Joey's World Tour: Missouri Madness (Part I - Busch-whacked in St. Louis)

Meet me in St. Louis, preferably in front of the home plate entrance.  (Photo by Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus)

Greetings, baseball and travel enthusiasts.  I'm Joey Beartran, your favorite roving reporter/culinary expert for Studious Metsimus.  Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting Missouri, which is the home of two Major League Baseball teams.  Unfortunately, both of those Show-Me State squads have caused great suffering to Mets fans, as they each contributed to two of the team's most heartbreaking postseason defeats in the 21st century.

As much as I can never root for the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals because of what they did to the Mets in 2006 and 2015, respectively, I can put aside my differences with the teams for just a moment to discuss their cities, ballparks and cuisine, which I will do in this two-part installment of Joey's World Tour.  (You can read the second part by clicking here.)  We begin in the Gateway to the West, St. Louis.

After taking two out of three games against the Cardinals at Citi Field to open the season, the Mets appeared to be on their way to winning another series when they traveled to St. Louis and took the opening game, 6-5 in 10 innings.  The Studious Metsimus staff and I didn't attend that thrilling contest, but we did have tickets to the final two games of the series.  So how did the Mets reward us for traveling halfway across the country to see them finish the job against their hated rivals?

They got blown out in the first game we attended, then dropped a 13-inning heartbreaker in the series finale.  Thanks for nothing, guys!

The games might not have been anything to write home about (or devote more than two sentences about in a blog post), but Busch Stadium and the immediate vicinity around the ballpark were something else.

Behind me is a village within the city, all devoted to food, fun and baseball.  (EL/SM)

Directly behind the left field fence is Ballpark Village, which is a complex that houses several eateries and bars.  From Drunken Fish (sushi) to El Birdos Cantina (Tex-Mex) to the Fudgery (you figure it out), dinner and dessert can all be had a hop, skip and a jump away from the ballpark.  For those who like entertainment with their food and drink, there's the Budweiser Brew House, which is three stories of adult beverages, dancing and live entertainment.  And if you like sports, there's FOX Sports Midwest Live!, which is 20,000 square feet of sports, sports and more sports.  There's also a stage for concerts and a VIP area for people like me.

I didn't visit any of those places, mainly because I had two Mets losses to attend.  But I did enter the Ballpark Village complex for one other thing; the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum.  And what an experience that was!

The floor design as you exit the elevator to the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum (EL/SM)

The first thing you see (besides what's in the photo above) is the wall of Hall of Fame plaques.  Similar to the Mets Hall of Fame, each player given the highest individual honor by the Cardinals has a plaque mounted on a wall, depicting his career highlights.

To the left of these plaques are the players who will be inducted this year.  For 2018, those players are Pepper Martin, Mark McGwire and former Mets broadcaster Tim McCarver.  In addition to their own plaques, each new inductee has a display booth featuring the jerseys they wore and other memorabilia from their career with the Cardinals.

Lots of red in the Cardinals Hall of Fame.  And lots of legends as well.  (EL/SM)

In addition to celebrating their best players, the Cardinals are also proud of their ballparks.  There is a room dedicated to the previous Busch Stadium, complete with a model of the ballpark St. Louis called home from 1966 to 2005 and one of the dugout benches from the dearly departed venue.

The Cardinals also haven't forgotten the other team that used to call St. Louis home.  Until they moved to Baltimore for the 1954 season, the St. Louis Browns shared the city with the Cards.  And in 1944, the two teams squared off in the Street Car Series, which was the first (and only) World Series featuring both teams from the Gateway City.  A display in the museum proudly remembers that Fall Classic, which was won the town's National League squad.

Speaking of the Browns, probably my favorite artifact in the museum was the actual jersey worn by Eddie Gaedel, the 3-foot, 7-inch "athlete" signed by owner Bill Veeck as a publicity stunt.  Wearing the number 1/8 on the back of his uniform, Gaedel walked in his only plate appearance for the Browns in 1951.  Why is it my favorite item in the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum?  Because it's the only uniform that would probably fit me!

Actually, Eddie Gaedel's uniform still looks too big for me.  That's okay.  I'm still growing.  (Photos by EL/SM)

So now you know my favorite display in the museum.  What was my least favorite?  That's easy.  It was the display on the 2006 Cardinals, also known as the team that took the pennant away from the Mets at Shea Stadium.

