Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

For those who read the July 19 post, where I griped about Carlos Beltran's mediocre numbers at Shea Stadium, here are some others, entering Saturday, that bug me just a little bit... Billy Wagner Home: 4.43 ERA, 3 blown saves, 21 appearances Road: 0.42 ERA, 1 blown save, 20 appearances Pedro Feliciano Home: 3.93 ERA, 23 hits, 18 2/3 IP Road: 0.46 ERA, 15 hits, 19 1/3 IP Carlos Delgado Home: .200 BA, 10 HR, 27 RBI Road: .291 BA, 14 HR, 34 RBI Ramon Castro Home: 7 for 45 (.156 BA), 20 K Road: 20 for 66 (.303 BA), 15 K True Metpickers know... A link worth checking out...The folks at Baseball-Reference.com have done some nice Retrosheet research on walk-off hits, walk-off home runs, walk-off HBP's, walk-off steals of home, and walk-off balks (all since 1957 or so). Their lists can be found here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/78#more-78

So apparently Msrs. Ron Howard, Dennis Miller, and birthday celebrant Tom Hanks didn't stick around for Thursday's clash between the Reds and the "Catch Me If You Can" Mets, though I'll give them credit for lightening (lightning?)the mood at Wednesday's disastrous soakfest. I think Mr. Miller would appreciate my the little joke I cracked upon seeing a hitchhiker on the highway today hoisting a sign that read "I won't kill you!" (If he broke his promise, how would I know? makes for a decent "Punchline" I suppose) Some notes as we head into a weekend series with the Vandal/Pettitte-less Astros. Is it safe to say that "Happy Days" are here again, now that the team has straightened itself out and won 4 of 6 on the road? * Newest acquisition Ruben Gotay, headed to Norfolk to play some second base, has never had a walk-off hit in the majors. Ruben's uncle Julio was a bit of an oddball (he had a fear of the cross), but we owe him...

Perhaps when the baseball team returns to Flushing they could sprinkle some pixie dust, or whatever it is they do at a Salvation Miracle Revival Crusade and heal Carlos Beltran's home sickness.   The splits are both alarming and amazing. Consider the following stats after Tuesday's win.   Carlos Beltran in road games :  .346 BA, 17 HR, 54 RBI, 42 games Carlos Beltran in home games :  .207 BA, 10 HR, 24 RBI, 40 games   Observing closely as I do regularly, I couldn't help but notice that Beltran's swing has appeared much smoother on the road. I'd be willing to bet he leads the Mets in home popouts (not talking about curtain calls) because he has a propensity to overswing to try to impress the denizens of the Queens ballpark.   This is not a new situation for the Mets. Many a quality hitter has been spooked by Shea and shined elsewhere, though this is certainly an extreme situation.   It is somewhat reminiscent of one overlooked by f...

While my dad and I were belatedly celebrating his 60th birthday on Saturday, Reds outfielder Chris Denorfia was legitimately enjoying the 26th anniversary of his birth in Cincinnati. As luck would have it, Denorfia, recalled when the Reds traded Austin Kearns away, came to the plate in an all-or-nothing scenario, his team trailing the Rockies by a run with the bases loaded and two outs in the last of the 9th. Rockies closer Brian Fuentes had just inadvertently beaned each of the previous two hitters and was now in the position of having to throw a strike. The count ran to 2-2 and Denorfia got what was described as a lousy swing at the next pitch and hit a slow chopper to short. Rockies shortstop Clint Barmes charged the ball, then just plain missed it. It eluded Barmes for a walk-off two-run single, making Denorfia a very happy birthday boy. Intrigued, I sent an e-mail to Retrosheet guru David Smith, who with a little programming magic was able to generate a list of every player to ge...

In the now 60 years that my dad has lived (effective July 12), he has seen a lot. But during our celebration of his birthday this past Saturday, he saw 2 things he never had before. The first was a 90-year-old woman, falling out of her motorized scooter, and onto the curb at the corner of 75th street and Park Avenue. Good samaritans that we were, we helped rescue Judith and escorted her to the ER at Lenox Hill Hospital where she was treated for a rather nasty gash on the arm. The next was having the couple sitting next to him at dinner, a couple of strangers maybe separated from us by 3 feet, agree to get married. The happy bride-to-be spent the next half hour calling friends and showing her engagement ring to anyone who would look- except us. It seems that things like these tend to come in threes, so there was the expectation that something else unique might happen before the night was out. As it turned out, we had to wait for 24 hours or so, although in my dad's case, he's...

