Tropical Depression Sandy

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I typed notes as he talked. Francessa asked about 12 questions about how devastated he is about Harvey and only 1 on Collins -- which he interrupted the answer to. Answers not verbatim but gist, I left some stuff out resulting mainly from Mike interrupting and leading conversation astray.

Reiterated several times he will have $$ to spend next year but may have to spend some on a vet pitcher to fill in for Harvey. Did not appear sold on Young, or Ike. Or Collins, necessarily. He didn't get to it since he got interrupted, but I think he was trying to say the team needs to play hard till the end for him to have a shot.

How much does Hovvey news impact planning?
--it has an impact but not as sig as some people believe in terms of planning
He�s a top rotation guy.

I wasn't planning to spend a lot of $ on starting P but we will probly look for additional vet presence in starting ro. In terms of overall impact, psychologically was big and will affect on field but we have to absorb it accept it and move on.

When a decision on surgery?
We will make decision within week or two weeks. If not, ongoing proposition because of possibility of a setback during rehab. Decision by end of Sept after consult with team docts and Jim Andrews, then a joint discussion. Ultimately he has most of the control he decides what�s in his best interest, all we can do is advise.

Fan feels there was starting to be optimism that they are putting something together, now feel they can�t contend. Does it take a step back?

I go back to mid-June. We hadn�t been playing well, had demoted tejada and Davis, and the response from fan and media was that the plan�s off track. There was doom and gloom. But 1-1.5 months later, young guys have arrived and there was an entirely different mindset. Now Harvey injury. Negative things will happen from time to time, it doesn�t mean the plan is a bunch of baloney. These things happen and we have to be able to acommodate on the field. They are setbacks but they don�t have to be terminal.

...
Byrd deal?
Byrd deal we looked at trade deadline and didn�t like what we�d been offered. We were fortunate the 2nd time around, [because] when you�re subject to waiver claim there's only one team. Was more than we could have gotten at end of July: A good solid prospect and someone who could help us in bullpen immediately.

Can you make fair assessments of Ike and Tejada, Duda?
I actually think the injury to Ike may make it easier because its gonna give duda more playing time.

Ike � some positive since came back: Batting average fine, obp very positive. Has he given up power to get BA up? My hope was getting more selective and tentative at plate would lead to power coming back so I believe signs he was headed in right direction.

Duda when he went down had 2nd highest ops on team. Not that he was necessarily the middle of the order guy we'd all like him to be. Proved he can hit LHP better than Ike in the past.

Tejada in doghouse?
Not the case, played very well recently. One of the problems is like pulling teeth. Extra batting practice doesn�t happen unless someone is insisting on it and it doesn�t happen. He was given a regular position at an early age but now needs a chance to earn it. We could have him back by now but given Vegas in playoffs, decided to leave him there. We�ll see Ruben in a week or so.

Young? In plans for next year?
That�s fair to say. He has given us something we hadn�t had before, decent job getting on, better d in LF than we'd had. Whether he�s an everyday guy may depend on what else we come up with and how we project him hitting RH and LH. Ideally we�d like more power in that spot but he�s in our top 5

Lagares in plans?
Have to think so. So accomplished defensively and improving offeenisvely. He was frustrating at first because he chansed so many pitches now he's chasing fewer pitches. Defensive ability so critical to how we�ve played over past months.

Is there young pitching you will accelerate because of Hovvey?
Were it not for the injury Harvey, Wheeler, Neise Gee top 4 and Montero, DeGrom, Syndergaard� we felt we had the depth that could get us to 8 or 9 starting pitchers during the next year. Now we�re down 1, but we're down 1 at the top, and have to get someone else for the rotation and hope degrom or Montero can make the club from spring training.

Terry Collins?
We�ve seen everything but the finish. The finish is not going to difficult to access but will require a different kind of assessment. Every 5th day could be ugly. But with Niese, Gee the team as made up now, is fun to watch. I look forward to seeing EY, d'arnaud, Lagares, a lot of fun and interesting things to watch.

The one thing we can�t afford going into the future is a period of one or two months of assessment. It took 2 months to get bullpen, outfield right this year but we can�t do that next year. But I�m happy we�ve played since the middle of June. But we have to be better from the get go and accelerate from there. The difference this year was momentum and excitement from new r players debuting in season. And unless we don�t show up in the next three weeks�

The other story is that the minor league system has done well, not only winning leagues but the players continued to improve...

Terry's fate to be decided when?
It�s very possibile we will hold to end of season, partly because we said that's what we were gonna do and I see no reason to vary from that.

50th question about Matt Hovvey
They sky has not fallen. I think we can contend without him if we make the right decisions and improve in other areas. It will not become easier but I do think we can improve.
Gee Neise and Wheeler have all pitched well last month but it doesn�t mean they will continue to get better, so its fortunate we have other players coming and have more payroll flexibility.

