Mendoza's Moment of Truth

The New York Mets were swept by the Atlanta Braves Thursday night. There's nothing unique about that statement. Three years ago, they went into Atlanta needing just one win to secure the tie-breaker for first place in the National League East. Instead they lost all three games. There's something about playing in this city that brings out the Marv Throneberry in the Amazins.

But the Mets did more than just get swept the Braves; they got swept by the Braves after getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays. 0-6 after a 16-4 stretch, which saw them build a five and a half game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies. They are now tied for first with three games in Philadelphia. Don't be surprised if by Sunday night they're three games behind the Phillies. Remember when I said they'd be lucky to go 6-4 over this ten-game stretch? Well, 2-8 is looking more like a possibility.

Let's call it what it is: a slump, and a pretty bad one. In the six straight games the Mets have lost, four have not been remotely close. But the two that were close, were given away by the manager, who has chosen a particularly bad time of the year to make some rather bizarre decisions. 

Game one against the Rays: The Mets were ahead 5-1 going into the top of the sixth. Carlos Mendoza decided to pull Clay Holmes after throwing only 79 pitches, even though he was sailing along. The explanation was that the Mets were concerned about stretching Holmes too much given that this was his first year as a starter. Fair enough; you want him fresh for the stretch drive and playoffs. Totally understandable. Then why did Mendoza let him throw 104 pitches against the Braves five days later when it was painfully obvious he was struggling? What happened to managing his pitch count?

Game one against the Braves: The Mets were ahead 4-1 going into the bottom of the eight. David Peterson, fresh off a complete-game shutout against the Washington Nationals, was in complete command. Mendoza decided to leave him in, but for some reason didn't have anyone warming up in the bullpen just in case he got into trouble, which is what happened. Peterson walked the first batter he faced, at which point Garrett Reed started throwing in the bullpen. The next batter singled. The Braves had runners on first and second with no one out. Mendoza then went to Garrett who clearly was not yet ready to pitch. Atlanta ended up tying the game in that inning.

Same game against the Braves: Bottom of the 10th, tied score, free runner on second. Acuna is intentionally walked. On a wild pitch, for some reason Francisco Alvarez decided to throw behind the runner, thus allowing the eventual winning run to move to third base where he scored on a sacrifice fly. After the game, Mendoza, rather than just admit his catcher made a mistake, attempted to rationalize it. That is a no-no. A manager who cannot hold his players accountable is doing them a disservice. You don't have to throw your player under the bus to acknowledge what everyone who watched the game saw.

Look, last year Mendoza did a remarkable job not overreacting when the Mets got off to a horrific start. Indeed, you could say his calm demeanor gave the team the space it needed to turn the season around. And to be honest, no one ever accused him of being Joe McCarthy.

But Mendoza exhibits all the tell-tell signs of a manager who can't quite come to terms with the fact that he is no longer a coach but the field boss. Case in point, how he's handled the bullpen. Even last season when everything seemed to be going the Mets way, Mendoza would leave his starters in a little too long or pull them a little too soon. And his choice of reliever would sometimes be a head scratcher, like bringing in Adam Ottavino with a runner on first base. If you've ever watched Ottavino attempt to hold a runner on first, it's like watching a Three Stooges short if all three stooges were named Shemp. In the aforementioned game against the Rays, Mendoza, rather than bring in one of his best set-up men, opted for Paul Blackburn.

Okay, it's a long season, I get it. Managers, like players, have their share of bad games. But these are not isolated incidents; there's clearly a pattern here, or a lack thereof. Mendoza is not a bad manager, but his inconsistencies have been glaring. Alarm bells should be going off in the Mets front office. I don't care how long the season is, you can't give away games, especially in a division with two perennial 90 plus win teams like the Phillies and Braves. The Mets were very lucky to squeak into the postseason last year; there's no guarantee that, even with the addition of Juan Soto, they will make it back this year.

By no means is Carlos Mendoza the main culprit here. The Mets bats have gone cold and their pitching has gone south. No manager can overcome that kind of a slump. But he does have an obligation to put his team in the best possible position to win. To paraphrase an old saying, even if you can't get the horse to drink, you still have to lead him to the water.

