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Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 16 2013 11:09 AM

Except that douchebag dad in the New York Times.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 16 2013 11:10 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Valdy Muffy Wrighty Byrdy Doodee Bucky Quinty Nieuwy Heffie

Swan Swan H Jun 16 2013 11:16 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Murph takes a chance going for the lead runner, and does it nicely. Yesterday Valdespin looked as if he had never turned a double play before. Being at the game, it was hard to tell whether he just had no time, or didn't manage the turn well.

Swan Swan H Jun 16 2013 11:57 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Speen with a better job there, but Castro just a bit too quick on a slowly hit ball. Hefner makes the Cubs lineup's center fold (ugh), fanning Soriano and Rizzo to keep it 1-0 Cubbies.

Kong76 Jun 16 2013 12:03 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Gonna have to bring in the fences a tad more this winter.

G-Fafif Jun 16 2013 12:06 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

My friend's teenage daughter got to do the "PLAY BALL!" before today's game, so that's a win right there. Not like the Mets have listened to her instructions just yet.

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 12:11 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

One hit and no runs through four innings sounds, as Stevie Nicks says, hauntingly familiar. Let's not do that this time.

Swan Swan H Jun 16 2013 12:13 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

This offense is often on the edge of seventeen straight batters retired.

Carnac the Metnificent Jun 16 2013 12:23 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

A: An underachiever Q: What do you call a pitcher who two-hits the Mets?

Kong76 Jun 16 2013 12:29 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

That three-bad throw sequence has me laughing so hard I have freakin' tears dripping down my cheeks.

Swan Swan H Jun 16 2013 12:30 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Wow. That was straight out of tee-ball.

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 12:31 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

The wrong team is in blue for a home game against Chicago. It's a little disorienting, and I briefly got the notion that two Mets were scoring as the Cubs threw the ball around the park.

G-Fafif Jun 16 2013 12:40 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Marvelous Marv "he didn't touch second, either, Case" game also versus Cubs, also at home, also on Father's Day.

Frayed Knot Jun 16 2013 12:48 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

And who could have foreseen a leadoff double being stranded because no one got the ball out of the infield AGAIN!! (K, Pop-out, Pop-out)

Kong76 Jun 16 2013 12:52 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Frayed Knot wrote: And who could have foreseen a leadoff double being stranded because no one got the ball out of the infield AGAIN!! (K, Pop-out, Pop-out) A rare commodity this year indeed

metsmarathon Jun 16 2013 12:52 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Kong76 wrote: That three-bad throw sequence has me laughing so hard I have freakin' tears dripping down my cheeks. We do that kind of thing all the time on my work softball team. But we're amateurs.

Frayed Knot Jun 16 2013 01:12 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Slight change in M.O., this time it ws the first two guys on and ONE ball left the infield (where it was, of course, caught on the warning track). Same result though.

Frayed Knot Jun 16 2013 01:13 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

At this point I'm barely looking up from the crossword puzzle during these "rallies" because I already know how they're going to end.

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 01:23 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Hey! Buck got on! Third straight leadoff runner for the Mets.

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 01:37 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Top of the order. Big inning for the fathers.

Zvon Jun 16 2013 01:52 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I'll suffer the 9th with youz.

Zvon Jun 16 2013 01:54 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I am not prepared for Met Kabooms! Gimme a sec.

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 01:54 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Thanks, Marlon. We're really good at making an inconsequential late mark. Let's make it consequential.

Zvon Jun 16 2013 01:55 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 01:56 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

A Buckaboom away from a tie game.

Zvon Jun 16 2013 01:57 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I got here just in time for the big tease, didn't I. Or is this a comeback brewing. I forget what they look like.

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 01:59 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Those sliders away have been death for Buck.

Zvon Jun 16 2013 02:00 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Edgy MD wrote: Those sliders away have been death for Buck. And a fastball brings life.

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 02:00 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Oh buntabunta.

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 02:01 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Good bunt, but... for Nieuwenhuis and Cowgill. Let's go, Mets!

