G-Fafif

Gary and Howie both off tonight. They negotiated the right and somebody signed off on it, but they are always, always missed. Back in Atlanta. (As they creep up in age -- Howie is 63, Gary 59 -- I don't mind preserving their respective batteries, at least in concept.) That said, I thought Braun was fine, or way better than Apple, who is insufferable even in the role he's comfortable in. Scott did a couple of Spring Training games last year, so he didn't seem fully foreign. Not a ton of chemistry, but I've heard worse. In the Fran Healy days, "I've heard worse" was the gold standard.

Tim Harkness was not ready to embrace Jimmy Piersall, per his conversation with the ever curious Nick Diunte. “He hit one of those Chinese home runs in the old Polo Grounds,” he said. “He hit it about 285 feet. When he got to first base, he turned around and started running backwards. When he rounded third, I said to myself, ‘Should I kick him in the ass?’ When he came to the plate, I just stood there with the bat just like a statue and just watched him do it. As soon as he touched home plate, the umpire said, “Home run and you’re gone!” He threw him out of the ballgame for making a travesty of the game so to speak.” Piersall wasn't ejected, just as he wasn't released the next day, which is how it's often told. But I don't doubt Harkness debated the ass-kicking he wanted to give his teammate.

Nice Q&A here with Ray Knight, who is still the king of the extended A in these types of exchanges. MMO: In 1986 you had one of your best seasons of your career, and certainly your best with the Mets. What clicked for you in that special season, other than staying healthy? Ray: Well I never stopped being able to hit. I hit .295 and .305 the two years I played every day previous, and then 1984 I got hurt, I pulled a rib cage muscle and then a quad muscle. I had six cortisone shots that year and didn’t tell anybody I was hurt, even when I got to New York I was hurt. But I just kept playing and in ’85 I had my shoulder operated on and my elbow, so I just wasn’t healthy. I just wasn’t healthy; it’s a lot like Ryan Zimmerman this year in that he has struggled the last couple of years after being a really great player all those years before. You can’t play if you’re hurt, not up to your capabilities and they were seeing a player that wasn’t hitting on all cylinders. So that winter of ’85 I always started working out early and I usually wait until after Thanksgiving, and then the next day after Thanksgiving I would go nonstop from then to spring training. Running, lifting, plyometrics, swimming and all kinds of things to be strong. But I was 32 and approaching my 33rd birthday and I knew that I could still hit, my arm wasn’t what it was, and I continued to have this reoccurring problem with my right quad where I had torn it and never really got it repaired. But I got in such good shape that through lifting and dieting and everything when I went to spring training I was strong. Davey pulls me aside and says man, you look better than you’ve looked since the early ‘80s, and I said Davey I’m strong, I feel good. And he says are you ready to play every day? And I said I am. So we have HoJo there who had hit home runs but wasn’t hitting for average and was a little bit of a liability at third. So Davey told me you’re going to be platooning with HoJo and I said you know, I’m not a good player playing part time. If you want me to hit .300 I need to play every day. And he said well let’s just see how this plays out. The next thing I know about two weeks later there’s a big article in the St. Petersburg Times that says that the Mets were going to release me. I was shocked. I was making almost $700K, and to eat that kind of money I said, I’m pretty bad. (Laughs) I sit down with my wife at that time over dinner and she said Ray, I’ve never seen you fail at anything, you’re healthy, block all that out of your mind and just go play. And I said hey, that’s exactly what I intend to do. So we were having games and I kept hearing these rumors and then one day Marty Noble came up to me and said Ray, Davey’s in your corner. I’ll just be honest with you, there’s people that want to move you and give Mitchell that shot to platoon at third. But he said Davey’s in your corner. And then I talked to Davey and he said you’re not going anywhere, he said no; you’re not going anywhere. You’re a heart and soul of this team, I know what you mean to the team, you’re here. We were playing in Orlando that night, and I hit a home run. The next day I hit a home run, I was hitting about .350 in spring. Catching everything, fielding like I was 20-years-old and then the season opens. We’re in Pittsburgh and we get rained out and HoJo was scheduled to play against the right-hander. Fast-forward a couple of days later we faced a left-hander and I hit a home run. Fast forward we faced three more left-handers in the next four or five days and I hit home runs in every game and I had six home runs by the first ten days. We were playing the Pirates at home, and we were down by two runs. Strawberry walks with two-outs in the ninth and I turn around and I look and they brought in Cecilio Guante to face me and he threw about 95 mph. And I looked thinking Davey was going to pinch-hit for me, and he pointed and said you go ahead. You go ahead, I want you to hit. So I go up there and I don’t know that I ever felt more exhilarated, excited, pumped, and he threw me a 2-1 fastball and I hit a ball out of Shea Stadium, and from that day on Davey told me that I was the every day player. So, just a culmination of working hard and getting healthy, Davey having a lot of faith in me, and luck. I got really lucky that first ten-days that everything that I swung at I hit real far and I wasn’t a home run hitter. I was a power hitter but a doubles-type hitter, and here I go I hit six home runs in 10-12 games. They said this kid’s hot let’s play him, so I just kept playing.

