Benjamin Grimm

I'll remember Emil Brown as the guy who hit into that crazy double-play on Saturday night in Washington.

I read in the paper today that Halladay now has 43 career complete games. (That's almost as many as all Mets have, combined, in the current unnamed decade.) It's nice to know that such a thing is still possible. I'd love to see the CG make a comeback.

Piazza.

You're giving them credit for more smarts and sophistication than they have.

I assure you, they don't wish they lived in New York City. Most of them are way too provincial and probably never even consider setting foot in any of the five boroughs.

I kinda like 'em. Disappointing, but redeemable It hasn't been a great year by any means, but they've played through a lot of adversity and they're hanging in there in the pennant race. I'm not getting that "championship season" feeling at all, but they do still have a fair to decent chance, and that's better than many seasons that I've endured.

I know we all pretend to be disinterested in the Wild Card (until, of course, it's the last weekend of the season and the division has been clinched and we desperately want the Wild Card) but the Mets are currently in a virtual tie for the WC lead with St. Louis. (They're actually .001 ahead.) Just thought I'd mention it.

Voting for last Thursday's afternoon loss to the Pirates in Pittsburgh will close some time on Tuesday. If you're interested in voting, please try to do so today. Schaefer POTG 6/4/09 - Pirates 11, Mets 6 The entire three-game series in Washington which just concluded will close on Wednesday.

Hernandez 5 Cora 1 FMartinez 1 Wright 1 Murphy 1 Church 1

Nieve 1.8 Takahashi 1.5

Redding 3.5 Wright 2.9 Stokes 0.9 Parnell 0.9 Rodriguez 0.9 Green 0.9

Can you hear the drums, Fernando? More than the ABBA song, the name reminds me of this book that I used to read as a little kid: It's about a bull who was supposed to fight in the ring, but he preferred to sit under a tree and smell flowers.

="Kong76"]MFS: Chanelling John Sterling? <<< You think about him a lot for a Mets' fan. I can't recall the last time I heard more than a minute of him per month for like forever. Me neither. I don't even think I'd recognize the sound of his voice. I don't think I've ever listened to a Yankees game on the radio.

I'd like to see a committee approach to the seventh inning. It can be shared among Santana, Maine, Pelfrey, and Hernandez.

Forecast for tonight in DC doesn't look too threatening: ="National Weather Service"]Tonight: A chance of rain, mainly before 3am. Cloudy, with a low around 56. North wind between 6 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

The Daily News was speculating that it would be Elmer Dessens or Nelson Figueroa.

I'd think it would mean at least three months, but probably longer. So yeah, I think that would be the end of him.

Those games in Pittsburgh have put me in September mode. (Especially the five-run blown lead on Monday.) And in September mode, there is no team deadlier than the Washington Nationals.

