SinceThe70s

I want to rock and roll this party I still want to have some fun I want to leave you feeling breathless Show you how the west was won But I gotta fly I gotta fly Like Steve McQueen All I need's a fast machine And I'm gonna make it all right Like Steve McQueen Underneath your radar screen You'll never catch me tonight

BTW, wrt the juicing question, I'm still scarred from we were fed a line about the new ball manufacturer from Costa Rica winding the balls too tight and it turned out the whole league was juicing. I think that was around the time Brady Anderson looked like the second coming of Babe Ruth. In spite of hitters tendencies the number of HR's being hit is completely out of whack and it wouldn't surprise me if something else is going on too.

I hope you're right about it being cyclical. I'm not in favor of rules changes to eliminate the shift, I just want to see some bunts down the third base line by power hitters. Instead their content to mash the ball into the teeth of the shift regardless of situation.

I can't say whether the bats, balls or players are juiced but none would surprise me. But I think the death of small ball has more to do with the current hitters mentality. Nobody cares if they strike-out. In the past once you got two strikes you'd cut down your swing and try to put the ball in play. Not anymore, it's just grip and rip regardless the count. Similarly, it's rare that a batter tries to take advantage of the over-shift. It's all about exit velocity and "launch angle". Which is really just another way of saying upper cut and used to be frowned upon. The fact that pitchers are throwing harder than ever plays into it as well.

It happened on the strip where the road is wide Two cool shorts standin' side by side Yeah, my fuel injected Stingray and a four-thirteen Revvin' up our engines and it sounds real mean Tach it up, tach it up, tach it up Buddy gonna shut you down Declinin' numbers at an even rate At the count of one we both accelerate My Stingray is light the slicks are startin' to spin But the four-thirteen's really diggin' in Gotta be cool now power shift here we go Superstock Dart is windin' out in low But my fuel injected Stingray's really startin' to go To get the traction I'm ridin' the clutch My pressure plate's burnin' that machine's too much Pedal's to the floor hear the dual quads drink And now the four-thirteen's lead is startin' to shrink He's hot with ram induction but it's understood I got a fuel injected engine sittin' under my hood Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down

Me too. Against my better judgement, I dipped my toe into the deep end of the pool during the game tonight suggesting the Mets might go into the weekend series against the Nats over .500. Jump in, the waters great!

How would you feel if we blew out the Jets but lost to the Giants? I've been led to believe that losing non-conference games increases our odds of making the playoffs. On a more serious note, I agree that you can't call week 1 a must win game. I always look at week 1 as somewhat of a wild card. For example, last year the Bucs shocked the Saints 48-40 on the road week 1. Saints went on to win 13, Bucs managed 4 more.

No doubt. Or last 8 innings. He was always good for 100 pitches through 5. Let's hope he replicates his second half from last year!

Gary just mentioned that Mickey says that starting Friday it's 'full bore' with regard to time off for the starters. Barring a melt down we'll go into the weekend series against the Nats above .500 and throwing Stroman, Thor and DeGrom at them. After that we continue to face contenders for the foreseeable future. We'll have to wait and see how the bullpen holds up, but as Alonso would say LFGM!

I didn't want to jinx them. It seems like every other day we leap frog someone in the standings. A few weeks ago I though that getting back to .500 by the end of the season would be a stretch.

Are you basing that just on this year? If I did the math right, from 2007-2017 he only sat out around 40 games. Couldn't have done that in spring training shape, could he? It does raise the question of whether his durability was "performance enhanced".

Putting aside the players we gave away, should I be happy? My hope is he a legit #2 starter.

Yes I know, I missed a verse, don't worry...

I've seen this clip before and it never gets old. Makes me wonder what would have been.

Was at Citi Field last weekend and me and my son were talking about whether the Mets would/should extend the netting to the foul pole. They probably don't need to due to the way the stands bump out past the infield. On a somewhat related note, the advertising on the foul pole screens is an abomination.

I can confirm that this (or something similar) produces similar results.

Unbelievable. Looked foul, but no way to tell without a foul line. On the other hand I think they caught a break when the ball hit the ump.

There's a destination a little up the road From the habitations and the towns we know A place we saw the lights turn low Jig-saw jazz and the get-fresh flow Pulling out jives and jamboree handouts Two turntables and a microphone Bottles and cans and just clap your hands and just clap your hands

Two of the top starters (Stroman, Bauer) on the market go to teams below .500 and one of them to a team that has two others that might be moved (Thor, Wheeler). It's amazing the elimination of waiver trades has had already. Can't wait to see how tomorrow plays out for the Mets and others

Not being snarky, but what do you want to happen by 4 PM tomorrow? Scorched earth? Thor, Wheeler, Diaz gone? Maybe Lugo and Gsellman too? What's the plan for next year?

Waiting for just the right moment. Nice.

Had a fly girl Flo, called her honey Next thing she spent up all my money Had me in debt, you and your girl’s dizzy Stopped movin’ crack, but you’re still gettin’ pissy You could call me everyday God sent Like you was Lois Lane and I was Clark Kent I spend and I spend and you spent and you spent Now my house with a mouse is a roach with a tent “Mary, Mary!” Why ya buggin’?

Depends on how you roll. If indica isn't an option, kicking a cat might be.

I think he may be dangling Thor and Diaz in the hopes that someone will offer something stupid. If so, nothing wrong with that. I also heard a radio call-in today that's worth sharing. Maybe from a no-nothing psycho and I'm paraphrasing the stats which for all I know were fabricated so read this with skepticism. The claim was that last year Thor and Diaz threw sliders in the strike zone around 30% of the time, this year 45%. The speculation being they don't trust Ramos behind the plate. Regardless, I've never been a fan of giving up on the season if there' s a glimmer of hope. A rotation of DeGrom, Thor, Stroman, Wheeler, Matz would look formidable if the bullpen wasn't so God-awful.