Monday Morning, June 17, 2002
After today's rare off day at home, the Mets continue their home stand with series Interleague this week against the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals.
Los Mets hablan Español - This Tuesday the Mets game will be broadcast in English on MSG and in Spanish on FSNY.
Scheduling Change - The June 4th rainout in Atlanta, originally scheduled to be made up on September 10th, will now be part of a split doubleheader on Wednesday, September 11th. The day game will begin at 1:05, with the nightcap at 7:05.
Subway Series Notes - As always, there's an extra air of excitement at Shea when the crosstown rivals from the Bronx come over for a visit. This year was no exception.
Frank Sinatra, Jr. sang "New York, New York" at the seventh inning stretch during each of the games in honor of the City of New York. On Friday the ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Silver Star recipient Lieutenant Colonel Paul LeCamera, the National Anthem was sung by Leslie Mills, and a trio of soldiers from Brooklyn's Fort Hamilton sung God Bless America during the seventh inning stretch. A video tribute to former Met Robin Ventura was aired prior to the game.
Prior to Saturday's game, astronaut Mike Massimino presented John Franco with the #45 jersey that he wore on a recent Space Shuttle Columbia mission in a pregame ceremony, and Massimino threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The national anthem was performed by opera singer Michael Amante.
For the final game of the series on Sunday, actor Tim Robbins was on hand to throw out the first pitch.
Shaking Things Up - In an attempt to jump start the Mets' anemic offense, batting coach Dave Engle was fired last Monday. Until a replacement was found, first base coach Mookie Wilson and Tom Robson, former batting coach and current bench coach, handled Engle's duties during the search for his successor.
Engle was replaced on Thursday by former Yankee player and batting coach Chris Chambliss.
Health News - Last Thursday, reliever Grant Roberts was placed on the 15 day disabled list, retroactive to June 9th, with a strained right rotator cuff. Replacing him on the roster is Mark Corey, who was called up from Norfolk for the second time of the season.
In other health related news, Tyler Yates, who was up with the Mets for a cup of coffee in April, has been diagnosed with a tear of the medial collateral ligament of his right elbow. Team physician Dr. Andrew Rokito recommends Tommy John surgery for the 24-year-old pitcher.
Reliever Kane Davis is still experiencing pain in his right elbow, and might have to reconsider the possibility of season-ending surgery if he doesn't see some improvement soon.
That's Fine - There was concern about suspensions following the June 1st bruhaha with umpire Ed Rapuano in Florida, but MLB discipline czar settled for monetary discipline instead. Mike Piazza was fined $500 and Bobby Valentine was fined $250 for excessive arguing. Despite the fine, Valentine praised the discipline process and was pleased that he had the opportunity to discuss the situation with Watson before discipline was imposed.
Additionally, Rapuano was also fined $250 for his part in the incident.
The Tooth, The Whole Tooth, and Nothing But the Tooth - As reported last week, Al Leiter needed an emergency root canal when the team was in Cleveland on June 8th. Last Monday Leiter had the second part of the root canal done in Chicago, and he will have the tooth capped locally now that the team is back in New York.
Mo's Going Batty - Mo Vaughn, who started the season with Old Hickory bats and switched to Rawlings last month, is now using some of the Louisville Sluggers that he used in Anaheim. These are 36" long and 36 oz., as were the Rawlings, but they have a thicker handle.
Ready for His Close-up - Dressed as a jockey last Tuesday in Chicago, Edgardo Alfonzo shot an ad for a Venezuelan soft drink. The proceeds will go to provide computers and supplies for Venezuelan schools.
For a Good Cause - The Mets have teamed up with CaP CURE in order to promote prostate cancer awareness and research, and the team has pledged a donation to the charity for each home run between June 10th and June 16th.
Mike in Your Backyard? - Not exactly. But the Gameboy Advance and CD-ROM versions of Backyard Baseball 2003, which let children pick their teams from ballplayers from 30 MLB teams, include Mike Piazza and even feature him on the cover.
Piazza is also flying high right now, featured on the cover of Celebrated Living, which is American Airlines' magazine for its First and Business Class passengers.
A Big Victory Back Home - Satoru Komiyama was thrilled when Japan notched its first World Cup soccer victory in history, with a 1-0 defeat of Russia. With Japan advancing to the second round, he'll likely be glued to the television this coming week.
Kudos - To Shawn Estes, for following the advice that Tom Seaver constantly gives pitchers during his broadcasts, "Shut 'em out and hit one out!" Estes did just that on Saturday, shutting out the Yankees and contributing offensively with a 2-run homer off of Roger Clemens. This was Estes' third career homer and his first since a grand slam as a Giant on May 29th, 2000. It was also the first home run by a Mets pitcher since Bobby J. Jones hit one on April 12th, 1999.
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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.
