I was an 11 year old 6th grader at P.S. 105 in Boro Park Brooklyn. Our teacher, Mrs. McGuire, brought in the big ass city issued black and white TV so we could watch part of Game 5 of the World Series with the New York Mets one win away from completing one of the greatest seasons in baseball history. 

Last night on PRO BASEBALL CENTRAL, Lenny Nesslin of LenNYs Yankee blog and Rich Mancuso of NY SPORTSDAY were our guests as we discussed the Highlander-Angles ALCS. At one point during our discussions Myself, Joe Mc Donald and Rich, three big time Mets fans, wondered if the worst day of our baseball life, a Highlanders-Phuck Phaces World Series comes to fruition, who would we’d root for or in other words what is the best case scenario for Mets fans?

Between the three of us, it was unanimous; there is no way in world that we could ever root for the Phuck Phaces. Now it’s not like we are going to be donning “SWISH-O-LICIOUS t shirts or lighting votive candles in Monument Park but the consensus was the Highlanders were the lesser of two evils. Now if it’s Highlanders-Hollywood Bums, then there is no question that we will join our owner in rooting for the former tenants of Mc Keever Pl, in fact we are hoping if the Brooklyn Dodgers of Los Angeles win the World Series we can get a good seat at $iti Field for the raising of Dodgers World Series flag on opening day and the unveiling of the George “Shotgun” Shuba statue outside the RF gate.

Back to this date in 1969. It’s times like these that I feel bad for the younger generation of Mets fan. Believe it or not kids, the Mets were THE TEAM in town once upon a time. As a young gutter snipe growing up in Brooklyn, Highlander fans were mocked and ridiculed. It was all Mets all the time in the papers, the NY Daily News ran COLOR front pages just for the Mets. COLOR FRONT PAGES!!!! The moon landing didn’t get a COLOR FRONT PAGE!!!! ( I guess you realize that COLOR FRONT PAGES in the Daily News were a HUGE event)

I remember hearing Curt Gowdy calling Game 5 and hearing the fans screaming in that last inning. But the images that stick with me as I watched on TV was Cleon Jones making the catch in LF and dropping to one knee and the fans pouring out of the stands and covering the field. The next day the stories were of fans tearing up the sod and digging up home plate and the pitching rubber. Where are those artifacts today?

The post game celebration was legendary not just for the new World Series champs but for me as well. The site of Seaver, Kossman, McGraw and my man Kranepool pouring beer and champagne on each other led me to the kitchen where my mother was making dinner. (Mom was never a big sports fan but with three sons the woman washed more uniforms than most clubhouse personnel in fact she excelled in getting grass and blood stains out of white uni tops) and to the fridge to grab one of the old man’s Rheingolds. My mother then screaming at me “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” and me telling her, “Relax Ma, I’m not going to drink it, I’m just going to pour it on my head like the Mets. They won the World Series Ma! They’re World Champs!!!!!

I was very lucky as I went to a ton of games as a little kid and many were during the season of ‘69. My brothers being 20 years older than me, took me to games and most of the time we sat in box seats in the field level. Whenever I’m asked about my fondest memories of Shea Stadium the memory that always sticks with me are the Friday night games I went to when the Dodgers or Giants came to town. There was a Madi Gras atmosphere at Shea. Mrs. Payson was always stationed at here seat next to Mets dugout. There was a Dixieland Band that would roam the stands, fans would yell LET’S GO METS thru their Mr. Met megaphone, and in between innings Jane Jarvis would entertain us with melodies on her Thomas organ. No awful teenybopper music screeching from the sound system, no one talking on their phone or checking their CrackBerry during a second and third no out jam, no racing garbage trucks. None of that, just baseball and baseball fans enjoying both their new found love, the Amazin’ Mets and lamenting the love their loss, the Bums and ‘Jints.

I was 11 years old (same as Gary Cohen) when the Mets became World Champions. You see all the negativism and anger from this current Mets fans base? Well now picture the complete opposite of that and you have the feel for what it was like around here in 1969.

