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SteveJRogers
Apr 10 2008 09:11 PM
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Met Pregame notes on the MLB Press Box web portal
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SteveJRogers
Apr 10 2008 09:12 PM
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[url:2bj7qrin]http://presspass.mlb.com/mediapp_teamselect.asp[/url:2bj7qrin]
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Valadius
Apr 10 2008 09:14 PM
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Steve is right. FaFiF did theirs just for fun.
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G-Fafif
Apr 10 2008 10:07 PM
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SteveJRogers
Apr 11 2008 02:58 PM
Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Apr 11 2008 06:13 PM
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Date 4/11
Opponent Brewers
Number Removed 79
Remover Members of the New York Mets Kids Club
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
I'm going to take a wild guess and say they were founded in 1978 or something like that.
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AG/DC
Apr 11 2008 03:02 PM
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Hey, Mets. Is there a way to put this delicately but clearly? Jane Jarvis can't wait forever.
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Kong76
Apr 11 2008 03:04 PM
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What's she waiting for?
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sharpie
Apr 11 2008 03:06 PM
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I'm available for number peeling. I did attend a game (my first baseball game) in 1964.
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AG/DC
Apr 11 2008 03:11 PM
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| ="KC"]What's she waiting for? |
Well, I'm waiting for her to get a little resepect while she's still breathing, and a call to peel some numbers would be an appropriate step.
And maybe she'll sit down at the keys for a little "96 Tears" action if she's up for it.
For Game 78, Faith and Fear says, "Wrong: Bob Mandt and Pete Flynn are our boys."
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SteveJRogers
Apr 11 2008 03:22 PM
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Well, I'm waiting for her to get a little resepect while she's still breathing, and a call to peel some numbers would be an appropriate step.
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I forget what year it was, but they did trot her out for either an OTG or 69 Met reunion or a Metly anniversary thing, so they have given her respect through the years, no need to be Edgy about it.
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Benjamin Grimm
Apr 11 2008 03:25 PM
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="AG/DC":5tv8mt1v]Hey, Mets. Is there a way to put this delicately but clearly? Jane Jarvis can't wait forever.[/quote:5tv8mt1v]
They should also invite Lorinda de Roulet.
I'd like to think that, as Mrs. Payson's daughter, she'd get some polite applause. I'm at a point where I can forgive her for the late 70's.
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Kong76
Apr 11 2008 03:32 PM
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I guess I meant was there some significance to Jane not being #80, or #79
or whatever. There's still 75 odd games left, wouldn't being #3 or #1 be more
of an honor ... or is this list of who will be when already published and Sjeets is
just running his own countdown?
I'm sorry if these are dumb questions, I haven't been reading much.
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SteveJRogers
Apr 11 2008 03:34 PM
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="Benjamin Grimm":1joatv4s]="AG/DC":1joatv4s]Hey, Mets. Is there a way to put this delicately but clearly? Jane Jarvis can't wait forever.[/quote:1joatv4s]
They should also invite Lorinda de Roulet.
I'd like to think that, as Mrs. Payson's daughter, she'd get some polite applause. I'm at a point where I can forgive her for the late 70's.[/quote:1joatv4s]
If Grant was still kicking and they invited him, how would you react?
I see the point about the de Roulets as they were just clueless about the sport, Grant was just an ego maniac and an all around POS.
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SteveJRogers
Apr 11 2008 03:36 PM
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="KC":9lxirjrk]I guess I meant was there some significance to Jane not being #80, or #79
or whatever. There's still 75 odd games left, wouldn't being #3 or #1 be more
of an honor ... or is this list of who will be when already published and Sjeets is
just running his own countdown?
I'm sorry if these are dumb questions, I haven't been reading much.[/quote:9lxirjrk]
RMPL! =;)
Yup, these are straight from the Mets Pre-Game press notes which can be seen on MLB.com's Press Box portal.
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AG/DC
Apr 11 2008 03:42 PM
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="KC":1qc84m46]I guess I meant was there some significance to Jane not being #80, or #79
or whatever. There's still 75 odd games left, wouldn't being #3 or #1 be more
of an honor ... [/quote:1qc84m46]
Only, Ms. Jarvis is in her 93rd year.
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G-Fafif
Apr 11 2008 03:43 PM
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Members of the Mets Kids Club is a nice symbolic nod toward the future, and one of them might grow up and say, "You know what I once did? I helped count down the final season at Shea Stadium." I was at one of my meetings of New York Baseball Giants nostalgists and dead-enders last night and if any of them had helped close down the Polo Grounds, I know they would hold it dear.
But what it does for the fans in the stands tonight -- just like what the Lincoln Mercury regional managers unveiling a number did for the fans last night, quid pro quo and all -- I don't know, though it certainly saves time and airfare for the Mets on thinking up and flying in special guests who have something to do with the history of Shea Stadium. Hell, I figured they'd mostly alternate between Howard Johnson and David Wright for five months.
Not a biggie in the course of a long season, but if you're going to do it, do it right (thus the Countdown Like It Oughta Be).
http://faithandfear.blogharbor.com/blog ... 91341.html
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SteveJRogers
Apr 11 2008 03:45 PM
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I wonder if they'll have Seaver pull 41 or will they save him for #1?
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Nymr83
Apr 11 2008 05:17 PM
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| ="G-Fafif"]Members of the Mets Kids Club is a nice symbolic nod toward the future <snip>
But what it does for the fans in the stands tonight -- just like what the Lincoln Mercury regional managers unveiling a number did for the fans last night, quid pro quo and all -- I don't know <snip>
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Well having kids out there makes the fans not go "ughh who is that guy" the way some corporate sponsor might.
to steve- i'd use Seaver for 41, for the last game at shea i'd turn to the decendants of Joan Payson and William Shea.
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G-Fafif
Apr 12 2008 03:36 PM
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77 in real life: Some corporate tool from Citi. (OK, I can't guarantee he's a tool; might be a real fine fellow...but the Citi grim reaper given the honor of participating in the Shea countdown? Cringe.)
77 from the Faith and Fear Countdown Like It Oughta Be: Organist Jane Jarvis, songwriters Bill Katz and Ruth Roberts of "Meet The Mets" fame.
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Apr 12 2008 03:38 PM
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Let's not kid ourselves. That guy's a complete tool.
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HahnSolo
Apr 12 2008 07:38 PM
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Not surprisingly, GFafif's list is blowing away the real life list. Could we get at least one ex-Met on this first homestand?
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AG/DC
Apr 12 2008 10:43 PM
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Or can we get G-Fafif on the staff for the Mets?
You see the copy he's writing for them for free?
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Triple Dee
Apr 13 2008 06:38 AM
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Well, why not.....if Cerrone can get a gig on SNY for the 4-5 lines of "thoughts" he publishes each day.
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G-Fafif
Apr 13 2008 10:28 AM
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Their 76: the two kids who are the new hosts of <i>Kids Clubhouse</i> on SNY. They won their jobs in a contest and have hosted two episodes.
Our 76: Duncan Wagner, son of Mayor Wagner; and Lorinda de Roulet, daughter of Joan Payson (with namechecks in prepared remarks to the apparently defunct firms of P.J. Carlin and Thomas Crimmons, building contractors, and Praeger-Kavanaugh-Waterbury, Shea architects; chief engineer Rick Praeger alive but ailing, according to the <i>Times</i>).
I can't quite remember the exact line, but in <i>Blades of Glory</i>, Hector the Stalker tells Jimmy the figure skater that obsessive fans are better suited to certain jobs than the people who are hired to carrying them out.
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Kong76
Apr 13 2008 11:21 AM
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TD: >>>if Cerrone can get a gig on SNY for the 4-5 lines of "thoughts" he publishes each day<<<
He certainly has parlayed those "thoughts."
I feel bad for Ms. Met, should be her in the spotlight.
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Apr 13 2008 12:24 PM
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| ="The Unholy Alliance of Matt Cerone and Ms. Met aka MsMetBlog"]The catcher is the most important player ... of everyone on the team ... because it's NOT just offense ... it's defense!!! .... |
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Triple Dee
Apr 14 2008 06:42 AM
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| ="KC"]TD: >>>if Cerrone can get a gig on SNY for the 4-5 lines of "thoughts" he publishes each day<<<
He certainly has parlayed those "thoughts."
I feel bad for Ms. Met, should be her in the spotlight. |
Mrs Met became persona non grata, after details of her affair with Karl Ravech became known.
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seawolf17
Apr 14 2008 09:03 AM
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Seriously, though. Who hasn't slept with Karl Ravech?
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metsguyinmichigan
Apr 14 2008 09:30 AM
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="Benjamin Grimm":233d23j6]="AG/DC":233d23j6]Hey, Mets. Is there a way to put this delicately but clearly? Jane Jarvis can't wait forever.[/quote:233d23j6]
They should also invite Lorinda de Roulet.
I'd like to think that, as Mrs. Payson's daughter, she'd get some polite applause. I'm at a point where I can forgive her for the late 70's.[/quote:233d23j6]
I don't have too much hate for the deRoulets. They clearly didn't know what they were doing. But the team was so special to their Mom that I bet they just didn't want to give it up -- until a couple years later when they realized how far in over their heads they were.
If I were thrust into taking over my Dad's business, I'd be equally in over my head.
As for Grant, he was just incapable of changing with the times. They game had totally passed him by. That doesn't make him a bad person, just a guy who should have retired long before he did.
The real villian of that era was the bastard Dick Young, whose obit proudly hung laminated on my fridge for years as a reminder on those really bad days that, well, at least Dick Young is dead and the world is a better place for it.
Not that I hold grudges. Much.
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Benjamin Grimm
Apr 14 2008 09:32 AM
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I doubt they'll be inviting Grant to Shea for the countdown, though, since he's dead at the present time.
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metsguyinmichigan
Apr 14 2008 09:38 AM
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="Benjamin Grimm":3jy6fjag]I doubt they'll be inviting Grant to Shea for the countdown, though, since he's dead at the present time.[/quote:3jy6fjag]
And his obit didn't go on the fridge. See, no grudge.
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AG/DC
Apr 14 2008 09:42 AM
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You're being kind to the DeRoulets, I think. I know Mrs. Payson's son, John Whitney Payson --- who did have a head for business --- wanted little to do with the team. Lorinda ended up in charge, but the way she ran the team on austerity suggests that she was always preparing to sell it.
John sold the prize of his mother's art collection, Van Gogh's "Irises," in 1987, during a huge boom in the art market, as well as coming changes in tax law, presumably making it more difficult to use a non-profit foundation to finance an art collection. I don't want to paint him badly, but the guy's business specialty seemed to be to know when to fold 'em.
Lorinda's specialty seemed to be getting jobs and dates for her daughters.
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batmagadanleadoff
Apr 14 2008 10:04 AM
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="AG/DC":3pxulpw5]Lorinda's specialty seemed to be getting jobs and dates for her daughters.[/quote:3pxulpw5]
I'll date a Payson. I'd even take a jobless Payson. Or even a dead one. I don't care. See? I'm not picky. Who's available? And where do they keep their oodles of cash?
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batmagadanleadoff
Apr 14 2008 10:16 AM
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What would a Payson girl need a job for anyway? If she was with me, she'd never have to work. I'd show her how to spend her money. Our money.
Edit: Goodbye Steve Bieser. Hello Wes Gardner.
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G-Fafif
Apr 14 2008 11:04 AM
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Lorinda's name pops up as a contributor to the campaigns of moderate-leaning Republicans in the tri-state area, including former Congresswoman Sue Kelly and N.J. Senate candidate Tom Kean Jr. She was on the field at Shea for Bob Murphy Night.
BML: By now there's probably a legal de Roulet granddaughter in there somewhere who could use your financial guidance, so to speak.
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batmagadanleadoff
Apr 14 2008 11:16 AM
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Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Barely legal DeRoulets.
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themetfairy
Apr 14 2008 11:17 AM
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="batmagadanleadoff":32oiumo7]Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Barely legal DeRoulets.[/quote:32oiumo7]
This is the funniest Sacred Seaver Post EVER!!!!
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metsguyinmichigan
Apr 14 2008 01:15 PM
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Hail!!!!
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soupcan
Apr 14 2008 01:18 PM
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HAIL!
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metsguyinmichigan
Apr 14 2008 01:32 PM
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="AG/DC":t7m3kwtj]Lorinda wasn't the only De Roulet who people felt was in over their head.
http://books.google.com/books?id=VzfBlI ... 9Zvw&hl=en[/quote:t7m3kwtj]
Whoa!
I remember the daughters, Whitney and BeBe?, posing for silly photographs with the mule mascot -- which did not help in my defending the Mets to my fellow junior high classmates.
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Benjamin Grimm
Apr 14 2008 01:43 PM
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I'm confused, and I'm also not remembering my Mets genealogy as well as I might.
Vincent De Roulet married a Whitney?
I know that Joan Whitney married a Payson, and her daughter, Lorinda, married a De Roulet.
Was Lorinda the Whitney they were referring to? (Her name was never Whitney, but she was a member of the Whitney family, of course.)
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AG/DC
Apr 14 2008 01:48 PM
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Vincent De Roulet married the former Lorinda Payson, who was a Whitney on her mother's side and and a Payson on her father's.
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Benjamin Grimm
Apr 14 2008 01:50 PM
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Okay, thanks. That's what I thought.
I had completely forgotten the name of Mrs. de Roulet's husband.
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AG/DC
Apr 14 2008 01:56 PM
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How do you address the Christmas card?
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Benjamin Grimm
Apr 14 2008 02:00 PM
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"Yo, peeps!"
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SteveJRogers
Apr 14 2008 04:38 PM
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Date 4/12
Opponent Brewers
Number Removed 78
Remover Some Corporate Suit from Citi Corp.
To quote Billy Walsh, SUITS SUCK!
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SteveJRogers
Apr 14 2008 04:46 PM
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Date 4/13
Opponent Brewers
Number Removed 77
Remover Hosts of SNY's Kids Clubhouse, Gabe Cohen & Caitlin Fichtel
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SteveJRogers
Apr 14 2008 06:18 PM
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avi
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SteveJRogers
Apr 14 2008 06:41 PM
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avi again!
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themetfairy
Apr 14 2008 07:42 PM
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The Phillies were so much better than this when they closed down the Vet.
I hate the team, but the organization knows how to do things right.
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HahnSolo
Apr 15 2008 08:41 AM
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Still unresolved: will we actually get a Met, or ex Met, to unveil the number on this homestand?
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Nymr83
Apr 15 2008 08:51 AM
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the real problem wit hthis "reveal the number" thing is that, unlike the orioles with ripken's streak, we aren't counting up towards a good thing but down towards a bad one.
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Benjamin Grimm
Apr 15 2008 08:54 AM
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I think we're supposed to see it as a good thing, as a countdown to Citi Field, but I'm with Namor. It's a countdown to the demise of Shea Stadium, and I see that as a bad thing.
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HahnSolo
Apr 15 2008 09:24 AM
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If you do it properly, by honoring and remembering people and events from Shea's past, I think it is a good thing.
Look at G-Fafif's countdown like it oughta be. It can be done right, it's just that, after 6 games, it appears the Mets are looking at this more as a promotion opportunity for their sponsors and properties than a truly cool event fans can wrap themselves up in.
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Frayed Knot
Apr 15 2008 09:32 AM
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The hope is that if they're going to use corporate tools and connected folks for this number flipping stuff, at least they're getting them out of the way early. Better that then;
'And now, the honor of turning over the final number in the history of Shea Stadium ... the chairman of Dunkin' Donuts, Fritz McGoggle!! ... and remember, the world runs on Dunkin'
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SteveJRogers
Apr 15 2008 04:34 PM
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| ="HahnSolo"]Still unresolved: will we actually get a Met, or ex Met, to unveil the number on this homestand? |
Your answer, TONIGHT!
Odd that it isn't Rachel, but
Date 4/15
Opponent Nationals
Number Removed 76
Remover The Glider, 3Bman for your 1969 World Champions, Ed Charles!
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Gwreck
Apr 15 2008 10:39 PM
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I didn't get to the game in time but I'm told someone from the Robinson family/foundation accompanied Ed Charles for the removal of #76.
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G-Fafif
Apr 16 2008 01:59 PM
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Was thrilled to see the Glider at 75 last night. Way to go, Mets.
Our 75 was Rachel Robinson for the eleventh anniversary of the original Jackie Robinson Night (which, in turn, marked the 50th anniversary of Jackie's big day). And in CLIOB world, she was escorted to her peeling by Lance Johnson, Armando Reynoso and Toby Borland, stars of the game on 4/15/97, and two Mets who wore 42 specifically for Jackie: Butch Huskey (then) and Mo Vaughn (later; both were singled out by Bud Selig on the big night).
Tonight's 74 in real life is Howie Rose, a fine choice just about anytime.
Our 74, and a mildly controversial choice it was, went to a trio of Mets-turned-Nationals: Paul Lo Duca accompanied by Manny Acta and Lastings Milledge. I mostly wanted Lo Duca, for his role as a 2006 mainstay, but thought it would be impolite to ignore the other same-period alumni who were already on hand.
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SteveJRogers
Apr 16 2008 05:40 PM
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Date 4/16
Opponent Nationals
Number Removed 75
Remover Long time Met broadcaster and fan, Howie Rose.
Surprised they didn't have him flip 67 to 66 as it would coincide with 660 WFAN (which celebrate's it's 20th anniversary on 660 this coming October)
Ehhh, whatever.
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mario25
Apr 16 2008 08:13 PM
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Maybe for 73 we will see some type of Tug Mcgraw reference, that would be cool. YA GOTTA BELIEVE
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Triple Dee
Apr 16 2008 08:24 PM
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Or better yet, the Gambler.
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Benjamin Grimm
Apr 17 2008 06:13 AM
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It would be nice to see, at some point, Ringo Starr and/or Paul McCartney. And Joe Namath.
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HahnSolo
Apr 17 2008 07:22 AM
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I'd be shocked if Namath wasn't included. Probably in the top 10. Just keep him away from the female front office staff.
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G-Fafif
Apr 17 2008 10:56 AM
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73 will be revealed tonight in honor of Shea's final birthday by Ron Hunt (first Mets run at Shea), Tim Harkness (first Mets hit at Shea) and Jack Fisher (first Mets starting assignment at Shea).
To this I say Hot Damn! If this is representative of what the Mets will be doing the rest of the way, I can forgive the Lincoln-Mercury general manager and the Kids Clubhouse hosts.
We covered Harkness and Fisher with the peel of number 80, along with Jim Hickman (first Mets baserunner at Shea) and Al Jackson & Hawk Taylor (battery for the first Mets win at Shea, April 19, 1964, with Jackson fronting the whole exercise). We gave Ron Hunt the spotlight on his own for number 79.
Our number 73, given that April 17 is Shea's birthday, was turned over to its fellow April 17 babies. In one of our more whimsical entries, we called on celebrity Mets fan Boomer Esiason, literal onetime Met Gary Bennett (on the assumption he could be spared by his current employer for the day), former Mets coach Denny Walling, Connecticut native and 2005 World Series "God Bless America" vocalist Liz Phair and, leading the pack, the only famous person I could find who was born 4/17/64, the exact same day as Shea, New Jersey Devil great Ken Daneyko (of whom I have some vague recollection of taking batting practice at Shea once, though I think I'm imagining it; plus, given the current NHL playoff composition, would probably get booed by the shortsighted Rangers fans in the crowd, though since this is all very fanciful, no, he'd be cheered).
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Fman99
Apr 17 2008 11:02 AM
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="Triple Dee":2fjhf465]Or better yet, the Gambler.[/quote:2fjhf465]
I think Il Duce would get a warmer response.
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Gwreck
Apr 17 2008 02:25 PM
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="HahnSolo":2mb9p6se]I'd be shocked if Namath wasn't included. Probably in the top 10. Just keep him away from the female front office staff.[/quote:2mb9p6se]
Namath hasn't been announced yet but [url=http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080417&content_id=2541557&vkey=pr_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym:2mb9p6se]one possibility:[/url:2mb9p6se]
Jets return to Shea for one night only, Monday, April 28
Klecko, Walker, Buttle, and Super Bowl III Champions Beverly and Schmitt join Mets in commemorating 20 Jets seasons at Shea
FLUSHING -- The New York Mets and New York Jets today announced that former Jets Pro Bowlers Joe Klecko, Wesley Walker, Jets Linebacker Legend Greg Buttle, and Super Bowl III Champions Randy Beverly and John Schmitt will return to Shea Stadium on Jets Night at Shea, Monday, April 28 when the Mets host the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Jets appearance at Shea, one day after the NFL Draft, commemorates the team's 20 seasons in Queens.
