Kevin Durant is Coming to the Nets

It really sucks to be a Knicks fan.

For months all we heard about was how the Knicks would get Zion Williamson in the NBA draft, and then sign Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, or Kawhi Leonard in July when free agency opened up.

Oh how cruel reality can be!

As we all know the Knicks missed out on Williamson, who was drafted first overall by the New Orleans Pelicans. Then, they lost out on Kyrie Irving who is set to sign a four-year $141 million deal with the crosstown Brooklyn Nets.

Now, they have watched the Nets do it again. Kevin Durant, considered by many to be the best player in the NBA when healthy, is heading to Brooklyn to join Irving. Should he sign with the Nets, Durant will make $164 million over four years.

This is both a huge boon and gamble for the Nets. On one hand they have two of the top 10 talents in the NBA now on their roster, and immediately leapfrog the Celtics and Raptors as the favorite in the Eastern Conference.

At the same time time, this could be a complete disaster in the making. Durant is expected to miss the entire 2019-20 season as he recovers from Achilles Tendon surgery, which he had after injuring himself in Game 3 of the NBA Finals last month with Golden State. By the time he actually suits up for the Nets in the fall of 2020, Durant will be 32 years old, and many experts believe that coming back from such a severe injury at that age is a huge risk to the player. In short, he may not be the same Kevin Durant we saw dominate the NBA when he was with the Warriors, and before that the Oklahoma City Thunder.

As for Irving, his reputation as a clubhouse diva in both Boston and Cleveland is something to keep an eye on here in New York. The media will not be forgiving if Irving acts up the way he did with the Cavs and Celtics.

Joining Durant and Irving in Brooklyn will be former Knick DeAndre Jordan. I know, insult the injury Knicks fans. At 31-years old, he wants to be on a team that can win now, and the Nets are in position to do that. Jordan averages just under 10 points and 11 boards per game.

The pressure is now squarely on the Nets to get the job done in the wins department. This was a team that showed tremendous promise with young players last season, winning 42 games and getting the eighth seed. The expectations will be ratcheted up big time in 2019-20.

Yanks Sweep Away BoSox in London

YANKEES 12 - RED SOX 8

The New York Yankees wrapped a historic weekend in London, England by smacking around the Boston Red Sox 12-8 on Sunday, highlighted by a huge 9-run, seventh inning as the Bronx Bombers dominated their division rivals for the second straight day in Europe.

After giving up three Boston home runs in the bottom of the first, and trailing 4-2 for much of the day, the Yankees tore apart a Red Sox bullpen that could join the Mets as one of the worst units in all of Major League Baseball.

In the top of the seventh inning, the Yankees sent 14 men to the plate, recorded six hits, four walks (two of which were to Aaron Judge) and nine runs -- one of their biggest single inning outputs of the season.

Enjoying the most fun Sunday were Gary Sanchez and D.J. LeMahieu. Sanchez who was noticeably silent on Saturday night, put the Yanks out in front for good on a sharp single to left, scoring Aaron Hicks and Judge to give New York a 5-4 lead.

Three batters later, Gio Urshela drove in a pair on a single to center, chasing reliever Matt Barnes out of the game. LeMahieu would follow, slapping a double down the right field line, scoring Urshela and Gleyber Torres to blow the game wide open at 9-4.

It was a huge afternoon for the Yankees second baseman. LeMaheiu who is leading the league in hitting, went 3-for-6 with a pair of runs and two RBI. It was his sixth multi-hit game in a row, and his 14th consecutive game with at least one hit. The guy is easily the League's first half MVP, and if he keeps this up, LeMaheiu will get serious consideration for League MVP. Sorry Mike Trout, LeMahieu has been more impressive, and more impactful for his team in 2019.

Meanwhile, Didi Gregorius who has really come on strong in recent games, homered in the top of the eighth to close out to scoring for New York.

Like Saturday, the Yankees had to hold on for dear life. Chase Adams struggled mightily in the bottom of the eighth, allowing four runs on five hits as Boston drew closer at 12-8. Yet, the combo of Zach Britton and Aroldis Chapman settled things down as New York nailed down its 54th victory of the season.

The Yankees are now seven games ahead of the Rays and 11 games ahead of the Sox for first in the AL East. With a crowded wild card field, the Red Sox look like dead team walking right now, unless they fix their depleted bullpen. The Yanks meanwhile are on pace to win 106 games by seasons end.

