G-Fafif

Puts me in mind of two very funny back-to-back posts from two years ago via Mets Are Better Than Sex here[/url:3cz0jern] and here[/url:3cz0jern]. Funny how time flies vis-a-vis some of the characters mentioned within and how, in terms of their Metsness, they are now without.

That's Emil Brown, not, as I instinctively suspected, Leon "Motor" Brown.

Cora! Cora! Cora! (If he were an MFY, I assume Sterling would be all over that one.)

Cohen lets the calls come to him. Sterling lunges for them and chokes to them to within an inch of their life. Howie veered that way at first when he came to TV. Way too much "Put a circle around it!" and "That's a goner!" He toned it down and was better off for it. "Put it in the books!" is a nice bow on a Mets win. Sterling was irritating doing the Braves long before the Braves were irritating.

I'm diggin' on the 5-0 record the Unit compiled in the '95 ALDS and the '01 WS combined at the expense of MFYs to delay and dismiss their dynasty, respectively. Those are the money wins, yo.

Frankie brings to mind you never used to see (and, come to think of it, don't often see now) baseball card pictures that were shot at night.

Outstanding cards. Good to see Frankie here, trace of horrible INAUGURAL SEASON patch notwithstanding.

Mets?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: My guess is it was Chris Carlin. He's the most swinelike employee of SNY that I can think of. Watching him makes me a little queasy.

="Benjamin Grimm"]="G-Fafif"]Jesse Orosco's middle name is Russell. Huh??? When did that happen? April of '57, according to Baseball-Reference.

="Edgy DC":zg3p3ptg]I listened to the fog game on the radio. Was there a television broadcast at all?[/quote:zg3p3ptg] There must have been, because I can still see Dave Parker helplessly pawing the air for Joel Youngblood's triple right before it was called. Benjamin Grimm Jun 01 2009 03:07 PM Re: KTE: Their Closer's Middle Name is Dicus ="G-Fafif"]Jesse Orosco's middle name is Russell. Huh??? When did that happen? Oh, and my prediction for this series: W-W-W-L. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 01 2009 03:33 PM Re: KTE: Their Closer's Middle Name is Dicus ="G-Fafif"]Jesse Orosco's middle name is Russell. No Dicus he. Could've been worse-- could've grown up in the early 70s with a middle name like "Kaaaaaaaaaark..." ... like one Mr. Randall K. Myers. ]Let's Go Mets. Aarrgghh!! Is it me, or is anybody else picturing Greg as a Peanuts character when they read this? G-Fafif Jun 01 2009 03:39 PM Re: KTE: Their Closer's Middle Name is Dicus ="Benjamin Grimm"]="G-Fafif"]Jesse Orosco's middle name is Russell. Huh??? When did that happen? April of '57, according to Baseball-Reference. DocTee Jun 01 2009 03:45 PM I think tonight's starter (Snell) is the one who accused the Mets of stealing his signs the last time they met. Could bear watching. Benjamin Grimm Jun 01 2009 04:05 PM Re: KTE: Their Closer's Middle Name is Dicus ="G-Fafif"]="Benjamin Grimm"]="G-Fafif"]Jesse Orosco's middle name is Russell. Huh??? When did that happen? April of '57, according to Baseball-Reference. As recently as 1998, The Sporting News Baseball Register had his full name as "Jesse Orosco." I do see "Russell" in the 2001 book. I wonder why he kept his middle name a secret until after his 40th birthday? Maybe we should ask the UniWatch guy. MFS62 Jun 01 2009 04:15 PM Re: KTE: Their Closer's Middle Name is Dicus ="Benjamin Grimm":37z7wamy] I wonder why he kept his middle name a secret until after his 40th birthday? Maybe we should ask the UniWatch guy.[/quote:37z7wamy] Maybe he didn't want anybody to think he was named after Bertrand Russell. Hmmm, maybe not. Later themetfairy Jun 01 2009 04:31 PM Thanks for the knowledge Greg! Fman99 Jun 01 2009 05:02 PM Hopefully the umpires don't Dicus on any calls this week. Edgy DC Jul 01 2009 09:05 PM Any new news of piracy, Greg? You're still on the clock. smg58 Jul 02 2009 08:57 AM Re: KTE: Their Closer's Middle Name is Dicus ="G-Fafif":212up8wr]Nyjer Morgan will do something insidious as well but look so sartorially splendid doing it that it will be hard to stay mad at him.[/quote:212up8wr] The Nats are playing Atlanta this weekend, so Nyjer can be as insidious as he wants.

