Archive for Uncategorized

Waiting on the Countdown

February 6, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

Still no news on the number front to report, although with just two weeks until pitchers and catchers report you’d expect the Mets begin to fill in the blanks any day now. As previously noted there are 13 players on the current 40-man roster who haven’t received a number assignment. Even following the “buy Andres Torres gear” link from the Mets’ official website doesn’t generate a numbered jersey offer. Is there any doubt this organization is headed for Chapter 11? I’ve really begun to suspect that could be the biggest story of spring training…

In the meantime, I have some projects from friends of MBTN to pass along. Alex Giobbi writes about the Mets, amatuer baseball and other stuff over at Bleacher Report. Alex previously wrote about the Mets on his own “Bleeding Orange and Blue” blog and launched the MBTN Facebook page way back when. One of his recent pieces examines numbers the Mets could retire, in the event you haven’t had enough of that debate yet lately.

There are lists and even more lists in Matthew Silverman’s new book, Best Mets. Matthew worked on the book version of Mets by the Numbers with me and has penned a half-dozen other works on the team including last year’s coffee-table anniversary. Best Mets is unique in that it highlights the lows just as brighly as the highs, so for every recounting of 1986 and 1969 glory, there’s a reminder of 1993 and 1979 torture to accompany it; equal ink is given to the Keith Hernadez trade and the Tom Seaver trade, and so on. It’s non-fiction after all. As with Matt’s other works and his website, its jammed with interesting sidebars and asides that only a fan would know to include. Check it out!

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Rooting for Immortality

January 24, 2012 Uncategorized One comment

8The troubling news on Gary Carter’s health is raising anew the question of whether — and when — the Mets will get around to retiring No. 8. Thanks to a tip from MBTN commenter “Gored82” in the below story I clicked over to Mike Silva’s Baseball Digest which was running a poll on fan opinions on the matter. Those readers overwhelmingly approved the idea by a 92% margin, seemingly agreeing with Mike that Carter’s contributions to the 80s success merited the honor even though his tenure was relatively short and his good seasons in a Mets uniform even shorter.

It’s obvious to me the Mets intended to retire No. 8 upon Carter’s enshirement in Cooperstown — they took 8 out of circulation upon his 2003 election — but I suspect they lost their conviction to when Carter went to the Hall “as an Expo” not a Met, and subsequently eschewed an offer to manage the Mets’ farm club in Binghamton. Following that, Carter made remarks in the press that were interpreted as “campaining” for Willie Randolph’s job. Petty squabbles with players? These Mets? In the meantime the re-emergence of Darryl Strawberry and to  a lesser extent, Dwight Gooden into the Mets graces, and the ever-growing legend of Keith Hernandez, who becomes a greater Met personality with every broadcast, made the idea of singling out Carter seem unwise. I would guess that the same poll a few years ago would have produced less dramatic results, although still probably favorable, since in my experience, fans just like to see numbers retired. Immortality is something to root for.

I’ve suggested before the Mets “retire” No. 86 as a tribute to the lot of them. I’ve argued long and hard that they re-issue these numbers to appropriate candidates. But what seems more likely right now is they ultimately resolve this by tackling Hernandez and Carter at once.

I discussed this with Mike on his radio show the other night (I follow Steven Travers discussing his Tom Seaver book). Click here to listen to a replay.

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Is 17 Retired or Just Taking a Break?

January 18, 2012 Uncategorized One comment

17Oftentimes, organizations are best off sticking to their convictions and not giving in to the will of fans, especially when it comes to sensitive stuff like retiring numbers. For the Mets this is an especially vexing dilemma, given that they have so few convictions not to mention so few candidates for number retirement. Fans with opinions, though — they got plenty of those.

I’ve been on record before defending the team’s stinginess when it comes to uni-number retirement. That the Mets are “disrespecting” those players whose numbers aren’t yet retired, or that they lag other teams when it comes to numbers hanging on the walls, are both lousy arguments for taking a jersey out of circulation when the most satisfying remedy lies in the ability to selectively re-issue numbers so as to perpetuate being part of something special. That is, if the Mets were to give No. 17 only to intense, mustachioed, good fielding first basemen; or No. 8 only to charismatic catchers with a flair for the dramatic,  there’d be little argument to the notion that Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter are being dissed or forgotten — and maybe there’d be some pressure on the Mets to actually go out and develop one of them now and again.

