G-Fafif

As much excitement over an in-season position player callup as I can remember in the 2010s. Seemed on the brink of a breakthrough to match the hype at several junctures. The walkoff HR at MFYS III destined to live on in Metsian trivia. Did not supplant Mookie as the No. 1 No 1. Thought there was a chance.

New coach is Ricky the Meinhold. Think of Ricky whenever you coach Mets. FLUSHING, N.Y., January 5, 2021 — The New York Mets today announced their full 2021 coaching staff under manager Luis Rojas. As previously announced, Dave Jauss is the bench coach and Tony Tarasco will serve as the first base coach with additional outfield and baserunning duties. Returning to the staff this season will be pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, hitting coach Chili Davis, assistant pitching coach Jeremy Accardo, bullpen coach Ricky Bones, third base coach Gary DiSarcina and assistant hitting coach Tom Slater. Brian Schneider, who was the quality control coach in 2020, will work on the major league staff as the major league field coordinator/catching coach. Ricky Meinhold will join the staff as the club's assistant pitching coach/minor league pitching coordinator. Meinhold joined the organization last year as the minor league pitching coordinator after working as a professional scout (2014–2019) and a pitching development analyst (2017–2019) in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. https://newyorkmets.medium.com/mets-announce-2021-full-major-league-coaching-staff-7802a687303ehttps://newyorkmets.medium.com/mets-announce-2021-full-major-league-coaching-staff-7802a687303e

“...entertains with Amazin' fun year” equals making the three rows in the subhed line up. That's spinning newspaper in an old movie headline writing. The “takes” indeed nearly takes Cano's right eye out, but at least it's a word in service to the story. To be fair, these are both pretty good for a required college class in layout.

Ray Knight wants to come home.

Phil Hughes, who last pitched in 2018, makes it official.

Christian Red catches up with Carlos Delgado. In the eleven years since he retired from the majors, slugging first baseman Carlos Delgado says there have been stretches of time when he's been so busy running his Extra Bases charitable foundation in his native Puerto Rico, that his schedule has mirrored the one he kept during his 17-year baseball career. “My wife (Betzy) says, ‘I think you work more now than when you used to play.' I'm like, ‘Not quite.' I don't miss airplanes,” says Delgado. Unlike other baseball peers who hit the links in retirement, or maybe transition into a television career or return to the baseball diamond as a coach or manager — like Delgado's fellow Puerto Rican countrymen Alex Cora and, briefly, Carlos Beltran, both did — when the 48-year-old Delgado hung up his spikes, he channeled his energy and passion, not to mention his own checkbook, into growing the Extra Bases non-profit that he started in 2001. At the time, he was playing for the Blue Jays. https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-carlos-delgado-beltran-extra-bases-charity-20210102-pqtqlgfc2repheu3gtmynvjggi-story.htmlhttps://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-carlos-delgado-beltran-extra-bases-charity-20210102-pqtqlgfc2repheu3gtmynvjggi-story.html

The third-season premiere of FXX's mostly animated anthology series Cake (July 9, 2020) had a short showing the Miracle on the Hudson from the perspective of the geese, prominently featuring the soon-to-be demolished Shea Stadium.

George Vass, whose byline was a staple of Baseball Digest, 93. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/chicagotribune/name/george-vass-obituary?n=george-vass&pid=197385023&fhid=15392&fbclid=IwAR3pMpQGTWy00kiV09B_moCfEwbxx3rlPoyWNwtC79CNWsLI92NJhysGBzohttps://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/chicagotribune/name/george-vass-obituary?n=george-vass&pid=197385023&fhid=15392&fbclid=IwAR3pMpQGTWy00kiV09B_moCfEwbxx3rlPoyWNwtC79CNWsLI92NJhysGBzo

Nice profile of where several Mets get their sandwich on. Watching Mets players become fans of Benateri's is a dream come true for Angelo Baretta, a co-owner of the family-owned deli that specializes in what he described to the Daily News as “creative Italian” fare. “Everyone in here is a Mets fan — that's what makes us even more unique,” says Baretta. He meant it. In between taking my order, he pulls up his jeans to reveal an interlocking Mets logo tattooed on his ankle. “You won't find one Yankee fan in here.” https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-queens-deli-mets-citi-field-20201231-pkmfufrbnjad7pc3q7sfomj4ua-story.htmlhttps://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-queens-deli-mets-citi-field-20201231-pkmfufrbnjad7pc3q7sfomj4ua-story.html

A little roundup http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2020/12/30/through-the-years-especially-this-one/here.

