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Uni Watch

Now Just Fire Wayne Hagin Already and We’ll Be All Set

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Duda Wright Davis in 2012 Uniforms.JPG

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For a time, life was Good. Or at least it seemed Good, because for the most part it looked Good. So even when fate threw various obstacles in our path — which, in retrospect, happened more often than not — at least the tableau unfolding before us was generally pleasing to the eye.

But then the Dark Plague began its devastating infestation. The first symptom was the appearance of blackened pustules on the chest. These soon spread to the extremities, and before long the malignancy had proliferated throughout the body. So began the dire times we have experienced, lo these past dozen years.

Despite our best efforts to fight the Dark Plague, it has proven to be a resilient enemy. And so even in those fleeting moments when life was Good, it usually did not look Good, and consequently it did not feel Good. Although there have always been those of us who refused to give up hope, deep down we wondered if we would ever live to see the day when the Dark Plague finally succumbed to the forces of Good.

My friends, that day is finally at hand.

Any way you slice it, the news coming out of Shea yesterday (which was 50 years to the day after they unveiled their first logo, incidentally) was a win-win. Or maybe a win-win-win-win-win-win. Here’s rundown of the developments, nearly all of them positive:

• The black drop shadow has been removed from the white, pinstriped, and gray jerseys. You can see high-res versions of those jerseys here, here, and here.

• The black/blue hybrid cap (which had been the official road cap but was also frequently worn at home) has been eliminated. The blue cap will now be worn with the white, pinstriped, and gray jerseys.

• The black undersleeves and socks, which were always worn on the road and sometimes at home, have been eliminated. The white, pinstriped, and gray jerseys will now be paired with blue accessories.

• The herringbone-patterned glacier twill lettering fabric has been eliminated. The new jerseys are using conventional tackle twill. (Here’s how it looks on the script.)

• Although all of these changes are being introduced to coincide with the team’s 50th anniversary, they are not one-year changes. I have confirmed through a team source that the plan is to retain all of the above-listed changes for the long term. I repeat: There are no plans to bring back any of the black elements.

• The team has a new anniversary logo, which is being worn as a sleeve patch on the jerseys. Interestingly, there’s a slight discrepancy between the logo and the patch: Note the color of the baseball stitching on the left side. The version on the left is how it’s shown in the style guide. Weird.

• The anniversary logo is also being worn as a rear cap patch. Can’t say I’m 100% in love with this, but it’s better than putting a patch on the side of the cap (I hate that look — always makes the cap feel unbalanced), and I think this execution is much better than the giant patch the Yankees used a few years ago.

Disappointments? I count three, all fairly minor: (1) The black alternate jersey and solid-black cap have not been eliminated — yet. They’ll be used sparingly on the road in 2012, and then scrapped altogether in 2013. (2) I was hoping they’d go back to a blue squatchee for 2012, but they’re sticking with orange. (3) I was also hoping they’d restore the little “NY” to the skyline logo, but no dice. In the grand scheme of things, however, I can live with all of these.

And there you have it. After a dozen years of campaigning for most of these moves, I don’t mind saying that the long-awaited ditching of the black — VB Day — tastes pretty sweet. Today my giant souvenir Mets cup is filled with champagne. (Actually, I don’t own a souvenir cup, and I don’t particularly like champagne. But you get the idea.)

My thanks to everyone else who’s helped with the cause over the years, especially Shannon Shark over at Mets Police (who, unlike me, has actually been diplomatic enough to break bread with some of the team’s front office types and, I’m fairly certain, has made them take this kind of stuff more seriously). Enjoy the moment, people — an all-too-rare triumph of Good over Stupid.

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Notre Dame auction update: The auction for the Notre Dame promo box is continuing. The high bid as of this morning was $4301, which means today’s minimum bid is $4401. If nobody bids today, the minimum bid will increase to $4501 tomorrow.

Full details on how to bid, and everything else regarding the auction, can be found here.

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Hahahahahahahahahahahaha: Here, see for yourself.

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Uni Watch News Ticker: New 35th-anniversary patch for the Mariners. … Blue Jays will unveil their new set on Friday. … Teeny-tiny cap logo adjustment for the Dodgers. … Small item on this page indicates that the Pirates will be wearing camouflage uniforms on Memorial Day weekend, and will also be giving away camo jerseys to kids, which seems like a truly repellant idea. … Speaking of camo, it’s bad enough that the Blue Jackets just became the latest team to pull the camo warm-up stunt. But Rick Nash broke new ground on the G.I. Joe front by using — get this — camouflage tape on his stick. Just give every player an M-16 and get it over with already (from Adam Sgriccia). ”¦ A Canadian minor league baseball team is drawing criticism because it’s named after Jack the Ripper. ”¦ Here’s another great taffy-pull jersey shot. It’s from the Clemson/FSU game a few years ago (big thanks to Chip Powell). ”¦ Tosh.0 star Daniel Tosh wore nine different Oregon outfits during last night’s show (screen shots by Matt Dubroff). ”¦ I was recently interviewed by a Nebraska football equipment blog. … Just what the world needs: the glove-palm salute as a T-shirt (from Kate Sutter). … The Sabres are running a promotion to let fans design Ryan Miller’s mask (from Tim Tryjankowski). … Renfrew Hockey Tape — the brand that’s “synonymous with tape for hockey players worldwide,” according to a press release — now has its own web site. … The NFL is launching a new monthly magazine. … Who are these guys? None other than (from left) weekend editor Phil Hecken, readers Conn Nugent and Chance Michaels, and yours truly. The four of us celebrated VB Day last night by meeting up at the Harvard Club for cocktails and then moseyed around the block to a Brazilian restaurant, which is where that photo was taken (yes, they serve more than water, although you wouldn’t know it from that photo). A splendid evening all around, and fine capper to a very, very good day.

 
  
 
Comments (301)

    I can’t say enough how awesome those Mets jerseys look. You must be in heaven, Paul. :-)

    And what the sam hell are those Islanders rags? Are they TRYING *HARDER* to be the laughingstock of the league?

    I think I know the real reason why the Mets are finally done with the black. The Islanders stole all the black the Mets had.

    General Lukas, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces to Ditch the Black, I salute you. Great column, and thanks for the mention. It has truly been an honor to follow your lead and get this done.

    Interesting nugget that black dies after 2012.

    VB Day was a great day. See you at Banner Day!

    Thanks, and back atcha, Shannon. You’ve been an important player in all of this, what with your shuttle diplomacy with David Howard. Well done!

    It’s like the Mets donated all their black to the Islanders or something.

    Ugh. Canucks Vs > Fishermen > Wild Wing > Bruins pooh bear > Burger King > Mustard Preds third > Isles third. Not as bad as anything the Thrashers ever wore, but the hockey gods moved them to Winnipeg to make up for that.

    Donated? Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeet. More likely they sold them shares in “Black”, with promises of outlandish rates of return.

    Considering it’s their 40th Anniversary, the Islanders really screwed the pooch on that alternate. It looks like it was designed by a 5th grader. No thought at all. Only a real die hard will buy it and most Islander fans would rather wear the Fish Sticks jersey than that piece of shit.

    When I said the Fishermen jerseys were decades ahead of their time, you all laughed.

    How many would take a Fisherman now over that black garbage?

    I hate to say it, but the Fishermen are AWESOME compared to the new ridiculousness the Isles are wearing. And I love that fact.

    I never disliked the Fishermen, Teebz. Nor the Vs. I just listed them high up because everyone else seems to dig on them.

    About those Islander 3rd. I like the look but not the color ~ wished they had stayed with a blue base.
    In the past 40 years they had a some jersey malfunctions ~ I still think the Orange Blob was the worst, this 2nd from the bottom because of color choice.
    My personal favorite was the one from the cup years, follow by the hybird (old logo on the fisherman design)

    Not surprised the Blue Jackets are sporting camo duds for warm up. The fans have been camouflaged as seats for a while now.

