A quick posting on Sunday's game, and the current state of the Mets, the updated Magic Number, and minor league news, then at the bottom I'll recap Saturday night.
The big news for the Mets is that Tom Glavine is out indefinitely right now. Glavine will be undergoing some tests on what is said to be a blood clot in his shoulder. This could be a minor thing that could be removed, and Glavine could be back in a couple of weeks. It could be a major thing, which could be season-ending, possibly career-threatening, and maybe even life-threatening. Obviously, that would have a major impact on Glavine and the Mets. More details will surface in the coming days, as Glavine gets these tests and test results.
For now, here's what this means for the Mets. The Mets need El Duque to continue to step up. They need John Maine to continue to pitch well. They need Dave Williams to pitch like he did Saturday night. They need Brian Bannister to be very good, like he was in his first couple of starts, and recently in rehab, and they need Oliver Perez to be as dominant as he has been in his past two Triple-A starts. They also need Mike Pelfrey to pitch like he did when he was up - well enough to keep the Mets in games. And they need Steve Trachsel to step up big time. He needs more outings like his last one, where he gives up 3 runs over 7, not 5 runs in 5 innings. (The Mets also need Pedro Martinez* to come back healthy and be effective for the rest of the season).
Now, if the Mets keep getting pitching performances out of every pitcher like El Duque gave them on Sunday, they'll be OK. Orlando Hernandez went 6 shutout innings, striking out 8, and got relief from Chad Bradford, Aaron Heilman, and Billy Wagner (save # 31) in the Mets' 2-0 win.
And the loss of Glavine doesn't affect the Mets' lineup, which continues to show signs of life. The Carloses - Delgado and Beltran - provided the Mets' offense, with each hitting a solo homer. After a long RBI drought, Beltran is now at 101 RBI. If the Mets start to hit again, they can easily outscore their opponents.
The Mets can survive this blow. It definitely hurts their championship chances. But like I said, the Mets' lineup hasn't been hurt, so they can still score runs (it can actually get even better, when Cliff Floyd comes back - that can only help the likes of David Wright in the lineup). And the Mets have some capable pitchers. Best-case scenario, both Pedro* and Glavine are back for the playoffs. Worst-case scenario, both don't. Medium-case - one is back, the other isn't. No matter what the scenario, the Mets need contributions from the other pitchers in their rotation - they might just be depending on them more than they thought.
I'll have more on this situation Monday - an off-day. For now, I'll continue with the regular feaetures:
MAGIC NUMBER: The 3-game sweep of the Rockies helped, but the Phillies bounced back from a game 1 loss to Washington to take 2 out of 3. So 28 became 27 on Saturday, and 27 became 26 on Sunday. The Phillies are in Chicago beginning Monday night - so there's a chance the number can get to 25 before the Mets take the field again.
METS MOVE: The Mets acquired reliever Guillermo Mota from the Indians in exchange for a player to be named later. I'm not crazy about this move, but the Mets do need bullpen help. Those are going to be some tired arms out there. The problem is, the Mets could use effective bullpen help, and I'm not sure Mota provides that. The former Dodger and Marlin is probably best remembered by Mets fans for throwing in on Mike Piazza multiple times in spring training, then weaseling his way out of a fight with Piazza. The positive news, I guess, is that I think Mota was more effective in the National League than the American League.
THE KID'S KIDS: The St. Lucie Mets lost without Hall of Famer Gary Carter at the helm on Saturday, but they still had a half-game lead in the division. More on Monday.
ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: Edgardo Alfonzo was 1-for-3 (to hit .276) in Saturday's 1-0 win - a combined 1-hitter for starter Oliver Perez. On Sunday, he was working on an 0-for-3 when I posted.
1986 REUNION
As I mentioned most of last week, I was at the Mets' 1986 championship reunion on Saturday night. And it was pretty awesome. Full disclosure - it poured during the ceremony, which didn't really bother me. But the rain became bothersome while we waited roughly 35 minutes for the field to be made ready for the game, following the ceremony. Plus the wind in the upper deck. We watched the first inning from the concourse, on television, then my dad and I decided to go home (we were taking the train, because parking is so tough, because of the pending construction of the new stadium - more on that tomorrow). So we saw the awesome comeback on TV back in my parents' house, but I saw what I wanted to see - my boyhood heroes back in the same place they became my boyhood heroes.
(Roger McDowell, Davey Johnson, Dwight Gooden, and Ray Knight were just about the only notable absentees from the ceremony. I heard on Ed Randall's Talking Baseball Sunday morning, on my way back from New York, that Barry Lyons was there, but he wasn't part of the on-field celebration because he wasn't on the 1986 post-season roster. That's a crying shame. He was a part of that team - so much so that when I played on my first traveling baseball team, I was disappointed that I didn't get 8, Gary Carter's number, but when I got #33, I said, "I'll take it - Barry Lyons, another catcher." So that shows how much a part of the team he was. The Mets always find a way to screw up something nice.) Anyway, without further ado - some pictures from the big night (we were in the upper deck, but some of these pictures actually came out better than I expected - I think if you click them you'll get bigger images. Enjoy.):
The Championship Trophy was in attendance - positioned behind host Howie Rose, seen to the right on the DiamondVision scoreboard. Rose introduced each player - and the players came onto the field through the field level stands. I wish I was sitting in the field level seats.....
I love Gary Carter. I can't help it - he's my friggin' baseball hero. For me as a kid, everything revolved around Carter. One of my biggest regrets of adulthood (which has gone quite swimmingly overall) is that I couldn't make his Hall of Fame induction - there was a conflict that weekend. I had said ever since I was very young that I would drive my dad to Cooperstown the day Carter was inducted. Turns out, I don't know if we would have been able to get a hotel, and it would probably have been a large pain to go - but I held out hope we could go until the last minute. I still regret it. But I was at his Mets' Hall of Fame induction, and I was at the 1986 reunion, and here he is taking the field. It gives me chills to hear people cheer for him still. I'll have a very hard time rooting against him as a Major League manager.
Gary Carter was the second-to-last member of the team introduced - Darryl Strawberry got the loudest cheer, and was the last person introduced. It was good that he came - a dispute with Mets management almost kept him from appearing (rumored to be why Ray Knight wasn't there). This is what it looked like - you can see Strawberry's #18 being flipped up in the top left corner. The rest of the players were lined up on the other side of the field. This probably would have looked better without the big white tarp under that logo, but it was pouring, so I guess they had to bring out the tarp. Top right you can see the golf cart which 1986 GM Frank Cashen was riding in. He's old.
This was pretty awesome - at right. The Mets re-enacted one of the most famous scenes of the 1986 World Series, with a parachutist landing on the field, a la Game 6. This guy was a trained professional, though - not a stunt guy. Some feat, too - it was really, really windy inside Shea. But he maneuvered himself right down onto the outfield grass.
It was a great ceremony - well worth the trip down, even after setting a record for "earliest I've ever left a Mets game".
And finally:
I mentioned the Mets were wearing 1986 uniforms. You can probably see them better in a newspaper or something, but click on the picture and you can at least see the racing stripes down the side. I maintain the only thing that would have been better was having this during a game against the likes of the Astros or Cardinals - or at least someone with throwback uniforms.
P.S. - "Let's Go Mets!", the song the Mets recorded in 1986, was played throughout the night, as were other hits from 1986.
Let's Go Mets Go!!!! Do it (bring it home), do it (bring it home)....we'll make it happen! Let's Go Mets!
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