Category Archives: 1999 Project

1999 Project

1999 Project: Games 135-140

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

99_ordonez.jpgSeptember 3, 1999: Rockies 5, Mets 2 (10)

The Mets began their homestand with an ugly incident reminiscent of their early season struggles. Rey Ordonez and backup shortstop Luis Lopez got into a fistfight while on the team bus to Shea, following their flight back from Houston. The fisticuffs were bad enough to give Ordonez a six-stitch gash over his eye.

The cause of the fight was unclear, although it was rumored that Ordonez tried to defend Jorge Toca (a fellow Cuban defector) against some rookie hazing. Both players kept the party line repeated by GM Steve Phillips, that they’d patched things up between them and there were no hard feelings. A few days later, after the dust settled, teammates would say they were surprised it took so long for someone to deck the abrasive Ordonez.

However, there were definitely hard feelings involved with a disappointing extra-inning loss to the Rockies. The Mets managed a mere two runs two runs against Colorado starter Jamey Wright, wasting two separate scoring opportunities with a man on third and only one out. Orel Hershiser pitched well enough to keep them in the game, and Pat Mahomes, Dennis Cook, and Armando Benitez combined to throw three scoreless innings.

Turk Wendell came on for the tenth and did not fare well, giving up a one-out walk to Todd Walker and a single to Dante Bichette. The righty had suffered a bit of a rough patch recently; ironically, it came after Bobby Valentine tried to give him a few days’ rest in the hopes of keeping his arm fresh down the stretch. (“The more I pitch, the better I get,” Wendell told reporters later. “Those six days off killed me”)

Valentine called on ex-Rockie Chuck McElroy to clean up Wendell’s mess. He struck out Todd Helton, but walked Vinny Castilla (who’d been 0 for 7 against McElroy previously) to load the bases. That brought up Met-for-a-minute Jeff Barry, who made his first, brief major league appearance for the team in 1995, then languished in the minors for the next four seasons.

“I felt real good for some reason before the game,” Barry said afterward. “I had a real good feeling about today.” He had reason to, since he went 3-for-3. His third hit was a bases-clearing double off of McElroy that put Colorado on top to stay. The loss dropped the Mets 4.5 games out of first in the NL East, their largest deficit since July, though a loss by the Reds maintained their four-game lead in the wild card standings.

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1999 Project

1999 Project: Games 129-134 (West Coast Swing #2)

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

dbacks_future_uni.jpgAugust 27, 1999: Mets 6, Diamondbacks 3

This marked the second of three West Coast trips the Mets would take at the end of the 1999 season. First up, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Despite being in their sophomore season, not only were the Diamondbacks in first place in the NL West, but at the start of this series they enjoyed a 7.5 game lead over the Giants and were poised to run away with the division.

In his brief career, Octavio Dotel had the uncanny habit of alternating good starts with so-so ones. In his last outing at Shea, he was less than impressive against the Cardinals. So naturally, in the series opener in Arizona, he was lights out. In eight innings of work, Dotel allowed just four hits, one run, and struck out six. D-Backs ace Randy Johnson, usually not one to dole out compliments (or say much of anything at all), predicted a “bright future” for the young righty.

The Mets took a lead two batters into the game, when Rickey Henderson led off with a double and Edgardo Alfonzo singled him home. Offensively, they were led by Rey Ordonez (of all people), who hit an run-scoring groundout in the second inning and a two-RBI single in the sixth. They tacked on two runs against the Arizona bullpen; Alfonzo scored from third when reliever Brian Anderson balked in the seventh, and later came home on a Mike Piazza double in the ninth.

That gave the Mets a comfortable 6-1 lead. Dotel had thrown 110 pitches through eight innings, and had also shouldered a considerable workload increase during his first professional season. This prompted Bobby Valentine to bring in Billy Taylor to pitch the ninth. Taylor had struggled thus far in his brief Mets tenure, and he struggled here, giving up consecutive singles to Jay Bell, Luis Gonzalez, and Matt Williams. Bell came around to score on Williams’ hit, and the Mets’ lead was down to 6-2, with runners on first and third and nobody out.

So Valentine was forced to bring in Armando Benitez to clean up Taylor’s mess. Benitez struck out Erubiel Durazo, got Steve Finley to pop up to the catcher, and, after an RBI single to ex-Met Kelly Stinnett, induced a pop up from Andy Fox to end the game.

A nervous Dotel watched the ninth inning from the bench, foregoing his postgame workout routine. That led to a curious sight in the visiting clubhouse after the game–Dotel addressed the media while pedaling away on a stationary bike. He’d made another case for staying in the starting rotation, though Rick Reed–who’d just made a less-than-encouraging rehab start for Norfolk–insisted he was ready to return to the club.

In other injury news, Bobby Bonilla started in the same game as Reed as a DH and went 1 for 4. He would rejoin the team once rosters expanded on September 1, although few people associated with the team (and even fewer fans) seemed anxious for him to come back.

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1999 Project

1999 Project: Games 123-128

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

mcgwire_milk.jpgAugust 21, 1999: Mets 7, Cardinals 4

A six-game homestand for the Mets began with a rainout, which necessitated a doubleheader against the Cardinals. The inclement weather prompted Bobby Valentine to reorder his starting rotation. Orel Hershiser was set to start the series opener, but after warming up before a game that was never played, he would instead pitch in game two of the twinbill.

Meanwhile, the Braves won both of their games while the Mets were idle, meaning the two teams were once again tied for first. That made this a big homestand for the Mets, and not just because The Mark McGwire Show was in town.

Kenny Rogers started the first game of the series and did not fare well. He loaded the bases in the top of the first on two singles and a walk, then gave up a two-RBI single to future Met Fernando Tatis. Mike Piazza responded with a three-run homer in the bottom half, but Rogers couldn’t hold on to the lead, giving up three straight hits and a sac fly in the top of the third to put the Cards back on top, 4-3. Rogers was done after three innings, and was later revealed to be suffering from back spasms.

Once again, long man Pat Mahomes came to the rescue, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings that allowed the Mets to come back. They scratched out a run in the bottom of the third on a Shawon Dunston groundout to tie the game, then went ahead on a Rickey Henderson RBI single in the sixth. Two runs in the eighth (coming on another Dunston RBI groundout and a Benny Agbayani RBI single) padded their lead.

After Mahomes issued a one-out walk to J.D. Drew in the top of the seventh, Valentine turned to Turk Wendell to get McGwire out. No one seemed to know why, but Wendell was kryptonite for McGwire; he’d faced Big Mac six previous times and retired him in each instance. Despite a wild pitch that moved Drew to second, Wendell struck out McGwire to extend his history of inexplicable success against him.

He also worked around a one-out single to pitch a scoreless eighth inning. Armando Benitez closed out the game in style by striking out the side in order. The victory helped the Mets keep pace with Atlanta, who beat the Padres that day.

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