SinceThe70s

The few times I checked up on Calloway and DiSarcina it looked like they were attached at the hip.

No tickets yet, no clue where we're sitting but I'll try to keep Mick/Disarcina in mind. Trouble is, it's really just an excuse for me and an old friend to have a night out, catch up, drink some beer and agree/disagree about much of the same things we agree/disagree with here.

I'm not a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein. But I think you'd be hard pressed to find a team that went on a spending spree and built a perennial winner. Or put another way, for every team that spent heavily and had success there are probably more that tried that approach and failed and it haunted them for years. I like the model of building through the draft and then augmenting through free agency. Having cash to spend next year is great, but success will be predicated on the state of the roster when the cap space is available. Based on what I've seen from McBeane so far I'm optimistic.

No doubt Nimmo's the better player this year, but Conforto gets a long leash. Can't let either one be the next Murphy or Justin Turner. Love that you're dialed in to the minors, keep it coming. I remember den Dekker as a plus CFer, problem is he swings lefty, no? Headed to the game tomorrow night. If we fall below .500 you can blame me.

I've said it before, it took me a long time to come around on Nimmo, I never thought he'd pan out after so much time in the minors. I'm all in now. Check out his HR tonight. He wasn't a step and half out of the box and he was head down thinking triple. Love it.

This ones for you @Gugny ? Is help on the way? David Wright plays catch at Citi Field https://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/mets-cubs-1.18875944

A horse walks into a bar. Bartender asks "Why the long face?"

I hated pulling Vargas (did I just type that?) but was OK with how he handled Familia. I don't trust Familia for 6 outs, but more to the point I think that was Calloway's M.O. with Cleveland. Use your closer in the high stress inning instead of waiting for a clean ninth that maybe never comes. It's debatable for sure but kind of what I expected more of with Calloway. But really you just gave me an excuse to post one of my favorite Mets double plays:

Vargas gets pulled after 5 innings, 65 pitches, 0 runs. He has a look of disbelief in the dugout. Keith and Gary speculate it's because it's 3rd time through the lineup. They brought in a guy making his major league debut. I hope it works, but this may be a case of using analytics instead of common sense. The events of this week and state of the bullpen should be considered, not just the numbers.

I went with a battery powered one a few years ago and I love it. One problem I have is that it is supposed to feed the line automatically but I don't think it ever does. I suppose the battery life could be a problem, but I can get my yard done easily if it's full-charged. I also have an electric hedge trimmer that uses the same battery so if I remember to keep them charged I'm good. The hedge trimmer is great too. I used to do it by hand and it would take forever. Only problem is one the I got a little carried way, trimmed to much on a smaller plant and ends up killing it. On the gas side, I have a Husqvarna leaf blower that starts every time and runs well.

Another favorite of mine is the reporter driving around in a snow storm telling everyone to stay off the roads.

Same. I had to look this up to jog my memory, but I think the tipping point for me was Holyfield/Lewis: https://nypost.com/1999/03/24/ali-calls-holyfield-lewis-bout-biggest-fix-ever/

I'll go with any publicity is good publicity and forget everything about this except Josie Loren.

One of the greatest lines of all time.

We had pirated cable boxes at the time and didn't have to pay. You joke about the 12 seconds, but that was a thing and it was phenomenal and was a major contributor to boxings success at the time. The quick KO became expected. Tyson invigorated the sport and when Douglas took him down it was like Luke taking down the Rancor, nobody saw it coming.

Oh great that's gonna cost me some sleep. What's interesting today is the decision to stick with Lugo. Gary and Keith attributed it to the double-header...the Mets knew they wouldn't use Lugo in the night cap and wanted to save Familia. Easy to criticize after the fact but great arguments on both sides. Hindsight guy (me) says Lugo had already blown the lead an inning before and we should've tried to lock down the win with our closer.