[Edgy MD]

hope degrom or Montero can make the club from spring training.

That's my big takeaway from the whole bit.

Every 5th day could be ugly.

Sheesh, give Diasuke the finger, whydon'tya?

The one thing we can�t afford going into the future is a period of one or two months of assessment.

I combine this with the first bit to take a hope that if a guy makes the club out of camp, he's made it, arbitration status be damned. Let's break camp with more of the team in place.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

The thing with Dice - K is that they may need him with Wheeler approaching shutdown.

[Ceetar]

Edgy MD wrote: The one thing we can�t afford going into the future is a period of one or two months of assessment. I combine this with the first bit to take a hope that if a guy makes the club out of camp, he's made it, arbitration status be damned. Let's break camp with more of the team in place.

He's made all sorts of 'not punting' references in the past, including this Spring, but now as much as admits that the first two months were extended evaluation periods for the OF/Bullpen. That was very obvious of course. But I imagine late last year he probably said similar things about getting real outfielders. Have we reached the point yet where Sandy will acquire the OF he wants, or if the price/situation isn't right will he still continue to walk away?

[Zvon]

Thanks for going to the trouble of sharing that JCL. I don't get WFAN too well (not at all during the day, tyvm Wildwood, you frequency hogger) down here.

[ashie62]

Thanks JCL..

Sandy...this has been fun to watch?

[Edgy MD]

Depends.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Like, not necessarily results-wise, but process- and evaluation-wise, definitely. Plus, the outfield defense is potentially stellar. Plus Plus... even with the offensive bipolar disorder that youth/mixed-talent tends to engender, the defense and pitching are keeping this team in virtually every game.

[Edgy MD]

And his "fun" comment came with the caveat of every fifth day being ugly, so it's a little unfair to challenge that comment immediately after that fifth day.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Hell, I think "ugly" showed a little restraint. I would have gone with "ugly and Bataan-like" or "protracted Bellagio-fountain-like spout of churning, semi-viscous shit."

[Edgy MD]

I mightn't agree with you had the interview come before Monday's game. After, though.... Daisuke is one lucky soldier to still be standing.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Oh, I would have gone that way after the first Dice-K turn. Hell, start Schwinden or Harang-- hell, start Carson-- instead; at least their montage of terrible wouldn't be director's-cut length.

[Vic Sage]

Q: Terry Collins? A: We�ve seen everything but the finish. The finish is not going to difficult to access but will require a different kind of assessment.

so he's been your manager for nearly 3 years, and you still don't have enough of an assessment of his performance to decide whether to extend his contract or let him walk?

But you lose your best hitter, best pitcher and top closer to season-ending injuries, and you trade away the next best hitter along with the starting catcher for prospects, and you add late season call-ups comprised of kids and marginal MLers, and THESE are the conditions under which you're going to evaluate your manager's performance?

If that's not a setup for scapegoating, i don't know what it is.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

It's a shame because Mike interrupted him while he was giving this answer.... looked as though he was getting to something but he did not really finish the thought.

I wonder to what extent attendance/ticket sales is a part of the Terry evaluation.

[Vic Sage]

i wonder, too, and i wonder why it should factor in at all.

This season is lost, so the manager should be developing players for next year. If he thinks his job hinges on how many games he wins in the shor-term (and how many tix are sold), he' would play it differently, and not necessarily in a way that serves the long-term interest of the franchise.

[Edgy MD]

Vic Sage wrote: Q: Terry Collins? A: We�ve seen everything but the finish. The finish is not going to difficult to access but will require a different kind of assessment. so he's been your manager for nearly 3 years, and you still don't have enough of an assessment of his performance to decide whether to extend his contract or let him walk? But you lose your best hitter, best pitcher and top closer to season-ending injuries, and you trade away the next best hitter along with the starting catcher for prospects, and you add late season call-ups comprised of kids and marginal MLers, and THESE are the conditions under which you're going to evaluate your manager's performance? If that's not a setup for scapegoating, i don't know what it is.

I think it's more like, "I pretty much know what we're gonna do but we're not ready to talk about it right now, so, you know, let's have everybody play hard down the stretch."

On the other hand, the right move, like with players, depends on the marketplace, and the manager market won't completely come into focus until the off-season.

[Vic Sage]

i guess that's right, but it's still an irritating thing for him to say publicly.
He could have just said, "we are not prepared to discuss our off-season plans for staff and players", and leave it at that.

[Ceetar]

Vic Sage wrote: i guess that's right, but it's still an irritating thing for him to say publicly. He could have just said, "we are not prepared to discuss our off-season plans for staff and players", and leave it at that.

nobody wants to hear no comment. So you fill your speech with cliches and maybes and unformed thoughts that don't reveal anything you're decided on already, basically say nothing, but everybody still thinks it's worthwhile to parse your statements and listen in.