G-Fafif

Scherzer ever so close to being a real Natzi.

Thanks Fairy. One more round of reflections on getting to share a moment with the Gilder here, complete with introductory text and embedded audio of Ed's talk.

“Legal or not, if it gets the New York Mets a better shortstop, I am so down with this.” —Bill Maher on opening US-Cuba relations, Real Time, 1/16/2015

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: G-Fafif wrote: I recall C.O'B. as fairly taciturn and personality-free, but maybe he was saving it all for his memoir. Come on, bud-- that's unfair. Really, he was just a little defensive. [Ducks] [Flings]

Way to be.

I look forward to swinging by your front yard and picking it up on the even cheaper.

Glendon Rusch will be coaching Padre minor leaguers in 2015. And Charlie O'Brien will be overstating his impact on the game in a new book. During fifteen seasons in the major leagues, Charlie O�Brien was battery-mate to thirteen pitchers who won the Cy Young Award, presented each year by the Baseball Writers Association of America. As baseball book maven Ron Kaplan notes, O'Brien wasn't necessarily the catcher for these pitchers when they won the CYA, and the total includes a guy he caught in Spring Training but never in a game (Pete Vukovich three years before Charlie was in the bigs). I recall C.O'B. as fairly taciturn and personality-free, but maybe he was saving it all for his memoir.

Ken Rosenthal would like the Mets to find a way to obtain Ian Desmond without giving up Noah Syndergaard. Mets should go all-in for Nats' Desmond & other moves that need to happen soon Ken Rosenthal FOX Sports JAN 14, 2015 10:50p ET Some quick thoughts on Wednesday's flurry of news. *The Mets should trade for Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond. The Nats acquired shortstop Yunel Escobar from the Athletics on Wednesday, presumably with the intention of playing him at second base. I'm not so sure. Escobar has not played second since 2007, his rookie season. True, Asdrubal Cabrera went from short to second after the Nats acquired him last July. But think about it: The Nats are now fully protected at short if they want to move Desmond. Escobar is signed through 2016 with a club option for '17. Top shortstop prospect Trea Turner, the reported "player to be named" in the Nats' three-team deal with the Rays and Padres, should be ready at some point during that time. Enter the Mets, who according to sources, recently balked at acquiring Desmond and Ben Zobrist in separate trades because they did not want to give up top prospects for a player who was under control for only one more season. Well, what if the Mets offered second baseman Daniel Murphy, a player whom the Nats tried to acquire last July? And what if they sweetened their proposal with one prospect and took a second, lesser player back, considering that Desmond is more valuable than Murphy? The Nats could go with Murphy at second and Escobar at short, or Murphy at third and Anthony Rendon at second (Rendon is a plus defender at both spots, while Murphy is considered better at third, the position that David Wright plays for the Mets). The Mets, ahem, then would be obligated to go all-out to sign Desmond, which is what every other high-revenue team in their position would do. Yes, the Nats have failed to secure Desmond long-term, but that's probably because they've failed to offer him market value. Desmond, who is coming off three straight Silver Sluggers, likely would command $150 million as a free agent next offseason. The restrictions on the Mets' finances are obvious to anyone who follows the sport, but it's absurd that their 2015 payroll likely will be lower than those of some low-revenue clubs. Many of their fans are frustrated, and rightly so. The team seemingly is on the verge of contention, but its only major offseason acquisition was free-agent outfielder Michael Cuddyer, and shortstop remains something of a black hole. The Mets would not suffer much financially in '15 if they exchanged Murphy's projected $8.3 million salary in arbitration for Desmond's $11 million guarantee. They also are trying to trade right-hander Dillon Gee, who is projected to earn $5.1 million � and such a trade could even put them ahead financially short-term. Beyond '15? That's the issue, but it shouldn't be for a New York team. And if it is, incoming commissioner Rob Manfred should get involved, no matter how close Mets owner Fred Wilpon is with commissioner Bud Selig. Enough is enough.

Full audio of Ed Charles accepting the Gil Hodges Unforgettable Fire Award. Intensely recommended.

Braves reportedly to rid themselves of Evan Gattis, sending him to the Astros for three prospects. Hard thrower Mike Foltynewicz, third baseman Rio Ruiz and righty Andrew Thurman are the group headed to the Braves once the deal is made official, a person with knowledge of the trade said. Gattis was in Houston to take a physical on Wednesday. If completed, the trade represents the most talented group of prospects Astos general manager Jeff Luhnow has parted with in a trade yet, signifying a commitment � but also a need � to get better at the big leagues soon.

