There are many adjectives that are used in conjunction with the 86 Mets. Confidence. Arrogance. Swagger. Obnoxious. But they were good, damn good. And they knew it. That’s a far cry from the 2013 Mets.

However, it’s not just wins that count. It’s playing as a cohesive unit. It’s playing as, no pun intended, a TEAM. And that is something this club does not do. You don’t have to get along off the field. You don’t even have to like it each other. But when you’re on that field, you play as a team. You fight as a team. The Jordany Valdespin situation shows in glaring fashion how incredibly dysfunctional this “team” is.

The 86 club was a bawling and brawling brazen bunch of ballplayers chasing women and partying. But there were exceptions. For all intents and purposes, Gary Carter was an outcast. He was a family man, religious and clean-cut. Heck, the guy was so pure he did a commercial for Ivory soap. Mookie Wilson was one of the longest tenured players on that club. Yet, he graciously accepted becoming a platoon player with Lenny Dykstra. Or moving to left. But yet, they won. 108 times. The 4th highest win total in the last 50 years.

That club had issues. No doubt about it. Darryl referred to Wally Backman as a “(expletive) redneck.” In his 1985 book, “Bats,” Davey Johnson referred to Dykstra as “an ***hole kind of guy.” When they were posing for their team picture in the spring of 1987, Keith Hernandez and Strawberry came to blows about seating proximity to Davey. What is this, 3^rd grade? But yet, on the field, they pulled together.

After being chided with chants of “Daaaah—ril” in Fenway, Straw answered back. In the 8^th inning of Game 7, it was he who hit a towering blast off of Al Nipper that was the final nail in the Sox coffin. And then he strolled around the bases in probably the longest HR trot in history. Confidence. Swagger. The following spring Nipper beaned Darryl. And the dugouts promptly emptied. Who else but the Mets could get in a bench-clearing brawl in spring training? Straw was not overly popular with some of his teammates. But they immediately came to his defense. Why? Because that’s what teams do. That’s what winners do.

When Valdespin gets set-up by his manager to get plunked, what do the 2013 Mets do? They sit on their ass. And then rub salt in the wound by condoning the actions of the Pirates.

This is a team?

Baseball is filled with players that did not get along off the field. But yet, they pulled together and they won. The Oakland A’s of the early 70s bickered constantly. Yet, they won 3 straight World Series. Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent loathed each other. But they put their differences aside and gave their team 2 division titles and 1 pennant over 6 seasons. Ruth and Gehrig were polar opposites who disapproved of the other’s lifestyle. Yet, the Yankees of the 1920’s and 30’s seemed to do okay. And how about ‘The Bronx Zoo’ of the late 70’s. Those guys not only clashed off the field but on the field. And in the dugout on national TV. When Reggie Jackson wasn’t avoiding being punched by Billy Martin, he was getting into it with Thurman Munson. Talk about a dysfunctional mess! But yet, the Yankees won 5 divisions, 4 pennants and 2 World Series over a 6 year span.

The Mets, meanwhile, bicker amongst themselves. Then, go out and lose.

Did Valdespin act bush league by hitting that HR and then showboating on a very small scale? Did he act inappropriately for a rookie? Personally, I don’t give a damn. He’s a New York Met and as such he should be defended by his, pardon the pun, “team” mates. Terry Collins set him up to get beaned. I guess we should be thankful Collins allowed him to wear a batting helmet.

Had any other rookie done that they’d be praised for trying to light a spark on a team where no spark exists. Last season Bryce Harper played with arrogance rarely seen in a rookie. And although Valdespin is no Harper, I don’t recall Harper getting blowback from his teammates. He gets praised while Valdespin gets violently slammed in the face by John Buck. John Buck who is on his 4^th team in the last 5 years. John Buck who will be riding the pine once D’arnaud arrives. Can you imagine back-up catcher Ed Hearn violently slamming a pie into the face of Lenny Dykstra? I can’t either.

