G-Fafif

TransMonk wrote: the Mets are going to shit in my shoe and call it a sundae. I've see you've gotten a look at the Mets' 2012 preliminary promotional schedule, too.

My 10-year-old daughter tells me that the tallest man in the world is a Mets fan, and he lives in Poland. I don't know if this is true, but I'm sharing it here anyway. proof! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/22/sultan-kosen-worlds-talle_n_294536.html?slidenumber=5#slide_image Miss that target, David.

This is the first moment since 1966 that someone who can say he's managed Tom Seaver isn't managing in the big leagues. Though on paper for a few months you might say Davey Johnson did.

HahnSolo wrote: Good Ole Nipsey confusing the Cubs and White Sox. Which reminds me, in the realm of comedians for whom baseball is a mostly foreign language, I encountered one who is relatively well known in his field this summer in a baseball situation. He began to riff for the benefit of my friend and me on how loud and enthusiastic all the fans at Shea Stadium are (in 2011)...aren't they?

Courtesy of M'scaster/Cheers writer Ken Levine, La Russa from when not everybody knew his name...or face. 1oHrygsiNfc

metsguyinmichigan wrote: He's 35 games behind John McGraw for second place. Wow. A numbers guy would want one more season to get that slot, but there is certainly something to be said for leaving on top. Anyone else do that? Did Dick Williams announce he was leaving the A's during the '73 or '74 Series? Williams had a deal in plac to manage the MFYs after '73 WS -- the Sheabound MFYs held an introductory press event at Terrace on the Park soon thereafter -- but Kuhn put the kibosh on it given Finleyesque complications. He resurfaced with the Angels in the middle of '74 (when he managed the A.L. stars in a uniform in which he did not go to the World Series).

Disappointed for swell buncha fellas in Texas, but truly admire the run the Cards put together. As for Molina, as I watched that fucker celebrate his second World Series ring, I rationalized, "at least it's not Jeter." Small favors, indeed.

Penultimately speaking... 160: 1982 -- Terry Leach and the longest one-hitter 161: 1973 -- You Gotta Believe the Mets wrap it up Also... 160: 1999 -- Rogers good, Franco lucky, Robin clutch, Mets alive 161: 2008 -- Santana disregards knee in deference to being a MAN

Won't this guy be elated when he's no longer burdened by long-ish games after tonight?

Edgy DC wrote: Edgy DC wrote: Edgy DC wrote: Because Cruz doesn't really represent a perfect analog for Buckner --- old, white, broken down, chronically injured --- and failing to get to a hard-hit ball ain't the same as letting a bouncer go through your legs. White, Gracie? White, the general race category for Bill Buckner. Yeah, but so? I assume that was included for irony or something. Just kind of jumped out at me as irrelevant in the context of old, broken down and chronically injured. It's a community history thing, going back to the MOFo where a character named METSSC would openly lament the presence of too many Mets players who were "old, white, and slow." It's since become an article of faith to make a point of unnecessarily dragging race into it when referring to a creaky old guy. As if Moises Alou being old, slow, and broken down was offset in part by him not being white. Ah, Bach.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I think the Sanitation Department Band broke up unfortunately. Most of what they did was garbage.

Via Twitter, a PDF of the program issued for the groundbreaking of Shea Stadium, fifty years ago today.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: The player in the foreground is Jeterish to my eyes. He makes the beer better just by running past it.

Edgy DC wrote: Edgy DC wrote: Because Cruz doesn't really represent a perfect analog for Buckner --- old, white, broken down, chronically injured --- and failing to get to a hard-hit ball ain't the same as letting a bouncer go through your legs. White, Gracie? White, the general race category for Bill Buckner. Yeah, but so? I assume that was included for irony or something. Just kind of jumped out at me as irrelevant in the context of old, broken down and chronically injured.

Edgy DC wrote: Because Cruz doesn't really represent a perfect analog for Buckner --- old, white, broken down, chronically injured --- and failing to get to a hard-hit ball ain't the same as letting a bouncer go through your legs. White, Gracie?

Tough play. Got tougher with every replay. But yeah, donde esta Endy? This game makes a nice rejoinder for the way the regular season ended, when only the Cardinals among those with everything on the line had an easy night of it. This fits right in with the Rays comeback and the Brave and Red Sox implosions. Seems so long ago, yet it's only been thirty days.

Ol' Tony don't look so bad this morning.

Or as Ralph might put it, happy birthday to all you world champions out there.

Happy anniversary, World Championship!

Gwreck wrote: The 4 losses are: 1. 2003, Florida is up 3-2 and wins Game 6 and the series at the house of evil; 2. 1981, Dodgers are up 3-2 and wins Game 6 and the series at the house of evil; 3. 1997, Florida is up 3-2 but comes home and loses Game 6 to Cleveland before winning Game 7; and...what's the fourth? I honestly can't remember it. Braves lost Game 6 at home and thus the Series in 1992.

Yeah...anyway, go take the quiz and maybe win yourself a DVD.

FYI: In observance of Buckner Day, we're giving away five copies of an excellent DVD over at FAFIF today. It's Game Six telecast which offers synced-to-video audio of Murph & Thorne in addition to the television call of Scully & Garagiola. Win by taking our quiz, which asks you to correctly identify those former Mets pitchers who have won or lost World Series games as former Mets (that is, they used to be Mets, they went to a team that made the World Series, and they got a W or an L or maybe each along the way). Two of the answers are in the headline already.

