G-Fafif

metirish wrote: are you screaming NEW YORK and METS right there? No, but if I were doing so at Citi Field, people would stare at me with disdain before getting back to their Blackberrys.

Edgy DC wrote: I predict a lot of cardplaying today. Charlie Samuels could have cashed a lot of checks today.

This one, that don't exist no more:

HahnSolo wrote: G-Fafif wrote: The road blacks were deleted from the wardrobe after 2008. Not sure what you mean here. They still wear the blacks away from Citi. I was referring to the specific NEW YORK road blacks. The black METS jersey is the same home and away.

Couldn't they claim Ike's leg had a concussion and then stick him on the 7-day DL?

The road blacks were deleted from the wardrobe after 2008. I've never terribly minded any of the black, not even if it was for black's/marketing's sake -- although I understand why (beyond aesthetics) so many do. "Sell more extra stuff" is fine, as far as that goes. "Royal blue isn't selling -- let's overhaul everything" is just stupid panic. Always hated the drop shadows, especially on the pinstripes, though I like the story behind it. I had read some years ago that Samuels was in love with the 49ers uniform that had a similar drop shadow -- perhaps it's because he won a large bet on them one Sunday. Never thought the "traditional" pinstripe of '95 to '97 was strong enough even though it wiped away the idiotic tail from '93-'94 (which, in turn, did away with the stale racing stripes). The "Mets" felt too thin. Except that it somehow seemed wrong, I found the snow white + blue cap very promising when it debuted in '97, the year before the shadow knew. They had everything right in 1969. Never should have messed with any of it, including the MLB logo.

Fman99 wrote: I predict Willie Harris will hit 9 home runs and impregnate your sister today. Just. You. Wait. Better chance of the latter, and I'll spot you seven home runs.

Paul Lukas gets his man: an interview with the guy who brought black into the Met color palette. Fascinating story in terms of process (and Charlie Samuels). Intriguing explanation of the drop shadows. And horrifying insight on why in particular the Mets wanted black... one thing the Mets were convinced about was that the Yankees were killing them at retail, especially with the hats, because people didn't like royal blue. ...and, even worse, what they wanted to do: [T]hey really wanted to change the whole look. And my thinking was, there's nothing wrong with this look. It looks great, the cap looks great, the road jersey with the Red Sox-y lettering is classic -- that's my favorite Mets jersey, in fact, and they wanted to make big changes to that. But I said no, you don't want to do that, you don't need to overhaul your look. Definitely has that "could've been worse" feel to it.

TheOldMole wrote: Do we have the Lettermen on Met-lovin' big shots? They were certainly big Mets fans on the cue cards.

Just crazy enough to work. Weather and lunacy permitting, Willie H. in position to be Mets Third Baseman No. 144. The list's notoriety has kind of slacked off since July 21, 2004, for some strange reason. 143. Luis Hernandez 142. Mike Hessman 141. Justin Turner 140. Wilson Valdez 139. Andy Green 138. Fernando Tatis 137. David Newhan 136. Ruben Gotay 135. Damion Easley 134. Julio Franco 133. Eli Marrero 132. Jose Valentin 131. Miguel Cairo 130. Chris Woodward 129. David Wright

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Amazin' find, Greg!!! Credit goes to a friend of mine who is vigilant about scouring YouTube for all things Seaver (and other, lesser Mets).

The Squares really had Seaver under lock and key back then. C'mon, Tom, you were 23 when the White Album came out. But if he went carrying pictures of Chairman Mao He wasn't gonna make it with Nancy anyhow New York Times ad, December 31, 1969: On the eve of 1970, please join us in a prayer for peace Signed by Tom and Nancy Seaver

