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JJ: “David Stearns Legacy Offseason… Loading…”

BQE Admin on December 19, 2025

New York New York

By John Jastremski

What a crazy few weeks to start the offseason for the New York Mets.
Of course after the way the 2025 season ended up, you had to imagine the status quo was not going to be accepted by ownership and GM David Stearns.
The Mets were going to have a much different team going into 2026, sure.
However, who could have possibly imagined that before Christmas, the Mets have said goodbye to three of the most popular players the team has had over the past seven or so years.
It started with Brandon Nimmo and then last week the Mets saw Edwin Diaz sign with the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers and franchise home run leader Pete Alonso take his talents to the Baltimore Orioles.
Unlike the Diaz sweepstakes, the Mets had no interest in bringing Alonso back to Queens.
The Mets will point to the amount of years the Orioles gave Pete Alonso and suggest it was a length of contract they did not feel comfortable with.
There is some truth in that, but it digs even deeper.
David Stearns did not want Pete Alonso back. He didn’t want to resign him last year and simply has a different vision for building and reshaping the ballclub.
Look, if I was in David Stearns shoes. I would want Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz back on my baseball team.
Diaz is one of the best closers in baseball and Pete Alonso is one of the best slugging right handed hitters in the sport.
However, I’m not running the Mets.
David Stearns has put his reputation on the line this offseason.
Remember, Stearns grew up a Mets fan on the Upper East side as a kid.
He probably wants nothing more than returning his boyhood team to glory with a trip down the Canyon of Heroes.
Stearns clearly has a plan for what he envisions this Mets roster to be in 2026 and beyond.
At the moment, he’s not exactly the most popular person in town.
The Mets said goodbye to three players the fan base absolutely adored.
Mets fans are not exactly going to show a ton of patience with the team’s GM if the team doesn’t win and win in a big way next season.
He knows that.
David Stearns acted with serious backbone and conviction in charting the current course for the team.
He has a plan, the pieces are not officially all in place quite yet.
Will Stearns offseason be a story of vindication or of massive regret.
The plot thickens indeed…
You can listen to my podcast New York, New York on The Ringer Podcast Network on Spotify/Apple Podcasts every Sunday & Thursday. You can watch me nightly on Honda Sports Nite at 11 PM on SNY. 

Was the Mets’ Apple Rotten at the Core?

BQE Admin on December 19, 2025

Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

Not many saw this trajectory coming for the Mets’ offseason, but nevertheless the core of the team has been torn apart. In the span of just weeks, New York traded their longest-tenured player in Brandon Nimmo, saw star closer Edwin Diaz sign with the back-to-back champion Dodgers, and didn’t even present a contract offer to franchise HR leader Pete Alonso, who signed in Baltimore.

It’s a complete restructuring of the team in the wake of a brutal failure last season, where they missed the postseason despite boasting MLBís second-highest payroll.

Now it’s evident that Steve Cohen and David Stearns won’t be paying more than they’re comfortable for key players, and that includes long contract terms and deferred money that ultimately led to Diaz and Alonso signing elsewhere.

“In the years that I’ve been with the Mets, I have not seen this much moving in a new direction,” said all-time great Met Kieth Hernandez.

Former manager Terry Collins shared insight on the shakeup, saying “this core has not won. Maybe it’s time to go with a different core.”

Ultimately, the bulk of the Mets’ failure last season came down to their pitching staff, one that’s only gotten weaker in recent weeks. While the offense certainly came up short more than a few times, starting pitchers consistently failed to last and the bullpen was ineffective far too often.

Now those problems are exacerbated by the loss of Diaz, Gregory Soto, and Tyler Rodgers. Additionally New York missed out on Padres reliever Robert Suarez (now with Atlanta), and still have holes to fill in their rotation.

The core certainly did not get it done, but it’s hard to see the Mets bouncing back and making the playoffs with this much upheaval in the offseason.

A $340 Million Mishap as Mets Miss Postseason

BQE Admin on October 2, 2025

Young arms, Minor League championships turn heads towards future

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

With the second-highest payroll in the Majors, the New York Mets missed the postseason in what can only be considered an abject failure. Despite a roster ripe with talent and the team’s red hot start that saw them lead the National League at multiple points, the season came to a close with a 4-0 loss in Miami.

