Other Things That Count

Don't look now but the Mets are in full-blown struggle mode again, with a dry offense and pointless bunting punctating a punchless 4-2 loss to the rival Braves Friday. The Mets played without disappointing import Ryota Igarashi, demoted all the way to Class A St. Lucie to get his stuff together and give the Mets a righthanded bench bat Jerry didn't bother using in Nick Evans, recalled from Class AA Binghamton. Evans has been bobbing between the minors and the Met roster now for three seasons and seemingly spent much of the last one in Jerry Manuel's doghouse, ideal for a Met No. 6.

Cliff Lee's trade to the Rangers this afternoon seems to have officially opened the doors on deadline trading season, and it will be interesting and probably exasperating to see what the Mets do and don't do with the opportunity this year. In the event you were wondering: Ted Lilly wears 30 and Roy Oswalt 44.

Don't forget this Monday, July 12, is Amazin' All-Star Monday at Two Boots at Grand Central Station, where Greg Prince and I will co-host an evening of Met-centric discussion with Howard Megdal, author, journalist and self-professed candidate for Mets general manager; and Marty Noble, Mets beat writer for more than 30 years at the Bergen Record, Newsday and MLB.com. Marty will be taking questions from the audience, and Two Boots will be serving pizza and drinks. Please stop in: Details at the Facebook invite here.

It was only a matter of time before six men in the bullpen proved far too radical a challenge for Jerry Manuel's management skills, and so, two weeks after returning to Class AAA Buffalo, lefthander Raul Valdes was recalled Monday. Interestingly, room for Valdes on the roster was created when the Mets disabled Fernando Tatis with a shoulder injury, raising the question of who Jerry will turn to when the opposition counters pinch hitter Chris Carter with a lefthanded pitcher: It's quite possible his head will explode and it will be left to Dave Jauss to decide.

My apologies for the lengthy layoff: I had little to report as far as numbers went and I tried to stay out of the way of the Mets when they were playing well. That obviously came to an halt last week in Puerto Rico, where the Mets began exhibiting many of the same traits that made them look like one of the league's worst teams earlier this year: Pitchers falling apart with two outs and none on, sloppy bullpen work, and questionable managerial tactics seemingly contributing to a team suddenly losing its nerve to win. Let's hope it's just a stumble in an imperfect but hardly disappointing first half.

The photo above is a snap of coach Bill Monbouquette's 1982 jersey as being sold on eBay by MBTN reader and jersey collector Nick, who wrote in recently. Check out his stuff here.

One of the few working writers to cover both Monboquette and Manuel, Marty Noble, will be the featured guest at a special Amazin All-Star Monday coming to Two Boots pizzeria in Grand Central Station next Monday, July 12, at 7 pm. Don't miss this! Marty is a terrific writer, a great interview and a 35-year chronicler of Metsdom. Also on the program will be Howard Megdal, author of The Baseball Talmud and candidate for the next Mets' General Manager. Faith & Fear in Flushing's resplendent penman, Greg Prince, will co-host with yours truly. Two Boots, located in the lower dining concourse at Grand Central Station, will offer a special All-Star inspired pizza and a free drink for all fans in exchange for a Mets baseball card. The Home Run Derby will provide televised entertainment. 

Father's Day is coming up, and since you already got Dear Old Dad the handy book version of Mets by the Numbers (you did, didn't you?), and you know how much fun that was, don't be stumped for a follow-up. My friend and co-author for that work, Matthew Silverman, is out with a fresh take on 100 Things Mets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die (Triumph, 2010).

This revised and updated copy, which tells the story of the Mets in 100 bite-sized chunks, is loaded with fresh picks at the scabs of recent seasons (the Shea closing ceremony, a Molina vs. Scioscia debate) amid essential pieces on Met trivia, Met stories and Met activity, from Buckner to Benson (Anna, of course). You can find it your local bookstore, or on-line, or get a copy personally inscribed by the busiest Mets writer on the web at MetSilverman.com.

Had a great time over the weekend down in Baltimore where the Mets finally did what they're supposed to do to a struggling team: Kick 'em while they're down. The city was filthy with Met fans including a duo I spotted Sunday wearing jerseys bearing the names and numbers of Kelly Stinnett and Dave Telgheder. (In their 1995 versions: 33 and 40, respectively). I don't know why I didn't shoot a photo of these guys or at least say hi, but if you're out there: I tip my hat to you.

