Mets Walk-Offs And Minutiae

I've been debating whether to purchase one of these CitiField bricks ($195 for a 3-line inscription, in case you hadn't heard), and to this point haven't been able to pull the trigger on a purchase. Being of a background in which both creativity and Metsitivity have been encouraged, I do have a few suggestions on brick phraseology, for those who may be contemplating their own purchase (15-character per line limit). I'd also encourage the Mets to include a smattering of bricks with these historic words of choice. Ya Gotta Believe Baseball Like It Oughta Be The Happy Recap (15 characters exactly) Ball On The Wall Gets By Buckner (15 characters exactly) Mets score 19 And win! Amazin' Amazin' Amazin' The Magic Is Back Welcome to Kiner's Korner (would also make a good name for a concession area) Shoe Polish Play Marvelous Marv It's Outta Here (another 15'er) and here are some that I don't think will slip past the censors Why didn't he swing???...

Happy anniversary to the Grand Slam Single (October 17, 1999), and we'll make this the last of 3 straight days of Mets quizzes, with these questions specifically geared towards that game and series. If you want to read a remembrance of the game, go here http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2005/08/walk-off-most-foul.html Answers here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/10/our-special-bonds-grand-slam-single.html 1) Masato Yoshii started and pitched 3 innings, Octavio Dotel relieved and pitched 3 innings, but name the Met whose 3 1/3 inning stint was the longest for the Mets in Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS. 2) Three players for the Braves in that game also played for the Mets at one point in their career. Name the backup catcher, the starting outfielder, and the relief pitcher, the latter of whom was the losing pitcher in Game 4 of this series. 3) Name the (now-disdained) Met who had the team's highest batting average in the series (minimum 10 AB), though he played, but did not bat in...

Today is a Sweet 16th in Mets history, as in a celebration of October 16th, 1969, when the Mets (the Colorado Rockies of their time) clinched the World Series with a win over the Orioles. We thought we could best commemorate that with a quiz. Answers here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/10/our-special-bonds-miracle-mets-answers.html Just a note: We hope you like these quizzes...expect to see a lot of them this winter. They're easy to write. They're entertaining. They're difficult (that's the point...you shouldn't be able to easily think of the answer). And they're the kind of clever discourse we like to encourage in this space. 1) The 1969 Mets won exactly 100 games during the regular season. How many teams prior to the '69 Mets won exactly 100 games in a regular season? Name them. 2) The Met who took the worst 0-for in the 1969 World Series (0-for-7) had the game-winning hit in the game in which the Mets won their 100th game. Name him. 3) Three Mets ...

Monday marks the 21st anniversary of "decision-day," in which I picked going to Hebrew School over watching the seventh through ninth innings of Game 6 of the NLCS between the Mets and Astros. In honor of the memory of that game, I figured it worthwhile to offer another of my trivia quizzes. This one is 6 questions, in honor of Game 6 (instead of 16, in honor of 16 innings). As always, thanks to Baseball-Reference.com for the assistance. Answers here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/10/our-special-bonds-1986-nlcs-game-6.html 1) Among players with at least 50 plate appearances against the Mets in 1986, this "player of significance" had the 5th-best batting average, .347. Name him. 2) Only two players hit walk-off home runs against the Mets in 1986. One was Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. The other was an infielder, who went 0-for-3 in this game, and struck out to open the 16th inning. Name him. 3) The Mets had two hits through the first eight innings against Bob Kne...

On this, the anniversary of the unspeakable (bad things involving Kenny Rogers and Carlos Beltran), I think I have found one of the great statistical bizarre-ities in Mets history. The Mets are 1-2 in games in which their pitcher strikes out 16 and walks 0. The Mets are also 1-2 in games in which they have a pitcher strike out 0 and walks 6. How in the world am I supposed to explain that? Dwight Gooden had back-to-back 16-strikeout, 0-walk games, which I think is one of the most remarkable accomplishments in club history. Unfortunately, in baseball, as in life, Gooden won and then lost. The first of those games was a 2-0 win over the Pirates on September 12, 1984, in which Gooden was backed by Hubie Brooks' 4th-inning home run against John Tudor. Gooden allowed five hits, and the funny thing is that the only innings in which he didn't record a strikeout were the first and the ninth. He had a chance at a 19 K game had he struck out the side in the 9th, but instead, the Pirates w...

I haven't seen this kind of refuse to lose attitude (altitude?) from the Colorado Rockies since Opening Day 1995. Finally, the Rockies have a new signature moment to replace the Dante Bichette fist-pump that concluded that miserable evening of baseball, the play in which Matt Holliday scored the wild-card clinching run without ever touching home plate. And if Colorado keeps winning, that game against the Mets will be pushed farther and farther out of the memory banks. It's about time. If you wanted to rate the worst losses in Mets history, that in hindsight didn't really mean much, Opening Day, 1995, ranks atop the list. Remember that in 1995, we were welcoming baseball back after an early season's end and a canceled World Series, due to labor issues. The Mets would have been better off skipping over this one (the umpires did...they were on strike and the game was reffed by replacements). It was the first baseball game at Coors Field and the Mets felt hospitable enough ...

