This offseason, we’ll look at the Mets history with free agency — the best uses of their money and the worst. We’ll start positive with someone who unlike so many on these lists joined the team in complete obscurity but became a reliable pitcher during one of the franchise’s best eras. 

Even by today’s standards, when free-agent signings garner more attention and scrutiny, the acquisition of Rick Reed to a minor league deal on November 7, 1995 was far from anyone’s radar.

He was a well-traveled 31-year-old journeyman. With four organizations, Reed traveled countless miles between the majors and minors. And while many lamented the player’s strike which canceled out the remainder of the 1994 season, it was ultimately a benefit to Reed — who was a potential replacement player as the strike carried over into 1995.

His search for consistency, and a long-term major-league home, ended shortly after 1996. That year was spent pitching for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. His success there earned him a major-league roster invite in spring training 1997. On Opening Day, he would be a Met for good.

Over four-plus seasons, Reed enjoyed a 117 ERA+, a 1.155 WHIP, and a 16.4 WAR. His stuff was never spectacular. His fastball wasn’t fast enough to overpower opposing hitters. In fact, he averaged only six strikeouts per nine innings. But his ability to induce ground balls worked splendidly with a terrific infield behind him.

Reed became the most pleasant surprise of the New York staff in ’97, going 13-9 and posting the sixth-best ERA in the National League at 2.89. His solidification in the rotation continued into ’98 when he earned his first All-Star nod and was the lone Met representative in the Midsummer Classic.

The acquisition of Al Leiter pushed Reed down in the starting pitching hierarchy, but eventually gave him the opportunity to become a factor in several important games as the Mets moved into championship contention.

With New York desperately needing a win to remain in the Wild Card race, Reed went the distance on the next-to-last day of the regular season — three-hitting the Pittsburgh Pirates and striking out 12 in a complete game shutout.

The Mets advanced to the postseason and eventually into the NLCS, where he pitched seven solid innings in a 3-2 win over Atlanta in Game 4 to stave off elimination.

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The 2000 New York Mets qualified for the postseason as the National League’s wildcard team, in the time when there was only one wildcard entrant per league. Their first round opponent was the San Francisco Giants, who had the best regular season record in all of baseball at 97-65.

The best-of-five series began in San Francisco, where the two teams split the first two games. In Game Two, the Mets blew a ninth-inning lead, but rallied to win in extra innings, with the game ending a controversial John Franco strikeout of Barry Bonds. The series then shifted to Shea Stadium, where manager Bobby Valentine sent Rick Reed to the mound to face the Giants’ Russ Ortiz in Game Three.

The Mets had games three and four at home, and were trying to avoid a return trip to San Francisco for a possible fifth game. Things did not start well for the men from Flushing, as Reed surrendered two runs in the top of the fourth inning on RBI singles by Bobby Estalella and Marvin Benard. The score remained 2-0 until the bottom of the sixth inning.

Mike Bordick opened the Mets’ half of the sixth with a walk. Darryl Hamilton then singled to right field, advancing Bordick to third. Timo Perez then singled, scoring Bordick, and setting the Mets up for more with runners on first and second and no outs. However, the Mets would score no more in the sixth inning, as Edgardo Alfonzo grounded out, moving the runners to second and third. The Giants then intentionally walked Mike Piazza, and brought in Alan Embree to face Robin Ventura with the bases loaded, who hit into an inning-ending double play.

The Mets trailed 2-1 when they came to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning. Against reliever Doug Henry, Mike Bordick was hit by a pitch leading off the inning. Pinch hitter Lenny Harris hit into a force play, and became the runner at first with one out. Perez popped out, bringing Alfonzo up. The Giants went to their closer, Rob Nen. Harris promptly stole second base. Alfonzo then doubled him in, tying the game at two. Piazza struck out to send the game to the ninth inning.

The Giants got their leadoff hitter on in the top of the ninth against Franco, but did not score. The Mets put two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth and failed to score. The game went to extra innings.

The Giants faced Armando Benitez in the top of the tenth, and did not score despite having two runners on base. The Mets went down in order in the tenth, and did the Giants in the eleventh. The Mets loaded the bases in the bottom of the eleventh with two outs, but did not score when Todd Pratt was retired on a fly ball.

