WHATEVER HAPPENED TO KANGAROO COURT?

For some reason, I had a couple of 1991 Mets scorebooks sitting out. I think I had wanted to comment on them a while back, but I can't remember why. One of the articles had to do with Wally Whitehurst and Jeff Innis, and I was going to comment on Whitehurst, because I remember him being a member of the Mets during some lean years...but he put up some really good numbers as a Met. Maybe someday I'll write about him. But the article that stood out to me the most was an article on Daryl Boston, and his reign as judge in the Mets' Kangaroo Court.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, a kangaroo court is a mock courtroom...and it was fairly common in the clubhouses of professional sports teams some years ago. You really don't hear about them now...I'll get to that. But they would be run for the players by the players, and players would be fined for certain transgressions...from fashion (wearing sneakers with a suit, for instance) to hustle, or lack thereof, on the field.

Daryl Boston was the self-proclaimed judge of the Mets' Kangaroo Court in 1991. The court was a concept that was created mostly because Rick Cerone was on the team (I can't believe Rick Cerone actually played for the Mets)...apparently, he started up a court on every team he played for. The article is funny, because apparently Boston really hammed it up. You can see that he had the full judge regalia - supplied by Mets manager Buddy Harrelson. (It's nice that the manager bought in, too - he was also fined for an undisclosed reason that year.)

The court started because Boston felt that too many players were leaving runners at third base with less than two out. So they were fined in the court (minimum fine - usually $5). Same for players who missed the cutoff man. Fashion applied, too. I love this quote, from the article by Steve Adamek:

Not all fines are baseball related, either. Fashion crimes, usually adjudged by Boston himself, considered one of the best dressers on the Mets, are also fair game...Reliever John Franco walked in the clubhouse one day dressed like Zorro, with a wide brimmed hat and a baggy-sleeved jacket. Franco was on Boston's hit list until Boston suddenly found himself the proud owner of the wide-brimmed hat.

"I'm one of those judges who can be swayed," Boston says, laughing. "You know, scratch those who scratch your backs."

Now, the event didn't really translate to on-field success (the Daryl Boston-era Mets were 77-84 in 1991, and 72-90 in 1992). But I like the idea. And I think it should apply to the current Mets. Every time Carlos Beltran gives half-effort running out a grounder, or anything, hit him in his $119 million dollar wallet. Up the minimum fine relative to today's salaries. But it would never work.

Players these days have thin skins. They can't take a joke like this. They would be at each other, and instead of bringing a club together, it would probably drive them apart. Also, there would be a zillion transgressions. The players are making so much money, they would gladly hand over money rather than hustle on a grounder to short, I'm sure. But if you combine the off-field and on-field issues, the judge would be too busy to play the baseball game. Broke curfew? Photographed around town with a woman who isn't your wife? Beating up a pizza deliveryman? Fighting with officers in a bullpen? Jeez - Karim Garcia's case file alone would overwhelm anyone. So you'd have to pick and choose your battles, and it wouldn't be consistent.

Today's game just doesn't lend itself to something like a Kangaroo Court. But if you know of a team that does have one, please let me know - that would be something worth following.

Mets 10, Expos 1 (49-52, 6 GB)

OK, don't laugh. But this win over the Expos is just what the Mets needed. I'm back on the bandwagon (if I ever actually was off it). For the first time all year, I really enjoyed watching a Mets game. (OK, again, not really true - I enjoy watching them all...but I'm never really rewarded like I was on Thursday.) Everything fell into place, everything came together, it was a great all-around game. To wit:

Eric Valent (don't forget I wrote 3 months ago in this space how much I like him) goes 4-for-4, hitting for the cycle.
David Wright blasted two doubles, and is on his way to stardom.
Mike Piazza busted out of his slump with a 2-RBI single - when the game was still close, he broke it open.
Mike Cameron hit two home runs.
Al Leiter continued to pitch great - and he was more efficient, throwing 105 pitches in 6 innings.

The only thing that went wrong on Thursday was the Braves' win. The Braves scored two runs in the 9th against Pittsburgh to come back and win, and maintain their 6 game lead over the Mets. Let's take a quick look at the NL East for a second. The Braves are on top, 55-46. Then the Phillies and the Marlins are tied at 52-50, 3.5 games back. The Mets are 6 back. The Marlins crushed the Phillies again Thursday, 10-1, to move into the second-place tie. The Marlins absolutely own Philadelphia. They're 11-1 against them this season, and are 23-3 against them over their past 26 meetings. That's why I said it before, and I'll say it again - the Mets don't have to worry about the Phillies. They have to worry about the Braves and the Marlins...and this weekend brings three huge games against the Braves. Ideal situation, the Mets sweep the Braves, get back to .500, and move to within three of Atlanta. They really can't afford to move further back in the division.

I'm telling you, Thursday's game was fun. The Mets were having fun, and they went out, and killed the Expos. I have a feeling we'll be looking back at this game as the turning point. The broadcasters actually made some very good points about the team's chemistry and why Mike Cameron is such a valuable member of the team. Hopefully they do build off this game, and they start a winning streak. The bad seeds of this team are gone (Karim Garcia, Shane Spencer, and Scott Erickson...OK, maybe not bad seeds, but the guys who didn't belong), and depending on who comes aboard before the deadline, these guys really enjoy playing together. I have a feeling the next few weeks are going to be fun to watch.

The latest report out of Peter Gammons is the Mets are going to trade Matt Peterson and a player to be named later to the Pirates for Kris Benson. Not a bad deal - as long as the Mets don't give up more than one of their minor league pitchers before the deadline, I can handle any trades. The Mets have a real chance to make a move this weekend...or see their season come to a crashing end. I'll recap it Sunday night. Let's go Mets!!!!

And a quick Get Well soon to THE GREATEST (AND MOST FRAGILE) BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes. We need you!

