Never Forget 69

Winter Viewing

Lou Di Falco — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Now that the World Series is over, we can get on with the Hot Stove League. But for those of you who can’t go cold turkey over the winter, and need baseball games to watch, here’s what you can do. You will have the opportunity to watch Classic Mets games on SNY. Also, the MLB Network will air classic games as well, and some will likely include the Mets.

If you have the MLB.TV package, you can access the archive during the Winter. Here, I offer a guide to Mets games from 2009 worth watching. One guarantee is the Mets will win every one of these 15 games.

Here’s the breakdown…

Games for the winter…

1- April 6 Cincinnati - Mets win on opening day 2-1 with Santana on the mound.

2- April 15 at Citi against SD – Mets win their first at Citi Field by a score of 7-2. You don’t really want to watch the home opener when Pelfrey gave up a leadoff home run then later fell off the mound do you? Here’s an idea. Watch the introductions from the Citi Field opener on April 13 then watch the game from the 15th.

3- April 18 at Citi against Milwaukee – The Mets shutout the Brewers 1-0 with Santana going 7 innings, Rodriguez with the save.

4- May 1 at Philadelphia – The Mets win their first meeting of the season against the 2008 defending world champions. Pelfrey gets the win to go 3-0 on the season. Putz and Rodriguez close it out.

5- May 12 at Citi against Atlanta – The Mets trailed 3-2 heading to the ninth. Beltran doubled and eventually stole third. Castillo drove him home with a sac fly to tie the game. The Mets won it in the 10th. Check this one out to see how they did it. (With bases loaded, run was walked in)

6- May 23 at Boston – Another pitcher’s duel involving Mike Pelfrey. Burkett started for the Red Sox. The Mets trailed the Sox 2-1. Then in the ninth, an unlikely hero saved the day. It took about 10 minutes to evaluate the ball hit off the top of the Green Monster by Omir Santos. But hold on to your hat as the Mets needed some stellar defense to pull this one out.

7- June 13 at Yankee Stadium – The Mets defeat the Yankees for the only time during 2009. What, you want to watch Castillo drop the popup again? This game was a solid effort from Mets pitcher Fernando Nieve against Andy Pettitte. It’s always nice to see the Mets beat the Yankees, even if only once this season.

8- June 24 at Citi against St. Louis – Blow out. For those of you who don’t like pressure, this is a nice 11-0 blowout of the Cardinals. Sit back and dream about next year sipping a hot chocolate with the snow falling as the Mets pummel St. Louis.

9- July 1 at Milwaukee - Mets shut out Brewers 1-0 again. I don’t know about you but I love these low scoring defensive games.

10- July 2 at Pittsburgh – K-Rod blows 2 run lead in 9th but Mets come back in 10th. It’s a wild one along the river in Pittsburgh.

11- July 11 at Citi against Cincinnati – Santana and the bullpen shut out the Reds 4-0. For all the Mets went through, you can’t blame Santana who turned in another gem, even with bone chips in his elbow.

12- August 18 at Citi against Atlanta – Trailing 4-0, the Mets sent 13 to bat in the fourth, scored 8 runs on 10 hits. Mets win 9-4.

13- September 12 at Philadelphia – Mets score 4 in first but Pelfrey has bad outing eventually blowing the lead. Trailing 9-5 late, Wright hits a two run homer to pull the Mets within two. In ninth with two out, Pagan legs out hit, Wright hits second 2 run homer of game. K-Rod closes it out.

14- September 27 at Florida - The first complete game shutout of the season from an unlikely source, left hand pitcher Pat Misch. Not as pretty as Santana’s from the end of 2008 but a nice win for the Mets.

15- October 4 at Citi Field vs. Houston. Nelson Figueroa closes out the season with the game of his life, shutting out the Astros 4-0. The win was the 70th of the season in the most disappointing of years.

Spring training is just three short months away.

Congrats To Yanks Should Anger Mets

Lou Di Falco — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0500

As painful as it is to admit, the Yankees are quite a franchise. While watching the clinching game, I found myself wondering if Yankee fans count their lucky stars every day. I can’t imagine what it would be like to root for a team that has the history of the New York Yankees.

Think about this. With the win Wednesday night, the Yankees won their 27th World Series. There have been 105 World Series played since 1903. That means the New York Yankees have won 26 percent of all World Series ever played. That is staggering. A quarter of the time, every four years on average, the Yankees win the World Series. The next closest team is the St. Louis Cardinals that have won ten World Series which rounds to 10 percent.

As a Mets fan, it’s tough to swallow. In forty-eight years of history, the Mets have won the World Series just twice. That’s four percent of the fall classics that have occurred since their inception. That’s pretty weak considering the Mets share the same metropolitan area as the Yankees do.

Another startling fact to consider is the Yankees won their fifth World Series in the past 14 seasons. They were in two others when they lost to Arizona and Florida and they made the playoffs in every year of this stretch except last. It is quite a run and really should put to rest any attempt by a Mets fan to start a “Yankees Suck” cheer at Citi Field next season.

While I admire the Yankees accomplishments, all I could think while watching the Bombers celebrate is how much I hope Mets management is as embarrassed and angry as I am. Frankly, there is not much I can do about the disparity between the two clubs but certainly the Wilpons can.

They can continue to spend like a big market club should. Look what the Yankees did last off season. They spent a whopping 405 million dollars on three players that made all the difference in the world. If not for CC Sabathia, J.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira, the Yankees do not win the World Series in 2009. Teixeira gave A-Rod the protection he long sought since joining the Yankees. And the two pitchers stabilized the starting rotation that was the primary reason the Yanks did not make the playoffs in ’08.

The Mets are in a similar situation now. Their rotation needs fortification. But the Mets don’t need a Sabathia, they have Johan Santana. However, they do need a quality number two starter to help support Santana. Plus they need to provide a situation where Maine, Perez, Pelfrey, and Niese must fight for a couple of spots. That kind of competition will determine who has the talent and guts to step up.

The Mets also need a Teixeira type player. Matt Holiday could be that guy. Perhaps he’s not at the exact level of the Yankees first baseman but he’s pretty close and he could offer Wright and Beltran the type of protection that A-Rod has benefited from.

The young fans, the ones who are just discovering baseball, we’ll be asking for Yankee caps this holiday season. Can the Mets afford to stand by and watch another generation of fans go over to the pinstripes? The Mets and their fans know what must be done. Now it’s time to act so that some day soon, the scene we saw at new Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night will play out at Citi Field.

The Future Can Be Bright

Lou Di Falco — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Marty Noble has surely painted a negative picture for the Mets come the 2010 season. It's hard to find fault with anything he has said. And in case you are not familiar with his point of view, all you need to do is read the last couple of Mailbags from Marty on Mets.com.

Marty has covered the Mets for a long time. He is a student of the game, whose insights are always well thought out. But I do think it is fare to say if the Mets can stay injury free next season, it is possible for them to have a bounce back year.

Unfortunately, most opinions in sports writing is based on what have you done for me lately. Once Mets players started dropping like flies last season, it was inevitable the Mets season would end up as it did.

Marty points out the Mets need a catcher, a left fielder, and a number two pitcher. I agree. They also need David Wright to get back to where he was two seasons ago. They need Carlos Beltran to stay healthy for an entire season. They need Jose Reyes to be ready to go by March 1st. And they need pitchers John Maine, Oliver Perez, and Mike Pelfrey to step up and pitch the way they are capable of. If all of these things happen, the Mets could have one mighty fine season. It's tough to assume that all those things will happen but it is possible.

Just as things went haywire last season, it could all come together the next. The one thing the Mets have going for them is they do have talent. The roster does not resemble the 1978 Mets when no matter how healthy the Mets were, it made no difference. The Mets have enough talent that Sports Illustrated predicted they would win the World Series. Personally I think that was a bit of a stretch even if the Mets had not suffered so many injuries. However, they would have contended and they would have likely made the playoffs with the additions made to the bullpen.

At the moment, it's all potential. But it is not out of the realm of possibility that the Mets could turn it all around next year and find themselves in the post season. This idea that the Mets are completely barren and must totally rebuild is a bit of an overreaction because of what Mets fans have just suffered through this past season.

I am not suggesting the Mets do not pursue Matt Holiday, Jason Bay, or whomever. I think they should be as aggressive as possible. At the very least, the Mets should do so to show the fans that they are willing to do what is necessary to get the job done.

We are at the foothills of the hot stove. Fifteen days after the World Series ends this week, players will be declaring their free agency. Even before that, GMs will be laying the ground work for trades to be made. Omar Minaya has no choice but to be aggressive. I believe the slim light at the end of the tunnel that Marty Nobel refers to is brighter than he thinks.

23 Years Ago Is A Long Time

Lou Di Falco — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:00:00 -0400

Today marks the 23rd anniversary of the clinching of the last Mets world championship. That means a Mets fan younger than 20 has never seen the Mets win a World Series.

Each year the Mets do not win extends the longest draught in team history. Mets fans in 1969 only had to wait eight years before experiencing a World Series victory. It was a 17 year gap after that before the Mets won it all again.

The Mets will be heading into their 49th season come 2010. In that time, the Mets have only won two World Series. They have been in four however, the last being 2000 when they lost to the Yankees in five games.

Twenty three years ago this evening, Jesse Orosco chucked his glove high into the night after striking out Red Sox hitter Marty Barrett for the final out. It was a game the Mets trailed early before rallying late to win 8-5.

To put it into perspective how long ago 1986 was, consider the following. The Space Shuttle Challenger had been destroyed shortly after liftoff the previous January to suspend America’s manned space program that year. There was no Internet, at least not as we know it today. Ronald Regan was still president and windows was something you opened to get fresh air. One of the most popular movies of the summer was “Aliens”, the rollercoaster sequel to the 1979 classic. A lot has passed since that evening.

Since then, the Yankees have won four World Series and are about to attempt to win another. The expansion Florida Marlins, who did not exist in 1986, have won two World Series, matching the Mets total. Another expansion club, the Arizona Diamondbacks, also won a World Series since the Mets last did.

Closer to home, the Mets passed through the Vince Coleman/Bobby Bonilla era. Then came Bobby Valentine along with Steve Phillips who brought in Mike Piazza. The Mets got good again and made it to the World Series where they proved to be no match for the mighty Yanks.

The Art Howe era came and went and was a total disappointment before we got Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya. And what seemed so promising after getting so close in 2006 came crashing down since.

Yes, twenty three years is a long time. Cubs fans don’t want to hear it. They have waited over a century now. But we don’t care about them. We care about our team, the Mets, a New York team. The Mets are a team that for whatever reason, cannot seem to sustain success. Each trip to the playoffs is a one-off.

The Phillies are a cruel reminder of what we thought the Mets future was going to be after the 2006 season. It hasn’t happened. Will we see a dominant Mets team in our lifetime, like the one from the 1980s, but one that makes the post season several times in a seven to ten year period? Who knows but I hope it does not take another twenty three years to find out.

A Bad Time To Be A Mets Fan

Lou Di Falco — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:07:00 -0400

I would imagine it must be pretty quiet in the Mets management offices today. All the talk in town is surrounding the Yankees, the Mets' intercity rival. And of course the Yankees will be playing the Phillies, the Mets divisional rival. While the new Yankee Stadium continues to beam with action, the new Citi Field sits quietly waiting for April.

As for Mets fans, the debate continues, root for the Yankees or root for the Phillies. Here’s an idea, root for neither.

Who says it is imperative to root for a team when watching a ballgame? Why can’t we watch baseball without rooting for either club? If you attend an out of town game to take in a ballpark you have never been to, do you really pick a team to root for? I don’t. I often attend minor league games. I enjoy the atmosphere and the price. I don’t root for either team. I just quietly observe hoping to see some good ball played.

So when it comes to the 2009 World Series, I will also quietly observe, not caring who wins or loses. Why bother? For Mets fans, it’s a no win situation. The Phillies and Yankees in the World Series punctuate an already disastrous season for the Mets. If you thought it couldn’t get worse when the season finally concluded, it did.

The fact is I can’t root for either team. How can I possible root for the Yankees? I have been a Mets fan my whole life. I have loathed the Yankees. No matter how hard I might try, I just cannot root for that team. I can’t root for the Phillies either. They have trashed the Mets for a few years now and continue to back it up with great play. They are a true rival for the Mets. There is no way I want them to win.

But alas unfortunately, one team must win. For the Mets and their fans it is a no win/no lose situation. If the Phillies lose, then we can mock their fans. If the Yankees lose, we can mock the Yankee fans. But whoever wins or loses can continue to mock us so what’s the point?

I will not root for either team but I will root for bad weather. A nice icy cold rain storm might make me feel good as I watch the two teams in baseball I hate the most. I’ll sip a hot coco watching the Yankees wear those silly baseball caps with the ear flaps. They remind me of a hat my mother use to make me wear to school when I was a kid. I was so embarrassed to wear it I would take it off and put it in my book bag when I got far enough away for her not to see me.

I’ll laugh at Jimmy Rollins in that goofy ski mask. At least I can enjoy the game of baseball, the summer game, played in likely miserable conditions. As long as TV controls baseball, and make no mistake, they do, the World Series will continue to be played later in the year in the worst possible weather conditions.

But I digress. I guess my bitterness is showing. I’m sure if the Mets were in the World Series I would have no qualms about the conditions. Let’s face it. It’s a bad time to be a Mets fan.

23 Years Ago Today - Game 6, 10th Inning - The Call

Lou Di Falco — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

I first posted this two years ago then published it again last year and decided it would be fun to do again. Actually it took me so much time to transcribe the following, I will publish it every year on October 25th.

Twenty-three years ago today was maybe the most memorable game in Mets history, certainly the most amazing inning in the 48 year reign of this franchise. How much has changed in two decades and three years. The great Bob Murphy is no longer with us. Gary Thorn continues to work for ESPN doing baseball and hockey and is the voice of the Baltimore Orioles. And the broadcast booth where this account emanated from is now gone and replaced with the new Bob Murphy Broadcast Booth at Citi Field occupied by Howie Rose and Wayne Hagen.

