Benjamin Grimm

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I was at the game too, with my two grown kids. First visit to Citi since a loss to the Cubs in August 2019. They play a "Mets History" video before the game starts. I still get goosebumps from Mookie's grounder, even though I've seen it a thousand times. Same thing happened when they showed Piazza's September 2001 homer. Lazy Mary is MUCH better than Piano Man. The guy who sang God Bless America was endearingly quirky. My daughter really got a kick out of him. George Springer roundly booed at every plate appearance. Cow Bell Man made a brief appearance in our section, along with his sidekick Pinman, with whom I wasn't familiar. Exiting via the ramps at Citi after a Mets win isn't as fun as it was at Shea. I love that I can still park for free under the Northern Blvd overpass. I've been doing this ever since the 1980s.

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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E6_Zy5IXEAAKgPJ?format=png&name=small> This is kind of like how Fudgie the Whale and the Santa Claus cake had the same shape.

Oh well. I kinda liked him. He'll have one entry in the Tabloid Cover Derby, so there's still a slim hope for him to get some more Mets glory. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2021/20210525_NYDN_02.jpg>

Drew Carey would have been a perfect choice.

Edgy MD wrote: I didn't think Tommy Hunter was eligible to be traded. Because of the IL thing? That rule seems to have loopholes. I remember Zack Wheeler was included in the almost-trade that would have sent Wilmer Flores to the Brewers for Carlos Gomez in 2015. And Wheeler was out for the season with his Tommy John.

Jon Heyman wrote: Catching prospect Matt Dyer goes to Rays for Hill. Dyer, a 4th rounder last year, is strong defensively but hasn't hit much yet. Fits Rays

Ageless, timeless. Lace and fineness.

A Boy Named Seo wrote: I'm a little surprised the first place Rays are trading a starting pitcher, but those guys do shit differently anyway. I like the trade so far. I was thinking that maybe it's a salary dump, but Hill is "only" making $2.5 million this year.

This seems like a very good move. They desperately need another starter (or two) (or three) and Hill has 19 starts this year with a 3.97 ERA. He's only averaging about five innings per start, but unless this AA player is a top prospect, the price is certainly cheap enough.

is there a local connection to the name, or just random fighty-type noun? Apparently the name comes from some statues on a bridge. There's precedent for naming a team after a statue. https://1000logos.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/new_york_liberty_logo-394x500.png> dinosaur jesus wrote: And “city of fire and water” sounds like the time the river caught on fire. I assumed that that was a tongue-in-cheek reference to that very event, but maybe not. I don't know if Clevelanders have a sense of humor about that.

Blah. I was really hoping for Spiders. Also, I had no idea that Tom Hanks had any connection to Cleveland.

So how did the trade work out? Who did we give up? Did the Mets win the division?

He'd be welcome. We accepted Orel Hershiser, didn't we?

That page also has a reference to Tom Koehler. I think the 3.70 under his name is his IQ.

Despite Andy Martino's prediction, I doubt that Dom Smith has ever felt an ounce of pressure from being the guy the Mets got instead of Michael Bourn.

This is a blast from a more recent past than we usually see. I had forgotten all about the Mets interest in Michael Bourn going into the 2013 season. I had forgotten all about Michael Bourn. As it turns out, if the Mets had signed Bourn they probably would not currently have Dominic Smith. Bourn signed a four-year $48 million contract with the Indians. Cleveland traded him to the Braves in August of 2015, and the Braves released him in April of 2016. While he spent some time in the organizations of the Blue Jays and Angels, he never played a big league game for either team. MICHAEL BOURN'S CAREER AFTER HE SIGNED WITH CLEVELAND February 15, 2013: Signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians. August 7, 2015: Traded by the Cleveland Indians with Nick Swisher and cash to the Atlanta Braves for Chris Johnson. April 9, 2016: Released by the Atlanta Braves. April 22, 2016: Signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays. May 7, 2016: Released by the Toronto Blue Jays. May 10, 2016: Signed as a Free Agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks. August 31, 2016: Traded by the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Baltimore Orioles for Jason Heinrich (minors). November 3, 2016: Granted Free Agency. February 22, 2017: Signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles. March 27, 2017: Released by the Baltimore Orioles. April 11, 2017: Signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles. May 24, 2017: Released by the Baltimore Orioles. June 1, 2017: Signed as a Free Agent with the Los Angeles Angels. July 2, 2017: Released by the Los Angeles Angels. THE CRANE POOL FORUM DISCUSSES MICHAEL BOURN http://phpbb3.leaptoad.com/mets/archives/19000/f1_t19010.shtmlThe Bourn Compensation http://phpbb3.leaptoad.com/mets/archives/19000/f1_t19070.shtmlBourn to Indians !! OUR FIRST LOOK AT DOMINIC SMITH (I don't know why he's pictured wearing a Marlins uniform.) http://leaptoad.com/mets/clippings/00036.jpg>

It doesn't take an especially discerning eye to know that young Elizabeth Taylor was gorgeous. https://external-preview.redd.it/VxNelIjSOIqjhx9e2pXN0hNcfvPDe8iIQclU5QQdy_M.jpg?auto=webp&s=ba3c590e95da18ed2e7b20ce4b59a7d68936dfd7> https://img5.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/f/t/ft0j6ch581ogc65t.jpg?skj2io4l> https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aP3ZZ9R_460s.jpg>

This may even require Mackie Shilstone.

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The Baseball Reference people seem to have slept late this morning. They haven't posted yesterday's box scores yet, so Schaefer voting is delayed. We do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

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That looks like me trying to get my cat to eat a pill.