Aarrgghh!! It's the Pirates again. Has anything happened with them since we last saw and swept them May 8-10? According to my sources in the National League Central standings, no, not really. The Pirates are a fifth-place club, six games under .500 and eight games behind the front-running Brewers. The best thing that's happened to them is the Houston Astros, who are sixth. Yet even the 'Stros are not unvarnished good news for the Bucs, as Houston beat them two of three over the weekend at PNC, which is where the Mets are alighting for four starting tonight. Aarrgghh!! Sorry, it's just hard to avoid doing that when thinking about the Pirates. The first question everyone has about the Pirates is how are Matt Capps and his bruised elbow doing? Presumably, given his job description, he is bored to tears, but his elbow technically healthy again. Closing for the Pirates is the baseball equivalent of repairing Maytags. But Madcap Matt, whose middle name is Dicus, did capture his tenth save of 2009 Saturday with a solid third of an inning. Actually, it was more spongy than solid. He hit Miguel Tejada with the bases loaded and walked Lance Berkman right after that. But after entering with a five-run lead and whittling it down to three, he retired Carlos Lee on a grounder to second. Because the potential tying run was on deck...save! Did I mention his middle name is Dicus? Top Buc batsman Nate McLouth has spent the last couple of weeks disintegrating. His average sank from .294 on May 17 to .250 May 29 before he sat Saturday and rebounded a bit Sunday with a 2-for-4 effort that included a leadoff homer off Mike Hampton that represented all of Pittsburgh's production. Can you believe Mike Hampton is still pitching? Or how much more resonance a word like "sank" has when you're talking about a team called the Pirates? McLouth was 1-for-25 entering Sunday. His middle name is Richard. Matt Capps' middle name remains Dicus. Nate McLouth was born October 28, 1981, the day the Dodgers defeated the MFYs in the World Series, four games to two. That was great. I was a freshman in college, very lonely, very disgusted that so many people were default MFY frontrunners. I was rooting hard for the Expos to make that World Series, but the least the Dodgers could do was make up for '77, '78 and the first two lay-down games of the '81 Fall Classic. I haven't rooted for the Dodgers since, though I did want them to beat the A's in '88 just so I could feel we were beaten by a Team Of Destiny. Matt Capps was born September 3, 1983. That was right after the Russians accidentally (or so they said) shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007. It was a very big story. An angry novelty record called "The Russians Are Liars," to the tune of "Eye Of A Tiger," got quite a bit of airplay where I was. Boy did I feel like a visitor to Tampa and the 1980s, respectively. On the day Matt Capps was born, the Mets beat the Padres in fifteen innings at Shea Stadium, 4-3. Brian Giles drove in Bob Bailor with a sac fly to center off Elias Sosa. Later in the decade, I'd briefly confuse Elias Sosa with young Sammy Sosa. Tom Seaver started and left in the seventh. Jesse Orosco was saddled with a blown save for unleashing a wild pitch after Seaver exited. Then he pitched through the ninth without giving up a run. Jesse was more relief pitcher while statistically blowing a save in 1983 than Matthew Dicus Capps was earning one Saturday night. I also occasionally confused Elias Sosa with Randy Moffitt with Gary Lavelle when all were Giants. Only one was related to Billie Jean King. King crowned Bobby Riggs on September 20, 1973, the same night Dave Augustine's ball didn't clear the left field wall at Shea and Ron Hodges earned an eleven-year sinecure. Mets beat the Pirates then. It would be nice if the Mets would beat the Pirates now. Jesse Orosco's middle name is Russell. No Dicus he. If there are any ex-Mets on the Pirates, they deserve to be there. Ollie Perez is on the Disabled List but was once a Buc. When visiting beautiful PNC Park, be sure to pay homage to Ralph Kiner's hands or at least the sculpture commemorating them. As noted in another thread, Jay Horwitz's coming out party took place at Three Rivers Stadium just over 29 years ago. Starting pitching matchups: Monday: Hernandez vs. Snell Tuesday: Santana vs. Duke Wednesday: Pelfrey vs. Ohlendorf Thursday: Redding vs. Karstens (gay dame) Mystery Buc who will cause trouble: Ramon Vazquez. He wears No. 5, he plays third base and he will come up in a game situation and make like David Wright off J.J. Putz. Afterwards, Steve Somers, incessantly growling "Ramon Vazquez?" will take one call after another demanding Putz be gone. The next day Mike Francesa will explain it's all Ryan Church's fault. He'll get Eddie Coleman on the phone and Ed will agree. "Yeah, Mike, Ryan Church is a problem, no doubt about it Jerry's gotta address that." Ramon Vazquez will be back at Indianapolis by next week. Nyjer Morgan will do something insidious as well but look so sartorially splendid doing it that it will be hard to stay mad at him. We just commemorated the thirtieth anniversary of the Fog Game in which the Mets and Pirates played to a 3-3 tie curtailed by the elements rolling in off of Flushing Bay on May 25, 1979. By "just commemorated," I mean I found myself in a mental fog about an hour ago and decided to write this KTE before it lifted, lest I provide you with any information more valuable than Dicus. Let's Go Mets. Aarrgghh!!

