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Tyler Naquin had to have been Darin Ruf's most ardent supporter because with Ruf flailing futilely, one was hard-pressed to notice Naquin floundering almost as badly.

Jay Horwitz is press officer for Team Israel. https://metsinsider.mlblogs.com/team-israel-underdogs-of-the-wbc-c8246f6f3267https://metsinsider.mlblogs.com/team-israel-underdogs-of-the-wbc-c8246f6f3267

In case you were waiting on the return of René Rivera, René wants to bring you down easy.

From DiComo: News: MLB's investigation of Khalil Lee is ongoing, but the league has approved of him reporting to Minor League camp on March 2. Lee is under investigation for an alleged domestic incident in Syracuse last summer.

Willie. “I thought he had a lot left in him. He was 42 and he was still the best player on our team,” Jones said. “We know everybody has to retire at some point, but I thought he could have played forever.” https://www.mlb.com/news/willie-mays-played-final-season-with-1973-metshttps://www.mlb.com/news/willie-mays-played-final-season-with-1973-mets

From last April, re Shaun Clancy… https://phpbb3.leaptoad.com/mets/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29421&p=88100&hilit=Foley%E2%80%99s+Publix#p88100https://phpbb3.leaptoad.com/mets/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29421&p=88100&hilit=Foley's+Publix#p88100

And this is still http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2023/02/16/this-is-the-game-that-tim-built/the game that Tim built.

The analyst who changed the way Mets fans understood baseball from 1983 to 1998 has died at 81. Four-decade player, too.

Terry Collins and Dave Wallace have been hired as consultants by the Marlins. First piece of advice: “stop being so goddamn Marlinish.”

Spring Training! Exult or yawn at will Here are all the hot numbers from the Port of Saint Lucie.

The Padres lick their wounds from being incidental to to the winning Tabloid Cover Derby back page by signing Michael Wacha for the forthcoming season.

Ed Sudol called and said MLB is now run by a bunch of words he'd eject a batter who struck out looking in any of the 23+ inning Mets games he umpired for calling him because Ed Sudol knows you conduct yourself professionally until legitimate resolution is achieved.

How nuts was that? Not at all — it was entirely appropriate. Thank you to the home office in Stockholm for presiding over star-studded ceremonies that imply the very opposite of MISERY. The Padres may have won that series, but they're spit out of luck if they thought they were getting back page play in New York or Stockholm. Was Kate Upton representing the Verlander and Mets families, or was this a typically high-profile appearance she had booked in advance of Justin's latest professional posting?

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The extra-inning rule in which a runner magically appears on second to start each half-inning has been made permanent. Maybe Keith Hernandez was waiting for this veritable guarantee that he wouldn't have to deal with extra, extra long games before agreeing to come back.

Do you know the way to Bradenton? Let's hope Kevin Plawecki does, now that he's been invited to Pirates Spring Training.

A little more detail, from DiComo. The Mets enlisted the firm Giant Spoon to handle the media buy and the creative house FCB New York to work on the ad, which the team shot with its own staff in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The time crunch limited their pick of players to include, so they focused on those already in Florida. Nimmo, who keeps a home in Port St. Lucie, was an easy addition. (So was Mr. Met -- no speaking lines there.) Catcher Tomás Nido and infielder Luis Guillorme, who are seen lounging by a water cooler in full uniform, came up from South Florida. Francisco Lindor drove from Orlando when the Mets pitched him the idea, and Edwin Díaz shot his scene in New York after flying there for the Baseball Writers' Association of America's awards dinner. The most difficult addition was Senga, who was still in Japan at the time. To make it work, the creative team wrote Senga a line that required him to video message Nido using his phone. “The jokes are meant to be [so] everyone who's watching the Super Bowl will get it,” Goldberg said. “They're not meant to be ‘inside baseball' jokes. Otherwise, we lose the audience. … With a Super Bowl ad, you have a much broader audience than might be watching a dedicated baseball game.” The ad was a local buy, meaning it will beam onto television sets in FOX's New York City broadcast area, but not to those elsewhere in the country. (FOX anticipates an audience of about 8 million for the ad.) In buying it, the Mets' goal was threefold: team executives wanted to support and grow their brand, they wanted to “surprise and delight” people, as Goldberg put it, and they wanted to grow the database of fans they can reach with marketing efforts. That's why the ad contains a QR code that fans can scan for more information on tickets, including a $57 offer in deference to Super Bowl 57. https://www.mlb.com/news/mets-2023-super-bowl-commercialhttps://www.mlb.com/news/mets-2023-super-bowl-commercial

The Stork will see you now. Looking back on his baseball career, Theodore wishes he picked the brains of Yogi Berra and Willie Mays, the manager and part-time center fielder for the ‘73 Mets, respectively. According to Theodore, they had built up years of valuable baseball knowledge. “I would have asked [berra], ‘How did you approach certain pitchers?' or ‘How did you go about hitting in certain counts?'” Theodore said. “The same way with Willie Mays. … I look back and this guy was a genius. He didn't just go out there and play and was natural. He analyzed things. He knew the different hitters. He knew how to get a jump and anticipate things. I wish we could have just sat down with him. He could have talked to us. A thrill to be around both of them.” https://www.mlb.com/news/george-theodore-discusses-collision-memories-of-1973-metshttps://www.mlb.com/news/george-theodore-discusses-collision-memories-of-1973-mets

Lee cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Syracuse.

The legendary Mike Vail 23-game hitting streak of 1975 encompassed a game with a single plate appearance that resulted in a walk. McNeil's larger stumbling block is the two-season designation, though if he hits in the first 47 games of 2023, I'm willing to tell DiMaggio to kiss off.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: If they really wanted it to look like a Super Bowl ad, it would include cute CGI animals drinking beer. Plus Gronk. Can't have a commercial without Gronk.

In the words of Mr. French, holy fuck that's good.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I don't quite get all this talk about building something in the parking lot. Don't people still drive to Citi Field? Isn't there a need for parking??? If the plan is to include a multi-story parking garage as part of the project... Yuck. I'd hate to get trapped on the upper floor of the garage as the game traffic is letting out. I had that experience at Yankee Stadium after Tom Seaver's 300th win. It took me forever to get out of there. Garages were mentioned. Cohen framed it as reimagining the geography and building destinations so people aren't all driving in and out at the same time. All I want is a timely Woodside connection and not having to wait forever at Jamaica, but Steve probably ain't taking the LIRR.

The entire interview, conducted by Howie Rose, is worth watching/listening to (it's available via the Mets'd Up pod). Reveals a few nuggets, including the conversion of a segment of the suite level to Loge seating and hype for the coming scoreboard along with some propaganda for building an "entertainment complex" in the Citi Field parking lot. [media=youtube]mvkvWo3YOgE[/media]