MFS62

Larry (ptui) Jackson was among the most virulent of Mets killers. One of my memories of him was a game I listened to with a fellow soldier (a Phillies fan) while in Virginia. It must have been 1966 or 1967. He had built up a reputation for beating them by then. The Mets had Jackson beaten, but his team scored late runs to take him off the hook for the loss. The guy really rubbed it in. (Pfucker) Later

I collected the Sporting News Baseball Guide every year since the Mets were born, to check out Mets minor leaguers, so I remembered Figueroa. I was excited about his potential but when he wasn't in baseball in 1969, he dropped through the cracks of my fandom. Later

https://twitter.com/Joelsherman1/status/1470156873806618637 I guess that means that Brad Ausmus is out of the running. Later

I was half listening to the WCBS sports report while driving and heard the "mystery interviewee" was LA first base coach (couldn't hear the first name) McCullough. I wondered if ex-major league catcher Clyde McCullough was still around. When I got home I checked. Clyde is dead at the present time. Never heard of this McCullough. Later

The Mets lose two pitchers, draft two pitchers in the minor league portion of the Rule V Draft. (The Major league portion has been postponed due to the lockout): https://sny.tv/articles/mets-select-two-pitchers-rule-5-drafthttps://sny.tv/articles/mets-select-two-pitchers-rule-5-draft Later

If you're wondering why #26 was retired for Gene Autry, this is from his Wiki page (yeah, I know): The number 26 was retired by the Angels in Autry's honor. The chosen number reflected that baseball's rosters (at the time) had 25 men, so Autry's unflagging support for his team made him the "26th man" Later

And the fact that he was a mensch came as no surprise to me. https://forward.com/culture/479194/a-baseball-star-and-all-around-mensch-finally-makes-it-to-the-hall-of-fame/https://forward.com/culture/479194/a-baseball-star-and-all-around-mensch-finally-makes-it-to-the-hall-of-fame/ Later

"Only the Ball Was White", Robert W. Peterson's history of the Negro Leagues devotes a few pages to Fowler. Here's an excerpt he quotes from The Sporting Life in 1885 when Fowler was 31 years old: December 30: Fowler, the crack colored second baseman, is still in Denver, Colo., disengaged. The poor fellow's skin is against him. With his splendid abilities he would long ago have been on some good club had his skin color been white instead of black. Those who know say there is no better second baseman in the country; he is besides a good batter and fine base-runner. Later

=kcmets post_id=82616 time=1638817104 user_id=53] I doubt agent-types are enjoying no commissions, billable hours and such. They're not wired that way and it's probably driving them bonkers. Imagine having to spring for your own $100 lunch downtown everyday with no one to expense it out too!

He was one of my favorite Brooklyn Dodgers. I'm fahklempt. Later

John Hayman reporting Granderson isn't interested in the Mets job. https://dodgerblue.com/mlb-rumors-former-dodgers-outfielder-curtis-granderson-not-interested-mets-manager-search/2021/12/04/https://dodgerblue.com/mlb-rumors-former-dodgers-outfielder-curtis-granderson-not-interested-mets-manager-search/2021/12/04/ Later

Frayed Knot wrote: What I'm talking about is the fan/media debate where, as it was for Rizzuto, the discussion proceeds directly to if this is the year the obvious wrong will be righted as that's an already agreed upon fact allowing us to skip over the part about whether or not he actually should be inducted. Similarly, MFY fans have been equally vocal (maybe even more so) in their support for Munson's election to the hall. Ron Bloomberg has been one of the leaders of the charge on his Facebook page, has written (he says) a book "Thurman and Me", and hawks "Thurman for the Hall" t-shirts. Yech. Later

It would not be the first time a Showalter wore a Mets uniform. Back in 1976, Hyannis Mets player Nat (Buck's middle name) Showalter was named the Cape Cod League MVP, leading the league with a .434 batting average. I'm not sure if it is the same person, but think it might be, Later

I say "I dunno" because being better than the Nutjob Bunter Wee Willie Small Balls is much of a threshold. LOL! On THAT we agree! Later

