Castillo latest Met to go down

Steve Somers had a beautiful monologue to open his show tonight. 

When speaking of Luis Castillo’s injury, he rattled off about 20 things Castillo was not doing when he got hurt.  From getting hit by a pitch to breaking up a double play to breaking up an on-field fight, none of them were the reason Castillo left the game early.

Nope, it was those pesky things called stairs.

After leading off in the seventh inning and grounding out, Castillo was returning to the dugout and heading down the stairs when it happened.  He attempted to avoid a glove someone had left on the step, and landed awkwardly on his ankle.

X-rays were negative and the early diagnosis is a sprained left ankle, but no word on the severity of it.

As to who left the glove on the steps…I’m looking at you, Angel Berroa!

This is just another freak accident in a season of mishaps and misplays.  I’m really not even surprised.

Boomer & Carton on SNY?

My second favorite WFAN personalities (behind Steve Somers, of course) may be coming to a TV near you!

Neil Best reveals that Craig Carton and Boomer Esiason will have their morning radio show simulcast on SNY next Friday, possibly hinting at a future program.

Here’s what Best has to say:

Nothing is remotely imminent, but with Esiason's contract with MSG soon to expire, and with Esiason and Carton both Mets fans and friendly with Jeff Wilpon, and with Ca-Boom having explored the idea of a simulcast before, and with SNY always looking for New York-centric programming ...

Makes sense, no?

I’d watch!

Make it happen, SNY.

Livan Hernandez and Steve Somers: A match made in heaven

Thanks to Jeremy for this link.

If you are in need of a chuckle, go listen to Steve Somers chat with likely fifth starter Livan Hernandez.

Listen for the insertion of random syllables and grumbles on Livan's part. It made me laugh.

Steve Somers reading Green Eggs and Ham

In honor of Dr. Seuss' 105th birthday, which would have been today, I wanted to re-post this audio of Steve "The Shmooze" Somers reading the classic "Green Eggs and Ham."

Click here for the audio. It's well worth it.

Video: Vintage Steve Somers

I can't get over these old videos of Steve Somers. I can't even begin to explain my thoughts when I watch these.

Enjoy.

Vintage Steve Somers [Video]

First off, it looks almost nothing like him. I dig the little fro there, Shmooze.

Also, his voice is so different. I guess he didn't really find that magical, mythical drone until he hit WFAN. Around 2:45 you catch a glimpse of the voice we've come to know and love as Mets fans.

The Shmooze reads Green Eggs & Ham; Free Peanuts

It's an off-day. Can you tell?

Go here to listen to the one and only Steve Somers read the Dr. Suess classic "Green Eggs & Ham."

Honestly, I've never laughed so hard in my life. Amazing.

Another thing to note, is the show "Playing For Peanuts" is now available for download.

I'm sure you caught a moment or two on SNY when you were waiting for Mets games, or something to that effects. Well, the director has made all the episodes available for free download on his site. This is a must-watch. A great documentary about an awesome subject. Please, if you love baseball and Wally Backman, check it out.

Below are the instructions:
1.) Go to playingforpeanuts.com/free

2.) Enter the Access Code: 6CJS9Z6GT2

3.) Enter your email address

4.) You will see 8 files. The first 5 files are video files from the first episode of Playing for Peanuts:

Episode #1 - Part 1
Episode #1 - Part 2
Episode #1 - Part 3
Episode #1 - Part 4
Episode #1 - Entire Episode

As you can see, Episode #1 is available in four video segments. If you prefer, you can also download the entire episode (note: it is a large file and will normally take 20 minutes or more to download).

The remaining 3 files are different versions of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" that you've probably never heard before.

Ballgame Music - Loud
Ballgame Music - Acoustic Guitar
Ballgame Music - Irish

Enjoy!

Can the Mets make the jump to FM?

With the Mets contract with WFAN ending this year, I've been wondering if it was remotely possible, plausible, or even smart for the Mets to abandon ship and move to an FM radio station.

Let me begin by saying that in my 1996 Infiniti G20, I might have the worst radio receiver in the world. If I am listening to WFAN, (which I do very often (Boomer & Carton in the mornings, because it's refreshing to hear Mets fans on the radio)) and I press on the gas pedal to get going, the radio starts to wheeze and squeal as I pick up speed. When I start to coast, I usually get an ear-piercing screech, making the station nearly unlistenable. My favorite event is during a thunder storm, as the station completely fuzzes out as lightning strikes in an estimated 50 mile radius.

And of course, I have terrible "dead zones" by my house. Almost without fail, during a critical moment during a Mets game, I drive into one of these "dead zones" and am treated to the loudest, most miserable static any man has ever encountered. I can't move my finger to the CD button quick enough.

But back to the subject at hand: If the Mets were ever to leave WFAN, I would be deeply saddened by losing the wonderful ditty of "LET'S GO METSF-A-N (da-da-DAH!)," and of course, the irreplaceable Steve Somers and Howie Rose. I could do without Wayne Hagin, that's for sure. At this point, I think I'm willing to make the trade and hear the game in her entirety (if need be) than me treated to those awful, awful sounds of static, screeches, whale calls, and howling.

I remember a few years ago when the New York Giants were featured on 102.7 FM for some, if not all of their games. It was refreshing to finally get a squeal-free broadcast, in much higher quality. If only the Mets could transition to that point.

If it's at all possible, I would hope the Mets would look into some sort of move. Fans deserve to hear their team in better quality than AM radio can provide. We have high definition TV's, and though WFAN claims "HD AM" I just don't hear it. HD AM radio seems like the oxymoron of all oxymoron's, with "jumbo shrimp" as the number two in that list.

I'd love to see WFAN make the jump to the FM band, but that's probably impossible. The Mets can move, and making the shift to a better quality FM radio station would be a treat to Mets fans, and especially my ears.