Gotham Baseball Issue 1 (Summer 2005)

Gotham Baseball,Summer 2005

$5.95US $7.95

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FROM THE Top STEP And now, a word of welcome from the Editor In Chief of Gotham Baseball magazine.

s

o, what makes three arguably greater New York?

sane people

start a magazine

devoted

to baseball

in

A few things actually. All of us, and many of our baseball fan friends and family, were tired of the mile-wide, inch-deep kind of coverage we've seen elsewhere - baseball doesn't easily fit into the modern idea of media, there's too much to explain beyond "En Fuego" that doesn't fit in a 3D-second piece on the nightly recap or as a passing mention in a notes column somewhere.

So that's where we come in. We wanted Gotham Baseball to become a window back to a slower time, when you could pause for a moment and get to know your favorite team or player - or maybe find out about some kid coming up from the minors, or the real story behind some tall tale your grandfather told you about the players of his youth.

PASTTIME

The Old-Time Game Unbreakable: JackC

THE Buu.PEN

...

PuBLISHER: EDITOR

IN

CHIEF:

EXECUTIVE EDITOR:

At the same time, thanks to modern technology, the electronic companion to this magazine, www.gothambaseball.com. has all the latest news, scores, pictures and a thriving community of people who want to talk about baseball with you on our message boards.

And only one town - the game's birthplace - really has the kind of baseball passion that makes a magazine like this rewarding - New York. Listen to sports talk radio in December and it's almost non-stop Hot Stove talk, despite three other professional leagues being in-season. No city has the relationship with baseball that New York has - love-hate sometimes - but deep and abiding with an incredible history, three leagues and six different franchises have called the city home in the last 150 years.

And while we all happen to be baseball fans, we're not just fans who woke up one day and said, "hey's let's start a magazine."

Obviously, a quick look those these pages tell you it's put together by professionals.

Gotham Baseball is the fifth magazine on which I've held a senior editorial management role (with some of the world's largest publishing companies), and my third as Editor-In-Chief.

My partner and GB's Executive Editor, Mark Healey, has written and reported for a major wire service, covering sports, primarily baseball. Matt Stolper, our patient publisher who keeps the editorial guys from getting out of hand, has been around the game forever - while becoming a successful health care executive.

That having been said, don't expect the same old style over substance drivel cranked out by the mainstream publishing world these days on these pages. We have a lot to say - and a wildly irreverent sense of humor - and we're going to share that. Unlike a lot of publications, we're going to be accountable to the people who read us and the people we write about. Got a beef? Complain about it in our forums and the writer or editor in question will respond.

We look forward to being a part of New York baseball you'll want to come along for the ride.

for its second

150 years and hope

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Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

Mike McGann

3

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A Closer Look At The Yankees' Draft ontinuing the process of rebuilding the farm system, the Yankees went with a high-ceiling, high-risk player in the first round, then switched to advanced college players. Eight of their first ten picks were college guys. However, the two high schoolers (C.]. Henry and Austin Jackson) have great physical ceilings. If they both sign, they will provide a nice boost of athleticism for the system.

The ETAs to the Majors should be regarded as highly preliminary, more of a guide to readiness than anything else.

1. C.J. Henry, SS, Putnam City HS, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-A pure athlete, c.j. Henry held off from committing to college basketball due to his love for baseball. Word is that he will end up at the University of Kansas to play hoops and baseball if he doesn't sign with the Yankees. But money is not expected to be an object, and getting him signed should not be a problem, especially for a big-pocket team. Henry may be the best overall athlete in the draft, and is at least equivalent to guys like Cameron Maybin or Andrew McCutchen.

However, Henry is raw compared to some of the other players available, and will need time to refine his game. If everything pans out, he could be a 25-homer, 25-steal guy, but he will not advance as quickly as most of the other first-rounders.

His selection represents significant risk as well as significant upside.

He could be a huge star, but he could also be a huge bust. ETA: 2010+ •..•.• ---"'--'-- __ "'"'-...•..••

incredible rise to the Majors, but he should still be one of the first players drafted this year to reach the Show. ETA: late 20062007.

3. Brett Gardner, OF, College of Charleston-possibly the fastest man in college baseball, Gardner has blazing speed, and unlike many young players, he knows how to use it. He doesn't have much raw power, but he makes contact, doesn't strike out much, and will take walks often enough to keep his on-base percentage at a high level. He is also a reliable defensive outfielder.

Gardner hit .447 with 38 steals in 43 attempts this year.

He'll have to show he can hit advanced pitching with some measure of authority, but at a minimum his speed will be useful on the bench. ETA: 2008-2009.

4. Lance Pendleton, RHP-OF, Rice Unive r sit Y- A two-way player at Rice, Pendleton prob"""'--.....!:l.. ~.-I ably suffered

2. J. Brent Cox, RHP, University of TexaS-The successor to Huston Street as the Longhorns closer, Cox is a notch behind Street in most respects, but is still a fine pitcher and a worthy second-round choice.

He works with an 88-92 MPH fastball and an excellent breaking ball, described as a slider but resembling a very hard curve more often than not. His command is solid, and he has a lot of experience pitching under pressure. Cox is unlikely to duplicate Street's

to some extent from his flexibility, failing to live up to his potential both with the bat and on the mound this spring. He struggled offensively, hitting just .263 though he did knock 8 homers. He was more effective on the mound, and the Yankees intend to use him as a pitcher. Pendleton throws in the low 90s already, and further concentration on his mound work will help him refine his breaking ball and changeup. He could be a bargain at this point in the draft if he de-

C

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Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

velops as the Yankees expect. ETA: 20082009.

5. Zach Kroenke, LHP, University of Nebraska-Kroenke went 7-2 with a 2.61 ERA through June 8, with an 83/25 K/BB ratio for the Cornhuskers. He works with a sinking fastball at 88-90 MPH, sometimes a notch higher, and mixes it effectively with a power slider. He usually throws strikes, but needs to use his changeup more often, as he sometimes gets into a pitch-pattern rut. Although used as a starter in college, he may be better-suited for relief in the long run, even if the Yankees use him as a starter initially. ETA: 2008.

6) Doug Fister, RHP, Fresno State University-Tall, thin, and lanky at 6-8, 195, Fister has an 88-89 MPH fastball and could throw harder as he fills out and refines his mechanics. His control is already pretty good (77127 K/BB ratio in 94 innings this year), but he needs to be more consistent with his breaking ball. If his velocity improves as expected, he's another potential bargain, having more upside than most college juniors available at this point in the draft. ETA: 2008-2009.

7. Garrett Patterson, LHP, University of Oklahoma-A power lefthander, Patterson throws in the low-to-mid-90s and struck out 73 men in 63 innings for the University of Oklahoma this spring. He lasted until the seventh round due to his injury . history (two elbow operations) and erratic command (42 walks). However, his upside is high, and ifhe can sharpen his control and stay healthy, he could be very effective in the pro ranks. ETA: 2008.

8. Austin Jackson, OF, Ryan HS, Denton, Texas-A tremendous athlete, Jackson was considered a definite first-round pick at various points in his amateur baseball career. But a basketball commitment to Georgia Tech, and erratic performance in 2005, dimmed his star, knocking him down most draft charts. The Yankees took a stab in the eighth round, and as I write this there are strong rumors that Jackson will sign with New York. If true, he offers both power and speed potential, and would make a fine combination with C.]. Henry. Like Henry, he is rather raw and will need time to adjust to pro ball, but the physical upside is impressive. ETA: 2010+.

9. James Cooper, OF, Loyola Mary-

www.gothambaseball.com

mount University-Hit

.342 with

THE

a .425

NEW

YORK

GAME

an interesting minorleague slugger.

18) Joe Burke, C, St. John's

OBP and .469 SLG for Loyola Marymount.

A left-handed hitter, Cooper offers a line-drive hitting stroke and was consistent and success-

Hit .348 with a .420 OBP and .421 SLG fur SL JohnS this year, benefiting from the exposure in front

ful in college. He is a bit undersized at 5-lO, 190, and he could be a "tweener," lacking the power for an outfield corner but without

of scours coming in to see teammate Craig Hansen (first-round pick of the Red Sox). Burke is a native of Brooklyn, and is very reliable behind the plate, but

enough speed for center field. ETA: 2009.

doubts about his bat (notably a lack of power) kept him out of the early rounds. At this point he is just an organization player,albeit one with intriguing local

10) Kyle Anson, 3B, Texas State University-Anson hit .353 with a .465 OBP and .514 SLG for Texas State, show-

connections.

ing excellent strike zone judgment with 4119) walks and just 24 strikeouts in 218 at-bats.

He also has a reputation for good gl6vework at third base, and posted a solid .970 fielding •.••.•.

-.....•..•..•.•••• "--'''_--""_

Joe Conroy, RHP, University of Illinois

percentage this year. He looks like a small college sleeper. ETA: 2009.

OTHER DRAFTEES OF NOTE:

11) Alan Horne, RHP,Universityof Florida A first-round pick out of high school by Cleveland back in 2001, Home blew out his dbowat the University of Mississippi and had to have Tommy John surgery. He transferred to junior college,was drafi:edby the Angels but turned down another large bonus, then

.....••• "'---=---'

•••...••..••• =-.........• ;........;i=..---...

One of the better pitchers in the Big 10 this year,lllini senior Jim Conroy went 8-3 with a 3.10

ended up at Florida, where he flashed his old potential but has not been consistent, struggling with his command. He certainly has a lot of natural potential, but

ERA and 63/17 KlBB ratio in 93 innings. He throws his 90 MPH f.tst:bal\for strikes, complementing it with a good changeup and curveball. Doubts about a

considerable risk aswell given his control issues.

2004 elbow injury hurt his stock somewhat, but he has been healthy this year and represents good value at this point in the draft.

