stevejrogers

Hopefully I'll figure out how to transfer the code in Mozilla's (or Netscape) Composer into here by then!

SI Metman wrote: I got to compete with this on Monday?? I better get started now. HA! Yeah, better get prepared, because I have more coming when my regular slot in the rotation is up when we go to Cincy!

Willets Point wrote: Mets actually won their 8th in a row today. A sweep of Baltimore will tie. Its fixed

Not getting ahead of anything here, as the O's may look like a mediocre push over, but they are "feisty", and if they do get past the O's, well the Jays are just 2 back of the Yankees and Red Sox, so they are a bonafide "tough out" but the Mets are 3 wins shy of the tying the team mark of 11 wins in a row, done 4 times previous 5/28-6/10 1969 5/12-5/21 1972 4/18-4/30 1986 6/17-6/29 1990 OE: Don't ask, too much going on today I guess...

So its time for the Charm City Nine to play ball here in New York. Baltimore, or Bawlmer as they say down there. The home of Edgar Allen Poe, the home of a truly underrated TV Cop dramas of the 1990�s, Homicide: Life On The Street (NBC) which was filmed in Baltimore. The home of the NFL�s Baltimore Ravens, and the home of the Baltimore Orioles. A year ago the O�s were the surprise story of the first half. Even led the AL East for a while, and were making a strong case for the AL East to FINALLY be a three-way battle as opposed to the two way Yankee-Red Sox tango it�s been since 1998, ironically the year things fell apart for the Davey Johnson Orioles who went Back-to-Back postseason appearances and were the last non-Yankee team to win the AL East (1997), and the last time a non-Yankee or Red Sox team made the postseason out of the AL East. But the Palmerio scandal, some bad pitching and zero help from Sammy Sosa led the 2005 Orioles to end rather badly, nearly losing 90 games, and they created a situation where the Toronto Blue Jays have taken the mantle of the third team going up against the Big Two in the AL East! 2006 has continued that slide, even the hiring of Leo Mazzone from the Braves has not helped the Oriole staff. While the Blue Jays are in fact nipping at the Yankees and Red Sox, the O�s are very glad the Devil Rays are as bad as they are. Nothing like being a middle of the road team, not good enough to hang with the Big Dogs of the division and not bad enough to challenge 100 losses. The O�s now stand at 30-38, after being swept in Toronto and are about 9 games off of the pace, sitting in fourth in the AL East. 3-7 in their last ten, and 11-21 on the road this year. And who are the 2006 Baltimore Orioles? They are Managed and General Managed by former Mets, ex coach (Sam Perlozzo 1987-1989) and former GM Jim Duquette (6/12/2003-9/30/04) respectively and the current roster is: Offensive stats are Batting Average, HR and RBI and pitching is just Win-Loss and ERA 1B Kevin Millar (.247 6 30) Continuing to try to find the magic he had during his Cowboy Up years with the Red Sox 2B Brian Roberts (.308 0 22) Becoming one of the brightest stars in the game 3B Melvin Mora (.285 8 32) One of the more recent ones that got away and while David Wright and Jose Reyes have softened that particular blow, it still is a major blight on the record of Steve Phillips and that particular era SS Miguel Tejada (.333 16 52) Fingered by Canseco as being �interested� and ratted by Palmerio, still is producing and considered one of the best in the game LF Jeff Conine (.236 5 18) Mr. Marlin who was a part of both Marlin championship clubs in his second tour of duty as an Oriole. Also was a Royal twice! Wonder how many players can say they played two or more stints (not counting being on the farm or DL for an entire season) with 2 or more teams. Starting in place of Jay Gibbons who is on the DL CF Corey Patterson (.289 7 24) Ex-Cub rising star, is doing better than the last ex-Cub outfielder that the O�s acquired! RF Nick Markakis (.221 2 16) Rookie up with the big club. C Ramon Hernandez (.292 10 49) One of the two guys we were looking into if we didn�t decide to make the Lo Duca deal. DH Javier Lopez (.273 5 22) Ex Brave, is DHing and catching as the Jay Gibbons injury has the O�s lineup a bit chaotic with Millar at First and Conine in Left On the Bench, INFs Brandon Fahey (.255 2 13) and Ed Rogers (.231 0 1) along with Outfielder Luis Matos. (.196 2 5) Injured positioners are Gibbons (.274 10 29) on the 15, OF/DH, who believe it or not REINJURED his knee the day he came OFF the DL on Tuesday night! David Newhan (.265 2 7) on the 60, and back up Utility guy Chris Gomez (.222 1 4) also on the 60 day. Starting Rotation is: Erik Bedard (5-6 5.69) who goes Friday night against Alay Soler Kris Benson (7-5 4.63) who returns to Shea Saturday against Pedro Martinez Adam Loewen (0-1 7.84) who may pitch Sunday against Tom Glavine, but because he has spit the bit this year, might be pulled. Rodrigo Lopez (4-7 6.85) Daniel Cabrera (4-3 4.17) The Bullpen Corps: Chris Ray (1-2 3.29), the official closer of the O�s with 16 saves Kurt Birkins (2-0 0.86) Chris Britton (0-1 2.95) Bruce Chen (0-6 7.33) LaTroy Hawkins (1-1 3.82) John Halama (3-1 6.14) Sandy Rleal (1-1 3.23) Todd Williams (1-2 4.21) Injured O Hurlers are Reliever Tim Byrdak (1-0 18.00) on the 60, and three guys who haven�t hurled a 2006 pitch yet: John Parrish (15 day) Hayden Penn (15 day) Aaron Rakers (60 day) Ex-Factor: Ex Mets of course are Melvin Mora, Kris Benson and Bruce Chen Ex Orioles are the injured John Maine and the newest Met Eli Marrero Histrionics: We start the Mets-O�s History lesson with the 1966 Birds. Led by the Baby Birds, young hurlers up from the system, the Orioles swept the Dodgers in the World Series. It looked like the start of a dynasty in the making, but the O�s fell to 7th the next year, and finished 2nd behind the Tigers in 1968. Enter Earl Weaver! All that changed with the start of Divisional Play, the Orioles under Weaver were a fine oiled machine. Within the next 9 years the Orioles won the AL East 6 times, with a championship crescendo coming in the Orioles� Tom Seaver, Jim Palmer�s final full season of 1983. In that stretch (1969-1983) they wound up second 6 other times. While like the Tony LaRussa A�s and the Davey Johnson Mets these O�s come up short with total rings, but 3 (66, 70 and 83) championships, 6 AL (66, 69-71, 79, 83) pennants, 7 (66, 69-71, 73-74, 79 and 83) first place finishes and 7 (68, 75-77, 80, 81 first half, 82) runner up finishes should put those O�s in the conversation of dominant teams of all time. However 1969 just was not their year. 109 wins and a sweep of the Twins in the very first ALCS made them the prohibitive favorite in the World Series against the upstart Mets. They even drew first blood against the Mets� stud ace pitcher Tom Seaver in Game 1. Of course if you are reading this, you should know the rest of the story! Long story short; Clendenon homer wins Game 2 in Baltimore, Mets get to Palmer early in Game 3 and some great defensive gems save the Mets bacon in Game 3, Seaver wins his only WS game in Game 4 on J.C. Martin�s sac bunt, and Jerry Koosman hurls a 5 hit 3 run complete game to win the World Series. Donn Clendenon�s 3 homers and 4 RBIs earned him the MVP. For more on that World Series, here is the links to the Ultimate Mets Database pages on that series: BoxScore10/11/69 L Baltimore Orioles 4, Mets 1 Seaver (L, 0-1) . BoxScore10/12/69 W Mets 2, Baltimore Orioles 1 Koosman (W, 1-0) . BoxScore10/14/69 W Mets 5, Baltimore Orioles 0 Gentry (W, 1-0) . BoxScore10/15/69 W Mets 2, Baltimore Orioles 1 Seaver (W, 1-1) 10 innings BoxScore10/16/69 W Mets 5, Baltimore Orioles 3 Koosman (W, 2-0) . Since then, the Mets-Orioles history has been only tenuously intertwined. The only �rivalry� to speak of could be the Franchise vs Franchise, Tom Seaver vs Jim Palmer argument as the pair racked up great years throughout the 1970�s including 3 Cy Young awards each, (Seaver in 69, 73 and 75, Palmer in 73, 75 and 76) and even shared a Sports Illustrated cover! In 1973 and 1975 the pair became the first to win the CYs in two separate years, since duplicated by Roger Clemens and Tom Glavine (1991 and 1998) and Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson (1999 and 2000). Mets have had an interesting trading history with the Orioles, here thanks to Ultimate Mets Database New York Mets traded Hobie Landrith to the Baltimore Orioles for Marv Throneberry on May 9, 1962. Mets trade their first player ever selected for essentially the first Met personality. New York Mets purchased Bob Johnson and John Miller from the Baltimore Orioles on May 10, 1967 New York Mets signed free agent Elliott Maddox of the Baltimore Orioles on November 30, 1977. Baltimore Orioles signed Ray Knight of the New York Mets as a free agent on February 12, 1987. While I�ll take what Howard Johnson would give us over a declining Ray Knight, this really was not a well received transaction. New York Mets traded Doug Sisk to the Baltimore Orioles for Blaine Beatty and Greg Talmantez on December 7, 1987. Heh, I guess the Mets have a long history of trading away unwanted and unloved short