    I’m still calling it V-BFBS Day.

    Awesome as the Mets Renaissance is, it didn’t address a problem even more fundamental than the presence of black. You’ve got trouble, my friends, trouble right there in New York City. Trouble with a capital T, and that rhymes with P, and that stands for Pinstripe/Plain Perplexity. Or PinPlaP, as it’s known in the medical literature. Teams that suffer from PinPlaP, teams like the Houston Astros, experience fractured personalities that prevent them from prospering. You see, the most fundamental foundation of any healthy team’s identity is whether it wears pinstripes at home, or plain white jerseys.

    Much as I’ve always loved the way the Mets look in pinstripes, you can ask any one of the 7 billion humans on the planet right now what the first word is that comes to mind when you say, “New York and pinstripes.” About half will have no clue, and every single other human being on the planet will say either “banking” or “the Yankees.” Mets play in the wrong town to build a pinstriped identity, whereas their plain home set nicely mirrors the beautiful road grays and gives them a much stronger not-the-Yankees identity. But which they choose doesn’t matter, so long as a choice is made. Until then, PinPlaP will continue to prevent the Mets from procuring the pennant.

    Also, the orange squatchees are just fine, and I kinda miss the herringbone twill. Still, existentially catastrophic PinPlaP aside, the Mets have gone from being the second-ugliest team in baseball to being the best-dressed team in the NL East. Kudos to everyone who had a hand in V-BFBS Day.

    if the mets had not worn pins exclusively for the first 35 years of their life, i’d be more wont to agree with your assessment

    and, honestly, if i had to pick between the two *looks*, i’d say i prefer the snow whites (especially with the lack of hosiery currently in vogue)

    that being said…the mets are a pinstriped team, and as they were birthed in pins, that is how they will always look to me…i would have preferred NNOB and N#OF, but like paul says, this set is more than good and the little niggling things they didn’t quite get right are far outweighed by the ditching o’ the black

    i like the orange squatchee, so im fine with that, and i don’t particularly care they didn’t add the “NY” in the logo…it would have been nice if DW had worn socks or rups yesterday, but we wouldn’t want him to look professional uncomfortable in his PJs

    Agreed on pins as best look because of history. Would love to see that blue 1980s jersey back in some form, though. Love the blue and orange look.

    I don’t mind NOB and I prefer #OF, even if it’s not quite pure-1962. I would also have preferred the pins be white instead of off-white, but I can live with that as well, and they actually look a whole lot better in real-life and from a distance than they do in up-close photos. If I had to choose between the pins and the plains, I’d go with the pins because I like the “Mets” script better without the blue placket piping, but I wouldn’t like the plain whites without the piping, so let’s not go there.

    I concur that I can live with the orange squatchee and without the NY on the skyline logo. My vintage-1998 road jersey has the patch with the NY; maybe I’ll buy a new jersey and stick that one on there…. hmmm…….

    I might actually go out of my way to attend as many Mets road games next year as I can, just to see those gorgeous road grays in living color.

    Regarding the Mets…funny how a completely traditional uniform gives a team a distictive look. Well done…

    QUESTION: Why is this sleeve patch better than all other sleeve patches?

    ANSWER: Because it isn’t being worn in addition to the standard sleeve patch, it’s being worn in place of the standard patch.

    Strangely though, on the Mets MLB store website, it IS being worn in addition to the standard patch on the dreaded black jersey!

    And WTF is up with the Dodgers and Mets, on a corporate level? Suddenly, each team’s ownership is mired in paralyzing financial chaos, and just as suddenly, each team begins making excellent design and marketing decisions. Is this a league-wide phenomenon, that baseball’s front-office staff is filled with creative and aesthetically sensitive talent, but the typically imperious autodidacts who own teams impose their own limited vision and dreadful taste on their teams? Such that, once ownership is removed from day-to-day operations by legal troubles, staff competence is able to carry the day? Or is this just something unique to the Mets and Dodgers?

    What better way to offer the appearance that things are stable than to go back to pure tradition, or at least an appearance of it? The Mets unis immediately take your mind back to simpler days before said financial chaos. Clever trick!

    SB

    Speaking as a Phillies fan I love the return to these uniforms. Shoot for 4th place this year Mets, while looking good.

    As a Braves fan I applaud the move to ditch the black. If we have to play y’all 18 times a year, the least you can do is look professional.

    And their god-awful blue alts, and their god-awful all-blue caps? Scrape off the barnacles of the last decade’s worth of crappy additions, and the Braves would be the best-looking team in baseball. But with all the alts, and the red-less cap, the Braves serve mainly to make Miami and Washington look classy. Heck, now that the Mets have ditched the black and the Jays may be going back to blue, the Braves might just open 2012 as the worst-uniformed team in baseball.

    Glad somebody agrees with me about the Braves’ alts. I think that the home whites and road grays are perfection, though I’d rather the road caps have the red bill. But the blue alt is just horrible. The red? Eh… I can live with it, though I think it needs to be darker. In the sunlight it almost looks orange. But yes, the blue is a horrible abomination to an otherwise great uniform.

    If I could change anything about the home uni, it would be to exactly replicate that awesome Boston Braves throwback from last season, right down to the black tomahawk and gorgeous ‘rups.

    And the Mets will be looking very good from the back, which will be the vantage point of the Phils and Braves come September 2012. Madoff’s widow has invested some big bucks in the Mets’ free agency hope chest, and don’t be surprised if two-thirds of the big-headline signings end up in Lukas Field. Our year!

    Now they just need to ditch the pinstripes and replace them with a blue alt, and add a cap with an orange brim and they’d be good.

    “Now they just need to ditch the pinstripes black alt and replace them with a blue alt (which they will in 2013), and add a cap with an orange brim and they’d be good.”

    (Fixed)

    Why do they need 2 different white uniforms?

    The black going away and replacing one of the whites with blue gives them 3 jerseys. They don’t need 4, do they?

    Teams have been wearing softball tops, if you must call them that, for over 30 years. It’s pretty much a normal part of the game at this point. (Seriously, how long does something need to be done to be “traditional”?)

    /Or they could wear mono-blue, that’d be fine too.

    I don’t think they need more than two jerseys. Works for the Yankees.

    As for softball tops, the Cubs essentially wore blue softball tops for years as their road jerseys. And I never did like them, and I loved when the road grays came back. They may be part of the game now, or even “traditional,” doesn’t mean they look good.

    My other little nitpick is the use of the word “alternate”. Someone please explain that to the Astros, please.

    No, they don’t. I always thought the plain whites became unnecessary when the black alts came along; instead they became the de facto home uniform (with the odious hybrid cap, no less, which they were never meant to be worn with in the first place) for 11 seasons.

    That said, I don’t mind having three home uniforms (pins, whites and blues) if they all look good, and especially if there’s only one cap worn with all three jerseys.

    “Why do they need 2 different white uniforms?”

    They don’t, really. But if they’re going to HAVE to have an alternate, better be it a white or cream jersey that still strives to look professional and could be considered a tasteful primary replacement someday.

    “Teams have been wearing softball tops, if you must call them that, for over 30 years. It’s pretty much a normal part of the game at this point. (Seriously, how long does something need to be done to be “traditional”?)”

    White and gray goes back to the very beginning, so we’re talking what, mid to 3/4er 1800s? Even in the 20th Century, softball & monochrome was pretty brief in the grand scheme of things; especially when broken down by teams.

