The Final Score

Funny how much commotion LaTroy Hawkins caused when he pulled the ungodly act of wearing Paul O'Neill's 21. But on the other side of the Triboro, Mets fans essentially shrugged when Tatis picked 17, Keith Hernandez's old number.

He's the latest in an illustrious list of no-names, has-beens and never-was players to don the number since Mex. David Cone started the trend in 1991 when he did it to honor Mex. "It's my way to show Keith some respect," Cone said that day.

Other who have shown Mex respect, according to this site, are:

Jeff McKnight, 1993
Bret Saberhagen, 1994-95
Brent Mayne, 1996
Luis Lopez, 1997-99
Mike Bordick, 2000
Kevin Appier, 2001
Satoru Komiyama, 2002
Graeme Lloyd, 2003
Jason Anderson, 2003
Wilson Delgado, 2004
Dae-Sung Koo, 2005
Jose Lima, 2006
David Newhan, 2007
Fernando Tatis, 2008

I was filling in Jim on some of the things he missed while he was in Italy:

-- Willie Randolph almost got fired
-- Joba Chamberlain is being transitioned to the Yankees rotation
-- I feel lucky when I pay only $4.15 for a gallon of gas

But this might be the biggest development of all. From the AP today:

Carl Pavano (elbow ligament replacement surgery) might be ready to start throwing off a mound next week. He has been working on a half-mound since last week.

So the Yankees have that going for them. Which is nice.

Please comment on the following:

Should we keep Chicago Norm on full-time now that Baumbach is back?

Also, still waiting for someone to tell me what Spam tastes like.

Thanks.

Apparently the interview Andrew Marchand did with me about the thing I did 13 years ago was on ESPN 1050 during "The Michael Kay Show" today at about 4:20. I didn't hear it because I was in the Mets clubhouse at the time waiting to find out about Ryan Church's concussion.

Marchand also wrote a story about the interview. You can read it here and listen to the radio piece too if the audio link is working.

Here at Final Score HQ, where we like debates, we have one going on about whether Chicago Norm should become a permanent fixture of TFS or a regular guest-host, like Jay Leno used to be on The Tonight Show.

What do you think, TFS loyalists, should Chicago Norm get his picture in the upper left hand corner and his name in big lights? Please vote in the comments section.

We know that thousands of people read TFS but don't comment. Please, if you only comment once in your life, make it this one.

The picture above is the one I think Chicago Norm should use for his logo --if he gets one.

I just thought of another way to increase page views that's even better than trying to make the Final Score big in China:

Mentioning the (retired) pro wrestler Chyna.

It's a blog fact that if Jim, Chicago Norm and I mentioned pro wrestling more often -- or at all -- our page views would be through the roof. We have resisted such shennanigans.

Until now.

Carrie Bradshaw hooks up with Derek Jeter, becomes enamored with baseball chic and begins wearing a pink Yankees cap as part of her daily ensemble.

The two are seen on a bench in Central Park, spoon-feeding each other from a can of Spam.

Then, Jeter text-messages Rieber and Baumbach to ban Chicago Norm from the Final Score, and the screen fades to black.

First things first. It's so incredibly hard to follow American sports from Europe. I was able to sneak onto the Internet for maybe a total of 10 minutes over the past 10 days in Italy, so I knew Willie Randolph hadn't been fired. But, wow, it seems as if I missed a helluva lot. Did I read that right - a college actually hired Mike Jarvis?!?! Oy. I have a lot of catching up to do.

Quick details on the trip - I did not see Isiah Thomas, who reportedly was in Italy the same time on a scouting mission. But I did see this guy walking the streets in Venice:

Yes, Richard Simmons. Let the record state my wife noticed him first. I was too busy burying my head in a map trying to figure out how to get around the maze of canals. But it really was hard to miss him. He was wearing spandex shorts and a workout t-shirt and his hair was all frizzy. I tried to convince my wife to ask for a photo with him, to no avail.

I enjoyed the posts I've read so far from Chicago Norm in my absence. Maybe he'd like to stick around permanently? What do you say, Norm? Anthony, help me convince him.

