Fman99

Willets Point wrote: Ollie and Fernando. Yep.

AG/DC wrote: I think of Bruce every time a pitcher is pulled... Is this a gay quip? Sorry. I am an insensitive ass.

DocTee wrote: FMan's swipe at champagne celebrations gaining speed, picked up by Gene Wojchiehowski at ESPN. I am, again, a trendsetter. It's all good. Just wait until Jayson Stark threatens to punch Pete Rose in the neck and kick Marge Schott in her dead ****.

National baseball broadcasters stink. So do 8:25 starts. So do factoids about "all-time postseason records." Like Mickey Mantle had three rounds to hit homers in. Go away.

Bob Friend's gotta be on that list -- he pitched almost his whole career in Pittsburgh. I can't for the life of me think of another one.

="AG/DC"]I do also. I know why. Classic uniforms. Ralph Kiner. An interesting town that spawned a few of my friends. Honus Wagner. Donn Clendenon. Frank Thomas. The Lumber Co. First team to field an all African-American/Afro-Latin lineup. Killed by self-destructive heart-over-head maneuvers like rewarding local All-Stars with long-term deals that hamstring them long-term. Bob Friend. The notion that they've historically been the batting version of the Mets, in that they can build a team Hall of Fame comprised 100% of batters.Go ahead. Name the top ten winningest pitchers for the Pirates. I dare you. Don't forget the 1970's pillbox hats. Funky.

I liked Mex leaning against the bullpen wall like the pimp everyone knows he is. That killed me. It was great to see Doc in uniform again after all this time.

Great pictures MetFairy. How awesome to see those guys being good sports. Man I loved that '99 squad.

I'd like to change my answer. I'd get rid of the post division series champagne bath. How damn stupid. You want a champagne bath for making the playoffs? Fine. Winning the pennant or World Series? Sure. But winning the LDS, you haven't won shit. NFL teams don't do champagne baths after the first round. Put that crap away please. Thanks, The Management

Benjamin Grimm wrote: ="Fman99"]Francesa is a 9.5 on the ****ometer. Punch him in the neck! Finding Francesa's neck is like finding a unicorn.

I will continue to root for the meteor to hit the Earth. Either way it stinks -- the Torre/Manny vs. the AL crap (don't care don't care don't care) or the damn insufferable Phillies fans.

What's worse, having your team roll over and miss the playoffs (again), or getting in and getting swept in the first round (again)?

I miss the Cubs-Mets and Pirates-Mets rivalries that disappeared with the realignment of the divisions. So I still hate the dumb Cubs.

No surprise -- new stadium and new uniforms to sell in those new gift shops. Sounds cool, though. I look forward to buying the $25 t-shirt version of the same.

