Twins - A's

[stevejrogers]

They've been using Celebration since the 1981 season if I'm not mistaken

A's win! Old Friend Jay Payton with the final out grab and Oakland is going to the ALCS.

BTW, there's one strike against the "Team that earns spot last weekend of the year usually does better than Team that clinched earlier" idea

[Guest Edgy DC]

SteveJRogers wrote: If the Twins come back to win this game and the series, do you cut Billy Beane loose if you are Oakland?

That's a pretty out-there question. Of course not.

[Valadius]

Ok. Question: Is Frank Thomas a Hall-of-Famer?

I say yes.

[stevejrogers]

Edgy DC wrote: ="SteveJRogers"]If the Twins come back to win this game and the series, do you cut Billy Beane loose if you are Oakland? That's a pretty out-there question. Of course not.

Moot now, but not really.

Would have been the 5th time not getting out of the first round, and not being able to close out the series.

I'd be getting tired if I was Beane's bosses.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'd be feeling as blessed as the day is long. But to each, his own.

[Valadius]

Brad Radke is likely to retire now.

I feel old - I think this is the first player with a relatively long career to retire that I remember their rookie season.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Go A's!

[Guest OlerudOwned]

Valadius wrote: Brad Radke is likely to retire now. I feel old - I think this is the first player with a relatively long career to retire that I remember their rookie season.

He still would've gone longer, but his arm is totally shot. Instead of shutting it down for the year, he pitched with a demolished shoulder to try and help the Twins get over the top.

[Valadius]

Bobby Kielty looks like Carrot Top.

[stevejrogers]

Valadius wrote: Brad Radke is likely to retire now. I feel old - I think this is the first player with a relatively long career to retire that I remember their rookie season.

OUCH! Thanks for making the rest of us feel like Old Timers. Wait till guys you saw their ENTIRE careers start making it into Halls of Fame. (Looking right at YOU BARRY SANDERS! STEVE YOUNG! DAN MARINO!, ECT!)

[Frayed Knot]

Marco Scutaro - Superstar!




OK, maybe not; but, subbing for the injured Bobby Crosby at SS, he's done a nice job down the stretch and just had 4 RBIs including a bases-clearing 2B in the 7th.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Crosby's injured AGAIN?!?!?!?!?

[Frayed Knot]

Crosby's always injured.

Not sure what's up at the moment but he didn't play the entire series.

[MFS62]

The second baseman is out with a broken finger and Scuttaro played short for the injured Crosby. The ESPN announcer (Gary Thorne) said neither may return for the next round.
If Marco's as good as he looked in this series, maybe he can play both positions at the same time.
Incidentally, I liked him when he was a Met. Can't explain it. I just did.

Later

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I remember 2 things about Scooter-o: Very early in his Met caeer, Valentine put him in the outfield in a game against St. Louis and he made an awful play leading to a loss. Afterward, Valentine took a backhanded shot at Phillips/the organization for giving him players without clearly indicating what they could or couldn't do.

The other thing, a year or two later, was his hitting a bases-loaded triple that won the Mets a game.

I don;t think they give out Div Series MVPs but would be hard to keep it from Scutaro.

[stevejrogers]

Johnny Dickshot wrote: I remember 2 things about Scooter-o: Very early in his Met caeer, Valentine put him in the outfield in a game against St. Louis and he made an awful play leading to a loss. Afterward, Valentine took a backhanded shot at Phillips/the organization for giving him players without clearly indicating what they could or couldn't do. The other thing, a year or two later, was his hitting a bases-loaded triple that won the Mets a game. I don;t think they give out Div Series MVPs but would be hard to keep it from Scutaro.

He was also a guy you heard WFAN callers complain about letting go while we suffered through Joe McEwing. I think this was during a brief period when Scutaro was leading the league in hitting.

Surprised his name never came up this year, especially with the year Woodward had.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

SteveJRogers wrote: Surprised his name never came up this year, especially with the year Woodward had.

The season went pretty well. There was little reason to be complaining about backup infielders.

[Frayed Knot]

No there wasn't, plus it's not like Marco was ever anything great while he was a NYM nor - as his .297 & .310 [u:c4473de356]OBAs[/u:c4473de356] over the last two seasons show - would he have been the missing link since. (.350OBA this season after a slow start).
It's just that letting him go while keeping the obviously-already-topped-out McEwing showed the "comfort zone" factor in decision making that the previous administration often used in sticking with the comfy old slipper rather than gamble on a young'un* with at least the possibility of an upside.