Kevin Mitchell was a rookie in 86. Does anyone think had Mitch been purposely beaned like that, the Mets would not have retaliated? Tell me Bobby Ojeda wouldn’t have had someone kissing the dirt the next inning. In 1969 Wayne Garrett was a rookie. Garrett was unassuming and quiet. But can you imagine Gil Hodges setting up Garrett to get beaned? I can’t either.

Why should we expect the 2013 Mets to fight the other teams in the NL when they don’t even fight for each other?

You can clearly see the dissension on this “team” by some of the quotes of Valdespin’s “team” mates.

Latroy Hawkins: “What, now we’re supposed to get into a fight for that?” First of all, I didn’t even know Hawkins was still in the majors until the Mets found him on the scrap heap. Secondly, to answer your question, Latroy, yes. Yes you are.

Marlon Byrd: “The Pirates did what you’re supposed to do. We would have done the same thing.” With all due respect, Marlon, I disagree. When was the last time the Mets protected one of their own and retaliated?

If the Mets are going to lose, at least lose with some dignity. Losing is one thing. Being a doormat is unacceptable.

And to David Wright, you’re the captain. Avoid the politically correct statements and settle this in the clubhouse. You’ve got that “C” on your jersey. Now act like a captain. I can’t imagine Keith or Gary or John Franco allowing this to fester. Isn’t it David who said, “You play for the name on the front of your jersey, not the one on your back.”

One vivid memory of 86 was the all-out bench-clearing brawl when Ray Knight decked Eric Davis in Cincinnati. Dugouts emptied…except for one player. Former Red George Foster sat on the bench and watched the Mets fight his old team. And although Foster was the 2^nd highest paid player on the team (and yes, an outcast even before), GM Frank Cashen had no problems immediately getting Foster out of New York. Why? He realized that Foster was not a team player.

Thank goodness Alderson was not the GM in 86. He would’ve kept Foster and gotten rid of Ray Knight.

And ask yourself this: What’s easier to imagine—a guy like Valdespin fitting in with the 86 Champions…or a guy like Keith Hernandez fitting in with the 2013 Mets?

So, to Valdespin, I say, hang in there. Your time here is probably limited. The fact that you’re exciting, try to light a spark and want to win, is clearly not in synch with the 2013 Mets. Management wants everyone to be nice and quiet. We don’t want to upset anyone else in the league.

Shhh. Heaven forbid someone gets mad at us. So, sit tight, Jordany. We’ll probably get rid of you like we did Beltran or Pagan. You know, two ex-Mets who escaped this madness. Two ex-Mets now wearing or pursuing World Series rings. Yes, World Series rings, something Terry  Collins can only view on Google Images.

But there are also games that seem to be indicative of some kind of destiny intended for a team. When it appears in retrospect that a team was destined for greatness, the games that stick out are the type where a win that seemed wholly improbable at one point was captured either through perseverance, dumb luck, a managerial gamble, or some apparently mysterious force. Such was the case when the Mets met up with the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium on the night of July 22 of that memorable year.

The Mets were down to their last out in the top of the ninth, trailing 3-1 as Keith Hernandez faced John Franco with the tying runs on base. Hernandez lifted an easy fly to right that looked to be the last gasp for the NY squad as the Reds’ Dave Parker settled under it. In a stunning turn of events, Parker dropped the easy chance and the runners scurried home to tie the score. Given second life, the Mets began a tenacious and somewhat  outre’ extra-inning odyssey.

A combination of factors including the use of 3 pinch hitters, a double switch, and an ejection (Darryl Strawberry in the 6th for arguing a strike call) had left the Met bench bereft of options for manager Davey Johnson. As the game moved into the bottom of the 10th, Johnson brought in Jesse Orosco as the fifth Met pitcher of the evening. It was at this point that an element of strangeness began to pervade the proceedings.

