Frayed Knot

It's about time for Lugo to remember that he sucks.

I think that's over-doing the L/R thing too. Meanwhile, how the hell is the Boston/TB game still in the 8th inning when it's only 2-2? And it's not even a Matsuzaka start and Papelbon hasn't been in yet to slow the game to a crawl. I hate American League baseball.

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Johan deserved better than to have Frankie do this. Barely deserved better. Had he thrown up more than four zeros out of 8 innings he would have deserved it more and gotten it too.

It's against the remains of Pittsburgh. If he gets it it deserves an asterisk.

I didn't either. SBs are always a gamble. His 1st inning gaff when he got a terrible break on a totally un-catchable ball was a bad play.

Yadier's throws are rindoculous.

Nice of Johan to throw up a zero in that last inning. I hate that give-back stuff.

And let me guess, you knew this hamstring situation was going to be a lingering problem in 2005, then would allow him to play virtually every inning of 2006, 2007, and 2008, before becoming a lingering problem again in 2009 and beyond?

G-Fafif wrote: ="Valadius"]Why have I never heard of Roger Ramjet? And I used to watch the Cartoon Network almost exclusively as a kid. RR goes back a ways. Faded from view by the early '70s. Roger Ramjet would, when in a pickle, take a pill which would give him the strength of 'twenty atoms bombs for twenty seconds'. I used to have philosophical discussions with my sister and father as to whether taking a second pill would give him the strength of forty atom bombs for twenty seconds or twenty atom bombs for forty seconds. Always seemed to me that that would be an important thing to know.

Roger Ramjet and his Eagles Fighting for our freedom Fly through in and outer space Not to join him but to beat him. Roger Ramjet he's our man Hero of our nation For his adventure just be sure And stay tuned to this station. Come and join us all you kids For lots of fun and laughter As Roger Ramjet and his men Get all the crooks they're after. Roger Ramjet he's our man Hero of our nation For his adventure just be sure And stay tuned to this station. I could have recited at least half of this from memory.

I may regret asking this, but what defines a player as "soft"?

Keith is referring to Muffy as 'Roger Ramjet', an old 1960s cartoon character. I think I see the resemblance.

Monday, August 4 - Crosley Field: Reds 1 - Mets 0 -- Jim Maloney vs Jerry Koosman The Mets start a road trip against the now 1st-place (NL West) Reds (we knocked Atlanta out for the time being). Koosman holds the Reds to 1 run on 5 hits over 7 innings (a 3rd inning Sac Fly scored Rose) but is trumped by Maloney�s 8-2/3 IP of 0 run/2 hit ball. Cleon Jones - starting again for the first time since being yanked in mid-game - walked w/2 outs in the 9th but Wayne Granger came in to get Kranepool for the final out. Game Time = 2:15 58 - 45; 2nd place; 7.5 Games out of 1st , 2.5 games ahead of 3rd place StL (Cubs beat Astros 9 - 3) Reds starter Jim Maloney was a guy who didn�t have a real long career (he was 29 in 1969 which was his last good season) and seems to have been somewhat forgotten now, but for a couple of years there he was a real bitch on the mound. His peak coincided with the most pitching-dominant decade since the deal-ball era and during that time he both threw as hard as anyone in the game and was wild enough to put the fear of god into players. He also drank. The drinking part didn�t become public knowledge until a few years later but I bet it was known to at least some extent within baseball circles at the time which couldn�t have made batters feel any easier.

Shit! That was the inning we needed to do something.

Did we burn everyone already to the point where we have no logical candidate to run for Sheff and then go in for D?

OK, I admit it, I gave up and turned on 'House'.

Jacobson - now retired from Newsday but guesting with the above article specifically for this date - covered the Yanx in those days and later was columnist. He has mentioned the foul-mouthed bigotry on more than one occasion. That ESPN wanted to white-wash it isn't suprising. Be nice if a supposed biography didn't do the same. ]He has said he wrote this Munson bio partly to make up for the autobiography he was "as told to," which he didn't think was as honest as it could have been. Which would make it along the lines of the Al Stump/Cobb bios. As one of the reviews for that (later) book pointed out, Stump got to write a biography of one of the most interesting guys in MLB history ... and then he got to do it again. It also means that my initial instinct on this book could be wrong.

