Sometimes the Best Trades are the Ones You Don't Make

I remember the late New York Mets broadcaster Bob Murphy making the statement "Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make."  He also would say "You never have too much pitching."  I just hate it when listening to WFAN the callers dream up some crazy trades which will never happen.  I also follow several New York Met fan groups on Facebook where possible trades are discussed.  The Mets do have many good young pitchers, but do lack consistant hitters.  I don't think General Manager Sandy Alderson should make a trade just for the sake of making one.  There hae been so many terrible trades in the history of the franchise.  A few of them were:

• Amos Otis to the KC Royals for Joe Foy
• Nolan Ryan and 3 others to the LA Angels for Jim Fregosi
• Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano

I think that if the Mets are patient, the hitting will come around.

Bob Dylan's Forever Young by Blake Shelton at the End of the Movie Max

Usually when the credits begin to roll at the end of a movie, people begin to leave.  At the end of Max, a film about a military dog, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Bob Dylan's Forever Young by Blake Shelton.  It is an excellent cover of one of Dylan's finest songs.

The Mets and Matz Win Today without the Slutskys at the Stadium

We decided not to go to todays games at Citifeld since we thought it would be an extremely long day with the conclusion of the suspended game, the regularly scheduled game and the Steve Miller Band concert.  There was a short rain delay as the proceedings began at 1:30 PM with the 7th inning of yesterday's game.  Again no hitting for the Mets as the game went on for 13 innings as the Mets finally won it 2-1.

The regularly scheduled game started at 4:40 PM with pitcher Steven Matz making his major league debut.  He allowed two runs in 7 2/3 innings, but the big surprise was his hitting.   Matz doubled home New York's first two runs off Reds starter Josh Smith in his first career plate appearance, singled to extend a rally off Smith in the fifth inning, and drove home another two runs with a single off Pedro Villarreal in the sixth.  Maybe Terry Collins should play him in the field on days that he does not pitch.

The Mets won the game 7-2 to complete a sweep of the Reds.

Game summary

I assume that the concert did not start until after 8 PM.

Mets 1 Reds 1 Suspended by Rain after 6 Innings

When you buy tickets in advance for a baseball game you never know what the weather will be.  We chose this game since we wanted to see The Steve Miller Band in concert afterwards.  A light drizzle started as we enter Citifield for a 4:10 PM start.  We took a seat undercover, but it was uncomfortable sitting in a damp stadium as the rain got progressively harder.  Matt Harvey was pitching a good game and allowed one run while  Curtis Granderson hit a home run in the first inning  At the end of the 6th inning the umpires stopped the game as the ground crew placed the tarp on the infield.  We decided not to wait it out as the weather forecast called for a steadier rain in the evening.  When we got home we found out the game was called.

Under the new rules the game is suspended and will be resumed at 1:10 PM tomorrow before the regularly scheduled game.  The Mets announced that today's tickets may be exchanged for a ticket for tomorrow's game followed by the Steve Miller Band concert.

Game recap

Checking Out the Village Channel on SiriusXM

I have had a subscription to the internet version of SiriusXM for many years.  I really need to explore more music channels that are offered.  Right now I am listening to The Village that is described as "Traditional folk music from the past to today's contemporary music. Hear folk songs and ballads from songwriters like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter Paul & Mary, and Judy Collins."  As I listened they played I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine by Bob Dylan from the John Wesley Harding album.  I should check out this channel more often.

Kara Whatley - Facebook Friend of the Day

It has been quite a long time since I had made an award for Facebook Friend of the Day.  Today's award goes to Kara Whately whom I met for the first time today.  In my early days of Facebook I made friends with several librarians in the New York and New Jersey areas.  For many years Kara was Science Librarian at NYU-Bobst, but about a year ago she was appointed head librarian at NYU-Poly in Brooklyn.  I was invited by her colleague Gavin Paul to speak to her staff about views on reference librarianship.  I hope my words of wisdom were beneficial.

Sad News about Darryl Hamilton

When I heard the sad news about the murder of Darryl Hamilton I vaguely remembered that he played for the Mets, but I did not remember what years.  His statistics from Baseball-Reference show that he played for the Mets from 1999-2001.  He even appeared in the post-season for them in 99-00.  Darryl also played for Milwaukee, Colorado, San Francisco and Texas.

It was a very sad and tragic situation.  My condolences to his family and friend.

