Fasten Your Seatbelts

Beltran Could Be Next Wally Pipp

mlblogshappyrecap — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 11:19:39 +0000

Whether you’re a baseball fan or a movie buff, you probably know the story of Wally Pipp. He was the steady first baseman for the Yankees in the early to mid-Twenties who left a ball game due to illness. His replacement, Lou Gehrig, took the field and didn’t leave for 15 years. Pipp, needless to say, lost his job.

That could be the case in Flushing this season. Carlos Beltran, the Mets’ CF, cannot seem to stay healthy. Last year he had strained quadricep and then the residual injuries due to his collision with RF Mike Cameron. This year, he has a tricky hamstring that may end him on the DL. Unless the Mets are comfortable with Endy Chavez in CF for the next 2 weeks (I can’t see how) their only other option would be to promote wunderkind Lastings Milledge. They obviously do not want to go this route, but if they want to get to the post-season, it may be the only option. Victor Diaz cannot play CF.

All indications are that Milledge is an exciting 5-tool player that every MLB team covets. Carlos Beltran better beware or he may not be seeing too much of CF after that.

Trachsel Shows Who’s Boss

mlblogshappyrecap — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 00:09:49 +0000

There’s no question Steve Trachsel is a quality veteran pitcher that most MLB teams would love to have. But on this team of marquee names and rising stars, he’s an afterthought, a backseat rider – a hitchhiker. That is, until he takes the mound. Known for taking his time, he methodically dissected the green Marlins lineup tonight allowing only 1 run on 3 hits over 6 innings. He also added a double – the 10,000th in Mets history (I don’t know what he wins for that) – and put the club on course for its 3rd victory out of four games played in this young season.
Notes: tonite’s 9-3 victory had a little bit of everything – a collective team effort. Jose Reyes homered and was 3-5 on the night. David Wright also homered. Willie Randolph and Rick Petersen have to be pleased with the starting staff- 4 games, 4 quality starts. Again, Jorge Julio got himself into trouble, loading the bases in the 8th and then giving up a two-run single to former Met Mike Jacobs

Beltran Avenges Classless BooBirds

mlblogshappyrecap — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 00:20:52 +0000

Carlos Beltran homered and drove in 4 runs tonight in a wild win over Washington at Shea. The plunkings were many, even clearing the benches at one point and Nationals manager Frank Robinson was ejected. Pedro Martinez started for the Mets going 6 innings (which seems to be the Mets’ magic number for staters so far) ang giving up 4 runs – 3 of those came on a Nick Johnson blast in the 5th. Beltran was only 1-4 on the night but the one hit was a 2-run shot in the 7th to give the Mets some breathing room en route to a 10-5 win. It was not unusual for Beltran to homer in a game that Pedro started as he did it so often last season. Beltran had been hitless until the HR, and the fans called for a curtain call afterward. Nice to see them put the booing behind them….

Rock Bottom Gooden Can Only Go Up From Here

mlblogshappyrecap — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 10:40:39 +0000

Dwight Gooden had the look of a man who was completely resigned to his fate. As he stood before a judge in Tampa courtroom, Gooden expressed remorse for his actions and accepted his sentence with a glossed-over expression. A year in jail for violating his probation. The saddest part of the whole thing is he didn’t really commit a crime this time around.

When you violate your probation it means you’ve been in trouble before, got off light but still have no self-control. That is Gooden’s problem. He is not necessarily a criminal. He is a menace to himself, as all abusers of substances are. Unfortunately there is always collateral damage in these cases, so society must reign him in. Most in his situation would have an air of denial about them, but Gooden does not possess this.

Once he led a charmed life, arriving in New York in 1984, a time when Met fans were dying of starvation after a decade of neglect and ressurected the National League’s presence in the Big Apple. He was as popular as any star has ever been here. That popularity led him down the shadowy path into drugs and alcohol, and eventually he crashed. The Mets and their fans were heartbroken and Gooden was released in 1994. Imagine, going from invaluability to the unemployment line. He fought his way back after being dismissed by the Mets to become a Yankee and even pitched a no-hitter in 1996. But after his retirement in 2000, he could not find his niche. He worked for the Yankees for short time, but he couldn’tseem to fight off his demons. Arrested several times over the past 6 years, Gooden finally hit rock bottom yesterday.

