Benjamin Grimm

And Hudson may be a free agent again after 2009. So we may have another shot at him.

Wow. I may have to turn the thermostat down (or the A/C up) to 30 degrees so I can recreate what it felt like to sit in the stands that day.

I can't help but see Hudson as a missed opportunity, whatever the reasons. Hopefully Castillo will have three kick-ass seasons from 2009 through 2011 and make it all moot. (I can hope, can't I?)

I just saw a clip (on "Mets Hot Stove Report") of Francisco Rodriguez's press conference, and it looks (although it was hard to tell for sure) that his blue Mets cap had a white button on top. (Hmmm, didn't the Brooklyn Dodgers have a white button on their caps?)

Yuck.

Willie Mays is getting a bunch of UMDB hits today. For a minute I feared he had died, but it turns out that it's probably because of "breaking news" that Willie advised Ken Griffey to return to Seattle.

They sure do look like a fun group. They're probably worrying that Mariano is going to invite them to a pool party.

Yep, as noted, Johnny got it right. It was Aaron Cook.

="metirish":1vsplurx]I wonder if the bad publicity generated by her husband has anything to do with Jocelyn losing her hosting gig , is she still employed by SNY ?[/quote:1vsplurx] Who's her husband? Please tell me it's not Bernie Madoff! metirish Feb 18 2009 09:12 AM Nah it's Antonio Pierce , the numb nut Giants player involved with Plaxico Burress. metirish Mar 30 2009 09:17 AM Klapisch: Ojeda talks a good game ] Bobby Ojeda has spent the past five years in a blissful, self-imposed exile at his Rumson shore house, beyond the reach of the �86 ghosts. The former Mets� left-hander never was much for reminiscing. Like some Met fans � particularly the younger ones � he�s been willing to let the �80s turn to vapor. Does that sound like the profile of an SNY analyst? Incredibly, the Mets-owned network thinks Ojeda is its man, despite the fact he has no television experience. He�ll be in the studio for 130 games this season, replacing Lee Mazzilli as the pregame and postgame intellectual engine. There�s a delicious irony to anyone who knew Ojeda in the Mets� wilder days: He was anything but a spotlight hog, even though he was the best pitcher in 1986, winning 18 games. Now, Ojeda says with a laugh, �I�m the one who�s going to be doing all the talking.� Ojeda has been given free rein by SNY to cut and slash as he sees fit. Ojeda could follow in the footsteps of Keith Hernandez, his onetime teammate who can be openly critical of the Mets and has few friends in the clubhouse (although he has a near-cult following among viewers). Or Ojeda can play it safe like many of the analysts at the rival YES Network, including David Cone and Al Leiter. The networks closely scrutinize each other, comparing nightly ratings, quality of production and the editorial tone of their announcers. One YES announcer said last summer he was �stunned� at how far Hernandez has been allowed to stray from the company line. �If I talked like that about the Yankees, I�d probably get fired,� the broadcaster said with a laugh. Ojeda understands there�s a fine line between honesty and corporate common sense. He also knows his decision to work for SNY has removed him from the brotherhood of big-leaguers. He visited Port St. Lucie, Fla., last week with co-host Chris Carlin (who replaces Matt Yallof) and immediately sensed the gap, even with Howard Johnson, a friend for 20 years who now serves as the Mets� hitting instructor. Ojeda�s only purpose was to chat with HoJo, not interview him, not even to use the information for background. Yet Ojeda knew the reservoir of trust was drying up. �There was this twinge from Howard, like he was talking to the media,� Ojeda said. �I was like, �HoJo, this is me you�re talking to.� I felt like kicking his butt. I�m getting these answers and I�m like, �Come on, are you kidding me?� I guess it�s the nature of the thing I signed on to.� So why would Ojeda begin this journey? Or more to the point, why would SNY take a gamble on an electronic rookie? SNY head Curt Gowdy Jr. says Ojeda impressed the network during auditions with his candor and ability to shape short, concise answers. Once he realized Ojeda actually had a presence in front of the camera, Gowdy was willing to overlook his new analyst�s lack of experience. �It�s a calculated risk, but there are a lot of calculated risks we�ve taken,� Gowdy said. �Look at bringing Ron Darling here from the Nationals. Look at bringing Kevin Burkhardt from WFAN. We think Bob is only going to get better and better.