Guess who's playing Santa? It's David Wright, Mets heartthrob, playing St. Nick, with manager Willie Randolph and our favorite, Mr. Met. The Mets were giving out presents to children from public schools at Shea Stadium today - those are some lucky kids! Do they really get a day off school for that? more ›

For the Mets, the trading deadline represents opportunity and a time for caution. With a 12-game lead in the division, New York doesn’t necessarily need to make a trade, but it may be in their best interests to do so. If, and that’s a big if, a premiere pitcher becomes available, say a Zito or Willis, will Omar pull the trigger? With Steve Trachsel and El Duque struggling and John Maine and Mike Pelfry still unknown quantities, adding another starter would transform the Mets from playoff contender to playoff favorite. more ›

You hate to cheer for injuries, but sometimes they can be blessings in disguise. Yesterday when Victor Zambrano underwent surgery to repair his torn flexor tendon, he also had unexpected Tommy John surgery. It was the second Tommy John surgery in his career - the first coming long before the Mets traded Scott Kazmir for Zambrano. It's painfully obvious now who came out on top of that trade. While the surgery leaves the back end of the Mets rotation in question, the doubt is better than knowing that Zambrano was there, ready to turn out one poor performance after another. more ›

Lima Time didn't go so well, but that's okay for Mets fans because for the 2nd weekend series in a row, they took 2 of 3 from the Braves. Lima wasn't good in his 5 inning appearance, allowing 5 funs over 5 innings, but Bartolome Fortunato was just plain bad. Fortunato allowed a stunning 8 runs (all earned) in 1 1/3 innings. The end result was a 13-3 whooping by the Braves. more ›

Even though they lost 8-5 to Atlanta on Sunday, the Mets will take the results from the series in Atlanta. The Mets left town with a rare series victory at Turner Field and their first since 2003. In fact, they'll be happy with their April performance, where they lost just one series (to Atlanta at home) and ended up sitting six games ahead of the Braves in the NL East. Yes, it's a long season, but it's still a good start. more ›

Well, it could have been worse for Victor Zambrano in yesterday's 7-4 Mets loss to the Padres, but Zambrano was only in the game for 4 innings. During those innings, Zambrano pitched poorly again and allowed 5 runs. Josh Barfield started the scoring action in the 1st inning with a solo home run and Brian Giles finished Zambrano in the 4th inning with a grand slam. The Mets made the game more interesting in the 6th inning by scoring four runs, but they were unable to finish the comeback. more ›

Clearly, you can't win them all. For the Mets, that's always the case when Victor Zambrano pitches. Last night, with Zambrano on the mound, the Mets lost to the Braves, 7-1. Zambrano, who won his last game, allowed seven runs and hits, including three home runs over his short five inning outing. Kyle Davies stymied the Mets, allowing only one run and three hits in his first career complete game. The one run was the lowest run total for the Mets all season. The lone Mets run came on a Chris Woodward homer in the 3rd. more ›

In an early gift from the Easter Bunny (in the form of Jesse Chan-Norris), Gothamist received a picture of the other giant inflatable baseball cap yesterday. The Yankee cap is on 6th Avenue and the Mets cap is near the Queensborough Bridge on the Manhattan side. Is anybody else wondering what kind of insurance coverage they need for these huge caps? And we kind of think our photoshop job looks better than the end result. more ›

Don't look now, but the Mets have the best...we're just not going to finish that sentence. The Mets are riding high after a sweep of the Washington Nationals and are on a six game winning streak. Yesterday, in Victor Zambrano's first start of the season, the Mets cruised to victory again, defeating the Nationals 13-4. In the win, the Mets managed to hit four home runs, including three in the first inning by Carlos Beltran, David Wright, and Cliff Floyd. Carlos Delgado added his home run in the fifth inning. The last time the Mets hit three home runs in the first inning was in 1999. The Mets tagged Nationals starter Livan Hernandez for 11 hits and 8 runs in six innings. Zambrano, who allowed 6 hits and 3 runs in five innings, wasn't magnificent in his debut, but with the offense the Mets displayed yesterday, he didn't have to be - unfortunate for our DC brethren who has a team sitting at 2-8 on the season. more ›

There was no repeat of last week's game by Pedro Martinez against the Washington Nationals. In that game, he hit a career high three batters in the game. Last night, Martinez had command of his pitches, allowing only three hits and one walk in seven innings. The lone run came on a solo home run by Jose Vidro in the 4th inning. The Mets 3-1 win, their 5th in a row, was not a beanball-fest, but another impressive performance by Mets pitching. more ›

Another year, another slogan for the Mets. This year's: "The Team. The Year." Indeed it seems like that's the company line so far. At yesterday's "Workout Day," Cliff Floyd and David Wright both mentioned bringing a World Series to Queens. It was a notion that proved to be very popular with the 13,000 plus fans on hand. Perhaps it was the constant reminders that 2006 is the 20th Anniversary of the World Champion '86 Mets that was getting everyone excited or maybe it was the sun. But for a Mets fan, when you look at the moves during the off-season, you can't help but think the 2006 Mets have a chance. more ›

The sweep helps the Mets stay close in the NL Wild Card race. They are 3 games behind Houston and trailing three other NL East teams as well. The Wild Card may be the only hope for the Mets as they trail the Braves by 6.5 games, which isn't an insurmountable lead, but the Mets haven't had much success at beating the Braves. more ›