13) Karl Amonite, 1B, Auburn U. Swinging a power stick from the lefi:side,Amonite was hampered by injuries in college,but hit .365 with a .469 OBP and .654 SLG this year. He has plus power and good strike zone judgment, but fellin the drafi due to his age (23) and lack of speed. At the least he will be

John Sickels is the author of the Prospect Book, as weDas newsletter; and has two mb sites, www.MinorLeagueBalLcom and wwwjohnsickels.com

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25 Years Later, It's Deja New AllOver Again "'\VJhen

W

If an advertising tagline is measured by how memo-

Carlos Beltran took to the podium at his

introductory

p=

table it is, then Della Femina hit the mark. Memorable?

conference and declared the

With a 9-18 start to 1980, the media wouldn't ler the

team that had just made him rich was The New Mets, a buzz was born. The moniker stuck so quickly that it

Mets furget how silly "The Magic Is Back" sounded.

became an instant marketing theme.

The New Mets were playing very much like the old Mets, no Magic in sight. More embarrassing

Whether it was Beltran or, as has been widely reported,

in the

his agent Scott Boras who came up with the phrase, its

face of the ad campaign, they weren't attracting fans to

unlikely anybody repeating it realized The New Mets

Shea. If anything, they were repelling them. Opening

were not so new. In bct, The New Mets are a quarter-

the season at home, the Mets announced

century old this season.

dance of 43,992 - fur the entire six-garne homestand, A

a paid atten-

Meet the New Mets, circa 1980 - not necessarily the

transit strike didn't help matters, but nobody was exactly

same as these New Mets, but a dub of some significance

hitching a ride to the old ballpark either. After the Mets

both then and now.

played the season with a veritable FORSALE

sign hang-

finished their first week with an afternoon game against

The circumstances that link 1980 and 2005 lie some-

ing in their window. Their big acquisition was Richie

the Expos that drew 2,052 souls, the back page of the

where between coincidental and eerie. Then as now, the

Hebner, a veteran third baseman who waved at ground

Posr hooted that Shea, with its sea of empty wooden

Mets were a team trying to put a torturous past behind

balls and "saluted" unappreciative fans. Their feature at-

seats, was THE MAGIC

them. Then as now, the Mets brought a new sheritfinro

traction was Mettle the Mule, ownership's short-lived

town to dean up an old mess. Then as now, genuine

attempt to cultivate a lovable, four-legged mascot.

hope materialized on the field And then as now, the product was sold to the public as, yes, The New Mets, *The 1980 Metswere trying to erase a wretched threeyear stretch under Gram/de Rouler management.

The

First they were laughed at. Then theywere ignored As

win. A few here, a few there ...they weren't so bad any-

the '70s wound down, the Mets barely existed in any

more. Starters like Craig Swan, Pete Falcone and the previously unknown Mark Bomback got batters out. Neil

With a new decade came new owners, Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday

(Doubleday

& Co. held the

majority stake). They were determined

to

polish the image of a damaged franchise.

* The

1980 Mets, led by skipper Joe Torre, fought for

a scintilla of recognition in a city that was doing just fine with one sentient baseball organization. The 2005 Mets

Allen, Jeff Reardon and Tom Hausman represenred the foundation

of a legitimate bullpen. Lee Mazzilli, the

focus of another Della Femina ad ("Come See What A Kid From Brooklyn Can Do In Queens") started hit-

After buying the Mets in January for $21.1

ting. Second baseman Doug Flynn, to use a Bob Mur-

'million, their plan was two-pronged.

phyism of the time, looked balls into his glove. Frank

First,

get somebody who knew what he was do-

Taveras wasn't half-bad at shortstop. Third

ing to run the show. That turned out to

solved by Elliott Maddox. John Stearns never stopped

be respected furmer Orioles GM

grinding behind the plate. There were still no big stars,

Frank

Cashen. With a wan Major League roster 2005 Mets want us to forget Art Howe slept here.

The Mets - the down-

trodden, solitary, mercilessly mocked Mets - began to

meaningful fashion.

Consider:

GARDEN.

Then a funny thing happened

and a mostly bare minor league cupboard, ment understood

manage-

rebuilding would be a project. Thus,

the second prong: Market the Mets.

base was

but all of a sudden, everybody was contributing

and

some people were even buying tickers to watch.

In other words, the Magic was kinda, sorra Back.

The trademark of the 1980 Mets during those heady

It was a dillerent era, pre-1980. You opened the gates

months of apparent resurrection was a flair for the dra-

entered the season trying to overcome similar competi-

and people came. Or they didn't. GAME TONITE

marie, the pulsating and the surprising. It's not out of

tive perceptions against a team led by skipper Joe Torre.

was about it. Advertising a tearn as a concept or like

line to borrow from Bull Durhams Annie Savoyon this

"The 1980 Mets brought in a big-name general man-

a detergent wasn't generally done. True, the Mets had

count

ager to shake things up. The 2005 Mets have their own

dabbled in the fine art of the ad with "Bting Your Kids

York Mets, for whatever perverse reason, began playing

To See Our Kids" in 1977, but that was a desperation

baseball with joy and verve and poetry.

version of Frank Cashen in Omar Minaya.

For one extraordinary June and July; the New

* The 1980 Mets relied on stat power and sex appeal

ploy to cover up the PR fallour that followed the Tom

to pump up the box office, albeit with Lee Mazzilli, The

Seaver trade (it didn't work). What the 1980 Mets did

doubtedly

2005 Mets were ballyhooed around Beltran and Pedro

was create an image.

against the Giants, the Mets trailed San Francisco 6-0 in

Martinez.

* The

And that image was, well, New! The cover of the 1980 1980 Mets confounded

expectations by win-

yearbook says it all: "The New NEWYORK

METS ...

The signature moment June

of the '80 uprising was un-

14. On a Sarurday night at home

the eighth, 6-1 entering the ninth. The 1979 (and 1978 and 1977) Mets would've turned out the lights and

ning quite a few games in the late innings, gaining be-

the People's Team". Come-ons for a "new era" featuring

lievers along the way. Early in 2005, the Mets showed a

''NEW OWNERS

similar knack fur theatrics as well as converting herero-

among the opening pages. It was an implicit admission,

out when Steve Henderson

fore agnostic fans to their cause.

then as now, that what was here before wasn't working,

Ripley. If anybody had been a symbol of Met malaise

To appreciate what the New York Mets were trying to do 25 years ago, you have to understand how deeply

FOR NEW

METS"

are sprinkled

Bur give us another try. You won't be sotry.

The Mers' marketing reached beyond mere Newness

thanked you fur coming. But the 1980 Mets played a full nine. The score reached 6-4 with two on and two stepped up against Allen

in the late '70s, it was Henderson.

He was one of the

kids who you were urged to bring your kids to see but

they were buried 26 years ago. In 1979, the Mets were

in 1980. The owners hired the famed ad wiz Jerry Della

somehow

as irrelevant as the final choice in the NFL draft (a player

Femina to extend the brand into the realm of the occult.

the part that had prospect written all over him. But

annually tabbed Mr. Irrelevant). Think the Art How-e

'The Magic Is Back" became those New Mets' rallying

through June 13, the lefi:fielder hadn't homered

epoch was bad? Consider that in '79, the Mets losr 99

cry, one intended to conjure memories of better times as

in 1980. It was dearer than ever that he was not going

games, drew ÂŁewer than 800,000 paying customers and

well as hope for a brighter future.

6

Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

resisted. He was part of the Seaver trade, once

Continued on page 24.

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A New Era Dawns In New York Baseball Is ntis~fI\eaven?No ... t s

By Bryan Hoch Special to Gotham Baseball ooking at the blueprints and sketches for the new Yankee Stadium, there was a sudden reminder of the scene in "Back to the Future", where Michael J. Fox'scharacter spins his head around the 1950s town square, magically returned to all of its past glory.

Perhaps we'll soon relate to Marty McFly and that moment of astonishment, taking a spin in a time machine of our own. The Bronx Bombers' new cathedral promises just that, bringing us all a little bit closer back to the golden era of Gotham baseball.

We have seen the future image of the South Bronx, and the future looks bright.

In an age where factory-fresh ballparks evoke black-and-white memories of longforgotten stadiums and everyone is looking for the next Camden Yards, the new Yankee Stadium plows through the mumbo jumbo with the image of the stadium from years past.

Behind the $800 million price tag, the 2009-esque seating bowl, the four-star restaurant rising over center field and the 60plus luxury suites George Steinbrenner once threatened to move the team to New Jersey over, the original House that Ruth Built shall stand again. Its majestic limestone and concrete entrance, its copper frieze and all the rest.

If you time-transported Ruth to the front doorstep of this 2009 facility, he would ~ after bursting a blood vessel over a $7.50

L

be~ almost certainly recognize the place as a time-warped, jazzed up, high-tech version of his own.

"We lost many of the great characteristics of the original house," said Yankeespresident Randy Levine. "The new stadium will take us back to our origins. This isn't the end of the legacy,but a continuation." ''As we enter our second century as a ballclub, we will have the finest stadium in the world," general partner Steve Swindal said.

With the June announcement, confirming earlier rumors, the present-day Yankee Stadium suddenly hears the clock ticking on what had long been inconceivable: baseball's pinnacle stage facing retirement.

But it's been a great run for the old girl, who'll be 86 years young when Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez (the only two Yankees under contract through the new yard's expected maiden voyage) are slated to take their first swings at the new Stadium in 2009. The 1973 renovations squeezed many more years of life and countless terrific memories out of the last three decades.

Still, as r-~~-'" Levine remarked, "This building, as great and glorious as it is, unfortunately is becoming nonfunctional.

It

Yankee Stadium II, set to open in 2009, will combine the classic looks of the original pre-renovation stadium - including the facade - with modern amenities, better sightlines and a greater percentage of seating downstairs.

8

Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

e Bronx! cannot go on for another 40 years.To rebuild it or extensively renovate it is cost-prohibitive."

"It fails to, I think, reflect the glamour of the club," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

Some would argue; after all, even the Red Sox have eventually started to realize that pasting cute additions onto Fenway Park is their destiny for the next few decades.