And, no, I've never tried Spam.

Since Anthony asked . . .

I'm sorry to say that Chicago Norm's anti-Spam filter has been in effect since birth. However I have tried Hormel Corned Beef Spread, which is pretty much Spam in a different can.

Did you know that George A. Hormel, the granddaddy of Spam, once worked in a Chicago meat-packing plant?

Although I have not tried Spam (and hopefully never will), I'm pretty sure that my Oklahoma in-laws have, and have probably fed leftovers to the hogs. The hogs also have also enjoyed Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes and Suzy-Qs on occasion.

Another did you know . . .

That fine casinos everywhere have Spam slot machines? Quite the eye candy. I'm sure they sense that I'm not a big Spam fan and have therefore sucked me dry every time I've played one.

Don't worry; Baumbach will be back soon. I'll bet he's tried Spam.

Just saw a newspaper column calling for Willie Randolph to NOT be fired. It's by Pete Colaizzo of the Poughkeepsie Journal.

See, Willie? Not all of the writers are against you.

And no one knows why. Here's the story.

I don't really care about this issue, but we're coming up to the end of the May page views period, and maybe this item will get linked to in China. Can you imagine the page views if the Final Score becomes popular in China?

Watch out, Best. One day one of these page view ideas of mine is going to pay off and you are going to be toppled from your lofty page view perch.

Apparently, sales of Spam are up because people are trying to stretch their food dollar.

I've never had Spam. Is it really gross or is it OK? I mean, it's the butt of so many jokes.

Please, Final Score readers, weigh in on this topic. I'd really like to know.

I'm betting Chicago Norm has tried Spam. Chicago?

Today's episode of the Simpsons . . .

Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson are back on.

Chicago Sun-Times gossiper Bill Zwecker says the two are back together, but only as long as Jessica's dad, Joe Simpson, butts out.

Zwecker said: "My source says Romo has told Jessica their renewed relationship is ''a trial thing,'' dependent on Daddy Joe ''leaving them alone'' and stifling his tendency to tell Romo how to run his life, career and endorsement deals."

Giant fans appreciate the distraction and hope the circus continues so that Romo will be completely unhinged when his Cowboys come to the Meadowlands on Nov. 2

It's been an interesting few weeks for Sean Avery of the Rangers.

First he was hospitalized with a lacerated spleen and now, according to perezhilton.com, he has started an internship with Vogue magazine.

So, let me get this straight: big scrapping hockey player who makes $1.9 million a year wants to get coffee and make copies. I think I'll go watch a rerun of "Ugly Betty" and try to figure this out.

I wonder if it has anything to do with models. A lot of models. Supermodels.

Newsday baseball guru Jeff Weinberg suggests this debate:

Who stinks more: Mark Buehrle, Mike Pelfrey or Ian Kennedy?

You should know two things:

1) Buehrle gave up a grand slam to Franklin Gutierrez last night and owns a lovely ERA of 5.73 (which is nothing compared to White Sox teammate Ehren Wassermans's 14.25 - an improvement seeing that he went into the game with an ERA of 22.)

2) Weinberg did not exactly use the word "stink."

ANTHONY: Yes, they should have put Willie out of his misery

This isn’t about whether Willie is a good manager. He is. Not a great manager, but a good enough one.

This is about how the team is playing and whether Willie can turn it around. The answers: like garbage and no.

The best clue came Sunday in Denver. The Mets were coming off a 9-2 win that seemed to lift the mood of the team. Then they throw up another stinker on Sunday and lose 4-1 to a Rockies squad that was missing most of its hitters.

If the Mets wanted to save Willie, they would have won Sunday. When they didn’t, that told me all I needed to know about the players’ views. No matter what they say, the players know Willie is a dead man walking. They are ready to move on with a new skipper.

The meeting on Monday with the Wilpons wasn’t even necessary. Minaya could have axed Randolph right there on the tarmac in Denver and spared us the drama. Then Jerry Manuel could have been sitting in the manager’s office on Monday and everyone could get on with their lives.

When a manager or coach’s time with a team is over, it’s over. Joe Torre stayed about three years too long with the Yankees. Isiah Thomas should have been fired the minute he botched the Stephon Marbury benching and lost whatever hope he had of a competitive season.

