Available this week at area newsstands is the Maple Street Press Mets Annual, to which I contributed a couple of articles including a bio of skipper Jerry Manuel that was a lot of fun to research and write. I had to attack this peice without knowing whether I’d get any help from the Mets in terms of an interview, and that uncertainty forced me to get off my butt and actually commit some journalism, for which I’m thankful. Among the people I spoke to was Jerry’s high-school baseball coach, Guy Anderson, who if you can believe this, is still coaching at Rancho Cordova High in Sacramento and couldn’t have been any more accommodating. I also got some valuable insight from the editor of the White Sox Interactive web site, who didn’t pull any punches when it came to the fan’s take on what went wrong during “The Tinkerererer’s” tenure there.

In the end the Mets were able to come through with some responses to my questions via email but the background work, as it often turns out to be, provided the best insights, were the most fun to pursue and ultimately make up the vast majority of the story.

Anyhow, please don’t pick this book up just for that: There’s quite a bit more good stuff in there including stats and analysis, a look at the minor leagues and draft, a look at the past (1969 and my favorite year, 1984) and the future at the new ballyard. Really, it’s a nice way to start looking forward to the season.

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You may have seen the list of links to the left has been reorganized recently, and I’d like to call attention to a few of the new arrivals. I stumbled onto Centerfield Maz one afternoon recently and felt right at home reading a blog that discusses the drama of Cesar Cedeno and the first album from KISS in addition to Mets history.

Alex G., who in addition to starting a flattering Facebook Group that I’m declaring to be the official Facebook home of Mets by the Numbers, has also launched a new Mets blog, Bleeding Orange and Blue. Busting the other links into categories has also allowed me to add good stuff like Ron Kaplan’s Baseball Books and Mark Weinstein’s Bluenatic that didn’t really fit into the old architecture.Yeah, this is a minor innovation but I like it.

I think if I knew when I started this site that it would be the among the longest surviving in Metdom I mighta turned it into a Cerronesque cash cow if only I’d been less discerning about linking out (and maybe a little less lazy). On the other hand there has to be value in leading you not into bad writing. It’s all approved for your reading pleasure.

 

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