In this, the 20th anniversary of the 1986 World Championship team, fans are to be treated with an overkill of remembrances from that season. What will be unavoidable in all of this will be the reality of the plight of that team’s marquee player – Dwight "Doc" Gooden. One wonders if the Mets will try to forget that he ever existed – sort of like Godfather III without Robert Duvall. I hope they don’t go this route. We still love Doc and we’re all still rooting for him. At 41, he still has a great deal of life to live and plenty of time to turn his life around.

Bullpen Ruins Bannister Debut

mlblogshappyrecap — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 09:46:23 +0000

It didn’t take long, did it?

Brian Bannister pitched as advertised, holding the the Nationals hitless into the 6th when he was touched up for 3 runs. He left the game leading 4-3 and was the pitcher of record. His job was done and done well. Duaner Sanchez came in and pitched a scoreless seventh, retiring the side in order. Aaron Heilman came in in the 8th and held the lead another inning for Bannister. Then….

The wheels came flying off. Billy Wagner took the mound to Metallica’s "Enter Sandman". The leadoff batter, Washington 3B Ryan Zimmerman, crushed a high Wagner fastball into the left field stands to tie the game. That pitch is usually unhittable, but Zimmerman guessed right and Wagner blew his first save as a Met. What happened next on this chilly night (it was snowing all morning here) is most disturbing. Jorge Julio just imploded in the 10th inning, giving up 5 runs including a 2-run HR to Jose Guillen. Horrible.

Anna Benson must be having a nice chuckle over this. We traded one set of ***** for another.

New Stadium: Some Realities

mlblogshappyrecap — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 14:26:06 +0000

The Mets will hold a press conference this spring to unveil the final cut of their new stadium plans. The stadium is to be built in the right field parking lot on 126th Street at the foot of the Roosevelt Avenue Bridge and is targeted for completion for the 2009 season. All of you probably know this already, but it’s what you don’t know that is important.

Transportation.

Parking. Without that lot, the parking situation is going to get really tight. Currently, their are plans in the works that will facilitate parking requirements in in the interim. They include scenarios where you would park in the outer parts of the Flushing Meadows Park area and then hop on shuttle buses to the stadium. These parking annexes will be in various spots such as the Marina, the park itself and even downtown Flushing. MLB can also do the Mets and NY a huge favor by scheduling the Mets on the road for a good portion of the time the U.S. Open tennis is in town. This promises to be a complete nightmare. Our advice to you is try to take mass transit if possible.

Mass Transit. The # 7 train is still the best bet for city dwellers to get to Shea. The only issue is that the MTA is going to have to beef up the service during games to accomodate the increased ridership. They do a great job now, so we don’t see this as a problem. The LIRR, however is a different story. There are several problems with the LIRR that need to be addressed. Firstly, there is only one way to get to the LIRR from the stadium. That would be the crumbling boardwalk that connects the Subway to the Railroad and Flushing Meadow Park. Gaining access to this boardwalk means one must cross Roosevelt Ave. and meld in with the subway crowd on a single stairway. It is impractical and extremely dangerous. Be careful. Once you get to the boardwalk, you’ll be required to produce an LIRR ticket. The ticket office usually closed, so make sure the ticket you buy on your way to the stadium is a round-trip ticket. After you pass through those gauntlets, you will decend to a single platform that serves both east and westbound trains. Here’s where you’ll be freaked out. The facilities here have not been updated since the 1965 World’s Fair. The stairs are rickety and the platform is not very big. If ridership swells – and it will – this will be unpleasant. Again, be careful. We will advise as soon as the LIRR comes up with any updated travel arrangements.

Ticketing

If you are not a season or plan ticket holder, you might be on the outside looking in come 2009. The new stadium will hold approximately 11,500 less seats than the current Shea. The Mets are already intimating that plan holders will have the inside track on tickets to the new venue. Do the math. There are not as many seats to go around. If the Mets can sell every seat before the first pitch each season, they will. This may end up being a situation like the Jets and Giants where a waiting list is created. Our advice is to open an account with the Mets – even if it’s a six-pack. You should call the ticket office just make sure your account will be part of the new ticket schematic.

