The New York Jets: Unfamilar Territory

The last time the Jets started the season 3-0 it was 2004 and optimism in Jets land was at an all time high. This is a team that hadn't been to a Super Bowl since 1969 and had disappointed it fans for decades,

That team actually won it's first five before losing two of it's next three and finishing the year at a somewhat disappointing 10-6. They were victorious on the road in San Diego and beat the heavily favored Chargers 20-17 in overtime. The Jets had a 17-10 lead with 20 seconds left in regulation and literally handed the ball to the Chargers for the tying touchdown.

The following week they met the 15-1 Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh. The Jets who had no offense against the vaunted Steelers defense had a great chance to steal the game and head to the AFC championship game. With the score 17-17 the Jets tried a 47 yard field goal that hit the crossbar and my dream for a chance to return to the Super Bowl came to an end as the ball bounced back on to the field from the direction it come from.

They had a second shot from 43 yards out in overtime but this one went wide left and the Steelers would win the game on a 33 yard field goal of their own.

I bring up 2004 as a comparison to this years 3-0 Jets. Record wise there is a great similarity and for those of us who predicted that if the Jets finished at 10-6 this year,it would be believed as a miraculous season under first year head coach Rex Ryan. I, myself predicted that 2-4 or 3-3 at best after the first six games would be a decent accomplishment.

There is a telltale difference however in these two teams. The 2004 team did not have the swagger that this 2009 edition does. It starts right at the top with Coach Ryan and it has easily filtered down to its players on both sides of the ball.

Bart Scott, doing a very good imitation of Ravens great linebacker, Ray Lewis, has every Jets defensive player believing they can pitch a shutout in every game. Darrelle Revis is also sending a message to high flying wide outs that he is a shutdown corner and has the walk to back the talk.

However the biggest difference in the Years Jets is the phenomenal beginning to rookie Mark Sanchez career as the Jets rookie QB.

What has intrigued me the most about him is his poise under pressure. There is no mistaking at times he certainly plays like the rookie he is but the vast majority of the time he looks, acts and performs like a 10 year veteran out there, unflappable in the rush of 285 pound defensive giants who want to rip his heart right out of his body.

No better example of this attitude and capability of performance came in Sundays game against the Tennessee Titans which saw the Jets fall behind 17-14 after beginning the game as if there would be a rout in the Meadowlands that day.

Not only had Sanchez gone into a funk but the whole team seemed to be coming down the roller coaster at breakneck speed with no chance to continue the ride. That's exactly when the rookie took control. After recovering the fumble on the dropped fair catch punt, Sanchez went to work. It seemed that before you let out the deep breath you took after scrambling for the lost ball, Sanchez fired at dart into the end zone and the the Jets were back on top 21-17.

His play in the 4th quarter of ball control was not lost on Coach Jeff Fischer of the Titans. Once the Titans got the ball back with time enough to get the game into overtime the defense took over. They held Quarterback Kerri Collins to zero completions in his last 13 attempts to seal the win for the Jets.

Overall, if Sundays performance was a measure of things to come for the 2009 Jets it's going to be a fun season. The party moves to New Orleans this weekend with a showdown with the also undefeated New Orleans Saints, another team like the Jets, who have frustrated their fans in a very similar manner.

This time, however they have tools on both sides of the ball to go a very long way in the NFC. I picked them to go to the NFC Championship Game this year and so far they are making me look very good.

In a very short 16 game season it's never too early to call any one game crucial and if the Jets come up short in this one I don't think anyone should press the panic button and call for Ryan's head. However on the flip side, a win here would by all means let the NFL community be put on alert that there will now be two New York teams on a Super Bowl appearance watch. A little early for that for sure, but a very nice prospect to hope for during the next 3 months.

Omar: Learn From History: Resign Carlos Delgado

Does the name Pedro Martinez ring a bell Omar? It should. You were smart enough to bring him to New York and it was a brilliant move because it started a whirlwind movement by Latin players who wanted to come to New York to be in his presence. Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Johan Santana, all expressed publicly that coming to the Mets to play with Pedro was paramount in their decision to want to play in New York.

The fact that Omar had the chance to resign him this year at a much lower cost to the organization was a wasted effort on Omar's part.

Well Met fans, I screamed about this for 9 months only to see Pedro wind up in Philadelphia, of all places, and come back magnificently and literally kick our butts all over the northeast part of the US. I felt the beatings here in Vegas and the only saving grace for me was I put y money where my mouth is and collected on every game he has started for the Phillies.

I may be richer for it but I'm miserable as hell.

Now Omar is about to make the exact same mistake all over again. The chances of resigning Carlos Delgado are slim to none. Fast forward to next September and I sure hope he's in the American League because without a crystal ball I can give you his numbers going into Sept 1st. Write them down so you can choke on the paper next year.

450 plate appearances, 155 hits, 28 doubles, 3 triples, 29 home runs, 91 rbi's, .282 batting average, .372 OBP, .585 Slugging percentage .957 OPS.

Crazy, you think? I think it's as real as it can get. His had hip surgery. The same surgery as Chase Utley and Alex Rodriguez and Mike Lowell. This injury, when fixed is fixed, period.

If the Mets resign him and he plays only 120-130 games, so what. Daniel Murphy and perhaps Ike Davis are the heir apparents for the Mets at that position. I would have Murphy playing winter ball at second base and use him as the super-sub in 2010.

Delgado is a core player for a reason. He is a leader both on the field and off. He takes the pressure off David and provides motivation for Beltran Reyes, Pagan and every player on that team.

Omar now has the reputation of being a fixer of problems. That's not his job. He needs to develop the farm system through the draft and through the international market. His results as a fixer are terrible. One could even argue that K-Rod and I love him a New York Mets uniform was not the fix the Mets needed when Houston Street, Brian Fuentes, and a few others were out there last year to be had a a much lower cost and you really don't want to bring up JJ Putz do you?

I'm going to take a lot of flack on this the same way I did on taking the side of Pedro Martinez. Believe me it's not a matter of being right or even saying I told you so. I'm way too old for that. I just want to see this organization be pro-active instead of being re-active all the time.

To be pro-active would be to resign Carlos Delgado and move on from there. In Part II, I will give my opinion of what it's going to take to get back into contention for 2010. You'll be surprised, it really doesn't have to take too much.

Daniel In the Lions Den

With this season finally drawing to a close, I have spent most of the past six to eight weeks listening to Mets fans and those who cover the Mets in the media trash over and over and over again the Mets first baseman, Daniel Murphy.

To me it's just unbelievable what extremes these fans take when it comes to blame and evaluation of a players year.

To a man, after last years great September when Daniel Murphy literally skipped AAA to come directly to the Mets and have a wonderful month, he was anointed the final piece of the package which would be added to the already supreme core of Mets players that would have them contend for a championship for the next 10 years.

His numbers were in fact pretty darn good for a 23 year old rookie. He hit .313 had an OBP of .397 and a SLG of .473. He had great bat control, had power to all fields and worked at his hitting like the second coming of Keith Hernandez.

The question was where to play him. A third baseman by trade, he also had some minor leagues games at first but the only place the Mets could see him in was left field, a position where he never played before and looked very uncomfortable in his limited outings there last September.

In winter ball he was going to work out at second base in case Luis Castillo couldn't come back after his disastrous 2008.

Well we all saw what happened in the spring. Murphy was clearly out of his element in left field at the start of the season and his play in the field carried over to his plate appearances.

It also didn't help that his manager, my favorite moron, who has cost this team so many games I have lost count, didn't do any favors with his now 24 year old batter. He moved him in and out of the lineup so many times and had him in every batting slot in the lineup it had to play with the youngsters mind.

He slumped miserably until two things finally happened to change things around. One, Daniel became the regular first baseman and second Jerry finally started to hit Murphy in front of Wright and Francoeur to give him some protection in the line up.

So what has Daniel done since August. All he's done is hit. His average for the last 7 weeks is over .300. His OBP is over .350 and his slugging percentage is just under.500.

Now everybody wants to see him gone. Why? The Mets don't need a guy at first to hit.260 with 35 hr's and 100 rbi's to play first base and have the team win. They need that guy in left field. Matt Holliday is who they need there.

The Mets have had three pretty darn good players at first base and won championships without sluggers. They were Dave Magadan, Keith Hernandez and Jon Olerud. Magadan was 27 in 1990 when he .328 with an OBP of .417 and a SLG .457.

Keith Hernandez was 25 in 1975 when he hit .344, OBP .417 and SLG .513 for the Cardinals in 1979

Neither Hernandez, Olerud or Magadan had as good numbers as Murphy did when they were 23.

This is a guy you build your future around. A guy who never stops to try and make himself better, who works on his game everyday and dives around the bag at first like Ferris Fane.

