G-Fafif

SNY opened its first spring telecast with kinescope footage from St. Pete and Bob Murphy's voice welcoming us to Florida for the first time. Best opening ever.

Great find! Notice there were no complaints in 2006. Just like in real life. BTW, does Casey Stengel Plaza technically exist any longer? It is (was?) an actual New York City street.

Zeroes What Johan Santana put up on September 27, 2008; sadly, what the Mets offense put up too often in September 2008

Utility player Better than not being a player at all.

Rake To hit really well. "That Olerud, he can rake."

Ohfer Not a helpful thing to take in a big game; ohfer four; ohfer five.

Lollygag What virtually every Durham Bull did to cause a very poor start to the minor league season.

Jump A good thing to get off a bag or when a ball is hit to you in the outfield.

Zone Where pitchers hope to be with their pitchers, preferably not wild high within. If they can place their pitches where they want, in the zone, they will give up zip.

Velocity: How fast a pitcher is throwing; in far greater usage in the '70s than today; has given way to movement in terms of appraising a pitcher's abilities.

Huge believer in the jersey t-shirts: affordable, portable, delightful for my needs. The jersey is way too big an investment for a player who may be a passing fancy. The rare gray NEW YORK 42 tee, a winter '02-'03 gift from Mrs. Fafif, pops up now and then. I can wear that around the house. I'm thrilled she never spent the bucks on an actual VAUGHN 42 jersey, for it wouldn't be worn anywhere. Tees through the years in rough chronological order of acquisition: Hundley, Alfonzo, Ordonez, Baerga, Olerud, Reed, Ventura, Piazza, Vaughn, Reyes, Martinez, Wright, Delgado, Beltran.

Mash -- To really hit that ball hard; not to be confused with every time a team has three players on the DL and an announcer refers to the 40-man roster as a M*A*S*H unit

="Edgy DC":2vke0xjy]Dunn gets 44 from Milledge, who switches to 85. 85.[/quote:2vke0xjy] The Year of Millo's birth. Frayed Knot Feb 20 2009 05:52 AM Mills going the Sidney Crosby route. High digits became fashionable for NHL mega-stars since Gretzky took 99 (or maybe since Phil Espo's 77) but Sid the Kid went for 87 on account of being born on 8/7/87. That made a lot of folks feel old when he first showed up a couple years back. Fman99 Feb 20 2009 06:17 AM He thinks he's Rod Tidwell. seawolf17 Feb 20 2009 07:00 AM Or Chad "Johnson." Or me in college, although I wore 17 because one of my brothers already took 85. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 20 2009 04:49 PM Or Jack "Fractured Fibulas Will NOT Stop Me From Tackling You" Youngblood? Edgy DC Feb 20 2009 05:59 PM Brother, you just dated yourself. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 22 2009 07:45 AM Heh. Just a history-/guys-playing-on-broken-appendages buff.

Jerry Crasnick on ESPN: ]Both Hall of Famers were speaking from personal experience. While Mays will be forever known as a Giant, he played 135 forgettable games with the Mets in his early 40s. Except they'll never be forgotten by any Mets fan lucky enough to have seen Willie Mays in orange and blue. And I defy anyone to say May 14, 1972, Willie's New York homecoming homer against the Giants, was forgettable.

MFY marketing campaign for 2009: LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO? TRY THE NEW YORK YANKEES AND SEE WHAT'S GOT NEWSDAY BUZZING!

](And this of course matters, by the way. Yes, many, many fans are loyal to one team. But plenty of casual fans will choose to go to just one or two games a season, and the clubs' relative performances will help determine those fans' choices. The Mets and Yankees are battling over turf.) I've gotta come back to this again. What is Davidoff's evidence? Is there research to back up this assertion? Or is this just conventional wisdom that falls outside Davidoff's expertise? He covers trades and scandals and the clubhouse. Does Ken Davidoff any clue as to how the "casual fan" thinks? Or how much of a franchise's business is accounted for by this mythical creature? Is it as simple as "buzz"? Or is it about winning? Location? Somebody's kid liking the color of somebody's uniform on TV and pestering his parents to take him to that bright, shiny thing? Are the Mets or Yankees truly made or broken by easily impressionable dilettantes? Does brand building come into this? Sources say Ken Davidoff's source for this assertion is his ass.

