07/31/2002
Padres, Mets swap pitchers
The San Diego Padres Wednesday dealt pitchers Steve Reed and Jason Middlebrook to the New York Mets for pitcher Bobby M. Jones -- who will be reunited with former Mets teammate Bobby J. Jones -- and pitcher Josh Reynolds and outfielder Jason Bay.
Jones was expected to join the Padres in Chicago as early as Thursday while Bay will report to Double-A Mobile and Reynolds to Class A Lake Elsinore, respectively.
07/31/2002
D'Amico sent to pen
The Mets bolstered their starting rotation on Wednesday with the acquisition of John Thomson from Colorado. Such an acquisition wouldn't have been needed had Jeff D'Amico pitched the way the Mets envisioned when they imported him from Milwaukee in an off-season trade.
The 6-foot-7 D'Amico has had an injury-plagued career but has had nary a physical problem this season. Yet, he is 5-9 with a 5.09 ERA in 21 starts, which is two shy of his career high. His 123 2/3 innings are the third-highest total of his career and there are some who believe that he has "run into a wall".
D'Amico has only one victory since May 26, going winless in 10 of 11 starts (five losses and five no-decisions). He went 7 2/3 innings last week against Montreal, allowing only two runs to earn the win but the victory proved to be a mirage. He returned to the mound Tuesday at Shea and was hammered by Houston, allowing five runs on eight hits in three innings.
07/28/2002
Mets rally to defeat Reds
John Valentin's two-run double in the seventh inning capped a four-run rally on Sunday, lifting the Mets to a 6-5 victory over Cincinnati at Shea Stadium.
The victory, New York's fourth on its current homestand, once again drew the Mets and the Reds even in the Wild Card race, five games behind the Dodgers before Los Angeles and San Francisco squared off later in the afternoon.
07/28/2002
Kazmir and Mets closer
The Mets are taking steps toward signing their top pick in the June draft, hard-throwing high school hurler Scott Kazmir.
Jeff Moorad, Kazmir's adviser who is also Mo Vaughn's agent, has had several discussions with general manager Steve Phillips over the last two weeks and said that progress is being made.
Moorad wouldn't provide exact figures as to what his potential client is asking or what the Mets are offering. But he said Phillips is coming closer to acknowledging Kazmir as one of the top talents in the draft.
At the crux of the debate was Kazmir's contention that he should be recognized as a top-five pick though he was chosen 15th, citing that circumstance and rumors about how much of a bonus he wanted caused him to slip that far.
"A week ago I would have said that Scott was likely headed to the University of Texas," Moorad told MLB.com. "But in fairness, the Mets have stepped forward in a way that we may get something done. There's a chance.
"Suffice to say, we believe Scott should be recognized as one of the better high school players in the country and perhaps the best high school pitcher. In the last couple of discussions, Steve has shown a willingness to accommodate him. Now it's a matter of finding a deal that works for both sides."
In the last year Kazmir has been ranked the top prospect at the Perfect Game Top Prospect Showcase and the Tournament of Stars. He was ranked the No. 1 prospect in the Area Code Games and was the MVP of the World Wooden Bat Tournament. He was also selected to the U.S. Junior National Team and pitched against the Cuban National Team.
The Prospect Plus Scouting Report ranked him as its No. 1 prospect, a ranking he has held for over a year. He was also the 2002 Baseball America Player of the Year.
07/26/2002
Mets' Alomar gets 2,500th career hit
Roberto Alomar laced a single into left center in the first inning of Friday night's game between the Mets and Reds at Shea Stadium to become the 77th player in Major League history to reach the 2,500-hit plateau.
The hit, which came on a 2-1 count off Reds' starter Elmer Dessens, makes Alomar the fourth active player to reach that mark.
Heading into Friday's action, he joins Rickey Henderson [3,031], Tim Raines [2,599] and Rafael Palmiero [2,569]. In addition, he is the seventh switch-hitter all-time to reach the mark, joining Pete Rose, Eddie Murray, Frankie Frisch, George Davis, Max Carey and Raines.