But the problem here is that Met fans are never satisfied. They don't want to even entertain the thought that this year made us take a good look at Pagan, Sullivan Francoeur, Murphy, and Cora. These guys are winners and if you build your core around Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Santana, Niese, K-Rod, Thole, and F-Mart and have Holt, Davies, Marte, and others waiting in the wings, we can, with the right GM and Manager, get right back into contention in 2010.

I should only be so lucky.

Vegas Rich.

Down The Stretch They Come

If anyone on April 1st would have said to me that on September 1st that the Phillies would be leading the NL East by 7 or more games, I would have said, "Wow, I knew they were going to be good but ahead by 7, No way".

If on April 1st someone said to me the Braves and Marlins would be battling it out for second in the east and fighting for a wild card spot, I would have said, "Wow, both their pitching staffs must have held up pretty well."

Finally if someone told me that the Mets would be about 15 games below .500, in 4th place and completely out of the race I would have said, "What the frack, did everyone get injured?"

That brings us to September 1st and for the first time in a few years there is little uncertainty about the National League East.

The Phillies have been nothing short of brilliant. Despite early season struggles at home and much inconsistency on the part of their staring rotation, they have met each challenge and have come through like the champions they are. ( Boy, did that hurt)

The acquisitions of Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez in August have been an outstanding moves. All they've done is win 6 out of 7 games and with a month to go they should probably win an additional 6.

They have to be the favorites going into the post season despite the Cardinals surge and the late heroics by the Giants and the Roxcies.

Their biggest concern will be who shall star game 3 of the NLDS, Joe Blanton or J.A. Haap.

To me it looks like another parade on Broad Street and me sending pictures of Vegas Rich draped in Phillies gear sending those photos to every Phillies writer on the BR. Oye.

The Atlanta Braves have surprised me more than any other team in the division. I knew their pitching would be good but I didn't expect the consistency that they have shown. I was not a huge Derek Lowe fan and I'm still not sure he deserved a 4 year deal, but this year he has been vintage Lowe.

Their bats have kept them from getting any closer to the Phillies than their ever going to be. They need a boomer and I was surprised that they didn't try to get one before the trade deadline.

If they plan to be in the 2010 race they certainly will need to address that concern. I can certainly see them making a huge run at Matt Holiday. That in of itself should tighten the race in 2010.

The Marlins are always an intriguing team. They are like the David Copperfield of the MLB. They are always in the race with a payroll somewhat less than daily take from the Las Vegas casinos.

I don't see the usual fire sale at the end of this year simply because with a new stadium on the way, there will be more money available to keep their budding stars. Their young staff is impressive and it certainly doesn't hurt to have the number 2 player in all of baseball roaming the infield for the fish.

Watch out for the Washington Nationals. Not this year for sure and probably not for the next 2 years either but expect an increase of wins over the next 3 years. This is a franchise that has found it's leadership and is definitely headed in the right direction. Expect a playoff run from them by 2012.

Finally my beloved Mets. I have spent the entire season trying to look beyond the injuries because they are a part of the game. But, what those injuries have done is expose this teams vital organs and they are failing at an alarming rate. Real quick, drastic change needs to take place at the end of this season.

Omar and his sidekick Jerry need to go. They Mets need to bring back Bobby Valentine and give him complete control over player selection. I could go on for hours on this but I've done it already often enough this year and now all we can do is wait for next year.

Mack's Mets: Opinion: Don't Hang Last Night's Loss On Stokes- Hang It On Jerry!

Mack's Mets: Opinion: Don't Hang Last Night's Loss On Stokes- Hang It On Jerry!

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NY Mets: Continuing on the Road to Stupidity

I don't believe for one second that those fans on the BR who read my work would argue with anyone about how passionate I am about this team. It's no secret that I'm not a youngster like my three favorite proteges Mike Kent, Nick Adamo, and Nick Carlo but each one of them will tell you that the Mets are my first love and have been so since 1962.

This is not a plug for my "Anatomy of a Franchise series either.

I'm just frustrated as we all are about the current status of the Mets 2009 season. We can talk about all the injuries until we are blue in the face and we know that we can't change what has happened in the past but you would think this organization could at least learn from it. Do they? No.

The case of Gary Sheffield has me most disturbed today as I see that after all he has accomplished this year the Mets have decided more likely than not to cut the strings and let this guy, who virtually held this team together for 4 months, and send him on his way.

I have been a Sheffield fan for his entire career. Sure, there are a lot of negative comments out there about his past but no one can doubt his competitive nature and isn't that what every team needs to have on and off the field?

To this day in his 40th year he is still intimidating at the plate waving his bat and showing the bat speed of a 30 year old in his prime.

When I wrote this article http://bleacherreport.com/articles/183888-so-gary-sheffield-to-the-mets-is-ridiculous-right-wrong on May 20th I was so pleased that Gary was living up to his billing and my thought even then was if we would get back our injured players he would surely look good surrounded by Reyes, Wright, Beltran and Delgado.

However we all know that didn't happen so what did Gary do. He played well, he played hurt, he mentored just about every position player the Mets have. He provided the well needed leadership that was lacking on this team for so long.

David Wright was instrumental in bringing Gary to the Mets. He recognized long before our faithful fans that Gary was a perfect fit for this team regardless of whether he played 3 games a week or 6.

So now what do the Mets do? They put him on waivers. He was claimed by the Giants so they pulled him back. Now they have an opportunity to lock him up and finish his stellar career in a New York Mets uniform, his dream team since his uncle Dwight Gooden played for us in the 80's, and go out of here directly into the Hall of Fame.

The Mets pulled him back from waivers and now more likely than not they will release him. He will go to a contender and help them into the playoffs and what do the Mets get out of it? Nothing.

This is a continuous problem that the Mets organization have had throughout their history. The make stupid impulsive decisions without weighing the potential consequences. I have said this since they fired Willie Randolph, for all he did was win games as the Mets manager, and they continue to make these ridiculous moves as other teams help themselves we go backwards under the less than stellar leadership of the Wilpons, Omar and Jerry.

Mark my words everyone, I know this team as well or if not better than any of us out there and I can tell you for sure that unless there are major changes made in this off season in the Mets organization we will be watching World Series parades down Broad Street for the next 10 years and that's no exaggeration.

Please will someone in this organization please listen to the voice of reason and intelligence if I don't say so myself. Even my 3 amigos, I expect are going to be on my side with this, maybe. I just have to get Nick Adamo in a good mood. I'll probably have to trade him my QB or something like that.

The Mets Police: Omar Minaya: I Told You So

The Mets Police: Omar Minaya: I Told You So

Omar Minaya: I Told You So

Of course, one game does not make a season but one must wonder why after the struggles the Mets pitching staff have had this year why Omar Minaya, supposedly a close personal friend of Pedro Martinez, didn't sign the oft injured pitcher both before or even after the season started.

I started this bandwagon all the way back in October. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/82617-pedro-martinez-one-of-many-reasons. At that point looked upon all the intangibles that Pedro brings to a team including among others, a compulsion to win, a teacher, a motivator, a leader on and off the field, a loose fun guy that players want to have around, and a living legend who your own stars like Santana, Reyes, Delgado and Beltran look up to and respect.

Not to mention if Pedro was on the roster how hard do you think Manny would have pushed Boras to sign with the Mets and if you don't believe that you are foolish?

As the season got closer and it looked like there was going to be a competition for the number 5 spot on the rotation I brought it up again. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/132073-omar-for-the-last-time-please-re-sign-pedro.

Here I talked about the fact I didn't think Pedro was done at all and explained that the type of injury he had required about 18 months to fully heal but more important was the fact that I tried to point out that Pedro was not the type of man that would "quit" on a bad note and his legacy to finish as a star was motivation enough to put out credible performances game after game after game.

I pointed out in this next article http://bleacherreport.com/articles/124549-fighting-for-the-five-spot. that the Mets had three pitchers coming off surgeries that although appeared to be OK anything could happen. Well it did. John Maine is off the shelf for the year. Pelfrey has taken a step backwards from last year, although if you remember he wasn't the same pitcher down the stretch last year as he was in mid-season, and Ollie is just Ollie.

The 5 spot in our rotation has given us far less than Pedro could have done. In fact the second through 5 spot has given us some of the worst numbers in baseball this year. Let me share.

Excluding Johan Santana (thank goodness for him) here's some ugly numbers for you. Those who have started games for the Mets this year only Jon Niese and Nelson Figueroa have a better than 2-1 strike out to walk ratio. The rest, well check out this mess, 343 strike outs to 254 walks and that includes Jon and Nelson. That's the worst in the league. They have won 31 games and lost 32. They have a combined ERA of 5.37.

Pedro's numbers last night in his first appearance. He had 5 strike outs and 1 walk. He gave up 3 runs in 5 innings and was in complete control. He struck out both Derrick Lee and Soriano with vintage Pedro change ups and hit 90+ on the gun when he had to. Two of the hits he gave up were bloops and looked just as fresh when he finished as when he started.

