Thursday, May 03, 2007
Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Ex Mets in Baltimore
The Orioles got help from three ex-Mets, but it still was not enough as the Mini-Mets fell to the Tigers, 3-2. Stephen Christopher Trachsel became the first Orioles starter to complete seven innings in three weeks. He allowed three runs on eight hits, but trailed 3-2 when he was removed after seven innings. The O's two runs scored on a Jay Payton double and a bases-loaded walk to Melvin Mora.
Transplanted ex-Mets Update: Mike Piazza Out 4 to 6 Weeks With A Bum Shoulder
Former Met and current A's Designated Hitter Mike Piazza strained his right shoulder last night diving into third base in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid being tagged. He's now headed to the DL and is expected to be sidelined four-to-six weeks.
Piazza hadn't exactly been tearing up the AL with his hitting. After a hot start, he's hitting .282 with just 1 homer and 8 RBIs.
Piazza is the 7th player on the Oakland roster who are on the disabled list. Rich Harden, Esteban Loaiza, Milton Bradley, Mark Kotsay, Chris Denorfia, and Bobby Kietley are all on the A's shelf as well.
The A's come to Shea on June 22nd for a three game set. Piazza may be back by then, but since he hasn't caught at all this season, he probably won't see any action anyway, other than perhaps as a pinch hitter.
Mike's ex-Met teammate Marco Scutaro is hitting just .139 this season, but of course he did have that three-run, walk-off, homer off Mariano Rivera on April 17th so I'd say he's having a good season.
Piazza hadn't exactly been tearing up the AL with his hitting. After a hot start, he's hitting .282 with just 1 homer and 8 RBIs.
Piazza is the 7th player on the Oakland roster who are on the disabled list. Rich Harden, Esteban Loaiza, Milton Bradley, Mark Kotsay, Chris Denorfia, and Bobby Kietley are all on the A's shelf as well.
The A's come to Shea on June 22nd for a three game set. Piazza may be back by then, but since he hasn't caught at all this season, he probably won't see any action anyway, other than perhaps as a pinch hitter.
Mike's ex-Met teammate Marco Scutaro is hitting just .139 this season, but of course he did have that three-run, walk-off, homer off Mariano Rivera on April 17th so I'd say he's having a good season.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
I'm back. Where are the bats?
I'm FINALLY ready to resume my regularly schedule blogging activities. Last Tuesday and Wednesday were dedicated to final exams, and then (very) early morning I headed up to D.C. and Baltimore for work (and of course a weekend at RFK!)
First of all, what a dump RFK is. I've been there before, and said this before, but it honestly makes Shea look like the Taj Majal. Luckily for Expos fans, this is the last season at the stadium, with the new park opening next season. Yes, somehow, even though construction for both parks began last year, DC's new, as yet unnamed, stadium will be ready a full year before Citi Field.
I originally didn't think I'd be able to make Sunday's game, but my cousin who lives in the area told me last month that I had to make sure I was there because I had to be there to see the sweep completed. well, halfway through Saturday's affair I turned to him and reminded him that we might indeed see a sweep though not the one he predicted!
Friday's game was a mess. O'Perez pitched well enough, especially after Austin Kearns hit a homerun in the first to give some lucky brat an autographed baseball. Unfortunately the Mets have completely forgotten how to score runs. It doesn't help that three members of the Mets lineup (LoDuca Wright Delgado) are automatic outs. Thank God for Beltran Feivel and Reyes! Despite the Mets recent loss of hitting ability, Randolph oddly allowed Perez to bat for himself in the 6th inning down by a run and bases loaded with one out. Perez struck out and Reyes grounded out to end the inning. The ninth inning was a little fun. Chad "the Chief" Cordero was brought in to preserve a one-run lead. Reyes and LoDuca were quickly retired, and Cordero threw a strike to Beltran. Catcher Schneider tossed the ball back to Cordero, who didn't wait for Beltran to settle in before firing a second strike in. Beltran argued that time had been called, but the umpire didn't budge. Beltran screamed and yelled and got in his face. Give credit to the ump - it's the most I've ever seen anyone argue without getting bounced. Beltran stepped back into the box and popped out to second. Mets lose 4-3.
