Joey's Small Bites: Fearless Forecast For The 2012 Mets

Hey, everyone!  This is Joey Beartran.  After nearly six long months of waiting, the 2012 season is almost upon us.  Are you ready for some baseball?

I hope you’re looking forward to the 2012 season as much as I am.  What do you mean, no?  Surely, there must be something you’re looking forward to seeing the Mets accomplish in 2012?  Still no?

Aren’t you looking forward to the return of Banner Day?  What about the induction of John Franco into the Mets Hall of Fame?  (And no, before you ask, there is no truth to the rumor that Franco will come out of the bullpen during that game to pitch to Lance Berkman in a tight spot.)

Well, I’m certainly looking forward to the 2012 season.  In addition to all the new menu items at Citi Field, (buttermilk-marinated fried chicken with gooey mac and cheese and cornbread?  Yes, please!) the 2012 season has plenty of storylines worth talking about.

Will Johan Santana return to form after missing the entire 2011 season?  How will Ruben Tejada perform at shortstop after replacing one of the most popular players in Mets history?  Is Andres Torres this decade’s Rey Sanchez, merely holding a spot warm until Kirk Nieuwenhuis is ready to take over as the Mets’ everyday centerfielder?  Will the Mets score some runs for R.A. Dickey before he’s forced to write a book about his lack of run support?  And is this the year the Mets finally pitch that first no-hitter?

I don’t need a Magic 8 Ball like my colleague has used in the past to predict the outcome of the Mets season.  Instead, I’ll just consult with my baseball cognoscenti to come up with my predictions for the 2012 Mets.  Baseball predictions are never an exact science, but just like Carlos Beltran’s health, I feel 85% confident that my predictions will become reality for the Mets in 2012.  So what are we waiting for?  Let’s get this prediction party started!

My crystal ball atop a replica of Shea Stadium will help me forecast the Mets' future.

In their 51^st season of existence and third ballpark, a Met will finally hit three home runs in a home game.  This will finally put an end to Gary Cohen and Howie Rose talking about how no Met has ever swatted three longballs at home.  However, they will probably move on to discussing how no right-handed batter has ever collected five hits for the Mets in a home game.  For the record, six Mets have five-hit games at home, all at Shea Stadium.  Four of them swung from the left side of the plate (John Milner, Rusty Staub, Dave Magadan and Carlos Delgado) and the other two were switch hitters (Wally Backman and Jose Reyes).  You can look it up!

Daniel Murphy will break the single season club record for doubles.  Prior to 2012, only six Met hitters had ever accumulated 40 doubles in a season and all of them were either right-handed batters or switch hitters.  Murphy will become the first left-handed swinger to eclipse the 40 double mark (John Olerud is the current single season leader with 39 in 1999) and will then double his pleasure by surpassing one-season wonder Bernard Gilkey, who set the franchise record with 44 two-baggers in 1996.  Gilkey might have surpassed his mark in 1997, but was never the same after being hit in the head by a fly ball during a close encounter at Shea Stadium.

It's keep your eye on the ball, Bernard.  Not keep your head on it.

Jonathon Niese will make the National League All-Star team.  He will also become only the tenth pitcher in team history (after Tom Seaver, Jon Matlack, Jerry Koosman, Dwight Gooden, Sid Fernandez, David Cone, Al Leiter, Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana) and fifth southpaw (Matlack, Koosman, Leiter and Santana were the others) to strike out 200 batters in a single season.  As a result, his new nose will be voted team MVP.

Jason Bay will have his finest season as a Met, hitting .270 with 21 HR and 80 RBI.  Of course, astute fans will realize that these were the exact numbers produced by Jeff Kent in 1993 and will continue to be upset at Bay for not living up to his contract and for reminding them of Kent.  The sensitive Bay responds by promising a Rico Brogna-type season in 2013, wisely remembering that Brogna was actually liked at Shea Stadium despite producing Kent-like numbers during his one full season in New York (.289, 22 HR, 76 RBI in 1995).

Frank Francisco will go 20-for-20 in saves by early July, but when a shocking exposé reveals that he is actually Armando Benitez’s second cousin, once removed, the pressure of having to perform like his family member will cause Francisco to wilt in the summer heat.  Francisco will indeed pitch like Benitez, protecting a few three-run ninth inning leads against the non-contending Pirates and Astros, before blowing saves against the contending Phillies and Marlins to eliminate any hopes of the Mets claiming the second wild card spot.

After spending most of the season below .500, Terry Collins motivates the team by telling them he will end his unintentional tribute to Steve Urkel by not wearing his uniform pants so high, but only if the team can finish the season with a .500 record.  The team responds with a hot streak in September to pull to within one game of .500 entering the season finale in Miami.  But after an unexpected pep talk from his cousin Armando, Frank Francisco blows the save in the team’s final game, resulting in an 80-82 final record (and clinching a playoff berth for the Marlins).  Collins is then seen giving Benitez an undisclosed amount of money after the game, thanking him for his surprise appearance.

Well, that’s it for my 2012 predictions.  Which ones will come true?  Which ones will you wish you had thought of first?  For that, we’ll have to wait until October 3, when the Mets’ 50^th anniversary season comes to a close.  But one thing’s for sure.  The Mets will be a fun team to watch in 2012.

Over the past three seasons, the Mets have gone from being an overpriced team of underachievers to a young team playing above its collective head.  They might not be ready to compete in the National League East yet, but Terry Collins will make sure that all 25 players on the roster give their best effort on the field, with or without the help of Armando Benitez. 

Before long, the Mets will be Amazin’ again.  But for now, ya gotta believe that the team is headed in the right direction, even if that direction is temporarily keeping them near the bottom of the NL East.  So try not to pay too much attention to the standings and enjoy one game at a time.  Somewhere along the way, the Mets will give you a reason to smile.  I’m 85% sure of that.

Long-Term Deals Lead To Long-Term Headaches

In 2006, the Mets needed one more win to reach the World Series.  When they failed to do that, they decided to go shopping for a pitcher that would help them get that win.  Barry Zito was the name on everyone's minds that offseason.  In seven years with Oakland, Zito had an impressive 102-63 record and a 3.55 ERA.  From 2001 to 2006, Zito made at least 34 starts in every season and did not pitch fewer than 213 innings in any of those campaigns.  He was also a three-time All-Star and a former Cy Young Award winner.  But to get him, the Mets would have to pay a pretty penny.  They'd also have to give him many years.

The San Francisco Giants beat the Mets to the punch, signing Zito to a seven-year, $126 million contract.  At the time, it was the largest contract ever offered to a pitcher.  Zito has thanked the Giants for their generosity by going 43-61 with a 4.55 ERA over the first five years of his contract.  The Giants thanked him back by leaving him off the World Series roster in 2010.

