The Mets came into this series in third place, with a four-game losing streak, their pitchers’ arms falling off, no closer, Tom Seaver still retired, Aaron Heilman still on the team and two infielders playing the outfield, but they should still be able to beat the putrid Padres at least two out of three. And thanks to David Wright’s heroics that’s what they did. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t pretty. They gained a game in the standings, and are now two games out of first.

Tuesday, Mets 6-5: Tatis Tattoos Two Taters 

It looks like we need to have an intervention with Aaron Heilman to stop his addiction to giving up home runs. Though he didn’t have much help in the field, with Argenis Reyes missing an easy pop-up in shallow center field, the righty reliever coughed up his ninth long ball of the year. So much for taking over the closer role for two weeks. Heilman almost ruined Fernando Tatis’ home run party. The right fielder tried to solve the Mets offensive woes single-handedly, when he blasted two dingers (the first was the 100^th of his career) and drove in four runs. In left field, Daniel Murphy made another leaping catch on the first play of the game, and hit an opposite-field double, driving in the first run of his career, and also walked twice. He looks like he has a plan at the plate and isn’t overwhelmed by major league pitching. What corner outfield problem? Mike Pelfrey pitched 6.2 innings and had runners on base all night (nine hits, one walk), but minimized the damage and only let in two runs (both on solo homers). The rest of the bullpen did their job, with Scott Schoeneweis picking up a one-pitch save.

Wednesday, Padres 4-2: Nice Game, Pretty Boy 

Newman might have something to say about David Wright’s performance in this game. He made an error with two outs in the seventh inning that let in the eventual winning run, and committed a base-running blunder (his second in two games) that snuffed out a potential rally. Better get a second spitter lined up, David. He did get two hits and drove in the first run, though. The offense continues to sputter. I guess if Fernando Tatis doesn’t hit a home run, they don’t score. The Mets left 10 runners on base. They’re considering putting magazine racks near the bases to give the Mets runners something to do until the inning ends. Daniel Murphy continued the nice start to his career, though. He had three hits, a triple and an RBI. Pedro Martinez let up two home runs to the first three batters he faced. Uh-oh. But after that, he settled down and pitched great. His final line: 6.1 innings pitched, three runs (two earned), four hits, three K’s and three walks. The Mets will take that every time. Eddie Kunz pitched the eighth inning, and gave up his first home run. The last time someone connected for a long ball off of him, he was a freshman at Oregon State. Welcome to the big leagues, meat.

Thursday, Mets 5-3: David Wright Is Good After All

Whew. David Wright blasted a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to take the bullpen off the hook. It looks like he’s breaking out of his slump. He had three hits today and two yesterday. And the home run was a lifesaver. What does Johan Santana have to do to win a game? Apparently it’s physically impossible for the Mets bullpen to make it through a game without giving up a run. Santana went seven innings, while only allowing two runs on four hits and seven K’s. Duaner Sanchez faced one batter and hit him. Scott Schoeneweis faced one batter and gave up a home run. But guess who picked up the win? Aaron Heilman. He faced two batters and amazingly got them both out. The Reyeses turned a spectacular double play to end the eighth or things might have gotten really ugly. Daniel Murphy just keeps on hitting (two more hits today and an RBI), and Nick Evans drove in two runs.

The Chad Pennington era is over.  And while it didn’t result in a Super Bowl victory, Pennington had the best run by a Jets signal caller since Joe Namath. He was better than Ken O’Brien, better than Boomer, better than Vinny, and a million times better than Bubby Brister. Some Jets fans with short memories will paint Pennington as an injury-prone passer with a weak arm. Fair enough; there is some truth to that. But let’s not forget that the nine-year veteran from Marshall is the Jets all time leader in post-season yards and touchdowns. Or the 8-4 record he posted as a starter when he replaced Vinny Testeverde in 2002. Or the 41 points he helped orchestrate in beating the Colts in the playoffs that same year. Or the 47-yard bomb to Santana Moss in a playoff win in San Diego. And save for a few rare blow ups with the media, Chad handled the pressure of being a quarterback in New York with class and dignity.