Featured in the disgusting display of devastating disappointment was the World Series trophy, a World Series ticket, the championship ring won by the victorious Cardinals and one game-used bat and jersey.  But it's not just any bat/jersey combo.  It's the lumber that was wielded by Yadier Molina along with the threads he wore when he hit his infamous home run off Aaron Heilman in the ninth inning of Game Seven of the National League Championship Series.

It's like they knew we were coming and wanted to pour more salt in the 12-year-old wound.

But I wasn't that bad of a sport.  In fact, the next people to enter the room got a clear view of the 2006 display, mainly because they saw it all under a full moon of my creation.

Is that a championship banner or bear-sized toilet paper?  I vote for the latter.  (EL/SM)

I almost felt like I was walking through a maze in the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum.  There was a room dedicated to the legendary Stan Musial.  Then there was one dedicated to the great 1980s teams that won three pennants and one World Series title.  From there, it was on to an area devoted to the great managers in club history.  There was also a timeline with all the uniforms the Cardinals have worn over the years (complete with a photo of Keith Hernandez), including the sweet powder blue jerseys from the '70s and '80s.

But wait, there's more!

There were Cardinals bobbleheads, a model of the new Busch Stadium and a beautiful photo of the construction of the new park with the old stadium still standing.  For some reason, they also had the World Baseball Classic trophy on display.  And there was probably a kitchen sink somewhere in there as well.

But just when you thought the Cardinals couldn't fit anything else inside their museum, they did.  I'm talking about an area dedicated to ex-Met and former teenage shortstop sensation Jose Oquendo.  That's not hyperbole.  The Oquendo space actually exists.

Makes me wonder why there's no Rey Ordoñez jersey in the Mets Hall of Fame and Museum (EL/SM)

If you look at the photo of the construction of the new Busch Stadium, you'll notice that the left field area of the new park overlapped part of the old Busch.  That part of the old ballpark is marked in two places at the new stadium.

In the field level concourse behind the left field foul pole is a painted white line, which is the exact spot while the right field foul line used to be at old Busch Stadium.  Then, on the sidewalk outside the new stadium in the Ballpark Village is a green and yellow line.  That represents the spot where the outfield wall at old Busch used to be.

Howard Johnson took Todd Worrell deep here.  Great memories from before my time.  (EL/SM)

Now that we're talking about the stadium, why not show you what's good there?  The ballpark itself is lovely, with Cardinal red seats on every level.  And if that's not enough red for you, the ballpark is made of red bricks, with small cardinals above every entrance and a pretty big cardinal walking around the ballpark insulting Mets fans in attendance.

Oh, wait.  That was Fredbird, the team's mascot.  And he tried to obscure my colleagues' Mets caps and jerseys when we met him.

My colleagues seemed to enjoy this photo op.  I, on the other hand, wanted to pluck Fredbird's feathers.  (EL/SM)

But seriously, there's red EVERYWHERE.  The ballpark is also decorated with pennants, retired numbers, statues of the greatest players to don the Cardinal red, an homage to a legendary broadcaster, large bricks that detail great moments in Cardinals history (including Steve Carlton's 19-strikeout loss to the Mets in 1969) and a scoreboard that's topped by reminders of each of the Cardinals' World Series championships - all 11 of them.  And the scoreboard on the field isn't the only one in the ballpark.  Located in the field level concourse is the old hand-operated scoreboard from the old Busch Stadium.

I have to say, the ballpark is quite photogenic.

Sweet view, right?  (EL?SM)

Busch Stadium offers beautiful views of the city if you're lucky enough to snag a seat behind home plate, like I did in the above photo.  And speaking of plates, many of the food options at the ballpark are served in containers that are shaped like home plate.  But unlike other ballparks that have unique food options, the fare at Busch Stadium is mostly what you would expect at a minor league ballpark.  You have the basic ballpark cuisine and not much else.  But they did have tater tots, which is always a plus for me.

I also had another potato product, but that was absolutely awful.  It was a potato knish and it pretty much looked like a bread bowl; a very dry flavorless bread bowl with nothing in it.  Don't just take my word for it.  Have a look for yourself.