Mets 4, Expos 2 (48-51, 5 GB)

So this is what the Mets are. A team that can barely get above the .500 mark, a team that doesn't score a lot of runs, a team whose best pitcher has a record of 8-8 (Tom Glavine). But you know what, as bad as all of this is, and as bad as things looked after the 19-10 loss to the Expos, the fact remains the Mets are just 5 games out of first place, and to this point, remain buyers, rather than sellers, as Friday's trade deadline approaches.

I received an e-mail from an angry Mets fan who identified herself as "Lauren", saying that Kaz Matsui should be sent to Triple-A because of his 21 errors, and the Mets should trade Mike Piazza while they can get some value for him. Well, "Lauren", I understand you're frustrated, but keep in mind Matsui's bat has probably kept the Mets in more games lately (and I stress - lately) than his errors have cost them. And Piazza's being hurt this past week might be a blessing in disguise, because he now has a week of rest under his belt. That's tough to come by for him at this stage of the season. I bet he comes back hitting the ball like crazy (not counting Tuesday night's pinch-hit groundout), and when he spurs the Mets to a 10-game winning streak, you'll regret wanting to trade him. That said, if the Mets lose the next few games before the deadline, trade 'em all. I can't take many more worthless seasons.

In the mess of Monday's 19-10 embarrassment, I neglected to mention David Wright's first career home run. It was a pretty good shot. As another loyal reader points out, only 754 more 'til he catches Aaron. Unfortunately, now the Mets are 0-1 in games in which Wright homers. And doubly unfortunate, it was just his fourth hit of the season. He needs to pick up the pace if he's going to pass Rose. So much pressure.

Speaking of pressure, Wright's fellow future-Hall-of-Famer, THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, is on fire. He's up to about .262 right now, and is running like crazy. He stole another 2 bases Tuesday night - including third base. He's done that a bunch lately.

OH! How about this?! During Tuesday night's game, Fran Healy, talking about David Wright's batting stance, says, "You know who he reminds me of, holding his hands out like that? A man whose number is retired here in Montreal....and a former Met....." Thaaaaat's riiiiiiight.....None other than HALL OF FAMER GARY CARTER. And then, as an added treat, they do a split screen, showing Wright's batting stance compared with Carter's. If I hadn't gotten married in May, that might have been the greatest moment of 2004 for me. Oh well, I guess it'll have to settle for second-best.

By the way, I'm ashamed to admit I didn't make it home from my damn math class in time for Wright's home run Monday night. I had to see it on replay. I feel like I betrayed my boy. (I strongly dislike this Math class as it is, now it is definitely on my sh** list.) Oh well. At least I saw Wright's first hit. He'll be more of a hits guy than a homers guy in his career anyway.

So Glavine pitches well, the Mets score enough runs to win...that's about as well-rounded a game as you can expect from the Mediocre Mets. (But don't forget - Mediocre is enough to get them into the post-season. I'm done pretending this is a great team, and a good division. I'll take the back door into the post-season and championship.) So they need to put the package together again on Wednesday night for Jae Seo. A nice winning streak here to get the Mets back to .500, then into second place, would be great.

NEWS: Another distraction the Mets don't need. Shane Spencer was arrested for DUI in Florida early Tuesday morning. I've about had it with Shane Spencer. This guy has a serious drinking problem. The funny thing is, the Mets were all about putting together a quality team with upstanding citizens this year. Then they go out and sign Shane Spencer and Karim Garcia. I didn't even know Spencer was this wild. He really kept a low profile with the Yankees, I guess, even though it's the same city. But first there was the pizzaman incident in Florida during spring training, then landing on the DL with a cut foot, which he says he got by stepping on glass while wearing sandals, but in my mind is starting to look like he kicked himself in the tooth because he's a drunken fool, and now this DUI thing. I'm sick of it. Shane should shape up or ship out.

Braves 4, Mets 3 (47-50, 5 GB)

Things are falling apart fast. 5 games back now. These were some very important games against the Braves, and the Mets just didn't come through. It's a good thing Friday's game got rained out - they probably would have lost that one too.

If the Mets don't win these next couple of games against Montreal, they might end up trading players by Friday, instead of trading for players. They absolutely HAVE to win Monday. And after that, they absolutely HAVE to win Tuesday. Then we'll go from there....but I have a feeling they're going to HAVE to sweep the Expos.

Mike DeJean has been outstanding so far. At least that's working. Not only did they get rid of Karim Garcia, but they got someone decent for him. Way to go. (By the way, I think last week I may have written that DeJean was a lefty...he is, in fact, a righty.)

And THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED Jose Reyes is starting to show why he's THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED. Reyes went 4-for-5 Sunday, basically comprising the entire Mets offense. Unfortunately, he struck out with the tying run in scoring position to end the game...but a good weekend for Reyes. On Saturday he laid down a couple of outstanding bunts - beating one out for a base hit. (Except he has been getting picked off lately - I think one was against the Expos, but also against the Braves. That has to stop.) I feel I have been ignoring THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED ever since David Wright was brought up, kind of like you tend to ignore a dog when there's a new baby around. And then the dog gets mad when you pay all this attention to the new baby, and he starts doing tricks with more fervor to get the attention back. So Reyes is like that dog, except he's playing baseball with more fervor, in order to win back my affection. Well, Jose, you never lost my affection...both you and Wright are equally my favorites. But keep it up. Or else you will lose my affection.

Kaz Matsui also continues to be hot. He only went 1-for-4 Sunday, but he's now hitting .276. That's great, considering where he was for a good portion of the first half. But here's the deal with the Mets. It seems like they've never had everything working at once. They started off the season hitting the ball like crazy, but their pitching didn't have it together (Al Leiter was hurt, Steve Trachsel couldn't find his groove, Tyler Yates was getting roughed up - basically early on Tom Glavine was the only one pitching well). Ever since the first two weeks, the pitching has been friggin' outstanding, and the hitting hasn't been there. Then on the off night when the hitting is great, a decent pitching performance is tough to get (Glavine). And when they get enough runs to win, and the starting pitching is good, the bullpen blows it. They need to start pulling everything together....FAST.