As I wrote in my last piece, David Stearns will have to address the holes in this roster. But while he's doing that, it would behoove him to give his manager a pep talk before it gets too late.

Mets Get a Wakeup Call

Going into their series against the Tampa Bay Rays at CitiField, the New York Mets were 16-4 in their last 20 games. They boasted the best team ERA and the second-best runs scored and against differential in Major League Baseball. With an overall record of 45-24, they were solidly in first place in the National League East, five and a half games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. It looked like they were ready to put the pedal to the metal.

And when they jumped out to a 5-1 lead over the Rays in game one, it certainly appeared as if they were doing that. The Mets scored two runs in the bottom of the 4th and three more in the bottom of the 5th to erase an early 1-0 Tampa Bay lead. Clay Holmes was in complete command, allowing one run and three hits through five. But Carlos Mendoza decided to pull him after just 79 pitches.

That's when the roof fell in on the Mets. The Rays lit up Paul Blackburn and Max Kranick like a Christmas tree in the top of the 6th, scoring six runs, two courtesy of a two-run homer from Danny Jansen, who entered the game with a .194 batting average. The Mets lost the game 7-5.

It didn't get any better for the Amazins the next two games. They lost 8-4 and 9-0 respectively; the latter coming on Father's Day with 42,804 disappointed fans in attendance. Imagine having that many people in your stadium and getting embarrassed like that. It was the first time this season that the Mets had been swept in a three-game series.

Perhaps this was just an anomaly; a couple of stinkers in an otherwise long schedule. After all, the Mets were due for a let down sooner or later. And it's not like the Rays are a bottom feeder; in fact, they're a pretty good team. Over their last twenty games, they were averaging five and a half runs per game. To put that in perspective, the Mets are averaging 4.55 runs per game for the season.

Or perhaps it was a wakeup call. For much of 2025, the Mets have relied on their pitching to carry them. And until this series, that formula was working. But the Rays exposed a flaw in that formula. They beat up on a bullpen that is starting to show signs of wear and tear not even half-way through the season. They also did a number on Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning, both of whom appear to be reverting to form.

After an impressive April in which he posted a 1.73 earned run average, Megill's ERA in May and June ballooned to 5.96 and 5.52 respectively. Over his five years as a big-league pitcher - all with the Mets - Megill is 26-26 with a 4.46 ERA. This is who he is, folks.

Coming into this season, Canning had a career ERA of 4.78 with the Los Angeles Angels. Take away the start he had against the Dodgers in LA earlier this month, and Canning has allowed 16 earned runs over his last 15 innings pitched. We have a word for that: it's called atrocious.

With Kodai Senga sustaining a hamstring injury in his last start, and Sean Manaea still out with an oblique injury, the starting rotation is going to be under duress for the foreseeable future. And aside from Edwin Diaz, Reed Garrett and Huascar Brazobán, the bullpen has been a huge question mark of late. A pitching staff that had been rock solid for most of the season now looks very vulnerable.

And the concerns don't end with the pitching. While Juan Soto has finally awoken from his early-season slumber, there are gaping holes in this lineup. Francisco Alvarez continues to struggle offensively. In 32 games, he's hitting .241 with only two home runs and 10 RBIs. His platoon mate Luis Torrens isn't any better. His slash line is .231 / 1 / 13. Ronny Mauricio, who was brought up from Syracuse when Mark Vientos went down with a hamstring injury last month, looks lost at the plate. Aside from a few games here and there, there's been virtually no production from the DH spot. And while Tyron Taylor is a human vacuum cleaner in center field, he's practically an automatic out at the plate. Put succinctly, the bottom four of the batting order isn't pulling its weight. Overall, the Mets are hitting just .218 with runners in scoring position this season; third lowest in the majors.

Put it all together and it spells trouble for a Mets team that had designs on going all the way this season. David Stearns has done an incredible job assembling this roster, but it's clear there's more work that needs to be done. The GM needs to add at least one more bat to this lineup and a couple of arms to this beleaguered bullpen. Mendoza can't keep playing Russian Roulette with his relievers hoping they don't implode the way Blackburn and Kranick did against the Rays.