All that said, the organization may have turned a corner last year when it comes to No. 17. Perhaps giving into fan indignation and recognizing Hernandez’s growing legend for his post-career contributions to the cause of Met-ness, No. 17 was unissued in 2011. It was the first time in 21 years no Met had worn 17.

Ironically the streak that saw 15 different men wear No. 17 over those 21 years — a streak that for many came to symbolize just  how ignorant the team could be about these things — began with of all things a tribute to Keith Hernandez: David Cone’s switch from No. 44 early in the 1991 season.

From Cone, who wore 17 until his 1992 trade; 17 went to MBTN hero Jeff McKnight, then onto Bret Saberhagen (1994-95), Brett Mayne (1996) and Luis Lopez (1997-99). This century, 17 has gone almost entirely to bums and scrubeenies who spent a season or less in Met-ville : Mike Bordick (2000); Kevin Appier (2001); Satoru Komiyama (2002); Graeme Lloyd and Jason Anderson (2003); Wilson Delgado (2004); Dae-Sung Koo (2005); Jose Lima (2006); David Newhan (2007) and finally, Fernando Tatis, who on July 4, 2010, in the seventh inning of what was to be a 9-5 Mets win, entered the game as a pinch hitter for Chris Carter — Carter was initally called in to pinch hit for the pitcher before Washington provoked Jerry Manuel by bringing in lefty Sean Burnett — and singled. Following the game the Mets placed Tatis on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder sprain from which he never returned.

That was the last time a 17 appeared for the Mets. Is it permanent? Or just taking a well-deserved break?

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Santana’s Backup Band

January 10, 2012 Uncategorized One comment

MBTN reader Zach this week sent along the accompanying image of lefty Bob Ojeda warming up in St. Petersburg. They were culled from footage of “A Season to Remember” the 1986 Mets highlight video that I still have on VHS but haven’t watched since having decommissioned my VHS player years ago. Zach pointed out that some angel recently digitized it and that it now resides on YouTube, at least until MLB’s goons get ahold of it.

As you can see in the stills, Ojeda in these shots was wearing No. 43, and not the No. 19 he would wear when the Mets broke camp. The story behind that relates to the Mets’ decision to demote Ron Gardenhire to Tidewater as insurance for starting shortstop Rafael Santana, rather than carry him on the everyday roster — which at the time required the team to carry just 24 players and not 25. (Were that still the case, we wouldn’t now be sweating Ronny Cedeno). Gardenhire, who’d occupied No. 19 for four years but was a regular only in 1982, got the backup nod over another shortstop candidate, Argenis (Angel) Salazar, who was traded to Kansas City the same spring. Salazar had come to the Mets’ system a year earlier in exchange for Jose Oquendo but like Gardenhire in ’86, would be stashed for the season at AAA Tidewater as a backup for Santana.

Gardenhire’s departure — he was demoted just days before the season began and would not return to the Majors until beginning his coaching and managerial tenure with the Twins — gave Ojeda the chance to wear the No. 19 he’d rocked previously in Boston. No. 43 would next alight on the back of John Mitchell that September.

Thanks Zach for the photos and link! Also, be sure to see Matt’s comment below about Gardenhire bequeathing the 19 jersey to Ojeda and making plans for an eventual return. Great stuff!

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So This is Christmas

December 24, 2011 Uncategorized One comment

There’s been more notable departures than arrivals at LaGuardia this offseason. A look at the Mets roster reveals plenty of empty spaces where the numbers belong, a theme that is likely to be repeated with regards to seats at CitiField while the Mets flounder under an ownership group that at this point has surpassed the DeRoulets for historical incompetance. As I’ve said for some time, the Mets certainly look like an organization headed for (and deserving of) a punishing stay in Chapter 11. Until it gets there, it’s up to the beleaguered, lender-appointed general manager Sandy Alderson to preserve whatever dignity the team can maintain amid the non-offers, layoffs, minor-league shut-downs and salary-dumping trade rumors you can’t necessarily dismiss.