Questions here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2007/07/our-special-bonds-even-steven-questions.html 1) Fling your glove to the sky if you knew the correct answer was the man who wore that uniform number regularly, Jesse Orosco. 2) Barry Bonds doesn't make this list, but Hank Aaron does, as do Willie Mays, Sammy Sosa, Frank Robinson, Mike Schmidt and Willie McCovey. 3) How soon we forget Randy Johnson-killer Dae-Sung Koo . 4) Former Pirate and current Pirate broadcaster Steve Blass (he of "Steve Blass Disease"). 5) The well-educated southpaw, Mike Hampton 6) If you got this one, you're in like Doug Flynn . 7) Neither of the Bob Millers come before Keith Miller on the Mets alphabetical list. But former pitcher Dyar Miller does. 8) The only team against whom the Mets had a prayer on a regular basis in 1962 was the Cubs .

Because I heard it mocked in Letterman's interview with David Wright the other day and saw it referenced in several blogs regarding Mike Pelfrey, I thought I'd share an excerpt from a conversation I had with a former major leaguer in regards to, for lack of a better term, this tongue-sticking-out thing. I don't have the background in physiology to confirm that his words are accurate, but I'm trusting of them. To paraphrase what was told to me: It's good that they do that...Almost every pro athlete does it in some way...remember Michael Jordan? I used to wonder after I'd play why my tongue would hurt after a game...It was explained to me that by sticking out your tongue, you're relaxing your body. You know that if you clench your teeth, you tense up, and your muscles all tense up too. That's why someone like Roger Clemens wears a mouthpiece, because he doesn't want to clench his teeth Sticking out your tongue releases that tension. It allows you to ...

OK, I’m just back from the Steel City and before you ask whether the trip was for business or pleasure, let me just say it was neither. That’s as in: it’s none of your business and there wasn’t much pleasure involved. Sorry to be a sourpuss, but my last few days haven’t been exactly fun-filled. It was a particularly bad omen when the first face I saw upon checking into my hotel was Bobby Bonilla, sporting a grin so wide I thought he’d be asking if I wanted to be shown the Bronx . The total damage included a cut on my right hand (no idea how), an ink stain on my khakis (no idea how) and a broken luggage cart (no idea how, and for $10, I got what I paid for). We won’t get into the botched flight arrangements, travel delays, or screaming babies because they aren’t relevant anymore, nor is the $700 worth of auto maintenance that became necessary two days before the trip. What is relevant was going to be an NL victory in the All-Star Game and for 8 innings, it felt like everything that...

Answers to the quiz found here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2007/07/our-special-bonds-lucky-7s-questions.html 1) Current Long Island Ducks infielder Edgardo Alfonzo ranks 7th on the club's all-time list with 120 home runs, and yes, he never hit a walk-off home run. 2) I narrowed it down for you considerably by telling you it was a lefthander, and perhaps you divined that the correct choice is Jon Matlack and not Sid Fernandez. 3) Rusty Staub had his first Mets walk-off RBI in 1974 and his last in 1984. In between he had five others, giving him 7, one shy of the club record held by Kevin McReynolds 4) Clint Hurdle had the misfortune of being a Met in 1985 and 1987, but not 1986. He was with the Cardinals that season but, unlucky for him, was not with them during those other two campaigns. 5) Jerry Grote held the lucky spot in the Mets batting order more often than any of his teammates. 6) The unlikely combo of Howard Johnson (1992-93) and Roger Cedeno (2002-03) each had a p...

