Friday, June 29, 2007

Mets Sweep Phils

June 29th, 2007
The Mets swept a day-night doubleheader and a series from the Phils today, 6-5 and 5-2. It was the first time the Mets had defeated the Phils twice in one day since June 28th, 1980, almost exactly 27 years ago. It left the Mets five games ahead of the Phils, dropping the Phils to third place. The Mets have now won 7 of 8, similar to a LoDuca prediction of a week ago.

El Duque went 6 strong innings in the opener, helped by a home run by Reyes.
Maine won his 9th game, and could be a ten game winner before the all star break. Many are talking him up for this year's all star ballot. In fact, Maine has given up no walks at all in four of his last six starts. He gave up only 3 hits in eight plus innings, and retired 7 then 13 in a row.


The Mets in the nightcap scored 5 runs on 10 hits, one error and 14 left on. Damon Easley got a two run homer in the seventh. The Phils ended up with 2 runs, 5 hits and no errors leaving 4 on. Michael Bourne made two great catches to kill a pair of Mets rallies.

Wagner got saves on both ends of the double header.

Yankees vs Mets

Everyone I’ve talked to so far saw it happen just as I did. The shift in consciousness—and fashion, occurred some time between Thursday night (May 31st) and Saturday afternoon (June 2nd). It was awesome. I was walking around New York City and it was as if Yankee hats and shirts—often displayed as a symbol of loyalty to New York, were dissolving, replaced by Mets hats and shirts, the new symbol of The Great Metropolis. Suddenly, everyone in this big fat city is a Mets fan. Welcome! We have this great website waiting for you!

I was speaking with a sports authority on Sunday, visiting our fair city from Chicago, and even noticed it. He pinpointed the tipping point to the same few hours. He said it reminded him of a similar shift that happened in 2005 when the White Sox clinched the pennant; all the fence sitters in the Civil War that is Chicago baseball joined up on the White Sox side of the battle, all at the same time. Suddenly, everyone wanted to be Ozzie Guillan’s best friend. Another friend in the Hudson Valley observed the same thing on the streets of Anytown, New York. Everyone switched hats at once. They looked at the papers and saw the Yankees in last place (and Giambi on the DL) and said, “Oops! That’s not my style. Time for a change in fashion.” The hundredth monkey. Even K-Mart is selling Mets’ stuff by the gross. Yankees hats are in bin with the marked down men’s underwear.

Unfortunately, being a new convert to anything also has its downsides. I saw a family of born-again Mets fans on the 6:00 Metro North train on Sunday all decked out in what appeared to be brand new Mets regalia, looking really miserable; dejected, depressed, and rather sunburned. The Mets had lost a tough game on an infrequent error by Reyes and a lack of outfielders. Reyes, by the way made one error in April, one in May, and now one in June. I felt bad for them, but most of our roster will return off the DL in a week, so hang in there rookies!

Since 1962, the Yankees have finished in last place only twice, in 1966 and 1990, and have hit bottom midseason a few more times, but once in a blue moon. May of 2007, by the way, was a “Blue Moon” month, with a full moon at the beginning and end of the month. And it was during that last full moon, the “blue” one, that the once-mighty Yankees fell into last yet again. It was also during that month that the Mets moved out to over .200 points ahead of the Yankees in the win percentages. Now that’s something you don’t see very often, once in a blue moon.

On Sunday morning, church-going Mets fans (and we have fans of every religion, denomination and sect you can name) had a lot to be thankful for in their prayers. The Mets had a whopping .214 MYD (Mets-Yankees Differential) lead in the cross-baseball standings. It does make one pause and reflect. How often have the Mets been .214 ahead of their crosstown rivals in history?

I went through my baseball encyclopedia and came up with an interesting, though possibly pointless quiz, to test your knowledge of Mets history. Each question is worth 5 points. Sharpen your pencils and begin at my whistle. 80 to 100 is an A, 60 to 79 is a B; 40 to 59 is a C; 20 to 39 is a D; 0 to 19 is an F. Hold a piece of cardboard up to the screen on your computer so you can’t see the answer which follows. Here’s the whistle!!!
:
1. The Mets this year have jumped from a zero differential last year to +214 so far in comparison to the Yankees as of this Sunday. What was the greatest upward jump in differential points in final standings for the Mets before this year?
A. 1968 to 1969
B. 1983 to 1984
C. 1985 to 1986

Answer: A:1968 to 1969 (-61 to +120 = 181) followed by 1983 to 1984 (-142 to +19 = 161); followed by 1985 to 1986 (+3 to + 111 = 108)

2. When was the first year that both the Mets and Yanks finished above .500?
A. 1969
B. 1968
C. 1970
Answer: C 1970

3. In the 45 seasons since 1962, how often have the Mets and Yanks both finished above .500 in the same year? (not including 2007, but including 1994)
A. 10 times
B. 17 times
C. 22 times

Answer: B 17 times

4. How many times have the Mets finished a season as far ahead of the Yankees as they were on Sunday morning? (+214)
A. two times
B. zero times
C. five times

Answer: B zero times.

