Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

The Yankees go out and sign Mark Teixeira. The team you root for has a counter move in mind- Andruw Jones. Same old Mets, eh? But look at it this way, at least you can taunt the Yankee fan you know that if you're gonna go get a player making $18 million+ a year, you have this advantage: Andruw Jones: 6 career walk-off home runs Mark Teixeira: 0 career walk-off home runs There's another issue in play here, and though it's 10 years in the past, I think it's best to avoid it until we're beyond the rumor-mill stage. As my father said: " I dont want to be reminded of it 160 games a year." * The truly Jonesing Mets fan knows that there are 4 surnames which have had multiple Mets with walk-off RBI. Castillo-- Alberto and Luis Hodges-- Gil and Ron Johnson-- Bob, Howard, and Lance Jones-- Cleon, Chris, and Ross So a walk-off RBI by Andruw Jones, the Met, would give the name Jones four different players with a walk-off RBI, the most among any surname.

It used to drive me crazy to hear Fran Healy describe pitches as being "down low." There is no such thing as a pitch being "down high." Healy's use of "down low"was a redundancy, one of several issues that fans had with his broadcast style. There's talk that the Mets are close to signing a pitcher named Lowe, who likes to keep the ball down. In fact, that's the key to his success. And it could play very well in his new home. On page 162 of the The Hardball Times 2009 Baseball Annual, writer Greg Rybarczyk, as intense a historian of home run distances as I am of walk-offs, issues a warning about Citi Field to those fans of the New York Mets. In describing how CitiField's outfield fence distances are significantly greater than the major-league average, Rybarczyk writes: "In spring 2009, baseball fans are going to get a live demonstration of what happens when a team sets out to design a pitcher's park and overdoes it..." That b

I would like to wish all of my readers a happy Shawnukkah and a Met-ry Chris-miss. Those familiar may recall the celebration of Shawnukkah, but you're probably wondering what a Met-ry Chris-miss is. I offer up this simple definition: A Metry Chris-miss is a Mets victory that ends with a player named Chris striking out to end the game. Ideally, the strikeout is of the swinging variety (a true "Chris-miss") but it does not have to be the case, because the presumption is that the hitter swung and whiffed at least once. By my count, we've had a few such instances. May 23, 2007- Chris Woodward (Mets 3, Braves 0) The truly Metry know... Twas one of 4 Oliver Perez victories against the Braves that season. September 19, 2006- Chris Aguila (Mets 3, Marlins 2) The truly Metry know...Twas the night after clinching, and a two-run eighth-inning rally, capped by Michael Tucker's RBI single, gave the hosts the win. September 2, 2006- Chris Burke (Mets 4, Astros 2) The truly Metr

It's hard to write walk-off related stories about closers who don't drop throws back from the mound (see the piece below) to lose games, and I don't want to write just any old story about J.J. Putz. Needless to say, I like the acquisition, and here's why, in it's simplest form... Alex Rodriguez career vs J.J. Putz 0-for-7, 2 K David Ortiz career vs J.J. Putz 0-for-7, 5 K Derek Jeter career vs J.J. Putz 1-for-8, 4 K Manny Ramirez vs J.J. Putz 2-for-11, 7 K That's a combined 3-for-33 with 18 strikeouts against four elite hitters with whom we've become quite familiar. I have a feeling Mr. Putz is going to handle New York just fine.

This blog's primary concern regarding the acquisition of Francisco Rodriguez: This is a man who once lost a game via walk-off when he muffed a return throw from the catcher. I'm referencing August 11, 2005, a vital game for the Angels and Athletics at the time, since the two were tied for first place. This was a game in which the Angels had a 4-0 lead after six-and-a-half innings, leaving Angels manager Mike Scioscia comfy enough to pull Paul Byrd (104 pitches) in favor of Brendan Donnelly. The good feelings didn't last long. Former Met Jay Payton started the rally with a home run on Donnelly's first pitch. That should have been a sign that it wasn't Donnelly's day. By the end of the inning, the score was tied, thanks to an Eric Chavez home run. The game remained even into the bottom of the ninth, and Scioscia turned to Scot Shields, keeping his closer Rodriguez, who hadn't pitched for five days, ready if needed. His services were required when the Athletics