Today is a good day for the Jets fans. Their team now has a puncher’s chance at winning the Super Bowl and there is a buzz about them that has at least for a day (but probably more), taken over New York City. Brett Favre brings the Jets true star power and the “hold-your-breath, don’t-change-the-channel” presence the Jets have lacked for some time. But through all the excitement, tip a hat to Chad Pennington, a tough, accurate, smart, competitive quarterback that gave Jets fans touchdowns, wins and a few thrills as well.

I feel like a five year old on Christmas day that woke up to a mountain of toys.

All day yesterday as I gallavanted around The City I had butterflies in my stomach. I knew Brett Favre would be on a different team before the day was over. Everyone everywhere said he was going to Tampa but it never made sense to me. Why would the Packers send him anywhere in the NFC while an AFC team is an option? It turns out they wouldn’t. It’s what I call being smart and that’s why Favre will be wearing green again this season and not playing football in front of a giant pirate ship.

This is not the same penny-pinching Jets front office that has been running the show. Eric Mangini and Mike Tannenbaum are truly commited to winning now and this entire offseason has been an incredible building process. They patched up the offensive line, they patched up the defensive line, they strengthened the linebacking core, they upgraded the fullback situation, they put together a platoon to run alongside Thomas Jones, and they went and got the mother of all quarterbacks. It’s like an exclamation point. A cannon firing in salute. A bunch of fireworks exploding during the finale on the 4th of July. It’s a giant middle finger to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

I’m much happier with the Jets trying to compete against the toughest division opponent in football than them settling for a wild card. During last year’s offseason we all watched as the Pats went out and ransacked the NFL with the crowning acquisition being the questionable pick up of Randy Moss. The Jets watched their division rivals dominate like no other team in history. It seems to me that Mangini doesn’t like being left behind in the dust come playoff time. Now if we can only get the pieces to fit together before week 1.

The stream of consciousness that is my inner Jet fan is all over the place today. I feeI bad for Chad. I would love nothing more than to see him end up in Chicago and win the Super Bowl. I imagine Alan Faneca holding a pow-wow with the younger linemen stressing the importance of their jobs. They’ve got something to protect and if Favre goes down because of one of them, we’ll all see it on Sportscenter over and over again. Do you think Belichick slept well last night? He probably went to his Pat-cave and started watching some contraband films.

I bought tickets to Favre’s first regular season Jets game last night at two in the morning…. now I’ve just got to get to Miami.

In the 1991 NFL Draft, the Jets planned to select quarterback Brett Favre with the 34^th pick. Instead the Atlanta Falcons took the Mississippi native one pick earlier. The Jets drafted Browning Nagle who played only 18 games in 3 seasons in a disappointing tenure with the team. However, now, 17 years later, the Jets have acquired Favre in one of their most stunning trades in team history. In training camp most Jet fans held several chants of “Let’s get Brett!” at Hofstra University. By landing Favre he becomes the team’s most famous player since “Broadway” Joe Namath.

Last year, Favre enjoyed a strong season with the Packers, leading the team to a 13-3 record and an NFC Championship game appearance. He threw for 4,155 yards and 28 touchdowns and showed he is still has the mental and athletic mindset to succeed. The Jets are coming off a 4-12 season after making the playoffs the season before. Team brass spent $140 million dollars revamping the offensive line and defense. They drafted both DE/LB Vernon Gholston and speedy tight end Dustin Keller in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft.

The nine-time Pro Bowler is the career leader in touchdowns (442), yards (61,655), completions (5,377) and attempts (8,758). His 253 straight regular season starts is also a record. The 38-year old is due to make $12.8 million this year with two years remaining on his contract. The other Jets quarterback, Chad Pennington, is owed $6 million and will likely be cut today to clear more cap space. Pennington became the Jets starter in 2002 and led the team to the playoffs in 2006 but was replaced midway through last season by backup Kellen Clemens. In his eight seasons with the Jets, No. 10 threw for 3,300 or more yards and 20 touchdowns only once. The Marshall product frequently battled injuries with the Jets, playing in only 70 games over the past eight seasons. On the other hand Favre has thrown for 3,300 or more yards 15 times and for 30 or more touchdowns eight times and hasn’t missed a start since 1992. The iron man has also guided his team to 10 or more wins nine times in the regular season.