Think of this for the first time in the history of newspapers the NY Daily News ran a COLOR front page just for the Mets. The news also sold buttons with GO METS on them and every Sunday had portraits of Mets players as inserts in the paper. Channel 9 the TV home of the Mets showed just about every game and all the games were on radio (WJRZ 970 AM) and Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy and Ralph Kiner were the guys we brought into our homes for every game.

The Mets were not just the talk of NY but of the whole country they were truly America’s team. This was an organization that was looked at as loveable losers until the Quiet Man took over and put an end to that kind of thinking. It was Gil Hodges who set the tone for the club. As Mets fans we all know of the love and devotion that Tom Seaver had for Hodges, not an appearance goes by when The Franchise doesn’t invoke the name of Hodges his stories. But the most told story about Hodges and his team always is about him taking out Cleon Jones during a game against the Astros on July 30 1969 for lack of hustle.

During his time on the SNY broadcast, Jones told that the only Hodges and he knew what really happened that day. Jones went on to say how Hodges didn’t yell or scream or get in his face he just told Jones that we can’t play like this if were going to win  and Jones realized right there that is wasn’t business as usual for the Mets. Hodges meant what he said in spring training that the loser mentality stops here and now and Jones knew after getting lifted from that game that the team was destined to win.

Some observation from last night’s ceremony:

I love how Eddie Yost came out and was still giving signs, and leave it to Howie Rose to remember that Lindsey Nelson would always say “and Eddie Yost, the sign man is coaching at third base…….”

Wayne Garret and Gary Gentry must have found the fountain of youth, both guys look like they could still play.

You know you’re an old time Mets fan, when you not only can recognize Duffy Dyer but your happy as hell to see him.

Here is the legacy of Yogi Berra, he is the only man other than the Pope who could get a standing ovation in both Highlander Stadium and $iti Field.

I loved how the music of 1969 was intertwined with the introduction of the players but I wish SNY would have left the cameras on the players instead of showing videos of them in their playing day. It’s called capture the moment fellas’

The biggest ovations of the night were for Bob Murphy’s widow and for Ralph Kiner and rightfully so.

I don’t I have ever seen Jerry Grote look so happy as he did last night. I wish he was with the Mets in some capacity as that is what the organization misses an Grote like mentality. I still can see him throwing back a ball to the pitcher at about 95 mph when he was pissed off at him for either crossing him up or not hitting his spot and non of the pitchers ever challenging him.

I’m glad Gary Cohen mentioned Ken Boswell not being there and not being acknowledged on the field. It seems Boswell had a falling out with the organization an declined the invitation to come. This is where the Skill Sets are absolutely clue less. With their track history, the Skill Sets are probably at fault here and should have made amends with Boswell to get him last nights ceremony. Boswell too should not be so cranky as to snub this reunion as I’m sure he feels hurt that the Mets treated him wrong (join the club Kenny) but he may regret it for a long time not being at $iti Field last night.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, Tom Seaver is THE FRANCHISE!!!!

There may be no more underrated sports performer in this town than Jerry Koosman. The chant back then was “We can’t loose with Seaver and Kooz”

It would be nice if Omar Minaya calling out his roster was the reason for this great Mets turnaround or the fan base calling out the players to “man up” as well, but as always it’s the starting pitching that has gotten this machine humming. Yes I am obsessed with pitching these days, I’m still stewing over 15 walks by my pitchers on Saturday this isn’t healthy for me or the kids. I’m lighting candles in church. The homeless in the ferry terminal are running away from me telling people “that guy there needs help he keeps muttering –low in the strike zone, pitch to contact- and is rocking back and forth; I’m trying to release my inner Mazzone. I’m leaving work early to day just to get my X-Box-ing, text messaging, girl infatuated, 13 year olds to the park today for some remedial baseball practice. I shouldn’t have shaved this morning as I do my best work when I look gnarly. But I digress…

Any game the Mets can get 6 innings at least from a starter the odds are they will come out on top now that the 7-8-9 innings are in the hands of the firm of Parnell, Putz and Rodriguez, the New York version of the Reds “Nasty Boys” (we need our own nickname for these three) plus the fact that this team is hitting and starting to score runs (how about tonight they put up some crooked numbers for Johan ?) so it’s nice to have no complaints about what’s going on in Flushing. Maybe my kids will turn it a round as well. Just once I’d love total serenity from baseball.