The Mets will salute their former Shea housemates - both teams won World Championships in 1969 -during an on-field, pre-game ceremony including the first pitch and the Shea Countdown of games to be played at Shea in its final season, appropriately Game 69; in-game video programming; and the opportunity for fans to have their photos taken with both the Mets' and Jets' 1969 World Championship trophies. The New York Jets Flight Crew will be on hand with the Jets' traveling, interactive JetsFest adjacent to Shea and join Mr. Met and the Pepsi Party Patrol for various promotions and giveaways throughout the game. Tickets start at $5 and are on sale now at Mets.com and LosMets.com.
In addition, Jets Season Ticket Holders will have the opportunity to mingle with former Jets players at a special pre-game meet-and-greet in Shea's Picnic Area. A portion of the proceeds from sale of $20 tickets to the pre-game event will be distributed to area charities through the Mets Foundation and the New York Jets Foundation.
Today's announcement follows Tuesday's 45th anniversary of the naming of New York's American Football League upstart franchise to the Jets from the Titans.
The Jets last played at Shea in 1983 before moving to the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, N.J. Both the Mets and Jets are constructing new facilities. Citi Field, the new Mets home, will open in 2009; the New Meadowlands Stadium is scheduled to open in 2010.
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HahnSolo
Apr 17 2008 02:38 PM
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That's good. I like that. Can never get enough of the Jets Flight Crew, either.
But all things considered, I still believe Namath will get the spotlight to himself one day.
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AG/DC
Apr 17 2008 05:22 PM
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Look at those caps in the description of Greg Buttle, almost as if he's legally changed his name to "Jets Linebacker Legend Greg Buttle."
Too bad they didn't re-unite the New York Sack Exchange.
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SteveJRogers
Apr 17 2008 07:17 PM
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Lets go into the Wayback Machine to [url=http://www.ultimatemets.com/gamedetail.php?gameno=326]4/17/1964[/url]
Game 1 for Shea Stadium which featured a Met lineup of
Tim Harnkness 1B
George Altman RF
Ron Hunt 3B
Jesse Gonder C
Frank Thomas LF
Jim Hickman CF
Amado Samuel SS
Larry Burright 2B
Jack Fisher SP
Mets lost to the Pirates 4-3 and future HOFer Willie Stargell hit the first homer at Shea.
In honor of this event the Mets welcomed three men in that original Met lineup.
Date 4/17
Opponent Nationals
Number Removed 74
Remover Jack Fisher, threw the first ever pitch at Shea, Ron Hunt, scored the first Met run and Tim Harkness, who hit the first Met hit at the brand new place.
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SteveJRogers
Apr 24 2008 04:18 PM
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Might as well use this for the Shea-Citi discussion thread for 2008, so...
When the heck did this happen?
I'm meeting a cousin off of Roosevelt Ave and 126th street on Saturday, and I did a Google map search to make sure I tell him the correct street address (BTW hey Google, can we get an updated picture featuring Citi Field? Then again Petco is still under construction in their San Diego overheads) and noticed that parts of 126th and 34th Avenue (or is it still Meridian Road at that point?) are called "Shea Road."
Did this just happen recently? Because it would appear that would be quite an appropriate change of address if they so desired to change the Mets mailing address (currently Roosevelt Ave) to Citi Field, Shea Road, Corona (yeah for some reason Corona, not Flushing gets the neighboorhood tag on Google), NY 11368.
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SteveJRogers
Apr 25 2008 04:09 PM
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Date 4/25
Opponent Braves
Number Removed 73
Remover Bob Mandt, original employee of the team, worked through the 2004 season, still a consultant on the business end of things.
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G-Fafif
Apr 26 2008 05:49 AM
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We covered Bob Mandt at 78, in conjunction with Pete Flynn.
Our 72 was Henry Aaron, ostensibly for driving in the first postseason runs in Shea history, mostly for being one of the greats to grace Shea as a visitor, a little to tweak he who broke his record.
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G-Fafif
Apr 26 2008 04:24 PM
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Their 71 and our 71 actually meshed. Today was Jack Lang Day (raising awareness and funds for epilepsy research; Jack's grandson has it). The Mets had Jack's four children reveal the number. In the spirit of JLD, we had three of Jack's colleagues who have covered the team, in one way or another, since the early days do it: George Vecsey, Vic Ziegel and Roger Angell...plus longtime PR maven Jay Horwitz.
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AG/DC
Apr 26 2008 04:36 PM
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Nice.
Lang is one of two or three Mets beat men I think should be in their HoF.
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Benjamin Grimm
Apr 26 2008 07:06 PM
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Who are the others? I'd nominate Marty Noble, for sure.
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SteveJRogers
Apr 27 2008 06:54 AM
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Date 4/26
Opponent Braves
Number Removed 72
Remover Family of the late, great sports writer and Met historian Jack Lang.
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SteveJRogers
Apr 27 2008 09:46 AM
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Koppett?
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SteveJRogers
Apr 27 2008 09:56 AM
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Date 4/27
Opponent Braves
Number Removed 71
Remover Bob Reid of Bayside Little League on one of the Youth Baseball days this season.
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G-Fafif
Apr 27 2008 05:07 PM
Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Apr 28 2008 05:57 AM
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4/27: Our 70 was removed by the dynamic duo of Fred & Nelson, for helping revive National League baseball with their purchase of the Mets in 1980.
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AG/DC
Apr 27 2008 07:10 PM
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That would be something.
A final chance for an onfield moment fo glory for Doubleday --- and a symbolic reconciliation of the two --- would be an impressive consummation.
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SteveJRogers
Apr 28 2008 03:26 PM
Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Apr 28 2008 03:59 PM
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Game Called. This particular one is rescheduled for August 11th, who knows about the Jets and tomorrow.
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G-Fafif
Apr 28 2008 03:52 PM
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| ="SteveJRogers"]Weather Permitting, and this game faces an anoying thing about doing this in the pre-game rather than waiting until AFTER the game becomes official
Date 4/28
Opponent Pirates
Number Removed 70
Remover Emerson Boozer, Randy Beverly and John Schmitt of the Super Bowl Champion 1969 Jets and Ed Kranepool of the World Champion 1969 Mets
FaithAndFearInFlushing.com's Countdown Like It Ought To Be's Remover With Xavier Nady's return to Flushing, Greg and Jason honored Mets who JUST missed out on being on postseason rides: 2006's Nady, 1969's Kevin Collins, 1986's Ed Lynch, and 1999's Brian McRae |
Thanks for making us part of your tracking, Steve. I should point out, in the spirit of keeping numbers straight, our method is removing a number in the middle of the fifth (more or less an official game; plus it will delay the opposing pitcher). so tonight, had it been played, we would have removed 69 and revealed 68, or how many games remained beyond this one. What the Mets do is unveil the number before the game, so they would be showing 69.
It's all more hypothetical than usual given the rain. Fortunately, in the Countdown Like It Oughta Be, like in Southern California, it never rains.
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AG/DC
Apr 28 2008 04:12 PM
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I like posting the FaFiF announcement in the fifth, for what it's worth.
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G-Fafif
Apr 28 2008 04:26 PM
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="AG/DC":v7s6chqa]I like posting the FaFiF announcement in the fifth, for what it's worth.[/quote:v7s6chqa]
Inspired by (or stolen from) the Orioles when they counted down Cal's streak.
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SteveJRogers
Apr 29 2008 02:48 PM
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So much for the return of the 1969 Jets
Date 4/29
Opponent Pirates
Number Removed 70
Remover Representatives of Lincoln Mercury
FaithAndFearInFlushing.com's Countdown Like It Ought To Be's Remover With Xavier Nady's return to Flushing, Greg and Jason honored Mets who JUST missed out on being on postseason rides: 2006's Nady, 1969's Kevin Collins, 1986's Ed Lynch, and 1999's Brian McRae
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G-Fafif
Apr 29 2008 05:05 PM
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The excitement surrounding the appearance of yet another Lincoln-Mercury representative is palpable.
Palpable is a synonym for bogus, right?
It rained last night but the Countdown Like It Oughta Be knows only clear skies (and perhaps a few puffy cumulus clouds). We continue to be keyed to the date and the opponent, otherwise our hypotheticals go off the rails, so if you are setting your watches, we are removing number 68 tonight. The honors go to notable participants in the Mets-Pirates Fog Game of May 25, 1979:
Buc starter Jim Rooker
Pinch-hitter and Met thorn Mike Easler
Pitcher of non-record Skip Lockwood
and he whose triple fell through the pea soup, resulting in one of the gloomiest nights in the history of Shea Stadium coming to a premature end (ruled a 3-3 tie)...
Joel Youngblood.
Those who were to pull down 69 will return on August 11 for the makeup game (and pull down 23A, I guess).
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AG/DC
Apr 29 2008 05:23 PM
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What a game.
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HahnSolo
Apr 30 2008 08:59 AM
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| ="SteveJRogers"]
Remover Representatives of Lincoln Mercury
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Lame, Mets, lame. Let's pick up the pace here.
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metirish
Apr 30 2008 10:34 AM
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="HahnSolo"]| ="SteveJRogers"]
Remover Representatives of Lincoln Mercury
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Lame, Mets, lame. Let's pick up the pace here. |
Would have been cool if Freddie were alive to do the honours.
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G-Fafif
Apr 30 2008 05:05 PM
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Today was some horrible mascot from some children's educational thing to which there was some tie-in. I booed heartily and then a water main broke.
In the Countdown Like It Oughta Be, we paid homage to the movie and television versions of The Odd Couple, with Bill Mazeroski (who hit into the triple play that Oscar, covering the Met-Buc game at Shea, missed in the film because Felix was calling him to ask when he'd be coming home for dinner; Maz was also in on some other noteworthy NY baseball history) and Jack Klugman (TV's Oscar Madison, who probably wore a Mets cap more than any character in the history of the medium) doing the honors by removing 67.
Numbers 72-67 in detail [url=http://faithandfear.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2008/3/23/3596608.html:2c6s44s5]here[/url:2c6s44s5].
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SteveJRogers
May 08 2008 04:59 PM
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Bump for the start of the homestand tomorrow
Date 4/30
Opponent Pirates
Number Removed 60
Remover Mr. Met and Cyber Chasers (some kid's cartoon whatever)
FaithAndFearInFlushing.com's Countdown Like It Ought To Be's Remover In honor of the Fog Game May 25th 1979 (a 3-3 tie against the Pirates), Jim Rooker, Mike Easler, Skip Lockwood, Joel Youngblood
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AG/DC
May 08 2008 05:56 PM
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I'd still rather this happened when it actually happens.
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SteveJRogers
May 08 2008 06:09 PM
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You want me to post from Shea tomorrow night Edgy?
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HahnSolo
May 09 2008 07:27 AM
Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 09 2008 07:29 AM
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Not to kill the suspense, but I heard Craig Carton of WFAN's Boomer and Carton morning show say that he and Boomer would be taking off the number sometime "on the next homestand."
Sadly, it's hardly a surprise that this countdown is as weak as it has been.
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AG/DC
May 09 2008 07:29 AM
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="SteveJRogers":3k5sdzna]You want me to post from Shea tomorrow night Edgy?[/quote:3k5sdzna]
I'm sure Greag or somebody can pinch-hit for you if you are at the game.
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HahnSolo
May 09 2008 08:48 AM
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I didn't know the Yankees were doing something similar. Here is what I found on another board:
this is what i have witnessed, or found online.
81-80 - George Steinbrenner (Blue Jays, 4/1/08)
80-79 - Steve Smith, Ahmad Bradshaw and Aaron Ross NYG (Blue Jays, 4/2/08)
79-78 - Paul ONeill (Blue Jays, 4/3/08)
78-77 - John Flaherty (Rays, 4/4/08)
77-76 - Joe Peptinone (Rays, 4/5/08)
76-75 - Yogi Berra (Rays, 4/6/08)
75-74 - Zach Parise of New Jersey Devils (Rays, 4/7/08)
74-73 - Bucky Dent (Red Sox, 4/16/08)
73-72 - Tino Martinez (Red Sox, 4/17/08)
72-71 - _____________(Tigers, 4/29/08)
71-70 - Billy Crystal (Tigers, 4/30/08)
70-69 - _____________(Tigers, 5/1/08)
69-68 - Bobby Murcer (Mariners, 5/2/08)
68-67 - _____________(Mariners, 5/3/08)
67-66 - Michael Kay (Mariners, 5/4/08)
66-65 - _____________(Indians, 5/6/08)
65-64 - Buck Showalter (Indians, 5/7/08)
64-63 - _____________(Indians, 5/8/08)
If accurate, and I can't say that it is, especially since I believe at least one of those games was rained out, one of the local teams seems to be "getting it" and the other is not.
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AG/DC
May 09 2008 08:52 AM
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What, no Michael Ravisi of Gateway Mitsubishi?
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SteveJRogers
May 09 2008 03:21 PM
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Today its is apparently some suit from Primeo Italian Sausage. They are the sponsor of tonight's soda cup night.
Stuff like this makes me want to discontinue this thread!
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Benjamin Grimm
May 09 2008 03:31 PM
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Hey! I'm having some of their sausage with my dinner tonight.
Their spinach and garlic chicken sausages are pretty tasty.
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Willets Point
May 09 2008 03:32 PM
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| ="SteveJRogers"]Stuff like this makes me want to discontinue this thread! |
ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease...
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SteveJRogers
May 09 2008 04:03 PM
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[url=http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article_perspectives.jsp?ymd=20080509&content_id=2668902&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp:2vtlzxk8]Marty Noble, like Greg and Jace, GETS IT![/url:2vtlzxk8]
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G-Fafif
May 09 2008 04:37 PM
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Since Premio makes Shea's signature Italian sausages, I'll allow it (even if it's because they're sponsoring a giveaway cup).
Tonight's Countdown Like It Oughta Be (peeling 66 in our rain-free universe), last series against the Reds, brings out all-time Shea opponent/villain Pete Rose, though before you choke on the choice, understand that his number is sponsored by the good folks at the Glass Distillery Packaging Association, every fan coming through the turnstiles receives a commemorative Pete Rose bottle of whiskey and every fan is encouraged to drink it and, you know, get rid of the bottle in a meaningful way.
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G-Fafif
May 10 2008 03:41 PM
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65, in our world, goes down today/tonight, and the honors are left to Eddie Boison (Cow-Bell Man) and Richard Ehrhardt and Bonnie Troester, the son and daughter of Karl Ehrhardt, the Sign Man.
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SteveJRogers
May 10 2008 08:40 PM
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Okay who were the two suits that did it for today's double dip?
Was snacking in the Diamond Club during the pre game of game 2
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G-Fafif
May 11 2008 08:26 AM
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Snacking is not an excuse.
64 Countdown Like It Oughta Be: Salute to Shea's predecessor, the first home of the Mets, the Polo Grounds. We bring back three PG Mets who had their days at Shea as well
Frank Thomas (opening day LF 1964)
Roger Craig (came back as a visitor from '64 on)
Choo Choo Coleman (snuck back in as a Met in '66, bub)
and leading the pack for the peel...
Ted Schreiber, the last batter ever at a Major League Baseball game in Manhattan (GIDP). Schreiber's only year in the Majors was 1963, so it is with special pride we finally bring him to Shea.
Ted's presence also reminds us that no matter where we are at a given moment, whether it's this year or next, there is usually something that came before that deserves to be remembered.
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SteveJRogers
May 11 2008 01:14 PM
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It's official, I give up. If the Mets are not going to bother updating this silly thing (which is how they seem to be treating it the whole time, even the MFY who don't bother putting it in their official game notes are treating it like it's something that deserves SOME thought to be put into it) in their game notes, or even uploading their Saturday game notes onto the pressbox.mlb.com's website (which is astounding considering that credentialed members of the press use that portal) then I'm not bothering to update this fun little thread.
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DocTee
May 11 2008 01:21 PM
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Steve announces his resignation with a 90 word sentence containing three parenthethical phrases. Sweet.
I do hope G-FAFIF keeps contributing, though.
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SteveJRogers
May 11 2008 01:34 PM
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[url=http://FaithandFearInFlushing.com:1k7lchjz]Just check the archives in one of the best blogs on the internet for The Countdown Like It Ought To Be.[/url:1k7lchjz] Run by guys who understand that a good segment of the fan base care deeply about nostalgia, and aren't the johnny come latelys that the Mets PR staff treats the fanbase as!
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G-Fafif
May 11 2008 08:57 PM
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Today's 65 in the "real" countdown was Gretchen Randolph and Willie's Kids, for Mother's Day. Nice enough gesture, borderline significance to the scheme of the things. Better than bringing out the regional manager for Toyota, sponsor of the pink caps.
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G-Fafif
May 11 2008 09:11 PM
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I appreciate Steve's kind words and, more to the point, the attempt he made to track what the Mets are doing, even if what the Mets are doing is half-hearted and half-assed. Bringing back the Jets (which got rained out), bringing Ed Charles back on Jackie Robinson Night, bringing three '64 Mets in on the anniversary of the stadium opening -- fantastic. Random sponsors, Kids Clubhouse hosts who just got the job, Cyberchase mascots -- oy.
Thank you for indulging the Countdown Like It Oughta Be. Highlights will continue to be presented here and, as Steve indicated, CLIOB continues in real time at Faith and Fear.
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Gwreck
May 11 2008 09:17 PM
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Steve gets a lot of shit on this board (some deserved, some undeserved) but I too second and appreciate his contribution here in this thread. And wish that he would continue.
Steve, I think the second game saw the Premio Sausage guys who were supposed to do the Friday game that got rained out.
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HahnSolo
May 12 2008 07:30 AM
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I like the thread too. Particularly when comparing G-Fafif's brilliant list with what the Mets are actually doing.
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G-Fafif
May 12 2008 12:47 PM
Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 12 2008 12:50 PM
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If you like climate-driven irony -- and commerce-driven reality -- then tonight, amid forecast 40-degree wind chills and probably not quite enough rain to wash the damn thing out (he says as a ticketholder who wouldn't mind staying home as a nor'easter batters the area), 64 is slated to be revealed by "a representative from Bermuda Tourism". Perhaps Casey and Gil will make it rain out of vengeance for this blatant placement of sponsorship grabass amid what should be a sacred exercise.
In Oughta Be land, we assigned this date and the removal of originally scheduled 63 to Anthony Coscia, chairman of the Port Authority, the agency that runs LaGuardia Airport, so as to acknowledge all those incoming and outgoing flights that have forced all those batters and pitchers to call time out and all those fans to pause their conversations.
And because nobody knows who the hell Anthony Coscia is, we have him joined by the Met who disrupted more air traffic than anyone else, David Arthur Kingman.
He hit 73 Shea home runs in two tours as a New York Met, and seemingly each and every one of them was a cause for concern among pilots flying into and out of LaGuardia.
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Benjamin Grimm
May 12 2008 12:48 PM
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Let's see if we can't get Pete Tucci on the list.
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AG/DC
May 12 2008 12:59 PM
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Even if only counting his home runs at Shea, Kong's got to be credited with his homers there as a guest. I count 15 more.
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G-Fafif
May 12 2008 01:00 PM
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Yeah, I originally wrote 154 and realized that was off, though you know, if Sky hit 'em in Philadelphia they went up on the LGA radar.
He did hit a bus in the parking lot as a Giant youngster.
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AG/DC
May 12 2008 01:04 PM
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And he was a giant youngster.
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soupcan
May 12 2008 02:24 PM
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="Benjamin Grimm":35xni5h2]Let's see if we can't get Pete Tucci on the list.[/quote:35xni5h2]
He's coming back Wednesday to replace a motor or something and I'll be home (making sure he doesn't swing his 'bat').
I'll be sure to guage his interest.
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SteveJRogers
May 12 2008 04:38 PM
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Well they got the countdown back on their official Game Notes, but tonight's is quite infuriating, some suit from Bermuda Tourism!
Couple of things;
Tonight is ASIAN heritage night (and the first of the Heritage dates for 2008) One would think the tourism board for anywhere in the Far East from Macau to Japan would provide the corporate tie-in!
