Carroll’s Column: House of Horrors for Mets in Atlanta

NEW YORK, NY — No matter who is wearing the jersey or slotted in the everyday lineup, within a handful of matchups across Major League Baseball, certain teams have another organization’s ‘number’ on the field… 

There are three things which are certain: death, taxes, and the Mets rolling over and playing dead in Atlanta. The Mets remind us of that last week when they were once again swept in a three-game series by the Braves at Truist Park.

Granted, this sweep was not as devastating as when they collapsed in Atlanta the final weekend of the 2022 season to lose the NL East title to the Braves. That led to their first-round playoff ouster at the hands of the San Diego Padres. Nevertheless, it had to rankle even the most optimistic Mets fans.

Sal Licata rightfully called this a thirty-year stream of ineptitude last week when he hosted SNY’s “Baseball Night in New York” I spoke with Licata at last weekend’s Fanatics Fest at Javits Center. He pointed out that even in the years when the Mets achieved great postseason success, they did so without having to face the Braves in the playoffs. 

It is difficult to imagine the Mets having a parade down the Canyon of Heroes in November when the Braves have been stomping all over them for as long as Democrats have been claiming that Texas is turning blue. File both of those under the category of “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

The Mets are lucky that the Braves, because of an awful April and May, were far back in the NL East standings. The fear of Sal Licata, as well as many other passionate Mets fans who have seen this movie before, is that the Mets have once again revived the Braves.

That fear is well-founded because it seems as if the modus operandi for the Braves is to underperform until the All-Star Game break and then step on the gas after mid-July.

They are like most of the great thoroughbreds who have won Triple Crown races. Like this year’s Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner, Sovereignty, they tend to let the competition set the pace and then blow by them to be first across the wire. 

Yankees complete 16th annual HOPE Week

The Yankees completed their sixteenth annual HOPE Week which remains the gold standard in baseball community service. HOPE (standing for Helping Others Persevere & Excel) was the brainchild of Yankees vice-president of communications, Jason Zillo. The goal of HOPE Week is to recognize those who have helped others less fortunate and have never sought accolades. 

Last Friday, many Yankees players and coaches visited Vaughn College in Woodside to salute Brian Worthington, the founder of the NY Metro Black Pilots Association whose mission is to give people of color flying lessons on private plans to become pilots. Students do not have to pay for anything. Brian Worthington grew up in the Woodside Houses dreaming of an aviation career.

Unrelated to HOPE Week, the Yankees gave out their annual Stonewall Scholarships which carry a $10,000 scholarship to a graduating high school student in each of the five boroughs who has helped the LGBTQ community.

Phillies hold Pride Night at The Bank

The Philadelphia Phillies held their Pride Night last Friday. The Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus sang a rousing rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” while the team’s beloved mascot, the Phillie Phanatic caught the ceremonial first pitch thrown by a leader in Philadelphia’s LGBTQ community.

It would have been nice if a Phillies player had done this, which is the case with every other ceremonial first pitch.

Annual Queens Business Expo at Citi Field

The annual Queens Business Expo took place at Citi Field last Tuesday. The Mets traditionally send a former player to visit exhibitors and mingle with attendees, and this year former centerfielder Mookie Wilson was chosen.

I asked the beloved Mets legend if he will be taking part in the September 13th Mets Alumni Game. “I will be there, but I will not be playing!” Given that he is now 69 years old, I cannot blame him. 

Legendary Cardozo High School boys’ basketball coach Ron Naclerio also attended the Queens Business Expo. I joked with him about whether he had notified the Knicks he would not be interested in replacing Tom Thibodeau. “I am staying at Cardozo until I win my 1,000th career game. I am currently at 961. I need a dozen more to tie Jack Curran (the late Archbishop Molloy boys’ basketball coach who amassed 973 wins.). Naclerio told me he hopes reaching the millennium mark will generate serious discussion about his being enshrined at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. 

Update on a Potential Casino in Queens 

Mets CEO Steve Cohen is determined to repurpose the parking lot surrounding Citi Field into a leisure destination called Metropolitan Park which would feature an entertainment center and a casino operated by the Hard Rock Hotel chain.

Metropolitan Park representatives had a booth at the Queens Business Expo as a way of further galvanizing support. 

Remembering and Paying Tribute to Ron Taylor

One of the best relief pitchers in Mets history, Ron Taylor, passed away last week at the age of 87. Art Shamsky, a teammate of Taylor on the 1969 Miracle Mets, has often referred to him as the unsung hero of that team.

Taylor was certainly an erudite man. He had an engineering degree before he began his major league playing career. After his playing days were done, he enrolled in medical school in his native Toronto. He would eventually become the team physician of the Toronto Blue Jays. 

“Just A Bit Outside” on Roku until June 30th

Former CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl grew up in a Milwaukee suburb and was an enthusiastic Brewers fan. He is the producer behind a documentary, “Just A Bit Outside,” which is a two-hour look back at the 1982 Brewers team that went to the World Series but lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. 

If you are of a certain age, and are a baseball fan, you will enjoy hearing commentary from such Brewers stars of the time as Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Gorman Thomas, Cecil Cooper, Rollie Fingers, and Pete Vukovich. It is also fun to see highlights from the 1982 playoffs and hear the voices of Keith Jackson, Tony Kubek, and Dick Enberg who were calling the games. 

Kahl was also able to get former Brewers owner and MLB commissioner Allan “Bud” Selig and the late “Mr. Brewer,” Bob Uecker, to share their recollections. 

Incidentally, the documentary title, “Just A Bit Outside,” refers to a famous line uttered in the film, “Major League,” in which Bob Uecker, playing sportscaster Harry Doyle, nonchalantly called an extremely wild pitch thrown by Charlie Sheen’s Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn.

“Just A Bit Outside” is airing on the Roku Channel until June 30.

Ray Romano honored at Paley Museum as it marks 30 years since first pilot episode for “Everybody Loves Raymond” 

Actor Ray Romano, who grew up in Forest Hills, and the team behind his successful classic CBS series “Everybody Loves Raymond,” were panelists at midtown’s Paley Museum last Monday night in honor of the 30th anniversary of filming the show’s pilot episode. Romano told the Paley Museum audience he was never happy with the show’s title because he feared he would be the butt of jokes for its hubris for the rest of his career. Fortunately for him, that has not occurred.

Music World grieves the passing of Lou Christie

Pop music suffered another loss last week with the passing of singer Lou Christie who was a staple on the oldies concert circuit because of hits such as “Lighting Strikes,” “I’m Gonna Make You Mine,” “The Gypsy Cried,” and “Rhapsody in the Rain.” 

The 1960s were a fertile time for pop music, especially for falsetto singers. Christie could hit the highest notes even better than such practitioners as Frankie Valli, Del Shannon, Brian Wilson, and Jay Siegel. 

I remember seeing Christie perform at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia many years ago. Christie told the audience about growing up in Pittsburgh which elicited some good-natured boos. “Hey, it’s Pennsylvania!” he quickly replied, and the crowd applauded him for his diplomatic riposte. 

“Turtles” back on SiriusXM after nearly 20 years

Speaking of 1960s music, SiriusXM is finally playing Turtles hits after having banned the group for nearly twenty years. The basis for the Turtles ban was that the band’s two lead singers, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, sued the satellite radio service for royalties. The courts ruled for SiriusXM, but its programming directors decided to never play their music again until now. It is nice to hear such classics as “Happy Together,” “It Ain’t Me, Babe,” “Elenore,” and “You Baby” again.

You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle.