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He liked to yell "SCUMBAG!" a lot and act very put upon. Not a great fit for New York. He was, indeed, the king of Cleveland. Made a cottage industry out of stoking hatred for the MFYs, which wasn't so hard out there. In NY, it all sounded very much like an act. But he wasn't nearly as insufferable as Mike Francesa.

Adam Rubin, offering superlative analysis of late, explores the tension or lack thereof in the Met clubhouse between those born in the USA and those not: ]Melting pot stirs up Mets, but players say they're finding ways to get along BY ADAM RUBIN DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Saturday, June 21st 2008, 9:39 PM DENVER - Two truisms exist regarding talk-radio personalities: One, the louder they shout, the less they actually know about what they're saying. And, two, they are by and large never in the clubhouses about which they purport to be experts. Yet it's on the radio airwaves and on SNY's afternoon shout-fests that you get a sense that the Mets' clubhouse is beyond repair - that a Latin American faction and an American faction have developed, and that animosity pervades their locker room. How untrue. That said, the beautifully written cover story by Gary Smith in Sports Illustrated during happier times in June 2007 is also a fairy tale. Featuring a cover photo of Cuban-born Orlando Hernandez, Mexican-born Oliver Perez, U.S.-born John Maine, Venezuelan-born Endy Chavez, Dominican-born GM Omar Minaya and New York's first African-American manager Willie Randolph, the headline blared: "Mix Master: The Unlikely Story of How Omar Minaya Created the Melting-Pot Mets." In actuality, while Minaya brought diversity to the Mets, he didn't bring full integration. Could anyone have? It is true that Mets players generally gravitate to others with common backgrounds and interests - Carlos Beltran to Carlos Delgado, Joe Smith and Mike Pelfrey to Maine. But that makes them no different than any other MLB clubhouse � or workplace. "Anywhere you go in life, that's normal," Mets utility player Marlon Anderson says. "It gets touchy because of the Latin player thing. I just think it's people you have things in common with, whether it be language or whether it be the city or part of the country you're from. "Guys from California tend to hang out together. They tend to like the same kind of music. I don't think it needs to be touchy. Unfortunately in our society it is, but for me it's not." Anderson says the diverse makeup of the clubhouse is not relevant - what matters is whether players respect each other. "It's like going to work every day," he says. "Whether you work in an office building with a bunch of lawyers or a school with a bunch of teachers, you're dealing with people from different backgrounds, with different personalities. Everybody is not going to get along, but everybody respects each other. That's all you ask for on a team. You don't ask for everybody to like each other and want to go to dinner. But once you step in the clubhouse and on the field, you do expect for everybody to respect each other." Adds Jerry Manuel, the second African-American manager in New York history and about as deep-thinking a baseball man there is: "I don't think there's any tension at all. Not at all. I think any time you get different cultures, then you tend to gravitate to that in which you are culturally comfortable. "That's in any clubhouse." As Manuel is saying this at the completion of an early batting practice session Wednesday afternoon in Anaheim, he turns to see Delgado, a Puerto Rican, tossing a football with Florida-born hitting coach Howard Johnson. Minutes earlier, Brian Schneider and Delgado completed passing routes to each other. Then, after winning that rubber game against the Angels and touching down in Denver, Ramon Castro entertained the entire group on the team bus with an awkward 4 a.m. version of Metallica's "One." What does distinguish the Mets from other clubhouses is that the number of Latin American players (14 active) exceeds the number of U.S.-born players (11) - essentially making the American majority in other clubhouses the minority with the Mets. For the third straight season, the Mets' Opening Day roster had more internationally born players than any other team. *** When Pedro Martinez came to the United States as a teenager, he was immersed in an unfamiliar culture, and forced himself to learn English by reading road signs as his Great Falls, Mont., team traveled by bus to other remote locales. Here, in the Mets' clubhouse, the shoe is on the other foot, to some degree: It's the U.S. players who may not understand the pregame chatter or blaring music, which can create unease - the kind of unease a Hispanic player arriving in the United States might feel, only exponentially less so. The postgame clubhouse staple is typically the Latin American cuisine of rice and beans (with Boston Market on Saturdays), which makes the majority of the players feel welcome, although perhaps not all of them. Coach Sandy Alomar Sr., during spring training in 2005, after the makeover of the Mets under Minaya, suggested the organization's new-found diversity had made the Latin American players comfortable. He pointed to a staff at the time that included himself, a Puerto Rican, as well as Dominican Manny Acta and bilingual trainer Ray Ramirez. It was only a few years earlier that Alomar's son, Roberto, complained that he felt isolated as a player in the Mets' clubhouse and was lobbying for the organization to hire a liaison for the Latin American players. "By us coming from the same type of environment, we have a way of knowing what's going on with them," Alomar said that spring. "It's much easier for us to understand when there's something wrong with them than for the American guy that doesn't know the barrier or culture." The issue of race has swirled around the Mets for so long that is has become practically accepted that it is a divisive issue