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2010 'strange but true' -isms

attgig Dec 21 2010 12:40 PM

espn has their 2010 'strange but true' list, and mets have a bit written about their 2010: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/s ... id=5939646 Stranguest But Truest Game Of The Year Yeah, there were many, many insane baseball games in 2010. But for seven mind-boggling hours of pure, cue-the-Twilight-Zone-theme-music strangeness, you couldn't beat this classic: Mets 2, Cardinals 1, in 20 seemingly never-ending innings April 17. • This game began with neither team scoring for 36 consecutive half-innings -- after which, of course, the same two teams scored in three half-innings in a row! First time in history anything like that had ever happened. • The winning team (the Mets) went all 20 innings without getting a hit with a runner in scoring position (0-for-7). • The Mets also made it through all 20 innings without an extra-base hit -- and won. (Only two other teams in the past century pulled that off, according to the Elias Sports Bureau: the 1971 A's and 1940 Dodgers.) • How 'bout this: The Mets won this game even though one of the first 37 hitters they sent to the plate got a hit, and they got eight times as many hits in extra innings (8) as they got in regulation (1). Try that trick on your Xbox sometime. • The winning pitcher (Francisco Rodriguez) was the only guy on his team who gave up a run -- in 20 innings. • This was the first game since 1979 in which a pitcher (emergency Cardinals outfielder Kyle Lohse) recorded two putouts in a game he wasn't pitching in. • This was also the first game in 31 years in which a team (in this case, the Cardinals) had to point two different position players (Felipe Lopez and Joe Mather) to the mound to get nine outs. • And it was the first game in the history of baseball in which a position player (Mather) took the loss, a closer (K-Rod) got the win and a starter (Mike Pelfrey) wound up with a save. So if you can beat that one for Strange-But-Trueness, let us know. . . . The Mets could have had a whole Strange But True column all to themselves. For one thing, they threw 19 shutouts -- but went 60-83 when they made the mistake of giving up a run -- making them the first team since the '89 Dodgers to throw that many shutouts and finish with a losing record. • Another incomprehensible Mets feat: They allowed 12 grand slams (most in the big leagues) -- but hit zero grand slams (fewest in the big leagues, obviously). Not surprisingly, no team in history has ever served up that many slams while forgetting to hit at least one salami, according to Elias. • As ESPN Stats & Information guru Mark Simon never gets tired of reporting, the Mets also had a thing for Tuesdays. They went 13-0 at home on Tuesdays -- but only won 34 home games on all those other days on the calendar. • And one more: The Mets made it all the way from Opening Day to Aug. 22 before they finally won a series on the road against another team in their league. (Of course, they didn't get to visit the Pirates before that.) there's also a little mention of pirate's matching the 63 mets road record.

metirish Dec 21 2010 12:53 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

A lot of strange stuff in there......I had forgot how many shutouts the Mets had....

Ceetar Dec 21 2010 12:55 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

And it was the first game in the history of baseball in which a position player (Mather) took the loss, a closer (K-Rod) got the win and a starter (Mike Pelfrey) wound up with a save. So if you can beat that one for Strange-But-Trueness, let us know. This was my favorite part of that game.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 21 2010 01:14 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

I'll be honest, the 20-inning game was anything but inspiring. It really illustrated how much we were up against, and how little Jerry's game managing was going to help, how easily we could be beaten. It was fun seeing Raul Valdes hit and all, but, just, yuck.

seawolf17 Dec 21 2010 01:19 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

Jayson Stark is the worst writer in the history of language.

G-Fafif Dec 21 2010 01:21 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I'll be honest, the 20-inning game was anything but inspiring. It really illustrated how much we were up against, and how little Jerry's game managing was going to help, how easily we could be beaten. It was fun seeing Raul Valdes hit and all, but, just, yuck. Definitely a game that reads (or summarizes) better than it watched. Still, longest win in Mets history, inningwise...it's worth something.

Edgy DC Dec 21 2010 01:28 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

I wanted to fire Jerry (and HoJo) the next day. It was stunning how far he'd go in managing not to lose. And managing to be successful with that strategy for 20 innings was falseley empowering.

