One Season Wonders: George Stone

The 1972 Mets began the season with the tragic loss of manager Gil Hodges to a fatal heart attack.  New manager Yogi Berra took over the team in April and led them to the best start in franchise history.  By late May, the Mets had a 6½-game lead in the NL East.  On June 3, the Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves by the final score of 5-2 to improve their record to 31-12.  But within that victory, the Mets suffered a significant loss, as Rusty Staub was hit by an errant pitch thrown by Braves' reliever George Stone.

Coming into that fateful game, Stone had been one of the worst pitchers in the National League.  He had faced 62 batters in 1972 and allowed more than half of them (32) to reach base.  Opposing batters were hitting a whopping .491 against him over the first two months of the season causing his ERA to balloon to 11.70.  Ironically, his control wasn't that much of a problem, as he had walked only five batters and had yet to hit anyone with a pitch.  Then Rusty Staub's hand got in the way and everything changed for the 1972 Mets.

Prior to the series against Atlanta, Staub was putting up MVP-caliber numbers for the Mets.  In the team's first 41 games, Staub was hitting .323 with seven home runs and 27 RBI.  He also had an excellent eye at the plate, walking 20 times while striking out on ten occasions.  As a result, his on-base percentage was among the league leaders at .403.  His power stroke also placed him near the top of the league in slugging percentage, as Staub was slugging .506 at the time.

Staub continued to play after getting hit in the hand by Stone, but his performance suffered.  On June 18, after playing six innings against the Cincinnati Reds, Staub was taken out of the game and missed a month of action.  At the time, the Mets were still in first place in the NL East, albeit by a slim half-game margin.  Staub came back one month later, played the entire game in an extra-inning affair against the Los Angeles Dodgers, then was promptly placed on the disabled list, where he missed another two months of action.  By the time he came back, the Mets had fallen to third place in the NL East and were 16½ games behind the eventual division champion Pittsburgh Pirates.  Although the Mets weren't mathematically eliminated until the day after Staub returned to the lineup, their season was lost back in June at the hands of George Stone.

The strong start by the 1972 Mets gave fans reason to believe that their team was going back to the World Series for the second time in four seasons.  They would have to wait another year for that to happen and they would have an unexpected figure play a role in that march to the pennant, a figure who they felt cost them that opportunity in 1972. 

It's Amazin' how one wonderful season can turn boos into cheers.

Soon after the completion of the 1972 season, the Mets felt they needed an upgrade at second base.  Ken Boswell had been with the Mets since 1967 and became their primary second baseman in their championship season of 1969.  But after hitting .273 for the team in 1971, Boswell became an automatic out in 1972, batting .211 in 100 games and reaching base at a .274 clip.  A change was needed at second base and the Braves were making their second sacker available.  On November 2, 1972, the Mets got their man, acquiring three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner Felix Millan from Atlanta for pitchers Danny Frisella and Gary Gentry.  Millan wasn't the only former Brave to come to New York in the deal, as George Stone made the trek up north to complete the deal.

George Heard Stone had had some success with the Braves early in his career.  From 1968 to 1970, Stone was used as both a starter and reliever for Atlanta, going 31-25 with three saves and a respectable 3.60 ERA.  After falling to 6-8 in 1971, Stone hit rock-bottom in 1972, going 6-11 with a 5.51 ERA.  He also didn't make many friends in New York with his season-changing hit by pitch of Rusty Staub.  But Stone was going to be a Met in 1973, and the team decided to put him in the bullpen to start the season.  That role didn't last for very long.

When the 1973 season began, Jim McAndrew was slated to be the team's fourth starter, behind Tom Seaver, Jon Matlack and Jerry Koosman.  But after his best year in the majors in 1972 (11-8, 2.80 ERA), McAndrew struggled mightily to start the 1973 campaign.  Although he was 3-3 in his first six starts, McAndrew was carrying a 4.73 ERA.  He was also not pitching deeply into games, averaging barely more than five innings per start (32⅓ IP in six starts).  McAndrew earned a save pitching in relief in a 19-inning marathon victory over the Dodgers in late May, but then pitched horribly against the same Dodgers just two days later, allowing five runs on nine hits and three walks in only four innings of work.  A change was needed in the rotation and manager Yogi Berra gave George Stone a chance to redeem himself after a poor 1972 campaign in Atlanta.  It ended up being one of the best decisions made by the team in 1973.