But one trip to the next generation of stadiums reveals what visiting players and personnel have mumbled for years: New York, which bills itself as the greatest city in the world, does not have the greatest stages upon which to perform.

Shea Stadium is a given; not one person should voice a word of complaint when the dilapidated wreck in Queens meets its final days. But even as visiting players speak of Yankee Stadium reverentially, as though Ruth and Gehrig themselves were peering over their shoulders, some of those spoiled by the luxuries of new parks in Baltimore, Seattle and Philadelphia had viewed a trip to Continued on Page 10

www.gothambaseball.com

THE

NEW

YORK

GAME

In Queens

Don't Get Too Attached to That Outfield, Kids

By Mike McGann Gotham Baseball While we know a great deal about Yankee Stadium II, a lot less is known about the details of the new Mets ballpark planned for Flushing, to open the same year.

There's two reasons for that: although announced first, the Mets deal was thrown together at the 11th hour as a last ditch effort to preserve the city's bid for the 2012 Olympics, while New York City and the Yankees had the details of their deal for a new stadium locked down some six weeks before formally announcing its plans to the public, and some of the details of the Mets' new stadium deal were still being worked out as of press time (complete details will be reported as they emerge on our website http://www.gothambaseball.com) .

The working plan is as follows: the Mets had about 10 different designs, contingent on the type of deal they were able to strike with the city, including, sources tell us, a plan for an Olympic stadium. When the proposed West Side Stadium deal collapsed without state funding, the Mets were able to step in save the Olympic bid.

And while that drove the deal between the city and ballclub, it also creates some of the uncertainty both in terms of design and even where the Mets will play in 2012. The Mets will pay about $400 million to build the v-shaped portion of the ballpark expected to remain in service throughout the lifetime of the building. That number will also pay for the first version of the stadiums outfield seating and amenities. The city will

Winners

Winners:

kick in about $175 million to pay for infrastructure in and around the Flushing site, improved connections with the Grand Central Parkway, Van Wyck, as well as upgrades to surface roads in the area and renovations to the Flushing/Willets Point subway station on the No.7 line.

It all gets trickier if the city wins it's bid for the Olympics in either 2012 or 2016.

NYC2012, the organizing committee, will pay to demolish the outfield of the new park and build an oval-shaped temporary stadium to house track and field, as well as the Opening and Closing ceremonies for the Olympics. Basically, it's a plan taking things one step _ further than what was done in Atlanta in 1996 in what is now Turner Field.

NYC2012 will then rebuild the outfield seating and ameni-

dium is this: adapted from the 1998 design for an Ebbets Field-like, enclosed stadium with both a retractable roof and retractable field-the new Mets ballpark will have neither, but retain the design nods to Ebbets Field. When completed, it is expected to have 45,000 seats, primarily located in foul territory as is the case with Shea Stadium.

Unlike Shea, the new park will have just three decks, in a tighter "V" shape, putting

ties areas - includ- 1#t=;:~~::'=*==~#!I-~~ ing presumably the ~ •••••:...."""•••• "'-...II:""-"'':'" scoreboards, after most of the seats closer to the field. A lower the games. During construction, the Mets are expected to play at Yankee Stadium II, percentage of the seats in the new park will sharing that park, as the Mets and Yankees be in the upper deck, and even that deck will be lower and closer to the playing field did Shea Stadium in 1974 and 1975.

What we know about the design of the stathan the current Shea upper deck.

and

..u_~__

Losers Losers:

The Yankees: George Steinbrenner managed to figure out how to

The Jets: No new West Side Manhattan stadium. Not even their own digs

get the Royals and Devils Rays to basically pay for the building of an $800 million baseball cathedral - combining old-school design with a number of. cool features that should advance state-of-the-art in baseball stadiums by a couple of notches.

The Bronx: An area in needs of major revitalization effort gets some serious help with new parks - and likely retail/commercial development in the immeEliate neighborhood, which had become one of the worst in the city.

New York baseball fans: Most cities are happy to celebrate the opening of one new ballpark in any given year. New York is going to have two brand-new baseball stadiums in 2009 - with a ton of amenities - and most shockingly - clean bathrooms.

The Mets: Getting out of Shea into a new building - however it turns out - is a positive. With the passing of Philly's Vet, Shea may be the worst balilpark in the majors. Getting rid of it once and for all makes the Mets a winner on some level.

1 Mayor Michael Bloomberg: Last-minute deal saves the Olympic bid he's put so much of his prestige and effort behind. Managed to cut a better deal for the city than one agreed to by his predecessor Rudy Guiliani.

out in Queens as many suggested was the best solution. Nowlikelyto agree to continue sharing Giants Stadium - and its replacement for the next 20· plus years, meaning two more decades of "road" home games for the Jets.

WoodyJohnson may be the only sports team owner in America less capable of running a team than Paris Hilton. .

Mayor Michael Bloomberg: Yeah, he managed to save the Olympicbid at the last minute but lost the West Side Stadium deal and all of the development plans. Last minute chaos probably doomed 2012 Olympicbid that was on life-support before stadium deal collapsed.

Queens Junk Yard Dealers: Kiss 'em goodbye. What may be the biggest upgrade around the Shea neighborhood means the end of the collection of eye sores - and likelya ton of city-paidenvironmentalcleanup costs.

The Mets: Yeah,they're getting a new stadium. But unlikethe Yankees, a: they're paying for it out of pocket, since they don't have luxurytax (unless Wilpon& Co. go on a free-agent player signing binge) rebates to fund it like the Yankees; b: three years after they move in, they have to move out and see half of the park torn down. c: Yankees' planned cathedral will likely overshadow new Mets' park in the eyes of fans and the media, further cementing the team's status as second-class citizens.-MM

Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

9

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A New Era

•

Is This Heaven? No ... It's $800M in The Bronx!

The proposed new stadium reverses the seating arrangements of the current facility, with New York as a downgrade. ' 30,000 of an estimated 50,800 seats set in the "I was a little disappointed, to tell the truth," one veteran American League player said, re- park's lower bowl, featuring the intimate seatcalling his first trip to the Bronx. "The field ing and improved sighclines fans expect durand Monument Park [were] great, don't get ing baseball's new stadium era. No longer will me wrong. But you get behind the scenes and a ticket to the upper deck at Yankee Stadium be a free pass to vertigo. it's like, 'This is it?'"

New Yankee Stadium will have the same "Things change, times change," Bernie Wilplaying field dimensions as the existing facilliams said. "I guess it was time for a change." ity, meaning that Just weeks .... ,,_ A-Rod - who after the just might be 'Jets' West hasing a certain Side Stadiome run record um project y 2009 - won't flopped, ave to deal with killed by he cavernous the city's center field of the refusal to old Stadium (''Ahold the ~~~ od doesn't need football' 1<= •• "'" y help," Steinteam's brenner said at hand in he press conferbuilding nee). their new ",,,,.,11"'" The facility, the Yankees have pl~dged to rarse a new house-the first shovels are to hit soil in ' Macombs Dam Park 'in April 2006 - entirely on 'The new stadium will take us back their own.

Selling tax-exempt origins. This isn't the end bonds to fund the estimated $800 milthe legacy, but a continuation.' lion stadium project, the new Yankee Stadium has been rep-Yankees president resented as perhaps Randy Levine Steinbrenner's most enduring gift to New York, just a little over .,.,.".~~~~~iE~_~;;:;~'!"r'~ •••.••••.••••.••••.••.•.• -....I

to our

of

L...-

a decade after the Boss claimed people weren't coming to the South Bronx anymore.

Four World Series titles and millions in attendance later, the Yankees have committed to their old neighborhood for life, building what will be only the third stadium in the major leagues completely financed by the club - San Francisco's SBC Park and Sr. Louis' new Busch Stadium are the others.

"We decided we want to stay in the Bronx.

We want to do the job here," Steinbrenner said. "We wanted to do something for the people who have always supported this team." .'

10

city high schools and amateur leagues, maintained by the city.

Keeping the entire building of the stadium would be financially wasteful and difficult to maintain, so much of the area currently occupied by the stadium's structure will develop into Little League and softball fields, tennis courts, a 10-story hotel, a new area high school, a proposed Metro-North railroad stop and more.

Rodriguez was a member of the Seattle Mariners when the club imploded the worndown Kingdome, and no one batted an eye in the move to Safeco Field. But Yankee Stadium is not exactly the baseball tradition of Alvin Davis and Gaylord Perry.

The player with the Yankees' longest-term contract - who said that every major leaguer worth his salt treasures his first at-bat at Yankee Stadium - was pleased to hear the current patch of land would be preserved for future generations.

"You can't take away what's happened here," Rodriguez said. "You think about the United States of America, and this is one of the major landmarks .... But when you start a new

bullpen will return to right field in the new model, while the famously dingy and cramped concourses of the current Stadium will be replaced by wide, welcoming pathways with full views of the game.

"You'll never miss an inning, you'll never miss a pitch," Levine said. "You'll be able to see the playing field from wherever you are."

While Monument Park will be uprooted and relocated to center field of the new Stadium, the same plot of land where Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio made their greatest strides will be preserved as a functional sort of baseball museum, with the playing field, dugouts and sections of the seating area left for use by

Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

stadium, it's electric. It brin!?,sso much energy to the franchise, to the city. ' "The atmosphere of this place is what makes it special," Jeter said. "There's going to be a new stadium, but it'll be the same atmosphere. We'll have the same fans and some touches that will be similar to this one."

With the new stadium moving north to Macombs Dam and Mullaly parks, the city has pledged $135 million to develop a 28-acre park along the Harlem River, with athletic fields and new shopping areas rising above the Bronx Terminal Marker. Five additional parking garages will also be built along 164th Street, with a $70 million price tag on an estimated 5,000 new spaces.

"This is an excellent-rinvestment for the people of the South Bronx and the people of New York," Bloomberg said.

