Dodgers 5, Mets 1: He performed better than he did against Pittsburgh in his last start, but Oliver Perez was still underwhelming in the Mets' loss in Chavez Ravine. Four days after walking five and retiring five batters in 1 2/3 innings, the lefty allowed three home runs -- no easy task at pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium -- in the series opener. He only walked two and didn't seem to be affected by a Jeff Kent......

Washington 10 Mets 5: It seemed like it would be a good night for the Mets. Halfway through the game, the Mets had a 3-0 lead and Oliver Perez was cruising. Unfortunately, they play nine innings in baseball and the Nationals took advantage of the latter ones. Perez gave up three runs in the fifth, but he turned a first and second no-out jam into a first and second two-out situation in the sixth before......

Red Sox 7, Yankees 5: Mike Mussina will be seeing Manny Ramirez in his sleep. The Stanford graduate gave up two home runs to the George Washington High School product as part of a distressing performance. The righty allowed five runs in three innings, and, unlike Wednesday, the Yankees could not put up 15 runs. Ramirez has worn out all Yankees pitching, not just Mussina, and who could be blamed for thinking the slugger is......

Photograph of Joe Torre and Willie Randolph greeting each other before a game in Port St. Lucie, FL, by Nati Harnik/AP Okay, Mets manager Willie Randolph hasn't been in pinstripes for a while, but this photograph of him saying hi to new Dodgers manager Joe Torre just seems like something from the bizarro world - not that there's anything wrong with that! Randolph, who was a Yankees coach under Torre, said, "It was a......

The Mets introduced Johan Santana, their newest player and best attempt at getting back to the World Series, in Flushing yesterday. Just last week, the Mets and Santana agreed to a six-year $137.5 million contract that makes the Mets a favorite in the National League. Scores of press were on hand for the introduction, as well as David Wright, Omar Minaya, owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon, and Willie Randolph. Before his official introduction, the Mets......

A Historic Collapse: The Mets held a seven-game lead with 17 to play and were caught looking ahead to the playoffs. What followed was among the worst collapses in history and one that revealed the weaknesses of the players, the manager and the general manager. Jose Reyes and his questionable -- and downright poor -- play summed up the the performance on the field. Manager Willie Randolph's mismanagement of the bullpen came to light......

Torre! Torre! Torre! We admit that the departure of Yankees manager Joe Torre was a big story, but there was a bit of over kill with some of the coverage. On yesterday’s 5 p.m. newscast, WCBS devoted almost twenty minutes to the story. However, that seemed tame compared to WNYW following Torre from Westchester County Airport to his home with their helicopter. It seemed surreal and we felt as if we were watching some sort......

Fans and some in the media may have called for his head, but yesterday the Mets ended any speculation on Willie Randolph's future with the Mets. General manager Omar Minaya said that Randolph would return as the manager of the Mets next season. Randolph, who has two years and $4.25 million remaining on his contract, was blamed by some for the end-of-season collapse by the Mets, but not by Minaya. At one point during......

A day after the biggest end-of-season collapse in baseball history, New York Mets Carlos Delgado, John Maine and a few others cleared out their lockers at Shea (a few lockers, including Tom Glavine's and Billy Wagner's, were cleaned before reporters arrived). General Manager Omar Minaya made comments supporting manager Willie Randolph's leadership ("I believe in Willie Randolph"), and the Post reports that that kind of support will be important: "Mets ownership has ordered Minaya......

For a team used to making miracles, conjuring up a disaster had an especially bitter taste. With a sloppily played 8-1 loss to Florida and the Phillies' 6-1 win against the Nationals, the Mets' season ended about a month too early. The loss capped an agonizing stretch of two and a half weeks in which the Mets played some of the worst teams in the National League and still played their worst baseball of......

Nationals 10, Mets 9: Willie Randolph better be queuing up a tape of the 2006 Cardinals' September. Back then, they didn' t pitch, lost a ton of games down the stretch, and looked dead entering the playoffs. This year's Mets can identify. They can't seem to do anything right. Even with a six-run ninth-inning rally, the Mets came up one run short. At least Philadelphia lost to Atlanta -- still feels weird to root for......

Marlins 8, Mets 7 (10 innings): Taking a three-run lead into the bottom of the ninth against the Marlins should be no problem right? Not when Billy Wagner is mysteriously absent -- the Mets later said he was having back spasms -- and his replacements are the not-so-capable Pedro Feliciano and the highly inflammable Jorge Sosa. They combined to cough up the lead in the bottom of the ninth, ruining a dramatic comeback posted by......

Nationals 9, Mets 8: If a four-run lead can't stand up against the Nationals, against whom will it last? The Mets are hoping what was a seven-game lead as recently as Sept. 12 stands up, but they're not helping their fans maintain regular heartbeats. John Maine hit before he threw a pitch and still couldn't get out of the fifth. That's against a team that's last in the Major Leagues in runs scored and playing......

Yankees 8 Baltimore 5: Nothing comes easy at the end of the year. The Yankees fell behind 2-0 before rallying for a 5-2 lead. But, Phil Hughes was shaky and had to be lifted in the sixth as the Orioles threatened. Edwar Ramirez managed to end that threat, but the Orioles rallied in the seventh and Luis Vizcaino had to come in and snuff out that rally. Kyle Farnsworth created problems in the ninth and......

Yankees 12, Mariners 3: Chien-Ming Wang doesn't deserve the American League Cy Young award, but he should get some lower votes. In a game the Yankees needed to win to keep their wild-card lead, Wang pitched 7 1/3 innings and kept the Mariners under wraps. That came as a welcome development after the Yankees learned that Roger Clemens will need a cortisone shot in his pitching elbow. Why was he out there Monday anyway? Horacio......

