Shea Good-Bye

To many New Yorkers who came of age in the 1980s as Mets fans, Keith Hernandez is the Mets. Two decades after his last game in a New York uniform, the first captain in Mets history is still with them, literally. He's spent most of the last decade in the broadcast booth at Shea Stadium watching the rise and fall of the club and, just as he did when he played, calling it as he sees it. Opinionated, funny, urbane, and unafraid to poke holes in the team or himself, Hernandez is a master at relating the unseen game on the field. The subtle movements and positioning that even the most avid fan can't recognize are easily spotted by the sharp eyes of "Mex." Hernandez has the ability to translate his prodigious baseball achievements as a player into an unrivaled understanding of the game on the field. His acerbic wit and sense of humor are mixed with a pointed, no-nonsense assessment of what he's observing. Shea Good-Bay carries on the high standards of Hernandez's earlier best-selling books. He recalls Shea Stadium both fondly and matter-of-factly in its last year of existence, lamenting the loss of the stadiums he knew, replaced with flashier bandboxes that favor home runs and negate strategy. He looks at the 2008 season and all the hope that arrived with the Johan Santana deal and how much of the optimism went out the window with the team's stumble out of the gate. He speaks frankly on the taint of steroids in the Mitchell Report and how the game has been compromised, as well as the firing of Willie Randolph. Shea Good-Bye looks at the past, present, and future of the Mets and baseball with reflection, insight, and smiles. Only someone who has controlled the carnivorous New York press fromhis locker--crossword puzzle in hand--can explain what is expected of a ballplayer and a ball--club in New York. It isn't for everybody, and no one has lived the life of a New York ballplayer like Keith Hernandez.