Weekly Mail October 27, 2024

 

Hi:

One of the big news stories that broke over the past day or so is that the Washington Post announced that they would not be endorsing a Presidential candidate for this cycle. I want the readers of Weekly Mail to be rest assured that we will be endorsing a candidate, well, more to the point, we are going to tell you who we are NOT endorsing, as per a decision I made when I started WM way back in 1996. 

We'll have more about WaPo and the LA Times later on in this broadcast. For now, we have much more pressing matters to deal with... namely the demise of my beloved Mets, the subsequent World Series featuring historic rivals, and an actual championship for our fair city. 

RIP-2024 NEW YORK METS...

There will come a time in the next few days where I will acknowledge what a truly great season we had. How we weren’t supposed to even compete for a playoff spot, let alone qualify and win a couple of rounds. How they never gave up how they fought for everything. I’m sure of it.

Not tonight though. Tonight was humiliating. Just humiliating

All 

Facebook post- 10/20/2024 @ 11:26 PM EDT

Well, now it has been a few days, almost a week to be honest, and I have heard all the accolades and congratulations/condolences, everyone reassuring me that there is no need to be sad or angry, that the Mets had an amazing season. Nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. I should be happy for the run they went on, since most people predicted, (as did I) that the Mets wouldn't contend this year, much less end up two wins away from the World Series. 

Whatever. 

Look, here's what I will say about these Mets.

1) They showed enough guts to send the series back to Los Angeles. They could have laid down and saved themselves another trip across the country. Remember, the 2022 Wild Card Series, the 2016 play-in game, the 2015 World Series, the 2006 NLCS and worst of all, the 2000 World Series all ended either at Citi Field or Shea Stadium. Allowing the other team to celebrate on your field in front of your fans in unforgivable. Kudos to the team for not allowing that to happen this year. 

2) They didn't really beat themselves. Lousy fielding, poor baserunning and overall sloppy not ready for prime time play cost them dearly in the two most recent World Series they played in. Their defense and baserunning were OK. They lost because they left too many guys on base and the pitchers walked too many hitters. Walks and LOB's are going to kill you every time. But they are also parts of the game you sometimes can't control. Mental mistakes have to be controlled. 

3) The Dodgers were just too good. Shohei Othani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, I mean we are talking about three all-world baseball stars right there. To say nothing of Teoscar and Kiké Hernandez. And who ended up winning the NLCS MVP? Tommy Edman! Not that we did a bang up job of keeping the above mentioned superstars in check, but in the end, it was Tommy Edman who did us in. 

Sometimes you gotta just give it up to the baby Jesus and say it wasn't meant to be. 

What's going to take a little more time to get over is the fact that we didn't just lose the four games to send us packing for 2024, we got our doors blown off. And while I always say I'd rather get blown out than lose by a run in extra innings (see World Series Game 1), at the time it was happening, it was fucking humiliating. 

9-0, 8-0, 10-2, 10-5. That was an old-fashioned ass-whupping. 9-0 as Mike Vaccaro pointed out, is the score that goes into the record book if a team loses by forfeit. 9-0 means ya didn't even show up. 

The Mets did show up that night, but it was hard to tell. 

I think the Mets, kind of like last season's Knicks, simply ran out of gas. Even if by some miracle, the Knicks would have beaten the Pacers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semis, they would have moved on with Jalen Brunson out with a broken wrist and everyone else banged up. The Celtics would have destroyed them. Like the Mets, the Knicks played with guts the whole year, constantly picking themselves off the mat when it looked like they were toast. But as FS1 showed Sean Manea walking in from the bullpen before Game 6, they mentioned that he had pitched 89 more innings this year than what had been his previous innings high. Luis Severino was coming off a series of arm injuries. Shoot, I thought he had hit the proverbial wall in August. Most sports, (college and pro football being the exceptions) are marathons, not sprints. The Mets made it through 25 miles, they just didn't have enough for the last 1.2. 

So that's where I'm at here folks. I'm hoping there comes a point where I look at this team like I look at the 1985-86 Rangers. Like the Mets, they barely squeaked into the playoffs, (and this was back in the day where 16 of the 21 teams in the league made the playoffs). Then proceeded to knock off two heavy favorites, the conference champion Flyers and runner-up Capitals before losing in 5 games to the eventual Cup champions Montreal Canadiens, led by an unknown rookie goalie named Patrick Roy. There were guys on that Ranger team most people have probably never heard of. But they gave 12 year old me such a ride, that I think of them almost as fondly as I do the Ranger team that finally hoisted the Cup in 1994. One of these days maybe I'll put these Mets on that list. 

One day maybe.

For now, the team that knocked us out is playing our crosstown rivals in the World Series. While most Yankee fans have been cool about the whole thing, some have been dicks (a couple guys on the FAN come to mind). So you'll have to excuse me if I'm not glued to the TV for this Fall Classic. 

2024 WORLD SERIES-What's Old is What's New...

And the shame of it is, I've been sort of pining for a Yankee-Dodger World Series these past few years.

It started back in 2017. My father in law having battled brain cancer, would pass on October 30th. Both the Dodgers and Yankees had made it to their respective LCS. The Dodgers would advance to the series, but the Astros cheated their way past the Yanks. It reminded me of when my grandfather had passed in the Summer of 1977, and my dad, who would normally have been rooting for the Dodgers, instead found himself rooting for Billy, Reggie, Thurman and the rest of the Bronx is Burning Bombers in honor of his father in law. I wanted to do the same thing for mine. 

But also, as a baseball fan, there is something about Yankees Dodgers that captures the imagination doesn't it? 

In either 3rd of 4th grade, my mother ordered me from Scholastic Books a book called World Series Thrills. It had a picture of Reggie Jackson on the cover. Ah/, just found it on Amazon! (More on Amazon later in this broadcast)

Well, I must have read this book cover to cover about 3 dozen times, and the author Stu Black discussed Bill Wambgnass' unassisted triple play in 1920, Babe Ruth's called shot in 1932, Willie Mays basket catch in 1954 (VIC WERTZ!), Bob Gibson's 17 strikeouts in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series and Bill Mazerowski's Walk off homer to end the 1960 World Series (sorry Phil Mushnick*)

But my favorite chapters were the ones that dealt with the Yankee-Dodger World Series. By my recollection, which believe it or not has faded over the years. 