Second, it infuriates me to think that the Cardinals threw in some opponents whenever they didn't have a current Red Bird or a Red Bird from the past do the flipping. For instance JUNIOR GRIFFEY did it one series when the Reds were in town. It would have been neat to see good old JB pull down a number, representing the Big Red Machine that the Mets defeated in 73.
Okay, we are playing the Nationals tonight so not much in the way of historic ties that are with the current Nat franchise (despite the members of the 2006 Mets on the roster and as the skipper) but come on, HAVE SOME FUN WITH THIS METS? Stop treating your fanbase as if they only started following the team in 2005!
And this rant isn't just based on a silly countdown. This rant is for; the "Everybody Clap Your Hands" song,
the 8th inning sing-a-long,
the Pepsi Party Patrol shirt launch,
the need to do silly, minor league-esque contests throughout the game,
the fact that the Mets do what stupid gimmick MLB directs them to do, such as the idiotic campaigning for whomever is in second in the all star balloting, deserving or not, during the final week or so of the voting period (Call me a Yankee fan all you want, but they DO NOT do that at Yankee Stadium)
"Who Let The Dogs Out" and the Baja Men playing on the field before Game 3 of the 2000 World Series.
Not to mention that certain people (Randolph for example) seem to want to label the "real fans" as the ones who buy into all this nonsense because they are the ones actually cheering despite the quality on the field, clapping the hands, playing along with whatever insipid thing the Mets are throwing at them, singing along to whatever dreck is played in the 8th inning and such.
Somewhere in the late 1990s, probably whenever David Howard took over as the Mets marketing guy, this franchise just became bush in terms of how they've treated their fanbase. Rather than treating the fans as knowledgeable about the history of the franchise as a whole, they've only lived in the here and now, and act as if 1969 and 1986 are the ONLY years worth a damn (Yes I know there aren't that many other years but still, lets not act like the only years worth noting are the world championship seasons). To that end, they treat the fans as if they are nothing but johnny come latelys.
You know, we Met fans, Red Sox fans, and other Yankee haters love to crack jokes about how a good portion of Yankee fans became Yankee fans after 1996 (obviously not counting youngsters who just started watching baseball around that time) but you know what, there really is a core of Yankee fans who DO care about history and tradition. There are Yankee fans who can tell you Roberto Kelly was traded for Paul O'Neill and that Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps was one of the worse deals in recent times. There are Yankee fans that use the names Kevin Mass and Horace Clarke as badges of courage, as in "Hey I rooted for them when they stunk" and the Yankees marketing staff GET THAT, and they treat their fans accordingly. The Mets are sorely lacking in this regard, no wonder the Mets and their fans seem to get laughed at by morons like Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio.
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SteveJRogers
May 13 2008 12:46 PM
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From the Mets Game Notes for this evening's game, yet another suit from Lincoln Mercury!
Why not have whomever wrote "Mercury Blues" do it then?
To quote Billy Walsh, SUITS SUCK!
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Benjamin Grimm
May 13 2008 12:55 PM
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="SteveJRogers":4256736c]Well they got the countdown back on their official Game Notes, but tonight's is quite infuriating, some suit from Bermuda Tourism![/quote:4256736c]
Well, he was more than just a suit...
| ="Wikipedia":4256736c]Dr. Ewart Frederick Brown, Jr. (born 1946) is the Premier of Bermuda, leader of the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party (PLP), Minister of Tourism and Transport in the Cabinet, and Member of Parliament for the constituency of Warwick South Central.[/quote:4256736c]
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SteveJRogers
May 13 2008 01:05 PM
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Then they should have said so on the dopey game notes press release package.
Just to add to the rant, in 2012 the Mets will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the franchise. I'm getting the feeling that if the same marketing crew that is around now is around 4 years from now, 1986's 25th Anniversary would blow the 2012 one away in terms of how things are celebrated.
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Willets Point
May 13 2008 01:05 PM
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Damn, Steve Jeets dissed the Premier of Bermuda.
I wonder if he wore shorts with his suit.
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SteveJRogers
May 13 2008 01:07 PM
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="Willets Point":c8buqhd2]Damn, Steve Jeets dissed the Premier of Bermuda.
I wonder if he wore shorts with his suit.[/quote:c8buqhd2]
Well I didn't KNOW he was the Premier of Bermuda. But the point still stands. Kind of inapproriate for him to be there on Asian Night.
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Benjamin Grimm
May 13 2008 01:13 PM
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This will probably provoke an international incident.
Before the summer is out, I'll bet we're at war with Bermuda.
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G-Fafif
May 13 2008 01:13 PM
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Maybe if Lincoln Mercury manufactured the ol' bullpen cart...
Speaking of which, tonight's scheduled Countdown Like It Oughta Be number is 62 and it's being taken down by your bullpen coach/tomato tender of yore, Joe Pignatano.
He was the planter, the farmer and the inspiration, to say nothing of a pretty fair tutor of relief pitchers across 14 seasons.
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HahnSolo
May 13 2008 01:13 PM
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Which corporate sponsor gets the lowest number of the countdown? I'm guessing somebody from Keyspan, or whatever it's called now. I figure they'll come in around #12.
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themetfairy
May 13 2008 01:20 PM
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="Benjamin Grimm":3mbwnc8d]="SteveJRogers":3mbwnc8d]Well they got the countdown back on their official Game Notes, but tonight's is quite infuriating, some suit from Bermuda Tourism![/quote:3mbwnc8d]
Well, he was more than just a suit...
="Wikipedia":3mbwnc8d]Dr. Ewart Frederick Brown, Jr. (born 1946) is the Premier of Bermuda, leader of the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party (PLP), Minister of Tourism and Transport in the Cabinet, and Member of Parliament for the constituency of Warwick South Central.[/quote:3mbwnc8d][/quote:3mbwnc8d]
Dr. Brown gave a pretty good in-game interview, and talked about how he grew up rooting for the Brooklyn Dodgers and how he used to be able to hear broadcasts of Mets games in Bermuda by adding tin foil to his radio's antennae. For a corporate suit, he certainly had Mets cred.
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Edgy DC
May 13 2008 01:21 PM
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And good cream soda.
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themetfairy
May 13 2008 01:30 PM
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Cream soda?
I think you mean ginger beer.
Oh, THAT Dr. Brown!
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SteveJRogers
May 13 2008 01:39 PM
Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 13 2008 01:45 PM
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Never mind...
Great that he is a Met fan, but again, the game notes listed him as "Representive for Bermuda Tourism" so that to anyone who wasn't there, or paying attention to the TV would assume they were doing a complete random person. Hence part of my frustration of how the Mets are handling this whole thing.
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themetfairy
May 13 2008 01:43 PM
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Edited, based on Steve's edit.
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HahnSolo
May 14 2008 07:51 AM
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Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton of the WFAN morning show will do the honors before tonight's game.
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AG/DC
May 14 2008 08:06 AM
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Esiason didn't even play at Shea as a guest.
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Benjamin Grimm
May 14 2008 08:12 AM
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I'm starting to think that everyone, us, the media, the bloggers, everyone, should just ignore this thing except for on the rare occasions when they have someone worthwhile pulling the sign.
A Lincoln Mercury dealer from Staten Island? Ignore it! Completely!
Guiseppe Franco? Ignore it!
Jerry Koosman? Talk about it! Write about it! Celebrate it!
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G-Fafif
May 14 2008 01:53 PM
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| ="Benjamin Grimm"]I'm starting to think that everyone, us, the media, the bloggers, everyone, should just ignore this thing except for on the rare occasions when they have someone worthwhile pulling the sign.
A Lincoln Mercury dealer from Staten Island? Ignore it! Completely!
Guiseppe Franco? Ignore it!
Jerry Koosman? Talk about it! Write about it! Celebrate it! |
Giuseppe Franco? COOL!
We snuck Boomer in back at 73 as one of the April 17 babies (led by NJ Devil legend Ken Daneyko, b. 4/17/1964) who took down a number on April 17 -- same birthday as Shea. The connections were tenuous, but as indicated earlier, it was a fanciful choice.
As for tonight's Oughta Be pick, 61 is to be removed by Shea visitor turned cause celebre Mike Andrews, the Oakland Athletic Charlie Finley tried to elbow off the roster for making three errors in Game Two of the '73 World Series. A firestorm erupted (this was the same month as Spiro Agnew's resignation and the Saturday Night Massacre; firestorms erupted easily then) and Bowie Kuhn would not allow Finley's on-the-fly rejiggering. Andrews became a victimized hero.
Mets fans recognized the raw deal Mike was receiving from Charlie Finley, so when he came to bat as a pinch-hitter in the fourth game of that Fall Classic, Mets fans rose as one and supported him with a long and loud ovation. They gave him a second round of applause as he made his way back to the Oakland dugout after he grounded out.
Mike never forgot the reception he got at Shea, normally a tough place for visitors to play, that much more intense with a world championship on the line. Mike would say of Mets fans, "The ovations gave me chills, it surprised me. I don't think I've ever had a standing ovation in my life. To me that meant everything."
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batmagadanleadoff
May 14 2008 02:01 PM
Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 14 2008 02:50 PM
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| ="G-Fafif"]As for tonight's Oughta Be pick, 61 is to be removed by Shea visitor turned cause celebre Mike Andrews, the Oakland Athletic Charlie Finley tried to elbow off the roster for making three errors in Game Two of the '73 World Series. |
In Game Three of that Series, (Andrews +1) Felix Millan grounded a single off the body of Oakland Third Baseman Sal Bando. Millan's grounder was apparently botched by Bando, notwithstanding the Official Scorer's interpretation. Sign Man Karl Ehrhardt followed with this sign: "You're Fired!"
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themetfairy
May 14 2008 02:13 PM
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It annoys me that the Phillies made every number count in 2003, and the Mets are pissing away this wonderful opportunity.
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AG/DC
May 14 2008 02:14 PM
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I think they are doing poorly, but I'm not so sure it's a wonderful opportunity.
The chance to hire G-FAFIF on their promotions and pubicity staves, that's a wonderful opporunitity.
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SteveJRogers
May 14 2008 02:16 PM
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="themetfairy":11to9fp6]It annoys me that the Phillies made every number count in 2003, and the Mets are pissing away this wonderful opportunity.[/quote:11to9fp6]
So did the Cardinals in 2005, and apparantly the MFY this year as well.
Anyone have a list of the Phillies countdown?
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SteveJRogers
May 14 2008 02:20 PM
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="AG/DC":14bcr95s]I think they are doing poorly, but I'm not so sure it's a wonderful opportunity.
The chance to hire G-FAFIF on their promotions and pubicity staves, that's a wonderful opporunitity.[/quote:14bcr95s]
As I said in one of my rants, I shudder at what the Golden Anniversary celebration is going to be like in 2012 if the same marketing crew is still around.
This whole year could have been a great celebration, and yes it should have capitalistic ties in the form of DVDs, trading cards, minatures, etc as well as the shirts, caps, cups, etc. But they are missing the entire boat that nothing short of an 1986 Old Timers Day-esque event on the last regular season game could save the celebration.
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
May 14 2008 02:21 PM
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They should just hire Steve Jeter Rogers.
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Benjamin Grimm
May 14 2008 02:23 PM
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I didn't pay much attention to the closing ceremonies for Veterans Stadium, even though I live in the Phillies market. But one thing I do know is that they had Tug McGraw on the mound to recreate the last out of the 1980 World Series.
I'd like to see the Mets do something like that with Jerry Koosman and Jesse Orosco. (How great would it be just to see a photo of the two of them, in uniform, together on the mound at Shea?)
Bring in Cleon Jones and Marty Barrett and Davey Johnson for good measure.
(And Gary Carter and Jerry Grote too, natch!)
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AG/DC
May 14 2008 02:29 PM
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Well, bringing in Davey Johnson is something they've come up short on in general. I'm not beyond advocating that they bring him all the way in, if you know what I mean.
Tug was rivaled by few persons this side of Gary Carter in his pursuit of opportunities to exploit himself, his image, and his history. He even married a promoter.
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Benjamin Grimm
May 14 2008 02:40 PM
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="AG/DC":17cgjazc]Tug was rivaled by few persons this side of Gary Carter in his pursuit of opportunities to exploit himself, his image, and his history. He even married a promoter.[/quote:17cgjazc]
That's true. But I was glad that, in the last months of his life, he had the chance to appear at the Vet and recreate that moment of glory.
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Willets Point
May 14 2008 03:02 PM
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AG playing the heretic in question Tug's wonderfulness.
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Kong76
May 14 2008 03:13 PM
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tmf: >>>It annoys me that the Phillies made every number count in 2003<<<
You followed every number?
Watch it, or we'll start calling you Scarlet Schmidt.
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G-Fafif
May 14 2008 04:17 PM
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Vet went out [url=http://phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20030928&content_id=550070&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi:ai035tm1]in style[/url:ai035tm1].
Saw bits and pieces of the Cardinal countdown of old Busch Stadium via Extra Innings in '05 and they seemed to take it seriously. I liked that they had Joe Torre take down a number when the MFYs were in town that year. They also brought back Mark McGwire, albeit with reduced fanfare, despite his desire not to talk about the past that season.
I noticed the Yankees had, among others, Al Leiter take down a number this year. I assume it had something to do with his being in the building at the moment.
Not sure which countries' departments of tourism got to take down numbers for those teams, however.
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themetfairy
May 14 2008 04:21 PM
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| ="KC"]tmf: >>>It annoys me that the Phillies made every number count in 2003<<<
You followed every number?
Watch it, or we'll start calling you Scarlet Schmidt. |
Let's put it this way - any number I saw was a good one. And there wasn't a Lincoln Mercury dealer in the lot (not even a representative from Mike Piazza Honda....).
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SteveJRogers
May 14 2008 06:53 PM
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BTW, also FWIW the Yankees, like the Cardinals did, do their countdown flip AFTER the game goes official, so they don't have any embarrasments of the flip happening, then getting washed out before the game becomes official.
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Elster88
May 14 2008 09:48 PM
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Putting the number back would be VERY embarrassing.
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HahnSolo
May 15 2008 06:30 AM
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I could be wrong, but I thought they flipped the number of the previous game. In other words, before the second home game they removed 81?
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SteveJRogers
May 15 2008 07:00 AM
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="HahnSolo":1tqh3iwe]I could be wrong, but I thought they flipped the number of the previous game. In other words, before the second home game they removed 81?[/quote:1tqh3iwe]
Now that I think of it, yeah you are right...So there is another chance for me to quote the late, great Gilda Radner as Emily Litella, "Never mind"
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HahnSolo
May 15 2008 10:16 AM
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Weather Education Day representatives do the "honors" today. Supposedly channel 11's Mr. G and Linda Church will be there.
Whoopty damn doo!
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SteveJRogers
May 15 2008 10:17 AM
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Can we get Harry Harrison out there to poke some fun at Mr. G's expense?
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HahnSolo
May 15 2008 10:25 AM
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Incidentally, David Newman is the front office guy to complain to.
He called me after I sent a rather rambling email to the Mets complaining how lame this countdown was. He assured me that with 60 something games left "all the big names would be back."
I was so dumbfounded that he actually reached out to me that I could not think of anything to say back to him.
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SteveJRogers
May 15 2008 10:33 AM
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="HahnSolo":2vwq5e4f]Incidentally, David Newman is the front office guy to complain to.
He called me after I sent a rather rambling email to the Mets complaining how lame this countdown was. He assured me that with 60 something games left "all the big names would be back."
I was so dumbfounded that he actually reached out to me that I could not think of anything to say back to him.[/quote:2vwq5e4f]
Question is though, are the big names on his list the same as OUR lists?
I mean are we going to get some love for the Jon Matlacks, Felix Millans, Cleon Jones, John Stearns, Kevin McReynolds of Metdom? Or just the usual Seaver, Kranepool, Darling, Hernandez, Staub, or anyonelse that is still in the area?
I mean are they going with Art Shamsky (assuming he's back in the area this summer) rather than getting Willie Mays out here for 24?
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AG/DC
May 15 2008 11:05 AM
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Frankly, I wouldn't mind if Willie Mays tore off every one.
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G-Fafif
May 15 2008 04:13 PM
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I've always kind of liked Mr. G. But I booed him and his schoolfriend anyway.
In Oughta Be territory, 60 was taken down by Garrett Morris, filling in for an otherwise engaged Chico Escuela.
Anyone who remembers 1979 would have to admit there was plenty of Bad Stuff to write 'Bout The Mets in those days, but Chico's presence in blue and orange surely was one of the better things the franchise had going then. You might even say he was "berry, berry good" for the Mets. He certainly brought laughter to a fan base mired in an understandably dark mood.
To relive all the 66-60 ceremonies, check it out [url=http://faithandfear.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2008/3/27/3605077.html]here[/url].
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SteveJRogers
May 15 2008 04:18 PM
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Was the director for the school for the hard of hearing there to help the PA announcer?
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themetfairy
May 15 2008 05:59 PM
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="G-Fafif":1a7awlzt]I've always kind of liked Mr. G. But I booed him and his schoolfriend anyway.
[/quote:1a7awlzt]
You BOOED Mr. G? What kind of monster are you?!?!?!?!
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G-Fafif
May 16 2008 05:16 AM
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It must have been the barometric pressure getting to me.
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bmfc1
May 21 2008 12:27 PM
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According to Newday's Ken Davidoff, the MFYs aren't doing their countdown any better than the Mets:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Call Midweek Insider a cheesy sentimentalist, but back on Opening Night, I was looking forward to the Yankees "countdown," in which, after each game becomes official, a dignitary pulls a phony lever to notate the number of regular-season contests remaining at Yankee Stadium.
If there's one team that could pull this off, after all - finding 81 people of interest - it's the Yankees.
Yet the routine has become a parody of itself during this current homestand. On Sunday night, a man identified "the number one Yankees fan in Rochester" pulled the lever. There was no applause.
So who was he? A pal of Hal Steinbrenner's. So close, in fact, that the gentleman received a ride from Rochester to New York on the Steinbrenner family plane Sunday.
Which is fine. It's the Steinbrenners' team. But it's not quite having 81 Yankees legends - or even some old football Giants people, or someone like Billy Joel who has performed at the Stadium - doing the honor.
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soupcan
May 21 2008 12:42 PM
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="G-Fafif":2lmxv90z]In Oughta Be territory, 60 was taken down by Garrett Morris, filling in for an otherwise engaged Chico Escuela[/quote:2lmxv90z]
Here's some trivia for you:
What was Escuela's uniform number and why?
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
May 21 2008 12:46 PM
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He was No. 5, not sure why?
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AG/DC
May 21 2008 12:48 PM
Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 21 2008 12:53 PM
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A yearbook shot pictured him posing with Steve Henderson.
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G-Fafif
May 21 2008 12:49 PM
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I remember thinking it was odd that on "SNL" Bill Murray interviewed Steve Henderson as part of the story tracking Chico's comeback. How could Chico be No. 5 while Steve is No. 5?
Can't wait for the answer!
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soupcan
May 21 2008 01:03 PM
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#5 is correct.
Henderson was Chico's 'stunt double' in the action shots for the Weekend Update stories.
They'd show game footage of Escuela/Hendu running across the outfield with the '5' visible on his back then cut to a close shot of Chico also wearing 5.
Didn't mean to mislead you into thinking it was something cooler than it was.
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metsguyinmichigan
May 21 2008 01:39 PM
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="soupcan":1msbi89i]#5 is correct.
Henderson was Chico's 'stunt double' in the action shots for the Weekend Update stories.
They'd show game footage of Escuela/Hendu running across the outfield with the '5' visible on his back then cut to a close shot of Chico also wearing 5.
Didn't mean to mislead you into thinking it was something cooler than it was.[/quote:1msbi89i]
But that's pretty cool. The wealth of information around here is amazing.
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G-Fafif
May 21 2008 02:13 PM
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Plenty cool for the uncool likes of me.
In that spring training camp, joining Hendu and Krane (who borrow Chico's soap and never give it back) to offer perspective on "social leper" Escuela's attempted return to glory was No. 59, Nelson Briles, slated for Joe Torre's 1979 roster but cut as a budget move in favor of whichever rookie among Allen, Scott and Orosco would have otherwise been sent down if the Mets hadn't been so cheap. Briles (who, as you might recall from the brief YouTube run of Game 4 '73 WS, sang the National Anthem at Shea) never got to wear a Mets uniform in Flushing, yet Chico did. And he lined up in the Old Times introductions next to active Eddie, no less.