It could have been the Mets paying for Zito over the past five seasons.  Before becoming a Giant, Zito's lifetime numbers (102-63, 3.55 ERA, 222 starts, 1,096 strikeouts) looked a lot like what Ron Darling put up with the Mets (99-70, 3.50 ERA, 241 starts, 1,148 strikeouts).  Since then, Zito has been paid an average of $18 million per year to pitch like Al Jackson.  (Jackson went 43-80 with a 4.26 ERA as a Met.)

Fortunately, the Mets didn't give Zito the long-term deal afforded to him by the Giants.  But that hasn't stopped them from giving other deals of four years or more to pitchers.  In fact, over the past decade the Mets have given a number of long-term deals (four years or more) to various pitchers and although they haven't been Zito-esque, they still weren't rewarded the way they expected to be.  Let's take a look at those faulty deals.

2000:  Armando Benitez - Four years, $22 million

After long-time Mets closer John Franco was sidelined with an injury in 1999, Armando Benitez stepped in and became the team's closer.  Benitez helped the Mets end an 11-year playoff drought in 1999, but gave up a game-tying single to Ozzie Guillen (yes, that Ozzie Guillen) in the tenth inning of Game 6, with the Mets two outs away from forcing an improbable Game 7 after losing the first three games of the series.  It would not be the first time Benitez would blow a lead in a crucial game.  However, it didn't stop the Mets from signing him to a four-year deal during that offseason.

In 2000, Benitez was armed with a new contract to go with his blazing fastball.  He set the Mets' single season record with 41 saves and was part of the team's first World Series appearance since 1986.  But he gave up a game-tying three-run homer to the Giants' J.T. Snow in Game 2 of the NLDS, a game eventually won by the Mets in extra innings when John Franco, the man Benitez replaced as closer only a year before, struck out Barry Bonds to tie the series.  Franco couldn't help him in Game 1 of the World Series, as Benitez gave up a walk, two singles and a game-tying sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, blowing yet another save in a crucial postseason game.  The Mets went on to lose the game and the series to the Yankees.

The following season, the Mets didn't make the playoffs, but that didn't stop Benitez from blowing huge saves.  In 2001, the Mets were attempting to make a 1973-like run to the top of the division.  After starting the year with a 54-68 record, the Mets went on a tear, winning 22 of their next 27 games to pull to within 3½ games of the first place Braves.  With the Mets one out away from cutting the lead to 2½ games, Armando Benitez gave up a two-run homer to Brian Jordan and an RBI single to B.J. Surhoff, in a game eventually lost by the Mets in 11 innings, when Jordan hit his second home run in as many at-bats.  A week later, Benitez was at it again, blowing a four-run ninth inning lead by giving up five runs in two-thirds of an inning to the Braves.  By then, Benitez had worn out his welcome in New York, with fans booing loudly every time he came into a game.  With a few months left on his contract in 2003, the Mets were finally able to unload Benitez, trading him to the Yankees who in turn flipped him to Seattle.  Benitez thanked the Mets in 2004 by saving 11 games against them as a member of the Florida Marlins.  He's still waiting for a "you're welcome".

2001: Kevin Appier - Four years, $42 million

After the Mets went to the World Series in 2000, Mike Hampton defected to the Colorado Rockies in order to pay the $121 million tuition bill for their precious school system. (That was his reason for leaving, right?)  Needing to fill the void left by Hampton's departure, the Mets turned to free agent Kevin Appier.  Appier was a 12-year veteran with 136 career wins and a respectable 3.63 career ERA.  Those numbers look good on paper, but most of them were achieved during his first five seasons in the majors.

From 1989-1993, Appier was 59-38 for the Kansas City Royals with a stellar 2.95 ERA.  In the seven years prior to becoming a Met, Appier had gone 77-67 with a 4.11 ERA for the Royals and Oakland A's, hardly the numbers that would earn a player a four-year, $42 million deal in 2001.  But the Mets were desperate, so they overpaid for Appier.

Appier pitched one year for the Mets, going 11-10 with a 3.57 ERA.  Although the ERA was his lowest since 1997, it was still not the kind of season the Mets expected from their $42 million man.  The Mets traded Appier after only one season in New York, sending him to Anaheim for the past-his-prime Mo Vaughn.  Appier won 22 games over the remaining three years of his contract, never pitching again after the deal was done.  Vaughn played 166 games for the Mets, before retiring due to knee problems.  Who says the stomach isn't connected to the knee bone?

2003: Tom Glavine - Four years, $42.5 million

In 2002, the Mets suffered their first losing season since 1996 and first last place finish since 1993.  Much of the blame was placed on their free agent flops, as Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar and Jeromy Burnitz brought underachieving to new depths. But another reason for their failures was their pitching staff.  Al Leiter and Steve Trachsel were .500 pitchers.  Pedro Astacio was the rotation's sole winning pitcher at 12-11.  Jeff D'Amico (another free agent flop) won six games.  And Shawn Estes couldn't hit the strike zone or Roger Clemens.  To fix the pitching mess, general manager Steve Phillips imported one of the best pitchers from the Mets' fiercest rival.

Tom Glavine had always been a thorn in the Mets' side.  Prior to 2003, Glavine had gone 17-7 with a 2.82 ERA in 36 starts against the Mets.  The Mets expected great things from the 242-game winner and got a season reminiscent of another eventual 300-game winner named Tom.  Unfortunately, that season was Tom Seaver's 1983 campaign, a season that Glavine mirrored two decades later by going 9-14 for the Mets.

Although Glavine did up his win by two every year for the next three years, he still failed to pitch like the Hall of Famer he will probably become.  Throughout the length of his original four-year deal (the fourth year was an option year based on innings pitched), Glavine was merely a .500 pitcher, going 48-48.  But the sting of losing to the Cardinals in the 2006 NLCS left Glavine wanting more, so he signed a one-year deal to pitch the Mets back to the playoffs.  He got his chance on the final day of the 2007 season.  How did he do?  Let's just say that instead of being the second coming of Tom Terrific, he became the first coming of Tom Horrific, but at least he wasn't devastated by it.  Too bad the same couldn't be said for Mets fans.

2005: Pedro Martinez - Four years, $53 million

In 2004, the Mets had just come off their third consecutive losing season and new general manager Omar Minaya felt the need to make a big splash (a common theme during his time in New York).  Free agent pitcher Pedro Martinez was the big name on the market and Minaya was adamant about signing him.  Martinez was arguably the best pitcher in the American League during his seven-year stay in Boston, going 117-37 with a 2.52 ERA.  He was also a six-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner, five-time ERA leader and three-time strikeout champion.  But one overlooked fact about Pedro was that in his final season in Boston, his ERA ballooned to 3.90 and his 193 hits allowed were the most he had ever given up in a full season.