and was even a factor in Randolph's demise. Just last month, Randolph wondered whether the fact that he is African-American affected how he was viewed by the fan base and created a lightning storm. Minaya acknowledged at the press conference in which he announced Randolph's firing last Tuesday that those comments contributed to the chaos that led to a managerial change. When Minaya first arrived, there was a dramatic change in the clubhouse demographics, prompting an ugly backlash from a segment of the fans, who derisively tagged the team "Los Mets," a moniker the organization at first ran away from. Then the front office embraced it and even launched losmets.com. They had two seasons of wildly popular segments on the DiamondVision scoreboard in which "Profesor Reyes" taught Spanish to the game attendees. Banco Popular was enlisted as the team's official bank, demonstrating how diversifying the fan base made for good business. Delgado originally signed with the Marlins as a free agent four years ago when the Mets were recruiting him because, he complained, team brass approached him as a Hispanic and not a man. Mets front office official Tony Bernazard and Delgado share Puerto Rican heritage, and Delgado complained at the time that the recruiting seemed to be based on that, which turned him off. The wild success of the 2006 NLCS run made the outside chatter mostly go away, at least on talk radio, but Paul Lo Duca's comments in June of last year about how media gravitated to certain U.S.-born players brought it back to the forefront. "I'll do this (interview), but you need to start talking to other players," Lo Duca announced after he was approached by a radio reporter. "It's the same three or four people every day. Nobody else wants to talk. Some of these guys have to start talking. They speak English, believe me." Then this season, Billy Wagner broached the subject of accountability, looking in the direction of the row of lockers occupied by Delgado and Beltran and said in slightly more politically correct fashion: "Someone tell me why the ---- you're talking to the closer. I didn't even play. They're over there, not being interviewed." Wagner paused at that point for dramatic effect. Then, the closer sarcastically added: "I got it. They're gone. ----ing shocker." As for the media availability issue - which seems to have largely subsided, although Delgado did upset a radio reporter on-field Friday night by blowing off a postgame request - part of that can be attributed to players being uncomfortable speaking in a second language. During spring training, when Oliver Perez did a live, in-game television interview after completing his pitching performance, his Latin American teammates mocked him mercilessly for his difficulty with the language rather than praising him for his courage. They meant no harm, but it seemed hurtful. And no one would blame Perez if wanted no part of another comparable TV interview. Part of the issue with the disproportionate comments from American-born players is that the most dynamic personalities among the Latin American players, Pedro Martinez and Moises Alou, have been absent for prolonged stretches due to injuries. The media are culpable, too. There's only one legitimately bilingual beat reporter among the seven newspapers that cover the Mets on the home and road. Some shirking of the media burden has more to do with specific players' personalities than anything cultural. Wagner has the gift of gab - an understatement if there ever was one. Beltran, who has been abundantly available to reporters of late, is introverted. Delgado has other priorities, such as working out and tending to a 15-month-old son, and just doesn't make interviews a priority. He'll often be at his locker well after the team's other standouts. Media generally don't wait for him because his quotes are often guarded and unremarkable and the reporters will be pushing their deadlines by allotting the extra time to camp out by his locker. As much as which players are at their lockers for postgame interviews, the disparate number of public appearances made by different Mets has been a bigger issue in the clubhouse at points during the past four years. Mets public-relations staffers generally rely on a core group of American players to make the team's massive number of appearances with sponsors, for charities and on television live shots. In fact, chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon once issued an edict to reduce the demands on Wright out of concern that too much of a burden would affect his play. The disproportionate participation is perhaps understandable - again, players whose second language is English may not be as secure appearing in public. Of course, like any valid excuse, it can be a crutch also used to shirk responsibility. Anderson thinks, to some extent, Mets officials just stopped asking certain segments of the clubhouse to make appearances. Still, as Wright says: "It would be the same way if I went and played winter ball in the Dominican or Puerto Rico. I wouldn't feel comfortable necessarily speaking Spanish to reporters, or going out in public and speaking Spanish. For the most part, these guys are accountable. "There have been a few days where guys have gotten out of here early. But everyone is not like us single guys where we hang around all day in the clubhouse. These guys have families to go to. These guys have other things to do other than sit around and answer questions. "It comes along with the responsibility, but I understand some of the guys feel uncomfortable maybe going out in public speaking English because it's not their first language. I completely understand it." The public hasn't seen that, instead relying on often uninformed opinion from talk-show hosts who spend as much time in the clubhouse as the fans do. "We're like a family," Jose Reyes says. "We almost like live in the same house. We see each other every day. It's like brothers here. That's the way I see it."

