Gwreck

Hip Rabid Moll = Phil Lombardi

Parking: For Mets-Yankees, a 3:55 PM start -- I would suggest being there no later than 2 hours before the game if you want to ensure a spot. I'm sure for other random weeknight games it's not so bad but you can count on this one being a total disaster. Backpacks: No problem, they'll search it. Food is fine; drinks in plastic bottles are fine. (No glass, cans or booze). Team store: The one inside the stadium is always super-crowded unless you get there early. There is an auxiliary one set up outside Gate E (near the entrance to the subway) that also tends to get crowded. If you'll be there early, you can probably find something cool, they have a lot of stuff that says "last season at Shea" naturally.

Maine 2.2 Delgado 1.25 Beltran 1.2 Reyes 1.1 Easley .85 Chavez .85 Nixon .5 Schneider .5 Feliciano .5 Heilman .5 Wright .25 Smith .25

Neon Gel Stink = Ken Singleton

SNY Whore = Henry Owens

Murder: Ya Die = Eddie Murray

Reyes is 4 years younger. If the war is only going to last -- say, 2 years -- the vote might be different.

="metirish":3aij0dcp]Seriously I don't think I am buying the Snooze anymore , today beat all out. The Daily news saw fit to editorialize on the Randolph firing. I might start buying the NY Sun, is that any better?[/quote:3aij0dcp] No. If you want better, you'll have to switch to the NY Times. batmagadanleadoff Jun 18 2008 07:50 AM Did everybody decide to write the same post during the last 20 minutes? Methead Jun 18 2008 07:59 AM The Dugout Chat knows how it all transpired. Transcript here[/url:twomty35] John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 18 2008 07:59 AM This is about Madden and his hard-on for 1970s Yankees. It informs the DN's entire sports-page POV. themetfairy Jun 18 2008 08:00 AM I can take this from Jon Stewart, because he's bleeding with us - AG/DC Jun 18 2008 08:12 AM He's not with me. He's perpetuating the myth because it makes a better story and better comedy. Willie was not fired at three o'clock in the morning. He was fired around the 11 o'clock hour, while baseball men are still wide awake and operating. soupcan Jun 18 2008 08:18 AM ="AG/DC"]Willie was not fired at three o'clock in the morning. He was fired around the 11 o'clock hour, while baseball men are still wide awake and operating. YES, YES, YES! Why is this hard for people to see?! He was fired at 11:00ish after the game. That's when managers get fired! Arrrrgh. themetfairy Jun 18 2008 08:24 AM Kevin Burkhardt reported that the firing occurred at 12:15 am local time. That's still the middle of the night in my book. AG/DC Jun 18 2008 08:31 AM Which is around the 11 o'clock hour, is certainly not three in the morning, and is about the time a manager might get back to the hotel. If the firing is unseemly, then it's unseemly. But the method it was done seems so typically typical of an in-season firing that it's banal. Frayed Knot Jun 18 2008 08:32 AM ]the firing occurred at 12:15 am local time -- That's still the middle of the night in my book. Except if you hold a job where the working hours are typically mid-afternoon to around 11PM. In that world 12:15 is known as the end of the working day. Besides, 12:15 is when they sent out the press release. The discussions with the particulars occured a short time before that. John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 18 2008 08:46 AM There are a dozen Met fans here funnier than Jon Stewart. soupcan Jun 18 2008 08:59 AM You're sweet. batmagadanleadoff Jun 18 2008 09:07 AM ="Frayed Knot":2mqm1e0q]Except if you hold a job where the working hours are typically mid-afternoon to around 11PM. In that world 12:15 is known as the end of the working day. Besides, 12:15 is when they sent out the press release. The discussions with the particulars occured a short time before that.[/quote:2mqm1e0q] Once you get past the Midnight Massacre hype, firing Willie was one of the smartest things the Wilpons ever did. Here are my top four or five smartest things the Wilpons ever did, in no particular order: 1. Firing Willie Randolph 2. Firing Dallas Green 3. Firing Art Howe 4. Firing Jeff Torborg Centerfield Jun 18 2008 09:07 AM Not you. soupcan Jun 18 2008 09:11 AM Ouch. Centerfield Jun 18 2008 09:13 AM Not me either. AG/DC Jun 18 2008 09:20 AM Well, sheesh. If you two don't count, who could he mean? There's Rogers, sure, but he's not a Met fan. seawolf17 Jun 18 2008 09:35 AM No, CF counts. Remember Latvia? themetfairy Jun 18 2008 09:41 AM ="seawolf17":35mwt1ys]No, CF counts. Remember Latvia?