John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 5/8/2020

Good morning, Happy Birthday John Maine, A-Rod and J-Lo are no longer pursuing the Mets, and Bartolo Colon stars as “Lo Natural”.

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

Mets Links:

Thornton McEnery NY Post: There is no joy in Flushing, for J-Rod has pulled out. According to multiple sources, Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez are no longer interested in buying the Mets. That decision was reached after negotiations with potential partners failed to materialize and it became clear that the Wilpons’ reluctance to part with SNY makes it almost impossible for anyone without many billions of dollars to afford owning the team.

SNY.TV: After diagnosing what ailed Mets' Edwin Diaz in 2019, Jeremy Hefner details plan to fix him. The main focus is on location.

SNY.TV: Mets' Pete Alonso talks potential 2020 MLB season: 'Whatever cards we're dealt, we gotta play them'. 'I'd just be happy to play baseball'.

Mike’s Mets: “Flash in the Pan.  Mike talks about Mets that started out real promising such as Victor Diaz and Anderson Hernandez.  

SNY.TV: 5 most underrated Mets of all time:  Armando Benitez, 1999-2003; John Olerud, 1997-1999; Howard Johnson, 1985-1993; Sid Fernandez, 1984-1993; Jon Matlack, 1971-1977.

Centerfield Maz: Remebering Mets History: (1973) Jon Matlack Gets Hit In The Face With Line Drive.

We’ve been talking about how SNY.TV has been broadcasting the 1969 World Series TV Games this week.  Last night WFAN had Mets vs. LA Dodgers; 2015 NLDS Game #1, 10/17/2015; Tonight it’s Mets vs. LA Dodgers 2015 NLDS Game #3, 10/20/2015 starting at 7 which you can hear at this link.

Mike Puma NY Post: Mets’ Jed Lowrie signing heading to complete bust status.

Elite Sports NY: Cliff Floyd thinks Willie Randolph deserves another shot.

MLB Trade Rumors: 2 Years Ago, When The Dark Knight Left Gotham.

12Up.com: Bartolo Colon Reveals Origin of 'Big Sexy' Nickname. "Noah Syndergaard just started calling me Big Sexy in 2015, and the name stuck. I don't think I'm sexy, but if the fans like the name, I like it, too."

“Lo Natural" starring Bartolo Colon.

"Lo Natural" starring Bartolo Colon 🔊🔊#BigSexy #LGM @mets @MLB @Cut4 pic.twitter.com/fLXOJ1LE8G

— Athlete Logos (@athletelogos) May 7, 2020

YouTube: New York Mets Videos: Mets Clinch 1988 NL East. 

MLB LINKS:

ESPN.com: Bryce Harper: MLB 'dumb' to keep major leaguers from playing in Olympics.

AP News: MLB, union award grants to aid domestic violence victims.

12Up.com: Trevor Plouffe Doubles Down on Prior Bombshell MLB Return Report.

Yahoo Sports: The things we miss most about baseball as MLB's coronavirus delay stretches on.

Yahoo Sports: Take notes, MLB. The KBO has some pointers for making baseball more fan-friendly. “Korea’s bat-flipping artistry is well-documented. Yet it doesn’t end there. Korean baseball also leads the way in weird glasses. Fans sing and chant in unison. Cheerleaders hype the crowd. They have coordinated mascot dances. There are fire-breathing robot dragons, even though they have nothing do with their team or its mascot.”

12Up.com: Braves Chairman Whining About Potential 2020 Realignment is All Kinds of Weak.

Minor League Links:

MetsMinors.net: MMN Roundtable: Which Player is Primed For a Breakout Season? Ernest Dove’s choice was RHP Jose Butto saying: “My reports on him last season were that he was one of the most dangerous pitchers to face in the South Atlantic League. He has the confidence and determination to succeed. His teammates raved about his pitching and ability, feeling his off-speed arsenal will play at the higher levels.” Other players picked: Mark Vientos, 3B; Warren Saunders, INF; Robert Dominguez, RHP; Franklyn Kilome, RHP; Brett Baty, 3B.  If they asked me I would have picked Wilmer Reyes or Ranfy Adon. 

Baseball America: Mets 2020 MLB Draft Preview: New York Can Add To Quietly Productive System.

Asian Baseball:

NY Post:  KBO Opening Day featured socially distant bubble boy first pitch.

