G-Fafif

Glad you guys are enjoying AMFAS. We indeed have the Fitzmaurice beat covered. The Schmelz, too. New eps continue to drop Tuesdays and Fridays through November 13 (when Felix Unger will be asked to remove himself from his place of residence).

He does that quite a bit.

“...which then leaves the rest of us non-gays who will be immediately threatened and say, ‘Torch Song Trilogy? No way, nah, listen, I'm going out to Shea Stadium to catch the Mets and squash beer cans with my bare fists.'” —Copy from a 1982 radio ad for the Broadway play Torch Song Trilogy, presumably intended to convince straight people to come see an explicitly gay-themed production

Home of the Lakers vs. home of the Lightning. City/Region of Champions braggin' rights are at stake. First two-word place name battle since New York played Kansas City in 2015. (Quick, somebody alert Jayson Stark!)

=Gwreck post_id=48720 time=1603078308 user_id=56] I recall the Mets went into that game having never beaten the Cubs before that year, and perhaps even as the underdog.

The Travis d'Arnaud Alma Maters World Series will proceed sans d'Arnaud.

Two rookie pitchers, a Game Seven first, I understand. Joe Davis, the Dodgercaster, is sitting in. Buck's priorities (and Fox's) are misplaced.

Sid Hartman, Minneapolis sportswriting legend, 100. Held BBWAA card No. 1 in 2020, which means you're the writer who's been working longest. https://www.startribune.com/legendary-columnist-sid-hartman-dies-at-100/572788662/https://www.startribune.com/legendary-columnist-sid-hartman-dies-at-100/572788662/

From least consequential, legendary, memorable, what have you to most: http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2020/10/18/all-89-mets-postseason-games-ranked/http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2020/10/18/all-89-mets-postseason-games-ranked/

Dusty Baker has now taken five teams to the postseason and none of them to a world championship.

Regardless of the outcome of the NLCS, we are guaranteed an all-Teams For Whom Travis d'Arnaud Has Played World Series.

Official thread of the ALCS.

“...and it's only the third inning!” has become a surefire laugh line in the Fafif household.

Game Seven on deck. Go figure.

This isn't exactly root for the meteor territory but Braves vs Dodgers defies sidetaking.

Briefly reassuring to hear the racist Tomahawk chant spewed by actual Braves fans tonight if just for confirmation of the probably ill-advised presence of actual people at the NLCS.

Ex-Met coaches Kevin Long and Chip Hale are now ex-Nat coaches as well.

On September 27, 1963, Morgan was part of the all-rookie lineup the Colt .45s threw at the Mets in Houston (Jerry Grote caught; Rusty Staub played first). Al Jackson beat the mosquito-bitten kids, 10-3, though the 20-year-old second baseman went 2-for-5 with his first career triple. On October 10, 1973, Morgan faced Jerry Koosman with a runner on first with one out and grounded into a 3-6-3 double play in Game Three of the Mets-Reds NLCS. In doing so, he ended the top of the fifth inning but inadvertently sparked a melee, as Pete Rose barreled violently into Bud Harrelson; a fight for the ages broke out and Shea exploded with eternal animus for Rose. On September 6, 1983, Morgan batted leadoff as top Mets prospect Ron Darling made his major league debut against the Phillies, striking out. Rose and Mike Schmidt were the rest of Ronnie's first-inning gauntlet. Darling retired the trio in order. There's a Forrest Gump feel to the way Joe Morgan's journey intertwined with that of the Mets, but, considering Morgan's stature in the game, he was the icon in this Gumpian framework.

A la Whitney Houston, I wanna dance with somebody...who loves beating the MFYs the way the Rays do. https://twitter.com/juanctoribio/status/1314800748136411137?s=21https://twitter.com/juanctoribio/status/1314800748136411137?s=21

Td'A vs JT in the NYM Regret Bowl. I wouldn't totally hate this being the Dodgers' year because it's such a crappy year, they can have it. I wouldn't totally hate this being the Braves' year for pretty much the same reason — plus we survived the Nats winning, can survive the Braves.

For a little extra Sheadenfreude on Elimination Day, I relish tuning to state television — YES (or YEECH) — to soak in the postloss sorrow and the pity. According to Michael Kay, the MFYs were unfairly disadvantaged because MLB didn't announce before the trade deadline that there'd be no off days during these series, thus they didn't know they needed to swoop in on some lesser team's roster and pluck another starting pitcher. That is a big league alibi.

Postseason just became delightful.

These News clips remind me of 1) their shoddy to nonexistent proofreading in the 1970s (N. Donald Grant); 2) the habitual smudging out of cap logos for players no longer with the team indicated by their head shots.

Kim Batiste of the 1993 NL champion Phillies, too young at 52, from complications after kidney surgery. https://fusion.inquirer.com/phillies/phillies-kim-batiste-died-1993-national-league-champions-obituary-20201008.htmlhttps://fusion.inquirer.com/phillies/phillies-kim-batiste-died-1993-national-league-champions-obituary-20201008.html

Whitey Ford https://nypost.com/2020/10/09/whitey-ford-yankees-hall-of-famer-dead-at-91/amp/https://nypost.com/2020/10/09/whitey-ford-yankees-hall-of-famer-dead-at-91/amp/ I think they've run out of certified MFY legends who predate my baseball consciousness and I therefore hold no instinctive animus toward (save for the affiliation). I'd watch MFY OTD ceremonies for the sight of the immortals I never saw, except as immortals. It was sad to realize after a while Ford was the last of them. I've maintained a soft spot for Whitey Ford ever since my father, born three months later, told me he watched Ford in high school pitch against his high school. Ford's Queens accent was a lot thicker than my dad's, though. Or as we say around here, what accent?