I'VE BEEN TO YANKEE STADIUM, TOO

I've spent so much time this year reminiscing about my visits to Shea that it wouldn't be fair for me to not touch on Yankee Stadium. I've spent nowhere near as much time at Yankee Stadium as I have at Shea, but I lived 10 minutes from Shea - that made all the difference.

I wish I had been to the old, old Yankee Stadium...any old ballpark, really. I like the idea of an expansive outfield that actually had monuments and flag poles in play. I'm in the camp of those who aren't too sad to see Yankee Stadium go, because it really went when it was renovated in the mid-1970's.

A couple of visits to Yankee Stadium stand out - I went to a Yankees-White Sox game in 1996, the day I got my driver's license, which got rained out in the 7th inning, tied at 1. My uncle, who I went with, drove me home, and then his car stalled out in a flooded road in Flushing. In 1997 I went to one of the first Mets-Yankees interleague games, sitting in the bleachers for a near no-hitter by David Cone. But the ONE stand-out memory of visiting Yankee Stadium is even less pleasant than those:

The Wife, back before she was The Wife (even before she was The Fiancee), thought it would be nice to bring both of our families together for a Yankees game. So she bought a bunch of tickets to see the Yankees and Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Seats in the upper deck. Had I known she was making this purchase, I would have suggested she either A) not get upper deck seats, or B) not get tickets to a Red Sox-Yankees game. But she did, so on July 20, 2002, we went.

I'll keep this relatively short - it was a hot, hot July day, and this was a typical Yankees-Red Sox game. In other words, it took forever. So people had lots of beer, in the hot sun, and sat out there for a while. That led to a woman sitting in front of us throwing a peanut at the head of a Red Sox fan a few rows down.

He swung around, and immediately locked eyes with the Yankee fan who had been razzing him all day about five rows behind us. He goes up there, they get in each other's face, and then there's a full-out brawl. Punches are thrown, and less than 5 seconds into the fight, they're tumbling down the rows of the upper deck. Naturally, they come to rest right in our laps. Literally. A friend of The Wife's got pushed down two rows. The brawlers tumbled over the head of my future mother-in-law. I actually ended up in the middle of the two antagonists, pulling on one's shirt to make him stop punching. It was the most awful thing I've ever been near at a ballpark.

Great credit goes to the cops, especially the short, red-haired female cop, who were on the scene pretty quickly to break things up.

This fight overshadowed the exciting ending to the game, where the Sox took the lead in the 9th, but the Yankees came back to win in the bottom half. And the overall experience - we met in Manhattan and ferried to the Stadium - something I had never done before. (On the way back, though, the water level was too high for the ferry - we all had to stand in the front of the boat to get it to duck under an overpass. That was pretty ridiculous.)

I haven't been back to Yankee Stadium since. No desire to, really. One day I'll check out the new Yankee Stadium. But I'll make sure we have better seats. And it won't be a Red Sox game.

ENDY MAKES SURE METS' FIRST EXTRA-INNINGS GAME ISN'T A DRAG

Mets 2, Rockies 1 12 innings (NYM: 13-6, COL: 8-13)

By this time last year, the Mets had played about a dozen extra-innings games (slight exaggeration). Tuesday night, the Mets played their first extra innings game of 2007, and made staying up later than expected pay off.

In the bottom of the 12th inning, with runners on second and third and two out, Endy Chavez laid down a perfect drag bunt to bring home Shawn Green, and the Mets kept themselves a half-game in front of the Braves in the NL East with a 2-1, 12 inning win.

The dramatic win was set up by some drama in the 10th. After Billy Wagner had given up a run to the Rockies in the top of the 10th, Damion Easley hit a pinch-hit, 2-out, 2-strike home run to tie the game at 1, and force more extras.

The 12 innings (and the tenth inning comeback) nearly made you forget that Orlando Hernandez turned in an outstanding start in this game. El Duque went 7 innings without giving up a run, surrendering just 4 hits, walking two, while striking out 5. He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh in one of many early failed Mets rallies. They blew a lot of chances to win this game early. But that's not to take anything away from Rockies starter Aaron Cook, who also went 7 scoreless innings.