relievers for warm bodies! How do they do it? New York Mets signed free agent Jeff McKnight of the Baltimore Orioles on December 20, 1991. JD and MBTN crew have the O�s to thank for being the team we McKnight-mare bounced back to us from! Baltimore Orioles signed Sid Fernandez of the New York Mets as a free agent on November 22, 1993 New York Mets traded Kevin Baez and Tom Wegmann to the Baltimore Orioles for David Segui on March 27, 1994. New York Mets traded Bobby Bonilla and Jimmy Williams to the Baltimore Orioles for Alex Ochoa and Damon Buford on July 28, 1995. Ugh. Bonilla for a �5 Tool� guy and the son of Don Buford. Ochoa was involved in the three way that gave us Jeromy Burnitz Part II and sent Benny Agbayani and Todd Zeile on their way. New York Mets traded Hector Ramirez to the Baltimore Orioles for Manny Alexander and Scott McClain on March 22, 1997. Baltimore Orioles claimed Charlie Greene of the New York Mets on waivers on September 11, 1997. Baltimore Orioles claimed Rich Becker of the New York Mets on waivers on June 16, 1998. New York Mets traded Charles Johnson to the Baltimore Orioles for Armando Benitez on December 1, 1998. Part of the mega Todd Hundley trade. As �bad� in the clutch as Armando was, the Mets really never had a lights out regular closer (Myers was part of a tandem) until Billy Wagner. Autumn baseball failures aside, hard to say this was anything but one of the great trades in team history. New York Mets traded Chuck McElroy to the Baltimore Orioles for Jesse Orosco on December 10, 1999. Jesse was turned around for Joe McEwing. Kind of got pissed at the organization because of it, and we assigned McEwing 47, guess he�s over it now as he threw out the Opening Day pitch this year, I guess also having a Hall of Famer to be as the current 47 is also part of that as well! New York Mets traded Melvin Mora, Mike Kinkade, Pat Gorman and Lesli Brea to the Baltimore Orioles for Mike Bordick on July 28, 2000 Baltimore Orioles signed Mike Bordick of the New York Mets as a free agent on December 20, 2000. Easily the one of the worst time frames in Met history in terms of a bad deal gone horribly wrong. Should also add the date Alex Rodriguez signed with the Texas Rangers as that was pretty much why the trade was done. The Mets need a quick end of year stop gap, they did not want Rey Ordonez back period, Bordick was awful but teams have made the World Series with worse shortstops (Rafael Santana for example) The Mets were going to go after Alex Rodriguez and try to resign Mike Hampton. None of those things happen and we end up with Steve Traschel and Kevin Appier. (who turned into Mo Vaughn) Oh yeah, and Melvin Mora becomes one of the best hitters in the AL! New York Mets traded Gary Matthews to the Baltimore Orioles for John Bale on April 3, 2002. New York Mets traded Karim Garcia to the Baltimore Orioles for Mike DeJean on July 19, 2004. New York Mets traded Kris Benson to the Baltimore Orioles for Jorge Julio and John Maine on January 21, 2006. And finally Benson for Julio that now looks like Benson for El Duque. I�d wait a long while to put a final verdict on this one. Now, who have played for both the Mets and O�s? Well here we go also thanks to Ultimate Mets Database: Player Mets Orioles Don Aase 1989 1985 - 1988 For a short while one of the top relievers in the game Manny Alexander 1997 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996 Roberto Alomar 2002, 2003 1996 - 1998 With the O�s continued his run as the games best 2Bmen, as a Met started decline Benny Ayala 1974, 1976 1979 -1984 Bob Bailor 1981 � 1983 1975, 1976 James Baldwin 2004 2005 Kevin Bass 1992 1995 Rich Becker 1998 1998 Armando Benitez 1999 - 2003 1994 - 1998 Kris Benson 2004 - 2005 2006 Bobby Bonilla 1992 - 1995, 1999 1995, 1996 Mike Bordick 2000 1997 - 2000, 2001, 2002 Damon Buford 1995 1993 -1995 Bruce Chen 2001, 2002 2004 -2006 Tommy Davis 1967 1972 � 1975 Mike DeJean 2004, 2005 2004 Jim Dwyer 1976 1981 -1988 Scott Erickson 2004 1995 - 2002 Chuck Estrada 1967 1960 -1964 Sid Fernandez 1984 - 1993 1994, 1995 Jack Fisher 1964 - 1967 1959 - 1962 Brook Fordyce 1995 2001 - 2003 Dave Gallagher 1992, 1993 1990 Karim Garcia 2004 2000, 2004 Joe Ginsberg 1962 1956 - 1960 Charlie Greene 1996 1997, 1998 Pete Harnisch 1995 - 1997 1988 - 1990 Keith Hughes 1990 1988 Stan Jefferson 1986 1989, 1990 Bob Johnson 1967 1963 - 1967 Jorge Julio 2006 2001 - 2005 Mike Kinkade 1998 - 2000 2000, 2001 Ray Knight 1984 - 1986 1987 Hobie Landrith 1962 1962, 1963 Aaron Ledesma 1995 1997 Luis Lopez 1997 - 1999 2002, 2004 Elliott