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Eric Young, Jr., last night summoned memories of a late Sunday afternoon just a touch more than 30 years ago. The Happiest Recap brings you a sneak peek from Second Base (appropriately enough): Game 191 July 31, 1983 (2nd) Mets 1 Pirates 0 (12) This, you might say, is where the Mets began to become the Mets, at least the Mets as they were on the verge of being understood. It wasn�t an instantaneous transformation, but it takes only a little hindsight to see how the pieces were coming together sooner than perhaps could be comprehended in real time. In real time, the summer of 1983 had been a terrible time. This Sunday doubleheader at Shea commenced to changing all that. It couldn�t all be done in one day, even with a pair of twelve-inning victories and a Banner Day parade thrown in, but the seeds of contentedness could be viewed as finally taking root. After entering the day as hopeless, hapless and 28 games below .500, the Mets bury themselves early versus the Pirates, falling behind, 6-1, in the sixth, but storming back to tie it in the eighth � propelled by back-to-back home runs from Keith Hernandez and George Foster � and they win it in the twelfth, when Bob Bailor drives in Darryl Strawberry against long-ago Met farmhand Jim Bibby. Jesse Orosco pitches four scoreless innings to gain the 7-6 win. Then come the banners. After which comes discouragement. The Met bats do nothing worth writing home (or on a bedsheet) about. Jose DeLeon has his way with them, collecting eleven strikeouts in nine innings. He collects all kinds of outs, actually. The Mets don�t get a hit off DeLeon until there�s one out in the ninth (Hubie Brooks doing the honors) and then that hitter is erased on a double play (Hernandez�s, no less). But amazingly, the Mets are still in a scoreless duel because the mostly flammable Mike Torrez is bottom-line matching DeLeon. He�s not the same kind of untouchable (or �perfect� as Brooks judged) as DeLeon, but Torrez manages to scatter eight hits over eleven innings without allowing a single Buc to cross home plate. It�s the most innings any Met pitcher has thrown in one game since Jerry Koosman went eleven five years earlier�and it�s the last time a Mets pitcher will ever go that far into a game. Perhaps manager Frank �Hondo� Howard figures that with a last-place club, there�s nothing to save Torrez for. The Mets� second hit, in the tenth, is also erased on a double play (a Bailor lineout). In the bottom of the eleventh, Howard pinch-hits Rusty Staub for Torrez, but even Le Grand Orange comes up empty against Kent Tekulve, who replaced DeLeon in the tenth. In the twelfth, Hondo turns to hot hand Orosco to keep the Pirates at bay a little longer. The strategy works � Jesse walks Gene Tenace with two out but retires Lee Lacy to escape unscathed. The Mets� misbegotten 1983 marketing slogan was Now The Fun Starts. It took four months, but at last it was to prove itself accurate. Bottom of the twelfth. Mookie Wilson sparks matters by singling off Manny Sarmiento. Mook�s the first Mets leadoff batter to reach base since Keith walked to start the fourth (and was erased on a strike �em out, throw �em out double play; Mookie�s single means the Mets have as many hits as double plays hit or run into in this game). Hubie is ordered to bunt and he complies, sacrificing Wilson to second. Chuck Tanner, no dummy, walks Hernandez to get to George Foster and set up yet another double play. It�s not bad strategy considering Foster is slow and Hernandez is slow. But Mookie is fast, and what happens unfolds in a Flushing minute: Foster grounds to Johnny Ray at second. Not a lightning fast grounder � and it�s not picked perfectly cleanly by Ray. Hernandez, as noted, is not lightning fast, either, but he runs and slides hard enough to make life difficult for Dale Berra, the shortstop who forces Mex. That�s one out. Meanwhile, Mookie is zipping around third. Foster is charging, in his fashion, for first, which he reaches safely. Which means Mookie Wilson is scoring the winning run from second base on a ground ball out. �I didn�t know Mookie was trying to score until the last second,� Berra said as he gave up on the 4-6-3 DP and tried to nail the Mets� speedster. No dice. Mookie had one destination in mind from the nanosecond George connected, and it wasn�t third. After receiving the high sign from third base coach Bobby Valentine, he knew where he was going. �All my thoughts were collected before Foster even came to bat,� Mookie explained. �I�d already looked down at Bobby and got the OK, so there was no hesitation. He�d told me to go ahead.� Mookie went as fast as he could, which the National League had noticed was about as fast anybody could. Berra: �Once Johnny didn�t field the ball cleanly, I thought about Wilson trying to score, but I didn�t see him.� And how are you gonna catch what you can�t see? With Mookie making himself a blur, the Mets win the nightcap, 1-0, in 12 after winning the opener, 7-6, in 12. Jesse Orosco, an All-Star selection earlier in the month, wins both ends of the doubleheader, the first time a Met pitcher has done so since Willard Hunter in 1964. Jesse will go on to become the National League�s most dynamic relief pitcher over the final two months of the season and finish third in the Cy Young voting. Mookie, in the meantime, establishes a signature play. He will actually replicate it three days later in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game versus Montreal, scoring from second under eerily similar circumstances (one out, grounder, same cast of supporting batters, same winning pitcher). His recognition as one of the sport�s true generators of excitement grows. And the Mets? They�re out of it, of course, but they inject some life into their deadly ways at last, finishing their final 60 games with a record of 31-29, pretty much the first time in a decade that they�ve gone out on an indisputable high note, 68-94 bottom-line mark notwithstanding. Mookie�s in place. Jesse�s in place. Mex is here. Hubie�Darryl�even Foster drives in 90 runs. Frank Howard will be replaced by the manager from Tidewater, who will bring with him some of the best starters the Mets� minor leagues are developing. And in relatively little time, there will be consecutive Mets games whose indelible moments will include Mookie Wilson hustling along the basepaths and Jesse Orosco recording a final out. But let�s not get ahead of ourselves here. 1983 was billed as the �now� when the fun was to start. On a most banner day at the end of July, it really kind of did.

