Rico Brogna, Good Fit - Mets in Retirement, 2009

[Valadius]

The Daily News ran a "Where Are They Now?" on Anthony Young. He now coaches youth baseball in Houston.

Article is here.

Where are they now? Former Met Anthony Young emerges a real winner BY ANTHONY MCCARRON DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Fans sent Anthony Young all sorts of good-luck talismans while he was enduring his infamous losing streak - four-leaf clovers, horseshoes, rabbit's feet. One woman gave him her treasured $2 bill. Psychics called the Met offices offering aid. Letters of encouragement poured in from folks who sat in the bleachers as well as Hall of Famer Bob Feller. More than 15 years after his record 27-game losing streak ended, Young still holds onto his memories of "what I'm known for," as he puts it. He still has most of the trinkets, stored in his attic in the same box he kept them in at his locker at Shea. Recently, he says, he poked around in the box and watched several old videotapes - his appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and a meeting he had with the family of Cliff Curtis, the pitcher who set the record from 1910-11 that Young eventually broke. Nowadays, deep into a coaching career, Young gets occasional reminders from the kids on the five select teams he oversees. "Once they find out you were in the big leagues, they 'Google' you," Young says. "Then they say, 'Coach, you're known for a losing streak!'" Young, who will be 43 later this month, had a 9-5 job at a chemical plant for eight years after his playing career ended in 1996. But he wanted to coach and now runs five different teams of kids from 9-13 years old in Houston, his hometown. He also gives private pitching lessons as part of his own company, AY Enterprise. "It's a big business now and there's a lot of competition," Young says. Young says his teams have played tournaments against teams coached by ex-players such as Charlie Hayes, Chuck McElroy and Eric Anthony. "Life is good," Young adds. "I'm a grandfather. It's been a pleasure watching my kids grow up and I'm keeping busy with baseball." Young, who is also a regular at Met fantasy camps, knows that people will forever remember him as the promising pitcher who dropped 27 consecutive decisions from May 6, 1992 to July 24, 1993 - he's gone to memorabilia shows where people want him to acknowledge the streak next to his autograph. But sometimes he wishes everyone also remembers that he didn't pitch that poorly during the streak - managers don't keep giving you the ball if you're getting clobbered every time you pitch. "I got a bad rap on that," Young says of the streak, in which he had a 4.36 ERA. "I always said I didn't feel like I was pitching badly. It just happened to happen to me. I don't feel like I deserve it, but I'm known for it. It was an 82-year-old record and it might be 82 more years before it's broken. "Everything that could happen, happened. It was just destiny, I guess." At one point during the streak, Young converted 12 straight save chances and threw 23.2 straight scoreless innings subbing for closer John Franco. He was 0-14 as a starter and 0-13 as a reliever. It all ended on July 28, 1993 when the Mets scored twice in the bottom of the ninth against the Marlins. Young had entered at the top of the inning and allowed a tie-breaking unearned run after a Todd Hundley throwing error. A few weeks later, Young flew to Los Angeles to be on The Tonight Show. While mired in the streak, he had been prime monologue material for Leno and when they met, Leno offered the chance for comic retribution, telling Young, "You can make fun of my chin if you want to." "It was a lot of fun," Young says. While the end of the streak offered relief, it is not nearly Young's favorite moment of his six-year career with the Mets, Cubs and Astros. That would be his debut against the Cubs on Aug. 5, 1991 when he relieved Pete Schourek with the bases loaded in the seventh and got Shawon Dunston to ground out to end the inning. "That," says Young, "is one of the best memories of my life."

[G-Fafif]

Bobby V on almost everything in his hometown paper.