The win was the first in the young career of Joe Smith, who gave the Mets two-thirds of an inning, retiring the two batters he faced. Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoeneweis also had scoreless outings in this one.

It should be noted that in the 11th inning, with the winning run at second, David Wright had a great at-bat. He managed to work a walk, but he fouled off a few pitches, and looked the most locked-in I've seen him look all year - sort of like David Wright last year. It made me wonder if there's been something else on Wright's mind all month - because Tuesday night was the first night I really felt he looked like himself. For what that's worth. He finished 2-for-4, with one strikeout.

The Mets and Rockies play an afternoon game on Wednesday, getaway day. Mike Pelfrey against Josh Fogg.

Extra Sugarfree Gum johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game: Damion Easley. Easy call here - without Easley, Endy never gets a chance. Can't do much better than one at-bat, one home run...and in a very important spot.



MONDAY NIGHT'S RESULT - Mets 6, Rockies 1

VALENTIN'S DAY - Jose Valentin earned johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game honors with a homer and 4 RBI. He was 1-for-2, scoring just once - he had a sacrifice fly in addition to a 3-run homer, single-handedly lifting the Mets to a 4-0 lead by the 4th inning.

John Maine benefitted from Valentin's outing, as well as Carlos Delgado's first home run of the season, improving to 3-0 on the season, and the Mets jumped back into first place, a half-game ahead of Atlanta.

I was a bit under the weather, sorry I didn't write. I'm feeling better Tuesday night, but I'm told this bug I have could last 7-10 days. Bad headache, coupled with a nauseous feeling. It may or may not include vomiting. It did for me.

TURNING TWO...HUNDRED: I've been thinking about this all season, since the Mets turned four double plays on Opening Night in St. Louis. I finally did the math tonight. I thought the Mets were on pace to set some sort of record for double plays turned in a season. They are, if my calculations are correct. They're on pace to turn more than 200 double plays right now - the team record is 171. So there's a new feature this year, and it's called "Turning Two...Hundred":
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: 2 SEASON TO DATE: 26 TEAM RECORD: 171

**OK, there's a problem here. The Mets' media guide has the team record at 171, done twice - in 1966 and 1983. But mlb.com says the 1999 Mets had 294 double plays - reasonable, since that was a great defensive team. But mlb.com also has every 1999 team as the top 30 in double plays all time. So I think something is wrong there. I need to straighten this out before we take Turning Two...Hundred too far off the ground. I also need to get the all-time record straightened out, too, because I'm having a hard time believing the 1999 Devil Rays turned almost 400 (although they probably allowed a lot of baserunners...)

SNY: I haven't commented on this yet this season, but Lee Mazzilli has been doing pre-and-post-game studio work for the Mets on SNY this season. I can't comment on his performance, because I usually don't watch the pre-and-post-game studio work. The past couple of days, I've caught a bit of the pre-game shows, and for some reason, Dave Gallagher is doing the job. I haven't been too impressed...but I'm more impressed that he has remained visible enough to actually have a high-profile job like this. Dave Gallagher - I hold a grudge against him because I think he was the first Met to wear number 8 after Gary Carter. He was one of the "ordinary guys" I always think of, too, when I think of the early-90's New York Mets...Bill Pecota, Jeff McKnight, Dave Gallagher. I seriously considered naming one of my fantasy teams after him, but went with Jeff McKnight, because I really do hold that number 8 thing against Gallagher, unfair though that may be.

STERLING: God forgive me for the following: So I was listening to a lot of WFAN in New York over the weekend (Thursday through Saturday, truth be told). On Thursday, driving down to New York, I got to hear a little of Joe Benigno's mid-day show - I enjoy listening to him. They were giving John Sterling crap because of his call of the previous day's home run by A-Rod...actually, maybe this was on Friday...I'm getting my days confused. Regardless, they were making fun of the call where Sterling was saying..."An Aaaaaa-Bomb, for Aaaaaa-Rod." Now, I think Sterling is a dope, and can't stand listening to a Yankees game on the radio. But on Saturday, Benigno had Sterling on his show, and was interviewing him, and I'll be darned if it wasn't a great interview. Sterling came across as intelligent and knowledgeable. I can't believe it - it almost made me change my opinion about him. But then I started to dislike him even more, because if he's that coherent in an interview, he should be enjoyable to listen to during a game.

