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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.

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

1999 Project

1999 Project: Games 17-19

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

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.