HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

Cardinals win World Series in 5 Games

I've been absolutely killing the Cardinals all year, and I spent my Saturday morning going through some past write-ups on just how bad a team the Cardinals were this year, the morning after they wrapped up their first World Series championship in 24 years (note the date - consistene feelings throughout the season):

4/26/06

...the Cardinals swept the Pirates, but Jose Hernandez hit a homer off Jason Isringhausen in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game. (The Cardinals won in the bottom half.) I'm telling you - the Cardinals bullpen is flawed this year. That will eventually cost them.

8/4/06

The Cardinals are a joke right now - they've had more 5+ -game losing streaks this year than any other first-place team in history, says me. It's got to be a record. They're awful.

8/15/06

The Phillies have now outscored the Mets 24-4 in the first two games of this four-game series, and the Mets are inching dangerously close to being compared to the St. Louis Cardinals - owners of the title "Worst Team to Lead a Division This Late in the Season". The Cardinals, you may remember, have been blown out a bunch of times this year - giving up lots of double-digit run totals, and tallying losing streaks of 8 games a couple of times this year. The Mets aren't there yet - but they're inching closer.

8/22/06

Tuesday night's game is pretty much a microcosm of my feelings about the way the Mets match up with the Cardinals. The only person in that lineup that can beat you is Albert Pujols, which John Maine let happen (twice), and the Cardinals' bullpen stinks. The unfortunate thing is that the Cardinals are very beatable - because of that, their lead in the NL Central is now down to one game over the Reds, and they are in serious trouble when it comes to making the post-season.

8/24/06

The Mets beat the mediocre unimpressive NL Central-leading Cardinals, 6-2, on Thursday at Shea, extending their winning streak to 7, tying a club record with their 11th straight home win, and improving to a season-best 30 games over .500.

9/30/06

I've written a couple of times about how awful a first place team the St. Louis Cardinals are. They are living up to that title even more now with a huge collapse, but I still think they'll make the playoffs. And as much as I'd like to see them finish the collapse, I don't want Roger Clemens to make the playoffs, so I guess I'll take St. Louis.

10/7/06

As much as I hate the fact that St. Louis made the playoffs, I'm loving the possibility, with them ahead 2 games to 1, that the Mets will face them in the NLCS. There's two ways to look at this - the negative opinion is that the Cardinals are now hitting their stride in the post-season. The positive side (as a Mets fan) is that the Mets can kill the Cardinals. Which I think will be the case.

I guess the Cardinals were hitting their stride. Geez. Shows what I know.

What a weird post-season. I don't think I watched more than two innings total of the World Series. It's probably the least interested I've ever been in a World Series - partly, probably, because I was bitter.

I did catch on the news this morning, though, the celebration after the Cardinals won - I don't think I've ever seen a more lame celebration after a team won a celebration. The Cardinals did everything poorly this year...except win the whole darn thing.

ROGERS IS STILL A CHEATER: No one believes Kenny Rogers is a stand-up guy, after his macho display last year of knocking down a cameraman...but when he said he had "dirt" on his hand earlier in the World Series, I don't even think his own mother would believe him. The reason I bring this up again is 1) I strongly dislike Kenny Rogers, and 2) Sports Illustrated has a picture of Rogers pitching against Oakland in July with the same (illegal) substance on his hand. There goes that theory that it was just to get a grip on the ball in the cold weather. Kenny Rogers, ball doctorer. I wonder if he'll suffer any repercussions. Actually, I hope he comes back next year, tries to pitch clean, and gets his doors blown off. Thank goodness he's not a world champion. Although part of me hurts that Braden Looper is.

NOW IT ALL MAKES PERFECT SENSE

It was really bothering me that the Mets were eliminated from the playoffs, while Kenny Rogers was having so much post-season success (why? I won't bring up 1999 again).

It was really bothering me that the Mets didn't get their chance to ruin Rogers' near-perfect post-season.

It was really bothering me that Rogers was having a near-perfect post-season.

How could this happen? Well, naturally, he's cheating, that's how.

And all of a sudden, the Kenny Rogers story makes perfect sense.

I didn't see Game 2 of the World Series. (I can't bring myself to watch, really.) But I have heard multiple stories, seen a little bit of the video - and that ain't dirt Kenny. And there's picture evidence, which I've lifted off of ESPN.com, that shows that Kenny Rogers had this same thing going on in Game 3 of the ALCS. Coincidence? I think not:

You can clearly see the brown mark (pine tar?) in the same spot in both pictures. My theory? Maybe he just grips the ball better. But something unnatural is going on.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but apparently Tony LaRussa came out to talk to the umps about this, but didn't really challenge it greatly. There's a bunch of conspirators out there, and this is one conspiracy I'm on board with. The rumors that LaRussa is not going after Rogers because of his friendship with Jim Leyland seem to be false - I'm going with the theory that LaRussa doesn't want to bust Rogers because then his own pitchers come under scrutiny, and they may be taking part in some untoward behavior themselves.

And thereby we have the Mets connection. The dominance of Jeff's Weaver and Suppan? Maybe they were cheating. Just a thought - there's a parallel here between Weaver and Rogers - mainly, they suck, and they're both pitching lights-out right now. Something's up.

(I would be remiss if I didn't bring up Oliver Perez's sudden success. I hate to point the finger at a Met....but while the accusations are flying around....)

Just a thought - assuming a good pitcher like Tom Glavine is just going with his regular stuff, he has a good first outing, then hitters see the likes of Weaver, Perez, John Maine (maybe), and then they get back to Glavine, who's not cheating, maybe his stuff looks a lot better the second time around, and that's why the Mets lose Game 5. Just a thought.

Long story short - I feel cheated. And I blame my own personal nemesis, cameraman-assaulting Kenny Rogers.

