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Met Fact and Opinion Relaunched

Edgy DC Sep 07 2005 11:21 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Sep 07 2005 11:41 AM

This was an old thread, of Dickshot design. The idea was to open by listing a fact, great or small, about the Mets. The next poster would respond with an opinion on that fact, and follow immediately with a fact of her or his own, which may well be completely unrelated to the previous fact. For example: Poster 1: Fact: Joe Frazier only managed the Mets for 207 games. _____________________________ Poster 2: Opinion: That was about 200 too many. Fact: Mike Piazza has publicly inisisted he's straight. _____________________________ etc. So I'll re-open. Fact: Ken Boswell set a then-record going 84 consecutive games without an error in 1971.

metirish Sep 07 2005 11:41 AM

Opinion That's impressive because Boswell only played in 116 games in 1971,109 at 2B. Fact On September 7, 1984, New York Mets right-hander Dwight Gooden sets a National League record for most strikeouts by a rookie. Gooden’s 228th strikeout surpasses the record set by Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1911...

Frayed Knot Sep 07 2005 11:47 AM

Opinion: Gooden also may have surpassed Alexander in substance abuse - which was a pretty tough task from what I know about G.C.A. Fact: Met #1 overall draft pick Steve Chilcott was one of only two #1 draft picks never to make the major leagues..

Valadius Sep 07 2005 12:30 PM

Opinion Considering that the first really good #1 pick didn't arrive until 1977, with Harold Baines, the majority of the first picks in that era were hits or misses anyway. Fact Shingo Takatsu is Japan's all-time saves leader.

sharpie Sep 07 2005 12:31 PM

Misguided Met org played "established veterans" instead of giving studs like Chilcott a chance. Jim Hickman was the original Met with the longest tenure on the team.

Edgy DC Sep 07 2005 12:35 PM

Beaten to the punch there, Cal.

sharpie Sep 07 2005 12:59 PM

OK.. Says a lot about Japanese ball. back to my Jim Hickman factoid.

Edgy DC Sep 07 2005 01:13 PM

Opinion: Maybe somebody else would have wanted him had he been more fortunate in his baseball card appearance. Fact: Harvey Haddix joined the Mets coaching staff in 1966. His super-fantastic collossal game (some opinion in there, but I don't know what to call it) of May 26, 1959 was first marred when he walked future 1962 Met Felix Mantilla.

Johnny Dickshot Sep 07 2005 08:12 PM

Opinion: As bad as it turned out, the Mantilla-for--Green/Stallard/Moran trade was completely justified. Fact: The 1970 Mets were 2.5 games out on September 18 when they acquired former CY winner Dean Chance from the Injuns in a waiver deal.

Johnny Dickshot Sep 11 2005 11:49 PM

I thought this was a perfectly cromulent fact.

Edgy DC Sep 12 2005 12:01 AM

Opinion: Stretch-run deals, when they work, seem to work more frequently by "showing the team that management is committed to winning" than by actually adding a player that's more productive than the one(s) he has been traded for or is replacing. Fact: In 1984, the Mets geared up for the stretch run by acquiring Ray Knight, inserting him at third, and moving Hubie Brooks to short to replace Jose Oquendo/Rafael Santana/Ron Gardenhire. Knight would throw up a .691 OPS down the stretch, and Brooks .624. Gerald Young and Manny Lee went to Houston in that deal.

smg58 Sep 12 2005 11:53 AM

Opinion: The Mets front office was clearly thinking two years ahead with that deal. Fact: Cliff Floyd's .355 OBP puts him comfortably in second place on the team, among anybody with more than 100 AB.

Johnny Dickshot Sep 12 2005 01:00 PM

Opinion: I'd feel better if 355 was second-worst. Fact: In order to exit last place, we have to sweep the Nationals this week. 2 of 3 won't cut it.

