batmagadanleadoff

I want to do this but I fear it will be sold out right away.... "Hurry now, while tickets last. There's only 500 tickets left. That's 500!" The Mets also announced they will host the first-ever "Citi Field Sleepover" on Aug. 10 at Citi Field. Fans will be able to watch the Mets road game against the Arizona Diamondbacks from the field that night, and can sleep at Citi Field. Tickets go on sale July 25 at 10 a.m. and there are only 500 tickets available. http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/73554/social-media-sleepover-nights-coming

Pulitzer Prize winning Ira Berkow's Mets book makes the rounds in Vegas. Berkow regales Mets fans - and baseball fans - in 'Summers at Shea" By RON KANTOWSKI LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL I have a colleague in the writing business named Tim, who once had mentioned that his mother had gotten remarried � to a famous sports writer. He probably told me it was Ira Berkow of the New York Times (and other literary places), but I must have been on the phone or on deadline. I had sort of forgotten it. Then one day Tim said I should come to the break room, there was someone he wanted me to meet. It was Ira Berkow. Ira Berkow won a Pulitzer Prize for writing about a white quarterback at Southern University, a historically black college. (You can read it here: http://tinyurl.com/kxsam2u.) He also was a Pulitzer finalist another year. In the newspaper business, the Pulitzer is as good as it gets, way better than Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt in the movies. It�s like winning the Heisman Trophy. It�s like winning two Heismans. It would be like a college football enthusiast walking to where the vending machines were at his workplace and meeting Bo Jackson or Barry Sanders or Archie Griffin, who, in fact, did win two Heismans. I received Ira Berkow�s latest book in the mail the other day. From the man himself. With his return address on the envelope and everything. It�s called �Summers at Shea: Tom Seaver Loses His Overcoat and Other Mets Stories.� I mention this now because the 51s have begun the second half of the Pacific Coast League season, at home, and it can�t always be $1 beer night, though it is tonight, against Reno. And I mention this because a lot of fans you encounter at Cashman Field talk as if they are experts on the Mets � this is especially true of any lout who refers to the players as �dem guys,� or the group from your office as �youse guys,� or the batboys as �the two utes� � and now you, too, can become an expert on the parent club, if you read Ira Berkow�s book. If you read the book, you can bet the lout a Yoo-hoo chocolate soda over how Tom Seaver lost his overcoat, because guys who talk like Ralph Macchio�s cousin Vinny generally do not read books, and so you are practically guaranteed to win. (Spoiler alert: Tom Seaver lost his overcoat on his way to catch a train � a train! � from New York to Rochester to receive the Hickok belt for being the best athlete of 1969. The pitcher and the writer shared a tiny sleeping berth. Try as I might, I just cannot imagine Derek Jeter sharing a sleeping berth with a sportswriter nowadays, unless the sportswriter resembled a supermodel or that actress from �Friday Night Lights.�) Do not, however, bet the Cashman lout over Ed Kranepool�s lifetime batting average, Jerry Koosman�s ERA in Pittsburgh, or something like that. Ira Berkow wrote about the Mets for 40 of their 45 years at Shea Stadium but he does not write about statistics, because statistics are boring. Unless, of course, they are used to describe Derek Jeter�s latest girlfriend. Ira Berkow tells stories, and he uses wonderful words to tell his stories, and he always puts the wonderful words in their proper order. Except when he�s writing about Casey Stengel, because it�s impossible to put words in their proper order when the ol� Perfessor is speaking. Otherwise, reading Berkow is like watching Gil Hodges make out his lineup card during the summer of �69. Here is the first paragraph of Tom Seaver Loses His Overcoat: �For an individual to be talented, famous, youthful, facial features all in order, prospering, coordinated, bright and a New York Met is one thing, but to be humble, too, is a combination as near to impossible as to be sacrilege.� Here are the last two: �Outside it was raining in the dark before dawn and Seaver and the others waited for the chartered bus with the bad memory. Blefary gave Seaver his coat, to keep the shoulder warm. �And there for all time, etched in memory like a daguerreotype, was Tom Seaver in the dark and chill-rain, and thinking that tomorrow morning he must again be up at 6 a.m. to catch a plane. His wife, Nance, expected him back early to their new home in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was to finish painting the pantry.� Ira Berkow sent along his best wishes to �a fellow scribe� on the inscription page. I was honored and thrilled, like a Met fan watching Tommie Agee run down those deep Oriole drives in the World Series, the ball hanging from the webbing but not falling out. http://www.reviewjournal.com/columns-blogs/ron-kantowski/berkow-regales-mets-fans-and-baseball-fans-summers-shea

dgwphotography wrote: I would have loved to do this with my youngest, but at that price, no thanks. "Bring your kiddies. Bring your wives. The more you bring, the more you save. Shop around. We'll beat any team's prices. Even the Giants. Our prices are insane"!

seawolf17 wrote: 8. What's a nice guy like him doing in a rough game like this? He'll go for a song -- always does -- because half the owners in your league wouldn't have him on their team at any price. If you're in the other half, you'll only have to ay a fraction of what his numbers are worth -- say $15 for Mr. Warmth. 8 could be George Foster, who, as it would turn out, played his last game ever by the time this book was released.

