stevejrogers

Billy Loes, purchased by the Mets from the Giants in 1961, dead at 80. The Long Island City native and ex-Dodger never officially suited up for the new club, having retired during the first Met spring, but left us one of the great quotes regarding the not so distinguished collection of talent amassed in St. Petersburg: The Mets is a good thing. They give everybody a job just like the WPA. Loes is best known for claiming to have lost a ground ball in the sun during the 1952 World Series. Overlooked amid the colorfulness was the eleven-season lifetime record of 80-63 he compiled for Brooklyn, Baltimore and San Francisco. He made one All-Star team and appeared in three World Series, including the Big One for the Bums in 1955. IIRC, he also said this about why he never wanted to win 20 games in a season "If I did, they'd want me to do it again."

Well, that was a decently productive first couple of months at least.

Zvon wrote: I'm a big fan of those Miller comics from '86 and the new movies. I don't see how one had anything to do with the other. Z, Nolan has said quite often that Miller's Year One is one of his direct influences, along with Long Halloween and Killing Joke (for TDK's Joker). Batman Begins has many illusions to Year One, and all but gives live versions of several pages. So if you weren't too fond of the Miller Batman and pretty much every Bat-Story that has come since, you probably aren't going to enjoy the Batman presented in the Chris Nolan films. Basically the argument boiled down to "It's not MY BATMAN!" (along with various story and character flaws he found in the movie) and the guy actually said the only good Batman representation on film was Mask Of The Phantasm!

In response to the movie bit, I've heard people hate on Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, mostly because they hate the source material that the Nolan/Bale Batman is based off of (The Frank Miller 1986 reboot of the character) and yet I've heard people hail both as the best comic book movies of all time. So "Factually, it was a worse film than A.I." can not be true, because I'm sure there are those out there whom think the American Godzilla was at least somewhat entertaining. "Maybe," said my friend, "but did you have any reason to think Godzilla would be good?" "No," I say. "I didn't." She nods knowingly. End of argument. And how is that the end of an argument? I have seen plenty of films that I had no reason to think that they'd be any good, and I still got some entertainment value out of them. Its the other way around that should get the "worst movie tag." Or at least most disappointing. If you are expecting a shitty movie, and it turns out to meet those expectations, that doesn't make it the worst movie ever, that just makes it another shitty movie. But as I said, one man's shit is another man's gold. Hell, I've FOUND a couple of positive reviews for Batman & Robin, generally considered the worst comic book movie ever made (I'd give a slight nod to Superman IV The Quest For Peace, only because it was a bit overboard in preachy-ness).

seawolf17 wrote: Holy fucking Christmas. THE METS ARE NOT THE YANKEES. No more than the Angels are the Dodgers, or the Cubs are the White Sox. Different everything, top to bottom. Eff the Yankees; they win games? Good for them. They draft guys, sign whoever, trade your mama? Good for them. Pearlman's a hack who made his money bashing the Mets with his crappy book and figured he'd go to that well again. I'm embarassed for y'all who are facebook friends with him. Actually the guy I was arguing with threw out the Angels in comparison. As in why can't the franchise have their kind of run. I think the argument was more along the lines of the Mets should be better than "resigning" to mediocrity while in a large market. My counter was I wonder if he'd take that a step further, using the Angels analogy, of complaining about only one championship despite all those postseason appearances and division titles.

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Ask a Pirates fan if he'd like to trade places. How about an Orioles fan. Or a Nationals fan. I used that in an argument recently. Got shot down with the "You can't have a team be this bad in the biggest market in the world and with the Yankees doing what they've been doing in the same time frame."

attgig wrote: so, the question rears its head again... who's our closer? To paraphrase Yoda, who closes at this point matters not!

Edgy DC wrote: duan wrote: that's not right either. It's a bloody crime. People who prefer the NFL to MLB would disagree with you there. Especially considering how MLB fans tend to get all high and mighty on morality issues.