="Rockin' Doc":60b5v6ml]AG/DC - "I had forgotten he ever played for the big team." Lucky you. In all fairness, his 2007 stats with the Mets would have looked pretty good compared to this year's bullpen staff.[/quote:60b5v6ml] I can think of one appearance he made... he got the win, IIRC, in the weekday matinee game where the Mets made up a five run deficit in the 9th against erstwhile closer Ryan Dempster and the Cubbies. Delgado RBI single to win it... Benjamin Grimm Oct 03 2008 11:17 AM My one memory of Burgos as a Met was him pitching to Ryan Howard in an early season game. In the IGT, I urged Willie to leave him in to face Howard, and Howard promptly hit a game-tying or tie-breaking home run. It led to a Mets loss to the Phillies. And as we know, had the Mets had one additional win against the Phillies in 2007, we'd have much different memories of that year. Gwreck Oct 03 2008 11:21 AM ="Benjamin Grimm":1rsi7ukc]My one memory of Burgos as a Met was him pitching to Ryan Howard in an early season game. In the IGT, I urged Willie to leave him in to face Howard, and Howard promptly hit a game-tying or tie-breaking home run.[/quote:1rsi7ukc] Home opener, IIRC. Benjamin Grimm Oct 03 2008 11:22 AM Probably. I only tend to IGT during weekday day games when I'm stuck in front of the computer. HahnSolo Oct 03 2008 11:26 AM ="Benjamin Grimm":31qetany]My one memory of Burgos as a Met was him pitching to Ryan Howard in an early season game. In the IGT, I urged Willie to leave him in to face Howard, and Howard promptly hit a game-tying or tie-breaking home run. It led to a Mets loss to the Phillies. And as we know, had the Mets had one additional win against the Phillies in 2007, we'd have much different memories of that year.[/quote:31qetany] It was the home opener, and I am pretty sure the Mets had a comeback to win. John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 03 2008 11:26 AM ]OlerudOwned Apr 09 2007 01:10 PM No Feliciano to face Howard, Burgos stays in. Centerfield Apr 09 2007 01:10 PM Why is Feliciano not in to face Howard? Willets Point Apr 09 2007 01:10 PM I think this is going to be one of those unintentional intentional walks for Howard. Nymr83 Apr 09 2007 01:11 PM woah. pitching to Howard, i don't agree with this. OlerudOwned Apr 09 2007 01:11 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Apr 09 2007 01:12 PM Howard is ice cold, that splitter has him all over the place. EDIT: I'm misspelled Cory Lidle. RIP. Benjamin Grimm Apr 09 2007 01:11 PM It looks like Burgos is pitching to Howard. Good. I'm okay with that... Johnny Dickshot Apr 09 2007 01:12 PM 3-run fucking homer Nymr83 Apr 09 2007 01:13 PM HR Ryan Howard, i knew that was a dumb idea. Willets Point Apr 09 2007 01:13 PM Yancy Street Gang wrote: It looks like Burgos is pitching to Howard. Good. I'm okay with that... How do you feel about that now? OlerudOwned Apr 09 2007 01:13 PM Ok, he stopped looking cold. Centerfield Apr 09 2007 01:13 PM Willie is going to get killed for this one. No way you leave a righty in to face Howard. Bad bad move. Rotblatt Apr 09 2007 01:13 PM Retarded. Should have brought in Feliciano. Burgos sucks against lefties. It's a miracle he got Utley out. metirish Apr 09 2007 01:14 PM Willie will say Feliciano pitched the last few nights,or some such bullshit. Benjamin Grimm Apr 09 2007 01:14 PM Willets Point wrote: ="Yancy Street Gang"]It looks like Burgos is pitching to Howard. Good. I'm okay with that... How do you feel about that now? Not quite as good as I did earlier. At least now I won't be tempted to name my next child or pet "Ambiorix." themetfairy Oct 03 2008 11:26 AM The Mets lost this year's home opener. HahnSolo Oct 03 2008 12:13 PM ="themetfairy":s5rjbiet]The Mets lost this year's home opener.