Rico Brogna, Good Fit (Cont.)

[Guest Edgy DC]

No doubt many addictions start with a foolish choice. Lots of Mets make similarly stupid choices but survive and get on with their lives. The list of Mets coke addicts is long. Some --- Keith Hernandez, Jerry Martin --- got bit before they became Mets. Others --- Donn Clendenon, Derek Bell, presumably Darry Strawberry --- after. Ellis Valentine and Dwight Gooden got nailed in the uniform.

I guess I should be open to the possiblity that the Mets roster of coke users ends there, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't. The ones who didn't get caught or publickly battle an addiction we don't hear about, so we don't know about.

Then there's the long roster of other dumb decisions, known and unknown, some compromising decency, some compromising the team's competitive edge, some both --- drinking and driving, using other drugs, exploiting women, abandoning children, marital infidelity, threatening reporters, endorsing confidence men, driving motorcycles all night, throwing beanballs, reckless gardening accidents, list goes on.

I'm disappointed in all of them. But I stop there.

Hate is for Hitler.

[Willets Point]

There was a story a few years back in one of the lad magazines -- and you have to take any journalism found there with a bag of salt -- that said that every member of the 1986 Mets roster except Wilson and Carter at least tried cocaine that season.

[Guest Edgy DC]

As I said, I guess I should be open to the possiblity that the Mets roster of coke users ends there, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't.

Valentine --- I was wrong --- wasn't nailed, but fessed up later.

[metirish]

Ray Knight used coke,would that be true?

[stevejrogers]

"At least tried" is the key word. Seeing what the big deal was. I can see that

Hell look at cards from that era, half the players looked stoned or high or something. Maybe it was the lighting of the cards or something, but its something that was very prevelant during those years

Even Tim Teufel here looks like he's been on a binge

[Guest Edgy DC]

Well "at least tried" (though actually three words) suggests (no idea if it's true) that the initial mistake of bad choices isn't after all such a distinguisher between them that got addicted and them that didn't.

You know I joked about the previous generation of losers I found when I moved back to Rockaway. But asking my parents and their brothers and sisters and friends, and they'd shake their heads tell me that these were their friends when they were young, and they didn't act any stupider or consume any more than the rest of them. A bunch of stupid people did stupid things when they were young, some grew up to put it aside and start a successful life and move out to the suburbs, others would hide it and move out to the suburbs as respectable drunks, and some would spend decades falling down on the sidewalks of Rockaway.

All put themselves in harm's way. By chance, some dodged a bullet, and others got hit.

[duan]

from NY TIMES (registration required)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/09/sports/baseball/09mets.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin

INSIDE PITCH

The Mets have indefinitely suspended Howard Johnson, the hitting coach for Class AAA Norfolk, for leaving the team without permission, a violation of team policy. His status is under review, according to a Mets spokesman. Johnson, who played with the Mets from 1985 to 1993, could not be reached for comment. He has spent the last six seasons as a coach in the organization.

[Benjamin Grimm]

He left to attend some kind of athletic event that his son was participating in.

He had asked for permission, was denied it, and went anyway. (I would have done the same thing HoJo did. Family comes first.)

[Elster88]

]Hell look at cards from that era, half the players looked stoned or high or something. Maybe it was the lighting of the cards or something, but its something that was very prevelant during those years

I was going to say this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, but I didn't feel like reading all your posts again to verify it.

[Elster88]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: He left to attend some kind of athletic event that his son was participating in. He had asked for permission, was denied it, and went anyway. (I would have done the same thing HoJo did. Family comes first.)

Really? I would've chosen to stay at work and not get fired.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Providing for your family comes first, no?

[Elster88]

There's a difference between

]providing for your family

and

]left to attend some kind of athletic event that his son was participating in.

[soupcan]

I also wouldn't assume that we've gotten the whole story.

HoJo: Friggin' Mets wouldn't give me the day off to watch my son's ball game? Screw them, I'm goin'!

Mets: You're fired.

Somehow I'm thinking this is not exactly how it played out.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I think (not sure) that (Elster's post) is Dickshot's distinction.

Providing (going to work) vs. being there. Both are technically "putting the family first." It's a tough row to hoe.

[Elster88]

soupcan wrote: I also wouldn't assume that we've gotten the whole story. HoJo: Friggin' Mets wouldn't give me the day off to watch my son's ball game? Screw them, I'm goin'! Mets: You're fired. Somehow I'm thinking this is not exactly how it played out.