Giant Squidlike Creature Oct 27 2005 02:27 PM

Opinion: If only the Mets had signed Squid that sweep would have taken place and Squid would be going to Disney World today. Fact: With the Astros taking the pennant this year, the only 1960's expansion teams that have not won a pennant are those that played home games in Washington, DC.

mlbaseballtalk Oct 27 2005 11:37 PM

Giant Squidlike Creature wrote: Opinion: If only the Mets had signed Squid that sweep would have taken place and Squid would be going to Disney World today. Fact: With the Astros taking the pennant this year, the only 1960's expansion teams that have not won a pennant are those that played home games in Washington, DC. Opinion: Says alot about the management of the Rangers and Expos through the years Fact: Since the last time the Cubs won the World Series, not only have their cross town rival White Sox gone on an 88 year long drought between championships (including throwing one) the NFL, NHL and NBA were all formed and a Chicago franchise in all three have won multiple championships

Johnny Dickshot Oct 27 2005 11:45 PM

Opinion: The Cubs won't win it all next year either. Fact: Dae Sung Koo leaves behind a 107 ERA+ and a 283 OPS+

Edgy DC Oct 27 2005 11:57 PM

Opinion: I think he also suffered from the language barrier. Takatsu too. Fact: In 1975, Dave Kingman did this to Houston: G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF XI ROE GDP SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 8 30 8 13 0 1 6 17 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .433 .469 1.100 1.569

MFS62 Oct 28 2005 12:08 PM

Opinion: It took the Mets that long to pay Houston back for John Paciorek. His entire major league career was one game in 1963 against the Mets. But look what he did: http://www.baseballreference.com/p/paciojo01.shtml Fact: During 1962, the Mets used seven catchers. LAter

mlbaseballtalk Oct 28 2005 12:10 PM

Opinion: What do I think of his performance? $#()%$#()$&! -Tom Lasorda Fact: Dave Kingman once sent a female reporter a dead rat

TheOldMole Oct 28 2005 04:25 PM

Opinion: He was hoping rigor mortis had set in -- it would be the only stiff thing he could send. Fact: Wes Westrum had no "take" sign. "Take" was the default; his players needed a sign to hit.

MFS62 Oct 28 2005 05:00 PM

Opinion: Westrum needed more than a sign to hit. His career average was .217. Fact: Hobie Landrith was the firsr player taken by the Mets in their initial expansion draft. Later

Johnny Dickshot Oct 29 2005 07:39 PM

Opinion: Of the expansion draftees available at the time the Mets may have been best off selecting Bob Aspromonte, who would not only perform near league average in '62, but was a 24-year-old from from Brooklyn with a decent glove. Instead we tried starting the year with Don Zimmer at third. Fact: The Mets finally did get Bob Aspromonte and installed him as the starting 3Bman... in 1971.

mlbaseballtalk Oct 29 2005 07:54 PM

Opinion: The Mets of the Payson years loved to get Mets with ties to both the Dodgers and Giants Fact: The very first official (MLB or Mets) release of a complete NY Mets baseball game on DVD is Game 5 of the 2000 WS as part of the MFY Fall Classics 1996-2001 Box Set

Giant Squidlike Creature Dec 15 2005 01:29 PM

Bump These relaunches aren't going well.

Edgy DC Dec 15 2005 01:40 PM

He strikes again!

RealityChuck Dec 15 2005 01:50 PM

mlbaseballtalk wrote: Opinion: The Mets of the Payson years loved to get Mets with ties to both the Dodgers and Giants Fact: The very first official (MLB or Mets) release of a complete NY Mets baseball game on DVD is Game 5 of the 2000 WS as part of the MFY Fall Classics 1996-2001 Box Set Opinions: That's not much of a choice from a Mets point of view. Fact: The last New York Giant and the last Brooklyn Dodger playing in the majors both finished up their playing careers with the Mets. (Willie Mays and Bob Aspromonte, respectively).

soupcan Dec 15 2005 01:56 PM

Opinion: That's simply poetic, and the way it should be. Fact: In the first three World Series the Mets played, The Mets leadoff hitter in each Game 3 ('69 - Agee, '73 - Garret, '86 - Dykstra) hit a homerun in the first inning.