Ceetar Dec 21 2010 01:32 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

Edgy DC wrote: I wanted to fire Jerry (and HoJo) the next day. It was stunning how far he'd go in managing not to lose. And managing to be successful with that strategy for 20 innings was falseley empowering. jerry was just confused he wasn't allowed to bring in Feliciano again after the 14th inning.

themetfairy Dec 21 2010 01:38 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

This was the game I used to come up with my Marathon finishing goal time. I told myself I could finish the Marathon in less time than it took the Mets to win a game, so long as this was the game (and I did - the game took six hours and fifty-three minutes, and I finished the Marathon in 6:12:20. Al Roker took more than seven hours to finish the Marathon, so somebody took longer to run the Marathon than it took to play this game).

metirish Dec 21 2010 01:49 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

As bad as Manuel was LaRussa was worse IIRC.....a game to look back on but yeah terrible really.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 21 2010 01:57 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

Great IGT if you have 45 minutes you might read it sometime. LWFS with this one Hank blocks the plate like Kirstie Alley at the Old Country Buffet

Frayed Knot Dec 21 2010 02:12 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

Yeah, LaRussa managed his staff really poorly that night - but almost got away with it because the Mets scored almost accidently against two position players: - 18th inning facing Felipe Lopez: Pop Out (Blanco), infield 1B (Valdes but thrown out trying to advance), Walk (Pagan), FO (Jacobs) - 19th facing Joe Mather Walk (Reyes); Sac Bunt (Castillo ... AArrrgh!!!!); IW (Wright - yeah, couldn't have seen that one coming!); HBP (Bay); RBI Sac Fly (Francoeur - Hey, we're really rolling now); IW (Blanco); GO (Valdes) - Top 20 (after KRod allows the game to tie) still against Mather Infield single (Pagan), Single to RF (Jacobs); RBI Sac Fly (Reyes); Fly Out (Castillo); Foul Out (Wright) So in three innings vs position players -- - they managed 3 hits: all of which were singles; two of which never left the infield including one by the pitcher which resulted in an out. - they were handed five baserunners in addition to the three hits (BBx2, IWx2, HBP) but still only managed two runs - both runs came via outs - four balls left the infield: Jacobs' single, the two SacFlys, and Castillo's fly out described as "to shallow LF" which, we all know for Luis, means deep SS The best part of the game was probably Takahashi wriggling out of 2nd & 3rd no outs in bottom 14 - He started with a 2B, then an error (his own), plus defensive indifference allowing the runner to move to 2nd - He then struck out Schumaker and Ludwick swinging, intentionally walked Albert, and then struck out the pitcher Hawksworth also swinging Met bats were so psyched by that performance that they went down 1-2-3 the next half.

Ceetar Dec 21 2010 02:15 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

And then there was K-Rod warming up for 2 hours. I think he said afterwards he'd thrown 100 pitches in the bullpen before coming in. Might as well have brought Santana back.

Frayed Knot Dec 21 2010 02:17 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

Right, he warmed up virtually every inning but could never come in because, after all, it's not important to prevent runs in an extra-inning game on the road when you're tied, only after you take a lead is a shutout inning desirable.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Dec 21 2010 02:17 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

Great IGT if you have 45 minutes you might read it sometime. LWFS with this one Hank blocks the plate like Kirstie Alley at the Old Country Buffet Skimming now. Indeed, it's good. Plenty of good material with which to work: Edgy being "blind" for a good portion of it, the usual craptastery from Fox... and oh, those Cardinals relievers: Swanny wrote: We're here for you, Edgy. The Cardinals just brought in the guy who played Desperado # 4 in Blazing Saddles to pitch the 14th. Swanny wrote: Desperado #4 replaced by a guy named Blake Hawsworth, who was just called up from a stint on The Guiding Light.

metirish Dec 21 2010 02:21 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

The opening from Wolf says it all seawolf17 Apr 16 2010 09:33 PM Okay, enough of this. Let's turn this thing around and get it cracking. He's the ace, in a big spot, on national TV. BRING IT, Johan. April 16 and the season was already in the shitter

seawolf17 Dec 21 2010 02:26 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

I'm pretty sure that starting that IGT was my season highlight.

Ceetar Dec 21 2010 02:26 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

I'd forgotten about the Cora for 2 outs at first thing and then getting pinch hit for with Gary Matthews jr. Man, I'm gonna miss jerry.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 21 2010 02:27 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

some douchebag ragging on Rogers wrote: I smell an explosion, not unlike the fireworks show that followed a Mets game back on July 4, 1985.

Edgy DC Dec 21 2010 02:28 PM Re: 2010 'strange but true' -isms

Don't over manage, Jerry.[/quote:27ikom4n] Extra innings on the road means keeping our ace in the hole.[/quote:27ikom4n] Bugger all.