Random Thoughts From a Very Tense Evening:
I’ve been a huge fan of Jacob deGrom since he came up. He is always smiling in the dugout, connecting with his teammates, the center of things. I love his whippy delivery and his competitiveness, but I didn’t think he could win twice in Chávez Ravine against the pitchers Terry Collins respectfully called “those animals.” So deGrom did win. He pitched six of the gutsiest innings you will ever see, getting by with whatever he could find in the tool box. It was one of the great games ever pitched by a Met because of what was at stake. Four of their regulars remained in their slumps, more or less, but Travis d’Arnaud contributed a run-scoring fly, and Lucas Duda wangled a walk that led to Daniel Murphy’s alert steal of an unoccupied third base. Murphy had an epic game. I’ve been reading he’s gone after this season because his contract is up. Maybe his defensive liabilities make him an American League player. I’ve used the word “klutz.” But I got an email Friday morning from my Yankee pal Big Al comparing Murphy to Billy Martin and Hank Bauer from the era that still gives me nightmares. Murphy is a gamer. Keep him. Let him grow old, ungracefully. Let Cespedes make his nine figures elsewhere. He is 30 and does not know how to make contact with runners in scoring position. I forgot that Terry Collins was a coach with Jim Leyland in 1992, when the Pittsburgh Pirates lost a heart-breaker to the Braves, as two more stars were packed and ready to leave. End of an era that never quite happened. On Friday night, Collins out-managed Don Mattingly. Donnie Baseball was a better hitter. Irrelevant now. We had four people connected via smart phones Thursday night – CA upstate listening to the radio, Laura in town, me in front of the tube, and a nameless bloke keeping track at work. I probably should scrub some of the comments we made when Collins brought in Familia to start the eighth. The big gentle guy got six outs. I take it all back about totally breaking patterns for a closer. When it was over, CA texted: “Pipe Down!” How did she know? Never thought the Mets could win out there, but they did. Today is a rest day.
Mendel
10/16/2015 08:52:25 am
Rest day indeed. Saturday, as always, too. Family of Mendel fuel another gutsy 3-6AM performance with espresso and coffee Ben&Jerry's (Juerys). Not sure how long we can keep this up.
George Vecsey
10/16/2015 09:09:28 am
The alternative being more sleep while other teams play? Think about it, Mendel. GV
Mendel
10/16/2015 09:19:40 am
May limit early morning baseball to possible clinchers.
George Vecsey
10/16/2015 09:37:55 am
Nobody will win.
Altenir Silva
10/16/2015 10:05:20 am
Dear George,
Mendel
10/16/2015 10:21:14 am
George,
George Vecsey
10/16/2015 10:54:04 am
I will refer this to Bill Wakefield, who played on that team. Back at you. GV
George Vecsey
10/16/2015 01:31:40 pm
Mendel: I’ve got 3 games with Lary P and Cannizzaro C, but nothing exactly the way your dad remembers. Retrosheet is a great asset. GV 10/16/2015 11:08:45 am
I watched the game in Madison,WI on an iPhone as my daughter does not have cable. Small screen, big win.
Chris Vecsey
10/16/2015 11:18:39 am
Collins trusted deGrom and showed that trust on the mound. Then he trusted Familia, even enough to bat. Imagine! Building a community on trust.
George Vecsey
10/16/2015 01:00:39 pm
Chris: In 1964, Johnny Keane used Bob Gibson on the last weekend to win the pennant (surviving the Mets!) Afterward, Gibson proudly said his arm was "horses---" When asked why he stayed with Gibson, Keane (a former seminarian, who had liberated Gibson from the margins of the staff) told reporters, "I had a commitment to his heart." I was there., It remains the most chilling comment I have ever heard from a manager. Even Bob Gibson needed somebody's trust. Keane was a wonderful man. G
Gene Palumbo
10/16/2015 11:50:58 am
I loved Mendel's "base-running payback:" Excellent!