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Benjamin Grimm
May 21 2008 02:35 PM
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I was at that Old Timers Day game!
(What year would that have been?)
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soupcan
May 21 2008 02:41 PM
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I would guess '79.
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G-Fafif
May 26 2008 10:26 PM
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Some nice young fellow in a military uniform (a USMC lance corporal, I believe) pulled down tonight's number in real life. Nothing to do with Shea, everything to do with Memorial Day. Nice gesture. Criticism of the Mets' mishandling of the countdown takes a holiday.
Back in Oughta Be land, we removed number 59 Monday night, paying homage to the 18-inning 0-0 game the Mets and Phils played at Shea on October 2, 1965. The three Mets' pitchers who teamed up for the shutout that didn't count (their stats did, but the tie didn't show up in the W-L and necessitated a next-day, final-day doubleheader) were given the honors: relievers Darrell Sutherland and Dennis Ribant and, most prominently, starter Rob Gardner. All Rob did was throw 15 scoreless innings.
Tonight, we want to give Rob the opportunity to get some kind of number next to his name for authoring perhaps the greatest forgotten Met pitching performance in the history of Shea Stadium. We can't give you any runs, Rob, but we can offer you the honor of peeling number 59.
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HahnSolo
May 27 2008 12:02 PM
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Pete Flynn is scheduled to do the honors tonight. Great choice.
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G-Fafif
May 27 2008 12:12 PM
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Awesome on Pete Flynn. We had him way back at 78 with Bob Mandt, but anytime's a good time for Pete Flynn.
Our Oughta Be 58 for tonight is Terry Liebman, a relation to the original owners of Rheingold and someone who led the revival of it in the late '90s. This is a choice that recognizes Rheingold's place in Mets and Shea history as the sponsor of sponsors (not so much that they sponsored Manufacturers Hanover...ah, you know what I mean).
<i>From the opening of Shea Stadium in 1964 through the thrilling pennant run of 1973, Rheingold was the beer of choice here in Flushing and a big part of New Yorkers' lives. Brewed in Brooklyn beginning in 1883, Rheingold gave us the Miss Rheingold contest, the Ten-Minute Head and of course a jingle that echoes down the corridors of time. It has been relaunched under different ownerships since and has even returned to Shea on occasion. True, other beers have taken its tap space, to say nothing of its spot on the scoreboard, but at heart, Shea Stadium will always belong on the Rheingold beat.</i>
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AG/DC
May 27 2008 12:19 PM
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No way the PA announcer at Shea or Citi or anywhere else ever publickly praises the joys of "the ten-minute head."
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
May 27 2008 12:29 PM
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Thank God Budweiser finally gets an advertising platform next year as it becomes the official beer of citifeild.
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G-Fafif
May 27 2008 02:31 PM
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="John Cougar Lunchbucket":18iu348u]Thank God Budweiser finally gets an advertising platform next year as it becomes the official beer of citifeild.[/quote:18iu348u]
The current sign says Great American Lager. The current occupants inspire thoughts of Great American Losers.
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metirish
May 27 2008 02:36 PM
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="G-Fafif":1ubj468g]="John Cougar Lunchbucket":1ubj468g]Thank God Budweiser finally gets an advertising platform next year as it becomes the official beer of citifeild.[/quote:1ubj468g]
The current sign says Great American Lager. The current occupants inspire thoughts of Great American Losers.[/quote:1ubj468g]
And I read the other day that InBev the big Belgian beer company is poised to buy Anheuser-Busch so it will be the great Belgian losers.
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HahnSolo
May 28 2008 12:46 PM
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Rusty tonight.
I think tonight is the annual NYC Police and Fire widow and Children's fund night, which Rusty has been involved with for a long time.
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G-Fafif
May 28 2008 01:11 PM
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They beat us to Rusty. Props to them and their great cause.
The Oughta Be calendar brings us to 57, to be taken down in recognition of the role Robert Moses played in the building of Shea Stadium. Moses, both angel and devil on earth in his time, was hailed and loathed as the master builder of New York City and environs from the 1920s through the 1960s.
Moses believed the future of the New York metropolitan area lay ever eastward. Demographic trends validated his vision as more people left the five boroughs and began to call Long Island, right next door to Queens, home. He saw a future driven by the automobile and set out to build a network of highways second to none to accommodate it. And he recognized the potential of parkland in the geographic center of New York City, Flushing Meadow. He worked tirelessly to develop it and included within his blueprints for growth a modern baseball stadium the likes of which New Yorkers had never seen. The result was Shea Stadium, a structure Moses consciously modeled on the Roman Colosseum.
Robert Moses died in 1981. Removing the number on his behalf is Robert Caro, his Pulitzer-winning biographer -- and, ironically, someone Moses had it in for after "The Power Broker," no hagiography, was published to great acclaim in 1974. Caro has helped keep the question of Moses' legacy alive for 34 years. I also have a vague idea that he's a Mets fan but I forgot to ask him the one time I met him.
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Benjamin Grimm
May 28 2008 01:21 PM
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I don't know about his Mets interest, but Caro appeared as a Brooklyn Dodgers fan in the HBO documentary <i>The Ghosts of Flatbush</i>.
<i>The Power Broker</i> was a terrific read. I'm looking forward to reading Caro's LBJ books, but I'm not going to get started until the last one has been published. (Which might take another ten years or so.)
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G-Fafif
May 28 2008 02:19 PM
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I swear I remember Caro mentioning in passing somewhere his preference for the Mets as post-1957 teams go. Perhaps it was the press conference he called in my imagination to announce it. I worship "The Power Broker" (not that that anything to do with the Moses/Caro nod in the countdown). You'll be thrilled by all three going on four LBJ volumes.
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SteveJRogers
May 28 2008 03:07 PM
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IIRC Caro and [u:215095l3]The Power Broker[/u:215095l3] is a big influence on MGIM and his career.
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G-Fafif
May 29 2008 12:45 PM
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In the "official" version of reality, recent Joey Reynolds guest Art Shamsky does the honors tonight. We had him show up later in the season with three teammates as part of an extended 1969 weekend.
In the Oughta Be world, we do number 56 tonight, and we make way for longtime Shea denizen Joe Torre, as long as he's in town.
It gives the Mets great pleasure to welcome back an old friend to Shea Stadium. He played his first game here as a member of the Milwaukee Braves on May 12, 1964, catching a complete game shutout. He would visit often over the course of eleven seasons until 1975 when he became a Met. Midway through his third season as a player for the home team, he became the Mets' manager, a post he'd hold for five years.
Torre removes the digits accompanied by two of his proteges:
He was an All-Star four times, three under Joe's tutelage. He was also one of the hardest-charging Mets of any period in team history, someone who gave no ground on the basepaths, at the plate or anywhere the field of play extended. Please give a warm welcome to the Dude, John Stearns.
Another Brooklynite, he spent his rookie season at the elbow of manager Joe Torre, learning the game and mastering his trade. By 1979, he was a Mets All-Star and a stellar one at that, homering and later walking with the bases loaded to ensure a win for the National League. He enjoyed two tenures in New York, the second of them commencing just in time for the 1986 World Series when he played a key role in securing victories in Games Six and Seven. Ladies and gentlemen, Lee Mazzilli.
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Benjamin Grimm
May 29 2008 12:58 PM
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It would be nice if all the living former Mets managers got to pull a number. (Bobby Valentine probably wouldn't want to leave his team and fly back from Japan for this, though.)
Yogi Berra, Joe Frazier, Joe Torre, Frank Howard, Davey Johnson, Bud Harrelson, Mike Cubbage, Jeff Torborg, Dallas Green, Bobby Valentine, Art Howe, and Willie Randolph.
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Fman99
May 29 2008 01:01 PM
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="Benjamin Grimm":3gg6tv62]It would be nice if all the living former Mets managers got to pull a number. (Bobby Valentine probably wouldn't want to leave his team and fly back from Japan for this, though.)
Yogi Berra, Joe Frazier, Joe Torre, Frank Howard, Davey Johnson, Bud Harrelson, Mike Cubbage, Jeff Torborg, Dallas Green, Bobby Valentine, Art Howe, and Willie Randolph.[/quote:3gg6tv62]
Interesting that you put Willie in with the 'former managers.' Freudian slip maybe?
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G-Fafif
May 29 2008 01:10 PM
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="Benjamin Grimm":1523f69s]Bobby Valentine probably wouldn't want to leave his team and fly back from Japan for this, though.[/quote:1523f69s]
Bring 'em along! If we get to send MLB teams to Japan, send a couple of Japanese teams over here. You know Bobby would be up for it.
Let's Go Marines! (Or Lotte Marines!)
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Fman99
May 29 2008 01:11 PM
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="G-Fafif":1aepx2pf]="Benjamin Grimm":1aepx2pf]Bobby Valentine probably wouldn't want to leave his team and fly back from Japan for this, though.[/quote:1aepx2pf]
Bring 'em along! If we get to send MLB teams to Japan, send a couple of Japanese teams over here. You know Bobby would be up for it.
Let's Go Marines! (Or Lotte Marines!)[/quote:1aepx2pf]
Sorry G, but with all due respect to the Zen master I will continue to support those who Fight the Ham. As a Jew that seems natural to me anyway.
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G-Fafif
May 29 2008 01:22 PM
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Fighting Ham I don't have a problem with. The Slugging Sausages, however, are just so darn tasty.
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Benjamin Grimm
May 29 2008 01:31 PM
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I'm neutral when it comes to ham, but you'll always find me fighting on the side of bacon.
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G-Fafif
May 30 2008 12:53 PM
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Tonight it's "Mets fan and movie star" Tim Robbins. Beyond box office muscle and a great fastball twenty years ago, Tim has narrated a highlights film or two for the Mets and tolerated dumb questions from Mike & The Mad Dog. Good enough for me.
In life among the Oughta Be crowd, shut your eyes tight and imagine number 55 being removed tonight by three more actors from the Joe Torre era:
Jerry Della Femina, mastermind of the Magic Is Back campaign, which lives on, in its way, through the top hat that hosts the apple that took root in those ads' wake...
<i>It would take a little while for the club itself to pull out of the proverbial hat enough wins to contend, but by 1986, a world championship was conjured right here in the Big Apple.</i>
Craig Swan, ace for an aceless epoch...
<i>His right arm bridged the gap from Seaver to Gooden like the Triborough connects Queens to points north, including Swannie's home in Connecticut.</i>
Doug Flynn, defensive wizard...
<i>Little got past Doug and his defensive brilliance was recognized in 1980 with the Gold Glove award. Bob Murphy liked to say Doug would look ground balls into his glove and we're happy to get another look at Dougie tonight.</i>
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
May 30 2008 01:02 PM
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Swannie would probably take the Whitestone, but yeah.
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G-Fafif
May 31 2008 11:20 AM
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Real Life 5/31 (55): "Longtime Met employee Luke Gasparre"
Oughta Be 5/31 (54): Saturday night home run heroes Marlon Anderson (inside-the-parker off the bench in the ninth inning to tie Francisco Rodriguez and the Angels, 2005); Carl Everett (two-out, two-strike grand slam off Ugueth Urbina to tie Expos, 1997) and, leading the way, Steve Henderson.
On June 14, 1980, Joe Torre's Mets fell behind the San Francisco Giants 6-0. But typical of how they operated that spring and summer, the Mets battled back and closed the gap on the Giants to 6-4 in the ninth. Then, with two on and two out, our next guest, who will peel off number 54, swung and belted an Allen Ripley pitch into the Mets' bullpen. Just like that, the Mets had won, 7-6. So thrilled was the Shea crowd that it demanded a curtain call a response almost unheard of here or anywhere in those days. Those who saw it will never forget it nor the man who came back on the field to wave to the fans.
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SteveJRogers
May 31 2008 08:19 PM
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="G-Fafif"]Real Life 5/31 (55): "Longtime Met employee Luke Gasparre"
Looks like he should have been more appropriate to have done it Monday
[url]http://www.sc-democrat.com/archives/2005/sports/07July/08/currey.htm[/url]
| ] In a rare twist, it was the New York Mets players who wanted to meet Currey, and take pictures with him. Cliff Floyd and David Wright were among those who wanted to meet Currey.
Innumerable veterans and servicemen who were home from Iraq walked up to Currey to shake his hand, take a picture with him, or, in the case of fellow WWII veterans, share their experiences.
Luke Gasparre, who has been an usher for the Mets for 41 years, was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge, where more than 19,000 other Americans lost their lives. He served in the U. S. Army and earned the Bronze Medal and Purple Heart. The two men chatted for about five minutes, as Gasparre pointed to his medal. |
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G-Fafif
Jun 01 2008 03:25 PM
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Tonight at Shea: Ron Swoboda. Who'd argue? (He shows up much later for us).
Tonight in Oughta Be imagination: The year 1975 gets its due, as in all four NY teams that could have -- Mets, MFY, Jets, Giants -- shared Shea. To pull down Number 53:
'75 Jet John Riggins
'75 Giant Dave Jennings
'75 MFY Sandy Alomar (convenient, no?)
and leading the way, co-MVP from your 1975 All-Star Game, former rookie of the year Jon Matlack.
<i>One of the best southpaws to ever wear a Mets uniform...</i>
Thus endeth the implied Joe Torre-era tribute weekend.
Take in the full homestand just finishing up [url=http://faithandfear.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2008/3/28/3608409.html:396eb32x]here[/url:396eb32x].
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Benjamin Grimm
Jun 01 2008 03:45 PM
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="G-Fafif":1zanb4sa]Tonight at Shea: Ron Swoboda. Who'd argue? (He shows up much later for us).
[/quote:1zanb4sa]
I'd like to see Swoboda on regular rotation in the Mets broadcast booth, alternating with Keith and Ron.
We get plenty of 1986 perspective in the booth; I'd like to see some 1969 in the mix.
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Gwreck
Jun 10 2008 12:52 PM
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Tonight: Another stupid freaking representative from Lincoln Mercury.
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Benjamin Grimm
Jun 10 2008 12:53 PM
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I hope Mr. Met punches him in the neck!
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HahnSolo
Jun 10 2008 12:55 PM
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="Gwreck":3nlo0lfi]Tonight: Another stupid freaking representative from Lincoln Mercury.[/quote:3nlo0lfi]
Really, though, how could the Mets have possibly gotten through this countdown without these Lincoln Mercury representatives?
Something else for the boobirds to be annoyed with.
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G-Fafif
Jun 10 2008 01:09 PM
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I'm thinking (hoping?) the Lincoln Mercury representative is a placeholder until a stray Met can be found strolling down Roosevelt Avenue and Shanghaied. "Jim Gosger? You're coming with us..." Or maybe it's part of the deal, one number per homestand (shudder).
Anyway...back in the land of Countdown Like It Oughta Be, we are up to number 52, devoted to a subset as recognizable to the average fan as the average car dealer, but even still...
Terrell Hansen and Billy Cotton, selected for being the two players called up to the Mets who never got into a game with the Mets or anybody else (as opposed to, say, Mac Suzuki or Jerry Moses who had tangible careers elsewhere). For players like Terrell and Billy (actually, for those players specifically), Shea Stadium was the pinnacle of their dream. They got there, they got to suit up, but they never got out on the field to ply their trade or get written down in the record books (except, of course, for vigilant sidebar treatment in MBTN). So this is our plan to salute them and everyone who's ever dreamed of just one shot at Shea:
Billy and Terrell were here for such a brief time, they probably carried away nothing but a scant memory of Shea Stadium. Tonight, we want them to have more than that. Longtime equipment manager Charlie Samuels, who will be escorting our pair of almost-Mets down the right field line to remove number 52 from the wall, will first present each man with a uniform with his own originally issued number to commemorate the dreams of every kid who ever wanted to grow up to wear a Mets uniform.
This also gives a moment in the sun to Mr. Samuels, the man who's handed out the uniforms for more than thirty years.
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Frayed Knot
Jun 10 2008 02:06 PM
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You mean it's not Jonathan S. Weissman?
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G-Fafif
Jun 11 2008 02:19 PM
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Shea in real life tonight: A representative from the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation.
Shea in Oughta Be: Number 51 is taken down in homage to the multipurpose nature of sports at Shea. Invited to do the honors are three men who had moments here:
Boxer Emile Griffith, who won the middleweight championship of the world at Shea in 1967.
Goalkeeper Shep Messing from the Cosmos team that won an NASL playoff match at Shea in 1976.
Quarterback Doug Williams, later a Super Bowl MVP, but in 1975 field general for Grambling University as the Tigers prevailed over Norfolk State in one of the several big-time college football games that took place at Shea in the '60s and '70s.
Williams will do the peeling because he said "it was an honor to play at Shea" given that his idol growing up was Grambling alum Tommie Agee.
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AG/DC
Jun 11 2008 02:30 PM
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Will Shep be naked?
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Farmer Ted
Jun 11 2008 02:38 PM
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Will Shep have a boa constrictor wrapped around his neck?
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Gwreck
Jun 11 2008 02:54 PM
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Tuesday's number-puller turned out to be actually two representatives from the New York City Parks Foundation.
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themetfairy
Jun 11 2008 02:57 PM
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I'm cool with the Starlight Starbright Foundation. They're a Mets charity, and they do great work.
Good choice, for a change.
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G-Fafif
Jun 11 2008 03:19 PM
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Occurs to me now: Instead of Lincoln Mercury's name on the sign, the Mets should have placed a different charity/cause's name above it each game and arranged to donate some percentage of the gate to that group, promote that group throughout the game and give fans every opportunity to donate as well. Shine a light on those organizations while keeping the numbers focused on Shea history (naked Shep Messing notwithstanding).
In the context of the way they've done it, however, Starlight Starbright is one of their better choices.
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G-Fafif
Jun 12 2008 11:33 AM
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Today, it was scheduled to be Mets fans Bill and Jim Germanakos, "stars of NBC's The Biggest Loser". Billy Wagner wasn't available.
Over at Oughta Be Shea, number 50 comes down in the middle of the fifth and it's also being handled by another Long Island Mets fan who is most recognizable from his appearances on NBC -- Jerry Seinfeld.
In the pilot to what would become his groundbreaking sitcom, the very special fan we recognize today picked up a ringing telephone and told whomever was on the other end of the line not to tell him the score of that night's Mets game because he taped it and hadn't yet watched it. That's what he said instead of "hello," and we guess you could say he had us at hello. His series would be a showcase for references to Mets past and present and would include, hands down, the most memorable appearance by any Met on any television show this side of Kiner's Korner.
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themetfairy
Jun 12 2008 11:40 AM
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| ="G-Fafif"]Today, it was scheduled to be Mets fans Bill and Jim Germanakos, "stars of NBC's The Biggest Loser". Billy Wagner wasn't available.
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Shouldn't that be The Biggest Looser?
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G-Fafif
Jun 13 2008 01:18 PM
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Tonight's number person at actual Shea is George Foster, whose black bat was more like a black cat during his five-year stay. When it crossed home plate, you sensed bad luck was at hand.
But it is Friday the 13th, which is what inspired our Oughta Be choices for Number 49, which comes down at Oughta Be Shea.
Representing bad luck at Shea, two mirror-cracking icons:
Jimmy Qualls
It is impossible to watch great, almost perfect pitching at Shea and not, at some point in the course of a nearly spotless performance, think of the ninth-inning single that derailed what would have been the first perfect game in Mets history on July 9, 1969. Since the Mets won that night and that year, we feel we are safe from any black magic he brings us.
Anthony Young
He is known for a streak, but not for one he wanted any part of. Yet the streak happened and he handled all 27 consecutive losses, a Major League record, with grace and good humor. The thing is he didn't pitch too badly during that stretch of 1992 and 1993 when he was saddled with one L after another and the Shea crowd always offered him its heartfelt support. When he finally earned a win in relief on July 28, 1993, you would have thought he himself had pitched a perfect game.
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Jun 13 2008 01:23 PM
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I really hope they don't boo him.
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G-Fafif
Jun 13 2008 01:27 PM
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It would be kind of amusing if they did but I think there's a statute of limitations on that sort of thing. Doug Sisk wasn't booed at the '86 reunion. After a while, you're a vague and gauzy figure to the fans who remember you and some ancient artifact to the fans who don't.
A friend visited Cincinnati last year and George Foster was on hand at Great American signing autographs and such. It was also Seniors Day or something like that, so the Reds put George on the Diamondvision to greet them and he blurted out happily, "What's up old people?"