That would be my guess, too. But for now I'm just going on what's been reported.

[Guest Edgy DC]

By the way, the "thing" he was attending is in the first post in this thread. It says the Tides allowed Johnson three days off. I guess he took more.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

It wasn't that hard to follow, was it?

Now Hojo may have enuf cash to send his kid to school after the summer and prolly doesn't "need" his job, but I don't know how many of us could take 3 days off at the risk of getting fired, get fired, and then pat ourselves on the back for good parenting.

[Elster88]

Oops. I thought you meant that he was providing for his family by going to the game, and that's why going to the game came first. My bad.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Johnny Dickshot wrote: It wasn't that hard to follow, was it? Now Hojo may have enuf cash to send his kid to school after the summer and prolly doesn't "need" his job, but I don't know how many of us could take 3 days off at the risk of getting fired, get fired, and then pat ourselves on the back for good parenting.

I think (and if I had more money, I'd feel this way even more strongly) that I wouldn't want to work for a company that wouldn't let me take a couple of days off for a personal family matter, and that I would risk getting fired.

If it's important to HoJo's son that his dad be there, then HoJo should be there. Especially since I doubt that he needs the AAA hitting instructor job in order to make ends meet.

[seawolf17]

Maybe HoJo slept with Sonia LoDuca.

[Benjamin Grimm]

That would allow Paul to sleep with all of the Mets wives.

[Guest Edgy DC]

The baseball world is full of sons toiling in the lower minors and amateur ball while their dads coach and scout and GM and manage. He apparently got a few days off (although he certainly could be spinning that his own way in the first article), but either way, I don't think the team put the screws to him. A batting instructor works seven months a year.

I hope this can be settled. I'd hate to see one less guy at reunion day.

[Elster88]

Me too. I once figured he and Mookie were the only '86 Mets who might one day manage the Mets.

[metirish]

] Davey harbors no hard feelings Ex-Mets manager would love to be at '86 ceremony, but is busy BY ANTHONY RIEBER Newsday Staff Writer August 10, 2006 Davey Johnson has not always felt welcome at Shea Stadium, but the former Mets manager insists that's not why he has declined to attend the Aug. 19 ceremony commemorating the 1986 World Series championship team. Johnson is choosing to miss the festivities because of a commitment to manage Team USA in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Cuba, he said Monday from his Florida home. On Aug. 19, Johnson's team will be training in Kissimmee, Fla., and the 63-year-old doesn't want to leave his young players to fly to New York even though Team USA's first game isn't until a week later. "I feel it's a large commitment," Johnson said. "To me, it's an honor to be qualifying for the Olympics and later on to even be in the Olympics. I just don't think it would be apropos for me to come down there, work with these guys and for me to leave for some publicity. I don't think that would be good motivation for my ballplayers." Johnson insisted there is no bad blood remaining between him and the organization. After firing Johnson in 1990, the Mets didn't invite him to a 1991 Old Timers' Day ceremony honoring the World Series teams of 1969, '73 and '86. Other than as an opposing manager, Johnson has been back to Shea sparingly, the last time during a promotional appearance for the Viagra Comeback Player of the Year award in August 2005. "I would love to be up there," Johnson said. "I love Shea Stadium, [owner Fred] Wilpon's a great man. I enjoyed all the fans. To [not] go back there for the 20th anniversary, it's something I'm going to miss terribly. There's nothing but good memories there." Johnson will not be the only no-show. Darryl Strawberry and World Series MVP Ray Knight have declined to attend so far. Dwight Gooden can't go because he's in a Florida jail serving a one year and one day sentence for a probation violation. Major-league coaches Roger McDowell (Braves) and Lee Mazzilli (Yankees) will not be in attendance. Among those expected to be on hand are Mookie Wilson, Lenny Dykstra, Wally Backman, Bobby Ojeda, Sid Fernandez, Gary Carter, Jesse Orosco, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling. As of last night, Howard Johnson, who has been suspended indefinitely as Triple-A Norfolk's hitting coach after an unexcused absence, was still on the guest list.

[metirish]

Why would Straw not attend,I thought he was back with the club.

[Elster88]

metirish wrote: Why would Straw not attend,I thought he was back with the club.

http://cybermessageboard.ehost.com/getalife/viewtopic.php?t=1974&start=40

[MFS62]

]Dwight Gooden can't go because he's in a Florida jail serving a one year and one day sentence

That year-and-a-day sentence means he will lose his right to vote.