Tyler Yates, by the way, is back with the team. His ERA in Triple-A was somewhere in the low-3's, I think, as they try to convert him into a set-up/closer type guy. I feel good about the recall. I think he'll be successful. Hopefully I'm right, because the bullpen needs a lot of help. Orber Moreno was placed on the DL, which is why Yates is back.

Scott Erickson gets first crack at the Expos Monday night. Big start. Hopefully he pitches as well as he did in his first Mets start. (The one where he actually made it to the pitcher's mound, not the one where he hurt himself warming up and was gone for three months.)

Marlins 6, Mets 5 (46-46, 3 GB)

Absolutely horrible. This is an absolutely horrible loss for the Mets. Scott Erickson pitched great. He definitely pitched well enough to win. Ugly defense combined with some poor relief cost the Mets. What a way to ruin July 19th, aka "Mike DeJean Day".

So I guess I'll start with DeJean. The Mets finally traded Karim Garcia, to the Orioles, for the reliever. (I should be so happy right now, but instead, I'm so sad.) DeJean's numbers, to put it bluntly, suck. I'd like to think Rick Peterson can work with him to improve those numbers, but I just don't know. Peterson has done wonders with the Mets' starting pitching, but it seems like it comes at the cost of the relief corps. So the other hope with DeJean is that he performs better in the National League than he fared in the American League.

Now to the game. A 4-0 lead!! The Mets blew a 4-0 lead! Here were the encouraging aspects of the game. Mike Piazza seems to have found his stroke. He hit the ball on the nose a couple of times. "The Greatest Ballplayer Who Ever Lived" Jose Reyes had one of his best games since he's been healthy. He also is playing very well in the field. And Erickson, again, looked great. Maybe he'll feed off the fact that he's playing important games and continue to pitch well.

Unfortunately, there won't be many more important games at this rate. The bullpen inherited a 4-2 lead, and blew it. Vance Wilson looked like crap behind the plate. I don't know what was going on with the catchers last night, but there were more balls going to the backstop than you see on the pee-wee fields at I.C.Y.P. (My little league.)

I don't want people pointing fingers at Art Howe for this one either. The man takes enough crap from enough people (including my mom). He couldn't leave Erickson in much longer - the man hasn't pitched a major league game in years. He pushed all the necessary buttons - the players just didn't come through for him. The one move which probably raised the most eyebrows - when he brought in John Franco - turned out to be one of the best moves all night. The bullpen has had its share of shining moments this year...but it needs to be perfect if the Mets are going anywhere.

If I were a betting man...wait, I am a betting man.... If I could legally bet on a baseball game in the next 24 hours, I would bet a lot of money on the Mets winning Tuesday night's game. They won't lose two in a row at home to the Marlins. The big problem, though, is that the Mets should have won two in a row at home against the Marlins.

The Braves are playing the Phillies, and beat them on Tuesday night, so for now, the Mets are chasing Atlanta, and they're tied for third with the Marlins, 3 games back.

WRIGHT WATCH: Sorry, forgot about the Wright Watch yesterday. The Tides were off on Monday, and maybe that's a good thing for everyone's phavorite phenom, David Wright. Wright's been slumping. He went 2-for-4 in his last game, Sunday, and is hitting .308. But he's just 4 for his last 17...2 for his last 12.

Mets 6, Phillies 1 (46-45, 2 GB)

A couple of good wins bookend a couple of pretty bad losses this weekend. No ground gained, no ground lost. It wasn't a bad split, but it wasn't good. All of this points to a very average team.

I keep saying beginning tonight...beginning with this game....beginning now...but I think I (we) have to stop thinking that way. Starting with these next two games with the Marlins, the Mets have to put together a bunch of wins. It's just two games, but the Mets can help bury Florida by winning both. If Scott Erickson can actually make it through his pre-game warmups, he'd better pitch well. I have nothing against Erickson (except his wife is the worst sideline reporter of all time), I just don't think he's bringing any value to the team. Monday night he gets to prove me wrong.

Actually, Scott Erickson might be bringing a very good thing to the team - the trade of Karim Garcia. I can't believe this is actually going to happen. I just kind of threw it out there last week, that the Mets would make a trade to create the roster spot for Erickson. The fact that it's Karim Garcia makes one of two dreams I've had for this season come true (the other being the World Series win). The deal is, the Mets had a trade worked out to send Garcia to Los Angeles, but the Dodgers backed out. But there are still teams interested, so a trade could happen by Monday, when Erickson gets activated.

So, anyway, I digress. I missed Saturday's game, but apparently it was one of the worst performances of the season by the team. Friday night's loss wasn't pretty either. Hopefully the momentum from Sunday's win carries into these two games with the Marlins, because the Mets can't keep hovering at .500. They need to go on a run, and it needs to begin now.

Mets 6, Indians 2 (31-34, 5.5 GB)

Thursday, June 17, 2004

Lots going on this morning. First of all, great trade. The Mets got Richard Hidalgo from the Astros for David Weathers and Jeremy Griffiths. Hidalgo will play everyday in right field, which automatically makes the Mets better. And as much as I'm sad that Karim Garcia wasn't included in the trade, now he's an extra left-handed bat off the bench. Hidalgo had a great April, but right now he's hitting .256 with just 4 homers and 30 RBI. The Mets only gave up an aging reliever who hasn't done too much for them this year, and is very replaceable, and in Griffiths, a young guy who time will tell whether or not he pans out. I'm not sad to see him go...but I hope he doesn't turn into a star. Hidalgo is probably only going to be here until the end of the year, unless the Mets can work out a more economical deal with him, but they didn't sell the team to get him. So I'm happy overall. Maybe the change of scenery will get his power back. At the very least - even a .256 average would be among the Mets' team leaders right now - so he's bound to boost the offense.

