batmagadanleadoff

I'll accept Murphy. For extra credit, identify Murphy's next DL prompting injury.

I watched some of yesterday's Marlins inaugural stadium game. From the TV, the stadium looked fantastic. Innovative, futuristic, yet light and airy. I love the way they handled the scoreboard advertising. The copy looks like a transparency overlay, with so much white space that it appears as if the ad is not even there. The Marlins demonstrated that they're able to tend to the bottom line without being such damn philistines about it. I re-read this thread and this Lunchbucket quote resonates strongly with me: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: the coverage of this story (and the new logo) has gotten so goddamn snarky it's as though teams would be better off not bothering to try anything creative or new. They'd all be as dull as Citifield. I couldn't agree more. To tell you truth, I don't think there's anything in Citi Field - not one damn thing -- as aesthetically pleasing or innovative as the old Shea Stadium shingles or the white bandshell that wrapped around the Shea scoreboard.

Who was the last player to appear in the Mets opening day starting lineup, who missed the entire previous season to injury?

In 1966, Jane Jarvis is one convincing bullshit artist. [youtube:2ctthz34]e449KGXFgrU[/youtube:2ctthz34]

Swing it, Jane. One more round! Fd4uZqP17Pk

Owner Jeffrey Loria on the Marlins' Bobblehead Museum http://news.yahoo.com/video/sports-15749645/marlins-owner-jeffrey-loria-talks-bobblehead-museum-28833178.html Bobblehead Museum fan videos [youtube:63da8m04]aXRXH9haZZk[/youtube:63da8m04]

To each his own. You don't have to hate the CF scoreboard just because I do. But I think that the white space surrounding the new Marlins scoreboard is a design element, in fact, reminiscent to me of the white curvilinear shell that surrounded the original version of Shea Stadium's scoreboard. But even if the Marlins intend to use that space for advertising, the ratio of ad to scoreboard appears to be reasonable. Citi Field's main scoreboard is overwhelmed by ads. The CF scoreboard is surrounded by ads that are, in turn, flanked by other ads. In my opinion, it's the most hideous scoreboard in all of baseball, and looks as if it were designed by a child in less than 15 minutes. And you have to take it in in person to really appreciate how ugly it is because, like a fashion model, it looks better in photos than in person. Don't even get me started on the CF auxiliary right field scoreboard thing.

Now that's a scoreboard! (Not an adboard).

Yeah right. Mike Tiernan. Like you didn't make him up to squeeze in some April Fool's vibe.

I'll sub Ripken and Ryan Zimmerman (Nats only/no Expos stats) for my Mays and Aaron picks.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Willie Mays Hank Aaron George Brett I forgot the team lifer thing. That kills Mays and Hank.

Willie Mays Hank Aaron George Brett

Don't be such a wiseguy.

Makes sense the way I see it, especially the timing. I see Niese as a high ceiling, all-star caliber pitcher. But who nose? He's a lefty. But mainly, the Mets put the Madoff mess behind them. I'd guess that this deal would not have been in negotiations were the Mets on trial right now, as many of us thought they would be.

If it's an April Fools gag, then the Post and the Times are both in on it. Mets close to five-year contract with pitcher Niese Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/mets_close_to_five_year_contract_hQjuq1iSIJ4UYvq2gOK9XN#ixzz1qprF8DA3 Mets and Niese Are Said to Be Discussing Long-Term Deal http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/mets-and-niese-are-said-to-be-discussing-long-term-deal/ PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. � The Mets have been in discussions about a long-term contract extension with the left-handed starter Jon Niese, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. The parameters for a potential deal have not been formally agreed upon by the sides, the person said. The negotiations were first reported by ESPN New York. Niese, 25, was picked by the Mets in the seventh round of the 2005 draft and would become eligible for free agency in 2015. He was 11-11 last season with a 4.40 earned run average. Since the end of the 2010 season the Mets have had an aversion to long-term contracts, preferring to establish a foundation of flexibility. But the Mets� owners last month settled their lawsuit with the trustee representing the victims of Bernard L. Madoff, agreeing to pay $162 million, and the discussions for a long-term extension with Niese could be the first tangible sign of the organization�s more positive financial outlook. For Niese, a deal now could deprive him of a more valuable contract in the near future but at the same time provide financial stability while he is still a relatively unproven player.

Ceetar wrote: They can't even agree that they all don't have to tweet the lineup the Mets just tweeted, I don't see them organization a massive joke. Can anybody here translate this into English? A little help.

I saw one at bat from this game, perhaps my 7th or 8th minute (total time viewed) of 2012 Spring Training Mets. Apparently, Jason Bay still sucks. He looked about as bad as he ever did as a Met on this strikeout I just witnessed about five minutes ago. KO'd on a pitch in the dirt that maybe even one-bounced the Tiger catcher. Looked so bad half-flailing at the pitch, that I can't even say for sure whether Bay even swung. Well, it's only Spring. (/rolls eyes)

Good one, Grimm. Here's a poster that might be tough to execute on account of the source photos perhaps not being easy to find. It's the "No More Words" poster. On the left would be sign man Karl Ehrhardt with his famous "There Are No Words" sign flashed right after the last out of the '69 series was made. On the right would be Citi Field security taking down a "Sign Reyes" sign.

metirish wrote: How cool would it be to make those posters and put them up around the city? This is what I was thinking as of a few hours ago. Not just Grant/Wilpon, but a whole ad campaign. Ebbets Field on the left/Citi Field on the right would be next.

M Donald left and Jeff Wilpon right would also work. Or an M Donald & Lorinda on the left/eff n Jeff on the right.

Fixed and cropped.

It's not?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Fixed!! (But now, not cropped).

cropped: Cropped, but not fixed.

I found it. I think Grimm cropped a sliver too much off of the (our) left, or M Donald side, of the Grant/Wilpon poster.