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June 5, 2000
Message from the publisher: Welcome
to Leyden's Log. This will be a weekly or close to weekly column
on the wonderful world of sports. In this column, Tom Leyden,
the creator and braintrust behind the STT Sports Talk radio program
(on WEVD, New York, 1050AM), will be throwing in his two or three
cents on a subject that most decent American males live and die
for. Since I have very little to offer on this subject and will
therefore always be marginalized in American society, Tommy has
graciously offered to step in to add a level of legitimacy and
American-ness to CasaJP 2000 .
FINAL THOUGHTS: By Tom Leyden
Tonight I'm going to focus on the New York
Mets and tell you why June is the most pivotal month of their
season.
The Mets took two of three to start the
month, even though they looked terrible in yesterday's 15-5 loss
to Tampa Bay. Now the time has come for them to step up.
Start it off with the current series against
the Orioles. Baltimore comes in 8 games under .500 at 23-31.
The Mets send Mike Hampton, Rick Reed and Glendon Rusch to the
hill in this series. They have to win two out of three, but should
sweep. That would send them to Yankee Stadium with a 34-25 record.
After this weekend's Yankee series, which
could be a significant boost if the Mets win two, New York needs
to start beating up on weak competition. They start at Wrigley
Field for a two game slate against the Cubs, who are 22-35 today
and in second-to-last place in the NL Central. Win both!
After the Chicago road trip, the Mets go
to Milwaukee to play the Brewers. The Brew Crew is a game and
a half ahead of the Cubs at 23-33. New York has to take two of
three.
Then the Mets come home for a pivotal homestand.
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Florida are the first three teams
to Shea. Right now their combined record is 71-94. The Mets need
to take seven of nine.
And then the Atlanta Braves, who may or
may not even have John Rocker with them. This is the big one
-- a four game slate to end the 13-game homestand. The Mets really
should take three of four to be considered legitimate contenders.
There it is. 26 games, with a realistic
shot of going 20-6. They better go 20-6, or something close,
because take a peek at the July Schedule.
The Yankees, the Red Sox, the Blue Jays,
the Expos, the Cardinals and the Braves... this time in Atlanta.
Time to start singing June's tune.
And that's my final thought.
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