Standing in his familiar row of box seats along the left side of the Yankees dugout, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani spoke

www.gothambaseball.com

THE

NEW

YORK GAME

longingly of the beauty of Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park, and the opportunities that Baltimore's Camden Yards presents for fans at the restaurants and bars of adjacent Eutaw Street.

Facility architect Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK) Sport-Veriue-Event plans on incorporating that same kind of intimate neighborhood around the new Yankee Stadium (sure, Stan's Sports Bar is great, bur do you really want to walk the streets after midnight?). The city will pony up the estimated $300 million it will take to build the new connecting roads and infrastructure, and Bloomberg went as far to call it the first step in the "incredible renaissance in the South Bronx."

"It helps bring people in," Giuliani said. "It creates a tremendous amount of economic development."

"We want people to spend a lot of time, not just coming to the Yankee games, bur enjoying this whole aspect," Levine said. "This is all going to change."

If all goes according to plan, as Bloomberg said, through the next four years, New Yorkers "will be seeing the most exciting doubleheader imaginable," with two new stadiums rising above the ground in the Bronx and in Queens.

Perhaps the new Subway Series, circa 2009, won't make the annual interleague tiffs quite so insufferable, assuming baseball is still running the six-game dog-and-pony show by then. Either way, in four years, the future of New York baseball will be perhaps its brightest chapter yet, a brief wait for the riches of tomorrow.

"For a franchise like this that's been around, four years is pretty shorr anyways," Rodriguez said.

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WWW.LASTLICKS.NET Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

11

H

e'sdone it again.

Another manager is convinced that pitcher Yusmeiro Petit is just another one-trick pitcher - who uses a gimmick, instead of real stuff, to make batters swing and miss his pitches - one who can be beaten if you figure out the trick. Petit's reputation precedes him ro the Eastern League (beyond two starts he made there last season, as the capstone of a meteoric rise from low-A to AA in one year) and since he doesn't throw 95 MPH, there has to be some explanation of how he racked up 200 strikeouts in 139 innings at three levels.

It's Opening Day, 2005, and New Hampshire manager Mike Basso is convinced he's broken the Petit code. The skipper of the Toronto Blue Jays AA affiliate tells his bench "he's tipping his change-up," and makes a flicking motion with his wrist. Coincidence or not, Petit starts flicking his wrist - and bam, out comes a 92-MPH fastball, leaving the Fisher Cats' hitter hopelessly behind the pitch.

Through a translator, he says he wasn't aware of Basso's claim about tipping pitches and pleads innocent to doing anything to change his delivery mid-game.

"I'm not trying to fool anyone, I'm trying to get them out," he said.

12

Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

But there is a hint of a smile from the stocky, 6-foot, 230-pound 20-year-old, who speaks and understands English better than he lets on - and seems to understand the value of having opposing managers and hitters worry about finding the trick to hit him, instead of focusing on his 92-MPH fastball that moves allover the place or his collection of breaking pitches and change up.

And so it goes with Petit, who's gone from an unknown kid from Venezuela to the Mets' no. 1 prospect - a pitcher coveted by many and now, almost daily, mentioned in trade rumors. Petit is a quiet, shy kid - and some have questioned whether he has the lion's heart needed to be a successful pitcher in the Majors, but no one who knows him at all.

"He's a tough kid," said Jack Lind, his manager this year in Binghamton, and for a large portion of 2004 at Capital City. "He's got a real competitive streak - and when hes out there on the mound it's all business." , , "Winning is all the kid has ever done," said Mets' Minor League Field Coordinator Tony Tijerina. "Out on the mound, he's as cool as ice...he has great competitiveness. His quiet demeanor - it's just pure confidence and he knows what's he's doing out there."

Still, after putting up big numbers last year, 2005 has been a bit of struggle. The Mets limited Petit's pitch counts, because of worries

www.gothambaseball.com

about his having pitched 139 innings in the U.S., a full season, followed by 50 innings for the Magallanes Navi(against a number of Major Leaguers, he had an ERA of 2.15 with 53 strikeouts, despite a 4-3 record) of winter ball in his native Venezuela. 190 innings is a lot higher than the Mets would prefer any of their pitchers to throw in the minors - hence, a lot of caution.

For the first four starts of the year, he was limited to just 65 pitches a start - no more than three or four innings for a highpitch count, high-strikeout pitcher like Petit. The next four, he was limited to 75 and so on, as the Mets wanted to make sure his workload was limited - and protect his arm, painful lessons learned from the likes of Paul Wilson, Bill Pulsipher and Jason Isringhausen back in the 1990s.

So, on paper, it might look like Petit is struggling, with only a 1-2 record by mid-june. True also, he missed two weeks, returning home to Venezuela for the birth of his daughter and some minor shoulder issues. He did manage to strikeout 40 in 37.1 innings in nine starts, but some have suggested he's been a little stymied by the short stints.

THE

"He's frustrated," said an organizational official who's keeping close tabs on Petit. "It's hard for him to there and know go out no chance to he has Win. Obviously, you have to pro1:eet the arm, but it's tough tfor him, he's competitive 'and he 'wants to win and ,he's been go i n g out there knowing he can't."

bers aside, watching him throw, it become evident how off-balance he keeps hitters - especially in a league where he is one of the younger pitchers - without much more than an average fastball. The movement on

NEW

YORK

GAME

the ball, his ability to change speeds and set up batters marks him at his young age as a pitcher, rather than a thrower. His ball is difficult to pick up and has late, nasty movement - especially his out pitch, his fastball.

Finally, it seems like people are beginning to get past the idea that he's a gimmick pitcher, though, and his continued success in AA shows he's not just a A-ball fluke. The Mets are very high on him, but not hyping him - another lesson learned by the debacle of Generation K. Perhaps the biggest question is not whether Petit makes it to the Majors - it's pretty much a foregone conclusion he'll be there by at least 2007 - but whether it will be with the Mets. After last year's Scott Kazmir trade - still likely to cause teeth-gnashing when mentioned to the team's fans - other teams are asking about Petit, and dangling pieces the big club needs for this year's pennant race. While Mets' general manager Omar Minaya might listen to those offers, many in the organization who ;;have worked with and coached Petit think it would be a mistake to deal him.

One thing is clear: Pitchers who make batters swing and miss don't grow on trees, and even at this stage of his development, Petit has already shown the potential to join the great names -. and arms - that have gone down in team lore.

For a 20-year-old, that's a pretty exciting future to look forward to enjoying.

m

Gotham Baseball's Top 10 Mets Prospects

Upside: Dec ptive delivery, good ability to change speeds. A lot of late movement on his pitches and ability to make hitters swing and miss.

Downside: Concerns Major League hitters will have less trouble picking up the ball out of his hand. Stocky body prompts worries about weight gain later. Quiet, shy personality might be a concern in New York.

ETA: 2007 Tradeability - 8. Almost every time Omar Minaya's phone rings these days, someone is asking about trading for Petit. With Brian Bannister, Phil Humber and Gaby Hernandez in the- pipeline - and a surplus of pitching at the Major League level, Petit is thought to be available in the right deal.

1.

Yusmeiro Petit

2 3

Lastings Milledge Brian Bannister

4

Phillip Humber

5

Gaby Hernandez

6

Jeff Keppinger

7

Mike Jacobs

8

Aarom Baldiris

9

Jesus Flores

lO

Gotham Baseball-Summer,

Ambiorix Concepcion

2005

13

By Mark Healey Gotham Baseball

F

I

or the first time in nearly a decade, the New York Yankees are getting significant contributions from players within their minor league system.

In Eric Duncan, who has yet to reach the big leagues, they just might have a player who can accomplish even more.

The Florham Park, N.J. native and Seton Hall Prep graduate has impressed everyone in the organization with his ability, but there's other aspects to his game that stand out. It's an intangible called presence, which many of the new school baseball analysts seem to forget when assessing talent, and this kid has it in spades.

This reporter first saw Duncan in uniform shortly after his first round selection by the Yankees in the first round (27th overall) of the 2003 amateur draft.

For the teenager that led his high school team to a state title and a 16-1 record, getting drafted by the team he grew up rooting for was a boyhood dream realized. Even this jaded reporter was thinking this a tad corny before he was informed that Duncan passed up a full ride to perennial baseball power Louisiana State University.

"It was a tough call," Duncan said. "But my dream was to be a major leaguer, not a college baseball player. The Yankees were always my favorite team and I was very excited when we found out that

14

Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

they were drafting me. I mean, Paul O' Neill was my favorite player, and now I was going to wear the same uniform." .

Duncan, who actually resembles O'Neill, and possesses a lot of the qualities that made him a Yankee favorite - the smooth left-handed swing, the ability to hit line drives in the gaps and over the wall and the single-minded need to win.

He demonstrated all of those qualities almost immediately, even as an 18 year old.

During his 18-game stint for the Staten Island Yankees, he immediately made an impact, hitting .373 with 13 RBIs. However, for all his skill as a player, it was the way in which he carried himself which impressed everyone around him.

"You have to have a certain quality to play in the Yankee atmosphere",said Mark Newman, the Yankees' Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations. "A presence that allows you to understand the tradition and be tested by the pressure that comes with it.

We saw that quality in Eric when we drafted him, and he's proved us right."

That maturity served him well in 2004, when as a 19-year old playing in the South Atlantic League and the pitching-rich Florida State League, he struggled early before finishing the season with a respectable .258 batting average (119-for-461) with 16 home runs and 83 RBIs in 129 games.

www.gothambaseball.com

It's not unheard of - especially in this town - for first round "bonus babies" to be tempted by their status as blue chippers to big-time teammates, their managers, the media and even the fans. ot this kid.

His work habits are impeccable, his relationship with the fans is friendly and outgoing, and he's extremely polished and comfortable with the press.

Even more impressive is the way he handles adversity, of which, he's had plenty.

First, New York acquired Alex Rodriguez to play third base shortly before the 2004 season, apparently burying Duncan in the organizational depth chart for years to come.

