Major League Baseball’s expansion of wildcard berths has changed the calculus for many teams when it comes to how they will manage the July 30t trade deadline. There are far more buyers than there are sellers of talent. Six weeks ago, Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns thought he would be a seller, just as the Mets were a year ago. Our Flushing heroes were 11 games under .500 and showed no sign of having a pulse.

The Mets surprised everyone by playing crisp baseball in June and, against all odds, coming into the All-Star break over the .500 mark. Stearns offered muted praise for the turnaround at his monthly pregame press conference. My guess is Stearns is miffed he cannot engage in a teardown as the Mets have a legitimate shot at a wildcard berth. In the last two years the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks went to the Fall Classic after getting the last National League playoff slot.

Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil was the 2022 National League batting champion. Judging from fan reaction and his stats since then, those heady days for McNeil feel like a decade ago, and not just two years removed.

Theories for his drop-off include his trying to be home run-happy as opposed to making contact for hits a priority; the fact that opposing infielders can no longer employ a shift working against him because it is harder to slap a ball on the open side of the diamond; and that at age 32 his bat speed has slowed a tick, which has led to an increase in strikeouts for a hitter who always managed to put the ball in play.

The Mets’ comeback to respectability in June was a happy story few saw coming. The Mets were 11 games under .500 in late May. After a rough series against the Dodgers at Citi Field, the team held a players meeting, and that sparked them. Yes, the Grimace character from McDonald’s appears to have been a good luck charm, as is infielder Jose Iglesias’s catchy bi-lingual tune, “OMG.”

While the vibes in Flushing have markedly improved over the last 30 days, things are not entirely rosy. Two of the Mets’ best relief pitchers, Brooks Raley and Drew Smith, have endured season-ending injuries. The timing could not have been worse as closer Edwin Diaz was suspended for 10 games because he was accused of using illegal sticky stuff on his hands against the Cubs in Chicago on June 23.

Regular listeners to WFAN’s afternoon drivetime show, “Evan & Tiki,” know Evan Roberts is an obsessive Mets fan, and his on-air partner, former Giants running back Tiki Barber, has fun with that.

Roberts, now 40, has followed the Flushing faithful since he was 8, and has been keeping score of games, both when he has watched them in person and even at home on television, for the last 30 years. He has just authored a book containing scorecards of the most memorable games during that time span, along with his recollections of them, titled “The Mets Bible” (Triumph Books). It is a fun history for Mets fans, even if reading about many games will bring back agonizing memories.

The Mets returned to Citi Field from London last week after splitting a pair of weekend games with the Philadelphia Phillies. I spoke with some of the players to get their recollections of their time across the pond.

Jet lag was, not surprisingly, the biggest complaint from players. Jose Quintana, who started the Sunday game, said it took three days for his body to get used to Greenwich Mean Time.

After being soundly beaten by the Phillies 7-2 in London last Saturday, the Mets flipped the script on Sunday by winning a thrilling 6-5 nail-biter, rallying twice from deficits, including scoring three runs in the ninth inning to take the lead for the first time.

As usual, the bullpen gave the Flushing faithful aggravation in the bottom of the inning. A heads-up play by catcher Luis Torrens to turn a broken-bat dribbler by Nick Castellanos into a game-ending double play made duty-free shopping at Heathrow Airport and the transatlantic flight home a happier experience.

The Mets were in the midst of getting swept in their three-game series with the Dodgers at Citi Field last Wednesday, which was not surprising given the talent disparities of the rosters, as well as the way things had been going this season for the home team. The game was tied 3-3 going into the eighth inning. By the time the Mets came to bat in the bottom of the ninth, they were trailing 10-3, thanks to yet another implosion by their bullpen.

One of the chief culprits that day was Jorge Lopez, who lost his temper with an umpire after getting smacked around by the Los Angelenos. He was ejected, and as he approached the Mets dugout, he tossed his glove high into the stands.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences held its 45th annual Sports Emmy Awards at Frederick P. Rose Hall last Tuesday.

