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Every alltime great ballplayer establishes a brand, a shorthand identifier that captures what makes him iconic. For Ruth, for instance, it was the home run. Mays was a thrilling body in motion, Aaron represented strength of character, Mantle a comic-book heroism, Koufax the curveball, Ryan the fastball, Rose all-out hustle and Reggie the month of October. Jeter is unique this way. He has forged an identity as the ultimate team player in a team sport. If "every alltime great ballplayer establishes a brand," how is Jeter unique? Aren't those other players unique? And how is he the ultimate team player exactly? Because he wants to win? Rose didn't want to win? Jackson, Koufax, Aaron? Just a bunch of statmongers?

The first time Jeter found himself one win away from his fifth world championship was on Nov. 3, 2001, in Game 6 of the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The night went horribly wrong for the Yankees, to the point that manager Joe Torre, with his team losing 15-0, pulled Jeter, catcher Jorge Posada and first baseman Tino Martinez from the game in the fifth inning as an act of surrender. Jeter walked into the clubhouse to change out of his spikes and into a pair of more comfortable turf shoes. In the training room he saw Jay Witasick, a journeyman reliever for the Yankees who in 1 1/3 innings had given up nine runs, eight of them earned, a Series record for a reliever. As Jeter walked by, he heard Witasick say, "Well, at least I had fun." "Derek just jumped all over him," Posada says. "Derek couldn't believe what he was saying. He was really, really hot. That was the angriest I've ever seen him." Last week, sitting in an airport hangar in Long Beach, Calif., surrounded by a small army of people to shoot a commercial for Gillette, Jeter nodded when he was asked about the episode with Witasick. "I remember," Jeter said. Slowly, he began to get agitated again. "Fun? I can't relate to it. I really can't relate to it. I'll never forget that. At least you had fun? I'll never understand it. I don't want to understand it." Whether Witasick said it in wry "what're ya gonna do?" fashion (we're always being told how important is for ballplayers to turn the page) or in some oblivious to consequences of his actions way is unclear, but Verducci relishes Jeter's reaction of ripping Witasick a new one over being such a loser, thus the implication Jeter's a winner and a leader. It could just as easily be interpreted as Jeter being an a-hole to a guy who just had the worst night of his professional life and therefore not being any kind of leader at all.

Edgy DC wrote: I remember Bob Horner hitting four home runs in a game. Ha! They lost anyway. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ATL/ATL198607060.shtml Young Billy Wagner was quoted in the Journal-Constitution that day saying Zane Smith "honestly has got to step up and know that we've just used every guy in the bullpen the night before. He can't come in and come out there and decide that he doesn't have it today, and so be it."

Just as Schneider grew up a Phillies fan... Schneider attended Northampton High School outside Allentown, Pa., and he knows the Phillies well. "I grew up a fan," Schneider said. "All my friends and family are still diehard Phillies fans, so it's good to be on that side again. It's a good place to be the next two years." ...Wagner has always loved the Braves. Calling himself a lifelong Braves fan who grew up watching the team on TBS, Wagner said it's always been his goal to pitch for Atlanta. The deal came together quickly after Wren, manager Bobby Cox and pitching coach Roger McDowell flew to Wagner's rural Virginia home to make their pitch in person. ''I grew up loving Dale Murphy. I remember Bob Horner hitting four home runs in a game,'' Wagner said. ''They have such a great tradition of winning and competing and great guys. I wanted to be a part of that. I'm excited about the opportunity. They'll get the best I have to offer.'' It was nice of them to stop by anyway.

Good defense in a catcher forgives a so-so bat. But it was so-so defense, at least nothing that stood out as spectacular (the stats say four passed balls; the mind's eye has multiplied that). The pitcher-whisperer aspect of catching didn't seem to be there either; did anybody definitively find his rhythm because he was throwing to Schneider? Now and then Pelfrey, but then he'd catch him the next start and Pelf's mind would wander per usual (more on Pelf than Schneid, but so much for magical powers of catchers). If the rest of the lineup had been healthy and clicking in 2008 -- consider the loss of time and/or production for Alou, Church and Castillo plus Delgado's terrible first half -- I think you could pencil in a defensive mainstay five times a week eighth in your batting order and not worry.

I don't know that Schneider struggled, at least not in his quest to live up to his standard. Schneider the past two years was pretty much what he was his entire career, just more so. His 162-game average via Baseball-Reference: 10 HR, 62 RBI, .251 BA, .323 OBP, .374 SLG His 169 games as a Met: 12 HR, 62 RBI, .244 BA, .323 OBP, .356 SLG Schneider was Schneider.

