If you weren’t watching the Phillies game last night like you should’ve been, you missed out on perhaps one of the greatest foul ball catches in the history of foul ball catches.
At the start of the Fightins 2-run fifth inning last night, Carlos Ruiz led off against D-back’s ace Dan Haren and fouled a 1-1 pitch back into the stands. An attentive Arizona fan was in a great position to snag the ball, and threw up his left arm and picked it out of the air.
[...]
But what if I told you he made the catch while HOLDING A LITTLE KID IN HIS RIGHT ARM, along with a soda in his right hand (and did not spill a drop)?
"Right now we do not envision [being a seller]," [Omar] Minaya said. "If
we're 6 ½ [back] in the wild card with a couple of teams in front of us, we are
still kind of trying to find out how we can improve this team, if we can improve
it through trades."Awesome quote. One of the best of this season, for sure.
Apparently, in Minaya's mind: "a couple" = seven.*
*In case you're curious: Colorado, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta,
Houston, Florida and Milwaukee.
Once, in the course of trying to win an argument with a woman -- and yes, I've since learned just how pointless an exercise that is -- I cracked a dictionary and was shocked to discover that the word "few" could be reasonably used to describe a number as low as two.
So I figured I had better look up "couple" just in case I'm wrong,
again. And, sure enough:4. Informal. A few; several: a couple of days.So we know that a couple can be a few, and we know that a few (same dictionary) refers to something "more than one but indefinitely small in number."
Is seven (or thereabouts) small enough to fall under the heading of "a couple." Technically? Perhaps (though probably not).
Realistically? Stop it. Just ... stop. Optimism is one thing, and often it's a good thing. But the notion that these terribly hobbled Mets are, right now, just a couple of wins or a spare outfielder away from being in a position to leapfrog six or seven teams
and grab a brass ring ... well, I'm afraid that it borders on delusional.
As messed up as this organization is right now, someone in charge really
needs to step in and tell Minaya to start thinking about 2010 and beyond. At the
absolute least, Minaya should consult the writings of our greatest modern
philosopher ...
...If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let 'em go, because, man, they're gone...
The 'Ropolitans reports, Tony Bernazard fights Double-A Binghamton players, without his shirt. This is one for the ages. A source tells the Daily News that Mets VP Tony Bernazard attempted to fight players from the Double-A Binghamton Mets, and removed his shirt in the process.
Livan isn't the only Hernandez who plays other positions...
Jon Heyman of SI.com wrote on his Twitter account today that the Mets were offered a deal by the Toronto Blue Jays for Roy Halladay. The deal would have sent Fernando Martinez, Jon Niese, Bobby Parnell, and Ruben Tejada to the Jays.
Mets general manager Omar Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel have been reassured by club higher-ups that their jobs are not in jeopardy, league sources told SI.com.
Minaya and Manuel have come under public scrutiny and even attack during the Mets' horrific run, but both men were informed in recent weeks that they shouldn't worry about their positions in conversations with Mets COO Jeff Wilpon.
Last year Minaya signed a three-year contract extension that begins in 2010, while Manuel's contract only guarantees 2010. Their reassurances mean both will be in their current positions at the start of next year. The Wilpons have long had a strong relationship with Minaya.
People familiar with the discussions say that while Wilpon is disappointed with the season, he told both men he is committed to them and expressed his hope that they don't let any worries affect how they go about their jobs. Wilpon wanted both to understand that they were "all in this together," league sources said, and that the only thing they need to do is work even harder.
A man by the name of Loopenark wrote in: I think there’s an overlooked reason why the Mets are underplaying Gary Sheffield’s injury: Omar Minaya knows he needs to trade him. They can’t put him on the DL now because they’d blow the July 31 Trade Deadline. They’re hoping it’s minor and he can get back on the field soon to show he can play well enough to get someone to bid. If this were earlier in the year, he might well be on the DL now…
MetsBlog's Michael Baron writes, "From the beginning of July through the end of the year in 2008, Johan Santana was a perfect 9-0 with a 2.09 ERA, with his signature outing coming on the final Saturday of the season against the Florida Marlins."