After a day off on Monday, the Yanks are back in action on Tuesday at Citi Field against the miserable New York Mets.

Nets Closing In On Deal for Kyrie Irving

Former Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics all star guard Kyrie Irving is close to calling Brooklyn his new home.

Irving and the Brooklyn Nets are closing in on a four-year, $141 million max contract, as the Nets begin a bold competitive rebuild of their roster. The goal for Brooklyn is to outbid the Knicks and Clippers for injured All Star Kevin Durant, who is coming off Achillies Tendon surgery.

More on Durant in a moment.

Irving has been linked to the Nets for a number of weeks. Growing up in West Orange, New Jersey, and attending high school at Montclair Kimberly,  Irving was very familiar with the Nets during their days in Jersey, and has been rumored to have been a fan. This is a great opportunity for Irving to come home.

A six-time All Star, the Nets are getting one of the games most talented players, who averaged 23 points per game last year with the Celtics. As talented as he is, Irving took a number of PR hits last season during a tumultuous season where his displeasure with Boston was a daily headline.

It became apparent that Irving is a great player who must have another big star around him to succeed. He talked his way out of Cleveland, bashing star LeBron James on the way out, and finally came to terms with James this season when the spotlight of Boston became too hot. James is entering his second season in Los Angeles with the Lakers, and is teaming up with Anthony Davis. Cleveland is a distant memory for both.

The question is will the Nets get another max contract player on this roster to complement Irving? The obvious name is Durant.

When healthy, Durant is arguably the best player in the NBA. His size and ability to shoot the ball off the class, shoot from down town and defend the rim is uncanny.  His abilities helped guide the Golden State Warriors to back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. Had injuries not robbed the Warriors of his presence on the floor, Golden State probably beats Toronto this year.

After tearing his Achilles in Game 3 of the Finals in Toronto, Durant is out for the entire 2019-20 season. When he returns in 2020-21, he will be 32-years old, on the downside of his career. Are the Nets willing to offer him a max-five year deal knowing full well they will not have his services for a season? It seems very, very risky.

Durant is interested in the Nets. However he is also linked as a possible partner for NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who could leave Toronto for either the Clippers or Knicks. We think the Knicks are being used as leverage by both Durant and Leonard. The Clippers would be a more appealing destination.

The other wildcard here for Brooklyn is D'Angelo Russell, the Nets All-Star point guard. He is a restricted free agent, and ESPN is reporting Brooklyn will try to move him if Irving finishes his Nets contract. That would be unfortunate. Since coming to the Nets via trade with the Lakers, the 23-year old Russell really came on as a leader for the young Nets.

Russell played in all but one game for Brookyln, averaging 30 minutes and 21 points per game. He will be missed if he ends up being traded or released.

The Nets are making a big risk that is reminiscent to the 2003-2004 Nets when they signed Alonzo Mourning in order to placate Jason Kidd. The results were a disaster. While the Nets finished with 47 wins, and were the number two seed in the East, they were ousted by the Detroit Pistons in the second round of the playoffs. A year later, Mourning was gone. The Nets acquired Vince Carter and the team spiraled to a 42 win season in 04-05.

We'll see if Irving and Durant (if he comes to) are worth the gamble.

Yankees Show London How Good They Are and Can Still Be

YANKEES 17 - RED SOX 13 

It was a score more reminiscent of an NFL football game. For the people of London, England who are not used to watching a baseball game, don't get used to it. Most baseball games usually end 4-2, 2-1 or 1-0.

But on Saturday, the Yankees and Red Sox flexed their offensive muscle, giving Londoners a taste of the most bitter rivalry in baseball complete with both teams putting up multiple innings of six runs a piece, and a ballgame that lasted nearly five hours.

Neither starter lasted very long in this one. Rick Porcello lasted only a third of an inning, before Alex Cora had to remove him after the Yankees slapped six runs on the Morristown, New Jersey native.

Even jumping continents and a five hour time difference wasn't enough to slow down the Yankees vaunted offense, which look as good as ever. Luke Voit's double down the left field line drove in DJ LeMahieu with the games first run was only the beginning.

Didi Gergorius ripped a double to right scoring Voit and Gary Sanchez to make it 3-0. New-comer Edwin Encarnation followed suit with a double to left, scoring Gregarious to make it 4-0. Aaron Hick's two-run jack to left was the finishing touches on Porcello in a half inning that lasted a total of 27 minutes.

