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Who Screens Marty Noble's Mail

Who asked the silliest question?

Jon H., Sandy Hook, N.J.	0 votes
Jordan R., New York, N.Y.	1 votes
Alex X., Cresskill, N.J.	0 votes
Adam S., Hillsborough, N.J.	0 votes
Marty C., Toms River, N.J.	2 votes
Jacob K., Croton, N.Y.	4 votes
Scot S., New York, N.Y.	0 votes
Robert N., Archbald, Pa.	1 votes

Edgy DC Jul 16 2007 01:56 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 16 2007 02:25 PM

Where do they find some of these folks? How can he stand it? Mailbag: Did Henderson best the Mets? Reporter Marty Noble answers Mets fans' questions By Marty Noble / MLB.com I saw the statistic you wrote about -- that Rickey Henderson had led off the first inning with a home run more times by the time he played with the Mets in 1999 than the Mets had in their history. How can that be true? Rickey had played just 21 years by the time he signed with the Mets, and they were born in 1962. They had all those games -- 17 [years] times 162 [games] before he was a rookie. You can't be right. Where did you get your information? -- Jon H., Sandy Hook, N.J. My information came from the Elias Sports Bureau, the Society for Baseball Research and my own research in 1999. And when Jose Reyes led off the first inning with a home run Thursday, I checked again with Elias. Henderson had, in fact, led off the first inning with a home run 73 times through 1998, and the Mets had done so 72 times. That's what made it an intriguing statistic. If you still doubt it, consider this: You could take Walter Johnson's 417 career victories, add the career victories of all the cup-of-coffee starters who never won a game and not approach Cy Young's 511 victories. When great players are involved, statistics can seem distorted. By the way, the Mets have led off the first inning with a home run 27 times since the beginning of the 1999 season. Henderson was responsible for two of the instances. Think of it -- 27 times in 9 1/2 seasons after 72 times in 37 years. Once Duaner Sanchez comes off the disabled list, I suppose he will be a free agent. The Mets should consider re-signing him to a two- or three-year contract. He is so valuable to their bullpen when he's healthy. With nasty stuff and a blazing fastball, Sanchez should be the prime setup man when he returns, and should be in a Mets uniform for as long as possible. -- Jordan R., New York, N.Y. First, Sanchez won't eligible for agency until after the 2009 season, when he has six years of Major League service. Now, why would the Mets want to offer him anything more than one-season contract, even if they were competing for his services? Sanchez did pitch brilliantly last season. But that was a finite body of work -- 55 1/3 innings in 49 appearances. No guarantee exists that he will be effective when he returns this season or next. And no part of the game is more fickle than short relief. Sanchez has to prove himself all over again, and the episode in Spring Training when he was sent home for not adhering to the workout schedule didn't endear him to manager Willie Randolph. I know this is looking ahead, but what if the Mets moved outfield prospect Fernando Martinez to second base? Then they would have an outfield of Carlos Beltran, Lastings Milledge and Carlos Gomez with an infield of David Wright, Jose Reyes, Martinez and Carlos Delgado. -- Alex X., Cresskill, N.J. I've never quite understood the public's fascination with changing players' positions. It's one thing to develop a shortstop and shift him to second base, but to move an outfielder to second base is a dramatic move with the chance to be traumatic. Not everyone has the Craig Biggio gene and can move all over the diamond. Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Henry Aaron played first base late in their careers. Each was a brilliant athlete, but none of them distinguished himself on the infield. Now that Julio Franco is gone, do you think Ramon Castro may get some time at first base when Delgado needs a rest? The only Met with significant time at first base, other than Delgado, is Shawn Green, but he also bats left-handed and Delgado probably would be resting only against a left-handed starter. Damion Easley probably is the only other option, and he has played 21 games there. However, he plays several positions and can get at-bats from those spots. Castro is the only other right-handed-hitting option. He has never played first, but it seems like if he can pick it up, it would be a good way to get a good hitter more at-bats. What do you think? -- Adam S., Hillsborough, N.J. See the preceding response, and remember what you saw when Mike Piazza played first base. First is not an easier position. With all the speculation about Paul Lo Duca not returning next season and a certain someone rehabbing as a catcher in the Minor Leagues out West, is there any chance the Mets could make a cheap move to get Mike Piazza as a backup catcher and -- for the World Series -- designated hitter? You would think, if Roger Clemens and Julio Franco still played hard into their mid 40s, that Piazza at age 38 still has a chance to show he can play. To have him back at Shea Stadium would be a dream come true for all true Mets fans -- Marty C., Toms River, N.J. So you want the Mets to acquire a player who might serve as a DH for a maximum of four games in October and carry him for 2 1/2 months as a backup catcher with tarnished defensive skills? They have greater issues to address. Because Endy Chavez made that great catch in Game 7 of the NLCS last year, could he go into the Hall of Fame just for that? -- Jacob K., Croton, N.Y. Once he plays 10 seasons in the big leagues, Chavez will be eligible for Hall of Fame consideration. But I suggest he would have to make many more catches and amass many more hits before the ballot-screening committee would think once, much less twice, about him. Now that the Mets have been around for 46 years, why don't they hold an Old Timer's Day like the Yankees? They have had nights like the reunion of '86 team, but no games. -- Scot S., New York, N.Y. They have had games. They weren't as well-received as those with Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford were in the Bronx, and not all players are inclined to show their age. I see the setup relief role as lacking on this team and would like to see the Mets make a move for a more reliable setup man not prone to allowing home runs like Aaron Heilman has been. What are your thoughts? It would allow Joe Smith and Pedro Feliciano to be used more situationally, and the Mets can still bring Guillermo Mota along to see if he can produce effective innings. -- Robert N., Archbald, Pa. Randolph would welcome an upgrade. Mota and Scott Schoeneweis -- more than Heilman -- have not provided what the club had anticipated.

