soupcan

Schoen-not-on-ice as he is warming in the pen and looks to be entering the game...

Nice story Edge. I am surprised that you didn't almost immediately take her up on the offer and go leafing through all that good stuff. Seems like something you would really enjoy doing.

Helped bring ML Baseball back to D.C.?

This is sad news. I've shared my memories of Bill Robinson here and they are also on the UMDB. I have the ball he threw to me in '86 right here in my office and I still have Dave Parker's bat in my bedroom closet.

Glavine has no right to take issue with the offense since he's been a Met. I saw a stat the other night that said, If I can recall correctly (and I'm not sure I can) that during his 16 seasons with the Braves, Glavine was given a lead of at least 6 runs something like 14 times and came away with a win 13 times. During his time with the Mets he has been given a lead of at least 6 runs something like 5 times and has lost 3 or 4 of those.

I saw it 'live' last night and also thought it was incredibly unfunny. I did like #9 though - 'Mets' is short for 'Metrosexuals' I think a lot of the reason it was bad was because the players had lousy deliveries. If Letterman had read it, there's a chance it might have been better. I was also disappointed in the band's rendition of 'Meet the Mets' which was the lead-in and lead-out(?) to the bit.

Perez 2 Reyes 2 Castro 1 Easley 1 Gotay 1 Milledge 1 Mota 1 Wright 1

LoDuca 3 Glavine 2 Milledge 2 Heilman 1 Wagner 1 Easley 0.5 Reyes 0.5

Ira's right. I've been meaning to read that poem for a couple of weeks now. I was listening to a game on the radio a day or two after the tribute and Howie and Ted were going on and on about the poem that Ed Charles had written for Ralph. I mean they were really, really going on about it. They said that it was posted on mets.com and so I made a mental note to check it out. I am incredibly disappointed. A grade school kid could've composed that. I'll give Charles credit for the time and effort he obviously put into it and for trying to do something special for a guy that he genuinely cares for but geez Louise that's B-A-D. And for Howie and Ted to be singing its praises as much as they did? I'm stunned.

Went last night. 2 cool things - -When Maine hit the homerun, he had this totally stoic expression on his face and I was staring at him just to see when he would finally succumb and crack a smile. He was all Spock until he hit the first step of the dugout and then he couldn't contain it anymore. Big grin. -Between innings Sandy Alomar, Jr. was warming up Maine and as he came back into the dugout, a guy sitting in the first row behind the dugout stood up and yelled "Sandy Alomar, Jr., I love you!" Sandy looked at the guy, broke into a big smile pointed both hands at him and yelled back "No. I love YOU!" Fun stuff.

Maine - 4 Milledge - 2.5 Gotay - 1 Reyes - 1 LoDuca - 1 Beltran - 0.5

="soupcan"]The biggest priority for the Mets is pitching. No, no, no....'Mark Hale wrote...'

The Post opines that White Sox 2B Tadahito Iguchi may or may not be coming our way. And/or one of the following: Dan Wheeler, Octavio Dotel, Ty Wigginton. Maybe we should just never trade anyone and then, years later when we need them, we just defrost 'em. DEAL OR NO DEAL By MARK HALE SECOND CHANCES: With Jose Valentin possibly out for the season, the Mets could be looking to trade for a second baseman who could bat second. The White Sox's Tadahito Iguchi is one who may be available. July 24, 2007 -- There's just a week before baseball's non-waiver trade deadline, and despite the fact the Mets aren't close to any kind of deal right now, they are targeting multiple areas. The biggest priority for the Mets is pitching. But although arms are the main focus, they're not the only one. The Mets also are searching for a hitter with a high on-base percentage to bat second in their lineup, and they would welcome some bench help, too, according to a person familiar with the situation. An NL team executive said he believed the Mets' two main priorities were relief pitching and second base, additionally mentioning the chance to get a significant upgrade in the starting rotation. With the July 31 deadline looming, the Mets appear unlikely to make a deal, mostly because of the current market as opposed to their desire to upgrade. They're also unwilling to move any of their top prospects in a deal for a free agent-to-be, their group including starting pitchers Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra, outfielders Fernando Martinez and Carlos Gomez, and first baseman Mike Carp. The Mets will be getting help internally, with Moises Alou (leg injury) set to come back tonight at Shea Stadium against the Pirates. And Pedro Martinez took another important step yesterday in his rehab from rotator-cuff surgery, tossing 50 pitches in his second simulated game. At some point, the Mets also will get back Endy Chavez (hamstring) and potentially Gomez (hand); both are on the disabled list. At second base, with Jose Valentin injured (fractured leg) and potentially out for the season, Omar Minaya said again yesterday the team isn't looking for external assistance. "We're ready to go with (Ruben) Gotay and Anderson Hernandez. Or (Damion) Easley. Or those kind of combinations," Minaya said. "They give us both offense and defense." Minaya said the Mets could start Gotay and use Hernandez as a defensive replacement, similar to how the team used Chavez in the outfield. If the Mets do pursue a deal, an NL team official mentioned the White Sox's Tadahito Iguchi, San Francisco's Ray Durham and Tampa Bay's Ty Wigginton could be available. The bullpen has been an issue for the Mets this season, with instability in the eighth inning. Neither Aaron Heilman nor Guillermo Mota has been able to excel. What relievers are out there? The NL official mentioned Kansas City's Octavio Dotel and wasn't certain whether the Astros would consider moving either Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler or Brad Lidge, though the official said it was doubtful. As for the Mets' prospects, another NL team official praised Pelfrey, despite his major-league struggles this season (0-7, 6.12 ERA), calling him "everything you look for." One AL team executive, asked if Pelfrey had lost value because of his struggles or whether that was too small a sample, said, "That's a good question. I would say some of these guys are more famous when they're not in the big leagues. The Baseball America buildup seems to carry a little more weight than when these guys are in the big leagues." mark.hale@nypost.com