5. Name the four best years in order for the Mets in terms of Mets-Yanks Differential.
A. 1986, 1988, 1990, 1969
B. 1990, 1969, 1986, 1988
C. 1988, 1969, 1970, 1989

Answer: B. 1990 (+148) 1969 (+120) 1986 (+111) 1988 (+97). They have never finished a season as far ahead of the Yanks as they are now.

6. Name the worst season for New York baseball (based on combined winning percentages)
A. 1965
B. 1967
C. 1982
Answer: A. 1965 (784) followed by 1967 (821 points) followed by 1962 (843) followed by 1982 (889)

7. How many times have the Yanks and Mets ended a season with the same win percentage?
A. three times
B. one time
C. never

Answer: One time, 2006, last year both finished at .599.

8. How many times have the Yankees finished a season as far ahead of the Mets as the Mets were ahead of the Yankees on Sunday?
A. two times
B. zero times
C. five times

Answer: C; five times; the first three were in 1962, 1963 and 1964, not surprisingly. However, the Yanks finished 222 ahead of the Mets in 1977 and 1980. Since 1964, these were the worst two seasons for the Mets in comparison to the Yankees.

9. The Mets’ 2003 (.410) season under Art Howe was the worst losing season since 1993; to find another year that was worse, you’d have to go back to what year?
A. 1981
B. 1982
C. 1977

Answer: B, 1982. The other two years were worse, but 1981 was the next chronologically. Trick question!

10. Since 1965, what was the Mets worst season?
A. 1993
B. 1967
C. 2003

Answer: A. 1993 (.364) followed by 1967 (.377) followed by 1977 (.395) followed by 1981 (.398) followed by 1982 (.401) followed by 1966/2003 (.410) then by 1983 (.420). 2003 wasn’t so bad after all.

11. Have the Mets ever finished a season with a higher winning percentage than they had Sunday (.648)?
A. no
B. yes, one time
C. yes, three times

Answer: B. Yes, one time, 1986, they finished .667

12. Name the Mets three winningest seasons in order:
A. 1986, 1969, 1985
B. 1986, 2006, 1969
C. 1986, 1988, 1969

Answer: C. 1986 (.667)1988 (.625) 1969 (.617)

13. What were the five greatest consecutive years for New York baseball since the Mets were founded in 1962? (based on combined winning percentage?)
A. 1997-2001
B. 1984-1988
C. 1969-1973

Answer: A. 1997-2001 with 5808 points; 1984-1988 comes second with 5793 points) 1969 – 1973 comes third with 5263 points.

14. What was the best single season for New York baseball (Mets and Yanks combined) since the Mets were founded in 1962?
A. 1998
B. 2006
C. 1999

Answer: A 1998 (1247 points) followed by 1986 (1223 points) followed by 1999 (1200) followed by 2006 (1198) followed by 1976 (1141) followed by 1969 (1114)

15. During the 1990s how many times did the Mets and Yanks both finish above .500?
A. three times
B. five times
C. twice
Answer: A. three times, in 1997, 1998 and 1999

16. How many times have the Mets finished with a better win percentage than the Yankees?
A. ten times
B. five times
C. thirteen times
Answer: C; 13 times

17. What is the longest streak of years that the Mets had a greater winning percentage than the Yankees?
A. 4 years
B. 8 years
C. 10 years

Answer: B. From 1984 to 1991, the Mets had a better winning percentage than the Yanks, eight years in a row.

18. Name two series of five consecutive years in which the Mets and Yanks both finished above .500.
A. 1984 to 1988 and 1997 to 2001
B. 1972 to 1976 and 1984 to 1988
C. 1969 to 1973 and 1982 to 1986

Answer: A 1984 to 1988 and 1997 to 2001

19. What year was the worst ever for Mets-Yanks Differential?
A. 1962
B. 1977
C. 1963

Answer: A. 1962 (-343) The Mets had a .250 win percentage.

20. When was the greatest jump in winning percentage for the Mets from one year to the next?
A. 1983 to 1984
B. 1968 to 1969
C. 1996 to 1997

Answer: B. 1968 (.451) to 1969 (.617) a difference of 166; followed by 1983 (.420) to 1984 (.556) a difference of 136; followed by 1996 (.438) to 1997 (.543) a difference of 105);

Tally up your points and grade yourself.

