MFS62

Well, here's one manager who said what all the other players and managers probably thought at one time or another: ]"Why certainly I'd like to have that fellow who hits a home run every time at bat, who strikes out every opposing batter when he's pitching, who throws strikes to any base or the plate when he's playing outfield and who's always thinking about two innings ahead just what he'll do to baffle the other team. Any manager would want a guy like that playing for him. The only trouble is to get him to put down his cup of beer and come down out of the stands and do those things." - Danny Murtaugh, manager Later

Uh oh. We was put on the DL with arm problems. Don't have any details. Later

] Chipper: Braves, Mets have tough interleague draws Associated Press PITTSBURGH -- Chipper Jones likes interleague games, playing in ballparks he hasn't seen before and opposing teams the Atlanta Braves seldom face. What he doesn't like is this kind of interleague play. With interleague games resuming next weekend, the Braves third baseman on Sunday sharply criticized the current format that requires the Braves to meet the Red Sox six times, while the Mets oppose the Yankees six games, but other NL East teams play less-rugged schedules. "I don't think there's any question it's not fair, but I don't think major league baseball is concerned with fair," Jones said before Atlanta's 13-2 loss in Pittsburgh. "If you play the top teams in the American League and everybody else doesn't, it's pretty unfair." While the Braves oppose the Red Sox (6 games), Tigers (3), Twins (3) and Indians (3), and the Mets face the Yankees (6), Tigers (3), Twins (3) and Athletics (3), the other NL East teams look to have less-demanding schedules. The Phillies, for example, play three games each against the losing-record Blue Jays and Royals, plus three each against the White Sox, Indians and Tigers. "Is it fun? Yeah. It's fun playing in new cities. It's fun playing in front of new crowds, it's fun playing new teams," said Jones, who sat out Sunday's game with sore hands from a fall on Friday. "What's not fun is when they're all contenders and your competition doesn't have to play the same competition you do." What Jones most dislikes is the recently added wrinkle that requires teams to play so-called regional rivals in home-and-home series each season, such as Braves-Red Sox, Yankees-Mets and Angels-Dodgers. "It's a factor [in the pennant race]," Jones said. "We play Boston six times, and they've got the best record in the American League. We play the top three teams in the toughest division in baseball [the AL Central]. We, without a doubt, have the toughest schedule in baseball, bar none. You don't play in our division and play the interleague schedule we play and not say we don't have the toughest schedule." Since interleague play started in 1997, the Braves' 91-75 record is the sixth best in the majors. The Yankees are the best with a 103-71 record; the Pirates are easily the worst with a 52-84 record. But, at the start, teams from one division played only those from another division, so each team played roughly the same schedule. The regional rivalry concept changed that. This season, the Mets play interleague games against teams from all three AL divisions. "If we're going to play the American League Central, everybody has to play all the teams in the American League Central," Jones said. "This split-it-up and we have to play our rival in the American League East stuff, I don't get it. It's unfair for us and the Mets on a year-in, year-out basis to have to play the Yankees and Red Sox when other teams don't. "This is no disrespect to the rest of the teams in the American League East, because Tampa is up and coming, and in two or three years, Tampa might be the class of the American League East and the Florida Marlins are going to have to deal with it," he said. Interleague play creates a difficult pre-All-Star schedule for the Braves, who play 12 interleague games in 13 days next month against the Twins and Indians on the road and the Red Sox and Tigers at home. After that, they play the Nationals at home, then go on the road for a 10-day road trip to Florida, Los Angeles and San Diego before the All-Star break. "We should do it the way we did it the first five or six years of interleague play, and that's play every team in the American League East, every team in West and so on," Jones said. Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press (You have no idea how much it hurt me to type that thread title) Later

="metirish"] "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere and I don't apologize for who I am," she said. "I never said I was Vin Scully or Bob Costas. That's not why I'm here." Gee, Suzyn. If you've figured out why you are here, can you please tell us? Later

He just gave this Pappa a great present on Mothers' Day.Later

I post something. Then I go to work. When I come back, my post has been turned into a poll. I feel so .......................................... violated. Later

I have always liked Vernon Wells as a ballplayer. But something happened recently that makes me like his sense of humor, too. During a game at Cleveland�s Jacobs Field, some of the �Bleacher Creatures� had a running, good natured banter going with Wells that ended with Wells tossing a ball to one of the loudest, complete with a tongue-in-cheek message. http://homerderby.com/archives/452 'Dear Mr. Dork, Here is your ball! Can you please tell me what gas station you work at, so when you are pumping my gas, I can yell at you!!! Now sit down, shut up and enjoy the game. Your favorite centerfielder, Vernon Wells" Later