="soupcan":1jwuwz5r]At this point, I am resigned to what I believe is the fact that without Delgado and Reyes for a significant part of the season, our boys are cooked.[/quote:1jwuwz5r] I can't say I'm optimistic either. But look at how they went 19-9 in May: on starting pitching. Four starters with ERA's in the 2's. That may be the formula for a winning team at Citi Field. If that pitching holds up (Pelfrey's outing yesterday notwithstanding) then maybe they can hang in there with guys like Cora and Tatis and Murphy manning shortstop and first base. Who knows? It's a reason to keep watching, anyway. Centerfield Jun 05 2009 09:22 AM This thread is very silly. ="Ashie62":og8jl3it]I believe we have seen Reyes and Delgado's last game as a Met[/quote:og8jl3it] Very silly. Leading to this: ="Frayed Knot":og8jl3it]I believe the most ridiculous statement of the month contest already has a winner.[/quote:og8jl3it] But then Ashie comes back with this: ="Ashie62":og8jl3it]Beyond that. Over his career what has Reyes really done? The numbers often look very good on paper. However, does he hit in September, he doesn't pull his team up they way captain Intangibles can and his probable lack of a real education just makes him another exploited Hispanic player. [/quote:og8jl3it] Suggesting that FK may have spoken too soon. In the midst of all this, Stevie Jeets chimes in with: ="SteveJRogers":og8jl3it]FK and SJR similarity score rises![/quote:og8jl3it] Which, if true, would bring such score to a grand total of 1. Ashie62 Jun 05 2009 09:45 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 05 2009 09:47 AM ="Fman99":1w2vaqxy]="Ashie62":1w2vaqxy]I thought the really bad things didn't happen to the Mets until September. I believe we have seen Reyes and Delgado's last game as a Met Anybody for pizza?[/quote:1w2vaqxy] Reyes' last game as a Met? See, this is why you have to sign a form to purchase cold medicine, because of crazy meth talk like this.[/quote:1w2vaqxy] There is no need to be cruel..Save the Cough meds and meth for your kid.. Ashie62 Jun 05 2009 09:46 AM ="Edgy DC":tm2pu9lv]I could really use the $1000.[/quote:tm2pu9lv] Stop being a Rube..Yes, I could also...I do hope Reyes plays again this season and is dispatched off season. Have your fun LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 05 2009 11:05 AM ="Ashie62":p5pb575u] Beyond that. Over his career what has Reyes really done? The numbers often look very good on paper. However, does he hit in September, he doesn't pull his team up they way captain Intangibles can and his probable lack of a real education just makes him another exploited Hispanic player.[/quote:p5pb575u] Why does he always have to bat first ALL the time-- that's just selfish! And he's always running SO fast! Where's he going so quickly? Really, is he trying to show up somebody? And what's with all the hand-jiving? And that syncopated reggaeton madness-- OH, don't get me started, don't EVEN get me started. Success doesn't come from hand-slapping and shaking your bottom like Lola Falana, Senor Funny Business! He should go get his engineering degree, just like Jeter did before playing! Vic Sage Jun 05 2009 11:18 AM I agree with Ashie62. I think we should import a shortstop from Calcutta. They have a much better educational system in India. In the meantime, lets trade Reyes like the easily exploited commodity he is! Because, despite having one of the leading run scorers in baseball under contract for 2 more seasons at reasonable price, the Mets clearly need to dump him after an injury plagued season. You go, Ashie62! Edgy DC Jun 05 2009 01:43 PM Stop being a rube? You've called me worse, cleon. Please stop posting things you won't stand by. Centerfield Jun 05 2009 02:39 PM Whatever happened to Wilmer Flores? I think that was his name. He was a promising shortstop prospect for the Mets if I recall correctly? metirish Jun 05 2009 02:42 PM ="Centerfield":hg8vy9dq]Whatever happened to Wilmer Flores? I think that was his name. He was a promising shortstop prospect for the Mets if I recall correctly?