Then came an off-season of trade rumors - which had him going to Los Angeles or Arizona in the Randy Johnson deal - which might have made any player despondent or sulky Not Duncan. Even an early season slump in his first year at Double-A never sapped any of his confidence or perspective.

"I can't control any of that," Duncan said. "I understand baseball is a business. (But) I just go out and do my job."

The first 15 games or the season certainly weren't pretty, as he failed to collect a single

THE

extra base hit and was hitting just .. 164 during that slump.

"Obviously, you never like to start the season slow, but you have a 142- game total, we've got a long way to go and I'm going to have more slumps throughout the year", said Since then, he's raised his average to a more acceptable .244 and at press time, had driven in 32 runs in 42 games.

"Er i c 's ,been more patient as the season 'has come along," Thunder

NEW

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GAME

Year in 1993. It's one of the reasons he was chosen to manage at the all-important Double-A level, which every year becomes more and more the most difficult level a prospect must make the jump to.

"Bill's been through this process personally." says Newman. "He knows what's expected of these players and can help them understand the club's way of doing things. We want our players to take each at-bat, each game on a day-to-day basis, focus in on the here and now."

Anyone who follow's the minor leagues on a regular basis knows how hard that is to accomplish, but Duncan seems to go about his business as ifhe were just one of the guys.

"I want to be the best player I can be." Duncan said. "My dream is to play for the New York Yankees, and I'll do whatever need I to do to make that happen."

Not that he's in a rush, mind you. Duncan knows very well that a trade to another organization would accelerate his journey to the major leagues. Patience actually is a virtue, he says. "(Senior Vice President of Player Personnel) Gordon Blakely told

,~~~~~(rWr~wrrtrl~11 me something once that has __ ~ •••••stuck with me ever Since says Duncan. "It's not about how fast you get to the major leagues, it's how long you stay there."

Based on what we've seen so far, it's going to be worth the wait.

Q;

~

JI

~..;.;.;;,;,;.;.~~~~ showing it right now, but eventually, think they will."

Masse knows all about expectations, as he was the Yankees' Organizational Player of the

Gotham Baseball's Top IO,Yankee Prospects

Upside: balllQ.

Very nigh ceiling,

hits for power and average,

runs well, very high base-

Downside: Defense at third is average to below average, though he works tremendously hard at improving, which should be noted. The quicker he goes across the diamond or out to the OF, the better.

1

Eric Duncan

2

Phil Hughes

3

Melky Cabrera

4 5

Christian Garcia

6

Matt DeSalvo

Sean Henn

7

Tyler Clippard

ETA: 2007

8

Kevin Thompson

Tradeability - 5. Duncan is the Organizations top positional prospect for a reason, and he's coveted. However, he's two years away, and with the Yankees struggling with the .500 mark, it's doubtful he'll get dealt at this point and time.

9

Shelly Duncan

10

Gotham Baseball-Summer,

Mitch Jones

2005

15

~

Columbus Clippers

Trenton Thunder

~

International

Eastern League (AA)

League (AAA)

Columbus is enjoying a solid season, despite the promotions of second baseman Robinson Cano and staff ace Chien-Ming Wang to the Yankees. Picking up the slack in the pitching department are left-handers Alex Graman (4-5, 3.31 ERA) and Sean Henn (4-2, 3.20 ERA), each of whom have regained prospect status after injuries stalled their respective careers. Though both Graman and Henn have had brief looks at the major league level, each appears focused at AAA this season, and are poised to contribute.

The offense has been paced all season by Mitch Jones, who despite his age, remains a player that also might get a look later on this year. For the first time since being drafted by the Yankees in the seventh round of 2000 amateur draft, the 27-year old outfielder/first baseman is finally showing the plate discipline the organization has been waiting to see. Always a power hitter with the ability to drive in runs, prior to this season with the Clippers, Jones struggled in both the batting average and strikeout departments, hitting just .242 with 614 strikeouts in his 606 career games p-riot to this season. However, this season, despite the still-too many 81 strikeouts in 244 at-bats, Jones is hitting a team-high .316 with 15 homers and 43 RBis, good enough tom place him among the league leaders in each of those categories.

"UI,.,

~ ~

Tampa Yankees , Florida State League (A)

Pitching has been the story for most of the 2005 season, evidenced by the selection of Tampa pitchers Tyler Clippard, Abel Gomez and closer Paul Thorp to the Florida State League All-Star game.

Clippard (6-5, 3.75 ERA) is the standout of the three, second in the FSL in strikeouts with 78 - but he was sent down to Charleston in the South Atlantic League just before the All-Star, keeping him out of the game. Gomez (2-1, 2.86 ERA) has solidified the best 1-2 combo in the West, while closer Thorp has posted 15 saves with a 2.49 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 25.1 innings.

Offensively, one player of note to prospect watchers is second baseman Justin Christian.

He hasn't been in the FSL very long, but has made an immediate impact in the pitching-dominant league, as since his promotion from Charleston on May 19th, he's hitting .365 with a .441 on base percentage, and a .442 slugging percentage.

He also has five stolen bases, sixRal's and seven runs scored. At press time, Christian had hit safely in twelve of his first thirteen games, building off what he did in the Sally League (.290,17 SB).

16

Gotham Baseball-Summer, 2005

Though Eric Duncan (see cover) remains the top prospect in the organization, it's been Shelly Duncan (no relation) that has paced the Thunder attack, improving his status in the organization from suspect to the ninth-rated prospect, according to the Gotham Baseball staff. With 16 home runs, 47 runs batted in, 42 runs scored, and 135 total bases, Duncan has placed himself in the top five in each in the Shelly Duncan Eastern League. The 20-year olds, Melky Cabrera and Eric Duncan are finding things a little more difficult as they make the transition from A to AA, but have still managed to drive in runs, with 36 and 32 RBis respectively, to round out Trenton's top three run producers.

Setting the pace atop the lineup has been outfielder Kevin Thompson, hitting a team-high .320 with 19 stolen bases. Twenty-two year old right-hander Jeffrey Karstens (6-5, 3.79 ERA) and 23-year old righty Matt DeSalvo (4-1, 3.42 ERA) have solidified the rotation, while 24-year old closer Justin Pope (12 saves) has paced the bullpen all year long.

Charleston River-dogs South Atlantic League (A) It's been a banner year for top pitching prospect Phil Hughes, who has dominated the Sally League.

So much so, he was tabbed to start the All-Star game. Hughes, a 19year old right-hander has posted a 7-1 record with a 1.97 ERA, struck out 72 batters in 68 2-3 innings, given up just 46 hits and walked just 12 batters all season. His accomplishments this season have â&#x20AC;˘ been even more impressive considPhil Hughes ering that he's not even using his entire pitching arsenal, as his hard-biting slider has been kept out of his repertoire by the organization so he can work on his developing curve and changeup.

It hasn't been a one-man show however, asCharleston placed the most players on the Southern Division AIIStar squad with six players representing the RiverDogs, including pitchers T.J. Beam and Mike Martinez, center fielder Tim Battle, DH Ben Jones and utility man Cody Ehlers.

1

Norfolk Tides

Binghamton Mets

International

Eastern League (AA)

League (AAA)

Jason Scobie has emerged as one of the few solid prospects on a veteran, first place Tides squad. The Mets' 15th round pick from 2001 is building on his solid numbers in Binghamton last year, going 8-3 with a 3.24 ERA in 13 starts. Jae Seo seems unfazed by his return to Norfolk after opening eyes up in New York, posting a 4-2 record and 3.20 ERA - and 75 strikeouts in 76 innings.

In terms of bats, 2B Jeff Keppinger had been Norfolk's best hitter not named Brian Daubach - until he broke his knee cap and now will be out until at least July - hitting .337 with an on-base percentage of .377. INF Rodney Nye, like a cat with nine lives, looked to be on the verge getting released in April - but since has been on a hitting tear, boosting his average to .314.

OF Prentice Redman appears to be making the most of his second shot at Norfolk after his May promotion from Binghamton.

Redman is hitting .309 in his first 14 games back in AAA. INF Chris Basak has also hit well when given the chance to play, hitting .305 playing only about half the time. OF Angel Pagan has struggled a bit of late, seeing his average drop to .267.

It's been a very up and down year so far for Binghamton, which has seen stellar performances from a number of players - but has struggled to get above .500.

The pitching staff has been anchored

by Brian Bannister (8-1, 1.67 ERA) who has had his coming-out party and emerged as one of the Mets top prospects.

Yusmeiro Petit, already heralded as a prospect, has pitched better than his 2-2, 2.74 ERA might indicate - in part because of pitch count limits and trip home for the birth of his daughter. But all of Petit's numbers, including 52 Ks in 46 innings (with just 6 walks) show he remains on target to continue his rapid rise through the minors. For the most part, the rest of the staff has struggled.

In terms of bats, after the promotion of Chase Lambin to AAA Norfolk, it's been up to the big three, Mike Jacobs (.308, 12 HR, 48 RBI), Anderson Hernandez (.322, 7HR, 22 RBI, 11 SB) and David Bacani (.311, 3HR, 22RBI, .400 OBP) to fuel the Binghamton offense.

Hagerstown Suns' South Atlantic League (A) Things are finally starting to look up for the Mets, who got off to awful start and saw some their highly-touted prospects struggle.

OF Lastings Milledge is growing into his top-prospect reputation, having caught fire and raised his average to .305, with 3 HR, 13 RBI and 14 SB. Andy Wilson has been a monster - posting a .311 average, 14 HR and 47 RBI - the team's best offensive player of the first half.

1 B Brett Harper hopes to put off-the-field problems behind him - despite a suspension by the team in June, he leads the organization with 17 HR, as well as 47 RBI, with a .272 average.

Phil Humber (1-6,5.61 ERA) was expected to be the ace of the staff, but suffered through minor injuries and inconsistency, but has pitched much better his last few outings and looks to be back on track.

Evan MacLane has been the Mest' best starter, posting a 5-3 record with 3.17 ERA. Reliever Kole Strayhorn (2-3, 3.52) looks to be putting shoulder injuries behind and could be eying a return to Binghamton by the time you read this.

