Mets Game 37: Loss to Reds
Reds 6 Mets 3
The question of the night: why was D.J. Carrasco pitching for the Mets in the 8th inning of a one-run game?
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Mets to Host All-Star Game in 2013
Today, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Mets owner Fred Wilpon announced that the All-Star Game is coming to Citi Field on July 16, 2013.
It will mark the first time the ASG has come to Queens since Shea Stadium’s inaugural season in 1964. In that game Johnny Callison hit a walk-off home run to give the National League a 7-4 victory.
“The Mets have been great; this is really a very, very happy day,” Selig said. “I know for the citizens of this great city and state, they will enjoy this immensely.”
Wilpon joked that he wished Selig would let him host the World Series at Citi as well.
Free Tickets To See Joey Votto
So far, there is one entry for the free tickets to see the Mets and Reds tomorrow afternoon. ONE. Based on the lack of entries, I’m going to guess:
1. You’re unable to go to Flushing on a Thursday afternoon due to previous commitment (i.e., you work during the day, you’re in a hospital bed, you have a mani-pedi scheduled, etc.).
2. You haven’t had time yet to take or find a photo expressing your Mets fandom.
3. You can’t figure out how to post a photo to the MetsToday Facebook page.
4. You simply aren’t interested in watching the Mets and Reds engage in Our National Pastime at New York’s largest open-air restaurant.
Or, maybe you’re in the process of snapping that photo and getting it uploaded to the MetsToday Facebook page. In which case, you have until 7:00 p.m. EST tonight to execute.
Do you want to see a Major League Baseball Game featuring Canada’s greatest hitter of all-time (apologies to Larry Walker and Terry Puhl), for FREE? Then quickly, get a photo posted to the MetsToday Facebook page for a chance to win the tickets. At the time of this posting, you have a decent chance, since there’s only one other entry. Good luck!
Mets Game 36: Loss to Brewers
Brewers 8 Mets 0
Mets engage in an ugly game that needs to be forgotten as soon as possible.
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Win Tickets to See Mets vs. Reds this Thursday
Would you like to see Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds play this Thursday afternoon at Citi Field against the New York Mets? Would you like to go for free?
One MetsToday reader will receive two tickets to this Thursday’s ballgame (May 17th), courtesy of the New York Mets. How will that one reader be chosen? It’s all about your image — literally.
Show me how badly you want to see the Reds and Mets by posting a photo that portrays what a great Mets fan you are. Maybe it’s you in orange and blue face paint. Maybe it’s your dog dressed in a Mets jersey. Maybe it’s a Chipper Jones bobblehead smashed into a thousand pieces.
Whatever it is, post it to the MetsToday Facebook page between now and 7:00 p.m. EST Wednesday (May 16, 2012). Then tell all your friends to go to your picture and “like” it. The picture with the most “likes” wins the two tickets. In the event of a tie, the MetsToday staff will pick the winner from a hat (or some similarly scientific method).
One rule: keep the photo family-friendly. If I deem a photo inappropriate it comes down.
FYI, game time on Thursday is 1:10 p.m.
What are you waiting for?
Snap a photo and post it to the MetsToday Facebook page (http://facebook.com/metstoday)!
Mets Game 35: Win Over Brewers
Mets 2 Brewers 1
There’s no way the Mets can lose this series. And we can thank a man with the power of voodoo. Who do? Miguel do.
The Best Closers in Mets History
Frank Francisco
The Chernobyl-style pitching of Mets closer Frank Francisco over the weekend had fans clamoring for the old days, when K-Rod, Billy Wagner, and John Franco used to waltz in from the bullpen and close out games with ease.
OK, maybe it didn’t happen exactly that way – every Mets closer has had his share of meltdowns, or just plain blown saves. In fact, with closers, the tendency as a fan is to remember the heartbreaks and forget all the times they nailed down a victory. Have the Mets ever had a closer that made us sit back, relax, and pencil in another W long before the third out of the 9th was recorded? Has anyone? Even Mariano Rivera blows saves (see: 2001 World Series).
So, instead of dwelling on bad closers, let’s take a look at some of the good closers the Mets have had throughout the years.
Below is a list of the 5 best closers in Mets history. But first, a brief history of Mets closers.
The save became an official statistic in 1969, but research into the past has estimated saves for pitchers long before then.
In 1962, the Mets saves leader was Roger Craig, who had a grand total of 4. Of course, he also led the team in losses with 24, pitching as both a starter and reliever.
The first Mets to record double-digit saves were righties Ron Taylor and Cal Koonce in 1968. The role of late-inning “ace relievers” was gaining importance, and the Mets started to have more games to save, thanks to youngsters like Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman.
Tug McGraw
Taylor became part of a righty-lefty tandem with Tug McGraw in the late-sixties and early seventies until he was replaced by Danny Frisella. It didn’t take long for McGraw to seize the job permanently, and the first Mets closer, in the modern sense, was born. Since then, the Mets closer role has evolved with that of the rest of the game. By the 1990s, the role went from a multi-inning job to a 9th inning job.
So without further ado, here are the top 5 Mets closers (very much open for debate in the comments section):
5. Armando Benitez – Benitez is best known for blowing some key saves, including Game 1 of the 2000 World Series against the Yankees (he gave up no more runs in two more appearances). He also had a knack for blowing big saves during the regular season. But Benitez racked up 160 saves in 5 years for the Mets. In that time, he had a 2.70 ERA and struck out 456 batters in 347 innings.
