Jack Zduriencik

[Guest Edgy DC]

In an excellent departure, Brewers Director of Amateur Scouting Jack Zduriencik is this year's Baseball America Executive of the Year. The award historically has gone to either general managers or vice-president-types who wield a GM's power, so he's the equivelent of the becoming the first reliever to win the Cy Young.

It's not hard to see why they broke with tradition and honored him, seeing the Brewers' currently wonderful crop of young players, but another thing working against a scouting director is that it's usually at least a few years before the fruit of his effort is apparent.

Not for nothing, but Zduriencik started his scouting career in the Mets system, scouting and signing what to me looks like mostly disappointing talents: Brian Givens, Keith Miller, Archie Corbin (who?), Terry McDaniel, Anthony Young, Butch Huskey, and D.J. Dozier.

[HahnSolo]

Keith Miller, one of the five (s)crappiest Mets.

[seawolf17]

I remember Corbin. Big black righthanded pitcher; he was a Rochester Red Wing when I was there in 1997.

[Vic Sage]

(s)crappy = feisty, little guys who can't play but run and slide hard, hustle and are very "competitive".

Were backman and dykstra too good to be scrappy?
Then Ron Hunt was probably too good to be scrappy, too.

so, lets see...

who was that utility player from St.Louis we carried for a few seasons? He was definitely scrappy.

I seem to recall a certain amount of scrappiness attached to Tim Bogar and Marco Scutaro.

Bobby Valentine was a scrappy player. So was Billy Almond, as i recall.

Who else?

[Guest themetfairy]

Scrappy + Talent = David Wright

[TransMonk]

Joe McEwing...still one of my all time favs.

[HahnSolo]

Vic Sage wrote: (s)crappy = feisty, little guys who can't play but run and slide hard, hustle and are very "competitive". Were backman and dykstra too good to be scrappy? Then Ron Hunt was probably too good to be scrappy, too. so, lets see... who was that utility player from St.Louis we carried for a few seasons? He was definitely scrappy. I seem to recall a certain amount of scrappiness attached to Tim Bogar and Marco Scutaro. Bobby Valentine was a scrappy player. So was Billy Almond, as i recall. Who else?

I was referring to a piece on SNY, whatever the show Julie Donaldson hosted, where they named the five scrappiest Mets. We discussed it here at teh time:

http://cranepoolforum.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=6991

[Guest Edgy DC]

We're spinning off. Hahn is referenceing this thread.

http://cranepoolforum.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=6991&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

[Vic Sage]

other (s)crappy Mets that come to mind:

Besides good players, like Backman, Dykstra and Hunt, i would include:

Stearns
Harrelson
Wigginton
Foli
Youngblood

And in addition to the utilitity guys like Billy Almon, Joe McEwing and Bobby Valentine, there were other guys, like:

Bob Bailor
Jason Hardtke
Steve Bieser
john Cangelosi
Dave Gallagher
Bill Pecota
Fernando Vina

[MFS62]

Rod Kanehl was scrappy.

Later

[stevejrogers]

="Vic Sage"](s)crappy = feisty, little guys who can't play but run and slide hard, hustle and are very "competitive". Were backman and dykstra too good to be scrappy? Then Ron Hunt was probably too good to be scrappy, too. so, lets see... who was that utility player from St.Louis we carried for a few seasons? He was definitely scrappy. I seem to recall a certain amount of scrappiness attached to Tim Bogar and Marco Scutaro. Bobby Valentine was a scrappy player. So was Billy Almond, as i recall. Who else?

I seem to recall tons of promotional material (programs, yearbooks, videos, ect) extoling the scrappiness of Backman and "...the man they call 'Nails' on the Mets ballclub..." (quote Bob Murphy just before Lenny won Game 3 1986 NLCS)

The Cardinal in question is "Super" Joe McEwing who was the Met who callers on WFAN and 1050 ESPN would call up and say "I LOVE THIS GUY, why don't the Mets play him more, he's the only guy that PLAYS HARD on this team"

And there is the point when it comes to (s)crappy players, and probably why you can't recall the label on Dykstra and Backman. When things are going well for the team, the scrappy card isn't played as much by those who don't follow things closely or are too overeactional to short bursts of "hard nosed" play by bench players.

In a bad season, the "(s)crappy" players get into a game, maybe do something that either helps cause a win or gets the Mets close to a win, that player is elevated in the eyes of that segment of fandom who is sick and tired of seeing the Mets play their "over-paid lazy fat cat" regulars and would prefer seeing the "scrappy" bench guys, even though there is a reason they are bench guys.

[stevejrogers]

Untill the 2000 WS, omiT had the scrappy tag.

After that it was crappy all the way.

Jason Phillips probably belongs on this list.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'd really like youse to use the scrappy thread I scrappily linked to, unless youse want me to split off the scrappy talk. That would be scrappy also.

This is the Zduriencik thread. There is none other.