SAN FRANCISCO --
One by one, the Mets marched into the clubhouse bathroom yesterday, where Carlos Beltran, the $119-million barber, waited with an electric razor. By the time Tom Glavine arrived, many of his teammates already were bald, and the rest were waiting in line to join them.
Only hours away from taking the mound, Glavine was granted an exemption, but he pledged to take his turn after that night's game against the Giants. And when Glavine had wrapped up career victory No. 294, courtesy of the Mets' 4-1 win, he dutifully took a seat and let Carlos Delgado work him over with the clippers.
"He looks ten years younger," hitting coach Rick Down said. "He can pitch until he's 50."
Few would doubt that after watching Glavine handle the Giants last night for seven innings. He allowed seven hits, but the only blemish was a home run to Bonds, who moved closer to Hank Aaron's record with No. 745 in the fourth inning. Glavine (4-1) struck out five in ending a stretch of three straight no-decisions and picked up his first win since April 17.
"I'm happy with the way I'm throwing the ball," said Glavine, who trimmed his ERA to 2.98. "But when you're not winning games, you feel like something's not right."
The Mets backed Glavine with a 4-0 lead after two innings and he was in control from that point in helping the Mets end their two-game losing streak. Manager Willie Randolph earned his 200th win as Mets manager and Bonds closed to within 10 home runs of Aaron. Glavine was fortunate that he just missed another homer.
In the second inning, Bonds fired what amounted to a warning shot in the second inning when he pulled a deep drive wide of the rightfield foul pole and into McCovey Cove. The next time up, Glavine was not so lucky. Bonds hammered the first pitch he saw in the fourth inning – a hanging slider -- and sent the fans scrambling in the right-center bleachers for the historical souvenir.
"In his first at-bat, I threw him a little bit of everything and I didn't throw him a slider," Glavine said. "It got too much of the plate. When he gets his pitch, he's hitting home runs. He's not hitting singles or doubles."
It was Bonds' 10th home run this season, and the fourth career shot off the Mets' lefthander -- but first in more than a decade. The last time was an inside-the-park homer on April 23, 1997 at Candlestick Park.
The Mets, perhaps energized by their buzzcuts, sprinted to a 4-0 lead against Giants starter Matt Cain. But it was Jose Reyes, another of the four that delayed their date with the razor, who sparked the early rally with a double and triple in his first two at-bats.
Reyes led off the first inning with a ground-rule double, and David Wright and Beltran followed with back-to-back doubles of their own to put the Mets up, 2-0. One out later, Moises Alou added a sacrifice fly.
In the second inning, Paul Lo Duca opened with a single and Reyes smashed a two-out triple into the right-center gap. It was Reyes' sixth triple this season, which is tops in the majors, and he moved into a tie with Buddy Harrelson for second place on the Mets' all-time list with the 46th of his career.
Once Wright showed up yesterday afternoon with his head shaved Beltran turned the razor on his teammates. When someone mentioned to Billy Wagner that his cut was ugly, he responded, "Yeah, but I'm rich." Wright insisted this was not some superstitious response to his recent struggles at the plate – he was 3-for-23 on this road trip before last night.
"It has nothing to do with what's happening on the field," Wright said. "I wanted to change it up a little bit. It's getting hot outside. It was nice this morning. Didn't need any gel."
For guys with good hair, like Shawn Green and David Newhan, this was a real sacrifice to team unity. Newhan even hid among his clothes, with only his legs sticking out. "What time do we stretch guys?" Green joked.
Ultimately, the two gave in, and Newhan got especially rough treatment. Beltran shaved the top of his head first, leaving him with a circular halo that players referred to as the "Gallagher" treatment, like the comedian.
"My hair's nothing," Lo Duca said. "But for Green and Newhan, I give those guys props. That took guts."
Predictably, the one person who went nowhere near that bathroom was pitching coach Rick Peterson, whose flowing locks are as much of his identity as the jacket he wears over his uniform. "There's a better chance of me punching out 20 tonight," Glavine said.
It's not like the Mets, at 19-12, needed to change their luck. When Keith Hernandez, Met icon and broadcaster, walked in and saw that John Maine was bald, he couldn't believe it.
"He's 5-0 and shaved his head?" Hernandez said.
Only time will tell if this translates into more victories for the Mets. But there were definitely winners and losers yesterday, even if the players refused to name a Worst in Show.
"Hey Tommy," Lo Duca yelled over to Glavine. "[Mike] Pelfrey looks like Sinead O'Connor."
Ouch.