Saturday, the Mets made some punk named Jerome Williams look awesome. The guy came into the game with a 7.77 ERA but he had a no-hitter going for 5 innings. The Expos had a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning, but Old Man Franco scored Endy Chavez with a pinch-hit single. The Mets wound up winning the game in the 12th scoring runs off of a two run double by Beltran and a Wright two run single. The real story was the first base umpire, Tony Randazzo, previously known as Friday night's homeplate umpire (see above) who was absolutely horrible calling the plays at first. The Mets were robbed three times on calls down there, which finally prompted Willie Randolph to come out and argue, getting himself ejected. He put up a decent spectacle, but probably could have been even more vehement. Also notable in the game was in the fourth inning, Jose Valentin suddenly walked off the field. Turns out he's got a bum knee and was off to teh DL. Great. One of the few guys hitting. Mets win 6-4.
Sunday, Beltran scored the only run of the game for either team, hitting a solo homerun in the 6th. John Maine was awesome, and it was a gorgeous day to sit in the ugly stadium. Still too bad the Mets suddenly can't hit. Transplanted ex-Met Jesus Flores got a second straight start behind the plate. At the plate, he attempted a sacrifice bunt with runners on first and second, but Julio Franco made like Keith Hernandez, charging the ball and throwing to third for the forceout. By the way, here's a non sequitor, albeit a true one: Ronnie Belliard is a fat bastard. Mets win, 1-0. On the whole, it was a good weekend in DC.
Some notes: The Expos have this idiot running around the ballpark playing trivia games or shooting T-Shirts between innings on the scoreboard. The guy is a total frat-boy and inning after inning the guy's voice wears on you like a parasite. I don't know who this schmuck is but he needs to shut up. 29 innings of him over a 3 day span was just too much. Another thing RFK could do to enhance the fan experience is to ask the players to pick some more songs to come to the plate to. Austin Kearns comes up to some country song that sings something along the lines of "some girls from my hometown have no teeth in their mouth but Some Girls Do. Some Girls Do," Ryan Church i think came up to "Crazy Train," and Ryan Zimmerman struts up to a diddy with the lyrics "This is why I'm Hot This is Why I'm Hot I'm Hot Cause I'm Fly You Ain't Cause You Not This Is Why I'm Hot." Over and Over again for 29 innings. Pretty bold for a guy hitting .230. Why does the team have a giant chicken (or is it a seagull?) for a mascot? With attendance as poor as it is, why were there no giveaways all weekend. You'd think sponsors would want to put their name on a tchotchke the weekend the Mets are in town, the one chance they have to get in front of some fans! The one promotion, if you could call it that, was a pre-game concert Friday night by a Bobby Montez or something like that. A dude singing melodramatically while playing keyboard. Music to do heroin to, or something.
Monday night I hoped to be home early, but due to flight delays I had to watch Monday night's debacle at a dive in the Charlotte Airport called the Fox Sports Zone. I didn't get home until 11:30, complete with heartburn from the nachos. Regardless, that should be the end of the Chan Ho Park Project. Mets lose to Miami, 9-6.
Last night I was so friggin exhausted I slept right through the Mets 5-2 loss to the Fish. Missed David Wright's first homer of the season!
Today I listened to the 6-3 win on Gameday Audio, at my desk. O'Perez continues to look good, but Wright, who although he had another RBI, made two errors, one in the ninth that allowed two runs to score. Mets Win, 6-3.
Stay tuned to this spot for Transplanted ex-Mets updates and more of what you usually can expect here.
Lets Go Mets!
First of all, what a dump RFK is. I've been there before, and said this before, but it honestly makes Shea look like the Taj Majal. Luckily for Expos fans, this is the last season at the stadium, with the new park opening next season. Yes, somehow, even though construction for both parks began last year, DC's new, as yet unnamed, stadium will be ready a full year before Citi Field.
I originally didn't think I'd be able to make Sunday's game, but my cousin who lives in the area told me last month that I had to make sure I was there because I had to be there to see the sweep completed. well, halfway through Saturday's affair I turned to him and reminded him that we might indeed see a sweep though not the one he predicted!
Friday's game was a mess. O'Perez pitched well enough, especially after Austin Kearns hit a homerun in the first to give some lucky brat an autographed baseball. Unfortunately the Mets have completely forgotten how to score runs. It doesn't help that three members of the Mets lineup (LoDuca Wright Delgado) are automatic outs. Thank God for Beltran Feivel and Reyes! Despite the Mets recent loss of hitting ability, Randolph oddly allowed Perez to bat for himself in the 6th inning down by a run and bases loaded with one out. Perez struck out and Reyes grounded out to end the inning. The ninth inning was a little fun. Chad "the Chief" Cordero was brought in to preserve a one-run lead. Reyes and LoDuca were quickly retired, and Cordero threw a strike to Beltran. Catcher Schneider tossed the ball back to Cordero, who didn't wait for Beltran to settle in before firing a second strike in. Beltran argued that time had been called, but the umpire didn't budge. Beltran screamed and yelled and got in his face. Give credit to the ump - it's the most I've ever seen anyone argue without getting bounced. Beltran stepped back into the box and popped out to second. Mets lose 4-3.
Saturday, the Mets made some punk named Jerome Williams look awesome. The guy came into the game with a 7.77 ERA but he had a no-hitter going for 5 innings. The Expos had a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning, but Old Man Franco scored Endy Chavez with a pinch-hit single. The Mets wound up winning the game in the 12th scoring runs off of a two run double by Beltran and a Wright two run single. The real story was the first base umpire, Tony Randazzo, previously known as Friday night's homeplate umpire (see above) who was absolutely horrible calling the plays at first. The Mets were robbed three times on calls down there, which finally prompted Willie Randolph to come out and argue, getting himself ejected. He put up a decent spectacle, but probably could have been even more vehement. Also notable in the game was in the fourth inning, Jose Valentin suddenly walked off the field. Turns out he's got a bum knee and was off to teh DL. Great. One of the few guys hitting. Mets win 6-4.
Sunday, Beltran scored the only run of the game for either team, hitting a solo homerun in the 6th. John Maine was awesome, and it was a gorgeous day to sit in the ugly stadium. Still too bad the Mets suddenly can't hit. Transplanted ex-Met Jesus Flores got a second straight start behind the plate. At the plate, he attempted a sacrifice bunt with runners on first and second, but Julio Franco made like Keith Hernandez, charging the ball and throwing to third for the forceout. By the way, here's a non sequitor, albeit a true one: Ronnie Belliard is a fat bastard. Mets win, 1-0. On the whole, it was a good weekend in DC.
Some notes: The Expos have this idiot running around the ballpark playing trivia games or shooting T-Shirts between innings on the scoreboard. The guy is a total frat-boy and inning after inning the guy's voice wears on you like a parasite. I don't know who this schmuck is but he needs to shut up. 29 innings of him over a 3 day span was just too much. Another thing RFK could do to enhance the fan experience is to ask the players to pick some more songs to come to the plate to. Austin Kearns comes up to some country song that sings something along the lines of "some girls from my hometown have no teeth in their mouth but Some Girls Do. Some Girls Do," Ryan Church i think came up to "Crazy Train," and Ryan Zimmerman struts up to a diddy with the lyrics "This is why I'm Hot This is Why I'm Hot I'm Hot Cause I'm Fly You Ain't Cause You Not This Is Why I'm Hot." Over and Over again for 29 innings. Pretty bold for a guy hitting .230. Why does the team have a giant chicken (or is it a seagull?) for a mascot? With attendance as poor as it is, why were there no giveaways all weekend. You'd think sponsors would want to put their name on a tchotchke the weekend the Mets are in town, the one chance they have to get in front of some fans! The one promotion, if you could call it that, was a pre-game concert Friday night by a Bobby Montez or something like that. A dude singing melodramatically while playing keyboard. Music to do heroin to, or something.
Monday night I hoped to be home early, but due to flight delays I had to watch Monday night's debacle at a dive in the Charlotte Airport called the Fox Sports Zone. I didn't get home until 11:30, complete with heartburn from the nachos. Regardless, that should be the end of the Chan Ho Park Project. Mets lose to Miami, 9-6.
Last night I was so friggin exhausted I slept right through the Mets 5-2 loss to the Fish. Missed David Wright's first homer of the season!
Today I listened to the 6-3 win on Gameday Audio, at my desk. O'Perez continues to look good, but Wright, who although he had another RBI, made two errors, one in the ninth that allowed two runs to score. Mets Win, 6-3.
Stay tuned to this spot for Transplanted ex-Mets updates and more of what you usually can expect here.
Lets Go Mets!
Monday, April 23, 2007
MLB Entrance Music
When I was a kid I was a big fan of WWF wrestling, and part of the deal with a wrestler's personality was what music was played when he walked to the ring. My favorite wrestler, Macho Man, came to the ring to Pomp and Circumstance. Junk Yard Dog came to the ring to Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust." That is, until, WWF created The Wrestling Album. After that he came to the ring to Grab Them Cakes. That's also around the time Hulk Hogan picked up on "Real American" by the legendary Derringer.My reason for this tangent is to put some perspective on the topic of music for baseball players, which I hadn't given a whole lot of thought to until last year's "controversy" with Billy Wagner and Metallica, though I do remember being annoyed when John Franco gave up on "Johnny B. Goode" in favor of "Boy From New York City". During Spring Training this year, David Wright let MLB.com voters choose the music played when he comes to the plate this season (Blame MetsGrrl for that one). Meanwhile, Jose Reyes composes some of his own entrance music.
Over in the comments section of Metsblog, MouserDZ posted a link to a website that lists a bunch of MLB players and the song played when they come to bat or are introduced into the game as a pitcher. Have a gander if you're interested. The only thing I really found interesting is that according to the site Armando Benitez has finally gotten over "Who Let The Dogs Out" and has moved on to "Big Pimpin'" and "Big Poppa"
So there you go.
Too Annoyed Not To Post
Grad school obligations have forced me to take a week off from blogging, but yesterday's affair is eating at me too much not to post. I was feeling pretty damn good headed into yesterday. Pelfrey's failure didn't bug me too much Friday, and O'Perez's effort had me pretty jazzed up on Saturday, so with the beautiful weather and the Junkees dropping the first two to the Sawx life was looking good.
I don't get the CW on my set, but I do get to hear the Braves broadcasts on AM 790. So I had to listen to the clowns the Braves have hired to do their radio broadcasts. I don't know which guy is which, but when Bobby Cox got ejected one of them said that he felt bad for Bobby because he was sent down to the bowels "of this rat-infested stadium." Now hold on there, pal. Shea may not be the Taj Majal of stadiums, and I am the first one to admit that, but rat-infested is going a little too far. Despite that, I thought the game was in the bag when Reyes hit that bases-load triple, followed by an RBI by Lo Duca. I happily headed into my class meeting at that point. When I came out an hour later I was shocked to hear teh game still playing, and when they said Sele was being brought into the game, for some reason I had a feeling of dread in my stomach. Sure enough, the Mets 6-3 lead had become a 9-6 deficit. The bottom of the ninth came and went without a rally and we even had to suffer the indignity of Transplanted ex Mets pitcher Tyler Yates getting the win.
Willie is getting raked over the coals today for his bullpen management. This is the first game of the season where Willie is getting blamed for a loss. I think we fans tend to get a little too worked up over the manager. OK, maybe he did lose the game, but really how many games over the course of a season can you attribute a particular win or loss to a manager? I would venture to say the difference between a brilliant strategic manager and an awful strategic manager, is 4 or 5 games over the course of a season. Meaning the brilliant guy wins a couple games because of smart moves and the idiot loses 2 or 3 due to stupid maneuvers. Is Bobby Cox brilliant and Willie an idiot to those degrees? Doubt it. And you still have to take into account a manager's motivational abilities and his ability to maintain control over a clubhouse. Bobby V is a brilliant manager but he had to get axed because he lost control of his team, with players whining to Wilpon about stuff and whispering anonymous quotes to the media. Art Howe could light up a room but he couldn't light a fire under his team. Willie is right for this team, even if he is a stubborn guy who follows his gut when he should follow his head. His players respect him and play hard. He deserves heat today, but let's let it go at game time.
