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ATLANTA — As Mets manager Mickey Callaway attempts to figure out roles for his relievers, this much seems clear: Edwin Diaz will only pitch when there’s a cushion or the team is losing. With Seth Lugo elevated to pitch in the Mets’ highest-leverage situations (including closing), Callaway was asked Tuesday about the possibility of using the struggling Diaz in a setup role. “If things had been going a little bit different for [Diaz] it would make more sense,” Callaway said before the Mets lost 5-3 to the Braves at SunTrust Park. “But right now I think you are going to see him toward the back and we’ll go from there.” Diaz is 1-6 with a 5.60 ERA for the season. Since April 29 he has pitched to a 7.08 ERA. “In a high-leverage situation, the way things are going for him it’s hard to put him in in that spot,” Callaway said. Following Monday’s day off, the Mets had Lugo available from the bullpen to close, with Justin Wilson as the primary setup option but didn’t use Lugo, Wilson or Di...

The winningest pitcher in baseball may have to sacrifice that title to help the Yankees win a championship. Domingo German moved ahead of Justin Verlander by earning his major league-best 16th victory in the Yankees’ 8-3 win over the Orioles Tuesday night, allowing two runs in seven stellar innings in The Bronx. But with German set to surpass his season-high innings total in his next start, Aaron Boone could be forced to disrupt the rhythm of the top starter in his otherwise shaky rotation. “We can do a lot of different things,” Boone said. “It depends where we’re sitting two weeks from now, three weeks from now, four weeks from now. … He’s somebody that we’ll watch closely. You could see his role potentially evolve in different ways as the final month and a half play out.” No scenario — skipping starts, shortening starts, a six-man rotation — will be satisfying to the skipper or starter. Since June 9, German (16-2) hasn’t left a game with a loss, giving him a .889 win percentage,...

The acting director of Citizenship and Immigration Services said on Tuesday that the “huddled masses” poem on the Statue of Liberty referred to migrants who were coming from Europe. Ken Cuccinelli made the statement on CNN Tuesday evening, telling an anchor at the network that the Emma Lazarus poem, “was referring back to people coming from Europe where they had class-based societies.” He added that in the European countries “people were considered wretched if they weren’t in the right class, and it was written one year after the first federal public charge rule was written.” Cuccinelli was responding to a question by host Erin Burnett about him putting his own spin on the poem earlier Tuesday in a conversation with NPR. “Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge,” Cuccinelli said on NPR’s “Morning Edition” while responding to a question about the Trump administration’s updated requirements for getting a green card...

After Nets minority owner Joe Tsai bought the Liberty, he told The Post his main job as owner will be finding a way to put people in the seats. That may mean finding a new home for his team. Or two. A great showing at the gate at Sunday’s one-off game at Barclays Center showed why moving to Brooklyn is at the top of Tsai’s wish list. And sources told The Post there are even discussions of having the Liberty potentially split games between Barclays Center and Nassau Coliseum. “That’s a possibility. Like an Islanders deal,” said a source. The Liberty drew 7,715 for Sunday’s loss to Seattle, four times what they have been averaging since moving to tiny Westchester County Center last season. They had 4,155 fans for an exhibition game against China at Barclays Center in May, and far surpassed that with this WNBA game. A source told The Post there were very few complimentary tickets in Sunday’s crowd, an auspicious sign. However, the concern is whether that crowd is sustainable enough t...

A man from New Mexico was arrested for choking his cat and feeding it methamphetamine, officials revealed on Monday. Aaron Spaulding, 39, was initially arrested on June 4 after cops were called to the home to investigate claims that he assaulted his girlfriend, according to the Las Cruces Police Department. Cops said Spaulding was accused of abusing the short-haired cat “by squeezing it until it cried out.” He also allegedly punched his girlfriend multiple times and stole her cellphone. The animal was sent sent to a veterinarian for testing because cops learned Spaulding may have fed his cat methamphetamines. The cat was given a blood test, which came back positive for meth. The discovery led cops to upgrade one of his initial animal cruelty charges to a felony count. Spaulding had already been charged with false imprisonment, battery against a household member, interference with communication and two counts of animal cruelty. Credit: Source link The post New Mexico man alle...