    As for “softball tops”, their main modern origin is of a product from the 1970s to mid-1980s, and are inevitable a dated fad idea; that as it may be. They also come off as some (of the same era introduced) cheap-looking batting practice rags / some anemic pop culture / revenue generating fashion jersey pony trick. This is how a traditionalist views it. I just can’t wrap my head around the idea of wearing a colored top without thinking it’s Spring Training or batting practice, or some softball game or some regular daily common folk attire.

    You’re either on one side of the line or the other. But the modern mindset outside of the Yankees is “Man, we CAN’T wear just ONE jersey for 81 home or roads games! We just CAN’T.”. It’s some kind of psychological issue, like “oh black jerseys make me play better or looks more badass”. Preposterous.

    I’d thrown the Tigers in there as a team that’ll always wear the same home uni. That old English D isn’t going anywhere.

    If they have worn a variation of which I’m unaware, I’d be surprised.

    A royal with orange brimmed Mets cap isn’t traditional and would most likely look odd and like a cheap souvenir cap (re: Cubs old royal & red brimmed road cap). It’s like when the Red Sox twice tried to add a red crowned cap – while it makes a ton of sense – it just doesn’t look right.

    I get it as part of my normal package with Direct TV. I also get the NBA network, Tennis channel, Golf channel and I believe I get the MLB network but I’m not a huge baseball fan so I don’t really care that much.

    Sadly, WOW used to carry it a couple years ago… they took it away due to some BS about increased cost or something.

    But hey, we get the Oprah network. Woo-hoo!!1!

    /It wasn’t worth watching 90% of the time anyway.

    people read magazines? like, you get them @ a checkout lane, or…in the MAIL? with dated content since the Intertubes update every second? Like Twitter, have you heard of it?

    Silly.

    Gonna go out on a limb and predict it won’t be anywhere as good as link or link were.

    By the way, I have those two magazines (mine isn’t autographed, though). One of these days I need to do that eBay thing…lots more decluttering to do here.

    Hopefully my links work this time…

    Gonna go out on a limb and predict it won’t be anywhere as good as link or link were.

    By the way, I have those two magazines (mine isn’t autographed, though). One of these days I need to do that eBay thing…lots more decluttering to do here.

    Ahhh, Pro Quarterback! Now yer talkin’! Gotta be in my top-5 all-time mags, right up there with Mad, Famous Monsters, Billboard and Record Collector.

    Hmmmm. This story:
    link

    Includes this passage:

    “In addition, the interlocking NY from the original insignia has been restored after having been removed in the 1990s.”

    Really? Wow! I’ll try to confirm this.

    From Wikipedia:

    Tenterhooks were used as far back as the fourteenth century in the process of making woollen cloth. After the cloth was woven it still contained oil from the fleece and some dirt. A fuller (also called a tucker or wa[u]lker) cleaned the woollen cloth in a fulling mill, and then had to dry it carefully or the wool would shrink. To prevent this shrinkage, the fuller would place the wet cloth on a large wooden frame, a “tenter”, and leave it to dry outside. The lengths of wet cloth were stretched on the tenter (from Latin tendere, meaning “to stretch”) using hooks (nails driven through the wood) all around the perimeter of the frame to which the cloth’s edges (selvedges) were fixed so that as it dried the cloth would retain its shape and size. At one time it would have been common in manufacturing areas to see tenter-fields full of these frames.

    By the mid-eighteenth century the phrase “on tenterhooks” came into use to mean being in a state of uneasiness, anxiety, or suspense, stretched like the cloth on the tenter.

    /google is your friend :P

    If I google, amigo mio, I don’t have the pleasure of affecting the flow and character of the Comments section of this fine site. I thought — maybe incorrectly, I’m happy to admit — that someone like our friend The J would provide an answer, and that most readers would find such a detour into lexicology and etymology a mildly amusing divertissement before we got back to the admittedly more important business of whether the NYTimes got it wrong about the re-introduction of the NY into the official Mets logo. I dunno, I like it when the comments have a conversational tone, and my conversations, at least, are full of pauses and parentheses. How does one google, anyway?

    While I’m not a fan of the black jerseys, or any softball tops, for the matter, I never had a major problem with the Mets adding the black drop shadows to the uniforms or including black undershirts or the black cap as part of the team’s wardrobe selections. In fact, I think, aside from the black alt, the Mets have looked better over the last decade than they did in the mid ’80s with those ridiculous racing stripes and pullover jerseys. Still, eliminating the black is probably, on the whole, a pretty good idea.

    I never liked black as a drop shadow when one of the colors is a dark color like blue or green or purple. Black is better as an accent to brighter colors such as red, yellow or orange. The black and blue of the Mets seemed to compete with each other too much and was hard to look at.

    I admit the black made the uniform look more “important”; it added gravitas. But it was treading on the toes of the San Francisco Giants, who own the black-with-orange-highlights look.

    I don’t think I ever got confused between the Mets and Giants, especially since the Giants have no blue in their scheme.

    in the mid ’80s with those ridiculous awesome racing stripes

    Fixed. The Mets were one of three teams that made racing stripes work. I’m not sure they could pull it off nearly as well in this day and age, but at the time, the Mets made it work so well they actually looked good in pullovers. Which pretty much no other team has ever done.

    I have a soft spot for the racing stripe jerseys. The team I played for in college wore the exact same look except the stripes were royal and gold(yellow) on a gray uniform (we wore gray at home and blue softball tops over gray on the road,until my sophomore year when we got pinstriped whites for home and went with the gray on the road and used the softball tops as BP jerseys).

    you know, in spite of being BFBS, the Ilanders’ third sweater isn’t as bad as it could be. i’m not saying it’s good looking, but i would argue that it’s about equal to (better than?) what Anaheim wears on a regular basis.

    I beg to differ. That uni is beyond horrible. It’s like Wang’s kid was on dad’s computer playing with some template uni-builder website and accidentally printed to some underling’s printer. Coming from the boss’ computer, said underling thought it was an official decree from King Charles and put it into production.

    SB

    Have you ever seen an Islanders jersey? Y’know, Potvin, Trottier, Bossy, Tonelli, Gillies?

    None wore black, and all would have beaten your face in if you had rolled these out in the late-70s or early-80s.

    Give your head a shake – these are frigging idiotic. The Dallas Stars are hanging their heads in shame.

    I seriously doubt Mike Bossy would have punched anyone’s head in. The rest of that list would have punched someone’s face OFF.

    SB

    Please make my wife happy and correct the caption for the “Taffy Pull Shot” to the Clemson/Florida STATE game. If not she will pull the “Uni Watch” magnet from my refrigerator and hack my browser to block this site. My marriage thanks you in advance.

    Now we know what the Mets with all that black they got rid of… those Isles jerseys are the worst thing I’ve ever seen!

    Correction: Now we know what the Mets did with all that black they got rid of… Those Isles jerseys are the worst thing I’ve ever seen!

    I kinda like ’em. They look almost like long sleeved football jerseys.

    Would you prefer they were blue with a circular logo like every other new NHL alt jersey?

    /yeah, the fact that they’re sports team #258 to add black is lame, but that’s a separate issue from the pure aesthetics of it.

    See Il Jeff, that’s my whole problem:

    It looks like a FOOTBALL jersey. Or did you like the Thrashers alts, too?

    Coming from someone who doesn’t even watch hockey (except for the once every blue moon Ducks game), I’d rather see either an orange (with no black) version of that uni, or an orange version of the Fisherman unis. These black… things are…

    There is hardly any good reason for placing a number of the front of a hockey sweater. While in play a skater is crouched over keeping a lower center of gravity, which obscures the front of the shirt. The numbers on the back and sleeves are used to identify the players on the ice. A full side logo/crest/wordmark is sufficient….

