It took 156 games, but finally, the Mets accomplished THE MOST UNLIKELY VICTORY OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!! (So said Gary Cohen.)
I would not want to be in the home-team clubhouse with Tony LaRussa after this ballgame. I might prefer Chinese water torture, or peeling off my fingernails with a pair of pliers.
But, the St. Louis fans were very pleased with the effort that their boys put out. Continue reading
Here is the lineup the Mets send to bat against Cardinals pitcher Jake Westbrook:
Jose Reyes – SS
Ruben Tejada – 2B
Angel Pagan – CF
David Wright – 3B
Willie Harris – LF
Nick Evans – 1B
Josh Thole – C
Mike Baxter – RF
Chris Capuano – P
Willie Harris is rewarded for his excellent efforts last night. I cannot quibble with that decision, but the fact Harris is batting fifth kind of encapsulates the Mets 2011 season, doesn’t it?
Nice to see New York native Mike Baxter getting the start in right field. Not nice to know Lucas Duda is out of the lineup, considering the Mets’ recent history with concussions.
Taking a page from the 1985 classic movie The Breakfast Club, Sandy Alderson continued his “Don’t You Forget About Me” media tour yesterday, this time appearing with WFAN’s Mike Francesa.
Essentially, Alderson rehashed his SNY talking points from the previous day regarding the Citi Field walls, the young arms and the 2012 closer, but he also added tidbits about Jose Reyes and next year’s payroll.
Alderson called Reyes his top priority and expressed optimism that the Mets will keep their shortstop. He did however expect that Reyes will at least test the market by filing for free agency. “If he’s come this far, he will file,” Alderson said.
He also told Francesa that he has already been given the parameters for the 2012 payroll and they are “in line with what’s been discussed.” Francesa probed a bit on this one and gained agreement from Sandy that the payroll is more in the $110 million range than in the $70 million range. “That’s good news,” was Francesa’s reply, as he then gave an updated Yankees score.
Dan’s Take: I remain confident that the Mets have the right man in Alderson to lead them back to contention. I agree that those ridiculous dimensions at Citi Field must be changed, that the Mets need a better closer and that they must keep Reyes. I’d like to hear more on finding a left handed platoon for Jason Bay and getting a defensively skilled catcher, but it does sound like they have their priorities in the proper order as the offseason looms.
Joe’s Take:: As you might guess, I’m skeptical. To me this is Alderson acting as the talking head of the organization with the job of smoothing things over with the fan base, and to set the stage for the offseason stories. For example, he’s setting no expectations re: Reyes, but, he’s offering the possibility of changing the dimensions — it’s like a bargain.
YOUR take?
Put it in the comments.
It’s official: the Mets will finish the 2011 season with a losing record. Great job, guys. Don’t worry about the won-loss record, all that matters is you battled. Yeah. Continue reading
The blogosphere is abuzz about a single sentence uttered by Sandy Alderson on Tuesday night’s SNY broadcast. “If we make changes, they’re not likely to be subtle,” Alderson said about changing the outfield wall dimensions.
And the Blogs can’t contain themselves (or hold back on the Ronald Reagan references):
Keep checking out Mets Today for more talk about walls (and the Mets).
In case you missed it, Sandy Alderson appeared with Ron and Gary during the top of the third inning in last night’s Mets-Cardinals game. The Mets cooperated, scoring three runs, giving Alderson the time to respond from some frank questioning from Cohen.
Alderson admitted that the 2012 closer may not yet be in the organization and that the team will not use next Spring Training to decide on who gets the role. He blamed the recent dreadful homestand on the numerous blown save opportunities by the bullpen. Alderson also dwelled on the concept that this as-yet-undetermined closer may currently be a minor league pitcher on the verge of a breakthrough.
Alderson spoke highly of both Ruben Tejada and Dan Murphy, noting the Mets slide from contention began when Murphy was lost for the year. He praised Jason Bay‘s determination to work himself back to past performance and indicated that the starting rotation, plus Johan Santana will be much the same as this year. He also said that his staff will recommend changes to the dimension of Citi Field.
If this were 1960, the season would now be over. Unfortunately for Mets fans suffering through a meaningless September, there are still 8 more games to go.
This was really MUCH closer than the final score indicates. And I know I’ve typewritten these exact words several times this year, but trust me — it was really and truly a close game, for most of the contest. Continue reading
It seems like a minor thing — and I’ve yet to read anything, anywhere previewing the occurrence — but tonight, Wally Backman suits up for a Major League game for the first time since May 14, 1993.
Sure, he’s been around during spring training, but that doesn’t count. The last time Wally was in uniform for a MLB game was in ’93, in Oakland, as a member of the Seattle Mariners, pinch-hitting for Mike Blowers with men on first and second and two outs against A’s righthander Joe “The Saver” Boever. Backman flied out to centerfield to end the 10th inning of a game eventually won in the 11th by the Athletics; Wally was playing third base when the final run scored.
Backman was released by the Mariners three days later; he was 33 years old and hitting .138. He had appeared in all of 10 games — starting in 8 of them at second base. Originally, Backman had signed with the Braves over the previous winter, but didn’t make the team out of spring training and he signed on April 5 with the Mariners, who at the time weren’t sure whether the free-swinging, not-yet-artificially-enhanced Bret Boone was the answer at second base. But Backman was clearly at the end of his string, Boone had returned from AAA and was showing some pop, and 31-year-old rookie Rich Amaral was more versatile and providing surprising offense. Wally’s weak showing in his 10-game audition made him the odd man out when DH Edgar Martinez returned from the disabled list, and so he was sent packing. A few weeks later, the M’s drafted a high school shortstop named Alex Rodriguez — just to give you some perspective.
A few years after leaving Seattle, Backman began his road back to the big leagues, managing a team in the old independent Northeast League (the same league that Ken Oberkfell began his managing career). It’s been a rollercoaster ever since, one that seemed to reach a dead end until Backman was hired to manage the Brooklyn Cyclones last year.
It doesn’t matter what your feeling is on Backman the person or Backman the manager. The story is that after almost 20 years, through challenging obstacles (both self-inflicted and external), and against nearly impossible odds, Wally has returned to a MLB clubhouse, wearing a MLB uniform. Will he ever make it to the next step — one that will see him sitting in the dugout, perhaps as a coach? Time will tell.