Maddox 1978 - 1980 1977 John Maine 2006 2004, 2005 Jim Marshall 1962 1958 Gary Matthews 2002 2002,-2003 Roger McDowell 1985 - 1989 1996 Chuck McElroy 1999 2000, 2001 Ryan McGuire 2000 2002 Jeff McKnight 1989, 1992 - 1994 1990, 1991 Dyar Miller 1980, 1981 1975 � 1977 Randy Milligan 1987 1989 - 1992 John Mitchell 1986 - 1989 1990 Melvin Mora 1999, 2000 2000 - 2006 Eddie Murray 1992, 1993 1977 - 1988, 1996 One of the underrated greats in the games history. Was a productive Met despite being a symbol of the �Worst Team Money Can Buy�s� attitude towards others Randy Myers 1985 - 1989 1996, 1997 Joe Nolan 1972 1982 - 1985 Tom O'Malley 1989, 1990 1985, 1986 Jesse Orosco 1979, 1981 - 1987 1995 - 1999 Can you believe that the Davey Johnson led Baltimore Orioles of 1996-1997 had a bullpen featuring 3 ex-Mets (McDowell, Myers, Orosco) and 1 future Met (Benitez)? Weird. Joe Orsulak 1993 - 1995 1988 - 1992 John Pacella 1977, 1979, 1980 1984 Steve Reed 2002 2005 David Segui 1994, 1995 1990 - 1993, 2001 - 2004 Bill Short 1968 1962, 1966 Ken Singleton 1970, 1971 1975 - 1984 Probably along with Amos Otis and Nolan Ryan the three biggest �Ones that got away� that Met fans STILL agonize over Doug Sisk 1982 - 1987 1988 Pete Smith 1994 1998 Tony Tarasco 2002 1996, 1997 Forever known for being the guy that Jeffrey Maier robbed on Derek Jeter�s homer, off of Armando Benitez! Marv Throneberry 1962, 1963 1961, 1962 Mike Torrez 1983, 1984 1975 Mickey Weston 1993 1989, 1990 Gene Woodling 1962 1955, 1958 - 1960 Todd Zeile 2000, 2001, 2004 1996 Since InterLeague play began in 1997, the Mets and Orioles have played 16 times, and almost as if the Baseball Karma Gods are keeping the Mets nearly spotless against the O�s since winning the final 4 games of the 1969 World Series. 11-5 with the last series being in 2001. That includes a 4 and 1 record at Shea, 8 and 1 if you want to add Games 3, 4 and 5 of the 1969 World Series! 1997 in Baltimore: BoxScore08/29/97 L Baltimore Orioles 4, Mets 3 Franco (L, 4-2) 12 innings BoxScore08/30/97 W Mets 13, Baltimore Orioles 6 Bohanon (W, 4-3) . BoxScore08/31/97 W Mets 4, Baltimore Orioles 1 Reed (W, 11-8) . 1998 in Baltimore BoxScore06/22/98 L Baltimore Orioles 7, Mets 2 Jones (L, 6-4) . BoxScore06/23/98 W Mets 6, Baltimore Orioles 3 Hudek (W, 1-4) . 1998 at Shea, first games for the O�s at Shea since October of 1969 BoxScore06/24/98 W Mets 6, Baltimore Orioles 3 Reed (W, 9-4) . BoxScore06/25/98 W Mets 3, Baltimore Orioles 2 Cook (W, 3-2) 1999 in Baltimore BoxScore07/18/99 W Mets 8, Baltimore Orioles 6 Yoshii (W, 7-7) . BoxScore07/19/99 W Mets 4, Baltimore Orioles 1 Dotel (W, 2-1) . BoxScore07/20/99 L Baltimore Orioles 4, Mets 1 Leiter (L, 8-7) 2000 back at Shea BoxScore06/05/00 L Baltimore Orioles 4, Mets 2 Hampton (L, 6-5) . BoxScore06/07/00 W Mets 11, Baltimore Orioles 3 Mahomes (W, 2-1) . BoxScore06/08/00 W Mets 8, Baltimore Orioles 7 Cook (W, 5-2) 2001 in Baltimore BoxScore06/12/01 W Mets 10, Baltimore Orioles 3 Reed (W, 7-2) . BoxScore06/13/01 W Mets 7, Baltimore Orioles 6 Franco (W, 3-1) 10 innings BoxScore06/14/01 L Baltimore Orioles 5, Mets 2 Trachsel (L, 1-8) Now to wrap up this edition of KTE, lets go back to the 1969 series, and what better way than to do it with a song parody� We got our first Series ring Got it just before we turned nine Shea rocked till fan�s ears bled It was summer of '69 Buddy, Cleon, Grote and Kranepool Hit well and played real hard Seaver never quit and Koosman was steady We should have known we'd go pretty far Oh when I look back now That summer seemed to last forever And if I had the choice Ya I'd always wanna be there Those were the best days of my life We did some good ball playin' A lot better than it was in �62 Spent that October in celebration And we beat the mighty Orioles too! It was like watching the moon launch Mets fans thought this feeling would last forever Oh and as soon as the ball fell in Cleon�s hand Thanks to the Franchise Seaver Those were the best days of my life Back in Summer of '69 Man they were a great nine We were young and restless But teams tend to unwind I guess nothin' can last forever, forever no And now the times are changin' Look at everything that's come and gone Sometimes when see that old ring I think about and wonder what went wrong It was like watching the moon launch Mets fans thought this feeling would last forever Oh but as soon as the ball fell in Cleon�s hand Thanks to the Franchise Seaver Those were the best days of my life Back in summer of '69 Sorry about the mess, something is wrong with the table code that I am using