Even Donald Trump wasn’t this hard on Baltimore. The Yankees won their 15th straight game over the Orioles on Tuesday night, this time 8-3, making another mockery of Baltimore’s pitching. It’s their longest winning streak against an opponent in one season since they won 15 in a row against the Philadelphia A’s in 1954. They’ve now scored eight or more runs in six consecutive games versus Baltimore — all in the last nine days — and are a season-high 39 games over .500 (80-41). And for a change, the Yankees didn’t just do it with their bats. They also got another solid outing from Domingo German, as the right-hander continues to be their most dependable starter. He allowed two runs in seven innings, helping Aaron Boone rest his bullpen a day after a doubleheader — and during a stretch in which the Yankees are playing 19 games in 17 days. On Tuesday, the Yankees immediately got to work against left-hander John Means, with DJ LeMahieu sending his first pitch of the night into the seat...

Meet the new owner of the Brooklyn Nets. Joseph Tsai, the billionaire co-founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, is close to signing a deal to buy the 51 percent of the Brooklyn Nets he does not already own from Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, sources told The Post. The deal is expected to be announced this week, sources said. The $2.35 billion transaction would mark the highest price ever paid for a sports franchise — beating hedge fund owner David Tepper’s $2.2 billion acquisition last year of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, and Tilman Fertitta’s $2.2 billion purchase of the NBA’s Houston Rockets in 2017. Tsai already owns 49 percent of the team, which he bought for $1 billion last year. At that time, the 55-year-old businessman locked in the right to buy the remaining 51 percent of the team before the 2021-2022 basketball season, for an additional $1.35 billion. If Tsai signs off on the deal, he’ll be exercising his right to buy the remaining 51 percent of the team from Prokh...

President Trump on Tuesday visited a massive new plant in western Pennsylvania that converts the region’s huge natural-gas deposits into plastics — saying; “This would have never happened without me.” Trump spoke at Shell’s nearly completed Petrochemicals Complex in Monaca, which will provide hundreds of jobs to the struggling region near the Ohio border. But critics claim it also will become the largest air polluter in that part of the Keystone State, an area hit hard by manufacturing job losses and hungry for investment. Trump said his administration was “restoring the glory of American manufacturing” and making the nation energy independent. “We don’t need it from the Middle East anymore,” Trump said of oil and “clean, affordable, all-American natural gas,” adding that the plant’s union employees were “the backbone of this country,” sparking chants of “USA! USA!” from the plant’s workers. Trump also repeated a joke at the expense of environmentalists who criticized the new fac...

He gets it. Antoine Bethea, entering his 14th season in the NFL, understands how attached Antonio Brown is to his old helmet. “I definitely get where he’s coming from as far as comfort, feeling comfortable with what he knows,’’ Bethea told The Post on Tuesday. Unlike Brown, though, Bethea would never threaten to quit playing over a helmet. “Nah, I ain’t gonna say that,’’ Bethea said, “but I get the argument.’’ Brown, the combustible Raiders receiver, said he would quit if he is not able to wear a helmet that is not certified by the league because it is deemed unsafe. Brown lost his grievance case with the NFL and now says he will not retire. “I’ve had to change my helmet a few times,’’ said Bethea, a 35-year-old safety in his first year with the Giants. “Obviously with the concussions and the testing and things of that nature some helmets passed, some helmets failed. It’s that borderline between being safe and feeling comfortable. I get it. “It’s just like clothes. Some jeans y...

The merger of CBS and Viacom has staffers bracing for layoffs — but the companies are keeping mum about when and where they’ll wield the ax. “The bigwigs are concerned for their jobs,” said a CBS source, explaining that corporate-level execs, like those with human resources, communications and ad sales, are concerned their jobs could be eliminated if they overlap with similar posts at Viacom. On a conference call Tuesday, execs said the merger would save money, but stopped short of saying whether jobs would be part of the equation. CBS Chairman and Chief Executive Joe Ianniello mentioned “cost synergies” that would include subscriber growth of the companies’ streaming platforms, Showtime Anytime, CBS All Access and Pluto TV. If pink slips are handed out, they would come after the deal closes, which sources say could happen as soon as September given that Shari Redstone’s National Amusements Inc. has the power to fast-track the deal’s closing if it doesn’t meet any regulatory opposi...