Where were you on the evening on October 25, 1986? I was at a Halloween party dressed in full costume as I watched the most unbelievable ending to a baseball game I have ever seen. Resigned to the fact that the Mets unbelievable season was about to end at the hand of the Boston Red Sox, I could not believe what unfolded.

The following account is the word for word broadcast of the bottom of the 10th inning of game 6 of the 1986 World Series as told on WHN radio by Bob Murphy and Gary Thorn.

Date: October 25, 1986
Time: Approximately 11:05PM
Where: Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York
Attendance: 55,078

Murphy: Fifty-five thousand standing at Shea, Wally Backman leading off…strike called on the outside corner. Crowd standing at Shea now hoping to give the Mets a big send off as they try and rally one more time. Twice they have come from behind in the game tonight. It would take a huge effort here in the bottom half of the 10th inning. Wally Backman leading off against Cal Schiraldi. Schiraldi’s third inning of relief work. Fouled back into the crowd and a two strike count. Schrialdi has worked the last two innings allowing one run and only one base hit. Lee Mazzilli has the only hit off Cal Schiraldi. That was a pinch hit single in the eighth inning. The Mets missed their big chance to win it all in the bottom half of the ninth inning. They had first and second and nobody out. Keith Hernandez on deck and then Gary Carter. Now the pitch on the way…hit in the air, a fly ball to left field, Rice running toward the line—is there and has it for the out. And the Red Sox are two outs away from a championship. Mets have to get a base runner to get that tying run to bat. One out and nobody on, Hernandez the hitter. Keith one for three, a single in the sixth inning. If Hernandez can get on…it will bring Gary Carter to the plate. Now Schraldi getting his sign from Gedman. And the pitch on the way…off the outside corner, strike one called. Keith Hernandez with five hits in the World Series. The Mets have been badly out hit in this ballgame tonight…13 to 5. They’re trailing 5 to 3. Next delivery…outside high, one ball and one strike. The Mets have had 7 left on base. The Red Sox have had 14 men left on. They’ve set a new World Series record for men left on base. One and one on Keith Hernandez. Mets badly in need of a hit to set the stage. One-one delivery, outside high, two and one to Keith Hernandez. Gary Carter tied the game in the bottom half of the eighth inning when he hit a sacrifice fly, a line drive to left. Mazzilli tagged up, scored the tying run. Waiting on a 2-1 delivery…and a fly ball to center, Henderson going back, going back, under it now…he has it, two men down. Hernandez hit it to the warning track, straight away in center field, run down by Dave Henderson. Two outs and nobody on. Marty Barrett and Dave Henderson have been the big hitting stars for Boston. They are now one out away from a World Series Championship. They have not had one in 67 years. (It was now that the diamond vision board in left field displayed “Congratulations Boston Red Sox, 1986 World Champions”) Last time was 1918. Now Gary Carter carrying the final hopes. Pitcher is due up next, Kevin Mitchell is out on deck. And the pitch by Schiraldi…high pop foul, it might be playable. Gedman coming back, coming back…no play. Into the crowd and the game is still on. Red Sox now one out away from their World Series Championship. Gary Carter without a hit in the game tonight, oh for 3 and an RBI, the RBI, his eighth RBI of the series. He’s had his share of RBIs. Pitch on the way—look out, up high, one ball and one strike. Kevin Mitchell is out on deck, he would bat for Rick Aguilera. Now Schiraldi will check it out. Infield and the outfield very deep. Low and outside, two balls and one strike. Everybody sitting very quietly in that New York Mets dugout, hoping against hope that something will start to happen. The two one delivery—line drive, it’ll be a base hit to left field. The tying run, Kevin Mitchell, will come to bat. So Carter keeps it going with a single to left field. And Kevin Mitchell will be the pinch hitter. And Mitchell does have home run power. Nothing going in the Red Sox bullpen. That’s only the second hit Schiraldi has allowed. Doug Sisk is up in the New York Mets bullpen.

Thorne: Darryl Strawberry got to wonder sitting over there, if the double change had been made, it might have been him coming to the plate right here.

Murphy: Strawberry came out. Davey did not make a double change at that point in time…So the hopes now have shifted to Kevin Mitchell. This rookie from San Diego California had a superb rookie year. The stretch by Schiraldi…and the pitch on the way…check swing, foul ball, strike one. Five to three Boston, bottom half of the 10th inning, two outs and one on. Red Sox won 96 games to win the American League Eastern Division title. Went to the seventh game before beating California. Here’s the pitch…and a line drive base hit into center field. Now the tying runs are on base. Mitchell delivers…a single to center…and Ray Knight will be coming up. So Gary Carter singles, Kevin Mitchell has singled. Tying runs are on first and second, two down and Ray Knight will be the hitter. Ray earlier in the game after getting off to a good start…driving in a run with a single off Roger Clemens, made a high throw that allowed one of the Red Sox runs to score. Now in this game of redeeming features, Ray Knight stands in with his biggest chance of all. Bill Fisher, the pitching coach, has been dispatched to the mound by John McNamara. And they’ll have a little strategy talk here about how they’re going to go about pitching to Ray Knight.

Thorne: They’ll get the bullpen up and active. Nobody had been throwing however so there is nobody ready out there and they didn’t make a change here, probably in any event with a right handed batter up.

Murphy: Ray Knight, one for three and a walk in the game tonight. Davey has pretty well used up his bench. He’s had to do that playing catch up ball—all night long. Now Ray Knight is the batter, he is the winning run at bat. Tying runs are on base, the stretch by Schiraldi…the pitch on the way…fastball, a strike called. They’re going to play straight away against Ray and pretty deep in the outfield. And the third baseman, Boggs, is not really playing the line, he’s more or less moving away from the line now to try and chop off a single. Schiradli is ready…the pitch to Ray Knight…and a ground ball slowly hit, foul, no a…foul ball down the third base line. Boggs had first started to come in for it, realized the best play was to let it role foul and he did… and now my friends the New York Mets…are down to their final strike. Two strike count on Ray Knight. The Red Sox were down to their final strike in their game with California, their series with California. They were behind three games to one and down to their last strike in the ninth inning. Dave Henderson, the same Dave Henderson who homered in the 10th inning here tonight, hit a two run homer and the Red Sox went on to win it and to win the American League championship. Now the Mets are down to that final strike. Cal Schiraldi who went to Boston on the Bobby Ojeda deal trying to get the biggest win of his young Major League career by far and away. Now he blows on his pitching hand. Gary Carter on second, Kevin Mitchell on first. Mookie Wilson is the on deck batter if Ray Knight can keep the ballgame alive. Ray taking plenty of time, now he’s in the batter’s box and ready. Here’s the stretch by Schiraldi…now the pitch on the way…and a soft line drive…it’ll be a base hit…into center field. Carter around third will score. Mitchell will go to third! A base hit by Ray Knight. The Mets now have the tying run on third! Ray Knight, with the Mets down to their final strike…gets a base hit to center field. It is now five to four. Still two men down and Mookie Wilson is coming up. Second RBI of the game for Ray Knight.

Thorne: Well Knight has come through in tough situations after making that fielding mistake. That’s the veteran hanging in and John McNamara is coming out and he’s seen enough of this.

Murphy: I think he’ll bring in the right hander Bob Stanley. Mookie Wilson is going to be coming up, we will get a pitching change here in the bottom half of the 10th inning. It is now five to four, Bob Stanley, a ten year pro, real veteran out of that bullpen is coming in, so with a break in the action, and the tying run 90 feet away on third, we pause for this message…

After commercial break…

Murphy: Veteran relief right hander Bob Stanley being brought on now by John McNamara. Stanley has pitched affectively in this World Series. He’ll be pitching to Mookie Wilson. The Mets were down to their final strike. Ray Knight kept it going with a base hit. Bob Stanley…with the World Series, making his fourth appearance. He has not given up a run. Now the tying run is on third, that’s Kevin Mitchell. The winning run, Ray Knight, is on first. The hitter is Mookie Wilson. Mookie, one hit in four times at bat. Boston 5, New York 4. The first two batters up in the home 10th inning were retired. Three hits in a row. Gary Carter, a single to left, Kevin Mitchell a single to left, Ray Knight with a two strike count, a single into centerfield…scoring Gary Carter. Now one more hit and the Mets for the third time tonight would have come from behind and tied this ballgame.

Thorne: Mookie Wilson had a single against Bob Stanley in his last relief appearance in game three.

Murphy: Now the stretch by Stanley, the pitch…fouled upstairs, strike one. The Mets have one run in. The tying run is on third, Kevin Mitchell. The winning run, Ray Knight is on first. But they have so little working room. Stanley is ready, the pitch…outside high, one ball and one strike to Mookie Wilson. Howard Johnson is the on deck batter. The Mets so badly needing one more base hit. Stanley ready, the pitch…up high. Two balls and one strike to Mookie Wilson. Howard Johnson loosening up in the on deck circle. Bottom half of the 10th inning. Red Sox one out away from a World Championship. Stanley in the set position, the pitch…foul ball skidding off the bat handle and again, the Mets are down to their last strike. Count two and two on Mookie Wilson. Kevin Mitchell at third base. Ray Knight on first. Three hits in a row. One run in, they need one more. Now the pitch…swing and a foul tip. It looked like he had been struck out. He just barely ticked the ball. And Mookie stays there with a count of two balls and two strikes. A very memorable sixth World Series game. Stanley…working very quickly, the pitch…fouled out of play behind third. Stanley really anxious to get it over with, he’s getting the ball back and almost quick pitching. So Mookie will step out on him to slow him down a little bit. Two balls and two strikes, Mets have only one strike left. Stanley is ready, the pitch…Gets away! Gets away! Here comes Mitchell! Here comes Mitchell! Tie game! Tie game!

Thorne: Unbelievable! A wild pitch!

Murphy: The game is tied, five to five. Mitchell comes in to score, Knight the winning run is on second. Either a wild pitch or a passed ball, we’ll wait for the official scoring. But it’s a tie ballgame Gary.

Thorne: The pitch came low and inside. Gedman did get a glove on it…slowed it down but it went all the way to the backstop.

Murphy: Now Wilson with a chance to win it. Three two delivery, popped the ball up foul, probably out of play. Gedman coming over, coming over, it will be in the crowd, a foul ball. The winning run is on second base. For the third time tonight, the third time in this ballgame, the Mets have come from behind. It was scored a wild pitch by Bob Stanley…allowing Mitchell to score. And its five to five, the winning run is on second. Mets are down to their final strike. Three and two on Mookie Wilson. The pitch…hit down the left field line foul. Foul ball off the bat of Mookie. If that been fair, the Cinderella story would had been all over and the Mets would have been the happiest guys in the world.

Thorne: Two pitches...twice the Mets have had just one strike left in this game.

Murphy: As mentioned, the Red Sox were in that position against California. The Mets in that position here tonight, and they have dodged a huge missile. They’ve tied it up. The worst that could happen is to go to the eleventh inning. Mookie Wilson still hoping to win it for New York. Three and two the count. And the pitch by Stanley…and a ground ball…trickling…it is a fair ball!…gets by Buckner!, rounding third Knight, the Mets will win the ballgame! The Mets win! They win!

Thorne: Unbelievable, the Red Sox in stunned disbelief!

Murphy: A slow ground ball went right through the legs of Buckner down the right field line. The Mets have won the ballgame. Three runs in the bottom half of the 10th inning. Three runs in the 10th inning. They were down to their final strike twice in the bottom half of the 10th inning, they win the ballgame. I thought the ground ball was going to be foul, it stayed fair. It went right through the legs of Billy Buckner and down the right field line.

Thorne: Bob, what is Billy Buckner doing in the game in the bottom of 10th inning?

Murphy: …with a three run lead.

Thorne: Do not understand it (talking over Murph who corrects himself saying a two run lead)

Murphy: We talked about that earlier saying they usually put Dave Stapleton in to play defense. This crowd, and not a soul had left, they’re all here, they can’t believe what they’ve just seen. Mets were down and out, it was all over. Some how, some how they managed to get three runs and they win it…it’ll be a very costly error but none the less the Mets are delighted that it came about that way. A slow ground ball hit by Mookie Wilson…went through the wickets on Billy Buckner. Ray Knight at first didn’t realize it when he rounded third, Buddy Harrelson said keep it going, keep it going. And he came racing in and in to score and the Mets have won…what must be the most amazing game in their 25 year history. I can’t imagine a more remarkable victory. It’ll be an error charged to Billy Buckner. It was an amazing play, Buckner came over, it was a very slow ground ball. I thought it was going to be foul, maybe he thought so. He had the glove down. It went right under the glove, it rolled very slowly down the right field line, fair ball. And around to score the winning run came Ray Knight. That’ll be an error charged on Billy Buckner. In the 10th inning, 3 runs…3 hits…the biggest error of the World Series and a man left on. We’ll be back with the happiest recap of them all in just a moment. The final in 10 innings, New York 6 and Boston 5.

Notes: A common misconception is that the Mets won the World Series after this game. Not true, this game tied the series at three. The next night, Sunday, October 26, 1986, game 7 was rained out. Some felt the rainout negated the momentum the Mets created by winning game six. Game 7 was played on Monday night, the 27th. The Sox led that game 3-0 early. But the Mets scored late and eventually won the clincher 8-5 to secure their second and last world championship in club history.

While Bill Buckner's reputation was tarnished for years by the play, it should be pointed out that he was playing on two very bad ankles. In fact, he was wearing high top spikes to help support his legs. As Gary Thorne pointed out (Gary grew up in New England a Bo-Sox fan), Buckner never should have been in the game at that point. More importantly, Calvin Schiraldi and Bob Stanley never shouldered the blame they should have received compared to Buckner who was a great player during his career. The Mets were down to their last out four times and their last strike multiple times. And remember, Stanley had already blown the lead. Had Buckner made the play, the Red Sox would not have won the game. The game would have simply gone to extra innings as Murphy pointed out.

One final point: It is the Vin Scully call that often is heard when recounting the incident at Shea that night. But in my opinion, with all due respect to the great Scully, nothing could compare to Murphy's call that evening. After all, for over 40 seasons, Murph was the voice of the Mets.

