Farmer Ted

The Mets promoting a wives event but failing to ID the ladies. https://twitter.com/Mets/status/317066431718100993/photo/1

Taco in a Helmet. Let the discussion begin.

Military-inspired gear. Yellow Ribbons. Green ribbons. Red ribbons. Ribbons on top of ribbons. Black Patches. Yellow wristbands. Powder blue bats. Pink shoelaces. I'm not down with all of this.

I'm completely surprised that this hasn't happened already. Apparently he wore the hard hat in the field in college, too, much to Rickey Henderson's surprise. PULLMAN, Wash. - It has been a quarter century since John G. Olerud put together the best season in Washington State University's storied baseball history. The Seattle native led the Cougars to a school-record 52 wins while playing in all 66 games during the 1988 campaign. He was named national player of the year after batting .464 and posting a 15-0 record on the mound. Washington State will retire his uniform No. 18 prior to its March 30 (noon start time) game against Stanford at Bailey-Brayton Field. Olerud set school records that still stand today for batting average, hits (108), RBI (tied, 81), total bases (204), slugging percentage (.876), on-base percentage (.556), OPS (1.432), wins and innings pitched (122 2/3). Other records he set that have since been broken include home runs (23), runs (83), games pitched (tied, 16) and strikeouts (113). He added 21 doubles, one shy of the school record at the time, while recording a 2.49 ERA (fifth in the aluminum bat era at the time) and a 1.133 WHIP (third in the aluminum bat era at the time). Olerud finished his three-year Cougar career with a .434 batting average and was a third round selection by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1989 MLB Draft. He made his professional debut later that year without spending a day in the Minor Leagues. He went on to play 17 seasons in MLB, collecting 500 doubles, 255 home runs and 1,230 RBI. Olerud played on eight MLB postseason teams and was part of Toronto's back-to-back World Series champion squads in 1992-93. Today, the John Olerud Award is named in honor of the Cougars' distinguished alumnus and presented annually to the top two-way player in college baseball. Olerud's father, John E. Olerud, played three years for the Cougars (1963-65) and led Washington State to the 1965 College World Series. He was the Cougars' first MLB Draft pick when the Los Angeles Angels grabbed him during the fourth round in 1965. The elder Olerud spent seven years in professional baseball. NOTE A commemorative John Olerud T-shirt will be given out to the first 500 fans prior the game, March 30.

The Cubs took on another battle last fall. CHICAGO -- Faced with declining attendance and the pressures of running a rebuilding team, the Chicago Cubs are going to battle against an opponent they think they can beat: ticket scalpers. The Cubs sent out 45 nonrenewal letters to a select group of season-ticket holders Wednesday, noting that season tickets "are a revocable license granted on a yearly basis at the sole discretion of the team." The Cubs feel confident their research in trying to identify potential scalpers is correct, and only professional ticket sellers, many of whom have out of state addresses, were affected, according to one Cubs source, who said: "This is about the guy in California with 40 tickets." Green said the team has gotten feedback from ticket holders who received the email Wednesday. The team expects these letters to be challenged, but they fall back on the language in season-ticket agreements that gives them the right to revoke ticket rights. About 1,000 tickets will be made available to fans on the season-ticket waiting list and possibly for upgrades for current season-ticket holders. While the Cubs do not mention ticket scalping in the letter, this is a clear move to target ticket brokers, scalpers and the operators of the online secondary marketplace. The Cubs believe it will benefit current season-ticket holders who want to resell their seats but face stiff competition from brokers. "This move does not impact season-ticket holders who want to resell tickets because they can't attend the game," Cubs spokesman Julian Green said in a phone conversation. "This is about getting tickets in the hands of fans who want to enjoy Cubs baseball and experience Wrigley Field." The Cubs won't be alone in this practice. A baseball source outside of Chicago told ESPN Chicago that other big-market teams are plotting similar plans to oust scalpers from their season-ticket rolls. Major League Baseball's deal with StubHub is up for renewal after this season and some teams aren't happy with the current arrangement, which they feel directs fans to StubHub over their own website. "StubHub is a partner of ours, and that deal is up," Green said. "This move is not about a salvo to third-party ticket providers. This is about getting tickets to fans who intend to go to Cubs games." The Cubs do not release their season ticket base number, but their season low for a game was 25,891 on Thursday, Sept. 20, and a Cubs source said the number for full-season plans is around that number. The Cubs averaged 35,590 fans a game this past year, down 1,669 from 2011. The Cubs are having their annual seat relocation event during the last week of November and plan to invite potential season-ticket holders to the park in December to discuss ticket options. All of these seats will go into season tickets. Season-ticket holders who lost their season tickets will not be banned from buying single-game seats and reselling them, Green said. He added that the Cubs' in-house secondary marketing ticket option, Wrigley Field Premium Tickets, does not use season tickets. "We believe we have an opportunity to make sure our tickets are going to as many fans as possible," Green said. "We understand this is tough news but frankly, we're in our rights to do so. The Cubs are clear this is a revokable license granted on a yearly basis."

Sheriff Joe: "We don't stop people because they look like they're from somewhere else. I'm an equal-opportunity guy. My guys arrest everybody." I had to read that five times.

The infamous Frank Estrada resurfaces. Played in only one major league game in his entire career in 1969 and the first-ever Mexican-born catcher in the bigs. His baseball card will show he finished with a lifetime batting average .500! Also part of the Nolan Ryan trade. He needs to make the all-Mets 40-man roster fo sho. a fun read: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/4d5bebf7

So David Wright is, in essence, the assistant to the assistant traveling secretary?

I blame it on Duda and his fucking bear hugs. Too much affection there.

Jay, like ValdesJunk, doesn't appear to be wearing a cup under his uniform. Or is he?

Perhaps someone has been trolling the forum? Justin Turner ?@redturn2 Hey mom, I get to go to work with #CaptainAmerica everyday! That's pretty cool!

Any follow-up on Jordany's ValdesJunk?

I think he kept it in his back pocket. The pocket that hangs out. Junk hanging out.

I really miss Pulitzer quality shit like this. or this guy... http://bombersbeat.mlblogs.com/author/mlblogsbombersbeat1/

Wolverines!!

It's fucking Wilpon's fault. Cheap ass. Go sell some amway, idiot. Send in Gunny Highway, he'll tear apart those cigar wrapping bastids. I'm sorry, who are they playing again?

I just got an email blast notifying me that I can one of the first to have the privilege of buying tickets for... wait for it... wait for it... wait for it... Bob Segar and the Silver Bullet Band. It's like I'm in 1983 all over again.

Mike Piazza is a ruthless landlord. Oh wait... http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110111/COMM/101110309&cid=sitesearch

I broke my hand 30 years ago and my wrist is still limp. Anyway......

Willie Randolph and Larry Bowa coaching the US of A in the WBC.

Sappy boy. http://instagram.com/p/Vu1j0Bjjb-/

Shit, this has me more on edge. The good old days. http://observer.com/2000/10/as-mets-head-toward-the-playoffs-mike-piazza-has-his-own-playmate/

Sandy has arisen from his slumber. https://twitter.com/MetsGM/status/301053943650344960/photo/1

Beating a dead horse. http://deadspin.com/5983170/this-is-the-line-for-single-game-marlins-tickets-minutes-before-they-went-on-sale

While Lenny Dykstra continues with his legal woes, his boy Cutter gets engaged to Meadow Soprano, source being the Post.