Edgy MD

Only news I've been able to gather is that recidivist Mets minor leaguer Rob Whalen has been let go, and (so far) Tim Tebow hasn't.

No, they don't. "https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2020/05/28/a-war-zone-out-there-teams-are-apparently-releasing-tons-of-minor-leaguers-right-now/It's literally a war zone out there."

Buzz seems to be about that Brooklyn is going to become the AA affiliate. I don't know if that's more than buzz, or whether its a short-term or long-term scenario.

A big purge is supposedly on the way, with the Mets expected to announce a pile of organizational names that they are releasing in anticipation of minor league contraction.

Sixty-four straight hours of Jeter programming could actually be fun, in the right hands.

Neil Walker was also in there somewhere.

You Gotta Give Us a Shot!, a major motion picture starring Noah Syndergaard, Tom Hallion, and Terry Collins, released four years ago today. Featuring Neil Walker. With René Rivera, Eric Campell, Neil Walker, and Ty Kelly.

Well, I'm glad to see the Expos made the draw. Floyd, Alou, Pedro .... Moose Milligan ... . A little too much John Wetteland for my money, though.

Citizens Bank Park, aka CBP, was one of the first parks to appear post-9/11. It marked, I think, the end of artificial turf in the National League until 2019, when Chase Field put on a rug. (Marlins was supposed to go synthetic this year also.) That was fun while it lasted, and certainly welcome, but CBP also represented a sort of shark jumping in the nu-stadium movement. The team lost patience with getting their hands on the right parcel downtown, so contrary to the Camden Yards generation of barks bringing baseball back to the cities, they remained on a multi-purpose sports/entertainment complex on the city's outskirts, so the faux-ness of the of bricks-and-nostalgia movement and the engineered quirkiness was becoming a little more garish and obvious. Not as garish as MLB's shaking down of cities to build these parks for them, but still. Which isn't to say it didn't develop some real culture. The team recruited Jim Thome as their designated big shot superstar to open the park, and he hit his 400th homer there, but the team quickly developed it's own character — Lieberthal/Howard/Utley/Rollins/Burrell/Abreu became the core of a heck of a team. Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino and some outstanding-if-mercenary pitching followed, and the Phils brought home their second-ever championship right under our noses. It made for some exciting times, with the Phils and their next-door neighbors in Flushing being good at the same time for a rare period in their shared history, but the Phils had the upper-hand more often than not, and even though Pedro Feliciano shut down Utley and Howard in the seven with men on seemingly night after night after night, that was one hell of a deep lineup the team had, and Charlie Manuel was imperturably fixed at the helm. But man, what an obnoxious class of fan was produced by the toxic brew of a new park, a dominant team, a suburban address, and several visiting parks within driving distance for frontrunners to drunkenly infest. It was the park where folks celebrated the killing of Osama. And they did some weird shit with the legacy of reliever Tug McGraw when he dies shortly before the park opened, first trying to appropriate "Ya' Gotta Believe" as a slogan, and then sending Tug's offspring, country singer Tim McGraw to the mound to sprinkle his father's ashes before a World Series Game. Weird, right? And seriously, the 21st century Phils have provided a lot of drama, but too much of it almost exactly as authentic as a contemporary country singer with a fan base in the exurbs of northern post-industrial cities trying to climb out of their decline. So, yeah, Met memories may involve some conflict. Despite the Mets going an encouraging 81-68 in their time at the buliding (thank you, Feliciano) as the bullpen catchers scarfed down unimaginable amounts of cheesesteaks, the team benefiting from the Mets' breakdowns in 2007 and 2008, the 2008 championship, and their bitter failure to do it again WHEN IT COUNTED against the Yankees in 2009 makes the CBP era kind of feel like the Mets have been playing in a sandbox with a big dump in it. My most enduring memory may be the team's first visit when a hard-to-love 2004 Mets team swept their first series in the park, with all games won in dramatic late-inning fashion, two in extra-innings. Relievers appearing in that series for the Mets included Looper/Botallico/Weathers/ Stanton/Wheeler/Orber Moreno. That's a pack of guys who more or less had some effective times, and are remembered fondly by more-or-less zero Mets fans. My favorite besides that was a loss. On September 24, 2016, the Mets started Sean Gilmartin, husband of the current White House press secretary, and quickly fell behind by five. But after lifting Gilly in the first and letting Rafael Montero double the deficit to 10-0, they emptied the bench, brought in the greeenest of the green — the sort of bench clearing that you can only pull off in late September. Into the lineup came T.J. Rivera and Ty Kelly and Gavin Cecchini and some kid named Brandon Nimmo, and holy shit, this B-team hit and hit and hit and hit their way back into it. I felt like a little smarter managing by Terry and they might of pulled it out, but nonethless, the JV squad brought the game within 10-8, got the tying run on in the the ninth, and left me with the impression that they didn't lose so much as have the game stopped before they could win. Kudos to those guys, far more loved than the 2004 Mets bullpen. Concerts at the place have included Jimmy Buffet, Bon Jovi, The Eagles, The Dixie Chixx, Keith Urban, Billy Joel/Elton John, and ... man, if this doesn't sound like the most tired pack of exurban baby boomer drunken-whitey-with-a-credit-card acts, I don't know what. Paul McCartney, The Who, and The Police only go a very short bit toward redeeming the venue's musical legacy, but whatevs. What's your CBP memory from Metly history? [fimg=384]https://www.ballparkfestival.com/assets/images/backgrounds/BallparkAerialShot2.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=416]https://thehockeynews.com/wp-content/uploads/article_51316_2.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=403]https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_736,h_485,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Frisingapple.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F104453414-850x560.jpeg[/fimg] [fimg=397]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/93/a6/4d/93a64d504822b4d4fbe4256cd9e2ce4a.jpg[/fimg]