The Mets' newest affiliate is off to a flying start, having won the South Atlantic League North first half title with a number of standout performances.

First and foremost, Gaby Hernandez punctuated a great first half by throwing a no-hitter in his final start before the break, running up a 5-1 record with a 2.32 ERA and 81 Kin 77.1 innings. Jose S~nGaby Hernandez chez posted a 10-2 record With a 3.18 ERA, while Michael Devany put up a 4-1 record with 3.39 ERA. In terms of bats, OF Dante Brinkley has put on a show, hitting .369 with 9HR and 37 RBI, while 3B Grant Psomas has hit .315 with 14 HR and 37 RBI. 1B Mike Carp has put up big power numbers, 16HR, 48 RBI, but struggled a bit making contact with 71 Ks in 208 first-half at-bats. Carlos Gomez appears to be over his early-season wrist injury, and has his average up to .264, with 5HR and 26 RBI, and an impressive 33 SB.

Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

17

The New--York Gothams are still playing the

The original New York Gothams (bat ground) started play in the 1850 bu are kept alive in spirit by a hardy gr of New Yorkers who show people he the game was played in the old day (above) who were foolish enough to low the author to ioin them for a da'

game like it ought to

be... in 1864.

By Mike McGann Gotham Baseball

The first thing I needed to play, I was i formed, was a nickname. Ballplayers werer held in the highest regard in those days (i

T

he lads were counting on me.

Two hands and runners on - and our beloved Gothams down by an ace in the 10th,

â&#x20AC;˘

truly a tight scratch.

So far, my efforts as a muffin striker were subpar, and I was unable to even make my first in five trips, sent to the grass each time. Then providence smiled on me. The pitcher unleashed the ball- and miracle of miracles - I hit a corker over the head of the short stop.

Not exactly a ripping ball over the ring of carriages, but enough to show this portly old scribe has a bit of sand.

Okay, ESPN SportsCenter it's not. But it's pretty close to how an account on my foray into the past of baseball might have appeared back in the 60s - the 1860s. For those of you chronologically challenged, let me translate: Trailing 17-16 in the l Oth, two on and two out, I carne to the plate.

Looking at an O-for-5 day already, as a rookie hitter, I got lucky and the Elizabeth pitcher threw one in my wheelhouse, I turned on it and lined a shot into left-center field. Not exactly a homer, but enough to show this fat, old writer still has a bit of stuff.

fact, the only McGann to play in the ill jars - wasn't one. Dan McGann's real narr

was Dennis Lawrence), so Ken - Trolley C - christened me "Chadwick" after Henry Chadwick, the 19th centur sportswriter who did so much to shape the game (for example, the K use to note strikeouts was picked by Chadwick because it was the last letter I his name).

Then, I needed to learn the rules. Normally, the Gothams play 1864 ruk

(hence the long pants), but the Resolutes play 1873 style and get knic ers, which carne into base ball fashion in 1867) and they were the horr team, complete with portable back stop adorned with a U.S. Flag, circ

1867-1875.

Unlike recent years - the game changed radically, almost yearly, betwee 1860 and 1887, so less than a decade makes for a lot of difference - tl: Gothams usually can get an out by catching a fair ball on one hop, but nc on the day I played, as only foul balls could be caught that way. No ov,

Instead of just writing a story about the New York Gothams - and with all due respect to all of the other old-style baseball teams out there, almost a dozen in the metro-NY area and hundreds more around the U.S., there wasn't any other choice for this magazine to write about - team captain Ken

running first base, underhanded pitching, and three balls (but a strike zor the size of an aircraft carrier) are a walk are among the rules of the day th,

Schlapp and his Gothams let me be a member of the team for a day as they - we - played the Elizabeth (NJ) Resolutes.

Stealing is allowed (and rampant) and the good pitchers - and Elizabet had one - throw hard, albeit underhand, and change speeds well. In otlu

18

Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

differ from today's game.

Still, in many ways the game is closer to modern baseball than say, softba

www.gothambaseball.com

.--

words, this ain't no beer league. Both teams take it deadly serious - but, in another difference from today's game, gentlemanly conduct is expected at all times. Some kicking, or arguing, is permitted, but rough behavior by players - or fans - is subject to fine: Imagine trying to fine an unruly Phillies' fan at Citizens Bank Park.

This game is gentlemanly - the umpire, dressed in a full suit, even in the 90-degree-plus heat, kindly informs you of the number of hands (outs) as you come to bat, every game is concluded by a series of cheers and thanks for the fans, the umpire and each of the teams.

Maybe the most compelling thing: because of the small-ball nature of the game, one must always be thinking - more even than in modern baseball - and certainly more than in sofrball, where the majority of thinking involves worrying about the number of beers lefr in the cooler between innings. Swing too hard at the ball and you'll do what I did - either tip the ball -=~~~-----, back to the

pop out.

The equipment - what little there is - is a lot different. First, the ball. Slightly larger and sofrer than a modern baseball, but smaller and

THE

NEW

YORK

GAME

h~r'rlp'r t~l~n a the cover is cut a single piece of leather. While' easier to catch Plays at home are anything but barehanded than a modern baseball, it carries routine without a glove - old style base ball (left) has unique cross better than a softball when hit.

Of course, anything is going to carry if you stitch, with single piece of leather, hit it with a 40-ounce bat. To get a good while hand-turned bats are only sense of it, imagine swinging a leg of your slightly thicker at the barrel than at dining room table. The handle is thick, but the handle. the barrel is much smaller than a modern bat, so you have more weight and less surface that could be - and was - played in just about area. Note that this sort of any cow pasture.

After an afternoon of playing this old game, bat stayed in though, you begin to see why the game exploded across a young America - despite the differences, it is very much baseball. If you find a way to block out the modern elements of life, an afternoon on a lush, green field can transport you can to a simpler time.

For me, watching and playing, it was a reminder of everything that makes me love baseball - the game in a pure, honest way, uncluttered by designated hitters, home-run derby innings - and window back to my youth and well into the 1920s - and was a the sandlot games played in an empty field key component in "small ball" the when I was 10 or II. For an afternoon, I was back in my youth. It station-to-station style offense popular before Babe Ruth changed the game with his volumi- didn't matter that now, at age 41, I run like a piece of furniture. The grass smelled green and nous home runs.

And the field is a bit different, too. No mound. fresh and the specter of possibility was everyNo dirt cutouts, just a few lines drawn in chalk where.

And that is the beauty of the game, of this on the grass for a pitchers' box and batters' box - and maybe, lines for the basepaths. A game game. ~

Gotham Baseball-Summer, 2005

19

"Highlanders at Hilltop" by William Feldman, CourtesyBill Gofflgoodsportsart.co

By Mark Healey Gotham Baseball "He was either steady or wild as a hawk; with no middle ground. He always had some trick up his sleeve,feeding the visitors on tender little 'dew drops' with slight curves, but awful drops."

- New York Freeman's Journal, July, 1896 on Jack Chesbro

â&#x20AC;˘

T

he question - Name the Hall of Fame pitcher that owns the greatest season in baseball history.

The answer is rarely correct, even in the town where it happened.

Walk into any corner bar in New York City. No, not the trendy hangouts, the real bars. Places like the Molly Wee Pub, Mug Shots, Connolly's (all of them) or Martell's on the Upper East Side. Then look for the fans watching baseball, and ask them which records they think will never be broken "DiMaggio's streak," is a usual first reply.

"Cy Young's 511 wins" is another popular response. When the offer of "Jack Chesbro's 41 wins in a season," the all-too-familiar refrain of "Who?"always follows.

Hence, the reason for this story, and quite honestly, one of the inspirations of this very magazine.

"Only the die-hard baseball fans know about Chesbro," Baseball America's Executive Editor Jim Callis told Gotham Baseball. "To many, his achievements were attained too long ago, and they have faded in memory."

20

Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

"He shouldn't be anonymous."

John D. "Jack" also known as "Happy Jack" Chesbro was born c June 5, 1874 in North Adams, Massachusetts. As a boy, he learned ho to play the game of baseball with teams like the Houghtonville Nine, ; well as other sandlot teams in the locale.

It was at the age of twenty, when working for the state mental hospit in Middletown, NY, when his baseball career really started to take ol His pleasant disposition with patients and fellow workers earned hi his "Happy Jack" moniker, and while playing for the hospital baseba team, coach Pat McGreehy told Jack he felt he could pitch professioi ally.

So, for the next three years (1895-1897), Chesbro tried to catch ( with several teams, all but fruitlessly. It wasn't until 1898-99, when I fashioned a 17-4 mark for Richmond through July 1899 that he caugl the eye of the major leagues.

Paying the then-princely sum of $1,500, the Pittsburgh Pirates sigm Chesbro for the remainder of the season.

It would take until 1901 for that initial investment to payoff, as Che bro enjoyed his first 20-win season (21-10, 2.37 ERA) leading the F rates to their first-ever NL pennant in 1901.

Chesbro followed that year up with an even better season in 190 posting a 28-6 record with a 2.17 ERA, the year in which he is believe to have first started throwing the spitball.

Seeking to make the most money he could, Chesbro jumped to the! manager Clark Griffith's New York Highlanders for their first AL se

==~=-

HigWanders had to sweep in order to overtake Boston .

In the ninth inning, Boston's Lou Criger singled, then went to second on a sacrifice and advanced to third on a wild pitch. On the next pitch Chesbro's spitter sailed over the catchers head. Criger came in to score the eventual winning run, giving the Red IDe Baseball Hall Sox the pennant dIF:nni"_ \{'ewere playing At the time, it overU~ianli. He had a tough shadowed Chesbro's bril- ~ They hit him liant season, and though runs. He came he went 19-13 with a IDe bench and said, 2.20 ERA in 1905 and - - I haven't got my nata 24-16 record with a today. I m going 2.96 ERA in 1906, the 'em the spirter the specter of that wild pitch - u if it s all right stayed with him until he . I told him to go left baseball.