And the Mets won last night. They busted out of the rain delay and won, 6-2, spurred by a homer by the ever-so-slowly-heating-up Mike Cameron. He's getting it back. A bunch of others contributed key hits as the Mets expanded their lead. It was a good overall effort. Jae Seo pitched well again before the rains came - four scoreless innings. I've been impressed by him. I feel like every other start is great...and he's only had a couple of disastrous ones.

Tonight is the big Mike Piazza party. The Mets are honoring Piazza before the game for becoming the all-time leader in homers by a catcher. Among those in attendance will be Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, Lance Parrish, I think, and Hall of Famer Gary Carter. The Tigers are in town, so it would be sort of classy for the Mets to include Ivan Rodriguez. The Mets need these games against Detroit, to get back to .500 before 12 straight games against the Reds and Yankees. I'll be happy with two out of three, but I'd be thrilled with a sweep. Tom Glavine, Al Leiter, and Steve Trachsel go this weekend. They need to be in top form.

WRIGHT WATCH: David Wright's first Triple-A game without a hit. He went 0-2 with a walk as Norfolk lost again.

REYES WATCH: Saturday's game is the earliest we'll see Jose Reyes back with the Mets. We'll see...At the very latest, as it stands now, the return will be sometime next week. Let's hope.

Twins 3, Mets 2 15 innings (28-31, 5.5 GB)

Thursday, June 10, 2004

You sure do think about a lot of stuff during the course of a 15 inning game.
Things like, When is Mike Cameron going to break out of his slump? When is Jason Phillips going to break out of his slump? Why does Cliff Floyd get hurt so much? Is Jose Reyes trapped in the body of an 87-year-old? Why does Fran Healy always sound so excited about concession stands? John Franco's ERA is over 5?!? How much longer is this game going to go on? Why can't the Mets score with the bases loaded? Is this game going to end before I have to go to work? And just when I think that, it ends. And not in a good way.

Giving the Minnesota Twins the chance to win in their last at-bat this year is like playing with fire. They have that magical win-in-their-last-at-bat vibe going on. Going into extra innings just makes that feeling linger even longer, and makes it more painful when it happens.

The Mets should do some kind of DNA test and make sure they really signed Mike Cameron as a free agent and not his handicapped brother (if indeed Mike Cameron has a handicapped brother, I am very sorry for that previous comment). What's going on here? Yes, the guy strikes out a lot. But he doesn't hit below .200! Why can't he make contact? (And, by the way, it doesn't help that when he does make good contact, and blasts one to right center field, it dies in Torii Hunter's glove.) But the lack of offense would be tolerable if he didn't look lost sometimes in center. He plays well most of the time, but when he plays poorly, he looks like a lost little leaguer. The Mets should have won last night's game (again)! If Cameron throws to a cut-off man, Matthew LeCroy is nailed. He'd be out 60 feet from home plate (home plate is 90 feet from third base, just to explain the exaggeration)! I wonder if his offensive struggles are affecting his defensive play.

The Mets blew a lot of chances in the extra innings too. They left the bases loaded in the 11th inning, and the man who strikes out looking to end the inning is none other than one Karim Garcia. Earlier that inning, after a Shane Spencer walk and steal of second, Kaz Matsui bunts him to third. I love Matsui in clutch situations, and twice last night he bunted when I would have liked to see him swing away.

Another rally died in the fifteenth inning when Torii Hunter made two outstanding catches. First, he makes a running and jumping catch on an absolute BOMB by Jason Phillips. It wouldn't have been a home run, but it would have been a double. And then he ended the inning by chasing down a Todd Zeile fly ball. Those catches were probably the difference in the game. (Hmm...just occurred to me...those both looked good off the bat - maybe they do pump the air conditioning in when the opponent is at bat in the Metrodome.)

Another great start by Matt Ginter was wasted. But he looked great, and the bullpen pitched great, for the most part. Braden Looper got screwed on the missed cut-off man, and Ricky Bottalico ended up with the loss. Tough break for him...I can give or take Bottalico. Not sure what that means, but I think I mean to say, I don't love him, but I don't hate him the way I hate Karim Garcia or Gerald Williams. (I think this is one of the first times in my life where I downright hate some Mets...wait, that's not true. Most of the 1993 Mets...and Armando Benitez towards the end of his tenure. Never mind.)

This was a bad loss. But let's remember this - everytime this team seems dead, they come back strong. There was the 3-game sweep by the Pirates, Cubs, Cardinals, then the Marlins, and now the Twins. Let's see how the Mets bounce back, with games against the Royals, Indians, and Tigers. Dare I say, 7-2?

Oh, one more thing: I really like Keith Hernandez in the booth. He's very honest, and his criticism is good, informative criticism. (Unlike the second-and-first guessing of the likes of Ted Robinson.) But it makes me wonder, how does Hernandez put up with Robinson and Fran Healy? He's so critical of the action on the field, I wish he'd be that critical of his broadcast partners. I would love to hear him just turn to one of them one night and just say, "Will you just shut up? SHUT UP! Just Shut the Hell UP!" That would make my night.

Twins 5, Mets 3 (28-30, 4.5 GB)

Wednesday, June 9, 2004

I should know better, I really should. The games the Mets SHOULD win most of the time turn into the games the Mets DON'T win. And now the Mets are a loss away from being swept in Minnesota. These are the games that kill you in late September.

On a personal note, the Mets are really pissing me off. Don't they know I'm losing valuable sleep waking up for these games!? And that I'm not waking up to see the likes of Gerald Williams starting in left field!? (Though I've learned Williams was 2-for-2 in his career against Twins starter Johan Santana, explaining why he started...and he did hit a home run.) If the Mets don't sweep at least one of these next interleague series' (not counting the Yankees), and take 2 out of 3 of the others, they are in deep trouble.

On the positive side, even in a 5-0 game where it feels like the Mets are getting their butts kicked, they always have a comeback effort in store. During last night's game, the comeback effort again came in a failed bases loaded effort in the seventh inning. With one out, Mike Cameron and the aforementioned Williams both struck out. Even after that one stalled, the Mets again threatened, after a Mike Piazza 2-run double in the eighth. But home plate umpire Joe Brinkman called Karim Garcia out on strikes on what appeared to be a checked swing - he didn't even ask for help. You hate to see a comeback chance taken away from a hitter without even getting a chance to hit. A very frustrating loss.

