metirish

One of the TV guys said that Rodriguez does not like or want to be called K-Rod...I think it was keith who said it....goes by Frankie..

That's a 10 out of 20?...I kid

Oh Janet , my thoughts exactly

Hey MV -- I agree with all of your points. Accusing someone of doing steroids is a much, much larger issue than trade rumors or blind items on Page Six. There needs to be solid proof -- not just a player such as Reggie Jefferson spouting off about something thart he heard. Take SI for instance. They had the A-Rod story confirmed on a number of fronts before goign with it because they knew of the legal implications. There's only way to out someone as a cheat -- with evidence. Just throwing out names, or making statements without backing them up sufficiently, is not evidence. It's irresponsible.

For prosperity [Comment From Sham-WOW] David, Is there something about Oliver Perez's disposition, or maybe the way he treats writers, that invites critical coverage? How does he get along with teammates? 12:13 Didn't know the WOW was all caps in Sham-Wow. Always learn someting during this chat. Perez invites critical coverage by his pitching more than anything else. I don't think he's a bad guy and his teammates seem to live him. From a reporter's standpoint, he doesn't express himself particularly well - in either english or spanish -- and that makes it difficult to get the full perspective from his end. Santana in particular seems to have struck up a friendship with him. That should help.

Sham -WOW up - good question

Lennon indulging silly questions...

Pete Flynn's spade asked his question

Klapisch: Ojeda talks a good game ] Bobby Ojeda has spent the past five years in a blissful, self-imposed exile at his Rumson shore house, beyond the reach of the �86 ghosts. The former Mets� left-hander never was much for reminiscing. Like some Met fans � particularly the younger ones � he�s been willing to let the �80s turn to vapor. Does that sound like the profile of an SNY analyst? Incredibly, the Mets-owned network thinks Ojeda is its man, despite the fact he has no television experience. He�ll be in the studio for 130 games this season, replacing Lee Mazzilli as the pregame and postgame intellectual engine. There�s a delicious irony to anyone who knew Ojeda in the Mets� wilder days: He was anything but a spotlight hog, even though he was the best pitcher in 1986, winning 18 games. Now, Ojeda says with a laugh, �I�m the one who�s going to be doing all the talking.� Ojeda has been given free rein by SNY to cut and slash as he sees fit. Ojeda could follow in the footsteps of Keith Hernandez, his onetime teammate who can be openly critical of the Mets and has few friends in the clubhouse (although he has a near-cult following among viewers). Or Ojeda can play it safe like many of the analysts at the rival YES Network, including David Cone and Al Leiter. The networks closely scrutinize each other, comparing nightly ratings, quality of production and the editorial tone of their announcers. One YES announcer said last summer he was �stunned� at how far Hernandez has been allowed to stray from the company line. �If I talked like that about the Yankees, I�d probably get fired,� the broadcaster said with a laugh. Ojeda understands there�s a fine line between honesty and corporate common sense. He also knows his decision to work for SNY has removed him from the brotherhood of big-leaguers. He visited Port St. Lucie, Fla., last week with co-host Chris Carlin (who replaces Matt Yallof) and immediately sensed the gap, even with Howard Johnson, a friend for 20 years who now serves as the Mets� hitting instructor. Ojeda�s only purpose was to chat with HoJo, not interview him, not even to use the information for background. Yet Ojeda knew the reservoir of trust was drying up. �There was this twinge from Howard, like he was talking to the media,� Ojeda said. �I was like, �HoJo, this is me you�re talking to.� I felt like kicking his butt. I�m getting these answers and I�m like, �Come on, are you kidding me?� I guess it�s the nature of the thing I signed on to.� So why would Ojeda begin this journey? Or more to the point, why would SNY take a gamble on an electronic rookie? SNY head Curt Gowdy Jr. says Ojeda impressed the network during auditions with his candor and ability to shape short, concise answers. Once he realized Ojeda actually had a presence in front of the camera, Gowdy was willing to overlook his new analyst�s lack of experience. �It�s a calculated risk, but there are a lot of calculated risks we�ve taken,� Gowdy said. �Look at bringing Ron Darling here from the Nationals. Look at bringing Kevin Burkhardt from WFAN. We think Bob is only going to get better and better.� Gowdy glossed over the dismissals of Mazzilli and Yallof, saying SNY was looking for a �different� personality and perspective. After the Mets� back-to-back collapses in 2007 and 2008, the Wilpon family undoubtedly wanted its network to have a makeover in time for Citi Field�s christening. Jeff Wilpon approached Ojeda during the off-season and floated the idea of coming back to the organization as an analyst. Ojeda had spent three years as the pitching coach for the Brooklyn Cyclones, bailing out in 2003, when Rick Peterson was hired as the Mets� pitching coach. Ojeda went home to Rumson, spending the next five years watching his five daughters grow up, distancing himself from his former life. Ojeda rebuffed every attempt to relive the miracle �86 season, including card shows and interview requests. In truth, he was sick of the Mets who were making careers out of reliving their careers. �You have to move on. I mean, it turns everyone off when you hear [a broadcaster] say, �When I played.� I don�t have any intention of doing that,� Ojeda said. �The players today, it�s their turn; they�re the ones wearing the uniform. I�d rather stay current.� The same forward-directed policy will apply to the other asterisk on Ojeda�s r�sum� � the horrific 1993 boating accident in Florida that took the lives of Indian teammates Tim Crews and Steve Olin, the first deaths of active major leaguers since Thurman Munson was killed in 1979. Ojeda, who suffered severe head lacerations, later said the only reason he also wasn�t killed was because he was slouched over the moment the boat struck a dock. It was driven by Crews, whom investigators said was legally drunk at the time. Ojeda will not speak about the tragedy in interviews or on the air. �It�s like [the] �86 [season]. We all have things on our permanent record,� Ojeda said. �I mean, that�s life; you just keep going. You look for new challenges. For me, this [sNY job] is an opportunity to get back into baseball and talk about something I love. I can�t wait.�

How about Nightcrawler?

How about no nickname for him , I just couldn't see myself typing out" The Irish Hammer" or whatever the Florida equivalent would be .

I have my Rubin question about the size of Piazza's balls locked and loaded....Lennon can have it. Hi David , love your work..regarding Mike Piazza there has been a lot of talk about back acne , maybe too much talk , has there been any talk about "shrinkage" as George Costanza might say.