Good job on the KTE. Looks like there aren't too many schlemeils and schlemazels in Milwaukee since the Seligs, Laverne and Shirley are gone. Later

="soupcan"] The collectable value of the rings is a non-issue for me. This paragraph is the real issue: What's more troubling is that Giuliani's receipt of the rings may be a serious breach of the law, and one that could still be prosecuted. New York officials are barred from taking a gift of greater than $50 value from anyone doing business with the city, and under Giuliani, that statute was enforced aggressively against others. His administration forced a fire department chief, for example, to retire, forfeit $93,105 in salary, and pay a $6,000 fine for taking Broadway tickets to two shows and a free week in a ski condo from a city vendor. The city's Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB) has applied the gift rule to discounts as well, unless the cheaper rate "is available generally to all government employees." When a buildings department deputy commissioner was indicted in 2000 for taking Mets and Rangers tickets, as well as a family trip to Florida, from a vendor, an outraged Giuliani denounced his conduct as "reprehensible," particularly "at high levels in city agencies," and said that such officials had to be "singled out" and "used as examples." Hmmm. That's interesting. I used to work with someone whose father was a supervisor at the City Sanitation garage that cleans around Yankee Stadium. She told me that her dad was given free season general admission passes by the team. But that could have been before that regulation was enacted. Later

And those are his GOOD points. Later

Since nobody seems to have mentioned it, FK, kudos on the thread title. Later

Willets Point wrote: Poor Ralph has to bat behind a dummy. If you recall some of those terrible Pirate teams on which he played, you know it wouldn't be the first time. Later

Nymr83 wrote: i can't think of a single american-born asian in MLB, NFL, or NBA. i don't know hockley well but i'd have to doubt there are many there either... and yet you don't hear any of them crying and whining about it... I think if you include Hawaiian and Samoan players of Asian heritage, there will be a bunch in the NFL. But why should we be counting this kind of stuff at all? When we stop counting , it will probably be a sign that we have achieved racial harmony. Later

I believe it was Dick Stuart who said that the reason he was traded from the Mets was because Ed Kranepool (I paraphrase) "couldn't carry his 19 year old legs to the outfield". I realize that statement involves a lot of verbal, mental, visual and just plain old gymnastics, but we get his drift. Later

Edgy DC wrote: John Holdzkolm. What does he add? Later

I remember that for a few years, Dick Stuart used to sign his autograph "Dick Stuart 66" in honor of the 66 home runs he hit one year in the minors. Anyone recall if he was still signing that way when he was on the Mets? Also- does anyone know of any other players who added something to their sig? Later

SteveJRogers wrote: Not so much interesting that it's Juan Berenguer, but the fact that his card is shared by two all-time fan favorite Mets. Two out of three "future stars" making it isn't bad! Actually, Berenguer went on to have a 15 year major league career: http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/berenju01.shtml Maybe not a star but not a total bust either. Later

I don't like Joe Morgan. But I'll cut him some slack on the Wynn 5 for 5. Wynn hit near the top of the lineup, and may have come to bat five times in that game, maybe getting a walk thrown in there. If Morgan remembers him being on base five times, and he really went 4-4, that's close enough. But, his coment about "making up facts" in another post does trouble me. Later

Some folks still count these things. Probably the same kind of folks who came up with the name "Los Mets" http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2007/05/07/0508bravesminority.html Later

He's harder to get rid of than an old condo in Florida. Later

Edgy DC wrote: Michel Abreu is there. Ah, extended spring training. That's what I get for looking through the small print around 11 PM. Later

Where's Michael Abreu, the power hitting first baseman/ senior citizen they signed out of Cuba last year? He played at AA last year and IIRC hit the ball well during Spring Training this year. Is he on some unknown disabled or inactive list, or was he released? Later

Thanks. Later

Johnny Dickshot wrote: Not for nothing but I'll wear a pair of Yankee boxer shorts on my head -- and no pants at all -- during the FOX FanCam inning of the Mets-Yanxx series if it's ever shown this trainer had more to do with the MFY injuries than bad luck or good karma. I'm not quite sure whether that verbal picture you painted belongs in the predictions forum or if it should go straight to the featured archives. Later

The trade for Oliver Perez isn't looking too shabby, either. Question: Did the Mets ever have a left handed pitcher lead the team, or the league, in strikeouts? Later