There was a chapter about Mickey Owen's passed ball that cost the Dodgers the 1941 World Series. 

Cookie Lavagetto's hit in Game 6 of the 1947 World Series, that not only broke up Bill Bevins no-hitter, but also drove in two runs to beat the Yankees 2-1 (Red Barber's famous call- Here comes the tying run, and here comes theeee winning run!) 

Sandy Amaros' famous catch off of Yogi Berra in Game 7 of the 1955 Series, a game the Bums won 2-0 to give them their first World Series. (Something I managed to forget the other night while playing Jim Medler's/Ed Robinson's World Series trivia contest)

Don Larsen's perfect game. Game 6 1956. 

And last but not least, Reggie Jackson's 3 home runs in 1977.

You guys know that one of my all-time favorite books, perhaps my favorite book of all time is Ladies and Gentlemen. the Bronx is Burning by Jonathan Mahler. The entirety of the book was about New York City in the year of 1977, the mayoral race, the July blackout, the Son of Sam case, the newspaper coverage of all these events (Specifically the New York Post and their new owner-K. Rupert Murdoch). 

But mostly it was about the Yankees. Reggie vs. Thurman, Reggie vs. Billy, Billy and Reggie vs. George and vice versa. 

The stories were interesting enough, but I found Mahler's writing to be extraordinary. 

And how he wrote about the 1977 Series, I mean, at least once a year, I go back and read that chapter.

Game 2, a 6-1 Dodger win to even the Series at a game apiece, was the one in which an abandoned elementary school blocks from Yankee Stadium caught fire, leading Howard Cosell, calling the game with Keith Jackson and Tom Seaver, to say "There it is Ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning."

It was also a game in which Billy Martin decided to start Catfish Hunter who hadn't pitched since the middle of September. 

Mahler noted that Hunter started the game on 32 days' rest. then wrote the following paragraphs. 

Hunter, who had been driven out in the third inning of the 6-1 Dodger victory, didn't blame Martin for giving him the ball. "I'd rather pitch than ride the pine anytime" he said after the game. Reggie, hitless on the night and three for twenty-two in the post season, was less supportive when a reporter asked him about it "How could the son of a bitch have pitched him?"

The Yankees left for Los Angeles early the next morning. Martin didn't learn about Reggie's comment until the afternoon. By then, the Yankees were working out in the warm sun at Dodger Stadium. The hot foam rose quickly through Martin's knotted stomach. "Reggie has enough trouble playing right field", he told the clutch of reporters. "Why should I pay attention to him? His teammates don't." Martin was by no means finished. "He was told in Kansas City the day of the last playoff game, he would be playing in every game of the World Series, but if he's going to say things to hurt the ballclub and if he doesn't hit (Tommy) John (the game 3 Dodger starter) I may have to think about making a change.”

I won't bore you by re-writing the chapter about Reggie's 3 home runs in Game 6, but again Mahler tells that story in such a fantastic way. I will include this antedote... Fran Healy, a backup catcher on that Yankee team, and Reggie's best friend on the team (believe it or not) was watching Reggie launch batting practice pitch after batting practice pitch into the upper decks of Yankee Stadium the night of Game 6, and thinking about the superstition that a great BP was usually a bad omen, thought to himself, "Boy, is he gonna have a horseshit game." 

Aaron Boone is no Billy Martin. (for better or for worse) 

Aaron Judge is no Reggie Jackson (by the time he's done, he'll be a whole lot better I'm sure.)

And mostly, Hal Steinbrenner is no George Steinbrenner. So I don't think there will be any press conferences in which Hal will be talking to reporters about beating up a couple of punks who insulted his team in a Los Angeles elevator, as George claimed to have done after Game 3 of the 1981 series. (You can read all about that caper in Bill Madden and Moss Klein's Damned Yankees) 

I'm a die hard Met fan, but I've read more books about the Yankees, especially those 1970's- early 80's teams because, well, you couldn't make some of that shit up if you tried. And like I said, I don't think with guys like Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton, as well as the Dodgers I mentioned in the previous topic, you are going to get anywhere near the off the field shenanigans you got from the 77, 78 and 81 World Series. I'm sure the writers are relieved about that. 

What you should get is some exciting baseball, and if Game 1 was any indication, well fasten your safety belts. Freeman hit a walk off grand slam off Nestor Cortes, who come to think of it, hadn't pitched since September 18th due to an elbow injury.  

37 days rest?

How could the S.O.B have pitched him?  

Somehow, I don't think Aaron Judge is going to ask John Heyman that question. But I know people are going to call the FAN and ask Boomer and Gio.

They're comparing Freeman's grand slam to Kirk Gibson's game winning home run off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, which if I wasn't already pulling for the Yankees, I would be now. I didn't watch Game 1 Friday night just like I didn't watch the Kirk Gibson game, as in both cases, the Dodgers advanced to the World series at the expense of my Mets. (Though 1988 was about 100 times worse. At least here in 2024 the Dodgers were the heavy favorites. The Mets had beaten the Dodgers 11 out of 12 games in 1988-until the playoffs) 

I’ll take Things I didn’t need to see” for $500 Ken.

I'm not necessarily boycotting this World Series, in fact I caught a good chunk of Game 2. Tommy Edman going deep, the Yanks leaving the bases loaded. 

Welcome to my world peeps.

Keep this in mind, the Yanks were down 2-0 in 1996 and those losses came at home. Also, the last time these two teams met in the World Series, the Yanks took the first two at home, then the Dodgers took the next 4. It’s taken 43 years, but payback could be in the offing here. 

I've come to the conclusion that if my four major teams were people, the Jets would be Fredo Corleone. And that’s all I have to say about them.