Rick White came on to pitch for the Mets in the twelfth inning. He allowed two walks, but held firm, not allowing a run. The Mets had two singles in their half of the inning, but did not push the winning run across. The game advanced to the thirteenth inning.

White again allowed two runners to get on base, this time on two singles. Once again, White was able to keep Dusty Baker‘s squad off the board, ending the inning on a popup by Bonds. With Aaron Fultz on the mound, the Mets came to bat in their half of the thirteenth inning. After a Ventura groundout, Benny Agbayani sent the 56,000 fans in attendance home when he got the barrel to a Fultz pitch. You can see the walk-off home run in the video below.

The Mets now led the series two games to one, and would have a chance to advance to the NLCS the next day with Bobby Jones set to pitch.

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Cue the Baha Men. The Mets embraced this one-hit wonder musical group’s top track during the postseason, as most of the country did in the summer. They even allowed them to alter “Who Let the Dogs Out?” with a Mets theme.

And speaking of things that were confined to the year 2000, Mike Hampton in New York had already been considered a success by the time October arrived. He was a solid 15-10 with a 3.14 ERA during his lone regular season in New York, but truly solidified his acquisition from Houston the previous winter with a dominant League Championship Series in which he would be justifiably named the Most Valuable Player.

Hampton strung together 16 consecutive scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals, including a brilliant three-hit shutout in the clinching Game 5. It ended with Rick Wilkins hitting a high fly to Timo Perez, bounding up and down in joy before hauling in the clinching out. The players rushed to embrace Hampton. Robin Ventura got there first and lifted up their hero.

Mike Piazza, Todd Zeile, and Todd Pratt got there next before the rest of the players joined in the mob. The Baha beat blared through the extra speakers installed at Shea Stadium. Confetti fell from the rafters. John Franco, Piazza, and others took a victory lap around the field to thank the fans. The Mets were in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1986. And with the team across town leading in their Championship Series on the American League side, what may lay ahead would be more than just a World Series to the people of New York. The fans and the city couldn’t contain their excitement. Even the players were hinting at their feelings. 

“We’re happy to go [to the World Series],” Ventura said. “It would be nice to stay home, though.”

It was the first postseason meeting between the Mets and Cardinals, but not the first time they had clashed with high stakes.

New York and St. Louis had developed a bitter rivalry during the mid-to-late 1980s, a period when both occupied the NL East and both competed for the lone playoff spot out of that division. The Mets prevailed in ’86 and ’88. The Cards captured the flag in ’85 and ’87. The Mets’ strengths centered on slugging and pitching, opposed by the Redbirds’ speed and defense.

There were far fewer contrasts in styles by the turn of the century. Both teams possessed serious run-producers. The Cards had an MVP candidate in Jim Edmonds and the single-season home run king in Mark McGwire, except the latter was limited to a pinch-hitting role because of patellar tendinitis in his right knee.

By the time this NLCS had run its course, the Mets’ strengths were accentuated and the Cardinals’ weaknesses were exploited.

One crucial element in New York’s postseason drive was a complete unknown to even the most astute Mets fan less than two months ago. As late as 1999, Perez was a member of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in the Japan Central League. By September 2000, he was called up to the majors – replacing the injured Derek Bell. Perez impressed enough in that final month of the regular season to earn a spot on the playoff roster.

He batted .294 and drove in three runs in the Division Series win over San Francisco and was of even greater impact against St. Louis, scoring eight runs in five games. He didn’t waste time, either. Leading off the NLCS opener, Perez doubled to right field off Darryl Kile. A wild pitch sent Timo to third. A walk put Edgardo Alfonzo on first, and the opportunity was ripe for New York’s mammoth bat to awaken. Piazza was, for all intents and purposes, a non-factor against the Giants. He came up 18 times, was retired 15 times, and delivered just one extra-base hit.

But any notion of a slump was dispelled with a vicious swing. Piazza jumped on Kile’s first offering and pulled it to left field. Perez scored easily, Alfonzo advanced to third. “The monster is out of the cage!” bench coach John Stearns bellowed – picked up by his mic on the FOX broadcast that evening. Robin Ventura followed with a sacrifice fly.

