Frayed Knot

So we might have something resembling a timetable for this soap opera: According to multiple sources familiar with Mets sale saga, the Wilpons will begin to field first-round bids on the team in July with an eye toward locking in a buyer by Oct. 1. But insiders say those bidders are now also aware the Wilpons must find a buyer in the coming weeks in order to close a deal by the end of 2020. “They need to sell the team before the end of the year,” one source told The Post. https://nypost.com/2020/06/24/wilpons-motivated-to-sell-mets-by-end-of-2020/https://nypost.com/2020/06/24/wilpons-motivated-to-sell-mets-by-end-of-2020/

Doug Glanville has decreed that the runner on 2nd should be scored as the 'Magic Double' When asked (he was on ESPN's morning show) how he felt about the rule he replied, "Nauseous"

Throw the names of brothers David and Simon Reuben into the mix of possibilities. SPORTICO: David and Simon Reuben, who amassed a fortune investing in real estate, technology companies and leisure, are exploring a bid for the New York Mets, people familiar with the matter told Sportico. The brothers, who were born in India [1941 & 1944] and moved to London as teenagers, have a combined net worth of about $14 billion — built on one of the largest portfolios of retail, office and residential properties. The brothers are likely drawn to the team because of the real estate development possibilities around Citi Field

I would have figured that Blackmon's beard was better protection than any face mask ever invented. Guess not.

And when Ronnie occasionally mentions that someone (often deGrom and/or Syndergaard) is having themselves "a Little League game", Gary will inevitably bring up the Rick Wise feat so we Met fans get periodic reinforcement of that fact.

Yeah, the no-hitter/two-HR game was 49 years ago today, hence both the current publicity and the source of the quiz. I knew he was dealt, straight-up, for Carlton as that was a well-know 'Challenge Trade' at the time. Both were coming off good seasons and both, IIRC, were having contract squabbles so the GMs agreed to swap out their 'headaches' to each other. That he lasted just two years in StL shows which side 'Won' the trade. Did not know that, five years later, he was part of a package deal that sent Dennis Eckersley to Boston. The 32 consecutive batter game was interesting. After giving up 2 in the 1st inning to the Cubs and then a HR to lead off the 2nd, Wise was perfect for 10-2/3 while his team made up the 3-run gap. Ron Santo's 2-out/12th inning single broke the string but he was then stranded. Future NYM Willie Montanez reached 2nd base leading off the bottom of the 12th for Wise's Phils w/an infield hit + error. The Cubs then walked the next two hitters to get to Wise who promptly singled in the winning run. The only longer single-game perfect streak was, of course, Harvey Haddix (36 straight hitters retired) although at least Wise won his game. The other oddity among all these oddities is that Wise wasn't really that great a hitter. .195/.228/.308 with 15 career HRs is certainly better than most but not stunning. But six of those taters came in the 1971 season where he had both of his multiple-HR games which included the no-hitter. Earl Wilson, Wes Farrell, and Jim Tobin were the only other pitchers to hit a HR while tossing a no-hitter ... but only one. No one since Wise has a HR/no-no game. Tobin, btw, is the one and only pitcher ever with a three-HR game. Three others -- Milt Pappas, Sonny Seibert, Pedro Ramos -- had 2 HR games while tossing a complete game shutout. 56 pitchers have produced a multi-HR effort (including Noah Syndergaard and Walt Terrell). No-hitters, by comparison, are about 6x more common. 11 pitchers have more than one multi-HR game to their credit, and again Wise is the last to accomplish that.

NAME THE PITCHER who: -- Won his first ML game as an 18 y/o against the Mets -- Is not a Hall-of-Famer himself but TWICE was traded for a future first-ballot HoF'er -- Once retired 32 consecutive batters in a game, the second longest one-game streak ever, before winning the game with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th -- Is not only the fourth — and last — ML pitcher to HR during his own no-hitter, but he did the other three one better by hitting TWO HRs while tossing a no-no -- Is the last ML pitcher to record TWO multi-HR games in a single season -- Was the winning pitcher in the epic 1975 WS Game Six, the final post-season game of his career

=MFS62 post_id=39181 time=1592925263 user_id=60]... if a crowd is going to advance on a place with torches, I'd vote for 111 Great Neck Road.

Statement from MLB: “Today, the Major League Baseball Players Association informed us that they have rejected the agreement framework developed by Commissioner Manfred and Tony Clark. Needless to say, we are disappointed by this development. The framework provided an opportunity for MLB and its players to work together to confront the difficulties and challenges presented by the pandemic. It gave our fans the chance to see an exciting new Postseason format. And, it offered players significant benefits including: 1) The universal DH for two years 2) A guaranteed $25 million in playoff pools in 2020 3) $33 million in forgiven salary advances that would increase the take home pay of 61% of Major League players 4) Overall earnings for players of 104 percent of prorated salary 5) Over the last two days, MLB agreed to remove expanded Postseason in 2021 in order to address player concerns In view of this rejection, the MLB Clubs have unanimously voted to proceed with the 2020 season under the terms of the March 26th Agreement. The provisions listed above will not be operative. In order to produce a schedule with a specific number of games, we are asking that the Players Association provide to us by 5:00 p.m. (ET) tomorrow with two pieces of information. The first is whether players will be able to report to camp within seven days (by July 1st). The second is whether the Players Association will agree on the Operating Manual which contains the health and safety protocols necessary to give us the best opportunity to conduct and complete our regular season and Postseason.”