MAIL CALL: Just checked my e-mail - Dave in Brighton left me a message with the two pictures I just showed above. He asks, "What do you think, cheater?" I think I've stated my case. Sorry I didn't check e-mail before I wrote, I could have attributed the pictures to you, Dave, instead of where I got them from.

VINTAGE GLAVINE

Mets 2, Cardinals 0 (Mets lead NLCS, 1-0)

That was awesome. Tom Glavine was outstanding. He was just dominant out there. I can't believe how well Jeff Weaver pitched - he really has been pitching well lately, but Tom Glavine was near unhittable.

Glavine ran into one trouble spot - in the third inning, he got hit pretty hard, but David Wright snagged two line drives to help him out. The first was the first out of the inning, the second ended the inning - after singles put runners on first and second, David Eckstein hit one headed toward left field, but Wright cut it off, and doubled Yadier Molina off second.

Glavine benefitted from another double play in the fourth, when Albert Pujols walked, but with one out, took off on Juan Encarnacion's fly to center. It was shallow, it looked like it might drop, but Carlos Beltran made a great play on the ball, and then threw a bullet to first to double off Pujols. (Everyone is making a big deal out of how good a baserunner Pujols usually is - and it's not a load of hooey - I've seen it in games during the regular season - everyone says, "He's not just a great hitter, he's a really smart ballplayer and a great baserunner." That baserunning mistake could turn out to be one of this series' turning points. I love it.)

Glavine's line - 7 innings, 4 hits, 0 ER, 2 walks, 2 K's. Plus, he's thrown 13 consecutive scoreless innings to start his Mets post-season career. Can't do any better than that.

As for the Mets' offense, I can't believe how good they made Weaver look. They hit some balls hard, but mostly he was great for his 5-and-2-thirds. His one mistake came in the sixth inning, when with two out and one on, Carlos Beltran hit a Strawberry-esque bomb to right field, off the scoreboard (!) to give the Mets the 2-0 lead which turned out to be the final score. My only problem with Beltran these days is that I think he still holds a grudge against the fans who booed him last year. He was seemingly reluctant to take a curtain call after arguably the biggest homer at Shea Stadium by a Met in 6 years. Remember, early this season, Julio Franco had to convince Beltran to go out and take a bow after a big homer, when the fans finally started cheering Beltran? Well, guess what, Carlos? You deserved to be booed last year. Remember, the fans gave you a chance, they didn't boo you from the outset - you flat-out stunk. So enjoy the fact that the fans appreciate your outstanding season now. Or play with a chip on your shoulder, if it makes you better, actually. I just want you to help the Mets win.

Again, the bullpen was great. Guillermo Mota got the huge out in the 8th, popping up Preston Wilson with 2 outs, working back from a 3-0 count, forcing Pujols to lead off the ninth with no chance to tie the game. That at-bat came against Billy Wagner, who notched his third save of this post-season (4 appearances in 4 games) with a solid ninth. He walked Scott Rolen with 2 outs, but then got Scott Speizio to pop out. When Wagner walks a guy I only get a tiny bit nervous, as opposed to past Mets relievers/closers, who would walk a guy and you just knew that was coming back to kill them.

Speaking of past Mets closers, Braden Looper pitched the 8th for the Cards, and got a nice, hearty welcome from the New York crowd.

These two teams get right back to it on Friday night. After 5 nights of no (National League/Mets) baseball, they'll make up for it with 5 straight nights of NLCS action. John Maine goes for the Mets against Chris Carpenter. I still have a hard time believing Carpenter is one of the best pitchers (if not the best) in the National League. Perhaps because I haven't seen enough of him. He actually has not faced the Mets yet this year. Hopefully they can get out of New York up 2 games to none.

UNDEFEATED: Just an update to say that the Mets are undefeated in the 10 days my daughter has been in this world (4-0). I had to explain to her at the end of Thursday night's game that I couldn't come straight to bed right after the game because "Daddy is an important sportswriter, and people depend on him to write about this game."

GLAVINE AND MAINE: There was a clever sign in the stands at Shea: "Glavine and Maine and pray for rain", a play on the old Braves saying, "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain". I really am confident the Mets will get by on decent starting pitching, their bullpen, and their bats. But, like that fan, I am most confident in Glavine and Maine. John Maine has been a great addition - I got a little ticked during the Division Series when people - Steve Phillips, Joe Morgan, and Gary Thorne, I think - said he was a throw-in in the Kris Benson trade. He really was one of the Orioles' top pitching prospects. He didn't have great Major League numbers, but the sample size was so small. I remember writing something about him after the trade because I read one of those prospect books in a bookstore one day and there were some promising things written about Maine. I feel good about him starting in these important games - and I consider him much more than a throw-in accompaniment to Jorge Julio.

One more note on pitching matchups - the only reason I will root for Kenny Rogers the rest of the way is so that the Tigers reach the World Series, and the Mets get the chance to bash his brains in. I hope the Mets beat up on Rogers good in the World Series, and there's at least one instance where the bases are loaded, and someone hits a grand slam, and as they're rounding the bases, says to Rogers, "Should have walked me like you did Andruw Jones in 1999, jerkface!" That's what I hope.

INJURIES: Cliff Floyd left Game 1 after his first at-bat. He has maintained since Tuesday, when the Mets first practiced after the Division Series, that he doesn't hurt at all swinging the bat, but hurts at other times. Watching Floyd in the field during the first inning - he's a liability, and the ball certainly was finding him (although he made each play his way). After Floyd hobbled out of the box during his at-bat, he was lifted, and Endy Chavez replaced him. The Mets still say Floyd is day-to-day. It's a shame that Floyd isn't well enough to play, but seeing the way he was out in left field - he shouldn't even be on the NLCS roster. I could see Floyd having some value in the World Series as a DH, but not in the NLCS. The best we can hope for now are some productive pinch-hit appearances, I think.

