“It’s always good planning to have a baseball in the dugout with shoe polish on it, just in case.”

That is the expression coined following the infamous Shoe Polish incident, when in Game 5 of the 1969 World Series, Cleon Jones hit the deck to evade a Dave McNally pitch that skidded into the Mets dugout, only to be retrieved by Mets skipper Gil Hodges to reveal a smudge of shoe polish, awarding Jones first base and eventually leading to a Mets victory and clinching their first World Series title in franchise history.

The incident capped off one of most incredible World Series upsets in baseball history. The Miracle Mets, just months prior labeled the lovable losers of baseball, needed just five games to best Earl Weaver’s 109-win Baltimore Orioles and become champions.

I spoke to one of those mighty 1969 Orioles, last week at the MLB Draft regarding this controversial moment in Mets history; Hall-of-Famer Frank Robinson, and he did not hesitate to speak his mind on the subject.

“It had to be [a trick],” said Robinson, amid applause after Bud Selig announced the selection of the Rangers thirtieth overall pick, Travis Demeritte roughly 100 feet away. “People forget the length of time that ball went into the dugout before Gil Hodges brought it out to show it to the umpire.

“That ball didn’t go into the dugout with black shoe polish on it, but it came out with black shoe polish on it,” He said.

Several different Met accounts have come out over the years including Ron Swaboda claiming that the pitch hit an open bag of balls, spilling identical baseballs all over the dugout, one of which Gil picked up that had a black mark on it. Of the most recent claims was Jerry Koosman, who in 2009 stated that Hodges instructed him to rub the ball on his shoe, however neither accounts put to rest whether the pitch actually hit Jones, a truth that will likely never be known for sure.

Although even if Jones wasn’t awarded first base in Game 5, Robinson doesn’t believe it would have made all that great of a difference in the outcome of the game or the series.

“The Mets deserved to win, they did what they had to to win,” said Robinson. “I still watch it on classic sports and I still don’t believe we lost.”

Like Robinson, many were in disarray at the fact that the lowly New York Mets, just seven years into existence, stood atop the baseball world. After their improbable comeback to beat out the Chicago Cubs for the division crown, they had an even greater upset of the Orioles and the ‘Bird’s Big Four’ in stunning fashion. Robinson recalls what he found most impressive of the Mets in that series.

“They got contributions from everybody, the little guys we used to call them, and they did what they had to do,” said Robinson almost begrudgingly. “They also had some great pitching.”

Despite his high praise of the team, it was clear that the Miracle Mets to this day are still not Robinson’s favorite subject as he brought the conversation of the Amazin’s to an abrupt close.

“That’s all I’ve got to say about ‘69.”

The legend of the 1969 Mets lives on to this day as one of the greatest Cinderella stories in the game’s history, who with the help of a little shoe-polished baseball, were able to put National League baseball in New York back on the map with their first World Series title.

Otani has already made plenty of news in Japan. After his impressive high school career Shohei announced that he would skip the Nippon League altogether, therefore bypassing the posting system and sign with a Major League organization. The Red Sox, Rangers, Yankees, Dodgers, and Orioles were all said to be interested.

Otani told the NPB clubs not to bother drafting him because he wouldn’t sign. The Fighters selected him in the first round anyway, after which Otani said, “I’m grateful that they appreciate me, but it doesn’t change my desire to play in America”.

Then, due to cultural and family pressures, and the possibility of some shady back-room dealings, Otani agreed to a deal with Hokkaido Nippon-Ham.

Here’s a little write-up of what I saw this morning….

The 6’4″, 190 lb right-hander threw 5 innings today, allowed six hits, two runs, three walks and struck out two. Wearing Yu Darvish‘s #11, Otani showed some outstanding velocity but is clearly in need of some refinements. He stuggled with his control at times and lacked an effective put-away pitch.

