Official Shea Stadium Countdown Tracker Thread

[Guest AG/DC]

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.

[stevejrogers]

[stevejrogers]

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

They should just hire Steve Jeter Rogers.

[Benjamin Grimm]

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!)

[Guest AG/DC]

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.

[Benjamin Grimm]

[Willets Point]

AG playing the heretic in question Tug's wonderfulness.

[Guest Kong76]

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.

[G-Fafif]

Vet went out 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.

[Guest themetfairy]

="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....).

[stevejrogers]

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.

[Elster88]

Putting the number back would be VERY embarrassing.

[HahnSolo]

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?

[stevejrogers]

[HahnSolo]

Weather Education Day representatives do the "honors" today. Supposedly channel 11's Mr. G and Linda Church will be there.

Whoopty damn doo!

[stevejrogers]

Can we get Harry Harrison out there to poke some fun at Mr. G's expense?

[HahnSolo]

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.

[stevejrogers]

[Guest AG/DC]

Frankly, I wouldn't mind if Willie Mays tore off every one.

[G-Fafif]

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 here.

[stevejrogers]

Was the director for the school for the hard of hearing there to help the PA announcer?

[Guest themetfairy]

[G-Fafif]

It must have been the barometric pressure getting to me.

[bmfc1]

According to Newday's Ken Davidoff, the MFYs aren't doing their countdown any better than the Mets:

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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.

[soupcan]

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

He was No. 5, not sure why?

[Guest AG/DC]

A yearbook shot pictured him posing with Steve Henderson.

Edited May 21, 2008 by Guest

[G-Fafif]

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!

[soupcan]

#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.