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John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Pretty radical shift with two second basemen! Genius, Terry. Cliff Floydian slip there. I keep wondering why Wilmer doesn't get a few starts over there (or did before Neil broke out of his two-month slump and will now never not get three hits in any game he plays).

Lagares CF Granderson RF Flores 3B Walker 2B Cabrera SS Loney 1B Rivera C De Aza LF de Grom RHP

Get the Prince of Lightness on this ASAP: The Mets have a day game, and nobody's ever been better in day games than Jacob deGrom, who carries a 934-2 record in 1 o'clock starts into this assignment against the Rockies this afternoon. Or some insane number like that. Southpaw Tyler Anderson, who does not appear in a GEICO commercial every 15 minutes, goes for the Rox. The Mets win only the odd games (of course they do), so they're a lock.

[youtube:34g87glt]FPX4ptapgis[/youtube:34g87glt] MLBN produced a short video showing how the Piazza and Griffey plaques were designed, and indeed the photos the plaquesmith was working with were era-specific. Mike wore the black jersey and the hybrid cap far more than he did the pinstripes.

The money passage: “How can I put into words my thanks, love and appreciation for New York Mets fans? You have given me the greatest gift and have graciously taken me into your family. Looking out today at all the incredible sea of blue and orange brings back the greatest time of my life. You guys are serious. We didn’t get off on the best foot, but we both stayed with it. At first, I was pressing to make you cheer and wasn’t doing the job. You didn’t take it easy on me and I am better because of it. Sometimes a jockey whips a horse. It isn’t always pleasant to watch, but it gets results. The eight years we spent together went by way too fast. The thing I miss most is making you cheer. No fans rock the house like Mets fans. You are passionate, loyal, intelligent, and love this great game. To be only the second Met to enter the Hall of Fame, after Tom Seaver, brings me great pride and joy. And I truly enjoyed Gary Carter’s company. He was a wonderful man, a great player, and I miss him.”

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: unless he simply feels that there are fewer and fewer of his contemporaries attending these days (although that list shows a decent number), There's plenty of his contemporaries on that list, including two of his catchers -- Bench and Fisk. Ford and Koufax are the only two returning HOF players whose careers completely predate my fandom. Used to be it felt like a novelty if there was somebody on the podium I personally remembered as active. That was a while ago.

Tom *should* be there, but if he has to make a choice based on health or logistics, I'd prefer he save his energy for the 31 ceremony next week. Hoping Gil, Jr., Casey's niece and perhaps representatives of the Shea, Kiner and Robinson families are represented on the field as well. BTW, I heartily approve of the transfer of the Retired Numbers to the left field facade. Much classier. Though I enjoyed posing in front of them in my one and only appearance on the Party Deck in May, it's always bugged me that 37 or 14 or 41 often seemed to wind up behind a waste receptacle.

One of the great interviews about interviewing ever.

Helluva game to have experienced live.

It's like Melania Trump wrote: Meet the Mets. Meet the Mets. Step right up and Greet the Mets.

[youtube:1gxhlgfz]9gY_SbSIG0U[/youtube:1gxhlgfz] Even Illinois' own REO Speedwagon, the first name band to play a postgame concert at Citi Field, knows the Mets keep burnin' the Cubs -- four in a row last October, four in a row a couple of weeks ago. Plus there's that one-game winning streak they arrive in Chicago on. Matz keeps the fire burnin' tonight versus Lester.

Wilmer is to baseball what Alfalfa was to football: Ya gotta save him for when it's really important.

Rubber game. Use protection. Reluctant would-be All-Star Jacob deGrom opposes some fucking annoying Phillie. We're being told the fucking annoying Phillie is Zach Eflin. What a fucking annoying Phillie.

During last night's Snighcast, Steve Gelbs described Kevin Long's awe at being in the midst of so many great hitters discussing their craft at the ASG. The one point of admiration upon which they could all agree, Long told Gelbs, was...and I was thinking this is usually where you learn they're all fans of Tony Gwynn or somebody on that level...Daniel Murphy. There goes the greatest ex-Met hitter who ever lived.