Speaking of heat, Shawn Green is hitting .338 and went 3-4 yesterday but he still is getting tons of grief over his misplay. And it's not because it was against the Braves. It's because of this guy. Milledge is hitting .342 down in The Big Easy with 5 stolen bases and a .447 Slugging Percentage. It's almost as though the Shea Faithful would rather see Milledge find his way than see Green flourish. But at this point Green is going to have to get hurt or have a solid six week slump before Milledge gets a call-up.
The Rockies come in to town tonight. John Maine will face Taylor Buchholz. Buchholz is making his first start of the year. Last year we saw Buchholz as a member of the Astros and the Mets roughed him up for six runs in 5 innings, with homers by Valentin and Delgado. What's up with the Rockies? They currently reside in the NL West cellar, with an 8-11 record. Kaz Matsui won't be making the trip to Shea, as he's rehabbing a bad back. However, we will get to see three time Met Clint Hurdle, who is the Rockies manager. The Rockies have God on their side but that's about the only thing they can brag about, except for Matt Holliday, who is leading the league in hitting.
I don't get the CW on my set, but I do get to hear the Braves broadcasts on AM 790. So I had to listen to the clowns the Braves have hired to do their radio broadcasts. I don't know which guy is which, but when Bobby Cox got ejected one of them said that he felt bad for Bobby because he was sent down to the bowels "of this rat-infested stadium." Now hold on there, pal. Shea may not be the Taj Majal of stadiums, and I am the first one to admit that, but rat-infested is going a little too far. Despite that, I thought the game was in the bag when Reyes hit that bases-load triple, followed by an RBI by Lo Duca. I happily headed into my class meeting at that point. When I came out an hour later I was shocked to hear teh game still playing, and when they said Sele was being brought into the game, for some reason I had a feeling of dread in my stomach. Sure enough, the Mets 6-3 lead had become a 9-6 deficit. The bottom of the ninth came and went without a rally and we even had to suffer the indignity of Transplanted ex Mets pitcher Tyler Yates getting the win.
Willie is getting raked over the coals today for his bullpen management. This is the first game of the season where Willie is getting blamed for a loss. I think we fans tend to get a little too worked up over the manager. OK, maybe he did lose the game, but really how many games over the course of a season can you attribute a particular win or loss to a manager? I would venture to say the difference between a brilliant strategic manager and an awful strategic manager, is 4 or 5 games over the course of a season. Meaning the brilliant guy wins a couple games because of smart moves and the idiot loses 2 or 3 due to stupid maneuvers. Is Bobby Cox brilliant and Willie an idiot to those degrees? Doubt it. And you still have to take into account a manager's motivational abilities and his ability to maintain control over a clubhouse. Bobby V is a brilliant manager but he had to get axed because he lost control of his team, with players whining to Wilpon about stuff and whispering anonymous quotes to the media. Art Howe could light up a room but he couldn't light a fire under his team. Willie is right for this team, even if he is a stubborn guy who follows his gut when he should follow his head. His players respect him and play hard. He deserves heat today, but let's let it go at game time.
Speaking of heat, Shawn Green is hitting .338 and went 3-4 yesterday but he still is getting tons of grief over his misplay. And it's not because it was against the Braves. It's because of this guy. Milledge is hitting .342 down in The Big Easy with 5 stolen bases and a .447 Slugging Percentage. It's almost as though the Shea Faithful would rather see Milledge find his way than see Green flourish. But at this point Green is going to have to get hurt or have a solid six week slump before Milledge gets a call-up.
The Rockies come in to town tonight. John Maine will face Taylor Buchholz. Buchholz is making his first start of the year. Last year we saw Buchholz as a member of the Astros and the Mets roughed him up for six runs in 5 innings, with homers by Valentin and Delgado. What's up with the Rockies? They currently reside in the NL West cellar, with an 8-11 record. Kaz Matsui won't be making the trip to Shea, as he's rehabbing a bad back. However, we will get to see three time Met Clint Hurdle, who is the Rockies manager. The Rockies have God on their side but that's about the only thing they can brag about, except for Matt Holliday, who is leading the league in hitting.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Transplanted ex-Mets Update: Roberto Hernandez
At MetsBlog, Anthony DeRosa provides a link and an excerpt of an article about former Met and current Indians pitcher Roberto Hernandez, who apparently grew up as a Mets fan.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Wally Backman
Newsday has a story in today's paper about 1986 Mets second baseman Wally Backman, who's taking his first step back into the game since being fired before he was hired as manager of the D'Backs two and a half years ago. He'll be manager of the independent minor league squad, the South Georgia Peanuts. The team is part of a new league called the South Coast League. It's a nice story about a guy whose name invokes nice memories from all of us who remember the 1986 World Champion Mets.