Over the next ten days, the Amazins play the Atlanta Braves seven times and the Phillies thrice. After a rough stretch, Philly has won five in a row. As for Atlanta, while their record is a disappointing 31-39, they always play the Mets tough. The Flushing Faithful will never forget how the Braves came from seven games behind in August to win the division in 2022. Anybody who thinks this is a walk in the park doesn't know what they're talking about. If the Mets go 6-4, they'll be lucky.

The trading deadline is July 31. Plenty of time for Stearns to work his magic. 

Drury Continues To Clean House

In a move that was widely anticipated, the New York Rangers traded their longest-tenured forward, Chris Kreider, to the Anaheim Ducks. And just like he had done with Patrick Nemeth, Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba, Chris Drury did not retain a cent of Kreider's salary. All $6.5 million came off the books. What made it even better was that Drury managed to convince him to waive his no-trade clause. Kreider will now be reunited with Ryan Strome, Frank Vatrano and Trouba.

The return, a third round draft pick and a prospect, was immaterial. This was a salary dump, pure and simple. With Kreider gone, the Rangers now have $14.9 million in available cap space going into next season. And if Drury can somehow get Mika Zibanejad, Kreider's BFF, to waive his NMC, that cap space would swell to  $23.4 million. But according to Vince Mercogliano, that isn't likely to happen.

I know there are a number of Rangers fans who are deeply saddened about Kreider's departure, with some calling for his jersey to be hung from the rafters. I wish I could share their sentiments. The facts is that for all his abilities, Kreider's forte over the last few seasons was scoring on the power play. He literally made a living in his office deflecting shots past goaltenders. In the 2021-22 season, for instance, 26 of his 52 goals were scored with the man advantage. But this season, he managed a paltry 6 out of 22 tallies on the power play.

As someone who's been a fan of this team since Richard Nixon was in the White House, I've seen my fair share of good players shown the door: Rick Middleton, Mike Ridley, Kelly Miller, Mark Messier, Brian Leetch (on his fucking birthday, no less), Ryan McDonagh, the list goes on. Forgive me if I don't shed any crocodile tears over a player who, let's face it, phoned it in for much of the season. If anything, I think I've earned the right to be a little jaded with respect to number 20.

But while getting rid of Kreider was a necessary step in this retool, there's still a lot left on Drury's plate. K'Andre Miller and Will Cuylle are pending RFAs and eligible to receive offer sheets. If Drury doesn't sign them to extensions by July 1, it's conceivable he could lose both. Cuylle, in particular, would be a devastating loss. There were times this season when he was the best player on the ice for the Blueshirts. In only his second full season on Broadway, Cuylle had 20 goals, 25 assists and 300 hits. The 6-3, 212 lb. winger plays the game the way it's opposed to be played. If every player on this team played like Cuylle did last season, the Rangers would've beaten the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference finals. Drury must do whatever it takes to lock him up before the end of the month.

As far as Miller is concerned, he remains an enigma. There are nights when he looks like a Norris trophy candidate; then there are nights when he looks like he could be the seventh defenseman at Hartford. He has the size and skillset to be an elite defenseman in the NHL, yet for some inexplicable reason, he coughs up the puck at the most inopportune time of the game, which leads to high-danger scoring chances that have a nasty habit of winding up in the back of his goalie's net. Since his arrival in New York in 2020, he's played for David Quinn, Gerard Gallant and Peter Laviolette, and he's managed to get worse with each passing season.

I suppose Mike Sullivan could turn him around, but if I had to guess, I'd say he winds up being dealt as part of a package to land a top six forward or a top four defenseman. Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars and Vladislav Gavrikov of the LA Kings are two names that have been mentioned as possible targets for the Rangers. Robertson is entering the final year of a contract that pays him $7.75 million per. Gavrikov made $5.875 million this season and will become a UFA on July 1. Both will command hefty raises in their next deal. Drury will have to be very creative if he wants both players.

All in all, it was a good day for the Rangers President and General Manger. He got rid of a bad contract and put himself in position to land a good one. In other words, he did his job. 

What Could Leon Rose Be Thinking?

