From AdFreak via Yahoo’s Big League Stew, this SNY promo clip of a fictional “Keith Hernandez Day” is simply brilliant. And of course, we love the fact that Yahoo’s ‘Duk is making the connection between David’s plate-woes and David’s lack-o-stache. We can’t say we disagree. Because we don’t.
So is this an indication that Metstache-fever is spreading quicker than the Swine Flu? With the repeated showings of our Mets Weekly segment on Citi Field’s Diamond Vision, along with this SNY produced clip…we’re thinking yes. Here it is:
Thought us WrightStachians were the only ones with a cause-based website devoted to a single Met? Not so. OhMurph.com is new website devoted solely to renaming Citi’s left field fans “Murphaholics.” While it’d be easy to take a cheap shot at Daniel Murphy and point out that “Oh Murph!” is what I find myself saying on cue with each daily Murph fielding gaffe (oh snap, I just did!), I actually quite like the guy and hope he can sort out his current problems. Though he reminds me of Todd Hundley in left field circa 1998, he’s got quite the bat and a bright future ahead of him. And if there’s anything that Mets fans love, it’s home-grown talent.
So whaddya say we help out our fellow Mets fans on their mission? Head on over to OhMurph.com, follow them on Twitter, and buy some Murphandise to support the cause. Together we will make Murphaholics and Mustachioed Mets reign supreme at Citi Field in 2009.
Meet me at the hotel after the game. I'll bring the dye and curling irons, you bring the Lady GaGa Mixtape.
Speaking of haircuts, the Brewers’ J.J. Hardy and All-Star outfielder Corey Hart dyed their hair black together in an effort to break out of matching slumps. How cute. For Hardy, the move is largely nonsensical, considering his hair is already a dark brown-blackish. And for the naturally golden-blond Hart? It’s downright pathetic… and the mark of a true pansy. Unfortunately, for the sake of this post, it’s kind of working for Hart who has, since dying his hair on April 19th, raised his batting average from a meager .250 to a somewhat-more-respectable .278.
Here at The Wright Stache, we have but one question for the new Beautiful Boys of the Brewers: Are you guys joking? Major League Baseball players don’t cry. Major League Baseball players don’t polish their nails. And Major League Baseball players sure as hell don’t dye their hair black. Girls dye their hair black. Goth kids dye their hair black. Keith Hernandez dyes his hair black (but he gets millions to do so - so its OK).
Baseball is about playing tough - both physically and mentally. It’s about playing hard and battling through slumps, and not relying on gimmicks or trickery to be a better player. It’s about relentless passion and a drive to be better than your opponent, be it an opposing pitcher, or a batter trying to take you deep. And it’s about growing a damn mustache - the cornerstone of manliness and a true slice of Americana: just like apple pie, hot dogs, and Baseball itself.
J.J. and Corey: you’ve embarrassed your team and yourselves. Shave your heads immediately. That is all.
He may be slumping. He may be bald. But David Wright is not going hungry. Foley’s New York, a baseball-centric pub in Midtown has introduced The David Wright Sandwich. The sandwich boasts grilled chicken in Buffalo sauce, blue cheese, lettuce and tomato on a club roll.
David’s not from Buffalo. I’m not quite sure why this sandwich is The David Wright Sandwich, but hey, it’s always been a dream of mine to have a sandwich named after me, so color me jealous. And, Foley’s will donate $2 to David charitable foundation for every David Wright Sandwich that they sell.
I’m sure it’s a delicious and overpriced sandwich. I’m just hoping that, if David ever cooks one up himself, he’ll need to wear one of these.
With his average plummeting to well below .300 and his strikeouts leading the known universe, David Wright took drastic measures to break out of his slump. He knew that success is directly related to hair, so he decided to take immediate follicle action. Sadly (for us), he was a little misguided in his quest to improve his performance. Rather than beginning to grow a stache, David buzzed his head.
Now, I am a strong advocate of a buzzed head. Sport it myself. I make it look good. But I’m not going 30/30 anytime soon. And neither will David if he doesn’t start thinking about adding hair rather than removing it.
We appreciate his motives. We respect his willingness to shake things up aesthetically to get out of these doldrums. But, David, come on! Naked lips don’t win championships! It rhymes for a reason.