CHAMPIONS! 2024 NY LIBERTY

We had a parade down the Canyon of Heroes this week though! Indeed, while the Mets were knock, knock, knockin on heaven's door and the Jets were pooping the bed in Pittsburgh (again), our very own New York Liberty came from behind to beat the Minnesota Lynx to win their very first WNBA Title. They were the last of the original WNBA Franchises to win one because, well. of course they were. They became the first pro team in New York City to win a title in 51 years (Vaccaro pointed out that the Nets won an ABA title in 1976, even said he was at the title clinching game, but also pointed out that the Nets were considered a Long Island team.)

I didn't watch too much of the title clinching game, but I did watch the last couple minutes of regulation and all of overtime. I understand that Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was upset that her team lost, and she may have even had a legitimate beef with the foul call that sent Breanna Stewart to the line. My attitude is this. If it's a foul at the beginning of the game, it's a foul at the end of the game. Also, the call was reviewed, so not only did the refs call it, but it was also looked at again. It's one thing for a fan or even a broadcaster/writer to claim a game was stolen, for the coach to come out and say that it total bush league. In the NHL, if you question the integrity of the league, you could face a lifetime suspension. Reeve came awfully close to doing that.**  The Lynx had ample opportunity to win that game and the series. But in the end the Liberty were just better. And they got to party like it was 1999. 

Good for them. 

FAST FOOD: HOW CAN YOU EAT THAT $H!T? (Literally)

The CDC announced they were opening an investigation after several people fell ill after consuming McDonald's Quater Pounders. As of this writing, 75 people have reported to be sick, with 22 of those having to be hospitalized and 1 person dying. The investigation has found that sliced onions on the Quarter Pounders were contaminated with e-coli. 

Per Today.com...

At least 75 cases of E. coli have been reported in 10 states so far, which is up from 49 reported on Oct. 22, but "the true number of sick people is likely much higher," the CDC said.

Everyone interviewed as part of the investigation reported eating a McDonald's burger before developing symptoms, with most specifically mentioning Quarter Pounders.

In a statement released on Oct. 22, McDonald's said it was taking “taking swift and decisive action.”

Quarter Pounders are temporarily unavailable for purchase at McDonald’s stores in 12 states, per the CDC, and investigators are working to determine which specific ingredients are contaminated with E. coli.

Two ingredients used in Quarter Pounders are currently being investigated: fresh slivered onions and quarter-pound beef patties, the CDC said. Preliminary data suggests the fresh onions are a "likely source" of contamination, the FDA said.

McDonalds president Joe Erlinger appeared on the Today show on Thursday and said that customer can "confidently go to McDonalds today and eat the classics without getting sick."

Sure. 

Instead of having McDonalds kill you slowly, now you can opt for the quicker, more painful death. 

I don't eat McDonalds nearly as much as I used to, but probably a little more than I should. Their Sausage Egg McMuffin is a guilty pleasure. I rarely eat Big Macs or Quater Pounders anymore, and after this, I may not eat one again. 

Jeez, over the summer it was Boars Head cold cuts. Now it's McDonalds. I guess Chocolate Ice Cream is next. 

Damn!

Ok, we'll end where we started. 

POLITICS- No More Endorsements

On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times announced they would not be endorsing anybody for President in 2024. An endorsement of Vice President Harris had reportedly already been drafted and approved, but the paper's owner, Dr. Patrick Shoon Shiong, informed the papers editorial board that the endorsement would not run in the paper. 

Two days later, the Washington Post also announced that they would not endorse a candidate. I hadn't really heard about the LA Times decision, but the Post's decision was met with outrage from many of my friends and folks I follow on X. Several people canceled their on-line subscriptions to WaPo, and believing that the paper's owner Jeff Bezos was responsible for the decision, decided to really give him a kick between the thighs and cancel their Amazon Prime Subscriptions. 

I understand the anger, I do. And being how quick certain Trump supporters are to boycott anything and anyone who dares challenge their golden orange calf, (see Bud Light and Taylor Swift) I have no doubt that if a newspaper was to cancel their endorsement of Captain Orange at the last minute, he would immediately take to Truth Social to order his cult to boycott said newspaper forthwith. 

And while you'll get no argument from me that both Bezos and Dr Shoon Shiong are gutless turds for pulling their endorsements, I mean in the long run, does it really make a difference? 

You're not going to change your mind because of this are you? You've made up your mind, probably made it up months ago. So has most of America. The undecideds are really low. 

And of those undecideds, do we think that they would make up their mind based on what the Los Angeles Times or Washington Post wrote in an editorial? Maybe I'm wrong, but I really can't imagine that. especially in the case of the LA Times. The Washington Post is more of a national newspaper, so yeah, maybe someone in flyover country might be swayed, but in this day and age, I can't even imagine that. The NY Post came out and endorsed Captain Orange on Friday. They may as well have reported that the sun was going to rise in the east the next day. 

You want to cut down on your Amazon'ing because you want to support local businesses and keep a mom and pop shop open in your neighborhood, I get that and totally think that's admirable. But I'm not going to lie, giving up your Amazon shopping is a big ask and quite frankly in this day and age, not really feasible. Chances are, if your not getting it at Amazon, you're getting it at another major chain store, owned by someone, while maybe not Jeff Bezos rich, probably a lot better off than you are. 

Again, we here at Weekly Mail will make our own endorsement/non endorsement next week. I also don’t own anything you can boycott, so I guess I’m not going into the guts hall of fame for doing it. 

Till then my friends, go Yanks

Stay Safe

and Have a Great Week

*Mushnick still loses sleep at night because someone once reported on ESPN that Bobby Thompson hit a walk off home run to win the 1951 NLCS. (The first LCS was contested in 1969)

**Coach Reeve wasn’t quite as distraught about the ticky-tack foul called in Game 4 on Sabrina Ionescu. 

Weekly Mail October 13, 2024

 

Hey Everyone:

So I haven't written in a couple of weeks. One week was pure writer's block. I was writing about a couple things and to be honest I was bored while writing it, so I figured you would be bored reading it. 