Also on the injury front, Pedro Martinez* was back in the dugout, after his rotator cuff surgery last week. He was back and joking around with the team, which at this point is more valuable to the team than his pitching contributions from June through September. Also, before the game, Pedro* told reporters that he expects to recover from this injury more quickly than he originally thought. I don't know how he knows this, but he thinks he can contribute for the Mets in the second half of 2007.

MEDIA COMMENTS: We have the Joe Buck-Tim McCarver duo on the NLCS this year. That's fine with me. I'm not a huge Buck fan, but I don't mind McCarver. I know people hate McCarver, but he's comfortable for me - I did grow up watching him as a Mets broadcaster through my childhood. But the reason I bring this up is because they are joined in the booth by Luis Gonzalez....and he is fantastic. It's rare for a player to step into the broadcasting role so naturally and be good at it - but Gonzalez knows just when to speak, and how long to speak. He always has something worthwhile to contribute. A+ job. I was listening in the car to the Padres-Cardinals series, and heard the announcers, and thought, this guy is good. When they said it was Luis Gonzalez, I couldn't believe it. Good for him...I'm glad he's on the NLCS - although I do enjoy Lou Piniella (on ALCS duty - with Thom Brennaman and Steve Lyons. I'm glad I don't have to hear Brennaman.)

COMMERCIALS: Finally, I need to weigh in on the Tommy Lasorda ads. I think they're funny, I really do. I don't hate Lasorda as much as I probably should, since he was Dodgers manager when I hated the Dodgers, but I also don't love him. I love these ads. I especially like the Cubs one, when Tommy asks the woman what the guy (in the tree)'s favorite team is, and she says the Cubbies, and he looks, and says, "Oh." That's just great.

BILLY GOAT

Marlins 6, Mets 5 (NYM: 63-42, FLA: 50-56)

So much for Billy Wagner's string of impressive outings. One pitch to Josh Willingham, one 2-run homer later, it's a blown save and a Mets loss.

This was a weird game. It almost felt, from the start, like the Mets didn't deserve to win it. In the first inning, THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, led off with a walk. One out later, Carlos Beltran doubled down the left field line, and Reyes fell rounding third, so he went back to third, Beltran was hung up between second and third, and he was tagged out. Reyes would score on a Carlos Delgado single, but that wasted run seemed ominous.

The Marlins tied it, and this made things seem a bit more ominous. Mike Pelfrey should have been out of this inning, but a fly ball to right landed in front of Lastings Milledge. Not sure how. He should have had it - it was a line drive with lots of hangtime, and he let it drop. No Green Monster in Miami. I'm almost starting to wish the Mets had traded Milledge - he'd better start maturing soon. Of course, the next batter drove the run home, making the Mets pay.

In the third, the Mets took a 2-1 lead, then a 4-1 lead, on Beltran's 33rd homer of the year. It was a little more comfortable, but there was still a ho-hum feeling to the way the Mets were playing.

Pelfrey actually pitched very well in what may have been his last major league start for a while - he went 6 innings, giving up 4 runs (the first should not have been earned), and striking out 4, including the last batter he faced. So he looked good, but the rest of the time the Mets seemed lackadaisical. Very tough for me to explain.

Reyes homered in the seventh inning, and suddenly the Mets were on top again, and Wagner came in to close the door, gave up a single, a sac bunt, then the 2-run homer. And just like that it was over. Such a strange game - it just seemed like the Marlins wanted it more than the Mets. And I hope the Mets realize that, and I hope they come out with more of a killer instinct on Tuesday night. Because they didn't have it on Monday.

Steve Trachsel goes against Ricky Nolasco on Wednesday. Yawn. I bet there's a rain delay too. It always rains on Trachsel.

MAGIC NUMBER: First time in a while there's no change here. Still at 45. Not worth a graphic. The Mets lost, and the 2nd-place Phillies beat the Cardinals.

MORE TRADE INFO: Turns out the Mets were in some serious talks to get Roy Oswalt in a 3-way deal involving the Orioles. The Mets would have gotten Oswalt, the Astros would have gotten Miguel Tejada, and the Orioles would have gotten Morgan Ensberg, Adam Everett, Lastings Milledge, and I think Aaron Heilman (or one of those Mets might have gone to the Astros). But those talks fell apart. I'm glad the Mets didn't give up more than just Xavier Nady, to be honest, but Roy Oswalt would have been an awesome addition. The problem would have been he is a free agent (or up for arbitration at the end of this year, I guess), so there's no guarantee the Mets would have had Oswalt for very long.

MORE TRADE REAX: I caught a little of Mike & Mike in the Morning Tuesday morning, and Mike Greenberg was very critical of the Mets for not making a bigger and better deal. He doesn't think they can win the World Series the way they are constituted right now. I actually agree with Mike Golic, who said that the Mets are in no danger of missing the playoffs - and once they get into the playoffs, anything can happen. He says they had the luxury of sitting back a bit at the deadline, because they aren't looking to make a deal to get into the playoffs like a lot of the other teams were. (Keep in mind, the Mets did fill their need in the bullpen - and who knows what Oliver Perez may offer down the line.)

I also agree with Steve Philips, who refused to criticize his former assistant, Omar Minaya, but said that the Mets were reluctant to give up a lot of talent for a rental player. Which I agree with - why give up the future for just a couple of months, when you're already in pretty darn good shape for the next couple of months. My problem with what Philips said: He talked about how he traded Terrence Long for Kenny Rogers, another rental player, who helped the Mets reach the playoffs, in 1999. But then he became my arch-nemesis, by costing the Mets that same playoffs - in the NLCS, walking Andruw Jones with the bases loaded in extra innings, losing the series. Just awful - throw a strike, Kenny! (Have you noticed how poorly Rogers has pitched since the All-Star break? That always makes me happy.)

