Just when you were dreading being without Mets baseball for three long nights next week comes the event that will make the All-Star break not just tolerable but terrific.
It’s AMAZIN’ ALL-STAR MONDAY at Two Boots Grand Central, Monday night, July 12, at 7 PM. Our regular reading and rallying series moves to a special day for a very special bill of fare. Please join your hosts Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing [1] and Jon Springer of Mets By The Numbers [2] when they welcome their guests:
• Marty Noble, Mets beat writer extraordinaire for more than 35 years.
• Howard Megdal, pretty fair Mets chronicler himself and, at the moment, a declared candidate for the unelected office of New York Mets general manager.
You know Marty from his work for MLB.com and, before that, Newsday (and, if you’re were in North Jersey in the late ’70s, the Bergen Record). Few have seen or written about as much of Mets history as Marty — how many others have covered Mike Vail and Mike Pelfrey? — and we are honored that he will be sharing his perspective with us. MBTN spent some quality time with Marty a couple of years ago and it still makes for a fantastic [3] read [4] here [5].
Howard has written about the Mets for myriad publications [6], online and otherwise, and is the author of The Baseball Talmud: The Definitive Position-by-Position Ranking of Baseball’s Chosen Players [7]. He now seeks being chosen to succeed Omar Minaya in the Met front office. You can follow his passionate and not altogether unserious campaign at his Web site [8] and hear from him on Monday night as to why he believes everything about the Mets needs shaking up.
We thank Phil Hartman, Mets-loving owner of Two Boots Grand Central, for the opportunity to host this special evening (as well as for the logistical upgrade from our previous event there so folks will enjoy a more comfortable and audible experience). Phil continues to show his Amazin’ spirit by offering one beer in exchange for one Mets baseball card.
The first night of the All-Star break is usually agony. You can sit home and ask yourself, “Why am I watching this insipid Home Run Derby?” or you can join us for a lively evening of Mets talk and camaraderie (with the insipid Home Run Derby on in the background if you can’t bear to be without it). We hope you’ll join us, Monday night, July 12, at 7 PM. It’s the next best thing to the Mets playing ball.
Two Boots Grand Central [9]is in the Lower Dining Concourse of Grand Central Terminal, 42nd Street and Park Avenue, accessible via Metro-North as well as the 4, 5, 6, Times Square Shuttle and, of course, the 7 trains. Phone: 212/557-7992.