G-Fafif

When the results were announced, I thought, "you mean you don't have to select Franco? I thought it was required."

Garrett among those strongly considered. Lost out to Youngblood in that "good enough to start, usually not trusted by management" role for versatility (Joel IF-OF and capble of catching, even) and the desire for a righty bat with a little pop.

Extending the All-Time Team into the All-Time Roster.

NL EAST WSH -- NYM 3.5 ATL 4.0 NL WCs NYM -- SFG -- ATL 0.5 PIT 1.0 STL 3.0 ARI 3.5 MIA 4.5 PHI 5.5 MIL 5.5

There are tears and they are in my eyes.

MFYs suddenly admit to passing on Dickey, according to professional idiot Wally Matthews. After the 2009 season, when Dickey was being shopped on the free-agent market, the Yankees kicked the tires on the then-35-year-old journeyman -- and walked away. Y'know that heartwarming story of the career Quadruple-A pitcher who couldn't get a break so he had to make his own and look at him now? Man, would we hate hearing about it if the tire-kicking had gone anywhere.

G-Fafif wrote: Sweeping the Orioles in Flushing like it's October 1969, and arriving at the exact same record after 70 games like it's June 1969. (Only a cad would point out the Mets lost four in a row to drop to 38-32 forty-three years ago, but a statistical similarity is a statistical similarity, so I say ride that pony...or Bird...as far as it takes us.) Looked it up and learned Mets had the exact same record, 38-32, after 70 games in their other "Surprise!" seasons, 1984 and 1997. So maybe this ride doesn't meander into a canyon come late July or early August the way the promising 2010 and 2011 versions did. Maybe?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Wright just keeps getting closer and closer, doesn't he? It seems like it's been a long time since Kranepool has added to his total. Ed Kranepool may indeed be over the hill.

The Veterans Committee pays homage to the two originals, from the Polo Grounds, as chronicled by George Vecsey in Joy in Mudville: Looie Kleppel and Mother of the Mets. They were the twin sirens of the Harlem River, the Scylla and Charybdis of 155th Street. To navigate them safely required all the nerve a wayfaring player could muster. Looie and Mother of the Mets were not friends. They traded charges about the misappropriation of funds after a collection for a watch for Willie Mays back in the 1950s. Whatever the reason, when the Mets were formed Looie took one side of the bleachers and Mother of the Mets took the other. Together they formed stereophonic sound but they were strictly soloists and never a duet. "Hickman," Looie would shout. "Hickman, listen to me. You've got to swing at the first pich, Hickman. A big boy like you, you could be a star. I taught Whitey Lockman. Ask Monte Irvin what I did for him. Hickman, are you listening to me?" And Jim Hickman, still unsure of himself in his first nervous months in the big city, would glance sideways, utter a nervous "hello, Looie" as he passed [on his way to the center field clubhouse]. This was like playing dues because Looie threatened to "roast you like a potato" if you ignored him. Mother of the Mets had a different style, preaching to her own congregation. She was a big-boned Negro woman who had spent her years working for a wealthy family, and she now seemed comfortable in retirement. She called herself "Mother of the Mets" but her real name, she said, was Sadie James. [Her] motherly advice would be broadcast to the players -- visiting and home -- as they clumped down the wooden steps. Looie and Sadie both had the kind of noisy charisma that attracted knots of gaping youngsters. Little boys from the North Bronx or Rego Park or Leonia, N.J., followed these sages of the bleachers, absorbing the wisdom of the ages. Sadie tended to mother her young followers, drawing them together. She also brought congratulations cards for players or reporters whose wives had given birth. She thought of the Mets as her family, and she frequently lamented: "What am I going to do when my boys move to that new stadium?"

