May 29,2009, Gary Bettman story for Metro (NY) Newspaper

US – Friday, May 29

Bettman

Skating on thin ice

Commish forced to defend NHL on brink of finals

Gary Bettman could not ask for more.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings are taking on the hottest team and the hottest player on the planet in Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup finals, which start Saturday night. It seems like the perfect ending to a perfect postseason.

"I always refrain from anointing anything the penultimate. This is clearly one of the best playoffs competitively and one of the best playoffs in recent times," Bettman told Metro last week. "Look at the series. Look the number of Game 7s that we’ve had. Look at the number of lead changes. Look at the number of come-from-behind victories. That’s why I’m saying it."

Yet, it’s still not good enough. Not good enough for NBC, which forced the league to crunch Games 1 and 2 on back-to-back nights for the first time in 54 years. And certainly not good enough for the average sports fan, who can’t even enjoy a Game 7.

Both of Carolina Hurricanes’ Game 7’s were virtually invisible. The games weren’t on Versus or the NHL Network. Bettman, though, says no big deal.

“The criticism of Versus is really unfounded. [It] has been overdone and is irrelevant,” Bettman said. “They’re doing a terrific job covering the playoffs.”

According to Nielsen, though, Versus had done a 0.5 rating (721,000 viewers) and NBC had a 1.1 rating (1.8 million viewers) for the playoffs. Compare that to NBA ratings, which are setting records across the board. TNT’s NBA ratings have earned a 2.7 rating.

When it comes to regular season flubs, there's no team draining the NHL more than the Islanders. Bettman has supported Islanders’ owner Charles Wang’s proposed Lighthouse Project. The plan calls for the rejuvenation of the acreage surrounding the Nassau Coliseum and the building’s across-the-board upgrade. However, due to political wrangling, the project is in limbo. In response, Wang publicly bemoaned his financial losses while as owner and suggested that if he had to do it over again, he would not have purchased the Islanders.

The commissioner had strong criticism for the political entities that have caused the project to stall.

“We are still awaiting the approval from the town of Hempstead and Nassau County so this project can move forward. From our standpoint, it’s taking longer than anybody could have imagined for this project to get a shovel in the ground and get the reality that we’re all hoping is there for Nassau County, for Long Island and for the Islanders.

“My point of view is less relevant than Mr. Wang. And from his point of view, I’m sure it has been frustrating because I don’t think he ever envisioned that it would take this long. (Without) his commitment to Long Island and the Islanders, this franchise would not have been able to survive. He has given so much of himself emotionally and financially; his efforts have been extraordinary. And to still find himself in a position that he doesn’t have a green light to move project is unfathomable to me.”

25%

Versus reaches 75.3 million homes, according to Nielsen. That’s about 25 percent less than the number reached by ESPN, the same network Bettman refused to partner with after the lockout.

DENIS GORMAN

http://www.ny.metro.us/us/article/2009/05/29/04/4017-82/index.xml

http://www.readmetro.com/show/en/NewYork/20090529/1/19/

May 29, 2009, New York Mets off day story about Citi Field

US – Thursday, May 28

Wright has more triples (3) than homers (2) at home this year.

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Citi’s powerless alley

Mets counting more on hustle than homers in new ballpark

Gary Sheffield is too old to have a rookie nemesis. Twenty-three home games into the season, though, and the 20-year veteran has one — Citi Field.

“It’s one of the toughest. The [Astrodome] was a big stadium, St. Louis [old Busch Stadium] was a big stadium. It compares to parks like that,” Sheffield said.

Hitters, welcome to the new Citi Field.

In its debut season, the Mets’ palace is viewed as a pitchers’ park by its residents and visitors — a stadium that rewards pitching, defense and speed instead of the home run.

Thirty-six homers have been hit in 23 games. It is a small sample size, but it’s well on pace to be much lower than the 173 dongs hit at Shea Stadium in 2008.

Even though it ranks eighth in ESPN’s park factor for homers, ahead of launching pads such as Coors Field and Wrigley Field, the Mets still haven’t figured out their own backyard. They rank 13th in the National League with just 17 homers at home.

