Friday, September 15, 2006

ON THE CUSP . . .

Ok, so here we are. Magic number is 1. Considering the Pirates' awful record and the Phillies mediocrity, it's quite likely the Mets clinch tonight. And if not tonight, then this weekend.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

And may I announce that we are leaving tomorrow for a little jaunt around undisclosed regions of this fine nation of ours. Car trip in fall. Good stuff. And . . . we'll be back in time for all post-season festivities, about which I fully plan to post early, often, and obnoxiously. You can expect a venting of all my Met Fan neuroses, fears, anxieties, etc. In other words, if they win, fun, fun, fun for the whole family. If they {inaudible} then it'll be self-flagellation, maudlin whining, and other things inappropriate for a man of my age, marital status, and over-inflated sense of self-importance.

So, in other words, this is my Last Mets Post vefore they're crowned champ-eens of the NL East. That'd be that division the Braves have controlled as their personal fiefdom since George Bush Sr. was President. And the Mets haven't won the division since 1988, when Ronald Reagan was President. In September of 1988:
1. I was 20 years old.
2. Jose Reyes and David Wright were 5.
3. Julio Franco was 56.
4. Willie Randolph was in his last season as Yankee second baseman, finishing up a miserable campaign that saw him bat 230/322/300.
5. Jose Canseco was about to win the MVP on the strength of what seemed at the time to be huge numbers: 307/391/569.
6. The name Mike Scoscia didn't mean anything special to Met fans.
7. I had just bought my first CD player 9 months earlier, I didn't know anyone who owned a cellphone (nor would I have understood why anyone would want one), & the idea of a personal computer linked to servers all over the world was preposterous.
8. The Colorado Rockies were a defunct hockey franchise that had moved and called itself the New Jersey Devils, and the Florida Marlins sounded like a joke name for Dan Marino's football team.
9. Tom Glavine was a major league starter. (Wait, that's not a good example, is it?)
10. The Eternal Captain was the on-field Captain. And his hair was exactly the same color it is today.
So, by the time I get back from my vacation, the Mets'll be NL East Champions. I hope Willie uses the next two weeks wisely, resting his guys, setting the rotation, keeping the bullpen guys fresh, but not rusty. Over the next 17 games, I'd love to see Beltran, Reyes, Wright, Delgado, Valentin & LoDuca miss at least 3-5 games each. That'll also give some extra at-bats to Chavez, Floyd, Green, and Milledge, to get them sharpened up.

And while I hope he sticks to a tough pitch count, I want to see full rotation work for Pedro, Glavine & El Duque. They've gotta be ready, fully ready, in two-and-a-half weeks.

Wow. Meaningful, post-season baseball. Coming up. My preview when I return.

8 Comments:

Blogger Ed in Westchester said...

Mike - going the Cheney route eh, "undisclosed location".

Keith's hair is the same since he gets freebies from "Just for Men".

Wilpon said meaningful games in September. Damn him, he was wrong.
I'm no happy about that.

Enjoy the trip. Safe driving.

11:25 AM  
Blogger Ed in Westchester said...

edit - I'm So happy about that.

Must proofread.

11:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ed-

"undisclosed location"

Well, you know, if I say where I'm going, there's always the risk of hordes of my fans following us, pestering me for autographs, pictures, favors.

Plus, since I'll be with Mrs. Mike, I can't have my groupies around, you know.

SheaD-

my playoff tickets were confirmed.....3 times

Sweet. Where are the seats? Are these for the NLDS, or for the LCS & Series too?

12:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, post-season tix are great. I've gone to one playoff game: against the Cards in '00. Timo, Alfonzo, Piazza & Piazza all doubled i the 1st inning off the late Darryl Kile, and the rout was on.

Even in my Bob Eucker seats, it was great.

1:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

great post mike. We'll hold down the fort till you get back. Enjoy cruisin' around the country with mrs. mike.

the only playoff game i've ever been to was the Piazza/Clemens bat incident in the WS. One of the strangest things I've ever seen. Amazing it happened in a WS, too bad we didnt win that way or maybe I'd look back fonder of the time I had at the stadium. But it was yankee stadium!!! oh yea!!! fuck that.

1:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

wow it felt good to curse with no *'s!!!

1:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, fuck those "#"s and "*"s.

Foul language is not only accepted here, it's encouraged and, at times, required.

Funny thing about that weird Piazza-Clemens game that's rarely mentioned: the Mets were down 6-0 in the 9th inning. And the Mets rallied. Payton hit a dinky, right field foul poll shot, and Riviera was pushed to his limit.

The final score was 6-5.

1:22 PM  
Blogger Ed in Westchester said...

My only playoff game was 86 against the Astros.
Mets lost.

I do not know if I won the lottery, as I cannot check my home email from work (damn filters).

I cannot wait for tonite's game. Gotta set the DVR when I get home.

4:59 PM  

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