Now maybe he won't go 5-1 the rest of the way but his infusion into the already solid Phillies rotation looks like a sure bet that the Phillies are primed for a long playoff run come October while Omar's band of retreads will have us fight to stay ahead of Washington's surge for 4th place in the NL East.

Yes, Omar, I told you so and told all those critics of Pedro that this mans career was far from over and I already know what their response will be. They will say two things. First, will be but he's only pitched one game and the second, will be of course, he will win because the Phillies average about a trillion runs per game.

What I would like to hear is Omar come out and make a statement like "I made a mistake, and should have signed Pedro when I had the chance". If he did something like that I would back him 100% and fight to see him return. Will he do that and finally take responsibility for any of his poor decisions? Of course he won't and that's why he will be gone no more than 5 days after the season ends.

I wonder if the next guy is smart enough to sign Pedro to a two year contract. I doubt it. Too bad, I guess some people will never learn.

"Anatomy of a Franchise" New York Mets: Part VI - Building for Greatness

I want to dedicate this part of my self proclaimed series to Cathy. She is wife number two and although we are no longer together, she remains my dear friend. She gave me an incredible, bright, beautiful daughter and she deserves to be nominated for sainthood for putting up with me for 14 truly bi-polar years. Cathy who taught me that out of every bad can become a good, the only person whom I ever met that put others in front of themselves, I thank you for pointing and guiding me in the right direction. You are truly a special one of a kind person.

1981 dawned bright for the Mets and me because I began to think we were both on the same path of rebuilding for greatness. The Mets had lost 95 games in 1980 and the “streak” and my marriage to Ellen was over. By years end the talk of a possible player’s lockout didn’t strike me as a real serious possibility since Cathy and I decided to tie the knot, and that we did, on November 9th 1980.

I made her a promise that we would not attend any Mets games together and she was OK with that since baseball was not anywhere near the top of her priority list. Besides, I had a ten year old son and an eight year old daughter and they would make great partners to my many planned trips to the Vet to see the World Champion Phillies take on my Mets.

I need to clarify a point about my fanhood after I received many comments about my rooting for the Phillies during their great run from 1976-1983. I never rooted for them in any game they played against the Mets no matter how far out of the race the Mets were and although I was rightly perturbed at the Mets organization and the way they ran things then, (and still am today), I could never, under any circumstances, change my loyalties.

During the next 5 years the Mets were about to change the perception others had of them, at that time, from laughingstock to world champion and the team that everybody outside Brooklyn and Queens loved to hate.

Frank Cashen was brought in to be the General Manager in February of 1980 and although the Mets still had three straight losing seasons, one could see the handwriting on the wall and the excitement certainly found it’s way heading south on the New Jersey Turnpike.

The Mets finally got it together in the amateur draft by getting Darryl Strawberry, Roger McDowell and Dwight Gooden. His trading for Keith Hernandez, Howard Johnson, Gary Carter, Sid Fernandez and Ron Darling set the nucleus for what some have called the greatest team ever for one single season that was 1986.

The 1981 team was managed by Joe Torre. Nobody at the time could have ever possibly imagined the future success that Joe would have achieved. In 1981, he had finished a very solid career with the St. Louis Cardinals and was entering his fourth year as manager of the Mets.

Here’s the 1981 starting lineup for the New York Mets.

Mookie Wilson LF
Frank Taveras SS
Dave Kingman 1B
Rusty Staub RF
Lee Mazzilli CF
Alex Trevino C
Hubie Brooks 3B
Doug Flynn 2B
Pat Zachry P

This was a historical year for baseball. For the first time in Major League history there was a stoppage of play during the regular season. This situation began what many people have called the end of baseballs supremacy as America’s Sport and greed on both sides can, in my opinion, be spread equally causing a real mess in what was supposed to be a great year for baseball.

June 11th was the last game the Mets would play in earnest for two full months. I could not imagine myself without baseball. If it were not for the fact that I was managing my son's little league team that year, I might have gone completely nuts.

I did manage to go to 3 games against the Phillies that year in June. At this point in time I’m going to bring a new character into the series. His name is Gary. He lives in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and he simply is the most addicted Phillies fan of all times.

Gary was just starting his accounting business in 1981. He had a booth in Montgomery Ward on Route 38 in Cherry Hill and he was pimping his newly formed Tax Return business. Cathy and I were shopping there one day when she said to me “Rich, since you haven’t filed a tax return for the past three years don’t you think it might be a good idea to talk to this guy?”

What happened next is something you can only get in Hollywood. Not only did I make an appointment to talk to Gary in his office, (in the attic of his Moorestown band box of a home), but it turns out, after he mentioned a letter he got from his Grandmother, that my Grandmother and his Great Grandmother were first cousins, or something like that. I have forgotten by now the connection.

So now I find that my accountant is my cousin and worse yet, an avid Phillies fan.
From this point forward our lives would intertwine for the next 28+ years.

So it was Gary and I who went to this Phillies/Mets series at the Vet. The Phillies won two out of three; I kept looking around for Ellen during the first two games. In the first game Larry Christenson outpitched Pat Zachry but the dull pain I got leaving the stands that day was that Tug McGraw got the save for the Phillies.

That pain was still festering pretty well in 1981.

The usual suspects Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa and Gary Maddox all had two hits with Gary Maddox hitting a winning two run homer in the 8th off Neil Allen who at the time was my favorite Mets pitcher.

The next day, the Phillies and Pete Rose, who had 3 hits, beat up on Mike Scott, who later would become a Mets killer in 1986, and Ed Lynch as the Phillies beat the Mets 9-7. Gary was his usual talkative self and proclaimed the Phillies would repeat as World Champions in 1981. I have to give him credit. He doesn’t say things like that any more probably because it took the Phillies 28 years to win another championship and despite the fact that this year I think they have a great chance to repeat, Gary is still saying it’s a long season. I wonder if he realizes it’s already August.

The next game I finally got a little measure of revenge. At least we didn’t get swept and believe me Phillies fans must have pretty dirty homes because Veterans Stadium is one place that you never ever have to wonder about having enough brooms on hand.

On June 3rd we finally got to Dick Ruthven with a 4 run 8th inning to break up a close game. Neil Allen got the save and Greg Harris, who only played one year out of 15 in a Mets uniform, got the win.

The Mets finished the “first half” at 17-34 and in last place, but after a two month layoff when baseball resumed on Aug 10th, The Mets went 24-28 the rest of the way.

In 1982 and 1983 the Mets lost 90+ games each year, but on June 15th 1983, the Mets traded my guy, Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey to the Cardinals for Keith Hernandez. Keith brought to the team a certain amount of legitimacy that would carry over for the next few years which would culminate in four incredible seasons, 1985 through 1988.

Joe Torre was replaced in 1982 with George Bamberger, a nice old guy who brought absolutely nothing to the table. Perhaps a little more patience with Joe Torre is great hindsight, but it took the Mets to lose 127 games before Bamberger was replaced by the gentle giant Frank Howard to finish the 1983 season.

In 1984 Davey Johnson was hired to lead the Mets to greater heights. Johnson was known to Mets fans for making the final out of the 1969 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles.

By 1984 the Mets had a completely new look. The starting lineup looked like this.

Wally Backman 2B
Jose Oquendo SS
Keith Hernandez 1B
George Foster LF
Daryl Strawberry RF
Hubie Brooks 3B
Mookie Wilson CF
Ron Hodges C
Mike Torrez P

Mike Torrez was certainly at the end of his career when he stepped on the mound for the Mets on opening day. As it turned out he gave up six runs and six hits in an inning and a third and that was pretty much it for Torrez career in the MLB.

Dick Tidrow another pitcher at the end of his career also saw action with the Mets that day. I guess his 9.19 ERA was enough for the Mets to see that his career was over as well.

The reason I bring this up is that this seems to be a never ending problem with the Mets organization that has with them for the full 47 years of their existence. They have a dream that somewhere in their wildest imagination some over the hill player will find lightning in a bottle and lead this team to the Promised Land.

“Hey guys, The Natural was a MOVIE”.

After losing that opening game in Cincinnati the Mets rattled off six wins, then lost three in a row, won three in row and lost three in a row again. It sure looked like this was a team trying to find its own identity.

By June 1st they were 22-22 and didn’t look like a team ready to challenge anyone. June was better as they won five more games than they lost. I had already gone to 4 out of the six games the Phillies played the Mets at the Vet and the Phillies won both series 2 games to 1. Unfortunately, I went to the 4 losses. I spent most of those days searching the stands for Ellen.

By the All-Star break the Mets had won nine out of their next ten and were officially contending for the NL East. Right from the break they took three out of four from the Braves in Atlanta and were right in the thick of the race.

