Die Hard Sports Fan

In this week’s ‘25 BEST MOMENTS AT SHEA’, Brian Costello of the New York Post lets us know what No. 12 is…

SHEA STADIUM

June 21, 1964

Shea Stadium was two months old when it played host to its first truly historic moment. The Phillies’ Jim Bunning pitched a perfect game on Father’s Day, the first perfect game in the National League in 84 years.

It was the first game of a doubleheader and Philadelphia would win 6-0, but all anyone talked about was the pitching performance from the lanky right-hander.

The 32,904 fans at the game became Bunning fans in the final inning as he became the eighth man in the history of Major League Baseball to achieve perfection. He also became the first pitcher in the modern era to throw a no-hitter in both leagues. He had no-hit the Red Sox in 1958 as a member of the Tigers. That day he walked two and hit one.

Against the Mets New York Mets , he was flawless. It took him only 90 pitches and the 32-year-old struck out Mets rookie John Stephenson to complete his 27 up, 27 down masterpiece. The fans gave him a long standing ovation.

Bunning was the first NL pitcher since John Ward to pitch a perfect game. Ward did it for Providence on June 17, 1880.

The Tigers traded Bunning the winter before to Philadelphia. He would play a role in Philly’s pennant chase that season. He struck out 10 Mets with a baffling curveball and a slider he mixed in.

Just three Mets even came close to getting a hit. Jesse Gonder hit a hard shot between first and second that second baseman Tony Taylor knocked down, then threw to first for the out. In the third inning, Amado Samuel lined a ball over the head of shortstop Cookie Rojas, but Rojas made a leaping grab.

Ron Hunt came close to ending the perfection in the fourth with a pop fly along the right-field line that was out of the reach of outfielder Johnny Callison. The ball fell just a few feet foul, though, and Bunning then struck Hunt out.

Bunning would be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1996 and is now a Senator from Kentucky.

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Over at CBSSportsline, Pete Prisco released the third and final part of his Breakout Players list for 2008. Atop the list is Bengals Tackle Stacy Andrews. The only Giant to make the list was Wide Receiver Steve Smith, and here’s what Prisco wrote about him…

After missing 11 games in his rookie season with an injury, Smith had 14 catches in the postseason to emerge as an important part of the Giants’ run to the Super Bowl. Watch for him to become a factor in the middle of the field for the Giants’ offense in 2008, possibly catching as many as 60 passes.

Obviously, I believe that Smith will have the opportunity to become more involved in the offense in ‘08. The only thing I don’t like about Smith is his size. He’s 5′ 11″ and weighs in at 195 which is a heavier version of me. I do believe that the Giants have a good mix in size and ability when it comes to their Receivers. Smith had a lot more success in the Playoffs when Eli hit him over the middle and a little bit on the sidelines. During the Regular Season, the Giants were using Smith as the home run guy which didn’t work out too well. Now that Kevin Gilbride knows how to use Smith effectively, we should expect better out of him. At the same time, the more touches he gets the more the opposition will focus on him. His size may make it easier for the opposition to handle him unlike somebody like Plaxico.

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For those of you that are fans of Jose Reyes, the New York Times found out that Jimmy Rollins had to go through some tough times before becoming the MVP last season. Rollins said…

Sometimes it takes a year or two, but with me, it took three. I was the same way until I figured out who the heck I was. I could run, I could play, I was fast, but it was all raw ability. But now, I’m showing off my raw ability, with learning, with knowledge. I’ve learned the game. I understand the game. You come out of that, you’re a completely different player.

The big thing for me is: how do you make that adjustment? That’s the learning curve. He still has the tools, a great arm. He does have power, hits from both sides of the plate, speed, good glove. The mental makeup. He’s a smart baseball player. He’s the complete package, but he won’t fully mature until his failures start making sense to him.

At times, it was like, I don’t care what you say. Other times, it was like, O.K., let me try it. Or, I’m struggling, let me try what they say. If I’m feeling good, I didn’t listen to what they say. When I’m feeling bad, all right, I’ll try it. But now, I’ve processed all the information, and I know me. I can’t do Ryan Howard. I can’t do Chase Utley. I can only do Jimmy Rollins.

People always have more expectations for you than they have for themselves. Put that out of your mind, learn who you are, know who you are and go out and do it. Believe me, people will accept you, because my on-base percentage has never been high, but I score runs. What’s more important? Me being on base or me scoring runs? If I’m scoring more runs, I’m doing my job.

Wright and Reyes quickly became my new favorite Mets, but you probably know by now that I have completely fallen out of love with Reyes over the past year. The most important thing that Jimmy mentioned was that Jose ‘won’t fully mature until his failures start making sense to him’. That’s the same thing as when people admit they have a problem at AA. Maybe Jerry Manuel will be able to get into Reyes’ head. Otherwise, somebody else has to whether it’s management or a player. He needs to be molded into a Professional baseball player.