Congratulations to Gil Hodges, the newest member of the Mets Walk-Offs Hall of Fame I realize this is of little consolation to his widow, Joan, and to those who are great supporters of his candidacy to the Baseball Hall of Fame, but I think the timing is right. Hodges got shafted again in the latest Veterans Committee vote, and it seems unlikely that he'll ever get in under the current system, which awards every living Hall of Famer a vote, requiring 75 percent of votes to get inducted. The problem is that Hodges' supporters are old men, like Duke Snider, Yogi Berra and Tom Seaver (yes, he qualifies as old). They don't release each players Hall of Fame ballot, but I'd bet that almost every vote for Hodges came from someone who either played with, for, or against him. And those guys are dying quicker than they're getting elected. Let's be realistic. Unless they have a finer appreciation for the game than I'm giving them credit for, the likes of Rich Gossage,

One of the best Mets books I've read is The Amazin' Mets 1962-1969 published earlier this year by the small, specialty publisher McFarland, and I highly recommend it if you're looking for a holiday gift for a Mets fan. The best thing I could say about this book is that I wish I had written it. The author, Connecticut-based finance professional William Ryczek interviewed more than 100 former players from that era, and went well beyond the basic stories that you may know about each season. Each chapter is thoroughly researched, informative, and entertaining. Every season is covered in thorough detail and every bit of Mets minutiae you could hope for is included. The writing style is ideal for a quick, comfortable read. Basically what I'm saying is: Buy the book :) I had the chance to exchange e-mails with the author and got his thoughts on this book and the team. Here's his take: * What made a finance professional, who has previously written about baseball in the 186

I have no reason to write this post, other than that in a blog by the fine writer, Joe Posnanski, he referenced that Mike Vail's 23-game hitting streak was the longest in the majors in 1975. Some other minutiae about Mets single-season hitting streaks, thanks to Baseball-Reference. * Catcher Jesse Gonder had the longest Mets hitting streak in 1963, a 14-gamer from July 19 to August 4. That was more than double the length of his next-longest hit streak (6 games) for the Mets. * In 1968, the year of the pitcher, no Met had a hit streak longer than Tommie Agee's 12-gamer. This streak was a big deal because, as it came in September, it set the tone for Agee's great 1969 season. Agee hit .189 entering the streak, then .422 over the dozen games it spanned. * The Mets longest hit streak in 1969 was 11 games (Tommie Agee, Cleon Jones). Yes, that's right. The Mets longest hit streak in their championship season was shorter than their longest hit streak in the year of the pitcher

For a guy who was such an ordinary player, new Mets first base coach Luis Alicea was pretty good at this walk-off thing. Eight times in his 13-season career, Luis Alicea won a game with a walk-off something. That account includes three sacrifice flies and five singles, which is a pretty decent ledger for an MLB tenure. A couple of neat Mets-related twists to his walk-offs. * The first of those 3 walk-off sacrifice flies came against Mike Maddux and the 1993 Mets. Alicea did a nice job battling back from an 0-2 count before smacking a liner to center that plated future Met Todd Zeile with the winning run. * Alicea also had two walk-off RBI against pitchers who pitched for the Mets- Ricky Bottalico in 1996 and Pat Mahomes in 2001. * Among those whom Alicea has driven in via walk-off: current Mets Fernando Tatis (in 1998!) and Carlos Beltran (2001). True Meticea know... Luis Alicea hit .181 against the Mets and .177 at Shea Stadium in his career. His one home run against them was a game-

For those curious... * The Mets have had 214 walk-off wins under Republican rule, 142 under Democratic rule. But they've had more walk-off wins under Bill Clinton than any other president. Mets Walk-Off Wins By Presidential Administration 65-Bill Clinton 64-Ronald Reagan 61-George W Bush 46-Richard Nixon 31-Lyndon Johnson 28-George HW Bush 26-Jimmy Carter 20-John F. Kennedy 15-Gerald Ford * The first African-American Met with a walk-off hit was Choo Choo Coleman. You can read about it here. http://www.metswalkoffs.com/2005/11/little-engine-that-could.html * The most successful election years for Mets walk-off wins were 1996 and 1988. Mets Walk-Off Wins In A Presidential Election Year 1996-10 1988-10 1984-9 2008- 8 2004- 8 1980- 8 2000- 7 1972- 7 1976- 7 1992- 6 1964- 6 1968- 3