I was thinking someone was going to go with 'Welcome to the Haren House'

Sunday, August 3 - Shea Stadium: Mets 6 - Braves 5 (11 innings) -- Milt Pappas vs Gary Gentry The starters cruise along for 5 with a 3rd inning Bobby Tillman solo HR for the Braves as the only run; but then in the 6th the ceiling falls in on both. Gentry gives up 5 straight base runners to start the 6th inning and is gone. Don Carwell (Cardwell - didn�t he just start a few days back?) prevents a catastrophe with a Sac Fly and 2 ground-outs but it�s now 5-0 Braves. But in the bottom half Agee doubles, Garrett singles (out goes Pappas) Shamsky singles, Gaspar singles, Grote reaches on an error, and then Cleon (PH-ing again) singles in 2 more before a Harrelson Sac Fly ties the game at 5 Jack DiLauro (2 innings) and Ron Taylor (3) shut down the Braves on 2 hits until Jerry Grote�s leadoff HR in the 11th off Claude Raymond (French pronunciation on that last name s'il vous plait) wins the game. Game Time = 3:00 58 - 44; 2nd place; 6.5 Games out of 1st , 3.5 games ahead of 3rd place StL (Cubs beat Padres 4 - 3) A couple of side notes on Atlanta starter Milt Pappas, a guy who had a real good 17 year career in MLB (209 wins, 2 AS games) but is often remembered for several less than great moments - he was the main bait in on the �bad� half of the swap which sent Frank Robinson from Cincy to Baltimore. - he�s the only pitcher to lose a perfect game with a walk to the 27th batter. He got the no-hitter but remained bitter towards umpire Bruce Froemming for calling balls on close pitches on both the 2-2 and 3-2 counts to that 27th hitter. - and finally, a short time after his retirement, his wife went out on a brief shopping trip near their home in suburban Chicago and never returned. This became a fairly big story at the time as there was no evidence of where she had gone, no known motive for a crime, and no trace found of either her or her car. It wasn�t until five years later that her remains and car were found in a pond just a few blocks from their house. The death was ruled an accident.

Today the Cubs take a 1-run lead into the 9th and give closer Kevin Gregg another try. He gets the first out and then goes HR - HR (Uggla & Ross) and the Marlins win.

Good thing we didn't release him, eh? {ducks}

I have trouble watching ads for movies with Sandler in them, but he and Apatow were room-mates as struggling comics in LA way back when so I don't think we're getting rid of him so easily.

