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Ike Davis joined Ruocco & Lundberg Tuesday. He talked about negative media expectations, discussing the team's finances, and -- no surprise here -- he likes the new fences at Citi Field.

 

R.A. Dickey, whose memoirs will be in stores later this week, discusses the sexual abuse he endured as a child as well as a syringe he found in the Texas Rangers clubhouse in 2001.

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General manager Sandy Alderson told reporters Tuesday afternoon that a cloud has been lifted from the Mets' heads with Monday's settlement in the Bernard Madoff-related clawback lawsuit against Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon and family.

Adam Rubin speaks with Stephen A. Smith about what Monday's $162 million settlement with trustee Irving Picard means for the Mets.

 

Union chief Michael Weiner addressed Mets players Thursday during his annual visit to camp, then offered support for Fred Wilpon and fellow owners.

“The concern is, players want all 30 franchises to be healthy and to be prosperous,” Weiner said. “It’s best for the game. It’s not as narrow a concern as, ‘Well, we want the Dodgers or the Mets to be able to bid for free agents.’ If the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets are prosperous, the game does better. Those are our flagship franchises, with tremendous history.”

Weiner then noted Sandy Koufax was visiting the Mets’ clubhouse Thursday morning.

“That’s what makes this game strong,” Weiner continued. “When franchises like the Mets and Dodgers are strong, it’s best for everybody, whether they’re bidding on free agents or not.”

The Mets are poised for what likely will be the largest one-year payroll drop in Major League Baseball history, from $143 million to $91 million.

“We understand that when you negotiate a market-based system that payrolls are going to go up and payrolls are going to go down,” Weiner said. “Nobody is happy. I’m sure nobody in the Mets’ front office and ownership is happy with a drop in their payroll, because they understand that has to have some effect on their competitiveness. I wouldn’t say a red flag, because we know what the circumstances are. What we’re looking for is hopefully quite soon the Mets will be in a situation to come back and be a team that is going to be more competitive and again be the flagship franchise they’ve been for so many years under the Wilpons.”

Weiner agreed the Wilpons had built up some equity during their three-decade ownership.

“The Wilpons want to win,” Weiner said. “I don’t know much about the legal circumstances. The Wilpons have been strong owners and whatever is happening outside with respect to them is happening outside. But the way they’ve conducted themselves throughout their tenure is what I’m relying on.

“You want to limit me to only talking about spending. But Fred Wilpon and others have done a lot of things to try to enhance the game of baseball. But I guess you’re right. They have some goodwill in the bank.”

Weiner’s visit to Mets camp comes during the same week that agent Scott Boras criticized teams with payrolls that don’t match their large-market size.

"When you’re seeing franchises in major markets not pursuing to the levels that the revenues and the fan base and the market provide, then I think you have an ethical violation of the game,” Boras had said.

Weiner said in response: “Scott’s entitled to his view. I think the Wilpons are doing everything they can to try to put a competitive team on the field.”

David Wright joins "The Mike Lupica Show" with his outlook for the upcoming season.

 

Sandy Alderson joins "The Mike Lupica Show" to talk about Jose Reyes leaving the team. He compared the difficult times the Mets are going through to his time in Vietnam.

 

David Wright spoke with Mike Lupica on ESPN New York 1050 on Monday afternoon.

"I think there's a professional side, the professional relationship that we had, that we continue to have, and also there's that personal friendship and really that brother-like relationship that we had. We came up together, both relatively the same age, and we've been through quite a few ups and downs in New York together.

"Without sounding cheesy or ridiculous, it's obviously a tough day, it's a sad day, because you kind of realize, it hits you that I'm not going to look over to my left and seem him. It's tough to know with us coming up together and playing in New York for as long as we have that one of those pieces are going to be missing going into next year."

Asked if he saw himself playing with Reyes for their whole careers, Wright said: "That was the plan. When we both signed our contract extensions, we knew that this is the place that we wanted to be, that we were signing up for that consistency of that long-term deal in exchange for bypassing that free agency at a young age. The way we were going in 2006, we never would have thought that we would have [regressed] after that and not been that playoff-caliber team year in and year out. I thought that was the plan when we originally signed our first contracts that we wanted to be here long term. And obviously things change. Let's not forget it is a business, and unfortunately sometimes these tough decisions have to be made."

