G-Fafif

Two pieces from the archives that might be of interest: � 25th anniversary retrospective on baseball's longest midseason strike here[/url:cbc2l7rf]. � Who the Mets didn't have to protect in that stupid compensation pool here[/url:cbc2l7rf].

Hail to the banners. Hail to the '69 and '86 corner displays, miniaturized as they are versus the Shea versions. Hail to the RF video screen which was a big bleeping help. Hail to etching 1969 Mets into the grass. Hail to the blue and orange Cow Parade cow in the Prom food court (part of a salute to Flushing). Hail even to the uni tops that didn't match the uni bottoms because they clothed winners. I didn't see all the Promenade imagery despite looking. I did see my first game from the Pepsi Porch in the company of Met Fairy and DGW along with the man who brings you perhaps the funnest for Met obsessives blog Mets Walk-Offs[/url:25n0jahi]. Got there way early and discovered virtually no line for the Shake Shack, which hence couldn't be resisted. A great night for yours truly and Bobby Parnell.

I hoped for less Paul when we got Siebert.

1969, through the prism of the dispiriting decade that succeeded it, here.

This is a great new method for column-writing: Suppose something you don't think could happen happens and react to it with horror. Beats waiting for actual news. Also, yeech.

Gene Wojciehowski gives Captain Template the soft rain treatment (though it reads like someone has a pinstriped shower fetish). Get out your umbrellas... ]Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Jeter the name that matters By Gene Wojciechowski ESPN.com BRONX BOMBSHELL: DEREK JETER SAYS HE USED STEROIDS Well, what would you do if ESPN interrupted your regularly scheduled programming for that one? Would it be enough to make you shred your season tickets, douse your baseball cards with charcoal fluid and delete America's pastime from your Facebook friends list? If I ever see Jeter's name attached to the hip of performance enhancers, I'm done. I mean it -- I'll never watch another big league game again. Because if Captain Pinstripes could do the Vitamin S deed, then anybody can. Jeter's name is where I draw the line in the PED sand. He is the absolute last guy I'd ever suspect of juicing. It seems so, well, beneath him. He is the one player who I actually think would walk away from the game if he thought he had to cheat to compete. Wouldn't be much point in caring about baseball if Derek Jeter's name ever showed up on some performance-enhancing drug list. To me, Jeter is the anti-Barry Bonds, the anti-Roger Clemens and the anti-Alex Rodriguez. He understands that if you compromise the game, you compromise yourself. Bonds, who didn't need to cheat but did anyway, was undone by an ego the size of Alcatraz. Clemens, the pathological liar who tries to intimidate people into believing his gum-wrapper-thin explanations, cheated because he was "The Rocket'' and you're not. And A-Rod, overpowered by the need to please and justify his historic contract, copped to at least three seasons of PED use -- but only after lying about it for years and only after he was cornered by the truth. Not Jeter. I can see him marrying Mariah Carey before I see him squirming in front of a Congressional hearing with the lawyered-up Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire. I can see him in a Boston Red Sox uni before I see him smirking his way through PED revelations like Manny Ramirez did in Los Angeles. Jeter would never put himself in that position. At least, that's what I want to believe. Then again, I wanted to believe it with his New York Yankees teammate, A-Rod. More than anything, I wanted to believe in the integrity of Rodriguez's numbers. I'm not a Yankees honk. In fact, I want to scrape my ears with a steel-haired barbecue grill brush every time I hear play-by-play man John Sterling do that grating, "Thhhhhhhhhhhhe Yankees win!'' thing. But how can you not admire the way Jeter treats his craft? He is the template for baseball professionalism. That's why I'd need a year's worth of Dr. Oz therapy sessions if it turns out Jeter did the steroids deed. And I'm not the only one. Yankees fans would go into permanent mourning if Jeter betrayed them. A-Rod's steroids admission they could handle; he was a free-agent import. Jeter, though, was born and raised by the organization. You think Yankees and you think Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Maris, Berra, Munson, Reggie and Jeter. Same thing goes for St. Louis. Cardinals fans worshipped Big Mac and then watched in disbelief as he napalmed his sport and reputation by refusing to "discuss the past.'' Can you imagine if Albert Pujols, the man who eventually replaced McGwire at first base, was a syringe enthusiast? City officials would have to set up a baseball suicide prevention clinic at Busch Stadium. Cards fans adore Pujols. A Jeter steroids admission would be the deal-breaker for me. Pujols, too. If those guys went pharmaceutical, I couldn't go to a big league game if Bud Selig paid me. Who would it be for you? Ken Griffey Jr.? If The Kid did it, I'm gone. Chipper Jones? The same. Mariano Rivera? I'd think about it. Joe Mauer? The sound of weeping followed by my baseball resignation letter. Jim Thome? Baseball's nicest guy wouldn't do that to us, would he? Tim Lincecum? Sadness if The Freak was a fake. Trevor Hoffman? Hells bells, please not Hoffman. David Wright? See Mauer response. More and maybe all of those names on that "secret'' steroids list will eventually leak out. In February, it was A-Rod. In June, it was Sosa. Last month it was Ramirez and David Ortiz. It's death by 96 or so paper cuts. So far the game has survived the depressing revelations. It sort of coagulates, scabs up and then heals as best as it can. But there could come a time when the PED damage reaches a tipping point. For me, the magic number is 2. Jeter's jersey number.

The Mets didn't hatch from nothing in 1962. It's a nice one-weekend nod to their other slightly indirect ancestors, with the NY representing the bridge from New York (N.L) prior to New York (N.L.) present. I do, however, draw the line at Stoneham Plaza. And let us not overlook the rest of the release which says the installations and banners are going up. I've been as down on the Mets as anybody in this realm but I applaud their taking, as MGIM put it, baby steps.