Zvon Jun 16 2013 02:02 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Can Newy do-ey?

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 02:02 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

[bigpurple:1d7m4285]KA-FUCKING-BOOM![/bigpurple:1d7m4285]

Zvon Jun 16 2013 02:03 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

AWESOME! METS WIN![/bigpurple]

Kong76 Jun 16 2013 02:03 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Holy crap!

Frayed Knot Jun 16 2013 02:05 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I was giving about one chance in ten of Nieuwenhuis making contact.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 16 2013 02:06 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Take that up your rectum, smug Mets dad. If my dad wete I've today he'd kick you in the vagina.

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 02:06 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Gentlemen --- and ladies --- here's to real pie.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 16 2013 02:08 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Dumb phone. Yay Mets

dinosaur jesus Jun 16 2013 02:08 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Can one inning, one swing, make up for a thoroughly shitty game? I guess it can. Can it make up for a thoroughly shitty year? Probably not, but that was fun.

Zvon Jun 16 2013 02:10 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

dinosaur jesus wrote: Can one inning, one swing, make up for a thoroughly shitty game? I guess it can. Can it make up for a thoroughly shitty year? Probably not, but that was fun. One day at a time with this team. And they just made my day. Fathers day, no less.

dinosaur jesus Jun 16 2013 02:10 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Oh, and Bobby Parnell has as many wins as Matt Harvey.

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 02:13 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

That wasn't a thoroughly shitty game, though. It was an 84% shitty offense. and a 53% shitty defense. The pitching was only 13% shitty. Gotta at least remind yourself that the pitching has been good.

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 02:19 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Also got to give credit where it's due to Terry for the (insane) faith he showed in bunting to set up Nieuwenhuis (and Cowgill). With Davis in Vegas and Tejada on the shelf, Nieuwenhuis is the guy whose redemption would mean the most to the team right now.

Zvon Jun 16 2013 02:21 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Edgy MD wrote: That wasn't a thoroughly shitty game, though. It was an 84% shitty offense. and a 53% shitty defense. The pitching was only 13% shitty. Gotta at least remind yourself that the pitching has been good. I only saw 6% of the game and 100% good shit. From now on I'm only tuning in for innings like that.

dinosaur jesus Jun 16 2013 02:24 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Edgy MD wrote: That wasn't a thoroughly shitty game, though. It was an 84% shitty offense. and a 53% shitty defense. The pitching was only 13% shitty. Gotta at least remind yourself that the pitching has been good. True enough. But the games where good pitching gets wasted are more frustrating than the blowouts. That makes them shittier to me.

G-Fafif Jun 16 2013 02:34 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Take that up your rectum, smug Mets dad. If my dad wete I've today he'd kick you in the vagina. Exactly! Fuck the Cubs. ALWAYS fuck the Cubs.

Zvon Jun 16 2013 02:36 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Do I watch this whole game on replay, or just that last inning again? If below is the only highlight I think I'll just watch that last inning.

Frayed Knot Jun 16 2013 02:45 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

That, btw, was only the 4th [u:1lq1ejzx]1-inning/3-run[/u:1lq1ejzx] save blown all year in MLB. Prior to today there were 125 games where a team brought in a fresh pitcher for a close-out inning with exactly a 3-run lead and in 122 of them that team protected the lead. From my own POV today, because the recent inept displays of hitting general and the extreme ineptness in runners-on hitting in particular that, even after the inning started HR - BB - 1B, I was so disbelieving of even a possible game-tying single coming through that I don't think I've been yanked out of my chair so unexpectedly in a very long time, Hell, I was even going to post a sarcastic comment about how Byrd's shot into the upper deck was so typically meaningless window dressing, but I couldn't even sum up the energy to get off the couch to do it.

Zvon Jun 16 2013 02:55 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Big thnx to Metsgifs for the .gif images.

dinosaur jesus Jun 16 2013 02:59 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Bobby Parnell looks like the villain in a Hercules movie.

Ceetar Jun 16 2013 03:24 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Zvon wrote: this one needs Thor's hammer.