I hope it's OK to put Neil Best's review here. Summing up Citi Field: This place is amazin'! ] Hubbubs over tax-free bonds, naming rights, chop shops, ticket prices and plans, partially obstructed views and other matters, large and small, past and future - each deserves our attention in the ongoing sagas of New York's two new baseball stadiums. But for at least one day, none of that mattered yesterday upon descending the steps from the No. 7 train, beyond the rubble that was Shea Stadium, then looking across the brick plaza and up. To appreciate the feeling fully, it helped to have an 11-year-old along. It wasn't quite awe, which is not what Citi Field is after; I believe that's Yankee Stadium's department. So what was it? I'm pretty sure one of us said, "Cool." And maybe the other added, "Wow." Obviously, a chilly, misty day featuring a college game few in the crowd of 22,397 cared about was not a true test of the place. That will start to form Friday when the Mets make their debut against the Red Sox. But after we sat in a dozen seats and got lost in a half-dozen dead ends, the ballpark's quirky charms and many nooks and crannies were evident during its first day of hosting paying customers. The place is a gem, the first smallish-scale New York City ballpark since its spiritual predecessor, Ebbets Field, hosted its last Dodgers game in 1957. Speaking of Ebbets Field, your experience begins in the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, as grand a gathering place as advertised. From there, one theme quickly becomes apparent, in keeping with a trend in modern stadium design: more places than ever to spend your time and money, and far more elbow room, too. Even on a dreary late March day, it was easy to imagine July, with fans sunning themselves while enjoying a drink from the Shake Shack - adorned with the city skyline from the Shea scoreboard - or, perhaps, a nice order of fried calamari. The prices seem to be the standard ballpark rate - roughly 50 to 100 percent higher than in the real world. Small soda: $3.50. Small sushi: $9. Helmet ice cream swirl: $6.50. Steak tacos: $7.50. Fries: $4.75. Some food items were unavailable and some areas were closed, including the kid-friendly section that features the dunk tank that Mike Francesa has promised to visit for charity. (Don't worry; he'll fit.) But almost everything should be up and running by Friday. Numerous male fans noted one of Citi Field's most memorable features: the seemingly science fiction-inspired, oddly shaped, water-free urinals. One fan said it looked like something out of the "22nd century." Mets fans will settle for 21st century facilities, having traded up from a stadium whose rest room failings famously contributed to the Jets' decision to bolt Flushing for New Jersey long ago. Mets executive VP Dave Howard said each of the 270 waterless urinals will save 40,000 gallons per year. "Do the math," he said. "That's millions of gallons of water we'll be saving." So the stadium is friendly to the environment. But is the stadium environment-friendly? Mostly, the feel is open and welcoming, with a bridge-styled walkway and vast concourses. What about the seats themselves? The Mets offer a dizzying array of options, from $11 for the cheapest ticket to the least attractive game to $695 for a front-row seat to see the Yankees. We started in Section 142 in dead center, priced at $21 to $49. Pretty nice vantage point, as outfield seats go. The views from the last row, in Section 536, are partially obscured by the out-of-town scoreboard and have a claustrophobic feel compared with the top of Shea, but they cost a modest $11 to $27. One concern was the first row of the promenade - $45 to $105 - because of a display board attached to the facade that partially obscures views for shorter fans. I had no trouble seeing, but my 4-10 companion had to sit slightly forward to see the entire field. The Mets recently raised the seats a couple of inches to ease the problem. More troubling are some seats near walkways leading to the upper promenade where railings, plexiglass and pedestrian traffic damage the view. Those will be sold only for individual games when needed. Eventually, the kinks will be worked out and the novelty - even those wacky urinals - will wear off, of course. Not on this day, though, and not anytime soon. Citi Field firsts FIRST NATIONAL ANTHEM Joanne Persico, St. John's volleyball coach FIRST CEREMONIAL FIRST PITCH John Franco FIRST PITCH Ball thrown by Georgetown's Tim Adleman to St. John's Brian Kemp FIRST OUT Brian Kemp flied to leftfielder Sean Baumann FIRST STRIKEOUT Georgetown's Sean Baumann by St. John's pitcher Brendan Lobban, bottom of first FIRST HIT Single to left-centerfield by Georgetown's Tom Elliott, bottom of first FIRST ST. JOHN'S HIT Single to center by Tim Morris, top of second FIRST RUN Scored by Georgetown's Dan Capeless, bottom of second FIRST HOME RUN Georgetown's Sean Lamont, solo shot to left, bottom of third

Yeah it's a very British/Irish soccer style thing too....every player gets a O or a SY added to their name....

Gardie.....who the hell makes up the nicknames over there?.....lame Poor Dontrelle , he was a joy to watch when on.

