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1999 Project

1999 Project: Games 104-109 (Flirting with First)

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

wrigley.jpgJuly 30, 1999: Mets 10, Cubs 9

The Mets began a six-game road trip by outlasting the Cubs in a sweltering game at Wrigley. A heat index of 114 knocked out local TV transmission and some of the traffic lights outside the stadium. Even players who hailed from the Caribbean and South America said it was some of the most oppressive weather they’d ever played in. “Just thank God there was no Astroturf,” Mike Piazza said after the game, “or they would have been taking corpses off the field.”

Masato Yoshii had his shortest outing of the year, lasting only 1 1/3 innings and allowing seven runs. After giving up a 465-foot bomb of a homer to Sammy Sosa in the first, Yoshii was knocked out of the game by a brutal second inning in which he gave up seven consecutive hits (including a single by starter Steve Trachsel and back-to-back triples by Mickey Morandini and Sosa).

Pat Mahomes came on in long relief and held the Cubs to two hits and one run in 4 2/3 innings, allowing the Mets the chance to come back. He also helped spark that come back with an RBI double that sent Trachsel to the showers in the fourth. The Mets took an 8-7 lead thanks to two-run rallies in the third, fourth, and fifth, but a solo shot from Jose Hernandez in the bottom of the fifth tied the game up. Rickey Henderson responded with a homer of his own in the top of the sixth, and John Olerud hit another to give the Mets a 10-8 lead.

Brought in for the save, Armando Benitez got two quick outs, then gave up a double to Morandini and an RBI single to Sosa that shaved the Mets’ lead to one run. Mark Grace followed with a single that moved the tying run to third. Pinch hitter Tyler Houston hit a shot off of Benitez’s right leg, and the pitcher could not locate the ball at first. After a few helpful screams from Piazza, Benitez threw Houston out at first to end the game.

The reward for their perserverence (other than the win, of course): first place, thanks to a Braves loss to Philly. The Mets hadn’t been in first so late in a season since 1990.

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1999 Project

1999 Project: Games 98-103 (AKA At Home They Feel Like Tourists)

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

99_kenny_rogers.pngJust as the Mets returned to Shea, the front office made its long-rumored deal for a starter, sending two minor leaguers to Oakland in exchange for Kenny Rogers. “The Gambler” was a more-than-capable lefty, but he’d already done an unsuccessful tour of duty with the Yankees that convinced many he was not New York Material. He also had made few friends in the Bay Area, punching a teammate in the face over a card-game-related dispute and destroying a bunch of bullpen phones at Candlestick Park (or 3Com Park, as it was called in its last year of hosting baseball). The A’s were not shy about telling the world he would not be missed.

Regardless, in Oakland Rogers regained the ace-like form he lost in the Bronx. He thrived in Texas when Bobby Valentine was the skipper there. The Mets hadn’t given up much to obtain him (of the two minor leaguers dealt to the A’s, only Terence Long would have a serviceable career). And former teammate/fellow Texan Andy Pettite vouched for him.

It wasn’t as if the Mets had many other options. Dream deals for true aces like Curt Schilling and David Wells proved prohibitively expensive and unlikely, given the dearth of talent in their farm system. Internally, they closed one road when they converted Jason Isringhausen into a reliever. And as good as Octavio Dotel had been, they were clearly reluctant to rely on a rookie in the midst of a heated pennant race.

Plus, Bobby Jones looked unlikely to return any time soon. On the shelf since May 23 with a shoulder injury, he threw an unsuccessful bullpen session that proved he was not ready for a rehab assignment.

So The Gambler found himself in the Mets’ rotation, which meant a possible trip to the bullpen for Orel Hershiser or Rick Reed. The Mets began a homestand that would end well in the win column (5-1) but be overshadowed by an opposing player’s reception, and a promotion so stupid it would have made Bill Veeck blanch.

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1999 Project

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.

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