Tracksuit

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Boy, Twitter people are sensitive. Tracky today posted a funny take on the Reyes situation:

SurfingTheMets Andy Martino Future Yankee Jose Reyes won't rule out talking extension in-season, but sure sounds interested in trying free agency. 1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Now there's a movement to "unfollow" Tracky because he "hates the Mets."

Lighten up people. You don't want a fan telling you what's happening.

[Ceetar]

I asked him an Ollie question. haha!

I don't have a problem with the guy. He at least seems somewhat flexible in that he's willing to accept things might be different than he writes or guesses. I have unfollowed a lot of the others, Rubin, Lennon, etc.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Rubin? Whyever?

[Ceetar]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Rubin? Whyever?

Because his annoying habit to twist everything into a negative and sarcastic point of view, particularly on Twitter, overrided any value I got from him occasionally tweeting/writing interesting things that some of the others guys don't.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Really?

Dude, they're all getting snarkier. Frankly, Rubin's the best, hardest-working reporter of the bunch, though.

[metirish]

Tracksuit has a live chat NOW

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/2011/02/live-chat-wednesday-2-pm


in his speedos





agree on Rubin

[Ceetar]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Really? Dude, they're all getting snarkier. Frankly, Rubin's the best, hardest-working reporter of the bunch, though.

He went over the top to me. a couple of times. And it wasn't worth it for me, it was just angering me to read his tweets.

Besides, people feel the need to retweet him for the really good stuff anyway. I'm better off this way, I read the stuff that people recommend, and I avoid his annoying baiting interviews where he tries to get David Wright to say he wishes he wasn't a Met.

[metirish]

[Comment From CoreyNYC] Why do you seemingly hate the Mets, their fans, and the entire organization? 2:12 Hmm. There are a lot of smart-alecky answers running through my head, but I'll give sincerity a shot here. It is strange that a reader would think any beat writer loves or hates the organization he or she covers. We don't care. My outlook on the Mets is SO different from yours. I quite like covering the Mets; I find them interesting. Don't really care if they win or lose, though. 2:13 It's also funny that everyone in Philly thinks I'm a Mets fan. Just proves the fallacy of assuming a beat writer has any particular allegience.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

"Tracky" is going to bat for Tracky, we'll see what happens.

[metirish]

Apologies if you linked to the chat Bucket , at work I often don't see links in threads.

[G-Fafif]

It wasn't so much about snark than incidental Twitter groupthink that my blog partner wrote about in one of his other gigs.

Reporters racing to post the lineup first are wasting their time for a couple of reasons. Not so long ago, �first� meant your competitors had to endure an agonizing day in which you had an exclusive. But the window of exclusivity has gone from a day in print to minutes on the web and seconds on Twitter and Facebook. More fundamentally, reporters playing by these rules are behaving like we still live in what I call The Or World � the vanished era in which I�d pause at the newsstand, scrutinize two front pages and buy one paper or the other. Today we live in The And World, in which I inhale all the news that interests me from as many sources as I want. [...] When it comes to basic information everybody�s going to have, all I care about is that it gets to me. Which individual source put that information into the combined news flow? The question is so unimportant that I�m unlikely to remember the answer five minutes later. Maybe not even five seconds later.

When I think of the beat writers and Twitter, I think of the Sunday in L.A. last July when Anson Williams sang the national anthem and every damn one of them Tweeted the same Potsie reference at the same time. That's when I most severely questioned the value of following more than one of them.

But if I had to follow just one, it would be Rubin, probably. He's on top of everything and he doesn't annoy me in the process.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

No I didn't so thanks.

[Ceetar]

G-Fafif wrote: It wasn't so much about snark than incidental Twitter groupthink that my blog partner wrote about in one of his other gigs. Reporters racing to post the lineup first are wasting their time for a couple of reasons. Not so long ago, �first� meant your competitors had to endure an agonizing day in which you had an exclusive. But the window of exclusivity has gone from a day in print to minutes on the web and seconds on Twitter and Facebook. More fundamentally, reporters playing by these rules are behaving like we still live in what I call The Or World � the vanished era in which I�d pause at the newsstand, scrutinize two front pages and buy one paper or the other. Today we live in The And World, in which I inhale all the news that interests me from as many sources as I want. [...] When it comes to basic information everybody�s going to have, all I care about is that it gets to me. Which individual source put that information into the combined news flow? The question is so unimportant that I�m unlikely to remember the answer five minutes later. Maybe not even five seconds later. When I think of the beat writers and Twitter, I think of the Sunday in L.A. last July when Anson Williams sang the national anthem and every damn one of them Tweeted the same Potsie reference at the same time. That's when I most severely questioned the value of following more than one of them. But if I had to follow just one, it would be Rubin, probably. He's on top of everything and he doesn't annoy me in the process.