The Mets finished level with Cincinnati, both holding 83-79 records, but the Reds earned the tiebreaker with a 4-2 record against New York to clinch the final Wild Card spot in the NL. As Francisco Lindor grounded into a season-ending double play, Mets players shared looks of dismay, disbelief, and shock that their 2025 campaign had come to a premature halt.

As any division rival should, the Marlins clearly took pride in playing spoiler. Miami played New York very well all season long, winning the season series 7-6. They were victorious in 5 of the 7 games played against New York in the back half of the season, only finishing 4 games behind the Mets with a payroll roughly one fifth the size.

“Mets fans everywhere. I owe you an apology. You did your part by showing up and supporting the team. We didn’t do our part,” said owner Steve Cohen in a somber statement. “We are all feeling raw emotions today. I know how much time and effort you have put into this team. The result was unacceptable. Your emotions tell me how much you care and continues to motivate the organization to do better.”

A notable point in the Mets downfall was the lack of improvement following the trade deadline. While the acquisitions of Ryan Helsley and Tyler Rogers gave New York one of the best bullpens in MLB on paper, Helsley panned out as one of the club’s worst ever deadline pickups, with Rogers failing to find consistency.

Additionally, Cedric Mullins provided little improvement in CF despite an injury to Tyrone Taylor. He struggled to make an impact despite providing adequate defense in the outfield.

New Mets star Juan Soto acknowledged this season’s failure but remained optimistic about the future. He put together his first ever 30/30 season, leading the National League in stolen bases with 38 (tied with Oneil Cruz). He finished just two stolen bases shy of a 40/40 campaign, setting a new career high with 42 homers in 2025.

Another bright spot this year was the young pitching. Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and Brandon Sproat showed tremendous potential for the future, as pitching depth was a clear weakness all season long. Whether all three begin the 2026 season in the Majors remains to be seen, but all were up for the challenge as they tried to push New York into October baseball.

Mets Minor League affiliates also celebrated success this year. In the past few weeks, both the Brooklyn Cyclones and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies claimed league championships. Despite the MLB team coming up short, there is a good deal of talent awaiting their chance to prove themselves at the game’s highest level.

Mets Rookies Handed Trio of Losses

BQE Admin on September 9, 2025

By Noah Zimmerman

Three Mets rookie pitchers faced consecutive defeats over the weekend as New York dropped the last two games in Cincinnati and the opener in Philadelphia. Still, Jonah Tong, Brandon Sproat, and Nolan McLean all showed prowess and potential in strong starts.

Tong only surrendered three hits in his second career game. Unfortunately all three were sent over the wall as the Reds scored four runs in the first four frames. The rest of the outing went smoothly for Tong, finishing with six strikeouts in six innings of work. He was handed the loss as the Mets fell 6-3.

The next day, Mets #5 prospect Brandon Sproat stepped onto the big league mound for the first time. Like McLean and Tong, the young righty made a strong impression in his debut. 

The 24-year-old threw five innings of no-hit baseball, only allowing one run via sacrifice fly. In the 6th Cincinnati finally got to Sproat, with three consecutive hits to go up 3-1. Sproat struck out the next two Reds batters to end his night with seven K’s, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the loss.

Nolan McLean dazzled in Detroit but was finally handed his first loss of the year in Philadelphia. In 5.1 innings, McLean only gave up one run on seven hits with five strike outs. He displayed more masterful control of the breaking ball and the composure to survive busy basepaths.

Unfortunately the Mets were blanked by Aaron Nola and the Phillies bullpen. McLean was tagged with the decision in a 1-0 loss. It was New York’s sixth loss in their last nine games, a troubling trend as the Wild Card race continues to tighten up.

The Kids are Alright!

BQE Admin on September 2, 2025

A Clean Start for Nolan McLean, Tong Terrific Takes Over Queens

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

A pair of Mets youngsters took the mound at Citi Field last week, injecting some life into a struggling rotation. Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong, two of the most highly touted arms in the Mets system, made their MLB debuts in August. Most notably, both earned big wins in a pair of important division games at Citi Field last week.

