batmagadanleadoff

They all look very South-Parkish to me. Prince Fielder is a passable chef. When did David Wright grow a mustache?

Mets � Willets Point wrote: Are all your thread titles intentionally Rolling Stones' references? Actually, I'm waiting for some opponent to step on Ike Davis's noggin (like who isn't?) and for Justin Turner to then demand playing time at first base. That would generate the Spike Right Through Ike's Head and Memo from Turner threads. Somebody already started the Alex Romero shoplifting thread. There went Sticky Fingers.

Mets � Willets Point wrote: Are all your thread titles intentionally Rolling Stones' references? Gee, I never realized.

Nationals Show No Mercy for Mets in Blowout The Nationals enjoyed Wilson Ramos's grand slam in a five-run third inning that gave them an 8-0 lead. By ANDREW KEH Published: July 28, 2013 WASHINGTON � The ugliness here on Sunday was prolonged and profound. And after starting the season�s second half on a high � as the successful All-Star Game host and a team beginning to play some plucky, entertaining baseball � the Mets left Washington feeling an all-too-familiar sinking sensation. They were humbled, 14-1, against the Washington Nationals, who punished each stumble and miscue before 31,467 fans at Nationals Park. The blowout granted the series some symmetry, as the Mets crushed the Nationals, 11-0, during the Friday afternoon opener. But that game would be the last positive the Mets would have all weekend, as they dropped the four-game set, 3-1, and fell 10 games below .500. Any hope to win on Sunday dissipated early on. Carlos Torres, the Mets� starter, got through the first inning unscathed but looked ragged thereafter, lasting only three innings, giving up eight runs and nine hits. Torres gave up his first run with one out in the second inning, when Wilson Ramos singled to right field to send Ian Desmond home from second base. After a sacrifice bunt placed two runners into scoring position, Bryce Harper drilled a single to left, scoring two. The contest devolved fully the next inning. Ryan Zimmerman doubled to left field to start the inning, and he scored three batters later, when Desmond singled to right. The bases were loaded when Ramos stepped to the plate. Torres sent his first three pitches low and away, but when he tried to sneak a fastball inside, Ramos slashed it over the left-center field wall, into the visitors� bullpen, to give the Nationals an 8-0 lead. Ramos slapped his right thigh rounding the bases, as cheers swelled through the stadium tiers. The applause did not end until Ramos hopped back up to the top dugout step, one hand stretched above his head, acknowledging the crowd. The Mets sliced the deficit to seven when Marlon Byrd sent a ground ball single through the infield that scored Eric Young Jr. from second base. But Taylor Jordan, the Nationals� starter, was effective � giving up five hits over six innings � and the Mets did not produce another run the entire game. All the while, the Nationals were merciless. Jayson Werth and Denard Span each singled home a run off the Mets� Gonzalez Germen during the fourth inning. Span hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, which also included a wild pitch from the Mets� David Aardsma and a passed ball from John Buck. The Nationals were at it again during the eighth against the right-hander Bobby Parnell. Desmond smacked the ball down the right field foul line that slipped under Andrew Brown�s glove for an error. The misstep gave Steve Lombardozzi, who advanced from first to third base, sufficient leeway to run home for his team�s 14th run. INSIDE PITCH Manager Terry Collins gave third baseman DAVID WRIGHT the day off. JoSH SATIN made his first career start at third base and batted second. Satin struck out three times, walked once and made a fielding error. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/29/sports/baseball/nationals-show-no-mercy-for-mets-in-blowout.html