HERE'S WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN: I've been thinking, and I think Tom Glavine needs a mysterious Pedro Martinez*-type injury to pop up, landing him on the disabled list for a few weeks. Then, Glavine can come back rested, and pitch like he was pitching at the beginning of the year. I'm no longer worried about Pedro*, because he's basically had a month off to rest his arm. And I think Glavine's struggles are because he's old and tired. He has next year to get his 300th win. This year, he should only count on about 5-7 more wins in late August and September, and worry about getting some post-season wins.

SANCHEZ OUT: As expected, Duaner Sanchez had surgery on his separated shoulder on Tuesday, and WILL miss the rest of the season. There was a slight chance he would not need surgery, but he did wake up on Tuesday in excruciating pain, apparently. What an awful problem for the Mets. You hate when off-the-field stuff affects the team. Apparently the cab Sanchez was in was hit by another car going the wrong way.

THE KID'S KIDS: On Monday night, the St. Lucie Mets beat Daytona, 4-0, behind Brian Bannister's 7 shutout innings, as he rehabs his way back to the Majors. The big series between first-place Daytona and 2nd-place St. Lucie (in the second half of the season, remember) continued Tuesday, with the Mets winning, 5-4. They're just a game behind Daytona now.

Also of note, Tuesday afternoon I saw the 2-Minute Drill on ESPN Classic which featured Hall of Famer Gary Carter asking questions. I'd love for ESPN to bring back 2-Minute Drill. If I were on the show, I think I'd pick the 1986 Mets' post-season as my expert category. Depends how specific you can get with your category.

ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: On Monday, Alfonzo was 1-for-3, with two walks. He upped his average to .205. (I missed the Monday night games due to the early post-surgery posting.)

On Tuesday, another 1-for-3, with one walk, and Alfonzo's average is now .213. Maybe he's finding a groove.

CHASE'S CHASE: Not much drama here - Utley had a hit in his first at-bat, making it 33 games in a row.

BEAT THE STREAK: Lots of drama here, ending with an o-fer for Ichiro. So back to square one. And it being August 2nd, I need this to turn into a 57-game hitting streak, or else it's not worth playing this game the rest of the season. I'll go with Utley to get me started, then it's Vladimir Guerrero Thursday through Sunday, since it's Angels-Rangers, and he's never played the Rangers without getting a hit. (So looks like I'll be ending two streaks before Sunday - Utley's and Guerrero's.)

Considering it's the quietest day in sports, I sure have a lot to get to. First, as promised, the statistical piece I've been working on:

CLIFF FLOYD'S 2005 SEASON

In the Mets’ 43-year history, their best hitters have either been right-handed or switch-hitting batters. It’s rare that a left-handed batter wearing a Mets uniform has put up solid numbers over a full season.

But what we are witnessing so far this season from Cliff Floyd could be the best offensive season ever for a Mets left-handed hitter, if not any Mets hitter. What follows is a list of the top seasons I could find for what I believe to be the best left-handed hitters to ever wear a Mets uniform (the fact that Mo Vaughn makes this list shows how thin that area really is), then right-handed hitters, then switch hitters. Since Cliff Floyd is a power hitter, who can steal a couple of bases, steals are included, and only comparable batters are included (for example – you aren’t going to find seasons like Buddy Harrelson’s or Lenny Dykstra’s listed here – just players who hit a lot of homers – which, relative to Mets history, would be more than 25 or so…and in some cases, less):

LEFTIES

Jeromy Burnitz, 2003: 65 games, 64-234 (.274 AVG./.344 OBP./.581 SLG.) 18 HR, 45 RBI, 1 SB, 38 RUNS (Traded mid-season to the Los Angeles Dodgers)

Ed Kranepool, 1971: 122 games, 118-421 (.280 AVG./.340 OBP./.447 SLG.) 14 HR, 58 RBI, 0 SB, 61 RUNS (Kranepool had a season where he hit 16 homers, but this was his best overall year)

Keith Hernandez, 1986: 149 games, 171-551 (.310 AVG./.413 OBP./.446 SLG.) 13 HR, 83 RBI, 2 SB, 94 RUNS (1986 was not Hernandez’s biggest power year, but his best stats year)

John Olerud, 1997-1999: About 159 games, 524-1662 (.315 AVG./.425 OBP./.495 SLG.) 21 HR, 97 RBI, 1.6 SB, 96 RUNS (These are three-year averages, since Olerud put up excellent, consistent numbers his three years with the Mets – the batting average, on-base-percentage, and slugging averages are all approximate).

Rusty Staub, 1975: 155 games, 162-574 (.282 AVG./.371 OBP./.448 SLG.) 19 HR, 105 RBI, 2 SB, 93 RUNS

Darryl Strawberry, 1987: 154 games, 151-532 (.284 AVG./.398 OBP./.583 SLG.) 39 HR, 104 RBI, 36 SB, 108 RUNS (252 career homers as a Met from 1983-1990 leads the all-time Mets homer category, also leads in RBI – he had the same HR total in 1988, but wasn’t as good everywhere else)

Mo Vaughn, 2002: 139 games, 126-487 (.259 AVG./.349 OBP./.456 SLG.) 26 HR, 72 RBI, 0 SB, 67 RUNS

Robin Ventura, 1999: 161 games, 177-588 (.301 AVG./.379 OBP./.529 SLG.) 32 HR, 120 RBI, 1 SB, 88 RUNS (As far as I can remember, Ventura had incredible numbers at the All Star break, and then faded big-time in the second half)