Jose Reyes and the Carlos Brothers are closer to returning to the Mets' regular lineup -- just as we all are closer than ever to Labor Day. Not that anyone has put it in such terms, but from what Omar Minaya, the Mets general manager and prognosis provider, said Thursday, the circumstances involving the Mets' three highest profile disabled list assignees are in only slightly sharper focus than they were last week.
In each case, it still seems that the three position players -- Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado -- are due back later than sooner and no one can say when later might arrive. Reyes and Beltran are likely to return before Delgado, Minaya said. But that hardly was a new development. He said Delgado's return could be mid-August, but couldn't say for sure.
Reyes and Delgado are in Port St. Lucie continuing rehab work and treatment. Reyes participated in simulated game conditions with his fellow teammate on the DL, John Maine, pitching Thursday. Reyes' condition has improved significantly in the last week after he received a cortisone injection, the general manager said. But Minaya described a scenario of several things that would have to happen before Reyes would play in a rehab game and couldn't say when that scenario might begin. The most optimism Minaya expressed involved Maine and Reyes, who might be able to return by the end of the month.
At the same time, he said an MRI of Beltran's problematic right knee indicated the bruise under his knee cap remains, and Fernando Martinez, also assigned to the DL, underwent surgery during the All-Star break to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. Martinez, 20 and oft-injured, is to be unavailable until mid-September.
Pedro Martinez officially signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. If the Mets want to avoid the indignity of watching their former pitcher head to the postseason with their archrivals, they may need to get some outside help of their own. Thankfully, they've gotten just such an offer from a group of men slightly older than the 37-year-old righthander.
The Yankees weren't the only team in town to open a fancy new stadium this year. The Mets turned on the lights to their shiny new yard on April 13. And...The Bristal All-Stars, members of a senior softball team on Long Island, are producing a video of baseball fundamentals that they plan to offer the Mets. Most teams would scoff at such an offer, but the Mets aren't really in a position to do that. When you've lost games because of balks, muffed popups and missed bases, a refresher course on the ABC's of the game might just do the trick to get you back on a winning track.
Joe Friedman, the league's commissioner, told Newsday that they aren't trying to embarrass the Mets, even though he calls himself a Yankees fan. The video, he says, is a good-natured, tongue in cheek offering for a team in need of a helping hand.
"We're not angry with the Mets, but you know everybody could use some help," said Friedman, 73, of Oceanside. "Even we could use some help as seniors and that's the whole purpose."
In addition to hitting the cutoff man and baserunning dos and don'ts, one hopes the video will also give the Mets some other life tips. Gary Sheffield is 40 and might enjoy finding out about some of the better early bird specials in the area, for example, and who wouldn't enjoy a rambling story or two about people who violate the clubhouse rules around Del Boca Vista.
Given their numerous issues with injury, the Mets would also benefit from the life experience of men who have sidestepped all manners of illness and injury to stay on the field long after their hair turned white or disappeared.
The Yankees had their All-Star party last year, with an All-Star farewell to Yankee Stadium. The Mets and Citi Field will be having their All-Star Summer hello in 2013.That was the word yesterday from MLB sources. The next two All-Star Games are set, Anaheim next season and Arizona in 2011. Then it shifts back to an AL club the following year, most likely in Kansas City. That leaves 2013 all set for Citi Field and the Mets.
"That's the way it's looking," a source told The Post yesterday. "That also gives Citi Field time to get everything set. The Mets deserve to have an All-Star Game."
The Nationals also want the 2013 game, but will probably have to wait until 2015. Commissioner Bud Selig said that cities are waiting in line to host All-Star Games. "That wasn't always the case," Selig said.
Selig has made it a priority to make the All-Star Game stand out as a special event that a city can embrace. St. Louis has done just that this week in the 80th All-Star Game at Busch Stadium. New York did it last year with the All-Star goodbye to Yankee Stadium. There has to be space between two All-Star games in New York.
