There’s a gaping hole in the Tuesday morning newspaper now that the New York Times has dropped Joe Sharkey’s weekly column.

With little fanfare and zero explanation for the circumstances surrounding his exit, Sharkey offered a terse goodbye in the final paragraph of his “On The Road” column in the March 31, 2015 paper.

Sharkey wrote about domestic air travel from the perspective of a frequent flier. He wasn’t knee-jerk negative as many who write about the aviation experience seem to be. Over a sixteen-year stretch that included the period immediately after 9-11, Sharkey never failed to file a weekly column. It was a great read for me given my interest in the subject.

Knowing a bit about the day-to-day workings of a major airline, I roll my eyes at a lot of what’s written about aviation both in the mainstream press and by friends on social media who may have had a bad flight experience. Sharkey didn’t engage in that kind of hyperbole although he was plenty harsh in his take on aspects of the business when he had specific examples meriting criticism. Sharkey was great in assessing execution of screening processes by the TSA and was fair-handed in breaking down the ever-changing nature of the airlines’ mile-redemption programs.

The Times didn’t explain why it stopped the Sharkey column. Public Editor Margaret Sullivan has made no mention of the sudden removal of such a prominent weekly piece. The now-gutted page Sharkey normally appeared on carried no advisory either on Sharkey‘s last day or Tuesday‘s subsequent.

Sharkey told media writer Jim Romenesko last month that the Times ended On The Road because of constraints in its freelance budget. “Didn’t see this coming, frankly,” said Sharkey in an e-mail to Romenesko.

Today was the third Tuesday newspaper without Sharkey’s column and another regular piece entitled “Frequent Flier” which felt like a companion to Sharkey’s item but was done by another reporter. To fill the now empty space, the Times has run transportation-related news stories but has done so without regard for the familiar placement of the “On The Road” and “Frequent Flier” columns on the same page.

It’s hard to imagine Sharkey’s weekly contribution costing the Times more than what’s it’s worth when you consider the readership the column built over sixteen years. Additionally frustrating is that the Times seems to have no replacement content in mind. This was a subject that consumed nearly a full page of the paper each week and now it’s gone. At least explain in some small way through an editor’s note – or through Sullivan’s bullhorn – what the heck is going on when you shut down a page of your newspaper that people come to expect once a week.

The way it’s explained by people on and near the New York Mets is that Matt Harvey makes the team better in ways that go beyond what he personally contributes every fifth game as a starting pitcher.

Harvey’s dominance on the mound and the way he carries himself off it has created a convincing aura that you read about and feel all the way down Roosevelt Avenue. It’s a vibe that seems to have enlivened and emboldened players and coaches around him – not to mention the Met fandom that’s packing the home park when #33 starts.

I was there Sunday afternoon for Harvey’s outing against the Marlins. The ball park was near full on a cool, sunny afternoon with a brisk wind blowing in. Some fans wore Batman costumes to celebrate Harvey’s love for the comic book and cartoon superhero. It was a great game.

Harvey told reporters after it was over he felt lousy with a sore throat and a poor night’s sleep the night before but that he didn’t want to call out sick. So there he was with his usual 95, 96 mph heat but not much of a slider. He wasn’t Dark Knight invincible but pitched a decent six with seven k’s and no walks. 84 total pitches.

The Met bats went bonkers bottom four and put up a good crooked number. They batted around and then some. 12 batters, seven hits and seven runs including a big, confidence-boost of a knock by backup shortstop Miguel Tejada.

7-6 Mets was the final. It was the eighth win in a row for the Metropolitans. Attendance was announced at 41,234. I sat up in section 508 with my boss and three co-workers. The new boss (not among those pictured above) at the job is a Met fan. He’s distributed baseball and soccer tickets this spring as an expression of appreciation for a collective on-the-job performance metric attained. The way the event Sunday played out actually brought with it a cool co-worker camaraderie vibe that I didn’t anticipate.

The envelope containing my game ticket included a voucher for food and drink which I took advantage of about an hour before first pitch. The spicy brown mustard on the Nathan’s Beef Hot Dog was exceptional for the way it complemented the link.

The Mets seemed unprepared for the big crowds at home this past week. Many of the seats in the promenade level Sunday afternoon were left unclean from the game the night before. Ushers were scarce up high which is fine by me but left some fans on longer-than-usual hunts for their assigned seat. Some concession stands were unmanned. I would think this will get sorted out now that the Mets know their attendance is likely to stay high for the foreseeable future. I thought it was a nice touch when a stadium staffer visited the long line for the men’s room on the first base side of the upper deck Sunday and advised where one could find another bathroom with a shorter wait.

I took the 7 to 82nd street after the game was over and stopped at the taco shop for take-out. As I gazed at Twitter for game recaps, I saw Tweets confirming serious injuries to both Met catcher Travis D’Arnaud and pitcher Jerry Blevins. Both injuries are bad and looked as though they might be when they occurred in Sunday‘s seventh inning. But I still felt seriously bummed in a way I usually don’t feel about sports stuff when I heard Jerry’s arm was broken. In the short time he’s been a Met, I became a really big Blevins fan. He was quietly becoming a crucial ingredient in the team’s success. Now his throwing arm is fractured and who knows how long his recovery will be. Two months at least. It’s a crusher. I think his absence will cost the Mets games.

But the pull of this team only gets stronger with this type of adversity. Something about the 2015 Met team with its great starting pitching and uncertain rotating cast of offensive contributors makes each game something to look forward to.

Go Mets.