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Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Edgy MD Jan 09 2011 04:12 PM

1/9/2011 [list][*]Metstradamus is reading a bit too much between the lines regarding the Matt Garza trade (well played, irish!). But, I guess, that's why he calls himself Metstradamus.[/*:m] [*]The 'Ropolitans uses a blog the old way, scratching at a a brief independent thought that crossed their minds --- in this case, some speculation about Adam Rubin finding another Met GM reprehensible.[/*:m] [*]Mets Guy in Michigan welcomes Roberto Alomar to Cooperstown.[/*:m] [*]Brent Mayne talks catching.[/*:m] [*]CitiField of Dreams mourns Christina Taylor Green.[/*:m][/list:u]

metirish Jan 19 2011 10:37 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Joe Janish inspired by MBTN Inspired has this #27 Pete Harnish

seawolf17 Jan 19 2011 10:43 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

metirish wrote: #27 Pete Harnisch My homeboy.

Edgy MD Jan 19 2011 10:44 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

metirish wrote: Joe Janish inspired by MBTN Inspired has this #27 Pete Harnish Milner was the closest thing the Mets had to a home-grown star — until Lee Mazzilli came along to be the closest thing they had to a home-grown star — and showed flashes of fulfilling stardom with his quick wrists and plate discipline. What was Tom Seaver? Horseradish?

Benjamin Grimm Jan 19 2011 11:16 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Perhaps he was chopped liver.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 19 2011 11:18 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Very nice, I should go over there and say thanks.

Ashie62 Jan 19 2011 11:19 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Perhaps he was chopped liver. With Fava beans and a nice chianti.

metirish Jan 24 2011 09:06 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Joe Posnanski with a gem from a few weeks ago......not Met related but still http://joeposnanski.blogspot.com/2011/0 ... f-day.html

Benjamin Grimm Jan 24 2011 12:24 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

This, from Amazin' Avenue, ponders whether my own attitude is typical of most Mets fans. (I don't think it is.)

metirish Jan 24 2011 12:30 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Benjamin Grimm wrote: This, from Amazin' Avenue, ponders whether my own attitude is typical of most Mets fans. (I don't think it is.) Interesting , using callers to the Wfan after a brutal mets loss is probably not a good reference , or Mets bloggers either I guess.

Edgy MD Jan 26 2011 09:53 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Metsgrrl enters the mind of Bill Webb.

G-Fafif Jan 26 2011 12:04 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Matt Artus of Always Amazin' with a week-after report from Citi Field that is well worth the wait, here. Particularly digging the thoughts on Captain Reyes: And speaking to him, I just kept asking myself why his name NEVER comes up in the water cooler chatter about the team's captaincy. He never backed down from a question. He always sounded sincere, even when giving a canned response to a baseball question. And he laughs a great deal. He wasn't laughing at us, or necessarily at a funny question or comment. He just laughed from time to time, possibly as a means of deflecting his true feelings or as a tactic to shrug off a comment. I could see how the laughing could grow weary on the media that follows him day in and day out.

Edgy MD Jan 26 2011 12:09 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

I can think of ten reasons why pretty quickly.

Ashie62 Jan 26 2011 12:11 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Jose might be high on weed.

Ceetar Jan 26 2011 12:11 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

I floated the idea of Reyes and Wright as co-captains (to myself mainly) a couple of months ago. Maybe I should write a followup to my "name wright captain" post.

Edgy MD Feb 14 2011 08:39 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Let's take a trip. [list][*]Amazin' Avenue talks with Fish.[/*:m] [*]Tanya doesn't think David Wright has the nads to be captain.[/*:m] [*]Metstradaums feels differently. (I tend to think the captain argument is a non-starter.)[/*:m] [*]Rising Apple debuts in the thread, talking with Steven Matz, who continues to be less than convincing while insisting on his Mets fandom.[/*:m] [*]Patrick Flood, counting down his top 50, writes about writing scab Rick Reed into video games.[/*:m][/list:u]

Gwreck Feb 14 2011 08:47 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Edgy DC wrote: (I tend to think the captain argument is a non-starter.) Ding ding ding! We have a winner. The "who is going to be captain" is a fans' issue only. I suppose there's something appealing about having your gritty white homegrown star with a "C" on his uniform but short of mollifying the masses there's little use for it otherwise.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 14 2011 08:49 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Steve Matz, full of shit: Q: Going to school on Long Island, did you grow up a Met fan? If so, what was that like? If not, what was your favorite team growing up? A: Yes I did grow up a Met fan. I loved watching all baseball but would root for the Mets. Some of my family are bigger Met fans than me so it was really cool to get drafted by the Mets.

metirish Feb 14 2011 09:00 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Steve Matz , captain material .