While the Cardinals’ starter failed to prevent the New York advance, Mets starter Hampton deftly avoided any St. Louis response. He escaped a first-inning bases-loaded situation, walked one in the second but stranded him, and allowed a single and wild pitch in the third – but no more. New York built its lead to 3-0 when Hampton exited, and 5-0 when Armando Benitez came in to finish it off. Not helped by sloppy fielding, which led to two unearned runs, the Mets wrestled home-field advantage away.

New York continued to silence the loyalists in St. Louis the next night, scoring two right from the jump. This was aided by troubling developments from young hurler Rick Ankiel, who encountered wildness in the NLDS. Five pitches sailed past Eli Marrero. With each offering that sailed to the backstop, the more sympathy he incurred from the viewing audience – watching a promising pitcher lose control. Alfonzo, Piazza, and Ventura each walked. Todd Zeile brought in one run on a sacrifice fly and Benny Agbayani drove another in with a double. Ankiel was done having thrown just 20 pitches and retiring two batters.

The Mets had Game 2 under control into the fifth, until Al Leiter stumbled. Doubles from Edgar Renteria and Fernando Tatis tied the score at three apiece. New York struck back in the eighth with RBI singles from Alfonzo and Zeile. But the bullpen and the defense quickly relinquished what its team had just gained. John Franco allowed a walk, single, and wild pitch which led to one run. Turk Wendell came in and watched as J.D. Drew slashed a base hit to center field. Jay Payton overran the ball and that small miscue allowed the lead-footed Will Clark to make it home.

The pendulum on this back-and-forth affair swung another time (and the last time) in the top of the ninth. Ventura reached on an error by first baseman Clark. After a sac bunt and Joe McEwing entering to run for Robin, Payton atoned (and delivered his second game-winning hit of the playoffs) with a single up the middle. Edmonds, a Gold Glove extraordinaire, found fielding to be unexpectedly difficult himself on the Payton smash. As McEwing raced home, the ball bounded and nicked the heel of Edmonds’ glove and rolled behind him – allowing Payton to reach third. The Mets didn’t push across any insurance runs, but Benitez found little trouble in closing out the Cardinals and taking a 2-0 series lead back to Queens.

Now at Shea, it was the Cardinals’ opportunity to get the jump. Facing Rick Reed, a pitcher they owned this season with eight runs over two starts, St. Louis tallied a pair of first-inning runs. Andy Benes kept the Mets from coming back and kept the depleted Cards bullpen rested for much of the afternoon. In truth, after five exhilarating victories in a row, the Mets were due for a slight fall from grace. The Game 3 loss, an 8-2 defeat, proved to be just a brief respite on New York’s charge to the pennant. The Mets recharged on offense – scoring 17 runs over the final two games (giving them 29 in their four victories and 31 for the series) to overwhelm St. Louis and solidify their National League title.

In spite of a road team again scoring two runs in their initial turn at-bat, the fourth straight instance this happened, New York had a resounding answer in the bottom of the first – and an even more impressive streak to offer.

Darryl Kile, pitching on three days’ rest, started to see double. Then another. Then another. And then another. The Mets opened their half of the inning with four straight two-base hits – beginning with Timo Perez, continuing with Edgardo Alfonzo and Mike Piazza, and ending with Robin Ventura. 

After a one-batter break, Benny Agbayani made it five doubles for the inning – his scored Ventura and capped a four-run frame. Bobby Jones‘ struggles were fortunately masked by New York’s 10-run outburst. The explosion included a rocket launch from Piazza which was sent into the Mets’ bullpen.

With a 3-1 series lead and the offense clicking as well as it had all year, the team exuded utmost confidence. Nobody better exemplified that than the pitcher who won Game 1 and was tabbed by manager Bobby Valentine to take the mound for Game 5.

“I’m looking forward to pitching the game of my life,” Mike Hampton said.

