G-Fafif

Meanwhile, back in reality, a Jose Reyes sighting. Plus America-hating American citizen Carlos Beltran batting third. Jose Reyes SS Angel Pagan RF Carlos Beltran CF Ike Davis 1B David Wright 3B Josh Thole C Lucas Duda LF Luis Hernandez 2B Jenrry Mejia RHP

Me and Mrs Gee Note to self: chocolate on chin = bad look First-time starter doing all right for himself. As is the Second Spitter. Needless to say, the Expo jersey is classic. Anybody's name/number on the back?

Edgy DC wrote: Great, we've got second- and third-hand hand reliable information that he's Snidely Whiplash. But we're still just doubling down on the innuendo. If every beat writer is covering this, it shouldn't be that hard to come up with a fact supporting the notions that (a) the Wilpons are mad, and ( they're behind this nonsense. Yes, but we're just us talking to each other. That said, the beat guys pulled a clumsy no comment out of Perez. They can't do the same for Wilpon? Not even the old "a spokesman for the Mets declined comment"? Or is it enough that they saw Jeff fuming or that somebody said "Jeff is mad."

metsmarathon wrote: when did jeter last visit a wounded vet? and arod? get the pitchforks and torches, folks, we're going a-mobbing! I imagine a response to your query is being posted by some local columnists at this hour. Most of the Mets visited wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospital the other day. A few didn't. Meanwhile, their won-loss record remains in critical condition. While the Mets indulge in PR stunts gone bad, the Yankees keep their eyes on the prize. Do the defending world champion care about our veterans? Only enough so that they made the United States worth fighting for last November by winning yet another title within its borders. A nation is only as good as its national pastime, and when the Yankees win, it's better for all involved. The soldiers understand if nobody in pinstripes comes to visit them for the duration of American League hostilities. The Yankees have a battle to win. That is to be admired. In fact, it is to be preferred to what the all-but-eliminated Mets are doing. And of course it is to be respected. If you want to consider respect, you report on the double to the source. "We avoid distractions here," said Captain Derek Jeter, who takes his rank as seriously as any officer who served in Fallujah would. Jeter did not have to specify that "here" was a place that stands in contrast to "there" on the other side of the Triborough Bridge -- on the other side of the yawning competitive divide that separates the men from the boys. No need, either, to explain who the men are in this city. When the Yankees capture their 28th medal of championship valor this fall, the fallen at Walter Reed -- and at military hospitals everywhere (except, perhaps, Boston) -- will rise. If they cannot walk again immediately, surely their spirits will soar and they will instinctively salute Captain Jeter and all his courageous troops. A Yankee victory is the greatest remedy any wounded warrior can receive. The Mets have yet to learn that lesson. It's becoming painfully doubtful they ever will.

And if the Mets didn't hate America, why did they cancel sunglasses day? Clearly they knew fans would need the shades to cut down on the glare from all the Koran-burning good Americans like Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth will be doing.

dgwphotography wrote: Basically, he's a mean-spirited little shit who is not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. Can't speak for the knife sharpness, but from my slightly (and I mean slightly) informed perspective, that other part strikes me as not altogether inaccurate.

And with that charismatic post, I just became Wally Backman!

HahnSolo wrote: You know the Cyclones must be big in Brooklyn if they can get a guy named Gersh Kuntzman to come out last night. Gersh used to write for the Post. He's making the most of his new gig. �We played Tri-City well, so, yeah, I like the matchup,� the skipper said after the game, grape juice, sweat and charisma dripping off him in rivulets. �The guys are ready.� That's so awful, it's fantastic.

If they didn't hate America, why would they be trying to beat a team representing the city where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were drawn up? At least that's what Jeff Wilpon whispered to Dave Lennon. We're assuming they'll be trying to beat them: Mejia versus Halladay. First Labor Day, then Rosh Hashanah...sure are a lot of Halladays this week. I hope it's not mandatory that Ollie and Luis show up for this team event either.