The logical conclusion to Fantasy Camp is a turn with the big club. FAFIF St. Lucie correspondent bmfc1 and his fellow Fantasists get to ply their skills at Santos Stadium tomorrow. Yesterday each camper was called to line up on the warning track and hear his name called. Coach Swoboda met our man before the game, pictured here. I was happily along for the ride. Photo by accident.

Wow, thirty years. I can still remember the first exposure we as a people had to Jay Horwitz. It was the end of May 1980, a rain delay in Pittsburgh and Ralph and Steve (Albert, lest you've forgotten) brought him into the booth. He reminded me of Marvin Kaplan who played Henry the telephone repairman from Alice. Jay was brimming with enthusiasm about all the great stories the Mets had, just waiting to be discovered, like for instance Craig Swan likes to garden. I never saw Ralph seem so amused by anything or anybody. Later in the season, Steve referred to that interview "as the night the earth moved". Happy Jayiversary.

Better him than Tim Redding.

No Caroline unless unless I missed it. "Meet the Mets" solidly entrenched in the eighth inning. It and Parnell, I'd like to think.

Verizon Text Poll Question of the Day on CitiVision: What was the Mets' first home? The choices were Shea Stadium, Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds. This is how Mets fans at Citi Field who participated answered: Shea Stadium: 7% Ebbets Field: 52% Polo Grounds: 41% That distant mournful noise you might have picked up during the broadcast was me crying. I wonder where the Text Generation got the idea that the Mets ever played in Ebbets Field.

Trivia: F'tinez's first ML hit was 5/30/09 off Josh Johnson.

