Category Archives: 1999 Project

1999 Project

1999 Project: Atlanta, Round One

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

chipper2.jpgJune 25, 1999: Mets 10, Braves 2

This late June tilt in Atlanta was, amazingly, the first time the Mets faced the Braves in 1999. The series held some importance, with the Mets only three games out of first after their three-game sweep of Florida. However, as hard as it might be to believe now, the intense rivalry between the two teams hadn’t yet been formed.

For one thing, while the Braves dominated the entire decade of the 1990s, the Mets stayed strenuously non-competitive. It’s hard to start a rivalry when one team refuses to put up a fight.

Granted, at the end of the 1998 season, Atlanta had swept the Mets as part of the five-game skid that cost them a wild card berth. No one seemed to believe that was personal, however (even if those games meant nothing to the Braves, who had already clinched yet another division title). If you read the newspaper accounts prior to this series, you see none of the vitriol and animosity that would emerge in later years–due largely to the many games between the two teams in 1999.

In the Daily News, John Harper wondered if two mainstays of the Braves’ rotation–Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine–were losing their invincibility. The pitchers’ stats to that point in the season were not up their usual lofty standards.

The culprit, so everyone thought, was a more strenuous enforcement of the strike zone. Maddux and Glavine had won Cy Youngs by getting generous strike calls a few inches off the plate. But it would soon become abundantly clear that any rumors of their demise had been greatly exagerrated.

The start of the first game was delayed 45 minutes, due to lighting issues at Turner Field. The Mets would be without Mike Piazza, who was nursing a sore neck he sustained on a Bruce Aven backswing during the Marlins series.

Despite these ill omens, things looked good in the series opener. The Mets took an early lead on a Benny Agbayani solo homer off of Odalis Perez in the top of the second, then notched three more runs against Perez in the top of the sixth with RBI singles from Todd Pratt, Roger Cedeno, and starter Rick Reed. They piled it on against the Braves’ usually strong bullpen, scoring one run in the seventh, two in the eighth, and three in the ninth, en route to a 10-2 victory–their first at Turner Field in almost two years.

Atlanta was reportedly perturbed when Rickey Henderson stole second in the top of the ninth, with the Mets already up 7-2. After the game, Bobby Valentine defended the move, telling reporters, “Rickey’s been in that situation as much as anyone in this room or that room [clubhouse].” In other words, Rickey can steal whenever Rickey feels like it.

June 26, 1999: Braves 7, Mets 2

Pitching prospect Octavio Dotel was called up to take Jason Isringhausen’s spot in the starting rotation and make his major league debut at Turner Field. The jewel of the Mets farm system, Dotel impressed at Norfolk, striking out 17 batters in one triple-A outing. “Dotel, he’s one of their bright ones, right?” Bobby Cox asked reporters before the game. He then invoked the ill-fated memory of Generation K.

It didn’t take long for Dotel to fall behind, as he gave up two walks and a three-run homer to Ryan Klesko in the bottom of the first. The young righty settled in for the next few innings, but was touched up for another three runs in the bottom of the fifth, then yanked for Pat Mahomes.

Tom Glavine was, of course, Vintage (Atlanta) Glavine, going seven innings and giving up only one run. Other than a three-hit top of the sixth that produced a run, the Mets never truly threatened.

During the game, Piazza was bothered by a fan sitting behind the Atlanta dugout who called out his position behind the plate before each pitch. Home plate ump Bob Davidson stalked over in the fan’s general direction just as he removed himself from the stands of his own volition. According to the Daily News, “Piazza was afraid that the extra information may have caused extra contact at home plate.”

June 27, 1999: Braves 1, Mets 0

Masato Yoshii turned in a very good seven innings. Unfortunately, he was opposed by eight excellent innings from Greg Maddux.

The game’s only run came in the bottom of the third, when Eddie Perez hit a one-out single. After Maddux bunted the slow-footed catcher to second, he came around to score on an Ozzie Guillen double. It was the only damage Yoshii would allow, but it was one run too many.

