I was able to add a pair of autographs to my Mets collection last night at the Newark Bears home opener.

Newark’s new manager for 2013 is Garry Templeton, who finished his major league playing career with the 1991 New York Mets. He was much better known as a St. Louis Cardinal (where he was a two-time All-Star) and a San Diego Padre (where he played  for 10 seasons and made his final All-Star appearance in 1985.)

The Rockland Boulders’ new pitching coach is Bobby M. Jones, the left-handed reliever who played for the New York Mets in 2000 and 2002. Jones also appeared in three early-season games for the 2004 Boston Red Sox, but spent most of his major league playing career with the Colorado Rockies.

(Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

The Bears lost the game 3-1, with their batters striking out 16 times. It seemed like the team was practicing the same hitting batting philosophy as the Mets do these days – run up the opponents’ pitch count in expectation of it leading to better scoring chances.

It doesn’t work very well if the hitters on your team don’t have good enough pitch recognition skills to figure out which ones they can do something with and which pitches they should take.  It’s a really bad idea in the Can-Am League when you can’t even count on the umpires to have a consistent strike zone from pitch to pitch.

(Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

There was a nice crowd for the game – announced at 1,559 – but there were problems with lines at the concession stands that were bad enough that the team handed out free tickets to the June 3rd game to fans who requested them as they were leaving the stadium.

One note for those who enjoy participating in on-field contests between innings- my friends did the sumo wrestling one, only to find out that there are no prizes this year. In the past, contest winners got vouchers for tickets to a future Bears game.

Newark Bears catcher Elvin Millan (28) shakes hands with former Negro League player Bob Scott after Scott threw out the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day. (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

Newark Bears manager Garry Templeton (left) high fives player J.J. Sherrill as pitching coach Ralph Citarella (right) looks on. (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

Riverfront Stadium (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

The Newark Bears opened the 2013 Can-Am League season with a 6-4 loss to the Rockland Boulders on Thursday night. Newark’s Mike Ness allowed five runs on six hits and a walk over six innings, but three of those six hits were home runs. D’Angelo Jimenez was the star of the game for the Bears, putting together a three-hit night and driving in a pair of runs while scoring one.

On Friday, the Bears will kick off their home schedule and try to even things up with the Boulders at 7:05 p.m. at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium. Former Negro League pitcher Bob Scott is scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, the first 200 fans will get a free Newark Bears cap and a post-game fireworks show.

I don’t know how many games I will be able to get to this summer, but I plan to be there for Opening Night. I hope to see a few of you at the ballpark.

The 5th annual Damon Runyon 5K at Yankee Stadium will be held on August 18th. (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

Since 2009, the 5K has raised more than $2 million for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation’s efforts in the fight against cancer.

Participants are responsible for a $40 registration fee and a $60 fundraising minimum. On July 1, the registration fee increases to $50.

The course takes runners and walkers through Yankee Stadium’s concourses and ramps, but the highlight is two laps around the warning track that circles the field.  Friends, family and supporters will be able to watch the race from the Delta SKY360° Suite overlooking home plate and meet the Damon Runyon scientists their contributions help support.

“Over the past five years, the proceeds from the Runyon 5K have allowed us to fund amazing cancer researchers doing incredible work,” said Lorraine W. Egan, President and CEO of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation in a press release. “Our 5K participants are making breakthroughs possible – it’s as simple as that.”

To register, or for additional information, visit www.runyon5k.org

Citi Field during a recent Mets loss (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

The New York Mets lost their 21^st game of the season Monday night, falling seven games below the .500 mark for the first time.

Only the most wildly optimistic fans expected the team to contend this year, and many felt the team would finish with a losing record for a fifth straight year. So it’s really not a surprise that the Mets are losing more often than they win.

The Mets will never use the term “rebuilding,” but everyone knew that 2013 was supposed to be a transition year. The last of the big Omar Minaya-era contracts are ending, the prospects we’ve been hearing about are here or arriving soon… it should seem like there’s a bright new future on the way.

And yet, on a day that Sandy Alderson signed 33-year-old journeyman outfielder Rick Ankiel to address one of the team’s glaring black holes, that future seems to be miles away.

The Mets lineup that lost on Monday night featured 28-year-old Mike Baxter and 27-year-old Lucas Duda in the outfield along with Ankiel. Neither player has accomplished much in the major leagues, though Baxter is at least guaranteed a place in Mets lore for saving Johan Santana‘s no-hitter at the expense of his rib cage last year.