Awesome La Russa excuse: the crowd ate my pitching change. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Tony La Russa thought he was making a simple request of the bullpen: get closer Jason Motte ready. Turns out it was anything but simple. What happened after the call was a comedy of errors that played out like something from the "Can you hear me now?" cell phone commercials. Cardinals bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist thought La Russa only asked for Marc Rzepczynski to start throwing, when the manager really wanted both left-hander Rzepczynski and right-hander Motte to get loose. La Russa realized the problem once he put in Rzepczynski and saw no one else warming up, so he called back and asked for Motte again. This time, Lilliquist told Lance Lynn to start throwing, even though he was only supposed to be used in an emergency. The series of miscommunications left Rzepczynski on the mound against Mike Napoli with the bases loaded, a lefty-righty matchup that clearly favored Texas. The Rangers' catcher delivered with a two-run double that sent Texas to a 4-2 victory Monday night. "That phone in a loud ballpark, it's not an unusual problem," La Russa said. "I mean, it doesn't make it right, but ... " As the pitchers came and went, La Russa's deployment seemed curious. But he's the winningest active manager and he's known for his unconventional use of the bullpen, which is probably why nobody questioned whether there might be something wrong. Rzepczynski and Motte didn't even know there was a mixup until after the game. "I go out there, the phone rings and we get going when we're told," Motte said. "I started throwing when I was told to start throwing." And when was that? "When Lance Lynn walked out," Motte said. "I don't need a whole lot of time anywhere." Lilliquist said the problems were caused by noise from the fans. "It was loud," he said. "A lot of places are like that. The phone is as good as any phone anywhere." What if the Rangers win the World Series in part because of the noise level of the 51,459 fans at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington? "They all get rings," said Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler, though he added that he's not buying. He added: "If that's the truth, I can believe it, because it's been incredibly, incredibly loud. I think everyone in here has said it before, we've been to Tampa, Detroit, New York, St. Louis, San Francisco, and this is the loudest outdoor ballpark we've even been at. They are great fans. It's a great way to go out. Hopefully, they'll be that loud screaming at the TV when we're in St. Louis." La Russa said the noise problem is not unusual with bullpens "that are right amidst the fans and excitement." The visitors' bullpen at Rangers Ballpark is in left-center field, with fans on either side. "Maybe we need to come up with some ear mikes or something," La Russa said. Considering all the technology available these days, there's got to be a better way to do this -- right? "Yeah, smoke signals from the dugout," La Russa said. "There are times, like what happened in Philadelphia (during the first round of the playoffs). The phone went out, and so we used cell phones. And then the Phillies brought down walkie talkies, and they fixed the phone." The eighth inning began falling apart for St. Louis when Octavio Dotel took over for starter Chris Carpenter and gave up a leadoff double. An intentional walk followed, then with one out, Rzepczynski came in for a lefty-lefty matchup with David Murphy. Texas could've gone to a right-handed hitter, but stuck with Murphy. He hit a comebacker that ricocheted off Rzepczynski's leg to second baseman Nick Punto. He couldn't field it cleanly, loading the bases. "He made a great pitch, but it happens," La Russa said. "Sometimes it happens for us, today it happened against us." Rzepczynski said he wasn't surprised to remain in because there was a lefty on deck, Mitch Moreland. "I've done that all year, where if there's a righty in between, I'm going to go out there and get the chance to get the righty out," Rzepczynski said. La Russa added that he didn't think it was a matchup doomed to fail. "We had a chance with Rzepczynski's stuff to get Napoli on the first pitch," La Russa said. "And then he put a nice swing on a breaking ball." Napoli drove a pitch into the wall in right-center field on one hop. Rzepczynski struck out Moreland, then La Russa went to the mound and tried bringing in Motte. Only he hadn't warmed up yet. So when he called for the righty, in came Lynn. "I said, 'Why are you here?'" La Russa said. With first base open, Lynn was told to intentionally walk Kinsler. La Russa then returned to the mound and finally got the reliever he'd wanted several batters earlier, Motte. Only now St. Louis was down by two runs and the bases were loaded. The bearded closer struck out Elvis Andrus on three pitches, which only made the regrets of what might've been tougher for Cardinals fans to swallow once they learned of the wacky breakdown. La Russa's constant mixing and matching of pitchers was celebrated as a big reason the Cardinals overcame a 10� game deficit down the stretch to make the postseason, and his deft handling of the bullpen helped them get past Philadelphia and Milwaukee in the first two rounds. But things haven't been the same since Motte closed out a victory in Game 1. Relievers have given up eight runs over their last 11 innings. Motte lost Game 2, Mitchell Boggs allowed a game-breaking three-run homer -- to Napoli -- in Game 4 and Dotel was the loser in Game 5. Now the Rangers head to St. Louis with a 3-2 lead in the series. The Cardinals are facing elimination, something no one needs to explain more than once.

Derek Holland lit up one of those otherwise unfortunate in-game interviews with a great impression of Will Ferrell doing a great impression of Harry Caray.

metirish wrote: I think we need Tom Brokaw to tell us how it is. There is honor in this observation.