After Parker was retired for the first out, Pete Rose, then player/manager of the Reds, inserted himself as a pinch hitter and singled. He then reverted to straight managerial mode and brought in Eric Davis to pinch run. Davis promptly stole second and then went for third on a subsequent pitch. His hard slide brought him into contact with Mets third sacker Ray Knight who responded with a bit of contact of his own. A shoving match ensued along with some words being exchanged and before you knew it, Knight’s Golden Gloves instincts had led him to pop Davis right in the kisser. The result was your standard bench-clearing bedlam, and when order was restored, two players from each team were ejected including Knight, Davis, Reds pitcher Mario Soto and Mets RF Kevin Mitchell who had been inserted to replace Strawberry. This left the Mets without sufficient position players to field a full team as the only remaining bench asset at this point was backup catcher Ed Hearn.

Having conferred with his coaches and remaining eligible players, Johnson elected to shift Gary Carter from behind the plate to third replacing Knight and inserted Hearn at Catcher. The outfield was another matter entirely.

Anticipating the probability of needing a right handed arm to spell Orosco if the game continued much beyond the current inning, Johnson inserted reliever Roger McDowell in RF and initiated a strange merry-go-round of pitchers and outfield alignments to compensate for the Mets’ suddenly shorter bench.

As different Reds players came to bat, Johnson would shift either Orosco or McDowell to the mound based primarily on whom he felt could best induce the batter to hit the ball to an established outfielder if solid contact was made (at this point, Mookie Wilson and Lenny Dykstra comprised the other two thirds of the outfield).

As the game wore on, players were shifted repeatedly as Johnson managed to dodge situations where his pitcher/outfielders would actually have to figure in a defensive play. By way of contrast, one of his other displaced troops sparkled in the bottom of the twelfth when, with two Reds on base and none out, emergency third sacker Carter figured in the middle of a nicely turned double play to end the threat.

In the bottom of the thirteenth, Tony Perez stepped to the plate seemingly intent on exploiting the Mets’ compromised defense.  Looking for a pitch he could drive the other way, he swung at a McDowell offering and lined a shot to right field where Orosco was stationed. Jesse made a quick lateral move and snagged the liner, unable to suppress a smile at the seeming absurdity of it all.

Finally, in the top of the fourteenth, Howard Johnson provided the coup de grace with a long three-run bomb off pitcher Ted Power and McDowell finished the Reds off for a 6-3 victory.  In retrospect, the result of this game seemed almost inevitable, as the Mets of that season were a juggernaut that apparently could beat you with one outfielder tied behind their back.

I want to kick that football, I can see Lucy holding it. She’s promised not to pull it away, I know she’s promised before and still pulled it away, but she seemed really honest this time. I’m Charlie Brown, and I really really want to kick that football. I can visualize it in my mind, the feel of the ball on my toe, watching it glide through the uprights. I know it can happen.

As a Met fan the past few years have ended up with me lying on my rear end and Lucy holding the football while all the other boys and girls laugh at me. Every year I tell myself, no not this time, I won’t fall for it, and every year the lure of the football just sitting there is just too great.

The Mets are coming off two opening series victories against the Padres and the Marlins and a win last night in Philly. I’m thrilled, that football is looking awfully tempting. I may even purchase more than one set of tickets to Citi Field for my trip to NY this summer. Maybe I’ll even buy one of those snazzy new blue jerseys. Is it real? Is Lucy being genuine this time? She sure looks like she is.

The Marlins are a bad team but they’re not as bad as I thought. They are more flawed and young than they are bad. They have lots of talent but it’s a smorgasbord of ill fit and youth, and, well, I guess that does translate to being bad. But this kid Fernandez looks like the real deal, and Ruggiano may be more than a late blooming flash in the pan. Stanton is Stanton. If their high upside starters (currently on the DL) come back and are effective they could be even more annoying than the Marlin announcers.

The Padres on the other hand are not a bad team. They’ve had a rash of injuries and they’re missing their prized catcher (whose name sounds like a monster enemy of the Geats), but they’ll rebound.

The Phillies were supposed to be revitalized. They look old and Halladay does not look like Halladay.