    “…Would you prefer they were blue with a circular logo like every other new NHL alt jersey?…”

    There’s so many options and ideas that have floated around, primarily with an orange colored jersey. The orange jerseys from a few years ago were very conservative in their design, they could have been classic.

    But that said, I guess most Islander fans already have a blue jersey, a white one and an orange one.

    But that black jersey is just incredibly lazy, just INCREDIBLY LAZY and they couldn’t have picked a worse time to introduce it. Hey your teams in last place, how about some black jerseys to just sink the ship completely!

    Hey your teams in last place, how about some black jerseys to just sink the ship completely!

    Thing is, the casual fan likes black jerseys. Or at least one would have to assume that much, for why else would every team under the sun keep unveiling them?

    There’s probably a decent number of Mets fans who are wondering why the team is ditching the black.

    Ok so some folks like black jerseys. I am not against black jerseys if black is one of your colors, even an accent color or even just one of the colors in your logo.

    But obviously black isn’t anywhere in the islanders color scheme. Secondly, they just have to do a black jersey, could it at least be the least bit inspiring and not 110% completely lazy?

    The only way it is not a complete failure is that it is a conservative design, although the design has been tried and was nearly a failure.

    But, like you said, causal fans.

    I’m officially dropping the “THE” until Jeff retracts his statement. Casual fans aren’t fans – they don’t buy tickets because they’re interested in the team. They buy the jersey as a fashion statement. THAT is entirely what is wrong with your statement.

    Until you rethink that comment, you’re nothing more than Jeff in my books. And I’m fine with being nothing in your books if you’re pandering to fashion rather than the integrity of the team.

    You’re right, Teebz, It’s more than just casual fans, since the black shows up on fans at the games as well. I guess some of the “real” fans like it too.

    If it was a color other than black that was popular with fans, you’d probably have no problem with the team adopting it.

    The entire premise of “If it was a color other than black that was popular with fans, you’d probably have no problem with the team adopting it” is so wrong, you’re now straddling the line of ridiculous.

    I fought adamantly about the Hurricanes using black, and everyone fought me tooth-and-nail that black is a part of their colour scheme. I was against a silver alternate for them as well.

    I’m not saying that the Isles can’t use orange, but why not roll out something they’ve already used in the past as a way to reach back and make them unique? Why is this so hard for teams to grasp – you don’t need to be “cutting edge” to be cool. Hockey is steeped in tradition. Use it to your advantage!

    And, Jeff, it would be hard for any current Islanders fan to show up in a black alternate jersey since they’ve never had one until yesterday.

    I don’t hold it against you, though, because real fans know that.

    The SAME day. The Islanders had to pull the sh*t on the SAME day that the Met’s ditched the black.

    You think Wilpon called up Wang and said “you know what’ll really f*ck with our shared fans?”?

    Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrr

    what shared fans?

    aside of course from me, and i have officially lost one of those two teams now

    Why is the world in love again? Why are we marching hand in hand? Why are the ocean levels rising? The forces of darkness are dead! Not being a true believer, I’m more restrained in my saturnalia, but truth be told, the Mets can consider themselves one of baseball’s best dressed teams. Colorful, but without bullshit. An A+.

    Only would give an A+ to a team if it dropped a dark-colored jersey entirely. Therefore, I reserve that only for the Yankees, Tigers, Phillies, Dodgers and Cardinals.

    Personally, I can’t grade the Yankees higher than B-plus. Which is were I’d put the old-is-new-again Mets, but only because of the failure to commit to pins or plains at home. Choose either, and the Mets would become the best-uni’d team in New York.

    My A-plus teams are the Dodgers and, um, the Braves before they added all the alts and the wrong cap and whatnot recently. Tigers & Cardinals are outstanding, but all have significant design faults for me that make them A-minuses at best. Phillies? Middle B. Those unis have their good points, but they also have way too many fundamental flaws to crack the A range. You’ve got a de facto pin/plain confusion, you’ve got poorly executed red pinstripes that look pink, you’ve got much-too-light gray on the roads, you’ve got the arbitrary and poorly integrated use of royal blue, you’ve got the failure to notice the fan preference for the superior burgundy-era unis, you’ve good basic inconsistency in style between home and roads … the Phillies are about as good as a team can look while making such a mess of their unis. Heck, take away the chain-stitch, and they probably drop to C-plus for me.

    Now if we just eliminate the names on backs of at least home unis (a la 2000), we’d be all set (NL requires names on backs of road unis).
    Tradition rules!

    The notion that the National League requires NOBs is false. That was briefly the case in the 1990s, but then the league offices were closed, the league presidents were dismissed, the separate American and National League baseballs were replaced by a single MLB ball, the two leagues’ umpiring staffs were merged, etc. There’s no longer any such thing as “a National League rule” or “an American League rule” — except for the DH.

    I stand corrected on both parentheticals (sorry, I should have recalled the Grand Slam Single and the Bud Selig baseball). Thanks.
    In any event, even at the risk of emulating the Yankees, Red Sox, etc., the Mets should abandon the names on the backs for the sake of tradition.

    PS Paul: I have always wanted to know how the Yankees in the 1990s-early 2000s were able to avoid the manufacturer’s logo on the uni sleeve (Rawlings and Majestic) and jacket sleeve (Starter and Majestic). And then how could the companies sell them as part of Authentic Collection (as in what the players wear) when what is sold in retail market is different from the players’ (logoless) model?

    The Yanks have a longstanding apparel deal with Adidas that forbids them from wearing any other maker’s mark on their uniform on-field. Doesn’t apply to retail.

    There’s no longer any such thing as “a National League rule” or “an American League rule” – except for the DH.

    And that’s gotta go next. But that’s for another forum.

    Things are looking up…first the Orioles knock it outta the park, then the Mets. You’re up next, BLUE Jays! Make us proud.

    richwesq, the current Yankees batting practice jerseys and jackets do sport the Majestic logo on them but the logo is still absent from their game uniforms. However, most participants in the Old Timers’ Day game have that logo on their uniforms.

    I don’t know think Rawlings made Yankees uniforms in the 90s, early 2000s. Russell Athletic was the manufacturer then.

    The camo tape on the sticks has been going on for a while now. I’ve seen it with the Bruins at least the last two years at “Military Aprreciation Night”. The players use them during warm-ups along with the jerseys, sign them and they are usually auctioned off during the game for whatever military related charity (I want to say the Bruins donated it all to the USO, but could be wrong).

    They had Military Appreciation night this Tuesday against the Devils, but I haven’t heard/seen anything about them wearing or auctioning off jerseys.

    Usually their twitter account would be all over that.

    The Islanders currently sit last place in the east and have failed for years to make one of the worst NHL buildings any better. It’s been nearly two decades since they won a playoff round. If that hasn’t turned off most of the fans to this team I imagine black jerseys will. Paul, I used to enjoy coming here each day but my will has been broken. The Mets do indeed look much better but looking at a bunch of smiling last place Islanders in black uniforms has left me humbled.

    I mentioned to they guys at the meet-up Saturday that I made an Islanders third jersey design that they could use link. I was going to save it until when/if this happened, but in light of the recent events, I am releasing my tweak now: link.

    (Please note: I am not suggesting the New York Islanders change their name if they move to Brooklyn.)

    Yep, that’s why the “New York Islanders” name would still work if they relocate to Brooklyn.

    As someone who has to see the Mets 18 times every year, kudos to finally doing something smart. Baseball needs more color. I’m looking forward to seeing better unis from both the Mets AND the Marlins this year. Though I still want to grumble over the Marlins’ usage of black. So many colors in that new palette that could have been used instead. But I digress…

    I think I will start a personal crusade, a la Paul, to get the Braves to ditch the stupid blue road jerseys. The Sunday reds are one thing, I can handle that. But I’m now on record as saying my own Braves have the worst uniform combo in the NL East when they wear those awful blues.

