G-Fafif

I'm so freaking optimistic, I'm believing Matz will be better off coming on later, eventually picking up where an innings-limited Wheeler leaves off.

Edgy MD wrote: I haven't found her. Among the thought leaders/boners Seth follows are Elon Musk, Alice Cooper, and President Trump. @vicki_lugo She fav'd something nice I said about her son. I scrolled a bit, it was mostly cheerful Go Seth/Go Team PR stuff until I came to a (apparently since deleted) tweet about how because she was going to root for Puerto Rico against the USA, she felt like Obama rooting against her country, "lol". There's a lot of that kind of thing if one dares venture pre-WBC.

91-71 Wild Card. World champs.

BTW, not wifey, but Seth Lugo's mother's tweeting (which I stumbled into during the WBC) makes Kayleigh seem grounded and reasonable.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: So I just became aware that Sean Gilmartin's fiancee is a "conservative pundit" for CNN and look where they went on a recent "Date Nite" [tweet]https://twitter.com/kayleighmcenany/status/822618856699154434[/tweet] I'm all for free speech, but the sooner she's kicked off the 40-Wife Roster the better. Make WifeyWatch Great Again! I sat behind her at a game in 2015, not knowing who she was (comped seats -- good, not great, perhaps indicating what kind of sway a Rule 5 reliever holds). I was moved to find out who she was because she spent the ENTIRE game never once watching it or reacting to it and it was bugging me. She sipped a cocktail or two and pecked away on social media about Benghazi. I caught her Twitter handle over her shoulder and looked her up later. Figured somebody was doing her a misplaced favor, didn't know she was with-player. Forgot about her until she came up in the minor league cuts thread. I guess I now understand what she was doing at a Mets game she clearly had no interest in.

9 Herb Moford

17 Tom Wilson has never been in my kitchen.

8 Dyar Miller

3 Tony Castillo

14 Aaron Sele

15 Dennis Springer

Sean Gilmartin is officially minor.

Kevin Duffy of Amazin' Avenue with an Amazin' profile of Amazin' springtime slugger Darren Reed. “I loved Port St. Lucie, we were there in 1988 when the stadium opened,” he said. “I always had great springs.” Did he ever. From 1988 to 1991, Reed batted .337 with seven home runs and 28 RBIs, earning him nicknames like “Mr. March” and “Mr. Spring Training” among Mets fans. But it was never enough for Davey Johnson or Bud Harrelson to bring him north for Opening Day. “Why am I not on this team right now?” he said he would ask himself. The response from the Mets was always the same: Go down to Tidewater and stay ready. He finally did get the call early in 1990, striking out as a pinch-hitter on May 1 in a 5-2 loss to the Braves. “I remember walking out on the field in Atlanta and the top of my head tingling and it was like I was on a cloud,” he said. “All these years of dreaming this dream and I’m standing here right now. It just blew my mind.” It hasn't been an easy road to hoe since those heady March days. Recommended reading.

19. 1964: 1-2, 3.48 in 25 games... and never pitched in the majors again. Not a lock, but Ron Locke? Wolfie will appreciate that mostly I associate him with his baseball card, which, along with Yogi's, is the first 1965 I ever owned. Since it's a '65, I don't immediately link him to '64, but now that I'm putting the alphabetical pieces together...

batmagadanleadoff wrote: G-Fafif wrote: I was on hand for one of Armando's RBIs, so that was a boost. See ... that's the thing about your memory. I might've been on hand for one of Armando's RBI's as well. I was a Mets full season-ticket holder for Armando's entire Mets stint. But if I was there, I no longer remember it. If I'd gone to the men's room during Armando's at bat, that might be a point someone else got. I did that during Ty Wigginton's first Shea Stadium home run. OTOH, it was nice to emerge into a crowd that was happy for a change in 2002.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: seawolf17 wrote: Some of these clues are a challenge to find; I'm using a combination of their stat lines, transaction history, Wikipedia pages, and UMDB "memories" pages to find quirky little things. But, for example, try to find something quirky about Tom Wilson. It's not possible. (He's coming up in a few days.) I recognize this and appreciate the effort. This has been a terrific quiz that required a lot of work and the commitment to put it up every day for about a month. Plus the follow-up to update the tallies. Excellent. [fimg=333]http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/batman/images/c/c2/Egghead.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120430232420[/fimg] Agreed! It's been the most fun thing about Spring Training this side of Cespedes. I have a Tom Wilson clue in my head, but it's akin to "name a Met who's never been in my kitchen."

batmagadanleadoff wrote: The quiz answer I couldn't get that really annoyed me was Armando Benitez because I loved that Met. But as soon as I saw this part of the Benitez clue -- "1997-2003" I immediately tuned out, figuring I'd never get it, being so bad with those years. Plus I mistakenly assumed it was a fringe Met based on the # of AB's. I was on hand for one of Armando's RBIs, so that was a boost. Clues have worked for and against me. I could not zero in on Les Rohr, for instance, because I mostly associate him with his status as first-ever Met draft pick, though Woflie's portrayal of him as a reluctant Miracle Met bystander was absolutely accurate (and I remembered the quote from JCL's SABR bio of him, I just couldn't place him while I was mentally riffling through all those September '69 callups). Klimchock, Kleven, Steve Springer, the immortal Emil Brown...I've given each of them a moment in the FAFIF sun over the past dozen years, so that helps, too.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: 10. 1967: Had few good season in Baltimore, but was toast by the time he got to Shea. [fimg=222]http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pics/chuck_estrada_autograph.jpg[/fimg] I do way better with the Mets that played before I began to pay attention that with the fringe Mets of recent vintage. Plus, those card threads I used to do. "Won first game Tom Seaver started" would have brought this one home for me. Seeing him in his O finery brings back his primary MLB identity as a Baby Bird.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: G-Fafif wrote: (just as I'm annoyed I'm stumped at the moment on the ex-Oriole and the guy who stopped pitching after 1964, though I'm a little squishy on the pre-'69 stuff). Where are these clues? Nos. 10 and 19. Go answer them.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: seawolf17 wrote: HOW DOES HE KNOW ALL THESE FRICKING GUYS It's really mind-boggling. I couldn't ever remember that someone named "Andy Phillips" played for the Mets, much less be able to associate him with any clue you might provide, other than "His name was 'Andy Phillips'" I was going to say that Greg probably pays more attention than I do, but I'm certain that when Andy Phillips was a Met I was very much aware of him. When I watch a game I always know who's on the active roster, and therefore who's available to sub or pinch hit. But I guess I don't retain this stuff nearly as well as Greg does. I attended a game in 2008 with a FAFIF reader who prepared a quiz for me (as people sometimes do). A dozen different Mets had started in left field to that point in the season, could I name them all? All but one, it turned out. The one I missed was Andy Phillips. It had been maybe two months since Phillips cycled through Shea and I was annoyed I had forgotten him already (just as I'm annoyed I'm stumped at the moment on the ex-Oriole and the guy who stopped pitching after 1964, though I'm a little squishy on the pre-'69 stuff). Nine years later, Andy Phillips has stuck with me. Also, I went to high school with an Andy Phillips, though not the same one. Played on the table tennis team and had a goatee by his junior year.

22 Andy Phillips

20 Jason Middlebrook

24 Steve Springer

16 David Lamb

4 Emil Brown