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AG/DC
Jun 13 2008 04:54 PM
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Cheer him like it oughta be.
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SteveJRogers
Jun 13 2008 05:56 PM
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Not much of anything
Wonder how many here even knew who he was
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SteveJRogers
Jun 13 2008 06:04 PM
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The pitch to McRae...Its in the dirt, a wild ptch! Here comes Foster...The Reds win the pennat! Bob Moose throws a wild pitch and the Reds have won the National League pennat!
-Al Michales 1972 NLCS
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G-Fafif
Jun 14 2008 02:17 PM
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Piggy's the man in real life tonight. He reveals 49, albeit not in the home bullpen. We had him back at number 62.
As for Oughta Be number 48, it's Moonlight Graham Night under the Saturday moon. We honor those Mets whose sole moment in the, uh, sun came quickly and came at Shea.
We thus salute the only Major League appearances of:
Joe Hietpas, catcher of the last half-inning of 2004 (pitching career pending)
Jessie Hudson, two innings of relief pre-clinch in 1969
Francisco Estrada, backstop from the sixth through the ninth one day in 1971 (and a participant for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic a mere 35 years later)
Kevin Morgan, future Mets front office player, but a third baseman for but a third of a game in 1997
Leading this pack of Moonlight Grahams is Kenny Greer, winning pitcher in his only Mets appearance, which was a solitary inning, the 17th, at the end of 1993. Though he did resurface briefly with the Giants a couple of years later (injuries curtailed him in general), he was...
someone who never did anything wrong, only everything right, in a Mets uniform.
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AG/DC
Jun 14 2008 03:58 PM
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June 29 was the day of Moonlight's one appearance, so maybe they'll show up then.
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G-Fafif
Jun 15 2008 11:13 AM
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Rain, rain made Joe Pigantano go away. Hope he comes back.
Real life Game One number handled, for Father's Day, by Sandy Alomar, Sr., Sandy Alomar, Jr. and some other Alomar whose Met tenure I'd prefer to not acknowledge (Robbie Alomar...George Foster...the Lincoln Mercury Countdown has a sense of humor). We made Sandy Sr. representative of the MFY's two years in Queens when we saluted Shea's busy four-team 1975 back at number 53.
Real Life Game Two number listed as Mr. Met's. I think that's a placeholder since they weren't expecting a doubleheader. They've used Mr. Met before. If you had a Mr. Met, wouldn't he be your go-to guy.
In Oughta Be matters, today's number is 47, and since today is Father's Day in Oughta Be land, we remember the most memorable of all Shea Father's Days, its first Father's Day, June 21, 1964 when the visiting pitcher dropped a perfect game on us. Our guests:
Phillies catcher Gus Triandos
27th Met batter Johnny Stephenson
And of course Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning
But why stop there?
Since the topic is hitless games and since the Mets have welcomed in the Texas Rangers for the first time in Interleague play, we thought it would be nice if Gus, Johnny and the senator had some company en route to removing number 47 from the right field wall. Thus, we asked the president of the Rangers, the author of seven no-hitters of his own and a valuable member of the 1969 world champion New York Mets to join them. Please welcome back to Shea Stadium, the hardest thrower this ballpark has ever known as its own, Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.
Relive the entire countdown for the homestand that ends today [url=http://faithandfear.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2008/3/30/3610486.html]here[/url].
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SteveJRogers
Jun 15 2008 11:38 AM
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="G-Fafif":nna80c9h]
Real Life Game Two number listed as Mr. Met's. I think that's a placeholder since they weren't expecting a doubleheader. They've used Mr. Met before. If you had a Mr. Met, wouldn't he be your go-to guy.
[/quote:nna80c9h]
Could be worse, could have been yet another area Lincoln Mercury Suit
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AG/DC
Jun 15 2008 11:45 AM
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Wow, that's a hell of an oughtabe.
I was thinking good Father's Day guests would be the children and grandchildren of the Mets high-yielding original outfield of Frank Thomas, Richie Ashburn, and Gus Bell.
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SteveJRogers
Jun 15 2008 11:58 AM
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I don't think Ryan has been back at Shea since 7/3/1988, his last appearance as a member of the Astros. Even for the 25th anniversary of 1969 in 1994 (he was retired by then).
Be one HELL of a coup if the Mets got him to be a countdown puller.
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Gwreck
Jun 15 2008 01:28 PM
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="G-Fafif":o11pw245]Real life Game One number handled, for Father's Day, by Sandy Alomar, Sr., Sandy Alomar, Jr. and some other Alomar whose Met tenure I'd prefer to not acknowledge (Robbie Alomar...George Foster...the Lincoln Mercury Countdown has a sense of humor)[/quote:o11pw245]
Wow. 3 former and/or current Mets who were all terrible in their Metly duties. That's a pretty pathetic representation.
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HahnSolo
Jun 16 2008 07:53 AM
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They couldn't splurge an extra night's hotel for Pignatano?
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Benjamin Grimm
Jun 16 2008 07:58 AM
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="SteveJRogers":2irf13s7]Be one HELL of a coup if the Mets got him to be a countdown puller.[/quote:2irf13s7]
Nolan Ryan is the biggest name to have, so far, escaped being embroiled in the steroid scandal. Which means he's been extremely lucky so far.
I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole.
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Gwreck
Jun 23 2008 02:34 PM
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Juan Alicea tonight.
Seems a perfectly fine choice -- of course, time is starting to run out on the opportunity to have a sufficient number of former players...
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G-Fafif
Jun 23 2008 02:46 PM
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Alicea, I must admit, is one of those names I thought of after the Countdown Like It Oughta Be was locked in and kicked myself just a little for missing. I doff my cap to Real World on that one.
CLIOB is at 46 tonight and the theme is Mets who grew up in the Metropolitan area and fulfilled what we will assume was their dream of playing close to home.
Representing Connecticut: Rico Brogna ([url=http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spjim062108,0,5768412.column]good fit[/url]).
Representing New Jersey: Joe Orsulak.
Representing Westchester: Ken Singleton.
Representing Long Island: John Pacella.
Representing Brooklyn: Pete Falcone.
Representing Queens: Mike Jorgensen.
And leading the pack, Flushing's very own: Ed Glynn.
...someone who got to know Shea Stadium like no other player growing up. He didn't only pitch here, he sold hot dogs here. Nobody could be more local than the Flushing Flash himself. Representing not only the neighborhood, but everyone who ever vended a frankfurter on behalf of Harry M. Stevens or Aramark at Shea...
In the Alicea vein, if this evening had been conceived a little later, we probably would have subbed Nelson Figueroa for Pete Falcone as Met-lovin' Brooklynite du jour (other Brooklyn-born Mets will have other roles later in the Countdown). Also, upon reflection, would have liked to have squeezed Tommy Davis in except when he grew up, there were no Mets to look up to.
On the other hand, Rico Brogna was a good fit.
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HahnSolo
Jun 24 2008 12:47 PM
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Per the press notes, tonight is the ever-present Lincoln Mercury Representative.
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Benjamin Grimm
Jun 24 2008 12:57 PM
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They should invite that Seattle fan who wants to kill Carlos Beltran. The Mets can all gang up on him and break his ankles.
That would be a good team-building exercise, and it would be a fun and bloodthirsty way to kick off a Tuesday evening of baseball.
Why aren't <i>I</i> in charge of these things?
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SteveJRogers
Jun 24 2008 01:15 PM
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="HahnSolo":1tb3526q]Per the press notes, tonight is the ever-present Lincoln Mercury Representative.[/quote:1tb3526q]
.
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G-Fafif
Jun 24 2008 01:18 PM
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Tonight, Oughta Be salutes the mass transit conveyance so closely associated with Shea, the 7 train. Representing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger, whose name is clearly the most fun of any bureaucrat. And accompanying Mr. Hemmerdinger to take down number 45 will be four Mets who, like the 7 motormen through the years, were particularly successful in driving people home from their base in Queens:
George Foster (90 RBI in 1983)
Willie Montaρez (96 RBI in 1978)
Eddie Murray (100 RBI in 1993)
and in the head car of this train, Bernard Gilkey...
...someone who can tell you that if you get off at the Willets Point-Shea Stadium stop, you can check out not only the baseball at Shea but also the site of the 1964 World's Fair. He drove in a then-team record 117 runs in 1996 and two years later when some new uniforms were introduced, he became one of the Mets' original men in black.
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bmfc1
Jun 25 2008 12:43 PM
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The Press Notes say that tonight's honoree is Mark McGraw, Tug's son.
What about Tim?
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AG/DC
Jun 25 2008 12:47 PM
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A little love for children of Tug that he actually raised as his children is probably an acceptable departure, if you think about it from their perspective.
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themetfairy
Jun 25 2008 12:52 PM
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Mark was very much a presence in Tug's life, and was with him constantly during Tug's final year. He threw out the ceremonial first pitch in Tug's place during the Mets home opener in 2003. Mark is a fine choice to represent Tug.
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bmfc1
Jun 25 2008 12:54 PM
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AG/DC: that is true, but I find the relationship between the two to be fascinating. The fact that Tim forgave Tug, and was there for the last years of his life, is a wonderful story. It would be nice if Tim was there tonight, too, schedule permitting.
This is from [u:k42ys6vy]Esquire[/u:k42ys6vy], January 2006, "Who the Hell is Tim McGraw?"
"The founding legend of Tim McGraw is one of the great contemporary American stories: He is born in Delhi, Louisiana, on May 1, 1967, and spends his childhood as Timmy Smith, believing Horace Smith to be his biological father. When he's eleven, he finds his birth certificate in a closet. It says his name is Samuel Timothy McGraw. He confronts his mom, Betty, who has recently divorced Horace. She fesses up. Tim's real daddy is Tug McGraw, the famous big-league pitcher--formerly a Met, now a Phillie--who's as famous for his party-guy persona as he is for his screwball. (Tug once told a reporter, "Ninety percent of the money I've earned in baseball I've invested in women, cars, parties, and booze. The other 10 percent I wasted.") Betty contacts Tug and arranges a meeting in Houston, the closest city with a National League team. Tug is friendly to Tim but refuses to acknowledge that he's the boy's father. Tim goes home and changes his name to Tim McGraw anyway. About a year later, another meeting is arranged, also in Houston. But this time, Tug goes out of his way to be an asshole. He lets Tim come down to the dugout but blows off Betty's invitation to see them later. Tim goes home and changes his name back to Tim Smith. More than five years pass, during which Tim sends letters and leaves messages. Tug answers none of the letters; he returns none of the calls. Tim's a teenager now, and he's pissed. In his senior year of high school, he decides he wants to go to college and that, goddammit, his rich father ought to help pay for it. So for the first time ever, Betty asks Tug for money. Tug agrees, on the condition that they sign a contract stipulating that a) neither Tim nor Betty can ever contact him again, and b) Tim can't ever use the name McGraw. Tim counters, saying he'll accept those terms only if Tug grants him one last meeting. When Tug shows up in Houston with his lawyer, he takes one look at this six-foot-tall, seventeen-year-old kid and realizes, at long last, that Tim is his son. Tug can't do it. He tears up the contract. And the healing begins."
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G-Fafif
Jun 25 2008 01:17 PM
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We're in the McGraw realm later in the season. Kudos to the Mets for having Mark tonight (45...but of course).
In Oughta Be-ery, we use this evening and number 44 to applaud two fans associated with the franchise's greatest triumph. Two fans associated for life with the 1986 World Series at Shea Stadium:
Bo Fields, she who twirled her arms incessantly from her seat behind home plate, rattling Red Sox hurlers (maybe) and spawning imitators from coast-to-coast (definitely).
Michael Sergio, he who unexpectedly dropped into Game Six.
<i>The Mets couldn't officially approve of his actions then and we're certainly not sanctioning them or anything like them now but we have to admit the thought of this man and his parachute brings a smile to our faces more than two decades later.</i>
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SteveJRogers
Jun 25 2008 03:21 PM
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Tim is in Portland tonight.
[url:3k4z6mu1]http://www.timmcgraw.com/events[/url:3k4z6mu1]
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themetfairy
Jun 25 2008 04:28 PM
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Tim's busy [url=http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b144177_tim_mcgraw_lays_down_law.html?sid=rss_topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories:2m1lcbeu]keeping order at his concerts[/url:2m1lcbeu].
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G-Fafif
Jun 25 2008 04:41 PM
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Tim McGraw for bullpen coach.
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AG/DC
Jun 25 2008 05:32 PM
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My stars, he does "Indian Reservation"?
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themetfairy
Jun 25 2008 05:48 PM
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="AG/DC":1xkixnnc]My stars, he does "Indian Reservation"?[/quote:1xkixnnc]
That was one of his first big records.
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AG/DC
Jun 25 2008 05:55 PM
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The seventies Western ballad/Western epic is a fascinating sub-genre. Some of the most moving ("Wichita Lineman") and laughable ("The Young New Mexico Puppeteer") songs of the late sixties to mid-seventies.
I'm going to become star by covering "I Did What I Did for Maria."
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G-Fafif
Jun 27 2008 10:25 AM
Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 27 2008 10:54 AM
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Tucker Ashford's middle name is Steven, so when the Mets list TBA as their number-puller, it probably means they forgot to find somebody.
For Oughta Be's 43, we don't salute Shea, not exactly:
Ladies and gentlemen and guests who are joining us here tonight for the first time in 2008, this is the juncture in the game when we pause to pay homage to the people and events that have defined Shea Stadium across its 45 fun-filled seasons. But it turns out another nearby baseball stadium is also commemorating a final year, and we'd like to give it our own special tribute.
Since that structure opened in 1976, it has hosted many memorable ballgames and provided the stage for many a superstar. When we think of that place, we are moved to recall one evening in particular. The night was as historic as any in the annals of New York baseball and we have with us the pitcher who made it so.
His lifetime record as a Met at Shea Stadium was 14-13. But as a Met at the other place, he threw nine scoreless innings and collected a 6-0 shutout in the first-ever regular season Interleague game in the city of New York. Please welcome back to remove number 43, the author of that June 16, 1997 masterpiece, Dave Mlicki.
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Met Hunter
Jun 27 2008 10:52 AM
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Whenever somone asks me what my favorite memory of that place is, I always reference Dave Mlicki's masterpiece. And I was there to dump on their fans. The only Subway Series game I ever wanted to attend was the first. I was coaxed into going to one at Shea once. David Wright drilled a walkoff hit off Mo Howard. 2 for 2.
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G-Fafif
Jun 27 2008 10:54 PM
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For the record, Mr. Met was called to duty before the lesser half of the doubleheader. Thus, in every way that counted, figuratively and literally, the Mets were unprepared Friday night.
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AG/DC
Jun 28 2008 06:11 AM
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You know, if you're not going to do your job and line these folks up with some foresight, there are countless great figures who live in the city and could be called in on a minute's notice. Darryl was already in the house.
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G-Fafif
Jun 28 2008 01:37 PM
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TBA is at it again. As for the Countdown Like It Oughta Be, number 42 is being handled by someone who knows how to handle his business in a Subway Series atmosphere, the author of the Matt Franco game...Matt Franco.
The dramatics were never as intense as they were on the afternoon of July 10, 1999. In a back-and-forth affair that featured six home runs by the visiting team and one massive shot to the picnic tent roof by Mets catcher Mike Piazza, it was our special guest who will be taking down number 42 who brought down the house. It was his two-out single in the bottom of the ninth off the opposition's closer that plated the tying and winning runs to give that particular battle of New York to the Mets by a score of 9 to 8.
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Frayed Knot
Jun 28 2008 01:51 PM
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Things I remember from the Matt Franco game
- MFY fans crying about a non third strike call a pitch or two before the GW-single
- MFY fans crying that the Met players "celebrated too much" after the win
- That I was so wound up after watching that (4-hour?) game that I went for a bike ride afterward to blow off some steam, and that I was so caught up in re-running the game in my head that I wasn't paying attention to where I was going until I suddenly realized that I was 15 miles from home ... and that it was raining.
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G-Fafif
Jun 29 2008 08:01 AM
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Since BP is optional today, don't know if the game notes will be going up in a timely fashion, thus won't wait to note here that Countdown Like It Oughta Be's 41 (despite it being 41 and thus eliciting obvious associations) is to be revealed, in the spirit of crosstown harmony, by Yogi Berra.
Nobody has been more celebrated or beloved by both fan bases than this man, who not played for but coached and managed both teams in a career highlighted by his piloting of the 1973 Mets to their improbable National League pennant.
In our planning, Yogi was/is accompanied by 2006 N.L. East champion manager Willie Randolph, also in a little hands-across-the-Triborough action. Hard to believe Yogi is a better bet to show up at Shea today than Willie.
Relive the homestand in all its test [url=http://faithandfear.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2008/4/2/3617009.html]here[/url].
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SteveJRogers
Jun 29 2008 08:57 AM
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When do the Mets ever upload their press notes onto the MLB press box portal on weekend afternoons?
Are other teams this lazy when it comes to weekend afternoon press releases? I could comb through the archives, but it does boggle me that they don't put them up, since I'm sure actual members of the media use pressbox.mlb.com for their info gathering needs.
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bmfc1
Jun 29 2008 09:38 AM
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It's up now--Jackie Robinson Foundation scholars have the honor today.
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themetfairy
Jun 29 2008 09:40 AM
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="bmfc1":jltf7xw7]It's up now--Jackie Robinson Foundation scholars have the honor today.[/quote:jltf7xw7]
I can live with that one.
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G-Fafif
Jun 29 2008 03:38 PM
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42 = JR...not bad.
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HahnSolo
Jul 02 2008 07:36 AM
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OK, so I was out of town since Thursday...who did it on Saturday?
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HahnSolo
Jul 08 2008 11:41 AM
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Tonight is supposed to be the rescheduled "Jets Night." A handful of former and current Jets are scheduled to be there. Joe Namath is not one of those scheduled for tonight. At the beginning of this countdown I would have been shocked if Namath was not involved at some point. Now, not so much.
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Benjamin Grimm
Jul 08 2008 11:44 AM
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It would be really cool if, as someone somewhere suggested, the Mets wore green and white uniforms today. They could wear the Jets uniform of the 60's, modified for baseball.
But it doesn't look like that's going to happen, does it?
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Jul 08 2008 12:05 PM
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That was the rumor but I think, just that.
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Frayed Knot
Jul 08 2008 12:16 PM
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Keith and Ron last night were both talking up former NYJ running back Emerson Boozer as a childhood idol -- a bit odd for a couple of boys from Massachusettes & California but they seemed sincere.
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AG/DC
Jul 08 2008 12:18 PM
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The Jets caught the popular imagination also.
<img src="http://www.checkoutmycards.com/CardImages/Cards/024/028/09F.jpg">
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Benjamin Grimm
Jul 08 2008 12:23 PM
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What year is that card from? It looks familiar. (When I was very young, I briefly dabbled in football, hoping that I'd enjoy it as much as I did baseball. I didn't.)
Looking at that card makes me smell bubble gum.
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Frayed Knot
Jul 08 2008 12:24 PM
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There was an 'Em Boozers - 32' Lounge' (or something like that) in Huntington Station for
a number of years - although it was prior to me being old enough to attend such places
so I have no first-hand tales to tell.
Looked a bit on the seedy side if you ask me and wasn't in a great part of town. I guess an
athlete's paycheck wasn't automatically enough to afford the finest locations back then.
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G-Fafif
Jul 08 2008 01:08 PM
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"Members of the New York Jets" quite obviously get the call tonight. They get their due from us a few first-down markers down the road.
Tonight, to open the final Mets-Giants series in Shea history, the Countdown Like It Oughta Be number-pullers are a pair who took part in the greatest Mets-Giants series in Shea history: a big part. Taking down 40 will be the shiningest stars of the 2000 NLDS, "the outfielder from Honolulu, Hawaii and the inspiration for Benny Bean Coffee," Benny Agbayani, and "a pretty fair righthanded pitcher from Fresno, California in his own right," Bobby Jones.
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SteveJRogers
Jul 08 2008 04:23 PM
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="Frayed Knot":3jzky8s8]Keith and Ron last night were both talking up former NYJ running back Emerson Boozer as a childhood idol -- a bit odd for a couple of boys from Massachusettes & California but they seemed sincere.[/quote:3jzky8s8]
Gary was born and raised in Queens.