“When the ball is hit well, as an outfielder you have to continue to go after it because it might not go out,” Sheffield said. “Chipper [Jones] hit balls that would have been out of any ballpark.

I think he hit two or three balls that probably would have been out of any ballpark but this one.”

The so-called Modell’s Zone could be the biggest reason why balls aren’t flying far. The zone in right-centerfield is a home run grave yard. If a ball is hit there, more often than not it’s either an out or a long single.

“The home run total is going to be down, there’s no question about that. I think that the triples total and the doubles total will go up because there’s a lot of room to cover in the outfield,” said third baseman David Wright. “It’s going to play big. It’s deep, but we have a lot of team speed so we can utilize those gaps.”

DENIS GORMAN

http://www.ny.metro.us/us/article/2009/05/29/02/5931-82/index.xml

http://www.readmetro.com/show/en/NewYork/20090529/1/18/

May 28, 2009, Washington Nationals-New York Mets game story for Metro (NY) Newspaper

US – Thursday, May 28

Jerry Manuel gave Murphy, above, the nod and he delivered.

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Murphy has career night to back Santana

MLB.

Even more than Jose Reyes and David Wright, Johan Santana is the Mets’ Alpha and their Omega -- the person around whom everything in the organization revolves. About twice a week, when Santana takes the mound, the Mets are among the league's premier franchises.

On the very short list of baseball’s best starting pitchers, the left-hander projects an aura of confidence that radiates throughout the clubhouse. Through most of his tenure with the Mets, though, that confidence has not often repaid in run support for their ace.

But that failing may slowly be changing. Including last night’s 7-4 win against the Nationals, the Mets have scored 21 runs in his last three starts.

Santana (7-2) alternated between brilliant and dreadful in the series finale against the worst team in the sport. In six innings, Santana struck out 11 -- the fourth time this season he reached double-digits -- but also walked six and gave up three runs on three hits. All three runs came in the fourth inning, two on a mammoth homer by Adam Dunn and the other on a bases loaded walk to Christian Guzman.

“It was crazy. It was the weirdest game ever. I was trying to make my pitches,” Santana said. “I felt good. I was throwing my pitches. I was hitting my spots. (There were) some missed calls by (home plate) ump (Sam Holbrook); things you can’t control, but I was trying to show consistency in throwing my pitches inside of the plate.

"We weren’t getting those calls and all of a sudden it becomes a mess. I’ve never seen a game like this.”

Jerry Manuel disagreed with his ace’s assessment of Holbrook’s strike zone.

“I think we were probably a little too much off the plate," Manuel said. "From our (vantage point), they always look like strikes, but we were a little bit off the plate tonight. The umpire, from (our) viewing the tapes, was right most of the time. Those were not strikes."

All seven of the Mets’ runs came from the bats of Gary Sheffield and Daniel Murphy, which is odd yet fitting. Fitting as both are in the lineup because of their bats. Odd in the sense that while Sheffield has had a fantastic month (.345, 21 hits, three doubles, four home runs, 15 RBIs, 19 runs and 16 walks), Murphy’s been dreadful before last night (.155, five RBI, nine walks, no home runs).

Sheffield ripped a two-RBI double to right center in the bottom of the first off of Jordan Zimmermann (2-2) that scored Luis Castillo and David Wright. On top of giving the Mets a 2-0 lead, it tied him with Tony Perez for 25^th all-time with 1,652.

Starting at first base as Manuel platoons players until Carlos Delgado returns from hip surgery, Murphy had a career-high five RBI and tied his career high with three hits. He added to the Mets’ lead in the third with a two-out RBI in the third. In the sixth, Murphy crushed a two-run homer to right—Sheffield had lead off the inning with a walk—that had to be reviewed.

Murphy hammered a 1-2 pitch off Zimmermann that hit the Subway sign in right. The ball ricocheted off the sign and then off of the Modell’s sign. Dunn retrieved the ball and fired it to Ronnie Belliard, who relayed a throw to Wil Nieves. Nieves forced Sheffield to try to go around him and tagged out the Mets’ left fielder.