So as I pick at the carcass that is Yankees defeat, I decided to endeavor an exercise. It occured to me that Jorge Posada (who has the ability to become a free agent if he chooses) would be a good option as far as being the Mets starting catcher next season. I think that determining who the starting catcher is next season will be the most important thing the Mets will do this offseason (because I don't see the pipe dream wishes for Santana and Oswalt coming true). Catcher is the most interesting of needs, because there is one player who could be out there, who is significantly better than all the others. It doesn't interest me to evaluate the other positional possibilities at this point, but for some reason, I've been preoccupied thinking about catcher these last two days. I figured it was worth a closer look. Possible Starting Catchers 2008 Mets Paul Lo Duca Upside: You know what you're getting. He's gonna hit about .270 with 8 home runs, and not strike out very mu...

Faced without baseball for two days, we look for things to do to fill our spare time. In such situations, we like to fill our voids with trivia and offer up this October baseball quiz you might enjoy. Answers here: http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2006/10/our-special-bonds-october-notables.html 1) Let us begin with a question of recent significance. Prior to Jorge Posada, this Met was the only player to strike out FOR THE YANKEES to end a postseason series. Name him. 2) The opposing catchers in the October 3, 1951 game in which Bobby Thomson hit the "Shot Heard Round the World" both later worked for the Mets. Name them. 3) What future Met was the winning pitcher in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, in which Kirk Gibson hit the game-winning home run against Dennis Eckersley? 4) What former Met was the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS, in which Francisco Cabrera singled in the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the 9th. 5) Ralph Terry gave up the World Series-winn...

Alright...after a week of bitterness, it's time to focus on some of the positives from this season. Let's start with this list. #10 July 7- Mets 5, Astros 3 (17) The final spot on the list came down to this game, the 1-0 walk-off against Oakland on June 23 , and the crazy 7-6 win in Florida on September 23 . In the end, this game had too much goodness to pass up. Carlos Beltran, in his best moments of 2007, saved the game with the top defensive play of the season, than won it in the 17th, snapping an 0-for-6 in the contest with a go-ahead single. #9 September 12- Mets 4, Braves 3 In future games of Mets word association, September 12, is going to have the most negative of connotations, because it will be remembered in the following manner. "The Mets had a 7-game lead over the Phillies after a win on September 12..." But what a win it was, one in which Shawn Green celebrated the Jewish New Year with a go-ahead hit in the 8th, one that made up for multiple bullpen foibl...

At some point today, Tom Glavine will announce that he's declining the 2008 option on his contract, thus making himself a free agent while he contemplates retirement, a return to the Mets, or the likeliest option, signing with the Braves. http://metswalkoffs.blogspot.com/2007/10/our-special-bonds-hopefully-this-means_04.html I've already made it known that I don't want him back and I don't want to rehash my reasoning. I had this whole plan to write another essay, nicknaming him "The Stench," but it's just not worth it. I guess I softened slightly after hearing his appearance on WFAN the other day (reduced my Glavine anger to 99 on a scale of 100). I'll say this...had it just been a couple dink hits and a 2-3 run first-inning, I think I could have lived with it better. But the throwing error and the HBP basically ended any chance of us ever having a positive relationship. Let's just complete the divorce proceedings with this goodbye tribute trivia. ...

Hockey season starts today and the Mets have already frightened me into refusing to believe that the Rangers could contend for a Stanley Cup (I'm having visions of a season-ending cruciate tear for Henrik Lundqvist). So I thank them for that, and send them my best wishes for the off-season within this posting. There are a few people I've left out in the address that follows, so please feel free to share your own ideas for them in the comments section. Jose Reyes walk-off, and don't do too much this winter. We don't need you to break down again like a gasping racehorse at the end of the season. Moises Alou walk-off while your knees are still capable of allowing you the ability to play with your future grandkids. And thank you for your efforts. Luis Castillo, walk-off, sit down, and don't get up again until February. Your knees need the rest too. Shawn Green, walk-off into whatever business-world endeavor you wish. Your performance at the conclusion of your career was...

Let me say that I'm glad that Willie Randolph will be brought back for next season. I don't think it ever should have been an issue. What happened was not Willie's fault. I've been asked by about 1962 different people where I am placing the blame. For me it's a simple order to the list: 1) Players 2) The person who picked the players. If Willie makes the list, it's somewhere down at the bottom, probably just below Chan Ho Park. Let's look at where we were when Willie was hired: pathetically hopeless. Let's look at where we are now: just plain pathetic There were 20 victories separating the line between "pathetically hopeless" and "just plain pathetic", but only 1 (or 2) victories separting "just plain pathetic" from "champion." That's the residual bitterness talking, but the reality of it is that the Mets are a lot better with Willie Randolph than without him. Willie is a hunch manager, but for the most part, h...