In other news, word from Will Leitch’s Twitter is that Rick Ankiel shaved his mustache. Quitter.
Talented friend o’ the stache Mike Yacullo is the brains behind Planet of the Geeks. You’ve probably read about our love affair with his Lego Keiths both retro and modern. Well, because he’s awesome, Mike gave us a Lego David Wright…with a mustache! Now we can see what David truly would look like if he wisened up and let his true nature show.
From where we stand, David looks pretty dashing with that lip hair. Mature, confident and clearly superior to other Legos. Seeing our goal realized in Lego form is a dream come true. As I type this, tears of joy are streaming down my face. Though, that may just be my reaction to the high pollen count.
Thanks, Mike! You can check all three of his Lego Wrightstache pictures by clicking the thumbnails below. And be sure to check out Planet of the Geeks to see all of Mike’s amazing handiwork.
Ahoy, Mets Weekly viewers! We’re glad you found our segment on SNY interesting enough to google our cause and come see what The Wright Stache is all about. Come take a look around, won’t you? Here are some things that should help you get started:
And, of course, scroll through our older posts to catch up on what you’ve missed.
Come and visit us often. Without you, we’re just weird dudes who want David Wright to grow a mustache. With you, we’re a movement. Support the cause. Make The Wright Stache a part of your daily routine.
It’s big, massive, exciting, ridiculous announcement time. Hairy Backman, JCP and I, Teufel Stubble, will be appearing on SNY’s Mets Weekly tomorrow at 11:00am. Tune in to see the three of us discuss the site, the Mets and, of course, mustaches.
We filmed the piece a few weeks ago after they tracked us down and invited us to join them at the Mets Clubhouse Shop at Bryant Park. Needless to say, we are thrilled that we get to share our message of love, baseball and mustaches with a television audience.
So, remember:
The Wright Stache on SNY’s Mets Weekly.
Saturday, April 11 - 11:00am
DVR/TiVo it. Tell your friends to watch. Hell, invite them over for a viewing party.
It will be replayed on Monday at 1:30pm, Tuesday at midnight (technically Wednesday morning), Wednesday at 6:30pmand Friday at 12:30am.
"One day I'll sell luxury jets to athletes and won't have to worry about this pesky baseball crap."
Once every year or so an article surfaces in <insert name of esteemed sports publication here> about Lenny Dykstra’s current exploits. For a while it was a car-wash chain; then it was a magazine geared towards providing luxury services for pro athletes; then it was actually providing those services; and now it’s as an investment advisor (!). This year’s piece-du-jour is by Mike Fish for ESPN, and it’s a lengthy but good read about the man we once called “Nails.” Dykstra’s life might be a bit crazy and he may be all over the map business-wise, but one thing’s been made abundantly clear from this article: he’s kind of a dick!
But he was a damn fine baseball player, and you can’t take that away from him. We can only surmise how he could have been even tougher if he’d had a stache like many of his ‘86 Mets brethren. Today’s docile Mets could learn a thing or two from Nails.
Yes, its true: movies teach us everything we need to know about life. From how to party in college, to what to do if we’re ever involved in a bank robbery, to why we should start smoking cigarettes immediately. They also teach us that mustaches are cool. Other than baseball, nothing has showcased mustaches better than the Movies. Sure, everyone knows that staches are equal parts charisma, sophistication, confidence, brawn, and intelligence all rolled into one neat little furry package. But the movies make them magical. So when David finally accepts his fate and decides to grow, here are the top 5 Movie Mustaches he can look towards for some inspiration:
5. Llewelyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin in No Country for Old Men)
In No Country For Old Men, Josh Brolin gave us a real-life Marlboro man. He was a true mustachioed, cigarette smoking cowboy that didn’t mind getting his hands dirty with whatever the job called for; be it motor oil (he was a mechanic), cow dung (I’m sure he wrangled cows at some point in his short life), or Mexican gangster blood. And when the going got tough, he wasn’t afraid to step up to the challenge and cap a few “sumbitches” or even a pitbull that was just about ready to tear into his jugular. In fact, Josh’s mustache was so effective, that it actually got cast in two other movies that year: American Gangster and In the Valley of Elah. So David, if you’re looking for brawn, then look no further than Josh Brolin.