The Mets got a few chances late, but could not convert. In the top of the eighth, Brian McRae worked a leadoff walk, then found himself on third after a sac bunt and a groundout. Valentine sent up Matt Franco to pinch hit, and he worked a full count but flailed at a sharp curveball to strike out and end the inning.

In the top of the ninth, Edgardo Alfonzo managed a one-out single against the Braves’ newly minted closer, John Rocker. Pinch runner Melvin Mora moved to second on a groundout, but after an intentional walk to Piazza, Rocker struck out Robin Ventura to end the game.

After the offensive explosion of the first game, the Mets scored a mere two runs in the last two contests. Still, the Mets–a bit hubristically, perhaps–pronounced themselves optimistic that they could hang with Atlanta for the remainder of the season.

A typically cocky Rickey Henderson said, “From what I see, we have the better club…The one thing I’ve always said about the Atlanta Braves is they’re a lucky club. When you
have luck rolled in and balls going their way, I think they have the little edge over us right now. I think it’s going to be a good run to the end.”

Meanwhile, an atypically generous Chipper Jones said, “I don’t see them going away. They have too many good players.”

1999 Project

1999 Project: Games 70-72

Click here for an intro/manifesto on The 1999 Project.June 22, 1999: Mets 8, Marlins 2

Masato Yoshii pitched well in this outing, the first in a brief three-game homestand, giving up just two runs in 6 2/3 innings, but the Mets were baffled by the knuckleball of Florida starter Dennis Springer. Robin Ventura hit a solo shot off of him in the second, but Kevin Orie hit a two-run bomb of his own in the third, and the Mets entered the seventh inning trailing 2-1.

Yoshii got into some trouble in the top of the seventh, when he allowed a one-out double and a walk. Bobby Valentine called on reliever Greg McMichael, who retired the next two batters to keep the deficit at one run.

In the bottom half, the Mets finally got to Springer. Ventura led off the inning with a double. After a Brian McRae pop out, Roger Cedeno hit a ball that center fielder Preston Wilson (one of the chips sent to Florida the previous season in the Mike Piazza trade) tried to field on one hop. But the ball skipped past him, allowing Ventura to score and Cedeno to speed to third with a triple. Antonio Alfonseca came on to relieve Springer, but he promptly gave up RBI singles to Rey Ordonez and Edgardo Alfonzo.

After Armando Benitez pitched a 1-2-3 top of the eighth, the Mets piled on in their half. Piazza led off with a solo shot, and a double by Ventura and a single by McRae put runners on second and third with nobody out. Cedeno was walked intentionally to bring up the much less threatening Ordonez, but he delivered a two-run single. Even Benitez pitched in; in a rare at-bat for the set-up man, he drove in a run with a groundout. No worse for wear, the big righty set the Marlins down in order in the ninth to preserve the victory.

In other team news, the Mets decided to send Jason Isringhausen down to Norfolk again, with an eye toward making him a reliever. It was a move that would provide dividends–most of them for Oakland.

June 23, 1999: Mets 6, Marlins 3

Al Leiter continued his resurgence, throwing seven sharp innings, striking out seven, and giving up three runs. Since his breakthrough performance at Yankee Stadium, the lefty had an ERA of 2.25. Leiter seemed to falter a bit in the top of the seventh, when he gave up a single and a walk to the first two batters, prompting an unwelcome visit to the mound from Bobby Valentine (conferences and pitching changes were usually handled by pitching coach Dave Wallace). He induced a double play from future Met Luis Castillo, and though he allowed a run-scoring single from Alex Gonzalez, he struck out the last batter he faced to escape further damage.

Alfonzo paced the offense, hitting a solo shot and knocking in three runs. Cedeno swiped two more bases, bringing his total on the season to a league-leading 41. The bullpen made sure Leiter’s effort stuck. Despite appearing in his third game in four days, Benitez pitched a 1-2-3 eighth with two strikeouts, and John Franco set down all three batters he faced for his nineteenth save of the year.