="Benjamin Grimm":1v08570j]I'm no fan of ads, but I kinda like that big Pepsi Cola sign. It's as much "advertising art" as it is advertising. Isn't it very similar to the vintage sign in Queens that can be seen from across the East River in Manhattan?[/quote:1v08570j] Good call , the sign was one of the first things that jumped out at me when they were showing highlights on the News.I am trying to remember what other stadium has a similar sign , Fenway? soupcan Mar 30 2009 08:01 AM Comerica in Detroit... SteveJRogers Mar 30 2009 08:32 AM ="Benjamin Grimm":2n7rxdgz]I'm no fan of ads, but I kinda like that big Pepsi Cola sign. It's as much "advertising art" as it is advertising. Isn't it very similar to the vintage sign in Queens that can be seen from across the East River in Manhattan?[/quote:2n7rxdgz] An exact replica actually. Well except the recent Pepsi "dot" replaces the vintage Pepsi bottle from that iconic signage. soupcan Mar 30 2009 08:44 AM ="SteveJRogers"]="Benjamin Grimm"]I'm no fan of ads, but I kinda like that big Pepsi Cola sign. It's as much "advertising art" as it is advertising. Isn't it very similar to the vintage sign in Queens that can be seen from across the East River in Manhattan? An exact replica actually. Well except the recent Pepsi "dot" replaces the vintage Pepsi bottle from that iconic signage. Close but not 'exact'. G-Fafif Mar 30 2009 11:01 AM Company-issued release: ]Pepsi gains branding rights to the name-entitled "Pepsi Porch," the 1,284-seat area in right field that extends over the playing field. This interactive brand showcase at the Pepsi Porch will immerse fans in a Mets and Pepsi experience with special entertainment programming broadcast to those in attendance and watching Mets games on SNY, the television home of the Mets. A 37-foot by 89-foot Pepsi sign, evocative of the iconic Pepsi-Cola sign facing Manhattan from Long Island City, will sit atop the Pepsi Porch. The sign will face into the ballpark and be visible from downtown Flushing and nearby highways and mass transit lines. Benjamin Grimm Mar 30 2009 11:12 AM I don't imagine that most fans will want to be "immersed in a Mets and Pepsi experience" while at the ballgame. I know I wouldn't. I just want to watch the game, without any immersion at all. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Mar 30 2009 11:13 AM Like the signage... mildly-- very mildly-- put off by the modern-Pepsi-dot-with-vintage-Pepsi-lettering juxtaposition of ad styles. From the woulda-coulda-shoulda department: making the outfield "bridges" a little more evocative of the Triboro/Queensboro/Whitestone trifecta (not sure I buy the supposed Hell-Gate connection) would have made for a nice little architectural curlicue. OlerudOwned Mar 30 2009 11:35 AM Wouldn't have minded immersing my eyes in Pepsi at the ends of the last two seasons. metirish Mar 30 2009 11:41 AM The language of such releases are all the same , jeez sounds like I'll have the expreince of my life if only I was sitting in the Pepsi porch. I do like Pepsi though Farmer Ted Mar 30 2009 01:13 PM The Pepsi sign is a big FUCK YOU to Atlanta and Ted Turner's phallic Coke Bottle. metirish Apr 02 2009 01:24 PM Head groundskeeper Pete Flynn marks the baselines and grooms home plate at Citi Field. (Newsday / Audrey C. Tiernan / March 25, 2009) Pinball machines in the Mets' new clubhouse at Citi Field. (Newsday / Audrey C. Tiernan / March 25, 2009) Pepsi porch I like the detail in the carpet. John Cougar Lunchbucket Apr 02 2009 01:31 PM Those pinball machines are too close to the wall, and one another, to be playable. However, I think can whip Jose Reyes' butt on either table. themetfairy Apr 02 2009 01:39 PM I love the pool table! DocTee Apr 02 2009 01:41 PM The pool table is coin operated? You can buy any of these items in 35 years when the Mets move to a new stadium. I call dibs on the leather recliners. soupcan Apr 02 2009 01:59 PM This carpet is god-awful. Benjamin Grimm Apr 02 2009 02:23 PM I agree. It's garish. It's nice that they're honoring Shea with the neon players, but those big grey baseballs are hideous. The first thing I'd do is replace that carpet with something with a blue-and-orange 1960's Shea Stadium shingle pattern. Edgy DC Apr 02 2009 02:27 PM I'd do a pattern based on an acne-covered back. soupcan Apr 03 2009 10:44 AM Delgado, last night. Cool, huh? Edgy DC Apr 03 2009 10:51 AM How does the warning track soil/clay stay packed like that? Fman99 Apr 03 2009 10:53 AM ="Benjamin Grimm":29ka38qg]I don't imagine that most fans will want to be "immersed in a Mets and Pepsi experience" while at the ballgame. I know I wouldn't. I just want to watch the game, without any immersion at all.[/quote:29ka38qg] Little known fact, the Jimi Hendrix Experience was originally known as the Mets and Pepsi Experience. metirish Apr 03 2009 01:04 PM ="soupcan"]Delgado, last night. Cool, huh? Beautiful picture , one for the mantle I should think. This story went with that picture in the NY Times ] Mets Get a Late-Night Sneak Preview of Citi Field By BEN SHPIGEL Published: April 3, 2009 Out from the buses they spilled, marching through a gate, down a corridor and around a corner until, finally, there it was. Home. The Mets� shiny, new clubhouse awaited. And as Carlos Delgado poked his head inside at about 10:55 p.m. Thursday, he surveyed the sheer size of it all and said, �Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the big leagues.� His teammates, arriving at Citi Field fresh off a flight from Florida that landed two and a half hours late, followed suit, each more mesmerized than the next. After locating his locker, Jos� Reyes opened a cabinet and wondered aloud how much clothes he could fit inside. Pedro Feliciano plopped into his ergonomic chair. Shaking his head, Razor Shines could manage only a �Wow.� Then he said it again. �I�m overwhelmed,� Bobby Parnell said. �The other guys, they�re used to this.� Their curiosity piqued, players wheeled their hand luggage to their lockers and started to explore. John Maine and Mike Pelfrey bounded down the steps, past the sprint track. �Mainer, you want to race?� Pelfrey said. Ascending another set of stairs, they funneled into the dugout, joining Delgado and Carlos Beltr�n. Everyone looked up, almost instinctively, and then out, to the fences, scoping out the dimensions. Ryan Church, pointing toward the 415-foot marker in right-center field, told Delgado, �I don�t think they made it deep enough.� For the occasion, the lights had been turned on � �I should have brought sunscreen,� Darren O�Day said � and the grass glistened. But with rain in the forecast for Friday, when the Mets are scheduled to play Boston in an exhibition game, a tarp lay over the infield, preventing Johan Santana and friends from climbing the mound. Undeterred, many of the pitchers walked in the grass toward right-center, toward the bullpen, as quickly as their suits and dress shoes would allow them. Every few feet, J. J. Putz stopped, pointed the camera on his cellphone and snapped. The Mets occupy the bottom level of the two-tiered bullpen � just as the Phillies do in their ballpark � and the bullpen catcher Dave Racaniello wandered in. Assessing where the plate will be, he got into a crouch for a few seconds. As �In My Life� by the Beatles played, the lights suddenly went out. All part of the plan, explained Jeff Wilpon, the team�s chief operating officer, as a montage of highlights, player introductions and construction footage played on the video screen. Luis Alicea, the first-base coach, spotted Wilpon and thanked him. �Beautiful,� Alicea told him. �Absolutely beautiful.� When it ended, Wilpon escorted everyone into a tunnel behind the plate that led to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. As workers took a break from polishing the terrazzo floors, Jerry Manuel and Sandy Alomar Sr. walked slowly, taking time to read each of Robinson�s nine values, which are inscribed in the floor. Behind them, Putz slipped his feet into Robinson�s footprints. They matched. �Size 14,� Putz said. On the way back inside, Howard Johnson took a detour to show two of his apt pupils, Nick Evans and Daniel Murphy, the video room and the batting cage. Murphy gazed through the window. The door was locked. �Tomorrow,� Murphy said. soupcan Apr 03 2009 02:28 PM Stole this from baseball-fever.com... metirish Apr 03 2009 02:30 PM That needs a lot of dents in it.....too shiny. Edgy DC Apr 03 2009 02:38 PM Needs a top hat is what it needs. Strikes me that a cool reverence to the polo grounds could have been done by putting a recess in the wall out there.

Not surprising that Peterson didn't take the bait , a class act he's been since getting shafted.

I'm tired of Bell , yeah is was a rubbish deal but it's not like Bell was a stud.

See , I would be embarrassed to open one that size , or if the person I was with opened one like that.Is that even an umbrella , looks like something that one would use on the beach for shade.

Seaver to Piazza the Daily News says.

saw on ABC News highlights from the game today , looks spacious , one punter complained that the area around the apple is very plain looking. The report mentioned that Bernie Madoff had season tickets in the platinum section behind home plate , valued at $40,000. The Mets say they will not go unused but didn't say how.

The Yankees have 28 players (not to mention nine managers) in the Hall of Fame; the Mets have one. just so dumb...... Even late in the day, when the sun is at its lowest, the shadow cast by the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx does not reach all the way to Queens. Literally, that is. Oh please , that's Lupica 101.......

Some Mets fan I am , never heard of Richman until reading this thread, so thanks for creating it. Jack Curry blogs on him ] March 25, 2009, 4:55 PM Remembering Arthur Richman, 83, a Baseball Lifer By JACK CURRY Arthur Richman had a distinctive way of saying hello to me and to others. He never really said hello. He asked how you were doing, then asked if you needed any money. He must have asked me that a thousand times. When I learned that Richman, a longtime employee of the Yankees and the Mets, died Wednesday at age 83, the first vision I had was of him stopping by my press box seat to chat. Within a few seconds, he would ask me if I needed money. There are numerous baseball lifers who spend 40 or 50 years in the sport. But then there are the few who have essentially been in the sport from the time they climbed out of the crib. Richman was one of those rare people, a man who spent more than 70 years following baseball. The reason I know Harlond Clift was an All-Star is because Richman mentioned how he hung out with Clift while traveling with the St. Louis Browns as a child. The only time I met Stan Musial was when I was having dinner with Richman and he stopped at our table and hugged Richman. I secured a home phone number for Willie Mays because Richman gave it to me. The only president I met was George H.W. Bush. I saw Bush and a Secret Service agent walking through a hotel in Palm Springs, Calif. When I mentioned that I knew Arthur, the 41st president stopped and talked for 10 minutes. Richman played a significant role in the Yankees� hiring of Joe Torre as their manager in 1996, a decision that spurred the organization to four titles in five years. It was also something Richman felt he never received enough credit for doing. Richman dealt with George Steinbrenner, the principal owner, more than any other team official and bragged about how often Steinbrenner dismissed him and rehired him. Richman had relationships with Joe DiMaggio and Ralph Kiner, Derek Jeter and Darryl Strawberry. Speaking with Richman was like opening a baseball encyclopedia. He knew an army of people in every city the Yankees or Mets went. He called women �dollies� and he called his daily drinks �toddies.� Richman, who was Jewish, was so well connected that he secured Jim Thome a papal blessing from Pope John Paul II as a wedding gift. As a Catholic, I told Richman how impressed I was with what he had done for Thome. So he asked me if I wanted a papal blessing, too. Sometimes Richman said things that made me cringe. When I was the M.C. at the New York baseball writers� dinner several years ago, he gave a rambling speech that included a reference to the K.K.K. The next person I had to introduce was Sharon Robinson, the daughter of Jackie Robinson. Richman liked to grouse about many things, but as a former sportswriter and a public relations man, he was always eager to help writers. Richman�s office at Yankee Stadium was full of pictures of him with everyone from Richard Nixon to Johnny Bench to Steinbrenner. He had a telephone book that was originally about the size of a paperback book, but over the years he stuffed it with so many scraps of paper and cards that it weighed as much as a brick. He was eager to pull a rumpled piece of paper out of his wallet that included the men he wanted to be his pallbearers. I believe Kiner, Bench, Torre, Mays, Rusty Staub and George Brett were on the list. Brett gave one of his sons the middle name Richman. A few years ago, after Richman once again asked me if I needed any money, I decided to teasingly test him. I asked him what he would do if I took him up on his offer and said that I needed a few bucks. �I�d ask you how much you wanted and I�d give it to you,� Richman said. �How much do you need?� I�m sure Arthur would have given me everything from his wallet. Then he would have come back the next day and asked me the same questions. I will miss those conversations. I will miss the man.

