The Mets Will Never Win

When I was 8 years old the Mets won the World Series with the best team I have ever seen in my lifetime. A team full of great young pitchers and solidified with some veteran acquisitions.
Chase turns 8 this year and will not have the same experience. In fact, the Mets will probably never win.
The reason why? Their fans are morons.
After years of listening to how they are cheap or stupid, Mets ownership and Sandy Alderson has panicked making three trades to acquire veteran players to solidify a team that isn't very good, despite its position just outside of the playoffs.
The Mets spent years and years wasting money and prospects on old injured players like Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana.
Even in the past few years when the Mets seemingly figured out what they were doing wrong, they still lit $100,000,000 on fire by giving in to Curtis Granderson, Bartolo Colon, Chris Young and Michael Cuddyer.
2015 was supposed to be the year, and if not for the injuries to Wheeler, Wright, D'Arnaud, Matz and Lagares (though he played through it) it might have been. But just because something doesn't work out doesn't mean that something different will.
Look around baseball, look at the teams that are doing well and have sustained it for years, like the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals. They build from within, and they don't panic trade their best guys.
Heck, look at the Houston Astros, the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins. They've built something.
Yes the Royals made a big trade for Cueto, but the time was right for them. They went to the World Series last year. The Mets didn't even break .500 yet.
The Mets aren't quite ready for this. Maybe next year would have been the year to trade prospects for veterans to put us over the hump. But this team wasn't ready and trading five young players for very temporary replacements isn't the answer.
It isn't going to help, it's only going to hurt.
And who will the Mets fans blame then? Hopefully, themselves.

Update:
I wrote the above while extremely upset. I don't honestly believe the Mets will never win. I do think these moves, especially the Gomez trade has reduced their chances. But if they do win a World Series and you want to tell me "I told you so" feel free. If they don't win, I will certainly be blaming all of you for why.
Talking with Master Bates, I realize my perspective isn't SO far out of whack with other Mets fans I just want to wait a little while longer because I don't think the team is ready yet. I also think I have a better understanding of the win curve and when it makes sense for teams to acquire expensive (in salary and acquisition costs) players. Also, we all agree about the fickle nature of the major league playoffs, but some of you seem convinced that if the Mets could just pick up a couple games on the Nats and squeak into the playoffs they could go deep and maybe win it all. I don't. I think that's incredibly remote. Even with these new players their playoff odds aren't great. 22.5% on FanGraphs maybe 25% with these acquisitions. Then take 10% of that to win the World Series, and that's being generous. So a 2-3% chance to win the Series this year is enough to trade five young players? Not to me it isn't.
I think the fickle nature of the playoffs means you want to build to be as good as possible for as long as possible. You want good players, signed long-term through their primes, and a thriving farm system to bring reinforcements when those players falter. I thought the Mets were on their way but they seriously jeopardized that with these trades for which I think there is very little upside.

Update II:
The trade didn't happen!

Song of the Week

"Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" - Silento
This is the dance craze that is sweeping the nation. Especially the Poop household were Mrs. Poop coached Chase in this before the neighborhood dance party and in an amazing bit of scouting she was 100% and this song was played. I was shocked by how many people knew it proficiently.

Gilbert Can Shoot, We Know That

Gilbert Arenas won too many prizes at the basketball shooting game at the Orange County Fair and was not allowed to play any further.

I hope he let each of his kids pick a favorite one or two and immediately drove the rest to a children's hospital.

The Moment You've All Been Waiting For

Diesel in Maine in 2007:



Diesel in Maine in 2008:


Diesel in Maine in 2009:


Diesel in Maine in 2010:


Diesel in Maine in 2011:

Diesel in Maine in 2012

Diesel in Maine in 2013

Diesel in Maine in 2014:

Diesel in Maine in 2015:

Song of the Week

"You and Me" - Lifehouse

Kiss Your Mother With That Mouth

Robbie Lawler won't be kissing anyone for a while I presume, because his lip was nearly ripped off his face during his fight with Rory MacDonald.

The old saw "you should have seen the other guy" holds true here as Robbie Lawler actually won the fight and held onto his belt, because he did this to Rory MacDonald's face

Song of the Week

"This Is How We Do It" - Montell Jordan
Billie would have disowned me if I had picked something different for 1995.

Chili Today, Hot Tamale

Why are thousands of men (and presumably a few women) paying attention to the Mexican weather report, even if they live thousands of miles away.

Yanet Garcia and her giant ass are the two reasons.

Song of the Week

"I Want To Know What Love Is" - Foreigner
This exercise in the music time machine is to not only find songs that I like, but also songs that typify the music of the era. No song checks both those boxes better than this one.

I Thought He Was Drunk That Entire Season With the Redskins

Former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb was arrested on DUI charges last month in Arizona after hitting another vehicle at a traffic light, according to a police statement released Tuesday.

McNabb was arrested just before midnight on June 28 by police in Gilbert, Arizona, after rear-ending the other car, which was stopped at the traffic light.

It marks the second time in less than two years that McNabb has been arrested on DUI charges.

The statement from the Gilbert police did not specify whether McNabb took a field sobriety test and did not state what his blood-alcohol level was.

The Internet Breaks and Kim Kardashian's Ass is Not Involved

Federal authorities raided the home of Subway spokesman Jared Fogle Tuesday morning. FBI sources told CBS4 federal and state investigators were serving warrants at Fogle’s Zionsville home in connection with a child pornography investigation.

The raid started around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. An evidence truck could be seen parked in the driveway. Investigators from the FBI and Indiana State Police were at the scene.

Earlier this year, Russell Taylor, the former director of the Jared Foundation started by Fogle, was arrested in a child pornography case. He was accused of possessing and producing child pornography. Investigators said a search of Taylor’s home turned up more than 500 videos with images of child pornography. Taylor unsuccessfully tried to kill himself while in jail.

Fogle said the foundation severed all ties with Taylor following the arrest. Investigators wouldn’t say if Tuesday’s raid was connected to that case.

Fogle gained national fame after attributing massive weight loss to eating Subway sandwiches. He was a freshman at Indiana University at the time. He later became a visible presence in Subway ad campaigns, pitching the restaurant’s sandwiches and touting their health benefits.

Song of the Week

"How Long" - Ace
1975 has got to be one of the worst years for music. I really couldn't find anything I liked on the list. And the few good songs were remakes. So I went with this one, even though it technically came out in 1974, it charted long enough in '75 to make the year end list.

Are You There Universe, It's Me, Margaret

A few Universe moments I have been sitting on for a few months:

1) Mrs. Poop messaged me to say a friend of Chase's kept calling Julian "Julius." Then I read this in Sports Illustrated:

On a somewhat unrelated note: how embarrassing is it for Sports Illustrated to make that mistake? And I have seen several other similarly unfathomable mistakes. I wish I could find the time they referred to the Pittsburgh Stealers.

2) I texted Master Bates to tell him that I made some money for The Spinners by playing one of their songs on my show. And he responded by saying he recently heard their version of "I'm Working My Way Back To You" (SOTW, 8/24/11 on the 80s channel because even though it was released in December 1979, it hit the charts in 1980.

3) Mrs. Poop was baking. She was adding sugar to her concoction and I kept saying "lend me some sugar, I am your neighbor." Shortly, after I was watching an episode of "I Bet You" where Phil had to go door-to-door trying to borrow a cup of sugar from Antonio's neighbors.

Meet the Matz

You could hardly hope for a better debut that what Steven Matz did for the Mets. Not only did pitch 7 2/3 innings in his debut, allowing only two runs (both solo homers, one to lead off the game) he helped his own cause with 3 hits and 4 RBI (a new Mets record for a major league debut, position players included).

But all anyone wants to talk about is his grandfather who seemed to say "holy shit" in reacting to his grandson's third hit of the game.



