Daily Archives: September 24, 2008
The buzz from in New York is that if the 
game against the Marlins is rained out on Friday, it will most likely be made up as part of a split-admission double header on Saturday.
If Saturday’s game is rained out, it will likely be made up on Sunday as a double header with the Shea Stadium farewell possibly occurring between the two games – not after as originally scheduled. This would suggest that it is not a split-admission game, meaning people who have tickets from Saturday may get jilted, which would be a total disaster.
On the other hand, could you imagine if – after an emotional farewell celebration in the afternoon – the Mets end up clinching a playoff spot in the final regular-season game. I mean, wow, now that would be an amazin’ day.
I have no idea what would happen if Thursday’s game is rained out. I’m guessing they will push it aside, and replay it on Monday if they absolutely have to.
Lastly, please note that the above is just total rumor and speculation at this point, since the team and their television network will not make an official decision until they absolutely have to – and understandably so.
In other words, just pray for sunshine – because the above situations coupled with a potential tie in the standings could make for a seriously messed up weekend to say the least.
Tagged Shea Stadium |The next few days are going to be busy.
Here’s a quick run down of what I know so far:
Thursday:
I will be at Shea Stadium all day 
tomorrow, live blogging from 1 pm through the moment they turn off the lights in the building.
I’m hoping to walk around in the afternoon, taking pictures and writing about what it’s like to be there, essentially alone, inside the stadium. I’m quite giddy.
Friday:
The Pre Game Show will air as usual on SNY at 6:30 pm, which will be followed by the game and Post Game Show.
Saturday:
The game will air on Ch. 11 at 1 pm, and will likely be a super significant game. There will be a Post Game Show on SNY immediately following the game.
SNY will air the 92nd Street Y forum at 7:30 pm, which features a discussion among Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling and others about Shea, which will be followed at 8:30 pm with Shea Goodbye, a documentary about the stadium from SNY.
Sunday:
SNY will begin the day’s Pre Game coverage at 11:30 am, which I am hoping to be on – but time will tell.
The game will air on SNY, after which they will return with an extended Post Game Show of the stadium’s emotional, on-field, farewell celebration.
In case you missed it, as I wrote during last night’s game, the Mets are expected to officially announce later this week the schedule of events for the farewell.
However, from what I can gather, a) the major part of the celebration will occur after the game, and b) expect to see Mike Piazza, Tom Seaver, Willie Mays, Robin Ventura, Edgardo Alfonzo, Darryl Strawberry, Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling, and Jerry Koosman, as well as nearly 40 other former players.
Tagged Shea Stadium |In case you missed it, last night on ESPN.com, Buster Olney reporters 
that the Mets have given Mets GM Omar Minaya a four-year contract extension.
Olney added, “The deal is all but done, but it is not known when the extension will be formally announced.”
From what I can gather, neither the team nor Minaya’s agent will confirm or deny the report.
However, according to Jon Heyman at SI.com, “An official announcement is not expected until after the season.”
Like I wrote last night, I’m neither for or against Minaya. I like him. I do not deny his strengths. However, like I expressed in June, I worry that he may be unable to adjust to a changing market in baseball. Point is, I was not prepared to cast judgment on his time in charge, because I had hoped to wait and see how this season ends.
I’m not saying that if the Mets fail to make the post-season, I would have fired him. I may still have wanted him back. The thing is, like I wrote last night, “If the Mets are unable to make the post-season, this team is going to suffer a serious reaction from a fanbase that I sense is ready to boil over…To me, it may have been more wise to just wait and see how best to react to the reaction, so to speak.”
Nevertheless, what’s done is done. I am fine with knowing that Minaya will be back, but I hope, like a good manager, he is wise enough to acknowledge the changing way that baseball is doing business in the market place, and in scouting, and I hope he adjusts accordingly – or, at minimum, was charged with a slightly different goal and plan than he has been on in the past.
Like I wrote in June, if he can make these adjustments, and continue to lean on his strengths, I believe he can get this team to where it needs to be.
In a column for Newsday, Ken Davidoff takes a look at Minaya’s best and worst transactions while GM of the Mets, a list that is headed by the acquisition of Johan Santana.
…Update…1:15 pm…
To read my post from June, which I reference above, click here.
Tagged Omar Minaya |Today on WFAN, Mets beat reporter Ed 
Coleman said he expects John Maine to be activated today.
Maine has told reporters that he wants to pitch from the bullpen and help this team out however he can.
To listen to all of Coleman’s report, including comments on David Wright, Johan Santana and the weekend weather, go to WFAN.com.
Last night, David Wright had two hits, including a game-tying single to left field in the fifth inning.
…it was an inspiring at bat, since, unlike in previous weeks, he shortened his swing, and muscled the ball through, instead of swinging for a five-run homer from his heels…
Following the game, Wright said:
“I’ve had my problems with runners in scoring position, but I’m glad I could come through…It’s a big at-bat for my confidence, and for the team.”
In his first few seasons, Wright was viewed as being the inexperienced, wide-eyed, innocent rookie, trying to find his way, while exceeding expectations on route to becoming the guy we hoped would be the team’s captain and face of the franchise.
However, he is no longer inexperienced. He is no longer wide-eyed, instead he is focused and serious. Thanks to last September, he is no longer innocent. He is no longer unproven, in fact he is putting up MVP statistics for the third-straight season. In short, in the view of many fans, it is time he become the captain, it is time he become the guy who sees this team through the darkness, to better days and to a championship.