="G-Fafif":1lv2v53h]Does this have anything to do with Met managers?[/quote:1lv2v53h] All six were hung like Yogi? G-Fafif Mar 26 2009 01:16 PM ="metirish":2pwumxb3]="G-Fafif":2pwumxb3]Does this have anything to do with Met managers?[/quote:2pwumxb3] All six were hung like Yogi?[/quote:2pwumxb3] Cleon and Tug just missed the cut. But not Art Shamsky! I'm thinking something about multiple in-season managerial changes or interim managers is the common thread. One would have to include the brief fill-in tenure of Rube Walker in '68 to make this work, I think. Also, Garrett was gone before Frazier gave way to Torre, so I may be off here. batmagadanleadoff Mar 26 2009 01:59 PM ="G-Fafif":3chkgx1f]Does this have anything to do with Met managers?[/quote:3chkgx1f] The answer doesn't. But here's hint #10, which does have something to do with managers. [u:3chkgx1f]Hint #10[/u:3chkgx1f]. As I said, Bud Harrelson did this four times as a Met, if you include his roster stints as coach and/or manager. Including all Met managerial and coaching stints, add Yogi Berra, Rube Walker, Joe Pignatano and Eddie Yost as Mets who did this three times. batmagadanleadoff Mar 26 2009 02:01 PM ="metirish":30ysumtj]All six were hung like Yogi?[/quote:30ysumtj] There's nothing quite like Yogi. Never was. Never will be. G-Fafif Mar 26 2009 02:18 PM Anything to do with Shea? LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Mar 26 2009 02:23 PM (Four) Appearances on Kiner's Korner? G-Fafif Mar 26 2009 02:31 PM Threw up their hands in disgust, wondering how everything went south so quickly? Which is to say part of a Mets team that had a wild fluctuation in the standings, bad to good, then good to bad and back again? Boswell, McGraw and Dyer were all outta here before the '75 season. Jones was released during that season. Seaver plus your original five plus your coaches were there in '75 (but Yogi didn't last out that year, so hung was he). All but Staub played for Gil Hodges. MFS62 Mar 26 2009 02:33 PM They all played for a last place team and a pennant winning team. Later G-Fafif Mar 26 2009 02:39 PM ="MFS62":2fhw62t1]They all played for a last place team and a pennant winning team. Later[/quote:2fhw62t1] Wayne Garrett didn't play for a last-place Mets team. Maybe next-to-last place is what's going on here, though Tug was on the '66 Mets (but not '68 Mets). batmagadanleadoff Mar 26 2009 02:43 PM ="G-Fafif":2t9ocdb9]Anything to do with Shea?[/quote:2t9ocdb9] Other than that those Mets played all of their home games there? No. ="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr":2t9ocdb9](Four) Appearances on Kiner's Korner?[/quote:2t9ocdb9] Steve Henderson probably appeared on Kiner's Korner about a dozen times before the end of his first month as a Met. ="G-Fafif":2t9ocdb9] Cleon and Tug just missed the cut. But not Art Shamsky![/quote:2t9ocdb9] Art Shamsky did it just once. Bob Ojeda never did it. That was hint #11. And 12. [u:2t9ocdb9]Hint #13[/u:2t9ocdb9]. Bud Harrelson did it four times. This is the maximum possible number of times that any Met could have accomplished this whatever you wanna call it. [u:2t9ocdb9]Hint #14[/u:2t9ocdb9]. I just did a quick check of modern baseball history and I noticed that among everyday players, Mark Belanger did it six times with the Orioles. And according to the looser version that would include Cleon Jones, Mike Schmidt also did it six times. I can't think of any modern everyday player that could've accomplished this more than six times, but I won't rule it out, because I didn't research the other teams thoroughly enough to say for sure. G-Fafif Mar 26 2009 02:54 PM ]Cleon and Tug just missed the cut. But not Art Shamsky! Wait, we're not talking about Yogi Berra's newly known attribute? 'Cause if we are, I'm thinking Shamsky, Joe Ginsberg, Shawn Green...there was some cutting going on when they were bonus babies. (I hate myself sometimes.) batmagadanleadoff Mar 26 2009 03:17 PM ="G-Fafif"]]Cleon and Tug just missed the cut. But not Art Shamsky! Wait, we're not talking about Yogi Berra's newly known attribute? 'Cause if we are, I'm thinking Shamsky, Joe Ginsberg, Shawn Green...there was some cutting going on when they were bonus babies. (I hate myself sometimes.) I was being circumspect. G-Fafif Mar 26 2009 03:29 PM ="batmagadanleadoff"]="G-Fafif"]]Cleon and Tug just missed the cut. But not Art Shamsky! Wait, we're not talking about Yogi Berra's newly known attribute? 'Cause if we are, I'm thinking Shamsky, Joe Ginsberg, Shawn Green...there was some cutting going on when they were bonus babies. (I hate myself sometimes.) I was being circumspect. To Shea. Which is where all those guys played, but nothing more. batmagadanleadoff Mar 26 2009 04:56 PM ="G-Fafif":3flx9u20]To Shea.[/quote:3flx9u20] Touch�. To Shea. batmagadanleadoff Mar 27 2009 09:01 AM [u:2fpqm5aj]Hint #15[/u:2fpqm5aj]. Here's how many times Met managers did it: Bud Harrelson -4 Yogi Berra - 3 Gil Hodges - 1 Roy McMillan -1 Joe Torre -1 Davey Johnson - 1 Bobby Valentine - 1 All other Met Managers - 0 But I'm not saying whether these managers did it as managers, coaches or players, or some combination - other than Harrelson, where it was already hinted that Bud did it three times as a player and once as a manager/coach. Other than Johnson, all of those managers also either played or coached (or both) for the Mets. MFS62 Mar 27 2009 10:21 AM I think by now, you could give us the answer as a hint, and we still wouldn't get it. Later batmagadanleadoff Mar 27 2009 10:47 AM ="batmagadanleadoff":1vx4xyze][u:1vx4xyze]Hint #15[/u:1vx4xyze]. Here's how many times Met managers did it: Bud Harrelson -4 Yogi Berra - 3 Gil Hodges - 1 Roy McMillan -1 Joe Torre -1 Davey Johnson - 1 Bobby Valentine - 1 All other Met Managers - 0 But I'm not saying whether these managers did it as managers, coaches or players, or some combination - other than Harrelson, where it was already hinted that Bud did it three times as a player and once as a manager/coach. Other than Johnson, all of those managers also either played or coached (or both) for the Mets.[/quote:1vx4xyze] I made a mistake. Roy McMillan did it twice. Benjamin Grimm Mar 27 2009 11:05 AM I Googled "things Roy McMillan did twice." He was named to the NL All-Star team twice. He wouldn't think twice about shooting Booker. He watched Oden work out twice in the summer. He descended a waterfall twice as high as Niagara. Twice a week he sits in a lawn chair while the clinic gets calls from women. Edgy DC Mar 27 2009 11:13 AM That last one was gonna be my next guess. batmagadanleadoff Mar 27 2009 11:52 AM ="Benjamin Grimm":3niay9n1]I Googled "things Roy McMillan did twice."