Johnny Dickshot Jul 16 2007 02:02 PM

That's a question you should send in. Alternatively, you can try to write an even dumber question just to see if it makes it in the next edition.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 16 2007 02:15 PM

I was going to comment with my choice for which was the dumbest question, but there are too many to choose from. I have it narrowed down to Jon H.'s question about Rickey Henderson, Jordan R.'s question about Duaner Sanchez, Alex X. on Fernando Martinez, Marty C. on Mike Piazza, and Jacob K. on Endy Chavez. That's five out of eight still remaining in the competition for dumbest question. Obviously I didn't narrow it down a whole lot.

Frayed Knot Jul 16 2007 02:15 PM

Y'see, those are exactly the type of questions I'd pick out ... I'd just be a lot less polite in answering them. And there's a perfect example of what I was talking about concerning Martinez. It's bad enough that this fan wants him to change positions, but I love the fact that he simply assumes being able to start in the big leagues next year isn't even in question.

metirish Jul 16 2007 02:19 PM

I dunno,Endy won't even be in the Mets Hall of Fame...I think Jacob K. was taking the piss outta Marty.

Edgy DC Jul 16 2007 02:22 PM

I'm thinking Jacob K. isn't eating at the big table at Thanksgiving.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 16 2007 02:22 PM

My guess is that Jacob K. is ten years old and wasn't intending to take anybody's urine.

Centerfield Jul 16 2007 02:24 PM

I think Jordan R. is Sanchez's agent. Dear Marty, Since we are about to go into the dog days of summer where players tend to break down a bit, don't you think it would be a good idea if they signed CPF poster Centerfield? He's 32 years old and hasn't played organized baseball since 1991 but he should be pretty fresh with that sort of layoff. He'd be perfect because they wouldn't have to commit to him long-term and he could hold the position until FMart is ready. Jordan R. - New York, New York

Edgy DC Jul 16 2007 02:25 PM

I polarized the thread.

seawolf17 Jul 16 2007 02:28 PM

Um... Marty? ]If you still doubt it, consider this: You could take Walter Johnson's 417 career victories, add the career victories of all the cup-of-coffee starters who never won a game and not approach Cy Young's 511 victories. Are you trying to say that 417+0<511? Congratulations. You can now advance to fifth grade math.