Last week was I was away and started to write an on-location blog, but never got around to finishing it. I will finish that one up and post it. 

There's good news and bad news and we'll start with the bad news.

HURRICANES HELENE AND MILTON:

I know I probably shouldn't do this because it comes off as if I'm making light of it, but I refer to the season's big storm as the "annual Storm of the Century." My point is that almost every year since at least Hurricane Katrina back in 2005, we have had a storm somewhere in this country that the experts say that particular region hasn't seen "in over 100 years." 

It's happened twice in a couple of weeks in 2024.

Tropicana Field in Tampa, Florida

Hurricane Helene laid the city of Ashville, NC to waste a couple of weeks ago. And then this past week, Hurricane Milton buried a large swath of Florida underwater. 

Tara, Tim and I were in Disney World last week (details to come in a separate post) and we were watching the local newscast's weather report. They were bracing for Milton after having been spared the brunt of Helene. 

The pictures we've seen the last few days have been heartbreaking. The roof of Tampa's Tropicana Field home of the Rays was partially torn off. As of this writing, the storm claimed 14 lives and has left 2 million Florida residents without power. 

And of course because this is an election year, the bull$h-t is at an all-time high. 

All over social media and even in some mainstream news sources, people were breathlessly reporting that people who have lost everything in these storms were only receiving a measly $750.00 one-time payout for all of their losses. FEMA has gone through great lengths to explain this.

Here it is straight from the website....

This is a type of assistance that you may be approved for soon after you apply, called Serious Needs Assistance. It is an upfront, flexible payment to help cover essential items like food, water, baby formula, breastfeeding supplies, medication and other emergency supplies. It is NOT a loan. There are other forms of assistance that you may qualify for to receive and Serious Needs Assistance is an initial payment you may receive while FEMA assesses your eligibility for additional funds. As your application continues to be reviewed, you may still receive additional forms of assistance for other needs such as support for temporary housing, personal property and home repair costs. If you have questions about your disaster assistance application and what you qualify for, contact us at 1-800-621-3362 to speak with a FEMA representative in your language.

Note: FEMA adjusts the maximum amount of financial assistance available to disaster survivors each fiscal year, which began on October 1. The new maximum for the initial Serious Needs assistance is now $770. These maximums apply to any disasters declared on or after October 1, 2024.

Now you want to quibble about the amount, I suppose you could, but the idea that there's this huge pot of FEMA money that is being split between illegal migrants and President Zelenskiy in Ukraine is laughable. But that's the narrative that Captain Orange has been peddling in the wake of both these storms. And his lackeys are spreading the lies as fast as they can. 

I mean, the info I posted above is right off FEMA’s  website, in a link dedicated to addressing rumors.

The claims have become so widespread that FEMA set up a response page to debunk many falsehoods around how disaster funding works and what the agency’s response has been.

With all the work FEMA has to do, that they had to set something like this up because the republican presidential candidate is spreading falsehoods? This is the new normal? . 

BTW-speaking of falsehoods, I read somewhere on Facebook that CO donated $25 million of his own $$$ to disaster relief. There's a better chance of Carlos Mendoza handing me the ball to start Game 1 of the NLCS in Los Angeles than there is of Trump donating one penny of his own money for anything. 

Anyway, to those in the affected areas, I hate to offer T's and P's, but I can tell you this:  I've been in that situation and though it doesn't seem like it sometimes, people are still generally good. Don't give up hope, you can and you will get through this. 

POLITICS- Mayor Adams indicted. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on a slew of charges including...

• Bribery
• Solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national
• Wire fraud
• Conspiracy to defraud the United States (Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and to receive campaign contributions by foreign nationals)

There has been corruption at City Hall since the dawn of time, but believe it or not, this is the first time a sitting mayor has ever been indicted. 

We all know that you are innocent util proven guilty around these parts, and that indictments aren't convictions, but it's hard to look at what Adams has been charged with and believe that it's all a big misunderstanding. It's probably time for him to step aside. Several members of his administration have already tended their resignations. It's an absolute $hit$how. 

Of course, some of the people who were most giddy to see Adams get busted can't wait to go to the polls on November 5th and elect a guy who was actually convicted of a crime to the White House. If you fall into that category, congratulations, you are a hypocrite. 

OK, let's get to the good stuff. Yes, there is good news around here, believe it or not..

YANKS, METS make it to the LCS!!!

We'll start with the Yanks: There was a time, back before I really got into baseball, that the Yankees and the Royals had a rivalry that was everything the Yanks and Red Sox have and a whole lot more.

Indeed in a 5 year period between 1976 and 1980, the Bronx Bombers and Kansas City met in the ALCS 4 times. The exception was 1979, when the Orioles beat the Angels in 4 games. The Yanks sent the Royals packing in 76, 77 and 78, and the Royals returned the favor in 1980. 

The Yanks took Game 1 on Saturday night at the Stadium before dropping Game 2 on Monday. On the radio Tuesday all the chatter was about Carlos Rondon excessive celebrating. I didn't think that had anything to do with the results, and it didn't. The Yanks went to a raucous Kauffman Stadium in KC and sent the Royals packing. This, despite Aaron Judge going 2-13 with 0 homers or ribbies. (He did score two runs in the series and his second hit was a double he ripped in Game 4) I know the Yanks fans frustration- I felt it watching Artemi Panarin, Chris Krieder and Mika Zibanejad disappear against the Panthers in last season's ECF- but I think he's going to have a great LCS. That double hopefully got him off the skids. fortunately, Giancarlo Stanton a) didn't get hurt and b) got some bigly timely hits. 

The Yanks will play the Indi- I mean the Guardians for the AL Pennant starting Monday night in da Bronx. 

Now to my Mets... There are two things I feel like always come back and bite baseball teams in the behind: Leaving guys on base, and relief pitchers that walk hitters. Anytime the Mets do that, they usually end up losing

Usually.

