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NEW YORK -- The entire season for the New York Mets boiled down to two dates on the calendar: "Super Tuesday" and panic Monday. Terry Collins is coming back confident better days lie ahead. "Maybe we can finish what we started," he said. The manager received a two-year contract extension Monday with a club option for 2016, a move the Mets announced one day after finishing 74-88 for the second consecutive season. Collins previous deal was about to expire, but it became increasingly clear down the stretch that he likely would return. "In many ways, Terry had an outstanding year," general manager Sandy Alderson said. "The team never quit, continued to play hard, continued to play with the resources it had at hand and finished as well as we could have expected." Fielding an inexperienced lineup ravaged by injuries and trades, the 64-year-old Collins kept New York competitive all summer without many of his top players -- including team captain David Wright, All-Star ace Matt Harvey and closer Bobby Parnell. Still, the rebuilding Mets were unable to overcome a 25-40 start and limped to their fifth straight losing record since moving into Citi Field. They edged Philadelphia for third place in the NL East after coming in fourth the previous four years. "We saw some bright things that happened this year with some of our young players. Obviously, weve got some outstanding young pitching coming," Collins said. "Were going into spring training with very, very high expectations. Its time to put some wins on the board." New York did just that during an encouraging stretch that began June 18, the day touted pitcher Zack Wheeler was called up from the minors and leadoff hitter Eric Young Jr. was obtained from Colorado. In a doubleheader dubbed "Super Tuesday" by a city tabloid, Harvey and Wheeler pitched the Mets to a sweep at NL East champion Atlanta. From there they went 33-26 through Aug. 20, while Youngs much-needed speed sparked a stagnant offence on his way to the National League stolen base crown. But the following Monday, Aug. 26, Harvey was shut down with a partially torn ligament in his right elbow that left his status for next season uncertain. He hopes to avoid Tommy John surgery with a strengthening and throwing program, though the Mets dont sound too optimistic. "Certainly losing Matt was a shock to the system, and I think emotionally weve all had to recover from that a little bit," Alderson said. "Even if Matt doesnt have the surgery, its going to affect our plan." The plan all along was to compete for a playoff spot in 2014. With about $40 million in player salaries coming off the payroll, the Mets expect to be active in free agency. Desperate for productive bats and a steady shortstop, New York could eye outfielders Shin-Soo Choo and Nelson Cruz. "Im really excited about what we might be able to do this off-season," Alderson said. "Certainly well have more payroll flexibility than weve had since Ive been here." Alderson, Collins and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon are part of the brain trust headed to Florida to begin organizational meetings Tuesday. Alderson said next years budget will be set early on. The Mets own the 10th selection in the June draft, which means they wouldnt have to forfeit it to sign a top-tier free agent who receives a qualifying offer from his previous club. The top 10 picks are protected, eliminating a significant concern. Eager to upgrade in many areas, the Mets nevertheless will keep in mind the bloated contracts they gave to injury-prone Johan Santana and Jason Bay. "Those are cautionary examples of what can happen," Alderson said. "Its great to say, well, we have financial flexibility and then blow it on players deals that dont work out and put yourself right back in the same situation we were in before. At the same time, at some point youve got to go for it. So, having flexibility is great. But at some point youve got to put yourself on the line. And I think what were going to try to do is balance the level of our commitments with the desire to continue to maintain some flexibility going forward. Not just next year, but years after that." Trading some of their ballyhooed minor league pitching might be one way for the Mets to add offence. But that route can be risky. "I find it tough sometimes to trade young guys. And I think that fans identify with the young guys," Alderson said. "Having said that, were at a point now where we are in a position to make a deal for an established player (by) giving up some resources. But we have to be careful that we dont turn a strength into a weakness. And with Matt out, it makes it a little more difficult to give up the two or three guys that we know are right on the cusp." Alderson was encouraged by New Yorks .500 record over the final 100 games and acknowledged that was a significant factor in the decision to keep Collins, who is 225-261 in three seasons as Mets manager. His entire coaching staff also was retained. "Weve got the base. Now weve just got to make sure guys play up to their potential," Collins said. "We have the players to do it. Theyve got to buy into it." The team went 41-40 on the road this year, but both men were dismayed by a 33-48 mark at home that left the Mets a dubious 103-140 at Citi Field over the past three seasons. "I think part of it is the player mix," Alderson said. "Part of it has got to be something to do with the home environment here, whether thats here at the ballpark, whether its in the clubhouse, whether its on 45th and Sixth Avenue. I dont know. There are a variety of factors that were going to have to look at hard, because we cant allow this to continue." Nike Roshe Run Flyknit Dames . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Nike Roshe Run Bloemen . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. http://www.nikerosheflyknit.nl/nike-roshe-one-scho...ne-br.h tml . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. Nike Roshe One Zwart . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Nike Roshe Run Blauw Dames . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak.Chicago Black Hawks 6 Winnipeg Jets 3 – The Blackhawks now lead the season series three games to none and dropped the Winnipeg Jets back below the .500 mark at 10-11-3 with the win. The Jets home record is now 7-6-2. The Hawks dominated the first period, outshooting the Jets 12-2 and taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by Patrick Kane that extended his point streak to nine. It was a power play goal scored on Chicagos second power play of the period. The Hawks took a 2-0 lead at 3:03 of the second on a great shot from the slot by Brandon Saad, but 19 seconds later Andrew Ladd scored his sixth to make it a one goal game. Both those goals came with the teams playing four on four. 29 seconds later, with the Jets penalty over and the Winnipeg now on a power play, Keaton Ellerby scored his first as a Jet to tie the game. It was three goals in a span of 48 seconds. At 11:03 Jonathan Toews regained the lead for Chicago with his 11th of the year, but 2:27 later the Jets again tied the game with a five on three power play goal by Dustin Byfuglien, his sixth goal of the season. Byfuglien has now scored four of the Jets five power play goals over the past four games. His goal streak is at four as is his point streak (5-2-7). He has now scored six goals in the last six games. The Jets outshot Chicago 14-8 in the second. Winnipeg started the third with a couple of chances before the Hawks scored two 2:11 apart to put the game away. Marian Hossa with his 10th and Ben Smith with his third regained Chicagos two goal lead. Patrick Shaarp ended it with an empty net goal, his eighth while Toews ended with a four-point night, his fourth career four-point game.ddddddddddddnbsp;So for the second straight game the Jets fought back to tie the game but could not get the lead. It was another two-point night for Bryan Little, he had one Monday vs Calgary, who now moves into third place in franchise scoring behind Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava Kozlov. Ladd and Byfuglien also had two-point nights for the Jets. Ladd had six shots on goal as did Byfuglien, his second straight six-shot game. “It became evident we have a ways to go,” said coach Claude Noel. “We didnt have enough good players, enough strong players. We lost a lot of battles.” When asked if he was concerned about players not getting up for one of the top teams, “yes, that would be correct,” was his response. Captain Andrew Ladd said post game, “some guys showed up, some guys didnt.” Byfuglien had 28:20 in ice time to lead the team. Little had a tough first period in the face-off department; he got better as the game went on but still finished at 26%. Devin Setoguchi saw only one shift in the third, while for Evander Kane and Blake Wheeler its now 10 games without a goal. Jets close out the three-game home stand Saturday afternoon against Minnesota (TSN Jets, TSN 1290), and then leave on a six-game road trip, all games against Eastern Conference opponents. Saturday could see the return of Mark Stuart who has missed the past 10 games because of injury. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '
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