G-Fafif

Tim Bogar, whom Bobby Valentine had on his bench at the tail end of 1996, will be Bobby Valentine's bench coach in 2012.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I think they also require you to undergo Metsmerization. Extensive process. Includes filling batters with awkwardly rhymed terror and forever renouncing the Red Machine.

Didn't we already memories-ize this guy? Perhaps that's my greatest memory of Ryota Igarashi: insisting we had said goodbye to him sooner.

I'm pretty sure they found an old Midget Mets membership form and used that as a template.

From the "Mets Investor Partnership Benefits" section of the actual document (as opposed to #metsminorityownerperks -- for which you're welcome). � One Empire Suite per unit (with food and drink allowance) Allowance? WTF? If I'm forking over $20 million, you bring an ox to my suite and call it crudit�. And ox blood to wash it down. That's my food and drink allowance, bitch.

The link to the Times story will lead you to a copy of the actual document listing the benefits. It's even starker in print.

Sandomir of ye old Times on what Mets are offering prospective minority share owners. $20 Million Can Buy Quality Time With Mr. Met By RICHARD SANDOMIR It is, understandably, not the easiest sell: $20 million to own a small, noncontrolling interest in a baseball team renowned of late for losing � on the field and at the gate. Of course, the owners of the Mets, who have spent the last four months trying to line up 10 or so minority partners, have some long-term upsides to sell: the $20 million would buy 4 percent of a New York City sports franchise that, history instructs, is likely to rise in value over time. But for those perhaps uncertain over whether to part with their millions, the owners have listed some less obvious perks that would come with a share of the Queens ball club. � Access to Mr. Met, the team mascot, although the degree of access is not entirely spelled out. It definitely means you, as a part-owner, can schmooze with Mr. Met at Citi Field. It�s less clear whether you could get him to come to your child�s birthday party without a fee. � A formal business card, complete with the prominent designation: �Owner.� � And if you are a wealthy doctor, commodities trader or real estate mogul who wants to try to swat the ball over the newly pulled-in outfield fences at Citi Field on a Mets day off, you are entitled to attend what appears to be an exclusive kind of fantasy camp: �Owners� workout day.� These benefits of ownership are laid out in a term sheet given by the Mets� owners to prospective partners. The document, drawn up by the club�s investment banker and obtained by The New York Times, runs to three pages, and includes a mix of complex financial arrangements and, well, simpler stuff. Parking will not be a problem for new owners, the document makes clear. A single spot at the ballpark is reserved for anyone who signs on for $20 million. The chance to throw out a game�s first pitch will be an annual privilege. Every minority owner will be assigned a team executive, who will be charged with tending to an array of possible needs, season tickets for family members among them. The document suggests, however, that those tickets will cost money beyond the $20 million investment. The sale of minority stakes in sports franchises is fairly common and can serve a variety of purposes � a sense of inclusiveness for community and ethnic groups, estate planning for an aging majority owner, and a degree of civic commitment or political influence. And, in many cases, to raise necessary cash. That is, it seems, the express goal for the owners of the Mets, Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz. The club lost $70 million in 2011; the men are facing trial over tens of million of dollars being sought by the trustee for Bernard L. Madoff�s victims; and they just lost their best player, Jose Reyes, when they were unable to match an offer from the Miami Marlins. They just obtained a $40 million bank loan to tide them over for the next several months. Since September, the owners have been trying to raise in excess of $200 million through the sale of 10 to 12 minority stakes. The owners have said publicly that interest in the stakes is high but that they have been unable to get any of the potential cash until all the needed shares have been sold. The term sheet was issued by the club�s owners early in their hunt for investors. It is the kind of document that can evolve over time. Team officials would not comment on the document when contacted by The Times. They refused to say publicly whether the terms of the offers to investors had changed, in major or minor ways. It seems unlikely that too many of the perks offered by the owners have changed radically. And that goes for some of the truly appealing ones. In the document, for instance, each minority partner will receive one luxury box at Citi Field. This would seem an unqualified benefit. That said, it could indicate the club has had trouble leasing the suites for additional money. There are 54 suites in the park that lease for $250,000 to $500,000 a year, according to one industry publication. Of course, the refusal of the team to comment on any changes to the offers inevitably results in a certain amount of guesswork. In the document, the Mets told potential investors that they could get their money back after six years with 3 percent compound annual interest included. In essence, the investment would be a loan. For the same six years, the investors would not have to invest another cent. Those details were first reported by Sports Business Journal. Curiously, Sterling Equities, the Mets� parent company, has told potential partners that it will buy �at least� two of the units. That would mean buying stakes in a team that Wilpon and Katz already own � using money, at least $40 million of which they need for other pressing reasons. Rob Tilliss, the president of Inner Circle Sports, a financial consultant to sports teams, said, �It�s basically an affirmation to other investors that they�re stepping up and are effectively shoulder to shoulder with their new investors.� He said that the practice was designed to create momentum. But, he added, �If I were investing, I�d discount that.� Still, Wilpon and Katz�s investment in their own minority stakes may indicate that they have more money than previously believed. The document does not address one of the serious financial concerns hanging over the team�s owners: how much, if anything, they will have to pay to the Madoff trustee. �You might not have that in the initial document,� said Robert Boland, a sports business professor at New York University. �It�s something you�d negotiate for. But when you�re buying such a small share, you don�t have much power to structure a deal. At 4 percent, it�s take it or leave it.� As for the more minor details, there was no shortage of specifics: the $20 million would include one free trip with the team during the regular season (the Mets would pick the city); one free weekend�s stay at spring training; and a lot of potential lunch dates � with broadcasters and former players. A luncheon with the manager and general manager? Off-season only, the document says. Merchandise? Discounts, but not giveaways.

