Jon Springer – Page 81 – Mets by the Numbers

Let’s Hurry Up And Give 47 Away Again

When the 2003 Mets crashed and burned for good, fired Steve Phillips, and hired doomed interim general manager Jim Duquette, one of Duke’s first orders of business (along with the promotion of Jose Reyes) was to clear the team of its disappointing deadwood: Roberto Alomar, Armando Benitez and Jeromy Burnitz among them. And not only did the Mets bounce these guys, but they moved rather quickly to erase their memories by re-issuing all of their numbers, on guys who played the same positions, before the year was out. Before you knew it, Alomar’s 12was on the back of second baseman Danny Garcia. It was reliever Orber Moreno (remember him?) in Benitez’s old No. 49. And in the outfield, Prentice Redman, and not Burnitz, wore No. 20. How cruel. How brilliant.

With that in mind, do you think Johan Santana might mind downshifting by 10 from his customary 57? Because, provided he winds up with the good guys, that would be an appropriate tribute to Tom Glavine, the last of 2003’s disappointing veterans and the newest member of the Atlanta Braves. Can you believe Reyes is now the senior Met?

Hello again to Luis Castillo, whose four-year contract represents about four times the commitment he probably deserves. Expect to see Castillo back in the No. 1 jersey next year, hopefully without the spare tire providing emphasis.

What in the Name of Norihito Nakamura

Someone ought to explain how where A-Rod had three subsidized years at $75 million coming from the Yankees and will wind up with $275 million and 10 years guaranteed, it’s he, and notHank Steinbrenner, who’s on his knees. Right, Hank. He crawled to you.

In the meantime, the Mets have abruptly opted out of the Yorvit Torrealba sweepstakes. If you had any faith that the Mets knew what they were doing when they pursued Torrealba in the first place, this isn’t good news. And if you were hoping they’d bring Paul LoDuca back, probably even worse news, because LoDuca’s price just went up. A lot.

We’re more in the first camp than the second, though it’s probably proper here to give LoDuca our thanks and a proper send off. He was a Met fan born in Brooklyn (like Lee Mazzilli), and a boyhood fan of Dwight Gooden and the 80s Mets. In other words, he was born to wear No. 16. And for half of his stay in that jersey, he did it proud. I’ll remember LoDuca for his fiery temper and teenage girlfriends generally but two plays specifically that bookended his remarkable 2006 season: Dropping the ball at the play at the plate on opening day but faking his way to an out; and — catching the ball this time — tagging consecutive sliding Dodgers on the very same play.

Thanks, Paul. Now, beat it. Is that Montero guy still available?

Caught

The Mets today are expected to announce they’ve reached an agreement to keep reserve catcher Ramon Castro in the No. 11 jersey for the next two years (though the agreement requires a physical, so you never know). We may also learn soon whether Yorvit Torrealba (spellcheck wants to call him “Orbit Terrible”) accepts an offer to be Castro’s partner. The Torrealba bid may in the end resemble the Ramon Hernandez/Begie Molina teases of a few years ago, where the Mets dangled some cash in front of the free agent catchers but gave them a short window to decide: When the players delayed, the Mets swiftly pursued Paul LoDuca in the trade market. So if Torrealba is truly en route, we ought to know soon. And if not, let’s hope the team won’t overlook such trade targets as the Diamondbacks’ Miguel Montero, who looks like a hitter and as a lefty, would make a great platoonmate for Castro.

We may also know soon enough whether the Mets’ unofficial mothballing of the No. 8 jersey will continue, as Torrealba currently sports that number for the Rockies. The Mets have not issued No. 8 since Gary Carter’s induction to the Hall of Fame. Castro’s return, by the way, would represent yet another two years of No. 11 — a jersey that has appeared on at least one Met player in all but three seasons (1967, 1968 and 2002) in Mets history.

Yes I Think It Can Be Easley Done

After that horrific ankle injury — ever do something like that? It makes a noise — Mets never really adequately replaced Damian Easley.

There was irony, or something, in the Mets failing to make the playoffs given all the attention to Easley’s dubious ascension in the Guy With the Most games Never to Appear in the Postseason rankings. But you know, Jeff Conine didn’t turn out to be a very good replacement for Easley.

Far be it from me to take away attention from the horrendous performances of the bullpen, Jose Reyes, Tom Glavine, etc etc down the stretch … but when it all comes down to a single game, perhaps a guy who could whack the lefthanders a little more reliably may also have made a difference. All of which is a convoluted route to getting to the point you already knew: Easley will get another chance to end (um… or extend) his streak for playoff futility with the Mets in 2008. A one-year deal for Easley, along with a option renewal for Moises Alou 18, were announced by the Mets on Wednesday. Easley and Alou happened to be the first two new guys added to the roster last off-season too.

The Mets also purchased a catcher, Luis Alen, from the cool-hat-wearing Winnipeg Goldeyes of the independent Northern League. Alen isn’t likely to be a starting candidate on the Mets next year but it’s always fun to note the first appearance in the transaction agate of the hot stove season.

The Mets would be fools not to pretend to be interested in Alex Rodriguez, and for all we know, they are (just move Wright to first and flip Delgado at a loss for pitching. It’s not that unfathomable). With 13 tied up in Billy Wagner, we’d bet on Easley losing No. 3 so that A-Rod could have it here. Meantime, the idea that Jorge Posada turns up on our team was raised in the papers today. Just saying: Shawn Green is out. No. 20 is available.

Holiday Shopping

Brief commercial break: I had the opportunity to contribute several short essays to Armchair Reader: Grand Slam Baseball, which was published recently by West Side Publishing.

