Monday Morning, May 6, 2002
After today's off day, the Mets return to Shea to face the San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies.
Without a Mets game on tonight, I'll get my baseball fix by taking the family to Mets Night in Trenton. The Trenton Thunder, the AA affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, is honoring the Mets at Waterfront Park this evening. Former Met and Brooklyn native Frank Seminara will be on hand to sign autograph before and during the game. Additionally, the Thunder will be playing the Binghamton Mets, giving us a glimpse of the Mets of the future. For more information, check out www.trentonthunder.com .
Mike's a Doll - A bobblehead doll, that is. Mike Piazza bobbleheads were given to attendees at Shea age 12 and under who braved the rain on April 28th. Piazza was "perplexed" by the appeal of the collectible dolls, but nonetheless took a few home with him. "Ten years from now, if I have kids, I can show them the dolls and tell them I was somebody - if I ever was somebody." There are a lot of people who feel that Piazza is a somebody, and as early as the third inning of that game the bobbleheads were beginning to appear on www.ebay.com! Many of the bobbleheads sold for upwards of $50!
Piazza isn't the only doll on the Mets' roster. Roberto Alomar bobbleheads will be given out to kids on July 14th, and Al Leiter bobbleheads will be distributed on August 3rd.
For a smaller bobblehead experience, look for specially marked boxes of Post cereals, featuring mini Major League Bobblehead dolls. A different player is in every box, but Piazza is one of the ten featured players. If you don't feel like taking a chance, or if your teeth just can't handle the sugary cereal, once again you can find one on eBay.
Aside from being immortalized as a bobblehead, Piazza will be captured on film as well - after Thursday's game against the Giants he will shoot a scene, in uniform and playing himself, for the upcoming film "Two Weeks Notice" starring Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant.
Roster Moves - Satoru Komiyama was activated from the disabled list last Monday. In order to make room for Komiyama on the roster, Pete Walker was designated for assignment. Walker was then claimed off of waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays last Friday.
Met Milestones - Congratulations to Al Leiter, whose win in Arizona last Tuesday made him the first pitcher to win against all 30 Major League teams! Although Bobby Valentine does not generally give away his handwritten, original lineup cards, he gave Leiter the one from that game as a memento of this accomplishment.
The Mets 16 April victories this season set a franchise record!
Taking Care of Friends and Family - Mesa Arizona native Vance Wilson had 37 comp tickets for friends and family members at last Wednesday's game!
Man, That's Heavy! - Too heavy, in fact. Mo Vaughn's 36", 36 ounce bats are already among the biggest in the business, but it turns out that the shipment of bats Vaughn received at the outset of the season weighed between 38 and 39 ounces! Vaughn has ditched the heavy bats, and hopes to find his power swing with the lighter ones that are on order.
Franco's Out Of This World! - Well, his jersey was, at least. Astronaut Mike Massimino, a Franklin Square, NY native and lifelong Mets fan, met John Franco in Houston last weekend to give the pitcher photos of the astronaut wearing Franco's jersey on the recent Space Shuttle Columbia mission.
Matt Galante Day! - Mets third base coach Matt Galante, who spent 21 years with the Astros organization, was honored with a day in his honor by the Texas Italian-American Sports Foundation last Saturday.
Strange Bedfellows - Former President Bill Clinton was a guest at the Arizona Biltmore hotel when the Mets were there last week. Mike Piazza, an ardent Republican, was reportedly vexed upon hearing about this.
Family Matters - Former Mets captain and current announcer Keith Hernandez missed last weekend's games so that he could attend his daughter Melissa's graduation from Miami of Ohio University. Congratulations Melissa!
Spiderman Loves New York - Prior to tomorrow's game, Spiderman and Marvel Enterprises will present a $1,000,000 check to Al Leiter, who is on the board of the Twin Towers Fund. After September 11th, there were three tribute issues of Marvel Comics whose proceeds were earmarked for this fund - "Heroes," "Moment of Silence," and "Amazing Spiderman 36."
Rant of the Week - There are four Mets Clubhouse Shops - two in Manhattan, one in Long Island's Roosevelt Field Mall, and one in New Jersey's Menlo Park Mall. They are permitted to call themselves Mets Clubhouse Shops because tickets to Mets games may be purchased there. However, it is sometimes easier to find Yankees' merchandise there than Mets items!
In all fairness, I have never been to the store in Roosevelt Field, and my limited experiences at the 42nd Street store have been positive. But the Mets Clubhouse Shop in the Menlo Park Mall is abominable. I was there Friday night, looking for a Mets jacket - there were very few, but there were many more Yankees jackets in stock and on display. There were also many other Yankees items prominently displayed, and one of the salesgirls on duty was even wearing a Yankees shirt and cap! And this is not the first time I have had this experience - I have shopped at that location for several years, and this is a consistent situation.
It is understandable that stores want to make money, and thus may need to stock other items as well as Mets items. But Mets management should do more to make sure that its Clubhouse Shops prominently feature Mets items and limit the merchandise of its crosstown competitor. Heaven knows that George Steinbrenner wouldn't allow any Mets merchandise in Yankee stores. Why should Mets fans, going to the Mets store specifically looking for Mets items, find more Yankees items on display there?
Special Feature: Baseball as America
Special Feature: Talkin' Baseball with Terry Cashman
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.