On June 2, 1973, George Stone made his first start for the Mets after making seven relief appearances over the first two months of the season.  Stone was pitching brilliantly out of the pen, allowing only one run in 15 innings of work.  His best performance in relief came in the 19-inning game against the Dodgers in which Jim McAndrew collected his first and only save of the season.  Stone was the winning pitcher in that game, pitching six scoreless innings against Los Angeles.  The extended relief appearance prepared Stone for his first start a week later, this time against the San Diego Padres.  Stone pitched well against the Friars, giving up three runs in six innings.  He allowed only five hits and walked no one.  Unfortunately, the Mets were shut out by the Padres, 3-0, pinning Stone with his first loss of the season.

Stone would make five more starts over the next month, going 3-2 with a 3.32 ERA, which was respectable, but not great.  However, by then Jim McAndrew had completely lost any opportunity to return to the starting rotation, losing four consecutive decisions and watching his ERA spin out of control to 5.83.  Except for one start in August (another loss), McAndrew was in the bullpen for good, leaving the fourth spot in the rotation to George Stone.  It was an opportunity Stone would take full advantage of.

On a staff that featured Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Jon Matlack, it was George Stone who proved to be the most unbeatable pitcher during the second half of the 1973 season.

From July 14 to August 6, Stone started four games for the Mets, pitching nearly eight innings per start and allowing exactly two earned runs in each of the four starts.  The Mets won all four games, with Stone receiving credit for three of the wins.  Stone suffered a rare poor outing on August 11, a game in which he received a no-decision after he allowed six runs (four earned) in only one-third of an inning to San Francisco.  However, that would be the sole blip in the George Stone machine.  He followed up his outing against the Giants with 8⅔ innings of one-run ball against the Big Red Machine, with the only run scoring on a ninth-inning RBI single by future Hall of Famer Johnny Bench.  Again, Stone was credited with a no-decision as the Mets went on to lose the game, 2-1, in ten innings.  That no-decision streak would stretch to four in his next start (Stone got a no-decision in the Mets' victory on August 6 to start the streak), but the Mets did manage to win that game against the Dodgers, 4-3.

By late August, the Mets were in last place, a dozen games below .500.  However, despite their ugly 58-70 record, the Mets found themselves only 6½ games behind the first place Cardinals, who at 65-64 were leading the mediocre National League East.  Even after Tug McGraw told everyone on the team that "Ya Gotta Believe", it was difficult for anyone to believe that the Mets were going to play anything but the spoiler role in the National League East.  But George Stone, despite spoiling the Mets' season in 1972, was not going to be happy with just spoiling other teams' chances in the NL East.  He was absolutely a believer in the 1973 Mets and through his performances over the final month of the regular season, he was going to make everyone a believer, too.

At 58-70, no one was taking the Mets seriously in the lackluster NL East.  But George Stone still had something to prove to Mets fans.  On the night of August 27, 1973, Stone took the Shea Stadium mound against the San Digeo Padres, the team that beat him in his first start of the season.  This time, Stone would not be denied.  He pitched seven strong innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while walking no one.  Stone also helped the Mets at the plate in that game.  With the Mets trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Stone reached first on a catcher's interference call to lead off the inning.  As fate would have it, it would be Rusty Staub who drove him in on the strength of a grand slam home run later in the inning.  Stone's victory on that late August night at Shea would prove to be the game that turned the Mets' season around.

From August 27 to the end of the season, the Mets won 24 of their last 33 games, passing every team in the National League East on their way to an unlikely division title.  George Stone's victory against the Padres began a streak in which he won five consecutive starts.  After defeating San Diego in August, Stone's next four starts were among his stingiest of the season, as he allowed five runs in 27⅓ innings for a 1.65 ERA.  Those starts were only part of an historic second half of the 1973 season for Stone.  Beginning on July 14, Stone won eight consecutive decisions and gave up three runs or less in 12 of his final 13 starts.  By season's end, Stone was 12-3 with a 2.80 ERA and the Mets were National League East champions for the second time in five years.

