Wheelin' & Dealin' (8/3/98)
Entering the Dog Days (7/28/98)
The Wild Card Chase (7/22/98)
Top 10 Met Predictions
Doc's Expert Analysis
(Valley Cottage, August 5, 1998) OK, we've been picking the NASCAR Winston Cup races every week. So now let's take a shot at making some predictions about the Mets:
Prediction # 1:
John Olerud will win the National League batting title. He is so
consistent. We can't imagine him going into any sort of prolonged slump. He's currently hitting .340 and riding an 18-game hitting streak. Watching Olerud on an everyday basis has been a joy -- he is one classy player.
Prediction # 2:
John Franco, after the next game he blows in the ninth for the Mets, will shrug off his bad pitching in the post-game interview, saying something like "oh well, you win some and you lose some. That's the life of a relief pitcher."
Prediction # 3:
The Mets bullpen will fail more often than it succeeds. We're not sure how you measure this -- we just wanted to use these "predictions" as another excuse to rant on these bums.
Prediction # 4:
Steve Phillips will make at least one more bonehead transaction before the year is over. Steve seems like a nice guy, and he looks like he's trying, but we're not impressed with his track record as Mets GM. He's the guy who brought us Mel Rojas. He let Carl Everett get away. He vowed that he was not interested in acquiring Mike Piazza, and then traded for him the next day. He extended John Franco's contract for two more years as we watched the Mets "stopper" blow games on a seemingly daily basis. He traded Gilkey for a 7th starting pitcher just when Reynoso had shown us all that he was a strong 6th. At one point, he sent Todd Pratt, the team's most productive bench player, to the minors for a couple of days for no apparent reason. And he may have already botched the negotiations with Piazza for a contract beyond this season.
Prediction # 5:
More than half of Todd Pratt's total hits this season will be for extra bases. A dumb prediction, we know, but still probably true.
Prediction # 6:
Mike Piazza, the Mets current home run leader with 19, will not break the all-time record of 61 homeruns in a season set by Roger Maris with the New York Yankees in 1961. Really, we're not kidding. We don't think he's gonna' make it.
Prediction # 7:
A two-pronged prediction: Todd "Clod" Hundley will not win the gold glove for his leftfield play, nor will Mel Rojas win the Cy Young award.
Prediction # 8:
Bobby Valentine will not be managing the All-Star Game for the National League next year.
Prediction # 9:
Mike Piazza will not play for the Mets next season. His experience on this team has been an unpleasant one. He is struggling, trying too hard for home runs, and hitting very poorly with runners in scoring position. He's been an especially ineffective hitter when the game is on the line. Add to this the boo-birds at Shea and the competition with Hundley for the backstop job, and you can bet Piazza is hearing Tommy Lasorda's
voice in his head saying "Go West, young man."
Prediction # 10:
The Mets will not win the wildcard this year. This was the tough one, the prediction we dreaded making. But let's face it, this team has a lot of problems. They can't score runs. Their bullpen can't hold alead. They have no power. They have no speed. They have two regular players, Hundley and Phillips, playing out of position. They have players that hear boos from their own fans on a regular basis. They suffer excruciating victories and heartbreaking losses. This is not a Cinderella team of destiny. They have too many problems to be playoff-worthy. Frankly, we think this wildcard thing is just a crock anyway.
