Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

Well, you don't see that one every day, as far as victories go. Nor do you see a 7-foot Mets fan, or folks wearing jerseys or t-shirts saluting Todd Zeile, Ty Wigginton, a Pena (maybe Alejandro?), a Taylor (guessing not Sammy, maybe Billy?), Tom Glavine (almost as disturbing as the four Yankee-attire clad fans who graced the seats in front of us for 2 innings), and Jay Payton, but all figured into my Saturday viewing experience at Shea. It was one in which I uttered "Carlos Beltran has 4 home runs in May...awful!" and "Fernando Tatis can't get around on 97 miles-per-hour" in a successful reverse-jinxing effort. I had the chance to meet Metstradamus (sporting the Zeile attire) for the first time, and we debated which one of us was more "honored" to be in the presence of the other (he is to Photoshop what I am to Minutiae), chatted about obscure jerseys (Eric Gunderson vs Doug Simons) with his game guest (Greg from Faith and Fear ), talked trivia (19

Tying up some loose ends as I head to Shea Stadium on Saturday to celebrate the 31st anniversary of Joe Torre's managerial debut. * The Mets Police has left a new comment on your post " Catchers Interference Minutiae ": Truly amazing. How do you come up with this stuff?! For anyone else looking for catchers interference minutiae, or any other sort of minutiae for that matter, go to Baseball-Reference.com and click on "Play Index." It has a box score/play-by-play data search engine available for use for a small fee. Worth every penny. * Chris D'Orso has left a new comment on your post " Catchers Interference Minutiae ": I believe those two catcher's interference calls were the only times Rich Becker reached base as a Met. I believe he struck out in every other plate appearance.(Or maybe it just seemed that way...) It did just seem that way. Rich Becker had 19 hits, 21 walks, and a frightening 42 strikeouts in 100 AB for the 1998 Mets. He had a

* In their illustrious history, the Mets have had 24 batters reach base via catchers interference. Claudio Vargas is the first since Shawn Green reached against the Giants on May 9, 2007. * The last Mets pitcher to reach base via catchers interference is John Mitchell, against the Reds, July 19, 1987. It was a 6-5 walk-off win, by the way. That is the only time in Mets history that they've had a walk-off win and benefited from a catchers interference call in the same game. Pitchers to reach on catchers interference Mets History Claudio Vargas 2008 John Mitchell 1987 Bob Apodaca 1977 George Stone 1973 >> Mets are 4-0 all-time when a pitcher reaches via catchers interference * The Mets club record for reaching via catchers interference is shared by Mike Phillips and Chico Walker, 3 times apiece. Rich Becker is the only other multi-reacher, with two. * John Stearns is the only Mets catcher to reach base on catchers interference, June 13, 1977, against the Braves.

My father and I have certain phraseology we utilize when discussing the Mets, but alas, he was at a concert and unaware of the goings on at Shea Stadium as they unfolded on Wednesday night. Yet, I had a feeling that something funky was going to go down, when in the midst of a conversation with colleague, probably around the 7th or 8th inning that person uttered the three magic words, which usually come to my e-mail in-box after a Mets walk-off win. Write it up. And now I shall...albeit a few hours later than I'd like. * Mets walk-off win #352 (postseason included) was the 4th this season for the Mets, and their first since April 29 against the Pirates. * It was the first career walk-off hit for Fernando Tatis, whom some may recall I criticized for his lack of walk-offedness not too long ago * It was the first Mets walk-off win against the Marlins since David Wright beat them with a sacrifice fly on April 9, 2006, and their 13th walk-off win against the Marlins overall. * It was the

I had something planned for today, but it required the Mets losing... Since they won ("shocker," as their closer might say), I'll hold off for a day and suggest some recommended reading. The Trinity College Division III baseball team (located in Hartford, CT, which is nearby for me) won the national championship Tuesday in amazin' fashion. Trailing by a run against Johns Hopkins in the bottom of the 9th, and having already had its hopes for a perfect season shattered with a loss earlier in the day, the Bantams tied the game on a bases-loaded walk, then walked off with the championship on another bases-loaded walk. Guy Gogliettino drew the winning walk, fouling off six 2-2 pitches to keep the at-bat, his first of the championship round, going. It is the 2nd straight year that the national title was won in walk-off fashion, something that Kean (NJ) did last season. For more coverage, go to: http://www.d3baseball.com

* On Jose Reyes... - Mets record when Jose Reyes hits 1 HR in a game: 32-8 - Mets record when Jose Reyes hits more than 1 HR: 2-3 * On Mike Pelfrey Mike Pelfrey is the first Mets pitcher to lose 6 consecutive starts since... Mike Pelfrey last season- 7 straight. The clubs record for consecutive starts lost (as opposed to consecutive decisions) is 12, by Roger Craig, in 1963. Here's hoping Pelfrey gets pulled from the rotation before he has a chance to break that mark. * On David Wright David Wright OPS vs Righthanders 2004 .891 2005 .881 2006 .929 2007 .909 2008 .715

The Mets best win of 1993 came on May 19 against the Pirates. The home team trailed 4-1 in the 9th inning but rallied to tie on RBI by Howard Johnson, Tony Fernandez, and Joe Orsulak, the latter coming through with a single with two outs in the 9th inning. After John Franco set the Pirates down in the top of the 10th, the Mets did what was needed to win in the bottom of the 10th. Dave Gallagher singled, and one out later, slugger Bobby Bonilla crushed a line drive home run over the left field fence to beat his old team, 6-4. As the newspapers described the next day, the crowd went bananas. It was the kind of win that could turn a team's fortunes around. Except that these were the 1993 Mets. The win improved the Mets record to 13-25. After the game, the Mets had a press conference at which their manager, Jeff Torborg, was fired. True Metbergs know ...The Mets had 7 walk-off wins in Jeff Torborg's 1 1/4 seasons as Mets manager.

Jose Reyes isn't the only one with a walking problem . Mets pitchers have it too. After 48 games last season, Mets pitchers had a 3.38 ERA After 48 games in 2008, Mets pitchers have a 4.08 ERA One of the reasons for this: Met pitchers are walking batters at an alarming rate, 4 per game. They are on pace to set franchise records for walks issued, both total, and unintentional. The previous mark was held by the 1999 team, but that squad didn't have the defensive issues that this one did (another subject for another time). Disregarding intentional walks, because those are strategic in nature, Mets pitchers are on pace to unintentionally walk 608 batters this season. That's a significant increase from earlier in Willie Randolph's tenure. Unintentional Walks Issued Previous 3 seasons 2007 530 2006 488 2005 448 >> 2008 Mets on pace for 608 unintentional walks Now, 608 unintentional walks would be a bad tally by itself, but combine that with this: Mets