Since Favre started his streak in 1992 he has a 160-90 record and thrown for 440 touchdowns while appearing in two Super Bowls (defeated Patriots in 1997). Jets quarterbacks in the same span are a combined 113-140, throwing for 287 touchdowns and one AFC conference game loss. Jets management and fans have endured the likes of: Browning Nagle, Boomer Esiason, Neil O’Donnell, Ray Lucas, Jay Fielder, Quincy Carter, Vinny Testerverde, Pennington, and Clemens. 

Despite missing two weeks of training camp with the Jets, Favre should quickly learn the offense with Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and the transition should be minimal. The Packers ranked 2^nd in the NFL with 271 passing yards per game while the Jets were 25^th with 188 yards per game last season. The Pack also averaged 27 points per game while New York only scored 16 per game.  Adding Favre is seen as an upgrade over Pennington and Clemens, former first and second round picks respectively

The team has two quality wide receivers in Jericho Cotchery and Laveranues Coles. Cotchery has caught 82 balls each of the past two campaigns, including a career high 1,130 yards last season. Coles has had three seasons of 1,000 or more yards, including four seasons with at least 80 receptions in his career. Other targets include three solid tight ends on the roster: former teammate Bubba Franks, Chris Baker and rookie Keller. The offensive line was upgraded with the key additions of perennial Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca and right tackle Damien Woody.

People can say that Favre is old and throws too many interceptions. However, he has the experience and arm strength that Clemens and Pennington lack. Favre will bring a media frenzy to camp but he puts the team in the best position to win right now. The Jets will enjoy a substantial profit with all the Favre jerseys that are going to be sold. Seventeen years later, the Jets finally get the quarterback they wanted all along.

The Green Bay Packers have finally cut the umbilical with legendary quarterback Brett Favre, and it seems the New York Jets are the beneficiaries.  Gang Green has acquired Favre for what is believed to be a fourth-round draft pick that will increase in value depending on the the number of snaps that Favre takes behind center.  If Favre gets 80 percent of the team’s total snaps in 2008 and the Jets appear in the Super Bowl, the selection becomes a first-round pick, according to the NFL Network.

Say goodbye to Chad Pennington, whose eight year career with the Jets has come to end with Favre’s arrival.

Said Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum: ”I have all the respect in the world for Chad as a person, as a player. We’ve accomplished a lot of good things with Chad. … He gave his heart and soul to this organization for a long, long time. I really appreciate everything he’s done.”

It’s unclear if Pennington will be traded or released.

So D-Day is finally upon us and we can put an end to the nauseating Favre Watch.  While it’s not entirely shocking that Favre has found his way to the Jets, it’s a little bit surprising given numerous published reports indicating that Favre had no desire to play in the Big Apple, and particularly not for the New York Jets. Evidently the team’s brain trust did a great job of selling their city and their system to the Mississippi native.

I’m sure most fans are pinching themselves right now, but for me, personally, this is not a good day.  I’m opening up the newspapers this morning and reading headlines like “Favre Makes Jets Matter Again” and “Jets Need Favre To Deliver.”  How much is this move about making the Jets a better football team, and how much is this move about countering the Giants’ publicity in the wake of their Super Bowl victory?  It’s bad enough to watch the Mets constantly stumbling over their own feet in an attempt to compensate for ownership’s inferiority complex.  Now I need to see it from my football team as well?

The Jets had already spent $141 million during free agency this offseason.  Now they add one of the Legends of the game to their roster.  Will I even recognize this team when it takes the field in a few weeks? Can’t I at least see what that boatload of cash has bought me before I run out and throw Brett Favre into the mix?  Overnight, the Jets went from an organization shrewdly plugging holes on their offensive line and defense to an organization that seems to think the NFL is a glorified game of Fantasy Football.  I’m sorry, I’m not excited about this move. I’m just not.  

On the contrary, I’m a little embarrassed.

I understand I’m in the minority here (though the Post’s Jay Greenberg seems to agree with me), and no, I won’t root against Favre.  I’m just disappointed in my team today.  Two seasons ago, the 2006 Jets were the Cinderella story of the NFL, winning 10 games behind Chad Pennington and his weak arm. Brett Favre won 13 games with the Green Bay Packers last season.  Does this move really improve Gang Green’s outlook for 2008 and beyond, or is today’s front page splasher simply a “late, wild swing by the Jets for some attention,” as Greenberg puts it?  To me, it stinks of the latter.