You think you've seen it all because you've seen the 1969 Mets on Ed Sullivan? You ain't seen nothing yet -- here's Tom & Nancy Seaver on Kraft Music Hall that same offseason (November 5, 1969). [youtube:3lfo1i8d]Hr0hVJwsn-A[/youtube:3lfo1i8d]

ooooh, Mista Kottah! I'll take that to mean, "Yorkis Perez," Horshack. And you are correct. The eight Mets who joined Doc Gooden in the Astro box score of April 8, 2000 were: Roger Cedeno CF Moises Alou RF Richard Hidalgo LF Tim Bogar SS Mike Maddux P Yorkis Perez P Doug Henry P Billy Wagner P Former Met executive Gerry Hunsicker, then Astro GM, certainly wanted to make Doc -- who had made his MLB debut 16 years and 1 day earlier at the Astrodome -- feel comfortable (and was even prescient in bringing in several futre Mets, knowing someday Doc would return to us). It didn't much help Gooden, who was lit up by the Phillies for 4 runs and 6 hits (and 3 walks) in just 4 innings before manager Larry Dierker pinch-hit for Gooden with future Met minor leaguer Russ Johnson. The Astros eventually came from behind to beat Rico Brogna (who had a double off Gooden; Rico's second Met game came in Doc's last Met start) and the Phillies 8-5. Maddux was the winning pitcher, Wagner got the save. It was the second regular-season game ever played at then Enron Field, and the first day game and first Astro win there. The Astros sold Gooden's contract to the Devil Rays five days later. On April 8, 2000, in Flushing, John Franco was called on to protect a 5-1 Mets lead in the eighth inning against the Dodgers but instead opted to give up four runs on a leadoff homer to Eric Karros and a three-run shot to Devon White. Scoring on the second home run was Kevin Elster; flying out before White homered was Jose Vizcaino. Like Franco, Elster and Vizcaino were former Met teammates of Gooden's. Eric Karros would homer off Armando Benitez in the tenth and the Mets would lose 6-5 when Tampa's own Derek Bell -- who grew up idolizing Doc and wore No. 16 as a tribute to the neighborhood hero -- struck out. (The Mets started Pat Mahomes, who pitched admirably for 5.2 innings; Glendon Rusch, that season's fifth starter, didn't settle into the rotation for another week.)

Redskins @ Giants -- same Monday Night matchup that was on against Game Seven exactly five years earlier (though a different result...I still hate Ray Handley). I vaguely recall switching back and forth in the early innings, though not because that nothing-nothing baseball game had nothing happening. I was intensely aware that October 27, 1991 was the fifth anniversary of October 27, 1986 (a point Len Berman drove home on Channel 4, showing Jesse Orosco striking out Marty Barrett). The '91 Mets had gone completely down the toilet, so this was the first postseason since 1986 that I didn't watch with some sense of "that could have been us out there." Probably the fact that it was exactly the fifth anniversary made me admit it was a very long time ago that the Mets had been champs, and definitely why I adopted five years as my rule of thumb for a bitching and moaning grace period. That is, if your team has won the World Series in the last five years, you can bitch and moan all you want in the short term (as we did in '87, '88, '89, '90) but ultimately, you have to suck it up and say, "At least my team won the World Series within the last five years. I can only complain so much." White Sox fans, for example, are, after not winning in 2010, free to kvetch like the rest of us. Cardinal fans are still on the clock through this fall. Should the Mets win another World Series, I will test that theory in case it isn't the beginning of a dynasty.

Hint regarding the final former/future Met who played in Doc Gooden's only Astro appearance: Even when he was a Met, you would watch him pitch and say "New York is not the place for him, and that is not merely per something I heard on a Better Than Ezra CD."

Blas Minor...no. Doug Henry...yes! One to go.

Fman99 wrote: Mike Maddux? (I know this because I wrote an award winning song about this moe, G-Fafif might recall....) Don't have any recollection of what you're talking about, but yes, Mike Maddux is one of those fellows. Two to go...

Not Viz. Not Spiers. Hint No. 3: They all pitched.

Second hint: None of the remaining three were Mets at the same time, but one was a Met with Doc.

Hudek not it.

Hint: All three remaining former Mets sucked when being Mets. (Subjective, but I doubt I'd get an argument.)

No DiPoto. No Astacio. No Harnisch. Which sounds like something a poorly stocked ethnic grocer might tell you.

Chad Ochoseis wrote: Derek Bell? Derek Bell...wearing No. 16 as a Doc tribute as a Met in 2000.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Tim Redding? Not Tim Redding.