John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 4/2/2020

Good morning.  Lots to get to today, let’s hit the links.

CBS Sports: MLB starting 2020 season without fans in attendance becoming stronger possibility, report says.

Mets 360: If you ever went to a September game at Shea in the late 70s-early 80s – you’ll have an idea of what a game with no fans might be like.

Elite Sports NY: Minor league owner Gary Green talks New York Mets, Wilpons. “Nobody wants to win more than the Wilpons, they are just as hungry for winning and success as their rabid fan base. If they do end up selling it could be because of necessity rather than a want, and I still think Steve Cohen will factor into this at some point.”

Syracuse.com: Syracuse Mets’ NBT Bank Stadium construction allowed to continue. Construction on NBT Bank Stadium has been deemed essential and will likely remain on schedule to meet the needs of the Syracuse Mets 2020 home opener. WYSR-TV has video of this story.

SNY.TV: 4 players Mets should consider signing to long-term extensions: Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz. 

Chris Bodig at Cooperstown Cred had a great article on OPENING DAY AT SHEA STADIUM: 1985.

NY Post: Mets legend Rusty Staub undoubtedly would be on front lines of coronavirus fight.

Metsmerized Online: A Story About Rusty Staub I Bet You Never Heard. Joe D tells the story of Rusty meeting Gil Hodges and his coaches at church the day Gil died right before the trade to the Mets was announced. 

Rising Apple: Mets pitcher Steven Matz has a big opportunity to improve his future this year.

12UP.com: Ranking the Best Power Hitters in the NL East. 10. Yoenis Cespedes; 9. Eric Thames; 8. Marcell Ozuna; 7. Rhys Hoskins; 6. Michael Conforto; 5. Bryce Harper; 4. Freddie Freeman; 3. Juan Soto; 2. Pete Alonso; 1. Ronald Acuña Jr.

SNY.TV: Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis voice their support for Mets to bring back their black jerseys.

SNY.TV: Former Met Wilmer Flores stays ready for season with help from his mom.

Faith and Fear in Flushing has selected The Magic as the Manufacturers Hanover Trust Mets Player of the Year.

Elite Sports NY: New York Mets greatest forgotten players: SS Frank Taveras.

Elite Sports NY: New York Mets C Wilson Ramos, brother Efren throw bullpen session (Video)

Elite Sports NY: Remembering the greatest walk in New York Mets history.  Todd Pratt’s walk in the bottom of the 15th in 1999’s NLCS’s Game 5 set up Robin Ventura’s famous Grand slam single.

The Daily Stache: WATCH: Keith Hernandez says Pete Alonso is “Second Coming of David Wright.”

Mets Police is doing a best Mets by number series, the other day he had Mookie Wilson for #1.  Yesterday for #2 he had Dilson Herrera.

Faith and Fear in Flushing had a “Blast from the Past” with a post from November 10, 1980. “Nothin’ Could Stand in Our Way”.

Gotham Baseball celebrated 15 years of blogging.

Mike’s Mets: A More Equitable World.

NY Post: Little League’s message: Teams will play ball — eventually.

Metsradamus wrapped up the Mets at Phillies simulated game yesterday. Zack Wheeler Vs. Jacob deGrom.  Metstradamus’ wrap makes it hard to tell that it was not the real thing.

NY Post: Don’t expect Carlos Beltran back in baseball anytime soon: Ron Darling.  “I think baseball would be very hesitant to hire Carlos,” the 59-year-old Hawaiian said. “I think Carlos would be very hesitant to come back to the game.”

The Frontier League announced Tuesday it is officially delaying the scheduled May 14 start of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Yahoo Sports: After six years, the Dodgers' channel will be widely available in LA. What happened?

Yahoo Sports: Dodgers' Justin Turner suggests letting HR Derby decide extra-inning games.

CBS Sports: MLB players open to wearing masks to return to field after coronavirus shutdown, says Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed.

USA Today: Shin-Soo Choo giving $1,000 to every minor league player in Rangers’ farm system.

Jballallen.com: On Wednesday, Nippon Professional Baseball questioned whether it would be able to have the Olympic break in its schedule AND play in a March World Baseball Classic. A March WBC in 2021 runs smack into two Japanese sporting obsessions: the volume of practice, and the primacy of the Olympics.

Jballallen.com: New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has returned to Japan, the Nikkan Sports reported Thursday, because of the spread of the coronavirus but also out of concern for his personal safety.

MLB Trade Rumors:

MLB Cancels 2020 London Series.

Revisiting Yasiel Puig’s 2019.

GM Trade History: Mariners’ Jerry Dipoto.

Rebound Candidate: Lorenzo Cain.

2020 Season Increasingly Likely To Begin Without Crowds.

Yesterday at Mack’s Mets:

Reese Kaplan -- Life Without Baseball Goes On.

Tom Brennan - Mets' Coffee and Donuts.

Mack – FWIW – Coronavirus Edition - Daily Thoughts 4-1.

Mack’s Blast From The Past  – The Mack Attack - April 2, 2009. Mack had the 2009 Opening Day Roster and noted: “The Mets have no good defensive options at second base. Yes, Luis Castillo is in shape and ready to roll, but the knees are still arthritic. Castillo is the fifth-worst second baseman at minus-20 plays during the 2006-2008 period and getting worse every year.”  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Today in Mets History Per Ultimatemets.com:

Born on this date:

• Al Weis (1938)
• Mike Howard (1958)
• Hisanori Takahashi (1975)
• Mauricio Lezama (2001)

Died on this date:

• Gil Hodges (1972)

Transactions:

New York Mets signed free agent Phil Linz on April 2, 1968.

New York Mets traded Tom Veryzer to the Chicago Cubs for Craig Weissman and Bob Schilling on April 2, 1983.

New York Mets traded Jose Oquendo and Mark Jason Davis to the St. Louis Cardinals for Argenis Salazar and John Young on April 2, 1985.

New York Mets traded Doug Simons to the Montreal Expos for Rob Katzaroff on April 2, 1992.

New York Mets traded Matt Ginter to the Detroit Tigers for Steve Colyer on April 2, 2005.

New York Mets signed free agent Josh Smoker on April 2, 2015.

National Pastime.com:

1972	After playing a round of golf in West Palm Beach with his coaches on Easter Sunday, Mets manager Gil Hodges, two days shy of his 48th birthday, suffers a fatal heart attack. The club will name current first base coach and former Yankee skipper Yogi Berra to run the team when the strike-delayed season begins.
1984	For the first time in ten years, the Mets lose on Opening Day, bowing to the Reds, 8-1. The last time the team dropped a season opener was in 1974, when Mike Schmidt hit a two-run walk-off home run off Tug McGraw, giving the Phillies a 5-4 victory over New York at Veterans Stadium.
2003	Todd Zeile homers in his first at-bat as a Yankee, becoming the only major leaguer to hit a home run for ten different teams, surpassing Tommy Davis, who went deep for nine different clubs. In addition to homering with the Bronx Bombers, the infielder has also gone deep for the Cardinals, Cubs, Phillies, Orioles, Dodgers, Marlins, Rangers, Mets, and Rockies.

Baseball Reference:

2010: The injury-ravaged New York Mets round out their roster by making six cuts, sending Ps Nelson Figueroa, Kiko Calero, Bobby Parnell and Elmer Dessens, along with IF Russ Adams and OF Chris Carter, major league veterans all, down to AAA Buffalo. Among those that make it through the day are veteran Frank Catalanotto, a spring training invitee, and 20-year-old P Jenrry Mejia.

Want more?  Check out https://sportspyder.com/mlb/new-york-mets/news. 

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