Doug Mientkiewicz?

[Guest Edgy DC]

For my Edgy birthday, my parents --- in a gift somewhat less inspired, though somewhat less labor intensive, than last year's collection of Mets pins --- bought me some fine casual-wear clothing, and a Mets Monopoly game, something appreciated, though I certainly wouldn't buy it myself.

For the expensive deep blue properties, they predictably have Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza. Piazza isn't our number two, but whatever, he's got a storng case.

Then for the deep green properties, (Pacific Avenue, North Carolina Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue), they go not for established great assets of Met history that have brought historic returns, but rather with with three guys they hoped for big contributions for last year --- Carlos Beltran, Kaz Matsui, and Doug Mientkiewicz.

Holy wishful thinking, Batman!

Now, putting aside how silly it was to produce the game based on projected values and not actual values, obviously the Mets have great hopes for Carlos Beltran having a long and productive career with the team. Perhaps, at the the beginning of last year, he had a 50/50 chance of becoming a top-ten all-time Met. Kaz Matsui, while hoping he could turn things around and stay healthy going into 2005, had perhaps a 50/50 chance of becoming a top-50 all-time Met. But Doug Mientkiewicz was, by all reasoinable expectations, a placeholder --- the bitter consolation prize in the pursuit of Carlos Delgado. Maybe he had a 15-20% chance of cracking the top 100, and here the speculators have him, forever immortalized as one of the top five Mets.

Apparently, the target audience for the game was nine-year-olds, for whom the current crop of Mets loom disporoportionately large, as well as my parents, who've long since stopped looking closely and critically at things containing Mientkiewiczes.

On a related note, here's a fine brief essay excerpt on the powerful asset that is North Carolina Avenue.

http://www.ugo.com/channels/games/features/eleven/monopolyproperties/images/m17.gifhttp://www.ugo.com/channels/games/features/eleven/monopolyproperties/images/space.gifhttp://www.ugo.com/channels/games/features/eleven/monopolyproperties/images/m18.gif

#3 - NORTH CAROLINA AVENUE

Much like Park Place, North Carolina Avenue takes its victims by surprise and chucks them around the room until they're completely out of play money and completely devoid of a desire to go on living. Everyone knows to avoid the green properties when they're owned by another player, but it's something we often forget, as we're actually

approaching

them on the board. There are a few things to consider, here. First, when you're in around the red area, you're going to be more concerned with skipping past that "Go To Jail" space. And when you're

really

close -- in the yellows -- you've already established a massive fear of those hotel-engulfled royal blues. People constantly overlook the greens, but make no mistake: They'll kill ya every time.

North Carolina Avenue is the best of the three, since it's placed directly before the lifesaving "Community Chest" square --- your opponents will grow a sense of false hope before falling into your jade trap. With a hotel, North Carolina Avenue demands 1,275 bucks for accidental renters. 1,275 bucks buys a lot of railroads, you know.

I think I'll re-tool the game to reflect the actual top Met assets. Or maybe distributed them proportionately, so Baltic and Mediterranean are circa-500 guys like Larry Miler and Kelvin Torve.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Was Pedro Martinez on the game board? If anything, he should have been in Beltran's neighborhood instead of Mientkiewicz.

[Frayed Knot]

Somebody in my family (probably Dad) has/had a book on Monopoly which took a very Sabermetric-like approach at analyzing which were the best properties to own from a cost/benefit standpoint.

I forget most of theie conclusions although I seem to remember that the Orange props were up there based in part on the fact that a lot of peeps wind up landing there after being sprung from the pokey. Railroads & Utils were also a good buy IIRC.

[Guest sharpie]

Kentucky Avenue is the most landed-on space on the board I read somewhere. One of the reasons is that tricky "go back 3 spaces" Chance card.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Pedro is among the bright purples, shortly after jail.

Which may be where he'll eventually belong, relative to the great Mets, but not relative to Kazuo Matsui and Doug Mientkiewicz.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

IIRC, the most frequently landed on squares (not in order):

Kentucky Ave or Indiana Ave.? (it was one of the reds ... is there a card directing one to one of those squares... there is also the 'Go back 3 squares' card that lands you on a red property. Been a long time since I played).
Go (two cards)
Broadway (card)
Railroads (Short Line being least frequent of them).

[Willets Point]

When I was a kid, I read a book like the one Frayed Knot describes in a desperate attempt to finally beat my big sister. Of course by the time I learned all the secrets of victory she was no longer interested in playing games with me. Railroads, Oranges, Light Blues, and Reds are best both on cost/benefit of investment and the likelihood other players landing on them. The dark greens actually require a huge investment with disproportionately low returns. There's also little benefit in building hotels, just stop at three houses except on the Light Blues. No one believes it but if you get hotels on Oriental, Vermont and Connecticut it is a killer. It doesn't have the one-time wallop of PP and Boardwalk but your opponents will land on one of them every time around the board and be slowly sucked dry.

[metsmarathon]

"broadway"???

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

d'oh, meant Boardwalk

also, see Sharpie beat me.

I must go back 3 spaces

[Guest Edgy DC]

I think it's Illinois that's the reddest red, because of a card sending you there and a "Go Back Three" that gets you there at other times. It's the most landed on property. Some sources suggest it gets twice as much traffic as Park Place.

[Willets Point]

This thread proves that Monopoly is more fun to discuss than Mientkiewicz. Also easier to spell.

[Guest vtmet]

This has nothing to do with Monopoly Mets, but it does have to do with Dougie M....:

I was reading SI the other day at the dentist office...they had a Fantasy Baseball preview and for some unknown reason, they talked to/about Dougie M... in the article (didn't really dig too deep into the article, limited time & limited interest in Dougie), Dougie did one of his quotables, where he tells about friends trying to impress him by telling him "Doug, I picked you in my Fantasy draft"...and Dougie responded with "You're an Idiot...I have no fantasy value"

[Zvon]

This is interesting.
I also got this as a gift, but back in 2001.
And its different.

Boardwalk = Shea Stadium
Park Place = Tom Seaver

Pennsylvania Ave = Mike Piazza
North Carolina Ave = Robin Ventura
Pacific Ave = Edgardo Alfonzo

The yellows are all managers,
Valentine, Hodges and Stengel

Baltic Ave = Mr Met
Mediteranean Ave = The Home Run Apple

I didnt know they changed the boards like that.
Thats kinda kool.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Kinda cool, cept they did it all wrong.

Clearly the green is the "Current Guys Row."

Shea has been downgraded seriously, sharing the two cheap properties with the Apple.

[Zvon]

Edgy DC wrote: Kinda cool, cept they did it all wrong. Clearly the green is the "Current Guys Row." Shea has been downgraded seriously, sharing the two cheap properties with the Apple.

that aint rite. >

Does it have a section of properties covering post season?
The oranges on this one are 69,86,2000 (no 73 or 99, 2 classic playoff series )