In the morning, in a place about as far away from the frat-house clamor of Wrigley Field as you can find, an old friend named Omar Minaya happened to be visiting the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown, sitting in the quiet lobby. 

Minaya spotted a few familiar faces, both of whom extended hands to offer congratulations on the Yankees, for whom Minaya now works as special assistant to GM Brian Cashman. The night before, Minaya’s new team had crawled into a first-place tie with the Blue Jays in the A.L. East. They’d already clinched a playoff spot. 

Access the Mets beat like never before

Don’t miss Mike Puma’s text messages from Queens and beyond — he’s giving Sports+ subscribers the inside buzz on the Mets.

The talk turned elsewhere: to Minaya’s son, the former standout basketball player at South Carolina and Providence, who is in Orlando’s training camp. And to the other team in town. 

“I think the Mets will be fine,” Minaya said of the team for which he served as GM from 2005-2010.