SinceThe70s

Only downside to this dogfight is the soft landing both teams get by making the wild card. I'm not complaining, just observing. But if first place was win or go home this would be really intense.

@ExWNYer @Gugny If I got this right, since the Mets took 4/5 from them the Braves have gone 29-10 (.743). That's similar to what the Yankees were doing earlier this year. Relentless. By way of comparison Mets went 25-17 (.595) since the 4/5. Good not great. Disappointed we couldn't take advantage of the Braves loss to the Nats yesterday. But it would be very helpful for the Phillies to take at least two of four this weekend. It'd be nice to go into the Braves series up a game or two.

First player to steal more than 100 bases in a season (104). I have no recollection of seeing him play, but by all accounts he was a legend. Single season SB record was eclipsed by two other legends: Lou Brock and Rickey Henderson.

Doug Risk, lol. My most despised Mets tend to be relievers. Josh Edgin was a recent one that I had absolutely no use for. I'm happy to say that my kids also like the same teams as me. I went out of my way not to push the Bills down their throats since we're out of market. As to baseball I had a simple rule: you can root for any team you want - as long as its the Mets! Appreciate the back and forth! If you get a chance try to track down video of Old Timers Day. It was outstanding, much better than I expected. Spoiler alert - Felix Millan attended.

LOL, same age you and I. Didn't take you long to summarize every player expertly! Did you see Henderson at Old Timers Day? He's pushing 70 and tracked down a fly in RF. So what are you earliest memories of the Mets? I'll share two: My earliest is a vague memory of the Mets playing in the '69 WS. We had it on a B/W TV, something good happened for the Mets and we went outside to do something besides watch TV - it was a beautiful autumn day. First ever game was a Senior Citizens day in 1971 with my father and grandfather at Shea. My grandfather was the biggest influence on my love for the game. He played semi-pro and loved and shared the history with me. We sat up in the heavens in RF and watched the Mets get their @sses kicked. Carl Morton pitched for the Expos and I'm pretty sure had two extra base hits. For whatever reason I was still hooked! After that my father made sure we never sat in such crappy seats. Good times.

Correct on Randy Jones! Well done - and yeah, he was done by 1981. Based on the names you've been throwing out my guess is I have maybe 5 years on you. As long as we're on the right side of the dirt it's all good! I have memories of all the guys you just mentioned (can't remember why but at some point theyt put Flynn at SS) but Randle would go to the top of that list for me. While fact checking the Zachry/Jones connection I came across the 1981 Mets roster. Pretty impressive list of pitchers even though some were either over the hill or hadn't hit their stride yet: Pat Zachry Randy Jones Neil Allen Terry Leach Tim Leary (sigh) Ed Lynch Jesse Orosco Jeff Reardon Mike Scott Craig Swan

Damn, every time you mention a different name it brings back another memory. I was at the game where Zachary gave up the hit to Pete Rose that tied Tommy Holmes NL hit streak record. Pretty sure Zachary got him out the first two at bats and then Rose hit a line drive to left to tie the record. We were sitting on the first base side and what I remember is Zachary walking off the mound - either at the end of the inning or maybe he got pulled - and when he got to the dugout his head disappeared awkwardly and I told my Dad that it looked like he slipped. As it turns out he was p!ssed off that he gave up the hit to Rose, went to kick the step or something and ended up falling hurting hois foot or ankle and ended up with a long stay on the DL. Fun trivia - and I only had a vague memory of this and had to look it up. Zachary was NL Rookie of the Year in 1976. Who was the 1976 NL Cy Young winner that pitched with Zacahry on the '81 Mets?

Disco boy! Run to toilet and comb your hair

He was at Mets Old Timers Day a few weeks ago and unfortunately it was clear he was in poor health. Very cool that he had one last moment in the sun. Apparently he even got into the batting cage. https://nypost.com/2022/09/16/john-stearns-ex-mets-all-star-catcher-dead-at-71/ https://nypost.com/2022/09/16/mets-teammates-react-to-john-stearns-death-heartbroken/

Nice call outs. I have a fond memory of a specific Milner at bat that my Dad and I saw live and talked about for years. Basically a line drive that rocked the RF wall at Shea. Not a great player by any stretch. Canha reminds me of Youngblood. Somewhat similar looking and skill sets. Jorgensen...wow! Did he play for the Mets twice or am I thinking of Foli? Another guy that never gets enough love IMO is Craig Swan. Love that you know the numbers. My friend thinks I'm insane cuz I can tell you the number of most of the Mets from the 70's, including number changes.

So me and the same friends had another conversation about jerseys. We agreed that we'd only buy the jersey of a retired player and preferrably not an obvious one like Seaver. After some thought I went with an away jersey of John Milner (which now I want! lol). In hindsight Stearns would be a great choice - but then I'd have to pick between #16 and #12. Who would you go with?

I was at Citi Field this past Wednesday and a friend and I were talking about how Stearns looked to be in poor health at Old Timers Day. Sad to see him in that state and now to learn of his passing. But nice that he got to have one last moment in the sun. Your first paragraph summed up his career perfectly. He was a great player on some bad teams, one of our few bright spots. I totally forgot about the Bills connection! RIP.

100%. Maris broke the record on the last day of the season. https://www.history.com/news/roger-maris-mickey-mantle-babe-ruth-home-run-record#:~:text=In a pressure-packed 1961,York Yankees teammate%2C Mickey Mantle.&text=Graphics%2FGetty Images-,In a pressure-packed 1961 season%2C Roger Maris hit 61,York Yankees teammate%2C Mickey Mantle.

Ruth or Maris? He's got a reasonable shot at breaking Ruth's record - which would be incredible. The Maris record looks well within reach - which would still be very impressive.

Train death paintings, anti-meth murals Color the ghettos of N. Dakota Bismark tractor association, coffee and toothpaste This was vacation I saw, while squinting, the hidden layer In those lost-era grain elevators Feudal beginnings, amber wave looseness Post-Nordic grinning tired and toothless

This is starting to get exhausting. I keep waiting for the Mets to break out of it but even with Jake going tonight it's looking like another loss. At this point I'll be surprised if the Mets/Braves series isn't crucial for first place. But at the same time my biggest concern is Scherzer. Next up is Marte. First place is really important, not gonna downplay that, but post season success is still about Jake and Max to me.

Fun fact: Tom House had a decent career as a MLB pitcher. In 1974 he was a reliever for the Atlanta Braves and caught Hank Aaron's 715th HR.

So you'd prefer Josh had a different response? If so, what?

Pushing up the ante, I know you gotta see me Read 'em and weep, the dead man's hand again I see it in your eyes, take one look and die The only thing you see, you know it's gonna be the Ace of Spades The Ace of Spades

She had that Camarillo brillo Flamin out along her head, I mean her mendocino bean-o By where some bugs had made it red

Gonna smile I'm gonna laugh You're gonna get a blood bath And in a moment of passion Get the glory like Charles Manson. You gotta go go go go Goodbye glad to see you Go go go go goodbye glad to see you Go go go go goodbye.

Hey, daddy-o I don't want to go down to the basement There's somethin' down there I don't want to go

Third verse, different from the first Jackie is a punk Judy is a runt They both went down to Frisco, joined the SLA

And I heard that Monday's just a word we say Every seven times around And then we pin the tail on Tuesday

There are so many times in life I want to use this quote but I just can't. People probably wonder why I smirk so much - this is one of the reasons.