For a guy whose major-league career consisted of 81 at-bats, new third base coach Razor Shines (yes, that's his real name...Razor is a middle name, passed down in his family through multiple generations) sure has a lot of connections to the New York Mets. * Razor made his major-league debut on September 9, 1983, and shall be forever known as "The Guy Whom Frank Howard didn't feel comfy about Tom Seaver pitching to..." Simple version of the story: Razor came up as a pinch-hitter with two men on base and one out. Howard pulled Seaver for Jesse Orosco and Expos skipper Bill Virdon countered with Jim Wohlford, denying Shines his first AB. Orosco struck out both Wohlford and Tim Raines to end the game. That, combined with a Phillies win, knocked the Expos out of first place in the NL East. * Razor's first MLB hit came in a Mets walk-off win, on October 2, 1983, the final game of the season, and the second game of a doubleheader between the Mets and Expos. Shines batted

Answers in the comments section 1- How many former Mets played for the 2008 Phillies? 2- Name the members of the 1986 Mets who also played for the Phillies at some point in their career. 3-Name the former Met who hit exactly 100 career home runs for the Phillies, most for anyone who played for both the Phillies and Mets. 4- Name the only pitcher to win 40+ games for both the Phillies and Mets. 5- Tug McGraw and this pitcher both pitched for the Mets, and the 1980 Phillies, at some point in their career. Name him. 6- Two infielders who pitched for the Mets also played for the Phillies at some point in their careers. Name them. 7- Name the only player to play for the 1962 Mets and the 1964 Phillies team that choked away the NL pennant. 8- Name the former Met who struck out with the bases loaded and two outs to end GAME 5 of the 1980 World Series. 9- Of those who played for both the Mets and Phillies, who had the most stolen bases FOR THE PHILLIES? 10- Name the members of the 2008 Mets wh

Favorite Shea memories will have to wait... Headed out of town for a bit... Next posting comes after the World Series ends... If you're wondering who I'm rooting for... http://www.metswalkoffs.com/2008/06/my-fair-weather-friends.html http://www.metswalkoffs.com/2008/05/ray-of-nope.html

You know what else was cool about Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series? He didn't just hit it against Joe The Plumber. He hit it against Hall of Fame relief ace Dennis Eckersley, among the best pitchers in the game. That got me to thinking. The Mets have had walk-off wins against everyone from Juan Acevedo to Pat Zachry. But who's the best pitcher against whom they've ever had a walk-off win? You can vote in the poll on the right. The candidates... Steve Carlton Opening Day 1975 (Joe Torre). Carlton was in a 2-year stretch in which he wasn't quite the pitcher who twice won 20 games previously, but he was in the prime of his career, and won 20 four more times afterwards. Dennis Eckersley April 4, 1996 (Brent Mayne). The Mets got to the 42-year-old version of Eck, who was still pretty good, posting 30 saves, and getting the Cardinals to within one win of the World Series. Bob Gibson September 23, 1969 (Bud Harrelson). Gibson was one year

You know what else is neat about Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run (the anniversary of which is today)? He turned loss into win with one swing. I LOVE the come-from-behind walk-off home run. The two best kinds of walk-offs are: a) the come-from-behind walk-off home run (when you think of that, you think of Kirk Gibson and Bobby Thomson) b) the come-from-behind walk-off hit with a close play at the plate (when you think of that, you think of Francisco Cabrera) The first walk-off win in Mets history came via come-from-behind walk-off home run. It was hit by Hobie Landrith. The first Mets walk-off win to come after this blog's existence came via come-from-behind walk-off home run. It was hit by Cliff Floyd. I speak from the experience of having been there for Floyd's home run. You can't get a more exciting moment in a game than that. As it turns out, Kirk Gibson was the master of the come-from-behind walk-off home run. In his 17 seasons in the major leagues, he hit 5 of them