It was on to the playoffs for the Mets, where they would face the powerhouse Cincinnati Reds in the NLCS.  After taking a two games to one lead over the Reds in the best-of-five series, George Stone was tabbed to help the Mets win the pennant in Game 4.  Stone was brilliant early on, allowing only two hits and one walk in six shutout innings.  But the Mets were also struggling at the plate, managing only one hit off Reds' starter Fred Norman and reliever Don Gullett through the first six innings.  But that one hit had produced the only run of the game, as the Mets took a 1-0 lead into the seventh inning.  However, one swing off the bat of Tony Perez changed all that, as his homer off Stone tied the game at 1.  Stone was taken out of the game and the Mets eventually lost in 12 innings.  Despite the no-decision, it was Stone's 13th game in 14 starts in which he allowed three runs or less.  The Mets did win the pennant the following night at Shea Stadium and they went on to play the defending World Series champion Oakland Athletics for the 1973 title, a series that may have been decided when Yogi Berra decided NOT to use George Stone.

Perhaps Yogi Berra wouldn't have been so stone-faced in this photo if he had let Stone face the A's.

Against the Oakland A's, manager Yogi Berra decided to go with a three-man rotation, sending Jon Matlack, Jerry Koosman and Tom Seaver to the mound in Games 1, 2 and 3, while using George Stone out of the bullpen.  The move paid off in Game 2 of the World Series, even though it looked as if Berra was never going to use Stone in the game.

The Mets dropped Game 1 of the World Series by the final score of 2-1, so they weren't going to take any chances in Game 2.  After scoring four runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 6-3 lead, Berra brought in closer Tug McGraw to pitch in the bottom of the sixth.  McGraw got through the sixth unscathed, but gave up a run to Oakland in the seventh.  With a well-rested Stone in the bullpen, Berra left McGraw in the game to pitch the eighth inning.  After retiring the A's in order in the eighth, McGraw was allowed to pitch the ninth inning.  Unfortunately, Oakland tied the game with two runs in the ninth to send the game into extra innings.  Stone was ready to pitch in extra innings, but Berra wasn't ready to give up on his closer.

Tug McGraw had pitched two scoreless innings in Game 1 of the World Series.  One day later, he was not as fortunate, allowing three runs in four innings of work.  Despite the extra work, McGraw was summoned to start the tenth inning against the A's.  His next two innings were spectacular, as the Tugger retired all six batters to face him, with four coming via the strikeout.  The Mets finally responded in the 12th inning, scoring four times to take a 10-6 lead.  Incredibly, McGraw was allowed to start his seventh inning of work, but this time he didn't make it through the inning.  After allowing the first two batters in the 12th to reach base, George Stone was finally summoned to replace McGraw.

Pitching for the first time since Game 4 of the NLCS, Stone gave up an RBI single to his first batter, Jesus Alou, then issued a one-out walk to Mike Andrews to load the bases.  The A's had the bases loaded, veteran pinch-hitter Vic Davalillo representing the winning run at the plate and All-Star Bert Campaneris on deck.  Stone had worked his way into a jam, but reared back and retired Davalillo on a pop-up to second baseman Felix Millan.  With the bases still loaded, he then retired Campaneris on a groundout to shortstop Buddy Harrelson, earning the save and allowing the Mets to tie the series at one game apiece.

The Mets returned to Shea Stadium and won two of the three games at home, taking a 3-2 series lead back to Oakland.  Needing one win to capture their second title, the Mets decided to go with Tom Seaver on three days rest in Game 6, bypassing the opportunity to use George Stone, who had only pitched one inning over the first five games of the series.  It was a move that would forever be questioned by Mets fans everywhere, as Seaver allowed single runs in the first and third innings and the Mets lost, 3-1.