A Model Franchise

Lou Di Falco — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:14:00 -0400

I don’t want to hear anything that disrespects the Phillies from any Mets fan or any Mets player. The Mets arch rivals (are they really a rival anymore? Doesn’t that require two teams to be good?) won their second consecutive National League pennant having defeated the Dodgers in five games. That is simply an outstanding achievement considering the two-tiered round of playoffs a team must win to get to the World Series. The last National League team to do it was the 1995-96 Atlanta Braves in the midst of their 14 consecutive post season run.

So Mets fans and Mets players—shut up! The time has come for the Mets players and management to put their money where their mouths have been so often since 2006. From the moment Carlos Beltran took a third strike from Adam Wainwright, it has been going backwards ever since. Meanwhile, what have the Phillies done? They won three consecutive division titles. After getting knocked out in the first round in 2007, the Phillies came back last year to win the whole thing against the Tampa Bay Rays. Now they’re back again on the grandest of baseball stages to defend their world title awaiting the Yankees or Angels.

How many consecutive division championships have the Mets won? Answer: one. The Mets have never won back to back division titles in their 48 year history. The Mets won back to back wild cards in 1999 and 2000 under Bobby Valentine. All other Mets post season appearances have been one offs—1969, 1973, 1986, 1988 and 2006.

So come next season when the Mets are back at Citi Field, please spare me the “Phillies Suck!” chant. That would be as embarrassing as the “Yankees Suck” cheer I heard hoards of people screaming at Shea Stadium over the years. I could never understand that mentality. Season after season, we witnessed the Mets playing in just futile situations while the Yankees made the post season year after year. And it was the Yankees that sucked? Please explain that one to me. I do not like the Yankees but they don’t suck and they haven’t for fifteen years.

All the Mets players, coaches, and front office must learn to keep the rhetoric down. Stop talking like the Mets are such a great franchise, they’re not. The entire organization has a lot to learn in how to build a championship team and conduct itself at a professional level. That was obvious this past season.

The sad truth for the Mets is that the Phillies are going to be good for a very long time. They could become what the Braves were from 1991 through 2005. They have an outstanding core and good starting pitching. Cliff Lee was a brilliant move. They were able to make that trade because the Phillies farm system is packed with talent.

So if the Mets are serious about winning, they need to stop talking and start doing the things that the Phillies did to build a winner. That does not mean the Mets should gut the team. Remember, prior to 2007, the Phillies had a lot of their current players in place but they could not put it together. Finally they did. So patience is a virtue that the Mets and their fans need to embrace. The Mets do not need to make big moves but they do need to be patient with some of their younger players.

The free agent market is thin this off season. It will be tough for the Mets to make big trades without creating other holes to fill. We must hope the injured players come back healthy next year. Perhaps a trade or signing for an outfielder or first baseman will help support the offense. They definitely need a starting pitcher or two. But mostly what the Mets need is some humility. An attitude adjustment is required. The Mets won the division in 2006 and played since as if it would come easy. Have they learned their lesson?

Anyway, this is one Mets fan that hates the Phillies but I do congratulate them. They deserve everything they have achieved. The Phillies are a model franchise. I wish I could say the same about the Mets. They can be but much work needs to be done and I am not confident the right people are in charge to get us there.

What's a Mets Fan To Do?

Lou Di Falco — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:00:00 -0400

If you thought the 2009 Mets season could not get any worse, guess again. No, thankfully no Mets player hurt himself and no poor trade was made. In fact, what I am referring to has nothing to do with the Mets but it has everything to do with Mets fans.

The only thing that can carry on the pain and suffering for Mets fans this season is what teams will ultimately make it the World Series. I have been rooting for the Dodgers and Angels for two reasons.

First, as I mentioned the other day, I actually feel baseball should be played in decent weather. With an all LA series, that would be assured. The other reason, and the one more pertinent to Mets fans, is the last teams Mets fans want to see in the fall classic is the Phillies and the Yankees. I mean, what does a Mets fan do here?

Personally, I just cannot bring myself to root for the Phillies. They have become everything I thought the Mets would be after 2006. It has been so painful to see the success the Phillies have earned while the Mets continue to step backward. I really do not want Philadelphia to win back to back pennants let alone back to back World Series. The Phillies are poised to be this good for years to come. How do we endure a potential dynasty 90 miles down the Jersey Turnpike? I have to root against them.

But then what, I root for the Yankees? I can’t do that either. I’ve spent a lifetime loathing the Yankees and now they are doing it to us again. Once more, they own New York. Am I delusional to think that ever changed anyway? The Yankees represent everything the Mets are not. The Yankees are fundamentally sound, consistent, and champions. The Mets are pretenders. Look, I can face the truth, but regardless, I can’t root for the Yankees, I just can’t. Is it possible both teams can lose?

Unless the Dodgers and Angels perform a couple of miracles, this is what we are faced with. I can just hear comments from Phillies players now in regards to the Yanks. “Now we will have to play the real good team from New York.”, “This is a New York team that just doesn’t talk.” You know someone in that clubhouse will say something like this, you just do. In complimenting the Yankees, they will be bashing the Mets. The Yankees on the other hand will not say anything about the Mets. They have more class than that.

Although I will not root one way or the other, if it comes down to the Yankees and Phillies, I would prefer the Yankees win. We need to see the Phillies knocked down a peg. Back to back world championships will just be too much to live with. We Mets fans can say nothing if that happens. Actually, there isn’t much we can say anyway. Plus the Yankees have won so many times over the years, what’s the difference if they win one more World Series. I’ve lost count anyway.

Maybe the best thing to do is not even watch. I love baseball but what good can come of it.

Hopefully, Mets management is as embarrassed as Mets fans feel right now. To see their two biggest rivals succeed after such a tremendously disappointing season has got to be killing them. And make no mistake about it. The Yankees are one of the Mets biggest rivasl even though they play in a different league. I hope they realize that.

2009 was an awful baseball year. The fact that the Phillies and the Yankees are poised to meet on the biggest stage of all just about sums it up.

Winter Mets 2009

Lou Di Falco — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:00:00 -0400

For those of you yearning for anything to do with the Mets, here is a list of Mets players currently on the winter league rosters in the Arizona Fall League and the Caribean Leagues. You can link to the MLB stats page for each player to see how they are doing.

I included all Mets even though it is likely Francisco Rodriguez will not throw and Jose Reyes will definitely not play in winter baseball. Jenrry Mejia is listed twice but is currently pitching for the Surprise Rafters of the Arizona Fall League. The Puerto Rico winter league is not included since they do not begin play until November. Daniel Murphy is slated to play in the PR league.

Player	Position	WL Team	Winter League	2009 Last Team
Jenrry Mejia	Pitcher R/R	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	Binghamton AA
Scott Moviel	Pitcher R/R	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	St. Lucie A
Eric Neisen	Pitcher L/L	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	Binghamton AA
Josh Stinson	Pitcher R/R	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	St. Lucie A
Ike Davis	First Baseman	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	Binghamton AA
Reese Havens	SS/2nd Base	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	St. Lucie A
Ruben Tejada	Shortstop	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	Binghamton AA
Lucas Duda	Outfielder	Surprise Rafters	Arizona Fall League	Binghamton AA
Francisco Pena	Catcher	Aguilas Cibaenus	Dominican Winter League	St. Lucie A
Fernando Tatis	Left Field	Estrellas de Oriente	Dominican Winter League	New York NL
Rhiner Cruz	Pitcher R/R	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	Savannah a
Julio De La Cruz	Pitcher R/R	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	Binghamton AA
Jeurys Familia	Pitcher R/R	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	Savannah a
German Marte	Pitcher R/R	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	St. Lucie A
Elvin Ramirez	Pitcher R/R	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	Savannah a
Jose Reyes	Shortstop	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	New York NL
Wilson Valdez	Shortstop	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	New York NL
Rafael Fernandez	Center Field	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	Savannah a
Raul Reyes	Right Field	Gigantes del Cibao	Dominican Winter League	Savannah a
Tobi Stoner	Pitcher R/R	Leones del Escogido	Dominican Winter League	Buffalo AAA
Argenis Reyes	2nd Base	Leones del Escogido	Dominican Winter League	New York NL
Jenrry Mejia	Pitcher R/R	Tigres del Licey	Dominican Winter League	Binghamton AA
Salvador Paniagua	Catcher	Tigres del Licey	Dominican Winter League	Binghamton AA
Richard Pena	Right Field	Tigres del Licey	Dominican Winter League	St. Lucie A
Jefry Marte	3rd Base	Tores del Este	Dominican Winter League	Savannah a
Auturo Lopez	Pitcher L/L	Caneros Del Los Mochis	Mexico Pacific Winter League	Buffalo AAA
Matias Carrillo Jr.	Pitcher L/L	Tomateros de Culiacan	Mexico Pacific Winter League	Brooklyn ssA
Manual Olivares	Pitcher R/R	Aguilas del Zulia	Venezuelan Winter League	Binghamton AA
Wilmer Flores	Shortstop	Bravos de Mararita	Venezuelan Winter League	Savannah a
Fernando Nieve	Pitcher R/R	Caribes de Anzoategui	Venezuelan Winter League	New York NL
Jose Coronado	Second Baseman	Caribes de Anzoategui	Venezuelan Winter League	Buffalo AAA
Lance Broadway	Pitcher R/R	Leones del Caracas	Venezuelan Winter League	New York NL
Josh Thole	Catcher	Leones del Caracas	Venezuelan Winter League	New York NL
Edgar Alfonso	Pitcher L/L	Navegantes del Magallanes	Venezuelan Winter League	Binghamton AA
Manual Alvarez	Pitcher R/R	Navegantes del Magallanes	Venezuelan Winter League	St. Lucie A
Angel Colero	Pitcher L/L	Navegantes del Magallanes	Venezuelan Winter League	St. Lucie A
Phillips Orta	Pitcher R/R	Navegantes del Magallanes	Venezuelan Winter League	Savannah a
Jose Sanchez	Pitcher R/R	Navegantes del Magallanes	Venezuelan Winter League	Buffalo AAA
Adam Bostick	Pitcher L/L	Tiburones de La Guaira	Venezuelan Winter League	Buffalo AAA
Junior Guerra	Pitcher R/R	Tiburones de La Guaira	Venezuelan Winter League	Buffalo AAA
Chris Mason	Pitcher R/R	Tiburones de La Guaira	Venezuelan Winter League	Buffalo AAA
Francisco Rodriguez	Pitcher R/R	Tiburones de La Guaira	Venezuelan Winter League	New York NL
Chris Carter	Outfielder	Tigres de Aragua	Venezuelan Winter League	Pawtucket AAA

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

It took the city of New York four years to get another National League team once the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers left after the 1957 season. The New York Mets would enter the National League in 1962, made up largely of former New York players like Duke Snider and Gil Hodges. Former Yankee manager Casey Stengel would run the team, a team expected to go nowhere but a team that would at least get National League baseball back in New York…where it belonged.

The original Mets were awful. They started the season stuck in an elevator in a St. Louis hotel. In the first game ever played, they lost 11-4 to the Cardinals with Al Jackson getting the loss, the first of a record 120 losses that season. The Mets finally won their first game of the season after losing nine in a row. At Forbes Field on April 23, 1962, the Mets defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of 9-1. Jay Hook has the distinction of being the first pitcher in Mets history to record a win. It was the first of only 40 that inaugural season.

The hapless Mets were a laughing stock. But to their fans they were the lovable Mets. On that 1962 team was a player who was a favorite New York son, Gil Hodges, who was one of the Brooklyn Boys of Summer. Gil was winding down as a player and soon would try his hand at managing. Also on that ’62 team was a 17 year old rookie who played in just three games for the Mets that season. His name was Ed Kranepool, a left handed first baseman the Mets hoped would someday be a star. Both Hodges and Kranepool would be the only Mets left from that 1962 club come October 1969.

October 16, 1969, World Series Game 5

Shea Stadium – Jerry Koosman pitched about as dominantly as anyone could against the mighty Orioles in game 2, just four days prior. He gave up just one run in eight and two thirds innings in the first Mets win of the series. On this day, he was faced with the opportunity of becoming the winning pitcher in the potential clinching game of the 1969 World Series.

Koosman would face Dave McNally as he did in game 2. That Sunday afternoon, McNally held the Mets in check most of the game with the Mets ultimately prevailing 2-1. Game 5, like game 2, was predicted to be another pitcher’s duel. For the Mets, their motivation was not to go back to Baltimore. But for the Orioles, it was a must win. Lose and their season would be over. It would be a bitter pill to swallow for Baltimore having won 109 regular season games.

The first two innings were quiet with only a mild threat by the Mets in the first when McNally issued two walks. But in the top of the third, Mark Belanger led off with a single. Koosman then surrendered a home run to Dave McNally, the pitcher of all players. The Orioles had jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Koosman got the next two outs but Frank Robinson followed with a solo shot giving the O’s a 3-0 lead. After the inning, Koosman was quoted in the dugout as saying "Hold them there boys, they are not getting anything else the rest of the game”.

Koosman led off the third and almost hit one out as he doubled off the left field wall. But the regular Mets hitters were unable to get anything going offensively against McNally in the third or any of the middle innings. Meanwhile, Koosman settled in and was true to his word. The Orioles were unable to mount any rally since the third.

Cleon Jones led off the sixth inning. During his at bat, McNally threw a ball low and in that appeared to hit Jones in the foot. As Cleon started for first, Lou DiMuro, the home plate umpire called him back claiming he was not hit by the pitch. As Jones settled back in the box, Mets manager Gil Hodges came out to home plate carrying the ball that bounced into the dugout allegedly off of Jones’ show. For a minute, DiMuro and Hodges talked while looking at the ball. Hodges was apparently pointing at what appeared to be shoe polish. Convinced, DiMuro sent Jones to first. Hodges walked back to the dugout as Weaver came out to argue. The discussion did not last long. Jones was on first and Donn Clendenon came up to bat.

