Andy Martino, SNY.tv | Twitter |

Steven Matz is well aware that when an athlete invokes his or her religious faith, it can sound like the recitation of a cliche. 

In fact, when asked on Monday why he has felt so compelled as a young man to use his platform in service of others, he hesitated before answering, for that exact reason.

An MLB-record 6,776 home runs were hit during the 2019 regular season, up from 5,585 in 2018, with many fly balls that had been fly outs in the past (or extra-base hits) instead sailing out of ballparks.

In addition to the baseballs during the 2019 regular season flying differently once they were hit was the fact that lower seams and a slicker surface hindered pitchers from being able to grip and/or control the baseball like they were used to.

Then came the 2019 postseason, when the balls were seemingly de-juiced. 

So what happened?

Ron Darling, SNY.tv

Nothing about baseball today.

Just wanted to say thank you to all the hospitals, doctors and nurses for their tireless work to keep us safe. This is a scary time for all of us and it is times like these where we bear witness to those who make life manageable.  

And for all of us in New York, please follow the direction of Governor Cuomo and do your part in these challenging times. COVID-19 is a serious matter and please take all steps in order to help stop the spread of the virus.

SNY's Doug Williams checks in from home with a new edition of Doug's Diary. Does Pete Alonso deserve to be the new captain of the Mets? Plus, thoughts on The Sopranos...

Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen posted a message on Monday to healthcare workers who are on the front lines battling the coronavirus pandemic.

"As we all stay home and follow the guidelines of our health officials, I just wanted to give a big thank you to the doctors, the nurses, and all of our healthcare workers for keeping us safe, for going to work, and fighting this pandemic on the front lines every day," Van Wagenen said. "But it's those of you that are getting people healthy, getting people back home to their families, and putting yourselves at risk -- sacrificing for the better good of our entire community. Thank you to all of you and let's get through this together. Thanks."

Watch Van Wagenen's full message below:

In this edition of SNY's Out of Office Replies, Steve Gelbs loves Igor Shesterkin's future with the Rangers, picks Steven Matz to break out, and more!

Here is the Sports Squared crossword puzzle for Monday, April 6, called New York Sports Rivals (Since 1990)...

Click below to see how the Mets fared against the Nationals in Game 9 of their virtual season on MLB The Show 20. 

There's more that was discussed in the latest edition of The Cookie Club with J.D. and Dom, where J.D. Davis, Dom Smith and SNY's Steve Gelbs also brought up Marcus Stroman. Does Dom really believe he has a stronger core than the man that said he has the strongest one in the league? 

Mets reliever Edwin Diaz, who is hoping to bounce back in 2020 if/when the season gets underway, is staying ready with MLB on hold indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Diaz's biggest bugaboo in 2019 was his slider -- specifically his inability to harness it, with the pitch often hanging in the fat part of the strike zone and getting smoked.

The slider was something Diaz was working on during spring training, with the pitch coming in at the bottom of the zone most often during games. And the one he broke off on Saturday looked nasty. Click below to watch...

On the latest edition of SNY's Out of Office Replies, Anthony Recker shares a funny Bartolo Colon story, explains how he knew Jacob deGrom could win the Cy Young, and more.

Ron Darling, SNY.tv

Jacob deGrom is a gift from the gods for someone like me. I have been fortunate enough to witness almost all of his starts in the major leagues and this has to feel like it felt for Ralph Kiner watching Tom Seaver all of those years.
 
Quite simply, IMO, he is the best starting pitcher in baseball. There was a time you could make the case for the precision of Greg Maddux or the sheer power of Randy Johnson, but Pedro Martinez had the combination of both. Jake is his generation's Pedro. This takes nothing away from the magic of Max, the overpowering Cole, or the sustained excellence of Clayton. 

DeGrom is now locked inside a vortex of athleticism, pitching intelligence and at the peak of his powers. What a sight to behold! 

Mets third baseman Jeff McNeil, joined by his wife, Tatiana, and their dog, Willow, issued a message of thanks to healthcare workers who are doing everything they can to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

.@JeffMcNeil805 and his family have a special message for all the medical professionals. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/TZeWGeSN9W

- New York Mets (@Mets) April 4, 2020

Click below to watch the virtual Mets take on the virtual Nats in game 8 of the Mets' season on MLB The Show 20.

MLB, in addition to other professional sports leagues, is trying to find a safe way to still have a 2020 season -- one of the most common ideas has been to hold games in one location with no fans.

Major league sources told SNY's Andy Martino last month that MLB is determined to salvage some sort of baseball in 2020, and is still figuring out how that will look in the age of the coronavirus pandemic.