Speaking of full seasons, Martinez had only surpassed 30 starts in four of the 11 seasons since he became a full-time starter.  Over his final six seasons in Boston, he had only gone past 30 starts once.  His fragility was the reason why Boston wouldn't guarantee a fourth year, something the Mets eventually did in order to bring him into the fold.

The contract looked like a bargain in 2005.  In his first season in New York, Pedro went 15-8 with a 2.82 ERA and 208 strikeouts.  He also made 31 starts and led the major leagues with his 0.95 WHIP.  However, after winning his first five starts in 2006, Martinez broke down.  And broke down.  And broke down some more.  From May 2006 to the end of his contract in 2008, Martinez went 12-15 with a 5.00 ERA, making only 48 starts, none of which came in the playoffs during the Mets' run to Game 7 of the NLCS.  His contract and injury history made him untradeable, and Martinez did not pitch again in the major leagues until late in the 2009 season, when he helped the Phillies reach the World Series.  Of course.

2006: Billy Wagner - Four years, $43 million

The Braden Looper experiment of 2004 and 2005 failed, to put it mildly.  Although the Mets were headed in the right direction in 2005, improving by 12 wins under first-year manager Willie Randolph, Looper wasn't the right fit for the team coming into late-inning pressure situations.  General manager Omar Minaya felt that a change was needed at the closer position, so he dipped his toe into the free agent waters again.  Enter Billy Wagner, as the Sandman who did his best to give opposing hitters nightmares.

Wagner was outstanding in 2006, becoming the first left-handed pitcher in club history to record 40 saves in a single season.  But Wagner started to fall apart late over the next two seasons.  In 2007, it was his performance on the mound towards the end of the season (6.91 ERA, three blown saves in his final 14 appearances) that helped the Mets give up their seemingly insurmountable lead in the division.  One year later, it was his lack of appearances on the mound that led to the Mets' downfall.

After blowing a save against the Astros on August 2, Wagner did not pitch again in 2008, needing Tommy John surgery to repair his damaged elbow.  Two weeks after Wagner's season-ending injury, the Mets acquired Luis Ayala and he became the club's fill-in closer.  This was the same Luis Ayala who had racked up a whopping nine saves in four seasons with the Washington Nationals.  Two blown saves, two losses and a 5.50 ERA later, Ayala had done more than just blow the lead in various games.  He helped blow the Mets' lead in the division, all while Billy Wagner was collecting his paycheck in the recovery room.  Ayala was gone by 2009, as was Billy Wagner, who made two token appearances after the All-Star Break to up his trade value from getting a bag of golf balls to getting Chris Carter from the Boston Red Sox.  Perhaps the golf balls would have been the better deal.

2008:  Johan Santana - Six years, $137.5 million

A year after the Mets failed to make Barry Zito the highest paid pitcher in baseball, they pulled out their wallets for a far more deserving candidate in Johan Santana.  After completing a deal with the Minnesota Twins for the star lefty (not the first time the Mets sent a bushel of young players to Minnesota for a former Cy Young Award winning southpaw), the Mets signed Santana to a six-year extension, hoping the put the stunning late-season collapse of 2007 behind them.

In his first year in New York, Santana gave the Mets everything they could have wanted and more.  The 29-year-old finished the season with a 16-7 record and a major league-leading 2.53 ERA.  Santana finished third in the Cy Young Award vote and could have finished higher had it not been for the seven games he handed over to the bullpen with the lead that they failed to hold.  (Dang you, Billy Wagner and Luis Ayala!)

In 2009, Santana started the season well (8-3, 2.39 ERA over his first 12 starts), but became an average pitcher over his final 13 starts (5-6, 3.80 ERA) before missing the final six weeks of the season with an elbow injury.  The 2010 season wasn't much different for Santana, who had a fine start (8-5, 2.79 ERA), followed by a sluggish finish (3-4, 3.47 ERA) and another season-ending injury.  However, this injury ended two seasons, as Santana has not thrown a baseball in a major league game since then.  Santana is entering his fifth season with the Mets with a 40-25 career mark in New York, which isn't bad, but the Mets probably expected him to be in the franchise's top ten in wins by now (Steve Trachsel currently rounds out the top ten with 66 wins as a Met).  Instead, Santana is still chasing guys like Craig Swan (59 wins), Mike Pelfrey (50 wins), Al Jackson (43 wins) and Pat Zachry (41 wins).  That's what $137.5 million buys you in the Mets' world.

The Mets have flushed a lot of their money down the toilet by signing pitchers to long-term deals.

In 2007, The Mets wouldn't offer Barry Zito the long-term commitment the Giants did, and rightfully so, as Zito has been one of the worst free-agent signings in baseball history.  However, that doesn't mean the Mets haven't given away (literally) their money to other top pitchers over the past decade.

Since the advent of the 21st century, the Mets have signed six pitchers to deals of four years or more.  Armando Benitez almost made it through the four years, but not before having to tell his kids that the correct pronunciation of their last name wasn't Boo-nitez.  Kevin Appier was traded away after one season for a player who retired before Appier's contract was up.  Tom Glavine was a .500 pitcher throughout his four-year deal, which of course translated into another one-year contract that the Mets and their fans would like to forget.  Pedro Martinez might have ushered in the "New Mets" before Carlos Beltran coined the phrase, but really ushered out his own career after one successful campaign.  Billy Wagner celebrated a division title in the arms of Paul LoDuca, but then had arm troubles of his own.  And Johan Santana still has a chance to earn some of his record-setting contract, but has thus far given the Mets one start in the month of September since becoming the last Met pitcher to record a win at Shea Stadium in 2008.

Bad contracts of four years or more have not been limited to pitchers (see Castillo, Luis) and not all bad contracts doled out to pitchers have been for four years or more (see Perez, Oliver).  But ever since the Mets signed Al Leiter to a four-year deal following the 1998 season, they haven't had much success with long-term contracts for pitchers.  Perhaps Sandy Alderson knows what he's doing by not giving out any contracts of more than two years to a pitcher since his arrival in 2010.  Either that or he's well-read on how Mets pitchers have fared after signing long-term deals in the 21st century.  My guess is on the latter.  Then again, like an Armando Benitez fastball in a crucial spot, it's kind of hard to miss.

M.U.M.'s The Word (Most Underrated Mets): Turk Wendell

Quick. Name a middle reliever for the Mets. Any middle reliever. You probably won't have an immediate answer for that one. Had I asked for a starting pitcher, Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden or Johan Santana might have instantaneously rolled off your tongue. Had I asked for a closer, I might have heard Tug McGraw, Jesse Orosco or Francisco Rodriguez within a second of asking the question. Middle relief? "Let me get back to you on that one" and "Uhhhh" might have been the most popular choices.