Whether the shoe polish came from Cleon’s shoe or Koosman’s while sitting in the dugout is debatable. But the move paid off as Clendenon launched a bomb into the left field loge section for a two run home run to make it a one run game. The homer was the third for Clendenon, the most ever in a five game series up to that point. After six, the Orioles led 3-2.

Koosman continued to dominate in the seventh retiring the Birds in order. In the bottom half of the inning, light hitting journeyman, Al Weis hit a home run to lead off the inning and tie the game. Al Weis was proving to be one pesky player in the World Series. It was his hit in game 2 that drove in the game winning run. Here was a guy who hit two regular season home runs and now he just hit the biggest of his career. The crowd was going wild. You could feel the momentum building for the Mets who had tied the game at three.

Koosman retired the Orioles in order again in the eighth.

Eddie Watt relieved McNally in the bottom half. Cleon Jones led off with a double. Now Mets fans were on their feet. But Clendenon grounded out with Brooks Robinson holding Jones at second. With one out Ron Swoboda came up. Just the day before, Swoboda made the most unlikely of plays in the history of the World Series when his incredible diving catch saved the game for the Mets. Ron came through again, this time with his bat as he doubled down the left field line. Jones scored from second. The Mets had the lead. The stands at Shea were vibrating as fans jumped up and down. Everyone at that ballpark and watching on TV knew the Mets were three outs away from the impossible.

Maybe the wheels were falling off for Baltimore. With two outs, Grote hit a ground ball that was booted by Powell. Grote reached first. But as Watt picked up the ball he fired wildly to home as Swoboda scored. Two errors on the play and the Mets had an insurance run. Heading to the top of the ninth, the Mets held a 5-3 lead.

Mets fans were still standing when the ninth inning began. Koosman had dominated since the third inning when he gave up the two home runs. Frank Robinson led off with a walk. Boog Powell came up as the tying run. But Koosman got Powell to hit a ground ball to Weis who got the force at short with Harrelson covering. Brooks Robinson then hit a fly ball to right field. Swoboda settled under it and now there were two down.

Powell was still on first. 57,397 crazed Mets fans were standing and cheering. The sound at Shea was deafening without a plane in site. Davey Johnson came up to the plate, the Orioles last chance. When Johnson hit the ball, there was silence for a moment. It looked, at least on TV, that Johnson hit it hard. Koosman did not like the sound it made coming off the bat. But the ball held up perhaps from the October wind blowing in from left. Jones moved back to the warning track. He turned and held his glove out with his bare hand assisting, caught the ball and knelt down to the ground punctuating one of the greatest seasons in baseball history. The Mets were World Champions.

Record - Mets 4, Orioles 1, in best of seven series.

Epilogue – The New York Mets became the first expansion team to win the World Series. And it only took eight years from their inception. It was done by building a wealth of talent in their farm system and making keen trades by Johnny Murphy, the Mets GM who took over in 1968. It also took great guidance by their manager Gil Hodges who should be in the Hall of Fame. He was a great teacher and a tremendous leader who instilled confidence in his team that they could achieve, that they had the talent to win.

1969 was perhaps the most amazing season in New York baseball history. Unlike the many mighty Yankee teams, the 1986 Mets, the dominating Giant teams of the early twenties or the Dodgers of Brooklyn in the late forties and fifties who were all expected to win, the ’69 Mets were not. And although I hate when the ’69 Mets are referred to as the Miracle Mets, the miracle was in their unexpected rise to greatness, not what they achieved on the field.

Winning 107 games was not accomplished by miracles. It was done through great pitching, hitting, and defense. Sure, there were moments when you scratched your head. Moments like when the black cat stared into the Cubs dugout, or when both pitchers knocked in the only run of a doubleheader to win both games in Pittsburgh, or when Ron Swoboda hit two home runs to win the game in St. Louis when Steve Carlton set the record for striking out nineteen, or even the shoe polish play in game five. But those moments would have gone unnoticed if it was not for the spectacular play day in and day out by this group of twenty-five individuals.

For me, the 1969 season will always be the summer of my life. I was thirteen and the Mets taught me a valuable lesson. No matter how the odds are stacked against you, there are always possibilities. Never give up, always strive to get better, and never let anyone convince you that you cannot succeed. And who said baseball is just a game?

Unfortunately, the Mets did not repeat in 1970. They were competitive for most of the season but ended just a few games above .500 in third place six games behind the Pirates. Cincinnati won the National League pennant but lost to the Orioles in the World Series who made amends to their fans for losing to the Mets a year earlier. The Mets returned to the World Series in 1973 to lose in seven games to the Oakland A’s. They would not return again until 1986.

1969 did not start the era of dominance Mets fans had hoped. In fact, sustained success has always been something that has eluded this franchise. The Mets became a powerhouse in the mid to late 80’s but again only appeared in and won just one World Series. Now as we watch the Mets struggle after such a promising season in 2006, we ask when will the Mets climb back to the top again.

A season like 1969 comes perhaps once in a lifetime. But if there is one franchise that seems to have a knack for the unexpected, it’s the Mets. A team that did what it did in ’69, almost won it all in ’73 when they were in last place in mid August, came back to win game six down to their last strike several times in ’86, is due for something special.

On October 20, 1969, the Mets were ushered down the Canyon of Heros with a ticker tape parade. A couple of weeks later it was announced that in the National League Tom Seaver won the Cy Young award, Gil Hodges was the manager of the year, and Tommie Agee was the comeback player of the year. Mets GM Johnny Murphy was given the Executive of the Year award also.

I hope you enjoyed reading “40 Years Ago Today” this season as much as I have enjoyed writing it. It brought back great memories for me. I hope it did for you too. And if you are too young to have experienced that magical season, I hope it provided you with a sense of what it was like to be a Mets fan back then.

Thanks to retrosheet.org, ultimatemets.com, and to the many authors of books and newspaper articles I have kept over the years. They all helped jar my memory of each day of the 1969 season.

What I'm Rooting For

Lou Di Falco — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0400

Obviously with the Mets out of it I have to decide what to root for in the post season. I have the answer. No, it’s not whether to root for the Phillies over the Yankees or the Yankees over the Phillies. It’s not rooting for Joe Torre over the Yankees, although that is intriguing. No, no. For me, I’m rooting for Mother Nature. That’s right, the weather.

This is not a new rant for me. Usually, once or twice a year, I write about the absurdity of Major League Baseball extending the season later and later each year. This year, the World Series will end in November, no ifs ands or buts. Game four is scheduled for November 1st unless it has to be pushed back further due to bad weather. If the Series goes seven games, it will end on November 5th, likely at Yankee Stadium…at night. Perfect!

Forty years ago, the Mets won the World Series on October 16th, the same date the ALCS will begin this season. This year, the World Series will not even start for another two weeks.

That’s why I am rooting for cold, windy, wet weather. What better way to spend an evening than freezing to death catching the Swine Flu while rooting for your beloved Yankees or Phillies.

Now, before you think I’m being cynical, here me out.

What is it going to take for the lords of baseball to come to their senses? If you are going to tell me the love of the game is first and foremost in the minds of the owners, you are crazy and downright wrong. Like everything else in America, baseball is only about the money, the almighty buck. The powers that be know there are enough of us morons tuning in every evening to pedel their dopey products. To them, it justifies the horrendous conditions the national pastime’s championship season is played in.

Baseball sells the rights to broadcast games to the highest bidder. Why? Because, the owners want the most money they can get. Do you honestly think the question “What will you do to enhance the game of baseball?” is ever uttered from those from baseball when negotiating these deals? I doubt it. If that were true, TBS would have never gotten the opportunity to broadcast games.

The networks pay top dollar because they in turn charge the most they can to advertisers who know they will have a large audience. In the mean time, the game suffers. Last season, the Phillies won the World Series in awful conditions at Philadelphia. Was it as fair as it could have been for Tampa Bay if it had been played earlier in the month of October during the day time?

I am a fan of the game. I don’t care how much money changes hands. But I do care about the conditions in which these games are played. Remember, it’s the summer game, a game that requires decent weather conditions so players can use their skills to the best of their abilities. The post season of baseball should be a celebration of the best of play from the game. How can that be in the worst of conditions? Even football’s Super Bowl, a game designed for cold weather, is played in a warm weather location every year.

Are there things that baseball can do to improve the condition of the post season? Why of course there are. Shorten the regular season or start the season earlier in warm weather locations. Why not play more doubleheaders during the regular season so the post season can start sooner. Shorten the playoffs to 2 of 3 in the first round, 3 of 5 in the second. Play in a warm weather, neutral location (personally, I’m not a fan of this idea). Don’t have so many days off during the playoffs. Play the games during the day when the weather is at least warmer.

But my (and others) solutions have a common problem. They all benefit the good of the game. None of them increase revenue. That’s why they will never be employed. And that’s why I hope a monsoon hits New York or Philadelphia on November 1st.

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

He won twenty-five games during the regular season against seven losses. He struck out 208 batters, pitched eighteen complete games, five of which were shutouts. He won his last eight decisions but yet Tom Seaver had struggled in the post season.

It’s not as if he was bad but he wasn’t as dominating as he had been during the 162 game campaign. Seaver was 1-1 in the post season. He won the first game of the NLCS but gave up five runs in the process. Luckily for Tom, the Mets bats scored nine runs that first game to bail him out. In game one of the World Series, Seaver gave up four runs and was outpitched by Mike Cuellar as the Mets could only score a single run.

Seaver was getting another chance in game four to show the country on National Television just what kind of pitcher he was. Tom admitted to trying to do too much and perhaps even being a bit nervous in the Series opener. The Mets and their fans were counting on Seaver to put them in position to win the series at home. If the Mets won game four, they would take a three games to one lead in the Series. Even the powerful Baltimore Orioles would have the odds stacked against them to win the series if that were to happen.

October 15, 1969, World Series Game 4

Shea Stadium – In game one, Orioles left fielder Don Buford rudely greeted Seaver with a leadoff homerun on the first pitch of the game. But on this date, Seaver struck out Buford. Center fielder Paul Blair singled for the first hit of the game but was left stranded when Tom got Frank Robinson to fly out then struck out Boog Powell.

Mike Cuellar started for Baltimore. He too looked sharp again as he faced Seaver for the second time. In the first, he retired Agee, gave up a single to Harrelson and then got Cleon Jones to hit into a double play.

In the second, Seaver walked Elrod Hendricks with one down but Jerry Grote threw him out trying to steal second. In the bottom of the inning, Donn Clendnenon led off with his second homerun of the World Series to give the Mets the early lead.

Seaver got into trouble in the third, giving up back to back singles to open the inning. Once again, Seaver was not looking as sharp as he had prior to the post season. But the big right handed pitcher got the next three batters preserving the slim Mets lead. The Mets also put two runners on with singles in the bottom half of the third but were not able to score against Cuellar. A third the way through, the Mets held a slim 1-0 lead.

After the two hits given up in the third, Seaver hit his stride, not giving up another hit until the ninth inning. The Orioles could not muster anything against Seaver accept a walk in the sixth inning. Unfortunately however, the Mets could not get anything going against Cuellar either. The Mets got a few hits but were unable to rally for any runs and continued to hold a 1-0 lead through eight innings.

But in the top of the ninth with one out and Seaver still in the game, Frank Robinson and Boog Powell hit back to back singles putting runners on first and third. Hodges left Seaver in hoping to get a double play ground ball. But instead Brooks Robinson lined a ball into right field that looked for sure as if it would touch down and go to the wall. Ron Swoboda dove to his right. With his body parallel to the ground and glove outstretched, Swoboda miraculously caught the ball. He got up quickly and fired home as Frank Robinson tagged and scored the tying run. Quite possibly, Ron Swoboda made the greatest catch in World Series history, even better than the two Agee made the previous day. More importantly, had Swoboda missed catching that ball, the tying and go-ahead runs would have scored. Seaver got out of the inning without any further damage. The score was tied at one.

After two singles in the ninth got the winning run to second, Gil Hodges sent up Art Shamsky to pinch hit for Ed Charles. Shamsky grounded out to first ending the inning. It was on to extra innings for the first time in the Series.

Tom Seaver stayed in the ballgame. Through nine innings, he had given up just one run on five hits. Wayne Garrett entered the game to play third for Charles who was pinched hit for. The Orioles’ Dave Johnson reached on an error to lead off the tenth when Garrett bobbled a ground ball. Seaver got Mark Belanger to pop up in foul territory. Grote made the catch for the first out. Clay Dalrymple was sent up to pinch hit by Earl Weaver. Dalrymble singled pushing Johnson into scoring position. Lead off hitter Buford flied out to right. The putout was deep enough to allow Johnson to tag and reach third. Now a miscue could give the Orioles the lead. But Seaver was true to form as he struck out Paul Blair to end the inning.

Dick Hall came in to start the tenth for the Orioles. Jerry Grote led off the inning by doubling down the left field line. The Mets had the winning run on second with nobody out as the Shea faithful went wild. Hodges sent in Rod Gaspar to run for Grote. Weaver countered by intentionally walking Al Weis. After pitching ten innings, Seaver was taken out as Hodges sent up left handed hitter J.C. Martin to pinch hit. It was likely that Martin was up to bunt the runner to third. But before Martin could hit, Weaver brought in left handed pitcher Pete Richert. Hodges let the lefty Martin hit. Martin dropped down a bunt on the first base side. Catcher Hendricks ran up the line to pick up the ball and fired it to first. But the ball hit J.C. Martin and ricocheted toward second base. Gaspar running all the way scored from second giving the Mets the 2-1 victory.

Record Mets 3, Orioles 1, in best of seven series.

The ending was controversial. It appeared on the replay that Martin was outside of the runner’s lane while running to first when the ball hit him. According to the rules, he could have been called out for interference. However, it is a judgment call made by the first base umpire and in this case, no one came out to argue the play, not even the feisty Earl Weaver.

The Mets were now in the commanding position of having to win just one game of the potentially remaining three. The Mets had one more game at Shea Stadium the next day. Mets fans were hoping the Mets could do it at home. I’m sure the players were hoping the same thing.

