The Mets must get their act together if they are to avoid a Yankee Stadium massacre that could send the team into an even deeper hole. The Mets simply cannot afford to embarrass themselves this weekend, but their lack of any momentum whatsoever coming into this series makes that a strong possibility.
Why so doom and gloom? The answer is one word - pitching. If Clemens, Cone and El Duque rise to the occasion, the Mets are in big trouble. Their starters are no match for this trio, and the Mets must force these games into the bullpens if they are going to win. While the Mets bullpen has received praise all season long, the fact is that the Yankee relievers are now starting to gel. The advantage that the Mets might have is no longer by such a wide margin.
On the individual player level, the Mets actually win out on a position-by-position analysis. Trouble is, Bobby Valentine doesn't even play his best players (witness the National League's stolen base leader Roger Cedeno , batting .328, but sitting out the last three games in a row so that Bobby Bonilla can play). Also, Edgardo Alfonzo is day-to-day and may not start at second base. With Cedeno and Alfonzo out of the starting lineup, the matchup with the Yankees is even at best.
For the hell of it, and without a lot of commentary, let's look at the position-by-position matchups. Catcher: Obviously, Mike Piazza gets the nod. Yanks have better defense at this position, but it's only Cedeno and Henderson that will be stealing bases anyway. Advantage: Mets First Base: John Olerud is one of baseball's premiere hitters and is better with the glove than Martinez. Advantage: Mets Second Base: If he's OK to start, Alfonzo gets our vote over Knoblauch, especially with the glove. In a three-game series, it's a draw, if the Mets start Luis Lopez instead. Advantage: Mets Shortstop: Jeter. Say no more, except that Rey Ordonez will be forced to face the facts this weekend -- that Jeter is not only light years apart with the bat, but every bit as good with the glove. Advantage: Yankees Third Base: Robin Ventura is the Mets best RBI man, great with the glove, and has played many a game in Yankee Stadium before. Brosius is no slouch in the field, but Ventura wins out overall. Advantage: Mets Left Field: Since we haven't seen enough of Rickey Henderson lately to even know what condition he's in, and it's unclear what the plan in left is for either of these teams, let's just call this a draw. Advantage: None Center Field: Bernie Williams, hands-down. Advantage: Yankees Right Field: Before this season began, it would have been insane to even discuss the relative virtues of Paul O'Neill and Roger Cedeno. And it's insane now to even think about a comparison of Bonilla and O'Neill. But since Bonilla will be able to DH instead, Bobby Valentine will be insane if he starts anyone other than Cedeno in right during this series. Since O'Neill is by the far the more experienced player, and has played under a whole lot more pressure than this, but Cedeno is riding a high now and can make things happen in a game with his speed, we'll call this even up for the three games. Advantage: None
Prediction: Given their current lackluster pace, the Mets will be lucky to win even one of these games this weekend.
Now, in early June, the Mets find themselves a below .500 team on an 8-game losing streak that's almost sure to become 9-in-a-row when they face Roger Clemens and the Yankees tomorrow night with the whole world watching.
The problems are many, but one thing is sure -- some tough decisions need to be made right away. Bobby Valentine, it's time to stop trying to make everyone happy with playing time. You simply have to put your best team on the field in every game.
Here's our plan to out this team back on its feet before it's too late:
Make some decisions about the starting lineup and stick to the plan. Right now, all of the outfielders are pressing to win starting jobs -- swinging for home runs and personal recognition, instead of playing as a team.
Stop fooling around with Roger Cedeno and give him a permanent job in the outfield! Any idiot can see he's the best outfielder on the team -- not to mention that he's hitting .330 and leading the major leagues in stolen bases in his part time role! Bobby Valentine and Steve Phillips -- you're killing me with this! Wake up!
Get rid of Bobby Bonilla. Didn't we learn our lesson the first time we had this egotistical jerk on our team? Just cut him loose, because the curse of Mel Rojas lives on in Bonilla's body. If we trade Bonilla, the curse will extend to whatever player we get in return -- he will then become the biggest bum on the team. Bonilla's under contract for another year, so let's just send checks to his house and get him off the team bus.
Once Bonilla is gone, bring up Mike Kinkade. And make a decision about Brian McRae -- either start an outfield of Henderson, McRae and Cedeno, with Agbayani and Kinkade filling in, or trade McRae and make Agbayani a starter. Still, regrouping the outfield with current players is only a band-aid, unless Agbayani continues to prove he's for real, or until the Mets can add another legitimate starting outfielder to the mix.
If Kinkade's on the team, he can also serve as emergency catcher, allowing Todd Pratt to play the outfield now and then. Who can forget the great job Pratt did while Piazza was on the DL? Is starting Pratt in the outfield any worse defensively than having Bobby Bonilla out there?
