HahnSolo

Roger and Me.

="Benjamin Grimm":r3mb7fqz]So Piazza now shops around for a ghost, I suppose? I figure he'll go with a sportswriter he had a good relationship with during his playing days.[/quote:r3mb7fqz] I doubt Piazza does the shopping unless there's a writer he was really close to and insists on using him. Otherwise, I expect the literary agent would work with the publisher to find someone. Edgy DC Nov 11 2008 12:28 PM Which is fucking why you should be acting NOW!!!! G-Fafif Nov 11 2008 12:30 PM I'm Richie Hebner for another eight posts or so. I'm not going out of my way to pick up any ground balls for a little while. sharpie Nov 11 2008 12:32 PM David Black, the agent, reps many bigtime sportswriters (including Mitch Albom of "Tuesdays With Morrie" fame). Piazza would have already come attached with a writer by the time the deal was made. Benjamin Grimm Nov 11 2008 12:32 PM I don't want to stir up an ugly intramural competition, but GFafif should also throw his hat in the ring. G-Fafif Nov 11 2008 12:40 PM ="Benjamin Grimm":3prysgfg]I don't want to stir up an ugly intramural competition, but GFafif should also throw his hat in the ring.[/quote:3prysgfg] Thanks, but first I have to finish my "as told to myself" thing. After I stop being Richie Hebner. Edgy DC Nov 12 2008 10:23 AM Former Pitchers Leading Today's Brogna News: Hideo Nomo, teaching the forkball to young buffalos. Frank Viola, getting into the analyst game. Tom Seaver, advising the youth of today and liquoring up Tommy Davis. John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 12 2008 10:41 AM Read also where Leiter was joining the staff at MLB-TV. I guess that means he's leaving the NO! network. Edgy DC Nov 13 2008 08:14 AM So, if you're like me, you grew sick of stories of Lenny Dykstra, swinging finance trader, about two paragraphs into the first one, but now the angle isn't that he's just another player, but that he's actually flourishing during these hard times. The claim is that he's 82-0 in stock picks endorsed in his newsletter. Edgy DC Nov 13 2008 01:36 PM Rick Sweet returning as manager of the Louisville Bats. Local favorite Roger Mason joins the Traverse City Beach Bums as pitching coach. John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 13 2008 01:38 PM Ron Gardenhire gets an extension. Leiter btw, will still work for Al-Yankazeera. Reynolds tho is out at SNY, raising speculation that Bobby Ojeda is on his way in. I think I speak for everyone ever by saying it would be nice to mix a 73er or 99-00er in there. TransMonk Nov 13 2008 01:42 PM ="John Cougar Lunchbucket":1jn4n2h7]I think I speak for everyone ever by saying it would be nice to mix a 73er or 99-00er in there.[/quote:1jn4n2h7] Didn't Zeile get a shot once? Benjamin Grimm Nov 13 2008 01:44 PM I was thinking a 69er: Ron Swoboda. Edgy DC Nov 13 2008 05:02 PM Sam Perlozzo joins the Phils. Bang. metsguyinmichigan Nov 13 2008 11:01 PM ="Edgy DC":828l4i24]Rick Sweet returning as manager of the Louisville Bats. Local favorite Roger Mason joins the Traverse City Beach Bums as pitching coach.[/quote:828l4i24] Traverse City is a beautiful resort area about two hours north of me. The team is fairly new, and plays in an independent league. We used to play in an all-newspaper softball tournament in Traverse, and it was fun until the Detroit News took it over and started stacking its team with ringers who didn't work for the paper. Cads! I'll have to head up this summer and see a game and talk to Mason! Edgy DC Nov 14 2008 10:19 AM Holy Foli, Batman, it's Sammy Drake! In a Mets hat! An old friendship, forged 50 years ago, is rekindled AUGUSTA -- It was the New York Mets cap on his head. This being Red Sox country, people had to stop the athletic, older man this week and ask. "What's up with the hat?" That's when C. Wayne Mitchell glanced at his guest and stepped in. "This is Sammy Drake. Don't you know who he is?" No one did, to the amusement of both men. "He's an original member of the Mets," Mitchell would tell them. "He's my friend." It's a friendship forged nearly 50 years ago, interrupted by decades of separation and searching by Mitchell and resumed about four years ago. Mitchell's family, aware of his wish to reconnect, trolled the Internet, finding Drake at a Mets reunion in New Jersey. Sunday, Drake came to Mitchell's home in Sidney for a four-day visit. They laughed and joked and marveled again at the strength of a relationship neither fully understood when it began on a hot U.S. Army base in the deep south at a time when full integration was still a dream. Drake was a draftee from Little Rock, Ark. trying to keep alive his dream of playing major league baseball while he was serving his country. Mitchell was the 7-year-old son of a career soldier returned from duty in Germany and new to the Georgia base. That summer, the young boy discovered the Fort Gordon Rams and a young, talented infielder who asked Mitchell if he wanted to be the bat boy. "I could see he was interested in baseball," said Drake during lunch at a local restaurant Wednesday. Drake remembered when he fell in love with the game. The two played catch. Sometimes, Mitchell would go the base recreation center where Drake worked. They were so different in age and in race. Then, Mitchell was too young to understand what it meant to be a young black adult in Georgia. Drake, of course, did. A year or two after meeting, Mitchell's father was transferred to Taiwan. Mitchell got a baseball glove, a bat, a handshake, and much later, when he could fully understand, an outlook on life. "Of all the hello's and good-bye's, his was the one I remember most," said Mitchell, while Drake nodded. "I knew a thank-you would be in order." Mitchell's story to this point became a column I wrote four years ago. Then, I couldn't reach Drake who had returned to his home in Los Angeles. Wednesday, at lunch, I introduced myself. Meeting Mitchell wasn't a coincidence, Drake said. There was a reason that maybe still isn't clear 50 years later. Drake was surprised, but not stunned when Mitchell walked up to his table at the hotel where the Mets reunion and autograph session took place. He's met a lot of people in his 74 years and has usually found the goodness in them, even under trying circumstances. "At first I thought he as a typical fan," Drake said. "When he started talking about Fort Gordon I knew right away." Drake can't say he thought about Mitchell much over the years. Neither did he forget the young bat boy who would go to the gym to fold towels and stay out of the way of the soldiers.� "He would get picked on by the ballplayers a little bit. It was all in fun, but I could see it bothered him. I'd say, come with me. Let's play catch." Drake signed with the Chicago Cubs for $1,500 and was later assigned to Macon, Ga. to play for Pepper Martin in the so-called Sally League. He was the first African-American to play in the league he says. The most hurtful part of that season? "Not being able to sleep in the same hotels with my teammates. Not being able to eat with them. I could get carry-out or go across the river to a (black-owned restaurant.)" In the next breath, Drake tells of Martin's effort to get him seated with the team at a restaurant in Indiana. Martin, nicknamed the Wild Horse of the Osage, was a third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals' "Gashouse Gang" in the 1930s and colorblind. Drake remembers one of his first trips to spring training with the Cubs after his two years in the Army. He was one of three black ballplayers in a group of 50 minor leaguers were assigned to a barracks-style building. "Every night I would pray. They must have thought I was from another planet. "But I had a good spring training. When camp broke, everyone was on their knees praying but two." Monday, Mitchell and Drake had breakfast with Roger Katz, the mayor of Augusta and a baseball fan. Katz invited Drake to speak to the city council that night. He told the story of a Cubs tryout he attended in Winnipeg, Manitoba and the sore arm he had. He couldn't throw across the infield. Discouraged, he called the grandmother who raised him. Don't worry, he was told. She would pray for him. "We had a big snowstorm," said Drake smiling. "We couldn't use the field for two weeks. I soaked my arm in the bath tub every day. I was ready." The Mets drafted him off the Cubs roster. His two-year, major league career was the proverbial cup of coffee. In 53 games he hit .153. His older brother, Solly, played parts of three seasons with the Cubs, Phillies and Dodgers. Together, they were the first African-American brothers to play major league baseball. Early Thursday morning, Drake said good-bye to Mitchell and his wife, Bonnie, and began his trip back to Los Angeles. A graduate of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, he's a retired investigator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He teaches Sunday School at the Greater Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, where his brother, the