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 14 2011 11:02 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Steve Matz, full of shit: Q: Going to school on Long Island, did you grow up a Met fan? If so, what was that like? If not, what was your favorite team growing up? A: Yes I did grow up a Met fan. I loved watching all baseball but would root for the Mets. Some of my family are bigger Met fans than me so it was really cool to get drafted by the Mets. He might just as well have said, "Well, I grew up on Long Island. And Long Island has a lot of Met fans. So it stands to reason that I was probably a very big Mets fan. Do the math." I remember having to pop Reed into 2-3 games around the late nineties. I could never quite get him right-- the e-Reed I made was dominating in the '98 game, and more inconsistent than he should rightfully have been in subsequent tries.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 14 2011 11:42 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

A touch of apparently realistic optimismfrom the rapidly-improving Not Just A Mets Blog. So that’s 24.5 wins added, and I don’t think a single one of those seasons are optimistic. Add that to the 59 wins I pulled out of my magic hat above, and we’re already at 84 wins before anyone not named Reyes or Wright has a good season, or before most of the bullpen or bench contributes anything. Not too shabby considering most people predict total doom and gloom for the Mets this year.

Vic Sage Feb 14 2011 01:17 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

i think predicting a .500 season is about right. his caveat about that being without even predicting any great years is balanced by not predicting any disastrous years either. that stuff is a wash. 80-85 wins seems about right to me. I don't think that's anything to get too excited about, but whatever.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 14 2011 01:24 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

80 to 85 seems about right to me. I'd much rather see them win 85 games than 65, but you're right, there's little excitement in 85 wins unless the division (or the wild card) is especially tight.

Ceetar Feb 14 2011 01:43 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Benjamin Grimm wrote: 80 to 85 seems about right to me. I'd much rather see them win 85 games than 65, but you're right, there's little excitement in 85 wins unless the division (or the wild card) is especially tight. 85 wins is within striking distance for a roster adjustment in July that gets them over the hump, or a great year out of say Niese coupled with an injury to Halladay from actually winning the division. It's also a hot streak at the right time from winning the Wild Card. Maybe the Wild Card is pegged at 89 or so, and the Cardinals are leading but the Mets get hot and sweep them 9/20-9/22 and suddenly they're looking at the playoffs..

Ceetar Feb 24 2011 07:52 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

[url]http://metspolice.com/ posted a lot of the pictures @NewYorkMets tweeted of the Mets photo day today. I wonder if this means we won't see Paulino in any ads/publications since he wasn't there.

Edgy MD Mar 16 2011 10:36 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Mookie, trying very hard to find his voice with his first post in the blogosphere. There should be a Mookiesphere.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 16 2011 10:45 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Edgy DC wrote: Mookie, trying very hard to find his voice with his first post in the blogosphere. There should be a Mookiesphere. WoW.

Edgy MD Mar 16 2011 10:56 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Yeah. You should present your credentials to him forthwith with an offer to be his co-writer. That's a very thoughtful guy there, and honest enough to acknowledge right out that his thoughts can come out haphazardly. How many bloggers have this same problem and couldn't give a fig? With somebody to help him tease out his ideas and order them into a narrative, Mookie could author a wonderful book.

The Second Spitter Mar 16 2011 11:37 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

I love him. Thanks for posting.

Ceetar Mar 23 2011 08:30 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Edgy DC wrote: Mookie, trying very hard to find his voice with his first post in the blogosphere. There should be a Mookiesphere. WoW. [url]http://mookiesview.blogspot.com/2011/03/unforgettable-season.html Mookie blogs about the '86 season.