Middle relief is perhaps the most unglorified position in the major leagues. Similar to an offensive lineman in football and a defenseman in hockey, middle relievers do their jobs while the players at the more high-profile positions get all the accolades.

One such middle reliever pitched for the Mets for three full seasons and parts of two others. Although his time in New York was relatively short, his contributions to the team and his outgoing, sometimes quirky personality endeared him to Mets fans long after he played his final game at Shea Stadium. His given name was Steven, but Mets fans will always remember him as Turk.

No one wanted the ball more than Turk Wendell during his days with the Mets.

Steven John Wendell, better known as Turk, was traded by the Cubs to the Mets during the 1997 season. At the time of the deal, the Mets were competing for the National League wild card, but were leading the major leagues with 22 blown saves. The Cubs, with the second worst record in the National League, had fallen out of contention almost from the time "Play Ball" was uttered on Opening Day. In the deal, the Mets acquired Wendell and Mel Rojas (who had saved 66 games over the previous two seasons) to bolster their bullpen. They also received Brian McRae, who had played brilliantly in 1996 (.276, 17 HR, 37 SB, 111 runs scored), but had underachieved in 1997. The cost for this trade was fan-favorite Lance Johnson, the spark plug who shattered the single-season club records for hits (227) and triples (21) in 1996.

But needs were needs, and the Mets thought the addition of two quality arms for the bullpen would offset the loss of their best centerfielder and leadoff hitter since Mookie Wilson and Lenny Dykstra shared those duties a decade earlier. Mel Rojas didn't bring the goods, finishing his Mets career with a 5.76 ERA over 73 games before being ostracized by the fans and eventually the front office. Turk Wendell, on the other hand, performed better than anyone could have expected.

It didn't start out well for Turk as a Met. In 13 games after the trade, he gave up runs in eight of them. Over the final two months of the 1997 season, Wendell's ERA was 4.96. However, the Mets still hadn't found a role for Turk, as he mostly pitched in games the Mets were already losing.

Although the Mets allowed Turk to pitch in closer games in 1998, his performance on the field over the first two months of the season remained unchanged from his late 1997 showing. Through games of May 20, Wendell had pitched in 13 games and his ERA was a bloated 6.89. At the same time, the Mets were also underperforming with a 22-20 record. Wendell, who would have pitched in every game if he was allowed to do so, was sent to the bench, not pitching again until June. But once he returned, he was a new man.

From June 1 to August 31, a three-month span, Wendell was virtually unhittable. In 37 appearances, Turk pitched 41 innings, allowing only 26 hits. Opposing batters hit only .181 against him over those three months. In addition, Wendell held the opposition scoreless in 34 of the 37 appearances, resulting in a 1.10 ERA. But Turk was at his best when he was cleaning up other pitchers' messes.

From June 20 to August 28, Wendell allowed an inherited baserunner to score once. Once. Only 10% of the runners he inherited came around to score, which was a major reason why the Mets were leading in the wild card race in September. In that month of September, it seemed as if Turk Wendell was always on the mound. While the Mets were struggling to hold on to their wild card lead, Wendell pitched in 11 of the team's final 12 games, including nine straight from September 14 to September 23. During those final two weeks, Wendell was at his best. He allowed only eight hits in 15 2/3 innings, holding opposing hitters to a .151 batting average, .170 slugging percentage and .224 on-base percentage. His ERA was 1.15 and he stranded all five baserunners he inherited.

The Mets eventually fell short of the playoffs in 1998, but Wendell finally had a role. He was now the main right-handed reliever in a tremendous set-up crew, with Dennis Cook (8-4, 2.38 ERA in 1998) providing the left-handed relief. If 1998 was the year Turk Wendell "arrived" as a Met, 1999 was the year he set up permanent residence in the hearts of Mets fans.

In 1999, the Mets were poised to make the playoffs after falling just short of their goal in 1998. They had arguably the best offense in team history, featuring speed (Rickey Henderson and Roger Cedeño stole 37 and 66 bases, respectively), power (Edgardo Alfonzo, John Olerud, Mike Piazza and Robin Ventura combined for 143 doubles, 118 HR and 448 RBI) and a team-record .279 batting average, which included five regulars hitting over .300 and one falling just short (John Olerud hit .298, but walked a franchise record 125 times).

The Mets needed that offense to make up for their lack of quality starting pitching. Nine pitchers made at least one start for the Mets in 1999 and not a single one of them finished the season with an ERA under 4.00 (see list below):

• Al Leiter (32 starts, 4.23 ERA)
• Orel Hershiser (32 starts, 4.58 ERA)
• Masato Yoshii (29 starts, 4.40 ERA)
• Rick Reed (26 starts, 4.58 ERA)
• Octavio Dotel (14 starts, 5.38 ERA)
• Kenny Rogers (12 starts, 4.03 ERA)
• Bobby Jones (9 starts, 5.61 ERA)
• Jason Isringhausen (5 starts, 6.41 ERA)
• Allen Watson (4 starts, 4.08 ERA)

With so many starters giving up their share of runs, it was incumbent upon the relief squad to keep opponents off the scoreboard. After all, the Mets couldn't win every game by the score of 8-7. Fortunately for the Mets, they had the best foursome in baseball in their bullpen. The quartet of Turk Wendell, Dennis Cook, Armando Benitez and John Franco turned most games into six-inning affairs. If the starter could keep the game close going into the late innings, the Mets were confident that their bullpen would keep the opposition off the scoreboard long enough for the hitters to tack on a few insurance runs. Although the Mets had four dependable relievers who could pitch in any situation, the one who was called upon the most was Turk Wendell.

In 1999, Turk Wendell became the first pitcher in franchise history to appear in 80 games, breaking the old mark of 76, which was set by sidearmer Jeff Innis in 1992 (Armando Benitez also surpassed Innis' mark by appearing in 77 games). Wendell began the '99 season on fire, picking up a win, a save and nine holds through May 15. His 1.57 ERA was also tops on the team. Wendell then suffered through a rough period over the next few weeks that saw his ERA climb by almost two runs.

After the Mets lost to the Yankees on June 5 for their eighth consecutive defeat, the team dipped below .500 at 27-28. As a result of their poor play, the team fired just about every coach they could find, sparing manager Bobby Valentine. Out were pitching coach Bob Apodaca, bullpen coach Randy Niemann and hitting coach Tom Robson. Despite being allowed to remain as manager, Bobby Valentine knew that if he didn't right the ship, he would be next on the chopping block.

''In the next 55 games, if we're not better, I shouldn't be the manager. I'd (like) a sustained run; something like 40 and 15 would be good.''

