The StatMan  

On last week's show (6/14/09), I neglected to share a couple of thoughts about the incidents and accidents during the Mets-Yankees series at Yankee Stadium this past weekend:

1. Everyone knows about the Alex Rodriguez pop-up-turned-two-run-error by Luis Castillo in the bottom of the 9th on Friday night that allowed the Yankees to walk off with a 9-8 victory.  Everyone knows what they were doing when they saw the play.  I was in my living room and I was inconsolable for hours, not being able to speak for about 45 minutes.  My hands were glued to the temples of my forehead.  But, in the aftermath, and after the requisite head-shaking on either side, came a new appreciation for Luis Castillo. 

Castillo could have taken the LeBron James way out and high-tailed it out of the clubhouse to avoid the media.  He could have allowed his teammates to answer for him.  He could have made the situation a whole heckuva lot worse.  Castillo did not.  He stood there to address his mistake, answering questions in a soft, remorseful tone that could not help but soften the media's blow in Saturday's papers.  After apparently not getting a good night's sleep on Friday night, Castillo made himself available to reporters again on Saturday before the 4pm matinee on national television.

Castillo played second base and batted leadoff, going 2-for-5, and the Mets won 6-2.

I think the two events are related.  If Castillo bucked the media, the Mets would have had some ticked-off players in the clubhouse and the situation would have gotten worse in the cauldron of Yankee Stadium and the New York media would have stirred the pot.  By facing the music, Castillo diffused a bomb that even the Joe Torre S.W.A.T. team would have been proud of.  If Castillo bucked the media, I think the Mets would have been swept and the pressure would have mounted as the Mets would have been five games back after the weekend.  Instead, they salvaged a game in the series, possibly finding a starting pitcher in Fernando Nieve to contribute to the cause, and the Mets came away with some dignity intact.

Read George Vecsey's "Sports of The Times" in Sunday's New York Times for the full story.

2. The Francisco Rodriguez-Brian Bruney dust-up was a late-developing story and I did not mention it during our show.  But, it is worthy of a mention.  Brian Bruney was quoted as saying that the Met meltdown on Friday night "could not have happened to a better guy". 

Chamberlain is the king of fist pumps, the pride of the prideful.  Yes, Rodriguez beats his chest after a save with some more vigor than most players when they quietly point to the sky after touching home plate on a homer.  But, Chamberlain does it more often and I see that as more of a show-up type of move.

In a Mets team lacking fire, in the few times they show some personality, it makes news.  File this with the "I'm a man" proclamation from Johan Santana last Tuesday night against the Phillies.  There is nothing wrong with playing the game with spirit, fire, chutzpah, whatever you want to call it.  It is not right to show up an opposing player, a manager, a teammate, or the fans.  But, don't you think that if the Mets everyday players, who have to be a baseball team's leaders, showed more fire, the pitchers wouldn't have to?

Read Marty Noble's account of the K-Rod/Bruney incident.