James Brown, the longtime host of CBS’s pro football studio show, “The NFL Today,” received the highest honor the NATAS bestows, its Lifetime Achievement Award. Brown was inducted by his old boss, recently retired CBS Sports CEO Sean McManus, who compared him to his own dad, legendary broadcaster Jim McKay.

The middle of May has long been when the major television networks, and now streaming services, hold large presentations in our town called “upfronts.” Their purpose is to introduce new programming, as well as remind advertisers and the press of their current hit shows.

With the Covid-19 pandemic in the rear-view mirror and labor peace restored in Hollywood, upfront week was the most normal it has been in five years. While scripted entertainment has returned, sports, which used to get short shrift at these events, is now in the starring role as it is one of the few things consumers want to see live. Advertisers pay a premium for that real estate.

Normally, a player hitting a solo home run with two out in the ninth inning with his team losing by a score of 4-0 would be considered the antithesis of the word “clutch.” On Saturday, JD Martinez did just that, and you can make an argument it was the biggest home run hit under pressure this season for the Mets.

The Mets had been no-hit that afternoon for seven innings by Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried, and then by reliever Joe Jimenez in the eighth. Braves closer Rafael Iglesias got the first two hitters out in the ninth inning before Martinez blasted his first home run as a Met over the right field fence to break up the no-hitter. There was some justice delivered by the baseball gods because JD had been robbed of a double in the seventh inning by Braves’ Gold Glove centerfielder Michael Harris II, who made a spectacular catch of his hard-hit drive.

Mets hurler Adam Ottavino was the Mets’ most dependable relief pitcher in April, and that includes closer Edwin Diaz. At age 38, Ottavino is showing a veteran can learn new things. He has been nicely mixing off-speed pitches with a still-potent fastball. He has also worked at keeping runners closer to first base with an improved pickoff move. Last year, opposing runners stole more bases off him than any other reliever.

While he has no immediate plans to call it a career, Ottavino knows he is one of the oldest current players, and a post-baseball life is near. During the offseason, he was an occasional panelist on SNY’s weekday show “Baseball Night in New York.”

It is safe to say the Mets public address team will not be playing the 1966 Rolling Stones tongue-in-cheek misogynistic classic “Under My Thumb.” It’s not the lyrics per se that are bothersome. Rather, it is a reminder of the type of injury that has bedeviled the Mets in recent years.

Two weeks ago, catcher Francisco Alvarez broke his thumb when he lost his balance rounding first base on a double in a game with the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Alvarez underwent surgery two days later. He is not expected to return until early July at the earliest.

Yes, it has been 15 years since Shea Stadium was razed, but its importance to our borough cannot be overstated. Interestingly, when it opened on April 17, 1964, it was overshadowed by its neighbor across Roosevelt Avenue, the 1964-65 World’s Fair, which opened four days later. Shea Stadium would be home to the Mets, the Jets from 1964-1983, and countless concerts, with the most famous being the Beatles’ shows in 1965 and ’66.

Mets VP of Alumni Relations and team historian Jay Horwitz understood the importance of marketing what would have been Shea’s 60th birthday. He invited two players from the starting lineup that day, pitcher Jack Fisher and infielder Ron Hunt, to Citi Field last Tuesday.

An argument can be made that Jerry Grote, who passed away last week at the age of 81, was the most underrated Mets player of all-time. He was a brilliant defensive catcher and knew how to handle the Mets’ young pitching staff. Every surviving member of the 1969 Miracle Mets has stated the team would never have gotten near the World Series, let alone win it, if it were not for him. The 1973 Mets would not have reached the seventh game of the World Series as well if Grote were not on that team.

While he was not Johnny Bench or Carlton Fisk, Grote hit very respectably for a catcher at the time. I remember meeting a St. Louis Cardinals fan who told me, “Jerry Grote always killed us with a big hit!”

