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Giants (and Midgets) Among Men

It's not my usual style to insult teams, but the current state of the Giants offense can be summed up in this manner.

You could in one moment watch them send up a batter named Emmanuel, then within a few eye-blinks be watching them send up a batter named Lewis.

They also happen to have a shortstop whose offensive skills would make Mario Diaz look like Babe Ruth (Trivia here: One of two calls to WFAN in my lifetime was a plea, about 15 years ago, that the Mets not trade Bobby Jones for Omar Vizquel...Howie Rose agreed, saying he'd be very "squeamish" about trading Bobby Jones. I still wouldn't make the deal, today :) )

This marks the first time in a LONG time that the Giants have a team without a significantly scary offensive threat. Your Giants of Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent, of Will Clark, Jeff Leonard, and Kevin Mitchell, even those of Jack Clark, and Chili Davis, are long, long, long, long gone.

Of course, I say this, and they'll probably put up 40 runs in the next two games, but I'll live with those consequences.

I use this as a means to segue to writing about Willie Mays, whom I'm guessing won't be around to peel any numbers off the Shea fences these next three days (understandable given his age), and his significance to Mets walk-off history.

It feels appropriate that in the first meeting ever between the Mets and Giants, on May 26, 1962, that Mays played an important role.

This was a game in which you probably could have figured out that the Mets weren't going to be much of a team that first season, loss number six in a losing streak that would eventually reach 17. It was the kind of game that a Giants fan could point to after 162 games of even-steven with the Dodgers and say "boy, how the heck did we get that one?"

It was the kind of game where the easiest comparison to make is this: The Giants No. 3 hitter was Willie Mays. The Mets No. 3 hitter was Cliff Cook.

The Mets led 1-0, 3-2, 5-3, and 6-5, and you can save the Billy Wagner jokes because on each occasion, it was the same pitcher who failed to hold the lead. Casey Stengel couldn't see fit to give Jay Hook the hook even after a Mays homer tied the game in the eighth, instead letting Hook bat in the ninth.

Giants reliever Don Larsen was imperfect in this one, yielding a home run to Felix Mantilla in the top of the 10th. But alas Hook could not stand the prosperity, and with a man on and one out in the home 10th, he surrendered a second home run to Mays, this one a walk-off shot to give the Giants a 7-6 win.

Wrote John Drebinger of the New York Times: "Thus ended in frustration another plucky struggle by the Mets..."

I could think of another way to describe it, using a word that rhymes with pluck, but I'll choose not to do so.

True Metranciscos know...The Giant with the most walk-off RBI against the Mets was not Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Barry Bonds, Orlando Cepeda, Will Clark, Jack Clark, or anyone of that ilk. Plucky second baseman Jim Davenport holds the mark with 3, coming on a double, a walk, and a home run.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Chris thinks I am kidding but I would like him to split from Mike Francesa.

And, the point of the call was Johan Santana was struggling due to his TEAM, just like Chris does with Mike during this 'crossroads'
time.

Writer Chris Illuminati of Philly Blurbs said this after viewing the video, "video proof that the Dog won't bark about any particulars of the rough patch he and Mike are going through."

Complete coverage at
http://blogs.phillyburbs.com/blog_index.php/?p=31789

Neil Best, for Newsday, said after viewing the video, "I heard that live yesterday. Weird, but amusing! Thanks. Neil"

Now appearing in Deadspin's report on the matter:
http://deadspin.com/5021276/mike-and-the-mad-dog-divorce-inevitable

Kevin Canessa has had the foresight of a Mike and the Mad Dog Split since this post.
http://thecanessacorner.blogspot.com/search/label/WFAN

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/35817-who-actually-scooped-the-impending-mike-and-the-mad-dog-break-up



He deserves that credit!
__________________


ps, Chris said a few days before, "And, you know, Neil Best thinks he has something and he's a good reporter and I like Neil. Again, I would never talk to him about anything like this because for whatever the reason, this is a guy who killed my book. That's sensitive to authors, and don't forget, I'm John Grisham. That's sensitive." and then added, "I've talked to him about it, but I don't forget that. He went out of his way to bury that book, same day I was on the Today show. C'mon. But listen, Neil thinks he has something, so he's going to track me down in the middle of a weekend and he's going to track Mike down in the middle of a weekend and he's going to write something."

Call WFAN at 718.937.6666 with a 2 point question.

Ask a sports question. Then follow up with a question directed at Dog - "So, Chris, did you really enjoy flying solo recently? Do you think the show was better solo as Bob from Cranbury pointed out last week to you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1PQTXGd9T8

I'll be DVRing

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