Not that a team whose history would produce such fans ought to be taking pity on anyone, but it was kind of sad to see Baltimore so beaten down as a baseball town. I was a Marylander when that park opened and you couldn't buy a seat weeks in advance: Here they were badly outnumbered by the enemy and the place was half-empty. If there was a franchise that cried out for the kind of jolt Bobby Valentine could provide, this is it. Then again, the Angelos-led organization fumbled away a previous great leader in Davey Johnson.

We're packing up and heading down to Charm City for the weekend to celebrate my birthday and wedding anniversary, and intend to catch Sunday's Mets-Orioles game at Camden Yards with family down there. If you happen to run into a clown wearing Mets road jersey No. 70, it might very well be me. In preparation, I contacted my friend Kevin in Maryland, whose writing projects include NumerOlogy, an mbtn-like review of Orioles history by uniform number (the url is giving my browser trouble right now, so I hesitate to pass it along until I know the problem is fixed); a site celebrating various Orioles baseball cards; and an ambitous collecting project known as The Great 1965 Topps Project. (The Johnny Lewis card shown here hails from that iconic set. If any of you can help Kevin complete his his '65 series via trade, please let him know at the site).

So Kevin knows his stuff, and though his team is having a rough go of it this year, he was a good sport in fielding the following series of questions which hopefully gets you up for the weekend series or at least hungry for steamed blue crabs with plenty of Old Bay (the seasoning, not the disappointing Met free agent). Take it away, Kevin!

MBTN:  Juan Samuel once entered in the middle of a Mets season and ruined it. How's he done for the O's so far?

Kevin: Ugh. Juan was our third base coach for the past few years, a job that he was quite suited for…as long as the primary goal of a third base coach is getting Melvin Mora thrown out at the plate by 20 feet. From what I’ve seen and read in the week since “Windmill” took over for Dave Trembley as interim manager, he’s making all of the same mistakes as his predecessor: bizarre hit-and-runs, a revolving door approach to the bullpen, batting Julio Lugo leadoff (as opposed to literally anyone else). If there’s a silver lining to the team’s continued failures, it’s that there’s little chance of Samuel being retained as manager. Speaking of ex-Mets though, I hear Bobby V is interviewing with the Orioles…

(ed note: This makes me happy for Bobby and sorry for myself, but is a lot better than his replacing Joe Girardi).

MBTN: Looks like R.A. Dickey will start Friday and Hisanori Takahashi goes Saturday. How do the O's hit knuckleballers and lefty junk throwers, respectively?

This one’s easy: they don’t hit knuckleballers, lefty junk throwers, righty junk throwers, ambidextrous pitchers, flamethrowers, sinkerballers, sidearmers, submariners, or even batting practice pitchers. The O’s have scored 193 runs in 58 games (3.3 per game). They’ve been shut out five times, scored a single run 13 times, two runs eight times, and three runs 10 times. Not exactly a formula for winning baseball.

MBTN: Why is Ty Wigginton your best player? Don't you have Markakis and Jones and Weiters and Tejada and Scott? 

Kevin: I’m a big fan of Wiggy, from his whimsical name to his hilarious physical appearance to the fact that he’s been the only guy on the team who has been productive for most of the year. As fun as it’s been watching Ty challenge for the league lead in homers, I wish he had a little help.

Most of the young guys have taken a step backwards for one reason or another. It seems like Nolan Reimold never fully recovered from offseason ankle surgery, and now he’s at Norfolk trying to figure things out. Adam Jones was never a patient hitter to begin with, and without any protection in the lineup opposing pitchers are happy to give him junk to swing through. I have the most faith in Wieters, who Trembley gave a pretty heavy workload in the early going. Samuel has pledged to give him more time off, and he’s working on shortening his swing for better results. On Tuesday he had his first three-hit game of the season, so he may be turning it around. As far as the vets, I'm afraid Tejada is getting old and missing his vitamin B-12 and Scott is the very definition of streaky. Markakis is still getting on base, but again pitchers aren't challenging him because the rest of the lineup stinks. Other than that, things are great.

