G-Fafif

Opening Day grand slam. The name that launched several puns. And he is outta here.

Young LF Valdespin 2B Wright 3B Byrd RF Satin 1B Buck C Brown DH Lagares CF Quintanilla SS Wheeler P

The big blotch of orange is always a treat.

Does everybody wearing the same color to the game actually intimidate the opposition or rally the home team?

The Mets attempt to even their lifetime record on Chicago's South Side to 2-2 when they return to the baddest part of town Tuesday night for the first time in eleven years. White Sox better just beware of a man named Andrew Brown. Oh, and another man named Zachary Harrison Wheeler.

Wright 3.5 Harvey 3.0 Young 1.5 Byrd 1.0 Lagares 1.0

Young CF Murphy 2B Wright 3B Byrd RF Satin 1B Buck C Lagares CF Quintanilla SS Harvey P Happiest of Harvey Days!

Descendants of Whiz Kids to choke on their cheesesteaks, courtesy of brilliant, young Matt Harvey.

Young 1.5 Valdespin 1.0 Wright 1.0 Murphy 1.0 Quintanilla 1.0 Edgin 1.0 Aardsma 0.5

Lagares 3.0 Young 2.0 Hefner 2.0 Quintanilla 1.0 Rice 0.5 Parnell 0.5 Torres 0.5 Wright 0.5

Mick Jagger? Says Jay Horwitz on Twitter: Long time Mets fan Mick Jagger,who is in concert next to Citizens Bank Park, will stop by and watch BP before his first Stones set. Reads like another Boy Who Tweeted Wolf installment from Jay. I mean, c'mon...the Stones are still together in 2013?

Edgy MD wrote: I guess the only guys that could top that would be two-tenure guys like Mazzilli, Jorgensen, or McReynolds. None of those guys (or Kingman or Staub or Brooks) hit that mark.

Feel reasonably confident in asserting that by homering in consecutive plate appearances 40 days apart, between May 11 and June 20, Andrew Brown set some sort of single-season Met record for absence making the bat grow louder. Darryl Strawberry homered in his final PA of the 1986 World Series then when he first stepped up on Opening Day 1987. That was 162 days apart, but something else altogether. FWIW, Darryl homered in his final AB on Closing Day 1986, walked in last PA 10/5/86 and then homered as noted on 4/7/87, meaning HRs on consecutive regular-season ABs 184 days apart.

Wright 2.0 Hawkins 1.5 Satin 1.0 Brown 1.0 Quintanilla 1.0 Lyon 1.0 Aardsma 1.0 Parnell 1.0 Edgin 0.5

I'll throw in 3) What is Wright's actual impact behind the scenes? David's not his middle reliever's keeper, but just wondering what all that leadership by example adds up to, if anything.

Dave Lennon picks up the story in Newsday: The maintenance room was described as not much bigger than a closet, but it has a couch, and the Mets use it as a crash pad off the main clubhouse at Citi Field. Just like medical residents trying for a quick nap during an overnight shift at the hospital, the players often burn a few free minutes doing the same. That's where Matt Harvey, coming off a late August start the previous night, was camped out, snoozing with a cellphone lying on his chest. But Jon Rauch rudely interrupted the nap, a source confirmed Wednesday, when the 6-11 relief pitcher dumped a bucket of ice water on the unsuspecting Harvey. Rauch was not popular with his own teammates, and once Harvey challenged him to a fight over the soaking, as first reported by Yahoo! Sports, his standing among the Mets only grew in their eyes, especially when Rauch backed down. Harvey had barely shed his prospect label by that point, and here he was, not only pitching like an ace on the field but defending his turf off it. The incident was surprising in the sense that Harvey, who teammates describe as "soft-spoken" and "pretty quiet," was all business from the moment that he arrived in Flushing. The other Mets respected that about Harvey, which is why Rauch was alone in his hazing efforts. Initially, Rauch just wanted to use the room, then chose to take out his annoyance on a rookie who is quickly maturing into the next Seaver, Koosman or Gooden. The Mets soon discovered he didn't need protecting; Harvey could handle himself. When approached Wednesday about the incident, Harvey said only, "I'm not going to discuss that at all." It's a mistake, however, to think of Harvey as some kind of clubhouse avenger out to single-handedly change the Mets' losing culture. No one player can do that, and certainly not a starting pitcher, who can only alter a team's course every fifth day. The best thing Harvey can do for the Mets is to be the kind of irrepressible force he was during Tuesday night's 13-strikeout win over the Braves -- and keep doing that. Threatening to go fists with a clubhouse bully enhances the legend, but teammates are more inspired by what Harvey does on the mound. "What he needs to do at this point is lead by example," said David Wright, who took over as captain in spring training. "Because I think it means a lot when you have a guy that's had the success he's had this year and he continues to want to improve and work harder. The important thing is for him not to be satisfied with what he's done so far, to want to continue to excel." That's not going to be a problem with Harvey. But it will be interesting to see just how much that attitude can influence a Mets clubhouse that doesn't have an identity right now. Sandy Alderson has promised even more changes in the weeks and months ahead, so Harvey is one of the few pillars of stability for this crew. The hope is that Zack Wheeler can be another. As Terry Collins said before Wednesday night's game, it's not like they're trying to stage some interaction between Harvey and Wheeler. When the Mets put their lockers together in spring training, "it wasn't for them to become friends," the manager said. "That comes with time." Harvey and Wheeler don't have to become BFFs to get the Mets to where they want to go. Twin aces would be just fine. And Harvey, as focused as any pitcher right now, makes a good role model, even if at 24 he's only a year older than Wheeler. Wright was the Mets' leader long before he received the captain's label, and he shares a similar business-first style with Harvey. But when Harvey needs someone's attention, he has a direct method of commanding it. "I think it's fairly easy to be intimidating when you throw 100 mph," Wright said, smiling. "But I think when you put his stuff with the makeup, the work ethic, the mound presence and that perfectionist attitude, that's a pretty lethal combination for a starting pitcher."And evidently a dangerous one, for those who try to get in Harvey's way.

The Hostess City gets to know its guest, who's no Wyoming cupcake. The transition from a small town in Wyoming to the Hostess City? "Yeah, I grew up in a town of about 60,000. Yeah, Savannah is a lot bigger, but Savannah is pretty spread out. This is definitely my comfort zone playing here in Savannah. I think Savannah is a great city, it's absolutely beautiful and I've had nothing but great experiences here so far," said Brandon Nimmo.

New Jersey native Eric Young, Jr., gets to do what New Jersey native Eric Young, Sr., always wanted to do, according to Mike Kerwick of the Record: Young attended plenty of Mets games as a kid, but rarely pulled for the Mets. Most nights he rooted for the Rockies, the Dodgers, the Cubs� whichever National League team his father � the original Eric Young � was playing for at the time. �My dad�s excited,� Young said. �I think he always wanted to be a Met, never got the chance to� He�s excited for me, and like I said, I�m excited.�

Give that man a Kewpie Doll! Prior to Tuesday, the Mets had never had two different catchers homer in different games of a doubleheader, according to Baseball Reference's Play Index. Sammy Taylor homered in each end of the twinbill of July 7, 1962, a split at home against the Cardinals, most notable for Marv Throneberry pinch-hitting the game-winning dinger in the opener. But no multiple catchers homering in multiple games on the same day. Good job with the curiosity there.

Torres 1.5 Byrd 0.5 Nieuwenhuis 0.5 Young 0.5 Satin 0.5

957. Zack Wheeler 958. Eric Young, Jr.

Ceetar wrote: didn't they have two catcher walk-off home runs 2ish years ago? Barajas on a Friday night, Blanco on a Saturday afternoon. (And Thole months later.) But that wasn't a doubleheader. I'm thinking back when doubleheaders weren't a rarity -- and a day-night doubleheader isn't exactly a doubleheader anyway -- two catchers homering must've happened. But it's a good question.

Young - CF Murphy - 2B Wright � 3B Byrd � RF Duda � 1B Buck � C Nieuwenhuis � LF Quintanilla � SS Marcum � RHP

When I was a rookie, I was tutored in locker-room protocol by Mike Torrez and Rusty Staub, two generous guys who went out of their way to make me feel comfortable. From Doc's first autobiography, Heat, in which he swore he was clean, a notion he's since refuted upon the publication of his second autobiography. Nothing in there about Dick Tidrow dousing him with ice water. I haven't read Doc yet, so I don't know if he's changed his tune on any of this to "barbecue sauce, what do I look like -- an underage busboy?"

Browsing Google News Archives (goodbye productivity), I find a 1982 story, from when Tom was traded back, in which he recalls, "Lou Brock comes over and says to me, 'Get me a 7-Up,'" in a nod to how strange it is that he was the veteran now; and a 1992 story by Vic Ziegel on the eve of his HOF election in which, when asked for some of his favorite memories, Tom recounts how "Brock took a quick look at the apple-cheeked kid and said, 'Go get me a Coke.' 'I swear to God,' Seaver says, 'he thought I was the clubhouse kid.'" Plus from Brock's perspective (the free segment of an article from a Cardinals Country paper, four years ago): Brock said he got to ballpark in Anaheim early (9:30 am for 3 pm start) to make it ... Brock said. "He went and got it and said `By the way, I'm Tom Seaver. ...