positions, then removed their caps for 42 seconds of silence.

Then both teams walked off the field, leaving only a Black Lives Matter t-shirt covering home plate.

This comes one day after three MLB games and all NBA playoff games were postponed as players across sports came together to call for racial justice.

NBA players said Thursday they would resume the playoffs, while the NHL, after facing criticism for playing Wednesday, will reportedly postpone its second-round playoff games, including Game 3 between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders.

MLB announced that these other games were postponed:

– Red Sox-Blue Jays
– Twins-Tigers
– Phillies-Nationals
– Rangers-A’s

Late this afternoon, GM Brodie Van Wagenen was caught lamenting the situation over a hot mic.

In the discussion he could be overhead saying MLB commissioner Rob Manfred wanted the players to take the field, then symbolically leave the field at 7:10 PM and then return to play at 8:10 PM.

But the players weren’t having it.

On Wednesday night, Mets first baseman Dominic Smith gave a raw and emotional interview after being asked to describe what’s been the most difficult part of these last couple of months.

“The most difficult part is to see people still don’t care. Being a Black man in America, it’s not easy.”

The post Mets and Marlins Walk Off Field After 42 Seconds of Silence appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The New York Mets returned to action last night after a five-day layoff which began when two members of their traveling party tested positive for COVID-19 last week. Looking around the league nearly every team has had their schedule impacted by the Coronavirus in some capacity, as positive tests continue to pop up.

In hopes of avoided those types of scheduling and competitive complications during the most important time of the year, Major League Baseball is looking to implement a postseason plan at “controlled sites”.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that the American League would potentially be based in Southern California, while the National League would be based in Texas. Rosenthal notes that no plan is close to being finalized, but the league is talking through scenarios with the union now. The final plan would of course have to be approved by the owners.

Potential sites for playoff games in Southern California could include Dodgers Stadium, Angel Stadium of Anaheim and Petco Park (Padres). On the National League side, Minute Maid Park (Astros) and Globe Life Field (Rangers) could be two sites in Texas.

The Rangers new ballpark has been tabbed as the likely site of the World Series if this plan was approved.

Looking around sports, it is clear that implementing a bubble atmosphere is the best way to keep COVID-19 from impacted these leagues. The NBA and the NHL are in the midst of their respective playoffs and are having great success.

In all of the recent rounds of testing, the NBA has come back with no positive tests in their bubble in Orlando. The same goes for the NHL in their Canadian hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton.

The post MLB Discussing ‘Controlled Sites’ For Postseason appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Per a tweet from David Lennon of Newsday Sports, Mets’ front-office employee Donovan Mitchell Sr. has tested negative for COVID-19. Mitchell’s son, Utah Jazz star, Donovan Mitchell Jr., was confirmed to have the coronavirus earlier this week.

Mitchell Sr. has worked for New York for the last couple of decades as the Mets’ director of player relations and community engagement. He was potentially exposed to the virus after attending his son’s contest against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 4th.

The sports world has been sent upside-down in the last couple of days with the recent Coronavirus developments. The NBA and NHL have suspended their seasons while Major League Baseball has made the decision to postpone the start of its season and cancel Spring Training. Earlier today, MLB sent out a memo officially announcing these schedule changes.

Players have been encouraged to stay at the spring-training site, although some teams have let the members of their team rejoin their families. The Coronavirus has not penetrated MLB locker rooms the way it has NBA locker rooms, but it’s worth noting that a Diamondbacks minor-leaguer was tested earlier today out of “an abundance of caution”. The test results are still pending.

In addition, Sam Kennedy, the CEO of Red Sox, said that the baseball season could extend into December, should Major League Baseball choose to continue its 162 game slate.

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com adds that Brodie Van Wagenen will talk about this and the recent coronavirus events in a news conference tomorrow.

Hopefully, baseball will return soon, but at this point, there’s no knowing when soon will be.

The post Donovan Mitchell Sr. Tests Negative For COVID-19 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Major League Baseball announced that they will cancel spring training and delay the 2020 regular season by at least two weeks due to the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) within the United States. In addition, World Baseball Classic Qualifier games will also be postponed indefinitely.

MLB stated, “MLB and the Clubs have been preparing a variety of contingency plans regarding the 2020 regular season schedule. MLB will announce the effects on the schedule at an appropriate time and will remain flexible as events warrant, with the hope of resuming normal operations as soon as possible.”

The league owners held a conference call Thursday afternoon to formalize a plan before the suspension was announced.

The NBA was the first major sports league to suspend its season on Wednesday night after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus.

MLS followed on Thursday morning and announced the league will also suspend all its games for 30 days “as the league continues to assess the impact of COVID-19 with its medical task force and public health officials.”

NHL canceled all morning skates and practices Thursday morning before officially announcing the suspension of the 2019-20 season on Thursday afternoon.

When any of these leagues will resume play remains to be seen. While MLS has implemented a 30-day suspension and MLB has pushed games back two weeks, those numbers are arbitrary at this point as we don’t know how long before things are contained and when any of these sports are deemed safe to play.

