..getting paid to watch

A new beginning ....

2006-05-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

and a new home for me. I'm being hosted now by Joe McDonald of NYSportsDay . My new location is still ....getting paid to watch.

Sooner, rather than later

2006-05-13T07:50:00.001-07:00

David Cone had just made his impressive spring debut in 1987 the day before when Doc Gooden went to rehab for the first time. He would be gone until June, and by that time, Cone, Sid Fernandez and Bobby Ojeda had been lost for a significant periods of time. Although a furious surge would take place in the dwindling days of September, a chance to repeat as World Champions was lost before June when the rotation was in shambles.
To be blunt, it takes much from an everyday line-up when a rotation isn't consistently keeping the team in the game. The frequency of early leads and first inning scoring will lessen. Late inning comebacks will become increasingly rare. A pendulum shift of momentum occurs.
So with a lead that once was felt would only grow, two injuries in a rotation prompted a shrinking to two games. Jose Lima's start last Sunday-a loss-was followed by another loss in Philadelphia. That was a Pedro Martinez start. Today journeyman Jeremi Gonzalez goes against a greatly improved Milwaukee Brewers team. Fortunately he will be faced by Dana Eveland who's making his first appearance of the season. He was unremarkable in 27 games last season with an ERA just under 6.00. This game has the makings of lots of scoring in the first half and a bullpen duel during the final four innings. The current configuration of the staff promises more games as this, and the bullpen won't be able to sustain its early season excellence. This is characteristic of a club which plays below .500. So don't expect the Mets to take this path for long.
Its unlikely Lima will get many more shots and his lack of success doesn't figure to allow Gonzalez a long leash either. As the price for a starter of significance such as Livan Hernandez is currently prohibitive, a meeting that will be held soon to determine a course of action. If the powers that be decide its too soon for Mike Pelfrey or Alay Soler, then the only course of action left is for Aaron Heilman to return to the rotation. And sooner, rather than later.

Sooner, rather than later

2006-05-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

Nothing ever goes as planned.....

2006-05-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

..does it?
When Victor Zambrano sprinted off the mound yesterday, I sort of knew it was his elbow. A torn tendon or ligament is quite obvious to the one who has just suffered from it. And the torn tendon will sideline Victor Zambrano until the 2007 is well underway was already partially torn this season and Zambrano was pitching with it. The age old expression that a player's particular injury is "barking" has endured several generations it seems. And Zambrano's elbow had been barking for sometime, with only a chosen few in the Mets' clubhouse knowing.
These kind of things have happened for many, many years. A player wants to compete badly and even pain or the danger of career threatening circumstances will get in the way of this drive. Teammates know this need to compete and will protect the secret while providing a knowing broker to confide in. Any person who would blow the whistle on such pain-trainers, coaches alike-are kept out of the loop of the secret.
So what's done is done and here we are, with two of the five starters who left Florida now sidelined. Today the Mets send Jose Lima to the mound, a clear sentimental choice from many corners. His competitive nature and clubhouse presence will be extremely useful intangibles on this club which is playing very well. And they will play well behind him. This will be his 232nd major league start. Expect to see more of them in a Mets uniform.
There are four formative months before September comes around. Leads of 5 games over Philadelphia and 9 over Atlanta are extremely helpful here at the end of the first week of May. But with the Mets having to go into the second string of starters now in the back end of the rotation, the dominace may begin to subside somewhat. And the starting staff will have to swim on its own for awhile. A trade is always a possibility, but the price now is way, way too high to obtain a quality big league starter. It will get smaller as the deadline approaches. For the time being solutions will have to come from within.

Ron Darling

2006-05-05T03:56:00.000-07:00

Ron Darling quickly scribbled his cell phone number on my note pad for me after we visited for awhile in the Legends Field dugout in late March. Like the rest of the old Mets I encountered, I was taken by the sense of calm and content they all conveyed. I shared this with Darling and he painted a picture un like any I'd heard before. During the mid-to-late 1980's, Darling described a metaphorical perfect storm that was fostered between the team, the city, the attitude and expectations collided at once. Like many of them, Darling found himself feeding off it. Only after periods of reflection could one come to such conclusions, and have such self deprecating humor. Ronnie's frequent observations about his own struggles at Shea are instructive for fans. Last night SNY broadcast was one of them. When Pirate starter Paul Malholm loaded the bases in the thirds, Darling said he was having a flashback to 1984 and 1985. Flashback was a favorite Darling expression I remember well and the manner in which he explained Malholm's predicament with his own career was refreshing and enlightening. Maybe a star is born yet again.

Two of three, but some cause for concern....

2006-05-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

...and primarily in the rotation.
As the Mets lead going into May is still one of significant comfort in six games over the Braves and Phillies, its time to take some stock in the starting rotation.
With the passing of months during the season, more comparisons will be made with the 1986 club. Two first ballot Hall of Famers are at the top this season's Mets in Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine. Not much to compare here although Doc Gooden was dominate at the time. But it is in who follows where there is great water to navigate.
After Gooden, any of the four remainder of Ron Darling, Rick Aguilera, Sid Fernandez and Bobby Ojeda could be relied upon to deliver a quality start. It was by all measures the best staff in the game, and might well have been over as many as five seasons. Gary Carter pointed out to me last month that had today's play-off system been in place, the Mets probably have been in post season play every year from 1985 through 1990. The starting staff of the time which later included the likes of David Cone and Frank Viola, both Cy Young winners albeit with other teams.
Yesterday's bad day for Steve Trachsel at Turner Field should come as no surprise to anyone. He's now a collective 3-10 in Atlanta over his 12 year career and is now 1-4 against the NL East since his return late last season from back surgery. He's had only three winning seasons. Trachsel is an innings eater and best suited on this club as a fourth or fifth starter.
With tonight's start by Victor Zambrano ominous and tomorrow's John Maine debut not much more than that, one can assume Omar Minaya must note the same. This team is built and invested to win now, and I believe Minaya won't let his cellphone go unused.
Look first toward the struggling. The Minnesota Twins come first to mind. Terry Ryan and Joe McIlavaine know the Mets well and have been trading partners in the past. Johan Santana has struggled, but might be had. But Ryan and Joe Mac wont go for a care package of four of five.
The 1989 deal which brought Frank Viola to Shea, McIlvaine parted with Rick Aguilera, David West and Kevin Tapini. Aguilera was already an established pitcher and had proved effectiveness as a starter and reliever. West was a jewell among prospects. Tapani was felt to be rotation ready and ended up being just that. Tim Drummond, a pitcher was also included in the deal.
McIlvaine balked at the inclusion of outfielder Mark Carreon, but Andy McPhail knew that he had to have a fifth player from a public relations stand-point. So from his St. Louis motel room McIlvaine proposed a player-to-be-named later and McPhail agreed. The trade was consummated before the July 31st deadline and Viola started the next night at Busch Stadium.
Unless scouts indicate there's something terribly irreplably flawed in Santana, or he's not healthy, look for Ryan to shop him. In a smaller market this is the manner in which the twice world champion Twins have done business over the last 20 years. With White Sox, Indians and now the Tigers all playing well in their division assume the extremely wise and pragmatic McIlavine and Ryan to be having quiet conversations in dugouts, in the stands on their cell phones sooner rather than later.
And when August come around the best case scenario for the Mest will be a rotation of Martinez, Glavine, Mike Pelfrey, Steven Trachsel and someone very, very good who's not yet a Met.

Inside that umpire thing yesterday in the Bronx

2006-05-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

When the normally recalcitrant Mike Mussina became verbally engaged with rookie umpire,Adam Dowdy yesterday while leaving the field after the top of the fifth, Joe Torre knew he had to take action. In danger of losing his starter who was dealing at that point, he quickly sought to change the attention from the beleaguered umpire to himself. Another example of a manager protecting his player, Torre did what he is paid to do. Quickly gesturing by showing three fingers was all it took to get Mussina out of the fray and keep him in the game.
Toronto manager, John Gibbons, made certain no undue advantage would be had when he was tossed for arguing after Alex Rodriguez was walked to put the Yankees ahead in the next half.
Torre and Gibbons are similar in demeanor, and have to go outside themselves somewhat to get tossed from a ballgame. Neither of them use foul language much at all. Both demonstrated yesterday savvy in-game judgment.

Sophomoric and snide......

2006-05-01T05:31:00.000-07:00

.....is much of the second day coverage by the print media of the Jets draft this weekend. Aside from a rather and balanced take by Newsday, Ken Berger, the collective assessments were two thumbs down. Sadly, Berger's story was sabotaged by the misleading headline on the online addition, "Solid draft, but no QB." when two actually were picked.
Gary Myers and Rich Cimini continued their assault on the Jets weekend work. Myers revelations of the Jets furious attempt to get the Lions ninth pick to get Matt Leinart only seemed to embolden his critisism:

Even so, passing on Leinart at No. 4 was a mistake. They could have rectified that by making the trade with Detroit. If the Jets had been able to squeeze the Falcons for their own No. 1 pick (15th) in the Abraham trade - they didn't get enough for him - they would have had enough ammunition to pull off the trade with Detroit. Ironically, the Broncos, who wound up with that Atlanta pick in the three-way Abraham deal, moved up from that spot to the Rams' No. 11 spot and took Cutler. The price: a third-round pick, No. 68.
Mike Tannenbaum confirmed the Jest effort this morning on Mike an Mike of ESPN. Myers later plays the history card and closes with this:

Fifteen years ago, the Jets desperately tried to trade up for Brett Favre. They couldn't get a deal done and Favre went one spot ahead of them to the Falcons. The Jets took Browning Nagle. If Leinart becomes an All-Pro, the Jets will regret passing on him and then not paying enough when they had a second chance.
Tannenbaum explained with a simple word the philosophy in taking two lineman in the first round. It was the word, "infrastructure." and its use speaks volumes to the manner in which Tannenbaum and Eric Mangini look upon the task which they are charged with on Long Island.
The Daily News headline which accompanies the Cimini column, "Jets Doing it Bills Way," sets up this take:

They went heavy on intangibles, stressing leadership, work ethic, all those goodies. To remind his scouts of the mantra, Mangini posted a sign in the draft room that lists the characteristics he wants in his players. They've attacked free agency with the same philosophy, signing mostly overachieving role players.
Why such an emphasis on character?
Why such an emphasis on character? A veteran football observer as Cimini should know better than to emphasize something so simplistic. But he continues:

The Jets' 10-player draft class includes former college captains and academic all-Americas. Of course, this isn't a training ground for the Future Business Leaders of America; it's a football team. Talent wins.
Yes, indeed. Yet this assumes much. In quarterbacks, Brad Smith and Kellen Clemens, the Jets clearly drafted players with talent and players who have proved they win. Leon Washington, the running back from Florida State has had big games against big-time competition. Nevermind that you definitely never want a lockeroom void of leadership. Teams in all sports always are looking to add players of character and shun players without it. Note how the Mets leaped at the chance to get Paul LoDuca, and how no teams drafted Marcus Vick.
Both Myers and Cimini have now signaled they will be looking to criticize the Jets in seasons to come when opportunity presents itself after any subpar game at quarterback or when Curtis Martin shows signs of being over 30.
Just maybe among the four quarterbacks in camp one can emerge as one who delivers play-off games on the road in a hostile environment. And just maybe D'Brickashaw Ferguson protects the blindside of Jet quarterbacks all by himself while allowing them to run left again.
Other Observations:It really encouraging that Chad Pennigton has been throwing since March 1st. This indicates whatever soft tissue was damaged has indeed healed........It appears the Jets discovered Ohio State linebacker, Anthony Shlegel when they were scouting eventual 5th pick, AJ Hawk........From Berger's story today comes the tidbit that the Jets had Clemens arm strength ranked second only to Jay Cutler's but ahead of both Vince Young and Leinart.

Writers versus Tannenbaum/Mangini

2006-04-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

It seems to me that the only people upset about the Jets not getting Reggie Bush are scribes like Steve Serby and Gary Myers. Myers also ripped the Jets for not taking Matt Leinart.
History hardened Jets fans cheered at D'Brickashaw Ferguson's selection. One Jet fan actually pointed at his head to indicate smart choice. Most of ESPN's analyst seemed to understand what Mike Tannenbaum and Eric Mangini were doing, not only accenting the positives, but realizing that the Saints price was beyond what anyone could pay. The second pick of Ohio State center, Nick Mangold signaled the Jets know there are no quick fixes and are indeed building for the future. With a shut-down left tackle and a center perhaps now representing cornerstones of an offensive line that plays in cold weather, essentials could be in place for a decade.
In Oregon's Kellen Clemens the Jets have their quarterback of the future. Although in Rich Cimini's assessment indicates questionable arm strength, ESPN's Ron Jaworski emphatically endorsed the pick and showed tape of the kind of high quality throw Clemen's will be making in the NFL.
It seems that Woody Johnson hired two sober, sharp football guys to run his football team. And they don't read the newspaper.

One down.....

2006-04-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

Readers must notice my frequent utilization of ................Its even in my blog title. I often ask myself why is this so. But I know its intended to add emphasis and drama to the obvious. And the obvious for the Mets and their fans is that even in a series that is not even a month old, a sweep is something that's needed badly to rid themselves of the demons the past.
Last night was a beginning and hope is enhanced knowing that John Thompson and Kyle Davies will be taking the mound for the Braves these next two games at Turner Field. So with the Chipper Jones home run in the sixth which made it a one run game being answered in dramatic fashion by the Carlos Delgado sac fly and David Wright homerun in the ninth, a message was made clear. These Mets won't be wilting in the shadows on the Jones boys in Turner Field and will bring it for a full nine innings.
Willie Randolph may been entertaining thoughts of removing Pedro Martinez after facing both Jones' in the sixth, but the Chipper Jones two-run homer which made it 3-2 changed everything. Martinez answered quickly by striking out Andrew Jones to stem the fresh wound. Then he went on to quiet the Brave bats in the seventh enabling Randolph to put the ball in the hands of his most reliable relievers in Duaner Sanchez and Billy Wagner.
Before Sanchez' easy eighth, Jose Reyes probably went out to short thinking about bunting to lead off the ninth to get his team another run. With Reyes' speed, any ball that is an effort for a pitcher to reach is a hit. Paul LoDuca's unselfish team play continued with a quality bunt to get Reyes to third after his stolen base for Delgado. Delgado delivered his 68th career sacrifice fly in front of Wright's second homerun of the game.
This remarkable performance by the top half of the line-up in the ninth on the road shows focus on winning beforehand and proverbial killer instinct. Done once during the course of a season, it becomes easier and easier to duplicate as it draws on.

All the elements of foreshadowing.....

2006-04-28T03:36:00.000-07:00

...are in place for the beginning of tonight's last three days of April in Atlanta. The numerous comparisons to the 1986 Mets are understandable in an anniversary year that's being celebrated and in this writer's points of reference. With hopes and expectations high, both teams had its own kryptonite in an adversary. For the Mets of 1986, they needed to prove they could both beat and dominate the Cardinals after the bitter 1985 campaign. For these Mets its much more painful, with an almost decade of futility behind them.
My friend, Adam Rubin runs the numbers today in his column in the NY Daily News.. A bitter pill loss to the Braves in six games in the 1999 playoffs and a good run to the World Series in 2000 for a loss to the Yankees never has filled the void. The Mets have been a franchise of immeasurable uniqueness with its two championships so endlessly romanticized. Seemingly, this current team, like the 1986 bunch, needs to exorcise its demons.
A wounded and mediocre Braves team arrived at Shea Stadium last week, but left with 2 of three games. Not again. And with the Mets not winning a series in Atlanta since 1997, the numbers aren't, well, encouraging. In 1986, the Cardinals beat the Mets in a bad opening day loss. But the two days of rain which followed somehow soothed and healed before winning five straight and moving on to St. Louis to sweep 4 in dominant form. For these Mets, maybe its a trip to California and a nice day off that will erase the very large monkey on their backs.
Even so, this team's demon is indeed the Braves. And beating them somehow seems a step that needs to be taken before they can move on.

Thats So random for April 27th

2006-04-27T04:02:00.000-07:00

Toby Hyde is doing yeoman's work over at Mets Minor League Report . His site is truly your one-stop shopping for day-to-day action in the Mets minor league system. Hyde's spot is part of an inovative idea by Matt Cerrone of Metsblog to host blogs on his site. He indicates which bloggers have recently updated and its easy to join. Matt's going pro and this appears to be a great idea. Make sure you keep Metsblog on your favorites and go there daily............Brian Bannister's injury does not look good and I expect him to be placed on the DL...........I predict that if the Mets decide to place Carlos Beltran on the DL, Randolph and Minaya will summon Lastings Milledge. These two aren't afraid to make moves like these and shouldn't be. Milledge is an immediate impact player, and can provide offense right away. Its rare that this type player is available in your system, and his addition will be like acquiring another bat for free during the season.......The Mets bullpen won that game yesterday, the Wagner homerun to Bonds notwithstanding. I still don't like not using Paul Lo Duca when he's not starting..............Veteran outfielder Michael Tucker wasn't signed just to play in the minors. I'd wondered if the Mets were interested in Lenny Harris. With Jose Valentin continuing to struggle, look for Tucker's name to start being mentioned sooner rather than later. Its imperitive with fewer bench players that a left-handed bat be on the bench that can hit the ball out of the ballpark.

Unwarrated Perception

2006-04-26T04:01:00.000-07:00

Two separate realities exist now regarding Carlos Beltran. One, in which are backed up by numbers, is of a player who's demonstrated his resilience and toughness as an everyday player. The other is one in which exists through the fog of talk radio and tabloid snide innuendo. Joel Sherman's story today about Johnny Damon notes the contrasts in perceptions about the two ceneterfielders in New York.

Parole was rescinded over the past week when Beltran hurt his hamstring, found the bench, and the Mets began losing. This quiet, introspective player again is imprisoned by a five-borough debate about his toughness, mental and physical.

I feel as if I'm in the minority of bloggers here, as most colleagues seem to feel that Beltran simply isn't getting it done. Perhaps this is a product of salaries in a historical perspective. Maybe its limited to bad clubs. George Foster and Bobby Bonilla come to mind. Recall Cliff Floyd's relationship during his early tenure. Time will tell with Beltran as both hopes and indications are that this current club is doing well.
Some members of the media have indeed come to Beltran's defense. Most notably broadcaster, Gary Cohen and New York Daily News' Adam Rubin as both sighted Beltran playing with a painful quad injury last season. Cohen brings considerable legitimacy as he's never shied away from criticism for anything Mets. As part of the pajama media, I add myself to this list.
Now to simply make my point. In Beltran's seven year major league career, he's been on the disabled list just twice-in 2000 for a knee injury and again at the beginning of 2003 for an abdominal strain. He never went on the DL last season, either for the quad which hampered him all year of after the still disturbing collision with Mike Cameron. He's averaged If the two month stint for the knee injury is thrown out from 2000, Beltran has averaged better than 155 games perseason. This number alone provides much argument.
In this space here over the weekend, I attempted to detail the reasons why Beltran's current hamstring troubles are nothing to scoff at. Keeping the nature of the injury in mind, Beltran's absence from the line-up has been prudent. Clearly when he attempted to play this past weekend in San Diego, indications were that he wasn't ready. He may have actually aggravated the injury which would explain both the Mets caution and his absence from the line-up.

Political Correctness has reached the dugout

2006-04-24T03:50:00.000-07:00

During the 1970's, it became common for female reporters to have access to baseball's clubhouses. It took a court order, but it happened and quite frankly, we all got used to changing in front of our lockers and walking to the shower while there were women present. So at some point baseball was bound to take the next step.
When Mike Piazza homered Saturday night, I'm sure there was more than one person who was surprised to see a female face in the Padres dugout. Count Keith Hernandez among them. His comments and what happened afterwards are covered in Bob Raissman's piece this morning in the NY Daily News.
After I left baseball I had the priveledge of working with students from the University of South Carolina Athletic Training Department. Half were female. So in that number I knew eventually women would find thier way into the highest levels of professional sports. It's here.
Kelly Calabrese is a Certified Massage Therapist and is considered part of the Padres medical staff. Acceptance of her or another professional like her is not actually formal, but is accepteSo d practice. Its true that MLB rules allow for only a head and assistant trainer to be in the dugout during the game. But for some time nowclubs have had strength coaches and physical therapists and they have been in the dugout, too. This argument that she shouldn't be there base on this unenforced rule doesn't apply.
At any rate, Keith Hernandez made his comments in a manner which some may have found offensive, he was called on the carpet and subsequenly apologized. I feel that I know Hernandez well, and feel his comments were based on the fact he indeed has respect for women. A baseball dugout is a harsh place with rough language and men say things and do things that in my opinion can never change. I believe Hernandez is indeed a gentleman and doesn't feel women should be exposed to this. I agree and feel that here is a place where baseball cannot be feminized.
Having said this, from here on as women are clearly going to be part of clubs, they are going to have to accept the natural male competitive nature of the game. And they must realize they cannot and should not attempt to change it.
Kelly Calabrese did not react well in her indignation, making it a gender issue in the manner she chose. She's not off to a good start. And neither are the rest of us.

Twenty years ago tonight.....

2006-04-23T17:14:00.000-07:00

...the Mets went to sleep in the Marriott Motel directly next to Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. It was an off day, having flown to St. Louis after a 7-1 win over the Pirates in New York. We'd won 5 in a row after a troublesome start of 2-3, including a bad loss to the Cardinals on Opening Day at Shea. A ball had gotten by Howard Johnson in the 13th. The five wins were healing, but a four game series with a Cardinals team that we'd not yet proven we could beat with any consistency awaited. The winning streak had brought us even at 7-3.
Perhaps other teams were already taking offense to the swagger and were becoming weary at the domination. After taking a five 5-0 lead in the fifth on Tuesday night, Pirate pitcher, Bob Walk knocked down Kevin Mitchell. Bobby Ojeda was making his first start and badly wanted to retaliate. Davey said no. Not now. Maybe another time. Davey always seemed to say no, but never got in the way of letting the staff police as they saw fit.
The winning streak notwithstanding, memories of the 1985 struggle with the Cardinals was in everyone's mind as sleep came restlessly the night before a series that would eventually be the signature of one of baseball's most famous teams.

On Hamstrings, History, and Real Concerns

2006-04-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

We had just removed Vince Coleman from a game at Shea during the summer of 1991 and I came over to speak with our manager, Buddy Harrelson. Coleman had just injured his hamstring running out a ball to first.
Buddy asked, "is it day-to-day?"
I replied, "there's no such thing as a day-to-day hamstring."
Met training staffs have long dealt with hamstring injuries. Steve Garland and I witnessed Keith Hernandez' and Ron Gardenhire's problems along with Coleman's during the late 1980's. Scott Laurenson seems to have been the fall guy for Jose Reyes troubles a few years ago. It should be interesting to note that both Hernandez and Gardenhire later had back surgery. This shows just some of the potential complications that accompany hamstring tears for athletes well beyond the isolated leg issue, and are among the many things that are going through everyone's minds with respect to Carlos Beltran's current injury.
One must first be advised about semantics. In laymen's terms, we refer to "muscle pulls" as "strains". Strains are essentially a tearing of muscle tissue. So for the sake of discussion here, I will refer to hamstring injuries as "tears".
We essentially sit on the origin of our hamstrings, a group of three muscles which serve to flex the lower leg(kick backwsrds) and extend the thigh. They are attached to both side of our lower leg just below the knee. One small origin is on the thigh. This bone we sit in is called the ischial tuberosity. Its part of your pelvis and thus closely related to your lower back. Tight hamstrings pull the pelvis downward and can create complications for your back.
Conversely back problems can cause hamstring disorders. Consider the position baseball players take in the field between pitches. This odd, hunched over posture, often with their hands on their knees puts undue stress on your back much like sitting at a desk or driving for long periods of time. There is a good reason why your mother always told you to sit up straight. As this position is taken frequently during a players career, it may explain why someone as young as Anderson Hernandez already has a bulging disk.
Thus often a lower back goes along with the hamstring when considering plans of care and histories. Also, the tear needs time to heal. Keith Hernandez hamstring had a big "S" palpable scar in it after his re-injury. And this is where there is cause for caution as an aggravation or reinjury of an already existing hamstring tear can be devastating. Time frames for return can take two months and even longer. Unlike the quadriceps group on the front of the thigh, one cannot play with a hamstring pull. Beltran played with a bad quad all last season, but this is different. A hamstring injury is painful just to stand on.
So along with knowing these dangers, Beltran's recent MRI which indicated inflammation and an old scar doesn't throw caution to the wind. You can be assured the medical staff of the Mets realize all of these things and more. Certainly Beltran does as well.
I must take my old friend, Steve Phillips, to task after he said on ESPNs Baseball Tonight that Beltran's reluctance to play was motivated by not wanting to play hurt again this year and feel the heat from Mets fans. He should know enough to know he cannot possibly know the whole story. He's not there and not part of the staff who's advising all parties concerned. An MRI can't serve as the end all here.
Keith Hernandez lay prone on the training room table in the old Wrigley Field clubhouse in 1988 when the late team physician of the Cubs, Stan London, poked and probed at his hamstring. Mex had gone down two steps after leaving the batter's box as if a sniper had gotten him the day before. He'd injured it slightly in St. Louis at the beginning of the season. London confirmed the severity.
Hernandez looked up at Steve Garland and me and said, "this one's going to be a long one."
Scenes as this aren't what the Mets want repeated.

Pedro's Greatness as told by The Mex

2006-04-22T21:58:00.000-07:00

"When he missed, he missed in," were the words Keith Hernandez spoke in 1989 one evening in Dodger Stadium when observing Frank Viola's mastery in the dugout between innings.
He spoke with the same and more reverance tonight for Pedro Martinez tonight about his outing in San Diego. Hernadez continues to offer the same commentary for you in the same way he spoke in the dugout when he was a Met. I told him as much this spring and hope he continues to. His insightfulness goes well beyong what most analysts are capable of.
And with the good finish by Jorge Julio tonight to seal a 7-1 win, another dominating start by Martinez continues to make Omar Minaya awfully, awfully good.
There are no words at all to describe how it feels to make this team my own once again after a decade of giving up this wonderful game all together.

Oh, Boy...here we go

2006-04-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

And aren't we all shocked to find out there was drinking going on at a party for 3rd base coach Manny Acta? And its Jorge Julio's upside down Margarita which gets all the press. Nevermind that Julio's last three outings have been very, very good. Not with visions of Julio's poor outing which contributed to one of the Mets' five losses still dancing in everyone's heads.
And of course the inevitable comparison to the 1986 club comes to mind. Um, didn't they win 108 games? And then another 8 to win the World Series. I don't recall witnessing any recreational shots which required and accompanying stupid human trick along with it, but I'd be shocked if one or two-maybe-had not taken place. This writer admittedly recalls some similar behavior of himself in the past.
I'm going to have a hard time getting all worked up about these revelations. Omar Minaya's reported indignation notwithstanding. Fortunately the piece included Jay Horwitz denial of Minaya's aforementioned indignation.
Can anyone really blame Julio for letting his hair down a bit with all the crap he's gone through of late. Maybe the, ahem, blow-out, allowed him to loosen up the old sphincter enough to find his release point again.
During WWII, British Bomber Command used to ply crews with rum during debriefing sessions after hazardous bombing runs. Outings as described in this Rush and Malloy bit are common place in baseball, have been for some time and will be for a long time to come. Its one way in which camaraderie is established and maintained for a grind like no other. There's certainly no comparison to combat, and I for one give thanks for men as milblogger, Mudville Gazette states, "Good people sleep peacably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." In off duty hours I'm sure many of you have witnessed groups of soldiers and sailors enjoying evening as these.
Drinking to excess on a regular basis is clealy not somthing one would ever want as part of their life. I can personally attest to this. But good men can get together for an evening and be bad boys.

Hit Tip: Ryan McConnell

Losing something of its magic

2006-04-20T03:49:00.000-07:00

The topic for the day was "Reproduction and Development in Vertebrates" in my freshmen Biology classes yesterday. I kept ESPN's Gamecast minimized on my computer so I could sneak a peek from time-to-time between lecture and class management. As the game progressed I realized an old fashioned NL pitching duel was underway at Shea Stadium between two of baseball's best.
There wouldn't be many relivers. (There weren't-only Aaron Heilman for a perfect ninth....and more on that later)
It wouldn't take long. (It didn't: 1:59).
It would be decided by all the best guys on the field. (It was-Tim Hudson, Andruw Jones and Tom Glavine)
It was the way we used to be.
But having said all of this, in losing two out of three to the Braves, this years Mets lost a little bit of its magic before heading for the west coast. A healthy team would find favorable conditions in the large new confines in San Diego. But alas, this is not what awaits them.
Its not often that three everyday players suddenly find themselves hurting and on the bench. These things are unpredictable and can leap upon a mannager. Its why the roster is 25 players. But over the last ten years make-up of rosters have changed in a significant fashion. During the 1980's it was common to carry ten pitchers, even nine. That practice has changed to 11 to 12, leaving significantly fewer players on the bench. Hence situations that persented itself to Willie Randolph this week. Aside from Paul LoDuca, the only available healthy player on the bench was Julio Franco. Thus only one time at bat for a pinch hitter when under more healthy or another roster structure more ways to get this game would have been available.
For example, with a staff of ten pitchers, Randolph would most ceratinly have had another left handed bat on the bench and also the opportunity to hit for Endy Chavez as well late in the game. If Victor Diaz had still been here instead of the luxury of two lefthanders in the bullpen, he would have been in left and Jose Valentine's veteran bat would have been available. If a third catcher had been available, he could have used the exteremly valuable Paul LoDuca at some point.
Teams have changed to desiring the luxury of extra pitching to the hinderance of their bench. Witness yesterday Willie Randolph's Mets.

Duaner Sanchez ......

2006-04-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

...is clearly filthy as he was described by David Wright. His strike-out of Brian Giles to end the seventh was huge. And didn't you love the way he leapt off the mound? Randolph's used his pitchers well. Martinex got the first two of the last nine outs. Sanchex got the third and can get the next three, including Andrew Jones. Billy Wagner can have the last three in the ninth.

In game blogging...

2006-04-17T17:58:00.000-07:00

I'm limited to the ESPN feed tonight with two old National Leaguers, Rick Sutcliffe and Eric Karros doing the color. Early speculation had been that Randolph would take out Martinez for a pinch hitter, but left him in to pitch another inning. With a one-run lead he was left in to face the bottom of the line-up.
Sutcliffe noted that Martinez had given up hits on the first pitch after giving one up to Pete Orr. Clearly an adjustment was made by the Braves via their coaches.
And how about that response by Pedro on his way out by turning around to acknowledge the fans?!

Taken to the woodshed

2006-04-17T17:48:00.000-07:00

Here's something the blogosphere adds to talking about baseball. Two anonymous fans took me to the woodshed for my bloviations about Jorge Julio, fans, the press, and the Bensons. Fair enough. You supported your positions with sense. Good job readers. And thanks. I feel that Minaya made the best trade he could at the time. Perhaps it had been on his agenda to do so. If either Julio or John Maine proves to be serviceable here or with someone else, we'll have to re-assess again. Only time will tell.

Finding Jorge Julio...

2006-04-17T03:37:00.000-07:00

Did anyone bother to notice that Kris Benson was beaten yesterday by the Angels? No? Oh, thats right....having too much fun giving Julio the what for at the games this weekend. And you writers were having too fun banging out that same old crap criticizing Omar Minya for the trade in the first place. Lets not let practicalities get in the way of New York negatives.
Shea Stadium has never been kind to relievers. And although I'm not on the side of the fans in this, I know there's no way I can change it. But I think Bill Schroeder from the Brewers' called it as it is. Its hazing. You want to see them do better and will quickly jump on the bandwagon. Perhaps Jorge Julio will find himself. I for one really believe it was worth it.
No writer has really indicated just how much of a problem that Anna Benson had become. No one will go on record. Her public statements most ceratinly caused problems in the clubhouse and nevermind the wives room. Recall her statement about getting revenge on her husband for cheating on her by servicing everyone in the team photo. Nice. Classy. That went over well in the wives room I'm sure. And guys, I'll bet you got an earful on the ride home after the game.
This couldn't go on. Anna would have found a way to diflect attention to herself somehow during this great start by now.
Move on, folks. We'll find Jorge somewhere down to road.

Where's Mex?!

2006-04-17T03:20:00.000-07:00

Ryan McConnell raised the question about the absense of Keith Hernandez from the booth on SNY telecasts. When I met with Keith this spring he told me he didn't want to do a whole season and they agreed on 100 games. Ron Darling is to do the rest. Recently remarried, I imagine that this was a weekend that he wasn't scheduled to work. Although I am unable to get all Mets broadcasts- yesterday I received the Brewer's feed on my Cox Cable baseball package- I've seen both Darling and Hernandez work. Obviously having a personal relationship with them both leaves me a bit prejudiced, but I fell their both very, very good. Both of them convey insights about the game much the same as they did when they played. I particularly liked Darlings advise to Jorge Julio saturday of , "Never let them see you hang your head." This was a particular mantra among Met starters of his day. David Cone often yelled at opposing pitchers from the dugout to, "throw it and hang your head!"

Witnessing History: Hank Aaron's 715th Homerun

2006-04-15T15:41:00.000-07:00

In my son's bedroom a large poster of Hank Aaron's 715th homerun still is up. The large photo was taken from the camera box next to the first base dugout at the now torn down Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium right after Aaron hit the ball. You see Dodger infielder's Ron Cey and Bill Russell looking up at the ball as it passes above them. A panoramic view of the full stadium is represented beyond. Two ticket stubs are placed over the seats at field level down the leftfield line. I was there. And with my father.
I usually remember the anniversary of April 8. Now 32 years ago, I still recall it vividly.
In my own personal journey of writing about baseball I have some attempts at creative writing. Maybe its prose. Maybe its just lonely drivel. But hearing from many of you, I've realized how baseball is so personal to us. So I think you'll understand me wanting to share this little brief bit about the event and what it meant to my father and I.
Thanks for reading it.

Father sat on his left. The
innocent boy's image was of the
coliseum and cheering masses. The
dark,
cool April sky was the theatre
ceiling. Four balls went well
away from the
great man. Discontented, the
masses howled and
implied
mockery. A wait for nextxt time.

An
offer
skipped through sandy dirt and was quickly tossed back.
Fifty-thousand
rained indignation at the obvious slight. Yet during the
masked man soft toss
back was a warming felt by the boy. A
knowing

The great man swished a bat back and
forth. A head
cocked. A
blink. A stoppage in time
revealed a ball sailing on a fateful
flight for the great man. His seven, one
and five. A moment shared. A
father and
son,a knowing smile, forever
love, never to be broken by
neither death or
the end of time.

And emerging disconnect

2006-04-14T03:43:00.000-07:00

Perhaps history is repeating itself. Ten games have yet to played by any major league team of yet, but already the New York Mets are five games ahead in the loss column of their chief rivals, the Atlanta Braves. One can't help but still say its awfully early, but a team's record and performance is what it is. This team is awfully good and is playing awfully well. And comparisons are already being made to the last two Mets Division Champions of 1986 and 1988.

All indications are in place for a team which may run off and hide. Davy Johnson said during spring training prior to the 1986 season that he wanted to dominate the season. But the 1986 team didn't really get off to a good start at all. It wasn't until the now legendary four-game sweep at the end of April in St. Louis against Whitey Herzog's Cardinals did the route begin. The 1988 team did indeed get off to a terrific start similar to this year's version, yet an almost two-month malaise during the summer was off set by mediocrity among division rivals.

So it must be noted that mediocrity is emerging among the NL East teams this season that may under value actually how good this Mets team may be. Domination has already been demonstrated amongst the divisions lower echelon with the Braves and Phillies already showing early signs of holes. Its is this weakness of division rivals which may shadow to an extent how good this team really is and be disconnected from some acclaim until the post-season.

Around the minors

2006-04-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

Scouts in the International League certainly are reporting Heath Bell's dominance for Norfolk He's struck out the side in both outings thus far. Expect to hear his name in trade rumors or for him and Jorge Julio to trade places. Henry Owens still hasn't allowed a hit in three outings and has 10 strikeouts over 4 innings of work. Mike Pelfrey was exteremley effective in his second start last night for Gary Carter's St. Lucie Mets. He's allowed only one unearned run over 11 innings of work and has 13 strike-outs. Remember, all Mets minor league starters are limited to 75 pitches during April. I expect Pelfrey to only make one more stop in the minors before a promotion to Shea. If all goes well for the Mets this season, look for his recall in August so he'll be eligible for post-season play......Cuban pitcher, Alay Soler has been assigned to St. Lucie as well and pitched five scoreless innings in his first start...........Lastings Milledge is batting lead-off for Norfolk and hitting .300

In Washington this week,,,Baseball's Special prosecutors: Umpires

2006-04-11T03:18:00.000-07:00

As Washington debates and leverages immigration policy on itself this week, baseball will break out in the nation's capital. And in special prosecuted like fashion, umpires will have carte blanche to prosecute any suspected malfescance by pitchers. Much like the Patrick Fitzgerald-Scooter Libby thing going on now that makes one's hair hurt, the word, "intent" will be on the minds of the umpires as to whether or not to take action if even if a pitch comes inside on a batter. Nevermind whether or not it actually hits him or if he actually even wanted too.

Can you imagine if every time contact occurred in a NASCAR race, someone could be ejected? The problem is that Baseball has put too much pressure on the umpires and asked that they judge on the fly a pitchers intent. Too often, a young umpire gets this wrong and a pitcher and manager are tossed and it alters the manner in which the game is called. Its akin to asking umpires to be the Thought Police. The righteous indignation you see managers put in is much about efforting to influence said Thought Police.

The fact of the matter is that all pitchers pitch inside and all batters are moving toward the plate during a pitch. Both need to do this for success. Occasionally a batter will get hit. There's gamemanship on bothsides as both hitter and pitcher attempt to establish ownership of the inner 1/3 of the plate and off the plate for that manner. Recall visions of body armor.

Baseball has attempted to legislate the intricacies of the dynamics that occur when a pitcher pitches inside.

I recall a memorable staredown that occurred between David Cone and Pedro Guerrero in Dodger Stadium. Guerrero was on top of the plate and Cone pitched him inside during the course of the game. When Cone finally hit Guerrero....with a curve ball.....Guerrero tossed his bat at Coney and stated toward the mound before Barry Lyons grabbed him. Even as intense as the Dodgers and Mets rivalry was during the 1980's, the Dodgers knew what was going on.

This is a subtle give and take part of the game that has always been part of the game. What we've witnessed in recent years, is hitters getting more and more on top of the plate attemping to get more plate coverage and being more aggressive with their strides. The body armor era didn't help. Pitchers are equally entitled to any part of the plate and off the plate inside. The increased role of umpires to eject pitchers has only led to more conflict and controversy and fueled indignation by batters.

Thats SO random

2006-04-10T03:40:00.001-07:00

The Binghamton Mets won their game in 15 innings yesterday, 2-0. Henry Owens got the win while getting striking out all six batters he faced in two innings of work. Thus far this season, Owens also has two saves and has 10 strikeouts overall in just 4 innnings of work........Heath Bell struck out the side yesterday in his first inning of work in Norfolk.........Go to a MiLB.com for a great way to follow the minors..........Buster Olney was gushing over David Wright this morning on Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio. He said that John Smoltz and Chipper Jones made significant endorsements about Wright this spring. Olney points out that that Wright, batting fifth, is in an advantageous spot in the Mets line-up. And Olney is one of those who predicted Wright would earn MVP honorsthis year....... Bob Watson has signaled that Umpire Supervisor, Steve Palermo will instruct umpires to be aware of any problems this week in Washington.

Thats SO random

2006-04-10T03:40:00.000-07:00

Its the sum of the parts......

2006-04-09T12:53:00.000-07:00

...which matter most.

For some odd reason, I'm unable to get Mets games with the Marlins as I did last season. So I was reduced to following the game on MLBcast. Its pretty cool. One of the features is counting the number of pitches per at bat. So I was able to follow Paul Lo Duca's 11 pitch time at bat to lead of the 7th.

Dontrelle Willis had been masterful through six, only needing 66 pitches. He had a 2-0 lead and the advantage. It would take, well, hardball to snatch a victory from one of the games best and most dynamic starters. Enter Lo Duca to lead off the seventh.

To look at Lo Duca's stats leaves one unaffected, but there's the game within the game that the men who play it know oh so well. Keith Hernandez was one man who knew this game and played this game as well it could be played. And I can imagine his thoughts favored Paul Lo Duca leading off this inning. His reputation as one of the game's finest situational hitters preceded his arrival. Lo Duca didn't dissapoint and singled after laboring Willis through 11 pitches. Carlos Beltran then got his first of two key crucial base hits in rallies for the game-this one, the all-important second hit during an inning and then the lead-off hit in the game deciding ninth.

This obviously brings us to David Wright, who got behind in the count until hitting a triple to right to tie the game. Somehow you knew Wright would deliver in the ninth and continue to establish himself as a player to be recond with in the National League this season. Wright already has 9 RBI this season. He's making those observers who predicted him to be the MVP look awfully good.

Tom Glavine's start was again solid. Duaner Sanchez pitched two innings of solid, scoreless relief. Billy Wagner had a scoreless ninth, throwing 12 of 19 strikes.

But you all saw the game, didn't you? You don't really need a recap. I envy those of you who were part of a full stadium today, and wish I'd been there, too. We would have both seen an example of a team victory, witnessing several parts contributing to the win. And it will be the sum of these parts which will matter most as the season progresses

That's SO random......

2006-04-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

....is a an expression I've learned from HS students that they aptly use when one of their contemporaries says something, well, off the wall. I love it. And I've stolen it and made it part of my own verbal and written repertoire. So you can expect to see it when I just want to make some observations about items of interest................Baseball is a team sport unique to all others in that games and its preperations occur daily. Considering spring training and a hopeful run into post-season play, this routine can cover as much as 8 months. The relationships that exists between the team during this grueling, unparalleled grind are paramount to success. People often scoff at the word, "chemistry" when its spoken and linked to a team's fortunes. But anyone who's ever been part of a season can attest the value in chemistry to the point its almost indescribable. This being said, lets consider one Julio Franco. Farnco was batting .437 in Mexico after 110 games when the Braves purchased his contract in 2001. Franco had played the previous season in Korea and had two season long stints in Japan as well. The experiences Franco garnered playing in other countries helped shape this remarkable man into becoming one of the game's most respected players. Witness his efforts at peace-keeping when he personally restrained Jose Guillen last week after being hit by Pedro Martinez. Even Frank Robinson stood aside while Franco consoled the temperamental Guillen. And it was Franco who got Carlos Beltran to acknowledge the Shea Stadium crowd that same night after his 7th inning homerun. And it should come as no surprise that Anderson Hernandez' locker is next to Franco's either. Watch for this man's influence throughout the season. By the way, Franco has never played in a World Series....................Both Billy Wagner and Pedro Martinez struggles can be attributed to the understandable loss of innings in Florida. Don't worry. Note Pedro's strike-outs he registered on the black......Wasn't it a shame to waste that brilliant diving catch by Hernandez last Wednesday?................It seems Adam Rubin agrees with me about fans being unfair to Carlos Beltran. Imagine that, eh? A blog at the Daily News. I met Rubin at spring training and he's a very nice fellow. He actually knew about my blog, too. Hopefully the powers that be at NYDN will allow Adam to link some of the best Mets blogs like Metsblog or MBTN.NET or Faith and Fear in Flushing or the Great Metstradamus or Dave Murray or ME for heaven's sake. (Ed note: Errrrr, Bob. You egotistical bastard. You don't even have any on your own page yet!) True enough. I plead ignorance into how to get it done............. Anyway the best Mets reporting is being done by Rubin and my old friend, Marty Noble. Look for Marty's work at Mets.com. Although he's had a break from the beat, Marty's is the dean of those covering the Mets this year. Good addition by MLB.com and bad subtraction by Newsday...............I'll be shocked if Kaz Matsui wears a Mets uniform this season............If David Pinto can have Curling, I can have NASCAR. I'll be flipping back and forth this afternoon between the Mets and the Samsung-RadioShack 5oo from the Texas Motor Speedway. Baseball could take lessons from the way NASCAR markets itself.

The metropolitan eastern seaboard fan

2006-04-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

My first trip to Philadelphia in 1985 stays with me. Mike Schmidt was being booed lustily by Philly fans for getting off to a slow start. A big red-faced fellow screamed at Schmidt from behind the screen at home plate after popping out with runners on base. It was awfully close at the old Vet, and both dugouts and Schmidt could hear, "Schmitty, YOU STINK ! YOU STINK! YOU STINK!"

Probably hearing it all before and perhaps even agreeing in a fashion, Schmidt seemed unaffected. Schmidt's certainly forgotten about it by now, but I will always recall the incident when I think of fan displeasure for athletes. And I have an observation that may give some pause for readers. I've found that these most vociferous examples to be unique to the metropolitan eastern seaboard cities of Philadelphia, New York and Boston.

Some commonality exists among the three. All three have histories which date back to American Revolutionary. All are port cities. All three have significant ethnic neighborhoods and identities. All three have more than one widely read daily newspaper. And I believe at least one tabloid exists in each city which contain a full back page for sports and a provocative headline. All three have storied franchises in the four major team sports. All are in close proximity and accessible via train and have been so for generations. The list goes on.

These things being brought together creates a perfect storm for rabidity for pro sports. I've experienced it and have indeed been part of it, too. All's one would have had to do would be to witness me during the Rangers run to the Stanley Cup in 1994. Passion for pro sports teams here far exceeds that of any other area of the country. The only thing which comes remotely close is college football in my native south where an Auburn fan marrying an Alabama fan is still considered a mixed marriage.

So it shouldn't surprise that athletes here are routinely booed in such collectivity. Ed Whitson and George Foster are two who certainly come to mind for performances which left something to be desired in the minds of fans. Consider Carlos Beltran.

Expectations accompanied Beltran when he arrived last season with the Wilpons willingness to make Beltran one of the game's highest paid players. Memories of Beltran's play-off performance the previous season was expected to be duplicated at Shea. The 2005 Mets had glaring holes, yet played hard for Willie Randolph all season. Cliff Floyd played in 150 games and had a career season. In his first full season, David Wright played in 160 games and drove in 102 runs. But Met fans found Beltran's season lacking, but they really did not consider the whole picture.

Beltran played 2005 with an extremely painful injury to his quad. It affected every aspect of his game, yet he gamely still played in 151 games for the Mets. Everything that's done in the game is done on a player's legs. So Beltran's ability to use his legs when hitting suffered greatly. Nevermind what it did when he ran the bases. He played with the shadowy knowledge that any quick movement or acceleration could cause a significant tear in the quad and he would likely be lost for two months. Keith Hernandez suffered a re-tear of his hamstring in 1988 and missed close to 50 games. The Mets played the 2005 season with post-season play a reality. So a less than 100% Carlos Beltran was certainly better than one who wasn't in the line-up at all.

Beltran knew this and so did Randolph and his teammates. This is why you are seeing Mets coming to his defense this year in unison. Athletes in New York rarely will come out critical of a fan base which they realize is so supportive unless they feel it is warranted. And with Beltran it is.

I'd imagine that somewhere in Philadelphia someone is planning a billboard or something with Terrell Owens photo on it in a Cowboy uniform. The caption will be something like' "...just another reason to hate the Dallas Cowboys." Never will we see such hostility that awaits Owens return to Philadelphia in the fall. And its a passion that unique to the part of the country.

Ron Darling remarked to me last week that the Mets of the mid to late 1980's fed off these expectations and largesse, and he was critical of former teammates who didn't seem to realize this. As for the Mets and their fans this season, I sense something afoot. I got on the field prior to three games last week. And an energy was palpable when I sat in the Tradition Field dugout.

Another Opening Day to Remember

2006-04-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

It just had to be rainy and overcast, didn't it? As I waited for the Tradition Field elevator with Keith Hernandez after last Thursday afternoon's game with the Cardinals someone commented how beautiful the Florida day had been. But Hernandez aptly added, "Yeah, but Opening Day Monday in New York will be cool and overcast...just perfect."
Indeed, Mex. It certainly was.
And a win, a good way to start out all things 2006. Glavine's solid start. Getting the lead and never relinquishing it. Good first impression by Paul LoDuca and Xavier Nady's 4-4. David Wright's homerun and solid play at third to get the first out in the ninth. And speaking of the ninth, Billy Wagner getting the last three outs, the final on a fine throw from Carlos Beltran to get Jose Vidro at second.
We did a timeline of life on earth today in my Biology classes, and I thought often of how it was going,what it must be like. And I wasn't disappointed by what I found when I arrived home for the ninth.
I saw faces smiling on my television from the stands, many of you using your video phones and showing the game to friends and family who weren't there. ESPN's Jeff Brantley said how loud it was. And its like no other NL park. Besides, its New York. Its supposed to be loud.
Billy Wagner's trip in from the bullpen, Wright's play to get the first out, Wagner's strike-out of Matt LeCroy and Beltran's throw to get the third out a ninth to remember forever.
Happy Opening Day everyone!

The familiar smell......

2006-04-01T13:34:00.000-08:00

...of southern pine burning in the northwest Florida woods was welcome as I drove along I-10 with an hour left of my drive. It was calming, a welcome reminder of home that I needed. I waffled about staying another day, but sometime around mid-morning Friday I decided to head home. A full two days of calm seemed appealing after the weeks' events.
The drive offered much time to ponder things. It was nice sitting in the dugout again and rubbing elbows with people of my past. It was nice to be warmly greeted and remembered. But its nice to be home now. I'm grateful to have been part of the game, but equally grateful the place I find myself now.
Ron Darling asked me Thursday if I liked teaching, and I said yes. And without reservation. I don't need to be part of baseball anymore as I had during the agonizing first few years out in the early 90's. I need to do something else now. One of them is to write about the time and the game itself. One might call it closure.
I've found I don't need it anymore, the everyday grind of the season. Building another life near family is what I'm sure most have found beyond baseball, and I'm finding it now. Finally.
Yes, I'll go back again. And I'm a Met fan now, too. I can find it on my own terms though, and determine how it will be. I know I badly need to write and finally have it as a big part of my life and future. I always knew that I would write, and it was baseball which brought me to it full circle.
Off to complete the book. Wish me luck.

Thursday

2006-03-31T05:37:00.000-08:00

I was astonsished at the seperateness of Kaz Matsui. Six members of the Japanese media are here just to cover Matsui with little interest in the Mets. Matsui and his own personal trainer wandered over to a minor league field yesterday for a rehab session with his media entourage in tow. He hit off the tee alone in the cage prior to the game.......At both the minor league complez and Tradition Field, along with the American Flag and Florida State Flag fly the POW-MIA rememberance flag.......St. Louis Cardinal legend Red Schoendienst watched the game briefly from the press box yesterday......I also had the priveledge of sitting next to NY Daily News Columnist, Vic Ziegel, while he typed his column on Paul LoDuca. I found him quite amusing, charming and kind. He graciuosly took a photo with me, too........Speaking of LoDuca, longtime Los Angeles beat writer, Brian Golden tells me theres still some level of disbelief in the Dodger organization that LoDuca was traded.........Met fans John and Jill Blauner of Manhattan told me an interesting story about Bud Harrelson. During the early 70's he played and sang guitar at Barney Googles on 86th Street. They remember him as being pretty good in his covers of country classics such as John Denver's, "Country Road." Jill Blauner still hasn't forgiven M. Donald Grant for trading Tom Seaver.......Carlos Beltran has a contraption that lots of other Met hitters are using now. Its a variation of the machine which serves tennis balls. Tablenis serves are much faster than a pitcher's fastball. They'll stand in a batters box and watch the tennis balls go by. With their eyes being accustomed to tracking something faster thatn a pitch, it makes sense that a baseball will be easier to track...............Carlos Delgado worked on stretching and taking throws in the cage prior to yesterday's game on one of many throwing machines that are available.............. Two Mets who played in the World Baseball Classic, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran have played in only 8 Grapefruit League games. Reyes in batting .500 and Beltran .391. Do with that what you will............Braden Looper was booed lustily by the Tradition Field crowd yesterday when he was announced. Almost as much as was Cardinals manager, Tony Larussa when he came out to remove Looper.........I spoke with Ron Darling yesterday and Keith Hernandez for my book.......See an exerpt of my interveiw with Howard Johnson over at NYSportsDay

My Wednesday in Florida

2006-03-30T06:19:00.000-08:00

I had lunch with Gary Carter after the morning workout of his St. Lucie club. I also caught up with long-time Met Minor League Instructor Bobby Floyd. Its Floyd's 21st year with the organization and is a solid baseball man........Mets minor league starters are limited to 70-75 pitches in April. There's been an emphasis over the last several years to keep pitch counts down to prevent injuries. As more and more teams are going with 12 pitchers, its clear the emphasis in baseball is toward developing more relievers to create favorable match-up after going through the line-up twice. The days of 300 inning seasons may be a thing of the past........Former Met catcher, Barry Lyons, lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. He received assistance from BATS, an organization designed to help anyone who's ever been in baseball get through financial hardships..........Bobby Ojeda is with his old friend, Rich Gedman again. They're Pitching Coach and Manager, respectively of an independent team in Worcester, Massachusetts........Howard Johnson tells me Tim Teufle is in private business that recently took him to China...........Paul LoDuca's ready. See ejection yesterday..........The Minor league umpires aren't working this spring and are looking for better working conditions. The season starts next week for many leagues and replacements may have to start the season.....Former major league catcher Sal Butera was at minor league camp yesterday watching his son Drew play. His a Met farmhand.

Remembering

2006-03-29T04:54:00.000-08:00

On Monday afternoon, I had just finished spending some time with Howard Johnson and I was walking alone back through the complex toward an empty Tradition Field. But music was still playing. It was Phil Collins' "Take Me Home." How appropriate.

I bought the cassette during the 1985 season-my first-and listened to it all year. The soothing "Take Me Home" completes the tape and needless to say, it takes me back and I remember how it was. But its not then any more. Its now.

I've met some of the young men who are trainers in the Mets minor leagues, and I feel great kinship with them. Their dreams are the same as mine once were. For now, its enough to be part of the game. Its as close as you can get without being there I suppose. Some of them get to come to big league camp now. And they take turns coming over to cover Tradition Field for the day. Rey Ramirez' strong relationship with Omar Minaya has enhanced their role and acceptance. I've enjoyed meeting them and sharing things.I wish them well. Some of them have called me Sir. Please don't. We're colleagues in more ways that once.

Charlie Samuels is grey now, as I am around the temples. His dog slept on the floor of the equipoment room. When we talked, it was like I'd never left. Charlie has those kind of people skills. We'd met our wives about the same time and we're both divorced. We're both still devoted and involved in our kids' lives. Charlie's been there so long now that someone on TV once described him as legendary.

Speaking of legendary, there's Mets' publicist, Jay Horwitz. Marty Noble pointed out to me he's known around baseball as just "Jay". An entity now. Finally being named a Vice President for the Mets after years of disregard, he remains unchanged. Trim and energetic, I still have no idea how he does it. Now he's co-travel director, too. Remembering names and the slightest of details, its remarkable what he accomplishes. And he amazingly has time and genuine concern for everyone. His help to me this week I'll never be able to repay.

I know what surreal feels like now. The only thing that come close to comparing was going to my 20th high school reunion. But this is better. Phil Collins' song laments a longing to be taken home. This week has taught me we can have more than one home.

Somehow our journeys are hopelessly and wonderfully lonesome. Perhaps this is a good thing.

Tuesday in Port St. Lucie

2006-03-28T16:08:00.000-08:00

As the chattering classes traveled a few miles north to Jupiter to witness the game against the Marlins, I stayed behind to watch Gary Carter manage. I snuck up on Gary today and shouted out a private joke that he recognized, and told me, "Sikesie, thats just perfect." He laughed loudly,again telling everyone in sight I'd been the one who kept him together as a Met. Gary is a firey sort of manager, continually engaging his players. His teams will take on his personality, just as Met fans remember him as a player. Like Keith Hernandez, I'm surprised to find him here, but am looking forward to finding out more tomorrow when I have lunch with Gary.......In the Oh, thees times they are a changin' department: After Sunday's game, fans approached Omar Minaya at his seat behind homeplate for autographs and photos. Lots of them. No other Met GM has ever had to do this.........By orgabization policy all minor league players will wera their socks the same way with pants ending just below the knee. Coaches and managers as well. It looks odd to me on Carter and HoJo, but thats just me. The discipline and uniformity is a very, very good idea, though. And it demonstrates and organization moving impressively......I'm very pleased with the way the minors train and go about their business. Their exteremly organized and focused....Carter's St Lucie team won with a walk-off homerun in the ninth. I wished I had a scorecard so I could relay the young man's name. They played hard and hustled the whole game.....With Aaron Heilman's move to the bullpen, it prompts several things to remember. First, the staff that leaves in April is never the staff that exists in Setember. Second, with the Mets signalling they will begin with 12 pitchers, it demonstrates just how much they will be relying on their bullpen. Third, and in conjunction with point two, this shows the Mets realize they have starters who don't necessarily go far into the game. Six relievers will be needed to get the ball to Billy Wagner in the ninth. Another indication about how times have changed. Ten pitchers were considered the norm 20 years ago. Sometimes even nine...........When behind, look for Randolph to pinch hit for Anderson Hernandez in the 8th spot and the pitcher. Its an effective way to use his bench and as Jose Reyes has proved to be a fairly good RBI man, it plays to the Mets' strengths.

Today at Tradition Field

2006-03-27T17:20:00.000-08:00

Steve Trachsel was removed during a rough inning today and sought refuge in the mound area beyond the bullpen area down the rightfield line. He needed to get more pitching in. Veteran Pitching Coach Al Jackson awaited him. I can't think of a better one to talk to after such an outing as Trachsel had today. Jackson is a jewel and the Mets have been fortunate to have him for so long..............Long after the crowd had gone, Ricky Henderson was giving a private lesson to a young Mets player on the field behind the stadium. .......Having lunch in the press lounge today before the game was long time Dodger and Cub great Rick Monday, Dodger icon Tommy Lasorda, scouts Bobby Wine and Dave Hollins. Lasorda naturally found a way to hold court.........Cliff Floyd hit one of the hardest balls I've ever seem today. Brett Tomko seemed to duck and the centerfielder charged only to have the ball sail over his head. What a rocket........A few of the writers confided to me that David Wright is one of the best guys to ever wear a Met uniform........A great situational hitter, Paul LoDuca easily drove home Floyd with a basehit afer Wright's flyball to right moved him over. Another reason to keep LoDuca in the six or seven hole. Xavier Nady batted seventh today behind LoDuca.......Norfolk mannager Ken Oberkfel had surgery today and its uncertain who will open the season as AAA manager. Either Howard Johnson or Randy Niemann are quite capable.........Rey Ramirez gave me a tour of the clubhouse today and got to see the improvements......He and Mike Herbst have been very nice , treating me as a old colleague. Alumini I guess.....I spoke with Keith Hernandez today and he agreed to speak with me more on Thursday about my book. I told him how much I loved his TV work and he was gracious in his thanks. No. Thank you, Keith. You're really good at it....I interviewed HoJo for the book today. He still wears number 20 and looks as if he can still play.He says Tim Teufel, his best friend, is in private business but living near Port St. Lucie.......I reminded Hernandez how everyone balked at coming over to PSL from St Petersburg as everyone loved it so much. But now he...and so many other old Mets now make it home. Besides Hernandez, HoJo, Teufel, Niemann, Al Jackson. Joe McIlvaine, and Frank Cashen now call it home. I'm sure there are others......Speaking of Cashen, I had a chance to say hello to him in the elevator today at Tradition Field. He walks with a cane now, but the eyes are still clever and the mind and wit still as sharp as ever.

Today

2006-03-26T18:07:00.000-08:00

A voice called out to Howard Johnson as he grasped my hand and pulled at my neck when I said hello to him for the first time in 15 years. One of the young Met pitchers had come down and pitched on the AAA field for an inning. He'd obviously befriended Howard during his time at big league camp. And Johnson shared a few kind, knowing words with the young man who was trying to make the big club. Howard Johnson..mentor. I'm not surprised, but I'd forgotten how kind HoJo was to people. And how generous he was with his time.......Joe McClvaine shook my had in the Press Room before the game while we ate lunch with Marty Noble. We shared lots of stories.........Ray Ramirez and I were trainers together in the minors with the Mets. He greated me warmly, too. The Mets are in good hands. I can tell............Gary Cohen and I swapped storied about the days of the 80's and talked of his moved to TV and old friends such as Howie Rose who I'll see tomorrow...........Randy Niemann and I swore not to tell where all the bodies are buried. What a good guy he is..............Jay Horwitz said Charlie Samuels looks younger than me. I'll get even. Somehow..........Cohen had apparently told Ron Darling I was around and he gave me a big hug, too on his way up to do the game on TV........Its not easy being a Hall of Famer, and Gary Carter had to hold court before a game with well wishers. But when he realized it was me, we had a very nice hello, with him telling everyone insight that I'd taken care of him.....Did you see the play Anderson Hernandez made today from the grass to start a DP? Wow........and two big hits from Jose Reyes, too......Pedro's fine. See snap throw to first during the first. That was really stressful on his toe........They look good. Real good. Keep fingers crossed.

Today's the day.....

2006-03-25T07:15:00.000-08:00

,,,that I make the drive to Port St. Lucie. I live in the Panhandle of Florida. Bush Country for all my liberal democrat readers. Please don't hate and take me off your favorites. Some last minute laundry and tidying up before I launch out of here.

Quite a change things are. Ever the dinasour and cheap bastard I am, I actually broke down and got one of those cheapy cell phones last night. You know the ones with no contract and all. I got a little dictaphone, too. I even got a digital camera. How else could I play the role of freelance writer and blogger without all these props?

I missed the game terribly after my firing in 1991. Still in New York, I couldn't bring myself to watch any baseball on TV. I only visited Shea twice in the three years I remained in New York. My son helped change all that as he started to play the game and watch it on TV. Playing ball in the backyard with your son is an undescribable pleasure and right of passage. My father was tall and thin and was lefthanded. He used a first baseman's mit. Its still in the top of the closet in my old bedroom in the home I grew up in.

On the day I was let go by the Mets, Mom told me that I could always write and that it was something I needed to do. Of course at the time, I didn't want to hear any of that. But it was always there in the back of my mind, somehow as something there that had to be taking care of at some time.

I moved to South Carolina in 1994 to work for a PT clinic and work with a local school district. I got to work some with the University of South Carolina's Atletic Training Curriculium, mentoring and doing some teaching. For awhile it filed a void I has missed as a trainer. Content with things, I started going out onto my a porch at night and while listening to some music, and I began scribbling some things down on legal pads. The music helped me remember.

A girl who worked at the clinic with me gave me the second hand computer her father had given her for school. It was an old bank computer and she had a new one. So in 1997, I began getting up every morning around 3 to write. Luckily I didnt have to be at the clinic until 9. In three months I had an all-but-complete manuscript.

As a new acquaintance with Sports Illustrated told be in December though, it layed dormant. After suffering through the rejections of the publishing industry for about six months, I put it aside. But a blogger and now good friend, David Pinto of BaseballMusings offered to post an exerpt. I got a call, I started a blog, and here I am now.

Like many who have been blessed enough to have some part in the game, I'm above all else, a fan. In my book, I occassionally third person myself as an interloper. Maybe this gives you some sort of insight into the way I write about baseball. I'm like you and want you to feel it as I did.

I don't know how much and in what form I'll be blogging from Port St. Lucie, or even how I'll be received by old teammates when they know I'm writing a book. Howard Johnson and Tim Teufel know and we're trading phone calls now. But its under other circumstances now and they may see me differently. Its been 20 years now since 1986, and we're all changed men now in many ways, older and wiser. I can't wait to see them.

Davey's Life After the Glory

2006-03-24T17:48:00.000-08:00

? In my brief tenure as the Girls Soccer Coach at Crestview High School, I've witnessed two sets of parents bury their children. For those of us who are parents, its unspeakable, unthinkable. Yet some do, and they somehow endure. I can't imagine how.

Somewhere in a drawer is a photo I took in 1983 with a young, Andrea Lyn Johnson. Davey Johnson's daughter smiled a wonderful little girl smile. Athletic like her father, she became quite an accomplished surfer. But little Andrea had her deamons and sufferd from schyzophrenia which ultimately took her life at age 32 last June. Davey nearly died in 2004 from a painful stomach ailment that Ed hearn told me about in January. I didn't know about Andrea. Thankfully he had healed from the year-long ruptured appendix from the previous year. Sometimes they're hard to diagnos. The same happened to my late father.

I'm sure the Mets of the 1980's are far from Davey's mind. Still, the winningest manager in Met history, Johnson managed elsewhere. Surprising to no one, he did well, finally landing a gig with his Baltimore Orioles. It had to be a dream come true for Davey to manage the team he found glory with as a player. It all has a tendency to end badly as a manager, and its sadly what we usually remember most. Davey's always been a big boy about this and has always known it was the nature of things. He never took his 1990 firing by the Mets badly.

His Baltimore dismissal was a little different though. Angry at Peter Angelos for his departure, he never really got over it. But the flowers that arrived from the Angelos' after Andrea's death made Davey forgive and forget everything. With such loss, I'm sure Davey sees many, many things far different then before. His visit to see the Orioles indicates this.

For me its hard to realize that when Davey managed the Mets, he was younger than I am now. As time goes on, I feel more and more like him as other experiences bring something into our lives that a game we loved so much never really could.

Hat tip: David Pinto of Baseball Musings.

Lets give them something to talk about

2006-03-24T03:47:00.000-08:00

That great Bonnie Raitt blues song comes to mind when considering that another change is at hand for the Mets, and that is the re-emmergence of its minor league system. One early season assessment had them rated near the bottom, but this no longer is valid. With the spring showings of Lastings Milledge, Henry Owens, Mike Pelfrey and Brian Bannister, four who will begin the year in the minors, it can be said that the Mets indeed know what their doing in scouting and player development.

In Milledge, the Mets have possible developed their third or fourth straight everyday player. With David Wright and Jose Reyes established everyday players, and Anderson Hernandez poised to begin the year at second, Milledge's arrival to the everyday line-up represents the fourth example of home-grown talent to crack the line-up in three seasons. True, Hernandez was acquired via trade, but his late development was done under the Mets watch. This will make up half the line-up, something most teams desire doing. And its a line-up thats expected to contend.

The visual performances of Mike Pelfrey and Brian Bannister are certain indicators they will both be part of the Mets' rotation-possible as early as this year. If Aaron Heilman remains, this would mean that 3 of the 5 man rotation are homegrown, too. Owens' spring validates Mets scouting which recommended drafting him from another organization. Another strike-out arm could be available for the bullpen by mid-season.

Often its by default that rookies make a club as extra players. I remmeber the opening day roster in 1985 included Terry Blocker, Bill Latham, John Christenson, Ronn Reynolds and Roger McDowell. Only McDowell remained at the end. Significant contriburions can be expected by the Milledge, Owens, Bannister and Pelfrey, and not as back-ups as the 1985 rookies did.

Opening Day

2006-03-23T03:44:00.000-08:00

My freind and mentor, Al Jackson, has a favorite saying about baseball.

"The three best days are the first day, the last day and pay day."

No kidding about pay day. It was even good for me. But anyone who'd ever been part of the game knows there's something magical about Opening Day. My first Opening Day was in 1985. Doc Gooden started and Gary Carter won it with a homerun in extra inings. We didn't use the term, "walk-off homerun" yet.

I've never though much about those throwing out the first ball ceremonies much either. The only one that really carries any weight with me is maybe the one where President Bush threw out the first ball at Yankee Stadium afer 9/11.

But April 3rd will be different. Its a day game, so I'll be in class teaching kids about Biology. And maybe its a good thing, too. When Jesse Orosco and Carter go out before a full stadium to throw out the first pitch, I can only imagine the roar. I'd shiver and my eyes would tear.

Metsnucia

2006-03-22T03:18:00.000-08:00

Aside from the numerous jokes that arose as a result from Billy Wagner's middle finger, there's no reason to pay this much attention. This is something trainers have seen before and it goes away. Besides, the MRI proved negative. Man, can they get those things quick!.......Victor Zambrano's no-walk performance over five innings yesterday let it be known not only is his back going to be fine, but he's pitching well. If memory serves correctly, the powers that be were impressed in what they saw from Zambrano prior to the WBC. You can be sure that major league scouts noted much the same.......While we're on backs, I want to reiterate that this is why we bring pitchers in early. Its hard to simulate the demands that your back goes through in baseball. Ask anybody who's ever been to fantasy camp about how their back felt. There was usually a fight at the whirlpool to get in. The back muscles in question we refer to as lumbar stabilizers. Most teams now have a vigorous program of exercises for these. Renowned back specialist, Dr. Robert Watkins from Los Angeles has been is a leader in this area of sportsmedicine for over 20 years now and you'll see his name mentioned as someone who gives those second opinions........As I stated in a previous post, Willie Randolph won't need five starters at the beginning, but Martinez may be on a strict pitch count if he starts during the first rotation. If its opening day or game two, I'd look for Aaron Heilman to come in after 80 pitches. Barring trade, I still expect Brain Bannister to start the year in Norfolk to get a regular turn............It seems many pundits like the Oakland A's. If they A's get contend, that would mean Barry Zito isn't going anywhere. Doesn't it? But I often wonder what goes through my old friend, Billy Beane's mind. Way too much late night reading of Bill James, Dude..........I think you saw the batting order yesterday afternoon:

SS: Reyes

cf: Beltran

1B: Delgado

LF: Floyd

3B: Wright

RF: Nady

C: Martinez (Lo Duca)

2B: Hernandez

Pitcher.....

At the AL park, Randolph used the DH and got some ABs for Julio Franco. There might be some flip-flopping with Wright and Floyd against a lefty. They were facing righty, Kris Benson.........While we're on Benson, if the Mets traded him-partly for the work of his meddlesome wife-I don't balme them. Anna had become a sideshow that sapped energy. To gain publicity she shamelessly inserted herself into her husband's workplace to create a name for herself without regard to what effect it had on anyone. Its called a cancer in sports circles.

Faye Vincent Banned Steroids in 1991 Memo

2006-03-19T09:48:00.000-08:00

From a favorite blog of mine, MLB Trade Rumors comes a interesting link to a little known fact about baseball's steroid policy. The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice has a blog in which he dispells the notion that baseball had no policy on steroids. Justice notes a memo from former Comissioner Faye Vincent. Justice writes:

"Commissioner Fay Vincent sent the clubs a memo in 1991 reminding them that players were forbidden from taking any illegal substance. He specifically mention steroids in the memo and encouraged the clubs to take a get-tough policy on players thought to be using steroids.
What could a team have done if it suspected a player of using steroids? Probably nothing.
Vincent simply wanted to be on the record as letting the clubs know that steroid use was against the rules and that they shouldn't be afraid to confront a player.
There was no testing for steroids until 2003 (after being part of the 2002 labor agreement).
The notion that Bonds wasn't breaking any rules is ridiculous. He was. He knew he was."

My lawyer friends might be able to add some insight to this, but this may well serve as a legal document of sorts. And it may indeed be some additional ammo for Bud Selig to go after Bonds and others.

Musings of Spring (with apologies to David Pinto)

2006-03-19T08:09:00.000-08:00

The injury to Kaz Matsui prompts considerations for the Mets. As it appears to be an isolated MCL sprain without cartilage involvement, it won't require surgery. But one of the problems with MCL sprained is that you just have to let them heal. There's no way to hurry that process along. And the Mets have made it known there's going to be a period of non-baseball activity for three weeks. This is necessary to protect the stability of the knee. Three weeks takes us into the season, so it makes sense for Matsui to remain in Florida and play his way back into shape with the St. Lucie club. By this time though, the Mets will certainly have a much better feel for what Anderson Hernandez can do. If it looks like the kid has the goods they won't ship him out and Matsui's fate will be sealed. As he'll most likely be batting 8th, there will be no pressure offensively, and if it looks like the Mets can develop another young player at the major league level, they will do so.............Despite all things that can be considered worse case scenarios, it looks like Pedro Martinez is doing well. I have to hand it to Ray Ramirez, Mike Herbst, Guy Conti and Rick Peterson for the way they've moved him along. Knowing that the adjustment of his toe needs to be gradual, they smartly eased Martinez throwing schedule based on this. Its all been about gently increasing the range of motion of the toe in a manner in which there have been no set-backs. Its not a problem at all that Martinez is behind in his throwing schedule. I really don't think he needs as much as other pitchers. Instead of March, I'll take the innings in September-and hopefully, October.....................Lastings Millage has been a hit man, and is clearly developing as a player. Expect him to get better this season, but don't expect him in April. For one, the Mets will want a free year of sorts of controlling his contract and keeping him ineligible for arbitration. With Victor Diaz having a good spring along with Xavier Nady another corner outfielder won't be needed just yet. Both Nady and Diaz can play first if Carlos Delgado's elbow somehow doesn't come along. Randolph won't want to go with Julio Franco as an every day player. So Milledge won't be needed just yet. But his performance this spring will give him confidence that he can play at the big league level...................Randolph won't need five starters in April. Unless Martinez is unable to go, expect few surprises. This includes Brain Bannister not going north. Tom Glavine, Steve Tracshel, and Aaron Heilman will get the other starts behind Martinez. Victor Zambrano is behind these three right now. But with others impressing thus far as well (see Jose Lima, Yusaku Iriki, Mike Pelfrey, along with Bannister) the potential for a trade is there. I fully expect Omar Minaya to bring in another starter sometime during the season. If Billy Beane is willing to trade Barry Zito, expect Minaya to put forth the same effort he did for Manny Ramirez last summer...................If we are to believe Greg Prince at Faith and Fear in Flushing and I do, it looks like the Gary Cohen-Keith Hernandez team will be a star tandem. Lets just hope SNY will be seen in the New York area..................I'm planning on going to Port St. Lucie next weekend. Its my spring break. I'm going down to try and hook-up with some of the 86 Mets to spend some time with them for my upcoming book. Yes, of course I'll be doing some blogging..........So its Cuba against Japan Monday night for the World Baseball Classic. Big league quality telecast appeared to bring the games of teams like Mexico, Korea and Cuba to, well, major league level. They belong. And maybe somehow baseball is becoming a world game much like basketball and soccer. Odd how only our Women's National Soccer Team has been the only one of late to perform at a championship level. Shame on the International Olympic Committee for dropping baseball and softball. Can someone say Anti-American? Anyway, doesn't it seem though that's its somehow appropriate for Japan and Cuba to be in this final as the importance of baseball to these two country's collective psyches has always been palpable. And far past what it is here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Mex!

2006-03-18T11:34:00.000-08:00

St. Patrick's Day-1985-Huggins-Stengal Field-St. Petersburg, Florida

The Huggins-Stengal Field Clubhouse just off Fouth Street in St. Petersburg was a lovely, homey little place. Everybody seemed to love it and didn't mind the little inconvenience of taking little city buses for games at Al Lang Stadium a few blocks away. We shared it with the Cardinals at the time.

Keith Hernandez arrived on St. Patricks Day morning sporting a green shirt he proudly announced to any and all it was the one he always wore on St. Patricks Day. Known as Mex-actually referring to himself as "Mex" in third person quite frequently when he poked fun at himself-Hernandez wasn't known for being a stylish dresser at the time. Even Davey Johnson once told him he needed to change the oil. He got alot better later when the club generally became more style conscious. But at the time, Mex dressed like he lived off, well, my trainer's salary. Nonetheless, Mex was quite proud of his Kelly green shirt.

After the afternoon game at Al Lang, Mex returned to discover someone had sabotaged his prized green shirt. The collar, one sleeve and the emblem had been surgically cut away by someone during the day. Hernandez loved this sort of clubhouse prank and good-naturedly put the shirt on and wore it out that night.

I never learned who did it. I suspect it was one and or any combination of the following: Jesse Orosco, Ron Darling, Rusty Staub, Ed Lynch or Danny Heep. Sorry, Folks. Roger McDowell was then a rookie and even he wouldn't have dared such a stunt just yet.

Only Sadness for a Friend

2006-03-15T03:51:00.000-08:00

I have only sadness this morning at the news a very good friend in Doc Gooden has tested positive for Cocaine again. As I type its just still hard to fathom that he's probably just being awaken in a Tampa jail cell for breakfast served in some form that allows for any joy or dignity.

I'll only remember the way it was. There was the genuine laughter and horseplay in the clubhouse. There was the wonderful camaraderie at dinner. Gooden was kind and always seemed to identify and befriend the little guys around the team-the trainers, the clubhouse kids, Jay Horwitz. His closeness and loyalty to his family.

Addiction is loneliness and I can imagine Doc feels extremely alone this morning, the uniform and the game a distant memory.

"They're going to fill you full of holes, but you can never let them see you bleed."

2006-03-14T13:51:00.000-08:00

Thus quoted once, one Davey Johnson, when referencing confrontation with the New York media.

All parties involved accept that the New York scene is different. Three daily tabloids compete for the raciest headlines. Even a notbaly friendly one for George Bush in the NY Post once ran a post 9-11 headline, "Bush Knew." Wow. Or make that, "Ouch!."

That had to leave a mark, but as Johnson says you can't dare bleed. Lest you be referred to as prickly. Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post does a good job this morning of explaining how this now applies to Gotham team GMs.

I really feel Omar Minaya is indeed up to the task. Like no previous Met GM he's embraced the media and seems to not fear a back page thrashing. Herein lies one major difference between the two different franchises in the city. George Steinbrenner's Yankees know that being on the back page, good or bad, is the place to be. Its publicity. Some elements in the Mets organization still hide under their desks like we did during nuke drills back in the 60's at the hint of a bad day on the back page.

But not Minaya, and his influence is starting to change the way things are done in Queens.

After the schisms of Johnson v Cashen and Phillips v Valentine, the Mets have Omar and Willie. Its been an extremely skilled and people friendly Minaya who's done this. Unlike previous regimes Randolph won't be left twisting to face the fire alone as has been in the past. Observe this with the Yankees as during turmoil bothTorre and Cashmen are out front.

To be sure, last year both received a bit of a pass. But the club played hard for Randolph all year through some glaring weaknesses in the bullpen and on the right side of the infield. Unlike Johnson and Valentine, Randolph develops relationships with his players. And Minaya is part of this, too, as a man with shining interpersonal skills.

Expect to witness drive by shootings, but with little blood on the floor. The burden is bared by two.

Barry's World of Hate and Arrogance

2006-03-11T11:21:00.000-08:00

Barry Bonds learned arrogance and hate at an early age. And it went unchecked from his childhood through adolescence and into adulthood. Surrounded by sycophants and alienating teammates, a monster was created-a perfect storm of immeasurable proportions. A better environment for such a disaster is hard to imagine. We've never seen such ilk as Barry Bonds before, and hopefully we never will again.

For me, its understandable Bonds' illegal steroid and performance enhancements use and clear addiction. Many athletes of both sexes and all sports have chosen their allure over the past 5o years. Here Bonds is not alone among people from all walks of life and character. It is where he will find the least trouble. It was Bonds' motivation and personal justifications for making this choice-and others-for which he will be accountable to the public, the game of baseball and perhaps eventually to our system of law.

If we are to believe the book of the two San Francisco chronicle reporters, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, and I do, then there are many, many things to consider.

Setting aside the fact that Bonds certainly knows his choice to take steroids has put his long term health at risk, lets consider his motivation for making the choice. Simply put, it was jealousy and envy. Few examples of such assumptions of personal entitlement exist. Not feeling his own certain Hall of Fame career enough, in 1998 Bonds became jealous of the attention Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa received during their quest for Roger Maris' magical single-season homeruns record. We'll never know Bonds true feelings about whether or not he thought McGwire and Sosa were taking steroids as he'll never tell. But he made the decision at the time that he had to have the attention for himself. And at all cost. And without regard to anyone else.

Bonds found a willing players in his dangerous game in Greg Anderson and Kimberly Bell. Sycophants to be sure, they lusted to be part of Bonds inner world. They willingly endured the abuse and contempt, but it speaks more to the abuser who so willingly uses and exploits such weak people and treats them so shabbily. We don't accept such things in our society. But Bonds doesn't care about what anyone else thinks. He never has.

If we are to accept the book as factual, we have to also sight Bonds' self-absorbed use of the race card. The book asserts that Bonds learned this sort of approach from his late father and Willie Mays. Born to a life of priveledge, Bonds experienced none of the injustices his dad or Mays had. So his utilization of past experiences of his mentors are unjustified. But if the icon, Mays and Bonds' father had indeed instilled such justifications of raw hate in Bonds from birth then they should be held into account. Nonetheless, Barry Bonds has used such justifications to give okay to mistreatment of people.

Bonds, among others to be sure, manipulated a system to achieve an end. Much blame is heaped upon baseball's administrators. But during the course of the steroid riegn of the 90's there was little they could do. Overwhelmed by a labor union of which who's wealthiest members were indeed using illegal steroids, baseball's hierchy could do nothing without its willingness. It was only with the BALCO grand jury and a subsequent Congressional Hearing would it be that the union was leveraged into accepting a policy. Bonds and others knew they had the protection of a powerful union and knew anyone who may have raised issue were powerless to do anything at all. And without any kind of testing came plausible deniablity.

So Bonds used this plausible deniabilty during his testimony to the BALCO grand jury. Perhaps it is here, where he made a fateful mistake. If we are to believe the book, then Bonds clearly perjured himself. Other testimony and interviews reveals such things that are now of public record. Coupled with Bonds' tax problems, prosecutors may find reason to look further. Bonds's lawyer clearly has taken offense to the book's revelations and has gone on a public relations offensive. If this is the purpose of his protestations then it is clear that, "me thinkest he protest too much."

It is with these instances where Bud Selig may be given the ammunition to take action against Barry Bonds. As there was no policy against using steroids until this season, Bonds has a certain sense of can't touch this. But if Bonds is found to have perjured himself to a grand jury and been guilty of tax evasion, it is under these circumstances where Selig will have the means with which to discipline Bonds. At some point soon, we will see a formal investigation by baseball. This will not be going away.

The world that Barry Bonds lives in and his own realities are disturbing. Bonds' values and assumptions are separate from the vastest of majorities among the rest of us. Somehow rules, laws and social mores do not apply, and never have. We've seen examples in others and we've been revolted. Barry's world of hate and arrogance is now a sideshow ball and chain that weighs us all down.

Remembering Kirby

2006-03-07T03:33:00.000-08:00

"Lucas County Rec Center"

When calling the home of the Toledo Mud Hens in 1984 to get in touch with the clubhouse man, you went through the switchboard of the local rec center. It looked like they held rodeos, and flee markets, and fairs there, too. A baseball stadium seemed an afterthought. At the time there were few modernized parks in the minors, but the quality of the game remained unaffected. And, yes, many of us saw legends in places like Toldedo, Ohio for the first time.

The Tdewater Tides opened the 1984 season in Toledo against the Mud Hens. Part of the pregame ceremony included a couple of young guys singing a theme song, "Oh How We Love Them Hens." Jeff Bittiger was masterful for the Tides and tossed a four hit shut-out. All four Mud Hen hits were delivered from the same player.

After the fourth rocket, I commented to pitching coach, Al Jackson, "Damn. We're going to have a long year with him."

Jackson calmly was tossing seeds into his mouth and said quietly, "Don't worry, Doc. He won't be here long."

Indeed.

Kirby Pucket played in 128 games for the Minnesota Twins that season, and somehow became even more than the clubs indentity. Pucket earned two World Series rings from 1987 and 1991. Sadly his career was shortened by glaucoma in one eye, but it was after batting .316 the previous season.

A great one in more ways than one, Pucket was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001.

We always miss these great one's but remember more then ever only the best. And lest do so here.

From David Pinto's Baseball Musings, read Batgirls fitting tribute.

Lying in wait at the NY Post

2006-03-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

Davey Johnson received high marks for his skill at dealing with the media. There was the occasional blow-up. One was with Steve Marcus of Newsday when he pressed him in 1987 on whether or not he was going to name Terry Leach to the All-Star team. It was soon forgotten as it was out of character. Davey could be frequently short and aloof with Steve Garland and me. But Steven observed once, "You know, I just think Davey gets tired of having to talk all the time about everything."
Although not in any written job description, its the manager's job to speak with the media as the club's spokesman. This task is most difficult in New York with the volume of daily print coverage. Joe Torre has proved a master at it and he's earned quite a bit of leeway. Willie Randolph is new. And the honeymoon is clearly over.

Eminent hockey columnist at the NY Post, Larry Brooks, took the occasion of the Winter Olympics NHL break to tarvel to Florida to weigh in on some baseball issues. On February 26, he took exception to a light-hearted quip by Willie Randolph about Brain Bannister and wrote Willie had a faulty memory. This was a cheap, blind-sided shot from am experienced writer who should know better. Certainly a veteran of locker rooms of NHL and ML players, Brooks should have recognized this as simple trash talk that exist between knowing athletes who've shared similar experiences. I'm doubtful the elder Bannister would have gotten much more than a chuckle from Randolph tort. Yet Brooks took the opportunity to play "gotcha!". Recently burned himself by an NHL source with respect to Mike Bossy wanting to be paid for his appearance at Nassau Coliseum to recognize the dominate Islander clubs, I expected more from a writer of Brooks caliber.
This morning, Joel Sherman took his turn. Sherman asserted that Randolph displayed 'prickliness' with the media and that it won't serve him well in times of trouble. He also took Billy Wagner to task for getting on a Post writer about a disparaging headline in the paper about him opting not to play in the World Baseball Classic. He feels Wagner and the Mets need to be big boys about it. Sherman seems to feel writers are immune from criticism as they don't write the headlines. But like a manager, they represent their paper. And they need to be big boys as well if they write a less than complimentary piece about someone and that person calls them on it. Keith Hernandez once told a St. Louis writer to beat-it when he showed up at his locker after writing a personal hit piece on him.
And this is the road which both Brooks and Sherman are going down. By choosing to go beyond on field success or failure and venturing into the personal, their both opening themselves up to potential prickliness from the people they write about. And they both have signaled that they will be letting Willie Randolph have it at the first sign of struggle in Flushing.

The world in which we live....

2006-03-04T04:31:00.000-08:00

No one really understands it when I try to explain to them how grateful I am for the place I find myself now. It usually draws laments about how much I must miss baseball. I went through that for close to five years, but I got over it. And it was lonely. I had to realize that being part of that had at one time been the only thing that mattered and had indeed meant too much. More personal loss followed and more loneliness, too. But faith prevailed somehow, a miracle followed that most of us somehow always seem to find. Through an inexplicable maze of events and choices, both good and bad, I find myself now in a place that brings true joy. And joy that means more than anything I ever experienced during the blessed time I spent within the great game.

My wise late father told me I'd one day need that degree in teaching I received from Florida State. Only a few years away from achieving my own big league dream and firmly entrenched with the Mets as their AAA Tidewater trainer I smiled at Dad's words yet scoffed inside. I was where I was going to be and always would be.

If you ever want to see God smile, make plans.

It would all end after the 1991 season and I puttered around lost and lonely. Working in PT clinics and treating patients provided some feelings of self-worth for a few years. But the endless drama of the health care industry and its politics and power plays disillusioned me. A teaching job fell in my lap in the late 1990's at the perfect time. And the old feeling is here again.

I can't imagine doing anything else.

When I'm inside the school when kids are around I truly feely alive. Maybe like I never have before. And there's more to what I do then teaching kids about the cell theory or the phases of mitosis. And there's more to coaching than just teaching a teenage girl to get lift on a soccer ball or how the play a flat four defense. What that "more" means is hard to explain. Maybe it comes to light during tragedy.

I returned a little after nine last night after spending the evening with friends. I ate, answered some e-mial, and flipped channels before going to bed. As I was about to turn off my light there was a knock at my door. Two of the young women who play soccer for me were there and they brought news that they'd lost another teammate.

Brittany had joined us after our season started after leaving her Katrina damaged Morgan City, Louisiana home. Her sister and brother-in-law were here, so it was a natural place for her to go. Soccer was important to her and the girls embraced her. It was easy to. She was warm, genuine and funny. Brittany made friends easily and became popular around school. She was in my Biology class as well, so I got to know her well. I have a tendency to sit my players near my desk. She bubbled, laughed and found ways to like people.

Brittany missed her mom though, and Mom missed her, too. They looked so much like each other. Like sisters almost. I suppose it was easy to understand why on one weekend visit they just decided to scoop up everything and take Brittany back to Morgan City. Lots of hugs, and tears and goodbyes on the Monday. Promisses to stay in touch were kept. Cell phones , text messaging and e-mail make the world simpler this way. Especially for teenagers.

An automobile accident took Brittany yesterday. And I know the news immediately brought back the memory for my girls the loss in August of 2004 when another of their teammates was taken in a still unthinkable murder-suicide. Somehow we all experience death as a young person and the presence of adults to sheppard the way marks a passage of sorts.

Now I am one of those adults.

The outward emotions are experienced and measured. But the inner hurt remains. I slept little last night and found myself yelling out the word, "No!" And to no one.

Some of the girls and a mother have loaded up and are headed to Louisiana for the service this afternoon. I'm going to try and take some time off from school to go and see Brittany's mom and dad next week. I sent a flower arrangement from the team and spoke with our principal about a memorial at the school. These are important and, well, its the example that should be made.

We all find our own way somehow in the world in which we live. And I always find myself pondering what days like this mean. For me, its now not about loss. Its about what it feels like to love.

Subtle Signs of Spring...and good one's, too

2006-03-03T03:43:00.000-08:00

Posting has been light this week with the high stress of FCAT Testing in Florida upon us here. Creativity has been at a low point but, hey, TGIF! But as Friday springs hope eternal, I must share some things that are good for Mets fans.

Item One: Pedro Martinez hasn't missed any of his throwing sessions. He seems to be an on an every other day system. And because he's able to make each time, its indicative that imflammation has not returned to his great toe. It should be cautious to note that Rick Peterson indicated that Pedro puts an unusual amount of stress on his toe, describing it as violent. Nonetheless, as yesterday's session indicated , he's clearly progressing. Spend no time at all worrying that he's behind. Pedro seems to me that he dosen't need alot of spring training.

Item Two: Carlos Beltran batted second yesterday. If Randolph were going to bat him third this year, he would have done so yesterday. Having Lo Duca bat second was the sexy pick, and I maintaining he'll serve the Mets better batting down in the line-up. The thought that Beltran needs to bat third to justify the salary or some kind of silly cornerstone status needs to be cast aside. Keith Hernandez is in the booth now and the rest are gone. Derek Jeter frequently bats second in the Bronx. And the combination of Jose Reyes and Beltran at the top may prove to be one of the most explosive in franchise history.

Item Three: Reyes walk in his first at-bat in an intrasquad game. It indicated maturity and a change in focus at the plate. An off-season to think of such things can be helpful. Heaven knows the media talked about it enough, but a Reyes who shows NL pitchers he's taking more pitches will see more good pitches to hit. More extra base hits will result.

Item Three: Henry Owens. Every report has him impressing. He'll be making a contribution this year.

Item Four: Xavier Nady's hands. All the hand grip exercises on the planet won't develop the kind of hand strength Nady apparently has. Its a gift. Some great one's have such things. Lee Mazzilli had the strongest hands I remember. The firmest hand shake I ever recieved was from hockey great, Brett Hull. Its his fourth year in the big leagues, and he's been a hit machine thus far.

Item Five: Matt Perisho's four pitch inning yesterday, courtesy of Matt Cerrone's Metsblog. My kingdom for a lefthanded set-up man or two.

Kicking and screaming

2006-02-28T03:45:00.000-08:00

George Steinbrenner's protestation to Hal Bodley of USA Today with respect to the World Baseball Classic remind me of the arrogance of baseball. It represents archaic thinking driven by power bases unwilling to even consider change to protect status quo. One example of course is the Players Union which failed to take action earlier to actually act in the best interest of its constituency. Only before stars and leaders were dragged before a bunch of preening congressmen did something happen on steroids. But that's another post or several posts. But both examples represent how any change comes in baseball after significant kicking and screaming.

Two who may be ready and may have to be

2006-02-25T15:11:00.000-08:00

When ball hits bat is baseball's equivalent of metaphors "where the rubber hits the road "or "the cutting edge." The human eye cannot see this magic moment, and only recently can it be captured on film. Nowhere else can civilians witness this wondrous moment closely unless they are ever fortunate to sit behind a batting cage while a pitcher is throwing to a hitter. Its an umpire's view. The catcher normally rests his butt on the back of the cage as its pushed as far forward as can be.
A first memorable moment for me came during the spring of 1985 and I was watching one of these batting practices on a Joan Payson field in St. Petersburg. Coaches Al Jackson and John Cumberland watched with me a young righthander throw to a hitter in the cage.
Jackson was marveling at some wondrous sinking life on a fastball while he chewed on some sunflower seeds. He whispered, "sweeeeeet heart."
Cumberland responded, "no shit."
The righthander was Rick Aguilera who found himself in the big leagues a few short months later. Many successful years followed.
Similar moments are occurring this spring with Henry Owens and Mike Pelfrey. Newsdays's David Lennon does a wonderful job this morning in capturing this for Mets fans with yesterday's session with Pelfrey.
Hope springs eternal that Pelfrey will be able to assume the number one starter role for the Mets. And soon. With a Pedro Martinez getting longer in tooth and pushing off on a big toe that no one's willing to let on their concerned about, Pelfrey may be needed by mid-summer. Any organization would hate this, the Mets included. The best case scenario is for five starters to emerge from camp healthy and give the club the quality innings it needs to get to Billy Wagner. Pelfrey can then get his innings against minor league hitters and make his way to Norfolk by midsummer, but be placed on thre roster in August to be eligible for any playoff run. But if the former isn't what materializes, expect to see him by June. He'll be needed every fifth day by September for a certain pennant drive.
If misfortune occurs at the top of the rotation, a lead in the division will be unlikely and much will be needed from a bullpen that's likely to have some innings taken up by Henry Owen.
Two things cannot be taught to pitchers. One is the natural sinking life on a fastball like that of Aguilera's or a Roger McDowell or even a Doug Sisk. All college pitchers, their time in the minors was short, their impact immediate.
The other which cannot be taught is natural deception. Sid Fernandez had this and one could witness this for yourself in the batting cage. Sid hid the ball well and when it came out of his hand, he appeared to be pushing it at you. Ron Darling once described a Fernandez curveball as, "the curve that's seldom swung at."
Owens has similar deception, already picking up a reputation for such as explained by Adam Rubin in today's Daily News. Owen's unique delivery creates the perception the ball is coming out of his throat. Deception plus velocity equals outs. Baring something unforeseen, Owens's Shea Stadium debut will most assuredly come sooner rather than later.
So the two pitchers which received such caution here last week, are finding themselves in the Mets plans for this season. With acquisitions and the age of this year's club, the Mets are all-in, and with no time for caution with young arms and psyches.

Blog notables

2006-02-25T14:46:00.000-08:00

It looks like the Great Metstradamus agrees with me about the relevance of the three hole in the Mets line-up. Dave Murray does a wonderful bit of musing about meeting Buck O'Neil. Also, go see John Buro's wonderful father and son story at NY Sports Day. I'm proving to be a sap. Ryan McConnell at Always Amazin is proving to be a must stop for Met updates. Greg and Jason of Faith and Fear in Flushing continue to impress me with considerable lunacy tempered by keen insight into the history of the franchise. Go read a nice story by a talented Cecilia Tan at Gotham Baseball about Mike Mussina. Go see The Metropolitans. You'll find a great bit about Jack Bauer, everyone's favorite terrorist fighter.

Remembering Doc ..... But on this day, the music died

2006-02-25T08:08:00.000-08:00

Matt Cerrone brings the link to another story about Dwight Gooden. A book by Dayn Perry is excerpted on Baseball Prospectus . The book is titled, "Winners: How Good Baseball Teams Become Great Ones (And its not the way you think). Within, Perry dedicates an entire chapter to Gooden's career. I found Perry's work to be thorough and even handed, and recommend you take a look.
Having said that, I must say I'll always be saddened by his legacy and how it's perceived as I knew Gooden. And knew him well.
Gooden was a rather simple and normal kid. On the outside, you could easily see he was a nice kid from a loving family. And I really believe to this day he is much the same. In the early years around the clubhouse he seemed most at ease with the clubhouse kids. Clear contemporaries by age, he treated them as equals indulging in their pranks and horseplay. It was genuine the affection he had for people. His love for food like a growing kid was well known and he liked to show off the little dives around the league he could find for eating to Steve Garland, Jay Horwitz, bullpen catcher, Rob Drumerhauser and me. He exuded class was gracious and a gentleman. These traits I'm certain he's not lost.
But I suppose its a bit of piling on the have written about this day that occured during spring training in 1987. It will be included with revesions in my upcoming book by the same title as this blog. There are many days that can be called the day the music died for the 1986 Mets and this was the first.

April 1, 1987 Huggins-Stengall Field

The morning clubhouse was still buzzing from yesterday's debut of a young righthander that we got from the Kansas City Royals for Rick Anderson and Ed Hearn. David Cone pitched three innings against the Cardinals, allowed only two singles, no runs, no walks and struck out five. One of Cone's victim's had been Jack Clark, who he struck out when he dropped down and threw sidearm. Hernandez had been almost giddy, expressing with glee that The White Rat now had a new headache. We were going down to Bradenton that day to play the Pirates. Steve was going to take the trip, because he knew of my apprehension of riding over the flimsy Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
Bullpen Coach, Vern Hoscheit liked to be in charge of when we left on the bus, saying to be on it or under it at the designated time of departure. He'd left Steve and me before, and in his zealousness actually once left Frank Cashen. As people put on gray pants and blue tops for the game, word came from Cashen to hold the bus. No big deal. Maybe we made another trade or something. But a few minutes later, instructions came to clear
the clubhouse of all the media and it became obvious that something was wrong. After a few minutes, everyone realized what it was. Doc Gooden was not there.
Doc had briefly entered the clubhouse and his keys still laid on the bench in front if his locker. No one really said much as everyone kind of just puttered around the clubhouse waiting for some kind of word. I met Mazzilli just outside the doubledoors in a shaded area by the field. He told me "I think Doc's going on a little vacation."
* * *

Doc had agreed in his contract to undergo drug testing and just a few days before had submitted to one. He could have said no, or maybe he thought he'd been clean at the time, but just maybe, as Tom McKenna said, "It was a cry for help". Tommy had collected the fateful urine specimen for the club.
I will always remember the deathly silence and stoic faces of everyone when Frank Cashen gathered everyone together in the clubhouse to tell them the news and that he would undergo rehabilitation at The Smithers Institute in New York. Cashen had sat on it for two days while he informed ownership. Gooden's presence meant more than people realized. Doc had unique people skills and easily forged relationships with everyone he encountered from the youngest clubhouse kid to the most important front office person. An easy laugh and warm smile seemed to always to be there. The 22 year-old Gooden was still more affectionately known for his love of food and things a normal young person would. But those days were now over. The Mets could not protect him as they had done in his early years. A world of innocence would now be replaced by a cruel, cold and lonely public battle with substance abuse. And it would tragically always be part of his story.

* * *

Trouble had started to enter Gooden's life during the last few years in his hometown of Tampa and actually had made noise about moving to New York to get away from it. He overslept and missed the ticker-tape parade, and there had been rumors about cocaine use so he agreed to the testing to try to end them. However, when he was arrested in December after the World Series with four friends in a confrontation with police, it became clear that Doc wasn't surrounding himself with good people. This contrasted sharply to the the love and presence of a strong mother and father. We lost Doc until June 5th when we were in 4th place, 6 games back.

* * *

Legendary comedian Danny Kaye visited the clubhouse in San Francisco in 1985. A huge baseball fan, he sought out Gooden and visited with him for several minutes. Dwight was very respectful and gracious with Kaye and seemed to enjoy the conversation. He smiled warmly and shook his hand when they parted and walked into
the training room and asked me, "Who was that, anyway ?"
Only six years separate Gooden and me, yet I knew who Kaye was. However, in my early twenties, I was still at Florida State drinking beer and trying to meet girls. Gooden was a big league baseball star from a tough part of Tampa, Florida. He was famous, had money and had experimented with cocaine-something I had never even dreamed of. Here I was the one who was innocent and naive. I was as shocked as anyone was when Doc tested positive for cocaine as I thought that baseball just meant everything and could not understand how anyone would jeopardize it.

* * *

I had not been a good spring. Only two days before, Roger McDowell's wife Karen was awakened by her husband who had gotten up complaining of intense pain in his left groin area. She drove him to the hospital and Fiske Warren was summoned from his hotel at 4:30 AM to check him out. A small hernia had been detected by Dr. John Olichney in February, but it had been thought to be inconsequential. People walk around with hernias all the time. They gave Roger an injection and it quieted it down, but the decision was made the next morning to go ahead and get it fixed. We didn't want it to flare up again in September. Roger and Karen flew to New York the next day. Losing McDowell was like losing an everyday player. He wouldn't return until May 14th when we were in 5th place, 4 1/2 games back.

There's a legacy to batting third in Queens

2006-02-24T03:04:00.000-08:00

Davey Johnson met with the media after acquiring second baseman Tom Teufel from the Minnesota Twins in December of 1985. One telling comment Davey had was this:
"You make trades for your line-up."
The Mets left camp in April of 1985 intending to platoon second basemen Kelvin Chapman and Wally Backman and bat them second behind Mookie Wilson. When Chapman struggled, he was banished to Tidewater and we went with the switch-hitting Backman at second. But Backman struggled from the right side, hitting less than .200 for the season.
Among other things, the old NL East was stacked with lefthanded starters. And Davey had seen Teufel play for the Toledo Mudhens in 1983 where he was player of the year in the International League. The platoon suited both players. It enabled them to play their strengths and gave Davey another player to use off the bench late in the game.
Teufel proved to be as ordered, batting over .300 for the season, the majority of it against lefthanded pitching. He made his value apparent early, homering off John Tudor in the pivotable four-game sweep in St Louis in April.
But the importance of who hit first and second in Met line-ups in the mid-eighties was made even more manifest by the man who hit third, Keith Hernandez. Only Tony Gwynn put together the type of numbers that Hernandez put together from 1984 through 1986. I maintain that Hernandez would be in the Hall of Fame had he not begun suffereing from recurrent hamstring pulls starting in 1987. I imagine these began as a result of his back which finally forced him into retirement early in the 1990's.
Hernandez particular dominace, aside from his defensive prowess, was his proficiency at batting third in the order. It is here from which his legacy was secured, and one in which Met fans remember him for. Hernandez was about winning and not his personal stats, and was a master at moving baserunners. He thrived when a runner was at first, taking advantage of the hole on the right side like few could. He also executed a hit-and-run as well as anyone. In 1985, his best as a Met, with the team behind in the final three innings there was no better player at getting a lead-off walk to start a rally.
So in Flushing, herein lies the expectation from anyone who hits third. After his departure, Gregg Jefferies, Dave Magadan and Howard Johnson among others tried, but could never live up to the Hernandez standard. It was only when a Mike Piazza in his prime came to New York did any other hitter live up to it. And it took one of the best right-handed hitters of our generation.
This spring will be time for experimenting with the order by Willie Randolph. Hitting Paul Lo Duca second I'll bet will be discarded early, as his stats last year from the two spot were lacking. This will enable him to moved down into the order to sixth or seventh and being the best thing for the team. Having Lo Duca hit second places a burden on him early in the game when he needs to be communicating with the starter. Its no secret that Jason Veritek has maintained its better for the Red Sox he hit further down in the order as his focus is on working with the pitching staff. Varitek's leadership skills are well known around the game. This may well prove to be true for LoDuca as well.
I've often maintained we made a mistake not hitting Juan Samuel second after his 1989 acquisition from the Phillies as his best lifetime stats we're from this slot in the batting order. But this was during the time the club was putting all their eggs in the Gregg Jefferies basket. Carlos Beltran's stats reflect the same as Samuel's. Beltran's elevation to second in the order would leave the best candidate to hit third as David Wright.
With speed on base and power behind, visions of a season that compare to those of the great one's in Hernandez and Piazza could mark the beginning of a new era. These visions though are tough to fill with the standards for comparison being those to these Hall of Famer caliber players. Along with the wants of dominate starting pitchers of days gone by is that of whomever bats third in the Mets line-up.

Individual sport and team game...or is it the other way around?

2006-02-23T14:01:00.000-08:00

Long time coach and manager Mike Cubbage once told a story about an exchange he had with Gregg Jefferies in the minor leagues. Jefferies frequently bellowed loud obscenities after unsuccessful times at bat in a manner which echoed about the smaller, more intimate minor league parks. Cubbage, wanting to change the young talented player's behavior called him into his office.
To make his point, he asked a bit of a rhetorical question, "What would you mother say if she heard you?"
Jefferies easily brushed it aside by saying, "she's heard it before."
I've learned something as a high school teacher I hadn't realized working in professional athletics. Kids need to develop social skills. Schools are as good a place as any as we don't expect them to be perfect. They're kids. Their going to make poor choices, make mistakes and learn from all. Sins and misteps are addressed and their held accountable for them. Discipline is applied. For better or for worse, they grow.
We encourage after school activities such as sports, musical ensembles, marching band, service clubs, academic clubs, student councils, special interest clubs. The list goes on and on. Any activity that keeps a kid after school exposes them further to invaluable lessons. Maybe its just friendly fellowship or something simple as knowing what a sense of belonging means. Often its learning the value in group efforts through the channel of common goals. Here's where team sports come in. And here's where parents make it or break it.
Little League and Recreational Soccer are extremely popular and valuable for kids to develop physically and socially while building self-esteem. Some are talented enough to excel in their sport and take further steps by playing for school teams and various forms of competitive teams. Some parents have a tendency to get involved in their training and advancement of individual skills. Sadly some forget their son or daughter is playing a team sport and disregard team goals as they nurture them along. Parents will openly demonstrate their emphasis on their child's individual success and things as playing time or what position they play. It goes beyond advocacy and many live vicariously through their children.
I've witnessed some kids reject their parents , embarrassed by their behavior. But others buy in and we'll witness a selfish, narcissistic athlete and one who's socially unskilled.
Recent behavior of American speedskater Shani Davis at the Winter Olympics comes to mind. After blowing off the opening ceremonies, he snubbed his teammates and opted not to take part in team pursuit. The bizzare behavior of his mother has spoken volumes as well. Make no mistake. As part of the team, Davis was obligated to take part in this team event. Yet values developed in his long quest for individual goals enabled him to easily make these snubs of his teammates and countrymen.
The increase in the number of high school and undergraduate basketball players entering the NBA has affected the league in a way that's been bemoaned by knowing observers for some time now. At an early age, players are spoiled by sycophants and those seeking to take advantage. Individual skills and goals are over emphasized and placed at a premium. An underdeveloped player arrives unable to play into a team concept and socially unskilled at accepted criticism and coaching. The coach becomes an impeding to the player's individual goals. The player either learns quickly or fails miserably, and quite publicly.
Such examples of a failure at the parental level to both demontrate and instill values at an early age are becoming more common and in more sports. More than ever there's a financial gain to be made from sports in adolescents. Private training, traveling clubs , summer camps are the norm that weren't so 25 years ago. Exploitation by the adults who should be providing adult supervision is slowly, but assuredly taking us away from the value that team sports and concepts have provided for generations.

We've come a long way, baby

2006-02-21T03:46:00.000-08:00

A young Greg Maddux had piched many innings in winter ball and was in the midst of his breakout season with the Chicago Cubs in the late 1980's when he developed tendonitus in his throwing shoulder. After a physicisn's consultation, Cub trainer John Fierro started Maddux on light dumbbell exercises, most of which are still utilized today. Cub's manager Don Zimmer came into the training room and witnessed Maddux using the 2 pound weights and put a halt to it. Fierro was told that if Maddux ever had a weight in his hand again, it would cost him his job.
The delightful cromugeon of a dinosaur Zimmer endured, but thankfully the thinking hasn't. Major League Baseball is our oldest professional sport, but it tragically lagged behind in sports medicine. Much of its training philosophy was mired in the muck of 100 years of doing things the same old way. Weights were once considered evil, with baseball needing to be played by an athlete with long, flexible muscles. Lifting weights simply shortened muscles and created too much bulk for a player to be successful.
To be sure, the recognition of sports medicine is a relatively new thing as compared to the existence of the organized sports it thrives in. Some of its specialized careers-most notably those of a certified athletic trainer and a strength and conditioning coach aren't nearly as old as the sport. Certified Athletic Trainers (ATC) came on the scene after World War II and Strength and Conditioning Coaches (CSCS) even more recently. Both are supported by effective and highly respected organizations with cerifictaion requirements that are both comprehensive and rigorous. As college football along with major league baseball being the biggest shows at the time of their inceptions, these are the settings these professionals found themselves in. The ATCs long before the CSCS. But the acceptance of what they do and the expertise they possess has only been recently accepted in baseball.
Scenes this spring have been of Randy Johnson's skateboard for balance, certainly a product of his many back exercises. And in Mets camp its the tests which specifically test for lower bady strength. My, my things have changed. Such things were once scoffed upon.
I've often wondered if baseball had given better support and respect to these dedicated and highly trained and educated professionals early, made their positions less tenuous, and given them the respect and influence they deserved what might have been. As they were the only group with the knowledge of its danger and ramifications, the steroid juggernaut might well have been halted when it started to creep in during the 1990's.

Curt Gowdy and remebering how it was

2006-02-20T14:05:00.000-08:00

For most of us 40 plus year olds, Curt Gowdy was the voice which brought us baseball. His passing today at 86 from Leukemia marks another passage of time. Gray hair is more plentiful. Chins are more numerous. And memories of a childhood need to be fondly remembered.
Unless you lived in a metropolitan area with a major league team you had little hope of seeing a big league ballgame on TV during the 1970's and you anxiously awaited Gowdy and Tony Kubek's Baseball Game of the Week Saturdays on NBC. Until the self-proclaimed super stations of Chicago and Atlanta came about, this was it. Or if you were a fanatic as I was, you huddled hopefully next to a huge radio for a signal on AM radio. Maybe as it was rare and precious and maybe even mysterious is what kept the allure going. One could only imagine the game, and perhaps this was the reason why just the sight of a big league field inspired awe and wonder. Unimaginable beauty was a freshly cut and marked field for the thirsty eye. Nevertheless it was Gowdy's voice which sparks memories for many like me. I for one feel fortunate to know the game this way.

The Phenoms of a Florida Spring

2006-02-19T08:09:00.000-08:00

Two formative years were spent by this writer as the trainer, traveling secretary, equipment guy for the Tidewater Tides. They've since be renamed Norfolk Tides with the building of a new stadium. It was an extremely demanding job that prompted me to call myself the person in charge in the event anything at all went wrong. I say formative because of the relationships I developed. One of which was with the late editor of The Viiginain-Pilot, George McClelland. Long before my arrival he'd been nicknamed Scoop.
Scoop never seemed to mind and clearly relished his time with the team. Scoop saw all of our games, a rarity that a AAA Team have a full-time beat writer. I once asked Scoop how he got away with it and he said simply, "I'm the Editor."
Scoop loved the game and when he retired, he went to work for the Mets down in Port St. Lucie and had some player development role. Keeping in mind all the phenoms he's seen come through Tidewater in parts of three decades, its easy to understand the query he made to wise old sage, the late Darrell Johnson.
"Do the Mets over rate their pitching?"
The former major league manager easily replied, "Yes."
The history of the Mets franchise is relatively sort when considered retrospectively. Its only 45 years old. And after some understandably hapless years in the early 60's, the magical season of 1969 sprang upon the world. The names Seaver, Kooseman, Ryan, McGraw permanently became embedded in the subconscious of the Mets and their fans forever becoming the standard for any pitcher to follow. The expectations became one and the same. Intead of accepting a Craig Swan or a Tim Learly as they were, a combination of bloated expectations and hype allowed for a reality perceived as failure. And then along came Dwight Eugene Gooden, and with him a second generation of unobtainable expectations.
Mets' grown talents in Anthony Young, Pete Shourek, David West and Paul Wilson all faced expectations from a very short window of history being held to a Seaver, Ryan and Gooden standard.
George McClelland's question for Darrell Johnson should be kept in mind when considering the new phenoms of the spring. This morning in the tabloids it was Mike Pelfrey and Henry Owens. And for them comes a 45 year-old burden of expectations.

Skipper Speak

2006-02-18T09:35:00.001-08:00

Yesterday saw the first real sit-down with the New York media for Willie Randolph. New York Newsday has the details. Sharp guy, Randolph. Here's some reasons why.
When I was at Florida State and worked as an extremely obscure student trainer, it was a priveledge to observe legendary college football coach, Bobby Bowden. Bowden consistently gave two rules to the players with respect to the media. First, to never give your opponent added incentive. This covers trash talk of course. Juicy quotes do indeed make their way onto bulletin boards. The second Bowden rule, which is appropriate here, was to never pay any attention to what he said the press.
But its now different. And especially so between college and professional sports.
To be sure, when I first heard the Bowden Rules, things were different in 1977. There was no talk radio, no message boards, no blogs, no online newspapers, and not even any ESPN. My, my. Times sure have changes in the last 30 years haven't they?
And you can be sure the majority of players carry laptops now on the road. Many players are extremely media savvy in their own right. Take for example Tom Glavine and David Wright using Matt Cerrone's Metsblog to push their own charity work. No fools, Glavine and Wright both know that Mets fans read blogs. And you can be sure players don't limit themselves in any way to what they will pay attention to.
So this brings us to Randolph and the way things have changed from the Bobby Bowden era of the late 70's. Managers will now motivate and communicate with players through the media. As one of the voices of the club along with Omar Minaya, his generalities are realities of the message they desire to get out. Managers don't have team meetings daily less the become ineffective. And individual conversations about player roles don't take place as often as you might think.
In his comments yesterday, Randolph sought to motivate, encourage and remove preconceived comfort levels.
With respect to the competition for second base, he let all the candidates know they had a chance as to insure their best efforts. The quiet line about what management had told him with respect to putting the best team on the field regardless of how much money they make, is an attempt to let Jeff Keppinger and Anderson Hernandez to know that Kaz Matsui's contract won't beat them out. Randolph kind words about knowing Matsui will do well were intended to soothe any bruised ego on Matsui's part. Bret Boone needs no motivation as he's just looking to show all clubs he's not lost it.
Much the same is true about starters. While keeping Victor Zambrano, Aaron Heilman, and Steve Trachsel on their toes, he's letting John Maine, Brain Bannister, Mike Pelfry and Alay Soler know they have their chance to make the rotation. And, yes. Jose Lima, too. Its hard to imagine without and injury or total meltodown that any of the Zambrano, Heilman, Trachsel group don't go north, but Randolph wants to keep the later group's hope's alive. Good showings in the spring against big league bats leave lasting memories in the minds of manager.

So times sure have changed. Managers know players are paying attention now to what is said to media. Its a subtle form of manipulation that serves more than one agenda.

Balancing the burden of a season

2006-02-17T15:54:00.000-08:00

After a game in which Doc Gooden struggled in early 1986, I shuffled back to the player's lounge to grab a beer. Keith Hernandez' locker was on the corner where he and Ray Knight spoke in hushed tones. Hernandez didn't have to get his own beers as a small cooler in his locker held Michelobs. I didn't linger and the only line I overheard was from Hernandez.
"Our ace in the hole is struggling, Ray."
Number one starters, especially the dominant ones, are a team's lifeline through struggles and mediocrity. Losing one during the season is similar to a football team losing its starting quarterback. Pedro Martinez is this for the Mets.
We learned early on as athletic trainers to call a big toe the great toe. How appropriate. One's great toe serves a significant role in that with it we balance our weight. The metaphor it offers is telling. The balance of a season is placed upon the right great toe of Pedro Martinez.

This is on Martinez' drive foot, and any pitcher's toe here goes through significant hell during a career. By design baseball cleats are thin and give little cushion to the bottom or sides. Pitchers cleats or spikes are usually delivered with extra glossing of a hard plastic near the great toe as friction here is indescribable. Shoes easily wear out and pitchers might go through several pair during the season. This sort of harsh, repeptitive friction causes hot spots and often blisters. n a Solid buildup of calluse occurs as well. And age old product called pinch pads are probably still applied directly to the side of a pitchers foot before they even put socks on. Stress isn't limited to the skin though and it often goes deeper as it does for Martinez. Here's where the problem lies as its affecting the joint at the base of his great toe.

The 1970s witnessed the introduction of what was then known as Astro Turf, now artificial turf. Sports medicine noted an increased occuarance of turf toe, which is a sprain at the base of the great toe. The rigidity of the surface and the high speed of the sport-particularly football - marked the beginning of its recognition. Its a most often a chronic condition with onset being rather insidious. Long term symptoms are quite similar to what Martinez has been experiencing. And experiencing over the last three seasons.

Aside from pain, symptoms include joint laxity, arthritic changes and hypertrophy. Joint laxity is unwelcome instability of the joint, arthritic changes infers the wearing down of the joint itself, and hypertrophy means a build-up of scar tissue. This hypertrophy is what reporters observed this week in the Mets' clubhouse. These symptoms, coupled with what is described in the above paragraph, is troubling.

Its not good new that Martinez had to stop running this week because of pain in his toe. This is significantly less stress than will be placed on his toe when pitching. Running represents normal gait and extension. Pitching will apply a unique force from the outside as Martinez follows through during delivery.

I'm certain the athletic training staffs of both the Red Sox and Mets have thrown the training room at Martinez over the last three seasons. Every imaginable treatment, tape job and padding technique has been applied. The discription of whats been attempted as cushioning, leads me to believe its more of a problem with friction and pressure than instability. This might be where the good news exists.

But some problems can come upthough as if Martinez is unable to run for conditioning. He can use other options as a stationary bike, but he should be wary though of developing an imbalance between the quads and hamstrings. During one late 1980's season, the Cubs' Rick Sutcliffe attempetd to get his conditioning in this manner and suffered a hamstring tear. Consistently being unable to throw off the mound between starts can cause a loss of velocity and perhaps even command.

You can be sure both Ray Ramirez and Mike Herbst are well aware of this. Here's to hoping that taking the cleat away from directly under the toe will relieve significant pressure. Yet circumstances cannot be controled and its not helpful that symptoms have lingered from the previous campaign and are present at the beginning of camp.

Don't be mistaking its a question of pain tolerance either. Martinez has proved his mettle here many times over and he knows what he means to the team. Putting him on the mound with a pianful toe would most assuredly alter his delivery and put both his shoulder and elbow in peril.

Martinez is behind a bit this spring, but its not really a problem. How he'll do in Grapefruit League games isn't important either, though the call from his country to pitch in March may have an affect. But as its been three seasons and its here again, we see that never has the act of crossing one's fingers made so much noise.

Where's George?

2006-02-16T07:50:00.000-08:00

Only in Baseball Musings would we find a link to an English blog about Japanese baseball. And only here would we find out that former Met George Foster is a special instructor for Orix of the Pacific League . I can see how George would excel here, working with individual players like this.

Of faith and fear for a pitching staff

2006-02-16T05:34:00.000-08:00

You just have to go read Greg's hysterical bit today at Faith and Fear in Flushing. Its a riot!

Only at Wrigley....

2006-02-15T03:50:00.000-08:00

My friend Joe McDonald at NYSD posted an excerpt from my upcoming book, "...getting paid to watch" yesterday on his site. As its his site, he edits as he sees fit and can leave something out for various reasons. I can understand why he did. In this circumstance, the section I segwayed spoke to Chicago and Wrigley Field as it was the main scene of the action which took place. Find below that segway with the understanding I've sought to put the reader in the story. Enjoy.

A delightful character, known simply as "Ronnie", usually greeted ball clubs at Wrigley Field. Ronnie could always be counted on to salute each visiting club's bus with dueling middle fingers. His never ceasing, "Cubs, woo...Cubs,woo...Cubs,woo" could be heard as you went to use one of the urinals in the visiting clubhouse as vented windows faced the front of the stadium. Ronnie seemed to hold special affection for us, and once recruited a woman to flash our bus after a game. He and his accomplice then hopped on the L and met us on the way back to the hotel for a repeat performance.

George

2006-02-14T06:59:00.000-08:00

Another excerpt of my book is on Joe McDonald's NYSportsDay. This one covers the unfortunate circumstances surrounding George Foster's departure during the 1986 season.

There's more to Lo Duca than you might think

2006-02-14T03:41:00.000-08:00

Charlie Samuals used to staff the clubhouse with kids from the Bronx, and I doubt much has changed. Maybe only the burrough. Rich, distinctive accents will fill the place. The local dialect has a tendency to drive team lexicons and in New York, male names have a tendency to get a 'y' or an 'ie' on the end. Allow me another venture back to the late 1980's Mets here: Timmy, Sikesie, Ronnie, Dougie, Sidney, Stevie, Ellie, etc, and so on and so forth. You bet the idea. Only the iconic Hernandez escaped such things, although I once heard Arthur Richman refer to him as Keithie. It just didn't work.
The new Mets catcher will quickly be stuck with Paulie. And I'm sure Paul Lo Duca won't mind a bit. Afterall, he's from Brooklyn.
LoDuca spent a long time in the minor leagues before breaking in with the Dodgers. He soon became one of the leaders in the clubhouse. Like many, I'm still shocked the Dodgers traded him. You don't trade guys like that, and you don't often get guys like that either. Unless there's a fire sale like there was in South Florida again. Knowing what kind of player Lo Duca was, Omar Minaya put on hold the negotiations with Bengie Molina and swooped in and grabbed a player talented and loaded with things you can't measure.
David Wright is quoted today in the New York Post in a way which indicates that Lo Duca's clubhouse reputation precedes itself. But its some subtleties of the role that the catcher can play which will highlight his value.
Lo Duca has proved quite durable, catching in around 130 games the last four seasons. He's also played some games at first and in the outfield. And as many of you saw yesterday on MetsBlog many preliminary line-ups have him batting second. To be sure, Lo Duca has proved to be an accomplished number two hitter in his career. But where other significant value exists in him when he is not in the game.
Unlike many catchers doing the bulk of the work for their teams, Lo Duca has become exceptonally adept at coming off the bench. He's distinguished himself as a pinch-hitter and as a good situational hitter. He gives Willie Randolph another weapon on the bench, someone to use when the team is behind. And in particular, when on the road.
Although most attention will be afforded Lo Duca as a starter, it may be that some of his most memorable moments may come in late-inning comebacks when he began the game on the bench. Teams who win titles will win games like this and players like Paul Lo Duca are the one's who often deliver them.

The Face of the Franchise

2006-02-13T03:12:00.000-08:00

When Omar Minaya appeared last week on Stephen A. Smith's, "Quite Frankly, " it continued to be clear that times have changed in Flushing. And there's a new sheriff in town. One with a little bit Andy Taylor, a little bit Matt Dillon. One with gun, one without.
I didn't see the show, but the content isn't the point. We've also see him of Neal Cavuto's show on Fox News and countless times on the back page. Aside from the now media savvy, Steve Phillips, I have a hard time seeing Frank Cashen or Joe McIlvaine or Al Harazin on set to take on an inquisition from someone like a Smith or a Cavuto. Has Omar done Page Six yet?
Whether consciously or not, Omar Minaya is the face of the Mets. But like the television sheriff analogy, there are two ways in which he is doing this.
First, his relationship with the media. I'm not sure if the Wilpons knew they were getting a media dynamo when they hired him. How could they? Wise to the world of the New York media juggernaut, and still acolytes to the Frank Cashen School of keeping the media at arms length-yours and theirs-the Wlpons still seek little publicity. Couple this with a Willie Randolph who's become a master of reticence, and a vacuum of nothingness might exist. Enter Minaya, a New York kid who understands, emraces and is awfully good at the game.
The second is more subtle, but much more important. Minaya has clearly developed the kind of sound people skills necessary to administrate and lead a baseball operation. First a passion
for the game and playing it. Then many formative years as a scout, observing and convincing players to sign contracts with his organization. You never ever really stop scouting, by the way. Some stops as a baseball executive, and it was time. Enter a needy and directionless Mets.
Minaya's years in the game at the baseball level enable him to both engage and relate to both on and off-field personell. Neither standoffish nor unapproachable, he clearly likes people. Thus, a critical thing becomes clear. Omar Minaya establishes, builds and nurtures relationships.
But he takes it a step further. Its called trust.
Minaya's signature moment came last year-not with the Pedro Martinez signing, but with the mid-season flirtation to acquire Manny Ramirez. When it was all said and done, he was asked about it. His answer meant everything to a franchise deperately seeking legitimacy again.
When queried about the effort he made to get the deal done, he responded thusly, "how could I go down into that clubhouse and face a Tom Glavine, a Mike Piazza, a Pedro Martinez, and not done everything I could to help a bunch of guys who are battling."
Previous regimes and other teams to be sure would have said something about mortgaging their future. Not Minaya. That mid-season attempt to get a future Hall of Famer in his prime showed what the man and the Mets are all about now.
Yes, its Omar Minaya's team. And if a World Series title does return to the Mets, it will be to Minaya whom the spoils of adulation go.

About that code...for me, there are two

2006-02-12T15:39:00.000-08:00

My early forays into the New York publishing world in the late 1990's hawking my book about the Mets of the 1980's left me disillusioned. A naive writer assumed much and knew little. The publishing houses I was contacting didn't deal in unsolicited manuscripts, but would do so from agents. Two old acquaintances from my days in baseball who'd had books published kindly passed along the names of their's. The nobody knew who I was angle I could handle. The we only want dirt angle I couldn't and never will.

Unlike the uniform code against gambling that's posted in every clubhouse in America, there is no such thing about the code inside the clubhouse. Yes indeed, what goes on there stays there. Private conversations between teammates, the raw langauage, what happens on the road-all stay there. But its more than a rule. Anyone who's ever shared the same no-limit hold-em hand for a season knows what I mean. Its a bond that isn't easily explained, yet internally understood and precious.

People who've served in the military know what I mean, the bond of combat inexplicable, knowing friends for a lifetime. Its most certainly where the sharing a foxhole metaphor originates. No one in sports would ever presume to compare sports to combat, but it serves its purpose to demonstrate the mutual feeling held by teammates. Many things are best left unsaid and never repeated.

I'm no exception and could never give myself the mental okay to tell where the bodies are buried. No purpose would be served save greed and perversion. The men I shared the time with mean too much to me, and the experience shaped the man I am today. To betray would be discard everything, and I could never, ever forgive myself. There'll be no Canseco book, No Ball Four, no Bronx Zoo. To do so would be to break the first of two codes.

The second, though less dramatic, holds equal value for me. As an athletic trainer, I was bound by a code of ethics. The most simple of which is confidentiality. Things shared in confidence, told in confidence will continue to stay that way.

Its a fine line that trainers are asked to walk in professional sports. On one hand, its simple for everyone to understand that injuries related to something the happens on the field to be an open book with all parties concerned. But there are the other things. Players begin to trust you and confide things to you. These are to be kept in confidence. Some aren't able to, or choose not to, are coerced otherwise, or maybe to curry favor from powers that be simply don't. I can safely say that neither Steve Garland or I ever betrayed a confidence. And though I've sadly not spoken with Steve now for several years, I know he wouldn't do so now.

So the stories I tell will be heartfelt first person accounts of what it was like to be there. I want to put you in the dugout-to make you feel as it did for me. I want to tell the story of this very special team and the men who played it. For them, for you, and for me everything I write about our Mets of the late 1980's I want it to be like it was again. Close your eyes. Its almost as if.

Thanking new blogging buddies

2006-02-12T07:46:00.000-08:00

With this little humble space being three weeks old today, I need to thank some folks for being so nice to me. First, I need to thank David Pinto of Baseball Musings . It was David who graciously posted an excerpt from my manuscript, and his continued posting of my ramblings have done much for this space. Pinto's becoming the Instapundit of baseball blogs. His recent recognition by Peter Gammons for his work, his attention to detail and his particular strength in statistics gives us all hope. Thank's Dave. Next, Matt Cerrone of Metsblog. Matt's publisher of what may indeed be the most popular Mets Blog out there. His advise and support have been invaluable. There are no greater Mets fans than Greg and Jason from Faith and Fear in Flushing. Man, those guys are serious fans. You'll have to check out Dave Murray's excellent Mets Guy in Michigan . Anyone who post a photo from a KISS concert and reverently refers to Ozzy Osbourne is my kind of guy. Metstradamus has frequently had my back when I've made dopey mistakes like referring to Aaron Heilman as Eric Heilman. ( Gee, did I even spell it right this time?) And Joe McDonald's NY Sports Day has given me an incredible forum in such a short period of time. You don't need to wait to pick up your paper at the bridge or tunnel anymore to get the story for the first time. Joe does it now! There are others I'm forgotten I'm sure, and thanks to you all!

What Ricky's excellent ten days might mean

2006-02-11T07:23:00.000-08:00

News that Ricky Henderson, the all-time stolen base leader will be in Port St. Lucie prompts some thoughts. As I spent 12 years in professional baseball and was getting paid to watch, I spent much time, well, watching.

First and foremost, Willie Randolph wants more stolen bases from Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran. And included in this will be getting more walks-particularly for Reyes. I imagine you may even see Henderson coaching some first base in spring training games and sitting next to Reyes in the dugout. Unless Henderson has other obligations or has an offer to try-out, his time could be extended.

Another thing you may see Ricky doing is working with baserunners on going from first to third. This involves getting jumps and intricate details as cross-over steps. Proper mechanics here can cut down on the number of steps it takes for any runner to get to third from first.

I love what George King said today about Ricky. He's the only player who could coach without officially retiring. But it speaks to a natural evolution of athletes to mentors and then to coaching. He appears to have a taste for it while playing with independent teams these past two seasons. A new kind of gratification occurs in many athletes when they find they can pass something along. Often it evolves to coaching full-time and a natural career change.

I observed Lee Mazzilli and Clint Hurdle going through this phase in their careers. When my own career change to teaching occurred in the 90's, a wonderful female colleague told me that teaching is a calling. Like teaching, coaching becomes the same for many.

Some observers have commented that they found Ricky's presence curious;that Randolph can already do this. This is true to an extent, but managers don't want to commit themselves to hands on instruction in spring training. They just can't give it the time it requires. Managers are just too busy with meetings, the press, and being able to observe. Coaches in all sports benefit from watching their players get instruction and training from others. This is one of the reasons you see so many extra coaches in camp.

As this is an high-profile hire for camp, both Randolph and Omar Minaya signed off on it. Randolph certainly knows Henderson well and has significant regard for him. All-in-all this is a good move by the Mets.

Its natural to speculate that Henderson could get a look as well, but the numbers don't necessarily work. Assuming Randolph keeps at least eleven pitchers and two catchers, you consider seven other everyday players and only five spots remain.

Two will most steamily be from the Victor Diaz, Xavier Nady, Tike Redman and Endy Chavez group. That allows for three infielders, one of which is certain to be Chris Woodward who also a true shortstop. If Julio Franco will be on the club and Jose Valentin represents the only lefthanded bat off the bench. Either Chavez or Redman will make the club as they can play centerfield and lead off an inning as a pinch hitter. Little room for Henderson is here to be considered.

The battle to watch in spring training will be to see if Anderson Hernandez beats out Kaz Matsui for the second base job. If the Mets are unable to find someplace for Matsui, Woodward's spot will be imperiled. This of course is all cart before the horse material. What one speculates in February is usually far, far different than the reality of who's on the team charter going north in April.

But getting back to Henderson, what may materialize is a silent commitment from Minaya to him that if he's unable to find the employment he's looking for, a player-coach role might be in the cards in Tidewater. And then the potential is there for Randolph and Minaya to summon this legend should need arise.

The 100 Greatest Mets

2006-02-09T16:44:00.000-08:00

I love the list of 100 Greatest Mets compiled by Greg and Jason at Faith and fear in Flusing Some key inclusions are Terry Leach and Kevin Elster that unknowing observers might leave out. I know its somewhat fan driven, but I'm still saddened to see George Foster left off.

Desire...the incomparable Bobby Ojeda

2006-02-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

Much is being said and much is certainly dependent upon the rehabilitation of Octavio Dotel, And there should. If indeed Dotel is ready to pitch in front of Mariano Rivera in the Bronx during April, it will only be good news for the Yankee bullpen. He'll be way ahead of schedule for the elbow surgery that was performed in June. Only ten months of rehab for this painful injury would be phenomenal. Another amazing elbow rehabilitation took place 19 seasons ago. In Queens.

Bobby Ojeda came over from the Boston Red Sox prior to the 1986 season, and proved to be better than expected. Frank inquired about two Boston lefthanders-the other being Bruce Hurst. Somehow the fate of it being the less known Bobby Ojeda brought another piece of the incredible team of 1986 with its off-the-charts moxie. Ojeda won 16 games during the regular season and twice took the mound in the 86 post-season on the road with the team down in the series. Both times the incomparable Bobby Ojeda secured Met victories. And he did so in pain.

Ojeda probably won't talk about it much, but I'd imagine his elbow had been hurting him for some time. I recall that during a September 1986 game in Philadephia he came up between innings and had me coat his elbow in analgesic heat balm. It was odd as I Bobby rarely asked for anything.

So on through 86 and into 87 did Ojeda pitch until one May day in the steamy old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium did he come down into the dugout and call Steve Garland over to let him know he just couldn't go anymore. Jim Parkes performed an ulnar nerve transplant soon afterwards and it was believed that Bobby would be lost until next year.

But Ojeda would hear none of it. Many players who have such injuries disappear for long periods of time, but not Bobby. He stayed with the club, stayed in shape and relentlessly rehabilitated. His timetable was different than the rest of us. Eccentric, yet wise, Jim Parkes knew what was afoot. And so did Steve Garland. A unique trust and understanding existed between the three of them and it was only this that allowed Ojeda to pitch again in September. I doubt that Parkes would have let anyone else attempt this stunt. But it took a special patient, too.

The desire to win and compete burned within the soft-spoken Ojeda. Pain wasn't a limiting factor, and neither was a threat to a career. The desire to repeat 1986 was incalculable in Ojeda. Tremendously loyal to his teammates, he would do anything in his power to be there and returned for what was almost an incredible surge in the final month of September in 1987.

Four months is indeed too quick for this particular rehabilitation. Protocols are still similar and the surgical technique hasn't change much. But circumstances for the man involved in this one were different. Personal values drove him. It rubbed off and was absorbed by the rest to become part of the reason why the Mets were what they were.

CORRECTION: A knowing reader mailed in that Bobby won 18 games in 1986. I stand corrected, and know that Bobby will let me have it if he finds out I short changed him two wins.

We called him Dude

2006-02-08T04:05:00.000-08:00

Another excert of my upcoming book is published on my new friend's , Joe McDonlad site, NYSportsDay. Take a peak at Joe's excellent place for a New York sports junkie.

Remembering the Titans

2006-02-07T03:39:00.000-08:00

The announcement from Flushing yesterday that the 1986 World Series Champion Team will be recognized is exciting news for everyone. An on-field presentation before a game on the weekend of August 19th will highlight all events. Jeff Wilpon was the voice of the announcement and hopefully will use his continuing influence to make this the special event it deserves. Its most politically correct to say, "invited back."

There will be some easy ones to be sure. Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling will already be in the ballpark doing TV. Gary Carter, Howard Johnson, and Randy Niemann will easily get permission to miss days from work as they are already employed by the Mets. I understand from speaking with Ed Hearn, that Davey Johnson has had some health problems of late, but I'm sure the Mets will be able to get hom here nonetheless. Frank Cashen, the man who put the Mets back together in the 1980's will easily be there. And the Mets have thankfully re-embraced Darryl Strawberry, so his attendance is assured.

There are concerns that the Mets may have some difficulty pulling this off, as aside from card shows and the like, few of the guys have stayed in touch. And no real effort seems to have existed by the club to maintain its legacy from this era. The 1969 team was alive in more than spirit during the 80's, and it is mostly through blogs that any real nostalgia exists for this team. Perhaps its a generational thing, but the 86 Mets clearly weren't you father's New York Mets.

Jeff Pearlman's lively book, "The Bad Guys Won" gave great attention to the juicy, and well, dark side of the 86 Mets. And it underscored the philosophy that permeated the powers that be afterwards when the championships became elusive. It was they way they were the suits in the offices upstairs felt.

The bad boy stuff was fun, I guess.... while they won. The 1987 season proved a wash with all the injuries and Doc Gooden's first club-mandated suspension. And the club that year that was together in September certainly bested a Cardinal team in the final month. The Cardinals were grateful to have clinched the night the Mets arrived in St. Louis for what would have been a three-game showdown. But after what was a domination of the 1988 season, the seventh-game loss to the Dodgers in the NLCS proved especially bitter.

A sort of institutional loathing began from above. Frank Cashen sought what he described as a "fire in the belly." Fred Wilpon asked Johnson whether or not the club was going to quit on him. The club performed below expectations per a collective opinion of sub par professionalism. Other factors were at work-most of them documented, but the prevailing wisdom of the time was wrongly focused on desire.

Davey had the pulse of the team and protected and embellished it. So it was Johnson who was emasculated after the 1989 season with two loyal coaches, Sam Perlozzo and Bill Robinson being fired. Johnson's influence clearly diminished, the die was cast for one of many beginning's of the end.

A new attitude prevailed upon Johnson's and all the other departures. Perceived character and professionalism dictated player acquisitions and it marked the beginning of lean years and several regime changes. It was only the unlikely acquisition of Mike Piazza and the hiring of a manager with his own swash-buckling style in Bobby Valentine did a return to excellence take place.

Through the 80's the 1969 team was perched iconic around Shea Stadium, with the 1986 team all but forgotten during the 90's. True, some of its most notable members have not distinguished themselves in the post playing years. But the 1986 team was about winning and being the best. It was about overcoming long odds and subduing foes in hostile venues. Yes, many of them indeed lived hard, but they covered the bottom line and brought to the city and franchise one of baseball's most storied world titles.

Hopefully, the return of Strawberry to the family and the inclusion of Lenny Dykstra at spring training signals that its time to forget the bad, and remember the glory. I hope the Wilpons will continue to personally reach out. Bring them all back this summer-Danny Heep and Rafael Santana and Bobby Ojeda and Jesse Orosco and Wally Backman and Ray Knight and Sid Fernandez and Roger McDowell. Bring them all back. Bring them all back home.

Triumph and a truly giving legacy

2006-02-05T14:53:00.000-08:00

He walked upstairs after a game at Shea Stadium to be part of a reception for Cystic Fibrosis. When he sat at a table, a little girl came up and asked to sit in his lap. The tall, powerful professional athlete with the gentle voice and kind way said that she could. The little girl informed him that he knew her sister. Ed Hearn met his future wife, Trish, a nurse at North Shore Hospital that night during the endless summer of 1986. Its a love story that has endured through more than any couple ever should. Yet its ultimately about triumph.

Ed told me today on the phone that Trish, "has been my nurse ever since we met."

This means more than you'd imagine as after a vital life of a professional athlete, Hearn fell victim to an illness which led to three kidney transplants. He takes more than 25 pills a day and still undergoes expensive treatments monthly. Throw in a bout with cancer later and it would be understandable why someone would give up.

But Hearn told me today, "I always knew that to play in the big leagues would make me a role model. I expected it of myself."

Hearn along with pitcher, Rick Anderson were traded to Kansas City the spring after the World Series for Davis Cone.

He was with Trish while having dinner with John Gibbons, another catcher when Joe McIlvaine of the Mets called to tell him of the trade. He and Gibbons had caught snook that day and having a cook-out with their significant others.

Hearn said, "I turned over everything to Gibby at that point-apartment, furniture, everything and made my way to Fort Myers where the Royals trained.

Trish went with Ed to Kansas City. It was to be an exciting time as Hearn would be the everyday catcher for the Royals. But a blown rotator cuff ended it all and Hearn sadly finished with less than the four years he'd need to get Major League Player's Union health insurance as a retiree. It would come in handy now for Trish and Ed Hearn.

But none of this is the story of the man Ed Hearn really has become in his post big league life. Ed's become an inspiration for many about overcoming the road blocks that face us all. Go to his web site, He's now a widely sought motivational speaker for youth groups, churches and corporate america. He's been so good, in fact, that he's the only professional athlete from a professional team ever to receive the National Speaker's Association's prestigious Certified Speaking Profession (CSP).

Hearn says, "from the letters and personal testimonials I get tell me this is what I'm supposed to be doing. When powerful, successful people have pulled me aside afterwards and have tearfully told me what my message meant to them, I know I'm where I should be."

He voice conveys the strain of illness, but the clever mind and keen wit are still evident. He brightens when he speaks of his love for his wife and how lucky he is to have her. And when he talks of his eleven year-old son, Cody, it brightens further.

Cody's a black belt in karate and a baseball player in his own right, and Hearn enjoys seeing his son grow. He laughs when he's asked about playing baseball and says, "I hope I don't mess him up."

Go to Ed's web site and say hello. He enjoys hearing from fans. But it will also be a chance for you to be warmed by true success over adversity and a man's ultimate triumph, and a truly giving legacy.

UPDATE: I'm having a terrible time getting my links in according to what BLOGSPOT wants me to do, Chalk it up as operator error. This is Ed Hearn's site.

Lion in Winter

2006-02-04T07:16:00.000-08:00

The dinner at a Yonkers Italian restaurant had been hastily put together one fall evening in 1996. Some sort of card show for the 86 Mets was being put on and the dinner was part of the deal for the John Hancocks.

I found myself at a table having dinner with Mookie Wilson, Ed Hearn and Doug Sisk. Keith Hernandez came over to the table to say hello.

After he left Sisk said, "Best player I'd ever played with."

Hearn replied, "for me it was George Brett."

Quickly, Sisk emphasized, "I said the BEST player."

Somehow the conversation went elsewhere quickly, but Sisk's keen observation stayed with me. Sisk, who had also played with Cal Ripken, found Hernandez to be best at the game of any previous teammate. This is a strikingly rare, yet telling assessment of a man who could almost appear mystic in his relationship with the game.

His awareness of surroundings were astonishingly particular. He once told me at the batting cage during BP in Montreal that he found the color of the indoor stadium to convey an odd yellow hue. Sensitive to color he noted this on thrown balls to him in the infield.

He once snuffed out a squeeze play from the Cubs just by watching manager Jimmy Frye in the dugout. The Cubs knew afterwards that he had beaten them at their own game, too.

Hidden from view in the tunnel in Philadelphia he managed along with Davey Johnson and noted Davey putting on the hit and run with Ray Knight at the plate. "Sweet, Davey, sweet", he marveled. Johnson's back had been to Hernandez who even knew Davey's signs for his coaches on the bases. Few players go to this extreme to be aware of things.

A player survey was done once by the Sporting News in 1985, and along with Tony Gwynn, Hernandez was recognized as the most feared hitter in the National League with the game on the line. Perhaps if the Mets instead of the Cardinals had prevailed in 1985, Hernandez would have been league MVP and been the nudge that moved him to Hall of Fame status. Or maybe if he hadn't missed significant time in the later 80's for hamstring tears. Sisk might agree that Keith Hernandez is one of the BEST players not to be in the Hall of Fame.

Often reserved and aloof, I expected Hernandez to leave the game altogether after he retired. Maybe that acting career would work out. But perhaps he missed the rush of being in the game he grew to become so good at. And being able to watch and be with the game within the game satisfies the thirst.

It may yet be that the big stage that Hernandez will find himself on with NY Sports Net this summer will again distinguish him as one of the best at his craft.

I, for one, can't wait.

"....the makings of a beautiful friendship"

2006-02-03T03:35:00.000-08:00

As team photos go, this one distinguished itself with the lovely backdrop of the Adirondacks. The sun shown and young, eager faces smiled during the summer of 1980, with big league dreams dancing in their heads. Sadly many are called, but few are chosen. Only a handfull of the young men in the team photo of the Little Falls Mets were destined for the major leagues.

Of those in the team photo, Lloyd McClendon had the longest tenure as a player, with him being most notable as manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates. This humble writer is on the extreme right of the photo, still unbelieving he actually wore those obnoxious white pants. He achieved his own big league dream a short five years later,

But there were two more. One was a first round pick, the second of three that June the Mets had. Billy Beane was sent from central casting. Tall, lean, articulate, and a smile made for shirt commercials was this California teenager. Another was a college man taken in later rounds when organizations merely sought to fill out rosters. Short, wiry with a face and accent that reminded of Phil Rizzuto. A small and obscure college in Massachusetts produced JP Ricciardi.

As fate would have it, the two arrived on the same day and the local GM bunked them together at the same home. An odd pair upon glance, yet they were perfect together and became fast friends. And it was a friendship which would endure well beyond the time they both played professionally.

Ricciardi was a calming influence on the high-strung Beane. Probably having few illusions about a big league playing career, yet seeing that Beane did, Ricciardi became a wise big brother for Beane, perhaps even a bit of a role model.

Ricciardi left to become a scout a short time later. Beane got the proverbial cup-of-coffee in the big leagues. Their paths separated, but not surprising and seemingly synchronously they came together when Beane was the GM for the Oakland A's. He hired Ricciardi as his assistant.

Now they sit with the same jobs, Beane still with the A's and Ricciardi having his own team, the Toronto BlueJays. Both are recognized as being of the new breed of baseball executives, their wise focus on things you can measure. Its easy to imagine either of them bringing World Series trophies to they're respective cities.

And I always wonder whether or not these two friends remember and talk about that summer in upstate New York where they met and developed this beautiful friendship,

Urban Legends and Practicalities

2006-02-01T07:24:00.000-08:00

A memorable photo of Doc Gooden appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated during the spring of 1985. The shot done while Gooden was throwing off a Payson Field mound in St. Petersburg, Florida, was a unique shot from below. The angle was quite telling as it showed just how much torque and range of motion a pitcher of Gooden's physical skills possessed. Sadly, though, it fails to take into account practicalities of any athlete's longevity and shelf life.

Take Tiger Woods for example. I was heard a golfer friend of mine describe a young Wood's as one of those young, "limber backs." We all marveled at the excellence of the Wood's power game at the beginning with the remarkable range of motion he displayed on his now over scrutinized swing. Occasionally beset by knee problems and back problems, Woods has undestandably altered his swing over the years. He knew his body changed from when he was in his teens and early twenties to where he is now at 30.

Now consider Gooden. As a teen, he was in the major leagues, a feat perhaps as rare as perfect games. He was dominating at age 20 in 1985 as few have. We knew that Gooden had grown between 1984 and 1985. But it also signaled the fact that his body was changing as all of ours do. Effects of gravity and natural evolution of muscle-skeletal structure would indeed have its say in the way in which Gooden's body took shape in his early 20's. Photo's of Gooden the teenager and Gooden in his mid 20's certainly validate this.

Gooden was neither soft nor lazy and remained a tremendous competitor. He trained hard. Tom McGraw once described what a professional athlete has as a pride factor. If an athlete has established a level of excellence they persevere to maintain that. This explains why many do get out, even if they can perform at a competent level. Gooden certainly had this pride factor.

And as an the old sage and mentor Tom McKenna was fond of saying, "the body wasn't meant to throw a baseball."

It delicate nature and tight surroundings don't bode well for the human shoulder throwing a baseball. Few are indeed able to throw a ball 100 miles per hour. Those that do often don't do those for long. Exceptions of Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson indicate and incredible work ethic maintained over the years and well, divine intervention.

Gooden started experiencing a stretching of the capsule in his shoulder, something common in all pitchers. The shoulder's capsule is best described as a thickening of the ligaments of the shoulder. Ligaments provide any joint's stability. Subsequent effects of this stretching vary from pitcher to pitcher. This capsular stretching often leads to instability, pain , tears of the capsule and other rotator cuff difficulties.

Doc Gooden was the face of the New York Mets franchise of the late 1980's. An organization-wide panic ensued when Gooden began having shoulder trouble. Late Team physician Jim Parkes tried as he might to calm the waters, but the classy Gooden had many speaking in his ear. New technology both provided answers while creating new questions. MRI's were new at the time. Wondrous as they were for diagnostics, we didn't always know what we were looking at.

An MRI view of Gooden's shoulder lead one observer to feel it was a tumor. Enter more panic. Parkes knew that it wasn't but the panic needed to be abated. The tumor was subsequently ruled out and the diagnosis was changed to small tear in the rotator cuff. So as per instructions from the powers that be, an MRI was taken every two weeks or so and to we watched the small tear shrink to nothing.

Later on during the brief tenure of Buddy Harrelson, Gooden felt something pop in his shoulder while getting something extra on a fastball for the Dodger's Pedro Guerrero. He continued pitching, but Gooden knew it wasn't right. More panic about the capsule via the MRI's followed. But Gooden trusted Parkes and acquiesced to letting him scope his shoulder and Parkes trimmed up some soft tissue.

Looking back I suspect that Jim Parkes had little faith in the surgical technique of the time to deal with the anterior instability of a pitcher's shoulder which Gooden suffered from. This may have been revealed by the next physician who operated on Gooden's shoulder, David Alcheck. Mets Head Trainer, Steve Garland told me that Alchek had said, "Jim Parkes showed tremendous restraint when he was inside Gooden's shoulder.

None of this came as a result of Mel Stottlemyer's tinkering. Although a popular legend among knowing Met fans, this just wasn't the case. Gooden was a victim of Mother Nature. She's not always kind. And her rules for a blessed Doc Gooden dictated that there would be only one season like that, albeit one of wonder in that summer of 1985.

The Whisper

2006-01-30T11:41:00.000-08:00

December 1990 Nashville, Tennessee

Christmas lights were all over the place at the Grand Ole Opry where the Winter Meetings were being held. I was strolling through the lobby when Arthur Richmond stopped me to chat. Arthur had left the Mets and was now working in the Bronx for the Yankees. As we parted he invited me to come up and have a drink with he and a friend of his in about an hour.

The suite was a private one and Arthur and his friend were already there. The friend was an old hand in the game and was now doing radio color for a west coast team. He spoke in gentle, even, yet confident tones. But he somehow seemed pensive without the body language, as if patiently waiting for something important he knew he would be doing.

I went up to the hospitality bar to get us three more drinks when Arthur leaned over to whisper something in his friend's ear. Joe Torre leaned over and smiled quietly at what Arthur said.

It wasn't long afterwards that Arthur Richmond kept whispering Torre's name to George Steinbrenner about managing the Yankees. A reign of Four World Series Titles for the New York Yankees with Joe Torre at the helm followed.

A Messy Business

2006-01-28T07:43:00.000-08:00

Somehow considering the Isiah Thomas sexual harassment story leaves me feeling unwashed, dirty. My hair is soiled, my face greasy. A weekend camping trip has just ended. Or I've been sick on the couch with the flu or something. I need a hot shower, yet none is soon to be forthcoming.

There isn't any way we'll ever be able to truly know what really happened here, and quite frankly (apologies to Steven A. Smith), I just don't want to.

Professional sports in New York is all about glitch and glamour. And more so here than in any other city. Yet the people who find themselves in the middle are no better or worse than those who hold similar jobs in, say, Portland or Memphis. Or maybe Jacksonville. Aside from papparazi sightings in So Cal, no place even closely resembles New York for its largesse. And its all about power.

Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Quest for this in New York is a phenomena unique to the city. To be on the back page. To be on page six. Thirst for this; lust for this corrupts as it is the attention one garners which labels power. Like Don Corleon granting favors on the day of his daughter's wedding does publicity favor power.

And it was for power at Madison Square Garden that all this messy business began. Who gets the credit? Who wields the most influence? Sadly, someone will win, someone will lose, or maybe everyone will lose. Nonetheless, a bloodletting will mark the turning point in this sad affair. Some will leave town as if they just lost one of those loser leave town matches they used to have in professional wrestling.

How appropriate, the pro wrestling angle here. Don't you think?

About Wally...

2006-01-27T03:42:00.000-08:00

When Kevin McReynolds bulled over Mike Scoscia to score the winning run in the ninth at Dodger Stadium in Game One of the 1988 NL playoffs, the swagger returned.

And why not? During the season the Mets had won 10 of 11 from the Dodgers. And afterall, hadn't the incredible consecutive scoreless streak by Orel Hersheiser just been broken by back-to-back doubles by Gregg Jefferies and Darryl Strawberry in front of Gary Carter's game-winning hit? A Hersheiser start went to the Mets with 20 game winner, David Cone, going the next day was cause for celebration. And who could blame?

But a booming voice came from the second Dodger Stadium locker, "Don't get happy."
The man, small in stature, yet big in intagibles repeated his words several times. Wally Backman's words would prove prophetic, almost like the Ides of March.

The Mets would win only two more and 1988 post season vision became Kirk Gibson's Roy Hobbs moment in Game One against the Oakland A's. I'd imagine Backmamn has thought to himself many times about his feelings after Game One. And with language none to pretty and not for prime time TV.

Like it we would for it to be otherwise, Major League Baseball is played by grown men. Its a man's world of hostility, power, raw emotion. We've not all been angels on this earth, Backman no exception. Backman used to be fined as a minor leaguer a quarter every time he used the F-word. F-bombs they're called. We all used them and occasionally drank to excess, too. Grown man in a man's world. Backman was a throw back to another time and God bless him for it.

It came as no surprise that Backman became a successful minor league mananger, coveted by many organizations. And touted to be a future manager at the Major League level. It happened, albeit briefly prior to last season with the Arizona Diamonbacks. That was until revelations about his past came to light. We're all not angels.

So Backman sits in a deer stand somewhere in Oregon. Still. No phone calls. No job. Its time. See Bob Klapish's column in the Bergen record. I'll link it later.

Can't we just leave the wives out of it?

2006-01-27T02:52:00.000-08:00

Hopefully, its different now, but at one time the family room at Shea Stadium was very small. Players took a right turn out of the clubhouse and walked down to the parking lot behind the Mets bullpen after games. As the family room was so small, most wives and children wait in the tunnel for their husbands and fathers. Cramped quarters and short fuses.

This just in....wives don't necessarily always get along. Disagreements can happen over extremely petty things but for the most part what happens on the field, good and bad, stays out of the family room. None of this should come as no surprise to anyone. Wives and families used to be off limits, but not any more.

The late Dick Young once inserted Tom Seaver's wife into a column to get back at Seaver about something. Soon after Seaver was traded to the Reds. Young, a talented but arrogant bully, crossed the line here, perhaps setting the precedent as another area that was acceptable.

Its certainly correct to assert that Anna Benson was different. But its dirt digging to pry into what other wives may have thought of her. Yes, Anna and Kris frequently conducted themselves as one would expect a couple might on Monday Night Raw, but don't expect to drag other wives into it. Vic Ziegel in the NY Daily News ripped Jay Horwitz this morning in his column for trying to leave the wives out of it. But then again, its the Mets who are trotting the wives out. Perhaps the gifted Ziegal has a point.

People often forget that golf great, Nancy Lopez was once a Met's wife, married to Ray Knight. And Nancy would have wanted it that way, too. She stayed behind the scenes and was a gentle mediator in the family room. Grace, elegance, and humbleness are words which describe the way I remember this wonderful, almost regal lady. Its called class. Using the Nancy Lopez model in the way we all conduct ourselves might be worth considering.

In the defense of Omar

2006-01-26T03:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's focus among the chattering classes in New York concerning the allegations that Omar Minaya is showing greater deference to Latin players has finally reached the dual media monster of Gotham. The juggernaut of the Knicks'and Isiah Thomas mess will keep this a one or two day thing, and for good reason. It's absurd.
I'd imagine that Minaya defended himself admirably yesterday on Mike and the Mad Dog. Although he didn't need to, the savvy Minaya-and perhaps wise old sage, Jay Horwitz- knew that its best to address something than let it simmer. The talk show forum of New York is now the best and quickest way to do this. He saved at least 12 hours and was able to do so without danger of being misquoted and being what New Yorkers most respect by being "a stand-up guy".
But lets speak to some facts that are easy to see. First and foremost, the number of Latino players in the Major Leagues has increased dramatically over the last thirty years. Baseball has made the adjustment and pumps more and more assets into scouting and player development in this area. Nevermind marketing. It stands to reason that by shear numbers, more Latino players are coveted by teams.
Prior to the 2005 season, three of the most coveted free agents available-Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Delgado-all hail from Spanish speaking countries. Anyone could see that all three were fits for the Mets. Minaya delivered two and was fortunate to fall upon another salary dump by the Marlins and acquired Delgago this off-season. Minaya's unique personal skills certainly came into play, but also with Billy Wagner, a country boy from Virginia. And if Minaya had been truly obsessed with making the Mets a Spanish-only please team, Eric Heilman would have been traded for Danys Baez and the Mets would have saved money and signed Benji Molina instead of traded for Paul LoDuca.
And to be sure, Minaya's style marks a departure from past regimes. The Mets are no longer an organization that fears the four dailies and WFAN. They embrace it. Where once Al Harazin snuck off to write a press release concerning Doc Gooden's shoulder instead of letting Horwitz do it, Minaya is on one the most listened to sports talk show to put a story to rest.

Of pitchers and pitching

2006-01-24T03:45:00.000-08:00

A conversation between Mets GM, Frank Cashen , and another National League GM once went the following way one late 1980's winter meeting:

NL GM: "What are you looking for?"

Cashen: "Pitching."

NL GM: "Thats too bad. I was hoping to talk about pitching."

Armed with the Dwight Gooden, David Cone, Sid Fernandez, Ron Darling, Bobby Ojeda, Rick Aguillera starting staff, Cashen still craved pitching. The day's mantra that you couldn't have too much pitching endures. Yet when chemistry problems with a once extremely tight staff developed, a wiser Frank Cashen later concluded that you couldn't have too much pitching, but you could have, well, too many pitchers.
Of course, like all of us, major league GM's don't have crystal balls. But wise ones, like the Mets Omar Manaya take history lessons. Consider this Mets off-season.
Manaya made the obvious observation. Lots of quality starters. But we gotta do something about that bullpen. Why not trade strength for weakness.
Only the extremely fortunate presence of Pedro Martinez made Braden Looper's main stage blown saves a knock down and not a knock out. As it was, the hardened Martinez' leads frequently victimized by Looper's bad outings, often lead to solid starts five days later. But previous malfeasance by a Boston bullpen may have left Martinez accustomed to such events. He wouldn't throw Looper under the bus, but Minaya knew the Mets couldn't and wouldn't go through another season of ninth inning futility.
Exit Looper. Enter Billy Wagner. And enter does Wagner with the reputation for getting the last three outs. Mission accomplished Minaya. Now on to the rest of the bullpen.
Minaya's quote this week indicating that its harder to get relievers than starters now is quite telling. The game's changed and perhaps in transition. And analysis of statistics and rosters might show that a new focus and value is placed on bullpens than was, say, 15 years ago. Rosters in the late 80's and early 90's routinely kept 10 or even 9 pitchers. Managers often carried three catchers or kept a back-up shortstop. It was more about pinch-hitting and double-switches and such. Now it appears that 25-man rosters carry 11 to 12 pitchers. Extra arms are in the bullpen, rather than fannies on the bench.
The fine columnist of the New York Daily News, John Harper speaks to this today specifically to the Mets. href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/385737p-327332c.html">http://www.newyorkdailynewssports
Unlike Cashen twenty years prior, Minaya seized the opportunity and dealt from strength to acquire what his team desperately needed to keep pace with the ever changing game.
He traded pitching to get pitchers. Or is it the other way around? I'm never sure.

Birth of the Gooden Legacy

2006-01-23T15:11:00.000-08:00

ed note: What follows is a sample of the narrative I've written about the 1986 Mets. Its insightful to cover the 1985 season and the pennant race with the St. Louis Cardinals and this exerpt recalls the events of a game with the Montreal Expos at Shea Stadium. Special attention is given to the emergence of Doc Gooden during this season.

July 30, 1985

The Toronto Blue Jays AAA affiliate was in Syracuse when Davey Johnson managed the Tidewater Tides in 1983. Johnson recommended to Frank Cashen a lefthander that they had named Jimmy Key. At the winter meetings that year, he spoke to Pat Gillick
about acquiring Key.
Gillick said that he would trade Key - "for Gooding."
Cashen said, "I'll bet you would."
Not feeling it necessary to correct Gillick on the name,
Cashen ended the inquiry on Key.
In 1983 Davey managed a melting pot of players at Tidewater to the AAA World Series Title. It was a big deal to us as we got $1000 by winning. Wally Backman, Kelvin Chapman, Clint Hurdle, Herm Winningham, and Gary Rasjich were major contributors in the series.
Alot of our pitchers were recalled to the big club by September that year and a young righthander just one year removed from high school and in just his second year of pro ball was called up from Lynchburg to help us out at the end. He'd won 19 games and struck out an astonishing 300 batters in just 27 starts. Dwight Gooden wouldn't turn 19 until after the season had ended.
A writer covering the AAA World Series was in our Louisville, Kentucky dugout before Gooden's start and asked us to describe him.
For some reason I blurted out," A young Bob Gibson."
The writer responded, "That's quite a mouthful."
But Davey and Al Jackson, seated within earshot, nodded and agreed together that it was a pretty good comparison.
Gooden had thrown batting practice in spring training to the Tides so Davey had seen him pitch, but he called Lynchburg Mets manager Sam Perlozzo to get an update. Perlozzo, who later would become thirdbase coach for the Mets, was fervent in his
evaluation of Gooden. He saw a killer instinct found in very few young pitchers. Perlozzo felt that when Gooden got two strikes on a hitter, he smelled blood, and actually added something more to an already overwhelming fastball.
During spring training in 1982, Joe McIlvaine and a group went across the bay from our minor league camp in St. Petersburg to see Gooden pitch as a high school senior in his native Tampa.
Veteran scout, Eddie Toledo, who always came to camp to help with the young Latino players, joined the group that made the trip. Eddie arrived the next morning, arms flailing
demonstratively and kept repeating that Gooden had been the best pitcher he'd ever seen.
McIlvaine drafted Gooden with the fifth pick in the June Free Agent Draft, grateful that he was still there. The first pick that year was Shawon Dunston.
Davey was named manager of the Mets during the 1983 World Series, replacing interim manager Frank Howard. Hondo replaced George Bamberger who had resigned during the season. Bamby was reported to tell the players in his good-bye speech, "Gentlemen, I'm going fishing."
Davey knew Gooden was special and wanted him to go north in 1984. He worked on Frank all spring and, but Cashen always changed the subject when Davey brought it up. Doc nursed a blister and back spasms in the spring, but still impressed.
Davey detailed in "Bats", the book he collaborated on with Peter Golenbock, that his converstions with Cashen over beers during spring training about Gooden usually elicited this response: "Here's to the ladies."
Cashen relented at the end and the legend of Dwight Gooden was born.
Gooden didn't disappoint. He set a then rookie record for strikeouts in route to the 1984 Rookie of the Year Award. In fact, Doc set all sorts of records that year. He set the major league record for strikeouts for rookies with 276 and he was the first
teen-aged rookie ever to lead either league in strikeouts. He also set a major league record for strikeouts per nine innings with an 11.39 average shattering the old record of 10.71 held by Cleveland’s Sam McDowell in 1965. He finished the year 17-9 with a
2.60 ERA.

* * * * * *

After a few days of rain in March of 1985, Whitey Herzog dropped by our clubhouse to arrange a "B game". Everyone had to get their pitchers ready, so one of these games was hastily scheduled later in the day at the small Huggins-Stengall Field off
Fourth Street. The Cards trained not far from us at Al Lange Stadium in downtown St. Petersburg. Gooden pitched in the casual contest later that morning.
The dugouts were small at Huggins-Stengall as Davey, myself and Al Jackson sat together again watching Gooden pitch. Al was now the lead minor league pitching coach for the Mets.
As I was watched Doc pitch, I sort of thought out loud, "Doc looks bigger this year."
Davey replied evenly, "Maybe in his legs."
A slowly maturing Gooden had gained ten pounds in the off-season. He was still just twenty years old and already had a full year in the majors.

* * * * * *

On July 30, 1985 the Expos were in town for a three game series. Rick Aguilera, emerging as a quality starter in Bruce Berenyi's absence had won his fourth game the night before, beating Bryn Smith 3-2. Doc would face Bill Gullickson on a Tuesday night before another large crowd.
Gullickson and Gary Carter didn't get along. There always had been some animosity toward Gary while he was with the Expos as many of his teammates felt he overly courted media attention. His problems with Gullickson, however, stemmed from a 1983 incident that occurred in an Expos game against Atlanta. Gary failed to catch a foul pop-up and Gullickson became angered when Carter was not charged with an error.
It was ruled "No play" by the official scorer and the Braves went on to score several runs, all of which were charged against Gullickson's ERA. A furious Gullickson called the press box later in the game demanding Carter be charged with an error which would
have protected his ERA from the runs that scored.
When Gullickson strode to the plate for his first time at bat in third, Carter noticing Gullickson's new beard said, "Well, if it isn't the bearded wonder." Gullickson had no response.
In the bottom half of the 4th in a scoreless game, Gullickson sailed an 0-2 pitch over Gary's head. He stepped out of the batter's box and glared at Gullickson and nodded his head at him.
After he grounded out, Gary screamed at Gullickson as he bounded into the dugout, "You wanna play hard ball, Gully?"
He kept screaming at Gullickson as he sat down next to Gooden and started putting on his gear. Frank Pulli was the homeplate umpire and while still in his crouch, looked over at our dugout and calmly said, "Gary."
Doc had his hat off and was toweling off his neck. He softly patted Gary on his leg and quietly said, "Don't worry, Homes. I'll get him."
The next inning, Gullickson batted with two outs, and Gooden sailed his first pitch over his head in similar fashion. He struck out the first two guys, probably just to make sure no one was on.
Gullickson sheepishly looked at Carter and said, "What's up, Kid ?"
Doc said, "It slipped." Of course nobody bought that.
The Expos dugout, especially Andre Dawson, erupted at Carter.
Our dugout went nuts, too. Danny Heep was notably livid. I thought he was going to charge their dugout as he bellowed at Dawson to shut up. Pulli fined Doc $50 and warned both benches and that was the end of it.
Doc went on to win his tenth straight. He struck out ten. It was a 5 hit shutout. Mets win 2-0.
In a June game earlier in the year at Dodger Stadium, Gooden got out of memorable jam in the bottom of the eighth when he loaded the bases with the game tied at 1-1. A lead-off hit by Steve Sax was followed by a perfect hit and run single by Ken
Landreaux and then an intentional walk to Pedro Guerrero.
Gooden remained calm and deliberate and struck an imposing figure on the mound-the same mound that belonged to legends like Koufax and Drysdale. He struck out Greg Brock, got Mike Soscia to pop straight up to Carter, and finished off the inning by striking out Terry Whitfield. Three outs. Nine pitches. All fastballs. We went on to win the game.
Countless quintessential performances as these vaulted Gooden's stature on the team and in baseball. His starts became big tickets in New York during the 1985 season and took on a spectacle of their own. Two nitwits would stake claim to the upper deck in
leftfield and put out"K's" with each Gooden strikeout. The pair became the collective consciousness of the crowd as they, too, would begin to smell blood each time Doc would get two strikes on a hitter.
When room allowed, the duo would start running around up there waving around their placard "K's” in Keystone Cops fashion anticipating another strikeout. The DiamiondVision screen would play out a comical cartoon accompanied by the haunting
melody of the theme from "Jaws" with Gooden, of course being played by a hungry shark. So it was with any Gooden start. An entire city would embrace him forever.
Gooden became the youngest pitcher ever to win the Cy Young Award, finishing with a 24-4 record and a 1.53 ERA. He also led the league in strikeouts with 268 and became the first pitcher since Sandy Koufax in 1966 to win the "Triple Crown" of pitching.
It turned out to be his only Cy Young award and his greatest season. Stardom and a certain trip to Cooperstown had been predicted, but Gooden's career was sadly abated by injuries and cocaine. Most will point to the cocaine, but the shoulder trouble that started a few years later made Gooden change pitching styles and could no longer dominate as he had. Ironically, he secured his place in history in 1996 when he pitched a no-hitter. But it was for the other team in New York: The Yankees.
Yet it is to 1985 that we turn to hear the legend. It was a summer of a great pennant race with the Cardinals that wasn't decided until the first weekend in October. Alas, no one ever remembers who finished second. But it will forever be the summer of 1985 for all of us to smile and remember Dwight Eugene Gooden.

* * * * * *

Doc's victory on July 30th helped spark a stretch where we won 19 of 23 and vaulted back into first place. Doc had five of those victories, including a 3-0 shutout of the Giants on August 20th.
The next night on August 21st, Ed Lynch took a 2-1 lead into the ninth and yielded to Roger McDowell. He gave up a one out single to Chris Brown and then faced the Giants catcher, Bob Brenly. The count reached 2-2, when McDowell slowly shook of Carter's signal for a sinker and opted to throw his second best pitch, a slider. McDowell hung it and Brenly smacked it into the leftfield bullpen, giving them a 3-2 victory. Two days later we were back in second, again chasing the Cardinals.

A shameless ploy

2006-01-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

Yes. One could find this a shameless ploy to hawk an unpublished book. The working title is the same as this blog is titled. But during the course of writing my narrative about the 1986 Mets , I rediscovered writing. While growing up in the mid- seventies, baseball was still experienced for most through the medium of AM radio. For me it was the hapless Atlanta Braves; they the royal blue and white variety. Many nights were spent just listening. The great game had to be imagined. As my own epiphany regarding my own big league baseball career-or rather the untenable dream with respect to talent-ended in my early teen years, writing about this game I still have a unquenchable yearn for became the void. A beat reporter for my Braves became the new dream. That until a football coach told me about a career in athletic training. Epiphany number two came at age 17. I would become a trainer for a Major League Baseball team. This was on a warm Florida spring day in 1976. Less than nine years later a phone call would mark the attainment of the dream. It would be with the New York Mets and I was thus inserted into the middle of one of baseball's greatest stories at the beginning of the 1985 season.