=Ceetar post_id=39041 time=1592615139 user_id=102] add 4 teams and suddenly we're under half again. or 6 teams.

And Garagiola wasn't exactly known for keeping his mouth shut. In an era when going from sports to TV was a rarity, you don't go from a backup catcher to not just TV sports but network stuff including the TODAY SHOW by being a wallflower.

Edgy MD wrote: Kesich was a legit writer ... [who] parlayed his Oscar into a few more films — including the adaptation of The World According to Garp — but was done by 1986 after writing a second cycling story (American Flyers). I saw part of AMERICAN FLYERS and it was ... not good, although in truth I didn't really give it a fair shake. On the other hand what I did see didn't exactly scream out: GIVE IT A FAIR SHAKE!! I mean, a bike racer would have a tough time keeping up with his peers if trying to compete with a mild head cold, and yet there was Kevin Costner's character keeping up while actively dying! I suppose that's a tribute to writing ... and to being Kevin Costner. The other thing I saw exactly once was BREAKING AWAY: The TV show. Out just a year after the picture, I actually saw the TV show first and that was only because my friend's brother scored the music to the show (mostly just three second long bursts of sound heading into and out of commercials IIRC) and he had a few of us watch (probably the pilot) just so we could see 'Music By ____' in the credits. JEH and Barbara Barrie recreated their roles as Moocher and Mom though no other original actors joined in. Vincent Gardenia took the role as dad Stoeller. But the real casting coup was getting Shaun Cassidy, yes, David's baby (half) brother, to play Dave. The show lasted eight episodes. I can't remember when I first saw the movie but it was significantly after it was out. I don't remember even being aware of it at the time and paid zero attention to the Oscars in those days so nominations and awards wouldn't have helped to bring it to my attention.

Unfortunately, the argument of 'more teams will be in it' is the reason most often cited FOR increasing the number of teams qualifying for post-season play (not just in baseball but all sports in this country) and it's usually treated as if it's a no-lose situation, that there's no downside to jacking up the number higher and higher. Add to that the idea that some already treat baseball as being out of date and out of touch for having "only" ten, or a mere 1/3, of their teams qualify and that just gives them more incentive. Now I'm sure the league would argue that this is a temporary solution based just on the conditions put in place by Covid: shortened season this year / revenue make-up next year. Yeah, the DH was "experimental" also until it morphed from a rule that needed periodic approval to continue to one that now needs super-majorities to reverse. And now, 48 seasons later, that plague is still with us and is likely destined to be universal, probably in the next year or two and possibly in the next day or two.

Rose said that patience is what he's proudest of in [the Santana no-hitter] call. “As I learned from watching Gary, you have to describe,” he said. “The minute that ball nestled in Josh Thole's glove wasn't the minute for me to get up on some soapbox and do some song and dance that's just particular to my own repertoire. This was the most unique scene in the history of the club, really. So I had to talk about everything. Bullpen running out, the dugout, where's Terry Collins? What's he doing? Because you remember what a heart attack he had going that night. So that's all those things you've got to report. And that's thanks to Gary. So the fact that there wasn't a little while until I said, ‘Put it in the books,' makes me feel good. That reinforces that I did my job.” Howie's early most famous call was his "Matteau, Matteau" chant in the Double-OT win for the Rangers over the Devils which sent them to the SC final. What I remember about his initial reaction to hearing it first played back to him -- as a guest on WFAN early the following morning -- was to be somewhat embarrassed that he didn't do his job on that one, that he got lost in the moment and reverted to the fan that he had once been. Not sure if all the praise he has received since over that call has changed his mind over the years or he still has tinges of regret over that one. Two very different situations of course, a mid-season highlight vs a semi-final clinching win, but you wonder if the lessons of that first one were another part of what informed the presumably older and wiser version of himself to take stock of the bigger picture when making a call that would surely live on for years to come.

I felt this one was needed, even for a now 41 year old movie, as there seems to be a large gulf here between the 'Loved It' and the 'Never Seen It' groups Four buddies spend their post-HS summer kicking around their hometown of Bloomington, Indiana in the economically stagnate late 1970s wondering what to do with their lives. Not college bound themselves and resentful of what they see as rich (Univ of Indiana) college kids in their midst who deride them not as ‘Townies' but as ‘Cutters' for the local (though now dying) industry of limestone quarrying and carving. One of the four recently won a spiffy Italian racing bicycle and uses that to try and turn himself into something more exotic than just being plain old Dave from Indiana. Jackie Earle Haley Dennis Quaid Dennis Christopher Daniel Stern (first role) Barbara Barrie Paul Dooley Academy Award winner for Best Original Screenplay (Steve Tesich) Nominated: Best Picture; Best Supporting Actress (Barbara Barrie); Best Director (Peter Yates); Best Original Score My feeling is that you should own two copies of this just in case one breaks.