It was only two months ago that Mike Pelfrey did something he could never recall doing in his pitching career. The Binghamton Mets hurler failed to even get through the first inning, as he was pulled after just 39 pitches. The Mets had some folks in the stands watching, hoping that Pelfrey would show them something good and earn the call up that went to Alay Soler. Instead, what Pelfrey displayed was an arm in need of a little fine-tuning. He allowed two runs on three walks and two singles. The struggles weren't totally Pelfrey's fault. A two-out error by third baseman Jay Caliguiri kept the inning, then scoreless going, and Pelfrey came unglued afterwards. Those who made the trek to see Pelfrey pitch may have been disappointed, but they could only be pleased with the end result, a walk-off win. Caligiuri made up for his miscue with two RBI, the last a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 8th (the game was part of two on the day, and thus was scheduled for only seven inning...

( By the way, happy birthday to Willie Randolph, who turns 52 on Thursday) The closest walk-off equivalent I could find to Wednesday's unusual Mets win (1st inning: 5 runs, rest of way: no hits) was that which took place on June 25, 1991. That day, it looked like the Mets were en route to a rout, after scoring four times in the first inning against Dennis Martinez. Dave Magadan, the second batter of the game, homered, Hubie Brooks added a two-run single and Mackey Sasser closed out the rally with an RBI hit. With Dwight Gooden on the mound, that tally would surely be enough. Not so fast. Martinez, who a month later would throw a perfect game against the Dodgers, settled down rather nicely, allowing little the rest of the way, other than three harmless hits. He had entered the game having thrown 23 straight scoreless innings, and after that bump in the road, tossed 5 1/3 worth of zeroes. He was helped when Gooden had a John Maine-esque hiccup in the fifth after throwing shutout bal...

Entering Wednesday night, the Mets have beaten the Pirates 312 times, though Jim Tracy would surely argue that #312 was stolen from his team on Tuesday afternoon. Tracy's post-Chavez eruption was reminiscent of catcher Randy Hundley's outburst, circa September 1969, when Tommie Agee scored a critical run during a Mets-Cubs showdown. One of the reasons this post was delayed until late afternoon, Wednesday was because I spent a chunk of my day pondering similar such plays at the plate in Mets history. But rather than reminisce about being on the wrong end of Ray Fosse's phantom tag in the 1973 World Series, or other such matters, I figured that I'd instead try to write about another instance or two in which the Mets stole a ball game from the team whose name honors theft. Greg from " Faith and Fear" was quite helpful in offering up suggestions and I'll put one to good use here. He provided a brief summary of the July 31, 1983 Banner Day Doubl...

Of one of my favorite games http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/07/fireworks-knight.html and also the 30th anniversary for another... http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/05/feeling-thrown-off-by-what-just.html

Answers to the trivia quiz posted on July 3 http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2007/07/our-special-bonds-all-star-stuff.html 1) As per usual with most of these questions, the hint is in the wording. The answer is Bob (The Steamer) Stanley . 2) Duke Snider was the Mets only All-Star rep in 1963. 3) This is a hard one. How soon we forget Chan Ho Park . 4) Felix Millan is remembered fondly by most, including me, because at one baseball card show, he took the time to ask my name and chat with me briefly while we posed for a photo. I've never met Jim Fregosi but I know that most Mets fans would not recall him with any fondness whatsoever. 5) I was trying to come up with a list of players who you wouldn't think of as All-Stars from their Mets days, but who could have had one or two seasons that maybe merited selection. Rick Cerone could have been an All-Star in 1980 (.277 BA, 14 HR) but was not picked, the only one from that list never to make the All-Star team. 6) David Wright str...

(Reprinted from a posting on November 1, with two new ones added, with appropriate links at the bottom...) The Mets And The Yankees A 9-inning Haiku Dave Mlicki won It wasn't even that close Six to nothing Mets When Brian McRae went wandering off first base I was beyond pissed http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/06/bring-in-yoshii.html Matt Franco was up The Yanks had Satan pitching Two-run single. Yay! Clemens beaned our guy What a piece of expletive And what a grand slam! Carlos Almanzar? You have got to be kidding Piazza crushed it Estes missed his spot But the home run sure was nice Winning is revenge http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/06/pitching-in.html One shining moment A home run off David Wells Mo should have quit then Shane Spencer dribbler A perfectly placed baseball Sturtze threw home wildly All hail Mister Koo! First a double off Johnson Then that slide...he's safe! EXTRA INNINGS (new ones) David Wright's a smash Randy Johnson: pathetic Call it a Charmed ...

