This week, I’m joined by Mets radio announcer Keith Raad to preview the 2024 season. Keith shares his thoughts on Carlos Mendoza and David Stearns’ first spring training running the club, Pete Alonso‘s contract situation, the return of Edwin Díaz, and much more!

What is Keith looking forward to most in the booth for 2024? Besides calling an abundance of Alonso home runs, Keith can’t wait for Edwin Díaz‘s trumpets to triumphantly return to Citi Field:

“From a personal standpoint, going to London in June is going to be really cool…and of course, Edwin Díaz pitching at Citi Field. I was unable to see that last year in my first year in the majors, but the trumpets and to see him pitch on a big stage…you know the game is over over, you just want to see kind of like in the movie Gladiator, “how are these bodies going to die today?” Outside of Díaz, of course the Alonso situation, I’m excited to see how Starling Marte bounces back, there really are a lot of things here on this roster to gets excited for.”

Watch and subscribe to the MMO YouTube channel here.

The post MMO Weekly Episode 76: Season Preview Featuring Keith Raad appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Longtime Mets reporter and WFAN original Eddie Coleman has decided to call it a career per Neil Best of Newsday.

Coleman, 72, started his career on WFAN as Steve Somers’ overnight update person in the late 80s. The Massachusetts native then co-hosted a mid-day show with Dave Sims nicknamed Coleman and the Soul Man. Following the show being canceled, Coleman was assigned to be the Mets beat writer starting in 1993.

“It’s been a great ride,” Coleman told Newsday. “It’s been more ups and downs than I care to think about with the Mets, that’s for sure.”

“But I’ve loved the callers. I’ve loved the fans. The feedback that I got, I always got positive stuff from fans when we were on the road or even at Citi Field or Shea.”

In addition, Coleman worked the broadcast from the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, both for NBC Radio and the 1994 Winter Games from Lillehammer, Norway for CBS Radio.

Coleman later had his role expanded to be the host of Mets Extra to replace Howie Rose. He also joined Gary Cohen for St. John’s University basketball booth on WFAN from 1998 to 2002.

Over the last couple of Mets seasons, Coleman has helped fill in to call select games with Wayne Randazzo and Ed Coleman.

The MMO team would like to wish Eddie C a great time in retirement!

The post Eddie Coleman Retires From WFAN appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Photo Credit: @JohnLGoodman via Twitter

Say it ain’t so Schmoozer…

After 34 years of broadcasting under the covers with you, overnight host Steve Somers is calling it quits with WFAN.

Somers, 74, made the announcement  – sort of – after he teased out some details during most of his show. But after callers began flooding the phone lines, Somers finally made it official just before signing off at 2 am.

He told a caller, “What I’ve done before, I don’t want to do again, working five hours overnight.”

According to Neil Best of Newsday, WFAN has not set a date for Somers’ last show yet.

However, Audacy, WFAN’s parent company did release the following statement:

“Yes, sadly it is true. Steve will be wrapping up his full-time run at WFAN sometime this fall. He is without a doubt one of the most important building blocks in the history of WFAN.”

Somers responded on air and told listeners: “I’m at peace with it. I’m not being fired.”

“I understand where the direction of the station has gone, and I don’t have any ego problems at all, certainly not at this stage.”

“I think so many of the young people at WFAN, both on the air and on the other side of the microphone, are very bright and very, very talented.”

Classy as ever, the Schmoozer didn’t denigrate anyone and instead shared some of his favorite moments, many of which were of the Amazin’s.

A lifelong Mets fan, Somers was the perfect tonic after a Mets loss and on countless occasions I’d call in myself so he could talk me off the ledge.

The Schmoozer was kind enough to record several intros and ad spots for Metsmerized this past season. He’s a great guy – a normal guy – and I for sure am going to miss him.

Farewell Steve…

The post Another New York Sports Icon Bids Farewell appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Oh captain, my (ex)-captain.

Appearing on WFAN with Joe Beningo and Evan Roberts Monday afternoon, former New York Mets franchise great third baseman David Wright says he sees long term success down the road for soon-to-be majority owner Steve Cohen.

“I met him in Miami a few years ago. Just the passion that he has for the Mets, the knowledge that he has for the game. … I think he’s going to be able to build a sustained winner, hopefully for years to come,” Wright said. (Quotes from SNY). 

David Wright on WFAN talking about Steve Cohen:

"I met him in Miami a few years ago. The passion he has for the Mets and his knowledge of the game is impressive. And the stuff he doesn't know about baseball, I think he'll put the right people in place."

— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) September 28, 2020

And for the stuff Cohen doesn’t know? Wright believes he will put the right people in place.