Bobby Valentine searches for his next great challenge By Rich DePreta Staff Writer Posted: 01/04/2009 09:30:16 PM EST STAMFORD - For most people, seven is a lucky number. That particular numeral sends a different message to Bobby Valentine. "I spent seven years in Texas as manager of the Rangers. I spent seven years in New York as manager of the Mets," Valentine said. "And if you count both of my stints there, 2009 will be my seventh season managing in Japan." And with the recent news that the Chiba Lotte Marines will not extend the three-year, $4.5 million contract held by Valentine, the cycle remains unbroken. It is time, once again, for Bobby Valentine to search. Search for the next big thing. Search for the next baseball challenge. Despite managing Chiba Lotte Marines to their first Japan World Series and Asia Series titles in 31 years in 2005, the grand global adventure of Bobbysan and Bobby Beer and the Bobby V bobblehead dolls will end when the 2009 Japan baseball season is history. As usual, Valentine was ahead of the curve. He became a baseball messenger on the global stage before the rest of us became players - and victims - of the global economy. It is with a wistful tone that Valentine analyzes the upcoming World Baseball Classic - which has Japan as one of its sites this March. "I went to the Beijing Olympics. It was my first time at a summer Olympics," Valentine said during a lunch break at Bobby Valentine's Sports Academy in Stamford. "I got to see firsthand that the world's enthusiasm for baseball at Olympic venues wasn't what I expected. The World Baseball Classic might have to be the world exhibition of baseball. The first WBC was successful. Maybe not up to Major League Baseball's standards here. But it created great enthusiasm around the world for baseball. "It really touched Asia," Valentine continued. "Korea lost to eventual champ Japan. Having the top two countries in that part of the world compete was exciting." While having some of the best professionals in the world on a Davis Cup tennis-like setting is a good thing. Valentine feels a format change would allow the WBC to reach its highest potential. "The WBC is the world event that baseball needs," Valentine said. "But personally, I'd rather see championship teams from each country play each other. However, that's not realistic so an All-Star event like the WBC is the next best thing. I hope the WBC is a catalyst to grow baseball internationally." Make no mistake at age 58, Bobby Valentine is better thanks to his time in Japan. And Japan is a better baseball nation for having experienced Bobby Valentine. "It has been a great life experience. I lived in Japan as a minority which is quite a different perspective on life," Valentine said. "I feel good about myself. I learned a new language. I learned a lot about baseball. I learned a lot about patience. I learned a lot about cultural diversity and people's motivations. "I'm glad that I was young enough when I went there to experience it," Valentine continued. "It is so challenging. It is such a demanding baseball culture. Japan was a place where there was room for baseball growth. A place where I got to see the fruits of my labors. Japan is full of 30,000-capacity baseball stadiums. My first year we drew 400,000 fans. Now attendance is up to 1.7 million and my Japanese players come out and sign autographs before games. I was truly part of some positive change." But even with that elusive first professional title on his resume, and even with that first World Series champions ring on his finger. Valentine's influence ultimately only goes so far. "Japan is not like the United States. You don't have one meeting, throw ideas out on the table and things get implemented immediately," Valentine said. "Things aren't said and then done. The weight of tradition is such that any new idea is tested over and over and over. And then ... maybe ... it's adopted. "I've always been a kick the wall down type of guy," Valentine continued. "It's difficult in Japan. There is resistance all along the way. My thought is that Japanese baseball belongs to the Japanese people. Not up to the hierarchy of the sport to make all the decisions. I make decisions during the nine innings of each game. But the rest of my ideas become mere suggestions." That frustration is a reason why it's good that Stamford's finest baseball player ever is home for the off-season. Anyone who has ventured into a Bobby Valentine's Sports Gallery restaurant or has visited the spacious Bobby Valentine Sports Academy in Springdale can see Bobby V's handiwork on each business venture immediately. The Academy features baseball in its purest form. Because in his heart, Bobby Valentine has always been a teacher first. "Baseball is a tough, intense learning curve. Playing the game of baseball is very different from exhibiting the skills to play," Valentine said. "It strikes me that baseball is a lot more structured than it used to be. Kids will show up and be enthusiastic for one hour of scheduled practice. But when that hour is over, they put baseball up on the shelf and forget about it until that next one hour of scheduled practice comes. I guess that's the price of living in a society that is so diverse with so many different options to hold a child's interest. "I read that at a very early age Wayne Gretzky had spent 3,000 hours out on the ice. The normal kid at that same age spent 300 hours on the ice. And you wonder why Gretzky was so much better than everyone else?" Valentine continued. "Kids who put extra time in a sport and enjoy it, improve. The logic is obvious." Yes, a