A group of kids at P.S. 37 in Staten Island, a school for autistic children, fell in love with Jennifer Lopez after their teacher played "Let's Get Loud" for them.
The kids liked the song so much that learned all the lyrics and the dance moves and chose it for their graduation song.
Then they wrote to J.Lo asking if she'd come to her graduation. The teacher says the kids thought the whole time that she'd want to come, maybe because they didn't understand how famous she is.
So boy what she surprised when J.Lo called the school to find out the date and time of graduation.
And true to her word she showed up, sang "Let's Get Loud" and gave those kids the thrill of a lifetime.
Story suggested by Razor
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Old People Fucking
The Japanese have always had strange tastes when it comes to porn.
But even I was surprised to learn that Shigeo Tokuda is a popular porn star, he's 74 years old.
He has been in 350 adult films over the past 14 years, and says his wife and daughter have no idea.
Elderporn is big business in Japan and Tokuda has had big hits with "Maniac Training of Lolitas" and "Forbidden Elderly Care."
I wonder if Hideki Matsui has any Tokuda films in his collection.
But even I was surprised to learn that Shigeo Tokuda is a popular porn star, he's 74 years old.
He has been in 350 adult films over the past 14 years, and says his wife and daughter have no idea.
Elderporn is big business in Japan and Tokuda has had big hits with "Maniac Training of Lolitas" and "Forbidden Elderly Care."
I wonder if Hideki Matsui has any Tokuda films in his collection.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
The Summer of Poop
We are going on vacation.
The summer of Poop starts with a trip to Baltimore for my parents' 40th anniversary celebration.
Approximate round trip distance: 398 miles
Then we are off to Maine for an abbreviated version of our annual summer vacation.
Approximate round trip distance: 624 miles
After that it's off to Hershey, Pennsylvania for JLeary's wedding.
Approximate round trip distance: 340 miles
Then we get back to work for three days before we go to Toronto for my cousin's wedding.
Approximate round trip distance: 980 miles
So not including other driving we'll be doing while at those locations that brings the total mileage to 2342 miles.
Assuming that Mellow Yellow gets about 19 miles per gallon, I'll have to buy about 124 gallons of gas.
At the national average of $4.07 a gallon, that brings my gas cost to $504.68.
That means I won't have much time to post things on the Poop or the Recap. I'll try to get something in every game for the Recap, even if I just lift stuff from the AP write, just so that I have some kind of record of every game. But you may not find very much or anything here at the Poop.
As usual when I'm away TON is in charge in case of breaking news (I hope another one of my favorite players doesn't die) or anything else he feels like writing about.
The summer of Poop starts with a trip to Baltimore for my parents' 40th anniversary celebration.
Approximate round trip distance: 398 miles
Then we are off to Maine for an abbreviated version of our annual summer vacation.
Approximate round trip distance: 624 miles
After that it's off to Hershey, Pennsylvania for JLeary's wedding.
Approximate round trip distance: 340 miles
Then we get back to work for three days before we go to Toronto for my cousin's wedding.
Approximate round trip distance: 980 miles
So not including other driving we'll be doing while at those locations that brings the total mileage to 2342 miles.
Assuming that Mellow Yellow gets about 19 miles per gallon, I'll have to buy about 124 gallons of gas.
At the national average of $4.07 a gallon, that brings my gas cost to $504.68.
That means I won't have much time to post things on the Poop or the Recap. I'll try to get something in every game for the Recap, even if I just lift stuff from the AP write, just so that I have some kind of record of every game. But you may not find very much or anything here at the Poop.
As usual when I'm away TON is in charge in case of breaking news (I hope another one of my favorite players doesn't die) or anything else he feels like writing about.
Song of the Week
"Tru Love" - Faith Evans
"Every moment hasn't been perfect but still
when it's perfect it feels
like we're the only two people who have something real"
"Every moment hasn't been perfect but still
when it's perfect it feels
like we're the only two people who have something real"
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The New York Post is Horse Manure
We all know that the New York Post is a rag with no journalistic standards, but the way they tried to sabotage Jerry Manuel before his first home game as manager of the Mets was low, even by their subterranean standards.
