Sunday, January 31, 2021

One panelist leaves. New panelist comes in for the State of the Mets.



On Friday, I got an email from Mark Healey the host of The State of the Mets Panel that one of the participants had to drop out. Michael Mayer formerly of MetsMerized Online wasn't able to be a part of the panel. No reason was given and no reason was asked by us over at the QBC. To be 100 percent transparent, we let Mark pick who he wants to be on the panel and he always asked if we are cool with who he picks. 99 percent of the time we haven't had a problem with the picks. Mark does a great job every year and he has been able to pivot and get another great participant. He was able to get Lori Rubinson for the panel.

We thank Lori (@LRubinson on twitter) who has been kind enough to join Mark Healey, Joe DeMayo and Tim B. Healey on the State of the Mets panel at Virtual QBC 2021 this Saturday 2/6/21.


Make sure you subscribe to our youtube channel and click subscribe and hit the notification button so you know when we are live. When we hit 250 subscribers we will pick a random subscriber to win a prize.

We are also doing this for free but we are accepting tips. If you feel like throwing us a buck or two, we appreciate it, if not, enjoy the free show. Click here to read more about it.


Just so you guys know the replacement had nothing to do with what has happened over the weekend with some blogs and what is going on with them.

SNY posts a tweet. Deletes said tweet. Apologizes for tweet.

Just because SNY is going to be at QBC this Saturday 2/6/21 with Baseball Night in NY doesn't mean I am not going to say something about this.

SNY Apologized for a tweet they made earlier in the night. 

What are they apologizing for?


I don't know who okayed this tweet. Not only is it not funny, but it isn't original. At least they did apologize. Personal threats and harassment is not anything to make fun of. Guess the author of the tweet doesn't remember a twitter personality who was arrested for threats against Mets players and Citi Field.

 

Saturday, January 30, 2021

METS SIGN LHP AARON LOUP

 




METS SIGN LHP AARON LOUP

 

FLUSHING, N.Y., January 30, 2021 – The New York Mets announced today that the team has signed left-handed pitcher Aaron Loup to a one-year contract. 

 

Loup, 33, spent the 2020 season with the Tampa Bay Rays, going 3-2 with a 2.52 ERA (seven earned runs/25.0 innings) with four walks and 22 strikeouts in 24 games. He allowed two earned runs in 5.1 innings in the postseason, striking out six and allowing two walks.

 

Overall, he owns a career record of 15-22 with six saves, a 3.38 ERA (132 earned runs/351.0 innings) with 104 walks and 326 strikeouts in 406 games. The southpaw has held left-handed hitters to a .232 batting average in his career, including a .212 (7-33) mark last season.

 

The Raceland, LA native was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft out of Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. He pitched for Toronto from 2012-2018 before the Philadelphia Phillies acquired him at the 2018 trade deadline. In 2019, he appeared in four games for the San Diego Padres.

 

Steve Cohen and his family received personal threats.

 




Seems to be the reason the why Steve jumped off Twitter is because of threats against both he and his family. I wonder how many of them were Mets fans vs Barstool folks vs trolls. This is not the way you handle things folks. I really don’t get the love for the Barstool brand. Guess I’m old. Do you guys remember that twitter troll Dan Tanna and how he get busted for death threats and threatening Citi Field a few years ago? It be something if some folks get busted over this too.


How some folks are seeing Steve Cohen right now.

 


With all this stuff going on with Steve Cohen, Gamestop and, Hedgefunds, some folks are looking at Steve Cohen as a super villain now. Now I told you guys even though you were cheering that Steve Cohen wasn't Wilpons and you might start turning on Cohen after the honeymoon period. I am not going to say that I am super knowledgeable with how stock market/hedge funds work, but I know people who work in that world and they have explained to me that what Steve Cohen and his Point72 group did nothing illegal.

Right now these guys are seeing Cohen like Lex Luthor right now.



You guys got a look behind the curtain on how Uncle Steve made his money to buy the Mets and pay for players. This was how the sausage was made and folks now don't like it.  With him closing down his twitter account, I am sure there were legal eagles in his legal department that told him to stop engaging with the fans, trolls, and Portnoys of the world in case he says anything he shouldn't. It could have been something innocuous but who knows.