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AG/DC
Jul 08 2008 05:17 PM
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Frayed Knot
Jul 08 2008 05:36 PM
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="SteveJRogers":2cvjjoeo]="Frayed Knot":2cvjjoeo]Keith and Ron last night were both talking up former NYJ running back Emerson Boozer as a childhood idol -- a bit odd for a couple of boys from Massachusettes & California but they seemed sincere.[/quote:2cvjjoeo]
Gary was born and raised in Queens.[/quote:2cvjjoeo]
Oh, so THAT's why Ron & Keith like him when they were young!
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SteveJRogers
Jul 08 2008 06:28 PM
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Yeah yeah yeah...
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AG/DC
Jul 08 2008 07:05 PM
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Mr. Met looking smart in a Jets jersey tonight.
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Gwreck
Jul 08 2008 08:40 PM
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="Frayed Knot":2sjfc3rb]There was an 'Em Boozers - 32' Lounge' (or something like that) in Huntington Station for
a number of years - although it was prior to me being old enough to attend such places
so I have no first-hand tales to tell.
Looked a bit on the seedy side if you ask me and wasn't in a great part of town. I guess an
athlete's paycheck wasn't automatically enough to afford the finest locations back then.[/quote:2sjfc3rb]
Emerson lived (lives?) in Huntington I believe. He used to have some position in the Town of Huntington government, IIRC.
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G-Fafif
Jul 09 2008 02:35 PM
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Don't know what the Mets are doing tonight, but in Oughta Be territory, we have some very special guests to take down 39:
On July 16, 1977, the Mets crowned their [Old Timers Day] ceremonies with a salute to New York baseball royalty, the four centerfielders who defined the position in the city before the Mets were born. It was a breathtaking moment to watch these four men, legends all, enter the field of play through where else? the center field fence.
Two of those centerfielders, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, sadly are no longer with us. But two are and both grace us with their presence today to remove number 39 one position over, in right field. One was a Giant, one was a Dodger, both were Mets and both mean the world to millions of baseball fans. With them is the songwriter who was inspired by a photograph of their appearance that Saturday afternoon to compose a tribute that turned into one of baseball's most famous musical odes.
Our guests: Willie Mays, Duke Snider and Terry Cashman.
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HahnSolo
Jul 09 2008 03:17 PM
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Tonight's press notes say the unveil goes to
brace yourself...
ready?...
...Lincoln Mercury Representative!
I kid you not.
How do the Mets marketing people manage such a wonderful promotion?
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G-Fafif
Jul 09 2008 09:46 PM
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They did not lie. It was some kid and he was taking it down representing our Tri-State Lincoln Mercury Dealers.
Honestly, Terry Cashman would have done it.
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Bunt the First Two
Jul 09 2008 10:43 PM
Edited 3 time(s), most recently on Jul 10 2008 11:13 AM
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Well, I's hopin' to see Willie
I'd've settled for Mazzilli
My standards, they were lowerin' by the day
And I'd love to have seen Snider
Throw a pitch to Brian Schneider
But the promotions team whored out the final year at Shea!
Talkin' Lincoln!
A giant Navigator
Talkin' Lincoln!
The Town Car's so much greater
A 48 month basic warranty
I swear that it gets 15 MPG
On the Cross Bronx..., Throg's Neck, and LIE
They could bring back Davey Johnson
I'd've liked to see Don Hahn, son
Takashi Kashiwada'd be a gas
Roger Craig's a relic
But fuck it, get Chris Jelic
But another stuffed-suit sponsor guy, that's just ass!
Talkin' Merc'ry!
Buy the wife a Sable
Talkin' Merc'ry!
Mountaineer, if you're able
Suck sweetly from the corporate teat like me
And drive your gas hog o'er the BQE
And the Cross Bronx..., Throg's Neck, and LIE
I cried "Give me Ron Taylor"
"John Stearns or just Bob Bailor"
"Try Buddy, Elster, Rafael, and Rey"
"The widow of Frisella"
"The hat of John Pacella"
"Ed Glynn, Doug Flynn, And Billy Wynne could make my day!"
Talkin' sponsors!
Devouring our sports cultures
Talkin' sponsors!
Insatiable like vultures
I think of Jeter on the Mets TV
It makes me want to swerve into a tree
On the Cross Bronx..., Throg's Neck, and LIE
(<i>And there's lots more like me...</i>)
(<i>Looks like the Mets took strike three...</i>)
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SteveJRogers
Jul 09 2008 11:17 PM
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Nicely done.
I shudder at what they have in store for 2012, for the 50th anniversary of the franchise!
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G-Fafif
Jul 10 2008 05:26 AM
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| ="Bunt the First Two"]Talkin' Lincoln!
A giant Navigator
Talkin' Lincoln!
The Town Car's so much greater
A 48 month basic warranty
I swear that it gets 15 MPG
On the Cross Bronx..., Throg's Neck, and LIE |
/dropping everything in order to applaud with two hands...
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themetfairy
Jul 10 2008 05:42 AM
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Excellent stuff! I'm cracking up here :)
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G-Fafif
Jul 10 2008 11:09 AM
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Real Life: Joe Pignatano, a worthy choice whom I think got drenched in a rainout earlier this year (we had him at 62).
Delusional Oughta Be: 38 to be removed by a group with a lot of experience of standing around Shea -- they played key roles in the Mets-Giants doubleheader of May 31, 1964, the one whose second game lasted 23 innings...seven hours and twenty-three minutes.
--HOF starter and winner from Game One Juan Marichal
--Game Two Mets starter Bill Wakefield
--Met hitter who tied it in seventh with three-run homer Joe Christopher
--Met reliever (9 IP) Galen Cisco
--Met reliever (making his final MLB appearance) Craig Anderson
--HOF winning pitcher (10 IP in relief) Gaylord Perry
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AG/DC
Jul 10 2008 11:15 AM
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Cool, Joe Christopher!
<---------
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G-Fafif
Jul 11 2008 04:35 PM
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Tonight at Shea for 38: Cal Lieper, "original Shea season ticket holder". Can't complain about this one.
Tonight in fevered imagination for 37: a salute to select Mets All-Stars:
Bobby Bonilla ('93, '95)
Pat Zachry ('78)
Frank Viola ('90)
Bret Sabheragen ('94)
Todd Hundley ('96, '97)
And closing out our All-Star salute is one of the great closers in Mets history. Best known for closing out the last Mets world championship, he held onto his glove in the 1983 and 1984 midsummer classics. Let's hear it for the southpaw who pitched forever. Ladies and gentlemen, Jesse Orosco.
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G-Fafif
Jul 12 2008 11:02 AM
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Oughta Be 36: Announcers from '86 (if not all of them): McCarver (presumably in town for Fox), Thorne, Zabriskie and, in a spurt of generosity, Healy.
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themetfairy
Jul 12 2008 11:48 AM
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Compared to quite a lot of the announcers around the league, Fran really wasn't all that bad.
Not that I'd trade Keith, Ron and Gary. But I won't trash Fran - he battled!
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themetfairy
Jul 12 2008 02:41 PM
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Speaking of which, Gary Cohen (assisted by Mr. Met) had today's honors at Shea.
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G-Fafif
Jul 12 2008 07:05 PM
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Gave Gary the biggest hand I'd given out all year.
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Benjamin Grimm
Jul 12 2008 08:52 PM
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I was at the game, and was happy to get a chance to applaud Gary Cohen.
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G-Fafif
Jul 13 2008 02:16 PM
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Actual: Original Shea vendor Mike McNamara reveals 36.
Oughta Be: The lights stay on and we commemorate the night they went out. It's the 31st anniversary of the blackout of 1977, when the Mets were playing the Cubs and, right in the middle of the action, Shea was plunged into the same darkness that enveloped the rest of New York.
(Gawd, I hope it doesn't happen tonight.)
To peel the number, we have:
1977 Met Bob Apodaca (who is conveniently on hand as pitching coach of the Rockies and was a part of the Met organization forever)
7/13/77 home plate ump Harry Wendlestedt
Eventual winning pitcher when the game was resumed in September -- he was on the mound for the Cubs when things grew dark -- future Met Ray Burris
And leading the way...
he was the Mets third baseman enjoying a banner season in '77 but had the misfortune of being at the plate when Shea went dark. His thoughts, he later related, were, "God, I'm gone. I thought for sure He was calling me. I thought it was my last at-bat." Obviously, he had some more at-bats and plenty of life left. Please welcome home to Shea Stadium, Lenny Randle.
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AG/DC
Jul 13 2008 06:07 PM
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<img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1234/909628462_3c607bc7eb.jpg?v=0">
Yay!
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G-Fafif
Jul 13 2008 11:00 PM
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The just-completed homestand in all its introductory detail is available [url=http://faithandfear.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2008/4/4/3619654.html:2u1o9hcd]here[/url:2u1o9hcd].
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HahnSolo
Jul 15 2008 12:57 PM
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Heard Ed Kranepool on the FAN earlier with Benigno and Roberts. They asked him, "when are you taking down the number at Shea?" He said, "they haven't asked me yet!"
If Ed is being honest, it shows how little preparation the Mets have done for this.
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Jul 15 2008 01:07 PM
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The snooze this morning said the same thing about Piazza and 31
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Vince Coleman Firecracker
Jul 15 2008 01:29 PM
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="HahnSolo":klha7blo]Heard Ed Kranepool on the FAN earlier with Benigno and Roberts. They asked him, "when are you taking down the number at Shea?" He said, "they haven't asked me yet!"
If Ed is being honest, it shows how little preparation the Mets have done for this.[/quote:klha7blo]
"Who's Ed Kranepool?" -Fred Wilpon
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G-Fafif
Jul 16 2008 06:15 AM
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Eddie's interview did tend to meld various events together to serve the greater Kranepool narrative (i.e. Mets swept a four-game series from the Cubs at Shea in July '69; it was three games and the Mets took the first two) but I imagine he got the not being asked (yet) 100% right. Between that and reading that bit about Piazza, you wonder how many more Lincoln-Mercury dealers and Jackie Robinson scholars need be honored before minor characters like Ed Kranepool and Mike Piazza get a call.
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G-Fafif
Jul 22 2008 01:16 PM
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Tonight in reality, it's Jesse Orosco and number 35. Jesse appeared as part of FAFIF's All-Star salute at number 37.
Tonight in Oughta Be, Number 34 is pulled down by somebody not quite as sanctified as Jesse Orosco in Shea circles: Edward Cardinal Egan, standing in for Pope John Paul II who did a Shea drop-by on October 3, 1979.
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HahnSolo
Jul 23 2008 02:22 PM
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I don't know why I bother checking the press notes. Tonight's another all important Lincoln Mercury representative.
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G-Fafif
Jul 23 2008 02:26 PM
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Number 33 (and a 1/3, if you like) is removed by someone who was at Shea just last week, with a little help from his friend: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
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G-Fafif
Jul 24 2008 01:45 PM
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Before first place was attained this afternoon, 33 was revealed (so say the press notes) by original Shea Stadium vendor Brian McNamara. This is an appropriate choice since most of the pretzels sold at Shea today date back to 1964.
In Oughta Be land, 32 came down to the strains of "Hail to the Chief," as we remember Shea's interaction with presidents and presidential progeny:
--Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg: In memory of the high-profile trips Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and John F. Kennedy, Jr. made to Shea (the '69 World Series among them)
--Edward Cox: Son-in-law of President Nixon, a box seat staple of sorts in the late '80s
--George H.W. Bush: Threw out the first pitches of the 1971 and 1985 seasons and is nephew to late Mets board member G. Herbert Walker
--Bill Clinton: First sitting (or, on crutches that night, limping) president to attend Shea as part of Jackie Robinson Night, plus has taken in a few games now that he's local
Shea Stadium: Always with the presidential seal of approval.
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Frayed Knot
Jul 24 2008 02:15 PM
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I sat about a section over from Nixon (post-presidency) one night.
He was w/a couple of grandkids (I assume) and was right next to Mrs. Mookie.
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themetfairy
Jul 24 2008 02:23 PM
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="Frayed Knot":2mqiloa2]I sat about a section over from Nixon (post-presidency) one night.
He was w/a couple of grandkids (I assume) and was right next to Mrs. Mookie.[/quote:2mqiloa2]
I also saw Nixon. I actually got his autograph on a ticket stub in 1987.
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HahnSolo
Jul 24 2008 02:52 PM
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Whereas I appreciate having the original Shea vendors, and would rather see them than the chorus of Lincoln representatives/kids clubhouse folks/Boomer and Carton, where the hell are the former players?
Time is running out.
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Benjamin Grimm
Jul 24 2008 02:59 PM
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Maybe they'll invite all 700 (more or less) of them for the last game.
THAT would be pretty cool.
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bmfc1
Jul 24 2008 03:19 PM
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The honoree today was some kid, identified as a "long time fan." As if they just pulled somebody out of the stands instead of thoughtfully choosing someone. The Mets should have hired Greg as a consultant to make sure that this was done right, instead of doing it half-assed and thoughtlessly.
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G-Fafif
Jul 24 2008 03:31 PM
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| ="Benjamin Grimm"]Maybe they'll invite all 700 (more or less) of them for the last game.
THAT would be pretty cool. |
They didn't have a countdown, but the Orioles did something like this on their last day at Memorial Stadium. Brooks Robinson, in uniform, jogged to third. Then Frank Robinson to right. Boog Powell to first, Jim Palmer to the mound and before you knew it, everybody, or so it seemed, just kept coming out. One Oriole after another, unannounced but evident, from the stellar to the obscure, jogging to his position.
Wrote Peter Richmond in Ballpark:
| ]For ten minutes they keep coming, and when it becomes apparent that it wasn't just the star Orioles who had returned, but everyone who had worn an Orioles uniform, life really does start to imitate art: Each successive name -- Glenn Gulliver, Dave Skaggs, dozens of them -- adds an extra chill to the moment. By now the ovation has settled to a steady roar, like a waterfall, just as insistent; it is thanks for nothing less than thirty-seven years of baseball. |
Give us that on September 28 and I'll shut up, somewhat, about this farce of a countdown.
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Met Hunter
Jul 24 2008 05:51 PM
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Steve Somers says that he is pulling down the number on Friday night against St. Louis.
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SteveJRogers
Jul 24 2008 05:57 PM
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="bmfc1":fesyzpk2]The honoree today was some kid, identified as a "long time fan." As if they just pulled somebody out of the stands instead of thoughtfully choosing someone. The Mets should have hired Greg as a consultant to make sure that this was done right, instead of doing it half-assed and thoughtlessly.[/quote:fesyzpk2]
Eh, but then again, maybe the people telling me "why do you care so much" have it right.
Ditto with that Top 75 Moments ballot, its just a marketing ploy, and nothing more. I mean who really cares that this isn't what the Phillies did, or what this team did, when it comes down to it, the marketing staff is going to do things there way, and maybe its healthier not to have such a cow over such things.
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G-Fafif
Jul 24 2008 06:07 PM
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="SteveJRogers":tewhxw0l]="bmfc1":tewhxw0l]The honoree today was some kid, identified as a "long time fan." As if they just pulled somebody out of the stands instead of thoughtfully choosing someone. The Mets should have hired Greg as a consultant to make sure that this was done right, instead of doing it half-assed and thoughtlessly.[/quote:tewhxw0l]
Eh, but then again, maybe the people telling me "why do you care so much" have it right.
Ditto with that Top 75 Moments ballot, its just a marketing ploy, and nothing more. I mean who really cares that this isn't what the Phillies did, or what this team did, when it comes down to it, the marketing staff is going to do things there way, and maybe its healthier not to have such a cow over such things.[/quote:tewhxw0l]
Actually, it's the people questioning why you care so much are the ones who have it wrong. The marketing department exists not for its own function, but to enhance the entire fan experience for the likes of us. If we didn't care about such things, there'd be no marketing department, there'd be no team to market.
It's not a cow for a cow's sake. It's an informed critique of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity being pissed away.
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SteveJRogers
Jul 24 2008 06:11 PM
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="G-Fafif":1utosmvh]="SteveJRogers":1utosmvh]="bmfc1":1utosmvh]The honoree today was some kid, identified as a "long time fan." As if they just pulled somebody out of the stands instead of thoughtfully choosing someone. The Mets should have hired Greg as a consultant to make sure that this was done right, instead of doing it half-assed and thoughtlessly.[/quote:1utosmvh]
Eh, but then again, maybe the people telling me "why do you care so much" have it right.
Ditto with that Top 75 Moments ballot, its just a marketing ploy, and nothing more. I mean who really cares that this isn't what the Phillies did, or what this team did, when it comes down to it, the marketing staff is going to do things there way, and maybe its healthier not to have such a cow over such things.[/quote:1utosmvh]
Actually, it's the people questioning why you care so much are the ones who have it wrong. The marketing department exists not for its own function, but to enhance the entire fan experience for the likes of us. If we didn't care about such things, there'd be no marketing department, there'd be no team to market.
It's not a cow for a cow's sake. It's an informed critique of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity being pissed away.[/quote:1utosmvh]
Not really when it seems there are only a handful of people that feel this way. Should the Mets really cater to a small minority of the fanbase?
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G-Fafif
Jul 24 2008 06:24 PM
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="SteveJRogers":x6jxru1g]="G-Fafif":x6jxru1g]="SteveJRogers":x6jxru1g]="bmfc1":x6jxru1g]The honoree today was some kid, identified as a "long time fan." As if they just pulled somebody out of the stands instead of thoughtfully choosing someone. The Mets should have hired Greg as a consultant to make sure that this was done right, instead of doing it half-assed and thoughtlessly.[/quote:x6jxru1g]
Eh, but then again, maybe the people telling me "why do you care so much" have it right.
Ditto with that Top 75 Moments ballot, its just a marketing ploy, and nothing more. I mean who really cares that this isn't what the Phillies did, or what this team did, when it comes down to it, the marketing staff is going to do things there way, and maybe its healthier not to have such a cow over such things.[/quote:x6jxru1g]
Actually, it's the people questioning why you care so much are the ones who have it wrong. The marketing department exists not for its own function, but to enhance the entire fan experience for the likes of us. If we didn't care about such things, there'd be no marketing department, there'd be no team to market.
It's not a cow for a cow's sake. It's an informed critique of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity being pissed away.[/quote:x6jxru1g]
Not really when it seems there are only a handful of people that feel this way. Should the Mets really cater to a small minority of the fanbase?[/quote:x6jxru1g]
There are the people who care and there are the people who don't. But nobody seems to be actually endorsing these efforts. If you're going to do it, do it well. Otherwise don't do it at all.
But if you're going to do it, cater to your fans, absolutely. Who the bleep else is their constituency?
And you'd have to show me how you arrive at "small minority" of the fan base. Perhaps if they did it better, shined a brighter light on it, put more care into it, they'd attract a bigger audience, more concern and, yes, sell more stuff while they're at it.
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SteveJRogers
Jul 24 2008 06:29 PM
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="G-Fafif":3o419pt3]="SteveJRogers":3o419pt3]
And you'd have to show me how you arrive at "small minority" of the fan base. Perhaps if they did it better, shined a brighter light on it, put more care into it, they'd attract a bigger audience, more concern and, yes, sell more stuff while they're at it.[/quote:3o419pt3][/quote:3o419pt3]
The Mets seem to be attracting quite a big audience and concern, and selling stuff quite well with a half-assed countdown, and only really spotlighting 1969 and 1986 with "begrudging" nods to the Mike Piazza era in terms of acknowledging team history.
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G-Fafif
Jul 24 2008 06:32 PM
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="SteveJRogers":3drefz20]The Mets seem to be attracting quite a big audience and concern, and selling stuff quite well with a half-assed countdown, and only really spotlighting 1969 and 1986 with "begrudging" nods to the Mike Piazza era in terms of acknowledging team history.[/quote:3drefz20]
Damn, you're right, you turned me around, I no longer care.
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Jul 24 2008 07:27 PM
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Jeets is on a mission to make every thread fly into irrelevancy.
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AG/DC
Jul 24 2008 08:02 PM
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="SteveJRogers":3sw5vldv]="bmfc1":3sw5vldv]The honoree today was some kid, identified as a "long time fan." As if they just pulled somebody out of the stands instead of thoughtfully choosing someone. The Mets should have hired Greg as a consultant to make sure that this was done right, instead of doing it half-assed and thoughtlessly.[/quote:3sw5vldv]
Eh, but then again, maybe the people telling me "why do you care so much" have it right.