That they’ve added a bunch of players without assigning any of them a uniform number yet is a small indication of where they are. In some ways, they remind me of the Bad News Bears, where Buttermaker is late with the uniforms because he can’t find a sponsor. So on this Christmas Eve, here’s wishing the 12 players and four coaches newly added to the organization and/or its 40-man roster receive numbers in their stockings.

To Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Ryota Igarashi, Ronny Paulino, Nick Evans, Chris Capuano, Jason Pridie, Dale Thayer, Pat Misch: Good luck and success (but not too much success) in 2012.

To Mookie Wilson, Chip Hale, Ken Oberkfell, Jon Debus: Thanks for trying.

To Tom Goodwin, Tim Teufel, Bob Geren, Ricky Bones: Good luck and numbers in the 50s.

To David Wright, Jason Bay: Pokes at a reasonable fence.

To R.A. Dickey: A best-seller.

To Pedro Beato, Lucas Duda, Josh Stinson, Dillon Gee, et al: No sophomore slumps.

To my friends here at MBTN and in the Mets’ fan community: Thanks for reading and a happy holidays!

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They Cut Our Legs Out

December 7, 2011 Uncategorized One comment

7Let there be no doubt this is a low moment in the history of a franchise with plenty of them to choose from, but you could see it coming. Because the Mets owners are morons who for way too long invested poorly on behalf of themselves and their fans, they can no longer afford to keep one of the best players they’d ever developed. I always thought the best chance of saving Jose Reyes from signing with another franchise was if a new owner pulled a hero act but the Wilpons couldn’t even get that right and so that’s where we are. Reyes leaves town as the best shortstop the franchise ever had, its most exciting player, and among its most accomplished overall. One can certainly make an argument that he won’t be worth what the Marlins are giving him but that’s beside the point when a formal offer was never presented because it was so unaffordable. Congratulations, Mets.

All that said, I’m anxious as always to move on and Sandy Alderson yesterday began the process. He traded Angel Pagan to the Giants for an older counterpart, Andres Torres, and a nice looking reliever, Ramon Ramirez. Torres like Pagan had a good season in 2010 but struggled this year, and was well-liked by fans and teammates in San Francisco. He wore No. 56 most recently with the Giants, reminding me of another veteran center fielder acquired as a short term leadoff man,Brian McRae. Ramirez, well-traveled himself, wore 52 in Frisco last season.

He’ll be joining a Mets bullpen that will also include new relievers Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco, both signed as free agents. Rauch is a shaggy giant whom Keith Hernandez once called a ‘Wookie.’ He’s hung around for years now despite only average results. Francisco has worn No. 50 his entire career: Word was the Mets would “retire” that number for 2012’s 50th anniversary, so we’ll see what comes of that. Rauch wore 51 early in his career and 60 more recently with the Diamondbacks and Twins.

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Goodbye, Nicky Six

December 3, 2011 Uncategorized One comment

Goodbye and good luck to Nick Evans, the blinking reserve infielder whose eight different trips in and out of the No. 6 jersey over the last four seasons embodied its heritage as the most frequently issued number in team history. Evans was up and down so many times his number was issued to not one, not two but three different players who served entirely within his tenure: Abraham Nunez, Trot Nixon and Ramon Martinez. I have trouble believeing any of them were ever Mets.

Evans, who was released by the Mets for the millionth time following the season, accepted free agency at last and promptly signed a minor-league deal with the Pirates for whom he stands at least a slim chance of going all Heath Bell on us. I’ll remember a smashing Saturday debut in Colorado that might have saved Willie Randolph’s job for a few weeks at least but few other highlights until a modest garbage-time showing this year. His absense leaves a void in the No. 6 heritage that surely will be filled by a scrub we haven’t met yet.

6If No. 6 has a counterpart on the pitching side, No. 38 would be a contender. It last belonged to lefty Chris Capuano who parlayed his irritating mediocrity in Metville into a 2-year deal with the Dodgers. I never much understood the regard for Capuano whose 5th-inning crooked numbers arrived like clockwork and guaranteed the bullpen took a beating every night he worked, and, we were reminded, he never missed a start.

That kind of reliability, hopefully with a little more success, will have to be bought anew, perhaps at the Winter Meetings beginning this weekend in Dallas.

Finally you may have seen Bobby Valentine trying on the No. 25 jersey as the new manager of the Red Sox. It’s great to see him back.

