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RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff Jun 13 2012 09:17 PM

...and I'll kick it off with this bit of news. Two No-No's in one month? Mets manager Terry Collins said after the game that the team will appeal the hit, saying the play instead should have been ruled an error by third baseman David Wright, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin. http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=320613130

batmagadanleadoff Jun 13 2012 09:21 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: ...and I'll kick it off with this bit of news. Two No-No's in one month? Mets manager Terry Collins said after the game that the team will appeal the hit, saying the play instead should have been ruled an error by third baseman David Wright, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin. http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=320613130 I didn't know that a hit/error call was appealable.

Nymr83 Jun 13 2012 09:22 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I still haven't SEEN the play, but Howie said the scoring was kosher, I wouldn't want it changed after the fact- if its even debateable then the official scorer's initial call should stand.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 13 2012 09:22 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

An MLB committee can reverse an official scorer's decision. A reversal would give the Mets -- who had gone 8,019 games in franchise history without a no-hitter until Johan Santana performed the feat June 1 -- their second this month. http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?secti ... id=8049989

MFS62 Jun 13 2012 09:24 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

There is precedent for an official scorer changing a ruling after the game. Used to happen all the time. But I'm not sure if it has been done for a no-hitter. Later

Ceetar Jun 13 2012 09:35 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

MFS62 wrote: There is precedent for an official scorer changing a ruling after the game. Used to happen all the time. But I'm not sure if it has been done for a no-hitter. Later That'd be really weird. It doesn't matter now anyway though. I didn't think you could get a no-hitter when you let a run score? (I always figured that's how the Mets would get theirs..and maybe lose to boot)

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 13 2012 09:40 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I don;t want it that way. This just illustrates further how random and freaky one is. We all know what happened out there. He threw a poifict game.

themetfairy Jun 13 2012 09:47 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

TransMonk Jun 14 2012 05:36 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I think last night put RA officially in the bidding for NL starter at the All-Star Game...although, Matt Cain helped himself a lot as well.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 14 2012 06:18 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Ceetar wrote: That'd be really weird. It doesn't matter now anyway though. I didn't think you could get a no-hitter when you let a run score? Of course you can. It wouldn't be a shutout, but it would certainly be a no-hitter.

Edgy MD Jun 14 2012 06:35 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

They've changed some of the rules over the years, even going so far as to strike some no-hitters from the record book, so I wouldn't necessarily be surprised if they decided to discount no-hitters that weren't shutouts. I think they ruled --- 20 years or so ago --- that it had go at least nine innings and your team had to win. Poor David Palmer had a perfect game stricken from the records, because it had only gone five innings, before being shortened by rain. The rational defense of Palmer would be that he didn't ask it to rain; he just went out and did his job. Perfectly. He even made a point of going out and throwing the first four innings perfectly in his next start. Against the Mets, I think. Darryl Kile's no-hitter against the Mets in 1993 featured a run scored by Jeff McKnight. I imagine there is some letdown in pitching the game of your career (unless you're Nolan Ryan or somebody), and still not keeping the other team off the board. Just a staggering thought that, had David Wright been at the top of his game, we might've had two perfect games in one evening.

Ceetar Jun 14 2012 06:40 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

yeah, did some reading this morning. I've heard the 'not if a run scores' thing before but it doesn't appear to be accurate. It does have to be 9 innings, and that rule was changed in 1991. It may be related, the idea being that if you pitch a complete game no-hit 8IP loss and give up a run you don't get the no-hitter. I don't care if they change it. The accuracy of the bookkeeping is important, and they're gonna be pretty damn positive he would've been out through normal effort if they change it.

metirish Jun 14 2012 06:48 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Nymr83 wrote: I still haven't SEEN the play, but Howie said the scoring was kosher, I wouldn't want it changed after the fact- if its even debateable then the official scorer's initial call should stand. yeah, wouldn't want it after the fact......

Edgy MD Jun 14 2012 06:57 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

There's the ongoing issue that there really aren't professional standards among official scorers. It's not as bad as it used to be, but it's still a safe bet that tough calls are more likely to fall on the side of giving a hit to the home player. And the league office is the objective arbiter. I guess what I mean to the say is the league should be reviewing close calls without a team having to pettily diminish themselves by filing a protest.

Ceetar Jun 14 2012 07:01 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Edgy DC wrote: There's the ongoing issue that there really aren't professional standards among official scorers. It's not as bad as it used to be, but it's still a safe bet that tough calls are more likely to fall on the side of giving a hit to the home player. And the league office is the objective arbiter. yeah, like the Jeter hit the other day. stupid. I saw the play, but never saw a side by side to see where Upton was. They do change things very frequently, I doubt all of those are initiated by protest.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 14 2012 07:06 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Frayed Knot Jun 14 2012 07:10 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

There were a whole bunch of stricken no-nos from the record books when they more narrowly defined the criteria, but giving up runs wasn't one of them. Unless you're Ralph Kiner that is who always uses the phrase "No-Run, No-Hit games" as if his standards are higher than just a plain "No-hit" games. What was mainly knocked out were oddities where pitchers had no-hitters but of less than nine innings, or where they didn't finish the game, including: - rain-shortened affairs* - games where a road pitcher had a no-hitter but also gave up run(s) while his team was getting shut-out so he never pitched the bottom of the 9th - no hitters that were tied thru nine where the pitcher gave up a hit or hits in extra innings. Jim Maloney of the Reds had one of these against the Mets where they beat him in the 10th - the famous one where Babe Ruth (pitching) opened the game with a walk, then proceeded to argue ball four and got tossed. His replacement came on, picked off Ruth's runner, and then retired the next twenty-six straight. That one used to be counted, isn't any more because the reliever didn't face 27 hitters. - and other assorted oddities * I had a rain-shortened affair once. Her husband went jogging but then came home early when it started to rain

batmagadanleadoff Jun 14 2012 07:14 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Frayed Knot wrote: There were a whole bunch of stricken no-nos from the record books ... - the famous one where Babe Ruth (pitching) opened the game with a walk, then proceeded to argue ball four and got tossed. His replacement came on, picked off Ruth's runner, and then retired the next twenty-six straight. That one used to be counted, isn't any more because the reliever didn't face 27 hitters. I'm surprised that this game was ever counted as a no-hitter. I thought that one of the elements of a no-no is that the pitcher throw a complete game.

Ceetar Jun 14 2012 07:16 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

that goes into the 'combined' no-hitter category now. I love that one as a caricature of Babe Ruth. makes me laugh every time.

Frayed Knot Jun 14 2012 07:22 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: There were a whole bunch of stricken no-nos from the record books ... - the famous one where Babe Ruth (pitching) opened the game with a walk, then proceeded to argue ball four and got tossed. His replacement came on, picked off Ruth's runner, and then retired the next twenty-six straight. That one used to be counted, isn't any more because the reliever didn't face 27 hitters. I'm surprised that this game was ever counted as a no-hitter. I thought that one of the elements of a no-no is that the pitcher throw a complete game. Well, viewed from one angle you could call it complete in that he got all 27 outs - he just did it without being the starter and without facing 27 batters. And that's what the "clean-up" campaign was designed to do, more clearly define what was and what wasn't a No-hitter by getting rid of all those grey-area deals. Call it the anti-asterisk crusade.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 14 2012 07:23 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Ceetar wrote: that goes into the 'combined' no-hitter category now. I love that one as a caricature of Babe Ruth. makes me laugh every time. Obviously. But my issue was that the reliever, as opposed to the team, was once credited with a no-hitter.

Edgy MD Jun 14 2012 07:23 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Yeah, it's still a no-hitter, just not a complete game affair. Neil Allen had one of those once also. Not a no-hitter, but a game he entered in relief with no outs in the first, and he went on to complete it. Under the old rules, he got credited with a complete came, but no more. OE: HA! He replaced Leiter! http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes ... 5310.shtml

Ceetar Jun 14 2012 07:25 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Ceetar wrote: that goes into the 'combined' no-hitter category now. I love that one as a caricature of Babe Ruth. makes me laugh every time. Obviously. But my issue was that the reliever, as opposed to the team, was once credited with a no-hitter. well, he got all 27 outs right? *looks up the reliever* Ernie Shore. Actually, that was the first combined no-hitter.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 14 2012 07:27 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Ceetar wrote: Ceetar wrote: that goes into the 'combined' no-hitter category now. I love that one as a caricature of Babe Ruth. makes me laugh every time. Obviously. But my issue was that the reliever, as opposed to the team, was once credited with a no-hitter. well, he got all 27 outs right? *looks up the reliever* Ernie Shore. Actually, that was the first combined no-hitter. But he didn't pitch a complete game.

HahnSolo Jun 14 2012 07:28 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Frayed Knot wrote: - games where a road pitcher had a no-hitter but also gave up run(s) while his team was getting shut-out so he never pitched the bottom of the 9th Andy Hawkins, anybody? No hits but 4 runs thanks to a crappy MFY defense (3 errors in the 8th). [url]http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1990/B07010CHA1990.htm Also, in looking at the Wright replay, that's a hit. If they called that an error Keith and Gary would have been all over the official scorer.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 14 2012 07:32 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

- games where a road pitcher had a no-hitter but also gave up run(s) while his team was getting shut-out so he never pitched the bottom of the 9th Andy Hawkins, anybody? No hits but 4 runs thanks to a crappy MFY defense (3 errors in the 8th). [url]http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1990/B07010CHA1990.htm Also, in looking at the Wright replay, that's a hit. If they called that an error Keith and Gary would have been all over the official scorer. I doubt that the Rays lone hit will be reversed. But just to play Devil's Advocate: how can you be so sure that it was a hit without seeing video of the batter running down the basepath? Are you basing your opinion on what you believe was the level of difficulty in fielding that grounder cleanly, or that the batter is not as slow as, say, Ike Davis? Just askin'.

TransMonk Jun 14 2012 07:36 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

HahnSolo wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: - games where a road pitcher had a no-hitter but also gave up run(s) while his team was getting shut-out so he never pitched the bottom of the 9th Andy Hawkins, anybody? No hits but 4 runs thanks to a crappy MFY defense (3 errors in the 8th). [url]http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1990/B07010CHA1990.htm I attended that game as a 15 year old. Bizarre.

HahnSolo Jun 14 2012 07:39 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

- games where a road pitcher had a no-hitter but also gave up run(s) while his team was getting shut-out so he never pitched the bottom of the 9th Andy Hawkins, anybody? No hits but 4 runs thanks to a crappy MFY defense (3 errors in the 8th). [url]http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1990/B07010CHA1990.htm Also, in looking at the Wright replay, that's a hit. If they called that an error Keith and Gary would have been all over the official scorer. I doubt that the Rays lone hit will be reversed. But just to play Devil's Advocate: how can you be so sure that it was a hit without seeing video of the batter running down the basepath? Are you basing your opinion on what you believe was the level of difficulty in fielding that grounder cleanly, or that the batter is not as slow as, say, Ike Davis? Just askin'. Upton being the baserunner versus, say, Jose Molina, does make a difference in my opinion, yes. I'll also assume--and you are right, I have no idea how quickly Upton was getting down the line--that DAvid is going for the barehand because he thinks if he gloves it he has no chance to get him. A slower runner, Wright probably gloves it and can make the play. From years of watching baseball, plays like that seem to be ruled hits way more often than errors.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 14 2012 07:42 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

It was obvious to me that Wright flubbed the play because he was aware Upton had wheels and rushed as a result but I want to call it an error because he failed to pick it cleanly, whether or not he had a shot with a strong throw we'll never know.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 14 2012 07:46 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Shades of Ray Knight.

Edgy MD Jun 14 2012 07:51 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: It was obvious to me that Wright flubbed the play because he was aware Upton had wheels and rushed as a result but I want to call it an error because he failed to pick it cleanly, whether or not he had a shot with a strong throw we'll never know. Man, if anybody should have a scouting report on a member of the Norfolk Mafia, Wright should.

Edgy MD Jun 14 2012 07:55 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Shades of Ray Knight.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 14 2012 07:55 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff Jun 14 2012 08:06 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Dickey on pace for a 7.2 season WAR, 8th best in franchise history. Rank Pitcher/Team WAR YEAR 1 Dwight Gooden 11.7 1985 2 Tom Seaver 9.5 1973 3 Tom Seaver 9.2 1971 4 Jon Matlack 8.6 1974 5 Tom Seaver 7.7 1975 6 Tom Seaver 7.6 1969 7 Tom Seaver 7.5 1968 8 Jerry Koosman 6.8 1968 9 Jon Matlack 6.7 1972 10 Jerry Koosman 6.7 1969

RealityChuck Jun 14 2012 08:11 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: that goes into the 'combined' no-hitter category now. I love that one as a caricature of Babe Ruth. makes me laugh every time. Obviously. But my issue was that the reliever, as opposed to the team, was once credited with a no-hitter. well, he got all 27 outs right? *looks up the reliever* Ernie Shore. Actually, that was the first combined no-hitter. But he didn't pitch a complete game. Neither did the six pitchers who pitched a no-hitter last week. The game is now officially credited as a combined no-hitter. Actually, it was always credited as a no-hitter because that's what it was -- a game with no hits. Until Steve Barber and Stu Miller did the same thing (and lost the game), it was sui generis, and there was no consistent way to credit Shore. By the 60s, lists of no-hitters had supplementary lists for multi-pitcher no hitters, no hitters of less than nine innings, and games which were no-hit for nine innings, but with a hit in extra innings. The last was a much more fair way to designate them; why should Harvey Haddix be denied a no-hitter just because of the hobgoblins of small minds?

batmagadanleadoff Jun 14 2012 08:16 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

RealityChuck wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: that goes into the 'combined' no-hitter category now. I love that one as a caricature of Babe Ruth. makes me laugh every time. Obviously. But my issue was that the reliever, as opposed to the team, was once credited with a no-hitter. well, he got all 27 outs right? *looks up the reliever* Ernie Shore. Actually, that was the first combined no-hitter. But he didn't pitch a complete game. Neither did the six pitchers who pitched a no-hitter last week. The game is now officially credited as a combined no-hitter. Actually, it was always credited as a no-hitter because that's what it was -- a game with no hits. Until Steve Barber and Stu Miller did the same thing (and lost the game), it was sui generis, and there was no consistent way to credit Shore. By the 60s, lists of no-hitters had supplementary lists for multi-pitcher no hitters, no hitters of less than nine innings, and games which were no-hit for nine innings, but with a hit in extra innings. The last was a much more fair way to designate them; why should Harvey Haddix be denied a no-hitter just because of the hobgoblins of small minds? But my issue was that the reliever, as opposed to the team, was once credited with a no-hitter.

RealityChuck Jun 14 2012 08:48 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

But my issue was that the reliever, as opposed to the team, was once credited with a no-hitter.

It never was. The record books at the time would list the no-hitters, then list Eddie Shore's separately as a special case, with an explanation that he relieved Ruth, either on a separate list, or with an asterisk. I can't think of a time where Shore was mentioned when it didn't mention he relieved Ruth.

And even now, combined no-hitters are credited to the list of pitchers who pitched. The no-hitter the other day is credited to Kevin Millwood, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League, and Tom Wilhelmsen, not the Mariners.

As for the original topic -- I agree that Collins is right in appealing, even though he has no chance of winning. It's like in a trial -- when the prosecution rests its case, the defense always makes a motion to dismiss. This is probably one of the first things they teach you as a defense lawyer. And 999 out of 1000, the judge denies the motion. But you still make it because this might be the one time. The judge does not hold this against you.

That's what Collins is doing: 999 time out of 1000, he won't get the ruling. But this might be the thousandth time. The league will rule against Collins (the call was not blatantly wrong, and they won't want to give a no hitter on this unless it was more than blatant), but they won't hold it against him or the team, either.

As for the dudgeon about the request, it's the same as generated when the defense attorneys make the motion to dismiss in a high-profile trial. Everyone gets steamed when it happens, as though it was anything more than a "just in case" maneuver.

Gwreck Jun 14 2012 09:41 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: But he didn't pitch a complete game. Neither did any of those people in Seattle last week. That's why it's a combined no-hitter.

Edgy MD Jun 14 2012 10:00 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Joe Torre, to rule on the appeal. He also has the option of referring the ruling to a five-member committee.

Ceetar Jun 14 2012 10:11 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Last hit I see being overruled to an error was an Endy Chavez hit to second on Saturday.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 14 2012 11:04 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Gwreck wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: But he didn't pitch a complete game. Neither did any of those people in Seattle last week. That's why it's a combined no-hitter. Jesus H F Nixon Christ Already. I know what a combined no-hitter is. I thought that Shore, and Shore alone, was credited with the same kind of no-hitter that Santana pitched, or that Ryan and Koufax threw all those times, because Shore was on the mound for all 27 outs.

Chad Ochoseis Jun 14 2012 11:12 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Who is "crediting" all these no-hitters? I've never seen no-hitter listed as an official pitchers' stat, like walks, strikeouts, or wins. Regardless, I really hope that when the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Dickey's game, they called it a 1-hitter*.

Zvon Jun 14 2012 11:51 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Well, I'm glad it's an issue. I'd like to see a replay from behind Wright to see how Upton was getting down the line. From what I did see he was running like it mattered to him. Wright says that the ball hit a lip on the carpet and didn't bounce true, and at that moment he went for it with his bare hand and could not snag it. And that's just how it looked to me. I thought he had time to glove it and bullet it to 1st for the out, but he says he didn't think there was a chance w/o the barehand attempt, and I have to believe him. Also later in the game there was a play at 3rd that was ruled an error on the Rays, a squibbler near the line that the 3rd baseman tried to bare hand and blew it. This second one was more of a hit than the one to Wright, yet it was ruled an error. Not saying that one should effect the other, but it shows a sense of consistency there. I was watchin this and hangin out here, Mets win big and R.A. is awsum, had two hotdogs and a beer about mid way through, so in my scorebook this was a perfect game :)

TransMonk Jun 14 2012 12:01 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Wright said himself post-game that he wouldn't have gotten the runner had he used his glove. That makes me believe it should be a hit. Sorry, RA.

HahnSolo Jun 14 2012 12:05 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

@RaysJoeMaddon RA Dickey is good and he is really hot right now. Did you notice he was tipping his pitches? If true, wasn't helping your team much, was it Joe?

TransMonk Jun 14 2012 12:31 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I have to imagine out of the 106 pitches he threw last night, at least 90 of them were knuckleballs. RA doesn't need to tip his pitches for the batter to know what's coming. He's just throwing that one pitch really, really well. Either he was joking or that was ridiculously stupid tweet by Maddon.

Ceetar Jun 14 2012 12:33 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

TransMonk wrote: I have to imagine out of the 106 pitches he threw last night, at least 90 of them were knuckleballs. RA doesn't need to tip his pitches for the batter to know what's coming. He's just throwing that one pitch really, really well. Either he was joking or that was ridiculously stupid tweet by Maddon. he was joking.

TransMonk Jun 14 2012 12:47 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Thanks...it's sometimes difficult for me to understand the sarcasm of tweets.

Ceetar Jun 14 2012 12:49 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

TransMonk wrote: Thanks...it's sometimes difficult for me to understand the sarcasm of tweets. I think Josh said he said it in the post-game press conference as well.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 15 2012 01:34 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

How impressive was R.A. Dickey's 1-hitter? By ESPN Stats & Information | ESPN.com On June 1, Johan Santana pitched the first no-hitter in Mets franchise history. But was R.A. Dickey’s performance against the Tampa Bay Rays even more impressive? It took 50 years before Santana threw the Mets’ first no-hitter. But side-by-side, Dickey’s performance may be closer to flawlessness. Keep in mind that Santana’s no-hitter included a foul ball that replays showed may have been a hit and Dickey’s outing included a hit that could have been scored an error. Then, consider that Santana struck out eight batters and walked five, while Dickey struck out 12 and didn’t walk a single batter. Only two pitchers in Mets history have struck out more than 12 batters in a 1-hitter. Those pitchers are both in the Hall of Fame: Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan. Most Strikeouts In 1-Hitter Mets History Strikeouts 1970 Nolan Ryan 15 1970 Tom Seaver 15 2012 R.A Dickey 12 In the win, Dickey ended a streak of 32 ? scoreless innings. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that’s the longest streak in Mets history, surpassing Jerry Koosman’s 31 ? consecutive scoreless innings in 1973. Most Consecutive Scoreless IP Mets All-Time 2012 R.A. Dickey 32 ? 1973 Jerry Koosman 31 ? 1985 Dwight Gooden 31 1971 Tom Seaver 31 2003-04 Al Leiter 29 ? Dickey has now had four straight starts with no earned runs and at least eight strikeouts. According to Elias, no pitcher has had more than four straight such starts in MLB history. The other three pitchers to do so were Pedro Martinez (2002), Ray Culp (1968) and Gaylord Perry (1967). So how did Dickey dominate the Rays? • Of his 106 pitches, 100 were knuckleballs. That’s Dickey’s highest knuckleball percentage (94.3) in his Mets career. • Of his 100 knuckleballs, 55 of them were above the belt, gaining 16 outs (six strikeouts), the most in his Mets career. • The Rays missed 22 of the 63 knuckleballs they swung at (34.9 percent). The 22 missed knuckleballs are also the most in Dickey’s Mets career. • Eleven of the 12 strikeouts were swinging. With the victory, Dickey is now one of two 10-game winners in baseball this season. That’s rather impressive considering that Dickey has never had more than 11 wins in a season, he was 8-13 last season, he’s 37 years old, and he was in the Minors just two seasons ago. At 10-1 with a 2.20 ERA and 90 strikeouts, Dickey has cemented himself into the early Cy Young Award conversation. If Dickey were to win it, he’d be the oldest first-time Cy Young Award winner as a starter since Early Wynn, who was 39 years old when he won it in 1959. When Wynn won it, it was just the fourth year of the Cy Young Award, so it’s possible Wynn could have won one earlier in his career if the award had existed. A Cy Young Award for a Met? It hasn’t happened since 1985, when Doc Gooden went 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and 268 strikeouts. http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/ ... s-1-hitter ***************** R.A. Dickey's last five starts: W-L 5-0 (2 CG Shutouts) ERA 0.23 IP 39.2 IP/Start 7.9 H 20 BB 3 K 50 ER 1 WHIP 0.58 K/9 11.34 H/9 4.54 BB/9 0.68 K/BB 16.67

Lefty Specialist Jun 15 2012 07:17 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Those are cartoonish numbers. 4.54 hits per 9 innings? One earned run in his last 5 starts? Yowza.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 15 2012 08:37 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

.A. Dickey's last five starts: W-L 5-0 (2 CG Shutouts) ERA 0.23 IP 39.2 IP/Start 7.9 H 20 BB 3 K 50 ER 1 WHIP 0.58 K/9 11.34 H/9 4.54 BB/9 0.68 K/BB 16.67 OE --->BAA .149

Lefty Specialist Jun 15 2012 12:58 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

It's like turning everyone on the opposition into Mike Nickeas. Actually, worse than Mike Nickeas, as he's hitting a robust .155.

