Twitter Poll: If you could have dinner with any Met...

I'm trying a new thing out here on the blog. I've fully embraced Twitter, and I'm going to be occasionally throwing out some questions or polls about the Mets on Twitter, and posting the responses here.

Last night, I asked my Twitter followers: If you could have dinner with any Met, past or present, who would it be and why? Here are the answers...

• letsgoduke said: keith. He's the funniest.
• metschick said: D-Wright because I'm bad
• kierankelly said: Lenny Dykstra, because he was better as a Phillie. :-) haha (ed. note: He's a Phillies fan!)
• mets_geekette said: Pelf. He's a goof-ball.
• ProctorsArm said: Carlos Delgado so I could teach him a thing or two about patriotism. (ed. note: He's a Yankees fan!)
• cselland said: Keith Hernandez - no one else even close. Just a brilliant guy - and he was there for the fun parts
• JD1877 said: Todd Hundley. Always wanted to hear his side of the Bobby V incident, his dad was on the 69 cubs, & he was one of my faves.
• Retire31 said: Jose Lima or Dae-Sung Koo. Why? Just having a conversation with either of them is going to be hilarious, let alone dinner.
• charlieryczek said: Gary Carter because he just seems like such a nice personable guy who could talk about anything at anytime
• MetsGal said: Keith Hernandez. Because he's Keith Hernandez.

It seems Keith Hernandez was the most popular choice, and why not? The man was around for some of the Mets best years, was the leader, the best player and now he's on SNY and he's hilarious and wonderful. I'd pick Hernandez, no doubt.

What about you?

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Twitter Poll: If the Mets had to retire one number this year, which one and why?

I'm trying a new thing out here on the blog. I've fully embraced Twitter, and I'm going to be occasionally throwing out some questions or polls about the Mets on Twitter, and posting the responses here.

Last night I asked: If the Mets had to retire one number this year, which one and why? Here are the answers...

• @fscker said: keith hernandez or gary carter. I'm going to lean towards carter becuase he's in the HOF.
• @JD1877 said: Piazza. The 90's were sooo bad but he carried them to the WS. Perhaps the greatest position player in team history.
• @sdn16182 said: #31 mike piazza because he made them respectable again and carried them for years and to a world series
• @letsgoduke said: 17 for good old keith. or 31 for obvious reasons.
• @jrobelen said: Mets should retire Gary Carter's 8 before any other, considering so many NY fans believed he earned his HOF cap here.
• @Mike_Peters said: ...31 duh
• @metgirl4ever said: i'm biased but pick # 31-fell in luv w/baseball & b/came Mets fan n late 90s & he was/is my fav-despite going blonde
• @BkCyclones said: 17, of course, for Keith Hernandez, the best defensive player ever for the Mets, a great clutch hitter, and THE captain!
  

I can't say I don't agree with all of these sentiments. 8, 17, 31.

Persistence pays off

Gary Carter has been hired as the new manager of the Long Island Ducks. No word on if he contacted the team before the previous manager was fired.

The New York Times notes that the Mets offered Carter the managerial job for their Double-A franchise in 2007, but he turned it down saying "that a Hall of Famer should not have to go to Class AA to prove himself."

I had no problem with what Carter did before Willie Randolph was fired, but a lot of other people did. Should willingness to take the job be considered bad? I don't think so. I think it got blown way out of proportion.

Either way, if you want to see Carter in action, you now know where to find him.

Happy birthday, Keith Hernandez (with rare poster photo)

A salute to the 'stache. The immortal Keith Hernandez turns 55 years young today.

I thought this would be a good time to unveil to the internet world a poster that has been hanging in my room for as long as I remember. This is a poster that was hanging in a video store to promote the release of the World Series championship VHS, "1986 Mets A Year To Remember."

My dad asked the store owner if he could have it when the promotion was over, and he obliged. He had it framed, and hung it in my room to begin me on the path to Mets-fandom when I was born in 1988.So there it is in all it's glory. Keith, with Mookie Wilson, Darryl Strawberry, Gary Carter and some of the 1986 team.

Happy birthday, Keith. The fans loved you on the field, on Seinfeld, and now in the booth on SNY.

