Monthly Archives: September 2005
…i’ve been curious what some of the league’s national baseball writers feel about the future of this team…so i asked a few to offer us some advice, to help cope with what will most certainly be a crazy, and long, off-season…
From Jerry Crasnick, of ESPN.com…
Matt,
Tell your readers to climb in off the ledge. The Mets have outscored their opponents 662-594 after being outscored 731-684 last year, so I think this team really has made some positive strides…
Wright and Reyes are dynamic young players, Pedro is great, and let’s give Beltran a do-over for the inevitable New York adjustment period. Best of all, there are a lot of closers out there this winter (Billy Wagner, B.J. Ryan, Todd Jones et al). If the Mets can continue to improve systematically without doing anything overly panicky or stupid, there are lots of reasons to be hopeful…
Jerry C…
…and that’s the thing, while omar alarms me, and i’m not sure why he does, but he does, i do trust that he will not do anything that truly hurts the team, ala steve phillips…
It was late May, 1998, and the rumors had been circulating for days, so I knew it could happen at any minute. My mom, also a Mets fan, called and broke the news to me by saying, “Who’s this pizza guy the Mets just got.”…
For the first time in roughly decade, I felt proud to be a Mets fan…
Subsequently, May 23, 1998, Mike Piazza’s first day as a Met, is also the same day my girlfriend and I first kissed. In fact, we use this moment to mark our anniversary, and even though she is a Yankees fan, she’s sweet enough to acknowledge Piazza whenever she and I toast the memory…
The franchise changed when Piazza arrived, and became further legitimized when he signed the seven-year, $91 million contract with the Mets that off-season. Todd Hundley kept us busy through the mid-90s, and we loved him for it, but with Piazza came league-wide respect, a superstar and a feeling that things were heading in a new, exciting direction…
Oddly, last night, Piazza’s home run followed one by David Wright, in a moment that seemed as though another blue-n-orange torch had just been passed…the first from Hundley to Piazza, and this one from Piazza to Wright…
During Piazza’s time at Shea, he watched the birth of a crazy rivalry with the Braves, a manager in disguise, future Hall of Famers fall to pieces, while he only got better, he saw last place, a World Series, playoff games, extra-inning playoff games, he handled a rabid media, an avid fanbase, a shift to first base, and one back to catcher, he helped us recover from emotional tragedy, from feeling hopeless and overly-hopeful, and, through it all, he did it with a smile, with passion, with honesty and with class…
“They are making it hard to concentrate,” Piazza said of the fans at Shea, who continue to chant his name during each at-bat, and demand curtain calls after every home run. “I’m flattered,” he added…
These last few weeks have been awkward for me. I’m old enough to remember when the 86 Mets began to disband. That was a different feeling, though. It was more bittersweet, in the sense that, while we all appreciated their accomplishments, deep down inside we all knew they should have been more successful than they were. With Piazza, he did all that he could do. I truly believe the man worked as hard as humanly possible, and wanted to win as bad as the team’s fans. And while we had Hernandez, and Carter, and Darryl and Doc, and division titles and mystical memories in a World Series win through the 80′s, through most of the time between 1998 and 2005, all we really had to pull for was Piazza…
These last few weeks have been awkward because I don’t want him to leave, yet I know it’s time to go. He’s better suited in the American League. I know it. You know it. He knows it. Even Fred Wilpon alluded to it yesterday…
Nobody really wants these memories to end. “I’m not ruling anything out,” Piazza told reporters, when asked about returning to the Mets next season. “I’ve talked to Omar. We have great communication. If it fits in with their future plans, then we’ll definitely see.” It sounds nice, it does. But, Piazza will look for a long-term contract, and the Mets know they need a younger catcher, to fit with their younger team.
It’s just so tough to say goodbye…
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, actor/comedian Chris Rock referred to himself as a Mets fan…
…really, buddy…you are…doesn’t look that way to me, man…
…thanks to justin, who found this image on cnn.com…
At FlushingsFuture.com, Jordan does a great job of reviewing the St. Lucie Mets, the Norfolk Tides and the Binghamton Mets…
On what is usually a very well-balanced political blog, Jeff bids farewell to Mike Piazza…
In his final at-bat last night, Jose Reyes set the single-season Mets record for at- bats with 683…
…unreal…seriously, given his injuries and all the jokes many of us made about his health, did anyone this 683 at-bats this season was even remotely possible…i didn’t…not even close… good for you, kid…
Tagged Stats |David Wright drove in his 100th RBI of the season last night, the first Met to do so since Mike Piazza in 2000. …
Wright…
“It’s a great accomplishment. It says a lot about the guys at the top of the order getting on for me…
“I guess that’s the beauty of this game, that there’s so much room for improvement in every player. Unless you can say you’ll go out there and hit 1.000 all year, there’s room for improvement.”…
In the New York Times, Richard Sandomir writes that 11 percent of SNY is owned by Comcast, while Time Warner owns 22 percent and the Mets own the rest…
…this being the case, i would liked to have seen a little more mets flavor in the logo, at least…something to indicate that its home of the amazins…i know they want it to be more about new york sports in general, but, come on, a little cross-branding could help everyone…oh well…
Sandomir also writes…
“SportsNet New York can take a stand for quality sportscasting by not taking on Fran Healy, whose longevity on Mets telecasts for 22 years shows him to be a survivor despite a voice that is best muted and a fanny pack full of mediocre insights. Still, the team’s loyalty to him might prompt it to let him contribute to the new network, but not on games.”…
…oh, snap…
Tom Glavine tossed a complete-game, shut-out against the Rockies last night, while striking out a season-high 11 batters…
…out of standing…
Tom Glavine…
“It’s a nice way to end the year, you know? Your last start of the year, you certainly want to try and win, obviously. And to win it the way I was able to win it, yeah, I mean, it’s going to give me a real good one to remember all off-season.”…
…good for you, man…and good us, as well…i hope you have a relaxing off-season, you’ve earned it…
As I wrote yesterday afternoon, the name of the new regional sports television venture between Fred Wilpon’s Sterling Entertainment Enterprises, Comcast and Time Warner is SportsNet New York, or SNY…
The network’s logo can be viewed at SportsNetNY.com…
According to Marty Noble at MLB.com, speculation is that Keith Hernandez and Dave O’Brien will be part of the Mets broadcast team on SNY. Noble also notes Fred Wilpon as saying that whomever the broadcasters are, they will only work for SNY…
…which, i think, means no ted robinson, since he loves his tennis, and also works for nbc…