NL EAST WSH -- NYM 3.0 ATL 3.5 NL WCs NYM -- SFG -- ATL 0.5 PIT 1.5 STL 2.5 ARI 3.5 MIA 4.0 PHI 5.0 MIL 5.5

Sweeping the Orioles in Flushing like it's October 1969, and arriving at the exact same record after 70 games like it's June 1969. (Only a cad would point out the Mets lost four in a row to drop to 38-32 forty-three years ago, but a statistical similarity is a statistical similarity, so I say ride that pony...or Bird...as far as it takes us.)

Gee 3.5 Wright 2.0 Hairston 2.0 Valdespin 0.5 Rottino 0.5 Nickeas 0.5 Parnell 0.5 Francisco 0.5

METS ALL-TIME HIT LEADERS Through Games of 6/20/2012 1. Ed Kranepool 1,418 2. DAVID WRIGHT 1,334 COUNTDOWN: Krane Minus 84

I recall the Lone Ranger being a Right to Life Party candidate for some office in Suffolk County. He didn't win and he probably wasn't listed on the ballot as the Lone Ranger.

So, what happens to ruin everything Sunday night? These have crossed my mind: --Sudden unforeseen steady rain messes with knuckler, umps won't halt play. --Sabathia pulls up lame, is replaced by Triple-A callup who has studied Dickey and learned the knuckler just for this night and he bests Dickey and it's a moral victory for MFYs 'cause Triple-A pitcher is from Newark and Mets kept him from pitching in front of his family this season. --Selig orders all umpires to redefine strike zone as of 8 PM Sunday and therefore all of Dickey's pitches are considered balls. --ESPN reports that while Dickey has certainly had success over the past several starts, the New York Yankees are history's greatest example of success and that which is evanescent can't help but succumb to that which is transcendent. --Fucking Jeter.

metirish wrote: I would have phrased it thus If you were to water-board GM Sandy Alderson , he�d tell you he had no such thoughts when this season began, as he goes about trying to build the foundation for long-term contention in the future. You're right. Harper and I almost let the terrorists win.

Hacky Hackerson...John Harper, that is, in the Snooze on the Mets possibly being trade-deadline buyers: If you gave GM Sandy Alderson truth serum, he�d tell you he had no such thoughts when this season began, as he goes about trying to build the foundation for long-term contention in the future. How about "GM Sandy Alderson probably had no such thoughts when this season began..." instead of pretending to read minds and insisting on using Cold War cliches?

Santana 3.5 Duda 2.5 Valdespin 1.5 Murphy 0.5 Quintanilla 0.5 Parnell 0.5 Batista 0.5 Rauch 0.5

METS ALL-TIME HIT LEADERS Through Games of 6/19/2012 1. Ed Kranepool 1,418 2. DAVID WRIGHT 1,331 COUNTDOWN: Krane Minus 87

...enemy batters, heading back to their dugout after another feeble infield bouncer or another strikeout, look like folks anxious to forget today�s Dow. Which is EXACTLY what the Orioles looked like Monday night. Never mind what a writer Roger Angell is. What a reporter Roger Angell is.

At 12, with Seaver, Koosman and Matlack, I assumed such Mets pitching was the norm. It was the rare Randy Tate great start that got me extra excited.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Nice photo in the Daily News this morning of Santana with Seaver. By next week, Seaver will insist they've never met.

�It's surreal. You almost get emotional out there, especially that last hitter. You hear everybody, like one big heartbeat beating. That's the best way I could explain it.''

If everybody stays in place, R.A. figures to have three starts before the ASG: Sunday night vs MFYs, Friday 7/29 at LA and Thursday July 5 home to Philly. July 10 is the All-Star Game.

It's tempting, but then you're screwing with four other pitchers, three of whom have been pitching pretty to very well and one who is Johan Santana who except for two starts since his no-hitter was pitching extraordinarily well just about every start. R.A., meanwhile, has thrived on four days' rest and thrived on five days' rest. I'd prefer to get the most possible out of each starter as is. Besides, a disruption to the five-man rotation is always just a rainout or something worse away.