1-800 PLODUCA

[ashie62]

Hey! Thanks for calling.. I am not Paul Loduca. Paulie and Gastineau are far too busy making their "moves" to be here.

But Paulie did text us during a lap dance that he loves the San Francisco Giants and is laying 20 catchers units on the Giants at -124.

Remember.. if you think you have a problem with gambling, don't quit! DOUBLE DOWN

[MFS62]

If this is the cool start to an IGT, I'm not laying down any lettuce until I know who the starting pitchers will be.

Later

[Lefty Specialist]

'Laying down any lettuce'? What is this, Guys and Dolls?

[MFS62]

Lefty Specialist wrote: 'Laying down any lettuce'? What is this, Guys and Dolls?

No. I was making a salad. I invited Paulie over for dinner.

LAter

[batmagadanleadoff]

Does this thread have anything to do with Lo Duca's radio comments on David Wright from a few days ago? 'Cause I got opinions on them comments that I'm sure would be unpopular over here.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Does this thread have anything to do with Lo Duca's radio comments on David Wright from a few days ago? 'Cause I got opinions on them comments that I'm sure would be unpopular over here.

Former catcher Lo Duca slams Mets
June, 6, 2014
Jun 6
6:44
PM ET
By Adam Rubin | ESPNNewYork.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- Former New York Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca, a devout Mets fan, ripped into past and present members of the club during an appearance Friday on WFAN. Regarding current catchers Travis d'Arnaud and Anthony Recker, Lo Duca said: �I could hit better left-handed than the schmucks they�ve got there now." Regarding former GM Omar Minaya, Lo Duca said: �The issue that the Mets have is that after 2006 and 2007, when we all were there ... they stuck their hopes in a guy that, let�s be honest, had no clue what was going on. None. The guy was an idiot. And he ended up making the franchise go backwards. Where the Mets have always made the mistake is they�ve always settled for mediocrity. "Now, listen, Bartolo Colon? Great sign. He had an unbelievable year. But, for me, what does he serve for you as a Mets fan? So you can go 78-85? Why not bring up a kid from Double-A and give a kid some experience and try to find lightning in a bottle? They've never done that. "They've also seemed like, you know what, let's throw out an 80-80 team. And, as a Mets fan, I'm done with it. Besides '06 and '07, give me some other years besides 2000. It seems like that's always been the premise. And then they go build this ballpark that's mammoth, and your franchise player is a hitting star who has four home runs." Expanding on Minaya, Lo Duca said: "How did that guy have his job for that long? Let�s be honest." Reminded Minaya brought him in, Lo Duca laughed and added: "The guy didn�t even know what my age was. And I never got a phone call. So I�m never gonna support that guy. Because when the collapse happened, I wasn�t part of that collapse. It was the other guys who collapsed." Lo Duca did absolve ownership and current manager Terry Collins. "Well, I don't know that they have a ton of responsibility -- $87 million is still a solid payroll, and you can win ballgames," Lo Duca said about the Wilpons. "And they've got a good manager. I think Terry is a very good manager."

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/88504/former-catcher-lo-duca-slams-mets

[batmagadanleadoff]

Don't know why Rubin omitted Lo Duca's comments on Wright. Unless the comments were made separately.*


Former catcher Paul Lo Duca says Mets should deal David Wright
Lo Duca, who appeared on SNY�s 'LoudMouths' show on Friday, says the Mets need to get younger.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS STAFF
Published: Friday, June 6, 2014, 11:46 PM
Updated: Saturday, June 7, 2014, 9:51 AM

Forget about moving the fences in at Citi Field, ex-Met Paul Lo Duca thinks the team should move David Wright. Lo Duca, who appeared on SNY�s �LoudMouths� show on Friday, suggested that the Mets should deal their third baseman to try to get younger. �The Mets need to go back to square one, go back to their roots, go to younger players,� Lo Duca said. �If that means to trade David, that means to trade David.� The former catcher said that since the Mets have young phenoms in Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, they should use them as the centerpieces of the franchise instead of the older Wright. �Listen, he�s one of my better friends, I love the guy. But they built a ballpark that�s not for him and that�s your franchise player,� Lo Duca said of Wright. �I thought that maybe they should have moved on with him a little bit and then went the pitching route.� Wright, 31, who went 0-for-3 Friday nght, is hitting .281 with four home runs and 32 RBI. �When (Harvey) gets healthy, they have the makings of a tremendous pitching staff and a tremendous bullpen, but I think they need to start back from the ground up, instead of just concentrating on going 81-81 every year,� said the former All-Star backstop, who earlier in the day on WFAN called ex-Mets general manager Omar Minaya �an idiot.� He also turned his wrath on current Met catchers Travis d�Arnaud and Anthony Recker, both of whom have struggled at the plate. �I could hit better left-handed than the schmucks they�ve got in there now,� said Lo Duca, a career .286 hitter with 80 homers and 481 RBI over his 11-year career.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/paul-lo-duca-calls-mets-gm-omar-minaya-idiot-article-1.1820567

*Maybe the comments were made separately. The articles cite WFAN and Loudmouths.

