Baseball Guru
05-26-2004, 11:05 AM
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_perspectives.jsp?ymd=20040525&content_id=752528&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp
Mets building confidence, and a win streak
Tom Singer
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/2004/05/26/ttORfVNe.jpg
Cliff Floyd (left) acknowledges fellow outfielder Mike Cameron after their win Tuesday. (Julie Jacobson/AP)
NEW YORK -- Who do you believe? The calendar, or the intense pregame faces in both dugouts?
Do you believe that nothing vitally important to a baseball season happens in May? Or do you believe that it's never too early to make a point?
Do you believe Tuesday's game in Flushing was just another lap on a 162-lap race? Or do you believe the roar of 29,385 greeting Mike Piazza's laser into the left-field bullpen?
Even with the first baseman's 10th homer of the season in the sixth, the Mets had enough of a cushion -- 2-0 -- at that point. They took the Phillies, 5-0, and now are on the winning side of the ledger.
The Mets got to 23-22 by even overcoming an invitation to disaster they would not have turned down the last couple of seasons.
Third baseman Ty Wigginton's watermelon-seed play that loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh would have opened the trap door. Now? All it opened was the bullpen gate, through which Mike Stanton appeared to fan Jimmy Rollins.
Over .500 today. Who knows what tomorrow brings? But Shea Stadium once again was the land of 'Ya Gotta Believe,' not of make-believe.
"With every win, the fans are getting more excited. And that pumps us up," said manager Art Howe, an unmistakeable twinkle in his eyes. "It's fun around here. The park is very energized right now."
Right now, it feels like Tom Glavine did pitch a perfect game on Sunday. Overlook that walk to Denny Hocking, that double by Kit Pellow.
At furthering the Mets' momentum and igniting their aspirations approaching a two-week hurdle, Tom Terrific was perfect.
The Mets have won nine of their last 12. If they win nine of the next 12, Mr. Met's smile will be even wider.
Oh, the mascot will be happy, too. As happy as general manager Jim Duquette, whose pledge entering the follow-up to two last-place seasons was "meaningful games."
Well, they are here. For the next two weeks, the Mets will exclusively play the Phillies and the Marlins, their division's big boys at the moment.
And is that Jose Reyes on the horizon? The wayward second baseman may actually fall in by the end of this week, if his hamstring holds up for a couple more rehab games at Port St. Lucie.
When Reyes does appear, he could be joining a first-place club. How's that for meaning? Tuesday's win moved the Mets within two games of the NL East's co-leaders, Florida and Philadelphia.
Who cares if it's May. For a couple of years, the only time the Mets could dream of first place was in their sleep.
"Skyrocketing," Cliff Floyd said when asked to characterize the Mets' confidence. "Everyone shows up in the clubhouse every day ready to go."
Everyone shows up in the seats feeling the same. Tuesday night's pumped crowd was vocal, spirited, happy.
"That's the No. 1 reason I came here," said Floyd, who signed with the Mets as a free agent prior to last season, "for the way the fans are right now. They're cheering every pitch, every swing."
They cheered loudest on Stanton's put-away pitch and the Floyd swing that produced a two-run double, both of which followed the game's biggest play.
No, not Piazza's home run or his and Shane Spencer's run-scoring singles in the third or any of Steve Trachsel's season-high 123 pitches.
The night's key moment occured with two outs in the top of the seventh, when Marlon Byrd bounced to third with runners on first and second.
That's when the hot corner became a hot potato for Wigginton. He fielded the simple hopper, drew back his arm for the throw to first -- and had the ball squirt backwards out of his hand.
In a 3-0 game, the bases were loaded, and the chants of "Let's go Mets!" lodged in the fans' throats. The only Mets who went were Trachsel and Wigginton, coincidentally also replaced in a double-switch.
"I had some idea of how the bases got loaded, but my job is to go in and get the starter out of trouble," said Stanton, whose first two pitches to the 5-foot-8 Rollins would've been high to even Tree Rollins.
"I was too pumped up on the first couple of pitches," Stanton said.
The count eventually went full. Stanton unleashed another fastball that sailed high -- but Rollins swung through it.
"Yes, but what made him swing were the three pitches before that," Stanton said. "Down and away, all three."
"That's probably the game, right there," Howe said.
So Stanton made his considerable contribution to the loud night.
"There's a buzz around this place, around the city," said the veteran left-hander. "It's not that someone threw a light switch. We're definitely playing teams more talented than we are, but now we're a team of all battlers."
Howe traces the awakening to Glavine's gem. Not the most recent one. But the one two weeks ago, in Arizona, where he bested Randy Johnson 1-0 -- the first in this 9-3 spree.
"It was a shot in the arm what he did that day," Howe said. "That showed a lot about this club. They definitely believe in themselves now. They believe that they can go out and win every night."
Nine out of the next 12 nights will do. That would elevate this charge above a tease, make it real.
A lot of that would have to come at the expense of the Phillies, a division darling, not a dark horse.
So it is not surprising that their manager dismisses the urgency of the next two weeks, which will find the Phillies playing only the Mets and the Braves.
"Every game you play is big," Larry Bowa said. "They're all important, tough. We've got to grind them all out."
