Monday Morning — August 25th, 2003
After today's off day, the Mets' road trip continues with three games in Atlanta. Then the Mets return to Shea to face the Phillies.
Fond Farewells - Cliff Floyd ended his season with a bang, having a great series against the Rockies before going on the disabled list to prepare for surgery on his Achilles' tendon later this week. Last Monday he received a huge standing ovation from the fans after his final at bat of the year in the 8th inning. Then Art Howe had Floyd take the field in the 9th, only to be replaced by Raul Gonzalez. This gave the fans a chance to give Floyd one final standing ovation for the season. After the game, Floyd described the fans' reaction to him as "awesome."
As to another fond farewell - retiring broadcaster Bob Murphy will be honored on September 25th, the final home game of the season, with a Bob Murphy Appreciation Day ceremony prior to the 7:10 PM game against the Pirates.
Now He's a Super Dad! - Congratulations to Joe McEwing and his wife, Julia, on the birth of their first child, a son. Joseph Dominic McEwing was born on Saturday, August 23 at 4:45 AM. McEwing left the team to be with his wife and new son, who was born earlier than expected, but he will rejoin the Mets in Atlanta tomorrow.
Roster Notes - Cliff Floyd was placed on the 15 day disabled list on Tuesday, and Jeff Duncan was recalled from Norfolk to fill Floyd's roster spot.
Michael Bacsik has been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk, which means that he is off the 40-man roster.
Jorge Toca, who has spent some time with the Mets but was with Triple-A Norfolk this season, was traded to Pittsburgh on Thursday for either a player-to-be-named-later or cash considerations.
Because Joe McEwing's sudden departure left the Mets with a short bench, on Saturday Jaime Cerda was sent to Norfolk in order to make room for Prentice Redman to join the Mets.
Scheduling Notes - The Mets/Giants game that was canceled on August 14 due to the blackout will be made up, if necessary, on September 29. Major League Baseball had asked whether the Mets were interested in making up the game today at Pac Bell, with the gate going to the Mets since the canceled game was a Mets home game, but the players voted down the option because, otherwise, they would have played games on 30 straight days, which is six more than the maximum allowed without player approval.
Since Bruce Springsteen is scheduled to play at Shea on September 29, if the make up game is required it will be played at Pac Bell, with the gate going to the Mets.
The start of the Mets game in Philadelphia on September 7th has been changed from 1:35 to 8:05 to accommodate ESPN.
Mets Milestone - Steve Trachsel is the first Mets pitcher to throw two one-hitters in the same season.
At Last, Milledge is a Met! - After prolonged negotiations and an investigation into alleged indiscretions while in high school, the Mets have finally come to terms with first round draft pick Lastings Milledge and have signed him for a bonus of $1,898,449. Milledge has been assigned to Single-A Kingsport in the Appalachian League.
South Korea Wants Seo - The South Korean baseball federation has requested that Jae Weong Seo pitch in a four-nation Olympic qualifying tournament in Japan this November. The Mets are considering their response to this request, weighing Seo's national pride against his need for rest and recuperation this offseason.
Family Matters - First base coach Gary Pettis left the team Thursday to be with his brother, Felix, in San Francisco who was undergoing surgery Friday morning. Denny Walling took over first base coaching duties in Pettis' absence, and Pettis was back with the team on Saturday. Additionally, coach Juan Lopez has left the team for a few days to fly home to Puerto Rico following the death of his mother-in-law.
Rant of the Week - While fans with tickets to the canceled August 14 Mets/Giants game could exchange their tickets for another game or a refund, ticketholders for the August 15 game are not so fortunate -- the Mets are only allowing holders of unused tickets for that game to exchange them for games against Montreal or Pittsburgh in September. Granted, the game was played on August 15, but many fans were unable to make it because of the blackout and the lack of subway service that night. Considering the hardships that those in the New York area were facing that night, the Mets should take the high road and allow more flexibility for the holders of unused tickets to that game. They should realize that fans who couldn't make it to Shea for the always popular Irish Night promotion must have been going through serious difficulties that day, and should give those fans a break.
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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.