McLean, a right-handed spin savant, took the mound in front of the Queens crowd for the first time against the Seattle Mariners earlier in the month. He delivered one of the greatest pitcher debuts in club history, striking out 8 and only surrendering 2 hits in 5.1 innings of scoreless ball.

In his next two starts, McLean continued to impress, becoming the first in franchise history to win each of his first three games. He punched out 6 in 7 innings in Atlanta before getting another 5 against the Phillies at home.

McLean became the first pitcher since Randy Johnson in the 80’s to win their first three games while pitching 20+ innings, striking out 20+, and holding opponents to a sub-.200 batting average. More importantly he displayed an ability to go deep into ballgames, something sorely missing from the Mets pitching staff.

The rookie’s 8 innings of work against Philadelphia were some of the most masterful from the Mets pitching staff all season. Only David Peterson has gone deeper in a game this year, throwing a complete game shutout against the Nationals in June.

On Friday night, another young Met arm was welcomed to Citi Field for the first time. Jonah Tong, carried youthful energy onto the mound just over a month past his 22nd birthday but kept nerves contained in front of a nearly sold out crowd. Tong didn’t have to worry about run support in his first Major League game as he was handed 12 runs to work with over the first two innings.

The youngster was just barely able to qualify for a win, throwing nearly 100 pitches over 5 frames. A pair of errors nearly cost Tong a chance at a decision, but he finished with just one earned run.

The 19-9 win set a record for the most runs scored at home as New York desperately tried to shake a groggy August. Despite their sweep of the Phillies, the Mets struggled last month with a 11-17 record even with impressive offensive numbers. With pitching struggles, it’s time to see what the new kids can offer in the season’s final stretch.

Nolan McLean’s 4th start was scheduled for Tuesday in Detroit. Tong is slated for a Friday night appearance in Cincinnati as the Mets look to earn some separation in the Wild Card race.

The Bully Yanks… Until Proven Otherwise…

BQE Admin on September 2, 2025

By John Jastremski

The 2025 New York Yankees just put together a recent stretch of baseball that sums up their season rather appropriately. 

The Yankees got rather fat against three sub .500 teams. The Twins, Cardinals and Rays respectively. 

They got absolutely smacked by the Boston Red Sox, one of the better teams in the American League. 

It’s been a common theme watching this group play over the course of the season. 

When the Yankees are going good, they’re going real good. The ball is leaving the ballpark, their starters are going deep into games and they find a way to hold down leads in the late innings. 

When the Yankees are going poorly, a lot of the warts and deficiencies of the group are on full display for the world to see. 

It’s a team that can’t win without hitting a home run. It’s a team that yucks up leads with shaky relief work. 

Oh and don’t forget about the poor fundamentals in the field and the bases that continue to be a narrative around the franchise dating back to last season. 

When the Yankees are going poorly, all of these elements come to play. 

Here’s the dirty little secret regarding the 2025 Yankees: They will be playing October baseball. 

The team faces a September schedule that is rather reasonable against a good number of sub .500 opponents. 

More than likely, the Yankees will find themselves in the Wild Card round the first week in October with a series against a team that has owned them all season. 

The only way this group is changing the current bully narrative about their season is two fold. 

Stun the world by winning the American League East. Highly unlikely with a 5 game deficit and a month to play, but it would signal a whole lot of wins against both the Blue Jays and the Red Sox. 

Two, flip the script in October against the better teams in the American League. 

It’s hard to imagine the script changing in Yankees land, but if you’re not satisfied with the narrative, you have to change it. 

We’ll see if this team can…

You can listen to my podcast New York, New York on The Ringer Podcast Network on Spotify/Apple Podcasts every Sunday & Thursday evenings. You can watch me nightly on Honda Sports Nite following Mets Postgame on SNY. 

Alonso Passes Strawberry as Mets All-Time Home Run Leader

BQE Admin on August 12, 2025

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

There’s finally company atop the New York Mets all-time HR leaderboard. On Sunday, Pete Alonso launched home run #252 in orange and blue to draw level with the great Darryl Strawberry.

Straw’s swatted 335 homers over his career, with the first 252 as a Met. He was named Rookie of the Year in 1983 and made the All-Star Game in each of his next 7 seasons in Queens.

