When It’s Time to Change

Jon Niese was officially moved to the disabled list today to make room for R.A. Dickey, who pitched respectably before Jerry Manuel took the ball from his hands too soon and proceeded to manage the Mets out of yet another yet another winnable game.

I can barely watch anymore, yet we see it almost every night: The Mets get a leadoff runner and in an effort to choke dead whatever rally might come of it, Jerry foolishly orders someone to make an out on purpose, frequently removing an effective pitcher while doing so, reducing the number of shots to drive the guy in and asking the following batter, no matter how bad he’s struggling, to make something happen or bring real pressure on the guy following him. Once he’s turned the game inside-out to get that single run (if that), they’ve barely inched closer to victory since it’s now a question of whether the beleaguered bullpen, the same two guys whether they’re winning, losing or tied, can be nothing less than perfect or risk a humiliating fate. And since the bulletproof bullpen Jerry quixotically pursues exists mostly in theory and rarely in practice, the games are always too close and failures continue to pile up: They’re barely playing .250 ball on the road, and it’s a disgrace.

That Omar Minaya provided Manuel with too many offensive outmakers and a thin rotation shouldn’t sheild Jerry from taking a hit for this team’s failures. Those handicaps ought only to illustrate how counterproductive and foolish Jerry’s whole playing-not-to-lose approach is. The Mets aren’t good enough to try and win every game by one run and make outs on purpose, and it’s time the people in charge realized it.

Forty-Dickety-Three

43The bad luck and bad pitching that put the Mets in need of two new starters looks like this: Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey takes Oliver Perez‘s scheduled start Wednesday, and on Friday, Hisanori Takahashi starts against the Yankees, fresh off a humiliating defeat of the Red Sox tonight. Dickey is en route from Class AAA Buffalo and according to reliable sources already has uni number assigned to him: 43. That number most recently belonged to reliever Brian Stokes. I’m cautiously hopeful that Dickey can beguile his opponents and terrified that Takahashi could see weeks of goodwill in a low-pressure mopup role unravel with a bad start against the Yankees. It’s a shame Dickey won’t have No. 49, which has become something of a symbol for knucklers dating back to Hoyt Wilhelm. The Mets’ last knuckleballer was Dennis Springer, No. 34 for a few ill-fated emergency appearances 10 years ago, as  recalled here.

Another reminder that tonight (Tuesday, May 18) is Amazin’ Tuesday, at a new venue, Two Boots Grand Central. We’ll have beer, pizza (The “Dave Schneck .199” is the special slice) and readings by me, Greg Prince of Faith & Fear in Flushing, Taryn Cooper (My Summer Family) and Josh Wilker, author of Cardboard Gods. I just finsihed CG myself and can tell you it’s excellent, a more focused delivery of the themes on his blog, telling a story of brotherly love, lonesomeness and the evocative power of Topps baseball cards in the 1970s. Josh will have books on hand to sell and sign, I strongly recommend you get a copy!

Aces & Eights

I’m out here in fabulous Las Vegas and missed most of the debacle last night that made my previous post about looking up at the Nationals in the standings prophetic. I did see however that the game included what possibly could be the last turn at bat in Frank Catalanotto‘s career. I’m glad for his sake that he got a chance, he even got his number, 27, but he sure wasn’t helping the Mets win, and he was designated for assignment last night.Chris “The Animal” Carter, whom they couldn’t stop in Spring Training and couldn’t stop at Buffalo, has been recalled to take his place and I wouldn’t be surprised that he a la Ike Davisprovides the club with a little bounce. Let’s Go Mets!

My friend Edward suggests this is a good opportunity for the Mets to break out the No. 8 jersey again (or you know, just use some old ones) but it would be most likely he alights in the same No. 23 he wore this spring. Also saw where Josh Thole replaced Henry Blanco while the latter goes to the bereavement list. Thole is back in his familiar 30. More later!

I Can’t Get No

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!

YNAGAYTYAWYW

I’m still here; I didn’t dare to speak up or crow during the win streak, and there were no moves that needed making affecting uni numbers, so I kind of sat back and watched. And with the eight straight wins in the rear view, the old adage looks pretty accurate: You’re never as good as you think you are when you’re winning; and you’re never as bad as you think you are when you’re losing. That said, Jason Bay looks really bad. I mean, really.

The Amazin’ Tuesdays event mentioned below is still on; but due to circumstances beyond our control, the venue will be changing. Check back here to see where we’ll be gathering May 18. If you haven’t made it out to one of these events I strongly suggest you do!