The post MLB Cancels Spring Training, Delays Season Amidst The Coronavirus Pandemic appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

This early edition of the Subway Series carries with it a little more intrigue than in past seasons. With the Mets virtually on fire with an 11 game win streak and the Yankees having won six of their last seven, it’ll be a matchup of arms this late April weekend in the Bronx.

Friday: RHP Jacob deGrom (2-1, 0.93) vs. RHP Michael Pineda (2-0, 5.00), 7:05 PM

Saturday: RHP Matt Harvey (3-0, 3.50) vs. LHP CC Sabathia (0-3, 4.35), 4:05 PM

Sunday: LHP Jonathon Niese (2-0, 1.50) vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 3.12), 8:05 PM

The Mets have won four straight games at Yankee Stadium dating back to May 29, 2013, sweeping each two game series in 2014 and 2013. The Mets are 7-9 all-time at the new Yankee Stadium and 20-29 all-time during the regular season in the Bronx.

The Mets are 42-56 overall vs. the Yankees during the regular season and have won three of their last four series vs. the Yankees. Also, the Mets won both spring training games this year vs. the Yankees.

Who’d have thought a week ago the Yankees would be two over .500 and sharing first place? Better yet, who’d have thought the Mets would have a double digit + win streak just two weeks into the season? It will be interesting, folks.

With the Rangers and Islanders competing in the NHL playoffs, it takes a New York matchup such as this one, to turn the heads of New York fans this far from October. Stay Tuned!

The post Hot vs Hotter Tonight In The Bronx appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

In a very extensive poll by ESPN that was conducted by the consulting firm Maddock Douglas, over 100,000 fans were asked how they viewed their teams in various areas including return for the emotion, money and time invest in your team, relationship with the owners, how they viewed the team’s leadership, likability and ballpark experience.

The Mets finished with an overall rating of 118 out of the 122 sports teams that comprise MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL.

Here’s their scorecard which I ran just by MLB Rankings:

Ownership – Rank 28 – Honesty and Loyalty to Core Players

Fan Relations – Rank 29 – Openness and consideration towards fans.

Affordability – Rank 28 – Pricing of Tickets, Concessions, and Parking. 

Stadium Experience – Rank 28 – Quality of ballpark and game day promotions as well as friendliness of the environment.

Player Effort – Rank 28 – Overall effort displayed on field and likability of team.

Leadership – Rank 29 – Overall strength exhibited by manager and coaching staff.

That’s pretty appalling anyway you look at it, and while this isn’t exactly a scientific poll, it’s hard to argue that the results are that far removed from the state of our relationship with the team.

The post Fans Rank Mets At Bottom In Value, Honesty, Leadership, Ownership appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

In addition to his 2-for-4 performance during yesterday’s Opening Day routing of the San Diego Padres, Mets backstop John Buck debuted a snazzy new catcher’s mask that has people talking.

Each year, Buck has gotten a new catcher’s mask each year over the past few seasons and this one appears to be the best yet!

“Gerald with VooDoo Air is the one who designs my masks.  He does most of the masks for the NHL goalies as well.” Said Buck “I met him up in Toronto when I played there.  My inspiration for my masks is taken from the city I play for.”

Major League Baseball has imposed heavy restrictions on catcher’s mask deigns like Buck’s in recent years, however he is one of the select few remaining who have been grandfathered, so the incredible designs that honor his team’s cities are permitted.

I’m certainly a fan of Buck’s awesome mask designs, and apparently so is Justin Turner:

This is the coolest catchers mask I’ve ever seen! @johnbuck44 is gonna B looking sweet putting down the signals! #LGM twitter.com/redturn2/statu…

— Justin Turner (@redturn2) April 1, 2013

To learn more about these masks and the incredible airbrush designs, you can do so by checking out TOIgear or Voodooair.

The post Check Out John Buck’s Awesome New Mask! appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

I just caught a glimpse of what this season’s Opening day tickets look like, courtesy of Leigh Castergine, VP of Ticket Sales & Services for the New York Mets, and I must say they look spectacular!

Those tickets are so awesome… I love the vintage look and of course the image of The Franchise, Tom Seaver just makes them an instant Mets collectible.

I thought it would be pretty tough to top last year’s tickets, which were also great, honoring 50 Years of Mets Baseball, with each ticket featuring a prominent figure from Mets lore.

Just a great job by the Mets on this and it’s so good to see them embracing their history like never before, especially in the last two years. A hat tip to you all from all of us at Mets Merized Online.

I hate the fact that the Mets are always being picked apart by the usual suspects for the silliest things. Lately, almost every little thing they do gets magnified to umpteenth degree, with so many so-called fans always trying to create a drama when there really isn’t any.

I think we need to cut all of that nonsense out and instead start giving them credit especially when it’s due. For the most part they do a lot of good things that go unnoticed – and that shouldn’t be the case.

By the way, I recently learned that Leigh came to the Mets a couple of years ago with some impressive credentials on her resume.

She once worked for the NBA’s Orlando Magic and prior to joining the Mets she was Director of Sales for the NHL’s Boston Bruins.

I had no idea she was such a seasoned veteran. I say we make her co-captain with David Wright… 🙂

You can follow Leigh on Twitter at @LeighJC_NYM.