The back cover blasted that Manuel called Mets fans "fertilizer." And the Post referred to us as "dung-ho Met fans."
According to the responsible Adam Rubin of the Daily News, here was the exact pregame sequence:
"Question: Jerry, the first few months of the season there’s been a lot of booing at Shea. Sometimes it’s been really vicious. How much does that drain a team?
Manuel: That’s a good question. I don’t know if it drains a team as much as it affects that individual. I think it does have an effect on the individual more so than the team. But, in saying that, we have to get to the point to where when they boo one, they’re booing all of us. And we have to understand and stay that close knit and be able to deal with that as we go forward.
Question: One guy who has been really hammered is Aaron Heilman …
Manuel: He seems to have done very well. He has responded very well. Again, it’s difficult. It’s painful. But it’s also growth. It’s growth for him. It’s very, very – I’m going to say this, and I hope y’all don’t take this wrong. I know you’re going to run out of here with something crazy on this. It’s very, very fertile ground for growth at Shea Stadium. It’s fertile ground for a team’s growth and development. Sometimes fertile ground has fertilizer. (Laughter in room.) Fertilizer is a good thing. It’s a good thing. You get the greatest results, you get the most beautiful plants, when you put it in that type of fertile soil. That’s what we have the opportunity to do. Don’t y’all take that wrong because I know what you’re going to do with it."
The back cover blasted that Manuel called Mets fans "fertilizer." And the Post referred to us as "dung-ho Met fans."
According to the responsible Adam Rubin of the Daily News, here was the exact pregame sequence:
"Question: Jerry, the first few months of the season there’s been a lot of booing at Shea. Sometimes it’s been really vicious. How much does that drain a team?
Manuel: That’s a good question. I don’t know if it drains a team as much as it affects that individual. I think it does have an effect on the individual more so than the team. But, in saying that, we have to get to the point to where when they boo one, they’re booing all of us. And we have to understand and stay that close knit and be able to deal with that as we go forward.
Question: One guy who has been really hammered is Aaron Heilman …
Manuel: He seems to have done very well. He has responded very well. Again, it’s difficult. It’s painful. But it’s also growth. It’s growth for him. It’s very, very – I’m going to say this, and I hope y’all don’t take this wrong. I know you’re going to run out of here with something crazy on this. It’s very, very fertile ground for growth at Shea Stadium. It’s fertile ground for a team’s growth and development. Sometimes fertile ground has fertilizer. (Laughter in room.) Fertilizer is a good thing. It’s a good thing. You get the greatest results, you get the most beautiful plants, when you put it in that type of fertile soil. That’s what we have the opportunity to do. Don’t y’all take that wrong because I know what you’re going to do with it."
Tony the Terrible
When Omar Minaya fired Willie Randolph he seemed genuinely upset about it and said he wished he didn't have to do it, and he felt he had to finally let Willie go after reports hit the papers that he was going to be fired.
It seems those reports were sourced by a leak within the Mets organization, Omar's righthand man, Vice President of Player Development, Tony Bernazard.
Bernazard had an undistinguished career as a player.
Now Bernazard has the ear of the Wilpons and Omar Minaya. Despite reports that he was the source of the leak that led to Willie's firing, and despite reports that he used to take things Willie said about players in closed door meetings, and tell the players, somehow Bernazard still has his job.
And if those reports are true, then maybe this one is too. If Omar Minaya gets fired in the offseason, Tony Bernazard is the number one contender to replace him. God help us all.
It seems those reports were sourced by a leak within the Mets organization, Omar's righthand man, Vice President of Player Development, Tony Bernazard.
Bernazard had an undistinguished career as a player.
Now Bernazard has the ear of the Wilpons and Omar Minaya. Despite reports that he was the source of the leak that led to Willie's firing, and despite reports that he used to take things Willie said about players in closed door meetings, and tell the players, somehow Bernazard still has his job.
And if those reports are true, then maybe this one is too. If Omar Minaya gets fired in the offseason, Tony Bernazard is the number one contender to replace him. God help us all.