I need you on my speed dial.

Yancy Street Gang wrote: Maybe I'm paranoid, but I think of sleepaway camp as fertile ground for child molesters. Just because you are paranoid doesn't necessarily mean its not true. When I was 18 I worked at a camp and one of the counselors was fired for 'inappropriate contact' with a 9 year-old. Why this particular guy was hired in the first place I have no idea - he fit the profile of a pedophile so perfectly that it was absolutely no surprise to anybody when it happened.

Edgy DC wrote: So, the sequel should be When Soupy Met Jeff. Yeah, you know I was thinking about chattin' up Fred but then what was I going to say to him? "Um, hi, Fred, I'm a Mets fan" or 'Hey, got any idea of the score of the game today?" By the way, Fred's got a nice looking arm and it looked like he was wearing his own glove. How many 70-somethings do you know have their own glove (and travel with it)? ="sharpie"]My daughter last went to an 8-week summer camp about 4 years ago. If I remember correctly it cost us about $4,000. I think she still considers it one of the highlights of her life and she still keeps in touch with some of the kids she knew from there. I'm a former camper/counselor and I swear by it. If you can swing sleepaway camp for your kids you have to do it. You remember it fondly for your whole life.

As far as summer camps go its pretty much on par with the rest of them. Your average 8 week camp is anywhere from $6,000 - $10,000. This one tops out at $5,450 for 4 weeks and $8,950 for 8 weeks. My boy did 4 weeks this year (he came home with us this weekend).

I like how the Red Sox do it. You have to have played at least 10 years for the Red Sox and be a Hall of Famer. End of story, case closed.

I was listening to the 10th on the radio as I was driving to pick up Chinese food and Howie just kept going on and on about the size of Broxton.

I have very succesfully indoctrinated my 10 year old son into Mets fandom. Loves the team nearly as much as his dad. He's away at summer camp right now and each morning I email him the scores and pertinent info from the games the night before. The few letters I've gotten back (he's not allowed to send emails, only receive) he let's me know he appreciates my keeping him up to speed on our Mets. I sent him copies of the All-Star roster with the Mets typed out out in boldface, I sent him a copy of a the picture of his sister at the game, I even sent him a copy of the backpage of the Post when it had a particularly Metsian photo on it. So yadda yadda yadda, this weekend we are up in Maine for visiting day at his camp. I'm there all day walking around with him, doing activities - swimming, baseball, tennis, etc. So I'm walking around the camp and I see this older dude throwing a baseball with, I assume, his grandson. I do a double-take. The old dude is Fred Wilpon. I say to my son 'Hey, hey you know who that is? That's Fred Wilpon!'. My son says 'Oh yeah, I know, that's his grandson, Bradley. Nice kid. His dad Jeff was here yesterday.' WTF?! You think maybe my son might have mentioned that little tidbit in a letter or something? 'Dear Dad, guess what, etc., etc.,...' Maybe his dad might have been the slightest bit interested in that little nugget? Friggin Kids. You think you raise them right.

Willets Point wrote: "Mets Magic" is a team catch phrase that goes way back. Yeah, way back to Jerry Della Famina.

It was entirely her concept, she drew and colored in the the 'Lets Go Mets', I drew everything else but we both did the rest of the coloring.

Usually yes but since it was so hot they were otherwise occupied with alternately holding parasols over our heads, massaging sunscreen on our exposed parts and spritzing us with chilled Evian.

My daughter made her debut as well. The sign helped her get on the scoreboard a couple of times...

Also - We don't need it anymore. The skyline on top of the scoreboard that has an epileptic seizure after each Met homerun is so much better than the Apple. I'm being serious. I like that. Anybody else noticed that the giant-sized Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee on the top of the left field fence also spins around after a homerun? Wow, let's keep that chintzy thing as part of our team's legacy as well when they move into the new place. Lemmings, all of you!