MBTN: The Mets saw Matusz at least once this spring and couldn't touch him. Guthrie scares me too. Why don't these fellows have more wins?

Kevin: As impressive as Matusz has looked at times, he’s still a rookie. He’s had a couple rocky starts and he’s essentially learning on the job. But his chief failing is that he can’t drive in runs for himself. The same goes for Guthrie. After a nightmarish 2009 season, Guts is back to his familiar role as the de facto hard luck ace. Look at his last start against Boston, when he retired 16 batters in a row but let up two runs in the seventh inning. That was enough to pin him with the loss, along with another bullpen implosion. Are you sensing some themes?

MBTN: The Mets lose most of their games on the road by failing to score enough early then coughing up their slim lead in the 8th and 9th. Which Orioles relief pitcher(s) will come away with the win(s)?

I doubt that any Oriole reliever is stealing a win this weekend, but Will Ohman is as likely as anyone. He’s been a rare scrap-heap success for Andy MacPhail, a once-effective lefty specialist who was derailed by injury and had to make the club out of spring training on a minor league deal. He didn’t give up an earned run until Memorial Day weekend. Of course he’s appeared in roughly 90 games already this year, and hasn’t looked so good in the past week. Also keep an eye out for second-year pitcher David Hernandez. He was overmatched at times in the rotation, but he throws hard and has looked better since being moved to the back end of the bullpen.

MBTN: It's my birthday/anniversary weekend, and we're staying at the Hilton Garden on the Inner Harbor. Where do we:
a) watch World Cup games?
b) Get good steamed crabs?

Happy birthday and anniversary! For watching soccer, I know the Hilton has a nifty little bar called the Diamond Tavern. If you’re looking for a pub, there’s the James Joyce on President Street and Captain Larry’s on E. Fort Avenue. Both are within two miles of the ballpark. For crabs, LP Steamers (also on E. Fort) comes highly recommended.

(ed note: We have tentative plans for crabs at Obryki's)

MBTN: Was Lee Mazzilli a good manager? He was once a hero here but can't even get work as a broadcaster anymore.

To put it bluntly, no. The Birds have had their share of crummy managers (and crummy teams) over the past 13 years, but Mazzilli was the only one that I can remember who lost the support of the team. The front office supposedly hired him because he talked a good game, but rumor had it that he did zilch in the way of game preparation and wasn’t much of a communicator.

MBTN: What's the most frequently issued number in O's history?

It’s a three-way tie between 23 (think Chris Hoiles and Tippy Martinez), 37 (Stu Miller and a whole lot of nothin’), and 39 (Eddie Watt and more nothin’). By my count, each of those has been worn by 30 different guys.

Once again, I'd like to say, 'Thanks, Hon' to Kevin for sharing his knowledge of the enemy!

Forty-four years ago today (June 10, 1966), Dick Rusteck made his major league debut as a starting pitcher at Shea Stadium, throwing a complete game, four-hit shutout over the Cincinnati Reds. Though not quite Strasburgian, the performance is probably the best by a pitcher making his major league debut in Mets history*. Less than 25 miles away on the very same day, I was making my own debut.

The future looked pretty bright for both of us that day. Rusteck, a 24-year-old lefty out of Chicago and Notre Dame, was signed as a free agent in 1963. He’d impressed Met brass in Instructional League and Spring Training play and after a 6-1 start at AAA Jacksonville in 1966, earned a call to the big leagues. Manager Wes Westrum, who caught the likes of Sal Maglie and John Antonelli, and coached Juan Marichal, observed “he could throw the ball just as good as anybody I’d ever seen.”

Against Cincinnati in his debut, Rusteck scattered four singles, walked one and struck out four. No Reds runners reached as far as second base safely. “The magnificent thing about it is that he threw strikes,” Westrum gushed afterward. “He was the master all the way. He was calm, cool and collected out there.” Two home runs by shortstop Ed Bressoud – hitting 8th that day, it was his best day as a Met too – accounted for four runs and the Mets had an easy 5-0 victory in a game that lasted just over two hours.