The infield included 28-year-old Daniel Murphy (an average player who is two seasons away from free agency), 26-year-old Ike Davis, and 23-year-old Ruben Tejada along with team captain David Wright, 30.

I once expected Davis to be a cornerstone of the Mets’ resurgence, but we’re watching him get off to a dreadful start for the second year in a row now. It’s time to start questioning whether he is really an everyday major league player, or even a major leaguer at all.

Tejada is certainly young enough to be part of the future, but does he have the talent to be anything more than average?

John Buck, 32, is still better than the catchers the Mets have run out there over the last couple of years even though his amazing April did not continue into May, but he’s a free agent at the end of the year.

Will any of these guys be part of the Mets’ bright future when it finally arrives? I want to believe Wright will get another chance at the playoffs while he’s still an All-Star level player, but it’s hard to believe any of the others will have a role on the next Mets contender.

Losing games wouldn’t be so frustrating if it really felt like it was building towards something, but nearly everyone on the Mets roster makes me think of the so-called replacement-level player concept introduced by the sabermetrics community.

Sure, there’s Matt Harvey day once a week – but we build that up so much that it’s a huge letdown if he’s just “normal” or the Mets don’t score runs for him.

Zack Wheeler is coming… sometime this summer. Maybe he’ll even be as good as Harvey has been so far.

Travis d’Arnaud, delayed by a freak injury as well as major league service time considerations, might get here before the end of the season. If we’re really lucky, he’ll be as good as advertised too.

And then what? Four star players might be enough if you can surround them with a quality supporting cast, but does it really feel like the Mets are building a strong foundation for the future to you?

Rick Ankiel’s 2000 Upper Deck SP Authentic Chirography autographed rookie card from my collection

Outfielder Rick Ankiel is Sandy Alderson‘s latest reclamation project. The 33-year-old former pitcher will become the 954th player in Mets history tonight, and the eighth to wear number 16 since Dwight Gooden left.

Keeping in mind the dangers of looking at a small sample size, Ankiel does offer an advantage over the Mets’ other center field options, especially considering his defense:

But considering the little fact that the 2013 Mets are a fourth-place team going nowhere, they’d probably be better served by running Jordany Valdespin out there against right-handed pitching instead of Ankiel. (And I say this as someone who is not very fond of JV1′s showboating.) Maybe he would show that he can hit well enough to be a fourth outfielder or a utility player on a good team.

Instead, we’ll get to see Ankiel try to hang on a little longer. Maybe we’ll at least get to enjoy some highlight-worthy defensive plays.

At least Juan Lagares will still get to play against lefties… until Terry Collins changes his mind.

This was the winning entry in the Banner Day contest. It’s a simple, well-crafted and well-executed idea – the home run apple even raises and lowers – but I thought that the other finalists (and some that didn’t make it to that stage) showed more cleverness.

This was my favorite among the finalists – how can you not like a banner than includes the 7 train, Mr. Met and Mettle the Mule?

Finalist number three, one of several clever banners with a Matt Harvey theme.

Another Matt Harvey banner (Wikipedia is your friend if you don’t recognize the reference)

David Wright featured prominently in quite a few banners, though I’m not sure if “Proud. Exciting. Mets.” are words that really have anything to do with each other.

Another David Wright banner.

Marlon Byrd found a few more fans than I expected. I liked these guys and their crazy masks.

Daniel Murphy’s batting average may be dipping, but he still has his fans.

Believe it or not, some people still like Ike too.

Many banners had a hopeful theme.

I wish Mr. Met had unearthed a few more nuggets on this one.

This one resonated with me more than most of the banners did. Media Goon explained his rationale for it at Mets Police. Like him, I want to believe that there’s a plan to make the Mets into a good team again.

He writes:

If you guys watch Dr. Who at all, he tends to fly by the seat of his pants and always is looking like he doesn’t have a plan and at the last minute something comes together. You then realize he kind of had the outcome planned all along. The Mets make me feel like that right now. Everything is topsy turvy and wacky, but hopefully they have that plan in place that will make everything okay.

These guys are probably the only ones who marched on the field that actually enjoyed the outcome of the game.

And the actual Mets came out to thank their “All-Star fans” for putting up with them.

Wednesday night, Angel Hernandez proved that instant replay is not the panacea its proponents want it to be.

