Monday Morning — April 21st, 2003
After today's day off at home, the Mets continue their homestand with series against the Houston Astros and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Back on the Farm - The Mets brought up reliever Jason Middlebrook from Norfolk on Thursday in order to bolster its bullpen, which has been heavily used and has also suffered from Mike Stanton's minor injury. In order to create roster space, Joe McEwing was sent down in Middlebrook's place. McEwing, one of the best-liked and hardest working players around, hopes to "make the most of the situation," and take advantage of the extra at-bats.
Super Joe has been a family favorite in my household, and Monday Morning Mets hopes to see him back at Shea soon!
On Friday, in a game of Roster Roulette, Middlebrook was sent back to Norfolk and catcher Jason Phillips rejoined the Mets.
You CAN Go Home Again - Last week was a homecoming for Pittsburgh native Art Howe, whose Major League playing debut was with the Pirates in 1974.
Reunited, But... - Last week I wrote about Tsuyoshi Shinjo sending his one and only major league glove to California for repairs. Shinjo got the glove back when the team arrived in Pittsburgh last week, but was not overly impressed with the work. The glove was a little stiff where it had been patched up, and there is now a gap between the index and middle fingers. When asked by a reporter whether he felt like he was reunited with an old friend, the versatile outfielder replied, "It feels like a different friend came back."
An Unfriendly Gesture - After the Mets' frustrating four game sweep by the Expos in San Juan, FSNY cameras twice caught Mike Piazza making what can only be described as an obscene gesture. The gesture did not seem to be aimed at anyone in particular. The All Star catcher did not shed much light on the issue when reporters asked about it, "I'm sorry if that happened, but I don't remember."
MSG edited out the gesture before replaying the game the following day.
Coaching a Different Aspect of the Game - The Mets have hired Fran Pirozzolo, a licensed psychologist, to be the team's mental skills coach. This is part of team owner Fred Wilpon's directive that the team expand its support staff for the players.
Pirozzolo, who occasionally wears a Mets uniform while working, had been in the Mets dugout during recent games. However, MLB has informed the Mets that this is a violation of the rules, so Pirozzolo will have to work his magic behind the scenes from now on.
Honoring an Absent Fan - Prior to Saturday's game, the Mets honored Marine Sergeant Al Mediate, Jr., who was recently photographed by the New York Post showing off a Mets tattoo while stationed in Iraq. Although Sergeant Mediate is in Iraq, members of his family were on hand in his stead to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
A Milestone! - Yesterday's victory was Art Howe's 1,000th as a Major League manager. He is the 49th man to manage at least that number of wins.
In the Holiday Spirit - David Cone colored Easter eggs along with the children at the Ronald McDonald House on Friday.
In the Community - On Sunday, April 27th, the Mets will host Autism Awareness Day at Shea. The purpose of the event is to raise the public's awareness of the disorder, as well as the services that are available to individuals and their families. The honorary chairperson of the event will be New York State Assemblyman Mark Weprin, and the day will include an award presentation on the field, throwing out the first pitch, singing the National Anthem, and a video presentation on the Diamond Vision board.
To learn more about QSAC, which is one of the participating organizations that provides services to the autistic community, please visit qsac.com.
Tug's Recovery - Laurie Hawkins from The Tug McGraw Company tells us that she spoke with Tug last week and, "he says he is feeling pretty good. He is progressing nicely in his recovery and is anxious to get back. There's still no definite return date yet but we are all hopeful that we'll get one soon."
Fans may continue to forward get well wishes or their favorite baseball memories to Tug at tug@tugmcgraw.com.
Rant of the Week - Last week I reported that Baseball Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey canceled next weekend's scheduled celebration of the 15th anniversary of the movie Bull Durham because of the antiwar sentiments of the film's stars, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon. On April 18, in this statement, Petroskey posted a supposed apology for his actions. His "apology," however, doesn't express any regret for canceling the event but, rather, simply states that he handled the situation badly.
In my personal opinion, what Petroskey did was to use his position with the Hall of Fame in order to advance his own personal political agenda. Up until now, baseball has never been a hostage to any particular political leanings. Even during the tumult of the Vietnam war, the 1969 Mets became a point of commonalty among fans of divergent political sentiments. What Petroskey did was to politicize our National Pastime in a way that has never before been accomplished. If he does not have the common decency to resign in light of his actions and the effect thereof, the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors should terminate him immediately.
Let it also be understood that I don't believe that anybody should use the Hall of Fame for political purposes. If Robbins and Sarandon actually had arrived at the scheduled Bull Durham celebration and had used it to advance their political agenda, I would be similarly outraged (although, based upon their subdued behavior at last month's Academy Awards ceremony, I seriously doubt that would have been the case).
To quote Robbins, "God bless democracy, free speech, and the '69 Mets." Play Ball!
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Unless otherwise stated, these stories have been extracted from reports on www.nydailynews.com, www.nypost.com, www.nytimes.com, www.njo.com, www.newsday.com, www.bergenrecord.com, AP , and www.mets.com reports.