Follow the one that realizes the Mets themselves have been tweeting the lineup for about 100 games so far, and stops doing it themselves.

[Frayed Knot]

It wasn't so much about snark than incidental Twitter groupthink that my blog partner wrote about in one of his other gigs. Reporters racing to post the lineup first are wasting their time for a couple of reasons. Not so long ago, �first� meant your competitors had to endure an agonizing day in which you had an exclusive. But the window of exclusivity has gone from a day in print to minutes on the web and seconds on Twitter and Facebook. More fundamentally, reporters playing by these rules are behaving like we still live in what I call The Or World � the vanished era in which I�d pause at the newsstand, scrutinize two front pages and buy one paper or the other. Today we live in The And World, in which I inhale all the news that interests me from as many sources as I want. [...] When it comes to basic information everybody�s going to have, all I care about is that it gets to me. Which individual source put that information into the combined news flow? The question is so unimportant that I�m unlikely to remember the answer five minutes later. Maybe not even five seconds later. When I think of the beat writers and Twitter, I think of the Sunday in L.A. last July when Anson Williams sang the national anthem and every damn one of them Tweeted the same Potsie reference at the same time. That's when I most severely questioned the value of following more than one of them. But if I had to follow just one, it would be Rubin, probably. He's on top of everything and he doesn't annoy me in the process.

[thread hijack] I used to get a kick out of the times one of the networks would brag about calling the election or a particular state within an election at 9:32 while the competition didn't do so until 9:37 or whatever, as if that represented some sort of huge gap in journalistic excellence.
Of course Florida in 2000 made them not so quick to go that route anymore.

OK, back to tracksuit.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Cary Garter just asked a question about Frankie the Closer's choice in automobiles.

OE: And kinda got bitched out for it. Excuuuuse me, Mr. Semi-Welcher.

[metirish]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Cary Garter just asked a question about Frankie the Closer's choice in automobiles. OE: And kinda got bitched out for it. Excuuuuse me, Mr. Semi-Welcher.

that was too funny....I bet he gets a ride back to the hotel with Frankie.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

He seems pretty easygoing, as far as beat guys go; it makes him plenty likable on the page (paper or electronic).

What makes him a frustrating read sometimes is that he:

(A) doesn't seem to have quite the depth or number of reliable sources as some of the others who've been doing this beat longer

( doesn't REALLY make up for the lack of source-driven material with great insight/understanding of the game, or the backroom dynamic... at least not in the writing.

So, while "Thank you sir, may I have another" in response to an ad-hominem attack may make you smile briefly, it's not THAT funny or entertaining. More importantly, it's countervailed by this sort of exchange:

3:08 [Comment from Bill] Asside from Batting .500 in August of '08; batting .130 in September of '08 and leading the Mets with a "whopping" 12 home runs in '09, what's so great about Murphy?! Mattingly he ain't! 3:10 Agreed. Some fans tend to get overly bullish about "prospects," before they get overly down on them later. It's all about expectations vs. information. Both have the potential to cause overreactions.

Not "positional scarcity," or "second basemen don't hit so well," or any version of the concept that Murphy's bat-- even in 2009-- would have been far better than anything they put there the last two years.
He tends to give similar answers when asked about Citi "ruining" hitters or "making" pitchers. It's depressing... for all the guys out there who can write, and break down the game on the field and off-field in a more penetrating way... this is the professional's take? (And a young one at that.)

(And "Mattingly?" Are you f*ckin' kidding me? Geddouddaherewiddat!)

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Agreed with the above remark, Tracky is still new to the beat and has a ways to go.