While we wait to see whether the Dallas Mavericks grant the New York Knicks permission to "speak" with Jason Kidd concerning their head coaching vacancy, and whether, if it's granted, the two teams can agree on compensation, another even bigger story has emerged that, if true, threatens to undermine everything this organization has built up over the last three seasons.

As you're probably aware by now, it was recently revealed that the Knicks attempted to acquire Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns at the trade deadline last March. Obviously, the deal never went through, but according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Knicks are still in the market for KD's services, along with several other teams, it should be pointed out.

The Suns have been a huge disappointment over the last two years, and this season failed to make the playoffs. Going into the 2025-26 season, they are $11 million over the second apron with only ten players signed. To put that in perspective, the Knicks are $8 million under the second apron with eleven players signed. What that means is that the Suns are in what is commonly referred to as cap hell with a bad team that will be severely restricted from making improvements to the roster. This is unsustainable.

The 800 pound gorilla in the room, however, is Durant's contract, which is an astonishing $54.7 million. Any team looking to add him to their roster would have to send an equal dollar amount the other way. There's only one player on the Knicks who fits that bill, and that's Karl-Anthony Towns. The 7-0 center, who Leon Rose traded Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo for last September, is due to earn $53.1 million next season. Ideally, the Suns would like to get more than just one player in exchange for KD, but that would mean the Knicks would have to package two players in the deal, further shortening an already short bench.

Let me just go on record right now as saying that this trade, if it were pulled off, would be one of the worst in franchise history. As talented as KD is, he does not get the Knicks any closer to an NBA championship; indeed, he could move them further away from it. Let me explain.

For starters, Towns has gotten a lot of criticism for the way he performed in this year's playoffs, almost all of it undeserved. True, there were a few games in which he was a non-factor. But overall, he was a net positive for this team. In the Pacers series, he practically owned his counterpart, Myles Turner, the only Knick that can say that, by the way.

During the regular season, KAT averaged 24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists per game, while shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 42 percent from three. The only center in the NBA with a better slash line was Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. You don't trade players like that; you surround them with complimentary talent, which is what Rose should be doing.

If the Knicks were to trade KAT, they would have a gaping hole at the five spot that would have to be filled by Mitchell Robinson, who has a history of getting injured, and Ariel Hukporti, who is, as yet, still an unproven player. And in return, they would get an aging forward who has, at most, maybe another two seasons left in the tank before he calls it a career.

What could Rose be thinking even entertaining such a deal? This has James Dolan written all over it. I was willing to give the Knicks owner the benefit of the doubt over the Thibodeau firing, but if the Knicks are actually stupid enough to pull the trigger on this trade, then this will be yet another example of him screwing up this franchise, just like he did with the Rangers four years ago when he fired John Davidson and Jeff Gordon because he was unhappy with the pace of the rebuild. The man thinks he knows something about sports. The fact is had it not been for his father Charles, old Jimbo wouldn't be a flee on a donkey's ass.

Let's hope sanity prevails and Rose directs his attention to where it belongs: hiring a coach that can take this team to the next level, and fortifying a depleted bench so that his best players don't look like rag dolls by the fourth quarter. Regarding the latter, the Utah Jazz have let it be known that they are fielding offers for Walker Kessler. Deuce McBride, Hukporti and the 2026 and 2032 first round picks might be enough to get it done. I'd much rather have Kessler backing up KAT than either Hukporti or Mitch, wouldn't you? And with the savings from Robinson's contract, whom I assume they wouldn't need anymore, the Knicks could find a way to bring back DiVincenzo, thus reuniting the Nova Four.

That makes a helluva lot more sense than trading for a fading star, doesn't it?

Memo To Steve Cohen: Pay the Polar Bear!

Much has been written about the great start the New York Mets have gotten off to. At 39-23, they have the best record in the National League, and the second best record in the Majors. Their team ERA of 2.83 is the best in baseball; followed by the San Francisco Giants at 3.06 and the Texas Rangers at 3.17. The LA Dodgers, last year's World Series champs, are currently 20th with a 4.12 team ERA.

Much of the credit for the pitching goes to David Sterns, who without one of his best starters from last year in Sean Manaea, has assembled one of the best and deepest staffs in baseball. Seriously, if you had the Mets with the number one team ERA after 62 games, I want to see the receipts, and then I've got a cup for you to pee in. Nobody saw this coming.

