Metropolitans Diary
Part II

Where was I?  Yes, was about to talk Met Talkers.  Specifically, the guys on TV and Radio who were and are our eyes and ears giving voice to our annual yearnings for an Amazin Season....

Lindsay Nelson, Bob Murphy, Ralph Kiner...
making Walt Frazier look like Mr. Rogers. 

Kiner in particular was always unpredictable and could match wits with Casey and Yogi:

"All of his saves have come in relief appearances"
"All of the Mets road wins against the Dodgers this year occurred at Dodger Stadium"
"If Casey Stengel were alive today, he'd be spinning in his grave"
"Paul Revere was the first sign stealer."


Nelson on occasion showed some wit:
"If the World Series runs until election day, the networks will run the first one-half inning and project the winner"

And from Wikipedia, this on Murphy :  Because he was so well known for his sunny outlook, he opened games saying "The sun is shining the sky is blue, its a beautiful day for baseball", an unprecedented display of crankiness on his part received much attention. On July 25, 1990 in Phila. the Mets took a 10-3 lead into the ninth inning, but the Phillies scored six runs to narrow the Mets lead.  Murphy's patience was apparently worn thin and when the game finally ended, he famously exclaimed, "A line drive caught. The game is over. The Mets win it. A line drive to Mario Diaz. And the Mets win the ballgame! They win the damn thing by a score of 10 to 9!"

Ron Darling, Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez

The team on the tube today has evolved over the years into a tight trio of disparate personalities creating a compelling harmony that often  surprises with moments of atonal riffing. And to my ears Cohen is as sharp as ever and never shy about speaking his mind on personal behavior issues:

"The Marlins just left town and we were talking over the weekend about Heath Bell. In addition to having a poor season, he'd thrown just about everybody in the organization under the bus. Today he went on a radio show and said of Ozzie Guillen: "It's hard to respect a guy that doesn't tell you the truth, or doesn't tell you face-to-face." Make it one more Marlin thrown under the bus by Heath Bell. Heath would throw himself under the bus but he probably wouldn't fit."

Darling remains diligent  and informative--especially about the finer points of pitch selection, situational strategy and even the emotional and psychological factors--

"Let me ask you a question. Why do these organizations -- why do they want to pigeon-hole themselves? Why don't they just keep their big mouths shut? There's no reason to tell anybody that [Stephen Strasburg] is on any innings. They don't owe anyone that. Just shut your mouth and let him pitch..."

...and Keith sounds like he's doing all he can to stay awake--though he's still pretty saavy  when talking hitting, first base and his own playing days. But he's definitely showing signs of early onset diamond depression and seems to enjoy the distractions around the stadium more than the game itself:  Conversation after cameras spotted this young fan...

Keith Hernandez: Oh boy.
Gary Cohen: Now that's a real mohawk.
Keith : I just don't think I'd allow that. Not that it's terrible.
Gary : It's all a matter of taste.
Keith : I'd say, "Son, wait until you're in college."
Gary : Then what happens?
Keith : Do whatever you want, you're on your own.

Howie Rose, Josh Lewin

Ok Mets on radio fans...how do we feel about Josh Lewin?  I give him a thumbs up even though he gets a bit glib and cute sometimes and seems to be trying too hard to sound all knowing.  A new voice is hard for the hard core to accept in the beginning, but Josh is an enthusiastic fan of the game with an almost scholarly knowledge of its  history and Howie is still there and he's great, and how can you not like a guy who when asked by a Mets Blog site if he would follow them on Twitter said: “There may not be enough money in the world.”   He and Lewin are only gonna get better, and I actually may prefer listening to games  than watching them...but in general, I prefer radio to TV anyway.

And I like Kevin Burkhardt too.  At first I thought he was a bit slick, but that was my prejudice about young good looking guys on TV often chosen for their "spokes-personalities" rather than skills.  But I was wrong...Kevin does his homework and always has some piece of info or insight that enlightens and enlivens the viewing even when he's stuck somewhere in the nether regions of the park searching for something to chew on...like the visitors bullpen at Minute Maid Park...

Kevin Burkhardt: It's a heinous place. It's like an indoor leftover garage. As one Met put it, it's like rats trapped in a cage. It's dimly light. There's nowhere to go. It's a tough place to be. It's like an old YMCA, kinda smelly.

and this memorable moment of behind the scenes drama...

Kevin Burkhardt: When the pitchers get bored, you never know what can happen. For instance, yesterday Tim Byrdak saw a wounded bird on the warning track. So they took the bird into the bullpen and tried to heal it back to health. Unfortunately, the bird died in the eighth inning. The players took off their hats and paid their respects.

Gary Cohen: [deadpan] Glad to hear they were respectful.