Whilst trawling YouTube for my usual daily fix of mustache related fun, I came upon this video highlighting famous baseball staches of the early ’90s through a look back at baseball cards from the era. This is all well and good until the would-be filmmaker describes the mustache trend of early ’90s baseball players as “disturbing.” Absent from the list are any Mets, but we’ll forgive the poor chap for being from the South. The camera’s out of focus the entire time, too.
Come to think of it, this video sucks. It attempts to bring shame upon the ’stache, but we are above such tomfoolery. So watch it… or don’t.
Currently, the response that mustaches make men “appear more more attractive and professional” is, obviously, leading the pack. But we need to make it a decisive victory. We need this to serve as further proof for David that he needs a stache.
So, make your way over to the AMI poll and vote with your hearts (and your upper lips). Remember, men died for so we could have these freedoms.
Last month, we celebrated Planet of the Geeks blogger Mike Yacullo’s Lego Keith Hernandez. Well, he’s brilliant enough to know that color commentator Keith is just as beloved as first baseman Keith, so he produced a 2009 version complete with SNY set, reading glasses and microphone.
Of course, the stache looks fantastic. We’d love to see Lego Gary and Ron join Keith in the booth. But here’s hoping that a limping Cleveland Indians Keith isn’t in the works.
Failed pitcher, occasional slugger and current horrendous batter Rick Ankiel has himself a mustache. While watching the first game of the Mets-Cardinals series, I couldn’t help but notice that Dick Ankiel had something on his upper lip. I had a hard time making out what it was while he was striking out, but as he coasted into second base while Daniel Murphy missed his 75th cutoff man of the season I saw it bushy and clear.
As we’ve said before, a man does not choose his facial hair. His facial hair chooses him. Clearly, the mustache did not choose Rick Ankiel. A career .262 hitter entering the 2009 campaign, the former pitcher (if you can call what he did pitching) was hitting .190 entering last night’s action (he’s up to .227 now). If he was hoping that the mustache would be a slump-buster, he was sorely mistaken*.
When will people learn that the mustache is not some lucky charm like a rabbit’s foot or horseshoe. It’s not a matter of choice. It’s something deeper than that. Something existential. Something that Rick Ankiel doesn’t deserve.
* Last night’s hit barrage notwithstanding - his OBP is still only .306.
Every once in a while, we feel the need to inform our readers of important new products in the mustache-marketplace (Read: please buy a TWS t-shirt!). So when we received an email from the creators of Stachetastic, a new iPhone application that lets users easily place realistic mustaches on photos of their choosing, we went bananas. Yup - BANANAS. And then we wrote this blog post.
And if that’s not enough of a ringing endorsement, take a gander at the photo to the right. Yup - that’s a real example of some of the excellent work Stachetastic can handle with ease. If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, and you enjoy wasting countless hours of your day painting fake mustaches on pictures of yourself or professional athletes, then head on over to the Stachetastic website to buy it immediately.
This morning, MetsBlog pointed out several stories from the Daily News, SNY, Bergen Record, and Newsday that claim that Luis Castillo is currently the best hitter on the Mets. He’s currently batting .389 on the season, and .444 with RISP, an area in which the Mets have lacked his season. This is great news for Mets fans, considering Luis’ struggles over the past couple of seasons and concerns as to whether or not he would have an impact this year.
Of course, its impossible to ignore the fact that Luis rocks facial hair. Because of his beard and connectors, we can’t officially call the growth on his face a mustache. But there’s no doubt that the face sweater he’s wearing on these cold April nights have helped him stay warm and continue to make contact with the ball. And similarly, the goatee-sporting Carlos Delgado has carried his hot streak from 2008 over into 2009, currently batting .304 with 3 home runs and 14 RBIs.
On the flip-side, our Golden Boy, David Wright, has been struggling at the plate with 15 strikeouts and a .289 average. As we pointed out in an earlier post, history shows us David tends to struggle in the colder months and surge in the warmer months of the baseball season. This season is shaping up to be no different, further reinforcing our point that the man needs to keep his face toasty if he wants his team to dominate the NL East.