Last season a thread was created by YSG based on the fact that the Mets seemed to be straddling the .500 mark all year long. They eventually finished over, but the entire year it was either going up to .500 or going back down to the .500 mark. A perfect example of sheer mediocrity. This year the Mets are 40 wins away from clinching an over .500 record, rendering this thread useless, on 6/15/06 The closest the Mets have been to going under is 1-1 after the first two games of the year, then ripping 7 straight, and they haven't seen .500 since

Elster88 wrote: Keith Miller is Wright's agent. Yes, that Keith Miller. Get that in the "Where Have You Gone..." thread

metsmarathon wrote: i'm a former bandwagonjumperonner. it just so happens it was 1985 and i was 8. and i dont think htere's a single one of those questions i would've gotten entirely right without researching. i prolly could've happened upon the 400-homer club with enough thought, but wasn't thinking of kong, for some reason. my best showing was in the clemens question, but i wouldn't've been able to name the college. i guess i'm just not good enough for this elitist club of yours, you damned cranepoolers... edit: and i LOVE the pic of pedro with the crown. Heh, seriously I tend to side along with the Mathews quote about fandom, though I really do think some of the basics should be known by causal fans. I.e. retired numbers and postseason apperances (and yes that means all 40+ postseason apperances and almost 20 retired numbers over there in the Bronx) and other important details Just having some fun with those questions

