stevejrogers

Dundies Dunder-Mifflins Scarns Schrutes Team Pams

G-Fafif wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: OE -- There's some truth to what you wrote. I'm not dismissing it outright. But there's also, I think, a lot of urban legend to your post, and it doesn't account for the level of vacancy you see in those choice sections at CF, game after game after game. Even when Dickey pitches. By contrast, ticket prices for seats in the section behind home plate underneath the netting at Shea Stadium reached prohibitively expensive levels by the late 1990's. And those sections were never as empty as the choice sections at CF. Not even during the Art Howe years. Reminds me of an episode Bob Costas recalled in Loose Balls, Terry Pluto's enormously entertaining oral history of the ABA. He challenged the PR guy from the Miami Floridians on inflated attendance figures. Whatever the number he was given dwarfed the actual fannies in the seats, which Costas could count for himself during the game. The PR guy insisted all those folks were here, they're just up buying refreshments or using the washroom. Costas finished his reminiscence with some crack about how the plumbing would burst (or something like that) if this was true. Anyway, I often think of that passage when I see the Mets report an attendance of 30,000. To be fair, whatever one feels about all the amenities behind home in the Promenade, Caesar's Club and it's Horseshoe bars along the baselines and the Field Level outfield extravaganza from Shake Shack through the World's Fair Market and of course McFadden's (providing you don't mind not being able to go back into the stadium), I think there is more of a reason for the Mets PR to use that excuse than the Miami Floridians PR guy from the 1970s did.

Fman99 wrote: Is this the uniform that the Padres wore in the 1980's? It seems more contemporary than the Mets 80's clunkers. They wore it during the mid 1980s through the end of the decade. In fact, SNY showed the crazy extra inning game in SD from 1986, and the Pads were dressed in the same uniforms they are wearing tonight.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Weird that they did this. (They also added some bridges across the Hudson River from downtown [crossout]Manhattan[/crossout] Gotham.) That was actually Pittsburgh.

Anyone in the Jersey City, NJ area that likes to support the local indie film scene? My cousin, and his co-producer whom had a film in the aforementioned festival, along with several other local New Jersey film makers are doing a screening of a bunch of their short films, including the debut of my cousin's latest short, at the Brightside Tavern in Jersey City on Thursday evening. Should be a fun time.

metirish wrote: SteveJRogers wrote: Hoboken International Film Festival 2012 Yes I realize it's in Jersey City, despite it being called Hoboken. Last year it was in Teaneck, so I guess they figure "close enough." . well , at least they didn't put it in say NYC and claim it was a NJ festival. Or vice versa. I'm sure that has happened. Ah hell, the area Beatle Fest does that! http://www.thefest.com/fest/Current/NewYork/ny.php Okay MAYBE they can let it slide with "NY Metro" but still. At least next year's Wresltemania and the 2014 Super Bowl, both to be at Metlife Stadium do have the decency to refer to the host "city" as NY/NJ.

Time for some revenge on the Nats this week.

I guess, but they should lose the raccoon. (Is he an actual Marvel character, or is this the influence of Disney? He looks like the little guy who was friends with Pocahontas. Maybe they can get the hummingbird to join the Guardians as well.) Rocket Raccoon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_Raccoon

Vic Sage wrote: - a MR. FIXIT- version of THE HULK, with him as the smaller, nastier, greyer Vegas tough guy; And they'd better get Peter Allen David to write that bad boy! Or much smashing would occur...

BTW, just to add to my point about officially coming out with the slate. Dollars to donuts would be that all these movies were greenlit, in advance of The Avengers. Black Widow/Hawkeye, and the Ruffalo Hulk that I mentioned were really put on the table after the Avengers reaction a few months ago. Hard to officially put something on the table and suddenly give it a "concrete" deadline after two months of notice. Yes, Ant Man doesn't have a date yet, but that has been floating around as a rumored part of the Marvel Studios family since day one back when Iron Man was coming out.

Vic Sage wrote: It would also be a good place to reintroduce the Silver Surfer, who had much crossover with Thanos and Warlock. Isn't good old Norrin tied up over at FOX with the Fantastic Four characters though?

