MFS62

And Scarlett was right again. Where ESPN footage of the catches was unavailable (as it was with Wright's catch), the clips shown for the '69 WS catches were horrible. They weren't even clips from the official MLB Films. They were grainy and cut short. What made Agee's catches so great were not just the catches themselves, but how far he had to run to make the catches. And the clps last night didn't include his long runs. As for Swoboda's catch, I'm sure we have seen the shot taken from the upper deck camera behind home plate. Last night they used a shot from what looked to be ground level, and the viewer lost the distance he had to run and the length of his dive. They picked the right ones. But did their viewers outside New York, who may not have seen films of those catches in their entirety, a disservice. I'm sure that when (if?) the fans get a chance to vote on the all-time three catches, these will not get the support they deserve. Later

Glavine is proud of the fact that he has never spent time on the DL during his entire major league career. Later

They forgot Billy Martin et al VS the Copacabanna. George VS the salesman (in the elevator) - do owners count? Later

Swoboda's WS catch heads my list, too. Later

Willets Point wrote: Find your hero. ]OUT OF THE RUINS OUT FROM THE WRECKAGE CAN`T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE THIS TIME WE ARE THE CHILDREN THE LAST GENERATION WE ARE THE ONES THEY LEFT BEHIND AND I WONDER WHEN WE ARE EVER GONNA CHANGE LIVING UNDER THE FEAR, TILL NOTHING ELSE REMAINS WE DON`T NEED ANOTHER HERO WE DON`T NEED TO KNOW THE WAY HOME ALL WE WANT IS LIFE BEYOND THUNDERDOME LOOKING FOR SOMETHING WE CAN RELY ON THERE`S GOTTA BE SOMETHING BETTER OUT THERE LOVE AND COMPASSION THEIR DAY IS COMING ALL ELSE ARE CASTLES BUILT IN THE AIR AND I WONDER WHEN WE ARE EVER GONNA CHANGE LIVING UNDER THE FEAR TILL NOTHING ELSE REMAINS ALL THE CHILDREN SAY WE DON`T NEED ANOTHER HERO WE DON`T NEED TO KNOW THE WAY HOME ALL WE WANT IS LIFE BEYOND THUNDERDOME SO WHAT DO WE DO WITH OUR LIFES WE LEAVE ONLY A MARK WILL OUR STORY SHINE LIKE A LIGHT OR END IN THE DARK GIVE IT ALL OR NOTHING WE DON`T NEED ANOTHER HERO WE DON`T NEED TO KNOW THE WAY HOME ALL WE WANT IS LIFE BEYOND THUNDERDOME Later

Feliciano has a very good ERA. But it seems he usually needs other pitchers to keep the runners he puts on from scoring. Later

Reyes 3 Woodward 1.75 Delgado 1.75 Chavez 1 Wright 1 Wagner 1 Heilman .5 Later

Willets Point wrote: B-b-b-ut Derek Jeter is the greatest Yankee of all time!!! Yeah, we know. You don't do SC. Later

ScarletKnight41 wrote: Of course, if they are only concentrating on Web Gems, then pre-ESPN history is going to be shortchanged. It has been so far. Considering the long history of the Yankees, Derek Jeter had two nominated for the best one- his dive into the stands (what third baseman hasn't done something similar?) and his backhanded scoop in that playoff game. I didn't stick around to see which one won. Scarlett's right. It seems like most of the nominees have been within the last 25 years, using the ESPN film library. Later

And one or two David Wright plays. Maybe even the Anderson Hernandez catch/nose dive. Later

Edgy, how did you forget Cliff Cook? LOL! EDIT: Sounds like its time for a "Non-big name Mets to Love" spinoff thread. Would you like to do the honors? Later

Julio started out as a shortstop, and his first three or four years, averaged about 35 errors per year. His first baseman was Mike Hargrove. As soon as Pat Tabler replaced Hargrove at first, Franco's error totals were cut in half. I guess Hargrove ("the human rain delay") was as slow with the glove as he was during his at bats. Later