"Playing in New York last year was great for me," Mets third baseman David Wright said. "It was a lot of fun to play in front of the same fans that see you every day.
"New York deserves its fair share of All-Star games. I think with Citi being new and the new amenities and just how glowingly everybody else talks about the ballpark, they deserve it. Hopefully I can play at a level to make the All-Star team there."
The Mets haven't hosted an All-Star Game since 1964 at Shea Stadium. There have been seven All-Star Games in New York, dating back to the second one in 1934 at the Polo Grounds. The AL won that game, 9-7. That was the day Carl Hubbell struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin in succession.
Santa Claus of the North Pole is reporting that Michael Baron of MetsBlog is reporting that Kevin Kernan of the New York Post is reporting that David Wright would like to remain with the Mets for his entire career.
The Wall Street Journal recently came out with an article titled, "The 10 Most Bizarre Athlete Superstitions" saying that, "If any group has a reason to be superstitious, it's professional athletes. Since their livelihoods rely on their abilities to consistently replicate physical motions, it's hardly surprising that they often don't want to change anything about their routines once they find success. However, some stars take these rituals beyond their logical extremes. Jumping over the baselines when taking the field in baseball? Pretty standard. Wearing the same cup from high school on through your pro career like Mark McGwire reportedly did? Now we're getting a little more peculiar..."Most baseball players wear batting gloves to absorb some of the shock of making contact with the ball and to improve their grip on the bat. A handful eschew gloves in favor of a barehanded approach, though, most famously outfielder Alou. Alou does have a system for avoiding calluses and hardening his skin: he urinates on his hands throughout the season. New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada also employs this superstition to aid in his gloveless approach at the plate. The trick may be more gross than helpful, though: a 2004 article in Slate questioned the value of this superstition since urine contains urea, a key ingredient in moisturizers that actually soften the skin
Dave Howard, the Mets' executive vice president for business, said Citi Field has been "extremely well received," with people commenting even on their reception in the parking lot....The additional video board in the rightfield corner seems, perhaps, trivial to the regular fan but for those sitting in the leftfield home run section - it is crucial...I had sat in those left field seats and I was no able to see the center field screen due to the fact that the upper bleachers hang... Good work, Wilpon.
He did acknowledge early-season criticisms: Some seats have obstructed views and that there is less celebration of Mets history than the Brooklyn Dodgers' legacy. As much as there was a "good riddance" feeling about Shea, there was an uproar Sunday when one of its traditions, the apple, failed to pop out of the centerfield hat for the second of two home runs. "We've heard our fans," he said.So, he said, the Mets received permission from Major League Baseball to show the live feed on video screens the instant the ball is in play, allowing fans to follow action they might not see live. Also, an additional video board will be installed in the rightfield corner after the All-Star break.
Howard added that more Mets memories will be reflected with displays in the park this summer, and that there are bigger long-term plans to give the place a Mets atmosphere.
Whether they will make it a more hitter-friendly atmosphere by bringing in the fences or lowering the walls is a decision for the offseason. Howard did say that if the Mets are healthy, the park can work to their advantage because of their gap hitters, fly ball-oriented pitchers and mobile centerfielder and rightfielder. Backup centerfielder Angel Pagan said, "I need room to gallop, so this is the right place."
After Brandon Inge's (lack of) home run performance in the 2009 Home Run Derby in St. Louis, Inge spoke to reporters saying, "My target number was 15, I was thinking. I almost got there." Nothing like making yourself the butt of a joke, huh, Brandon?
The Mets have set their rotation for the start of the second half on Thursday.Oliver Perez will start Thursday night against the Braves in Atlanta, followed by Mike Pelfrey on Friday, Johan Santana on Saturday, Fernando Nieve on Sunday, and Livan Hernandez on Monday against the Nationals in Washington.
