Sons of Rico: Mets in Retirement in 2010

[Guest Edgy DC]

Linkies fixed in the resume up above. Is that your work?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Edgy DC wrote: Linkies fixed in the resume up above. Is that your work?

No I stole it from MFS62.

Yes it's my work. Thanks for the fixing.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I hope you get a good blog day out of it. Great work.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Willie Randolph to be Buck Showalter's bench coach in Baltimore.

You don't have to say "party" when those two are around.

[G-Fafif]

With Wayne Kirby coaching first base!

[Guest Edgy DC]

Living as a ronin gives you power.

[G-Fafif]

Teddy Martinez looms in Terry Collins' backstory, per Q&A with Steve Serby of Post. Also would like to talk to Willie Mays and Casey Stengel despite the fact that one of those gentlemen is dead at the present time.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Q: How often did you go to Tiger Stadium? A: I went to a Tiger game once a year for about five years when I was in Little League. And then I played a game in Tiger Stadium in the summer of my senior year in high school, and didn�t go back �til I managed the Angels. . . . Actually, that�s not true. I went on my 21st birthday to a game in Tiger Stadium. Watched Mel Stottlemyre of the Yankees lose to the Tigers 1-0, Willie Horton hit a home run in the ninth inning against Mel, who ultimately became my pitching coach in Houston.

Not bad. It was the day before his 21st birthday, and it was three-run homer by Horton.

He married a woman ten months ago after her husband died "about a year ago"? That must've not come out right.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Pedro [Astacio] his wife & three children live on a ranch a mile away from Armando Benitez in the Dominican Republic. He is also an amateur Jai Lai player and has applied for Pakistani citizenship so he may compete in the annual National Jai Lai Championships there.

Found the above on Centerfield Maz, confirmed (but unsourced) on Wikipedia.

That's kinda interesting, isn't it? I liked Pedro Astacio.

[Guest Edgy DC]

"Astacios are not afraid."

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

"These people, some of the stuff I read, I don�t read much because I feel bad for my eyes, but I see some of the stuff, it�s insanity!"

Oh, great googily moogily. Just stop it, Lenny.

Lenny Dykstra joined WIP in Philly with Howard Eskin and Ike Reese to talk about why it took him so long to speak out publicly about his story, where things went wrong for him when he lost all of his money, and whether calling JP Morgan criminals is a big accusation. Why it took him so long to speak out publicly about his story: �Anyway so here is the deal, other than that one thing, walking the talk, ok, I don�t like to talk about things that happened or, I am not looking for somebody to cry for me, I am not looking for someone to feel sorry for me. I am looking for reality and the reality is, what have you done for me lately? So it took me two years to get through this death chamber that they call �bankruptcy� but you know the bottom line is, it is what it is and where I go is where I go and that is all that matters.� Where things went wrong for him when he lost all of his money: �It is very simple and it is called, predatory lending, meaning, look, I don�t want to get into this �new world order� stuff. I am a normal guy meaning I don�t believe in ghosts. I am not afraid of the dark, a basic guy alright, meaning never in my life did I think there was such corporate crime. JP Morgan, those guys are criminals. They are criminals and they are going to have to pay. Fireman�s Fund? Criminals! Meaning, I have to set an example and my example is the help through other people. The bottom line is, I didn�t get stupid overnight, ok? These people, some of the stuff I read, I don�t read much because I feel bad for my eyes, but I see some of the stuff, it�s insanity! The only one that got this thing right was [Jim] Cramer. Cramer. Cramer has been the only guy right.� Whether calling JP Morgan criminals is a big accusation: �JP Morgan accusations? Wait until you see it. I got the facts, and my attorney in New York his name is Moshe Mortner, ok? He is an orthodox Jewish man, great guy and one of the smartest guys that I have met, and we took on JP Morgan and we spun them around through the TILA, ok? That is the Truth in Lending Act. As you know they have a discretionary duty, all banks, to give you a loan and make sure that you qualify for that loan, and the bottom line is that is why this country is in the way it is right now and these families are being dismantled piece by piece because of these crazy banks, ok? Now did I ever think I would be preaching on this? No, I thought I was on this Earth to entertain people on the baseball field, which I was pretty good at. As it turns out I am here for something else and that assistant company called it predatory lending recovery. I can now show people how they can save their homes, ok? There is two million people right now in foreclosure, five more million coming, ok? What happens is they set you up to fail. It is called equity stripping.� Whether it was his responsibility to make sure he looked after himself and not sign a loan that was set up to fail: �Howard, here is the deal. When they tell you your payment is going to be this and it turns out to be that, and then you say to yourself, I�m only bringing in $125. I mean you are not into bankrupting your own customer are you? They were into it. Yes, they were�and guess what? I am not looking to whine. Look, I had to go into the trenches and I went under the rail. I looked like a submarine bro. I went under and I fought through this, ok, and I executed everybody in my way. Now. Now, I am coming out because I can walk the talk. I can stand tall. I didn�t beg anybody. I didn�t do anything. I went under and took care of business, and now I am coming out and doing what I do.� If he expects to come out with $150 million after his attorney does his job: �No, come one Howard� You know how I am man. I like to play for in areas where there is a wide moat. I like to save it away from the middle. Meaning, with risk comes reward, ok? Now, the only difference with me is that when I win I make sure I win before the game starts or I don�t play. So I got into a situation here where I was lied to, defrauded and basically put into a predatory loan. JP Morgan�s own expert on the stand said it was not only predatory or it was unconscionable. That is when my attorney said that we stipulate him as our expert.�

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

alrighty then.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Lenny, "...The bottom line is, I didn�t get stupid overnight, ok?"

After reading Lenny's rambling drivel above, I believe he is correct in the above assertion. It had to take years to get that stupid.