Other Issues

We know what the stadium will look like, but what about the surrounding neighborhood. Are the junkyards going or staying? Haven’t heard too much about that. There is an initiave to rebuild the Flushing waterfront but whatever plans the city may have on the subject have not been released. (If anyone has any info on this please share it with us). I think the two projects kind of tie together. There’s no sense in building a new ballpark with little or no commerce surrounding it.

I’m sure we’ll know more in the coming months, but take it from a life-long Flushingite – start making some calls to the Mets and the city. This transition needs to be done logically. Met fans are known for their patience and deserve forthright answers and solutions.

Mets Tix Prices 8th Highest

mlblogshappyrecap — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 09:56:48 +0000

Considering we’re in NY, being 8th is not bad. Yankees are 4th if you were asking..

From AP

MLB ticket prices increase, but still a bargain in sports

RONALD BLUM
Associated Press Writer

Get ready to pay more to go out to the ol’ ballgame this year.

Baseball ticket prices are up an average of 5.4 percent, and the Boston Red Sox have the highest average for the ninth straight season.

Tickets in the major leagues average $22.21, the Team Marketing Report said Monday, up from a revised average of $21.08 last year. The NFL averaged $58.95 last year, the NBA $45.92 this season and the NHL $41.19.

"From the standpoint of family entertainment, baseball remains very affordable compared against comparable entertainment," said Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer. "MLB is a special, but fairly priced, family fare."

Boston, which has the smallest major league ballpark, hiked its average 4.3 percent to $46.46."The irony is that the Red Sox refused to raise prices this year on more than 70 percent of Fenway Park’s tickets," Red Sox spokesman Charles Steinberg said.

The Chicago Cubs, whose Wrigley Field has among the lowest capacities, were second at $34.30 following a 7.2 percent increase.

St. Louis, moving into a new Busch Stadium, was third at $29.78 after raising prices 12.1 percent. The New York Yankees, who have baseball’s highest payroll at $190 million-plus, were next at $28.27.

Oakland had the highest percentage increase, a 25.2 percent rise to $22.10, followed by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, whose average went up 24.7 percent to $17.09.

Notes From Loge Section 7

mlblogshappyrecap — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 12:20:55 +0000

I looked out and I could not see the Diamond Vision or any of the scoreboards for that matter. I looked up and saw the bottom of the press level crying out for a new coat of paint. I looked back and was greeted by the chilly breeze ripping through the grating behind the top row. That breeze is a phenomenon, you know. It is not apparent outside the stadium – only inside!! How can that be?

These are the little charms one endures when attending a baseball game at Shea. How badly do the Mets need a new stadium? Right away. That is why I do not want to hear about any construction delays once the shovels hit the ground in June. New York City has a history in delaying major projects (see the WTC) but I am kindly asking them to make an exception here. Please get it done on time.

Two more opening days is all want to spend here….

Call me an old grouch, but 40 years of coming to this place is enough. Oh, by the way, they’re still out of paper towels.

Glavine of Old Returns

mlblogshappyrecap — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 20:53:09 +0000

The throngs left Shea this afternoon brimming with optimism. Not just because the Mets won their opener over Washington 3-2, but mainly because Tom Glavine finally looked like, well, Tom Glavine. Painting the corners like it was 1995 again, Glavine scattered hits, shattered bats and even initiated a 1-6-3 double play. He basically handcuffed the Nationals this afternoon holding them to 1 run on 6 hits with 3 walks and 5Ks over 6 innings.
It was a new beginning here at Shea today. Xavier Nady, who was traded to the Mets in exchange for Mike Cameron, went 4-4. Billy Wagner recorded his first save. Anderson Hernandez made a spectacular play in the field. The massive crowd, which was listless for most of the afternoon due to the brisk climate and spotty rain, finally came alive when fan favorite David Wright homered deep to right field off Livan Hernandez in the home 6th with what would prove to be the game-winning run.
But this was Glavine’s show. He gave us win #1 of what we hope will be many here in Flushing this season. And for right now, that will do.

Trade Rumor: Heilman to TB?

mlblogshappyrecap — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 17:24:32 +0000

From FOX Sports

News: The Tampa Tribune reports that the Devil Rays may try to trade for Aaron Heilman, likely offering the Mets Julio Lugo in return.
Impact: Heilman would likely start immediately in Tampa Bay and New York could use Lugo at second base. The two teams are also reportedly talking about a smaller deal involving Heath Bell.

Please do not trade Aaron Heilman!!!