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5/8/20

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.  



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.



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.



MLB LINKS:

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




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.”


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. 


Asian Baseball:


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.”


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.


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:




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


Born on this date:
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.


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.


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.


Want something else tracked here each day?  Please leave a comment below.

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for the shoutout John. I have to keep hyping Jose Butto. Fellow players believe hes a legit major league starter for years to come. One player joked "I'd bet my signing bonus (it was 6 figures) he becomes a major leaguer and does well.

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    1. Thanks Ernest. I will be looking forward to seeing him one day in Binghamton or Syracuse. Can't wait for some of last year's Brooklyn Cyclones team to make it to St. Lucie so you can see them as well.

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  2. John -

    I have my own thoughts on the A-Rod J-Lo No-Go this weekend.

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  3. Good to know about Butto.

    Lowrie was an unnecessary and clearly regrettable signing. From Iron Man to junk yard dog.

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  4. Great stuff as always John. Can’t believe Puma went out on a limb like that and already has called Lowrie a bust. Next thing we know, he’ll start criticizing the Cano deal.

    Wish Flexen well. Always liked him and wish the Mets kept him. I felt like he didn’t get a good enough shot. He was one of those victimized by the Astros.

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  5. Butto pitched last year for a Columbia team that did not support him with runs.

    His WHIP alone could easily reverse his 2019 W-L from 4-10 to 10-4.

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  6. I also heard Hayden Senger might be legit as a future catcher.

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  7. Always liked Chris Flexen as well Gus. Liked Drew Gagnon too. Thought they both could have been handled better. But I guess when you are not a prime prospect you have to excel whenever or wherever you are used or chances dry up.

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