But as great as the pitching has been, the Mets wouldn't be where they are in the standings without the exploits of one Pete Alonso, AKA the Polar Bear. Last night he smacked two home runs against the Dodgers; the latter a three-run shot that traveled 447 feet into the left-field pavilion. Overall, Alonso was responsible for five of the six runs the Mets scored in the game.

This is not the first time he has carried his team across the threshold. Apart from a slump in May where he went 65 at bats without hitting a home run, the Polar Bear has been the Mets most consistent offensive threat pretty much the entire season.

Just look at his slash line so far this season: 

Avg: .290, HRs: 14, RBIs: 53, OBP: .386, SLG: .563, OPS: .949.

Alonso is on track to finish the season with 37 homers and 138 runs batted in. What's been most impressive about Pete is that he's hitting to all fields and avoiding swinging at bad pitches; something he did quite frequently the last two seasons. On a team that is hitting an anemic .219 with runners in scoring position - fourth worst in the Majors - Alonso's RISP average is .349. 

And to think, the Polar Bear almost didn't re-sign with the Mets. Alonso's agent Scott Boras was looking for a long-term deal in excess of $200 million. But Steve Cohen and Stearns played hardball and wouldn't budge. Finally, both sides agreed on a two-year deal for $54 million with an opt out after this season. Based on what Alonso has done so far this season, I'd say the odds of Pete opting out are somewhere between 100 percent and Are you fucking kidding me?

Which brings me to the title of my piece. Last offseason, Cohen had all the leverage. Alonso was coming off inarguably the worst season of his career: 34 HRs, 88 RBIs, and an OPS of just .788. Boras badly overplayed his hand. He thought there would be significant demand for Alonso's services. Turns out there wasn't and Cohen knew it.

That won't be the case this offseason, not with the year Alonso is having. Boras's cell phone will be ringing off the hook come November. You can just imagine what the offers will look like. Think seven years, $300 million. And that's just for starters. In case you misplaced your calculator, that comes out to $42.8 million per year. 

If you think that's crazy, consider that the Mets are paying Juan Soto $51 million per year and he's batting .232 with 11 HRs and 31 RBIs. Which is crazier, Alonso at $42.8m or Soto at $51m?

If Cohen is smart - and by all indications he is - he will get his checkbook out now rather than wait for the fall. The longer this goes on, the more it'll cost him. Boras is not one to forgive and forget. He knows once Pete hits the free agent market he will be in the driver's seat. Maybe he can get a home-team discount; say $20 million. Alonso may prefer to stay in Flushing, but let's face it: with an agent like Boras, if someone makes him an offer he can't refuse, it'll be adios for the Polar Bear.

And that's why Cohen cannot let that happen. As of this writing, Alonso is only two home runs shy of David Wright for second place on the Mets all-time home run list, twelve behind Darryl Strawberry for first. Barring injury, he should pass Strawberry sometime in late July or early August. You don't let guys like that walk, especially when they're literally the only ones producing in the clutch for you. 

Don't get me wrong: Francisco Lindor is having a great year, and sooner or later, Soto will get untracked. But this team would barely be above .500 if Alonso weren't in the lineup. His teammates know it, he knows it, and most of all, his agent knows it.

Like that Fram Oil commercial from the '70s used to say, "You can pay me now or you can pay me later."

Pay him now, Steve!

Knicks Move On From Thibs

After the New York Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers in last year's playoffs, I wrote that their future "looked bright." And it certainly appeared that way. A team decimated by injuries still managed to get to a game seven before finally succumbing to the inevitable. One could certainly be excused for being optimistic about the 2024-25 season. And with the offseason moves Leon Rose made, the consensus was that this franchise was on the verge of achieving something great; something it hadn't achieved since 1973: a title.

But even though this season's roster was more talented than last season's, the toughness and resiliency that had come to define past Tom Thibodeau teams was missing. The Knicks were among the worst teams in the NBA when it came to defending the perimeter. Opponents shot 36.7 percent from three against them. Only the Phoenix Suns (37 percent), Atlanta Hawks (37.7 percent), Philadelphia 76ers (37.8 percent) and Sacramento Kings (38.1 percent) were more porous from beyond the arc.