[/quote:hg8vy9dq] Only 17 years old http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/sports/baseball/15flores.html Nymr83 Jun 05 2009 03:45 PM ]I think we should import a shortstop from Calcutta theres like a billion people there, the Mets should innovate and be the first to tap that market. give them a free year of SNY with those indian guys in the commercials. G-Fafif Jun 05 2009 04:04 PM ="Nymr83"]]I think we should import a shortstop from Calcutta theres like a billion people there, the Mets should innovate and be the first to tap that market. give them a free year of SNY with those indian guys in the commercials. We'd be the second, according to Slate. ]The Mound Is Flat India's first two professional baseball players make a passage to Pennsylvania. By Bruce Reed Posted Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008, at 12:45 PM ET As Christopher Hitchens eloquently suggested in the wake of last week's tragic terrorist attacks, India may well be America's most important ally. If so, last week also brought news of our most improbable form of foreign aid: the Pittsburgh Pirates. In a move that underscored both the common bonds and the cultural distance between India and the United States, the lowly Pirates signed two young pitchers who will become the first Indians ever to play professional sports in America. Before last Monday's signing, few in India had ever heard of the Pittsburgh Pirates, which is just as well. This year the Bucs tied the all-time record with their 16th-consecutive losing season, and next year they're on track to become the biggest losers in the history of professional sport. The Pittsburgh franchise is the General Motors of baseball, still reeling from disastrous mismanagement in the 1990s and early years of this decade. If TARP covered the major leagues, the Pirates would be first in the bailout queue. But in India, baseball is such a novelty that the Pirates might as well be the New York Yankees. The Hindustan Times reported, "Two Indian teenagers created history in the US sports Monday when they were signed up by prestigious baseball team Pittsburgh Pirates, five times World Series Champions." Never mind that the Bucs' last world championship was 30 years ago. With one grand, unlikely gesture, a team from western Pennsylvania has introduced America's national pastime to the second-most-populous nation on earth. In many ways, the whole episode is like the Pirates themselves�endearingly ridiculous. Pittsburgh discovered the two Indian pitchers, Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, thanks to an Indian reality show called The Million-Dollar Arm, the brainchild of Miami sports agent J.B. Bernstein. The show's premise�that any nation with 500 million men must have a Nolan Ryan somewhere�sounds like Tom Friedman trying to peddle a sequel, The Mound Is Flat. Bernstein promised a cool million to any Indian who could throw a baseball accurately at 85 mph. Of the 20,000 Indians who competed, Singh and Patel came closest, doing well enough to earn some cash and a chance to try out here in the United States. Neither man stands much chance of pitching in the big leagues, even for the Pirates, who gave up more runs by far than any other team in the National League this past season. In fact, neither Singh nor Patel had ever pitched in an actual baseball game. Both athletes trained as javelin hurlers. When they arrived in the United States this spring, they had to be taught to wear a baseball glove and not try to catch the ball with their bare hand. "What did the shortstop do wrong?" Patel asked their coach. "He's the only one without a base." Matt Yglesias once argued that baseball's popularity around the world is a sorry vestige of American manifest destiny�and India is already hopelessly addicted to cricket, which Yglesias dismisses as "the rotting corpse of British imperialism." Throw in a crass reality-show talent search by an American agent, and you have all the makings of a cross-cultural disaster. Yet judging from the glowingly proud reaction to their signing in India, as well as their own giddy blog entries about their experience so far in America, it's hard not to be happy for Singh and Patel�and to believe that this might be the best thing the Pittsburgh Pirates have done for baseball in a very long time. Both young men come from villages in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Singh is the son of a truck driver; his mother told the Hindustan Times, "He was often dubbed a loafer because he played sport. Now every villager prays for a loafer like him." The newspaper reports that Patel was raised by an aunt and uncle because his mother and mentally challenged father couldn't afford to. Patel's new contract means his uncle won't have to close his handlooms. Since they arrived in the United States six months ago, the two men have kept an online diary of their experience. It's endearingly ridiculous, too. First through an interpreter, and later in their own spare, broken English, Singh and