Is Wright concerned about being traded? "Let's start out by saying I'm under contract for next year. I have a team option for the following year. The goal for me obviously is to play out those two years and see what kind of happens after that. But I don't think there's any question that you see what Jose has done and Jose leaving and obviously there are going to be questions surrounding what my future is going to be. That's why Sandy (Alderson) and his staff are some of the brightest minds in baseball, because they have to make these tough decisions. I understand that we're very similar as far as age and what we've endured here in New York. So I guess to answer your question I'm not sure what my future holds. But, again, that's out of my control and something I cannot control."

Is next season something to "endure" if this team takes a step back in terms of payroll, etc.? Are there more hard times coming for this team? "I think it's just my personality that I look around on the field and I don't necessarily try to predict what kind of team that we're going to have. I don't think that, for example, Arizona last year, who would have protected that they would be able to do what they've done? St. Louis in September, kind of the same thing.

"So when I take the field every spring training I look around and I expect to win. It doesn't matter what players are there. It doesn't matter what the names are on the back of those jerseys. I think that's the competitive, fiery spirit that I have. I'm not willing to sit here and say I'm conceding next year or this is a rebuilding thing. That's not the DNA that I have inside of me. That's not what my makeup is. I know one thing: I want to win. I know you hear that from everybody, but that's truly what I believe in. It doesn't matter if they're household names or if very few people outside the baseball world know who they are. It's in my makeup that every year in spring training I firmly believe we can win. And this spring training will be no different. I'm not going to approach this any differently because of the Jose Reyes situation. ...

"Obviously the formula we've had the last few years has not worked out. Is is fair to point the fingers at Jose and say that's the reason? Of course not. When he's healthy, he's been one of the few bright spots that we've had. And I think the fans love him because of his energy, his hustle, his smile. I think he's the type of player that gets an offense going and gets the fans into the game. All I know is the New York Mets. I grew up in Norfolk with our Triple-A affiliate. I came through the system. I've spent a few years here now. I bleed that blue and orange. So I understand what the Mets fans feel. But I also understand the other side of it, that when things aren't working or something is broken, you have to make these tough decisions."

Do you still believe in the Wilpons/ownership? "I believe so. I'm confident in the fact that there's a plan in place. If the reports are true, the front office had a threshold for the type of contract we were willing to give Jose. That's a plan that's in place. Sandy said it a million times that there's a plan that includes Jose and a plan that doesn't include Jose. What you want out of your front office is not only a short-term plan but also a long-term plan. If that takes running out some younger players that probably wouldn't be learning on the job the way we might have this year, then so be it. But there is a plan in place, and that gives me confidence and that should give the Mets' fan base some confidence."

But is it frustrating to have financial constraints? "I think the obvious answer is I would love to go out there and sign Pujols and Fielder and Jose Reyes and C.J. Wilson and Papelbon and Heath Bell. Unfortunately, that's not the situation that we're in. It's well-documented, the financial situation. As I've stated a million times before, ownership has probably unfairly gone through some tough times media-wise. It's tough to go through your financial situation be so scrutinized every day in the papers and talked about on the radio every day. It's a tough situation. I've stated before that I will always have ownership's back. They've been tremendous to me and my family. To play baseball for a living and to obviously make the kind of money that I make, it's a blessing. So I'll forever be thankful to ownership for that and I'll always have their backs.

"I think the perfect mix when the Yankees went on that run was they had their homegrown guys and they also had those mercenaries here and there. That's kind of the perfect mix."

Wally Backman was introduced as Triple-A Buffalo manager on Thursday. He managed Double-A Binghamton last season.

Listen to the first part of Backman discussing the promotion with Buffalo media
here:  

Listen to part 2 here:  

“A little roller up along first... Behind the bag... It gets through Buckner! Here comes [Ray] Knight, and the Mets win it!” -- Vin Scully, Oct. 25, 1986.

A quarter-century after committing the most infamous error in baseball history, Bill Buckner says he’s long since moved on.

