Molina, May 2009, Why Tom Terrific Was Traded, Omar & Jason... and a 3rd Baseball team in NYC

Benji Molina:

The Mets are close to signing free agent catcher Bengie Molina to a two-year contract, according to 1050 ESPN Radio. It's been a busy day for the Metropolitans. Molina, 30, hit .265/.285/.442 this past season and reached the 20-homer plateau for the first time in his career. He is expected to receive a two-year deal in the $12 million range. The Mets had already loaded up on backup catching options this offseason and Molina was the top catcher on the free agent market. -  .rotoworld



May 2009:

The new month began with the general manager publicly acknowledging the Mets might not have played with grit comparable to that of other teams. It hardly was the only time Omar Minaya stubbed his tongue during the season. Before May was four days old, Perez was the center of attention again, following a dreadful performance in Philadelphia. The following day, he was limping and wearing an ice pack on his right knee, though when the pack was removed, he was unsure which leg was injured.

Delgado played eight straight games, batting .423 with seven RBIs, but his season ended on May 10 in the middle of the team's most successful extended run of the season. The Mets won 11 of 13 games, sweeping series in Atlanta and against the Phillies and Pirates to take sole possession of first place for eight days. They would lead the division two more days all season. Delgado underwent surgery on May 19, one day before the season ended for Reyes (hamstring tendon tear). While Murphy continued to struggle in left field, Fernando Tatis played first base. But when the Mets visited Fenway Park, Murphy batted leadoff and played first base.

The Mets achieved their grandest victory of the season on May 23, beating the Red Sox on a two-run ninth-inning home run over the Green Monster by Omir Santos. Their record, 28-21, was a season-high seven games over .500 when May ended. - link

Why Tom Terrific Was Traded:

The tale of Tom Seaver best illustrates how perverse the Mets’ priorities had become, and how writers like Young helped make the situation impossible. During the 1977 season (when Torre became manager), Seaver read a Young column that crossed the line. Seaver had grown accustomed to Young routinely bashing the players, but this time Young took it a step further, bringing Seaver’s wife into it. The sportswriter reported that recent contentious contract negotiations between the Mets and Seaver were because Tom Terrific’s spouse wanted more money. Technically, the Mets were not making this claim as Dick Young was not the team’s employee and the franchise had no oversight on his column. However, Grant had so poisoned the relationship with his players that Seaver believed Grant and/or his underlings had trash-talked his wife to the most anti-union writer in the press, who gleefully publicized their beliefs. One cannot fault Seaver for viewing the column as a slam coming from Mets’ management; that was undoubtedly what happened. After this article, Seaver demanded a trade. Immediately. The Mets fulfilled his request barely two weeks after Torre filled out his first lineup card as the team’s manager.
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Omar and Jason:

It’s often remembered that Jason Bay was a Met farmhand, but he wasn’t a Met draftee. Bay had only been Met property for about four months when Philanderin’ Phillips sent him to San Diego. He became a Met in late March 2002, arriving in the company of future Royals cup-of-coffee sipper Jimmy Serrano for the utterly forgettable Lou Collier, which means you could argue he was part of two fleecings in one year. In March, the Mets got him from his original organization, the Montreal Expos. So who was the first chump to trade away Jason Bay in 2002? It was Omar Minaya. - faithandfearinflushing.

3rd Baseball Team in New York:

I've always been intrigued by the thought of making New York a three-team town again and I love talking about the possibility whenever anyone brings it up. Really, can you think of anything in baseball with more storylines? Anything that would cause more debates or grandstanding press conferences? It'd be a blogger's dream and covering the saga and answering its myriad questions would probably require its own blog. Where would the team play? Would it be a transplanted franchise or an expansion outfit? What would its stadium look like? Who would pay for it? Who would become fans of this new team? What would it be called? What would the uniforms look like? - yahoo