Free Republic

Former Mets manager Bobby Valentine lost his bid to become the mayor of Stamford, Conn. on Tuesday — and blamed the press for the loss citing all the “lousy” coverage. Democratic state Rep. Caroline Simmons appeared to win the race — though the Associated Press warned the contest was too tight to call and could be decided by outstanding absentee ballots. Vote totals and percentages were not immediately available from Connecticut officials because of a technical glitch that hit that state’s elections results website, NBC’s affiliate there reported.

NEW YORK -- According to The New York Times, Bobby Valentine suffered minor injuries to his knees and hip riding his bike in Central Park on Tuesday afternoon. The Red Sox manager was reading a text from second baseman Dustin Pedroia, informing the manager that he would play despite a broken finger, and according to the newspaper, when he looked up from the text, he had to avoid a collision. From The New York Times: On the wet, slippery path, Valentine was reading a text on his phone from Dustin Pedroia, the Red Sox second baseman, and riding his bicycle....

<p>NEW YORK (AP) -- Manager Bobby Valentine was fired by the New York Mets on Tuesday, two days after they finished last in the National League East and two seasons after the team reached the World Series.</p> <p>The team put together a $95 million payroll last winter, bringing in Roberto Alomar, Mo Vaughn, Roger Cedeno and others, but it struggled all year and was embarrassed by accusations last month that at least seven players were smoking marijuana this season.</p>

The New York MessMarvelous Marv - Don't Phone Home (You Don't Want To Know...) by Jeff Kallman "To be a Met fan," wrote Rick Moody, leading off a 2000 World Series postmortem, "is to be preoccupied with underdogs, and therefore to love and doubt equally." Easy for him to say. But let's see what Moody has to say now, with our Mets deep enough in the tank to be unable to see the bottom of the water level ball without a telescope, and on their 40th anniversary to boot.The 2002 Mets seem bent on ending the season in fifth place, which translates today to...

NEW YORK (AP) -- At least the New York Mets got to go home as winners. ADVERTISEMENT   Select Make and Model ------- Zip:   Pinch-hitter Mike Piazza hit a three-run homer and Mets ended their NL-record home losing streak at 15 by beating the Florida Marlins 11-5 in the second game of a doubleheader Tuesday night. Raul Gonzalez homered and tied a career high with three hits as the Mets won for the first time at Shea Stadium since beating the Houston Astros 10-0 on July 31. Their 3-2 loss in 12 innings in the first game set the...