More media self-examination on NothingGate. Adam Rubin says it couldn't help but be blown up since there was evidence of an internal snit and, well, that's a story. Unless the Mets were slicker, and it wouldn't be. Until then, Adam and the other Tweeting magpies carry a professional obligation to be used by the Wilpons. Reviewing Walter Reed no-show episode September, 10, 2010 By Adam Rubin By now, you know Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez did not attend a team-sponsored trip to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center to visit wounded servicemen. And because it involved skipping a visit to amputees who serve the country, it inevitably will create backlash and make those players look particularly bad. They deserve that, too. Still, there are certain points that need to be made: I suspect that if the Mets had a team-sponsored bowling event, the same three players would have blown off the event. Let�s face it, the Mets publicly feuded with Beltran over his right to have surgery, clashed with Perez over whether to go to the minors, and buried the southpaw and Castillo on the bench. Strip aside the charged aspect of it being a hospital for servicemen and the three players likely felt, �Why should we go out of our way to do something optional that�s important to the team�s ownership?� (Yes, Fred and Jeff Wilpon are paying them a combined $180 million under their current contracts. And, again, yes it looks really bad to skip out on a team function given the venue. I�m not suggesting it�s a valid reason, if it�s their reason at all.) The fact that it was three disgruntled players that did not go strongly suggests it mostly has to do with an axe to grind with the organization. But, in fairness, two of the three offered alternative reasons: Beltran, after the no-show received scrutiny, said he had business to attend to regarding a start-up high school he�s spearheading in Puerto Rico. Castillo said he was too squeamish. Believe the excuses? Well, that brings us to the next point: While it can be argued it�s relevant that those three players did not participate in a team event, it�s generally distasteful to scrutinize other people�s moral compasses. These are not Washington politicians. They are ballplayers who happened to be in Washington during the course of a season. Isn�t it better to leave alone what Johan Santana thinks about Hugo Chavez? Do you really want to know Rod Barajas� stance on Arizona�s immigration law or what Carlos Delgado thinks about the war in Iraq? No one asks you how much you donate to charity. It�s a private matter. So why didn�t this just slide by? Well, here�s the chronology: Reporters are allowed into the clubhouse 3� hours before the first pitch. When the New York media contingent entered Tuesday in Washington, there was only one Met in the visitors� clubhouse -- Dillon Gee, who was excused from the visit because he was making his major league debut that night as a starting pitcher. Not long afterward, Beltran, Castillo and Perez walked in together. A good deal of time later, the rest of the team entered en masse, some still wearing name tags from the visit. It didn�t take a CIA operative to figure out who did not attend. As I mentioned, scrutinizing someone�s charitable nature is distasteful. And reporters didn�t Tweet right away that those three did not attend, even though it quickly had been confirmed. So how does such a story make it into print? Well, No. 1 it�s New York, and once one media outlet goes ahead with it, the floodgates open. The first people to report it felt it was responsible because people in the organization began griping about the no-shows to a team function. David Wright was on the record with at least a veiled statement saying he wished the attendance had been better. And given that only four of 33 players did not attend, it again didn�t leave much wiggle room as far as what he was implying. Word also filtered that the Wilpons were particularly perturbed. It became obvious they didn�t mind the no-shows being publicly exposed. And there it started. (Really, the only media issue in this case, in my view, is that the initial reports proceeded before the scrutinized players were given a chance to respond. But because the initial reports were about others in the organization being upset, it was hardly a big deal, since the other side was presented hours later.) Which brings us to the final issue: If the Mets did a better job of presenting themselves to the public, these types of stories would be minimized if not outright quashed. If the Wilpons or other players were incensed with the trio, why not just air them out privately? There are strong parallels to the surgery issue with Beltran back in January. If Beltran had surgery without the team�s permission, call up agent Scott Boras and scream at him. Call up Beltran at scream at him. By encouraging a star player to be lambasted by the media, you may look better than him in public opinion in the short term. But that comes at the expense of fracturing a relationship that you need. If Beltran remains with the Mets next season -- and only his $18.5 million contract is making that foreseeable -- how can they now possibly broach the topic of right field with him given the erosion in goodwill? It makes it tougher. And makes this week�s whole episode and how it played out more regrettable.