Relax. This is the same Steve Cohen you guys were all lauding when he bought the team and no, the finances with the Mets aren't going to be in trouble.


Former Met Daniel Murphy aka #IMWITH28 has retired.

 






Congratulations on an Amazin’ career, Murph! 🧡💙


On of my favorite Mets players just retired the other day. He was love by some, vilified by some, and some just laughed at some of his silly baseball IQ missteps that he has taken.  



One of my favorite things was being able to design this shirt and have Murph wearing it. Good luck Daniel in the future. Would love to have him at a future QBC event.

 

Friday, January 29, 2021

Steve Cohen chased off twitter.


 



@Metspolice and myself tried to warn a lot of you about the backlash that could happen with a billionaire who made his money off the stock market. You all said you didn't care that he paid a $1.8 billion dollar fine to the SEC a few years ago and it was fine as long as he makes the team into a winner. Man a lot of you are hypocrites. I am glad Steve bought the Mets over JLO and AROD. A lot of you folks don't realize how the stock market has been run basically its whole existence. You guys think what he did was a crime? Ethically ambiguous maybe. Crime not from what I can see. 

Was just waiting to see how long the honeymoon would last. I guess we found out.



 

Thursday, January 28, 2021

@QBConvention's YouTube Channel has 203 Subscribers

 



We have been trying to build the QBC YouTube channel. The reason we have been doing that is because once we hit a certain amount of followers we could get our custom URL.

HERE IT IS!! https://www.youtube.com/c/QueensBaseballConvention. It'll make it easier to share to your friends and fellow Mets fans.

When we hit 250 Subscribers we will give away a prize to a random subscriber. After that, we hit 500 subscribers, we will give out a bigger prize to a random subscriber. Remember to subscribe, share, and turn on notifications.

Remember the Virtual QBC is Saturday 2/6/21 and here is the Schedule.


The QBC is free but we also set up a tip jar. Read about it here.


Wednesday, January 27, 2021

LHP STEVEN MATZ TRADED TO TORONTO FOR THREE PITCHERS

 

We have acquired RHP Sean Reid-Foley, RHP Josh Winckowski and RHP Yennsy Díaz from Toronto in exchange for LHP Steven Matz. #Mets https://bit.ly/39oyp6q

Posted by New York Mets on Wednesday, January 27, 2021


FLUSHING, N.Y., January 27, 2021 — The New York Mets today announced that they have acquired RHP Sean Reid-Foley, RHP Josh Winckowski and RHP Yennsy Díaz from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for LHP Steven Matz.

Reid-Foley, 25, was 1–0 with a 1.35 ERA (one earned run/6.2 innings) in five games in relief for the Blue Jays in 2020. The 6–3, 230-pounder was Toronto’s second-round selection in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft from Sandalwood High School (FL).

In parts of three seasons with the Blue Jays, Reid-Foley is 5–8 with a 4.40 ERA (35 earned runs/71.2 innings) with 76 strikeouts in 21 games, 13 starts.

Winckowski, 22, combined to go 10–8 with a 2.69 ERA (38 earned runs/127.1 innings) with Dunedin (A) of the Florida State League and Lansing (A) of the Midwest League in 2019. The 6–4, 202-pounder was the Blue Jays’ 27th-best prospect in 2020 according to MLB.com.

Winckowski is 18–17 with a 3.35 ERA (98 earned runs/263.0 innings) with 237 strikeouts in 54 games, 50 starts across four minor league seasons. He was Toronto’s 15th-round pick in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Estero High School (FL).

Díaz, 24, made his major league debut in 2019, appearing in one game with Toronto. The 6–1, 210-pounder was 11–9 with a 3.74 ERA (60 earned runs/144.1 innings) and 116 strikeouts in 26 games, 24 starts for New Hampshire (AA) of the Eastern League in 2019. He was the Blue Jays’ 26th-best prospect in 2020 according to MLB.com.

Díaz is 34–26 with a 3.84 ERA (205 earned runs/481.0 innings) with 429 strikeouts in 96 games, 84 starts over five minor league seasons. He was originally signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Blue Jays in 2014.