Rev. Dr. Solomon Drake, is pastor to a 6,000-member congregation. They've listened to the story of how a young white boy and a young black adult became lasting friends. It shouldn't be forgotten. Edgy DC Nov 19 2008 10:38 AM Jack Aker, out of work and vulnerable like the rest of us. This old ballplayer understands life better than most by Rabbi Ben Kamin, Spiritual Life Examiner Jack Aker, a name known to aficionados of the national pastime, is something of a legend. But if his baseball card could talk, you�d hear a lot more than breezy play-by-play. Here�s a guy who made more appearances (495) as a relief pitcher than anybody in his time, but found himself taken out of the game quite before he expected. Like anybody suddenly not doing the thing we�ve been doing forever, Jack found himself looking down the abyss�he was tearful, anxious, and despondent. Baseball players are real people, in spite of the hype we impose on them, and their souls hurt, their spirits droop, just like all hard-working Americans. Jack won the Sporting News �Fireman of the Year� award in 1966 and played for the Kansas City and then Oakland Athletics, the Seattle Pilots, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, and New York Mets. When I met him some years ago, he was pitching coach of the Cleveland Indians; I caught my breath short, extending and receiving hands of friendship with a living and breathing major leaguer who was on a first-name basis with such stars as Phil Niekro and Tom Seaver. I saw him at his tallest. Arriving on the green natural field before game time, Jack came for me, in full regalia�snappy cap and shimmering team jacket. He walked across fresh, chalky baselines with a certain, lanky royalty. There were the first faint smells of popcorn and beer from the bowels from the bowels of the old stadium as the coach escorted me into the clubhouse. Jack took me into a comfortably large room filled with open booths that served as repositories for the players. �Here,� he declared, �we meet and discuss the game plan.� Like a knothole sentry, he walked past the colognes and hair dryers of the bath area towards a large bin containing thick, polished baseball bats. He said, somberly: �Nobody can touch a man�s bat. You see, Ben, they are numbered according to his uniform number. The bat is a very personal matter to a guy. Nobody can touch it.� I understood what a sacrilege was and I shook my head in awe of power and success. A little over a year later, following a season of fallen expectations and profits, Jack (and the team manager) were both summarily dismissed from their positions. Now, this same Jack, record-holder, my invincible hero, sat in the front of my automobile, shoulders slumped, his head in his hands. We were taking a ride in the country as the venerable coach tried to sort things out. His prestige, his income, and his self-image were suddenly as powdery as the faded chalk lines of that emerald ball field he had once ruled. Jack was gone, the manager was gone, as well as a number of the muscular, sleek, swaggering players I had met that shining afternoon�in a different season. A person is so much more than his baseball card, her resume, his cellular list of �contacts.� Jack is doing okay, taking in his children and grandchildren, knowing well what it means to be laid off, discarded, discontinued. Maybe this old ballplayer understands America right now better than most. MFS62 Nov 19 2008 11:00 AM Thank you, Edgy. Anyone who ever lost a job knows that you didn't have to bold that portion. We would have noticed it and commiserated(sp?) with Jack. But the way it was said was an unexpected pleasure in a piece like that, wasn't it? Later Edgy DC Nov 19 2008 11:03 AM I was just imitating the original publishing, which set it as a pullquote. Farmer Ted Nov 19 2008 12:07 PM Tim Foli will return to manage Washington's Class AAA affiliate in 2009. Met Hunter Nov 19 2008 10:37 PM John Stearns will be back managing the Nats AA team in Harrisburg as well. Benjamin Grimm Nov 20 2008 06:14 AM Tim Bogar was among three who interviewed for a spot on the Phillies coaching staff. The problem is, they thought they were interviewing Doug Flynn. Edgy DC Nov 21 2008 10:06 AM John Nunnaly, batting coach with the Columbus Clippers. Edgy DC Nov 23 2008 08:56 PM Jeff Innis, Cape Cod League Hall-of-Famer. Edgy DC Nov 28 2008 11:45 AM Tim Bogar formally accepts the Red Sox offer to coach first. John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 28 2008 12:37 PM The last 5 or 6 messages belong in that other thread. Edgy DC Dec 04 2008 10:34 AM I consider coaching jobs part of retirement. Rico's was a coaching job. I hear you, though. Nonetheless, I'm sticking with it for one more thread, as Joe McEwing takes over the Winston-Salem Former Warthogs. John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 04 2008 10:43 AM Just for that it's my duty to report that Jason Hardtke has been named hitting coach of the Missoula Osprey (Dbaggs -Pioneer League). The Baggs also named Brett Butler manager of the Reno Aces (PCL). G-Fafif Dec 04 2008 01:04 PM I once received a letter letting me know Brett Butler would come and speak to my employees and motivate them with his life experiences and faith in Christ for only $20,000. How much is each Ace going to have to ante up for the privilege? Edgy DC Dec 16 2008 09:38 AM West Michigan Whitecaps going with Met pedigree this year, adding Benny Distefano to Joe DePastino's staff. Benjamin Grimm Dec 16 2008 09:56 AM You must have overlooked Jerry Cram in your Google subscription: ="Our Sports Central":3gap6pnt] SAN JOSE, CALIF December 15, 2008- The San Jose Giants announced their 2009 coaching staff today with Andy Skeels joining the club as manager, Jerry Cram as pitching coach and Gary Davenport returning as hitting coach. Yukiya Oba also returns as the team's athletic trainer. ... Jerry Cram is familiar with San Jose after spending three years as the Giants pitching coach from 2001-2003. The former major leaguer is now entering his ninth season in the San Francisco organization after working the last five years (2004-2008) as pitching coach of the Salem- Keizer Volcanoes (Short-Season). During his time in the Giants farm system, Cram's teams have won three league championships: San Jose in 2001 and Salem-Keizer in 2006 and 2007. Cram spent parts of four seasons in the major leagues with the Kansas City Royals (1969, 1976) and New York Mets (1974-1975), compiling a 0-3 record and 2.98 ERA over 23 career appearances. Cram has devoted 28 years to the Kansas City organization, the last 14 as a pitching instructor, in a tenure that ended in 1997. Cram then spent three seasons as a pitching coach in the Colorado Rockies minor league system before joining the San Francisco organization prior to the 2001 campaign. ... The San Jose Giants open their 2009 season on Thursday, April 9th at Municipal Stadium vs. the Stockton Ports. The Opening Night Extravaganza will include a post-game fireworks display, 2009 magnet schedule giveaway, the return of Gigante and much more. [/quote:3gap6pnt] metsguyinmichigan Dec 16 2008 12:29 PM ="Edgy DC":3l94882y]West Michigan Whitecaps going with Met pedigree this year, adding Benny Distefano to Joe DePastino's staff.[/quote:3l94882y] The Whitecaps have a thing on Sunday afternoons where you can either go on the field to play catch, or go near the dugout where all the players stand in a line and sign autographs. (kids get a free soda and hot dog, too. We got to a lot of Sunday games.) So last year I brought my treasured Mets book, sought out DePastino to sign it and tried to talk to him about his short Mets tenure. Even though there was no one else around and nothing going on, he had absolutely nothing to say. Was disappointed. Maybe I'll have better luck with Benny. G-Fafif Dec 16 2008 12:37 PM ="Edgy DC":1sfgljfz]West Michigan Whitecaps going with Met pedigree this year, adding Benny Distefano to Joe DePastino's staff.[/quote:1sfgljfz] What's Distefano's Met pedigree (other than breaking up David Cone's no-hitter?) At least this will give Distefano and DePastino a chance to exchange each other's misdirected mail. Benjamin Grimm Dec 16 2008 12:49 PM He was a replacement player with the Mets in spring training 1995. G-Fafif Dec 16 2008 12:59 PM Now that you say it, it sounds remotely familiar though I have to confess I might have missed it on a multiple choice. Any other ex-big leaguers in that camp? metsguyinmichigan Dec 16 2008 02:07 PM Stan Jefferson, I think. I saw a couple of those spring games. HahnSolo Dec 16 2008 02:25 PM ="G-Fafif":1lmhw7l1]="Edgy DC":1lmhw7l1]West Michigan Whitecaps going with Met pedigree this year, adding Benny Distefano to Joe DePastino's staff.[/quote:1lmhw7l1] What's Distefano's Met pedigree (other than breaking up David Cone's no-hitter?) At least this will give Distefano and DePastino a chance to exchange each other's misdirected mail.[/quote:1lmhw7l1] Italian restaurants in West Michigan are scurrying to bid for the postgame spread. HahnSolo Dec 16 2008 02:26 PM ="metsguyinmichigan":2a90z7f9]Stan Jefferson, I think. I saw a couple of those spring games.[/quote:2a90z7f9] Two guys I went to high school with, Cliff Gonzalez (8th round pick of the Mets in '85) and Chris Walpole, were in that camp. Gonzalez and Jefferson knew each other having both been from Co-op City. John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 17 2008 09:11 AM ] DYKSTRA DROPS THE BALL By KEITH J. KELLY December 17, 2008 -- FORMER New York Mets out fielder Lenny Dykstra appears to be striking out with his magazine, Players Club. Dykstra, who helped the 1986 Mets capture the World Series before landing with the Philadelphia Phillies, is leaving behind a string of unpaid bills and a constant parade of shifting editors and office addresses. In the latest upheaval, Chris Frankie, the acting editor, resigned Dec. 4 along with two other staffers. Now Loren Feldman, former editor-in-chief of Philadelphia magazine, is said to be ready to join as the new chief editor. "Loren Feldman is the new editor," said Dykstra. Meanwhile, Frankie says he's owed back pay. But Dykstra sees things differently: "That's not true. Frankie owes me money. Whatever he's talking about is delusional." Counters Frankie, "That's beyond ridiculous. How could an employee owe an employer money?" Beyond three months' back pay, Frankie said he's also owed for business expenses. Frankie, who had originally helped Dykstra write the TheStreet.com's "Nails on the Numbers" column, got the editor job in August after Dykstra's talks with Neil Amdur, a former sports editor at The New York Times, collapsed at the last minute after a fight over Amdur's ability to hire deputies. "I did fly out there for a meeting with Dykstra about the editor's job," Amdur confirmed. "I spent a couple of days with him. He did offer me the job." The last issue of Players Club was published in October, and the November issue will now be combined into a year-end double issue that has yet to appear. His aim with the magazine was to help professional athletes make sensible investments with the money they earn from sports to ensure they don't go broke when their pro careers end. But present and former staffers say that Dykstra, who during his days with Major League Baseball had the nickname "Nails," is tough as nails when it comes to paying his staff or vendors. Frequently, sources said, he got staff to use their own credit cards to pay for ex penses related to the maga zine, and took months to re imburse the employees. Although the magazine is less than a year old, it has al ready had four different printers and three different editors. Several vendors have also stopped doing business with the magazine. The latest vendor to suspend business is Getty Images, which sources say is owed around $40,000. Dykstra claims that's not true. "I have a great relationship with them," he said of Getty. One source who's worked closely with Dykstra said he "has a haphazard way of paying - he just wires you money." "It's always that the money is just about to come in and everyone will be paid," this person said, adding that if someone demands payment, then Dykstra turns on them. "If you demand payment, then you are the enemy. "He always feels abandoned by people, but he doesn't seem to realize that he's the reason people abandon him." Frayed Knot Dec 17 2008 09:24 AM This surprises me not. John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 17 2008 09:26 AM Gotta love the irony in this venture being all about athletes spending wisely. Edgy DC Dec 17 2008 09:26 AM Another day, another house of cards. Edgy DC Dec 22 2008 03:04 PM Aaron Ledesma, infield coach for the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees. The Yankees get a AAA infield coach? What a ripoff! Frayed Knot Dec 22 2008 07:36 PM Mike Bordick, head baseball coach at Boys' Latin School in Baltimore. Edgy DC Dec 26 2008 08:28 AM DJ has no regrets. Of course he doesn't. He got to be a Met. D.J. Dozier had a Bo Jackson-like versatility Posted to: 50 Greatest Sports By Ed Miller The Virginian-Pilot As William, Bill, or even Billy, it just would not have worked as well. William Henry "D.J." Dozier would have been no less the athlete without that alliterative name, smooth as one of his touchdown runs or fielding gems at shortstop. That name - "D.J. Dozier" - was the shiny bow on top of the package of prep stardom. And Dozier was the complete package: a three-sport standout at Kempsville High, wooed by virtually every major football program in the country, coveted by virtually every pro baseball scout. Virginia Tech coach Bill Dooley came to the Norfolk Sports Club in December 1982 and made a public pitch for Dozier, something that would not be allowed under recruiting rules today, when coaches can't woo prospects through the media. Major league teams waved dollar signs in front of him, trying to convince him to skip football and play baseball. Dozier, No. 12 on the list of greatest athletes from South Hampton Roads, chose football - and Penn State. Later, after several years in the NFL, he reversed course and picked up a bat and glove. Good enough to briefly make it to the majors, he was, in an era of two-sport dabblers, a local, lower-wattage version of guys such as Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders. "Obviously, when you look at the statistics, the numbers are certainly not what I hoped they would have been," said Dozier, now 43 and back in Virginia Beach working as a business consultant. "But the fact that I had the opportunity to go that far with what I would call God-given ability is a tremendous blessing." A dynamo at Penn State, Dozier forever will be a made man among Nittany Lion greats after leading the team in rushing four straight years, earning All-America honors twice and scoring the winning touchdown in a national championship victory over Miami. Things never clicked for him in the NFL, though. A first-round pick, Dozier missed time with injuries and didn't like the way the Vikings were using him - which was not too often. After three years, he signed with the Mets and began the climb through the minors in 1990. Meanwhile, contract talks with the Vikings stalled. Dozier finally re-signed with them halfway through the 1990 season. Dozier finished out that season and played six games with Detroit in 1991. With his baseball career seemingly blossoming, he left football behind. He would play just 25 games for the Mets, though, in 1992. In 1994, at 28, he moved on with his life, retiring from baseball. Dozier has coached, traveled the world doing missionary work, worked as a financial planner and investment banker. He moved back to Virginia recently from Allentown, Pa. He brought with him no regrets. Dozier said he remembered a former Kempsville teammate who played at Lock Haven University. Dozier knew he was good enough to play at Penn State and told his coaches. They offered him a chance to come to Happy Valley. In the end, though, the friend chose the security of staying at Lock Haven, later second-guessing his decision not to take his shot. "I never forgot what he told me about the regret part of it," Dozier said. "That's what it was for me with baseball. I look at it as something that was a bit nuts, but I really felt that I could do it. "The biggest thing about it is I didn't want to look back and regret not trying." He'll never have to. Ed Miller, (757) 446-2372 ed.miller@pilotonline.com metsguyinmichigan Dec 26 2008 11:17 AM That's a nice story! Plus, I'd forgotten how nasty those old Tides caps were. G-Fafif Dec 26 2008 01:32 PM ="Frayed Knot":34ueq9bz]Mike Bordick, head baseball coach at Boys' Latin School in Baltimore.[/quote:34ueq9bz] How do you suppose he'll greet his new players...or monstrously huge batboy? themetfairy Dec 26 2008 02:12 PM ="G-Fafif":1emwxaju]="Frayed Knot":1emwxaju]Mike Bordick, head baseball coach at Boys' Latin School in Baltimore.[/quote:1emwxaju] How do you suppose he'll greet his new players...or monstrously huge batboy?[/quote:1emwxaju] No - just with a simple, "Welcome Abordick," of course! Edgy DC Dec 30 2008 07:42 AM Felix Mantilla, spreading the good chromosomes around. Mantilla earning court time at Yale December 30, 2008 NEWS-SUN STAFF REPORT Mundelein High grad Raffi Mantilla has worked his way into the playing rotation for the Yale University men's basketball team. The sophomore guard has played in all eight Bulldog games (2-6 record), and is averaging nearly 10 minutes of action each game. He's scored a total of 18 points in those eight contests. Mantilla is the grandson of former major-league baseball player Felix Mantilla, who played with the Milwaukee Braves, New York Mets and Boston Red Sox in a long pro career. MFS62 Jan 03 2009 02:29 PM In keeping with the three name thread in the non-baseball forum, I'll always remember him as Felix Lamela Mantilla. (I dunno why, but his middle name always stuck in my mind) Later Edgy DC Jan 03 2009 02:31 PM Yup, and time to retire Brogna 2008.

Where were all you 31 voters when Caddyshack was losing!?!?!?!?!?!

Knowing the publishing industry as I do, I can tell you that acquiring editor had absolutely no interest in the writin' credentials in the manuscript and cared primarily about the name on page 1.

Santana finishing third I think is idiot voters simply looking at his win total. Did anyone see what Webb and Santana did down the stretch? Then tell me how Santana finishes behind him.

All NL East trade! Florida sends Willingham and Scot Olsen to the Nationals for Emilio Bonifacio and a pair of minor leaguers, P P.J. Dean and SS Jake Smolinski.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I used a transparent ruler device with many brightly colored straight lines as an overlay on the aerial view of the stadium. The foul lines run all the way to the farthest outfield corners. That may be true, but it almost looks like the foul line would run on the warning track (assuming that is the warning track).

32 votes in this matchup, and 31 in the Princess Bride contest. Where were you people when Caddyshack was losing?

="metirish":2floxw4q]="Benjamin Grimm":2floxw4q]There's also Keyspan. Less capacity, of course, but wouldn't Fred love to play a major league game in Brooklyn?[/quote:2floxw4q] That's what they should do I think, there would be huge publicity for it , Fred would bring back all the living Dodgers from the Brooklyn days. I t would be wonderful. They would roll back the prices on tickets and concessions.....oh wait, no they wouldn't.[/quote:2floxw4q] I must have missed something here. Is there a Citi delay that I don't know about? metirish Nov 07 2008 09:03 AM Not that I know of either but Steveo planted a scenario where MFYII is still standing in case Citi or MFYIII are not finished in time. G-Fafif Nov 07 2008 09:13 AM To be fair to Steve, I spoke with somebody with some MFY ties last week and asked about MFYS II's deconstruction and he said it would hang around a little while in case there was a problem with MFYS III. I didn't pursue beyond that. But I hadn't heard anything from a Mets perspective that MFYS III was any kind of a fallback position. I'd rather the Mets welcome the Padres on April 13 to play stoopball on 108th St. than play a home game at either MFYS. Benjamin Grimm Nov 07 2008 09:21 AM Or they could play a wacky game at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands. How short would the home run distance be in the left and right field corners? OlerudOwned Nov 07 2008 02:56 PM Give or take. G-Fafif Nov 07 2008 03:45 PM What's that John Madden (or is John Madden describing Bill Parcells?) says about getting your guys and their guys and playing in the parking lot? They're gonna have the bases marked anyway. What's a lack of grass among friends? soupcan Dec 17 2008 07:25 AM Baseball-Fever.com It looks huge. Remember when the Yankees and the City promised they'd put in new parkland to replace the park that the new stadium displaced? Well check out all those green spaces! They're everywhere! HahnSolo Dec 17 2008 08:06 AM I too wonder why they haven't even begun to dismantle the old stadium yet. From the second photo it appears that they are losing a bit of the "crowd right on top of the field" advantage they had before. Those second and third decks are way removed from the field. John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 17 2008 08:13 AM I think the era of those guys having the supposed better ballpark is about to come to an end. Us = Danny Meyer Them = Hard Rock Cafe metirish Dec 17 2008 08:14 AM The seats are a darker shade of blue , wow. Gwreck Dec 17 2008 09:16 AM ="HahnSolo":eyhnn3x9]I too wonder why they haven't even begun to dismantle the old stadium yet.[/quote:eyhnn3x9] I'd heard that they're waiting as it's the "backup plan" in the event something went wrong with construction at Citi Field or the new house of evil. Frayed Knot Dec 17 2008 09:23 AM ="HahnSolo":1ohewife]I too wonder why they haven't even begun to dismantle the old stadium yet.[/quote:1ohewife] They haven't finished milking it yet. Last I heard it's likely to remain standing throughout next season. metirish Dec 17 2008 09:24 AM They just had the last official tour recently. Valadius Dec 17 2008 09:50 AM Again, the new MFYS looks like the Sarlacc pit monster. Farmer Ted Dec 17 2008 12:23 PM Where's George gonna get his calzones now? soupcan Feb 13 2009 12:36 PM Yankee Summer Home... Yankees Building New Vacation Stadium In The Hamptons TheOldMole Feb 14 2009 12:37 PM That is great. metirish Feb 14 2009 08:02 PM Can't stop laughing..... metirish Mar 25 2009 07:43 AM Hard Rock Cafe vendors behind the bleachers A view of the great hall in the new Yankee Stadium. Jeter's locker metsguyinmichigan Mar 25 2009 07:54 AM Could that place be any more tacky? Typical Yankees. Everything in your face. soupcan Mar 25 2009 08:35 AM ="metsguyinmichigan":3f8733ov]Could that place be any more tacky? Typical Yankees. Everything in your face.[/quote:3f8733ov] Now, now... It's a nice-looking place. A bit more grandiose than our little ballpark but still very nice. John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 25 2009 08:46 AM I'm trying not to be biased but I would suspect when all is said and done that MFYs will realize a ton of cash for this whole new stadium thing but will have sacrificed an advantage over the competition that they will never get back. Yes, they surrendered much in the 1970s too but they could at least pretend the bones were authentic. But from now on, there's no pretending there's any real history in their building -- which was an enormous tenet of the Yankee Brand (TM) message -- and also, no assurances they'll have even the best park in their city which is a claim they could have made forever and might now might never be able say again. metsguyinmichigan Mar 25 2009 09:28 AM I bet they don't even have a Wiffle Ball field! Plus, at Citi I can get a new (at least to me) muffler or tire rims across the street while watching the game. SteveJRogers Mar 25 2009 09:50 AM ="metirish"]A view of the great hall in the new Yankee Stadium. I think I'll take this Great Hall Benjamin Grimm Mar 25 2009 09:54 AM Or this one: Edgy DC Mar 25 2009 09:56 AM Which brings to mind the Yankees original domed design. They even had a cap redesign to go with it. If I joined the Legion of Doom, I'd always end up sitting between the mantis and the gorilla at the board meetings. metsguyinmichigan Mar 25 2009 10:51 AM Sweet SuperFriends references. And, not the hijack the thread, but what the hell was the deal with the Wonder Twins? I get Wendy and Marvin and WonderDog. The were to provide comic relief. But the whole, "Wonder Twins powers activate! Shape of a tree! Form of a Pinto with a leaky gas tank!" stuff, I never got into that. Edgy DC Mar 25 2009 11:04 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Apr 02 2009 09:22 AM Well, I don't think there was anything to get. She could become any animal, and he could become any form of water. Placing teen characters into adult adventures has always been important, allowing the junior viewer an oppotunity to project themselves into the story. But, the strangely parentless (and deluded) Wendy, Marvin, and Wonderdog served that purpose, yet they got fired for teens with real superpowers. I honestly think that the Superfriends producers had data showing that their target audience were big Donnie and Marie fans. Zan and Jana seem highly modeled on them, in look and personality. Here's my issue. In the secondary stories, they worked in peripheral heroes --- some already established in the DC universe, some not --- to get some needed diversity into the Justice League. But (1) why couldn't they work them into the major storylines? and (2) why did they have to underscore their ethnicity so damn much? Couldn't they have a guy who shoots streams of acid who just happens to be Thai, without calling him Bangkok BadAss or some shit? I always wanted to hear an exchange like: "Black Vulcan, do you copy?" "Yes, White Batman, I hear you." Oh and um, Yankees. Boo. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Mar 25 2009 11:07 AM ="metsguyinmichigan":3mhc4q58]I bet they don't even have a Wiffle Ball field! Plus, at Citi I can get a new (at least to me) muffler or tire rims across the street while watching the game.[/quote:3mhc4q58] Or, you know, you can buy your old ones back. (Never have I rooted for "eminent domain" to prevail... before last year. The one advantage the MFYs do have over us-- and the New Yorker article pointed this out sharply-- is location... if nothing else, they're where a ballpark should be, smack in the middle of a city.) Benjamin Grimm Apr 02 2009 05:55 AM Get a load of the view from these seats in the new Yankee Stadium: The seats, according to the New York Times, only cost five bucks, but geez, you're unable to see about a third of the field. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/sports/baseball/01seats.html?_r=1&ref=baseball metirish Apr 02 2009 07:01 AM I'm not an architect , hell I'm not even a doctor but I don't know why these new stadiums have any such seating like above. Edgy DC Apr 02 2009 07:20 AM Quirky has a price. G-Fafif Apr 02 2009 09:14 AM ="Benjamin Grimm":1rdpk7hv][/quote:1rdpk7hv] The less one has to see of the MFYs, the better. Benjamin Grimm Apr 02 2009 09:19 AM I guess some Yankee fans may prefer those seats because they won't be able to see Alex Rodriguez when he's playing third base. metsguyinmichigan Apr 02 2009 09:26 AM Yup. It's a "True Yankee Filter." You pay more for that. seawolf17 Apr 02 2009 12:08 PM ="metirish":uoy3pvzx]I'm not an architect , hell I'm not even a doctor but I don't know why these new stadiums have any such seating like above.[/quote:uoy3pvzx] I have to say I agree. They made a big fucking deal about having less seats, and angling them toward home plate, and so on... and you have this obstructed-view bullshit? Eff that. seawolf17 Apr 02 2009 08:02 PM A 76.3% increase?!?! Eff you, Yankees. You too, Johnny Damon. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4036916 metirish Apr 02 2009 08:08 PM Wankers - $41.40 to $72.97 - suckers Rockin' Doc Apr 02 2009 08:08 PM Damon should stick to doing Gieco commercials. seawolf17 Apr 02 2009 08:48 PM ="Rockin' Doc":lhs13t5x]Damon should stick to doing Gieco commercials.[/quote:lhs13t5x] Seriously. That pissed me off. "I mean, really, fuck the little guy. I make $13 million a year, guaranteed. So I don't care if they can't afford tickets; I wipe my ass with $1,000 bills." Rockin' Doc Apr 03 2009 04:52 AM A 76.3% increase in the cost of the average ticket for a seat at Yankee Stadium is once again, proof positive that it sucks to be a Yankees fan. Johnny Damon, it seems safe to conclude, is not exactly a thinking man. His comments are insensitive and out of touch with the day to day struggles of the common working man or woman. Benjamin Grimm Apr 03 2009 05:51 AM ="Johnny Damon":1g3apd5t]"It's tough. New York can withstand it," he said. "Coming to this plush building, I think it's definitely something that people want to see. I mean, those are great seats. It's going to be tough for a family to afford but, you know, but we'll let the people upstairs worry about that."[/quote:1g3apd5t] Clearly, the people upstairs don't give a damn either. Nymr83 Apr 03 2009 06:18 AM In the post this morning Sherman says bad things about the New Yankee stadium while Kevin Kernan has some faint praise for Citi Field (though more dumping on Shea) soupcan Apr 03 2009 07:00 AM Times has its architectural reviews of both stadia today... ] April 3, 2009 Architecture Review Two New Baseball Palaces, One Stoic, One Scrappy By NICOLAI OUROUSSOFF American stadium design has been stuck in a nostalgic funk, with sports franchises recycling the same old images year after year. Still, if you have to go with a retro look, New York City could have done worse than the new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. Both were designed by Populous (formerly known as HOK Sport Venue Event) and are major upgrades over the stadiums they replaced, which had been looking more and more dilapidated over the years. Both should be fine places to spend a few hours watching a game. What�s more, each stadium subtly reflects the character of the franchises that built them. Yankee Stadium is the kind of stoic, self-conscious monument to history that befits the most successful franchise in American sports. The new home of the Mets, meanwhile, is scrappier and more lighthearted. It plays with history fast and loose, as if it were just another form of entertainment. Yankee management started talking about replacing the old stadium more than a decade ago, and this seemed to be the tougher challenge: the stadium sparkled with the memories of 26 World Series championships. Architecturally, however, the stadium was charmless. Renovation in the 1970s may have made it more comfortable (fans loathed the painful wooden seats of the original version), but it also destroyed many architectural features. The original copper frieze that lined the stadium�s upper deck was ripped out. (A partial concrete replica was added later.) The monuments that had once stood in the deepest recesses of center field were moved to an insipid space behind the left-center field fence and named Monument Park. The little personality the stadium had came from its site: a tight urban lot framed by elevated subway tracks on one side and a city park on the other. The new stadium, which stands across the street from the old one, spruces up that image while reviving some of the lost history. The towering arched windows that dominated the original exterior, an echo of the Roman Colosseum, have been recast in a mix of limestone, granite and cast stone, and they are as imposing as ever. A small urban plaza, raised just above the level of the sidewalk, faces the bars and souvenir shops along River Avenue and the entry to the elevated train, strengthening the structure�s relationship to its urban setting. The city has also promised to build a park and several ball fields just to the south of the stadium in an effort to put a more community-friendly face on the project. A broad pedestrian walkway will eventually link the stadium to the fields and a Metro-North station farther to the south. The biggest improvements, however, are the interiors, which have been organized with an eye to the fans. The concourses are broad open spaces, with concession stands set along the perimeter so that they don�t obstruct views down to the field. More seats are concentrated below the mezzanine level, closer to the action. Even the luxury suites, which suddenly