RealityChuck

YES! Finally confirmed it! Vin Scully spent the last several innings obsessing about the fact that Howard Johnson had come up in the 9th and had swung away instead of bunting. He mentioned this several times. But I always remembered one of his comments. It was faint and probably was made after he shut off his mic, but before the other guy in the booth had turned off his. Scully said, very faintly "If Howard Johnson is good enough to swing, how come he's not good enough [to start]?" I finally found it, though the last words were cut off. Been trying to confirm my memory for a long time.

I can't see Van Whatisname as being successful. I suspect the main reason to hire him would be to keep the triumvirate to make baseball decisions and have him negotiating contracts. But Fred wanted a good baseball man and Jeff wanted someone versed in analytics, so they compromised and chose someone who didn't have background in either.

G-Fafif wrote: "Brodie Van Wagenen" puts mind of "Earl J. Waggedorn," the best friend of Corey, son of the title character, on the groundbreaking multiracial (if painfully dull) NBC sitcom Julia. Sort of like I can't hear a reference to "Nido" and not think, "you say neato/check your libido/and roll to the church/in your new tuxedo" from Young MC's "Bust A Move". Which is not to say Van Wagenen wouldn't make a good general manager. Or that Tomas Nido won't develop into a splendid catcher, assuming Van Wegenen doesn't trade him. The conflict of interest automatically disqualifies him. Even if he stops representing ballplayers, his personal relationship with them is going to be an issue. It makes no sense to bring in someone with no experience judging talent and a limited knowledge of statistics (not really having to know them and apply them).

In 2015, Reinheimer was traded to the Diamondbacks with Welington Castillo, Gabriel Guerrero and Dominic Leone to the Mariners for Vidal Nuno and Mark Trumbo. In 2018, none of those players were playing for the team they were traded to. Tell me something about Gerson Bautista

In the Netflix animated series, Big Mouth, Andrew says "Let's go, Mets" after he doesn't want to use a Yankee pennant for Jessi to use as an emergency tampon. She replies "Let's go Mets" and a girl in the toilet next door says "Let's go Mets" as she uses it. (Yes, the show is pretty gross; the basic premise is about teens being visited by the puberty monster and doesn't shirk from dealing with the issues involved. Especially the most embarassing ones.) Adding: Watched the third episode. Andrew is definitely identified as a Mets fan.

I think the issue is that NY has been phasing out and discouraging names that refer to Native Americans at all levels. I wouldn't be surprised if that was a factor and Cuomo may have brought it up (IIRC, that started under his father).

bmfc1 wrote: I'm glad to hear the Great Shower Curtain Strike of 2018 is over. Does Maja still have her talk show? Naked or clothed?

Centerfield wrote: RealityChuck wrote: Wonder Woman gave me hope that a superhero film could be something important (even if the final fight scene was a mistake). After hearing the reviews, I thought this might be going down that path. Alas, it went right for the cookie-cutter. Agreed. Completely cookie-cutter. I mean, once you've seen one movie that celebrates black and African culture, smashes stereotypes, features a minority lead, with a minority-led cast, portrays its black characters as compassionate, powerful, educated and sophisticated rather than two dimensional stereotypes, empowers a generation of African-American kids who no longer have to be told "You can't be Superman, he's not black" and shoots down the idea that a movie with a non-white cast can't be a box office smash, basically you've seen them all. Yes, it's great to see black actors as superheroes; that's why I gave it a 3 instead of something lower. But the writers stopped thinking after that and just ran out the cliches. It's just another superhero film, just with a black cast. Completely by the numbers, even when it made no sense to go that way (did anyone really think he was killed by that fall?). Wonder Woman at least tried to say something. There was nothing close to the "no man's land" scene in Black Panther, just the same story that's been done a million times. Hero emerges, fights villain -- once to a draw, the second time losing, and the third time winning (with, of course, the people who refused to get involved show up at the last minute to save the day). It's one reason most superhero films are boring. The fight scenes were tedious (the first one in the pool was a complete waste of time -- was there any doubt as to how it would end? -- and terribly contrived ("Let's take away his powers for a few minutes so we can stage it!")) and went on far too long and so CGI laden that nothing's at stake. You want to see the concept done with some imagination, watch Black Lightning, which deals with real issues, both socially and in the realm of character development.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I agree. Bolster the middle of the bullpen and let Lugo or Gsellman or whoever else proves to be the best drift towards the late innings. Don't they still control Jennry Mejia? It doesn't look like he's been released, and they did offer arbitration to him last year. Drug issues aside -- and I'm sure they're behind him -- he has closing experience, and I doubt the steroids did much to make him better. Given their need for relief pitchers, it makes sense to seriously consider him.

Nice that they're not going to commercial.

Centerfield wrote: From what I read there are more east coast ML teams than there are east coast AAA teams. So basically one team always gets stuck with Vegas. Oakland has an agreement with Las Vegas for next year. So travel isn't an issue. Nashville, Oakland's previous AAA team, now has the Rangers. The Nationals are in Fresno.

Saw it last night. I wasn't impressed and it didn't come close to its hype. I was expecting something more than just a routine superhero film. I found the fight scenes overlong and boring. The chase scene might have been good if it had been an actual chase scene instead of one that was CGI enhanced. Aside from one twist, the plot was completely predictable, by-the-book filmmaking. Wonder Woman gave me hope that a superhero film could be something important (even if the final fight scene was a mistake). After hearing the reviews, I thought this might be going down that path. Alas, it went right for the cookie-cutter.

