Jackie Blue

April 16, 2008 Uncategorized No comments

I was at Shea last night for the first time this year thanks to my co-writer, and now co-star in a potential future episode of Mets Weekly. We were joined by two other swell guys, and we had a great time, the Mets looked resplendent, especially with the blue hats, matching 42 jerseys (anyone other than me remember Chuck Taylor?) and no names on the back. Sweet.

Worth noting was that the scoreboard identified the players by their assigned numbers but the Shea PA announcer introduced them all as No. 42. I’ll address how to integrate this event into the database when I’ve had some time to think about it.

I missed the announcement pre-game so I was delighted to see Duaner Sanchez trot in from the bullpen for the the 9th inning. The quietly effective Carlos Muniz was shipped back to the minors to make room. Just an all-around terrific night.

6 p.m. Tonight, we’re opening for Gary Carter at Bookends in Ridewood, N.J. Thursday at 7:30, I’ll discuss the Mets and baseball with Metsgrrl and Spike Vrusho (author of Benchclearing) atWord Books in Greenpoint (beer and snacks to be served)!

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Happy Ron Hodges Day

April 14, 2008 Uncategorized 4 comments

The Mets on Tuesday will celebrate the pioneering efforts of Ron Hodges, who broke the Scrubeenie Barrier by lasting 12 seasons in a Mets uniform, the first 11 without even being considered a regular starting option.

42To mark the historic occasion, every player on the Mets will be outfitted in the No. 42 jersey Ron made famous while rotting on the bench behind Grote and Dyer; then Grote and Stearns; and then Stearns and Grote; and then Stearns and Trevino; and then Trevino and Stearns; and then Stearns and Trevino again; and then Mike Fitzgerald. Relievers from Harry Parker to Wes Gardner found Hodges’ target while warming up in the bullpen; and managers from Berra to Frazier to Torre to Johnson called on his left-handed bat to pinch hit in crucial situations, provided they had already used Kranepool, Staub or Jorgensen.

“Waiting around to be useful and occasionally contributing something worthwhile are attributes I want my guys to inhabit,” explained manager Willie Randolph, who donned the 42 jersey at last year’s event. “We need to go out there and show our fans that in each of us beats the heart of a lefthanded hitting reserve catcher, preferably a veteran.”

For Hodges, 11 seasons of waiting around for a shot came to delicious fruition in 1983, when as a 34-year-old, he was the starting catcher in Tom Seaver’s glorious, opening-day return to Shea Stadium. Hodges set career highs with 110 games played and 250 at-bats.

“As a lefthanded-hitting catcher with a reputation for strong defense, I understand that Ron Hodges was every bit the player I am,” added the Mets’ current starter behind the dish, Brian Schneider. “Ron’s career reminds me of how blessed I am.”

* * *

* Actually, all Mets are to wear 42 Tuesday to honor Jackie Robinson. The above wasn’t meant to disparage his contributions, or Ron Hodges’s, for that matter.

* Cultural omniblogger/librarian Mike Tubridy’s “Boat Against the Current” blog has nice words on Mets by the Numbers and its launch party last week.

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Almost Like Homemade

April 12, 2008 Uncategorized No comments

So this is turning out to be a better week than it looked like it might be back on Tuesday, what with an impressive debut starts from Mike Pelfrey and Nelson Figueroa; the first Metly appearance and contribution from Raul Casanova; and a continued MVP bid from Angel Pagan. There’s something satisfying knowing that all these guys are one-time products of the maligned Mets farm system.

Great job, wrong size jerseyFigueroa’s victory last night marked the first appearance of the dreaded black unis all season (not to mention the first call for a tailor to get Figueroa’s jersey to fit right. Looked like a size 44 wearing a 52). Correct me if I’m wrong, but we’ve yet to see pinstripes and/or the gorgeous all-blue Mets cap yet. Speaking as a neighbor of hundreds of young hipsters, the latter is becoming the new trucker cap around here: I’ll try and gather photographic evidence and show you in a future post.

Nice to see the Mets honor Shea (that’s my wife’s maiden name, doncha know?) but leave it to the incomparable Paul Lukas to point out they did so while introducing unnecessary black dropshadows to the logo and accompanying retired numbers.

* Thanks to Eric Simon of Amazin’ Avenue (and his readers) for the enthusiastic book review he published recently. See also a nice note from author, reviewer and Yankee fanatic Harvey Frommer. And Mark Lelinwalla of the NY Daily News did a short peice on the book’s creation in The Score column last week.

* I’ll be at two great independent bookstores next week to sign and discuss the book: On Wednesday, Bookends in Ridgewood, N.J.; and Thursday at Word Books in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

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All the King’s Men

April 8, 2008 Uncategorized No comments

Thanks as usual to a great readership we destroyed the Kingman Kontroversy in a matter of hours and moved on to still more mystery.

