Dipping Into The Archives Vol. 19

1990

In many ways the 1990 season was a transitional season for Mets; as evidence look no further than the cover for the Revised Edition of that year’s yearbook. It reflects the fact that Bud Harrelson took over as manager following Davey Johnson’s firing in May. (The opening day edition featured a photo montage of the starting rotation.) There was a great deal of debate in the front office following the 1989 season over whether or not to bring Johnson back. I felt then, and still feel now, that he earned the right to turn things around. Would the organization have been better off to immediately cut the cord the previous October and spend the off-season finding the best man for the job rather than doing an internal promotion in May? Hard to say for sure because the club’s collapse in the next few years show that there were serious institutional problems with the franchise that went well beyond who was manager. In the short term Harrelson’s hiring worked out well. Barely below .500 when he took the job, the team went on a hot streak and wound up finishing in second place. That was temporary, however, as the Worst Team Money Could Buy era was imminent. The Mets would not reach .500 again until 1997.

In addition, the season was played under the backdrop of Darryl Strawberry’s impending free agency. GM Frank Cashen spent much of the season telling the press that Straw was not worth the money he would be asking for, so it was long obvious that his eventual departure was a fait accompli. He wound up signing with the Dodgers, much to both his and the Mets’ regret. While it’s true that no one could have foreseen the back injury that would cut his career short, it’s also a fact that the Mets didn’t fully appreciate what they had with Stawberry. And the error was compounded with the free agent signing they made to replace him in the lineup, but that discussion can wait until next year.

The star of this season was Frank Viola. He won 20 games and finished 3rd in the Cy Young vote; and a strong argument could be made that he deserved to win the trophy. Viola is one of those guys who’s fallen a bit through the cracks. He came to New York in ‘89, so he has no connection to any of the playoff teams, and when people think of the early 90s squads, they’re more likely to picture the players with negative vibes surrounding them.

You can see the format of the player pages this year entailed them answering a quick “get to know you” type of questionnaire. You have to wonder if anyone chose to troll with their answers. For example, was Bob Ojeda’s favorite musician REALLY Boxcar Willie? And can anyone picture Kevin McReynolds at a Benihana? That would entail experiencing pleasure, something which seems beyond McReynolds’s capabilities.

The Mets made 2 significant trades in the offseason. One was intended to fill the hole caused by Keith Hernandez’s free agency departure. The team called it quits on The Juan Samuel Center Field Experiment and sent him to Los Angeles for Mike Marshall and Alejandro Peña. Peña was a decent enough relief pitcher, but it was quickly clear that Marshall was not the answer at first base. He soon found himself sitting on the bench and would be traded to Boston in July. The team then finally made the full time commitment to Dave Magadan. I’ll discuss him further next time.

Samuel’s trade opened up a vacancy in center field, but they clearly did not learn a lesson, as his initial replacement was another positional transplant. Keith Miller opened the season in that crucial defensive position. His ideal role should have been as a Joe McEwing utility type of player; he was miscast as an everyday center fielder. They would soon find a better option. There was a lockout in spring training that year, and by the time it ended it was late enough that there wasn’t enough time to build up pitcher’s arms, so the season began with expanded rosters. That meant that clubs needed to make additional cuts when rosters reverted back to the 25 man limit at the end of April, and the White Sox had enough of a roster crunch that they had to cut Daryl Boston loose. The Mets signed him, and he filled the CF role well for a few years.

Keith Hernandez was not the only departing veteran leader, the Mets also needed to find a replacement for Gary Carter at catcher. Todd Hundley was already a prominent prospect, but he was still only 21 so a placeholder would be necessary until he was ready. Mackey Sasser got the first crack at the job, and he was a solid hitter with some defensive shortcomings. In a preview of the LOL Mets narrative that would come, Sasser was a prominent example of the franchise’s unique ability to badly mismanage injuries. Sasser injured his shoulder in a home plate collision. He later alleged that the team pushed him to return to the field before he had properly recovered. His injury restricted his throwing ability; in the next season those throwing problems would balloon.

The most significant offseason trade the Mets made was when they made a closer for closer deal and sent Randy Myers to the Reds. (Continuing the tradition at the time the Mets explained the move by saying they had to get rid of him because he treated Gregg Jefferies so poorly.) Myers of course was one of the keys to the Nasty Boys bullpen that helped Cincy win the 1990 World Series. I can’t argue with the deal, however, as John Franco was the return. He was a loyal Met for more than a decade. He represented the franchise well.

The team also made a batch of trade deadline moves, bringing in, among others, Tom Herr. He was nearing the end of his career, and his acquisition forced the team to make even more defense maneuvering. Playing Herr at second meant that Jefferies would need to move to third and Howard Johnson to short, thereby defensively weakening multiple positions. Of course, Herr would not be the last member of the mid-80’s Cardinals to make his way to Shea.

