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Bill Simmons raves about "The Summer of Doc"

OlerudOwned Aug 18 2005 11:27 AM

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/050818

Edgy DC Aug 18 2005 11:37 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Aug 18 2005 12:27 PM

I coincidentally just stumbled upon a review of this lost Phil Hartman film set during the Summer of Doc.

Centerfield Aug 18 2005 11:45 AM

Reading about that makes me sad.

Elster88 Aug 18 2005 11:57 AM

I think they posted that one by mistake. Another BS article was just posted for the upcoming ESPN issue. That one is for the 29th issue.

Iubitul Aug 18 2005 12:17 PM

Wow. Reading that brought back a flood of memories from those two years. I still remember how batters would have their knees buckled by Lord Charles, and look back at the umpire with this look of amazement that would say, "How am I supposed to hit that?"

G-Fafif Aug 18 2005 12:30 PM

Iubitul wrote: I still remember how batters would have their knees buckled by Lord Charles, and look back at the umpire with this look of amazement that would say, "How am I supposed to hit that?" I didn't know curve balls had names until then.

Elster88 Aug 18 2005 12:48 PM

So who is to blame? The workload? Mel? (I still can't believe him) Drugs?

Centerfield Aug 18 2005 01:05 PM

Kevin Mitchell on Dwight Gooden: "If the hook is working, you've got no chance. God couldn't hit him then.'' From the Way-Back Machine: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/features/flashbacks/mets/mets_7/11/88_flashback/

Elster88 Aug 18 2005 01:06 PM

]''If I could have one player off the Mets' roster, it would have to be Gooden,'' says San Francisco Giants manager Roger Craig. ''A guy who will go get you 20 wins (a year) for 12 years. He's got the perfect delivery for the split-finger. I'd talk to him about throwing it, but, believe me, I wouldn't insist.'' Another guy who wants to mess with perfection?

HahnSolo Aug 18 2005 01:33 PM

I was 18 in the summer of 85, and Doc Gooden owned NYC. When Doc started, it was an event. Bars, homes, and stores all showed the game, and even if you weren't in front of a tv, out in the streets you didn't have to go far to hear the voice of Bob Murphy calling the game one someone's radio. Teenagers carrying boomboxes tuned to WHN It was great being a Met fan. Good times (yes a cliche, but in this case it really applies).

soupcan Aug 18 2005 02:12 PM

Fuck goddamn Dwight Gooden. Asshole broke my heart. Fucker.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 18 2005 02:15 PM

I second what soup said. And the same for Strawberry.

cooby Aug 18 2005 02:19 PM

soupcan wrote: Fuck goddamn Dwight Gooden. Asshole broke my heart. Fucker. Is that who called your office today?

seawolf17 Aug 18 2005 02:24 PM

You know, though, I will forever remember that 1985 Topps Dwight Gooden baseball card. I remember pulling it out of a pack and seeing the meanest scowl I've ever seen. The guy was so much larger than life back then, and at least to me, being nine years old, there was nobody cooler in the whole world, and that card became one of my most cherished possessions, going everywhere with me... which is why it's currently all beat to hell and I had to buy a new one when I started going back and finishing those old card sets. So to me, regardless of what he did later, he's still part of the magic for me. Plus, he lasted longer; his departure wasn't the same that Straw's was.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 18 2005 02:29 PM

seawolf17 wrote: I remember pulling it out of a pack and seeing the meanest scowl I've ever seen. That's the thing - in 1984 and 1985 he was totally unflappable. After he started blowing his career up his nose he never regained that look. Fuck him for what could have been and should have been.

Iubitul Aug 18 2005 07:18 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: Fuck him for what could have been and should have been. Worrying about what could have been, and what should have been is wasted energy at best. Instead, I think we should thank him for what he did give us - The greatest one-season performance by a pitcher that I ever saw.

cooby Aug 18 2005 07:52 PM

I've recommended this book before You'll be cheering them on to stop, even though you know they don't

soupcan Aug 19 2005 12:05 PM

I cut Strawberry a lot more slack because as a Met fan he didn't let me down. Strawberry produced during his entire tenure with the Mets. He gave me my money's worth. He may have been doing drugs but he still did what was expected on the field.. Gooden ripped me off. Like that time I gave that skanky guy on the corner of St. Marks and 1st $10 for a dime bag and he disappeared into a building to get my stash. Guy never came back. That's how I feel about Doctor K.

Edgy DC Aug 19 2005 12:10 PM

So, by taking drugs, he made you as mad as you got at the guy who didn't bring you the drugs you wanted to take.

soupcan Aug 19 2005 12:20 PM

Edgy DC wrote: So, by taking drugs, he made you as mad as you got at the guy who didn't bring you the drugs you wanted to take. No. He made me MORE mad! C'mon you're a writer - gimme credit for that great analogy.

cooby Aug 19 2005 08:54 PM

Look! I'm Darryl Strawberry!

ScarletKnight41 Aug 19 2005 08:57 PM

You cokehead.