Jerry Manuel told reporters that Jonathan Niese would take the place of a starter who has “three bad outings in a row”, which seemingly would apply to Hernandez who in his last two starts is 0-2 with a 19.29 ERA, allowing 21 hits, 8 walks, and 15 earned runs in his last seven innings and has lost his last four starts.
For now, the rotation will remain in tact, with Manuel saying:
“We’ve had some success with the rotation we have, and you gotta kind of give guys the benefit of the doubt.”
…as much as I think Hernandez has been beneficial and durable, his last two games in particular have been really alarming and with Niese pitching as well as he has been in the minors, it might be wise to consider this change as the team has lost eight of his last nine starts overall…
…if the team is going to make any sort of run in the second half, then I think Manuel simply must make changes from within as he cannot rely on ownership making a deal…in reality, things couldn’t be much worse…
Albert Pujols is the face of the 80th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, so it's appropriate that he'll pair up with the face of the nation Tuesday night.Pujols has been selected to catch President Barack Obama's ceremonial first pitch before the Midsummer Classic at Busch Stadium. The game will air on FOX at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
An eight-time All-Star, Pujols will be on center stage for this week's events in his home park. He was the Majors' top online and overall vote-getter in balloting for the All-Star Game, collecting 5,397,374 votes. He'll be taking part in Monday's State Farm Home Run Derby. And in advance of taking the field as the National League's starting first baseman for Tuesday's marquee event, he'll snag Obama's first pitch.
But Pujols won't be the only Cardinals hero on the field for that special moment. The six living Cardinals Hall of Famers -- Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Red Schoendienst, Bruce Sutter and Ozzie Smith -- will all be there to greet the president.
As for Obama, he'll be wearing a black glove specifically designed for him by Wilson. The glove includes "Obama #44" written in script and an American flag. Following the first pitch, the glove will be authenticated by MLB and sent to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
The president has also received a request to appear in the FOX Sports broadcast booth during the game.
"We are discussing with FOX the prospect of him being in the booth," White House spokesperson Dan Pfeiffer told SI.com.
Former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter will all appear in a video address as part of the ceremony honoring the All-Stars Among Us -- a group of 30 people recognized by MLB and People magazine for their outstanding community service. The video, combined with Obama's appearance, will mark the first time all of the living U.S. presidents will participate in a ceremony at a sporting event.
Pujols, of course, will be at the center of it all, keeping with the theme of the week
"I'm in debt to those guys, especially [general manager] Omar Minaya. "He was the one that traded for me back in the Montreal days, he was the one that gave me the shot and the opportunity. If someone gives you a chance to play at the major league level you're always going to be grateful."
The Mets have acquired OF Jeff Francoeur from the Braves in exchange for OF Ryan Church.
“He put an emphasis on situational hitting with a drill that required players to hit 80 consecutive balls to the opposite field in a five-minute span -- more than four times as many swings as they would normally take at a time during batting practice.”the Muts, (as seen in picture below) have hit a mere 50 home runs this season. This number is good enough for the league‘s lowest. Even the Pirates (56) have more. The Kansas City Royals have more (76). And finally, even the Nationals, who are 162 games out of first place, have more (56)!
"It gets you doing things right. When the fatigue starts and you have to keep going, you have to use your hands. That's the idea."
Shea Stadium security would not let us in.
Pedro Feliz got a guaranteed $8.5M over two years from the Philadelphia Phillies on January 28th, 2008. With a third year option and incentives, the deal could reach $15 million over three years. Feliz left the Giants with some bad blood, turning down what may have been a better offer.
Some are simple, some are silly. Others are wistful and earnest. A few are even profound. But nearly all the 18,000 bricks in front of the main entrance to Citi Field have one thing in common: fans who spent hundreds of dollars to declare their devotion to the Mets in stone.
One reporter’s brick-by-brick tally found that most inscriptions were straightforward: Mets fans claiming to be the most ardent. Many sign off with, “Let’s Go Mets!” and their names or initials. Many refer to departed family and friends, including a few who died in the attacks on Sept. 11, like one of the three bricks that Evelyn and Richard Becker from Bayside bought.