“The Polar Bear” had a similar start to his career, winning the 2019 NL ROY with a MLB record 53 homers as a first-year player. Alonso cleared the 40-HR mark in three different seasons, something Strawberry never did in his 17-year career (Strawberry hit 39 in 1988 and finished 2nd in MVP voting). Alonso was also recently named an All-Star for the 5th time in his career, coming up with a clutch 3-run homer in Atlanta last month.

Since Alonso first made the big league roster in 2019, he has led MLB with 679 RBI. Only Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber have hit more homers in that span, with 269 and 254 respectively.

As a consistent power and RBI threat, Alonso has cemented himself as a vital piece of the Mets lineup and will have rightfully earned the title of club HR leader the next time he clears the outfield wall.

Unfortunately the current season has taken a turn and Alonso’s next contract is still looming. Pete and the Mets agreed to a 2-year/$54M contract after lengthy negotiations last offseason, but it’s expected that Alonso will utilize his player option to test Free Agency once more.

Under his current contract, only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is earning more at first base. Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, and Freddie Freeman are all earning between $25M and $27M a year on long-term deals, painting a picture for Alonso’s contract hopes for his age 31 season and beyond.

Whether or not Alonso will be a Met for life is yet to be seen, but regardless he’s etched his name into New York baseball lore. 

Perhaps someday Alonso’s #20 will hang near #18 above the left field stands at Citi Field. For now, Alonso will look to help turn the current Mets season around as they hunt another playoff run.

Editor’s Note: This article was published on Tuesday afternoon before the Mets vs Braves game. Pete Alonso would go on to hit HR #253 and #254 to become the standalone franchise leader.

JJ: “New York Baseball Midseason Report Cards”

BQE Admin on July 18, 2025

By John Jastremski

We have officially reached the midway point of the 2025 NY Baseball season. All things considered, it’s a good thing that if the season were to end today, the Mets and the Yankees would both be a part of the postseason.  The bad news is that both would be lined up to play in the Best of 3 Wild Card Round. 

So at the halfway point of the season, step into the grading room of Professor Jastremski of the Newhouse School. He knew plenty about getting A’s in broadcasting and history classes. Math and Science classes, eh not so much. Let’s give some grades for both teams, shall we? 

Pete Alonso: A

Pete’s first half has been arguably the best half of his big league career. He’s gotten a ton of big hits and it appears he’s bet on himself in a much better way than he did in 2024. 

Max Fried: A

I’ve always had an appreciation of Fried from a distance watching him with the Atlanta Braves, but he’s been even better than advertised in his first year pitching in pinstripes. His significance and importance to the 2025 Yankees went up exponentially after Gerrit Cole was lost for the season. Fried has been every bit the ace the Yankees have needed. 

Clay Holmes: B+ 

The Mets have dealt with a whole lot of adversity in their rotation throughout the first half of this season. One of the major questions in the rotation has been anything but for the first half of this year. Clay Holmes transitioned into being a starter for the first time in his big league career and I had serious reservations about whether or not he was up for the challenge. Holmes has done a very nice job taking the ball every 5th day. The only reason he didn’t earn himself an A is due to his inability to go deep into games. 

Paul Goldschmidt: B 

The Yankees found themselves in a spot in 2024 where first base was an absolute black hole. Paul Goldschmidt has provided much needed stability both offensively and defensively to 1st base. He’s been an absolute pro’s pro. 

Mark Vientos: D 

I had high hopes for the Mets breakout star from 2024. There is no way to sugar coat it, Vientos first half has been an absolute flop. He’s lost playing time, he’s been injured and he hasn’t performed both at the plate and in the field. Perhaps the past few games in Kansas City will be the turning point of getting his season and full season grade back on track. 

Anthony Volpe: D 

The most disappointing Yankees performer by a significant margin, If you take out Volpe’s March/April stats, the numbers of futility are even more alarming. He seems to have no plan at the plate, his confidence is shot and now his defense at shortstop which was supposed to be a strength has become a massive liability. 