The most amazing thing about Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series is that he hit it while injured. "Everyone is banged up at this time of year," the announcers tell us, but few were quite as banged up as Gibson, who had a bad left hamstring and a swollen right knee, aggravated by a phenomenal catch in Game 3 of the NLCS at Shea. Gibson played all-out throughout his 17-year career and was frequently hurt. Gibson only played half a season in each of the two years that followed his walk-off home run, and was a shell of the player that won the NL MVP. He only played the equivalent of nearly a full season three times. Gibson hit a LOT of really big home runs in his major league career, and you could argue that total would have been increased significantly if he had stayed healthy. The Mets had their Kirk Gibson moment in the first season of Shea Stadium, and in the last season as well. We told the tale two years ago of one of the most improbable

This week, Wednesday specifically, marks the 20th anniversary of the home run that made the term "walk-off" a part of popular baseball culture- Kirk Gibson's dramatic game-ending home run in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Dennis Eckersley introduced the phrase when commenting about allowing the home run, after the game. Because that walk-off is of great significance to the baseball world, because I thought it was a cool moment, and because there are many ways in which I can connect that home run to the Mets, I thought I would pay it proper tribute here. So that will be the topic of discussion in a few essays this week. It is worth noting that Kirk Gibson hit two home runs in the ninth inning of games during the 1988 season. If a lesson had been learned from that first one, the second might not have occurred. I'm referring to the game between the Mets and Dodgers of May 31, 1988, one of the better victories of the season, but one that came at a s

So word on the street, as I'm rooting for the Rays and piecing together some memories of Shea Stadium, is that Orlando Hudson wants to be a Met. Good for him. Great for us. This is an easy call. Speaking of which, the GM should be on the horn to the instructional league folks telling them to move Daniel Murphy's lesson plan from second base back to left field. Orlando Hudson's best attribute is not his .300 batting average, his .360+ on-base percentage, his ability to bunt the ball farther than Luis Castillo can hit it, nor his three Gold Gloves. The best thing about Orlando Hudson is that he's a guy who can say enough's enough, and the Mets need players like that. Why do I say that? Because Orlando Hudson has proven, through his walk-off history, that he can put an end to lengthy games. Remember the 14-inning Saturday Knight (Brandon's Mets debut) affair against the Cardinals, when Albert Pujols creamed a long home run off Aaron Heilman. It seemed that when Puj

The Mets PR staff recently e-mailed me a list of those who pulled the numbers from the outfield fence, counting down the last 81 games at Shea Stadium. I hadn't seen that list publicly, and I wanted others to be able to reference it as well, so I am publishing it here... 81 Kathy Shea Anfuso, her son-in-law Victor, and granddaughter, Michelle daughter of Bill Shea 80 Mr. Met 79 Lincoln Mercury representatives – Peter Spina and Kenneth Toscano 78 Mets Fan Club for Kids Member Alex Holmes 77 Citi Representative Michael Freiberg 76 SNY Kids Clubhouse Hosts Gabe Cohen and Caitlin Fichtel 75 Ed Charles and JRF Scholar Elizabeth Gil 74 Broadcaster Howie Rose 73 Ron Hunt, Jack Fisher and Tim Harkness 72 Longtime employee Bob Mandt 71 Jack Lang Day reps (Randy, Brian, Craig and Victoria Lang) 70 Youth Baseball Leader Bob Reid and players from the Bayside Little League 69 Laura Dyer and Amy Stack from DavisVision 68 Harry and Digit from Cyberchase 67 Sarah Drews, representing the CW11 for A

"I need somebody to hit!" No, those words weren't those from Jerry Manuel to his team during the final weekend of the season. Instead, I choose to quote from the immortal comic strip character Lucy Van Pelt. Charlie Brown went away for an extended period of time and poor Lucy had no one to pick on. That's kind of how I feel about the 2008 Mets. In 2006, I could be mad at Carlos Beltran for not swinging. In 2007, I could be mad at Tom Glavine for not caring. In 2008, who am I supposed to be mad at. It's wasted anger to be upset with Scott Schoeneweis, considering he's dealing with personal issues of a much larger scale, with the premature birth of a child. For that matter, it seems silly to be angry at relievers who were thrust into roles for which they weren't really fully equipped to handle. It's wasted anger to be mad at Jose Reyes or Carlos Beltran, or Carlos Delgado, or David Wright. Their seasons were too good. It's wasted anger to be mad at