� Gowdy glossed over the dismissals of Mazzilli and Yallof, saying SNY was looking for a �different� personality and perspective. After the Mets� back-to-back collapses in 2007 and 2008, the Wilpon family undoubtedly wanted its network to have a makeover in time for Citi Field�s christening. Jeff Wilpon approached Ojeda during the off-season and floated the idea of coming back to the organization as an analyst. Ojeda had spent three years as the pitching coach for the Brooklyn Cyclones, bailing out in 2003, when Rick Peterson was hired as the Mets� pitching coach. Ojeda went home to Rumson, spending the next five years watching his five daughters grow up, distancing himself from his former life. Ojeda rebuffed every attempt to relive the miracle �86 season, including card shows and interview requests. In truth, he was sick of the Mets who were making careers out of reliving their careers. �You have to move on. I mean, it turns everyone off when you hear [a broadcaster] say, �When I played.� I don�t have any intention of doing that,� Ojeda said. �The players today, it�s their turn; they�re the ones wearing the uniform. I�d rather stay current.� The same forward-directed policy will apply to the other asterisk on Ojeda�s r�sum� � the horrific 1993 boating accident in Florida that took the lives of Indian teammates Tim Crews and Steve Olin, the first deaths of active major leaguers since Thurman Munson was killed in 1979. Ojeda, who suffered severe head lacerations, later said the only reason he also wasn�t killed was because he was slouched over the moment the boat struck a dock. It was driven by Crews, whom investigators said was legally drunk at the time. Ojeda will not speak about the tragedy in interviews or on the air. �It�s like [the] �86 [season]. We all have things on our permanent record,� Ojeda said. �I mean, that�s life; you just keep going. You look for new challenges. For me, this [sNY job] is an opportunity to get back into baseball and talk about something I love. I can�t wait.� Centerfield Mar 30 2009 09:34 AM I can't believe they're putting Chris Carlin on more shows. It's like they're trying to out-dumb themselves. Yalloff might have been stupid, but at least he wasn't a blowhard. I've seen about five minutes of Loudmouths to know that I don't want to see another minute of either of them. Plus he talks like he has marbles in his mouth. Edgy DC Mar 30 2009 09:52 AM Isn't the fact that they have a show called "Loud Mouths" a bigger problem than which particular loud mouths it features? LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Mar 30 2009 11:42 AM ] One YES announcer said last summer he was �stunned� at how far Hernandez has been allowed to stray from the company line. �If I talked like that about the Yankees, I�d probably get fired,� the broadcaster said with a laugh. True story: During her on-air orgasm in response to Roger Clemens' in-game announcement of his return to baseball, Suzyn Waldman was fulfilling a contractual obligation to her former YES employers; in return, she received a $30,000 balloon payment-- $25,000 of which was paid in the form of Hard Rock Cafe gift certificates and tee shirts-- and a 3 ounce vial of Roger Clemens' testicular sweat (valued at 12.07, since subpoenaed by DOJ). Centerfield Mar 30 2009 12:29 PM ="Edgy DC":8fiqu3nj]Isn't the fact that they have a show called "Loud Mouths" a bigger problem than which particular loud mouths it features?[/quote:8fiqu3nj] I understand that the network honchos are asking his mouth to be loud, it doesn't mean I have to like him more. For my pre and post game, give me the guy that passed up that gig. I like SNY because of its Mets/Big East-centered coverage. But outside of the actual games and SportsNight, I think I would rather watch the Lifetime channel than the rest of SNY's programming. In addition to Loudmouths, they have about sixteen other "reporters screaming at each other" type shows. Where it seems the objective is to be more annoying than the guy you're arguing with. I have never heard Joe Beningo on the FAN, but from the clips I see of his "highlights", I think I've seen all I need to see. Edgy DC Mar 30 2009 12:32 PM Yeah, I'm not asking you to like him more, only to give the lion's share of your hate to the process that empowers him to suck. Benjamin Grimm Mar 30 2009 12:37 PM I don't mind that SNY has some dumb shoutfests on its schedule, but I think it would be a good idea for them to have some smart shows as well. (Maybe they do, but if so they don't advertise them during Mets games.) I'm thinking of a Bob Costas/Bryant Gumbel kind of show where you have a reporter covering some topic of interest to the New York sports scene with insight and depth. But instead it's a lot of Loudmouths and Wheelhouse and Beer Money. metirish Mar 30 2009 12:41 PM Fran Healy productions has a range of shows to suit your needs. G-Fafif Mar 30 2009 01:00 PM ="metirish":1szfbxoo]Fran Healy productions has a range of shows to suit your needs.[/quote:1szfbxoo] I had my first ever dream about Fran Healy the other night. Dreamt I was at a table in some mostly deserted banquet room at a trade show in Philadelphia and Healy was taking a break from doing an interview or something and came to sit down. (TMF may have been at the table as well.) My gosh, I thought, I took a shot at him in my book and now I'm sitting here and he's coming over. He walked behind me, gave me this jockish rubbing of the shoulders and said something knowing and slightly needling as if to indicate it's all right, I've been through this before. He wasn't being particularly friendly, but he wasn't altogether menacing. Fman99 Mar 31 2009 11:56 AM Caught a couple of minutes of Beer Money the other night as I was flipping around the dial. Blech. If ol DJ Chunky Carlin came up to me I think I'd just feed him pennies until he went away. Now, that Julie girl, well, heh heh, I'd find something else to feed her. metirish Apr 06 2009 12:14 PM Caught most of the pre-game stuff , it's going to take sme getting used to watching Carlin. Of course I could just skip the damn thing. TransMonk Apr 06 2009 12:15 PM The new in-game graphics are a bit cookie cutter for my taste. I had no problem with the old ones. metirish Apr 06 2009 12:17 PM I find the huge NY swooshing through the screen annoying. A bit FOX like I think. HahnSolo Apr 06 2009 01:06 PM Carlin does remind me a bit too much of the leader of the Fordham Baldies. Elster88 Apr 18 2009 02:16 PM Finally I can be comfortable watching the post-game. The only thing worse than Carlin's voice is actually looking at him. The first time the gf saw him on Beer Money she was afraid of him. I've got no problem with equal treatment for slobs but does this guy have to be on TV? I also have no problem with TV personalities being hired based on how they look and sound. Edgy DC Apr 18 2009 02:50 PM I like to think I'd look prettier if people on TV and on film and in magzines were generally uglier. GYC Apr 18 2009 05:57 PM Chris Carlin is the biggest asshole I ever met. He covers Rutgers games for a local New Brunswick/Piscataway station and has absolutely no respect for anyone else in the business. He's loud, he's obnoxious, and he's an asshole. He'll stand up and leave in the middle of press conferences, even if people are in the middle of talking. He acts like he's important and has priority because he's Chris Carlin. And on gameday, him and fat daughter waddle around Rutgers Stadium. I hate seeing him on SNY. He's a prick. Edgy DC Apr 18 2009 08:22 PM Who else reads GYC's posts and hears the words coming out of Keith Hernandez's mouth? Live on the air. Fman99 Apr 18 2009 08:57 PM ="Edgy DC":2jfw89we]Who else reads GYC's posts and hears the words coming out of Keith Hernandez's mouth? Live on the air.[/quote:2jfw89we] I do, which is even better given Mex's wardrobe (in the profile pic) as the hair color pitchman. I'd buy Grecian 5 from that salty motherfucker in a minute! Swan Swan H May 25 2009 11:36 AM SNY is running the Mr. Koo game as the Mets Classic. Again. As I write this Buck and McCarver are giving Willie a tongue-bath. Anyway, this is at least the fourth time I've seen this game on SNY this year. According to UMDB the Mets have played 7,523 regular season games. Apparently SNY has the rights to show eight of them. batmagadanleadoff May 25 2009 12:17 PM ="Swan Swan H":qgg5ebow]SNY is running the Mr. Koo game as the Mets Classic. Again. As I write this Buck and McCarver are giving Willie a tongue-bath. Anyway, this is at least the fourth time I've seen this game on SNY this year. According to UMDB the Mets have played 7,523 regular season games. Apparently SNY has the rights to show eight of them.[/quote:qgg5ebow] I noticed the same thing. http://cranepoolforum.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=10886&sid=2e36b27e63769008dbc4af85452e39c6 Swan Swan H May 25 2009 12:31 PM Oops. I didn't realize there was a separate thread for the Classix. TransMonk Jun 03 2009 03:53 PM Per Metsblog, via Twitter, SI.com�s Jon Heyman announced that Matt Yalloff, formerly of SNY, has joined the MLB Network. G-Fafif Jun 03 2009 03:54 PM ="TransMonk":jrcwlac0]Per Metsblog, via Twitter, SI.com�s Jon Heyman announced that Matt Yalloff, formerly of SNY, has joined the MLB Network.[/quote:jrcwlac0] I'm exhausted just learning that. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 03 2009 05:09 PM So we've got Carlin for good, then. And there are no trades in broadcasting? John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 03 2009 06:19 PM ="TransMonk":2gmwiqqi]Per Metsblog, via Twitter, SI.com�s Jon Heyman announced that Matt Yalloff, formerly of SNY, has joined the MLB Network.