Benjamin Grimm

Anybody remember Fudgetown Cookies? Valadius spends a LOT of time on YouTube, doesn't he?

It's like when you realize that the Alphabet Song and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star have the same tune.

]Yes collected sure as mentioned earlier these items out there, if no one collected them, then how would they exist today on the secondary markets? There's a difference between someone "collecting" something and someone not throwing it out. If my great grandchildren somehow find my toaster oven in my attic years after I die, it's not evidence that I collected toaster ovens. It simply means that my toaster oven was never disposed of. ]I personally do not know the names of prominent 19th century collectors, but I can give you the name of my grandfather who passed down a collection to me of Game Used baseballs and a Jersey. How did your grandfather come by these items? If he bought them from players or teams because he liked having used baseball jerseys, then he was a collector. But unless you're pretty old your grandfather probably wasn't doing this collecting in the 19th Century. I'd guess he probably bought them, either directly or indirectly, from the families that never threw them out.

From wikipedia: ]The Columbus Clippers are a Triple-A baseball team in the International League. The Clippers are affiliated with the Washington Nationals and play at Cooper Stadium (formerly Franklin County Stadium) in Columbus, Ohio. The team and Cooper Stadium are owned by the government of Franklin County, Ohio. The Clippers franchise was born in 1977 as an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, changing its affiliation to the New York Yankees in 1979. The franchise, however, traces its post-World War II roots to the Jersey City Giants, who played from 1937 through 1950. The Jersey City team moved to Ottawa, Ontario, in 1951 and played in Canada's capital for four seasons. At the close of the 1954 season, the Columbus Red Birds, longtime American Association affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, moved to Omaha, Nebraska, opening the valuable Columbus territory. The struggling Ottawa franchise claimed it, and Columbus joined the International League in 1955. This team eventually affiliated with the Pirates and became the Columbus Jets. When the Jets encountered stadium problems, after the 1970 campaign, they moved to Charleston, West Virginia as the Charleston Charlies from 1971-76. With the availability of Cooper Stadium, the former Jets were lured back to Ohio's capital, and the Clippers were launched in 1977. This page isn't official at all but it says that the Clippers got their name because Columbus had a "clipper ship" but as Willets points out clippers came along about 500 years after Columbus did.

I think the ships they're referring to would be those of Christopher Columbus, not those of George Steinbrenner. Especially since the team was called the Clippers before the Yankees got there.

Mark Bomback may have said it a few times.

I didn't recognize the Steiner name at first, but now I do remember Chris Cotter interviewing some Steiner guy on SNY. But it's laughable to think that knowlege of Steiner an integral part of following the Mets. I don't agree that these things will increase in value. Knowing that Steiner is officially affiliated with the Mets makes it more likely that the jerseys are legitimate. But on the other hand, can't somebody forge a letter from Steiner? And even if I bought a Ricky Ledee jersey and was fully confident that it was authentic, wouldn't I have similar trouble selling it years from now? Would my buyer believe me when I say that I got the letter from Steiner, a company that was affiliated with the Mets back in 2006? There's been so much fraud in the collectibles industry that I can't see it as a wise investment. Buy for fun, if you think it's fun, but don't buy anything planning to make money on it later on.

I'm not interested in any of that stuff. I wouldn't even be interested in a game-used Jerry Koosman jersey from the fifth game of the 1969 World Series. I have enough old clothing in my closet that I'm not likely to wear.

I wonder what a Steiner LOA is?

The Daily News, I think, speculated that the Mets will probably end up claiming Columbus. If they do, I hope they ditch the Clippers name. (And yes, I know it's highly unlikely.) Columbus Clippers sounds too Yankee-ish to me, not only because of the 28 years as an affiliate, but also because of DiMaggio. I'd name them the Columbus Pigeons. (Columbo, the explorer's untranslated name, means "pigeon" in Italian.)

I think if they end up in New Orleans it will be because they lost the game of musical chairs.

Smuggle in food and wear a diaper so you never have to leave your seat.

Maybe. We won't know for sure for another couple of weeks.

New Orleans is in the Pacific Coast League, isn't it? Wouldn't that mean that often the players would be far from New York, making quick callups more difficult? Probably doesn't matter a whole lot, but it's something to think about.

