(Valley Cottage, July 22, 1998) When Mike Piazza joined the Mets before the All-Star break, it was like all the pieces suddenly fell into place -- the Mets started hitting -- and winning -- and the fans came back to Shea -- there was joy in Flushing once again.
Then, the now-famous "nine game winning streak" came to an end. Never did we Met fans think that would be the highlight of our season. But sadly, as the Mets pile up frustrating loss upon frustrating loss, it looks like those nine glorious days are all we'll remember about the 1998 Met season, as we watch the crosstown rival Yankees play in, and probably win, the World Series in October.
What has gone wrong? Here's our analysis:
Mike Piazza is hitting like a Met. We don't know exactly what that means, but we do know that any slugger the Mets obtain from another team will suddenly, inexplicably, stop hitting home runs at the same frequency he once did. George Foster is a good example. Piazza is honoring this dubious Met tradition. Piazza is one of the five best hitters in the game. He hit over .360 with 40 homers and 120 ribbies last year for crying out loud! He continues to hit for decent average as a Met, but fails to come up with the big hit with runners on and the game on the line.
Here's our take on the "Piazza situation" that the Mets front office now faces:
The Mets realize they need to build a NY-worthy team to bring fans to the park and compete with the Yankees. They know that a good way to start is to build around a franchise player, especially one who can handle the NY limelight and serve as a team spokesperson and ambassador.
Piazza is the perfect guy for the job, and will be glad to stay with the Mets if they pay big. They will need to "show him the money", but will also need to show him their plans for building a team around him. Herein lies the problem. What is the Mets plan? Have they decided to keep Hundley in the outfield? Will they make some major moves to add power and speed? Will they, can they, trade away Gilkey, Huskey, and/or McRae?
The Mets will need to put all the cards on the table for Piazza. This isn't just a matter of money -- any team in baseball could use Piazza behind the plate and he knows it. Assuming that a team will pay the price, Piazza will want to sign up with a perennial contender and add some World Series stats to his impressive resume.
If the Mets want to keep Piazza as their centerpiece for the future, they'll need to show him some signs that the 1999 team will be a whole new breed. Pretend now that you are Mike Piazza, summing up the plusses and minuses of the New York Mets, trying to decide if you want to spend the next long stretch of your career playing for this team.
First, the positives. Historically, when you think of the Mets in their better years, you think of pitching. 1998 is no exception. Forget about the bums in the bullpen, we're talking about the Mets starting staff.
Al Leiter has been the best, most effective pitcher in all of baseball this season. His injury, which once threatened to keep him out for the rest of the season, has miraculously healed. Leiter looks like he hasn't lost a beat since returning to the rotation. The Mets have back their ace.
And then there's Rick Reed. Reed's trip to the All-Star game this year is no fluke. He has quietly transformed into one of baseball's best pitchers, the Mets version of Maddux, a smart pitcher that baffles the opposition every time he goes out. Reed has taken two perfect games into the seventh inning this season. He's 11-6, but would be even better than that if only he could get a little run support. Reed is also the best hitter among the Mets starters, a great defensive player, and a good baserunner. All these things have come in handy. Reed knows his Met history, that if you're the Mets starting pitcher and want to win a game, you'd better go out there prepared to pitch a shutout and hit a home run yourself in order to get it done.
Hideo Nomo has only won a single game since coming to the Mets, but the good news is that the win came in his last start, and he looked like the Nomo of old. His big problem has been control. You can't walk a lot of guys and give away runs when it's unlikely your own team is going to score any. You've always got to keep the game tight -- you know, pitch a shutout and hit a homerun, like we said before.
Bobby Jones has been spotty, as has Yoshii, but both have pitched well enough to round out a starting five which is arguably one of the top four or five in all of baseball.
OK -- so the Mets have a good starting staff. Who are the other "stars" of this Met team so far?
John Olerud is the most consistent guy on the team. He's on track to hit .325 or better, with 20 homeruns, and 100-plus RBIs. He's a legitimate contender for the NL batting title.