On Wednesday evening against the Phillies, they left the bases loaded in both the first and second innings with nothing to show for it. When the Phillies got on the board first in the top of the fourth, that little bit of doubt began to creep in. 

The Mets loaded the bases once again in the bottom of the sixth with no one out. Francisco Alvarez grounded into what could have been a kick ion the groin double play, but the Phils went for the out at the plate. Bases still juiced, but now one out, and a ground ball could once again gives another three men L.O.B with nothing to show for it.

Enter Francisco Lindor.

The $341 million man stepped up and with one swing of the bat, erased the Phillies one run lead, and the frustration that was not being able to scratch home even a run with the bags full in the first two innings. A grand slam that gave us a three run cushion,. Which it looked like we were going to need.

Because in the 9th innings, Mendoza brought in Edwin Diaz. 

When Diaz got here in 2019, he was a disaster. He was almost as big a bust as was the other guy we got in that ill-fated Brodie Van Wagenen brokered deal, Robinson Cano. Diaz clearly looked like a guy who couldn't handle New York.

In 2020, pitching in spectator free stadiums, he began to find his niche. In 2021 he was even better I know Mariano Rivera dominated over the course of a dozen + seasons, but Edwin Diaz's 2022 was one of the most dominant I have ever seen a closer have, including Mariano. His slider was practically unhittable that year.

He tore up his leg in the 2023 Baseball World Classic and missed the whole season. The Mets may have well not even shown up to play in 2023. I really couldn't believe how much his absence affected them. 

Now that he's come back in 2024 it's been a high-wire act. Sometimes he looks like the dominator he was in 2022, most of the time, he seems like the deer in headlights lightweight he was in 2019-20. 

You criticize Mendoza at your peril, he's made me look like a fool more than I care to admit this season, but I know I wasn't alone wondering why he couldn't leave David Peterson in there for the 9th on Wednesday. It reminded me of a reliever the Mets had back in the early 90's, one that WFAN's Steve Sommers christened Alejandro "Stomach" Pena. I felt my stomach having Pena as I watched Diaz walk the first two Phillies in the 9th. 

I have previously described Diaz as being either spectacular or spectacularly bad, sometimes in the same inning. He promptly struck out Roger Clemens kid, got Brandon Marsh to fly out to center and struck out Kyle Schwarber to deliver us to the NLCS. 

As my father always the optimist said "Maybe this will get him on a roll." More likely, I'll need to go out to CVS and stock up on Rolaids.  

We get the Dodgers in the NLCS starting Sunday night at Chavez Ravine. 

What a week this is going to be. 

FOOTBALL: Dysfunctional Village. 

Two weeks ago, my sister Kate and Tim were at the Jets-Broncos disaster... a 10-9 loss in a game that was played in 3 straight hours of non-stop rain. Last week, they went over to London and after going down 17-0 to Sam Darnold (FFS) and the Minnesota Vikings, a comeback bid fell short and they lost 23-17. 

This prompted Jets owner Woody Johnson to fire head coach Robert Saleh and replace him with DC Jeff Ulbrich, another guy who has never been a head coach in either the pros or college. 

Now look, I think Robert Saleh is a nice man and easy to root for. That said, anybody who had a record of 20-36 is probably not long for coaching in the NFL. Can I really get myself worked up over a coach whose record was fast approaching 20 games under.500 getting canned? Not really.

Plus the Jets took so many stupid penalties, even in the two games they managed to win, never mind the three they've lost. The blame for that lies directly at the feet of the coach. 

But mid-season coaching changes in the NFL rarely work. I know nothing about Jeff Ulbrich and more importantly, neither does Woody Johnson. This moved just smacked of desperation. 

And I've come to the conclusion that Robert Wood Johnson IV is the worst owner of the 9 major teams in the NY area. I still think James Dolan is the worst person to own a team (or teams) in this town, but for sheer cluelessness and incompetence, Woody and Christopher Johnson take the cake. At least Dolan, thin-skinned louse that he is, has enough sense to let the hockey people run the Rangers and the basketball people (finally) run the Knicks.  

Hal Steinbrenner for better and for worse is not his father, worse because he seems to tolerate losing, better because his father at his worst was every bit the POS Dolan is and at times even worse. Hal seems to be a gentleman.  Steve Cohen got off to a rocky start with the Mets, but the fact that he was willing to eat the contracts of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Robbie Cano shows you what he is willing to do to develop a winner and also a huge reason the Mets are where they are now. John Mara and Steve Tisch have had their share of stumbles the last 10 years, but also presided over a pair of Super Bowl wins. Both men have also built-up goodwill because they are fundamentally decent. Jon Ledecky has helped make the Islanders relevant again and has made himself accessible to the fans. I don't know much about the Devils ownership. The Nets, now that's a franchise that can give the Jets a run for it in the incompetence department, but I think the Jets win this race in a rout. 

The Jeff Ulbrich era, such as it is, begins Monday night against the Bills at Met Life Stadium, around the same time Game 2 of the NLCS should be ending and Game 1 of the ALCS starting. Talk about a tale of two cities. 

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The Rangers had their home opener against the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday night, the franchise formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes. The fact that they couldn't come up with a suitable team name reminds me of the time Letterman sent Biff Henderson to cover Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston back in 2004 (The Janet Jackson malfunctioning boobs Super Bowl) 

Biff: What is the name of the new football team here in Houston? 

Houston Sporting Goods Clerk: Um uh the Texans!

Biff: Boy, you guys really busted yo ass to come up with that name. 

Not for nothing, but they had all summer to work on this. One of the Post copy editors suggested the Salt Lakers. How about the Utah Utes?

Yeah, maybe they do need some more time for this one. 

BASKETBALL: Another Knicks trade. 

The Knicks made a huge deal a couple weeks ago, sending Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a draft pick to the Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns.

Questioning Leon Rose is a bit like questioning Carlos Mendoza. So far, almost every move they have made has come up aces. 

And Towns has a tremendous upside. He's a big man who can shoot, and since Mitchell Robinson is perpetually injured (they don't think he'll be back till January at the earliest) they did have a need for a legit big man. 