[/quote:2gmwiqqi] as soda-getter. G-Fafif Jun 04 2009 12:34 PM Kevin Burkhardt just admonished the Pirates for placing a section of wall from Forbes Field, over which Mazeroski's home run flew, in a less than ideal spot at PNC Park. While there's nothing wrong with professing exacting standards (it is weird that it's between two bathrooms), anyone whose job description includes shilling for the history-challenged environs of Citi Field should pick his battles more carefully, as in, perhaps, "what a shape they don't have a Taqueria here in Pittsburgh." Elster88 Jun 24 2009 08:27 PM Carlin auditioning for ESPN doing the highlights. I really can't stand him. Swan Swan H Jun 24 2009 08:42 PM ="Elster88":2eui7q36]Carlin auditioning for ESPN doing the highlights. I really can't stand him.[/quote:2eui7q36] I hoped he'd be different, but you nailed it. Gary Apple may be vanilla, but he hits his marks and doesn't drive me nuts. Among the SNY stable of talkers I wouldn't mind seeing him in that seat. metirish Jun 24 2009 08:45 PM ="Swan Swan H":1bvh8rgw]="Elster88":1bvh8rgw]Carlin auditioning for ESPN doing the highlights. I really can't stand him.[/quote:1bvh8rgw] I hoped he'd be different, but you nailed it. Gary Apple may be vanilla, but he hits his marks and doesn't drive me nuts. Among the SNY stable of talkers I wouldn't mind seeing him in that seat.[/quote:1bvh8rgw] I've thought the same thing about Apple for a while. Elster88 Aug 09 2009 05:52 PM A clean-shaven Johnny Franco doing the post-game. Frayed Knot Aug 09 2009 06:41 PM I'm guessing Franco's had that mustache since, oh I dunno, maybe age 12. OlerudOwned Aug 09 2009 08:04 PM ="Frayed Knot"]I'm guessing Franco's had that mustache since, oh I dunno, maybe age 12. Funny that he'd be clean for a team with a historically mustachioed mascot. Then again, this was during the Schott reign. dgwphotography Aug 10 2009 07:46 AM ="Frayed Knot":30o1llmf]I'm guessing Franco's had that mustache since, oh I dunno, maybe age 12.[/quote:30o1llmf] Sounds like me - I've had at least a mustache for 29 years... Frayed Knot Aug 10 2009 07:59 AM But can't you just picture Johnny F trying to cultivate at least the beginnings of one in Jr High? The Reds - despite the mascot - were long a conservative club with 'no facial hair' restrictions going back even before the Schott era. I suspect he wasn't clean-shaven there out of choice. Edgy DC Aug 10 2009 08:10 AM And, in fairness to the Reds, all of baseball was pretty much facial-hair-free for about 50 years leading up to the Swinging A's era. Can anybody name the first mustachioed Met? John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 10 2009 08:24 AM Ken Boswell Benjamin Grimm Aug 10 2009 08:25 AM Felix Millan? Frayed Knot Aug 10 2009 08:33 AM ="Edgy DC":8wq591f4]And, in fairness to the Reds, all of baseball was pretty much facial-hair-free for about 50 years leading up to the Swinging A's era. [/quote:8wq591f4] Reds just kept that policy going much longer than other clubs. It was some mgr/exec from the Cincy org that switched over to StL at one point during Keith's time there who made him shave off his 'stache. Edgy DC Aug 10 2009 08:44 AM And to be honest, I kind of liked the policy. Yeah, it seems starkly retrograde, but I like anything that makes teams culturally different from one another, even if it's something I wouldn't like on my team. Maybe especially if it's something I wouldn't like on my team. dgwphotography Aug 10 2009 01:29 PM I remember seeing both Kranepool and Harrelson sporting mustaches... Farmer Ted Aug 11 2009 09:25 AM Bobby O last night said that Pelfry's form on a bunch of pitches looked lazy and he wasn't waiting for Santos to finish giving signs before he started his windup. In Pelfry's defense, the guy was just with his wife who gave birth. So, he's up for how long during that process? Then the Mets shove him onto a plan, across the freaking country, and pitch with his head obviously in a fog. Farmer Ted Aug 16 2009 01:08 PM Switched over to NESN in between innings to catch a Red Sox score. Frank Viola doing color and sounds pretty good. Any openings at SNY? Frayed Knot Aug 16 2009 01:20 PM ="Farmer Ted":jupihupn]Switched over to NESN in between innings to catch a Red Sox score. Frank Viola doing color and sounds pretty good. Any openings at SNY?[/quote:jupihupn] I've heard him before. He might rival Johnny Franco for the most identifiable Noo Yawk accent working in the media. G-Fafif Aug 16 2009 03:54 PM ="dgwphotography":2hba0iah]I remember seeing both Kranepool and Harrelson sporting mustaches...[/quote:2hba0iah] Been listening to the radio broadcast of Tom Seaver's final start before he was traded. One of things I learned, from Bob Murphy, was Dave Kingman just shaved his mustache because he realized (according to Murph) that he couldn't grow a good one.

