Monday Morning, August 19, 2002
After today's off day, the Mets head west for series in San Francisco and Colorado. Here come the last regularly scheduled late night games of the 2002 season.
Trade News - Last Thursday, Shawn Estes was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Pedro Feliciano, outfielder Elvin Andujar, and two players to be named later.
While Estes has been inconsistent this year, Mets fans will always remember him fondly for his stellar performance against the Yankees at Shea on June 15th. While he didn't drill Roger Clemens the way that many people had hoped, he did hit a home run off of him while shutting out the crosstown rivals. His teammates will also miss him for keeping track of his fellow pitchers' hitting stats during the season, and for running the team's NCAA point spread contest during spring training. Best of luck to Estes on his new team.
Mark Little, who was obtained along with John Thomson from Colorado on July 31st, was traded to Arizona on Friday in exchange for a player to be named later. Earlier in the week, Little had accepted an assignment to Norfolk after clearing waivers.
Roster Moves - Mike Bacsik was called up from Norfolk in order to fill the roster spot vacated when Shawn Estes was traded to the Reds. Bacsik pitched on Friday night, giving up one unearned run in six innings while throwing with only three days' rest.
Mets Milestone - Congratulations to Mike Piazza, who moved ahead of Johnny Bench to gain sole possession of second place on the all time list of home runs by a catcher. Piazza's 2-run dinger Saturday night, which broke up Odalis Perez's no-hitter, was his 328th as a catcher (as well as his 338th lifetime homer). Carlton Fisk is the all time leader with 351 four-baggers as a catcher.
They're Amazin'! - Last Friday, the Mets announced their All-Amazin' Team. These are the greatest Mets to play each position, as chosen by the fans at Shea, over the Internet and from ballots available in Sunday Newsday earlier this season.
During Saturday night's festivities, Darryl Strawberry, who is serving an 18-month sentence at a correctional facility in Gainesville, Florida for violating probation on cocaine possession charges, addressed the crowd via videotape. Strawberry was represented on the field by his sons, D.J. and Jordan.
Also on Saturday, the Shea television booth was officially named after Ralph Kiner, while the radio broadcast booth was named after Bob Murphy.
The spirit of homage was continued on Sunday, when the late Tommie Agee was officially inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony.
Health Notes - Mike Piazza missed several games last week with tendinitis in his left wrist. Piazza originally hurt the wrist while tagging out Houston's Richard Hidalgo on August 1st, and describes the pain as being "progressive." The results of an MRI on the wrist on Friday revealed no structural damage, and the catcher started Saturday's game, wearing a brace on the wrist and icing it after the game.
Roberto Alomar spent some time on the bench last week due to pain from his strained left groin muscle, but he was back in the lineup on Sunday.
Edgardo Alfonzo is eligible to be activated from the disabled list today, but his strained left oblique muscle is still tight, so he will likely remain out of commission for at least a few more days.
Last Sunday, Grant Roberts threw 35 pitches from 60 feet off flat ground, and he threw again several other times during the week. Roberts, who is recovering from elbow tendinitis, is expected to be activated from the disabled list after the rosters expand on September 1st. However, Roberts still has discomfort in his right arm, and is considering having another cortisone shot. Roberts is also considering having arthroscopic surgery in the offseason.
Moving Forward - It was announced last week that Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday have settled their dispute and that Doubleday will sell his share of the team to Wilpon within 30 days. The terms of the settlement and the sale amount have not been made public. As part of the settlement, upon the closing all litigation between the two co-owners will be dismissed.
Accumulating Frequent Flyer Miles - Rey Ordoñez flew from St. Louis to Miami so that he could spend last Monday's off day at home with his wife and children.
That's Sharp! - Reliever David Weathers was named the Sharp Pitcher of the Month for July. Weathers received a Sharp product and a $500 donation was made to his favorite charity.
The Leiter Side - Look for Al Leiter's new show on MSG, "The Leiter Side of Pitching," a series geared towards young ballplayers which debuted last Thursday.
Nice Debut - Scott Kazmir, the Mets' first round draft pick this year, made his Brooklyn Cyclones debut last Wednesday. Kazmir pitched two innings in the Cyclones' 6-0 victory over Aberdeen.
Identifying a Mystery Man - The New York Daily News tracked down "Archie," the mystery man who gave Rey Ordoñez hitting advice before the shortstop went on a tear in Miami last May. He's Archie Vazquez, a 30-year-old paramedic from Pembroke Pines, Florida who was a minor league pitcher for six years in the Padres and White Sox organizations. Vazquez is a childhood friend of Alex Ochoa's, and he met Ordoñez at Ochoa's wedding in January 2001. This past offseason Vazquez threw to Ochoa and Ordoñez, and passed on his observations to the two men.
In the Community - Roberto Alomar and Mo Vaughn held a clinic at Keyspan Park last Friday for the Police Athletic League's Neighborhood All-Stars Team.
On Saturday, Scott Strickland and David Weathers read to kids at the Bronx Zoo as part of the New York City Libraries Summer Reading Program.
Going to the Dogs - Last Tuesday, Bobby Valentine appeared in Times Square, along with his dogs Beamer and Tommy, in order to promote responsible pet adoption with the "Puppy Chow Patrol."
Quote of the Week - Bobby Valentine, after Saturday's game, told the press, "It's killing me. What do you mean, how frustrating is this? Are you trying to test my blood pressure? It's killing me, it's killing my folks, it's killing my dogs. This is terrible. The fans are upset, I can understand that."
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.