The series in Metrics (Mets at Nationals) By Mark Simon | ESPNNewYork.com The highlight for the Mets this weekend was watching Jenrry Mejia's newfound offspeed success. The Mets may look back at their inability to score late against Nationals pitchers Ross Ohlendorf and Rafael Soriano on Friday night as the opportunity that cost them their best momentum in a long time. Little went right after those failed chances when the Mets looked to be on the verge of sweeping a doubleheader. We look back at some of what did and didn�t happen in our series statistical review. Mejia dominates A couple of regular readers (Eric Hornick and Puneet Nanda) had good nuggets on Jenrry Mejia�s scoreless seven inning, seven-strikeout effort on Friday. They noted that at age 23, Mejia was the youngest Mets pitcher to have those numbers in a scoreless effort since Jason Isringhausen in 1996. What was most impressive about Mejia was his pitch location, specifically for his offspeed pitches. That is detailed in the image atop the article, which shows how Mejia kept the ball at the bottom of the strike zone, or just below it. Mejia threw 32 of 49 breaking balls and changeups for strikes. The Nationals did not miss on any of their swings against his fastballs, but missed 15 times against his offspeed stuff. Left is right for Harvey Matt Harvey�s dominance of left-handed hitters has reached ridiculous status. The Nationals' lefties were 0-for-11 in Game 2 of Friday�s doubleheader. Opposing left-handed batters are 2-for-38 with 16 strikeouts and one walk against him in his last three starts. Their season batting average against Harvey is .165. Only two Met pitchers have made 30 or more starts in a season and held lefties to a sub-.200 batting average. Amazingly, they are Steve Trachsel (.196 in 2003) and Oliver Perez (.158 in 2008) Harvey has struck out 94 lefties. The club record for strikeouts of lefty hitters by a righty is 134 by Dwight Gooden. As Adam Rubin noted, Harvey now has seven losses/no-decisions in games in which he�s allowed no runs or one run. That�s one shy of the Mets �record� for such games -- eight by Roger Craig in 1963. Murphy�s big day In the Mets rout in Game 1 of Friday�s doubleheader, Daniel Murphy became the third Mets second baseman to have a four-hit, two-homer, five-RBI game, joining Gregg Jefferies (1989 against the Cardinals) and Edgardo Alfonzo (his 6-for-6 game in 1999 against the Astros). There have only been 10 �4-2-5� games in Mets history. Alfonzo�s was the last before Murphy�s. The only player with multiple such games is Todd Hundley with three. Zimmerman does it again Friday�s walk-off home run by Ryan Zimmerman was his ninth, the most in the majors since 2005 (his rookie season). He�s one of two Nationals/Expos with multiple game-tying or go-ahead homers against the Mets in the ninth inning or later. His two are one fewer than Andre Dawson had with the Expos. Dawson totaled seven go-ahead or tying hits in the ninth or later against the Mets, the most of any hitter By allowing the homer, LaTroy Hawkins became the second Mets pitcher age 40 or older to allow a walk-off homer. John Franco allowed a pair, one as a 42-year old to Steve Finley of the Diamondbacks in 2003 and once as a 43-year old against Bobby Abreu and the Phillies http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/73990/the-series-in-metrics-mets-at-nationals-3

2 Guys Talking: Frank Taveras & The Mets �70s Vibe November 8, 2012 / Michael Geus Mike: You know, in September this year Citifield was giving off a very late 70?s vibe. Well, one of those nights I was at the game and McHugh gave up three or four runs early, and since at that point in the season we were not scoring that many runs in a week I started getting restless. So I started counting how many fans were in each section, never needing to get to ten, and before long my mind started wandering to those 1970?s days and those nights at Shea. It was a weird fun time at the park, with nutty Afros cramped under hats and brand new plastic seats to sit in! Anyway, Jimmy, one of my favorites back then was Frank Taveras, who couldn�t play but he could run. You can�t have everything. Jimmy: Yes, it felt very circa 1979 to me, which was arguably the lowest this franchise has ever sunk. And it all came from ownership, that�s the common thread. Back then it was Lorinda de Roulet. Now it�s Fred. That �79 infield was something: Hebner, who hated it here (unhappiest Met of all time?); Willie Montanez, Doug Flynn and Taveras. What a misconceived mishmash. No wonder why we loved John Stearns so much. A couple of years ago I read a pretty entertaining book on baseball in the �70s, which brought back a lot of memories, Big Hair and Plastic Grass, by Dan Epstein. Mike: Fun book, I agree, let�s give it the official 2GuysMets seal of approval. Oh man, the name Willie Montanez reminds me of my ten seconds with Lorinda de Roulet. Same as today, the team had a real ownership problem as Joan Payson had passed away and her daughter had no idea what to do with the team. In the off-season of 1978 we picked up Montanez in a wild four team trade (Bert Blyleven was involved) where we basically traded John Milner and Jon Matlack for Montanez and Tom Grieve. Now I will not lie, in 1978 I was happy to have Montanez, he wasn�t very good but he was not terrible and he was a flashy player who could keep your mind off of how bad the team was. He used �the snatch� to catch the ball, had a loooooong home run trot, would flip the bat � now we see this stuff all the time but not back then. And now I�m old and cranky so it annoys me, back then I thought it was funny. For awhile. But in 1979 Montanez cratered. He played awful and what seemed funny in 1978 seemed infuriating in 1979. One night in late July he made an error fielding a throw at first that cost the Mets a game. On our way out of Shea, in the parking lot, my friends and I saw a limo. We ran over, limos at games are now commonplace but not back then. All of a sudden I realized it was de Roulet. I started screaming at the car, �You have to trade Willie Montanez!� I yelled it three times at the top of my lungs until all of a sudden the car stopped. The window in the back rolled down and there was de Roulet, glaring at me. I screamed again � louder this time, �You have to trade Willie Montanez!� de Roulet looked me straight in the eyes and answered in a measured, cold and bitter voice, "NOBODY wants him.� And just like that the window went back up and the limo sped away. A few weeks later we traded him to Texas for Mike Jorgensen and Ed Lynch, not a bad deal. I have always felt responsible. Jimmy: Well done. Now go find Fred and start screaming about Jason Bay. Oh, wait. http://2guystalkingmetsbaseball.com/tag/lorinda-de-roulet/