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Ralph Vacchiano of The Blue Screen is keeping us up-to-date with all of the Giants’ post-Super Bowl books…

• Giant: The Road to the Super Bowl by Plaxico Burress (with Jason Cole) - It is available in stores now. Also, Burress will be at Book Revue in Huntington, NY for a book signing on Wednesday, July 9 at 7 p.m. if you live nearby and want to stop by.
• Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback - It won’t be available for another few weeks, but you can pre-order it.
• More Than Just The Catch by David Tyree (with Kim Daniels) - Due out this fall.
• A Team to Believe In: Our Journey to the Super Bowl Championship by Tom Coughlin (with Brian Curtis) - Due out this fall.
• Inside the Helmet: Hard Knocks, Pulling Together and Triumph as a Sunday Afternoon Warrior by Michael Strahan (with Jay Glazer) - Was released in 2007 and is being re-released with new sub titles and additional chapters.
• The GM: A Football Life, a Final Season, and a Last Laugh by Tom Callahan (written with Ernie Accorsi’s help) - Was released in 2007 and is being re-released with new sub titles and additional chapters.

That’s quite a list. Hopefully all of the writing has no effect on my boys when the season comes around. Definitely check out some of those books, and feel free to let us know how they are.

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Ralph Branca is a former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who wants his son-in-law Bobby Valentine to come back home and manage the Mets if such an offer was made, according to the New York Times. Branca said…

They know Bobby. They know he’s a very loyal guy. He’s a got a year and a half left on his contract over there. The owners have been very, very good to him. He doesn’t have to contend with the New York press and guys who are dishonest. But I would tell him to take the job. Come back home, baby. I think he would be open to it. It’s New York City, the hub of the world, the media capital of the world. It’s his kind of town. He’s the kind of manager they need now. A guy who is volatile, makes tough decisions, and is very loyal to the team. He’s probably the best manager in baseball, even though I’m prejudiced. But you know he makes all the right moves. He took a mediocre team to the World Series in 2000. And with a break here or there, he could have won it all. I mean, he got beat on a 15-hopper up the middle by Luis Sojo.

The New York Times went on to say that “Valentine’s contract with Chiba Lotte expires after the 2009 season. However, such agreements in Japan are usually easy to break with some negotiation.” I understand that Branca is Bobby V.’s father-in-law which makes him biased, but I’m biased as well because I’m a huge fan. All in favor, say “aye.” Like I said before Willie getting whacked, Bobby V. is the only one I want to replace him if he were to get let go.

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SportingNews.com broke down and ranked the Quarterbacks for each team in the NFC. Quarterbacks is plural so their ranking includes the backups. Here’s the Top 5 on the list…

1. Dallas Cowboys - “The ability to sense and avoid a rush and throw from different arm slots is what makes Tony Romo an elite playmaker. Backup Brad Johnson is solid; he makes good decisions and few mistakes.”
2. New Orleans Saints - “Drew Brees is intelligent and instinctive; he acts like a coach on the field. He’s accurate on short and deep passes and also can throw on the run. Veteran Mark Brunell knows how to manage a game.”
3. Seattle Seahawks - “Like a streak shooter in basketball, Matt Hasselbeck can take over a game as he feeds off his own success. Seneca Wallace and Charlie Frye both have starting experience and will battle for the No. 2 job.”
4. Philadelphia Eagles - “Donovan McNabb has gone from elusive scrambler to mostly a dropback passer. He throws a great deep ball but isn’t as adept across the middle. Kevin Kolb is the future starter, and A.J. Feeley can run the offense.”
5. New York Giants - “Eli Manning is a mentally tough leader who showed he can make plays during last year’s Super Bowl run. Newcomer David Carr needs to regain his confidence, and rookie Andre’ Woodson is a project.”

I agree that the Cowboys have the best 2 Quarterbacks on one team in the NFC with Romo and Johnson. Johnson is a former Redskin who keeps bouncing around, but all he does is win when he plays. Winning is what it’s all about. I don’t agree at all with the Saints at No. 2. Brees is one of the best QBs in the NFC, but the other former Redskin Brunell is not good at all. I don’t agree with the Seahawks at No. 3. I think that the Eagles should be No. 2 with McNabb and Feeley. McNabb’s production has declined, but he still has no weapons. On top of that, Feeley always comes in when McNabb gets injured and the team never skips a beat. The Giants can be placed as low as No. 8 on the list because they don’t have a legitimate backup. We’ll have to see if Carr or Woodson win that role in the Preseason. Teams 6-8 also have decent starters along with decent former starters as backups.

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So most Mets fans wanted Willie whacked and those of you who wanted that got their wish. The only improvement since then is the play of Jose Reyes. Reyes has decided to finally play baseball once Jerry Manuel took over which is another reason why this guy is so hard to root for. Otherwise, the team is playing exactly the same under Manuel as they did under Willie.