Sports Academy and Bobby Valentine and the city of Stamford is a good marriage, indeed. "We've had this Academy for just over a year in this building. It is clear to me that baseball is still loved in this community," Valentine said. "There is still a generational bonding situation that baseball creates between fathers and sons or fathers and daughters or mothers and daughters (softball). Both generations enjoy it." Valentine also thinks it's not too late for Major League Baseball to reach that next generation of players and young fans. Even in the face of playoff games and Sunday Night baseball that ends around midnight when kids are asleep. "Yes, we need to create interest in baseball when kids are young. Kids can play in places like this Academy when it's dark and cold in the Northeast," Valentine said. "It saddens me that the World Series is on TV so late in the East. But I have high hopes for the MLB Network that will be the future. The MLB television network will be a forum where kids can see baseball and learn about baseball 24 hours a day. It will be available to kids at hours when they are awake. The MLB Network people get it." But the most important item on Valentine's January agenda is the Seventh Annual Bobby Valentine Celebrity Wine and Food Experience set for Jan. 12 at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich. Proceeds from the event benefit the Mickey Lione Jr. Scholarship Fund to honor the late Trinity Catholic High School baseball and boys ice hockey coach. The three scholarship recipients each year are high school sophomores in Stamford who pledge to maintain a certain grade point average and take part in community service before heading off to college. "The good days have brought a lot of success to the Lione Scholarship Fund. And our board of directors understand this is less than the best of times," said Valentine, who had Lione as a frequent visitor in his Mets' manager's office. "This year we will show our appreciation to the people who have supported us over the years. "We're fortunate in that our event has become a Stamford homecoming for many," Valentine continued. "They come for the wines and the foods. But also to see people they meet once or twice a year. We have a solid core of folks like that. Our core group also understand the values that Mickey had while coaching kids and the values we are trying to perpetuate in the community. Mickey was all about Stamford, family and kids. We're trying to be the community source that allows kids to achieve excellence. We've had our first wedding of scholarship recipients. We have a long list of good role models for our future scholarship winners." One thing that Valentine is envious of as he looks at major league baseball are the new stadiums the Mets and Yankees will open in New York City this 2009 season. "The baseball fans of New York needed and deserved these new venues," Valentine said. "I worked at Shea Stadium for seven years. I talked to the fans every day. I know how overdue both these stadiums are. As glorious and historic as the old Yankee Stadium was, it was still the OLD Yankee Stadium. New York baseball fans should be pleased." Bobby Valentine has been on a such a long journey in his baseball managerial life. Time has thrown some dust on the memory that Valentine managed the Texas Rangers before the club was bought by a group that included outgoing President George W. Bush. And Valentine, out of necessity, was on the cutting edge of ideas and procedures major league baseball takes for granted now. "Texas was fun. (General manager) Tom Grieve, (pitching coach) Tom House and I spent so much time brainstorming to try to be creative and different," Valentine recalled. "When I became manager, I hadn't been in the American League for 10 years. I really needed to learn the American League and its players fast. And I knew I wasn't going to learn by merely reading scouting reports. "I told (Texas owner) Eddie Chiles that I needed to see games. He said I could have the advance scouts or the video but not both. So we started video scouting," Valentine continued. "We had one satellite dish about 15 feet in diameter and this one joystick to move the dish and search out baseball TV telecasts in each AL city. Look at what video scouting has become today." Not every idea worked that well. But there were some groundbreaking theories. "Our pitching coach Tom House (currently pitching coach at USC) was immersed in all that biomechanical theory about pitchers," Valentine said. "Remember our pitchers would warmup most days by tossing footballs. I recall one time we commissioned a Biomechanical physicist with a PHD in East Germany to do a study on arm motion. This doctor worked with javelin throwers and shot putters working toward the Olympics. It's amazing how many of these studies morphed into what Dr. (James) Andrews is doing at his institute in Birmingham, Alabama today. "And signing Nolan Ryan to pitch in our old stadium was an experience I'll never forget." But that was the past. The question is what will the future bring to Bobby Valentine? Having conquered the Orient, will someone in Major League Baseball give him a seat at the table one more time? "I know I'm a different person than I was two years ago. I'm certainly different than I was 10 years ago. I've been dealing with Major League Baseball from a distance for a while," Valentine said. "I do know that I like managing. I like being with people trying to be their best in a physical, competitive environment. But being a major league baseball manager, those are 30 very difficult jobs to get."