The Yankees have a shortstop problem until I see reasons otherwise… 

New York Mets: A-

The Mets have weathered a whole lot of storms especially from a pitching standpoint so far this first half. They are a half game out of first place and will be a major player at the trade deadline. The team is exactly on track to where I thought they’d be preseason. 

New York Yankees: B+ 

The only reason the Yankees didn’t earn themselves an A grade for the first half is due to what happened over the final 4 weeks of June and into July where a massive division lead turned into a minor deficit. The Yankees lineup has exceeded my expectations in the absence of Juan Soto, but can they upgrade a few key spots over the next few weeks to win a very congested AL East…

JJ: “As Subway Series Dawns, The Soto Sub Plot Emerges…”

BQE Admin on May 14, 2025

By: John Jastremski

It’s truly understood that New York City has a major case of Mid May Knicks fever. 

When you are one game away from the Conference Finals, that is to be expected. 

However, the first installment of the Subway Series awaits on Friday night and the anticipation has been building since last December. 

Juan Soto will make his return to Yankee Stadium for the first time wearing Orange and Blue. 

After a year in which Yankees fans showered him with love, praise and admiration, the tone on Friday night will be drastically different. 

Imagine the jeers that David Ortiz and Jose Altuve have received from the Bronx faithful over the last few seasons, well I think that hostility towards Soto will be even worse.

Juan Soto chose the Mets, you can’t imagine the Yankee faithful are particularly happy about that. 

It will get lost in the Soto subplot, but the first month plus of the season heading into the Subway Series has been rather glass half full for both teams. 

The Mets through 42 games are double digit games over .500 and in first place in the NL East, and that’s without Juan Soto contributing much through the month of April. 

It was only a matter of time before Soto joined the party and he has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters through the early portion of May. 

In Yankee land, despite some pot holes along the way, the boys from the Bronx lead the AL East at 24-17. 

Aaron Judge hasn’t missed a beat even without Juan Soto hitting in front of him and is on a triple crown pace.

And despite the Yankee pitching staff suffering a whole lot of adversity, newly acquired Max Fried has been everything you could hope for and then some leading the staff. 

In fact, it makes you wonder in Yankee land. Where would this team be if they hadn’t signed the lefty in the offseason. 

It’s mid may so I would be careful with rash judgements either way regarding the result of this 3 game series, but to have an October like feel to this weekend is rather exciting. 

As if we needed any more excitement right about now in the Big City…

You can listen to my podcast New York, New York after every Knicks Playoff or Subway Series Game on The Ringer Podcast Network on Spotify/Apple Podcasts. You can watch me nightly on Honda Sports Nite following Mets postgame on SNY.

‘Badass Lady-Folk TV’: Jada Bennett of the Brooklyn Cyclones

Christine Stoddard on February 8, 2024

The following is an excerpt from an episode of the TV talk show “Badass Lady-Folk,” featuring guest Jada Bennett, a dancer, singer, actress, and Brooklyn Cyclones entertainment coordinator based in Bay Ridge. Hosted by Christine Stoddard and filmed at Manhattan Neighborhood Network, “Badass Lady-Folk” is a feminist talk show that originated on Radio Free Brooklyn, where it airs on Fridays at 9am.

This transcript has been edited and condensed for print purposes:

Christine: You’re  watching  “Badass  Lady  Folk.”  I’m  your  host,  Christine  Stoddard  and  this  episode,  my  guest  is  Jada  Bennett.  Hi,  Jada!

Jada: Hi,  Christine!

Christine: It’s  so  wonderful  to  have  you, Jada.  Actress,  singer,  Brooklyn  Cyclones–what  is  your  title  there?

Jada: [I’d put it as Entertainment Coordinator and Captain of the Surf Squad.]

Christine: Yeah,  so  we  met  at  “The White  Blacks” [at Theater for a New City]  which  is  a  production  that  has  come  up  on  this  show  a  couple  different  times  because  I  had  Melanie  Goodreaux, the  writer-director  on.  When  I  met  you  at  that  production,  I  was  immediately  struck  by  your  range  because  you  played  a  couple  different  characters and you  also  sang  beautifully in  it.

Jada: Thank you.

Christine: No  one else  really  sang in that show,  so  it’s  nice  to  have  some  singing.