[ashie62]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Does this thread have anything to do with Lo Duca's radio comments on David Wright from a few days ago? 'Cause I got opinions on them comments that I'm sure would be unpopular over here.

Nothing at all...just a simple parody..

[batmagadanleadoff]

I don't know if the Mets should trade Wright now, but if they were truly rebuilding, they woulda traded him before they re-signed him in December of 2012. Not that it woulda been so easy. Wright's a star, and one of the most popular Mets ever. The FO woulda needed ice in their veins to pull that off, especially on the heels of Reyes having left for Miami and Dickey's future departure a foregone conclusion. Personally, I think that the Mets extended Wright more than anything else, for the goodwill and for legacy issues ---- fans were whining that the Mets never had a star hitting career Met, and ownership caved on that one - and to avoid a fan revolt that might've resembled the revolt over the '77 Seaver trade. I never believed that the Mets were one or two years from contending when the Mets extended Wright -- I thought they'd be four or five years away, even with Wright. He turns 32 this year, he's a 10 year vet, and if he's not already declining, he will soon enough. The Mets already had Wright's best years, and Wright hasn't been that Wright since the Mets left Shea -- six years ago. Seaver wouldnt've made a damn difference had he played for the de Roulets.

[A Boy Named Seo]

SAN FRANCISCO -- Former New York Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca, a devout Mets fan, ripped into past and present members of the club during an appearance Friday on WFAN. Regarding current catchers Travis d'Arnaud and Anthony Recker, Lo Duca said: �I could hit better left-handed than the schmucks they�ve got there now." Regarding former GM Omar Minaya, Lo Duca said: �The issue that the Mets have is that after 2006 and 2007, when we all were there ... they stuck their hopes in a guy that, let�s be honest, had no clue what was going on. None. The guy was an idiot. And he ended up making the franchise go backwards. Where the Mets have always made the mistake is they�ve always settled for mediocrity. "Now, listen, Bartolo Colon? Great sign. He had an unbelievable year. But, for me, what does he serve for you as a Mets fan? So you can go 78-85? Why not bring up a kid from Double-A and give a kid some experience and try to find lightning in a bottle? They've never done that. "They've also seemed like, you know what, let's throw out an 80-80 team. And, as a Mets fan, I'm done with it. Besides '06 and '07, give me some other years besides 2000. It seems like that's always been the premise. And then they go build this ballpark that's mammoth, and your franchise player is a hitting star who has four home runs." Expanding on Minaya, Lo Duca said: "How did that guy have his job for that long? Let�s be honest." Reminded Minaya brought him in, Lo Duca laughed and added: "The guy didn�t even know what my age was. And I never got a phone call. So I�m never gonna support that guy. Because when the collapse happened, I wasn�t part of that collapse. It was the other guys who collapsed." Lo Duca did absolve ownership and current manager Terry Collins. "Well, I don't know that they have a ton of responsibility -- $87 million is still a solid payroll, and you can win ballgames," Lo Duca said about the Wilpons. "And they've got a good manager. I think Terry is a very good manager." http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/88504/former-catcher-lo-duca-slams-mets

That part in bold annoys me more than any of the other shit. In his defense, LoDuca did not collapse in September. His offensive collapse was June through August.

[Edgy MD]

What does he mean about never getting a phone call?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

"The guy was an idiot," said the catcher who used personal checks to buy steroids.

[Edgy MD]

He really is a perfect douchestorm: steroids, gambling, and running around with girls half his age.

I completely agree that Omar was out of his depth, but he's the last guy who should be saying so.

Actually, Oliver Perez is, or Jason Bay (definitely), but come on, everybody knows you don't talk shit about the last GM to give you a big payday, who keeps signing the checks while your career tanks. That guy is your bestest buddy.

[Guest d'Kong76]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: "The guy was an idiot," said the catcher who used personal checks to buy steroids.

D'oh, snapppp!

[Frayed Knot]

LoDuca occupied a very strange place in NYM psyche & history.

He had that one terrific year w/the Dodgers--essentially it was his rookie year except that it really wasn't due to three partial seasons prior to that and was 29 y/o at the time--but he seemed to be treated by a large portion of NYM fans (both before and after acquiring him) as if that year [.320/.374/.523 - 25 HRs] was the norm for him even though he went five seasons between that and his arrival in NY without coming close to duplicating it. Not that he played bad here, at least not initially (his 1st season might have been his best after that 1st one in LA) but by year 2 he was a 35 y/o not very good defensive catcher with a 79 OPS+ that was headed in the wrong direction.
Then there was the playing up of his NYC/Italian roots even though he left NY at age 2 and admitted that he had no real connection to the city. But the birth certificate and the vowel-ending last name was enough for some fans & media (Joe Benigno in particular) to make him a go-to favorite well above and beyond his mostly mediocre level of play.

