Daily Archives: October 2, 2008
To watch an 18–minute recap of Sunday’s post-game ceremony from Shea Stadium, courtesy of SNY, click here.
Lastly, the Daily News has a photo gallery up of images from inside Shea Stadium, as they dismantle the bundling, seat by seat, and piece by piece.
…the strangest photo in the batch is of the the home-run wall, or the lackthereof…this is just too weird…
Tagged Shea Stadium |
Last Wednesday, I started making posts about my Five Favorite Moments at Shea Stadium, from games that I attended.
In addition, each post will be followed by a quick video segment of me talking about the specific moment.
To see Number 5 click here, to see Number 4 click here, to see Number 3 click here, and to see Number 2 click here.
My favorite memory in Shea Stadium, without a doubt, is Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS.
For starters, I loved that team. I loved Ventura, Mike Piazza, Edgardo Alfonzo, Bobby Valentine and John Olerud, among others, acting as under-dogs all season, not wearing their last names on their jerseys, while fighting the Braves right down to the last pitch.
The rivalry with Atlanta was real, and helped out by Chipper Jones, who a few weeks prior said, ‘Now all the Mets fans can go home and put on their Yankee hats,’ after beating the Mets in an extra-inning, regular-season game in September, and John Rocker who later said, ‘How many times do we have to beat them before their fans will shut up.”
Not only was Game 5 the most entertaining game I have even watched in person, it was the best baseball game – as the on-field chess match between Valentine and Bobby Cox was quite evident. The game had outstanding defensive plays, drama, rain, a 14th-inning stretch, and a unique ending that will always be known as a Grand-Slam Single from Ventura.
The thing I remember most was the feeling of inevitability that slowly overcame the stands in the bottom of the 15th. With the Mets down a run in their final at bat, despite the the Braves stranding 19 runners, Shawon Dunston led off with a single following countless foul balls. From that point forward, the once silent, dejected crowd came to life, the buzz grew up a cheer, which grew to an electric belief that the Mets would tap in to their history of magic and win the game, and they did, off the bat of Ventura who pulled a ball over the left-center field wall but was tackled by his teammates a few feet before second base.
Tagged Shea Stadium |
The Digital Media Department at SNY is looking for a Fall Intern, who a) must be a current college student eligible for college credit for the internship, and b) be willing to commit a minimum of three business days per week.
If you’re interested, download this application and e-mail it to intern@sny.tv.
On Wednesday, October 8, Mike Piazza will be part of a roundtable discussion on VH1’s debut episode of That Metal Show, ‘a celebration of all things hard rock and heavy metal.’
If you would like tickets to the event, in New York City, send a picture, your name, phone, address and guest information to this address.
Tagged Mike Piazza |
In Newsday, Jim Baumbach takes a look at the variety of pending free-agents who may interest the Mets and Yankees, such as Mark Teixeira, Manny Ramirez, Francisco Rodriguez, Derek Lowe, Orlando Hudson, Brian Fuentes, Raul Ibanez, Casey Blake and Jon Garland, to name a few.
Baumbach has the following to say about Rodriguez:
“I’d be shocked if come December the Mets aren’t opening the doors to Citi Field for a news conference unveiling K-Rod as their new closer. Just seems too much of a given.”
In his most recent report for SI.com, Jon Heyman wrote that the Mets will have to at least consider Rodriguez or Fuentes.
By the way, in Newsday, Ken Davidoff makes the argument in favor of signing Rodriguez, who will likely seek a four-or five-year deal worth around $15 million per season.
During a conference call with reporters 
today, Minaya said: “One of the top areas we need to address is the bullpen and the closer. There’s only a few guys in the game what we say can, ‘lock-out an inning,’ so we’ll have to look in the market place, or look internally, because for a championship team that is very important.”
…it’s kind of funny when you think about it…i mean, the bullpen is the one aspect of this team that every Mets fan will agree was a problem…it just so happens, following a season in which the bullpen blew 30 saves, and following a season in which Billy Wagner will be out for a year, it just so happens K-Rod will be a free agent…that dude could not have timed his free agency any better…wow…
…i don’t know if i agree that K-Rod should be signed to such a long-term deal, but, i’ll say this, by signing him, the Mets not only improve their team, but they instantly ease the stress of their fans by shoring up their biggest weakness…
SNY will televise this morning’s conference call with Omar Minaya, which is set to begin around 11 am EDT.
I will also live blog the call, since I know many of you are unable to be in front of a television or computer speakers.
…Update…11:03 am…
The conference call seems to be a bit delayed, as usual.
…Update…11:11 am…
As expected, Jeff Wilpon announced that Omar Minaya has been given a three-year contract extension, which expires at the end of the 2012 season, with club options for 2013 and 2014.
Minaya says he is happy, and will continue to work hard to bring a championship to New York, which is and has been his goal since joining the organization.
…Update…11:16 am…
Wilpon told reporters that he feels Minaya and his staff are the best group to lead their baseball operations, adding, ‘We failed this year, and we want to get the redemption we need and move forward, and we feel Omar and his staff are the best group to put us in that position.’
Wilpon has great confidence in Minaya’s leadership, and ability to ‘re-evaluate everything from top to bottom here.’
Wilpon, Minaya and his staff have already met and discussed a plan to move forward this off-season.
…Update…11:18 am…
According to Minaya, the team is still in discussions with Jerry Manuel about bringing him back for next season.