KC wrote: I read somewhere that if you go purgatory they pump in an endless loop of Mad Dog reading of weekend sporting events and Mike guessing the NY and National Nielsen ratings. Which itself would get a 1.4 in New York, 1.3 nationally.

The White Sox are the only AL team that has never come to Shea to play the Mets. Cowards.

Friday night's dugout was as happy as I'd seen a Met dugout all year. Lots of laughing, skipping back and forth (OK, maybe not skipping, but ebullient striding), general camaraderie shining through. Mets won games earlier in the season. It never looked like that. Extension, perhaps, of the handing off of the ball, or perhaps just Pedro showing why he's Pedro: He's sitting in the dugout Saturday, head hung, lost in thoughts of (presumably) where it all went when Claudio Vargas walks by. Pedro snaps out of his misery long enough to slap Vargas on the fanny. It was long after Pedro was lifted. Just a tiny bit of leadership (or perhaps an ass fetish) on display there. I wasn't surprised to hear Dan Warthen wants Pedro to act as player-pitching coach. Not sure if it's chicken or egg here, but good to see and I don't remember seeing a lot of it before.

Russo on right now. Gave a half-hearted denial to the story.

If it's raining, it will be indifferent. But if they play without delay, I'd expect something a little north of what Matt Lawton got, which was "oh, you're here." Maybe a little better than that because Mets fans who go to the trouble of schlepping out there on a Monday night want to have something to get behind for a change. If he comes out to make a pitching change in an inning that's going to hell, I don't think Jerry'll be viewed as a savior. He'll be the manager of a Mets team that's losing or blowing a game.

soupcan wrote: The fans do what the talkies tell them to. If that were so, we'd have all converted to the Yankees or San Francisco Giants long ago.

Jerry is obviously channeling Chance the Gardener (aka Chauncey Gardener) from Being There. ]As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden... In the garden, growth has its seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again. Hubbuch, based on what little I've read from him, is an idiot. He got under my skin in spring training for this in the Post: ]The Mets for the first time were charging fans $2 to watch practice (they donated the proceeds to local charities), but that experiment ended after just two days because of numerous complaints. Fans will be asked to make a donation instead. My question: Who can�t spare two bucks? What a bunch of cheapskates. Didn't occur to Bart that it was the principle of the thing, that the Mets for years allowed free admission and were now, without notice, squeezing their patrons for one more thing, even if it was just for two bucks, even if it was for charity? As one fan said in the St. Lucie paper, "I don't mind donating, but when they say you have to..." What the Mets were doing to save face, a suggested donation, is no different from what the Met does, or any museum. I'm off on a four-month-old tangent here, but the point is Hubbuch immediately struck me as a football-writing lunkhead who couldn't be bothered to think things through. Plus he works for the Post.

To be fair, the reporter asked (since we were on 42nd and 5th) if I was from Manhattan. "Long Island," I blurted out, making it harder for Willie to find me if he wants to come over and commiserate. Long Island: my little town.

AG/DC wrote: It wasn't that long ago in New York that being spotted "wandering out of the Clubhouse Store on 42nd St." was a pretty sleazy thing. At the prices they charge, I felt a little dirty (though, in the parlance of Howie Rose, I didn't have the glue to buy anything in there).

According to the Daily News, I am one of the fans who says Willie Randolph's a winner: ]"As fans we see guys in uniform as interchangeable pieces," said Greg Prince, 45, of Long Island. "But after a guy pours his heart like that, you see the human side of it. It sounds like there was a lot of miscommunication between him and the management. It's disappointing the way they handled it." While Ms. Angelova quoted me accurately -- I was wandering out of the Clubhouse Store on 42nd St. and said, yes, I had read Willie's article in the News yesterday and yes, you can ask me about it -- I'd hardly say I was adding to a "host of hoorays" or seeing "poetic justice in his story". On the other hand, my name was spelled right.

A's win! Marlins lose! Phils lose! Braves lose! Mets win! Scoreboard still works. Wasn't sure as I hadn't watched it this closely in ages.

I'm currently sweating out Marlins 6 A's 6 in the bottom of the ninth. When the week began, the only score I was watching was World 1 Us 0. Damn it feels good to be a gangsta.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I think the martyrdom of Willie is actually a good thing for Coffey -- and better for Willie than it might have been were he gently let off with dignity at a reasonable hour in New York but on a losing streak. Think of the selling angle: WILLIE My Repeatedly Unsuccessful Attempts to Get to the World Series vs. WILLIE My Inspiring Fight Against Injustice If the book comes out in ten minutes. Otherwise, it will be: WILLIE Remember That Thing That Was a Big Deal?

Great. He'll take it out on us next week. It's taken me 13 seasons to grudgingly grumble that yeah, very fine player and all, but can "he has four rings!" be dropped from the case for his defense, as in "how can they say that, he has four rings!"? Not that he doesn't have them, not that they aren't superb marks of accomplishment for him and his teammates from those particular squads, but it reflects stuff he did between 8 and 12 years ago. If you're rating him based on 1996 to 2000 now, then, yeah, you are overrating him if that's your criteria.