But I really wanted to see the Knicks with a healthy Randle playing with OG Anunoby, and DiVincenzo play with fellow Villanova Wildcats Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges. When they were all healthy, they were as much fun to watch as any team in the league.   

The question of course is this: Is the team closer to being a title contender today then they were before they made the deal? I'm not sure myself, and I have heard compelling arguments on either side of the coin. It's really going to depend if Karl-Anthony Towns becomes they player in NY that the T-Wolves thought they were getting when they drafted him.  If that happens, it could be a steal. If not, it could set the franchise back a few years, which is a shame because, they were really a team on the rise last year. Time as always will tell. For now, I'm a bit skeptical. But you can't go by me. I panned the Anunoby deal. 

Ok folks, hope all is well. 

Stay Safe

and Have a Great Week

Weekly Mail at Disney World (Part I)

 

Editor's Note: This was written in the lobby of Disney's Wilderness Lodge and at Orlando International Airport on October 5. I finally got around to doing some editing and adding photos in NY on October 19. I'm sending this out this weekend, because I'm going to wait till both LCS Series are over as well as the Liberty-Lynx WNBA Finale on Sunday night before I recap all of that. That post will come sometime later in the week or even next Sunday.

I'll recap the last two days at Disney and the flight home in a future post. 

For now, enjoy this one. 

ORLANDO- Coming to you from the Happiest Place on Earth…

This is my 5th time to Disney World. My first trip was in 1979* with Mom, Dad and Kris when I was 6. (Or 4 B.K-before Katie). I came back the day after my 20th birthday in 1993, and then with Tara in 2007**. Our last trip before this one was 10 years ago in 2014.

And every time I come here, it never ceases to amaze me 1) how much the place grows every time, and 2) how this entire city was nothing more than orange groves and swamp land less than 75 years ago. 

On Wednesday, Tim and I took an Uber to Universal Studios Theme Park from our hotel at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, and 20 minutes of the half hour trip was within Disney property. All the parks are connected by three lane highways. It’s truly a city onto itself. If you’ve been here, you know what I mean, but it really blows my mind.

I realize that to build a place of this magnitude there had to be some unscrupulous dealings between Walt Disney’s team and the Government of Florida. I’m sure some folks were displaced and there have been stories of Walt Disney being somewhat less than tolerant of folks who were different than he, (though I’ve heard just as many stories of Disney having people of all races and creeds on his team). But you really can’t help but be impressed by this place. The overall ingenuity of the place is just spectacular.

It’s also one of the great sociological experiments in human history. I’m sure Tara and I drove Tim nuts every time we did it, but when we were in line waiting for a ride or to get on a bus or boat to take us somewhere, we struck up conversations with folks from all over. The older I get, and even with access to news and information from all over the country (and the world) at our fingertips, I still get a kick out of meeting and talking to people from different places. We think of NY as the center of everything (at least I do) but talking to folks from Ohio, and Tennessee and Michigan and even England (they said they were from Old Jersey, as opposed to New Jersey), I just get a big kick out of that.

Of course, Disney is a trip you really have to plan well in advance to get the most out of, and when we started planning this trip, the last thing I thought was going to have to worry about was how could I watch Met playoff games. We started planning this adventure around the time the Mets were wallowing below .500 and wondering if they should trade Pete Alonso at the July 31 deadline. 

Let me take you through the week that was…

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 30th- I have one more day at work before my big trip. I have a ton of stuff to take care of plus Monday is always the craziest day of the week. I have an inter-office conference call at 11 and a virtual doctor’s appointment from my desk at 2. Oh, and the Mets are playing a doubleheader against the Braves to determine if they can make the playoffs or not. 

I stream the game on my laptop and place it somewhere inconspicuous in my office where I can keep an eye on it while getting everything I need to get done before I leave. 

The Braves struck first with a two-run homer in the third. Another solo shot in the 6th and I started thinking we’d have to find a way to win the second game. 

But then thankfully the hits started to come. Little by little they climbed back. A Brandon Nimmo homer capped off a 6 run seventh inning and gave us a 6-3 lead.

Only to have Edwin Diaz cough it all back up. 4 runs for the Braves in the 8th. I couldn’t even get that upset, as I still had to get through the rest of my workday. 

I wasn’t surprised that Francisco Lindor homered to give the Mets back the lead. He has been our hero all year. I was stunned that Diaz came back out for the 9th inning and was able to shut the door. 

I got stuck late at work on Monday, but the car ride home was a treat. A happy re-cap as Bob Murphy used to say, plus I had a few days off from work to look forward to.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 1st.-I don’t travel often, and I feel like every time I do, the rules change. They made me take my iPad out of my carry-on backpack, plus since my driver's license has a crack in it, I needed another form of id to get through the terminal. I understand why they do it, but it’s not easy. 

It was cool and crisp, if a bit overcast when we left NY. When we landed here in Orlando, the heat hit you like a blast furnace. Tara had on a brown fleece that she took off after about a minute of walking to our car. 

By the time we got to the hotel, between the hassle at JFK, and having an issue with the cab we took from the airport, I was a bit grouchy when we were greeted by the happy folks at the Wilderness Lodge. But everyone here makes you feel right at home. We got our room number, dropped off our bags, and headed to the Territory Lounge, at least Tara and I did. I needed a beer. 

The Mets-Brewers wild card round game was starting at 5:30. We watched an inning at the Territory lounge, then went for dinner at Rapid Forks. They didn’t have TV’s there so Tim followed it on his phone. Once again, we got off to a slow start. 

But by the time we got back to our room, the runs were coming, and Luis Severino had settled down. Carlos Mendoza stuck with him, and he got better as the game progressed. A huge thunderstorm hit Orlando, so we couldn’t really go to the pool. We just hung out in the room and watched the Mets win Game 1, 8-4. 

Tuesday was an early night.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 2- Still riding high from the big win, Tim and I headed to Universal Studios.