="Benjamin Grimm":pje1ao89]April 2005. My first time at Shea in almost five years, and the first visit ever for my son, who was 8 at the time. Mets vs. Marlins, Pedro vs. Leiter. Castro won the game with a walk-off single.[/quote:pje1ao89] Underrated as a milestone game in Mets history by my reckoning. Ironic or fitting or a little sad -- whichever -- that Ramon is traded on the night his successor has just that kind of moment to push him out the door. John Cougar Lunchbucket May 30 2009 08:41 AM Mets by the Numbers is reporting that Castro leaves as the third-leading home-run hitter and run-driver-inner of all Met 11s. ]Home runs by guys who wore 11 1. Wayne Garrett 55 2. Tim Teufel 36 3. Ramon Castro 33 4 (tie). Duke Snider, Lenny Randle 7 6. Gene Woodling 5 7. Dick Schofeild 4 8 (tie). Ed Bouchee, Roy McMillan, Kelvin Chapman 3 metirish May 30 2009 08:48 AM If he stayed on the field he probably would have been first. soupcan May 30 2009 10:02 AM Big-ass head. Edgy DC May 30 2009 10:14 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 30 2009 10:42 AM Mostly an infielder's number, huh? Better to have a big-ass head than to be a big ass-head. soupcan May 30 2009 10:14 AM ="Edgy DC":2qsynsu1]Better to have a big-ass head than to be a big ass-head.[/quote:2qsynsu1] True dat. Elster88 May 30 2009 10:51 AM The first thing I think of is the almost grand slam in the last game of 2007. From my seat in the mezzanine it looked like it was gone off the bat. The second thing I think of is a gatorade cup upside down on top of his hat with a giant bubble gum bubble stuck on top, courtesy of the young prankster David. So long Blastro, I enjoyed your work. Kong76 May 30 2009 11:01 AM Three years from now at a cranepool function ... KC: We had that other Castro too, Ramon, remember him? JQP: Yeah, had that big head. KC: Big caboose too, seemed like he was always hurt. JQP: He had some big hits for the Mets, won games, I liked him. KC: He was ok, when he wasn't on the DL. I'm going to remember him most as the guy that got traded the night Sweet Caroline was finally ditched at Citi Field. * JQP: Oh snap. To Castro! KC: Ramon! * Hopeful thinking.

Ramon nearly brought the Mets back to life in the bottom of the first on 9/30/07 with a deep bases-loaded fly to left off Dontrelle Willis that I swore was going out. The grand slam would have made that do-or-die game 7-5 and history might have changed. But Citi Field, I'm convinced, altered the wind currents at Shea and it dropped into Cody Ross' glove and it was 7-1 and the Collapse was just a matter of innings from complete.

He kept the clubhouse loose, which we now see is valuable only when you're hitting. Big home run against Philly in August '05, height of Mets' Wild Card contention. Occasional hit since, mostly out with injuries. Always seemed like a good idea. Good luck RC.

MARLINS: Nine hateful individuals who spook Mike Pelfrey by dint of their collective teal essence.

