Tag Archives: expos

The Pros of Strasburg-Mania, and One Tiny Con

strasburg.jpgStephen Strasburg’s major league debut was everything (almost) everyone hoped it would be. I’ll admit there was a part of me that wanted Strasburg to, if not fail, then perform in a middling fashion. There was no way (I thought) the hype could possibly match the reality. But it did, and then some. After seeing how lights out he was, and ignoring the fact that the Mets will have to face this guy a couple of times a season for at least the next few years, I had to admit he was something awesome to behold.

Of course, some people pointed out that Strasburg’s start came against the lowly Pirates (like this jerk did). But with some time to think about my dumb tweet, I’ve changed my mind and would like to echo the sentiments expressed by Walkoff Walk. The Pirates are still a major league team. They have some decent hitters, like Andrew McCutchen, Delwyn Young, and, okay, why not, Lastings Milledge. Even the worst teams in baseball do not strike out 14 times in one game very often. Any time a pitcher racks up that many Ks, no matter who the opponent is, it’s amazing. Especially when he fans the last seven batters to face him and is still throwing 99 mph as he does it.

Almost as impressive as the 14 strikeouts: Strasburg did not walk a single batter. I bet you’d have to look long and hard to find the last time a pitcher made his first major league start and didn’t issue a single free pass. And if you did find such a start, it was probably because that rookie gave up seven straight hits and was yanked before recording an out.

I also heard/read some people mocking Nats fans for never showing up to games before now, and leaving when Strasburg left the game. That last act is, admittedly, a little shabby. But up to this point, you can’t say the Nationals had much to cheer for, save Ryan Zimmerman and the occasional anomalous hot streak. I don’t blame people from staying away from the ballpark. Going to games is expensive. If you’re going to invest that amount of money and time, the on-field product better be worth it, and up to this point, it hasn’t been.

It reminds me of 2008, when the Rays made the playoffs and lots of fans (particularly of the Red Sox stripe) mocked the folkways of a fanbase that had no experience with packed stadiums and postseason baseball. Such criticism is totally unfair, because all fandom starts somewhere. Just because the Sox had almost a century’s head start to build its mythos doesn’t make their fandom any more evolved or righteous.

In 1905, some handlebar-mustachioed gentleman decided to take in the Boston nine and see what all the fuss was about; now 100 years later, his descendents are Sox fans. If this person had grown up in Tampa Bay, he wouldn’t have had an opportunity to see a major league baseball team in his hometown for 90 years. Whose fault would that be? Nobody’s.

I’m sure there’s kids in Florida who got hooked on baseball for the first time because of the excitement of that first postseason in Tampa. Now they’re fans for life, and they’ll pass that passion along to their kids. Likewise, people from DC who had only a middling interest in the Nationals could get caught along the tide of Strasburg-mania, and in the process, become real fans. And the people who’ve been “real fans” all along get to look down their noses at the newcomers and boast that they liked the Nats before it was cool. Win-win!

My only objection, and it has little to do with the second coming of Koufax himself: I’ve heard more than one person say that Strasburg’s debut was a great tonic for “long suffering” Nats fans. Here I must raise a hand and object. The Nationals have only been around for six seasons. They have not existed for a sufficient amount of time to have a long suffering fanbase. For that, look at the team from Pittsburgh they just defeated. Or Indians fans. Or Royals fans.

Better yet, look to the dispossessed Expos fans, who were left without a team when the now-Nationals left Montreal. There’s no better definition of a long-suffering fanbase than one whose team split town and ain’t never coming back. Particularly since Expos fans must have seen the execution coming from miles away, as MLB did everything in its power to drain the Expos of what little life they had. They moved “home” games to Puerto Rico. They let Jeff Loria run the team into the ground. And they took over the franchise but didn’t allow it to improve in any way.

Just consider that, Nats fans. Your team may have been a doormat up until this point, but least it still exists.

1999 Project: Post-All-Star-Break Interleague (and International) Extravaganza

Click here for an intro/manifesto on The 1999 Project.