As I'm washing dishes tonight, my boys flip to the hockey game and I vaguely hear "Lets Get Ready to Rumble!!!!" in the background. NO WAY! Michael Buffer!! That is freaking awesome! Is this a thing or did they just trot hm out for the Stanley Cup? Reminded me of a sport that I haven't paid any attention to for a long time (I've never seen a Mayweather fight). Hearing Buffer brought back a ton of memories: Ali, Frazier, Norton, Foreman (before the grills), Holmes, Gerry Cooney (grew up a few blocks from me so probably an unknown to most), The Michael Buffer years were great: Tyson, Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, Buster Douglas. Anyone remember Fan Man from Holyfield/Bowe? That was nuts. And that's just the heavyweights. How about Sugar Ray and Duran (No Mas)? So what are your memories and/or thoughts on boxing then or now?

#MeToo

He lied, you exposed it without resorting to an unfounded accusation, I'm impressed. He deserved it. He let down his teammates and the other team by causing the forfeit. The fact that he's not a senior and you risked losing a good player in a troubled program tells me that you'd had it with turning a blind eye to his antics. Body count aside you're probably better off without him.

I don't pay attention to basketball but I was at a party earlier today and threw $20 into a small-stakes hoops pool. Had to leave the party early and turned on the game when I got home since there was money to be won. Watched the game for a few minutes and quickly realized that I hope those Brady-worshipping, chowda-lovers watch their team collapse tonight.

As a Mets fan I have/had a soft spot for the Red Sox. We beat them in the WS a lifetime ago and I will always root for them against the Yankees. Always. But once they won a WS around the time Brady started dominating it changed. I still root for them against the Yankees, but definitely the Hatriot virus has spread to the Red Sox.

Yeah, everyone has their own happy place when it comes to vacation. I have friends that do: Lake George every year...I'd be unhappy doing the same thing every year but I know friends that have great memories and look forward to it. The amusement park thing (Disney, Universal, et. al.)...I hate crowds and lines, but those parks have some awesome stuff. The islands. Wifey has had skin issues so sitting in the sun all day isn't an option and I think I'd get bored. But man does that sound relaxing, especially the all-inclusives. We tend to take road trip vacations usually involving national parks, a fair amount of driving and a ton of planning. During a recent trip (and after a long day) I remember telling wifey that we didn't take relaxing vacations. And yet that's what we keep doing and love. Some of my friends don't get it. To each their own.

Or too much?

A talk radio topic earlier this week was whether the Mets would/could/should consider moving DeGrom and/or Thor if things don't improve. I don't get that line of thinking at all. I'm not ready to blow the team up and start over. We're still over .500, there's a long way to go, we have two top flight pitchers and a closer who's had success (not getting where you stand on him Blue, but I think he'd have trade deadline value). Some thoughts on the team, sorry for the long post, I'm frustrated too. STARTING PITCHING: Murica suggested (with good reason) to put Gsellman in the rotation over Lugo, but I'd go the opposite way. Lugo looks more like a starter to me. But at this point maybe move Vargas AND Wheeler to the bullpen. Matz doesn't look like bullpen material to me, so sink or swim with him. RELIEF PITCHING: Say a prayer. CATCHING: It's early but I'm hopeful about Mesoraco. OUTFIELD: raise your hand if you're happy Ces isn't on a long term deal. Outstanding player when he's on the field, but leg muscle issues? WTF? If Bruce goes on a tear things will get better. I still like Conforto and as I said recently Nimmo has shown more than I expected, just don't know how he gets more playing time. Might need to have Bruce slip on a banana peel. INFIELD: Rosario's been average but shown enough to keep me hopeful. Cabrera has been a great Met when healthy. A-Gon and Frazier are caretakers - we need the outfield to produce more to get by with them. I don't think this team is good enough to bring Alonso up from AA.

Yeah, he didn't have a bounce-back outing today. What do we do with Vargas? He's not just losing games for us, he's burning out the bullpen. Hard to believe but Harvey was probably better.