Yesterday the Boston Red Sox announced that Bobby Valentine will be their new manager. He's been out of professional baseball since 2009 and hasn't managed in the MLB since 2002 with the Mets. In all he has 15 years of managing experience in the MLB and seven years in Japan. Valentine began his managing career [...]
1984 TOPPS TOM SEAVER A few weeks ago I ran across a TV listing for a documentary entitled “The Last Play at Shea.” The Verizon channel guide gave the following vague and syntactically challenged description of the film: “A look is taken at the iconic Shea Stadium before it was torn down.” So with visions [...]
I trust everyone enjoyed their bird last week. Thanksgiving always whets my appetite for the funtime follies of the off-season, the Winter Meetings. This is the MLB uber-convention. This is the time of the year when owners, GMs and their staves, writers, hangers-on, wannabe executives and even the stray ballplayer or two converge on a [...]
Last year when the Mets signed Chris Young, I thought it was a bad move for two reasons. First, I thought it was unlikely that he would stay healthy. Second, even if he was healthy, I didn’t think he would pitch all that well. Predictably, he didn’t stay healthy but when he was able to [...]
I’m quite certain that the first time I ever heard about beer was during a commercial for a Mets game. Now it boggles my mind how many beer commercials I must have watched in my lifetime. I’m sort of curious – have I drunk more beer or watched more beer commercials? I’m probably better off [...]
It’s natural for fans to have favorite players and it follows that there will be athletes that do not invoke feelings of sympathy. I like to think that in the last decade or so that the people on the Mets that I detested all earned those feelings from me by their performances on the field. [...]
Generally speaking, the less said about the 2011 Mets pitching staff, the better. Despite enjoying good health among their starting pitchers, as well as playing in a pitcher’s park, they finished 13th in the National League in ERA. Yet Dan Warthen still has a job. But I’m not here to talk about the power of [...]
As we sit down to feast on Thanksgiving, I thought today would be a great day to celebrate for what we, as Mets fans, should be thankful. Many a Met fan these days are of the despondent and cynical version and it’s hard to blame them as the Mets have continued to disappoint their fan [...]
I read the papers, same as the next guy. I hear all the doom and gloom from my favorite Mets MSM writers: Adam Rubin, Steve Popper, Marty Noble and Andy McCullough. Every day, it’s a done-deal that Jose Reyes is going…somewhere. San Francisco? Detroit? Milwaukee? Boston? Miami? Yep, might as well resign myself to the [...]
HAPPY THANKSGIVING In the spirit of the season, here's a craft project that will add a fun and sporty dash of color to your holiday table. First, we'll need to acquire a card from a Tom turkey of a set. The 1997 Leaf offering will do nicely. Then we'll require a Meleagris gallopavo of a [...]
Yesterday the Texas Rangers signed closer Joe Nathan to a two year $14.5M with a club option for a third year at $9M. Nathan, who turns 37 today, was once one of baseball's best closers from 2004 to 2009 he compiled 246 saves, made it to the All-Star game four times, and finish top five [...]
In 1992, MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent made $650,000. Meanwhile, current Commissioner Bud Selig, who helped organize the plot to remove Vincent from the job, made $18.4 million in the past year. That’s a pretty nice cost of living adjustment. Fred Wilpon was a Selig supporter back in those days (then co-owner Nelson Doubleday backed Vincent) [...]