Alomar, who needs two homers for 200 in his career, is also the second player to reach the 2,500 hit mark as a Met. The other was Richie Ashburn in 1962.
07/24/2002
Mets, Leiter agree on extension
Al Leiter will likely finish his career with the Mets after all.
The southpaw, 66-45 for the club since his 1998 arrival, signed a two-year contract extension Wednesday believed to be worth as much as $10 million per season.
Leiter, 36, will also have the opportunity to earn $3 million in performance bonuses over the length of the contract.
In addition, the Mets have agreed not to trade their de facto ace prior to his becoming a 10 and 5 player this offseason.
He is 9-8 this season with a 3.28 ERA but was eligible for free agency after this season.
"This is where I wanted to stay," said Leiter, who is 66-45 with a 3.32 ERA in 141 games over four-plus seasons with the Mets.
"I can say that this will be the last uniform I wear as a Major League Baseball player. And that means a lot to me.
07/21/2002
Reds halt Mets' hot streak with 9-1 win
Kelly Stinnett and Juan Castro combined for five hits and five RBIs to back Elmer Dessens' seven shutout innings as the Reds routed the New York Mets, 9-1, to avoid a three-game series sweep. Dessens (7-5) permitted four hits in seven innings while walking two and striking out four.
The Reds jumped on Al Leiter for six runs in four innings.
Stinnett, who has been sidelined by elbow and groin injuries and was playing in only his third game, went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
Castro, batting .042 (1-for-24) entering the game, rapped a pair of singles in four at-bats as the Reds jumped on New York starter Al Leiter (9-8) for six runs in four innings.
Dessens (7-5) permitted four hits in seven innings while walking two and striking out four. He threw 100 pitches in 90-degree heat while trimming his overall ERA to 2.75 and his league-leading day ERA to 1.43.
The Reds opened the scoring in the second inning by rallying with two outs and nobody on base.
Brandon Larson walked to prolong the inning, went to third on Stinnett's single and scored on Castro's first single, a bloop to right field that ended an 0-for-22 slump. Dessens, who entered the game batting .154, singled to right field to send home Stinnett.
Cincinnati maintained control by piling on three runs in the third inning, which began with Barry Larkin's double to left.
After Leiter hit Adam Dunn with a pitch, Aaron Boone bunted toward third base. Though Boone was destined to be safe, Mets catcher Vance Wilson pounced on the ball and tried to throw him out anyway.
His wild peg bounced into right field, enabling Larkin to score and Dunn to reach third. Boone stole second, prompting the Mets to walk Larson intentionally with one out to load the bases and set up a potential double play. They didn't get it, as Stinnett's single to left drove in Dunn and Boone.
Larkin's sixth home run of the season with two outs in the fourth hiked the Reds' lead to 6-0. Cincinnati added a pair of fifth-inning runs on Stinnett's two-out double and Castro's single.
Larson, who had 24 homers in 77 games with Triple-A Louisville when his contract was purchased on July 11, belted his first Major League home run with two outs in the seventh off left-hander Bobby Jones.
07/17/2002
Trachsel aims for returnWhile all went well with Steve Trachsel in his rehab start Tuesday night, manager Bobby Valentine was reluctant Wednesday afternoon to reveal his weekend plans for the starting rotation.
But it does seem that Mike Bacsik will make his third big-league start Saturday in Cincinnati with Trachsel expected to go Monday against Montreal.
07/16/2002
New York plays like a champion in 10-5 win
The Mets donned their 1986 uniforms Tuesday.
And for the second time in less than 24 hours, they played like their World Champion predecessors, knocking off the Marlins, 10-5, at Shea Stadium. The victory was the third in a row, the first time June 19-21 that the Mets have had a winning streak that long.
07/15/2002
Piazza rests aching backThough Mike Piazza sat out his second consecutive game with a sore lower back on Monday, the injury is not considered serious and he is expected to be back in the starting lineup on Tuesday.
Piazza admitted that he has been sore for a few weeks.
He said the problem is muscular, not skeletal, and that the situation doesn't warrant an MRI or an X-ray.