It was 10 o'clock in the morning, when we got to the place where we had to pick up our tickets, and I already felt like I had put in a full day of walking. From where the Uber guy left us off to the Will Call Window had to be close to a half mile. Not to mention it was already 80 degrees under a cloudless, sunny sky. 

They had told us to bring the credit card we used to purchase the tickets and the confirmation e-mail. We had both and the machine still said there was no record of our purchase.

So, we stood in line for another 20 minutes till we got a human being to help us. He found our reservation no problem. When I asked him what the issue with the machine was, he said the machines can be "temperamental" 

Standing in a line that should have been unnecessary makes me temperamental, but I digress. We were off and run- well, walking.

The first ride Tim wanted to do was the Jimmy Fallon Race Through New York City. From where I usually write these masterpieces, you can literally see 30 Rock right over my left shoulder. Now we were heading to a replica of that very building here in hot steamy Florida. 

I'm not sure if they have this in the lobby in NY, but in the lobby of the Fallon Experience, they had a display case for each of the 6 people who were permanent hosts of the Tonight Show.*** That's the kind of stuff I enjoy. (Tim could take it or leave it). The ride itself was fun kind of like the thing they had years ago at the Empire State Building with Yakov Smirnoff  (remember him?) as the tour guide. 

From there we headed to the section of the park dedicated to the Simpsons. My sister and brother-in-law got Timmy and I fast passes which came in handy. Between my heart issues and my worse as I get older motion sickness, I sat this one out. But he had a blast. 

We did a couple more rides there, then we went across to Islands of Adventure for a bit. There was an arcade there where the two of us shot hoops and played some crazy video games, mainly because it was air-conditioned. Then we headed to the NBC Sports Bar and Grill for lunch. 

NBC Sports Bar and Grill 

We headed back to the main park after lunch. Tim went on the Transformers Ride and I walked around and took pictures of the old streets. As I was walking, I saw this fella come out of one of the shops...

Turns out he was a Saxaphone player and as he started playing, a woman dressed as a waitress came out and started singing Respect by Aretha Franklin.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

This pic is actually taken a video I made of this performance while I was dancing and singing along. But if you want to see the video, you'll have to subscribe to my Only Fans page.****  

A mortified Timmy came from the Transformers ride to witness his old man attempting to dance. Probably the first of a few times he thought about defecting to Florida while sending Tara and I back to NY.

We went back to Simpsons land which was laid out to look like Springfield. I had a Duff's beer (which was not that good.) And we went into Moe's Bar, (Duff Beer had it's own stand. ) I said I was looking for a Kaholic, first name Al. 

Moe's Bar

Bigger than Jesus (IYKYK)

We got an Uber back to the Wilderness Lodge and met up with Tara, who had a pool day for herself. Meanwhile, my Apple Watch alerted me that I had set a new record..

I walked a lot more than 2 hours and 35 minutes

If I had walked anymore, it would have asked me if I was being chased by the cops. 

The three of us were going to go to Geyser Point restaurant for dinner, but there was like a 45 minute wait, so Tim went back to the room and Tara and I went back to the Territory Lounge. That's where we met Justin.

I'm going to post a picture of Justin with Tara and I, but it really doesn't do him justice. Justin looked and sounded like Howard from Only Murders in the Building, but about a million times more jovial and a million times less weird than Howard. 

Myself, Justin the waiter, and Tara

Anyway, I told Justin I was coming back after dinner to watch Game 2 of Mets Brewers and he made sure that we got seats right near the TV. 

Tara and I had split the Bison Burger and got one to go for Tim, then we headed back to the Territory Lounge. Tara kept going back outside to see if the fireworks were going to start, but for the second night in a row, the heavens opened up on Orlando. 

Turns out the only fireworks we got to see that night came off the bats of the Milwaukee Brewers, namely Jackson Chourio who went deep twice and the back breaking game winning home run from Garrett Mitchell. The Mets had been 6 outs away from advancing to the NLDS, instead they became the only team in both leagues who had won on Tuesday to lose on Wednesday. 

I was determined not to spend anytime at the Happiest Place on Earth bring miserable, but now not only had the Mets pooped the bed, but I realized that beers at the Territory Lounge were a lot more expensive than they are at, let's say, Donovan's. I hadn't paid this much for a beer since the time I went to Scor-,

Never mind. 

I remember about 40 years ago, one of my Dad's uncles came back from Bermuda and was complaining that he had to pay $3.50 for a beer down there. It's a lot more than that now. 

It was still pouring when I got back to the room, so I just turned in.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 3- It was off to Hollywood Studios for the 3 of us. 

We had breakfast at what was supposed to resemble the Star Wars Cantina, and I have to say, the breakfast sandwich there was really good. 

Tim did the Indiana Jones Experience and a couple of Star Wars rides, while Tara and I went to see the Muppet Show, complete with Stadler and Waldorf in the balcony.

Fozie: Hey how did you guys get in here?

Stadler: We entered a contest.

Waldorf: And we lost!

I know. You kinda had to be there. 

Hollywood Studios wasn't nearly as spread out as was Universal, but we still did a ton of walking. 

What the three of us were really looking forward to on Wednesday was our dinner reservation. The Yachtsman's Steakhouse. 

It took us a while to get there. It was technically an Epcot resort, but we made the mistake of going from Wilderness Lodge to Epcot, then pretty much walking through the entirety of Epcot to get there. Once again it was hot and sticky and the sun was beating down on us. So when we finally got there it was a huge relief.

I have no complaints about the Wilderness Lodge, I really don't. The people there was super friendly, the rooms were clean and comfortable and it was an overall really nice experience. However, the hotel where the Yachtsman's Steakhouse was located was unbelievable. Their pool had a lazy river and the hotel itself reminded me of the Simsbury Inn in Connecticut where Tara has some family. Just magnificent.

As for the dinner we had, well, I'd say besides Peter Lugers, it was the best steak I ever had. our waiter Bao, was amazing, very nice and very knowledgeable. If these guys are faking it, and I'm not saying they are, but if they are, they deserve Academy Awards. 