He was true to his word. Exceptionally so. As the Mets bats embarked on another productive night, Hampton was locked in. Unlike his opening game start, he had very little difficulty getting through the St. Louis order. Todd Zeile’s bases-clearing double off the right-center field wall brought home Timo Perez, Piazza, and an unusually excited Robin Ventura. The Shea crowd reacted in kind. With New York now up 6-0 in the fourth and Hampton on cruise control, it was a preemptive celebration. 

The only tarnish on an otherwise immaculate 7-0 win came during the Mets’ final turn at-bat. Jay Payton dug in versus Dave Veres, then collapsed to the ground after being drilled in the helmet. Payton quickly arose and furiously walked towards the mound before being held back by Eli Marrero. Benches cleared – more to de-escalate a situation that could’ve turned far more costly to the Mets than the Cards. With a scar plainly visible above Payton’s left eyebrow and blood streaming down the side of his head, Payton relented.

A few minutes later, there was another, more joyous gathering near the mound – but only the New Yorkers were there. Thirty-one years to the day the 1969 Mets celebrated their World Series triumph, the Mets of the 21st century had initiated a party of their own.

All that was left was to find out which team they’d face. As it turned out, they didn’t have to look far to find them. 

The post Reliving the 2000 Mets: Who Let the Mets Out? appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Six up with six to play. Not even the Mets, well-accustomed to late-season collapses in recent years, could possibly succumb to such a freefall. Fortunately, either a New York win or a loss by the Los Angeles Dodgers would ensure a second consecutive trip to the postseason.

But the Mets — specifically their general manager — had no interest in settling for a wild card berth, even if it was their most logical path to the playoffs.

“Our goal was to win the division,” Steve Phillips said. “The wild card is a fall back.” Phillips went so far as to say that the Mets shouldn’t engage in an on-field celebration if the “fall back” option was indeed their fate.

New York would figure out if those slim division title hopes would disappear or stay alive, because the first-place Atlanta Braves were coming into Queens to re-engage less than a week after the two clubs finished playing each other down south.

The Braves needed to take only one in their three-game set at Shea Stadium to lock up the NL East again. And without wasting time or drama, they did so in the opener. Following a 7-1 win, the muted celebration of Braves players and coaches was typical of a franchise that had dominance over the division for the better part of a decade. 

With the previously faint hopes of an NL East crown now vanished, the Mets subsequently put a quick end to the suspense about their securing the wild card and reeled off a five-game winning streak to end the regular season.

The Shea crowd was poised for a celebration of its own on September 27, even if their GM wasn’t. With the Dodgers prevailing the previous night, it gave the Mets an opportunity to clinch on their own terms.

Atlanta didn’t concede easily, sending out its top-tier lineup. But it proved no deterrent to the determined Mets or starter Rick Reed, who negotiated that Braves order with relative ease following a first-inning homer by Andruw Jones.

Meanwhile, the offense chipped away at Kevin Millwood beginning in the fourth inning. The Mets broke a 1-1 tie on the strength of a Darryl Hamilton single to score Timo Perez followed by a two-run homer from Edgardo Alfonzo.

New York tacked on some more, building the lead to 6-1. Armando Benitez, who finished with a team-record 41 saves in 2000, was given the honor of closing out the clinch in a non-save situation.

A home run by Andres Galarraga did little harm. Benitez finished off the Braves and, somewhat abiding to Philips’ wishes, the reaction was relatively subdued. The Mets eventually let loose with champagne in the locker room.

”I think that this team has silenced a little bit of the doubters,” Mike Piazza said to The New York Times. ”You know what? We had a bad month. Hopefully, we can have a good month.”

From there, the team played free and easy — similar to how they performed during a red-hot summer.

Unlike Braves manager Bobby Cox, Bobby Valentine penciled in a Mets’ lineup laden with backups. Nevertheless, they proceed to end Greg Maddux‘s scoreless drought and send him to the clubhouse after five innings.

Todd Pratt led the way in the 8-2 destruction of Atlanta pitching, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs while Kurt Abbott showed some rare pop in his bat by knocking his sixth home run of the season. Bobby Jones went eight and gave up only two runs. Although his final ERA wasn’t eye-catching or eye-pleasing, he managed to tally an 11-6 recor.

