Benjamin Grimm

ultimatemets.com has also gone from EHost to JustHost to BlueHost, and so far BlueHost has really sucked. The slowness issues weren't unknown before BlueHost, but they've gotten noticeably worse since then. It would probably be better to avoid a temporary host if possible. Does cranepoolcompanion's hosting company support PHP? If it's a domain that's already paid for and is a technical fit it might be the ideal solution. Here's some information I got from Microsoft CoPilot:

It's very possible that I will be handing over the reins to the Ultimate Mets Database in the next week or two. Maybe even sooner. I have a call scheduled for Thursday morning (December 4) with the SABR member that KC found. (See the thread in the Bitch to the Admins forum for more details.) Once I transfer the ultimatemets.com domain to the new owner, I'll no longer have the rights to the domain that hosts this forum. While it's possible that the forum will continue under the new ownership, I'm not getting the sense that it's likely. We need to come up with an alternative, and soon, or else we may have to disband. A new site for the forum would require a hosting account that includes PHP scripting support. If anyone currently holds such an account, the forum could probably be hosted at no additional charge. If someone were to open a new account, with a new domain name, I estimate the annual cost would probably be on the lower end of the $100 to $200 range. I've had a private conversation with one long-standing forum member who may be able to take on the hosting. But I think we're at the point where this has to be an open, and prominent, discussion. So here we are. Discuss!

There seems to be a real consensus here, one that I'm on board with as well. We like this deal a lot better if it's a supplement for Diaz rather than a replacement. Diaz has come a long way from his terrible first impression in 2019, hasn't he?

That same TWSN that was saying that the Mets were going to trade Lindor to the Padres now says he's been traded to Detroit. I wish there was an effective way to block these stupid sites from my news feed.

If it's faster right now that's probably just happenstance. Unbranding means i removed the reference to the UMDB and it no longer matches the UMDB's font and color scheme.

It's been "unbranded"

I have one particular standout memory of Devin Williams...

The rumors are out there. He's younger than I thought he was... He'll turn 33 in March. I don't see the Mets signing both Schwarber and Pete, and I'd rather have Pete. But Schwarber would make a formidable DH.

I have the driving to Citi thing figured out. I park under the Northern Boulevard overpass. So far I've always been able to get one of the few remaining spots. Parking there allows for an easy exit after the game. I head toward Main Street and then south to the LIE. I once parked in the garage at Yankee Stadium, on the day that Tom Seaver won his 300th game. It took forever to get out of that garage with everyone leaving at the same time. I'd rather park five miles away and get a subway or an Uber to and from the stadium.

Thank you! Update: I've heard from the Professor (but nothing yet from Ginger, Mary Ann, or the Howells) and it looks like we're moving forward. He asked if it was okay with me if he made significant changes to the UMDB's user interface and I said I have no qualms about that at all. In fact, I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with it. No word yet on what his plans for the forum might be, but I'll let you know when I know more. We'll continue to follow this breaking news story.

I don't get to Citi Field often, but when I do go there, I drive. This sounds like it will make parking near the stadium nearly impossible.

Juan Soto is a significant counter example.

I wish I didn't.

I'd be glad to see the Mets give him a six-year deal. It would likely be bad on the back end, but sometimes that's what you have to do.

Still no word from the Columbia professor. We're now six days away from Plan B.

This seems to be coming from MLB Insider Hector Gomez, whom I've never heard of. I found his X account and apparently he's the brother of Mets coach Gilbert Gomez. I'm not sure how much credit to give to this report. I'll take it with a grain of salt until and unless it's confirmed elsewhere.

The only thing I see is an article from something called TWSN sports that's suggesting it may be a good idea. At this point it looks like a giant nothing burger.

Tim Teufel?

I just thought of somebody, though I don't expect that he's Mr. 2,003. How about... Claudell Washington?

I'm intrigued by the guy who played 2,003 games in the American League before coming to the Mets.

He played in the Negro Leagues, debuting with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1955, eight years after Jackie Robinson broke the color line.

George Altman, the oldest living Met and only living nonagenarian, has died. It was announced yesterday but I haven't seen any confirmation of the actual date of death. The oldest living Met is now John DeMerit, 89 years and 323 days.

I want to be transparent about what's going on, so here's an update. No real "hard news" but I want to at least share what the landscape looks like. PLAN A As mentioned earlier in this thread, KC reached out to 700 members of the SABR New York chapter to see if anyone was interested in taking on the UMDB. He got one response, from a professor at Columbia University who lives in Queens and is a big Mets fan. I reached out to him a couple of days ago but haven't heard back. I realize that it's Thanksgiving week and a lot of people have things going on, so I'll wait patiently for his response. But if I don't hear from him by Friday of next week (December 5) I'll move on to Plan B. PLAN B The Ultimate Mets Database is an extraordinary property in that it makes zero revenue. Despite that, my research indicates that there may be a market for it. I saw recently on Flippa a different zero-revenue site sold for $5,000. A long-lived site that would appeal to fans of a popular sports franchise might actually be a money maker for someone who markets it aggressively. So if Plan A doesn't work out, Plan B will be to list the UMDB on Flippa. I haven't decided what my minimum price would be, but it will be a four-digit number. If nobody meets my price, I'll probably go to Plan C, but might skip straight to Plan D. PLAN C I'll keep the UMDB for a while, but I'll seriously scale back the functionality. I'll probably roll it back to what it was in 1999, when I created it to develop my web skills and for my own entertainment. I'd update stats once or twice a week and that would probably be it. I might enter game results, but probably no box scores. No transactions, no fan memories, none of that. I'd probably lose a lot of visitors, but it's not making money anyway so I don't really care about that. PLAN D Complete shutdown. I give up the ultimatemets.com domain and take down all of the content. What this means for the CPF: Under Plan C, nothing would change. Plans A and B mean there's a new owner of the UMDB and it would be up to him or her or them whether or not to continue to maintain a forum. If they do decide to keep a forum, they would have the right to moderate it according to their own rules. Right now, we would get a rating of R from the Motion Picture Association. A new owner might want to roll it back to PG or even G. We would, of course, still have the option to establish a new forum elsewhere. And we can do that. (More on that below.) Under Plan D, establishing a new forum elsewhere would be the only option, other than disbanding entirely. Any one of us who already owns a domain with a hosting account that supports PHP should be able to host the forum at no additional charge. If anyone here wants to be the new host, I'll take care of the setup and the move to the new location. We don't have to disband, but somebody would have to step up. At this point, I really don't know which outcome is most likely. I just know that after 27 years (longer than my marriage lasted!) the UMDB has slowly morphed from being a hobby of a sort to being a chore and I don't want to do it anymore.

Francisco Rodriguez

Mo Vaughn.