Frayed Knot wrote: It's the infamous ... Juan Samuel Sorry for the delay in responding. I had to pick myself up off the floor. Later

Edgy DC wrote: Well, I know one, and he subsequently became a Met. I would have thought it might have been Mays or Roberto Alomar, but each of them was short in one category in their best comparable year. Don't keep us in suspense. Later

This was in yesterday's Daily News: ]"As for Perez's turnaround, GM Omar Minaya said: "I think it was a combination of mechanical and just clearing his head. We knew when we got him it was just going to take some time. Two years ago people talked about him the way they talked about Dontrelle (Willis), the way they talked about the guy in Tampa Bay. What's his name? (Scott) Kazmir. We felt we got a guy who potentially had some upside. We didn't know if we could get him back, but I'm pleased by the progress." Whaddaya' wanna' bet that Omar really knew Kasmir's name without having to think twice? Later

Ex-Twin Rick Reese and current Met (I haven't checked the transaction wire lately) Heath Bell share my birthday. A little more about the "community" comments. Last night one of the announcers said that "Staten Island's own Jason Marquis will be pitching for the Cards tomorrow". My mind flashed back to the early days of the Mets. When the Mets would be playing the Braves in the next series at the Polo Grounds, the announcers would always say something like "coming to town are the Braves, with Hank Fischer from Yonkers". They said it so often that someone would have thought that Yonkers was his last name. In my mind, to someone from Yonkers, to whom those things were important, they would know that. Anyone else didn't give a flying rat's rectum about it. Do they actually think that would increase attendance? C'mon. Those Braves had three future Hall of Famers. Hank Fischer? Gimme a break. (I'll climb down off my soap box now) Later

="Zvon"]Jose Reyes. Second player in MLB history (since 1900) with: over 20 doubles 15 triples 15 homers over 50 stolen bases (I hope I got that right) So, who was the first? Later

Yancy Street Gang wrote: I know what you mean. I hope that some day the Mets will have a player who was born in Brooklyn like I was. Either you forgot Paul LoDuca or you forgot your SC rating. Later

Edgy DC wrote: You're clearly of mixed feelings on this one. What's the mix? I stated a few posts ago that I agreed with KC that this stuff doesn't matter between the lines. I was complimenting CF on a well written description of his feelings about the other side of the issue. Yes, when I was a kid and rooted for Brooklyn, I looked with pride at Sandy Koufax. And probably for at least some of the reasons CF mentioned. And I guess I still take notice of Jewish ballplayers for some of those reasons. But race/religion/whatever is certainly not the reason I want my GM making player acquisition decisions. Maybe watching Joe Guinsberg on the 1962 Mets proved that to me. KC's right, you shouldn't let those things interfere with the game on the field. Later

Nicely put, CF. Thanks. Later

Yep, KC nailed it. That kind of stuff makes for nice "human interest" stories, but it shouldn't matter once the player gets between the foul lines. As long as the player contributes to winning, it shouldn't matter if he throws goat entrails during a full moon. And if he's that good, and a druid, I'd even plant him a tree. Later

Yancy Street Gang wrote: The Heart and Hustle Award? . The should just name that one the Derek Jeter Award and be done with it. SC= 100 Later

Jim "Quote Machine" Leyland, holding a press conference after a particularly embarrassing loss to the lowly Devil Rays: "Write this down. There was a manager, six coaches and 25 people in Tiger uniforms tonight. Thirty-two total. And we all stunk. That's all I got for you. Good night." Later

I'm worried that the lineup is too left-handed, and vulnerable to lefty pitching, especially while young David is having his difficulties.. IMO, tonight will be a test against a lefty starter who has not been having a good year. Later

