SinceThe70s

16) Red Skelton Less seriously I'll go with Nate (the not so great) Peterman for purely selfish reasons - this site would be a hoot if it ever happened (again).

Just my two cents but it rubs me the wrong way when elite athletes chosen to represent the USA choose to 'sound off' using the national anthem of the country that they chose to represent as a form of protest. It's incongruous to me - particularly since the core values of our country allow for them (or any other citizen) to sound off on whatever issue they choose to.

No, this one wasn't young - the one last week was definitely younger. Postscript is that the big one hung around for awhile and at one point a small bird flew pretty close to the big one who was perched up high and didn't appreciate the intrusion. Cool as hell watching the big one chase it off.

We have hawks in our area. Last week my wife saw one unsuccessfully swoop in for the the kill in our backyard - probably going for a rabbit. It ended up chilling on our pool deck for awhile and was probably around 15 inches tall standing upright. Cut to a half hour ago. My son is hitting wiffle balls in the backyard and I'm enjoying a cocktail with my back to him. He hits one to the back of the yard and when he threw it back to where he hits from a hawk swooped down from over his head and went for the ball! It ended up flying to the top of a very tall tree one house over and this thing was huge! Funny thing is it was no more than 10-15 yards from me when it went for the ball and I was completely oblivious. My son is now hitting wiffle balls with one eye to the sky.

Well I want my Chrissy 'N I want my beer So you just barf it back up Now, Devil, do you hear?

I hear ya. I think Cohen has been up front about the plan. His goal was ambitious - win a WS within 3-5 years AND build a strong farm system for sustained success. He used his financial might to try to make the first part happen - and it failed spectacularly starting around August of last year. Obviously he's thrown in the towel this year - and in an unprecedented twist applied his financial might to try to jump start the rebuild of the farm system. But I don't think he's thrown in the towel on next year - although he'll probably take a more measured approach to free agency this off season. I don't expect them to go into next season as favorites to win the WS but I do believe they'll field a competitive team - and if the first half goes well I won't be surprised if next years trade deadline looks a lot different than this years for the Mets.

All fair points. I'm with you on something being amiss with Buck. I'm not advocating for his dismissal yet but I'm trending in that direction.

So many great comments. I did not want to go into next year with Scherzer AND Verlander. My assumption was that Verlander was movable and Scherzer wasn't. When Max went first I thought retaining Verlander was the better move and that thought lingers - but I know nothing of the prospects they got so time will tell. As to Buck - I'm not ready to move on either but the shine is off the apple. I'd love to know how much input he has into the day to day lineup. In particular, Lindor and Alonso should be rested more regularly. As to Eppler - my assumption is that by and large he is a puppet doing Cohens bidding. Re-allocating $80 million from two 40-year old pitchers to a bunch of unproven prospects isn't a choice a GM makes alone. Supposedly the Mets are waiting out David Stearns (Brewers). Not sure if that means Eppler would be gone or have a new boss. Only thing I have to ask you about is why you think Torre was a good hire for the Yanks and how that applies to the Mets current situation. Torre was a retread manager with very little success as a manager prior to joining the Yanks. My personal opinion is he is one of the most over-rated managers of all time. I would not want the Mets to hire a guy that has been bouncing around the league with little success if they decide to move on from Buck.

Totally agree - they are just people. And tbh I'm not clear on the difference between an A list celeb and a B, C, D,...celeb. One guy that intrigues me is John Feldman. Probably a Z-lister, tho. Lead singer/writer of Goldfinger. Played 385 shows in 1996, breaking the Guinness Book of World Records for the most concerts in one year for a touring band. Musical style ranges from hard core punk to sappy pop. Staunch vegan and animal rights activist. I appreciate his passion for both even though I have a passion for neither.

TBD, but more likely than not Saturday or Sunday. Kind of strange that it hasn't been announced yet since Verlander is on full rest by now - Astros probably trying to line things up for the weeks ahead.

Getting swept three by a bad team after the team got gutted should have nothing to do with your faith in the owner. If you believe Cohen shouldn't have gutted the team I can respect that. But I'd be interested in what you think they should and shouldn't have done. By Tuesday morning I thought the best course of action was to hold onto Verlander - and I'm still not sure that moving on from him was the best move, but I appreciate the boldness AND the fact that Cohen used his financial might to try to improve the team by spending to build the farm system. AFAIK that's unprecedented. Cohen's stated strategy is to build a pipeline of talent AND win a WS within (I think) 3-5 years. He tried to use his financial might to win the WS through free agency and it failed miserably the first few years so the 3-5 might not work out. Instead of doubling down, he shifted his resources to the farm system this past week. Folks are getting their panties in a wad over next year, but I still expect Cohen to spend this off-season and I expect they will field a competitive team next season. Let's not forget that we have Diaz coming back, a decent core (Alonso, McNeil, Lindor, Nimmo) and promising young talent (Alvarez, Baty, Mauricio, Vientos). Starting pitching for next year will need to be addressed and the bullpen is pretty much a crapshoot for every team. A horrible season for sure, although to be honest in many ways I consider last season worse. But that's useless hindsight. How do you feel about the moves they made and prospects for next year and beyond?

I'm a big fan of Jack Johnson, first time I came across his music was from a Curious George movie when my kids were young. In case your're interested there is an awesome user on spotify that made a few jack johnson playlists - username is karlov2. The first (Jack Johnson 1) is my fave.

He's his own best friend!

Outstanding! Thanks for sharing.

And in the night you'll hear the voices calling down and they will stay But only time will tell the answer you've been blinded from today.

I had some crazy vision One I can't deny it It said, "Open my eyes leave it all behind" I heard the wind a whisperin' Strong magic comin' on It's comin' out for sure Come see your children, yeah They're lightin' up the skies

I was 100% behind any QB that I thought had a shot at beating Brady.

I wonder how many other lists would be 50% lefties. Love the Danielson mention - underated imo

Nice call on Garces, I had forgotten about him. There's something about non-athletic looking players that makes them endearing. Vogelbach had that going for him, but unfortunately hasn't produced enough. As I recall Garces was pretty good.

Not to make light of extended power outages but if you don't have a generator then you're probably eating pretty good for a few days. When it comes down to deciding between the steaks or the hot dogs it's an easy choice. All the best to you and your neighbors, hope your power is restored sooner rather than later.

@Gugny @ExWNYer @Another Fan Looks like the fire sale is in full swing. Scherzer waived his no-trade and it looks like he'll be dealt to the Rangers. https://sny.tv/articles/mets-free-agency-trade-buzz-2023 I thought it was more likely that Verlander would get dealt and now I'll be surprised if he doesn't get moved. When the dust settles I'll look forward to seeing more of Vientos and hopefully Mauricio too. But I think we'll be in for some p!ss poor pitching.

It's a football Sunday but my present state of mind is that I want to go and will prioritize over Bills/Raiders.

Your posts in this thread are barely above the level of the Yankee fans who only add to the thread when things are going well. Your Italian angle is at best a head scratcher.

@ExWNYer @Gugny @Another Fan This is outstanding, Bartolo will retire as a Met! https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-bartolo-colon-set-to-retire-as-a-met-on-september-17#:~:text=FLUSHING%2C N.Y.%2C July 28%2C,40 p.m. game vs. Cincinnati.

Daddy didn't have no toys And mummy didn't need no boys Won't you tell me Where have all the good times gone?