Ditto with that Top 75 Moments ballot, its just a marketing ploy, and nothing more. I mean who really cares that this isn't what the Phillies did, or what this team did, when it comes down to it, the marketing staff is going to do things there way, and maybe its healthier not to have such a cow over such things.[/quote:3sw5vldv]
If it's part of the show, it's more than just a marketing ploy. And the Mets shouldn't hire Greg as a consultant. As much as I hate to throw water on a longtimer, they should retire Mr. Horowitz and hire Greg for the big chair.
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themetfairy
Jul 24 2008 08:14 PM
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I haven't been able to find a list of the honorees the Phillies had when they closed down the Vet in 2003. But I never saw any friggin' car dealers get the honors.
They're smaller market than we are (even moreseo five years ago), and they made every number a meaningful one.
We certainly should have been able to do as good a job as they did. The fact that we haven't is shameful.
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SteveJRogers
Jul 25 2008 05:47 AM
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="themetfairy":320ujzcu]I haven't been able to find a list of the honorees the Phillies had when they closed down the Vet in 2003. But I never saw any friggin' car dealers get the honors.
They're smaller market than we are (even moreseo five years ago), and they made every number a meaningful one.
We certainly should have been able to do as good a job as they did. The fact that we haven't is shameful.[/quote:320ujzcu]
True, but think about it. The Phillies are still trying to shed the notion that Philly is a horrible baseball town.
The Mets in 2008 are always going to draw a crowd, no matter what they do, there really isn't any need to spotlight that for the most part, Met history is completely and utterly worthless, save for two seasons.
I'd wager that the MAJORITY of Met fans would give the same "Giant Who Cares" reaction to many on the FaFiF countdown as they have for all the car dealership number pullers that the Mets actually have done the pulldown.
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AG/DC
Jul 25 2008 05:52 AM
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Steve, stop being delberarately provocative or you're going to get arrested.
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Benjamin Grimm
Jul 25 2008 05:59 AM
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Is he being provocative? Or stupid?
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AG/DC
Jul 25 2008 06:01 AM
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Delberately provocative, writing things that are untrue, insupportable, and upsetting in order to bring attention to himself.
Gotta stop.
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SteveJRogers
Jul 25 2008 06:06 AM
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| ="AG/DC"]writing things that are untrue, insupportable, and upsetting in order to bring attention to himself. |
Really? Then give me examples that the majority of Met fans DO care about the team's history.
Give me the sales of both JCLB's book and both of Matt Silverman's Met Geek books?
This forum is in the great minority when it comes to what should be spotlighted by the Mets on SNY and at Shea.
Heck, MOST BASEBALL fans just live in the here and now, and really don't care all that much about what happened in the past with their franchise. So yes, maybe the Mets actually ARE in tune to what their fans want, and their fans DON'T want the mushy crap that the Yankees shove down their fan's throats.
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AG/DC
Jul 25 2008 06:22 AM
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No, Steve. Go argue with a doorknob.
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HahnSolo
Jul 25 2008 06:48 AM
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="Met Hunter":3cz2xcyu]Steve Somers says that he is pulling down the number on Friday night against St. Louis.[/quote:3cz2xcyu]
Does Somers know Shea is a smoke-free facility?
Greg, did you say something about a "farce of a countdown"?
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Benjamin Grimm
Jul 25 2008 06:49 AM
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My vote is solidly with "stupid."
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themetfairy
Jul 25 2008 07:09 AM
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="SteveJRogers":1gmwaqjc]="themetfairy":1gmwaqjc]I haven't been able to find a list of the honorees the Phillies had when they closed down the Vet in 2003. But I never saw any friggin' car dealers get the honors.
They're smaller market than we are (even moreseo five years ago), and they made every number a meaningful one.
We certainly should have been able to do as good a job as they did. The fact that we haven't is shameful.[/quote:1gmwaqjc]
True, but think about it. The Phillies are still trying to shed the notion that Philly is a horrible baseball town.
The Mets in 2008 are always going to draw a crowd, no matter what they do, there really isn't any need to spotlight that for the most part, Met history is completely and utterly worthless, save for two seasons.
I'd wager that the MAJORITY of Met fans would give the same "Giant Who Cares" reaction to many on the FaFiF countdown as they have for all the car dealership number pullers that the Mets actually have done the pulldown.[/quote:1gmwaqjc]
Steve - this had nothing to do with Philly being a good or horrible baseball town or with selling tickets. It had to do with the Phillies organization (I can't stand the team, but I have to say that the organization has always treated me very well. Much better than the Mets do, sadly) comprehending the importance of the ritual and handling it with grace, class and aplomb.
Every home game that season the Phillies made the number tearing ceremony meaningful. If the Mets put half as much thought and effort into this as the Phillies did five years ago then Mets fans would react with much more excited.
Why shouldn't the Mets fans react with a "Who cares?" attitude when the umpteenth Lincoln Mercury dealer of the season unveils the number? And what Mets fan would react that way to the kind of lineup that Greg has created in the Countdown That Oughta Be?
If you can't see these points, then I think you're being argumentative for argument's sake.
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SteveJRogers
Jul 25 2008 10:11 AM
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[url=http://gothambaseballmagazine.com/mets/negative-energy.html:1qchyypu]From Mark Healy of Gotham Baseball Magazine[/url:1qchyypu]
If you didn't get a little choked up watching the pre-game ceremonies for this year's All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, there something's seriously wrong with you. Every once in a while, Major League Baseball does something so special, it makes you forget things like the Turn Ahead The Clock debacle. From the player introductions (though the absences of NY-area icons Tom Seaver and Sandy Koufax were glaring), to the emotional entrance of George Steinbrenner, it was a memorable spectacle. The interaction of the once-feared, now-beloved Boss and his players past and present were extremely touching.
When Hall-of-Fame Yankees Yogi Berra and Reggie Jackson kissed the man most responsible for the rebirth of sports' most famous franchise, you'd have been hard-pressed to find a dry eye in the house.
It was a fitting tribute to a great Stadium.
Yet, there has been a buzzing in my ear lately, and it's a constant chirping that's getting more annoying as the season goes on. It's the delusional cries from Yankee-hating Mets fans who feel Yankee Stadium's final season is getting much way too much love and attention.
That group of fans isn't alone, as my colleagues in the media have joined in as well. On the Journal News' LoHud.com website this past week, staffer Mike Lopresti's column opined that Shea's last campaign is being overlooked:
Both ballparks are in their final months. Trumpets will herald the closure of one. The other might get kazoos. ...
Beyond the outfield wall, Yankee Stadium has monuments dedicated to Ruth and Gehrig and fellow immortals.
Beyond the outfield wall, Shea Stadium has an apple coming out of a hat. ...
"Yankee Stadium, there's a coldness about the place," John Morley said. "If I had a choice, I'd go to Shea Stadium. It's a wonderful place to bring the family."
"A lot more women at Shea and a lot more children," Bob Mandt said.
OK, Morley and Mandt might be a little biased. They each were mainstays at Shea for four decades. Morley was vice president of the company that provided concessions. Mandt was both ticket manager and stadium manager.
But we mention them because they represent something. If Yankee Stadium is a famous corporate office, Shea grew up with more the air of a mom-and-pop corner store - not that the Mets don't have executives in suits like anyone else. But none of them named Steinbrenner. ... The Shea-ites have long suffered the insults of second-class citizenry - how it was a cookie-cutter ballpark with little heritage and dirty bathrooms.
"The New York media has destroyed us through the years as far as a ballpark. It would drive me crazy because I knew it was unfair," Mandt said. "None of those guys have ever been off the press level, so who knows what the hell they're talking about?"
Well, Bob, I know what I hell I'm talking about. I came to Shea Stadium for almost all of the four decades you worked there. Before I ever got to sit in the press box as a member of the Associated Press, contributing writer for Inside Pitch, or for my current title as Executive Editor for Gotham Baseball Magazine, you could find me and any number of my friends, brothers, sister, mom and dad (who ferried the lot of us there in his reliable 1974 Dodge Dart), and yours truly sitting in the Mezzanine along the first base line.
I love Shea Stadium. But outside of myself and the guys that grew up there watching the Mets and the Jets, nobody else cares. Nor should they.
Like Three Rivers, Veterans and Riverfront Stadiums, Shea is a multipurpose eyesore that should have never been constructed in the first place. The fact of the matter is, Shea Stadium is enshrined only in the memories of its fans. Why should or would anyone feel the need to make our long goodbye to the place about being jealous of the Bronx? Because that is the real tragedy, not the fact that there have been dozens of Yankee Stadium magazine pullouts and none for the house that Bill S. built.
I mean, let's be serious, the Wilpons don't even care that much about Shea. They're rebuilding Ebbets Field, for goodness sake. With a Jackie Robinson rotunda, no less. There will be precious little of Shea there (I'm still waiting for some kind of visible recognition of Joan Payson and Nelson Doubleday), but I'm being told that contrary to my opinion, the Polo Grounds will be represented in the overall design, as the seats will be the same green (sheesh).
Tom Seaver should have been out there to pull down 41, Jerry Koosman for 36, Jon Matlack for 32, and Mike Piazza should there be for 31. I don't want to hear about additions to a vineyard, either. Ditto for guys like Felix Milan, Joel Youngblood, Neil Allen ans yes, even Wally Backman. With the lone expection of Mets Weekly, SNY doesn't spend a single broadcast moment celebrating Mets history outside of the 1986 documentary Simply Amazin, and even that is courtesy of the good folks at Tupelo-Honey Production, the same folks that give you Mets Weekly.
So, as the Mets aren't even really celebrating their last season that much, so why are the fan getting mad at the media and the Yankees for?
I say this a the guy who owns a Jay Payton jersey, for goodness sake. As a kid growing up in Brooklyn and later, Queens, I never looked at Shea as a something I was settling for, or was resigned to attend. Shea was the place I went to go see my team play, and whether the jersey said Seaver or Foli, Gooden or Berenyi, or Piazza or Franco, I always felt the same way. I loved every minute of it.
I loved it when Seaver, the best pitcher in the National League was throwing smoke. I sat in my seat transfixed when Dave Kingman was the sole reason for wearing your glove in the left field seats.. I wore my wristbands on my forearms and put on eye-black when Maz was in center, and when they traded Terrific, I cried pretty much the same way I did when I found out my first girlfriend kissed another guy.
I never looked for amenities or the quality of fine cuisine. Give me a pretzel and a dog and a seat that wasn't next to a guy rooting for the Phillies. Complain about the parking? Please. My dad took me to Shea for 30 years and we never, ever parked in the parking lot. We would find a place 4-5 blocks away and walk. Heck, we still joke about the rock he tripped over on Roosevelt Avenue.
I've been to Yankee Stadium a lot, both as a fan and a s a writer. It is a cathedral. From the Yankee Tavern to Stan's Sports Bar, the whole outside of the place is as teeming with buzz as is the outside. I love the roll call, what can I tell you. I get a tear in my eye when Ronin Tynan's powerful tenor pays tribute to the country that I love. I especially am proud of the Yankee fans that admonish their brethren that don't stand up and remove their hats for the National Anthem.
My point is, when I used to go to Yankee Stadium as a fan, I was not looking around the place, saying to myself, I wish I had this. I'm very content with my memories, thank you very much. But let's stop making Shea more than it is, folks, okay? It has been a great ride, but a 1974 Dodge Dart (sorry, Pop) will never be a 1957 Thunderbird.
Oh, and one other thing. I'm not one of these guys that prefers dozens of losing seasons with a championship thrown in the mix every 25 years. While, the Mets not making the playoffs from 1973-1986 wasn't a period of miserable existence for me, it is not a badge of suckitude I wear on my sleeve as some sort of perverse accomplishment that some Mets fans do. In fact, if you listen to some Mets fans, they are the torch-bearer if all that is good and pure in the world.
"We're never as arrogant as Yankee fans" someone wrote recently. Well, what do Mets fans have to be arrogant about? Winning the NL East in 2006? Losing to the Yankees in 2000? True, some Yankee fans can be very quick to besmirch the Mets tradition, but most of the Yankee fans I know don't harbor anywhere near the resentment that Mets do for them.
What is it about the new breed of The New Breed, as the legendary Dick Young dubbed them?
Why is it always about I root for the team that plays the Yankees, or When the Mets lose, it's okay as long as the Yankees do too.? Yes, I have written dozens of times, my dad is one of these Yankee-haters (though to his credit, he is not obsessing about the disparity in the Yankee Stadium farewell), but as he grew up a few block of Ebbets, and loves the design and sentiment of Citi Field, I cut him and others of his generation a little slack.
I fully admit that in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1981, I rooted hard for the Reds and Dodgers in those World Series. My house was an NL house and my dad still can't stomach anything Yankee. But as I grew older, saw my first game at Yankee Stadium in 1990, and watched Mr. Steinbrenner sign Doc and Darryl, hire Joe Torre, who in turn hired Lee Mazzilli, I can honestly say the hatred I had in my 12-year old soul for the Roy Smalleys of the world evaporated quickly. The final moment came when the reviled Braves were the NL representative in the 1996 Fall Classic.
Then in 1998, I got a job covering baseball. You learn quickly that rooting for a team can be counter-productive as you start a journalism career. Oh, I don't mean that there's a magic moment that you stop rooting. Hell, I know some baseball writers in Boston that own box seats in Fenway. I mean, when you're sitting in a press box at 2:00 am and your team is playing from three runs down, you want the game to be over. That's when you learn perspective. Do I want to get some sleep before I have to wake up and feed the baby at 5:30? Hell, yes, I do. Then there's the players, who contrary to popular opinion, can be quite gracious and friendly, even if they are wearing pinstripes.
I will never forget going into the Yankee clubhouse for the first time. It was 2000, I was there to interview Torre and Mazzilli for a national AP column I was doing called Safe At Home about MLBers playing on front of their hometown crowds. As I waited for Mazzilli to finish talking to Michael Kay (another gracious gentleman), I noticed a crowd of people around Ricky Ledee's locker.
The subject of trade rumors for three-years, the once-blue chip prospect looked like he hadn't slept in days, He was answering the barrage of questions about the rumors respectively, but looked as if he was on the verge of quiet tears. At that moment, it became evident that covering a game I love was never going to be easy, and that I can never quite quell the passion I have for the sights , sounds and smells of the game, it was a job. Not long after, Ledιe was traded him with pitchers Jake Westbrook and Zach Day to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for David Justice.
Like it or not, my friends, we're all from New York. People from all over the country don't separate us the way we do ourselves. We are arrogant New Yorkers, who think we're smarter and tougher than everyone else. I say this proudly, not apologetically. I have lived in other places, and nothing will ever compare to grabbing a great cup of coffee at 6:00 AM, reading the Daily News or the Post on the train, and walking down Fifth Avenue to head to work as the sun rises on the greatest city in the world..
When Frank signs New York, New York, he's not just signing it for Yankee fans, he's signing it for all of us. Hell, he was a Jersey guy and he understood that. I just don't happen to believe that being a Mets fan also means you have to hate the Yankees, or even wish them ill. See, there;s this I believe about negative energy. You throw enough of it out there in the universe and it's going to come back and bite you.
So, Let's Go Gotham! Give a real sendoff and get both of your respective butts in a Subway Series. That'd be the best good-bye anyone could ask for.
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SteveJRogers
Jul 25 2008 10:14 AM
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]Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,252
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Quote:
| ]Originally Posted by SteveJRogers
Really? Really? I defy you to find ANYONE out there that doesn't think the Mets royally botched this whole countdown thing.
Gonna take a shot at me for ripping the Mets when they've been upstaged by the Cardinals and PHILLIES (and you want to talk about a shitstain worse than Shea, with a franchise to match, look know further than the Vet) in terms of doing sponsored countdowns that give much respect to the team's history and the city. |
Who gives a Shitt about how a team sends off a dump of a stadium??? No one that's who. You think I care that Doc Gooden won't get to pull down a number because some representative from Lincoln Mercury will? You are out of your mind to think that more than 5% of the fans actually care about the send off. Who cares about what the phils or cardinals do. Why don't you be fans of those teams then? I'm sure you will be a welcome addition to philaphans. |
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Jul 25 2008 10:31 AM
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Does anyone know what Jeets is talking about anymore?
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soupcan
Jul 25 2008 10:32 AM
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No clue.
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Gwreck
Jul 25 2008 10:36 AM
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I don't really know where to begin, but that piece by Healy is pure unmitigated crap.
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metirish
Jul 25 2008 10:41 AM
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="Gwreck":vz988rjc]I don't really know where to begin, but that piece by Healy is pure unmitigated crap.[/quote:vz988rjc]
I couldn't get through it all .
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Benjamin Grimm
Jul 25 2008 10:42 AM
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Too much to read, but I did skim it.
I guess I agree that non-Mets fans shouldn't care about Shea going away. Non-Yankee fans shouldn't care about Yankee Stadium going away either. It's not Fenway or Wrigley or the actual House that Ruth Built.
I don't really see the point of the article, but, as I said, I didn't actually read it.
This did catch my eye though:
| ]When Frank signs New York, New York, he's not just signing it for Yankee fans, he's signing it for all of us. |
I wasn't aware that Sinatra did a special version of <i>New York ,New York</i> for deaf fans.
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Frayed Knot
Jul 25 2008 10:44 AM
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I would read the Healy piece if I thought it had more than a 50/50 shot at being relevant to this discussion (but I don't) and Steve is now apparently now bringing in quotes of himself from other sources for reasons I can't fathom (and no, I don't want an explanation).
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batmagadanleadoff
Jul 25 2008 10:50 AM
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| ="John Cougar Lunchbucket"]Does anyone know what Jeets is talking about anymore? |
Anymore?
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Jul 25 2008 10:52 AM
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Thanks to Benjamin Grimm, we have a "merge" feature. Stevie Jeets has now provided us with a "muddle" feature.
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G-Fafif
Jul 25 2008 12:54 PM
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ANYWAY...
Tonight's actual Lincoln Mercury reveal of 32 will be performed, as reported, by Steve Somers. Somers has been on the air talking up the Mets in his way for 21 years. Live and be well.
Tonight's Oughta Be pulldown of 31 kicks off 1986 Weekend. The theme this Friday is the K Korner, the three guys known for hanging the K's back in the day -- Dennis Scalzitti (the real mastermind behind the thing), Bob Belle and Neil Kenny...
If you needed to pinpoint when the buildup to 1986 began to take hold, you would have to look to 1984, the year the Mets shook off the dust of several consecutive second-division finishes and began to contend in earnest for the N.L. East crown. That was when Shea Stadium began to shake, too, with the fierce belief by Mets fans that this team was going somewhere. Nobody represented the crossroads of hope in the stands and the inspiration for it on the field like three young men who decided to express their belief one letter at a time. That letter was a K and their place was the left field corner from which they waved their Ks much as National League batters waved at the pitches that resulted in K after K in 1984.
...and, of course, he who inspired it...
who else but the pitcher who kept them so busy by hanging his shingle out at Shea that summer and for a decade after that, Doctor K himself? Welcome back to Shea Stadium the 1984 National League Rookie of the Year, the 1985 National League Cy Young Award winner and the ace of those 1986 World Champion New York Mets, Dwight Gooden.
(FYI: Mr. Scalzitti came across our writeup and sent us his insider's account which we published [url=http://faithandfear.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2008/4/25/3659672.html]here[/url]).
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G-Fafif
Jul 26 2008 12:48 PM
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Will be off to monitor the real-world number-revealing personally in short order. But in Oughta Be land, 1986 Weekend continues. Number 30 to be brought down by two who built up the champs:
We welcome home two gentlemen who came from Baltimore, saw what Shea Stadium could be like when a World Series was won here in 1969 and decided to try it for themselves 17 years later. The general manager of the 1986 World Champion New York Mets, Frank Cashen and the manager of the 1986 World Champion New York Mets, Davey Johnson.
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AG/DC
Jul 26 2008 01:25 PM
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The thing about a writer like Greg is that any ambiguous feelings about a guy like Doc melt away under introductions scripted by him.
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SteveJRogers
Jul 26 2008 08:22 PM
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Sadly though, if what I heard on ESPN Radio last night is right, doesn't sound like Gooden would ever come back to a Met home game ever.
That is sad
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AG/DC
Jul 26 2008 08:57 PM
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Steve, turn that shit off.