4. Roger McDowell – McDowell was the rubber-armed half of the righty-lefty tandem that ruled the back end of the Mets bullpen in the mid-80s. He went 14-9 in the championship year of 1986 with 22 saves. Often used for multi-inning outings, he pitched a remarkable 128 innings in 75 games that year, and 5 scoreless innings in Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS. Overall, he had 84 saves in 5 years with the Mets. The most notable blemish on his record was a home run he surrendered to the Cardinals’ Terry Pendleton down the stretch in 1987.
3. Jesse Orosco –The other half of the mid-80s relief duo. Orosco came up big in pressure situations in the playoffs, including the exhausting final 3 innings of Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS. After coming over in the Jerry Koosman deal, he got a cup of coffee in 1979. In 1983, he took over the lion’s share of closing duties from Neil Allen, who was part of a trade for Keith Hernandez at the deadline that year. He finished his Mets career with 107 saves and a 2.73 ERA. He was replaced by the hard-throwing lefty, Randy Myers, in 1988. Orosco went on to pitch for various teams until 2003 – when he retired at 46 years old.
2. Tug McGraw - The left-handed screwballer began his major league career as a starter. Yeah, that didn’t work out so well. But he found his niche in the bullpen just in time for the miracle run of 1969. Similar to Orosco and McDowell, he teamed up with Ron Taylor to form a formidable lefty-righty punch. Tug pitched 3 games between the 1969 and 1973 playoffs, picking up 2 saves. In the ’73 World Series, McGraw blew the save in Game 2, only to pitch three shutout innings to earn the win in extra frames. When he displayed shoulder problems in 1974, the Mets traded him to Philadelphia for, among others, C John Stearns. McGraw went on to have a successful career with the Phillies, helping them win the 1980 World Series. He finished his Mets career with 85 saves.
1. John Franco – The Mets acquired Franco in a deal that sent Myers to the Cincinnati Reds before the 1990 season. He went on to solidify the closer role for ten years, until passing the torch to Benitez in 1999. Franco was steady, if unspectacular. You knew what you would get: a sinking fastball and a changeup that had screwball action. Every hitter knew it was coming, yet no one could lay off it. His signature moment came in Game 2 of the the 2000 NLDS. He came in to relieve Benitez and face Barry Bonds with ducks on the pond. The Mets held a one-run lead in the bottom of the tenth. With a 3-2 count, Franco threw a changeup that nicked the inside corner to end the game, and swing the momentum back to the Mets. He is the Mets’ all-time leader in saves (276), and is to be inducted into the team’s hall of fame on June 3rd.
Just a bit outside: Ron Taylor, Skip Lockwood, Neil Allen, Randy Myers, Billy Wagner, Francisco Rodriguez.
What Do the Mets Do On the Team Bus?
Not this, I bet …
That’s the Harvard baseball team, whose team bus is a little smaller than the Mets’ ride, but perhaps more full of creativity. Phil Linz likely would find a friendly seat among them.
These traveling young men turned this silly video into a fund raiser for brain tumor patients. Well done. Read more on Time.com.
Hat tip to my lovely wife for spotting this.
Mets Game 34: Loss to Marlins
Marlins 8 Mets 4
For the second time in three days, the Mets make a dramatic comeback in the final inning to take the ballgame, only to lose the ballgame in similarly dramatic fashion.
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Mets Game 33: Win Over Marlins
Mets 9 Marlins 3
What a difference a day makes.
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Mets Game 32: Loss to Marlins
Marlins 6 Mets 5
For a moment there, it looked like it was going to be another come-from-behind, one-run victory. And it was … except, for the Marlins instead of the Mets.
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LINK: Seaver’s Near-Perfect Game
Tonight, the Mets play the 8,000th game in their franchise’s history. Among many other memorable events, notes, anecdotes, and statistics, the greatest oddity about this team is that they’ve never thrown a no-hitter.
Here’s a Sports Illustrated article from 3 years ago that looks back at the one that got away – Tom Seaver’s near-perfect game that was broken up by Jimmy Qualls. It’s a good read for a Friday. Enjoy!
Mets Game 31: Win Over Phillies
Mets 10 Phillies 5
If someone told you two months ago that the Mets would sweep the Phillies in Philadelphia to push them even deeper in the NL East cellar, would you have believed it?
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Blog Roundup: 2-Out Rally Edition
The Mets have won two stunners in a row against the rival (still, I guess) Phillies. First, a Jordany Valdespin homer off of Jonathan Papelbon helped them overcome a good start by Roy Halladay. Then, a series of 2-out singles and some Phillies Phielding Phollies helped the Mets beat the red hot Joe Blanton 7-4. What will they do for an encore in the final game of the series? Maybe a two-out rally in the 9th? Or maybe get a lead and hold it throughout the game – that would be novel.
Here’s some late-inning magic from the Blogs:
- Metstradamus says the Phillies’ ugliness outweighed the Mets’ ugliness.
- NJ.com says Howard Johnson tweeted some heavy advice for Ike Davis.
- Andrew Fiorentino reports that Wilmer Flores may finally be breaking out in the minors.
- MMO wonders if Jenrry Mejia is nearing a spot in the Mets rotation, as he begins his
rehab assignmentseason in St. Lucie. - Real Dirty Mets infamously tells us what the Mets and Aretha Franklin may have in common.
- Daily Stache looks at the ball that bounced off of Mookie’s bat, between Buckner’s legs, and into an auction in Dallas.
Follow the bouncing ball to Mets Today for more news, analysis, opinion, and yes…links.
Mets Game 30: Win Over Phillies
Mets 7 Phillies 4
Come-from-behind victory for the Mets as they set up for a sweep in Philadelphia. Who’da thunk it?
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