Matz, 29, was 31–41 with a 4.35 ERA (280 earned runs/579.2 innings) over six seasons with the Mets. He made three starts during the 2015 postseason, posting a 3.68 ERA (six earned runs/14.2 innings). Matz was New York’s 2020 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award. It was the third time he was nominated for the prestigious award. 

Zack Scott Acting @Mets GM


FLUSHING, N.Y., January 27, 2021 — The New York Mets today announced that Zack Scott will serve as the acting General Manager beginning immediately. Scott joined the organization as the club’s Senior Vice President/Assistant General Manager on December 23, 2020.

@QBConvention: Virtual Queens Baseball Convention 2021 AKA Virtual QBC 2021 Press Release

 


Contact: Keith Blacknick or Dan Twohig FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE QBC2016@GMAIL.COM

2021 QUEENS BASEBALL CONVENTION GOES VIRTUAL WITH SUPER JOE McEWING

Organizers of the Queens Baseball Convention announced that they will be hosting a fully virtualexperiencetotakeplaceonSaturday,February6 .

Keith Blacknick and Dan Twohig, co-founders and partners in the 8-year old fan-fest, also announced that the event would be broadcast for free on the QBC YouTube channel, citing the pandemic and wanting to give back to the fanbase that has supported the event since 2014.

Former Met Joe McEwing will headline the event, participating in a live panel discussion and will be taking questions from fans.

Also announced was that in partnership with SNY, the TV home of the New York Mets, Doug Williams, Andy Martino, Sal Licata, and Jim Duquette will host a live version of Baseball Night in New York. This will be the third consecutive QBC that SNY has hosted a live panel.

Panels on the State of the Mets, the pros and cons of black jerseys, and Mets artists will also take place.

th
The 2021 QBC will kick off at 1 PM on Saturday Feb. 6 . For more information or for inquiries, please

email us at QBC2016@gmail.com, or follow us on social media (Twitter @QBConvention  Facebook QueensBaseballConvention.com also on themediagoon.com and @mediagoon on twitter.

ABOUT THE QBC
Founded in 2013, the Queens Baseball Convention was created as a mid-winter gathering of fans of the New York Mets
. Our design is a combination of “Fan Fest” meets “Comic Con.” Since its start it has grown into the largest fan-run fan fest in the New York area.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Schedule for Virtual QBC 2021 

QBC 2021 Schedule

1 – 1:45   State of the Mets

2 – 2:25   Black Jersey Discussion

2:30 – 3:30   Baseball Night in NY

3:30 – 4:00   Mets Artist Spotlight

4 – 4:50   Super Joe McEwing


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QBC 2021 is free but we are accepting tips. Read about it here.


Tuesday, January 26, 2021

FOCO Limited Edition Gary Carter Bobblehead up fro preorder.








Limited Numbered Edition of ONLY 360! 8" Bobblehead By FOCO. Exclusive to CLARKtoys.com. Ozzie Smith (St. Louis Cardinals) 1982 World Series Champions Ring Base Bobblehead Exclusive #/360.






@QBConvention 2021 is Virtual and Interactive.

 


Queens Baseball Convention is 2/2/21. Via our YouTube Channel.

Hey guys. I wanted to bring up something that I don think I have brought up to you guys before. You know how we have Q and A towards the end of the panels? Well with the set up we are using you can ask your questions while watching the panels. You can type your questions into the live chat and I can pull them up for the hosts of the panels to answer; It makes the panels more interactive and more fun. If you watch the video you'll see what I mean.


Remember to subscribe, like, share, and sign up for notification so you know when we go live.

QBC 2021 Schedule

1 – 1:45        State of the Mets- Hosted by Mark Healey

2 – 2:25        Black Jersey Discussion- Hosted by Media Goon

2:30 – 3:30   Baseball Night in NY- Featuring Doug Williams, Andy Martino, Sal Licata, Jim Duquette

3:30 – 4:00   Mets Artist Spotlight- Hosted by Media Goon

4 – 4:50        Super Joe McEwing- Hosted by Matthew Cerrone





Amazin' Alumni Zoom Q an A sessions for Assisted Living Facility Residents

 


This is a good job by the Mets Org.