By using Seaver instead of Stone in Game 6, the Mets were left without their ace in Game 7 and were forced to use second-year starter Jon Matlack to pitch the first seventh game in Mets history.  Matlack was knocked out early, allowing four runs in 2⅔ innings.  By the time the Mets came to bat in the seventh inning, the score was 5-1 and the season was slipping away.  George Stone was finally brought into the game in the bottom of the seventh to stop the bleeding, which he did, pitching two scoreless innings.  However, he would be the last Met to take the mound in 1973, as the Mets were only able to push across one run in the ninth inning, losing the game and the World Series.

If George Stone had started Game 6, this might not have been the only ring won by the Mets in '73.

Although he had a surprisingly good regular season, Stone was barely used in the postseason.  He started one of the five games in the NLCS and was used in relief twice in the World Series, allowing a combined one run on seven hits in 9⅔ innings.  Despite the unfortunate ending to the 1973 season, the Mets expected to contend for the division title in 1974 with George Stone joining Seaver, Koosman and Matlack as part of a formidable rotation.  Instead, they formed the nucleus of one of the most disappointing teams in Mets history.

Stone started 13 games for the Mets in 1974, fighting through injuries and finishing the year with a 2-7 record and a 5.03 ERA.  After finishing one win short of a championship in 1973, the Mets finished 20 games under .500 in 1974.  They did recover to win 82 games in 1975, but Stone did not recapture his 1973 magic, going 3-3 with a 5.05 ERA in 11 starts.  Although he was only 28 years old, Stone's career as a Met was over.

Four years after breaking the hand of Rusty Staub, George Stone was traded to the Texas Rangers for (ironically) a pitcher named Hands.  Neither player involved in the trade ever pitched in the major leagues again.

George Stone was disliked by Mets fans when the team acquired him five months after effectively ending their 1972 season.  But the boos directed at Stone quickly turned to cheers as the 1973 season progressed.  Stone was one of the most unexpected success stories in 1973, helping the Mets advance to the World Series after they had been left for dead in the National League East.  His .800 winning percentage led all Mets pitchers and his 2.80 ERA was second only to Tom Seaver.

Although Stone only won five more games as a Met following the 1973 season, he left an indelible mark in the minds of Mets fans who were rooting for another miracle to occur.  When George Stone was traded to the Mets prior to the 1973 season, he was basically a throw-in in a deal meant to strengthen the middle of the infield.  But he became a key cog in helping his teammates and the fans believe that miracles can happen where you least expect them to.  He may have had only one good season in New York, but what a wonderful season it was for both George Stone and the Mets.


Note: One Season Wonders is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets who had one and only one memorable season in New York.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:
 
January 2, 2012: Bernard Gilkey
January 9, 2012: Terry Leach

If Johnny Damon Were Derek Jeter

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog on the Mets to bring you this PSA (pretty solid argument). In case you're that guy in the Geico commercial who lives under a rock, let me announce to you that Derek Jeter collected his 3,000th hit yesterday. He became the second player to reach that milestone by hitting a home run (Wade Boggs was the other) and the second player to collect five hits in the same game (after Craig Biggio accomplished the feat in 2007).

We're not trying to diminish the fact that Jeter got to 3,000 hits. It's a fantastic lifetime achievement and he deserves to be congratulated for it. But there's another player who's approaching the milestone that doesn't get nearly the love and the accolades reserved for a player of Jeter's stature. He's a contemporary of Jeter and has career numbers that are very similar to the Yankee shortstop. So tell me something. Why doesn't Johnny Damon get the respect bestowed upon Derek Jeter?

Whether on the Royals, A's, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers or Rays, Johnny Damon has been as consistent as they come.

Both Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon made their major league debuts during the 1995 season, with Jeter playing his first game for the Yankees on May 29 and Damon collecting his first at-bat for the Kansas City Royals on August 12. The following season (1996), both became everyday players on their respective teams.

Let's go through their career numbers to compare the two players.

As of July 9, Derek Jeter has 3,003 hits, which include 481 doubles, 62 triples and 237 HR. Johnny Damon has 2,663 hits, racking up 502 doubles, 104 triples and 224 HR.