[/quote:3niay9n1] I didn't plan this ahead of time, but my trivia question appears to be google-proof. Anyone googling here is either confirming a correct response or eliminating a wrong one. But the answer itself is not googleable - or at least not googleable by submitting the question as a search term. [u:3niay9n1]Hint #16[/u:3niay9n1]. Yogi did it four times as a Yankee. [u:3niay9n1]Hint #17[/u:3niay9n1]. For most of Yogi's Yankee days, this was twice as hard to do as it is now, if not outright impossible. [u:3niay9n1]Hint #18[/u:3niay9n1]. Babe Ruth never did it. So -- George Thomas 3, George Herman 0. Did anyone ever notice how the greatest Met and Yankee are both named George, and how they were both commonly referred to as something other than George? Met Hunter Mar 27 2009 04:02 PM I think it has something to do with being on a LCS team or winner. TheOldMole Mar 27 2009 09:15 PM Things Tad did twice: He circled the room twice and then exited He was made that guy by Dre twice this week. batmagadanleadoff Mar 28 2009 01:21 PM ="TheOldMole":32culie7]Things Tad did twice: He circled the room twice and then exited He was made that guy by Dre twice this week.[/quote:32culie7] You're not taking this seriously, are you? [u:32culie7]Hint #19[/u:32culie7]. Tommy Davis did it seven times in his career; never as a N.Y. Met. batmagadanleadoff Mar 28 2009 01:28 PM ="batmagadanleadoff":1dd6hoe3]="TheOldMole":1dd6hoe3]Things Tad did twice: He circled the room twice and then exited He was made that guy by Dre twice this week.[/quote:1dd6hoe3] You're not taking this seriously, are you? [u:1dd6hoe3]Hint #19[/u:1dd6hoe3]. Tommy Davis did it seven times in his career; never as a N.Y. Met.[/quote:1dd6hoe3] [u:1dd6hoe3]Hint #20[/u:1dd6hoe3]. Dwight Bernard did it twice in his career; never as a N.Y. Met. Edgy DC Mar 28 2009 01:47 PM The answer is, obviously, appearing on the cover of the Mets' yearbook. Rusty Staub is the odd man out, because he actually appeared on the cover of a Mets yearbook in a visitor's uniform, sliding into Jerry Grote or something. SteveJRogers Mar 28 2009 01:57 PM ="Edgy DC"]The answer is, obviously, appearing on the cover of the Mets' yearbook. Rusty Staub is the odd man out, because he actually appeared on the cover of a Mets yearbook in a visitor's uniform, sliding into Jerry Grote or something. ] Hint #2. Note that Tug McGraw and Cleon Jones are not included in the question. This last hint might help you to avoid wrong answers, more than anything else. Edgy DC Mar 28 2009 02:02 PM Yes, thanks for you non-speaking point. Whle I'm certain that my "obvious" answer is wrong, I believe his statment was that they did something at least three times, so one appearance by another would not be a disqualifier. Nonetheless, Jose Reyes has probably hogged three covers by now. How about you let the quiz guy knock me down? SteveJRogers Mar 28 2009 02:05 PM Hmmm From Baseball-Almanac's Bud Harrelson's 1965 page ]On the road, Bud Harrelson appeared in 10 games, had 20 at-bats, drove in 0 runs, scored 3 times, had 2 hits (1 doubles / 0 triples / 0 home runs), walked 1 times (0 intentional), struck out 5 times, was hit by a pitcher 0 times, sacrificed 0 times (0 hits & 0 flies), stole 5 bases, was caught stealing 4 times, ground into 5 double plays, and finished at home with a .1 batting average, .142 on base percentage and .15 slugging average? Caught stealing in a single season? batmagadanleadoff Mar 28 2009 02:09 PM ="Edgy DC":1ycfndin]The answer is, obviously, appearing on the cover of the Mets' yearbook. Rusty Staub is the odd man out, because he actually appeared on the cover of a Mets yearbook in a visitor's uniform, sliding into Jerry Grote or something.[/quote:1ycfndin] Staub never appeared on any cover of a Met yearbook as a visitor. And it wouldn't count even if he did, because the answer concerns something done as a Met. You're thinking of the 1971 yearbook cover, featuring a Dodger sliding into the plate (Willie -- Crawford or Davis, I think). Coincidentally and during his Expo days, Staub was a fixture in that section of Mets season ticket brochures that would feature the visiting star players that were to appear at Shea. I always wondered if Met scouts were inspired by those pamphlets because over the next few seasons, the team went and got almost all of those featured visiting stars, even if it was usually, though not in Staub's case, a day late and a dollar short. (Staub, Mays, Torre) Too bad they didn't get Willie Stargell. Edgy DC Mar 28 2009 02:12 PM So I guess you're saying I'm wrong? There were two play-at-the-plate covers --- the second one features Stoins failng to tag out a hook-sliding Cub (I think a Cub). But now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure the Dodger opponent was black, and and the Cub opponent was Latino. And, of course, Staub never played for either team. batmagadanleadoff Mar 28 2009 02:14 PM ="Edgy DC":1esaa9by]So I guess you're saying I'm wrong?[/quote:1esaa9by] I don't wanna take away any credit from Rogers. batmagadanleadoff Mar 28 2009 10:35 PM ="SteveJRogers"]Hmmm From Baseball-Almanac's Bud Harrelson's 1965 page ]On the road, Bud Harrelson appeared in 10 games, had 20 at-bats, drove in 0 runs, scored 3 times, had 2 hits (1 doubles / 0 triples / 0 home runs), walked 1 times (0 intentional), struck out 5 times, was hit by a pitcher 0 times, sacrificed 0 times (0 hits & 0 flies), stole 5 bases, was caught stealing 4 times, ground into 5 double plays, and finished at home with a .1 batting average, .142 on base percentage and .15 slugging average? Caught stealing in a single season? I must have missed this post before. In order for your answer to work, the Mets that are the answer to this question (or question to the answer) (Kranepool, Koosman, Grote, Staub, Harrelson, Garrett - and depending on how the answer is phrased, Seaver, plus Cleon by relaxing the standard, plus Berra, Pignatano, Yost and Walker if you wanna include coaches and/or managers) must have done something three times -- in your answer, I assume that you mean being caught stealing four bases over three separate seasons, as the original question states that no Met player did it more than three times. But I also hinted that both Harrelson and Davey Johnson did it once each as either a manager or coach. Since managers or coaches don't steal bases, and don't get caught stealing bases, and neither Harrelson or Davey were player/coach-managers like Joe Torre once was, this would tend to wreck it for you. Davey could never have been caught stealing four bases for the Mets in any season, let alone three seasons, because Davey never played for the Mets. I also hinted that Harreslon's "four times" represents the maximum number of times that any Met could have possibly done this. This would also tend to negate your response because the only theoretical limit on the number of times a players might get caught stealing precisely four times in a single season would be the number of season's the player played. Thus, for example, Ed Kranepool could have theoretically been caught stealing four bases in a season, 18 times - once for each of the 18 seasons he played for the Mets. Also, Tom Seaver was never, ever caught stealing a base throughout his entire career, let alone three bases in one season in three different seasons. Also, I hinted that Mike Schmidt did this six times in his career. Yet Mike Schmidt was caught stealing four bases in a season, just once -- in his repeat MVP season of 1981. Now if you weren't referring to seasons, but simply referring to Harrelson' s four caught stealings in 1965 as the answer, then this would have to be the highest number of CS in a season in Met history, and the highest possible number of times that a Met could get caught stealing in a season. And Davey Johnson would have had to have been caught stealing four bases in a season as a Met in order for your response to be reconciled with all of the hints. You were close, though. Nice try. Edgy DC Mar 29 2009 11:21 AM ]I also hinted that Harreslon's "four times" represents the maximum number of times that any Met could have possibly done this. Things one can theoreticall only do four times: 1) You can only appear in a game in four different seasons of the year. 2) You can only be permantently banished from a province of Ireland four times. 