…Update…11:22 am…
The disapproval he is seeing from fans, as reflected in ‘fan polls,’ according to Minaya, ‘It comes with the territory.’
He acknowledges that, in a city as passionate as New York, ‘when things are going good they like you, and when things are going bad they don’t.’
…Update…11:24 am…
Minaya would not say what his favorite move has been since becoming GM of the Mets, nor would he acknowledge ‘one he would like to take back.’
…Update…11:26 am…
Minaya says he has talked with Carlos Delgado’s agent, to let him know he is ‘probably looking to’ pick up the option and bring Delgado back.
…Update…11:30 am…
Wilpon says the current financial crisis has not yet had an impact on the team or Citi Field, as they have ‘not requested funds above what they have budgeted for.’
…Update…11:35 am…
Minaya intends to look closely at what the team lacks, and what is missing, which is keeping the Mets from ‘crossing the finish line.’
Wilpon said he is asking many of the same questions that are being asked by the fans, including whether the answer is ‘addition by subtraction.’
…Update…11:40 am…
Minaya acknowledged that there is ‘something there, something missing,’ that the club needs to get over, and he will continue to work to find ‘the right mix,’ ‘the right fit,’ to try and get ‘across the finish line.’
…Update…11:43 am…
“One of the top areas we need to address is the bullpen and the closer,” Minaya said. “There’s only a few guys in the game what we say can, ‘lock-out an inning,’ so we’ll have to look in the market place, or look internally, because for a championship team that is very important.”
…Update…11:48 am…
Minaya says that David Wright, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran are ‘winning players,’ adding, ‘We’re going to do everything we can as an organization to put them in a position to get those big hits in the playoffs.”
However, Minaya said, ‘We have to be open-minded all winter to see if there’s a fit that makes us better.’
…Update…11:49 am…
The conference call has ended.
Tagged Omar Minaya |On Friday, October 3, at 8 pm, SNY will re-air Shea Goodbye: The Closing Ceremony, a one hour version of Shea Stadium’s closing ceremonies that took place this past Sunday.
Also, the complete game from Sunday, including the post-game ceremonies are available for purchase on iTunes.
Tagged Shea Stadium |According to multiple reports, the Mets will hold a 
conference call this morning to announce a three-year contract extension for Omar Minaya.
I agree with bringing Minaya back.
I understand needing to give him an extension – so to avoid lame-duck status, which could encourage him to act irrationally.
However, a three-year extension does seem a bit excessive. I would not go so far as to say it is ‘absurd,’ but I find it difficult to justify when considering the resources he has had, and the lack of post-season success it has returned.
That said, the Mets are significantly better since Minaya took charge, they are selling more tickets, returning better ratings, and, as the Metropolitans recently wrote, “If you take a look at his worst three moves, are they really that terrible?”
Yes, one playoff appearance in four years is disappointing, but when compared to his best transactions, and considering four-straight seasons above .500, and the level of hype that surrounds this franchise compared to just five years ago, Minaya has earned the right to remain in the driver’s seat. His biggest failure was not acquiring a relief pitcher mid-season to help out a weak bullpen. However, no team acquired a significant relief pitcher at the deadline, and more or less every contending team had been looking for one. Minaya was left on the sideline, but so were most of the league’s GMs.
And so, now that Minaya will remain as GM, the Wilpons must set a different set of goals for him.
The Mets need to get younger, and resemble the tough, hard-working, exciting team that the majority of the team’s fans most enjoy watching. This is not just the business of baseball, it’s also entertainment.
Minaya has a strong, exciting, entertaining group to build upon, but that is not enough. Also, he cannot keep relying on a weak free-agent market to cover up the minor-league system’s deficiencies. Otherwise, as Adam Rubin put it in the Daily News earlier in the season, the vision Minaya articulated four years ago will continue to be built on ‘a house of cards.’
I wrote the following in a post to MetsBlog in June, and I still feel the same way:
“The thing is, and what worries me, is that the old market – in which Minaya worked so well – is now changing, and being run by a younger, different-thinking generation.
“Smaller-market teams are now locking up their best young talent, meaning these players are less likely to hit the open market. There is more parity in baseball, and so teams are less likely to make trades. Lastly, players are breaking down and performing worse in their late 30s, probably due to the league’s new performance-enhancing drug policy, and so relying on older talent may not be as effective as it was just a few years ago.
“I hope Minaya is able to adapt. I’m willing to bet that he can.
“As I said (in May), I sense that the Mets are at a crossroads. Minaya did outstanding work, and did what was necessary to get from Howe to here. However, I have a feeling that more work will need to be done to get from here to a World Series ring – let alone remain over .500.”
He is going to have the opportunity, and it appears he will have four more years to get it done.
Tagged Omar Minaya |According to David Lennon in Newsday, citing ‘a person familiar 
with the situation,’ the Mets have offered Jerry Manuel a two-year contract to stay on as the team’s manager, ‘but he has yet to accept the deal.’
Lennon continues on to speculate as to why Manuel has yet to accept the team’s offer.
…frankly, he should wait…according to a poll on MetsBlog.com, 88 percent of this site’s readers want him back…the New York media loves him, he was successful, and i have never heard a person associated with the team say anything negative about him…this, plus knowing there will be at least two or three available managerial jobs at the end of this season, and he should hold out…
For more, check out the Bergen Record, where Steve Popper explains why Manuel has passed every test in 2008.
