Category: News

All Mets pitchers making most of opportunity

PHILADELPHIA — Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner was in a hurry, running late to a meeting as the Mets prepared for batting practice before their game against the Phillies on Friday night.

With questions to ask, we turned to the assistant pitching coach.

The person holding that unofficial title for the Mets has won three Cy Young awards and needs one win to reach 200 for his career.

“You’re not far off, because I am older than Hef,” said 38-year-old Max Scherzer, nodding in approval at the assistant pitching coach moniker.

Carlos Carrasco, in recent days, hit the injured list with an oblique strain and Taijuan Walker is now dealing with a bulging disk in his back that still had him questionable for his Sunday start. The Mets will play a doubleheader on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park, in which they will deploy David Peterson and Trevor Williams in some order as the starting pitchers. If Walker can’t pitch Sunday, Jose Butto from Triple-A Syracuse might make his major league debut.

From Scherzer, we wanted to know if he thought the Mets’ success this season plugging the rotation had toughened that unit. After all, the Mets were without Jacob deGrom for four months to start the season and Scherzer himself was sidelined for nearly seven weeks.

The assistant pitching coach agreed with the premise, but thought it could be stated differently.

Max Scherzer
Max Scherzer
N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg

“Different guys have had an opportunity to step up and contribute to this team,” Scherzer said before the Mets’ 7-2 victory. “Trevor Williams, Tylor Megill and David Peterson in particular, those guys have answered the call more often than not and they have gone out there and delivered really good outings for our team and those guys going out there and getting an opportunity to showcase what they can do, that is a credit to their work behind the scenes and everybody around them to allow them to perform at a high level.”

Their chief NL East competition, the Braves and Phillies, added starting pitching at the trade deadline, but the Mets stood pat, instead focusing on platoon hitters and the bullpen. The Braves got Jake Odorizzi and the Phillies traded for Noah Syndergaard, who is receiving extra rest this weekend and won’t face the Mets.

In determining that deGrom’s return would be enough of a trade deadline boost, the Mets banked on Peterson, in particular, as their best line of defense against a rotation gap. The left-hander has pitched to a 3.30 ERA in 18 appearances for the Mets this season, 14 of which have been starts.

“I think he’s at the phase of his career where now he is trying to truly establish himself and be consistent, have three pitches every single outing and be able to throw strikes on a consistent basis,” Scherzer said. “He’s identified something he wants to get better at, and he is going out there and doing something about it.”

Williams has shuffled between the rotation and bullpen, and his best success has occurred in relief.

“He has been the Swiss Army knife of this team and for this pitching staff,” Scherzer said. “Whether it is pitch in relief, pitching long out of relief, making spot starts, I guess fans don’t understand how difficult that is, that is an extremely difficult role to fill because you don’t know when you are going to pitch.”

It’s clear Scherzer is enjoying himself almost as much on his days between starts as when he is pitching. This staff has coalesced, with Scherzer perhaps the glue that has strengthened the bonds the tightest.

But Scherzer won’t take that credit alone. In the bullpen, there are veterans Adam Ottavino and Tommy Hunter (set to return from the IL on Sunday). Chris Bassitt, who shined in the series opener Friday, is an ace at reacting to what he sees from the opponent, according to Scherzer, and imparts that to other members of the pitching staff.

Scherzer has his own approach, especially with younger pitchers such as Peterson and Megill.

“The young guys, it’s trail crumbs,” Scherzer said. “You can’t give them the whole cookie. You have got to give them little crumbs and just take one little thing at a time, like, ‘You need to do this to get from here to there.’ That is the hard thing when I am talking to young guys is just to take it gradually, because they want the cookie. They want to know everything and they don’t realize you have got to do one thing at a time.”

Solid advice from the assistant pitching coach.

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Massapequa loses to Honolulu in Little League World Series opener

The Massapequa Coast Little League team was shown no mercy — at least until the end — by its opponent in its Little League World Series opener Friday night in South Williamsport, Pa.

Honolulu Little League started the game with a literal bang and tossed a combined no-hitter in a 12-0 trouncing of the Long Island club.

Honolulu’s Keko Payanal rounds first after hitting a two-run home run off Massapequa’s , Danny Fregara (5) during the fourth inning Friday night.
AP
Honolulu’s Jaron Lancaster, right, rounds first after hitting a solo home run off Massapequa’s Danny Fregara (5) during the third inning Friday night.
AP

The game ended by mercy rule after the fifth inning, as Honolulu scored in each frame.
Honolulu’s leadoff hitter, shortstop Kekoa Payanal, knocked pitcher Joey Lionetti’s third pitch of the game over the left-field wall for a home run, giving his squad a quick 1-0 lead.
In the second inning, first baseman Tau Purcell drove home Cohen Sakamoto with an RBI single to give Hawaii a 2-0 advantage.

Initially, Massapequa staved off a potential offensive onslaught with decent outfield defense.

Heading into the third inning, they replaced their ace, Lionetti, on the mound with Danny Fregara, in the first of three pitching changes.

Honolulu’s star pitcher Jaron Lancaster had seven strikeouts in just three innings before he gave way to Sakamoto, who finished the game.

Lancaster led off the third inning with a home run over the center-field wall making it 3-0.
In the fourth inning, Honolulu scored three runs. Payanal connected for his second home run, a two-run shot. Lancaster tripled to deep center, then scored on a wild pitch to make the score 6-0.

In the top of the fifth, Lancaster added an RBI on a sacrifice fly as the Honolulu juggernaut added six more runs, with, officially saying aloha — for the night anyway.

Massapequa will play its next game in the double-elimination tournament on Sunday (2 p.m., ABC) against the winner of a Saturday night game between the teams from Hollidaysburg, Pa., and Middleboro, Mass.

Honolulu will get to rest until Monday night, when it faces the team from Pearland, Texas.

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Kaitlin Armstrong’s lawyer asks court to suppress murder evidence

Lawyers for the Texas yoga teacher accused of murdering a romantic rival say evidence in the case against her should be tossed because she was not read her rights when she was first questioned by police.

Kaitlin Armstrong was interrogated and released by Austin police on May 12, a day after her Jeep was seen at the home where professional cyclist Mariah “Mo” Wilson, 25, was found shot to death.

Armstrong then went on the lam for 43 days before being arrested in Costa Rica, where she was recovering from cosmetic surgery.

The 34-year-old murder suspect asked to leave her May interrogation five times before her request was granted by a cop who believed her arrest warrant was invalid because the document and the department’s system had differing date of birth’s for the murder suspect, authorities told Fox News.

Kaitlin Armstrong’s lawyer claims evidence against her must be thrown out because she was not read her rights.
City of Austin Police Department

In a motion for an evidentiary hearing filed Wednesday, defense lawyer Rick Cofer argued that cops also never read Armstrong her Miranda rights. As a result, the lawyer said prosecutors must suppress evidence improperly gathered against his client, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Cofer’s motion reportedly includes a transcribed interview with Armstrong’s boyfriend Colin Strickland, 35, where he told detectives that his girlfriend was unhappy about a fling he had with Wilson when he was separated from Armstrong.

“Kaitlin did call her and pretty much just said, ‘Hey, do you know that I pretty much live at Colin’s house’ — or I don’t know exactly what was … I didn’t really dive in,” the interview transcript from Strickland reportedly said. “But I do know she called her, and Mo was like, ‘That was really weird.’”

Armstrong is accused of killing professional cyclist Mariah “Mo” Wilson, who was romantically linked to her live-in boyfriend, pro cyclist Colin Strickland.
Instagram / Moriah Wilson
Strickland told police that Armstrong was jealous of Wilson but didn’t think she was “capable” of murder, defense lawyers said in a Wednesday evidentiary hearing.
Flo Bikes

On May 14, a tipster told police that Armstrong told them she was so angry about Wilson’s fling with Strickland that she wanted to kill her, authorities said. Cofer claims that police never determined that the caller was credible.