Zvon Jun 16 2013 03:39 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

dinosaur jesus wrote: Bobby Parnell looks like the villain in a Hercules movie. Or G.I.Joe during the "lifelike" hair and beard phase.

Zvon Jun 16 2013 03:42 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Running into some real nice pictures.

themetfairy Jun 16 2013 03:56 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

We listened to this in the car after visiting my parents for Father's Day. Howie was a very happy camper!

dinosaur jesus Jun 16 2013 04:01 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Zvon wrote: dinosaur jesus wrote: Bobby Parnell looks like the villain in a Hercules movie. Or G.I.Joe during the "lifelike" hair and beard phase. So Bobby's beard picks up lint too?

Ashie62 Jun 16 2013 05:21 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

A special day in Metland....love it!

bmfc1 Jun 16 2013 05:23 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

STFU Bob Costas (and thank you Chipper Jones): http://www.amazinavenue.com/2013/6/16/4 ... vilization

Fman99 Jun 16 2013 06:03 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Napped for the first seven innings and then caught the best part of the game.

G-Fafif Jun 16 2013 06:06 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I didn't think a 24-39 team becoming a 25-39 team could inject me with several hours of giddiness. I stand corrected.

Kong76 Jun 16 2013 06:11 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Lifted my spirits immensely too!

Frayed Knot Jun 16 2013 06:17 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Zvon wrote: That's great. ^^^ I was trying to figure out who he looks like with that beard and I think you nailed it. Y'know, in addition to my planned obnoxious comment about Byrd's "meaningless" HR, I was going to throw in a snarky post after the top of the 9th about how Bobby Parnell picked this 'just to get his work in' opportunity to put up a 1-2-3, 6-pitch inning. Needless to say, I was in a rotten mood for about 170 minutes of this 171 minute game.

metsmarathon Jun 16 2013 06:52 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

twice this year we've gone to citi. twice we left early to get in line for the mr. met dash. twice this year the mets won those games on a walkoff homer. clearly there need to be more mr met dash games that i can go to.

Swan Swan H Jun 16 2013 06:56 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

bmfc1 wrote: STFU Bob Costas (and thank you Chipper Jones): http://www.amazinavenue.com/2013/6/16/4 ... vilization Costas is getting destroyed on Twitter, although he probably doesn't subscribe, ya know, 'cause The Mick never tweeted.

Rockin' Doc Jun 16 2013 06:59 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I saw Costas' remarks during a quick cut-in during the US Open coverage. What a arrogant, pompous, self-important, windbag.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 16 2013 07:33 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

The more I read this forum, the more I think I'm out of touch with just about everyone here. 'Cause I agree with Costas, and it's not a Mets thing. A team practically buried in last place, and one of the worst in a 30 team league -- a National laughingstock --wins one game in the longest schedule in organized team sports and celebrates like they're the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team after beating the Russians. And everyone's inured to this because it's become routine. Where's the limit to this? The NFL had choreographed ballets when some wide receiver, his team down by three TD's, caught a first down pass -- until the league put a stop to that by enforcing unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. It's not my world anymore.

Ceetar Jun 16 2013 07:41 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

polite golf claps only. Emotion to be reserved for criticisms about how guys don't care enough.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 16 2013 07:43 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Bob Costas and all other douchebag Cardinals fans in the media can suck my nuts.

Swan Swan H Jun 16 2013 07:47 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Yeah, I agree with everything you said. Well, with the parts about you being out of touch, anyway. A solo homer down five runs - the equivalent of your football example below - should be observed by running at a good pace around the bases and politely shaking hands with the third base coach and next batter. A three run homer to cap a last inning four-run comeback is a different thing.

