---

Bar Chat

09/05/2019

Bye-Bye Mets

[Posted early Wed. a.m.]

NFL Quiz: Mark R. brought this one up at the Mets-Phillies game I attended Saturday.  Name the only team to draft three quarterbacks in the first round who then went on to win the Super Bowl. Answer below.

MLB

--Last night was a horror show for Mets fans, but prior to the game against the Nats, I wrote the following.

---

I mentioned the sensation season the Washington Nationals’ Anthony Rendon is having in his walk year, and then Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post had a story on the need for the Lerners to “get their heads around what has happened to their wallets after the All-Star Game. Rendon has hit .389 since then.  He hasn’t changed the game.  He already has won it.

“Up till now, the Nats have signed their homegrown stars if they take hometown discounts (Stephen Strasburg, Ryan Zimmerman) but let them walk when they won’t (Ian Desmond, Jordan Zimmermann).

“With hindsight, it appears that was the Nats’ strategy with (Bryce) Harper. The Nats could see a future with Harper as slugger and drawing card.  But they could also see a future, as good or better, without him – provided they spent all that money wisely.

“Meanwhile, the Nats have made fat bids, with a year or more of extra pay that nobody else offered, to free agents who – key factor – fit a huge need.  That’s how they won Jayson Werth, Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin, all those signings bewailed as awful overpays at the time....

“Now times must change.  Rendon is not a homegrown star who can be replaced by a farm-system product, the way Juan Soto, Trea Turner and Victor Robles repopulated the lineup.

“Rendon is irreplaceable right now.  He’s the player who, if the Nats didn’t already have him, they would have to go out and get because he’s just what they need to pair with the fabulous Soto in the heart of their order for years.”

Boswell talks about a comparable contract being that of Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado, a 28-year-old who signed an eight-year, $260 million deal in February.  Rendon turns 30 next year.  So his age-30 through age-35 seasons in Arenado terms would be $200 million.

And as Boswell adds, the urgency to sign Rendon also has to do with attendance.  The Nats finished last season 82-80, and 8th of 15 in the N.L. in attendance.

But this year, entering Tuesday’s contest, they were a superior 77-59, but 11th of 15 (16th in the majors compared to 11th in 2018).  Washington can ill afford to subtract a second drawing card after losing Harper.

It’s difficult to work out a deal for Rendon in the middle of a playoff chase, but the Lerners will have a very small window before the market opens in November.

Boswell:

“Right now, the Nats have a wonderfully entertaining future – if Rendon remains at the center of it. With him, the Nats, on a 92-win pace, can use the offseason to fix their horrid bullpen and expect to win 95 or more in 2020.  With their top six starting pitchers under team control, as well as all of their major lineup pieces, it should be light lifting for General Manager Mike Rizzo to get the Nats beside the Dodgers and Braves as the class of the N.L.  Probably in 2021, too.

“Without Rendon – shudder – a lot of work and worry are ahead this winter.”

But winning can take care of a lot of issues.  Like a World Series run.

And last night, the Mets’ season ended, and Washington’s World Series run gained a huge bump in a franchise best seven-run rally in the bottom of the ninth.

Kevin Kernan / New York Post

“For those wondering what the bottom of the barrel looks like, the Mets showed the world Tuesday night the view from the pits as they blew a six-run lead in the ninth inning.

“The moment Kurt Suzuki’s three-run, walk-off home run off Edwin Diaz left Nationals Park to give the Nats an astounding 11-10 victory, the Mets playoff hopes also flew out of the building.

“The Mets surrendered a Nats record seven runs for the Miracle at Nats Park (largest deficit overcome in the ninth inning or later) comeback win.  It had to be Diaz to deliver the fateful pitch as a lead, a game and a season flew away.

“Teams with a six-run lead in the ninth were 274-0 this season, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Then came the Mets. Their season is over.

“Death by bullpen.

“Yes, Diaz was general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s big offseason get and he has been a disaster. On the day Robinson Cano, who came along with the reliever from Seattle, returned to the team from a torn hamstring, Diaz saved his worst for last.

“Mickey Callaway went into the ninth with a 10-4 lead after Seth Lugo worked the eighth. With such a lead, Callaway decided to trust his second-line relief corps bringing Paul Sewald (four runs, one out) in for the ninth.

“Remember the scene from ‘Animal House’ in which a crying Flounder was consoled by Otter with these words: ‘You f----d up.  You trusted us.’

“Callaway messed up, he trusted his bullpen.”

Season over.  I never received more emails in a shorter period of time than after Suzuki’s homer cleared the wall.  It was stunning.