Ahhhhh...Marvel Studios is conceding Free Comic Book Day 2014 to Sony's sequel to Amazing Spider-Man http://boxofficemojo.com/schedule/?view=bydate&release=theatrical&yr=2014&p=.htm

Edgy DC wrote: No Hawkeye? No Black Widow. No Ghost Rider 3? Hawkeye/Black Widow are probably in early development, along with a Ruffalo Hulk. Considering it was a San Diego Comic Con panel probably not the place to say "yeah we are in the planning stages" when you have scores of fans that just want to know what is coming out for sure. Not sure if that was serious, but Ghost Rider is not under license to Marvel Studios. I'm intrigued by the April 4th release of Captain America in 2014. Traditionally Marvel has been putting out a movie the first weekend of May to coincide with National Free Comic Book Day, a festive Saturday for participating local comic book shops. Unless that is moved up to the first weekend of April in 2014, this is an interesting date to release.

Edgy DC wrote: So yeah, I think there is something to the role if the manager and the player want there to be, but no, it doesn't need an officlal title. And yeah, else, it's just another marketing angle. Funny you should bring up the marketing angle. And granted I don't think I ever saw a 45Franco T-Shirt or jersey with a "C" on it, but I did hear some theories put out there that the Skanks officially made Jeter the Captain for the marketing aspect, so they could put out merchandise reflecting his being named "Captain". And it should be pointed out that Jeter has never had a "C" on his jersey. I think the Mets and Reds are only organzations that do that hockey, and now football, tradition of putting the "C" on the jersey of the captain, and with Franco it was quite a while into his captaincy when some hockey loving teammates suggested it. And as far as I can tell, the Yankees have yet to put out an official piece of Jeter specific merchandise with a notification that he is in the Captain role (wouldn't shock me if an officially licensed shirt existed with Jeter among the famous Yankee Captains like Gehrig, Munson and Mattingly). Not disagreeing with you, nor would it shock me if the Mets made a shirt akin to the above 7Line shirt after making Wright Captain, just saying that it would be the first time such a thing had happened in the New York market.

MFS62 wrote: Which leads me to the question "Has there ever been a movie that was better than the tv show upon which it was based?" I can't recall one, but maybe it is fodder for its own thread. Anyhow, it was the reason I never saw this movie. I thought the tv show was terrible, so why bother? Later Many of the better Star Trek movies are fine answers to this question.

LeBlanc had made that baseball playing chimp movie prior to this, and of course shared screen time with a monkey during the first season of the show Friends (they also had a major character be a parent during that first season, my guess is that both were their way of getting a couple of JTS tropes out of the way early). So when I saw whatever that CGI simian was supposed to be on the screen I was thinking that the poor guy just can't get away from projects involving simians.

BTW, is it me or are Met fans just generally apathetic towards ASG balloting in general, unless in the case of someone like Mike Piazza whom carried over his perennial ASG starter status, or Darryl Strawberry who was so uber popular in the mainstream? Case in point, Keith Hernandez, arguably the most important position player this franchise has ever known, and easily in the top three without too much debate, only made one start as an All Star. Just for the heck of it and illustrative purposes, name all the NL 1B starters during Mex's Metly days: 1983 ___________ (yeah this probably shouldn't count as Hernandez was around for what, half a month) 1984 ___________ 1985 ___________ 1986 Keith Hernandez 1987 ____________ 1988 ____________ 1989 _____________