You know, I thought I heard him say that when I was watching last night. Boy, he is sleazy! I can understand why Chris Cotter didn't comment on it, though if it was me the urge would be hard to resist. Is SNY going to get Janet Jacksoned because of this? I guess they haven't been doing the seven-second delay thing.

In 1984 the Mets were on the fringes of contention, and it was a lot of fun. But they melted down in early August, so there was no suspense the last couple of months of the season. But in 1985 was exhilarating! Gary Carter pumping his fist. Doc Gooden winning 24 games. That final showdown series in St. Louis, with Darling pitching his heart out and Strawberry hitting the clock. That nutty 18-inning game against Pittsburgh with Rusty Staub making that running catch. Meaningful games in October! It was fabulous. 1986 had, by far, the best October I've experienced. But 1985 had the best April through September. 1999 was a fun regular season too. But nothing touches 1985.

="SteveJRogers"]I was going for why for some the celebration is subdubed, that being close in 84 and 85 gave fans an extra jolt of excitement in 86 Nah. If the Mets had finished last in 1984 and 1985, then 1986 would probably have been even more exciting, not less. And 1985 was a wonderful season, and still my favorite regular season ever. It didn't leave me heartbroken at all. Just eager for the winter to end so that the Mets could have another crack at it.

Didn't the daily reports of Willie's unsmoked cigar remind you of the "first victory" cigar that Mike Piazza had for Willie last year? That one went unsmoked for five games. Maybe Willie should switch to lollipops instead of cigars, like Telly Savalas did.

Athletics-Yankees is more likely in the ALCS isn't it? I'd prefer to see the Yankees get whacked by Detroit or Minnesota in the Division Series.

I know what you mean. I was 10 in 1973, and didn't appreciate how special that postseason appearance was. I knew the Mets had been there just four years earlier. I had not idea it would be another 13 before it would happen again.

Spraying champagne for winning a Division Series is what really seems over the top to me. There's not even a title associated with that.

It was fun, and I enjoyed watching it. The 2006 team can never be as special to me as the 1986 team was, mainly, I think, because I was 23 then, 43 now. I have a different perspective on baseball and on life in general, I guess. It's still a major thrill, but it's not consuming me the way it did twenty years ago. And I'm okay with that. For those of you for whom this is the first time around, I hope that 2006 ends up doing for you what 1986 did for me.

Johnny Dickshot wrote: I'd like to see the Pirates return to relevancy myself. As a franchise, they're more likable than Cincy, St. Louis, Houston, the Brewers or the Cubs. True. I don't find the Cubs likeable at all. The Brewers mean nothing to me. (Maybe I still think of them as an American League team.) Astros are blah, too. Probably because of all those years with funny rainbow uniforms and that awful Dome. The Reds and Cardinals have nice proud histories. I've forgiven St. Louis for the Whitey Herzog era. And I never had a problem with the Big Red Machine. (I still appreciate their 1976 World Series sweep of the Yankees.) But I do have more of an affinity for Pittsburgh than either of those two teams. Johnny Dickshot wrote: Actually I wouldn't mind their return to the East: The West or Central can have Florida. I think that's probably the most likely scenario if the Marlins should move west in the next few years. The Portland Marlins would play in the West, and the Pirates would move to the East. And the Rockies could either stay in the West or move to the Central. Speaking of the Pirates, has anyone heard about the special celebration being held in Chester, PA, Danny Murtagh's hometown? They're commemorating the all-minority outfield he fielded back when he was managing the Pirates.

Many times poor teams have strong second halves, and it often fails to carry over into the next season. I hope the Pirates become a good team. It would be nice if there could someday be a playoff game at PNC Park. I remember at the end of the 1985 season people were speculating that baseball was dead in Pittsburgh. It was even thought that the Mets might be making their last visit there, and that the team would be elsewhere in 1986. That didn't happen, of course, and by 1990 the team was better than the Mets. Now that the Pirates are safely in the other division, I'd like to see them return to glory. They were the best team in the league when I first started watching baseball, and they won the first World Series I ever watched. (In 1971.) When I think Pirates, I still think Stargell and Clemente, even though they're both dead at the present time.

Pirates: Loose. Mets: Not so loose.