Andrew Luck will likely miss the rest of the preseason with an injury near the front of his left ankle. Colts general manager Chris Ballard says he isn’t sure if the injury will keep Luck out of the Sept. 8 season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. “We’re three-and-a-half weeks away from regular season, so I’m not ready to say (Luck’s regular-season opener is in jeopardy),” Ballard told reporters on a conference call Tuesday night. Indy’s starting quarterback has been dealing with lower leg pain since straining his left calf in March. Luck missed all of the team’s offseason workouts and has not participated in any full team drills at training camp. Ballard spoke to local reporters on a conference call after team owner Jim Irsay told SiriusXM that the Colts believed Luck had injured a small bone near the back of the ankle. But Ballard says additional testing determined the bone was not the cause of Luck’s pain. Former NFLer Chad Ochocinco had and, um, unconventional thought ...

A 14-year-old girl vacationing with her family at Glacier National Park in Montana was killed Monday when rocks came tumbling down on their moving vehicle. The family, from Utah, were riding on Going-to-the-Sun Road when a number of rocks rained down from the mountain and onto their vehicle at about 7 p.m., according to a Glacier National Park release. The rocks, ranging from “fist-sized” to “12-inches in diameter,” landed on the roof and shattered the rear windshield, the release said. The teen’s parents and two other children in the vehicle were also injured in the incident. Paramedics attempted to take the girl to a hospital, but she died on the way there. Her parents, who suffered serious bruises, and the two other children were hospitalized. Officials are withholding the victim’s name pending proper family notification. In 1996, another person was killed by a rockfall on the same road, the release said. Credit: Source link The post Teen girl killed by falling rocks in G...

The Pelicans had started last season 4-0 when their starting point guard, Elfrid Payton injured his ankle. Nothing went right thereafter, including Anthony Davis’ demand to be traded. Elfrid Payton Sr., a Louisiana native and former star defensive end in the Canadian Football League, believes Pelicans history would have changed had his son not gone down. Payton played just one game from Oct. 29, when he sprained his ankle, to Dec. 31. After returning from the ankle sprain on Nov. 16, he broke his middle finger in a game against the Knicks. “I honestly believe if Elfrid doesn’t get hurt and stays healthy, they were making the playoffs,’’ Payton Sr. told The Post in a phone interview from Gretna, La. As it happened, the domino effect from Payton’s injuries led him to the Knicks. After the season, New Orleans traded Davis to the Lakers, with point guard Lonzo Ball coming to the Pelicans in the deal. That made Payton a luxury and he wound up signing a two-year, $16 million deal with ...

President Trump once boasted he was “tariff man” — but now wants to play Santa Claus. Christmas came early this year when Trump administration trade officials said they would delay imposing tariffs on a series of popular consumer goods — just in time for the holidays. Costly tariffs that were to be imposed on cellphones, laptops, toys and other hot gift items starting Sept. 1, will now take hold on Dec. 15 instead, according to the announcement by the office of the US Trade Representative. The delay gives retailers time to stock up ahead of the holidays — and delay passing on any price increases to consumers until 2020. Wall Street rejoiced by sending shares of iPhone maker Apple up 4.2 percent, making it the biggest gainer on the Dow. Gadget seller Best Buy’s shares shot up 6.5 percent as other tech toys, including video game consoles, were added to the delayed list. The Trump administration also made allowances for some popular winter items like gloves, sweaters and outerwear —...

Highlights from the Giants practice on Tuesday: Something good Jabrill Peppers came up with a sideline interception off Kyle Lauletta, continuing his trend of being around the ball. Peppers is an animated presence on the field and puts in a full day’s work. It is imperative the Giants keep him fresh and healthy, because he will fill a huge role in the defensive package. Something bad Sometimes the difference between an injury and no harm done is a few inches or a second or two. Eli Manning’s deep pass for Cody Latimer fell incomplete when CB Janoris “Jackrabbit’’ Jenkins leaped with Latimer to knock the ball away. Jenkins went down awkwardly and then walked gingerly to the side. “He’s fine,’’ coach Pat Shurmur said. “Just a boo-boo.’’ Caught my eye With overcast skies and rain in the forecast, the Giants could have played it safe and gone inside to work in their field house. But that would have prevented fans from watching the final practice of training camp open to the public. ...