Frayed Knot Jun 16 2013 07:55 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

batmagadanleadoff wrote: The more I read this forum, the more I think I'm out of touch with just about everyone here. 'Cause I agree with Costas, and it's not a Mets thing. A team practically buried in last place, and one of the worst in a 30 team league -- a National laughingstock --wins one game in the longest schedule in organized team sports and celebrates like they're the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team after beating the Russians. And everyone's inured to this because it's become routine. Where's the limit to this? The NFL had choreographed ballets when some wide receiver, his team down by three TD's, caught a first down pass -- until the league put a stop to that by enforcing unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. It's not my world anymore. At times there occurs obviously pre-planned celebrations that overrun any supposed spontaneity right out of the park (I remember one courtesy of Prince Fielder and the Brewers a few years back); but, at the same time, there's a difference between a play that ends a game--particularly when that play turns what looked like sure defeat into final victory in one brief second--and what the NFL tried to crack down on which were often ridiculous and over-the-top celebrations of a single play within a game that were mostly designed for the sole purpose of calling attention to oneself. Once the game's over, I don't have a problem with whatever they want to do. I was just afraid that Kirk was going to Kendry Morales himself.

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 08:10 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

If being happy at the end of one game makes me wrong, I don't want to be right. I'll write the Costas thing off to bad joke and leave at that.

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 08:13 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I mean, the Royals celebrate walk-off wins with a sexual assault.

Swan Swan H Jun 16 2013 08:17 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Edgy MD wrote: If being happy at the end of one game makes me wrong, I don't want to be right. I'll write the Costas thing off to bad joke and leave at that. It was more than that. He chose to use the US Open broadcast to show highlights of one baseball game in order to make this point. If it was during a roundup of all the games, let's say, it could be regarded as off-handed, but this was his chance to shake his fist. Wouldn't the Red Sox-Orioles game be the choice if he wanted to show highlights of one game for the sake of highlights? Nope. Bob wants these kids and their helmet tossing off of his lawn, and what better audience to show the world the pole up his ass than golf fans?

Mets – Willets Point Jun 16 2013 08:21 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

We do this for fun. Baseball is for fun. Fun, fun, fun.

metsguyinmichigan Jun 16 2013 08:21 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Pssst, Bob. It's entertainment. It's a show. You go to these things for work, but we go for fun. We like it when players do fun things that we talk about. Don't worry, there will still be food in the press box after the little celebration extends your work time a little bit.

Zvon Jun 16 2013 08:33 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

batmagadanleadoff wrote: The more I read this forum, the more I think I'm out of touch with just about everyone here. 'Cause I agree with Costas, and it's not a Mets thing. A team practically buried in last place, and one of the worst in a 30 team league -- a National laughingstock --wins one game in the longest schedule in organized team sports and celebrates like they're the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team after beating the Russians. And everyone's inured to this because it's become routine. Where's the limit to this? The NFL had choreographed ballets when some wide receiver, his team down by three TD's, caught a first down pass -- until the league put a stop to that by enforcing unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. It's not my world anymore. I agree about all that over celebration business. But it's what they do these days. I don't know if it's reflected in baseball video games, or the other way around. It's todays stylin'. This has been going on for years now. If this is how players want to or are told/taught is proper to celebrate then how do you put that cat back in the bag? I just have come to accept it as the way it is these days. Having said that, Costas is a baffoon to use this walkoff as an example. The way it looked to me they celebrated just the right amount, given todays standards and the circumstances.

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 09:13 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Edgy MD Jun 16 2013 09:20 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I just completed a quick survey of every baseball team on the planet ever. and found that 1000% of them would celebrate at home plate at that moment. There's this strange thing around baseball --- for years now --- that Mets celebrations are somehow, by definition, more obnoxious than anybody else's, because they're the Mets. Costas, by the way kind, of bites it with his "A bit of Keystone Kops action early... " --- "early," meaning the bottom of the fifth.

G-Fafif Jun 16 2013 09:36 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I only wish the Mets were so used to winning that they felt compelled to celebrate in a slightly more casual manner. But given how much they've been told they suck -- with good reason -- climbing out of the suckhole as suddenly as they did (even if it was Marmol) deserves a 20-second home plate Mardi Gras. Sometimes the acting like kids gets my old cringer going (for example, the way they take inordinate glee in dressing up like cowboys, hockey players and South Beachers for the team flight when Coach Terry says they can), but then I remember most of them aren't far removed from being kids -- and they all live in something of a state of perpetual adolescence. As for Costas, it's not surprising to find him on a defender-of-the-faith high horse, albeit the kind his mother has to stick a quarter in. (Cheap shot -- but, honestly, fuck him, we just scored four in the ninth.)