Patel take turns gushing about what it's like to learn a silly game like baseball in a silly place like Southern California. If the greatest sportswriter of all, Ring Lardner, could return to write a 21st-century version of his classic You Know Me, Al, he would find inspiration in these two's adventures. More than baseball�a fantasy that is new to Singh and Patel�their blog is about the power, magic, and challenge of trying to make it in America. "People often hope to conquer this great, so-called 'American Dream' back home in India," Patel told their interpreter in May. "But here we are, the lucky ones blessed with this dream." Singh reflects, "You may think I'm building castles in the air, but there's no hope without a dream, is there?" Both players want to usher in a "baseball revolution" by launching baseball academies in India, and their villages are already swept up in baseball fever. Patel is still learning the rules but goes to bed "dreaming of returning home as the first baseball hero of my country." Their poignant, comic initiation to Southern California culture seems destined to generate screenplays in Hollywood and Bollywood alike�a cross between Field of Dreams and Slumdog Millionaire. Indeed, this week Patel wrote, "We have been spending free time meeting with many movies and TV peoples. It is unreal to believe someday our friends could see film about me and Rinku." He posted a photo of himself with a producer who knows the Rock. Singh and Patel gleefully recount one mishap after another. The first time Patel goes up to bat, he tries the underhand uppercut used in cricket. "No surprises, it doesn't work," he admits. Their coach teaches them to swing the bat like an ax instead. After a day of fielding practice, Patel confesses that he's "nervous about the speeding ball hitting me." They do yoga, get their first salon haircuts, visit Barry Bonds, and marvel at his mirror that turns into a TV. A "disastrous outing at the Laundromat" convinces them to write, "We are quite incompetent at laundry." Their biggest laughs come at our expense. Watching so many commercials for Viagra, restless leg syndrome, and smoothie makers leads Singh to conclude that in America, "There's a pill and a machine for everything." When he visits the emergency room after cutting his fingers with a kitchen knife, Singh can't believe it costs $300 for Band-Aids and a tetanus shot that would have cost 20 rupees back home. Seeing the stack of hospital paperwork they had to fill out, he says, "We laughed our guts out." After signing with the Pirates, Singh and Patel found Pittsburgh on Google and declared it a very good city. Bucs General Manager Neal Huntington doesn't expect India to be the next Dominican Republic or the signing to produce a billion new Pirate fans overnight. For now, Indian sports fans are consumed with the more pressing question of if any English cricketers will use the Mumbai attacks as an excuse to wimp out of this month's Test Series in India. But the Pirates' surprise move seems to have charmed the team's dwindling fan base in Pittsburgh. In an online Post-Gazette poll, fans overwhelmingly viewed the signing as "innovative" or "desperate"; only 18 percent considered it "insane"�a record low for the Pirate front office. One Bucs blogger, Honest Wagner, called it a "brilliant move" and proclaimed "Rinkumania." At Bucs Dugout, another wrote, "I love these guys." A fan at Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke? declared, "After reading their blog I've moved from bemusement to unadulterated adoration." Last week's attacks in Mumbai made Singh and Patel reflect on the contrast between the unreality of their current quest and the harsh realities back home. "Thanks to God that our families are very far from where the killings are, but still as Indian men we feel very bad," they wrote. "If not for contest we would be in India, and maybe in Army right now fighting terrorist in Mumbai." Their javelin coach in Lucknow, India, says the two athletes miss Indian food and their friends from school. But he insists that it's worth braving the culture gap, enduring the media scrutiny, and learning English by watching SportsCenter. "To achieve something," he says, "you have to make some sacrifices." For their sake, let's hope it's possible to learn baseball by watching the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bruce Reed, who was President Clinton's domestic policy adviser, is president of the Democratic Leadership Council and editor-in-chief of Blueprint magazine..