But for Rusteck, the good times evaporated just as suddenly. Four days later in St. Louis, he’d be yanked before recording an out in the second inning, surrendering five runs on five hits and a walk. Complaining of a sore arm, perhaps as a delayed result of taking a line drive off his arm in Jacksonville, Rusteck didn’t appear again until a 1-inning relief appearance two weeks later, then made a third start July 3 vs. the Pirates, in which he was hit hard in the fifth inning, took another loss, and got a ticket back to Jacksonville for his trouble.

Rusteck returned to make a few relief appearances that September but his arm troubles would continue. His uniform number 43 was reassigned to teammate Darrell Sutherland, and he’d wear No. 40 then. A writer identifying herself as Rusteck’s wife Tracy, writing on the Ultimate Mets Database, said her husband had elbow surgery in 1967 and continued pitching in the minor leagues through 1971 though “never fully recovering the dynamic speed of his famed left-arm pitch.” He'd retire with a 1-2 major league record and an ERA of 3.

After a post-baseball career in state government in Wasilla, Alaska (youbetcha!), Rusteck is “happy and healthy” in Arizona, Tracy wrote in a message posted two years ago.

Me, I’m about to surrender No. 43 too. Hello, Bob Myrick!

* A quick and not exhaustive review of memory and some data at the Ultimate Mets Database leads me to believe Rusteck’s game was the best by a Mets pitcher making a major-league debut, although he has company when the discussion comes to “best first career starts” as Mets from Grover Powell (also a 4-hit shutout, 1963). Other impressive debuts were authored by Gary Gentry (April 10, 1969) and Jason Isringhausen (July 17, 1995).

What an unsatisfying week of Mets baseball this turned out to be. It'd be nice to get a few walkoff victories without first blowing leads, because the alternative is what we wound up with today. The continued ineffectiveness of both Gary Matthews Jr. and Frank Catalanotto has got to be pressuring the front office to do something by now, although Matthews looks like he'll be hard to move if only because he plays center field and most potential replacements do not. Chris Carter ought to be in Catalanotto's job by now but it wouldn't surprise me to see the Mets give Daniel Murphy the first shot, and allow his imminent return to light the fire.

Believe me, the bench is hardly the only thing wrong with this group. Jerry Manuel is still managing too passively and twisting himself in knots in pursuit of a "shutdown bullpen" that simply doesn't exist, and the starting pitching still has issues, chief among them Oliver Perez. The Nationals visit this week and we're not careful they could put us further behind them than we already are. Ack!

Amazin' Tuesday Update: Although we're saddened by the unfortunate closing of Two Boots Tavern on the Lower East Side, we're pleased to be back next week at Two Boots Grand Central. Join me, Greg Prince of Faith & Fear in Flushing; Taryn Cooper of My Summer Family and Josh Wilker, author the outstanding CARDBOARD GODS website and book, as we talk Mets, eat good pizza and watch the Mets-Braves game from Atlanta. As always your first beer is free in exchange for a Mets baseball card. Two Boots is located in the lower dining concourse at Grand Central Station. Hope to see you there!

Help me help my sister fight Lou Gehrig's Disease: Join me the in the Walk to Defeat ALS May 15 or sponsor my team. Thanks!

Got off the 7 train at Willets Point this evening just as they made the rainout announcement. Sucks, but I'd be lying if I said I was exactly up for a few hours of trying to stay dry and warm in Flushing on a cool rainy April evening. I'll try again next month; the Mets in the meantime have an old-fashioned doubleheader on the schedule for Tuesday.

The doubleheader comes at an interesting time for the Mets, whose wild swings in momentum so far suggest they are still in the process of developing a character. I'd have to look this up to be sure but I'd guess the Mets have had a lousy time at doubleheaders in recent years, which like extra-inning games tend to be rough on the sloppy and unfocused. That said, I've been encouraged lately to see the Mets fundamentaling the living crap out of clubs like the Braves, Marlins and Cubs, and as a result I haven't been surprised to see the breaks going their way too. The idea of taking two games isn't outrageous, as long as they hit a little.

Mark your calendars now: Amazin' Tuesday is returning to Two Boots Tavern on the Lower East Side on Tuesday, May 18. Come join me, along with Greg Prince (Faith & Fear in Flushing) and special guests Taryn Cooper (Met fan extraordinaire and author of the My Summer Family blog) and from Chicago, Josh Wilker, the author of the outstanding Cardboard Gods blog and new book of the same name. I will have more to say about the book at a future date but if you're not familiar with Josh's project yet you should know he uses baseball cards from his 1970s youth as a launching pad for ruminations on the game and life, it's astonishingly great, and we're lucky to be one of the few stops in New York on a tour for a new book that's been universally lauded.