I realize at this point I'm talking more about food than I am about rides, but honestly, at my age, I'm not doing roller coasters anymore. For Tara and I, and even Tim, this dinner was the highlight, great food and great conversation. 

To get back to the Wilderness Lodge, the girl at the pool told us to go out in front of the hotel and take a bus to Disney Springs. There we could transfer for a bus to the Wilderness Lodge. I told Tara and Timmy that in Queens we called that a two-fare zone. 

It was the first night since we got there that it wasn't raining at night. So, while Tara decided to stay in and read and Tim watched the Mets, I headed to the pool.

The pool as you could imagine was awesome. You could dive right in, there was no need to "get used to it". I swam around for a bit and even went down the 7 foot slide. (One kid asked me as I was heading to the top "If I worked there" I guess thinking I was the security czar of the slide. I could have had fun with that, but I assured him I was just taking the slide as he was.) 

I occasionally checked on my phone to see how the Mets were doing. I had kind of written them off, that was a soul crushing loss on Wednesday, and like I said, it would have been unfair to my family if I was moping around. We were going to meet up with Krissy, Steve and Rachel the next day, so I was determined to behave myself.

When I saw they were down 2-0 thanks to Jose Butto, I again shut everything off and headed to the jacuzzi. yes, it was still plenty hot down there even at night and the pool itself was fairly warm. But I figured my joints could use a few minutes of water therapy. So off I went.

Sometime while I was sitting in the hot tub, I heard Stars and Stripes Forever start blasting out of nowhere. So, every night, on the lake behind the hotel, there is a boat parade. I stood in the jacuuzi and watched the beginning, but I decided to go out closer to the lake to get a better look.

I got to a spot where I could get a good look at the red, white and blue lit boats on the lake. It happened to be right outside Geyser Point, the outdoor bar and grill where Tara and I had dined the night before. I noticed that the Met game was on the TV's there. This would be ok. They had a great season, at least I could say I was with them when it ended. 

The problem was, since I had come right from the hot tub, I had no shirt, no shoes, and most importantly, no glasses. Not to mention I had left all that along with my phone and watch on my poolside chair. Like Robinson Crusoe, as primitive as can be.

So I watched the boat show while trying to keep an eye on the game. I had seen enough games to be able, even as blind as a bat as I was, to make out Francisco Lindor at the plate. I assumed the score was still 2-0 and probably in the 9th inning, but I had no idea how many outs there were. 

Lindor worked out a walk and Mark Vientos came up, or was it Jose (OMG) Iglesias. I wasn't sure and whoever it was, they struck out (it was Vientos). Next up was Brandon Nimmo. who after fouling off a couple of pitches, lined a single. It was first and third.

 By this time the boat show was pretty much over, and people were starting to head off. I stood on the outskirts of Geyser Point Bar and Grill and watched Pete Alonso come to the plate. He was more than due to have a big hit, but again, I didn't want to get my hopes up. Besides, I still wasn't sure if Milwaukee had picked up an insurance run or two. 

It was even hard to tell what the count was because I was far away from the TV and without my glasses everything was a blur. But on the 5th pitch, Alonso hit a long fly ball, even I could see it was a home run.

At that point, I forgot for a minute that I was half nekked in a dripping bathing suit. I ran into Geyser Point and asked two dudes at the bar "What just happened?" They proceeded to walk away with puzzled looks on their faces. I asked the bartender if he could tell me the score, and he said in a southern drawl in a way that sounded like he had never seen a sporting event before, never mind a baseball game "2 to 3. Neeew Yerk." I started jumping up and down like a madman, and there was an older couple sitting at a table that clapped for me. Everyone else was contemplating calling security. 

Jesse Winkler was hit by a pitch and Sterling Marte drove him in to make it 4-2. When the inning was over, I went back to the pool to gather my belongings. I supposed I should have stayed where I was, but the pool was closing at 10 and of course in addition to not being able to see, I had no idea what time it was. I didn't want my stuff locked at the pool overnight.

I made myself somewhat decent and I headed back to just outside Geyser Point, The bartender said I could come in and have a drink, even in my wet clothes, but I took my seat where I was. At least now I could see what the hell was going on. 

David Peterson gave up a leadoff hit because of course he did. But he struck the next guy out and then got a ground ball to induce a game ending and series ending double play. The older couple at the table congratulated me and the bartender offered me a drink, which sounded good till I realized I had left my wallet up in the room. 

It was surreal. I was about a thousand miles away from home, seeing the Mets win a series I thought was lost. Had I been in NY, I would have had the FAN on all day Friday. Instead I was in Disney World. It felt strange. Wonderful, but strange. 

I knew a text wouldn't do justice to this story, so I recorded a video and tried to send it out to my family and to Karl and Ray. But the damn iPhone said it was too long. I managed to send a shorter version out, but the original one I did had actual fireworks going off in the background. 

Notice the fireworks over my shoulder

The resort had another pool with that was open till 11, so I went for one more swim before I headed back to the room. We had another big day ahead. 

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Back here in NY, I have a favor to ask all of you. Tara's union is fighting for a fair contract and they are asking folks to show their support. If you have a second, and if you are so inclined, please click this link that will send an e-mail to the higher ups at Mt. Sinai to take care of their nurses.

Here is the link

Thank you so much.

Let's Go Mets, Let's Go Yanks and Let's Go Liberty! 

Stay Safe and Have a Great Week 

*We were there on November 4th 1979, the day the US Embassy in Iran was seized. I have a knack for traveling during world crisis. I was flying between Dublin and London in 1998 when Bill Clinton ordered cruise missiles fired in Afghanistan and Sudan in retaliation for the embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya. 

**Which was a disaster. The reason the trip was so cheap was because it was tied to a time share seminar. I could do a whole separate post about that trip. 

***Steve Allen, Jack Parr, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon. 

**** Please. If ever I start an Only Fans page, I'd have to pay you $39.95 a month to watch.