    Wait… how can you complain that baseball needs more color, then also complain about a team wearing a colored jersey?

    I’m not complaining about the fact that it’s a colored jersey. I just think the jersey design itself is awful. The blue numbers on the blue jersey, along with the all-blue cap (instead of the home cap’s red bill)… I just hate it. It’s too much of one color. If the numbers were red, if the caps retained some red, if some multi-colored socks were worn… those would all be improvements.

    I have no problem with softball tops if worn sparingly and if the design doesn’t suck.

    Mets fans must be feeling the way I felt when the TC was restored to the Twins cap.

    My sentimental attachment to the Islanders took a huge hit last night. They are on a suicide mission and I fear it could get worse…..

    Way off topic Paul, but when are you going to be back in the midwest? Chicago could really use a UniWatch meet-up/party.

    We’ve gotta get you down to DC. Heck, NYC-DC doesn’t even qualify as “travel.” Basically just going to the far southern side of town.

    Just heard back from the Mets: Sandomir either had it wrong or (more likely) was referring to the anniversary logo. The NY is *not* being restored to the basic skyline logo.

    Design-wise, isn’t this the right move? If the skyline doesn’t communicate “New York” on its own, then the skyline is a bad design choice, and adding the NY doesn’t change that. If the skyline does communicate “New York,” then adding redundant text is visual clutter, which is a bad design choice. I think the logo speaks more clearly and elegantly without the little NY.

    Maybe the logo didn’t need “NY” to begin with, but *removing* it once it was there was a strongly symbolic indication that the team was ceding the city to the Yankees and going for a more suburban vibe. Or at least that’s how I’ve always interpreted it. Wish they’d restore it for the sake of urban pride.

    I though it was removed because it was too tiny to reproduce on smaller printings, like on letterhead or the NY Post’s game schedule grid, etc.

    “there was a strongly symbolic indication that the team was ceding the city to the Yankees and going for a more suburban vibe”

    ~~~

    and this is bad because….

    Bummer…here’s another anniversary idea I wish the Mets would have considered. In the early 80s, the Mets wore BP jerseys with the interlocking (Apologies to Michael Kay) NY logo. They looked almost vintage..very cool. It was sadly a one off type of thing. I wish they could revive it..very different from the usual Mets warm up gear. I am so happy the Mets, Orioles, and Blue Jays are going back to the styles we grew up with..classic beautiful unis. Imagine how cool they would look if they wore stirrups the way God intended baseball uniforms to have?

    Nice coupla days. First the Orioles, then the Mets. I can’t remember when we had back to back hits on uniform changes.

    Fan outcry killed the fisherman; it’s up to whatever’s left of the Isles’ fan base to put their foot down again. This new atrocity is spitefully bad.

    As a Mets and Islanders fan, yesterday was bittersweet. I’d like to focus on the positive (Mets, obviously) but it being hockey season, the negative is going to be more prominent for the next 6 months. Ugh.

    Sorry to say, but I think that without the drop shadow, the road uniform is missing something.

    What it is, I don’t exactly know. But it looks rather incomplete. Perhaps there’s no depth, but I didn’t like it in 1995(?) when it was introduced, and I don’t like it now.

    That was the only black I could live with.

    Good, yes, but not “elite.” On a par with Washington in the East, in that each is a fundamentally good uniform with a single major flaw without which it could be great. Front #s just don’t work with arced or arched (or flat horizontal) script. Mets either need script that rises from left to right to balance the number, or they need to ditch the front #s on the road. At the moment, I’d take Miami over the Mets on the road in the East for this exact reason.

    Washington will forever lose points with me because of the clunky Nats script, and because they got rid of the best part of their uniform, the all navy cap.

    “On a par with Washington in the East”

    ~~~

    gotta call bullshit on that one too…

    the nats IMMENSELY improved their home and roads with the upgrade, but they’re not on a par with the mets…and that’s not a homer talking, that’s a fact

    NL East (uni-wise ranks):

    1. mets
    2. braves
    3. phils
    4. (tie) nats/marlins

    if we’re talkin bout alts…then the phils move up to the top of this list, if only by default

    and there is nothing wrong with two actual UNIFORMS (white and cream)

    they just need to lose the black softball tops (mets, that is) and they’re damn close to perfection

    (perfection would be NNOB & N#OF)

    The black dropshadow on the old roads was nothing more than clutter. Eliminating it was the right call, both historically and from a design perspective. Now the Mets grays are, for me, the nicest looking uni’s in the bigs.

    Love what the Mets have done here, EXCEPT, I think it’s a bad move to have a white set and a cream set. Makes the creams look even dirtier than they already do.

    I would have preferred white pins instead of off-white as well, but they look a lot better on the field and from a distance, esp. when not right up next to a white white uniform.

    This Mets look combined with the new Orioles look is the greatest thing to happen to the MLB in a long while.
    I agree the Braves look may be the worst in MLB right now but I wish that the Reds would ditch the black outline historical as it may be. This would make my 1980’s MLB fandom complete.

    No navy. We have more than enough teams with a combination of red and navy. Dropping the black to be pure red & white, fine. Replacing black with navy? NO.

    Agreed. I actually think Cincinnati is one team that black works for. Historically accurate? No. But as a trim color, it looks good combined with red and white.

    Anybody notice the Islanders unveiled their black atrocities by giving the players REPLICA jerseys? (Note the long collar strings and jocktags.) Looks very appropriate for the Islanders minor league, according to this fan, who notes that the Habs wear game jerseys at official appearances. Let fans dress up as players, but players shouldn’t dress like fans.

    Anybody notice the Islanders unveiled their black atrocities by giving the players REPLICA jerseys? (Note the long collar strings and jocktags.) Looks very appropriate for the Islanders minor league, according to this fan, who notes that the Habs wear game jerseys at official appearances. Let fans dress up as players, but players shouldn’t dress like fans.

    Just heard that Radim Vrbata of the Coyotes is using an all white stick with white tape during games. According to his goalie, Mike Smith, it is harder to find the release point of the puck in contrast to the ice color. Could this be the end of black tape on sticks? Perhaps…

    link

    Interesting…I was always under the impression a puck against black tape was harder to see. Also, black tape tends to run thinner than white tape allowing for a better feel of the puck (IMO, of course).

    If the trend of an all white stick catches on, one might wonder what will win out – competitive advantage or corporate sponsorship? Stick companies can’t be too keen on an all white stick – no matter the perceived benefit.

    Vrbata is using an all-white stick because the manufacturer, from what I’ve heard, is not an NHL-authorized partner. He has to white out the stick in order to comply with NHL standards. As for the tape, that’s his choice.

    Usually when that happens, it’s black spray paint, not white.

    As for the goalie theory, I’ve heard from goalies that while the black hiding the puck is largely bullshit since they can still see where it is against the ice (three dimensions and whatnot), white tape hides the angle of the blade and makes it harder to tell where you’ll shoot. Doing that with an entire stick could very well help.

    The NFL had a subscription magazine in the early 80s called “PRO!”, which I think was also the name of the in-stadium magazine back then as well.

    Not sure why the Mets need pin AND headspoon homers. They’re a pinstripe team to me. NNOB would be nice, at least on the pins.

    They had some charming quirks, like full block numbers only on the road greys, back in the day. I doubt that’s coming back.

    As a Cubs fan, I can’t quite believe how happy I am for Mets…and Orioles fans today.

    If they don’t have on or the other (snowies and/or pins) that leaves them with one home uni and one road uni.

    I’m all for ditching the black but 81 games in one uni an 81 games in the other? No thanks. I need some variety.

    … and if the Mets decide to wear their BP jerseys on the field again this year, they’d look pretty damn good considering.