Derek Jeter has scored 1,727 runs and has driven in 1,159 runs. Johnny Damon has crossed the plate 1,606 times and has 1,088 RBI.

Jeter has also reached base via the walk 972 times, while Damon has drawn 955 bases on balls. However, Jeter has struck out 1,605 times during his career, while Damon has fanned on 1,182 occasions.

In addition, Jeter has stolen 331 bases in 419 attempts (79.0% success rate), while Damon has stolen 392 bases in 493 attempts (79.5% success rate).

Derek Jeter's career batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage are .313/.383/.450, respectively, while Johnny Damon holds a career .287/.354/.436 mark in those categories.

Jeter has grounded into 241 double plays in his career, while Damon has been victimized by a twin killing only 91 times.

If you look at the individual regular season numbers, their careers are very similar, with Jeter leading Damon in some categories, Damon leading Jeter in other categories, and the two of them having almost identical numbers in several others. Now let's dissect those same numbers a little differently over their entire careers.

Derek Jeter has scored 100+ runs in 13 different seasons. Johnny Damon has accomplished that feat 10 times, with two other seasons in which he scored 93 and 95 runs. In those two seasons (2007 and 2008), Damon missed 21 games (93 runs in 141 games) and 19 games (95 runs in 143 games).

Jeter has had eight seasons with at least 30 doubles. Damon has 11 such seasons, including nine consecutive years in which he compiled 30 or more doubles (1998-2006).

Derek Jeter has never reached double digits in triples in any season (he hit a career-high nine triples in 1999). Damon has hit at least 10 triples in a season three times, including a league-leading 11 three-base hits in 2002.

Both Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon have hit at least 20 HR in a season three times, and both have career highs of 24 HR in a single season, with Jeter accomplishing his high mark in home runs in 1999 and Damon hitting his career-high in 2006 and again in 2009.

Although Derek Jeter's career-high in RBI is 102, while Damon has never driven in more than 94 runs in a single season, Jeter has surpassed the 80 RBI mark in a season only three times, while Damon has done it four times.

In the patience category, Jeter has walked as many as 60 times in a season eight times. Damon has 11 such seasons. On the opposite extreme, Jeter has struck out at least 99 times in a dozen different campaigns. Why is 99 such an important number? Because Johnny Damon has never struck out that many times in a single season. His career high in strikeouts in 98, accomplished in 2009 as Jeter's teammate with the Yankees.

Johnny Damon beat 'em, then he joined 'em.

Speaking of teammates, let's look at those four years (2006-2009) when Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon shared the same clubhouse in the Bronx. During that time, these were Derek Jeter's numbers, followed by Johnny Damon's stats:

• Derek Jeter: .325 batting average, .394 on-base percentage, .453 slugging percentage, 415 runs scored, 130 doubles, 11 triples, 55 HR, 305 RBI, 90 SB, 249 BB, 377 K.

• Johnny Damon: .285 batting average, .363 on-base percentage, .458 slugging percentage, 410 runs scored, 125 doubles, 15 triples, 77 HR, 296 RBI, 93 SB, 268 BB, 344 K.

Jeter had a favorable edge in batting average and on-base percentage while they were in the same batting order and had a few more runs scored (five), doubles (five) and RBI (nine) than Damon. However, Damon had more triples, home runs, stolen bases and walks than Jeter, while striking out 33 fewer times.

Before you say "so what?", let it be known that during the four years used in the above comparison, Jeter played in 47 more games than Damon (613 for Derek, 576 for Johnny) and had nearly 300 more plate appearances (2,813 for Jeter, 2,525 for Damon), meaning that Damon would more than likely have had far batter cumulative numbers than Jeter during the time they were teammates, and would also have surpassed him in doubles, runs scored and RBI, the three categories Jeter had a slight edge in.

In the two years since they stopped being teammates, Damon has surpassed Jeter in almost every offensive category, including batting average, on-base percentage and doubles, as shown below:

• Derek Jeter: .270 batting average, .337 on-base percentage, .365 slugging percentage, 153 runs scored, 43 doubles, four triples, 13 HR, 91 RBI, 26 SB, 87 BB, 139 K.