Since his transition from the bullpen to the mound Joba Chamberlain has helped to bring the Yankees back from mediocrity into playoff contention. Now he must watch the team from the bench.

A day after Joba went to see the infamous Dr James Andrews the Yankees have put their 22-year-old power pitcher on the 15-day disabled list with rotator cuff tendinitis according to Newsday.

The Yankees expect Joba to rest at least one week before being reevaluated. At that point if everything goes well he will begin a short rehab before returning to the mound. He is not expected to need surgery and will likely be back this season.

This comes as great news to Yankee fans as there likely will not be long-term damage associated with this and the team still has a chance to make the playoffs this season.

If the Yankees had to finish the stretch run with a rotation of Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Sidney Ponson, Ian Kennedy, and Dan Giese they likely would go nowhere fast. Now the team has to hope Joba can make a quick return and Giese can keep the ship from sinking in the meantime.

This is not necessarily great news however, when Jorge Posada was initially diagnosed back in April the Yankees said he was suffering from the same rotator cuff tendinitis. Now Posada is back home after having season ending surgery.

That is worst-case scenario however and the best case is that Joba returns from the DL on August 20 when he is eligible. That is also unlikely and he will realistically come back the last week of August or the first week in September.

ESPN has surmised that Joba will be moved to the bullpen upon his return, but this is highly unlikely and is based solely on their speculation. It wouldn’t make sense to switch him back to the pen now. For one thing he’ll get less time to rest between appearances and it is unlikely the team would risk straying from his developmental plan yet again.

On top of that the Yankees would be missing the front-of-the-rotation starter needed in the playoffs. Especially considering that Chien-Ming Wang is not likely to pitch again this season even if the Yankees made the playoffs this year they would have no chance to advance with that terrible Joba-less rotation.

This injury arose this past Monday against the Texas Rangers when Joba was lifted in the fifth inning with shoulder stiffness. After being examined by Drs. Stuart Hershon and Chris Ahmad at New York Presbyterian Hospital he was sent to Dr. Andrews which caused speculation that his season was over.

In 12 starts this year Chamberlain is 3-1 with a 2.76 ERA and 74 strike outs in 65.1 innings. Overall he is 4-3 with a 2.63 ERA and 104 strike outs in 89 innings.

Forest City Ratner Company, the organization responsible for building the New Jersey Nets new arena said Monday, that the team’s new home in Brooklyn, may not be ready for the 2010-2011 season. It has been delayed several times, as recently as January. The arena will no longer feature a green roof, and the intial design will be very different.

Bruce Ratner owns the commercial real estate agency building the arena, and is also the principal owner of the Nets. He has owned the team for four seasons and plans to move the franchise to Brooklyn, which has not had a pro team since the Dodgers left in 1957. The Nets have been playing their home games at the Izod Center in the Meadowlands sports complex since 1981. The Nets drew an average of 15,656 fans per game which ranked 21^st in the NBA last season. By moving to Brooklyn, Ratner hopes to draw more fans from NYC and Long Island. Located at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush avenue it is located by the MTA/LIRR rail yards. 

The Barclays Center, which was planned to open for the 2010 season, would cost around $3.5 billion to build. The British based bank paid around $300-400 million dollars over 20 years for the naming rights. Seating capacity for Net games would be 18,000 with 118 executive suites and 12 courtside suites. The 850,000 square foot center could also hold college basketball games, concerts, award shows, ice shows and circuses. There was a discussion the Barclays Center could be venue for the 2013-2014 NBA All Star game. 

President Rod Thorn and General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe have had a busy year.  During the season, the management duo shipped Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks, and this past off-season they traded fan favorite Richard Jefferson to the Milwuakee Bucks. Jefferson signed a six-year, $78 million dollar extension in 2004. The Nets also aquired  a first round pick from the Golden State Warriors for backup point guard Marcus Williams. These moves were seemingly done to put themselves under the salary cap in the summer of 2010 to potentially make a run at superstar LeBron James. However, with the new arena delayed again, it will be interesting to see how this could affect his decision.