After officially retiring at the end of 2018, Wright, a seven-time All-Star, says he keeps in contact with the players in the clubhouse on a “weekly basis” while watching the games and rooting for the team.

“I certainly want to see the team have sustained success, and not just kind of win here and there,” said Wright. “I really would like to see the organization become a perennial winner and not just setting the sights on an NL East crown every year, but you know, winning the National League, getting the chance to play in the World Series on a consistent basis.”

The Mets have yet to endure this type of consistent success making the postseason only eight times in their 58-year existence.

After the departure of co-owner Nelson Doubleday in 2002, the Wilpon family has possessed full control of the organization, which has seen the Mets only make three postseason appearances during this 18-year period.

Wright hopes this changes under Cohen, but you should not expect the former captain to assume an increased role under the new regime.

Despite serving as an advisor to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen the past two seasons, Wright says he does not see himself doing one thing full time as he enjoys doing “a little bit of everything.”

For now, he hopes to still be involved in some capacity with the organization due to his love for the game.

The post “The Captain” David Wright Believes In Steve Cohen appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

First baseman Pete Alonso announced on WFAN this afternoon that the Mets will wear first responder hats during their game tonight in Buffalo against the Blue Jays.

They will wear five different hats representing the following: NYPD, FDNY, Port Authority Police Department, Department of Sanitation, and the Office of Emergency Management.

Alonso said he plans to rotate hats tonight to represent as many New York first-responder agencies as possible.

Alonso bought all of his teammate’s cleats that commemorated 9/11 last year that they wore during the game.

Today is the 19th anniversary of the horrific attacks that happened on 9/11 in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. May we never forget.

The post Mets Will Wear First Responder Hats During Tonight’s Game appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen announced on WFAN that right-hander Michael Wacha will start tonight against the Marlins at Citi Field.

Wacha had been on the injured list since August 9 with right shoulder inflammation. The 29-year-old has a 6.43 ERA in his first three starts with the Mets after signing a one-year deal in the offseason.

Van Wagenen did not announce the corresponding roster move.

The post Michael Wacha Starting Tonight appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Good Morning, Mets fans! After a day off yesterday, the Mets begin a three-game series back at Citi Field against the red-hot Marlins tonight, who recently returned to action. Michael Wacha (1-1, 6.00 ERA) gets the ball tonight as the 5-8 Mets look to get on a roll.

Latest Mets News

The team demoted catcher Ali Sanchez as rosters shrunk to 28 today.

Latest MLB News

MLB announced make-up games for games that were postponed due to COVID-19 related issues.

Should the Australian Baseball League return, Manny Rameriez will be there for the Auckland Tuatara, per 1News.

MLB.com‘s latest pitching power rankings saw Jacob deGrom come in first, trailed by Shane Bieber.

JJ Cooper of Baseball America looked into MiLB’s latest proposal to MLB concerning the future of Minor League Baseball.

MLB.com announced the development of the Baseball Savant Illustrator.

Amazon gave the go ahead to the TV series “A League Of Their Own,” a baseball series focused on a women’s baseball league and of course based on the true events that inspired the 1992 movie.

HBO will air a documentary on WFAN personality Craig Carton on October 7.

MLB has suspended Astros’ reliever Kent Emanuel 80 games for a PED bust.

Latest On MMO

Michael Mayer looked into the recent successes of the Mets bullpen.

Rich Sparago dived into how Edwin Diaz can reclaim the closers role.

Matt Musico dissected Michael Conforto‘s hot start.

On This Day In Mets History

Birthdays: Kirk Nieuwenhuis (33), Tyler Yates (43), Danny Graves

Let’s go Mets!

The post Morning Briefing: MLB Announces Slew Of Makeup Games appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Photo credit: New York Post

The other day I spent some time speaking with the host of WFAN’s ‘JJ After Dark’, John Jastremski. I was able to get to know JJ while working together at SNY, so I reached out to him to get his perspective on what it’s been like as a broadcaster during this sports hiatus.

As I’m sure most of you are also WFAN listeners, then you know that the station is still broadcasting, but like the rest of us their hosts and production teams are doing so from home. I was curious to find out what the challenges have been like hosting a live, interactive show without the traditional studio/control room set up. His biggest struggle so far? “Just trying to stay sane in my apartment all day,” he said. As far as the broadcast goes, it has been an effective transition and he doesn’t feel hampered working away from the studio.