So the Mets are now hitting in the neighborhood of .115 with the bases loaded. The only thing I can hope is that they're getting it all out of the way now, and they'll succeed more than fail in future bases-loaded situations.

Another good note is that even though the Mets have lost four of their last five games, they're still just 4.5 games out of first place. The Marlins lost to Cleveland last night. The Braves also lost, and the Mets are still hanging right with Atlanta, Philly, and Florida.

Hopefully tomorrow we'll be talking about a Mets win.

Mets 5, Phillies 0 (23-22, 2 GB)

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Here's what I love so much about the Mets doing so well. Last night after the Mets win, I called to my wife in the other room (where she had watched 'American Idol' and '24', knowing the importance of not switching the other TV during the Mets game), "On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you about the Mets right now?"
Her reply - "8".
I said to her, "I mean with 10 being the highest."
"Yeah", she says. "8". This, from a Red Sox fan. Granted, she knew I was a 10, so her number should be fairly high, but an 8! She could have said 5 and I would have been happy.
Also, my friend Steve, usually pessimistic about all things Mets, Jets, and Rangers tells me last night: "I'm optimistic right now. Enjoy it while it lasts."
And this on Monday from my sister's boyfriend James, usually slightly less negative than Steve: "...I hope this isn't too premature, but Tom Glavine is starting to look like a Cy Young candidate". (I echo that sentiment, but in case that quote jinxes Glavine, I want it to be traced to James, and not me.) Winning breeds confidence. I love it. And here's what I'm tired of - this from today's New York Daily News:

"Who would have believed this? It's almost Memorial Day and the Mets are within two games of first place."

I WOULD HAVE BELIEVED THIS!! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD I'VE BEEN SAYING IT FOR TWO MONTHS ALREADY!!

OK. Now to last night's game. I love these little 2-out rallies the Mets have been stringing together lately. Last night's came in the 3rd inning, when with two outs, Danny Garcia and Cliff Floyd get on, setting up RBI singles by Mike Piazza and Shane Spencer. That's winning baseball. And Piazza is looking great right now - he also homered last night. (Floyd added the insurance runs with a 2-run double off Rheal Cormier in the seventh - a pitcher he hadn't gotten a hit off of in 14 career plate appearances before last night.)

The Mets also played well on defense, one play notwithstanding. In the fifth, after allowing men on first and second, Steve Trachsel (5-3) got the next three in a row. Jason Phillips (catching) made a nice play getting the force at third on a sac bunt attempt, then Trachsel got a pop-out and a ground out to retire the side.
In the seventh, Trachsel was getting into a high pitch count, and with two outs and runners on first and second, he got a grounder to third base that should have ended the inning. That's when Ty Wigginton dropped the ball trying to throw it to first. Now here's the weird thing. Trachsel gets pulled for Stanton with the bases loaded and two out, leading 3-0. Despite the early struggles by the bullpen, I was never nervous about the Mets blowing their lead. I felt they were going to get out of it. I guess it's like I said before - winning breeds confidence.
So the Mets win the game 5-0.

Now some notes: After Piazza was pulled from the game I thought it was funny how he gives everyone in the dugout a high-five, and when he gets to Kaz Matsui, he gives a little bow. (Kai-tow?) I'm pretty sure I've seen other players do that with Japanese teammates, perhaps even the Mets when they had Tsuyoshi Shinjo, but it's just plain better when you see Mike Piazza doing it...Here's a possible new feature I'll do every day - the ex-Mets update. Today it's relevant to the current Mets' situation. Remember Paul Wilson, the number one overall pick from 1993, I think? He's now 7-0 on the season after beating the Marlins last night. Due to him, the Mets are 2 games back. Always knew he'd help the Mets get into first place...Karim Garcia has been continuing to play well (over the weekend he made a nice leaping catch against the wall), and I continue my campaign to get him traded. And now I make another case for the trade of Garcia - his trial for the bullpen fight in last year's ALCS is scheduled to begin here in Boston on October 26th. The Mets can't be worrying about Garcia's court dates coinciding with Game 3 of the World Series - get rid of him...The Mets sent down Tyler Yates. They're going to try to turn him from a starter into a reliever. And Ricky Gutierrez cleared waivers and is a free agent. So ends the Gutierrez era. (I still like him better than Karim Garcia.)

Mets 6, Giants 2 (11-15, 4 GB)

Tuesday, May 4, 2004

Bonds or no Bonds, a win is a win. The Mets took advantages of the Giants' mistakes last night (almost uncharacteristic of the Mets) and came through in some clutch situations to win back-to-back games for just the second time this season.

Some of this game was very ugly - on both sides. Mike Piazza clearly should have eaten the bunt that he threw away, and Danny Garcia made a careless throw himself, leading to a Giants run in the second inning.

The ugliness was contagious, though, and Edgardo Alfonzo caught it bad. He made a few bad plays in the field. In the third inning, Karim Garcia hit a hard grounder off Brett Tomko's foot. Alfonzo tried to get Garcia at first and threw wildly, scoring a run for the Mets. Then in the sixth inning, an Alfonzo error (or misplay) allowed the Mets to start a three-run rally, consisting of an RBI single by Jason Phillips and a clutch 2-run homer by Mike Cameron. The Giants in the sixth inning looked like the Mets usually do. No, that's mean - they looked like the Mets USED to look. But not anymore. The Mets now have a two-game winning streak. And they're putting their opponents away -not keeping it close. I know I say it a lot - but with the Mets struggling to win close games, the fact that they are winning by wider margins is important.