After a six minute review, replay confirmed that the ball did hit the Subway sign and was a home run.

“I thought from the reaction of the right fielder it was a home run. I wasn’t really sure when it came back in play whether or not it was. So I immediately asked them because that yellow sign could have possibly been hit,” said Manuel.

“It was a homer,” Murphy said emphatically when asked what he was thinking about during the review.

Murphy concluded his offensive explosion by doubling off the left field wall, which scored Angel

Pagan (who started in centerfield for Carlos Beltran, who sat out for the second day in a row with a bruised knee and an inflamed tibia) and Castillo.

3 Things we saw last night:

1 Career night. Daniel Murphy has a pretty simple philosophy as it pertains to playing time. “Just show up and look at the lineup. If I’m in there, that’s where I’m at,” the left fielder-first baseman said prior to last night’s game. The primary reason Jerry Manuel pencils him into the lineup is for his bat, which finally made an appearance last night. Murphy had been MIA in May (.155 average with five RBIs and nine walks), but he unloaded for a career-high five RBIs, including the go-ahead two-run bomb in the sixth inning. With the win, Murphy and the Mets jumped ahead of the Phillies for first place in the NL East.

2 What a bargain. The Mets signed Gary Sheffield for a measly $400,000 in the offseason. The Mets probably wouldn’t be riding a 17-8 record this month without the veteran. Sheffield put the Mets up 2-0 in the first with a double and is hitting .345 with four homers and 15 RBIs this month.

3 Almost something special. Johan Santana now leads the National League in wins (picked up his seventh last night) and strikeouts (86) and is second in ERA (1.77). In six innings, Santana struck out 11 and had a shot at Tom Seaver’s single game strikeout record if he hadn’t struggled in the third.

http://www.ny.metro.us/us/article/2009/05/28/06/3549-82/index.xml

http://www.readmetro.com/show/en/NewYork/20090528/1/23/

DENIS GORMAN

May 19, 2009, New York Mets' starting rotation story for Metro (NY) Newspaper

US – Monday, May 25

Delgado, right, will have a similar surgery to Yankees star Alex Rodriguez, who also tore his labrum.

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Pitching in

Delgado to have surgery on right hip; more pressure placed on Mets’ rotation

What they’ll miss in the box, they’ll have to make up for on the mound.

Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado will undergo surgery today to repair a torn labrum and a bone spur in his right hip. The team has no timetable for Delgado’s return, although it could be until at least the All-Star break.

Delgado, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday, is hitting .298 with four home runs and 23 RBIs. He hasn’t played since May 10. Fernando Tatis replaced him at first base last night against the Dodgers. That game ended too late for this edition.

The lineup loses a power swing without Delgado, but its the Mets’ rotation that could feel the bulk of the pressure. Less power from the offense means the starting rotation must continue its promising start.

The Mets’ starters are 16-9 with a 4.51 ERA through 37 games. Only the Reds’ starters have more wins this season in the National League. The Mets’ rotation went 15-12 and 15-9 in the same time span the last two seasons, respectively. The group was 8-0 this month before Mike Pelfrey’s loss on Sunday night.

“It’s always a competition. We all want to pitch well, obviously,” said John Maine. “We want to pitch well individually, but we want to pitch well for the team to keep us in it.

“There’s only five of us. It’s always good to go out and try to match if the guy did well the night before.”

It’s a daily battle considering an average night for the Mets’ starter consists of six innings. That’s impressive for any rotation.

“The beginning of the year, obviously you’ve got to watch your pitch count. Jerry [Manuel] lets us go,” Maine said. “He lets us try to go that extra inning to see if we can do it. I like that. It saves the bullpen a little bit and gives us a chance to win the game.”

DENIS GORMAN

http://www.ny.metro.us/us/article/2009/05/19/07/1718-82/index.xml

May 21, 2009, New York Mets bullpen off day story for Metro (NY) Newspaper

US – Monday, May 25

Mets reliever J.J. Putz is 1-3 with a 3.91 ERA, eight holds, one save and one blown save this season.