Edgy MD Jun 15 2012 01:28 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Hey, that's fun! [list][*]Dickey turns everyone into... Alex Presley.[/*:m] [*]Santana turns eveyone into... Bret Pill.[/*:m] [*]Niese turns everyone into... Rod Barajas.[/*:m] [*]Gee turns eveyone into... Matt Diaz.[/*:m] [*]Hefner turns everyone into... there's really no remotely comparable batter to a compare to the typical result of a pitcher who gives up a .290 batting average, but only a .304 OPB. More data needed.[/*:m][/list:u]

batmagadanleadoff Jun 15 2012 01:51 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Cy Young Award? Between R.A's incredible pitching, mountain climbing exploits and the release of his book, Dickey's on pace for one of these:

Lefty Specialist Jun 15 2012 02:35 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Be thankful he didn't break a leg climbing Kilimanjaro.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 15 2012 03:40 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Appeal denied. It remains a one-hitter.

TransMonk Jun 15 2012 03:41 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Yea!!!

Frayed Knot Jun 15 2012 04:41 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Appeal denied. It remains a one-hitter. Not even slightly surprising. Unless Torre et al found that the scorer made some kind of ruling that went against whatever guidelines scorers are supposed to use there was no way this was happening. That call of H-or-E was never anything more than a subjective matter of opinion.

Zvon Jun 15 2012 06:19 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Frayed Knot wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: Appeal denied. It remains a one-hitter. Not even slightly surprising. Unless Torre et al found that the scorer made some kind of ruling that went against whatever guidelines scorers are supposed to use there was no way this was happening. That call of H-or-E was never anything more than a subjective matter of opinion. Agreed. What was surprising to me was that article I read that said the Mets were assholes for putting in the protest. Wha? Of course they should go through the motions? Why not? SuckMahBawls Heyman!

Frayed Knot Jun 15 2012 06:26 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

What was surprising to me was that article I read that said the Mets were assholes for putting in the protest. Wha? Of course they should go through the motions? Why not?! Well, the 'Why Not' is because, even if successful, it serves to boost the interests of one player but at the expense of another. And all of it for the purpose of creating a somewhat artificially contrived 'moment' that the team can celebrate. Or, to put it another was, it's like on 'Scrubs' when Dr. Cox said to Elliot right after losing a patient just before his shift ended and she wanted to delay recording it until just after midnight: "There's nothing wrong with a one-hitter, there, Barbie. In fact, it's miraculous. And I won't have you of all people cheapen what should be an endless pursuit of perfection just because you want the world to laugh with you tonight."

Ceetar Jun 15 2012 09:17 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

What was surprising to me was that article I read that said the Mets were assholes for putting in the protest. Wha? Of course they should go through the motions? Why not?! Well, the 'Why Not' is because, even if successful, it serves to boost the interests of one player but at the expense of another. And all of it for the purpose of creating a somewhat artificially contrived 'moment' that the team can celebrate. Or, to put it another was, it's like on 'Scrubs' when Dr. Cox said to Elliot right after losing a patient just before his shift ended and she wanted to delay recording it until just after midnight: "There's nothing wrong with a one-hitter, there, Barbie. In fact, it's miraculous. And I won't have you of all people cheapen what should be an endless pursuit of perfection just because you want the world to laugh with you tonight." Actually, Collins put it this way: "We think it might've been an error because David usually makes that play. Since he's so good, when he doesn't make that play it's natural to assume it might be an error." Phyllis Merhige

batmagadanleadoff Jun 16 2012 04:32 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Otherworldly Pitch Meets Its Jedi Master By TYLER KEPNER Published: June 16, 2012 In the far corner of the Mets’ clubhouse at Citi Field, propped against the wall near the showers, is a fan’s painting of R. A. Dickey as an alien. On the shelf in Dickey’s locker, next to his usual passel of hardbacks, is a stuffed Yoda, from “Star Wars,” knitted for him by a fan. Leave it to Dickey to revel in the supernatural. He has been, perhaps, the most dependable starter in the National League this season, doing it almost exclusively with the game’s most capricious pitch. As Dickey prepares to throw his knuckleball, he imagines two portals between him and the catcher. Both are vertical rectangles, the first for his body, the second for his pitch. Moving so reliably through them has transported Dickey to a place even baseball’s greatest knuckleballer, Phil Niekro, never knew. “I had a few streaks, but nothing like he’s going through,” said Niekro, a Hall of Famer with 318 victories. “I don’t know if any other knuckleballer has ever been on a hot streak like he has been. He is just dynamite right now.” In his last start, a one-hitter Wednesday at Tampa Bay, Dickey broke Jerry Koosman’s club record for consecutive scoreless innings. An unearned run in the ninth snapped the streak at 322/3 innings, but Dickey has still allowed no earned runs since May 22. He is 10-1 for the season, with a 2.20 earned run average. Before Dickey started throwing the knuckleball, in 2005, he knew that if his mechanics were sound, his pitches would obey. As a knuckleballer, he said, he does not know precisely where they will go. But he knows he can throw them for strikes. “Imagine a vertical shoe box,” Dickey said Friday. “Well, if I start at the top of the vertical shoe box, it may drop to the right corner or it may drop to the left corner, or it may go anywhere in between inside that shoe box. It’s still a strike; I just don’t know where it’s going to be a strike. “And it’s also visual for me. That shoe box is a miniature version of what I try to go through mechanically, in a door frame. So I’m going from a door frame to a shoe box, but they’re both similar. It’s almost like they’re just kind of coming together.” For many years, Dickey struggled for the same kind of order in his life. Jagged pieces never seemed to come together. He exposed it all recently in his gripping memoir, “Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball,” a searingly personal book that describes his sexual abuse as a child; his failings as a husband; his thoughts of suicide; and his religious faith. It also describes his career, and his evolution as a pitcher. The Texas Rangers suggested Dickey try the knuckleball, and Orel Hershiser, their pitching coach at the time, said his recent success was no fluke. “I believe it will continue,” Hershiser said, “because I know the person.” To know Dickey is to root for him. He is polite, engaging and open-minded, with no pretense or airs. Steve Sparks, a knuckleballer for five teams from 1995 to 2004, said Dickey fits in with the knuckleballing family. Most who throw it, Sparks said, are easygoing people with the inner calm to trust a slow pitch under pressure. “You can’t go out there with too much adrenaline,” Sparks said. “It’s kind of like an exaggerated game of catch in the backyard, and some guys are not wired that way.” Dickey’s wiring may run hotter than the rest. When Hershiser and the Rangers converted him, the plan was for Dickey to imitate Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox. Initially, Dickey said, that sounded fine; he had never approached Wakefield’s success. But the more he practiced the pitch — sometimes 500 throws at a time, he said — Dickey realized he was not suited to throw a knuckleball 65 miles an hour like Wakefield’s. In a period of deep personal growth off the field, Dickey said, he had to be true to himself. “I had to risk something,” Dickey said. “I had to say, ‘O.K., the Rangers want me to throw it slow, and they’re the ones giving me the opportunity, so I better do that’ — and then finally getting to the place where you just don’t care. You just want it to be you. And a lot of that paralleled my growth as a human being.” Dickey called his pitch an angry knuckleball, not a butterfly, and its speed may separate him from every practitioner who came before. Dickey’s knuckler has averaged 77 m.p.h. this season, according to the Inside Edge Scouting Service, and he has thrown it from 54 m.p.h. to 83 m.p.h. Such a wide range of speeds has been a long time coming. Dickey said it was not until late in the 2010 season — his sixth year throwing the knuckleball — that he could confidently leave his baseline velocity. Now, he is throwing 17 percent of his knuckleballs outside the range of 70 m.p.h. to 79 m.p.h., while moving his vertical shoe box up and down, in and out. “He’s got both dimensions now, a hard one and a soft one,” Hershiser said, adding that such diversity helps Dickey escape big innings. “He’s not backed into a corner like a conventional knuckleballer.” Hitters have no idea what kind of knuckleball — or occasional low-80s fastball — to expect from Dickey, and they never face another pitcher quite like him. But if the knuckleball is so baffling, shouldn’t more pitchers throw it? Dickey is the only knuckleballer in the majors, and the game has rarely seen more than a small handful at one time. Scouts will always be drawn to hard throwers, Niekro said, but Hershiser made a different point: the pitch is deceptively difficult to learn. “Everybody who’s ever held a baseball has tried to throw a knuckleball, but they’re doing it on flat ground,” said Hershiser, an analyst for ESPN. “Your feet are level, and you can push the ball because your base is stable. “You can take the left fielder for the Tampa Bay Rays and play catch with him, and he’ll make it move and take the spin off it. You can take the shortstop for the Boston Red Sox and tell him to throw some knuckleballs, and he’ll do it. But when you get on a mound and put a hitter up there with a strike zone, that’s the hardest part.” Dickey learned by throwing thousands of knuckleballs against a cinder block wall in his uncle’s gym in Nashville. When he drove, he kept his left hand on the steering wheel and gripped a baseball with his right. He sought advice from masters like Niekro, Wakefield and Charlie Hough. He wandered through four organizations — Texas, Milwaukee, Seattle and Minnesota — before the Mets, who made him the first cut of spring training in 2010. The perfect knuckleball still eludes him, Dickey said. He doubts he will ever perfect anything in his life, much less his signature pitch. “I don’t think we ever learn the whole deal about the knuckleball,” Niekro said. “In my last year, I was still trying to figure it out.” Niekro retired at 48. Dickey is 37, and has pitched his whole career without an ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. There is no telling how long he can last, how many more years he can make the unpredictable trustworthy. The process is the fun part, Dickey said, and he means it. He has slain personal demons and scaled Mount Kilimanjaro, but the quest for knuckleball mastery never ends. The tools of the pursuit are nothing more otherworldly than effort, curiosity and drive. “As mystic as the pitch seems, there’s no mysticism in how to make it controllable,” Dickey said. “It’s just putting in the time.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/sport ... wanted=all

Zvon Jun 16 2012 07:08 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

^Great article. Thanks for sharing :)

Edgy MD Jun 18 2012 07:29 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I'm perfectly OK with Collins acting as an advocate for Dickey there. That's part of his job. I heard an interview with him and he was asked whether he thought the appeal had a chance and frankly said, "No, I really don't." He could have been a little coyer, but he certainly wasn't pretending to be unaware or the reality of the situation.

TransMonk Jun 18 2012 07:00 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I might be wrong, but it looks to me like Dickey will line up to pitch Sunday night in front of the whole Yankee felatiating world. I'm hoping it is a nice national spotlight for his All-Star starting hopes. ESPN must be cheezing in their shorts about that.

seawolf17 Jun 18 2012 07:19 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I'll openly admit that I was wrong. I didn't think Dickey was worth the money; I thought he was just waiting to fall off the table. But holy hell, this guy has been unreal. I apologize, RA, for doubting you.

Edgy MD Jun 18 2012 07:19 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

And lots of it.

TransMonk Jun 18 2012 07:22 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Sign RA Now!

Frayed Knot Jun 18 2012 07:28 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Edgy DC wrote: TransMonk wrote: Sign RA Now So what you guys are saying is that we should ... wait for it ... Sew him up!

G-Fafif Jun 19 2012 06:16 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

"It was fairly poetic, I thought." R.A. on beating Buck Showalter's team, since Showalter urged him to become a full-time knuckleballer and then, essentially, told him to take a hike as Texas manager six years ago after R.A. had a historically bad start against Detroit.

metirish Jun 19 2012 06:18 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Buck was pissed in his post game when asked about Dickey , not at R.A. but that his team got shutout.

metsmarathon Jun 19 2012 06:20 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

said minimm after watching the end of last night's game, "i like r.a. dickey"

G-Fafif Jun 19 2012 06:25 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

“It's surreal. You almost get emotional out there, especially that last hitter. You hear everybody, like one big heartbeat beating. That's the best way I could explain it.''

Ceetar Jun 19 2012 06:26 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

G-Fafif wrote: “It's surreal. You almost get emotional out there, especially that last hitter. You hear everybody, like one big heartbeat beating. That's the best way I could explain it.'' That was probably in response to the "R. A. Dickey!" chants.

Nymr83 Jun 19 2012 06:45 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

From Adam Rubin: Since earned runs were first kept as a statistic in 1912 in the NL and 1913 in the AL, only four other pitchers have compiled 11-plus wins, a sub-2.50 ERA and more than one strikeout per inning through their first 14 starts of a season: Francisco Liriano (Minnesota, 2006), Randy Johnson (Arizona, 2000), Pedro Martinez (Boston, 1999) and Sandy Koufax (Los Angeles, 1966), Elias reported.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 19 2012 06:47 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Three of those names are very impressive. I'm afraid that I'm drawing a blank on Francisco Liriano. Was he, is he, any good?

Frayed Knot Jun 19 2012 06:49 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'm afraid that I'm drawing a blank on Francisco Liriano. Was he, is he, any good? Briefly

Ceetar Jun 19 2012 07:00 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Frayed Knot wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'm afraid that I'm drawing a blank on Francisco Liriano. Was he, is he, any good? Briefly One of those young phenoms that took baseball by storm and then faded quickly. Edison Volquez. Dontrelle Willis. those types of guys. Or maybe he just can't pitch without Johan. flyer?

Lefty Specialist Jun 19 2012 07:17 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Updated- last 6 starts W-L 6-0 (3 CG Shutouts) ERA 0.18 IP 47.2 IP/Start 7.94 H 21 BB 5 K 63 ER 1 WHIP 0.54 K/9 11.90 H/9 3.97 BB/9 0.94 (this actually went UP) K/BB 12.66

Benjamin Grimm Jun 19 2012 07:21 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I just posted this on the UMDB Facebook page: (Dickey is) only the second Mets pitcher, ever, to have a record of 11-1 AT ANY POINT IN THE SEASON. The only other 11-1 pitcher was Terry Leach, who won his 11th game, against one loss, on September 8, 1987. That ended up being Leach's final decision of the year. He was 7-1 as a starter and had four wins in relief.

Edgy MD Jun 19 2012 07:23 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Lefty Specialist wrote: Updated- last 6 starts W-L 6-0 (3 CG Shutouts) ERA 0.18 IP 47.2 IP/Start 7.94 H 21 BB 5 K 63 ER 1 WHIP 0.54 K/9 11.90 H/9 3.97 BB/9 0.94 (this actually went UP) K/BB 12.66 Yeah, I was actually disappointed that R.A. walked a few. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?!

Ceetar Jun 19 2012 07:25 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

[url]http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120618&content_id=33530502&vkey=news_nym&c_id=nym&partnerId=rss_nym Marty Noble has an article on Hofstra's Olivia Galati, a knuckleball softball player.

Edgy MD Jun 19 2012 07:25 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

What must it be like to be a 12-year-old Met fan witnessing this sort of run?

batmagadanleadoff Jun 19 2012 07:29 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Posting on the road from my smartphome ... what a pain in the ass. Dickey's game score last night -96. RA is 1st pitcher in live ball era with consecutive game scores of 95 or more.

metirish Jun 19 2012 07:39 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Edgy DC wrote: What must it be like to be a 12-year-old Met fan witnessing this sort of run? I imagine a lot of pride for a young Mets fan right now.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 19 2012 07:53 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

But less perspective. The older you are, the more you appreciate how rare something like this is.

G-Fafif Jun 19 2012 08:01 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

At 12, with Seaver, Koosman and Matlack, I assumed such Mets pitching was the norm. It was the rare Randy Tate great start that got me extra excited.

Frayed Knot Jun 19 2012 08:05 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

In addition to now leading the league among qualifying pitchers in ERA, Winning Pct, CGs, Shutouts (tied), Quality Start Pct (13 of 14), Strike-outs and WHiP, last night's win also makes RA 52-51 for his career and puts him above .500 for the first time since May of '04 when he was 13-12 Even winning his first six decisions as a Met in 2010 only got him back to .500 but never above. He's 30-23 as a Met. Lowest avg pitches/inning as well at 13.9

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 19 2012 08:17 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Most books sold too.

Frayed Knot Jun 19 2012 08:22 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

[table:3up2u59i][tr:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]Year[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]Strike%[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]Contact%[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]GB%[/td:3up2u59i][/tr:3up2u59i][tr:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]2008[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]57%[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]82%[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]47%[/td:3up2u59i][/tr:3up2u59i][tr:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]2009[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]57%[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]80%[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]49%[/td:3up2u59i][/tr:3up2u59i][tr:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]2010[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]65%[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]79%[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]55%[/td:3up2u59i][/tr:3up2u59i][tr:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]2011[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]66%[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]80%[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]53%[/td:3up2u59i][/tr:3up2u59i][tr:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]2012[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]69%[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]71%[/td:3up2u59i][td:3up2u59i]54%[/td:3up2u59i][/tr:3up2u59i][/table:3up2u59i]

Benjamin Grimm Jun 19 2012 08:24 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

If they pitch Dickey every fifth day, and he keeps winning every start, we'll be getting into Denny McLain territory.

Edgy MD Jun 19 2012 08:29 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Most books sold too. Those would be the books he is continually putting IT in.

TransMonk Jun 19 2012 08:33 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Dickey's ESPN game score from last night was tied with Humber's prefecto as the the second best of the year. #1 was Cain's perfect game. RA is now blowing everyone away in the CY Predictor stat.

Chad Ochoseis Jun 19 2012 08:43 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Posting on the road from my smartphome ... what a pain in the ass. Dickey's game score last night -96. RA is 1st pitcher in live ball era with consecutive game scores of 95 or more. I think that ties him with Capuano's two-hitter last year and the Seaver-Qualls game for the highest Met game score ever.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 19 2012 08:54 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

The perfecto he's gonna throw against the MFYs this Sunday is gonna be awesome, you guys.

Mets – Willets Point Jun 19 2012 09:09 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: The perfecto he's gonna throw against the MFYs this Sunday is gonna be awesome, you guys. No, you stay negative. Can't go messing with karma.

Mets – Willets Point Jun 19 2012 11:38 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

themetfairy Jun 19 2012 11:48 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Mets – Willets Point wrote: I am so stealing this

Edgy MD Jun 19 2012 01:39 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

On live with Francesa.

Ceetar Jun 19 2012 01:48 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Edgy DC wrote: On live with Francesa. cruel punishment for giving up that one hit.

metirish Jun 19 2012 01:55 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Ceetar wrote: Edgy DC wrote: On live with Francesa. cruel punishment for giving up that one hit. Is Francesa taking credit for turning Dickey into a knuckleballer?

Ceetar Jun 19 2012 01:58 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

metirish wrote: Ceetar wrote: Edgy DC wrote: On live with Francesa. cruel punishment for giving up that one hit. Is Francesa taking credit for turning Dickey into a knuckleballer? Probably. But I don't know, I didn't give up a hit so I don't need to be punished by listening. Francesa's been using the Clemens trial to assert that there have always been rumors about Piazza and steroids so he's already in my doghouse this week.

