The Mets arrived in Houston to begin a three game series against the Astros today.  During pre-game work-outs in the Astrodome, several Mets players caught up with old friend and former team mate, Tommie Agee, who now patrols left field for the Astros since being traded by the Mets last November.

On the hill, Jon Matlack opened the series for the Mets, opposed by Houston’s Ken Forsch.  Matlack has been struggling through a somewhat rough start, appearing to battle himself more so than opposing line-ups lately.  His troubles continued this evening.  The Astros touched Matlack for a 3-0 first inning lead, then tacked on one more run in the fourth.  He lasted six innings and surrendered eight total hits, of which four went for doubles.  Jon walked four batters, two intentionally, and struck out five.  His earned run average grew to a 4.13 mark.

June 05, 2011; Flushing, NY, USA; The New York Mets logo behind home plate before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. The Mets defeated the Braves 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Andrew B. Fielding-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets bounced back with a pair of runs in the second inning off Ken Forsch.  An RBI double by Jerry Grote scored Wayne Garrett, and an RBI single by Ted Martinez drove in Grote.  But the Mets could muster nothing more against Forsch over his seven innings pitched, nor against Houston’s bullpen which pitched two innings of scoreless relief.  This was Jon Matlack’s third consecutive loss of the season.  His only victory came in the Mets second game.

If you consider that yesterday was an off day, then the fact Cleon Jones has missed the last three games should be distressing.  Mets fans are fearful of any potential missed time incurred by their oft injured left fielder.  Last season, Cleon missed fifty-six regular season games, mostly due to a leg injury.  Cleon last played on April 19th, in both games of a double-header against the Cubs.  Ed Kranepool has been playing left field in Cleon’s place.  Last season, that would have been John Milner‘s role to fill, with Eddie playing first.  But Yogi Berra is firmly committed to keeping The Hammer at first base this season.  And don’t look now, but Buddy Harrelson has also missed the last two games.  Teddy Martinez made a pair of starts in his place.

The series continues tomorrow with Jerry Koosman scheduled to face off against Houston’s Don Wilson.

The now 8-6 Mets currently reside in third place of the N.L. East, 1.5 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Jon Matlack’s impact on the 1973 New York Mets cannot be overstated. Throughout the grinding 6-month campaign, when they needed a big win, he would come through, especially in their penning-winning stretch drive. Following his Rookie of the Year season of 1972, 1973 saw his ERA “balloon” from 2.32 to 3.20, with a 14-16 record in 242 innings pitched. Jon struck out 205 batters and threw 14 complete games, 3 of which were shutouts.

Born on January 19, 1950, in West Chester, PA, the Mets drafted Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack as the 4th pick in the 1967 amateur draft. He made his Major League Debut at age 21 on July 11, 1971. Matlack went 7 innings against the Reds, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and no walks, recording only his 1st strikeout and none thereafter, as well as the 1st Big League home run he ever gave up (after the Mets scored 2 in the top of the 8th to take a 3-2 lead, Tug McGraw got a 1/3 of an inning Hold, before Tom Seaver ironically blew the game and took the loss in 2/3 of an 8th inning pitched in the 5-3 loss.) Jon got his 1st Major League win in the 1st game of a doubleheader on April 23, 1972. Matlack pitched the last 4 innings, relieving Gary Gentry before the Mets pulled away for the 8-2 win.

Jon’s award-winning rookie year must have been a welcome ray of light in wake of Gil Hodge’s sudden death in the spring of ’72. Though they struggled to get above 3rd all year, Jon Matlack went 15-10 with a 2.32 ERA, 169 strikeouts in 244 innings pitched. He threw 8 complete games, 4 of which were shutouts. Matlack completely dominated, leading the voters to award him 19 1st-place votes (Mets outifelder John Milner received 1 for a 3rd place Rookie of the Year finish.)

Though Jon clearly took many hard-luck losses with 16 to his 1973 name, in a race as tight as the NL East was in 1973, those 14 wins counted big-time. Even in April, Jon pitched the Mets to a 4-2 win over the Braves, sending them into an early-season tie for 1st place. When the Mets were starting to slide at 8.5 games behind on June 9th, there was Matlack for another 4-2 victory, this time over the Dodgers. On a 4-game losing streak to start July? Matlack’s got you for a 7-3 victory over Montreal.

Then there’s the 1-0 win over the Dodgers on August 8, the 12-1 win over Cincy on August 18, the 8-6 win over SD on August 28, the 1-0 win over Montreal on September 7, the 3-2 win over Philly September 12, and the 2-0 win over STL to go up by 1 on September 22.

Yeah, Matlack certainly did his part to get the Mets into October.

And there, he won the 2nd game of the NLCS 5-0 over Cincy, shutting them down over 9 innings pitched. He took the hard-luck loss 2-1 in game 2 of the World Series, but got the win in a series-tying game 4.  And of course, Matlack took the loss in the deciding game 7, a start that has always been mired in Monday Morning Quarterbacking, with Yogi Berra starting Tom Seaver in game 6 over a well-rested George Stone.

Jon’s production quality in his remaining Met years went from outstanding to consistent and everything inbetween. He unfortunately was a victim of the wagon steeply falling off the cliff, being traded to the Texas Rangers on December 8, 1977. He had a relatively productive career down there, recording a 3.41 ERA in 158 games pitched with a 43-45 record. Injuries unfortunately got the best of Matlack and he retired in 1983 at only 33 years of age.

Ask anybody who was around when the 1973 New York Mets did their thing, and Jon Matlack still brings huge smiles to their faces. Thank you, Jon Matlack, for you New York Mets legacy.

Let’s. Go. Mets.

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This week’s category: Top Ten Mets Fans Questions Before Opening Day

Mar 11, 2012; Lakeland, FL, USA; New York Mets manager Terry Collins (10) before the the game against the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Well folks, we’re just a weekend away from the most wonderful time of the year: Opening Day. A day when even the dimmest of hopes shine bright. Of course I’m talking about our beloved New York Mets, and with today’s news about Johan Santana that light is flickering even further. So my advice to you, fellow Amazin’s, is to ask yourself these questions before Jonathon Niese’s first pitch. Because you might not have time after.

Top Ten Mets Fans Questions Before Opening Day

10. Can we rent a bouncy house for the Mezzanine?

9. Have they combined Prozac and Xanax yet?

8. Can we count this toward a tax deduction?

7. Think Jon Matlack’s up to filling in?

6. At the All-Star Game, can we replace the Home Run Derby with a Seeing-Eye Groundball Past the Shortstop Derby?

5. Why? (best expressed with this inflection)

4. If the ball leaves the bat at a 60 degree angle, and a jet leaves LaGuardia at 7:40 p.m., does Lucas Duda still make an error?

3. Do you want fries with that?

2. Should we replace “Ya gotta believe” with “I’ll believe it when I see it”?

1. What will Keith Hernandez shave next?

Have something else to add to our preseason checklist? How about next week’s topic? The comments section is all yours.

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