It really was a beautiful moment. A young man living out his childhood dream while his entire family (and one potentially sleazy agent) watched from a luxury box. And you could see the pride in his parents' faces. And when SNY spoke to his parents and it was revealed that his mom still does his laundry, Lori Matz said "he'll always be my baby."

Well, Mrs. Matz, your baby boy done good.

Hopefully this is just the first of many great moments for Matz as a Met.

And it should serve as a reminder to Mets fans during this frustrating season, there is reason to believe great things are in store for this team as Matz is just one-fifth of what could be a great starting rotation for many years to come.

The Watcher

A couple paid $1.3M for a house in Westfield, NJ and now they have fled the house and are suing the sellers for not disclosing that the house is being watched.

Shortly after they moved in the Broaddus family started receiving letters from someone called "The Watcher."

'My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s. It is now my time,' wrote The Watcher. 'Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested?'
'Once I know their names I will call to them and draw them to me. I asked the (prior owners) to bring me young blood,' the first letter, dated June 5, read. 'And now I watch and wait for the day when they (sp) young blood will be mine again.'
'Have they found what is in the walls yet? In time they will. I am pleased to know your names and the names now of the young blood you have brought to me,' the letter reads.
'Will the young bloods play in the basement. Who has the rooms facing the street? I'll know as soon as you move in. It will help me to know who is in which bedroom then I can plan better.
Here's what drives me crazy about this. They are suing the previous owners for failing to disclose that "The Watcher" had been harassing them too.

The stalker has nothing to do with the house, he doesn't come with the house. It is a criminal engaging in criminal behavior. This is a matter for the police, not for the courts.

I'm sorry for their plight but I have to tag this "frivolous lawsuits."

Song of the Week

"You Were On My Mind" - We Five
This is not the song I expected to choose when I delved into top songs of 1965. I expected to find a bevy of Motown favorites, but this one stood out to me, I like it, and it does seem typical of the time. So let's go with it, 50 years ago, this is what popular music sounded like.

A Thin Line Between Genius and Insanity

At work a woman was eating a huge apple. Perhaps the biggest apple I've ever seen.
I said to her "it's a good thing that apple didn't fall on Isaac Newton's head. He wouldn't have been inspired to discover gravity. He would have gotten a concussion and probably died."

After laughing, another co-worker who overheard remarked on what a strange comment it was to make. He said it was funny but seem gobsmacked that my mind worked in such a way that something like that would come out based only on the stimulus of seeing a large apple.
Please vote whether the comment was funny or douchey, but also let me know in the comments if you think that comment is more indicative of genius, or of insanity.

Former Met Darryl Hamilton Killed in Murder-Suicide

Police have identified a man and woman found dead Sunday in a murder-suicide at a Houston home while their child was in in the house.
The bodies were found about 4:45 p.m. inside the house in the 11500 block of Island Breeze, according to the Pearland Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the home on an emergency call about a disturbance. When they arrived, they found the body of Darryl Hamilton, 50, near the front entry way. The body of Monica Jordan, 44, was found in another part of the home.
Investigators said it appeared Hamilton had been shot more than once and Jordan died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police said the couple's 14-month-old child was also found unharmed in the home. The infant was turned over to the state's Child Protective Services.

3000 Words

This is what the Stanley Cup looks like when it goes through airport security:

This is the winner's photo after Sam Greenwood won the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Holdem tournament at the World Series of Poker for $319,000. I post this not because of the shirtless men, but because of the girl surrounded by shirtless men who is absolutely mortified.

It's my birthday, bitch! And Mrs. Poop thinks she's Skyler White, minus the Ted incident.

What Do You Give Me For? Bart Chilton and the Painting From "Ghostbusters II"

What do you give me for Bart Chilton, former Commissioner of the CFTC and Vigo the Carpathian of Moldavia, the painting in "Ghostbusters II".

Note: we saw this movie at Damino's 11th birthday party because Mama Damino would not let us see "No Holds Barred."