Frayed Knot Jun 19 2012 04:03 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Consecutive One-hitters = Johnny Vander Near

bmfc1 Jun 19 2012 06:41 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 19 2012 08:04 PM

RA on RA (Angell on Dickey): ... the horrendous din of the game and its perpetual, distracting flow of replay and statistics and expertise and P.R. and money and expectation and fatigue have perhaps dimmed, leaving him still in touch with the elegant and, for now, perfectly recallable and repeatable movements of his body and shoulders and the feel of the thing on his fingertips. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/s ... z1yI0oxA8O

Frayed Knot Jun 19 2012 07:02 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

That sentence perfectly illustrates why some folks love, while others hate, the writing of Roger Angell.

TransMonk Jun 19 2012 07:10 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Lance Lynn failed in his attempt to stay close to Dickey's greatness allowing 5 earned in 5 innings pitched to the Tigers tonight. His ERA fell to 2.80.

Edgy MD Jun 19 2012 07:40 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Frayed Knot wrote: That sentence perfectly illustrates why some folks love, while others hate, the writing of Roger Angell. Starting as it did with a lower-case letter, I'm getting that there's more to it we have to click to see.

bmfc1 Jun 19 2012 08:05 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

It didn't. I made a change. My apologies to Mr. Angell.

Frayed Knot Jun 19 2012 08:10 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

My point wasn't to pick apart his punctuation or syntax, but it's that flowery language of his when describing baseball fields and games which entrances some while it absolutely infuriates non-baseball fans.

Edgy MD Jun 19 2012 08:37 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

And my point wasn't to pick apart his punctuation or syntax, but to suggest that maybe there were more flowers in that sentence.

G-Fafif Jun 20 2012 05:41 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

...enemy batters, heading back to their dugout after another feeble infield bouncer or another strikeout, look like folks anxious to forget today’s Dow. Which is EXACTLY what the Orioles looked like Monday night. Never mind what a writer Roger Angell is. What a reporter Roger Angell is.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 20 2012 05:59 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 20 2012 06:16 AM

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Dickey on pace for a 7.2 season WAR, 8th best in franchise history. Rank Pitcher/Team WAR YEAR 1 Dwight Gooden 11.7 1985 2 Tom Seaver 9.5 1973 3 Tom Seaver 9.2 1971 4 Jon Matlack 8.6 1974 5 Tom Seaver 7.7 1975 6 Tom Seaver 7.6 1969 7 Tom Seaver 7.5 1968 8 Jerry Koosman 6.8 1968 9 Jon Matlack 6.7 1972 10 Jerry Koosman 6.7 1969 Dickey on pace for a [crossout]7.2[/crossout] 8.2 season WAR, [crossout]8th[/crossout] 5th best in franchise history. Rank Pitcher/Team WAR YEAR 1 Dwight Gooden 11.7 1985 2 Tom Seaver 9.5 1973 3 Tom Seaver 9.2 1971 4 Jon Matlack 8.6 1974 5 Tom Seaver 7.7 1975 6 Tom Seaver 7.6 1969 7 Tom Seaver 7.5 1968 8 Jerry Koosman 6.8 1968 9 Jon Matlack 6.7 1972 10 Jerry Koosman 6.7 1969 Listened to yesterday's Mets/O's game on Baltimore radio. Pre-game Baltimore crew, recounting Dickey's 2nd 1-hitter, described RA's stuff as being absolutely filthy. OE - Dickey the knuckleballer hasn't thrown a wild pitch all season.

Ceetar Jun 20 2012 06:11 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I heard Gary mention the no wild pitch thing last night, but isn't that just a scoring decision? Josh Thole has 5 PB and Nickeas has 6. Not all of those were Dickey starts, but I don't think Dickey is completely innocent of it.

metirish Jun 20 2012 06:27 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

The article is worth reading btw.

MFS62 Jun 20 2012 06:58 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

My point wasn't to pick apart his punctuation or syntax, but it's that flowery language of his when describing baseball fields and games which entrances some while it absolutely infuriates non-baseball fans. I wonder what the percentage of each is who read The New Yorker. It wasn't as if he was writing for the NY Post. I was going to say The Sporting News except: 1) The don't cover baseball 2) When they did, they had some very good writers. Later

G-Fafif Jun 20 2012 07:06 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

So, what happens to ruin everything Sunday night? These have crossed my mind: --Sudden unforeseen steady rain messes with knuckler, umps won't halt play. --Sabathia pulls up lame, is replaced by Triple-A callup who has studied Dickey and learned the knuckler just for this night and he bests Dickey and it's a moral victory for MFYs 'cause Triple-A pitcher is from Newark and Mets kept him from pitching in front of his family this season. --Selig orders all umpires to redefine strike zone as of 8 PM Sunday and therefore all of Dickey's pitches are considered balls. --ESPN reports that while Dickey has certainly had success over the past several starts, the New York Yankees are history's greatest example of success and that which is evanescent can't help but succumb to that which is transcendent. --Fucking Jeter.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 20 2012 07:10 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

The Daily News reporting that the Mets have considered having Dickey pitch continuously on three days rest. Sounds like it was discussed in May and the idea was put aside.

Ceetar Jun 20 2012 07:43 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

So, what happens to ruin everything Sunday night? These have crossed my mind: --Sudden unforeseen steady rain messes with knuckler, umps won't halt play. --Sabathia pulls up lame, is replaced by Triple-A callup who has studied Dickey and learned the knuckler just for this night and he bests Dickey and it's a moral victory for MFYs 'cause Triple-A pitcher is from Newark and Mets kept him from pitching in front of his family this season. --Selig orders all umpires to redefine strike zone as of 8 PM Sunday and therefore all of Dickey's pitches are considered balls. --ESPN reports that while Dickey has certainly had success over the past several starts, the New York Yankees are history's greatest example of success and that which is evanescent can't help but succumb to that which is transcendent. --Fucking Jeter. No. The wind currents at Yankee Stadium that normally allow pop-flies to float over the fence instead make the knuckleball flutter like crazy. Jeter strikes out 3 times. He nearly reaches on the first because the ball gets by Thole but he doesn't run out of the box because he was bitching about the called strike the pitch before to the ump. Terry Francona declares Dickey is amazing and regales us with tales of Tim Wakefield similiarly baffling the Yankees. He talks about their long swings being unsuited to hit the pitch. C.C.'s heavy frame is worn out from it being a night game during a heat wave, he's strong early but waivers in the 5th to give up 3 home runs to the Mets. Wright, Davis, Murphy back to back to back. Mets feast on the bullpen for the blow-out. Wallace Matthews probably hasn't noticed since he covers the Yankees exclusively now, but back in the day he had some rather unprofessional and ignorant things to say about knuckleballs. I wonder if we'll get a sequel this weekend. [url]http://www.firejoemorgan.com/2007/05/what-eff.html

soupcan Jun 20 2012 07:50 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

G-Fafif wrote: So, what happens to ruin everything Sunday night? These have crossed my mind: --Fucking Jeter. That. Always that. Ceetar wrote: The wind currents at Yankee Stadium that normally allow pop-flies to float over the fence instead make the knuckleball flutter like crazy... Except the game is at Citi

Ceetar Jun 20 2012 07:55 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

soupcan wrote: Ceetar wrote: The wind currents at Yankee Stadium that normally allow pop-flies to float over the fence instead make the knuckleball flutter like crazy... Except the game is at Citi duh. *bonks self* The gentle breeze from the flushing bay then. 1.20 ERA at home for Dickey. .783 WHIP. After that night, Jeter's going to use Dickey as the excuse why he skips the All-Star Game this year.

Chad Ochoseis Jun 21 2012 06:23 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 21 2012 07:19 AM

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Dickey on pace for a [crossout]7.2[/crossout] 8.2 season WAR, [crossout]8th[/crossout] 5th best in franchise history. Rank Pitcher/Team WAR YEAR 1 Dwight Gooden 11.7 1985 2 Tom Seaver 9.5 1973 3 Tom Seaver 9.2 1971 4 Jon Matlack 8.6 1974 5 Tom Seaver 7.7 1975 6 Tom Seaver 7.6 1969 7 Tom Seaver 7.5 1968 8 Jerry Koosman 6.8 1968 9 Jon Matlack 6.7 1972 10 Jerry Koosman 6.7 1969 All pitchers. I don't know whether this shows that (a) pitchers are more valuable than position players, (b) WAR is biased towards pitchers, or (c) the Mets have historically pitched, caught, and thrown better than they've hit. OE - "Catched"? Did I really type "catched"??? batmagadanleadoff wrote: OE - Dickey the knuckleballer hasn't thrown a wild pitch all season. Yay, catchers!

Ceetar Jun 21 2012 06:31 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I blame defense WAR a bit for that.

Edgy MD Jun 21 2012 06:59 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Pitchers are not more valuable, so much as (a) historic seasons by pitchers are more valueable than those for batters and/or (b) we've hosted historic seasons by pitchers, but not by batters.

metsmarathon Jun 21 2012 07:52 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: Dickey on pace for a 7.2 season WAR, 8th best in franchise history. Rank Pitcher/Team WAR YEAR 1 Dwight Gooden 11.7 1985 2 Tom Seaver 9.5 1973 3 Tom Seaver 9.2 1971 4 Jon Matlack 8.6 1974 5 Tom Seaver 7.7 1975 6 Tom Seaver 7.6 1969 7 Tom Seaver 7.5 1968 8 Jerry Koosman 6.8 1968 9 Jon Matlack 6.7 1972 10 Jerry Koosman 6.7 1969 Dickey on pace for a [crossout]7.2[/crossout] 8.2 season WAR, [crossout]8th[/crossout] 5th best in franchise history. Rank Pitcher/Team WAR YEAR 1 Dwight Gooden 11.7 1985 2 Tom Seaver 9.5 1973 3 Tom Seaver 9.2 1971 4 Jon Matlack 8.6 1974 5 Tom Seaver 7.7 1975 6 Tom Seaver 7.6 1969 7 Tom Seaver 7.5 1968 8 Jerry Koosman 6.8 1968 9 Jon Matlack 6.7 1972 10 Jerry Koosman 6.7 1969 Listened to yesterday's Mets/O's game on Baltimore radio. Pre-game Baltimore crew, recounting Dickey's 2nd 1-hitter, described RA's stuff as being absolutely filthy. OE - Dickey the knuckleballer hasn't thrown a wild pitch all season. what's your data source? bb-ref has gooden at 11.9, and fangraphs has him at 9 WAR for pitching. each has him at an additional 1.1 WAR for offense. (isn't it at all frustrating that nobody sums these together in a conveniently located website?) i assume this list to be only pitchers' WAR, a bb-ref has dwright's 2007 was an 8.1 WAR and beltran's '06 was an 8.0 WAR. omitting hte hitting component of pitcher's value, bb-ref would tell you that hte top four seasons in mets history would be delivered by pitchers. the next three by hitters, and than alternating to round out the top ten.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 21 2012 09:02 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I made those WAR charts two years ago for some CPF posts on the topic of best Mets pitcher WAR seasons. (source -- bbref) Maybe, bbref modified its formula since then, thus accounting for the discrepancies you discovered.

MFS62 Jun 21 2012 11:53 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Just heard Goose Gossage being interviewed by Michael Kay (yeah, I know). They were talking about RA Dickey and the knuckleball. Goose said when he was a rookie, he would warm up Jack Fisher. I don't remember Jack being considered a "knuckleball pitcher". MAybe it was an occasional pitch or just something he worked on. Anyone have any memories of him throwing it as a Met? Later

metsmarathon Jun 21 2012 11:57 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I made those WAR charts two years ago for some CPF posts on the topic of best Mets pitcher WAR seasons. (source -- bbref) Maybe, bbref modified its formula since then, thus accounting for the discrepancies you discovered. fair enough. now go back and fix them. i kid.

Frayed Knot Jun 21 2012 02:19 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

MFS62 wrote: Just heard Goose Gossage being interviewed by Michael Kay (yeah, I know). They were talking about RA Dickey and the knuckleball. Goose said when he was a rookie, he would warm up Jack Fisher. I don't remember Jack being considered a "knuckleball pitcher". MAybe it was an occasional pitch or just something he worked on. Anyone have any memories of him throwing it as a Met? No, but, as mentioned, probably half the pitchers in the majors (and more than a few of the position players) have a knuckleball that they screw around with on the sidelines throwing one to each other or to unsuspecting teammates. Gil Hodges was said to own a real good one, and it was Jose Canseco's faith in his that got him to talk his manager into letting him pitch in relief one day. The result was that he blew his arm out and spent a lengthy stay on the DL (back when going without his presence was still a bad thing). The problem isn't in being able to throw one, it's locating it and being consistent enough to make a living with one, and that's why the staffs of the 30 teams features about one or so legit k-ballers per decade.

Ashie62 Jun 21 2012 03:35 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

This is the unofficial list of knucklers with Eddie Fisher 1959-1973 Goose might have been drunk.. [url]http://oddball-mall.com/knuckleball/list.htm

G-Fafif Jun 21 2012 10:10 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

MFYs suddenly admit to passing on Dickey, according to professional idiot Wally Matthews. After the 2009 season, when Dickey was being shopped on the free-agent market, the Yankees kicked the tires on the then-35-year-old journeyman -- and walked away. Y'know that heartwarming story of the career Quadruple-A pitcher who couldn't get a break so he had to make his own and look at him now? Man, would we hate hearing about it if the tire-kicking had gone anywhere.

Ceetar Jun 22 2012 06:14 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

G-Fafif wrote: MFYs suddenly admit to passing on Dickey, according to professional idiot Wally Matthews. After the 2009 season, when Dickey was being shopped on the free-agent market, the Yankees kicked the tires on the then-35-year-old journeyman -- and walked away. Y'know that heartwarming story of the career Quadruple-A pitcher who couldn't get a break so he had to make his own and look at him now? Man, would we hate hearing about it if the tire-kicking had gone anywhere. I propose full excerpts of professional idiots, so I don't have to give them page hits. Matthews is on record as basically calling the knuckleball worse than steroids. I'm really really hoping he pipes up with more of that.

metsguyinmichigan Jun 22 2012 07:48 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

CBS New York has a neat photo gallery showing R.A. through the years. Seems funny to see him unbearded. I didn't know he was on an Olympic team. [url]http://newyork.cbslocal.com/photo-galleries/2012/06/19/r-a-dickey-through-the-years/

Nymr83 Jun 22 2012 07:51 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Ceetar wrote: I propose full excerpts of professional idiots, so I don't have to give them page hits. Matthews is on record as basically calling the knuckleball worse than steroids. I'm really really hoping he pipes up with more of that. I propose not polluting the forum with their articles, just paste the dumbest line (no, not "written by Matthews") and assume we don't really want to read it anyway.

Ceetar Jun 22 2012 07:51 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

metsguyinmichigan wrote: CBS New York has a neat photo gallery showing R.A. through the years. Seems funny to see him unbearded. I didn't know he was on an Olympic team. [url]http://newyork.cbslocal.com/photo-galleries/2012/06/19/r-a-dickey-through-the-years/ yup, he rather lamenting being cut to the minors in 2010 and having to shave his beard.

Ceetar Jun 22 2012 07:52 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Nymr83 wrote: Ceetar wrote: I propose full excerpts of professional idiots, so I don't have to give them page hits. Matthews is on record as basically calling the knuckleball worse than steroids. I'm really really hoping he pipes up with more of that. I propose not polluting the forum with their articles, just paste the dumbest line (no, not "written by Matthews") and assume we don't really want to read it anyway. That works too.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 22 2012 11:19 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

June, 2012 NL Pitcher of the Month candidates (min. 20 IP)

batmagadanleadoff Jun 22 2012 11:38 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

RA's league leading categories: h RA ahead by six lengths in ESPN's Cy Predictor

seawolf17 Jun 22 2012 06:52 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Dempster and Cain also leading my suddenly revitalized fantasy team as well; although Dempster is now on the DL, so it's Dickey's to lose.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 24 2012 08:20 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

One-Hit Wonder: A Look at the Physics behind Dickey’s Knuckleball By Evelyn Lamb | June 24, 2012 | R. A. Dickey is one of the hottest topics in Major League Baseball right now. This right-handed Mets pitcher’s two most recent outings have been one-hitters, he has a league-leading 11–1 win-loss record, and he’s one of the league’s only knuckleballers. What makes this pitch so hard to hit? A knuckleball is famously difficult to throw, hit and catch because of its erratic behavior. It seems to fly through the air with no spin and then break suddenly in any direction. The ball’s seams are key to this behavior. Not just tools to keep the leather together or leave impressive welts when you “catch” a ball with your shin, the seams affect the airflow around the ball. Air drags along the smooth parts of a baseball surface, but the seams produce little vortices that allow air to travel more quickly over them. A fastball rotates 16 or 17 times between the pitcher and batter, and the rapid rotation means that the airflow turbulence caused by the seams is pretty evenly spread over the whole ball and the entire trajectory of the throw, so it travels steadily. On the other hand, a knuckleball rotates only one half to one time on its way to the batter, so the airflow turbulence stays on one side of the ball for a while before slowly moving to the other. The ball drifts in the direction of the leading seam, which slowly moves from one side to the other. Slow is, of course, relative when it comes to pitching. Most knuckleballs poke along at a zesty 65 to 70 miles per hour, although Dickey’s have averaged 77 mph this season. By comparison, fastballs in the majors average about 90 mph. Dickey’s speed may be part of the secret to his success, especially when it comes to his unusually high strikeout percentage. Higher speeds mean less erratic movement, which helps him stay in the strike zone. Of course, it’s a balancing act because the erratic movement is what makes the knuckleball so hard to hit in the first place. Whatever his secret, Dickey is flying high right now, along with his knuckleball. He’s won the last six games he’s pitched. Tonight we’ll see if he can make it seven. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/obs ... uckleball/ About the Author: Evelyn is an AAAS mass media fellow with Scientific American for the summer of

batmagadanleadoff Jun 24 2012 08:31 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

RA's succeeding because of, among other reasons, his uncanny ability to throw strikes when behind 1-0 or 2-0. When he's behind, which is almost never, RA relies on his faster knuckler, which has less movement, and is thus easier to control, but just as hard to hit. Pitch location: knuckler at 0-2 Pitch location: knuckler at 1-2 Pitch location: knuckler at 1-0 Pitch location: knuckler at 2-0 The Dominant R.A. Dickey Posted by Dustin Parkes under General on Jun 19, 2012 R.A. Dickey has been incredible for the New York Mets. Armed with a knuckleball that dances like Fred Astaire, Dickey made the Baltimore Orioles looks absolutely foolish last night, pitching his second straight one-hitter shutout as part of his team’s 5-0 victory. The Dickster struck out a career-high baker’s dozen while walking just two batters and inducing 17 swinging strikes. Dickey is the first pitcher to throw back-to-back one-hitters since a certain fella with the Toronto Blue Jays named Dave Stieb did it back in 1988. He’s the first National League pitcher to do it since Jim Tobin of the Boston Braves back in 1944. Dickey’s amazingness extends beyond just his last couple of starts, too. Over his last five starts, he hasn’t allowed a single earned run, while striking out 52 and walking five of the 142 batters he’s faced over 41 2/3 innings. Unsurprisingly, R.A. Dickey currently leads the National League in wins, ERA, strikeouts, WHIP, shutouts and complete games. But that’s not the whole story. He also leads all Major League starters in swinging strikes from opponents, and in the number of swings on his pitches outside of the zone. Considering his use of the knuckleball, that’s hardly surprising, but what is surprising is the velocity, and the control over the velocity that Dickey exerts. When most of us think of knuckleballs, we think of Tim Wakefield’s slow drifter. However, Wakefield was never able to collect as many swinging strikes or induce as many swings at pitches outside of the strike zone. And that’s because Dickey’s knuckler is not Wakefield’s. It comes at hitters more than ten miles per hour faster at a speed that resembles Jamie Moyer’s best fastball. It moves a little less, but leaves the batter with even less time to have any clue as to what’s going on. And, as BrooksBaseball.net shows us, Dickey controls the velocity, pitching harder knucklers with less movement in two strike situations. When most of us think of a knuckleball, we tend to imagine that it has a life of its own, and could float anywhere after it leaves the pitcher’s hand. And while there’s some truth to the lack of pinpoint control a knuckleballer has with his pitch, Dickey has shown a tremendous ability to exert control, not only over the velocity of his knuckleball, but also location. We can see this by comparing location charts for the knuckleball in certain count situations. For example, Dickey often throws those higher velocity knuckle balls up in the zone when he has two strikes and a pitch or two to work with, much like we’d see a pitcher with a high velocity fastball do in a similar situation. This suggests to me that Dickey is indeed exerting control over his knuckleball, and may have in fact found something of a sweet spot in terms of movement and velocity that allows him to do things like this: in baseball, we’re often presented with such an overwhelming amount of data from past events, that unique moments are something of a rarity. However, Dickey’s dominance with a knuckleball is something new to baseball, and it’s incredibly exciting to witness. No pitcher, armed mainly with a knuckleball has been able to do what Dickey has done to date, and it’s not at all unreasonable to think that if he can continue this, he’ll become the first primary knuckleballer to win a Cy Young award. http://blogs.thescore.com/mlb/2012/06/1 ... gle+Reader

batmagadanleadoff Jun 24 2012 08:42 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