At least the tater tots were edible.  And that's not saying much.  (EL/SM)

Thinking of how disappointed I was in the food, the fact the Mets lost both games we attended, the stress-inducing artifacts in the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum and the fact that I couldn't convince Fredbird to wear more orange and blue made me glad this was only the first stop in our tour of the two Missouri ballparks.  Surely, Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City had to be better by default.  (Spoiler alert: It was soooooo much better.)

So that's all for the first part of my recap of the two Show-Me State stadiums.  Remember to click here to read about my adventures in Kansas City and also remember to bring your own food into Busch Stadium the next time you visit the park.  Unlike Aaron Heilman's pitch to Yadier Molina, you won't regret that decision.

I regret attending these two losses by the Mets.  (EL/SM)

For previous installments of Joey's World Tour, please click on the links below, where you will be entertained by Joey's wit, photos and love of ballpark cuisine:

World Tour Stop #1: Baltimore
World Tour Stop #2: Washington, DC
World Tour Stop #3: Pittsburgh
World Tour Stop #4: Texas
World Tour Stop #5: Los Angeles
World Tour Stop #6: San Diego
World Tour Stop #7: Toronto
World Tour Stop #8: Chicago (NL)
World Tour Stop #9: Milwaukee
World Tour Stop #10: Seattle
World Tour Stop #11: Cleveland
World Tour Stop #12: Brooklyn (Ebbets Field site) and Manhattan (Polo Grounds site)
World Tour Stop #13: Baltimore (again) and Pittsburgh (part deux)
World Tour Stop #14: Cincinnati
World Tour Stop #15: Colorado
World Tour Stop #16: Cooperstown (Baseball Hall of Fame)
World Tour Stop #17: Detroit
World Tour Stop #18: Atlanta
World Tour Stop #19: Miami

 

One Mo-MET In Time: Dae-Sung Koo

Throughout the years, there have been many Mets players who were on the team for such a short period of time, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything of interest to remind you that they were ever on the team.  Mention the names Matt Wise, Lino Urdaneta and Jon Switzer to most Mets fans and they'll have no clue who you're talking about, even though all of these players appeared in games for the Mets in the 21st century.

Neither player - they were all pitchers, by the way - spent more than a few months on the major league roster and none of them accomplished anything of note to endear themselves to those fortunate Mets fans who actually saw them play and can vouch that they were not a figment of our collective imaginations.

But every once in a while, there comes a short-term player who saves himself from blue-and-orange obscurity by doing something that no one expected to see him do on a baseball field.  Occasionally, that player will accomplish his feat in front of a sellout crowd.  And sometimes, that packed house will witness that player cementing his legacy against a Hall of Fame pitcher on a legendary team.

Those who were in attendance at Shea Stadium on May 21, 2005 can confirm that one such player will never be forgotten.

How do you do, Mr. Koo?  (Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Dae-Sung Koo was a journeyman pitcher before he ever stepped on a mound in the United States.  From 1993 to 2000, he pitched in the Korean Baseball Organization, winning the league's Most Valuable Player Award in 1996 when he notched 18 wins, 24 saves and posted a league-best 1.88 ERA.  He then spent the next four years of his professional career pitching in the Japanese Pacific League before announcing his desire to play in the major leagues.  Koo was courted by both New York teams, but chose the Mets over their crosstown rivals because the Yankees took too much time to make him an offer.

Upon his arrival at the Mets' spring training facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida, the 35-year-old southpaw immediately let it be known how he wanted to be identified, knowing that his new teammates and fans could have a problem with his name.

"For Americans, my first name is very hard to pronounce," said Koo through his interpreter.  "Over here, I will go by my last name only.  My teammates can call me Koo."

And thus, the legend of Mr. Koo was born.

Although Mr. Koo was a grizzled veteran with a dozen years of professional baseball experience, he was not a lock to break camp with the Mets in 2005.  At Port St. Lucie, Mr. Koo was competing with the likes of Matt Ginter, Scott Stewart and Scott Strickland for a coveted spot in the bullpen.  Ginter, Stewart and Strickland did not come north with the team.  Mr. Koo did.