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

56,335 people crammed into Shea Stadium for the ballpark’s first World Series game in history. The Mets and Orioles were tied at one game each in this best of seven series. The Mets had a simple goal. Try to win two of three at home giving them the opportunity to win one game in Baltimore and capture their first World Series. But the Mets also knew there was an opportunity to not go back to Baltimore. The Mets could win the next three but so could the Orioles. The Mets would send 23 year old Gary Gentry to the mound to try and hold down the Orioles powerful offense.

The Orioles countered with right handed pitcher Jim Palmer who won 16 games in the regular season. The Orioles and Mets, in traditional fashion before the game, lined up on the baselines as they were announced by Shea's public address announcer Jack Lightcap.

October 14, 1969, World Series Game 3

Shea Stadium – Gentry struck out Don Buford to start game three. In fact, Gentry had no problem in the first inning retiring the Orioles, only giving up a walk to Frank Robinson who was left stranded at first.

In the bottom of the first, Tommie Agee homered to lead off the game for the fifth time during 1969. Agee hit a bomb over the camera platform in center field off a 2-1 pitch. The Mets took a one nothing lead early. Palmer settled in and retired the next three batters to end the inning but both Cleon Jones and Art Shamsky hit long drives for the final two outs.

Gentry retired the Orioles in order in the second. Early on, it was looking as if Gentry had his good stuff. In the Mets half of the second, they rallied again. Boswell grounded out to Powell then Ed Kranepool popped up to short. But with two out, Jerry Grote walked. Bud Harrelson lined a single up the middle moving Grote to second. Then, as it happened so often during the season, a Mets pitcher helped himself. Gentry lined a double into the right field gap driving in both Grote and Harrelson. The Mets led 3-0. Agee grounded out to end the inning after pitching coach George Bamberger came out to settle down Palmer.

In the third, Gentry retired Baltimore in order again. After three, Gentry had only allowed a walk. Wayne Garrett walked to start the Mets third but Palmer retired the next three hitters.

With one out in the fourth, the Orioles finally got a hit, two in fact from Frank Robinson and Boog Powell to put runners on first and second. Gentry then struck out Brooks Robinson for the second out. Left handed hitting catcher Elrod Hendricks hit a fly ball to deep left center on an 0-2 pitch. The Orioles were sure to score two if the ball fell in. Tommie Agee in hot pursuit reached out with his glove hand and miraculously snared the ball back handed in the webbing of his glove as he ran into the fence. Agee saved two runs from scoring as the Mets continued to hold a 3-0 lead. Agee's catch was one of the greatest in World Series history, ranking right up there with the one Willie Mays made in 1954 at the Polo Grounds.

With two outs, Harrelson reached on a walk in the Mets fourth. In an attemted pick off, the ball went past Orioles first baseman Boog Powell. Harrelson tried to go to second but was blocked by Powell. First base umpire Shag Crowford ruled obstruction and awarded Harrelson second base. However, the Mets did not capitalize as Gentry struck out.

Neither team did anything for the next inning and a half. Halfway through the sixth, the Mets were still protecting a 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth Ken Boswell led off with a ground single to right. He nearly was thrown out by Dave Johnson who got to the ball but Palmer covering pulled his foot off the bag. Kranepool grounded out to the right side allowing Boswell to move up into scoring position. Jerry Grote doubled to left scoring Boswell. Palmer got out of further trouble by striking out Harrelson and Gentry. After six, the Mets led 4-0.

Gentry got two outs to start the Orioles seventh but then Mark Belanger walked. Weaver sent up Dave May to pinch hit for Palmer. May walked. Gentry then walked leadoff batter Don Buford to load the bases. Gil Hodges called to the bullpen bringing in Nolan Ryan.

On a two strike pitch from Ryan, Orioles' center fielder Paul Blair lined one to right center. Agee took off after it. As the ball headed toward the wall, Agee tapped his glove and slid on the warning track catching Blair's liner with his glove face up. It was another spectacular catch by the Mets center fielder. Had that ball fallen in, the Orioles would have scored three runs. Agee, who made all three putouts in the inning, single handedly saved five runs from scoring in the game with his two remarkable catches.

Dave Leonhard replaced Palmer from the Baltimore bullpen. The Mets did not score in the seventh.

In the top of the eighth Hodges brought in Al Weis to play second and Rod Gaspar into right for defensive purposes. Ryan retired the Orioles in order striking out two.

Leading 4-0, the Mets came to bat in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Ed Kranepool, the only Met player remaining from 1962, hit a home run to right field. Heading to the ninth, the Mets led Baltimore 5-0.

Nolan Ryan, still in the game, retired the first two batters in the inning. The Mets were one out away from winning game three. But then Ryan walked Belanger. Pinch hitter Clay Dalrymple singled then Ryan walked Buford. The bases were loaded. Hodges left in Ryan to face Paul Blair. Ryan was throwing smoke but with two strikes he threw a devestating curve ball that froze Blair looking to end the game.

Record Mets 2, Orioles 1, in best of seven series.

The Orioles had to be shaking their heads. The powerhouse offense had only scored five runs in three games against Mets pitching which was outstanding during the World Series. Ironically the one pitcher that struggled in the playoffs so far was none other than twenty-five game winner Tom Seaver. But game three will always be thought of as Agee's game. He led off with a homer and made two of the greatest catches in World Series history.

The next day, Seaver would get another chance. Baltimore had to be a bit concerned facing Seaver in game four trailing in the series.

Interesting note: In the Mets sixth inning, a kite flew down from the upper levels of Shea Stadium. Attached to the kite was a banner that said Mets on it. Jokingly, Curt Gowdy said to Lindsey Nelson that he wouldn't be surprised if a fan flew down next. Little did Curt and Lindsey know that's exactly what would happen 17 years later in game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

A Season Begins

Lou Di Falco — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:07:00 -0400

Update - 7:00PM EDT

Ike Davis, the Mets first base prospect, drove in six runs today for the Surprise Rafters in the Arizona Fall League opener. Davis had two doubles, a home run, and scored two runs in his 4 for six effort.

Another Mets prospect, Lucas Duda, drove in two runs with a 2 for 5 day that included a double. Shortstop prospect Ruben Tejada also went 2 for 5 and drove in a run. Yankee Ian Kennedy got the win for Surprise who defeated the Peoria Javelinas 17-4.

Original Post...

It’s opening day today for the Mets… well sort of.

Today marks the start of the Arizona Fall League’s (AFL) 2009 season. The Mets have sent eight of their top prospects to the Surprise Rafters, one of six teams in the two division league.

The AFL is made up of three teams in each eastern and western division. The purpose of the league is to give some of the better prospects a chance to continue their growth prior to the next season. Each team is made up of prospects from five Major League clubs. Every Major League club sends six to eight top players to one of the six teams. The Rafters’ roster is made up of players from the Mets, Yankees, Royals, Rangers, and Cardinals. Surprise is the spring training home of the Royals and Rangers and is also used during the summer by the Arizona Rookie League.

Each AFL team plays a 32 game schedule. There is an all star game, named the Rising Stars Game on November 7th played between east and west, and a single championship game played by the two division winners on November 23rd. Games are played six days a week but not on Sunday. All teams play in the greater Pheonix area where the weather remains baseball worthy through the fall and winter.

The Surprise Rafters play in the western division along with two other clubs that share facilities down the road at Peoria. The teams in the eastern division include Mesa, Phoenix, and Scottsdale. All clubs play at Cactus League/Arizona Rookie League facilities and are within a 25 mile radius.

Here are the seven Mets farmhands that will play on the Rafters…

Pitchers

Jenrry Mejia –Right Handed pitcher

The highly touted right hander spent 2009 playing in Port St. Lucie and Binghamton. At St. Lucie, Mejia compiled a 1.97 ERA with a record of 4-1. He struck out 44 in 50.1 innings while walking just 16. It was a different story at Binghamton however where Mejia did not win a game going 0-5 with a 4.47 ERA. His strike out to walk ratio still remained high however. He struck out 47 in 44.1 innings while walking just 23. He gave up two home runs in Binghamton and none in St. Lucie. It really was a good first year of professional ball for Mejia who turned twenty this past Sunday.

Scott Moviel – Right Handed Pitcher

After two games in the Gulf Coast League, Moviel moved up to St. Lucie. He compiled a 4-5 record with a 3.92 ERA at St. Lucie, 3.56 overall. In 73.1 innings, Moviel struck out 56 while walking 24. Opposing batters hit .253 against the 21 year old hurler. One alarming stat is his ERA against right handed hitters. Against righties, Moviel is pitching at a 5.35 clip while just 2.35 against lefties. On a positive note, Moviel came on strong in the last half of the season winning all of his decisions after August 1st. Perhaps the most notable stat about Scott is his height. At 6’,11”, Moviel might consider starting for the Knicks if baseball does not work out for him.

Eric Neisen – Left Handed Pitcher

Eric, a 24 year old lefty, split time between St. Lucie and Binghamton. His combined record was 7-11, starting 16 games for a miserable B-Mets team. His combined ERA was 4.09. In 140.2 total innings, Neisen struck out 134 batters and walked 57. He gave up 11 home runs and 64 earned runs overall. Opposing hitters batted .242 against him.

John Stinson – Right Handed Pitcher

John pitched in 50 games in 2009, splitting his season between Savannah and St. Lucie. At St. Lucie, a higher level than Savannah, Stinson had a 1.98 ERA in 25 games compared to a 3.61 ERA in the same number of games for Savannah. Stinson pitched primarily in relief having started just one game. Stinson struck out 35 in 36.1 innings whiles walking 19. At St. Lucie, opposing hitters batted just .168 against Stinson. His overall record was 5-3 with a 2.86 ERA.

Position Players

Ike Davis – Left Handed First Baseman

The son of former Yankee pitcher Ron Davis had a break out year at St. Lucie and Binghamton. The 22 year old first baseman batted a combined .298 in 429 at bats over 114 games in 2009. At AA Binghamton in 55 games, Davis batted .309, hit 13 homeruns and knocked in 71 RBI. His on base percentage was .386 and his slugging percentage was .565, excellent numbers. Against right handed hitters, these percentages went up to .409 and .618 respectively. While everyone ponders if Daniel Murphy is the future first baseman for the Mets, Davis could be the power answer the Mets are looking for a couple of years down the road.

Reese Havens – Right Handed Shortstop, Bats Left

Havens, 23, spent the entire season at St. Lucie. He batted just .247 but does have some power. The left handed hitting shortstop hit 14 homeruns, 19 doubles and 1 triple while batting in 52 runs. His on base percentage was .361, room for improvement there. He walked 55 times in 360 at bats and struck out 73 times. Reese is not a speedster having only stolen 3 bases and was caught twice.

Ruben Tejada – Right Handed Shortstop

Could the slick fielding Tejada be heir apparent to Jose Reyes? It’s an interesting thought. Tejada batted .289 in 134 games entirely for Binghamton in 2009. In 488 at bats, Tejada scored 59 runs, had 24 doubles, 3 triples, and hit 5 homeruns. He batted in 46 runs, walked 37 times but struck out 59 times. Tejada is a good prospect but seriously must do better to approach what Reyes has done offensively prior to this season. He certainly does not have the speed of Reyes having stolen just 19 bases all season. I would bet Tejada will eventually be used in a trade since Reyes is still very young.

Lucas Duda – Right Handed Outfielder, Bats left

Like Tejada, Duda played the entire season at Binghamton. In 110 games, Duda batted .289. He hit 29 doubles, 1 triple, and 9 homers while driving in 53. He walked 61 times and struck out 91 times. The 23 year old outfielder had a .380 on base percentage and a 428 slugging percentage. These are not the numbers that Ike Davis has shown but they are not bad either.

Although I have not seen anything official, I would assume that the MLB network will show a game or two from the AFL. Last season, the championship game was streamed on the internet.

You can check out how the Mets prospects and others are doing at by clicking here.

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

October 13, 1969

The Mets were off on this date as they and the Orioles worked out at Shea Stadium. Game 3 of the 1969 World Series would be held the next afternoon. Gary Gentry was slated to start against Jim Palmer.

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

The Mets did not want to head home down two games to none in the World Series. Even with the home field advantage for the middle three games, loosing game two would insure the Mets would have to win the World Series on the road if they were to win it at all.

Their best pitcher was less than the best in game one. Seaver gave up four runs and did not match the pitcher he was while winning his last eight decisions. The Mets batters had looked lifeless against the Orioles ace Mike Cuellar in game one. In game two, the Mets turned to their number two pitcher Jerry Koosman to hold the fort and give the likes of Agee, Clendenon, Jones, and Swoboda to get something going offensively.

October 12, 1969, World Series Game 2

Memorial Stadium – Jerry Koosman won 17 regular season games against nine losses. His ERA was an impressive 2.28 with a career high 180 strike outs. Koosman did not have the stature of Tom Seaver. But under pressure, as fans would soon learn, Koosman had ice running through his veins.

Dave McNally was just as formidable. The left handed McNally won twenty games in ’69 and had an era of 3.22. The game had the potential of being a great pitcher’s dual. This is one time when the predictions became a reality.

McNally retired Tommie Agee, Bud Harrelson, and Cleon Jones in order in the first. Koosman countered by striking out Don Buford, then getting Paul Blair and Frank Robinson to fly out. The Mets got a runner as far as second base in the second inning but did not score. In the O’s second, Koosman retired Boog Powell and Brooks Robinson before walking Davey Johnson. But catcher Andy Etchebarren lined out ending the inning.

The first hit of the game came in the Mets third when second baseman Al Weis singled to center. Agee grounded out forcing Weis at second. Harrelson later walked putting runners on first and second but Cleon Jones lined out hard to Buford in left to end the inning. In the bottom of the third, Koosman once again retired the Orioles in order. Through three innings there was no score with the Mets recording the only hit.

In the top of the fourth, Donn Clendenon hit a McNally fast ball over the right field fence to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. It was the first lead the Mets ever had in a World Series game. McNally retired the next three batters with the inning ending on a stellar play by Brooks Robinson. Koosman kept mowing down the Orioles however. In fact neither team did anything over the next two innings. Through six, the Mets led 1-0 and the Orioles had not one hit, just a walk back in the second inning. Since then, Koosman retired 13 batters in a row.