Teenage Sluts
A group of 17 girls all ages 16 under are pregnant at Gloucester High School in Massachusetts. Because this is 4 times the school's normal rate of pregnancy one school official suggested the girls entered into a "pact" to get knocked up at the same time. Now there is some doubt about whether there actually was a pact, but there are still several questions that are bothering me.
Who are the fathers? One of them is reportedly a 24-year-old homeless guy. What did these girls do, go into an alley and ask the homeless guy if he wanted to fuck? I'm sure if this is anything like high school, no more than 10 dudes are responsible for these 17 pregnancies.
Where's the justice in this world? With so many older, responsible, married women having such difficulty getting, and staying, pregnant, why do these whores find it so easy? I'm sure if you took a group of 30 year old women who were all trying to get pregnant at the same time, at least a couple would be a few months behind, or not be able to get pregnant at all.
The school is now saying there was no pact and that once the girls found out they were pregnant they banded together and agreed to raise their kids together. What about the girls who were high-fiving when their pregnancy tests came up pregnant?
I spoke about this story to my neighbor who runs the daycare for a local high school. She takes care of the students' kids. She says her program has room for 24 kids, and each year her school has 80 pregnancies. She already has 6 incoming freshman who have applied for the service for September. That's 14 year olds.
What the fuck is this world coming to?
Who are the fathers? One of them is reportedly a 24-year-old homeless guy. What did these girls do, go into an alley and ask the homeless guy if he wanted to fuck? I'm sure if this is anything like high school, no more than 10 dudes are responsible for these 17 pregnancies.
Where's the justice in this world? With so many older, responsible, married women having such difficulty getting, and staying, pregnant, why do these whores find it so easy? I'm sure if you took a group of 30 year old women who were all trying to get pregnant at the same time, at least a couple would be a few months behind, or not be able to get pregnant at all.
The school is now saying there was no pact and that once the girls found out they were pregnant they banded together and agreed to raise their kids together. What about the girls who were high-fiving when their pregnancy tests came up pregnant?
I spoke about this story to my neighbor who runs the daycare for a local high school. She takes care of the students' kids. She says her program has room for 24 kids, and each year her school has 80 pregnancies. She already has 6 incoming freshman who have applied for the service for September. That's 14 year olds.
What the fuck is this world coming to?
Shaq Got Snipped
Shaq got on the mic at an NYC club and unleashed an hilarious freestyle. The highlights include Shaq blaming Kobe for his divorce (Kobe told cops in his rape case that Shaq pays women off), Shaq dissing Patrick Ewing and the catchy hook "Kobe, tell me how my ass taste."
Oh and Shaq said he got a vasectomy, presumably to head off paternity suits.
Oh and Shaq said he got a vasectomy, presumably to head off paternity suits.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Send It In
My girl, Candace Parker, became only the second player to dunk in a WNBA game.
If you can sit through about a minute of highlights, you'll see the video of the dunk.
If you can sit through about a minute of highlights, you'll see the video of the dunk.
End of An Era
For nearly 20 years the voices of New York sports have been Mike Francesa and Chris Russo aka "Mike and the Mad Dog" on WFAN.
But it now seems likely that they are going to break up.
Even though I hate them, I still listen because there are no better alternatives and because they have good guests.
Now it seems like their reign of terror is over.
Both guys are egotistical jerks so it wouldn't surprise me at all if their off-air fueds are responsible for this.
They aren't scheduled to work together very much if at all over the summer so this may take a couple months before it comes to fruition.
But apparently Mad Dog has a contract through next year, so WFAN would be unlikely to get rid of him. Francesa's contract status is unknown.
As much as I hate Francesa I really hope he is the one who stays. I cannot listen to Mad Dog when he is by himself.
I'd love to see one of them defect to ESPN Radio and go head to head against each other.
That would be interesting.
I should say that I do take this story with a healthy dose of skepticism because Newsday doesn't seem to have any hard facts or reliable sources.
But it now seems likely that they are going to break up.
Even though I hate them, I still listen because there are no better alternatives and because they have good guests.
Now it seems like their reign of terror is over.
Both guys are egotistical jerks so it wouldn't surprise me at all if their off-air fueds are responsible for this.
They aren't scheduled to work together very much if at all over the summer so this may take a couple months before it comes to fruition.