Nino's hat was held on by the gravitational pull of his afro.
It’s been a while since we got to Better Know a Metstache, so I decided that we needed to come back in style. It couldn’t just be any stache. It had to pop. It had to stand out. It had to have flair and style. In other words, it had to be Nino Espinosa. Who? Let’s answer that question and salute a Metstache, shall we?
Nino was signed in 1970 at the tender age of 17. He joined the big club when he was a September call-up in 1974. Though he totaled only four appearances in 1974 and 1975, by 1976 he established himself as a starter and long reliever.
While his Mets tenure was far from illustrious (he was 25-33 in five seasons with a 4.15 ERA), he had a few key highlights for some pretty dismal teams. He led the team in wins in 1977 (10) and 1978 (11) and was the team leader in complete games those years with seven and six, respectively.
After the 1978 season, Nino was shipped to the Phillies in exchange for Rich Hebner and José Moreno. By 1983, he was out of baseball and, sadly, he passed away in 1987 from a heart attack.
Nino shared a mound and some success with a pitching staff that included Jerry Koosman and Tom Seaver. He may not be The Franchine, but we’re glad to have known Nino.
"These lips sure would taste better with some hair on 'em."
Staches make players better. This much we know. While perusing this highly excellent photo set of opening day at Citi Field (with some great pictures of D-Wright’s homerun) contemplate how a hairy upper lip could affect Wright’s performance for the better. Then, take a look at this spotlight piece in today’s New York Times in which Jose Reyes professes his desire to steal home like the late, great Jackie Robinson. Maybe Jose could sport a fine stache to compliment his chin whiskers, too.
When they said they’re bringing back the old Mets to celebrate the opening of Citi Field, I didn’t realize they meant the blooper-reel spirit of Marvelous Marv Throneberry was invited too.
One particular event of last night’s game, however, stood out to me as more than a little Marv.
A lot of things can happen in baseball, but a guy who’s 6′7, with enough coordination to consistently whip a baseball over 95 mph into a 6-inch by 6-inch window that’s about 60 feet, 10 inches* from his release point, does not just…fall…down!
"We paid for these bricks to inflate our self-worth."
If you’ve had the privilege of attending a game at Citi Field yet, you’d know that as you approach the entrance to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda you’ll see a large series of engraved bricks paving the walkway, each with a personally selected message chosen by zealous suckers Mets fans willing to be gauged out of donate to charity at least $195 to have their words grace the doormat entrance-way of our beloved Mets’ new home until it’s knocked down and the next one is built for all of eternity.
One such brick (given, not the one TWS readers Daryl Stacheberry and Oliver Peachfuzz strong-armed me into contributing towards), highlighted in a recent New York Times piece, seems to have pre-emptively supported the mission of The Wright Stache:
McDowell’s Mets teams of the 1980s, with all their flash and flair, might have been what prompted the Loshiavo Family to write, “Great Hair Wins Championships!”
Loshiavo family, we could not agree more. McDowell and co. may have had some wicked flop-tops, but we all know it was their stylish lip jazz that led the ‘86 team to glory. We hope you’ll join us in our mission to get David Wright to grow a ’stache.
Perhaps we’ve inadvertently stumbled upon a pre-game meeting place for our TWS Million Mustache Marches? Get it? Stumbled upon. See what I did there? Bricks on the ground… walking… stumbled. Yeah.
If you're a student of the game or just interested in baseball history, you may have considered testing
your knowledge through online sports betting. Ask yourself,
what would Ty Cobb do?
Videostache | Hairy Backman | 
April 30, 2009 | 
Comments (0) 
Thought us WrightStachians were the only ones with a cause-based website devoted to a single Met? Not so. 
It’s big, massive, exciting, ridiculous announcement time. Hairy Backman, JCP and I, Teufel Stubble, will be appearing on SNY’s Mets Weekly tomorrow at 11:00am. Tune in to see the three of us discuss the site, the Mets and, of course, mustaches.
5. Llewelyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin in No Country for Old Men)
When they said they’re bringing back the old Mets to celebrate the opening of Citi Field, I didn’t realize they meant the blooper-reel spirit of Marvelous Marv Throneberry was invited too.