G-Fafif Jun 16 2013 09:44 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

And while we're puncturing the pompous, this priceless reply to the Times can't be bothered to go guy: What a shock to the system! The Mets actually won today but sadly it took way too much time for them to even get a run scored and it was during their last gasp in the 9th inning. The Mets are actually a double A team competing in the big league. Well, harumph! I like my baseball games settled by the third "inning," for "runs" tallied later are clearly made available only on remainder.

Edgy MD Jun 17 2013 06:15 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Before his big swing, Nieuwenhuis, I think, had been 1-15 with seven strikeouts since returning from the minors. The guy was swinging for his professional life there. There was every chance that failure would have meant a sad conversation in Terry's office. Anyone who ever had a heart... .

Frayed Knot Jun 17 2013 06:51 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

During the game a few days ago I posted the question (only half sarcastically) whether Nieuwenhuis had even made contact since his return. The answer, as it turned out, was yes, although just barely: 6 Ks + 6 Ground-outs (1 a GiDP) plus an intentional walk. The next day (Saturday) he had that PH single which marked the first time he had gotten a ball out of the infield since April; Sunday's HR four PAs later marked the second time (with a K, Pop-out, and BB in between). So probably not something we should count on as some kind of turning point - even if it was a helluva moment.

Ceetar Jun 17 2013 07:11 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Frayed Knot wrote: So probably not something we should count on as some kind of turning point - even if it was a helluva moment. If there was a turning point, it was the time in the minors working on his K/BB rate. But this might be a nice monkey off his back/confidence moment for him.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 17 2013 07:22 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I totally associate Niuewenhuis with Sunday walkoffs. IIRC he had a key hit and scored the winning run in that first Marlins series too.

Edgy MD Jun 17 2013 07:32 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Turning point, shmurning point. If this season indeed goes nowhere, it's still a heck of a reprieve from utterly drowning in the first half --- even if only a brief one. Getting a losing streak off their backs before the series in which they unveil Wheeler is meaningful. So is a ninth-inning rally after a players-only clubhouse meeting --- a pill which almost never works, but everybody agrees has to work the first time if at all. And again, the guy's major league career, like the team's season, was uttlerly flat-lining. One heartbeat is worthy of celebrating. Last time the Mets had a walkoff-homer victory after trailing by two or more runs in the final inning --- August 30, 1992. Bobby Bonilla took Rob Dibble deep for a three run homer, at a magical place called Shea.

Mets – Willets Point Jun 17 2013 07:47 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I don't see this is a new trend considering that one of the pillars of my Mets fandom was attending the Steve Henderson game when I was 6 years old. That team finished in 5th place with 67 wins and yet what I remember about the game was the exuberance on the field and in the stands celebrating that moment. The joy and optimism found in celebrating the little victories of the Mets, the all-too-human club that resembles ourselves and our sad sack lives, is what made me a Mets fan.

Edgy MD Jun 17 2013 07:58 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

How many six-year olds will this be a watermark for? A lot, I hope.

Frayed Knot Jun 17 2013 07:59 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Yeah, I think Costas would have had more of a case if he decided to trash the whole jump-dance/pie-in-face/pummel-the-run-scorer celebration thing at home plate over some bloop single rather than a bolt out of the blue. A mob following the former might seem more manufactured than one after the latter. Still not quite sure what prompted him to even bring this whole thing up in the first place. For whatever Costas's faults he's a genuine baseball fan and, although I suppose one could make the argument that he's saying this because he's a fan, it still smells more like something I'd expect out of one of the legion of baseball haters in the national sports media.