The Mets are proud to partner with various assisted living facilities in the tri-state region to bring their residents a blast from the past through the Amazin' Alumni Series.

As part of the program, residents have the opportunity to take part in a virtual meet and greet and Q&A session, offering a personalized experience with some of the former Mets players that they grew up watching.

This program aims to offer new experiences and excitement to seniors in assisted living facilities, as health concerns have limited access to visitors and activities for many residents.

To learn more about how to get your facility involved in this opportunity, please email community@nymets.com for more information. 

Monday, January 25, 2021

The Virtual @QBConvention 2021 schedule for 2/6/21

 



In case you guys were wondering what the Queens Baseball Convention 2021 Schedule was going to be, here it its.


QBC 2021 Schedule

1 – 1:45        State of the Mets- Hosted by Mark Healey

2 – 2:25        Black Jersey Discussion- Hosted by Media Goon

2:30 – 3:30   Baseball Night in NY- Featuring Doug Williams, Andy Martino, Sal Licata, Jim Duquette

3:30 – 4:00   Mets Artist Spotlight- Hosted by Media Goon

4 – 4:50        Super Joe McEwing- Hosted by Matthew Cerrone


Go here to the Queens Baseball Channel on youtube. Subscribe, share, click on notifications that way you get up to date info and when we go live on the channel.

We set up a virtual tip jar also. Read about it here.


The @QBConvention is free. We are accepting tips though.

 



Hey guys. We can't wait until Saturday Feb 6, 2021. The first ever Virtual Queens Baseball Convention is that day. We have a pretty full day planned. We have State of the Mets Panel returning, SNY's Baseball Night in NY returning. The Black Jersey, Yay or Nay panel. The Mets Fan Artist Panel. The Super Joe McEwing Panel and we might have one or two more panels but we can't promise that right now. And yes, we are doing this for free. That's right. We are doing it for free but we are adding a virtual "Tip Jar". I have included it on this blog in the right hand corner and will include it in the bottom of this post. The suggested donation is going to be $5.00. Now you don't have to give anything at all if you don't want to. We just put this up to help recoup some of the money from paying for the tech to stream, getting Joe McEwing and putting whatever we have left over towards the in person QBC that we still have plans for at Mulcahy's when we can return to hanging with each other.

Dan and I are working our butts off as usual to make this a great event. We aren't as stressed as we usual are trying to make it work and making sure we made enough money to cover the player and venue fees and not have to go into our own pockets. We are doing this Virtual QBC as a thank you for all the support over the years and we think all need something fun to be a part of after the way the last year has been. So the tip jar is here as a suggestion and you are no way obligated to put anything in if you don't want to.


Make sure you you subscribe, like, comment, and turn on notifications to the QBC You Tube Channel.



Click the graphic QBC Virtual Tip Jar above to leave a tip. Thanks everyone.

QBC Conversations: Dave Majo, Joe Maricic and Jon Salazar

 



I have been popping up on our QBC YouTube channel every once in a while with Dave Majo, Joe Maricic, and even this time with Jon Salazar. We talked Mets, Marvel, and some other pop culture.



We are at 196 subscribers right now. We hit 250 subscribers we will give away another cool prize to a random subscriber. Click here to subscribe, like and to click notifications. Why is it important to click subscribe and turn on notifications? Feb 6 2021. Virtual QBC with SNY's BaseBall Night in NY, State of the Mets panel, Super Joe McEwing Panel, Black Jerseys Ya or nay panel and a couple more.

Some old Mets or Same old Mets fans

 


Mets fans are starting to get cranky because the Mets and Steve Cohen didn’t just grab all the free agents that are/were out on the free agent market. “The Mets didn’t do anything this offseason. Same old Mets”. The Mets made a huge trade for one of the best young players in the game. When were the Mets in the position to do that. Not only did they make that trade, they are in position to sign Lindor long term which cements the team as a possible contender for years. 

“They didn’t go for Realmuto and just got McCann”. The Mets have some of the most solid pitchers in the game. They have plenty of pop and hitters in the line up so you can sign a catcher who is good on defense and frame pitches. The team hasn’t had that in a good while.