• Johnny Damon: .274 batting average, .344 on-base percentage, .412 slugging percentage, 123 runs scored, 51 doubles, nine triples, 17 HR, 92 RBI, 18 SB, 89 BB, 134 K.

Once again, Jeter had more plate appearances in those two seasons (1,056) than Damon (968), so the categories in which Damon trailed Jeter might be much closer if Damon had had the opportunities that Jeter was afforded, and of course, the categories in which Damon already had the edge over Jeter would have a much greater difference.

Derek Jeter has five World Series rings to Johnny Damon's two. Jeter has also been selected to 12 All-Star teams to Damon's two and has finished in the top 20 in the MVP voting nine times to Damon's four. Jeter has accomplished these awards and accolades despite having very similar career numbers to Johnny Damon.

So why doesn't Johnny Damon get the respect he apparently deserves? Derek Jeter has played his entire career in a powerful Yankee lineup. Johnny Damon played from 1995-2000 in Kansas City and played one season in Oakland. Those teams were not exactly known for being offensive juggernauts. Johnny Damon was one of the few bright spots on those teams. (Carlos Beltran was another on those late '90s Royals teams. See, I was able to mention a Mets player after all.)

Yet, despite his success in Kansas City and Oakland, he did not receive any attention at all from a baseball standpoint until he became a self-proclaimed "idiot" in Boston. It was in Boston that he became an All-Star for the first time and it was with Boston that he won his first championship, hitting .467 in the 2004 ALCS and smacking the game-changing grand slam against Derek Jeter's Yankees in the seventh and deciding game.

Johnny Damon will always be a legend in Boston, even if they think he's an idiot for becoming a Yankee.

Derek Jeter is a future Hall-of-Famer, of that there is no doubt. But when the topic of Johnny Damon's Hall of Fame candidacy comes up, all you hear is crickets or an occasional snicker. I'm not saying Johnny Damon is a better player than Derek Jeter. Both players are special in their own way.

But if you consider their entire careers, it would be difficult to say that Johnny Damon pales in comparison to the Yankee captain. Derek Jeter has had fantastic career numbers, both in the regular season and the post-season. But Johnny Damon is not that far behind. By the time both players call it a career, their numbers will be almost identical across the board.

At his current pace, Johnny Damon has a chance to reach the 3,000 hit plateau by the time he's 39 (in two seasons). Ordinarily, that warrants an automatic call to Cooperstown, yet hardly anyone would mention Johnny Damon and Hall of Fame in the same sentence.

Perhaps it's time for the people who have showered their love and respect upon Derek Jeter to take a look at one of his contemporaries. Johnny Damon might not have played his entire career in New York as Jeter has, but he's been as big a star as the Yankees' brightest player since 1995. Whether you agree or disagree with me, it's time to recognize the achievements of Johnny Damon. He's certainly earned it.

Mets vs. A's: An Important Series Then, An Important Series Now

In 1973, the Mets and the A's squared off in the World Series, with the Mets winning three of the first five games before losing Games 6 and 7. (Dang you, Yogi Berra, for not starting well-rested George Stone in Game 6 and holding Tom Seaver on regular rest for Game 7.) The two teams did not meet again until interleague play made it possible in 2005. At the time, the A's were the only team the Mets had never faced in the regular season.

The Mets lost the first two games in Oakland before Mr. Anna Benson won the series finale to avoid getting swept by the Athletics. At the time of the series, the Mets were hovering around .500 while the A's were a miserable 25-37.

Two years later, the Mets and A's played their first and only regular season series at Shea Stadium, with the Mets sweeping the series in dominant fashion, outscoring Oakland in the three games by a combined 20-3 score. At the time, the Mets were struggling, having lost 13 of 16 and the A's were treading water in the AL West.