Come on, you won the MVP in '79. You can do anything.

Gary Carter and Darryl Strawberry nearly come to blows on team bus (in 1986)

Back in July, I had a post entitled "Jose Reyes and Keith Hernandez nearly come to blows on team plane."

Via The Final Score, we now know that Gary "Camera" Carter and Darryl Strawberry almost tussled on the bus in St. Louis, and if it wasn't for Ray Knight standing up and calming them down, who knows what would have happened.

Knight:

"So anyway, we were sitting there, oh, it couldn’t have been more than two or three minutes waiting for Gary. Straw yells out of the bus, 'Let’s go Camera Carter. You're holding everything up! Get the blank on the bus!

"And so when Gary got on the bus he started heading to the back of the bus for Straw. They' exchanged words. I stood up between them and they calmed down. There were things like that that happened all the time. The next night if Darryl hit a big home run, or Gary did, they would be high-fiving, hugging, like it never happened."

Ah, chemistry.

This is something I wish the Mets had more of. More attitude, more brash, more character.

Early Morning Madness: Happy trails, Willie

I had an entirely different post thought up, but here it goes...

Anyone in their right mind knows the Mets completely botched the handling of Willie Randolph. Rick Peterson and Tom Nieto, as well.

There's no refuting it and it's almost practically a fact. There's nothing more to say on this matter more than "it's over."

*****

Howard Johnson must be thanking his lucky stars right now that he's still employed.

*****

I wonder if Gary Carter has made any phone calls this morning.

I think he shot himself in the foot with what happened. I don't think it's a bad thing, what he did, but it was blown completely out of proportion.

*****

Good luck, Jerry Manuel. Maybe you can just stick around for a while.

Carter's flap shouldn't stand between him and the job (if it ever becomes vacant)

When Willie Randolph made his racially-sniffing remarks about SNY and the Mets organization last week, he apologized. The most boring press conference in the world reiterated the fact that Randolph is still the manager, and his "apology" has been "accepted" by the ownership.

If all it takes is a simple "I'm sorry!" to patch things up with The Wilpons & Co., why can't Gary Carter say he's sorry, and possibly get "back in the running" for the "managerial spot" if it ever becomes "available."

Sheesh. It seems like the New York media is really blowing this story out of proportion. Novel idea, right?

The story here should be Randolph and Omar Minaya on the hot-seat as the team continues to underachieve and go through the motions of playing baseball. "A few runs in the first inning should suffice, no?" They come out for one or two innings a game and then disappear back into the dugout "like a frightened turtle."

Minaya and Randolph should be in the spotlight, both as scapegoats, as it's really the players who are stinking up Shea Stadium in her final days. It's easier to fire a manager than it is to fire a player, and that's why Randolph has the giant bulls eye.

I think Omar is safe, for now. Great trades that brought quality players like Ryan Church and Johan Santana to Flushing should not be overlooked. I feel he's bought himself at least one or two more years as GM, even if they keep playing .500 ball.

Lay off Gary Carter. At least let him don the uniform and sit in the managers office before you start blasting him.
(Kidding, of course. Carter doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hell.)

Two notes: The Kid wants in and FJM takes down Lakas

Gary Carter is my new favorite choice for the next manager of the Mets, and not for purely nostalgic purposes, either.

Bart Hubbuch relays a quote from Carter while appearing on an XM sports show:
David Wright

The comments that David Wright made saying that, you know, there’s no spark, there’s no fire [on the Mets]. If anything I would love to bring that to the table because you know me, guys. I love the game, have a great passion for it and you know my enthusiasm and hopefully I would be able to bring that to maybe help turn that ball club around.

Hire him. Now. That is the kind of talk I want to hear from a manager. Fire, passion and enthusiasm are all qualities I want in a manager.

Seriously, hire him.

*****

And my all-time favorite blog, Fire Joe Morgan, takes down Paul Lakas, a self-proclaimed Mets fan and all around fool.

Lakas goes on some crazed, seemingly drunk tirade about how much he hates Mike Piazza for some of the most ridiculous reasons in the world. FJM breaks it down and makes him look like a fool. And rightfully so.