This one's fun, too, by Jonathan Bernhardt for The Guardian. (He used to write for Sports on Earth, where I honestly don't remember anything with this much zazz to it.) To understand the financial depravity of the New York Mets, you first have to understand why Wilmer Flores is currently a shortstop. There will certainly be people who will try to sell you on the idea that Flores, 23, is a shortstop on merit � or at least, potential merit. They even have the depth chart on their side: the Mets have named Flores the starter at short going into camp for the 2015 season. But they are, at best, overgenerously optimistic � and regardless of what their depth chart says, the Mets have spent the last 10 months acting like they disagree. Three years ago, it was essentially public knowledge that Flores would be moving off the position. Indeed, the Mets recognized this organizationally; in 2012 and 2013, he played second base, third base, even a little first base � pretty much everywhere in the infield except short. Everything that was true in 2012 about Flores remains true today except that he is older, and as a general rule players don�t get better defensively as they age; they get worse. There are certainly exceptions, but Flores did nothing to show that he was one of them. Then, before the 2014 season, the Mets decided he was a shortstop again. The experiment didn�t begin particularly well; Flores, who was competing for playing time last year with luminaries such as Ruben Tejada and Dilson Herrera, did not win a job on the roster out of camp. The idea was barely entertained by the Mets coaching staff, not because of Flores�s prospect status or age (Tejada himself was a part-time player at age 20, and only a part-time player because he couldn�t stay healthy), but because Flores couldn�t play short well enough to even split time with Tejada or play a utility role around the infield. He cameoed the roster for the second game of the season in order to spell Daniel Murphy at second base during his paternity leave, then vanished down to the minors again to work on his defense. He reappeared on the roster on 9 May after the Mets designated infielder Omar Quintanilla for assignment with the stated goal of his promotion being to add more offense to MLB roster. Flores started the next two games at short and immediately came down with some sort of illness � and that was enough for manager Terry Collins to give Ruben Tejada his job back for the next week. Flores wouldn�t appear in a game again until 17 May, when he�d be given his first substantial trial by fire against major league pitching as a starting shortstop. It didn�t go particularly well. By early June, he�d lost the everyday job, now getting a start at short every four days or so and pinch-hitting in between. By the end of June, he�d been sent back to Triple A Las Vegas to get everyday playing time and work on his defense. Except here�s the weird thing about that demotion: he got back to Vegas, and suddenly he was playing second base and third base again. Some first base, too. In 26 games between 26 June and 23 July, Flores only spent time at short in six. Then, Ruben Tejada took a baseball to the head and suddenly, Flores was promoted again. To play shortstop. Tejada was cleared to play very shortly afterwards -- he wouldn�t even spend time on the abbreviated seven-day disabled list for concussion or head-related injuries � but Flores would once again get the lion�s share of the work at short for the next few weeks. Then, predictably enough, in late August Daniel Murphy got hurt and Flores immediately started seeing time at second base instead. By the end of the season, the Mets had moved him off of shortstop entirely � his last seven starts of the season were all at second. This organizational juggling routine wouldn�t be a big deal if Flores was hitting; in fact, Flores being the everyday shortstop wouldn�t be a big deal if he was hitting, bad defense and all. That�s supposed to be the one thing Flores does well, after all: hit. Does he hit in the minors? Sure � while playing in Las Vegas, one of the most notoriously hitter-friendly parks in the notoriously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. But in 375 MLB plate appearances, Flores is only batting .240/.275/.356 (.631 OPS). That�s at the low end of excusable for a top-three defensive shortstop league-wide. It�s unacceptable for a guy who got sent down in the middle of the season to play other positions. This level of detail is necessary when examining Flores� 2014 because it�s important to know the context in which the Mets have named him starter over and over again this winter, and why it seems so bewildering when judging Flores by what he�s shown on the field. But there�s one last