Valadius

Thanks cooby! Yogi told some guy that he shouldn't have gotten people to sign his baseball with a Sharpie because it would come off in about six months. He talked about a Yankees auction, saying that they were auctioning off bats signed by Giambi, Jeter, etc., mentioning Rodriguez twice. Later as we were leaving, he came out of the bathroom and said that he had to take a piss and didn't want to crash his car - he'd had a lot to drink.

Me with Willie Me with El Duque

Hey everyone! Sorry I disappeared again, but I just got buried in schoolwork during the year. I can't decide whether this belongs here or in Members Promotion, but since this is Mets-related I'm putting it here. Something just happened that made me return at last - and you're not going to believe this: I'M THROWING OUT THE FIRST PITCH AT A METS GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's the headline. Let me back up a few hours. My dad was invited to the Willie Randolph Foundation golf tournament and charity auction today at the Essex County Country Club. He played golf with El Duque and some other people. I showed up later for dinner and the auction. I met a whole bunch of people - Rick Peterson, Yogi Berra, El Duque, Joe Smith, Sandy Alomar, John Maine, Aaron Heilman, Ron Darling, Herb Williams, John Starks, and of course Willie. David Wright left before I got there. I managed to get pictures with Willie and El Duque, which I'll upload later. So we eat and then the charity auction begins. There were both raffle prizes and live auction prizes. These little kids, I swear to God, won like 80% of the raffle prizes, including a big-screen TV. Items being auctioned off included signed bats, balls, and jerseys, trips to spring training, dinner with Willie, and the chance to throw out the first pitch at a Mets game. My dad, God bless him, won not only a signed Jose Reyes bat, but the chance to throw out the first pitch at a game!!!!!!!!!! My dad wants me to do it, but I feel guilty that I would be depriving him of the same chance, so I'm going to see if we both could possibly do it. If not, I'll do it, but I really need to get out and practice so I don't make an ass of myself in front of 50,000 people. We went up to Willie after the auction was over and he told me that I gotta throw a strike, or else I'll hear it from everybody in the stands. It's a ton of pressure - and if I think I'll totally embarrass myself I'll probably pass it off to my dad, and settle for being on the field. I don't know when the game is yet, but I'll be hearing from the Mets at some point. We also talked afterwards to Yogi Berra again, who wants to be introduced to my dad's boss, and who will be calling my dad himself to make the arrangements. Needless to say, I'm excited beyond anything I could have ever imagined - this is fucking INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!

CitiField? Come on now. CitiBank Field? Citigroup Field? Fine. But CitiField just doesn't cut the mustard.

Stupid, stupid, stupid name.

He went to Cincy, got injured and overtaken by Felipe Lopez in '05.

Mets stats in Japan so far (minus the first exhibition game against Yomiuri): Game 1: Reyes 1-4 Wright 1-4, 2B Maine 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 ER, Hold Game 2: Reyes 1-5, R Wright 0-1 Game 3: Wright 2-4, HR, RBI

Phil Linz for #2?

Ron Washington managed in the Mets system for two years.

One of three Mets pitchers to lead the team in games pitched three years in a row. Blas Minor

Another thing I just picked up - Eddie Murray won the 1977 Rookie of the Year with Baltimore. It's not recorded on the UMDB.

I had a dream about a week ago. I drove to Las Vegas to see the Mets play the Giants, and ended up meeting a bunch of you guys there at the game.

He should just go away. Seriously.

Chemistry, chemistry, chemistry. I don't want a whiny iron-gloved second baseman on my team.

Hey Yancy - Piazza actually won the Silver Slugger in 2002 as well, according to MLB.com.

I don't know how Reyes did. I can't find a box score.

Some blue-hat pics to replace black-hat pics: Jay Bell Turk Wendell Robin Ventura Robin Ventura (again) Orel Hershiser Kenny Rogers Glendon Rusch

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with Jose Reyes, David Wright, and John Maine You can see David Wright and Jose Reyes there, and look! There's John Maine hidden in the background. David Wright launches a two-run homer

Stars meet Japanese prime minister TOKYO -- One of the perks for some of the Major League All-Stars on Thursday was a brush with Japanese royalty. Hours before their exhibition game with the Yomiuri Giants, a collection of five Major Leaguers had the unique opportunity to visit Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The Mets' trio of David Wright, Jose Reyes and John Maine joined Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima and White Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi for a 10-minute meeting with the recently-appointed Abe at his palatial offices, which had towering glass windows throughout and a gorgeous Japanese garden in front of the entrance. "I thought it was pretty exciting," said Wright. "It was one of those once in a lifetime opportunities. I was looking forward to it and to be able to give the prime minister a Mets jersey and have a [10-minute] conversation with him was pretty special." As Abe walked into the room, the players and officials from MLB stood up. "There was definitely an aura about him when he walked in," said Wright. "He just had that presence." But the prime minister quickly put the players at ease, shaking hands with all five of them. Some informal baseball chat -- initiated by Abe -- quickly began amid the frenzied clicks of the cameras. "The Mets were in the Championship Series, right?" wondered Abe, as he looked at Wright. "Unfortunately you didn't make it to the World Series." Wright, who was by far the most relaxed and talkative of all the players at the gathering, capitalized on that comment to make a modest request to the prime minister. "The Mets need help with starting pitching. Any chance you could make a call to [Daisuke] Matsuzaka?" queried Wright. But as Wright knows full well, the bidding war for the talented Matsuzaka will come down to American money and not Japanese politics. Then, Abe directed his attention to the Japanese duo of Johjima and Iguchi. "Did the Mariners do well this year?" asked Abe. "No," offered Johjima with a grin. Abe then wondered about the White Sox. "Third place," Iguchi said. On Friday, Abe will get a taste to the atmosphere of this Japan All-Star Series when he throws out the first pitch before the opening game of a five-game series between the Major League All-Stars and the Nippon Professional Baseball All-Stars. "I need practice," quipped Abe. The prime minister did have a taste of Major League Baseball a few years back. "When I was a secretary in the Japanese government, I went to the United States and saw a Mets game at Shea Stadium in 2000," said Abe. Wright then told Abe he must have been good luck because the Mets made the World Series that year. That was as good a time as any for Wright to present the prime minister with his own Mets jersey, the white pinstriped version with the number "1" on the back and Abe's name printed just above. Abe comfortably put the jersey on over his suit and tie. "It looks good, said Wright. "We need a second baseman for next year, you should come on over." Johjima gave the prime minister a red catcher's glove. "I was a catcher on the baseball team in elementary school," said Abe, memories undoubtedly flooding back to him. Iguchi's gift was a black bat. With an agenda full of business to conduct, Abe finished the meeting and bid adieu to his visitors. "It was quite an honor," said Wright. "There's a lot of perks playing baseball. To come over here and be a part of this tour and be a part of this city is pretty special. He's a big baseball fan."

The newest Met-Loving Big-Shot: The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe.

The Mariners are apparently out of the bidding, or so says their GM.

Eh. It was left-center.

David Wright hit a two-run homer to give the MLB All-Stars a 7-7 tie with the Yomiuri Giants.

Welcome A-Bordick iramets!

Goddammit. Must we have one reliever a year now doing steroids?