Your Tuesday morning dose of New York Mets and MLB news, notes, and links.
Meet the Mets
Opening Day is supposed to be fun, right? Not for the Mets, who got a dose of BULLPAIN on their way to a 9-7 defeat at the hands of the Nationals. David Wright suggested that no one should panic, despite the disappointing result.
Michael Salfino—through the use of a crystal ball—suggests that the Mets' 2014 lineup is the ninth worst in team history.
Sandy Alderson refused to back down from his "90 wins" statement, but instead offered a clarification, saying that it was a goal and not a prediction. Dave D'Allesandro of the Star-Ledger says that having an organizational philosophy is important, but it has to be realistic. Johnette Howard of ESPN New York takes a much more critical stance, saying that Alderson has undermined the goodwill of his original prediction.
Sandy Alderson suggested that the Mets payroll would be a function of attendance, but did offer that there is money to add players during the season. Charles Curtis of NJ.com writes that Mets attendance has dropped 32% since the opening of Citi Field.
The Mets have signed former nemesis Bobby Abreu to a minor league deal.
Congrats to Daniel Murphy, whose wife Tori gave birth to the couple's first child on Monday!
Around the NL East
The Phillies were up to their old tricks again, as Jimmy Rollins crushed a grand slam en route to a 14-10 win over the Rangers. Cliff Lee didn't share in the fun, however, as he gave up 8 runs on 11 hits.
In a pitcher's duel in Milwaukee, the Brewers stymied the Bravesby a final score of 2-0, riding a stellar performance by Yovani Gallardo. An Aramis Ramirez double put the Brewers ahead in the 6th, and they never looked back.
The Marlinsgot their own brand of top-tier pitching yesterday, as Jose Fernandez struck out 9 batters, improving his record in Miami to 10-0. The Marlins would go on to beat the Rockies by a score of 10-1.
Around the Majors
Tracy Ringolsby reminds us that Opening Day is the best day of the year.
Ken Rosenthal writes about how Mike Troutended up on the West Coast, despite being a top prospect from the East.
Harry Pavlidis at Baseball Prospectus gives us the group's catcher framing projections.
Fangraphs gives us its crowd predictions for the NL, and just wait until you see how many votes the Mets got.
Dave Cameron gives a few Opening Day observations for Frangraphs.
Yesterday at AA
Chris McShane recapped all of the drama and heartbreak of the Mets season opener.
Aaron Yorke previewed the Mets opening-week series against the Nationals.
Steve Schreiber brings us the piece you've all been waiting for! An expose so potent and so intriguing that you'll never read anything else like it again in your life. It's Puppy Avenue 2014!
If you have a link or note you think would be a great addition to a future edition of Mets Morning News, drop us a line via our tips email address, tips@grission.com and we'll try to add it in.
