Mets fans hoping to scavenge Shea Stadium's dumpsters for memories are fresh out of luck, because the team is selling every nook and cranny of their old house at an online auction. Seriously, everything is for sale. Yankee Stadium has only sold off old seats so far, but plan on seeing more of The House that Ruth Built become a cash cow for the city at the end of October, when the remains are auctioned......

Two days after agreeing to a contract extension with the Mets, Omar Minaya has removed the "interim" from Jerry Manuel's manager title. The Mets and Manuel agreed to a two-year deal with a club option for a third. The team was 55-38 under Manuel's stint as manager. Guess this means no return for Bobby Valentine and post-ejection mustache disguise.......

New York may be going through its first October without baseball since 1994, but that isn’t stopping the local teams from handing out deals to their GM’s. Yesterday, the Yankees brought back Brian Cashman. Today, the Mets announced that they have extended Omar Minaya’s deal for three years through 2012. Minaya, who was signed through 2009 already, could be with the club though 2014 if two club options are picked up. It’s an odd move......

Brian Cashman is staying with the Yankees. Yesterday, Cashman agreed to a three-year contract extension that keeps him in the Bronx until 2011. And, Cashman will have his work cut out for him, as he needs to rejuvenate an aging lineup and rebuild his starting rotation. On the plus side, he has all the Yankees’ money at his disposal, $75 million in expired contracts, and with the move to the new Stadium the money should......

Florida 4 Mets 2: Where do you go from here? While 2008 is not as bad as 2007, the fact is the Mets blew a 3-1/2 game lead with 17 to play. For all the talk about the bullpen, or lack thereof, they managed only five runs during the final weekend series with the Marlins. Some changes have to be made, but it seems stupid not to officially hire the manager who led them to......

Photo from wallyg on flickr Shea Stadium is perhaps most famous as a venue for a memorable Beatles concert and that is a shame. While it certainly doesn’t have the history that Yankee Stadium did and it is an eyesore, Shea has been a witness to plenty of memorable moments. Start with the Mets and you start with the miracle of October 26th, 1986, that ended with one of the most famous plays in......

Mets 2 Florida 0: Johan Santana delivered a legendary start on Saturday. Pitching on three-days rest after throwing 125 pitches, Santana dominated the Marlins allowing only three hits and striking out nine. His 117-pitch complete game was truly pitching at its best. And the Mets needed ever pitch because the offense barely scratched out two runs. Jose Reyes led off the game with a single, stole second and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly. Ramon......

Florida 6 Mets 1: The Marlins jumped out in front in the first scoring two runs and they never looked back. Despite that, the Mets headed into the seventh down only 3-1with a chance. You can guess what happened from there as the bullpen couldn’t keep Florida off the board and the Marlins cruised to the win. The Mets’ loss coupled with the Phillies’ and Brewers’ wins put New York in a precarious position. They......

Hank Steinbrenner won’t like it, but Don Mattingly thinks the Yankees missed Joe Torre this year. Mattingly told reporters, "You listen to them talk, and I don't think they realized what Joe did for them for so long [12 playoff appearances], how special he is at what he does." Mattingly also added, "I think they sort of took him for granted, didn't realize all the things he brings to the table as a manager. You've......

Mets 7 Cubs 6: The Mets are anything but boring. One night after perhaps their worst loss of the season they rebounded with perhaps their best win. Jerry Manuel pushed his luck with Pedro Martinez and paid the price with Martinez allowing the first two runners to reach in the seventh and then Ricardo Rincon came in and gave up a three-run homer. That put Chicago ahead 6-3 and you could sense the despair setting......

Cubs 9 Mets 6 (10 innings): Jerry Manuel took all the questions after the game, but he didn’t have any answers. The Mets jumped out to a big lead and then saw it disappear as they lost one of their biggest games of the year. Don’t blame the bullpen. They held the Mets in the game inning after inning, it was the offense that blew this one. Time after time, the Mets couldn’t get the......

Maybe Mets’ ownership is taking lessons from the Knicks? How else do you explain the news that Omar Minaya is getting a four-year contract extension with the season hanging in the balance? Minaya has done a solid job while running the Mets, but if they do not make the playoffs this year he will have presided over two September collapses. Doesn’t that warrant waiting on a new deal until the season ends? And, if Minaya......

Mets 6 Cubs 2: This is why the Mets had to get Johan Santana. After last September’s collapse, the Mets needed an ace they could give the ball to when they absolutely had to win the game. Santana delivered Tuesday with an 125-pitch effort that lasted eight innings. Santana struck out ten and scattered seven hits. But, Santana’s heroics almost went for naught as the Mets were kept off the scoreboard through the first four......

At least 18 baseball fans were arrested after the last game at the old Yankee Stadium Sunday night, as attendees ran amok trying to grab whatever souvenirs they could get their hands on. We're talking precious mementos such as cup-holders ripped off of seats, which can now be yours on eBay! According to the Post, one fan sneaked onto the field after the game and blended in with the groundskeepers, almost managing to steal third base, some priceless grass and sacred dirt. ...

The Yankees closed Yankee Stadium last night with a star-studded pregame ceremony that ranged from poignant to super cheesy. Dressing up actors as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and other deceased Yankees was ridiculous, but seeing Yogi Berra standing at home plate and wearing his uniform was great. Don Larsen and Whitey Ford helped themselves to some dirt from the pitcher’s mound and Willie Randolph ignited the crowd by sliding into second base. The Murcer family......

Photograph of past and present Yankees on the field before the game by Ed Betz/AP Yankees 7 Baltimore 3: They played a game, but it was the ceremonies that captured all the attention. The Yankees brought back some of the greatest players to ever play for them. From Hall of Famers like Yogi, Whitey Ford, Dave Winfield and Reggie Jackson to fan favorites like Paul O’Neil, Scott Brosius and Tino Martinez and the return......

