Monday Morning, June 24, 2002
The Mets continue their longest homestand of the year with a four game series against the Braves starting tonight. After that, the Mets hit the road, with a three game series against the Yankees in the Bronx. The players will be in the amusing position of receiving meal stipends yet sleeping in their own beds this weekend.
Another Chance to Catch the Mets in Spanish - Tuesday's game will be broadcast in English on MSG and in Spanish on FSNY. After this, fans of the Spanish language broadcasts will have to wait until July 23rd for another one.
Just When You Thought It Was Over - The consensus was that the Mets' feud with Roger Clemens was finally over once Shawn Estes threw a ball in Clemens' general direction that missed him on June 15th. However, MLB disciplinarian Bob Watson announced that Estes would be fined $750 for the throw. Estes and the Mets are confused about this decision, especially since the previous weekend Clemens announced in advance that he would throw at Barry Bonds when the Giants played the Yankees, and was not fined by Watson despite the fact that he actually hit Bonds.
Estes has decided not to appeal the fine, fearing that the process would distract him from concentrating on his pitching. "I just want the thing to die," said the southpaw. He did, however, joke with reporters about saving up his coins so that he could pay the fine in pennies.
Mo Milestone - With his three run home run against the Yankees a week ago Sunday, Mo Vaughn knocked in his 999th, 1,000th and 1,001st RBIs. Vaughn joins Roberto Alomar and Mike Piazza to become the third current Met with over 1,000 RBIs.
Dibble Drivel - While most Mets fans were thrilled at Shawn Estes' performance against the Yankees - a shutout where he hit a 2-run home run off of Roger Clemens, former reliever and current ESPN commentator Ron Dibble criticized the Mets starter for not knocking Clemens on his back. "He showed me nothing," and "never send a boy to do a man's job," were among Dibble's comments. While Estes took the high road and refused to comment upon Dibble's criticism, manager Bobby Valentine had some choice words about Dibble, with whom he shared a Cincinnati Reds uniform when Valentine was a coach in 1993. "Talk about unprofessional...he was one of the most unprofessional players. Here's a guy who threw bats in the stands, baseballs in the stands, fought with his manager. That's the reason why people switch off ESPN. The guys have no knowledge of baseball." It should be noted that, as pointed out in the May 27th installment of Monday Morning Mets, Valentine has already been upset with ESPN this season for showing video clips out of context to make it look like he was mocking Jay Payton rather than kiddingly celebrating Edgardo Alfonzo's first home run of the season last month.
Man of Steel? - Mike Piazza might be able to attribute some of his recent hitting to an 8 lb. steel bar that he has been using while warming up on the on-deck circle. He started using the bar when the Mets were at Cleveland's Jacobs Field, and has become attached to it. But he didn't steal the heavy metal - the clubhouse guys in Cleveland sold the bar to Piazza for $40.
Father's Day with the Godfather - Tommy Lasorda made a visit to Bobby Valentine in the Mets clubhouse on Father's Day, and sat with Mike Piazza's father, Vince, during the game. Lasorda is godfather not only to Piazza's brother, Tommy, but also to Bobby Valentine, Jr., as well.
Raising Awareness - Both Mets and Yankees wore light blue wristbands during the game a week ago Sunday in order to promote prostate cancer awareness. Former Met Robin Ventura even wore blue-colored eye black for the occasion.
Hot Bod - Sports Illustrated Women magazine has named Mike Piazza as one of "The Sexiest Men in Sports."
Hello, Old Friend - The Mets welcomed Rick Reed back to Shea with a video tribute prior to last Tuesday's game. Reed was scheduled to pitch for the Minnesota Twins last Wednesday, but had to miss the start because he cut his thumb on his suitcase the previous Saturday. Reed joked about the incident with reporters, referring to himself as "Mr. Freak Injury."
Annual Picnic - Last Tuesday, Rusty Staub hosted the annual picnic for the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund at Shea Stadium's picnic area. Members of the Mets and Twins visited the families prior to that evening's game. Since 1985, Staub has raised over $128 million for this fund, which came into the national spotlight following the tragic events of September 11th.
Making the Pitch - 5-year-old Brendan Kearns, a leukemia patient in remission and the son of a New York City firefighter, threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to last Wednesday's game.
Meanwhile, NY Giants' great Phil Simms threw early batting practice before Friday's game. Tony Tarasco observed that it was a battle of 1986 Champions when Simms pitched to Mookie Wilson. After being hit on the hip by a pitch, Wilson homered off of the former quarterback.
Taking Their Swings - Jets general manager Terry Bradway and assistant general manager Mike Tannenbaum took batting practice along with Steve Phillips before last Wednesday's game.
Busted! - But in a good way. Mike Piazza earned his "DP Buster" T-shirt in the 5th inning of last Wednesday's game against the Twins. The shirts are organizational baserunning instructor Rich Miller's reward for Mets who break up double plays.
I Want My MTV - Before last Tuesday's game an MTV crew filmed an instructional spot with Mets to be shown the day before the All-Star Game. Mike Piazza spoke about hitting, Al Leiter pitching, Joe McEwing fielding and Jay Payton baserunning.
Keeping It On The Fan - The Mets and WFAN signed a three year deal to continue broadcasting Mets games on that channel through 2005. WFAN has been the Mets' flagship station since 1987.
Health Notes - Norfolk pitcher Tyler Yates, who came to the Mets along with Mark Guthrie in the David Justice trade last December, underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery last Thursday. The operation was performed by Mets team doctor Andrew Rokito, and the procedure was deemed a success.
Reliever Grant Roberts, on the disabled list, experienced discomfort while throwing off the mound last Friday. He was eligible to be activated yesterday, but now the timetable for his return is uncertain.
Reading is Fundamental - Shawn Estes, Al Leiter and Mayor Bloomberg read to children at a Bronx public library last Thursday.
Paying Tribute - In a pregame ceremony last Saturday, the Mets paid tribute to the 23 New York Police Department officers, 37 Port Authority Police officers and three court officers who perished on September 11th. Over 200 family members were on the field for this event. During the ceremony, Bobby Valentine, John Franco, Mike Piazza and Al Leiter were presented with an Emergency Service Unit flag that flew over Ground Zero.
Mike's a Doll, Again - Yesterday was Mike Piazza Bobblehead Day in Binghamton. The first 3,500 fans in attendance at the game received a Piazza bobblehead, that looks quite similar to the one given out at Shea April 28th, except for a different sponsor nameplate. (Thanks to Dave Whitham for the story)
Condolences to Cardinals Fans - This has been a difficult week in St. Louis. First came the passing of their beloved broadcaster, Jack Buck, at the age of 77. Then Saturday afternoon came the shocking news that pitcher Darryl Kile died in his sleep at the age of 33, leaving behind a wife and three young children.
kcmets.com extends its sincere sympathy to the Buck and Kile families, as well as to the Cardinals organization and our brethren baseball fans in St. Louis during this sad and tragic time.
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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.
