Andy Martino

New York

Sports Reporter at SportsNet New York (SNY)

Yanks/Mets at SNY. Wrote Cheated and Yankee Way for @doubledaybooks. Cheated: “One of the best books about American sports I’ve read in years.” -Paul Auster.

Articles

Yankees ace Max Fried finds words inadequate to explain a subtle artistry

1 week ago | sports.yahoo.com | Andy Martino

Watch Max Fried pitch when you haven’t focused on him much before. He comes out throwing a fastball at 89-90 mph, and you’re thinking, uh-oh. You knew he was a crafty lefty, but you didn’t think he was a touch-and-feel guy, a soft tosser. You wonder if he is injured. AdvertisementYou keep watching and it begins to make sense. Fried stays at 90 for a bit, then pushes it to 92. But this is not a pitcher loosening up in typical fashion. He might touch 94 and then retreat to 91.
Mets Mailbag: Is a trade for bullpen help coming?

1 week ago | sports.yahoo.com | Andy Martino

SNY's Andy Martino is responding to and breaking down answers to Mets questions from readers. Here's the latest... Yes, my understanding is that the Mets are looking to trade for lefty bullpen help after the injuries to A.J. Minter (lat strain) and Danny Young (elbow). Most estimates have Minter out until September. I’ve heard some cautious optimism that it could be August. Young, unfortunately, appears headed for season-ending UCL surgery.
The Yankees appear to be making a temporary change at closer

2 weeks ago | sports.yahoo.com | Andy Martino

1 / 2The Yankee fans who chanted “We want [Luke] Weaver” as Devin Williams struggled on Friday night might get their wish. The bet here is that Williams will be taking a break from his job as the team’s closer. After Williams blew a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning en route to a 4-2 loss to Toronto, manager Aaron Boone was twice asked if Williams would remain his closer. Both times, the manager said that it was too soon after the game to decide.
Reporting from a strong Mets homestand on Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Clay Holmes, Hayden Senger, and velocity dips

1 month ago | sports.yahoo.com | Andy Martino

The Mets completed a 5-1 homestand on Wednesday that solidified their early weeks of the 2025 season as successful. Here is reporting from their first six games at Citi Field in 2025:The Mets are not close to optioning Brett Baty back to Triple-A, according to sources, and that’s probably the right call. Why not take Baty on the road, away from the booing fans at Citi Field, and see if he can start to hit as he did in spring training?
Yankees' Adam Ottavino explains how playing winter ball -- and being a relief pitcher -- prepared him for a future as an MLB manager

1 month ago | sports.yahoo.com | Andy Martino

Adam Ottavino had been looking to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic for many years before finally doing so after last season. The opportunity came at a perfect time: Not only did Ottavino, 39, want to extend his distinguished pitching career, but he saw a chance to deepen his cultural understanding in a way that would one day make him a better MLB manager.
Yankees’ post-Juan Soto offense is good -- with one lingering issue

1 month ago | sports.yahoo.com | Andy Martino

You don’t have to talk to many folks in the Yankees clubhouse to hear whispered admissions that the team misses Juan Soto and wishes he were still around. Who wouldn’t feel that way after losing arguably the best left-handed hitter in the game, and a nice young man to boot? But four games into the season, it is becoming evident that while the team thinks about its erstwhile mate, the 2025 lineup is dynamic, not to mention deeper and more athletic.
David Stearns explains his thinking about a perceived Mets’ weakness, the starting rotation

1 month ago | sports.yahoo.com | Andy Martino

HOUSTON -- It is a straightforward question, the one asked most by Mets fans at the beginning of this promising season: folks want to know if the starting rotation is good enough. Or, more pointedly, they want to know why the Mets did not do more to build a name-brand rotation after investing so heavily in a top offense. Clay Holmes on Opening Day, they say. Griffin Canning in Game 3. Really? AdvertisementIt’s a fair question -- and it’s not just the usual internet knuckle draggers asking.
Clues emerge about how Carlos Mendoza will manage Mets’ early-season roster

1 month ago | sports.yahoo.com | Andy Martino

HOUSTON -- Two games into the season, we have gathered some data on how Mets manager Carlos Mendoza will approach game strategy with his new roster. Friday’s 3-1 win over Houston allowed Mendoza his first opportunity to deploy his current group of high-leverage relievers. He chose to bring in Reed Garrett to bail Tylor Megill out of a jam in the sixth, new acquisition A.J. Minter in the seventh, Ryne Stanek in the eighth and Edwin Diaz in the ninth.
Opening Day Mets insights from Juan Soto and Clay Holmes

1 month ago | sports.yahoo.com | Andy Martino

HOUSTON -- Juan Soto was clearly angry, and you love to see it. What artist is ever happy with what they make? This is the curse of greatness. The Mets clubhouse after their 3-1 Opening Day loss to the Astros was appropriately calm, fine, confident, whatever. It’s just one game. But then there was Soto, agonizing over his at-bat against Josh Hader. “He got me,” a downcast Soto said of the game-ending strikeout that stranded the tying runs on base.
Mets Opening Day Mailbag: Is Kodai Senga on a pitch limit, can Brett Baty 'Wally Pipp' Jeff McNeil?

1 month ago | sports.yahoo.com | Andy Martino

SNY's Andy Martino is responding to and breaking down answers to Mets questions from readers. Here's the latest... I’m told that all Mets starting pitchers, including Senga, will be on a somewhat limited pitch count in the early part of the season. This isn’t Senga-specific, though he might be built up a bit less than the others.