RIP Greg Goossen

In 10 years, he doesn't have a chance to be 75.

Meanwhile, in Queens

There's always legal trouble surrounding some franchise or other in New York. The latest? Closer Francisco Rodriguez has been arrested for assaulting his father in law after yesterday's game at Citi Field. [Insert joke about throwing strikes here.]

Presumably he was angry about not being used to save a close game, and watching Hisanori Takahashi and Manny Acosta spectacularly implode instead.

K-Rod, who was signed as a free agent after setting MLB's single season saves record with the Angels, has been a decent closer but never lived up to the hype. Looking back at spectacular single season save totals, it's very rare for anyone to follow up with a similar number. Don't overpay an overworked closer.

Speaking of overpaying, the Mets' starting center fielder was signed on the basis of one outstanding postseason effort with the Astros, and paid as if he could be that player all the time. And while Carlos Beltran has been good, he's not exactly been Duke Snider, either. But this season, bringing him back after injury has been a flat out disaster. In 24 games, he's sporting a .185/.295/.296 line. Anemic doesn't do that justice. Angel Pagan should get the CF job back, now.

It's time to rebuild from within, and save the flashy expense for the next time they look like contending. K-Rod and Beltran should be shipped elsewhere.

Notes from Citi Field

In my first, and likely only, major league game for the year, the Mets won a back and forth game against the D-backs with a sac fly in the ninth, 5 to 4. Highlights:

- Mark Reynolds of Arizona went 0 for 4, all strikeouts, thus gaining the coveted Golden Sombrero.

- The Yankees fan behind me was completely lost by a double switch and could not fathom why a pitcher was suddenly not in the number 9 batting slot.

- Three guys in front of us were loudly heckling players in French, which is unusual this side of the Quebec border, to say the least.

- Managers showed off the wheel play, not to mention every infield and outfield depth variation you can sensibly imagine. Add well executed bunts and a few infield singles, and the level of eighties NL style little ball on display was excellent.

- Citi Field has been improved a lot in Mets specific ways, from the life affirming orange paint job in the exit stairwells to the much needed Mets Hall of Fame.

- Starting pitchers Takahashi and Enfield were very sharp, throwing strikes and making plays with the bat, too. Impressive.

All in all, a very fun game in front of a friendly, enthusiastic crowd on a gorgeous evening for baseball. Vive la la Ligue Nationale!

Marlins 4, Mets 2

For all of the magic of Shea Stadium - game 6 of the 1986 World Series, the miracle teams of 1969 and 1973 - it's somehow fitting that the stadium said goodbye with a meek home loss, leaving the Mets a game shy of October.

A few numbers, in memoriam of Shea and the Mets of 2008:

29: blown saves this year
3.5: biggest division lead
.412: winning percentage after that point
5: runs scored by the Mets in the final three game series
3695: major league games at Shea Stadium
3695: number of times Bill Buckner's error was shown today

Who knew?

The Mets have an official Cheez Doodle.

That's it. Civilization has just collapsed.

Ballparks old and new

Tiger Stadium is coming down. The bulldozers have rolled in, and demolition has started on one of the most beautiful and atmospheric ballparks I have ever seen. On May 4, 1999, we saw Dean Palmer hit a two run homer in the eighth inning to beat the Angels. I still remember a very big guy caught the ball, not too far from us, and jumped up and down hard enough that we wondered if something in the stands might break. But they survived another nine years... to no avail.

But a remnant of the stands around home plate, and the field itself, may yet be saved and used. The Tiger Stadium Conservancy needs your help. They need $400,000 by the end of the month to keep the plan alive.

In other ballpark news, my Sunday was filled with subway rides and baseball. I attended the Futures Game at Yankee Stadium, and regular season games at Keyspan Park and Shea Stadium. Three professional games, in three boroughs of the city, in one day.

Compare and contrast

Here we have the very latest in new stadium design. In Tampa, we have a proposed new field for the Rays - designed to go 15 knots in ideal wind conditions, it is also convertible to a catamaran for ocean racing. The sail-like translucent roof, so pristine in computer renderings, will doubtless look dull and scratchy within days of construction being completed. There's a reason no-one ever made Dodger Stadium in Brooklyn happen. Also, is that thing safe in a hurricane? Really?

At the other end of the spectrum, the Mets' Citifield is intended to reap all the nostalgic benefits of being a 1.5 scale copy of Ebbets Field, while fitting something resembling the now defunct West Side Stadium inside the facade. My main hope here is that the promise of all seats facing home plate is not a complete lie. My neck would be more than grateful.

In the meantime, what's left of Washington Park continues to crumble, unloved and almost forgotten. If only I had the money...

One final word about the Mets

Ouch.

Baseball day in New York

Monday's visit to Ebbets Field, it turns out, was merely a curtain raiser.

Today, on the 50th anniversary of the final games of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants, famed ballpark afficionado Ken "Trolley Car" Schlapp and I took to the streets of the city. Our focus was on professional baseball, but a few extra parks lay in our path, too.

We began at Lou Gehrig's birthplace, on E 94th Street, and went from there to: the original Polo Grounds; the more famous Polo Grounds; Hilltop Park; the Long Island Grounds; the Queens County Grounds (aka Feldman's Atlantic Park); Suydam Oval; Meyerrose Park; Grauer's Ridgewood Park; Wallace's Ridgewood Grounds; the Union Grounds; the Capitoline Grounds; Eastern Park; Ebbets Field; the Parade Ground; Keyspan Park; the original Washington Park; and the later Washington Park.

I make that 17 distinct ballparks. Oh, and we took pictures of Yankee Stadium from the Polo Grounds site, too. You can see lots of photos here.

Meantime, as we journeyed around three boroughs, strange events were unfolding at Shea Stadium...

Every time we heard the radio, John Maine had a bigger lead to work with, and was a little further into a potential no-hitter. After a bench clearing brawl, we heard about "the incident at third base" as if it was a UFO sighting in Nevada. Each Mets run was celebrated as if it was a World Series win. Suddenly the Great Collapse of 2007 had turned into the Mighty Recovery of 2007. When it was all over, Maine had struck out 14, given up just one measly infield hit after getting 23 outs, and the bullpen had helped him to a 13-0 romp over the Marlins.

By now, The Phillies have duly lost, and the NL East is again dead level with a game to go. Fun? This race couldn't be better if it was being contested by ninja monkeys and pirate pandas.

History remembered, and history made. Today was a day for baseball.

Mets latest

Thud.

Meet the Mets, beat the Mets

Cardinals 3, Mets 0
Braves 4, Phillies 6

And with that, Philadelphia has tied New York for the NL East lead. Two weeks ago, the Amazin's led by 7 games. Now they have three chances left to recover or blow a lead they've had since mid May. This threatens to be a collapse to match Philly's Fizz Kids of 1964, the 1951 Dodgers, and the 1978 Red Sox.

Which is why we went to Shea on Tuesday. If history is happening around you, why miss out? We weren't disappointed- Tom Glavine gave up hits early and often and with extra bases tacked on, helping the Nationals to a 10-3 lead. But truly great wipeouts add a little extra heartbreak. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, and maybe a quarter of the crowd remaining, the Mets piled on six runs to get the tying run in scoring position. Then a strikeout and a popup quickly turned the ecstatic cheers back into boos, and your normal ongoing disaster was restored.

Cruising to a division win is all very well. But a monumental choke lives forever.