RIGHTIES

Mike Piazza, 1999: 141 games, 162-534 (.303 AVG./.361 OBP/.575 SLG.) 40 HR, 124 RBI, 2 SB, 100 RUNS

Tommie Agee, 1970: 153 games, 182-636 (.286 AVG./.344 OBP./.469 SLG.) 24 HR, 75 RBI, 31 SB, 107 RUNS

Edgardo Alfonzo, 1999: 158 games, 191-628 (.304 AVG./385 OBP./.502 SLG.) 27 HR, 108 RBI, 9 SB, 123 RUNS

Gary Carter, 1985: 149 games, 156-555 (.281 AVG./.365 OBP./.488 SLG.) 32 HR, 100 RBI, 1 SB, 83 RUNS

Bernard Gilkey, 1996: 153 games, 181-571 (.317 AVG./.393 OBP./.562 SLG.) 30 HR, 117 RBI, 17 SB, 108 RUNS

SWITCH-HITTERS

Howard Johnson, 1989: 153 games, 164-571 (.287 AVG./.369 OBP./.559 SLG.) 36 HR, 101 RBI, 41 SB, 104 RUNS

Todd Hundley, 1996: 153 games, 140-540 (.259 AVG./.356 OBP./.550 SLG.) 41 HR, 112 RBI, 1 SB, 85 RUNS

These are, for the most part, the greatest offensive seasons by individual Mets in the team’s history. Yes, power is stressed, but the overall stats are pretty good too – for example, Edgardo Alfonzo in 1999 scored a team-record 123 runs to go with his 27 homers and 108 RBI. And not all huge power seasons are included. A guy like Dave Kingman, for example, isn’t included, because while he may have hit more than 30 homers, he didn’t do much else at the plate.

So now let’s look at Cliff Floyd so far this season:

Cliff Floyd, 2005: 80 games, 86-300 (.287 AVG./.360 OBP./.543 SLG.) 22 HR, 55 RBI, 7 SB, 51 RUNS

Floyd missed about 8 games with an injury, so the numbers could be even better – and he has tailed off a bit lately. If he keeps up the pace he’s on now, though, he will challenge Hundley’s Mets record of 41 homers in a season, and become just the third Met to reach the 40-homer plateau. It’s almost embarrassing to print these numbers…the Mets have not had a very good history offensively.

So as far as comparisons go, right away we can throw out Vaughn, Kranepool, and Agee, because Floyd’s All-Star break numbers nearly match what those guys did in full seasons. If the Mets were sellers as the trading deadline approached, they could get more for Floyd than they did for Burnitz – who had very comparable numbers in just 45 games before he was traded a couple of years ago.

Floyd will definitely finish ahead of Hernandez’s ’86 season, barring injury. Hernandez was a very good offensive player, but Floyd should be able to best Hernandez’s best season (as a Met).

Staub and Alfonzo had similar seasons in that they didn’t hit an outrageous number of homers (though Alfonzo’s 27 was a high number), but they were very, very productive. Floyd probably won’t get to Alfonzo’s club-record 123 runs, but he’s already almost surpassed the homer total.

Olerud didn’t have one outstanding season, but he was so consistent. So he beats out Floyd if you compare Mets careers, but Floyd is on his way to a better individual season.

That leaves, in descending order, the greatest offensive seasons in Mets history:

Mike Piazza, 1999
Darryl Strawberry, 1987
Howard Johnson, 1989
Bernard Gilkey, 1996
Todd Hundley, 1996
Robin Ventura, 1999
Gary Carter, 1985

Hall of Famer Carter had a great season for 1985 – but it wouldn’t be as great these days. Floyd will probably better Carter, especially since he can steal a few bases and he’ll probably score more runs. But Carter’s in the Hall.

Ventura tailed so much in 1999 that we probably could have had this discussion about his 1999 season at that year’s All Star break (and we could have included Alfonzo, Piazza, and Olerud – and the list of greatest Mets seasons would have been a lot thinner) and said that Ventura was having the greatest Mets season ever. If I remember correctly, he had unbelievable numbers at the break, and slumped a lot over the last part of the season – if I remember right, he was lucky to finish with a batting average over .300. So if Floyd tails off, the comparisons to lefty-hitting Ventura will be appropriate – otherwise, I think Floyd moves ahead of Ventura. (But Ventura did hit one of the most dramatic home runs in Mets post-season history, with the grand slam single against the Braves in the NLCS. I’d love to see Floyd in a position to try to match that.)

Hundley had a great season, and the team-record homers merits a high rank on the list. But he only hit .259, and Floyd should score more runs than Hundley, while giving that home run record a run for its money. Gilkey goes higher than Hundley because while Hundley hit more homers that year, Gilkey was better everywhere else – including a team-record 44 doubles. I don’t know that Floyd will beat the average, runs, and RBI totals of Gilkey, but he will be close enough that hitting more homers will put him ahead of Gilkey on the list. (Incidentally – Floyd isn’t anywhere near Gilkey’s doubles total – but future Hall of Famer David Wright has 22 doubles at the break – it’ll be worth watching to see if he gets near Gilkey’s total.)

HoJo and Strawberry were so similar stats-wise because of the fact that they stole so many bases. Both were 40-40 threats. Strawberry gets the nod ahead of HoJo because of the then-record home run total. But it’s very close between the two.

And Mike Piazza gets the all-time best season because he did what Hundley did, and then some. Piazza hit 40 homers, only the second Met to do so, and he drove in 124 runs and scored another 100. To top it all off, he hit .303, all while catching. That’s tough – another position, and who knows how many homers he would have hit. And while I didn’t factor defense in with everyone, it merits consideration here. (Floyd, by the way, is having a great defensive season – for him, anyway. He had that one awful play that cost the Mets Friday night’s game in Pittsburgh, but his defense has been very good.)

