Monday, November 30, 2009
Cora Agrees to $2M, 1-yr deal to Stay with Mets
Alex Cora is staying with the New York Mets, agreeing Monday to a $2 million, one-year contract with a vesting option for 2011.
Cora also started 13 games at second base for a fourth-place team that finished 70-92. He often was praised by manager Jerry Manuel and other Mets decision-makers for his instincts and leadership.
A light hitter with a reliable glove, Cora has a .246 career batting average in 1,116 big league games with the Dodgers, Indians, Red Sox and Mets.
He can earn an additional $1 million in performance bonuses: $250,000 each for 80, 90, 100 and 110 starts. There is a $2 million option for 2011 that becomes guaranteed if he makes about 80 starts next season.
“I am excited about coming back,” Cora said in a statement. “We have a lot to prove as a team after what happened last year. As for me personally, there is unfinished business. I was hurt a great deal of the time and I really wasn’t able to perform like I know I can. I’m healthy now and I can’t wait to get to spring training. We all have something to prove.”
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
New York Mets Unveil Retro Home Uniforms for 2010
I don't need a new jersey, mine is already turning yellow from being pissed on by the Mets officials and Yankees.The retro jerseys feature blue pinstripes and more of an eggshell-white background, borrowed from the organization's 1960s jerseys. "Mets" continues to be written in blue script on the front of the jersey, outlined in orange and black. A patch including the city's skyline will appear on the left sleeve.
The Mets will continue to wear their non-pinstriped white uniforms and their black alternate jerseys at Citi Field as well.
Team officials suggested fans' positive reaction to the uniforms worn by the 1969 Mets during the 40th anniversary celebration in August inspired the tinkering.
The jerseys go on sale Friday at the team store at Citi Field, clubhouse stores at Roosevelt Field Mall and on 42nd St. across from Bryant Park in Manhattan, at KeySpan Park in Brooklyn, at Modell's stores and online at Mets.com.
The Mets announced their 2010 coaching staff, confirming the hirings of former Orioles bench coach Dave Jauss and former Diamondbacks third base coach Chip Hale to those roles with the Mets. Razor Shines moves from third base to first base, with hitting coach Howard Johnson and pitching coach Dan Warthen remaining in their roles. Former Astros and Angels manager Terry Collins was hired as minor-league field coordinator. Collins was a candidate for the managerial position when Willie Randolph was hired before the 2005 season. Jauss worked with Jerry Manuel in Montreal.
Source:Daily News
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Mets Officials Announce Series of Changes to Citi Field
Maybe the Mets aren't doomed to repeat their historic blunder after all.
Responding to a fan backlash that the inaugural season at Citi Field embraced the team's Brooklyn Dodgers predecessors and ignored the club's own Amazin' past, Mets officials announced a series of changes for 2010 designed to embrace the team's history.
The right-center field bridge will be named "Shea Bridge" after William A. Shea, for whom the team's former stadium is named and the man who helped bring National League baseball back to New York. Other areas of the stadium will be named after Casey Stengel, Gil Hodges and Tom Seaver. Citi Field already has an Ebbets Club, the Jackie Robinson Rotunda and a facade based on the Dodgers' old Brooklyn home.
The Mets also confirmed plans for a revitalized Mets Hall of Fame and Museum adjacent to the Rotunda, which will be accessible from inside or outside the ballpark. The Hall was located outside the Diamond Club at Shea but was not a part of the new ballpark in 2009.
The Hall of Fame committee charged with selecting players will include former Mets pitcher Al Jackson, broadcasters Gary Cohen and Howie Rose, chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, media relations VP Jay Horwitz and executive VP for business operations Dave Howard. "The reformation of the Mets Hall of Fame Committee is central to our concerted efforts to better connect our present and future to our past," Wilpon said in a statement. "It reinforces the organization's, and our fans' shared desire to recognize our greatest players. With our 2010 opening of the Mets Hall of Fame and Museum at Citi Field, now was the time to bring this group together."
The Mets have had a Hall of Fame since 1981, when an inaugural class of Joan Payson, the team's first owner, and Stengel, the first manager, was inducted. It has 21 inductees in total, the last being outfielder Tommie Agee in 2002.