[Benjamin Grimm]

Time has thrown some dust on the memory that Valentine managed the Texas Rangers before the club was bought by a group that included outgoing President George W. Bush.

Is that the proper way to word that? Bush wasn't the outgoing President at the time of the purchase. Wouldn't "future president" have been more correct?

[G-Fafif]

It's a long way from Stamford to Broadway.

[Gwreck]

"Outgoing" is definitely wrong.

I think future is the right modifier there.

[G-Fafif]

On the other hand, a lot of people voted for Bush because he was the candidate with whom they'd choose to have a beer...a real outgoing fella, if you will.

[stevejrogers]

On the other hand, a lot of people voted for Bush because he was the candidate with whom they'd choose to have a beer...a real outgoing fella, if you will.[/quote:15c7c9yx]

Ditto Clinton, FWIW.

[G-Fafif]

On the other hand, a lot of people voted for Bush because he was the candidate with whom they'd choose to have a beer...a real outgoing fella, if you will.[/quote:wuqn8boq]

Ditto Clinton, FWIW.[/quote:wuqn8boq]

No, not really.

[DocTee]

Lenny Randle, Sports Information Director at American Sports University:

http://www.americansportsuniversity.com/faculty_staff.php

Interestingly, they fail to mention his time spent with Texas, where he beat up his manager.

[stevejrogers]

On the other hand, a lot of people voted for Bush because he was the candidate with whom they'd choose to have a beer...a real outgoing fella, if you will.[/quote:859ubt6e]

Ditto Clinton, FWIW.[/quote:859ubt6e]

No, not really.[/quote:859ubt6e]

Ah, so the SNL McDonald's sketch had no relation to Clinton's personality and ability to connect with others, making them feel like he actually could relate to them? It was a complete non-sequitor (I know I butchered that word) in every way?

Clinton's handlers having him perform the sax on Arsenio was also not intended to show the public that he was not some "above the fray" politician? Especially compared to Bush Sr.

Please, if the way Clinton was presented, and still to this day (as I'm sure it is not a complete act), was anything but a common man who would sit and talk with you for hours, then apparantly we are talking about different Bill Clintons.

[G-Fafif]

Every politician gets by on a certain amount of personal appeal. In 2000, the contrast was drawn more starkly than usual: who would you rather have a beer with, Bush or Gore? The context was designed to put Bush in a good light, Gore in a dim one. It wasn't the same "issue" in 1992 or 2008 or any other election in recent memory.

Meanwhile, Bobby Valentine contemplates his future, wondering how the Brogna thread unspooled away from what ex-Mets are doing in 2009 so quickly.

[stevejrogers]

Every politician gets by on a certain amount of personal appeal. In 2000, the contrast was drawn more starkly than usual: who would you rather have a beer with, Bush or Gore? The context was designed to put Bush in a good light, Gore in a dim one. It wasn't the same "issue" in 1992 or 2008 or any other election in recent memory.

Meanwhile, Bobby Valentine contemplates his future, wondering how the Brogna thread unspooled away from what ex-Mets are doing in 2009 so quickly.[/quote:myki5p19]

Fair enough.

[Theoldmole]

Yes, a Sports Academy and Bobby Valentine and the city of Stamford is a good marriage, indeed.

Bobby V, good fit?

[G-Fafif]

Yes, a Sports Academy and Bobby Valentine and the city of Stamford is a good marriage, indeed.

Bobby V, good fit?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Bart Shirley, inspiring bad vocabulary usage from an MSNBC affiliate writer.

Shirley Named Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

KRIS-TV

updated 6 minutes ago

CORPUS CHRISTI - Bart Shirley, who first found widespread local

notoriety

on the Buc Stadium playing surface as a back for the Ray Texans 50 years ago, receives the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Fifth Annual South Texas Winter Baseball Banquet on Thursday, February 5.

