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Recaps so happy and books that are put in Kozy Shack named the Mets' official puddin' This new GM search that spawns speculatings These are a few of my favorite things

Pedro Martinez, emerged from the DL That de Roulet lady eventu'lly did sell Sky King's occasional successful swings These are a few of my favorite things

The Daily News has carefully analyzed K-Rod's status and has come up with the most on-target assessment anyone could ask for: FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ: If he is sent to prison, he will obviously not pitch.

When chance and valiant play now and then produced a genuine late-season pennant thriller you watched breathlessly because of its rarity and because of the oblivion that awaited the losers. There were no wild-card second chances, and no one had to wonder whether baseball holding its own against the N.F.L. Baseball wasn't better then; it was just different. It may have felt traditional, or more likely just frozen, since the sport had changed at such a glacial pace.

That April I wasted on typing Mientkiewicz Just when I had learned how to spell Gary Rajsich As many Bob Millers as World Series rings These are a few of my favorite things

Deferring payments to Bobby Bonilla Relieving then starting the callow Mejia Darren Reed's power that lit up those springs These are a few of my favorite things

When the tarp's up When the skies clear When they shout play ball...

Just came across this Times page that lists among its New York Mets resources a certain Forum as well as a certain Database (and a certain blog). Nice to see they're keeping up with "fit to print [or post]" jazz.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: And congrats to the Rays and Rangers for nabbing the not-so-coveted Tony LaRussa Honorary "Nobody Wants to See That Crap" Division Series schedule. Market those first two games as Early Bird Specials and they'll have no problem drawing a crowd in St. Petersburg.

2010 = Mets' best losing record ever. Can't wait for the t-shirts to come out.

Gee's 1975 picture is perfect. Ike's is almost perfect -- I don't remember that much visible dismay (or photographic clarity) in 1976, but otherwise the angle and framing are spectacular. Dessens...reliever of the month honors really speak to volume, volume, volume!

Edgy DC wrote: Anybody know the date that McIlvaine replaced Harazin? Harazin resigned June 22, 1993. McIlvaine officially took over July 8, 1993.

Bump -- in recognition of Bob Mandt's passing Sunday, at 74. Knew him mainly from his appearances in Met documentaries as the man who had seen it all since 1961. I had been thinking when we were trying to decipher what "HH" meant on old rainchecks (when we were led to believe they said "HH") that if we really want to know, we should check with Bob Mandt. He's probably the one who decided what those tickets should say. In the last seven years we've lost Bob Murphy, James Plummer, Karl Ehrhardt, Jane Jarvis, now Bob Mandt. After a half-century, this franchise is getting old. Obit in the Post here, and this from the Queens Tribune in 2008: 1964: The First Season Of Memories By Juliet Werner Bob Mandt was working at a bank when Queens got a team. �I had stopped rooting when the Dodgers left,� the Whitestone resident said. �I was really ticked off.� A pal from his alma mater, St. Johns University, told him the new team was �looking for a couple of young guys� and convinced him to interview. When Mandt was offered a position, he immediately gave his two weeks notice and took the pay cut. He started as a clerk, became a ticket manager and then went on to work as Director of Operations and finally Vice President of Operations. Now, retired, he continues to serve as a consultant for the team. �They can�t get rid of me,� he said Mandt was with the team when it played it�s first two seasons at the Polo Grounds in 1962 and 1963 and then set up shop at the new Queens stadium while it was still a work in progress. �We moved in the dead of a very cold winter,� Mandt said. �It was a very cold and forbidding place. We had some pretty heavy snowstorms.� He was joined only by the concessions staff and grounds crew. �It was in the middle of nowhere,� he said, adding the financial, promotional and business departments were headquartered at a nearby airport hotel called the Traveler�s Inn. �We were over at Shea and the two women wouldn�t use the chemical toilets,� he said. �We had to take to station wagons over [to the Inn.].� When Shea opened on April 17, 1964 the Mets played the Pittsburgh Pirates before 48,736 fans. �I don�t think the paint was dry opening day,� Mandt said. �I remember slapping some labels on the chairs where there weren�t numbers yet with masking tape and a magic marker. To save time there were plenty of seats that weren�t numbered.� Concessions Director John Morley, who stayed onboard until Aramark took over, was also present on opening day. �When we first opened the first week we really didn�t have water which is typical when a new facility opens,� Morley said. �By the time the team came back from the second road trip everything was pretty much in line.� Morley said the original Shea menu was influenced by neighborhood flavors. �We added some local things like knishes and other specialties that were not in ballparks prior to that,� Morley said. He said one double header in 1964 that went until 11 p.m. nearly sent him over the edge. �You try not to run out of hot dogs,� Morley said. �Although it was a Sunday�we were able to keep going all the way through.� Shea also hosted an All-Star game in 1964, which provided Morley with an opportunity to feed non-Mets fans. �When we first opened up we only had local beers like Rheingold and Schaefer,� he said. �They�re no longer in business. They really didn�t have the imported beers that you know about now. Now you have specialty stands with sandwiches and Mamas of Corona and a kosher stand,� he said. Morley said the crowd�s changing demographics have affected concessions. �It switched from a pretty masculine audience to a family audience. Especially at Shea and you have to be able to cater to a wider audience.� The fan base may have diversified, but Mets games received a strong showing as soon as the stadium opened. �We were a success financially,� Mandt said. �But on the field we only won a little over 50 games.� That first season at Shea, under the management of Casey Stengel, the team went 53-109 and finished 10th in the National League. The team has improved with time; Mandt�s fondest memories are watching fans storm the field following the 1969 World Series and Mike Piazza scoring the winning run in the first game after Sept. 11. Mandt�s wife has expressed concern that her husband will be devastated once Shea is demolished. �I love Shea Stadium,� Mandt confessed. �I liked it more than most people. For some reason the press were never enchanted with Shea Stadium. Part of the problem was that it was a multi-use stadium. It was built for both the Jets and Mets. Whenever you build something for two sports something has to suffer a little bit.� This is, of course, also the final season for Yankee Stadium, which opened in 1923. �It has a longer tradition, a lot more wins and a lot more things to brag about,� Mandt said. �The Mets are not without their own history. If you�re a Mets fan you don�t really care about the Yankees� history. You care about your own history.�

The Mets have never before offed their GM and manager on the same day. The closest they came was Frank Cashen announcing on September 27, 1991 he'd hand the reins over to Al Harazin after the season ended (October 6) and then Cashen announced the dismissal of Harrelson two days later -- as Cashen had been edging toward retirement for a while, can't really say he was axed. Only three times before has a new general manager been given a chance to (ostensibly) pick a new manager: George Weiss hired Casey Stengel; Al Harazin hired Jeff Torborg; Omar Minaya hired Willie Randolph. Minaya took over the Mets the last weekend of 2004 with Art Howe still manager but told a couple of weeks earlier that he would be fired -- a cart before the horse situation in terms of a GM making the decision about keeping or letting go a manager. Bing Devine inherited Wes Westrum. Johnny Murphy inherited Gil Hodges. Bob Scheffing inherited Hodges. Joe McDonald inherited Yogi Berra. Frank Cashen inherited Joe Torre. Joe McIlvaine inherited Dallas Green. Steve Phillips inherited Bobby Valentine. Jim Duquette inherited Art Howe. A first step away from dysfunction and a first step toward ideal? We'll see.

For the first time since 1997, the Mets had three different pitchers lead in the three "triple crown" pitching categories: Pelfrey in wins, Dickey in ERA, Niese in strikeouts. (Not pictured: Johan Santana.) Previous instances (W, ERA, SO): 1997: Jones, Reed, Mlicki 1980: Bomback, Zachry, Falcone 1978: Espinosa, Swan, Koosman 1974: Koosman, Matlack, Seaver 1964: Jackson, Cisco, Stallard

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Couldn't have facilitated more bunting if he'd been an uncreative mayor prepping for a Memorial Day presidential visit. Meticulously crafted line that pays off three times.

Seemed to be in on some joke nobody else knew about.

Gangsta ... not so much after the first month. Good stretch early, 40-19 from early July to mid September. Then (also) not so much.

Jeff on with Francesa right now.

Fred with the glasses and the age looks like late-period LBJ.

Inventor of the Adam Rubin Lobby. Was very good at taking victory lap: everywhere I went, like the bagel store, people told me to get relievers and I got K-Rod and J.J. Putz. Grew up near Shea but wasn't really a Mets fan.

Hal Steinbrenner referred to "George" in The House of Steinbrenner and it also sounded awkward.

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Does it seem strange that Jeff keeps referring to his father by his first name? "Dadsie" would sound stranger.

Nice moment of silence at Citi Field yesterday.

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Other than the mispronunciation, I think they're coming off well here. That only took four years.