Now you might be thinking, “that’s great but what’s up about baseball?” Well, with the MLB and MLBPA agreeing to terms on a new deal to handle the 2020 season and beyond, we delved into the current sports landscape and his thoughts on what the coming months might look like, particularly for MLB. The biggest questions I had from the deal were: will baseball actually not resume until fans are allowed at games, and what is the impact of the service time agreement for this season? When asked, JJ’s immediate answer was a simple one, “it’s all fluid (…) So much can change from one day to the next now with all that’s going on.”

JJ spoke further about if baseball will eventually re-consider playing the season without fans, believing that the NBA will play a big factor in baseball’s decision making for this season. He cited two weeks ago, when the other leagues immediately followed the NBA’s lead in suspending their seasons as well. If the NBA season resumes and they are able to show success in holding games without fans, the MLB would then hopefully follow suit.

So with all that being said, do we even think there will be a baseball season this year?

“I think we’ll see the season start in June at the earliest and they will play without fans in attendance,” he said. (if that happens I would certainly call that a win for everyone). When asked if he thinks fans will be allowed back at games at all this year, JJ’s answer was probably the same as many of us, “who honestly even knows at this point.”

The other aspect to discuss was about service time. If the season gets cancelled, teams such as the Mets that traded for a player like Marcus Stroman who’s on a short term contract, can still lose him to free agency. The new agreement states that major league players will be able to collect their full service time this season whether games are played or not. When I commented on just how wild the implications across baseball will be because of this, JJ agreed and added “imagine if you’re the Dodgers and you give a decent haul for one-year of Mookie Betts, and now he may never play for you at all? You’d be sick over it.”

The last thing we touched on was how this will all be remembered going forward. When I asked him if this will go down as the craziest time in sports history, his reply was short, “without a doubt, absolutely.” It’s hard to argue otherwise considering this is all completely unprecedented.

To end on a positive note (if there is one right now) we spoke about what sports fans should try to look forward to while waiting for games to return. Although it feels like years away, JJ believes the fall is going to be JAM packed with sports. From the Masters, to the NFL, we could see most of our favorite sporting events of the year all scrammed into the fall time and even into the holidays (imagine a World Series game in December?)

Until the games do comeback, however, we’ll just have to call into ‘JJ After Dark’ and fire up the hot take/debate oven! Seriously though, now could be the best time ever to debate all of our wildest and most polarizing sports takes. Let’s compare eras, players, teams, whatever. Would Babe Ruth still be Babe Ruth if he played today? MJ vs Lebron vs Kobe? What better way to distract ourselves from everything going on right now than with something that gives us some sense of normalcy…debating about sports.

The post MMO Exclusive: WFAN’s John Jastremski appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

New York Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen sat down with WFAN’s afternoon co-hosts Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts in Port St. Lucie on Friday to discuss the 2020 season (and off-season). Joe and Evan, both staunch Mets fans, wasted little time in telling Van Wagenen that they expect the Mets to be a playoff team in 2020.

Van Wagenen responded by saying the fact that a wild card team, who the Mets were not that far behind in the standings, won the World Series in 2019 “… left a bitter taste in our mouths” and hopes the Mets can close the difference between not only the Washington Nationals, but the two-time defending National League East champion Atlanta Braves as well.

Next, the topic turned to the the Mets managerial search. Both Joe and Evan made it clear that they, and a number of their callers, wanted Joe Girardi to be the next Mets skipper. When asked ‘why not Girardi’, Van Wagenen said:

“There was something we were looking for specifically for this club, we wanted a guy that could clearly be a players’ first manager, somebody that could walk into our clubhouse and connect with the guys, be able to cross cultural lines with our clubhouse, be able to connect with the veterans, be able to connect with the young guys, the American kids, the international guys. And we felt like Carlos, and now Luis were the right fits.”

Van Wagenen wanted a “players first manager” above all else and called the hiring of Luis Rojas a “no-brainer” after the fall-out with Carlos Beltran. BVW was complimentary of Beltran saying how he was impressed by the “little things” Beltran notices during a game, but the Houston Astros scandal made it ultimately impossible to keep him.

When confronted about the Edwin Diaz, Robinson Cano trade, Van Wagenen took a wait and see attitude despite the poor performances of both players in 2019. He told Joe and Evan:

“I hope you guys are talking about that deal a lot during the season this year and I just hope it’s a totally different narrative. These guys, they’ve done it in the big leagues, Diaz – a lot of people talk about the ’18 season, he was good in ’16, he was good in ‘17 he was good in ‘18, he struck out 99 guys in ’19. We gotta get him back on track, but if he’s right we have a chance to be really deep and really good in the bullpen.”