R.A. Dickey’s Velocity by Eno Sarris - June 21, 2012 Esteemed colleagues Dave Cameron and Carson Cistulli are correct — it’s about location and movement when it comes to R.A. Dickey‘s excellent work so far this year. Certainly, a knuckleball pitcher isn’t blowing it by the batters he faces. That doesn’t mean that velocity doesn’t have a lot to do with why Dickey’s been good this year — and why he might be able to keep it up. There have been many knuckleball pitchers before, but none has ever finished higher than third in the Cy Young voting before. Dickey could break that glass ceiling this year — and it might be because of something he does differently from all the knuckleballers that came before him. R.A. Dickey throws his knuckleball fast. He throws some his knuckleballs (79+ mph) faster than Tim Wakefield threw his fastball (74.1 mph career average). It’s a little strange that the hardest-throwing knuckleball pitcher of this era has found the most success, though. As our favorite physics professor Alan Nathan found, more velocity means less movement for the knuckleball: Whereas Wakefield throws at a very consistent 66-67 mph, Dickey throw at two speeds: one in the 73-75 mph range, the other in the 75-80 mph range. The plot shows that the movement on the knuckleball is as random in magnitude as it is in direction. Moreover, the maximum movement appears to decrease with increasing speed. Whet Moser at ChicagoMag.com re-published the following plot in which Nathan showed the phenomenon graphically. What might be most amazing about R.A. Dickey is that he has as many as three distinct knuckleballs, though. Look at this plot of his knuckleball velocities from 2010, and you start to see some clusters. There’s at least two distinct groupings — one around 73-74 mph, and one around 77-78 mph — but there might even be a third. Look at how many knuckleballs he throws above 80 mph. That’s pretty different from 77 mph. And, as Dickey has evolved, those velocity clusters have changed. Check out 2011: Now the three clusters are more defined. Slow-mo at 74 mph, regular speed at 77 mph, and a fast knuckler around 79 mph. Of course, he still threw the odd super-slow-mo knucklers, but you can see where he settled in most days. You might notice something about the general graph in 2011, though. Try looking at this year’s graph, and the difference should come into focus. It really looks like R.A Dickey is throwing his knuckleball faster this year. Or, to say it more correctly, it looks like R.A. Dickey is favoring his fast knuckler more this year. His PITCHf/x page tells us his average knuckler has gone up to 77 mph this year from 76 mph, but the graphs tell the story of how he got there better. He still throws his two or three knucklers, but he’s throwing the fast one more this year. And compare how often he throws a 74 mph knuckleball this year to how often he did so in 2010. There’s an evolution here. Some of it might have to do with the situations involved. From the beginning of his stretch of dominance, there’s been evidence that he uses different knuckleballs in different counts. And even in his last game, you could see that he was using the harder, straighter knuckleball when he needed strikes. But these velocity graphs don’t know counts. They show that regardless of count, Dickey is focusing on the faster knuckleball. Somehow, Dickey is using less movement and more velocity to make his knuckleball more effective. He’s also throwing his fastball less than ever (13.6% this year, 22.4% in 2011 and 16.2% in 2010). It’s a strange mix of less fastball gas and more gas on the knuckler, but it’s working. His swinging strike rate this year (12.7%) is far and away better than his career number (8.4%), and obviously the rest of his numbers are looking pretty positive. It’s not your traditional approach — nothing about this knuckleball pitcher is — but it’s clear that gas somehow powers this machine. Next time you see Dickey pitch, watch the radar gun. The numbers won’t look impressive, but they might tell you an interesting story. Per reader request and with Chad Young‘s help, I’ve combined all three graphs into one and used a percent of the total instead of a pure count. I think you’ll clearly see the biggest difference is in the 72-74 mph range: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.ph ... -velocity/

batmagadanleadoff Jun 24 2012 08:45 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

The most dominant pitches of all time Buster Olney Blog CC Sabathia loves to hit and gets only a couple of chances to do so every season, and the baseball gods have been unfair to him today. Sabathia will be on Sunday Night Baseball (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) this evening, and does the left-hander get to swing against some mediocre right-hander with a meaty fastball? No. He gets to hit against R.A. Dickey, who has been throwing one of the most dominant pitches in baseball history during the last couple of months -- a knuckleball that is unlike any knuckler thrown in the past. And Sabathia has a clear strategy for his at-bats. "If it's a knuckleball, I'm not swinging" he said, smiling. "Because I don't want to get hurt, and I don't want to look bad." If Sabathia does eventually take a hack and looks a little awkward, well, he can take solace in the fact that the best and most experienced hitters have looked that bad against Dickey this year. The Mets' right-hander explained on Saturday that he has focused on maintaining the elevation of his knuckler this year, which he has a better chance to do than knuckleballers who have preceded him, from Tim Wakefield to Phil Niekro to Charlie Hough to Steve Sparks, because he throws it harder -- about 80 mph or a little bit more. The ball stays higher and gives Dickey a better chance at throwing strikes -- and with the dramatic late movement that comes with knuckleballs. Catcher Josh Thole is convinced that Dickey's unusual knuckleball velocity comes from his legs in the way he drives off the mound. Knuckleballers like Wakefield have tended to just step toward home plate, but tonight the New York Yankees will see Dickey push off the pitching rubber at them, and when he maintains the proper release point, the ball darts through the strike zone unpredictably. Dickey's command has gotten so good, Thole said, that he and Dickey have actually focused on location. Typically, catchers working with a knuckleballer set up over the middle of the plate, ready to react like hockey goalies. But Thole and Dickey will talk before the game about whether they want to work inside or outside to a particular hitter, and Thole will slide toward a corner of the plate to set his target. "And I won't change [during the at-bat]," Thole said. Eric Chavez has had some success against Dickey in the past, but he says that the numbers he generated were against Dickey's old knuckler, not the dominant pitch he's throwing this year. "There really is no approach," Chavez said. "You just swing and you hope you hit it." The most interesting approach against Dickey this season, Thole believes, was described by Adam LaRoche, who told the catcher he treats his at-bats against Dickey like he's playing slow-pitch softball -- stepping into the swing, Happy Gilmore style. If he hits it, well, it's probably going to be a home run. But he probably won't hit it. The late movement is so extraordinary that hitters don't usually make contact against Dickey these days. Earlier this week, I sent an e-mail to some evaluators asking them to note the best and most dominant pitches of all time -- like Mariano Rivera's cut fastball or Bruce Sutter's splitter, for example. Because right now, Dickey's pitch is a lot like those in their time: Almost unhittable. In posing the question, I asked the evaluators to stretch their memories, and some had fun with this purely subjective (but interesting) question. The results: To read how the evaluators voted for the most dominant pitches of all time, you must be an ESPN Insider. http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog?nam ... l-time-mlb

MFS62 Jun 24 2012 09:11 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: To read how the evaluators voted for the most dominant pitches of all time, you must be an ESPN Insider. http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog?nam ... l-time-mlb Fuck that shit. If we were ESPN insiders we'd be more concerned with the upcoming NBA draft and NFL season rather than baseball. What did it say? (summarize or paraphrase if you must) Later

batmagadanleadoff Jun 26 2012 10:55 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

New York Mets Enjoying Sizable 'Dickey Effect' of $116,000 Per Start During Pitcher's Hot Stretch

Benjamin Grimm Jun 26 2012 10:58 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

About half the spam I get is aimed at people who want a sizable Dickey effect.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 29 2012 11:30 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

RA is back on track for June 2012 NL pitcher of the month. On the last day of June, only Miley and Strasburg, among pitchers listed below, are scheduled to pitch.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 30 2012 09:48 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Next up .... RA. Because he deserves, not only his own thread, but his own cover, too.

Ashie62 Jun 30 2012 10:26 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Now that Hoops is over he may very well get it...soon...

batmagadanleadoff Jul 01 2012 08:55 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: RA is back on track for June 2012 NL pitcher of the month. On the last day of June, only Miley and Strasburg, among pitchers listed below, are scheduled to pitch. The final June #'s. It's got to be RA.

Edgy MD Jul 01 2012 12:48 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Crazy about this cover. One of my favorite ever sports photos.

MFS62 Jul 01 2012 01:08 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

If he keeps pitching like he has, he'll deserve his own edition. Later

G-Fafif Jul 01 2012 02:01 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Congratulations to the National League for naming R.A. Dickey to its All-Star team. That was quite wise of it.

Ashie62 Jul 01 2012 03:04 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

He may be assured of the start with Wright and all....

TransMonk Jul 02 2012 02:56 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

R.A. Dickey is the National League’s Pitcher of the Month

Edgy MD Jul 02 2012 03:01 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

More important is going to be the big Schaefer announcement.

batmagadanleadoff Jul 05 2012 11:30 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

La Russa said to be "pondering" giving RA the ASG start. It seems to me, though, that La Russa isn't pondering enough. R.A. Dickey certainly has the credentials to start Tuesday’s All-Star Game for the NL. The Mets’ 37-year-old knuckleballer is 12-1 with a 2.15 ERA and threw back-to-back one-hitters in June. Tony La Russa will be the first to admit that Dickey has had a marvelous season and deserves consideration, but there are other factors the manager of the NL squad must weigh. “I’ve given that a lot of thought, but there is an issue about catching him and what spot to use him,” La Russa said on a conference call with reporters Thursday. “His season has gotten everyone’s attention, including our staff’s and we’re talking about the best way to win the game with our personnel and how we use Dickey will be a part of that. But yes, that has been addressed and (pitching coach) Dave (Duncan) and I have talked quite a bit about it and we have a plan that we hope to implement.” “Dickey could certainly start the game, he’s got the credentials,” LaRussa later said. “but I look at the five guys that were selected, and each of those guys could make a claim, so as a manager, you have to keep your heart pure and do the best you can for the team over one individual.” La Russa may be hesitant to allow 25-year-old starter Buster Posey to catch Dickey. Veterans Yadier Molina (29) or Carlos Ruiz (33) could be better options. Other candidates to start for the NL include Stephen Strasburg, Matt Cain, Cole Hamels, Clayton Kershaw and Gio Gonzalez. Dickey and Hamels oppose one another on Thursday night in Queens.

TransMonk Jul 05 2012 11:35 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Yeah, it seems to me like LaRussa is going to dick Dickey out of the start by claiming that Posey can't catch him or that they wanted to use him in a certain situation. Retired managers managing and fans voting for players in a "game that counts" is really absurd, and the ASG has been a joke for years. If neither Dickey nor Wright are starting, then I'm going to start boycotting this thing until they fix some of it's glaring problems.

Edgy MD Jul 05 2012 11:36 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Fans are voting with hashtags. Hashtags!

batmagadanleadoff Jul 05 2012 11:40 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

If I ain't startin', I ain't departin'!

bmfc1 Jul 05 2012 11:45 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

If his guy isn't starting at catcher, then he'll take the guy that should be the starting pitcher and pair that guy with his guy to make a point in the 3d inning. LaRussa's a friggin' genius... or he's drunk.

bmfc1 Jul 05 2012 12:39 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Dickey on Letterman, July 11: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/0 ... an/140566/

themetfairy Jul 05 2012 12:54 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Great idea interviewing a guy right in front of the showers....

Frayed Knot Jul 05 2012 01:54 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Not that I think it's a huge firggin deal whether Dickey pitches first next Tuesday, or third, or wherever ... but I'm not totally sure where LaRussa is getting the idea that Molina & Ruiz ARE good knuckleball catchers while Posey is not - especially seeing as how none of them have ever caught any K-ballers.

G-Fafif Jul 05 2012 02:04 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

themetfairy wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: Great idea interviewing a guy right in front of the showers.... Knuckleballers get a whole different kind of interview room for their press availabilities.

Swan Swan H Jul 05 2012 02:04 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Frayed Knot wrote: Not that I think it's a huge firggin deal whether Dickey pitches first next Tuesday, or third, or wherever ... but I'm not totally sure where LaRussa is getting the idea that Molina & Ruiz ARE good knuckleball catchers while Posey is not - especially seeing as how none of them have ever caught any K-ballers. He's Tony LaRussa, Boy Genius. He knows every fucking thing.

batmagadanleadoff Jul 07 2012 10:25 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Jay Jaffe sez RA oughtta get the AS start. On Monday, managers Ron Washington and Tony La Russa will announce their choices of starting pitchers for the All-Star Game. Both skippers have a handful of worthy candidates at their disposal, with no clear-cut favorite in either league. The National League features 16 starting pitchers with at least eight wins (a stat that means a whole lot more to these old-school managers than it should), 11 with ERAs below 3.00 and 26 with at least 8.0 strikeouts per nine. Those are all arbitrary cutoffs, of course, but the sheer number of pitchers who meet each criterion point to the bewildering array of options at La Russa’s disposal. Four NL pitchers satisfy all three criteria: the Mets’ R.A. Dickey, the Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg, the Giants’ Matt Cain and the Dodgers’ Chris Capuano. A quick look at the basic stat sheet, with the pitchers sorted alphabetically: Player IP W L ERA HR/9 UBB/9 SO/9 K/BB Cain 120.3 9 3 2.62 0.9 1.7 8.8 5.1 Capuano 106.3 9 3 2.62 0.9 2.9 8.0 2.8 Dickey 120.0 12 1 2.40 0.7 2.0 9.2 4.7 Strasburg 93.0 9 3 2.81 0.6 2.5 11.8 4.7 Though he’s been an excellent, economical addition to the Dodger rotation, Capuano wasn’t even selected for the NL roster, so he’s obviously out. That leaves the other three, all of whom add a bit of narrative juice to their basic stat lines. Here’s a breakdown of the cases for each: • Dickey is having an unprecedented season for a knuckleballer. He leads the league in wins, strikeouts, complete games (three) and shutouts (two) while running third in ERA; a five-run, seven inning effort on Thursday night against the Phillies knocked him out of the top spot. He’s also tied for the league lead in Baseball-Reference’s version of Wins Above Replacement, which attributes all of the responsibility for runs allowed to a pitcher; the Reds’ Johnny Cueto, a controversial snub, has 3.5 as well. The 37-year-old Met has traveled a long and winding road to attain this unlikely peak, and he may never scale such heights again. He has a shot at becoming just the second or third knuckleballer ever to start an All-Star Game, depending upon how liberal a definition one uses for the term; Dutch Leonard of the Senators started for the AL in 1943, while Bob Purkey of the Reds did so for the NL in 1961, though the latter didn’t use the knuckler more than half the time. The downside of starting a knuckleball pitcher is the unfamiliarity that starting catcher Buster Posey may have with the fluttering pitch. • Strasburg is arguably the most dominant pitcher in the league, with the top strikeout rate by a wide margin; teammate Gio Gonzalez is second at 10.5, while Dickey is fourth. Furthermore, the 23-year-old is the ace of a team that has the league’s best record. The only real knock against his candidacy is that because he’s on an innings limit after returning from Tommy John surgery late last season, he has pitched roughly 27 fewer innings than either Dickey or Cain. Even so, a look at the advanced Wins Above Replacement Player metric, which unlike B-R’s WAR adjusts for defensive and bullpen support — he needs less of the former, because he strikes out so many hitters, but more of the latter, because he doesn’t pitch as deep into games — shows that even with fewer innings, he’s been the league’s most valuable pitcher at 3.2 WARP. Still, the Nationals might actually prefer he didn’t pitch or at least was limited to a single inning. One can make the case that his shot at starting an All-Star Game should wait until he’s able to shoulder a full workload. • Cain has a perfect game under his belt, and with Tim Lincecum struggling mightily, he has assumed the mantle of staff ace on a San Francisco team that’s in position for a Wild Card spot (the Giants and Mets are tied at 45-38). He has the best strikeout-to-unintentional walk rate of the bunch, but he’s also got the best defensive support, with a .254 batting average on balls in play. He has ranked among the league leaders in that category for years thanks to his ballpark and his penchant for generating popups, at least to the extent that he’s one of the few pitchers who clearly appears to have influence over such balls. Still, without an advantage in any of the traditional categories or the valuation metrics, his case appears to be the thinnest of the trio. Eliminating Cain, the choice comes down to the aged knuckleballer and the young fireballer. Even without considering the fact that he’ll have one fewer day of rest, the latter is on a shorter leash and could be of less help to the NL squad due to his innings limitation. In the end, the nod should go to Dickey.

batmagadanleadoff Jul 07 2012 10:37 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Is it truly a National story without National magazine cover action?

G-Fafif Jul 07 2012 11:14 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Is it truly a National story without National magazine cover action? In this media age, would you settle for network news? Person of the Week: Mets’ R.A. Dickey Finds Success With Knuckleball The New York Mets’ R.A. Dickey is defying the odds with a rarely used pitch. With a 10-game winning streak under his belt, Dickey – the only knuckleballer in Major League Baseball right now – is experiencing a dream season. “I’m just trying to be in the moment with it as much as possible,” said Dickey, who will play in his first All-Star Game next week. Just last month, he threw two consecutive one-hitters, but it has been a long journey for the husband and father. In his new book, “Whenever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball,” Dickey revealed that he was abused repeatedly as a young boy. He kept the abuse a secret, even from his wife, Anne, whom he met in the seventh grade. She was by his side when he signed a Major League Baseball contract for nearly $1 million. And she was there when the results of an MRI showed that he was missing a ligament in his arm. The contract was later rescinded. When the Texas Rangers reduced the bonus to $75,000, Dickey took it, determined to prove he was worth every cent and more. In Dickey’s career – in which he has pitched for the Mets, the Rangers, the Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins – the family moved more than 30 times. In between major league teams, Dickey threw in the minors. In 2005, Dickey started throwing the knuckleball. That pitch, which he has perfected, has made him the most-talked-about pitcher in the league these days. Knuckleballs hardly spin. They rotate only up to 1.5 times before they reach home plate and that makes their motion unpredictable. Dickey shared a bit of his technique, though, with ABC News. “I take my fingernails and dig them in right behind the horseshoe, really trying to stabilize the baseball with [the fingers and] the thumb,” he said. “I release the ball at the opportune moment and it comes without spin.” Dickey, who will be featured in a film documentary called “Knuckleball,” due out in September, said that even as a young boy he had a big imagination. “I always had hope,” he said.

G-Fafif Jul 07 2012 11:16 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Jay Jaffe sez RA oughtta get the AS start. On Monday, managers Ron Washington and Tony La Russa will announce their choices of starting pitchers for the All-Star Game. Both skippers have a handful of worthy candidates at their disposal, with no clear-cut favorite in either league. The National League features 16 starting pitchers with at least eight wins (a stat that means a whole lot more to these old-school managers than it should), 11 with ERAs below 3.00 and 26 with at least 8.0 strikeouts per nine. Those are all arbitrary cutoffs, of course, but the sheer number of pitchers who meet each criterion point to the bewildering array of options at La Russa’s disposal. Four NL pitchers satisfy all three criteria: the Mets’ R.A. Dickey, the Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg, the Giants’ Matt Cain and the Dodgers’ Chris Capuano. A quick look at the basic stat sheet, with the pitchers sorted alphabetically: Player IP W L ERA HR/9 UBB/9 SO/9 K/BB Cain 120.3 9 3 2.62 0.9 1.7 8.8 5.1 Capuano 106.3 9 3 2.62 0.9 2.9 8.0 2.8 Dickey 120.0 12 1 2.40 0.7 2.0 9.2 4.7 Strasburg 93.0 9 3 2.81 0.6 2.5 11.8 4.7 Though he’s been an excellent, economical addition to the Dodger rotation, Capuano wasn’t even selected for the NL roster, so he’s obviously out. That leaves the other three, all of whom add a bit of narrative juice to their basic stat lines. Here’s a breakdown of the cases for each: • Dickey is having an unprecedented season for a knuckleballer. He leads the league in wins, strikeouts, complete games (three) and shutouts (two) while running third in ERA; a five-run, seven inning effort on Thursday night against the Phillies knocked him out of the top spot. He’s also tied for the league lead in Baseball-Reference’s version of Wins Above Replacement, which attributes all of the responsibility for runs allowed to a pitcher; the Reds’ Johnny Cueto, a controversial snub, has 3.5 as well. The 37-year-old Met has traveled a long and winding road to attain this unlikely peak, and he may never scale such heights again. He has a shot at becoming just the second or third knuckleballer ever to start an All-Star Game, depending upon how liberal a definition one uses for the term; Dutch Leonard of the Senators started for the AL in 1943, while Bob Purkey of the Reds did so for the NL in 1961, though the latter didn’t use the knuckler more than half the time. The downside of starting a knuckleball pitcher is the unfamiliarity that starting catcher Buster Posey may have with the fluttering pitch. • Strasburg is arguably the most dominant pitcher in the league, with the top strikeout rate by a wide margin; teammate Gio Gonzalez is second at 10.5, while Dickey is fourth. Furthermore, the 23-year-old is the ace of a team that has the league’s best record. The only real knock against his candidacy is that because he’s on an innings limit after returning from Tommy John surgery late last season, he has pitched roughly 27 fewer innings than either Dickey or Cain. Even so, a look at the advanced Wins Above Replacement Player metric, which unlike B-R’s WAR adjusts for defensive and bullpen support — he needs less of the former, because he strikes out so many hitters, but more of the latter, because he doesn’t pitch as deep into games — shows that even with fewer innings, he’s been the league’s most valuable pitcher at 3.2 WARP. Still, the Nationals might actually prefer he didn’t pitch or at least was limited to a single inning. One can make the case that his shot at starting an All-Star Game should wait until he’s able to shoulder a full workload. • Cain has a perfect game under his belt, and with Tim Lincecum struggling mightily, he has assumed the mantle of staff ace on a San Francisco team that’s in position for a Wild Card spot (the Giants and Mets are tied at 45-38). He has the best strikeout-to-unintentional walk rate of the bunch, but he’s also got the best defensive support, with a .254 batting average on balls in play. He has ranked among the league leaders in that category for years thanks to his ballpark and his penchant for generating popups, at least to the extent that he’s one of the few pitchers who clearly appears to have influence over such balls. Still, without an advantage in any of the traditional categories or the valuation metrics, his case appears to be the thinnest of the trio. Eliminating Cain, the choice comes down to the aged knuckleballer and the young fireballer. Even without considering the fact that he’ll have one fewer day of rest, the latter is on a shorter leash and could be of less help to the NL squad due to his innings limitation. In the end, the nod should go to Dickey. Advantage to giving it to Strasburg: Two fewer inning for his regular-season limit. But that's the only one.