    I’m imagining this conversation in the Islanders’ offices…

    “We should have a black set. It’s getting to be a really hot color. The kids love it.”

    “Yes, we should, and have you seen that new show called ‘Friends’?”

    Congrats to Paul, Phil and all the other Mets fans whose long-awaited and hard fought battle against the Dark Plague has finally ended! For that reason, I have some kind of perennial affection in the Mets in general (tho some of that had to do with television shows in keeping them in my conscience, ironically) for correcting what was basically an obvious pointless & lingering atrocity.

    As the Mets proved, sometimes one has to lose and hit rock bottom & suffer to really appreciate what they really had. I think maybe if they had gone to the Dark Plague in 1993 or 1995, it would have run its course & they would have returned to this classic superior look that many years sooner.

    I have to say, this is one of the most satisfying moments in a uni watching hobby (tho the ultimate cause [to me] still belongs to the Padres and the return to brown ;)

    A little late to the party. They’ve been making the glove palm salute t-shirts for all the previous Pro Combat teams this year and last.

    I see the Mets’ pinstripes as having a link to it. They should have more of a bright yellowish cream tone to it IMO, like the link. The peach tone makes the pins look kind of dingy, especially when compared to the snow whites. But rejoice all-around. This coming from a Braves fan.

    They look better in real life than they do in photos, and better from a distance. I think it’s pretty much the same off-white shade as the Twins’, but I’ve never seen them side-by-side.

    I’m glad the Mets are ditching the black, too. This coming from a Yankees fan.

    I grew up watching the Mets on TV every now and then and to me, they’ll always be a blue and orange team–pinstripes at home and greys on the road.

    I never liked the black but several Mets fans I know liked that look.

    I actually prefer the orange squatchee.

    I’m going to miss the herringbone, though — not that I ever really noticed it, of course. It’s like the Blackhawks’ chain-stitching. I rarely see it during a game, but it’s cool to know it’s there.

    Here’s a question no one’s asked or answered yet: Will the Mets’ lame-duck BFBS jerseys still have the herringbone twill, or will they have tackle twill as well?

    I do too. Again, existing stock, manufacturing, &c. No need to futz with a lame-duck design.

    While I’m as happy as can be that the black is gone, I can’t help but think about moments from the not-too-distant past that would have been enhanced by these classic unis. I mean, imagine the iconic Endy Chavez photo, minus the drop shaddow. Robin Ventura getting mobbed at second base by a sea of pinstriped teammates. Or Mike Piazza wearing a blackless road uniform with a blue cap.

    Oh, well. Guess we’ll just have to come up with new memorable images going forward from here.

    I gotta say, I’ve always really liked the black Mets hats and jerseys and hate to see them go. The orange and blue pops off the black IMO. The new ones are nice throwbacks but they look boring and old, which, really isn’t all that great a look especially considering most of the Mets teams that wore them sucked.

    I really think you guys underestimate how many people like the black. The older die hards hate them, yeah, but not everyone does. When the merch sales go down they’ll introduce something else you all will hate. I guarantee they won’t stick with the hard core old school look more than a few seasons.

    Don’t get the militant traditionalism expressed here in regards to the mets. They don’t have the history of the yanks (not close, obviously) so why not have a few different combos?

    Oh come, on lighten up. What would you say is the over under until there’s another change, honestly?

    4 seasons? Less?

    I know you like the old school look but some people do think it’s boring and it’s true that not everyone regards black in unies as sinful.

    I wouldn’t be surprised to see the black dropshadow return at some point, at least on the white jerseys.

    But I think the Mets are finally waking up and realizing that the whole black jersey thing is pretty much played out (unlike their link).

    I thought the dropshadows looked good on the whites (and to a lesser extent, the grays) but were terrible on the pins. The black jerseys are a complete joke, though. They just look forced and completely out of place.

    One thing I ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE* is that within the next 4 years, we’ll see a solid blue alternate top.

    I really don’t see what was so special or great about the black blockshadow. I thought it just added clutter and looked out of character. Now I could totally seem them doing the orange blockshadow on a blue script with white trim, but why mess with tradition or perfection? I think the Mets look is sharp enough to remain unscathed for the next 25 years.

    Didn’t say it’s special and/or great. Just that it looked OK.

    But I won’t miss it. If and when it makes a return, it won’t bother me.

    Why must every team wear black? You guys never answer this. You just say “people like it” or “it looks cool.” But every team?!?

    Sometimes I wish every team WOULD switch to a full-on black uniform: black tops, black pants, black hats/helmets, black socks. Everyone would get their wish of looking like Darth Vader! It would be totally SICK brah! Everybody would be so intimidated by our awesome terminator robot killing machines who look just like the other team! And then just as instantly, everybody would also realize how utterly freaking stupid and boring it is and go back to whatever they were doing before.

    So that would mean the Yankees, from a uniform standpoint are among the most boring team in major league sports.

    100% correct. Super Fucking Boring. But that’s how the Yankees and their fans want it, boring.

    Boring, in most cases, is better than ugly.

    And boring doesn’t mean it doesn’t look good, but if you go to work 162 times a year and alternated between two outfits, that would be boring no matter how spiffy you looked.

    And yet teams in the NFL, who at the most “work” 19 days a year, have to have alternate uniforms?

    Eh.

    Give me home and road. That’s all I need.

    ….which reminds me, are the Browns going to get through this whole season only wearing white?

    Looks like they might.

    What some people don’t seem to understand is this: A uniform is not a canvas. The point of it is not to ease the fans’ boredom. It’s to identify the team and look good.

    Tim, your point about wearing two outfits to work for an entire year is pointless. Ever seen a mailman? A UPS guy? A mechanic? You’re talking about people who don’t wear uniforms to work. Athletes do, and they only need (at most) two outfits to wear to work.

    “Tim, your point about wearing two outfits to work for an entire year is pointless. Ever seen a mailman? A UPS guy? A mechanic? You’re talking about people who don’t wear uniforms to work. Athletes do, and they only need (at most) two outfits to wear to work.”

    I said they were boring. Wearing a uniform – coming from someone who wore a uniform to school for 13 years – IS FUCKING BORING. It’s boring from the viewers perspective, but it’s even more boring from the wearer’s perspective. Trust me. That’s why college kids lose their shit for ugly BFBS unis.

    Boring, however, doesn’t mean you don’t look good, that’s why I wrote, “that would be boring no matter how spiffy you looked.”

    Boring and looking good are not mutually exclusive. Next time read AND process the comment you’re about to call pointless, you trash.

    For the most part, nice to see the Mets drop the black. They would look their best if they kept the drop shadow while dumping the rest of the black. Without the drop shadow, they look bland. When I was watching the 06 NLCS, I was glad they they didn’t wear black in Games 6 and 7. Think they knew that the black jerseys and hats were a no go then because of the situation. Heard Buffalo would have done something similar if the Sabres went far into the playoffs while wearing theire black and red.

    Why is naming a team after Jack the Ripper considered such poor taste? Is it that much different from the San Jose Earthquakes, Carolina/Miami Hurricanes, or Chicago Fire?

    Well, one was a person who committed multiple murders, and the others are natural disasters. So, I mean, yeah it’s different.

    Don’t forget the Calgary Hitmen. Hitmen are real people too, why do we glamorize them? Oh wait, it was named for/by Bret “The Hitman” Hart? Carry on then.

    link

    Probably because your examples are natural disasters, while Jack’s work was his own (i.e., human-instigated). Kind of like — as I think was mentioned yesterday — the SF Zodiacs, Milwaukee Dahmers, or NY Son-of-Sams. Not particular sensitive to the victims.

    That being said, no one was ever proven as Jack — and it was rather a long time back. So I’m not particularly “offended” meself — just think it’s a rather lame name. And possibly an ugly precedent.