Rockin' Doc Aug 20 2005 07:02 AM

cooby nearing the rarified air at the summit of Met lore.

cooby Aug 20 2005 07:53 AM

Mrs. Joan Payson...

Rockin' Doc Aug 20 2005 08:02 AM

Save a place for me at the top. I should reach Seaver level sometime in the spring or summer of 2009., assuming my current rate of posting continues to hold steady. Scarlett is getting ready to lap me very soon and I can see Seawolfe rapidly approaching in my rear view mirror.

seawolf17 Aug 20 2005 05:58 PM

What view is better, Doc? #1 or #2?

Zvon Aug 20 2005 06:09 PM

I told ya i was a big fan. I even draw Mets. Tried to get Gooden to sign this. Ends up being a long story, but he didnt. Its ones those Met stories Ill post someday.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 20 2005 06:17 PM

Post the story NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here's my Gooden story. We saw him pitch a spring training game in St. Pete in 1987. A foul ball was hit right to us, but my brother-in-law couldn't figure out where it was on the floor, so someone else grabbed it. Gooden went on to give up 9 runs in two innings. A week later, he was in Smithers. I still say fuck him!

Edgy DC Aug 20 2005 06:21 PM

You've, um, said that quite a bit.

cooby Aug 20 2005 06:22 PM

Somehow I think Mrs. Gooden might have some objection to that Beautiful picture, Zvon

Zvon Aug 20 2005 06:41 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: Post the story NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol. k. But the story has little to do with Gooden. Ill try to make it quick. I was doing baseball portrait art during the 80s, and tried to get players to sign the original. So I took the drawing to shea with my bros and me sometime in '88. I had it rolled up in a cardboard tube for protection.(also in the tube was another drawing that I did get signed, of a Phil named Glenn Wilson) The only time i was able to get close to Gooden was after the game, by the bullpen, when he came out to his car. But I wasnt prepared, or id have had the drawing out of the tube so he could see it. well, it wasnt and my brothers and i were yellin 'hey doc, can you sign this!" and im waving the tube at him. he probly thought it was a pipe bomb or something, I dunno. But he kept walkin and ignored us and I rushed to get the drawing out and unroll it and i did, but i dont know if he ever saw it. he had to drive out past us but i dont remember any of those details. I only remember i missed that chance(all other drawings i had signed by payin the fee at card shows). So, anyways, my bros and i did what we usually did while waiting for the parkin lot to empty out. we got out the frisbee and started tossing it around. I put the tube on the back bumper of the car. We tossed the bee for around 20 minutes and then jumped in the car, and took off. About 15 minutes out of the stadium, heading to NJ, I felt what i can only describe as dread as i suddenly remembered the drawings were left on the car bumper. So we turned around and went back. We looked and looked and looked around where we were parked, but couldnt find the tube. So I thought maybe it ended up being picked up by maintenance, so I went to this trailor they had and asked, nothin. Then i searched the dumpsters myself. We were looking for over an hour, and across the lot, way far away from where we were parked, one of my brothers was yellin he found it. It was squished up against a curb. Flat as a pancake. Looked like it was run more than once. But we found it, and both drawings were in there. If you look closely you can see i greyed out the area behind Doc digitally, to hide the creases that still exist in the drawing. whew.....thats the short version of the story,lol.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 20 2005 06:55 PM

LOL - great story! So, which drawings have you had signed?

Zvon Aug 20 2005 07:03 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: LOL - great story! So, which drawings have you had signed? Mets? Only Lenny Dykstra. Ill post it someday. I did many drawings, wasnt to successful in getting them signed :cry:

ScarletKnight41 Aug 20 2005 07:05 PM

Well, that's great. Which non-Mets signed for you?

Zvon Aug 20 2005 07:38 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: Well, that's great. Which non-Mets signed for you? Glenn Wilson, lmao. Like i said, I wasnt too successful. The best way was the card show, but many times Id get the date of the show and not have the actual drawing completed. Dykstra signed his before it was colored, when it was just a pencil sketch. And you get that certificate of Authenticity from the shows. The baseball portrait signed thing was just another project i started and never finished. Plenty of drawings tho. The only ones I have scanned are Cal Ripkin, Eddie Murray, Johnny Bench, and the signed Dykstra. Dykstras is all color and a tribute to his 86 playoff homer.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 20 2005 07:44 PM

Nice choice.

Zvon Aug 20 2005 08:04 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: Nice choice. Glenn was a Met killer in those days. Had to pay like 7 bucks for the signature( Dykstras was more like 30 bucks) at this lil tini card show. He was kinda like an asshole when he signed. 1st, he wanted me to give him the original for nuthin. I said hellno. I said write down your address and Ill mail you a copy. He did write his address on a piece of paper but wouldnt write his name with it, cuz he said that would be a free autograph. Ha! Dork. I threw the address away when i got home.

Elster88 Aug 26 2005 08:48 AM

This article came out less than a week before Doc's latest escapade. Sadly, this is less coincindental due to the frequency with which Doc's name appears in the paper.