But apparently Mad Dog has a contract through next year, so WFAN would be unlikely to get rid of him. Francesa's contract status is unknown.
As much as I hate Francesa I really hope he is the one who stays. I cannot listen to Mad Dog when he is by himself.
I'd love to see one of them defect to ESPN Radio and go head to head against each other.
That would be interesting.
I should say that I do take this story with a healthy dose of skepticism because Newsday doesn't seem to have any hard facts or reliable sources.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Blast from the Past
Susan Wagner High School sports mascot during my time there was a developmentally disabled 21 year old student, affectionately known as Nick Tooth.
Without going into great detail about him, I'll just relate one quick story.
When Danny Anderson became the first basketball player in Wagner history to score 1,000 points in his career, I was there and so was Nick Tooth.
When the basket when in, I stood on the sidelines and applauded. Nick ran on the court with a sign comemmorating Danny's accomplishment. The sign said Danny was the "frist" player in Wagner history to score 1,000 points.
I haven't seen Nick Tooth since high school, until he appeared on SNY's sports trivia show "Beer Money."
His first question was "how long is the NYC Marathon?" He said he ran it in 2005 so he knows that it.s 26 and a half miles. Even though it's 26.2 miles, they gave him the $10.
His second question was "who did the Knicks beat in the 1970 NBA Finals?" He quickly said Lakers and moved onto question 3.
This was a hard one "what was the proposed name for Shea Stadium before they decided to name it after William Shea?" Nick Tooth had no idea. When he got a hint ("where is Shea Stadium?") he said "Queens." Not Queens Stadium, not Queens Park, just Queens. The answer was Flushing Meadows Park.
But Nick represented himself well and I got a kick out of seeing him again.
Without going into great detail about him, I'll just relate one quick story.
When Danny Anderson became the first basketball player in Wagner history to score 1,000 points in his career, I was there and so was Nick Tooth.
When the basket when in, I stood on the sidelines and applauded. Nick ran on the court with a sign comemmorating Danny's accomplishment. The sign said Danny was the "frist" player in Wagner history to score 1,000 points.
I haven't seen Nick Tooth since high school, until he appeared on SNY's sports trivia show "Beer Money."
His first question was "how long is the NYC Marathon?" He said he ran it in 2005 so he knows that it.s 26 and a half miles. Even though it's 26.2 miles, they gave him the $10.
His second question was "who did the Knicks beat in the 1970 NBA Finals?" He quickly said Lakers and moved onto question 3.
This was a hard one "what was the proposed name for Shea Stadium before they decided to name it after William Shea?" Nick Tooth had no idea. When he got a hint ("where is Shea Stadium?") he said "Queens." Not Queens Stadium, not Queens Park, just Queens. The answer was Flushing Meadows Park.
But Nick represented himself well and I got a kick out of seeing him again.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
A Very Happy Birthday
Thanks to all of those who sent along their best birthday wishes, turning 30 was an enjoyable experience.
Mrs. Poop bought me a bunch of things, including a shirt (the short sleeves are particularly short and the guns aren't looking as good as they used to), a new pair of sunglasses (this is a gift for her, she hated looking at my old ones because the paint was starting to chip around the nose) and a scratch-off ticket.
She picked the ticket with the poker theme. Basically you get 5 2-card hands (Texas HoldEm) and the "champion" gets one. You need to reveal the board (flop, turn and river) and beat the champion. I got several junk hands but also got jack-ten of diamonds, one of my favorite suited connectors and ace-7 which figured to be favored over a random hand. Unfortunately the champion was holding ducks meaning I was behind but had two overcards on all five of my hands. A king came in the door, then an ace, putting me ahead, but the champion 2-outed me by hitting a deuce. When a king hit the turn the champion filled up and I was left drawing to 4 outs, a king or an ace for the bigger boat. A 5 hit the river and Mrs. Poop wasted $5 on a scratch off ticket.
My last gift was a GPS system. Since I am always making wrong turns due to bad guesses and inattentive driving this is a welcome if costly gift. It should certainly help us as we begin our summer of Poop (more on that later this week).