Tonight, the Mets open up the first-ever series against Oakland at Citi Field, with New York once again defining mediocrity and the A's keeping up with them in standings (The Mets are 35-37, while the A's are 33-40). However, this year, it is the team from the East Bay that is hot (winners of five straight, including a three-game sweep over the World Champion Giants), while the team from Flushing Bay is not (losing three of their last four).

The Mets must take advantage of the Athletics' poor play on the road. Oakland is 14-24 away from their newly-renamed O.co Coliseum. However, the Mets haven't exactly been believing in home-field advantage themselves, going 16-19 at Citi Field after finishing with a 47-34 home record in 2010.

With the Mets playing 13 of their next 16 games away from Citi Field following their three-game set with the A's, it is imperative that they do well in this series. Not only will it give them momentum going into their upcoming interleague series against the Rangers and Tigers, but it could finally push them above the elusive .500 mark, which has only been a rumor since they last found themselves above the break-even point during the first week of the season when they were 3-2.

The Mets may or may not keep Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran at the trade deadline. Little Jeffy Wilpon has said that their standing in the playoff hunt could determine whether or not they add payroll at the trade deadline. After losing two out of three to the struggling Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim near Disneyland in Orange County over the weekend, the Mets have looked more like pretenders than contenders.

The future of the team is at stake over the next six weeks. Doing well against last-place Oakland at Citi Field is the first step towards determining what will happen to the team after the trade deadline. The Mets believed in 1973 and took that belief all the way to the World Series, where they lost to Oakland. The Mets can't lose to the A's this time. It's not the Fall Classic, but it might be just as important for the franchise to come out on top in this series.

Izzy Lightning In A Bottle?

Jason Isringhausen was one of three members of Generation K, the triumvirate of young pitchers who were supposed to be the '90s version of Seaver, Koosman and Matlack. Isringhausen had the most success after his initial call-up to the majors in 1995, going 9-2 with a 2.81 ERA in 14 starts.

However, injuries took their toll on Izzy and he was dealt to Oakland at the trade deadline in 1999 for reliever Billy Taylor. Taylor's career with the Mets lasted all of 18 games, as his 8.10 ERA probably had something to do with the length of his stay in New York. Meanwhile, Isringhausen went on to become an All-Star closer with the Athletics and Cardinals, saving 293 games over the course of his career.

Had Isringhusen stayed in New York as a reliever (he picked up one save for the Mets in 1999), perhaps Mets fans would never have been subjected to watching Armando Benitez, Braden Looper or Luis Ayala putting the BS in Blown Save. However, that was then and this is 2011, a year that has brought Izzy's baseball odyssey back to New York.

This has happened before, when a pitcher who made a splash with the Mets went elsewhere, made the postseason repeatedly, including a World Series championship, and then came back at the end of his career in an attempt to close out his career where it all began.

David Cone pitched for the Mets from 1987-1992 and had some of the best seasons of his career in Flushing. But after being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for the underachieving Jeff Kent and Ryan Thompson (whose sole claim to fame was hitting a grand slam off John Smoltz in 1994 that preceded a bench-clearing brawl when Smoltz intentionally hit mighty mite John Cangelosi with his next pitch), Cone had his greatest success in the majors. He won the Cy Young Award in 1994 with Kansas City, threw a perfect game as a member of the Yankees in 1999 and won a total of five World Series rings (one with Toronto in 1992 and four with the Yankees in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000). He then came back to the Mets in 2003 and surprised everyone by making the team out of Spring Training. However, his comeback was short-lived, as he went 1-3 with a 6.50 in five games (four starts).

Jason Isringhausen, on the other hand, pitched for the Mets from 1995-1999 before his trade to Oakland in July of 1999. Because of the trade, he missed out on the Mets' first playoff appearance in 11 years. But beginning the following year (2000), Isringhausen would become a staple in the playoffs.

In 2000, the A's won the AL West and in 2001, Oakland made the playoffs as a 102-win wild card team. After signing with the Cardinals as a free agent, Izzy helped St. Louis win the NL Central division title in 2002. The Cardinals failed to make the playoffs in 2003, but then won three straight division titles, winning the National League pennant in 2004 and the World Series in 2006.