Mr. Koo got off to a fast start in the big leagues, allowing no runs in his first six appearances and holding hitters to a .200 batting average and .294 on-base percentage.  As with most newcomers to the majors, Mr. Koo had some blemishes during his first few months, allowing three runs to the Washington Nationals in a mop-up role on April 23 and a game-tying three-run homer in an outing against the Chicago Cubs sixteen days later.  But even those hiccups didn't hurt Mr. Koo or the Mets, as the team was victorious in both efforts.

By late May, Mr. Koo had become the team's top left-handed reliever, as fellow southpaw Mike Matthews (10.80 ERA in six appearances) failed miserably and was designated for assignment before completing his first month in a Mets uniform.  That made Mr. Koo a valuable asset when the Mets squared off against the Yankees - a team loaded with left-handed hitters and switch hitters - during the Shea Stadium portion of the Subway Series.  But no one could have expected that his bat and legs would be just as important as his arm.

A sweet swing by a lefty wearing No. 17 at Shea Stadium.  Wait, that's not Keith Hernandez!  (Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

On May 21, the Mets entered the seventh inning of their showdown with the Yankees with a slim 2-0 lead.  But after Alex Rodriguez singled off Mets starter Kris Benson to lead off the inning, manager Willie Randolph decided to bring in his lefty specialist to fan the flames.  Mr. Koo would have to face Tino Martinez, Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano - all left-handed hitters - with each batter representing the tying run as long as Rodriguez was on base.  Unfortunately for the Yankees, A-Rod wasn't on base very long.

On a 1-1 pitch from Mr. Koo, Rodriguez took off for second base.  But upon realizing he was going to be thrown out by catcher Mike Piazza, Rodriguez retreated to first base, only to be tagged out by first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz.  Without the added pressure of facing the tying run, Mr. Koo proceeded to strike out Martinez and Posada to end the inning and give his manager an interesting problem.

Mr. Koo pitched quite well in the top half of the seventh, but was due to lead off for the Mets in the bottom half of the inning.  Meanwhile, the Yankees still had the lefty-swinging Robinson Cano due to bat first in the eighth inning and the Mets had no other southpaws in the bullpen.  Keeping that in mind, Randolph decided to let Mr. Koo bat for himself to lead off the bottom of the seventh against hard-throwing lefty Randy Johnson.

In his short major league career, Mr. Koo had never swung the bat in a game.  That's not to say that he hadn't had an at-bat in a game.  Just five days earlier, Mr. Koo had his first plate appearance when he strolled up to the plate against the Cincinnati Reds, but kept the bat on his shoulders as he watched three strikes from Todd Coffey go untouched into the catcher's mitt.

No one will ever confuse Todd Coffey with Randy Johnson.  So no one would have been upset or surprised had Mr. Koo also taken three straight strikes from the flame-throwing Yankee.  Well, no one except Mr. Koo, that is.

After Johnson's first two pitches to Mr. Koo - both of which were taken by the Mets reliever - FOX analyst Tim McCarver opined that Mr. Koo was going to be completely overmatched by the future Hall of Famer, basically saying that the 35-year-old "rookie" might as well just give up against Johnson.

"I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that this is, thus far in this young season, this is the biggest give-up at-bat."





Before McCarver had even finished his statement, Mr. Koo had already taken the bat off his shoulders for the first time in his short career, taking a hack at Johnson's third pitch.  To everyone's amazement and amusement, Mr. Koo made solid contact, driving the ball over the head of center fielder Bernie Williams, who was playing as shallow as can be expected against a hitter of Mr. Koo's caliber.

The ball landed just in front of the center field fence, approximately 400 feet from home plate.  Mr. Koo rounded second base and thought about stretching his first major league hit to a triple, but thought better of it, choosing to remain at second base.

With the energetic crowd and his teammates in the dugout all serenading him with a thunderous "KOOOOOOOOO!!!", Johnson turned away from the unlikely slugger and prepared to face shortstop and leadoff hitter Jose Reyes.  On Johnson's second pitch, Reyes dropped a successful sacrifice bunt, moving Mr. Koo to third base and putting him in position to score on something other than a hit.  Except the next batter never got a chance to drive him in, because by the time No. 2 hitter Miguel Cairo stepped up to the plate, Mr. Koo had already crossed it.