“The Mets didn’t get Springer!”. And? So what. They might be in on Jacky Bradley Junior. If they get him, they aren’t spending money on a player who wanted six years and a good amount of money who probably only has about four years at the most of him playing CF. And what do you do with Dom Smith and Nimmo right now if there isn’t a DH? I can see Nimmo coming off the bench if need be which isn’t a bad thing but still, there is a ton of moving parts going on.

“The Mets didn’t get Brad Hand!!!” They tried. They offered him two years but he wanted to be guaranteed the closer job. I think the Mets did the right thing by not guaranteeing any roles in the bullpen right now.

I was asking a few weeks ago about when do Mets fans start whining and complaining about the spending by the front office. Stop Spending Cohen’s Money like it’s your own. The Mets are “in” on these conversations. They are trying to make deals with players and if it doesn’t happen it doesn’t happen. But, just remember that at this time last year the Mets were shopping for used Yugos(don’t know what a Yugo is? Google it)  while this year they are in the new car show room. Some of you fans need to get over yourselves.


Saturday, January 23, 2021

@QBConvention past posts popping up from the first QBC

 


From Queens Chronicle in 2014. It was the first QBC. All I remember is how much work and fun it was.

Friday, January 22, 2021

Former Mets Manager Battling Covid-19

 





Get Well Soon Davey. 

Thursday, January 21, 2021

The precursor to the @QBConvention

 


Folks have wondered where the idea for the Queens Baseball Convention came from. Well, it was birthed by the Mets Police Awards aka The Mazzys. The idea of the "Live Awards" came to me and my cousin Shannon Shark on a whim and as usual at the time, the tech and producing and getting the actual Mazzy Awards in time for the show fell on me. Shannon did the writing and creative producing for the show while I was the producer and director. Darren of the7line hopped on board with his marketing genius and we all pushed the idea into reality.



The Mets Police Awards. from TheMediaGoon.com on Vimeo.

I am stealing this whole post from Metspolice.com

Mets Police Awards recap, video, pictures and winners

On Saturday night we held the first live-ceremony of the Mets Police Awards where several Mets fans gathered and we actually handed out Mazzys.

The event was beyond what we hoped. Media Goon and I (with some poking from Darren at The 7 Line) had been kicking this around for like two months and couldn’t quite decide when, where or what to do. So last weekend we decided just to jump in the pool and see what happened.

We called out a bar (Donovan’s at Woodside) and a time and hoped for the best.

Goon and I have spent many many hours at Donovan’s and on the way over I even wondered aloud about worst case scenario. Then we walked in and Donovan’s was PACKED like I have never seen in 20+ years of Donovansing. Seems there was a wedding across the street and the young folks came for a beverage,

Anyway, we did have a room in the back and a sizeable crowd showed up for Awards. (Click on it for a bigger view)

The crowd at the 2012 Mets Police Awards
The crowd at the 2012 Mets Police Awards

The winners are….

Mets Player of the Year: R.A. Dickey. Sadly R.A. could not attend but @zofourtwenty nailed the acceptance speech by thanking Modell’s.

2012 Mets Police Award winner Mark HealeyThe Gunslinger of the Year….Mark Healey. This was a fun one to give out and captured the spirit of the night. Many of us have ridiculous twitter arguments, twitter wars, twitter banter…but it’s just passionate Mets fans having a discussion. Mark and I probably go at it 3x a week but it was good to hang.

 

 

Mark later got up and accepted the Award for Mets Executive Of The Year on behalf of Shannon Forde. I did email Shannon to tell her she won and she seems happy and honored. We’ll get her Mazzy to her at a game.

 

 

 

Another fun award is the Have You Read My Post Award which honestly exists for only one reason. So we can, um, honor, Ed Marcus from The Real Dirty for his, um, aggressive twitter marketing of his posts. Here he is accepting his Mazzy.

IMG_1889

mets police awards fan of the year darren meenan the7line

Another one that was great to give out was Fan Of The Year which went to Darren of The7Line. The guy nailed the zeitgeist this year from the Carter 8 shirts which were adopted by the players, Hi57ory, all things Dickey and the cool event at the last game of the year. Totally in-sync with the fanbase’s emotional core. Great job, with some solid fundraising along the way. There was also a very special consideration for this award which wasn’t even mentioned in the nominations but I will get to that below.

