The Mets continued their road woes last night with a 3-2 loss to the Braves, and are now 5-13 away from home, and 14-8 at Citi Field.  Last year, they were 41-40 at home and 29-52 on the road, so it’s a pattern that has continued.  Back in the ’80′s, it was easy to blame the partying players of that era on not sleeping enough and not being focused on the road, but that is certainly not so with this nice mix of vets and youngsters.  So why they can’t get it done on the road with any consistency is a bit baffling.

Meanwhile, we sit here on May 19 at 19-21, 6 games back of the Phillies, and in dead last in the NL East.  I think we knew this was possible, especially with such atrocious starting pitching, but the fact that the Nationals have a .500 record right now and are ahead of the Mets in the standings is extremely disturbing.  Hopefully we can right that ship the next two games in DC.  But surely, Omar and Jerry have to feel like their seats are heating up after such a great stretch when April turned into May.

Finally, I’d like to bring your attention to a piece I wrote last weekend for The Scores Report.  Joe suggested I share it with you all, because as I was pontificating on Sports Illustrated’s list of the 20 greatest sports broadcasters, I couldn’t help but be the homer and prop up the trio of my childhood–Bob Murphy, Lindsey Nelson and Ralph Kiner, as well as the awesomeness and professionalism that is Gary Cohen.  Check out the list and my comments and let me know what you think.

That’s it, now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

As Met fans we are very lucky to have what I consider to be the best broadcast crew around, both on the SNY/WPIX side, and on WFAN. Gary, Keith, Ron and Kevin do a great job not only describing what is happening on the field, but they take a broadcast to next level. Ron & Keith can you insight as former players as to what is happening within the game, its almost as if they are describing the game within the game. Gary brings a fan’s enthusiasm and historical knowledge of the game to the booth. Kevin Burkhardt is great whether on the field, or calling play by play. You’ve heard it here first, Burkhardt is going to be a huge star someday. Over on WFAN Howie Rose, Wayne Hagin, and Eddie Coleman, are guys who never played the game, but are nevertheless knowledgeable about it. Much like Cohen, Rose brings the fan’s knowledge to the game. Hagin has been around a long time and has worked in a few big league markets, he can tell some entertaining stories. Eddie C. is a versatile as Burkhardt.

Mets fans aren’t the only fans who have good broadcaster teams, but the best broadcaster around works solo. I’m talking about Vin Scully, the voice of the L.A. Dodgers. Scully followed the Dodgers to Los Angeles, and has been there ever since.Scully has cut down on his travel, rarely working a game east of the Rocky Mountains, but there is no one better than him. The unique thing about Scully is that he works his games solo. He does a fully nine innings of play by play and color. For those of you who never heard Scully call a game, pay the $32 for MLB.tv and treat yourself.

Last Thursday Padres radio announcer Jerry Coleman stopped by the SNY booth. Coleman is another jewel of the game. Coleman only works Padres radio, so unfortunately I don’t get to listen to him too much. Coleman is know for saying a ball player has earned the golden sombrero if he strikes out four times in game.

Any article about baseball broadcasters would be incomplete without mentioning Mr. Baseball himself, Bob Uecker, radio voice of the Brewers. Uecker had a less than stellar baseball career, which he jokes about all the time. His career as a baseball broadcaster, or baseball funny man has been outstanding. Uecker starred in the television series Mr. Belvedere. He was a frequent guest of Johnny Carson’s on the old Tonight Show. He was the baseball broadcaster in the movie Major League (“just a bit outside”), and he starred in a series of commercials for Miller beer. Lets face it, when we go to a sporting event and have horrible seats, don’t we all call them the Uecker seats? Uecker is a legend up in Milwaukee. His love for the Brewers has made him such a huge part of their team. His home run call “get up, get out, gone!” is on the scoreboard at Miller Park.

This is just a small sample of some the the really good baseball voices out there. We Met fans are lucky though, we’ve always had the best. From day one with Bob Murphy, Lindsay Nelson, and Ralph Kiner to today. I hope that for a few seconds, you were able to forget about the on field problems the Mets are currently having.

Last night, as I was about to watch the first game of the Subway Series, I was thinking about Mr. Kiner’s appearance in the broadcast booth during Thursday afternoon’s game.  The tarp was on the field and an ark-like object was barely visible in Flushing Bay.  SNY was going to its rain delay programming, which in this case was a Mets Classics episode featuring a 1999 matchup between the Mets and the Yankees.  It’s not the first time SNY has chosen to show a Mets Classics episode while waiting for a game to be resumed.  I have something I’d like to add to the SNY suggestion box.  How about showing classic episodes of Kiner’s Korner during rain delays instead of a Mets Classics episode?