[/quote:35mwt1ys] Every time I hear about Latvia, I think of CF. batmagadanleadoff Jun 18 2008 06:37 PM Quotes, Comments, and Excerpts on The Midnight Massacre +1 ]Jose Reyes might just as well have spit in his new manager's face, right there on the field. Wallace Matthews, Newsday ]Less than two hours after the Mets defeated the Angels on Monday night, the announcement of Randolph's firing was released to the media -- timing that Paul Lo Duca, another former Met, called "unprofessional." Chico Harlan, Washington Post ]Wright credited Randolph for helping him blossom into one of the game's best young players, but appeared eager to move on with Manuel in charge. "I'll forever be grateful for Willie for giving me the opportunity to continue my development as a young player," Wright said. "He took this team to a different level while he was here. But that being said, I'm excited about what Jerry can bring to the table." Bart Hubbuch NY Post ]That is what constitutes being a good general manager around here, taking the bullets for the boss until the day the boss steps out of the shadows and puts one in you. Minaya knows this, having seen Steve Phillips pull the same routine eight years ago, squirming uncomfortably while painting Alex Rodriguez as a "24-and-1 guy" to cover up the truth: that his boss, Fred Wilpon, didn't want to spend the money. We know how well that worked out for Phillips and we know how it will eventually work out for Minaya.... After all, for Jeff Wilpon, the Mets' cuckoo COO, time was running out.... If he didn't nip this in the bud now, the Mets might make a run and he'd never get to do what he has been aching to do since October 2006. Jeff Wilpon would never get to can the manager. There really is no other explanation for the timing of Randolph's firing�. [A] source closely connected to the heated infighting over Randolph's future told me on Monday, "Jeff has been remorseless in his desire to get rid of Willie." That desire went back to the 2006 NLCS, after which Wilpon looked back at the series - Billy Wagner blowing a key save, Aaron Heilman giving up a game-winning home run in Game 7 and Beltran staring at a season-ending 3-2 curveball with the bases loaded - and determined that Willie Randolph was the problem. "[Jeff] is a reactive young man," the source said. "He thinks he is the baseball expert, and he decided that Willie was not the guy to lead this club...." He's also the source of most of the leaks to the media recently that the manager was on thin ice, which rendered somewhat laughable Minaya's contention that questions about Randolph's job status were becoming too much of a distraction for his continued employment.... Consequently, the Mets turned an easy firing into the front-office equivalent of blowing a seven-game lead in September. Under Jeff Wilpon's expert guidance, the Mets made the Yankees' divorce from Joe Torre look like a family retirement party. Now, they hand the whole mess over to Jerry Manuel, who seems like a nice enough guy but obviously the wrong choice. Still out there is Gary Carter, who seems like a perfect fit: a confirmed backstabber and schemer who campaigned publicly for Randolph's job last month while he was still the manager. How Jeff Wilpon missed out on a soul mate like that is almost as baffling as the firing of Willie Randolph. Wallace Matthews, Newsday ]NEW YORK (AP) � Willie Randolph figured the New York Mets would fire someone. He just didn't think general manager Omar Minaya would pick him. "I thought he was talking about whacking a couple of my coaches," the ex-manager told several New York-area newspapers Wednesday outside his home in Franklin Lakes, N.J. "That's why I was stunned. I didn't think it was going to happen," Randolph said. "At the time, I felt the way he was talking to me, that I was pretty secure for the time being...." "Not the way I would have handled it," he said. "Bottom line, it is what it is." Willie Randolph, Associated Press ]The five-hour long flight from Los Angeles to New York provides ample time for introspection. Especially if you�re Willie Randolph, now the former Mets manager. Dismissed from his job after the Mets beat the Los Angeles Angels on Monday in Anaheim, Randolph arrived back home in New Jersey late Tuesday, his head still swimming from being told by Mets General Manager Omar Minaya that he was no longer the manager of the Mets. In a telephone interview Tuesday night, Randolph said he remained stunned by the dismissal, which took place in Minaya�s hotel room. �I didn�t see this coming,� he said. �When I spoke to Omar the day before I knew there might be some changes, but I got the feeling I was safe.