Mets pitcher Thor seems to be of two minds regarding Vegas

The New York Mets are on their way to the World Series with help from a pitcher who is apparently very happy to be out of Las Vegas.

"Last year I was rotting away in Vegas, now I'm here," pitcher Noah Syndergaard was quoted as saying, according to MLB.com's "Just Mets" writer/editor Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron).

So what's the deal?

Syndergaard tweeted in May he was proud to be part of the New York Mets' feeder team, the Las Vegas 51s, although a commenter on Twitter read this Syndergaard-Vegas quote and guessed it was a slam against management.

However, remember this:

In April, 51s manager Wally Backman told the Review-Journal's Todd Dewey that Syndergaard "might be coming in with a little chip on his shoulder this year. He's determined to prove to people that he's really that guy."

And the pitcher (who prefers to be called "Thor," as do we all) told Dewey, yeah, he did have a chip on his shoulder:

"I love pitching in Vegas, I love living in Las Vegas — the atmosphere is unbelievable — but it's not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to pitch in the big leagues."

So there's an answer.

While Thor was here, he tweeted his love for Vegas, especially restaurants such as Ferraro's ("So amazing went back 2 nights in a row!")

And he's a representative of his generation, because he does not suffer trolls online. Back in the spring, he told a hater on Twitter:

"I really hope you don't reproduce" (which is something I have said to a few people in my day).

And to another: "I'm sure you call in sick to your pathetic 9-5 job all the time. Or you might not even have one."

This Thor guy has baseballs.

BLOOD RAVE

Just in case you're not in your concert years anymore, I thought you'd like to know what a blood rave is, especially since electronic act Crystal Method, which arose out of Las Vegas a decade before the Killers, just played a concert for a blood rave in New York.

A couple of weeks ago, Maxim magazine detailed the correct accoutrements to wear at a blood rave (vampire costume, $130 prosthetic fangs), which is meant to mimic the bloodbath of bloody techno music dancers in the Wesley Snipes vampire movie, "Blade."

Only near the end of the New York blood rave did event staff pour red paint on everyone.

"Definitely not for me," one blood raver was quoted.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, then fly over to Amsterdam for a Halloween staging of the blood rave, minus Crystal Method but with music acts named Pump Panel and Bram Fidder. The Oct. 31 blood rave has already signed up 5,000 potential partiers on Facebook (https://m.facebook.com/events/119185328427294/) at a secret location.

BRA BATTLE

I'm not going to lie, my eyes got caught by the name of this event, "Battle of the Bras."

Planet Hollywood and host Jeff Civillico, the local entertainer, will host "Battle of the Bras" on Thursday to raise money for the American Cancer Society, by auctioning bras designed by employees and local entertainers, including Donny and Marie Osmond.

Sadly, Donny and Marie are not among dignitaries signed up to model bras on a catwalk. Instead, bras will be flashed by Planet Hollywood executives (really?), "senior leaders" (cool), and stage stars from topless-friendly "Absinthe," "X Burlesque" and "X Rocks" (that makes more sense, however the execs and seniors thing sounds more interesting).

This is the sixth year. Last year's bra battle picked up $50,000 for the charity.

SECOND-TIER REALITY STARS ALMOST MADE A VEGAS SHOW

In the old days, it was the Howard Stern show that got all the scoops and insights. Now it's podcasts such as "The Nerdist" and "The Joe Rogan Experience."

On episode "#704" of Rogan's podcast, comedian Alonzo Bowden said Vegas execs almost staged a resident show comprising a bunch of reality-TV stars.

"They wanted to do a reality-stars thing in Vegas. I was going to host it, because I won 'Last Comic Standing,'" Bowden said. "They couldn't get the big 'American Idol' winners and stuff like that. It was all the second-tier reality shows."

I'm guessing that these days, they'd have an easier time getting the "American Idol" and "Voice" winners on the same bill, considering how they're selling individually.

Rogan (who does stand-up in MGM's Ka Theatre on Dec. 11) said Bowden was better off that the show didn't happen.

"I think your world gets weird if you live there" in Vegas, Rogan said. "I love Vegas. I love working there. I love doing the UFC there. But I love getting the (expletive) out of there just as much as I love getting there.

"If you had to choose between living in Vegas and living in Toledo, I'll take (expletive) Vegas every (expletive) day of the week, no offense Toledo, but you know what the (expletive) I'm saying."

Rogan thinks there's something weird about living in a city where people come to "get crazy." Which is the reason I like being here. I hate living in boring places where people don't get weird and crazy every hour of the day. Carpe diem, and all that. But then, Rogan has kids. Who raises kids in Vegas? (I'm just messing with you, parents.)

Anyhow, Bowden digs Vegas for combining the best and worst of America.

"If somebody came from another country, they're like, 'I want to see America, I've got five days,' we're going to Vegas," Bowden said. "Because you get the buffet at Circus Circus, and you see the American hillbilly in his natural environment. And you go to the Bellagio, and you see the beautiful millionaires.

"That's the thing I love about Vegas," Bowden said. "If you watch the Strip, you will see the craziest collision of cultures: 'Is that a pimp talking to a Kansas City grandma?'"

Doug Elfman can be reached at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman. On Twitter: @VegasAnonymous