July 31 and August 3.

The wheels of Met versatility are unstinting in their progress.

bmfc1 wrote: "Matt Matt Matt Matt Matt!" "It's Me Day..."

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Young 2.0 Lagares 1.5 Mejia 1.5 Davis 1.5 Torres 1.0 Buck 0.5 Byrd 0.5 Murphy 0.5 Hawkins 0.5 Atchison 0.5

151. Wilmer Flores 08/06/2013 150. Zach Lutz 06/27/2013 149. Vinny Rottino 05/28/2012 148. Ronny Cede�o 04/10/2012 147. Josh Satin 09/28/2011 146. Nick Evans 07/17/2011 145. Daniel Murphy 05/31/2011 144. Willie Harris 05/12/2011 143. Luis Hernandez 08/31/2010 142. Mike Hessman 07/29/2010 141. Justin Turner 07/19/2010 140. Wilson Valdez 08/25/2009 139. Andy Green 08/19/2009 138. Fernando Tatis 06/17/2008 137. David Newhan 09/29/2007 136. Ruben Gotay 09/07/2007 135. Damion Easley 04/19/2007 134. Julio Franco 09/10/2006 133. Eli Marrero 07/02/2006 132. Jose Valentin 05/26/2006 131. Miguel Cairo 04/21/2005 130. Chris Woodward 04/13/2005 129. David Wright 07/21/2004

The Wilmer Flores era begins... Eric Young, Jr. � LF Daniel Murphy � 2B Marlon Byrd � RF Ike Davis � 1B Juan Lagares � CF Wilmer Flores � 3B John Buck � C Omar Quintanilla � SS Jenrry Mejia � RHP

Mets third baseman wearing No. 4 immediately summons to mind Jose Moreno, who played there three times, as opposed to, I don't know, Gold Glove winner/120-RBI slugger Robin Ventura, who played there three years.