The Mets then disposed of their last regular-season opponent, the Montreal Expos. Mike Hampton picked up his 15th victory of the year on September 29, supported heavily by ten runs over the first two innings. That was followed with a pair of late-game triumphs which served as the tune-up for October.

All that remained was to determine the Mets’ Division Series opponent. The Braves, Cardinals, and Giants fought it out for the league’s best record and, thus, home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.

Atlanta continued to play its starters but was no better off for it. After losing the series in New York, they continued to struggle at home against the Colorado Rockies and dropped two out of three to close the regular season. 

The Giants, meanwhile, won four of their last five for a final tally of 97 victories — enough for the NL’s top seed, which meant the Mets would have a rematch with their nemesis in the NLCS.

New York ended up with 94 — three fewer wins than in 1999 but far less angst in getting there. But compared to last year’s roller-coaster arrival to the playoffs, which included the Mets having to take four straight must-win games and a three-city trek over some 50 hours, the relatively serene finish and a flight out west to take on San Francisco was a comforting feeling. But for a team of the Mets’ stature, getting to the postseason wasn’t enough. Only a trip to the World Series would suffice.

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It’s generally a bad idea to give good teams any extra chances to win.

The Mets, who came into the middle of August as arguably the hottest team in baseball, took full advantage of their opponents’ occasional generosity while repressing their own self-inflicted mistakes. The end result was five wins in eight games that week, giving them 21 victories over their previous 27 games.

A rare stumble came at the end of their series with the Giants on August 14.

Rick Reed went five scoreless innings before running out of gas and allowing the Giants to run wild.

In the sixth, San Francisco batted around, plating five runs on four singles, a double, a hit-by-pitch, and a sac fly.

Reed ended his night with a thud only to be succeeded by Dennis Cook, who imploded right from the start.

He walked two of the first three hitters with a Barry Bonds single in-between.

Then, he relinquished RBI hits to four of the next five batters, the last coming against opposing pitcher Russ Ortiz.

After the damage was done, so were the Mets.

11-0 was the score, and only a late Jay Payton solo home prevented a shutout.

The Mets hadn’t lost two straight since July 21 and would keep it that way when they hosted the Rockies — beginning with a Tuesday doubleheader (a makeup of a May 18 rainout).

Armando Benitez saved both victories, the first coming when New York temporarily pushed Pat Mahomes into the rotation and Mike Piazza took the game off.

Both issues were of no concern for the Mets, who overcame a series of baserunning errors and failures with runners in scoring position.

Mahomes, though, was solid (6.2 innings, three earned runs, five hits) and backup backstop Todd Pratt went 3-for-4.

But it was in the front end of the double dip when the season of giving began.

Colorado’s bullpen couldn’t find it’s way (or the plate) in the seventh, kicking off a string of pratfalls which New York exploited for the rest of the week.

After starter Pedro Astacio encountered trouble, a parade of three Rockies relievers each had a rough go of it.

Two bases-loaded walks, a wild pitch, and a groundout turned a 4-2 deficit into a 6-4 lead.

The Mets scored again in the eighth on yet another errant offering.

In the nightcap, it appeared as if Todd Zeile was giving one back to the Rockies.

He allowed Colorado to tie it when he made an error on Todd Hollandsworth‘s ground ball to first base to lead off the seventh.

Hollandsworth scored when Zeile fielded a sharp grounder but had no play at home.

Redemption came in the eighth in the form of a solo homer that Zeile sent over the left-field fence.

Benitez came on and preserved that 4-3 advantage with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Any New York fielding errors the following evening were repressed against Masato Yoshii.

The former Met was greeted harshly by the bats of Zeile, Robin Ventura, Benny Agbayani, and more.

Yoshii departed after five innings, but not before allowing ten hits and nine runs.

He did himself no favors, either — doling out five free passes and also committing a wild pitch that led to the ninth and final run.

However, a seemingly perfect day for New York was marred when Mike Hampton had to leave in the fourth because of a rib injury caused by a swing while batting one inning earlier.

New York hadn’t let injuries effect itself lately and it wouldn’t on the afternoon of this 13-2 thrashing.