Frayed Knot wrote: It used to be when ASG promos were read on the air or in print that some clubs (mostly smaller market ones it seems) would slyly imply that, while filling out your ballots, any [nudge nudge wink wink] votes for the marginally deserving ones wearing the home colors would be OK from their viewpoint. But in the last handful of years ALL teams have gone from maybe tip-toe-ing over that line to using one of Evel Knevel's old motorcycle stunts to jump over it to the point where blatantly instructing fans to stuff the box for their own players as often as possible whether deserving or not is simply standard practice. Tough for MLB to allow that sort of stuff to go unabated and then complain when the inevitable result happens. This particular result suxx for Wright (assuming he cares and the fact that he's going anyway means he probably does) but I don't expect any undeserving or marginally deserving winners to apologize and withdraw and I certainly don't expect the folks who came up with the system to point out its inherent flaws. The things that bother me is the knee jerk reactions to the negative reactions: "Why didn't you vote" Which seems silly in the first place. I understand the logic come the first Tuesday in November, but one paper vote or 25 online votes versus the multitude of votes for less deserving home town players, or votes to ensure a certain team is not represented is not the same as voting for elected officials or referendums and the like. Instead it is the idea of "okay, you are bashing the moral ambiguity of the process, so why don't you roll in the same mud?" and "Who cares, he'll make the team anyway" Yes, thanks to every year seemingly an entire All-Star Squad of players are either on the DL outright, or "healthy scratches" the idea that if you aren't named to an all star squad you are doing something wrong is very prevalent, but that isn't an excuse for a shoddy system, especially with MLB's two-faced "this time it counts" marketing campaign. Hell, the idea that there are so many roster substitutions these days tell you how dubious the whole ASG thing is and how crazy MLB's "this time it counts" bit is silly. Plus the whole idea, as a fan, of not wanting to backdoor into things, or hoping that a player backs out so you can get in. Especially considering the idea of every team needs a rep. You don't want to be completely shut out because the Pirates need a rep or whatever.

Zvon wrote: This is a bunch of bullshit. I didn't vote the full 25 times because I thought there was no real competition this season, as far as third base goes. Figured this year for sure he was a shoe-in. What a crock! The Mets have been hosed by internet, and international voting in the past. I forget off hand which year it was, but Edgardo Alfonzo seemed to have a comfortable lead heading into the final days, and ultimately lost to Jeff Kent. I'd like to say Anti-New York biases have something to do with it as well, but that doesn't explain Cano and Jeter in the AL.

Frayed Knot wrote: But the biggest crock in this whole thing is that he knows he's got a captive audience of both NYC-based and national writers, each of whom seem to trot this 'I really wanted to be a Met' story out as if they're breaking news despite being on its 25th or so iteration by now. Especially in times where Wilpon hate is at its highest levels. "Want more things to blame the Wilpons for? Don't forget that they were the reason the Mets failed to sign ARod when he wanted to be here." One of my favorite conspiracy theories that got attached to that, is that if the Mets had signed ARod, that would have meant a higher franchise value, and more money to payout to Nelson when the split occurred. As if the Mets couldn't be creative with future financial considerations, like with the infamous Bonilla deal.

From when the Mets still didn't quite know what to do with Eddie: A 1984 piece reprinted by Mets Merized Online visited the lion somewhat shy of winter. Of course, after playing 17 years for the Mets, Ed Kranepool knows plenty about suffering; adversity was what the Mets were all about, so after a while, you develop a taste for crow. But now that this Metsian legend has hit 40, doesn�t nostalgia dictate that Kranepool have a taste of glory, or at the very least chicken, at a dinner in his honor. �I don�t need them to give me a dinner,� Kranepool says simply, but not very convincingly. Jim Schiaffo, the man who once hit Eddie grounders at Christmas, feels differently. �I�m personally disappointed,� says Schiaffo about the Mets� oversight. �Seventeen years with the team, and no recognition. They didn�t even buy this kid a sport jacket, for God�s sake.� �I hope that someday they will give him a day,� says ex-wife Carole. �I think it would take away some of the bitterness he feels about leaving the team. He�s hurting.� Seems a bit too bitter for someone of Kranepool's stature. I agree the Mets didn't, and still to this day it seems, have quite the knack of giving honors out for long time ex-players. But at the same time a case could be made that by 1984 they were clocking time until Seaver officially called it quits, which meant everyone was pretty much on hold for any sort of special day. Harrelson and Staub got inducted into the Mets based on pretty much exhausting non-player (save for a certain long time pitching coach) who deserved enshrinement and they didn't want to wait much longer for Tom to finally say "yeah, that's it, I'm done!" And by the same token, never really been too keen on Kranepool being "honored" in the Mets Hall or given a day. Ambassador with the Mets organization? Sure. Trotted out for special events and ? Why not. Yeah he was an original Met, yeah he was at the time of that article a member of both postseason teams (though neither you could claim he was the true everyday starter) but it's by sheer attrition and being a "compiler" (TM Sports Pope Fatcessa) that landed him so high among the Metly leaders. And I don't know, and granted this would be different 30 years ago, but looking at other all time team hit leaders, Kranepool's 1,418 is dwarfed by pretty much every team with a few exceptions, including franchises created after the Mets started. Okay granted teams like the Brewers, Padres and Royals have their hit king in the vaunted 3,000 club, but it does say something about honoring a pedestrian, mostly part time career. Especially when someone with about a decade less in service time is set to break it. I mean is Ron Hodges all broken up that the Mets essentially gave him a Death of A Backup Backstop ending?