Ceetar wrote: I think it's a fairly minor deal also -- although, sure, you'd rather be close than far -- but one of the minor positives out of Vegas was the number of flights available on a daily basis just from Vegas being Vegas At least if there's a lack of flights next year then the call-up can stick out his thumb and try hitching a ride down the NYS Thruway I think fman has already signed on to be MetsUber. there's a 3:50 PM – 5:13 PM daily flight from Syracuse to Newark, which is still iffy for game time. There's a 5:31-6:59 to LGA that also is iffy. hmm, maybe "Let's see if he can go when he gets to the park and then we'll fly someone here for game time" won't quite work. I'm finding a 9:50 am flight to LaGuardia that gets in at 11:19. Fine for a night game, and even possible for a day game.

1. Kivlehan will be a minor league free agent after the season, so they were going to lose him anyway. 2. He's a first baseman/corner outfielder. First base is already a logjam without him, and the Mets have plenty of corner outfielders, so he's blocked. 3. He has played third base, but he's blocked there by Frazier and others. 4. His record in the majors is underwhelming (.695 OPS). His record at Las Vegas is suspect. So the team gave him a chance to play on a MLB roster, get some service time, and possibly pick up some playoff money even if he's ineligible for the postseason.

Walter Johnson had 20 RBIS in 1925 while giving up 95 ERs. He his .433.

That puzzled me, too, but I've since heard the Plawecki's wife is expecting on Monday, so they could need a third catcher at any moment.

The 53rd Met of the season. The record is 64. Needs to play to be No. 53, but the good news is the record is 54, so if Jack gets in a game, all we will need is one of the following to tie and two to surpass: • The return of T.J. Rivera • The return of Gavin Cecchini • The promotion of Peter Alonso • The return of David Wright Or a couple more Jack Reinheimers from out of nowhere. I think we've got a shot at history. Eat your heart out, 1967! Looks like we'll be tied very soon: Mets place Bobby Wahl on DL, promote LHP Daniel Zamora

Lefty Specialist wrote: THE Jack Reinheimer? Wow. And it looks like we're going to have a chance of seeing him: they're bringing him up today.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Danny Napoleon, 1964 in Auburn (NY-Penn League) had 134 RBI.Plus 20 more in the Florida State League that year.

Flat, dull and even more predictable than the previous one (which copied the original beat for beat). It was a franchise, not a movie. Better than any of the prequels, but still not particularly good.

metirish wrote: #Metstwitter is livid( it's always livid) that the bench, coaches etc. were laughing when Reyes was pitching...were they?, I really don't know what else they are supposed to do . I do recall when Desi Relaford pitched in 2001 there was some mild controversy after the game about some members of the team were laughing. That's why they call a rout like that a laugher. People tend to feel that a team should be embarrassed by being on the field when losing that bad. In reality, once they realize they are out of it -- especially in non-playoff game -- they always joke around. Losing a blowout doesn't bother a team; once things go pear-shaped, there's no reason to be mad. They tend to be more upset on losing a close game, especially if they had a chance to win it. Do they think they should have acted like Shawn Kelly?

From the Mets Twitter Feed: "We have claimed INF Jack Reinheimer off waivers from the D-backs and optioned him to Las Vegas. To make room on the 40-man roster for Reinheimer, Yoenis Céspedes has been transferred to the 60-Day DL. #Mets" That'll do it.

The team could contend, but only if the stars align. Starting pitching is fine, and a strength. Bullpen needs work, but that can be dealt with (hey, Familia and Montero will be back, so we're good, right. ) We have potential with Nimmo and Conforto in the outfield, and Cespedes will make a difference if we can stay close until he comes back. Bruce is likely to regain his form next year. Other than that, the infield and catching is iffy. Maybe Alonso or Smith turn out to be quality players at first. Maybe McNeil, Evans, or Rivera are answers at second. Maybe Rosario grows into the player he's projected to be. Maybe Frazier regains his form. Maybe Plawecki finally puts it together.* Maybe, maybe, maybe. To erase the maybes, the team needs to sign at least one impact free agent (probably two). Can the Wilpons be persuaded to do it? I'd be pessimistic. *I would assume Mesoraco will try for free agency; he shown enough to be attractive, especially since catchers are hard to find these days.

seawolf17 wrote: RealityChuck wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: For a team with just about the worst record in baseball, the Mets sure do have a helluva lotta untouchables and guys that no one wants to see get traded. Ah, yes. That's just what the GM of the Braves said in the winter of 1969, when the Mets refused to part with six players (IIRC, Seaver, Koosman, Jones, Harrelson, Grote, and Amos Otis) for Joe Torre. He made a snide remark that the Mets had a lot of untouchables for a ninth place team. Six players for Joe Torre?!??!! Not all six. Any of the six. In hindsight, Otis for Torre, with Torre moving to first, might have been a great move.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: For a team with just about the worst record in baseball, the Mets sure do have a helluva lotta untouchables and guys that no one wants to see get traded. Ah, yes. That's just what the GM of the Braves said in the winter of 1969, when the Mets refused to part with six players (IIRC, Seaver, Koosman, Jones, Harrelson, Grote, and Amos Otis) for Joe Torre. He made a snide remark that the Mets had a lot of untouchables for a ninth place team.