However, as quickly as the Yankees jumped out to a 6-0 lead, they gave it back just as fast. Mashairo Tanaka just didn't have it. He gave up a lead-off single to Mookie Betts, and RBI double to Rafael Devers, before walking Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez. All of this without recording an out.  Two batters later, Brock Holts single brought home Bogaerts, setting up the table for Michael Chavis who crushed a three-run homer to center, tying the game at six.

Tanaka was done after yielding six runs, all earned, in just two-thirds of an inning.

Fortunately for New York it didn't take long to regain the lead. Brett Gardner's two-run jack in the top of the third put the Yankees up 8-6. New York would tack onto that lead with a six-run fourth inning, seemingly blowing the game wide open.

LeMahieu's bases clearly double in the top of the fourth doubled the Yankee lead to 12-6. Aaron Judge followed with a two-run jack to put the Yankees up fat, 14-6.

An inning later, Gregorius and LeMahieu added to the Yankee total with a pair of RBI base hits to push the Yankees lead to 11, at 17-6.

Still, New York had to hold on for dear life as the Red Sox stormed back in the later innings. A homer by Jackie Bradley Jr. pulled the Sox within 10 at 17-7, and Chivas' second three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh pulled Boston within a touchdown at 17-10.

The Sox would tack on three more runs off Tommy Khanle as the Yankee lead was shrunk down to 17-13. But give the Yankees credit. Unlike the cross town rival Mets, the Bronx Bombers have the horses to get over the finish line.

Adam Ottovino, Zach Britton and Aroldis Chapman combined to shut down Boston the rest of the way as New York persevered for their AL leading 53rd victory of the season.

With the win, the Yankees are 10 games ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East.

The AL East rivals wrap up their London excursion Sunday afternoon, 2 p.m. London time, 10 a.m. New York time.

Mike Francesa Absolutely Destroys the Mets

WFAN host Mike Francesa tore into the New York Mets as Edwin Diaz gave up the game winning homer to Philadelphia's Jean Segura.  It was an epic meltdown in the only way Francesa can deliver.

Diaz Implosion Highlights Latest Mets Disaster

The New York Mets trailed 1-0 for pretty much the entire afternoon. They watched as Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola dance around a no-hitter through five innings en route to a one-hit masterpiece over seven innings of work. As the Mets sat there down 1-0 in the top of the ninth inning, the thought had to come to the mind of Mets fans everywhere: 'At least the bullpen didn't lose this one.' 

Oh, how the tables turned. For one shinning moment in the top of the ninth, Todd Fraizer stuck his bat out in front of a Hector Neris fastball and slapped it over the left field wall to give the Mets a shocking 2-1 lead. The Mets would tack on an insurance run on a groundout by Amed Rosario; anything to make what would come all the more excruciating. 

Edwin Diaz came into the bottom of the ninth and blew it big time. What else is new?  Diaz gave up five runs and two homers as the Phillies stormed all the way back to stomp on the Mets by a score of 6-3. Watching Maikel Franco take Diaz deep to left like it was batting practice, only to be followed up by Jean Segura who looked like he hit a wiffle ball inside of a kiddie park, Diaz's performance was the latest example that the apple of Brodie VanWagenen's eye last off-season is turning into a hideous mistake. Diaz's ERA is now 4.94! This from a guy who was considered the best closer in the sport a year ago with the Seattle Mariners. 

Talk about a punch to the gut, it has been week of punches to the gut for Mets fans. 

The Mets have not only lost five in a row, they have lost all credibility in a weeks time. It started Sunday with Mickey Callaway dropping F-bombs in the direction of Newsday writer Tim Healey, who simply told Callaway, "See you tomorrow." That incident was made worse when Jason Vargasthreatened to beat up Healey during that same altercation. Then came Monday when Callaway failed to apologize, then kinda, sorta apologized for not apologizing. Vargas, for the record, still hasn't apologized. At the same time, a story leaked by Mike Puma of the New York Post revealing that Van Wagenen had been instructing Callaway on in-game decisions from his house. Nice work if you can get it! 

All of those off-field stories deviated from another week of horrible bullpen performances where the Mets lost every single game in Philadelphia, one more excruciating then the next. 

And here the Mets are at 37-45, eight games under .500, and 11 games out of first place in the NL East.  As they like to say in Queens, "Fugetaboutit!" 