G-Fafif Mar 29 2011 01:49 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

One of my favorite bloggers from 2009, on hiatus most of 2010, has returned. Reintroduce yourself to Section 528. I'm not normally a fan of "gee, I haven't blogged in a long time" posts, but this one tells a helluva story about life and baseball. And I have more than enough to count myself as a lucky bastard. Despite the terribly foggy nights I’ve lived through recently, I’ve got a clean bill of health. Moved to a gorgeous new apartment in my still-amazing neighborhood, and have a home office to boot. Work has settled, and indeed I have more and new opportunities to do good things. While we don’t talk often, my ex-wife and I exchange occasional messages and, when I’m in her neck of the woods—she’s still out-of-state—we’ll have a meal. Other aspects of moving on proceed delightfully apace. I don’t know that I could have done all this, or become who I am at present, without the 2010 Mets being as lousy as they were. I mean that. If they’d’ve been better, chances are good that I would’ve missed it, or hitched my wagon too closely to their star. As September turned to October, if the Mets were in the postseason, I’d’ve tacked several more years onto my liver. If the Mets achieved the playoffs only to lose, I’d’ve hit a tailspin. Instead, while baseball is an important part of my life, I now believe I can do without it. Don’t get me wrong. I’d be the poorer for not having it. Baseball is a remarkable part of our society; a great diversion most of the time and great to get lost in whenever it won’t just cause you more harm. There is nothing wrong with getting heated about things in a space where the consequences aren’t thermonuclear war or a theological schism or the separation, for good, of all dogs and all cats. But if I didn’t exactly know where I end and baseball begins, I certainly do now. And I’m grateful for that. I now know what the hell I’m doing. I have to thank the Mets for making sure I missed very little last season. In a way, their mediocrity saved me from myself. I hope your experiences differ greatly: that in 2010, you lived an interesting and satisfying life, and the Mets made you want to tear your hair out or throw something at the TV, or check in on NASCAR and soccer instead. (Maybe not NASCAR.) (Maybe not soccer.) I had to go for awhile. Now I’m back. And oh, buddy, do I wanna have some fun. (The Ollie post has plenty of fiber to it, too.)

G-Fafif Apr 04 2011 09:59 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Another of my all-time favorite bloggers, away tending to personal business most of 2010, is back and I highly recommend taking in his incredibly rational insights on a regular basis. Introduce (or reintroduce) yourself to Mike's Mets. A real human being, as they say. And continuing to entertain and inform me for a seventh season is Metstradamus, who gets off two great lines from the third game of the season. My distate for Hanley Ramirez aside ... no, to hell with that. I have a large distaste for Hanley Ramirez Willie Harris hit a home run in the first inning to get things started. With all of Harris' efforts to kill the Mets in the late innings, I'm shocked he knew there even was a first inning. Finally, from Patrick Flood, this one tickled me: If your bullpen is a wardrobe, then Rule 5 pitchers in April are sweatpants.

Edgy MD Apr 04 2011 10:29 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Mike Silva dances in the post-series joy and attacks the "barren farm" proposition.

A Boy Named Seo Apr 04 2011 10:59 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

One of my favorite bloggers from 2009, on hiatus most of 2010, has returned. Reintroduce yourself to Section 528. I'm not normally a fan of "gee, I haven't blogged in a long time" posts, but this one tells a helluva story about life and baseball. And I have more than enough to count myself as a lucky bastard. Despite the terribly foggy nights I’ve lived through recently, I’ve got a clean bill of health. Moved to a gorgeous new apartment in my still-amazing neighborhood, and have a home office to boot. Work has settled, and indeed I have more and new opportunities to do good things. While we don’t talk often, my ex-wife and I exchange occasional messages and, when I’m in her neck of the woods—she’s still out-of-state—we’ll have a meal. Other aspects of moving on proceed delightfully apace. I don’t know that I could have done all this, or become who I am at present, without the 2010 Mets being as lousy as they were. I mean that. If they’d’ve been better, chances are good that I would’ve missed it, or hitched my wagon too closely to their star. As September turned to October, if the Mets were in the postseason, I’d’ve tacked several more years onto my liver. If the Mets achieved the playoffs only to lose, I’d’ve hit a tailspin. Instead, while baseball is an important part of my life, I now believe I can do without it. Don’t get me wrong. I’d be the poorer for not having it. Baseball is a remarkable part of our society; a great diversion most of the time and great to get lost in whenever it won’t just cause you more harm. There is nothing wrong with getting heated about things in a space where the consequences aren’t thermonuclear war or a theological schism or the separation, for good, of all dogs and all cats. But if I didn’t exactly know where I end and baseball begins, I certainly do now. And I’m grateful for that. I now know what the hell I’m doing. I have to thank the Mets for making sure I missed very little last season. In a way, their mediocrity saved me from myself. I hope your experiences differ greatly: that in 2010, you lived an interesting and satisfying life, and the Mets made you want to tear your hair out or throw something at the TV, or check in on NASCAR and soccer instead. (Maybe not NASCAR.) (Maybe not soccer.) I had to go for awhile. Now I’m back. And oh, buddy, do I wanna have some fun. (The Ollie post has plenty of fiber to it, too.) I enjoyed reading that. Like it when real life can successfully be woven in w/ Mets baseball. Only so many articles/posts I want to read about TC's lineup selection today or whatever (one, if that). Reminded me a bit of that epic Big Al post from the mofo, but this one I kinda felt like the dude needed to get lost in a bottle for a few months & he'd come out of it. Big Al you hoped he'd steer clear of the bottle, but knew he wouldn't, then worried he'd never get back when he did. Someone post that shit already.