 

 

The Man Up And Play Better Award goes to the player who steps up his game. R.A. Dickey with the second win of the night.

 

 

Next up was Best Writer. 

A little history on The Awards. This started as some December Filler a few years back where I just typed up some awards and filled a post and got a little attention. This year Darren and Media Goon suggested we turn it into an event.

As we started mapping it around we talked about not going for the obvious, and in one of the earlier drafts we considered giving this one to Randy from The Apple because he really nails his craft. But then I couldn’t imagine any scenario where Greg Prince didn’t win. He’s just better.

In the post-ceremony hang Randy told me that when he heard he was nominated he actually had the “oh no” feeling and was going to decline if Greg didn’t win. Well here’s your three time Best Writer…Greg Prince!

MetsPolice Best Writer award winner Greg Prince
MetsPolice Best Writer award winner Greg Prince

Continuing our fun, there has been an in-joke among bloggers that Kerel Cooper is the Best Looking. Well it’s not really a joke, he probably is, but we like to just keep telling him that for fun banter in that male-schoolyard kind of way. I’ve been schticking it up most of the year that I might find Kelly Lake better looking than Kerel and hinted that she might win.

What we wanted to do was see the look on Kerel’s face when we went in a totally different direction, but unfortunately Kerel couldn’t make it (with very good reason.) We talked about giving him the award anyway and then decided nah…the Best Looking is Randy Medina from readtheapple.com who started the whole Kerel schtick in the first place.

MetsPolice Best Looking Award winner Randy Medina readtheapple.com
MetsPolice Best Looking Award winner Randy Medina readtheapple.com

 

Our final in-ceremony award was to the Most Powerful Person In The Blogosphere. This one was decided by a vote on the website and the winner was Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog. 

There are a few other categories that we scrubbed from the live ceremony because we thought they would just drag down the night, but I do want to award them.

hofstra mets conference metspolice 1A very special Mazzy to Greg Prince for his work on the Hofstra 50th Anniversary Conference, which was one of the highlights of the year. I guess we could create a “best event” category next year and throw in things like the Dickey Outing or even these silly awards. Greg could have won Fan of The Year for finishing what Dana started…but let’s honor Greg separately here for his great work.

Blog Of The Year annually goes to a newer blogger. I like to give this to a blog that popped on the radar so that we can turn more people on to the newer sites rather than just picking say MetsBlog which of course is great but doesn’t need the promotion in this case. The Blog of The Year goes to MetsBro.com who had more Uniform Scoops than anyone and was dead accurate every time.

Jersey of the Year goes to $20’s at Modell’s road blue Dickey 2013 jerseys! Home pins could have won but the $20 sale had many many of us jump in our cars on a snowy Friday before Christmas to go back some jerseys.

Slogan of the Year is something that catches in my mind making me type it incessantly. While it didn’t work out, Faith Will Be Rewardedgot us through half the summer at least.

The Blog Post of The Year is the post that got the most traffic. Thanks to incoming links from both MetsBlog and UniWatch…the Mets Uniform Rumor Roundup proves that folks are at least semi-interested in the ongoing uniform discussions.

mets banner day 2012 metspolice.com 125Banner of the Year. So many good choices but y’all know I loves my Mettle the Mule.

Best Donut….Maple Frosted.

I think we have a nice template here for a cool event next January. The date seems to work…so we can pick that earlier (oh lets say first Saturday in January again)…promote it further out…do more with the nominations…if we do it 1-4-14 it’s a great time to honor Gil Hodges and LETS TRY TO CONVINCE BURKHARDT TO EMCEE IT!!!

 

Thanks to everyone who participated, came, promoted and organized. LGM!

Want to see what we have been up to since then? Go to our YouTube page subscribe, like, share, and turn on your notifications.  Why am I doing all that? Because we are doing QBC 2021 virtually on Feb 6 2021 and you can watch it for free on YouTube.  Panels you ask? Why yes we have panels. State of the Mets, SNY's Baseball Night in NY, UniPanel: Return of Black Jerseys: Yay or Nay, Joe McEwing player panel and maybe one or two more. Let's Hang... Click here for the QBC YouTube Page.