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I recently read Richard Ben Cramer's biography of DiMaggio, A Hero's Life, which was by no means kind to its subject on a personal level but brought home what an immense talent and extraordinary player he was, MFY folderol notwithstanding. Looking at his numbers on BB Ref, his prime seasons are mind-boggling and his postwar seasons are close. The only thing that might make him seem less impressive 60 years after his retirement (and 75 years after he broke in) is a relatively short career compared to other greats and the fact that many who would tell you if you didn't see DiMaggio, you didn't see the best are no longer with us. Though the circumstances surrounding the relative brevity of their careers did not stem from the same root cause, I get the feeling there's a little something similar to Jackie Robinson's major league statistics at work here, that for both of them (far more so for Robinson given that he was kept out of the majors until he was 28), seeing them first-hand was vital to understanding why they're such enormous deals. (Check out Jackie's similar batters here -- you'll see a couple of names I'll bet you weren't expecting.) I'm the last person you'll find wanting to build up MFYness with "he was graceful, he was a winner," but for the first time I really understood what everybody in my father's generation was talking about with Joe DiMaggio. But fuck Jeter.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: John Ricco looks a lot like Time-Traveling Future John Maine, doesn't he? You have to believe me when I tell you not to let me make that last start in Washington in May 2010. I'm telling you, I won't last more than five pitches!

If it rhymes with neato He'll check his libido And roll to the park In his new tuxedo Come on Pedro Now bust a move!

I expect much mispronouncing of his name if, in fact, there is cause to attempt to pronounce his name.

You know how we were all waiting to learn who Ed Price was voting for? Well forget it! As a reporter, I am naturally in favor of openness. However, from now on, I will no longer reveal my ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. And that is because journalistic principles of fairness trump the desire for openness. As a reporter, Ed Price is in favor of openness. As a voter, Ed Price is in favor of fairness. As a megalomaniac, Ed Price wants you to know what he uses fabric softener on his sheets, but not his towels.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I'd like to take this opportunity once again to say what a completely worthless piece of shit Tim Redding was as a Met. Here's hoping JCL is the last speaker when the Friars roast Tim Redding.

At the time of the mishap, Kingman 32 Schmidt 24. Final totals, Schmidt 38 Kingman 37.

Capuano's degree in economics tells him these are low-budget moves.

No. 20, as chosen by you the fans, is airing RIGHT NOW! It's Phillies 23 Cubs 22 from 1979, presented as a chummy chat among Costas, Verducci and Larry Bowa while game video (with some original PBP) airs.

Dave Kingman should have beat out Mike Schmidt for the 1976 National League home run title. Even with the torn ligaments in his thumb he should have gotten to 39 frigging home runs once he returned to action. I was just looking something up, came across statistics that triggered this long-dormant disappointment and now I'm modestly pissed off about it all over again.

Waiting to meet somebody outside Citi Field an hour or so before game time in September 2009, Pedro magically appeared in full uniform. It was Hispanic Heritage Night (or whatever it was called) and Goya, one of the sponsors, had a big novelty check of some sort to present. Not sure why it wasn't done by home plate. Anyway, security hustled Pedro to Mets Plaza to grip and grin and take a picture. He was flanked by as much security as Joe Biden gets -- at least one guard for every fan who happened to be loitering in the vicinity. Pedro came in, got the job done and quickly departed. Just like he did most every night in 2009.

The scheduled doubleheader can be done. The Oakland A's are doing it this very year, details here and here. From the A's vp of marketing and sales Jim Leahey: In certain cases, you must have player union approval and in others it is not required (depending on timing of previous day�s game). In this case, yes, we worked with the Players Union. We also worked with the league and the Angels. The good news is that we gained an extra day off for the players coming out of the All-Star break so that made it attractive to all. We also have days off following the series which will help us maintain a normal five-man rotation. That settles it: 2012, Fiftieth Anniversary Season, Most Metsian Tradition (besides blowing playoff spots on last days of seasons) -- the Banner Day Doubleheader must return.

