The Greatest Love of All

[Guest Edgy DC]

Learning to love your Self is the greatest love of all.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Between MLB callups, the would-be 771st Met batted .315, fourth in the Pacific Coast League, with 34 doubles, 11 homers, and 81 RBI. His 34 doubles and 81 RBI ranked his third and sixth, respectively.

His last big-league hit was against the Mets, as reported by Bryan Hoch.

[Benjamin Grimm]

771 Mets.

Wow.

We started the 2005 season at 747. That means there have already been 23 new Mets this year, which is probably quite a bit more than usual. (I once figured out how many new Mets there were each season. The thread may survive on ezBoard. The season with the fewest new Mets was 1988, in which only three players debuted. Mackey Sasser was one of them. Offhand I can't recall the other two.)

[Frayed Knot]

The brief bit I picked up off an Astro board about Self was that not only did he not hit in the bigs the way he did in the minors but that he didn't look like the same hitter again in the minors following his ML stint.

Not really sure what role he fills here but maybe they're hoping to catch some lightning and have one more 1st base candidate to throw into the mix for next year.



* Not only 23 new Mets but as many as 16 or 17 of them have played enough to likely make our top-30 cut-off. Not sure what our record is on that front either - obviously all 30 guys in '62 were "new".

[Guest Edgy DC]

Twenty-three new Mets

Pedro pitched on opening day
Randa/Looper broke his heart
Beltran signed, got big bucks
In retrospect it don't look smart

Matthews had a real good spring
Then pitched about as bad as feared
Dae-Sung Koo, you broke the Yanks
Hurt your ass, and disappeared

Marlon needs a better team
With his pinch-hitting acumen
Ishii started way too long be-
Cause he makes so much damn yen

Doug E. Fresh, a second choice
To play first base, was DOA
Cairo took Matsui's job
But hasn't done a thing since May

Manny Aybar entered games
Exited soon after that
Castro had a great big head
Wore a double XL hat

Hernandez was from NYC
Came back and found the font of youth
Jacobs crushed the ball out west
Let's all hope that was the truth

Graves clung to his roster spot
Endured some crap from stupid fans
Padilla was a former Yank
Who looked real smooth in his Ray Bans

DiFelice will be forgot
His kind will always float around
Offerman ran bases wrong
Made me make a shrieking sound

Brian Daubach came back home
Never really got a chance
Takatsu's fastball lost a game
Still he makes his slow pitch dance

Woodward was an extra short
A luxury we didn't need
Ring we got for Alomar
It seems his fastball lost its speed

Of all the Mets who've ever played
Santiago's third-least popular*
Hamulack, not yet on track
To be our lefty bullpen star

Heredia endured too much
He couldn't even feel his hand
Now I myself await Todd Self
Perhaps last of this motley band

* I looked it up. Yesterday's most popular lookup: Ron Swoboda.

[Guest SwitchHitter]

The thing I hate about y'all getting Todd Self is that we got nothing for him. And we DFA'ed him so we could keep Brandon fucking Duckworth. Not everyone believes in Self (obviously) but I do. He's a lefty bat that would probably have come in handy.

[seawolf17]

Perhaps Scott Strickland can learn how to be a power-hitting left-handed first baseman instead.

The Astros need to believe in theirSelf.

[Guest Edgy DC]

You've got to believe in your Self.

But now you believe in my Self, which I appreciate.

My reports said that he was DFA'd to activate Strickland, which is fair and just, since y'all got Strick for nothing when the Mets DFA'd him.

[Centerfield]

I thought David Cone once got in a lot of trouble for loving him Self.

Stories like Self's are always great to hear. The Nats have one too, though I forget his name. I think it should be a rule that if you are below .500, you MUST call up someone from the minors who is:

1. Over 32 years old
2. Never been in the bigs

[Benjamin Grimm]

CPF mini-contest:

What should be the title of Self's autobiography?

Winner receives dinner for one at the Crane Pool Cafe.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Do we have to photoshop a cover?

[Frayed Knot]

Not sure about the autobiography, but one hit wonders 'The Divinyls' penned what should be his wife/girlfriend's theme song a couple years back:

I love my Self
I want you to love me
When I'm feelin' down
I want you above me
I search my Self
I want you to find me
I forget myself
I want you to remind me

I don't want anybody else
When I think about you
I touch my Self
I don't want anybody else
Oh no, oh no, oh no

You're the one who makes me happy honey
You're the sun who makes me shine
When you're around I'm always laughing
I want to make you mine

I close my eyes - And see you before me
Think I would die - If you were to ignore me
A fool could see - Just how much I adore you
I get down on my knees - I'd do anything for you

I don't want anybody else
When I think about you
I touch my Self
I don't want anybody else
Oh no, oh no, oh no

[MFS62]

If he had been dealt to the Marlins, his autobiography could have been titled:
Selffish

Later

[Centerfield]

We should give him away so we'll be looked as Selfless.

[Guest SwitchHitter]

I have nothing against Strickland. But that deadwood Duckworth is the one who should've been DFA'ed, not Self. Duckworth was being used to pitch BP for Jeff Bagwell while he was still on the DL. Anybody could've done that, even me. Scott Strickland could've done that. Now, don't get me wrong, Duckworth is a nice guy--he wrote me back when I wrote him a letter of encouragement when he was sent down to AAA. But, as a pitcher, he flat-out sucks. He couldn't get AAA hitters out. He's only pitched .1 inning since he was recalled and he shouldn't've pitched that. I don't get on many players, really, but this is the exception.

[Guest ABG]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: CPF mini-contest: What should be the title of Self's autobiography? Winner receives dinner for one at the Crane Pool Cafe.

I'm not sure, but it would definitely be Self Titled.

[Guest SwitchHitter]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: CPF mini-contest: What should be the title of Self's autobiography? Winner receives dinner for one at the Crane Pool Cafe.

All by my Self