Some commentary on 2008 to come, but while you're waiting, a piece I had been waiting to publish... Shea Stadium was a stat-wrecker to many a good player. Here are a few whose numbers there paled in comparison to those produced elsewhere. Roberto Clemente .262 BA 4 HR 35 RBI 70 Games He hit .317 for his career. Clemente hit .462 at Shea in 1965, but as the Mets pitchers got better, his numbers got worse. From 1969 to 1972, the final four years of his career, Clemente hit .186 at Shea, including .130 in 1969 . Joe Morgan .235 BA 7 HR 33 RBI 97 Games Plus a 2-for-12 in the 1973 NLCS Johnny Bench .229 BA 11 HR 41 RBI 78 Games Bench was a sub-.100 hitter at Shea three times: In 1968, 1969, and 1976. Ozzie Smith .229 BA 0 HR 21 RBI 112 Games Yes, he's not in the Hall of Fame for his hitting, but still...the batting average plummets by 30+ points here. Tony Perez .227 BA 13 HR 45 RBI 106 Games Clearly, this was a Big Red Machine issue... Ken Griffey Jr. .216 BA 4 HR 11 RBI 26 Games P

Give me a little time to catch up on some stuff (probably a day, maybe a little more) and we'll post some appropriate commentary here.

It was written by an imposter :)

Those who know what "The Penske File" is will appreciate our take on Jerry Manuel's comment after Thursday's Mets win: "I really feel like we're about to take off..." What we think he's going to say, probably sometime in the next 24 hours is... "I'm sorry I gave you the wrong impression. What is was going to say was I really feel like we're about to take off...for the rest of the winter. We expended so much energy getting through the first 145 games, we had nothing left for the last 17. You saw the last of what was left on Thursday. Oh, and our board of directors ..."

As per usual, thanks to Baseball-Reference.com for the ability to dig out some of these nuggets * Walk-off win #356 was the Mets 8th walk-off win of the season, their first since a 5-4 win over the Braves on August 21. * It was the Mets first walk-off win against the Cubs since last May 17 when Carlos Delgado capped a 5-run rally with a 2-run single in a 6-5 win. * Carlos Beltran got his 4th Mets walk-off hit, the first that wasn't a home run. Beltran's last walk-off single came April 13, 2000 for the Royals against the Orioles. * The win came 4 years to the day of another Mets walk-off win against the Cubs. On September 25, 2004, with the Cubs fighting for a playoff spot, Victor Diaz hit a game-tying three-run home run with two outs in the ninth, and Craig Brazell hit a walk-off home run in the 11th to hand the Cubs a crushing, 4-3 loss. * The Mets also had walk-off wins on September 25, 1971 (Bob Aspromonte 15th-inning single), September 25 1984 (Rusty Staub home run), Septem

I remember, going home from Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS thinking (and likely verbalizing) that the Mets were going to pay the price for Carlos Beltran taking strike three to end their season, for a long time. You can summarize the last two seasons of frustration and angst in that one at-bat by David Wright, with a runner on third and nobody out, with the score tied in the bottom of the ninth inning. Too overanxious to make up for the mistakes of two years ago, Wright made the mistake of swinging on 3-0, and then struck out on a 3-2 pitch that was barely closer to the plate than that of the premier of Bermuda a couple days ago (yes, I'm reusing that line). The Cubs didn't want to face Wright. They were content with the idea of letting either Carlos Delgado or Beltran beat them, and Wright should have known better than to do what he did. There is no one better on the Mets in walk-off situations than David Wright, but his overzealousness on Wednesday, as well as some abysmal at-bats b

Yesterday we wrote about Merkle's Boner in regards to its lessons in how not to walk-off. Today, in an effort to cheer ourselves up about our current fate, we write about Gardner's Gaffe. I'm referring to Game 4 of the 2000 NLDS, better known as The Bobby Jones Game , which would rank among my all-time favorite events attended at Shea (a list is coming, eventually). The Mets had a 2-games-to-1 lead at the time and the momentum pendulum was swinging totally opposite the direction it's in these days. We didn't know in the bottom of the first inning that Jones was going to pitch a one-hit shutout. But we did know it was going to be a good day for the Mets pretty quickly. Giants starter Mark Gardner, a good friend of Jones from their sharing Fresno, California as a home, got the first two Mets out in the home first inning. Gardner then got ahead of Mike Piazza 0-2 and threw a knee-high fastball near the outside corner of the plate. From my TV viewing today, it looks lik