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Fired him in mid-day? WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE??? Canadians were still digesting their back bacon when the news hit.

The real victim in the Willie story in the News is Wayne Coffey, its author and the as-told-to writer on the planned autobiography of the former Mets manager. Think maybe the market for that has sagged?

Holy crap, are we playing the Rockies again? Who made this schedule? What can I tell you about the Rox since we lost two of three to them about ten minutes ago? Well... 1) They're 11-12 since the Mets rolled over and died in Coors Field in late May. By comparison, the Mets are 12-11. The Mets' edge, of course, is attributable to changing managers. 2) They're in a dogfight for third in the N.L. West with the Giants and Padres, despite a crummy record of 31-42. They're only 3-1/2 behind the Dodgers for second and, because lightning struck last year, a manageable eight behind the sagging D'Backs. 3) Matt Holliday, this corner's choice for NL MVP last year, came off the DL on June 10 and has been, � la the discredited Jeff Torborg, hitting the dickens out of the ball, .343, albeit with little power yet. 4) Brian Fuentes, who lost the closer's job to Manny Corpas in 2007, has it again. His last seven appearances have resulted in six saves plus one 1-0 win: the stuff of Tugger circa September '73, though I don't think Fuentes throws a scroogie. 5) Second baseman Jeff Baker was on a tear in the Rox' most recent series against Cleveland, a rematch of the 2007 World Series that many were booking after the Tribe took a 3-1 lead on the Red Sox last October. Three-game series, a home run in each game, 5-for-12 with a walk. Dude was batting .200 when we last saw him. He's now up to .277. 6) Two of the three scheduled Rockies starters in this series gave us fits in May: Aaron Cook threw a complete game four-hitter and hasn't lost since (10-3). Greg Reynolds, who started the Friday night extra inning game I fell asleep on, has gone in the opposite direction, watching his ERA rise by almost two runs in less than a month, though his last start was quite solid� 6 IP , 5 H, 0 BB, 1 ER. In between Cook Friday vs. Maine and Reynolds Sunday vs. Pelfrey, we'll see Ubaldo Jimenez take on Pedro Martinez. It's his first appearances versus the Mets, so beware. Pedro, come to think of it, has never faced the Rockies as a Met. Maine struggled in Denver. Pelfrey is either due for a letdown or, to be optimistic, is in total excelsior territory. 7) Todd Helton is in a big-time slump. Doesn't Todd Helton seem to have been around since the Rockies played in Mile High? I thought Mile High looked shabby for baseball on TV, like the kind of game Howard Cunningham would have taken Richie to, like it was baseball in the '50s, with bad lighting and unfathomably misshapen outfields. Never saw a game at Mile High. Drove by it once, I think. Anyway, Helton's not hitting well. Hasn't driven in a run since June 10, was benched Thursday, and Hurdle played Baker at first. 8) Willy Taveras has 32 steals, most in the N.L. He had five in one game recently versus the White Sox. Rox won that game 2-0, but Taveras didn't score either run. 9) A guy I worked with once was in St. Louis and stayed in the same hotel as the Rockies. He saw Dante Bichette in the lobby. Bichette was wearing a BICHETTE HAPPENS t-shirt. "What a dick," was the guy's assessment. 10) Ryan Church was presumably kept off this month's charter flight to Denver, even if he said he felt fine.

Takin' that Duquette plan and runnin' with it, September 30, 2004: ]"My plan here is to continue with the plan that's in place," Minaya said. "And if I'm not mistaken, the plan that's in place is based on pitching, defense and athleticism. They have a plan here and I want to work with that plan, because at the end of the day I want to win. It's the dream of this New York kid to win a World Series here and have a parade down Broadway. That's my dream." In the Minaya/Duquette remake of "The Team Is Mine," Omar was clearly Michael to Jim's Paul: "You keep dreaming."

It was a weird year.

Mets Walkoffs recently remembered the final Torborgasm. ]As the newspapers described the next day, the crowd went bananas. It was the kind of win that could turn a team's fortunes around. Except that these were the 1993 Mets. I was actually a bit disappointed they won, 'cause I didn't think Torborg deserved to go out with a winning percentage better than .333.

He did Davis Optical ads on Diamondvision. In early 1993, I saw it and I started booing loudly. Others picked up on it. Two weeks later he was fired. Hands down my least favorite manager.

attgig wrote: i laughed. lighten up. My eyes actually misted up slightly.

Methead wrote: I would have thought the most produced card was the 1987 Topps Dan Plesac, based on how many I ended up with. I have more 1974 Steve Stones than Steve Stone's mother has baby pictures of Steve Stone.