First up, on the right is a 1981 program showing a spring training photo of Dave Kingman (wearing No. 5, obscured by his bat) along with Rusty Staub. Both TommieCleon and SJR provided me with this image — apparently published at least twice that season (once pre-strike, once post-strike).

On the left is a weird All-Star insert card provided by TommieCleon, also showing Kong with the partially obscured No. 5.

As detailed in the comments in the post below this, this controversy reminded me of another “false positive” Kingman spring. This one was 1975. Tonight I cracked open the ’75 yearbook to find the below photo, showing the newly acquired Kingman in a St. Petersburg batting cage wearing No. 4 but with a roster, dated March 27, noting Kingman would wear 26 once the season began. Adding to this confusion were photos of Rusty Staub also wearing 4 — but they dated to 1974. Staub that spring was wearing 10 for the first time — he’d ditched 4 after Duffy Dyer was traded that winter.

Now things get really weird. When that 1975 season finally began, it was April 8, a Tuesday day game against the Phillies — 33 years ago today. I was at Shea with my Dad, and Kingman hit a home run. We won 2-1 that day as Seaver outdueled Carlton.

Tonight I learned that today’s disappointing home opener against the Phillies was attended by Dave Kingman.

I don’t know what it means either.

* Before today’s game, Matt Wise was placed on the disabled list with a stiff forearm. The surprise recallee, Carlos Muniz, pitched this after noon wearing No. 32. Muniz wore 38 last year before Wise arrived this winter.

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Kingman Kontroversy

April 7, 2008 Uncategorized 2 comments

MBTN reader Gordon passed the below photo along today along with this note:

I came across a picture at a flea market this weekend. It was labeled to be Dave Kingman (it looks like him). He’s wearing uniform #5.

Who is this man? And why is he wearing No. 5?

For whatever reason, this photo looks vaguely familiar to me but I can’t place it. If indeed it’s Kingman, and I agree on the blurry resemblance, the intersection of uniform style, Kong’s tenure with the Mets, and availability of No. 5 places this picture as being taken sometime in 1981, obviously in a road game, and before September 11, when Mike Howard was issued No. 5.

My guess is, as often the case, it dates from spring training — where photos exist of Kingman wearing No. 10 from his first tenure. But if you have a guess or happen to know something, please share in the comments section below.

* Thanks to my friends new and old who showed up at the MBTN book launch Sunday at Stout NYC and shared beer, wings, pretzels, burgers and the pain of realizing Luis Castillo is only in the 5th day of a four-year contract. The SNY crew didn’t make it after all, but looks like we’ll have an audience with them soon. Thanks also to the folks who made our appearance at Barnes & Noble Bayside a fun time on Saturday, especially Ashley who set it all up, and Mike, Mike and Lou. We left behind a short stack of autographed copies there — get them while they last.

* We have a few more events on the calendar for next week, including an appearance atBookends in New Jersey April 16 and a baseball writers event at Word Books in Brooklyn April 17 hosted by Caryn Rose of Metsgrrl and also featuring Spike Vrusho, author of Benchclearing: Baseball’s Greatest Fights and Riots. No way can you miss that.

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Not Getting It

April 5, 2008 Uncategorized One comment

Leave it Yankee fans to find a way to interrupt my schafenfreude. After the Mets were rained out last night, I listened in with sick delight as the Rays dismantled the Yankees, 13-4. The beatdown was highlighted by a 6-run outburst against LaTroy Hawkins, the newly acquired veteran reliever off to a rotten start with the Yankees.

Stay classy, fellasThere’s not a true Met fan out there who didn’t chuckle to themselves when the Yanks made that acquisition, by the way. Hawkins was the pitcher who surrendered a 3-run, 9th-inning, game-tying bomb to Victor Diaz in the final week of the 2004 season, in a game that ultimately obliterated the Cubs’ run for the playoffs and provided about the only Mets’ highlight of that entire miserable year.

But back to last night. Yankee fans being Yankee fans, it’s not enough for them to be disgusted with, and unsupportive of, their players while they struggle. No, they have to hate Hawkins on a level beyond that for having the temerity to struggle while wearing (hush now) Paul O’Neill’s venerated No. 21. So while Hawkins was out there scuffling last night, he did so to a chorus of unsportsmanlike “Paul O’Neill!” chants.

Mets fans, don’t act like that.