Color banners of Mets players will greet fans as they prepare to enter the Rotunda. Mets logos will be added to light poles in the parking lots. The staircases will be painted orange and blue. Even flowers in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda will have Mets colors. "These additions amplify our commitment to better recognize our team's heritage and honor the players and memories our fans cherish," Howard said in a statement. "Ownership is acting upon our fans' desire to see more Mets around the ballpark. We hear our fans loud and clear and these additions continue the process that started last season."
Source:Daily News
Monday, November 16, 2009
Backman Hired as Manager of Brooklyn Cyclones
Wally Backman was hired Monday as manager of the New York Mets’ Brooklyn Cyclones farm team in the New York-Penn League.
A member of the Mets’ 1986 World Series championship team, Backman was hired to manage the Arizona Diamondbacks in November 2004. He was fired four days later after The New York Times reported he had been arrested twice and had financial problems.
“I am thrilled and grateful to be coming back to the Mets’ organization,” he said in a statement. “Brooklyn is a major minor league team, and I know the borough’s fans are—like me—intensely passionate about baseball and about winning.”
Backman, who spent nine of 14 major league seasons with the Mets, managed the South Georgia Peanuts of the independent South Coast League in 2007. But he resigned that August following run-ins with umpires and a press box argument with another team’s radio announcer. There was also a forfeited game when his team refused to return to the field after a brawl with rival Macon.
He then returned three days later and managed the team to the league title. He managed the Joliet Jackhammers of the Northern League in 2008.
“He has always been a fan favorite in New York, symbolizing the blue-collar work ethic and unbridled dedication to winning that this city—and particularly this borough—values above all else in its sports stars,” Cyclones general manager Steve Cohen said in a statement. “Brooklyn and Backman were made for each other.”
Thursday, November 12, 2009
The Mets are not only Losers, but Liars!
After wrapping up their dismal season, the team promised ticket prices would drop by an average of 10 percent. But when season-ticket holders received their bills this week for 2010, many were incensed to discover the price cut was as little as a 1 percent.
Thomas Cooney said his seats in the Promenade Reserve Infield, which in 2009 were $4,050 for two seats, are
now $3,955 for 2010 -- a drop of 2 percent. "Wow, what a discount," he grumbled.
Mets spokesman David Howard said, "It's very consistent with what we said in the beginning. Obviously, the 'average' means there is some higher and some lower, but the average is 10 percent. We haven't heard outrage about this."
Friday, November 6, 2009
Mets decline 2010 Option on Reliever J.J. Putz
The New York Mets have declined an option on reliever J.J. Putz, making him eligible for free agency.
Putz was due to make $9.1 million in 2010. Instead, the Mets decided Friday to pay him a $1 million buyout.
Putz was 1-4 with two saves and a 5.22 ERA in his first season with New York. The Mets got him a trade with Seattle last offseason to be the setup man for Francisco Rodriguez.
Putz had surgery on his right elbow in June. He was shut down in August for the rest of the season because of a problem in his right forearm.
The Mets also said pitcher Mike Pelfrey was under contract for 2010 at $500,000 as part of a pre-existing deal.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Evil Empire Rules Again
The New York Yankees celebrate after the ninth inning of Game 6 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, in New York. The Yankees won 7-3.
Hideki Matsui tied a World Series record with six RBIs, Andy Pettitte won on short rest and New York beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 on Wednesday night, finally seizing that elusive title—the most in all of sports.
Paint the town in pinstripes! Nearly a decade after their dynasty ended on a blooper in the desert, the Yankees are baseball’s best again.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Mets’ Francoeur Has Surgery on Thumb Ligament
Mets right fielder Jeff Francoeur has undergone thumb surgery and is expected to be ready for spring training.
The Mets said the operation on Francoeur’s torn ligament in his left thumb took place in Atlanta on Monday.
Francoeur was injured while making a diving catch against Philadelphia on July 23. That was the game in which he lined to second baseman Eric Bruntlett for the second game-ending unassisted triple play in major league history.
The Mets obtained Francoeur on July 10 from Atlanta for Ryan Church. He hit .311 with 10 homers and 41 RBIs for the Mets. Overall, he hit .280 with 15 homers and 76 RBIs.