I miss the part where all of that adds up to him being owed some kind of teary-eyed sendoff for all the years and blood, sweat, and tears, and that's even before we get into the part about the steroids, the late night club hopping, and the teenage girlfriends.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

The Mitchell Report had him so nailed. Not only that he was an idiot for paying by personal check, but that the Dodgers officials knew he used when he was successful, and also knew he'd go back to using if and when they traded him because he was a punk who needed the CAHNfidence the roids gave him. Sure enough he rebounded strongly following the trade and then disappeared again. He was a complete fraud.

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: The Mitchell Report had him so nailed. Not only that he was an idiot for paying by personal check, but that the Dodgers officials knew he used when he was successful, and also knew he'd go back to using if and when they traded him because he was a punk who needed the CAHNfidence the roids gave him. Sure enough he rebounded strongly following the trade and then disappeared again. He was a complete fraud.

Knew he used? Why? Just because he had the steroid literally delivered to the stadium?

[Edgy MD]

The report had documentation of a meeting in which his use was openly discussed by the brass.

There should be a website devoted to Mets linked with roids and sum total of the case against them.

[Edgy MD]

• Steroids aren�t being used anymore on him. Big part of this.
  Might have some value to trade . . . Florida might have interest.
  . . . Got off the steroids . . . Took away a lot of hard line drives.
  . . . Can get comparable value back would consider trading. . . . If
  you do trade him, will get back on the stuff and try to show you he
  can have a good year. That�s his makeup. Comes to play. Last
  year of contract, playing for 05.4

On June 26, 2004, Lo Duca wrote a check to Radomski for $3,200. On July 30,
2004, the Dodgers traded Lo Duca, Guillermo Mota, and Juan Encarnacion to the Marlins.420 On
August 7, 2004, Lo Duca issued another check to Radomski for $3,200. In January 2005,
Lo Duca signed a three-year contract with the Marlins.

The handwritten note shown below on Dodger Stadium stationary from Lo Duca
to Radomski was seized from Radomski�s house during a search by federal agents. Radomski
said that this note was included with a check Lo Duca sent Radomski as payment for human
growth hormone.

In order to provide Lo Duca with information about these allegations and to give
him an opportunity to respond, I asked him to meet with me; he declined.

Paul Lo Duca is a catcher who has played with three teams in Major League Baseball since 1998, the Los Angeles Dodgers (7 seasons), Florida Marlins (2 seasons), and New York Mets (2 seasons). He has appeared in four All-Star games. Todd Hundley referred Lo Duca to Radomski when Lo Duca played for the Dodgers. Radomski estimated that he engaged in six or more transactions with Lo Duca. In some transactions, Radomski sent the performance enhancing substances by overnight mail to Lo Duca�s home or to the Dodgers clubhouse and Lo Duca sent Radomski a check a week or so later. Radomski produced copies of three checks from Lo Duca, each in the amount of $3,200. All are included in the Appendix. Radomski said that each check was in payment for two kits of human growth hormone. Lo Duca�s name, with an address and telephone number, is listed in the address book seized from Radomski�s residence by federal agents. During that search, federal agents also seized a note from Lo Duca to Radomski. It read:	In 2002, Lo Duca was quoted by Sports Illustrated in an article responding to Ken Caminiti�s admission of steroid use. Lo Duca was reported to have said: �If you�re battling for a job, and the guy you�re battling with is using steroids, then maybe you say, �Hey, to compete, I need to use steroids because he�s using them . . . Don�t get me wrong. I don�t condone it. But it�s a very tough situation. It�s really all about survival for some guys.� According to the notes of an internal discussion among Los Angeles Dodgers officials in October 2003 that were referred to above, it was reportedly said of Lo Duca during the meetings:

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I like how it goes on to say how LoDuca introduced Radomski to several teammates including Kevin Brown who, being too smart to pay by personal check, sent a Fed Ex box with $8,000 in cash to his doorstep where it was left in the rain for 2 days.

[duan]

What's more ludicrous to me is HOW STUPID he is

"Now, listen, Bartolo Colon? Great sign. He had an unbelievable year. But, for me, what does he serve for you as a Mets fan? So you can go 78-85? Why not bring up a kid from Double-A and give a kid some experience and try to find lightning in a bottle? They've never done that."
Em, Jacob de Grom, Rafael Montero, Familia, Mejia,

and also his stuff about d'Arnaud and Recker ...
�I could hit better left-handed than the schmucks they�ve got in there now,� said Lo Duca, a career .286 hitter with 80 homers and 481 RBI over his 11-year career.

Surely that's trying to capture "lightening in a bottle"

[Vic Sage]

Maybe Dodger management was just guessing about PEDs and LoDuca was simply buying kiddie porn --

[batmagadanleadoff]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Seaver wouldnt've made a damn difference had he played for the de Roulets.

Except that Seaver woulda made the Mets just good enough that they wouldnt've drafted first in '80. The first round of that draft is among the worst first rounds ever. So if the Mets don't get Strawberry, they probably whiff. Therefore, Keith doesn't re-sign after '83, assuming the Mets even bother to pursue him in the first place -- 'cause without Straw, no one's thinking they're a year away from contending. And without Straw and Keith, they ain't going after Carter, and there ain't no Davey Johnson era, at least not as we know it.