Mets Classics is a fine program.  I’ve found myself watching entire episodes at times, smiling at the moments that I cherished as a young Mets fan and remembering what I was doing when the events on the field were taking place.  However, some of these games have their “classic” moment in the late innings.  By showing these games during rain delays, viewers could miss the moment they wanted to see the most.  After all, SNY isn’t going to keep the Mets Classics episode on when they have a live game about to resume.  Since I know this is a possibility during rain delays, I usually switch to another channel or sit at the computer planning out my next blog, occasionally checking to see if the game has resumed.

If SNY wanted to keep my attention while raindrops kept falling on their heads, wouldn’t it be wise of them to show a program from start to finish, perhaps a shorter program that has a better chance of being aired in its entirety before the rain delay comes to an end?  Mets Weekly sometimes fits the bill, but that can be seen numerous times a week.  Wouldn’t a classic episode of Kiner’s Korner, one that hasn’t been seen on any network in quite some time, keep the viewers from wandering away from the TV, especially the ones who grew up on the show like I did?  Are you listening, SNY?  It’s all about the ratings, and I believe Kiner’s Korner Klassics (if they can intentionally misspell “Korner” to get the alliteration, then I can misspell “Klassics” to get the same effect) would produce higher ratings than an episode of Mets Weekly or a sure-to-be abbreviated episode of Mets Classics.

Ralph Kiner is a beloved figure in Mets history.  He is loved and respected by fans, players and fellow broadcasters.  He has been a Mets broadcaster since their inaugural season (1962) and has one of the few areas of Citi Field named after a Mets personality, the Ralph Kiner Television Booth.  With this much admiration, a man like this deserves our attention.  He had my attention in the 80′s when I was watching Kiner’s Korner.  He certainly had former Cardinals pitcher Ricky Horton’s attention.  (For those of you who don’t know, Ricky Horton grew up watching Kiner’s Korner as a child.  When he reached the big leagues, he made it well-known that one of his lifelong dreams was to appear on an episode of Kiner’s Korner.  Despite pitching for three pennant-winning teams and one World Championship team (1988 Dodgers), he never made it onto the show during his short major league career (1984-1990).  To this day, despite the fact that he owns a World Series ring, he probably still laments never being a guest on Kiner’s Korner.)

SNY should realize that Ralph Kiner still has a fanbase.  His brief guest appearances in the broadcast booth that bears his name are among the most entertaining moments of a Mets telecast.  His recollection of players from a bygone generation is still excellent and his firsthand knowledge and discussion of events that took place on or off the field during his playing years makes for excellent television.  If the fans love him to this day, wouldn’t it make sense to think they’d love to see those episodes of Kiner’s Korner aired during rain delays?  We know the footage still exists because SNY shows clips of those episodes during Mr. Kiner’s appearances in the booth.  If entire episodes are still intact, I know I’d keep the channel on during rain delays.  What do you think, my fellow Mets maniacs?  Would you watch classic episodes of Kiner’s Korner if they were aired during rain delays?  If so, say it loudly so that SNY can hear you!

Those of you were fortunate enough to catch this afternoon’s Met game on SNY were treated with the presence of Mets treasure and Hall of Famer, Ralph Kiner in the broadcast booth.

Mr. Kiner joined Ron Darling and Kevin Burkhardt (who was sitting in for Gary Cohen) for an interesting few innings of baseball talk.

Early on during the visit, Darling was talking about the importance of Johan Santana keeping his leg stiff in order to get “drop” on the baseball. Mr. Kiner was quick to point out that when hitting a baseball (and a golf ball), it important for a batter to keep his leg stiff too. To conversation was much more interesting than I’ve written, but by that early exchange it was clear Mr. Kiner had brought his “A” game today.

A little bit later Mr. Kiner was talking about Cardinal legend Stan Musial’s approach to hitting. According to Mr. Kiner, Musial’s approach was: for a ground ball, hit the top of the baseball, for a line drive hit the ball on the seams, for a fly ball hit the bottom of the ball. Ah, if only it was that easy. Mr, Kiner then went on to say the Musial was a single and doubles hitter until he found out he’d get paid better if he home runs!