Dillon Gee in our face tonight vs Jake.

Updated Top 20 1. DUDA 65 2. WRIGHT 50 3. GRANDERSON 35 4. Davis 30 5. FLORES 27 5. Murphy 27 7. CESPEDES 20 7. REYES 20 9. CONFORTO 19 10. CABRERA 18 11. D'ARNAUD 16 12. Pagan 15 13. Beltran 14 14. WALKER 13 14. Hairston 13 16. Nieuwenhuis 11 17. BRUCE 10 17. Bay 10 19. Francoeur 9 20. LAGARES 7 20. Recker 7 20. Byrd 7 20. Valdespin 7

A passel of vintage broadcasts, 1973 and earlier (including plenty of Metsies) here for free downloading and streaming. Have been listening to a pennant race game 9/23/73 and it's spectacular. The keeper of the site explains it's public domain stuff.

Dallas's reaction, from his memoir: “I was pissed off by his antics. I stalked him as he rounded the bases, swearing up a storm.” Synergy between the Mets who ran backwards dying on a day the current Mets keep going backwards explored here.

Occurred to me just today that Cabrera is the Ten Years After reincarnation of the Jose Valentin Mets Experience (which you may remember was a prototype ride at Nickelodeon Extreme Baseball). Underwhelming veteran acquisition proves power-hitting middle-infield godsend for a team that surges into the postseason. Then, the next year, the veteran part reminds us "veteran" also stands for old, the power dissipates, the defense isn't there and...well, Valentin got hurt midway through 2007 and wound up done. Unfortunately for then, there was no heir apparent at second base, thus the deadline deal to grab Luis Castillo. Until they're pass the Super 2 threshold, might as well sit Asdrubal a little and let Jose try to get untracked at short for a couple of days. Flores needs to keep playing third, no matter that he's not a third baseman extraordinaire.

GBA is primarily a Sunday thing, save for Opening Day and patriotic holidays. If they'd interrupted it, God might not have Blessed America until the next homestand.

If Piersall saw today's game, he'd be turning over in his grave counterclockwise.

The baseball legend who made a Met imprint by hitting one out and literally going his own way (backwards around the bases) dies at 87.

Ashie62 wrote: Gilbert Gottfried suffers from a total lack of common sense. But he had enough to talk at length with Howie Rose.

Perhaps you heard Howie and Josh welcome Gilbert Gottfried to the booth the other night. Howie mentioned he recorded an interview with Gilbert for the iHeart podcast. It's up here and it's good listening. Howie could be the new Virginia Graham if he so chose.

Fman99 wrote: Centerfield wrote: G-Fafif wrote: The employee won't be fired, it has been reported, but won't be on Mr. Met duty any longer. Well that's good. No one wanted Fman to get fired. Just slapped around a little bit. Oh, come on now, I'd come up with something more clever than that. If you ever see Mr. Met dry humping a woman in a Big Bird suit, well, then you know I've gone off the reservation. Or a big bird in a woman suit.

cooby wrote: I didn't know it either. And full disclosure: I didn't know about Santana s no hitter. I can confirm: Johan Santana threw a no-hitter for the Mets.

The employee won't be fired, it has been reported, but won't be on Mr. Met duty any longer.

Mr. Met knocks covfefe off everybody's fingertips. This season is even taking a toll on Mr. Met. The lovable mascot reached a breaking point Wednesday and flipped the bird at some fans during the 7-1 loss to the Brewers at Citi Field. The defeat stopped a three-game winning streak for the Mets and dropped their record to 23-28 on the season. A video posted by @adelucia35 on Twitter captured the moment when Mr. Met gave the finger to a group of shouting fans as the mascot appeared to walk toward a tunnel at Citi Field. There is a lot of inaudible shouting in the video, but DeLucia told several people on Twitter that he and the rest of the fans were just trying to get a high-five from Mr. Met. At 11:17 p.m., after the video had been circulating on the Internet, drawing a great deal of attention and ridicule, the Mets tweeted out an official statement condemning the actions of their popular mascot. “We apologize for the inappropriate action of this employee,” the statement read. “We do not condone this type of behavior. We are dealing with this matter internally.” According to The Associated Press, a Mets official said more than one employee wears the Mr. Met costume during the season and that the person inside of it Wednesday night will not wear it again. The incident came on a night that marked the 53rd anniversary of Mr. Met’s debut as the team mascot. Mr. Met, with former Mets ticket salesman Daniel Reilly donning the costume, first appeared before the second game of a doubleheader against the Giants at Shea Stadium on May 31, 1964, a game the Mets went on to lose in 23 innings, 8-6. On Wednesday, a majority of the crowd of 26,517 had departed the stadium Wednesday before the end of the game. The few that remained booed relentlessly at reliever Neil Ramirez in the ninth after the righthander walked back-to-back batters with the Mets trailing 7-0. The hostility clearly transitioned to Mr. Met, who’s gained notoriety recently thanks to his antics with now-injured starter Noah Syndergaard. At a public appearance in early April, Syndergaard coincidentally gave Mr. Met the middle finger from the podium, jokingly referencing where a blister had formed. Syndergaard was forced to leave his Opening Day start April 4 because of a blister. Syndergaard was not punished for his gesture. Mr. Met was not so fortunate. For much of the 2000s, 12 years to be exact, the Mets employed the same man to be the mascot — Steven Boldis. But Boldis left his post after the World Series appearance in 2015 to take a construction job. And he was later upset he didn’t receive a N.L. pennant ring. Mr. Met’s middle finger Wednesday is yet another blemish on an otherwise disappointing season in Flushing — filled with unusual and cringe-worthy moments. First, after a one-run win over the Marlins on May 5, the Mets inadvertently tweeted out a picture of T.J. Rivera with a sex toy lingering in the background in Kevin Plawecki’s locker. After learning of the gaffe, the Mets deleted the tweet and re-sent it with the photo cropped. But replies to the second post included zoomed-in images of the sex toy, so the Mets deleted that too. The very next day, Matt Harvey failed to show up for a game after admittedly staying out past curfew on Cinco de Mayo. The Dark Knight hit the golf course in the morning but never arrived at Citi Field for the Mets’ contest against the Marlins. He told he team he was suffering from migraines and didn’t inform anyone of his intended absence until the late afternoon. Harvey was suspended three days for violating of team rules. Sources later told the Daily News that Harvey was heartbroken over his breakup with Brazilian super model Adriana Lima. For the Mets, it just never ends.

Edgy MD wrote: A walkoff grand slam instead of a one-run single, in the post-season? That could be the difference in a guy's Hall of Fame case. In the judgment of a friend, that move put Pratt into the Hall of Unforgivable Dopes on the first ballot.

Sogard being able to bat and not stop to clean his glasses in last night's fog and mist was one of the great achievements of the 2017 season to date.

One of the slam-bangingest Mets games of the high-octane era of offense, May 21, 2000, was statistically reshaped by walkoff scoring shenanigans. The Mets beat the Diamondbacks that day, 7-6, most memorably through the torching of the Big Unit by Super Joe (thus imbuing McEwing with his giant-killer reputation). Every one of the Mets' nine hits through eight innings was for extra bases: five doubles, four homers. In the ninth, McEwing led off by walking, then stealing second. Derek Bell proceeded to line a ball to deep right to score McEwing. It was ruled a single. In real life, it was a double. Its scoring didn't change the outcome, but it did alter the agate. A game that earned the right to be described as the Mets pounding out ten extra-base hits and no singles was diminished ever so slightly. Then again, the Mets won a game in which Randy Johnson started and struck out 13, so no complaints, not really.