You invest so much time in being a baseball fan.  Day in and day out for six long months.  And then it’s all for naught in a flash.  It sucks.

This will prove to be one of the two or three worst single losses in franchise history.

One more...Mets starter Jacob deGrom yielded four runs in seven innings, hardly his best stuff, but in his last 57 starts, despite a 2.13 ERA, he is 16-17.

--N.L. Wild Card Standings....

Washington 78-59... +3.5
Chicago 75-63... ---
Philadelphia 72-65... 2.5
Arizona 72-67... 3.5
Milwaukee...71-67... 4
New York 70-68... 5

--A.L. Wild Card Standings....

Tampa Bay 82-59... +1
Oakland 79-58... ---
Cleveland 80-59... ---

College Football

--After I posted Sunday, that evening we had Houston vs. #4 Oklahoma, and former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts shined in his debut for the Sooners, stamping himself as a potential Heisman candidate.  Hurts, who arrived in Norman as a graduate transfer in January, and was then awarded the starting job in August, was 20-of-23 passing, 332 yards and three touchdowns, plus a career-high 176 yards rushing and another three scores...508 yards of total offense.

Hurts thus joined Johnny Manziel as the only other player in the past 15 years to throw for 300 yards and three scores and run for 150 and three more scores in a game.

Hurts is following in the footsteps of Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, your last two Heisman Trophy winners.  Will Oklahoma make it three in a row?  Remember, Mayfield and Murray were both transfers themselves.

What’s great about this story is his former teammates and coaches at Alabama have a lot of affection for Hurts, who was a sterling 26-2 as a starter in two seasons before being supplanted by then-sophomore Tua Tagovailoa prior to last year.

What Alabama fans and the team admired was how Hurts handled the disappointment of losing his starting spot after taking Alabama to the national title game twice in his first two seasons, as well as his play in relief of an injured Tua in leading a fourth-quarter comeback against Georgia in last year’s SEC Championship game in Atlanta.

Head coach Nick Saben said: “I think that Jalen set a great example when he was there.  He was a good leader.  He was a good performer.  And I also think when things didn’t go his way he showed a lot of character as a person to continue to try to improve himself and do everything he could to help his team. And in this day and age you don’t often see that.  But I think it was a really, really great example on his part and because he did it that way when he got an opportunity he was able to do extremely well, and actually won the SEC Championship Game for us.”

--Monday, #9 Notre Dame shook off some early cobwebs to easily handle Louisville 35-17, the Cardinals’ once great program having gone 2-10 last year while featuring the third-worst scoring defense in the country (44.1 points per game).

--As feared, USC did lose quarterback JT Daniels to a season-ending knee injury, multiple ligament tears, ending what was to be a sterling sophomore season.  Trojans coach Clay Helton, whose job was already in jeopardy, must pull a rabbit out of the hat with 18-year-old freshman Kedon Slovis, who, just three months ago, was a minimal recruit with every expectation of redshirting in 2019.

--AP Poll

1. Clemson (54)
2. Alabama (8)
3. Georgia
4. Oklahoma
5. Ohio State
6. LSU
7. Michigan
8. Notre Dame
9. Texas
10. Auburn (up from 16 after win over Oregon, which dropped from 11 to 16)

So we do have some interesting games this weekend.

#1 Clemson hosts #12 Texas A&M.   #6 LSU squares off against #9 Texas.

And ACC fans will be curious to see how #21 Syracuse fares at Maryland.

Your trap game is Cincinnati at #5 Ohio State.

NFL

--The Rams selected Jared Goff with the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and he proceeded to have a miserable first season, going 0-7-0 in his seven starts, but in his last two he is 24-7-0, 60 TD passes, 19 INTs, and a passer rating over 100.

So Goff is being rewarded with a four-year contract extension that includes a record $110 million guaranteed.

This is on top of $4.3 million he will be paid this season, and more than $22 million next year on a fifth-year option.

Goff’s deal eclipses the $128-million extension, with $107 million guaranteed, that the Eagles gave quarterback Carson Wentz in June.

--And as I go to post, word is Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is signing a six-year extension worth an estimated $90 million (not sure on the guarantee), meaning Elliott is due to make about $102.9 million over the next eight seasons; Elliott having been held out of Dallas’ training camp while demanding a new contract.

--Kind of funny how the Jets made a flurry of moves as I was posting Sunday afternoon, including acquiring kicker Kaare Vedvik on waivers from the Vikings while releasing kicker Taylor Bertolet.