Terry Collins does not expect changes at trade deadline and David Wright gets a day off WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Terry Collins expects his roster to be pretty much the same on Thursday -- the day after the trade deadline -- as it was Sunday. The Mets� manager said he did not expect the Mets to make much of a splash before the deadline. � If I was a team that was in a hunt, who had a couple of holes, I'd go searching and we've got some guys,� Collins said, �but from everything I'm hearing right now, there's no reason to think we're going to change." There may be some interest in outfielder Marlon Byrd, who is having a breakout year after being suspended for 50 games last season for violating MLB drug policies, but according to a team source, the Mets are looking for a top 10 or 15 prospect for him and so far they have yet to find that. Byrd said his agent has not heard of any talks about moving him. He said he prefers to stay with the Mets but hopes if they do trade him he would get them a prospect that could help the franchise significantly in the future. While Collins said he didn�t expect moves, he admitted that things could change quickly as the deadline nears. �Right now we've got some guys that are playing good," Collins said. "And I don't know what's going to happen the next three days.� *** As expected, Collins gave David Wright the day off Sunday. The Mets captain had gotten one game off this season and sitting him Sunday gave him gave him a good rest with a night game on Monday. Josh Satin, who had not played a game at third this season, was in for Wright. Satin came up as a third baseman. Justin Turner, who would usually spell Wright, is still a little sore from his collision with Andrew Brown on Friday night. http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/2013/07/terry-collins-does-not-expect-changes-at-trade-deadline-and-david-wright-gets-a-day-off

Mets: No trade activity expected By Adam Rubin | ESPNNewYork.com WASHINGTON -- Terry Collins echoed publicly what team officials recently have expressed privately: The Mets, while not ruling anything out, do not expect to make a trade before Wednesday's 4 p.m. non-waiver deadline. David Zalubowski/Associated PressMarlon Byrd is the Mets' most logical trade chip, but Terry Collins expects the team to remain intact after Wednesday's non-waiver deadline. "You look at our team, and right now we've got some guys that are playing good," Collins said Sunday morning. "And I don't know what's going to happen the next three days. ... If I was a team that was in a hunt, who had a couple of holes, I'd go searching and we've got some guys. But from everything I'm hearing right now, there's no reason to think we're going to change." A team insider told ESPNNewYork.com there has been little trade dialogue with other teams of late. That strongly suggests no player under the Mets' control beyond this season -- say, Bobby Parnell or Daniel Murphy -- would get traded. That's because those trades usually require more groundwork, and nothing substantive of yet has been laid. As for a player in the final year of a deal, such as Marlon Byrd, a trade is at least still plausible, although not expected. The scenario would be that the Mets get approached late, say, by the Texas Rangers if they were to fail to acquire someone who is more of a priority, like Michael Young from Philadelphia. But a Mets insider seemed pessimistic that type of scenario would materialize with the Rangers. The source said the Mets have not had an easy time in the past dealing with Texas because of disagreements over the value of certain Rangers prospects. http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/73974/mets-no-trade-activity-expected

Nats manage split despite being outscored 12-2.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Depends on the sleeping bag you choose, and whether/how you shave your chest hair. "Sleeping bags"?

Zvon wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Jersey sucks. Tell me something I don't know. But the Clara Barton service rest stop has a Burger King, a Nathan's and a Pizza Hut.

As of right now, the Mets are the second likeliest team in the NL East to qualify for the playoffs, according to ESPN's playoff odds, and at least almost twice as likely to qualify as every other division rival but the Braves. CJ8MvnEVCqM

Are you driving and texting simultaneously?

Lucas Duda goes 0-4 with three K's in his GCL return. http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/73803/duda-darnaud-play-full-games

metirish wrote: Didn't go for this, $412 for two tickets....too much. Schmuck! Bring two more and you can knock the price all the way down to $700.00. Have you been reading this thread?

Thread title change to commemorate Mick's 70th birthday. http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/26/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/mick-jagger-by-the-numbers/?iref=obinsite Welcome to the breakfast show... [youtube:kjn79gk5]LJ9D0UHP7x4&list[/youtube:kjn79gk5]

I got 40, including the toughest one (5% success rate). I whiffed on some of the recent guys, including the guy that played for the Dodgers, Mets, Padres and A's. I should turn in my badge.

The pattern was changed after the 1st series. Beginning with the 2d series, the rest of the '68's had the Bill Short pattern.

"That's some head".

"If we go as a group, we can save $25.00. Each".