Later

[seawolf17]

Straw's doing an autograph signing in Huntington that afternoon with Jesse O, Sid, and a few others... weird that he won't be there that night.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Local paper sums up the Pulsipher story.

#45, Billy Pulsipher, Fairfax, Baseball, 1991

Despite major setbacks, the phenom pitcher found his way back to the Major Leagues.

Mirza Kurspahic

August 10, 2006

The promising baseball career of a 1991 Fairfax graduate almost ended just as it started. Billy Pulsipher took the mound for the New York Mets in 1995, riding a wave of confidence, but injuries and other setbacks would take toll on his career soon after.

"Injuries can certainly alter your career," said Bill Pulsipher's father, William. "Some pitchers come back from them earlier than others."

In the spring of 1996 Pulsipher blew out his elbow. After the surgery, the Mets sent him back to the minor leagues for rehabilitation. It took Pulsipher a few years to get back in shape for the Major League. He was traded to Milwaukee, where he pitched for almost two years before being traded back to the Mets. A year later, in 2001, Pulsipher spent time playing in Boston and in Chicago with the White Socks, but setbacks caused by injuries and depression forced the left-handed pitcher to quit the game for some time. Instead of playing baseball, Pulsipher found himself mowing the fields in Florida. The love of the game saw him return to baseball, where he played in minor leagues for a few years.

After bouncing around the minor leagues, Pulsipher finally found his rhythm again. The long and winding road took him to St. Louis, where in 2005 he was the relief pitcher for the Cardinals.

"He was very excited last year after he made the Cardinals," said his father, William Pulsipher.

Pulsipher was drafted into the majors straight from high school. In 1991, the New York Mets drafted the pitcher in the second round of the amateur draft, 66th pick overall. "He's the best pitcher we've had at Fairfax. He went pretty much where we expected [in the draft]," said Tom Verbanic, the Fairfax baseball coach at the time, after Pulsipher was picked in 1991. The 17-year-old hurler was excited about the prospect of playing for the Mets organization. "Being picked by the Mets was just great. They have the best pitching staff in baseball and in the minor leagues they really develop you. They have a reputation of taking care of their players," said Pulsipher after the draft (Fairfax Connection, 1991).

HE GAVE UP a full scholarship to Old Dominion University in order to sign with the Mets. While in high school, the left hander was contacted by every one of the 26 Major League teams. His father said it was not difficult for Pulsipher to make the decision to go to the pros instead of college. He said teams made lucrative offers, and promised to secure Pulsipher's education as well.

The four-time All-Potomac District selectee led the Rebels to a 17-4 record his senior season. He recorded a 9-2 season on the mound, with a 1.36 earned run average and a school record 126 strikeouts. The hurler also delivered offensively, batting at .429, hitting five home runs and 31 RBI's. Pulsipher's pitch was clocked in at 87 miles per hour.

"There was a lot of pressure on me this [senior] season, but it was fun pressure," said Pulsipher in June of 1991.

It was not only his strength that made Pulsipher a force in the high school games. At 6-foot-4, he towered over the other pitchers in the region. A number of Major League scouts had come out to the Fairfax games to watch Pulsipher throw rockets past opposition batters. The former Pittsburgh Pirates scout Chuck Faris said in 1991: "Pulsipher projects real well because of his size. You look at what he might look like at 21 and it's like 'Wow!'"

After four years of impressive displays in the minor leagues - Baseball America ranked him 12th among pro prospects - Pulsipher got his chance to shine in the Big Apple. "We're bringing him up with the intention he'll be here a while," said the Mets General Manager Joe McIlvaine in June of 1995. "We're bringing him up and cutting him loose."

Pulsipher responded to the invitation saying he does not expect to win a lot of games for the Mets, but he expected to hold his own. His father said it was something his son had wanted since he was three years old.

"He's always loved baseball," said his father.

SIZE AND STRENGTH were also applied in his days of playing high school basketball. Jim Smith, the McLean basketball coach at the time, remembered a play in which his senior guard, Nate Friends, was fouled at the buzzer of a regional tournament game. "Pulsipher wiped [Friends] out. They had to peal [Friends] off the floor," said Smith,

As much of a force as Pulsipher may have been in basketball, his main sport remained baseball. Headlines from the time period are full of praise for the 6-foot-4 pitcher. In a 6-1 win over rival Annandale, in 1991,

Pulsipher broke the game in the sixth inning. The game was tied until the sixth, but the giant on the Rebels squad nailed a grand slam to break the game open. He also threw 13 strikeouts that game.