Jada: Yeah,  I  had  to  sing  in  the  audition  for  that  show.

Christine: Were  you  told  you’d  be  singing?

Jada: No,  not  initially. I  auditioned  for  that  show  [in 2022],  and  I  came  in–I  knew  that  the  show  had  already  been  done  before  and  that  I  was  coming  in  and  I  wasn’t  sure  how  many  people  had  done  the  show  before  that  were  coming back.  I  wasn’t  sure how  everything  was  gonna  work  but  I  went  in  and  I  knew  that  I  would  be  playing  a  couple  of  characters,  but  I  also  didn’t  know  the  extent  of  all  of  that. So  I  read  for  both  Raunika–no,  Raunika  doesn’t  have  lines–I  read  for  Gladys  and  Patricia,  only  one  scene  for  each  one, and  they  were  very  different  from  each  other,  and  I  was  like,  “Okay,  all  right,  let’s  roll  with  this.”  That show definitely  tested  how  much  I  could  do  at  once.

Christine: Yeah.  (laughs)

Jada: Because  even  though  I  had  smaller, shorter  time  on  stage,  I  knew  that  I  had  a  lot  to  convey  in  that  short  amount  of  time.  So  I  was  just  making  sure  that  when  I  was  in  that  character, I  was  in  that  character  just  living  in  that  person’s  world  and  making  that  world  as  big  as  I  possibly  could,  so  that  the  words  that  I  was  saying  still  had  the  story  behind  them.  Yeah,  that  was  a  lot  of  fun. I  would  do  that  show  again  in  the  heartbeat.

Christine: Yeah,  that  was  a  beautiful  show.  So  then  during  the  audition,  they  were  just  like,  “Hey,  can  you  sing?”

Jada: Yeah,  so  I  was  reading  for  Patricia  and  there’s  a  story– you  and  I  are  in  the  scene  together,

Christine: I’m the mean  white  girl.

Jada: You  were  a  passé  blanc  in  the  street  and  I  knew  you  and  knew  who  you  were. So I  had  to  read  that  in  the  audition.  And  it  said,  “The  hills  are  alive”  because  I  was  singing  “The Sound of Music.” And  so  I  just  went  for  it  and  sang  it, and  they’re  like,  “Fantastic,  great.  So  you’re  gonna  really  sing  this then.” She  was  like,  “Can  you  sing  it?  Can  you  do  it?” So  I  just,  I  sang  it, and  I  went  for  it,  and  she’s  like,  “That  really  did  it  for  us.  So  now  you’re  doing  this  on  the  show.”  I  was  like,  “Sounds  great.”

Christine: So  how  did  you  get  into  acting?

Jada: Oh,  I  mean,  I  have always  been  doing  it  since  I  was  little.  I  was  always  that  kid  that  was,  like,  doing  performances  for  my  stuffed  animals  and  for  my  family. Like,  I  did  it  all  the  time.  I  made  my  little  brother  do  it.  So  I’ve  always  been  around  art.  I  started  as  a  dancer  first.  And  then,  when  I  really  got  into  acting  and  shows  would  have  been  my  fifth  grade  year. I  had  just  moved  to  a  new  town  and  I  met  some  people  and  they  were  doing  the  school  musical  and  so  I  decided  to  do  it  as  well.

Christine: Aw,  so  you  would  have  friends?

Jada: Yeah,  correct. It  was  “Cinderella”  and  I  got  the  fairy  godmother. Ever  since  then,  I  did  every  school  musical,  like,  from  then  on  till  I  graduated. In sophomore  year  of high  school,  I  was  doing  “Hairspray” and  decided  that  I  just  wanted  to  do  it  forever.  So  here  we  are.

Christine: Aw.  So  what  kind  of  dancing  did  you  start  doing?

Jada: I  did  what  every  little  girl  who  did  dance  as  a  little  kid did.  I  started  at  like  two,  three  years  old,  and did  the  same  tap /ballet  combo  class: half  of  the  class  is  tap  and  half  of  the  class  is  ballet.

That’s the end of the excerpt! Watch the full episode at Youtube.com/@badassladyfolk or below. Find out more about Badass Lady-Folk at BadassLadyFolk.com.

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