look like a holdover from the era of corporate excess, are discreetly set back so that they don�t detract from the shared intimacy of watching the game. There�s history here, too, or at least a facsimile of it. The Yankees have brought back the old manually operated scoreboards in left and right field, a feature that was last used in the 1960s. A replica of the old frieze sits along the top of the upper deck. Best of all, the slot that separated the scoreboard from the right-field stands in the old stadium has been recreated, so you can still catch glimpses of the subway rumbling by � a reminder that the stadium has been carved out of the heart of a living, thriving city. All in all, the new Yankee Stadium may be an austere, even intimidating place, but there�s nothing tacky about it. It�s straightforward, paint-by-numbers architecture. Getting to Citi Field is a more drawn-out aesthetic experience. Descending from the elevated 7 train in Queens, you have to cross a wide landscaped plaza before arriving at the main entry gate. A sea of parking stretches out in both directions. A pile of rubble (once the old Shea Stadium) currently lies just beyond the parking to the left. The building fits comfortably in this setting. Yankee Stadium�s facade is dominated by vertical lines, which emphasize its monumentality. Citi Field�s facade, which is loosely modeled on Ebbets Field, the former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is more low-key. Its brick cladding gives it a warmth that Yankee Stadium doesn�t have. A pre-cast concrete band cuts across the arched exterior, breaking down the structure�s scale and emphasizing its horizontality. History also feels less heavy here. Like the Yankees, the Mets built broad concourses that open up to the field so that you feel close to the game even while you�re standing in line for a beer. But the design is far more eclectic. A porch that cantilevers out over right field is modeled on the old Tiger Stadium. Big steel trusses conjure the structure that supports the nearby elevated train. A soot-colored pedestrian bridge that spans the bullpen behind center field is a miniature version of the Hell Gate Bridge. Even the color of the seats � dark green � was copied from somewhere else: the Polo Grounds, where the New York Giants baseball team played and the Mets played their first two seasons. The casual mood is reinforced by a number of spaces that have little to do with watching a baseball game: an auditorium, a Wiffle ball field � even an event room for weddings or parties. What saves the design from becoming completely hokey, however, is its openness to the real world outside. Most of Queens, from the faded remnants of the 1964 World�s Fair to the Whitestone Expressway and the muddy waters of Flushing Bay, is visible from the main concourse level. Farther up, you can see the Manhattan skyline several miles away. The visitors� bullpen has a view of dilapidated garages and auto body shops across 126th Street to the northeast. The reality of this working-class landscape tempers the artificiality of the interior. Even so, most serious architects today strive to create buildings that reflect the values of their own era, not a nostalgic vision of the past, no matter how open they may be toward their surroundings. And in that regard both stadiums will be a disappointment to students of architecture. For us, the buildings are just another reminder of the enormous gap that remains between high design and popular taste. dinosaur jesus Apr 03 2009 07:12 AM ]Even so, most serious architects today strive to create buildings that reflect the values of their own era, not a nostalgic vision of the past, no matter how open they may be toward their surroundings. The whole game of baseball is a nostalgic vision of the past. What values of our own era do we really want to bring to it? Frayed Knot Apr 03 2009 07:20 AM I like the part where Hankenbrenner (or was it Hal-enbrenner?) says; 'yeah, we overpriced some of the seats and as a result they're not selling as well as we hoped ... but we didn't misread the market!' Umm, yeah ya did. In fact, that's kind of the definition of misreading the market. Benjamin Grimm Apr 03 2009 07:20 AM ="dinosaur jesus"]]Even so, most serious architects today strive to create buildings that reflect the values of their own era, not a nostalgic vision of the past, no matter how open they may be toward their surroundings. The whole game of baseball is a nostalgic vision of the past. What values of our own era do we really want to bring to it? I don't know enough about architecture to explain why I agree with that statement, but I do. I would rather the Mets had built a stadium the reflects early 21st Century architecture, whatever it is. Citi Field looks like a nice place to watch a game, and it's visually appealing, but it also has a Disney feel to it, like you're in "Baseball Land." soupcan Apr 03 2009 07:35 AM These two come to mind when I think about new stadiums with a modern bent. Target Field, which is the new stadium now being built for the twins in Minnesota. Nationals - Edgy DC Apr 03 2009 08:00 AM Glass façades and baseball go together like bleach and baby baths. Even if there's no real threat of the two actually coming together --- and even if the vulnerable element is reinforced against the dangerous element --- it creates an atmophere of anxiety. Benjamin Grimm Apr 03 2009 08:19 AM I kinda like the Minnesota park. The Nationals less so, but it's not bad either. soupcan Apr 03 2009 08:19 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Apr 03 2009 08:21 AM ="Edgy DC":292rjkrd]Glass fa�ades and baseball go together like bleach and baby baths. Even if there's no real threat of the two actually coming together --- and even if the vulnerable element is reinforced against the dangerous element --- it creates an atmophere of anxiety.[/quote:292rjkrd] That's an interesting point, but perhaps the juxtaposition of those types of elements is what appeals to an architect trying to make a statement? I'm certain Art Van DeLay would find a way to make it work, soupcan Apr 03 2009 08:20 AM ="Benjamin Grimm":3rv0nqrw]I kinda like the Minnesota park. The Nationals less so, but it's not bad either.[/quote:3rv0nqrw] Yeah - the Minnesota park has a sort of retro Jetsons feel to it. Edgy DC Apr 03 2009 08:29 AM The Nats park has like five different tiers, each one more heavily raked than the one below it. Sometimes the price of everybody being closer to the field horizontally is that you get some crazy options vertically. I'm sure you'll hear Keith complain this season about the vertigo-inducing situation of their press box. That is, if Mr. Fancy Pants makes a road trip to Washington. HahnSolo Apr 03 2009 01:35 PM Hmm. I guess my perception of Nationals Park was different. I took the Metro to the game and walked in through the CF promenade. And we sat field level, so I didn't notice the slopes in the upper reaches. I never saw the glass encasings in the photo above, and liked the interior of the ballpark. metirish Apr 03 2009 06:33 PM ="Nymr83"]In the post this morning Sherman says bad things about the New Yankee stadium while Kevin Kernan has some faint praise for Citi Field (though more dumping on Shea) Sherman just about takes a dump on the doorstep of the new MYF stadium I'm biased of course