Ceetar Apr 09 2011 12:58 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

[url]http://www.ceetar.com/optimisticmetsfan/2011/04/09/my-opening-day-a-journey-with-pictures/ Some of my picture highlights from Opening Day. [youtube]IjXXjvDiZQU[/youtube]

Ceetar Apr 12 2011 08:48 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

The Ropolitans creates a project to catalogue all of the Mets walk-up music

TransMonk Apr 12 2011 08:52 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Pelf rockin' the Meat Puppets via Nirvana. Nice!

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Apr 12 2011 10:26 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

TransMonk wrote: Pelf rockin' the Meat Puppets via Nirvana. Nice! Musical taste-wise, sure. It comes off as an odd choice-- and not pleasantly odd-- when you consider its selector, and that it's neither calming nor imposing (much like its selector). OE: To be fair, it's Pelf, so there may be some bias creeping in there.

G-Fafif Apr 12 2011 11:25 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Wichita's own Mike Pelfrey should try something a little closer to home -- like K.C., Mo.'s own The Rainmakers. [youtube:3g0eczrz]7Hgl4VvcHU4[/youtube:3g0eczrz]

G-Fafif Apr 13 2011 05:38 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Section 528 urges you to boo responsibly. —your Q-Zone could give a fuck if one game’s been played or one hundred games have been played. At present, the only link I can find between endorphins and the vicissitudes of sample size exists within dismissing sample size as a reason to do anything when your functional universe begins and ends with the one game. —if you boo, you’re one of the staggering majority of bipeds on this planet whose emotional gauge runs from gut-busting, orgasmic joy to near-suicidal despair. And mostly you reside in the safe zone, within a standard deviation under the bell curve. You are probably not someone whose scale goes from gut-busting, orgasmic joy to “meh.” So it stands to reason that if you can jump up and cheer a David Wright homer in the eighth inning of game number 10, you can boo the crap out of Scott Hairston, who has something like 15 at bats and one hit. I get, get, get that some people suck and always will, and some people only suck because their girlfriend left them the night before or they stopped selling their favorite ice cream flavor (“Play Me Off Cat” Cookies & Cream, with little chunks of… wait for it… marsh-mall”eow”). But much like there are highs and lows in all of us that must be acknowledged, there are highs and lows in this game that must be acknowledged, too. We acknowledge the highs with cheers because we paid good money to go in and cheer that stuff. It seems disingenuous, then, to lambaste those who, when faced with a shit-tastic play, have an equally strong negative reaction.