12Up.com: Every Baseball Fan Needs to Learn These Weird KBO Rules. “…games have a 12-inning limit. That means games can end in ties, even in the postseason. Those games can last up to 15 innings, but if it ends in a draw the entire game is replayed… The top team in the regular season automatically advances to the championship series. And if two teams are tied, a new rule states there will be a one-game playoff to determine who automatically advances to the Korean Series.”

Elite Sports NY: KBO: The NC Dinos are off to a New York Mets-like start to the season. “Can the Dinos keep up the winning? It’s impossible to say. Too often, the Mets have looked good out of the gate, and then fallen apart all too quickly.”

MLB Trade Rumors: Which CPBL/KBO Team Are You Adopting?

Yesterday in the KBO, Aaron Altherr did not start but pinch ran in an 8-2 NC Dinos win over the Samsung Lions (Box Score).

The Doosan Bears 9 – LG Twins 3 (Box Score), Chris Flexen got the win 6 innings, 7 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 6 Ks.

Former @Mets pitcher, Chris Flexen making his KBO debut! pic.twitter.com/QoXBDX3Jgc

— Jason Radowitz (@Jason_Radowitz) May 7, 2020

Here is the KBO scoreboard for yesterday and today.

In the CBP this morning it’s the Fubon Guardians Vs. the Uni lions and the Rakuten Monkeys VS. CTBC Brothers – which you can see here:

2020.05.08 LIVE - @RakutenMonkeys🐵ⓥⓢ #CTBCBrothers🐘

Stay tuned with @CTBC_Brothers and @ELTASports at 6:35pm(GMT+8)!#LetsGoBrothers💪💪💪https://t.co/b0rUckGx7V

— CTBC Brothers (@CTBC_Brothers) May 8, 2020

Yesterday at Mack’s Mets:

John From Albany - An idea for an expanded Arizona Fall League.

Tom Brennan - METS' WOEFUL OFFENSIVE PAST.

Mack’s Blast From The Past May 8, 2012: Mack wrote: Jacob deGrom Baffles Blueclaws in Svannah Debut Monday.

Today in Mets History Per Ultimatemets.com:

Born on this date:

• John Maine (1981)
• Adrian Gonzalez (1982)
• Sean Gilmartin (1990)

Transactions:

New York Mets traded Larry Foss to the Milwaukee Braves for Chico Fernandez on May 8, 1963.

New York Mets traded Jay Hook and Adrian Garrett to the Milwaukee Braves for Roy McMillan on May 8, 1964.

New York Mets released Dick Tidrow on May 8, 1984.

New York Mets traded Matt Harvey to the Cincinnati Reds for Devin Mesoraco on May 8, 2018.

National Pastime.com:  

1961	The New York Metropolitan Baseball Club, Inc. announces the New York National League franchise's team nickname will be the Mets. Other names considered included the Avengers, Burros (a play on the word boroughs), Continentals, Islanders, Jets, Rebels, Skyliners, and the Meadowlarks, which was the first choice of owner Joan Payson.
1973	On a rainy night at Shea Stadium, the seventh-inning line drive off the bat of Atlanta's Marty Perez strikes Jon Matlack's forehead so hard that the ball ricochets into the Mets dugout. Fortunately, the 23 year-old southpaw sustains only a hairline fracture of his skull, and will return to the mound on May 19 to blank the Bucs for six innings at Pittsburgh.

1997

At the age 20, Ryan Jaroncyk, the Mets first-round draft pick of the Mets in 1995, retires from baseball, citing he finds the game 'boring'. The healthy, hard-working, introspective athletic graduate of Orange Glen High School (Escondido, CA), who the team had hoped to be their shortstop of the future, leaves the franchise after receiving an $850,000 signing bonus, which the club will not ask their former player to return.

Baseball Reference:

1963: The Braves acquire Chico Fernandez from the Tigers for Lou Johnson and cash, then turn around and swap him to the Mets for Larry Foss.

1983 - Darryl Strawberry gets his first major league hit, a single that scores Danny Heep, in a 10 - 5 Mets win over the Reds.

1998: Cardinals 1B Mark McGwire hits his 400th career home run in a 9 - 2 loss to the Mets. He is the 27th player to reach 400, and does so in fewer at bats than anyone in history, 4,726. Babe Ruth had taken 127 more at-bats, having held the old record.

2015 - Cole Hamels and the Philles win 3 - 1 over the Mets and Matt Harvey. Jonathan Papelbon picks up the save, his 112th as a member of the Phils, to tie Jose Mesa atop the team's leader board; he is also the Boston Red Sox all-time save leader, with 219. Only Robb Nen had previously led two separate teams in saves before him.

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