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Testing the ’pen

Mets’ relievers proving you can’t buy happiness

“They’re proven winners. They’ve proven that they can get guys out.” John Maine

Before the streak

The Mets (5-7, 3.00 ERA, 12 saves) had the second-ranked bullpen in MLB behind only Kansas City.

METRO

It’s time to finally see if the Mets’ bullpen is worth anything.

General manager Omar Minaya spent more than $50 million on setup man J.J. Putz and closer Francisco Rodriguez in the offseason. In addition, Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel have put their necks on the line for the rest of the bullpen, calling it the deepest part of their team.

The Mets, though, are riding a season-high four-game skid heading into Friday’s series opener at Fenway against the Red Sox. The bullpen is charged with two of those losses and can either rebound or relapse against Boston.

The Mets’ starters have no worries.

“They’re proven winners,” John Maine said. “They’ve proven that they can get guys out, and it’s nice to have those guys on the back end.”

Wednesday night wasn’t so nice. Putz gave up the game-winning run in the eighth inning to the Dodgers. Two games prior, Brian Stokes earned a loss after walking the leadoff hitter, who turned out to be the game-winning run.

Of course, the Mets aren’t getting much help from their defense or their lineup, which went 3-for-27 with runners in scoring position against Los Angeles. That doesn’t figure to change, though, as Carlos Delgado’s hip surgery will keep him out at least 10 weeks and Jose Reyes left Wednesday’s game after re-aggravating a calf injury that forced him to miss five straight games earlier on the road trip.

With a depleted lineup, protecting late leads or keeping the game close becomes that much more important.

“It’s going to be challenging,” Manuel told reporters Wednesday, “in the position that we are in now.”

DENIS GORMAN

http://www.ny.metro.us/us/article/2009/05/22/04/3743-82/index.xml

http://www.readmetro.com/show/en/NewYork/20090522/1/14/

May 14, 2009, Atlanta Braves-New York Mets game story and Carlos Delgado injury story for Metro (NY) Newspaper

US – Thursday, May 14

Gary Sheffield hit a solo shot to tie it in the eighth, but he struck out looking to end it in the 12th.

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

No free pass

Mets go to extra's for second straight day but drop this one in the 12th

MLB.

It was almost déjà vu all over again.

Jose Reyes stood at his locker after yesterday's game, just like he had the day before, answering questions about a perceived base running gaffe.

Only unlike Tuesday night, when the shortstop laughed it off, Reyes was defiant.

“It’s a double. I have to take it. How could I get a triple? Nobody could triple because the ball hit the wall and (Anderson) got it right away,” a defensive Reyes said following the Mets’ 8-7 loss in 12 innings.

Leading off the bottom of the 12^th, Reyes crushed a Mike Gonzalez fastball off the left field wall for a double. Instead of running hard out of the box, Reyes broke into his home run trot. By the time he reached first, the ball had ricocheted off the wall and was being chased down by Garrett Anderson. It was then that Reyes accelerated and reached second. He moved to third on a Luis Castillo sacrifice bunt, but was stranded there as Carlos Beltran and Gary Sheffield each struck out to end the game.

Jeff Bennett (1-1) went two innings in relief to get the win.

“I think we are going to have to pay close attention to those things and address those things as they happen. In order to be a good team, a speed team, you have to play smart. We’re not playing very smart at the moment,” Jerry Manuel said after the loss. “I thought he thought he hit it a little better than where it landed.”

What galled Manuel about the loss were missed opportunities. And there were opportunities. In the ninth, Reyes and Castillo struck out swinging with Ryan Church on second and one out with the game tied at 7. One inning later, Fernando Tatis grounded into a 6-4-3 inning ending double play in the 10^th with the game tied at 7 and runners on first and second.

“We had a chance it seems like each of the last couple innings, except for the 1-2-3 inning (11^th) that they put on us. I guess the last inning was a big opportunity for us,” lamented Manuel.

