G-Fafif

Alonso's the sizzle. DeGrom's the steak.

That photo or one very much like it ran on the back page of the Post under the headline MAGIC GARDEN, mocking the new ad campaign that declared the backness of magic at Shea.

Four weeks to go.

The Original Mets coach would be proud. One night late last season, as the Mets left Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, a group of them ordered cookies for delivery. By itself, that wasn't an unusual occurrence; the only notable aspect of the order was that it included more deluxe chocolate peanut butter cup cookies than normal. Long a favorite of several Mets players, the peanut butter cup cookie gained legendary status when, a day later, everyone who had eaten one raked at the plate. For the rest of the season, Mets players took to shouting, “Peanut butter cups!” at each other whenever of them did something good on the field. “No one gets it but us,” Pete Alonso said. Whether it's peanut butter power or some other force at work, the Mets believe their cookie habit really did help them succeed last summer. Early in the year, a group led by Alonso, J.D. Davis, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto and Dominic Smith formed an impromptu club, meeting up regularly after road games to eat cookies, drink milk -- “two percent,” Davis stresses -- and talk about baseball or life. Sometimes, the conversation revolved around the game. Sometimes, it pivoted to off-field topics. Often, it involved making fun of McNeil. For the Mets, a typical session was part scouting meeting, part stress release, part team-bonding exercise. The only constant was cookies. “It's probably not on our nutritionist's plan, late-night cookies,” Conforto laughed, “but I think it's good for us to get together and just talk.” https://www.mlb.com/news/mets-2019-cookie-clubhttps://www.mlb.com/news/mets-2019-cookie-club

Bump for his breakout performance.

J.D. is fine. And will be missed.

Cordell follows homer with diving catch. He's the talk of the Treasure Coast.

Dark horse candidate Ryan Cordell, starting in place of cardiac-screened Brandon Nimmo, has homered, which is how a dark horse emerges into the sunlight of possibility.

Nimmo scratched for cardiac screening that doesn't sound at all alarming.

Brodie says no damage, reassessed in a week. No, really.

Tim Tebow has homered. Praise be.

I'm throwing in with Ryan Cordell as a callup who starts for three or four consecutive games, gets a couple of big hits and looms as someone I will be dismayed more Mets fans don't remember five years later.

D'Backs sign Mark Leiter, Jr.

Brian Dozier hears Juan Lagares is on Padres, rushes to join him in San Diego.

Yo speaks after Yo says he'll say nothing. https://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/mlb/mets/2020/02/23/yoenis-cespedes-speaks-out-return-ny-mets-2020/4832656002/https://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/mlb/mets/2020/02/23/yoenis-cespedes-speaks-out-return-ny-mets-2020/4832656002/

The big stories today: the Marlins' starting left fielder and the Mets' newly refurbished park... Brinson and Clover.

Windy in St. Lucie today. Chasen Shreve appeared susceptible to being bruised by a stiff breeze.

Robin Ventura: SOTA (student over traditional age). https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-robin-ventura-mets-world-series-college-degree-20200222-q763m3hisfbo5lo2fu3dkjulvq-story.htmlhttps://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-robin-ventura-mets-world-series-college-degree-20200222-q763m3hisfbo5lo2fu3dkjulvq-story.html Also, Doug Mientkiewicz has joined the ACC Network as an analyst.

Helpful graphic from the Dazzler.

Luis Rojas has the early lead. Nobody saw him coming.

“He's got his little Mets cap on, and he just pulls away from me, darts across the street, runs right at me, jumps in my arms. So that was the first time Timmy hugged me after the divorce.” —One of the dads at the Elmhurst Community Center Single Parents Support Group, Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens, “Not Today,” S. 1, E. 5, February 19, 2020.

Five weeks out. Crazy!

Some recent thoughts on who remains from Shea (most of us, for one), and how suddenly distant it seems... http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2020/02/16/last-played-at-shea/http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2020/02/16/last-played-at-shea/

Red Sox take good look at Kevin Plawecki, realize what they have in him, and sign Jonathan Lucroy.