Though there haven't been any serious talks yet about baseball being played at netural sites, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that baseball is entertaining the idea of starting the season in a location where "spring training parks are more concentrated." But, as the story points out, there would be numerous hurdles to overcome.

In the latest edition of SNY's Out of Office Replies, Doug Williams says why he believes in Marcus Stroman, gives his sandwich recommendation, and more!

Ron Darling, SNY.tv

How do you get into the business? I'm asked this question all the time, and I am probably the wrong person to ask. Let's be real, I have my job because I used to throw a baseball at a high level.

Three things (two you can control)...

Luis Rojas has waited a long time to get his shot at managing the Mets, and he's now dealing with a delay to his first season that the game of baseball has "never seen before."

Rojas, hired by the Mets this offseason after the team and Carlos Beltran parted ways, recently spoke to Nathalie Alonso of MLB.com. On a call from Port St. Lucie, Rojas talked about the adjustments that he's needed to make on the fly as the coronavirus outbreak continues.

"Obviously, with what's going on with the virus, it's something we've never seen before, so we're swimming in unfamiliar waters as far as being able to anticipate what's going to happen in the future," Rojas told MLB.com. "But as far as adjusting and adapting, like we're all doing in our lives, I think [the baseball mentality] has helped us as a team."

Andy Martino, SNY.tv | Twitter |

Everything that follows is true and right, because it is my opinion.

In recent months, a troubling trend has emerged, and it's time we addressed it. Several prominent Mets players and many fans have spoken up in favor of a return to the black jerseys that the team wore as their alternate uniforms from 1998-2011.

Gary Cohen, SNY.tv

Here's a Q&A with SNY play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen about David Wright's career and his final game. Tune in to SNY on Saturday and Sunday to re-watch the broadcast of that magical game at Citi Field. 

How would you describe the atmosphere at Citi Field during Wright's final game? What still sticks with you? 

I think the best way to put it is that it was a night of love and appreciation. As much as David Wright was beloved by Mets fans, there was always a sense that he was taken for granted, even overlooked because he was so steady, so non-controversial. The two seasons at the end, when he was unable to play, gave people a chance to remember just how important David was to the fabric of the franchise and the experience of being a Mets fan over the previous decade and a half. So when the fans had one more chance to let David know how they felt about him, they held nothing back. It was a sea of warmth all night.

There were so many memorable moments. David's toddler daughter throwing out the first pitch. The reaction to his every movement. The vitriol directed at Peter O'Brien when he caught the foul pop-up in David's final at-bat. David coming up to the booth in full uniform. The utter joy and love on the faces of the fans in front of our booth when they realized David was there. And most of all, the recurring theme of David's desire to play one last game: the fact that neither of his daughters had ever seen him play. He needed completion for himself, but also for his family.

Keith Hernandez, SNY.tv | Twitter |

So much has been said and written about my brother Gary and me, and our ever-present father John. So in my first essay for SNY's website, I would like to share some thoughts with you about my mother, Jacquelyn Jordan Hernandez.

My mother was born on Feb. 9, 1929 in Beaumont, Texas, the second of what would be four children, my mother the only girl. My grandfather, R.D. was a rough-and-tumble Texas wildcatter who worked the oil fields at Port Arthur.

My maternal grandparents divorced at some point early in my mom's life. That's when my grandmother went to work for Ma Bell, and Mom's brother Carlos, being the oldest man in the family, had to quit school and go to work as well. With grandma working days, my mom had to babysit and raise her younger siblings, Jerry and Donald. Donald was sickly as a child (Rheumatic fever) and required extra care.

In the latest episode of Baseball Night in New York: Living Room Edition, the crew goes through The Lineup Card. Tune in as Andy Martino, Anthony Recker, and Steve Gelbs go one-through-nine, answering questions about the Mets' current uniforms, which Yankee will take the biggest leap in 2020, and much more ...

This shouldn't be a surprise coming from the same guy who originated the #LFGM rallying cry last season, but Mets first baseman Pete Alonso penned an emotional missive on Friday as he reflected on the 2019 season and looked forward to the start of the delayed 2020 season.

"I catch myself every night watching 2019 Mets highlights," Alonso wrote in a post to Twitter. "The amount of time watching them varies, but it's a nightly routine at this point. Rewatching the crowd erupt and remembering those moments as I saw them never ceases to give me goose bumps

"I miss the feel of the Citi Field dirt beneath my cleats. As I'm writing this now, I can still see pitchers get nasty and go get a big strike out, someone running down a missile in the gap and making a diving catch, someone twisting up a sexy double play up the middle: I see it and remember it all. The thing that I remember the most is the roar from the fans after a play was made.

Brodie Van Wagenen said soon after signing Michael Wacha and Rick Porcello that the Mets had one of the deepest rotations in baseball. Now without Noah Syndergaard, Van Wagenen is confident his team will "rise to the challenge."