The MYD (Mets-Yankees Differential) Table
Here is the complete table of all Mets-Yankees final winning percentages tabulated.
A minus MYD means the Mets were behind the Yankees by that percentage in wins. A plus means they were ahead of the Yankees by that much. T represents the total of all New York City wins expressed in combined percentage points. In most cases, this number will be double the actual winning percentage.

THE SIXTIES

1962 Mets .250
1962 Yanks .593
MYD -343 / T 843

1963 Mets .315
1963 Yanks .646
MYD -331 / T 961

1964 Mets .327
1964 Yanks .611
MYD -284 / T 938

1965 Mets .309
1965 Yanks .475
MYD -166 / T 784

1966 Mets .410
1966 Yanks .440
MYD -30 / T 850

1967 Mets .377
1967 Yanks 444
MYD -67 / T 821

1968 Mets .451
1968 Yanks .512
MYD -61 / T 963

1969 Mets .617
1969 Yanks .497
MYD +120 / T 1114

THE SEVENTIES
1970 Mets .512
1970 Yanks .574
MYD -62 / T 1086
1971 Mets .512
1971 Yanks .506
MYD +6 / T 1018

1972 Mets .532
1972 Yanks .510
MYD +22 / T 1042

1973 Mets .509
1973 Yanks .494
MYD +15 / T 1003

1974 Mets .437
1974 Yanks .549
MYD -111 / T 987

1975 Mets .506
1975 Yanks .519
MYD -13 / T 1025

1976 Mets .531
1976 Yanks .610
MYD -79 / T 1141

1977 Mets .395
1977 Yanks 617
MYD -222 / T 1012


1978 Mets .407
1978 Yanks .613
MYD -206 / T 1020

1979 Mets .389
1979 Yanks .556
MYD -167 / T 945

THE EIGHTIES
1980 Mets .414
1980 Yanks 636
MYD -222 / 1050

1981 Mets .398
1981 Yanks .551
MYD -153 / T 949


1982 Mets .401
1982 Yanks .488
MYD -87 / T 889

1983 Mets .420
1983 Yanks .562
MYD -142 / T 982

1984 Mets .556
1984 Yanks .537
MYD +19/ T 1093

1985 Mets .605
1985 Yanks .602
MYD +3 / T 1207

1986 Mets .667
1986 Yanks .556
MYD +111 / T 1223

1987 Mets .568
1987 Yanks .549
MYD +19 / T 1117

1988 Mets .625
1988 Yanks .528
MYD +97 / T 1153

1989 Mets .537
1989 Yanks .460
MYD +77 / T 997

THE NINETIES

1990 Mets .562
1990 Yanks .414
MYD +148 / T 976

1991 Mets .478
1991 Yanks .438
MYD +40/ T 916

1992 Mets .444
1992 Yanks .469
MYD -25 / T 913

1993 Mets .364
1993 Yanks .543
MYD -179 / T 907

1994 Mets .487
1994 Yanks .619
MYD -132 / T 1106

1995 Mets .479
1995 Yanks .549
MYD -70 / T 1028

1996 Mets .438
1996 Yanks .568
MYD -130 / T1006

1997 Mets .543
1997 Yanks .593
MYD -50 / T 1136

1998 Mets .543
1998 Yanks .704
MYD -161 / T 1247

1999 Mets .595
1999 Yanks .605
MYD -10 / T 1200

THE NEW MILLENNIUM
2000 Mets .580
2000 Yanks .540
MYD +40 / T 1120

2001 Mets .506
2001 Yanks .594
MYD -88 / T 1100

2002 Mets .466
2002 Yanks .640
MYD -174 / T 1106

2003 Mets .410
2003 Yanks .623
MYD -213 / T 1033

2004 Mets .438
2004 Yanks .623
MYD -185 / T 1061

2005 Mets.512
2005 Yanks .586
MYD -74 / T 1098

2006 Mets .599
2006 Yanks .599
MYD -+ 0 / T 1198

2007 Sunday morning
Mets .648
Yanks .434
MYD +214 / T 1072

Note that the Mets and Yanks have had a combined winning percentage of over 1000 for thirteen consecutive years. Before that, they had five consecutive “losing” seasons under 1000 combined.

Amazine Announces New Book

Amazine 2007 blogzine announces new book Flushing Fever,
published as an ebook by Flushing University Press,280 pp.
$12.00 online at www.FlushingUniversity.com