By July 28th the Mets were 59-37 in first place and on a roll. Then all they did was drop the next seven games and wound up finishing 2nd with a 90-72 record.

I managed to get to one more Mets/Phillies game in September and I finally got to see a Mets victory. They came from behind with three in the 7th and three in the 9th to win 8-5. Darryl hit a tremendous blast off Al Holland in the ninth inning with two out and two on to put the cherry on top of the day. Mookie, Daryl and Hubie all had two hits.

On May 5th 1983 Cathy gave me a baby girl who I promptly named after Jamie Lee Curtis. I spelled it Jaime Leigh. To see where she’s at take a look at


www.jldragonfly.deviantart.com


Part VII will deal with the four most exciting seasons I witnessed as a fan of the Mets for all 47 seasons. 1985-1988 was absolutely fantastic. I went on my own personal in game winning streak that I doubt I will ever see again. They were truly great years. I sure hope you will share them with me.

Omar Minaya: Chance For Redemption

One thing has been apparent to me as a Mets fan for 47 years. The most important thing on my mind and my most important priority is for the team to win. I challenge every Met fan on site to disagree that although we care about everything that is "Mets", winning takes the prize.

For better or worse for the past couple of years we have discussed both the good and bad moves that Omar Minaya, the Mets General Manager, has made. Personally I have flipped flopped so many times I feel like a spinning dreydel not knowing which side I'm going to land on.

I loved the moves that got Pedro, both Carlos, Johan and K-Rod to the Mets. I cringed with Castillo signing and the bringing to the team to 40+ geriatrics to this club. I felt there were deals that could have happened and questioned many those that did.

Along with everyone else including Vegas Sportsbook Directors, we all thought the Mets with their improved bullpen would certainly be able to make up the ground in order to catch the Phillies, even though they improved themselves this winter as well.

We all know what happened and although there is still a glimmer of hope because Jerry has finally learned, and admitted as such, that a set lineup is the way to go, the climb back to playoff contention does not rest on a 4 game winning streak.

Omar certainly reached a low point in his tenure this week and all the damage control that the Wilpon's are trying to do, still leaves Omar in an unenviable position of having to speak to the media on a regular basis and try to convince them that he is sincere and righteous with them.

Author Poll:
Would You Make This Deal?

* Yes
* No


This is not a position any General Manager wants to find himself in especially in New York where the scrutiny is 1000 times more than any other city in the world.

OK, so is there anything that Omar can do in order to redeem himself with the Mets faithful and at the same time put his team in a better position, not only to get back into the race with 60 games to go, but to once again be considered one of the favorites for 2010?

The answer is Roy Halladay. He is available for the right price and don't kid your self, the Mets have the goods to get him, but it's not going to come cheap.

First, it's a well known fact what the Blue Jays want in return in order to get this deal done. They want a major league pitcher who is with the big club. They want another pitcher or two, one with the big club and one who is a very good prospect that will reach the major leagues within 2-3 years would easily fit into the rotation and one regular high level prospect who will be a quality major league hitter.

The Phillies have not made that offer, neither have the Angels. It was once reported the Mets did so. That wasn't true because if that original offer was made by the Blue Jays even Omar would have jumped all over it.

I like Mike Pelfrey a lot. He has shown tremendous improvement over the last three years and who really knows what his ceiling is. Could it be as high as Roy Halladay? I believe not. Here's the package that the Blue Jays would not turn down.

Why?

Simply put, it's infinitely better than what any team has offered them so far.

Along with Mike Peffrey, the Mets would send Bobby Parnell, Brad Holt and Ike Davies to the Jays. Maybe they will throw a minor prospect back at us in return. Frankly, I don't care if they do or they don't.

Ray Halladay, as we speak is the best pitcher in baseball. A combination of Halladay and Santana would make CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett look pale in comparison. I would make this offer right now before some other team like the Phillies up their offer and give them both Happ and Drabeck plus two of their top hitting prospects.

Omar, this is you chance for redemption. Make this deal and 95% of the negativity you are now receiving will do an about face. If you want to have a job next year despite your "vote of confidence", I would suggest you get on this immediately and while you're at it, I'd give your buddy Adam Rubin a call and give him this exclusive. You owe him that much.

Make You Bets Today

A little change of pace here. There are some of us out there that take shots about our teams, our opponents, ownership, managers and players. How many comments have I seen where people say I could do better than these guys.

So now living in Vegas, and being right there for the action and the money that changes hands every second, 24 hours 7 days a week. I stopped at a sports book this morning and grabbed a couple of betting prop sheets. Here are some of the latest odds for baseball for the remainder of the season.

Now if you want you can put your money where your mouth is and send Vegas Rich all your money so I could place your bets. Of course I can also wind up disappearing for a while after I get the dough.

I hear Cabo is very nice this time of year.

Odds to Win 2009 National League Pennant

TEAM OPENING LINE CURRENT LINE

Dodgers 7/1 7/5

Phillies 4/1 3/1

Cubs 2/1 9/2

Cardinals 9/1 6/1

Giants 15/1 9/1

Brewers 15/1 12/1

Astros 15/1 12/1

Rockies 20/1 12/1

Marlins 15/1 16/1

Mets 3/1 18/1

Braves 12/1 22/1

Reds 17/1 29/1

Diamondbacks 8/1 90/1

Pirates 40/1 90/1

Padres 40/1 110/1

Nationals 40/1 500/1

The biggest disappointment by far for those who made their bets in April are the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks. Both teams were solid picks in their division to go on to the playoffs and advance to the series. Neither one right now apparently to the Las Vegas odds-makers have a chance. The Dodgers due to their excellent play all season long have made the biggest jump to become the overall favorite right now but in talking to a number of bettors this morning, the sexy pick is now the St. Louis Cardinals after their recent pick ups.

I see the Phillies heading back to the series with about 60 games to go. They are pitching well enough but when a team steps on the field each day and expects to score 8 runs or more each game they know they are in pretty good shape. Vegas thinks so too.

My Longshot of longshots - The Atlanta Braves.

Odds to win 2009 American League Pennant

TEAM OPENING LINE CURRENT LINE

Yankees Even 2/1

Red Sox 5/2 2/1

Tigers 10/1 9/2

Angels 3/1 5/1

Rays 3/1 10/1

Rangers 21/1 11/1

White Sox 10/1 14/1

Twins 7/1 15/1

Mariners 35/1 25/1

Blue Jays 15/1 35/1

A's 20/1 90/1

Orioles 40/1 90/1

Royals 30/1 95/1

Indians 8/1 115/1

The biggest disappointment to date in the AL would be the Rays and the Twins. People who bet on the Tigers and the Rangers are feeling pretty good about their chances for once in the playoffs anything can and surely will happen.

I still like my April pick of the Red Sox but I'm not ruling out the Rays. New York is known for September collapses and this year will be no different. This time I see the Yankees folding like a bad hand at the World Series of poker. Sorry HBOB.

My Longshot of longshots: The Texas Rangers.

I take all types of cards except Christmas Cards.LOL.

Help From Below: Why Not Now?

That certainly is not the Omar Minaya who is seen as a "Dead Man Walking" if Tony B. remains in the Mets front office, but this is not necessarily about either of them yet it's about both of them. Makes sense yet? I didn't think so.

We need to set the ground rules for this discussion if you want to take blasts at me in the comment section. First off if you believe for one second that the Mets have a chance to go about 48 wins over the next 65 games or so please move onto the next Mets article.

If you believe like I do, and was one of the first people to tell you to pack it up and "Wait Til Next Year" at my midseason report, then I would be extremely interested in your comments both pro and con.

Forget the trade deadline, the other teams don't see the Mets being able to help them get better and we don't plan to give up whatever good prospects we hope we have and totally kill a barren farm system that we have.

OK, with that said it is customary for teams, usually the ones out of the race, to start to make call ups from their farm systems when the roster is expanded to 40 players on September 1st. Then the team gets a chance to evaluate those players and see how they fare against far superior pitching and hitters if they are pitchers.

When contenders call up these guys most of them languish on the bench and by osmosis they are expected to "feel" like they are in the major leagues. Once in awhile a team strikes lightening in a bottle and someone makes a splash in September and ultimately goes on to great things.


Who would be the first player non pitcher you would bring up?

Feliciano

Thole

Tejada

Peterson

Garcia

Other

None


Those guys are sure fire prospects that are supposed to succeed.

The Mets are far from loaded down on the farm considering that both their AAA and AA teams are at the bottom of their divisions, but there are some interesting players in there that I personally would like to see take a swat or a pitch at today's big leagues.

My point is, can it really hurt? Can they do any worse than those players we have out there now? Plus if the answer is yes it would be worse, I ask you so what? The worst thing that could happen is we move up a couple of spots in the amateur draft.

