Typing on the Fringes

[Edgy MD]

Checking, and I see he was actually the first Irish-born Met since 1945, so 73 years.



Here's the auntie, who I screen-capped at the time.



https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/screen-shot-2022-06-20-at-3.36.58-pm.png>

[Edgy MD]

And you know, shut my mouth. I found the video on Haggerty, and his teammates are more or less supportive. Maybe I remember the other players getting bigger hands earlier in the season, but it sure sounds loud enough now. Maybe the organization has amplified the applause in the interim, but more likely I've misremembered.



[media=youtube]CW8dM5hp6Cw[/media]

[batmagadanleadoff]

Let's rock 'n roll again. Today's fringy Met is also a recidivist Met. One lone at-bat in 2002 when the Mets called Shea Stadium their home and then a few dozen more in 2010 right across the parking lot at Citi Field. Whachyouse got on Gary Matthews, Jr. pictured on a Typewriter 2010 Rock and Roll trading card?







[FIMG=400]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52163526229_5b72c97da8_h.jpg[/FIMG]

[Edgy MD]

Gary is one of several Members of The Burnitz League — Met outfielders we had both before and after they were good, although he was never that good for very long, only shining in perhaps two or three seasons. His outfielding and switch-hitting distinguished him from his father, but his father was much more consistent year-to-year with the bat. His one All-Star/near Gold Glove season got him a big old contract from the Angels, and then he immediately declined both offensively and defensively, because by some cosmic law, things break that way for the Angels. In fairness though, his decline was probably pretty predictable, at least offensively. The Mets got him in a contract dump, the Angels sending a wheelbarrow of cash along with him in exchange for swingman/not-a-Broadway-star Brian Stokes, who quickly pitched his way into oblivion.



He was one of two recidivists — along with Mike Jacobs — in the 2010 Opening Day lineup, when the original plans didn't work out. The 2010 Mets were starting to taste the austerity of 2011, so in truth, the original plans didn't go very deep, but it was Angel Pagan he was subbing for to start the season.



He did quite well, at least on Opening Day, garnering a single, a double, and a walk, because Mets simply tend to do well on Opening Day, by some other, more lovely, cosmic law.



But he immediately (like, literally from Game 2 on) slumped into the fading player he seemed to be when he was dumped, and though he might have had some reserve utility when Pagan returned, you didn't get the idea his heart was in it, and his mid-season release was a surprise to none, except insomuch as Mike Jacobs lasted a month longer and they received cash for his contract.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Good reporting. I could swear I already told you that in this thread before. Eight games and 22 at-bats is all Justin Ruggiano would get out of his brief and fringy stint in the orange and blue. Whachyouse got on Justin, pictured below in a Typewriter Total 2016 Mets set, code named Sludge? And do check out the perspective foreshortening on Justin's baseball bat. His head appears to be longer than his baseball bat. Is that even a baseball bat or is Justin holding a long can of beer?



[FIMG=400]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52163842439_17dabc82d3_b.jpg[/FIMG]

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Wore No. 1, looked great for one or two games--just enough to make you believe maybe, he was really something--then had one of the most violent and painful-looking collisions with an outfield wall I can remember seeing, and if I'm not mistaken that was the end of him as a Met, and probably, a big-leaguer

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

As usual I remembered the sequence of events wrong... But I was right about the collision...



http://www.beta.mbtn.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ruggiano.jpg>



His big hit was after he returned from this injury--a monster grand slam off Bumgarner back when he was the best pitcher in the world.

[Edgy MD]

I think you're sort of right though. He hit the Injured List twice in succession. I think he hit the granny in between, and then got reinjured in a non-contact injury (shoulder?) that was a lingering effect of the collision.



Good job. I was coming up empty.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Good Ruggianoing. I remember the granny. And here it is:



[media=youtube]ouahz614V90[/media]



Lotsa fringy Mets with big homers for their legacies. Guillermo Heredia did it a few years ago during the short covid season. And this might end up being Nick Plummer's legacy.



We're gonna expand our definition of "Fringe Met" for the purposes of this thread because if I keep on posting players who were three week/10 at bat Mets, everybody's gonna mostly get stumped most of the time. So we're now gonna define a fringe Met to include any Met for which no MLB licensed baseball card (non-regional) exists.



Our newest fringe Met was a two year Met, a reliever mainly, who never pitched more than a coupl'a dozen innings in any of his two Mets seasons. Elmers Dessens rocks the TCG Rock and Roll set, below. Whachyouse got?



[FIMG=500]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52164122233_3eeed5a327_h.jpg[/FIMG]

[Edgy MD]

Mexican.

[whippoorwill]

Candy-???

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

The Glue Gun. I wanna say this chubby palooka was in his moment, the best reliever on the entire club. Wore no 64.



Also how come we've never seen the Rock m Roll set before

[batmagadanleadoff]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: The Glue Gun. I wanna say this chubby palooka was in his moment, the best reliever on the entire club. Wore no 64.

Me too. I can't recall the specific minutia, but I remember liking Dessens.

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Also how come we've never seen the Rock m Roll set before

You haven't seen the majority of the TCG stuff. This thread is an excuse to open the vaults a little bit.

[Edgy MD]

Joined the Mets at the butt end of a long career, and I'm pretty sure he either went to the Mexican League after, or played in the WBC for Mexico after. Maybe both.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Candy-???