Here are the answers to yesterday’s quiz.

1. The Yankees were the first team to wear uniform numbers, and started in 1929.

2. Bobby Valentine wore # 2 as a tribute to Tommy Lasorda.

3. Besides # 7, Mickey Mantle also wore # 6 during his rookie year.

4. Felix Millan wore # 16 and # 17 in ’73, and # 17 until the end of his career in ’77.

5. Babe Ruth wore # 3 and Lou Gehrig # 4 because that’s where they hit in the batting order.

6. Joe Torre wore # 9 while he played and managed the Mets.

7. Bobby Murcer wore # 17 (’65, ’66), # 1 (’69–’74) and # 2 (’79–’83).

8. Terry McDaniel (’91) and Rey Ordonez (’96, ’97) wore 0, and Tony Clark (’03) wore 00.

9. Mike Gallego (’92–’94) was the last Yankee to wear # 2 before Derek Jeter.

10. Tsuyoshi Shinjo (’01, ’03) was the last Met to wear # 5 before David Wright.

It appears closer Billy Wagner wasn’t making excuses when he said his forearm hurt after blowing his seventh save of the year Saturday night.  Wagner had an MRI today and the results confirmed he has a left forearm strain.  As a result, Wagner has been placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to Sunday).

“It’s just a bad time to have to go through something like this,” Wagner said

This is potentially devastating news for the Mets whose bullpen has been a disaster since the all-star break.  It could be worse though.  Since the MRI showed no structural damage, he should be back in the ‘pen when his 15 days are up.

To take Wagner’s place on the roster, the Mets have recalled pitcher Ruddy Lugo.  Lugo is 8-4 with a 4.39 ERA in parts of three seasons (102 appearances) with the Rays and Athletics.  This year Lugo has spent the season in the Zephyrs rotation going 7-9 with a 5.01 ERA.

Taking Wagner’s place as the closer will be set-up man, Aaron Heilman.  Heilman’s had a rough campaign this year posting a 1-6 record, with a 5.25 ERA.

As the long baseball season winds down to its final month, there is nothing more beneficial to a team in the pennant race than being able to call up impact players from the minors.

And, the Yankees may have more than a few players who can help in their pursuit of a post-season berth in 2008 such as Scott Strickland, Ian Kennedy, Austin Jackson, Phil Hughes and, yes, Carl Pavano.

With Darrell Rasner not pitching well of late and Joba Chamberlain on his way to see Dr. James Andrews, the Yankees need help in their rotation. While many teams would be in a great deal of trouble in trying to replace 2/5 of their rotation, the Yankees have formidable options.

Out of the group of starters previously listed, Kennedy is the most ready, as he has posted a 4-2 record with a 2.14 ERA in 46 1/3 innings recording 38 strikeouts while sporting a 0.91 WHIP. Based on Kennedy not having any injuries like the other starters and pitching very well at AAA, expect him to get the call first.

Not too far behind Kennedy, and depending on the diagnosis of Chamberlain, lies Hughes and the inept Pavano. While both are just beginning their rehab assignments, I expect them both to be on the fast track to helping the Yankees either as a starter or as a long man out of the pen with Hughes receiving the call before Pavano.

In the bullpen, every team can always use a quality arm to record critical outs in their final month of play. The Yankees might have that in the 32 year old journeyman Strickland. Strickland has been spectacular at AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre with a 3-0 record. In 56 innings, Strickland has a 2.57 ERA while recording a very impressive 61 strikeouts in addition to a 1.04 WHIP with 9 saves.

Finally, the OF and bench can use a young and talented jolt in Jackson. Jackson, the AA CF of the Trenton Thunder, may be in a little over his head at the big league level making the two level jump and only being 21. However, bringing him up could serve a great deal of value to his development. Currently at AA, Jackson has a solid .297 average in 110 games with 9 HR, 61 RBI, 14 SB and a .372 OBP.

While these options may not seem like much to Yankee fans, these players would be viable choices for any contending team. The only difference would be the varying over/under assumptions in days of how long it would take for Pavano to hurt himself on the way to the ballpark.