Let's Get Animal: On Chris Carter

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

A happy preseason and monstrous minor-league numbers lead to a groundswell of public support for his getting roster space/playing time. Pinch-hit go-ahead double in his first AB with the big club jumpstarts wider public support. Productive days spelling a slumpy Jeff Francoeur.

And then there's things like the Marine haircut and insane, nickname-inspiring ST work ethic. And the chugging of energy drink, with accompanying side effects:

Think Carter sounds intense now? Hale was his manager with Triple-A Tuscon in 2006 and said Carter has actually mellowed quite a bit since then. �He was so concerned about everything,� Hale said. �He would stay in the clubhouse for hours, just walking up and down the halls worrying about everything. And it was like, �Hey, relax. Go home. We�re done.� �

And stuff like this tidbit in a beat-reporter color piece nominally focusing on Ike Davis:

Andy 'Swingin' Dirty' Martino wrote: Chris Carter is not at all shruggy. He is rabidly committed to self-improvement. Carter did not know the Mets lineup this afternoon, a few minutes after the clubhouse opened. He asked me for it, and I handed him my Blackberry. "Oh man," Carter said, upon seeing that he was not starting. He quickly brightened. "I'll get better today," he said, before walking away. "I'll be better tomorrow. Get better every day."

Is it just me, or-- assuming at least moderate P/T success going forward-- might we have the makings of a Turk Wendell-sized folk hero/possible future ward of the state here?

[Benjamin Grimm]

The ingredients do seem to be there, don't they?

[Ceetar]

Just a wee bit intense eh?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I sensed there was some concern that The Animal might be, you know, an asshole. I forget where I read it but there was an intimation that he was thought "too intense" to be an effective bench player.

[smg58]

[Guest Swan Swan H]

I dunno...seems too tightly wound for New Yorkers to really warm up to. I think he can hit and I'd like to see him get more ABs, especially in RF against righthanders, but I'm already getting a little tired of the psycho act.

I could visualize a scene in the Sox clubhouse last year where he's doing his thing and Varitek or Lowell or somebody sidles over and says "Lighten up, Francis." Not sure who the big toe on the Mets would be, however.

[Benjamin Grimm]

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Swan Swan H wrote: I dunno...seems too tightly wound for New Yorkers to really warm up to. I think he can hit and I'd like to see him get more ABs, especially in RF against righthanders, but I'm already getting a little tired of the psycho act.

'Cause Lord knows, if there's one thing New York can't abide, it's a tightly-wound neurotic.

Also, isn't it possible that he's actually kinda mentally crazy in the head?

[Guest Swan Swan H]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Swan Swan H wrote: I dunno...seems too tightly wound for New Yorkers to really warm up to. I think he can hit and I'd like to see him get more ABs, especially in RF against righthanders, but I'm already getting a little tired of the psycho act. 'Cause Lord knows, if there's one thing New York can't abide, it's a tightly-wound neurotic. Also, isn't it possible that he's actually kinda mentally crazy in the head?

There's Woody Allen tightly wound neurotic, and there's Travis Bickle tightly wound neurotic.

The best part of his story is that he almost decided to become a doctor. Could you imagine? He is, by all reports, wicked smart and probably would have made the grade easily, but I'd think he would have had about twelve hours sleep TOTAL in his first year as an intern, and would have practiced inserting a catheter in himself eight or ten times a day.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Guess I'd rather have an asshole on the team who smacks the heck out of the ball than a nice guy hitting .170or where GMJ is at these days.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Swan Swan H wrote: The best part of his story is that he almost decided to become a doctor. Could you imagine? He is, by all reports, wicked smart and probably would have made the grade easily, but I'd think he would have had about twelve hours sleep TOTAL in his first year as an intern, and would have practiced inserting a catheter in himself eight or ten times a day.

"These sutures in my outer leg are from practicing before going to bed; these sutures on my thigh are from this morning. And these sutures over here are punishment for messing up the other two sets."

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Nice.

It helps having characters like Carter around, too. Before the game I ran into "the Animal" in the dugout and asked how he was doing. "Doing good," he responded, "but I'll be doing a lot better after we beat these Phillies."

(With hat tip to JCL.)

[MFS62]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Guess I'd rather have an asshole on the team who smacks the heck out of the ball than a nice guy hitting .170or where GMJ is at these days.

What he said.
To carry the doctor thing along a bit, I wouldn't want him to be my Proctologist, constantly striving for the perfect , er, insertion..

Later

[Ceetar]

The guy swings so hard and violently in the on-deck circle I'm afraid he's going to affect the wind patterns.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

AA's Eric Simon points out something annoying: the Animal's apparent "adult-onset Francoeur-itis."

(Tiny sample size, to be sure.)

[Guest Edgy DC]

Well, I attribute that to (1) being jumpy after rotting on the bench day after day, and (2) Rusty Staub's belief in aggressiveness being a better attribute in a pinch-hitter than perhaps in an everyday player.

Everything about his minor-league record suggests he knows what a walk looks like, so hopefully Jerry gives him a chance --- and he gives himself a chance --- to exercise that skill.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Agreed. I'm thinking he gets more relaxed-- or at least, like a properly-counseled hyperactive child, better at channeling said aggression-- once DH week arrives.

[Guest attgig]

Wondering how Jesus will look in his first few AB's. and if either of them will really get any regular playing time.

[MFS62]

I may have missed it, but Feliciano was, after all the speculation, officially purchased from Buffalo.

Good for him..... finally.

Later

[seawolf17]

I want, and I need, and I lust.

[Centerfield]

I want, and I need, and I lust.

Awesome. Now I got that song stuck in my head.

Random thoughts about Def Leppard:

1. They had two songs on that album for which they released basically the same video(Armageddon It and Pour Some Sugar On Me). They were remarkably similar, both had footage of the setup and featured clips from the concert. In fact, they used some of the exact same clips. I don't remember anyone calling them out for this. Really, can anyone mail it in any worse than that?

2. Those videos had glimpses of a concert-goer in one of the front rows. She was blonde, wearing some sort of striped shirt, and for a long time I needed to marry her.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Forty-four seconds in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6652YIBzByk

[soupcan]

Dime a dozen.

[Centerfield]

That's her!

She hasn't aged a day!

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Meh. Looking like a tramp. Like a "video vamp."

Now, that teenager getting her shirt pulled up in the "Home Sweet Home" video? That's a natural beauty.

And don't get me started on the things I'd do to that chick who played drums for Poison. Man, would I make that mascara run.

[Centerfield]

You guys are crazy. You need to see her in this video:

Fast forward to the 4:06 mark where she sings along. Oh yes, sweet one. I will come get it from you.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

You have to look closely, but the difference between those 2 videos is that the drummer is missing his left arm in one, and his right arm in the other. The songs, ripped pants, cutiepie extras, megaoverproduced sounds, etc, is otherwise identical.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Fast-forward through a Def Leppard non-song? What a concept!

[Guest Kong76]

Tell us what you really think of DL, Ronnie ...

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

I think Def Leppard has the highest cowbell ratio of any band that sold more than a hundred records. When I get a fever, I don't put on Blue Oyster Cult.