THE ANSWER IS...

Yesterday's Daily Mets Quiz asked, what Mets pitcher opted to warm up from the bullpen mound at Shea, thus changing forever the way starting pitchers got loose before games?
The correct answer is c) Jack Fisher
At 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, he was affectionately known as “Fat Jack.” And he appeared to eat innings as much as he did food, throwing 227 in 1964 and 253.2 in 1965. But warming up from a mound instead of flat ground before starts didn’t help Fisher much, who in 1964, Shea Stadium’s first year, went 10-17 with a 4.23 ERA. In 1965, went a woeful 8-24, then improved the next year to 11-14. But in 1967, he reverted to his losing ways, going 8-17.

The other options…

a) Roger Craig
The man who started the first game in Mets history piled up losses like they were going out of style in just two seasons, but never pitched at Shea as a Met. He led the Mets with 10 wins in 1962 – and in losses, with 24, a team record Mets fans hope will never be equaled or broken. Craig almost equaled his losses record in 1963, losing 22 games and winning only five.

b) Al Jackson
Mets legendary broadcaster Bob Murphy often referred to the 5-foot-10, 169-pound lefty as “Little Alvin Jackson.” He pitched for the Mets in both the Polo Grounds and Shea. After losing 20 games along with Craig in 1962, he won a career-high 13 games in 1963 en route to a respectable 13-17 season with a 3.96 ERA. In Jackson’s first season as a Met at Shea, he went 11-16, then the next year reverted to 20-game loser form, going 8-20. Jackson even returned to the Mets in the World Championship year of 1969, making nine relief appearances.

d)Warren Spahn
The Hall of Famer who started more games than any other lefty in Major League history was briefly a Met in 1965, after pitching for both the Boston and Milwaukee Braves. Spahn, who won 363 games, but by the time he wore the orange-and-blue was long past his prime, went just 4-12.

DAILY METS QUIZ

Today’s question is about pitching.
When Shea Stadium opened in 1964, it was one of the first venues in which the bullpens were behind the outfield fences and had mounds to throw off of.
In earlier days, pitchers warmed up on flat ground, in a circle near the dugout. What Mets pitcher opted to warm up from the bullpen mound, thus changing forever the way starting pitchers got loose before games?

a) Roger Craig

b) Al Jackson

c) Jack Fisher

d) Warren Spahn

Check here tomorrow for the answer.

THE ANSWER IS...

Yesterday’s Daily Mets Quiz question was:
If Carlos Beltran had hit one into the right-center gap for an extra base hit that would’ve cleared the bases and given the Mets a miraculous 4-3 win in Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series, who would’ve scored the winning run?

The correct answer is b) Anderson HernandezHernandez was the runner at first base, having entered the game as a pinch-runner for slow-footed catcher Paul LoDuca, who had walked. Hernandez, who last year was traded to the Washington Nationals for reliever Luis Ayala, began the 2006 season as the Mets’ starting second baseman because Kaz Matsui was on the disabled list. Hernandez flashed a great glove, excellent range and great speed, but didn’t make much contact at bat.

The other options…

a) Julio Franco
The then-47-year-old pinch hitter batted .273 and swiped six bases on the year and his beating out what appeared to be a sure double-play grounder in Game 2 of the 2006 National League Division Series got the Mets a much-needed run in a close win over the Dodgers. But in the 2006 NLCS, he batted only twice and struck out both times. He didn’t appear in Game 7.

b) Endy Chavez
The man who made perhaps the most memorable great catch in Mets history, robbing the Cardinals’ Scott Rolen of a two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning of Game 7, represented the tying run in the bottom of the Mets’ ninth. He had singled, advancing the previous batter, Jose Valentin to second base. Valentin and Chavez both would be stranded in scoring position.

d) Michael Tucker
The veteran spare parts outfielder acquired as a bench piece during the 2006 season, pinch-hit in Game 7. He led off the bottom of the seventh inning, batting for pitcher Chad Bradford and flied out.

METS NEWS: WITH CASH FLOW, LOWE WANTS MO'

So the chase is on.
Or is it?
The way super-agent Scott Boras has often used teams to bid against themselves, who knows if the Mets' rivals, the Braves and Phillies really are interested in Boras's last remaining big-money client, pitcher Derek Lowe.
The Mets are reported to have offered Lowe a three-year, $36M deal, which he turned down. Tonight on MLB Network, John Heyman reported that Lowe seeks at least $16M per season -- a hefty price, given Lowe's age, 36. Mets' General Manager tonight confirmed on MLB Network, the Mets' interest in Lowe and other free agent starting pitchers.

DAILY METS QUIZ

Today’s question involves what might have been.

Let’s go back to that fateful rainy October 2006 night at Shea Stadium, for Game 7 of the National League Championship Series against the Cardinales. Mets batting in the bottom of the ninth inning trailing, 3-1, bases loaded, two outs, Carlos Beltran batting.
If Beltran hit one into the right-center gap for an extra base hit that would’ve cleared the bases and given the Mets a miraculous 4-3 win, who would’ve scored the winning run?

a) Julio Franco

b) Anderson Hernandez

c) Endy Chavez

d) Michael Tucker

The answer will be revealed tomorrow...

NL UPDATE: EX-D-BACKS' CEO CLOSE TO AGREEMENT TO BUY PADRES

Hard to believe that just eight years ago, Jeff Moorad (left) was helping broker a deal with his client, first-baseman Mo Vaughn to be traded from the Angels to the Mets.

Vaughn, who now is helping improve the living conditions of New York low-income residents through a development company he owns, lasted just more than one fiasco-laden season with the Mets and exited the baseball stage after the 2003 season. Moorad quit representing players and became a big-time ownership player, become a partner and then CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Moorad's biggest career move to date is unfolding, as San Diego Union-Tribune sportswriter Tom Krasovic explains, as he is nearing a purchase of the Padres from their owner, John Moores.

Read more here: uniontrib.com

THE ANSWER IS...

Yesterday's quiz asked: Who was the last Mets pitcher to homer in a game?
The correct answer is c) John Maine
He may have a lifetime batting average of .093, but on the night of Tues. July 24, 2007 at Shea Stadium, Maine blasted a two-run shot off the Pirates’ Ian Snell in an 8-4 Mets win. The runner who scored ahead of Maine was Lastings Milledge, who infuriated the Pirates by wind-milling his right arm as if to wave Maine home. Milledge was plunked in his next at-bat, but later homered himself.

The other options…

a) Steve Trachsel
He may have taken forever between throwing pitches and he needed a ton of offensive support, but the man could hit. In the 2006 season, Trachsel hit his only homer as a Met. It came June 20, off the Reds’ Elizardo Ramirez in a 9-2 Mets win.

b) Mike Hampton
Mets fans may loathe him for leaving Flushing for Colorado as a free agent after his only Mets season in 2000, but despite his injury-riddled years that followed, Hampton was the Majors’ best hitting pitcher. He ripped seven homers in 2001 and has 15 in his career, more than any other active pitcher. But he didn’t have a single extra base hit as a Met, while hitting .274.

c) Doc Gooden
The man who at age 20 seemed destined for the Hall of Fame before years of battling substance abuse, hit eight homers in his career, seven as a Met. His last blast was in 1999, playing for Cleveland in an inter-league game against the Cincinnati Reds, off Steve Parris. Perhaps it was foreshadowing – Parris would be the starting pitcher the Mets would defeat later that season in the 163rd game Wild Card tie-breaker.

The Daily Mets Quiz returns later today...