Mets 3 Braves 2: Some people may question Willie Randolph’s managing, but they had better give him credit for this weekend. After a dismal sweep at the hands of the Phillies, the Mets responded in a huge way, sweeping their archrival in Atlanta. Tom Glavine contributed at both ends, driving in the first run of the game and allowing only one run in six innings. David Wright added his 25th home run of the year,......

Padres 9, Mets 8 (10 innings): After playing two back-and-forth games, the Mets and Padres pulled out all the stops in this 10-inning affair. All the stops, that is, except the ability to hold leads. The Mets rallied from a 6-1 deficit in the sixth inning to take a one-run lead, but Billy Wagner blew that as the Padres took the lead in the top of the ninth. Not to worry. For the second time......

Mets 10 Pirates 8: What should have been a laugher became a little too close for comfort two different times Wednesday night. The Mets jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first, thanks to doubles from David Wright and Carlos Delgado and a home run from Moises Alou, but Pittsburgh crept back into the game. The Pirates scored twice in the second and added single runs in the fourth and sixth to make it......

Yankees 7, Royals 1: Kansas City has looked tough against some other teams in the American League, but the Yankees haven't had any trouble with the Royals. Robinson Cano's homer started things off in a way his teammates have been used to. Then the Yankees got the rest of their runs through less explosive means. Joe Torre's lineup worked out well -- Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon combined to go 5-for-9 with a walk in......

Mets 1, As 0: It may have taken three weeks, but the Mets have finally won a series in June. In dramatic fashion last night, the Mets defeated the A's on a 9th inning double by David Wright. It was also the first time the Mets have won back-to-back games in 22 games. Both starting pitchers pitched magnificently, with Joe Blanton pitching 8 innings of scoreless ball for the A's and Orlando Hernandez going 7......

Dodgers 5, Mets 3: Orlando Hernandez has looked nearly untouchable when healthy this season, but he couldn't mystify the Dodgers in Los Angeles. He allowed five runs -- four earned -- in 5 2/3 innings and the Mets dropped their third straight and seventh in eight games. Their offense can't be blamed for the losses leading up to Monday, but it can take the heat for this one. The Mets struggled against Randy Wolf......

Phillies 4, Mets 2: The two runs in the second were nice, but not scoring for nine innings after that didn't work out that well. The Mets gave back their 2-0 lead in the third inning and then exchanged baserunning mistakes and inept offense with Philadelphia until the 11th inning. Pedro Feliciano came in to pitch and did just what Manager Willie Randolph wanted from a lefty specialist: He gave up a home run to......

Yankees 9, Red Sox 5: Now the Yankees only trail their rivals in the American League East by 12 1/2 games. They rocked Tim Wakefield -- again -- and then held on for a 9-5 win in the first of three games at Fenway Park this weekend. A four-run sixth, including a three-run double by Jorge Posada, didn't hurt. Wakefield has been great against the American League this season but not against the Yankees, against......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an attempted abduction at Balcolm and Barkley Aves. in the Bronx, loose horses on Tremont Ave. in the Bronx, and a school bus fire at the toll booth plaza of the Throgsneck Bridge in the Bronx. Not showing a lot of confidence in the Ivy Leaguers he was cheating money from, Columbia's student-aid head wrote emails to the loan company he held stock in outlining that he needed an......

Mets 3 Yankees 2: Willie Randolph deserves the game ball in this one as he allowed Endy Chavez to swing away on a 1-0 count and Chavez hit the game-winning home run. No one in the stadium thought Chavez was going to do anything but bunt with a runner on first, and when Andy Pettitte grooved one, Chavez responded. Chavez’s home run wiped out a 2-1 Yankee lead, which they had taken on a......

Mets 6, Cubs 5: Manager Willie Randolph appeared to give up on this game before it started. With Jason Vargas fresh up from Triple-A to take the mound and the Mets coming off a game that ended past 1 a.m. Thursday morning, the Mets rested Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Jose Reyes and Damion Easley. Paul LoDuca also rode the pine, but that was an expected move for a catcher and a day game following a......

The most devoted baseball friend we know grew up in Hartford, CT. Halfway between NYC and New England, Hartford is a baseball fan's crucible, where one must decide at an early age whether you're for the Red Sox or the Yankees. If geography poses a dillema in Connecticut, it really is a problem once you're living in the boroughs or its neighboring towns. The New York Times notices today a growing movement of Mets fan......

Congratulations to everyone graduating this month! As NYU's commencement was today, with speaker jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, we decided to list the many NYC commencement speakers, with help from The Chronicle of Higher Education (if we've missed any or gotten it wrong, let us know in comments): Barnard College: Anna Deveare Smith, playwright-actress CUNY Lehman College: Representative Charles Rangel CUNY Brooklyn College: Roberta S. Matthews, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Brooklyn......

It looks like only one player hasn't agreed to have their head shaved in the shave-fest for the Mets. Almost everyone in the Mets clubhouse is in on the head shaving. Even Mets GM Omar Minaya got into the act. While Aaron Sele won't be shaving his head until tomorrow (he's taking family photos today), Jose Reyes is undecided on the fate of his hair. At least Willie Randolph is a little forgiving on Reyes'......

Sixty years today at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, Jackie Robinson made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers. When Robinson took the field to play first base against the Boston Braves, he became the first African-American player in modern era of Major League Baseball. Despite enduring constant harassment by fans and other players during his first year, Robinson won Rookie of the Year honors from the Sporting News and Major League Baseball. In what would......