As far as the Mets off-season moves, the tone was more complimentary as the hosts thought the team had a strong winter with the acquisitions of Michael Wacha, Rick Porcello among others. Brodie commented on his approach in the off-season and said:

“We wanted to keep the core of this team together, The young guys that answered a lot of questions we had last year, McNeil, Alonso, J.D. Davis, we got answers about that young core. We didn’t want to trade from that grouping of Nimmo, Conforto and everybody else, but we had to sure up the backend of our rotation and we wanted to do it with some veteran guys.”

When asked about Zack Wheeler, Van Wagenen said the Mets made overtures to signing him, but knew with free-agency, anything can happen. He remarked that the acquisition of Marcus Stroman was in part an insurance policy against losing a Wheeler in the open market. When reminded that Stroman will be a free agent after the 2020 season while Michael Conforto and Noah Syndergaard will be free agents at the end of the 2021 season and if there’s been one-on-one discussions with any of the players, Van Wagenen  simply said the Mets were in the process of discussing “internally” the fate of his upcoming free-agents and did not mention if there had been any private talks.

Later on WFAN, Conforto stated there had not been any discussion about signing an extension before free-agency with the team.

The topic of team ownership was addressed and if the ebbs and flows of the tenuous off-season had any effect on his job. Van Wagenen said it didn’t remarking:

“It didn’t really factor in much from my standpoint. We gotta look at baseball decisions, look at the talent that we feel like can help us and that matches up to how we feel their performance is going to project when we give them a contract in years out.”

The availability of Yoenis Cespedes was next on the agenda. Joe and Evan wanted to know if he’d be ready for opening day or even be on the roster. To this Van Wagenen noted,

“If he’s right offensively he has such a huge impact in the lineup that were going to want to get him in there. So there’s excitement because I don’t think any of us thought he’d be this far along in camp.”  He noted his ability to run the bases and in the outfield effectively are still a question mark.

Van Wagenen was asked if he is watching any particular player(s) this spring that could possibly be ready for the start of the season on the big club. He mentioned three names: Eduardo Nunez, Max Moroff and Ryan Cordell, who has already made an impact this spring, are all on his radar for the big league roster.

Finally, he was asked about Jed Lowrie and his potential availability in 2020. Van Wagenen said he “hopes so”, and that Lowrie has done everything asked of him with regard to baseball activities. He said that the brace Lowrie wears has to be changed to be more “competition ready.”

When asked if he had any bold predictions or remarks for 2020 similar to the “Come Get Us” cry in 2019, Van Wagnen said no. He simply offered,

“We’re running down a two time division winner in the Braves and we’re chasing a World Series champ, so the mindset we’ll have is that we’ve got to overcome the teams that were better than us last year.”

The post Van Wagenen Discusses Wide Variety of Topics in WFAN Interview appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Good morning and Happy 2020, folks.

Just to recap the last decade, Yoenis Cespedes and a parakeet combined for the most unexpected duo in sports, leading the Mets to the 2015 pennant, a utility infielder (Jeff McNeil) cried his way into our hearts, a brave left-fielder (Mike Baxter) sacrificed his collarbone for his role in the Mets’ first-ever no-hitter, a long-haired shortstop emerged as one of the franchise’s best pitchers (Jacob deGrom), and team captain David Wright gave it all he had up until his last game on September 29, 2018.

We are all looking forward to an exciting decade for Mets baseball in the 2020s.

Here at MMO, we’re honored that you–the readers– have chosen to follow the Mets with us and we’re looking forward to cheering along Jacob deGrom, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, and many others with you guys during this next decade.

Latest Mets News

Kyle Glaser of Baseball America found out that, between 2010 and 2019, Mets draft picks produced 93.9 bWAR, the fifth-most in the Majors.

Rajai Davis told MLBNetworkRadio that’s he’s interested in playing in 2020.

WFAN announced that Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts will move to the afternoon slate, among many changes to the channel’s lineup.

Latest MLB News

The Twins filled out their rotation, inking Rich Hill and Homer Bailey to one-year pacts. Dan Hayes of MLB.com had it first.

Jason Coskrey of The JapanTimes wrote about David Huff‘s transition playing in Japan.

Latest on MMO

John Sheridan looked at the best Mets moment from each year in the 2010s.

Danny Torres looked back at his historic interview with the late Roberto Clemente.

Michal Mayer talks about the Mets’ first round picks during the 2010s.

Mayer also does a free agent profile of Francisco Liriano.

On This Date in Mets History

Birthdays: Fernando Tatis (45)

Let’s go Mets! 42 Days Until Pitchers and Catchers Report!

The post Morning Briefing: Welcome in A New Decade appeared first on Metsmerized Online.