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Real Life 5/31 (55): "Longtime Met employee Luke Gasparre" Oughta Be 5/31 (54): Saturday night home run heroes Marlon Anderson (inside-the-parker off the bench in the ninth inning to tie Francisco Rodriguez and the Angels, 2005); Carl Everett (two-out, two-strike grand slam off Ugueth Urbina to tie Expos, 1997) and, leading the way, Steve Henderson. On June 14, 1980, Joe Torre's Mets fell behind the San Francisco Giants 6-0. But typical of how they operated that spring and summer, the Mets battled back and closed the gap on the Giants to 6-4 in the ninth. Then, with two on and two out, our next guest, who will peel off number 54, swung and belted an Allen Ripley pitch into the Mets' bullpen. Just like that, the Mets had won, 7-6. So thrilled was the Shea crowd that it demanded a curtain call � a response almost unheard of here or anywhere in those days. Those who saw it will never forget it nor the man who came back on the field to wave to the fans.

Tonight it's "Mets fan and movie star" Tim Robbins. Beyond box office muscle and a great fastball twenty years ago, Tim has narrated a highlights film or two for the Mets and tolerated dumb questions from Mike & The Mad Dog. Good enough for me. In life among the Oughta Be crowd, shut your eyes tight and imagine number 55 being removed tonight by three more actors from the Joe Torre era: � Jerry Della Femina, mastermind of the Magic Is Back campaign, which lives on, in its way, through the top hat that hosts the apple that took root in those ads' wake... It would take a little while for the club itself to pull out of the proverbial hat enough wins to contend, but by 1986, a world championship was conjured right here in the Big Apple. � Craig Swan, ace for an aceless epoch... His right arm bridged the gap from Seaver to Gooden like the Triborough connects Queens to points north, including Swannie's home in Connecticut. � Doug Flynn, defensive wizard... Little got past Doug and his defensive brilliance was recognized in 1980 with the Gold Glove award. Bob Murphy liked to say Doug would look ground balls into his glove and we're happy to get another look at Dougie tonight.

Weird "tribute" to Mike in current SI print edition, by Michael Bamberger. ]He could never be the Philly Italian Guy from central casting, and he despised it when fans or writers tried to goad him into that role. [...] Roger Clemens once beaned him with a fastball and on another memorable occasion threw a broken bat at him. Piazza did not forgive and forget. That part of the Sicilian thing he had down cold. I'm sure Mike would appreciate being linked to one aspect of the Italian stereotype three sentences after it was said he didn't care to be linked to another aspect of the Italian stereotype. I've never forgiven or forgotten Clemens for those incidents. I had no idea I was Sicilian.

Fighting Ham I don't have a problem with. The Slugging Sausages, however, are just so darn tasty.

In the "official" version of reality, recent Joey Reynolds guest Art Shamsky does the honors tonight. We had him show up later in the season with three teammates as part of an extended 1969 weekend. In the Oughta Be world, we do number 56 tonight, and we make way for longtime Shea denizen Joe Torre, as long as he's in town. It gives the Mets great pleasure to welcome back an old friend to Shea Stadium. He played his first game here as a member of the Milwaukee Braves on May 12, 1964, catching a complete game shutout. He would visit often over the course of eleven seasons until 1975 when he became a Met. Midway through his third season as a player for the home team, he became the Mets' manager, a post he'd hold for five years. Torre removes the digits accompanied by two of his proteges: He was an All-Star four times, three under Joe's tutelage. He was also one of the hardest-charging Mets of any period in team history, someone who gave no ground on the basepaths, at the plate or anywhere the field of play extended. Please give a warm welcome to the Dude, John Stearns. Another Brooklynite, he spent his rookie season at the elbow of manager Joe Torre, learning the game and mastering his trade. By 1979, he was a Mets All-Star and a stellar one at that, homering and later walking with the bases loaded to ensure a win for the National League. He enjoyed two tenures in New York, the second of them commencing just in time for the 1986 World Series when he played a key role in securing victories in Games Six and Seven. Ladies and gentlemen, Lee Mazzilli.

Write in Tatis!