The day ended with a Mets victory, which is just about the best way a day can end, so I am happy and hoping my 30s will be as good as my 20s, which started oh so long ago.
I hope Damino who shares a birthday and 30 years ago shared a nursery with me (we were born in the same hospital on the same day), also had a nice day.
Dirk Nowitzki was born on June 19, 1978, but I don't think it was at Staten Island Hospital.
Other June 20th birthdays include:
Nicole Kidman, 1967
Paul Goydos, 1964 - Dirtbag
Dickie Thon, 1958 - Suffered one of the worst sports injuries I ever saw when he got hit in the face by a Mike Torrez fastball.
Cyndi Lauper, 1953 - Best known for "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" but "Time After Time" is a much better song
John Goodman - 1952
Bob Vila, 1946
Lionel Richie, 1944 - The lead singer of the Commodores is unfortunately better known for his solo work and even more unfortunately, he's even better known as Nicole Richie's dad
Terry Funk, 1944 - The King of Hardcore
Brian Wilson, 1942 - Lead singer of the Beach Boys though he did not sing lead on my favorite Beach Boys song, former song of the week, "God Only Knows"
John Mahoney, 1941 - Played Marty Crane on "Frasier" where he was constantly upstaged by the adorable dog, Moose who played Eddie
Mrs. Poop bought me a bunch of things, including a shirt (the short sleeves are particularly short and the guns aren't looking as good as they used to), a new pair of sunglasses (this is a gift for her, she hated looking at my old ones because the paint was starting to chip around the nose) and a scratch-off ticket.
She picked the ticket with the poker theme. Basically you get 5 2-card hands (Texas HoldEm) and the "champion" gets one. You need to reveal the board (flop, turn and river) and beat the champion. I got several junk hands but also got jack-ten of diamonds, one of my favorite suited connectors and ace-7 which figured to be favored over a random hand. Unfortunately the champion was holding ducks meaning I was behind but had two overcards on all five of my hands. A king came in the door, then an ace, putting me ahead, but the champion 2-outed me by hitting a deuce. When a king hit the turn the champion filled up and I was left drawing to 4 outs, a king or an ace for the bigger boat. A 5 hit the river and Mrs. Poop wasted $5 on a scratch off ticket.
My last gift was a GPS system. Since I am always making wrong turns due to bad guesses and inattentive driving this is a welcome if costly gift. It should certainly help us as we begin our summer of Poop (more on that later this week).
The day ended with a Mets victory, which is just about the best way a day can end, so I am happy and hoping my 30s will be as good as my 20s, which started oh so long ago.
I hope Damino who shares a birthday and 30 years ago shared a nursery with me (we were born in the same hospital on the same day), also had a nice day.
Dirk Nowitzki was born on June 19, 1978, but I don't think it was at Staten Island Hospital.
Other June 20th birthdays include:
Nicole Kidman, 1967
Paul Goydos, 1964 - Dirtbag
Dickie Thon, 1958 - Suffered one of the worst sports injuries I ever saw when he got hit in the face by a Mike Torrez fastball.
Cyndi Lauper, 1953 - Best known for "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" but "Time After Time" is a much better song
John Goodman - 1952
Bob Vila, 1946
Lionel Richie, 1944 - The lead singer of the Commodores is unfortunately better known for his solo work and even more unfortunately, he's even better known as Nicole Richie's dad
Terry Funk, 1944 - The King of Hardcore
Brian Wilson, 1942 - Lead singer of the Beach Boys though he did not sing lead on my favorite Beach Boys song, former song of the week, "God Only Knows"
John Mahoney, 1941 - Played Marty Crane on "Frasier" where he was constantly upstaged by the adorable dog, Moose who played Eddie
Friday, June 20, 2008
The Dangers of Ambidexterity
An interesting battle went on during last night's game between the Brooklyn Cyclones and Staten Island Yankees. Pat Venditte is an ambidextrous pitcher for the Yankees, a switch pitcher, if you weeeeel. Ralph Enriquez is a switch hitter, for the Cyclones. When the two got together this is what happened:
I'm not sure that there even is a rule on this. I don't even know what the rule should be, but clearly they can't allow this. I guess the batter should have to decide first, then the pitcher.