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SteveJRogers
Jul 26 2008 09:24 PM
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="AG/DC":3fg81ma2]Steve, turn that shit off.[/quote:3fg81ma2]
I forget where it was from, but they did have a source where Gooden said he did not want to be part of any final festivities at Shea.
Possibly it is due to bad blood with the Wilpons over the Fred's words after Gooden's last infractions in 1994.
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AG/DC
Jul 26 2008 09:32 PM
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Yeah, but turn it off doesn't mean relay a foggy version of it.
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SteveJRogers
Jul 26 2008 09:36 PM
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Look, bottom line is still the bottom line.
Don't you think the Mets HAVE tried to make overtures over the past couple of years, Gooden's recent incarceration not withstanding?
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AG/DC
Jul 26 2008 09:39 PM
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I don't know what the deal is, Steve. Neither do you and neither does Radio Rahim.
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SteveJRogers
Jul 27 2008 08:07 AM
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| ="AG/DC"]I don't know what the deal is, Steve. Neither do you and neither does Radio Rahim. |
[url=http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-spdoc265778179jul26,0,4717482.story]From Jim Baumbach of Newsday[/url]
| ]Gooden also is slowly returning to the Yankees, mostly because of his relationship with Hank Steinbrenner. He hasn't worked for the Yankees since April 2005.
"I'm not totally in the fold completely," Gooden said. "I'm not on the payroll or anything. It's just that when I see something, I give them a call. And I'm sure they want to see some accountability from me, which is fine. I understand that."
As for his ties with the Mets, he said he still talks with media relations director Jay Horwitz and clubhouse manager Charlie Samuels. He last spoke to Darryl Strawberry "four or five months ago." He hasn't been back to Shea Stadium in years, he said, and he doesn't plan to return before it's torn down.
That part of his life is behind him. His focus, he said, is on today. |
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G-Fafif
Jul 27 2008 08:59 AM
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While Dwight Gooden puts it all behind him, our dreary friend TBA will revealing No. 30 this afternoon in the real world.
In Oughta Be land, where things are much nicer, 1986 Weekend continues with these visitors who will take down 29:
The clutch-hitting backup catcher on the '86 Mets, say hello to old friend Ed Hearn.
A ten-game winner during the regular season, he is the pitcher of record on the winning side in the most famous game in Mets history, Game Six of the 1986 World Series, Rick Aguilera.
His walkoff, extra-inning grand slam home run electrified Shea Stadium on June 10. He would go on to homer in the World Series, too: Tim Teufel.
As sound defensively as they came at short, a fixture in the infield on those great Mets teams of the '80s, please welcome back Rafael Santana.
A rookie in 1986, he played with the steely nerve of a veteran when it counted most. Raise your cup and show your support for the man they called World, Kevin Mitchell.
No lefty was a tougher assignment for National League hitters in 1986 or, as he proved in October, that postseason. An 18-game winner for the world champs, ladies and gentlemen, Bobby Ojeda.
You know his voice now. You knew his right arm then, and was it ever right, to the tune of 15-regular season wins and two terrific outings in the World Series. Direct from the SNY booth, say hi to Ron Darling.
He was an All-Star starting pitcher in 1986, but it was in a World Series relief role that he truly earned his Met stripes for all time. His middle-innings appearance changed the tide of the seventh game and set the stage for the second world championship in Mets history. All the way from Hawaii, please welcome Sid Fernandez.
Nobody was grittier, nobody was guttier and, for that matter, nobody among the regulars had a higher batting average in 1986 than the second baseman from your World Champion Mets. Give it up for him as he always did for you...Wally Backman.
And finally, to remove number 29, he was the third baseman on those 1986 New York Mets, he was the comeback player of the year in the National League and he demonstrated some of the greatest never-say-die determination baseball has ever seen. The Most Valuable Player of the 1986 World Series, returning to Shea Stadium as a Met for the first time since the night of October 27, 1986, please give your warmest home-team welcome to Ray Knight.
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HahnSolo
Jul 27 2008 10:25 AM
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Anywitnesses know who did the honors last night?
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SteveJRogers
Jul 27 2008 12:33 PM
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Someone that isn't up to 5% of Met fan's standards, and that the other 95% truly don't give a crap about.
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AG/DC
Jul 27 2008 12:37 PM
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I can make up statistics too, Steve.
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SteveJRogers
Jul 27 2008 12:53 PM
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Well if you aren't going to respond to me presenting the actual evidence of Gooden's vow not to return to Shea, I might as well parrot something someone said somewhere else to disparage the outrage that, what probably really is a small, percentage of the Met fanbase feels about this countdown.
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AG/DC
Jul 27 2008 01:02 PM
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This is ridiculous.
(1) "He doesn't plan to return before it's torn down" isn't a "vow not to return."
(2) I don't care what someone somewhere else said.
(3) No, it is not "as well" that you do that.
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HahnSolo
Jul 27 2008 02:23 PM
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="HahnSolo":2cbjesvz]Anywitnesses know who did the honors last night?[/quote:2cbjesvz]
My answer found on sny.tv: a "big David Wright fan"
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G-Fafif
Jul 27 2008 06:21 PM
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Sat. night's person was introduced, I thought they said, as a "big" or "longtime" Mets fan from Mastic, L.I. Perhaps she represents part of that reportedly overwhelming 95% majority. Today was a Tropicana Kid's Club member.
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HahnSolo
Jul 27 2008 08:11 PM
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="G-Fafif":2v2bvwj4]Sat. night's person was introduced, I thought they said, as a "big" or "longtime" Mets fan from Mastic, L.I. Perhaps she represents part of that reportedly overwhelming 95% majority. Today was a Tropicana Kid's Club member.[/quote:2v2bvwj4]
I saw the vid from Saturday. She couldn't have been more than 30. So not really long time.
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Benjamin Grimm
Jul 28 2008 07:29 AM
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She could have twenty years of fandom behind her. That sounds longtime to me.
I was certainly a long-time fan when I was 30.
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HahnSolo
Jul 28 2008 08:19 AM
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="Benjamin Grimm":2etw90d2]She could have twenty years of fandom behind her. That sounds longtime to me.
I was certainly a long-time fan when I was 30.[/quote:2etw90d2]
You're right. I was clouded by my immediate thought that she was nothing but a D-Wright fan-girl.
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themetfairy
Jul 28 2008 09:30 AM
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The girl from Saturday could actually sing, which was nice. The little kids on Sunday were dreadful.
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themetfairy
Aug 05 2008 01:22 PM
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[url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080805&content_id=3256316&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym&partnerId=rss_nym:lall4sok]Noble offers a MBTN-ish proposal for the remaining numbers[/url:lall4sok].
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Gwreck
Aug 05 2008 01:28 PM
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At least Marty's work appears on the Mets website. Maybe then, somebody working for the team would get a clue...
...or perhaps not.
Tonight's number-puller is -- I shit you not -- the Lincoln-Mercury Representative.
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G-Fafif
Aug 06 2008 02:41 AM
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Well, none of them ever sold a Lincoln or a Mercury as far as I know, but on August 5 vs. the Padres, the Countdown Like It Oughta Be reserved number 28 for select participants in the longest game, by innings, ever played at Shea, the 25-inning marathon of September 11-12, 1974:
Third base ump Frank Pulli
Dave Schneck, who batted eleven times (most of anybody on either team)
Bruce Boisclair, who picked that night to make his Major League debut
Mets pitcher of record Hank Webb
The Cardinal who scored the winning run in the top of the 25th, Bake McBride
And the Mets reliever who gave manager Yogi Berra eight shutout innings, Jerry Cram
Twenty-five innings played. Fifty players used. Seven hours and four minutes of action. Ten major league records set, including longest night game ever played. Approximately 1,500 fans in attendance when Sonny Siebert struck out John Milner to seal the 4-3 win for the Cardinals. Behind the plate for every ball and strike: umpire Ed Sudol, who officiated the Mets' 23-inning game here in 1964 and the 24-inning game they played in Houston in 1968. And on Channel 9 after the game? Kiner's Korner, of course.
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HahnSolo
Aug 06 2008 07:54 AM
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29 numbers left, but so many great Lincoln Mercury representatives still to choose from. Oh, what to do?
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Aug 06 2008 07:58 AM
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Can I tell you?
I had to rent a car for my trip and they gave me a Mercury Mariner aka, the SUV For Chixx. You know the one where they chick comes out of Whole Foods and tells you that it goes 200 miles on a tank of gas!
It was powder blue, with turquiose dash lighting and dimpled cream console and cream interior: It felt like I was driving a handbag.
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AG/DC
Aug 06 2008 08:13 AM
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Availabale with a standard or a hybrid engine.
Opening with "Can I tell you?" just shows what that car did to your hormones. Check: are you currently wearing nail polish?
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Aug 06 2008 08:20 AM
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Yup. And forgot my briefcase but took a yoga mat to work.
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G-Fafif
Aug 06 2008 12:22 PM
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Tonight for 28 in real life: American Heart Association representative. Well, you do gotta have heart...
Tonight for 27 in Oughta Be: A remembrance of an architectural feature that used to be a staple of Shea, the revolving door at third base. A nine-man team of third basemen, in fact:
Bobby Klaus (53 games at 3B)
Joe Moock (12)
Jerry Buchek (54)
Bob Aspromonte (97)
Tim Foli (38)
Roy Staiger (142)
Sergio Ferrer (14)
Phil Mankowski (16)
And finally, the man who may have seemed just another in the long line of Met third basemen at the beginning, but he would grow into the first Mets third baseman to claim the position as his own for an extended period of time*, paving the way for later, less roiled circumstances at third. He came up in late 1980, won Rookie of the Year votes in 1981 and was a key member of the Met renaissance of 1984. He left in a swap that benefited both teams but returned in the early '90s as an outfielder. Always loved at Shea Stadium, the third baseman in 516 games as a New York Met, welcome home Hubie Brooks.
*They were always trying to replace Wayne Garrett
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G-Fafif
Aug 07 2008 01:23 AM
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Today at Shea for number 27, I don't know yet but I'll go and find out. Maybe a gust of wind will remove a number so the Mets won't have to be bothered to find somebody.
Today at Shea for number 26, Oughta Be style: Since it's the Padres' last trip in, we remember the most thrilling Mets-Padres game of them all (gotta be more thrilling than last night's), Tom Seaver's 19-strikeout, 10 consecutive K performance of April 22, 1970. It was Earth Day and, appropriately enough, Tom screwed the opposing hitters into the ground.
To take down the numbers, we bring back the eight living Padres who swung and missed (or stood and took) Tom's fastballs:
Nate Colbert
Dave Campbell
Jerry Morales
Bob Barton
Ray Webster
Van Kelly
Cito Gaston (who RSVP'd before getting his Blue Jay job back and wouldn't want to disappoint us by not showing)
And, leading the pack, Al Ferrara, Brooklyn-born first and last Seaver victim in his amazin' record string, also the Padre who connected for the one and only San Diego run of the day with a homer.
For being such great sports and returning to the scene of that 2-1 Mets win from 38 years ago, Tom has graciously sent each man a case of fine wine from his California vineyard. Raise a glass of your own, then, to these 1970 Padres who became a part of Shea Stadium lore.
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HahnSolo
Aug 07 2008 08:36 AM
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Press notes say Clarence Irving for this afternoon's game.
Who?
This being Sesame Street Day at Shea I was sure we'd see Ernie, Elmo, and Big Bird out there.
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Gwreck
Aug 08 2008 12:22 PM
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Ralph tonight.
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Benjamin Grimm
Aug 08 2008 12:27 PM
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="Gwreck":2wifx1xq]Ralph tonight.[/quote:2wifx1xq]
I can't think of ANYONE more deserving.
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SteveJRogers
Aug 08 2008 12:27 PM
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="HahnSolo":3sb410b4]
This being Sesame Street Day at Shea I was sure we'd see Ernie, Elmo, and Big Bird out there.[/quote:3sb410b4]
They are no Cyber Chasers! =;)
SC = 1969
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HahnSolo
Aug 08 2008 12:37 PM
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="Gwreck":38dm27z7]Ralph tonight.[/quote:38dm27z7]
NOW, finally, this is an event. I'm glad I'll be there to see it.
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G-Fafif
Aug 08 2008 02:03 PM
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Can't top Ralph. Perfect world, he'd be saved for much later, but we'll take Ralph when we can get him.
Oughta Be pales by comparison because everything pales by comparison to Ralph, but 25 is devoted to Faith Night, one up-and-comer from each decade of Shea's deceptively promising future past.
1960s: Don Bosch
1970s: Mike Vail
1980s: Gregg Jefferies
1990s: Bill Pulsipher
2000s: Victor Diaz
It's a chance for us to salute the players who came to Shea on the wings of high hopes and a prayer. They were touted to the heavens and flew momentarily close to the sun, giving Mets fans every reason to believe at often less than ideal junctures in team history that they would lead the way to a brighter tomorrow. For an instant or two upon introduction, anything seemed possible. And as the Mets and Shea Stadium have always stood as one in conveying a sense of optimism about the future, these men, no matter how brief their tenures or limited their rιsumιs, surely deserve to be remembered for giving us something to grow on.
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Gwreck
Aug 08 2008 02:30 PM
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I think Victor is playing for Tacoma, the AAA affiliate of the Mariners, this year.
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Frayed Knot
Aug 08 2008 02:45 PM
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="Gwreck":2og1tze2]Ralph tonight.[/quote:2og1tze2]
This is step one on the road to redemption.
They've got 24 more to keep this from being a total disaster.
I've been holding off on going totally postal on this on the faint hope that it would improve towards the end.
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Benjamin Grimm
Aug 08 2008 03:15 PM
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The only way I can explain this is that Ralph must have gotten a job as a Lincoln Mercury dealer.
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G-Fafif
Aug 08 2008 04:40 PM
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Happy Lincoln's Birthday to all the presidents out there.
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SteveJRogers
Aug 08 2008 08:48 PM
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="G-Fafif":18abair6]Happy Lincoln's Birthday to all the presidents out there.[/quote:18abair6]
Ummmm, WHAT?
Yeah I know you are spoofing Ralph, but for all those born on 2/12, I do declare a Wha?
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G-Fafif
Aug 08 2008 11:15 PM
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If you're ever on Match Game and the clue is BLANK Mercury, good luck.
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G-Fafif
Aug 09 2008 02:27 PM
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Tonight, real life, number 25: Joye Murphy, wife of Bob Murphy; as we said about the choice of Ralph Kiner yesterday, right on (nice to see Joye, like Ralph, has gotten herself a dealership)
Tonight, Oughta Be, number 24, a salute to the 1988 National League East champions:
Kevin McReynolds
Kevin Elster
Mackey Sasser
Dave Magadan
Barry Lyons
Terry Leach
Jeff Innis
Randy Myers
David Cone
In the history of the New York Mets, ladies and gentlemen, only three editions of the club have put up one hundred wins in the course of a regular season. Two of them, from 1969 and 1986, are famous for reasons beyond their win total. The third we salute tonight. The 1988 Mets are considered by many the most talented team in the annals of the franchise. That they fell short of another World Series appearance by a single game should not diminish the thrills they gave Shea Stadium in the course of the season that preceded the National League playoffs as they set a record for most home wins in a year at Shea, 56.
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G-Fafif
Aug 10 2008 08:35 AM
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Today's actual number, 24, to be revealed by Jane Jarvis. A 3-for-3 weekend!
We did Jane way earlier in the Oughta Be countdown, but I'm impressed...no, make that, for the first time in this exercise, grateful.
Oughta Be 23: Bobby Thomson and Ralph Branca.
Today, ladies and gentlemen, it gives the New York Mets special pride to turn our countdown attention toward two gentlemen who never played a single game in Shea Stadium yet inform in so many ways why Shea had to be built and the Mets had to be founded.
Generations removed, one may not automatically appreciate what it meant for New York to be left bereft of National League baseball in 1958 or to have it return in 1962. The phrase "National League town" was not a marketing slogan. The fabric of this city was almost literally intertwined by the deep and abiding allegiances to and sometimes against the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. To say their triumphs and heartbreaks represented life and death to millions of New Yorkers is to accurately state their impact on the pulse of a metropolis that was beating at its peak in the middle of the 20th century.
Those Giants and those Dodgers, no matter the westward direction their respective ownerships took, bequeathed a legacy of loyalty and passions to their successors, the New York Mets, and it is a legacy that the Mets, to this day, take very seriously. That is why we have invited back, to remove number 23 from the right field wall, the living embodiments of the twin traditions that gave way to this team and this ballpark.
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seawolf17
Aug 10 2008 11:19 AM
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Those of you who were able to catch a bit of the pregame saw Jane, in her wheelchair, on the DiamondVision in the background while Gary & Ron did their intro.
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Gwreck
Aug 10 2008 05:34 PM
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| ="G-Fafif"]Oughta Be 23: Bobby Thomson and Ralph Branca. |
I have to disagree with this choice -- and certainly being placed at number 23 (assuming that the significance of the number-puller is inversely proportional to the number being pulled down).
I understand the significance of the teams to the Mets, certainly, but at a tribute to Shea? Seems out of place.
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G-Fafif
Aug 10 2008 05:57 PM
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Legitimate point of contention. The feeling here, however, is there's no need to attract an expansion team, no need to fill the New York (N.L.) slot and no need to build Shea Stadium without the very real attachment to National League baseball in New York. Nothing epitomized all that passion like the 1951 pennant race, playoff and conclusion. It was never "New York is big, let's get another team"; it was "New York must have National League baseball again." Also liked there being a nod to both NY predecessors as a counterpoint to the Dodger shrine next door.
It's not necessarily a countdown in the Billboard sense all the way through. We had Bill Shea's family, for example, at 81. Some honorees were inserted with an eye on who the opponent was or what the date was. Bobby Thomson wore 23, though that was kind of coincidental. T&B slotted in at 23 because, well, they did.
Thomson and Branca were Old Timers Day staples for years at Shea as well, though that's kind of a footnote.
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AG/DC
Aug 10 2008 06:42 PM
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All gave some to the Mets cause. Some gave all. Ralph Branca gave his daughter.
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G-Fafif
Aug 10 2008 07:10 PM
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="AG/DC":2sae2fgv]All gave some to the Mets cause. Some gave all. Ralph Branca gave his daughter.[/quote:2sae2fgv]
After Melvin Mora scampered home with the winning run in Game 162 nearly nine years ago, Branca said it was about time an October 3rd when this family's way.
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G-Fafif
Aug 11 2008 12:12 PM
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After the weekend of righteousness -- Ralph, Joye, Jane -- it's back to the winning ticket of Lincoln-Mercury 2008 for number 23.
No Oughta Be as today is a makeup game. In the Countdown Like It Oughta Be, there's no need for makeups because it never rains.
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metirish
Aug 13 2008 01:49 PM
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Reported today in Newsday that Piazza will be at Shea on the final weekend to help celebrate the end.A special ceremony is planned during that weekend.
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G-Fafif
Aug 13 2008 01:55 PM
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Now that's some news as it Oughta Be.
Not to look a gift Mike in the mouth, but why couldn't Baumbach write his [url=http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spjim0814,0,5472952.column]story[/url] without including this bit of "oh by the way the Mets suck" disclaimer?
| ]Piazza's time with the Mets included its share of bozo moments, most notably the way bumbling Art Howe handled the whole switch-to-first-base disaster. And, no, Piazza didn't bring a championship here. |
What's wrong with "team closing stadium invites back well-loved player" instead of chiseling in the "Mets have no one except Seaver" angle?
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Gwreck
Aug 13 2008 01:57 PM
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Because, like every other New York paper (excepting perhaps the NY Times), they like the Yankees better.
SC = very low.
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G-Fafif
Aug 13 2008 02:12 PM
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="Gwreck":2inqr0u1]Because, like every other New York paper (excepting perhaps the NY Times), they like the Yankees better.
SC = very low.[/quote:2inqr0u1]
Surely you're kidding.
About the Times, I mean.
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AG/DC
Aug 13 2008 02:15 PM
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Last I heard, Baumbach hasn't brought <i>Newsday</i> any Pulitzers either. What's his point?
That baseball history isn't worth honoring unless it involves champioships.
Sorry, Don Mattingly. See you later, Ernie Banks. We need to make way for Lonnie Smith.
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metirish
Aug 13 2008 02:23 PM
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Yeah I didn't bother linking his story becasue it's mostly lazy rubbish from him.
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Gwreck
Aug 13 2008 03:13 PM
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