SNY has a story about Backman's return to baseball as well.
SNY has a story about Backman's return to baseball as well.
Goldfingers Delivers!
Toasty Joe, Jason, Dan at Hot Foot and of course the incomparable MetsBlog all do great jobs at capturing the Mets 8-1 conquest over the last place Phillies. Goldfingers hit two bombs, Wright extended his hitting streak, and Mr. Glavine reached win #29something. More newsworthy was Charlie Manuel's meltdown after the game. This guy has to get his psyche together, man. Not good. Not good at all. More telling to me was Aaron Rowand's post game quote. In less than a month, the team has gone from a player proclaiming themselves the team to beat, to another player saying he guarantees they'll be better than the 1997 Phillies, who went 68-94.
Mets (8-4) Over Phillies (3-9), score: 8-1
ESPN Recap
Mike V's Met Of The Game: Moises Alou
Tonight we'll see John Maine face the Florida team that plays in Dolphin Stadium. Unfortunately he'll have to match Dontrelle Willis pitch for pitch if he wants to get a win. Willis is on fire, looking to tie Babe Ruth's all-time April record tonight.
Transplanted ex-Mets to watch out for: Mike Jacobs, Jorge Julio, Henry Owens.
Options for out-of-market fans: Unless you live in Flordia, you're pretty much screwed for this two-game series. I don't have XM Radio, which boasts "every team, every game" in their ads, but ESPN's schedule says neither game is carried. Can someone out there shed some light on this? Try channel 185. If you have Extra Innings on DirecTV, tonight's game is carried on channel 740. Tomorrow night's affair is also on 740, and in HD on channel 741. If you don't have access to Extra Innings, you'll have to stick with Gameday Audio or MLB TV on the internets.
Mets (8-4) Over Phillies (3-9), score: 8-1
ESPN Recap
Mike V's Met Of The Game: Moises Alou
Tonight we'll see John Maine face the Florida team that plays in Dolphin Stadium. Unfortunately he'll have to match Dontrelle Willis pitch for pitch if he wants to get a win. Willis is on fire, looking to tie Babe Ruth's all-time April record tonight.
Transplanted ex-Mets to watch out for: Mike Jacobs, Jorge Julio, Henry Owens.
Options for out-of-market fans: Unless you live in Flordia, you're pretty much screwed for this two-game series. I don't have XM Radio, which boasts "every team, every game" in their ads, but ESPN's schedule says neither game is carried. Can someone out there shed some light on this? Try channel 185. If you have Extra Innings on DirecTV, tonight's game is carried on channel 740. Tomorrow night's affair is also on 740, and in HD on channel 741. If you don't have access to Extra Innings, you'll have to stick with Gameday Audio or MLB TV on the internets.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Back To What Matters - Actual Game Tonight! (Maybe)
Those of us hoping to see an O'Perez vs. Adam Eaton rematch won't get our wish, due to the back to back rainouts, and instead tonight's matchup is Mr. Thomas Glavine against the 2007 debut of Freddy Garcia. Garcia, who was 17-9 for the White Sox last season, was acquired over the winter in a trade, but found himself on the DL with bicep tendinitis before his season could get started. Depending on how healthy Garcia is, tonight could be a good matchup of pitchers. However, the game is being played in Citizens Bandbox Park, so hopefully the Mets can find their homerun stroke, get Garcia out early, and have a crack against the Wiphbeaters pitipful 'pen.
Of course there's still the minor issue of rain once again. Please oh please get this game in tonight! Debating the merits and history of Neil Diamond has gotten old...
Of course there's still the minor issue of rain once again. Please oh please get this game in tonight! Debating the merits and history of Neil Diamond has gotten old...
The Red Sox "Stole" Sweet Caroline From A Canadian Beer Ad!
Beautiful Girls came out in 1996.
Wedding DJ's conducted Bum Bum Bum sing-a-longs as early as 1997.