Dave Lennon in Newsday says the Mets are at fault for having Castillo and Perez around and all. Give him a few more grafs and he'd blame Bill Shea for facilitating the birth of the franchise. The Mets, by Lennon's reckoning, made this an embarrassing story, not those who reported a non-event as something So Much More. Also, note description of hospital and soldiers. I would have thought their critical importance and respect were implicit. But when you want to pound a nail, get the heaviest hammer you can find. Lennon: Soldiers at Walter Reed deserved better September 9, 2010 by DAVID LENNON The Mets have stumbled through some embarrassing moments this season. But they reached a new low this week in the wake of a team-organized trip to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. That's right. Think about that for a second. The Mets transformed something as positive as an afternoon visit with wounded soldiers into a controversial standoff between the team and the three players who did not attend the event - Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez. Given the trio involved, it's not surprising that this became the mess that it did. Castillo and Perez have felt alienated for a while now, and Beltran to a lesser degree after his public scuffle with the Wilpons over his January knee surgery. It's also understandable that the Wilpons were furious at these three players for their actions. The team's chief operating officer, Jeff Wilpon, traveled to D.C. specifically for the Walter Reed visit, and his presence served to emphasize the importance of the annual event. The Mets also had a clubhouse meeting the previous day to urge everyone to attend. The message obviously got through. The Mets had an unprecedented turnout - 29 of the 33 players on the roster made the trip, with that night's starting pitcher, Dillon Gee, the only one who was told not to go. The team had so many players show up, in fact, that the chartered bus was not big enough and the overflow had to drive to the hospital. But instead of the focus being on the large Mets contingent - the highest attendance for any of the team's charitable endeavors - anger was directed at Beltran, Castillo and Perez, from the higher levels of the organization to some corners of the clubhouse. That's as much the fault of the Mets as those three players, who were cornered by reporters the following day and grilled about their decisions to skip the hospital visit. Beltran explained that he had a meeting that morning for the baseball academy he is building in Puerto Rico, but privately, he was fuming about being called out on his decision. The other two didn't provide much of an explanation. Castillo suggested he was uncomfortable with the idea and said, "Sometimes when you see people with no legs, no arms, [from] when they fight, and to also be in the hospital like that, I don't like to see that." Perez declined to discuss it, and really, he didn't have to. As manager Jerry Manuel said, in trying to put the matter in perspective, "That's an individual thing." Which is why the Mets, at least officially, told the players that attendance was not mandatory. Even so, the whole episode turned into a witch hunt, with the most isolated players on the Mets - Beltran, Castillo and Perez - ostracized even further. Ultimately, they had to understand the consequences of their decisions. Fred Wilpon, the team's principal owner, is a co-founder of Welcome Back Veterans, a charitable organization for veterans and their families, so this was a particularly sensitive issue. The Mets, as a team, could claim the moral high ground here, but both sides look terrible. In their difficult relationship with at least two of the three players - Castillo and Perez - they allowed the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a critically important hospital and its respected soldiers, to be dragged into the muck of their own team's infighting. The Mets reached the point of no return with Castillo and Perez months ago. The only reason that neither has been released by now is prohibitive contracts. Castillo is due another $6 million next season in the last year of his four-year, $25-million deal; Perez has another $12 million coming in 2011, also the final season of his contract. The lesson here is that the Mets needed to jettison both players as soon as they realized they were done in New York, which was a while back. As one Met asked Wednesday, "If they don't want someone, why are they still here?" A team official said Castillo and Perez are expected to be Mets through this season. That could mean some nasty treatment at Citi Field if they ever venture from the dugout. What the Mets and their fans think of Castillo and Perez is one thing. But both sides should leave the Walter Reed Army Medical Center out of those messy divorce proceedings. The hospital and the soldiers deserve to be treated with more dignity than that.

On to the NYPL championship round for your Brooklyn Cyclones. The Jamestown Jammers are now officially jelly and the Tri-City ValleyCats wait to be tamed.

Also courtesy of Mets Police, Carlos Beltran's visit, with Fred Wilpon, to a veterans hospital last November. "These are the guys I will think of every time they play the 'Star Spangled Banner' before every game," said Beltran. "This place is a real Hall of Fame..." Why wasn't David Wright part of this visit? And why does he hate America? Somebody needs another boot in his ass. Where's Charlie Daniels? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtZ5YsvREi4

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I wonder... are there any rules against a player playing in disguise? Fans will be coming to Citi Field dressed as empty seats.

So 15 Mets visited Walter Reed two years ago (link courtesy of Mets Police) and everything is fine. 30 Mets visit this year and it's a scandal. Is this like ERA where lower is better?

metirish wrote: Fuck you Castillo, fuck you Beltran and fuck you Ollie...fuck you gay people too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruNrdmjcNTc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E I can feel a boot in my ass just watching those.

The Arizona Diamondbacks seem to be giving us the OK sign coming and going here: But it's not OK in the desert, where the D'Backs' 57-83 record and the existence of seven yet-to-be-played Padre-Giant head-to-head matchups (games somebody's gonna have to win) have conspired to eliminate them from any possibility of postseason play.

Eddie Kunz warming up in the pen with Derek Wallace as we speak.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Unless he's the starting second baseman. In which case I always liked that kid.

So in terms of continuous major league roster presence... Reyes Wright Beltran P. Feliciano (who goes back the farthest but split for Japan for a year) Maine (DL) Pelfrey Perez Castillo Santana Pagan (though by the middle of his lengthy 2008 DL stint I'd forgotten he existed) Tatis (DL) Evans, Niese and Parnell all appeared in 2008 but were sent down at some point in 2009 and/or 2010. Rodriguez dates back to Opening Day 2009 but is technically not on the 25- or 40-man roster (restricted list).

And then Luis come lately Castillo, followed by old man Johan Santana. Time is indeed capable of flying.

Dickey 3.5 Dessens 1.0 Takahashi 1.0 Evans 1.0 Hernandez 1.0 Beltran 1.0 Parnell 0.5 PFeliciano 0.5

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: The 2009-10 period is destined to be a hyyyyyuge Met trivia tripwire. Actually, a pretty light year this year by comparison to the last two. There were 26 new Mets in 2009, 27 in 2008. Was also pretty quiet midyear, with only five new faces debuting after April 21 and before August 28. Justin Turner, however, likely to be the "there's one more? I have no idea..."