G-Fafif Apr 14 2011 05:26 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

The honeymoon (or Terrymoon) is over, by the reckoning of Metstradamus. The honeymoon lasted ten games.? Granted, when you think of honeymoons, you think of exotic locales like the Bahamas, Hawaii, maybe a cruise through Greece. A honeymoon in Flushing is more like a honeymoon in ... well, Flushing. But it's over. When you call a team meeting, I think that's a good indication that the honeymoon is over. The cruise ship has docked, and it's time for Terry Collins to do the chores. And he's already screwed up his first one. You've got second and third with two outs in the fifth. You have Troy Tulowitzki, who you witnessed murder you the night before with a long home run up at the plate with first base open, who you saw hit a long double the other way just one inning before, and Jose Lopez on deck. Well, that seems like an obvious spot for an intentional walk, no? Instead, it was apparently time for somebody's testosterone level to shoot up and think "we can get this guy out!" No, you can't. You can't get Troy Tulowitzki out. Nobody can.

seawolf17 Apr 14 2011 06:05 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Jeez, dude. It's APRIL. Let your pitchers try to grow a set, rather than walking the ballpark. Intentional walks are stupid anyway.

Benjamin Grimm Apr 14 2011 06:54 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

I remember having this same discussion about, I think it was Jorge Julio, and Ryan Howard in April 2007. I wanted Julio (or whoever) to pitch to Howard, to test his mettle under fire. Ryan ended up hitting a three-run homer (or maybe a grand slam). Namor, I recall, said that games in April cound as much as games in September, and I said that you can't manage every game with your back to the wall. Of course, the Mets ended up losing the division by one game. Four years later, I still remember. Sheesh.

G-Fafif Apr 14 2011 06:59 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I remember having this same discussion about, I think it was Jorge Julio, and Ryan Howard in April 2007. I wanted Julio (or whoever) to pitch to Howard, to test his mettle under fire. Ryan ended up hitting a three-run homer (or maybe a grand slam). Namor, I recall, said that games in April cound as much as games in September, and I said that you can't manage every game with your back to the wall. Of course, the Mets ended up losing the division by one game. Four years later, I still remember. Sheesh. It was Good Citizen of the Year candidate Ambiorix Burgos and it didn't work out. BUT the Mets won that game. It was the Home Opener when the Mets scored a truckload of runs (a Jimmy Rollins error was instrumental) and broke it open. The Mets found that one game in other places, however.

bmfc1 Apr 14 2011 07:05 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Like seawolf17, I'm not a fan of IWs either but last night was where I would have made an exception. You hope that your pitcher will pitch carefully/pitch around to the batter but that doesn't always work out. You also have a young pitcher who doesn't have as much experience as a veteran at pitching around a batter. Also, the on-deck batter was Jose Lopez who isn't nearly as good (I'm watching my phrasing to prevent Lopez from hitting for the cycle this afternoon) so here, I would have walked the "Jeter-esque" Tulowitzki.

Benjamin Grimm Apr 14 2011 07:09 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

You're right! They did win that game! http://archives.cranepoolforum.net/6000/f14_t6059.shtml

seawolf17 Apr 14 2011 07:18 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Namor, I recall, said that games in April cound as much as games in September, and I said that you can't manage every game with your back to the wall. I totally understand that concept, but there's also a cahnfidence factor there that the manager has to consider, especially early in the season. You want to be able to say "hey, we got this guy last time" as opposed to "ah, we can't get this guy."

Ceetar Apr 14 2011 07:21 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

bmfc1 wrote: Like seawolf17, I'm not a fan of IWs either but last night was where I would have made an exception. You hope that your pitcher will pitch carefully/pitch around to the batter but that doesn't always work out. You also have a young pitcher who doesn't have as much experience as a veteran at pitching around a batter. Also, the on-deck batter was Jose Lopez who isn't nearly as good (I'm watching my phrasing to prevent Lopez from hitting for the cycle this afternoon) so here, I would have walked the "Jeter-esque" Tulowitzki. It wasn't exactly a pitch down the middle. I probably pitch to him. Niese already walked one on his own in that inning, and after throwing 4 balls to Tulo, I'd be worried about him throwing strikes.. and baserunners are bad. Now, he'd had two hits off Niese already. Go out, talk to him. Discuss what you learned, how he beat you. (hopefully they did this between innings anyway) And then work to figure out a sequence of pitches to beat him. Doesn't matter who it is, you gotta figure out how to make the adjustments to get the guys that are hitting what you normally do.

G-Fafif Apr 14 2011 07:25 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Part of the growing process for a pitcher is learning how to manage situations that aren't necessarily going to be solved by going mano-a-mano. Niese could have conceivably learned a lot by working around Tulowitzki, pitching to Lopez and getting out of that inning. Or it could have blown up grand slam style. Ah, baseball...