Fman99 Jul 08 2012 01:56 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Tony LaRussa is a cunt. How about you screw the Mets one more time, from beyond the grave? Thanks Tone. This is a decision he should be able to make in his sleep, behind the wheel of a car, at a traffic light in Florida, drunk as fuck.

Ceetar Jul 08 2012 07:11 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Strasburg and Cain can start next year, or 10 years from now. Their stories will be the same (likely). This could be R.A. Dickey's only shot at being the starter, even if he's great the next couple of years. It's all (imo) about baseball stories and Dickey's is just more fun.

batmagadanleadoff Jul 08 2012 04:49 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Mets' Dickey wants ball to start All-Star Game NEW YORK -- First-time All-Star R.A. Dickey is headed to Kansas City with the oversized catcher's glove -- really a softball mitt -- that teammate Josh Thole uses to catch knuckleballs during New York Mets games. But Dickey said he remains unsure whether Buster Posey or Carlos Ruiz will be assigned to catch him in Tuesday's Midsummer Classic. Dickey, who completed the first half tied for the National League lead in wins with 12 and fifth in ERA at 2.40, remains hopeful All-Star manager Tony La Russa will select him as the NL's starting pitcher. "Look, I want to start the game. Of course I do," said Dickey, who had a 42 2/3-inning scoreless streak during the first half. "I think any competitor would like to." Dickey said it "logically" would be beneficial for him to open the game with Posey so the San Francisco Giants catcher would have extra time to get acquainted with the knuckleball. With Yadier Molina withdrawing from the game due to a bereavement leave, and with only two catchers currently on the NL squad, Dickey's only other opportunity for extra work with the catcher who will receive his knuckleballs would be to simultaneously enter the game with the Philadelphia Phillies' Ruiz. "I think you have a better shot starting the game, because you get to go through the whole workout routine, the whole warm-up routine, the pregame bullpen -- all that -- before you ever go into the game," said Dickey, a first-time All-Star at age 37. "If I'm brought into the game -- because you only have two catchers now, and Buster Posey hasn't seen me at all -- and all of a sudden here he is with seven warm-up pitches, that's a whole different animal." Regardless, Dickey is thankful that it seems he will be used in the game. Past knuckleballers have gone unused out of concern for how an unfamiliar catcher might struggle with them. Tim Wakefield, the last knuckleballer selected to an All-Star Game, did not see any action in 2009. Similarly, in Phil Niekro's final two appearances, in 1982 and '84, he went unused. The time before that, in 1978, NL manager Tommy Lasorda only inserted Niekro to face the final batter of a 7-3 NL win. "Truthfully, I don't know really what to expect," Dickey said. "It seems like I'm being talked about early on at least. So the fear of going and not getting an inning doesn't seem to be there. And I'm thankful for that." Added teammate David Wright about La Russa: "He's going to do what he feels is best to win this game. And I'm a little biased. But I obviously think R.A. gives us a tremendous chance to win. He's done it the entire first half. "Now, who's going catch it obviously is a challenge. I've seen guys that have been catching this thing for years look foolish back there. And so you obviously don't want to get anybody back there hurt. But, on the other hand, he's earned it. Whether it's starting or not, I hope he gets a chance to go in there and show what he's done for us in the first half. And I'm sure he'll get his chance." Said Mets manager Terry Collins, who will serve on La Russa's staff: "R.A. has been the story of the league, for me." Wright, incidentally, is thankful to be returning to the All-Star Game. He was not chosen last year because he was injured and missed two months with a stress fracture in his lower back. That snapped a streak of six straight selections. "This one is really special because last year at this time I was rehabbing down in Florida and missed a few months," Wright said. http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?secti ... id=8141617

batmagadanleadoff Jul 08 2012 08:47 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Hey, Tony La Russa, don’t be a knucklehead, just start R.A. Dickey Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseb ... z205chcamm

G-Fafif Jul 09 2012 07:44 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Word on the Tweet is it won't be R.A. tom-R.A., but rather that Cain in the ass.

bmfc1 Jul 09 2012 07:47 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Even in retirement, LaRussa is a jerk.

Edgy MD Jul 09 2012 07:52 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I tell you though. By lobbying for this, we're almost kinda setting ourselves and Dickey up for egg on the face if he comes up poorly. He's gonna get to pitch one way or another, so we should probably root for success in whatever role he gets rather than demand greater honors up front.

TransMonk Jul 09 2012 07:57 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Edgy DC wrote: He's gonna get to pitch one way or another... Now that YFMolina isn't going to be there, I wouldn't be surprised if LaRussa uses it as an excuse not to get Dickey into the game at all. I've never really disliked the SF Giants all that much until this season.

bmfc1 Jul 09 2012 08:02 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Jul 09 2012 08:07 AM

CPF note: since the NL won last year, shouldn't this year's IGT be started by the same person? UPDATE: "What's that, G-Fafif? I started it? You're kidding? I had no idea."

G-Fafif Jul 09 2012 08:04 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

CPF note: since the NL won last year, shouldn't this year's IGT be started by the same person? And that was...you!

Ceetar Jul 09 2012 08:04 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Edgy DC wrote: I tell you though. By lobbying for this, we're almost kinda setting ourselves and Dickey up for egg on the face if he comes up poorly. He's gonna get to pitch one way or another, so we should probably root for success in whatever role he gets rather than demand greater honors up front. Cain's not going to have egg on his face if he gives up 2 runs in the first. By anyone but us anyway. But it's that unfairness/bias that is the reason they should've chosen Dickey in the first place. You'll always be able to start a fireballing starter having a good first half, Dickeyesque stories are quite rare, and rarer still that they're arguably the best pitcher in baseball. And I know MLB and half the sarcastic world trumpets "this time it counts" but what it's really about is celebrating baseball.

G-Fafif Jul 09 2012 08:06 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I've been lobbying for the Mets to win a World Series every year. That would explain those 25 consecutive eggs on my face.

Edgy MD Jul 09 2012 08:07 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Ceetar wrote: Cain's not going to have egg on his face if he gives up 2 runs in the first. He might if he was given the honor in response to a populist campaign centered around the partisans of his team.

Mets – Willets Point Jul 09 2012 08:09 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I'd rather see Dickey starting the first game of the World Series.

Lefty Specialist Jul 09 2012 08:40 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Mets – Willets Point wrote: I'd rather see Dickey starting the first game of the World Series. And the third, fifth and seventh (if necessary).

Frayed Knot Jul 09 2012 08:46 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

TransMonk wrote: Edgy DC wrote: He's gonna get to pitch one way or another... Now that YFMolina isn't going to be there, I wouldn't be surprised if LaRussa uses it as an excuse not to get Dickey into the game at all. That kind of jerkery is usually only reserved for the likes of (Yanqui icon) Billy Martin. In 1982 Cleveland 3Bman Toby Harrah was leading the league in hitting and was having the season of his career [.332/.438/.548 w/17 HRs at the break] when he was naturally picked for the ASG. Martin went on to use every player on his bench that game except Harrah. Martin and Harrah had crossed paths briefly when both were with Texas several years earlier and the thought was that Billy didn't like Harrah for some reason (real or imagined) so used the chance to embarrass him by letting the league's leading hitter at that point sit on the bench.

Mets – Willets Point Jul 09 2012 08:53 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Frayed Knot wrote: Billy didn't like [fill in name] for some reason (real or imagined). I've made this into an all-purpose boilerplate.

batmagadanleadoff Jul 09 2012 09:25 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Edgy DC wrote: I tell you though. By lobbying for this, we're almost kinda setting ourselves and Dickey up for egg on the face if he comes up poorly. He's gonna get to pitch one way or another, so we should probably root for success in whatever role he gets rather than demand greater honors up front. You're right. It's a good thing for Mets fans that Dickey won't start. Even though Dickey could get bombed pitching the fifth inning, just the same. I'm so confused.

Edgy MD Jul 09 2012 09:29 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

That's OK.

batmagadanleadoff Jul 09 2012 09:32 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I guess it's also good that Sandoval overtook Wright in the 3B voting. Now I don't have to worry about Wright tripping over the foul line while trotting out for the starters' intros. That's Sandoval's problem.

Edgy MD Jul 09 2012 09:45 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

That's OK.

Fman99 Jul 09 2012 10:18 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

What bullshit. Tony LaRussa should die in a grease fire.

bmfc1 Jul 09 2012 10:21 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Fman99--you're being too kind... why limit it to a grease fire? Any kind of fire would do.

metsguyinmichigan Jul 09 2012 10:52 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Oh yeah, because we needed one more Giant starting. I thought for sure Dickey would get it in part as a make-up call for the David Wright/Panda debacle.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 09 2012 01:18 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

bmfc1 wrote: Fman99--you're being too kind... why limit it to a grease fire? Any kind of fire would do. A flaming automobile, or one of those gimmicky tropical drinks they set aflame, seems much more likely.

metsguyinmichigan Jul 09 2012 01:19 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Geeze, I thought Wright might start as DH, and he doesn't even get that. BOOOOOOOOOOO

Frayed Knot Jul 09 2012 01:26 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Back to actual Dickey news: Letterman on Wednesday.

Met Hunter Jul 09 2012 02:00 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

No matter how you slice it, Dickey, Wright and the Mets in general get hosed again. At least Collins got some love.

G-Fafif Jul 09 2012 02:20 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

One of TLR's reasons for starting Cain was he lives in SF area, gets to see him pitch, thinks he's good. So there ya go.

batmagadanleadoff Jul 09 2012 05:31 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

From Jayson Stark's mid-season awards: http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/81340 ... son-awards

G-Fafif Jul 09 2012 09:21 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

All-Star starter in life, I tell you what. I'd heard this story off-the-record a few months ago and am glad it's now coming to light. KANSAS CITY — Four stories above 44th St. in Sunnyside, Queens Tuesday night, a 43-year-old social worker will celebrate her birthday by rooting for a 37-year-old knuckleball pitcher. It will be R.A. Dickey’s first All-Star Game and it will be Eileen Lopez’s first time sharing him with the whole country. So it will be new to both of them, the journeyman-turned-star and the wife-and-mother-turned widow, a woman who is sure that Dickey’s knuckleball will befuddle the American Leaguers, and equally sure that her emotions will be as untrackable as his pitch. How else could it be, when the man on the mound gave her husband, the late Mike Gitelson, one of the sweetest and purest thrills of his life? When a man from baseball’s discard pile found a way to connect with her husband so profoundly that it made a staunchly unsentimental contrarian turn weepy with joy? “I’ll probably be crying during the All-Star Game,” Eileen Lopez says. “It’ll be the best birthday present in a year that has been incredibly challenging. It will be very bittersweet.” Eileen Lopez pauses and sighs. “R.A. made Mike so happy at a time when he was so unhappy,” she says. R.A. Dickey is 12-1 and has a 2.40 ERA and is doing things no knuckleball pitcher has ever done, even with a couple of recent wobbles against the Yankees and Phillies, all of it making him as sudden a baseball star as we have ever had around here. Dickey was ABC's Person of the Week last week. He was all over CNN Monday and will be on Letterman Wednesday, and has a memoir (this writer assisted him with it) on the New York Times best- sellers list, a “narrative of hope and redemption,” as Dickey calls it. Eileen Lopez knows all about Dickey’s journey, how he survived sexual abuse and dysfunction and thoughts of suicide, and of course knows about his dominance this year, though she’ll tell you the most enduring impact of R.A. Dickey has nothing to do with his WHIP or his shocking record or his All-Star appearance, but his regular-guy humility that is as much a part of him as the knuckler. It’s not a public face, or a device to move books. It is at the core of who the man is, living his faith and holding the conviction that if you have a chance to help somebody, you sure better take it. “He is an incredibly giving human being,” Eileen Lopez says. A social worker himself who tried to help kids stay out of foster care, Mike Gitelson saw his connection with Dickey begin in January 2011. Gitelson had struggled for years with Crohn’s Disease, and now word came that he had acute myeloid leukemia. Megadoses of chemotherapy began forthwith. Alex Belth, a writer and baseball blogger who had been a childhood friend of Gitelson’s in Croton-on-Hudson, connected with Lopez on Facebook, and they talked about how to try to boost Mike’s spirits. Gitelson was never any sort of athlete, and had an awkward splay-footed stride when he walked. He rejected convention and railed against injustice and organized protests against Nike for its Southeast Asian sweatshops, and had no use for sports or baseball at all, until he met Lopez, a New York Met fanatic. And then, before you could say Jane Jarvis, Gitelson was drinking the Choo Choo Coleman Kool-Aid. He and Lopez went to games all the time. They moved to Sunnyside for its easy access to the No. 7 train. In 2002, Gitelson proposed marriage to Lopez at Shea Stadium. They paid $400 to have Mr. Met make an appearance at their wedding reception, and had tables named Grote and Throneberry and Charles, and even one named for Mo Vaughn. “Why not see if I can get a Met to call him?” Belth thought. He had connections with the team. Calls were made. One winter day Gitelson’s cell phone rang. “Hi Mike, this is R.A. Dickey of the New York Mets,” the caller said, in a voice coated with Tennessee. They talked some baseball and Dickey asked about his health and Mike told him all about the treatments and the whole mess. “He was the nicest man. I felt so calm talking to him,” Gitelson told his wife. Dickey invited Mike, Eileen and their daughter, Isabella, to a game, a visit that happened on June 3, 2011, weeks before Mike was due to have a bone-marrow transplant. A Mets community-relations official walked them down a tunnel, past the clubhouse, down a flight of steps and a batting cage, into the Mets dugout. “Oh my God, they are taking us to the field,” Gitelson told Lopez, his eyes moistening. They met Dickey between home plate and the dugout. Dickey and Gitelson had a long talk, focusing particularly on Cuba, where they’d both traveled. Gitelson knew he was in the presence of the ultimate underdog, and he liked that. Dickey said he’d pray for him, and even though Gitelson was not at all religious, he was open to people praying for him. “I remember he was having some trouble, and I just tried to engage with him,” Dickey says. “I just wanted to be in the moment with him.” The Gitelson/Lopez family had a new favorite pitcher, and he wore No. 43. They loved that he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to help raise money to fight human trafficking, loved his honesty about himself and the Mets. Last winter Mike Gitelson began to experience serious complications from the bone-marrow transplant. He was hospitalized three times. His immune system was already compromised from the Crohn’s. No medication or treatment could reverse his decline. At 6:18 p.m. on March 19, with the “Mets Yearbook” program playing on SNY, Mike Gitelson died in Room 243 of the bone-marrow transplant unit of Weill Cornell Medical Center. Two days later, he was laid to rest in Mt. Zion Cemetery in Maspeth, Queens. He was 40 years old and went into the earth wearing a gray R.A. Dickey T-shirt. “R.A. brought him so much joy, there was no question that’s what he wanted to wear,” Eileen Lopez says. Dickey’s plan is to bring back some All-Star trinkets and keepsakes for Eileen and Isabella. “You think they would like that?” he asks. It will be one more beautiful, grief-laden moment for Eileen Lopez. “It’s mind-blowing, thinking that the man whose shirt Mike is wearing is doing so incredibly,” she says. “You can’t make this up.” Eileen Lopez isn’t happy that Tony La Russa isn’t starting Dickey, but she is ecstatic that he is an All-Star, and can't wait to watch him with Isabella four flights above 44th St. in Sunnyside, even though it will be hard. It will be very hard. “Every time R.A. pitches, I want to watch, and then I wind up in tears,” Eileen Lopez says. “I wish Mike were here so he could see this, but in some ways I really feel that he is. That’s the best part. It’s almost like Mike is a part of this.”

G-Fafif Jul 10 2012 11:39 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Alex Belth with more on the guy who R.A. befriended in his last months -- a study in menschdom. I was surprised, then, when he reached out to me about five or six years ago. We exchanged e-mails and whatever hard feelings that might have existed were gone. We didn’t see each other but touched base every now and then. Mike had become a baseball fan through his wife who was–and is–nuts for the Mets. I thought that was amusing coming from a guy who loved to ridicule overpaid, conceited jocks. Mike suffered with Crohn’s and he died too young. Go figure that baseball would provide distraction and comfort for him. His encounter with R.A. Dickey was moving. You know, when we were kids, Getty laughed in the movie theater at the end of Terms of Endearment when everyone else sobbed. During The Breakfast Club when the kids bared their souls and the theater was quiet, Getty cackled. He was allergic to sentiment. But after R.A. Dickey called him on the phone, Mike cried. And I think he’d very much appreciate Coffey’s article. Yet another reason to pull for Mr. Dickey who sounds like some kind of mensch.

G-Fafif Jul 10 2012 11:46 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

And, oh yeah, Dickey's been something close to Terrific in the first half, per Mark Simon.

metirish Jul 10 2012 11:59 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

G-Fafif wrote: I tell you what. I'd heard this story off-the-record a few months ago and am glad it's now coming to light. that's really cool.....lumps I tell ya

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 11 2012 03:28 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

All this needs is a beckoning Scarlett Johannson and a rare, dry-aged porterhouse to be the best great-things photograph ever.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 11 2012 03:39 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Good to see Roaring-for Attention Dickey is taking it easy during the break so as to gear up for the second half and not Hollywooding it too much.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 11 2012 05:34 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Good to see Roaring-for Attention Dickey is taking it easy during the break so as to gear up for the second half and not Hollywooding it too much. With the Gee business, we'll need you cracking the whip now more than ever, brother.

Farmer Ted Jul 11 2012 07:07 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Did Mr. Dickey sign off on this? http://lookatmeshirts.com/lookatme/ra-d ... -deep.html

Ceetar Jul 11 2012 07:13 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Did Mr. Dickey sign off on this? http://lookatmeshirts.com/lookatme/ra-d ... -deep.html Probably not. That's why I bought this one

Edgy MD Jul 11 2012 08:45 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Couldn't there have been a little more wordplay in an R.A. Star Wars shirt?

metsmarathon Jul 12 2012 06:16 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

his lips are superimposed over the beard. it's just creepy as all get out. make it stop.

Edgy MD Jul 12 2012 06:26 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Yeah, I salute the initiative, but not the execution.

Edgy MD Jul 12 2012 10:01 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

The man himself and our new catching candidate: [youtube:2gogykd5]5d1x-oE2RKU[/youtube:2gogykd5]

Frayed Knot Jul 12 2012 11:23 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

There's usually some sort of connection to whatever intro music Paul's band plays during the guest's walk-on although I didn't recognize their selection for Dickey. That they played 'Crystal Blue Persuasion' for earlier guest Bryan Cranston was hysterical.

Mets – Willets Point Jul 14 2012 08:27 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Doug Glanville on Dickey.

Vic Sage Jul 14 2012 08:51 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

he's gotten pounded for 5 runs in 3 of his last 4 games. Quick, we need Lunchbucket to belittle him and get Routinely Amazing back on track.

Mets – Willets Point Jul 14 2012 09:28 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I hate to bring this up, but with the bloom starting to fall off of Dickey's rose and the Mets falling out of contention for a playoff spot, maybe it's time to start thinking about the Mets being sellers at the trade deadline. Odds are that at 37, Dickey isn't going to have many more seasons like this one (if any) and some playoff-bound team might give up some young talent in return. I know it's ruthless but Sandy's supposed to be all about "buy low, sell high", right?

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 14 2012 09:53 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Even if you leave aside the off-field/marketing benefits he brings to the table-- which are, of course, considerable-- he's having a GREAT year this year, but he's posting his third good year in a row. And 37 is like 28 for a knuckleballer. AND he's under contract for $5M next year. Even if he never has another year that sniffs his results this first half-- and that's not nearly as unlikely for him as for, say, Chris Capuano-- he's worth a LOT. Unless some team's willing to give up Mike Trout, Jr., they're likely best served holding on Ripe Asset.