So I ask you to look at these guys. I know you could make a case for each of them not to come up. I can too, but again so what? Some might say if they come up and are over matched it will hurt their confidence for the future. NONSENSE. These guys are spending their entire life's existence to play this game on the highest level. I'm not worried about their confidence and I'm sure they're not as well.

From Buffalo. That's an easy one.

Nelson Figueroa: 6-4 2.32 ERA 80/23 strike out to walk ratio.

Jon Niese: 5-6 3.82 ERA 2 complete games, 2 shutouts, won five of his last six starts, and has an 86/26 SO to BB ratio. I guess he's worked on his fastball because his curve was already ML ready.

From Binghamton. Now this is where I say "what the heck, go for it"

Josh Thole: .341 BA .409 OBP and 858 OPS. NOOOOOOO let's just keep Brian Schneider in there.

Ruben Tejada: .278, .350, .714. NOOOOO let's bring back A. Reyes and Angel Berora and Ramon Martinez, yeahhhhhhhh

Josh Peterson: .326, .409, .851 NOOOO let's keep having Tatis lead the world in double plays. Come on.

Emmanuel Garcia: .263, .315, .668. He only has 17 stolen bases. When David Wright leads the team in SB's you know you're in trouble and when was last time he stole a base? Thanks Jerry, you moron. Sorry, I get carried away. Old guy that I am.

Tobi Stoner: 2-2, 2.68 ERA 28/13 SO/BB ratio and how about a 0.87 WHIP.

Believe me, these guys may just be a spark to those guys who we don't send down in their place just to let them know we mean business and if you don't produce while 10 games behind we have taken the first steps in re-making this team which is not such a bad idea.

"Anatomy of a Franchise" New York Mets: Part V - "Grant's Tomb"

1974 was a big transition year for me. For the first time in my 29 years I was venturing out of the safety net of the New York City, Connecticut, and New York State area and venturing into new uncharted Philadelphia Phillies territory down the New Jersey Turnpike to Exit 4 better known to most as Cherry Hill.

We actually didn’t live there but close enough so that when people asked me where I lived that was the most recognizable. Later, after just a few months there, it became simply known as South Jersey which in reality is a state all of its own.

Unlike North Jersey that has a healthy selection of New York Mets fans, in 1974 there was only one New York Met fan in South Jersey. Me, and here I was starting a new job, in a new area still only 90 miles away that seemed like another continent.

South Jersey starts just below Trenton, goes east to the Jersey Shore to Seaside Heights, and south to Cape May. It is completely 100% Philadelphia fans in every sport out there and maybe some time somewhere in the future during football season I will tell a similar story about the Eagles, but for this series the Phillies ultimately play a pivotal role in my life.

The Mets were coming off a pretty surprising season ending to 1973. The won the National league Pennant beating the Big Red Machine and went to game seven of the World Series before losing out to the Oakland Athletics.

Hopes and aspirations were high for the Mets and I was as excited as the rest. In those days being a fan was just that. I believed everything I read and I saw nothing but positives in the world around me. Are you listening both Nick’s and Mike Kent? The Mets were good the year before so why think they would be anything less.

Here’s their 1974 opening day line up.

1. Wayne Garrett 3B
2. Felix Millan 2B
3. Rusty Staub RF
4. Cleon Jones LF
5. John Milner 1B
6. Jerry Grote C
7. Don Hahn CF
8 Bud Harrelson SS
9. Tom Seaver P

Not a bad lineup. Nothing scary like a Big Red Machine but pretty solid offensively and a sound defense and the pitching staff of Seaver, Koosman and Matlock that wasn’t too shabby. Should have made a pretty decent year, yes? NO! The Mets finished with a 71-91 record and a 5th place finish.

The “Big Three” were terrible. Seaver went 11-11. Koosman went 15-11 and Matlack was 13-15. Tug McGraw went 6-11 in relief with 3 saves. Cleon Jones had the highest batting average for the starters at .282 and John Milner lead the team with 20 home runs and 70 runs scored. Rusty led the team with 78 RBI’s. The team just plain stunk.

I had the mis-fortune not to travel back to the NYC and see Met home games at Shea and that begin a twenty year period where I only made 5 trips to see the Mets at Shea Stadium but had the opportunity to go to over 100 games against the Phillies and others at Veterans Stadium which I’ll say at this point in time was one of, if not, the worst baseball park to watch a game in that I have ever attended.

As bad as it was, it was still a chance to watch my team for better and mostly worse at this time as a visitor in a foreign land.

The Mets got off to a terrible start that year and never recovered. By June 1st they were 8 games below .500 and by the All Star Break they were 13 games below and done for the year. I went to 2 games that year with Ellen and I wondered if her streak would now continue on the road as well.

The first game was on June 22nd and even then some faithful Met fans would travel down from the city but nothing like it would be in the mid 80’s when the Mets got back on top. The Phillies took a 5-0 lead into the fifth inning and the game was over. Mike Schmidt had a hit, Larry Bowa had 3 and Dave Cash had 2. I could tell then that they had the makings of a special team but that would come really into play during the next 5 years. The final Score was 5-2. We didn’t talk on the way home.

The second game we went to that year was in September, the first of a three game series. There was virtually no one there since the Phillies would end the season going 80-82 and when the Phillies didn’t win they hardly drew big crowds. So we sat right over the Mets dugout about 4 rows up and the Phillie Phanatic, who was just getting hit feet wet then, was the most entertaining part of the festivities.

Once again this time by the 4th inning the Mets were down 4-0 but they scored two runs in the fourth. It wasn’t enough as Steve Carlton won his then 16th game of the year and once again Larry Bowa had three more hits and I was beginning to wish that my team could have the likes of a Larry Bowa, Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski.

Little did I know or recognize at the time that the Phillies were coming into their own and I was intrigued by their play and the personalities on their team.

So now Ellen’s losing streak had increased to 11 straight Mets losses and I was having more misgivings about having such a bad luck charm waking up with me everyday. So, was the die cast? Not quite, that wouldn’t happen until we hit 20 but that’s just getting a little ahead of myself.

The Mets made some changes in 1975. Joan Payson the Principal owner passed away and since no one in the family had any interest in the team or baseball itself, they gave control of the franchise to one M. Donald.Grant. Grant had actually been with the Mets since its second year in existence until 1978.

Grant was far from a baseball man. Whitey Herzog who actually was the Director of Player Development when the Mets won the World Series in 1969 told Grant to his face that he didn’t know “beans about baseball”. In later years, like when I first thought of writing this article and I stumbled on this fact, I often wonder what could have happened back when Gil Hodges died if Whitey Herzog could have stepped in and managed this team. But Grant and the whole Mets organization were still so enthralled with the Dodgers, Giants and Yankee connections, (sound familiar today?) that Yogi Berra, Roy McMillan, Joe Frazier, and Joe Torre were the next Met Managers that followed Gil, while Whitey was leading the St. Louis Cardinals to championships in the 80’s.

Grant’s most famous move was the ultimate Met blunder trading “The Franchise” Tom Seaver along with slugger Dave Kingman on the now famous “The Midnight Massacre” on June 15th 1977. Met fans will never forgive Grant and this move set the franchise back many years. Shea Stadium attendance was so drastically reduced that it was common for the beat writers to refer to Shea Stadium as “Grant’s Tomb.”

The trading of Tom Seaver was like a dagger in my heart. The Phillies had already reached the playoffs in 76 and would do it again in 77. I rooted for the Mets but it was no secret that I also liked the Phillies and knowing the Mets were going in the wrong direction, once I felt they were eliminated, I openly rooted for the Phil’s.

I took my son to his first Phillies game that year. It wasn’t against the Mets. That was my first and very costly mistake. All I remember is that the Phillies won and this team in red had new young fan. What a blunder on my part that I regret to this day, but you’ll see in part VI just how much worse that situation became when I lost my son’s fan hood forever and ever.

In 1975 the Mets finished 3rd with an 82-80 record and in 1976 they improved to 86-76. Ellen and I went to 3 games in 75 against the Phil’s. They lost all three. I went to 2 other Phillies Mets games with my son who was 5 and my daughter who was three. We went 2-0. Her streak now stood at 14 and she decided that maybe she was bad luck. DUH. 0-14 and she just started to put the pieces together? OYE.

In 1976, the Phillies won the National League East and with Dick Allen, Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, Greg Luzinski, Bob Boone, Dave Cash, and Garry Maddox. They were a fun team to watch and heck during the season and the off season as well a week wouldn’t go by and you would run into one of them at the store, in a restaurant or in a movie. They all lived in South Jersey and this was the local team.

Ellen lost a pair of games that year moving her stellar record to 0- 16.

By 1978 Grant was gone, but he left with 2 more miserable seasons where the Mets went 64-98 in 1977 and 66-96 in 1978. I continued to go to most Phillies Mets games each year at the Vet but now mixed with Phillies - Dodger games and Phillies - Reds games.

