John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 5/5/2020

Good morning, ESPN has Opening Day Baseball…in Korea, today is the anniversary of Mike Piazza setting the HR mark for catchers, and some big minds in Hollywood have ideas to reinvent baseball.

All the news that’s fit to Link plus MLB Links, Asian Baseball Links, and This Day in Mets History.    

  

Los Angeles Times Via Yahoo Sports: Better baseball on TV: What MLB can learn from 'Bachelor' and 'Millionaire'.  Here are some ideas some TV execs have to “reinvent” the game: “Start mic'ing up players”, With Empty stadiums, have one honorary fan win admission and sit wherever he or she wants; “During a game, each manager would use two of the trademark “Millionaire” lifelines: phone a fan or poll the fans.”; “Try something radical: The game is over after three hours, period. Better yet: The game is shortened to seven innings, but no matter what, it’s over after two hours.”

Mets Links:

Mike Puma NY Post: Mets turned down Edwin Diaz trade, banking on turnaround. ““I would want him because I think he is going to be good,” the talent evaluator said. “And if you look at the way relief pitchers are up and down from year to year that even gives you a little more confidence in saying he can come back from it. He’s healthy, he has done it before, he is still young. I think he has value from when they got him.”

NY Post: Mets mailbag: Joc Pederson trade would be tricky all-in leap. “The lefty-swinging Pederson would address the center field question and give the Mets a better chance to win in 2020, if there is a season, but he’s also entering his walk year. Adding Pederson would probably mean trading Brandon Nimmo or Dominic Smith…”

NJ.com: MLB rumors: Are Michael Conforto’s Mets days numbered? Author Joe Giglio thinks the loss in 2020 revenue may cause teams to make “difficult budget decisions on good, not great players in 2021 and beyond.”

Franchise Sports: Potential Conforto trade shows how hard coronavirus could hit MLB.

SNY.TV: Buck Showalter on Mets manager Luis Rojas: 'I bet he doesn't know I'm a big fan of his'. "Let me say this about the Mets: I like their manager. I don't know him, but I like his path. I'm a big bio freak and I know where he's been…I learned a lot from Felipe," Showalter explained. "For instance, that he would call for a steal one pitch in advance. I finally realized that and pitched out. In those days there were about eight people in the stands, so I could hear Felipe's booming voice all the way from the other dugout. He tipped his hat and said, 'It's about time you figured it out!'"

Sports Talk 1240.com: Host Bill Donohue begins the show welcoming former NewYork Mets pitcher Bret Saberhagen, followed by former Mets catcher Todd Hundley.

Centerfield Maz: Remembering Mets History: (2004) Mike Piazza Sets All Time HR Mark For Catchers, May 5, 2004.

Centerfield Maz: Remembering Mets History (1968): The Glider Has Two Big Days vs. Cubs, May 4, and June 6, 1968.

Chris Flanders Mets 360.com: NY Mets ’til I die.  Chris looks at the “Netflix documentary series entitled “Sunderland ‘Til I Die,” which chronicles the trials and tribulations of the Sunderland football club in the past couple of years… the story hit me right in the eyes as not only about Sunderland AFC, but about the New York Mets, more specifically the arc of the team and our rabid fan base.” 

Mike’s Mets had some “Monday Musings, My Aching Back Edition.”

NY Post: Matt Harvey’s All-Star start nearly turned into ugly Yankees controversy.  Harvey hit Robinson Cano in the first inning.  The right-hander said, “My bad” and Cano responded: “No problem.”

Newsday interviews Curt Gowdy Jr., who is SNY’s executive producer and whose father called the 1969 World Series for NBC as SNY airs the complete 1969 World Series this week.  Last night was game one. 

Rising Apple.com: Future Mets are available for adoption through “Adopt a Minor Leaguer”.

Empire Sports Media: New York Mets: First Time No April Baseball in MLB History.

Empire Sports Media: New York Mets’ legend David Wright “hates” Wrigley Field.

  

YouTube: New York Mets Videos - The Best of Bartolo.

MLB LINKS:

Yahoo Sports: Mitch McConnell is using baseball for dangerous political theater during coronavirus crisis.

USA Today: Arizona State's Spencer Torkelson 'too perfect' for Detroit Tigers to pass in MLB draft.

USA Today: Former Montreal Expos groundskeeper Joe Jammer says Pete Rose had bats corked.

