Dodgers Come to New York- 50 Years Later- One Last Time at Shea

Today begins a 4-game series between the Mets and Dodgers at Shea. This isn't just another series, on a number of levels:

1.) This year marks the Dodgers' 50th year in Southern California, having played their last year in Brooklyn in 1957. Owner Walter O'Malley took his beloved Bums out west, having coerced Giants owner to join him out West, in San Francisco, rather than in Minnesota where the Giants were ticketed to move to. Either way, the Giants were going to move, as owner Horace Stoneham was convinced he couldn't make it in New York any longer. He received a good deal to move to Frisco, but not nearly the deal that O'Malley did, which included free land, amongst many other concessions to land in SoCal. Marty Adler, curator/creator of the Brooklyn Dodgers' Museum (and a long-time family friend) keeps the memory of the old "Trolley-Dodgers" alive; however, in hindsight it seems that O'Malley made the right decision to move the team, as attendance was dwindling each season, from 1.3 million in the World Series victory year of 1955, to a low of 633,000 in 1957, the team's last in NY. Without O'Malley's move, the Mets would never have come about, so for selfish reasons, Mets' fans should thank O'Malley in perpitude! That doesn't make him a better man; it does put him in position to create the "hole" that the creation of the Mets would fill in the lives of New York National League baseball fans.

2.) This is the final time that the Dodgers will visit Shea Stadium; their lifetime record versus the Mets is 299 - 242, so if they win at least one game this series, they'll have beaten the Mets 300 times. We've had, of course, many meaningful games against the Dodgers; Sandy Koufax threw a no-hitter against us on June 30th, 1962; in 1988, the Dodgers defeated us, 4 games to 3, in a series where everyone except Tommy Lasorda was convinced we'd have an easy time of it, and instead a bunch of unlikely heroes, from Kirk Gibson to Orel Hersheiser to Mike Scioscia; in 2006, we swept the Bums in the play-offs, only to lose to the eventual World Champion Cardinals.

3.) Mets' owner, Fred Wilpon, grew up rooting for the Dodgers, playing high school baseball with Dodgers legend Sandy Koufax, who remains a close friend to this day. In fact, as we all know, Wilpon's love for Ebbetts Field remains so strong, 50 years after it was vacated and eventually demolished, that the design of his new ballpark, CitiField, is largely based on that of Ebbetts' Field, including the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. The blue portion of the Mets color scheme comes from Dodger influence (with the orange coming from the Giants, of course) and, finally, the Mets' Rookie League team plays in Keyspan Park, in Coney Island, Brooklyn, in homage once again to the teams of Wilpon's youth. The connections between the clubs run deep, and will always remain so.

4.) Dodgers' manager, Joe Torre, of course, employed Mets' manager, Willie Randolph, as a coach on his Yankee teams for many years. Willie is a disciple of sorts of Torre's, and the two men remain close. Torre refused to comment about Willie's job status when interviewed in Chicago, and more than likely won't say much in interviews to be conducted today prior to game one.

5.) Both teams are at crossroads of sorts. We are all aware of the one that the Mets are facing; the one that faces the Dodgers is a bit different. Last year, under manager Grady Little, a great chasm arose between the veteran players and the younger players on the club. The Dodgers are practically two teams- one is veteran-laden, including Kent, Pierre, A. Jones, Furcal, Penny, Lowe and No-Mar; the younger players are led by Loney, DeWitt, Kemp, Ethier, Billingsley, Kershaw and Braxton. This season, they are still working through the transition from a veteran-laden club to one featuring younger players at most of the "key" positions. With the promotion of Clayton Kershaw, and the success of Billingsley, the Dodgers have their "tentpole" to build upon in the rotation; their bullpen is a strength based on the work of Beimel, Broxton and Saito; and their farm system is still laden with players in AA and AAA who are on a path to the majors. They have been a very up and down team this season, much like the Mets, and their two "teams" if you will, have yet to gel correctly. Joe Torre has been known as a "veterans" manager, so he's going to have to alter his approach some time within the next year or so, as vets like Lowe, Kent and Penny are free agents, and their recent free agent signings under GM Ned Coletti, including Pierre, Jones and Jason Schmidt, haven't exactly been what could be deemed as "successful." Other than resigning shortstop Rafael Furcal, their infield next season could consist of 4 players 26 or younger (including catcher Russ Martin) and their team will probably consist of less than 10 seasoned veterans. It will be interesting to see how many of their vaunted players will reach their potential, but after seeing Kershaw live this past Sunday, I can tell you that he, at least, looks like a star whose future is now!

At least Brad Penny is starting tonite, as we have a habit of hitting him hard, and early in the game- let's hope that proves to be true tonite, and that John Maine steps up vs. Kershaw on Friday- if so, this could be the start of something good for this team - FINALLY!

Let's Go Mets!!!!