“The caller’s connection to or involvement in the killing of Ms. Wilson is currently unknown,” the lawyer wrote in the motion, according to the newspaper.

He also reportedly claimed that “the affidavit completely mischaracterized and falsely stated Mr. Strickland’s words to fabricate a theory of jealousy as a presumed motive for the murder,” adding that the boyfriend told police directly he didn’t think Armstrong was the killer.

“Do I think Kaitlin could kill somebody? No, I don’t,” a transcript from an interview with Strickland reportedly read. She never mentioned wanting to physically hurt Mo. … I don’t believe in any way she’s capable of that.”

After being released by police, Armstrong flew to New York City and fled upstate before using a fake passport to fly from Newark to Costa Rica, where she stayed at hostels and taught yoga classes before her arrest nearly six weeks later.

When Armstrong was picked up by US Marshalls in Santa Teresa Beach she had a bandage over her nose and bruises on her eyes, and was in possession of a $6,350 receipt for cosmetic surgery, according to sources and witnesses.

Police said she had shot Wilson dead after following Strickland when he had snuck off to see her. The murder weapon was a gun Strickland had bought for Armstrong to use, he told officials.

Armstrong had been shooting the gun at a range before the murder and had access to nearly a half million dollars before she fled Austin, police said.

She has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges.

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Kathy Hochul says shooting contests staying despite new gun law

Residents of upstate New York are fearing another legislative misfire by Albany Democrats who restricted concealed weapons earlier this year in response to a controversial decision by the Supreme Court.

Rural residents have been up in arms since lawmakers passed legislation at the end of June banning firearms at a long list of venues including “sporting events” — which a prominent Democrat suggested would include gun competitions.

“I guess that’s covered by this,” Assembly Codes Committee Chair Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx) told Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh (R-Saratoga) after she asked about the matter during a June 30 legislative debate.

“A lot of times New York is trying to be first — the first to poke back at the US Supreme Court because they didn’t like the concealed carry ruling … So [Democrats] tried to be first and then they’re not best. It was sloppy drafting,” Walsh told The Post.

Reps for the bill sponsors — Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins — did not respond to requests for comment.

A petition to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul circulated by shooting enthusiasts has received more than 3,300 online signatures.
Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

But Dinowitz’s comment has led to lingering worries that Albany Democrats are shooting down a beloved pastime promoted by dozens of high schools teams from the Hudson to Lake Erie.

A petition to Gov. Kathy Hochul — who signed the legislation into law soon after it passed — circulated by shooting enthusiasts has received more than 3,300 online signatures.

“We’ve got musical kids, we’ve got kids that are in a bunch of sports,” McKenna Coniber, 17, told The Post about the LeRoy Trap Shoot Team in western New York. “It’s something you can do while playing another sport. It’s a great activity for everybody. It’s a male or female, whatever, whoever.”

Coniber shoots a Remington 11-87 shotgun every weekend with her dad and wants to become the best teen around when it comes to blasting clay pigeons with a 12-gauge.

While shooters and hunters are not always the same people, the Hochul administration says a carveout in the new law for the latter ensures shooting competitions will remain legal.

“Trap shooting, just like target shooting, is considered a hunting or hunter education activity,” Hazel Crampton-Hays told The Post, citing guidance about the new laws from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.

But the final answer to Walsh’s question hinges on regulations that are currently being developed ahead of the official implementation of the new restrictions on Sept. 1.

“Additional guidance related to facets of the new law is being developed by the state and will be released publicly once it is finalized,” Crampton-Hays added.

“Under the law, these shooting activities, including target shooting at ranges, will continue to be legal and allowed,” state police spokesman William Duffy said in a statement.

“The state is developing detailed guidance concerning the requirements under the new law. That guidance will be released publicly once it is finalized.”

Uncertainty about the future of shooting sports is hardly the only issue gun lovers have with the new laws, which have also been criticized for supposedly banning hunters from using rifles within the Adirondack Park to bag their prey.