The dinner, presented by the Hooks, Corpus Christi Caller-Times and ClearChannel Radio, begins at 6:30 p.m. Site is the Port of Corpus Christi's Solomon Ortiz Center.

Combination tickets for the banquet and January 22 Astros Caravan Luncheon are $125 ($100 banquet; $25 luncheon). For sponsorship information, contact Elisa Macias of the Hooks at 361-561-4673. Proceeds benefit the Miracle League of Corpus Christi.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Bart Shirley: A No. 6 through and through.

[Frayed Knot]

'Notoriety' has got to be up there with 'irony' and perhaps 'infamous' as the most frequently misused words by TV news talkers.

[seawolf17]

"In-famous is when you're more than famous. This man El Guapo is not just famous, he's in-famous."

[Guest Edgy DC]

So, the history of Rico Brogna threads started with a report that Rico was hired as an assistant football coach, supervising the wideouts at Wesleyan. Despite the irony of a former MLB player moving on to such a role, his head coach labeled him a "good fit," mirroring some of the famous coporatespeak around the Steve Phillips-era Mets that had no place for Rico.

Rico would occasionally re-appear in his own thread, in some more traditional fits, moving on to coach and scout baseball.

Well today, Rico and the threads he has generated come full circle... re-hired to coach Wesleyan wideouts.

Rico Brogna joins Wesleyan coaching staff

Thu Jan 15, 3:26 pm ET

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. � Former major league baseball player Rico Brogna has been hired as an assistant football coach at Wesleyan University.

It will be Brogna's second stint with the Cardinals, where he coached the wide receivers in 2004. Coach Frank Hauser said Brogna will help with the offense, but does not yet have a specific role.

Brogna, a former baseball coach at Post University, most recently served as a high school football coach and a scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Brogna was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the first round of the 1988 draft. He also played for the New York Mets and Philadelphia, where he had three straight 20-homer seasons and two consecutive years of 100 RBIs.

Brogna also had short stints in Boston and Atlanta before retiring in 2000.

[Fman99]

Marty Noble has a puff piece on Doc Gooden as he prepares to tie the knot next weekend, and keep his nose clean in the interim.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Interestingly, Rico is going to continue to scout for the Diamondbacks while he coaches football.

Meanwhile, Edgardo Alfonzo has a spring training invite from the Yomiuri Giants.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Ex-Mets pitcher cruises with dog-powered scooter

By DEBRA FRIEDMAN

January 24, 2009

GREENWICH, Conn.

When retired New York Mets pitcher Craig Swan brought his newly adopted dog Daisy home, he quickly realized how much exercise the young animal craved.

Daisy, a mid-sized, mixed-breed dog adopted from Greenwich Animal Control's shelter, longed for strenuous exercise that the 59-year-old Swan was unable to provide because of what he described as a shaky leg that keeps him from walking more than a mile at a time.

So Swan and his wife, both residents of Old Greenwich, went online and discovered a Web site that advertised a dog-powered scooter.

"I got my scooter, put the attachment on and now Daisy and I go out for at least three miles a day," said Swan, who pitched for the Mets from 1974 to 1985.

The product is a non-motorized scooter attached to a special piece of equipment with a padded harness allowing the dog to run alongside the scooter and pull its master as they glide along.

Swan said he pushes the scooter a little in the beginning to get it moving and sometimes on hills, but Daisy, who has pit bull and hound origins, is easily able to move the scooter along herself.

"My dog is pretty fast. I would guess I'm doing 20 mph in a full run," said Swan, who has been garnering attention around town with the gadget.

Kerri Ann Hofer, of Cos Cob, was at Greenwich Point a few weeks back when she and Swan crossed paths.

"In a matter of minutes he had Daisy harnessed in and they flew off," Hofer said. "I said to myself, 'How do I find one?"'

Like Swan, Hofer said her young dog Deizel needs tons of exercise or else she gets rambunctious in the house.

"I walk her about two hours a day," Hofer said. "If she did this, she would get more exercise in 15 minutes."

Hofer said she already had lots of friends who were interested in buying the scooter and starting a club, an idea pitched by Swan.