Mike Piazza is a volcano waiting to erupt. If he suddenly shifts gears and becomes the player we all knew as a Dodger (and we think he will), Piazza alone can carry the Mets to a wildcard berth over the other ho-hum teams now contending for that honor.
Rey Ordonez is a magical fielder at shortstop, but we're getting tired of the "All You Need Is Glove" tune the Mets organization is singing. The fact is that there are probably five to six shortstops you'd rather have on your team -- they won't necessarily make all the plays Ordonez does, but you'd trade him in a heartbeat for those shortstops that bat 100 points higher -- and hit homeruns and steal bases besides! Ordonez is a one-dimensional player. We really like him -- don't get us wrong -- but on a team with no hitting, he is the worst batter. Someone with such obvious hand-eye coordination just HAS to hit better than this! Still, Rey's defensive wizardry makes him one of the top performers for the Mets over the first half. In a lackluster season, Orodonez has given Met fans many reasons to cheer, making great plays that showcase the excitement that is baseball.
Hmmmm....I think we've run out of positives. Let's think. Oh yeah -- Hundley. Hundley is back, and is so obviously happy to be playing again, that we expect him to have a good second half. Despite the media's scrutiny of his adjustment to the outfield ("Clod" Hundley is what the NY papers call him on a bad day), Todd has been working at his fielding with Mookie Wilson, and even made a nice play against the Pirates when he threw out a runner at third base. Hundley will adjust to the outfield and give the Mets his all -- what more can you ask? He'll be a plus for the second half of the season. Now, is that it? No other good things to say about the Mets? Well, not really...
Gilkey is the biggest disappointment. He just can't get it going and finds himself with a .230 average, a piddly 4 homeruns, and an anemic 28 RBIs going into the second half. We'd like to trade him, but don't know who else would want him right now.
Baerga is hitting .275, but has only 5 homeruns and 39 RBIs. OK -- but so what? McRae, sadly, is someone that Met fans turn to for homerun production. He's hit 14 of them, along with 20 doubles, which almost puts him even with Piazza in those departments (isn't that depressing?) Alfonzo is playing a great third base, but is hitting only .268 with six homers. He looked like a bonafide .300 hitter last year. What's happened? Todd Pratt is the Mets "extra base" specialist. He's hitting .294, and has only been to bat about 40 times, but practically all of his hits have been for extra bases. (Yes, this is how desperate Met fans will go to find a hero on this team.) The lackluster Butch Huskey is hitting .261 and is on track to hit about 20 homeruns and get 100 RBIs. You might say that's OK, but it's really not. The Mets need to get some over-the-top numbers from their outfielders. Huskey plays a plodding but steady outfield, but simply must crank it up a few notches with the bat if he wants to keep his job. Thus far, he's been just a big guy with mostly warning track power.
And then there's the bullpen:
The Mets bullpen defies description, but let's try. Words like "pathetic" and "clueless" come to mind. They are the team's smelly armpit, a bunch of sweat-drenched arsonists, serving up beachballs day-after-day that Helen Keller could knock out of the park. They are worthless, too wild even to make good batting practice pitchers. OK -- we're exaggerating and not being completely fair. Franco has put up some decent save numbers, but has also been personally responsible for some heartbreaking losses. Cook has been the other star of the pen. Tam has been a pleasant surprise. Having McMichael back from his short stint in L.A. is good news (although we didn't like him that much when he was here before).
One the other hand, Rojas, Pulsipher, Wendell and the rest of these bums have done everything they can to make this a frustrating season. We're tired of ranting on these guys, so we'll resist the temptation. We'd really like to forget them entirely, if only we could.
Let's wrap-up. Good starting pitching, good defense, little hitting, absolutely no clutch hitting, power or speed...and an awful bullpen. The Mets of 1998. If you're Mike Piazza (and you're not, so stop thinking about how you'll spend the money), it will take more than this. If the Mets management doesn't have a few cards up its sleeve, then it's westward ho, back to the land of swimming pools and movie stars.
