John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 4/25/2020

Good morning, the Washington Post says MLB and MiLB are getting closer to a new agreement, Mets posted some great record breaking videos on You Tube, the Cape Cod League cancels the season and the AA All Star Game is cancelled in Binghamton as well as others in the minors.

Washington Post: “Major League Baseball is moving closer to a new agreement with Minor League Baseball that would reduce the number of affiliates from 160 to 120 while realigning the minor leagues and restructuring the economic relationship between MLB and its affiliates, according to people familiar with those talks.

“We are working towards creative solutions wherein there will be 120 full season teams,” Minor League Baseball officials wrote in a letter sent to affiliates Friday.

The new deal also would feature “meaningful changes in the relationship” and a “much tighter overall alignment” between MLB and Minor League Baseball, the letter said. But the net result would be “lower costs and higher revenues” for minor league clubs.

Mike’s Mets talks about Minor League baseball in “America's Vanishing Game.”

Mets Links:

Matt Netter Mets 360.com: Mets will face a tough decision on Marcus Stroman.

Rising Apple: Steven Henderson’s four forgotten years in New York. “Henderson’s four seasons in New York, however, look pretty good on the stat sheet. He slashed .287/.360/.423 for the Mets in just over 2.000 plate appearances. His three years of hitting .290 or higher helped put him high on the list of the top career batting averages in team history.”

Mets.com: NL East notebook: Players with the best hit tool.  For the Mets - Jeff McNeil.

You Tube: Mets Milestones and Broken Records. Dwight Gooden’s Rookie Strikeout record, John Franco’s 400^th save, Edgardo Alfonzo’s 6 hits, Mike Piazza’s Catching HR record, Johan Santana’s No hitter, Jacob deGrom strikes out 11 in the NLDS, and of course Pete Alonso’s Rookie record home run.  Well worth the 16 minute watch.

The Score: 'This one had a different feel to it': Remembering Chris Heston's oft-forgotten no-hitter against the New York Mets on June 9, 2015.

Tim Ryder Metsmerized Online: Reliving The 2000 Mets: The Boys Get Hot. Tim looks at a great Mets April 2000 10 game homestand.

Centerfield Maz: Scott Strickland: Early 2000's Mets Reliever (2002-2003).

Centerfield Maz: Pat Zachry: Former Rookie of the Year & Late Seventies Mets All Star Pitcher (1977-1982).

MLB LINKS:

Deesha Thosar NY Daily News: Baseball should experiment when it returns. Tournament or bracket-style baseball? Bring it on. Universal DH? Sorry pitchers, but unless you’re raking from the nine-hole, you can sit this one out.

Ken Davidoff NY Post: The legacy lesson Rob Manfred must learn from Bud Selig.

CBS Sports: Dodgers icon Vin Scully hospitalized after fall and is 'resting comfortably'.

CBS Sports: Nationals GM Mike Rizzo optimistic MLB will have a 2020 season.

ESPN.com: Why the four-man outfield could be MLB's next big innovation.

AP News: Steve Dalkowski, inspiration for ‘Bull Durham,’ dies at 80.

AP News: The Latest: Cape Cod League cancels season.

Minor League links:

Twitter: The Texas League All-Star Game has been canceled for the 2020 season. All-Star Game festivities have been scheduled to take place in downtown Amarillo in 2021.

Conner Foley Twitter: Breaking: RailRiders owner says 2020 Triple-A All-Star Game canceled.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies via twitter: The 2020 Eastern League All-Star Game presented by Ephesus Lighting slated to take place on Wednesday, July 15th has been cancelled.  

MiLB canceled the game due to the delay of the 2020 Regular Season as an effect of the COVID-19 virus.

Syracuse Mets via twitter: When the going gets tough, the tough get sewing. Check out these Amazin’ Mets face masks! How have you been keeping busy at home? 

MLB Trade Rumors:

2020-21 MLB Free Agent Class: Starting Pitchers.

Potential 2020-21 Qualifying Offer Candidates.

How Did The A’s End Up With Baseball’s Most Productive Reliever? Liam Hendriks did lead Major League Baseball’s bullpen denizens with a whopping 3.8 fWAR last year … the loftiest single-season tally since Eric Gagne’s magical 2003 effort.

Asian Baseball:

Yahoo Sports: Baseball in full swing in Taiwan, even in empty stadiums.