07/14/2002
Alomar doesn't bobble in Mets win
The Mets have found a way to go undefeated at Shea Stadium for the remainder of the season.
Turn every home game into a Bobblehead Day.
For some unexplained reason, the Mets are successful during that popular giveaway day. The Mets are a modest 2-0 on Bobblehead Days in 2002, with their latest win coming on Sunday over the Phillies on Roberto Alomar Bobblehead Day.
Bobbleheads do not ensure that the particular player will be productive, seeing as Mike Piazza did not play on April 28 when his likeness was given to fans, but there is always the possibility that the player will be the star of the game, as Alomar was in the Mets' 4-2 win.
New York's second baseman had the key hit in the game, a two-run double in the second inning.
Pedro Astacio (9-3) picked up the win and Brandon Duckworth (5-7) got the defeat as the Mets and Phillies split the four-game series.
Bobby Abreu and Ricky Ledee hit solo home runs for Philadelphia.
07/11/2002
Wilpon suing Doubleday
The ongoing legal battle for sole ownership of the Mets took another turn on Thursday when co-owner Fred Wilpon announced that he had filed a lawsuit against Nelson Doubleday in an attempt to enforce the $391 million appraisal of the ball club. The suit was filed in Federal Court in the Eastern District of NY.
The lawsuit states that Doubleday must sell his share of the team for half the appraisal price. Robert Starkey, an independent arbiter who was agreed upon by both Wilpon and Doubleday, completed the appraisal earlier this year and subsequently drew the ire of Doubleday. Though both men signed a binding agreement stating that Doubleday must agree to sell his share of the team for the set price, he felt that Starkey's figure was too low, off by as much as $109 million.
Doubleday's opinion is based on previous offers made by potential buyers, including the $500 million reportedly offered by cable television magnet Charles Dolan. Therefore, Doubleday announced last month that he would attempt to find a way out of the binding agreement and file suit contesting Starkey's appraisal, prompting Wilpon's suit.
"The appraisal process that placed an artificially low valuation on the New York Mets was fundamentally flawed," Doubleday said in a prepared statement. "For this reason, we have been engaged in good faith negotiations for many weeks in an attempt to reach an equitable valuation. These negotiations continued last night and we expected them to resume today. In these circumstances, I was surprised and disappointed that Mr. Wilpon filed a groundless lawsuit this morning."
Wilpon and Doubleday became partners in 1986, but their relationship has been strained over the last several years. The two began negotiations last year in which Wilpon would buy out Doubleday but those talk were temporarily shelved after Sept. 11. Doubleday initiated the process of selling his share of the team in October.
The City of New York, however, would not commit funds to build a new ballpark after Sept. 11, which is also believed to have been a factor in Starkey's decision.
07/08/2002
Mets enter break with win
It's been up-and-down season for the Mets much of the first half. On Sunday, New York went into the All-Star break on a high note with a 9-3 win over the Marlins.
The Mets outlasted four rain delays in the victory. Mike Piazza did not make the start due to a stiff back, and Rey Ordonez and Grant Roberts left the game due to injury. All three should be ready to play after the break.
07/07/2002
Piazza scratched
One day before the All-Star break, Mike Piazza was scratched from the Mets' starting lineup with a stiff back.
New York's lone All-Star representative shouldn't miss the game, according to general manager Steve Phillips.
Piazza did make a pinch-hit appearance in the ninth inning.
07/05/2002
Alfonzo beaned as Mets stumbleMets infielder Edgardo Alfonzo was pelted in the helmet by Marlins right-hander Julian Tavarez in the third inning Thursday night and was eventually replaced because of a head contusion.
Examined by physicians, who don't think it is a concussion, Alfonzo is listed as day-to-day.
07/01/2002
Mets' Trachsel may miss start
Mets manager Bobby Valentine may have to alter his starting rotation in the near future.
Steve Trachsel may not be able to make his scheduled start against the Marlins on Friday due to spasms and pain that he has been experiencing in his right trapezius.
Trachsel will return to New York on Tuesday to be checked out by the Mets team physician.