* although he was nearly 28 when we let him go and turns 31 in a few weeks

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: ="SteveJRogers"]Surprised his name never came up this year, especially with the year Woodward had. The season went pretty well. There was little reason to be complaining about backup infielders.

Steve needs to hang out with cleonjones11

[stevejrogers]

True, but this is the same city with a MFY Fan mentaility that needs an All Star or HOFer at every starting position, a major league regular in all bench slots, 5 guys in the rotation who could be the # 1 or # 2 starter on 29 other teams, and a bullpen stocked with former All Star closers

And if not its always some former player that they keep "hearing" the name in the updates and they think the guy must be having a decent year as opposed to the flosum and jetsoum on the bench for their Mets or their MFY

[Guest Edgy DC]

Don't speak for the city.

The fact is, when you keep some players, others are going to get away. Including some good ones.

If you pick the right one more often than not, you're doing your job.

Another funny thing is when a guy has a good year in his third year since leaving a team, it's a tragedy for the team that moved him, as if there was no cost to weathering the first two years while burying another Johnnycake Futureboy at Norfolk.

The Mets won 97 games this year. People want to open a vein over Scutaro, walk away, turn the radio off, roll your eyes for all to see.

Just don't listen to sports call-in radio unless it's to augment an acid trip or something.

[stevejrogers]

]Don't speak for the city.

I thought I made it clear that I was mocking that attitude from the show callers. Especially when a Chris Woodward is on our bench.

I heard Yankee fans (hosts as well as callers) actually be giddy about adding a Craig Wilson to the bench in order to "add depth" to the bench. Essentially glutoney for glutoney sake.

]The Mets won 97 games this year. People want to open a vein over Scutaro, walk away, turn the radio off, roll your eyes for all to see. Just don't listen to sports call-in radio unless it's to augment an acid trip or something.

I like mocking the attitude that suggests that since the team has an over 100 mil payroll that they should have an AS at every position, including bench and bullpen. It makes no sense, and the 2006 Yankees are the latest examples (when they end up losing to Detroit of course)

I've heard the pining for Scutaro in the past, I was just surprised not to hear "Hey didn't we have that Scutaro guy? I tell ya Joe, if we had him instead of Woodward...We have a 100 million dollar payroll and our bench has a schulb like Woodward on it?..." calls, or posts on Internet message boards this season, thats the point I was making

[Guest Edgy DC]

They should be ignored, I think. And if it's not there to be ignored, all the better.

[smg58]

I'm happy for Scutaro. I never thought he got a fair chance to show what he could do here, and I thought he was worth more than the $25,000 waiver fee they got in return for him, but I don't think holding on to him would have made a significant difference at any point. He found a place that provided him with opportunities (mostly injury-related) that he most likely wouldn't have gotten here, and he's made the most of them given somewhat limited ability. It's easy to root for guys like that whether they're still here or not.

[Frayed Knot]

Yeah that's been the thing with Scataro.
Oakland merely picked him up to be a fill-in middle-infielder just like he briefly was here; but then as Ellis and Crosby have seemingly taken turns getting injured Marco's gotten hisself over 1,000 ABs in the last 3 seasons.
So as much as he would have been a nice complement to Valentin this year, it's not like you'd have carried him for the last two just to get to that point and it's unlikely that he would have racked up nearly as many reps if he stayed here.

[Valadius]

Beating ourselves up on Scutaro is silly.

[stevejrogers]

Frayed Knot wrote: Yeah that's been the thing with Scataro. Oakland merely picked him up to be a fill-in middle-infielder just like he briefly was here; but then as Ellis and Crosby have seemingly taken turns getting injured Marco's gotten hisself over 1,000 ABs in the last 3 seasons. So as much as he would have been a nice complement to Valentin this year, it's not like you'd have carried him for the last two just to get to that point and it's unlikely that he would have racked up nearly as many reps if he stayed here.

Yuppers. Marco, Super Joe, Woodward, even a Craig Wilson and Miguel Cario are dime a dozen guys you can get off the scrap heap.

About the only thing you could have said was that he would have been Reyes' "caddy" over Danny Garcia in 2004, and certaintly not a position that would have had staying power, except maybe filling out a Minor League roster