Here's the full article from which the offending quote emanates. Sounds to me as if Coste has forgotten that, despite always being a Phillie, he was most recently an Astro. Also seems they take this "hated Mets" stuff a lot more seriously down there than we take this "hated Phillies" stuff. When the call came, no more than a few hours after he officially filed for free agency, Chris Coste knew the offers weren't going to be overwhelming. Still, that didn�t make it any easier. Rather than jump at a split minor league/major league deal, Coste asked for a couple of days to mull it over. Of all teams to come calling, Coste wasn�t expecting to sign a free-agent deal with the hated New York Mets. But that�s just what he did on Monday afternoon, agreeing to a one-year split deal. �It was the Mets,� Coste told CSN. �It�s the last team I ever saw myself playing for. I knew I was going to accept it, but had to think about it for a few days.� Certainly if anyone understands the business aspect of baseball it�s Coste. Having spent the past decade kicking around in the minors in a dozen different organizations, Coste never got a shot at the big leagues until he hooked up with the Phillies. So when the Phillies waived him last July in order to go with Paul Bako as the backup catcher, Coste knew the best chapter of his baseball odyssey had come to a close. Understandably, after parts of four seasons where he fought for every inch gained and was never given anything more than a chance to prove himself, Coste never wanted to leave Philadelphia. �I will always be a Phillie,� Coste told CSN this evening. But next season Coste will be with the Mets�his third team since general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. waived him on July 10. That is Coste will be a Met if he makes the team. Once again the backup catcher, right-handed pinch hitter, and infielder will have to show up at spring training in February ready to compete to earn a spot. After all, according to Coste the Mets probably are not finished accumulating backup catchers. Veteran backstop Henry Blanco is reported to be on the Mets� radar. Additionally, the Mets have a bit of a logjam on the 40-man roster at catcher in the young-talent department. Omir Santos caught 96 games in 2009 in his first real taste of big league ball and Josh Thole hit .321 during a September call up. Once again Coste will be swimming upstream. �It it wasn�t my choice to leave Philly,� Coste said. �I never wanted to leave Philadelphia, I will always consider myself a Phillie.� Philadelphia is where it all went right for Coste. Not only did he make a big league club for the first time, he also earned a World Series ring as the backup catcher to Carlos Ruiz in 2008. In parts of four seasons with the Phils, Coste slugged 23 homers and batted .283. However, in 45 games with the Phillies in 2009, Coste struggled with a .245 average in 102 at-bats. When ex-Phillies GM Ed Wade picked him up on July 10, Coste�s struggles continued when he closed out the season with a .208 average in 43 games and 103 at-bats with no homers. Strangely though, one of Coste�s best big league games came for the Phillies against the Mets during the 2008 season when he entered the game in the eighth inning as a pinch hitter, remained in to catch and went 4-for-4 with a clutch double and the game-winner in the 13th. So yeah, the Mets know all about Coste (and vice-versa) considering he has faced the Phils� hated rival more times than any other club (36 games, .286 avg., 2 HRs in 98 ABs). And just like the Phillies did for four straight springs, the Mets stacked the odds against Coste and told him to compete.

I was taking perverse glee in describing all home run totals as "Schneider-Plus" last June 19, since Schneider had zero. Then he lashes one over the right field fence off Andy Sonnanstine and there went that bit. When nothing else was going on the winter we got him, SNY gave him star trade/free agent treatment with the posing with the jersey and the attractive wife by Radio City and such and it just pissed me off. This is what you do for Carlos Beltran, I thought, not Brian Schneider. Is this our big acquistion? Santana came later. Huge pinch-hit double off Tom Gordon at CBP, 7/5/08, put the Mets ahead, sparked the ten-game winning streak that launched the Mets into legitimate contention for the balance of the season. He had a beard at the time. Reminded me of the South Park episode in which Cartman wore a beard and became the parallel universe version of himself (which itself was taken from Star Trek). Schneider grew a beard and was suddenly hella good. Some Phillie writer after we got him referred to him as a "Phillie-killer," so they must be happy today. They paid more attention to him than I did, pre-Met. I don't think I ever got past the idea that we'd gone from Grote to Stearns to Carter to Hundley to Piazza to Lo Duca -- all-stars all -- to Brian Schneider. He just brought me down. Not totally his fault; I was ready to be brought down, I suppose. I appreciated the articles that ran in September about he was showing Josh Thole the ropes (though not too many of them, I hoped, lest he get all Schneidered up). He knew he wasn't going to be back, so he was generous. Contrasted with the story in "The Complete Game" about Ron Hodges spitting tobacco juice all over the newly called up Ron Darling's uniform pants, it spoke well for the Schneid. And poorly for Ron Hodges.

Five and a third OK (for 1967) innings (2 ER, 4 BB, 6 H, 8 SO) does not cut much ice with the gathering, that doesn't lavish applause on the young not-yet ace as he leaves. That much today would earn a semi-standing O in an MLB debut.

At 4:21... The New York Mets are on the way Let's Go Mets Three cheers* for all the boys that play Let's Go Mets Exciting yes they are Each player is a star The best in the land by far they are Let's Go Mets *Best guess as read through the overlay.

From the Alaska Goldpanner's YouTube channel, Tom Seaver becomes a Met, here. Dig the still-unrefined motion, the hustling all over the field and Shea's brief foray into mint green fences.