Swan Swan H wrote: I'm leaving to go play softball. If anything offends Batmags while I'm out you can send me a text and I'll read it on the bench. But I love you, Swannie. You could never offend me.

I wasn't making fun of the event, just the sleazy contrived discount pitch.

You'd like that. (You and just about everybody else).

"Would you jump off a bridge just because all your friends did"?

First he shakes. Now he bobbles. [youtube:17i9wpfs]sxDpnqmIrpc[/youtube:17i9wpfs]

"If anyone tries to raise a stink over this promo, we'll just remind 'em that the Giants also do it!"

For $200 a piece, fans get .... People who buy four or more tickets get the discounted rate of $175 a piece. "We suggest that you stay away from the brown acid and urge you to buy four tickets, because if you're willing to spend $800.00, we'll only charge you $700.00". "So then he said: 'because if you're willing to spend $800.00, we'll only charge you $700.00'".

Mets host first ever �sleepover� for fans at Citi Field For $200, families get to unroll a sleeping bag on the Amazin's home field, Mr. and Mrs. Met will be there, too. Fans won�t be in the Citi Field stands for the sleepover next month � they�ll be on the field. For the first time ever, Mets fans can legally takeover Citi Field for the night. The Mets are hosting an all-night party on Aug. 10 where up to 500 fans can unfurl sleeping bags on the outfield grass or pitch tents along the dirt warning track. Just don�t expect your favorite player to come tuck you in at night. The team will be on the road playing the Arizona Diamondbacks. For $200 a piece, fans get a dinner buffet, can watch the Mets play the Diamondbacks on the Citi Vision board and can schmooze Mr. and Mrs. Met. Season ticket holders got the first chance to order tickets this week but the sale opens to the public Thursday at 10 a.m. People who buy four or more tickets get the discounted rate of $175 a piece. Metropolitan Hospitality - which also offers the space for weddings and trade shows as well as Bar and Bat Mitzvahs - is hosting the event. Citi Field Sleepover, Citi Field, 126th St and Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, N.Y. 11368, (718) 507-TIXX, Aug. 10 starting at 5 p.m. Tickets go on sale July 25 at 10 a.m. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/mets-host-on-field-sleepover-article-1.1407992?localLinksEnabled=false

Would you trade Zack Wheeler for this guy? What if that guy's team wanted Wheeler and d'Arnaud? What about Harvey? Would you trade for Matt Harvey for that guy? MLB Trade Rumors: Miami Marlins Want Matt Harvey in Return for Giancarlo Stanton? The Miami Marlins are unlikely to trade Giancarlo Stanton before the July trading deadline next week. However, if they were to trade Stanton, apparently the team would want an equal return of a cost controlled player, preferably controlled longer than Stanton. This is according to Matthew Cerrone of Metsblog.com. I�ve been told by people in baseball that, to get Stanton today, a team like the Mets would need to give them Matt Harvey. The way I understand it, the Marlins are encouraged by what they�re seeing in their young players, specifically Jose Fernandez. As such, instead of looking to move Stanton for a basket of three or four top minor leaguers (think Noah Syndergaard, Wilmer Flores, Travis d�Arnaud, etc.), they may look to get equal value, i.e., a current, very productive, affordable player, under contract for longer than Stanton�s remaining three-year deal, i.e., a Harvey. A Matt Harvey for Giancarlo Stanton swap would indeed be an interesting one, but it would be a trade I would see the Mets having a tough time making. While Stanton is a premium power hitter, Harvey is a young starter that has already blossomed into the Mets ace. A trade of Stanton for Harvey would actually not be a terrible trade in value, as Dave Cameron of Fangraphs recently rated Stanton has having the eight best trade value in baseball. In seventh place, one slot ahead of Stanton, was Harvey. Cameron had Harvey as the pitcher with the most trade value on the open market today. Here is what Cameron had to say on Stanton�s trade value: f David Price is the player on this list most likely to be traded, Stanton isn�t that far behind. The price that the Marlins are able to extract for their star right fielder is going to be fascinating. A couple of months on the DL with a bad knee and the dissipation of an extra year of team control have hurt his value, but he�s still perhaps the game�s most exciting young slugger. He�s 23 and has a career wRC+ of 138. The players who have done what Stanton has done at this age are mostly in the Hall of Fame. Stanton is going to bring back a mint when the Marlins trade him. The price is probably going to blow us all away. Here is what he had to say about Harvey�s trade value: Some great young pitchers become great older pitchers. And it�s not like hitters are risk free either, so while Matt Harvey might be peaking right now, every team in baseball would sign up for the right to see if Harvey could be more Kershaw than Prior. It�s basically impossible for a pitcher to have more trade value than Matt Harvey does right now. What do you guys think, would a Matt Harvey-for-Giancarlo Stanton trade make sense for both sides right now? What would be more enjoyable to watch, a front of the rotation of Matt Harvey-Jose Fernandez or a lineup with Stanton and David Wright? http://marlinmaniac.com/2013/07/24/mlb-trade-rumors-miami-marlins-want-matt-harvey-in-return-for-giancarlo-stanton/

