Your Thursday morning dose of New York Mets and Major League Baseball news, notes, and links.
Meet the Mets
The Amazins rolled to their third straight victory over the Braves on Wednesday night, winning by a score of 4-1 on the strength of a commanding return outing from Dillon Gee and a two-run bomb off the bat of Travis d'Arnaud.
Choose Your Recap: Amazin' Avenue Short, Long, MLB.com, ESPN New York, Daily News, New York Times, Associated Press, Star-Ledger, New York Post, Newsday
The Mets will go for the sweep tonight when Bartolo Colon faces off against Aaron Harang.
Travis d'Arnaud's heat map since his return from Las Vegas suggests he's a very different hitter. Laura Albanese and John Harper investigate why that may be.
Here's a closer look at Terry Collins's successful Wednesday night first inning challenge.
Jeurys Familia was unavailable after having some struggles with his warm-up on Wednesday, and Collins says he will be careful with him going forward in light of his 43 appearances this season.
Ken Davidoff praises the Mets' decision to stick with Lucas Duda and jettison Ike Davis.
Keith Hernandezrecollects his Seinfeld cameo for Rolling Stone.
MetsMinors examinesNoah Syndergaard, Brandon Nimmo, and Kevin Plawecki at the mid-season point.
Eddie Kranepool Society admits that it still hates Jimmy Qualls.
On this date in Mets' history in 1999, Matt Franco struck a killer blow off of Mariano Rivera.
Yesterday At AA
Steve Sypa gave a complete rundown of Tuesday's Mets' farm action.
Daniel Stein-Sayles wondered where the Mets can look to improve their lineup.
Jeffrey Paternostro took a closer look at Brandon Nimmo in the newest edition of the Behind the Backstop series.
Steve Schrieber argued that if Troy Tulowitski requests a trade this offseason, the Mets cannot afford to pass up the opportunity to pursue him.
Chris McShane posed a few questions about Cubs' shortstop Starlin Castro to Al Yellon of Bleed Cubbie Blue.
Aaron Yorke covered the news that Mets' left-hander Hamilton Bennett asked for and was granted his release from the organization.
Around the NL East
Demetrius Bell of Talking Chop wonders if the Braves are targeting Cubs' relievers.
The Fish lost to the Snakes 4-3 in ten innings. Michael Jong explores the Marlin's fifth starter options.
The Phillies downed the Brewers 4-1, and John Stolnis posits the possibility of a Dominic Brown rebound.
The Nationals defeated the Orioles on Wednesday by a score of 6-2. Patrick Reddington takes readers inside the relationship of Matt Williams and Buck Showalter.
Around the Majors
The big news yesterday was that Masahiro Tanaka had an MRI on his right arm.
Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon would be willing to waive his no-trade clause if he would be dealt to a contender.
Joe Posnanski looks back at Lou Boudreau and his decision to shift the defense against Ted Williams.
A streaking Reds team can ill afford to be without the services of Billy Hamilton and Brandon Phillips, but that scenario now looks like a distinct possibility.
Jon Heyman reports that the Rockies have every intention of keeping Troy Tulowitski, despite his recent intimations that he may be open to a trade.
MLB Trade Rumors digs into the trade market for shortstops.
The San Francisco Giantsare considering a ban on culturally insensitive fan attire at AT&T Park.
A fan tells the Rockies' CEO and chairman that he doesn't come to the ballpark because the product on the field is consistently bad. The CEO's response? Don't come.
If you read an article or find a link that you think would be a great addition to a future edition of Mets Morning News, please forward it to our tips email address tips@grission.com and we'll try to add it in.