There have been some exhilarating moments so far. The cold night of Harvey’s first start … honestly I haven’t felt that way watching a Met starting pitcher in a very long time. Gooden? Seaver? Harvey was that good. You watch games and you usually feel a sense of apprehension, some tension after a walk and a bloop … things tend to unravel. But there was none of that with Harvey the other night against the Padres, they couldn’t touch him, and the Phillies didn’t do much better. His confidence is palpable, his execution impeccable. Matt Harvey reminds me of Tom Seaver … there I said it.

When I talk to Yankee fans, Harvey is my friend Harvey, the Bensonhurst Bomber, he is even bigger than I am, he terrifies them. He won’t like it when I tell him you said Hiroki Koruda would twist him into a pretzel.

There have been other positive developments. Neise has been ace like, Cowgill has given us shades of Lenny Dykstra, Buck and Byrd have been clutch professionals. Parnell is throwing a 92 mph change-up and Murphy’s bat is on fire. Still I have reservations. Lucy has pulled that damned football away every time. Duda has looked overwhelmed in the field and it’s not just that he’s slow, he misjudges balls and takes poor routs. Maybe he’ll improve, maybe he’ll hit enough so we can trade him. Maybe he can hit a ton so we can tolerate his defense, we’ll know soon enough.

The bullpen has gone all Jeckyl and Hyde on us in the early going. Burke, Rice and Hawkins have been up and down in their first couple of appearances. Maybe we can chalk it up to the jitters, maybe they’ll settle down. Atchison has been a “scary old man” as my son described him but he’s performed as promised. That crazy sliderish breaking ball that Burke throws on the outside corner against righthanders was filthy on Sunday. It sure would be great if we had more than Familia in reserve though, Feliciano, Carson, and Mejia might make for nice additions later in the season if there’s a need. Maybe we can groom one or two more effective relievers in the meantime, maybe the BP will actually hold water this season and maybe that will make all the difference in the world given that our starting pitching has been other-worldly.  Between Duda, Valdespin, and the farm maybe Sandy will even pull the trigger on a trade to shore things up in the event we start to struggle.

Last night’s win in Philly was great but it won’t get any easier with Lee going tonight. This three game set against a reloaded Philly lineup with Subway Sandwhich Howard and Chased Mutley back in the mix is big. We played these guys tough last year, hopefully it will carry over. They don’t scare me like they used to. I like this Met team, there’s a different feel to them, they don’t seem easily intimidated, and they aren’t nearly as “nice” as previous incarnations. John Buck in particular seems to have given this squad something of a backbone behind the plate, my eyebrows elevated noticeably the other evening when Buck had a discussion with Valdespin after Jordanny got caught taking too big a lead off first. He’s no Thole that’s for sure.

I think I’m going to go for it, I’m going to kick that football dammit … here I go …

Fast forward ten years to the days of competing for the right to command the front and back pages of the local New York newspapers with the Yankees. Winning baseball didn’t seem to consist of just developing the youth, it mattered most about getting the right players in a trade or free agency to try and win each and every year. Some years it was successful and other years it was just a terrible waste of money.

The 2000 Mets seemed to have the right pieces in place with some home grown players mixed in with a group of veterans brought in to help the Mets finally reach what they hadn’t done in nearly 14 years, and that is not just make it back to the World Series, but actually win again. With a city focused on Yankee baseball, the right ingredients were what mattered most for the Mets. And in 2000, they had the right team that made it back to the World Series, but this time met a Yankees team that was stronger and more experienced winning the big game, so the Mets settled for another year waiting in second place to the Yankees and longing for that elusive ring.

With six more years of trying to get it right, the Mets tried again to bring in talent from out of the organization through trade and free agency and had a team that the starting lineup consisted of only two homegrown players as in David Wright and Jose Reyes. This mix of players took them to the brink of another World Series appearance, only to be beaten by the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS and once again sending the organization back to the drawing board to try and get it right.