So if Floyd sets a team-record for home runs, I think he zooms to the top of this list…because the RBI and run totals, I’m sure, will increase along with the homers. If he fizzles out, it would have to be a bad second half for him to fall off this list completely – 30 homers would still put him in the Carter range. An average second half would throw Floyd somewhere around where Gilkey is on the list…a very good season, but not the best. Of course, the most important thing about a huge second half by Floyd (coupled with the ever-hopeful huge second half from Carlos Beltran*) would be the fact that it helps propel the Mets to a post-season berth.

Now, a check of the mail bag finds an e-mail from Dave:

"Dear JohnnyMets,

An All-Star roundup for you.

--What did you think of A-Rod's white shoes? According to the Daily News, he did it as a shout out to Keith Hernandez. Gary Carter also used to wear white shoes during the ASG.

--Terry Francona wears No. 47. This is notable because I've never seen him before without that Belichick-wannabe warmup jacket, even when its 95 and humid at Fenway.

--Kenny Rogers. I'll set, you spike. Do those 2 ER count against his season stats?

--And now an open ended question... How has the NY media treated Pedro's all star snub? Is he still in the honeymoon period? I accurately predicted he would skip (see the JMBSDC Feb. 24 mailbag), but I also said he would have stopped talking to the press by now. And just for bookkeeping purposes, I'm 1-3 on predictions this year, since I said picked June 11th for the Ken Griffey Jr season-ending-injury date. (Same mailbag, you can look it up).

Dave"

Wow. Dave crediting himself for his accurate predictions. I'm not much on following up on my predictions - I just like to throw them out there willy nilly and if I'm right, and I remember that I predicted it, then I'll try to get some kind of credit (i.e. - Mets go 74-and-0 in the second half, cruising to a World Series win!!! - I'll remember that in October. And I do remember that I picked Houston to make the playoffs - their recent run is making me look good.). Anyway, good for Dave for following up on himself.

Let's take this one-by-one. I did not notice A-Rod's white shoes. Interesting parallel there, with Hernandez/Carter and the white shoes. I don't know what to make of that.

Funny you should mention Francona and his jersey number. As he came out when he was introduced, I said to the wife, "Hmm. Francona's wearing number 47 tonight. I wonder who he gave up his number to for the game." I didn't even realize that this was his everyday number until you mentioned it...and I now realize I never knew what number he wore. And it's because he's always wearing that jacket...it didn't even occur to me. Thanks for piecing that together.

All I have to say about the Kenny Rogers situation (and which I forgot to mention yesterday) is that Kevin Kennedy has to get off the Kenny Rogers bandwagon. You're looking more and more like a fool, Kevin...Rogers isn't the victim here.

Finally, the New York media seems to forget that Pedro* does this every year. They seem to think the Mets organization convinced Pedro* not to go, because he pitched on Sunday. If that's the case, then it was because Pedro* himself brought it up. You're right - he was never going to the Game - even before the season started. But the New York media is so caught up in the fact that they're getting along with Martinez*, I think, that it's all goodies and gumdrops between the two...so Pedro* can do no wrong right now. As far as I'm concerned, he should have gone, honor the selection like everyone else....but let's move on.

THE KID'S KIDS: It looks like rain struck Florida again - Still 12-3, atop the division. I don't know what color Gary Carter's shoes were.

Coming tomorrow: Back to baseball!! Atlanta vs. the Mets in New York. Hopefully I'll be able to watch the game on TBS at work.

MARLON'S FLORIDA

Mets 7, Marlins 6 (NYM: 40-39, 8 GB; FLA: 40-37)

This was one exciting game. Fireworks night at Shea - packed house, Tom Glavine vs. A.J. Burnett, fat Tony Gwynn throwing out the first pitch...35-minute rain delay.

Here are a couple of sidelines to the action - some of which I had no idea about:
-Luis Castillo entered the game with a 28-game hitting streak at Shea Stadium - the longest ever at Shea. The streak began in September of 2001, and continues today: Castillo was 3-for-5.
-Carlos Delgado owns Tom Glavine - he entered the game 10-for-14 lifetime against Glavine - that's a .714 average. He went 0-for-3 on Friday night.

The Mets and Marlins are developing a nice little rivalry. First of all, they're very competitive. The Mets have come out on top 7 out of 10 games so far this year against Florida, but they've been close games, for the most part. I also remember the first time they met this year, there were some words exchanged when Al Leiter hit Cliff Floyd with a pitch - there were a bunch of hit batters on Friday night - including a couple that I thought were intentional:

-In the 5th, when A.J. Burnett started to lose his head (more on that later), he had a runner on third - I think he plunked Floyd intentionally (in the knee, no less), so Floyd wouldn't hit him.

-In the 6th, with Aaron Heilman squaring around to bunt, Nate Bump threw right at Heilman's head. I'm not saying that was very intentional....but keep in mind Heilman did throw a one-hitter at Florida in April.

-In the 8th, Heilman threw one under Paul LoDuca's chin. Fran Healy said there was no way that was intentional...but I think Heilman was exacting some revenge on the opposing catcher.

OK. Now let's look at the game. The Marlins took a 1-0 lead, the Mets took a 2-1 lead, then Glavine handed those 2 runs right back in the top of the fifth, making it 3-2 Marlins. In the bottom of the fifth, the Mets broke things open...for a little while.

Mike Lowell made two throwing errors on three plays (sandwiched around a sacrifice bunt). That set up an RBI double by Mike Cameron, tying the game at 3. A.J. Burnett looked like he was getting rattled, mostly by the errors, then he uncorked a wild pitch. THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes ran from third, and a slid head first into home. His hand just got under the tag by Burnett, and Burnett was very upset with the home plate umpire's call. He went on to hit Floyd, then walked future Hall of Famer David Wright, forcing in a run. That was all for Burnett, and the Marlins bullpen held the score at Mets 5, Marlins 3, until Mike Cameron's solo homer in the 7th.