Gwreck wrote: ="SteveJRogers"]]-What significant thing occured in every single third game of a World Series that the Mets ever played in, and describe each occurance Leadoff hitter smacked a homer, 69 Agee, 73 Garrett, 86 Dysktra, 00 Jeter, last two led off the game Capt'n intangibles' lead-off homer was Game 4, not Game 3. Oops! D'OH! HA! Robin Ventura homered in the second! So a Met homered in each game! Okay, thats convluted, trying to save some face here =

The Big O wrote: ="SteveJRogers"] Mike Piazza, along with Todd Zeile to the Marlins for Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, Charles Johnson, Gary Sheffield (Sheffield is the only name I would have given full credit for, the rest ESPECIALLY the next name would be bonus) and Manuel Barrios on May 14th 1998 So you'd require knowledge of the Dodgers-Marlins end of the deal, but not the Mets-Marlins end? Weirdness. Nah, just a general sense of the baseball world, not that important but that is a hallmark of a causal bandwagon jumping fan that they wouldn't know that Piazza was dealt in a rather infamous trade to the Marlins before being sent to the Mets. Basically the type of fan that wouldn't know a Todd Helton, Craig Biggio, Eric Chavez, or an Adam Kennedy if they fell on them, or complain about interleague play because they never heard of any one on the non Mets/Yankees teams that they play

Gwreck wrote: ="Elster88"]Trying to remember how often does a starter get voted in who is unable to play as may be the case with Pujols this year? I'm pretty sure that the manager just names a replacement starter and that they don't go to the next name on the list from fan-voting. But I'm not positive. Am I right? Yes, you are correct. Delgado could be a strong choice, but there's also Ryan Howard, or Garner giving the start to Berkman. Right now the selection process is: Fans vote starter Players vote for the next tier including starters and relievers, the position player goes to runner up if its the same Then the manager and league office make up the rest of the 29 man roster Then there is the Internet vote of the 30th man, no clue how they select the ballot for that, probably the biggest "Name" still out in the cold after the selections have been made From there, its the manager's decision who should start if the chosen start is unable to play (also has to give up a roster slot as well, of course said replacement doesn't have to start in the injured players stead, but it does usually work out that way)

They run Wal-Mart, what do you expect.