Today is the 100th anniversary of Merkle's Boner, otherwise known as the best example of how not to walk-off. Stories on the subject vary, but the basic details were that the Giants and Cubs were playing a key game in New York inthe 1908 pennant race, and the Giants were on the verge of winning. Al Bridwell appeared to single in Moose McCormick with the winning run. However, Fred Merkle, the baserunner on first, did not touch second base, and this was spotted by Johnny Evers. Craziness ensued, with Christy Mathewson attempting to steer Merkle back to second, while Giants pitcher Joe McGinity and Cubs second baseman Johnny Evers wrestled for position. Eventually, with fans having come on to the field, one got ahold of the ball and heaved it into the stands. Eventually police were called in and no decision was rendered as to the status of the game. The next day, the game umpires decided that Merkle was out, and that thus, the game was not over. League officials ruled the game had to

"After the Florida-Mets afternoon game on Sept. 28, the Mets plan to bring back 45 former players, including Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza for a celebration called Shea Goodbye. Dave Howard, the Mets’ executive vice president for business, said, “We think most of the names that come to mind will be there.” -- New York Times article from earlier this week Couple of things I'm wondering about: a) 45...that's cute. 1 person for each year of Shea Stadium. Did they stop the invites or turn people away (otherwise known as "The Barry Lyons Treatment" from the 1986 celebration two years ago)? Who got the shaft? b) Given the way things have gone, wouldn't it be wiser to hold the ceremonies before the game, rather than after? Here's a scenario. The Mets blow the wild card on the final day of the season, in a fashion similar to their final game in 2007. You think the crowd's gonna be psyched to say farewell to a building that most consider a dump? c) 45 FORMER PLAY

Rumor has it that some other ballpark is closing this weekend. Funny thing: If you visit StubHub, you'll see about 300 tickets for sale for some game in the Bronx this Sunday night. You'll also find more than 5,000 tickets for sale for next Sunday's game in Flushing. I think that's pathetic. But since this weekend's ballpark closing is apparently of importance, we'll have to pay tribute in our own special way. Let's count down the 10 best games in that ballpark's history 10. The Last Day of the Yankee Dynasty (May 3, 1965, Mets 2, Yankees 1, Mayor's Trophy Game) The Yankees enjoyed an unprecedented run of success from 1947 to 1964, but their dynasty would crumble in 1965. All the proof needed that these Yankees were in for some trouble that season was the Mayor's Trophy Game of 1965. The Yankees mustered only one run in 10 innings, getting shut out over the first three by some young dude named Tug McGraw. The Mets would win, 2-1 in the 10th when

But that's just me. As Gary and the AFLAC duck reminded us, Dwight Gooden holds the Mets single-season record for most consecutive starts without a loss. He had 18 in 1985. Johan Santana ranks second with 15, after Thursday's win. He snapped a tie for second with David Cone and another former Mets lefty, Tom Glavine. Cone's positioning, for 1989, not 1988 as some would have thought is legit. Glavine's inclusion, and I'm sorry to be both biased and rude here, is a joke. Santana's ERA during his 15-start lossless stretch is 2.27. He's had 13 quality starts, one in which he left after five innings with a shutout due to rain, and one bad start (4 innings, 5 runs in Cincinnati on July 17) Glavine's ERAs during his not one, but two streaks of 14 straight lossless starts (one in 2006, one in 2007), were 3.74 and 3.44 Glavine avoided losses in the following starts June 7, 2006 at Dodgers- 5 1/3 innings, 6 runs June 13, 2006 at Phillies- 4 1/3 innings, 4