TransMonk Jul 15 2012 09:29 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: And 37 is like 28 for a knuckleballer. AND he's under contract for $5M next year. This. And I can think of worse veteran back-ends to mop up every fifth day while Harvey, Wheeler, Niese and whoever go through their growing pains on their way to being the most dominant staff in the NL over the next couple of years.

batmagadanleadoff Jul 15 2012 10:01 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: And 37 is like 28 for a knuckleballer. I don't know that this is as true for Dickey as it was for other MLB knuckleballers. If it ever was true. Dickey's knuckler comes in 15-20 MPH faster than, say, Wakefield's. And Dickey was throwing his all out fast ball in the majors for longer than most of the well-known knucklers of the past.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 15 2012 10:28 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: And 37 is like 28 for a knuckleballer. I don't know that this is as true for Dickey as it was for other MLB knuckleballers. If it ever was true. Dickey's knuckler comes in 15-20 MPH faster than, say, Wakefield's. And Dickey was throwing his all out fast ball in the majors for longer than most of the well-known knucklers of the past. Would you stipulate that 37, in this case, is something like 30-32?

batmagadanleadoff Jul 15 2012 10:40 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: And 37 is like 28 for a knuckleballer. I don't know that this is as true for Dickey as it was for other MLB knuckleballers. If it ever was true. Dickey's knuckler comes in 15-20 MPH faster than, say, Wakefield's. And Dickey was throwing his all out fast ball in the majors for longer than most of the well-known knucklers of the past. Would you stipulate that 37, in this case, is something like 30-32? For you? Sure. Why not. But it's not as if me and you can do anything about the Dickey and his age in knuckleball years other than to enjoy the show he's puttin' on until it's no longer enjoyable.

Ashie62 Jul 15 2012 11:27 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

37 is 37 in that you can pull a hammy fielding your position, running, hitting etc. Less wear on the arm for sure.

TransMonk Jul 15 2012 01:53 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I would have no problem locking him up through age 40.

Ashie62 Jul 15 2012 01:56 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Did Mr. Dickey sign off on this? http://lookatmeshirts.com/lookatme/ra-d ... -deep.html Probably not. That's why I bought this one Thats the guy from "The Deadliest Catch"

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 15 2012 05:11 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: And 37 is like 28 for a knuckleballer. I don't know that this is as true for Dickey as it was for other MLB knuckleballers. If it ever was true. Dickey's knuckler comes in 15-20 MPH faster than, say, Wakefield's. And Dickey was throwing his all out fast ball in the majors for longer than most of the well-known knucklers of the past. Would you stipulate that 37, in this case, is something like 30-32? For you? Sure. Why not. But it's not as if me and you can do anything about the Dickey and his age in knuckleball years other than to enjoy the show he's puttin' on until it's no longer enjoyable. So, what you're saying is, 33 1/2, and we should trade Dickey and Murphy for Huston Street?

batmagadanleadoff Jul 15 2012 09:13 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: And 37 is like 28 for a knuckleballer. I don't know that this is as true for Dickey as it was for other MLB knuckleballers. If it ever was true. Dickey's knuckler comes in 15-20 MPH faster than, say, Wakefield's. And Dickey was throwing his all out fast ball in the majors for longer than most of the well-known knucklers of the past. Would you stipulate that 37, in this case, is something like 30-32? For you? Sure. Why not. But it's not as if me and you can do anything about the Dickey and his age in knuckleball years other than to enjoy the show he's puttin' on until it's no longer enjoyable. So, what you're saying is, 33 1/2, and we should trade Dickey and Murphy for Huston Street? I didn't say any of that. But I'd trade Jason Bay for Huston Street.

batmagadanleadoff Aug 10 2012 10:46 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

This thread sure died down in the past month or so. Still, it's R.A. by a wide margin, according to ESPN's Cy Young Predictor. OE - The gap between Dickey and runner-up Cueto is larger than the gap between any other two consecutively ranked top 10 Cy Predictor pitchers.

batmagadanleadoff Aug 11 2012 07:50 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Here's another category Dickey leads the league in: http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitching/_ ... expanded-2 Average Game Score

batmagadanleadoff Aug 13 2012 07:57 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Dickey Nearing Gooden and Seaver Territory By MICHAEL SALFINO With another masterful performance on Thursday night against the Marlins, R.A. Dickey (15-3) joined an elite fraternity of great Mets starters. He recorded his sixth double-digit strikeout game of the season, a feat no other Met has done in 20 years. Dickey becomes just the fifth Mets pitcher to reach double-digit strikeouts six different starts in a season. Three others combined to do it 10 times—Tom Seaver (1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973), Dwight Gooden (1984, 1985 and 1990) and David Cone (1988, 1990 and 1992). Sid Fernandez also reached that milestone in 1988. Mets Hall of Famer Jerry Koosman never did it. Neither did Nolan Ryan. More-recent strikeout aces Johan Santana and Pedro Martinez also fell short. Few would have wagered this achievement from Dickey, a 37-year-old knuckleballer, before the season. Before this year, Dickey registered that many whiffs just once in his career—in a 2011 Memorial Day loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. His strikeout rate per nine innings entering 2012 was a pedestrian 5.5 per nine innings. This year, though, it has spiked to 9.2 per nine innings—eighth best in baseball. Even more impressively, he's striking out 26% of batters faced—fourth most in the majors. Dickey has seven more weeks to add to his already impressive total, plus some promised extra starts from manager Terry Collins. But he'll have to nearly run the table to catch all-time team leader Dwight Gooden in the category, who achieved the feat 15 times as a 19-year-old rookie. Strikeout Mavens Mets pitchers with the most 10-strikeout games: Pitcher Year 10-K Games Dwight Gooden 1984 15 Tom Seaver 1971 13 Tom Seaver 1970 12 Dwight Gooden 1985 11 David Cone 1990 9 David Cone 1991 8 David Cone 1988 7 R.A. Dickey 2012 6 Dwight Gooden 1990 6 Sid Fernandez 1988 6 Tom Seaver 1973 6 Tom Seaver 1972 6 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000087 ... 55624.html

batmagadanleadoff Aug 14 2012 09:20 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Slowly, Dickey Approaches Rare Feat By BENJAMIN HOFFMAN Published: August 13, 2012 With 47 games to go in a Mets season that has come undone, R. A. Dickey has probably become the primary reason to keep following the team.* With a 15-3 record, he has a decent chance to win 20 games, and he is a legitimate candidate for the National League Cy Young award. He also, remarkably enough, has a chance to lead the National League in strikeouts, something more commonly associated with someone who throws overpowering fastballs rather than much slower knucklers. With 166 strikeouts through 24 games, Dickey was tied for the National League lead through Sunday and is on pace to finish with 234. The pitcher he was tied with, Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals, is expected to have his innings limited as the season moves into its final month, making Dickey’s path to the strikeout crown even simpler. (The major league leader, Justin Verlander of Detroit, has 174 strikeouts.) Of course, Strasburg is a more typical strikeout pitcher than Dickey is. His fastball, according to FanGraphs, averages 95.8 miles per hour, a far cry from Dickey’s knuckleball, which dances in at 77.1. But Dickey has held tough, striking out 10 or more batters in a game six times this season, including 10 in a complete-game victory over the Miami Marlins last Thursday. And should Dickey outlast Strasburg and Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers, he would join Phil Niekro as the only knuckleball pitchers to lead a league in strikeouts. Niekro had seasons with more wins and a lower earned run average, but in 1977, he was at his best in fanning hitters, totaling 262 for the Atlanta Braves and easily outdistancing J. R. Richard, the flame-throwing Houston Astros right-hander, for the league title. As for Dickey, the striking (no pun intended) thing about his strikeout total is the efficiency that he has shown in acquiring it. He may be on pace for 28 fewer strikeouts than Niekro had in 1977, but he has averaged 9.2 per 9 innings pitched, a far superior ratio to Niekro’s 7.1. Dickey has also averaged 4.61 strikeouts for every walk, compared with Niekro’s 1.6 ratio. Niekro had a number of great seasons, but his best, when accounting for his performance relative to his competition, were probably 1969 and 1974. In 1969 he went 23-13 with a 2.56 earned run average, finishing second in the Cy Young voting and ninth in the balloting for most valuable player. In 1974, he went 20-13 with a 2.38 E.R.A., finishing third in the Cy Young voting. Dickey, should he maintain his current numbers, would have a season to rival Niekro’s two best. He is on pace for a record of 21-4 with a 2.72 E.R.A., and perhaps most impressively given the volatile nature of a knuckleball, he was leading the league in WHIP (walks plus hits divided by innings pitched), with a figure of 1.004. Dickey will have stiff competition in the Cy Young voting from Strasburg, Kershaw, Johnny Cueto of Cincinnati and Jordan Zimmermann of the Nationals, but the fact that a knuckleballer is even in the conversation is a testament to the amazing season he has put together. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/sport ... -mets.html *The writer could've quoted me verbatim for this sentence.

Mets – Willets Point Aug 15 2012 12:06 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

The Atlantic sez he's something to root for. (Anyone heard the rumor of Dickey going to the pen before?)

G-Fafif Sep 01 2012 01:57 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

R.A. joins a club that now includes 10 Met pitchers and encompasses 21 individual Met seasons. MUST BE 17 OR OVER TO BE ADMITTED 25 Seaver (25-7) 1969 24 Gooden (24-4) 1985 22 Seaver (22-9) 1975 21 Seaver (21-12) 1972 Koosman (21-10) 1976 20 Seaver (20-10) 1971 Cone (20-3) 1988 Viola (20-12) 1990 19 Koosman (19-12) 1968 Seaver (19-10) 1973 Gooden (19-7) 1990 18 Seaver (18-12) 1970 Ojeda (18-5) 1986 Gooden (18-9) 1988 17 Koosman (17-9) 1969 Matlack (17-10) 1976 Gooden (17-9) 1984 Gooden (17-6) 1986 Darling (17-9) 1988 Leiter (17-6) 1998 DICKEY (17-4) 2012

Benjamin Grimm Sep 01 2012 05:00 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

And it looks like, what, he'll get another five or six starts?

Swan Swan H Sep 01 2012 06:32 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Newsday said it would be six.

Frayed Knot Sep 01 2012 06:41 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

MUST BE 17 OR OVER TO BE ADMITTED -- aka: RATED RA

Ceetar Sep 01 2012 06:49 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Grain of salt because it was a Francesa question, but Collins said he'd consider using him in relief in a key spot the last week if he could get him a relief win somehow.

Frayed Knot Sep 01 2012 06:50 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

If the right situation comes up, why not.

metsguyinmichigan Sep 01 2012 08:29 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

MUST BE 17 OR OVER TO BE ADMITTED -- aka: RATED RA Nice!!!

Mets – Willets Point Sep 01 2012 10:32 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Oh wow, now I want to see him get at least 22 wins and join the Seaver-Gooden-Dickey club. My mind is also blown that Gooden achieved a 20+ win season only once. In my sepia-toned memories he had several consecutive 20-win seasons.

G-Fafif Sep 01 2012 10:38 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

MUST BE 17 OR OVER TO BE ADMITTED -- aka: RATED RA Nice!!! Fuckin' A, yes. Or Fuckin' RA.

G-Fafif Sep 05 2012 02:46 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

R.A. joins a club that now includes 7 Met pitchers and encompasses 15 individual Met seasons. MUST BE 18 OR OVER TO BE ADMITTED 25 Seaver (25-7) 1969 24 Gooden (24-4) 1985 22 Seaver (22-9) 1975 21 Seaver (21-12) 1972 Koosman (21-10) 1976 20 Seaver (20-10) 1971 Cone (20-3) 1988 Viola (20-12) 1990 19 Koosman (19-12) 1968 Seaver (19-10) 1973 Gooden (19-7) 1990 18 Seaver (18-12) 1970 Ojeda (18-5) 1986 Gooden (18-9) 1988 DICKEY (18-4) 2012

John Cougar Lunchbucket Sep 05 2012 02:53 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Now that we have a no-hitter we can shoot for that elusive 23-win season.

Ceetar Sep 05 2012 02:58 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Now that we have a no-hitter we can shoot for that elusive 23-win season. Koosman would be pissed, first the consecutive scoreless innings streak and then bumped from the top-3 in wins in a season?

themetfairy Sep 05 2012 03:04 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

G-Fafif Sep 05 2012 05:47 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Sep 06 2012 07:50 AM

I'm just happy R.A.'s joined such a notorious gang. A third-grade student in Greeley, Colorado was told he could not wear a Peyton Manning Denver Broncos jersey to school because, well... "They told me I couldn't wear 18 anymore because it's a gang number and I had to take it off," Konnor Vanatta told KDVR-TV in Denver. The policy apparently doesn't allow six different numbers: 13, 14, 18, 31, 41 and 81. The policy also does not allow for common sense.

Ceetar Sep 05 2012 05:52 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

This is genius. Lets get the NYY logo going among gangs so it's banned amongst New Yorks young! This way they'll all grow up Mets fans. oh wait.. [url]http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2990288

batmagadanleadoff Sep 05 2012 06:35 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

If the Mets continue to pitch Dickey every 5th game throughout the rest of this season, then Dickey will have five remaining starts: 9/11 v Wash (team game # 142) 9/17 v Phil (team game #147) 9/23 v Mia (team game #152) 9/28 @ Atl (team game #157) 10/3 @ Mia (team game #162) Because there is an off day between Dickey's probable Wash & Phil starts, and between Dickey's probable Phil and 1st Mia starts, the Mets could have RA pitch every 5th day (every 4th game) rather than every 5th game during the period covering those starts. If so, Dickey would still get four days of rest between those starts. Still, that won't create enough room for a 6th RA start, unless he pitches on three days rest somewhere after his third projected start. And even then, I'm not sure that a 6th start is possible. Also, his 9/11 probable start could be moved to 9/10 as there is an off day tomorrow. In fact, ESPN lists Dickey as the Mets probable starter for the 9/10 Wash game. http://espn.go.com/mlb/schedule?date=20120910 If Dickey pitches every 5th day rather than every 5th game, then he'd still get five, but not six more starts. 9/11 v Wash (team game # 141) 9/16 @ Mil (#146) 9/21 v Mia (#150) 9/26 v Pitt (#155) 10/1 @ Mia (#160). Since it's unlikely that Dickey starts six more games, he might pitch on a combined 5th day/5th game schedule, to get an extra day or two of rest as compared to pitching on a strict every 5th day schedule --- and thus throwing a huge wrench into the two projected schedules I just posted. It's probably best to just ignore this whole post.

Ceetar Sep 05 2012 08:33 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

if he pitches every 5th day, he'll possibly be able to toss a relief inning in a key spot in the last two games maybe right?

Ceetar Sep 06 2012 09:39 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

another book deal(well, 3) R.A. Dickey, who pitches for the New York Mets, has signed a three-book deal with Penguin's Dial Books for Young Readers. Dickey is best known for throwing one of the rarer pitches in baseball: the knuckleball. His memoir, published by Penguin's Blue Rider Press and called Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball, hit stores this past March. The first book in this deal, scheduled for fall 2013, will be a young readers' adaptation of the memoir. The second two titles in the deal will be picture books, the first of which, Knuckleball Ned, is set for spring 2014. The third book is not yet scheduled. Dickey was represented by Esther Newberg at ICM; she sold world rights to president and publisher of Dial Books for Young Readers, Lauri Hornik.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 06 2012 09:43 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Esther Newberg... I seem to remember that name from when I used to listen to Imus.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Sep 06 2012 09:49 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

another book deal(well, 3) R.A. Dickey, who pitches for the New York Mets, has signed a three-book deal with Penguin's Dial Books for Young Readers. Dickey is best known for throwing one of the rarer pitches in baseball: the knuckleball. His memoir, published by Penguin's Blue Rider Press and called Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball, hit stores this past March. The first book in this deal, scheduled for fall 2013, will be a young readers' adaptation of the memoir. The second two titles in the deal will be picture books, the first of which, Knuckleball Ned, is set for spring 2014. The third book is not yet scheduled. Dickey was represented by Esther Newberg at ICM; she sold world rights to president and publisher of Dial Books for Young Readers, Lauri Hornik. I for one am happy to see Really Ambitious Dickey stick to what he does best.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 06 2012 10:09 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

He has a real chance of winning the Triple Crown of Pitching: Strikeouts: C. Kershaw 201, R. Dickey 195, S. Strasburg 195 Wins: R. Dickey 18, G. Gonzalez 18, J. Cueto 17 ERA: J. Cueto 2.58, R. Dickey 2.64, C. Kershaw 2.79

Vic Sage Sep 06 2012 10:25 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Amazin'... Did Seaver and Gooden ever do that with the Mets? I guess whoever has the strongest finish among Cueto, Kershaw and Dickey (assuming the Nats are serious about shutting down Strasburg) will win the CY. I think traditional voters go with the Wins leader provided his peripherals are comparable to the leaders in ERA and Ks (and sometimes even when they're not). But, the modern voters probably lean more on WHIP and Win Shares than they ever have before (see King Felix). Based on WAR, Cueto has the edge currently (6.0) over RA (5.0) and Kershaw (4.5), who are 1-2-3 right now.

Edgy MD Sep 06 2012 10:32 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Gooden's 1985 was a runaway triple crown for him. Seaver led the league in wins twice as a Met, earned run average thrice, and strikeouts five times, but never pulled off all three in the same season.

Vic Sage Sep 06 2012 10:37 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

to answer my own question: Seaver never did it; he finished 1st in ERA and Ks in 1970, `71 & `73 (with a CY only in `73). Ws were harder to come by, finishing 2nd in Ws in `71 and `73 (5th in 1970). Gooden did win the triple crown once, in 1985, winning the CY. He came close his ROY year in `84, finishing 1st (Ks), 2nd (ERA) and 3rd (wins). on edit: DOH! Edgy beat me to it.

Frayed Knot Sep 06 2012 11:25 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

And just imagine how good he'd be if he didn't take time off to write books and climb mountains. sther Newberg... I seem to remember that name from when I used to listen to Imus. He nicknamed her 'Lobster'.

The Second Spitter Sep 09 2012 06:29 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Cueto jobs to the Astros. Dickey has a legit shot to be first to 20 wins.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 11 2012 12:03 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Latest on Dickey's Triple Crown bid: Strikeouts: C. Kershaw 201, S. Strasburg 197, R. Dickey 195, G. Gonzalez 191 Wins: G. Gonzalez 19, R. Dickey 18, J. Cueto 17 ERA: R. Dickey 2.64, J. Cueto 2.71, C. Kershaw 2.79, K. Lohse 2.81, G. Gonzalez 2.93, M. Cain 2.96, J. Zimmermann 2.99 Dickey, Zimmermann, and Kershaw are pitching today.

Edgy MD Sep 11 2012 12:24 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Bryce Bryce Baby expected to be sitting.

batmagadanleadoff Sep 11 2012 02:11 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Edgy DC wrote: Bryce Bryce Baby expected to be sitting. Makes sense. Harper's looked clueless against R.A all season long, in practically every at bat.

Edgy MD Sep 11 2012 02:29 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I read about Dickey-Gonzalez battling for the Cy Young and my synapses started shorting out.

batmagadanleadoff Sep 12 2012 08:43 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

The NL Cy Young Award contenders: It's a tight race, at least based on the stats that are reasonably simple to calculate and thus, comprehend. I wonder if Dickey is now at a weather-related disadvantage, going forward. His knuckler is climate-dependent, and September, after April, has gotta be the worst month for a knuckleballer.

batmagadanleadoff Sep 12 2012 08:54 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Cueto's claim to the CYA is strengthened considerably based on sabrmetric statistics.

bmfc1 Sep 12 2012 09:13 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Thank you batmagadanleadoff. Apart from the stats, I fear that an anti-NY bias and an anti-knuckleball bias will cost R.A. the Award.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Sep 12 2012 09:15 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

EVERY ANALYST/WRITER IN BASEBALL, IN TWO MONTHS: "I tell you what, Joe-- he may not be the Cy Young winner, but he sure is the best story of the year." ME: [Spits at TV/periodical]

HahnSolo Sep 12 2012 09:27 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

How many of the voters, do you suppose, base their vote more on the 'traditional' stats as opposed to the "sabermetric" stats as posted by BML? I still think most guys just look at wins, era, Ks, and the eye test. I can't imagine Bill Madden casting his vote with Base-Out Runs Saved being the deciding factor, but I could be wrong.

Mets – Willets Point Sep 12 2012 10:11 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

HahnSolo wrote: How many of the voters, do you suppose, base their vote more on the 'traditional' stats as opposed to the "sabermetric" stats as posted by BML? I still think most guys just look at wins, era, Ks, and the eye test. I can't imagine Bill Madden casting his vote with Base-Out Runs Saved being the deciding factor, but I could be wrong. I think they're going to look at pitchers who are on teams that are going to the postseason and that will eliminate Dickey before any other considerations.

Edgy MD Sep 12 2012 10:26 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Well, last year they honored a pitcher from an 82-79 team, the year before a pitcher from a dreadful 61-101 team, so to the extent that this was once true, it's less so.