Even though his numbers are not pretty, it is kind of fascinating watching Livan Hernandez pitch. He went mostly with fastballs and change up and spotted his slider and curve, mostly the slider as he had trouble locating that pitch due to the very windy conditions. What I enjoy about watching a pitcher like Livan is he has a large repertoire of pitchers and he uses them early and finds what’s working and what’s not. He never panics when the pitches aren’t working he just goes with the one or two that are and tries to make the best of it. The results are not always favorable but I like how he thinks things though. Okay, no more about pitching.

Let’s go on to catching. Looks like J- Man has made up his mind by saying that Omir Santos “Isn’t going anywhere” not matter when Brian Schneider comes back. Maybe the team in the Bronx would have an interest in Schneider? Could the Mets and Highlanders become trade partners? Last they did I believe was in 2004 when the Mets shipped Mike Stanton to the Bronx for Felix Heredia. Problem is there is no one on the Highlanders the Mets want or need so it would have to be for prospects.

My summer nights centered around waiting the delivery of the Night Owl edition of the NY Daily News that got to the candy store we hung out in around 8PM and everyone lined up to get the “Brooklyn number “-the last three digits of the Aqueduct or Belmont Park handle-and to sip a Manhattan Special and read the sports news of the day.

My source for breaking news was the afternoon NY Post. Yes, the Post used to be an afternoon paper and I loved it because it had West Coast boxscores which were like the holy grail of baseball stories. “How did Seaver do last night in LA”? “How many hits did Milner get “? “ Torre hit into two DP’s again, he sucks” all this went on 12 hours or so after the action took place.

Where am I going with this? The big media news today is The Rocky Mountain will fold today as soon as it gets its editions on the street and I’m sad that the paper is folding and people are losing their jobs but still I’m awed by the technological revolution that is progressing before our eyes. Now most of this astonishment is due to my age (Fitty going on Fitty One ) and also that my soon to be 96 year old mother shops online and checks out my Facebook page (she doesn’t like my profile pic of me and Madonna’ Madam Tuesaue wax figure) and chats with relatives in Ireland (she has checked out this blog put doesn’t care much for my colorful language and has made it known I’m not so grown that she can’t discipline me to which I told here we could make a big splash on the 6 O’clock News as 50 year old reports mom to Child Services)

I love this post by Joe Posanaski who conveys my sentiments of newspapers much better than I ever could. I still buy the Daily News and Post at the ferry terminal while on the way to work out of habit and I get the NY Times and Staten Island Advance delivered to my house which seems now like getting an ice or coal delivery, but I barely read the hard copy papers. As soon as I get to work I sign on my computer and go to my Google Reader for my news of the day and my Daily News becomes a placemat for my cereal bowl and coffee cup.

Sure it’s sad when a paper goes under because it’s another part of life’s little pleasures that’s gone but then again when I can sit on my patio on a beautiful summer morning and through the technology of my FiOS router read baseball boxscores from the West Coast on my laptop without my fingers getting news print on them, then that’s what I call progress.          