[/quote:s5rjbiet] Yeah, that's the 07 opener when Burgos spit the bit. themetfairy Oct 03 2008 12:21 PM Gotcha AG/DC Oct 08 2008 08:54 AM Burgos is in custody, and may be in far deeper shit than originally thought. The news comes after the mother of one of the two victims accused Burgos of intentionally running her daughter over because she refused to go out with him. Eudosia Ruane, mother of 29-year-old Angely Fana, told the AP she filed a report with police alleging homicide.There's some scoundrels in the UMDB, but no killers that I'm aware of. SteveJRogers Oct 08 2008 09:14 AM IIRC wasn't Julio Machado involved in something relating to a homicide case? AG/DC Oct 08 2008 09:25 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Oct 08 2008 12:44 PM I think we need more nuance than "eh." Small moves can make a big difference and one more small one this year could have made all the difference. *Exercise the option on Moises Alou Tough to argue at the time but the money blown on Moises could have gone to better use. Call this one a -2, thought the big failure was not hammering into his head not to dive in a rehab game. *Acquired OF Ryan Church and C Brian Schneider from the Washington Nationals in exchange for OF Lastings Milledge. +1 for thew Mets. Could have been bigger. Still can *Acquired RHP Brian Stokes from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for cash considerations. +1 for the Mets. Found productivity here. *Acquired C Johnny Estrada from the Brewers in exchange for RHP Guillermo Mota. Tough to argue at the time, but backfired. -1. *Re-signed 2B Luis Castillo to a four-year contract. -3 *Re-signed C Ramon Castro to a two-year contract. Looks to be neutral, but swinging into the negative based on the first year. -1 *Release OF David Newhan and LHP Dave Williams. 0 and 0. *Signed RHP Matt Wise to a one-year contract. -1 *Non-tender C Johnny Estrada, RHP Juan Padilla and OF Ben Johnson, making them free agents. 0 and 0 and 0, but obviously the Johnson release reflects on how you score the deal which acquired him. *Selected RHP Steven Register from the Rockies in the Rule 5 Draft then gave him back. 0 *Acquired OF Angel Pagan from the Cubs for nonroster OF Corey Coles and nonroster RHP Ryan Meyers. +1 *Signed OF Brady Clark 0 *Signed OF Ben Johnson 0 *Signed free agent 1B Olmedo Saenz 0 *Signed RHP Tony Armas Jr. -1 *Signed RHP Nelson Figueroa +1 *Acquired LHP Johan Santana from the Twins for OF Carlos Gomez, RHP Deolis Guerra, RHP Philip Humber and RHP Kevin Mulvey +3. Could swing back to a more modest plus. *Acquired RHP Luis Ayala from the Nationals for Anderson Hernandez. +1 I think that adds up to a Met net negative 1. SteveJRogers Oct 08 2008 10:05 AM Quick question though, can the Mets at any point give Burgos his unconditional release? If so, what are they waiting for? Due process? Does he have to be reinstated off the DL? Gwreck Oct 08 2008 11:42 AM Without having seen the contract, I'll guess it makes more sense for the Mets to not release him. If Burgos is in jail, he's not fulfilling his end of the deal, which means the Mets won't have to pay him. HahnSolo Oct 08 2008 12:32 PM ="AG/DC"] *Re-signed 2B Luis Castillo to a four-year contract. -3,000 Just fixed one little mistake you had there. Benjamin Grimm Oct 08 2008 12:36 PM That really was a nutty move, wasn't it? I can imagine how good Castillo's agent must have felt while driving home from that contract signing. metirish Oct 09 2008 08:03 PM Mets' Burgos jailed for 3 months ahead of trial By DIONISIO SOLDEVILA � 4 hours ago NAGUA, Dominican Republic (AP) � New York Mets pitcher Ambiorix Burgos will be jailed for three months while awaiting trial for a hit-and-run accident that killed two women. The 24-year-old reliever told The Associated Press that a Dominican judge ordered him to remain behind bars Wednesday night out of concerns for his safety. "I am going to come out of this fine because my conscience is clear, and I'm not worried this will affect my career because I haven't done anything," he said in the jailhouse interview. Burgos is accused of abandoning the victims of the Sept. 30 accident and fleeing, charges that can carry six months to two years in prison. He disappeared after the accident but turned himself in Tuesday. themetfairy Oct 09 2008 08:12 PM Why is he wearing a White Sox cap? metirish Oct 09 2008 08:14 PM Because he's a bollox. HahnSolo Oct 10 2008 08:44 AM DR cop, trying his best to