� Or at least, Randolph added, safe until the next Mets-Yankees series, which takes place the last weekend of June, or the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, which takes place in the middle of July. On Sunday, as the Mets split a doubleheader at Shea Stadium with the Texas Rangers, Randolph said that he asked Minaya to pull the trigger, if that�s what Minaya had in mind, and not have Randolph travel all the way across the country to Anaheim. �I actually asked him. I said, �Omar, do this now. If you�re going to do this, do this now. I know you�ve got a lot of pressure on you, but if I�m not the guy to lead this team then don�t let me get on this plane.� I did say that to him.� �I just told Willie that I want to have closure by the end of this trip,� Minaya said Wednesday when asked to respond to Randolph�s assertion that he told Minaya he did not want to get on the plane if his dismissal was imminent. The trip the Mets are now on ends Sunday in Colorado, with the Mets then returning to Shea on Monday night to play Seattle. Minaya has also stated that he was not sure what he was going to do about Randolph when he went to sleep Sunday night and that he did not make up his mind until Monday... Asked if he thought his dismissal was entirely Minaya�s idea, as the general manager is contending, Randolph said: �I have my doubts. Let�s just leave it at that. I have my doubts.� At his Tuesday news conference in Anaheim, Minaya was asked if he thought Randolph had been treated shabbily by the Mets organization. He said he did not think that was the case. But asked if he thought �shabby� was too strong a word to characterize his treatment, Randolph chuckled, and said: �That�s not strong enough.� Wiliam Rhoden, NY Times Kong76 Jun 18 2008 06:58 PM CF, Latvia ... lol, Baltic Bomber humor never gets old. AG/DC Jun 18 2008 08:58 PM If you made up Wallace Matthews, I'd think he was too un-realistic a character. Vince Coleman Firecracker Jul 23 2008 08:52 PM Fred Wilpon takes the blame[/url:5bclim2i] for how Willie's firing went down. Or not. I kinda think he is really just pointing the finger at Omar. John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 27 2008 08:25 PM Bump. I nominate this for the 2008 Craney Award. If you have 10 minutes read it top to bottom. I'll also put it up against any other medium's take on this incident for humor and insight and understanding. SteveJRogers Dec 27 2008 09:22 PM ="John Cougar Lunchbucket":20ivi8ic]Bump. I nominate this for the 2008 Craney Award. If you have 10 minutes read it top to bottom. I'll also put it up against any other medium's take on this incident for humor and insight and understanding.[/quote:20ivi8ic] The thing is also that the whole incident is one "card" the anti-Wilpons or anti-Met people, whether fan or media member, will use forever to deride the Mets or the Wilpons as being classless; As in "Yeah, but we've never had a guy fly 3,000 miles only to fire him at night and fly all the way back." Like the argument over the 2004 ALCS vs 7 up with 17 to play (Which seems like this board actually is the only place where 7 up with 17 to play is NOT considered the greatest collapse in the history of sports period, but that is another topic), it is one more burden that Met fans have to put up with when arguing with other fans, or people that just don't know the whole story. metirish Dec 27 2008 09:27 PM The thing is that was a fun read over. A Boy Named Seo Dec 27 2008 10:03 PM Where the hell is Roblatt? TransMonk Dec 29 2008 03:27 PM I like how the embedded Newsday cover shows today's news. Edgy DC Dec 29 2008 06:25 PM Bam! ="seawolf17"] "Well, Joe, I'm just saying I'm available. In fact, I'm actually on a flight to Anaheim right now, and I brought my big box of manager stuff." Kong76 Dec 29 2008 06:57 PM Good bump, good nomination, and good illustration of 'bucket's sig line. John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 29 2008 08:27 PM ="batmagadanleadoff":2u8um23g][ Once you get past the Midnight Massacre hype, firing Willie was one of the smartest things the Wilpons ever did. Here are my top four or five smartest things the Wilpons ever did, in no particular order: 1. Firing Willie Randolph 2. Firing Dallas Green 3. Firing Art Howe 4. Firing Jeff Torborg[/quote:2u8um23g] This response didn't get enough lolove.

