Benjamin Grimm

I turned on the game just in time to see Soto bunt into a force at third with two runners on.

Maybe the Mets can hire Jeff Hostetler as their manager.

This is good news!

I thought this was going to be about Steve Cohen and how the Mets are running out of time this season.

I wonder how many people are still checking.

I don't mean to intrude on this quiz, but as far as I'm concerned, this is the gold standard of seating charts. (I'm not sure, though, why they made it look like a weird piano.)

The archives, I'm told, are still a work in progress.

I'm hopeful, but not optimistic.

I've often thought that, if I was a base umpire who had to make a call on a checked swing, I would find that I'd have to pretend that I had been paying attention.

So for a right-handed batter, we'd be talking about the first base line? Isn't that just another way of saying 45 degrees?

I think by "here" he meant that Bichette's move to third base by the Mets was questioned.

I was at the game. My first time in nearly two years. (My last visit was June 1, 2024.) And my first time sitting at field level since the 1980s at Shea! A few things that I noticed: 1. It's no longer possible to park for free under the Northern Boulevard overpass. They've installed barriers and from what I've discovered upon investigating, this is intended to be permanent. There was a small island of potholes that wasn't barricaded. It was at the far end of the row of auto shops, right where Northern Blvd. slightly curves to the north. We were able to park there, but we very lucky to have found that spot. 2. After looking around a bit, I finally found the 1969 and 1986 flags hanging high up near the right-field scoreboard. But the pennants for 1973, 2000, and 2015 were nowhere to be seen. And the other signs that commemorated the division titles and wild cards are gone. 3. I don't know if it was because of where we were seated, or if it's because of more noise in the stadium, but I didn't hear some of the in-game announcements that I would expect. For example, when Bichette and Soto were replaced late in the game, I noticed Brujan and Melendez taking the field, but no P.A. announcement. Nothing for pitching changes either. 4. The seventh-inning stretch was pretty lame. There used to be a fun sing-along to Take Me Out to the Ballgame, but now we just see the organist playing an instrumental version. Almost nobody was paying attention.

Yes. 2025 was the final year of Schaefer.

I assumed it meant that he wanted to see Gary Apple fake an orgasm.

I think Hodges and Stengel make more sense if you put yourself in 1972 and 1966 (or whenever). Hodges was beloved in New York, both for his time with the Dodgers and as manager of the Mets. For those who are too young to remember, his death is just a historical fact, but to those for whom it was fresh news, it was shocking and tragic. I completely understand the sentiment. And Casey Stengel was a big part of establishing the Mets. I admit that that means a lot less now than it did sixty years ago. Maybe the thing to do is wait for the perspective that only comes with time before retiring numbers.

If I could turn back the clock, I'd make it so that retired numbers were never a thing. Tom Seaver, David Wright, Mike Piazza, Gil Hodges, etc. would be represented on those big circles with their faces instead of their numbers. At least, future generations wouldn't point to a number 36 and say, "Who was that guy?" Instead, they'd point to a picture of Jerry Koosman and say, "Who was that guy?" I think having your face up there is a better honor than having your number up there, and it doesn't deplete the inventory of available uniform numbers. I guess one potential problem would be if the Mets acquired a guy who looks like Gary Carter. Then fans would be outraged that Gary's face was being reused and they'd force the new player to have plastic surgery.

I didn't either. According to the link in Edgy's post:

I think 4 is the best choice. Numbers 7, 8, and 9 are too excessive.

The only other number I'm aware of that the Mets have in mothballs is 48, which is a little more understandable, since Jacob deGrom is still an active player and his story is still being written. If it was up to me, I'd keep 48 in circulation too. 16, 17, and 18 were in use for years by other players before they were retired. 48 could be too.

So they'll remove the tarp on Sunday and the game can get started. The fans will just have to sit there eating hot dogs for 72 hours.

Look how they put a bit of a halo around Gary Carter. Like he's scowling down at the Mets from heaven.

"Outrage!"

And did anyone squawk when Rickey Henderson and Robinson Cano got number 24?

I expect we'll see more than a little of Dylan Ross this year.

It's been almost 40 years since Carter last played in a game as a Met. They can wait another 20 years I guess. By then there will be an even smaller percentage of living fans who remember Gary Carter.