G-Fafif

Had a great game on June 1, 2012. Nobody much noticed, but Duda made sure there'd be no Joe Wallis scoreless tie situation awaiting Johan Santana in the ninth.

Neil Ramirez has signed a minor league deal with Nats, where he will commune with Murphy, Perez and whatever papers den Dekker left behind on how to wreak vengeance on those who DFA'd him. Not that it will help. Aside from his uniformly sucking, I'll remember sitting in the Big Apple section and hearing him warm up, his pitches smacking the catcher's mitt like a real major league pitcher's and wondering why it neither sounded nor looked so impressive in game action.

High up the list is the final day of the 2014 season, his 30th homer, his 92nd RBI, his phantom run through the car wash as his teammates ran and hid. Adorable. That dynamite streak that propelled the Mets into first place amid the Tears of Joy and the Coming of Yo. The big homers to clinch the East and the pennant shortly thereafter. Good guy. Good luck.

The most rewarding voting in this fan's world, for 'Poolers who are having fun.

The chart, it is a changin' a little. With July 31 looming, some of the Citi Field All-Time Home Run stalwarts may have swatted their last in a home Mets uniform. Or not. We'll see. Conforto has been the big mover, surging into seventh place. Flores has steadily climbed into a two-way tie for fourth with Ike Davis. Cespedes has stalled in tenth place, trailing Cabrera and the resilient Reyes, while d'Arnaud is stuck in the mud in the eleventh. Updated standings through July 23, 2017. DUDA 71 WRIGHT 50 GRANDERSON 36 FLORES 30 Davis 30 Murphy 27 CONFORTO 24 CABRERA 22 REYES 22 CESPEDES 21 D'ARNAUD 16 Pagan 15 BRUCE 14 WALKER 14 Beltran 14 Hairston 13 Nieuwenhuis 11 Bay 10 Francoeur 9 LAGARES 7 (tied with three others for 20th place) T. RIVERA 6 (tied with four others for 24th place) R. RIVERA 5 (tied with three others for 29th place) Two have 4 (tied for 33rd place) REYNOLDS 3 (tied with eight others for 35th place) Twelve have 2 (tied for 44th place) Lugo, deGrom, Nimmo, Harvey, Syndergaard, Plawecki 1 (tied with 17 others for 56th place)

Edgy MD wrote: We've got a new entry! Indeed. The 34th third baseman to follow David Wright debuted at the position last night. 163. Asdrubal Cabrera 07/22/2017 162. T.J. Rivera 08/10/2016 161. Jose Reyes 07/06/2016 160. Ty Kelly 05/24/2016 159. Matt Reynolds 05/17/2016 158. Kelly Johnson 10/03/2015 157. Juan Uribe 07/25/2015 156. Danny Muno 05/25/2015 155. Ruben Tejada 05/14/2015 154. Anthony Recker 04/14/2015 153. Eric Campbell 06/05/2014 152. Omar Quintanilla 09/15/2013 151. Wilmer Flores 08/06/2013 150. Zach Lutz 06/27/2013 149. Vinny Rottino 05/28/2012 148. Ronny Cedeño 04/10/2012 147. Josh Satin 09/28/2011 146. Nick Evans 07/17/2011 145. Daniel Murphy 05/31/2011 144. Willie Harris 05/12/2011 143. Luis Hernandez 08/31/2010 142. Mike Hessman 07/29/2010 141. Justin Turner 07/19/2010 140. Wilson Valdez 08/25/2009 139. Andy Green 08/19/2009 138. Fernando Tatis 06/17/2008 137. David Newhan 09/29/2007 136. Ruben Gotay 09/07/2007 135. Damion Easley 04/19/2007 134. Julio Franco 09/10/2006 133. Eli Marrero 07/02/2006 132. Jose Valentin 05/26/2006 131. Miguel Cairo 04/21/2005 130. Chris Woodward 04/13/2005

AsCab is slated to become the 163rd third baseman in Mets history, the 34th since David Wright made his debut 13 years ago yesterday, the 84th since the count was immortalized in "79 Men on Third," the first to debut at the position for the franchise since T.J. Rivera last August 10.

If you're in the city on Monday night, hours ahead of the Mets in San Diego, I'll be on the bill for Varsity Letters, the sports reading series, at Le Poisson Rouge on Bleecker. Also speaking: Ron Kaplan, who has a book about Hank Greenberg's 1938 season; Jay Jaffe with his Cooperstown mavenness; and Mark Feinsand, who wrote about the MFYs. Details here. And if you're on (or near) Long Island, I'm soloing at Turn of the Corkscrew (books and wine) in Rockville Centre on Friday night, July 28, 7 PM (another late Mets nights, from Seattle). Well, me and Piazza. Details here. For you Connecticut folks, there's the Hotchkiss Library fundraiser in Sharon, northwest quadrant of the state, Friday, August 4. It's a ticketed event, lots of authors (not just sports). Details here.

seawolf17 wrote: It's outside the context of this discussion, but I saw an interesting post a few days ago that surmised that the Mets don't want to bring up Rosario until they've purged the clubhouse of the Reyes/Cabrera types who might be a negative influence on him. This was Klapisch's report, based on a trusted source inside the organization, he said. To be very clear, the focus was on Cabrera solely, not Reyes at all. The "trade me" bit, although it's been rescinded, apparently resonated. Reyes is de facto big brother to Rosario, talking with and texting him regularly. I doubt he's going anywhere, other than maybe the bench when his bat cools.

