G-Fafif

Once watched the flock follow Terry into the pregame interview room very much like ducklings on the heels of their mama. It was all kinds of adorbs.

Vorkunov's the guy who has usage problems and/or an absentee editor. Not pictured: Ed Coleman, beat guy of the air since the 20th century.

George Weiss indeed checked in at No. 5, but with only one spot remaining -- presumably Branch Rickey's -- there's no slot for Devine. Bob Howsam, in the four-hole, seems to have sucked up his '60s Cardinal glory (Devine mentioned as the guy Howsam replaced midway through 1964), and while Weiss's work in assembling a front office that conjured an eventual Miracle is cited in his otherwise MFY-centric profile, there's nothing about Bing's role in putting together the '69 champs. Rickey was present at the creation before the creation, Continental League-ally speaking, but hard to make him a Met GM for these purposes.

Harry Breitner with the 2014 tune, "Faith and Fear in Flushing Meadows," a title that has a nice ring to it. Song has nothing to do with your (perhaps) favorite blog. Stumbled into it. References 1962, Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Ray Knight and Mookie Wilson. Not exactly about the Mets, but in no way is not about the Mets, either. Dude's from Chicago. He has another song that features Roger Maris in the title.

It appear the author of To Kill A Mockingbird has probably harbored similar thoughts about Cardinals and (depending on postseasons and interleague dates) Orioles and Blue Jays. Harper Lee has loved the Mets and it makes Sadie Stein of The Paris Review gush. In fairness, in a world of tenuous claims, this seems to be a relatively plausible one. Marja Mills, the author of The Mockingbird Next Door, termed Lee �a rabid Mets fan�; Andrew Haggerty described her as �passionately devoted� to the team. Meanwhile, Lee�s biographer Charles Shields told the Post, �She was a big Mets fan�she used to go around with a Mets hat on.� And Smithsonian magazine pointed out (rather gratuitously), that the team was �the natural choice for someone with an underdog thing as big as the Ritz.� With all due respect to Julian Casablancas, Jon Stewart, and Anthony Weiner, Harper Lee is the best celebrity-face the Mets have had since the death of P.?G. Wodehouse. She brings with her not merely gravitas and mystery, but all the moral authority of Atticus Finch. Clearly, the Mets are (as we always suspected, on sometimes tenuous evidence) the choice of the morally righteous.

Big Time MLBS soon to be at liberty.

If he's promoted, he will inspire several Byron Allen comparisons.

Julio Franco: totally not a Met in retirement, but in a ballgame in Japan soon!

An appreciation of the Met prophet of the airwaves here.

James Shields always wanted to be a Padre, presumably, and now he is, reportedly for the next four years, between $72-78 mil. Big Game, indeed.

Came out in 2013. 2 or 3 chapters on the Mets experience. Some fine sniping, as I recall.

Seo's SuperStripe Expos cap is to DIE FOR!

The University of North Florida in Jacksonville doesn't realize it's sort of honoring a great man.

Not the track at THAT Shea Stadium. The track at THIS Shea Stadium.

Ceetar wrote: Sure, but then again, is the portion of the Mets fans listening to WFAN also NOT listening to all the billion other places to get Mets news? WFAN far outrates the other sports station in NY. There are people who are not heavy users of the Internet or social media who cling to afternoon drive time radio as their conduit for Mets information and interaction. A good portion are Mets fans and prospective Mets customers. You don't seek ways not to reach them. There is no such thing as reaching 'x'% of your public and deciding that's cool. That goes for the Mets or anybody with a product to sell. When I leave the sphere of online Mets immersion and physically interact with human beings, I'm quickly reminded -- by Mets fans I wouldn't consider anything but hardcore -- that WFAN or a given newspaper or TV sportscast is still how some people instinctively connect to their team. Those people buy tickets, too...and might buy more of them. It's not about servicing FAN or Francesa. It's about the station's listeners.

d'Kong76 wrote: I have to ask, do you think the players sit around and pine to do interviews with Mike Francesa? Goodness, I love that image. Picturing Jon Niese staring longingly at his phone, then his radio, then his phone, then the clock somewhere between 1 and 6:30 PM, then his phone...

It has been framed as a de facto boycott of the station by the organization as a whole...which seems self-defeating for the Mets. I don't know what the bottom-line connection is between appearances by Kirk Nieuwenhuis on Joe & Evan and spikes in ticket sales (I've noticed in recent years every interview is preceded, succeeded and peppered by obvious quid pro quo plugs to call 718 507 TIXX or go to mets.com), but the idea that "hmph, we don't want to talk to you anymore," just seems smaller in approach than it needs to be. In theory, the Mets are local sports newsmakers. This is the only station in New York devoted, at least in theory, devoted to covering local sports news fulltime (ESPN Radio leaning on national content much of its broadcast day). Even if it's a straight-up business consideration in favor of WOR and the iHeart stations, it's silly. Mets fans, albeit at their own sanity-risk, listen to WFAN. Ruling out a way to reach them doesn't advance the cause.

Moises Alou will be special assistant for player development in the Padre system...as soon as he's off the 15-day DL.

Pedro Feliciano's left arm reportedly to accept a minor league deal with the Cubs. Pedro's heart and soul belongs Perpetually to the Mets.

No complaints!

The Mets scene, set to the score from Fiddler On The Roof, here. Inspired in part by the musical numbers the NY chapter of BBWAA used to put on every winter until Bill Madden did away with them.

Same record in consecutive years: 1970 & 1971 (83-79); 1997 & 1998 (88-74); 2012 & 2013 (74-88). Wild Card won in consecutive years: 1999 & 2000. Consecutive years finishing in same spot: 1962-1965 (tenth); 1970-1972 (third); 1975-1976 (third); 1977-1979 (sixth); 1980-1981.1 (fifth); 1982-1983 (sixth); 1984-1985 (second); 1989-1990 (second); 1991-1992 (fifth); 1997-2000 (second); 2002-2003 (fifth); 2007-2008 (second); 2009-2012 (fourth).

Reyes comes back, wears 77 in honor of the "other" Jose Reyes who (I think) wore it in Spring Training way back when, promises to be twice as good as before and leads the Mets to two consecutive world championships. OR Reyes comes back, wears 17, makes Keith fume, all is forgiven in divisional clubhouse celebration. OR d'Arnaud cedes 7 to Jose, takes 43, hits WS-winning homer off Dickey in Toronto.

Mayberry to 44 is the word, presumably so Keith can refer to it as a slugger's number and wax nostalgic for Willie McCovey.

Dave Bergman, 61. HoJo's benchmate on the 1984 Tigers. Was MFY leadoff hitter in their final regularly scheduled home game at Shea Stadium.