“We jumped on it right away,” Evelyn Becker said one recent afternoon as she and her husband scanned the walkway for their bricks, the sale of which helped the Mets raise $3 million for charity. “We’re so proud to be part of this.”
The Mets did not edit inscriptions, which resulted in occasionally sloppy grammar. But messages that were lewd or uncomplimentary to the baseball team in the Bronx and its players were disqualified.
Some inscriptions proclaim the Mets as the “Best Team in New York,” but no bricks include the word Yankees.A handful of fans declared their allegiance to the departed New York baseball Giants, and the Jets. Many more said that their road to Flushing began in Flatbush, where the Brooklyn Dodgers played. “CVB” wrote simply, “Dem Bums, Our Amazins.”
Many fans included seminal years in Mets history, like 1962, 1969 and 1986. A few said their love of the team began in 1961, the year before the Mets took the field for the first time. One brick thanks Joan W. Payson, the Mets’ first majority owner. It is signed, “Love, New York National League Baseball Fans.”
Payson’s daughter, Lorinda de Roulet, might have been behind the brick signed by Linda de Roulet, which read: “It Has Always Been Fun to Cheer Together.”
Many of the bricks, which are 4 inches by 8 inches or 8 inches by 8 inches, commemorate days when fans attended their first games, met future wives or started a family. Quite a few inscriptions say that Citi Field was no substitute for Shea Stadium, the last remnants of which are being cleared to make way for a parking lot.
“We were going to get one of the little bricks, but I said it was so cool because now it’s here forever,” said Karin Ritchie, standing with her husband, Brian; their infant daughter, Riley; and their beagle, Shea, near their brick: “1 Life, 1 Love, Let’s Go Mets, the Ritchies, est. 2006.”
Hidden among the hundreds of rows of dark and light brown bricks are gems that elicited a chuckle, a guffaw or a scratch on the head.
Some are clever, others are inside jokes, and a few are so obscure that they are funny.
Liz Freedman and Wendy Ellicott (librarians, perhaps?) wrote, “In Libris Scriptum Sit,” followed by the English translation, “Put It in the Books,” the signature phrase that Howie Rose, a Mets radio announcer, uses after every victory.
Some fans took stabs at poetry, like Vicki Schmidt, who wrote, “Forever a Fan, Love My Mets, Put My Ashes in the Rosin Bag & I’ll Be All Set!”
Other bricks leave readers wondering. Tony Naccarato spent $395 and tax to announce: “I Was at the 69 World Series. Lost My Hot Dog.”
Another brick raises questions: “Sheila Mandel (Mom Trusts Certain Mets).” Which Mets does she trust and why? And what does she trust them to do?
Some bricks paint a larger, perhaps more violent picture. One brick signed “M B&K Kulbacki,” reads: “Mom: Use When Dad Misbehaves.”
There are, of course, references to favorite players and managers. Casey and Gil. Tom and Tug. Cleon and Rusty. Delwyn Perez proclaimed, “Mike Piazza for President,” and Eric Singerman, who “Sold Hot Dogs & Beer in Shea’s Early Years,” said he named his son Mookie.
Another unsigned brick reads, “McDowell Was the Second Spitter,” a reference to pitcher Roger McDowell’s role on an episode of “Seinfeld.”
McDowell’s Mets teams of the 1980s, with all their flash and flair, might have been what prompted the Loshiavo Family to write, “Great Hair Wins Championships!”
P. Wakabayashi seemed to care less about the Mets and more about becoming one with baseball fans. “Me Some Peanuts & Crackerjack, I,” the brick says.
Sitting quietly amid the sea of adoration and exclamation is this understatement: “Richie Oresto. Typical Mets Fan.”
The Nicolaou Family seemed to question the wisdom of their having spent money to help pave a walkway when they wrote, “Why?”
The simplicity award, though, goes to the fan who said it all in a word: “Mine.”
