Golden Goat

Edwin Diaz already giving credit to Mets’ new pitching coach "The closer on Friday credited Phil Regan for a mechanical adjustment that helped Diaz stifle the Cubs in the ninth inning for the save in a 5-4 victory at Wrigley Field. The right-hander retired all three batters he faced, two by strikeout." Regan said he wanted to get Diaz on a straighter line toward home plate so he wouldn’t be falling off and pushing the ball. “He took to it,” Regan said. “He came off the mound and said that it worked. Pitching is all little things — it’s never a major adjustment. It’s a lot of little things. Once you get the fundamentals down, you really don’t have to worry about where you throw the ball.”

"... gunshot wound to the head..."

Actually, the first thing I thought of was Harry Doyle's muses after the Indians started fighting one another in Major League: "My God! Good news fans, the Indians are showing signs of life for the first time in weeks!"

Mets' Mickey Callaway loses cool while Jason Vargas charges reporter following loss to Cubs “I’ll knock you the f--- out, bro”

I'll pay reparations here as soon as I get my reparations check from Egypt. That's how this works, right? ?

Have to be really honest here -- The main reason I remember the guy is because he had the teeniest head and wore gigantic baseball caps. I was an avid baseball card collector back then, and every time I saw his card(s), I thought to myself, "train conductor." Every photo ever taken of the guy looks eerily similar to this. Every. Single. One. Kidding aside, he was a solid middle reliever with a career ERA of 3.05. He'd be -- like -- the #2 guy in our 2019 bullpen. Still, without the "never-been-with-another-team" clue, I never would have guessed him.

Baez is a good guess. Only other guess I have is Jeff innis.

Call me crazy, but I think this is really ***** cool: "Regan, 82, was an active MLB player from 1960 to 1972 and spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitching on the same staff as Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Don Sutton." Given where we're coming from, why not try something radically different? A guy like this has to have picked up countless pointers from those legends along the way. Maybe he wasn't gifted enough physically to execute them himself. But if he passes them on to players he's coaching -- in this case, some VERY gifted athletes -- maybe certain flaws get fixed and a raw pitcher like Thor becomes polished. I'm still going to rag on him, cuz that's what I do. But I'm a combination of intrigued and amused, so I'm' going to give the 'ol coot a chance!

Good for him. Once he's done with the Mets, he'll be old enough to join the Bills' backfield.

Well that was quick. Apparently he's been located and is "in the process of getting treatment." https://www.tmz.com/2019/06/18/xfl-rod-smart-he-hate-me-missing-police-south-carolina/

Rod Smart -- the guy with the best/worst name in the former XFL -- is missing. Here's hoping this one has a happy ending. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27001765/police-former-rb-hate-smart-missing

Can't rule out mad cow disease.

This is all so confusing. CNN says Trump is Hitler and the concentration camps are in the U.S. Maybe he fathered her at 9?

Saw a stat on ESPN earlier that had me saying, "Nah. No way. We can't be *that* bad." Have we really blown 17 saves in 33 chances?

All good and understandable. My point was really that the Yankees and Mets are going in opposite directions. Encarnacion is still dangerous at 36 (unlike Can-owww), the Yankees are even more stacked and they still have a strong farm system. Us... oy. We're like four really good players and a bunch of rudderless warm bodies. I think we'll be active sellers at the deadline. It's no secret that I have zero confidence in the manager and GM -- the complete opposite of my feelings about the guys running the Bills, who IMO are much closer to a championship than the Mets. And that hope for the Bills is what's keeping me going at the moment, sports-wise. I don't see it changing till Callaway (at the very least) and BVW are gone.

It's so ridiculous I was sure everyone would know it was sarcasm, which is why I never thought to disclaim it.

Configuring a Cisco router? No problem. My 2-year-old's tablet? WTF????

In a bold response to the Yankees trading for Edwin Encarnacion, the Mets dealt cash to the Indians for reliever Brooks Pounders on Saturday. Though I could have gobs of fun with the name alone, this is way, way more amusing: "In 38 major league games with the Royals, Angels and Rockies from 2016-18, Pounders accrued an 8.92 ERA." Digging a bit deeper into his stats: In 38.1 innings of Major League play, he has allowed 38 runs, 61 hits (13 of which were homers) and 10 walks. He made his debut Sunday for the Mets. Here it is for those who missed it!

Proudly, too!

In fairness, I'd start smacking people, too, if forced to watch a Yankees game.

Anyone who remembers this will relate.

Among the top 10 pieces of ***** to ever wear a Major League uniform. I'll never forgive, nor forget what that inbred mother***** said about my hometown... "Imagine having to take the [Number] 7 train to the ballpark, looking like you’re [riding through] Beirut next to some kid with purple hair next to some ***** with AIDS right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It’s depressing."

Why no draft talk this year? Not interested in discussing the guys we'll trade for aging vets next winter? ? ******** 1st Round, No. 12 overall: Brett Baty, IF, Lake Travis (Texas) HS 2nd Round, No. 53 overall: Josh Wolf, RHP, St. Thomas (Texas) HS 3rd Round, No. 89 overall: Matthew Allan, RHP, Seminole (Fla.) HS Consensus is we had a great draft if our selected players sign. Fantasy Pros gave us the highest grade, FWIW. ?‍♂️