The Mets continued their succession of NL West opponents when they traveled to face the team Piazza started with and where feelings on his departure still reverberated.

Piazza left Los Angeles more than two years prior, traded in the wake of a failed contract negotiation, which was contemptuous at best.

He homered in his return last season against Kevin Brown. And in the opener this year, he did the very same thing.

Piazza’s two-run blast off Brown built the Mets advantage to 3-0 in the third inning.

The Dodgers rallied to tie it, but Edgardo Alfonzo was there to rescue New York.

He singled for the third time on the night in the seventh to bring in Joe McEwing.

Piazza provided some insurance with a ninth-inning hit that scored Alfonzo and ensured Mike would have a fifth straight 100-RBI season.

After the Mets bats went quiet and failed to support Rick Reed, they responded Sunday with nine runs on 10 hits.

But they got plenty of help to get there.

In the series finale, the Dodger gifts were coming in rapidly by the eighth inning.

With the score tied at six, Mike Bordick on third and Darryl Hamilton on first, Lenny Harris hit a comebacker to reliever Terry Adams.

He caught Bordick, breaking for home on contact, in a rundown.

Adams threw to third baseman Adrian Beltre, who then threw the ball to the plate — but the toss went over the head of catcher Todd Hundley.

Bordick and Hamilton scored.

The very next batter, Derek Bell, hit a grounder through the legs of second baseman Mark Grudzielanek which allowed another run to score.

The Mets’ 9-6 victory did not end without a scare — specifically, a Mike Piazza injury scare.

He tumbled into the stands of his old stomping grounds when catching a pop up in foul territory in the ninth inning.

With nobody in the front row of seats to break his fall, Piazza landed on the concrete.

He came away relatively unscathed and made the out.

While the Mets had closed in on the Atlanta Braves for the lead in the NL East, they would physically remain far apart for the foreseeable future.

The next time they’d see Atlanta would be September 18 at Turner Field.

Thus, the only ways New York could overcome the team that has dominated the division for the past decade were if it went on a torrid pace or if the Braves had a slump in them.

Neither would happen this week.

Atlanta went 4-2 to counter the Mets’ 5-3 mark.

Thus, the margin between the two clubs on August 20 was the same it was seven days before — with the defending National League champs up by 1.5 games.

But with their 21-6 stretch, New York had strengthened its hold on the Wild Card.

The post Reliving The 2000 Mets: Making Noise On The Western Front appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The surging Mets took a brief respite from their breakneck pace — falling to the Cincinnati Reds, 6-0, on July 31.

It was a hiccup during what was the team’s best stretch of baseball.

After the Reds loss, New York went on to take 10 of their next 12 and narrow the gap between them and the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves to only 1.5 games.

The key in this run of success was their pitching — namely starters Mike Hampton and Al Leiter along with relievers John Franco and Armando Benitez.

The Mets took the three-game series against the visiting Reds thanks to Hampton pitching 7.1 innings and allowing two runs (while driving in one) in a 3-2 victory secured by the Franco-Benitez tandem.

That was followed a day later when Leiter yielded only a run over seven.

The offense didn’t do much, but it did enough.

In that rubber match, Robin Ventura‘s two-run first-inning homer was the difference as New York bats managed just one extra-base hit after the opening frame.

The Mets moved from Shea to Bank One Ballpark to face their closest competitor in the NL Wild Card fight and didn’t miss a beat.

They continued their dominance over the Diamondbacks, winning their eighth straight against Arizona dating back to the Division Series victory the previous year.

Mike Piazza suffered a slight setback when he strained his knee running to first base in the fourth inning on August 5, causing him to miss the rest of the game as well as the next three contests.

A night after a 6-1 win behind Rick Reed, Bobby Jones worked six effective innings while allowing two runs, eight hits, and two walks to move his record to 6-5.

D-Back bats solved the New York pitching quandary, jumping on Glendon Rusch for five runs and seven hits over four innings and continued the ambush on lefty reliever Dennis Cook to salvage the finale.