="MFS62":1d7pvxd4]And I also saw him play, and don't think he was as good a catcher as Yankee fans remember him to be. So I really don't care about this anniversary.[/quote:1d7pvxd4] Well I don't think acknowledging the anniversary needs to be about how good a player he was. Munson was a shaky thrower as a catcher but was otherwise real good defensively and offensively during his time. Now he was also falling apart physically by the time he died so the thought (treated as certainty in some circles) that he was a sure-fire HoF-er had he just played another few seasons pretends that his production wasn't going to degrade as he did. He was already only a part-time catcher in his final season and was almost certain to move out from behind the plate totally by the next season. He could also be a cantankerous, surly bigot and that's exactly the kind of "reporting" that tends to disappear whenever a company insider and acknowledged friend writes a bio. I've read enough Munson pr pieces over the years. If this book was any different it might be worth a look but I'm not betting on it. G-Fafif Aug 03 2009 11:54 AM Appel's memoir[/url:3uecv39s] on serving as MFY PR man from '68 to '77 was quite engaging. He came off as a good guy despite his subject matter and obvious fondness for the team that had employed him (a couple of stray e-mail encounters since have confirmed my suspicion that he's a fine fellow). Said nice things about the Mets in the book, so that softened me up. He has said he wrote this Munson bio partly to make up for the autobiography he was "as told to," which he didn't think was as honest as it could have been. SteveJRogers Aug 03 2009 04:32 PM ="Frayed Knot"] He could also be a cantankerous, surly bigotand that's exactly the kind of "reporting" that tends to disappear whenever a company insider and acknowledged friend writes a bio. I've read enough Munson pr pieces over the years. If this book was any different it might be worth a look but I'm not betting on it. Hmmm, that part of the deconstructing of Munson I haven't heard. I know he was cantankerous and surly, but I got the impression that he just wasn't a people person, not that he targeted specific kinds of people. I hope it's not the Reggie situation, because didn't Reggie's infamous "straw that stirs" line cause the relationship to be non-existent in the first place? And then Munson's famous lack of people skills did the rest. G-Fafif Aug 03 2009 05:11 PM SteveJAcobson (or Steve Jacobson) in Newsday on the mixed bag that was Thurman Munson here. ]The shocking death of Thurman Munson was the memorable moment of 1979, certainly one of the unforgettable incidents in 45 years of writing about sports. I'm still glad I didn't have to write about it at the moment. Life and death usually do present the unexpected. In 1979 - and a few years before and after in the age of the typewriter - the Newsday sports staff at year's end compiled the Memories of a Memorable Year. Dan Lauck wrote of his first look at the shattered hulk of Munson's airplane by the ghastly generated light at 1 a.m. I wrote thankfully that I had been out of the country and had not been compelled to write. It would have been very difficult. I did note that I did not like Munson and I believe he did not like me. We disagreed about a lot of things, some as basic as common courtesy. Let me make one point in hindsight: I voted for Munson for the Hall of Fame even though his major-league career was barely more than the minimum of 10 seasons. He was an outstanding player and the greatest force in returning the Yankees to a pennant after 11 years in the doldrums. But his accomplishments are one aspect of a man's life. Years later, Reggie Jackson lamented that the ESPN miniseries "The Bronx is Burning'' and the tumult of 1977 did not deal with anti-Semitism and racism. I was a consultant on the series and mentioned the issue about Munson and Billy Martin, but that wasn't how ESPN wanted to treat the rancor of the year. "But why talk about people that are dead?'' Jackson rationalized the treatment. "Why trample on a man's grave?'' In writing about Munson's death, I would have had to deal with both admiration for him as a player and personal observations. " . . . And it was clear afterward,'' I did write, "that the honest critical opinions the reader devoured and demanded the day before Munson's death were unacceptable and despised after it.'' When later I wrote critically on Martin's death, one member of the Yankees party whose opinion I respect and who knew the dark side of the man wrote to me: "How unkind.'' When Munson came on the scene as a rookie, I recall him saying, "Thurman Munson; it's a peculiar name, but once you hear it, you don't forget it.'' Indeed, he was named 1970 American League Rookie of the Year, and the only other catcher to have won that award was Johnny Bench. In 1976 Munson was named Most Valuable Player and hit .529 in the World Series even though the Yankees were swept by Cincinnati. Bench hit .533 and was named MVP of the Series. Munson was the first American League player to hit .300 and drive in 100 runs for three consecutive seasons in the nearly two dozen years since Al Rosen did it for Cleveland. In three World Series and three league championship series, Munson was a splendid performer even when he was burned by the constant conflict of 1977 and "sick and tired of being sick and tired.'' He was a terrific teammate for most of his teammates. He would delay his run for the plate, timing his safe arrival to collide with the catcher and enable a Yankee to take an extra base. Even before the arrival of Jackson and internal conflict, Munson was hostile to the press. "Just happy to be here,'' he'd say and stalk off. Once I pushed through Munson's refusal and said I was doing a long piece on Sparky Lyle. Munson looked left and right and proceeded to provide enlightening comment. And "enough?'' In the 1977 ALCS against Kansas City, George Brett slid into third base and immediately was tangled in a genuine fight with Graig Nettles. Brett was pinned on the bottom of a pile and being pummeled, and then Munson was lying on top of him in his catching gear, saying, "Don't worry, George, I won't let anybody hit you when you're down.'' And they didn't. "Thurman is my hero,'' Brett said. At the same time, Munson nursed a cranky rivalry with catchers Carlton Fisk of the Red Sox and teammate and backup Rick Dempsey. Munson would encourage Dempsey at one time and the next - this was when Munson still was conversational - remind everyone that Dempsey couldn't carry his mask. The celebration of Fisk bugged Munson, who thought he was better but that Fisk was more celebrated because he was tall and ruggedly handsome as the Minuteman on the postage stamp and a better interview. I still think Munson deserves the Hall of Fame even though only in his first year of eligibility did he get as many as 15 percent of the votes. He was a dominant player. I also do not forget that when Martin hauled Reggie off the field in Boston and wrongly accused him of loafing, Thurman went to Mike Torrez on the mound and, Torrez recalls, threw his racial slur into the event. At the tragic end, Fisk and Dempsey, who had years of scorn for Munson, now had only nice things to say about him. The public demanded that Munson be a hero without blemish, and I'm thankful I didn't have to face the typewriter with that in mind. Frayed Knot Aug 03 2009 07:18 PM Jacobson - now retired from Newsday but guesting with the above article specifically for this date - covered the Yanx in those days and later was columnist. He has mentioned the foul-mouthed bigotry on more than one occasion. That ESPN wanted to white-wash it isn't suprising. Be nice if a supposed biography didn't do the same. ]He has said he wrote this Munson bio partly to make up for the autobiography he was "as told to," which he didn't think was as honest as it could have been. Which would make it along the lines of the Al Stump/Cobb bios. As one of the reviews for that (later) book pointed out, Stump got to write a biography of one of the most interesting guys in MLB history ... and then he got to do it again. It also means that my initial instinct on this book could be wrong.

Aiming for 3:35 first pitch

Sheffield activated, Cancel DFA'd