The Mets can still win the World Series in 2008. But not with Willie Randolph at the helm. Sorry.

CHICAGO NORM: No, Omar was right in not throwing in the towel

Firing Willie and bringing in an interim manager at this point of the season is tantamount to giving up. The Mets are only six and a half games out, not a huge number by any means. The fact that three strong teams are ahead of them is a significant concern, but all the Mets can do right now is take care of their own business and not worry about any other teams than the one they’re playing today.

I’m sure that one of the reasons that Willie is still around is that there’s no genius out there who could do the job any better.

The Mets have too much at stake to turn this troubled team to an unproven manager before midseason. It also makes no sense to think that one of the many castoffs now coaching in the majors would magically metamorphosize into Earl Weaver.

Who you gonna call, Ghostbusters? Jerry Manuel’s certainly not the answer. I doubt he’d have more magical powers as manager than he does as bench coach and if his Zen was actually working, we wouldn’t be having this debate in the first place.

Is Willie the best guy available? Probably, or Omar Minaya wouldn’t have kept him around.

There is a lot of talent on this team, and if it can get out of circus mode and play baseball, there’s still two-thirds of a season in which to turn this thing around.

Can the Mets rally under this manager? That’s why they play the games.

If Omar was going to fire Randolph, he should have done it after last season’s choke. Now’s the time to live or die with that decision.

So, what do you think? Should the Mets have fired Willie Randolph?

Other than being lefthanded hitters who give the Yankees trouble, what do A.J. Pierzynski and Nick Markakis have in common?

Both were born on Long Island, and neither played high school ball here.

Pierzynski, pictured, was born in Bridgehampton but attended Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Fla.

Markakis was born in Glen Cove and went to high school in Woodstock, Ga.

Our thanks to Newsday sports editor Hank Winnicki for A) constantly pointing out that Markakis was born in Glen Cove and B) somewhat resembling Pierzynski.

All of the intense scrutiny of Big Brown's hoof reminds me of the classic scene from "Goodfellas"

Tommy's Mother: "Where've you been?"
Tommy: "Mom, I've been working nights."
Tommy's Mother: "And?"
Tommy: "And, well, tonight we were out late. We took a ride on the-- out to the country and we hit one of those deers. And that's where all the blood came from. I told you. Jimmy told you before. Anyway, that reminds me, Ma, I need this knife. I'm gonna take this, it's okay?"
Tommy's Mother: "Okay, yeah"
Tommy: "I just need it for a lttle while."
Tommy's Mother: "But bring it back. You know?"
Tommy: "Well, the poor thing, it got-- I hit him and this, uh-- We hit the deer and his paw-- What do you call that?"
Tommy's Mother: "The paw?"
Tommy: "The paw, the..."
Tommy's Mother: "The foot."
Jimmy: "The hoof."
Tommy: "Yeah, the hoof got caught in the grill and I gotta, I gotta hack it off."
Tommy's Mother: "Ooh."
Tommy: "Ah, Ma, it's a sin, I can't leave it there, you know."

To this day I can't hear or read the word "hoof" without thinking "you know . . . the paw . . . the foot".

The picture above is a graphic from USA Today.

A few days ago, the Laredo Broncos of the United League acquired pitcher John Odom from the Calgary Vipers of the Golden Baseball League for the unlikely price of 10 Prairie Sticks Maple Bats, double-dipped black, 34-inch, C243 style. (Original story here)

Odom is expected to be activated today and is scheduled to make his first start on Saturday against the Edinburg Coyotes at Veterans Field.

No word from Calgary on the bats, but after seeing at least 12 maple bats shatter in the three MLB games I watched on TV this weekend, I'm guessing that there aren't many left.

Last night at Shea I was interviewed by ESPN 1050's Andrew Marchand about something I did 13 years ago.

Veteran Rieber fans will easily figure out what Marchand wanted to talk to me about. Here's a hint: The L.A. Dodgers are coming to Shea on Thursday.