Also on WFAN, on Friday (I confused my days in the above paragraph, I apologize...but I know Sterling was interviewed on Saturday, when Benigno was filling in for Russo, and I know I heard the following on Friday), Mike & the Mad Dog interviewed Theo Epstein heading into the Yankees-Red Sox series. It was a fantastic interview. Epstein was great, and when Chris Russo asked him about the Doug Mirabelli trade (for Cla [Russo actually pronounced it like it is spelled, instead of 'clay', which I thought was hilarious] Meredith and Josh Bard), Epstein was honest, and called it an awful trade for the Red Sox. He went on to say that the Red Sox will never be impatient again. The intelligence and honesty that Epstein showed in this interview made me remember why I liked listening to his press conferences when I was working in TV. And showed why the Red Sox are lucky he came back as general manager.

BEAT THE STREAK: I take personal responsibility for David Wright's 0-for-15 slump. It was all because I kept picking him for Beat the Streak. He finally got a hit Tuesday night, so he's off the hook. I have a one-gamer, and I go with Jimmy Rollins to tie my season high on Wednesday.

WATCHING SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL

There will be a full report Monday night, but tonight I'm watching the Mets and Yankees on ESPN, and the game will end too late for a post-game write-up. So I'll save it for tomorrow. But there's plenty from the weekend I need to address. Starting with Saturday afternoon. (Cliff Floyd just hit a triple off the wall in right field - I'm telling you - if he starts getting hot, all the Mets' offensive woes are over. I think they're over anyway.)

I'm going to start with this. I didn't see Friday night's game, where the Mets won in their last at-bat, but the bullpen pitched awesomely. And I heard on the radio (I was listening to the bottom of the ninth in the car) that the closer for the Mets pitched very well. So I'll start by saying I don't blame Willie Randolph for going to the closer to slam the door on the Yankees on Saturday, with a 4-0 lead, after he dominated them the night before. I blame no one for Saturday other than the closer.

I will say this next: we had big phone problems this weekend at the ol' House sponsored by DirecTV. So I had no internet until late Saturday. And it's a good thing I didn't have a chance to write after the game on Saturday, because otherwise I would have cursed....a LOT....and I pride myself on keeping the language clean here.

And I think I'll end with this. I think the closer is hurt. He's not pitching like Billy Wagner of any other year. He looks awful most of the time coming into games. Right now, he's no better than Braden Looper or Armando Benitez. There's no confidence when he's coming into a game. I'd just as soon not see him. He's just another Mets closer right now, and that's a stigma you don't want. the closer needs to start pitching like Billy Wagner, or take some time on the DL, and make sure the finger that was hurting during spring training is healthy. Because I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that he's hurt - and that problem is still lingering. Otherwise...that's an expensive set-up man.

Also....the beat goes on for Pedro Martinez*. He should be 9-0 right now. I guess we'll have to settle for a 25-0 season.

The good news is the Mets are still controlling the division, with the Phillies coming to town on Tuesday.

PITCHING NEWS: Lots to update on the pitching front. I'll start with the Mets - interesting note by Peter Gammons in the lead-up to the Mets game Sunday night - he says it will most likely be Alay Soler pitching for the Mets Wednesday night at Shea against Philly. A bit surprising - since I haven't heard about this until now, and for Soler to make his debut in such a big game is a bit strange. Hope he can handle it. Also, I wanted to update two pitchers who started in the majors Sunday who have garnered lots of interest on this site lately:

• SCOTT KAZMIR: Pitched Sunday against the struggling Florida Marlins, and was pretty brilliant. Kazmir went 8 innings, giving up just 4 hits and a walk. He struck out 11! He is now 7-2, and has a 2.39 ERA. I think I want Kazmir to succeed. I feel like he needs to for the Mets (and other big market teams) to think twice...maybe three or four times...before they make a move just to stay in contention (especially when they're only on the cusp of contention, as the Mets were at the time of this deal.)