Photograph by wallyg on Flickr You always remember your first game and for me that would be May 18, 1980. I remember seeing my favorite player, Greg Nettles get a hit and I remember chanting “Re-ggie, Re-ggie” everytime Reggie Jackson came to the plate. Another of my heroes, Bobby Murcer, hit a home run and although the Yankees lost that game, I loved Yankee Stadium. Though the years I have been to a lot......

Yankees 1 Baltimore 0: Mystique and Aura aren’t gone yet. Bases loaded in the ninth with two out and Robinson Cano, of all players, delivered with the game-winning hit. Cano’s single capped a great day at the Stadium and the fans didn’t want to leave, staying for multiple choruses of “New York, New York”. It’s all over tomorrow with the last game ever at Yankee Stadium. Atlanta 4 Mets 2: The good news is that......

Photograph of Jose Reyes crashing into the Braves' Chipper Jones by John Bazemore/AP Mets 9 Atlanta 5: For once it was another team’s bullpen that blew it. Atlanta gave up four runs in the eighth to propel the Mets to victory. Daniel Murphy had a key two-run double to break a 5-5 tie and Jose Reyes and David Wright added RBI’s to provide some insurance. Brian Stokes came in and got the last six......

Photograph of Johan Santana delivering a pitch by Evan Vucci/AP Mets 7, Nationals 2: If Brian Schneider is hitting two home runs with Johan Santana on the mound, things feel as if they'll be all right. Santana, who has a 7-0 record with a 2.26 ERA over his past 14 starts, went seven innings of one-run ball, striking out eight and walking two. Jose Reyes and Daniel Murphy had two hits apiece setting the......

This week’s Sports Illustrated pays homage to The Stadium, The Cathedral In The Bronx, The House That Ruth Built. Tom Verducci, writing as Yankee Stadium itself, recounts some of the things that took place inside the stadium walls - a place that has seen so much history in its 85 years that it truly is an iconic location. From the “Gipper Speech” uttered by Knute Rockne, to Lou Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man” speech. The first overtime......

Mets 9, Nationals 7: No one is surprised that the Mets made this one -- which they led, 7-1, at one point -- into an interesting game. “They’ll make a laugher a tearjerker, that’s what they’ll do," manager Jerry Manuel said of his team. What would have been funny for all the wrong reasons was losing three straight to the last-place Nationals, and the Mets needed all kinds of offense to avoid that. Carlos Beltran......

Washington 1 Mets 0: It wasn’t the bullpen that let New York down on Tuesday, it was their offense. Odalis Perez, who came into the game with a 4.48 ERA, shut the Mets down into the eighth inning. Perez allowed only four hits and didn’t allow a walk. Mike Pelfrey was almost as good, allowing only one run over seven innings. The only run of the game scored thanks to a pair of doubles with......

Photographs of Pedro Martinez, left, and reliever Ricardo Rincon being pulled by manager Jerry Manuel, right, by Nick Wass/AP Nationals 7, Mets 2: Pedro Martinez didn't give the bullpen a chance to blow this one. He labored through six innings, throwing 108 pitches in six innings. He walked four and allowed four earned runs. His ERA on the season: a robust 5.47. Long Beach native John Lannan held the Mets to one hit through......

Patriots 19, Jets 10: Brett Favre got a rousing welcome from the Meadowlands faithful, but after his introduction, things turned sour. The Jets -- who got plenty of love following a Week 1 win -- played a sloppy and uninspired game against the Tom Brady-less Patriots. Whether it be Jay Feely's missing a 31-yard field goal or Favre taking a 20-yard sack, the Jets put forth a C effort. The Patriots defense, as old as......

The Yankees and Mets found a fairly unique way to celebrate the closing of their respective stadiums Saturday, doubleheaders for both teams at home. It has happened twice before in 1997 and 1982 with the Yankees splitting both times and the Mets splitting once and being swept once. Saturday’s results fell along historical precedents. In game one of the Yankees series, Tampa pounded New York 7-1. James Shields kept the Yankees off the scoreboard until......

When the first-place Rays and fourth-place Yankees open a three-game series at Yankee Stadium tonight -- weather permitting -- it will mark the final time the team starts a homestand in the old ballpark. A venue that has seen more dramatic moments than any other will be closed with a whimper after 10 more games. The Yankees sit 8 1/2 games out of a wild-card berth, and their "tragic number" -- the number of combined......

Mets 13, Nationals 10: After a game like this, the Mets can sit back and laugh. But during the contest, they could be forgiven for missing the humor. David Wright's two-run homer was one of his four hits and helped the Mets retake the lead after they blew a six-run advantage. Joe Smith got the win in relief for the second night in a row. Mike Pelfrey lasted five innings but allowed five runs and,......

Mets 10, Nationals 8: Oliver Perez pitched as he did in the first half of the season (poorly), and the Mets were in trouble. Manager Jerry Manuel had to turn to his relief corps with only one out in the fourth inning. So what happened? Nelson Figueroa allowed two inherited runners to score, but, after that, the relievers allowed only one run in 5 2/3 innings. Not too shabby. Joe Smith got the win with......

The bad news: The Mets' closer Billy Wagner needs surgery to repair his torn MCL in his left elbow, which MLB.com writes will possibly end "his season and possibly his career," since recovery time is "approximately one year." The (sort of) good news: Mets fans won't be tortured by his inconsistent outings. General manager Omar Minaya said, "That was a scenario that I was not expecting," and Wagner had said yesterday that he felt a......