I had just written of Vedvik two weeks earlier because he’s such a great story, the former soccer player from Norway, signed by Baltimore last year, who suffered an assault in the city, the injuries from which pushed him onto the non-football injured list, where he sat all season.

But he has immense potential, including as both a punter and kicker, only the Ravens already had incumbents at both, so they traded him to the Vikings for a 2020 draft pick, and then he became available to the Jets.  He will be a huge fan favorite in New York if he’s successful, once everyone learns his story.

The thing is, why was he available after the Vikings had traded for him?

Vedvik made just one of four field goal attempts in two games, missing from 37, 43 and 54.  His only make came from 27.  But in two preseasons with the Ravens, he was 12 of 13 on field goals and that’s the Vedvik the Jets are hoping they’re getting.  [He also averaged 48.1 yards per punt in the preseason with the Vikes, though for now that’s not what the Jets signed him to do.]  Fingers crossed for the lad.

Meanwhile, I wrote last time that Greg Dortch of Wake Forest had made the Jets’ 53-man roster.  But that was until he didn’t.  The Jets claimed rookie wide receiver/punt returner Braxton Berrios on waivers from New England and he’ll fill in where Dortch would have.

But after much uncertainty, Dortch did end up making the Jets’ practice squad, which is where I was hoping he’d be at the end of camp in the first place.  Now any team can sign him, while he gets a chance to continue practicing with the Jets and when the inevitable injury occurs, he’ll get a shot. 

The Jets also signed former Eagles running back Josh Adams to their practice squad, reuniting him with Jets GM Joe Douglas, formerly of Philly.  Adams, out of Notre Dame, is a steal for New York, says alum Mark R.

By the way, being on the practice squad isn’t all bad.  You earn $8,000 a week, or $136,000 if you stick with the team the entire 17-week season.  Of course you make more if you’re called up.  And other teams can sign you, after which you must be on the 53-man roster for a minimum of three weeks.

U.S. Open

--The defending champions from last year were eliminated in the fourth round Sunday night and Monday, neither making the quarterfinals, as No. 1 Novak Djokovic retired in the third set, trailing Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5, 2-1.

And then Monday afternoon, Naomi Osaka’s title defense fizzled as she fell to Belinda Bencic, 7-5, 6-4.

The thing is, while Osaka, with her Australian Open title this year and No. 1 ranking, has had a largely poor season, she is also now 0-3 against Bencic.  This is the Swiss player’s first trip to a Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2014 U.S. Open, when she reached the quarters at age 17 before coming up shy of that round in her ensuing 16 major tournaments.

So Bencic’s win meant that 37-year-old Serena Williams is the only quarterfinalist with any previous Grand Slam title.  It also prevented any rematch of the Osaka-Williams final of last year.

But Serena moved on yesterday, 6-1, 6-0 over 18 Qiang Wang.

American women Kristie Ahn, Taylor Townsend, and Madison Keys all flamed out in the fourth round.

Back to Djokovic, it was clear he was in pain in the early rounds of the Open and shoulder problems did him in.

But loud boos greeted the Serb’s decision to quit, with more heard as he walked off.

“I’m sorry for the crowd. They came to see a full match but it wasn’t to be,” said the world number one.  “A lot of people didn’t know what’s happening, so you cannot blame them.”

Djokovic has faced this his entire career.  He was gunning for major title number 17, which would have moved him closer to Roger Federer’s 20, and Rafael Nadal’s 18, in the race to be deemed the greatest men’s player of all time.

But as journalist John Feinstein put it today, in one of his CBS Sports radio clips, Djokovic suffers from one thing.  While he’s a good guy, and no villain, he isn’t Federer or Nadal.  So he stupidly gets booed.

Well, Tuesday, 3 Roger Federer was done in by a balky back and the play of Grigor Dimitrov, who beat the 20-time Grand Slam champion for the first time in eight tries, scoring a 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory, the biggest of Dimitrov’s career.  The Bulgarian was once No. 3 in the world, but the 28-year-old had fallen to 78.  Now he’s playing in his first U.S. Open semifinal.

So now it’s Rafael Nadal’s tournament to win, Nadal facing 20 Diego Schwartman in a quarterfinal today.

Meanwhile, 5 Daniil Medvedev, the Russian bad boy, defeated Wawrinka in four sets, thus advancing to the semis against Dimitrov, their match on Friday.