Chad Ochoseis wrote: Woo hoo! Only Major League baseball team besides the Mets to retire #41? And for whom was it retired? (oe - edited to specify MLB) Team we are playing tonight, Braves Eddie Mathews

Frayed Knot wrote: Edgy DC wrote: There's a financial interest for both Gooden and the Mets to "retire" him as a Met. As meaningless as it is professionally, Gooden's Metliness and the Mets' Gooden-ness are commodities that they need to secure for further exploitation in the nostolgia marketplace. Which all implies that there are people stupid enough to get roped in by this sort of shit. "Hey, did you hear that Gooden's signing jockstraps down at the Modell's? -- Let's go" =#BF0000]"Nah, what do I want that for, he took drugs, hit cops, hit women, drank his way out of a HoF career, and wasn't even a Met for the last 7 years" "No, didn't you hear, he retired as a Met ... he's a Met now" =#BF0000]"Really!?! Oooh, let me get my coat" BOC material right there!

And I still HATE LA with unbridled passion! Sweet park though.

Ex MFY and former WS MVP and all time Ranger saves leader John Wetteland

Piazza?

MFS62 wrote: G-Fafif wrote: Jeter said both Mr. Sheppard and Mr. Steinbrenner left this organization in a better place than when they arrived. Sheppard came when they had won three World Series in four years. I just got home from work and was going to post about that. Well, that may be true about George, but when Sheppard joined the Yankees in 1951, there were 5 future Hall of Fame players on the team (Dimaggio, Berra, Rizzutto, Mantle and Mize) and a future HOF manager in Casey Stengel. In addition to the World Series you just mentioned, they were about to win 7 (or was it 8) of the next dozen fall classics. Revisionist history? Or just pap for the fans to applaud at? Later Well, there is a sappy inspirational saying about leaving something better than when you got there. Also I'm sure it was in reference to what Sheppard added to the MFYS experience, supposing that Sheppard's predecessors weren't as great as he was.

Frayed Knot wrote: The biggest sign of a bully - as JCL called him earlier - is that the lower down on the totem pole you were in the Yanx org the worse you were treated. It's going to be easy, particularly w/the ASG going on, to get quotes about what a 'tough but fair' guy he was from the group he gave multi-million dollar contracts to and whom he needed more than they needed him. Besides, they all still have to deal with his kids. And, yes, there are numerous Steiny stories - like Mole's - of spontaneous acts of charity. But the good journos* are going to be the ones who'll also track down those of the clubhouse boys he mercilessly mistreated simply because he could and because he had a childish temper which caused him to blame others for his failings, or for losses which were no one fault save for the fact that the other team was trying too, or for just plain bad luck. There's the one story which George told on himself frequently about how he has/had a secretary who he fired a dozen (or was it dozens?) times. The reason he was the one to relate the story is that he thinks the fact that he always re-hired her back makes him the good guy in the tale. No it doesn't George. Quick hijack of this thread to further illustrate the point. Listening to Spencer Ross on WFAN one day refute a caller going off on Billy Martin (I forget why Martin was brought up, this was during WFAN's anniversary special day programming a couple of years ago) by telling a story about how Martin was nice to his kid or some shit. Well, I was thinking the same thing FK said here. Being occasionally nice to someone doesn't negate all the crap that you do in your life.

Future Met 1st Base Coach

It looks like I'll be at the Sunday the 25th afternoon game in LA.

Billy J. Kramer, well according to a recent episode of this Beatle podcast, about the 41 minute mark: http://www.podarama.com/fab_fourum/blog.php And at the 51 minute mark Billy says the Mets will make the postseason! Not sure when it was recorded.

Can't make it, thought I could, checked after posting. Nothing to see here, never mind.

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2-hitter now so far for Floyd. 1-0 Cubbies, Lilly still got a no-no through 8

Frayed Knot wrote: SteveJRogers wrote: Hmmmm. Anyone remember if there was a big to do about the Orioles doing that for a guy that never played for the St Louis/Browns/Baltimore Orioles franchise? (Minor league O's do not count) the way it was, and still is in some corners, with the Robinson Rotunda here? Yeah, there was rioting in the streets, wanton destruction of public property, and threats of boycotts. So basically the venom against certain honoring of peeps that were never associated with your franchise is regulated to yahoos on talk shows and internet forums.

Hey where is JCLB's old guy selling brooms?

Put that in your books!