[FIMG=444]https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2606/9196/products/thecars-candy-o_x700.png?v=1624145833[/FIMG]





[FIMG=444]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52164122233_3eeed5a327_h.jpg[/FIMG]

[Edgy MD]

I like it in spirit, but the layout composition that places the model underneath his butthole is kinda kreepy, to say nothing of her childlike proportions to him.

[Fman99]

Candy-??? [FIMG=444]https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2606/9196/products/thecars-candy-o_x700.png?v=1624145833[/FIMG]

I love this album cover.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Edgy MD wrote: I like it in spirit, but the layout composition that places the model underneath his butthole is kinda kreepy, to say nothing of her childlike proportions to him.

[FIMG=444]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52164122233_3eeed5a327_h.jpg[/FIMG]



I think the card pretty much works out but, yeah, there's definitely a subjective element to all of this. We could've put the model farther back in the photo, say closer to the infield dirt, and then it might've worked out more to your liking. She wouldn't be so close to Dessens, and objects appear smaller the farther back they are, which would allow us to keep these proportions.



But there were two design challenges to constructing this card. First, we wanted her as close to Dessens as possible in order to strengthen the connection between pitcher and model ... to make it appear as if each was not only aware of the other's presence, but as if they were both on the field together in unison. Yes, she appears to be looking up Dessens's "butthole", but that was kinda by design. (Design!, Get it?) We embraced the so-called creepiness of it. We're TCG and we don't necessarily strive for wholesomeness all of the time!



Also, we wanted the model to appear fully, that is, not cut off by the borders of the card. We wanted to see her entire body. We felt, for example, that it was crucial to see both of her shoes. To have the card borders crop off part of her lower leg would diminish her sexiness ... her visual appeal. And that explains the model's size. (It's not really model, but a Vargas Girl illustration, right?)



We think the proportions work out because there's no way of telling, at least from the card, how tall the model is supposed to be. On the Cars album cover, you can estimate the model's height because she's laying on an automobile, and so the the car is a reference point to determine the model's height. You know how big the car oughtta be and so you can take it from there. But on the card, there are no reference points like an automobile hood. And there's no requirement that the model need to be as tall as Dessens. I took a closer look after you posted, and I was trying to remember what I was thinking when I made this card a few years ago, and I remembered, again, that I wanted the model to appear on the card fully. She could be a tad larger, but then her legs would extend beyond the borders where a part of her leg would disappear. So that's the story.

[Edgy MD]

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=97015 time=1655917112 user_id=68](It's not really model, but a Vargas Girl illustration, right?)

[batmagadanleadoff]

Edgy MD wrote: I like it in spirit, but the layout composition that places the model underneath his butthole is kinda kreepy, to say nothing of her childlike proportions to him.

Slightly, ever so slightly bigger model. Noticeable? Meaningful? Don't forget - Dessens is a very chunky guy, and he's about six feet tall, too.



New

[FIMG=444]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52165767173_2e9bd27b7d_h.jpg[/FIMG]



Old

[FIMG=444]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52164122233_3eeed5a327_h.jpg[/FIMG]

[Edgy MD]

I'd put the car and model behind him on the infield, and his name in the lower left hand corner. But you do you.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Edgy MD wrote: I'd put the car and model behind him on the infield, and his name in the lower left hand corner. But you do you.

But the car's an outline illustration. Don't you think it should be an actual car for your idea to work? Also, there's only the hood of the car to work with. The car would have to be high up on the card, against the card border(s), appearing as if the missing part of the car got cut off or cropped out by the edge(s) of the card.

[Edgy MD]

Your point is valid, but it's what I'd go for.



Here's the contact sheet Sr. Vargas allegedly used for reference.



https://postpunkmonk.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/candy-0reference-slides.jpg>

[kcmets]

Purple hum, typewriter cards

Razor lights you'll bring



[media=youtube]YEkGqb2wu5k[/media]

[batmagadanleadoff]

Edgy MD wrote: Your point is valid, but it's what I'd go for. Here's the contact sheet Sr. Vargas allegedly used for reference. https://postpunkmonk.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/candy-0reference-slides.jpg>

I made this rough draft, below, before I saw your contact sheet post. Apparently, I was drafting and you were posting more or less simultaneously.



Here it is:



[FIMG=400]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52165828378_d228627526_h.jpg[/FIMG]



This doesn't really work. Plus, three sides of the car are missing, not just two. So putting the car in a corner of the card wouldn't solve the missing car thing.

[batmagadanleadoff]

The problem with the contact sheet images, at least as I see it, is that the images aren't instantly recognizable. Most rock and roll fans, especially those that are, more or less, in our age group, will recognize the Vargas illustration immediately and know the source. That Cars album cover is iconic and widely considered to be one of Rock and Roll's great album covers. The photographs -- not so much. In fact, Vargas had tinkered with the photos in arriving at his final drawing so much, that it's hard to even make the connection that the actual model is the same person in the illustration.

Edited June 22, 2022 by Guest

[Edgy MD]

No, indeed. I thought it might help you extend the car if you wanted to go there.



Another option is to put Ms. Moore car-free on the outfield grass.



I just like how the ultimate illustration is a combo of at least three of those shots.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Edgy MD wrote: Another option is to put Ms. Moore on the outfield grass.

Yeah, but I specifically didn't want that. I wanted it to look like Moore and Dessens were there together.

[Lefty Specialist]

Wow, we're so far down the rabbit hole.



It's like we're in the rabbit's sub-basement, where he keeps his carrot seeds, his 7-year-old tax returns, and his female disguise in case Elmer shows up blasting (Fudd, not Dessens).

[Edgy MD]

Nice.