Nothing like eating the Braves’ lunch for lunch. Dave Williams continues to make a compelling case for the postseason (I hope somebody’s paying attention). Carlos D went L Ong. Shawn Green stopped pressing and started hitting. Guillermo Mota has always been a great Met.
But most of all, winning the opener of the doubleheader means the magic is back.
10.01: Endless Love. The case has been made here for Carlos Beltran, but Endy Chavez has played like a most valuable player’s most valuable player. No. 10 has done everything right and nothing wrong since he returned from slugging in the World Baseball Classic. Maybe the WBC was a good idea after all.
10.02: Endless Rust. Chavez may change its image, but when I see No. 10, I think of Rusty Staub and that enormous billboard of a back of his. He could have been a 3-digit player.
10.03: It Felt Like He Was Here a Century. Rusty was the quintessential Met pinch-hitter, but the all-time leader in that category fell 10 short of 100 pinch-hits. Steady Eddie Kranepool’s first pinch-hitting appearance was for Jay Hook on April 27, 1963, his last for John Pacella on September 30, 1979. He grounded out to short the first time, doubled the last for his 90th hit in a pinch, proving Krane was nothing if not a learner.
10.04: A Saddened America Needed a Distraction. Less than a week after Eddie collected the last of his 1,418 Met hits, Bo Derek notched her 1st. Blake Edwards’ “10” opened October 5, 1979.
10.05: Cornrows Were No Excuse. For the last home opener Ed Kranepool would ever play, on April 10, 1979, 10,406 showed up at Shea.
10.06: Some Golden Boy. In 1980, when the Bo Derek hairstyle was so popular that its ubiquity rated a story in the Long Beach High School Tide, Mark Bomback led all Mets’ pitchers in victories with 10. Boom-Boom won his 9th game on August 10 and his 10th game on October 4. By then, I preferred Susan Anton over both Bo and Bomback.
10.07: Two Lousy Feet. Deepest centerfield in Pay Stadium will be 408 feet from home plate. I don’t know how I’ll adjust to staring out there and not seeing a big, white 410 on the fence. It’s the perfect Met distance: 41 times 10.
10.08: I’m Your Handyman. If he’s still with the organization in 2009 and something isn’t working in the new ballpark, ya think Rick Peterson will offer to fix it in 10 minutes?
10.09: Pow! Hawaiian Benny Agbayani punched 10 home runs in his first 73 at-bats of 1999. He socked 4 in his next 203.
10.10: What Else Would I Think Of Whenever I Buy Beer? Schaefer may have been the 1 beer to have when you were having more than 1, but Rheingold featured the 10-minute head. Advantage Rheingold.
John Pacella, the former Met who's hat came off almost every time he threw a pitch. One of the most bizarre things I can recall seeing in 37 years of watching baseball.
I decided to mention Pacella's name without his trademark toss n' loss, but as you've proven, it's IMPOSSIBLE to think of the man without the hat without thinking of the man without the hat.
Shawn Green and Willie Mays combined didn't lose their cap as much as John Pacella did. And he was from Oak Beach, Long Island. (That's the only other thing I remember about him.)