Shannon Shark @metspolice – Page 4136

March 21, 2009

Lee Mazzilli Makes Texas Rangers 10 Worst List!

Funny to read about the Lee Mazzilli trade from the other side:

Sporting News has an article about how horrible it is to be a Rangers fan, and includes this gem:

There was a general manager named Eddie Robinson, who once traded for an aging outfielder named Lee Mazzilli. To get Lee Mazzilli, he traded away the organization’s best two young pitchers — Walt Terrell and Ron Darling. Robinson wanted Mazzilli to play left field. Mazzilli called left field “an idiot’s position.” Mazzilli played 58 games for Texas before Robinson was forced to unload him. Meanwhile, Darling and Terrell combined to win 247 major league games, none of them for the Rangers.

And is this really Lee Mazzilli’s myspace page ? Looks like he hasn’t logged in in quite some time.

www.metspolice.com

March 20, 2009

LA Times Reviews O’Malley Book

Attention Wilpons…there’s a new Dodgers book you may want to read.

O’Malley next faced the issue that would define his career. The Dodgers played at Ebbets Field in Flatbush, but white flight to Long Island was decreasing attendance at the 1913 relic. O’Malley wanted to build a new stadium, with more parking spaces for his suburban-based fans. His good-faith efforts to keep the Dodgers in the borough included an offer to finance a domed ballpark.

He lacked one element: land. At every turn, D’Antonio writes, New York City power-broker Robert Moses stymied O’Malley by refusing to allow him to buy public property. Building on research from two excellent books, Neil Sullivan’s “The Dodgers Move West” and Michael Shapiro’s “The Last Good Season,” D’Antonio concludes that Moses “condemned the Brooklyn stadium idea” and was the true villain.

It’s also true that, as he dickered with Moses, O’Malley looked beyond Brooklyn. He saw how the fortunes of the Boston Braves and the Philadelphia A’s had improved when they moved to, respectively, Milwaukee (1953) and Kansas City (1955), and that advances in aeronautics and television technology made the western U.S. an accessible, attractive option. Meanwhile, local newspaper columnist Vincent X. Flaherty bombarded O’Malley with “insider advice” about the L.A. situation.

From the LA Times.

www.metspolice.com

March 20, 2009

Stark Plan for WBC: He May Have Something

Over on ESPN you can read a well thought out plan for saving the WBC.

I actually like the version of the plan where every 4th year they’d bag the All-Star Game and play the WBC during what would otherwise be All-Star Week. Play in NYC, Chicago & LA (two stadiums going…). Not awful. The All-Star game is kind of dying anyway.

Even better is The Mets Police Plan which simply put is “Don’t have the WBC.”

While we’re talking international baseball, I’m quite pleased that the Mets don’t open the season at 5am in Tokyo. man if I had been blogging back then….

Read the Stark Plan here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/worldclassic2009/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3999459&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

March 20, 2009

Tales Of The Yankees Tickets Pre-Sale

So as I have mentioned before, the Yankees wouldn’t sell me tickets – but they did give me a pre-sale code today. Here’s a heads up for those who will be part of the general sale for single tickets.

10:00 right off the draw, I was in at 10:00.0001. Went for opening day. Tried standing room. Nothing.

10:03 Opening Day “best available” Nothing.

10:08 Saturday Cubs Exhibition. I threw back $225 tix. No thanks Yankees.

10:10 Saturday Cubs Exhibition. Nailed $1 tix! Woo-hoo! That’s $5.25 for two tix including service charge. The Yankees must have a much cheaper mailing service than the Mets.

10:16 Got grandstands for Sat 3/18!

10:18 Got grandstands for May 2. Cap Day. My “Make Your Own Package” is going well!

10:23 Got grandstands for May 5 vs Boston. “Make Your Own” going really well.

10:26 Got grandstands for May 23 vs Phils. Quite surprised at this.

10:27 Oh yeah, the Subway series. Totally forgot. (I like those on TV anyway, too many drunks at the games). Nothing for all three. Well by nothing I mean no grandstands.

Then I picked off the $5 Wednesday night tickets. Sneaking in a couple of those keeps the prices down.

Took another run at opening day and threw back a $900 ticket.

Took shots at the Red Sox weekend series. Nope.

Decided I had enough. Wound up with two tickets to 8 games, all similar ish seats way out in right. Averaged out to $20 per fanny in seat….not too shabby.

Good luck to everyone else!

April 3 at C-Field and April 4 at NYYS will be a fun weekend.

March 20, 2009

Joe Frazier & The 1976 Mets

Stumbled across this really cool piece about the 1976 Mets and Joe Frazier.

That’s a year before my time – my earliest Mets memory must be like June 10, 1977 since I remember being devastated that both Kingman & Seaver were gone – and I remember Joe Torre being manager.

Joe Frazier? I couldn’t pick him, Salty Parker or Wes Westrum out of a Mets police lineup.

A few weeks back I obsessed with and learned how to correctly spell Jon Matlack (read here and here ) so it was nice to get a glimpse into the ’76 Mets.

Here’s a one paragraph excerpt and then do the right thing and send Jimmy Scott’s Blog some hits for the rest.

There is always 1976 to look at. Frazier’s rookie year was his only full season managing in the big leagues. With a big three pitching staff of Tom Seaver, Jon Matlack and Jerry Koosman, who won 21 games, followed up by Swan and Mickey Lolich, the team was able to overcome a problem that plagued those mid-1970s Mets, an anemic offense. They couldn’t follow that up the next year. Forty-five games into the 1977 season, Frazier was fired. Joe Torre took over for the 15 and 30 team on May 31st, 15 games under .500. With Torre at the helm, Grant would trade away Seaver and the team would go 19 games under .500 and go on to lose 90 games. The New York Mets did not post a winning season for another 7 years.