Albany Democrats passed a new gun law earlier this summer in response to a Supreme Court ruling.
New York State 4-H

“The laws were so hastily put together and they’re so ambiguous and poorly written without understanding regarding anything about the culture or cultural heritage of upstate New York,” Tom King, president of the New York Rifle and Pistol Association, told The Post Thursday.

King’s group won the case in which the Supreme Court struck down a century-old state law that required applicants for a concealed weapons permit to prove to officials they have good reason to carry.

Democrats responded by passing the new gun control law, which might transform a legal victory for gun rights at the national level into a loss for shooting sports in the Empire State.

“It’s near and dear to my heart because this is what I do on the weekends,” Assemblywoman Marjorie Byrnes (R-Finger Lakes) told The Post.

“There is so much uncertainty as to what is or isn’t happening,” she added. “Nobody knows how to plan.”

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Stream It Or Skip It?

You ever watch a scene or scenes on a show and rewind to try to figure out just what happened and/or what was said? You tend to do it for one of two reasons: Either the moment was so shocking that you have to take it all in again or the moment was so confusing, you need to decipher exactly what went on. We rewound the last scene of the first episode of Echoes and watched it three times. Sad to say, it wasn’t because we were enthralled with it.

ECHOES: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A woman running through an upscale neighborhood.

The Gist: Gina McCleary (Michelle Monaghan), an author in LA, is very close to her identical twin sister Leni (also Monaghan), who is a horse farmer in Virginia. She calls her sister all the time for advice, and they leave each other messages in an online journal. But she’s getting worried that her usually-responsive sister isn’t returning her calls.

She eventually gets a phone call from Leni’s husband Jack Beck (Matt Bomer) that Leni has gone missing. Without a second thought, Gina flies to her hometown to see where she can help. It’s more than just wanting to help, though; the two of them are so connected that she wouldn’t know what to do if Leni was no longer around.

Gina is as pushy as Leni is relaxed, so when a day’s search ends for the night, she leans heavily on Sheriff Louise Floss (Karen Robinson) to keep looking. The folksy sheriff, who was a deputy when Gina left town under extreme circumstances, knows what she’s been through and relates the story to deputy Paula Martinez (Rosanny Zayas).

Gina goes to the house where she grew up, where her father Victor (Michael O’Neill) lives with her younger sister Claudia (Ali Stoker), who completely resents Gina for leaving. Gina notes that Jack has hired a nanny, Natasha (Maddie Nichols), and moved her niece Mattie (Gable Swanlund) to a different room. In addition, body parts from old creepy dolls her late mother gave her and Leni are missing.

As she goes looking for Leni in some of their old haunts from when they were kids, including a local cave, we find out that Gina is actually Leni; the two regularly switch lives. It seems that the real Gina has run off for good, as a note tells Leni that she can choose either of their lives going forward.

Photo: JACKSON LEE DAVIS/NETFLIX

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Echoes plays like an extremely dumb version of Orphan Black.

Our Take: There were lots of reasons why the first episode of Echoes, created and written by Vanessa Gazy, grated on us. The first was the wooden acting by lots of people who have been excellent in other projects. Monaghan is especially melodramatic as we hear her lyrically write to her sister in this online journal that makes no sense to us. Do only the two of them see it? Or is this public? Don’t they call and text each other all the time? Why communicate in this clunky way?

But she’s not the only one whose performance is stunningly bad. Bomer has an accent that goes in and out, and the usually reliable O’Neill seems to have only slightly modified his usual cantankerous federal agent persona into a cantankerous rancher character. And Robinson’s folksy Sheriff Floss might be a bit too folksy for the tone of this series. It doesn’t help that all of these fine actors are saddled with lines that are either just plain bad or delves in too much exposition. For instance, Gina’s husband Charlie (Daniel Sunjata) says that Jack “feels like he brings your LA drama to his quiet Virginia life,” which just told us where the two sisters live. Oof.