Luckily for Zambrano and the Mets, who would have dropped below .500 with a loss, they were able to tie the game in the 7th inning and again in the 9th to force extra innings. The tying run in the 9th came on a solo home run from Mike Cameron who was the subject of many of the trade rumors before Sunday. more ›

Martinez is not the only Met pitcher throwing well. Prior to taking the loss on Friday, Victor Zambrano had been suprisingly effective, with an ERA in the mid-3s. Tom Glavine has pitched his best since the first half of 2004, and even Kaz Ishii threw six shutout innings on Thursday. With Steve Trachsel expected back in early August, the Mets should have few complaints about their pitching staff. more ›

The offense was supplied by Jose Reyes's speed, and RBIs by Carlos Beltran and Mike Piazza. Reyes had three singles and three (!!!) stolen bases, Beltran had his first hit since returning to the line-up Tuesday, and Piazza continues to look better after some dismal times earlier this season. more ›

When Gothamist gets concerned about the Mets, it’s because of pitchers like Victor Zambrano. His lack of control (25 walks in 38 innings!) should make more than us concerned. He pitched well on Wednesday, and so did the bullpen until Bell surrendered the home run. Losses are always tougher in games where even the fine efforts of struggling players cannot bring a victory. more ›

The game started off with a lead-off homer by Jose Reyes. In the 2nd inning, Victor Diaz had a two run home run. The 3rd inning had three Met homers by Mike Piazza, Doug Mientkiewicz and a second by Victor Diaz. Piazza's blast travelled 471 feet and was the 2nd longest home run in Citizens Bank Park's two year history. In the 4th, Reyes hit another home run. The 6th inning finally brought an end to the home runs when David Wright hit his first grand slam of his career. The seven home runs is the franchise high for the Mets. more ›

Victor Zambrano stuggled at times, loading the bases twice, yet only allowed one run in the situations. Mike Piazza, never known for his ability to throw runners out, bounced a ball off the pitcher's mound into the outfield. Yikes. Fortunately for the Mets, John Franco was no better. Franco, who has quickly become the whipping boy for this series, allowed one run and one hit in only 1/3 of an inning. He picked up the blown save, the loss, and had a little tripping incident. more ›

The Mets also parted with Joe McEwing, their long-time utility player this week. Despite his poor play last year, Gothamist will miss McEwing who seems to have played hard every time he was given an opportunity. With five years on the team when he was released, McEwing was the 2nd most senior member of the Mets and the only player besides Mike Piazza that was on the 2000 World Series team. more ›

The offer, if accepted, would be the first splash for GM Omar Minaya (we're not counting the Kris Benson signing), who has dabbled in trading for Sammy Sosa and trading Mike Piazza. Is this the right move for the Mets? Martinez, who would surely hear more "Who's your daddy?" chants or shirts, has signs that his abilities may be on the decline - he lost 5 mph off his fast ball last season. If he signs with the Mets, Martinez will become the rotation's ace, joining Kris Benson, Tom Glavine, Victor Zambrano and Steve Trachsel. Al Leiter, a mainstay of the Mets is unlikely to return in 2005 and may sign with the Yankees. more ›

Doing their best to remain less than average, the Mets went on to lose, 6-4 (box score). After the 3rd inning, the Mets remained hitless and scoreless until the 9th when they scored an unearned run. more ›

The Mets played without Mike Piazza, Kaz Matsui, Cliff Floyd, and Jose Reyes. The list of injured Mets is getting longer and longer.The Astros played without Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell. It was recent call-up Danny Garcia who scored the go ahead run in the 7th inning. He scored on a single by utility-man, Joe McEwing, who was starting at shortstop. more ›

">Newsday reports that his 6 RBi is the most by a Met rookie since Jeremy Burnitz (the Met turned Brewer turned Met) had 11 in a game against the Expos. Naturally, Wright had an error in the game, because if he didn't, he wouldn't be on the Mets. more ›

In yesterday's game, Tom Glavine pitched five innings, giving up six runs including a 3 run home run to Andruw Jones in a 6-5 loss (box score). Not exactly the way you want your ace pitcher to play. Newsday gives readers some great Mets numbers: "After closing to within one game of the first-place Phillies on July 7, the Mets have lost 15 of 21 and now are closer to the last-place Expos than the surging Braves, who have won five straight, 15 of 19 and 25 of 32." more ›

Victor Zambrano took the hill for Tampa Bay and he has beaten the Yankees three times this year. The fourth win would not e in the cards for Victor on this day. Zambrano struck out seven in five and two-thirds innings and gave up three earned runs. Zambrano ran his record to 9-6 on the year. more ›

Alex Graman got the start due to injuries to Mike Mussina and Kevin Brown. Graman was unimpressive to say the least. He lasted only one-third of an inning. He allowed five hits and five earned runs. Tanyon Sturtze was called on to stop the bleeding, and he did for fur innings. Keeping the Yankees in the game. In the top of the fifth inning, the Yankees managed to tie the game at 5-5. Sturtze then faltered allowing the Devil Rays to take back the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was too much for the Yankees to overcome, losing 9-7. more ›

The Yankees entered the four game series in Detroit on Thursday with a spectacular performance by Jose Contreras and Mariano Rivera. The pitching problems were solved right? Not even close. Mike Mussina is now on the DL and will miss at least three starts. Kevin Brown is still not off the DL and Randy Johnson is still pitching in Arizona. Pitching was the reason the Yanks split (2-2) with the Tigers this weekend. more ›