Just for those wondering ]-Who was the compensetory pick that the Mets took from the Dodgers when they signed Darryl Strawberry Bobby Fresno Jones ]-Who was Nolan Ryan's 4,000th strikeout Danny Heep ]-What significant thing occured in every single third game of a World Series that the Mets ever played in, and describe each occurance Leadoff hitter smacked a homer, 69 Agee, 73 Garrett, 86 Dysktra, 00 Jeter, last two led off the game ]-True or false, the Mets won the 1986 World Series on a Sunday False, rain washed away the scheduled game which leads to... ]-At what sporting event did the announcement that the Mets had won the World Series did the entire stadium erupt in a "Lets Go Mets" chant Giants-Redskins at the Meadowlands for Monday Night Football ] -Who was the last Met to be taken number one overall in the MLB entry Draft (love to know how many people will still pick Strawberry) Paul Wilson ]-True or False, Roger Clemens was drafted by the Mets Yes, he chose to go to Texas University instead ] -Name three Mets that they severly overpaid for via free agency that never lived up to any sort of the hype that the money demanded (I'm on the fence about considering Beltran elligable for this question, he's being paid A-Rod/Jeter money but he surely isn't on that particular level, cut below) I was considering George Foster, Bobby Bonilla, and Kris Benson ]-How did the only All Star Game in Shea Stadium's history end Johnny Callison's pinch hit, walk off homer ]-Name all (I THINK its up to 12 right now) 12 members of baseball's Hall of Fame to have WORN a Met uniform (that includes coaches and managers of course) Hornsby, Ruffing, Stengel, Ashburn, Snider, Spahn, Berra, Seaver, Ryan, Mays, Gibson, Carter, Murray Uh, thats 13 actually...OOOPS! ]-Name the 5 members of the 400 Homerun club who at one time played as a Met Mays, Snider, Murray, Kingman, Piazza ]-Who did the Mets trade with to get Mike Piazza (kind of a "are you paying attention?" question) and how they accquire him (to see if their overall baseball accumen is sharp as that trade did land a SI cover) Mike Piazza, along with Todd Zeile to the Marlins for Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, Charles Johnson, Gary Sheffield (Sheffield is the only name I would have given full credit for, the rest ESPECIALLY the next name would be bonus) and Manuel Barrios on May 14th 1998

Elster88 wrote: I don't like bandwagoners either, in fact I loathe them, but this idea of giving people a test before allowing them to post.....just seems somewhat like being a dickhead to me. I agree, I was just having some fun with questions that would be hard to do without extensive research, basically some things that long time fans would know and/or be able to get quickly

Nymr83 wrote: the bandwagoners are coming, be ready. i say we setup a mets trivia quiz for access to this site. i'd hate to have a bunch of bandwagoners on here in october joining in our well-earned celebrations. Yeah, but stuff you can't find simply by looking at UMDB, MBTN or any of the major baseball reference sites. Or at least stuff that would take forever to fine I.e. -Who was the compensetory pick that the Mets took from the Dodgers when they signed Darryl Strawberry -Who was Nolan Ryan's 4,000th strikeout -What significant thing occured in every single third game of a World Series that the Mets ever played in, and describe each occurance -True or false, the Mets won the 1986 World Series on a Sunday -At what sporting event did the announcement that the Mets had won the World Series did the entire stadium erupt in a "Lets Go Mets" chant -Who was the last Met to be taken number one overall in the MLB entry Draft (love to know how many people will still pick Strawberry) -True or False, Roger Clemens was drafted by the Mets -Name three Mets that they severly overpaid for via free agency that never lived up to any sort of the hype that the money demanded (I'm on the fence about considering Beltran elligable for this question, he's being paid A-Rod/Jeter money but he surely isn't on that particular level, cut below) -How did the only All Star Game in Shea Stadium's history end -Name all (I THINK its up to 12 right now) 12 members of baseball's Hall of Fame to have WORN a Met uniform (that includes coaches and managers of course) -Name the 5 members of the 400 Homerun club who at one time played as a Met -Who did the Mets trade with to get Mike Piazza (kind of a "are you paying attention?" question) and how they accquire him (to see if their overall baseball accumen is sharp as that trade did land a SI cover) Of course noted bandwagon jumper Wally Mathews said one time on his radio show "Don't confuse fanhood with recitiation of stats and trivia"

The Big O wrote: BBTN leads off with in-progress Mets game (okay, maybe it's a Grimsley discussion). Krukker goes out of his way to say he likes how the Mets get contributions from role players (Endy). And how Castro can block the plate and handle the short hop "like most guys can't". And how this is all an example of how "good teams put the division away". Harold gives Ravvy the bizness, it seems, for being a big DW fan. Good times earnin' praise from the clown brigade. Not sure if that's a desirable goal, but it's nice to see. Nah, its good that we are getting constant mentions and not a middle of the road team that is not so hiddeous that gets constant mentions simply as a "Can they top the 1962 Mets" type of thing

OlerudOwned wrote: ="Hillbilly"]A lot of Met fans there again.Sucks to be a D-Backs fan right now. Love to know how many D-Back fans actually know why Todd Pratt should be forever known to them as Todd F'N Pratt. Heard that one time he was introduced (not sure if this was 2000 or not) and all he got was the general "yeah you play for our opponents today" boo that opponents always get rather than the rancor an Aaron Boone, Bucky Dent, Mookie Wilson, ect, ect, ect get