1979 and 1980 produced two more 90+ loss seasons for the Mets and with the Phillies winning the World Series in 1980 it was no longer a secret that the Phillies were a more enjoyable team to watch and although I started each new season with high hopes and expectations for my Mets I had no trouble at all rooting for the Phillies.

I hate to say this but if this is a life story then things that happen need to be reported. By 1979 Ellen and I had gone to 23 Mets games and they lost all 23. Now this may sound silly to 99.9% of those people reading this but after 12 years of this streak plus other non-mentionables we split up. That’s life, it happens and although I have joked about the streak, any marriage breakup where there are small children involved can never have a happy ending.

I had soured on life. My marriage had failed my team stunk up the joint because there was no leadership or identity with the city I loved. By 1980 I knew that the only way the Mets were going to be a successful franchise was to totally move in a different direction and turn its back on its Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants past. They needed to establish their own identity like the New York Jets.

So what did they do? The Payson family sold the Mets to Nelson Doubleday for 21.1 million dollars. Doubleday became the Chairman of the Board and turned the team over to Brooklyn born and bred and lifetime Brooklyn Dodger fan, Fred Wilpon and named him the club President.

Now 28 years later we still have the New York (Brooklyn Dodger) Mets, and you wonder why I almost left the fold to what has now become our most feared rival since the Braves.

Stay tuned for Part VI, “The Re-Birth Theirs and Mine”

"Anatomy of a Franchise"; New York Mets - Part 1 - The Inception

This is the first part of series which will tell the Mets story for the past 47 years as well as events in my life which correspond to those times. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I will writing it.

Before I get started, for those who do not care for long articles you may want to skip this one. As I write it, I'm not sure just how long it will be, but it will focus on many things that have bothered me throughout the 48 seasons I've have watched, grown up, and loved, the New York Mets.

It was April 10th 1962. The very next day I would celebrate my 17th birthday. I was a Senior at Midwood High School in Brooklyn New York and my life was well again because baseball, real National League baseball, was back in New York City where it truly belonged.

My boyhood team, the Brooklyn Dodgers abandoned me at the end of the 1957 season seeking out greener pastures in Los Angeles California which for me at the tender age of 12 was as devastating a heartbreak that I could recall in my life.

My Dad, a lifelong Giants fan got the tickets for opening day at the Polo Grounds where he, as a kid himself, watched some of the all time greats play there in the '30s through the '50s.

He was my hero and at 17 I was not ashamed to tell anyone that I got my love of baseball and life through him. Little did I know that in a little more than two years later he would be gone from me forever.

I was so excited because the weather forecast for the Mets opener said mild and sunny with high's in the upper 50s with zero possibility of rain. I awoke early knowing that I would be at the game in a few hours and I was happy to miss a day at school.

Hell I was a senior, I had been accepted at Northeastern University in Boston as well Albany State College and Long Island University in Brooklyn. I was holding out for my first choice, Syracuse University but I knew I had to make a decision soon.

Back to the weather. When I awoke around eight it was raining like cats and dogs and the revised forecast was forgetaboutit, the game was postponed by 11:00AM. Now what?

Game two, scheduled for my birthday, was not a sellout so that hero of mine made a couple of calls and told me all was well and we would still be able to catch an opening game-day to remember.



WRITER'S UPDATE

I now see where this is going so I have decided this will be way too long for one single article, so I know pronounce this a "series" with I'm not sure how many parts, so please if you love baseball and the Mets in particular, bare with me.

So on April 11 1962, my Dad and I got on the D train and headed into "the city" to Meet the Mets. The 1962 team came about as each National League team left a few unprotected players which the Mets and the Houston Colt.45s would chose from.

These were not front line players by any stretch of the imagination and the two clubs differed on how they would stock their team.

The Houston club would stock their team with young, unproven and not well known players. Given this was Houston's first time in the majors it made perfect sense. The Mets were owned by Joan Payson and George Weiss, the man who built the Bronx Bombers of the '50s and '60s was the Mets first general Manager.

Weiss knew that by bringing in former Dodgers and Giants despite the fact that they were well past their prime would draw fans to Coogans Bluff.

Little did I know at the time that this first stroke of lousy ownership and General Manager ineptitude would be the stamp placed on this franchise that still permeates today 48 years later and the reason behind the motive to chronicle this series.

Former Brooklyn Dodgers on that 1962 Mets team. Don Zimmer, Roger Craig, Charlie Neal,and Clem Labine. Former New York Giants included, Hobie Landrith, Ray Daviault, Johnny Antonelli, and Joe Pignatano.

The starting lineup for the 1962 New York Mets.

Richie Ashburn CF

Felix Mantilla SS

Charlie Neal 2B

Frank Thomas LF

Gus Bell RF

Gil Hodges 1B

Don Zimmer 3B

Hobie Landrith C

Roger Craig P

Now if this were the lineup say five to seven years earlier they had some fine all stars in this group loaded with speed and power and decent defense. I think the average age was around 48 or so, at least it seemed to me that day. Did I care? no. With a hot dog in one hand and a Needix Orange Drink in the other I felt as alive as I have ever been.

The game itself was over before I knew what I had to eat. The Mets lost and another eight straight after that. As so many fans know, they went on to lose 120 games that year and I was 1-8 but couldn't care less.

If I remember correctly that year, I saw Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Roberto Clemente, Eddie Matthews, Ernie Banks, and Hank Aaron. Not too shabby at all.

I was turned down at Syracuse and decided to go to Northeastern University in Boston. Early that fall of 1962 I got to go to Fenway Park for the first time and was completely blown away. Love at first sight.

Coming soon...Anatomy of a Franchise: The New York Mets, Pt. 2—Lost in Space.

"Anatomy of a Franchise: New York Mets - Part IV- Was 1969 a Fluke?

Bob Scheffing was promoted to Mets General Manager after the untimely death of Johnny Murphy in January 1970. The Mets had just come off of their “Miracle” season of 1969 with their first Playoff, World Series, and Championship in its brief seven year history.

The two sided answer to the question, was 1969 a fluke? would be answered in the next coming months as the Mets prepared for yet another Spring Training in St. Petersburg Florida, where they shared the training facilities with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Bob Scheffing came to the Mets organization after a career as a player with a little over 500 games with the Cubs, Reds, and Cardinals. A rather pedestrian .263 career lifetime average set no fires blazing in that realm.

He managed both the Cubs and the Tigers, did a little broadcasting, and some scouting before becoming the Mets GM.

I have nothing against the man personally, and his only point of note in Mets' history is that it was under his tenure that Nolan Ryan was traded to the Angels for Jim Fregosi in what has been called the most lopsided trade in Mets' history.

Scheffing was put in a corner by Ryan. Nolan, clearly not a big city boy, absolutely hated New York and wanted out of this city in the worst way.

So what did Scheffing do?

He sent him to LA.

Now that was a real small town in 1971.

Right.

Here was a great opportunity for the Mets' ownership to build this franchise and make it a force to be reckoned with for the next decade. They went with a relatively inexperienced person in a front office position where they needed a power guy.

This, now looking back, begins the pattern of poor moves that we still see almost 40 years later.

Here is the starting lineup for the 1970 Mets.

1. Tommy Agee CF

2. Bud Harrelson SS

3. Joey Foy 3B

4. Cleon Jones LF

5. Art Shamsky 1B

6. Ron Swoboda RF

7. Wayne Garrett 2B

8. Jerry Grote C

9. Tom Seaver P

This was a pretty good team, and it was expected to be near or at the top of the National League Eastern Division.

The Mets finished the 1970 season with an 83-79 record. They had the same record in 1971 and 1972, and, although the pitchers did well, the lack of hitting and run production resulted in three straight third place finishes.

I moved to Vernon, Connecticut in August of 1970 because a good teaching job became available at a small private school specializing in Special Education. My wife, when the Mets' record was now a glimmering 0-8, was pregnant with out first child.

The house we rented had one of those huge roof top antennas, which rotated 360 degrees. So I was now able to get both New York as well as Boston TV channels as clear as day.

Life couldn’t get better than this.

Prior to the 1972 season, one of my boyhood heroes that I got to know personally, who carried himself with dignity and pride, passed away. Gil Hodges was dead at 48 years old from a massive coronary heart attack, just like my Dad.

My memories of the years (following the '69 Mets until the “Ya Gotta Believe” Tug McGraw’s rallying cry in the summer of 1973) were that of a fan who now expected his team should and could win all the games they played.

Neither the team nor I, I’m sorry to say, had a whole lot of enthusiasm.

I had an excuse. They didn’t.

When they started their great comeback in the summer of ‘73, the Mets sat in the cellar in the east with a 61-71 record. Yogi Berra, who was as much fun as Casey Stengel in the sixties, made one outrageous statement after another that kept the media close and put the spotlight on a team that seemed to cherish the limelight they were in.