I'd try J. Wilpon, L. DePaoli, D. Newman and anybody else on this roster who strikes your fancy. New York Mets 120-01 Roosevelt Avenue Flushing, NY 11368

The Times has Dunn a profile on the Freeport Phenom, who couldn't be happier to be here (and in Brooklyn). "I wasn’t really looking for one team; I was just looking for an organization that was going to give me a shot,” Dunn said. “And I had hoped that the Mets would be one of the teams, because you see what they do with their pitching staff, and you can’t ask for anything else.” The plan right now? Right now, Dunn’s innings are being limited — he is scheduled to pitch two innings every six days and will make his third appearance on Saturday against the Lowell Spinners. Through four innings of work, Dunn has given up two hits and no runs, has walked two and has struck out three. He wants to tighten up his command but is otherwise happy. “Ball’s coming out well, everything feels well coming out of my hand, and I feel strong and I feel healthy, so that’s always great, and that’s all you can ask for,” he said.

Edgy MD wrote: Then the poor guy got brain cancer and they subsequently got scared of how it would look, especially since they'd conspicuously withheld it all those years. I just got done arguing it would be appropriate to re-introduce 8 with dArnaud but they didn't go for it. Now I want them to give 8 to Conforto (it's in his twitter handle!) This is the problem with making decisions that are sentimentally defensible but logically poorly considered. They become institutionalized, and once the sentiment is past, you're stuck with them. Literally 86.41% of all people could do without hearing "God Bless America" at a ball game again. An additional 9.22% just mutely shrug their shoulders at the question, half-drunk and floating through life. The remaining 4.37 aren't patriotic so much as the Patriotism Police, and will rip the Mets publicly if the song ceases appearing. And their brethren-in-arms in parts of the country that will never have access to the Mets will echo the cry in poorly written all-caps protest, so the Mets are stuck with it. I know a way out of the Carter Conundrum, though. Re-issue the number to a good player (d'Arnaud comes to mind), but solicit the buy-in from the family beforehand so they don't get sucked into a populist campaign, and at the same time, let them know you are re-naming Tradition Field as Gary Carter Field, to there will be no ambiguity about the team's continued and ongoing respect for Carter. A good idea in 2012... http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2012/01/24/carter-a-name-not-a-number/ ...remains a good idea in 2016.

There are lessons to be gleaned from the examples of others, but frankly, I don't care what other teams do and I don't care what the Hall of Fame says when it comes to Mets. This is not an endorsement or a rejection of any given number being retired, just a matter of personal principle. I wouldn't not retire a number because the MFYs or the Astros or whoever have a stricter or looser policy.

Edgy MD wrote: d'Kong76 wrote: I'm gonna start a facebook page like that Hodge's nut has for Gil in the Hall for the Mets to retire Kranepool's #. Original Met, 18 years; what do they want, blood? That guy is a nut's nut. He went nuts on me and then I backed away slowly and quietly withdrew from the Facebook group, and he kept re-adding me unsolicited. He's so unstable and out there and un-self-aware about it, I almost kind of like him, but I tend to think he's hurting the Hodges case more than helping it. Nuts' nuts think this guy is...nutty.

After that, I wouldn't trust Terry to manage an All-Star Cafe.

bmfc1 wrote: Good chance that Verducci finds an excuse to interview Torre tonight, right? "Joe, you're a gem, a national treasure, a living monument to immortality." "What's the question, Tom?"

Edgy MD wrote: A report of Jake explicitly deferring to Bartolo is far more encouraging. Like Rudy, except with the "he's too small to play" angle rewritten.

d'Kong76 wrote: Does Fox have a Spanish channel? haha iSI!. I've taken in World Series games via Fox Deportes until it gets a little too weird.

The player introductions will be the highlight. Anything else is gravy. Terry said he offered Jake a spot but was turned down, with JdG preferring to rest. I assume that's the one that went to Bartolo.

Dunn has his first professional win.