Otani is athletic and has a fluid delivery that produced a 90-98 mph fastball. He used a slurvy slider (76-83 mph) as his second pitch, breaking it away from right-handed hitters and trying to backdoor it to lefties. Shohei flipped a couple of 63 mph curveballs as well. The uber-prospect did not throw any splitters, a pitch that almost every Japanese pitcher features. In fact, Otani didn’t show any type of offspeed pitch at all.

[ fastball(90-98), slider(76-83), curve(63) ]

After a few years working on his craft in the NPB, MLB teams may come calling again. Will the Mets be one of them?

For my first stop of the tour, I check in with Daniel Moroz, founder of Camden Crazies, which is an excellent blog dedicated to the Baltimore Orioles.

In addition to providing up to date information surrounding the ball club, Moroz uses sabermetrics to showcase in-depth analysis of each member of the Orioles roster.

In the interview Moroz discuses a wide range of topics, including the team’s interest in both Matt Holliday and Carlos Delgado, as well as a look at some of the Orioles most prized youngsters.

Without further adieu here is my interview with Daniel Moroz of Camden Crazies:

PH: Obviously last season much of the talk surrounding the Orioles revolved around rookie catcher Matt Weiters. How would you rate Weiters’ rookie campaign in terms of a letter grade? Did he live up to your personal expectations?

DM: I took a more in-depth look at Wieters’ season here, but I thought he’d hit .275/.344/.438 (he actually hit .288/.340/.412) and gave a lot of weight to his being a catcher (and thus needing more transition time).

I was largely disappointed with the below average plate discipline – especially given his strong walk rates in the minors – but he’s still young and learning, and already a pretty good hitter for a catcher at his current level. I’d give him a C relative to expectations (which largely weren’t his fault), but a B- overall.

PH: Last year the Orioles made a very substantial offer to then-free agent, Mark Teixeira. This year it is rumored that the Os are in contact with Matt Holliday’s agent.  In your opinion how likely is the team to land the free agent slugger?

DM: I would be very, very surprised to see the O’s sign Holliday.

The guy’s a great player, but in order to get him to come to Baltimore, the O’s would need to really beat the Cardinals’ offer and I don’t think they’re in a position as a team to spend that kind of money right now. If all goes according to plan, they should be able to make a splash for a big-time free agent next off-season.

PH: While still on the Matt Holliday subject, some have suggested that the Orioles are not very serious in their pursuit of Holliday. What’s your take on this? Do you feel that the team sincerely believes that they have a chance at signing him?

DM: I think that they’d love to have him – all 30 teams would – but once the price-tag went above a certain level they weren’t going to stay in the bidding. It was worth asking, but the team isn’t in serious pursuit.

PH: Another bright spot on the Orioles team last year was the emergence of Nolan Reimold, who was called up early last season and proceeded to produce rather nicely before being shut down with an injury to the Achilles tendon. Do you have an update on his condition and will he be ready for the 2010 season?

DM: Last I checked with Will Carroll (injury expert at Baseball Prospectus), he should be good to go to start the season.

The injury may have negatively affected his range in left-field, which wasn’t too good and held down his total value to the team despite his impressive bat. I’m expecting a rebound with the glove while largely maintaining his offensive production in 2010.

PH: The Orioles have an impressive amount of young talent on their roster. Who in their farm system is closest to being major league ready and are there any hidden gems that haven’t been publicized much?

DM: Jake Arrieta is probably the next starting pitcher to be called up – he’s ended ’09 in Triple-A. Third-baseman Josh Bell (acquired in the George Sherrill trade) and first-baseman Brandon Snyder should be ready at some point in 2010.

The guy I like best who hasn’t gotten as much attention thus far due to the presence of Tillman and Matusz, is lefty starting pitching prospect Zach Britton. The guy gets a ton of groundballs and upped his strike-out rate this year, and he might be climbing up top prospect lists soon. I ranked him #1 (well, #2 if you count Matusz) recently myself.

PH: Recently, the Orioles signed free agent reliever, Mike Gonzalez, to a two year contract. How do you feel about the deal considering Gonzalez’s spotty health and where does he fit into the Orioles bullpen?