A quick jaunt through the eight-game road trip that started the second half of the season (and a desperate attempt to catch up with this crazy project).

After the All-Star Break, baseball’s attention was diverted by the umpires, who threatened to resign en masse on September 2 if they could not negotiate a new contract with MLB. They adopted this strategy because their current contract prevented them from striking, and they hoped going on the offensive would force the owners’ hands. It was a bold move, but for some of the umps, it would not end well.

canseco_rays.jpgJuly 15, 1999: Mets 8, Devil Rays 7 (10)

First up: the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, in their second year of existence and not yet shorn of their demonic name. They were also not ready for the same meteoric rise as their expansion-mates, the Diamondbacks (who were 6 games over .500 and on their way to a division title). Though they did outpace Arizona in hideous uniforms, as you can see here.

Tampa was a mix of superstars at the end of their careers (Wade Boggs, Fred McGriff, Jose Canseco) and everyday starters who’d be be no more than complimentary bench players on virtually any other team (such as future Mets Bubba Trammell and Miguel Cairo).

Still, the Mets trailed early in this one. Al Leiter gave up a solo shot and a two-run homer to put them in a 3-0 hole. They rallied for two runs without benefit of a hit in the top of the fifth, thanks to some walks and a throwing error by Aaron Ledesma (a rushed throw caused in part by the speed of Roger Cedeno). More walks and more bad fielding led to four more runs in the seventh and one in the eighth, giving the Mets a seemingly comfortable 7-3 lead.

Continue reading 1999 Project: Post-All-Star-Break Interleague (and International) Extravaganza

1999 Project: Games 83-86

Click here for an intro/manifesto on The 1999 Project.

Thumbnail image for youppi.jpgJuly 5, 1999: Mets 2, Expos 1

After a grueling, frustrating, and occasionally humiliating series against the Braves, the Mets were pleased to welcome the Expos to Shea for a four-game series. Granted, Montreal had given them fits the year before, and the Mets had only gone 4-3 against them thus far. Still, the Expos were–to put it charitably–not quite as talented as Atlanta.

Although the Mets must have thought they were facing the Braves yet again in game one. They managed eight hits against Montreal starter Dustin Hermanson, but could only score one unearned run, thanks to an error by Orlando Cabrera. Rick Reed pitched seven great innings of his own, allowing just one run, but could not get a win thanks to his teammates anemic offense (perhaps due in part to temperatures that peaked at 101 degrees).

Turk Wendell got into some trouble in the top of the eighth, when a single, an error, and a balk put runners on second and third and brought up Vladimir Guerrero in a prime RBI spot. But Wendell induced a pop up from Vlad to end the inning. He also got in trouble with the umpires for having too much resin on his fielding arm (perhaps a byproduct of his volatile mound rituals). It was not the first time that season he’d been asked to make a sartorial switch mid-appearance.

That allowed the Mets a chance to plate the go-ahead run in the bottom half. John Olerud led off with a single against future Met Guillermo Mota, then Mike Piazza doubled to move him to third. Robin Ventura was walked intentionally to load the bases to bring up Brian McRae. He hit into a 4-6-3 double play, but that allowed Olerud to score.

That’s what passed for a rally in this game, but it was enough. Armando Benitez worked around a lead-off walk to preserve the victory. 

July 6, 1999: Mets 10, Expos 0

Masato Yoshii was nursing a bruised thigh, so Bobby Valentine asked the 40-year-old Orel Hershiser to pitch on one day’s rest. That would allow him to push up Yoshii’s next start and pitch Al Leiter against the Yankees in the upcoming Shea portion of the Subway Series. It would also prevent rookie Octavio Dotel from having to pitch against the Yanks (though the Mets insisted that was not a factor).

No Mets hurler had pitched on such short rest since 1982, and Hershiser had never done it in his career (though he’d memorably pitched on even shorter rest, closing out the Dodgers’ series-changing Game 4 victory against the Mets in the 1988 NLCS after starting the day before). Not to mention to the weather conditions–temperatures reached triple digits yet again.