If there's no baseball by July, Andy Martino will cover the continuing negotiations in a thong.

Wish I could find more action shots, but here's the 1975-1976 Oakland Tech Bulldog basketball squad with their legendary three sport star Rickey Henderson, kneeling, second from right. https://oaklandtech.com/staff/files/2009/01/ricky-basketball.jpg> While Rickey was there, 1951 Oakland Tech dropout Rod McKuen returned to receive an honorary diploma.

Eddie Lynch went to South Carolina on a basketball scholarship, but the only statistical evidence I'm finding suggests he played all of one minute. But he was part of a 1974 USC baseball squad that went all the way to the College World Series. They had Mookie Wilson too, so kudos to whichever Mets scout was assigned to that team. https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/screen-shot-2020-05-27-at-12.41.45-am.png> That's Greenwich Village's own Frank McGuire coaching him, too. And Hall-of-Famer Alex English is in the back row, fourth from the left. He did a lot of boomeranging. He was born in Brooklyn, moved to Miami as a kid, went to USC for college, boomeranged back to New York to play ball, finished his career with pair of partial seasons with the Cubs, boomeranged back to Miami for law school, and then boomeranged back to Chicago to become a GM. Boomeranged into the USC HoF this year also.

"it's a good thing you don't play for the Giants." — Ed Lynch, upon hearing that Ray Knight's daughter had been named "Erin Shea."

I couldn't, on the other hand, find any Gselly shots that looked like he was winning the play. I found a couple of quotes about how outstanding Kelvin Chapman was, but no shots.