Last night, Manuel took Johan Santana out of the game against the Phillies after pitching eight innings. The score was 2-2 at the time, and Manuel brought in Duaner Sanchez to save the game but ended up giving a two-out RBI single to Shane Victornino. It was a very questionable move Mets fans because Santana only had 95 pitches when he was taken out. We know that Willie would’ve taken Johan out too. So what’s different? Absolutely nothing. The Bullpen still couldn’t save the game. It’s the same problem as last season. The Bullpen was smokin’ until July of 2007, and then they couldn’t hold a lead the rest of the season. Since I’m such a realistic Mets fan, I saw the collapse coming a mile away. It began in July, and I knew that the Mets wouldn’t have been able to do anything in the Playoffs if they ended up making it. Of course I thought that they would’ve made the Playoffs, but I saw the flaws and knew that they would’ve been outed in the first round. We were hoping that Sanchez would’ve come back and pitch like he did in ‘06. Omar brought in Matt Wise in the offseason. Duaner’s return didn’t live up to the hype, and Wise hasn’t done much of anything before being placed on the DL.

My point has always been that this is on the players. It doesn’t matter if Willie or Jerry is the Coach. I also heard on WFAN that Willie wasn’t able to punish Reyes whenever Reyes acted up because Minaya said that Reyes was too valuable to the team. So Jose has gotten away with whatever he wanted. You can see on the field that Reyes’ immaturity has regressed. He never showed it until he was benched by Willie for not running out a few ground balls last year. These on-the-field temper tantrums are current because Reyes never did that in his first few seasons. Now, the Mets fired the Manager who did the right thing by benching him so Jose can continue to feel like he’s bigger than the team. I’ve got a huge problem with all of this. The Phillies had no problem benching Jimmy Rollins for not running out a ground ball, and Rollins was the MVP last year. Jimmy said he deserved to be benched. So why can’t the Mets do this? Why can’t Reyes handle being benched? I have no idea, but the Mets have to do something with Reyes. I know that Jose puts up great numbers when it doesn’t matter a la A-Rod, but where was Reyes in the ‘06 Playoff, in September ‘07, and in the first half of ‘08? He’s nowhere to be found when there’s pressure or criticism which means he lacks Rocky Balboa heart. It’s a shame with all of that talent. Just like Lorenzo said to Calogero in A Bronx Tale, “There’s nothing worst than wasted talent.”

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According to Giants.com, you can go see the helmet against which New York Giants’ wide receiver David Tyree pinned the ball making “the catch”, and the helmet of quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning at the Sports Museum of America (SmA) (www.sportsmuseum.com) located in historic Lower Manhattan. The Sports Museum of America will display the helmets, which are on loan from the New York Giants through the summer before they permanently move to The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH this fall.

Jonathan Tisch said, “David Tyree’s catch and the Cinderella story of the New York Giants have already become the stuff of Super Bowl legend. We are thrilled to be able to share with our fans an intimate look at the fabled helmets right here in New York City at the Sports Museum of America.”

The Founder and CEO of Sports Museum of America, Phillip Schwalb, had this to say, “This exhibit is exactly what we’ve set out to do – bring sports history directly, and personally, to the fans as it’s happening. There are great new moments in sports being made every week, and we are proud that thousands of visitors from around the world can view these artifacts and celebrate the magical, historic moment they represent.”

If you would like to purchase tickets to see the helmets at the Sports Museum of America (SmA), click on this link: www.sportsmuseum.com.

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Even though Jose Reyes is quickly becoming one of the players on the Mets that I want traded immediately, I was going to congratulate him for tying the Mets All-Time triples record that was set by Mookie Wilson.  However, I just came across a really juicy article by the New York Post which made me change my mind.  During the game when Reyes threw his glove up in the air, Keith Hernandez said that the Mets were “babying” Reyes and “He’s got to get over that. Enough babying going on now. He’s a grown man. He’s been around a long enough time. Take off the kid gloves.”  Well, Jose’s friends and relatives told him what Keith said which led to a “very heated” situation on the plane out to St. Louis.  After Reyes confronted Hernadez, Keith said “I was just doing my job - you should do yours.”  Supposedly, they almost were about to exchange punches.  Both Jose and Keith deny that the situation was anything more than a conversation, but other players on the plane said otherwise.

Toe-to-toe, blow-for-blow, round-for-round, I got Keith’s back in this one.  I love his quote, “I was just doing my job - you should do yours.”  Isn’t that the truth.  He’s one of my favorite Mets of All-Time, and he’s a legend in Queens.  He has rings and played the game the way it should be played.  Reyes is like a pimple on Keith’s rear end right now so he’s messing with the wrong cat.  The Mets are babying Jose, and this is just another incident on his part so this is it for me.  I now want him out as much as I want Delgado and Castillo out.  I would only have been impressed by Reyes if he shut the hell up and played like a professional who makes millions of dollars.  He is going backwards instead of forwards, and that shouldn’t happen at 25.  I don’t remember this stuff happening the first three seasons, it’s all since he got benched by Willie.  He has no heart which is why he’s unable to come through in the clutch or listen to people when he’s does wrong.  I would feel much better if he was doing this stuff when he was a rookie and not doing it anymore.  This kid’s heads too damn big.

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Mets.com reported that Moises Alou’s return from the DL will be postponed due to weather in Florida.  The rain washed away Moises Alou’s rehabilitation efforts Wednesday for the second time this week.  So he flew to New York with plans to play for Double-A Binghamton on Friday instead.  He will end up missing the series against the Phillies, but the Mets are hopeful that Moises will be ready to play on Monday.  We need him back.

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