David Stearns Should Have Been Fired - The Manager is Always the Scapegoat

 

This man should be on the unemployment line

. 

As a Mets fan since 1962, I should throw my two cents in at this time.  I thought of an analogous situation. In October 1960, the Yankees lost the World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 7 games.  Shortly thereafter, Casey Stengel was fired as manager, even though he won several World Series for the Bronx Bombers in the 1950s.  Casey managed the expansion Mets from 1962-65, who were big losers.  The players on the two teams were the difference.

David Stearns made several offseason player moves that turned out to be disasters.

• He signed Jorge Polanco to play first base, even though he had very minimal experience there.  He has missed most of the season so far to injury.  Did Stearns examine his medical history?
• Luis Robert Jr. was signed to be the centerfielder, but he too, has missed most of the season to injury.
• He traded Jeff McNeil to the Athletics for a low-level minor leaguer.  If you make a trade, get something of equal value back.
• He traded for an aging Marcus Semien to play second base.

This week he traded pitcher David Peterson to the Cubs for another low-level minor leaguer.

I don't like how Sterans has handled the roster.  A pitcher comes in and does well.  A day later, Stearns sends him back to the minors.  How can a pitcher develop confidence when that happens?

Several players, including Bret Baty, Mark Vientos, and Bo Bichette are playing new positions.

The world's greatest manager can not win if he doesn't have good players.  Carlos Mendoza was made the scapegoat for David Stearns' mistakes.

Adam Remsen - Latest Jeopardy Superstar

 

Adam Remsen, an attorney and theater producer from Memphis, won his 10th game to qualify as a Jeopardy Superstar.  Most of his victories were runaways.  Of course, he qualifies for the next Tournament of Champions.

Adam Remsen, career statistics:
263 correct, 29 incorrect
23/28 on rebound attempts (on 44 rebound opportunities)
42.11% in first on buzzer (240/570)
11/14 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $36,400)
6/10 in Final Jeopardy

We have to watch one show at a time to see how far he goes.  I assume there are 4 more weeks in this season.

Cubs 9 Mets 6

 

Last night's game was part of our 20-game package so we were in our usual seats in section 516 in the upper deck behind home plate.  It was a disaster for Kodai Senga, who gave up 7 runs in 3 2/3 innings.  In 7 games that he pitched this season, his record is 0-6 with an ERA of 10.08.  What was David Stearns do now?  The highlight of the game for the Cubs was a three-run home run by Pete Crow-Armstrong. At the trade deadline in 2021, the Mets traded Pete to the Cubs and received Javier Baez, who just stayed with the Mets until the end of the season.  He then signed with the Detroit Tigers.

I can't see the Mets having a decent record this season, even after Francisco Lindor returns.

Game Summary

Following Up On a Journal Entry I Wrote in 2015 - Just a Random Thought

 

Every day, I check Blogger, which lists the journal entries that were accessed over the last day.  I never know if they were accessed by real people or robots.  On July 22, 2015, I wrote an entry listing Facebook friends I would like to meet.  Here is my list:

• Gary Brefini - radio enthusiast extraordinaire.  He runs an internet radio station XL5 which features current hits.
• Amy Kearns - a New Jersey librarian and a big Met fan.  She was actually at the same Met game as me about a month ago
• Joanna Ente - I knew her late husband Bernie and brother-in-law Phil back in high school.  She is also a big Met fan.
• Michael Judge - his Facebook postings remind me of the late Alan Berman
• Joy Jeong - a young radio enthusiast.  He actually lives in Queens
• Kate Kosturski - a graduate of the Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science who lives in Connecticut
• Dave Stein - an oldies enthusiast extraordinaire
• Steven Jay Gilinsky - owns a radio station in Binghamton and is a personal friend of Harry Harrison
• Terry Morgan - a radio enthusiast who works at the New York Public Library
• Dave Freeman - another radio enthusiast who is a big aircheck collectorose 10 

Out of those 10, I only met Joanna Ente and Kate Kosturski, both at Citi Field. Sadly, David Stein passed away. In recent years, I haven't had much online contact with the people listed.  I guess "out of sight, out of mind" also applies to online relationships.

Fathers Day Song - Color Him Father by the Winstons and Keb Mo

 

Last night, Phil Tolotta, an original member of The Winstons, was Cousin Bruce Morrow's guest.  The Winstons had the hit version of Color Him Father that charted in 1969.  This morning on the syndicated radio show, The Acoustic Storm, I heard Keb Mo's version of it.

Wikipedia entry for Color Him Father

Whitestone Lanes is Definitely Closed Permanently

 

In March 2024, I was interviewed on NY1 News about the closing of Whitestone Lanes.  Finally, 27 months later, the bowling alley closed permanently.  There was a Facebook post about a week ago saying it was closed, but I know there is often fake news on social networking sites.  I drove past a few times, but I couldn't tell for sure whether the alley was open or closed.  I decided to walk over today and saw a small handwritten sign stating Whitestone Lanes is permanently closed.  There were no stories about this yet in the local Queens newspapers.  I think if the owners gave a few weeks' notice, they could have earned some extra bucks from bowlers making one last trip.

The next step would be to gut the building and dispose of the bowling equipment.  Could anyone else use that stuff?   Now Jib Lanes on Parsons Blvd. is the only bowling alley left in Queens.  Once the building is demolished, construction will begin on affordable housing.

Would You Believe There Was No Parade for the 1970 and 1973 Champion New York Knicks?

 

There were reports that about 2 million people tried to get to the New York Knicks parade on Thursday.  Many could not get to see it since it was too crowded.  They had to stand about a block away.  The people who stayed at home and watched on TV were better off.  This article in the New York Times explains why there were no parades in 1970 and 1973 when the Knicks were champions.

I guess for both the parade and the watch parties, fans had to jump on the bandwagon.