Marchand told me the interview might be aired on Wednesday or Thursday. Or it could end up on the cutting room floor and never air. I'll let you know when I find out.

Of far greater importance to the Final Score is the conversation I had with Marchand before the interview. I asked him if he could get his buddies at ESPN.com to link to the Final Score just once a month.

Like, Bill Simmons or Peter Gammons could write a line that says, "Hey, check out what the guys at the Final Score have to say about Willie Randolph's job security. Those guys are super terrific!"

Then we would get a million page views and beat Best every single month.

Marchand said he'd get back to me on that one. I don't think he even knows Bill Simmons or Peter Gammons. So I'm not counting on it.

Oh wow! If you read the item from me below about Mike Jarvis, I mention I'd like to do one of those ESPN countdown clocks for Baumbach's return. So then I click over to ESPN 1050's web site and they have a countdown clock...to the Belmont. So they have the technology that we lack.

If Baumbach were here, he would have something to say about Mike Jarvis getting hired by Florida Atlantic.

Jarvis was the St. John's coach for the 17 minutes that Baumbach was Newsday's St. John's beat writer. As soon as Baumbach came aboard, there was a huge sex scandal at the school. He did a great job reporting it, and 14 seconds later he was the Yankees beat writer. After three years on that beat, he became the country's first newspaper sports Web columnist.

Some people wonder why Jim has ascended as quickly as he has at Newsday even though he looks like he's just out of college. Actually, he's closing in on the ripe old age of 30 and he's a home owner and a dog owner.

I think it has something to do with working hard. Of course, now he's pretty much mailing it in, jetting off to Italy instead of staying behind to report on Willie Randolph's job security and Mike Jarvis' first coaching job in five years.

Has Baumbach blogged once while on vacation? No. I'm pretty sure they have the Internet in Europe. The Baumbach I grew up with would have never put his leisure time ahead of his blog.

I remember a time when you could count on uninterrupted blogging from Baumbach on The Final Score. Not anymore. Why do things have to change? Never for the better. I used to cringe when I'd have to listen to whining from old-timers about how much better things were in the old days. Now I agree with them.

Anyway, Baumbach returns Thursday, I think. I'd like to do one of those ESPN countdown clocks like they do for Monday Night Football. But we don't really have the technology for that.

Beats me. He played for the Rockies last season, if you call 0-2 with an ERA over 10 playing. This season, he's been absent from the majors.

I do know that Scott Kazmir won his fourth straight start Monday night, striking out 10 in seven innings to lead the Tampa Bay Rays over the Texas Rangers, 7-3.

The win means the Rays (31-20) have the best record in baseball.

According to the Associated Press, the Rays are just the second team — joining the 1903 New York Giants — to have the best mark on Memorial Day after finishing with the worst record in the big leagues the previous season (66-96).

Kazmir, the Mets' first-round draft pick in 2002, was traded along with Jose Diaz to the then-Devil Rays in 2004 for Zambrano and Bartolome Fortunato.

For that matter, where in the world is Bartolome Fortunato?

Other than being lefthanded hitters who give the Yankees trouble, what do A.J. Pierzynski and Nick Markakis have in common?

And remember, this is Newsday.

The Associated Press is reporting that former Met pitcher Geremi Gonzalez was killed by a lightning strike in Venezuela.

Emergency management official Herman Bracho told AP that the 33-year-old pitcher, also known as Jeremi during his playing days, was at the beach in western Venezuela and was on a pier when lightning struck him on Sunday night.

Gonzalez started in the major leagues for the Cubs in 1997 and later played with the Tampa Devil Rays, Red Sox, Mets, Brewers, Brewers and the Yomiuri Giants in Japan.

Gonzalez's last game for the Mets was May 25, 2006, exactly two years prior to his passing.

The Phoenix landed on Mars . . .

not far from Dennis Rodman's birthplace.

Thank you, Carlos Quentin, for making Chicago Norm look smart to Final Score readers.

BTW, I will be ridiculed for saying this, but I agree with a lot of Joe Morgan's feelings about instant replay. A play at the plate - or even a disputed checked swing - could be just as important as a home run. If you screw with the rules, you upset the balance of nature.