The post I’ve Really Gotta Hand It To The Mets This Time… appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Energy and passion.

While these two attributes have been lacking from New York Mets baseball for the past few years, the team has shown a year’s worth in just four games.

After the ugly Opening Day loss, the team has responded in a big way. That first game was the type of loss that can bury a team right out of the gate, but the Mets found a way to win the next three, albeit in peculiar fashion on Saturday.

What’s more special is that they started on the road in two stadiums where they are known to struggle: Sun Life Stadium in Miami and Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

The Mets didn’t win their first road series last year until mid June when they swept the Baltimore Orioles.

If the Mets can win just one of the next two games (preferably both but they have a better shot tonight against Joe Blanton than tomorrow against Roy Halladay), this first road trip would be everything a Mets fan could ask for.

The team has been stealing bases, taking the extra base on hits and hitting well with runners in scoring position. For example, during last night’s six-run rally in the top of the third inning, the Mets didn’t even have an extra base hit. They instead put together six singles (two by starting pitcher Chris Young which set a news Mets record) and two walks.

The Mets have had success against Cole Hamels, and it was great to see them knock him out early. The hype in Philadelphia may be all about the “four aces” this season, but until they each pitch like an ace, they’re just a regular staff.

Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan and David Wright all seem rejuvenated so far. They must continue to lead by example and create things for the middle of the order.

Though Carlos Beltran is off to a slow start, the players around him are picking up the slack. You have to remember, he played just three games in spring training, so he’s still getting a feel for right field and at the plate.

Terry Collins could possibly consider moving Beltran down in the order to take some of the pressure off him. Ike Davis is off to a hot start and can hit fourth, so Beltran can slide into the fifth or sixth hole (when Jason Bay returns).

While the Mets have only played four games, all of a sudden some of the doubters this season have begun opening their eyes. They may still believe the Mets are destined for a fourth or even fifth-place finish, but they must agree that this energetic play has surprised them.

The diehards, myself included, knew this team could play like this all along. In fact, since the Mets roster may not rival that of the Phillies or Braves, this is the way the Mets will have to play each night to put up wins.

The team seems to be buying into Terry Collins’ philosophy as well.

“One game at a time.”

The New Jersey Devils used this phrase as their motto the last two months as they made a playoff push after a terrible start to their NHL season. While the Devils will come up short of the playoffs, they went on a streak unmatched by any team this year and have now set the bar high for next year.

The Mets can learn something from the Devils: A late season streak is useless if your team is already too far out of contention.

The goal for the Mets will be to take “one game at a time,” and see where it takes them.

Win or lose, all I know is Mets baseball is exciting once again.

Follow me on Twitter @JMMancari.

The post Mets Must Channel Their Early Energy And Passion appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

After testing positive for cocaine use in 2009 Ranger’s manager Ron Washington faces little punishment by the league moving forward to the 2010 season. The irony is lost on no one that as a coach Washington lives in a mentorship role to Rangers players and especially starting left fielder Josh Hamilton who has lived one of baseball’s greatest comebacks, from personal tribulation, after battling a drug and alcohol addiction that nearly took his career and life. The most offensive part of the story to me would be the fact that Washington assumedly isn’t battling an addiction and likely used in a casual act displaying a disregard for league rules and his position as a coach. The “one” time he used cocaine, being mid-season, also shows a lack of focus and care for winning; but is somehow keeping his job with no punishment in-house or from the league.

It’s apparent to me that baseball is more interested in responding harshly when public opinion weighs in on high profile players (Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Reyes) rather than creating any sort of standard for itself. Players that transcend the sport are at greater risk for punishment.

I always find it ironic that home-run king Barry Bonds faces proverbial exile from the league and fans alike when he never technically tested positive for any illegal substance, meanwhile an endless list of players, helping their team’s day in and out, face little criticism. Brian Roberts, Troy Glaus and Greg Zaun to name a few.  Rafael Palmeiro lied to congress in 2003, but the players listed prior never had to face US congress, would their “one time” story carry over with a pack of seasoned politicians interrogating them and not an ESPN crew?

The sad but true story of Dwight Gooden is becoming one of cliché. also, Darryl Strawberry found himself in legal hot waters due to issues with cocaine, alcohol and prostitution.  

I realize I’m digressing a bit, but baseball started the mainstream anti-steroid campaign in sports, and whereas other major leagues have moved swiftly and sternly (NFL, NHL), baseball is dragging its feet. I take no issue with a player playing, or a coach coaching, but people need more critical discussion about this issue in baseball throughout all ranks. By picking and choosing who is punished and to what degree baseball is setting a dangerous precedent.

Stories of Gooden are the end result. Wild temper tantrums such as Roberto Alomar spitting at an ump, Rob Dibble throwing a baseball in the stands striking a woman or Lou Piniella nearly reaching coronary during a rage fit is where it begins; and such actions need to be with just as stern a punishment.  

The wildly non-pragmatic lifestyles of baseball players showcased in classic movies needs to be punished in the real world.

The post Gooden Incident, Nothing Unusual appeared first on Metsmerized Online.