Over the next two months, the Mets proved their manager's words to be prophetic, as they won 40 of their next 55 games to jump back into contention. One of the main reasons why the Mets went on such a hot streak was because Turk Wendell overcame his struggles and once again became a stopper in the mid-to-late innings.

Turk pitched in 27 games during the team's 40-15 stretch, striking out more batters (27) than he allowed hits (24). His ERA over the two month period was 2.08, as he picked up a win, two saves and eight holds. In addition to his own low ERA, he helped keep his teammates' ERA down as well, allowing only three of 13 inherited baserunners to score. Twice in a span of nine days, Turk came into a game with the bases loaded and one out. Naturally, he got out of both jams without allowing any of those runners to score.

Despite all of Turk's heroics, the Mets still found themselves two games out of the wild card lead with three games left to play. Basically, the Mets needed to sweep the Pittsburgh Pirates and hope for help elsewhere. The Mets did exactly what they needed to do at Shea Stadium, and Turk Wendell played a major part in their season-ending sweep.

On October 1, Turk came into the game in the eighth inning to face Pirates' cleanup hitter Kevin Young. With the tying and go-ahead runs on base, Wendell struck out the Pirates' main power threat. Although the Pirates eventually sent the game into extra innings with a run-scoring infield hit off John Franco, the Mets would prevail on Robin Ventura's walk-off single in the 11th inning. Wendell was not needed in the middle game of the series, as Rick Reed dominated the Bucs with a three-hit shutout. But Turk was definitely needed in the season finale, and he responded with one of his most memorable performances.

Before a packed house at Shea, the Mets were tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the wild card lead. A win would guarantee that the Mets would be playing more baseball in 1999 and would also erase the disappointment felt by Mets fans following the team's season-ending five-game losing streak the previous year that left them one game short of ending their decade-long playoff drought. Fans came to celebrate, but what they got was an unexpected pitchers' duel between Orel Hershiser and Kris Benson.

Through six innings, both teams had managed to put one run on the board. With the season on the line, the Mets gave the ball to Turk Wendell to start the seventh inning. After a season in which Wendell became the most-used reliever in franchise history, it was in this, his 80th appearance of the season, that he would have to be at his sharpest. With the weight of the season on his shoulders, Wendell delivered. He retired the first eight batters he faced, before giving up a two-out single to Kevin Young in the ninth inning. Armando Benitez relieved Wendell after Young's single, and was able to get out of the inning, although not before allowing Young to steal second and issuing a walk to Warren Morris.

The Mets went on to win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Melvin Mora scampered home after Brad Clontz uncorked a wild pitch with the bases loaded. Although Benitez was given credit for the victory, the true "winner" for the game was Turk Wendell. Without his clutch performance, barely working up a sweat in his 34-pitch outing (25 strikes, 9 balls), the Mets would not have been in a position to win the game in their final at-bat. It was perhaps the best relief appearance in a crucial game since Sid Fernandez's effort in Game 7 of the 1986 World Series.

The next day, Al Leiter pitched a two-hit shutout against the Reds in Cincinnati to clinch the wild card, sending the Mets to Arizona for their first postseason game since 1988. Once again, Turk Wendell would be front-and-center for the Mets, getting the win in Game 1 of the NLDS after Edgardo Alfonzo's ninth-inning grand slam off Bobby Chouinard gave the Mets the lead. Wendell would also pitch a scoreless inning in the Mets' Game 3 victory over the Diamondbacks. After Todd Pratt's series-ending home run in Game 4, it was on to Atlanta for the NLCS, where Wendell would pitch in all but one game.

After giving up a run in Game 1 of the NLCS, Wendell kept the Mets close in Game 2 with 1 2/3 scoreless innings of work. The Mets were never able to mount a rally in the second game, losing to the Braves by the score of 4-3. Wendell didn't pitch in the Mets' Game 3 loss, but found himself on the mound in Game 4 in one of the key spots of the series. The Braves had just taken a 2-1 lead on back-to-back homers by Brian Jordan and Ryan Klesko. The consecutive blasts ruined what had been a dominant pitching performance by Rick Reed, who had faced the minimum 21 batters through the first seven innings. Reed was taken out of the game by manager Bobby Valentine and Turk Wendell was brought in to prevent more balls from flying over LaGuardia's airspace. Wendell proceeded to retire the next three batters, including the final two on groundouts, keeping the Braves' lead at one run. The Mets went on to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, allowing Wendell to pick up the victory and keeping the Mets alive to see another day.

Game 5 of the NLCS will forever be known as the game in which Robin Ventura shocked the Braves with his 15th-inning "Grand Slam Single", but before Ventura could come through with his heroics, Turk Wendell played a key role in the game. With the game tied at 2 in the seventh inning, Orel Hershiser hit Bret Boone with a pitch. The Braves replaced Boone with the speedy Otis Nixon and sent notorious Met killer Chipper Jones to the plate. Jones had always done well against the Mets, but never more so than in his 1999 MVP campaign. In 12 regular season games against the Mets, Jones hit .400, with 7 HR and 16 RBI. Not too many Mets pitchers had had success against Jones in 1999, but one did. Turk Wendell.

Chipper Jones had two official at-bats against Wendell during the 1999 regular season, going 0-for-2 against Turk with a strikeout. So who did Bobby V turn to when Chipper Jones came up to bat in the seventh inning with the go-ahead run on base? You guessed it. Turk Wendell came hopping in from the bullpen to face "Larry" and made the Mets fans in attendance "chipper" with excitement when he struck out Jones. Although Jones was the only batter Wendell faced (he was removed in the middle of subsequent batter Brian Jordan's at-bat), his short outing kept the Braves at bay and helped set up the drama that unfolded eight innings later.

Unfortunately, the Mets could not ride the momentum of their Games 4 and 5 victories into Atlanta, as the Braves took Game 6 when Kenny Rogers (one of the many starting pitchers for the Mets with an ERA over 4.00 in 1999) came into the game in relief and allowed a bases-loaded walk to Andruw Jones in the bottom of the 11th inning. Turk Wendell tried his hardest to keep the Mets in the game, pitching a 1-2-3 fifth inning, before loading up the bases (including an intentional walk) with two outs in the sixth. Unlike Wendell, who was a master at not allowing inherited runners to score, the same could not be said for Dennis Cook, as the lefty relieved Wendell in the sixth inning and promptly gave up a two-run single to pinch-hitter Jose Hernandez.

The Mets fell short of the World Series in 1999, but the taste of October baseball made them hungry for more. Nothing short of a World Series appearance in 2000 would be acceptable for the Mets. For the team to advance to the Fall Classic in 2000, every player had to step up their game, and that included Turk Wendell. Could he improve in 2000? Oh yes. And he took the rest of the team with him.