Ceetar wrote: but if all the official Mets stuff says '86, including multiple Wikipedia entries theoretically edited by fans that hopefully remember? I'd go with that and guess MLB/elsewhere is goofing up based on something else. Yeah, there is no mention of Buddy in any media guide or yearbook section on the Mets HOF until 1987 where he and Staub first appear, and are listed as the 1986 inductees. Actually compounding the strangeness is that every year after induction media guide through 1998 lists the date of the inductions (i.e. it says Hodges and Weiss inducted on September 19th of 1982 in the 1983 media guide), with the exception of 1987 where no date is applied to the 1986 class. And for the record, the 2 part YouTube video set of Rusty Staub day on 7/13/1986 has no mention of Staub actually entering the Mets Hall.

All official Met publication (media guide, yearbooks, etc) info lists the year as 1986. Heck it says so right on Buddy's plaque: Yet oddly enough several places, including Mets.com have the year of induction for Buddy as 1982. And yet all official publications list the 1982 inductees as just Gil Hodges and George Weiss. Stranger still is that I can't pinpoint a date for Harrelson's induction in 1986, while video exists of a Rusty Staub day on 7/13/1986, where Rusty was inducted as Harrelson's fellow HOF Class of 1986 member that was listed as such in listings of the 1986 promotional schedule. As opposed to "Hall of Fame Day" or whatnot. Anyone have any insight onto this mystery?

G-Fafif wrote: Changes from 40th (fan vote) to 50th (panel): SS -- Buddy to Jose 3B -- HoJo to David OF -- Mookie and Lenny out, Cleon and Carlos in LHRP -- Franco to Tug MGR -- Gil to Davey Also 40th team included Rusty and Krane as PHs. Doing some digging, I'd thought I'd share some interesting things with both the 40th and 50th ballots themselves. 1st, 2nd, Catcher, Skipper and all 4 pitchers were unchanged, while Wright and Reyes replaced Ed Charles and Kevin Elster off of the 3B and SS ballots respectively. Because the Outfield was all-inclusive fans had to choose three out of 12 candidates. Going to combine the lists anyway. On the 40th but not 50th: Dave Kingman, Willie Mays, Lee Mazzilli. On the 50th but not the 40th: Carlos Beltran, Bobby Bonilla, Cliff Floyd. And here are the candidates whom fans could choose two pinch hitters off of, where Krane and Rusty got selected to the squad.: Bruce Boisclair Mark Carreon Matt Franco Ed Kranepool Lenny Harris Ron Hodges Lee Mazzilli Rusty Staub

I find it interesting that on the All Time Team McGraw was selected, but in the Top 50 Ranking both Orosco and Franco are ahead of him. Also not making the cut out of the ranks of the All-Time Team's nominees: 2B Doug Flynn SS Rey Ordonez, Rafael Santana LF Cliff Floyd, George Foster LHP Reliever Randy Myers RHP Reliever the whole ballot of Armando Benitez, Neil Allen and Skip Lockwood Some obviously wouldn't, and shouldn't, belong on a Top 50 Mets list, it's just interesting to see them in the running at the positions and not making the Top 50 rankings.