- and you know what?

He was 10-10 in 1907, He f.mned fourteen. They 14-20 in 1908, and New York released him dur'r get another run and w-ewon the game 4 to 3." ing the 1909 season. irh three straight 20He finished his career ... by pitching one game, a win seasons - and an nnhirrable pitch - under loss, for the Boston Red Sox later that season.

- belr. Chesbro would put In 1911, Chesbro mgcrher the best single seacoached baseball at son by any starting pitcher . major league history in Amherst College in Massachusetts, briefly returned to the majors He starred 51 games, to coach for the Washcompleted 48 and tossed CHESBRO, NEW YORK, AMERICAN LEAGUE. - innings. He threw six ington Senators in 1924, and passed away on Noours, walked just 88 vember 6, 1931. ers and posted a brilSeventeen years after.

41-12 record with a his death, he was elected _ERA .. to the Hall of Fame in "Yes, I believe Chesbro's -11 wins will never be Jim Callis, Executive Editor, 1946, and he is the only player among the Coomatched," Callis said, when Baseball America, on Jack Chesbro. perstown greats who Gotham Baseball asked him if Chesbro's feats will pitched for a Cooperstown team, the semiever be felled in this modpro Cooperstown Athern era of five-man rotaletics in 1896. tions, pitch counts, glorified middle relievers and Philadelphia !\s. As is more common Of all the players enshrined in the Hall of and the ill-named "quality start. "Even if, as now, more than 100 years later, the season Bill James believes, that four-man rotations was decided with a five-game series between Fame that have worn a New York uniform, may be back in vogue in the foreseeable fu- New York and Boston that ended the season. he is easily the least known and least appreciture, I can't see anyone coming close."

The Highlanders won the first game, tak- ated.

However, when all is said and done, his 41 However, as little known as Chesbro's ac- ing a half-game lead. Boston swept a doublecomplishments are, it is the last game he header the following day and went ahead by wins in a single season remains, and will rePJI a game and a half, leaving a doubleheader the main, unbreakable. pitched in that season - quite unfortunately -

-

- ClC _

nes-::

â&#x20AC;˘All during e u. - e Highlanders were pan of a five-war fight for the pennant with the Red Sox, White Sox, Indians

'He shouldn't be anonymous.'

Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

21

BuddyBall: A Success on Long Is and After winning the Atlantic League Championship last season, Long Island Ducks' owner Buddy Harrelson now has rings as a player, coach and owner. But, only one championship has true meaning to him.

"It's nothing like winning when you play," t h e former Met shortstop said. "It's nice to win as an owner, but I haven't got any control. And sin ce, I haven't had a hit in 25 years; it's nice as an owner, because that's all I can be now."

As owner, Harrelson oversees the Long Island baseball operations, which besides putting a competitive product on the field, also p rcvi des an outlet for former Major Leaguers and AAA players when none is available.

"We have been taking players that don't have jobs and make a holding tank for them," Harrelson said.

"They can show teams that they are healthy and they can prove that they can play again."

Harrelson's success stories include Washington Nationals' infielder Carlos Baerga, who played 53 games for the Ducks in 2001 and former Generation 'K' pitcher Bill Pulsipher, who after leading Long Island to the title last season, made the St. Louis Cardinals out of Spring Training.

This season, Harrelson's Ducks have former big leaguers John Rocker, Donovan Osborne and Paxton Crawford trying to get another chance to get back to "The Show."

And to the owner's credit, Long Islanders have flocked to' Central Islip to see his team, as they averaged 6,155 fans per game over their five seasons, which is better than a sellout a game.

But at 61, Harrelson may eventually take a more of a backseat role on the team.

"Soon I will have to just watch and not throw batting practice," he said. "Baseball is in my blood. I wasn't happy when I got a real job

22

and my wife encouraged me to do something like this."

* * * This just may be Butch HobS01'1'S final season as Nashu'a Pride manager.

The 55 yearold may just pack it in to spend time with family.

"It's quite possible that this might be it," a reflective Ho bso n said.

"I have two young sons who are playing baseball.

They are good ballplayers and I want to see them play more. I also have a baby girl who is 15 months."

Hobson took over the Pride in 2000 and won the Atlantic League Championship that year and has been in the playoffs four of his fi rst five seasons.

Around the League Ozzie Timmons rejoined the Atlantic City Surf after beginning the season in Mexico. The 34 yearold outfielder said he was planning on playing at the Jersey Shore all along, but the opportunity was too good to pass up.

After a conversat ion with Duck officials, John Rocker has decided to let his pitching do the talking. The chatty reliever has stopped talking to the press and has gotten his pitching under control with numerous dominate outings under his belt.

New Newark manager Chris Jones has brought a changed attitude to the Bears. He is stressing fundamentals and the team had respond-

Gotham Baseball-Summer, 2005

.. ~

" '-;'>-t",

~

.'

e ~JN :: .._

Buddy Harrelson ed with an over .500 record.

The most accomplished name in the.

Atlantic League t his season is out fielder Tom Good, 'win.

The former II 'j Dodger and Cub ' ' has brought a pro fessional attitude to the Atlantic City Surf, who was referred to the team by his brother Hugh. Manager Jeff Ball said Goodwin has been a good influence.

Number One picks Steven Drew Weaver and Jared ing with were playR i vthe Camden when ersharks they were signed by the Arizona Diam on dback and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, respectively at the deadline on May 30. Drew was leading the league in batting at .427 when he inked his contract.

Joe McDonald is Publisher of NYSportsDay.com and a regular contributor to Gotham Baseball.

Pr inee, continuedjium Page 6 to be the equivalent of Tom Seaver. Yet on the night of June 14, nobody was worried about Tom Terrific,

Whatever

the summer of'84.

Once the Magic was inarguably Back at Shea, Fal-

the fortunes of the ream in any given year

since, 1980 ensured the Mees would never be allowed

cone, Flynn and friends were nowhere to be found,

to fall into the utter disrepair it wallowed in during the

Ripley fastball and sent it over the rightfield fence and

their exploits shoved deep into the closet of the base-

late '70s. Things may have looked bad from time to

into the Mets' bullpen.

ball subconscious.

because Steve Henderson

connected

with an Allen

distinguish

Final score: Mets 7 Giants 6.

All at once, Henderson's

homer triggered a coming-

out party. His ebullient teammates dugout

came out of the

to mob him at home plate. A long-missing

sellout crowd, 44,910

strong, came out to Shea the

A glance at their record wouldn't

the 1980 Mets from any edition of the

team berween 1977 and 1983. You had to be there to

time since Doubleday

let alone Mettle the Mule.

While The NEW

appreciate how uplifting 47-39 felt.

But there was more to 1980 than a bad start, a nice

and Wilpon took the reins, but

bad is relative to anybody who recalls the de Roulets,

People's Team,

New YOlk Mets, let alone The

didn't become

household

words in

middle and a horrific end. It really was the beginning

1980 the way "Who Shot lR?" did, "The Magic Is Back" resonates a quarter-century

greater. For one thing, there was June's

later in ways no-

next day, filling every available plastic seat of the reno-

of something

vating stadium; June 15 outdrew the entire first week

amateur dra& when the Mets had the No. 1 selection

of the season. And the team's record came out to a

in the nation. They used it to pick a Strawberry named

a look beyond

game under .500, just six behind first-place Montreal.

Darryl; he was anything

you're at Shea. See that top hat with the apple? It says

but irrelevant to their plans.

1969 was no longer a black & white image in one of

By September, with pennant

Della Feminas ads. It was a precedent

chosomatic,

chat instandy

seemed matchable.

For that generation ofMets and Mets diehards, Steve Henderson

became, with the final swing of June 14,

fever having proved psy-

body could've imagined.

"HOME

In very literal terms, take

the right-center

RUN"

wall the next time

now. It used to say "Mets Magic".

It was erected in 1981 to continue

the Magic theme

Wilson, Hubie Brooks, Wally Backman. Those guys

(though

Is Real. Catch

would stick.

Here." didn't really catch on). Look, too, to the panels

the Mets brought up some kids: Mookie

More important

than the players whose names first

the sequel "The

Magic

It

that ring the press level at Shea, the ones with the col-

bubbled to the surface 25 years ago was the spirit chat

lages of great Mets moments

was a day I'll never forget," the Mets manager, a fella

revealed itself to Messrs. Wilpon

and Doubleday.

accented with four words: Amazing, Miracle, Believe

named Torre, reflected a few months later.

Their goal was to rescue National

League baseball in

Bobby Thomson

and Kirk Gibson rolled into one. "It

The Magic appeared to be truly Back. Energized by Henderson

and his teammates, funs began to frequent

rwo places they'd srudiously avoided for years: Shea and the standings.

As June tumed

to July and July

New York They learned chat a decent team chat gave fans half a chance to dream could spark interest and sell tickets.

While they gave Cashen time to build a farm system, they were also open with their checkbook

three-month

than the previous regime of Lorinda

August 13, they were 56-57 overall (.500 was touched if not topped) and part of a dogfight with the Expos,

(fur more so

de Roulet and

Mets ownership,

marketing

baseball

was now

essential.

gan hasn't been unveiled, whether

M. Donald Grant).

In consecutive calendar years, the Mets would trade

Barely an

it's been inspiring

(1984's "Catch The Rising Stars"), definitive (2000's

for and then re-sign George Foster, Keith Hernandez

"Always Amazin'''), Back"), debatable

fraudulenr

(1992's "Hardball

Hall of'Famer. Those investments seem unimaginable

legitimately tantalizing (2005's "The New Mers" and

without

"Next Year Is Now").

squad five

the owners could envision an eventual

of an 11-38

1980 having served as a platform from which champion-

ship.

For a 67-95 team, the 1980 Mets did very well indeed.

stumble to the finish.

When

the last out was recorded, much

exceeded

the

the 1980 Mets

1979 Mets

on paper.