3) You can only lose a limb fout times. 5) You can only kill a Beatle four times. And now, not even. MFS62 Mar 29 2009 12:31 PM About the answer. Is this something that when we hear it, we'll slap ourselves in the forehead and say,"Shit, how could I not know that?" Or is this something really obscure? Later batmagadanleadoff Mar 29 2009 02:12 PM ="MFS62":2uzr4589]About the answer. Is this something that when we hear it, we'll slap ourselves in the forehead and say,"Shit, how could I not know that?" Or is this something really obscure?[/quote:2uzr4589] I don't know. But if this is your idea of a Mets trivia question, perhaps some hints are in order. batmagadanleadoff Mar 29 2009 02:13 PM ="Met Hunter":yxvwkmgj]I think it has something to do with being on a LCS team or winner.[/quote:yxvwkmgj] On the one hand, your answer is wrong, and not even close. But in some respects, your answer is closer than any of the other answers submitted. batmagadanleadoff Mar 29 2009 02:16 PM ="Edgy DC"]]I also hinted that Harreslon's "four times" represents the maximum number of times that any Met could have possibly done this. Things one can theoreticall only do four times: 1) You can only appear in a game in four different seasons of the year. 2) You can only be permantently banished from a province of Ireland four times. 3) You can only lose a limb fout times. 5) You can only kill a Beatle four times. And now, not even. Ironically, you skipped the fourth thing that one can do four times. MFS62 Mar 29 2009 02:31 PM They finished in sixth place. Can't be done any more, since there are only four teams in a division. Later Edgy DC Mar 29 2009 02:39 PM 4) Um, you can only watch four seasons of Judd Hirsch in Dear John. G-Fafif Mar 29 2009 02:50 PM ="MFS62":3rc41gmb]They finished in sixth place. Can't be done any more, since there are only four teams in a division.[/quote:3rc41gmb] Wayne Garrett never finished in sixth place as a Met. (Perhaps it's because my CF brick is in Section 11 that I keep focusing like a laser on Mr. Garrett's participation in this question.) None of those guys was ever in my kitchen either. Buddy Harrelson has never been in my kitchen at least four times. batmagadanleadoff Mar 29 2009 02:52 PM ="MFS62":3pps8etg]They finished in sixth place. Can't be done any more, since there are only four teams in a division. Later[/quote:3pps8etg] Wayne Garrett (three times) was never a part of a 6th place Mets team. Neither were Berra or Yost. None of the other Mets were on 6th place Mets teams, three times. batmagadanleadoff Mar 29 2009 02:54 PM ="MFS62":22v9j71q] Or is this something really obscure?[/quote:22v9j71q] I don't think so. Really. batmagadanleadoff Mar 31 2009 11:29 AM Hint #21. This wouldn't necessarily be the best hint I've provided, but a clue to the theme of this trivia question does appear in the cover of the 1993 Met yearbook. So, once again -- What did the following Mets -and no other Mets- do three times (as Mets): Ed Kranepool, Jerry Koosman, Bud Harrelson, Jerry Grote, Wayne Garrett, Rusty Staub, Cleon Jones and Tom Seaver, depending on how the answer is phrased? (Plus Berra, Pignatano, Yost and Walker, counting managers/coaches. But then, Harrelson did it four times instead of three.) John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 31 2009 11:33 AM Wear 3 different style/makes of Mets unis? batmagadanleadoff Mar 31 2009 11:37 AM ="John Cougar Lunchbucket":ct5jqyqq]Wear 3 different style/makes of Mets unis?[/quote:ct5jqyqq] You'd have to define styles, but it's not the answer. Any Met who played through most of the 90's (Franco, Hundley) wore more than four different uni styles. Fman99 Mar 31 2009 11:45 AM In as respectful a voice as possible, I'd like to indicate that I no longer care what the answer and think you're just a sadist for dragging this on for so many pages. It's like watching a horse with a broken leg limp down the home stretch. Just send this thread to the glue factory please. batmagadanleadoff Mar 31 2009 11:52 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Mar 31 2009 12:03 PM ="Fman99":14t2ivit]In as respectful a voice as possible, I'd like to indicate that I no longer care what the answer and think you're just a sadist for dragging this on for so many pages.[/quote:14t2ivit] If you thought I was a sadist before I wrote this post, you're gonna think even worse when I tell you that I figured this question would drag on all Summer. Actually, I think the answer, surrounded by all the clues, is obvious. You'll see when I post the answer, but I'm surprised no one's gotten it yet. (Though, I didn't expect anybody to get it without any clues). Are trivia stumpers really sadists? I think that's harsh. Ouch! John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 31 2009 11:55 AM I will say all the clues out there just made it more convoluted for me. I woulda made more gusses without all of them gumming up my brain. Benjamin Grimm Mar 31 2009 12:10 PM I think it may be time to flip the cards. OlerudOwned Mar 31 2009 12:10 PM Play during an anniversary season? Fuck if I know? Edgy DC Mar 31 2009 12:20 PM Cash checks from three different ownership groups? batmagadanleadoff Mar 31 2009 12:31 PM [u:2z8yrec9]Hint # Last[/u:2z8yrec9]. Sigh. batmagadanleadoff Mar 31 2009 12:35 PM ="Edgy DC":2jou5jz3]Cash checks from three different ownership groups?[/quote:2jou5jz3] That's interesting. The Payson Group. The De Roulets. Doubleday. Then Wilpon. Would you have a fifth group for the period when Doubleday and Wilpon were equal 50% owners? It wouldn't work, though. Stearns, for example, was a Met under all four groups; Cleon - just Payson. Edgy DC Mar 31 2009 12:43 PM I tried. Yeah, I count five different ownership entities under four different controlling partners --- Payson - DeRoulet/Payson - Doubleday, Inc. - Doubleday/Wilpon - Wilpon. It was as guess, and I thought maybe possibly right depending on how toruturously you defined things. Zvon Mar 31 2009 02:27 PM Sorry I didn't see this earlier. Don't give away the answer! I'm keen to guess! metsmarathon Mar 31 2009 03:24 PM played under the reign of different official METS logos...? SteveJRogers Mar 31 2009 03:40 PM FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST GIVE THE DAMN ANSWER! batmagadanleadoff Mar 31 2009 04:29 PM Okay ... this is the last batch of hints and comments I'll make. Sometime tomorrow, I'll post the answer. ="Edgy DC":2h2aw5er]Cash checks from three different ownership groups?