For The Money He's Making...

Can Johan "The best defensive pitcher the Mets have ever had" Santana play goalie for the New York Rangers?

I think he would be pretty good actually, based on what I've seen from his first two starts.

I have some slight concerns, both for the New York baseball team and the New York hockey team heading into this week. My baseball concerns can be alleviated by recalling that the 1986 Mets started 2-3. But I can't seem to shake my nervousness about the Rangers-Devils playoff matchup, scheduled to begin Wednesday night.

What teams led the NHL in walk-off losses?
Well, there was a tie- the Rangers and Blues, each with the unlucky 13.

Who had the 2nd-most walk-off wins in the NHL?
The Devils and Thrashers tied with 15, trailing only the Oilers.

I'm sorry, but as much as I like Henrik Lundqvist, I have to admit that I'd take Martin Brodeur over him every day of the week (even though 9 of those 13 losses were in shootout, and there are no playoff shootouts). And given the hockey postseasons penchant for overtime affairs, I have reason for concern.

True Metgers know...Johan Santana joins Orel Hershiser, Mike Hampton, Bret Saberhagen, Kenny Rogers, and Ron Darling as Gold Glove-winning pitchers who pitched for the Mets at some point in their careers. Darling is the only pitcher to win a Gold Glove as a Met, doing so in 1989.

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The best Mets ejections I know

When you think of the Mets and famous ejections, I'm guessing you first think of the famous Bobby Valentine mustache game, when after Valentine got tossed, he returned to the dugout in disguise. You know it. You love it. I remember being amused when I asked Bobby V about it while we were working on Baseball Tonight, how he simply said "It worked. We won the game." (true) But the Bobby V mustache game of June 9, 1999 is one of many, many memorable Mets ejection stories. And now thanks to Retrosheet and the magic of Newspapers.com , we have a convenient means for being able to share them. Ever since Retrosheet's David Smith recently announced that the Retrosheet ejection database was posted online , I've been a kid in a candy store. I've organized the data and done some lookups of media coverage around the games that interested me post. Those newspaper accounts fill in a lot of blanks. Without further ado (and with more work to do), here are some of my findings ...

The 'Duca of Earl (and walk-offs)

If I told you that the Mets had just obtained a guy who is a career .316 hitter with runners in scoring position? How about if I told you that the Mets just traded for a hitter who has consistently ranked among the toughest in baseball to strike out? Or if I mentioned that the Mets just dealt for a player who was selected to the NL All-Star team the last three seasons, with the last honor coming via a vote by his peers? So, although he's on the down side age wise, his throwing arm isn't as good as it used to be, and he doesn't provide much power, there are a lot of good things that Paul Lo Duca brings to the New York Mets. For example: He'll sacrifice his body for the good of the team The Dodgers and Braves squared off on August 23, 2002 and Lo Duca made an impact both on the start and finish of this game. Three pitches after being dusted by Greg Maddux, Lo Duca made him pay with a first-inning home run. The Braves rallied to tie the game, 3-3 in the ninth, but their bu...

Been There, Won That

The Dodgers had 19 hits in their loss to the Mets on Thursday night in a game that, no offense (pardon the ironic pun), was excruciating to watch for many, many reasons, none of which I feel like getting into at this hour. Willie Randolph summed it up in his press conference afterwards, saying simply "It's not fun!" I wonder if Tom Hanks, Alyssa Milano, Ray Romano and Kareeem Abdul-Jabaar (all in attendance) stuck around for the finish? I do wish to note briefly, again with the aid of Baseball-Reference, that the last time the Dodgers had 19 hits and lost a game, it was to the Mets. The difference between that game and this one was that this contest, of May 24, 1973, lasted an interminable 19 innings., with the Mets winning, 7-3. Rusty Staub's fifth hit of the game drove in the go-ahead run. Ken Boswell added an RBI single and Ed Kranepool salted the game away with a two-run double. Some other noteworthy anecdotes from a quick box score gleaning: * Like Thursday's...

Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

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