Well in 2013, I believe they finally have the pieces in place to maybe mimic the youth movement of the early to mid 1980’s. Twenty Seven years later, the Mets have decided to go with what they knew best back in the day, to build a team around a few stars, but allow their younger players to grow into superstars.

The lineup that the Mets posted on Opening Day 2013 included six home grown players and the 25 man roster today in total includes 15 players that are from the Mets minor league system. Very impressive when you consider what that would mean to a team in a big market who needs to put a winning product on the field each year. But for the Mets, with the talent that they are producing have set themselves up for many years to come with players that will grow up together and with the hopes of only getting better and one day winning that elusive ring that the franchise has longed for since the last one in 1986. And the Mets are not done yet with two young studs, catcher Travis d’Arnaud (Trade with Blue Jays) and Pitcher Zack Wheeler waiting for their turn to call Citi field their home, hopefully later this season.

This year may not produce a Mets World Championship, but once again there is a future in the Mets part of town and it is exciting. The season is very young (only six games in) but they are already exciting to watch and they are young and just want to play baseball. That is something not seen in NY in a very long time, but something that has been well worth the wait. This season is gearing up to be an exciting run for the Mets with an upside to the whole equation; the Mets are young and only going to get better. The Youth Movement is back in Queens.

Teixeira will join Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez with longterm DL stints once the season starts. The Captain, Derek Jeter is also rehabbing a busted ankle, so who knows what the Yankees will get from him this season.

The living legend Mariano Rivera is returning from knee surgery, and announced his retirement on Saturday.

Adding insult to injury is that the Yankees really don’t have a “brand name” catcher, and the outfield is filled with question marks. Hmm… sounds like another team we may know…

Right now… I’ll take the Mets projected starting infield of Ike Davis, Daniel Murphy, Ruben Tejada and David Wright, and take them over the Yankees any day. Heck I’ll stack them up against any other infield in baseball. And for the record, I Wright is one of the best all-around third basemen in the game and certainly in New York.

John Buck is a solid veteran with pop behind the plate, and it won’t be long until top catching prospect Travis d`Arnaud makes his way to the big club. I see a bright future for the Mets infield.

As far as the outfield goes, once upon a time, Mookie Wilson and Lenny Dykstra were complete unknowns. So were Jay Payton, Benny Agbayani, Timo Perez, Endy Chavez and Kevin Mitchell. Yet, all these unknown players made it to the post season with the Mets.

Who’s to say Mike Baxter isn’t the next Endy Chavez (get the great catch angle?), or that Lucas Duda won’t be the next Kevin Mitchell. Who knows? The point is nobody knows and that’s the beauty of baseball.

I have no doubt the Yankees will make some lop-sided trades this season and spend some big money for some quick damage control. But who knows how that will turn out either?

I know one thing… This season and moving forward, the Mets have hope for a brighter future built around a solid young core of players and farm system bursting with talent. I’m not so certain you can say the same thing for that other team from the Bronx.

Dwight Gooden was there this morning and we can expect to see future postings as his latest issue with the law unravels.

GOODEN: Once upon a time. (AP)

Gooden, long out of baseball but not forgotten by Mets fans, allegedly threatened his estranged wife, Monique, on Friday, when he should have been on a back field in Port St. Lucie tutoring what he once was – a hot, young prospect.

It would have been nice if Gooden had a second career in the sun, literally and figuratively. It’s not like he hasn’t had chances. The Yankees gave him several when George Steinbrenner was alive and he would have been welcomed by the Mets had he not struggled with drug, alcohol and law issues.

Monique Gooden called police and filed a restraining order. He was forced to move out of the house he and his wife are living in until their divorce becomes final.

Reportedly, Gooden threatened his wife, saying: “All bets are off and I will hurt you and your family. You’ll see, just wait.’’

A DUI, well, a team can live with that on a player’s record. Not pleasant, but doable. It is especially possible if the player had a remarkable career and once was a face of that franchise, as Gooden was with the Mets.