Sucking is the new getting off to a good start.

PLUCK YOU! Joba holds Birds in check for Andy If Tatis had hit one out, probably 'DO! Tatis homer makes simps of 3-eyed Fish

Not a huge sample on back-to-back wins, btw, only ten home games: L-W-L-W-L-W-L-L-L-W Long enough, however.

Almost a month, notes Wayne Hagin, since the Mets have won back-to-back games at Big Shea. Tonight would be a nice night to change that.

I swear I remember Caro mentioning in passing somewhere his preference for the Mets as post-1957 teams go. Perhaps it was the press conference he called in my imagination to announce it. I worship "The Power Broker" (not that that anything to do with the Moses/Caro nod in the countdown). You'll be thrilled by all three going on four LBJ volumes.

They beat us to Rusty. Props to them and their great cause. The Oughta Be calendar brings us to 57, to be taken down in recognition of the role Robert Moses played in the building of Shea Stadium. Moses, both angel and devil on earth in his time, was hailed and loathed as the master builder of New York City and environs from the 1920s through the 1960s. Moses believed the future of the New York metropolitan area lay ever eastward. Demographic trends validated his vision as more people left the five boroughs and began to call Long Island, right next door to Queens, home. He saw a future driven by the automobile and set out to build a network of highways second to none to accommodate it. And he recognized the potential of parkland in the geographic center of New York City, Flushing Meadow. He worked tirelessly to develop it and included within his blueprints for growth a modern baseball stadium the likes of which New Yorkers had never seen. The result was Shea Stadium, a structure Moses consciously modeled on the Roman Colosseum. Robert Moses died in 1981. Removing the number on his behalf is Robert Caro, his Pulitzer-winning biographer -- and, ironically, someone Moses had it in for after "The Power Broker," no hagiography, was published to great acclaim in 1974. Caro has helped keep the question of Moses' legacy alive for 34 years. I also have a vague idea that he's a Mets fan but I forgot to ask him the one time I met him.

Come to think of it, Jesse Orosco singled and saved in Game Seven. Jesse HAD to have been the last active Major Leaguer to have played alongside two Seattle Pilots (actually pitching in the same games as teammates): Skip Lockwood and Dr. Mike Marshall. Lockwood's final Met appearance came in Jesse's first Major League start.

Mind-bottling... You know, when things are so crazy it gets your thoughts all trapped, like in a bottle? Was this sort of saving and hitting activity all but outlawed starting in 1990? Can we blame John Franco?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Oh, I see. (But I suspect Goossen and Davis knew somehow that they were destined to be Pilots.) Didn't you see the highlight film during a rain delay? 1967 NEW YORK METS: HOME OF TWO FUTURE SEATTLE PILOTS Or as Casey put it of Greg Goossen, in four years, he has a chance to land on another brain-dead expansion team.

Skip one of four ex-Pilots to be Mets. Only Jim Gosger and Jack Aker were Mets at the same time. They played in the same game as 1974 Mets four times. Jack in the pen, Jim on the bench, crossing paths by the buffet table, maybe during stretching, possibly sitting together on the bus to the airport. Wonder how often Fred Talbot came up in conversation.

Awesome on Pete Flynn. We had him way back at 78 with Bob Mandt, but anytime's a good time for Pete Flynn. Our Oughta Be 58 for tonight is Terry Liebman, a relation to the original owners of Rheingold and someone who led the revival of it in the late '90s. This is a choice that recognizes Rheingold's place in Mets and Shea history as the sponsor of sponsors (not so much that they sponsored Manufacturers Hanover...ah, you know what I mean). From the opening of Shea Stadium in 1964 through the thrilling pennant run of 1973, Rheingold was the beer of choice here in Flushing and a big part of New Yorkers' lives. Brewed in Brooklyn beginning in 1883, Rheingold gave us the Miss Rheingold contest, the Ten-Minute Head and of course a jingle that echoes down the corridors of time. It has been relaunched under different ownerships since and has even returned to Shea on occasion. True, other beers have taken its tap space, to say nothing of its spot on the scoreboard, but at heart, Shea Stadium will always belong on the Rheingold beat.