Notes: You all probably think it's too early to be scoreboard-watching, but I don't. Plus I like to watch a lot of baseball, so I watch the teams the Mets are chasing. And here's the update, because it was exciting, and it features two ex-Mets pitchers. First, the Phillies facing the Cardinals. The Cardinals led by one, 2 outs in the ninth, bases loaded, Pat Burrell of the Phillies at the plate. Burrell swings wildly and misses at strike three high and inside from Jason Isringhausen. The ball goes all the way to the backstop. Mike Matheny somehow nails Burrell at first by a half-a-step. The Phillies lose. The Mets pick up a game on Philadelphia. Move to Florida, where the Marlins are hosting the Dodgers. (Another ugly game, by the way - lots of dumb little-league type errors in this one too.) Armando Benitez finally blows a save - I think he had 10 straight saves to open the season. Nevertheless, the Dodgers scored the go-ahead run in extra innings when a ground ball hit by Olmedo Saenz went through Mike Mordecai's legs at third base. Eric Gagne closed it out, and the Mets picked up a game on the Marlins. Just like that, four games out of first. And the Giants and Brewers are two beatable teams...the Mets should be able to do very well on this homestand.

FYI - Due to the virus on my home computer and the impending marriage, I might not be able to keep up this site for a couple of weeks. God knows I'll try...but I'll definitely give an update when I return.

Keep in mind, Monday the 10th, in Arizona (that's next Monday) - the Mets must reward me with a wedding gift of a no-hitter. Although, according to my calculations, Jae Seo will be pitching. So it's unlikely. But I hope it happens.

Mets 6, Dodgers 1 (9-13, 6 GB)

Thursday, April 29, 2004

If you take the season one series at a time from here on out, starting with the Mets taking two out of three against the Dodgers, things are looking pretty good. This is what the Mets needed to do (although when you consider they came very close to sweeping L.A., the 2-out-of-3 scenario sounds less enticing). The Dodgers are a very good team, and the Mets caught their weaker pitchers - a good break - maybe signaling a change towards better fortune is on the way.

The Mets jumped out to the lead in the second - and after going up 1-0, they loaded the bases with 1 out. It's just their luck, though, that Jae Seo would be up, and ground into a double play, keeping it 1-0. Seo (1-3) was great last night (on the mound) - six and a third quality innings, earning his first win of the year. He's been very good since the call-up. Either being sent down woke him up, or he wasn't going full-tilt in spring training.

Karim Garcia added to the Mets lead with a 2-run bomb to right in the third inning. If you've been a regular reader, you know how I feel about Garcia. I'll take the homer, but I'm also glad it makes him a more valuable trade commodity, should the Mets consider such a thing.

The only negative from last night's game was that Mike Piazza looked lost against Jeff Weaver. I don't think I've seen him look worse against a pitcher so far this year - hopefully the Mets won't face Weaver again, just for that reason.

But back to the positives - the Mets were able to put away the opponent again last night - something that's been happening more and more in their wins. Up 3-1 through 7 innings, the Mets rallied - Danny Garcia's RBI single to right field off Wilson Alvarez broke a 10-inning scoreless inning streak by Alvarez. Then Mike Stanton (!!!) hit an RBI-single to left. All I'll say about that is relief pitchers don't get lucky hits on sucky teams. It's a sign of good things to come, my friends. Trust me. Mike Cameron added a solo homer leading off the ninth inning. I can't believe how many home runs the Mets hit in this series.

This offense is starting to click. I can't help but think good things. Here's another good thought - the Mets go into a pitcher's park in San Diego this weekend. Tyler Yates, Al Leiter, and Tom Glavine are pitching against the Padres. The Padres aren't too shabby this year, but here's a stat for you. Mets starters this year lead the league in ERA. And Yates has pitched well since his bad start against the Braves. And we all know about Leiter and Glavine so far this year. Taking two out of three would be nice again...and is very possible. And dare I say it, a Mets sweep would be better....

Notes: I happened to catch a few minutes of the WFAN pre-game show last night, and Art Howe said he was resting Ricky Gutierrez (as noted yesterday, Gutierrez has not exactly been lighting it up - maybe Art reads my blog) and starting Garcia. Then Howe says, "Garcia's my pick to click", whatever that means. But it turned out he was right, with Garcia getting a clutch hit, and making a good defensive play sliding to field a grounder in the first inning. Best call Art's made so far as Mets manager - and keep reading my site, Art...The Mets have won 8 of their last 11 at Dodger Stadium...I still haven't received my '86 Mets book. I should have just gone to the store and bought it...Oh, and I probably should have put this up higher, but oh well - Jose Reyes felt something in his hamstring during a minor league rehab game, and left the game. The Mets are saying it was precautionary, but I tend to doubt he'll be at Shea for next week's homestand. We'll see...Cliff Floyd could be back as early as Saturday in San Diego.

Dodgers 3, Mets 2 (8-13, 6 GB)

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

I'm not discouraged at all by last night's loss. I know I tend to be too positive when it comes to the Mets, but they didn't lose that game. The Dodgers beat them. There's a difference. Things are starting to come around for the Mets, and if they play like they did last night, they're going to win a bunch of games.

First of all, a few words about Milton Bradley's catch. (If you didn't see it, he robbed Mike Cameron of a home run leading off the sixth inning - probably the best play of the year so far.) What made this play so great was all of the ground Bradley covered to make the catch. Cameron crushed that ball, and it was headed out of the park in a hurry. But Bradley tracked it down, timed the leap perfectly, and made the catch look pretty easy. (As an aside, I was watching the game on California's broadcast - they only kept showing replays at the wall. I wanted to see the entire play develop again, because Bradley tracked that ball so well. Hope the New York station did a better job.) Cameron will make his share of those catches this year, but last night, he was on the other side of it. That play saved the game for L.A., especially considering what happened after that (oh, and also considering Bradley was playing on a bum ankle).

The Mets had plenty of chances in last night's game, and came through in some of them, just to see their efforts stymied by great defense by the Dodgers. First, a quick recap - Kaz Matsui led off the game with a homer to make it 1-0, Mets. The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead on a 2-run homer by Dave Roberts, then made it 3-1 after a solo shot by Adrian Beltre. Roberts homered off Steve Trachsel (2-3) at the end of an 11-pitch at-bat. Beltre just crushed a bad pitch. Otherwise, Trachsel was great.