piece of information that makes everything else slide into place: Wilmer Flores will only be paid around $500,000 next year. That sounds like a lot of money, and it is in absolute terms; but for a shortstop at the major league level? That�s not just cheap. That�s the closest a team is permitted to free. Meanwhile, Colorado�s Troy Tulowitzki, who was constantly attached to the Mets in trade rumors last month? $20m. Chicago�s Starlin Castro, who was also a possible trade target before his recent legal troubles shut that talk down? Just over $6.8m. Stephen Drew, who signed with the Yankees to play second base but is still a competent shortstop? $5m. And Ruben Tejada, the guy who has publicly lost his job and is likely available for trade at this very moment? $1.2m last year, and in line for a raise to around $3m this offseason. Wilmer Flores is not a credible shortstop. He�s not even demonstrably a league-average bat. He is, however, the absolute smallest investment possible. Now we consider the rest of the Mets� moves this offseason. We�ll be brief, because there�s only two that concern the major league roster: the signing of outfielder Michael Cuddyer on 11 November to a two-year, $21m contract, and the signing of outfielder John Mayberry Jr, to a one-year, $1.75m contract a month later. That�s it. That�s all the Mets have done. It�s an old trick for them: making a couple of big-splash signings up front and disappearing for the rest of the offseason. You may remember it from last year, when they did the exact same thing with outfielders Chris Young and Curtis Granderson. At least in Granderson they signed a relatively upper-tier, name free agent. Cuddyer is three years older, only played 49 games last year and got his deal based on an age 34 season hitting in Colorado. It was an impressive season and a feel-good story for a well-liked veteran player, to be sure; it also happened two years ago in what remains the most ridiculous offensive environment in baseball. Meanwhile, payroll in Queens looks set to either stagnate or outright decline for the fourth straight season. Arbitration commitments still haven�t been decided, but the Mets� payroll sits at just under $68m for next year. Of the major players set for arbitration bumps � Murphy, Lucas Duda, Dillon Gee, Bobby Parnell, Jenrry Mejia � the Mets have openly discussed dealing Gee, who made $3.6m last year. If they do that, it�s hard to see those arbitration awards (or the one-year deals the Mets agree to in order to avoid arbitration) clearing $14 or $15m. Figuring in another three to four million dollars for league-minimum players and other expenses, and that leaves the Mets right around last year�s $85m budget. That would be grudgingly acceptable, were the Mets playing baseball in Tampa, Florida instead of the largest media market in the planet, and had Major League Baseball�s massive new $12.4bn national television deal not just gone into effect. It might also be acceptable if the team was rebuilding, but it�s not: New York finished 2014 tied for second place in a division that has mostly stepped backwards or tread water this offseason. Given the young stars the team has hit on in the last few years like Matt Harvey, Jake deGrom and Juan Lagares, combined with franchise player and likely future Hall of Famer David Wright and mostly-solid group of roleplayers, the Mets should be spending the money necessary to shore up their bullpen, acquire a real everyday shortstop, and become a true Wild Card contender and an outside threat for the NL East divisional crown. They won�t, however. We already know why they won�t. The Mets ownership is an embarrassment to their league, their fans, their employees and themselves; this is as close to established fact as sunrise tomorrow. And given that the Mets and their media apparatus are the only means by which the Wilpons can continue to live the lifestyle to which they�ve become accustomed, it�s unlikely they�re going anywhere anytime soon. It�s sad. These Mets could�ve been something in 2015 with a reasonable budget. They could still be something, if incoming league commissioner Rob Manfred has a stronger commitment to the health of the sport than he does to the personal feelings of the Wilpon family. With Manfred�s predecessor Bud Selig remaining with the league as �Commissioner Emeritus� and �advising� Manfred on how to act, however, that seems highly unlikely. There are a lot of things that could happen, were there other ways to remove hideously bad corporate citizens like the Wilpons from sports ownership besides something viciously embarrassing going viral. Instead, Wilmer Flores will be the New York Mets� starting shortstop, until like all of the other embarrassments, this too becomes too much to bear.