    Even beyond the issue of the victims (who are long gone, of course) exactly what admirable qualities worthy of emulating should a team find in a serial killer?

    Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if the person who dreamt up the nickname didn’t say, “He was REAL? Oh, man, I thought he was like Paul Bunyan or something.”

    Nail on the head, exactly. Sports teams have always been named after several “fierce” types who are certainly morally borderline (Vandals, Raiders, Pirates, Conquistadors) — but they at least have some kind of romantic tinge. Can’t see anything admirable someone known for “ripping”.

    Although if this team prompts even a single new person to read the graphic novel masterpiece From Hell, then it will have been worth it.

    But… for every one of those people, if there are an equal or greater number who choose to see the movie adaptation instead, then we’re back to square one.

    Interesting little note, without a picture at this point, in the Division 7 championship game for Wisconsin both teams have poached Florida State’s helmet logo.

    I’ll try to get a picture once they are published. Game is still going on currently.

    D6 note this time. Shiacton has mismatching NOB font. And St Mary’s Springs has a tradition that only seniors have their NOB.

    Shiocton (proper spelling) is a very small school. I wouldn’t be surprised if the names on the back are home cooking. And in Shiocton’s case – having taken photographs at their games for the last four years – many of their players didn’t have NOBs. That most of them did today is probably with some last-minute work to make everyone look as good as they could for the state game.
    And Springs had an interesting design – its S-and-Pick logo (the team is called the Ledgers because the school is on a cliffside east of Fond du Lac) is on one side. On the other, kids stick their award stickers any way they want – one had them in a triangle, another in random spaces, a third with a last name beginning with H had his stickers form an H.

    If it weren’t for the Islanders, I would say today could be a watershed moment.

    Unfortunately, the Isles probably blew that chance for us.

    It’s like killing Osama and finding out the same day his son was about to take over anyway…

    Was gonna say like discovering your neighbor with the chartreuse house has painted it over with a nice colonial gray.

    But the guy across the street painted his orange and black.

    I seriously hope the Astros change their uniforms to go along with the change in league and ownership.

    A return to this would be most welcome:
    link

    It never made any sense to me that the Diamondbacks were allowed to join the NL. There are no AL teams in the mountain time zone (as Phoenix is, at least part-time) whereas the NL has two.

    Now both Texas teams will be in the AL? How does that make sense?

    As R.Scott so precisely pointed out long ago, this whole thing looks like a solution in search of a problem.

    Well, both Pennsylvania teams are in the NL. But I agree, this is stupid. Why not move the Brewers back? And an odd number of teams in each league, meaning interleague play all season long? Jeebus fleebing cripes.

    Well, both Pennsylvania teams predate the AL and the A’s moved west decades ago.

    Plus, Pittsburgh’s closer to Cleveland than it is to Philly whereas the only MLB city remotely close to Arlington is Houston, and vice-versa.

    More messing with tradition by moving the Astros. The season is too long, and the inter-league play thing has played itself out already. Don’t need more playoffs. When is sports going to learn that less is more?

    Bud Selig moved his Brewers to the NL and was going to contract the Twins and Expos. When that didn’t happen it led to unbalanced leagues, but Bud would never move his precious Brewers back to the AL. Wanted to create that rivalry with the Cubs, which to this day I don’t think has ever happened. As a Reds fan, i always thought it was unfair that they had to beat 5 other teams to win their division while other teams only had to place ahead of three or four. (of course their lousy play over the last decade rendered that a moot point). Then when they started playing the division heavy schedule a few years ago it limited the number of times they actually played somewhere I could comfortably travel (Atlanta or DC).

    Another chance for a 2nd or 3rd (!) place team to win the World Series. All just another safety net for the Yankees or Red Sox – whom would have benefited from this rule in 2008, 2010 & 2011 instead of missing the playoffs – which I’m sure that’s exactly what the Networks had in mind.

    They need to scrap divisions altogether and go to a seeded playoff format. 1 v 4 / 2 v 3 – or – 1 bye / 2 v 5 / 3 v 4. But since it’s Selig, you know it will be stupid.

    And what if teams are tied at the end of the regular season? Then you have one-game playoffs, which have been more common in recent years than they used to be. Even though it is technically a regular season game, it’s still another round of playoffs, really.

    Holy crud. This only works one of two ways. First, expand up to 32 teams, in 2 leagues with 4 4-team divisions.

    Or stay at 30, but cleave most of the post-1901 expansion teams into a new 10-team league. Each of the 3 leagues has 2 5-team divisions; first round of playoffs is LCS for each of the 2 leagues whose champion did not win last year’s World Series. Second round is LCS for the league with the reigning champion plus a Challenger Series between the other two league champions. World Series between challenger and reigning league’s champion. All playoff series are best of seven with home field by record.

    Either way, no wild cards.

    Also, I have to admit that I’ve hated basically everything Selig has done as commish at the time it was announced. But in the long run, I’ve been wrong and he’s been right about just about all of it. Interleague play, the wild card, the 1998 realignment, even the All Star Game deciding WS home field were things I thought terrible ideas at the time but that have actually worked out well in practice. (On the other hand, contraction, abetting Jeff Loria’s crimes against the sport, and trying to sell advertising on bases.) So I’m going to try not to be too quick to condemn these change outright. Odds are it’ll work out.

    I would still say Interleague Play has been a mess & failure, 1998 realignment was done wrong (D-Backs to the A.L. West / Brewers stay in A.L. Central / Tigers stay in the A.L. East) and the ASG (which has become a total diluted joke) deciding home field in the World Series is the cherry on top of the turd sundae. Just a complete overreaction.

    Don’t trust Selig – he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing – and everything he’s done goes against his supposed ‘traditional values’. He’s all about selling out to the almighty dollar no matter what, whether it would be to the Networks & playoffs with the leeway he gave them, the World Baseball Classic (which really has no point whatsoever), dealing with the NPB and their ransom demands, blatant lies & costing hundreds of millions & billions to cities to fund new stadiums that don’t really make winning teams, and anything to give his pet Brewers an advantage and a conceited 10′ statue of total self-indulgence. All of this while a pointless devastating strike that accomplished nothing but killing baseball in Montreal, and heavily tilted the game towards the hitters. All while outpricing the average fan.

    Sorry for the rant, but I have nothing but utter contempt for the man.

    Well put, concealed78. This realignment scheme has disaster written all over it. Traditionalists who continue to hate interleague play are going to have more interleague games to boycott, and those who like interleague play are going to be upset that this dilutes what made it special in the first place. Interleague play has already ruined the All-Star Game, it’s made the World Series a lot less fun and now Selig is trashing 50 years of Astros history.

    Exactly, the best part of interleague play was that is was regulated to a few weeks a couple times in the summer, when everyone was doing it — it was special. Now it will be spread throughout the season with all the other games, and it’s no longer special.

    On the other hand, no one needs to complain anymore about the Kansas City vs. Arizona type of matchups not being “special” enough for interleague play; they’ll be no more boring than a boring in-league matchup like Colorado vs. Washignton.

    Interleague every day…10 teams in the playoffs (and we all know the link behind that idea)…what’s next? Are they gonna make an upper deck homer worth two runs? How about a home run derby if the score is tied after 10 innings? Sigh.

    Figures…teams are starting to wear good unis again, but now it’s the game that’ll be unrecognizable.

    The only way I’d be behind ten playoff teams is if it means a 154-game schedule. Even then I’m not so sure.

    Kershaw has won the Cy Young, and there’s a decent chance that Matt Kemp will win the MVP. When’s the last time such a mediocre team bagged both of those awards in the same year?

    Nope, not even close. Every other time this has happened, the team entered the playoffs (Except LA in 1962, but they won over 100 games.)