Braves won a pennant behind (or in spite of) those kinds of performances. Ignore that it was at our expense and there's reason for optimism! Or therapy.

Some nice young fellow in a military uniform (a USMC lance corporal, I believe) pulled down tonight's number in real life. Nothing to do with Shea, everything to do with Memorial Day. Nice gesture. Criticism of the Mets' mishandling of the countdown takes a holiday. Back in Oughta Be land, we removed number 59 Monday night, paying homage to the 18-inning 0-0 game the Mets and Phils played at Shea on October 2, 1965. The three Mets' pitchers who teamed up for the shutout that didn't count (their stats did, but the tie didn't show up in the W-L and necessitated a next-day, final-day doubleheader) were given the honors: relievers Darrell Sutherland and Dennis Ribant and, most prominently, starter Rob Gardner. All Rob did was throw 15 scoreless innings. Tonight, we want to give Rob the opportunity to get some kind of number next to his name for authoring perhaps the greatest forgotten Met pitching performance in the history of Shea Stadium. We can't give you any runs, Rob, but we can offer you the honor of peeling number 59.

AP Story in English. ]CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) � A government official in Venezuela says former major league pitcher Geremi Gonzalez is dead after being hit by lightning in the South American country. Emergency management official Herman Bracho says the 33-year-old pitcher was at the beach in western Venezuela and was on a pier when lightning struck him on Sunday night. Gonzalez started in the major leagues for the Chicago Cubs in 1997 and later played with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Boston Red Sox, the New York Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers. He last played in the major leagues in 2006 with the Toronto Blue Jays and also pitched last year for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan.

Minaya spent this trip doing the tight-lipped smile and corporately saying nothing. The meeting with ownership is tomorrow. Even if it is Memorial Day (agreed it's a little tacky), it's hard to imagine the endgame will be postponed given how this thing has taken on a life of its own. The media is circling, the fans will be restless, everybody will have a clue as to what's coming. The thoughtful thing if they really don't believe Willie's their man is to get it over with. It doesn't sound like they believe Willie's their man. Rubin on his blog tonight before leaving Denver: Willie Randolph will meet with Fred and Jeff Wilpon as well as Omar Minaya on Monday at Shea, before the Mets open a home stand against the first-place Marlins. After Sunday�s 4-1 loss dropped the Mets to 23-25, the Wilpons certainly are within their right to hand Randolph his pink slip � no matter how much blame you assign the manager. Asked about any trepidation going into his meeting, Randolph said: �Not at all.� Pressed about whether he expected to be in the dugout Monday night, he said: �I don�t see why not.� Minaya, before departing Coors Field, said about Randolph�s security: �Same as it was when I got here.� That didn�t sound too good, whether tomorrow or some day shortly afterward any firing occurs. Rubin Saturday morning: The Shea faithful may be enraged right now, but I�m here to say that there are a lot of decent people suffering, and it�s painful to watch up close. Of course, this is sports, so I don�t mean people are suffering in the sense that victims of the earthquake in China are suffering. But people are about to lose their livelihoods here, beginning with Willie Randolph. And trust me, it�s giving no one any joy to witness. After the Mets lost their fifth straight, 6-5, to the Rockies on Friday night, you could feel the sympathy in the manager�s office - especially after hearing how lukewarm the endorsement of Randolph was during the game by GM Omar Minaya. Minaya would not refute Friday�s Daily News report that Randolph�s job was in jeopardy if he did not have a successful weekend. Instead, asked point-blank if Randolph�s job was in imminent danger, the GM vaguely said: �I�m just going to tell you that Willie Randolph is our manager. He has my support. He has our ownership�s support.� I thought they'd give him this homestand and the road trip thereafter. But 1-6 after the MFY series, after the O'Connor story, looking beaten and lifeless one day after showing a pulse. I'm no more than 50-50 that I'll be greeting Willie Randolph's Mets at Shea Monday night.

Adam Rubin, on with FAN's Lori Rubinson, thinks Willie's gone Monday. Wasn't presented as a scoop, just his gauging of the situation.

Where have you gone, Gustavo Molina? Evans wears 6.