DM: Given the price-tag, he’ll certainly be the closer. I don’t really like the deal, because Gonzalez is a good but not elite relief pitcher (when healthy) and the Orioles aren’t in a position to overpay for a closer right now.

The difference between 75 wins and 76 isn’t really a big deal, and certainly isn’t worth $6-8 M a year as well as a draft-pick. I’m just hoping Andy MacPhail can spin him off for quality prospects at some point. More on Gonzalez here.

PH: The team also recently picked up former Colorado Rockies star, Garrett Atkins. What’s your take on this particular signing? Do you feel that he will be able to bounce back for a dreadful season last year and contribute to the club?

DM: He’s been going down-hill for a while now – and I don’t love the deal at $4.5 M – but I do think he should be able to bounce back some (maybe .265/.335/.425).

Leaving Coors Field and moving to the tougher AL won’t help though, and his defense isn’t stellar. I think there’s a fair chance that Atkins will be slightly underpaid, but it’s not without downside risk and isn’t a straight bargain. More on Atkins here.

PH: The Orioles President of Baseball Operations, Andy MacPhail, has suggested that he is not done making moves this off-season. What area of the team do you think needs to be addressed next?

DM: Bringing in a guy like Carlos Delgado to hold down the fort at first-base would be nice. I’d like to see Luke Scott – who can’t really be used optimally by the team right now given the presence of Reimold and Pie – traded for a solid return (a B prospect maybe).

Other than that, I would really like to see some international prospects brought into the system. The development of the team at this point has a lot more to do with the progression of the young players already on the team than any move Andy can make at the moment.

PH: The Orioles have struggled quite a bit this past decade; however they have seemingly put together a solid core of young talent. With the roster set as of today are the Orioles contenders in 2010?

DM: Of course – and I think they’ll sweep the season series with the Yankees and Red Sox too.. Seriously though, a .500 season probably isn’t in the cards for 2010 at this point.

I would just like to see some improvement from Tillman, Matusz, Reimold, Wieters, and maybe 75+ wins. It’s a process, and I’m fully aware of that. In a realistically ideal world, they win ~83 games in ’10, and then vault into contention with 93+ wins in 2011 and beyond. Boy, wouldn’t that be nice.

Once again I’d like to thank Daniel for being apart of this feature. For more on the Orioles make sure to check out Moroz’s site, Camden Crazies. Also be sure to follow Moroz on Twitter.

Now MLB fans, it’s your turn. I’m interested in your feedback to this new series, and whether or not you would like me to continue these interviews.

Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun are reporting that the Orioles have inked former Colorado Rockie, Garrett Atkins, to a one year deal.

Atkins, who was non-tendered by the Rockies last week, is coming off the worst full season performance of his big league career. He hit only .226 with 9 home runs and 48 RBIs with on OBP of .308.

These numbers are down significantly from the year prior where he hit to the tune of .286 to compliment 21 home runs and 99 RBIs and an OBP of .328..

However, with Atkins’s track record I think he would have been a solid pickup for the Mets to possibly platoon at first base.

For what it’s worth, Bill James predicts that he will rebound in 2010 and hit roughly .285 while slugging somewhere in the ball park of 15 home runs and 70 RBIs.

That was not Andy Macphail’s only acquisition of the day. He also signed free agent reliever, Mike Gonzalez, to a lucrative two year contract worth somewhere between $12 and $16 million.

Last year Gonzalez was rock solid, posting an ERA of 2.42 in 74.1 innings pitched. Additionally he struck out 90 batters, while only walking 33.

With such impressive numbers, Gonzalez projects to be the team’s closer heading into next year.

However, I’m not as high on this acquisition as I was about Atkins. While Gonzalez is lights out when healthy, his ability to stay healthy is questionable.

Although if Gonzalez can prove me wrong than the Os will have made two very significant, in my opinion, acquisitions that will help turn this club into a winning team.

But here is where I’m having a hard time….I read a report in USA Today a few days ago about the winners and losers of the winter meetings.  The Mets were not considered to be a winner or a loser.  Think about that.  By being neither, the Mets have cemented themselves as being apathetic and non-committal to the whole hot stove process.  And if you are not intent on improving your team, you are destined to lose more games than you win.  It’s that simple.