Edgy MD Jun 17 2013 08:09 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Agreed. As I said above, there seems to be an accepted truth among some fans of NL rivals --- and has been for a long time --- that any celebrating by the Mets is too much celebrating. Because they're the Mets. For decades, it's been "The Mets act like the champions they never were." Once that's your narrative, any such footage can be made to fit it.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 17 2013 09:42 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Odd-- when he's "funny," he's not, and when he's humorless, he's a little funny. A commentator whose every breath didn't bespeak "coasting on long-since-secured laurels" might be able to make something of that sort of thing.

Edgy MD Jun 17 2013 09:53 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I would guess that the likes of Deadspin and Olberman has brought the snarkosphere so much into the ascendancy of sports journalism that one can see this as Costas trying to navigate the new paradigm --- rush to judgment, execute judgment with smug superiority --- and navigating it poorly. The careful reflection which Costas at least once pretended to care about before pontificating would now perhaps be considered a weakness. Hey, Bob, if you can't be yourself, don't be Will Leitch. Be Vin Scully or Joe Garagiola or somebody. Be Jim McKay or Al Michaels.

Frayed Knot Jun 17 2013 09:55 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Speaking of Olberman, he'll be in the studio for TBS's coverage of their portion of this year's post-season. Make of that what you will.

Vic Sage Jun 17 2013 09:55 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

i used to be a bit of an apologist for Costas. He is bright and articulate, and clearly loves the game, and so when he gets on his puritanical high horse, i usually think "well, somebody has to advocate for the game itself; nobody in baseball seems to do so." But this is a just a cheap shot, and niggardly in spirit. I used to think Bob was only small on the outside. By the way, i was at the Steve Henderson game, with my dad. My voice is still a little hoarse from screaming that night.

Edgy MD Jun 17 2013 10:04 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I was wondering where Jim Malone stood on this.

Ceetar Jun 17 2013 10:05 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I felt a little weird about Aarsdma commenting about 'the team needing it' like he was part of much of any of the struggle.

Edgy MD Jun 17 2013 10:10 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Teams win and teams lose, man. And teams absorb national criticism. I'm sure Aardsma's joy wasn't partiucarly diminished because he wasn't a direct participant. Malone's wasn't. Mine wasn't. I'd rather be the hero, but the struggle was everybody's, the joy was everybody's, and the sting of Costas' comment belongs to everybody also.

Fman99 Jun 17 2013 10:30 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I agree with everyone. Bob Costas can go fuck a tiny inflatable doll with realistic crevices.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 17 2013 10:33 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Swan Swan H wrote: A solo homer down five runs - the equivalent of your football example below - should be observed by running at a good pace around the bases and politely shaking hands with the third base coach and next batter. A three run homer to cap a last inning four-run comeback is a different thing. Frayed Knot wrote: At times there occurs obviously pre-planned celebrations that overrun any supposed spontaneity right out of the park (I remember one courtesy of Prince Fielder and the Brewers a few years back); but, at the same time, there's a difference between a play that ends a game--particularly when that play turns what looked like sure defeat into final victory in one brief second--and what the NFL tried to crack down on which were often ridiculous and over-the-top celebrations of a single play within a game that were mostly designed for the sole purpose of calling attention to oneself. Once the game's over, I don't have a problem with whatever they want to do. I was just afraid that Kirk was going to Kendry Morales himself. The irony here is that pitchers who bean batters who slow-pace it around the bases after a HR, without a reasonable suspicion that they've been purposely shown up, annoy me even more. I suppose that the players are free to allow customs to develop as they collectively see fit. It's their game. But I can't reconcile the Valdespin beaning of a few weeks ago, with yesterday's acceptable over-the-top end of game on-field celebration by the Mets team. Yes, it's obvious that one celebration follows a game winning hit and the other didn't even give Valdy's team a tie, but I'm not convinced that this explanation (an observation, really) justifies one over the other. I know that if I was a player on the Mets opponents in either of the two situations, neither of the two expressions of joy would offend me unless I believed that the celebrations were motivated, in part, by a desire to mock me or my team, or rub it in. If it's OK for a team miles away from contention to whoop it up on the field like yesterday's Mets, after a win, then guys like Valdy shouldn't have to expect beanings after cadillacing their HR's. There's not a whole lot of consistency in determining what goes and what doesn't. Sammy Sosa's bunny hop hop out of the batter's box following long blasts is about the most annoying, contrived thing I've ever seen, in any sport. And I'd hate it even more if I was his teammate instead of his opponent because that dance move surely cost him two or three strides. I'm not aware that Sosa was ever beaned for that hop either. MLB should follow the NFL's approach and prevent players from deciding what is and isn't offensive and then self-enforcing supposed affronts like some Old West posse. Everything goes unless the umps say otherwise.