Tomorrow night at 9PM we will have another edition of Pro Baseball Central and our guest will be Craig from the Florida Marlins blog FISH STRIPES. We will talk NL East, the lowdown on the new stadium and get an overview on the Marlins, plus we will have Mets news from the opening of camp and I’m sure Joe McDonald and I will touch on Alex Rodriguez and the effect his being outted has on the Highlanders, so join us at Pro Baseball Central tomorrow night at 9PM EST and as always you can join the debate by calling in at (646) 595-4462

Glad to see someone in the main stream call out Captain Craptastic to step up and show some leadership. Seriously Highlander fans, how bad is it when D-Wright shows more support for Alex Rodriguez than your field leader?  This story doesn’t go away until Jeter steps up and sticks by his teammate no matter how much it hurts him. It’s not always about you Diva errrrrrr I mean Derek,

Another reason I have a little “spring” in my step today is while reading the NY Daily News with my Special K this morning, I saw the first Mets Notebook of the year by Adam Rubin.  Ah when the ink stain wretches fly down to Florida that means spring is in the air.

They shoot horse don’t they? Well maybe someone needs to put Titan Tom Glavine out of his misery. So much for wanting to be around wifey and the kids. Phony bastard!

LHP Joe Beimel is crying that no team will pay him big dough to pitch. Maybe it’s because you’re not worth a multi-million dollar salary to be a LOOGY.  There are guys out there that can do as good if not better job for half the price. I’d love to get on board the collusion conspiracy train but the truth is ML front offices have smarten up and have stop over paying guys who are league average or below.

The ‘Stache is back!

We pause now for this public safety announcement: Brady Anderson please report to the free clinic for testing!

Every spring there are a plethora of baseball books that are released but this one by Darryl Strawberry looks to be a winner.  Just read this clip from PAGE SIX of the NY Post and you will know why some people are sad that Shea Stadium is being torn down:

    Although he doesn’t name names, Strawberry relates how team members picked out girls from the stands for quickies. He once watched a pitcher march a frisky fan to a private room for oral sex: “I was jealous. When I saw her heading back to her seat, I gave her a sign. She smiled, turned right back around, and met me in that same little room . . . I had to be quick and run back out on the field.”

Another time, “I was in the clubhouse, having one last quickie with this cute little Florida girl. Charlie Samuels, the equipment manager, came in and caught us. He just stood there shaking his head while I finished up.”

Nik Kolidas of Kiners Korner is my hero. Not a good posting but a GREAT posting here.

 I am a supporter of Israel. But I’m also very proud to be from Brooklyn.   

With 21 days until pitchers and catchers open the gates at St. Lonesome, FINALLY, there is some Mets news:

Last night on Pro Baseball Central Joe McDonald and I got into a spirited conversation that started out as a positions by position comparison of the Mets and Phillies and then morphed into a debate of whether Carlos Delgado is a Hall of Famer. Joe says “Yes of course” and I say “No way”

Am I the only one reading the words of Jeffey Skill Sets as a cryptic message that Manny could be a Met? I’ve seen where Omar has soured on Manny about how he acted in Boston last year but I have to think that Scott Boras is on the phone right now with Omar to talk Manny.  Am I just getting my hopes up? Am I just so delusional that I’m holding out hope? Maybe but unlike when Cliff Floyd played under the Art Howe reign of error I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I’m happy with the Freddy Garcia signing and I hope he makes his $9mil which he would get if he meets all the incentives in his minor league deal.

Great story on D Wright in the NY Daily News and I like this statement by Wright:

Wright is ready to be more vocal in team meetings - he says he started to feel right about speaking up only last year - and active in uniting the factions of a diverse clubhouse.

“I try to reach out to the free agents we sign, and the players we trade for,” he says. “When young players come up, I will try to steer them toward doing things the proper way. . . . I grew up in a military town, where there is a ton of diversity, so I’m used to talking to different people. I’m getting more confident in that as the years go by.”

It’s time for Wright to take over the team, there is no need to name him Captain-it should be accepted already in the clubhouse- but J-Man should just let it known that Wright is THE MAN. This is why I’m still holding out hope on Manny as a Met because Wright has made it known he is on board with Manny.

Then there was this little nugget that needs some clarification:

While he worked, Wright was the subject of much scrutiny and criticism. He says that none of the post-collapse chatter affected him as much as his own disgust.

