During a visit to Shea last week, some colleagues and I were slightly befuddled by a scoreboard announcement that Tom Seaver had a a scheduled appearance at an establishment known as Last Licks.
As it turns out, Last Licks is a Scarsdale, NY concern that doubles as an ice cream parlor and sports memorabilia store. That’s Al Leiter, above, trying to earn some extra money now that he has to get by on his YES Network salary.
Last Licks claims to have a Jorge Julio signing planned in the near future — I’m not sure who is being more wildly optimistic, the propreitors or the Mets reliever, but I wish them both the best of luck.
According to Newsday’s David Lennon, Mets CF Carlos Beltran might be available to hang out at Last Licks this coming weekend as the club is close to putting him on the disabled list.
Beltran is reluctant to return before he is feeling 100 percent, even though last Friday’s MRI revealed no structural damage to his hamstring. The team’s diagnosis was nothing more serious than inflammation, and Randolph still plans to use Bel.tran as a pinch hitter in the Giants series. “If we’ve got to win a game or we need him, I’ll put him in,” Randolph said.
That would complicate the Mets’ decision to put him on the disabled list, however. As it stands now, if Beltran winds up on the DL later this week, it would be retroactive to last Friday, speeding up his return. Otherwise, if he appears as a pinch hitter, the Mets lose those valuable days in between. At this point, there seems to be no rush to get him back in the lineup or use him off the bench, for that matter.
“When all is said and done with Beltran, we’re being conservative,” general manager Omar Minaya said. “It’s April. We want to have him for four or five months. Fortunately, we’re off to a good start, so that allows us to be conservative.”
What they decide to do next with Beltran may be more radical if Minaya chooses to summon Milledge from Triple-A Norfolk. Milledge was batting .400 (24-for-60) for the Tides with seven doubles and four stolen bases in 18 games. With his athletic ability, there’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t be a great defensive substitute for Beltran. And at the plate, Milledge already has to be considered a serious upgrade over Endy Chavez, who entered last night hitting .222 (6-for-27).
Randolph said that Victor Diaz is likely to be the club’s first option if Beltran is placed on the DL, but he’s not the only one. When asked about Milledge coming up, Minaya hedged a little in his response, but definitely left the door open.
last licks calls itself a sports bar for kids! i guess there are still some parents out there who aren’t in the mood to bring their kids to hooters.