R. Davis CF Semien SS Healy 1B K. Davis LF Chapman 3B Joyce RF Rosales 2B Phegley C Blackburn P

Conforto CF Cabrera 2B Bruce RF Cespedes LF Duda B T. Rivera 3B Reyes SS d'Arnaud C Matz P

Mr. Duda overtakes Mr. Hundley for seventh place, 125 to 124. Now for a 25-homer spurt to pass Beltran prior to the trade deadline.

Smoker returns from DL, Ramirez DFA'd.

Wonderful win but the first since 2014 that, when it was over, I didn't find myself placing it into the context of playoff position or preparation. From contending to contending with also-ran status. LGM anyway.

MFY-Chisox deal official. MFYs unload Clippard, give three prospects, get Frazier, Robertson, Kahnle.

d'Kong76 wrote: I was making a CPFesque YLDb funny. As would have our forebears on the Don Mueller Literal Bulletin Board or Gene Hermanski Scrap of Paper That Gets Passed Around.

Bob Hope, as himself, appeared on I Love Lucy at MFYS I watching his Tribe beat the MFYs of the 1950s while Lucy pretended to be a hot dog vendor. That wasn't bad. Bill Demarest, Bill Frawley's successor on My Three Sons, interrupted Johnny Carson to let him know he had to use the bathroom and walked off the set. Both Johnny and I were left speechless.

Pay through the nose, fuckers.

RIP Bob Wolff, 96, announcer who called Don Larsen's perfect game nationally and the Washington Senators regionally. We who are old enough remember him as the television voice of the Knicks during their championship runs and, later, the main sports guy on News 12 Long Island from its founding forward. A long and storied career that began right around the same time television did and extended, in some capacity, until very recently. Neil Best offers a fine remembrance here. Bob Wolff was born before the first live radio broadcast of a sports event. He began his announcing career the same spring that a sports event first was broadcast live on television. He interviewed Babe Ruth and Jim Thorpe. He called both a World Series perfect game and “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” And he seemed to have a great deal of fun doing it, approaching a dream job as if it all were a happy dream, making friends across several generations of athletes, coaches, executives, fans and colleagues. To say that Wolff, — who died Saturday at the age of 96 according to News 12 — had a heck of a run would be to understate the obvious. He liked it so much that he worked deep into his 90s, cementing his status as the longest-working sports broadcaster in history. Wolff was born in New York on Nov. 29, 1920, and attended Duke on a baseball scholarship. When he broke his ankle during a rundown in 1939, he tried his hand at the radio business, and succeeded. From 1947-60 he was the voice of the Washington Senators, during which he enhanced broadcasts of mostly losing teams by interviewing baseball’s biggest names, past and present, including Ruth, Connie Mack, Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker. He even was able to tame the famously cranky Ted Williams. More importantly, he had the foresight to keep and organize the recordings, hundreds of which he later donated to the Library of Congress. During that period he also did national work, including radio calls of Don Larsen’s perfect game for the Yankees in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series and the Colts’ overtime victory over the Giants in the 1958 NFL Championship Game. Wolff lived for many years in South Nyack, New York, but he worked at News 12 Long Island, starting in 1986, usually getting a ride to work from his wife, Jane, whom he married in 1945. He also did commentary for News 12. Wolff was honored by the baseball and basketball Halls of Fame, is in the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame and was an inducted into Madison Square Garden’s Walk of Fame. Many baby boomer-era Knicks fans recall him as the TV voice of the team during its championship era in the early 1970s. Two of Wolff’s favorites from that era: The 106-105 victory over the Cincinnati Royals on Nov. 28, 1969, that gave the Knicks their then-record 18th victory in a row, and the Nov. 18, 1972, victory over the Bucks in which the Knicks scored the final 19 points to win, 87-86, at the Garden. Another of his signature events was the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which he called for more than three decades. But the Larsen game, in which he followed the tradition of the time and refused to use the words “no-hitter” or “perfect game” as the day unfolded, remains his signature moment. One of Wolff’s sons, Rick, is an author and weekend morning radio host at WFAN.

Duda hath past McReynolds, creeps to within one of Hundley.

NEW YORK -- F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company has announced plans to expand its flagship Crane Pool brewery in response to demand for more points stemming from the Mets' 14-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on July 14. "The Mets generated 19 hits, while starting pitcher Jacob deGrom gave up only four over eight innings while striking out 11," said a brewery spokesman. "Factor in deGrom's two hits at the plate, and he's in position for Player of the Game honors." The problem -- "and it's a pleasant one," the spokesman stressed -- was deGrom's excellence represented just one of several landmark performances. "You've got Cespedes with four hits and that throw to the plate. You've got Conforto with a three-run homer, [T.J.] Rivera with two hits, a homer and three RBIs, Cabrera with three ribeye steaks, Reyes going 3-for-5 and scoring three runs, Duda having a big night and even d'Arnaud with the really good tag and a couple of runs scored." Given all the positive activity at Schaefer's plant, the company will be adding capacity in an effort to "award as many points as possible to as many deserving Mets as possible." An industry analyst, however, doubts the effort will be sufficient. "Ten points is ten points," the analayst said, adding "what was good enough for Seaver and Kingman is good enough for deGrom and whoever."

First 14-2 win in Mets history, 23rd Unicorn Score in captivity.

Hey, it's a lineup! Confoto CF Cabrera 2B Cespedes LF Bruce RF T. Rivera 3B Duda 1B Reyes SS d'Arnaud C deGrom P

It's been so long since the Mets have played that I've kind of forgotten how much they'd been sucking.

Small world...and evidence that there are, what, maybe 14 Mets fans altogether?