Per @Mets: Wilmer Flores will wear #4 & if he plays tonight will join RHP John Pacella as only players in Mets history to make MLB debut on birthday. No word on his hat size.

Rising Apple checks in. Last night in Savannah, Mets minor league centerfielder Brandon Nimmo went 3 for 4, capping off his solid night with a booming eighth inning homerun out of Historic Grayson Stadium. It was the kind of game you would expect from a former first round draft pick playing in low A ball. Except it hasn’t been the routine. Not even close. It’s been a rough season for the former Wyoming standout. After streaking to a .322 batting average in the month of April, Nimmo has battled nagging hand injuries and staggeringly poor play to find himself fielding a mediocre .249 average and .709 OPS entering play Monday. Those numbers are the not the scary part; Nimmo is only 20 and, not having played high school baseball, was expected to take a while to develop. The frightening part for fans and the organization has been a strikeout rate that would make Adam Dunn cringe. Forecasters of potential batting average in the big leagues, strikeout rates have long been used as barometers of success in the minors. This is bad news for Nimmo, who ranks 15th in the SAL with 108 strikeouts, despite having fewer at bats than any other hitter in the top 30. He owns a 30% strikeout rate overall and his 33% rate since the end of April is worse than such whiffing kings as Mike Napoli, Mark Reynolds, and Dan Uggla. As evidenced by the aforementioned hitters’ power numbers, the only way to maintain such astronomical rates, and the inevitably low batting averages that they induce, while still being a productive player is to hit the long ball. Considering that Nimmo has only gone yard twice all year, and that even the most optimistic of scouts only peg him as a future 15-25 home run hitter, Brandon will have to cut down on the strikeouts if he is to become a major league regular. Yet improvement may be just on the horizon. Nimmo suffered a bruise hand that sent him to the disabled list back on April 29th, and while he spent a month rehabbing it before returning, there may still be lingering effects. As Toby Hyde of Mets Minor League Blog notes, the weakened hands could prevent Nimmo from turning on the ball, allowing pitchers to strike him out on fastballs inside. As his hand heals, his strikeouts numbers should decrease, and his hitting improve. Last night’s game was his best offensive performance of the year and in just these past ten days, a healthier Nimmo has shown flashes of his immense talent, walking 13 times en route to .457 on base percentage and an .881 OPS. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that Brandon is still very young and very raw. The Mets understood that his development would take years when they handed him 2 million dollars out of the first round in 2012. They also understood that like all unpolished prep hitters, Nimmo was a gamble who could turn into a perennial all star but could also never make it out of A ball.

Spurred by bml's dutiful posting of Royal Jerry Grote, I sought out the site that created it and encountered an eye-opening exploration of Jerry Grote lurking, or his being the catcher on opponents' cards. Lurking: Is that an actual baseball card term or is it something Garvey Cey Russell Lopes made up? Either way, it helps explain why my conception of what a catcher is comes mainly from Jerry Grote squatting.

Minority Mets owner Bill Maher offered guest Jay-Z a blinged-up black Mets cap on Friday's Real Time. Jay-Z declined not, he said, because it's the Mets, but because it was too sparkly. Mr. Carter added when his uncle took him to his first baseball game as a kid, it was a Mets game...but that he was lured to dark side anyway.

I shouted out, "Who shunned the Valdespins?" when after all it was you and me, Satan confirmed before Tuesday's Mets-Rockies series opener at Citi Field.

