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Showing posts from September 28, 2008

Beltran, Glavine and ...

"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

They'll Be Glad When It's Finally Torn Down

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