Little Darling, It's Been a Long Cold Lonely Winter

2/12/2019

New Shea, Tuesday, from the 7 line. Photo: Andrew Tansey.

Now the Mets have Jacob DeGrom's former agent working as a general manager, negotiating DeGrom's contract -- with an imposed deadline of opening day. What could go wrong, in a franchise that let Tom Seaver get away?
But at least many of the Mets were in Florida on Monday, stretching and throwing, scratching and spitting, doing what ball players do. We survive vicariously.

Dominic Smith greets Jeurys Familia as the big fella returns from his strange exile. Photo: Newsday.

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
---"Here Comes the Sun," lyrics by George Harrison, from "Abbey Road," 1969.
Say, what happened that year?

Andy Tansey

2/12/2019 05:49:32 pm

It won't be the first time I've said this, but back when being a bully, while not nice, was not illegal, 10-year-old boys could be mean in 1969. A 10-year-old Yankees fan living in a Flushing ZIP code in 1969 could be made to turn colors and jump on the bandwagon in October. The psychological scars have faded but endure. The name Swoboda still brings fond memories. Frank Robinson played for the O's.

doo-do-do-doo

George Vecsey

2/12/2019 06:19:05 pm

We need to ask Rocky about his memories about FRobby. Rocky is a Baltimore kid....He must have gotten some stick that winter...GV

Peter Kennedy link

2/13/2019 08:47:24 am

Thanks, George. Spring Training, finally!

On a different subject, speaking of Dom Smith, would you please share your "Who's at First" scenario for the 2019 season?

Cheers, Peter

George Vecsey

2/13/2019 02:58:01 pm

Peter: Just scanned the roster. Bernie Madoff Era Lives.
I see two nice players -- Conforto and Nimmo.
Not at all sure about Rosario.
First base? Maybe Marv Throneberry. Maybe Tim Harkness.
Smith looked a little more trim in first spring photo.
My Mets consigliere just texted: "Cano? TJ Rivera? Smith? D'Arnaud? I could see Cano, if McNeil continues to hit."
But Mets seem to disdain McNeil, despite his low salary and high BA. He is not a launch-arc flailer the analytics crowd seems to favor.
Is it time to quote Dante yet? ("lasciate ogni speranza..." etc.)
GV

Josh Rubin

2/13/2019 11:07:50 am

I am in wait-and-see mode. Good pitching (hope the rotation holds together this time). A few big, but uncertain, bats. I don't know where the spark or the engine is that will drive this team.

George Vecsey

2/13/2019 03:03:13 pm

Josh: Wait, I forgot, Tim Tebow is on the roster. One of these years we are going to have that frolic.
Former agent working the other side of the street,
Dante lives!
GV

bruce

2/16/2019 07:47:18 pm

george,

what the hell does this have to do with the blue jays?

big hype about vlad being with the team this season.

supposedly the #1 prospect in baseball.

george harrison wrote some great songs....a bit overshadowed in that particular group.

bruce

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QUOTES
“They may hate the cultural context they now find themselves teaching in, but they love their work. The Achilles’ heel of schoolteachers, one all too easily exploited by politicians, is that they love their students.”
(One of the best reads in the NYT these days is Margaret Renkl, in Nashville. In her latest post, Renkl describes the dedicated core of “born teachers” – the majority, she submits.)
***
(From Madeleine Albright in one of her final interviews in February):
“Putin is small and pale,” I wrote, “so cold as to be almost reptilian.” He claimed to understand why the Berlin Wall had to fall but had not expected the whole Soviet Union to collapse. “Putin is embarrassed by what happened to his country and determined to restore its greatness.” – Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, recalling her first meeting with the relatively unknown Vladimir Putin in 2000. – The New York Times, Feb. 23, 2022.

Little Darling, It's Been a Long Cold Lonely Winter

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