Once had a discussion with TPTB on this topic and they claim doubleheaders' extinction killed Banner Day, even though they kept it going for several years as a pregame parade. If Metsies wanted to be really proactive, they'd say screw it and schedule a Banner Day Doubleheader.

March sounds good if largely unknowable from here. January's a maybe. And what else has Darryl got to do anyway?

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Strange but true: MLB Network was doing a "Top 15 Games of the Decade" countdown tonight. Yet of the 13 games nominated for the "50 best of the last 50 years," only 9 of them made their show tonight. None of the top 50 games of the last 50 years are required to have been played in the last decade. In theory. What did confuse me is why there were only 13 nominations to fill 50 slots. I do believe 'Wreck refers to the 13 games among the Top 50 of the Past 50 years that were played in the 2000s, and how four of them weren't, somehow, among the Top 15 of the 2000s (featured in last night's show).

Gwreck wrote: Strange but true: MLB Network was doing a "Top 15 Games of the Decade" countdown tonight. Yet of the 13 games nominated for the "50 best of the last 50 years," only 9 of them made their show tonight. The inconsistencies among the MLBN countdown shows are harder to plow through than a Staten Island side street -- and like NYC, MLBN doesn't bother to try.

Banner Day in 1980 was June 8 against the Pirates.

Edgy DC wrote: I don't want to suggest that Murray Chass hasn't produced anything of value. As you intimate, there's generally a helping of good and bad in everybody's portfolio, something that's rarely appreciated in these "pick a side" days. Chass was the first baseball writer to tackle the business side of the game, for example. He had his tics and quirks along the way (like his cheap shot hatred of Bobby Valentine), but he used to bring (and is still capable of bringing) intriguing perspectives to the table. But of late, he really bites it.

metirish wrote: That was great Greg. Thanks Irish. Better than doing Top 34 Snowstorms.

Lefty Specialist wrote: "Hi, I'm Jason Bay and I'd like to wish you a.......um..............." Damn concussion.

Yearlong series on ballparks I have known concluded yesterday. The countdown is presented in its entirety, excerptwise, here. Take the tour, if so inclined.

The Royals have assigned Joaquin Arias to Triple-A. There goes, for now, his chance to play with the guy the Mets traded to get him. The A's claimed Phil Humber -- which sounded legalese ("the plaintiffs are seeking an undisclosed amount in damage after claiming Phil Humber..."), but actually means they got the Mets' first-round draft choice from 2004. Deolis Guerra is the only component of the package the Mets traded for Johan Santana who is still in the Twins organization. Wow, what a terrible trade for Minnesota. It's really slowed them down, hasn't it?

MLB Network presented in scorecard and countdown fashion its all-1970s team: Reggie Jackson 9 Cesar Cedeno 8 George Foster 7 Toby Harrah 6 Mike Schmidt 5 Joe Morgan 4 Steve Garvey 3 Johnny Bench 2 Jim Palmer 1 Six of the nine were National Leaguers all through the decade. Obviously (to say nothing of parochially) the starting pitcher should have been. Seaver in for Palmer -- and, what the hell, Harrelson in for Harrah. (Harrah? I'm surprised they didn't name Jeter for having been born in the 1970s.) It was noted at the top of the show that Pete Rose, Rod Carew and Willie Stargell all took a hit for playing two different positions. But they forgot to mention they were high when they chose the pitcher.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I'll be honest, the 20-inning game was anything but inspiring. It really illustrated how much we were up against, and how little Jerry's game managing was going to help, how easily we could be beaten. It was fun seeing Raul Valdes hit and all, but, just, yuck. Definitely a game that reads (or summarizes) better than it watched. Still, longest win in Mets history, inningwise...it's worth something.

With the passing of Phil Cavaretta, two Cubs who played in the 1945 World Series survive: Andy Pafko (immortalized by both Roger Kahn and Don DeLillo from his Brooklyn Dodger days) and Lennie Merullo (grandfather of 1989-1995 major leaguer Matt Merullo). National League Champion Cubs -- truly a dying breed.