Could Mickey Callaway be Fired After Fighting Reporter?

One thing that every sports personality is told about New York, don't pick a fight with the media. Well that is exactly what happened to New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway and pitcher Jason Vargas.

According to multiple reports Callaway got into a verbal exchange with Newsday reporter Tim Healey, 15 minutes after being grilled by reporters for another bullpen meltdown in the Mets 5-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs.  Callaway reportedly called Healy a M-Fer a number of times, and told him not to be a "smart-ass."

According to Daily News Reporter Deesha Thosar, Callaway's tirade against Healey was due in part to four words: "See you tomorrow, Mickey."

Those four words were enough for Callaway to turn around and call Healey a smart-ass and a mother-F-er.

"“Shut the f--k up, get out of my face. Get out of here,” Callaway said as Healey attempted to explain he did not mean to slight the manager in any way." Thosar wrote in here report. 

The embattled manager then told Public Relations to get Healy out of the building.

Vargas apparently overheard the exchange and reportedly charged Healey and verbally threatened to knock him out. Noah Syndergaard and Carlos Gomez had to restrain Vargas from getting to Healey and causing physical harm.

 Clearly this kind of behavior is beyond unacceptable on the part of the manager and his player. It should never happen. Ever.

The Mets released a statement Sunday night saying:“The Mets sincerely regret the incident that took place with one of our beat writers following today’s game in the clubhouse. We do not condone this type of behavior from any employee. The organization has reached out and apologized to this reporter and will have further discussions internally with all involved parties.”

Callaway has been under fire for months, with General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen coming out on multiple occasions to support the manager inspite of his continued mismanagement of the pitching staff which has blown a major league leading 17 saves this season. On Sunday, Callaway inexplicably left Seth Lugo in when he had Edwin Diaz ready to go for a five out save. Callaway wanted to use Diaz for only four outs. What does it matter? four outs? five outs? He should have been pitching.

Time may be running out for Callaway now. Unless the guy is named Lou Pinella or Billy Martin or even Bill Parcells, going head first after the media is a losing battle. The speculation on Twitter is on fire right now that Callaway could be done for.

Deesha Thosar‏ @DeeshaThosar

Mickey Callaway told a reporter to leave the clubhouse, calling the reporter a motherfu**er multiple times. "Don't be a smartass, motherfu**er*," Callaway said. Jason Vargas, defending his manager, said "I'll knock you the f**k out, bro."

Mike Puma‏Verified account @NYPost_Mets

Mets are toxic right now. Lots of distrust among coaching staff, players and front office. Possible that Mickey Callaway is trying to get fired, hence today’s blowup with Tom Healey of Newsday.

8:30 PM - 23 Jun 2019

Mike Vaccaro‏Verified account @MikeVacc

Mickey Callaway should have been fired a month ago. He has shown a complete and regular ineptitude when it comes to the job of managing a major league club. This incident shouldn’t be what dooms him because he should have been gone, on merit, long before this. #Mets

Bob Wischusen‏Verified account @espnbob

Mickey Callaway and Jason Vargas will learn what many others have learned before...the NY media is undefeated...they were here before you got here, they’ll be here a long time after you’re gone

9:05 PM - 23 Jun 2019

We'll see how much longer the Wilpons want to tolerate this, because apparently being four or five games under .500, and in fourth place isn't enough of an indictment. Maybe a public relations black eye will be.

Pete Alonso Keeps Breaking Home Run Records

New York Mets rookie first baseman Pete Alonso keeps setting records. Alonso connected for his 26th homer of the year during Saturday's 10-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs, tying a club record for a rookie set by Darryl Strawberry in 1983. The only difference is Strawberry accomplished that feat in 122 games. Alonso needed only 76 games to tie the record.

In short he is going to obliterate the club record by seasons end.

In addition, Alonso is the fastest rookie in the National League to 26 homers before the All-Star break, shattering the record set by Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger, who had 25 by the break in 2017. Bollinger finished the season with 39.

Only Mark McGuire and Aaron Judge have hit more homers as rookies before July 1. McGuire had 28 dingers at this time as a rookie in 1987. Judge had 29 at this point in 2017.

The question is how far will Alonso go in his home run feats? He is on pace to crack around 52 homers, which would tie him with Judge for the most homers by a Major League rookie in a single season.