Perhaps you saw the highlights of last week's Marlins victory over the Orioles and were astounded when Miguel Cabrera got the game-winning hit on Todd Williams' attempted intentional walk gone awry. I was more intrigued by the manner in which the Marlins tied that game, on back-to-back pinch-hit home runs in the 9th inning. The Mets have done that, as recently as May 4, 1991 against the Giants. In fact, they were the last squad to even a contest at that juncture in such a manner. The story of that game is one of the Giants squandering two two-run leads and the Mets bullpen combo of Wally Whitehurst, Alejandro Pena, John Franco and Pete Schoureck, working a little magic for a couple hours to bail out Ron Darling. The Giants took a 2-0 lead but the Mets evened it in the 4th inning on an RBI single by Howard Johnson and a sacrifice fly by Kevin Elster. The Giants snatched the lead right back in the 5th on Will Clark's two-run home run and Darling's night was done after 5 ...

* From a story in the October 28, 1986 edition of the Boston Globe , the day after the World Series concluded...really! It came from a notes column co-written by Dan Shaughnessy, Jackie MacMullan and Larry Whiteside. "Trade talks at the World Series are at best preliminary, but one source says the Red Sox have now added backup first baseman Danny Heep to the deal in which outfielder Mookie Wilson would come to Boston...The Mets want a middle reliever in return and have their sights on Bob Stanley."

Answers to the trivia quiz posted on June 28, 2007 http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2007/06/our-special-bonds-cardinals-haters.html 1) Those of you who have been regular readers for a long time should know that I wasn't going to let this quiz go by without making a reference somewhere to Neil Allen and his 3 walk-off defeats for the Cardinals against the Mets. 2) Had a lot of fun stumping people with this one. The big-city guy is Daryl Boston . The small-state dude is Del Unser . Both hit the Cardinals very well in their Mets careers. 3) If you can't beat 'em, join em. That was the case for Pete Falcone and it should have been a sign that he wasn't very good if he couldn't beat the Mets teams he faced in that era. 4) Rick Reed couldn't beat the Cardinals in the playoffs, but was 5-0 as a Met against them in the regular season. 5) Considering the era in which he played, this isn't as tough as you'd think. The lefty is Sid Fernandez . The righty is David...

In their esteemed history, the New York Mets have had three players do what this Big Papi fellow on the Red Sox has done, get walk-off hits in back-to-back games. The first to do it was Jerry Buchek, and I've written about his feats here. http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/07/baseballs-been-jerry-jerry-good-to-me.html The last to do it was Mike Cameron, and I wrote about that accomplishment here http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/11/cameron-yards.html The middle man in this trivia trove is John Milner and I suppose it's time I wrote about him. On August 21 and 22, 1973 Milner got the decisive hit in walk-off wins over the Dodgers. I'm only going to write about the first one today and due to various constraints, I'm going to be rather brief about it. I shall summarize in 118 words, one for every minute it took for that particular game to be played. The quickest walk-off win in regulation time, in Mets history was one in a series of comebacks during the run to the 1...

From what I read these last few days, Jose Reyes is the hottest Met going since Derek Bell. Yes, that's right, I'm referencing Bell's great run, right at the beginning of his Mets career, which spanned the 2000 season. That success began with back-to-back 3-hit games against the Phillies. It continued for a span of nearly two weeks. Over a 13-game stretch, the Mets rightfielder went 29-for-57 (.509 batting average) with 14 runs scored and 11 RBI. His acquisition looked like the steal of the century. Bell's good fortune continued throughout the month of April, in which he hit .385 (and was not named NL Player of the Month) and into May when he had another good run, marked by an 11-game hit streak. On May 21, the Mets and Diamondbacks met on a rainy Sunday afternoon, with Randy Johnson opposing the Flushing 9. It took two baters for the Mets to get the run back that Reed allowed in the top of the 1st. Bell followed a Joe McEwing double with one of his own. This was one of...