All eyes were on the National League Championship banner, which was hoisted up the flagpole during a pre-game ceremony. Out in the right-field bullpen, Kevin Appier was craning his neck to get a look.
“I didn’t see it, I was blocked out,” Appier said. “I was going, ‘Where is it?'”
Moments later, Appier took the mound for the first time at Shea Stadium, carrying with him a fairly large burden. In order for the Mets to claim another one of those cherished banners, Appier will have to come up with enough big-game performances to blunt the free-agency loss of Mike Hampton, a key part of the 2000 champions.
“Hopefully,” he said, “I can have a great year and be a big part of us having a great year.”
He’s off to a good start. In his first game for the Mets, Appier last week gave his new team what it needed, going six innings and allowing only two runs, but he left with no decision in a 3-2 loss in Atlanta. Yesterday, Appier got the call in a situation ranging somewhere between sticky and uncomfortable. Shea Stadium was crammed full as the Mets arrived for their home opener having lost three straight in Montreal, with the opponent none other than the Braves, the team the Mets and their fans love to hate.
This would be the first real chance for Appier to show the paying customers that he could handle all that comes with pitching in New York, and the right-hander was up to the task in the Mets’ 9-4 victory. He allowed a solo home run to B.J. Surhoff in the second inning but then avoided trouble until his teammates routed Kevin Millwood with five runs in the fifth, making life considerably more comfortable.
By the time Appier allowed a two-run homer to Rico Brogna in the seventh, he was already working with a 7-1 lead, coasting to his first victory with the Mets. In his seven innings, Appier allowed six hits and three runs. Of his 105 pitches, 64 were strikes. The Mets, anxious to find a pitcher to replace the innings and the quality supplied last season by the departed Hampton, will take this performance from Appier every game.
“Pretty good, not spectacular,” Appier said of his outing.
The Mets will take pretty good. That is exactly what Appier was last season in going 15-11 for the A’s and what he was this time around against the Braves. Appier walked two, struck out three and was clocked on the Shea radar gun throwing his modest fastball between 84-87 miles an hour. Appier said he thought he was throwing harder and that the Mets’ gun was a bit slow.
“I hope so,” he said with a smile.
Either way, Appier is not going to blow many hitters away, but he was effective enough to make a positive first impression on the Shea faithful.
“I tell you, the crowd was amazing,” Appier said. “I know I’ve pitched in front of bigger, but I don’t know if as intense as this crowd. During the introductions and stuff, the crowd was awesome and during the game they were great.
“This is a big stadium and to see it full like that, it’s incredible. I don’t know if the Mets-Braves thing made the crowd more intense or not, but it was amazing.”