Shickhaus Franks
October 12, 2006
Sat in the picnic area bleachers for the first and only time ever on this night. A friend of mine nicknamed Bunny, btw his real first name was John, but everyone who knew him called him Bunny, got the 4 seats from another person who had won 'em on the late WCBS-FM 101.1. Talk about uncomfortable, I wish the bleachers had backs on them but me, Bunny, another friend Mickey and his brother Billy stuck it out until the final out in a game that saw Todd Hundley playing LF, Mike Piazza didn't play at all (Todd Pratt started at C) and Rick Reed pitching 8 shutout innings and striking out 9. It was also Queens Night and whenever a Mets player got up to bat, they would play the rumbling sound of the 7 train for some reason.

Dave VW
January 18, 2024
The Mets end a disappointing 12-game homestand with an upbeat win, propelled by a 4-run 3rd inning and a terrific outing by Reed. This win snapped a 5-game losing streak to the hapless Pirates, who actually swept the Mets in Pittsburgh back in early June.

Some awful infield defense helped the Mets do all their damage in the 3rd. After Todd Pratt led off with a double, Rey Ordonez tried bunting him to 3rd but the ball slipped past pitcher Jason Schmidt, and then 2B Tony Womack slipped trying to throw to first. With runners on the corners, Reed was up next and he swung away, bouncing one to Womack. Ordonez crossed his path and distracted him for a moment, allowing the ball to go under his glove into RF. After Brian McRae flew out, Edgardo Alfonzo hit one just fair down the 3B line to score two, and then John Olerud grounded one to SS, where Lou Collier misplayed a high bounce. That was ruled a hit but probably should have been an error. Todd Hundley then delivered his first extra-base hit of the year with a booming double to LF to score Alfonzo.

Butch Huskey was up next and he took a couple questionable pitches and struck out looking, and was clearly displeased with home plate ump Bob Davidson. He made it to the dugout, but Davidson heard someone chirping and yelled "Hey Butch! Take a hike!" and threw him out. Butch came sprinting out of the dugout and looked like he would have strangled Davidson if not for Bobby V and Cookie Rojas holding him back. Apparently Butch wasn't the one chirping and was quite angry for being thrown out unjustifiably. It all made for a very eventful inning.

Aside from the 3rd inning, the Mets managed just 1 other hit all game, so it was a good thing Reed was in control. I think he easily could have gone for a complete game shutout too, but Valentine wanted to get John Franco some work before the team headed out on an important road trip. Meanwhile, Schmidt's bad luck continued. He started the year 8-1 but lost his 6th straight decision with this defeat.

Hundley also contributed with his first career outfield assist in this game, throwing out Collier at 3B after the runner rounded the bag too far and got gunned out to end the 5th inning. Very nice to get a victory without Mike Piazza in the lineup, but the win only improved the Mets to 5-7 on their elongated homestand. They've also dropped to 3rd in the NL East and have a tough upcoming road trip in which they play 7 games in 5 days because of two scheduled doubleheaders. It's safe to say, with the trade deadline fast approaching, the next week will make or break the 1998 season.