Only a ninth inning two-run rally, in the last game of their six-game homestand last Thursday, saved the Mets’ first week of the 2024 season from being an 0-6 disaster. SNY TV’s play-by-play voice, Flushing native Gary Cohen, was as down as Mets fans can ever recall just an inning before the Amazin’s comeback. “The Mets have not gotten a hit in the last thirteen innings. There is no one in the ballpark. This feels like rock bottom,” he plaintively said.

If the 2024 season winds up making Mets fans nostalgic for the disastrous 2023 campaign, they will look back to Opening Day when Milwaukee Brewers slugger Rhys Hoskins slid hard into Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil as a harbinger. It was an aggressive play on Hoskins’ part, but it was not dirty. Both benches ran on the field, but nothing happened.

While baseball will always be our national pastime, professional football is our national obsession. The National Football League is the unquestioned behemoth in professional sports. Football is so popular that attempts have been made over the last 40 years to create a viable spring professional football league. They have met with failure, mostly through bad luck and bad decisions, rather than from lack of fan interest or quality players.

The first serious attempt was the United States Football League from 1983 through 1985. The USFL got top tier college players and raided the NFL for some of its biggest names. New Jersey Generals owner and Jamaica Estates native Donald Trump signed Cleveland Browns QB Brian Sipe and heralded running back and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker.

Despite his insistence on using the designated hitter as a rotation spot in the lineup for his players to get at-bats, with Mark Vientos being the primary beneficiary, Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns reversed himself last Thursday by signing veteran slugger JD Martinez to handle those duties.

The designated hitter position has long been a vexing problem for the Mets as they have gotten little production from it. The DH has traditionally been for players who can hit but have defensive liabilities. Dominic Smith and Daniel Vogelbach were DH underachievers. Martinez is a vast upgrade based on his track record.

It was a foregone conclusion last Thursday that the St. John’s University Red Storm men’s basketball team had punched its ticket for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, referred to by most as simply “March Madness.” The team had just drubbed an incredibly good Seton Hall squad, 91-72, and was going to the Big East Tournament semifinals to face arguably the best college team in the country, the University of Connecticut Huskies, the next evening.

Losing to UConn 95-90 was certainly no disgrace. The conventional wisdom was that the Red Storm had done more than enough to clinch an invitation to the Big Dance. Adding to their case was Head Coach Rick Pitino insistently calling the Big East “the toughest college basketball conference.” Few disagreed with that assessment. The NCAA selection committee examines the strength of competition a team faces when making its final decisions.

I cringe when I hear anyone refer to that old warhorse cliche “New York City is the mecca of basketball,” because it has been patently untrue for at least 40 years, if not longer. Very few current NBA players are from the five boroughs. The same can be said for the top 25 ranked college basketball teams.

Having said that, New York City is getting national attention because it is the site this week of three college basketball tournaments that will determine which schools get to be part of the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament.

With March upon us, the days are getting longer and the weather is warming up. This means outdoor professional sports are being played in stadiums in our area. No, not that one. It is Major League Soccer that is underway.

For years, our country has taken almost perverse pride in paying minimal attention to the world’s most popular sport. Things are changing. Last month’s announcement that the 2026 World Cup Final will be at MetLife Stadium, coupled with soccer legend Lionel Messi’s signing last year with the MLS’s Inter-Miami team, has increased interest in the United States.

Mets fans had a right to feel deflated before the first spring training game was played, when they learned last Wednesday the team’s ace pitcher Kodai Senga was suffering from what was described as “arm fatigue.” The following day, the Mets’ baseball operations president, David Stearns, announced Senga would be on the injured list to start the season. No return date was given.

The Mets have done little to bridge the gap in terms of talent between themselves and the Braves and the Phillies this off-season. The starting pitching is especially precarious as they are depending on reclamation free agent signings Luis Severino and Sean Manaea to anchor the staff. Adding to the pitching woes is lefty David Peterson, who while not great, is at least a serviceable option. But he will probably miss the first half of the season recovering from hip surgery he had in November. The pressure will be on Tylor Megill to deliver on the brief flashes of brilliance he has shown.