So then comes the sixth inning. Cameron was robbed of a homer, but the Mets continued to hit Odalis Perez hard. Piazza rocketed one off the shortstop's glove, then Shane Spencer singled (he's been hitting the ball well). Todd Zeile followed with a liner towards right that the second baseman deflected. Piazza had to hold at second, thinking the ball would be caught...but when the ball trickled into right field, any other runner (except Jason Phillips) would have scored. With the bases loaded, Phillips flew out to center, scoring Piazza to make it 3-2. Then Karim Garcia struck out looking. Man, I hope the Mets trade him.

Fast forward a bit. John Franco struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh. Top 8, Spencer gets a one-out walk. Then he steals second! Zeile hit a hard grounder that Guillermo Mota snagged, so Spencer has to stay at second - otherwise, he might have scored. The Dodgers brought in Eric Gagne to face Phillips. Nice matchup, right? The struggling Phillips against a man who has converted a record 68-straight save opportunities. But you saw the johnnymets guarantee yesterday - Phillips is out of his slump. Unfortunately, like the Zeile groundout, luck just wasn't with the Mets last night. Phillips blasted one that was headed up the middle, until it hit Gagne in the thigh. Gagne recovered to throw Phillips out at first, and then gave up two 2-out singles in the ninth before finishing the game (and extending his record to 69 games).

This was a great game to watch, even though the Mets lost. It's up to Jae Seo tonight against Jeff Weaver for the Mets to get 2-out-of-3 against L.A., and make the series a success.

Other thoughts: The Dodgers are now 7-0 in one-run games, the Mets are 2-6...More aggressive play, which was good to see. In addition to Spencer stealing second in the 8th, pinch-runner Jeff Duncan stole second in the 7th when the Mets needed runners in scoring position. With their lack of speed, they need to make up for that by using the speed they have and by being aggressive...Trachsel's been the victim of the long ball this year - if he didn't give up homers, he'd pitch a shutout every game...Kaz Matsui and Ricky Gutierrez are starting to look good together turning double plays. It's a good thing, though, Gutierrez is heading back to the bench, because that means Jose Reyes is back. Gutierrez has been pretty good in the field (he committed just one error, and that came at third base), but awful at the plate (.161 BA, .242 OBP). The rumor before the Mets acquired him to sub for Reyes was that Gutierrez was swinging the bat well - that scout should be shot...Matsui's leadoff homer last night was the second one of his career. That puts him about 94 or so behind Rickey Henderson's record, right?

Wow, I wrote a lot today. Thanks for reading.

Expos 2, Mets 1 (6-9, 4.5 GB)

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

I don't even know who to be mad at for last night's game. Man, that was frustrating. First of all - what the hell happened to Karim Garcia when he was nailed at the plate? The replays focused on the play at home, but how was he out by so much? If I hadn't seen him take a cheap shot to the catcher's face, I might think he still hasn't scored. By the way - real smart move throwing an elbow to a catcher's face while he's still wearing a face mask. Maybe he thought the catcher was a Florida pizza deliveryman or a Fenway Park groundskeeper. I gave him a chance, but Karim Garcia is back on the johnnymets sh**list. I'm not even going to mention how in the bottom of the first Garcia took a 3-1 pitch and started walking to first like he earned an automatic ball call. You're Karim friggin' Garcia - not Wade Boggs! In case you didn't notice, Karim, which you probably didn't, because you have a pea-brain, umpires don't like being shown up. No surprise Garcia got called out on strikes on the next pitch - he's just lucky it was a great curve. If it was a borderline pitch, the umpire still would have punched him out. I can sense bad things in the future with Karim Garcia if things continue to slide - the Mets should trade him while his value is high right now and get some bullpen help.

Hey - here's an interesting fact - the bullpen didn't screw up last night. Mike Cameron, though, cost the Mets this game, making an error that led to the go-ahead run scoring. Tom Glavine (2-1) was the hard-luck loser. He deserves to be 4-0. That's pretty horrible.

I don't even know that you can blame Matt Galante very much for those two outs at the plate. OK, maybe on the Piazza one. He's slow as hell. But again, Garcia should have scored. I never saw a wide enough replay on the play showing why Garcia didn't score, and I know the centerfielder feigned like he was going to catch the ball, but Garcia shouldn't have even been looking out there. He should have scored.

The overnight callers on WFAN (and the host) were ripped at Art Howe for last night's game. I don't know that I'll blame Howe for this one, but there's plenty of blame to go around.

Just FYI - here's what's to come. The Mets can barely score more than a run against Pittsburgh and Montreal. Pittsburgh is getting pounded by the Cubs, with Chicago averaging about 10 runs a game this past week. The Mets go to Chicago next.

Notes: Brad Wilkerson doubled off Glavine in the fifth inning - that was just the second extra-base hit off Glavine so far this year (the other was a Marcus Giles homer in the season-opener)...Piazza's swinging the bat better. I think he hits the record-tying and -breaking homers by the weekend, and then can concentrate on helping this team win.

Mets 4, Expos 1 (6-7, 2.5 GB)

Monday, April 19, 2004

One down, three to go. The Mets did what they needed to do last night against Montreal. Tyler Yates (1-1) got his first major league win, and in my opinion, showed that last week against the Braves was more likely the exception than the rule. Of course, he pitched against the lowly Expos, but I think he is going to be a very good pitcher. At the very least, he's got his confidence back from the poor outing against Atlanta.
Braden Looper picked up the save despite a shaky ninth. That was a little stressful, although I never had the sense of impending doom that we all knew so well during the Franco/Benitez closer days. I kind of felt that Looper was going to get the outs.
Mike Piazza might be breaking out of his slump. I feel like as his bat gets going, so might the rest of the lineup. Piazza went 2-for-3 last night, and just missed the record-tying homer. The sooner he hits that home run, and the sooner he starts blistering the ball like he was in the opening series against Atlanta, the sooner things start going well for the Mets.