"Noah is a big part of the Mets family,'' Van Wagenen said in a text to Dan Martin of the New York Post. "Losing a player like him for the season is tough, but we are confident in the other pitchers we have on the roster can rise to the challenge. Adding depth to our rotation was a priority this offseason. Both Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha are proven Starting Pitchers with championship pedigrees who have been very impressive this Spring.''

As had been the case before the Mets signed Wacha and Porcello -- temporarily giving them six starting pitchers for five rotation spots -- Van Wagenen also talked up Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman as part of the team's starting rotation depth with Syndergaard out for the entire 2020 season and perhaps into 2021.

Danny Abriano, SNY.tv | Twitter |

Since their inception in 1962, lots of incredible players have donned the orange and blue. Below, the All-Time 25-man roster is unveiled.

But first, some rules...

In order to be eligible for the team, a player must have spent a solid chunk of his career in Queens and experienced part of his peak during that time. That means Pedro Martinez and Nolan Ryan won't be in the starting rotation and Willie Mays won't be patrolling center field.

With just about all gyms and public fields closed, athletes are doing everything they can to maintain their workout schedule while at home.

By the looks of it, Tim Tebow's home routine is going quite well. 

The Mets minor leaguer posted a series of workout videos and photos to his Instagram account on Wednesday, detailing how he's altered his workouts during baseball's hiatus while working out of what appears to be his garage.

In the latest episode of Baseball Night in New York: Living Room Edition, the crew discusses Jeff McNeil's 2019 season with the Mets in detail, from his red-hot first half to a much more powerful approach in the second half ...

In this edition of Beyond the Booth, Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling each give their top three albums of all time. Find out which band all three included on their lists ...

SNY's Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling answer questions during Beyond the Booth Live, hosted by Steve Gelbs on Thursdays at 4 p.m.

Click below to watch

Andy Martino, SNY.tv | Twitter |

Major League Baseball and the Players Association are willing to consider just about any idea that will enable them to salvage a piece of the 2020 season, including playing games at neutral sites.

That would seem especially relevant to the Mets and Yankees, who play their home games in a city that has become the country's worst hotspot for coronavirus. But there have not yet been serious discussions about moving New York games to other locations, according to people familiar with MLB's thinking.

As of Thursday morning, New York state had 92,381 confirmed cases of coronavirus discovered with more than 51,809 in New York City. The state had approximately 38 percent of the cases in the entire United States.

Click below to watch the virtual Mets take on the virtual Nats in game 7 of the Mets' season on MLB The Show 20.

On Episode 2 of The Cookie Club, Steve Gelbs was joined by Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis to discuss a number of issues, including one that relates to the team's wardrobe. 

Yes, the Mets' black uniforms are very polarizing. You either love them or you hate them, and there seems to be no middle ground. 

But a good number of people want to see the black jerseys brought back, and it sounds like Smith and Davis are 100 percent on board. 

"I mean, the old-school black, that's obvious, like that should already be in the rotation," said Smith. "I say we need to bring back maybe the Los Mets ones, the all-orange. I like the orange unis, those were pretty sick, or even the old school 1986 team, the pinstripes, I mean I like that one too. We need a rotation of like five unis so we can swag out. We need the orange. I even like the camo every Sunday for military appreciation night. We gotta swag it out!"

On Episode 2 of The Cookie Club with J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith, the guys share their favorite 2019 moments and review Pete Alonso's dancing...

In the latest episode of Baseball Night in New York: Living Room Edition, the crew plays Rapid Fire for the first time from their own living rooms. Tune in to see how the guys fare in rattling off lists of Mets and Yankees, as well as other MLB notable names ...

Danny Abriano, SNY.tv | Twitter |

The Mets are currently brushing up against the $208 million luxury tax threshold and are perhaps unlikely to reach any extensions with players of their own until they get some salary cap relief.

But that relief should come after the 2020 season, when Yoenis Cespedes, Wilson Ramos, Marcus Stroman, and others are off the books, freeing up tens of millions of dollars in 2021 and beyond.

With the above in mind, and with the goal being to win now and in the future, the Mets would be wise to lay the groundwork for potential extensions for some of the players below, with an eye on striking deals soon after the 2020 season ends...

See how the Mets fared against the Phillies in Game 6 of the digital season on MLB The Show 20.

Click below to watch

Former Met Wilmer Flores -- now with the San Francisco Giants -- is staying ready for the season poolside -- and his mom is helping out.

Click below to see...

Andy Martino, SNY.tv | Twitter |

I miss baseball.

Specifically:

- Cooking dinner to the pleasant drone of Gary, Keith and Ron on nights I'm home with family.