Turk Wendell went 8-6 in 2000, with a 3.59 ERA, but that didn't tell the whole story. In 77 appearances, Turk pitched 82 2/3 innings, allowing only 60 hits. For the season, opposing batters hit only .206 against him, but at Shea Stadium, Wendell was completely unhittable. In 39 appearances at Shea, batters hit a measly .161 against Turk. Wendell went 5-2 at home, with a 1.99 ERA. As a result, the Mets cruised to their second consecutive wild card berth, finishing only one game behind the Braves in the NL East.

Compared to the 1999 Division Series and League Championship Series, the 2000 NLDS and NLCS was a breeze for the Mets. The Mets won seven of the nine games they played in the National League playoffs, with Wendell pitching in four of them. As he did in the 15-inning game in the 1999 NLCS, Wendell played a key early role in the 13-inning third game of the 2000 NLDS against the San Francisco Giants.

Turk Wendell was hunting for a pennant in 2000 and would stare down anyone who got in his way.

With the Mets trailing 2-1 in the seventh inning, Dennis Cook allowed a runner to reach third base with two outs. Not wanting to fall behind by more than one run, Bobby Valentine brought in his favorite IRS representative (Inherited Runners Stranded), Turk Wendell, to put out the fire caused by his defective Cook. Wendell got out of the jam by striking out Jeff Kent on three pitches. It would mark the second consecutive season that Wendell recorded a crucial strikeout against the season's eventual MVP winner, as Kent took home the 2000 NL MVP Award, a year after Chipper Jones did the same. Unlike his 1999 appearance against the Braves, this time Wendell was allowed to stay in the game for another inning, striking out two more batters in a scoreless eighth inning. The Mets would go on to win the game in the 13th inning on Benny Agbayani's walk-off home run against Aaron Fultz.

Wendell was not only great in Game 3 against the Giants; he was outstanding throughout the National League playoffs. In his four appearances against the Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals, Wendell allowed only one hit, walking two (one intentionally) and striking out seven in only 3 1/3 innings. He also picked up the win in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Cards. After the Mets defeated the Cardinals in Game 5, they were on to World Series for the first time since 1986, but this time, Turk wasn't as infallible as he had been in the National League playoffs.

Game 1 of the 2000 World Series against the Yankees might be known more for Timo Perez being thrown out at home after incorrectly assuming that Todd Zeile's double was going to leave the ballpark and for Armando Benitez's blown save in the ninth inning, but despite those game-changing moments, it was Turk Wendell who was on the mound when former Met Jose Vizcaino picked up the game-winning single in the bottom of the 12th inning. It would be the only blemish for Wendell in 13 postseason appearances for the Mets in 1999 and 2000.

Dang it, Timo! Had you not dilly-dallied around the bases, perhaps you could have spared Turk Wendell from suffering his only postseason loss with the Mets!

Wendell would get some modicum of revenge in Game 3 of the World Series, entering the game in the seventh inning with the score tied at 2. He struck out the first two batters he faced, including Vizcaino, before walking Derek Jeter and being replaced on the mound by Dennis Cook. Jeter was eventually stranded at second base and the Mets went on to win the game when Benny Agbayani and Bubba Trammell drove in the tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth inning. Wendell would not get called upon to pitch again in 2000, as the Mets lost Games 4 and 5 of the World Series to the Yankees.

With the Mets improving from year to year, it was not unreasonable to believe that they would return to the playoffs in 2001. However, the Mets underachieved with a capital "U", finding themselves 13½ games out of first place on August 17 with a 54-68 record. By then, general manager Steve Phillips had already decided to dismantle his high-salaried team. One of the casualties of the fire sale was Turk Wendell.

On July 27, the Mets traded the popular reliever, along with his bullpen mate, Dennis Cook, to the Philadelphia Phillies. In return, the Phillies sent minor leaguer Adam Walker and journeyman pitcher Bruce Chen to the Mets. Walker never made it to the major leagues, retiring after playing his final game for the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2003. Chen won a total of three games for the Mets, and has been racking up frequent flyer miles since his exodus from New York in 2002, pitching for the Expos, Reds, Astros, Red Sox, Orioles, Rangers and Royals.

Since the trades of Turk Wendell and Dennis Cook in 2001, the Mets have failed to put together a set-up crew similar to the one they employed during their late '90s, early '00s renaissance. In 2007, the Mets collapsed because they did not have dependable relievers who could bridge the gap between the starting pitchers and closer Billy Wagner. Had they been able to trot out a pitcher as effective as Turk Wendell was at keeping inherited runners from scoring, perhaps the Phillies' NL East dynasty would never have occurred as early as it did.

And what about those inherited runners? How did Turk do over his career as a Met? As this simple chart shows, he was among the best at stranding runners:

• 1998: 26 inherited runners, 10 scored (62% left stranded)
• 1999: 46 inherited runners, 12 scored (74% left stranded)
• 2000: 40 inherited runners, 6 scored (85% left stranded)
• 2001: 33 inherited runners, 10 scored (70% left stranded)

Note: In 13 appearances as a Met in 1997, Wendell did not come into a game with men on base.


If the double play is a pitcher's best friend, then Turk Wendell was a close second. From 1997-2001, Wendell allowed only 38 runners to score out of the 145 he inherited. That's an astounding 74% of inherited runners left stranded. By not allowing the men who were already on base to score, Wendell's teammates were able to keep their ERA down, but more importantly for the Mets, Wendell was able to keep the team in more ballgames, which contributed to more victories.

Need more proof on how clutch Turk Wendell was? From 1997-2001, Turk was brought into games a total of 46 times with at least two men on base. In 31 of those 46 games (more than two-thirds of the time), Turk did not allow any of those runners to score. In fact, in the Mets' pennant-winning season of 2000, Wendell was called upon to pitch 12 times with a minimum of two men on base. In 10 of those 12 games, he allowed none of the inherited runners to score and in the other two games, only one of those runners scored. There was never an instance during the 2000 season in which Turk Wendell came into a game and allowed multiple inherited runners to score.

When looking at MVP candidates for the Mets' 1999 and 2000 playoff teams, it's easy to look at an everyday player (Mike Piazza, Edgardo Alfonzo, Robin Ventura) or a starting pitcher (Al Leiter, Rick Reed, Mike Hampton). They're the ones who get the game-winning hits or pitch brilliantly over seven or eight innings. But the glue that kept those teams together was the middle relief corps and one man in particular did his job as effectively as any of the big hitters or front of the line starters did.

As a middle reliever, Turk Wendell was never going to pile up lofty win and save totals. In three full seasons (1998-2000) and parts of two others (1997, 2001), Wendell only won 22 games and notched 10 saves. But when you look beyond the wins, beyond the saves, beyond the tangible numbers you can find on any stat sheet, you'll notice that Turk Wendell was among the best middle relievers in baseball during his entire stay in New York.

