SinceThe70s

Rube Walker? I haven't heard that name in ages. Just looked it up and he was the Mets pitching coach for 14 seasons ('68 through '81). Very cool about the autograph book and your son. You must have some great ones in there.

Two more that aired in the NYC market: Crazy Eddie: I couldn't find a "What's the story Jerry?" appliance store commercial but apparently when that work dried up he opened his own disco:

Remember Ike's head over heels catches by the dugout?

100%. But IMO the Chicago/Yes scenarios are glorified cover bands and cover bands were being called out. In the past year there was a real cool night locally when a Billy Joel tribute band was joined on stage by Billy Joel. Billy Joel is a local and I think some of the tribute band had played with him...but nobody who bought a ticket expected an appearance from the Piano Man that night. Very cool despite the fact I have little interest in Billy Joel's music.

I just came across this article about players in the futures game and how many of them understand they may be moved in the next two weeks. Interesting perspective. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24107719/futures-game-showcase-potential-manny-machado-trade-chips

Kudos on the ticket pricing, hope the shows are great. But calling whatever passes for Chicago these days as the real thing doesn't fly with me.

Mets finished the second half 7-7. Sad to say that's mildly encouraging after the 11-1 start and what happened in the interim. Players will be moved, no doubt. Asdrubal and Jeurys feel like they are as good as gone. I'm skeptical that DeGrom and Thor will be moved, but you just never know. Wheeler feels like the wild card. I'm probably gun-shy after Justin Turner and Daniel Murphy but Wheeler and Wilmer are the most obvious candidates for the next guys we give up on before their time.

So you're ready to dump him? He's been pitching well and is probably at his peak value for trading at a great time to make a trade. But, I'm more about hoarding the young arms. Curious what folks think Wheeler could bring back in a trade.

The fact that you were there to celebrate potty training puts this in the you-can't-make this-poop-up category.

Great points, I pretty much agree with all of this. What worries me about the intentional walks is the next logical step. On a HR over the wall the batters and runners just return to the dugout and don't have to touch the bases. I saw that in softball and was appalled. Instant replay does add time, but pace of play is the bigger issue. The batter shouldn't have to scratch his balls in between every pitch. Limiting mound visits made a lot of sense, I think that gets really bad in the playoffs. And yes yes yes on the human element of umpiring. Having a close call go the wrong way is a part of the game that I have no issue with. Replay should only be to fix the blatant missed call..unfortunately that cat is out of the bag.

Now you've hit a raw nerve for me...shorter games. If they want to shorten the games ( I am perfectly fine with 3 hours...the 4 hour playoff games not so much), keep the batters in the batters box, make the pitchers throw pitches. I hate the idea of a pitch clock and we're too sensitive a society to allow the umps to dictate the pace of play by calling a ball or strike on the player delaying the game. What really grinds my gears is the intentional walk. In this day and age the intentional walk is exceedingly rare, yet to "speed up" the game they came up with the no-pitch walk. Took away actual play but didn't shorten games in any meaningful ways.

I'm not sticking up for Callaway, until further notice I think he's in way over his head. When I first read the Daily News article I was skeptical because it relied on Wally Backman's quotes and he might have an axe to grind. For sure Callaway could be deflecting but after hearing his Rosario comments, maybe there's something to the Daily News article. I totally agree on your small ball comments. There are only a handful of players on any roster that I'll give a pass to if they can't lay down a bunt: mostly sluggers and closers. Kind of scary if they have to teach fundamentals at AAA and above. The league is increasingly trending toward the three outcome at bat: HR, strikeout and walk. It absolutely wrecks our good friend Keith which helps make him a great listen.

Calloway just made post-game comments that he likes playing Rosario 5 games a week and using the other two days to work with coaches on his game Which reminded me of this article that I don't think I posted questioning the Mets player development: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-sports-alderson-backman-mets-development-harper-20180625-story.html So the Major Leagues has become on the job training?

There's no shame in being admitted to the Hall of Very Good.

Noah gets the win in his return. I wonder how many wins Mets starters have had since he's been out. Off the top of my head I put the over/under around 4.

A month or so ago I came across Under Cover. This should've been on it.

Birthday was yesterday? Guess I'll have to find a card in the belated section. Maybe if I wait long enough he won't notice he never got one from me.

Yup, the K Corner was born. In '85 we ponied up the cash for box seats to watch Dwight lay waste to the Pirates. They never stood a chance and the stadium was electric. Can't remember Shea or Citi rocking like that for a mid-season game except for Subway Series games. Local radio station made a great comparison today between DeGrom's season and Craig Swan's in 1978 when he went 9-6 and led the NL with a 2.43 ERA for the last place Mets.

If you were watching tonight you already know this. DeGrom and Gooden are tied for best ERA for a Mets pitcher at the All Star break at 1.68. Well sort of...Gooden edges out Jake 1.677 to 1.678. Gooden did it 1985. If you weren't around to see it, the buzz at Shea every time he pitched that year was unforgettable.

One-pac?

I'd be happy if they were all underground. JK.

That may be true, but I recently vacationed in Canada and every time we had fries (albeit not fast food) they were outstanding. My wife even agreed and that's saying something.

Hadn't considered that either. Is there a comparable guy whose legs broke down? He still looks strong as an ox, just can't run.

Many years ago I was talking up Anna Kournikova and my friend told me she looked like Yeltsin. I never looked at her the same after that.