So Jerry Manuel has Johan Santana on a 170-pitch count this evening after burning through most of the bullpen last night (Al Reyes, where art thou?) While throwing that many pitches would necessitate a herculean effort, it would not set a Mets record. Baseball-Reference.com has a handful of pitch counts from games from the Mets earliest days, and within that exists a game in which a Mets pitcher threw 172 pitches. Newspaper reading indicates that the tally was 215, and while I can't currently reconcile that difference of opinion, I feel comfortable in acknowleding that 170 pitches would not make history. The Mets game against the Phillies on August 14, 1962 would not be considered historic by my standards, though it would certainly qualify as a doozy, one witnessed by only slightly more than 5,000 fans at the Polo Grounds. The Mets managed only one run over 15 innings despite drawing 12 walks, seven from Phillies starter Dallas Green. Why the Phillies were frightened enough of the

I made the comment to my father a few weeks ago that Brandon Knight was going to throw the most important pitch of the Mets season. What does that mean? I think it's one of the following... 7 IP, 0 R, 3 H in Pete Walker circa 2001 rescuer form or 3 IP, 7 R, 10 H in Julio Valera circa 1990 meltdown form But I digress, because what I've become reminded of in the last few hours is the seven-game losing streak that dotted the last two weeks of the 1999 season. In that stretch... * The Mets lost games 2-1, 3-2, 4-2, and 3-2 * The Mets hit .215 and slugged .303 * The Mets went 6-for-52 with runners in scoring position * Everyone was pressing because of the collapse of 1998 Seems familiar, eh?

Arrive home at 2:40 AM after a very long day's work, interrupted by many predictable bouts of frustration. I have an e-mail. It's the results of a game in my computer baseball league. I've been in this league a long time. I've had good wins and bad losses. The game of September 16 was a loss. That's nothing new. My team has been slumping. But how we lost bothers me, more than a little. Ryan Howard hit a walk-off home run to beat us. As Charlie Brown once said: "Rats!" As Charlie Brown also once said: "Maybe I should just stay home and lie in bed all day."

My friend Paul (the only person who will get the title of this posting) asked me the other day if I had any interest in going to see a Mets game this week in Washington D.C. I politely declined. Monday, I was glad I did. It's good to know that I'm not the cause of whatever is presently ailing the Mets, unlike in previous seasons. I was at the Thursday/Friday losses in the final week of 2007 I was at Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS I was at the Armando Benitez blown save against the Braves in late September, 2001 I was at Game 5 of the 2000 World Series I was at the Rickey Henderson game-ending DP in Philadelphia the next-to-last weekend in 1999 I was at the Mike Scioscia home run game, Game 4 of the 1988 NLCS I was at the recently mentioned Terry Pendleton HR game in 1987 I was at the Cesar Cedeno HR game in 1985 I was at the Banner Day doubleheader loss to the Cubs in 1984 But I'm proud to say that I was not at either of the giveaway games that took place at Shea this past weekend

We all got so caught up in the story of it being Chipper Jones last game at Shea. We forgot it was the last one there for Terry Pendleton too. How come they didn't have him and coaching buddy Roger McDowell peel a number off the Shea wall for old-time sake? Somewhere the ghosts of Don Aase and Willie Randolph smirk too.

If Jonathon Niese's siblings have baby boys, are they Niese's nephews? Jonathon Niese... * Became the fourth pitcher in Mets history to throw 8+ shutout innings within his first 2 MLB games. The other 3 pitchers to do that... 1994- Jason Jacome (shut out Dodgers in 2nd MLB start) 1966- Dick Rusteck (shut out Reds in 1st MLB start) 1965- Dick Selma (shut out Braves in 10 IP in 2nd MLB start) *The only other starter in Mets history to win a game in September, within his first 2 MLB games, in the midst of a pennant race (my judgment) is Julio Valera. He allowed five runs in six innings in his debut, a 6-5 win over the Giants on September 1, 1990. * Only 3 Mets starters have pitched 8+ shutout innings in a game this season: Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, and Jonathon Niese.