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!

Sometimes It Rains

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!

Many Being Manny

I’d like to call out this nugget from MBTN reader Ranjrz25 in a recent comment section:

Acosta is the Mets’ fourth Manny (not counting Acta)… all 4 have worn a number that’s a mutiple of 6 (Alexander, 6; Aybar, Acosta, Hernandez, 36).

That’s too, uh, Manny Mannies to remember. Let’s give ’em a look.

I have no memory whatsoever of Manny Hernandez, a right-handed pitcher who made only one appearance for the Mets — throwing a scoreless sixth inning in a 10-1 blowout loss at Montreal on Sept. 16, 1989. Hernandez was a product of the Houston Astros — he’d played with the ’86 NLCS opponent but not in the postseason — but the Mets purchased him from the Twins’ organization in the summer of ’89 and recalled him that September. Hernandez hung around the Mets’ minor leagues for another two years but never resurfaced, with the Mets or any other major-league club.

Photo from New York Mets Hall of RecordsManny Alexander was a hotshot shortstop prospect with the misfortune of having bashed into the glass ceiling beneath Cal Ripken in Baltimore: He would be acquired in a trade from the O’s during spring training of 1997 (the Mets gave up minor league pitcher Hector Ramirez) and installed as a middle-infield backup. Alexander wasn’t much of a hitter but I liked him in the backup role — he was versatile, had some speed, didn’t embarrass himself or the team with the glove and still had enough youthful fire to be a consideration to start. He’d be famously dealt away to the Cubs that August in the first move of Steve Phillips’ burgeoning general managership: Included along with Mark Clark and Lance Johnson for Mel Rojas, Turk Wendell and Brian McRae in a trade that would reverberate for years to come. Alexander had another several years as a reserve and part-time starter ahead of him. (The photo at left is shown at the Mets Hall of Records).

Manny Aybar was part of the 2005 bullpen that took rookie skipper Willie Randolph a little while to figure out. The opening-day relief corps was stuffed with veterans including Aybar, Mike DeJean, Felix Heredia (with whom I conflate Aybar), Mike Matthews and Roberto Hernandez. Of those, only Hernandez would last the entire year; all the others would be released one by one. Aybar’s climax was coughing up five runs in one inning (including issuing a bases loaded walk and three-run homer) in a shameful 12-2 blowout in Anaheim. That game and Aybar’s subsequent release — also the last of his big-league career — set the mood for the miraculous Marlon Anderson/Cliff Floyd Game the following night.

We’re already getting to know Manny Acosta and his dazzling terror: He possesses the kind of strikeout stuff that once prompted the Braves to make him their closer; also the propensity for meatballs and walks that got him released by the same club this spring.

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

Step Right Up and Meet the Jens

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!

Handy Manny

36Ryota Igarashi went onto the disabled list today with injuries sustained when attacked by a Koyie Hill bunt last night, and the Mets summoned former Brave and spring training waiver claim Manny Acosta to take his place. Reports said Acosta will be suited up in No. 36, a number worn last year by Ken Takahashi and not by a Met of significance since, uh, Greg McMichael or, perhaps, Ed Lynch. I guess maybe Grant Roberts would count if only for the hype and front-page bong hits.

Acosta, you might remember, is one 10,000 men who’ve been the closer for the Atlanta Braves during the Bobby Cox Era and should, but probably won’t, serve as a reminder to the Mets that they’re still trying way too hard to capture this elusive 8th-inning thunder. If they weren’t, Igarashi might never have needed to take the mound last night in the first place.

Psyike!

A brief update on the Ike Davis situation: Yes he’s been called up and may start this evening against the Cubs, while Tobi Stoner heads back to Buffalo with our thanks and a tough luck loss. Think Jerry’s a little obsessed with creating eighth inning magic? Jeez.

As for why you’re here: The mets.com roster lists Davis as wearing 29, which Stoner just surrendered. (Now I see the press release reportting same). Isn’t it my fate to campaign for a guy to get Keith Hernandez‘ number only to see them give up Dave Magadan‘s instead. I don’t much get into that number, 29. It’s Steve Trachsel. It’s Steve Bieser. It’s some guy named Steve.

At any rate, tonight we really don’t have to worry about it since Davis will be wearing No. 42, along with the rest of his Met teammates in Part II of Chuck Taylor Appreciation Night.