The biggest problem -- starting piching -- cannot be fully resolved until the Mets get some new pitchers through trades or free agency. But let's settle things for the short term by bringing Octavio Dotel up from the minors and trying the following starting rotation: Leiter, Reed, Watson, Isringhausen, and Dotel. Put Hershiser and Yoshii in the bullpen as long middle relievers when the rookies get in trouble, and see if Jones can work his way back into the rotation when he returns from the DL, or trade him.
Dotel, in a recent game for AAA Norfolk, took a no-hitter into the bottom of the ninth and struck out 17, the most strikeouts in a Triple-A game this decade. He's won three starts in a row and allowed just two runs in 25 innings at home this year. Give this 23-year-old pitcher a chance!
Bat Ventura after Piazza in the lineup. Again, this Bobby Bonilla thing is nothing but a joke. Why give Piazza anything good to hit when you know there's a .150 hitter that swings at everything behind him?
Give Edgardo Alfonzo the permanent #2 spot in the lineup, hitting after the leadoff batter, Henderson or Cedeno. All we keep hearing from the Mets front office is that Alfonzo is the perfect #2 batter, yet Valentine keeps moving him around in the lineup -- enough already!
Make some trades. Here are expendable players with some value:
Rey Ordonez. Perhaps some team is interested in a dazzling shortstop that can't hit a lick. Personally, I'd rather see Luis Lopez play short, with Melvin Mora as the utility infielder, especially if the Mets can get a valuable player in return. (Believe it or not, Ordonez is leading in the All-Star balloting for NL shortstop. Lucky for him that Jeter, Rodriquez, and Garciaparra are in the other league.)
Brian McRae. He's been playing pretty well and has some trade value. I'd rather see the Mets give the everyday centerfield job to Cedeno.
Bobby Jones. If we can pitch a few good games after he returns from the DL, there will be some teams willing to gamble on him. Trading Jones, rather then feeling obligated to start him, will open a spot in the rotation for Dotel.
Matt Franco. Can the Mets really afford to carry a player on the roster whose only role is to pinch-hit? Maybe he could be an effective DH somewhere.
Todd Pratt. We'd hate to see him leave the team, but he could win a starting catching role on another team.
The Yankees will continue the Mets Massacre tomorrow night and Bobby Valentine and Steve Phillips will be forced to make some big changes on Monday morning. If they don't, then add their names to the list of Mets that must go. New York fans deserve better than this.
Back to reality: Steve Phillips cannot be in good standing with the Met owners these days. He started the season with his sex scandal and now has shown them that he can spend a lot of their money to assemble a less than .500 team.
Bobby Valentine will also have a footprint on his ass if he does not start winning immediately. He has consistently failed to (a) play his best players and (b) stick to a sensible line-up.
Steve Phillips is also responsible for the Mets line-up woes. He has stuck Valentine with the problem of playing Bobby Bonilla every day. This is Steve's biggest mistake -- bringing Bonilla and his big salary back to New York -- and another reason that Doubleday and Wilpon might not be too fond of their young GM wonderboy.
While the best course of action right now is to stick with Valentine and Phillips and hope they can turn it around quickly, there aren't many Met fans that would miss either one of them if they were gone. The trouble is -- who would replace them?
Omar Minaya, the Mets senior assistant GM, should get the GM job. The only other guy would be assistant GM Jim Duquette. I'd hate to see the Mets drag Frank Cashen out of retirement again.
Is there someone in the organization that could manage this team -- at least for the remainder of the season -- Cookie Rojas? Norfolk manager John Gibbons? Mookie Wilson? Tom Seaver? Keith Hernandez? One of the Met scouts? Phil Jackson? Mr. Met?
Hey folks, things are getting desperate, so pray for better days ahead.
The victory ended an 8-game losing streak for the Mets and also ended Derek Jeter's on-base streak at 57. Al Leiter (finally) pitched a nifty game for the Mets, surrendering 1 run on 4 hits in 7 innings. With a record of 27-27, they trail Atlanta by 6 games. It could be worse...
Prior to yesterday's game, the Mets shook up their their coaching staff: pitching coach Bob Apodaca, bullpen coach Randy Niemann and batting coach Tom Robson were fired. Dave Wallace, Al Jackson and Mickey Brantley were hired. They are undefeated since the shakeup...
(Valley Cottage, June 16, 1999) Have the new-look Mets of 1999 finally come together as a team? Does their starting rotation finally have its act together? After an embarrassing week of turmoil including the firing of the coaching staff, this team is starting to win with consistency, and may finally be over the hump of injuries and uncertainties that started their season.
