Monday Morning — September 8th, 2003
The Mets return home today for a three game series against the Marlins. After Thursday's off day, they head up to Montreal for three games against the Expos. Then the road trip continues with a series in Chicago against the Cubs before the Mets head home to begin their final homestand of the year with four games against the Expos.
Expanding the Roster - As expected, Jeremy Griffiths and Orber Moreno were added to the Mets' roster on Monday.
The following day, Danny Garcia (the first Brooklyn Cyclones player to make the majors), Prentice Redman, Jorge Velandia, Edwin Almonte and Jaime Cerda joined the team, along with Norfolk manager Bobby Floyd and head trainer Brian Chicklo. To make room on the 40-man roster for these moves, Cliff Floyd was placed on the 60-day disabled list and Jason Middlebrook was designated for assignment.
Old Numbers, New Names - Some of the September call-ups are sporting familiar numbers on their uniforms. Second baseman Danny Garcia is wearing Roberto Alomar's No. 12, infielder Jorge Velandia has Edgardo Alfonzo's old No. 13, outfielder Prentice Redman has Jeromy Burnitz's No. 20, and closer Orber Moreno is sporting Armando Benitez's familiar No. 49.
Health Notes - An MRI confirmed that Jose Reyes suffered a Grade 2 sprain of his left ankle. On Friday Reyes was placed on the 15-day disabled list, and it was announced that he will not play for the remainder of the season.
Around the Dial - The September 20 game against the Expos, originally scheduled to be shown on FSNY, will be broadcast on WPIX Channel 11 instead.
Shea Will Be Rocking - On October 1 and October 3, when Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band play two concerts following the conclusion of the Mets' season. Tickets go on sale at TicketMaster today.
Rocking on the Radio - On August 29, music aficionado Mike Piazza was a guest on Q104.3's show, "Friday Night Rocks....With Eddie Trunk." On the show, Piazza persuaded Trunk to play a CD he had received in the mail titled, "Guns N' Roses, 'I.R.S.'." While many people called the station begging them to play the song again, the station declined because Guns N' Roses' management called and "flipped" that the song had been played. "I.R.S" is one of the songs that might possibly appear on the band's forthcoming album, Chinese Democracy, which is why their management would not want the song in circulation at this time.
In the Community - Former Mets star and current broadcaster Keith Hernandez threw out the ceremonial first pitch at The Boys Club of New York's "All-Star Game" on Thursday at Shea. The game was hosted by Reuters and the Mets.
On Saturday, former Mets Art Shamsky, Bud Harrelson, Jerry Grote, Ron Swoboda and other members of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Organization teamed up with Quality Services for the Autism Community (QSAC) at Citibank Park, home of the Long Island Ducks, to play a Legends of Baseball game that raised over $25,000 for the autism group.
Former Met Ed Charles participated in the "Stars, Stripes and Skates" charity event at the Nassau Coliseum yesterday. The show raised money for college scholarships for the children of 9/11 victims.
A Piece of Nostalgia - Pennsylvania native Joe McEwing has purchased a pair of seats from the soon-to-be-demolished Veterans Stadium. McEwing and anyone else who has purchased seats will be able to claim them in mid-November.
Taking a Week Off - kcmets.com is taking next weekend off. Look for Monday Morning Mets to resume on September 22.
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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.
