Category Archives: 1999 Project

1999 Project: Games 17-19

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Thumbnail image for wrigley.jpgApril 23, 1999: Mets 6, Cubs 5

The Mets endured a rough plane ride into Chicago, then some predictably unpredictable sun and wind conditions at Wrigley Field.

Robin Ventura, who played nine years with the White Sox, called the 44-degree temperature and 36-mph wind gusts “mild.” Cubs starter Steve Trachsel’s cap blew off his head in the top of the second.

Former Cub Brian McRae said, “This is a nice day.”

Jermaine Allensworth “almost got three teeth knocked out” when he lost a ball in the sun, which allowed two runs to score. Bobby Bonilla lost his own fly ball that led to another unearned run. Reliever Josias Manzanillo collided with John Olerud while trying to field a pop-up in the seventh and had to leave the game. Roger Cedeno was overcome with mysterious “dizziness” after singling in the ninth inning, and left soon thereafter.

But somehow, the Mets came out on top, thanks to a two-RBI single from Todd Pratt that tied the game in the eighth and a pinch-hit sac fly from Rey Ordonez to drive in the go-ahead run in the ninth. Ordonez was far from a happy camper, however; he had sat out two games in a row and feared Bobby Valentine had something against him.

“Maybe he doesn’t like me because I’m the only one he does it to,”
Ordonez said. “He’s the boss. He’s the one who gives the orders. I’m the only one he does it to. Maybe it’s because I don’t talk to him or say hi.”

At the time, Ordonez was hitting .170. Asked if Ordonez would start in game two of the series, Valentine just said, “Stay tuned.”

John Franco pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save in as many chances.

April 24, 1999: Cubs 2, Mets 0

The Mets left twelve men on base in their first blanking of the year. Bobby Bonilla grounded into two double plays. Starting pitcher Allen Watson–who had the reputation of a ‘hitting’ pitcher–stranded six men all by himself. He also had to leave the game after only 71 pitches with back spasms. The Cubs collected only five hits, but scratched out two runs for all the offense they needed.

The team almost looked like its head was in the following day’s game, when Mike Piazza would make his long-awaited return to the lineup. They didn’t lack for offense in the receiver position in his absence; Todd Pratt started every game and hit .319, with three homers and 11 RBIs.

April 25, 1999: Cubs 8, Mets 4

Mike Piazza’s debut was overshadowed by Sammy the Bear Beanie Baby Night (seriously) and Sammy’s namesake, who hit a bases-clearing double in the fifth inning that put the Cubs ahead for good.

The Mets carried a 3-0 lead into the fifth, thanks to solo homers from Edgardo Alfonzo, Robin Ventura, and Rickey Henderson. But wildness from starter Orel Hershiser (including a highly questionable hit batsman), a poorly fielded bunt by Robin Ventura, and another missed play by Olerud set the stage for Sosa’s heroics.

Piazza blooped an RBI single in the ninth, but it was too little, too late. The Mets fell to 3-3 in games featuring their star slugger.

Meanwhile, Bonilla returned to New York to get his swollen knee checked out, and Ordonez reportedly rejected a two-year, $5.6 million contract extension. Allen Watson pronounced himself okay despite his back spasms from the previous day, but Rick Reed (torn calf) felt no better after an eight-minute bullpen session. Valentine said there was no timetable for his return just yet.

1999 Project: Games 14-16

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riverfront.jpgApril 20, 1999: Mets 3, Reds 2

The Mets traveled to Cincinnati to play a team other than the Expos or Marlins for the first time in 1999. The thoroughly boo-able Bobby Bonilla broke a 1-1 tie in the 7th with the first homer of his second tour of duty with the team, and Robin Ventura drove in another run in the eighth with an RBI single.

The Mets carried a 3-1 lead into the ninth, when John Franco decided to make things far too interesting by giving up singles to the first two batters. After a sac bunt, Pokey Reese singled in a run; a great play by Edgard Alfonzo kept the ball in the infield and prevented the tying run from scoring. Franco then walked pinch hitter Jeff Hammonds to load the bases with only one out, but struck out future Met Mike Cameron and induced a pop-up from Barry Larkin to end the game.

“I got away with one tonight,” Franco told reporters.

April 21, 1999: Reds 7, Mets 4

Birthday boy Masato Yoshii continued to struggle. The Mets handed him a 4-0 lead he could not hold; the Reds torched him for six runs in the fourth, knocked him out of the game, and cruised to a 7-4 victory. Yoshii’s ERA ballooned to 7.47, further endangering his future in the rotation.

During the game, Bobby Valentine got in a screaming match with home plate umpire Mark Hirschbeck, Roger Cedeno took a called strike three that was, in Valentine’s estimation, just as low as pitches by Yoshii that had been called balls. “Yoshii threw 15 pitches that good! I’ guarantee you that.” Amazingly, Valentine was not bounced for his insolence.

April 22, 1999: Mets 4, Reds 1

Al Leiter finally earned his first win of the season in this game, going six-plus innings and striking out eight. Valentine said Leiter pitched “like a man possessed.”

Another first came from the outfield, which featured all three of its projected starters for the first time that season (Bonilla, Brian McRae, and Rickey Henderson). That lasted exactly one inning before Bonilla removed himself from the game with knee trouble.

Todd Pratt (continuing to catch in Mike Piazza’s absence) hit his second homer in two games. Armando Benitez allowed a few baserunners in the eighth but escaped unscathed. Franco recorded a rare 1-2-3 ninth inning for his sixth save of the year.

1999 Project: Games 11-13

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youppi.jpgApril 16, 1999: Expos 6, Mets 4

Al Leiter entered the day seeking his first win of the year, and he left still seeking it. The lefty allowed only four hits in the first seven frames, but all four hits came in the fourth inning and resulted in four runs. Leiter limited the damage after that until the eighth, when he surrendered two more runs that put the game away for Montreal. Leiter’s counterpart, Dustin Hermanson, also gave up four hits in seven innings but held the Mets to just one run.

The Mets’ ostensible ace was done in by equal parts weather and bad luck. A one-hour-plus rain delay preceded the game; precipitation had figured so heavily in Leiter’s previous starts that John Franco dubbed him The Rain Man. He also had to deal with a weird hop on a ball hit by Michael Barrett that eluded Robin Ventura and prolonged the Expos’ four-run fourth inning.

“I’d be a little more distraught and a little more concerned if I felt I had no clue,” said a mystified Leiter (0-2). ”But my stuff is as good as it’s ever been in my career. I’m just not making that big pitch to get out of an inning. But I feel too good to get depressed about it yet.”

The Mets made a late bid to make things interesting, with one run in the eighth and two in the ninth on a Todd Pratt homer, but Expos closer/machete enthusiast Ugueth Urbina came in to get the last three outs without further incident.

Rickey Henderson hit a pinch-hit single in the eighth, then immediately asked to leave the game with a tight hamstring. After the game, he wouldn’t commit to making a start in left the following day. “I’ve got to wake up in the morning and see how it feels,” he said.

Continue reading 1999 Project: Games 11-13