Meet the Mets, meet the Mets--dynasty est. 1962

[rjl518]

With the pitching we have, we had better make the playoffs again.
Changes to the playoff format are is that the division series will be a best of three at the division winner's stadium, so there will be no traveling during that series.
The LCS is still a best of five and WS a best of seven.

Now that we are done with "Baseball like it Oughta Be"...we can get back to some classic Mets baseball.
So everyone its time to get back to some nostalgia and....

MEET THE 1973 NEW YORK METS!!!

[rjl518]

The NY Mets got off to an average start by going 11-10 the first month.
As usual, baseball teams try to get position early before they get into the main heart of the Pennant Race.
Fergie Jenkins is a machine early on with Wes Parker with the hot bat also.
I put Don Kessinger on waivers because he was being a cancer in the clubhouse and i brought up Bucky Dent to play SS.
Bud Harrelson might not be a Met for long because it looks like he is very unhappy.
Lets see how the rest of the year goes.

[prisonerno6]

It hurts me to see J.R. Richard in a New York Mets uniform.

But atleast it is not a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform.

[rjl518]

Originally Posted by prisonerno6

It hurts me to see J.R. Richard in a New York Mets uniform.

But atleast it is not a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform.

I will be keeping him for a while...I think he is gonna be a star.

[rjl518]

Mets Transactions:

Joe Pepitone and Don Kessinger were being cancers, so i sent them packing.
I grabbed Jim Lyttle from the BOS Red Sox, and Jay Johnstone from the TEX Rangers.

[rjl518]

METS Transactions (2):

I also sent Bud Harrelson out of here for Lou Pinella.

[rjl518]

So far, this year is not going according to plan.
There has been so much grumbling in the clubhouse, that the Mets cant seem to get out of their own way.
We go .500 for May, and we find ourselves 3 GB of the PHI Phillies in the division.
Not much to say except that Johnny Bench is making a comeback, and Don Sutton is still driving opposing batters crazy.
Two months into the season, and there is a lot of work to do.

[rjl518]

NYM Transactions:

ATL offered me a trade for Buddy Bradford for Carl Taylor.
Both players were pretty even with Bradford having a slight edge.
I took the trade.
Hank Allen had declined in the minors, so i sent him to the CHW for a scrub named Tony LaRussa.
I'm just gonna put him in the minors as soon as he clears waivers.
LaRussa did talk to me though and said that he wants to be a big league manager one day, win a lot of games and a few world series championships.
I told the young kid to follow his dreams.
But Tony LaRussa as a manager???
HA!
Probably won't amount to anything.

[rjl518]

Now that's the NY Mets team that i know.
We go 17-9 for June, and are only 1 GB of the CHI Cubs, with the PIT Pirates right behind us.
The starting pitching has cooled off a little, but the lineup is now starting to hit.
I made a few lineup changes since i didnt like what my bench coach was doing.
But once again, the Mets are back in the thick of the pennant race, and i'm looking forward to the 2nd half of the season.

[rjl518]

These guys made the 1973 NL All-Star Team for the NYM!

[rjl518]

The NY Mets continue to make waves and stay on top of the pennant race.
With a 19-10 month of July, the Mets take over 1st place in the NL East.
But the CHC are only .5 GB of us.
That team is pretty good, and they knocked us out of the playoffs last year.
We might be heading for a rematch in the 1973 NLDS.
But, there is still two months of baseball left.
Johnny Bench and Rod Carew are killing the ball, while Vida Blue and Phil Niekro are decimating hitters.
The CLE Indians offered me Tony Horton for Jim Colborn.
Colborn was in the minors, and i thought that Horton could help.
So i pulled the trigger on the trade.
Lets see how that works out.