Yesterday in The CPBL –

Rakuten Monkeys 14 Uni Lions 4 (Line score)

Per Dan Clark on Twitter: Rakuten Monkey improved to 7-0, first time in CPBL history a team has started the season with seven consecutive wins. 

CTBC Brothers 11 Fubon Guardians 0 (Line score).

Per Dan Clark on Twitter: Ariel Miranda (Chinatrust Brothers) had another fantastic outing.  He is 2-0 on the season with 1.50 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 18 innings. 

Games this morning (already underway):

- Fubon Guardians vs. CTBC Brothers.  You can see the game here.  Game is now over Brothers 6 Guardians 5 (Line Score)

Rakuten Monkeys vs Uni Lions in ENGLISH!!! You can see the game here.  Uni Lions win a combacker 8-7 with two runs in ninth.  Break Rakuten's unbeaten start.  (Line Score)

Yesterday at Mack’s Mets:

Reese Kaplan -- Most Fun to Watch Not Always the Best.

Tom Brennan - BEST METS PLAYER'S OFFENSIVE SEASON EVER?

2020 Eastern League All-Star Game Cancelled.

Mack’s Blast from the Past 4/25/2014:  Mack’s Morning Report – Cam Chat Starting Pitching. Mack looked at Mets starting rotation with this prediction for the 2015 staff: “There seems to be only one etched in stone pitcher come next spring and that is Matt Harvey (DL). Any combination of Zack Wheeler (4.63), Dillon Gee (3.58), Jon Niese (X.XX), Bartolo Colon (5.40), Jeremy Hefner (DL), Jenrry Mejia (1.99), Rafael Montero (3.80), Noah Syndergaard (4.95), and Jacob deGrom (1.57) will fill in the other four slots.”

Today in Mets History Per Ultimatemets.com:

Born on this date:

• Bob Johnson (1943)
• Tony Phillips (1959)
• Blaine Beatty (1964)
• Brad Clontz (1971)

Transactions:

New York Mets signed free agent Fred Lewis on April 25, 2012.

New York Mets signed free agent Brad Emaus on April 25, 2012.

National Pastime.com:

1963	In the second year of their existence, the Mets win a game on a Thursday for the first time in franchise history when they beat Chicago at Wrigley Field, 3-2. During their inaugural season, the expansion team failed to register a victory in the 15 games played on the fifth day of the week.
1984	In a 2-1 victory over Montreal at Olympic Stadium, Mets right-hander Dwight Gooden becomes the first teenager to strike out ten batters in a major league game since Bert Blyleven accomplished the feat with the Twins in 1970. The 19 year-old rookie will lead the National League with 276 strikeouts this season.

2000

Honoring the work stoppage called by Cuban-Americans over the Elian Gonzalez immigration controversy, Marlins Alex Fernandez, Vladimir Nunez, Michael Tejera, and Mike Lowell, Devil Rays' Jose Canseco, and Mets' Rey Ordonez and Cookie Rojas do not participate in major league action. The protest stems from the federal district court's ruling that the five year-old boy must be returned to his father in Cuba, taking him away from the maternal relatives living in Miami.

2012

David Wright becomes the Mets' all-time RBI leader with 735 runs batted in when he hits a two-run home run in the team's 5-1 victory over the Marlins at Citi Field. The 29 year-old third baseman passes Darryl Strawberry's franchise mark with his sixth-inning blast off Mark Buehrle.

Baseball Reference:

1962 - Catcher Harry Chiti is traded for himself when the Cleveland Indians send him to the New York Mets in exchange for a player to be named later. On June 15th, the Mets will sell Chiti back to Cleveland to complete the deal.

2010: Mike Pelfrey throws a rain-shortened five-inning shutout as the Mets complete a series sweep of the Braves, 1 - 0, at Citi Field. Pelfrey is in trouble all five innings, but manages to escape unscathed in extending his string of scoreless innings to 24. It is actually Raul Valdes who is on the mound for New York when the game is stopped in the top of the 6th, but everything after the 5th is wiped out, giving Pelfrey credit for a complete game. The game's lone run comes when Jose Reyes runs wild in spite of the sloppy conditions, stealing second after a two-out bloop single in the 1st, and coming to score on Jason Bay's infield single when 3B Chipper Jones's throw skips away from 1B Troy Glaus just enough to allow Reyes to dash home.

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