The Mets once more brushed off that loss, a 9-5 defeat in the desert, and came back with a hard-fought 6-5 win in their initial visit to Enron Field in Houston — which was a homecoming for two former Astros and a convergence of the principals from last winter’s trade.

The 36,356 fans didn’t take too kindly to the return of Mike Hampton, who gave up five runs and batted in two.

But they really had it out for Derek Bell.  After hearing constant boos, Bell had a response.

With two outs in the ninth and Hampton on the hook for a loss, Derek ripped a game-tying solo homer.

The man who relinquished it was Octavio Dotel.

It was he, along with Roger Cedeno, who were sent to Houston in exchange for Bell and Hampton.

In the 11th, score tied at five, Kurt Abbott — playing only because Edgardo Alfonzo had strained his groin innings earlier — homered off Jason Green.

Houston, enduring a rough year at nearly 30 games below .500, bounced back with a 9-3 win.

Leiter was done in by an early throwing error by newcomer Mike Bordick which led to two unearned runs and Pat Mahomes struggled in his one inning of work.

Enron Field had already gained a reputation for being hitter-friendly.

And over the remaining games of the series, the Mets went out and proved it — racking up 22 runs in two resounding victories.

On August 9, New York blasted three home runs to lead a 12-5 thumping.

The first from Jay Payton, the next from Darryl Hamilton, and the last off the bat of Piazza — no worse for wear in his return to the lineup.

The following night, the All-Star catcher went 4-for-4 (to up his batting average to .351) and drove in four of the team’s 12 runs.

Meanwhile, Bobby Jones pretty much held every Astro batter in check — except Jeff Bagwell.

The future Hall-of-Famer connected twice for bases-empty round-trippers, the only two Houston runs scored against Jones.

Back home facing the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants, the Mets posted a cumulative total of nine runs in the three games — but won them all.

Piazza still had some carryover from his Texas power surge and delivered a towering shot in the fourth inning, a two-run homer which landed in the left-field picnic area.

Edgardo Alfonzo aimed to duplicate his teammate’s feat with an equally impressive homer as the two combined to take down the Giants, 4-1.

During this two-week stretch, the Mets had been giving the Shea crowd plenty of thrills.

But on August 12, Benny Agbayani gave back a little more than he should.

With Mike Hampton working on a shutout and protecting a one-run advantage, the Giants put men on second and third with one out in the top of the fourth. Reminder — one out.

Bobby Estalella hit a fly ball in the general direction of left fielder Agbayani.

He drifted over to his right and made the catch. Jeff Kent tagged from third.

Benny, thinking his catch ended the inning, ran over and handed the ball to a youngster.

Agbayani quickly realized his mistake, but it was too late. His brief brain malfunction was costly. Ellis Burks was able to take two extra bases and score behind Kent.

”I looked at the scoreboard and I guess I saw the strike count instead of the outs,” Agbayani said to the New York Times.

”I just glanced at it. It could have cost us the game and that would have been especially tough for Mike Hampton, the way he pitched.”

“My teammates kept telling me not to worry about it, that it was already done.”

Benny had chances to atone, but he struck out in the bottom of the fourth and grounded out with the bases full in the fifth.

Fulfilling their team mentality, the Mets picked up their downtrodden outfielder.

Todd Zeile‘s two-run double off Felix Rodriguez in the seventh flipped the contest in favor of New York, which went on to win for the 19th time in 25 games and saved Agbayani from further embarrassment.

As it turned out, Benny would get the last laugh on the Giants come October.

The Mets brushed aside that faux pas and swept San Francisco on a Sunday afternoon — thanks to a combined shutout from Al Leiter and John Franco and a pair of eight-inning RBI hits from Robin Ventura and Bordick.

By showing their strength against teams with postseason prospects, New York improved its record to 69-47, good enough for the second-best mark in the National League.

Unfortunately, it was only good enough for second in the division, too. But the Mets had a foothold on that Wild Card spot — 5.5 games clear of Arizona.

The post Reliving The 2000 Mets: Closing In On First appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

A full week after their 18-hour flight from halfway around the world, the Mets still showed symptoms of jet lag. They dropped two of three to the Padres and only managed to scrape together two hits in the opener against Los Angeles.