NY Post: MLB hopeful Blake Bivens found out family was murdered on Facebook. As the 24-year-old Double-A pitcher awaited a flight last August from Tennessee to his home in Virginia, Bivens signed onto social media and learned his wife, 14-month-old son and mother-in-law had been murdered.

Asian Baseball:

Empire Sports Media: ESPN to broadcast six KBO baseball games a week.

Last night ESPN started their broadcast at 1AM Eastern with the NC Dinos beating the Samsung Lions 4-0. Drew Rucinski went 6 scoreless giving up 3 hits.  Aaron Altherr played CF and went 0 for 4. (Box Score)    KBO Scoreboard here. 

Rising Apple: Three 2019 Mets players you can watch in the KBO this year.  Aaron Altherr – NC Dinos; Drew Gagnon – Kia Tigers; Chris Flexen – Doosan Bears;

Yahoo Sports: 'Just enjoy it': American veterans of the KBO are excited for the league's moment on the world stage.

The Korea Herald: Baseball game interrupted by fire near stadium.

The Korea Herald: Baseball back in S. Korea as nation emerges from coronavirus pandemic.

Tom’s Travels: 2020 CPBL weekly round up – No 4.

CPBL via Twitter: Today's game in the CPBL. Uni Lions (7-9) vs CTBC Brothers (6-9); Donn Roach (1-2, 8.86 ERA) vs Huang En-Si (0.0, 4.76 ERA).

You can watch the game here in English starting at 6:30 AM Eastern.

⚾Play ball⚾
Here we go! Join us to enjoy the very first English-commented @CTBC_Brothers game.

跟我們一起收看首場英文轉播的中信兄弟主場賽事！

Announcer: Phil Wu 吳昇府
Commentator: Papa Juan 阮柏緯
Special Guest: @LivelyMitch 萊福力#CPBLonELTA@CPBL https://t.co/6vVovFLkkh

— 愛爾達體育台|ELTA SPORTS (@ELTASports) May 5, 2020

Yesterday at Mack’s Mets:

Reese Kaplan -- Why We Love Baseball.

Tom Brennan - Some Mighty Interesting Career Mets Stats.

Mack’s Blast From The Past May 5, 2010: DRAFT: - Christian Yelich, Burch Smith, David Lutz, Kevin Ziomek... and Justin O’Connor

Today in Mets History Per Ultimatemets.com:

Born on this date:

• Juan Acevedo (1970)

Transactions:

New York Mets signed free agent Eric Gunderson on May 5, 1994.
New York Mets signed free agent Juan Lagares on May 5, 2006.
New York Mets released Ben Johnson on May 5, 2008.

National Pastime.com:

1965	In a match-up of eventual Hall of Famers at Shea Stadium, Phillies' right-hander Jim Bunning beats the Mets, 1-0, for his sixth straight complete-game victory over the New Yorkers. The Philadelphia starter provides the game's lone run with a sixth-inning lead-off solo homer run off southpaw Warren Spahn, who also goes the distance, giving up just four hits.
1995	Thirty-three years after Don Zimmer played third base in the franchise's first game, Edgardo Alfonzo becomes the 100th player in Mets history to cover the 'hot corner'. Howard Johnson played the most games at the position, appearing in 835 games over a span of eight seasons.

2004

Mets backstop Mike Piazza passes Carlton Fisk for most home runs hit by a catcher when he hits his 352nd round-tripper as a catcher. The Norristown, PA native's 405-foot opposite-field historic homer comes off a Jerome Williams' 3-1 fastball during the first inning of the Mets' 8-2 victory at Shea Stadium.

2008

In the 4,000th game played at Dodger Stadium, Joe Torre's Dodgers beat the Mets, 5-1. The Los Angeles skipper also managed in the 1,000th game at the Astrodome (Mets - 1977) and Coors Field (Yankees - 2007), the 2,000th at Busch Stadium (Cardinals - 1991), the 3,000th at Angel Stadium (Yankees - 2003), and the 6,000th at Yankee Stadium (Yankees -2001).

Baseball Reference:

2012 - Two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana wins his first game since undergoing shoulder surgery towards the end of the 2010 season, defeating the Diamondbacks, 4 - 3. Santana had pitched well for the Mets in his previous 5 starts this season, but the team failed to score in his first four outings, then his bullpen blew a 4 - 0 lead in the 8th inning in his fifth start.

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