G-Fafif

Word on Facebook is Rick Baldwin, Mets reliever from 1975-1977, has died from COVID-19, per his family's own posting. Wikipedia lists October 30 as the date of passing.

I'm not usually big on frowny Mr. Met, but “COHEN... COHEN... GONE?” is superb wordplay.

Jacob named a finalist for NL Cy Young, much as Meryl Streep inevitably gains an Oscar nomination.

Hard to Del-lieve signing Betances was such big news.

I'd like the Keith of 2020 who called out Fernando Tatis, Jr., for swinging 3-and-0 with the bases loaded a seven-run lead as being "disrespectful" of an opponent to reckon the Keith of "hey, everybody, Mazzilli's got a rag for an arm!"

I went to a game in 1980 that I've always remembered for Mazzilli making the kind of weak throw that illustrated what everybody meant by denigrating his throwing arm. Motivated by the turn this thread took, I looked up the game and I had my impression inverted and memory refreshed. Mazzilli was thrown out trying to score from second on a strong throw from right, confirming the criticism that he wasn't that great a baserunner, either. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1980/08/21/121007589.pdfhttps://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1980/08/21/121007589.pdf

My hunch is that after a few days of coming to Citi Field to do majority owner stuff rather than as a fan/minority owner, Cohen will find this or that absurd or at least not to his liking, and he'll ask “why is this that way?” and he'll be told, “Jeff wanted it like that.” It won't take long from there to decide that unlike the Supreme Court, Citi Field isn't a lifetime appointment. Every overhead shot of the current ballpark alongside its predecessor in Arlington during the World Series was a reminder that having a perfectly adequate modern facility in existence doesn't preclude replacing it if you can. And Cohen surely can. He didn't get to be that guy by throwing billions at a whim, but with the billions already accumulated, he didn't come this far to live in somebody else's vision. Mind you, pandemics and recessions make for an unlikely infrastructure atmosphere, but if they're not endless, neither might Citi Field be.

It feels unlikely BVW gets more than the most cursory consideration. I think we're in a new ballpark before the decade is out.

Maya Rudolph as the Statue of Liberty channeling Elaine Stritch shouted out the ‘86 Mets on last night's SNL (October 31, 2020). https://youtu.be/1UffOrgP8Ishttps://youtu.be/1UffOrgP8Is

Steve on Twitter.

http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2010/10/02/calms-before-and-after-storms/Real Time with Chris Carter.

The Daily News needs to flip that apostrophe from January 26.

Remembering Fred (and Jeff) through the prism of anticipating Steve... http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2020/10/30/honeymoon-in-flushing/http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2020/10/30/honeymoon-in-flushing/

I'm imagining the set of cards Zvon would be making for this occasion.

Doesn't ring a bell.

Justin Turner's reward was a positive Covid test.

Ramming through votes is all the rage these days.

Although I'll be available to confirm the Metsiness of various low-profile 2020 Mets in the not too distant amnesiac future, I've really given next to no thought to most of these guys since the seasonette ended. These cards have me all “Franklyn Kilome...oh yeah.”

That's a World Series game.

Wow oh wow It's Brandon Lowe

Nah, says the News. https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-jerry-reinsdorf-steve-cohen-sale-20201021-klp74pwnejdrhjlaxreqwqiete-story.htmlhttps://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-jerry-reinsdorf-steve-cohen-sale-20201021-klp74pwnejdrhjlaxreqwqiete-story.html On Wednesday, USA Today reported that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio could serve as a hurdle to Cohen's pursuit of owning the club. Multiple industry sources strongly believe Reinsdorf was the primary source for the story. Like the August story, this story is inaccurate. De Blasio, in reality, is not expected to “torpedo” Cohen's plans before his approval reaches an owners' vote. De Blasio has enough problems (controlling the COVID-19 shutdown in New York City and avoiding confrontations with Orthodox Jewish leaders) without jeopardizing the lease over a non-issue and enraging the vast majority of Mets fans who want Cohen to own the club. The mayor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, although de Blasio did say in August that A-Rod owning the Mets “would be very good for baseball and very good for this country.” USA Today also cited that, in the 2006 stadium lease agreement between the Mets and New York City, there's a provision in which the mayor can block the sale of the team to a “prohibited person.” The lease defines a prohibited person as "any person that has been convicted in a criminal proceeding for a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude.'' As previously stated, Cohen himself was never charged with a crime. He is not a prohibited person and was never accused, much less convicted, of a felony or crime of moral turpitude. To be clear: This is a last-ditch attempt by people who don't want Cohen to own the Mets. A spokesman for Cohen declined to comment.

Hizzoner could get in the way of thizzowner. While MLB owners are scheduled to vote Nov. 17 on whether to approve Cohen at their owners' meetings in Dallas, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio could torpedo Cohen's plans before it even reaches a vote. The 2006 Stadium Lease Agreement between the New York City Industrial Development Agency and Queens Ballpark Company provides the city consent rights to deny the Mets and their stadium be transferred to a person who has committed a felony. Cohen was never charged with a crime, but in 2013 his former hedge-fund company, S.A.C. Capital Investors, pleaded guilty to securities fraud and wire fraud. The company agreed to pay $1.8 billion in fines in one of the largest criminal cases against a hedge fund. Cohen, in a civil suit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, was prohibited from managing outside money for two years. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2020/10/21/bill-de-blasio-new-york-mets-sale-steve-cohen/6005796002/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2020/10/21/bill-de-blasio-new-york-mets-sale-steve-cohen/6005796002/

I like that Jake is TCG No. 1.

From the 2018 premiere of the FX series Pose, set in the late '80s: “I've watched a Met game from the owner's box and partied with Gooden and Strawberry afterwards.” Spoken by Matt Bromley (James Van Der Beek) in a "greed is good" spiel.

Umpire Derryl Cousins, 74.