SNY showed some class today too when, airing the Mets Memory segment they cued in on Kiner’s Korner, showing some clips of the great players Mr. Kiner had on his show. For fans in my age group, Kiner’s Korner was a staple of NY Mets broadcasts. Ron Darling said it was always great to be on Kiner’s Korner because if you were on you had a great game and you were able to brag about yourself. You also got a $100 bill. Mr. Kiner then told the story about how Casey Stengel pulled to set down on the first ever Kiner’s Korner. It has to be one of Mr. Kiner’s most often told stories, and still a pretty funny one.

Another interesting point made by Mr. Kiner during today’s game. With Cardinals pitcher Rob Carpenter tossing a no hitter through three innings, Mr. Kiner was asked about the “no hitter jinx.” Basically if a broadcaster mentions a pitcher has a no-no going, the broadcaster jinxes the game. Mr. Kiner said that when he was working games with Lindsey Nelson and Bob Murphy, they would mention a pitcher had a no hitter going, especially in the late innings. The reason was simple and refreshing: the fan needed to know what was going on. If someone just tuned in they needed to know too. Imagine that a broadcaster wanting the fan to know whats happening, instead of doing shtick.

Ralph Kiner is 86 years old. He’s been a part of our Mets since day one. Sure he’s slowed down a bit. Sometimes he may even mis-speak. But when Mr. Kiner is in the broadcast booth, he’s always worth listening to. Whether he’s talking about hitting or telling funny stories he truly is one a kind.

On Father’s Day 2004 (June 20), Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. hit the 500th home run of his career at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium.  At the time, he was the youngest player to reach that milestone.  Making it more fitting,  Ken Griffey Sr. was in attendance to help celebrate his son’s momentous occasion.

On Father’s Day 1997 (June 15), Major League Baseball instituted its first Home Run Challenge to benefit prostate cancer research.  Now in its 13th season, the Home Run Challenge has raised over $30 million in the hopes that a cure can be found for this devastating disease that affects millions of men worldwide.  (Note to all men reading this.  Please go to your doctors and get checked.  Early detection can save your life, enabling you to share many Father’s Day moments with your loved ones.)

In one of the ill-fated trades in Mets history, beloved members of the 1986 World Championship team Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell were traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Juan Samuel on Father’s Day 1989 (June 18).  Samuel would have a tumultuous time playing centerfield for the Mets during his short stay at Shea and was later traded for another dud, Mike Marshall.  Dykstra would become an All-Star in Philadelphia and helped lead the Phillies to the 1993 World Series.  McDowell pitched seven more seasons after the trade and would become famous to Seinfeld fans for his role as the man who spit the magic loogie on Kramer and Newman when they confronted Keith Hernandez after a Mets loss.  Just as Seaver’s trade is known as the Midnight Massacre, this day should be known as The Day The Hotfoot Died.  On a lighter note, sales of Jheri Curl products increased in the New York metropolitan area…by one.

Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a perfect game at Shea Stadium on Father’s Day in 1964 (June 21) when he defeated the Mets by the final score of 6-0.  Bunning struck out ten batters en route to becoming the first National League pitcher to pitch a perfect game in the 20th century and the first pitcher in the modern era to throw a no-hitter in both leagues.  He pitched his first no-hitter in 1958 as a member of the Detroit Tigers.

(Please forgive the abundance of Phillies pictures in this post.  It is unintentional and is not meant to dampen your Father’s Day festivities in any way.  If so, the photo beneath the next paragraph should bring a smile to your face, especially if you are a long-time Mets fan.)

Ralph Kiner has always been the king of malapropisms.  From classic lines such as “if Casey Stengel were alive today, he’d be spinning in his grave” and “all of his saves have come in relief appearances”, Ralph has mangled words and phrases with grace and dignity.  One of his most famous quotes came on Father’s Day as well, when during a Mets broadcast, he said “on Father’s Day, we again wish you all a happy birthday!”

One final note before you go have a catch with your son or daughter.  Mets fans are well aware of the fact that no pitcher in franchise history has pitched a no-hitter.  They have had numerous no-hitters pitched against them, including the aforementioned Bunning in 1964.  The Mets are not alone in this regard, as they are one of four teams who have never had the thrill of having one of its own pitch a no-hitter.  Two of the other three are recent expansion teams (Tampa Bay Rays and Colorado Rockies).  However, the other team without a no-hitter has also been around since the 1960′s.  The San Diego Padres have gone 40 years since their inaugural season in 1969 and have also never had a no-hitter pitched for them.  Hmm, Padres.  That’s Spanish for Fathers.  On that note, I can’t think of a more fitting way to end this than by wishing all you fathers out there a Happy Birthday!  (I mean, Father’s Day!)