Hillbilly wrote: I had no memory of this guy at all, so I looked him up. Thank for the great resourse, Yancy! I was surpised that I couldn't remember him at all then I saw that the Mets were 55-58 in 1994. That was a bad, bad year for baseball. I'm pretty sure MLB would love to pull a Men In Black memory wipe as well. Hell remebering it screws up the Braves "consecutive" Divisional Title streak. They were in the Wild Card slot at the time of the strike though, but the Expos were leading the NL East at the time! I guess MLB had to recognize the Yankees and Expos as having the best record in their leagues as a procedural thing for the 1995 All Star Game, no playoffs and World Series, no managers! So thats how Buck Showalter and Felipe Alou managed the 1995 All Star Game. But it still throws a wrench in the "streak" of the Braves. Does it really matter? No I guess not, but it is a nit pick.

MFS62 wrote: ="Gwreck"]Jacome definetly got mentioned on WFAN too, altong with possibly the AP story about the game (?). It was also mentioned on the SNY post game wrapup. They added that the last Met rookie righty to throw complete game shutout (is there any other kind?) was Gooden. Later Hence why I probably remembered the Gooden connection as well. Also in Gooden's final 7 starts as a Met he went 3-4 while in Jacome's first 8 he went 4-3 That is where the comparisons of the two end.

Thing I remeber about that guy is that he replaced Gooden in the rotation! Keep on Jacome! (as in Keep on Rockin')

Gwreck wrote: ="Nymr83"]]OE: Mel Rojas is the 392nd greatest Met of all-time? Seriously? IMO he's the worst Met of all-time. Nah, can't be. Even if we look to this year -- Jose Lima hasn't ever helped the Mets, ever, in any way. Rojas at least had *some* good outings here and there. But as for relievers who have >75 IP for the Mets, I'd suspect he's in the top-10 worst. There is a reason Rich Rodriguez was nicknamed "Rich Rojas"

Kazuo Matsui. You were a hideous shortstop, you couldn't hit a lick. You ARE the weakest link! GOOD BYE!

This is getting buried on the Milledge thread, granted its more piling on and probably should be in the AP Sportswriter thread, but its just funny considering how predictable Mushnick is these days. Hell I even called this last night in the Grismley thread! You knew THIS article was coming from the New York Post's Phil Mushnick ]June 9, 2006 -- VETERAN rocker Dave Mason sings it best: "Seems the simple things are the hardest to explain." Willie Randolph, Sunday, scolded 21-year-old Met rookie Lastings Milledge for getting too close and too personal with fans while returning to the outfield after hitting a dramatic homer. Over the next 48 hours, Randolph was hammered by both national and local sports talk show hosts - as well as their guests and callers - as a fuddy duddy, a buzz-killer and an overly officious authority figure who should simply, "leave the kid alone." From Mike Francesa and Chris Russo on WFAN, to Keith Olbermann, Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic on ESPN radio, Randolph was portrayed as a fellow who, in this case, seems eager to senselessly destroy youthful enthusiasm, not to mention free and fun expression. Tuesday, on Golic and Greenberg's "Mike & Mike" national TV/radio simulcast, Randolph was even nominated for the dreaded, "Just Shut Up" award. But if we're now safe from swinging legs attached to jerking knees, allow us, albeit perhaps too late, to try to instill some common, op-ed sense into this issue: Isn't it reasonable and logical to presume that Willie Randolph knows Lastings Milledge a lot<$> better than the rest of us? Never thought of that, did we? Randolph has not only managed Milledge in spring training, he's privy to organizational scouting reports, phone calls and meetings that just may have concluded that if Milledge is to succeed in the majors his immediate boss must lean on him, early and often, demanding that he comport himself in a manner that will, in the long run, be best for both the Mets and Milledge. It's not, after all, a secret that Milledge arrived at Shea as a kid who seems to demand extra attention, more than a little of it negative. One more time: Do any of those who this week went after Randolph for his handling of Milledge know Milledge better than Randolph? Of course not. OK, then, as they sometimes say on the radio, just shut up. *