Two Boots (384 Grand Street) will provide pizza and drink specials; the Mets-Braves game from Atlanta on the big screen; and your first beer free in exchange for any Mets baseball card. Hope to see you there!

Help fight Lou Gehrig's Disease: Join me the in the Walk to Defeat ALS May 15 or sponsor my team. Thanks!

More than 70 years after the condition inspired Lou Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man” speech, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) has no known cause and no known cure. As some of you may know, my sister Jennifer has been bravely battling ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, now for a few years. Jen is less than two years older than me, and a big Mets fan herself. She has three young kids, and they’re Met fans. In recent months, Jen’s been keeping a remarkable and eye-opening journal of how this condition has affected her life.

The Walk to Defeat ALS, being held May 15 at Hudson River Park in New York, helps to support research and care for those affected by ALS, and spreads awareness of the urgency to find treatments and a cure. To support Jen and others affected by ALS, my brother Chris and I started a team, Meet the Jens, to participate in the event.

Please consider walking with our team, and/or sponsoring me, at the event this year. We have already raised more than $7,500 but with your help we can do much more. You can sign up to sponsor me and learn more about the walk, at this address (just click "donate to Jon" to make a contribution). While any donation would be deeply appreciated, as an added thank-you, I have a limited number of copies of the Mets by the Numbers book, which I’d be happy to personalize and send free to any donor contributing $30 or more to this great charity. Just let me know! Meantime, I hope to see you at the walk this year. Thanks!
 

Add another potential starting point for Ruben Tejada now that the Mets waived, and subsequently lost, veteran backup catching candidate Chris Coste to the Nationals today. Coste was wearing No. 3 this spring (remember Alex Cora switched to lucky 13), seemed destined for Buffalo anyhow and still smelled like a Phillie; he's no great loss. I know the guys the Mets plan to run out there this year aren't destined to make anyone forget Mike Piazza, but for whatever reason I've developed warm fuzzies for both Rod Barajas and Henry Blanco even with the latter's douchy forearm tattoos. I dunno. It might have been that article by David Waldstein of the Times a few weeks ago.

It's looking more and more like Frank Catalonotto will claim a bench role and a jersey that hasn't been worn by a Mets player in 15 years -- No. 2. Can you name that player without looking it up? I couldn't. Nor could I name the two guys preceeding him. No. 2 in 1996 went to manager Bobby Valentine, and since then then to coaches Gary Pettis and Sandy Alomar.

Steven Z. wrote to say he's put together an all-time best-by-number list at his blog, Mets Fan Forever (check out also his "best-by-letter" list. You're welcome to debate or disagree with him there!

I saw where some guy on the Internet took a million pictures of a souped-up CitiField complete with Met banners, Met historical markers on the sidewalk, giant portraits of Gil Hodges and Casey Stengel ... and other than scratching your head and wondering how on Earth they needed to poll fans last year to inform them this is what the place needed, hats off to the Mets for realizing that was what the place needed.

For a different taste of the new season ahead, I'd encourage you to come out for the first Amazin' Tuesday gathering for 2010 at Two Boots Tavern on the Lower East Side. That's this Tuesday, the 23rd, starting at 7 p.m. I'll be co-hosting with Greg Prince of Faith & Fear in Flushing, with featured readers Frank "The Mets Poet" Messina and Edward Hoyt, my friend who's a funny guy and terrific writer who contributed compelling bios on Ed Charles and Donn Clendenon to the new book, The Miracle Has Landed.

I'll have copies of the MBTN book, and Greg will have his book in paperback, and proceeds from those sales will benefit the Tug McGraw Foundation, the charity founded by the former Met screwball ace funding brain cancer treatment and research via Sharon Chapman, who's running the NYC marathon with Team McGraw.  There will be lots of Met discussion, excellent pizza and drinks, and every fan is invited to exchange a Mets baseball card for their first beer. Phil Hartman, owner of Two Boots, is wallpapering the joint with them.