Every baseball fan knows his best quote of that year, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” That was Yogi’s answer when asked about the Mets' chances that summer.

On Sept. 3, 1970, Ellen and I drove to the city in my 1967 Dodge Charger with more horsepower beneath the hood than in all of General George Custer’s Seventh Cavalry.

I was so positive that “Her Streak” was going to end that day, I promised her dinner at Mama Leones in the city the next day.

The Mets had beaten the Phillies 5-0 the previous day and had won three of their last four, so the NL Eastern Division had five teams within six games of first place, all of them with a losing record.

Oh the mediocrity, or oh the parity, depending on your perspective.

The Mets led 3-2 going into the fifth inning, and I was feeling good.

Craig Swan was pitching well. He had given up a run in each of the first two innings, but we had scored three. I figured if we win the game and end the streak, I might even consider the request to have a third child, which was very much on Ellen’s mind at the time.

Barbara Lynn Marsh came to us on Jun. 25 that year, and I had her in Mets pink from day one, while my now almost 3-year-old son, Russell Michael, was sporting his first Gil Hodges first baseman’s glove.

My dream, however, was short lived as Greg (The Bull) Luzinski blasted a two run home run off Swan as the Phil’s went on to defeat the Mets 6-3.

Guess who never got to Mama Leones that next day.

She was lucky I took her to Nathans for dogs and fries.

Over 30,000 of us went home thinking that no way were the Mets going to make it to the postseason, and her streak stood now at nine.

Of course, wouldn’t you know it, after my trip to Shea, the Mets went on to win 18 of their next 25 and win the pennant with an 82-79 record.

Now this was a miracle.

Every lifelong Mets fan alive knows that these underdogs of underdogs went on to beat up the Big Red Machine in the playoffs, and Bud Harrelson kicked Pete Rose’s ass.

They also just missed winning their second World Series in five years as they led the powerful Oakland A’s three games to two, with Seaver and Koosman to pitch Game Six and Seven.

But that victory was not meant to be.

That year ended another streak in Mets' history. They finished over .500 for five consecutive years. They had the opportunity to become a dynasty with this team. The ownership made poor decisions from the GM down.

Mrs. Payson might have been a wonderful little old lady, but she knew squat about baseball and turned the operation over to people who knew little more than she did. The fact that they did as well as they did, during these five years, was because they had kept some of the talented pitching core together with the exception of Nolan Ryan.

Plus, frankly, during this time the rest of the National League wasn’t having any breakout teams as of yet.

This trend will only get worse during the next 10 years, which I call “The Lost Years” coming to you in part five of the Anatomy of a Franchise.

Thanks for listening.

"Anatomy of a Franchise" New York Mets: Part III - 1969 AMAZIN

What the New York Mets achieved in 1969 was truly amazing and the world witnessed not only mans first steps on the moon but equally remarkable, the first World Championship by a National League team in New York in 14 years.

I had just turned 24 that April and I was unable to attend opening day on April 8th where the Mets lost to the newly created Montreal Expos expansion team 11-10 in front of 44,541 fans.

What had become a tradition of sorts was to try to go to the game on April 11th, my birthday, where the St. Louis Cardinals were coming to town and the proposed match-up was going to be Steve Carlton vs. Jerry Koosman. I was stoked, only in those days no one ever said the word stoked.

Jerry Koosman was a left handed pitcher who complimented Tom Seaver at the top of the Mets staff. In 1968 he went 19-12 and actually had one more victory than Tom Terrific. With 7 shutouts, I was there for one of them, and a .208 ERA I couldn’t wait to see him against Carlton.

Steve was the sharper pitcher that day and Joe Torre hit a monster homer off Koosman as my wife Ellen and I moved from the upper reaches of Shea Stadium down to the box seats right over the 3rd base dugout. You see it was pretty easy to do that since only 12,591 showed up for that classic pitching match-up.

Since my wedding on August 25th 1968 my wife and I attended five Met games. We went 0-5. Hmmm. The stirring of rumbling deep within my mind was staring to take shape. Wait until you hear my final scorecard with Ellen and me at Met games. You will not believe it. But you’ll have to wait a segment or two for those results.

By the way, a step backwards a couple of days, here is the starting lineup for the 1969 opening day New York Mets.



1. Tommie Agee CF
2. Rod Gaspar RF
3. Ken Boswell 2B
4. Cleon Jones LF
5. Ed Charles 3B
6. Ed Kranepool 1B
7. Jerry Grote C
8. Bud Harrelson SS
9. Tom Seaver P

Most sportswriters and other so-called prognosticators picked the Mets to finish near the bottom of the newly created divisions. I thought they had a chance to do better than expected. Maybe an 81-81 record, but I could never foresee this team winning 100 games, sweep the powerful Atlanta Braves team led by Hank Aaron, and then go on to beat the “unbeatable” Baltimore Orioles in the World Series.

Bing Divine who succeeded George Weiss as General Manager left after one year to go back to his beloved Cardinals. He was succeeded by Johnny Murphy. Murphy had a decent career as an American League relief pitcher. He played for the Yankees and some of his teammates included Babe Ruth, Joe D, Lou Gehrig and Bill Dickey. He pitched along side of Lefty Gomez and Red Ruffing. That’s some pretty good company.

Murphy’s promotion to the top GM position came at the same time the Mets were developing some of the best young pitchers in baseball. Unfortunately Murph never had the chance to become a long standing GM as he died suddenly from a massive coronary in January 1970.

In my opinion, this was the turning point in the Mets history that has haunted them for the next 40 years.

This team’s future which looked so bright as the new decade launched would soon be in disarray for years to come.

Getting back to the 1969 season, there were so many different accounts of what happened that I’ll only point out a few that I personally witnessed.

By May 27th, after suffering from a five game losing streak the Mets stood at 19-23 in 4th place and nine games behind the Chicago Cubs who by their own accounts were already planning on what look the playoff tickets would have. Black (cat) and blue would have been my choice.

On May 28th I was back at Shea to see the San Diego Padres. All Jerry Koosman did that night was pitch 10 innings of four hit ball with 15 K's. Tug McGraw pitched a scoreless 11th as I hoped my bud (Ted Blecher) and I wouldn’t have to sit through a 20+ inning game.

Cleon Jones reached first base on an error by Roberto Pena who was playing third. Billy McCool (one of the great sports names of all time) then struck out Ed Kranepool. Frank Reberger then gave up a single to center to Ron Swoboda. Cleon moved to third. Jerry Grote was then intentionally passed to load the bases.

Believe it or not, and I swear on all that's holy, that what happened next would change not only the Mets season but bring me immense pain and pleasure within 20 seconds of each other.

With the bases stacked, Bud Harrelson smacked the first pitch, a screaming line drive right at us. I dove, (I could do that then) for the ball, missed it and broke two fingers on the railing as my friend Teddy snagged it like he was Brooks Robinson.

I was screaming so loud (what a wimp!) that I missed Buddy’s single up the middle to win the game.

The Mets went on to have an 11 game winning streak and by the All Star Break they were 53-39, in second place and just five games behind the Cubs. They went 34-16 during that stretch. I went to one more game with my wife during June. Grant Jackson shut us out and beat Don Cardwell 2-0 Hmmm.

On August 13th the Mets came staggering home from a miserable road trip ending in Houston where the Mets were swept and fell into 3rd place 10 games behind the Cubs. This called for drastic measures.

August 16th is my brothers’ birthday and he had no love lost for the Mets but never in his life had he ever turned down free tickets to a game, especially since I was taking him to Shea as a birthday present. I’m sure he would have rather had the cash but he agreed to go. My wife stayed home. I wonder why.

The Mets went on to win that game 2-1 and by the way my brother catches a foul ball off the bat of Bud Harrelson as I was hiding under my seat.

The rest is history.

The team went on to win 38 of their next 49 games and miracles were alive and well in Flushing Meadows.

My wife and I went to one more game that season and given the play of the team down the stretch I knew my curse with her was over. If not maybe well maybe, nah we didn’t think those things. Besides, my mother would kill me dead if I came over to her place some night and I told her I was leaving my wife because she’s bad luck for the Mets.

Anyway, the game, an 8-2 loss to Bob Veale on September 19th.

I’d love to tell you that I attended playoff and World Series games that year but I promised to keep this truthful with only a touch of literary license. So, no, the best I could do was watch the games on the tube like millions of fans across the country.

You know the story for sure. The Mets went on to glory and I think it was in the second or third week in November that a couple of my childhood buddies suggested we drop in and talk to Gil. So off we went to Gil who still lived on Bedford Avenue about three blocks from our apartment on Kings Highway and East 23rd Street.