Funny thing is, if we're not playing interleague, Pelfrey would've been lifted for the PH in the bottom of the 6th and never would've gotten the chance to screw up in the 7th.

He'll be replaced on the NL coaching staff by Joe Torre.

Hotwire is a website where you can get hotel deals. So he must be traveling.

Good IGT tonight. Gonna wrap up the final innings with Howie and Wayne, if I can stay awake. Go get 'em Duaner and Billy.

AG/DC: In the event a YouTube video of your happy dance is unavailable, perhaps you can describe it, contrasting (if necessary) with Dickshot's "happy dance" witnessed at the CPF gathering last month.

Gary called that "the most idiotic thing ever said" during tonight's broadcast.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Ten Guys I Think of When You Mention the Angels Rod Carew Jim Fregosi Andy Etchebarren Nolan Ryan Bobby Grich Brian Downing Joe Rudi Frank Tanana JT Snow Wally Joyner My 10: Mark Langston Chuck Finley Tim Salmon Garrett Anderson Troy Percival Bryan Harvey plus 4 that Dickshot mentioned (Joyner, Ryan, Downing, Tanana).

Angels lineup: Chone Figgins 3B Maicer Izturis SS Garret Anderson LF Vladimir Guerrero DH Torii Hunter CF Casey Kotchman 1B Howie Kendrick 2B Gary Matthews Jr. RF Jeff Mathis C Jered Weaver P

Nolan caught 3 games in '72.

Hargrove quit last year and McLaren took over. You'll be finding all about the Mariners next week in my upcoming KTE but as a quick preview: Bavasi has been the GM since '04. He replaced Pat Gillick, who was the GM during the high times of the late '90s and early '00s for the Mariners. During Bavasi's tenure, the Mariners have had only 1 winning season (last year, 88-74). He's the genius responsible for Jose Vidro, Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre's contracts.

Never played for the Mets on defense: 1. - 1966 2. - 1973 3. Rick Sweet (G-Fafif) - 1982 4. Randy Milligan (AG/DC) - 1987 5. - 1995 6. - 1999 7. Gary Bennett (sharpie) - 2001 8. Gary Matthews, Jr. - 2002 9. Robinson Cancel (metirish) - 2008 Non-pitchers who never played for the Mets on offense: 1. Shane Halter (G-Fafif) - 1999 2. Joe Hietpas - 2004

Wayne got 31 ABs for the Mets in '98. The correct answer to this question -- guessed by G-Fafif in the other thread -- is Shane Halter. Shane got in 7 games for the Mets in '99 without a plate appearance. He made 5 pinch running appearances (never scoring) and played a total of 2 and 1/3 defensive innings: 1 inning at SS, 1/3 of an inning in RF and 1 inning in CF.

Rick Sweet is correct! Shane Halter is actually the correct answer to the OTHER question!

Good guess but nope. Christiansen -- who actually replaced Gary Matthews, Jr. on the Mets roster in 2002 -- was 1-3 as a Met.

Very close, but Ostrosser got in 4 games at SS in '73. The player in question got a callup again in '74, but he didn't see any game action that year.

Why 27 and not 26 (assuming of course that you have to make the concession to 26 to the players association to get rid of the DH).

The correct answer here is not a catcher. The player got in 7 games, either as a pinch-runner (never scoring) or an outfielder...playing for Bobby V.