G-Fafif

Per the HOF: C. Player shall have ceased to be an active player in the Major Leagues at least five (5) calendar years preceding the election but may be otherwise connected with baseball. Rickey Henderson played in the Atlantic League (Newark Bears) in 2004 and in the independent Golden Baseball League (San Diego Surf Dawgs) in 2005. He was on the 2009 ballot anyway, reflective of his final MLB game having been in 2003. Rules have changed since Spahn's time.

SteveJRogers wrote: G-Fafif wrote: Fonzie won a Silver Slugger, was an All-Star and was praised every ten minutes by everyone who noticed him for a half-decade. Surely enough to rate one line on one ballot for one year. Which is why I'm thinking we'll see that in 2015, because he played professionally in 2010. This will not happen.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Between Olbermann's article and what it's forced us to rehash, this has been the WORST RECOLLECTION IN THE WORLD. Now that's what I call a Special Comment.

One more crack at Olberman (whom I happen to adore on absolutely no levels but that's besides the point here) " ... when Jay Payton walloped a massive three-run bomb off Mo and all of a sudden the Yankees� insurmountable 6-0 lead was now a 6-5 heart-stopper" Am I off here in remembering JayPay's HR as a typical YSII special, aka: one which snuck over the RF fence some 300-plus-very-few feet away making KO's above description simply another example of him playing fast and loose with the facts in this story? Not walloped except that "walloped" is a fun word. Massive only in that it made the score close. Bomb...no, not really.

Fonzie won a Silver Slugger, was an All-Star and was praised every ten minutes by everyone who noticed him for a half-decade. Surely enough to rate one line on one ballot for one year. I generally buy into Morris not quite being a Hall of Famer, but I recently watched MLBN's 20 Greatest Games presentation on Game Seven from the 1991 World Series (their choice for No. 2, ahead of Game Six, 1986 WS; behind Game Six, 1975 WS), and listening to Morris (with John Smoltz) reconstruct that night and talk about baseball in general made me want to hear him give an induction speech.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Edgy DC wrote: Meanwhile, Keith Olberman absolutely creams Valentiine, focusing on one play from the 2000 World Series. Was the call questionable? I distinctly recall questioning it myself at the time. Was it "the dumbest World Series managerial move since Casey Stengel completely messed up his 1960 pitching rotation"? Get a grip, Boston Market Boy. Didn't Abbott tag Rivera in the Timo game the night before? Geez, Olbermann is a tool sometimes. I adore Olbermann on many levels, but that article reeks of Valentine at some point big-leaguing KO and KO never forgetting a slight. One of Keith's things when he talks about sports is alluding to "my good friend," and one of his "good friends" in the game is Terry Francona, so maybe there's that, too. Can't fault Payton for homering, but with the bases cleared, there was no longer a rally in progress. It was Rivera for one out with a one-run lead. I wasn't loaded with confidence over Abbott (my thinking was "he got his base hit last night") and wondered what Matt Franco was doing on the roster if you weren't going to use him there, but "dumbest" move in 40 WS years? That's Chassian right there.

Joins the One-Year Wonder club -- those who stayed on the active roster exactly one entire season without visits to the minors, military, DL or bereavement/paternity leave list. Previous new members: Hisanori Takahashi and Henry Blanco from 2010. There was a little Spring Training "what an erudite rotation!" coverage going around, given the presence of Capuano from Duke, Young from Princeton and Dickey from Planet Dickey, yet the man could not have been less interesting to listen to with Guys! or whomever. He shouldn't lose points for that but as R.A. showed (when JCL wasn't imploring him to STFU), you sure gain points for being fascinating. My favorite thing about him was that one of our British readers (and we have a few, for some reason) called him not Cap or Cappy as others did but Caps. Besides the pre-hurricane masterpiece (that wouldn't have stood out in a pitching-rich lousy year like 1974 but was superb just the same), he started maybe the most exhilarating win of the year, the game that allegedly sank St. Louis's Wild Card hopes when the Mets scored six in the ninth to win 8-6 on September 22. Implicit in that is Caps -- whom the Red Sox tried to acquire that very morning so he could take one potentially season-saving start -- helped dig the Mets their hole, but I remember being modestly impressed that he sucked that day without totally collapsing -- eight hits and two walks in 4.2 IP but "only" 4 runs. "Could have been worse" seems a fitting epitaph for his One Year Only.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: no f*cking Fonzie My very first thought. Well, at least he won't be stiffed come January.

Started the game and went very deep and almost flawlessly in the contest that ended with Josh Thole homering as the third Mets catcher to end a game that way in 2010. Thought "Misch" was kind of a funny name, in that way eleven-year-olds might. Looking up this past September and realizing he wasn't on the roster when I could've sworn he was.

Made a sensational stretch at first in the game that ended with Wright's only walkoff homer to date, off Heath Bell. Total "who?" befuddlement on my part when he was called up for the aforementioned game at Colorado. Lingering befuddlement about why the Amazin' Avenue types dwelt on him so hard. Yeah, he should have gotten more of a chance. But y'know...he's Nick Evans. Give it a rest.

