Tonight’s Mets starting lineup:
A. Hernandez, SS
E. Chavez, CF
L. Milledge, LF
J. Franco, 3B
M. Tucker, 1B
C. Woodward, 2B
R. Ledee, RF
M. DiFelice, C
T. Glavine, P
This looks like a World War II lineup – the very young, the very old, and the lame.
UPDATE: That is, if you’re keeping score at home, a career .099 hitter leading off, a 21-year-old batting third, a 48-year-old man making his first start at third base in 24 years batting cleanup, a .208 hitter batting sixth, and three other guys who were basically picked off the scrap heap. Yet Anderson Hernandez homers, and the Mets at last check trail just 2-1.
Here is the box score from Julio Franco’s last start at 3B. Starting pitchers: Marty Bystrom and Scott Holman. Pete Rose played in the game, as did Rusty Staub and the late Bo Diaz. George Foster stole a base. It was the last major league appearance for Stan Bahnsen and Willie Montanez. Five players in tonight’s starting lineups hadn’t been born yet (Hernandez, Milledge, Miguel Cabrera, Scott Olsen and Hanley Ramirez), and Marlins manager Joe Girardi was still four years away from being drafted by the Cubs.
SECOND UPDATE: And the Mets win with that lineup, 3-2, thus driving that fork deeper into a Marlins team that has imploded over the past week or so and miraculously salvaging Tom Glavine’s 289th win.
6 thoughts on “The Hangover”
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Glavine has to pull out all he stops to get to 300, and he has to play with the Browns behind him.
And speaking as someone who is in a deadlock to win my fantasy league ($$$) & who has Delgado & Reyes on my team: @#$% it.
Players in that game who have since managed:
Rose, Gardenhire, Bochy, and Jorgensen (replaced Joe Torre in St. Louis!)
And don’t leave out Mike Schmidt who played in the game (a pinch hitter).
Obviously it didn’t much matter to the Mets whether they won, but I was glad for Glavine, who definitely got the short straw having to start in front of that lineup.
Anderson Hernandez, given a full season, will supplant Ryan Howard as the NL power threat. Crazy? Just as crazy as sympathizing with the starter. How could anybody feel bad for Glavine? Love the guy, but he needs to get ready for the playoffs. TG will get 300, but he needs another ring. And that’s that. Kicking the Fish out of the playoffs is important as well. Kick them when they’re up, kick’em when they’re down.
That aside, it is very hard to believe Millidge will be capable of playing at Shea next year. He looks overmatched at bat and in the field.