• BOOF BONSER: This story just gets better and better. I read a graphic on ESPN during Baseball Tonight, before the Mets-Yankees game, that said Bonser legally changed his name from John to Boof in 2001 (it was a childhood nickname). That's just awesome. The whole Boof Bonser experience was nearly ruined by Chris Berman, hosting said Baseball Tonight (he abused the name)...but I realized Berman's love of "Boof" probably only began sometime Sunday afternoon. Johnnymets.blogspot.com was on this one since spring training. So take that, Berman. Anyway, Bonser pitched well - he had a no decision for the Twins against the Brewers. He went 6 innings, giving up 5 hits, 3 walks, and one earned run. He struck out 8! (That's pretty much what he was doing in the minors - a good sign if it's translating at the Major League level...but it was one start...let's not get ahead of ourselves.) Credit Bonser also with controlling what could be a tough Milwaukee offense.

THE KID'S KIDS: The Mets lost to Fort Myers on Sunday, 7-4...but are still in good shape. They're 25-17, and still have a 3-game lead in their division.

LAST-PLACE LASTINGS: Norfolk actually won Sunday, but they're still in last place. Milledge was 0-for-5 with a strikeout, dropping his average to .277. I'll update his full stats only occasionally, especially after I get a look at him in person next Monday in Pawtucket.

FANTASY UPDATE: The What If Mets have survived me not being able to adjust lineups. They've actually won 3 in a row, and are picking up games - they're the hottest team in the East. They're 3 out of first...and more symmetry this week - when the real Mets play Philly on Tuesday, the What If Mets will be wrapping up a 3-game series with their own Phillies.

BEAT THE STREAK: I have no streak going. I have Jose Reyes Sunday night, and Vladimir Guerrero Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, since the Angels are playing Texas, and Texas has never gotten Guerrero out.

In case anyone still checks this site, a new posting for you.

The Mets are 73-76, so they're going to finish with a better record than last year. David Wright is at 40 doubles with 13 games left to play. He needs five to break the team record.

As for the rest of the Majors, there are some very interesting races shaping up, which are well worth watching, despite the lack of Mets involvement.

First of all, I think I said a long time ago here that the White Sox wouldn't go far in the playoffs. At the time, it was a "when" they make the playoffs...but since the Indians don't lose anymore, that's become a big "IF" they make the playoffs. The Indians have cut the White Sox' Central Division lead to 3-and-a-half, and as I write this they are beating Chicago in the first of six remaining head-to-head games. The Indians could pass and then eliminate Chicago all by themselves - and they still have three games against the Royals mixed in. Chicago can't beat anyone. We're seeing one of the biggest collapses by anyone ever.

The Red Sox and Yankees are at it again. The White Sox collapse could overshadow the fact that the Red Sox have fallen apart lately, and the Yankees are within a game-and-a-half of first place in the East. The Sox are losing at the moment to Tampa and the Yankees are tied with the Orioles - and these teams have three head-to-head games to close out the season - so watch out for those. At the very least, they are going to mean something, when the Sox could have been setting up their post-season pitching rotation the way things were going coming into September. An interesting note here is that this is the reverse of what we've seen for so many years - the Yankees are putting pressure on the Sox. The Sox are usually the ones a game and a half out at this point in the season...this time they actually control their own destiny.

The A's and Angels are within two games of each other out West, and the AL Wild Card will come down to the loser in the East or Central, it looks like. And the way it looks right now, the White Sox will fall out of everything, so it looks like both East teams may end up in the playoffs.

In the NL, the West is the Padres', the Central is the Cardinals', and the East is most likely the Braves' (five game lead there). But the Wild Card is still a toss-up between the Marlins, Astros, Phillies, and Nationals (four back). It does look like, though, what people have been saying all along is going to come true - that the Astros will benefit from the teams in the NL East beating each other up. Look for Houston to come through in the end.