[/quote:2h2aw5er] I liked this guess, even though it was incorrect. The answer to this question is much more obvious and accessible. ="Met Hunter":2h2aw5er]I think it has something to do with being on a LCS team or winner.[/quote:2h2aw5er] I also liked Met Hunter's guess, even though the answer has nothing to do with being on an LCS team or on a winner and even though MH's answer wasn't even an answer, but a request for another hint. But I think that Met Hunter's approach to answering the question might have been the best one, even if I'm guessing here, myself. I guess that I don't really know what MH's reasons or methods were for answering the question the way he did. But I liked his comment. If you phrase the answer so as to include Tom Seaver as one of the Mets that did this three times, then by that same phrasing, Jim Palmer did this six times with the Orioles, and the trio of Glavine, Smoltz and Maddux each did it six times as a Brave. I'm still trying to figure out whether there's any consolation in being called a sadist respectfully, as opposed to the regular way. Met Hunter Mar 31 2009 04:42 PM There are a few reasons why I'm thinking this way. First of all, you mention the 69 coaches, so an on field feat is out. Then you mentioned that a Met could only do this four times. Like the 4 Met pennants. Buddy being the coach on one of them. But since no Met could do all four that was out. Maybe a playoff appearance? There were no LCSs in Babe Ruth's day. Belanger was in 6 LCSs with Balto. But then Ojeda never did it. So that's out. Dwight Bernard was a short timer, but he played when Milwaukee was a playoff team. Hmmm. Every guess, every lead, has a hole. I was hoping it isn't something dopey like being on the cover of a yearbook. G-Fafif Mar 31 2009 04:51 PM Played with/coached a Hall of Famer? With/for a Hall of Famer in the World Series? Wayne Garrett had three Hall of Famers in that regard: Seaver, Mays, Ryan (if we're not counting managers). Harrelson would have those guys plus Carter, when he coached, making it four. I haven't value-tested every guy (why not Tug...because he didn't pitch in '69 WS, perhaps), so maybe not, but Dwight Bernard played in a WS with Molitor and Yount, so...I have no idea. batmagadanleadoff Mar 31 2009 04:57 PM ="G-Fafif":3bt9357t]Played with/for a Hall of Famer?[/quote:3bt9357t] No, because the maximum # of times any Met could have accomplished this was four times. But the Mets have had more than four hall of famers. Also, many of the early Mets would have played with at least three (Spahn, Berra and Snider). batmagadanleadoff Mar 31 2009 04:59 PM ="G-Fafif":l26i4i4l]Played with/coached a Hall of Famer? With/for a Hall of Famer in the World Series? Wayne Garrett had three Hall of Famers in that regard: Seaver, Mays, Ryan (if we're not counting managers). Harrelson would have those guys plus Carter, when he coached, making it four. I haven't value-tested every guy (why not Tug...because he didn't pitch in '69 WS, perhaps), so maybe not, but Dwight Bernard played in a WS with Molitor and Yount, so...I have no idea.[/quote:l26i4i4l] Did you just add this stuff? Anyway, it's got nothing to do with HOF'ers. And remember -- Babe Ruth never did it. G-Fafif Mar 31 2009 05:01 PM ="batmagadanleadoff":1wu9ddve]="G-Fafif":1wu9ddve]Played with/for a Hall of Famer?[/quote:1wu9ddve] No, because the maximum # of times any Met could have accomplished this was four times. But the Mets have had more than four hall of famers. Also, many of the early Mets would have played with at least three (Spahn, Berra and Snider).[/quote:1wu9ddve] Yeah, that occurred to me after. But Spahn, Berra, Snider did not play in WS as Mets. Only Mets HoFers to play in WS as Mets were Nolan, Willie, Tom and Gary; Yogi coached and managed in WS. I don't know that Schmidt played with six HoFers in WS (Carlton, Perez, Morgan...eph the Phils). batmagadanleadoff Mar 31 2009 05:07 PM ="batmagadanleadoff":3qmgs4ht]="G-Fafif":3qmgs4ht]Played with/for a Hall of Famer?[/quote:3qmgs4ht] No, because the maximum # of times any Met could have accomplished this was four times. But the Mets have had more than four hall of famers. Also, many of the early Mets would have played with at least three (Spahn, Berra and Snider).[/quote:3qmgs4ht] Kranepool played with those three, plus Ryan, Seaver and Mays -- six HOFers in all, not including HOF managers and coaches (Hornsby, Stengel) batmagadanleadoff Mar 31 2009 05:09 PM ="G-Fafif":3fpqzwke]="batmagadanleadoff":3fpqzwke]="G-Fafif":3fpqzwke]Played with/for a Hall of Famer?[/quote:3fpqzwke] No, because the maximum # of times any Met could have accomplished this was four times. But the Mets have had more than four hall of famers. Also, many of the early Mets would have played with at least three (Spahn, Berra and Snider).[/quote:3fpqzwke] Yeah, that occurred to me after. But Spahn, Berra, Snider did not play in WS as Mets. Only Mets HoFers to play in WS as Mets were Nolan, Willie, Tom and Gary; Yogi coached and managed in WS. I don't know that Schmidt played with six HoFers in WS (Carlton, Perez, Morgan...eph the Phils).[/quote:3fpqzwke] I see. We're playing leapfrog with our posts. Well, it doesn't have anything to do with HOFers, no matter how you slice it. SteveJRogers Mar 31 2009 05:10 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Mar 31 2009 05:12 PM I'm fixated on Buddy's Gold Glove image. Does it have something to do with Met award winners? Huh, or maybe All Star Game Starts... AH HA... All Star Game selections made by someone other than fan voting perhaps? batmagadanleadoff Mar 31 2009 05:12 PM ="SteveJRogers"]I'm fixated on Buddy's Gold Glove image. Does it have something to do with Met award winners? Hey! This isn't What's My Line? G-Fafif Mar 31 2009 05:14 PM SteveJRogers Mar 31 2009 05:16 PM Be in uniform for Opening Day proper (Game 1 of 162) at Shea Stadium? That doesn't make much sense now that I think of it... Didn't it use to alternate until like the last few years the Mets have opened on the road for whatever reason? MFS62 Mar 31 2009 05:24 PM How about that all participated in a game that opened a new staduim? Later Edgy DC Mar 31 2009 05:24 PM These guys, at least three times, have attended the funeral of a Met Hall of Famer. Dead Mets Hall of Famers: Tommie Agee Gil Hodges Tug McGraw Bob Murphy Johnny Murphy Lindsey Nelson Joan Whitney Payson Bill Shea Casey Stengel George Weiss OlerudOwned Mar 31 2009 11:24 PM ="batmagadanleadoff":3ces6an7]="G-Fafif":3ces6an7]Played with/coached a Hall of Famer? With/for a Hall of Famer in the World Series? Wayne Garrett had three Hall of Famers in that regard: Seaver, Mays, Ryan (if we're not counting managers). Harrelson would have those guys plus Carter, when he coached, making it four. I haven't value-tested every guy (why not Tug...because he didn't pitch in '69 WS, perhaps), so maybe not, but Dwight Bernard played in a WS with Molitor and Yount, so...I have no idea.[/quote:3ces6an7] Did you just add this stuff? Anyway, it's got nothing to do with HOF'ers. And remember -- Babe Ruth never did it.