“It’s been so long ago and so many things have happened and things have changed. Life goes on,” Buckner told ESPN New York 1050’s “Ruocco and Lundberg” on Tuesday, the 25th anniversary of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. “Obviously I don’t enjoy looking at it, but it’s not something that really bothers me.”

Buckner, of course, is referring to replays of the gaffe that has come to define his career -- unfairly or not.

With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, Ray Knight on second base and the score tied at 5, Mookie Wilson grounded a 3-2 pitch from Bob Stanley toward Buckner at first. It was a routine play, a play that should’ve been made by the normally sure-handed fielder.

But the ball somehow scooted under Buckner’s glove and into short right field. Knight game around to score, tying the series at 3 and the Mets won Game 7 to capture the Fall Classic and extend the Curse of Bambino.

“Hopefully after today, 25 years is something that everybody’s talking about,” said Buckner, who received death threats from irate Red Sox fans for years after it occurred. “But hopefully it kind of goes away for a while.”

Wilson, who joined Buckner Tuesday in the radio station’s Manhattan studio, has continued to be linked with him ever since. The ball from the indelible play is currently on EBay for $1 million, although no bids have been made on it.

“I think even though I wasn’t thinking about how Bill would react or how it would affect his life or affect my life, we were just so wrapped up in what we were doing and we weren’t thinking about the consequences of the whole thing,” Wilson said. “I was just happy to get out of that game without losing. I was in a situation where i easily could’ve been the goat, and as it turned out things kind of worked out for me.”

Earlier this year, the two made a cameo appearance on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” with Larry David.

“It was a lot of fun, and Larry was a funny guy and I think the intention of the show was to make me look good,” Buckner said. “It was fun and I’m ready to put it all to bed for a while.”

Despite the fact that the singular moment has overshadowed any of their other accomplishments and accolades in the game, Buckner and Wilson have both taken the positive out of it.

“It does get a little annoying,” Wilson said. “But there’s no getting around or denying that it was one of those unbelievable moments, and I was part of it. Of course, it’s easy to say that because we won. But I would like people to think that I had a successful career and that one groundball doesn’t define what Mookie Wilson meant to major league baseball and the organization that he played for.”

In Boston, the Buckner blow has since been softened by a pair of championships and the end of an 86-year title drought. On Opening Day, Apr. 8, 2008, Buckner threw out the first pitch and unfurled the team’s 2007 World Series championship banner. He received a lengthy standing ovation from the soldout crowd at Fenway Park.

“I was happy for them, but personally I didn’t think it affected me,” Buckner said. “It wasn’t my team, but I was happy for them. Being invited to throw out the first pitch, it was a great experience and I appreciate the management and the new ownership of the Red Sox [for giving me the opportunity]. It was a good day for me and my family. My emotions were kind of crazy that day, but overall it was great.”

Buckner always felt he was unfairly criticized for committing the error because it didn’t lose the series for his team. The Red Sox held a two-run lead and were one out from winning the Fall Classic before the Mets staged their dramatic, 10th-inning rally in Game 6. And right before his gaffe, it was Stanley that uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Kevin Mitchell to come home from third with the tying run.

But when asked if he’d like to criticize any of his former teammates, Buckner responded, “I’m all good.”

Jose Reyes discusses the departure of Carlos Beltran, who has been his teammate for seven seasons with the Mets.

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Lucas Duda, who starts in right field on Wednesday in Cincinnati, reacts to the trade of Carlos Beltran and taking over the position.

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David Wright joins "The Mike Lupica Show" to share his thoughts on the possibility of Carlos Beltran being traded.

 

Sandy Alderson joins "The Mike Lupica Show" to share the latest news on Jose Reyes and the team.

 

Today's New York Times features an obituary for Ruth Roberts, who wrote "Meet the Mets." We think the song is the single best jingle in American pro sports, and the best thing the Mets have ever done from a marketing standpoint. What do you think?

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Terry Collins discusses D.J. Carrasco’s walk-off balk, and paints the 6-4 road trip in a positive light despite the Mets falling short of a sweep Thursday in Atlanta.

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