As of this year, Pulsipher is back in the Atlantic Professional Baseball League, where he is the pitcher for the Long Island Ducks, a team he led to its first league championship in 2004, before making the Cardinals squad last year. So far this season, Pulsipher holds a 3-1 record and has thrown 27 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched for the Ducks.

[Guest Edgy DC]

METS:

Former All-Star Howard Johnson was reinstated as the hitting coach at Triple-A Norfolk after being suspended by the New York Mets for leaving the minor-league team without permission to go see his son play in a baseball tournament.

He was suspended last week and will rejoin Norfolk on Monday.

"We've reviewed the situation, and he violated team policy," said Tony Bernazard, Mets special assistant to the general manager. "He's a valuable member of this organization, and he'll be back Monday to continue the season."

Niemann is pitching coach for Norfolk.
Yes, we want Sisk there.

More good stuff:

http://sfgate.com/templates/brands/chronicle/images/chronicle_logo.gif

Looking fit at his new field, Rickey says the fire still burns

Ron Kroichick, Chronicle Staff Writer

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Rickey Henderson returned to his domain Friday. He strolled onto a baseball diamond looking fit and trim, stepped atop the mound at newly christened Rickey Henderson Field and zipped a ceremonial first pitch into the glove of a kid wearing a shiny, white A's jersey with Dennis Eckersley's name and number on the back.

Click the images to enlarge

Henderson came to the Arroyo Viejo Recreation Center in East Oakland because the A's and the Good Tidings Foundation, a Bay Area children's charity, renovated the field over the past two months. They dedicated it in Henderson's name Friday, complete with a giant scoreboard banner beyond the left-field wall depicting him in mid-flight, during a signature head-first slide.

He will turn 48 on Christmas Day, but Henderson remains relentlessly kid-like himself, as if he were one of the Babe Ruth League players who took the field after the ceremony. He last played in the major leagues in 2003, but Henderson still cannot bring himself to officially end his long and illustrious career.

"I can't say I will retire," he said. "My heart's still in it."

Henderson played for the Newark Bears of the Atlantic League in 2004 and the San Diego Surf Dawgs of the independent Golden Baseball League last year. Now he's dabbling in coaching: He spent spring training as an instructor with the New York Mets, and he twice has joined the Mets during the regular season to offer baserunning guidance, with another stint planned later this month.

"It's a learning experience," Henderson said. "It's been fun."

That still doesn't equate to crouching in the batter's box or dancing off first base. Asked the last time he went a summer without playing baseball, Henderson paused, briefly contemplated his youth in North Oakland and said, "I might have been 8. Oooh-eeh, that's amazing."

Henderson repeated his long-held desire of retiring with the A's, but he's not especially interested in a one-day ceremonial departure. Neither Oakland nor any other major-league club has expressed interest in Henderson since he played in 30 games, and hit .208, for the Dodgers in '03.

He resisted the Surf Dawgs' overtures this season, no longer convinced he could use the independent league as a springboard to one final fling in The Show.

"It's sort of weird not to be playing, but I decided to take a year off," Henderson said. "I wasn't getting the feedback that someone was going to give me a chance to make their ballclub, and that's what I was trying to get. ...

"I'm just trying to get that fire burned out of me. When that fire is burned out, then I can know it's all over. But I still love the game right now, so I'm going to wait it out and see what happens."

As he waits, optimism slowly giving way to reality, the clock ticks toward Cooperstown. If Henderson does not play again in the majors, he would appear on the Hall of Fame ballot in December 2008. He almost certainly would earn first-ballot induction.

Eckersley went into the Hall in 2004, the first player enshrined from the great A's teams of the late 1980s and early '90s. Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire will appear on the ballot this December, an intriguing tandem given Canseco's admitted steroid use and McGwire's widely ridiculed appearance before a Congressional committee investigating steroid use in baseball.

Asked about his former teammates, Henderson smiled and stopped short of endorsing them, saying, "I think they deserve to be on the ballot. Should they get in? I don't have that vote. Were they great ballplayers? Yeah, they were great ballplayers. As far as what they've done and all this, I can't make that judgment."

E-mail Ron Kroichick at

rkroichick@sfchronicle.com

.