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Fools Rush In

With the birth of a new year upon us, I feel it necessary, once again, to both reintroduce and reinvent myself to fit the needs of the blogging community.

Walk-offs have run (or walked) their course and it's time to focus on something new. You may recall that I dabbled in such a thought at this time in each of the last three years, but my foolish pursuit to chronicle the history of Mets walks lasted merely one day, my intent to break down every Mets chalk-off turned into a brief endeavor, and my desire to extract the finest details from every collision between ball (or person) and wall ran its (collision) course quite quickly.

I don't profess to be an expert in this blogging thing by any means, but I think it has been a worthwhile experience. About 46 months ago, I came across a blog that was very unique- PlunkBiggio- which was devoted to recording Craig Biggio's (since retired) hit-by-pitch count. It is rare to find such a cleverly done "niche blog" and in thinking about it, I decided that my walk-off niche just isn't clever enough.

To make a long story short, I have decided to retool my blog to focus not on Walks, Chalks, or Walls, but instead, to focus on Talk-Offs. For those who don't understand the meaning, think of what happens when your mouth moves, and you'll understand the terminology. A few days ago, I was a little nervous that I had fully "walked the walk, and talked the talk" as far as writing about walk-offs was concerned, and Nirvana! A new idea was born.

With this winter having dragged on endlessly and miserably, it has become clear that the most interesting type of Mets minutiae to watch/write about/talk about is when the mouth of a Met incessantly and endlessly blabbers on and on. Baseball is a game of limited action, with plenty of time for words. Lord knows we've heard some good ones and some bad ones from the mouths of our Mets.

The Mets are a franchise that is well-known for making its fans suffer through torturous moments and there is nothing more torturous than the suspense in waiting for a member of the Mets to say something silly or stupid.

Admittedly, chronicling these instances seems a bit excessive, but I think I can do it in an entertaining and informative fashion that you will enjoy. There is much interesting knowledge to be gleaned from this part of Mets history.

In just a few hours of work, I was able to study them in fascinating detail, to the point where I was able to compile a list of those most significant and memorable to the Flushing faithful. They include...

"We're still a fraud."
-- Casey Stengel's analysis after Opening Day, 1963

"Couldn't we take the used balls and wash them?"
-- Bebe De Roulet, daughter of Mets ownership, the same owners who decided to send telegrams to prospective free agents rather than call them on the phone

"And he is hit by a pitched ball....and it's over the fence for a home run!"
-- Ralph Kiner inventing a new kind of baseball play

"I'll show you the Bronx right here, motherf-----!"
-- Bobby Bonilla offering a tour of his birthplace to a sportswriter

"Six...C-I-X...Six."
-- Vince Coleman, demonstrating a lack of literacy

"You're going to love Bill Pecota."
-- Jeff Torborg prognosticating incorrectly about a future .227 hitter

"We saw (Jay) Howell throwing curveball after curveball and we were thinking: This is the Dodgers' idea of a stopper? Our idea is Randy, a guy who can blow you away with his heat. Seeing Howell and his curveball reminded us of a high school pitcher."
-- David Cone's one-game stint as a sportswriter proved to be a bad career choice

"I'm disappointed. Devastation is for much greater things in life."
-- Tom Glavine after his final effort with the 2007 Mets

"We're the team to beat."
-- Carlos Beltran

"I just want them to know of my availability. I’m only a phone call away. I could be in New York tomorrow.”
-- Gary Carter's quest for the Mets managerial job becomes public

As we commence a new season of work on this website, it seems only right that I offer up a chance to readership to contribute to this blogging endeavor. So if you have a story to share about your favorite talk-off, please feel free to do so here.

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