When Reyes dropped his bunt, catcher Jorge Posada ran out to field the ball and throw it to first.  Johnson, perhaps still disgusted with himself for allowing a hit to a relief pitcher who had never swung the bat in a major league game, forgot to cover the plate.  Johnson's mental fart allowed an astute Mr. Koo to round third and make a break for home.  Posada raced back and took first baseman Tino Martinez's throw about ten feet in front of the plate, then lunged toward a diving Mr. Koo.

With Reyes's bat resting across the batter's box, Mr. Koo used a head-first slide as he somehow maneuvered around both Reyes's lumber and the lumbering Posada before looking up to see that home plate umpire Chuck Meriwether had called him safe.  The daring base running by Mr. Koo gave the Mets a 3-0 lead, and gave Mets fans (and Tim McCarver) something they would talk about long after they left Shea Stadium that afternoon.

Mr. Koo finishes the most incredible trip around the bases in recent memory.  (Vincent Laforet/NY Times)

Following Mr. Koo's 360-foot Tour de Flushing, the Mets added another run in the seventh on a solo home run by Cairo just moments after Mr. Koo had scampered home.  They tacked on three additional runs an inning later to blow the game wide open.  By then, Mr. Koo's day was already done, as he exited to a thunderous ovation from the 55,800 fans in attendance after striking out Robinson Cano in the top of the eighth.  The Mets won the game handily, 7-1, leaving the Yankees to wonder about the Koo-tastrophe that had occurred before their stunned eyes.

Prior to May 21, 2005, Randy Johnson had excelled against the Mets, going 6-3 with a 2.32 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in ten regular season starts.  But beginning with the game of Mr. Koo's life, Johnson struggled mightily versus New York's National League squad.  The Big Unit shriveled in his last six starts versus the Mets, going 0-4 with an ungodly 7.90 ERA and 1.75 WHIP.

Johnson's 6-7 lifetime record against the Mets was the only losing mark he posted against any National League team.  The 4.26 ERA he put up in 16 career starts was also his worst against any of the sixteen Senior Circuit squads.  (Houston moved to the American League in 2013, four years after Johnson retired.)

As for Mr. Koo, he never batted again for the Mets, appearing exclusively on the mound for each of his final 15 appearances on a major league diamond.  Perhaps it was for the best that Mr. Koo never took a bat in his hands again, as two weeks after he completed his memorable day on the mound, at the plate and around the bases, Mr. Koo was placed on the disabled list with a rotator cuff injury that he suffered during his Slide Heard 'Round The World.  Despite pitching well upon his return from the DL, posting a 1.04 ERA in 11 appearances, Mr. Koo was optioned to AAA-Norfolk in late August and was designated for assignment a month later.  He never pitched again in the majors, but that didn't deter him, as he is still playing professionally at the age of 45 for the Sydney Blue Sox in the Australian Baseball League.

In 33 appearances with the Mets during his only season with the team in 2005, Mr. Koo did not record a win, loss or save.  His 33 career appearances remain the most by any pitcher in franchise history whose name never appeared in the win column, loss column or save column.  But just because he had a zero in all three categories doesn't mean he couldn't be a hero for one glorious day in 2005.

Dae-Sung Koo was respectfully known as Mr. Koo by his teammates and fans.  And although he barely played for the Mets, he earned his respect with an unlikely series of events that made him the talk of the town during a spring weekend in 2005.  The Subway Series made household names out of players like Dave Mlicki, Matt Franco and Shawn Estes.  It did the same for a journeyman pitcher from South Korea.

When he first came to the Mets, Mr. Koo didn't expect anyone to know how to pronounce his first name.  But by the end of his short tenure on the team, everyone certainly knew his last name.  Fifty-five thousand Koo-ing fans can vouch for that.

YouTube video courtesy of kifan

Note:  One Mo-MET In Time is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets players who will forever be known for a single moment, game or event, regardless of whatever else they accomplished during their tenure with the Mets.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:

January 5, 2015: Mookie Wilson 
January 12, 2015: Dave Mlicki
January 19, 2015: Steve Henderson 
January 26, 2015: Ron Swoboda
February 2, 2015: Anthony Young
February 9, 2015: Tim Harkness
February 16, 2015: Kenny Rogers, Aaron Heilman, Tom Glavine
February 23, 2015: Mike Vail
March 2, 2015: Matt Franco
March 9, 2015: Shawn Estes
 

Are You Ready For Some Hot Stove?

