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Why bat a lifelong American League pitcher ninth when it's exactly what they're expecting you to do? Tony La Russa, who's smarter than the phone book, slotted in Joel Piniero eighth and Adam Kennedy ninth. I was at a game in 2005 in which Jack McKeon batted Dontrelle Willis seventh. The Marlins were beset by injuries and Willis is an honest-to-goodness hitter. Piniero? Two for 24 in his career. Kennedy is an actual player, even in a slump. There's challenging orthodoxy and then there's just managing for the sake of managing and embarrassing a veteran, which is what La Russa did. Cardinals lost to the Nationals 12-1. Piniero's hitting wasn't any better than his pitching. Kennedy did collect two hits, though. If he goes on a hot streak, I take back my insistence that La Russa's genius tag is self-applied and overblown.

Alou 2.5 Sele 2 Castillo 1 Easley 1 Sosa 0.5

How awesome would it be if that's hanging in Willie's den?

The snippiness in Skip Caray's voice describing the Mets beating the Cubs today is worth the cost of basic cable.

Kid Carsey wrote: Just lookin', DD placed him at 18/30 for '79 and got no arguments in the rankings forum. Willie Montanez: Lousy '79 but award-winning '78.

96 RBI at the time was third-best in club history, behind Staub and Clendenon. On a team with 96 losses, they loomed awfully large. Twenty-three more than his nearest competitor.

Page 43. Leroy Neiman and, I'm guessing, a brewery exec are in on it. You'd think he'd get beer, but he gets a Neiman. It's on the page labeled Celebrity Friends, including Garrett Morris, Eartha Kitt and Andy Warhol. The '79 Mets...who knew?

So I was browsing through the 1979 yearbook last night (as I'm sure most people were) and I noticed a picture of Willie Monta�ez being presented his...Schaefer Player of the Year Award for 1978! Looked like it was at Al Lang. Ralph Kiner took part in the ceremony.

Billy Wagner: Doing everything he's called on to do and doing it extraordinarily well. But he's not called on that often. And he's only called on to do it for a few minutes at a time. Saves have gotten him the big bucks. Saves don't seem to be getting him Schaefer points. I think he'll accept the tradeoff. (Life without 2007 Billy Wagner, however, would be...like a lot of years. Let's at least send a round of Black Label to his table.)

OHernandez 3 Delgado 2 Castro 1 Anderson 1 Mota 0.5 Newhan 0.5 Green 0.5 Wright 0.5 Feliciano 0.5 Gotay 0.5

AP Recap: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=270803116 Box: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=270803116

New Mets in 2007 and what their future employer did the day they were born: Moises Alou: Mets split a doubleheader with Uncle Matty's Pirates, July 3, 1966 as the elder Alou collects a pinch-hit in the Bucs' 8-7 win in the opener and goes 0-for-3 in the Mets' 9-8 nightcap victory. No relation to any Alou, but Eddie Bressoud hits a grand slam in the first game. Joe Smith: Born during spring training, March 22, 1984. Whatever happened didn't count. David Newhan: Another twinbill baby, another split. Kooz shuts out Carlton and the Phils, Sept. 3, 1973, but a debuting Craig Swan isn't so fortunate, taking a 6-3 loss. Scott Schoeneweis: One day after the Mets clinch on the Monday after the final Sunday of the season, Scott shows up: October 2, 1973. Yogi's setting his postseason roster while Schoeneweis presumably needs changing. Ambiorix Burgos: The Mets score two in the bottom of the eighth to take reliever Craig Swan (in for kid Doc) off the hook and beat the Expos 7-6 when the bouncing baby Burgos makes his debut on April 19, 1984. Aaron Sele: Infant Aaron picks June 25, 1970, a fine time to be born by my reckoning. Jerry Koosman beats Ken Holtzman and the Cubs 8-3 at Wrigley to complete a five-game sweep. Why my reckoning? I'm very fond of this game and have written about it twice. Damion Easley: Misses the World Series by a month, November 11, 1969. Chan Ho Park: 0-1 as a Met, 1-0 when he was born, June 30, 1973, Mets over the Cubs 2-1 at Wrigley, Matlack and Hooton both go the distance...or several innings longer than Chan Ho Park was a Met. Ruben Gotay: Merry Christmas, son. There's no game for you under the tree this December 25, 1982. Jorge Sosa: Born April 28, 1977...Mets were idle. Lino Urdaneta: Natural or chemically enhanced birth? Don't know. Do know the Mets weren't playing on November 20, 1979. Carlos Gomez: So excited about the Mets' prospects for 1986, that he raced right out of the womb on December 4, 1985. Jason Vargas: An early arrival for pitchers and catchers under George Bamberger, February 2, 1983. Ben Johnson: The doctor slapped him on June 18, 1981 and little Ben cried, "You mean I waited nine months and all I got was this lousy players' strike?" Sandy Alomar: While Sandy's dad hones his skills in the Braves' system, Bob Friend is no-decisioned in his Mets debut while his new team goes down to the Reds at Crosley, 5-4, despite 3-for-5 performances from Ron Hunt and Ken Boyer. Ooh child, things are gonna get easier for both Alomars. Chip Ambres: He would grow to deliver a clutch base hit, but his mom delivered him between seasons, December 19, 1979. Jon Adkins: The Adkins(es) brought their kid into the world to see our kids on August 30, 1977. The kids they saw lost 6-2 in Houston, behind starter Bob Myrick and relievers Rick Baldwin, Bob Apodaca and Paul Siebert. Joe Niekro, no kid, got the win. Luis Castillo: Li'l Luis first popped up, so to speak, September 12, 1975, same day Lynn McGlothlen induced 27 outs from Jon Matlack and the Mets to win 5-1 at Busch, same day Roy Staiger made his Met debut. Roy put the ball in the air four times to no avail. Luis napped through it. Brian Lawrence: On May 14, 1976, miscast Met Mickey Lolich struck out eight but surrendered a sixth-inning three-run blast to Johnny Bench at Riverfront, falling to the Reds 5-1. Brian Lawrence wasn't involved in the decision, but he was born. Mets record when new 2007 Mets were born: 5-6. The last four born on days the Mets played were all born on days the Mets lost.

Easley 2.5 Lawrence 1.5 Wright 1.5 Sosa 1 Alou 1 Milledge 1 Anderson 0.5 Reyes 0.5 Delgado 0.5

Box: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=270802108 Recap: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=270802108

Anybody know if the Mets have ever had three inside-the-park practitioners (who've done it for them) on their roster at the same time? Anderson, Reyes, now the man Willie Randolph calls Damon Easily.

Perez 3 Anderson 2 Castro 2 Green 1 Mota 1 Wagner 0.5 Delgado 0.5

AP Recap: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=270801108 Box: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=270801108

Excellent story, Edgy. Thanks for sharing it in detail. As an aside, a friend tells me he met Mel Ott's granddaughter and she had little idea to the scope of her grandfather's greatness.

Glavine 2.5 Milledge 2 Sosa 1.5 Wright 1 Reyes 1 Castillo 0.5 Delgado 0.5 Alou 0.5 Green 0.5

Box & Recap: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=270731108

A war of attrition. It's a shame somebody had to lose. (Somebody = the Mets)

I don't suppose Bernie Brewer had the decency to tumble hundreds of feet from his slide.

Schoeneweis is warming. The Brewers are brimming with overconfidence.

That was Alou's second SB of 2007. And, I'm guessing, the eighth of his career.

Did I hear Gary mention Gotay is "slightly injured"?