Mack's Mets Memories: 10/9 - 10/15

In this weekly edition of Mack's Mets Memories we take a look back on three championship runs and key events that changed the face of the Mets. First, we begin with one of the lesser known and remembered playoff runs.

October 10th: In 1973, the Mets were a surprise World Series contender when they faced off with the Cincinnati Reds. The Big Red Machine was looking to dominate the Mets, but the comeback kids from Queens had other ideas in mind.

On this date, Tom Seaver closed out the series with a 7-2 win. The Franchise gave up only one earned run through 8.1 Innings while striking out four en route to their second National League Championship in four years.

October 11th: The Washington Senators traded their manager, Gil Hodges, to the New York Mets in 1967. From 1968 to 1971, he guided the Mets to a .523 winning pct and a World Series championship in 1969. He was a beloved figure in the history of the organization.

Even after 50 years of history, Hodges ranks third in wins with 339 (behind Davey Johnson and Bobby Valentine). He is considered the greatest coach in Mets history and they acquired him for a player to be named later (Bill Denehy). The trade was completed on November 27th, 1967 but it started with the initial acquisition on this date.

October 11th: In addition to the Gil Hodges trade, the Mets also had a big hit to remember on this date. In 1986, Lenny Dykstra walked into the batter's box against the Houston Astros in the

bottom of the ninth inning.

With his team down 5-4 in an NLCS tied at one game each. The Mets took the lead in the series with one swing. Dykstra launched a two-run homer to right field for a walk-off win for the eventual champs.

October 15th: The Mets defeat the Houston Astros in 1986. This game lasted 16 innings for the longest post-season game in baseball history. The Mets clinched the NLCS and their ticket to the World Series on the strength of a 7-6 win that was capped off by a three run 16th inning.

In what many fans remember as the greatest playoff game ever, this marathon of wills lasted 4 hours and 42 minutes. This win lifted them to an inevitable meeting with the Boston Red Sox, but more on that next week.

Cutnpaste: Jordany Valdespin, Zach Lutz, Nick Evans, Lenny Dykstra, Maikel Cleto

9-3-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/09/prospect-pulse-buffalo-2012-help-on-the-way.html  - Jordany Valdespin - Not to beat a dead horse, as I recently described Valdespin in detail, in both the LH hitter post, and the Shortstop post, so all I’m going to say about him is since he is finishing this year at Buffalo, it makes perfect sense for him to man shortstop there next year. As far as him being able to help the Mets next year, the question right now is whether he can improve enough in three areas to warrant a call-up to the bigs. First he needs to cut down on his errors, second he needs to stop getting caught stealing so much, even if it means running less often, and third the coaching staff must decide that he has left his lack of maturity issues behind for good.

9-3-11: - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/833229-new-york-mets-ranking-their-current-best-prospect-at-every-position/page/7#/articles/833229-new-york-mets-ranking-their-current-best-prospect-at-every-position/page/2  - Even though Ike Davis basically has first base locked in for the New York Mets in the foreseeable future, they have a young prospect by the name of Zach Lutz that could eventually give him a run for his money.Lutz, who also plays third base, has been compared to Lucas Duda in that his power is borderline legendary and that is his greatest asset.

In Terry Collins' eyes, a significant gap exists between what Nick Evans is capable of doing in the Major Leagues and what he has thus far had the opportunity to do. "If Nick Evans, at this level, got 450, 500 at-bats," the Mets manager said, "I bet you'd see 25 homers out of him." To date, Evans has produced eight home runs over 330 career plate appearances, including three in 53 PAs since becoming a full-time starter late last month. Neither he nor the Mets may ever know for sure how he would perform over a full season, given the likelihood that Evans will break camp as a reserve player, not a starter, next season - http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110907&content_id=24365506¬ebook_id=24365510&vkey=notebook_nym&c_id=nym&partnerId=rss_nym  

Former New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Lenny Dykstra has pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles for allegedly exposing himself to women he met on Craigslist. City News Service reports Dykstra is accused of exposing himself to several women who responded to ads for personal assistants and housekeepers between 2009 and 2011. The 48-year-old former baseball star has been jailed since June in lieu of $455,000 bail on car theft and drug possession charges. He also faces bankruptcy fraud charges. A pretrial hearing is scheduled Oct. 5 on the indecent exposure misdemeanor charges. - http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/6941919/lenny-dykstra-pleads-not-guilty-indecent-exposure  

Prospect of the Day: Maikel Cleto, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals - If you like fastballs, pay close attention to St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Maikel Cleto, just promoted to the majors. Keep in mind that it takes more than pure heat to make a successful pitcher. Cleto was originally signed by the New York Mets as a free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2006. After a pair of mediocre seasons in the low minors, he was involved in the December 2008, 12-player, three-way J.J. Putz trade which landed him in the Mariners system. More mediocre numbers resulted in 2009 (5.33 ERA in 25 innings in the Midwest League, with a 24/11 K/B but 35 hits allowed), then he was hit hard in the difficult environment at High Desert in the California League last year (6.16 ERA, 83/44 K/BB in 102 innings, 125 hits). - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/9/7/2409092/prospect-of-the-day-maikel-cleto-rhp-st-louis-cardinals