And Sports Illustrated was doing such a good job all these years not naming Derek Jeter its Sportsman of the Year.

Times breaks the story that front runners like to be associated with winners, not losers...and that the Mets are asking an absurd amount for "embroidered lettering" and "finer material". Guy quoted at the Mets store is a Mets blogger, FYI. Can't say we don't get out of our mothers' basements on occasion. November 28, 2009 At a Yankees Shop, Buzz; At a Mets Store, a Hush By KEN BELSON It was a tale of two Black Fridays for New York�s baseball teams. The Yankees Clubhouse on 42nd Street, still basking in the glow of the team�s 27th World Series championship, was flooded with customers elbowing through racks of commemorative T-shirts, hats and jackets. Pedestrians stopped to snap photographs of the storefront. Two blocks east, the Mets Clubhouse hosted a handful of passers-by who gazed at the rows of jerseys and sweatshirts, many 50 percent off. The store seemed to be as quiet as Shea Stadium was after Carlos Beltran looked at Adam Wainwright�s called third strike to end the 2006 season. The retail foot traffic largely mirrored the team�s on-field performances this year. The Yankees added another piece of armor to their gold-plated reputation as winners. The Mets sank in the standings early before fading into comical irrelevance. The stores on 42nd Street were yet more evidence that winning sells. Aoi Niwa, for instance, breezily spent $203 on a World Series hat, T-shirt and sweatshirt at the Yankees Clubhouse. Her father in Japan is a big fan of Hideki Matsui, she said. During their last phone conversation, he asked Niwa to pick up some items to commemorate the team�s championship and Matsui�s World Series Most Valuable Player award. �It�s a little pricey, but it�s worth it,� said Niwa, who lives in Portland, Ore., and was visiting a friend in New York for Thanksgiving. Across the street at Modell�s, the front of the store was wall-to-wall Yankees merchandise. Jeter replica jerseys were being sold for $120, Yankee fleece jackets for $60 and sweatshirts for $55. Yankee hats with the World Series logo were $36. It is hard to gauge the success of an entire shopping season on one day�s foot traffic. But Peter Augustine, the president of New Era Cap, the market leader in baseball caps, said that he expected sales to be unchanged this holiday season compared with last year despite the victory by the Yankees, the No. 1 selling team. �While the Yankees always outsell the Mets, their win did not provide the kind of bump in sales that we would normally expect,� he said. �We blame that on the recession.� Of course, that has not stopped teams like the Mets and the Yankees from introducing merchandise. The Mets, for instance, unveiled new retro jerseys Friday, ones similar to those worn by the players on the 1969 championship team wore. The home uniform tops, which the players will wear next season, include pinstripes against a light cream background, similar to those the team wore starting in 1962, when the Mets set a modern-day record for losses in a season. There were no signs, however, to announce the arrival of the new uniform tops lined up against the wall at the Mets Clubhouse store. The jerseys, which have embroidered lettering and are made with a finer material, cost $266, nearly three times the cost of other replica jerseys. The retro jerseys sparked a debate among fans on various Mets-related blogs. Some thought the team should focus more on improving the team and less on marketing. Others thought that the jerseys were an effort to make fans feel good just as they receive their season-ticket renewal notices. In any case, $266 was too pricey for Ben Testa, a Mets fan who stopped in the store on his way to work. Testa asked an employee how many of the new jerseys he had sold so far. None, he was told, as of midafternoon Friday. Testa said he might have bought a jersey if it were less expensive, but said he was not in the mood to spend a lot on the Mets anyway. He was annoyed by the team�s performance the past three seasons and planned to give up his season tickets, which he has had since 1985. The jerseys are �all about marketing,� he said. �It�s no coincidence that they came out on Black Friday,� Testa said. �They know they�re going to take a hit with ticket renewals.� FYI, mets.com lists new replica alternate jersey for $79.99. Don't know if the difference is a matter of name or customization or what. I'd think embroidered lettering would be worth two hundred smackers alone.

Ballot for 2010 announced here. Includes five Mets, all first-timers: � Roberto Alomar � Kevin Appier � David Segui � Robin Ventura � Todd Zeile Other candidates from lesser teams: Harold Baines, Bert Blyleven, Ellis Burks, Andre Dawson, Andres Galarraga, Pat Hentgen, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Shane Reynolds, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell

One of those facts of which I was vaguely aware, so I did a little research on the Mets' public debut at the 1961 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, result...here. And the original underdog float, so to speak...here.

Wilson "Good Glove, but Not as Slick as the Exxon" Valdez, signs minor league deal with hated Phillies.

The Mets play in 2009 required generous access to cocktails.

Interestingly enough, the Mets gave up having a plan years ago.

Kong's got the best junk in his trunk. I remember reading that article in 1976, somewhat surprised the Mets would cop to Shea Stadium having been "skid row" for home run hitters. Guess they could admit it once they had a legitimate slugger.