 He is also on pace to destroy the single season record for home runs by any Mets player.  Carlos Beltran and Todd Hundley are tied with a club record 41-homers. Hundley set the record in 1996. Beltran tied it in 2006. Mike Piazza is the only other Met to hit 40 homers, which he did in 1999.

With 60 RBI under his belt, Alonso would need a miracle to catch the Major League record in that department, which was set by Ted Williams his rookie year in 1939 with 145 RBI. Only Walt Dropo of the Boston Red Sox came close to tying Williams with 144 RBI his rookie year in 1950.

As far as Mets records are concerned, Alonso would need 64 RBI for the rest of the year to tie Piazza and David Wright for the most RBI in a single season with 124.

Mets Fire Dave Eiland as Purge Begins

With the New York Mets coming off a listless performance in Atlanta this week, and starring at two nearly impossible series' against Chicago and Philadelphia coming up, the Mets decided to fire pitching coach Dave Eiland and Bullpen Coach Chuck Hernandez.

Eiland, considered by many in baseball circles as one of the best pitching coaches in baseball, was in his second season as Mets pitching coach. Hernandez was only in his first year with the Mets. When the Wilpon's hired Eiland, along with Mickey Callaway in November 2017, they hired two pitching coaches who helped guide the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians to pennants in recent seasons. In the case of Eiland, he won the 2015 World Series with the Royals against the Mets.

A year ago Eiland watched Jacob deGrom put together a historic season en route to the Cy Young Award. deGrom could have been the MVP. While many didn't give him credit, Eiland deserves some. He was there to guide the Mets ace. 

Now Eiland is out of a job, because he couldn't get a horrible Mets bullpen to pitch well. 

Replacing Eiland will be Phil Regan who is ... wait for it ... 82 years old!  

Entering Thursday night's action, the Mets have a team ERA of 4.67, third worst in the National League. The bullpen is even worse. The Mets own a 5.38 bullpen ERA, which is ranked 28th in Major League Baseball. Only the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals are worse. 

deGrom has the lowest ERA on the starting staff at 3.26. Everyone else has an ERA near or well over 4. 

Is Eiland really to blame for everything?  Is he really to blame for the likes of Jeruys Familia and his 7.81 ERA? Edwin Diaz, once one of the games most formidable closers has an ERA over 10 since May 29, and has been the face of a number of horrid blown saves this seasons. Justin Wilson, when he was healthy, didn't impress either. Drew Gagnon (7.65 ERA) was demoted to Triple-A after Monday's 12-3 smackdown to the Braves. Robert Gsellman has been inconsistent. Luis Avilan? Tyler Bashlor? Lets not even go there. It's not like the Mets have the bullpen depth of the Yankees. 

The Mets and General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen will blame Eiland and Hernandez all they want, but at the end of the day this pitching staff was constructed and given the stamp of approval by Van Wagenen himself. He traded two top prospects to the Seattle Mariners for Diaz and Robinson Canowho is hitting .238 in 50 games. He is the one who signed Wilson to a two-year deal. And Van Wagenen is the one who gave Familia $30 million over three years. Eiland didn't. He just tried to coach up these guys to the best of his ability. 

Now the media's daggers will be out for Van Wagenen, who a month ago told reporters that he would stand by the Mets coaches, especially Mickey Callaway. Now with the team four games under .500 in the midst of another June swoon, changes are coming. Today it is Eiland and Hernandez. Tomorrow it could be Callaway. Nobody is safe as the Mets plan to blow this mess.

Bullpen is Destroying Mets season

With a week like this, the Mets are quickly and swiftly sealing their fate before July ever arrives, and perhaps, with it, the fates of both Manager Mickey Callaway and General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen.

To say it has been a frustrating season would be the ultimate understatement.

The 2019 season has been beyond frustrating and disappointing, and with the bullpen imploding over the weekend against the St. Louis Cardinals, and on Monday night in Atlanta, it is clear the Mets biggest Achilles heel is ultimately going to be their downfall.

The sad truth is outside of Seth Lugo the Mets do not have any reliable relievers in their bullpen right now.

In each of the last five games the Mets have watched leads disappear quickly in everyway possible as the team has dropped to four-games under .500, and a season high 8.5 games out of first place in the NL East.

Last Thursday the culprit was Edwin Diaz who couldn’t hold a 4-2 lead over the Cardinals, as St. Louis tied the game at four on a double by Harrison Bader before the rains forced a suspension. Diaz returned the next day to give up the game winning single to Paul DeJong when the game resumed in the 10th. Mets lost 5-4.