Instead of losing 99 games, they lost 95. Instead of finishing sixth, they seeded in fi&h. And though attendance for the season jumped

by some 400,000,

1,754 showed up for the penultimate

only

-Full details on the Mets' new ballpark

home game of

the year. There were no mocking headlines this time because, alas, almost everybody had stopped

-The Kids are All Right: A look at the

paying

attention to the Mets again.

Yankees'rookies

In a sense, the 1980 season lived up to its Magical billing because it tumed

out to be one of illusion.

The stretch of "scintillating"

(as announcer

- Dem Bums at 50: The 50th Anniversary

Steve Al-

bert hyped it) baseball witnessed at mid-year wasn't indicative of anything

of Brooklyn's World Series win

to come. The fans who had

been teased with a taste of success in 1980 couldn't be

Plus: columns, player updates and more!

blamed for growing a litrle bitter in the immediately succeeding seasons when the Mets continued

to lose

at will and finish last or close to it. The players who defined the brief run of '80 excitement were all gone by the time the Mets became serious contenders

24

Is

(1983's "Now The Fun Starts") or

the Magic

of 1980 as any other team in town.

hadn't

con-

the industry

off-season has gone by since 1980 when a new slo-

and Gary Carter - rwo former MVPs and a future

straight at Shea. It was the beginning

and perhaps

as a whole, that no matrer the quality of the team,

Pirates and Phillies for the N.L. East lead. The Mets

went poof Philly swept an injury-depleted

and Magic. Magic didn't

In a broader sense, 1980's Magical campaign

were as vital to New York baseball talk in the summer

Then, just as quickly as it was conjured,

-

magically appear there by itself vinced

turned to August, the Mets wouldn't go away. Over a stretch, the team went 47-39. As late as

- all self-explanatory

and characters. They are

in

Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

m

www.gothambaseball.com

THE

NEW

YORK

GAME

The Gotham Baseball Quiz 1. Since 1900, which New York team has won the most National League pennants?

2. The Brooklyn Dodgers had three other nicknames in franchise history. Name two of them.

3. Who did Don Larsen strike out to com, plete his perfect game in the 1956 World Series?

4. Match the major league players with the New York City public high school he attended. a) Sandy Koufax 1. George Washington b) Lee Mazzilli 2. Lafayette c) Manny Ramirez 3. Tilden d) Willie Randolph 4. Lincoln 5. Leo Durocher managed both the Giants and Dodgers. Which team did he manage longer?

6. Before Shea Stadium was built, where did the Mets play their home games? .

7. Before Yankee Stadium was built, where did the Yankees play their home games?

8. Match the major league player with the college he attended. a) Mo Vaughn 1. Yale

b) Gene Larkin 2. St. John's c) Frank Viola 3. Columbia d) Ron Darling 4. Seton Hall 9. Who were the Brooklyn Robins named after?

10. The Mets selected right-handed pitcher Paul Wilson with the number one pick in the amateur draft of 1994. Who was selected the first time the Mets had the top pick?

11. The Yankees selected left-handed pitcher Brien Taylor with the number one pick in the amateur draft of 1991. Who was selected the first time the Yankees had the top pick?

12. Who is the last National League player to hit .400? a) Zack Wheat, Dodgers. b) Mel Ott, Giants. c) Bill Terry, Giants. d) Lefty O'Doul, Dodgers.

13. Four men have managed both the Yankees and the Mets. Name them.

14. Willie Randolph is the ninth Met manager who also have played for the franchise. Who was the first Met manager to have played for the team?

15. The Yankees have retired 15 uniform numbers to honor 16 players and managers.

Who was the first to be honored?

16. The Mets have retired three uniform numbers. Name the honorees.

17. There were three future major league managers in the Mets 1962 opening day starting lineup. Name two of them.

18. Prior to the start of the 2005 season, 89 players have played for both the Mets and Yankees. Named the two former Yankees who played for the 1962 Mets.

19. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the Dodgers in 1947. Who was the first African-American to pitch in the major leagues?

20. Which Yankee has hit for the cycle the most times? a) Lou Gerhig. b) Tony Lazzeri. c) Joe DiMaggio. d) Bob Meuse!.

Answers on Page 29

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2005

27

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1. Giants 15 (Dodgers won 10 and Mets won 4).

2. Bridegrooms, Superbas, Robins.

3. Dale Mitchell.

4. C-l, A-2, B-4, D-3.

5. Dodgers 8 1-2 years. Giants 7 1-2 years.

6. Polo Grounds.

7. Polo Grounds.

8. A-4, B-3, C-2, D-l.

9. Manager Wilbert Robinson.

10. Catcher Steve Chilcott, 1966.

11. First baseman Ron Blomberg, 1967.

12. c) Bill Terry batted .401 in 1930.

13. Casey Stengel, Yogi Berra, Dallas Green, Joe Torre.

14. Gil Hodges.

15. Lou Gerhig's number 4 in 1939.

16.37 Casey Stengel; 14 Gil Hodges; 41 Tom Seaver.

17. Gil Hodges (IB), Don Zimmer (3B), Roger Craig (P).

18. Gene Woodling (1949-54 with Yankees) and Marv Thronberry (1955-59 with Yankees).

19. Dan Bankhead of the Dodgers in 1947.

20. d) Bob Meusel, three times.

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The Name of this Ex-GM is Talking Head "(Steve) Phillips is huge on availability, minuscule on accountability, having long ago mastered the art of saying nothing" - Dave Buscema, Times Herald-Record.

ager is only part of the story, as the real kick in

liked people in baseball. fm not talking about the fans, here. Their feelings for good old SP are allover the internet, and fairly easy to find.

Just search for the Phillips., the f-word and the Mets.

"What is it that evokessuch negative emotion? I'm not that controversial." - Steve Phillips.

"Steve Phillips is an oily, self-promoting, doestroyer-orwor .r: ld s""G . " reg W.. Pnnce, Faith and Fear in Flushing. '\VJhen

one is a baseball writer, one is prone to watch a lot of baseball. During the course of what I like to tell my beautiful wife is "research", I come across a lot of play-by-play guys and analysts.

So I ask you, what is it exactly that complelled ESPN to hire Steve Phillips as an analyst?

Could it be the way he completely sold out Bobby Valentine - who was ironically the best baseball analyst ESPN has ever had the only manager in NY Mets history to make the playoffs in successiveyears? Or could it be how he determined from a batting practice session that Mo Vaughn was the way to address the Mets' offense?

Savvy decison-making, that what it must have been. Like signing Kevin Appier to a 44

W

million, four-year contract? Or trading Jason Isringhausen, Melvin Mora, and Jason Bay, and not parting with Jay Payton in a package for Gary Sheffield?

It must be how he turned an interesting team in the first years of his tenure to a bloated monstrosity, which only now climbing its way back into the hearts of Mets fans. Thanks to Pedro Martinez, no less, who, according to ESPN Insider Steve Phillips had a "90-percent torn labrum".

Another brilliant piece of talent evaluation.

Phillip's comical tenure as Mets general man-

30

the pants is that ESPN actually pays him for his opinions on what other GMs in baseball are doing!

It's like hiring Art Howe to run your baseball team instead of Buck Showalter...oh, wait.

There has to be some cruel joke here somewhere, right? Like ESPN charging people to read Phillip's Insider column? It's almost as bad as websites charging people to read "original content" by 15-year olds.

People, do yourself a favor, buy pet rocks instead, you'll get a better bang for your buck.

How is it that a man that perennially misread the market place, undervalued his own farm system, and made poor judgement calls on talent and personnel possibly be an expert analyst?

Maybe is was this keen insight?

"We're going to ut a competitive team on the field, a playoff-caliber team that will give us a chance to go (0 the World Series, I think when the time comes, the fans are going to like our product." - SP to the Daily News, 11-29-01 Next on ESPN Insider: How to sign a third baseman to play first base, move your second baseman back to third - whom you asked to go from third to second when you signed another third baseman. Next week, How to reacquire the worst free-agent bust in team history, allowing him to shatter an already frayed clubhouse for the second time in a decade, and have the organization pay him until he's 50.

During the time Steve Phillips was running the Mets, he was easily one of the most dis-

Gotham Baseball-Summer,

2005

So let me get this straight, Steve Phillips, we are losing Mike Hampton and you add Kevin &*%$ Appier? For four years? %$&"% you, SP, Appier is a piece of &"%$# and so are you. - "strawrnan l S" Billy Beane isn't a well-liked individual either, but at least the guy has (or had) an eye for talent and a consistent track record -- some of which he achieved by taking advantage of the buffoonery of his "pal" Phillips, I might add.

"Billy Beane is a great salesman and Steve Phillips is a bad shopper" - Jon Heyman, NY Newsday In many ways he's an Outsider instead of an Insider, brings nothing to the table except biased rhetoric and completely devoid of a sense of humor about how badly he ran a baseball team.

Regardless of what I think, and let's face it, I thought "Cop Rock" was a great show, when was the last time you heard someone say, "Steve Philips would be a great GM for (fill in a team)."? Of course, Phillips recently said something along the lines of "I wouldn't take a GM job for any amount of money" or some such nonsense.

As Sydney Pollock's character says to the oblivious Dustin Hoffman's character in Tootsie "No one will hire you!"

Except ESPN. Then again, this is the company that puts Colin "New York is only a baseball town because the other teams stink" Cowherd on in middays in NYc, thinks Stephen A. Smith is talented (yes I know he can write" but Good Lord, is he bad on the air), and thought Wally Matthews - who his listeners quickly realized didn't really like sports - would be an interesting listen.

My personal favorite Steve Philiips moments this season were at the winter meetings, when he was throwing around trade rumors like a seasoned- espn.com message poster. Sadly ironic, as he used to go ballistic in his office daily when being informed of the various rumors (and leaks) that were coming from his wreck of a front office.

Steve Phillips, ESPN Insider.

Somewhere in the Pacific Rim, Valentine is laughing his ass off.

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Mark Healey is Executive Editor of Gotham Baseball