TransMonk Apr 14 2011 07:28 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

I'd woulda called for the walk...but I can see both sides of the debate. Keith vigorously said NO when Gary asked him about walking Tulo just prior to the home run.

Edgy MD Apr 14 2011 07:36 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

It's one of those cases where I disagreed, was seriously disappointed in the results, but if Terry Collins wanted Niese to go after him as part of the growing process, I can accept that. Giving young pitchers a chance to fail was pretty much a commandment with Billy Martin and Davey Johnson.

seawolf17 Apr 14 2011 07:43 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Because Keith Hernandez and I are spiritual brothers. And that's why Billy Martin and Davey Johnson won championships.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Apr 25 2011 12:01 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

So, Contreras is hurt? That gives JD of Section 518 some interesting ideas... While I don’t relish the thought of helping the Phillies patch a weakness, I don’t think it matters as much as the long-term health of the club. K-Rod’s vesting option could seriously limit the Mets’ roster flexibility. While I could make an argument that $11.5 million is too much to pay a closer, I hope I don’t have to actually debate the merits of paying one $14 million (K-Rod will be owed $3.5 million regardless of whether the option kicks in). Moving that contract should be priority number one, ahead of resigning/dealing Jose Reyes or finding a trade partner for Carlos Beltran. If that means trading said closer to a division rival, even one who has won the division for three consecutive seasons, so be it. But if that’s a hold-up for you, consider this: the Phillies already have a 2012 payroll that exceeds $112 million. For eleven players, all of whom will be 31 or older. Throw Rodriguez into that mix and suddenly the Phillies owe $129 million to less than half their roster. And that doesn’t factor in an extension for Cole Hamels. In terms of sound roster management we should be thrilled if we give Rodriguez to the Phillies, never mind acquiring a useful prospect.

Edgy MD Apr 25 2011 01:29 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

I don't think that would be priority one. I get his thinking, but... proportion is needed.

Ashie62 Apr 25 2011 02:03 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Send Francisco Rodriguez to any team willing to take his contract. You might get a couple of high A players. Calling this priority number one is absurd..hyperbole.

G-Fafif Apr 26 2011 11:43 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Section 528 takes apart Michael Kay better than Michael Kay takes apart baseball (which, admittedly, isn't a very high bar). The problem here, if I can be more than simply mordant, is that Michael Kay’s been a sports reporter for nearly THIRTY YEARS. And he’s covered the Yankees since 1987. He’s worked in newspapers, on the radio, on television for basketball and baseball. He hosts that Centerstage program, whatever that’s supposed to be. Can’t he think on his feet? Can’t he provide some level of commentary more scintillating, more incisive, more clever than musing about the Mets because a guy who had a couple cups of coffee with them is on the mound totally dissecting an AL powerhouse? No. The answer is no, he can’t. If ever he could, he’s been wholly incapable in the small number of games against varied opponents I’ve sampled in the past six years.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Sep 05 2011 10:17 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Courtesy of the Apple: Here's to MB1C!

Ceetar Sep 05 2011 12:00 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

I love how we went most of the season without updating this thread. oops.

G-Fafif Sep 09 2011 12:44 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Love Metstradamus all days, particularly today. To the people who went to the doubleheader, and there weren't many, bless your heart. You are the definition of fan, and you should be loved. I know the Mets have done some good things by fans who had to sit through long rain delays this season (I was a beneficiary of that). But I'll go so far as to say this: If you were at Thursday's doubleheader, you deserve to not only have guaranteed tickets to the first World Series game at Citi Field, but you deserve to be in the front row. You deserve the cushy seats behind the plate. Because you're who the Mets should want to have the best experience. Those people who were there Thursday, those are your real fans, Wilpon family. These are the people who are there for you when times are tough, you should have them by your side the next time things are good. I just hope they're not using walkers and canes by then. I'd like to think I'm good at blasting the organization when they do something dumb. So under the premise that puppies and babies need positive reinforcement just as they need to be told "no", I'm going to give the Mets credit for something: Before the first game the team had a tweet contest, where the first person in the park to tweet back got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the ball game (and no, the winner wasn't Chris Schwinden.) Think about it: a fan in the stands got to go onto the field and throw a ceremonial first pitch to Ronny Paulino (amazingly, he caught it.) That's pretty freakin' sweet if you ask me. If there's one thing I can impart onto the Mets new ownership, whoever they may be and whenever they may get here, it would be this: the Twitter first pitch thing? More of that.

metirish Sep 09 2011 12:49 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

The second paragraph is gold, the first?, those are the fans that should be cherished but they are not the ones they were thinking of when the stadium was being built, sadly.