Injuries took their toll on Isringhausen following his last successful season as the Cardinals' closer (2007) and he required Tommy John surgery in June of 2009, while a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Now Isringhausen is back on the Mets, and he is impressing the coaching staff to the point where he might pull a David Cone and make the team out of Spring Training. Mets' pitching coach Dan Warthen has monitored Isringhausen closely in camp and had this to offer on his progress:

"I've seen a lot more than I expected at any time. The ball is coming out of his hand great. He still has the Izzy curveball, and he's added a nice little cutter and changeup. I couldn't be more pleased. If Izzy can come in and continue to do exactly what he's doing right now, he is a major part of this."

If Isringhausen does make the team, he may be wearing his old No. 44 (which symbolizes the fact that he was a 44th round draft pick in 1991). Right now, Jason Bay is currently wearing the number, but he has only worn it since being traded from the Pirates to the Red Sox in 2008. When Bay was making a name for himself in Pittsburgh, he wore No. 38. Although he hasn't said that he will go back to wearing his old number with the Pirates (currently new acquisition Chris Capuano is the wearer of No. 38), he has said that he would gladly give up No. 44 to Isringhausen:

“I’ve tried to hit against him and I know how good he is. I hope he makes it because he’s a great pitcher and he’ll make our team better. And if he does, I’m giving him the shirt. It’s his. I want him to have it.”

David Cone tried to recapture some of his old magic when he broke camp with the Mets in 2003 after not pitching in the major leagues in 2002. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't able to come back successfully. Jason Isringhausen didn't pitch in the majors in 2010 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Will Izzy be able to make the team and succeed in the bullpen? If so, the Mets might have found lightning in a bottle.

There are less than five weeks to go until Opening Day. If there is something left in Izzy's tank, now is the time to prove that he is still capable of helping a big league team. With the departure of Pedro Feliciano and Hisanori Takahashi, the Mets are going to need all the help they can get in the bullpen. Jason Isringhausen might be one of those relievers, and if he is, lightning will have indeed struck twice for Izzy in New York.

Broken News: Alderson To Become Mets GM

Welcome to the latest edition of Broken News, where other people break the news and we break it some more to the point where forensics experts can't even identify it. In today's edition, we discuss the hiring of Sandy Alderson as the new Mets general manager.

According to numerous tweets, including one by Jon Heyman and one by Joel Sherman, the Mets have notified both Sandy Alderson and Josh Byrnes that a decision has been made and that Alderson is their choice to be their next GM.

Since Major League Baseball generally frowns upon major announcements on days when World Series games are being played, the Mets will more than likely not make this signing official until Friday. The Giants and Rangers have an off day between Games 2 and 3 as the Fall Classic moves to Texas over the weekend.

Alderson brings a decade and a half of GM experience to the Mets, as he was in charge of the Oakland Athletics from 1983-1997. Under his reign, the A's won four division titles and three American League pennants. Oakland won the World Series in 1989, when they swept the San Francisco Giants in the series known more for the devastating earthquake that struck the Bay Area before Game 3.

It was Alderson who introduced sabermetrics into the world of general managing, a system that he passed along to his successor, Billy Beane. By using sabermetrics, both Alderson and Beane were able to put together competitive teams while spending as little money as possible by focusing on statistics that help teams win ballgames, but don't necessarily lead to exorbitant contracts. (One such stat is on-base percentage, as detailed in Michael Lewis' book, "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game".) It was this cost-effective system that helped Beane become one of the best and most coveted general managers in baseball.

So now Alderson will be on hand to help turn the Mets around from a fourth-place team to a contender. His plate will definitely be full at the start.

From Hisanori Takahashi's soon-to-expire contract to the search for a new manager to the acquisition of a starting pitcher (especially when you consider the uncertain status of incumbent ace Johan Santana), Alderson will have to make many key decisions early on in his tenure as general manager. It will be these decisions that will serve as the seeds for what Mets fans hope are a return to respectability and contention.

A change is in the air, Mets fans. Let's hope Sandy Alderson is the man who will bring it to us.