HERE'S JOHNNY

Considering it's late November, and I didn't think I'd be following much baseball this deep into the off-season, I'm pretty thrilled with the moves the Mets have made. Tuesday they traded Guillermo Mota for Johnny Estrada, solidifying the catcher position the day after they shored up second base.

I've thought highly of Estrada ever since he came up with the Phillies. I don't know if he was talked up a lot by the Philadelphia media, or I just heard a lot about him because he was a young guy coming up on a rival team in the NL East, but I remember thinking that the Braves made a great move trading for him. And I know that Estrada is better than anyone else available on the free agent market - and I think, for the Mets, that includes Jorge Posada. When you combine offense and defense, and their ages (Estrada is five years younger), I think the Mets got the best catcher available (even if his availability comes as a surprise) this off-season.

There are questions. Estrada is coming off post-season surgery on his knee, and had a bone spur removed from his elbow. So I guess there's some recovery involved. There's also the matter of Estrada playing for his 5th team in 7 years in the majors. He's been traded away from every team - which either means four other teams didn't want him, or four other teams really wanted him badly. I don't remember hearing much about Estrada as a clubhouse problem, so let's hope it's the latter. (From what I'm reading really quickly online, it seems Estrada's first - and only - season in Milwaukee was a disappointment, to fans and to him. He's owned up to how badly he played. So maybe it was a 'get value for him now, since fans are down on him' type deal.) The Breweres are rumored to be seeking Jason Kendall...they really have no catcher now that they've dealt Estrada.

I think this is a great deal for the Mets. You can't beat unloading an erratic (and cheating) reliever, and getting lots of value in return.

They say you win with what you have up the middle, and now the Mets have Estrada, Luis Castillo, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Beltran up the middle. The one gaping hole there is the pitcher's mound - and that's Omar Minaya's next challenge.

AND ON THE FOOTBALL FRONT

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. I love the fall, I love getting together with the family, and I love eating. I also love watching the football with everyone. So when I saw the NFL schedule this year, I especially couldn't wait for Thanksgiving, to watch the Jets upset the Cowboys on national television, as they showed the world what they were made of!

Needless to say, that excitement has worn off. Lots. I was disappointed the Jets won last week. And I'm hoping the Cowboys embarrass them on Thursday...this coming from a guy who hates the Cowboys. You know where I stand on this - the whole Chad Pennington thing has just left a really sour taste in my mouth.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that last year's playoff appearance was one of the worst things that could have happened to the Jets, specifically, to Eric Mangini. He was given last year, they could have been awful, and he could have built things up his way. But they surprised everyone, he was the Boy Wonder, Man-Genius, and that created pressure. So this year, there was no question that Pennington was going to be the starting quarterback, and the playoffs were the expectation, especially with the addition of Thomas Jones, and it didn't work out. People didn't play well, and it was magnified even worse because of the expectations caused by last year.

Maybe Chad Pennington shouldn't have been the starter from the beginning this year. Maybe then I would have been more willing to root for Kellen Clemens. But after leading the Jets to the playoffs last year, Mangini had to go with Pennington. He had no shot to start building with his own quarterback - he would have been killed. Then he was killed for going to Pennington too late. I still don't agree with the decision, but at least Mangini has things on his terms now. The problem is, if the Jets don't rebound and win next year - he probably won't get a fourth year on his terms. So now the Jets are playing out the string - with some really tough games left on the schedule. And 'the string' starts Thursday. I suspect the performance against Pittsburgh will be the exception, rather than the rule.

I'll make a special Thanksgiving pick Wednesday, then I'm heading to New York for the Thanksgiving weekend, and I'll be back next week.

GIANTS 3, METS 0 - 8TH INNING

I am paying the price today for extra innings last night. I just can't handle late nights during the school year, no matter how much I think I can. Luckily, I only have a week left to worry about that.

As it stands, though, I have to turn in, with the Giants leading 3-0. No matter what happens tonight, I will not be updating the site. I do feel the Mets have another comeback in them, but if they do tonight, I'll see it from the bedroom.

Barry Zito was pretty impressive tonight, making the Mets look silly at the plate. Most of his strikeouts were without the Mets even lifting the bats off their shoulders. But he's now out of the game, so there's another reason to expect a comeback.

Tom Glavine right now stands to take another loss. His chase for 300 is almost as long as Gary Carter's chase for 300 home runs. I might have written about this in the past - but Carter took FOR-ever to get his 300th home run. I remember one of my first forays into stat-keeping was marking the events surrounding the milestone...and the accompanying home run draught.

P.S. - That was back when 300 homers was still something of an accomplishment. Especially for a catcher.

A MINUTE ON MOTA: Wednesday night marked the return of Guillermo Mota to the Mets after serving a 50-game suspension for steroids use. It's hard for me to believe that 50 games have already gone by. I was not crazy about the Mets re-signing Mota with this suspension going on...but I guess this is the way things are going to be now.

Having a daughter has definitely helped me put things like pro sports in perspective. I still enjoy watching the games, and writing about them (and soon, talking about them), but a lot of stuff is leaving more and more of a sour taste in my mouth.

Mota was booed by the Shea crowd when he came in to pitch in the 8th. That's good. He actually pitched well, too.

JOHNNYMETS RADIO SHOW: It's coming soon - I'll let you know when. There seems to be a problem with me hosting a show during the prime hours of the evening. I don't want to make it a late night show, because I want listeners to call in, so I'll have to figure something out. I'll keep you posted.

COMMENT ON THE COMMENTS: I can't believe I forgot about the Benitez jinx on Tuesday night. Glad The Wife didn't. She was up in bed, asleep, with the Mets on. I never made it up, because as I was about to go, the game looked to be ending, one way or the other. And I never factored in the jinx. She's lucky I didn't go up there and wake her up.

BEAT THE STREAK: Edgar Renteria had a big day - 4-for-5, I only needed a 1-for-5. And Nick Swisher had a hit late Tuesday. So I'm working on a big 7-gamer here. Matt Holliday is my choice for Thursday.

CALL TO (FOR) ARMS

Mets 2, Rockies 0 (NYM: 75-48, COL: 59-65)

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!