Monday Morning — October 2002
The season is officially over for the Mets. This is the first of my monthly columns - I will publish Monday Morning Mets on the first Monday of each month until Spring Training begins in February. In the meantime, look for special features throughout the offseason, such as Still Talkin' Baseball With Terry Cashman , as well as my upcoming 2002 year end recap at the end of December.
Farewell Bobby! - On October 1, the Mets announced that Bobby Valentine after a tenure of just over six years as Mets manager. The kcmets.com staff shared its memories of Valentine here. From a personal perspective, I have always admired Valentine as a manager and as a person, and wish him all the best in whatever the future holds in store for him.
The following day, pitching coach Charlie Hough and bench coach Tom Robson announced that they would leave the team to pursue other interests.
The Mets are now in the midst of searching for a new manager. With rumors flying and speculation changing on a seemingly hourly basis, Monday Morning Mets will wait to see the final choice rather than trying to guess who the choice will be.
Honoring Piazza - Prior to the final Saturday game of the season, Mike Piazza was honored for his home run accomplishments. Piazza is currently second on the all-time list for home-runs as a catcher with 336, and he only trails Carlton Fisk, who had 351 four-baggers as a catcher. The man whom Piazza surpassed this season for the National League record, Johnny Bench (with 327 homers as a catcher), was on hand for the tribute at Shea.
The Saga Continues - The Queens District Attorney's office is investigating the woman who allegedly tried to blackmail reliever Grant Roberts. According to media reports, 26-year-old Jodi Turner threatened to give a photograph of Roberts smoking marijuana as a minor leaguer to the media unless Roberts met her demands. The young pitcher didn't capitulate, and Turner gave the incriminating photograph to Newsday. When asked about the investigation, Roberts replied, "I'm not supposed to comment, but, yeah, I'll give my full cooperation." He did just that the week after the season ended when he met with the Queens District Attorney Richard Brown for about three hours on October 2nd.
A Scandal of a Different Kind - On October 3rd, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced that a trusted ex-team employee, three of his co-workers and two other suspects surrendered Thursday for allegedly stealing $2 million from Sterling Doubleday Enterprises, the Mets' parent company, between 1994 and 2000. According to Brown, the scams operated in a variety of ways. The simplest involved overbillling the Mets for goods. The most complex involved the creation of a phony company that collected $350,000 for nonexistent computer and telephone equipment.
Former Mets executive Russell Richardson was identified as the reputed ringleader of the group. Richardson, the team's one-time director of technical services, faces up to 25 years in prison for alleged grand larceny, falsifying business records, and other crimes. Codefendant Haim Shaked, a vendor from Brooklyn who did business with the Mets, faces similar penalties. Four other defendants face up to seven years on lesser charges: former Mets employees Theresa Artis, Glenn Grilli, and Thomas Doyle, and vendor Richard Joselit.
Health Notes - The day after the season ended, Esix Snead and Tyler Walker underwent surgery at New York's Hospital for Joint Diseases. Dr. Martin Posner operated on the collateral ligament of Snead's right hand, while Mets team physician Dr. Andrew Rokito repaired the torn meniscus of Walker's left knee. Both are expected to be ready for spring training.
Roster Moves - On October 2, the Mets claimed right-hander Doug Nickle off waivers from San Diego. To make room for Nickle on the 40 man roster, left-hander Adam Walker was designated for assignment. Tony Tarasco was also outrighted to Norfolk so that Kane Davis could be activated from the 60 day disabled list and placed on the 40 man roster.
Stupid is as Stupid Says? - Rey Ordoñez caused some consternation in the final weekend of the season when he told the New York Post that Mets fans are "stupid" and that he didn't want to play in New York anymore. The following day Ordoñez backed away from his statements, explaining that he was frustrated by the rough season and by the fact that his wife, who attends every home game, must listen to personal verbal attacks directed at him during games.
In the aftermath of the statement, Bobby Valentine, while still manager, told the media that if Ordoñez "said anything about the fans, he's way off base. There's absolutely no reason to take any of our frustration out on our fans. When you see these fans here on a Saturday night looking for autographs, the only word I can think of is loyal, and we're really grateful."
A Different Kind of Pitching - Staunch Republican Al Leiter is campaigning for New Jersey senatorial candidate Douglas Forrester. Leiter will make appearances at Forrester fundraisers, including one on October 21st in Summit, New Jersey.
Player of the Month - Roger Cedeño was named the John Gerald Jewelers Mets player of the month for September. Additionally, the Venezuelan-born Cedeño has recently applied for US residency, and hopes to eventually become a naturalized citizen. Cedeño's daughter was born in the United States.
Minor League News - Binghamton's Matt Watson, who was acquired from the Expos in April as part of the Scott Strickland deal, was named the Eastern League's Topps Player of the Month for August.
Paul Taglieri, the Mets director of Florida operations and the general manager of the St. Lucie Mets, was named the 2002 Florida State League's Executive of the Year.
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.