Sure enough, as he often did when we were kids, Gil and Joan were home and we sat and talked baseball with him. His house hadn’t changes a lick in almost 20 years. As we walked out the door Gil said, “Hey guys want to see something cool?”

Like we would say no.

He then opened a desk draw and flipped a ball to me. I didn’t drop this or break anything. It was just a ball signed by a player whose signature I could not read. The ball had a black smear on it. I said, “You’ve got to be kidding me?” He just smiled as I tossed it back to him.

Simply “Amazin."

"Anatomy of a Franchise" : New York Mets - Part II - Lost in Space

The 1960s, among many other things, were known for the next level of television programming. If the '50s were the “Golden Age of TV”, then the 1960s were “The Teenage Years.” Oh my God!

I was a big Star Trek fan. I wanted to be Lincoln Hayes from the Mod Squad and Colonel Gallagher from 12 O’clock High. I didn’t watch the show that lent this article it’s name, however.

I was told it was about a family that was lost in space. It had an old guy (no interest there), a whiny kid (oh yeah, just wonderful), and a talking robot that Spock would have said was interesting but totally illogical.

Not for me by a long shot.

My high school years over, I spent most of that summer watching the inaugural New York Mets team lose game after game after game. Seriously, the best part of really the first seven seasons was watching some of the greatest players to have ever played the game showcase their skills at the Polo Grounds.

Case in point, I’m really not sure if it was 1962 or 1963 and the St. Louis Cardinals were in town to play the Mets. It was about a zillion feet to dead center field and Willie's catch off Vic Wertz in the 1954 World Series was still being talked about in the stands eight or nine years later.

Lou Brock was a dead red fastball hitter. His strike zone was from his ankles to his eyeballs and nobody I had ever seen or even have seen to this day could actually “tomahawk” a ball 550 feet with a swing from his eyes.

That is exactly what Brock did that day and the ball landed about 15 rows up just to the right of dead center field. To this day it was the hardest hit ball I have ever seen. Awesome doesn’t describe it appropriately.

1963 to 1968 were the years that the Mets were literally "Lost in Space." The team totaled 51 wins in 1963, In their first year (1964) at the new home of the Mets and New York Jets they won 53. 1965 produced 50 wins, actually three less wins than the previous year. 1966 was the first year that the Mets didn’t lose more than 100 games.

Wes Westrum replaced Casey Stengel in 1965, and Bing Devine of St. Louis Cardinals fame became the General Manger in 1967. So, now was the time to move ahead right? Wrong. In 1967 the Mets took another step backwards and lost 101 games again.

There were some good moments during those years but mostly more of the same from Year One. There was a game in Chicago that they won, 19-1, setting up the events that eventually led to the "Black Cat" in 1969. But more on that in part three. . .

The shiny red apple was unveiled at Shea Stadium in 1964, and every time a Met would hit the ball out of the park, the apple would rise from ground and the fans would go wild. It got stuck no fewer than five times that summer, continuing the futility of this team.

My boyhood hero Duke Snider signed with the Mets in 1963. Believe me, his better days were behind him, but oh, that swing!

I could imitate it perfectly, and in my own mind, that was the reason I made the Freshman Baseball Team at Northeastern University in the Spring of 1963. I played second base, had deceptive speed for a chubby guy, and could turn a mean double play.

In a game that spring against Boston University, in front of a rowdy crowd of about, oh, 59 fans, a guy about a foot taller and 30 pounds heavier than me tried to break up a double play and ploughed right into my rather ample gut.

He knocked himself out cold.

I turned the double play, we won the only game of that rain shortened season, and it took seven teammates to carry me off the field.

This was definitely the highlight of my college career.

That spring the Mets signed Jimmy Piersall, a true nut case whose life and antics reached the big screen in a fine baseball movie called “Fear Strikes Out,” starring our even more famous nut case Anthony Perkins; Psycho anyone?

These lost years also brought to the team the makings of, unbeknown to all of us, the Miracle Mets. Bud Harrelson and Ron Swoboda came in ‘63. In '64, it was Tug McGraw, Jerry Koosman.

In 1965, Nolan Ryan signed, and the Mets traded Houston for Jerry Grote. Duffy Dyer and Jim McAndrew came in 1965, along with Ken Boswell, too.

For the 1966 season, Danny Frisella, Amos Otis, Ron Hunt, Jim Hickman, and Don Cardwell came to town.

However, the best acquisition in New York Mets history happened when The Mets' team name was picked out of a hat, giving the Amazins the first pick in the Amateur Draft. That pick turned into a strapping pitcher named George Thomas Seaver.

For me to think that Tom Seaver could have just as easily become a Brave or a Philly makes me shudder; it would have changed the course of the Mets history, as well as mine.

In 1967, pitchers Gary Gentry, Cal Koonce, Jon Matlock arrived, and perhaps the key to the championship season to come came with the arrival of Tommy Agee along with Art Shamsky.

The lovable losers finally seemed to be going in the right direction.

My life was like a roller coaster, going ahead and seemingly backwards at the same time. In June of 1964, I lost my Dad. We had talked that spring about going to some games that summer at the new Shea Stadium, which had just opened a few months prior.

I had to leave Northeastern that year because my responsibilities and priorities were forced to change.

An interesting sidelight to those events that spring: about two weeks before my Dad succumbed to a massive heart attack on his 50th birthday, I had talked to him about changing my major to Journalism and pursuing as career as a sports journalist.

It never happened.

My baseball career ended as I broke an ankle in 1964 and my world class speed evaporated in the lobby of the Brooklyn Paramount Theater which was the gymnasium for Long Island University, which became my home for the next three years.

At least I was home to see many games at Shea and a couple of road games in Philly at Connie Mack Stadium.

Vietnam and “The Draft”, and I don’t mean the baseball draft, were on the horizon. Hippies had arrived, protests raged at college campuses, and my heroes of the '60s were gone.

The day after June 5, 1968, my best friend Teddy Blecher and I camped out all night in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the city and waited for the casket of Bobby Kennedy to arrive.

I had walked the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant with Bobby in 1966 when he ran for Governor of New York. For me, it was a loss of the greatest magnitude.

On Aug. 25, 1968, at the ripe old age of 23, I got married to a beautiful blue-eyed blonde from the city. She was not a Mets fan. She liked the Yankees.

I should have known it wouldn’t last.

Mets Memories: Doug Flynn

Looking back into the Mets past is fun these days especially since the 2009 New York Mets are seemingly going in a different direction. Plus here is not the place to discuss the present and future it’s a place that myself and and hopefully a long list of viewers who are over 40 years old can look back and remember a different era in baseball where the news of the day was the game and not who was taking this or who was using that.

Doug Flynn’s most notoriety was the fact that he was a part of the June 15th 1977“The Midnight Massacre” which sent “The Franchise” Tom Seaver packing his bags and sending him off to Cincinatti for Doug, Pat Zachry, Steve Henderson and Dan Norman.

Dave Kingman, for all you nostalgic Met fans, was also traded the same day to the San Diego Padres ( I almost said Chargers) for Bobby Valentine and Paul Siebert.

Flynn did not receive the wrath of the Mets fans and neither did Henderson. I feel sorry for Pat Zachry who was booed mercilously as one might think he caused the trade. Pat’s nostalgic piece will be next in this series.

Doug Flynn was born on May 25th 1951 in Albany new York. He came up with the Reds in 1975 and was part, albeit a small part, of the “Big Red Machine” from 1975-1977. In his 2 1/2 seasons in Cincinnati he played in 218 games. He was never a serious threat to unseat perennial all star Joe Morgan but he was productive in his time there.

In 379 at bats he collected 104 hits for a .274 BA along with 13 doubles, 3 triples and 2 home runs. He drove in 45 runs. When he was traded to the Mets he immediately became the Mets starting shortstop but was quickly moved to second base.

He played with the Metrolpolitans for five years and became a fan favorite. He batted 8th in the order for more than 95% of the time and played 469 games at second, 165 games at short at 2 at third during his career as a Met. His overall numbers were far less than spectacular.

In five years he played in 636 games. His BA for the period was .234. He had 58 doubles, 26 triples and 5 home runs. He drove in 155 runs but he was best known for his outstanding defense and his overall hustle on the field.

After leaving the Mets in 1981 he bounced around the majors for another 5 non noteworthy seasons and retired in 1985. In 1980 he won his only Gold Glove of his career beating out Davey Lopes, Joe Morgan and Manny Trujillo.

Flynn managed the Gulf Coast Mets in 1997. He has now returned to his home in Louisville KY where he is currently a banker.

Doug Flynn played with the Mets in some of their darkest moments in their existence. He was part of “Grants Tomb” which will be thoroughly discussed in my next segment of my self acclaimed series “Anatomy of a Franchise” due out next week.

You will find it here as well as on www.rsmclosersblog.blogstop.com.