Frayed Knot Sep 12 2012 10:35 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

HahnSolo wrote: How many of the voters, do you suppose, base their vote more on the 'traditional' stats as opposed to the "sabermetric" stats as posted by BML? I still think most guys just look at wins, era, Ks, and the eye test. I can't imagine Bill Madden casting his vote with Base-Out Runs Saved being the deciding factor, but I could be wrong. I actually think many of the baseball writers have altered their views enough to where they're no longer hanging onto narrow views of just W/L/ERA -- and that it's two active (and revolving) writers per city then fresh views are constantly introduced as opposed to the everyone who's ever written gets to hang onto their vote like the HoF. The non-baseball pundits plus a handful of old baseball fogies are still likely to scream and yell if the "wrong" guy gets it like they did when Felix Hernandez won with, what was it, 13 wins a couple years back? ... but those guys don't vote and fuck them anyway. I think they're going to look at pitchers who are on teams that are going to the postseason and that will eliminate Dickey before any other considerations. I do think this will be a factor with some voters. Not that they'll eliminate him from the get-go kind of thing but that enough will use the non-competing team as a kind of tie-breaker to make this a tough get for Dickey. Cueto, Gio Gonzalez, Kershaw, plus relievers Chapman & Kimbrel are all going to have the team-in-contention thing on their side and RA clearly will not.

Ceetar Sep 12 2012 11:23 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

as it stands right now, I'd find it hard to be pissed,or even mildly annoyed, if Kershaw won it, and i suspect that doesn't bode well.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Sep 13 2012 08:41 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

R.A. Dickey Wins 2012 Branch Rickey Award R.A. Dickey, star pitcher of the New York Mets, has been named the winner of the 2012 Branch Rickey Award, presented by AMG National Trust Bank. Jim Wilkins, founder of the award, made the announcement today during a press conference at the Denver Athletic Club. Dickey, currently one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball, will be inducted as the 21st member of the Baseball Humanitarians Hall of Fame™ during a banquet on Saturday, Nov. 10 at the Marriott City Center Hotel in downtown Denver. Created by the Rotary Club of Denver in 1991, the Branch Rickey Award honors individuals in baseball who contribute unselfishly to their communities and who are strong role models for young people. Each year, the Major League Baseball teams nominate one player from their team for this nationally acclaimed award. All of the nominees personify Rotary International’s motto, “Service Above Self.” Dickey was chosen by a National Selection Committee, comprised of 350 members of the sports media, past award winners, baseball executives and Rotary district governors. All 30 Major League teams submitted a nominee for the award. Combining forces with a teammate from the bronze-medal-winning 1996 U.S. Olympic baseball team, Dickey helped found Honoring the Father Ministries, a benevolent charity that distributes baseball equipment and medical supplies around the world. He has personally traveled to Cuba five times, as well as visiting Mexico, Venezuela and Costa Rico to meet with young baseball players and give them instruction and equipment. This January, Dickey climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, helping to raise more than $100,000 for the Bombay Teen Challenge, an organization dedicated to rescuing young women from forced prostitution in India. Dickey, a high-velocity knuckleballer, is one of the best pitchers in the Majors this year with an 18-5 record, 2.68 ERA and 197 strikeouts. Before joining the Mets in 2010, he had played professional baseball for 16 years, mostly in the minors. The story of his long and frustrating journey to the pinnacle of pitching is chronicled in his recently released book, “Wherever I Wind Up, My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball.” Dickey is the only Major League pitcher who now throws the knuckleball, a spinless pitch that is as difficult to master as it is to hit. The late Branch Rickey, known to millions as “Mr. Baseball,” is credited with breaking the color barrier in the Major Leagues in 1945 when he signed Jackie Robinson, the first modern day African-American player. He also hired the first Hispanic player, Roberto Clemente. Rickey helped develop the farm system in baseball and stimulated the sport’s expansion into more cities. Always an advocate for underprivileged children, he spearheaded the development of the famous “Knot Hole Gang,” to allow kids to attend big league games. Previous recipients of the Branch Rickey Award include: Dave Winfield, Toronto Blue Jays; Kirby Puckett, Minnesota Twins; Ozzie Smith, St. Louis Cardinals; Tony Gwynn, San Diego Padres; Brett Butler, Los Angeles Dodgers; Craig Biggio, Houston Astros; Paul Molitor, Minnesota Twins; Al Leiter, New York Mets; Todd Stottlemyre, Arizona Diamondbacks; Curt Schilling, Arizona Diamondbacks; Bobby Valentine, New York Mets; Roland Hemond, Chicago White Sox; Jamie Moyer, Seattle Mariners; Tommy Lasorda, Los Angeles Dodgers; John Smoltz, Atlanta Braves; Trevor Hoffman, San Diego Padres; Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; Vernon Wells, Toronto Blue Jays; and last year’s winner, Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies. Winfield, Puckett, Smith, Molitor, Gwynn and Lasorda, as well as Branch Rickey, have also been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Branch Rickey Award is a replica of The Player,” the 13-foot tall bronze sculpture that stands at the entrance to Coors Field at 20th & Blake in Denver. It was created by internationally prominent sculptor George Lundeen, and was dedicated on June 2, 2005 in celebration of Rotary International’s Centennial Year.

TransMonk Sep 13 2012 09:59 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Dickey wins Rickey! Congrats, Rickey Awardian.

batmagadanleadoff Sep 16 2012 09:08 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Four bad innings and suddenly, Cueto's edge in sabrmetric stats isn't as imposing as it appeared. Also, between Operation Strasburg Shutdown and Kershaw' hip injury, Dickey might take the NL Strikeout crown by default.

metsmarathon Sep 16 2012 07:02 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

dark horse: medlen. will never happen, but damn if he's not eye-popping!

Edgy MD Sep 16 2012 08:45 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Nats down 3-1 in the seventh as Gio goes for his 20th.

Frayed Knot Sep 16 2012 09:25 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

That was 5 innings, 2 runs on 4 hits & 4 BBs for Gio tonight -- and no 20th win as the Nats get swept by the Braves. One thing that might hurt Gio's chances at the CY is that his walks - even though down considerably from his past [5.1/per 9 in 2010 to 4.1 to 3.4 this year] - are still higher than most of the other contenders and that also serves to get his pitch count up and keep his innings down. He was just 17th in the NL in IP starting tonight and is still outside the top 10 approx 20 IPs or so behind the likes of Dickey & Cueto & Kershaw. That gap should at least be considered as a factor.

The Second Spitter Sep 17 2012 06:22 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

can't remember the last time I cheered so loudly for a Braves win.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 18 2012 04:58 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Wins: G. Gonzalez, 19. R. Dickey, 18. J. Cueto 17. Strikeouts: C. Kershaw, 206. R. Dickey, 205. S. Strasburg, 197. G. Gonzalez, 196. ERA: R. Dickey, 2.67. C. Kershaw, 2.70. K. Lohse, 2.81.

G-Fafif Sep 18 2012 05:57 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

That clever Terry Collins could figure out a way to get him an extra start with a little of that three days' rest action they talked up constantly (he's gotta be reasonably well rested considering this stupid six-man rotation) -- and they can get him an extra home start (against the Pirates, against whom he's excelled). 9/21 vs MIA (against whom he's also excelled) 9/25 vs PIT 9/29 @ ATL (where he hasn't been so hot) 10/3 @ MIA

Edgy MD Sep 18 2012 06:00 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

As far as I can see, the six-man thingie appears to be working, except maybe we should trade one of those six men for a leftfielder who can hit .200 or so.

Mets – Willets Point Sep 18 2012 09:06 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Today is Knuckleball Day in Boston, to be celebrated Sept. 20th in New York.

batmagadanleadoff Sep 18 2012 10:56 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

TransMonk Sep 19 2012 01:15 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

He will be on NPR's Talk of the Nation later this hour.

HahnSolo Sep 19 2012 02:08 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

TransMonk wrote: He will be on NPR's Talk of the Nation later this hour. Oh, boy. Where's JCL?

TransMonk Sep 19 2012 02:23 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

It was a decent interview conducted live from Citi. They even got in a couple of phone calls from listeners. Much more about the upcoming Knucleball movie than about Dickey's book.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Sep 19 2012 02:36 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Any promotion is good promotion for Ready Anytime Dickey.

G-Fafif Sep 20 2012 01:04 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

G-Fafif wrote: That clever Terry Collins could figure out a way to get him an extra start with a little of that three days' rest action they talked up constantly (he's gotta be reasonably well rested considering this stupid six-man rotation) -- and they can get him an extra home start (against the Pirates, against whom he's excelled). 9/21 vs MIA (against whom he's also excelled) 9/25 vs PIT 9/29 @ ATL (where he hasn't been so hot) 10/3 @ MIA They're not getting him an extra start but they are giving him two at home -- Saturday 9/22 (a day earlier than planned) and Thursday 9/27 (home closer) before his last start at Miami. Will not pitch at Atlanta.

themetfairy Sep 20 2012 01:34 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

What's the rest of the rotation for the homestand?

G-Fafif Sep 20 2012 02:22 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

From Newsday, R.A. thinking through beat writers' jobs better than most of them do. The professor walked into the classroom with a pair of stylish white sunglasses resting on a mop of brown hair. He wore jeans and a Star Wars stormtrooper T-shirt. But that's what you get when school is in session with R.A. Dickey . The Mets knuckleballer -- and serious Cy Young contender -- turned the press conference room at Citi Field into a classroom, leading a question-and-answer session with 10 sports journalism students from NYU and Rutgers. Funny, humble and at times strikingly honest, Dickey talked about a life with as many turns as his knuckleball, while also offering practical advice for the aspiring reporters. "When I get interviewed by a sports writer after a game -- in spring training, doing a feature, whatever it is -- I always pay attention to the question," he said. "A lot of people will not. The people that you interview that will be your better interviews will challenge you in that they will pay attention to what you ask. If someone gives me a question that doesn't have much heart to it, then they're going to get an answer that doesn't have much heart to it. "Eighty percent of the time you're going to get the person that doesn't really care. And he's going to say 'How does it feel to be in the big leagues?' 'It's a dream come true.' I mean that's what you're going to get, when the real answer is much deeper than that. And that's what connects with the reader." Dickey speaks from plenty of experience, on both sides of the spectrum. He's a popular interview subject in the Mets clubhouse given his success and his thoughtful quotes. And he's also written an autobiography, Wherever I Wind Up. "When I have something that I want to share, I will find the guy that I trust the most in the clubhouse," Dickey said. "And the way that I gauge that is how the person has asked questions. How he has been curious. What has he been curious about? What has he done with some of my teammates? How has he presented an argument? The smarter players, the players you're going to want the stories from mostly, will pay attention to that kind of stuff." Jennifer Woo, a junior at NYU who wants to be a broadcast journalist, took the lessons to heart; even if she didn't know much about the teacher until recently. "I honestly didn't know who R.A. Dickey was or what a knuckleball pitcher was before I read his book," she said. "He was as eloquent in person as he was in his book. He has such a huge heart for what he does and he owns up to everything he has done. He's not ashamed of anything." The event was organized by Joe Lapointe, a sports journalism professor at NYU and Rutgers who's covered Dickey with the Mets. "I've seen R.A. around for three years and I always thought he was an interesting person and an intellectual person," he said. "Now that I'm teaching a sports reporting class, I thought this would be the perfect athlete for some of my students to meet early in the semester. It would give them encouragement about the possibilities of interviewing athletes and what you can draw out of them. Obviously R.A. Dickey is an extraordinary interview. He's a very good speaker, he's a very good thinker and he combines the two well." Just what you look for in a professor. Even the ones who show up for class in a Star Wars T-shirt.

G-Fafif Sep 23 2012 03:49 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

R.A. joins a club that now includes 6 Met pitchers and encompasses 12 individual Met seasons. No Met who's ever won 19 games hasn't also won 20 games in his Met career. Mets 20-win seasons have all been clinched in one of two stadiums: Three Rivers twice (Seaver, 1972; Viola, 1990) or Shea (all the others). Seaver's four 20th wins were earned with 43 strikeouts (7, 13, 13, 10). They were all complete games (5-1, 6-1, 1-0, 3-0). Viola's 20th (7 IP) and Gooden's 20th (6 IP) were the only two of the eight Mets 20th wins to date that weren't CGs. Gooden had just come off a 16-K shutout of the Giants before his rather mundane effort against the Padres and Davey wanted to give him some rest once he had a big lead. Viola threw 96 pitches and was going on short rest on the season's final day. Seaver in '71, Cone and Viola all needed their final start of the season to attain No. 20. Gooden was the only Met to ascend to 20 in August (8/25/85). In the 19-win realm, Koosman in '68 and Seaver in '73 each got theirs in their final start, with Seaver's clinching the N.L. East title. Koosman's clinched the Mets' first non-90 loss season. Gooden's 19th kept the Mets afloat in '90 in his second-to-last start. His final start came on short rest (his only short-rest start all year) and was his first loss in a dozen starts, only his second in his last 23 starts of the year. Gooden was 3-5 on June 2, 16-2 thereafter. MUST BE 19 OR OVER TO BE ADMITTED 25 Seaver (25-7) 1969 24 Gooden (24-4) 1985 22 Seaver (22-9) 1975 21 Seaver (21-12) 1972 Koosman (21-10) 1976 20 Seaver (20-10) 1971 Cone (20-3) 1988 Viola (20-12) 1990 19 Koosman (19-12) 1968 Seaver (19-10) 1973 Gooden (19-7) 1990 DICKEY (19-6) 2012

Benjamin Grimm Sep 23 2012 05:15 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Another update on R.A.'s quest for the pitching Triple Crown: Wins: G. Gonzalez 20, R. Dickey 19, J. Cueto 18 Strikeouts: R. Dickey 209, C. Kershaw 206, C.Hamels 202, G. Gonzalez 201. ERA: R. Dickey 2.66, C. Kershaw 2.70, K. Lohse 2.71. Wins seems unlikely; maybe a tie but an outright win is looking tough. Strikeouts is looking good right now. ERA race is a bit tighter as Lohse is making a move.

bmfc1 Sep 23 2012 09:43 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

http://espn.go.com/mlb/features/cyyoung "Victory Bonus"? How about "Bonus for Winning 19 Games for a Dreadful Team"?

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Sep 24 2012 02:19 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

bmfc1 wrote: http://espn.go.com/mlb/features/cyyoung "Victory Bonus"? How about "Bonus for Winning 19 Games for a Dreadful Team"? It's a vote predictor, not a this-is-who-really-deserves-it meter.

batmagadanleadoff Sep 26 2012 03:01 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

September 26, 2012 R. A. Dickey Pitches a Book Posted by Jesse Will Early on a bright Friday morning, just after the New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 16-1, their ace pitcher R. A. Dickey ambled from the Grand Hyatt hotel on Forty-second Street towards Grand Central Terminal, unnoticed and uninterrupted. “To be honest with you,” he said, “I’m a bit tired. Last night was rough. The team’s gone into some kind of dark tailspin.” The Mets had, maybe, but not Dickey. He would take the mound three more times in September in pursuit of a twentieth win and a probable Cy Young award. (Currently 19-6, he makes his next start on Thursday.) Dickey, the only knuckleballer in the major leagues, has become dominant courtesy of a strange, near spin-free pitch that hovers en route to home plate, then takes a trap-door drop that batters often can’t see or predict. But the pitch he was more concerned with on this morning was the plot of a children’s picture book he’d written. He was headed by subway to the offices of Penguin publishers in SoHo to present it to his editor there. The thirty-seven-year-old Dickey, who has the gentle comportment of a humanities professor, has no personal representative or manager—“because I don’t consider myself marquee,” he said, “and I like to be in control of things.” He spoke in a soulful Nashville drawl peppered with words and phrases that would include, over the course of a morning, “edifying,” “antithetical,” “deus ex machina,” and “voluminous.” He is exceedingly polite. It is not difficult to imagine a character with his traits in a Wes Anderson film, though he would surely rather appear in a sci-fi or fantasy flick. (He warms up on the mound to “The Imperial March,” from “Star Wars,” and when he comes to bat, has the Citi Field public-address system play the theme from “Game of Thrones.”) An avid reader, Dickey keeps books in his locker at the stadium, where he often finds time to read. (Pitchers, he noted, tend to have a lot of free time.) As he navigated a transfer underneath Times Square, Dickey rattled off a few of this year’s summer reading titles, and when asked, followed up with reviews in miniature. A sampling: a rereading of John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”: “Still potent”; Chaim Potok’s “The Chosen”: “A rich education in Jewish culture;” Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing Lincoln”: “Entertaining, but he’s no Hemingway;” and William Saroyan’s “The Human Comedy”: “Actually, let’s skip that one.” “I think you’ll like my editor,” he said with a smile as he approached the Penguin offices. “I’m pretty sure she might have been part of the hippie movement. You’ll see what I mean.” He took the elevator, checked in at the front desk and sat down on a couch. It was nearly silent, and the lobby’s lower walls were painted with characters from children’s books. After a few minutes, a ruddy-cheeked young man wearing a tie and carrying a backpack introduced himself to the receptionist and informed her that it was his first day on the job. Dickey looked over and said softly, “Now isn’t that an exciting moment?” Just then Lucia Monfried, Dickey’s editor, appeared, a petite, fair-skinned woman with light blue eyes and long gray hair. On her wrist was a pinstriped New York Yankees watch and a blue silicone wristband that commemorated Derek Jeter’s three-thousandth hit. She didn’t look like a hippie. In a singsong voice that stopped and started, she welcomed Dickey and led him to a sunlit conference room with a view of lower Manhattan. She told Dickey that she was one of the “minute fraction of baseball-crazed people in children’s publishing,” and Dickey complimented her for her work on “Skippyjon Jones,” a book series popular with Dickey’s four kids, who live at his permanent residence in Nashville with his wife. The two sat down and Monfried introduced the first order of business: having Dickey approve the general outline of a young-adult adaptation of “Wherever I Wind Up,” his autobiography, released earlier this year, which tracks his life from a troubled youth—Dickey moved around a lot and was sexually abused—to his career in professional baseball, which stalled until he learned the mechanics of the knuckleball. The conversation eventually turned to “Knuckleball Ned,” a thirty-two-page picture book that is the second of three books in the deal that Dickey signed with the publisher. Dickey pulled a twenty-page manuscript, dense with type, from his bag. On one of the pages was a cut-and-pasted image of Mr. Met. “Now, I know I might have to simplify what I have here,” said Dickey. He began to explain the plot of “Knuckleball Ned,” in which Ned, whose body has the shape of a baseball, negotiates a scene of being bullied. “Ned’s set apart because he wobbles. No one else wobbles, and he’s teased mercilessly. He’s the only one of his kind,” said Dickey. “Does Ned have any friends?” asked Monfried, drinking from a black coffee mug that said “So Many Books, So Little Time.” “Curve Ball,” said Dickey. “O.K. … maybe there should be a Soft Ball, too. Soft Ball’s gotta be fat,” said Monfried. “There’s Foul Ball, he’s kind of a gangster. And Slider.” It was unclear whether these would be friends or foes. “Maybe Slider smells,” said Monfried. It became obvious that Monfried thought Dickey had written too long. “You’ve got to think about who your audience is. I’m not sure, for example, that four-year-olds get what ‘bullying’ is. I think you need to simplify,” she said as she read further. Later, she added, “It doesn’t sound like a light story. Are you funny?” “I would say I’m more witty than funny,” said Dickey. “Maybe this book is older. There’s some meat here, and that’s good. Ned is you, really. It’s not like the story of Derek Jeter—magic just happened to Jeter, found him. Jeter never had any problems, aside from when he was eighteen and went to A-ball and called his parents, homesick, crying.” Monfried didn’t look at the other pages of Dickey’s manuscript, but gave him encouragement, set some deadlines for another draft, and offered up some of “Lucia’s Laws,” which include “Talking is killing,” “Think visually,” “You can do anything you want in a picture book, but you can’t just do it once,” “Children don’t like description,” “Keep it moving,” and “The kid always solves the problem.” Dickey asked Monfried if readers will need to know why it is that Ned wobbles. “No,” she said. “So it’s not important that my character has a genesis—he can just be?” he asked. “Yes,” she said. The meeting wrapped, and Dickey returned to the train going back towards Grand Central. During a transfer underneath Times Square, he was spotted, finally: a young man approached with a Sharpie and a New York Post, with the page folded to an article about him. Dickey signed it and continued down the platform. The episode afforded the opportunity to change the topic of conversation to baseball. As the 7 train clattered towards Grand Central, Dickey likened throwing his pitch to “having a relationship with an organic, living thing—something that’s sometimes there and sometimes not.” So would he feel additional pressure, essentially pitching for the Cy Young during his last starts of the season? “No, extra pressure would only still the joy of the experience,” he said. And what made him risk everything on an odd pitch that baseball teams seldom seek? “It was only until I came to the end of myself that I was able to embrace it,” he offered. The train stopped, and we said goodbye, and Dickey took the sunlit stairwell towards Lexington Avenue, alone. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/s ... z27bzcpFCj

dinosaur jesus Sep 26 2012 03:51 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

The kid with the backpack? That was me! I had a blast tossing ideas around with Lucia and RA. Spitballing, ha ha. RA's a great guy. We came up with a whole bunch of characters to be Knuckleball Ned's friends. Like Gyro, his buddy from Japan. His country cousin Eephus who everyone thinks is dumb but isn't. Screwball, who likes to party. And when Ned's in trouble his Uncle Charlie is always there to help him out. And there are some others I'm forgetting. You'll just have to wait for the book to come out!