but I have tuned into YES a few times and if I didn't know better I would think they were playing the the MFYII.... IN TOUGH TIMES, A MONUMENT TO GREED ] IT IS beautiful, of course. But in the way that a woman who went to the world's best plastic surgeon might be beautiful. It is supposed to remind you of the previous incarnation, and ends up feeling artificial and overdone. The new Yankee Stadium has just about everything you would want in a modern sports facility, except charm and a sense of proportion. If you can afford the prices, you should have a good time there. The sightlines are wonderful. The large screen in center field is so clear you really do feel as if you could reach out and touch the people on it. The concourses are wide, and the food choices abundant. Yet the place brought nausea, not nostalgia. It just feels like the wrong time in the history of this country and this city to be opening up the George Mahal. When the project was initiated 2 � years ago, the Yankees could not have known what the state of the economy was going to be now. But this is about more than wrong place, wrong time. The Yankees' sense of entitlement and unrestrained excess is timeless. They will tell you they built this stadium for the everyman, stressing what they consider still affordable pricing and amenities. But this stadium, in actuality, was built for a moneyed class that in many respects does not even exist in this city any longer. Those $2,625-per-game Legends tickets behind home plate are selling slowly, and that certainly is because there is a whole class of banking/Wall Street/real estate mogul who would have scooped them up but has gone the way of flannel uniforms. But also because those seats not long ago would have screamed status, and now speak only to greed. The working world will not look onto those sitting there with envy. They will wish that those seats came with a dunk tank, not waiter service. The Yanks also want to make you believe that the history and romance could be easily shipped from the old place to the new one simply by recreating dimensions, reconstructing the facade or replanting Monument Park. However, the new Stadium didn't make me think of the place just across the street. It made me think about Vegas or Disney World, since it made me think of a fake place designed to manipulate my emotions and get into my wallet. "We don't see it as ostentatious or flashy," Hal Steinbrenner said. "We see it as classy." For me, class is out. In truth, sadly, the Yanks have conjured up a building that defines them: cold, corporate, over-privileged. At a financially distressed time in which Bud Selig has appealed to teams and players to be more fan friendly than ever, the Yanks have constructed even more of a moat between their players and those paying for all the goodies. For example, Yankee executives see it as a positive that the players now have underground parking rather than in the old place, where they had to walk 50 feet outdoors from the parking lot to the Stadium. In those 50 feet, fans held back by barricades could scream to their favorite players and -- if one of those players indulged -- get an autograph or two. Now the interaction between fans and players, and media and players, will be less than ever. I know no one sheds a tear for the media, but I think the new clubhouse, overstocked with off-limits areas and clandestine exits, only leads to a group that will feel less accountability. And an over-privileged nature and lack of accountability have hurt recent editions of the Yankees. "We are not a regular team," Brian Bruney said. "We are the New York Yankees, and it has to be nicer." Nice is in the eye of the beholder, and if you work for one of those few places left where the corporate card is still set on unlimited, then the new Yankee Stadium is for you. For many others, this place will have all the charm of Bernie Madoff. seawolf17 Apr 03 2009 06:44 PM And Brian Bruney, you're an overpaid tub of goo who can't find the strike zone with a guide dog who's lucky the Yankees wouldn't know pitching talent if it punched them in the neck, or you'd find yourself pitching for the Sioux City Sand Gnats. So shut the hell up and join Caveman on the Ass Line. Edgy DC Apr 03 2009 08:16 PM Wolfie, save something for the regular season. MFS62 Apr 03 2009 08:56 PM I just went on mlb.com to check the box scores. I noticed that the Mets' game tonight was played at "CitiField". The Yankees' game tonight was played at "New Yankee Stadium". Is that going to be the official name of that place? Later seawolf17 Apr 03 2009 08:57 PM Didn't they call it "New Comiskey" for a while too? themetfairy Apr 03 2009 08:58 PM ="seawolf17":3ge41hzz]Didn't they call it "New Comiskey" for a while too?[/quote:3ge41hzz] Yes - that's what it was called when I visited the park in 1991. seawolf17 Apr 03 2009 09:08 PM ="Edgy DC"]Wolfie, save something for the regular season. I know, but again, this stuff pisses me off. Who the hell is Brian Bruney? Good thing crappy middle relievers don't bat in the American League, or if I'm Lou Piniella tomorrow, I buzz an exhibition fastball right past his manboobs. You are "a regular team," Bruney. You're one of 30 teams that all need each other, or professional baseball doesn't exist. MFS62 Apr 04 2009 06:27 AM ="seawolf17":11yncmqm]Didn't they call it "New Comiskey" for a while too?[/quote:11yncmqm] Who is they? The White Sox? White Sox fans? The fans in Chicago? The papers in Chicago? But this is the official website of major league baseball itself. And that's why I asked if anyone knew if this is the official name of that place. Not just what some may call it. Later Frayed Knot Apr 04 2009 06:44 AM No, I don't believe 'New' is part of the official name. 'Fucking Gargantuan Edifice to Conspicuous Consumption' may be, although I'd have to check on that to be sure. SteveJRogers Apr 04 2009 06:45 AM ="MFS62":2qks5l00]="seawolf17":2qks5l00]Didn't they call it "New Comiskey" for a while too?[/quote:2qks5l00] Who is they? The White Sox? White Sox fans? The fans in Chicago? The papers in Chicago? But this is the official website of major league baseball itself. And that's why I asked if anyone knew if this is the official name of that place. Not just what some may call it. Later[/quote:2qks5l00] Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. Reinsdorf didn't sell the naming rights until 2003. So it was Comiskey II from 1991 through 2003. G-Fafif Apr 04 2009 06:55 AM I believe that someday Seawolf will punch that arrogant Brian Brueny at New Yankee Stadium on his fat nose. MFS62 Apr 09 2009 06:56 PM Here's one you might not have heard about. (Thank you, Onion) http://www.theonion.com/content/video/yankees_buil ding_new_vacation Later Kong76 Apr 09 2009 08:39 PM Dude, your link actually pointed to this: http://www.theonion.com/content/video/study_children_exposed_to Figure out how to work stuff, child porn humor ain't for here. Later metsguyinmichigan Apr 09 2009 10:01 PM I clicked the link and thought, "Damn, the bleeping Yankees really ARE trying to appeal to everyone. Now I know why they have that massive video board in center." MFS62 Apr 10 2009 07:36 AM Let's try that again. And let the ad finish. http://www.theonion.com/content/video/yankees_building_new_vacation EDIT: I tried it after I re-posted and it worked. Later