Edgy MD wrote: It seems like Willie (who was hardly marginal as a player, but seemed to have insecurities of his own) had four secondbasemen on his bench at any given time. And they all batted second. Hadda bat second. Because Willie batted second. Willie Randolph confirmed what another second baseman of his era -- a greater second baseman than Willie Randolph -- already proved -- that you can be a heckuva baseball player and be a total moron about it at the same time. Reminds me of a friend of mine who made millions of dollars in the mortgage business -- and I mean millions -- during the real estate frenzy of almost ten years ago. He was making tens of thousands of dollars every week at his peak and trust me, he's easily one of the dumbest adults I've ever met. And I'm not exaggerating when I say this. To this day, he still can't understand the circumstances that came together to allow him to make all that money in the first place. Not even with hindsight. Not even with all of the post-mortem industry write-ups out there because he reads like a 4th grader. A struggling 4th grader.. He thought it was normal for average starter homes in average neighborhoods to increase in value from $200K-$300K to more than double that amount in less than two years. He thought there was nothing wrong with secretaries earning $45K a year, with no other source of income or cash other than their $45K annual salary to be able to buy $750K homes on the honor system, without having to go through a rigorous financial background check. He still doesn't understand what the hell happened. He listens to the most Nazified right wing nutjobs out there, hearing what he wants to hear until he's worked out some crazy theory blaming the whole downfall on Pres. Obama. He thinks that the solution to all his problems is to have a Republican President in the White House because with a Republican President in charge, the real estate market would return to 2004-2007 levels in a couple of weeks. Oh yeah, today he's broke. Bankrupt.

smg58 wrote: Braun is not appealing. On edit: in more ways than one. I suppose that more details will emerge, but MLB got Braun to admit using PED's. So who knows what MLB has on Braun. http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/22849636/ryan-braun-admits-ped-use-suspended-for-rest-of-2013

They just picked up Orlando Cepeda for Joe Torre. I'm not sure I would've made that trade. Torre's a vicious line-drive hitter just about to enter his prime. He looks like he'll be an MVP candidate throughout this Nixon administration. Cepeda's on the wrong side of 30, his best years probably behind him.

A writer on Juan http://mets.lohudblogs.com/2013/07/22/the-promise-of-juan-lagares-and-limits-of-carlos-gomez-comparison/ I'm comparing Lagares to Gomez. I'm gonna compare Lagares to Gomez. Here I am comparing Lagares to Gomez. I'm comparing them again. One more time before I go. And in closing, don�t assume Carlos Gomez as a likely outcome. It isn�t fair to Lagares, and it doesn�t make much sense. Megdal having a career as a writer doesn't make much sense, but there it is. The comparison between this Lagares, whoever he happens to be, and Carlos Gomez, is natural, according to Megdal: Howard Megdal wrote: Naturally, that�s where Gomez comes in, another overmatched hitting, elite center fielder for years, who has become one of the best players in the National League. His defense stayed constant, and he learned to hit, despite not altering his ability to draw walks at all. I like the way CarGo is initially referenced in Megdal's piece -- "Gomez", just "Gomez", no first name. "Megdal's right, honey. This Lagares is no Gomez".

Who's Juan Lagares?

My New York Mets?? These ain't my New York Mets. Me and my best buddy, eff Wilpon (Fred, to you) would've wanted Jose Reyes at short. We would've paid Jose whatever he wanted and he knows it. Whatever. And an upgrade in the outfield, preferably someone not yet eligible for Social Security, who might plausibly make the All Star team. But that ********** Sandy Alderson is running things like we're under war-time rationing restrictions here, acting like the only free agents are either missing an arm or a leg. There's only so many Spam sandwiches we can feed Matt Harvey at the post-game buffet before he bolts for the Bronx. We tried to roll the Spam into little balls and glaze them with Orange Jello, hoping the players would think it's caviar, but the stupid hicks don't even know what caviar is. Plus, they know their spam, so we can't fool them either way. I think they were raised on Spam. Breast-fed Spam. I pay them millions of dollars a year and they still think that the height of dining are the french fries over at the Shake Shack. That ********** Sandy, I tell you, he practically put a gun to eff's head. And I can't get rid of him.

Frayed Knot wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: What part of her would you like to be bobbling? I think calling it a 'bobble-boob' doll pretty much says it all. You could've also went with "booble-bob".