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On the Cover of the Rolling Stone

G-Fafif Jul 11 2006 07:13 PM

Or SI, in mailboxes tomorrow: Beltran, Wright, Lo Duca, Reyes, Delgado. Article by Tom Verducci. Excerpt follows. ]Through the doors to the New York Mets' clubhouse enter the young and the ancient, the slow and the swift, the homegrown and the mercenary, the charitable and the thrifty, the beautiful and (by official team balloting) the ugly, but never, for goodness' sake, the easily insulted. "Welcome," catcher Paul Lo Duca says, "to Rip City, where we get on each other all the time." True to their home city's heritage, the Mets are a melting pot of cultures, customs, languages and, yes, occasional off-color salutations that somehow works. Backed by owner Fred Wilpon's money, shaped by a childhood dream of general manager Omar Minaya, who was born in the Dominican Republic and reared in Queens, and ably guided by second-year manager Willie Randolph, the Mets are the rare sports team that has found instant success after a nearly complete overhaul. Of the 29 players on the active roster and disabled list at week's end, 16 joined the major league club since the end of last season. Only eight played for the Mets before Minaya was named G.M. 22 months ago. And yet, in a veritable New York minute, the Mets have become the best team (53-36 through Sunday) in the weakest league in years, with by far the biggest lead in baseball (12 games in the otherwise loser-filled NL East) and the thickest skins this side of a Friars' Club roast. "Look at the personalities they brought in here," says closer Billy Wagner, an 11-year veteran who signed as a free agent last winter. "We're all extroverts. Me, Lo Duca, [Carlos] Delgado, Pedro [Martinez].... It's not like guys came here and were afraid to say something. I think that's why we clicked right away. This is the best clubhouse I've ever been involved in. And the secret is that guys can say anything they want to anyone at any time." That's not to say that communication is always clear. There was the time, for instance, when backup catcher Ramon Castro ("the class clown," as Lo Duca calls him) visited Wagner on the mound in a crucial situation against the Blue Jays. "How about a coo-ba here?" is what Wagner, born in the rural mountains of Virginia, heard his Puerto Rican catcher say. "A what?" Wagner asked. "Coo-ba," Castro said. "Curveball?" Wagner finally deciphered. "I don't have a curveball!" "Well, O.K.," Castro said. "We're not throwing that anyway." Castro is even better known for his portrayal of ample-bottomed lefthander Darren Oliver, a vaudevillian impersonation that he performs on charter flights -- with the help of two airline pillows stuffed into the seat of his pants. Not even Martinez, the three-time Cy Young winner, is immune from catching grief. After Martinez overslept for a game in Toronto this year, he was greeted in the clubhouse by Wagner, who took one look at Martinez's garish-colored outfit and bellowed, "I sure hope you're not late because you were out shopping for that." Another time Martinez returned to his locker after batting practice to find his wildly styled loafers strung up from his locker, a team custom to mock fashion statements that invite ridicule. "A lot of times you'll see somebody's shirt hanging in the middle of the clubhouse," Martinez says. "Cliff [Floyd], his stuff seems to be hanging a lot." Floyd also has drawn attention for the music that accompanies each of his at bats at home: the theme to Sanford and Son. The tune was picked by Lo Duca, who thought it apropos for the oft-hobbled leftfielder. And then there's Wagner, who still hasn't lived down the time he asked the clubhouse caterer if he could have a gallon of milk to take home to Greenwich, Conn. "You're making $10 million a year, and you won't spring for a gallon of milk on the way home?" Lo Duca told Wagner. "Reach into that wallet once in a while, will ya?"

seawolf17 Jul 11 2006 07:32 PM

Noooooooooooooooooooo....

Frayed Knot Jul 11 2006 07:42 PM

I was going to mention a few weeks back that you can just smell that an SI cover on this team was just around the corner. Captain Red Ass?

ScarletKnight41 Jul 11 2006 07:48 PM

NOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Willets Point Jul 11 2006 08:43 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 12 2006 11:15 AM

LoDuca's got the same bug-eyed look of joy he had when he met Anna Benson.

Elster88 Jul 11 2006 08:47 PM

We're done. Call off the playoff parties.

Zvon Jul 11 2006 08:56 PM

I dont believe in the jinxes- i think this is great. Great photo too.

Elster88 Jul 11 2006 08:59 PM

I don't really either. But the funnest to joke about are the Madden jinx and the SI cover jinx.

Iubitul Jul 11 2006 09:02 PM

That is a great photo - I have to pick this one up...

Elster88 Jul 11 2006 09:06 PM

]How about a coo-ba here?" is what Wagner, born in the rural mountains of Virginia, heard his Puerto Rican catcher say. "A what?" Wagner asked. "Coo-ba," Castro said. "Curveball?" Wagner finally deciphered. "I don't have a curveball!" "Well, O.K.," Castro said. "We're not throwing that anyway." haha

Centerfield Jul 12 2006 10:59 AM

I hate that Floyd is not on that cover.

Elster88 Jul 12 2006 11:13 AM

Did anyone figure out who Captain Red-Ass is? That name slightly spoils a great cover.

Yancy Street Gang Jul 12 2006 11:21 AM

I'm guessing that Red Ass is Lo Duca, since he's the guy in the middle. I don't understand where that name came from, though.

Iubitul Jul 12 2006 11:28 AM

Probably from his firey nature, for one, and judging by the excerpt, he seems to be the biggest ball-buster out of them all...

PatchyFogg Jul 13 2006 01:50 PM

I guess the internet's hipness is winning, given that SI has had to resort to putting the words "Red Ass" on its cover.

Johnny Dickshot Jul 13 2006 01:54 PM

I like that the cover is so devoted to Met-ness that the SI logo is outlined in blue and orange. Also that my subscription expires next week, not this week. I've been debating over whether to renew for months.

G-Fafif Jul 13 2006 03:26 PM

Elster88 wrote: Did anyone figure out who Captain Red-Ass is? That name slightly spoils a great cover. Lo Duca is indeed Captain Red Ass for all the reasons presumed upthread. David Wright is Visine (he's "eyewash"). Julio Franco is Moses (not hard to figure out). The whole gang is super fun, super wise, just super. Nothing like having a good record for making the press find you colorful.

Yancy Street Gang Jul 13 2006 03:30 PM

How is this Mets team regarded "out there"? (Meaning outside the geography of Met fandom.) Are they seen as likeable, a bunch of good guys leading a resurgent underdog team? Or are they still seen as a bunch of hateful New Yorkers? To find out, I'd talk to some non-New Yorkers myself, but I don't talk to people.