The Mets Police

METS SELECT THE CONTRACT OF RHP MIGUEL BATISTA
PLACE OUTFIELDER SCOTT HAIRSTON ON THE DL

FLUSHING, N.Y., August 26, 2011 – The New York Mets today announced the team selected the contract of righthanded pitcher Miguel Batista from Buffalo (AAA) of the International League and placed outfielder Scott Hairston on the 15-Day Disabled List, retroactive to August 24, with a left oblique strain. Batista will #47.

Batista, 40, started the season with the St. Louis Cardinals, going 3-2 with a 4.60 ERA (15 earned runs/29.1 innings) in 26 games, one start. He signed with the Mets as a minor league free agent on July 4 and appeared in 10 games, eight starts for Buffalo (AAA) of the International League. He went 3-0 with a 4.24 ERA (22 earned runs/46.2 innings) and 36 strikeouts for the Bisons.

The native of Santo Domingo, DR has pitched for nine major league teams over 17 seasons. Batista made his major league debut in 1992 with Pittsburgh before stops in Florida, Chicago (NL), Montreal, Kansas City, Arizona, Toronto, Seattle, Washington and St. Louis. He owns a career record of 99-112 with a 4.51 ERA (938 earned runs/1873.0 innings) in 614 games, 239 starts. Batista is set to become one of three active major league pitchers to appear for 10 major league teams. Octavio Dotel (12) and Bruce Chen (10) are the others.

Hairston, 31, underwent a MRI at the Hospital For Special Surgery in Manhattan on Wednesday that revealed the strain. He is hitting .235 with seven home runs and 24 RBI in 79 games this season.

Greg Prince (@greg_prince) sent me a tweet saying he had Mazzilli content so I of course investigated and started to link.

However, the story is so good that I don’t see anyway I can sell you on it and just link a sentence or two.  So, knowing I will buy him a Rhinegold as a thank you, here’s a lengthy steal from Faith & Fear, and you guys now must go observe Honor Among Bloggers and go give F&F some page views.

First attempt: Mets lead 5-0 in the ninth. There are two outs. Pete Falcone flies Jeffrey Leonard to center to end it. But this seemingly innocuous result is invalidated when it is realized shortstop Frank Taveras had called time to allow right fielder Dan Norman to pick up a stray ball in foul territory and third base ump Doug Harvey had granted it.

Falcone would have to pitch again.

Second attempt: Leonard uses his new life to single to left to keep Houston’s faint hopes alive. Except the Mets didn’t have nine men in the field. First baseman Ed Kranepool, having taken Lee Mazzilli’s putout from just after Taveras called time as gospel, made like a banana and split for the Mets’ clubhouse on the presumed third out. The Mets were thus playing without a first baseman. Manager Joe Torre contended Leonard’s hit shouldn’t count because the Mets weren’t fully represented between the lines. The umps agree and tell Leonard to get back to the plate and Falcone to throw again…once Krane rushes to his position from wherever it is Ed couldn’t wait to get to a minute before. Leonard flies to Joel Youngblood in left to again seal the 5-0 win for Falcone.

Not so fast there, Mets.

The Astros filed a protest, insisting it wasn’t their fault the Mets hadn’t heard about having nine men on the field at one time, therefore the swing that produced Leonard’s hit — the one he got between flying out twice — is the swing that should take precedence. N.L. President Chub Feeney agreed and declared the game was still in progress. Only hitch was by the time he ruled, everybody had pulled a Kranepool, so to speak, and had left the field. This was an hour after the game seemed to be over, so Feeney told the Mets and Astros their contest had been suspended at 5-0, top of the ninth, two outs, Leonard on first. They could pick it up Wednesday afternoon prior to the regularly scheduled series finale.

And so they did. The third attempt to end the unendable ninth was left to Wednesday starter Kevin Kobel (so much for Falcone’s complete game shutout), who grounded out the next Astro batter, Jose Cruz. Nobody called time. Nobody left the field prematurely. Despite Torre filing his own protest — “It’s a shame that the sacred rules of baseball apply to everyone but a last-place club like us” —nobody kvetched too strenuously once resolution was reached. Doug Flynn tossed to Kranepool, Cruz was called out and the Mets finally won Tuesday night’s game on Wednesday afternoon, 5-0, before succumbing, 3-1, in the actual Wednesday matinee.

via The Happiest Recap: 121-123 « Faith and Fear in Flushing.

As long as my theft is, it’s only a small part of a really terrific article about Mets games with nicknames.  Do yourself the favor and go read.  My nonsense will be here when you get back.

I bet there’s not one MP reader who doesn’t love Howie…so do yourself a favor and read this great article in the link.  How did Howie get his start? How did he meet Marv Albert?  And of course Mets stuff..

“When they offered me the opportunity to do every Mets game on Radio, I was intimidated by the schedule,” Rose said. “I really thought about turning it down and taking a reduced role on TV. But honestly, and I know this sounds corny, I had a vision of my dad, who passed away a long time ago, telling me that if I didn’t take that job, he’d wring my neck. I could never have looked my dad in the eye and say, ‘I’m turning down the Mets job.’”

Three Octobers later, Rose choked-up as he announced the Mets clinched the Eastern Division, something he’d waited very long to call.

“I said what I always say, ‘Put it in the books’ and I said, ‘The New York Mets have won the 2006 National League Eastern Division Championship,’ ” Rose said. “And as I was saying those words, I flashed back to being the 15-year-old who was at Shea Stadium when the Mets won everything. How euphoric that moment was for me as a fan and how overwhelmed I was to be able to broadcast it as a professional all those years later.”

via New York Islanders – Howie Rose inspired – New York Islanders – News.

Yeah I know my headline set up cheap shot jokes but now that I have your attention…

EQUIPMENT COLLETION DRIVE:

To support the growth of youth baseball and softball, the Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF) has teamed up with Major League Baseball Clubs to organize equipment collection drives across the United States. This season, the Mets will once again team up with the BTF to assist local youth baseball and softball organizations by collecting new and used baseball equipment prior to the game on Saturday, August 27.

During the past five seasons, the Mets have collected bats, gloves, balls, spikes, uniforms, catcher’s gear for the Greater New York Sandlot Athletic Alliance, who distribute the donations to area youth baseball organizations. This year, we hope to increase our donations significantly with the help of our loyal fans.

Please bring any equipment that you plan to donate to Citi Field when the Mets host the Atlanta Braves on August 27 at 4:10 p.m. Donation stations will be open two and a half hours prior to the start of the game outside of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. On behalf of the Mets, we thank you for your support.

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We’ll keep an eye out to see if the Mets reschedule any of the games and will post the info, but if you see it first let me know [email protected] or @metspolice (where I will likely see the other 5 billion tweets)