Wilson Ramos and his brother, Efren -- a pitcher in the Mets' organization -- had a bullpen session of sorts with one another on Tuesday. Ramos captioned the video "we keep fit and just waiting for the call."

Unlike teammate Dominic Smith, who caught a Marcus Stroman street bullpen session barefoot and without a mask, Ramos looked to have both cleats and a mask on as he caught his brother.

Click below to see...

Ron Darling, SNY.tv

During April Fools' Day in 1982, I was the fool (or so I thought) when I was traded from the Texas Rangers to the New York Mets nine months after they had made me their No. 1 pick. Life is full of serendipity and that day changed my professional baseball life forever.

But, when I think of April Fools' Day, I always think of Jay Horwitz and his "little lies" he would send out in the notes to the media and one of the greatest hoaxes, the Sidd Finch story -- a must-read on April Fools' Day (Sports Illustrated, April 1, 1985).

Horwitz has been a friend to every ballplayer that has ever worn the orange and blue from 1980 to our present day. His new book, Mr. Met, will reveal how exactly a sports-mad kid from New Jersey became a family member to generations of major leaguers. If you have time, Google his relationship with Franklin Jacobs, the great high jumper who was the original Spud Webb.

Here is the Sports Squared crossword puzzle for Wednesday, April 1, called Big Apple Sports Movies...

Alex Rodriguez continued his string of Instagram live interviews with current and former Mets on Tuesday, this time welcoming Keith Hernandez.

After speaking with Pete Alonso on Sunday and then Darryl Strawberry on Monday, A-Rod welcomed Hernandez, the 11-time Gold Glove winner, one of the leaders of the 1986 World Series Champion Mets, and of course, a member of the SNY booth.

Hernandez and Rodriguez touched on a number of different topics, including who some of Hernandez's favorite defensive first basemen in the game today are, but they also spoke about how the game has changed.

See how the Mets fared against the Phillies in Game 5 of the digital season on MLB The Show 20.

Click below to watch.

Both Pete Alonso and Aaron Judge took Major League Baseball by storm, with each winning Rookie of the Year in their respective leagues.  

On the latest edition of Loud Mouths: The Great Debate, SNY's Chris Williamson and contributor Jon Hein discuss which of the two they would rather build their team around  ...

Danny Abriano, SNY.tv | Twitter |

When the Mets lost Noah Syndergaard to Tommy John surgery, it didn't just impact the 2020 season. With the recovery from the surgery likely to stretch into the 2021 season, New York -- which was already facing an uncertain situation regarding their rotation in 2021 and beyond -- is now looking at a potentially dire one.

While the 2020 Mets can simply slot both Steven Matz and Michael Wacha into a rotation that should also include Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, and Rick Porcello, the 2021 Mets are looking at just two returning rotation members they can count on at the moment: deGrom and Matz (who will be in his walk year, along with Syndergaard).

There are two important things to note when it comes to the Mets' starting rotation in 2020 and beyond...

In the latest episode of Baseball Night in New York: Living Room Edition, the crew breaks down the strengths and weaknesses of New York's backstops: Mets C Wilson Ramos and Yankees C Gary Sanchez. 

MLBPA chief Tony Clark said last week that while players would much rather play in front of fans than empty ballparks, they were open to whatever would get the season started the soonest -- including playing without fans.

And with the city of Toronto announcing Tuesday that it has banned all public events through June 30 due to the coronavirus pandemic, it's nearly impossible to imagine the 2020 MLB season starting with fans in attendance.

Earlier Tuesday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post cited two league sources who believed opening in empty ballparks seemed likely.

Ron Darling, SNY.tv

Opening Day has come and gone, and I was surprised how both sad and nostalgic I felt this past Thursday. I've decided to write some things down as I've entered my 60th year on this planet, one that seems more compromised than ever.  

Opening Day day for a ballplayer is like no other day. Putting on your new, crisp uniform and making sure it fits just right. Is the length perfect, the waist slightly snug and the rise roomy enough for the protective cup which will be part of your armor for the next six months? Vanity is part of your power, like Superman's cape. Do I look good? A real question that needs to be answered in the affirmative. Is your gamer (glove) ready to go and is your backup, in your locker, game ready in case of a mishap?  

If you've done your due diligence, spring training broke your spikes in just right. Which jacket are they handing out this year (there's always a new one), because the weather is always unseasonably cold in the Northeast (Damn Dodgers!). Everything perfect? #LFG. 

Andy Martino, SNY.tv | Twitter |

With the 2020 MLB season paused, let's dip into the mailbag and answer some Mets and Yankees questions...

@NYCsporty: Have the #Mets officially recognized that @Noahsyndergaard had sucessful Tommy John surgery considering no PR about it yet??