Bill Peterson, a Greenwich animal control officer who adopted Daisy to the Swans, said he thought the scooter was a great idea.

"It's a marvelous thing. It's a good outlet and exercise for the dog," Peterson said.

However, Peterson noted that the scooter is not suitable for all dogs.

"It's an individual thing and the dog needs to be shown the proper way of doing it," said Peterson.

On the Web site of the Bend, Ore.-based scooter company, the manufacturer recommends that the device only be used for athletic dogs in their prime who weigh more than 35 pounds.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it was not aware of the scooter, but warned about the risk of injury that could result from its use.

"My concern would be if the human decided they wanted to go faster and the dog might be forced to go a speed they wouldn't be comfortable with," said Dr. Jennifer Lander, director of the Medicine and Adoption Center for the ASPCA in New York City.

However, Lander said she could not make a full determination on the product unless she saw it in action. Lander agreed that young dogs in particular do need a lot of exercise.

Hofer said as a dog owner, she felt the product was safe so long as you were in tune with your dog's capabilities.

"I think that it's extremely safe. If you have a dog that didn't enjoy it, as an owner you wouldn't continue that activity," Hofer said.

"I think most dogs would love it."

Swan said he is hoping to make a group that can exercise their dogs together. He also wants to visit shelters with the scooters to help exercise dogs that are restricted to a cage most of the day.

__

On the Web: www.dogpoweredscooter.com

[metirish]

The picture from the link needs to be shown to appreciate the scooter.

[Guest Edgy DC]

"Last time I had this many cameras in my face was the morning after I got fired by the Mets," said Nieto, formally introduced as Rock Cats' manager Thursday.

Seriously, he said that.

They didn't have the tilde over his name in the report, however.

[Farmer Ted]

Wally Backman's boy, Wally Backman, Jr., signs with the Joliet Jackhammers of the Northern League.


http://www.jackhammerbaseball.com/team/roster/index.html?player_id=235

[Guest Edgy DC]

Playing for the old man.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Lou F. Klimchock, president of the Arizona Major League Alumni.

Other Mets in the organization: Leon Brown, Kevin Kobel.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Adam Seuss, Dan Wheeler trade bait, has himself a coaching job.

[Guest cooby]

Wally Backman's boy, Wally Backman, Jr., signs with the Joliet Jackhammers of the Northern League.


http://www.jackhammerbaseball.com/team/roster/index.html?player_id=235[/quote:3hs3v9c7]


For some reason "Joliet Jackhammers" sounds like a toilet cleaning service to me

[metirish]

Ex-Mets pitcher Ambiorix Burgos guilty of beating girlfriend


Mets pitcher Ambiorix Burgos, charged with asssulting his girlfirend arriving at court, was found guilty.

BY NICOLE BODE DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Thursday, March 12th 2009, 10:01 PM Formers Mets pitcher Ambiorix Burgos' control problems have landed him in jail. Burgos, 24, was convicted Thursday of beating his girlfriend in a hotel near Shea Stadium in September after she tried to leave their room to go register her young daughter for school. A jury spent just over an hour deliberating before convicting the 6-foot-3, 235-pound righthander of misdemeanor assault. "Why would a man take a few minutes out of his day to hit a woman?" asked Queens Assistant District Attorney Kelly Sessoms-Newton. "To regain control. When she took back control of the relationship, that's when he began to beat her." Burgos, who weeks later was accused of killing two women in the Dominican Republic by running them over with his Hummer, still faces charges there. He served three weeks in prison in the Dominican Republic before being released on $57,000 bail. He claims he wasn't driving the vehicle, though prosecutors say it was his. Burgos will stand trial on charges of abandoning the victims in the Dominican Republic when he is released from the term of up to a year he got Thursday in Queens. Burgos beat and bit single mom Maria Lopez, 26, and threw her up against a wall. But his lawyer, Edgar DeLeon, said the woman waited two days to photograph her injuries and implied that she was out to get the free agent ballplayer's money. He was sent straight to Rikers Island and faces up to a year when he is sentenced April 3. Burgos pitched for the Mets in 2007 but sat out last year with an arm injury.