Mets Morning News: Murphy’s law

Meet the Mets

It’s important to be fair to the Mets front office and acknowledge letting Daniel Murphy go seemed defensible at the end of the 2015 season. It’s also important to acknowledge it has backfired spectacularly. And Mets fans got a perfect reminder of that last night. After blowing a 3-0 lead, the former second baseman in Queens smashed a game-winning home run in the top of the 10th.

The Mets play the rubber match this afternoon, on a Sunday at home, a situation in which they haven’t won since the first weekend of the season. No better way to bookend things right?

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The anguish at the end overshadowed the absurdity at the beginning. Noah Syndergaard returned to the mound, threw five pitches in a scoreless first inning, and called it a day.

Matt Harvey played an unusual role in last night’s game when he came on after Syndergaard, and there’s some wondering what his role will be—if any—going forward.

For the first time, Michael Conforto spoke publicly about his road to recovery.

It’s unclear for sure if he’ll be with the team next year, but Sandy Alderson says he wants to retool the roster to help cut down on injuries.

One local columnist says the Wilpons need to be more forthcoming with Mets fans about the future of the team.

Around the NL East

Murphy and the rest of the Nationals took great pleasure in having him take down his old team.

Another divisional showdown took place in Atlanta. The Braves beat the Phillies thanks to some excellent pitching.

The Marlins put up a dozen runs in a blowout against the Diamondbacks.

Before the game, Derek Jeter and the team’s new ownership announced a major front office shakeup.

Around the Majors

Another team clinches its playoff spot. This time it was Yankees with a win over the Blue Jays.

A walk-off win for the Brewers coupled with a Rockies loss is keeping the race interesting for the 2nd NL Wild Card spot.

Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell has joined a growing movement, although one that hasn’t caught on among baseball players (at least not yet).

A pair of Farrells shared quite an afternoon yesterday in a Red Sox-Reds game in Cincinnati.

This Date in Mets History

Today marks a special one for the Miracle Mets of 1969. On this date 48 years ago, the team celebrated its first ever division title with a win over the Cardinals that clinched the NL East. Little did they know there was so much more left to accomplish.