Part of an ever-continuing series of stories related to the baseball game played on October 25, 1986. The first 10 games in which Mookie Wilson (and Wally Backman) played for the Mets, the team did not win. Thankfully, management was not discouraged by this in any way. Mookie Wilson had a fine Mets career, one best remembered for one moment about which we can all reminisce fondly. It's my understanding that he's recently had a falling out with the organization, and that's too bad, because there are other stories that Mookie could tell about his Mets career as the (now second) greatest base-stealer in team history. One you won't get to hear is about Mookie's first Mets win. It came on September 14, 1980, and revealing the opponent partly gives away the punchline, so I won't do that just yet. Mookie Wilson had 11 four-hit games, as well as one five-hit game for the Mets, and this was one of his finer performances. He showed off his speed at every opportunity, firs

Wednesday's game got me to thinking: What's the highest scoring walk-off win in Mets history? The Mets have never had a walk-off win in which the final score was double-digits to double-digits. They've had three 10-9's (most recently against the Yankees in 2004), a 10-8 (1990 vs Cardinals), and a pair of 10-7's (1980 and 1998). But the only walk-off win in which the Mets and their opponents combined for 20 or more runs took place on June 22, 1997, against the Pirates. This was a game in which the Mets had leads of 4-0, 5-4, and 9-6, and couldn't hold on, on an 87 degree rainy day at Shea. That fit right in with how the rest of this series went. The Mets had already won three games from the Pirates, albeit each by a single run. In the opener, the Mets beat Ricardo Rincon on Jason Hardtke's hit, after John Franco blew a save by allowing a three-run home run to Dale Sveum with two outs in the ninth. Bobby Jones pitched the kind of gem we'd all be thankful f

Carlos Delgado tied Dave Kingman for most multi-homer games by a Met in one season, with his 7th on Tuesday. Just in case you were wondering... The Mets record for multi-hit games in a season: Lance Johnson, 75 in 1996 (Jose Reyes had 58 in 2008, tied with a bunch of players for 2nd-most) The Mets record for multi-single games in a season: Lance Johnson, 49, in 1996 (Jose Reyes leads the current team with 30) The Mets record for multi-double games in a season: David Wright, 7 in 2007 (Wright has 6 in 2008) The Mets record for multi-triple games in a season: Jose Reyes, 2 in 2005 (Reyes has 1 in 2008) The Mets record for multi-RBI games in a season: Mike Piazza, 35 in 1999 and 2000 (Carlos Delgado has 27 in 2008) The Mets record for multi-run games in a season: Jose Reyes, 34 in 2006 (David Wright has 21 in 2008) The Mets record for multi-walk games in a season: Keith Hernandez had 28 in 1986 (David Wright had 20 in 2008) The Mets record for multi-stolen base games in a season: Roger Ce

When's the last time the Mets had a September walk-off win that was pertinent to their playoff positioning? That would be September 13, 2000, and admittedly there was some comfort with a 4 1/2 game lead over the Diamondbacks for the wild card spot, but the deal wasn't sealed just yet. I'm presuming that one of the reasons the Mets pursued then-Brewer Jeff D'Amico was his performance in games like this one. For eight innings, D'Amico stymied the Mets and outdueled Mike Hampton. D'Amico got an early 1-0 lead, courtesy of a Lenny Harris miscue, and wouldn't let go for eight innings. Alas it was determined that with three outs to go, and 112 pitches thrown, D'Amico could not attempt to finish his own victory. Curtis Leskanic was deemed the better fit to conclude the game and that decision proved not to be wise. Jay Payton led off the Mets ninth with a double. It figured that the odds of the Mets scoring at this point, with Edgardo Alfonzo, Mike Piazza, and R

What you have just witnessed may have been the most boring 'important series' in Mets history. Important series being defined as: September series having direct, significant impact on postseason race, played between two teams both chasing the same goal. Why do I say that? Because there was no true moment of angst. Not a nailbiting victory or agonizing defeat. This is how the rest of the baseball world lives sometimes. But never the Mets. In Game 1, a pitcher on a great roll beat a pitcher on a great roll. But this wasn't Gooden vs Tudor. It was a 3-0 game, and the Mets never really had a good shot, save for Ryan Church's final swing. In Game 2, an aging, crafty lefty, beat an aging, uncrafty righty. The game wasn't close. In Game 3, the Mets took a first-inning lead and never trailed again. Yawn. Granted, the baseball gods have given us plenty to fret over during the last two months, but this series lacked a defining moment that we'll fret over, or remember fon