Johnny Dickshot Dec 15 2005 01:59 PM

Opinion: The greatest leadoff hitter for 1 season in Met history was Rickey in 1999. Fact: Pepsi is the "official soft drink" of Shea Stadium.

Yancy Street Gang Dec 15 2005 02:15 PM

Opinion: You should be allowed to bring non-alcoholic beverages into the ballpark as long as they're not in glass bottles. Fact: Timo Perez screwed up a great historical quirk in 2000.

Edgy DC Dec 15 2005 02:18 PM

Largely Held Opinion Almost Qualifying as Fact: That was hardly the greatest of Timo's scew-ups that series. Fact: Eric Valent, Matt Perisho, and Greg McMichael all married women named "Jennifer."

seawolf17 Dec 15 2005 02:31 PM

Opinion: Whoever marries the girl who was my best friend from high school will probably be a borderline major-leaguer someday. Fact: Art Howe and Mo Vaughn both celebrate birthdays today.

Giant Squidlike Creature Feb 02 2006 02:39 PM

Bump!

*62 Feb 03 2006 07:57 AM

Fact: Most MLB players "dress" left. Opinion: Coke is better than Pepsi.

Edgy DC Feb 03 2006 08:05 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Feb 03 2006 09:30 AM

Good play, but the format is that you open by giving an opinon on the last fact, then close by setting up somebody else's opinion with a fact of your own.

MFS62 Feb 03 2006 08:39 AM

Then I'll restart with Wolf's post. Opinion: Mo Vaughn weighed a higher number of pounds than Art had hairs on his head. Fact: Greg Jeffries won two consecutive Baseball America "Minor League Player of the Year" Awards. Later

Johnny Dickshot Feb 03 2006 09:19 AM

Opinion: He deserved them. Fact: Newspapers reported in late 1964 that the Mets could have received Frank Howard had they been willing to part with Ron Hunt in a trade.

Edgy DC Feb 03 2006 09:38 AM

Opinion: If so, they perhaps could've done better by moving him, but they still did well by dealing him before the bloom was off his rose, moving him for (by far) their 1967 MVP, who was then flipped after one season for a top component of their 1969 championship. They probably shouldn't have regrets, even though Howard clearly outplayed Hunt in 1965 and 1966. Fact: Baseball-reference.com lists Frank Howard's playing size at 6'7" and 255 pounds and lists one of his nicknames as "The Capital Punisher."

MFS62 Feb 08 2006 03:45 PM

Opinion: That weight must explain the large, brown, grassless spot in left field in RFK stadium where he played as a member of the expansion Senators. The rest of the outfield was nice and green. Fact: Although Greg Jeffries was twice voted minor league player of the year as a shortstop, he never played that position in the majors. Later

Yancy Street Gang Feb 08 2006 03:47 PM

MFS62 wrote: Opinion: That weight must explain the large, brown, grassless spot in left field in RFK stadium where he played as a member of the expansion Senators. The rest of the outfield was nice and green. Whenever I had such patches on my lawn, it was an indication of where the dog would like to pee. Are you suggesting that Frank Howard would urinate when he was out in left field? Boy, the game has changed! Now the players do their peeing in parking lots.

seawolf17 Feb 08 2006 04:06 PM

Opinion: Maybe if he peed in the field more often, Davey would have let him play shortstop. Bonus Opinion: Mr. Thomas should stay in the "Questions For Frank Thomas" thread and ignore this one completely. Speaking of large outfielders... Fact: Rusty Staub's restaurant closed a few years ago.

sharpie Feb 08 2006 04:19 PM

Opinion: All of this Rusty love didn't translate into votes for my song parody. Fact: Charles Johnson, Joe Randa and David Justice were briefly property of the Mets but never played for them.

Edgy DC Feb 08 2006 04:47 PM

Opinion: David Justice and Ray Knight and Joe DiMaggio all had wives more famous than than themselves. Kris Benson may or may not be in their company. (Stole that opinon from Bill James.) Fact: Tim Burke got a (then) big contract and chose to put much of the douugh toward adopting and raising handicapped children. (That much stays in the realm of fact, right?)