Finally, here are the match-ups I want, considering I look for teams who have never before faced each other in the World Series:

The Angels versus anyone. Or the Astros versus anyone.

The Red Sox versus Houston or Florida or San Diego.

The Yankees versus Houston.

The Braves versus the A's.

The Indians can't play the Braves or the Marlins...maybe not the Cardinals. They can play San Diego.

I think that covers everyone. To make it easier, I will be rooting against the Cardinals and Yankees - they've played too many teams. But the races will be good - enjoy them. And keep your eye on the Wright Watch.

The following is an open letter-style warning to Red Sox fans, wherever and whoever you are:

Dear Red Sox Nation,

Congratulations on beating the Yankees. The historic accomplishment by your Boston Red Sox is certainly worth being proud of - the Sox did what no other team in baseball history has done. It's really unbelievable when you think that of all the times for a team to come back from a 3-0 series deficit, it happens now, against the New York Yankees, after a 19-8 loss. Just unbelievable. Really.

But be careful. I can't tell you how many times I heard, from many different people, on Wednesday night, that "THE CURSE IS OVER!! THERE IS NO MORE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO!!" There's a curse all right. And it remains to be seen whether or not this curse has indeed been beaten.

Now, I know how silly it seems for a rational human being to believe in a curse. 1978: The Yankees were just playing better baseball, and Bucky Dent got a pitch to hit. 1986: I didn't believe Bill Buckner was the byproduct of a curse. Just a bad luck play. Besides, as I tell everyone I know, the game was already tied when the ball went through Buckner's legs, and who knows what would have happened in extra innings? Maybe the Sox would have won. (Of course, the Mets won that World Series, and there is your New York Mets connection to this story.) That losing streak stemming from the World Series in 1986 continuing into the 1995 post-season - just more bad luck. It wasn't like Sox fans were being teased with close calls - the Sox were getting swept in those series...just not playing great playoff baseball, I guessed.

Then came last year. You know the story. 5 outs away. Aaron Boone. I became a believer in the Curse of the Bambino. 1946? 1975? 1978? 1986? 1988-1995? I've reconsidered - those are all byproducts of a curse.

Which brings me back to my original argument - all you Red Sox fans who believe the curse has been broken. The curse has nothing to do with beating the Yankees. Sure, beating the Yankees after trailing the series 3 games to none, and winning Game 7 at Yankee Stadium may be the cure to the curse, but the curse is that the Red Sox haven't won a WORLD SERIES since 1918. Not that they haven't been able to beat the Yankees (that's just been a large part of the curse). The Yankees had nothing to do with "Pesky Holding the Ball in '46" or "Game 6 (Bill Buckner)" (and the ensuing 1986 Game 7, by the way).

So celebrate. Celebrate an American League Pennant. But just remember - an American League Pennant does not equal an end to the curse. I remember a dramatic, come-from-behind ALCS win by the Red Sox in 1986 that did not lead to a World Championship. It led to a situation where the Sox were one out away from a Championship (2 outs in the top of the tenth, with a 2-run lead)...but then the curse kicked in. This sure has been a dramatic run, but the Curse has been around way too long to not make another appearance. For the sake of all my friends in Red Sox Nation, I hope it doesn't. But I, for one, am recommending you take precautions. It sure is nice to beat the Yankees...but World Champion sounds a lot better than American League Champion.

Good luck in the World Series.
Johnnymets.blogspot.com

Saturday, April 24, 2004 - A Day at the Races

(Sorry for the late posting.) As you all know, the Mets were overmatched by the Cubs this weekend. So let's take a break from the re-hashing for a day. I give you my Saturday, spent juggling three different sporting events - the NFL Draft, Major League Baseball, and a day at Aqueduct.

12:11pm - In the car on the way to the track (for a family bachelor party - for me), the draft gets underway. Paul Tagliabue starts with a tribute to Pat Tillman, then announces that the San Diego Chargers are on the clock.