Busy Saturday

I have an old computer that I want to discard, but want to do it properly.  Today the NYC Department of Sanitation had an "event" in Cunningham Park where old electronics and taken and will be recycled.

From there we drove to Flushing Meadows Park to attend the event Louis Armstrong's Wonderful World 2015.  Part of the event was outside while some events were in the Queens Museum where they showed a film of Satchmo in concert in 1965.

When we got home we watched the DVD of the Wrecking Crew, a film about backup musicians who recorded many of the hits of the 1960s.  A few months ago it was playing at one theater in Manhattan, but instead traveling there we decided to wait to see it on DVD at home.

Do I Resemble Walter Matthau or Rick Moranis?

Today I had a meeting at Lee's school where one of his teachers said that I look like the actor Rick Moranis.  Nobody ever told me that before.  People have told me that I resmemble the late actor Walter Matthau.  What do you think?

Yours truly

Rick Moranis

Walter Matthau

Happy Birthday Paul McCartney

Today is Paul McCartney's 73rd birthday.  I could take the easy way out and post Birthday from the Beatle's White Album, but I will post With a Little Luck that he did with Wings in 1978.  This song helped me out back then when things were not going right for me.

Random Comments of the Day

It's off to the periodontist today for a cleaning.  Those procedures are thankfully painless, but I must go for them 4 times a year after my gum treatments.

So Donald Trump is running for president.  I think that qualifies forHe is obviously just trying to draw attention to himself.

The Mets looked good in winning two in a row stopping the 11 game winning streak of the Toronto Blue Jays.  I am glad that Bobby Parnell got his first save since July 2013.  He is returning after Tommy John surgery.

The basketball and hockey seasons are finally over as the Golden State Warriors and Chicago Black Hawks won their respective championships.  Golden State won their first NBA title since 1975 which Cleveland has not had a championship in any sport since 1974.

Magical Mystery Tour - The Silliest Thing The Beatles Ever Did

Let's turn back the clock to late 1967.  The Beatles released the film Magical Mystery Tour.  The music of course was excellent. but the movie was silly.  I have seen it a few times over the years on TV and really thought the Beatles could do much better.   You can hear the music below, but don't bother with the movie.

Wikipedia entry for Magical Mystery Tour

The Mets are Really Sockin' The Ball

I wasn't at today's game as I had to do some shopping at Macy's in the early afternoon.  When I came back the Mets were trailing 8-3 in the 4th inning.  I thought that in a little while I would shut off the TV and go outside to read the newspaper, but luckily I waited as the Mets rallied.  As stated in Meet the Mets, they were really sockin' the ball, knockin' those home runs over the wall.  The following four Mets homered:

• Darrell Ceciliani (first major league homer)
• Travis d'Arnaud
• Dilson Herrera
• Juan Lagares

Game summary

Meet the Mets, meet the Mets,

Step right up and greet the Mets.

Bring your kiddies, bring your wife,

Guaranteed to have the time of your life.

Because the Mets are really sockin' the ball,

Knockin' those home runs over the wall.

East side, West side, everybody's coming down,

To meet the M-E-T-S Mets, of New York town.

Braves 5 Mets 3 in 11th Inning as the Bullpen Fails

Jacob deGrom was certainly on his game as he allowed only 1 run and 5 hits with 9 strikeouts in 7 innings.  He gave up a first inning home run to Freddy Freeman, but otherwise he performed as expect and left with a 3-1 lead.  Closer Jeurys Familia was away as his wife gave birth to a son last night.  Bobby Parnell came in to pitch to 2 batters in the 8th inning for his first appearance since April 2014, but Terry Collins took him out.  Hansel Robles gave up two runs in the 9th as the Braves tied the game.  Carlos Torres gave up two runs in the 11th to lose the game which was marred by three errors by substitute third baseman Danny Muno.

Box Score

Oy Vey - Broken Air Conditioner on the First Hot Day of the Season

Karen came home this afternoon and turned on the air conditioner in the living room as it must have hit 90 degrees today.  After about an hour it just conked out.  We just bought it a year ago, but thankfully we have a 5 year warranty on it.  The AC in the bedroom is OK.

I hope this doesn't lead to aggravation.  I assume a technician has to come to the house pick it up and take it to be repaired.  Then it has to be returned.  Doesn't everybody just hate to have to stay home for this.  Maybe it is just a broken belt and it can be fixed in the apartment.

It is only a machine.

