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Lacking a traditional baseball background, Newman often fixated on other areas – such as a kids crossword puzzle in the team magazine or particular wording in game notes – and subordinates feared “even the tiniest thing would be wrong,” said one former employee. He had a rule prohibiting employees from chewing gum; one former employee said she'd swallow hers if she heard him approaching to avoid his ire. Newman could be an effective advocate. He would push employees to seek a new job every two years, even if that meant leaving the organization, and would champion employees in their future endeavors, leveraging his connections for those he liked. One woman said she was told during the interview process: “He's an asshole who is terrible to work for, but he can get you where you need to go.” “You come in kind of knowing (that's the deal),” said the woman, who no longer works in baseball. “It's just hard to understand the nuances until you're really in it.” Past and current employees say Newman frequently made inappropriate remarks about women's appearances, offering commentary on how they wore their hair, did their makeup and dressed and even what accessories were acceptable. He told one woman not to wear bright lipstick so as not to bring too much attention to her mouth, going so far as to tell the woman in front of others that her lips “looked too wet.” He criticized another female subordinate's hair, lamenting to her co-workers that it was too unruly for the workplace, and he asked them why she couldn't straighten it. That woman was “smart, very capable, maybe the smartest person on the team, but … he could not get beyond the fact she would not do her hair and it stopped him from thinking that she could move forward,” said one of her co-workers.

The Athletic finds more Wilpon-era organizational dirt. Allegations of inappropriate behavior by Mets employees has been one of the dominant storylines in baseball over the last three months. In January, new GM Jared Porter was fired after ESPN reported that he had sent explicit photographs to a female reporter while he was working for the Chicago Cubs. In February, former Mets manager Mickey Callaway was accused in a report by The Athletic of sending and soliciting lewd photos and making inappropriate comments toward female media members and others who work in baseball. Porter and Callaway were well-known, front-facing members of the organization. Besides those two men were figures whose behavior troubled some Mets employees and contributed to a workplace culture that is now being investigated by a law firm hired by Cohen. There was DeVito, who made unwanted advances toward multiple women, including sending text messages to one employee such as: “I've barely hit on you. So that counts for something.” There was Ryan Ellis, a former hitting performance coordinator; three women previously complained he made aggressive sexual comments to them and sent persistent suggestive text messages. Seven employees (both male and female) told The Athletic that David Newman, the team's chief marketing, content and communications officer (and DeVito's boss), made inappropriate comments to female employees during his first stint with the team from 2005-2018. Upon learning that Newman was slated to rejoin the team in November 2020, two female employees warned Mets president Sandy Alderson about Newman and suggested Alderson examine Newman's previous behavior. The Mets human resources department was supposed to be a firewall against such behavior and a venue for employees who wanted to raise concerns. But more than a dozen people – both male and female – said one of the department's top officials, Holly Lindvall, seemed to prioritize pleasing ownership, which made employees skeptical their complaints would be taken seriously. Allegations against Callaway, Ellis, Newman and others reached HR and/or the Mets' legal department. Yet those three men and others remained in their posts. In an email to employees sent March 19, Cohen announced that the law firm's external review would focus on “sexual harassment, misconduct, and discrimination issues.” That examination, current and former employees say, is long overdue. During the time father and son Fred and Jeff Wilpon owned the team from 2002-2020, prominent figures in the organization created an environment that made employees feel powerless, uncared for and unheard. Their actions felt constant, steady, like a stream of water dripping on bare wood. And eventually the rot set in. https://theathletic.com/2519652/2021/04/16/ive-barely-hit-on-you-inside-a-mets-culture-rotten-beyond-mickey-callaway-and-jared-porter/https://theathletic.com/2519652/2021/04/16/ive-barely-hit-on-you-inside-a-mets-culture-rotten-beyond-mickey-callaway-and-jared-porter/

Ron Hodges, on 42 Day, no less. Twelve years a scrub.

Willets Point wrote: This thread title prompts the earworm "Do you like pina coladas? Seeing Jake in the rain?" For this reason, I'm grateful the game is postponed and this thread will fall away from the front page. I wasn't going for that, but if you insist... If you like tarps over infields Not seeing Jake in the rain If you're hung up on Doppler And clouds you can't ascertain If you like sitting through Mets Yearbook As SNY tries to vamp Then you can handle postponements And get all wet like a champ

Jake slated to pitch Friday, Lucchesi Saturday, Stroman Sunday. Weather permitting.

The veteran defensive specialist catcher is off to Cleveland. His second term as a Met was mostly about providing an alternative to hot-hitting Wilson Ramos for Noah Syndergaard down the stretch in 2019. Impact was minimal.

Off to the Rockies for the middle verse of a Dave Loggins special. https://youtu.be/Gqy4mYkY_Lkhttps://youtu.be/Gqy4mYkY_Lk Cold, wet and white will describe the Coors Field atmosphere as well as many Mets.

Banged. Single-admission doubleheader Friday 6/25.

René Rivera signs with Cleveland. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/04/indians-sign-rene-rivera.htmlhttps://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/04/indians-sign-rene-rivera.html

Nimmo CF Lindor SS D. Smith LF Alonso 1B McNeil 2B Conforto RF Villar 3B Nido C deGrom RHP

No-Hitter of the Week Club, Est. 2021.

McEwing was released in Spring Training 2005. “Do draft picks count in a trade chain?” is a Talmudic-level question.

The Mets don't score for deGrom? Maybe the clouds won't pour it on.

A topic that deserved investigation has been investigated: Deadlines for Topps putting players in new places under new (or old) designations in the ‘70s. https://sabrbaseballcards.blog/2021/04/14/the-deal-with-deadlines/https://sabrbaseballcards.blog/2021/04/14/the-deal-with-deadlines/

Nimmo CF Lindor SS D. Smith LF Alonso 1B McNeil 2B Conforto RF McCann C Guillorme 3B Peterson LHP

Where is Erasmo Ramirez when we really need him?

Pitching in front of nobody last Labor Day at Citi he was hittable, but well supported. https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN202009070.shtmlhttps://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN202009070.shtml

A Met figure in life, unfortunately. Died in prison. https://www.audacy.com/325/news/politics/ap-source-ponzi-schemer-bernie-madoff-dies-in-prisonhttps://www.audacy.com/325/news/politics/ap-source-ponzi-schemer-bernie-madoff-dies-in-prison

Take a hike, Wheeler. Peterson's our guy now.

Nimmo CF Lindor SS D. Smith LF Alonso 1B McNeil 2B Pillar RF Villar 3B Nido C Stroman RHP

Let's sweep two, however few in innings it takes. Stroman vs. Nola vs. normal baseball rules.