Ceetar Sep 09 2011 01:17 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

metirish wrote: The second paragraph is gold, the first?, those are the fans that should be cherished but they are not the ones they were thinking of when the stadium was being built, sadly. That's the formula of professional sports these days. Profit is king and you gotta keep up with the Jones/Steinbrenners. But at least the second part represents that they do actually at least remember we exist. They've been doing Thursday trivia stuff all season. They tried to do the first pitch thing last thursday, but the person that won wasn't actually _in_ their seat, so they couldn't find him in time to do it. They've done some other subtle stuff too, like having the '86 Met that's in the building come out and hand out the inbetween inning contest prize in person.

metirish Sep 09 2011 01:21 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

True, and I'll add that a ticket to see the Mets is very reasonable, and kids were free . I hope when the team is rising high and winning things these little things will remain.

Ceetar Sep 09 2011 01:27 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

metirish wrote: True, and I'll add that a ticket to see the Mets is very reasonable, and kids were free . I hope when the team is rising high and winning things these little things will remain. I'm sure given the digital age, the tweet contests and the like might. I doubt the 'hey, bring all your kiddies free' stuff will. supply and demand and all.

Gwreck Sep 09 2011 01:28 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

metirish wrote: True, and I'll add that a ticket to see the Mets is very reasonable, and kids were free Kids' tickets free is a nice touch but generally, tickets as priced by the Mets are still badly in need of market correction.

G-Fafif Sep 09 2011 01:29 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

metirish wrote: True, and I'll add that a ticket to see the Mets is very reasonable, and kids were free . I hope when the team is rising high and winning things these little things will remain. Fan-friendliness seems to run in an inverse proportion to the standings, at least once it's occurred to them haughtiness and fourth place don't mesh.

Edgy MD Oct 13 2011 12:46 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Ted Berg at Tedquarters grabbed this screencap, thrown up to demonstrate how awesome Albert Pujols is, but inadvertently telling the story of just how lazy, soft, and unreliable Carlos Beltran has been. That's eight guys --- five hall-of-famers, one steroid abusing numbskull, Pujols, and Beltran on thop of them all by almost a hundred points.

Ceetar Oct 13 2011 12:50 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

I assume you have to scroll up to find Jeter?

metirish Oct 13 2011 12:53 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Where is that coming from? http://www.baseball-reference.com/playe ... ca01.shtml

HahnSolo Oct 13 2011 12:57 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

How about #4 on that list?

TransMonk Oct 13 2011 12:57 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

It matches for me.

Edgy MD Oct 13 2011 12:58 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

From the MLB Network broadcast.

Frayed Knot Oct 13 2011 02:15 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Edgy DC wrote: Ted Berg at Tedquarters grabbed this screencap, thrown up to demonstrate how awesome Albert Pujols is, but inadvertently telling the story of just how lazy, soft, and unreliable Carlos Beltran has been ... That's eight guys --- five hall-of-famers, one steroid abusing numbskull, Pujols, and Beltran on thop of them all by almost a hundred points. But he did most of that with Houston so it's not really clutch hitting.

Edgy MD Oct 13 2011 02:32 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Yeah, he hit only three homers instead of four in the NLCS with the Mets. I"ll have to talk to him about that.

metirish Oct 13 2011 02:36 PM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Apologies, didn't notice it was postseason.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 17 2011 08:15 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Steve Yeager unexpectedly destroyed me this morning at Cardboard Gods: [url]http://cardboardgods.net/2011/10/17/steve-yeager-2/

MFS62 Oct 17 2011 08:25 AM Re: Dispatches from the Blogosphere 2011

Steve Yeager unexpectedly destroyed me this morning at Cardboard Gods: [url]http://cardboardgods.net/2011/10/17/steve-yeager-2/ That was beautiful , man. I can't wait to have a catch with my grandson. Thanks. Later