If there was a runner on third base with less than two outs, it was Turk Wendell time. If there were multiple runners on base, Turk would leave them stranded. If an MVP candidate came up in a tight spot in the playoffs, Wendell wouldn't back down from the challenge.

Yes, Turk Wendell was a little - how shall we say this politely - different. Even his idiosyncrasies had idiosyncrasies. He'd brush his teeth between every inning. He ate licorice like there was no tomorrow. He'd never step on the foul line, preferring to hop over it as he was walking to and from the pitcher's mound. He would never catch a ball thrown at him by an umpire. He would wave to the centerfielder before each inning and not throw a pitch until he received a wave back. He was quite fond of the number "9", wearing uniform No. 99 and asking the Mets for a $9,999,999.99 contract after the 2000 season (too bad it wasn't after the '99 season).

Turk Wendell's contract demands made one particular vampire happy.

Despite being labeled an eccentric, he was also one of the most humble and caring human beings to ever put on a Mets uniform. Although he never wanted recognition for his volunteer and charity work, Wendell was honored with a Good Guy Award (presented by the New York Press Photographers Association) in 2000. He has also been an ardent supporter of American troops overseas, visiting Iraq and Afghanistan on multiple occasions.

Turk Wendell played for such a short time in New York, but worked his way into the hearts of many Mets fans. He was a key piece for the only Mets teams to make back-to-back playoff appearances. Yet despite his exceptional body of work for the Mets, Turk is still forgotten whenever people recall the best players of the Bobby Valentine era.

He was the only Met pitcher to win three postseason games during their two-year playoff run in 1999 and 2000, going 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA in 13 appearances. In five of those 13 appearances, he came into the game with men on base. Only once did he allow a baserunner to score (out of eight runners).

Simply stated, Turk Wendell is undoubtedly the most underrated middle reliever in Mets history, if not one of the most underrated players to wear the orange and blue (and sometimes black). The Mets finished with a winning record in each of the five seasons that Wendell suited up for them, and that's not a coincidence. Other players might have received the glory and the accolades for being part of one of the most successful eras in franchise history, but that's fine with Turk Wendell. He was just happy to be one of the guys.



Special note: There are two M.U.M. pieces left in the series, but I wanted to thank one particular reader for her invaluable assistance, especially for this piece, which was our "reader's choice" post. She gave me a sharp lead with her guided choice. Thank you for your continued readership and for your support, loyalty and generous contributions to Studious Metsimus over the years! You know who you are!


Note: M.U.M.'s The Word is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting some of the best Mets players of all-time who never got the recognition they deserved because they weren't the biggest names on the teams they played for. For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:

January 3, 2011: John Olerud
January 10, 2011: Sid Fernandez
January 17, 2011: Jon Matlack
January 24, 2011: Kevin McReynolds
January 31, 2011: Bobby Jones
February 7, 2011: John Stearns
February 14, 2011: David Cone
February 21, 2011: Rusty Staub
February 28, 2011: Rick Reed
March 7, 2011: Ron Taylor

A Double Dose of Dickeypedia

There are times when R.A. Dickey's words of wisdom cannot be contained. They can come at you from every direction, just like an Oliver Perez fastball. So it should come as no surprise that Bill Madden's article on the Mets' knuckler/wordsmith in today's Daily News touched upon a topic that made us consult Dickeypedia.

In 2005, R.A. Dickey was coming off his second consecutive poor season for the Texas Rangers. As a result, Dickey was asked by the Rangers to consult knuckleball guru (and former Ranger pitcher) Charlie Hough so he could learn the nuances of the nomadic pitch. In discussing Hough's influence on Dickey's career-saving pitch, the Mets' righty professed:

"Charlie taught me the rudiments of the knuckleball. He changed my grip to help with the consistency and make it mechanically more compact."

Later on, Dickey discussed how he went to Atlanta a few years after studying under Charlie Hough. There he met the Pai Mei of knuckleball instructors, Phil Niekro. After some time in the film room, Niekro made some minor changes to Dickey's delivery, evolving the pitch into what it has become.

Dickey came out of the meeting with Niekro as a new man with a devastating new pitch. So overjoyed was Dickey that he let his extensive vocabulary describe the feeling:

"Only a few people have the knuckleball vernacular. But as Phil told me, the one design of the pitch is to get people out."

R.A. Dickey learned how to throw the knuckleball so he could get people out. However, his penchant for spitting out SAT words as if they were sunflower seeds has gotten people's dictionaries out as well.

For those who only got credit on their SAT for spelling their names correctly, here are the definitions for the words "rudiments" and "vernacular":

rudiments:

• 1. the elements or first principles of a subject.
• 2. a mere beginning, first slight appearance, or undeveloped or imperfect form of something.

vernacular:

• 1. the native speech or language of a place.
• 2. the language or vocabulary particular to a class or profession.

R.A. Dickey showed us the proper way to use those words in sentences. To show you how NOT to use these words properly, we decided to contact former Met closer (and receiver of fan wrath) Armando Benitez to give us his input. In less time than he used to take to blow a crucial save, Benitez came up with these wild pitches of wisdom.

"I don't understand why Mets fans were always booing me. I always went out there and gave 100%. If that's not good enough, then tough. I won't be disrespected, so they better not be rudiments to me."

If that isn't enough for you, Benitez decided to reflect on one "disrespectful" moment in his Mets career. You might remember it as the ninth inning, game-tying, three-run homer he gave up to San Francisco's J.T. Snow in the second game of the 2000 NLDS.

"After that game, I was confronted by a Mets fan who was at the game, but couldn't get tickets. He decided to watch the game from across McCovey Cove. He told me that from where he was, he didn't even need vernaculars to see that I had just served up a meaty pitch for Snow to hit."

If only Armando Benitez had consulted Dickeypedia first, he might not have made a fool of himself when talking about Mets fans who weren't happy with his version of 100%. Then again, we are talking about the guy who put the "BS" in Blown Save...

That's all for this edition of "Dickeypedia Word of the Week". Be here next time as we proceed with your education while former Mets continue to suffer their humiliation.

How To Cope With Being Oliver Perez

Oliver Perez. The two words strung together in a sentence are enough to make a Met fan long for the days of Mel Rojas. To say Oliver Perez has been ineffective this since signing his three-year, $36 million contract would be an understatement. Ineffectiveness would be an improvement over the guano we've gotten from El Perez-idente.

Here are some quick numbers on the Mets' $36 million man:

Since signing his deal, Oliver Perez has won a total of three games, or three more than I have. In 110 innings, he has allowed 224 base runners, of which 95 reached via the walk and seven were hit by pitches. On every tenth pitch or so, when Oliver Perez has found the strike zone, opposing hitters have sent that pitch into orbit. Perez has allowed 21 home runs in those 110 innings, including the home run by Brian McCann last night.