"What did I do this weekend? On Sunday I had my heart taken out of my chest and eaten in front of me." -- Mets fan Jon Stewart in his opening monologue on "The Daily Show" After watching Monday's one-game playoff between the Rockies and Padres, I am reminded of another quote. I once covered a wrestling match featuring a team that had lost something like 80 straight against a five-person prep school squad, whose best athlete was a 112-pound girl, who spent the better portion of the event caressing her boyfriend. The 80-straight losses team won, so it was kind of neat to be there for what was locally a "historic" moment. I figured for sure that I'd be able to get the kind of great quote that I could frame an entire story around. I was half right. As the victorious team headed back to the locker room, I heard one team member say to another. "How about that? There's someone out there who sucks worse than us!" And that's why for some r...

I should always trust my first instinct. When Tom Glavine signed with the Mets, my first instinct was that this was a bad move. I had some reasonable statistical evidence to back up this conclusion, as his performance at the end of his Braves career was not stellar. I also had a strong gut feeling that bringing someone from the Braves in as a mercenary, one clearly only here for the money, was a bad idea. In 2003, he went out and proved that I was right. His work during the Art Howe error (not era) was miserable. I told this to anyone and everyone who asked, and throughout his Mets tenure, I've had very little positive to say about Tom Glavine. As Glavine's performances got better, I've been questioned about my comments, but I've always held steadfast to a strong dislike. I've just never really felt that he enjoyed his Metness. I applauded out of respect when he took the mound for his first start at Shea Stadium after winning his 300th game. I don't dispute that...

Whatever your rituals and superstitions are for when you're faced with important moments in your (sports-fan) life, take great care to observe them on Sunday. For those of you who didn't watch the Mets-Marlins game on TV on Saturday (I know a few who were in attendance), one of the best moments of the broadcast was when Kevin Burkhardt showed how the Mets placed a picture, in fact, the picture that adorns the top of this blog, in the walkway from the clubhouse, with instructions to tap it before entering the dugout. I'm a big believer in that kind of stuff, as silly as it sounds, making a difference. I have things that I do in certain circumstances and resorted to a few on Saturday morning. I know, in my brain, that they had no impact on what happened on the field, but in my heart, I felt like I was contributing to the effort. Believing that I matter is silly and in some ways, ridiculous, but it's important. It's part of being a fan and in fact, it's probably my...

Passed by a bunch of news vending machines today and one of the freebie mags had David Wright and Jose Reyes on the cover, with recipes of theirs and Willie Randolph's favorite meals. I believe the mag was titled "Good Health." It was right next to the New York Observer bin, which had a cover story of Randolph saying something to the effect of "I like the stress." And I found myself asking: "If I wanted good health, why would I be a Mets fan?" But I digress. For some reason today, I'm having 1999 flashbacks and I remember that not only did the Mets sweep their final series that season, but they also got significant help from the Brewers. The Reds were 2 games up on the Mets with 3 games to go and were playing in Milwaukee that night. While Mets fans suffered through the trauma of an extra-inning affair that eventually went there way, the manner in which the Brewers beat the Reds was equally amazing. The Reds were ahead 3-1 in the 8th inning of thi...

I was at Shea Stadium for the Cesar Cedeno HR in 1985 I was at Shea Stadium for the Terry Pendleton HR in 1987 I was at Shea Stadium for the Yadier Molina HR in 2006 Some might say I'm a jinx. I think I'm due. See you at the ballpark. (My apologies for not writing more, but this is my busiest time of year work-wise)

Think positive thoughts. At least they're not the Knicks.

"You don't even know what a Wright-off is, do you?" -- Jerry Seinfeld to Kramer in an episode discussing some bit of minutiae I do!! I do!! It's what we'll call Sunday's game-winning hit against the Marlins by the man with the Magic Number. I've provided advertisements for David Wright's MVP candidacy in this space before, but after Sunday's victory, I feel the need to supplement some of that information. I think the appropriate definition of an MVP is someone who raises his game to another level when it matters most. How has David Wright done that? * From Opening Day through August 31, David Wright hit .319, with a .413 on-base percentage and a .534 slugging percentage. In September, he's increased himself across the board by hitting at a rate of .333/.424/.654. * From Opening Day through August 31, David Wright had 87 RBI, a pace that would have given him approximately 106 for the season. In September, Wright has 18 RBI in 20 games, a pace th...

And we thank Scott "I'm Jewish but my favorite holiday is Christmas" Schoenweis for not taking Friday night off to observe Yom Kippur. And to reward those who endured that particular game, we offer up the following tidbit. This was the third time in Mets history that they scored at least nine or more runs, but the opposing staff yielded one earned run or fewer. The most recent occurrence, I believe I've referenced before: a 16-4 victory over the Astros in the opener of a doubleheader on July 27, 1985 (attended by this blogger, than a puzzled 10-year-old scorekeeper), in which all 16 runs were unearned, thanks to five Astros errors. The other was a 10-inning 11-9 loss to the Braves on June 5, 1963, a game in which the Mets rallied from 9-1 down to tie, only to lose in extra innings.