Opening Day Stats

[Frayed Knot]

A bit late with this, but was thinking recently about the remarkable NYM OD record, particularly after losing their first eight; 35-11 starting with 1970
It's tempting to call it a fluke but strong #1 starters certainly have an effect on an overall OD record so, even though I'm sure I'm not the first person to track down this info (I smell a FaFiF archive somewhere), I decided to check on who got assigned the win, losses, and saves in those 46 OD games.

[u:4aif8w2k]Wins[/u:4aif8w2k]
6 Each for TOM SEAVER & DWIGHT GOODEN
3 each: TOM GLAVINE, JOHAN SANTANA
2: CRAIG SWAN
1 each: RON TAYLOR, JERRY KOOSMAN, PAT ZACHRY, RANDY JONES, DOUG SISK, TOM GORMAN, BOBBY OJEDA, JEFF INNIS, JERRY DIPOTO, TURK WENDELL, DENNIS COOK, AL LEITER, RAMON RAMIREZ, JONATHON NIESE, BARTOLO COLON

[u:4aif8w2k]Saves[/u:4aif8w2k]
3 = TUG McGRAW, NEIL ALLEN, JOHN FRANCO
2 = SKIP LOCKWOOD
1 each for: JESSE OROSCO, RANDY MYERS, DON AASE, ARMANDO BENITEZ, BILLY WAGNER, AARON HEILMAN, FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ, FRNK FRANCISCO, BUDDY CARLYLE

[u:4aif8w2k]Losses[/u:4aif8w2k]
TUG McGRAW (walk-off); MIKE TORREZ, DWIGHT GOODEN, MIKE REMLINGER (walk-off), YORKIS PEREZ, AL LEITER, MIKE HAMPTON, TOM GLAVINE, BRADEN LOOPER, MIKE PELFREY, JEURYS FAMILIA




I have no real point here, was just curious.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Looper.

[Frayed Knot]

Yes, that loss was the game that spawned the phrase.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Frayed Knot wrote: Yes, that loss was the game that spawned the phrase.

Yes, and it was a walk-off.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I forget exactly where it was but I went into some Times Square theater/bar to watch the beginning of the 2005 opener with about a few hundred Mets fans. I had to return to the office after an inning or two because I had a meeting with some work guy and ditched only in time to catch the Reds winning rally off Looper on my little radio. I believe this was the dawn of SNY -- they gave away free posters of Pedro that day which is still tacked in my cube (albeit 3 offices later). It was bittersweet because they were engaged in the Time Warner standoff at that time that cost me the first several weeks of televised games.

A weird postscript: The guy I met with for work that day is now the CEO of Target. I am still in a crappy cube.

[Gwreck]

SNY started the next year, in 2006.

If I remember right, Pedro struck out 12. And Looper gave up not one but two homers in the 9th; one to tie and the other to lose. I was listening to Howie and Gary in Red Bank, NJ waiting for a concert to start.

[Frayed Knot]

Looper in the 9th: First pitch single to Austin Kearns, HR to Adam Dunn (2-1 count), HR to Joe Randa* on a full count.
'Original jb's' comment in the IGT after the game was simply: "Looper", which went on to be somewhat of a catch-phrase around the CPF after that.

The thing about Looper (originally a #3 overall pick by StL) is that he had a decent year as NYM closer in 2004. But that 2005 OD performance marked the beginning of a season which was markedly worse all around [hr and BB-rates essentially doubled while K-rates fell, etc.] which led to him being treated around this town as if he was, and always had been, a total waste of a uniform. I remember there was an after-the-fact revelation about an injury of some kind to help explain things although there were no gaps in his 2005 season and he was signed to a 3-year FA deal by StL that winter so whatever it was couldn't have been too serious. He pitched regularly over the next four seasons -- including three as a starter which he hadn't been since his first year in the minors -- until leading the league in both earned runs and HRs (39!!) allowed in 2009 for Milwaukee became his swan song in the majors after 12 seasons.
Overall I think his biggest problem was that his middle name is LaVern.




* professional hitter

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Gwreck wrote: SNY started the next year, in 2006. .

You're right it was MSG...