I'd be willing to live with a DH for this year only if the alternative meant no season. I also don't see a reason why they'd feel the need to decide on a permanent DH now unless the union thinks that this is something they can 'get' in exchange for dropping their threatened suit. But I'm not even sure the union is so gung-ho on a universal DH. I mean, sure they want to protect its existence, but I don't think that, of all the issues coming up in the next year or so, this one would be tops on their list of things to leverage. Having said all that, I'm convinced that a universal DH is inevitable.

I've never seen the movie although I remember when it came out. My memory tells me that it felt like a cashing-in kind of movie at the time -- hey '50s nostalgia is in, let's rush something out there -- and was backed by what seemed like a torrent of TV commercials complete with its own faux doo-wop song* playing over the clips. What I think happened was that they had the movie in the can for a while (IMDB says it was delayed by financing issues so maybe sitting on it wasn't entirely intentional) but, whatever the case, the studio then hurriedly got behind it in order to capitalize on Winkler's sudden stardom from 'Happy Days' (debut = Jan '74) as well as the general wave of 1950s-era nostalgia going on at the time much of it triggered by the success of AMERICAN GRAFFITI two years earlier. And, yeah, that flick was set in 1962 but it had a '50s feel to it so that, along with the Ron Howard/Winkler connection, blurred the distinction between the decades. * it had to be saturation advertising because I can still remember the awful "lyrics" and I probably haven't heard them in decades!! The Lords of Flatbush is a moo-oo-oo-vie About how life was in the Fif-if-if-ties I don't mean to boast, but you'll dig it the most The Lords of Flatbush, Flatbush, Flatbush ... Rated Pee Gee

https://nypost.com/2020/06/16/mets-trying-to-push-back-250-million-loan-amid-potential-sale/Wilpon's Trying to Buy Time So apparently payment on a big loan is due by the end of July which has the Wilpons are seeking ways to extend that date, maybe by as much as a year. Essentially what this says, claims "a banker familiar with baseball", is that the owners "aren't expecting a sale anytime soon". Current frontrunners, the duo of Harris and Blitzer (and Comet and Rudolph) are described as "bottom feeders" so aren't in a hurry to bid against themselves and would be quite happy to see the sale go to the auction stage, something NYM ownership would like to avoid. So the 'Pons are seeking to get time (aka: future revenues) on their side as this is most definitely not the optimal climate in which to sell. But are these bankers they're going to need to deal with for refinancing, some of whom are the same ones currently working with the likes of J-Rod to arrange financing for their bids, going to be all that eager to extend time and credit which would at least partially be working against their own clients? Somewhere Steve Cohan has got to be laughing at all this.

But what is going to happen "shortly" to trigger an update? The union has already said it has no intention of talking anymore after having essentially 'won' the battle over getting nothing less than the full pro-rated salaries for the season. So if you're Manfred and what is stopping you from doing the one thing the March agreement gave you control -- determination of the schedule -- is the (alleged) threatened suit challenging even that, then I'd sure as hell want to make sure that the public knew that was the reason for the inaction.

But what's the alternative at this point: 'This past weekend I declared that the season will go on ... but now I've changed my mind and I can't tell you why'

Frayed Knot wrote: Assuming this potential lawsuit thing is accurate, once the players told the clubs to go ahead and set a starting date and schedule I don't see how Manfred couldn't make a public statement. He could make a public statement to announce the beginning of the season, of course. Unless he has reason to believe that a Billion Dollar grievance suit is coming his way the second he does so.

Assuming this potential lawsuit thing is accurate, once the players told the clubs to go ahead and set a starting date and schedule I don't see how Manfred couldn't make a public statement. Without one, silence and a lack of action on their side in the face of what seemingly was green lights all ahead wouldn't make any sense.

Frayed Knot wrote: I don't know what is meant by "legal claims" in this context. OK, here we go: Manfred told ESPN: “I had been hopeful that once we got to common ground on the idea that we were gonna pay the players full prorated salary, that we would get some cooperation in terms of proceeding under the agreement that we negotiated with the MLBPA on March 26th. Unfortunately, over the weekend, while Tony Clark was declaring his desire to get back to work, the union's top lawyer was out telling reporters, players and eventually getting back to owners that as soon as we issued a schedule — as they requested — they intended to file a grievance claiming they were entitled to an additional billion dollars. Obviously, that sort of bad-faith tactic makes it extremely difficult to move forward in these circumstances.”

I don't know what is meant by "legal claims" in this context.

I find I'm better at being able to recite WS results from the 20th century than from the 21st I can usually get the recent ones if given enough time but it takes me longer. I was doing an organized bike ride a bunch of years ago and at one point there was a guy just sitting on the side of the road (in front of his house?) asking bikers as they went by for their birth year. If and when they answered he'd immediately shout out the Series result from that year [1960?: Pirates over Yanx in 7]. At least as long as I was within earshot he nailed them all.