My main point was this idea that there are fans who feel the news would be somehow better if they got it from a "fan." And that twittering fans ought to speak for themselves.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Then we'd see a whole lot of "They have to sign Pujols! They have to sign Sabathia" stories. (This is the kind of stuff I often see in the Google news feed when I search on "Mets" usually posted by some idiot blogger.*



*I'm not implying that all bloggers are idiots, so please, bloggers who read this, don't be offended. But sometimes I think that perhaps the reverse is true, that all idiots are bloggers.

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Agreed with the above remark, Tracky is still new to the beat and has a ways to go. My main point was this idea that there are fans who feel the news would be somehow better if they got it from a "fan." And that twittering fans ought to speak for themselves.

I'd rather the news news from a unbiased source like a beat writer. who's signing ,who's throwing, health updates, maybe even specific in-game questions of players. (I'm positive, presented with the opportunity, _I_ don't have a ton of interest in walking up to Carlos Beltran and asking him what his thought process was in a given at bat)

But I do think I'd prefer to read Amazin Avenue's evaluation of Daniel Murphy, even if I disagree, than Andy Martino's.

And while anyone can blog, and show up in a "Mets" search, you do build a repoire. I find some idiot blogger calling for Pujols, I don't read it and don't follow that person on Twitter and generally treat it the same way I do the paper copy of the newspaper. But if I read a well thought out argument from Faith and Fear in Flushing about the merits of Bobby Parnell, I usually find that more compelling than what's written by Adam Rubin.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Ceetar wrote: But I do think I'd prefer to read Amazin Avenue's evaluation of Daniel Murphy, even if I disagree, than Andy Martino's.

AA is my first, second and third spot for incisive, fact-based Met-related analysis.

It also makes me feel like Methusaleh-- the average age over there seems to be a superbright 20-22.

[Ceetar]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Ceetar wrote: But I do think I'd prefer to read Amazin Avenue's evaluation of Daniel Murphy, even if I disagree, than Andy Martino's. AA is my first, second and third spot for incisive, fact-based Met-related analysis. It also makes me feel like Methusaleh-- the average age over there seems to be a superbright 20-22.

I've met Eric Simon ..and I think James.. something or other. they're both older than me (which apparently isn't saying much for Mets bloggers) Don't know much about the commenters, but it does have that brainiac vibe.

[Frayed Knot]

The Mattingly comments are no doubt a response to numerous Met fans who, in late-'08/early-'09, were flooding WFAN with "Murphy is the next Mattingly" calls. That may have been Martino's first impression of what NYM fans thought of Muffy. The front office was playing him up pretty big in those days too.

[Ceetar]

Frayed Knot wrote: The Mattingly comments are no doubt a response to numerous Met fans who, in late-'08/early-'09, were flooding WFAN with "Murphy is the next Mattingly" calls. That may have been Martino's first impression of what NYM fans thought of Muffy. The front office was playing him up pretty big in those days too.

It was a commenter that mentioned Mattingly actually.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Well, not that I'm riding that train, but Mattingly's 1983 line

.283 / .333 / .409 // .742 // 107 OPS+

isn't so out of reach of Murphy's 2009.

.266 / .313 / .427 // .741 // 96

Especially since Murphy played 75 more games.

It was the next year Mattingly took off, a year Murphy was denied, but frankly, Mattingly ain't the standard for shit.

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: Well, not that I'm riding that train, but Mattingly's 1983 line .283 / .333 / .409 // .742 // 107 OPS+ isn't so out of reach of Murphy's 2009. .266 / .313 / .427 // .741 // 96 Especially since Murphy played 75 more games. It was the next year Mattingly took off, a year Murphy was denied, but frankly, Mattingly ain't the standard for shit.

I think that's what sparked the orginal comparison. Merely that Donny didn't burst onto the scene or anything.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Well remember this was in a limited time chat. Tracky was obviously responding to the "question" of whether Muffy was all he was cracked up to be and not asked to make a comparison with Donny F. Baseball.

First manager fired in 2011?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Pretty crazy roller skate K-Rod is riding on.

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: Pretty crazy roller skate K-Rod is riding on.

This was actually last Spring's story. He got it delivered there like a week before the season started, which just seemed silly to me. So that means it's probably a 2010.

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Well remember this was in a limited time chat. Tracky was obviously responding to the "question" of whether Muffy was all he was cracked up to be and not asked to make a comparison with Donny F. Baseball. First manager fired in 2011?

Charlie Manuel.