The Mets threatened in the seventh. With one out, Ed Charles doubled down the left field line. After Grote popped out, Orioles manager Earl Weaver elected to walk Al Weis and pitch to Koosman. Hodges left Koosman in but the pitcher grounded out to end the inning.

The Orioles broke up the no hit bid when Paul Blair singled to lead off the seventh. But Koosman got Frank Robinson to line out to Agee and Powell to pop up to Harrelson. But with two out, Blair was able to steal second just ahead of Grote’s throw. On the very next pitch, Brooks Robinson singled up the middle. Blair scored tying the game at one. Davey Johnson grounded out ending the rally.

In the eighth, Koosman and McNally took control again and retired the side in their respective half innings. It was on to the ninth and you could cut the tension with a knife.

In the Mets ninth, Clendenon struck out and Swoboda grounded out to first. With two out, Ed Charles singled to left. With the hit and run on, Grote singled to left as Charles made it all the way to third. Orioles pitching coach George Bamberger (who would one day manage the Mets) visited the mound to talk things over with McNally. The light hitting Al Weis came up with runners on first and third. Gil Hodges had great faith in his players and had no intentions of pinch hitting for Weis who he felt was his best option against the left handed McNally.

Weis did not disappoint as he lined the first pitch he saw into leftfield, the Mets third hit in a row. Charles scored and the Mets had a one run lead. Another manager might have pinched hit for Koosman but not Hodges. He knew that pitching was how his club reached this unprecedented point of the season. Koosman came up to bat and grounded out to end the inning. It wasn’t as if Hodges was hoping Koosman would somehow get a hit. He just liked his chances with Koosman on the mound to protect the 2-1 lead in the ninth.

As NBC broadcaster Curt Gowdy stated, Koosman appeared to be getting stronger than he was earlier in the game. He retired the first two hitters without difficulty in the ninth. Then Hodges did something not in the standard play book. He moved Al Weis to leftfield along the line, moved Jones into left center, Agee into right center and Swoboda near the line in right. The Mets played with four outfielders and no second baseman. Hodges wanted to protect from a ball hit into the gaps or down the line. But the strategy went for naught as Robinson worked out a walk. On a three-two count Powell walked too. That final out became elusive enough that it prompted Hodges to remove Koosman and bring in right handed reliever Ron Taylor to face the right handed Brooks Robinson.

With the tying run on second and the winning run on first, Brooks grounded the ball hard down to third. But Hodges had correctly positioned Ed Charles and Clendenon in the no doubles defense along the lines. Charles scooped the ball and ran to third. I remember not breathing as Frank Robinson beat Charles to the bag. The Mets third baseman changed his mind realizing the futility of trying to force Robinson and fired to first where Clendenon stretched and got Brooks Robinson out by a couple of steps. The Mets held on to win as Mets fans everywhere took a collective breath. This was simply an outstanding ballgame.

Record Mets 1, Orioles 1, in best of seven series.

The series was tied one to one. The New York Mets had won their first World Series game in history. The series would now move to New York where 55,000 people would be waiting to scream and yell in game three at Shea Stadium.

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

The Baltimore Orioles of 1969 had the greatest season of any major league team that year, even better than the Mets. The Orioles had won 109 games while losing just 59, winning the American League East by a staggering 19 games. The big difference between Baltimore and the Amazin’ Mets was expectations. The Orioles were expected to dominate unlike the Mets who were simply predicted to improve. And dominate the Orioles did.

Baltimore had a lineup of Don Buford in left, Paul Blair in center, Frank Robinson in right, Boog Powell at first, the defensive wizard Brooks Robinson at third, Elrod Hendricks behind the plate, Davey Johnson at second, and shortstop Mark Belanger. The case could be made that the Orioles had better players at every position when compared to the Mets. And if you think the Mets had the edge on the mound, guess again. While the Mets pitched phenomenally during 1969, so did the Orioles.

The Mets had Seaver, Koosman, Gentry, McAndrew, and Ryan. But Baltimore could counter that with Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally, both twenty game winners with 23 and 20 respectively. Plus they had Jim Palmer, Tom Phoebus and Jim Harden. In the bullpen, Baltimore had Pete Richert, Eddie Watt, Dick Hall, Dave Leonhard, and Marcelino Lopez. The bench included catcher Andy Etchebarren, outfielders Merv Rettenmund, and Dave May.

The Orioles manager was none other than Earl Weaver. The short, stocky Weaver was as fiery as they came. He was a fierce competitor who was often quoted as saying his best friend was a three run homer. Weaver argued with umpires constantly and was thrown out of games often. He would go nose to nose with an ump with his hat on backwards as he kicked dirt on their shoes. One time he actually brought a rule book out and pointed to a particular page as he argued. Earl was quite a show. From the players to the manager, the Orioles were stacked.

Like the Mets, the Orioles swept their championship series three games to none. Baltimore defeated the AL Western Division champion Minnesota Twins. Not too many were predicting an easy time of it for the Mets. Most assumed the Orioles would win in five or six games, maybe even a four game sweep. But Mets fans had faith but that faith would be tested right off the bat.

October 11, 1969, World Series Game 1

Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium – With twenty five wins plus one in the NLCS, there was no question that Tom Seaver would start game one for the Mets. The Orioles had the home field advantage, not because of their better record or an All Star game victory which they did not do back then, but because it was the American League’s turn to host the series. The first two games would be in Baltimore followed by three games at Shea Stadium and if necessary, another two back in Baltimore. All games were played during the day then. Night World Series games were still a few years away.

Seaver’s mound opponent was Mike Cuellar. The left handed pitcher was a hard thrower who pitched 18 complete games including five shutouts and 182 strikeouts during the regular season.

In the first inning, Cleon Jones got the first World Series hit in Mets history with two out, a single to center. But he was left there after Cuellar stuck out Donn Clendenon.

In the bottom of the first, Seaver’s first pitch was met squarely off the bat of Don Buford who drove it over the right field wall. Ron Swoboda raced back to the wall and made a valiant effort to catch the fly ball but was unable to reach it. Swoboda recently claimed he got a bad jump on the ball and felt he should have caught it. As lore goes, Buford rounded the bases and smugly suggested to Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson that they hadn’t seen anything yet. Harrelson confidently replied that Buford hadn’t either.

The Mets could not get anything going against Cuellar. Through four innings, all the Mets could muster was a single, a walk, and a double but were unable to take advantage.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Orioles rallied for three runs with two outs. Elrod Hendricks singled, Davey Johnson walked, and then Belanger singled scoring Hendricks. To add insult to injury, Cuellar singled scoring Johnson then Buford doubled driving in the final run of the inning. After four, the Orioles led the Mets 4-0.

And that’s the way it stayed until the top of the seventh when the Mets loaded the bases with one out. But all the Mets could do was score one run on a sacrifice fly from Al Weis. Cuellar allowed the Mets nothing the rest of the afternoon. The Orioles won game one 4-1 and confidently walked off the field shaking hands.

The Mets, with heads down, went into their dugout. Seaver walked into the tunnel very upset with his outing. Donn Clendenon told Seaver not to worry, it was only one game and they would still win the series.

Record Orioles 1, Mets 0, in the best of seven series.

The loss was the first for the Mets since October 2nd, the last game of the regular season.

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

October 10, 1969

The Mets traveled to Baltimore and worked out at Memorial Stadium in preparation for the 1969 World Series which would start the next day.

2009: The Year in Review

Lou Di Falco — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0400

I completely understand if you don’t want to read this. It was painful to write. But, as I have done since 2006, I felt it was my duty to review 2009, a most forgettable season.

70 wins and 92 losses is not what Mets fans expected back on April 6th, the day the 2009 season began. It is especially disappointing considering the Mets addressed their bullpen woes from a year ago by acquiring both J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez as setup man and closer. After that first game in Cincinnati ended and the Mets behind Johan Santana came away the victor, hope was running high. But when that first road trip ended at 3-3, some doubt became apparent as the Mets returned home to open brand new Citi Field.

It was a three year wait for the new ballpark whose construction began in earnest in late summer of 2006, the last time the Mets made the playoffs. After the hoopla and the ceremonial first pitch was thrown, the first of a series of omens occurred that gave pause.

Mike Pelfrey was on the mound to face San Diego batter Jody Garrut, the first batter in Citi Field history. The left handed hitting Garrut pulled a drive down the right field line for a home run to inaugurate Citi Field. At that moment I began to wonder. Could this be a sign that perhaps this year may not go the way we had hoped.

Later that game, Pelfrey stumbled and fell off the mound in comical fashion. In the end, ex-Met Heath Bell recorded the save for San Diego spoiling the party.

The Mets picked up their first Citi Field victory two nights later but lost the series to the Padres. The Mets split their first home stand and left for the road with a 6-6 record. At the end of April the Mets were an unimpressive 9-12. Mets fans were wondering what was wrong.

One thing that was wrong was Oliver Perez. The Mets resigned Perez to a three year 36 million dollar contract. The lefty showed up to spring training after the WBC out of shape. He struggled through the month of April and was put on the disabled list in early May with tendinitis in his left knee. Also, Tim Redding, who was signed as a free agent, was out since spring training with shoulder tendonitis.

Things were looking up however as the Mets won seven in a row at the beginning of May. Heading to the west coast the Mets found themselves in first place a game ahead of the Phillies. Another omen occurred during the plane ride to San Francisco when Jose Reyes suffered some sort of injury to his calf. He had to be scratched from the lineup the next day. What happened on that plane is still a mystery.

Alex Cora filled in at short as the Mets took the first three of four games against the Giants. The Mets were shut out by Matt Cain in the final game. Jose Reyes missed the entire series.

Another problem was fast becoming apparent. Already out of action, Carlos Delgado went on the disabled list with soreness in his right hip, the same soreness that caused him to miss time in 2008. Alex Cora, the Mets primary infield backup, also went on the DL. He tore a tendon in his right thumb sliding into second during the last game at San Francisco. Injuries were becoming alarming and beginning to mount.

Yet another omen of things to come occurred the next evening in Los Angeles. Reyes would miss his fifth consecutive game and now Delgado and Cora were not available either. But the real story of this game occurred in extra innings when the Mets made another dubious statement.

With the score tied in the 11th inning, Ryan Church scored the go ahead run with two outs. Ah, but it turns out the former Mets right fielder never touched third base. The Dodgers won the appeal and the run did not count. On a throwing error in the bottom of the 11th, the Dodgers won the game 3-2.

Jose Reyes returned to the lineup the next day, the same day that Carlos Delgado had surgery to repair his ailing hip. Delgado’s recovery was set to last ten weeks, but Delgado would not return the rest of the season.

In Reyes’s second at bat, he felt something pull in his right hamstring while running to first. Reyes left the game and like Delgaod, was not seen the rest of the season. Of course at the time, the Mets and their fans did not know the injury was so devastating. Reyes was eventually put on the disabled list and will now, some four months later, undergo surgery to clean out scar tissue that’s been causing him pain.

After the Dodgers swept the series, the Mets were off to Boston for the first inter-league meeting of the season. Based on the injuries to key players and poor play in Los Angeles, most felt the Red Sox would mop the floor with the Mets. Surprisingly, the Mets won the series winning two of three including an incredible game on Saturday evening, the 23rd of May.

With the Mets down to their last strike trailing by one run, Omir Santos hit a ball that appeared to be a two run homer as it hit off the top of the Green Monster. At first, it was called a double. But after a 10 minute review by the umpires, the call was overturned and the Mets took the lead heading into the bottom of the 9th. A spectacular play by Luis Castillo saved the game for the Mets who held on to win. The game was one of the few highlights of the season. The Mets went on to win five of seven ending the month of May.

On May 31st, the Mets were 28-21, one half game behind the Phillies. The Mets finished the month of May with a record of 19-9. Even with Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado out of the lineup, there was still reason to believe the Mets would contend for the division title. After all, it was assumed those players would be coming back.

But the Mets got off to a bad start in June. They traveled to Pittsburgh where the Pirates swept three games of a rain shortened series with Mets injuries continuing to mount. Ryan Church was placed on the DL with a sore right hamstring. Angel Pagan was placed on the DL with a groin pull. Carlos Beltran and John Maine missed time with severe stomach flu. Gary Sheffield was listed day to day with a sore hamstring. But the biggest news was that J.J. Putz needed surgery for bone spurs in his right elbow and would miss two months of the season.

The off season plan had been that J.J. Putz, a successful closer with Seattle, would set up former Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez. The formula worked a number of times but Putz began to be vulnerable giving up big hits in key situations. He had complained of discomfort for a while but the Mets encouraged him to pitch through the pain. Eventually the pain was too much and the surgery became necessary. Unfortunately, like Delgado and Reyes, Putz never returned either.

After the Pirates sweep, the Mets managed a 3-3 record over the next six games before they traveled to the new Yankee Stadium for the first game of the 2009 Subway Series.

Perhaps this was the game that defined the Mets season. The Mets were without two of their core star players. It was becoming obvious that the Mets were starting to struggle.

On a rainy Friday evening, June 12th, the Mets and Yankees played a see-saw affair with the Yankees getting off to an early 1-0 lead. The Mets went ahead 2-1 in the third but in the bottom half the Yankees went ahead 3-2. The Mets scored four in the fifth to take a 6-3 lead but the Yanks scored one in their half and three in the sixth to take a 7-6 lead. With single runs in the 7th and 8th, the Mets took a one run lead into the bottom of the ninth. Francisco Rodriguez had not blown a save all season but got into trouble when Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira reached base. With two on and two out, K-Rod was able to get A-Rod to pop up to second base. But Luis Castillo dropped the popup. Jeter scored the tying run and Mark Teixeira who busted it from first base scored the winning run. It was the most devastating Mets loss in ages. The Mets showed some character the next day and won but it was the only game of the season in which they defeated the Yankees.