I'm not sure that there even is a rule on this. I don't even know what the rule should be, but clearly they can't allow this. I guess the batter should have to decide first, then the pitcher.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Baby Mama Drama
Fox News Channel caught some heat for referring to Michelle Obama as Barack's "baby mama" in an on-screen banner.
At least Fox didn't try to deny it, say it was an accident or a joke that never was intended to go to air. They said someone did it trying to be clever, but it wasn't clever it was insulting and quite possibly racist.
At least Fox didn't try to deny it, say it was an accident or a joke that never was intended to go to air. They said someone did it trying to be clever, but it wasn't clever it was insulting and quite possibly racist.
Jerry Manuel is Gangster
In his first game as manager, Jerry Manuel pulled Jose Reyes out of the game in the first inning because of an apparent injury. Reyes objected, threw his helmet, untucked his shirt, shook his head and sulked back to the clubhouse like a little kid. Jerry Manuel was having none of that, so he followed Reyes into the clubhouse for a conversation:
"I told him next time he does that I'm going to get my blade out and cut him. I'm a gangster. You go gangster on me, I'm going to have to get you. You do that again, I'm going to cut you right on the field."
"I told him next time he does that I'm going to get my blade out and cut him. I'm a gangster. You go gangster on me, I'm going to have to get you. You do that again, I'm going to cut you right on the field."
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Box Dilemma
For Father's Day, Mrs. Poop bought me a new cologne (Kenneth Cole Reaction, if you must know) but she's objecting to the way I'm using it.
Not that I spray too much, but the fact that I keep the cologne in the box and every morning when I go to use it, I slide it out of the box, then slide it back in.
I do this because in case it should fall from the medicine cabinet, it might not break. And even if it does break, I won't have broken glass everywhere, it will be contained to the box.
I don't even know what her objection is really. I think she feels like the box takes up extra room in the medicine cabinet, which isn't really true. But I think she just hates when I do weird things like this. But to me it makes perfect sense and I can't think of one rational argument against keeping the cologne in the box.
Not that I spray too much, but the fact that I keep the cologne in the box and every morning when I go to use it, I slide it out of the box, then slide it back in.
I do this because in case it should fall from the medicine cabinet, it might not break. And even if it does break, I won't have broken glass everywhere, it will be contained to the box.
I don't even know what her objection is really. I think she feels like the box takes up extra room in the medicine cabinet, which isn't really true. But I think she just hates when I do weird things like this. But to me it makes perfect sense and I can't think of one rational argument against keeping the cologne in the box.
Anna Gilligan's Naked Summer Camp
The extremely hot Anna Gilligan revealed a little too much about her experiences at summer camp as a child on "Red Eye". The brilliant Greg Gutfeld took that information and ran with it.
Song of the Week
"Teenage Love Affair" - Alicia Keys
This is a great song with a sweet sentiment and some cool lyrics. The video is pretty good too. It reminds me of the video for "You Don't Know My Name", in which she tells Mos Def that she makes his hot chocolate with milk, even though the manager tells her to use water.
Anyway, this song expresses some of those nice feelings about new, young love.
"I write your name in my book, your last, my first, I'm your Mrs."
I also like the line "it's a matter of extreme importance," that really expresses a sense of urgency, doesn't it?
I already shared my thoughts on Alicia Keys when I made "Fallin" the song of the week, so I won't repeat them here.
And I'm breaking from format here because I want to use this song, and the video version of it, but none of those available on youtube allow embedding so you will have to click on the Record Label Link. Do it soon because this song is being played so often on the radio you're bound to get sick of it very soon.
This is a great song with a sweet sentiment and some cool lyrics. The video is pretty good too. It reminds me of the video for "You Don't Know My Name", in which she tells Mos Def that she makes his hot chocolate with milk, even though the manager tells her to use water.
Anyway, this song expresses some of those nice feelings about new, young love.
"I write your name in my book, your last, my first, I'm your Mrs."
I also like the line "it's a matter of extreme importance," that really expresses a sense of urgency, doesn't it?
I already shared my thoughts on Alicia Keys when I made "Fallin" the song of the week, so I won't repeat them here.