It was the top of the eighth that the Mets blew it. Heilman couldn't get a batter, leaving with a runner on 2nd, and allowing 2 runs, making it 6-5. Roberto Hernandez got a sac fly, then a strikeout, and almost escaped the inning, but gave up a dribbler up the middle that got the tying run home. A nice outing by Hernandez - he deserved to pick up the win.

The win became his when Marlon Anderson led off the bottom of the eighth with a double over Juan Pierre's head. After a Ramon Castro sac bunt, Chris Woodward singled to center to make it 7-6 Mets. Braden Looper gave up a leadoff double to Carlos Delgado, but got Alex Gonzalez to line to Anderson (whose performance merited headlines on this site...although there were many heroes in this game) to end the game.

Very exciting stuff. A couple of excellent points by Keith Hernandez tonight - first of all, after TGBWEL, Jose Reyes, flew out in the eighth, Hernandez said if Reyes starts to line the ball, he will raise his average by about 40 points. "The fly ball is a big out for him," says Keith. He's right. Also, Hernandez pointed out that the Marlins have good averages hitting with runners in scoring position, but they can't get that clutch hit in the late innings of games....like this one.

On to other matters: The All-Star Game. I'm not sure where I saw this, I think it may have been the Daily News, but Pedro Martinez* now says he would love to represent the Mets in the game. Apparently, which I missed, Pedro* had said he might not accept an invitation to play in the game, but has since thought better of it...he now says based on the investment Omar Minaya and the Mets made in him, he feels he needs to go, if Tony LaRussa names him to the team. This is just a sign of things to come from Pedro* in future years. I guarantee, if we're lucky enough to have Martinez* representing the Mets in the All-Star Game in the future, there will be a year where he doesn't go, or opts out of playing, or something he pulled while he was with the Red Sox.

Carlos Beltran*, meanwhile, will be voted in by the fans, so he'll definitely be there. I am not as down on Beltran* as I might seem, saying he hasn't given us what we've expected. While this is true, I think he's going to start coming on strong. First of all, people say he's a big second-half player. That would be good, if true. Secondly, he wasn't playing at 100% until this past week...and he's showing that by running the bases now. Beltran* stole two bases on Thursday, and another Friday night. He's running well, and feels confident his legs are 100%.

Which leads me to another point - the Mets are so exciting to watch on the basepaths. They gave the Marlins a bit of their own medicine Friday night - the Marlins always run on Mike Piazza (who had the night off), because he can't throw them out, so the Mets ran like crazy on Paul LoDuca, who is struggling with his arm. Beltran* and future Hall of Famer Wright stole bases Friday. And the Mets have been very aggressive on the basepaths lately - they lead the NL in stolen bases.

My arch-nemesis, Kenny Rogers, got a 20-game suspension for his actions on Wednesday. I am happy with the suspension, but he's appealing, and some games will probably get knocked off. I need to clear a couple of things up, though. I said Rogers threw a fit after a bad outing, when he broke his pinky finger. He actually threw a fit because he was pulled from an outing where he was doing well, and that's when he broke the finger (on his non-pitching hand). He actually had the bad outing his time out before that, getting roughed up by the Angels. That led to speculation that he was missing his next start not because of a broken pinky finger on his non-throwing hand, but because he didn't want to face the Angels again and have them affect his statistics negatively (lending more credence to my 1999 NLCS belief). I don't know if this negative speculation fueled Rogers' cameraman attack...but it probably didn't help.

THE KID'S KIDS: The name of the CARTER COUNT has changed, because I like this name better. The best information I could glean from the web tonight is that the Gulf Coast Mets got rained out again. Every other score is out there except Mets-Dodgers. So it looks like The Kid's Kids are still 5-1.

KAZ-UALTIES OF WALKS

Phillies 6, Mets 3
(PHI: 40-38, NYM: 38-39; 7.5 GB, pending outcome of Washington's rain delay)

The Mets have an interesting combo in Victor Zambrano and Kaz Ishii. They both battle wildness, but they're both very capable of pitching themselves out of jams. Zambrano won praise for his pitching lately - there have been write-ups about how well he's doing, and how he's progressing, after Tuesday night's win, and people have been comparing him favorably to the year Scott Kazmir has been having...starting to think it might not have been a bad trade. Mike Piazza says Zambrano is wild to catch, because he gets himself into so many jams, but he says it's amazing how he pitches his way out of it.

All this is to set up the fact that "pitching yourself out of jams" is not going to help you play good baseball - because sooner or later, you're going to be just cruising through the first three innings, and then walk the first three batters in the fourth, and then you're going to give up a 2-run single, and a 3-run homer, and your team is going to be down 5-0 before they can manage to get a hit off the opposing pitcher, and then your team is going to lose. That's the long and short of Wednesday night's game, and start, by Kaz Ishii. Ishii did strike out Thome after loading the bases, so he did get himself within a groundball of getting himself out of the jam, but he still walked three straight batters. It's not the first time this season - it had better be the last. This loss is entirely on Ishii.

Changing gears - last night I mentioned my arch-nemesis Kenny Rogers breaking the pinky on his non-throwing hand throwing a hissy fit after a bad outing. Well, another hissy fit followed on Wednesday before the Rangers' game - Rogers attacked cameramen on the field in Arlington. He pushed one guy, then ripped a camera from another guy, threw it to the ground, and kicked it. Apparently, he has a huge temper, and it's becoming more apparent why Rogers couldn't cut it in New York, with the Mets and the Yankees. However, I do NOT remember him showing this much emotion after HE WALKED IN THE WINNING RUN IN THE 1999 NLCS. Probably because that game doesn't reflect in his personal stats.

