Tag Archives: Game

May 12

Don’t Mind The Mets Today, Save Your Cheers For Mom

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Like many of you, my love of baseball started with my dad, who was my Little League coach – from T-Ball to high school – took me to the Indians games, and watched the Game of the Week with me. There was usually a game on TV in our house.

However, my mom also helped nurture my love for the sport. She drove me to my games and practices, gave me nickels and dimes to buy baseball cards, and watched me play ball in the front yard with the neighbors. We chewed up the lawn, but she and my dad never said anything.

One of my most endearing memories of her was how he cheered for me at my games. One time, halfway through one of my few home runs, rounded second base heading for third when I looked up and saw her behind the base jumping up and down and screaming for me to run.

I smile when I think about that moment. When I gave her eulogy, it was one of the things I spoke of. Sadly, I never told her about that and how good it made me feel. I just kept the memory with me through the years.

I know many of you have similar memories of your mother and hope you’ll let her know today how important she is to you. Pull yourself away from the Mets’ game – even though it is a Matt Harvey start – and take her to brunch.

So, all of my best to you and your moms today and every day. Today is her day, but every day should be about her.

Have a great day.

 

Dec 11

Mets Should Be More Active Hawking Tickets For 2013

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First of all, this is not a plug to buy 2013 Mets tickets. It is simply something I am wondering about: Why aren’t the Mets doing more to plug tickets for this season?

You can buy them at Mets.com, and I suppose you might see them advertised on SNY – but that’s more a house ad – but other than that I don’t see much plugging and stumping for next summer.

Why?

Other than the obvious, that advertising costs money, there’s not a good reason, especially this time of season, when tickets should be finding their way under the tree.

In all probability, a baseball fan is a sports fan, but I haven’t seen any commercials during the Giants, Jets, Knicks or Nets. If I missed one, I am sorry, but overall I am surprised at the lack of stumping.

One thing the Mets used to do was a winter caravan, where players made appearances throughout the tri-state area. You don’t see that anymore. It was replaced by one big event in Manhattan prior to Christmas at the library, but you don’t see that, either.

Why?

Enough players live in the area, or could be flown in, to make it work. The Mets should be making us think about baseball now, not just the week prior to spring training.

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Aug 24

Astros, Mets Kindred Spirits?

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They were born the same year, 1962, as expansion teams, and in the Houston Astros’ final National League appearance against the Mets in New York, both teams are playing like expansion teams.

Although linked by their entry, the Mets and Astros never developed an substantive rivalry in these 50 years. Playing in different divisions dulled the potential of a rivalry.  Both had long stretches of mediocrity, or worse, and there were few times they were good at the same time.

Then there was 1986.

The Mets rolled through the regular season. They dominated as manager Davey Johnson boasted at the start of the season. But, the Astros wouldn’t cave and made it a memorable series.

The Mets prevailed, 4-2, but needed 16 innings to oust the Astros in Game 6. They were on the brink of elimination in the ninth inning but rallied for three runs to force extra innings. The teams traded runs in the 14th inning. The Mets scored three in the top of the 16th, but the Astros’ rally fell a run short.

With the win, the Mets avoided facing Astros ace Mike Scott in a Game 7. The Mets could not touch Scott and to this day Keith Hernandez admits he was in their heads. The Mets were convinced Scott was scuffing the ball, but never caught him.

The series that begins tonight is the last time time the Astros will play here as a National League team as they will move to the American League in 2013.

I don’t like the idea of the Astros leaving the league. It will be odd not playing them, but then again things have been odd since interleague play and the unbalanced schedule. It’s just not the same race for every team.

As bad as the Mets have been since the break, going 11-28 and having just been swept by Colorado, the Astros have been a horrid 6-33. Part of it is playing poorly and going with young, inexperienced players, but a lot of that has to do with gutting their team in a July fire sale.

While the Mets have played some incredibly horrid baseball in August, the month did produce a bright spot in the emergence of Matt Harvey and yesterday’s stunning debut by Collin McHugh.

Who knows? Maybe we’ll look back at this month as the time when the Mets found the core of a new pitching rotation.
 

Jul 10

Five Ways To Fix The All-Star Game

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When I was growing up I used to love the All-Star Game. The game meant something to me because it was clear it meant something to the players. When two of my favorite players – Pete Rose and Ray Fosse – met at the plate during the 1970 All-Star Game in Cincinnati, it was clear it was not just another game. At least to those two.

FOSSE/ROSE: When the stars played with passion.

At one time they played two All-Star Games. These days there’s not too much of a game at all. It stopped being special when the vote was returned to the fans – ironically, in 1970 – because that’s when it became a popularity contest. Any election where a person can cast an indefinite amount of times is a farce by definition.

As far as I’m concerned, the game officially jumped the shark with interleague play. Soon after, MLB did away with the league offices and merged the umpires. And, of course, let’s not forget the farce of having the two leagues play with different rules regarding the DH.

Baseball’s All-Star Game is by far superior to other sports, but that doesn’t mean changes aren’t necessary. It doesn’t need tinkering, but an overhaul of serious proportions.

Here’s what I would do:

1. It is a pipe dream, I know, but the first thing would be to eliminate interleague play, thereby creating a distinction between the leagues. The leagues will always be blurred to some extent because of free agency and movement of players. Interleague play is a gimmick that has taken luster from the All-Star Game and World Series.

2. Knowing MLB will keep interleague play as long as Bud Selig is around, the next step would be to cut the nonsense about the winning league having home field in the World Series. As long as the fans vote and it is a popularity contest, having it have such an impact in the postseason is a contradiction. The notion of a fan vote, having each team represented and trying to play everybody is the opposite in essence of having the winner determine the Game 7 site of the World Series.

3. Take away the fan vote. Another pipe dream, but I’d rather eliminate the popularity contest angle. Maybe the managers and coaches, or players, or scouts, or media. The stipulation being you can’t vote for your own players.

4. Why should every team be represented? It’s like everybody getting a trophy in the second grade. The only caveat being the host city having a player on the team. Assuring each team being represented often ends up having a deserving player being snubbed.

5. Expand the rosters to include a lifetime achievement participant. If a player is at the end of his career and has been a perennial All-Star but is having a sub-par year, include him on the team. For example, had Chipper Jones had not made it as a late entry, then a spot should have been reserved for him. Give the public a chance to say good-bye.

Dec 19

Endy Chavez Signs With Orioles

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Former Met Endy Chavez is headed to the Baltimore Orioles according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.

Chavez will earn $1.5 million in 2012 with the potential to earn another $500,000 in performance bonuses.

Chavez, 33, played in 83 games last season with the Texas Ranger, batting .301 with five homers, ten stolen bases and 37 runs scored in 256 at-bats.

The Mets were reportedly interested in bringing Chavez back, but Endy may have become too costly for the cash-strapped Mets who seem to be at their spending limit.

Chavez enjoyed his best year as a Met in 2006, when he drove in 42 runs, stole 12 bases and set career highs in batting average (.306) and on-base percentage (.348), but is best known for making one of the greatest defensive plays in postseason history; a leaping catch at the wall to rob Scot Rolen of a home run in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series. Chavez then threw the ball into the infield for an inning-ending double play.