Robert Gselly, circa 2007-2011, come on down! [fimg=453]https://www.maxpreps.com/Gallery/ZDPr9JVOLkGvC-x1vjxjwQ/D32KELE-uUaIxwjw6z_Qaw/1,600,315/westchester_vs_mater_dei_(cif_d1_socal_final)_boys_basketball_thumbnail.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=347]https://i.redd.it/2u5fjt5e3ff21.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=548]https://www.ocregister.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/lgb/lgbiou-b78755508z.120110208133432000g9ot6akk.1.jpg?w=810[/fimg] [fimg=252]https://www.ocregister.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/lgb/lgbiou-b78755508z.120110208133432000g9ot6aij.1.jpg?w=810[/fimg] [fimg=360]https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/westchester-highs-robert-gsellman-and-the-comets-basketball-team-will-picture-id1034818940?s=2048x2048[/fimg] [FIMG=440]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/screen-shot-2020-05-26-at-10.14.30-pm.png[/FIMG]

For what it's worth, I'm going to go under the belief that had the caller made that call yesterday, WFAN really wouldn't have acquitted themselves much better.

BENNY!!

The basketball team for Oakland City College (IN), circa 1940, featuring Gil Hodges, top row, second from left. This was, of course, back when basketball was played exclusively in your underwear, along with belt. https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/1/0814/27/1985-yearbook-oakland-city-college_1_75fc72254923b41ea9ea2704fbb54aff.jpg> https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images2/1/0814/27/1985-yearbook-oakland-city-college_1_75fc72254923b41ea9ea2704fbb54aff.jpg>

Austin Jackson, whose 13th inning double broke a scoreless tie and provided a walkoff win in David Wright's last game Torii Hunter (@tnutts48) • Instagram video WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM 1,645 likes, 185 comments - tnutts48 on June 15, 2015: "It's Austin Jackson the Tigers Centerfielder. I did this when I was younger but there was no video or cell phones then. #straightathlete #madhops #nohomerunsaresafe".

Can we just agree that the Mr. Roper comment was the post of the month?

1981 Mets coach: https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/7c/97ce5728-333b-5a25-b9f0-228a5fbbce65/5d2aa8dc09529.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C1491> https://aaronmilesfastball.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/bob-gibson-basketball.jpg> https://sports.cbsimg.net/images/visual/whatshot/Bob-Gibson-Globetrotters.png>

Noah in the penthouse Please don't sue! Cause COVID-19 Ain't Wuhan Flu! Can I take a little mulligan with the lease I signed? 'Cuz Gotham is no place for me to be confined. Noah in the penthouse Is a bad idea! When I first saw the place I thought, "O, fuck yeah!" I can party with the chickz All season long! But I never could anticipate How things went wrong! Noah in the penthouse Just did not work out! First I tore my UCL Now the season's in doubt Can I sign a little merchandise To make things right? The law should not apply to me I'm rich and white! (white-white-white-white-white-white) Noah in the penthouse! There's no Noah in the penthouse!

I don't think guys not becoming big stars is that unforgiveable a trait. A lot has to fall into place.

Ooh, money find. Needs no introduction ... https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTY4MTA1MjI0NTE1NDI5NzYw/noah-syndergaard-childhood-079117673jpg.jpg>

Dave Kingman, Mount Prospect HS, Mount Prospect, IL, 1967. http://www.jfkrush.com/kingmanfan/67pic27.jpg> Chris Young, Princeton, 1999. https://s3.amazonaws.com/ogden_images/www.ljworld.com/images/2015/10/20215635/big-man-trap-1223-978x1024.jpg> Darryl Strawberry, Crenshaw HS, Los Angeles, CA, 1980. https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images2/1/0510/11/darryl-strawberry-high-school_1_b45e0078a6be04934cf45342638647a8.jpg> Tom Seaver, Fresno HS, Fresno, CA, 1962. https://img.beckett.com/images/items_stock/185223/3999458/3999465/front.jpg> Zack Wheeler, East Paulding HS, Dallas, GA, 2008. https://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0603/ny_e_wheelerhs_200.jpg> Sadly, I was unable to find any action shots of Chapman, Eric Hillman, or Jon Rauch. I'm sure there's an action shot of Bross out there, but no luck yet.