[/quote:3ces6an7] Touched their own toes. TheOldMole Apr 01 2009 06:28 AM Can we give up? Benjamin Grimm Apr 01 2009 07:08 AM We're trying. MFS62 Apr 01 2009 07:13 AM Is it a coincidence that he said he would reveal the answer today? April Fools Day? What if there is no answer? Pitchfiorks and torches. Who's with me? Later seawolf17 Apr 01 2009 07:19 AM I don't mean this in a bad way, but if a trivia question takes sixteen hints and ninety posts without anyone sniffing an answer, I think it's a bit of trivia that would get you fired from the "Jeopardy" clue crew. batmagadanleadoff Apr 01 2009 07:23 AM Alright already. I'll post the answer in about 20 minutes. I would've really liked for someone to have solved the question. Reallly. I didn't set out to be a stumper. Or a sadist. The answer's so easy that when I post it, I guarantee that everyone on this forum will be able to confirm the accuracy of the answer mentally, without having to reference any printed source. metirish Apr 01 2009 07:27 AM Oh just give us the fucking answer for fucks sake , it can only be a disapointment at this stage. MFS62 Apr 01 2009 07:34 AM Come on already. I'm putting curare on my pitchfork. Later batmagadanleadoff Apr 01 2009 07:42 AM What do the following Mets -and no other Mets- have in common: Ed Kranepool, Jerry Koosman, Bud Harrelson, Jerry Grote, Wayne Garrett and Rusty Staub? Hint #5 - Whatever it is that these Mets have in common (Ed Kranepool, Jerry Koosman, Bud Harrelson, Jerry Grote, Wayne Garrett, Rusty Staub and depending on how the answer is phrased - Tom Seaver), they did it three times. Hint #6 - Actually, Bud Harrelson did it four times; thrice as a player and once as a manager/coach. But for the purpose of this question, I only counted the three times Bud did it as a player. The answer is ����. They all played for the Mets in a season --three times-- in which one of their teammates won the Cy Young Award. (Hint #13. Bud Harrelson did it four times. This is the maximum possible number of times that any Met could have accomplished this whatever you wanna call it.) Bud Harrelson did it four times. He played for the Mets for all three of Seaver�s Cy�s, and was a coach for the Mets in �85, the year that Gooden won his Cy Young award. Seaver, of course, can�t be his own teammate, so the answer would have to be re-phrased to work around the word �teammate� in order to include him: something like �these Mets played for the Mets in seasons when a Met won that year�s Cy Young award. ="Edgy DC"]Rusty Staub is the key here, as he is the only non-'69er. This is as good a time as any to segue into hint #7. Hint #7. Rusty's path to this "accomplishment" ("accomplishment" for lack of a better term) was slightly different than that off all the other Mets in the question. All but Rusty were teammates of Seaver in each of the three years when Seaver won the award (�69, �73 and �75). Staub missed Seaver�s first Cy but came back for a second stint with the team in the 80�s and was Gooden�s teammate for Doc�s Cy campaign in �85, Staub�s last season as a major leaguer. Hint # Last. Sigh. Sigh Young. Hint #8. Earlier, I wrote that Cleon Jones just missed making the list. Cleon's omission from the list is a technicality based on the way I chose to phrase the answer, more than anything else. I could rephrase the answer so as to include Cleon Jones. The inclusion of Cleon would then leave about a dozen or so Mets who "accomplished" this bit of trivia twice. Of those dozen or so, the Mets that came the closest to making the list (Kranepool, Koosman, Harrelson, Grote, Garrett, Staub - Seaver & Jones depending on how the answer is phrased) without actually making it are, in no particular order, Ken Boswell, Tug McGraw and Duffy Dyer. Hint #9. Under the narrower Jonesless version of this trivia question, Cleon misses the cut by a few months. Cleon was a Met in �69, �73 and �75, so he�s part of the answer. In my original answer, I excluded Cleon because he wasn�t on the Mets for the entire �75 season. I thought that by including partial seasons, the answer would include too many Mets, and the question would be too confusing. Really. But as it turned out, Cleon was the only Met affected by allowing partial seasons. Boswell, McGraw and Dyer were Mets for Seaver�s first two awards; their careers as Mets concluded at the end of the �74 season. Hint #10. As I said, Bud Harrelson did this four times as a Met, if you include his roster stints as coach and/or manager. Including all Met managerial and coaching stints, add Yogi Berra, Rube Walker, Joe Pignatano and Eddie Yost as Mets who did this three times. All four were in Mets uniforms for each of Seaver�s three Cy Young awards. ="batmagadanleadoff"] Hint #16. Yogi did it four times as a Yankee. Hint #17. For most of Yogi's Yankee days, this was twice as hard to do as it is now, if not outright impossible. Hint #18. Babe Ruth never did it. So -- George Thomas 3, George Herman 0. Did anyone ever notice how the greatest Met and Yankee are both named George, and how they were both commonly referred to as something other than George? Yogi played for the Yankees in 1958 when Bob Turley won the Cy Young award and in 1961, when Whitey Ford won the award. He coached the Yankees in 1977 when Sparky Lyle won the award and the following season, when Ron Guidry won it. The award didn�t exist prior to 1956, and between 1956 and 1966, only one award was given, instead of the two that are now awarded, -- one for each league. Hint #20. Dwight Bernard did it twice in his career; never as a N.Y. Met. Bernard�s MLB career consisted of two seasons with the Mets (�79 and �80) and then the following two seasons with the Brewers as teammates of Cy Young award winners Rollie Fingers (�81) and Pete Vuckovich (�82). Hint #19. Tommy Davis did it seven times in his career; never as a N.Y. Met. Tommy Davis was a teammate of the following Cy Young award winners in the same seasons that the pitchers won the award: Don Drysdale (�62) Sandy Koufax (�63, �65, �66) Vida Blue (�71) Jim Palmer (73, �75) MFS62 Apr 01 2009 07:50 AM Well played. Good question. Helpful clues. I'd still advise you to have someone else open your packages and start your car for you for a while. Later Zvon Apr 01 2009 12:03 PM ="batmagadanleadoff"]Hint # Last. Sigh. Sigh Young. batmagadanleadoff Apr 01 2009 12:10 PM ="Zvon"]="batmagadanleadoff"]Hint # Last. Sigh. Sigh Young. Welcome back, man! G-Fafif Apr 01 2009 12:44 PM The answer was kind of, sort of waiting to be divined. A couple of more weeks and I feel I would have caught on. Edgy DC Apr 01 2009 12:48 PM Agreed. Definitely by the All Star Break. batmagadanleadoff Apr 01 2009 03:02 PM If you guys weren't so impatient, my next hint would've been: Ironically, Cy Young never did this. Edgy DC May 07 2009 02:37 PM Tom Seaver Nolan Ryan Dennis Eckersley Rich Gossage Swan Swan H May 07 2009 03:14 PM WAG - Four pitchers who got a win and a save in an All-Star game. Edgy DC May 07 2009 05:25 PM I'm pretty sure this is an exclusive club (though I suspect there might be one more out there). I know that Bruce Sutter has also both won and saved an All Star game. You'd also think Sutter would be part of this list for the reasons I'm looking for, but he's not. batmagadanleadoff May 07 2009 05:28 PM Is this a trivia question? And if so, is there a Met theme (thread title)?