Regardless, Hershiser accepted the challenge and shut down the Expos for five innings, limiting them to three hits. His moxie inspired cheers of “1, 2, 3, Bulldog!” from spectators behind home plate. (“Try to do it when I’m not trying to concentrate, please,” Hershiser sarcastically advised the fans after the game.)

Hershiser felt he could have gone another inning, but the risk didn’t seem worth it. By that point, the Mets had already touched up Expos starter Carl Pavano for five runs, including a two-run homer from Brian McRae and two RBIs from Edgardo Alfonzo. They’d chase Pavano from the game with two more runs in the sixth inning and score three more off of the Montreal bullpen.

Fresh from his second tour in Norfolk, Jason Isringhausen pitched the last three innings, allowing only three hits. Despite the lopsided score, it counted for his first major league save.

This was also the day of All Star Game selections, and Mike Piazza was the only Met chosen by fan balloting. Rey Ordonez–having another fine year with the glove and a surprisingly productive year with the bat–was just edged out by the Reds’ Barry Larkin for the shortstop position.

July 7, 1999: Expos 3, Mets 1

The third game looked like a repeat of the first, but unfortunately for the Mets, it did not result in a similar outcome. They stranded ten men on base and could only manage one run against Expos starter Dan Smith and the Montreal bullpen. In his best outing yet, Octavio Dotel limited the opposition to one run in seven innings. But Bobby Valentine batted for him in the bottom of the seventh in a vain attempt to spark a rally and was forced to turn to the bullpen.

Robin Ventura was hit by a pitch in his left foot in the bottom of the third and had to leave the game, so Luis Lopez was manning third base in the top of the eighth. Terry Jones singled to lead off the inning. After a sac bunt moved Jones up, Lopez fielded a grounder, but his throw whizzed past John Olerud, allowing Jones to score all the way from second.

The Mets threatened in their half. After singles by Roger Cedeno and McRae, Valentine pinch hit for Todd Pratt with Mike Piazza (who’d been given the day off). The Expos brought in their closer, Ugueth Urbina, and he promptly struck out Piazza on three pitches. Ordonez followed with a fly out to end the threat.

Montreal plated another run in the top of the ninth, and the Mets went quietly in their half. Despite wasted scoring opportunities, Lopez took all the blame after the game, with the use of some Rickey Henderson-esque grammar. “Everyone played their asses off,” he said. “Dotel pitched great. This time, Luis Lopez failed.”

July 8, 1999: Expos 4, Mets 3

Masato Yoshii seemed to benefit from the extra rest afforded him by Orel Hershiser’s spot start. After a slightly shaky, one-run first inning, he settled in, retiring 13 straight Expos at one point. The mets scored two runs in the first, then another on a Piazza solo shot in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead.

Montreal chipped at their lead thanks to a Vladimir Guerrero home run, the kind only he could hit (according to the Daily News, it came on “an eye-high fastball”). They tied it on another solo homer in the seventh, this one from Orlando Cabrera off of Turk Wendell. Dennis Cook come on in the eighth inning and gave up a one-out triple to Wilton Guerrero (Vlad’s brother). The next batter, Shane Andrews, hit a fly to McRae in center field (“little more than a popup”, in the Daily News‘ estimation) that allowed Guerrero to tag up and score.

The Mets had slight chances in their last two innings. Matt Franco hit a one-out single in the eighth, but was erased when Benny Agbayani hit into a double play. In the ninth, Rickey Henderson worked a walk against Urbina but was caught trying to stea
l second.

“We [the bullpen] are human,” Cook said later. “We’re going to throw a bad
streak in there. It’s one of those things. I’m not going to go home and
slit my wrists.”

Still, it was not the best way to lead into the Subway Series. Somewhat prophetically, the News opined:

The Mets are still the No. 2 team in this town, and it would be nice to
make a statement against the vaunted Bronx Bombers. Win three, even
two, against the Yankees and these Expos debacles surely will be
forgiven and forgotten.