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May 2011 Archives
 The Kingman family was away from Loge13 the long weekend. The news on Gary Carter is not good. Tonight doctors confirmed that Carter has glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. We are all rooting for the Kid to beat this bad news. Here is the official release: This evening, doctors at Duke University Hospital confirmed former
Met Gary Carter has glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer which affects
the central nervous system, and have released the following statement:
"The results of biopsies performed on the tumor in Gary
Carter's brain have conclusively shown that Mr. Carter has a
glioblastoma. While surgery is not a good option given the location of
the tumor, we discussed an aggressive treatment plan with Mr. Carter and
his family, which will include chemotherapy and radiation. Mr. Carter
will be returning home to Florida to begin the next phase of his
treatment, but we will continue to work closely with his medical team.
Mr. Carter's youth, strong physical condition and fighting spirit will
be to his advantage as his treatment commences. The outpouring of
support for Mr. Carter has been incredible and we trust that his many
friends and fans will join us in continuing to pray for him and his
family."
The Carter family also issued the following statement about the
diagnosis:
"While we are saddened by the news we received today, we
take comfort in the overwhelming support and prayers that have been
extended to our family during this difficult time. We have boundless
faith and hope knowing that the Lord will help see us through the
challenging weeks and months ahead. Gary is getting the best care
possible and is blessed with an incredible support network including
family, friends and loyal fans. Gary was always a fierce competitor on
the baseball field and that same tenacity will help him not only fight
but win this battle, so please join Team Carter and continue to pray
with our family."
 Reports are circulating today that the Mets may have selected a new partner, who would own less than 49 percent of the team and no chunk of SNY. That's what $200 million gets you these days? Geez. According to the NYT: "One possible bidder whose name emerged Wednesday, according to two
people familiar with the bidding process, was David Einhorn, a Manhattan
hedge-fund manager; he grew up in New Jersey and Milwaukee and
masqueraded one Halloween as the former Met Dave Kingman when he was a
five or six-year-old..."You had me at "Kingman." Any kid who dressed up as Dave Kingman, then went on to be a billionaire, is OK in my book. Einhorn may be best known as the guy who called out Lehman Brothers before the Great Recession (as chronicled in Sorkin's book "Too Big To Fail"). Einhorn gave a speech at the Ira Sohn financial conference questioning the bank's accounting. And we all know how that turned out. Assuming Einhorn gets a peek at the Wilpon's books, he may be able to fix a few things out at Citi Field too, maybe even find enough change to keep Reyes around. BTW Einhorn gave a speech yesterday at the same conference. According to one report:"David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital spoke at the Ira Sohn Conference
yesterday and gave a couple of investment ideas, and showed his love for
baseball, by starting his presentation off with a quote from Ken
Griffey Jr. and ended it with a "Let's go Mets" chant."
 Last week, Loge13 wrote about the latest allegations about Sterling Equities and the Wilpons. DyHrdMET commented:
"Fred Wilpon was either a great accomplice or a great patsy. But who do you think would play Fred Wilpon in the made-for-TV movie?" Good question, DHM. It appears this week, Fred is content playing himself.
The New Yorker's Jeffrey Toobin has a lengthy feature on Fred Wilpon. The piece is part profile and part study of the Madoff scandal. Fred also has very striking things to say about his Mets, especially Wright, Reyes and Beltran, while watching an April 22nd game. The team was, shall we say, uninspirational at that time so the owner was surprisingly critical.
Some quotes: "David Wright came to the plate. Wright, the team's marquee attraction,
has started the season dreadfully at the plate. "He's pressing," Wilpon
said. "A really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar." "When Reyes started with the Mets, in 2003, just before his twentieth
birthday, he was pegged as a future star. Injuries have limited him to a
more pedestrian career, though he's off to a good start this season.
"He thinks he's going to get Carl Crawford money," Wilpon said,
referring to the Red Sox' signing of the former Tampa Bay player to a
seven-year, $142-million contract. "He's had everything wrong with him,"
Wilpon said of Reyes. "He won't get it." "Ike Davis, the sophomore first baseman and the one pleasant surprise
for the Mets so far this season, was up next. "Good hitter," Wilpon
said. "Shitty team--good hitter." Davis struck out. Angel Pagan flied out
to right, ending the Mets' threat. "Lousy clubs--that's what happens."
Wilpon sighed. The Astros put three runs on the board in the top of the
second. "We're snakebitten, baby," Wilpon said." Not sure if Fred is drinking during the games but he sounds an awful lot like some of us in Loge13. I'm not saying that's a good thing either.
 I am stunned that the Yankee/Met subway series is 15 years old this year. I am still trying to get used to Intra-league play. The first several years, I went to at least one subway series game. The games themselves were good but the crowds got a bit unruly. My cousin and I were at the very first game -- a.k.a. the Dave Mlicki game -- where a Yankee fan behind us physically assaulted a dude next to us who he incorrectly accused of cheering a Yankee injury. This weekend is critical for our Mets, no matter who they are playing. We are one game under .500 and finding ways to win, no matter who is hurt or what is falling from the sky. Loge13 gives Terry Collins alot of credit; lets hope he can keep the kids focused on the job at hand and not let them get knee deep in the hoopla. Meanwhile, the NY Post is running a poll, asking who the "Least Valuable Player" is in Subway Series history. They are looking at overall stats, which is fine. But for most Met fans, the LVP will always be Luis Castillo, who failed to make the candidate list. However, Clemens is on the poll. Despite his cheating steroid ways, Roger was Yankees 2-3, with 4.73 ERA over five starts. Guess his HGH dealer was out of town those weekends. Feel free to vote early and often for this juicer.
 It's so strange. The Nationals came to town for two games this week. My brother, the turncoat Washington fan who sometimes haunts Loge13 under the moniker NatKiller, had very little to say before his boys arrived in Queens.
I also didn't hear from NatKiller during the week, when the Mets swept his desultory DC'ers.
Not that the Nats put up much of a fight. They scored a grand total of ZERO runs during their trip up north. Now I'm no good at math. Let me add up those figures again.
Yup the Nationals scored no runs in Queens.
They also almost got no hits yesterday, as the brilliant Dillon Gee kept the Nats off balance during his shutout victory.
With that victory, the Mets left the Nationals behind in last place, most likely for good.
And yet still no word from NatKiller. I hope he's OK.
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I know nothing about the guy but I agree with his thoughts on Microsoft;
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/05/26/prominent_hedge_fund_manager_calls_for_microsofts_ballmer_to_step_down.html