This book examines baseball history through 450+ pages of biographies, anecdotes, trivia and lists, none of which runs longer than a few pages. My contributions include mini-biographies of Casey Stengel and Sadaharu Oh, a review of controversial MVP decisions, a list of strikeout feats, mascot stories, and more.

Biographies of the other contributing authors reveal I’m the least accomplished baseball historian of the bunch, but I’m honored to share the same pages as Bruce Markusen, whose Cooperstown Confidential column I’ve long enjoyed and who wrote, among other baseball books, Tales from the Mets Dugout, which which might be described as a sort of a Met-centric version of this book. Also, Matt Silverman, whom I met through this site.

Among lots of other projects, Matt wrote Mets Essential, a terrific little team history published earlier this year. I don’t believe I make any money if this sells or not and I haven’t rigged it so I get a cut of of Amazon sales originating from here. But I will recommend the book, especially for the fan interested in learning more about baseball history.

Wahoo

How about that Paul Byrd?

Wore No. 43 in 1995 and 1996 (thanks) as a Met youngun, just ended the Yankees season in humiliation for the seventh straight time, the third straight in the first round. Heh.

There’s been an awful lot of talk about the Mets’ collapse, but I have to admit to being perfectly satisfied with the Championship Serieses, confident that the teams playing in them are the most deserving. And I don’t much mourn for what was lost. This Met team just didn’t have it; and I’ll be honest: Other than being convinced by Greg back in April that we might have something; and excited by the possibilities suggested by midseason wins over another team destined for failure, I never much offered my heart to this team for them to break.

They pretty much got what they deserved, and so enter the offseason at an interesting crossroads in their evolution. They say Willie Randolph won’t be held solely responsible: That’s OK with me provided they also show some faith in him and allow him to build a staff of his choosing and demonstrate he’s the leader of men he purports to be. I’m not a big fan of Randolph’s tactics but I think tactics are overrated. I want a manager to slap lazy ballplayers in the head when they deserve it, and get them to play together when they have to. I can only guess the Met brass feels Jose Reyes’ head-up-ass problem wasn’t caused… and can be cured… by Willie.

And for all the talk I don’t believe Omar is particularly safe either: He’s going to have to show some creativity in keeping this team going strong while guys like Alou, Wagner, Hernandez, Delgado, etc. continue to creep toward the points at which their stretches of ineffectiveness and injury grow longer and more frequent.

Thanks, Tom. Now scram. Go Kaz.

Your Postseason Has Come…

…in its pants.

T H E F L U S H I N G F L A S H
—————————————————————-
THE OFFICIAL ONLINE NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW YORK METS
—————————————————————-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NLCS TICKET OPPORTUNITY ONLINE RANDOM DRAWING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Mets Fan:

Thank you for participating in the online random drawing for
the opportunity to purchase tickets for potential 2007 Mets
postseason games scheduled to be played at Shea Stadium.

While your entry was not selected to purchase tickets for
potential National League Championship Series games, you do
remain registered for random drawings for opportunities to
purchase tickets for potential 2007 World Series games scheduled
to be played at Shea, should the Mets participate, and for any
additional Championship Series drawings.

Thank you again for your participation.

The New York Mets

****************************************************************
Your Season Has Come.
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Muniz

Carlos Muniz 38 made his major league debut last night in another harrowing defeat. Could a guy who hit two home runs on the night look any worse than Jose Reyes? Here’s hoping the 9th inning rally carries over to Phillip Humber’s scheduled start tonight, but who knows. I’ve given up trying to figure out this team. How about those Rockies?

Muniz is the 821st Met of all time and the 48th this year.

Late Arrivals

Met roster genius Jason writes in to point out that Carlos Muniz’s arrival with the Mets, while late in the season, isn’t the latest in history.

His addition to the 40-man roster Sept. 19 is the 3rd-latest ever made: In 1973, the Mets added reliever Bob L. Miller 30 to the 40 on Sept. 23. But the latest arrival to the 40 was Doc Medich 22, claimed off waivers from Seattle on Sept. 26, 1977.

Muniz has yet to appear for the Mets, and there’s no guarantee he will, but if he does he’ll place somewhere in the list below of latest-debuting Mets of all time, again courtesy of Jason:

Mets Debuts after September 19:

TBA Carlos Muniz
9/20/70 Dean Chance
9/20/80 Scott Holman
9/21/68 Duffy Dyer
9/21/72 Joe Nolan
9/22/62 Ed Kranepool
9/24/88 David West
9/24/06 Phil Humber
9/27/77 Dan Norman
9/29/77 Doc Medich
9/29/82 Ronn Reynolds
9/29/93 Kenny Greer
9/30/90 Chris Jelic
10/2/01 Mark Corey
10/3/04 Joe Hietpas
10/6/85 Randy Myers

Spelling Relief

The sudden and shattering unavailability of Billy Wagner 13 the other night, not to mention weeks of white-knuckle performance from the other guys in the bullpen, prompted the club to reach down and call up Carlos Muniz, who’d been most recently closing games for Class AA Binghamton. Muniz, likely to be tucked deeper in the drawer than even Phillip Humber 49, was issued No. 38, according to the roster at Mets.com. If he gets into a game he’ll be the 28th 38 in team history and the first since Victor Zambrano. Bullpen candidate Steve Schmoll wore 38 during spring training this season but he seems to have gone missing.

Muniz whiffed 66 guys in 64+ innings in AA and AAA this season, posting 23 saves and a 2.24 ERA. “If we need him, we’ll use him,” sez Willie. Just might.