[rjl518]

The month of August we go 17-12 and take 1st place in the NL East.
The CHI Cubs are right behind us 3.5 GB.
With the PIT Pirates now 11.5 GB of both the Mets and the Cubs, our chances of making the playoffs are pretty much a foregone conclusion.
The question is...WHERE will we play the Cubs?
At Shea or Wrigley?
The playoff format was changed so that now the division winner hosts all best of three Division Series games.
So winning the division gives home field advantage in a short series.
We are playing pretty well, but i think my team just wants to get to the playoffs already.
Our pitching and hitting is at the top of the league.
How far will we go..that is the question now!

[rjl518]

For the month of September, we go 16-13.
We were pretty much assured of the playoffs, we just didnt know if we were going to play the NLDS in Shea or Wrigley.
It turned out that the CHI Cubs were just a little bit better then we were, so we are going to Wrigley Field for the best of three series.
But, we make the Postseason again!
Now...lets get some payback against these Cubs.

[rjl518]

The DET Tigers needed a one game playoff against the NY Yankees to clinch the 2nd spot in the AL East.
They will play the BOS Red Sox.
The TEX Rangers and the CHI White Sox will play their ALDS in Arlington.
The SF Giants were the best team in baseball, but the ATL Braves would like to make their 111 regular season wins meaningless.
Meanwhile, the NY Mets and the CHI Cubs will renew an NLDS rivalry.
We got beat by this team last year, and this time, im expecting a different outcome.
Vida Blue, Steve Carlton and Phil Niekro will get the nod in this series.
Looking forward to this one.
The NLDS is coming up!!!

[rjl518]

The NY Mets get some payback against the CHI Cubs as we take the NLDS 2-0 @ Wrigley Field.
In Game 1, the Mets unloaded on the Cubs, pasting them 14-1, where Vida Blue was un-hittable, and Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, and Tony Horton all hit HRs.
In Game 2, Steve Carlton did his job, until he ran out of gas.
The NYM jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but then, the CHC came right back.
The game went into extras, where Bucky Dent, brought in 2 big RBIs.
Tug McGraw then closed the game out.
We advance to the 1973 NLCS!!!

NY Mets WIN NLDS 2-0

[rjl518]

1973 NLCS Preview:

The DET Tigers will play the TEX Rangers in the ALCS, while the Mets draw the Giants in the NLCS!
We have a tough road ahead.
The SF Giants had 111 wins this year and this team isnt really too bad.
Gonna have to deal with Seaver, Matlack, Hunter, Madlock, Foster, and McCovey, just to name a FEW!
Niekro, Blue and Carlton get the ball for the first 3 games of this best of five.
Games 1, 2 & 5 are in Candlestick Park, so we need to win one of two here, before going back to Shea.
This series is going to be wild!
The NLCS is next!!!

[rjl518]

As you can see from this report, this NLCS was CRAZY!
But YES!!!
The series goes the distance, but its the NY Mets who are going back to the World Series for the 1st time since we won it all in 1970.
The Mets eliminate the best team in baseball, the SF Giants, 3 games to 2 in this best of five NLCS.
Where do i start?
Game 1: Reggie Cleveland outlasts Phil Niekro, as SF wins 3-1.
Game 2: The game goes into extras, as the Mets had a two-run lead going into the 8th inning, but the Giants tie it up and win it in the 11th!
Game 3: Steve Carlton gets the nod, and pitches a gem, as the NYM win the third game and stay alive.
Game 4: I gave Don Sutton the ball, and after giving up two quick runs, he settled down and went the whole way as the Mets lineup got past Reggie Cleveland to tie the series up and set up Game 5!
Game 5: The Mets destroy Tom Seaver in the clinching game, as Tony Horton was the man at the plate as Vida Blue and Gaylord Perry combined to pitch the Mets to another National League title!
The NY Mets are going back to the World Series!!!!

NY Mets WIN NLCS 3-2

[NYY #23]

Congratulations!

[rjl518]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

Congratulations!

Thank you my friend, but the job is not done yet!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by rjl518

Thank you my friend, but the job is not done yet!

Not yet, but beating a 111 win is a nice step along the way!