“Nobody enjoys hearing they should be traded,” he says, shrugging. “You never want to be disliked, but I understand that with the position I’m in, in the market I’m in, it’s not going to be happy-go-lucky all the time, like it was it ‘06. You have to take the bad with the good.”

I know of no Mets fan that ever said D-Wright should be traded and I know some of the Shea disdidents have booed Wright which is ignorant but Wright has to know that the only person in this town that even utter the word trade with Wright’s name was the mid day blow hard in Astoria and no one gives a rats ass about his opinion when it comes to the Mets.

Are the Phillies serious about this?

The site Amazin’ Avenue has a great post of Mets on the cover of Sports Illustrated from 1962-1985. WOW brings back memories.

On to news and links:

How sad is that back page of today’s NY Daily News? Dead Eye Plax and Deadwood Steph both are looking pathetic and lame, in Burress’ case very lame.  How fucking stupid can someone be? The Giants gather all their players in training camp to tell them if they have any firearms they’ve brought with them from other states to surrender them and the team will secured them and give them back when the season is over. Then the NFL offers to have a guard accompany these nit wits with their bling and bullshit as they go out on the town and still you have morons like Plaxico Burress. Thank God no one other than Burress was injured so I can laugh my ass off that someone could so fucking ignorant on how to use a firearm as to shoot himself in the leg.  My thirteen year old son who has shot rifles and shotguns can’t believe what an asshole Burress is and has offered his services to the NFL as a good Boy Scout, to teach the rank and file of the NFL how to safely handle a weapon. Our Mayor Mike III is goin’ real Gangsta’ on Plax as he has put DA Morgenthau (no shit, DA Morgenthau is so old he is the last remaining Dutch settler on Manhattan island) on notice no plea bargain for Burress but a cot at Rikers instead.

As for Marburry,  as someone who has followed him since his Lincoln High School (I even attended his announcement that he was committing to Georgia Tech as it was held at Skinflints a bar/restaurant I frequented back in the day in Bay Ridge) this chapter in his career is not surprising. Marburry has always be a “me” guy and he will always be a “me” guy but that doesn’t get the Knicks off the hook as they should have ended his employment last summer when Isaiah Thomas was sent packing. Not only does Mike D’Antoni skive Stephon but his teammates despise him as well.

A very good read from the folks at Beyond The Box Score (by way of the fabulous Baseball Primer) with a comparison of Ted Williams and Barry Bonds by using fancy sabermetircs.

Brooklyn Mets Fan gives a look at Rene Rivera a catcher the Mets signed to a minor league deal

Joe DeMayo’ Rumor Mill over at NY Baseball Digest is a must read especially this tasty tidbit:

•Derek Lowe remains the top target to be signed as a starting pitcher. The Mets seem comfortable going into spring training with a battle for the 5th spot in the rotation between Jon Niese and a “scrap-heap” pickup type. If the Mets fail to land Lowe, then Oliver Perez, Jon Garland and Randy Wolf could come into play out of free agency, or via trade they can look at Tampa’s Andy Sonnanstine, Edwin Jackson, or the White Sox’s Javier Vazquez. A name that is starting to garner some buzz is Daniel Cabrera who may get non-tendered by the Orioles. If he is non-tendered, it’s possible the Mets would look at him to compete with Niese for the 5th spot.

Cabrera is a very interesting name to ponder. His numbers are not very good and he needs a Garmin to find home plate but if he is non-tender a switch to the NL could help him.

Mike Hampton has turned his back on the Atlanta Braves and has taken his broken down left arm to Houston as it seems he wants to be closer to his children who live in Arizona with his ex-wife. That’s one helluva school bus ride to Denver for his kids to get that quality education Hampton bragged about when he left the Mets.

I’ll leave you with this. On this date in 1991 Bobby Bonilla signed a 3yr/$29mil deal with the Mets some of which I think the Skill Sets are still paying off.