Mets Were Not Hit by Chris Heston of the Giants Last Night - Good Omen?

Since I left work at 6:00 last night, I didn't get home until 7:30.  I ate dinner and watched a recording of Jeopardy.  It was just after 9 PM and I noticed that the Mets had not gotten a hit in the 7th inning.  I absolutely had to watch as no hitters are still rare.  Either rookie pitcher Chris Heston was very good or the Met hitter stank.  He did get a no hitter.

Story from ESPN

It was the 7th time in their history that the Mets were the victims of a no hitter and the first since 1993.  Gary Cohen said that it was the first time the Mets had been no hit since 1969 when Pirate pitcher Bob Moose did the honors.  A few days later the Mets clinched the National League East title and later won the World Series.  Could this be a good omen that in a year that the Mets were no hit at home they win it all?  Time will tell.

Links Between Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson/Beach Boys?

This photo was found in the Bob Dylan

Fan Group on Facebook

With all the technology available today it is very easy to contrive photos and recordings.  It looks like Bob and Brian together c1990 in the photo above.  But is it for real or did someone "PhotoShop" it?  Would they be good collaborators or would their styles conflict?  I tried to search a Bob Dylan covers database to see if the Beach Boys ever covered a Dylan song, but the database was corrupted.

In the Youtube video below Bob and Brian collaborated in 1988 on a song called Spirit of Rock 'n Roll.  That was the era of the Traveling Wilburys.  Was this recording real or did someone mash up two recordings?

In the Youtube video below the Beach Boys are supposed to be doing a parody of Dylan, but they sound more like Sonny Bono.

Love and Mercy - I recommend this movie to my oldies enthusiast friends

Everybody doesn't like something, but nobody doesn't like America's Band, the Beach Boys.  The group certainly has passed the test of time as they have recorded and given concerts since the early 1960s.  Sadly Carl and Dennis Wilson passed away years ago.

This movie directed Bill Pohlad discusses the psychological problems of Brian Wilson and his relationship with psychotherapist Dr. Eugene Landy.  In the past I have criticized biopics that do not use a chronological approach, but I was impressed the way this film went back and forth between Brian Wilson in the 1960s and 1980s.  John Cusack played the older Brian while Paul Dano played Brian in the 1960s.  There were brief scenes of the actors in the studio working on songs that became big hits for the Beach Boys.

I highly recommend this film for my oldies enthusiast friends

Official website for the film

Random Comments on a Friday Morning

I am really glad that I don't have to go to work today as there are major delays on New Jersey Transit caused by a trespasser being killed on the tracks near Metro Park.  I would likely had to take the PATH train to Newark.  For many years my university has allowed a 4 day week over the summer.  We have the option of working from Monday - Thursday or Tuesday - Friday.  However starting next year we will be working a 30 hour week over 5 days during the summer.

It seems that for 3 days a year everyone is  a horse racing fan following the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.  There is special interest this year as American Pharoh attemps to win the Triple Crown for the first time since 1978.  Over these years 13 horses ave won the first two legs, but lost in the Belmont.  Almost everybody will lose interest on Sunday.

Last night Golden State beat Cleveland 108-100 in the first game of the NBA finals.  Likewise Chicago leads Tampa Bay 1-0 in the Stanley Cup finals.  We are 1/3 of the way into the baseball season, yet pro basketball and hockey are still being played.  The more games they play, the more mondy they make.

I don't Want to Relive an Unpleasant Event in NYC Radio History

It was 10 years ago today that WCBS-FM in an abrupt and unexpected move flipped from oldies to the dreaded Jack format.  Needless to say there was outrage expressed by loyal listeners.  There is a thread on the New York Radio History Board about this.  There is a link to a special board that was set up back then for people to vent.  I just don't want to commemorate this unpleasant event.

Former WABC morning personality Herb Oscar Anderson always sang Hello Again where one of lyrics was "let the past remain the past."

Two Anniversaries for June 1

It was 3 years ago today that Johann Santana pitched the only no hitter in the history of the New York Mets.  I hope Met fans will not have to wait another 50 years to see another one.  I wrote an entry in Bruce's Journal the next day.

It was 48 years ago today that Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was first released.  I bought it on vinyl within a month of release.  I graduated from Forest Hills High School that month as well.  On June 1, 1987 I went to the Record Explosion on 5th Avenue and 36th Street and bought the CD version.  I sure loved that record store and spent many lunch hours there when I worked at NYPL at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street.