This was apparently written last year. enjoy, Later ] Old Timer's Game Rick Reilly Julio Franco will be playing baseball for the Atlanta Braves this season at the age of 47. He hit .309 in 2004 and just signed a one-year, $1 million deal. I am 47 and just introduced prunes into my diet. Julio Franco will be 47 this season, his 21st in the big leagues. I am 47 and in my 29th straight year out of baseball. Hell, I stopped playing softball 10 years ago. It just got too hard to take the extra base with a walker. Julio Franco will be 47 this season and still looks like a Chippendales dancer. I am 47 and look like a Chippendale credenza. Franco is still smiting line drives off pitchers who weren't even born when he got his first hit. Seriously, 33 players on major league rosters at the end of last season weren't alive when Franco played his first big league game, in 1982. Forget that. Franco is older than eight managers. Franco is so old his ears still hurt from the Big Bang. His first baseball card was carved. He passed Pie Traynor on the alltime hit list last year and said, "Hey, I roomed with him!" If it were allowed, Franco could become the first guy to get four hits in a game and cash a pension check on the same day. No, really. Retired players can start drawing their pensions at 45. It's just that nobody thought baseball's Dick Clark would come along. Do you realize Franco played at the same time as Ferguson Jenkins? And Jenkins was born during World War II! Here's how old Franco is: When he broke into the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies, there was a lefty reliever with the New York Yankees, Dave LaRoche, who had a two-year-old he'd bring to the clubhouse. Today that toddler, Adam LaRoche, platoons with Franco at first base in Atlanta. Adam is 25. Franco has leftovers older than that. Get this: After being traded to the Cleveland Indians, Franco finished second to Ron Kittle in the 1983 AL Rookie of the Year voting. Kittle retired 14 years ago! Franco came up the same year as Oil Can Boyd (hasn't been in the majors for 14 years), Don Mattingly (10) and Frank Viola (nine). Those guys are somewhere ordering creamed corn. Four times in baseball history a player 43 or older has hit .284 or better in a season. Franco accounts for three of them. I'm telling you, the man will last longer than Friends reruns. Franco is so old nobody can remember how old he is. Once, the Braves asked the players to fill out a questionnaire. One of the questions was, "Can you tell us something about you that nobody knows?" Franco wrote, "My age." Hell, he might be 58 for all we know. One, he's Dominican, and a birth certificate to a Dominican is like an odometer to a used-car salesman. Two, he doesn't celebrate his birthday -- only Jesus's. When the Braves looked at old media guides from some of the 10 teams in four countries Franco's played on, they realized he was three years older than they had him listed. So what? Arguing about three years on Franco is like worrying about three missing swallows at Capistrano. Franco hit the bigs at 23, weighing 155 pounds and hiding $5,000 in a sock. His first question was, "Where are the casinos?" He also loved a cocktail, a cigarette and a blonde, not necessarily in that order. But at some point Franco started taking mad care of his body. Within seven years he was cut, 215 pounds and healthier than an organic-produce section. He hasn't changed much since. Until they find out this guy was injecting steroids in Ty Cobb's butt, he is my hero. I asked him how he does it. He says he eats six or seven times a day, and that includes 24 egg whites. No yolk. He works out harder than anybody on the team, no longer drinks or smokes and takes only 20 days off between seasons. Plus, nobody laughs more than him. "Most of my buddies look 10 years older than me," Franco says. (I was praying he wouldn't ask me my age.) "I tell them, 'You can do the same thing as me.' But they don't do it!" The sloths. If he quit now, his lifetime average would wind up .300 on the nose. He doesn't care. "I want to play until I'm 50," he says. That would be a record, unless you count hokey stunts by guys like Minnie Minoso and Satchel Paige. This is not a stunt. This guy is the real thing, a bench-pressing beast, a Maxi Minoso. After he turns 50, Franco wants to start managing. As it is, he is the oldest regular position player in 75 years. "Someday," Franco says, "when I'm old and gray, I want to be able to put my grandchildren on my knee and tell them about my long career in baseball." Of course, afterward he'll have to bump them off his knee and hurry to the ballpark. He'll be hitting third.