Instead, though, whether accurate or not, Wright is getting a reputation among some of his team’s fans for being the ‘Alex Rodriguez of the Mets,’ i.e., a fat, cosmetic stat line, while he is nowhere to be found in the big game.
The thing is, he’s hitting .325 in September.
Yes, he is hitting .247 with two outs and runners in scoring position, and is batting just .214 in the ninth inning, but he’s also batting .310 when the game is tied and is batting .315 when the game is within one run.
Wright is also batting .288 this season in 73 at bats against the Phillies, and .371 against the Marlins.
I believe there are clutch situations, but it is virtually impossible to define clutch in any one statistic.
That said, it is impossible to ignore the language being directed towards Wright, regardless of his stats.
To me, when facts are ignored for the sake of emotion, it suggests that people are pulling from an existing narrative they believe is in place. For Wright, his perceived narrative may be a player stuck between that wide-eyed, innocent rookie, and the MVP captain his fans expect him to already be – regardless of whether he is or isn’t.
Last night, however, is what I and other fans like to see. I mean no disrespect to Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado or Ryan Church, but I sense a different level of excitement and confidence from fans when Wright and Reyes are leading this team. We want them to be ‘The Guys,’ and I hope last night was the turning point towards realizing their leadership.
If you’d like to chat live with Mets beat writer David Lennon, go to his blog for Newsday at 11 am.
Last night, Jose Reyes had two hits in four at bats, including a bases-clearing triple in the sixth inning.
The triple was Reyes’s 200th hit of the season, making him only the second player in team history to reach that mark – the other bing Lance Johnson.
…the best part about the triple was when jose stopped at third, standing, and let out an emotional series of fist pumps and claps while pointing to his teammates in the dugout…i love it…let it rip, jose…
Jerry Manuel, speaking about Reyes after the game, said:
“Well, it’s a big hit for him…There is no doubt that for him, and obviously for the team and where we are and what we’re going through, there’s a certain weight that I’m sure is lifted when he gets those type of hits in those clutch situations. I mean, the emotion and the stuff and the exhaling, you can kind of feel it and sense it. But, those are the things that make for championship-type players. You have to find a comfort even with that kind of weight on you and still be able to perform, and he’s finding that to some degree.”
Reyes is batting .354 with five extra base hits, six stolen bases and eight runs scored in the team’s last seven games, during which they are 4–3.
By the way, to vote for Reyes in this year’s Hank Aaron Award for offense, click here.
In the fifth inning last night, the Mets down 2–0, with one out and a runner on first, Johan Santana hit a weak, broken-
bat ground ball toward the pitcher, which was followed in-step by the barrel-end of the bat.
The ball and bat traveled together beyond the pitcher, over the mound and in front of second base. Cubs SS Ronny Cedeno lunged for the ball, but it hit the bouncing bat before he could reach it, allowing Santana to be safe at first.
David Wright later hit a two-run single to tie the game.
Joking with reporters after the game, Santana said, “It hit the bat twice, it should count as two hits.
According to the Daily News, Cubs manager Lou Pinella later called it, ‘Santana’s Magic Bat Trick.’
…is lou being clever, and putting a twist on Santana’s Black Magic Woman, the song…man, i hope so……
…by the way, i am reading and hearing a lot of people comparing this to the black cat from 1969, which was also against the Cubs…
For more on the Black Cat, Black Bat situation, check out Filip Bondy in today’s Daily News, who concludes by writing, “This is no time to discard a four-leaf clover, or a seeing-eye bat.”
In last night’s win against the Cubs, Johan Santana pitched eight innings, struck out 10 of the 33 batters he faced, let up seven hits and just two runs, while throwing 125 pitches.
…ahh, yes, it seems like just yesterday we were forced to listen to columnists and talk-show hosts accuse santana of refusing to throw over 100 pitches…
Meanwhile, today, according to Newsday, “Santana has the fifth-highest average number of pitches per game in the majors this season.”
Santana, regarding last night’s start, while speaking to reporters after the game, said:
“I was just trying to help, trying to do my job, trying to stay there as long as I can…I know that every game from now on is very important, whether it’s me, or Pedro, or whoever is on the mound. Every game is important. We cannot afford to lose any games, you know. I knew, and I felt that I could do this…I’m just trying to do my job and help as much as I can. In that situation there, this is it, this is why you are here, to win those big games and win the pennant race and that’s what we’re all here for.”
Jerry Manuel, regarding Santana, said:
“In the second half, every big game that we’ve needed and Johan’s turn was due, he stepped up…He stepped up big tonight. He brings also a level of intensity that those guys really enjoy playing behind him and getting behind him. That’s the one intangible that kind of separates him a bit.”
Manuel told reporters that Santana was ‘fired up tonight,’ adding, ‘I don’t think I would have been able to take him out anyway, that’s how adamant he was about going back out there to set them down.’
In 14 starts since the All-Star break, Johan Santana is 7–0 with a 2.37 ERA, during which the Mets are 11–3.
He has not lost a game since June 28.
To watch 
‘s exclusive Post Game Extra, hosted by Gary, Keith and Ron, including high-lights and quotes from last night’s win over the Cubs, click play below:
