New York Mets 101

Jerry Koosman was and is Met Royalty. He didn't mind playing second fiddle to Seaver. When the game was on the line he knew how to pitch. Take a look at these lifetime statistics. 

Won loss record - 222-209/ERA 3.36/Strikeouts 2,556

With a little luck this guy could have made it to The Hall of Fame. His journey to the Mets was unique. I am attaching a short audio from Wayne Coffee's book "They Said It Couldn't Be Done" where he details how Koosman made it to the Mets and a his memoir regarding the 1969 season. 

The Cleveland Series

Cleveland has had enough of New York. They went 2-5 and basically slept through the series with The Mets. Terry Francona thinks the Mets are on the fringe of being in Play off contention. We are in contention. Hey Terry, your team may be on the fringe. 

On June 15, 1977 The Mets traded Tom Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds for 4 scrubs. The man that led the team to a World Championship in 1969 never received his due from the Mets and certainly was never paid what he was worth. He came back to Mets in 1983 to the joy of Mets fans and was left unprotected in the 1984 compensatory free agent draft and ended up with the Chicago White Sox. He won his 300th game with the Sox at Yankee Stadium. Lindsay Nelson was brought in to make the final call as Seaver retired the last batter. Seaver always wanted to be a Met, and will always be a Met. This man of baseball royalty should have never have been seen in another uniform. Now the Mets are building a statue in his honor at Citi Field with the address of the ballpark being renamed 41 Seaver Way. As far as I am concerned it's too little too late.  

The Braves have our number. They have built a great ball club, however they're not that good. I mean they never seem to get out of the first round of the playoffs. Why the hell can't we beat them. Go figure; we just lost 2 out of 3 to them AGAIN!

Brian Cole was a 5 tool player the Mets drafted in 1997. He could do it all. I am attaching his stats to this episode description. Tragically he was killed in a car accident March 31, 2001. When players that teams are counting on in their future don't materialize it can set a team back for 10 years. This guy was Strawberry-ish and could have been a player that led the Mets for years to come. A tragedy for sure. Every team has players that they look to for their future when they don't pan out the team can be at a great lose. 

The Nationals series was great we took 2 out of 3. We should be clicking out heals together. We need to realize that the team has won 15 of their last 17 and still only 4 games over .500. We needed to step on the neck of the Nationals and swept the series. The Mets need to find another closer; fast, and Diaz needs to be sent to the minors to figure it out.  Atlanta is the team to beat and were going to see what the Mets have in the tank as the start their next series with the Braves. 

 https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=cole--001bri 

Chris Cannizzaro was a catcher for the Mets from 1962-1965. One of my favorite players, he could never hit but boy could he catch. He never made more than $13,000 a year and his signing bonus was $2200. It was a hard life but his life along with the life of other players from that era paved the way for many of the players today. What a difference, the current league minimum is $600,000. I don't think Cannizzaro made that in his lifetime. 

So who is the unsung hero during this current Met surge. Listen in and find out. 

Kevin Mitchell played a key role in the Mets 1986 World Series win, yet we traded him and he went on to be a power hitter for the Giants. If the Mets are going to be successful for years to come they have to have patience with their young players and give them time to develop. We have lost too many young stars and have gotten back older and less athletic players in return. We have made too many of these win now moves and it doesn't work. 

We are moving toward relevancy for sure but we can't keep bringing in relievers who can't take the pressure and give up late inning homeruns. In reality we should be 10-0 right now in the last 10 games. Friday night was a perfect example as Bashelor coughed it up again. 

Jack Hamilton, "Hair Breath Harry" was one of the characters the Mets had in 1966. A pitcher who would walk the bases loaded then strike 3 batters out. It could be 32 in April and Hamilton would be sleeveless. He walked 88 guys in 140 innings in 1966 and threw 18 wild pitches. Opposing teams were a bit cautious as Hamilton really didn't know where the ball was going. He had the distinction of hitting a grand slam home run in a 11-9 loss to the Cardinals, and in being thrown out at first base from right field by Johnny Callison of the Phillies. With the California Angels he was the pitcher who hit Tony Conigiliaro in the face with a pitch which ultimately ended Tony C's career. Unfortunately Hamilton's career was probably also over because of the beaning. 

How do you win 7 in a row with the same bunch of guys who could just as easily lose 7 in a row. It's all about good and bad stress and focusing on your successes not your failures. We still need to get to .500 to be relevant. Let's keep this streak going and make the next 2 months fun for Mets fans. 

Baron Von Frankenstein thought he was going to create a human being by knitting together the body parts of cadavers. He made the mistake though of using the brain of a psychopathic criminal and created a monster. He had no name and no identity. He was pretty confused The 1962-63 Mets were nothing more than a bunch of players knitted together trying to form a team. They didn't become monsters they became Amazin for doing nothing more than losing. They were confused too. You can't just put people on the field without a purpose or identity. The 69 Mets with the help of Gil Hodges developed an identity and once they had that, well you know the rest of the story. 

Okay we won 4 in a row. Let's get to .500. Stroman is a nice piece but do we really need pitching? Brodie is going to buy to sell. Who will be next. Like I said earlier without an identity a team can lose its way, and get confused. Who is this team and what will they become after the trading deadline. 

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Who made the Mets? The fans did. The Mets drew 1.9 million fans in 1966 when they won just 66 games. The fan base was loyal and loved the team regardless of wins or losses. When the Yankees were on their downward slide after the 64 world series they drew 1.1 million and on any given day had 5,000 people in attendance.  Ask someone when the became a Yankee fans and if it was in the 70's or late 90's they weren't fans they were front runners. The Mets have had a loyal fan base since their inception and they have been rewarded twice. If their fan base was that of the Yankees from 66-76 they would go broke. The Wilpons need to reward this loyalty and do what is right by the fans who have supported them through thick and thin for 57 years. 

If Brodie Van wagenen makes the mistake of trading with the Yankees he will soon find himself in over his head and will be fleeced by Brian Cashman. Cashman has over inflated the abilities of his prospects for years. If you want to trade with us fork over major league talent and stop peddling the garbage that may never pan out. Wake up Brodie, quick. 

Jack Fisher pitched the first game ever played at Shea Stadium. He pitched for the Mets from 1964-67 and was affectionately known as "Fat Jack." He started 133 games for the Mets and won 38 games while losing 73. Not bad for a consistently bad team. He had his place in baseball history and was the pitcher in 3 seminal events during his career. 

The manager lost the Giants series. Poor bench and bullpen management and the continued use of players out of position are becoming far too common and costly. The Mets need to get to .500 to be relevant. With the trade deadline looming only time will tell if they become sellers and throw in the towel.