Imagine this: Rey Ordonez is hitting above .270. Al Leiter has pitched brilliantly in his last three starts. Rick Reed and Yoshii have finally taken their ERA's below 5.00. Orel Hershiser leads the starting staff in victories. The Mets pitchers lead the National League in strikeouts. Roger Cedeno leads the major leagues in stolen bases, is playing brilliant outfield defense, and is hitting .320. Benny Agbayani is doing his best Babe Ruth impression, hitting .370 with an .815 slugging percentage. The Mets had a club record six homeruns in one game this week, including 3 from the first four hitters leading off the game. Encouraging things are beginning to happen.
Make no mistake: it is Mike Piazza, Robin Ventura, John Olerud, and Edgardo Alfonzo -- the everyday, steady-as-a-rock veterans that are the heart and core of this Met team. Finally, Bobby Valentine has seen the light -- and this foursome forms the 2-3-4-5 of the batting order.
Piazza is simply awesome. Worth every penny the Mets paid for him. A great player with a perfect attitude. He keeps his mouth shut and hits the ball harder than any other Met in the 30-year history of the team. Piazza is a rare combination power and high-average hitter, the best offensive player the Mets have ever had, and almost certain one day to make the short NY drive from Flushing to Cooperstown.
Robin Ventura will take his place in Mets history as their most important free agent acquisition of all time. Ventura is a classy veteran that seemingly always hits in the clutch, plays a spectacular third base akin to Brooks Robinson, and keeps his nose to the grindstone and stays focused on the team.
John Olerud, despite a recent slump that his seen his average dip to .311 (low by Olerud standards), Olerud has a .449 on-base-percentage, and is second only to Ventura in Met RBIs. He is a gold-glove quality first-baseman and an anchor of the Mets' best-in-all-of-baseball infield.
Edgardo Alfonzo (.297) is having a great year and has already become the best second baseman in the National League with the possible exception of Craig Biggio. Brian McRae, after an awful April, has been on a tear and brought his average up to .260. Rickey Henderson continues to marvel everyone with his on-base percentage, power out of the leadoff spot, and ability to create scoring opportunities. Both have also been consistently good in the outfield.
The Mets have the best bullpen in the National League. John Franco has been luckier than he has been effective, but has pulled the rabbit out of the hat to the tune of 16 saves. But there's no doubt about the talent on the rest of this relief staff. Dennis Cook (5-1, 2.76) is rock solid and a great competitor, Armando Benitez (1.69) has been overpowering (51 strikeouts in 32 innings) and is destined to steal the closer job from Franco. Turk Wendell (3.05) pitches effectively and often. Add the recent great performances by veterans Pat Mahomes and Greg McMichael and you have an overall bullpen like no other.
Bobby Bonilla is a problem that must go away.
Watch out, Braves! Look who's sneaking up behind you!
(Valley Cottage, June 23, 1999) The Mets will visit the Atlanta Braves this weekend for a three game series and first place will be for the taking.
The Mets have now won 13 out of their last 16. The team's renaissance began with their victory in the last game of the Yankees series, the very day after the Mets took the axe to their coaching staff after losing eight straight games.
These Mets of the last two weeks are not the same cartoonish Met team commanded by a manager wearing a fake moustache that took the field during the 8-game losing streak. These Mets of the last two weeks have given us some of the best and classiest baseball that the team has played in more than a decade.
They are getting one quality start after another from their rotation (Al Leiter has now won four starts in a row), and the bullpen has been superb (Benitez is invincible). But there's nothing new about that -- the Mets have always had good pitching through the years.
The big news is that the '99 Mets of June are displaying a powerhouse offense -- when's the last time we Met fans could say that about our Flushing heroes?
The Mets have been hitting home runs, stealing bases, moving the runners along consistently, scoring lots of runs, and featuring a new hero each day . The offense does not rest on the shoulders of just a few players in the lineup, as it has for the Mets throughout most of their history.
Rey Ordonez is hitting .303 going into tonight's game -- when's the last time you could say THAT?
John Olerud is in a weird "slump" -- still hitting .306, but getting robbed again and again by great defensive plays -- you could make a fielding highlights reel out of Olerud's at-bats. The real problem is that he's been hitting too many at-'em balls, but Olerud's placement of hits will soon return, and he will be contending for the batting championship before the year is out -- mark our words.
Mike Piazza has already put his name in the Mets history books, tying the Met team record with his 24-game hitting streak. While this is less than half the number of DiMaggio, it does put Piazza on the same Mets hallowed ground with Hubie Brooks. Piazza himself has descibed the last couple of weeks as a slump, despite his .326 avergae and hitting streak, as he's not satisfied with his production with men in scoring position. Still, the Mets are scoring runs without Piazza having to deliver every time -- another good sign for this team.
Roger Cedeno is not only on his way to a 100 stolen base season, but he's done everything to suggest that he is the Mets centerfielder of the future. Cedeno is shaping himself to be the "next Rickey Henderson" as he continues to be personally tutored by Henderson, the Yoda of leading off and stealing bases.