On the negative side, Piazza suffered a mild concussion when he was hit by a Bruce Aven backswing in the top of the seventh. The catcher stayed in the game to try and extend his franchise record 24-game hitting streak, but grounded out in the bottom of the eighth and came out of the game. Afterward, his last at-bat was little more than a blur. “I think I swung at one of the balls I saw,” he told the Daily News.

June 24, 1999: Mets 3, Marlins 2

The Mets completed a three-game sweep of the Marlins, thanks to some late inning heroics. Orel Hershiser pitched six solid innings, giving up just one run. Future Met Livan Hernandez gave up two runs in the bottom of the sixth, but helped tie the score when he doubled to lead off the top of the seventh and came around to score on a sac fly.

With the score knotted at 2 in the bottom of the eighth, John Olerud hit a one-out double. Then Ventura blooped a single over the first baseman’s head to score pinch runner Luis Lopez and give the Mets the lead. Franco set down the Marlins in order in the top of the ninth to seal the victory.

Next up: The first-place Braves. The Mets had won 14 of their last 17 games and trailed Atlanta by only three games. But this would be the biggest test they faced thus far.

Somewhat prophetically, Valentine told the Daily News:

The bigness of it is that we haven’t seen them up close all season. They’re always there. They’ll always be there. They are the team we’ve been chasing since I’ve been here…I guess longer than that. So it’ll be good to see them on the field. We know they’re going to be around and what we want to do is let them know that we’re going to be around. Because the season ends playing them six
times in the last [12] games.

1999 Project

1999 Project: Games 66-69

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

mcgwiremets.jpgJune 17, 1999: Mets 4, Cardinals 3

Bruce Benedict piloted the Mets for the second and final game of Bobby Valentine’s suspension. This outing in St. Louis was a bit more of a nail-biter than his first one.

It didn’t look that way at first. Al Leiter threw seven great innings, giving up only one run, three hits, and striking out nine. The Cardinals strung together two hits and a sac fly to plate a run against Leiter in the second, but the lefty was otherwise perfect.

The Mets scratched out one run each in the fourth and fifth innings, then got a two-run homer from Robin Ventura in the sixth to go up 4-1. Armando Benitez pitched a 1-2-3 eighth to set up things nicely for John Franco.

But as he so often did, Franco made things difficult. A single by future Met Joe McEwing and a double by Edgar Renteria put runners on second and third for Mark McGwire. Franco got a comebacker from McGwire, but inexplicably threw to third to try and tag out McEwing. The attempt failed, thus loading the bases with no outs. Another future Met, Fernando Tatis, followed with a two-RBI single to cut the lead to one slim run.

Benedict yanked Franco in favor of Dennis Cook, who warmed up quickly in the midst of his fellow lefty’s meltdown. Cook got a strikeout, flyout, and pop-up to strand the tying and winning runs on base and make Benedict a perfect 2-0 in his brief managerial stint.

June 18, 1999: Mets 6, Cardinals 2

With Bobby Valentine back in the driver’s seat, the Mets got some more excellent pitching performances, with a dash of aches and pains. Starter Orel Hershiser gave up only one hit but had to leave after five innings with back spasms. Turk Wendell took over and set the Cards down in order in the sixth and seventh. Two RBIs for both Edgardo Alfonzo and Rickey Henderson, plus a run-scoring single from Rey Ordonez, gave the Mets a 5-0 lead.

Wendell began to tire in the bottom of the eighth, walking the first two batters he faced. He induced a double play, but then gave up a two-run homer to Thomas Howard and single to McEwing. Valentine turned to Benitez to stop the bleeding, but he walked Renteria to bring McGwire to the plate as the tying run.