Oh, did I mention that John Maine was now on the DL too. He went down with shoulder fatigue. Mets players were dropping like flies. And to add injury to insult, Carlos Beltran was suffering from a sore right knee. It was discovered that he had a severe bruise in the knee and on June 22nd, Beltran was placed on the disabled list. Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and now Beltran were all out of the Mets lineup. The sole core player left was David Wright while healthy, had been struggling with his power all season long.

Wright’s average was high, at times above .350, but his power numbers had dropped significantly. Were the huge dimensions of Citi Field in his head? If that was true, then they were affecting his abilities on the road as well.

Everything the Mets did right in May they undid in June. The Mets finished the month with a 9-18 record. Certainly the injuries were the cause of the problem but poor fundamental play also contributed. At the end of the month the Mets had dropped to two games below .500, were in third place, but still only three games back.

In early July, the Mets were swept in a three game set at Philadelphia. Afterwards they managed a 3-3 record at Citi Field heading into the All Star Break. At the break the Mets had sunk to fourth place 6.5 games back of Philly with a record of 42-45.

On the injury front, Fernando Martinez who came up and played admirably in place of Church and Beltran was placed on the disabled list in July with inflammation in his knee. Pitcher Fernando Nieve, who pitched marvelously covering for Oliver Perez, tore a muscle in this right thigh running to first base on July 18th and is placed on the 60 day DL. Gary Sheffield was put on the DL as well with that nagging hamstring injury. It seemed the Mets had more players on the DL than on the team.

On a positive note, Omar Minaya made a trade that could turn out to be a good one. He swapped outfielder Ryan Church for Jeff Francoeur from Atlanta. Both outfielders were struggling and Church apparently wore out his welcome mat with manager Jerry Manuel. Francoeur played wonderfully for the Mets while Church played about the same for the Braves.

Back on the field, the Mets played well against Colorado at Citi Field, winning three of four, to end the month of July. However, the Mets would need a remarkable final two months of the season to make a run at the playoffs, a seemingly improbable feat.

It was hoped that Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran would have returned shortly after the All Star break. That did not happen. In fact at the beginning of August, they still were not back and neither was Carlos Delgado. On August 4th, Luis Castillo fell down the dugout stairs at Citi Field and had to leave the game with a sprained ankle. You just could not make this stuff up. With all the injuries and misfortune, some were beginning to wonder if Citi Field had been constructed on consecrated ground perhaps upsetting a few ghosts.

The next day, August 5th, young pitcher Jonathan Neise who showed so much promise, completely tore his hamstring from the bone and collapsed on the mound. He had just stretched at first covering the bag and came up limping. Insisting on taking a warm up pitch, Neise fell to the ground ending his season and heading for surgery.

On the field, the Mets were playing dreadfully. They lost nine of the first twelve games of August. Then on August 15th, the face of the franchise, David Wright, was drilled in the helmet by a Matt Cain fastball. It was the first time in the third baseman’s career he went on the disabled list.

Alex Cora, who played so gallantly with a torn tendon in his right thumb, had to call it quits in the middle of the month because he needed surgery on both thumbs. On August 24th, Jeff Francouer tore a ligament in his thumb but continued to play. The icing on the cake occurred the next day when it was revealed that ace pitcher Johan Santana would need season ending surgery on his pitching elbow to clean out bone chips. Not enough bad news? Oliver Perez also would get surgery on his patella tendon.

Not surprisingly, the Mets finished August 10-19. Carlos Beltran and David Wright finally did return to action but with the pitching staff made up mostly of youngsters and retreads the Mets could just not compete to even be a decent spoiler. They did take two of three against the Marlins in September to at least get some payback from the previous two seasons. The losses for Florida virtually eliminated them from wild card contention. Another positive, though a small one, was the Mets played 1.000 ball in October sweeping the Astros to end the season.

All in all, it was a season to forget completely. Unfortunately there are so many questions going into 2010, it’s hard to have a positive outlook.

On Monday, the day after the season, Jeff Wilpon, Omar Minaya, and David Howard appeared on Mike Francesa’s radio program for an hour and a half. They said all the right things. They did not use injuries as an excuse. But of course the injuries were a big part of what went wrong in 2009. Collectively, Mets players were on the DL for over 1400 days, far more than any other team. Plus, injuries were to key players, not just to backups. The starting rotation envisioned at the beginning of the season was nowhere to be seen at the end. Give Mike Pelfrey credit. At least he was around for most of the year only missing some time in April. Unfortunately, his performance was not what it was a year ago.

The Mets have much to figure out over the off season. They must do something to change the dynamic of the Mets. Fans are fed up. They will not be breaking the gates down to get in next season. Mets fans watched the cross town rivals inaugurate their new ballpark with a championship season. Mets fans want the same. They will be watching closely over the winter.

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

October 9, 1969

The Mets were off, holding a brief workout at Shea Stadium.

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

October 8, 1969

The Mets were off today. The Shea Stadium grounds crew worked feverishly to repair the field torn up by thousands of fans two days prior.

Fool Me Once...

Lou Di Falco — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:41:00 -0400

I have taken a couple of days to react to the mea culpa from the Mets a couple of days ago. Here goes… Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

I have seen this act before. In fact I have seen it far too many times. Years ago I use to look forward to listening to Fred Wilpon with Mike Francesa. Perhaps it was his fatherly ways that made me feel like he really cared. And I do believe he does really care. Fred doesn’t come out much anymore, at least to talk to the media. Now it’s his son Jeff, heir apparent to the throne, who makes the occasional public remarks.

I thought that Jeff Wilpon, Omar Minaya, and David Howard said all the right things during Francesa’s hour and a half interview. But talk is cheap. I am getting too old to assume things are going to be much different. I hope they prove me wrong.

It’s not that these people are trying to dupe us. I do not believe that for an instant. I honestly believe they want the Mets to succeed. It would be psychopathic on their part not to want to win. But it’s the Mets approach and determination that frightens me.

I think it is somewhat easy for Jeff Wilpon to go on the air and say all the things he knows the fans want to hear. I mean what else could he say? If he said anything short of “this year was unacceptable” the fans would have crucified him. What choice did he have? But he did have a choice to make more severe changes than firing a couple of coaches and he did not. For example, if on Monday he announced Bobby Valentine or someone else was the new manager, I would have reason to believe it’s not just words. I do believe cutting ties with Jerry Manuel and his coaches was the move they should have made. If the feeling is the season was unacceptable, why not back it up by firing those responsible.

Omar was Omar. He danced around all the questions really never providing real answers. To some degree, he must measure his words. I don’t blame him for defending Daniel Murphy against Francesa’s tirade in regards to the young first baseman’s shortcomings. Part of me wanted to hear Minaya say we (the Mets) will have to go find a power hitting first baseman but that would have been self defeating. Not only must he protect Murphy because there is a good chance he will man the position again next season but he may want to trade him. How could Omar possibly agree with Francesa publicly and not devalue his commodity. So for that, I have to give Omar a pass.

I must admit, I really like David Howard. At least he’s very honest and is not afraid to speak his mind. He really appears to be the only one in the front office that has a pair. Howard made an appearance recently on Fox Business News countering the claim from author Erin Arvedlund that the Mets would soon have to sell the team. He really let her have it denying the claim. Had the Mets shown as much tenacity on the field as Howard did in that interview, they might have finished at .500.

Honestly, I really could not find much fault with anything Wilpon, Minaya, or Howard said. But that still doesn’t make me feel confident that anything will change. Because let’s face the facts. The New York Mets have been a franchise that has never been able to sustain any kind of success. Every season where they have won, it’s a one-off. Even during the 1980s the Mets won just one time. Why is it so hard for a team who makes New York its home to produce a perennial winner? The Yankees have done it. Why can’t the Mets?

Sure we can argue the difference in payroll, that’s part of it. But another part is the Mets do not seem to foster a winning attitude. It is more likely a good player will improve their game if they become a Yankee than they will if they become a Met. Why? I don’t have the answer but I think attitude is a big part of it and that attitude starts at the top. Saying all the right things is good but following it up with action is better.

I have no doubt the Mets will make some deals and sign a free agent or two. But will they be difference makers or will they be bargains? And when they come, what will the message be to them?

I recall the criticisms of George Steinbrenner years ago. The press ridiculed him for being a bully and making winning the only thing that mattered. Look at the results of the message he sent. He won six world championships and more pennants and division titles than any other team by far since he bought the Yankees. The Yankees always appear to be focused while the Mets appear to be all over the place.

This winter, I promise not to get too excited when I hear a rumor or the consummation of a deal involving the Mets. This time, they will have to prove it to me on the field next season. Till then, I will continue to have my doubts.

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

October 7, 1969

The Mets rested following their NLCS victory. So did the Baltimore Orioles who won their championship series the day before shortly after the Mets clinched at Shea. The 1969 World Series teams were set. The Miracle Mets of 1969 would meet the powerful Baltimore Orioles beginning on Saturday, October 11th in Baltimore.

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

The last pennant to have been won in New York was by the Yankees of 1964. The last National League Pennant was won by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956, 13 years prior to ‘69. That was one season removed from the Dodgers moving to Los Angeles. Not to be forgotten, the New York Giants last won the National League pennant in 1954, the last time the Giants now of San Francisco won the World Series. On this day, the New York Mets had a chance to become the fourth Major League Baseball team of the modern era to win a league championship in New York.

October 6, 1969, NLCS Game 3

Shea Stadium – Left handed hitter Pat Jarvis was set to face the Mets and Gary Gentry on this early fall Monday afternoon. The Braves had their backs to the wall having lost their only two home games in the series. The Mets on the other hand had to be feeling good about their chances of winning one of the next three games scheduled at Shea Stadium. But the Mets did not want to drag things out. They wanted to win the series as soon as possible. After 100 regular season wins, none of it would matter if the Mets could not get to the World Series.

In the top of the first, the Braves got out to an early two nothing lead off of Gentry. If anything, Atlanta got the Shea faithful to quiet down. Hank Aaron did the damage by blasting a two run homerun to give the Braves the early lead.

In the third, Tony Gonzales singled and Aaron doubled putting runners on second and third with nobody out. Gil Hodges wasted no time in pulling Gentry and replacing him with hard throwing right hander Nolan Ryan. Ryan struck out Rico Carty then Orlando Cepeda was walked intentionally. Clete Boyer looked at a third strike before catcher Bob Didier flew out to left. Ryan gave the Mets a huge lift by not allowing a run after Atlanta threatened with none out. The Braves still led 2-0.

The Mets finally got on the board in their half of the third when Tommie Agee homered. Trailing by one (2-1) in the fourth inning, Art Shamsky led off with a single. Ken Boswell followed with a home run giving the Mets a 3-2 lead. The next batter, Ed Kranepool, got thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple otherwise the Mets might have scored more.

But as Mets fans finally settled back in their seats after all the excitement, the Braves struck back in a hurry. In the fifth, Ryan got Gonzales and Aaron to make out. But then he walked Rico Carty. The next hitter, Orlando Cepeda, hit a home run to put Atlanta back on top at 4-3. The big crowd at Shea got very quiet but that would not last long.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Nolan Ryan still in the game, singled to start things off. Wayne Garrett then joined in the home run act and hit one out putting the Mets back on top 5-4. Cleon Jones followed Garrett with a double before Braves manager Lum Harris replaced Jarvis with right hander George Stone (the same Stone who would pitch for the ’73 Mets). After Stone got Shamsky to ground out, Boswell, who had homered earlier, drove in Jones from second with a single to right. When the dust settled after the inning, the Mets held a 6-4 lead and were just twelve outs away from a pennant.

Ryan stayed in the game and got the side out in order in the sixth striking out two. In the bottom of the inning, Grote doubled. Harrelson sacrificed the Mets catcher to third. Harris then replaced Stone with submarine style pitcher Cecil Upshaw. Hodges, liking what he was seeing from his pitcher, left Ryan in to hit but he grounded to third for the second out of the inning. But leadoff batter Tommie Agee came through with a run scoring single. The Mets led 7-4 after six.

Both clubs went quietly in the seventh. In the eighth Hodges put in Rod Gaspar in right and Al Weis at second for defensive purposes. Rico Carty led off with a single against Ryan but Nolan then struck out Orlando Cepeda and Clete Boyer, both caught looking. Pinch hitter Mike Lum singled moving Carty to second. But then pinch hitter Filipe Alou lined out to short to end the inning.

Nolan Ryan remained in the game in the ninth for his seventh inning of relief. The Mets were three outs away from their first pennant. Pinch hitter Bob Aspromonte flied out to Agee. Felix Millan hit a ground ball to short that Bud Harrelson picked and threw to first for out number two. With the Shea crowd on its feet, poised to storm the field for the second time in two weeks, Tony Gonzales hit a ground ball to third baseman Wayne Garrett. Garrett threw across the diamond to Ed Kranepool for the final out. The Mets were the National League Champions of 1969. The fans stormed the field as the Mets struggled to reach the dugout. The second champagne celebration was under way.

Record - Mets 3, Braves 0, in best of five series

The 1969 National League Champion Mets would soon prepare to go to the World Series. For the first time in history, the Mets would play a meaningful game against an American League club. Prior to this, the Mets played the Yankees in the Mayor’s Trophy Game and other American League teams in spring training. While the Mets celebrated, they awaited the winner of the American League Championship Series between the Baltimore Orioles and the Minnesota Twins. Baltimore was leading the AL series two games to nothing.

One Final Day at the Ballpark

Lou Di Falco — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:00:00 -0400

My son and I were two of the diehards at Citi Field yesterday for the finale. For a one game event, completely isolated from the nightmare of 2009, it was a very enjoyable experience.

Nelson Figueroa pitched the game of his life, the Mets played crisp defense and got the timely hits they needed to put together a tidy 4-0 win. It was the first and only complete game shutout at home this season. Pat Misch, just one week ago, also pitched a complete game shutout against the Marlins in Miami.

Sitting there yesterday, soaking up the warm sun and smelling the grilled sausages, it was easy to think if everyone comes back healthy the Mets will not have to do too much over the winter. Of course, if that happens, the Mets and we fans will suffer the consequences.