George Vecsey
10/16/2015 12:52:59 pm
Gene, true, but Slaughter did his late in G7. Robinson did it all the time. Old videos of him only add to his aura. Plus, his running at UCLA backfield is a throwback to another time. He was Bo Jackson before Bo Jackson. GV
Brian Savin
10/16/2015 11:54:57 am
George is right. The Mets could not have won. They lost. We've all been transported to an alternative universe where they face the Cubs, who also lost and find themselves here. I'll call the kids and if they are here, too, I think I will stay awhile. Unless the Cubs win here. Then I'll hitchhike to another galaxy. Or borrow a broom. Halloween?
Josh Rubin
10/16/2015 12:58:37 pm
Aaahhh. I have little to add. but i wanted to show up here and bask with the rest of you, before returning to nail-biting and superstition to get through the next series. I'm sure the players will be ready, but are 36 hours enough time for us fans to prepare mentally?
George Vecsey
10/16/2015 01:02:40 pm
So do you keep him?
Josh Rubin
10/16/2015 01:36:22 pm
Absent a lock on a major upgrade, I would. Probably not a moneyball answer, but I place a (probably too sentimental) value on maintaining a team's character and chemistry when that is part of a team's strength. I think that is the case here. 10/17/2015 11:18:07 am
George, thanks for all this. Three words: Ya gotta believe. I am on extended stay, for business, in St. Louis, of all place, literally a stone's throw away from Busch Stadium. Were it not for a major running event tomorrow, this place would be a ghost town. Tonight we'll dine on The Hill and toast Yogi, before hurrying back to the hotel to watch The Game. It's what we dream about in February, and now, somehow, it's real. For the record, I am half Murphy.
George Vecsey
10/17/2015 11:36:42 am
Peter, have some toasted ravioli for me. 10/17/2015 11:22:33 am
Hello George,
George Vecsey
10/17/2015 11:39:33 am
Buddy, it's great to hear from after these years. I admit I never thought about it. I bet Mattingly (or Collins, or most managers) would say the fourth inning is too early for that. Get the out for Greinke. If it was the 8th or 9th, possibly. Is it possible Mattingly and Ethier discussed that in the dugout? Anyway, great to be in touch. GV
Hansen Alexander
10/18/2015 10:26:43 am
George, I can report A NEW CULT CALLED THE METS---Although there has been very little water cooler discussion or street talk here at the Roman Forum for a long time, at least 15 years, my colleague Julius Caesar told me this morning that the secret cult known as Mets has reemerged and won an important game against the Cubs in Chicago, located in some far away province between Gaul and Brittania. Since Caesar is an expert on Gaul, having written a book on his conquests there, I can only take his word on that. Another friend, Pliny the Younger, claims the cult is composed of staunch moralists and if you are not careful they will try to convert all Romans to their cult. Sallust, a moralist himself, claims that is ridiculous because the traditional Yankees team is the long time favorite of most Romans. Their leader is a white haired ancient named Collins who apparently was a failure in trying to organize other cults in Palestine and Greece. Tacitus, who is an authority on all things, claims that their most dangerous person is Murphy, a man said to have been born on that small island west of Brittania. He even says there is another man called Cespedes who was born on a small island near India. I know if none of this is true but I repeat it for posterity.
George Vecsey
10/18/2015 05:55:33 pm
Hansen: excellent. What about the Celtic lad who rowed all the way down from his windy, rainy coast -- Saint Murph?
Hansen Alexander
10/18/2015 09:14:09 pm
Yes, George, we have been amazed here in the Forum of the actions of this Saint Murph you speak off. We understand that not so much was expected but that he has homered at every opportunity as if he were following the ancient scriptures. We hear he comes from a people, called the I-rush, or some such spelling, who are so fearsome that they consider it an unpardonable weakness to get along with their relatives. Apparently there are many of these fearsome peoples in this place of Chicago.
George Vecsey
10/19/2015 08:35:39 am
Some here in Nuovum Yorkum. . Wait, that's me, with my I-Rush passport. Did you know they play a form of baseball in old Roman areas near Cardiff and Liverpool? GV
marty lager
10/22/2015 08:37:08 am
Congratulations George. Enjoy the ride Comments are closed.
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