Except for "The Godfather II" and perhaps the Follow-ups to "Scream," sequels usually stink. But even accounting for the natural decline in quality from the original, this weekend's Mets-Yankees subway series (no capital letters deserved) is shaping up as the most deflating follow-up since "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch II." (Don't worry, we didn't see it, either)
The last time the two teams squared off, the World Series was at stake in the first real Subway Series (capital letters deserved) since 1956. The Big Apple hype was typically excessive, but for once the drama actually matched the buildup--from the classic 12-inning first game to Roger Clemens' psychotic episode in the second game to the Mets' scrappy victory in Game 3 to the Yankees' taut Game 4 win and the ultra-dramatic tie-breaking rally in the ninth inning of Game 5 that carried the Yankees to their third consecutive World Series title.
There's no way three games in June could match last year's World Series. Even so, with the Mets barely alive in the postseason picture and the Yankees two games in back of the Red Sox in the AL East and 4.5 games removed from the Indians in the wild card race, this weekend's series is shaping up as quite a comedown. And Clemens, who beaned Piazza at Yankee Stadium three months before he chucked a bat at him at the same venue, is being shielded from a showdown at Shea by Joe Torre, thereby robbing this series of much potential drama while confirming Clemens' status as the all-time bully who can dish it but not take it.
Still, if the past regular-season subway series are any indication, the games will be compelling and closely contested. The Yankees lead the regular-season matchups, 11-7, but their aggregate margin of victory in the series is just five runs (78-73). Twelve of the 18 games have been settled by three runs or fewer and at least one meeting per year has been settled by one run. The last three games between the teams last season were each decided by two runs.
This weekend's drama won't approximate last October's fever pitch, but the scene at Shea will be more charged than normal and the Mets and Yankees will likely draw their best efforts out of one another. Our prediction: The Mets, who have their three best pitchers -- Al Leiter, Kevin Appier and Rick Reed -- going in this series, will take two out of three against the Yankees, who will send Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina and Ted Lilly to the mound.
The Mets tend to play up to their competition, as evidenced by their 4-2 mark this year against the Braves and 1-2 record against the Devil Rays. Of course, if George Steinbrenner goes and acquires David Wells in time for Sunday night's start, all bets are off.
And if this weekend's subway series proves to bomb as badly as "Book of Shadows," don't fret. "American Pie II" and "Scary Movie II" will be released soon enough.
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMM: One of the most amusing sidelights this weekend will be the simmering feud between Torre and Bobby Valentine. Oh sure, the two say all the right things about one another, but there's no love lost in this relationship. In addition to their war of words last summer over the Clemens-Piazza incident, Torre and Valentine had it out way back in 1978, when Torre, the Mets manager at the time, released Valentine.
The latest salvo in this little skirmish occurred this week, when Torre tugged at the heartstrings of fans everywhere by naming his brother, Frank, to his coaching staff at this year's All-Star Game. It was all sweet, sentimental and gushy in a movie-of-the-week sort of way--and forgive us for being a little bit cynical, but isn't it ironic Torre chose this week to announce his decision?
Not only does it present Torre in a flattering light, but it comes several weeks after Valentine said he wanted to offer a similar position on his All-Star staff to his mentor, Tommy Lasorda. Which is the more cuddly couple--the unpopular Valentine and the often-grouchy Lasorda or the feel-good Torres, featuring the older brother who got a life-saving heart transplant on the morning his little bro won his first-ever world championship back in 1996?
Not surprisingly, the answer seems to be the Torres. While Valentine's idea was originally mentioned in just one paper--the Star-Ledger of Newark (N.J.)--Torre's plan was sprayed as an exclusive on the back page of Wednesday's New York Post and picked up on by every other area paper Thursday.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE: The Mets' search for their first sweep of the 2001 season continues after last night's 5-2 loss to Baltimore. The Mets last sweep occurred on the final weekend of last season--Sept. 29-Oct. 1--when they took three in a row from the Expos.
The Mets are also searching for their first four-game winning streak of the season. They haven't won four in a row since last year's playoffs, when they took three straight games from the Giants in the Division Series and the first two games from the Cardinals in the NLCS. The Mets' last regular-season winning streak of four games or more also occurred at the end of last season, when they finished up with a five-game winning streak against the Braves and Expos.
ALL A'S THIS MONTH FOR APPIER: Steve Phillips has taken his share of abuse for his activity--or lack thereof--last winter, but isn't it time to admit that maybe Kevin Appier is going to work out just fine in a Mets uniform? Lost in the Mets' overall mediocrity is the fact Appier has been as good as anybody in baseball over the past month.
Appier is 2-0 with a 1.61 ERA in his last four starts. In 24 innings, he's allowed just 14 hits and six walks while striking out 34 batters. For the season, Appier has 72 strikeouts and 26 walks in 77.2 innings--impressive numbers for anyone but especially for a guy with a 90 mph fastball who struck out just 129 batters and issued an AL-high 102 walks in 195.1 innings for Oakland last season.
Appier's pitched better this month than the guy he was signed to replace, Mike Hampton, who is 3-0 in his last four starts with a 3.42 ERA. In 26.1 innings, Hampton has allowed 25 hits and 11 walks while striking out 19 batters.
THE CAM MAN CAN'T: The second least-surprising firing in baseball--right behind the dismissal of manager Larry Rothschild in Tampa Bay--occurred this week, when Pittsburgh owner Kevin McClatchy dismissed general manager Cam Bonifay after seven-plus mostly inept seasons at the helm. Not only did the Pirates fail to post a winning record under Bonifay, but he was also responsible for signing the overrated likes of Kevin Young, Pat Meares, Wil Cordero and Derek Bell to long-term contracts.
The Bell signing especially amused the Mets, who knew what a lousy deal the Pirates got when they signed the ex-Met to a two-year, $9 million deal last winter. Bell started off hot for the Mets last season but batted just .187 after the All-Star Break, and he's been even worse this year (he was hitting .136 with a homer and four RBI in 110 at-bats before he went on the DL with a strained left knee). Said one Mets official: "They gave him two years when no one else in baseball was willing to give him one."
The Mets also found Bonifay difficult to trade with. One official said Bonifay would put the parameters of a deal together one week and then scrap the whole thing the next. Said the official: "Last year, Steve made deals with two guys who are hard to trade with, [Tampa Bay GM] Chuck LaMar and [Cincinnati GM] Jim Bowden]. If he'd managed to make a deal with Cam, he should have won Executive of the Year."
BAR BET TRIVIA: Name the only player to appear in a regular-season subway series game for BOTH the Mets and Yankees. Send your answer to me at jbeach@e-sportsnation.com. The correct answer will appear in next week's Insider, along with a list of all the readers who correctly identified the player. How's THAT for inspiration?
» E-SportsNation.com senior writer Jerry Beach would like to wish a Happy Father's Day to his dad, Jerry Sr., who not only learned to bat left-handed in order to make their backyard wiffle ball games more competitive but also never minded that his son retained useless baseball knowledge instead of the stuff he was supposed to learn at school. You can reach the younger Jerry at jbeach@e-sportsnation.com.
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Copyright © 2001 by E-SportsNation, Inc. and by Jerry Beach. Posted June 20, 2001.
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