Interesting fact from the Rangers-Angels series - Vladimir Guerrero has at least one hit in all 30 games he has played against the Texas Rangers. I think that's phenomenal. One more game this series Thursday afternoon in Arlington.

I was reading the Daily News online today, and Bill Madden talked about how the Mets want to be buyers at the (fast-approaching) trade deadline, but they don't really have much of a farm system to deal from. But they should be able to get something for Jae Seo - he won again on Wednesday for (1st place) Norfolk, and is now 6-2. He struck out nine in eight and a third innings, and has a 1.92 ERA since he was sent down on May 5. I'm not saying he's worth a ton - but he's gotta be worth something to somebody.

Let's talk Marlins for a minute: Jack McKeon will miss the next few games because of a death in his family....but that might be a good thing for Florida. Apparently, there is some unrest there - with players tiring of McKeon's old-school ways. Also, there are big-time trade rumors surrounding A.J. Burnett (I had no idea), and the players aren't happy about that at all.

Lastly tonight, I crunched the numbers on Piazza. I drew the line at May 26. To that point, Piazza had been hitting .239, with 4 HR, 10 runs scored, and 10 RBI in 42 games. Since then, he's hitting .316 (.322 before a 1-4 on Wednesday night) with 3 HR, 13 RBI, and 11 runs in 25 games. We'll probably never see the Piazza of old again...but I'll take the Piazza of late.

By the way, the Phillies still don't scare me.

CARTER COUNT: The Gulf Coast Mets had their game against "Washington" suspended in the first inning - they trailed 1-0. Two games on Thursday, putting their perfect record on the line.

PHILADELPHIA FAILIES

Mets 8, Phillies 3 (PHI: 39-38; NYM 38-38, 7 GB)

I've said it so many times, I feel like it's my mantra...but it's not, because then I'd have a very crappy mantra. "The Phillies do not scare me." Here's what scares me: Pedro Martinez* feeling a "twinge" anywhere on his body. Depending on Braden Looper in any situation in life. (Or Armando Benitez.) Clowns and monkeys. The Mets playing at Turner Field. Monkeys dressed like clowns. But not the Philadelphia Phillies. The National League East is tight, and very competitive - but the Mets only have to worry about Washington, Florida, an Atlanta. The Phillies had their run, they're on their way to the cellar. (Incidentally, there's no way the Nationals are going to keep doing what they're doing, but that's another story for another day.)

The Mets improved to 7-3 over the Phillies with their win on Tuesday night at Shea Stadium. The Mets jumped out to the 2-0 lead in the third inning with back-to-back RBI doubles by Mike Cameron and Carlos Beltran*. I think both of them really crushed the ball, because ESPN GameCast said the doubles were hit to "deep left" and "deep center", respectively. Unfortunately, I was relegated to following the game on GameCast because I am at Channel 4. What can you do...I have to pay the bills, you know.

Victor Zambrano gave a run back to Philly, but the Mets broke the game open with 4 runs in the fifth, featuring a Beltran* triple, then RBI singles by Mike Piazza, future Hall of Famer David Wright, and "I can't believe the Mets now have" Jose Offerman. Also in the "I can't believe...." category: Brian Daubach added an RBI groundout. (I know I have a lot of Red Sox fans as readers, so I wanted to make them reminisce by including those two names.)

Mike Piazza added a 2-run homer later in the game to effectively put it away - he's really coming on of late - I might crunch some numbers to figure out at which point of the season you have to start counting his stats to see if he deserves the starting nod at catcher for the All-Star team. I'm sure since a certain date (probably earlier this month) his average is over .300 - he's been hitting that well lately. As it is, Piazza's average is up to .267 overall. That's a big climb from where he was.

The bad news - Danny Graves gave up a couple of bombs in mop-up duty. (Bombs being synonymous with homers - I have no way of knowing if they were legitimate "bombs".) He could help the Mets, but he needs to get things figured out - lots of time with Rick Peterson for Graves. That's my recommendation.

Now the words Dave from Brighton has waited nearly two months to hear -time to check the mailbag (there are a number of outdated e-mails, which we might re-visit on a slow day in the future, but we'll start with a very recent one):

"Dear JohnnyMets,

Thanks for returning to cyberspace.

Here's my question. Or a comment, then a question, really.

Doug Mientkiewicz pulled a hammie while in the on-deck circle the
other day, and he's on the 15 day DL. This got me thinking about my
favorite DL stories.

--Mike Remlinger hurt his left (throwing) pinkie adjusting his recliner
in May.
--Sammy Sosa's sneezing fit (sore back) from last season.
--Paxton Crawford (5-1 career record) lying down on a wine glass. I
read a rumor on the Internet that the injury involved a hooker and a
disagreement over Canadian vs US dollars.

What are your favorite DL stories (that don't involve David Wells)?

Dave"

Dave, you set me up perfectly. I was going to address this today, since my arch-nemesis, Kenny Rogers, missed a start because of a broken bone in his non-pitching hand suffered when he threw a fit in his last start. (Kevin Brown-esque.) And the Mientkiewicz injury might cost the Mets, beause he's the reason Jose Offerman is now back in the major leagues.

But any conversation about stupid baeball injuries begins and ends with John Smoltz. He ironed a shirt - WHILE HE WAS WEARING IT!!! I don't remember if he landed on the DL, or if he even missed a start - but it happened. That's enough. That's the big one...this might be a week-long theme, where I write them down when they come to me. Interesting point about Crawford, incidentally, Dave - thanks for bringing that to our attention.

A big shout-out to Hall of Famer Gary Carter, whose Mets of the Gulf Coast League are off to a 4-0 start. It's a 55-game season, we'll keep you posted on whether or not they stay undefeated. Thus begins our Carter Count.