Baseball is littered with a history of animals stories. Who can forget the time Cubs fans tried to bring a goat to Wrigley Field and subsequently cursed the team to a decade of failure? Or Ron Santo standing in the on-deck circle at Shea Stadium in 1969 when a stray black cat walked by?
So Mets reliever Tim Byrdak decided to add to the mythology this weekend.
The day before the Subway Series began Mets closer Frank Francisco decided to tempt fate by calling the Yankees “chickens” and saying he would strike out the side like he’d done before. Of course the quote blew up as is fait accompli in New York City tabloid culture.
And what better way to pick on your teammate than by bringing him an actual chicken. Byrdak obliged. At first, when he tweeted the following after Friday’s win and Frank Francisco’s save, it was assumed he was just making a joke.
Does anyone live on a farm that could take a chicken off my hands?
— Tim Byrdak (@Givemethelefty) June 23, 2012
But no. He was serious.
ok people I bought Franky a chicken from China Town and now he is our mascot…..don’t want to see him get whacked…..please help!
— Tim Byrdak (@Givemethelefty) June 23, 2012
Apparently Byrdak didn’t think the whole prank through because now the Mets have a chicken in their clubhouse and nothing to do with it. Exhibit A:
Jason Bay had maybe the funniest remark.
“Everyone’s like, ‘It’s funny,’ and then it’s like, ‘All right, now what?’ ” Bay said. “You can’t just put it out on Roosevelt Ave.”
Since the Mets are now looking for something to do with the aptly named Little Jerry Seinfeld, might we suggest reading Metro’s own Meredith Engel‘s story on raising chickens in the city written just last week. I’m sure BK Farmyards would be happy to take the chicken off their hands.
Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports. Then again, the Mets could always just bring in Randy Johnson to deal with it.