How could Chass have so much juice? He's writing a blog on a personal website, for cripe's sake. Heavens to Betsy, Murray Chass does not write a blog. He says so like a lunatic right here: This is a site for baseball columns, not for baseball blogs. The proprietor of the site is not a fan of blogs. He made that abundantly clear on a radio show with Charley Steiner when Steiner asked him what he thought of blogs and he replied, �I hate blogs.� And when you've said it to Charley Steiner, you've said it all.

Bobby Valentine, who was traded to the Mets three days after Tom Seaver retired Art Howe in his final game as a Met for six more years...and Howe managed the Mets the year the A's played the Red Sox in the playoffs...and Seaver was on the Red Sox the year they lost to the Mets in the World Series...and Ted Williams once managed the Rangers...anyway, he's going to be the Red Sox' next manager, sources indicate.

The Mets can't call up Nick Evans anymore, unless they have the Pirates' number. The Bucs have his, reportedly.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: You won't believe this but today, I thought about Roy Lee Jackson. I'd be disappointed if you hadn't.

Phillies' moves bring to mind the composition of the 1981 Blue Jays' staff. Not one, not two, but SIX recently washed out Mets! Given how convinced I was that every last one of them was going to be great when they were Mets, it's hard to believe the Jays' composite record in that strike-sundered season was a mere 37-69.

Pat Misch joins Wilson Valdez, Brian Schneider, Raul Valdes and Ty Wigginton in Philadelphia for the largest aggregation of Mets from lousy Mets teams since the 2011 Mets shook hands and parted ways for the winter.

He is married to the daughter of Ralph Branca, who threw the gopher ball to Bobby Thomson at the Polo Grounds in 1951. His first roommate in professional baseball was Bill Buckner, when the two were drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968. He managed the Texas Rangers, who were once managed by Ted Williams. He also managed the New York Mets, who inflicted immeasurable pain to our region in 1986. Impressive how he got there. "Think Shaughnessy, think...the Branca thing kinda works if you don't stare too hard at it, the Buckner thing definitely works, the Mets thing goes with the Buckner thing...how can I fit the Rangers in with this? Hmmm...TED WILLIAMS! OMG, Danny boy, you did it again!"

Coincidence that Chass is linked here in that I was discussing him yesterday with someone who used to work with him, who said, in so many words, that he was...well, me using that unattributed conversation to take a shot at Chass would be akin to Chass cherrypicking stray recollections, many of them unattributed, to take shots at Valentine. Chass regularly obsesses on Valentine's not finishing first, ignores that his teams always improve when he arrives and did make the playoffs in consecutive years (never mind the championship in Japan). With five teams in each league's playoffs now, I like how he says there's a "greater emphasis on finishing first." The greater emphasis is going to be on getting one of those playoff spots, I would think, and if you can finish first, all the better. But either way, the Braves passing the Mets in 1999 and 2000 is not the sole predictor of success for the Red Sox not having to face a one-game elimination round in 2012. As Gwreck noted, Noble, who spent a lot more time around the manager than Chass did, was not a fan of Valentine's, though when he explained it to our little group in 2010, he was specific in his criticisms and sounded eminently reasonable about it. But at no point did Noble question Valentine's baseball acumen. "Bobby's boys" might carry water for Valentine. His detractors might shoot down his candidacy. But Chass seems in this for the grudge and the slights, perceived, imagined or genuine. And since when is it a manager's job to make sure other teams like him? This may or may not have anything to do with anything, but the Terry Collins we got in 2011 seemed worlds removed from the Terry Collins we heard about from Anaheim circa 1999. Some people (particularly those looking to get back to the top of their profession) take stock and evolve as necessary. I get the impression that's what Collins did. I have no idea if that applies to Valentine, but for someone who transformed three different franchises on two different continents, I wouldn't put any learning past him.

Best Met finish since Wright and Delgado placed in the Top 10 in 2008.

Jose places as high as fifth on one ballot.

First-place votes: Braun 20, Kemp 10, Fielder 1, Upton 1. Only four listed on all ballots.

BBWAA Tweet: 1. Braun 388, 2. Kemp 332; 3. Fielder 229; 4 Upton 214; 5 Pujols 166; 6 Votto 135; 7 Brkmn 118; 8 Tulo 69; 9 Halladay 52; 10 Howard 39.

Braun MVP. And Jose had a higher batting average, so Jose is MVP.

Hofstra is proceeding with the Mets 50th Anniversary Conference, as envisioned and preliminarily planned by Dana Brand. The dates are April 26-28, Thursday through Saturday. I'm working informally with the organizers and offer some details here. If you're interested in presenting a paper or participating on a panel, feel free to get in touch with me. The planning is underway but the agenda's still fluid.

Gedman with the Red Sox was another who was left unwanted until May 1 or thereabouts in 1987.