Greetings and Salutations my fellow Mets fans. My name is Ed Marcus, but you may know me as either Rustyjr (formerly of the Real Dirty Mets Blog) or @lagranderusty from the twitterverse, and I am honored to say that I am the newest writer here at MMO.
First let me thank the guys over at Real Dirty Mets. For the past 5 years I was a contributing writer for that site and it was a very fun and rewarding run. I have been a fan of the Orange and Blue for since birth (41 years) and I can safely say I have stuck with this team through both the good as well as the bad.
My forte if you will is my “This Day In Mets Infamy” series which usually involves my critique of how the team may be doing on a given day, as well as reporting what historic Mets tidbits may have happened on that day – whether it Is through birthdays, the passing of a player or whatever transaction may have occurred on that day in any given year. I always try to end my “column” with a Mo Vaughn joke of the day because … WELL BECAUSE I CAN !!!
You will soon find out that my humor spans from a dry sarcastic wit to lame puns, and even a top 10 list. I enjoy feedback so I can’t wait to read all your thoughts whether you love, hate or are ambivalent towards my writing.
Anyway with that said….. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!!!!
Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today includes:
One of the most overlooked closers in Mets history, Skip Lockwood is 67 (1946). In his 5 seasons (’75-’79) with the Mets, Lockwood compiled a record of 24-36 with a beyond respectable ERA of 2.80 (remember those Mid to late ’70’s Mets teams barely scored runs) and 65 saves. He would bolt the Mets after the ’79 season and sign with the Boston Red Sox.
Middle reliever from the ’11 season, Mike O’Connor is 33 (1980) O’Connor appeared in 9 games for the Mets during the ’11 season. He ended up going 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA.
The New York Mets traded back up catcher Tom Wilson to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league catcher Tony Soccaras on August 17, 2004.
The New York Mets traded reserve infielder, Anderson Hernandez to the Washington Nationals for reliever, Luis Ayala on August 17, 2008. Ayala was brought in after Billy Wagner went down with a shoulder injury. Needless to say Ayala wasn’t able to stabilize the pen as the Mets collapsed down the stretch for the second straight season.
Mo Vaughn really is lobbying John Buck to name his newborn baby son Mo Bangferyer Buck…… John Buck has respectfully declined.