Never mind the fact that Hawkins explained he’s wearing the number in honor of Roberto Clemente. That in itself ought to be reason enough to leave his choice alone. But somehow the Yankees and their fans have allowed the whole idea of re-issuing popular players’ numbers to become an affront to the former player’s dignity and an invitation to their fans to act disgracefully. The Yankees’ organizational habit of dubiously retiring numbers (Howard, Maris, and Jackson to name three) no doubt has conditioned fans to sniff out disrepect behind innocunous or even well-intentioned re-issues, while demanding they honor any or every pretty good but not great player who came through the organization and was fortunate enough to be a part of a championship team.

DISCLAIMER: Not all Yankee fans are like the guy above. Many don’t smoke. 

* The Mets’ rain-out last night sets up a delicious Santana-Glavine matchup for Sunday’s game, which we’ll be watching at Stout NYC (133 W. 33rd St.) for the Mets by the Numbers launch/viewing party. I’m told SNY’s Mets Weekly crew may be on hand. Hope to see you there too!

* I’ll be warming up for that event with a talk and book signing today (Saturday) at Barnes & Noble in Bayside, 3 p.m.

 

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It’s Not Even the All-Star Break Yet

April 2, 2008 Uncategorized One comment

45I’m almost too cranky to post this but seems that Pedro’s shocking injury will lead him to the disabled list and trigger the first roster move of the young season. Reports this morning say Nelson Figueroa will be recalled and ought to get at least one turn in the rotation before Orlando Hernandez is eligible to come off the DL – provided he’s healthy. Figueroa suited up this spring in No. 27, most recently belonging to Carlos Gomez, hero of the Twins’ opener.

Gomez of course was badly miscast as 27 and looks sleeker and more confident in 22. Lastings Milledge in typical overconfidence kept No. 44 and Paul LoDuca is still wearing 16 in Washington. I think of 27 as a pitcher’s number — it was Swan, Cardwell, Oliver, Harnisch — and now Nelson Figueroa. I’m confident we’ll see No. 45 again in time potential employers he’ll be a free agent this offseason but until then we’ll just have to do without.

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Ha-Ha

April 2, 2008 Uncategorized No comments

Just as expected, Pedro Martinez‘s strained hammy landed him on the disabled list today. He’s expected to return in 4-to-6 weeks, or months, or whatever, and Nelson Figueroa was recalled from New Orleans to take his spot on the roster.

What was unexpected was seeing Figueroa try out the No. 27jersey so soon by throwing a pressure-free scoreless seventh inning in a 13-0 laugher over the hapless Marlins: A game providing much needed relief from the black mood I walked around in all day considering Tuesday’s debacle. The Mets emptied the bench of all but Raul Casanova, including the season debuts of Damian Easley and Brady Clark, and pitchers Pedro Feliciano and Billy Wagner.

The first shots of Figueroa in the bullpen also confirmed Mean Gene’s remark in the comments section the other day that catching instructor Sandy Alomar Jr. had switched from the 90 he wore in spring training to 58. This was despite the opening ceremonies annoucing him in 90.

Don’t forget the Mets by the Numbers book talk and signing at Barnes & Noble in Bayside 3 p.m. Saturday and the launch party at STOUT NYC this Sunday at 1 p.m. Hope to meet you there.

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Opening Day ’08

March 30, 2008 Opening Day No comments

The Mets submitted their opening day roster Sunday and where some people (like me) expected to see Tatis, Stokes and Hernandez they instead saw Clark, Smith and Pelfrey.

That’s OK with me, particularly after fans digested a triple order of unpleasant news Friday in the snatching of effective-but-subuseful Ruben Gotay, another seeming cutworthy effort from infuriating suspect Mike Pelfrey and a news item detailing Fernando Tatis’ being issued team luggage while Brady Clark twisted in the wind. Clark by the way not only got luggage but a new shirt to pack in it: He’ll be wearing No. 44 when the season begins Monday in Miami. Although Clark had worn 15 in his first go-round with the Mets years back, he’d been wearing 93 this spring: The highest in camp among those with a prayer of making it.

Smith, whose ineffective spring and option situation made him an interesting choice over the similarly ineffective but less controllable fireballer Brian Stokes, is a surprise roster qualifier for the second straight year. Stokes was designated for assignment: No word where he alights next.

Those moves complete an all-time Met roster that today grows by six fiirst-time arrivals (Angel Pagan 16, Ryan Church 19, Brian Schneider 23, Raul Casanova 30, Matt Wise 38 and Johan Santana 57), as well as the debut of Clark (44) and Marlon Anderson (9) in new numbers.Howard Johnson returns to No. 20 for the coaching staff, along with new arrivals Dave Racaniello, Juan Lopez and Sandy Alomar Jr.

Glad you’re back too!

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And That’s What Happens to Guys Who Wear No. 6

March 29, 2008 Uncategorized One comment

Goodbye, Ruben Gotay.

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