Monday Morning — July, 28th, 2003
The homestand at Shea continues today with series against the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals
Honoring "The Kid" - Congratulations to Mets Hall of Famer Gary Carter, who was inducted in Cooperstown's Hall of Fame yesterday. The Mets contingent at the ceremony included COO Jeff Wilpon, senior vice president Dave Howard, Tom Seaver, Ralph Kiner and Rusty Staub.
The Mets will celebrate this milestone by honoring Carter prior to tomorrow night's game, and the Montreal Expos will have a night in Carter's honor on August 2 at Olympic Stadium.
A Night of Firsts - Last Monday night in Philadelphia, Aaron Heilman, the Mets' first round pick in the 2001 draft, earned his first major league victory. That same night, John Franco earned his first major league save since June 19, 2001, and Pennsylvania native Joe McEwing hit his first Veterans Stadium home run.
Heavy Metal - In order to help his ailing Achilles' heel, Cliff Floyd made the switch from plastic spikes to metal ones. While the new spikes don't cure the problem, "It gave me confidence....I felt better, and that's what I was shooting for."
On the Way Back - Mike Piazza took batting practice prior to last Wednesday's game in Montreal. This was the first time that Piazza faced live pitching since he tore his right groin muscle on May 16th.
Hey Dude, Where's My Stuff? - When Jeff Duncan was called up to the Mets from Double-A Binghamton on July 10, he left his clothes, fishing gear and television in the care of his minor league roommate, Chris Basak. However, Basak was promoted to Triple-A Norfolk last week, and has been unable to reach Duncan because Duncan's cell phone isn't working. "Oh geez, this isn't good," said Duncan, upon learning of Basak's promotion, "I owe him a call."
In the Minors - Tsuyoshi Shinjo cleared waivers and was outrighted to Norfolk. Jorge Velandia also cleared waivers last week.
Scott Kazmir, the Mets' first round pick in the 2002 draft, was promoted from Single-A Capital City to Single-A St. Lucie. St. Lucie is the most competitive Class A affiliate in the Mets' system.
Baby Boom - Congratulations to Mets strength and conditioning coordinator Rick Slate and his wife, Rebecca, on the birth of daughter Jada Riley Slate on July 19.
Moment of the Week - The Star Ledger reports that there was some commotion on the Mets' chartered plane as it headed to Montreal from Philadelphia last Wednesday. The flight attendant asked why the players were so happy. Al Leiter explained, "We got Qusay and Uday!" The flight attended responded, "I'm sorry, I don't know baseball. Are they any good?"
Hanging Up the Microphone - This story broke after Ms. Chapman submitted this weeks Monday Morning Mets.
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.