="Benjamin Grimm":2jn0hrqj]I seem to remember them playing "Kool and the Gang" after wins in the 1980's. I think that was playing after Game 6, but I'm not sure. When I hear that song though (which is seldom anymore) I do flash back to Mookie and Buckner, although I may be conflating.[/quote:2jn0hrqj] That they did. Played it on WHN after wins, too. themetfairy May 28 2009 01:17 PM ="G-Fafif":1jmdcrv9] "R&R Part II" completely absent from the CF experience. I noticed that when it was used at Shea in the last year or two, it was The Glitter Band's version. I guess they want to keep Gary's influence to a minimum so close to Kiddie Field.[/quote:1jmdcrv9] Better it be Gary Sheffield's influence (Note - this comes from Sheffield's at-bat music, which G-Fafif and I discussed the other night. Not that either of us is a prude, but the lyrics sounded unbelievably kid un-friendly.) LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 28 2009 01:29 PM ="Centerfield":1jqnocco]Dear Mets, please ignore the unwarranted grumbling from my fellow fans who don't know how to have a good time. They hate life and everything that is fun. Like the B-52's. I think Sweet Caroline is a riot. I'm going to continue to sing it and not worry about what anyone thinks. Along that line, I have some other suggestions as well: 1. Throw back HR balls hit by opposing players. 2. Play Sinatra's "New York, New York" after wins. 3. Put up a meter counting the number of HR's hit into McCovey Cove. 4. Day-O!!! 5. Throw an octopus on the field before playoff games. By the way, I love the unique configuration of the outfield wall. Not knowing whether a ball was a HR for six minutes? Absolute blast![/quote:1jqnocco] /Slow clap, building to full hand-on-hand abuse. Swan Swan H May 28 2009 01:48 PM Are we blaming the team for fans throwing HR balls on the field, or are we just grousing about stuff? I'm preparing my next post and I want to be sure. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 28 2009 02:18 PM ="themetfairy"]="G-Fafif"] "R&R Part II" completely absent from the CF experience. I noticed that when it was used at Shea in the last year or two, it was The Glitter Band's version. I guess they want to keep Gary's influence to a minimum so close to Kiddie Field. Better it be Gary Sheffield's influence (Note - this comes from Sheffield's at-bat music, which G-Fafif and I discussed the other night. Not that either of us is a prude, but the lyrics sounded unbelievably kid un-friendly.) I could've sworn it was "Swagger Like Us," from Kanye West. The fiancee and I were arguing over whether Old Man Sheff chose it himself, or had one of his nephews help. (Which, weirdly, Fernando Martinez used during the same game, two batters later.) metirish May 28 2009 02:22 PM Fernando's new song will be "Run" from Snow Patrol.... Swan Swan H May 28 2009 02:35 PM Jerry revisits his Reyes riff, and says it's "I Saw Her Standing There." metirish May 28 2009 02:40 PM ="Swan Swan H":2g9uc64t]Are we blaming the team for fans throwing HR balls on the field, or are we just grousing about stuff? I'm preparing my next post and I want to be sure.[/quote:2g9uc64t] Off days are great around here for bitching about stuff. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 28 2009 03:54 PM ="metirish"] Off days are great around here for bitching about stuff. Also, for actually writing letters. Using Gwreck's piece as a jump-off, I just scribbled out my own "Caroline Ain't Sweet, She's a Flippin' Hoo-er!" missive, and sent it using the real-world mails. Join us, won't you? holychicken May 28 2009 05:39 PM Isn't the italian song that goes chee-na loo-na men-su mur-ay advocado lotsa pasta fila dough-a is a good-eh mama mia blah blah blah ,or whatever the hell it is they say, good enough?

