The Mets have lost eight of their last nine games, are tied for last place in the NL East through Thursday and are on pace for their sixth consecutive losing season. On Long Island, Anthony Reiber writes fans "can't get jazzed up about anything that's going on" with the Mets right now. They are "what they are -- a sub-.500 team without enough talent or money to be interesting." The "relentlessly promoted postgame 50 Cent concert Saturday will help bring fans in," but "better baseball is the real key to making sure Mets tickets don't soon go for 50 cents on the resale market" (NEWSDAY, 6/13).
NATURAL BORN LEADER: In N.Y., Kristie Ackert reports Mets P Matt Harvey was "voted by his teammates" on Wednesday to be the MLBPA player rep for the team, replacing 2B Daniel Murphy. Several players who were in the clubhouse for the team vote said that Harvey was the "overwhelming choice." They said that Harvey is a "natural leader and they were impressed with his willingness to speak up and speak his mind" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/13).
SLOW DECLINE: In Philadelphia, Sam Donnellon noted Phillies attendance was "down by 261,127" before Wednesday night's game. Meanwhile, attendance for Pirates games is "up 157,368 from a season ago, and the Orioles are up slightly at 26,185." Donnellon: "Those numbers don't precisely offset the Phillies' ticket decline, nor am I suggesting that they represent solely fans from the above locales turning their cars in another direction." Neither the Pirates nor the Orioles are "playing lights-out baseball this year, but, as any good ticket man will tell you, attendance bumps and bruises are largely the result of offseason sales, and based largely on expectations created from the season before" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 6/12).
DO THE SHUFFLE: In Denver, Patrick Saunders noted since late Rockies President Keli McGregor died in '10, the team has "shuffled their front-office duties quite a bit." Rockies Owner Dick Monfort is a "much more hands-on owner now than he was when McGregor was alive." The era of Rockies VP, Chief Baseball Officer & GM Dan O'Dowd, now in its 15th year, has "brought just two playoff seasons" -- '07 and '09. In the first 14 years with O'Dowd, the Rockies have had "just four winning seasons." Saunders wrote the "idea of bringing in an outsider," as the D-Backs did with Chief Baseball Officer Tony LaRussa, "would be a very smart move." The Rockies "need someone with a fresh perspective and real toughness to evaluate the club's direction" (DENVER POST, 6/11).