Oliver Perez was sent to the bullpen and made his first relief appearance for the Mets on May 19. Since becoming a reliever, his ERA is 9.28. He's faced 57 batters and 28 of them have reached base (.491 on-base percentage). Perez has thrown a total of 233 pitches to those 57 batters, of which only 30 of them were called strikes. A whopping 107 of those pitches were called balls. Yet the Mets continue to keep this man on their active roster, paying him what has amounted to approximately $24,000 per strike. If a starting pitcher making 35 starts in a season got paid $24,000 per start, he'd earn $840,000 per year, or more than double what Cardinals' starting pitcher Jaime Garcia is being paid this year (Garcia is 12-6 with a 2.33 ERA and a $400,000 annual salary). Perez is earning that amount FOR EXTRA STRIKE HE HAS THROWN!

Let's just say that if Oliver Perez were spotted going to the bathroom at Citi Field, he'd be booed there as well (and then he'd miss the urinal). However, Ollie should take comfort in that he's not the first Met to be booed just for being alive. Studious Metsimus caught up with some of these former Mets to ask them for their feelings on what it was like to be booed during their time in New York.

Armando Benitez

I don't remember them booing me. In fact, I remember one time in an extra-inning game, I balked Jose Reyes to second base, then balked him home, then gave up a walk-off homer to Carlos Delgado. I didn't hear a single boo that night. Oh wait, I was on the Giants then?

Braden Looper

Why would you think they were booing me? All I heard every time I came into a game was LOOOOOOOO, because my last name is Looper.



Art Howe

I'm still confused why fans ever booed me. I was a great manager for the Oakland A's. I even gave Eric Valent a shot to play when no one else did and what did he do? He hit for the cycle! The Mets respected him so much that they didn't give away his #57 jersey to anyone until this guy named Johan came over.

Kaz Matsui

They had two reasons to boo me. First, I could never live up to the legend that was Tsuyoshi Shinjo. Second, I disgraced the #25, a number that belonged to Mets superstar and World Series of Poker fan Bobby Bonilla. Maybe I should make it up to him by finally allowing him to show me the Bronx.

Bobby Bonilla

I can't believe the Mets would give my number to that Mat-phooey guy. They should have retired my number! I was the MVP of the 1993 team! Now leave me alone. I have a card game to focus on.







So Oliver Perez is not alone when it comes to being booed at Shea Stadium/Citi Field. It's not just the guys above who have been booed. We tried getting in touch with George Foster but he was doing some motivational speaking for the Doug Sisk Fan Club. Mel Rojas was also unavailable because he was tending bar at Paul O'Neill's Pub.

Oliver Perez may not be wanted in New York, but he is not the first player to go through this. Ollie can look on the bright side. Next year, he'll probably be paid about half a million dollars per sunflower seed he spits out.

Joey's Soapbox: Why The Frick Did Jon Miller Get The Award Gary Cohen Deserved?

For years, Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen sat in Shea Stadium's Upper Deck seats like the one I'm sitting in to the left. He was just a Mets fan like you and me, voicing his pleasure (and occasional displeasure) at the goings-on about 130 feet beneath his seat on the Shea Stadium grass.

In 1989, Gary Cohen was fortunate to get one of those seat upgrades I've always wanted. However, instead of moving from the Upper Deck to the Field Level (and getting shown on DiamondVision), he was upgraded to the radio booth when he began broadcasting Mets games for WFAN, joining the voice of summer, Bob Murphy.

Had it not been for Gary's debut in the broadcast booth, 1989 would only have been remembered for the Father's Day trade that sent 1986 World Series heroes Lenny Dykstra, Roger McDowell and a hotfoot to be named later to the Philadelphia Phillies for Juan Samuel and his Soul Glo.


Gary Cohen continued to work in the radio booth until he was selected to become part of the SNY broadcast team when the network broke into the majors in 2006. He joined two other members of the 1986 World Champion Mets (Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez), neither of whom was traded for a hair care product like Lenny and Roger (although rumor has it Keith would have gladly taken that trade rather than playing for the Cleveland Indians in 1990).

Over the past twenty-one seasons (nearly half of the Mets' existence), Gary Cohen has been at the mike for some memorable games. From the joy of the Grand Slam Single to the agony of the 2007 and 2008 season finales, Gary has called it all for the Mets and their fans. His professionalism is second-to-none and his passion for the Mets shines through every time he utters his trademark "outta here" home run call.

Recently, Studious Metsimus wrote a piece encouraging our readers to vote for Gary Cohen to receive the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence. (See link here, o beloved SMFs) Unfortunately, our grand guru Gary did not receive the award. (Sufferin' succotash!) That honor went to Jon Miller.

That's right, SMFs. Jon Miller is the recipient of the 2010 Ford C. Frick Award. To those of you unaware of the fact, Jon Miller is NOT a friend of Studious Metsimus or my colleague. In fact, the first blog my colleague ever wrote on the Mets was a post on Mets Merized Online called "When Jon Miller And Joe Morgan Speak, Mets Fans DON'T Listen".

In it, he described the sentiment felt by a number of Mets fans about their distaste for Miller and his broadcasting team. I personally listen to the Mets game on WFAN whenever the team is playing on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball telecast.

Miller does have an extensive broadcasting résumé, beginning his career doing radio play-by-play for the Oakland Athletics in 1974, the year after the A's defeated the "Ya Gotta Believe" Mets in the World Series. He has also worked for the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants. He is most known to a national baseball audience through his work for ESPN and their Sunday Night Baseball game of the week.

Yes, his body of work is impressive, yada, yada, yada. But we're Mets fans. We don't like it when a broadcaster who's supposedly good enough to win the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award is constantly annoying Mets fans in a way that only Doug Sisk and Armando Benitez could (and perhaps Mel Rojas, especially after facing Paul O'Neill).

All I have to say are two words: Carlos Bel-TRON.

Mets fans immediately cringe when they hear those words because they know I'm talking about the way Miller mangles Don Carlos' name in a feeble attempt to pronounce it properly.

Gary Cohen knows his Mets but he also knows baseball extensively. His analysis of game situations is unmatched and his colorful commentary keeps fans entertained long after Mark Reynolds hits another 450-foot home run into the second deck at Citi Field, a place where no Castillo has gone before. (or maybe he did...)

Why the Frick is Jon Miller going to Cooperstown in late July instead of Gary Cohen? Beats me. Maybe the 2009 season cursed anyone related to the Mets, including Gary Cohen with the voting for the Ford C. Frick Award.

I'd rather look on the bright side. The ceremony takes place on a weekend. That means Jon Miller will probably not be broadcasting the Sunday Night Baseball game for ESPN that weekend. I might be able to watch that game for a change.