12:57pm - Three minutes until post time. I stop by the bar and get the first three score updates from some fat dude in the sports bar. Eli Manning, Robert Gallery, Larry Fitzgerald. I'm a little surprised the Chargers didn't trade the pick. Giants are on the clock.

1:24pm - I'm already up $11 after one race. The draft is not on the bar TV anymore. This experiment is failing. I find the Yankees/Red Sox game, though. This is important for me because I have Kevin Brown in my AL-only fantasy league. The one out of five days I root for the Yankees, and they're down 1-0 in the first inning.

1:50pm - Second race of the day is a heartbreaker. My winner is taken off the board because he bumped a jockey off his horse. Money ripped right out of my hand. Kevin Brown is now down 2-0 in the third inning. My cousin Eddie arrives at the track, and gives me the draft update - Giants took Rivers. But no word of a trade.

2:16pm - The draft's back on a track television. Found out the Jets got Vilma. All right. Yankees are down 2-1. I'm down 18 bucks.

2:26pm - My cousin John tells me about the Giants trade. Now things make a little more sense out of Chargers camp.

3:14pm - I'm down $50 through six races. Miami's on the clock. Bernie Williams grounds into a double play with the bases loaded in the 7th. The game's tied at 2, so I guess Brown did all right. The Mets have been playing for an hour, and I have no idea how they're doing. No TV is turned to them.

3:20pm - First Mets score crosses on the Yankees game. Down 2-0 in the third against Kerry Wood. Of course.

3:34pm - Uncle John gave me a ticket before the sixth race as an early wedding gift. It turns out to be a winner - $15.40. I have to give half to Kathy, but I'm sure she'd be all right with me trying to turn it into more money in the seventh race. We're putting the money on "Country Judge", the 2 horse. Sox-Yanks tied at 2 in the ninth.

3:45pm - Late bet - 2 dollars to win on the five horse in the same race. Just a hunch.

4:00pm - Nothing on the five. But Country Judge comes through big time. Oh yeah, $34.60.

4:12pm - Here's a ballsy move at the track - some dude gets up in front of about 20 other guys, and changes the TV showing the NFL draft to boxing on NBC. Are you kidding me?!? Although I guess he probably had some sort of money involved on the boxing match. But boxing?! Geez. Yanks-Sox now in the 10th. The Mets, who knows? I might as well still be in Boston.

4:29pm - Another last second bet in the eighth race - I forgot that I was supposed to put money on the 5 in the 8th (because the wedding is on 5/8). Good thing my brother Matt and cousins Rich and Eddie were betting on the 5 - Chilly Rooster. Good thing I remembered. Chilly comes in as a $66.50 winner. I also picked Chilly Rooster with the 8 horse in a Double. So if the 8 horse wins the last race, I'm making big money on the way out the door.

4:58pm - Oh well. No good on the 8 horse. Time for dinner. Red Sox and Yankees are still going as we leave.

5:13pm - Back in the car, find out the Mets lost 3-0. Damn. I lost only $7.50 at the track. But huge assist to Uncle John for changing my losing ways into winning ways. Sox beat the Yanks 3-2 in 12.

11:28pm - After dinner and a few drinks, find out the Jets drafted Derrick Strait in the third round. That's awesome. I heard about that guy as a possible first rounder.

(Postscript - Mets lost 4-1 to the Cubs on Sunday. That's a sweep. Need to bounce back in L.A. Another tall order. I will post my next update on Tuesday, after the Monday off-day.)

By the way - stay tuned for a big Sunday article tomorrow chronicling my big day today.

I'll be spending the day at Aqueduct, following the progress of the Mets and Yankees/Red Sox, as well as the Jets' picks in the NFL Draft. Full report tomorrow.

Also, tonight I make my first trip of the year to Shea Stadium. It's a little ironic -everyone in New York is focused on Boston tonight, with the Yankees facing the Red Sox here for the first time since the ALCS. Mike and the Mad Dog are even broadcasting from the top of the Green Monster. But I'm heading the opposite way, going to NYC for Mets-Pirates. I regret nothing.