The Boston Red Sox finished off the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 Wednesday night to take the 2013 World Series crown.  In doing so, the once-cursed team won their third title in ten seasons, or one more than the Mets have won in 52 seasons.  What will the Mets have to do to win that coveted third championship?  That’s something Sandy Alderson and his Merry Men will have to address during the Hot Stove season, which is now officially underway.  It should be the most important offseason the Mets have had in nearly a decade.

The Mets need help.  Okay, let’s be honest.  They need lots of help.  They need as much help as Jaime Escalante’s students needed to master “cal-cool-us”.

First base?  According to Little Jeffy Wilpon, the Mets have a glut at first base.  Not a glut of talent at first base.  Just a glut.  I guess the next time Webster’s dictionary is updated, the word glut will be defined as “a hybrid of Lucas Duda and Ike Davis” or “the roadblock that prevents a team from pursuing a highly coveted Cuban talent”.

Second base?  Well, that’s Daniel Murphy’s position for the time being.  But now there is talk about moving Gold Glove finalist Eric Young, Jr. to second base.  For the record, Young was considered for a Gold Glove for his defensive excellence in left field, not second base.

Shortstop?  Will Ruben Tejada ever get another shot to be a starter there?  Probably not.  The Mets will have to consider trading for a shortstop that can play the position effectively on a daily basis.  Otherwise, we might see Justin Turner more than we should there.  For all I care, the Mets can trade him to the World Champion Red Sox.  His beard would fit right in.

Sorry, Justin.  Mike Napoli is not impressed.

Third base?  The Captain.  Let’s move on.

Left field?  If Eric Young doesn’t move to second base (he better not), he’ll probably stay in left to entertain the drunken Party City dwellers.  But he might be better served as a fourth outfielder, a la Endy Chavez.  The Mets need to add some pop to the lineup, and left field is one of the positions that could use some.  Lucas Duda need not apply.

Center field?  That belongs to the smooth-as-silk Juan Lagares.  Lagares proved he can handle the position, making superb catch after super catch and showing off his strong, accurate arm every time an opposing player was foolish enough to test him.  You know who else was foolish?  The people who made Andrew McCutchen and Denard Span finalists for the Gold Glove in center field over Lagares.

Right field?  Give me Choo or give me someone who’s better than whomever the Mets trotted out there last year after Byrd became the word in Pittsburgh.  Obviously, acquiring Shin-soo Choo would prove the Mets are indeed down with OBP, as his .423 on-base percentage was second in the league to teammate Joey Votto.  Choo also posted his third career 20/20 season, hitting 21 homers and stealing 20 bases.  If Eric Young, Jr. loses playing time, the Mets will have to find steals from someone other than the National League stolen base king.  Byrd was the word in 2013.  Choo should do in 2014.

Catcher?  Like it or not, the position belongs to Travis d’Arnaud.  He’ll have to perform better if he wants to be known for something other than being the Met with a large P on his back.  To back up d’Arnaud, the Mets should probably bring in a veteran player.  But if they don’t, Anthony Recker isn’t a terrible option.

Starting pitchers?  Zack Wheeler, Jonathon Niese and Dillon Gee form the top three.  The bottom two is where the Mets will have to be creative.  Although Rafael Montero has already made 16 starts at the Triple-A level, he will probably not get called up until June at the earliest.  And Noah Syndergaard has yet to face Triple-A hitters, so don’t expect to see him at Citi Field before the All-Star Break.  With Jenrry Mejia coming off an injury, as well as Jeremy Hefner and that Harvey guy recovering from major surgery, the Mets will need at least one and perhaps two veteran stopgaps in the rotation.  Aaron Harang did okay in his late-season tryout and so did Daisuke Matsuzaka.  If I had Wilpon blood running through my veins, I’d bring back Dice-K.  After all, how would the Mets ever sell their glut (there’s that word again) of Matsuzaka T-shirts that are left in the team store?

Dice-K's shirt is almost outselling the Sandy Koufax Brooklyn Dodgers jersey in the Mets Team Store.