Nymr83 Jul 16 2007 03:29 PM

]See the preceding response, and remember what you saw when Mike Piazza played first base. First is not an easier position. I'd disagree, Castro (and Piazza) may not be capable of playing 1B credibly, but its still an easier position. the number of major leaguers who would not make a fool of themselves at 1B dwarfs the number that would not look foolish catching. i think the dumbest question belongs to Marty C in Toms River, but only because I assumed Jacob K to either be pulling Noble's leg or to be about 7 years old while Marty C meant his dumb question seriously.

SteveJRogers Jul 16 2007 04:10 PM

I saw the statistic you wrote about -- that Al Leiter when he came to the Mets had more no hitters than the Mets had in their history. How can that be true? Leiter had played just 11 years by the time he signed with the Mets, and they were born in 1962. They had all those games -- 27 [years] times 162 [games] before he was a rookie. You can't be right. Where did you get your information? Jon from Sandy Hook just nudges out Jacob, though I'd suspect that Jon might also be around the same age bracket that Yancy thought Jacob was in. I'm also going to assume Jacob has heard one too many arguments that Mazeroski and Fisk are only in Cooperstown because of their respective "one shinning moments" rather than the actual career performances of both players. And believe it or not, in Bill James' book about the HOF he lists various letters to the sports editior that he had seen through the years arguing this player and that player, one actually listed Don Larsen because of the World Series Perfect Game.

Rockin' Doc Jul 16 2007 04:21 PM

A lot of real baseball idiots in that list of questioners. I made no assumptions regarding the age or the seriousness of the fans asking the questions. I was having trouble until I saw Jacob K. of Croton, NY. Those fools make Mets fans look bad.

Edgy DC Jul 16 2007 06:36 PM

Nymr is, of course, right about first base. My guess is that Noble means to say that first isn't necessarily and easier position for a guy who has caught his whole career. Piazza's problems at first were firstly that he wasn't hitting enough compared to firstbasemen (while he still exceeded most catchers offensively), secondly that got hurt. Defensive aptititude was a tertiary issue on my list. I think Adam S.'s suggestion is valid is it's Lo Duca at first once every 10-15 games and Castro behind the dish. I think (or I like to think) Noble didn't phrase his answer to Adam very clearly because he was tired of spelling things out after the first few letters.

Elster88 Jul 16 2007 06:42 PM

What are you guys doing here? Marty's the one at fault. He's the one who picked these questions. He's doing a mailbag for the Mets' official website, of course some morons are going to write in. He could've chosen more intelligent questions to respond to. And if there were no intelligent questions, he could've just NOT done a mailbag.

Elster88 Jul 16 2007 06:44 PM

seawolf17 wrote: Um... Marty? ]If you still doubt it, consider this: You could take Walter Johnson's 417 career victories, add the career victories of all the cup-of-coffee starters who never won a game and not approach Cy Young's 511 victories. Are you trying to say that 417+0<511? Congratulations. You can now advance to fifth grade math. You took it out of context. You have to add the next line to the end: "When great players are involved, statistics can seem distorted" He's trying to say anyone can take stats and distort them. His point was that someone can say "Cy Young had more wins than Walter Johnson and 1,000 other pitchers combined".

Nymr83 Jul 16 2007 06:47 PM

]I think (or I like to think) Noble didn't phrase his answer to Adam very clearly because he was tired of spelling things out after the first few letters. he does get to choose which questions he answers, if these were honestly the best of the lot he should make some letters up!

metirish Jul 16 2007 06:53 PM

="Nymr83"] ] I assumed Jacob K to either be pulling Noble's leg or to be about 7 years old while Marty C meant his dumb question seriously. Pulling his leg? Benjamin Grimm Jul 16 2007 07:16 PM That's American for "taking the piss." Nymr83 Jul 16 2007 07:36 PM i had no idea that expression was not universal in english-speaking countries. Benjamin Grimm Jul 16 2007 07:37 PM We only use Irish idioms around here. metirish Jul 16 2007 07:40 PM Ahh lads,I was taking the piss and pulling yer legs all at the same time.... Nymr83 Jul 16 2007 08:08 PM we've been had!