SteveJRogers wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Pete was given a "Longtime Terrific Service Award" or some such thing they announce for employees supposedly too many degrees removed from the competition to qualify for the Mets Hall. It's the same reward I believe they recognized Bob Mandt and Jane Jarvis with. The late Jane Jarvis has yet to be honored with the Mets' HOF Achievement Award. So far its been just 2010 Robert Mandt 2012 Pete Flynn 2013 Roland Hemond Jane is indeed missing. But 2013's honoree was scout Harry Minor. Roland Hemond never worked for the Mets. In fact, he gladly took Tom Seaver off our hands in 1984.

Full report from QBC, wherein I claim to have visited extensively with Rogers Hornsby.

Ken Rosenthal reports Mets were approached to take part in 3 way deal that would've landed Ian Desmond, Ben Zobrist and Yunel Escobar in DC & two top Mets prospects (of 3) in St. Pete. Mets needed to give up Noah S. Desmond has 1 year left to FA. Mets said no. http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/washington-nationals-new-york-mets-tampa-bay-rays-ian-desmond-ben-zobrist-trade-011115

Justin Upton says he's not intimidated by Petco Park's dimensions. I take that to mean it will totally be in his head by April and he'll have four home runs by August.

I've never gotten the bathroom attendant thing anywhere let alone McFadden's, but I will say this for the gentleman on shall we say duty yesterday. He was wearing a ballcap with an X on it: Cuban Giants. So I asked him if he's really a baseball fan. He started to tell me about the cap with some enthusiasm. Well, I said, we've got Ed Charles outside, about to get an award, c'mon out and watch, why don't ya? And he did. He took a bunch of pictures and was as into it as anybody, at least until his phone rang and he ducked out.

SteveJRogers wrote: I hate to say this considering the crap I get from a certain admin around here, but this is the kind of thing that screams to be held at a Rusty's in mid-town Manhattan-ish. At which point it stops being the Queens Baseball Convention. Shea (you know what I mean) is the right spot unless you're going to go Javits Center-size. All Mets fans know where it is, it's accessible by multiple forms of transit; it has, for the occasion, free parking, celebrities flying in from all across America are a short ride away from LaGuardia.

Like Travis d'Arnaud or Juan Lagares, QBC was much improved but far from fully polished in its second year. I don't know how the price is arrived at but I know there's much thought devoted to creating a program that's worth it (Mookie and Wally, great guys that they are, don't do it purely out of love for the fans). While intermittently throughout the day I thought this or that person I know should be here, he/she would really enjoy it, I don't think it needed to be more crowded, exactly. Except at the end of the day when the darkened sky seemed to signal to people that it was time to leave. Scheduling is an art, not a science (just like merchandising or whatever topic I first heard that cliche attached to from). The art needs work, but so do most second-year propositions. The parts I partook in were wonderful. The parts I didn't, it occurred to me, would have made for a pretty good day, too. The "so much to do" stuff meshes blessing with curse. At least two panels I intended to attend got away from me because I was having a swell time chatting. As noted, Rubin was amazingly candid without being catty. And I can't say enough about the Glider, who performed like the World Champion he's been for 45 years. It really was the best Mets day of the winter, up to and including the day they lure Dana Eveland back into the fold.

Damon Buford was the Damon spawn of Don Buford, who was on the wrong side of history in 1969, even if his leadoff home run in Game One was on the wrong side of Ron Swoboda's glove.

Edgy MD wrote: Oh, shit. Now I wanna write parodies. There used to be a contest here.

Bad penny Jeff McKnight was originally minted by dad Jim McKnight, a Cub who had a career like Jeff's, except 30 seasons sooner.

Mark Carreon, perpetual Mets fourth OF, debuted in the majors six days after the passing of his dad Cam Carreon, who debuted in the majors with the Go-Go pennant-winning White Sox of 1959, but wasn't on their World Series roster...much as son Mark didn't make the Mets' 1988 NLCS eligibles list.

Moises Alou, the Met who holds the franchise hitting streak record, nephew of ace Mets pinch-hitter Jesus Alou as well as son of Felipe and nephew of Matty, who weren't Mets. But Mel Rojas, an Alou cousin of some sort, was.

Sandy Alomar, Jr., the son of Sandy Alomar, Sr., both Mets you'd have missed had you not been paying attention, 40 years apart. And in between, a Hall of Famer for other teams but also technically the Mets, Roberto Alomar -- brother of Sandy, Jr., hence son of Sandy, Sr.

Joan Walsh, editor of Salon and frequent talking head on MSNBC, learned via her article suggesting what a putz Chris Christie looks like snuggling with Jerry Jones -- specifically that he didn't take to his father's team, the Giants, because they "stunk" when he was a kid and saw they made his father "angry," and why would Chris Christie ever want to appear angry? Let's remember that Christie is the angriest man in high-level American politics. So by rights he should been the Giants' No. 1 fan. I don't have a problem with the fact that Christie didn't root for his father's team. I didn't either, but for the opposite reason. I'm a baseball fan, and I didn't root for my father's Yankees. But that was because the Yankees were the dominant team in my childhood, and my mother and grandmother rooted for the New York Mets. While I loved my father, I believed the Mets needed my attention more, because they were the underdogs. Christie doesn't have to share my sympathy for the underdog -- and obviously he doesn't, he's a fan of overdogs. Politics put aside, Christie roots for the Mets, so Walsh's construct is a little leaky. But she's right where it counts: she roots for the Mets.