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Memories of Rauch

Edgy MD Feb 05 2013 03:24 PM

Signed away by the otherwise downsizing Marlins. Just a touch disappointed that we never saw him absolutely lose it on the mound. Umpires running for cover, teammates hopping on his back, getting tossed off like whimpering chihuahuas. It would be terrifying theater.

Edgy MD Feb 05 2013 03:30 PM Re: Memories of Rauch

Rauch's Tatts: A Photo Essay

themetfairy Feb 05 2013 03:32 PM Re: Memories of Rauch

When I think of Jon Rauch I think of a tall guy with a hideous neck tattoo who wasn't as reliable as he should have been.

themetfairy Feb 05 2013 03:42 PM Re: Memories of Rauch

Didn't he once get a tattoo on a day that he couldn't pitch because he was injured?

G-Fafif Feb 05 2013 04:13 PM Re: Memories of Rauch

Aggressively passive-aggressive on Twitter after idiots would wish him doom following losses. I guess I can stop following. Lost a Subway Series game. Nearly blew Dickey's 19th and 20th wins. Probably sliced up Valdespin's t-shirt.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 05 2013 04:28 PM Re: Memories of Rauch

I think one of those tats was for "Best Neck" at the Oklahoma City Film Festival (nominated, but didn't win). Looks like a clown. Not a bad season on paper, but crappy first half cost us the chance to unload him for something useful. I've forgotten what, but did something around June that inspired me to call for his immediate release, something I don't often do, so he must have made me mad.

Edgy MD Feb 05 2013 04:53 PM Re: Memories of Rauch

themetfairy wrote: Didn't he once get a tattoo on a day that he couldn't pitch because he was injured? Yeah, this baby.

Edgy MD Feb 05 2013 04:58 PM Re: Memories of Rauch

You Make the Call.

Valadius Feb 05 2013 07:26 PM Re: Memories of Rauch

Well, he was finally a Met. Now he isn't. That is all.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 05 2013 07:29 PM Re: Memories of Rauch

Edgy MD wrote: You Make the Call. Quite the cockeyed optimist, I was.

Edgy MD Feb 05 2013 10:46 PM Re: Memories of Rauch

What I find interesting is that within Lunchbucket's perfectly reasonable full-season guess for the guy was 66 games and 74 innings. While much of his guesses proved otherwise close to the money, we sort of got the inverse ratio of games and innings: 73 games and 57 2/3 innings pitched. We were hoping for a setup guy and got a ROOGy specialist instead. Terry had to pick his spots carefully to keep him effective. And that sort of late-game engineering always catches up with a fella.

dinosaur jesus Feb 06 2013 12:46 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

Tats not quite so visible in this one.

Frayed Knot Feb 06 2013 06:17 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

What I find interesting is that within Lunchbucket's perfectly reasonable full-season guess for the guy was 66 games and 74 innings. While much of his guesses proved otherwise close to the money, we sort of got the inverse ratio of games and innings: 73 games and 57 2/3 innings pitched. We were hoping for a setup guy and got a ROOGy specialist instead. Terry had to pick his spots carefully to keep him effective. And that sort of late-game engineering always catches up with a fella. Of all the complaints about Terry misusing the pen* the one I thought most apt was his use of Rauch in the 2nd half last season. If not the best reliever out there he seemed to be the most reliable and consistent during the later months and yet often wasn't trusted with a 2nd or 3rd batter after he retired the one(s) he was brought in to face much less get rewarded with a 2nd inning. Maybe there was a "tightness" or some similar injury-ish issue that we never heard about which put them in the situation where they felt they had to take it easy on the 6'11"/280-lb guy (which might also explain the reluctance to apparently even consider re-signing him) but it just smelled more like a lack of trust than anything else and I'm not sure why the leash was shorter on him compared to the rest of the crew. * although let's face it folks, ask any fan of any team what he doesn't like about his manager and the 1st or 2nd answer in each case is going to be that the guy doesn't know how to manage the pen

Ceetar Feb 06 2013 06:22 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

Did pretty well in my eyes. I don't think he was untrusted necessarily. Although his pitch to contact style did lead itself to the occasional problem. Mets are significantly shorter this year.

Lefty Specialist Feb 06 2013 08:51 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

Useful in that he was an object lesson to my son that a lot of tattoos look stupid.

seawolf17 Feb 06 2013 08:55 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

9/7/2001?

Edgy MD Feb 06 2013 09:03 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

Yeah, I was guessing that it was the date of his debut, but that wasn't until April 2002. His marriage date? Something 9/11 connected?

batmagadanleadoff Feb 06 2013 09:08 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

I'd like for Rauch, Chris Young and Eric Hillman to stand back to back to back so I can measure them to determine who is really the tallest Met ever. Because I doubt that they're all precisely 6'10" tall. Did you ever buy a shoe that doesn't fit? And did you have to wear that shoe for more than a day to figure out that the shoe doesn't fit? Thus putting enough wear and tear on the shoe to render it unreturnable? Because who says everyone's foot measures out in precise half inch increments? What if your shoe size is exactly 10 and five eights inches? Or ten and three quarter inches?

Edgy MD Feb 06 2013 09:12 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

Your point is obviously correct, but Rauch's official height is 6'11". So until you can do your measurin', Rauch is officially the guy.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 06 2013 09:13 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

Can't imagine a human being larger than Rauch. Seeing him up close is frightening.

G-Fafif Feb 06 2013 09:13 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

Pelfrey = Shorty.

batmagadanleadoff Feb 06 2013 09:14 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

Edgy MD wrote: Your point is obviously correct, but Rauch's official height is 6'11". So until you can do your measurin', Rauch is officially the guy. I coulda sworn he was listed at 6'10". Musta grown an inch on our watch.

seawolf17 Feb 06 2013 09:14 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Can't imagine a human being larger than Rauch. Seeing him up close is frightening. Saw Andre The Giant from like the sixth row at Nassau Coliseum when I was a kid. Enormous didn't even begin to describe him, especially as a pre-teen.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 06 2013 09:27 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

Good point. But Rauch was bigger than Big John Studd.

Edgy MD Feb 06 2013 09:49 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

I'll always remember Rauch as the last surviving member of mid-nineties Nats penned filled with cartoonish stereotypes of relief pitchers. They had the trashy Southern monstrous mook guy in Rauch, the fat-everywhere-on-his-body-but-still-has-a-heater guy in Floyd King, and the crafty-guy-with-a-hopeless-long-hair-and-mustache-combination guy in Gary Majewski. Hector Carrasco was with them for a year but refused on principal to play the role of the Dominican-hothead guy.

seawolf17 Feb 06 2013 09:54 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

Edgy MD wrote: They had the trashy Southern monstrous mook guy in Rauch, the fat-everywhere-on-his-body-but-still-has-a-heater guy in Floyd King Ray King?

Edgy MD Feb 06 2013 10:02 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

Ray King indeed. Who the hell is Floyd King? What am I talking about?

Edgy MD Feb 06 2013 10:06 AM Re: Memories of Rauch

Ah, yes, Floyd King was a flamboyant Shakespearean actor popular in DC around the same time Ray was coming out of the RFK pen for the Nats. I conflate. You can understand my confusion.