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He Went to 11

November 14, 2011 Uncategorized One comment

The moment to have celebrated Wayne Garrett seemed to have come and went without my having mentioned it here, so Happy Belated Wayne Garrett/Nigel Tufnel Day everyone.

11Garrett  is probably the most prominent Mets No. 11 of all time, having lasted eight seasons in New York despite the Mets’ constant efforts to find someone else to do his job. Garrett was a Rule 5 pick from the Braves organization who got his chance with the Mets as a rookie platoonmate for veteran third baseman Ed Charles for the 1969 World Champions. Garrett was a fine fielder with a good batting eye who was cursed with “warning track power” — a flaw that prompted the Mets to try and replace him over and over again, beginning in 1970 (Joe Foy), 1971 (Bob Aspromonte) and 1972 (Jim Fregosi). None of them ever worked out, and by 1973, when Garrett acquired the third-base job by default and went on to have perhaps his best year in the majors, it was already becoming clear that had the Mets only believed in him a litte, they might not have what even today are still considered two of the dumbest trades they’d ever made.

Despite developing few standouts, it seems as though there’s always been an No. 11 around. The Mets in fact have had a No. 11 on the field in all but four of their seasons (1967, 1968, 1997 and 2002) and went a stretch between 1991 (Tim Teufel) and 2000 (Jorge Velandia) when the jersey was worn by 13 men, none for more than a single year.

Then again, we may be standing today at the cusp of a lengthy assignment for Ruben Tejada, who tried on the 11 jersey for the first time as a 20-year-old in 2010 and looks increasingly destined to succeed Jose Reyes as the Mets’ next shortstop. We’ll see though.

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Smells Like Teen Spirit

October 19, 2011 Uncategorized One comment

Hi there.

MBTN reader Steven this week found the above image out there in space, showing the Mets’ starting rotation posing in Spring Training of 1987 with new uniforms: Not just the butt-ugly script New York road jerseys destined to be worn in 1987 and 1987 alone, but the centerpiece, Sid Fernandez, wearing No. 10 and not No. 50 that represented his home state of Hawaii and the cop show set there.

Sid’s number change was to be part of a wholesale change in Met pitcher jerseys first suggested near the end of the 1986 season by teammate Ron Darling (right). Darling, who in 1985 switched from No. 44 to No. 12, suggested that fellow starters Fernandez and Rick Aguilera (left) join him, Dwight Gooden (16) and Bob Ojeda (19) with numbers in the teens. When they arrived for Spring Training in 1987, equipment manager Charlie Samuels was ready.

Fernandez famously chickened out of the experiment on the eve of the new season, but Aguilera stayed in 15, which was famously cashiered by George Foster the previous summer. It was one of several changes for the Mets that spring as Kevin Elster moved from 2 to 21; Clint Hurdle went from the 13 he as assigned in his last Met go-around in 1985 to 7 in 1987 (Lee Mazzilli in the meantime was assigned 13); and Ed Hearn switched from 49 to 9. Hearn, like Fernandez, however, wouldn’t make it to the the start of the season in his ugly new assigned Mets jersey: He’d be traded to Kansas City for David Cone.

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Flying Coach

September 25, 2011 Uncategorized One comment

86Normally I wouldn’t note the addition of September coaches to the staff as official jersey issues except in passing but we’ll make an exception here for Class AA skipper Wally Backman, who beginning today and continuing through the end of the season will assume Mookie Wilson’s duties as first base coach. Wilson departed Metville Saturday as a result of a death in the family.

Backman, you may have noticed, was wearing the appropriate No. 86, and would be the first uniformed staff in a game to wear that number. Buffalo manager Tim Tuefel (who might replace Backman coaching against left-handed managers?) is also in town and wearing No. 81.

Terry Collins, who’s done a pretty good job keeping this team in a winning mindset despite frequent violations of his pledge to “play this game the right way,” has said he’d like to have his staff back again next year, although there’s been speculation that Chip Hale might join Bob Melvin in Oakland. As we said a year ago when Hale was considered for a managerial job with the Mets, his departuire would be leave a palpable void in the third base coaching box, considering some of the clowns who proceeded him. His replacement could be Backman, but maybe not unless the Mets consider a little more security for Collins first.

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