I fear our board will lose Man Points if this result holds up.

="soupcan"]Here's another Easiest Where's Waldo ever.

Can they throw their catcher in, too? Or, I should say, what else would we have to put in the deal to get him?

Is this final yet? If so, I am more than a bit surprised.

Red Sox fans might disagree that Lowe was "successful" in a closing role.

I would still pay a nickel to see Molly Ringwald's panties. 16 Candles for me.

I generally don't like to typecast players this way, but I just feel like bad things happen or are going to happen when Castillo is in the lineup. I associate him with the 07 late season collapse, the early 08 doldrums, and his late season return seemed to coincide with the team playing crappy again. I remember the 08 team playing its best when he wasn't there. This might all be in my mind, but that's how I see things. If Jeffy Skill Sets was serious with his "addition by subtraction" comments, Castillo would seem a likely candidate.

From today's Post: ]Minaya indicated he has no plans to search for a new second baseman, with Luis Castillo under contract for three more years. Minaya said Castillo didn't arrive at spring training in the "best possible" shape last season. Castillo battled various injuries in 2008 and hit only .245 in 87 games. Though Daniel Murphy is playing second base in the Arizona Fall League, Minaya still envisions Murphy as an outfielder for the Mets. Do we believe Minaya here that Castillo will be back? Reading that he did not show up in shape gives me more reason to want him out of here. I just have a real bad feeling that he'll be back. If not him, then who?

I have to say, I'm not overjoyed with bringing in Fuentes. Then again, I don't have any better alternatives in mind.

This is the Mets. Don't hold your breath.

The uniform on the right suggests that photo is from '86 (racing stripes and anniversary logo), not from the early sixties. (I see Edgy beat me to that).

metsguyinmichigan wrote: I think it's more likely we'll see the Rays in the series again in the next few years than it is that we'll see the Phillies. I don't know, they're going to need a lot of guys in that bullpen to reproduce what they did this year plus they have a shaky closer situation. Oh, and the two richest teams in MLB are in their division.

The first 45 minutes or so of Stripes were great, the rest of the film not so much. ET was probably a better movie start to finish. But, if given a choice of watching either of these movies RIGHT NOW! I go with Stripes.

This is the first matchup of films I really don't like. No vote for me.

21 World Series champions since the Mets last championship: - 4 were won by the Yankees - 4 were won by other teams in the NL East - 2 were won by inferior teams who beat the Mets in the postseason That's 10 out of 21 gut punches and off-seasons of misery. At least I have a world class sports and entertainment facility to look forward to.

First, I think Kelly McGillis, even in her prime, was about as entertaining as wood. Second, I didn't like the idea that a major city cop had to go undercover in the Amish community to keep himself and a witness safe. Didn't safehouses exist in the 80s? Third, I guess I resist the preachy, "look, these people aren't so strange after all" tone.