And I'm breaking from format here because I want to use this song, and the video version of it, but none of those available on youtube allow embedding so you will have to click on the Record Label Link. Do it soon because this song is being played so often on the radio you're bound to get sick of it very soon.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The Sword of Damocles Falls on Willie Randolph
The Mets finally fired Willie Randolph. And along with him they got rid of Rick Peterson and Tom Nieto.
Jerry Manuel will serve as interim manager and Ken Oberkfell, Dan Warthen and Luis Aguayo were named as new coaches.
Oberkfell was the manager of New Orleans, the Mets Triple A affiliate. He'll be the new bench coach. Warthen was the pitching coach for New Orleans, he'll replace Peterson.
Ok, so now that that's out of the way, here are my thoughts:
First of all, Willie was not being evaluated on a day to day basis so the fact that the Mets won the last two games, and three of four has nothing to do with it. It makes the timing a little weird is all. But he was fired because of a huge collapse, followed by half a season of mediocrity. Does anyone think the Mets suddenly turned it around in the last few games? No, they just happened to win a few, because they're a .500 team, not a .000 team.
The best time to make the move would have been last Monday, on an off-day, after a devastating sweep. I have no idea why they waited. Maybe a different manager could have squeezed out an extra victory on the homestand with better bullpen management, but I doubt it.
I really have almost no hopes that these changes will lead to a sudden and drastic turnaround. The problems with this team are on the field, the players are the ones who have to improve.
That makes Willie an unfortunate fall guy, hut I'm glad he's gone.
I'm glad Willie is gone because he's so stubborn and refuses to make any major changes that might help the team. "Keep battling" is not a plan for improvement, it's the definition of insanity.
I also think he is a bad strategical manager, especially when it comes to using the bullpen. He is also not aggressive enough with base runners, and too often plays for one run with the sacrifice bunt at inopportune times.
To repeat, I'm glad they made this move, I think it's unlikely to start a drastic turnaround but it had to be done because there were no other ways available to make a major change to this team.
Jerry Manuel will serve as interim manager and Ken Oberkfell, Dan Warthen and Luis Aguayo were named as new coaches.
Oberkfell was the manager of New Orleans, the Mets Triple A affiliate. He'll be the new bench coach. Warthen was the pitching coach for New Orleans, he'll replace Peterson.
Ok, so now that that's out of the way, here are my thoughts:
First of all, Willie was not being evaluated on a day to day basis so the fact that the Mets won the last two games, and three of four has nothing to do with it. It makes the timing a little weird is all. But he was fired because of a huge collapse, followed by half a season of mediocrity. Does anyone think the Mets suddenly turned it around in the last few games? No, they just happened to win a few, because they're a .500 team, not a .000 team.
The best time to make the move would have been last Monday, on an off-day, after a devastating sweep. I have no idea why they waited. Maybe a different manager could have squeezed out an extra victory on the homestand with better bullpen management, but I doubt it.
I really have almost no hopes that these changes will lead to a sudden and drastic turnaround. The problems with this team are on the field, the players are the ones who have to improve.
That makes Willie an unfortunate fall guy, hut I'm glad he's gone.
I'm glad Willie is gone because he's so stubborn and refuses to make any major changes that might help the team. "Keep battling" is not a plan for improvement, it's the definition of insanity.
I also think he is a bad strategical manager, especially when it comes to using the bullpen. He is also not aggressive enough with base runners, and too often plays for one run with the sacrifice bunt at inopportune times.
To repeat, I'm glad they made this move, I think it's unlikely to start a drastic turnaround but it had to be done because there were no other ways available to make a major change to this team.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Wilboner
Pardon the Interruption's Mike Wilbon had quite the night on the town after Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Los Angeles.
He was photographed with "Girl Next Door" Kendra Wilkinson" which is fine.
But he also was with porn star Carly Parker.
And JA Adande cuddled up next to Lisa Lipps.
And of course the next day PTI had to have some fun with it.
He was photographed with "Girl Next Door" Kendra Wilkinson" which is fine.
But he also was with porn star Carly Parker.
And JA Adande cuddled up next to Lisa Lipps.
And of course the next day PTI had to have some fun with it.
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