In all of their previous confrontations, Benitez had either walked or struck out McGwire. It looked like the result would be the former when he quickly went 3-0 on the slugger. But Benitez followed with three called strikes to retire McGwire and end the inning. The last called strike was knee high, in Benitez’s opinion, or lower, as Tony LaRussa saw it. The St. Louis manager argued the called third strike and was ejected for his trouble.

Mike Piazza hit a solo homer in the top of the ninth to give the Mets some insurance. Wanting to stay away from John Franco after his struggles in the previous game, Valentine left Benitez in for the bottom of the ninth, and he retired the Cards with little incident to preserve the victory.

On the transaction front, the Mets made a trade, though not the expected one. Many thought they’d try to deal Bobby Bonilla, who’d contributed little but headaches up to that point in the season.

Instead, the Mets dealt Queens native Allen Watson, who’d made a few starts earlier in the season, to the Mariners in exchange for reliever Mac Suzuki. Watson was out of minor league options and would’ve had to pass through waivers, had the Mets tried to send him down again. Steve Phillips cited Pat Mahomes’ effectiveness as a long reliever as the main impetus behind the deal.

Bonilla was apparently still on the trading block, however. The last whispers said the Red Sox might be interested in the grumbling former slugger.

June 19, 1999: Cardinals 7, Mets 6

Both starters were ineffective in this excruciating, nearly-four-hour affair, the longest nine-inning game in Mets history. After a few encouraging outings, Jason Isringhausen was tattooed for six runs in only 2 2/3 innings of work, including a three-run bomb from McGwire in the first. But Cardinals starter/future Met Darren Oliver fared no better, giving up six runs of his own and two homers (Henderson and Piazza) in four innings of work. Reliever Pat Mahomes gave up an RBI double to Willie McGee (serving his last tour of duty in the bigs that year) in the fourth inning that proved to be the difference.

The Mets almost tied the game in the top of the fifth. With Bonilla on third and Henderson on first, Cards reliever Manny Aybar tried the seldom successful fake-to-third-throw-to-first gambit. As he did, Henderson took off for second, then Bonilla broke home. But McGwire fired a throw home and Bonilla was called out on a close play at the plate. Replays seemed to confirm Valentine’s insistence that Bonilla was safe, but home plate umpire Charlie Williams did not agree.

If it was any consolation, Williams was rough on both teams. His tight strike zone resulted in a ridiculous number of full counts and drove up pitch totals for all hurlers. Oliver, who was unhappy with Williams’ strike zone, threw 121 pitches in only four innings.

June 20, 1999: Mets 9, Cardinals 6

Rick Reed did not fare well in this outing, giving up two homers (including yet another McGwire blast, his 21st of the year) and five runs. But his offense picked him up, paced by Rey Ordonez, of all people.

The normally lumber-allergic shortstop went 3-for-4, and showed some hustle by scoring from second on an infield single–twice. In the top of the third, he plated the Mets’ first run when he ran all the way home on a slow Roger Cedeno groundout. McGwire had his back to the plate, and by the time he realized what was happening, he had no play.

Then in the top of the sixth, Ordonez helped the Mets rally from a four-run deficit to tie and then take the lead. After RBI hits from Robin Ventura and Benny Agbayani cut the Cards’ lead to two, Ordonez hit a two-RBI single to knot the score at 6. He then put the Mets in front on a bizarre play.

St. Louis reliever Rick Croushore attempted to field another Cedeno grounder, but fell down on the field and had no play. Ordonez crossed from second to third on the play, so Croushore–in a sitting position–looked him back before turning his attention to the umpire, for some reason. Ordonez took one step back toward third, then dashed for home. Croushore could not throw him out from his knees, and the Mets had a 7-6 lead.

A sac fly from Luis Lopez and a Piazza RBI single in the top of the ninth padded the Mets’ lead. John Franco allowed a one-out double to McEwing in the ninth, but got a groundout and struck out McGwire to end any further threat.

Ordonez credited his resurgence to either his still-mysterious benching earlier in the season (a knee injury was the professed reason, though many doubted this explanation) or the blond highlights he’d added earlier in June.