Benjamin Grimm

The newspaper reviews were pretty awful.

If the baseball stuff is inaccurate, why are you presuming that the neighborhood history is accurate? When I see a book containing obvious mistakes about the stuff I know, it calls into question the accuracy of the parts I don't already know about. I become suspicious of the entire work.

Valadius wrote: Milledge had sex. They're nowhere NEAR the same. That's 'cause you're not doing it right.

="SteveJRogers"]...but Milledge did rape an underage girl He had sex, as a teenager, with a teenager. That hardly makes him a rapist.

metirish wrote: Gotta say I was stunned to see who he was traded for. Yeah! Neither of them is Hispanic!

Mota's departure had nothing to do with this trade.

I have YES on my TV and Omar is about to come on to talk to Mike and Chris after the commercial break.

Washington Post in 2005 wrote: The Washington Nationals suspended a volunteer chaplain and distributed an apology from outfielder Ryan Church yesterday, two days after Church was quoted in a front-page Post article as suggesting that Jews are headed for eternal damnation. I have a brother-in-law who said the same thing about Catholics. (Fortunately, for family harmony, he didn't say it in my presence. I don't believe in heaven or hell, but I know hate when I see it.)

Mrs. Schneider is cute. She'll be an asset to the Wifey Watch.

I am hoping that this is a precursor to something else.

I was gonna vote "dislike" but "hate" is really more accurate. Church may turn out to be a decent contributor, like Nady. And Schneider is probably not much more or less sucky than most catchers around the majors. But I'd rather have kept Milledge to see what he could become. (Rather than having a divison rival have that opportunity.) And if Milledge were to be traded, I'd want it as part of a bigger and better package than this one. This may turn out okay or neutral for the Mets, but it's not a move that they should have made. It will be interesting to hear how Omar explains this. Actually, no it won't. I know what he's going to say. He'll praise all three players and spout typical claptrap.

Estrada was a fallback. And also a way to unload Mota's salary.

Well, if it's based on something Chris Russo heard then maybe there's a slim hope that this isn't for real. It wouldn't be the first time that Mike and Chris reached an incorrect conclusion.

="Newsday.com"] Mets trade Milledge to Nats FROM NEWSDAY.COM 1:10 PM EST, November 30, 2007 According a report by WFAN, the Mets have traded outfielder Lastings Milledge to the Washington Nationals in return for catcher Brian Schneider and outfielder Ryan Church. The move would cost the Mets one of their prized trading chips, and they now have a logjam at catcher after acquiring Johnny Estrada two weeks ago. The trade was reported by WFAN's Chris Russo, who said that he and partner Mike Francesa were informed of the trade by Mets ownership during a tour of Citi Field construction.

I don't get it at all. Church is a more established player, but we've seen what he can do and Milledge offers much more potential. And is Schneider all that better than Estrada? And how does this help us get a starting pitcher? (Maybe the A's really like Ryan Church?)

These calendar questions seem to be driving people to the UMDB. Last week's question resulted in Edgardo Alfonzo getting several daily hitcount "wins." And yesterday's winner was Greg Goossen. Coincidence? I think not!

If they can do that, maybe they can also get the Mets to drop the black.

Yorvit resigns with the Rockies for two years.

The only Met who shared my last name was a replacement player during the 1995 spring training.

Well, he is on the 40-man, but there are still several vacancies. I imagine that if someone more deserving comes along, Stokes would be bumped.

Marty Noble fleshes it out a little more: Marty Noble wrote: NEW YORK -- The Mets' reshaping of their bullpen, begun last week when Guillermo Mota was dispatched to the Brewers for Johnny Estrada, continued on Wednesday, when the club purchased 28-year-old right-handed reliever Brian Stokes from the Rays. How prominently Stokes, a pitcher with a modest big league resume and apparent control issues, figures in the Mets' plan is unclear, though he was assigned to the club's 40-man roster, leaving four vacancies for the Minor League Rule 5 Draft and other possible personnel moves. Stokes produced a 2-7 record and a 7.07 ERA in 59 games for the Rays in 2007, his first full season in the big leagues. He pitched 62 1/3 innings in 59 appearances, fourth most among American League rookie pitchers, and he allowed 90 hits, including 11 home runs, and 25 walks. Stokes also hit three batters and struck out 35. Stokes is currently pitching for Mexicali in the Mexican Winter League. He has a 3-3 record with three saves and a 4.30 ERA in 12 games, while also starting three times. In 23 innings, Stokes has allowed 27 hits and 11 walks and struck out 16. Stokes pitched briefly for the Rays in 2006 -- 1-0 record, 4.88 ERA in five games (four starts) and 24 innings. He surrendered 31 hits and nine walks and struck out 15. The righty also produced a 7-7 record and 4.11 ERA in 29 games (23 starts) for the Ray's Triple A Durham affiliate in the International League in '06.

Yeah, they only gave up cash. It's not a bad idea to stock up on bullpen guys, give them a bunch of innings in spring training and see who rises to the top. If he's good, he makes the team. If he sucks, he goes away. And if he's somewhere in between, then he goes to New Orleans. As seawolf said, no need for outrage.

Well, saying that Tommy John is almost as good as Early Wynn, so he should also get a plaque leads to a downward spiral. Because then the guy who's almost as good as Tommy John will get in. And then the guy who's almost as good as the guy who's almost as good as Tommy John. Eventually you'll get down to Doc Medich. And then to Kevin Kobel. And then to Brent Hinchcliffe.

Ugh.

Any time I've been asked to be in a wedding party, I've wished that Moises Alou was available to step in for me.