Let me dig myself in deeper.

OK, A-Rod got shafted (get it?) the other day and it may take him an extra couple of games to break the home run record some daydown the road. Are you telling me that Babe Ruth, Henry Aaron and Barry Bonds were never robbed of foul-pole home runs? It all evens out. Really.

I said it before and I'll say it again: Major league umpires have been blowing calls since 1876. So why change now?

People in SF believe that Omar Vizquel is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Is he a Hall of Famer at all?

Vizquel broke Luis Aparicio's record for games at shortshop the other day.

Under the New York meglomania rules, neither Aparicio nor Vizquel belong in Cooperstown because they did not play for an NY team. That aside, is Vizquel a Hall of Famer?

Enjoy.

May 25 is a big day in New York baseball history.

On this day in 1951, Willie Howard Mays Jr., made his major league debut. The 20-year-old went 0-for-5 in an 8-5 New York Giants victory at Philadelphia.

And on May 25, 1935, the Boston Braves lost 11-7 to the Pirates at Forbes Field despite three home runs by 40-year-old Babe Ruth. Those were the final homers in Babe's career: Nos. 712, 713 and 714. He retired from the Braves five days later.

On May 24, 1973 at Dodger Stadium . . .

The Mets scored four runs in the 19th inning to beat the Dodgers, 7-3. Yes, that was the 19th inning, not the ninth.

Here's the winning rally:
Cleon Jones singled to left and scored on Rusty Staub's double to left. Pinch-hitter Ken Boswell singled to left, scoring Staub from second. George Theodore bunted Boswell to second. Duffy Dyer and moved to second on Bud Harrelson's groundout, Boswell going to third. Ed Kranepool doubled to right, scoring Dyer and Boswell. Wayne Garrett was called out on strikes to end the inning.

The Mets used 21 players in the game, including five pitchers; the Dodgers used 18. In all, there were 41 hits in the game.

Time of the game: A brisk 5 hours, 42 minutes. 27,580 were in attendence but 20,000 of them left during the seventh-inning stretch to beat the traffic.

Let me get this straight, Anthony. You want me to defend Chicago’s cute little El/subway system against the world’s largest underground urinal.

OK, you win. New York’s subways smell worse. You have better trannies and winos and a better quality of DNA on the seats.

The CTA is better in a couple of ways, though. The El takes you right into O’Hare Airport. The El takes you right into Midway Airport. Incoming visitors can take the train from either airport to the Shrine of the Chicago Cubs and/or U.S. Cellular Field.

Sure, it’s a roaring, boring ride and somewhat scary because of some hairpin turns on the elevated tracks north of Wrigleyville and near Chinatown.

As kid, the ride from the far North Side to Wrigley Field used to scare the hell out me as the train slowed to navigate that turn. To your right, below, is a cemetery presumably filled with all the victims of trains that didn’t make the turn.

I was just 10 or 11 when I started riding the El to Cubs games alone or with Jill, my younger sister who I never have forgiven for freezing when a foul ball landed at her feet. It was just laying there until someone else ran over and picked it up while I was trying to put down the Frosty Malt that I had in one hand and the scorecard in the other. By the way, the Phillies lost their 22nd game in a row that day. It’s hard to believe that in those days and 11 year old and and and 8 year old would ride the train alone.

Anyway, back to the “debate.” The El has much better scenery on the overhead lines around the Loop.

My biggest problem with the MTA is that only natives can figure it out. Once, about 10 p.m., I entered the subway at Times Square and had to walk about a mile underground to get to whatever train goes to Kew Gardens. Only when we arrived did we see a sign that the line was out of service. And my wife and I were not the only people fooled.

Now comes the real difference between New Yorkers and Chicagoans: As people who were similarly fooled by the closed line were walking back to another station, not a single one ahead of us warned people coming in the other direction.

So who wins the Great El/Subway debate? I vote for Montreal.

Chicago Norm

May 24, 1930, at Yankee Stadium, the House the Ruth Built . . .

Babe Ruth homered in both ends of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Athletics, giving him nine home runs for the week.

What is with this Calgary Vipers team anyway?