="HahnSolo":2qsykguk]="Centerfield":2qsykguk] 2. Play Sinatra's "New York, New York" after wins.[/quote:2qsykguk] Didn't the Mets do this back in the 80s?[/quote:2qsykguk] They started the "NY NY" thing with Liza Minnelli's version in 1980, the first year they went to recorded music. The MFYs responded with Sinatra's, which was released as a single that year. The Mets occasionally dabbled in Frank as well. If you watch the '86 WS on DVD, you will notice it as part of a stream of New York songs played between innings, including "Autumn in New York". metirish May 28 2009 12:45 PM ="Fman99"]="Centerfield"]Dear Mets, please ignore the unwarranted grumbling from my fellow fans who don't know how to have a good time. They hate life and everything that is fun. Like the B-52's. I think Sweet Caroline is a riot. I'm going to continue to sing it and not worry about what anyone thinks. Along that line, I have some other suggestions as well: 1. Throw back HR balls hit by opposing players. 2. Play Sinatra's "New York, New York" after wins. 3. Put up a meter counting the number of HR's hit into McCovey Cove. 4. Day-O!!! 5. Throw an octopus on the field before playoff games. By the way, I love the unique configuration of the outfield wall. Not knowing whether a ball was a HR for six minutes? Absolute blast! CF hit this post out of the park. Though it bounced off a sign and I had to review it for five minutes before making that determination. After a review I agree Benjamin Grimm May 28 2009 12:45 PM I seem to remember them playing "Kool and the Gang" after wins in the 1980's. I think that was playing after Game 6, but I'm not sure. When I hear that song though (which is seldom anymore) I do flash back to Mookie and Buckner, although I may be conflating. G-Fafif May 28 2009 12:47 PM ="Benjamin Grimm":2jn0hrqj]I seem to remember them playing "Kool and the Gang" after wins in the 1980's. I think that was playing after Game 6, but I'm not sure. When I hear that song though (which is seldom anymore) I do flash back to Mookie and Buckner, although I may be conflating.[/quote:2jn0hrqj] That they did. Played it on WHN after wins, too. themetfairy May 28 2009 01:17 PM ="G-Fafif":1jmdcrv9] "R&R Part II" completely absent from the CF experience. I noticed that when it was used at Shea in the last year or two, it was The Glitter Band's version. I guess they want to keep Gary's influence to a minimum so close to Kiddie Field.[/quote:1jmdcrv9] Better it be Gary Sheffield's influence (Note - this comes from Sheffield's at-bat music, which G-Fafif and I discussed the other night. Not that either of us is a prude, but the lyrics sounded unbelievably kid un-friendly.) LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 28 2009 01:29 PM ="Centerfield":1jqnocco]Dear Mets, please ignore the unwarranted grumbling from my fellow fans who don't know how to have a good time. They hate life and everything that is fun. Like the B-52's. I think Sweet Caroline is a riot. I'm going to continue to sing it and not worry about what anyone thinks. Along that line, I have some other suggestions as well: 1. Throw back HR balls hit by opposing players. 2. Play Sinatra's "New York, New York" after wins. 3. Put up a meter counting the number of HR's hit into McCovey Cove. 4. Day-O!!! 5. Throw an octopus on the field before playoff games. By the way, I love the unique configuration of the outfield wall. Not knowing whether a ball was a HR for six minutes? Absolute blast![/quote:1jqnocco] /Slow clap, building to full hand-on-hand abuse. Swan Swan H May 28 2009 01:48 PM Are we blaming the team for fans throwing HR balls on the field, or are we just grousing about stuff? I'm preparing my next post and I want to be sure. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 28 2009 02:18 PM ="themetfairy"]="G-Fafif"] "R&R Part II" completely absent from the CF experience. I noticed that when it was used at Shea in the last year or two, it was The Glitter Band's version. I guess they want to keep Gary's influence to a minimum so close to Kiddie Field. Better it be Gary Sheffield's influence (Note - this comes from Sheffield's at-bat music, which G-Fafif and I discussed the other night. Not that either of us is a prude, but the lyrics sounded unbelievably kid un-friendly.) I could've sworn it was "Swagger Like Us," from Kanye West. The fiancee and I were arguing over whether Old Man Sheff chose it himself, or had one of his nephews help. (Which, weirdly, Fernando Martinez used during the same game, two batters later.) metirish May 28 2009 02:22 PM Fernando's new song will be "Run" from Snow Patrol.... Swan Swan H May 28 2009 02:35 PM Jerry revisits his Reyes riff, and says it's "I Saw Her Standing There." metirish May 28 2009 02:40 PM ="Swan Swan H":2g9uc64t]Are we blaming the team for fans throwing HR balls on the field, or are we just grousing about stuff? I'm preparing my next post and I want to be sure.[/quote:2g9uc64t] Off days are great around here for bitching about stuff. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 28 2009 03:54 PM ="metirish"] Off days are great around here for bitching about stuff. Also, for actually writing letters. Using Gwreck's piece as a jump-off, I just scribbled out my own "Caroline Ain't Sweet, She's a Flippin' Hoo-er!" missive, and sent it using the real-world mails. Join us, won't you? holychicken May 28 2009 05:39 PM Isn't the italian song that goes chee-na loo-na men-su mur-ay advocado lotsa pasta fila dough-a is a good-eh mama mia blah blah blah ,or whatever the hell it is they say, good enough?

It wasn't as elaborate a setup as those guys executed, but I was creator, commissioner, play-by-play announcer and de facto offense/defense for the North American Basketball League (NABL) in the winter and spring of 1974. We had teams in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Ponce, San Juan, Kingston, Managua, Acapulco, Tijuana, Mexico City, Quebec, Toronto, Montreal, Santo Domingo and, I think, Vancouver. All games were joined with maybe seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter, played out on my new Nerf basketball setup. Didn't save the standings, darn it.