However, such a threat, especially if carried out, is not the image a team wants to project. There has to be considerable damage control if Gooden is to ever again represent the Mets.

Or, any other major league team for that matter.

That is, of course, unless something bad happens to him, such as jail, or worse.

Gooden will no longer have visitation rights with his two children until a hearing, March 11. In the interim, Gooden can contemplate where it all went wrong.

The drug problems began shortly after the 1985 and 1986 seasons, which were his early days with the Mets, and unfortunately, the highlight of his career. There once was a night a decade later, when nearing the end with the Yankees, he threw the no-hitter one expected of him whenever he took the mound at Shea Stadium.

Throwing what Kevin Costner said in “Bull Durham’’ was “ungodly stuff in the show,’’ Gooden was the inspiration of the “Ks’’ banners and cards that fans hung over the stadium railings. Gooden was electric in those days when he owned the summer nights at Shea.

We knew it wouldn’t last forever as it never does, but were shocked and angered and saddened knowing Gooden was throwing away his career with drugs and booze. We once were enthralled with the hard- partying Mets of 1986 and even glorified them, but also knew at the same time knew life on the ledge couldn’t end happily.

For different reasons, but ultimately the same one – a lack of self-control – it didn’t well for Gooden. For Darryl Strawberry. For Lenny Dykstra. Wally Backman is still paying the price.

Nearing the end of his life, Mickey Mantle talked of role models and said, “don’t be like me.’’ At one time, there wasn’t a kid around who didn’t want to be like Gooden, standing alone on the mound awash in the cheers and adulation that comes with being the greatest.

Gooden is again alone as he faces another life crisis, but there’s nobody who wants to be like him.

And, that’s just sad.

David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Johan Santana: Yes, Wright forgot how to hit home runs, and the other two guys missed a big chunk of 2009, but we still have a nice core of all-stars.  Some teams don’t.

The 1986 Season: Watching that run to a championship was one of the greatest periods in my life.  I remember going to Game 3 of the NLCS and feeling like the stadium was going to collapse after Lenny Dykstra hit that home run off Dave Smith.  I also remember the World Series Game 6 tenth inning…. easily one of the greatest comebacks in sports history, and thankfully we were on the winning end.  Imagine what the other side of that must have felt like.

More memories:  I was too young to appreciate 1969, but I do remember watching Tom Seaver pitch, and I remember going to see Dwight Gooden pitch at Shea.  In fact, I think I went to every home game he pitched in 1984 and 1985, when he would positively blow hitter away and those guys would hang K’s in left field.  We also had one of the great catchers in history in Mike Piazza.  And how about Darryl Strawberry’s sweet home run stroke?

Opening Day: Every year we start out with hope, and 2010 will be no different.  That is, until we get to June and we’re 10 games behind the Phillies, who are going to be strong for a few more years.  But there is always the wild card, right?

The clip is from 1986 when the Mets were getting prepared to take on the Red Sox in the World Series, and features MTV’s Martha Quinn interviewing two very boyish looking Mets in Roger McDowell and Lenny Dykstra (we all know too well now how sad Dykstra’s life has become).  I love it when Quinn asks Dykstra what band he’d like to be in and who he likes, and he says with his trademark lisp, “Huey Lewis” and “The Rolling Stones” before then telling Quinn he likes her better.  Smooth, Lenny, way smooth. McDowell, for the record, likes Level 42 and Mike & The Mechanics.  Man, how ’80′s are those bands?

Then they show the video for “Let’s Go Mets,” that song I remember all too well…I remember feeling so pumped up hearing that song even as the Mets had just lost to Roger Clemens in Game 5 and were down 3-2 in the Series.

Anyway, enjoy the video…..because us Mets fans sure could use a laugh these days….

But after a car accident in 1991 in which Dykstra was driving drunk and nearly killed himself and teammate Darren Daulton is when things started to unravel, or at least when consequences started following Lenny’s actions.  Years later, the consequences are growing more serious, as Dykstra has recently been portrayed as a lying, cheating, backstabbing, sorry excuse for a human being–yes, really, all of those things.  After facing a lawsuit in 2005 from a business partner, Dykstra became known in the business world as an expert stock picker and was even interviewed on CNBC.