Oakland Athletics infielder Adam Rosales hit a game-tying home run – or at least he would have, if Hernandez had seen that the ball bounced off of a railing above the home run line on the outfield wall. Instead, he was credited with a double.

And to be fair, Rosales stopped at second base and it’s not hard to imagine an umpire being uncertain about where exactly the ball hit. That’s why have replay, so that the umpires have the technology they need to get those important calls correct.

Hernandez and two other members of his crew went off to look at the available video for several minutes. And they still got the call wrong.

MLB executive vice president Joe Torre, whose job seems less relevant than the Maytag repairman’s, agreed that Hernandez botched the call but basically told the Athletics ”tough luck.”

If Hernandez is facing any consequences, I haven’t heard about them.

Peter Gammons went so far as to suggest that Hernandez made the wrong call on purpose as a protest against the use of instant replay.

Now there’s a impression – right or wrong – that Major League Baseball needs to address.

But Hernandez isn’t the only umpire who made the news this week.

Last night, Fieldin Culbreth, Brian O’Nora, Bill Welke and Adrian Johnson demonstrated complete ignorance of Rule 3.05 (b).

If the pitcher is replaced, the substitute pitcher shall pitch to the batter then at bat, or any substitute batter, until such batter is put out or reaches first base, or until the offensive team is put out, unless the substitute pitcher sustains injury or illness which, in the umpire-in-chief’s judgment, incapacitates him for further play as a pitcher.

Culbreth and company allowed Houston manager Bo Porter to pull Wesley Wright before he faced a batter after Angels manager Mike Scioscia put up a pinch hitter.

At least this time, Major League Baseball did something to address the problem: Culbreth was suspended for two games and all four umpires were fined.

But it’s time to do more – Major League Baseball needs to do everything in its power to make sure that players and fans have no reason to doubt the men who are enforcing the game’s rules.

It’s hard to believe, but it was four years ago last month that Citi Field opened. I couldn’t make it to the first exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox, and I didn’t think the Opening Day ticket prices were worth it so I didn’t get to see a lot of the ballpark’s “firsts.”

But I did get to see Jed Lowrie, then of the Boston Red Sox, hit the first grand slam at Citi Field at the Mets’ second exhibition game against the Red Sox. I thought my friend Bart would at least appreciate this photo of Lowrie crossing the plate afterwards, so I had it printed and gave it to him.  He sent copies of it to Lowrie a few times, and one that he’d given up for lost made its way back to him so he gave me the duplicate.

Jed Lowrie signed this photo of him crossing home plate after hitting the unofficial first grand slam at Citi Field in 2009.

My friend Greg also passed along a program from the Miami Marlins series with the Mets last week at Marlins Park. (It was from the one game they came back to win.)

2013 Miami Marlins program

I’m thankful for the interesting, unexpected additions to my collection.

Autographed Adam Greenberg 2013 Topps baseball card from my collection

I’m still around, but when I’ve had the time to write, I haven’t had much of an inclination.

Aside from Matt Harvey and David Wright, there’s precious little reason to watch the Mets these days. Sure, they’ll surprise you in a good way every so often – but they will find new ways to frustrate more often than not. Even Mother Nature doesn’t seem to want to see them play.

I have not added any new Mets autographs to my collection lately, though I will be able to add the card Andrew Brown signed for me via mail during spring training to my Mets binder now. But I have picked up a few more signed cards at various non-major league games. One of the highlights was getting Adam Greenberg to sign his 2013 Topps baseball card last week.

And I had fun in Trenton last weekend watching the Portland Sea Dogs beat the Trenton Thunder with my friend Bart. I’d have to double check my scorecards, but I think it was the first time I ever saw the Sea Dogs win.

Here are some photos from the game:

Boston Red Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts is out at second base on the front end of a double play (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

Boston Red Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

Boston Red Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

Boston Red Sox prospect Drake Britton (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

Portland Sea Dogs players and coaches watch the game from the dugout (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

New York Yankees prospect Tyler Austin (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

Trenton Thunder slugger Kyle Roller (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

Circumstances permitting, I plan to go to the Mets’ Banner Day game next weekend. So look for photos from the pre-game banner parade next Sunday or Monday.

Willie Mays 2013 Topps Cut to the Chase diecut insert card

And since it will be his 82nd birthday by the time most of you read this, let me show you a cool Willie Mays baseball card that I got last week.