The moral arc of the universe was running late c. 1986.

First baseman Todd Helton is Joe's No. 19.

Next year has already begun.

The whole year http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2020/12/29/the-2020-oscars-cap-awards/here. Thanks to all for your contribution, inadvertent and otherwise.

As a good portion of the 2010s has been dedicated to '90s worship (see: Gen Z obsession with "Friends"), it makes sense that the next decade might turn its retrospective lens to the... next decade, right? Who better to lead the way than '00s Hotboys/current dads-and-such the Strokes, led by MLBS-in-mild-exile http://www.mtv.com/news/2579323/julian-casablancas-new-york-mets-song/Julian Casablancas, who played a sold-out NYE show at the Barclays, making news by teasing a new album and debuting a plaintive song from same, tastefully titled "Ode to the Mets." [YOUTUBE]1zgH9RSl2Cc[/YOUTUBE] Since this is where we came in, this seems like a good place to https://www.mlb.com/news/julian-casablancas-on-mets-uniform-design-and-sports-breaking-your-heartjust about go out.

Another San Diego blockbuster.

Daisuke Matsuzaka signs for a year with the Seibu Lions.

Joe Posnanski's criteria: There are 50 non-Hall of Famers — fifty of them, and again, I'm not even including active players or players who have not yet come up on the ballot — who have more Wins Above Average than any of the bottom 100 Hall of Famers. Many people will talk about, say, this year's ballot entry Mark Buehrle as a very good pitcher but not quite a Hall of Famer. That may be so. But he is one of the 50 I'm talking about. If Buehrle was elected to the Hall of Fame, he would immediately have a viable argument of being better than 100 players already in the Hall of Fame. We just don't realize how many incredible players are not in the Hall of Fame … or at least, I didn't realize it. So I decided to count down the 100 greatest players who are outside the Hall. I'm going to explain the countdown here, but first let me define terms: I am only including players on this list who could be elected into the Hall of Fame tomorrow. In my original list, I included all players, including active players and those who are waiting to get on the Hall of Fame ballot. I'll rank a few of those below to get us warmed up. And the ranking is not based solely on the player's greatness. No, I am ranking them in the order that I would vote them into the Hall of Fame. As you probably know, the Baseball Writers are asked to consider every player based on five characteristics: Playing ability Integrity Sportsmanship Character Contribution to team(s) on which they played. There has been a lot of controversy about the Hall of Fame character clause. The bottom four categories — integrity, sportsmanship, character, team contributions — have mostly been used to disqualify or attempt to disqualify players. But I don't think that was ever the entire point. I think the point was for Hall of Fame voters to be open-minded about greatness, to consider players who not only were great on the field but also were a credit to baseball, players who made the game better, players who brought color and life and teamwork and leadership to the sport. I have tried to think about all that in these rankings. But, of course, the most important quality by far is “playing ability.” I try not to forget that. https://theathletic.com/2202108/2020/11/27/the-outsiders-hall-of-fame-top-100/?source=user_shared_articlehttps://theathletic.com/2202108/2020/11/27/the-outsiders-hall-of-fame-top-100/?source=user_shared_article

Q: Favorite Darryl Strawberry memories? A: He had that long, smooth lefty swing. You knew that every time he came up he could hit a home run. Evocative answer, akin to Seaver's dirt-stained knee or Aaron's quick wrists.

Shannon is a Friend of FAFIF. His name can be uttered with our blessing.

San Diego acquiring Tampa Bay ace. https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/12/28/san-diego-padres-trade-blake-snell-tampa-bay-rayshttps://www.si.com/mlb/2020/12/28/san-diego-padres-trade-blake-snell-tampa-bay-rays

Ponying up $2.4 billion to pry team from Jeff Wilpon's hands >>> specific Darryl Strawberry at-bat anecdote.