When Mets put together their 40th anniversary All-Amazin' team, they cleverly created space for two pinch-hitters, thus Eddie and Rusty got their due. It was a fan vote, and the fans did a fine job except for two positions. C - Piazza 1B - Hernandez 2B - Alfonzo SS - Harrelson 3B - Johnson OF - Strawberry OF - Wilson OF - Dykstra (whither Cleon?) RHSP - Seaver LHSP - Koosman RHRP - McDowell (Armando allergy apparently) LHRP - Franco PH - Kranepool PH - Staub MGR - Hodges

Darryl's first professional team.

Edgy DC wrote: In case you're wondering, the Marlins won't be in town, but they have a day game in Tampa and the day off the next day, giving Reyes a chance to fly up after. Actually (in the hope that Jose would take wing home for one day) I checked and time of game is TBD, which perhaps is a formality or perhaps ESPN will want to show the sexy Marlins playing the perennial postseason participating Rays on Sunday Night Baseball, which is only wacky until you think about it. The Mets are not investing in a proper Old Timers Day this year, so wow, one really does have to look to the 92nd Street Y on a Sunday night for this. Father's Day Night, for all you Mets fan celebrating birthdays.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Second 50th Ann team. Here's where it gets interesting. If the First Team is to be presented at the 92nd Street Y, where would the Second Team be introduced? The 92nd Street Z?

Mike Cameron is attempting to go National.

I love this tree. And I love that somebody's finally had the courage to put the "Mets" back in Christmets.

Parnell threw the last Met pitch at Shea. Martinez never played there.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Is anybody else aiming for subject-contemporary(ish) song choices in this endeavor? Adult Contemporary, maybe.

Moderator, please sticky my & LWFS's thread. Tried to do it, but I suck at that, apparently.

Since that afternoon in 1946, I have pursued my childhood vision of journalism as truancy, journalism as escapism, journalism as adventure, journalism as experience. I had to leave sports for ten years to keep the thrills coming. I have covered the World Series and the Olymics, and also the death in a narrow coal valley in West Virginia. I have covered the final matches of Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, and also covered a papal enclave in Rome and followed Pope John Paul II on his first trips to Mexico and the United States. I am the only journalist I know who has interviewed Casey Stengel, Loretta Lynn, and the Dalai Lama. What scared me was, I thought I understood all three of them. In context, with help from the above excerpt from his year-on-the-beat memoir with the excellent setting for a cover photo, I get George's "lured me back" comment. He left for the so-called real world, found there were other things to write about and wasn't aching to come back. But he did. And I'm glad for it. Reading him in recent years was like Seaver with the White Sox: not striking out as many, but generally getting the outs he needed. Plus, though I was a total stranger, he responded kindly to a couple of "thought you might like this thing I wrote" arrivals in his in-box when I first started blogging. Finally, there was this inscription in the aforementioned A Year in the Sun, obtained for me by my friend who worked on the same newspaper as him: Anybody from Long Island can't be all good. This may encourage you to stay in journalism, or it may not. Not many working today who can say they interviewed Casey Stengel. That's a loss right there. It's a sad day for Mets fans who like to read.

Ceetar parodizes and they're gone. Do the Wilpons next!

Dispatch from the kid I snuck into the Mets' holiday party.

Looks like it'll be one packed Monday-- G-FaFiF and I boogie down then, as well. Everybody please listen only to spoken-word records this weekend so as to clear the aural palate. Here's one that actually went Top Five on Billboard in the winter of 1974: 07oVR1SDi6k

Arias a Giant, Igarashi a Buc. Yet the Mets are still the Mets.

Edgy DC wrote: Daniel Murphy is this year's Slick Nick. Also elving this year are Turner and Niese. No word on whether Jordana Lenz will be making an appearance. Murph did a stellar job. Kids did not turn their presents back in or anything. Turner embraced his elfdom. Niese, as a crafty lefty, avoided the spotlight. Mr. Met of course towered over everybody.

Tom shared "Communist" and "Greenwich Country Club" in a 30th-anniversary interview in 2007 (it's a little like they're greatest hits now). He's still bitter about the trade. I'm glad he's still bitter. We're still bitter. Don't know how last night's show was edited, but his ire at Grant is usually balanced with "but I got to play in different cities and see the other league so it all worked out." Last night that wasn't there -- which made me rather happy.

If that doesn't restore your faith in Mets humanity, nothing will.