In the nightcap, the Cardinals torched Jeruys Familia for three homers in the eighth inning as St. Louis erased a 5-4 Mets lead. St. Louis won 9-5.

Rinse and repeat on Sunday, only this time it was Chris Flexen on the mound. Flexen served up the game-winning homer to DeJong as the Cards won 4-3. Then on Monday, it was Familia and Drew Gagnon, who watched the Atlanta Braves pound both pitchers into submission with seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings combined. The Braves won 12-3.

To be blunt, the bullpen stinks, and there is nowhere for Callaway to turn for help.

Diaz has seen his season ERA blow up by almost two runs over the last month, having allowed eight earned runs in his last six-and-two-thirds innings of work. Familia has been bad all season with an ERA of 7.81, and yet Callaway keeps running him out there hoping lighting strikes.

Robert Gsellman’s ERA is near five. Gagnon has an ERA of 7.65, and Tyler Bashlor an ERA of 5.40. Who knew perhaps the most reliable guy of the bunch would be a former Indy ball pitcher in Wilmer Font, who tossed three shutout innings against St. Louis on Sunday.

Who is to blame for this mess? Certainly Callaway has to shoulder a lot of it. He has mismanaged the bullpen to the point he has been asking starters to overexert themselves well past 100 pitches in a given outing in recent weeks.

 Van Wagenen, who has seen his off-season acquisitions of Robinson Cano and Jed Lowrie blow up in his face, also has to take some heat. While VanWagenen did a nice job of filling out the roster with veteran players like J.D. Davis, Rajai Davis and Adeiny Hecchavria, he didn’t find those diamonds in the rough for the pitching staff.

The Mets are now paying for it. They don’t have any depth in their pen, and with Noah Syndergaard now out with a hamstring injury, they have to go deep into their minor league system to find someone, anyone who can pitch and record more outs than he gives up runs.

Alonso Power Mets over Yankees in Nightcap

METS 10 - YANKEES 4 

Game 2 of 2 

After watching the New York Yankees pound out 12 runs and three homers in the matinee, the New York Mets flexed their own muscles Tuesday night, downing the Yankees 10-4 at Yankee Stadium.

Leading the way, of course was none other than rookie first baseman Pete Alonso. Alonso had the keynote of the night when he launched a James Paxton fastball over the center field wall for a three-run homer to give the Mets a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The Mets spent the entire night roughing the Yankees lefty, pounding Paxton for six runs on seven hits over two-and-two-thirds innings of work. 

The Mets terminated Paxton's night in the top of the third inning. A lead-off walk to Alonso, and a walk to Todd Fraizer was followed by a RBI single by Michael Conforto to make it 4-0. Wilson Ramos and Adeiny Hechavarria kept the conga line going with RBI base hits of their own to augment the Mets lead to six. 

All of those runs went to the good of the red-hot Jason Vargas. Coming off a complete game shutout against the San Francisco Giants a week ago, Vargas was solid. He held the Yankees to three runs over six innings of work to earn his third win of the year. He even retired the final eight batters to face him as his teammates continued to pound Yankees pitching. While his ERA rose, it didn't rise by much to 3.83, the second best ERA on the team behind Jacob deGrom. Vargas has now allowed 11 earned runs over his last 45 innings of work as he continues to impress with his amazing turnaround. 

While Vargas dazzled the Yankees hitters, the Mets brought the thunder in the middle innings. Homers by J.D. Davis and Carlos Gomez pushed the Mets lead to 9-3 as the Amazin's dug deep into the backend of the Yankee bullpen. 

Overall eight different Mets had a hit on the night, with seven producing at least one RBI. Jeff McNeiland Davis each had two hits a piece on the evening and scored a pair of runs. Carlos Gomez also had two hits, including his fifth inning homer.

For the Bombers, Gio Urshela and Luke Voit couldn't continue their great hitting from earlier in the day. Urshela was 0-for-4 with an RBI; while Voit went 1-for-4 with a run scored.

With the split secured, the Mets will host the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday for the beginning of a four game series at Citi Field, while the Yanks will hit the road to Chicago to face the White Sox on Thursday. The Mets and Yankees won't meet again until the fourth of July weekend at Citi Field.  