But sadly, 2009 has been the year when the world has struck back at Dykstra, and it’s been striking back with a vengeance.  His wife, Terri, filed for divorce in April, shortly after an article ran in GQ that detailed one person’s experience of having Dykstra as an employer.  That horrific story led to more investigating, and ESPN reported in April that Dykstra was indeed the subject of more than 20 lawsuits since 2007.  Last week the Daily News ran a story about how Dykstra was dodging creditors, and how he was stealing pieces of his own property to sell in order to raise income.

To which all of this has to make us wonder, how much are we not reading?  And how unbelievable this is that one person can be such a wrecking crew to the lives and wallets of those around him—the same way he used to be a one-man wrecking crew to opposing teams and outfield fences.  It’s probably safe to say the guy is beyond hope, but we should probably all hope he winds up in prison to stop the proverbial bleeding, and to keep Dykstra from continuing to mess up anyone else’s life, or his own.

The starters for the game were Ron Darling for the Mets and a pitcher for the Cubs who had just been recalled from the minors after being sent down two weeks earlier due to a poor 6-10 start for the big club.  You may have heard of him.  It was a scrawny kid by the name of Greg Maddux.

The Mets came out of the box quickly, scoring three runs in the first inning to take the early lead.  The lead had extended to 7-0 when the Cubs came up to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning.  However, Ron Darling struggled in the fourth, giving up a grand slam to catcher Jody Davis.  That was followed up by a home run from the next batter, a rookie who was pinch-hitting for Cubs’ reliever (and former Met) Ed Lynch.  That rookie was Rafael Palmeiro, who hit the tenth of his 569 career home runs to cut the Mets lead to 7-5.

Fortunately for Darling, manager Davey Johnson did not remove him from the game despite the poor inning.  He was allowed to put out the fire he started and pitch the minimum five innings required to qualify for the victory.  Because of that, Darling was able to stick around to reap the benefits of the additional fireworks displayed by his teammates as they continued to ride the jet stream out of Wrigley Field.

The Mets immediately responded to the Cubs’ five-run fourth inning by scoring three runs in the fifth inning and seven additional runs in the sixth inning.  They now had a commanding 17-5 lead, but the Cubbie carnage continued.  Not satisfied with a lead of a dozen runs, they scored three more in the seventh and eighth innings.  Jesse Orosco relieved Darling in the seventh inning and gave up four runs in his inning of work, but by then, the Mets had already put the game away.  A run by Chicago in the ninth inning off Jeff Innis produced the final tally in the Mets’ 23-10 shellacking of the Cubs.

The offense was powered by Lenny Dykstra and Darryl Strawberry.  Eights were wild for the two Met outfielders, as they combined for eight hits, eight runs scored and eight runs batted in.  Strawberry in particular smoked the Cubs’ pitchers, as all four of his hits were for extra bases (two doubles, a triple and a home run).

Greg Maddux collected almost 10% of his 355 career victories against the Mets, as his 35 victories (against 19 losses) are the most by any pitcher against New York.  However, one of his worst pitching performances against the Mets took place 22 years ago on this day.

Throughout his major league career, which will surely result in a much-deserved call to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, Maddux was always known as a control pitcher, as he walked fewer than 1,000 batters in over 5,000 innings.  On August 16, 1987, Maddux pitched 3.2 innings and was charged with seven earned runs allowed.  He gave up six hits and a very un-Maddux-like five bases on balls.

The Mets were in a hitting slump and got out of it in a major way.  They scored more runs in that one game than they did in their previous eight contests.  By doing so, they established a new franchise record with their 23-run outburst in Chicago and were able to use that game as a stepping stone that carried them all the way until the last week of the season, when they were eliminated from playoff contention by the Cardinals.  It all took place 22 years ago on August 16, 1987.