Benjamin Grimm

Is Jason Pridie really 35 years old??

Pete Rose had a helluva career too, before he was caught gambling on baseball. It's not just about the stats. I think that "shame" negates "fame". By all means, put Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in the "Hall of Great Statistics", but keep them out of Cooperstown.

As I said, this is without looking at any stats. I haven't been paying such close attention for the last 15 years, so my knee-jerk reactions might very well be flawed.

His one World Series appearance came as a Met, which, I think, can also be a factor. I think he'll have a Mets cap on his plaque, but the Dodgers do have a shot. I'll say he has a 70% chance of an "NY".

Rick Peterson (remember him?) approves: New York Post wrote: Peterson says Capuano find for Mets By DAN MARTIN Chris Capuano's arrival likely does not have too many Mets fans thrilled, but Rick Peterson said the left-hander might change some minds. "If I were a Mets fan, I'd be very excited about him," the former Mets pitching coach said. "He's still evolving as a pitcher. He can absolutely succeed there." Peterson was Capuano's pitching coach with the Brewers last year, the southpaw's first since missing two seasons following his second Tommy John surgery. Despite the injury problems, Peterson is confident Capuano -- who went 18-12 in 2005 -- can be effective. "He's got all the fundamentals and his physical conditioning is phenomenal," Peterson said. "He's also mentally and emotionally strong. He's a fierce competitor. He wants to be the best." The Mets will settle for a solid back-end starter after signing Capuano to a one-year deal on Monday. The 32-year-old's final seven appearances with the Brewers last season were all starts, five quality showings bookended by a pair of bad outings. According to Peterson, Capuano's velocity down the stretch was better than it was before he got hurt. "His goal coming out of spring training was to become a viable starter again, and he did that," said Peterson, who was not retained by new Brewers manager Ron Roenicke and is waiting for another opportunity to become a pitching coach in the majors. In the meantime, he is consulting for Bloomberg Sports and 3P Sports, two companies that analyze pitching mechanics and data. "Chris made adjustments to his breaking ball and he understands what it means to expand his game," Peterson said. "He's incredibly receptive to coaching and very intelligent." And Peterson said he believes Capuano has the mentality to perform well in New York. "I think so, but you never know until you live it," Peterson said. "My sense is he'll handle it well."

Is anyone actually doing that? I have a greater objection to people who fill out all ten slots just because they can. (I don't know that anyone does that, but I suspect that some do.)

Off the cuff, without checking any stats, I think I'd vote for Piazza, Biggio, Maddux, Glavine, Johnson, Martinez, and Smoltz, and I'd think about Kent, Thomas, Schilling, and Gonzalez.

If I was a voter, the years when I'd vote for four or five players would be very few and far between. I would think in most years I'd only vote for one or two. I can't imagine that there would ever be ten deserving players on the ballot in the same year.

I don't see anyone there who belongs. Good news for Tim Raines and Barry Larkin, I imagine.

A lot of it depends on who else is in your graduating class. As for Piazza, as I mentioned above, he'll be in the same group as Sosa, Bonds, and Clemens. Should be a very interesting election. I'm very much hoping that Mike gets 80 per cent, and those other clowns end up in the 20's with McGwire.

G-Fafif wrote: Matt Loughlin was the primary pre-SNY pregame host, late '90s, early '00s. I do have Matt Loughlin's name in the UMDB, but I have to admit I had no idea who he is/was. (There are a couple of others who also fit that category... I'll post them here soon.) I guess we can further categorize these guys as "Studio Hosts" or "Sideline Reporters." (Mets.com lists Bob Ojeda as a "Studio Analyst" and Kevin Burkhardt as a "Field Reporter". I suppose those titles are just as good as the ones I came up with.) That means that I'd have to link similar roles to guys like Matt Yarnoff and Lee Mazzilli.

Ceetar wrote: Chris Cotter i believe. he then went to work in the studio, and now is elsewhere i think. That sounds right. I think he left sports and went on to become a business reporter, maybe for the Fox Business Channel?

This is what I've got so far. It's confirmed from a few different sources. Spanish broadcasters are relatively easy, because there's no record of any roles --- pre-game, post-game, etc. But how about Max Perez Jimenez returning to his chair after 17 years off? I'm working on three more tables: English Radio, English Televison, and English Cable Television. I've been starting to work on this. (Thanks for putting it together.) I'm not going to track which stations carried the games; I tried that once and there was all kinds of conflicting information about which radio stations carried the games in which years, and I couldn't tell which sources were the good ones. But I've started breaking the "Broadcaster" category down into multiple sub-categories: Right now I just have Radio and Television, but I'll add Spanish Radio and Spanish Television (have there ever been Spanish TV broadcasts?) I suppose I'll also split TV into Broadcast and Cable, since there have often been separate teams. I know Howard Cosell was a pre-game host in the very early days, but for most of the Channel 9 days, I don't recall any pre-game or post-game hosts (other than Ralph on Kiner's Korner). When did that return? With the introduction of cable channels, I guess? As for sideline reporters, I was "blacked out" of Mets telecasts from 1998 through 2005, so I don't know much of what came before Kevin Burkhardt. (There was some guy named Chris, I think, who preceded Kevin in 2006, but I can't remember his name.) I don't remember any sideline guys during the SportsChannel days, but as I said, I have no idea who might have been there in those years between SportsChannel and SNY.

My guess is he'll wear a Toronto cap.

How did McGwire and Bagwell do?

I have to wonder... will the same questions arise about Mike Piazza two years from now? Or will it all be drowned out by the talk of Sosa, Bonds, and Clemens, who will also each be in their first year of eligibility?

The big announcement is about 20 minutes away.

metsguyinmichigan wrote: But give some credit to fans and people who go to the museum. They know the difference between Tom Seaver and Don Sutton, between Willie Mays and Tony Perez. You don't dim Seaver's plaque or Aaron's because they hang near Jim Rice or Gaylord Perry. People know. Well, some people know. I'd like to see the plaques arranged in an hallway that spirals inward. You start with the Rick Farrells and other fringe Famers on the outside part of the spiral, and as you move inward the players get more and more elite, until you reach the inner chamber where you have the best of the best. There would be no distinct zones; it would just be a gradual progression. And in that final chamber, you'd have something impressive, like some statues, or light effects, or angels singing, or something hokey like that. And there would also be some other exit, so that you don't have to retrace your steps on the way out.

I think he'll end up in center field instead of right. By mid July, he'll have 12 to 15 homers and he'll be hitting around .280, and he'll be traded for three young players, one of whom will be a top-rated prospect.

Ken Boyer?

Larry Bowa?

Your projected roster includes seven infielders and four outfielders?

There are guesses out there for Staub (from Willets) and Alomar (from me).

Roberto Alomar.

Cool stuff! Didn't we once calculate how long it would take Tom Seaver to drop out of the top 500? I think the answer was something like 60,000 years.