Nope, it wasn't Lannan. And it wasn't a National.

While researching for my monologue about innings pitched by starting pitchers in 2008, I discovered one intriguing little fact. Only one pitcher in 2008 pitched a nine-inning complete game against the Mets. So let's test your memory, and/or how closely you were paying attention. Who was that pitcher? Your only hints: It was in a winning effort and it wasn't a shutout.

The good news, I guess, and I realize that I'm talking to myself, is that the Mets opponents had worse longevity from their starters in 2008: 0.0 to 1.0: 0 games 1.1 to 2.0: 2 games 2.1 to 3.0: 12 games 3.1 to 4.0: 13 games 4.1 to 5.0: 41 games 5.1 to 6.0: 55 games 6.1 to 7.0: 28 games 7.1 to 8.0: 10 games 8.1 to 9.0: 1 game Maybe I can work this into an auto-generated graph for display on the UMDB. I'm sure that now that the thought is buzzing around in my brain I'll probably do it over the next few weeks.

Okay, I looked it up: Innings pitched by Mets starters in 2008: 0.0 to 1.0: 1 game 1.1 to 2.0: 1 game 2.1 to 3.0: 2 games 3.1 to 4.0: 11 games 4.1 to 5.0: 29 games 5.1 to 6.0: 55 games 6.1 to 7.0: 45 games 7.1 to 8.0: 12 games 8.1 to 9.0: 6 games That means that in 99 out of 162 games, the Mets starting pitcher failed to stick around long enough to get at least one out in the 7th inning.

He still might. I'm hoping that the Mets will still have their starting pitcher in the game through the seventh inning a lot more than they did last year.

I remember, in the 1976-77 offseason, actually thinking the Mets might sign Reggie Jackson. How na�ve I was!

But not as hot as Jocelyn Pierce. I only watched Mets Weekly twice. The first time convinced me that, as lovely as Jocelyn Pierce was, there wasn't enough substance in the show for me to invest (or waste) a half hour of my time. Too much fluff. Half the show was Jocelyn following Scott Schoeneweis around the golf course. (The second time I watched was to catch Johnny Lunchbucket's appearance.)

I'd have to include Barry Zito on the list of dodged bullets.

Instead of picking a city based on its school system, he should have chosen based on its quality of medical care.

Sounds more like he's kidding around.

I expect that one day not too far in the future, I'll photograph my kids in front of that apple. And one of them will photograph ME in front of that apple.

I do think that Davey would have played Murphy over Castillo at second last year, and let Tatis play every day in left.

I'm not aware of that. As far as I know, Orlando Hernandez is an unsigned free agent. He seems pretty much done, doesn't he? I don't think he'll be heard from again.

In 2007 it was Jimmy Rollins. In 2008, Carlos Beltran. Now, in 2009, it's Francisco Rodriguez saying that his team is the "team to beat." ARRRRGGGGHHH! I hope this is the last go-round for this tired phrase!

I like, at least, that Jerry is thinking outside the box.

They should leave that last chunk in place.