I take nothing away from the effort of Nelson Figueroa but the Astros were swinging the bats like the bus engine was running. There was nothing to play for by either team. Once the Mets scored the first run, it was who can make the next out quicker. The game took just two hours and twenty-five minutes to play.

Even if all the injured come back 100 percent healthy, there are things the Mets must do to fix what contributed to the worst record since 2003. And the questions the Mets must answer will not be easy.

Settling on Daniel Murphy at first base and Angel Pagan in left could be tempting if the Mets hierarchy truly believe these players have what it takes to be in the lineup every day. But what if the Mets are wrong? What if Murphy continues to hit in the .260s and remain on a pace to drive in just seventy runs or so? That is simply not enough production from a first baseman, especially when there now are questions as to David Wright’s production. Wright needs protection in the lineup. Is Murphy really that guy?

We’ve heard a lot about Pagan being the best athlete on the team. When healthy, Pagan is a formidable player but too often, he loses focus on the base paths. Is that something that can be addressed? You would think that at this level, baseball instincts should already be established.

I think Pagan could be an excellent fourth outfielder option. I would rather see Jason Bay or Matt Holiday in left field every day. But to acquire those two will cost the Mets big money. Will the Mets be able to raise payroll?

The one thing the Mets must do is to get some pitching help in the rotation. As positive as it may have been to watch Misch, Maine, and Figueroa pitch so impressively over the weekend, the truth is these games are not a good barometer. Maine is the likely candidate to be in the rotation. Misch could be that sixth starter or long relief guy. Figueroa is a great story but he is 35 years old and yesterday may have been the highlight of his career.

Pitching killed the Mets the last two months of the season. It’s not the reason the Mets did not make the post season. That can be blamed on injuries. But the reason the Mets faded in such a brutal fashion falls on the pitching staff. Once Santana went down, the pitching staff fell apart.

Mets hitters led the league in team batting average and with runners in scoring position.. But one noticeable thing missing was runs scored. Much of that can be blamed on the fact that Mets hitters hit only 95 homeruns in ’09. Stop blaming Citi Field. Visiting players hit twice as many homers there than the Mets did. Let’s not forget that if the fences are brought in, that helps the visiting hitters too.

It was a great one day though. The tacos were fantastic and for one brief period we could dream of the summer that is to come. It’s far off today, six months to the day to be exact. But it will come. And when it does, will the Mets have done their due diligence to fix what went to so wrong this season. We’ll see.

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

Winning the first game of the post season was a huge step for the Mets. At least they knew they would not return home down two games to none. Even if the Mets lost game 2, they would have to win two of three at home to move on to the World Series. The Mets had to feel confident knowing they did that often at Shea Stadium in 1969.

October 5, 1969, NLCS Game 2

Atlanta Stadium – Leading the series one game to nothing, game 2 would pit Mets left handed pitcher Jerry Koosman against Atlanta Braves hurler Ron Reed.

The Mets got off to a quick start when in the first inning, they loaded the bases. With two outs Ed Kranepool singled to right scoring Tommie Agee. After an inning the Mets had a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, Koosman walked the first man he faced but then struck out Tony Gonzales before Hammerin’ Hank Aaron hit into a double play.

In the second, the Mets bats went to work again. After Koosman worked out a walk, Tommie Agee launched a two run homerun. Then with two outs, Cleon Jones doubled before Art Shamsky drove him home with a single. With the Mets leading 4-0, Atlanta manager Lum Harris, pulled Reed and brought in Paul Doyle who recorded the final out of the inning.

Koosman got the Braves out in order in the second. The Mets rallied again in the third scoring two more runs knocking out Doyle who was replaced by Milt Papas. The Mets led 6-0 after three innings but weren’t done there. In the fourth, Ken Boswell socked a two run homer putting the Mets up 8-0.

The Braves finally got on the board off of Koosman when in the bottom of the fourth, Rico Carty doubled, then Orlando Cepeda doubled him home. So after four innings of play the Mets were in good shape leading 8-1.

More runs scored in the fifth. After two outs, Wayne Garrett doubled followed by an RBI single off the bat of Cleon Jones. Heading to the bottom of the fifth inning, the Mets led 9-1. While the Atlanta faithful were glum, Mets fans were giddy.

However, nothing is ever easy. In the Braves fifth, Koosman got himself into a pile of trouble. Jerry got the first two Braves out without any problem but then the wheels fell off.

Felix Millan singled to right. Gonzales worked out a walk then Hank Aaron blasted a three run homer to reduce the Braves deficit to five runs (9-4). But Atlanta wasn’t finished.

Koosman walked Rico Carty. Cepeda doubled to put runners on second and third. Clete Boyer singled up the middle scoring both Carty and Cepeda. Gil Hodges had seen enough and pulled Koosman replacing him with veteran Ron Taylor who got the final out of the inning. What was a laugher was now only a three run lead for the Mets. After five, the Mets led 9-6.

After a scoreless sixth, the Mets came to bat in the top of the seventh. Tommie Agee walked with one out. Then with two outs, Cleon Jones hit a two run homerun giving the Mets a bit more cushion. In the middle of the seventh, the Mets led 11-6.

In the bottom of the seventh, Hodges brought in Tug McGraw. Accept for an error by Bud Harrelson, McGraw got through the seventh and eighth without any problem. But in the Braves ninth, McGraw walked Millan before Gonzales singled. With no outs and runners on first and second, McGraw got Aaron looking at strike three before he induced Rico Carty to hit into a 4-6-3 double play ending the ballgame.

So the pitching rich, light hitting Mets pummeled Braves pitching in the two games in Atlanta. They scored 20 runs on 23 hits and slugged three home runs. But uncharacteristically, Mets pitching gave up 11 runs on 19 hits. Never the less, the Mets were heading back to Shea Stadium for game three the next afternoon in a commanding position.

All the Mets needed to do was to win one game at home where the Mets dominated opponents during the regular season with a 52-30 record. One more win out of three chances and the Mets would be National League Champions.

Record - Mets 2, Braves 0, in best of five series.

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

What brought the Mets to this point, the first National League Championship Series in history, was tremendous pitching, great defense, and timely hitting. The Mets were no powerhouse. Perhaps that fact alone may have been why the Cubs did not take the Mets too seriously until it was too late.

In 1969, the Cubs had power hitters Ron Santo, Ernie Banks, and Billy Williams, all legitimate homerun threats. The Mets by comparison had to import Donn Clendenon, an older veteran who had homerun power. But while Clendenon only provided 12 homers, Tommy Agee, the Mets primary leadoff hitter, led the team with 26.

The Cubs had four hitters with over 20 homeruns. After Agee, the next highest homerun total from a Met was Art Shamsky’s 14. And in a regular season that saw the Mets win 100 games, the Mets had no hitter reach 100 RBI. The highest total was by Tommie Agee and Cleon Jones who had 76 and 75 RBI respectively.

That’s why it was so ironic that the Mets would play the way they did in the NLCS against the Western Division champion Atlanta Braves.

October 4, 1969, NLCS Game 1

Atlanta Stadium – Tom Seaver, 25 game winner and candidate for the Cy Young award, was set to start the first post season game in Mets history against Atlanta Braves starter Phil Niekro. It would be no easy task facing an Atlanta Braves lineup that included Hank Aaron, Rico Carty, Orlando Cepeda, and Clete Boyer. The four combined to hit 96 home runs, Aaron had 44 of them. For the Mets to prevail, their pitching and defense would have to come through as it did all season long.

After a scoreless first, the Mets rallied for two in the second. Jerry Grote singled in the first run with the second run scoring on a passed ball. But in uncharacteristic fashion, Seaver gave back a run immediately in the bottom half of the second when Rico Carty scored on a sacrifice fly by Clete Boyer. However, in fairness to Seaver, an error by Ken Boswell aided in the Braves rally. After two innings, the Mets led 2-1.

The Braves struck again in the third. After Seaver struck out Neikro, Felix Millan doubled. Center fielder Tony Gonzales doubled to right field driving in Millan to tie the game. Then Hank Aaron hit another double for the Braves, the third in a row scoring Gonzales. The Braves had the lead. I remember wondering if maybe the Mets just getting to the playoffs would be good enough. However, Seaver got out of further trouble as the game moved to the fourth with the Mets trailing the Braves 3-2.

After two out in the Mets fourth, Ed Kranepool singled and Jerry Grote walked. The Mets would need a big two out hit from Bud Harrelson. The shortstop came through when he hit a ball down the right field line that scored Kranepool and Grote. Harrelson ended up at third with a triple and the Mets were back on top 4-3.

With the Mets still holding the slim lead, Seaver served up a game tying homerun to Tony Gonzales to start the fifth inning. Later in the bottom of the seventh with one out, Hank Aaron hit another homer for the Braves giving them a 5-4 lead. The home crowd was roaring as a sinking feeling tugged at Mets fans’ hearts throughout the tri-state area.

But this was 1969, when the unexpected became the norm. Trailing 5-4 in the top of the eighth, Wayne Garret led off with a double to left field. Cleon Jones promptly singled him home and just like that, the Mets tied the score again. Art Shamsky followed with a single through the right side of the infield moving Jones over to second. Al Weis came into the game to run for Shamsky. Jones stole third putting runners at the corners with no one out. Boswell grounded the ball to first but Orlando Cepeda booted it allowing Jones to score and Weis to move to second base. The Mets had a 6-5 lead, still with nobody out.

Ed Kranepool grounded back to the pitcher Neikro who forced Boswell at second while Weis went to third. Jerry Grote then grounded to third. Boyer held the runner Weis and fired to first to get the out number two. On the play Kranepool moved to second.

Now the Mets had runners on second and third with two outs and leading by one run. Braves manager Lum Harris had Harrelson walked intentionally to get to Seaver. But Mets manager Gil Hodges sent up J.C. Martin to pinch hit instead.

Neikro was left in the game to pitch to the left hander who singled to right scoring Weis and Kranepool. On a throwing error from Atlanta center fielder Gonzales, Harrelson scored from first giving the Mets a four run lead. Martin was tagged out at second on the wild play on a throw from catcher Bob Didier to end the inning.

Seaver who was less than stellar in his first start in over a week. Now with the Mets leading 9-5, Ron Taylor was called in from the bullpen by Hodges to hopefully save the game.

Taylor pitched a perfect eighth but ran into trouble in the ninth. A leadoff single then a double with two out put runners on second and third. Taylor got Orlando Cepeda to pop up to second. Al Weis, who had stayed in the game after pinch running in the eighth, squeezed the ball in his glove and the Mets had their first ever post season victory.

So in a year where pitching and defense got the Mets to the post season, on this day, their bats did all the work.

Record - Mets 1, Braves 0, in best of five series.

November Ball

Lou Di Falco — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:19:00 -0400

Here’s a scenario for you. The Boston Red Sox could play the Colorado Rockies in the World Series. This is very possible. Imagine the series goes to seven games. If that’s the case, the Rox and Sox would be at Fenway Park on November 5th with a game time of around 8:30PM. I know as a kid growing up, when I thought of November, I thought the summer game—sarcasm intended.

Last season, we witnessed the Phillies play against the Tampa Bay Rays in cold rainy conditions at Citizen’s Bank Park. After the series I wrote a scathing article on how Major League Baseball needed to do something about playing in these awful weather conditions. Well, they did. They pushed the schedule even further into the fall.

Of course if it turns out to be a Freeway series with the Angels facing the Dodgers, the point will be moot. In that case we’ll all be “California dreamin’ on such a winter’s day”.

If Detroit holds on and wins the American League Central, there will be five teams with a shot at being in the World Series in less than desirable weather conditions. Here are the average low/high and record temperatures for the five cities with a shot at hosting the World Series ending on November 5th

City low/high rec low/rec high

Boston 41-55 17/79

New York 41-56 29/73

Philadelphia 43-58 26/80

Detroit 39-53 18/72

Denver, Co 23/54 0/84

This data only includes temperature. It says nothing of possible precipitation which is fairly common in early November.

You have to scratch your head at times. When will Major League Baseball do something to improve the conditions for its most import season? Is there anything baseball can do? The answer is yes and no.

Baseball could shorten the regular season, have less off days during the playoffs, and play during the day when temperatures are warmer. All of these ideas make sense for the good of the game. However, they are all bad for the good of the MLB wallet. And that’s the problem.

MLB is caught between a rock and a hard place. They want to make baseball as good as it can be but the almighty buck is most important. The networks call the shots as to when these games will be played because they are footing the bill. They need these games in prime time to charge as much as they can to their advertisers. We fans are the ones who suffer. We will continue to endure less than perfect baseball while the players are forced to play in such terrible conditions.

A neutral site has been suggested but that is unfair to the home crowds who have supported their team all season long. Baseball is not football. Baseball is a regional game. It’s one thing for fans to pay for a weekend at the Super Bowl, but very few have the time and money to spend a week at a neutral World Series site.

While all the solutions fly in the face of revenue, nothing will ever change. We will just have to get used to baseball being played in the cold. Well at least the players will.

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

October 3, 1969

The Mets worked out at Atlanta Stadium in preparation for the National League Championship Series that would begin the next day.

40 Years Ago Today

Lou Di Falco — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

October 2, 1969

Wrigley Field - It was an extremely small consolation prize but perhaps it was something that would help Cubs fans get through the cold winter ahead. The Cubs ended the Mets nine game winning streak by ending the regular season with a 5-3 victory.

The Mets led the game early 3-0 but the Cubs came back to win off of Don Cardwell who came in relief of Gary Gentry to tune up for the post season. The loss was only the 11th in the last 49 games played. Since August 13th 1969, after the Mets were swept by the Astros, they went 38-11. The Mets went from third place, 9.5 games back to 8 games up in the 49 remaining games.

Record 100-62, first place 8 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs.

The regular season had ended. The Mets were in the final four. They would head to Atlanta to prepare for their first post season in history, the first NLCS in history.

It would be the New York Mets vs. the Atlanta Braves in the National League and the Minnesota Twins vs. the Baltimore Orioles in the American League.

The Mets accomplished the improbable. But now that the regular season was over there was much work to be done. Winning 100 games was over. As far as the Mets were concerned, it started all over in two days in Atlanta at 0-0.