So, what were the chief factors that made the Mets such a bad team in the following years? We’ve already mentioned poor roster construction and a chronic tendency to place players out of position. The drying up of the minor league pipeline is crucial as well. For proof, take a look at this minor league photo spread. With the exception of Todd Hundley and to a lesser extent Butch Huskey, no one here made much of an impression in the major leagues.

I’ll end the look back at 1990 on a more positive note. Who is this guy with a full head of hair posing with Bob Murphy? 1989 was Gary Cohen’s debut in the Mets booth, but since I don’t have a copy of that season’s yearbook, this is Gary’s initial appearance in my collection. The Gary-Keith-Ron team has surpassed the original Nelson-Murph-Kiner trio for longevity, but in addition to that distinction Gary Cohen could have a shot at overtaking Murphy’s tenure. He will need to stay active until the end of this decade to do so.

Fun (?) With Mets History

Not to dwell too much on Mets negativity, but this season calls for it. Many of you may have heard the stat that this year’s team is the 4th in history to have a losing record the year after winning more than 100 games. What does that portend for the future? The first club to do this was the 1931/32 Cardinals. They rebounded slightly in 1933, and won the World Series in 1934. Next were the 1970/71 Reds. They came back to win the NL pennant in 1972. Finally, this also happened to the 1985/86 Cardinals, who returned to the World Series in 1987. 2 out of the 3 were pennant winners as soon as the following year? Seems like a pattern to me. History don’t lie. This proves that the Mets will make next year’s Series. That’s just basic science.

On the other hand, there’s this. If you take the 1969 Miracles out of the equation, we can start with a Series appearance in 1973. They would not make another WS until 1986, or 13 years later. When was their next appearance in the Fall Classic? Correct, 14 years later, in 2000. Next appearance? You guessed it, 2015, which is 15 years later. Some quick math indicates that it should take 16 years for the next World Series showing for the Mets, bringing us to 2031. Crap, I can’t wait that long. I need to speak to the manager about this.

A Corrupt Politician? That’s Unpossible

If nothing else, you have to give Bob Menendez points for originality. Gold bars? Wads of cash stuffed in pockets? A Google history that shows he searched for the price of gold? The specifics in his charges are so cartoonish that they sound like something from a really bad 1960’s sitcom. The indictment should have been accompanied with a laugh track.

He has a press conference scheduled for later on today, so circumstances may change, but for now he intends to remain in the Senate. Sadly, he is using the “they’re going after me because I’m a powerful Latino” defense. That’s something that could have come from the Clay Davis playbook. I’m disappointed to see that his colleagues are circling the wagons. Most New Jersey Democrats have called for his resignation, but as I write this John Fetterman is the only one of his fellow Senators to do so. This isn’t too hard, he is certainly not irreplaceable. There are a number of Democrats in the Garden State worthy of filling that seat. The only reasonable explanation I have is that Menendez is delaying his inevitable resignation so that Phil Murphy can have enough time to carefully choose his replacement so that the new Senator can be sworn in fairly quickly.

If/when Menendez is out of the picture, it would paint another clear contrast between the two parties. In recent years the only Republican I can think of who was shunned by his party is Madison Cawthorn, and he was ostracized not because of malfeasance, but because of his allegations concerning GOP cocaine orgies. Geez, George Santos is still a Congressman in good standing. Not that the Dems have clean hands - there is no shortage of bad eggs in that party as well, but there have certainly been more Democrats than Republicans who have been removed from office when their positions have become untenable - see Cuomo, Andrew.

The $78 Cheeseburger

Enough has already been said about David Brooks’s tweet from last week about the cost of his airport meal. Beyond the fact that he told the world how much he spends on high-end bourbon, I’m more concerned about its big picture importance. As Twitter continues to sputter and wheeze towards its end of life, we’re in danger of losing something vital - the daily Twitter Main Character.

It’s happened time and time again. Someone tweets something either excruciatingly stupid or tone deaf or some combination thereof, followed by the masses piling on to dunk on the tweet. Now when that happens there is the ever present concern that we may be witnesses to the final main character. If Brooks is in fact the recipient of that dubious honor, I can think of few people more deserving. And major bonus points go to the restaurant for joining in on the mockery. Chef’s kiss.

So Long, Farewell

Looks like the WGA strike is over, although details haven’t come out yet from the initial comments it sure sounds like it was a good deal for the writers. Let’s hope that the UAW and SAG/AFTRA soon follow with equally fair deals for the workers. With that, let’s close the book on today’s newsletter. See you again on Wednesday.