If the Mets and Padres play each other in October, the pitching matchups could be fascinating. They have met before.
Ball park vendors yell, "Scorecard, get your score card. Can't tell the players without a score card." While the cry has never been an exaggeration, it never has been more meaningful than it is today. In less than three months, the San Diego Padres may play the New York Mets in the 2007 National League playoffs. The pitching matchups could be fascinating. How about "Pitching for San Diego, number 30, Greg Maddux, number 30." And "Pitching for New York, number 26, Orlando Hernandez, number 26." Wait a second. This happened before. Yes it did. The date was October 23, 1999 when Greg Maddux started for the home team and Orlando Hernandez started for the visitors, but the home team was Atlanta, and while the visitors were from New York, they played in the Bronx, not in Queens. There is more.
David Wells and Orlando Hernandez Are Not Strangers
David Wells and Orlando Hernandez were teammates on the 1998 Yankees. Wells started and won Game 1 of the World Series. El Duque Hernandez started and won Game 2. Against whom? Why, the Padres. In this year's playoffs, Wells could start for the Padres against the Mets' Hernandez. A sidelight is that last night, July 17, Hernandez beat the Padres. The night before, Wells beat the Mets.
Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine --Again
Two of the greatest pitchers in Braves' history are Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. Maddux will be a Hall of Famer as soon as he is eligible, and Glavine will join him, although probably not on the first ballot. In 1995, the only year the Atlanta Braves have ever been World Champions, Maddux won Game 1 of the World Series against the Indians, and Glavine won Game 2. How about the Padres' Maddux facing the Mets' Glavine in the playoffs this October?
Pedro is a Red Sox and David is a Yankee
In a few weeks, the Mets' starting rotation may add Pedro Martinez from the disabled list. Although he pitches for the Mets and was originally signed by Los Angeles, Pedro is a Red Sox. He had his greatest seasons with Boston and helped them win the sixth World Championship in their history in 2004. David Wells pitched only four seasons for the Yankees (1998-99 and 2002-03), but he is a Yankee. Wells and the Yankees have had many, disagreements, but in a moment of truth, even today, Wells cannot help but be a Yankee. How about Pedro, one of the greatest of all Red Sox, starting this October against Wells, the pitcher who had a better YANKEES career than Roger Clemens?
Clemens Goes to the Hall of Fame Wearing a Boston Cap
Clemens, of course, is back with the Yankees. Five years after he retires, the powers at the Hall of Fame will order Roger to wear a Boston hat as a Hall of Famer. The pitcher the Yankees are paying about $1 million a game this year to help them catch the Red Sox will enter the Hall of Fame as a Red Sox. Roger, like Wells, has had two stints with the Yankees, and it was with the Yankees that Clemens, possibly the greatest of all Boston pitchers (think Spahn was a greater Boston pitcher than Clemens?), finally was on a World Championship team.
What Free Agency Has Wrought
Yes, you'd better get your scorecard. Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, and Orlando Hernandez should comprise three fifths of the Mets' starting rotation. They are not as good as they used to be, but they are still effective in today's game. David Wells and Greg Maddux are key starters for the Padres. They too are not as good as they once were, but they are capable of winning key games. And Roger Clemens is once again a Yankee. Ain't free agency great?