    1957–Henry Aaron; Warren Spahn; Braves

    1959–Nellie Fox ;Early Wynn; White Sox

    1960–Dick Groat; Vern Law; Pirates

    1961–Roger Maris; Whitey Ford; Yankees

    1962–Maury Wills; Don Drysdale; Dodgers

    1967–Carl Yastrzemski; Jim Lonborg; Red Sox

    1974–Steve Garvey; Mike Marshall; Dodgers

    1980–Mike Schmidt; Steve Carlton; Phillies

    1982–Robin Yount; Pete Vuckovich; Brewers

    1984–Ryne Sandberg; Rick Sutcliffe; Cubs

    1988–Kirk Gibson; Orel Hershiser; Dodgers

    1990–Rickey Henderson; Bob Welch; A’s

    1990–Barry Bonds; Doug Drabek; Pirates

    1991–Terry Pendleton; Tom Glavine; Braves

    1993–Frank Thomas; Jack McDowell; White Sox

    2002–Miguel Tejada; Barry Zito; A’s

    2005–Albert Pujols; Chris Carpenter; Cardinals

    2006–Justin Morneau; Johan Santana; Twins

    Some oddities on this list:

    This occured 4 years in a row… 1959-1962. In 1990, it happened with both leagues.

    I personally don’t have anything against the glove palm salute. I mean I know a lot of people hate the “look at me” gestures in pro and college football but I always thought this was more of a “look at the university logo” kind of a gesture. That all being said, if it is against the rules and you can get a penalty for it, then why is it on the official PAC 12 shop page?
    link

    I’m not sure anything that encourages more posturing and posing is positive.

    Seems to be more than enough of that without the palm graphics added in.

    The whole palm-graphics thing is lame. It’s a completely gratuitous “look at me” moment.

    Still doesn’t answer my question of why a rule breaking penalty would be sold for profit on an official website of a conference? Just curious.

    Tell me, do the heels of your kicks have to light up for them to be great-looking shoes?

    They’re baseball players, not members of the marching band.

    And besides (if there is/was an NBA season), the Knicks were planning to ditch the black as well.

    Not.
    Just saying different approaches to uniforms.
    What looks good on one usually isn’t right for the other.

    The new Mets threads look great. So do the Orioles caps. Can’t wait for the Jays unveil tomorrow.

    As a FLORIDA Marlins fan, I may have to go out and support baseball tradition by purchasing these new caps from the Mets, O’s and Jays, since my team’s tradition has been tossed in the gutter.

    As for those Islanders 3rd sweaters, good god. Easily the worst in the NHL. Joins the Thunder and Marlins in the pantheon of worst unis around.

    … Thunder? Who are they? The only team that comes to mind is the Las Vegas Thunder, and they folded back in 1999, two years before the rest of the IHL went under.

    Unless it has something to do with that league that’s currently not playing due to millionaire players and billionaire owners continuing to out-douchebag each other. Not that I care that much about that league to begin with…

    I can’t find pictures just yet, but MoMo Jones on Iona seemed to have a different or smaller font for his NOB against Purdue today.

    As of 4:15 PM, the Hockey Uniform Database had not been updated to reflect the Islanders’ new third.

    Though, the link that’s currently there would look just as good, if not better…

    Of course, Andrew’s probably thinking, “Do i really have to put the Isles’ new third up there?”

    How about a poll, Paul. Say your team was founded in 1962.

    Which is better to celebrate with a patch, a “50th Season,” or a “50th Anniversary”?

    If you celebrate a 50th season, you’ve only completed 49 seasons and your team history book is a little short. But you get to celebrate a year early.

    If you celebrate a 50th anniversary, your team has actually turned 50 years old. And your books and patches are more accurate.

    Some people believe the terms are the same thing.

    When a couple celebrates the start of their 50th year of marriage, instead of their 50th wedding anniversary, that’s when I’ll give a shit about “50th season” celebrations.

    Anniversaries matter. All the other shit is just noise.

    I always liked the Mets glacier twill, and the reasoning behind the drop shadow (that whole ‘shadow’ thing) was a cool idea. Too bad the ownership at the time blew it and went BFBS. I guess maybe I’m a drop shadow/glacier twill kind of guy.

    Anyway, seeing the mets going back too the classics is awesome. Personally, I could have done without ANY cream jersey. If you want a thrd jersey, go blue or white pin. Or maybe, blue with orange pins? Just a thought.

    Yes I do. Glacier twill was a cool little detail. Drop shadow looks better with thinner fonts usually (it looked like crap on the road grays). I just hate cream uniforms. The off-whiteness of it pisses me off, especially if the team already has whites (ahem, Phillies).

    Multiple shades of white are unnecessary in the world of sports.

    I’m guessing the Islanders’ new togs are their first step out of town. Might as well put “your city here” across the chest.

    What’s the marketing theme, “Lights Out, Long Island” or, simply “Fade to Black”?

    “Sports Authority Field at Invesco at Mile High.”

    That’s what Rich Eisen just said. At what point does it go from merely annoying to truly ridiculous?

    As it turns out, it was his mistake, as Invesco no longer holds any rights to the stadium. I think the confusion still stands as a testament to the silly grammar-wrangling of the naming rights thing though.

    I like the way they did it at Browns Stadium. They sold the rights to each gate at 30% of what the name would be and made 120% of the naming rights without spoiling the name of the stadium.

    Until the Jets add a couple of white stripes to those green socks, they’ll never be the right ones.

    Ecstatic about the Mets’ return to tradition. Would have loved to see the roads use the Wilson Varsity font that they wore from 1962-1973…it is still readily available. The Braves use it and so do the Yankees (in a single color version). I guess it is easier for the stitchers to have one number font home and road. I can live with it.

    As for the script on the home, based on the the jerseys worn by Wright and Davis, it looks like the Wilpon script has been corrected. Based on the stock photo, it still looks crooked. If I had to bet, I’d say the ones worn will be the ones mass produced…I sure hope so.

    The funny thing about the Isles unveiling… the fact that it was essentially a full-out fashion show, with players modeling some of the other shirts available in addition to the new jerseys.

    All I could think of is Johnny Upton taking rather, um, bold action during the fashion show put on by Chiefs GM Joe McGrath in Slap Shot.

    Why do you hate Tebow? I ask because I’ve yet to find a real rational reason why anyone does hate him, unless of course you were like a huge fan of another SEC team or hate the Broncos or something. I’m not asking to get on you, although personally I like the guy. I’m actually asking because I want to hear a rational reason.

    Well I only caught the overtime because my son was born at around kickoff. I remember walking by some guys watching on a tv in a waiting room and asking them what the score was and at the time it was like 3-3 in the third quarter or something. I said to them “that’s why I don’t like the SEC” and they both looked at each other like I was an idiot or something. I don’t care how good the defense is you should be able to score at least one touchdown if you’re ranked 1 and 2 in the country.

    Personally, I find him to be self-righteous and holier than thou.

    He’s enthusiastic and perhaps even charismatic, I grant you.

    Well I know that some think anytime a Christian brings up their beliefs it makes them self righteous or holier than thou, but for me he’s always done it in a genuine and non demeaning to others manner so to each his own.

    I think I figured out what I don’t like about the Mets’ road jerseys. It’s the letters. They’re way too narrow and weak looking. I find there’s way too much blank space between the letters. Perhaps if they made the letters thicker, and a bit less space, it could come out better.

    I consider myself to be a pretty big Islanders fan and for the most part I like the jerseys they have but the new third jersey is probably the ugliest I have ever seen outside of Maryland’s football jerseys. I don’t understand why they couldn’t have made the third jerseys like their old orange third jerseys. They were one of my favorites and look a hell of a lot better then the new black ones.

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