All of this would be fine if the very idea the show is built on made any sense. Why on God’s green earth would these women switch lives so often, which means they spent however much time they’re the other sister’s life lying to their family and friends? And when it’s revealed at the end of the first episode that Gina is really Leni, we’re left scratching our heads; we still weren’t clear which sister Monaghan was currently playing and which left. Her voice over at the end that said, “OK, Gina, welcome back to being Leni, to being me… so I can find out just what you did here… to both of us,” we had to listen to that line 3 times to even come close to figuring out who was who and what Leni is looking to do.

Sex and Skin: None, at least in the first episode.

Parting Shot: See above; Leni comes back to her house as herself, braids in place and self-inflicted bruise on her head. She hugs Jack and Mattie, but her drawl-inflected voice over has her thinking about just what the hell kind of chaos Gina inflicted when she was being Leni for the past year.

Sleeper Star: We’ll give this to Robinson as Sheriff Floss; yes, she may be too folksy at times, but she’s taking the goofiness of the role and running with it.

Most Pilot-y Line: When Charlie, a therapist, asks Gina over the phone if she’s seeing things through a lens of anxiety, Gina replies, “No I’m seeing things through a lens of shit is fucked up.”

Our Call: SKIP IT. Echoes is without question one of the most messy and confusing shows we’ve seen in awhile, and there really seems to be nothing for a viewer to grab onto that would tempt them to move to the second episode after the first is over.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.



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Seal breaks into New Zealand home, lounges on couch

Are you for seal?!

An adventurous young fur seal broke into a New Zealand family’s home — where it lounged around leisurely on the couch and claimed a spare room.

The Ross family, who live less than a mile from the shoreline in Mt. Maunganui, believe their uninvited house guest entered the home Wednesday by wiggling its way through the cat door.

Phil Ross said the intrepid marine mammal likely broke in when his wife left for the gym around 6 a.m.

The seal reportedly got in through the cat flap.
Facebook/The University of Waika

“As she got in the car, something barked from underneath and shuffled away,” he told The Guardian. “She thought it was someone’s dog…and didn’t really think too much of it.”

Jenn Ross returned to the home around 7 a.m., opening the door to find “a cute little seal” in the hallway.

“It got a bit of a fright and humped it’s way down the hallway into the spare room,” Phil Ross said.

The family believes the animal snuck in through the cat door after a testy encounter with their territorial feline, Coco.

“The cat would have gone to defend its territory and obviously the seal wasn’t as intimidated as some dogs are,” Ross explained. 

“So Coco must have bolted around the side of the house, into the cat flap, and the seal must have followed her.”

After exploring the spare room, the pup, whom the family nicknamed “Oscar,” lounged on the couch.

The Ross’ two children, Noah, 12, and Ari, 10, were welcoming to their new “pet” — who amazingly turned out to be a polite house guest.

“They thought it was cool and pretty exciting but were totally oblivious to the fact that…not many of their mates would have seals come to visit them,” Ross said, adding that the mammal didn’t destroy anything in the home or defecate inside.

His wife was eventually able to coax the young seal out to the yard before the Department of Conservation arrived to take the animal back to its proper home in the sea at 10 a.m.

The seal eventually ended up in the spare room.
Facebook/The University of Waika

Ross, who happens to be a marine biologist, told The Guardian that it was not unusual for young seals to roam around in the area.

“I guess, like all teenagers, they don’t necessarily make sensible decisions,” he joked.

But the ocean life expert wasn’t home to witness the break-in.

“The big joke is that this is really the only family emergency where it would be useful to have a marine biologist in the house,” he mused. 

“I really missed my time to shine.”

Coco the cat, meanwhile, is still recovering from the ordeal.

After seeking refuge at the neighbor’s house, she still refuses to go downstairs and is “pretty clearly traumatized.”

Coco the cat is still a bit shaken up by the encounter.
Facebook/The University of Waika

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How to watch, release date, trailer

Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn are back at it!

Season 3 of “Making the Cut” premieres on Prime Video on Friday, Aug 19. The innovative fashion competition series follows various hopeful fashion entrepreneurs from around the globe as they compete to impress judges Gunn and Klum and take their brands to the next level.

Season 3 will be against the backdrop of Los Angeles’s fashion scene, with runway locations including on top of a skyscraper with views of the city skylines, on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and against the desert landscape of Vasquez Rocks. 

In addition to Gunn and Klum, Moschino creative director Jeremy Scott and TV personality Nicole Ritchie will return as judges, and guest judges throughout the season will also include stylist Jason Bolden, fashion TikToker and model Wisdom Kaye, and Grammy-nominated popstars and Beyoncé protegees Chloe x Halle. 

The judges for Season 3 includes Heidi Klum and Nicole Ritchie.
James Clark/Prime Video
The group of 10 fashion hopefuls competing in “Making the Cut” Season 3 to get their designs noticed.
James Clark/Prime Video
Tim Gunn evaluates one of the fashion design hopefuls on “Making the Cut” Season 3.
Amazon Prime Video

How to watch “Making the Cut“

The series is available on Amazon Prime Video. To sign up, click the red button below and prepare to strut your stuff on the runway – or at least, judge other people’s looks. 

When will “Making the Cut” air? 

The season premiere is Friday, August 19 on Amazon Prime Video, which will be available to Prime members upon signing up.

What is “Making the Cut” about? 

The series follows entrepreneurs and fashion hopefuls as they debut their looks in front of a panel of celeb judges, including Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum, who evaluate them.

The winner gets $1 million to invest in their business, and they also get a mentorship with Amazon Fashion.

Fashion designers compete for a $1 million dollar prize and a deal with Amazon on “Making the Cut” Season 3.
Amazon Prime Video
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn on “Making the Cut.”
James Clark/Prime Video

They also have a chance to create an exclusive co-brand with Amazon Fashion, and they can launch their already existing brands in the Amazon Fashion store.

Two episodes of “Making The Cut” debut weekly, and it all culminates in a grand finale on Friday, Sept 9. Winning looks are available for purchase on Amazon Fashion’s Making the Cut store.

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Oswaldo Cabrera picks up first big league hit in Yankees’ loss

On an otherwise dull day for the Yankees’ offense, Oswaldo Cabrera provided a bright spot.

The rookie infielder collected a pair of hits, including the first of his major league career, in the Yankees’ 9-2 loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday night in The Bronx.

“That was amazing,” Cabrera said after his second day in the big leagues. “At that moment, I just was in the sky.”

Cabrera’s first career hit came off Jose Berrios in the fourth inning. He smoked a 107.5 mph line drive to center field and hustled to second for a double. He later added a single in the seventh inning while going 2-for-4.

The 23-year-old Venezuelan said he planned to give the ball from his first hit to his dad Leobardo, who was at Yankee Stadium.

“He’s the person who made this happen for me, and my mom,” Cabrera said. “[My dad] helped me in everything. He’s the type of father who doesn’t buy something for himself, he buys everything for us. He doesn’t care if he’s not eating that night, he’s making sure we get food.”

Cabrera also looked smooth in his first start at shortstop after playing third base in his MLB debut on Wednesday.

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Apple reveals some devices vulnerable to hackers without update

Apple released a new security update Wednesday as the company revealed alarming vulnerabilities that could enable hackers to take control of certain devices, including iPhones.

The company said iPads and Macs operating on older software were also susceptible to hackers.

New security updates for iPhones dating bad to the 6s, all iPad Pro models, iPad Air 2, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and the 7th generation iPod touch are meant to safeguard against such attacks.

The vulnerabilities affect iPhones dating back to the 6th generation.
AP/Richard Drew

Apple said hackers could potentially infiltrate devices through “maliciously crafted web content.”

This means hackers could get “full admin access” to the device, allowing intruders to impersonate the owner and run any software in their name, said Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security.

The announcement has prompted security experts to advise users to update their Apple products, including computers.

“An attacker could exploit one of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected device,” Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency said.

Apple did not disclose how, where or by whom the vulnerabilities were discovered.

With Post Wires



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