look menacing. Not succeeding. AG/DC Oct 10 2008 08:49 AM Oh, I think he looks menacing, just not in the hard-assed cop sense. More like in the perverted uncle sense. Centerfield Oct 10 2008 08:52 AM Forget the Sox hat, why is he wearing the Aflac duck on his shirt? metirish Oct 10 2008 08:56 AM Sorry , I forgot to mention that this arrest was made courtesy of Aflac. I'm sure Burgos is saving at least 15% this. AG/DC Oct 10 2008 09:15 AM Shouldn't bad-ass cop have him in cuffs instead of on the phone? HahnSolo Oct 10 2008 10:20 AM On a related note, ESPN did a feature last week with Jeremy Schaap interviewing Ugie Urbina from jail. He's ready to pitch, folks! Well, assuming his appeal goes through, or, he's released early...minor inconveniences. metirish Oct 10 2008 10:23 AM Has the makings of a sweet jail house sports movie starring 'The Rock" or some other such waster. Fman99 Oct 10 2008 11:10 AM ="HahnSolo":6ljo33ad]DR cop, trying his best to look menacing. Not succeeding.[/quote:6ljo33ad] His inner monologue: "Don't mess with me or I'll rub my head spots on you!" followed by "Mr. Quentin, can I have your autograph?" metsguyinmichigan Oct 10 2008 11:54 AM ="themetfairy":s75v0yzf]Why is he wearing a White Sox cap?[/quote:s75v0yzf] Im sure the White Sox are SO thrilled that he's wearing their cap -- with the tag still on it! I'm pretty happy, too. Someone get him a Jeter jersey and I'd be even more happy. metirish Oct 10 2008 11:58 AM The style now days is to keep the tag on , at least here in NYC it is. I don't get it either but tags are the thing now. Benjamin Grimm Oct 10 2008 12:00 PM You mean that sticker that's on the brim? That, along with the flat brim, looks ridiculous. metirish Oct 10 2008 12:05 PM Yeah the sticker on the brim is all the style , that and the sticker that gives the hat size in the under side of the brim. soupcan Oct 10 2008 01:14 PM Bought my son a new Mets fitted hat a little while back. We walked out of the store and the first thing he did was remove all the stickers and start rolling the brim. I was so proud. Fman99 Oct 10 2008 06:17 PM I was reconsidering the title of this thread. Burgos is the answer... but the question should be "Which Met is most likely to mow you down as you cross the street eating churros?" Edgy DC Oct 30 2008 10:36 AM ]New York Mets pitcher Ambiorix Burgos has been released from jail following a car crash that killed two women. A judge ordered him to pay $57,000 US and appear every two weeks before a magistrate until a court date is set. Gwreck Oct 30 2008 11:46 AM He could probably sell some of the jewelery to afford it. Edgy DC Feb 05 2009 05:47 AM Adam Rubin sez: Ambiorix Burgos, who was dumped by the Mets in December, continues to throw his life away. According to Diario Libre, Burgos, who is free despite being charged with killing two women while driving a vehicle, allegedly got into a fight with another ballplayer, F�lix El Gatico Mart�nez while they played dominoes. Martinez reportedly told police that Burgos pulled out a gun and threatened to kill him. Benjamin Grimm Feb 05 2009 08:05 AM Note to self: Never play dominoes with Ambiorix Burgos. On the plus side, we like intense competitors, don't we? Centerfield Feb 05 2009 09:29 AM I don't know how to play the actual game of dominos. But if he's talking about stacking them so they can fall in a line, I can see how that would drive someone to that sort of reaction. I mean, you spend all afternoon trying to get things just right, making sure to put plenty on the curves, splitting them into parallel tracks, then some doofus comes and knocks everything down while you're still working...few things in life are that maddening. I remember when I was ten my friend Mike did that to me like twice in one day. Had I been packing heat at the time, who knows what would have gone down. John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 05 2009 09:46 AM lol Edgy DC Apr 22 2009 12:05 PM Burgos gets nine months for a September beatdown on a woman. Benjamin Grimm Apr 22 2009 12:25 PM If he had done it in March, would he have only gotten three months?