="John Cougar Lunchbucket":22ydzm6w]I think the '06 reference was to the Mets advancing further in the playoffs than the MFYs that year.[/quote:22ydzm6w] Ah, I get it. It's stupid, but I get it. G-Fafif Feb 19 2009 01:05 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Feb 19 2009 01:06 PM ](And this of course matters, by the way. Yes, many, many fans are loyal to one team. But plenty of casual fans will choose to go to just one or two games a season, and the clubs' relative performances will help determine those fans' choices. The Mets and Yankees are battling over turf.) I've gotta come back to this again. What is Davidoff's evidence? Is there research to back up this assertion? Or is this just conventional wisdom that falls outside Davidoff's expertise? He covers trades and scandals and the clubhouse. Does Ken Davidoff any clue as to how the "casual fan" thinks? Or how much of a franchise's business is accounted for by this mythical creature? Is it as simple as "buzz"? Or is it about winning? Location? Somebody's kid liking the color of somebody's uniform on TV and pestering his parents to take him to that bright, shiny thing? Are the Mets or Yankees truly made or broken by easily impressionable dilettantes? Does brand building come into this? Sources say Ken Davidoff's source for this assertion is his ass. metsguyinmichigan Feb 19 2009 01:05 PM ="seawolf17"]="G-Fafif"]] In the last 20 years, there have been just 12 days in which the Mets were playing baseball and the Yankees weren't. All 12 occurred in 2006. And what happened? The Mets concluded that run with one of their all-time heartbreakers. And WTF does this mean? Is that a metaphor? 'Cause I'm willing to guess that on at least one day since 1989 outside of 2006 the Mets had a game and the Yankees didn't. Yeah, no shit. That's sloppy reporting. It took me about ten seconds to find a date that disproves his garbage; July 24, 2008, a 3-1 win over the Phillies while his beloved Yankees were sitting around their houses sticking syringes in their collective asses. Go to hell, Davidoff. I like the implication that if the Yankees aren't playing that day, the Mets have a chance to win a game, bask in the soft rain -- hee hee -- of sole possion of the back pages and steal away all those bandwagon-jumping fans. Because, on those off-days, the Yankee beat writers don't turn stories in. Right. This smacks of an "early spring training, I have to write something and I don't have anything to write about" column. It's function was served when it filled 18 inches of space. G-Fafif Feb 19 2009 01:12 PM MFY marketing campaign for 2009: LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO? TRY THE NEW YORK YANKEES AND SEE WHAT'S GOT NEWSDAY BUZZING! Edgy DC Feb 19 2009 01:18 PM Why is not signing Manny a failing? Because Manny gives writers copy.

] In the last 20 years, there have been just 12 days in which the Mets were playing baseball and the Yankees weren't. All 12 occurred in 2006. And what happened? The Mets concluded that run with one of their all-time heartbreakers. And WTF does this mean? Is that a metaphor? 'Cause I'm willing to guess that on at least one day since 1989 outside of 2006 the Mets had a game and the Yankees didn't. ]Now, the Mets certainly don't mind that their superstar third baseman is not the one dealing with a front-page-producing controversy. But they wouldn't mind a little more attention, either. Holy Tom Filer, Davidoff is more lost than any motorist on I-4. Because his editor wants to beat the A-Rod horse a little deader, it means the Mets aren't very interesting. ]It seems as though the Mets are always playing behind the Yankees when it comes to generating buzz PEDs to St. Lucie -- stat! And let's sign Carl Pavano while we're at it. "Ken Davidoff's Baseball Insider" now coming to you exclusively from inside Ken Davidoff's head.

](And this of course matters, by the way. Yes, many, many fans are loyal to one team. But plenty of casual fans will choose to go to just one or two games a season, and the clubs' relative performances will help determine those fans' choices. The Mets and Yankees are battling over turf.) The Mets had their heartbreaking end in 2006 and set a new attendance record in 2007. The Mets had their collapse in 2007 and set a new attendance record in 2008. Even taking into account the Shea Goodbye factor last year, that's a lot of ground that was made up despite not generating enough buzz for Davidoff's tastes. Did Ken wake up and suddenly realize he had nothing to say and a hole in which he is paid to say it?

The Braves lost this battle Ken's back in Seattle Their outfield needs help They better not yelp Or sit or sulk -- just skedaddle

Maybe someday they'll discover a lost ramp like this[/url:3v9kzsbl].

I wish we had signed Not Bobby Bonilla long ago.

Great disarming Manuel take via Metsblog: ]Asked about decreasing Reyes�s at bat total by lowering him in the batting order, Manuel pointed out that the Mets have not won a championship the way things have been, adding, �Once we win, we�ll have a template of what we should do.� Willie or Bobby could say that and it would border on the obnoxious. From Jerry, it's just so perfect.

Daniel Murphy was a bit over five years old when Davey was fired, so I think he would have stuck with Jefferies or even Teufel at second.

="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr":7xh33bjb]BTW, Greg... pre-bought my copy Saturday. Do you know when Amazon's shipping FAFIF?[/quote:7xh33bjb] Somebody else who ordered told me he was told it ships on March 18 but I don't know for sure. Before Opening Day is what I've been saying to be on the safe side but I get the impression it will be by late March. Thank you for patronage.