Yankees Bomb Mets to get Back on Track

YANKEES 12 - METS 5 
Game 1 of 2 

If you want to know the difference between the Yankees and Mets look no further than Tuesday's matinee between the local rivals as the Bronx Bombers pounded Zach Wheeler and the Amazin's 12-5 in the first game of a day-night double-header in the Bronx.

It was looking good early for the Mets as the Amazin's took advantage of an error by Yankee shortstop Didi Gregorius in the top of the third to score four runs in the frame, highlighted by Jeff McNeil's three-run bomb into the Bleacher Creatures in right to give the Mets a 4-1 lead.

Mashiro Tanaka who returned from paternal leave looked like he was on the ropes.

Until he wasn't.

Tanaka worked out of trouble in the top of the fourth inning before the Yankees brought out the thunder in the bottom half. With Kendrys Morales on first with a single, rookie Gio Urshela took the second pitch he saw from Wheeler and deposited it into the bullpens in left-center to tie the game at four.

Later in the inning, after D.J. LeMahieu reached on an error by Mets third baseman Todd Fraizer and Aaron Hicks walked, Luke Voit crushed a slider from Wheeler to deep left to put the Yankees up fat, 7-4.

Wheeler's nightmare would not end there, however. Urshela drove in his third run of the day on a single to left, scoring Morales to make it 8-4. Next, Brett Garnder tripled home Ursula to put the Yanks up 9-4. Wheeler was done after that, removed after four and two-thirds innings, having been charged with nine runs, five earned. His ERA jumped up to 4.87.

After the early struggles, Tanaka would take the Yankees into the seventh inning before being relieved by Tommy Kahnle. Tanaka's final line: six-and-two-thirds innings, allowing five runs, four earned and seven strikeouts. He didn't walk a single batter.

Urshela had the biggest day at the plate of anyone in the Yankee lineup. The Rookie of the Year candidate went 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored in the victory. Urshela's batting average is up to .320. Gary Sanchez also had a big afternoon for the Yankees, driving in three on two hits, including a two-run homer in the eighth inning to make it 12-5.

While the Mets got a lot from Jeff McNeil at the top of the order with three RBI, it was an quiet afternoon for Mets rookie first baseman Pete Alonso who was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in his first ever game at Yankees Stadium.

The Mets will try to avoid the sweep later tonight with Jason Vargas on the hill. The last time Vargas took the mound for the Mets, he pitched a complete game shutout against the Giants. Got the feeling that won't happen tonight.

Jets introduce Douglas to New York Media as Anti-Maccagnan

If you were looking for anything earth shattering, you didn’t get from new Jets General Manager Joe Douglas during a very matter of fact introductory press conference in Florham Park, New Jersey.

With a commanding presence, the larger than life Douglas came across as both soft spoken, genuine and focused.  As Jets CEO and owner Christopher Johnson noted during his remarks, Douglas is a “consensus builder, who is not afraid to share his opinion.”

In short, say hello to the anti-Mike Maccagnan. Or (at least fans hope) the anti-John Idzik.

In so many ways, Johnson threw Douglas’s predecessor under the bus on several occasions Tuesday when he said Douglas shares Johnson’s vision for the entire organization.

“He must be able to build and maintain a winning culture, including earning the trust of his colleagues,” Johnson said taking a direct slap at Maccagnan, who reportedly did not get along with Gase leading to the fractured relationship that Johnson couldn’t stand much longer.

“My goal is to be a steward to this franchise. We will find passionate people who love the game of football, that hate losing more than they do winning. My first step is to be engaged and connect with the entire organization,” Douglas said.

On Gase, Douglas said that he is “excited to be with Adam again. We share a special bond and vision.”

Douglas added that Gase reached out to Douglas when he was a newbie in Chicago back in 2015, after spending the previous 15 years in Baltimore.

“Adam reached out to me almost immediately and we struck a relationship,” Douglas said.  “We had dinner and talked ball and we shared a vision of building a team and a winner.”

Conspiracy theorists will probably jump on that quote that Gase has been using Douglas since 2015, but there had to be some connection between the two that puts them on the same page.

For Jets fans who have seen the square peg in a round hole with the Johnson’s trying to mix an match Idzik with Rex Ryan, and Maccagnan with Todd Bowles and Gase, a strong working relationship between the head coach and GM is a nice change of pace.

“To Jets nation you are getting a relentless worker, someone who will strive to put a product on the field that will strive for greatness.”

One can only hope.