Notes: Karim Garcia continues to impress the hell out of me, with a home run last night...Ty Wigginton homered last night also, hopefully that gets him on track, because he's been hitting the ball hard, but making outs all year...The Daily News reported this morning that Jose Reyes and Cliff Floyd are both targeting next Tuesday in Los Angeles as dates to return to the lineup. Against the L.A. pitching, that might be very important.

Mets 4, Braves 0 (5-4, 3 GB)

Thursday, April 15, 2004

This might have been the Mets' best win of the year so far. Al Leiter (1-0), David Weathers, Orber Moreno, and Braden Looper combined for a 4-hit shutout. Leiter hasn't given up a run in his two starts this year, and has a scoreless innings streak of 24 1/3 innings, dating back to last season. The big spot in this game, though, came with Weathers on the mound. Leiter left with men on first and second, and one out in the sixth. The Mets were up 2-0. After walking Andruw Jones, Weathers got Julio Franco to ground into a double play, ending the inning. That's the type of play that the Mets have been on the other end of the past few years.

Karim Garcia and Jeff Duncan padded the Mets lead in the eighth with RBI singles, making it a 4-0 lead. That's another good sign - the Mets kind of twisting the knife - not settling for just the 2 run lead.

That blew the save opportunity for Looper in the 9th, but he was still pretty good. And I'll take the W over the save any day.

Notes: Ralph Kiner, again, bringing his A-game last night. When Julio Franco comes to the plate with the bases loaded in the sixth, Kiner says, "The old man's up now." Haha. Ralph Kiner calling someone else an old man. But he was great....Another interesting point with Kiner - when he retired, with 369 home runs, he was number six on the all-time list. Now, he's number 57...Interesting situation when Bobby Cox was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the fifth inning. Up until that point, Leiter was cruising, no-hitting the Braves. Then he threw a 3-1 strike that Cox argued vehemently over, and it didn't look like he made that much of a case. But the papers this morning point out that it was probably an attempt to upset Leiter's rhythym. If it was, it worked. On the next pitch, Leiter gave up his first hit.

Mets 10, Braves 6 (Mets 4-3, 1.5 GB)

Monday April 12, 2004

A good win. I would much rather have seen the score stay at 10-1, but it was good to see Braden Looper slam the door in the ninth inning for his second save. Very encouraging to see Steve Trachsel (1-1) bounce back from last week. Also very encouraging to see Mike Hampton (0-1) pitch so poorly again. Very discouraging to see Grant Roberts get shelled again. What happened to him? From front-runner for the rotation to almost blowing the game in garbage time. The worst thing is, he's out of options and can't be sent down to the minors, which I think is what he needs. Dan Wheeler wasn't too impressive either.

The best thing about this win is it showed the Mets have some depth. Cliff Floyd is on the DL, and Mike Piazza sat out the game (coupled with today's off-day he should be back for Wednesday's game). In their place, Todd Zeile started at first (and had a big game), allowing Jason Phillips to go behind the plate (and he had a good game). Joe McEwing drew the bases-loaded walk that helped break things open - he subbed for Floyd. And Shane Spencer-Karim Garcia is turning into a very good platoon in RF. How about Sharim Spencia? Kind of like when the Mets had Backstra in the 80's.

Trachsel made a huge play yesterday - with the bases loaded, in the second inning, I think, he loaded the bases, and with two outs, got a grounder to first. The flip by Zeile was low and away, but Trachsel stabbed it, preventing what could have led to a 2-out rally by Atlanta. That play might have turned around the game.

Of course, the Braves played without Rafael Furcal and Chipper Jones. But the Mets of the past few years would have lost that type of game yesterday. The Mets are no longer intimidated by the Braves, and that's huge.

Notes: One of the best things about watching yesterday's game was listening to Ralph Kiner. The Bells' Palsy has slowed his speech, but he was funny, interesting, and very adept at breaking down situations. Kiner lost his wife during spring training - it's good to hear him back in the booth. He was even able to plug his new book. I felt like Fran Healy and Ted Robinson talked too much during last week's broadcast - Kiner's presence helped even things out. (FYI - It's been a couple of years since I've religiously watched Mets games, so all of these developments in the broadcast booth struck me as relatively new. If you've noticed this the past couple of years, sorry for wasting your time.)

Mets 4, Expos 1

Sunday, April 11, 2004

OK. First I'll focus on the positive. The Mets are back to 3-3. That's good news. And Tom Glavine (2-0) pitched great again. No earned runs in 7 IP. And the Mets won despite some discouraging circumstances. Which is also good news. But that brings us to the bad news.

Mike Piazza probably won't play in today's home opener after the collision at first base where he tried (unsuccessfully) to field an errant throw, and was grazed by Peter Bergeron. He was described as "woozy". But with an off-day scheduled for tomorrow, Piazza should be back behind the plate Wednesday.

Cliff Floyd DEFINITELY won't play today, and could end up on the disabled list. Floyd came up lame running out an infield hit. He strained a quad. I'm sure this is somehow related to when he was hit by a pitch in the calf on Friday, because he had trouble shaking that off, it looked to me. I'm no doctor, so I don't know how the two could be related, but that's my diagnosis. Maybe he was favoring his calf, and ended up straining his quad. (I don't know what I just wrote.)

Also, Karim Garcia has a broken tip of a finger on his throwing hand. I really didn't want to like Garcia, after his Yankees stint and pre-season allegations (fight with a pizzaman), but he was great the first week of the season. This injury could hurt, but it might not be a bad thing to get Shane Spencer some more AB's. Eric Valente will also see more playing time vs. righties.

The only other bad news is that I saw Jose Reyes is not making much progress...so I don't know whether he'll be back or not on this homestand. But, hey, the Mets are 3-3! Better than when they were under .500.