The Mets actually won that night in spite of their anemic offense — and have Rick Reed to thank for it. Reed augmented his solid start in Japan with 7.2 sterling innings and a 2-1 lead that would be protected by Armando Benitez.

New York’s hitting recovered the next day, only for the bullpen to spring a leak. John Franco punctured the biggest hole when he let a four-run ninth-inning lead slip away only to be followed up by Benitez relinquishing a game-winning home run to Eric Karros in the top of the tenth. The implosion spoiled the valiant effort of emergency starter and future Super Bowl QB dad Pat Mahomes — inserted in place of an injured Al Leiter — along with the first career home run for Jay Payton, a two-run homer from Edgardo Alfonzo, and three hits by Melvin Mora.

The snowball effect of the 11th-hour Dodger onslaught manifested itself less than 24 hours later when winter-like conditions postponed any chances of finishing the series.

”If abnormal is regular, as I feel it is,” Valentine said, according to the New York Times, ”then this will be another regular, wacky, abnormal season.”

But even a much-needed rest day ahead of a week-long Pennsylvania road trip didn’t cure what was ailing the Mets. The injury toll was not limited to Leiter and his sore groin muscle. Bobby Jones, who would be rocked in an April 10 outing against the Phillies for six earned runs in four innings, exited his next start versus the Pirates prematurely — a strained right calf being the culprit. He’d quickly be placed on the disabled list.

Rickey Henderson, great fodder for a good headline, got his bell rung when a trip to the ballpark that snowy Sunday resulted in a car accident.

Henderson, who had given management headaches with his outspoken desire to be traded if he didn’t get more playing time, briefly broke his month-long media boycott to provide a status update: “I’m alive.”

While Rickey’s standing with the Mets was hanging by a thread, Darryl Hamilton‘s career was in jeopardy because of a sprained left foot that put him out of action until August.

Mets pitchers incurred their own punishment — pelted for a staggering 23 runs over the next four games. In Philadelphia, where New York dropped two of three, it was the big inning that hurt them most. Specifically, four big innings in which the Phillies tallied at least three on the scoreboard.

Following Jones’ rough outing, Mike Hampton — still in search of his first Mets victory — lost for the third time many tries after yielding five walks and a homer. He headed off the Veterans Stadium mound with his new club in an early 6-0 ditch.

Again, Rick Reed offered the bailout package. It was the seventh inning before Philadelphia could muster a score. Reed came away with a no-decision, but New York snapped a 1-1 tie in the top of the ninth to salvage the final game of the series.

The Mets departed Philadelphia with hopes of leaving their struggles behind, but their manager couldn’t shake the new controversy he started there. Earlier that week, a student invited Valentine to speak at the Wharton School of Business on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. During the Q&A session that followed, the ever-candid Valentine allegedly ripped Mets management along with some players. The comments would have likely stayed within the walls of the room if not for an attendee posting his account of the talk on a message board.

This threatened to take the heated relationship between GM Steve Phillips and his manager, which had reached red-hot temperatures the year before, up a notch. In a preemptive and over-reactive move, Phillips joined the team in Pittsburgh for a one-on-one conversation with Valentine to diffuse the situation. Phillips later questioned the credibility of the source before the Penn student newspaper (The Daily Pennsylvanian) fanned the flame, reporting that Valentine contacted the reporter who attended the event to destroy her audio tape.

The controversy died down a bit when the source confessed he exaggerated a few of his comments. The Daily Pennsylvanian released a partial transcript which mostly exonerated Bobby V, but not entirely. In it, Valentine criticized Phillips’ failure to sign Japanese reliever Kazuhiro Sasaki over the winter. The manager also presumably needled outfielder Derek Bell by saying there was a “$5 million player” who doesn’t produce as well as Benny Agbayani.

New York went on to capture two of its three games in Pittsburgh, with Piazza and Ventura contributing two home runs each. So far in the 2000 season, the Mets constant sideshows resembled the turmoil that engulfed the club last year, amid all their successes.  And now, with the offense appearing to click with regularity, the on-field product had the look of the ’99 club, too.

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