It was frustrating to watch a team as gifted offensively as the Knicks were be so inept defensively. Was it a matter of chemistry? Perhaps. After all, making two significant trades the way Rose did - the latter coming literally as training camp was beginning - could have upset the apple cart, I suppose. Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo were very popular players in that locker room; losing them no doubt hurt. Indeed, it looked as if this roster had been thrown together in the hopes it would somehow be able to figure it out.

And at times it appeared as though it had. The Knicks went 12-2 in the month of December to improve their record to 23-10. But only one of those wins came against a playoff team. In January and February, the Knicks went a collective 16-10, but were 0-4 against teams ahead of them in the standings. Further, the manner in which the Knicks lost those games was disconcerting, to say the least. They were competitive in only one of them. During the regular season, the Knicks went 0-10 versus the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder. Not a very good sign for a team with championship aspirations. Despite finishing 51-31, it was obvious to even the most casual observer that this was a flawed team.

Going into this year's playoffs, I thought the Knicks, at the very least, had to beat the Detroit Pistons for Thibs to keep his job. But when they upset the Celtics in six, I naturally assumed he was safe. Obviously, I was wrong. The fact is, despite their woeful record against Boston during the regular season, the Knicks were built with the expressed purpose of dethroning the champs. And that is precisely what happened. Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns both had the series of a lifetime, especially Bridges who literally stole games one and two in Boston with his defense.

But against the Pacers, the Knicks were always a step behind, and not just physically. Throughout the series, Rick Carlisle thoroughly out-coached Thibs, who was late making adjustments, and at times reluctant to make substitutions. After dropping the first two games at the Garden, he finally tinkered with his lineup, inserting Landry Shamet and Delon Wright into the rotation. The result was a badly-needed win and a chance to get even in the series. But then Carlisle made his adjustments and just like that the Knicks were on the brink of elimination. They forced a game six, but couldn't will a game seven. In the end, Indiana exposed every flaw in their game. While Thibs was playing checkers, Carlisle was playing chess.

In the executive offices at 4 Penn Plaza, Rose clearly did not like what he saw. Either this team - the one he assembled through series of trades and signings - wasn't good enough or it simply wasn't being coached well enough. To quote Sherlock Holmes, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Rose knew it couldn't be the former, so he concluded it had to be the latter.

It is an axiom in sports that you coach the team you have, not the one you wish you had. It was clear from day one that the makeup of this roster clashed with the way Thibs preferred to coach. In short, this was never his team. And unless this is your first day on planet Earth, you have to know that whenever a coach and a GM butt heads over player personnel, it is always the coach who loses.

So now Rose, in addition to fortifying a roster he believes is a contender, will be looking for a new head coach. It won't be easy. Coaches that guide their teams to back-to-back 50 win seasons don't grow on trees. Whoever he picks will have the unenviable task of winning over a core that to a man loved Thibs. Jalen Brunson, in particular, will be a hard sale. I can't imagine Rose made this move without at least giving his captain a heads up.

One potential candidate is already on staff. Rick Brunson - Jalen's father - has been an assistant coach with the Knicks since the 2022-23 season. He knows the roster inside out, and from what little we know of him, he won't make the one mistake Thibs kept making over and over during his tenure: driving this team into the ground. The fact is Knick starters had considerably more minutes on the court than any other team this season. In the clincher against the Celtics, the Knicks were up 35 with less than six minutes to go and Thibs still hadn't put his bench players in. There is simply no excuse for that happening. None.

Now for the sixty-four thousand dollar question: What role, if any, did James Dolan play in this? While there's no evidence that he ordered the firing, it's inconceivable that he wasn't consulted on it, especially given that the Knicks will owe Thibs $30 million to NOT coach the team next season. You don't give away that much money without getting the owner's blessing.

Just to be clear, the Knicks did not fire Red Auerbach; they fired a coach whose stubbornness walked hand-in-hand with his work ethic. Yes, he brought back a culture of winning, but this team was probably not going to win a championship under him. Rose did what he had to do.

So, the Tom Thibodeau era has officially come to an end in New York. 

Knicks fans await to see who his successor will be.