batmagadanleadoff wrote: ="metsmarathon"]this isn't a direct criticism of manuel, but moreso a criticism of major league managers in general, but one thing that manuel did that had me utterly infuriated at times, is go to his bullpen for lefty righty matchups. why does this bother me? I agree and also would've preferred longer outings (by better relievers) just like you. Here, I cut Manuel a lot of slack because the Mets were loaded with too many LOOGYS and ROOGYS. The Mets sorely lacked a Skip Lockwood or Bob Apodaca type -- a reliever that could reliably pitch to both left and right side hitters. We had one, actually. Except we left him in 2006. I'm looking at you, Aaron.

Rockin' Doc wrote: Damn, there goes my dream of purchasing an official Shea Stadium urinal for the game room. You should've jacked one the final weeked like I did. Fboy got tired of carrying that thing halfway down the ramp to the parking lot.

I was poking around Baseball Reference and noticed that former Mets announcing bore Fran Healy had an uncle who was also a mediocre MLB catcher. Named Francis X. Healy, played for the NY Giants and the Cardinals in the early 1930's.

Quite a nice read, from the SNY web site. What I'll miss about Shea Stadium Looking back after Mets' last game at old home By Ted Berg / SNY.tv I don't talk about my brother much because he's dead and it's awkward. So when people ask me if I'll miss anything about Shea Stadium, I talk about how it's underrated, and point out how the sightlines are good and you never have to climb over too many people to get to your seat. Both good things, for sure, and in fact both things my brother Chris, an engineer who far favored function over form, always cited when defending the decaying, royal-blue monstrosity that would be an eyesore if it weren't nestled in a sea of eyesores. But that's not really what I'll miss about Shea Stadium. That honor belongs to the summer of 1995. Chris had just graduated from college and most of his friends were still in school or scattered around the country. The job market was tough and he could only find work in a Long Island factory that made make-up cases. He was miserable; he was brilliant and wildly overqualified for the position and missed fraternity life. I didn't care. His asylum was Shea Stadium and he let me tag along. I was 14 years old and I couldn't think of anything I'd rather do than head to Mets games -- lots of them -- with my older brother. He got off work around 6:30, so we never made it for the first pitch. The Mets stunk that year, and by the time we got to the game, they were usually already losing. We didn't care: The score gave us leverage with the scalpers in the parking lot desperate to get rid of their last few tickets, and we could always find a pair for 10 bucks. Attendance was sparse that summer and it was easy to sneak down to the loge section. We'd sit in right field in home-run territory and hope Todd Hundley would hit one our way. We'd fantasize about the futures of the Mets' young pitching staff -- Generation K call-ups Bill Pulsipher and Jason Isringhausen and dominant Triple-A force Reid Cornelius -- and Chris would fret about how Edgardo Alfonzo was the first Met younger than he was (at least according to the roster). And we spent a lot of time reminding Jeff Kent of how much he sucked. Thanks to a strong September, the Mets made a late run and finished in second place in a terrible division. We didn't care that they ended up six games under .500. Second place was exciting to Mets fans then, and the players seemed pretty geared up about it too. Except Kent, of course. He was a jerk throughout. That offseason, Chris moved to Boston. He found a job and a girl and eventually -- sacrilege! -- a Red Sox hat. A couple of months after we found out his melanoma had spread to his lymph nodes (wear sunscreen, kids), we went to a Mets-Sox game at Fenway and Chris, in a misguided attempt to impress his future wife, actually rooted for the Red Sox. We watched one of our favorites from 1995, Carl Everett, get tossed from the game for head-butting an umpire, and Chris cheered when his replacement, future Met Brian Daubach, hit the go-ahead home run. It felt like my still-beating heart was being ripped from my chest, like in Mortal Kombat, except more gruesome and without the awesome music. Of course, losing him as a Mets fan paled in comparison to losing him as a brother, and as a human. But the good thing about memory is that it's selective. I can forget about that game like I can forget about Chris' illness, and the chemo and surgeries and tumors and all the horrifying things that went along with it. And just like that, I can forget about how Shea Stadium stunk like crotch and peddled crappy food for exorbitant prices. And I can forget about all the heartbreak. In 27 years as a Mets fan, there's been no shortage of that. When I remember Shea Stadium five, ten, or god willing, 50 years from now, I'll remember the summer of 1995 and my brother Chris, inextricably linked. I'll remember praying for Chris Jones to get an opportunity in a big spot and revering all five of Alex Ochoa's tools. I'll remember speeding to the park in Chris' white Buick station wagon, inherited from our grandfather, and careening over the divide that separated the Interboro Parkway from the Grand Central because Chris always missed the exit. And getting lost in Flushing and buying fireworks off some kid on the corner. And I'll remember being inside, craning to see the scoreboard from the right-field porch. Leaning over the bullpen wall and calling out to John Franco on the perch. Heading up to the empty upper-deck section and starting a mocking two-man wave. It wasn't pretty, but it was damn fun. I understand that shaving 10,000 seats in capacity is a sound business decision, and that luxury boxes and high ticket prices at Citi Field will pay for Johan Santana and everything. But Shea's charm, to me, always rested in how two kids could show up on any given day, pick up a pair of upper-deck tickets on the cheap, and take in a Mets game. I suppose it shouldn't matter to me now, credentialed for the press box and without my brother to sit with, but it does. Because to me, being a fan has nothing to do with sitting in cushy seats with reasonable legroom and cupholders and many fine dining options. And it has nothing to do with showing up to see a competitive team, as the Mets seem to field every year nowadays. Being a fan is sticking through the summer of 1995, trying to see promise in failure, finding the purity in a game with no postseason implications, and maintaining hope and passion and faith in a team that's just not very good. Chris taught me all of that, and no matter what happened to him or what will happen to Shea Stadium, I'll always keep them both close. Because though this career -- one that Chris never got to be a part of -- forces me to fake some degree of professionalism, I'll forever be a 14-year-old kid at Shea Stadium, just thrilled to be watching baseball at a bargain rate. And though he's probably headed for the Hall of Fame, Jeff Kent will always suck.

Phuck the Phillies. Go Brew.

Friday, June 27, game 1 The Delgado 9 RBI day against the MFY's. Not only was it against our stupid cross-town rivals but it was the start of a multi week white hot streak for the big guy. Gosh that was enjoyable.

Francesa is a 9.5 on the ****ometer. Some guys don't come through in the playoffs or late season moments until late in their career. Randy Johnson and Barry Bonds both come to mind.

Toss the bullpen, except for Smith and Stokes. Bye Luis Castillo. Don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way to Kansas City.

I am bitter towards any team that is lucky enough to have hitters who, you know, get big hits for their team at the end of the season when they need them to gain a playoff spot. Just saying.

My primary motivation now is to see the Phillies get beat, again. After that I don't care much. I also know some obnoxious Red Sawx fans so if they could get knocked out, all the better. Go Rays. Go Cubs.