G-Fafif

Willets Point wrote: I did my best in the comments. Nice work. Thanks.

I was fortunate enough to receive somebody's corporate third base Field Level tickets several times in 1999, including the night the Mets came back on David Wells and beat the Blue Jays in 14 innings. One of the touchstones for me and my friend who usually joined me in those seats was the sight of WEISSMAN 52. Game situation would come up and my buddy would say something to the effect of, "Yeah, but do you think Weissman would bunt here?" Something about the personalized jersey (maybe the number) amused us no end. Had no idea he was creating the template folks like me would go on to follow.

Willets Point wrote: Maybe not a big shot, but New York Public Library blogger Donald Laub gives a shoutout to his favorite team. Donald Laub needs to be brought up to speed on recent Mets books. But I'll still take him over Don LaGreca.

What about that not quite lifelike statue the Mets installed at second base in 2007? It was so popular, they took it on tour with them last year.

That gave me chills. Great reporting from Harper and great...well, just great everything from Johan. Get 24 more minds like those and I'll take my chances on the skills that come attached to them.

Thursday night, 7:30...1966! See Mets Yearbook celebrate the snot out of a team not losing a hundred games.

From the world of entertainment, singer of pop standards and later WNEW-AM disc jockey Julius La Rosa a big Mets fan and regular anthem singer at Shea in the '70s. And while Glenn Close is rightly listed, her husband Len Cariou, star of stage (and another Star Spangled Bannerer), merits inclusion as well. From Newsday recently: This season on FX's "Damages," legal shark Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) is trying to untangle a Ponzi scheme perpetrated by a Madoff-like financier (played by Len Cariou). Interesting casting to say the least. In addition to their impressive acting credits, Close and Cariou share a romantic past - they lived together from 1979 to 1983 - and have something equally as passionate in common. Both are avid fans of the New York Mets. Consider: On "An Amazin' Era," a history of the Mets that was released on home video in 1986 Close introduces a segment and Cariou narrates. Both have sung the national anthem before Mets games. Close also sang "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch at Shea Stadium's last game in 2008. Cariou's wedding to author Heather Summerhayes took place on Oct. 25, 1986 - the day of Game 6 of the World Series. As the game progressed, Cariou revealed in a New York Times story that the "something blue" that his bride brought to the ceremony was a blue and orange garter, the Mets' team colors. "Perhaps it was just coincidence, but the Amazin's rallied from that moment on," Cariou wrote. "My wife said it was a good omen for our marriage." And need we add: Mets owner Fred Wilpon was one of the more prominent victims of the real Bernard Madoff's machinations.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Some more sports talk radio guys: Don LaGreca and Bonnie Bernstein from 1050's Michael Kay show. As well as former WFANer, current 1050er Joseph Anthony Aloius McDonald Junior, aka Jody Mac as well. Tony Paige of WFAN overnights is also a Met fan as well, ditto Craig Carton and Boomer Esiason from the morning show. Speaking of morning shows, I can't quite confirm if Mike Greenberg of ESPN is a Met fan, big Jet fan but he never really shows his hand when talking baseball. I opened up a barn door by letting Lazio on the list, didn't I? Lazio's fanship only became known because his last statewide opponent had (some would say infamously) come out for the MFYs in a Subway Series year. If he runs against true blue/orange David Paterson, we'll see if it's a battle of the Met-Lovin' Big Shots, or if Lazio needs to go to his right and suddenly remember he was for the MFYs before he was against them.

I prefer limbo to scrubness, but I'd really prefer 24 be treated royally.

Willie Mays in an enjoyable two-hour interview with Bob Costas on MLBN tonight (repeated at 11 PM and 2 AM Eastern and, I imagine, a lot from there). Willie remembers what Willie wants to remember the way Willie wants to remember it. Bob's sole Met question regarded the falling down in the '73 WS. Willie reconstructed the 12-inning, 10-7 victory that was full of miscues (including his own) into a Met laugher that they won 10-2, thanks to Willie -- who also helped them win the first game of the Series (which they didn't). Old Baseball Player Exhibits Selective Memory would be the headline from this reminiscence. Willie allowed he was doing the interview not so much to promote the authorized biography that's just been released but because Bob has always been fair to him and he wanted to help him out in his new job.

Bush the Elder an Astros patron more than anything now that nobody in the family owns a franchise. Buddies with the owner. Plus he lived in a hotel room in Houston all those years, kind of.

2000 GOP senate candidate and possible 2010 gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio claims blue and orange under his red state sympathies. And as for writers, Roger Angell should be included. Two non-Met players who grew up Mets-loving: Eric Young and Orlando Hudson. Bobby M. Jones a Met player who grew up Met-loving.

Sandler's an MFY fan who showed up at Shea to promote "Chuck & Larry" with Kevin James. Josh Lyman's greatest Met hits recalled here.

Pitchers & Catchers a lot more enticing than Snow Plows & Shovels, though I fear we will need both equally in the coming days.

metirish wrote: The likes of Francisco Rodriguez(75) and Kirk Nieuwenhuis(91) must know they have no chance of making the club going north. A good day for BoC nominations!

metsguyinmichigan wrote: The likes of R.A. Dickey in Jerry Koosman's number. Sigh. I know I have to get over such things. Until they put somebody remotely Koozian in 36, I think of it as Wayne Twitchell's number. It's the mark of the journeyman for more than 30 years now. Best 36 since Kooz? Ed Lynch, probably, and Ed Lynch often sucked. After Lynch? Greg McMichael, and he often sucked more. Third place? As Alec Baldwin made clear in Glengarry Glen Ross, there is no third place. There's not even a set of steak knives.

Kong76 wrote: I was sorry the "people's team" thing never took off. Going into 1980, you could literally count the people who pledged allegiance to the Mets.

SteveJRogers wrote: Ray Knight and Kevin Mitchell were jettisoned in the same fashion, for the same reasons. Both those moves ended up helping the team in the short term, despite them being early signs of the Wilpon's desire to have a boring and uncaring ballclub. With Knight and Mitchell, the Mets won a World Series. Without Knight and Mitchell, the Mets didn't win a World Series, not even in the short term. Their respective dismissals may have cleared space as starters for players packing what appeared to be greater upsides in HoJo/Magadan and McReynolds -- both of whom had some fine seasons as Mets -- but, literally speaking, those moves helped the Mets go from world champions in 1986 to not world champions thereafter...and, come to think of it, not since.

Murray Chass's Super Bowl angle, here includes visiting with Rocky & Rusty.