And then this morning, I read this piece on Yahoo Sports about Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman, he of the 97 mph fastball.  Dude had a throwing session yesterday in which big league scouts were on hand and here are the teams they mentioned that sent a representative: Yankees, Red Sox, Astros, Nationals, Marlins, A’s and Orioles.  Of course, there were 15 teams represented in all, so there is no telling if the Mets did indeed send someone, but the writer didn’t mention them.  That’s either because the Mets did not care enough to send a scout, or because the writer did not care enough to mention the Mets.  Either way, it’s adding more fuel to the apathy fire.  Because really, why wouldn’t you go overpay like crazy for a guy like Chapman, who not only throws 97 mph, but is a LEFTY who could neutralize those big bats of the Phillies.

I think the version of the Mets you see now is what you’re going to get in April, plus maybe the return of Carlos Delgado.  And wow, what a heartwarming thought that is during the hot stove league season.

But they don’t.  The Mets are 42-45, and there have been some encouraging peaks of sunshine through all this gloom and doom.  Remember in early May when we won seven in a row, sweeping short series against Philly and Atlanta and then a three-game set against Pittsburgh?  And remember some of those gems Johan pitched early in the season?  And taking two out of three against Boston?  And most recently, winning the last two games before the break as newcomer Jeff Francoeur ignited the team?  Those are things to look back on and try to find a spark from.

Of course, there is so much negative to look back on, too.  I remember writing about a critical stretch of games leading up to the break that had the Mets facing the Phillies, Yankees, Orioles, Rays, Cards, Yankees again, Brewers, Phillies again, Dodgers and Reds.  Well, the Mets went 12-20 in that span, a .375 winning percentage in ten series with at least eight opponents that are playoff contenders.  Very bleak indeed, but if you care to drink the Kool-aid being served by Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel, the team is due for a rebound once guys like Reyes and Delgado and Beltran and Putz (and Billy Wagner) return. 

I’m not holding my breath, and I think this team is going to remain mired in mediocrity this season, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they made some noise in the division, either.  After all, as we’ve seen from the other side, a 6.5 game lead is not insurmountable with even two weeks left to play—and we’ve got almost three months to play.  Let’s go Mets!

Quite frankly, the next month of games is going to make or break this Mets’ team, and show us all what they are made of.  I like how it started last night, with Johan absolutely fierce despite not having his best stuff.  Wright, Beltran and Church delivered homers when there had been a power drought.  And as for Johan, he ignored a bunt sign and drove in the tying run with a double down the right field line, and he also made a stunning catch of a wicked liner off the bat of Shane Victorino, doubling Eric Bruntlett off first to end the Phillies’ half of the 7^th.  He was pissed when Jerry Manuel yanked him in the 8^th—he was saying “I’m a Man!” and I could also make this out: “I’ll give you the ball, but I don’t agree with you.”  Good for him….who would want our ace to have any other attitude?

There was also a horrible call in the bottom of the sixth when Ryan Church hit a rocket that was fielded by Ryan Howard as Fernando Tatis broke for the plate (with no outs, mind you) and Howard threw him out at the plate.  But wait…..umpire Lance Barksdale blew that call about as bad as you can blow a call.  Tatis slid under the tag of catcher Carlos Ruiz, but not only that, Ruiz was bobbling the ball!  I have no idea why Tatis, nor Jerry Manuel, didn’t get in Barksdale’s face.  Even David Wright could be seen in the dugout trying to convince Manuel to do that.  Luckily, that was the same inning Santana doubled home the tying run, so it didn’t decide the game.  But still…..I’m pissed about that call, and the Mets and their fans should be too.

So Game 1 goes to the Mets, and it brought them to within two games of the Phillies.  We need at least one more win in the series to make a statement, but wouldn’t a sweep really be nice?  I won’t get greedy, and I’m just excited for more playoff-style baseball for the next month.  Let’s go Mets!