The Phillies will be back at Shea Stadium on Wednesday night, grinding. The Mets will be there, too, battling.
Mets building confidence, and a win streak
Tom Singer
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/2004/05/26/ttORfVNe.jpg
Cliff Floyd (left) acknowledges fellow outfielder Mike Cameron after their win Tuesday. (Julie Jacobson/AP)
NEW YORK -- Who do you believe? The calendar, or the intense pregame faces in both dugouts?
Do you believe that nothing vitally important to a baseball season happens in May? Or do you believe that it's never too early to make a point?
Do you believe Tuesday's game in Flushing was just another lap on a 162-lap race? Or do you believe the roar of 29,385 greeting Mike Piazza's laser into the left-field bullpen?
Even with the first baseman's 10th homer of the season in the sixth, the Mets had enough of a cushion -- 2-0 -- at that point. They took the Phillies, 5-0, and now are on the winning side of the ledger.
The Mets got to 23-22 by even overcoming an invitation to disaster they would not have turned down the last couple of seasons.
Third baseman Ty Wigginton's watermelon-seed play that loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh would have opened the trap door. Now? All it opened was the bullpen gate, through which Mike Stanton appeared to fan Jimmy Rollins.
Over .500 today. Who knows what tomorrow brings? But Shea Stadium once again was the land of 'Ya Gotta Believe,' not of make-believe.
"With every win, the fans are getting more excited. And that pumps us up," said manager Art Howe, an unmistakeable twinkle in his eyes. "It's fun around here. The park is very energized right now."
Right now, it feels like Tom Glavine did pitch a perfect game on Sunday. Overlook that walk to Denny Hocking, that double by Kit Pellow.
At furthering the Mets' momentum and igniting their aspirations approaching a two-week hurdle, Tom Terrific was perfect.
The Mets have won nine of their last 12. If they win nine of the next 12, Mr. Met's smile will be even wider.
Oh, the mascot will be happy, too. As happy as general manager Jim Duquette, whose pledge entering the follow-up to two last-place seasons was "meaningful games."
Well, they are here. For the next two weeks, the Mets will exclusively play the Phillies and the Marlins, their division's big boys at the moment.
And is that Jose Reyes on the horizon? The wayward second baseman may actually fall in by the end of this week, if his hamstring holds up for a couple more rehab games at Port St. Lucie.
When Reyes does appear, he could be joining a first-place club. How's that for meaning? Tuesday's win moved the Mets within two games of the NL East's co-leaders, Florida and Philadelphia.
Who cares if it's May. For a couple of years, the only time the Mets could dream of first place was in their sleep.
"Skyrocketing," Cliff Floyd said when asked to characterize the Mets' confidence. "Everyone shows up in the clubhouse every day ready to go."
Everyone shows up in the seats feeling the same. Tuesday night's pumped crowd was vocal, spirited, happy.
"That's the No. 1 reason I came here," said Floyd, who signed with the Mets as a free agent prior to last season, "for the way the fans are right now. They're cheering every pitch, every swing."
They cheered loudest on Stanton's put-away pitch and the Floyd swing that produced a two-run double, both of which followed the game's biggest play.
No, not Piazza's home run or his and Shane Spencer's run-scoring singles in the third or any of Steve Trachsel's season-high 123 pitches.
The night's key moment occured with two outs in the top of the seventh, when Marlon Byrd bounced to third with runners on first and second.
That's when the hot corner became a hot potato for Wigginton. He fielded the simple hopper, drew back his arm for the throw to first -- and had the ball squirt backwards out of his hand.
In a 3-0 game, the bases were loaded, and the chants of "Let's go Mets!" lodged in the fans' throats. The only Mets who went were Trachsel and Wigginton, coincidentally also replaced in a double-switch.
"I had some idea of how the bases got loaded, but my job is to go in and get the starter out of trouble," said Stanton, whose first two pitches to the 5-foot-8 Rollins would've been high to even Tree Rollins.
"I was too pumped up on the first couple of pitches," Stanton said.
The count eventually went full. Stanton unleashed another fastball that sailed high -- but Rollins swung through it.
"Yes, but what made him swing were the three pitches before that," Stanton said. "Down and away, all three."
"That's probably the game, right there," Howe said.
So Stanton made his considerable contribution to the loud night.
"There's a buzz around this place, around the city," said the veteran left-hander. "It's not that someone threw a light switch. We're definitely playing teams more talented than we are, but now we're a team of all battlers."
Howe traces the awakening to Glavine's gem. Not the most recent one. But the one two weeks ago, in Arizona, where he bested Randy Johnson 1-0 -- the first in this 9-3 spree.
"It was a shot in the arm what he did that day," Howe said. "That showed a lot about this club. They definitely believe in themselves now. They believe that they can go out and win every night."
Nine out of the next 12 nights will do. That would elevate this charge above a tease, make it real.
A lot of that would have to come at the expense of the Phillies, a division darling, not a dark horse.
So it is not surprising that their manager dismisses the urgency of the next two weeks, which will find the Phillies playing only the Mets and the Braves.
"Every game you play is big," Larry Bowa said. "They're all important, tough. We've got to grind them all out."
The Phillies will be back at Shea Stadium on Wednesday night, grinding. The Mets will be there, too, battling.