This beer commercial is from 2001.
The Red Sox started playing the song nightly in 2002.
The Mets, as do the Rangers, have every right to play it, for the simple reason that it's fun, as pointed out by Fafif's Greg in the comments section.
I Was Going To Go With The Theory That His Quotes Were Probably Taken Out Of Context...
...but now I'm just going to pretend I didn't read this.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Transplanted ex-Mets Update: DL Comings and Goings
You just knew it would happen. Off to a hot start with the Rockies, hitting .361 with 5 stolen bases in 11 games, Kaz Matsui is headed to the disabled list with back spasms.
Over in the American League, Jim Duquette's attempt to re-form the 2001 Mets takes a step forward as Jay Payton may be ready to join the Orioles lineup as soon as Friday. Payton had been out with a strained hamstring.
Over in the American League, Jim Duquette's attempt to re-form the 2001 Mets takes a step forward as Jay Payton may be ready to join the Orioles lineup as soon as Friday. Payton had been out with a strained hamstring.
Hot Foot: Transplanted ex-Mets Update
Over at Hot Foot, Devon Edwards posts an update on the whereabouts of nine members of the 2003 Mets, including Timo Perez, Vance Wilson, and Jason Phillips.
Boston Doesn't Own Neil Diamond
A lot has been made around the blogosphere about the Mets "ripping off" the Red Sox "tradition" of having a Sweet Caroline sing-a-long late in the game. Matt Cerrone is embarrassed by it. Mets Grrl created a banner to protest it. Brooklyn Met Fan says it's horrendous.
Personally, I think this is much ado about nothing.
First of all, the Red Sox did not invent this tradition. Yes, it was made a little bit more famous in the movie Fever Pitch, but they only started playing the song at Fenway in 1998, so it's not like this is something Ted Williams used to lead the crowd in between innings or something. In fact, it's only since 2002 that playing the song became a nightly affair. I really think the craze of screaming BUMP BUMP BUM SO GOOD! SO GOOD! became really popular after the 1996 movie Beautiful Girls. That's when wedding DJ's around the country started playing it during parties. My buddy and I used to have a DJ business in the late 90's and we played that song all the time. So maybe the Red Sox ripped off me and Tubby !
Look I wish the Mets would bring back Curly Shuffle too. I'm permanently scarred from any music that reminds me of my wedding DJ days, so I don't care if I ever hear Sweet Caroline ever again, or the Electric Slide or the Macarena or the god-forsaken Chicken Dance for that matter.
But to worry about which team came up with the idea of playing a song from 1969 by Neil Friggin Diamond in a stadium is just silly. And by the way, Neil Diamond is from Brooklyn. So there. Don't fret for a minute about taking the Jackie Robinson Expressway up to Shea and singing Sweet Caroline to your heart's content, OK? But if you want to sing Paradise By The Dashboard Light, I'll catch you in the parking lot.
Personally, I think this is much ado about nothing.
First of all, the Red Sox did not invent this tradition. Yes, it was made a little bit more famous in the movie Fever Pitch, but they only started playing the song at Fenway in 1998, so it's not like this is something Ted Williams used to lead the crowd in between innings or something. In fact, it's only since 2002 that playing the song became a nightly affair. I really think the craze of screaming BUMP BUMP BUM SO GOOD! SO GOOD! became really popular after the 1996 movie Beautiful Girls. That's when wedding DJ's around the country started playing it during parties. My buddy and I used to have a DJ business in the late 90's and we played that song all the time. So maybe the Red Sox ripped off me and Tubby !
Look I wish the Mets would bring back Curly Shuffle too. I'm permanently scarred from any music that reminds me of my wedding DJ days, so I don't care if I ever hear Sweet Caroline ever again, or the Electric Slide or the Macarena or the god-forsaken Chicken Dance for that matter.
But to worry about which team came up with the idea of playing a song from 1969 by Neil Friggin Diamond in a stadium is just silly. And by the way, Neil Diamond is from Brooklyn. So there. Don't fret for a minute about taking the Jackie Robinson Expressway up to Shea and singing Sweet Caroline to your heart's content, OK? But if you want to sing Paradise By The Dashboard Light, I'll catch you in the parking lot.
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