The Mets did display a resilient side that had been lacking in years past. In the bottom half of the first, trailing 2-0 on Chipper Jones’ RBI double and Anderson’s RBI single, Castillo tripled home Reyes. Castillo scored on Gary Sheffield’s 5-4-3 double play to tie the game.

Anderson and Matt Diaz each recorded RBI singles in the third to give the Braves a 4-2 lead. The lead lasted to the fourth when Fernando Tatis—playing first base due to Carlos Delgado’s reoccurring inflamed hip—connected on his second career grand slam.

Noted Mets slayer Jones cut into the lead with a fifth-inning sac fly. Anderson tied the game at six in the seventh with a sac fly of his own. The Braves re-took the lead, 7-6, when second baseman Kelly Johnson ripped a pinch hit double in the eighth. Sheffield tied the game in the bottom of the frame with a line drive solo shot to left field.

The game stayed tied until the 12^th when Martin Prado homered off of Ken Takahashi (0-1). Through his interpreter, Takahashi said it was fastball that got too much of the plate.

Jon Niese and Jo-Jo Reyes started the businessman’s special and the duo combined to showcase competent minor league pitching. In three innings plus, Reyes was charged with five runs, four hits and three walks. After 4 2/3 innings worth of seven hit, five earned runs, two walks worth of work, Niese was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo.

Three things we saw yesterday:

1 Stranded: The Mets rallied from deficits three different times, but it wasn’t enough. Jose Reyes led off the bottom of the 12th with a double. Typically, that would not be a matter of concern for the Mets, but Reyes failed to run hard out of the box—at his locker, he suggested that he thought it was a homer off the bat—accelerating only after he reached first and the ball rolled away from the wall. “It’s a double. I have to take it,” said a defensive Reyes, who also had a costly base-running blunder in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s win. “How could I get a triple?”
The Mets’ shortstop advanced to third on a Luis Castillo sacrifice, before Carlos Beltran and Gary Sheffield struck out to end it.

2 Teeing off: So much for solid starters. In a stark contrast to the first two games of the series, the Mets and Braves took extended batting practice off of starters Jon Niese and Jo-Jo Reyes. Atlanta’s starter was pulled after three-plus innings with the bases loaded. Fernando Tatis greeted reliever Buddy Carlyle with a grand slam to center field. Reyes gave up four hits, five earned runs and walked three. Neise was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo after he gave up five earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.

3 Tired ’pen: It was an up-and-down performance for the bullpen after Niese was pulled. Seven Mets’ relievers combined for three runs—two earned—on six hits in 7 1/3 innings. However, Bobby Parnell, J.J. Putz and Ken Takahashi all came in with the Mets leading or the game tied. All three times Atlanta scored with Martin Prado’s 12th-inning homer off Takahashi plating the winning run.

DENIS GORMAN

US – Thursday, May 14

Cortisone shots haven’t been helping Delgado’s hip at all.

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Delgado likely headed to DL

MLB.

It looks like Carlos Delgado’s inflamed right hip will land the slugger on the disabled list.

The Mets’ first baseman did not play in yesterday’s 8-7 loss to the Braves and has missed three straight contests. Delgado also sat out the April 27-29 home series with Florida and the May 1 game in Philadelphia because of the injury.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel said that any decision about a stint on the DL will be made tomorrow when the team opens up a series in San Francisco.

“I’m not confident at all. I don’t want to be a pessimist, but because of the reoccurrence, I’m not confident that he’ll be OK,” Manuel said. “If it’s something that we can manage, which is what we’re trying to do, then I’m OK with that.”

If the decision is made to DL Delgado, Manuel has options. Fernando Tatis played very well at first base during the Atlanta series, while Daniel Murphy fielded ground balls at first before yesterday’s game. Manuel also suggested Alex Cora as an option to fill the hole.

DENIS GORMAN

http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/05/14/06/3106-82/index.xml

http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/05/14/06/4037-82/index.xml

http://www.readmetro.com/show/en/NewYork/20090514/1/23/

http://www.readmetro.com/show/en/NewYork/20090514/1/21/