metsmarathon Jun 17 2013 11:11 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

in fairness, the prince fielder choreographed walk-off celebration was genius. pure genius.

Swan Swan H Jun 17 2013 11:25 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I don't want to quote Batmags post strictly for space purposes, but I totally get where he is going there, and don't entirely disagree. Me, I'd be more offended by a guy putting on a show for a solo homer that put his team up 12-2 than one that put them behind 12-2. I guess I feel that in baseball if someone does something that wins a game, it's worth celebrating more than any act during the course of the game. The game is over, we won, and let's enjoy it. baseball, by it's nature, lends itself more to this sudden outburst than football, which rarely has overtime games, and basketball, which has timed overtime. When a hockey game ends in OT the players rush the ice and hammer the goal scorer, and nothing is thought of it regardless of the team's place in the standings. Walk-off wins can only happen at home in baseball, which also plays to the celebration factor a bit. Look, Costas was being a dick. If he was doing a piece on a talk show or a newsmagazine show about celebrations, fine. Provide some historical perspective, and get on with it. This was a cut-in on the US Open in which, repeating myself here, he chose to show one game among the many that had been completed, and he chose it just to make this point. He was playing to an audience of Grand Marquis owners in velcro sneakers, and was waiting for the crowd to raise their liver-spotted fists and shout 'Yer goddamn right.' And most of them probably did.

Frayed Knot Jun 17 2013 01:43 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I also Bats is seeing almost an equivalency in what I see as a gulf-size difference between a display of self-aggrandizement for a play within a game (especially one which may not wind up having any affect on the game) and the reaction to winning a game. It's the outcome the Mets were celebrating yesterday, not Nieuwenhuis celebrating himself for the HR, not for a sack in the middle of the 2nd quarter, or even Valdy's HR in a blow-out. MLB should follow the NFL's approach and prevent players from deciding what is and isn't offensive and then self-enforcing supposed affronts like some Old West posse. Everything goes unless the umps say otherwise. My only reaction to this is that if you're happy with that rule I suspect you're one of the few. To me (admittedly only a casual football fan) it seems like an image-polishing stunt by the league but the line between what's acceptable and what's over the line is far from clear and I don't hear too many hardcore grid fans who like it either. It all kind of strikes me like the federal gov't trying to define what's art and what's smut. Usually unworkable and it makes no one happy.

Zvon Jun 17 2013 02:08 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Just to clarify my opinion. A come from behind (in one swing) walk-off homer is a big deal. It stands way above things like walk-off singles, or even a tied game walk-off kaboom. Emotionally its a mood swing that even the players must experience, maybe even more so. On the other hand, I can't think of any time a player should showboat around the bases (this includes bat tossing) in the middle of a game, regardless of the importance of the home run. Even sticking up your hand with a #1 finger is a bit much IMO, unless the homer literally put the guys team in first place. There are game ending celebrations, and should be. For players, anything within the game (batting wise) should only be celebrated on the path from home to the dugout (example:w/3rd base coach:hi 5 / the guy(s) you drove or the on deck guy:hi-5, handshake or whatevr). And in the dugout they can get more animated if they wish to.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 17 2013 02:17 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Nieuwenhuis to his credit put his head down and ran the bases considerably faster than required for a second-deck, game-winning, 3-run homer to complete an improbable comeback. eff Bob Costas, proof of the decline of western civilization is that people pay him to be on tv at all.

Mets – Willets Point Jun 17 2013 02:24 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Yeah, and he appeared in BASEketball for chrissake!