batmagadanleadoff Sep 27 2012 08:16 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

RA deserves his own thread. And his own contract, too. But don't expect Dickey to give the Mets a hometown discount NEW YORK — As Tuesday evening bled into Wednesday morning, a blue neon sign shone off the side of Citi Field and out toward the Van Wyck Expressway. “R.A. GOES FOR 20,” the message beamed, an advertisement for R.A. Dickey’s start this afternoon against the Pirates. Using ticket packages and promotions, the Mets have attempted to milk every last dollar out of Dickey’s Cy Young-worthy season as 2012 limps to its merciful conclusion. This winter, as general manager Sandy Alderson attempts to extend Dickey through next season, the roles will reverse. No longer will Dickey (19-6, 2.66 ERA) agree to a hometown discount, as he did following the 2010 season, when he signed a two-year, $7.8 million deal with a $5 million option for 2013. “It’s different in that you accept the first contract trying to be compensated for 13 years of playing the game and finally getting a chance to take care of your family,” Dickey said this week as he prepared to become the franchise’s first 20-game winner since Frank Viola in 1990. “This mentality is different. Because I’ve done that now. I have more freedom to really weigh things.” His performance liberated him, and his current contract gave him long-awaited financial security. Which is why Dickey feels “I have more leverage” than in his last negotiation. He wants compensation commensurate with his production these past three seasons. He also feels that he and third baseman David Wright are something of a “package deal.” He struggles to envision himself inking a multi-year extension if the club doesn’t make an aggressive attempt to re-sign Wright. “If I don’t see them pursuing David hard,” Dickey said, “I think it would be a message to everybody that they’re content to spend the next five or six years rebuilding this organization. Rather than trying to be competitive, and trying to rebuild it at the same time. “I think you can do both. I think (doing both is) what they want to do. “But if you see them not really pursue him hard, that’s the message that I get. Unless they trade him and get multiple, big-league pieces back.” Alderson has not hidden his intentions. He wants to extend Dickey and Wright through their team options for 2013. The deadline to exercise Wright’s $16 million option falls three days after the World Series ends; Dickey’s deadline is two days after that. Last month, Alderson told The Star-Ledger those two were “at the top” of his list for offseason priorities. He reiterated as much during an in-game interview with SNY this week. The Mets engaged in tepid negotiations with Dickey earlier this season, with the hope of reaching an extension through at least 2014, as The Star-Ledger reported last month. The team elected to wait and observe Dickey during the course of the season. His value has only jumped since then. He enters today’s home finale leading the National League in ERA and innings pitched. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is a career-high 4.02 — an almost unfathomable statistic considering he throws a knuckleball. “Now I have much more of a platform to really be able to value yourself on,” Dickey said. “Like I have a good sample size to say ‘OK, this is who you are.’?” Dickey turns 38 next month, but opposing executives believe his knuckleball could sustain him for years to come. One suggested a four-year deal wasn’t out of the question if Dickey hit the open market after 2013. How much will he cost? In three seasons with the Mets, Dickey has thrown 603 innings with a 2.93 ERA. From 2009 to 2011, only 14 pitchers completed at least 600 innings with an ERA under 3.50. Their average salary in 2012: $15.5 million. Dickey will pitch somewhere in 2014. But odds are, he’ll cost a good deal more than the $5 million he’s due next season. He only hopes he can sustain this year’s success. “The way that I’ve performed,” Dickey said, “I would like to capture that and repeat it over and over and over again.”

The Second Spitter Sep 27 2012 08:22 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I can hear it now: Fred Wilpon wrote: I cannot justify in good conscious, paying a 38 year old pitcher with a penchant for adventure more than $5M a year

batmagadanleadoff Sep 27 2012 08:24 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

The Second Spitter wrote: I can hear it now: Fred Wilpon wrote: I cannot justify, in good conscious, paying a 38 year old pitcher with a penchant for adventure more than $5M a year I can hear that four months ago.

batmagadanleadoff Sep 27 2012 08:36 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Eff Wilpon on RA Dickey in The New Yorker: "He's a thoughtful player, but he's no Cy Young Award caliber pitcher".

seawolf17 Sep 27 2012 08:51 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I know I'm in the minority here, but I definitely, unquestionably find a trade for RA over the winter. There's nobody on this roster who has more value right now.

Frayed Knot Sep 27 2012 08:53 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

seawolf17 wrote: I know I'm in the minority here, but I definitely, unquestionably find a trade for RA over the winter. There's nobody on this roster who has more value right now. Keith was making the case for that a few weeks ago. Not trying to say that it was a 'Had To' move, just one that was likely to fill the most holes elsewhere while not touching the good young players you'd want to keep (Niese, Harvey, etc.)

Edgy MD Sep 27 2012 08:58 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

While very much disagreeing, is it necessarily true that there's nobody who has more value? Dickey on a cheap one-year deal vs., say, control of Matt Harvey or Zach Wheeler for six? I say, if he has so much value, let him keep feeding it to me directly.

metirish Sep 27 2012 08:59 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

seawolf17 wrote: I know I'm in the minority here, but I definitely, unquestionably find a trade for RA over the winter. There's nobody on this roster who has more value right now. I just don't see how you can expect to get prime prospects or ML ready players for a guy his age no matter how good he has been. I think he is more valuable as a Met player than as trade bait, if you are looking to fill holes like in the OF with trades then you would look to trade Harvey or those kids with real value?

Benjamin Grimm Sep 27 2012 09:15 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Dickey's 2013 will be more valuable to another team (a team more likely to contend than the Mets are) than it will be to the Mets. If you trade him, you're selling high. Harvey is more likely to contribute to a contending Mets team, if not in 2014 than in 2016 or 2017. (Let's hope it doesn't take that long.) Even if you can get more for Harvey, and you probably can, he's someone you'll need to replace down the road. Harvey's 2015 is more likely to be better than Dickey's 2015.

seawolf17 Sep 27 2012 09:39 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Dickey's 2013 will be more valuable to another team (a team more likely to contend than the Mets are) than it will be to the Mets. If you trade him, you're selling high. Harvey is more likely to contribute to a contending Mets team, if not in 2014 than in 2016 or 2017. (Let's hope it doesn't take that long.) Even if you can get more for Harvey, and you probably can, he's someone you'll need to replace down the road. Harvey's 2015 is more likely to be better than Dickey's 2015. This.

Edgy MD Sep 27 2012 10:12 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Dickey's 2013 will be more valuable to another team (a team more likely to contend than the Mets are) than it will be to the Mets. If you trade him, you're selling high. Harvey is more likely to contribute to a contending Mets team, if not in 2014 than in 2016 or 2017. (Let's hope it doesn't take that long.) Even if you can get more for Harvey, and you probably can, he's someone you'll need to replace down the road. Harvey's 2015 is more likely to be better than Dickey's 2015. I don't know. If the statement is that there's nobody on the team that has more value right now, it seems ambiguous with regard to future and present value. I'm terribly excited by this coming offseason, and I hope Dickey is a part of it, and I hope the Mets younger pitchers assert themselves to the point where Dickey could continue to be a big part of this team even as he becomes the third or fourth best pitcher in the rotation.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 27 2012 10:16 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I hope he stays too. My point was only that it would be better to trade Dickey than Harvey, even if Dickey brings back less.

batmagadanleadoff Sep 27 2012 10:18 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

If they can finish 20 games out with him, they can finish 20 games out without him.

metirish Sep 27 2012 10:28 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

So, if we go with the idea that there is no more valuable player on the team right now what or who are you wanting when you trade him in a few months? Is there are good catching prospect or starter out there?

Edgy MD Sep 27 2012 10:33 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

With respect to the Branch Rickey paraphrase, I have greater aspirations than finishing 20 games out, and even that modest goal is harder without Dickey. We'll see. Most trade partners are going to have a similar calculus to the relative value of birds in hand and birds in bush, so the scale has to tip meaningfully. If nothing else, Sandy seems to have shown himself to be a conservative trader.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 27 2012 10:37 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

A team with better hopes for 2013 would have a different bird-in-hand/bird-in-bush perspective than a team further away from contention. The Mets, for example, would be foolish to trade a young studly outfielder (if they had one) for a 38-year-old pitcher, even one who was a Cy Young candidate. But a team with a few young studly outfielders that feels like they were a pitcher away from making the 2012 playoffs could very well see things differently.

Edgy MD Sep 27 2012 10:44 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Benjamin Grimm wrote: A team with better hopes for 2013 would have a different bird-in-hand/bird-in-bush perspective than a team further away from contention. In theory, sure. We'll see. They will still drive for the best bargain they can.

Ashie62 Sep 27 2012 02:02 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

How long before R.A. is approached to do a reality show?

Edgy MD Sep 27 2012 02:05 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Baseball is a reality show.

Mets – Willets Point Sep 27 2012 02:06 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Edgy DC wrote: Baseball is a reality show. I was going to say the same thing.

Edgy MD Sep 27 2012 02:09 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

And I hope the Mets approach with an offer to shoot three more seasons.

Ashie62 Sep 27 2012 04:41 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Edgy DC wrote: And I hope the Mets approach with an offer to shoot three more seasons. I fear R.A. has become a financial luxury to these owners at this point and will be dispatched somewhere. Upside? You get Wright for 8 years or so. Its' really kind of sad...

G-Fafif Sep 27 2012 05:54 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

MUST BE 20 OR OVER TO BE ADMITTED 25 Seaver (25-7) 1969 24 Gooden (24-4) 1985 22 Seaver (22-9) 1975 21 Seaver (21-12) 1972 Koosman (21-10) 1976 20 Seaver (20-10) 1971 Cone (20-3) 1988 Viola (20-12) 1990 DICKEY (20-6) 2012 R.A., yes, but fuckin' A as well. Fuckin' A!

Edgy MD Sep 27 2012 09:51 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Ashie62 wrote: Edgy DC wrote: And I hope the Mets approach with an offer to shoot three more seasons. I fear R.A. has become a financial luxury to these owners at this point and will be dispatched somewhere. Upside? You get Wright for 8 years or so. Its' really kind of sad... Prediction archives.

batmagadanleadoff Sep 28 2012 09:11 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Benjamin Grimm Sep 28 2012 09:25 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

ERA: Kershaw 2.68, Dickey 2.69, Cain 2.77, Lohse 2.77, Cueto 2.83. Strikeouts: Dickey 222, Kershaw 211, Hamels 208, Gonzalez 207. Wins: Gonzalez 21, Dickey 20, Cueto 19. Doesn't look like Dickey (unless he does some kind of relief appearance thing) will be able to win Wins outright, but a tie for the lead is very possible. ERA is oh-so-close. Strikeouts looks most promising. (How many more starts does Kershaw have?)

batmagadanleadoff Sep 28 2012 09:35 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Kershaw is slated to start tonight. The Dodgers have six games remaining, so Kershaw can also pitch the Dodgers last game of the season on normal rest. According to some reports though, Kershaw, because of his hip, will be shut down if the Dodgers are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. The Dodgers cannot win their division, but are three games behind the Cards for the last Wild Card play-in slot. Benjamin Grimm wrote: (How many more starts does Kershaw have?) One, maybe two.

themetfairy Sep 28 2012 09:47 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

While they were Takin' Care of Business yesterday, Mike Baxter made sure that R.A. got the game ball -

HahnSolo Sep 28 2012 11:44 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Damn you Robert Johnson, stealing R.A.'s press and what not.

Edgy MD Sep 28 2012 09:15 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Back with the two dollar words. As for his summary of the season, he added: "Life doesn't always agree with your vision for it. Maybe never. Maybe rarely. In this particular year, it has superseded any expectation that I had. I certainly have a big imagination, and I dream big. But I couldn't even dream this narrative up. It's really kind of supernatural for me, and I'm just trying to be in the moment with it and really enjoy it, because I've also been on the other side of the coin. I got picked up off the scrap heap. So I've been there, too. I've been part of the scrap heap, too. That gives me a very unique perspective."

smg58 Oct 10 2012 11:25 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

[url]http://deadspin.com/5947192?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow Worth a read.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 29 2012 12:00 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

R.A. Turkey broke his wing but now gobbles up batters.

Mets – Willets Point Oct 29 2012 12:26 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

So when do they announce the Cy Young awards?

Frayed Knot Oct 29 2012 12:35 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Mets – Willets Point wrote: So when do they announce the Cy Young awards? November 14

Benjamin Grimm Nov 05 2012 11:38 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

NY Mets ace R.A. Dickey's trade value is high, but that doesn't mean club will deal him It is far from certain that the Mets will trade their Cy Young candidate, R.A. Dickey By Andy Martino / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, November 5, 2012, 12:16 AM A dozen or more teams would line up to bid for R.A. Dickey, major league executives say, but there is little consensus among rivals about the ace’s trade value. "I would say 10, 12 teams, maybe more, would be in on him, if the Mets decided to move him," said one American League executive. "It makes sense that they would think about selling high on him," said a National League talent evaluator. "There would obviously be a lot of interest." To be clear: It is far from certain that the Mets will trade their Cy Young candidate. General manager Sandy Alderson has said publicly that Dickey, along with David Wright, is one of the club’s two "core players," worthy of a contract extension. The GM values Dickey’s leadership and production. Alderson is described by associates as genuine in his desire to retain Dickey, but also open to other viewpoints -- and debate about Dickey’s future continues at Citi Field, where there is far more talk about dangling the popular ace than Jon Niese, another pitcher who rivals say would draw significant interest. Before and after exercising Dickey’s $5 million option for 2013 last week, it was natural for club brass to discuss how to maximize his value: Is he worth more to the Mets as a pitcher, or as a trade chip? The team is in desperate need of outfielders and catchers, have an abundance of young pitching, and believe they should deal from depth. While rival executes were united in their view that Dickey would draw significant interest, few were confident in predicting his price. "I’m sure they think they can get a lot," said a National League executive. "But how much is a lot? My question is, would you be able to sign him?" "There is a limit to what I would give up for him on a one-year deal," said an executive with an A.L. team that is rich in outfielders and seeking pitching. "If he’ll agree to an extension, that would be different." One scout raised a smaller concern: The challenge of catching a knuckleball. "What if you don’t have someone on your team who can catch him?" the scout said. "They might have to include (Josh) Thole in a deal." Among scouts and executives, there was greater agreement about Dickey’s ability to remain productive for several seasons. After going 20-6, with a 2.73 earned run average, in 2012, the 38-year-old convinced most outside observers that his performance was not a fluke, but consistent with a three-year pattern of late-career improvement. "I lean towards him being legit," said an A.L. executive. "He probably had a career year (in 2012), but at the very least he will give you quality innings." The situation is complex, and the Mets are weighing many questions, while also engaging Dickey’s agent, Bo McKinnis, in preliminary extension talks. If Dickey wins the Cy Young Award on Nov. 14, will an already-restless fan base accept news shortly thereafter that he has been traded, even if a deal is logical? Do the Mets need Dickey in order to avoid losing 90-plus games next year, when the roster will once again be constructed on a strict budget? Alderson and his cabinet are considering these factors, learning the pitcher’s asking price through discussions with McKinnis, and deciding if the organization is better served by paying Dickey or trading him. "They might have to include (Josh) Thole in a deal." I don't think that will be a major stumbling block.

HahnSolo Nov 05 2012 11:57 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Benjamin Grimm wrote: "They might have to include (Josh) Thole in a deal." I don't think that will be a major stumbling block. To the other team it might be.

Frayed Knot Nov 05 2012 01:50 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I get a kick out of the sub-headline: It is far from certain that the Mets will trade their Cy Young candidate, R.A. Dickey -- something that's repeated later on within the body of the story. As if the on-going general consensus has been that this is something approaching certainty.

smg58 Nov 05 2012 07:31 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

HahnSolo wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: "They might have to include (Josh) Thole in a deal." I don't think that will be a major stumbling block. To the other team it might be. As if Thole catches the knuckleball particularly well. I'd have thought that even an AL scout would know more about Thole than that.

Frayed Knot Nov 05 2012 07:38 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Well, the thing is that he's the only one in the major leagues these days who catches it at all. Hell, half the backstops in MLB have probably never seen one.

G-Fafif Nov 06 2012 05:08 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

PL Robert A, which is to say Players Love Robert Allen Dickey. In perhaps a hint at further hardware to come, Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey took home his first offseason award Monday evening when the MLB Players Association revealed its annual Players Choice Awards. Dickey took home Outstanding Pitcher honors in the National League, as voted by his peers. It's a promising sign for Dickey leading up to the Nov. 14 announcement of the NL Cy Young Award, considering that four of the NL's last five Outstanding Pitchers went on to win the Cy. Dickey submitted his best season ever in 2012, going 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA and 230 strikeouts. At age 37, he led the NL in innings, strikeouts, shutouts and complete games, ranking second in both ERA and wins. Following his final start of the season, Dickey revealed that he had been pitching since April with a torn abdominal muscle, which he had surgically repaired last month. To become the NL's Outstanding Pitcher, Dickey beat out fellow finalists Gio Gonzalez of the Nationals and Johnny Cueto of the Reds, both of whom figure to receive significant Cy Young support. The Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and the Braves' Craig Kimbrel also should factor into the Cy Young vote, which will be revealed next Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET on MLB Network. But the odds-on Cy Young favorite for months has been Dickey, whose story includes a decadelong slog through the Minors, a rebirth with the Mets as a knuckleballer in 2010, a book deal and starring role in a documentary, a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro, a 20-win season and now this: the first of what certainly will be many awards to come. "The award would obviously be nice," Dickey said of the Cy in September. "That would be silly to say that it wouldn't be fantastic. But at the same time, you've got to be able to lay your head on your pillow, whether you've won it or not, and know that you've done your best. And I can do that. "A 20-win season is also very difficult to get, and thankfully we've been able to do that. So at the very least, to be able to say that you were a 20-game winner for the New York Mets? That's pretty significant for me." Adding to his offseason intrigue, Dickey's future with the Mets is currently in flux, with the two sides attempting to negotiate a long-term contract extension -- and bracing for the potential of a blockbuster trade if they cannot reach an agreement. But if either party needed reminder of the knuckleballer's greatness in 2012, the Players Choice Awards on Monday provided it. The MLBPA has presented an array of Players Choice Awards each year since 1992, honoring each league's outstanding player, rookie, pitcher and comeback player, in addition to Player of the Year and Man of the Year awards that span both leagues. Under the supervision of the accounting firm KPMG, players voted on the 2012 awards on Sept. 19. This year's winners in all categories will select charities to receive grants totaling $260,000 from the MLB Players Trust, which raises funds and attention and promotes community involvement for issues affecting the needy. Since 1992, the Trust has recognized the performances of Players Choice winners by contributing more than $3 million to charities around the world. After the award announcement was made on MLB Network, Dickey said he would donate his $20,000 to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. The Players Choice Awards are unrelated to MLB's Cy Young, MVP, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year awards, which select members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America voted on in September. The BBWAA will release the results of those ballots next week.

Vic Sage Nov 06 2012 10:07 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Well, the thing is that he's the only one in the major leagues these days who catches it at all. Hell, half the backstops in MLB have probably never seen one. there's no trick to catching the knuckleball. you wait till it stops rolling and pick it up. - Bob Uecker

MFS62 Nov 11 2012 10:36 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I know, this falls into the blatantly obvious category, but methinks the Mets are waiting to see if he wins the CY, so they can judge his value for an extension/ trade. Reasonable extension if he doesn't and high return trade if he does. Later

Frayed Knot Nov 11 2012 11:35 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

MFS62 wrote: I know, this falls into the blatantly obvious category, but methinks the Mets are waiting to see if he wins the CY, so they can judge his value for an extension/ trade. Reasonable extension if he doesn't and high return trade if he does. I don't think any GM - on either the giving or receiving end of a trade - is going set his giving/asking price on a player based on whether said player finishes 1st or 2nd or 3rd in a CY vote. Dickey's season, his assets, his age, etc., are what they are regardless of how a small and almost random sample from the BBWAA cast their votes.

MFS62 Nov 11 2012 12:01 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

I realize that, but was thinking that a team acquiring a Cy Young winner would be looking to not only improve their team but sell more tickets too. So they might be willing to pay more for that. Later

Ashie62 Nov 11 2012 07:19 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Dickey and Flores for Justin Upton...just do it.

Frayed Knot Nov 11 2012 07:27 PM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

If we trade those two for Kate Upton will we get Verlander thrown in too? I'd do that one in a (skip a) heartbeat.

Edgy MD Nov 12 2012 07:22 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Upton is everybody's favorite flavor of ice cream these days, isn't it?

Frayed Knot Nov 12 2012 08:12 AM Re: RA Deserves His Own Thread

Edgy DC wrote: Upton is everybody's favorite flavor of ice cream these days, isn't it? And why not? Comes in three varieties these days: - one is a 28 y/o FA/CF - one is a 25 y/o under team control for the next three years and reportedly on the trading block - and the other is ridiculously hot