He asked what I thought and I did that. If you think he should be hired, tell us why you think that. Later

He seems to be able to get his players to play up to their abilities (which is a good skill) but his teams haven't gone beyond that. He has a losing playoff record once he gets his teams there. If the Mets were a young team, that would be good. Then he could develop them and then hand off the reins to a manager who could take them to the next step. But many of the Mets are getting older or are on short term contracts, not a good long term mix for a manager of his talents. I'm not totally against him, but he doesn't seem like the ideal candidate to me, based on their situation. Later

BA is doing subscriber only Insider mailbags and one of the first topics is the apparent delay of the Handbook. A: Hi Mike and Bill. Yes, we are going to see delayed shipping for our books this year. We looked at every option we could to try to avoid that. Nothing worked. Unfortunately, it seems to be an unsolvable problem. Printers are backed up and they are also having trouble getting the supplies of paper they need for their printing jobs. To mitigate the effects to our loyal readers (thank you), what we are going to do is offer early digital access to the Handbook to anyone who purchases it directly from Baseball America—if you buy it from us here at the Baseball America Website. So what that means is that while your print book will be arriving later than normal, you will have access to a digital version of the book (most likely through the Baseball America app) much earlier than you normally receive it. We also will be posting all of our Top 30s online by the end of January (with updates to account for any trades that happen between when we send the book to press and the day we push the Top 30s live). We also hope to have some new features for 2022 that will assist subscribers in their preparation for fantasy drafts. Later

How long do you think the MLB work stoppage will last? Later

I hope they don't baby his arm with a pitch count. He feels it gave him a dead arm. https://thespun.com/more/top-stories/max-scherzer-has-a-theory-on-why-he-got-dead-arm?fbclid=IwAR3EqGwjWB3RU4bo6gGHs2rjxIQuBiqvyeD3GWG-qud-9dz-ZtTZOyP5tzMhttps://thespun.com/more/top-stories/max-scherzer-has-a-theory-on-why-he-got-dead-arm?fbclid=IwAR3EqGwjWB3RU4bo6gGHs2rjxIQuBiqvyeD3GWG-qud-9dz-ZtTZOyP5tzM He sounds like Carlton-era pitchers who felt you kept your arm strong by using it. Later

MLB has confirmed that two different balls were used last year. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10019597-mlb-confirms-it-used-2-sets-of-baseballs-with-differing-weights-during-2021-seasonhttps://bleacherreport.com/articles/10019597-mlb-confirms-it-used-2-sets-of-baseballs-with-differing-weights-during-2021-season Maybe that's why balls that looked like sure homers when they left the bat were being caught in the warning track. Later

He gave the fans thumbs, and they wanted to give him a different finger. Later

When he comes to Citi Field, I hope The Mets fans show him what a "passionate fan base" is really like. Later

Goin' after the old guy. I wonder if they can convince R.A. Dickey to make a comeback. Later

Reportedly, Kris Bryant isn't in any hurry to sign. https://thespun.com/more/top-stories/mlb-world-reacts-to-sundays-kris-bryant-news?fbclid=IwAR1H4lu2PhonlM9KNezPMkxzkAG0iPwygxw-6RXxT286bO4EcqDBimMA980https://thespun.com/more/top-stories/mlb-world-reacts-to-sundays-kris-bryant-news?fbclid=IwAR1H4lu2PhonlM9KNezPMkxzkAG0iPwygxw-6RXxT286bO4EcqDBimMA980 Later

Kris Bryant isn't hurrying to sign. https://thespun.com/more/top-stories/mlb-world-reacts-to-sundays-kris-bryant-news?fbclid=IwAR1H4lu2PhonlM9KNezPMkxzkAG0iPwygxw-6RXxT286bO4EcqDBimMA980https://thespun.com/more/top-stories/mlb-world-reacts-to-sundays-kris-bryant-news?fbclid=IwAR1H4lu2PhonlM9KNezPMkxzkAG0iPwygxw-6RXxT286bO4EcqDBimMA980 Later