NASCAR

--The Southern 500 Sunday at Darlington Raceway had a rain delay of four hours and didn’t end until nearly 2 a.m.  Erik Jones claimed the victory, the most important of his career with his contract status at Joe Gibbs Racing a source of speculation.  So it was an emphatic statement from Jones that he deserved to be part of the team, as he held off teammate Kyle Busch and charging Kyle Larson.  It was Jones’ first victory of the season and second of his career.

So Erik Jones is also one of 14 of 16 drivers to qualify for the 10-race Chase for the Cup, with the final two spots to be determined this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez own the final two now, but Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson are just below the cut line.  Johnson, the 7-time Cup Series champion, still hasn’t won since the spring of 2017.

Stuff

--Division I Men’s Soccer Rankings...Coaches Poll....

1. Wake Forest
2. Indiana
3. Maryland
4. Stanford
5. Duke
7. Virginia
10. Virginia Tech

ACC stacked again.

--From BBC News:

“A notorious magpie whose habit of swooping on passers-by in Sydney led to dozens of complaints was shot dead, prompting an outcry from magpie lovers.

“The local council defended shooting the ‘particularly aggressive’ bird, saying the decision was ‘not taken lightly.’

“The magpie had attacked people in the Hills Shire area of the city, sending some to hospital, local media reported.”

I saw a picture and this bird was huge, and not the same as its European namesake. 

The Aussie magpie becomes aggressive during mating season, going after humans crossing its territory, but its protected by law and can only be dealt with by local authorities.

One resident suffered a heart attack following an attack, Australia’s national broadcaster ABC reported.

“A council spokesperson told ABC this particular bird ‘was very aggressive and uncharacteristically territorial’ and tried to attack people’s faces – going so far as to deliberately try to swoop underneath cyclists’ helmets.”

The magpie was nicknamed the “Windsor Road Monster.”

Understand, as one victim described it, the magpie “swooped three times and hit right side of the head and scratched my face.  He started by coming in at eyeball level – straight on.”

Good lord.  Birds worldwide have become more aggressive.  Look at all the seagull attacks in the U.S.

Top 3 songs for the week 9/7/63: #1 “My Boyfriend’s Back” (The Angels)  #2 “Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh! ( A Letter From Camp)” (Allan Sherman...this was a huge hit back in the day...stayed #2, where it peaked, for three weeks...)  #3 “If I Had A Hammer” (Trini Lopez)...and...#4 “Blue Velvet” (Bobby Vinton...great tune...)  #5 “Candy Girl” (Four Seasons)  #6 “Heat Wave” (Martha & The Vandellas...has held up very well...)  #7 “Mockingbird” (Inez Foxx w/Charlie Foxx)  #8 “The Monkey Time” (Major Lance0  #9 “Blowin’ In the Wind” (Peter, Paul & Mary)  #10 “Hey, Girl” (Freddie Scott...next time we’ll be smack in the British Invasion...)

NFL Quiz Answer: Only team to draft three QBs in the first round who then went on to win a Super Bowl.  Pittsburgh.

Terry Bradshaw, Ben Roethlisberger....and...Len Dawson, who was selected in the first round, fifth pick overall, by the Steelers in 1957, and then went on to win a Super Bowl with the Chiefs.

Dawson did not become a regular until 1962 with the Dallas Texans, who the next year moved to Kansas City.

But the real question should be, “Identify the four Hall of Famers selected in the first eight picks of the 1957 NFL Draft?”

Paul Hornung, 1st, Green Bay
Len Dawson, 5th, Pittsburgh
Jim Brown, 6th, Cleveland
Jim Parker, 8th, Baltimore

And now you know...the rest of the story.....

1969 Mets, cont’d....

The Mets came into Los Angeles for three with the Dodger, who were contending in the N.L. West.

Sept. 1: Mets lose 10-6 as Jerry Koosman was knocked out in the first, 4 earned in just a 1/3rd of an inning, Andy Kosco going 4-for-4, 3 RBI, for the Dodgers. Kosco had been on the Yankees the year before.  Tommie Agee was 4-for-4 for the Mets in defeat.

Sept. 2: The Mets rode Donn Clendenon’s two home runs, Gary Gentry with 6 1/3 to improve to 10-11, as New York beat Don Sutton (15-13), 5-4.

Sept. 3: But the Dodgers took the series finale, 5-4, as Jerry Koosman, yes, him, came back two days later to throw 6 effective innings (3 earned) but the Mets bullpen lost it despite home runs from Clendenon and Agee.

The Mets are 77-56, 5 games back of the Cubs.  Heading home to face the Phils and then the Cubbies in what I suspect will be the beginning of a rather historic stretch.  Just a feeling I have.  I can see into the future.

Next Bar Chat, Monday.

---