Relief pitchers?  Bobby Parnell, LaTroy Hawkins and Scott Rice should stay.  Scott Atchison could also stay unless the Senior League reforms and takes him as their No. 1 overall pick.  Everyone else can fade away or join the Phillies, like every other former Met eventually does, except for Frank Francisco.  He’ll be taking advantage of his soon-to-be unemployment by petitioning the Olympic committee to add chair tossing as a medal event.

Bench?  The Mets need a well-balanced bench.  It can’t be full of .260 hitters with little power and no speed.  (The fact that Justin Turner has hit exactly .260 in his career with little power and no speed should be viewed as a coincidence.  It does not reflect my personal distaste for the pie-chucker.  Supposedly.)  The non-starters should be split evenly between left-handed and right-handed hitters, with at least one speedster that can be brought in to pinch-run, one power bat, one contact bat, one utility player and one late-inning defensive replacement.  If a player can combine two of those talents, the Mets will have a better chance to compete when they eventually play another 20-inning game.

With Matt Harvey out for the 2014 campaign and many positions still up for grabs, the Mets enter the hot stove season with many pieces needed to complete what should be an interesting puzzle.  If Papa Smirk and Little Jeffy aren’t willing to keep their promise of spending money this offseason, the only thing Mets fans will have to look forward to in 2014 is not having to subject themselves to Tim McCarver’s analysis (he put the “anal” in analysis) during Saturday FOX telecasts.  As much as a Timmy-less Saturday pleases a plethora of Mets fans, we’d like a little more than that to make us not want to jump off the Shea Bridge in a Lime-A-Rita-fueled stupor.  Besides, we won’t have Frank Francisco to break our fall this year.

Let’s get cracking, Sandy!  Put some logs in the hot stove and see if you can fire up the fan base.  End this five-year fizzle by making Citi Field sizzle.  The Red Sox shouldn’t have to have all the fun in October. 
 

25 Years Ago: Mets Clinch NL East Division Title

Do you remember where you were 25 years ago today?  If you were alive and a Mets fan, you definitely should.

On September 17, 1986, the Mets became champions of the National League East for the first time in 13 years, riding the arm of a young Dwight Gooden en route to a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs.  The game marked the first career start for Dave Magadan, who went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

The Cubs scored both of their runs on the "strength" of Rafael Palmeiro's two-run HR.  It was only the second home run of Palmeiro's career, a career that saw him blast 584 more longballs and wave one finger at Congress.

Despite Palmeiro's homer, manager Davey Johnson kept Gooden in the game for the ninth inning, when he could have used either of his co-closers (Jesse Orosco and Roger McDowell).  He also inserted Keith Hernandez at first base for the final inning.  It was Hernandez's bout with the flu that kept him out of the starting lineup and allowed Dave Magadan to get his first major league start at first base.

Gooden began the ninth inning by walking Cubs catcher Jody Davis.  Shawon Dunston (who himself had a key moment in Mets history during the 1999 NLCS) then grounded into a fielder's choice, with Davis retired at second base.  Pinch-hitter Chris Speier then singled to put the tying runs on base.

Two on, one out, no call to the bullpen.  It was Doc's game to win or lose.

Dwight settled down after the single to Speier, striking out pinch-hitter Jerry Mumphrey.  With two outs, Chico Walker stepped up to the plate.  Let's go to Steve Zabriskie and Rusty Staub for the play-by-play:




As Rusty Staub said, it was "13 years of waiting" for the Mets and their fans (Rusty himself was a key member of the last Mets team to win a division title in 1973), but the team finally clinched the National League Eastern division crown 25 years ago today, on September 17, 1986.

By losing four straight games on the road to Philadelphia and St. Louis (the Mets did win the final game of their two-game series in St. Louis on September 16), the Mets allowed themselves the opportunity and luxury of winning the division title in front of the Shea faithful.

Although millions of fans will now claim to have been there, a total of 47,823 fans tore into the field after the final out was recorded.  We don't know if any of those fans caught the flu from coming into close contact with Keith Hernandez after he caught the final out of the game, but we do know that the city had caught Mets fever.

On September 17, 1986, the Mets were champions again.  They'd go on to win the championship of the National League 28 days later and the World Series 12 days after that, but it's that first taste of champagne that's the sweetest.

Can you believe it's been 25 years already?