I would never bet against the Mets. How will you feel on the last Sunday of the season, when, inevitably, the Mets are one game out with one game to play? Would you root for the Mets? Or the thousand dollars?

="Kong76":29zavirn]Click on the the 'this guy' link and find out each and every time the picture changes![/quote:29zavirn] I love the addition of the "this guy" link. It's very helpful, since I recognize very few of the players that appeared in 1990 or after. Frayed Knot Jun 05 2009 08:13 PM It's Luis Lopez, but is it 'Super Luis Lopez Ultra'? cooby Jun 06 2009 10:30 AM ="Kong76":15bfr057]She continues the friend or foe game.[/quote:15bfr057] Now Kasey, don't take that the wrong way. It's kind of like the front door to your house. You don't notice all the squished bugs and spider webs and hand prints and stuff on it until after somebody has stopped by and suddenly you realize that you don't even really look at your front door anymore. I know you won't know what I'm talking about. Edgy DC Jun 06 2009 02:23 PM ="Frayed Knot":1q2hkxgb]It's Luis Lopez, but is it 'Super Luis Lopez Ultra'?[/quote:1q2hkxgb] I prefer Luis "Left Eye" Lopez. metirish Jun 06 2009 02:49 PM ="Benjamin Grimm":33ihq0he]="Kong76":33ihq0he]Click on the the 'this guy' link and find out each and every time the picture changes![/quote:33ihq0he] I love the addition of the "this guy" link. It's very helpful, since I recognize very few of the players that appeared in 1990 or after.[/quote:33ihq0he] Me too , never noticed it before. Kong76 Jun 06 2009 03:35 PM coo: I know you won't know what I'm talking about <<< I don't even know what I'm talking about some days. Hopefully if there are more people who didn't realize that was a link, they will read this thread and utilize it. cooby Jun 07 2009 11:12 AM What i kinda meant was you can look at your own front door over and over again and not really see it cooby Jun 14 2009 09:23 AM at last! Kong76 Jun 27 2009 07:02 AM I guess the joke's on me! I posted an invitation on the "this guy" up top (to see if anyone really clicks there) and see if I got any bites. I get one PM from the coobster that his name is Julio and eats iguannas which is where I my brain was going with it but I didn't remember he spent time in the clink for murder?? ---------- Wikipedia: Julio Machado, born Julio Segundo Machado Rond�n (December 1, 1965 in Zulia State, Venezuela) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher who played for the New York Mets (1989-90) and Milwaukee Brewers (1990-91). Machado started his career with the Mets. In the 1990 season, he went to the Brewers in a four-player deal, along with pitcher Kevin Brown, in exchange for catcher Charlie O'Brien and a minor league player. Machado had a decent fastball, good control and willingness to challenge hitters. He also pitched a better-than-average curveball and a slider. Machado was certainly good enough to pitch for a few more years. However, he is a footnote in the ledger of baseball history. Spending the 1991 off-season in his homeland, Machado was arrested for murder being accused of shooting a woman following an auto accident. He was convicted and, following appeals, he was sentenced to 12 years in 1996. In a three-year career, Machado posted a 7-5 record with 151 strikeouts and a 3.12 ERA in 147 innings. Machado went on to play in the Venezuelan winter league and currently coaches in that league. Machado was nicknamed "Iguanaman" for his fondness of eating the meat of iguanas. ---------- Next time our paths cross, coobs ... I owe you a beer! Edgy DC Jun 27 2009 01:08 PM I conflate Julio Machado and Jose Bautista. Benjamin Grimm Jun 27 2009 01:10 PM My newest conflation is Elmer Dessens and Casey Fossum. seawolf17 Jun 27 2009 05:39 PM I loved Julio Machado. Unquestionably in the bullpen of my All-Time Mets 25-Man Roster. Frayed Knot Jul 15 2009 05:32 PM That's either Roy McMillan or Harry Truman

I don't know it either. At first I thought it was that old chestnut about how everyone knows that an ant can't move a rubber tree plant.

When I first opened this thread, I expected to see that photo of Jose and David in gay togs that was taken in the Shea runway a couple of years ago, along with a picture of Jose with Sam Champion, or T.R. Knight, or Matthew Broderick...

I'm going to assume that Yhonny Lunchbucket's vote for "Santa" was actually meant for "Santana" and not "Claus" or "Kringle." VOTING FOR THIS GAME IS NOW CLOSED Totals for June 2, 2009 (10 votes) Pittsburgh Pirates 3, New York Mets 1 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceJohan Santana25.752.58(L) 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO.Jeremy Reed12.701.273-3.Sean Green10.101.011.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Luis Castillo6.600.661-3, RBI.Ramon Martinez4.100.411-2, R.Brian Stokes2.350.240.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Fernando Tatis1.950.201-3, SO.Ken Takahashi1.550.160.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Gary Sheffield0.900.091-4.Daniel Murphy0.750.081-1.

Might as well shut him down. He's not doing anybody any good, and maybe with a month or so of rest he'll be a useful pitcher down the stretch. Worth a shot, anyway.