A Boy Named Seo wrote: In related news, I'm a goddamn genius. A Boy Named Seo wrote: Based on nothing but my Don Zimmer-like intuition, I feel like Jordany's gonna get popped for PEDs one day. I think you're doing a better job than the cadre of Mets beat reporters who have continually cackled like Mean Girls about JV's cursing and tweeting and wearing the wrong shirt and standing at the plate too long but, despite their access and professional credentials, never indicated any inkling of the story right under their noses. Though that might be because Biogenesis and PEDs aren't a big topic in New York baseball these days. Not even a "one Met executive has speculated the scandal might touch the major league roster" out of them. It's wholly possible Valdespin sought his edge completely out of public view, and it's also wholly possible that nobody wanted to brush up against libel laws by hinting at anything that wasn't 100% solid, but it seems highly unlikely in an "industry" in which everything gets gossiped about and everything gets leaked that nobody on the other side of the clubhouse door couldn't have/wouldn't have noticed something...unless they weren't particularly trying to find out.

Gee(z), they are good.

Box. Young 1.0

I have been informed by Twitter sources that the 5 of Diamonds is Mr. Met pitching.

Perhaps Saturday was a stealth tribute to the Statler Brothers. Counting flowers on the wall That don't bother me at all Playin' solitaire 'til dawn With a deck of fifty-one VKZjja37_sw

It was no substitute for an actual gathering of living 1973 alumni, but You Gotta Believe the Mets playing cards handed out Saturday were surprisingly inclusive. When you have 52* slots and used only 40 players who were managed by one man and coached by four others. SPADES K Millan Q Yearbook Cover J Stone 10 Schneck 9 Moore 8 Hodges 7 Yost 6 Garrett 5 Miller 4 Theodore 3 Harrelson 2 Mr. Met (cartoon) A McGraw HEARTS K Jones Q NL Champs Ring J Mays 10 Ostrosser 9 McAndrew 8 Latter-Day Shea NL Champs Wall Banner 7 Boswell 6 Capra 5 Fregosi 4 Pignatano 3 Parker 2 May A Seaver CLUBS K Grote Q Shea Classic Exterior J Sadecki 10 McMillan 9 Hahn 8 Berra 7 Kranepool 6 Strohmayer 5 *UNKNOWN AS I HAVE JUST NOTICED I HAVE NO FIVE OF DIAMONDS 4 Beauchamp 3 Apodaca 2 Harts A Koosman DIAMONDS K Staub Q 1973 Pennant As Depicted On 1974 Yearbook Cover J Swan 10 Milner 9 Dyer 8 Gosger 7 Martinez 6 Hennigan 5 Chiles 4 Barnes 3 Webb 2 Walker A Matlack All 40 players are accounted for as are Yogi and his coaches. Don't know what 5 of Diamonds was supposed to be. If it was the announcers. Harts shouldn't be a diamond. Dyer should've been a 10. Staub should've been a 4. Jerry May should been a jack so he could've been J May. ETA: Shea should be a diamond. If they ever do this for Citi Field, that should be a club...one with restricted access, of course.

Eric Young, Jr. � LF Daniel Murphy � 2B Josh Satin � 3B Marlon Byrd � RF Ike Davis � 1B Juan Lagares � CF John Buck � C Omar Quintanilla � SS Zack Wheeler - RHP

Terrific story. Don't know if James was being literal -- I'm not him, we're each individuals in this world -- or condescending in pushing away a comparison to Gimbel, but interesting that a guy known for having been disregarded by the establishment didn't hesitate to disregard someone else who'd experienced that kind of shunning.

Box. Satin 2.0 Murphy 1.5 Hefner 1.0 Atchison 1.0 Feliciano 0.5 Rice 0.5 Germen 0.5 Young 0.5 Brown 0.5 Lagares 0.5

Young 2.5 Gee 2.0 Wright 1.5 Byrd 1.0 Torres 1.0 Feliciano 0.5 Davis 0.5 Hawkins 0.5 Quintanilla 0.5

Did not know until Keith Olbermann tweeted it (more or less accurately): When the New York Mets of the American Association were bought out by the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers in 1887, the franchise slot was returned to the AA and was sent to Kansas City, where the Mets were replaced by the Kansas City Blues. So it's time to get even.