Throwing 10 points on the clubhouse table. Letting the boys divvy 'em as they see fit.

Frazier LF Harrison 2B Bell 1B Polanco RF Freese 3B McCutchen CF Cervelli C Mercer SS Glasnow P

Grandy LF Jose 3B Jay-B RF Homeboy 2B The Dude 1B AssCab SS Td'A C He Whose Glove Where Extra Base Hits Go To Die CF Check to see if he made it to the ballpark P

Bill Madden tracked down Tom Seaver this week, visiting him at his vineyard. Always worthwhile to hear what the Franchise has to say. By his own admission, Seaver doesn’t pay much attention to baseball and the Mets anymore (“I do grapes now”). He used to read the box scores in the San Francisco Chronicle every day on his little bench under a Douglas fir tree at the top of the vineyard. But he grew increasingly aggravated at the diminishing number of complete games by the starting pitchers and the frequency of pitching lines for starters beginning with the number '6'. I didn’t have to tell him it’s not his game anymore; that he and his like from the '60’s-'80s, are as much the ancient relics as Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson and Cy Young had been to them when they were playing. “So how are our boys doing?” he asked. “Been kind of a rough year so far in Flushing,” I said. “Lot of injuries.” “Oh?” he said. “What about the pitchers?” “Them too,” I said. “Noah Syndegaard, their new Seaver, is out for three months with a torn lat muscle.” “What’s that?” Seaver asked. “A muscle near the top of the shoulder,” I answered. “So how did it happen?” “Well,” I said, “the general opinion is it’s a result of the extensive weight-lifting program he underwent over the winter in an effort to increase his velocity.” “What was he throwing?” Seaver asked. “Around 100,” I said. Seaver’s eyeballs rolled upwards and he threw up his hands. “What’s with these guys and this obsession today with velocity?” he exclaimed. “How about just pitch! Learn how to pitch! Because eventually that velocity will be harder and harder to maintain on a consistent basis. “Let me tell you a story about velocity. Late in my career, with the White Sox, I didn’t throw as hard as I did with the Mets, but I knew how to pitch and I was still winning games. I did win 300, you know (chuckles). So this one game, I come back to the dugout after the first inning and Dave Duncan, our pitching coach, comes up to me and says: 'You ain’t got s--t today.' I said to him, 'I know that' and then I pointed to the other dugout, and added, 'but they don’t know that!'” “There are gonna be days like that,” I said. “Right,” said Seaver, “and you gotta know how to get through 'em. Velocity or no velocity, you know what’s the most important pitch for a pitcher?” He paused for effect. “Strike one!” “What about weight-lifting?” I asked. “I was a legs guy,” Seaver said. “That’s where I got my power from. The only weight lifting I ever did was these light hand weights which a college teammate of mine from USC, Jerry Merz, introduced me to. I did 'em almost my whole career. Never increased the weight. They were good for my back muscles, forearms and balance.” The legs stuff brought back the memory of a gym teacher who echoed everything I'd read to that point about Seaver's philosophy: you pitch with your legs, not your arm (it didn't do us much good). The not knowing about lats is cute since, well, did you ever hear of one when Seaver was pitching? The rest is in line with the grand old man offended by the falloff from the good old days, but Tom's entitled. I'm not sure what "just pitch" means. Even if velocity in and of itself is overrated, it's not like Syndergaard, for one, doesn't know what he's doing out there. (And it's not like Clayton Kershaw doesn't reign supreme.) Glad he still considers the Mets "our boys".

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Don't forget Steve Carlton. I considered him and rejected him from the aforementioned trio because I think of his consistent prime as coming later. He followed the 27-win season with a 20-loss season and receded from the conversation for a few mid-'70s seasons. I know we beat him more than we beat anybody else, but I never rubbed my hands in glee that Carlton was next in the rotation, get the bats ready. Tough bastard.