TransMonk Jun 17 2013 04:40 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

He's sorry: http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/p ... es-to-mets

metirish Jun 17 2013 04:43 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

I like Terry's quote there at the end.

Zvon Jun 17 2013 05:05 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

metirish wrote: I like Terry's quote there at the end. Ha! Worth repeating: Asked if he would have been more concerned with no celebration, Collins said: "If they just packed up their crap and went inside, yeah I'd be a little concerned."

Mets – Willets Point Jun 17 2013 06:19 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

That would be a whole 'nother level of Mets' ennui.

Edgy MD Jun 17 2013 07:21 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Mets Win in Dramatic Fashion, Despair at Awareness That They Are Still the Mets Duda: "It's Not Like That Somehow Makes Fourth Place Cool --- Marcum's Still a BP Pitcher and Frankly, I'm Still A Golem; Fuck It!" Two Hurt in Race to Shower New York (June 13) _______________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________

dinosaur jesus Jun 17 2013 08:19 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

You guys get it. That's why I like coming here. When I hear things like that crap from Costas, my impulse is to get all pontifical (I've won pontification contests; you don't want to mess with me) and say things like "Bob Costas may not care what happens in a Mets-Cubs game. Most baseball fans may not care. But the Mets care, the Cubs care, their fans care, and if something good happens for them in the middle of a miserable season, they have as much right as anyone to celebrate. And where I see the downfall of civilization is in the idea that only the winners matter, that only they are entitled to be excited by a dramatic victory. It isn't only the winners who matter, Mr. Costas. It's all of us--the winners, the losers (who tomorrow might be winners), and the most of us who live somewhere in between. Etc." But you guys already know all that. I did give some shit to an idiot who posted on Yahoo, though. It felt pretty good.

Frayed Knot Jun 17 2013 08:34 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

The more I think about it the more I think Costas simply thought he was being funny. I didn't see the original report (I was in and out of the golf) but those in-event breaks usually give him half-a-minute or so for a rest-of-the-world in sports update so he chose to focus on the hi-light combining the best visual and the best opportunity for a combination old-school admonishment/wise-crack. He missed his mark and probably wasn't prepared for the mini shit-storm that followed but I don't think there was anything particularly malicious about it.

Zvon Jun 17 2013 08:40 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Costas has many positive attributes but I've never considered a sense of humor among them. So you might be right.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 18 2013 08:37 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

From 1998 (the first year of existence for both the Rays nee Devil Rays and Diamondbacks) through 2012, the Mets have hit three walk off home runs -- tied for next to last with the Royals, and better only than the Cubs. The Reds lead in that category/time period with 15 woHR's - five times as many as the Mets. Newy's woHR was only the 7th in franchise history coming with the Mets down by two or three runs. (It's impossible to hit a woHR down by more than three). 8-21-62 Thronebery v Pitt (Face) down 4-2 6-7-1963 Snider v StL (Olivo) down 2-0 6-26-63 Harkness v Cubs (Brewer) down 6-4 6-14-80 Henderson v SF (Ripley) down 6-4 9-5-83 Foster v Phil (Holland) down 5-3 8-30-92 Bonilla v Cinn (Dibble) down 3-1 (throwback night - Dibble rips off his throwback top as he walks off mound while Bonilla circles bases) http://www.baseballnation.com/2013/6/18 ... ool-mother

Frayed Knot Jun 18 2013 08:44 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

batmagadanleadoff wrote: From 1998 ... through 2012, the Mets have hit three walk off home runs -- Three come from behind walk-off HRs

batmagadanleadoff Jun 18 2013 08:47 AM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Frayed Knot wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: From 1998 ... through 2012, the Mets have hit three walk off home runs -- Three come from behind walk-off HRs

Edgy MD Jul 05 2013 01:16 PM Re: Win one for Dad IGT 6/16/13 Cubs @ NYM

Costas backtracks on weak apology. Declares that folks don't get a joke. Of course we got that it was a joke. The objection is that it was a cheap, mean, snotty joke.