The Mets have now assembled an impressive bench, the kind of bench that wins championships. Pratt, Lopez, and possibly even Agbayani could be starters on other teams. The versatility of multi-position players Luis Lopez, Roger Cedeno, Matt Franco, and Melvin Mora gives the Mets a huge number of defensive combinations with just a small group of four players. And even Bonilla is starting to produce as a pinch-hitter!
And then there's defense...with Ordonez to Alfonzo to Olerud, the Mets have the best doubleplay combination since Tinkers to Evers to Chance. They are perfecting the DP because they are getting so much practice turning it. You can only appreciate this by watching it day after day -- the infield defense is so good that it has even improved the Mets outfielders in some magical way. The Mets have made only 33 errors as a team this year -- the best in all of baseball -- you can look it up!
As the Mets begin to gel as a team, GM Steve Phillips seems to have some changes brewing.
Octavio Dotel has been brought up and, seemingly, will be given his best shot at cracking the Mets starting rotation. Dotel has been both brilliant and awful in his various outings at Norfolk this season, so it remains to be seen if he's ready for the big leagues yet.
To make room for Dotel, Jason Isringhuasen has been sent down to Norfolk. It's possible that the Mets may finally be giving up on this poor guy -- a once highly-regarded prospect that has been plagued by injuries and bad luck throughout his career and is now something of a head case.
The Allen Watson deal is a mystery, the Mets dealing the lefty pitcher to the Mariners for Suzuki, only to be claimed during waivers and leaving the Mets empty-handed. This was obviously a salary dump and a move designed to make some room on the roster.
So what's up? Is this behind-the-scenes maneuvering in preparation for a pitching acquisition? Could the Mets be after David Wells? Toronto just extended his contract through next year, but it's hard to see why Wells would willingly commit to another year with a mediocre team. The extended contract makes Wells easier to trade and the Jays would have to consider dealing him for the right package of players.
Or does Steve Phillips have something else up his sleeve? While we won't give him credit for landing Piazza, you have to hand it Phillips when you consider that he's brought us Benitez, Ventura, Cedeno, Leiter, Cook, Wendell, McRae and Henderson -- while ridding us of Mel Rojas and a damaged Todd Hundley. Yes, we've lost Preston Wilson and Carl Everett along the way, and Phillips is responsible for bringing Bonilla back this year, but the Mets boss is beginning to have a stellar track record and will probably find a way to strengthen the pitching staff for the second half of the season.
As the Mets enter Atlanta this weekend, within striking distance of the evil Braves, and we near the All-Star break, there's joy in Metsville -- and the post-season still seems a distinct possibility.
-- Paul O'Neill (after watching Mike Piazza's 482-foot blast)
(Boston, July 11, 1999) There were five lead changes and two ties over nine innings. Six Yankees blasted homeruns. The Bombers had an 8-7 lead going into the bottom of the 9th with the great Mariano Rivera toeing the rubber. 124 times (since May 14, 1998) they had faced this situation, and 124 times they were victorious, Rivera's mastery playing no small part. Henderson doubled, Alfonzo sent one to the centerfield wall that Bernie Williams might-should have caught, and runners were perched on second and third for Piazza. Joe Torre wisely walked him, and pinch-hitter Matt Franco hit a hard liner to right. O'Neill charged hard and unleashed a classic throw. But when the dust finally settled, Alfonzo slid under the tag and the Mets had one of the most exciting victories in their history. This was a game to savor - as fine a high-pressure baseball game as you'll see. And now we can call this a New York rivalry...
The Yankees came out swinging, Paul O'Neill hitting the first of his two 'taters in the first for a 2-0 lead. Piazza doubled in a run in the bottom of the first, and the Mets scraped another to tie it in the 2nd. Robbie Ventura ripped a 2-run double and the Mets were up 4-2 in the 4th.
In the fifth, Ricky Ledee and Jorge Posada hit back-to-back shots to tie the game at 4. It was O'Neill (again) in the 6th and Knoblauch in the 7th with two more 'taters and a 6-4 Bomber advantage.
Then, in the bottom of the 7th, Mike Piazza hit one that we'll not soon forget, a 3-run blast that landed atop a tent beyond leftfield, 482 feet from the plate. Now it's 7-6 Mets... "That's the hardest ball I'd ever seen hit," said Jorge Posada, who sent two out himself this afternoon. "When you're on the field and see a guy hit a ball like that, you almost become a fan," commented O'Neill, echoing Mikey Stew's sentiments.
But the game was far from over. The slumping catcher Posada put the Yanks back on top 8-7 with a 2-run homer. This set the stage for Franco's 9th inning heroics, and put the Mets on the New York roadmap. One for the books...