="Farmer Ted":3lurfiek]How about they throwback to the 60s Mets unis the way they SHOULD look? Ronnie said the other night that he regretted not being able to wear the classic Mets road uni, instead having to wear the "piping" uniform that never felt comfortable. I hear ya brutha.[/quote:3lurfiek] Mets have worn '69 throwbacks a couple of times and I'd be surprised (even if this is the Mets we're talking about) if they don't bring them back for the 40th anniversary reunion in a couple of weeks. metsguyinmichigan Aug 12 2009 03:14 PM I LOVE this. Baby steps, people. We know the team is heritage-acknowledgement challenged. They heard the complaints and they're making an effort . Frayed Knot Aug 12 2009 03:19 PM ="metsguyinmichigan"]We know the team is heritage-acknowledgement challenged. They heard the complaints and they're making an effort . By honoring some other team's heritage it seems to me. I don't get too worked up over this stuff one way or the other so this is not something I'm going to go to the mat over, but I don't see how this promotes NYM history or tradition. G-Fafif Aug 12 2009 03:38 PM The Mets didn't hatch from nothing in 1962. It's a nice one-weekend nod to their other slightly indirect ancestors, with the NY representing the bridge from New York (N.L) prior to New York (N.L.) present. I do, however, draw the line at Stoneham Plaza. And let us not overlook the rest of the release which says the installations and banners are going up. I've been as down on the Mets as anybody in this realm but I applaud their taking, as MGIM put it, baby steps. bmfc1 Aug 12 2009 04:29 PM Congrats to the Mets. Too bad it took 3/4 of the season for them to do something that should have been done by Opening Day but let's not dwell on that. Four good Mets things in one day: signing Matz; lowering some ticket prices; throwback unis to honor the NY Giants; and, banners/photos/pennants on the walls. Mex17 Aug 12 2009 04:45 PM The banners HAVE been up all year (on the flagpoles on top of the Pepsi Porch). I have no problem with additional fake banners for 69/73/86/00. If they add the bullshit ones for 88/99/06 again I'll be as pissed off again as I was all those years they were up at Shea. Gwreck Aug 12 2009 06:14 PM There's nothing wrong with putting up flags for winning the division. Wild card? Nope, unless you also win the pennant. John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 12 2009 06:20 PM There should be a place to commemorate every season, doesn't have to be a flag over the field. Maybe next to the Great Met Wall of Former Player Signatures. How's that project coming, I wonder? Kong76 Aug 12 2009 06:26 PM Mex17: I'll be as pissed off again as I was all those years they were up at Shea <<< They have meds for that. metsguyinmichigan Aug 12 2009 07:26 PM ="Frayed Knot"]="metsguyinmichigan"]We know the team is heritage-acknowledgement challenged. They heard the complaints and they're making an effort . By honoring some other team's heritage it seems to me. I don't get too worked up over this stuff one way or the other so this is not something I'm going to go to the mat over, but I don't see how this promotes NYM history or tradition. The front of the ballpark honors another team's heritage. So now they're going for a little balance. It's hard for them to wear 1969 throwbacks because they're not all that different from the pinstripes they wear now, especially if you get beyond the first level of the ballpark. It's not like they're going all Mercury Mets here. Nymr83 Aug 12 2009 07:31 PM ]Fourthly - dollars to doiughnuts that this hideous uni will return next year in some similar form as an 'alternate' they'll return sooner- as merchandise on mets.com, because thats got to be the real reason behind these. Kong76 Aug 12 2009 07:38 PM Seriously, does anyone get off the subway and walk towards Citi Field and think of Ebbets Field or the Dodgers after a couple of months now? Nymr83 Aug 12 2009 07:57 PM ="Kong76":uhl1k8h3]Seriously, does anyone get off the subway and walk towards Citi Field and think of Ebbets Field or the Dodgers after a couple of months now?[/quote:uhl1k8h3] when i get off the subway? no. when i enter the jackoe robinson shrine? yeah. which isn't to say that i care much is anyone here old enough to have gone to Ebbetts Field often enough to have alot of memories of it? do those people think 'Dodgers' when they get to Citi? Rockin' Doc Aug 12 2009 08:23 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Aug 12 2009 08:29 PM I suggest the Mets commemorate this season with a red cross, rather than a flag. Kong76 Aug 12 2009 08:27 PM For me, the whole Jackie thing wore off after two rides up the escalators. I think more about peeing, next beer, some grub, or finding people I might be looking for. Ashie62 Aug 13 2009 11:18 AM I don't care for retro Jerseys, but this NY Giants one is "OK" I thought it might have lapels and it doesn't. I hope it doesn't come with a baggy cap. These retro things remind me of the White Sox short pants motif in the 70's. David Wright in shorts..That would be a hoot metirish Aug 13 2009 11:21 AM From the Daily Snewz ] MORE TO COME: Fans will see more tributes to Mets history during the upcoming home stand. According to a team statement: "The Mets have begun installation of photographic imagery of famous players and historic moments in team history on the field and promenade levels as well as the display of team championship banners on the left-field wall."

Inspiration, apparently, here[/url:4wn5d7yk].

That only took 4-1/2 months. ]Mets to wear New York throwback uniforms to honor National League Heritage August 14-16 at Citi field 08/12/2009 3:29 PM ET MLB.com FLUSHING, N.Y., August 12, 2009 - The New York Mets today announced they will honor their National League heritage by wearing throwback uniforms inspired by the turn of the century New York Giants uniforms when they play the San Francisco Giants August 14-16 at Citi Field. The cream-colored jerseys feature an oversized blue "NY" on the front, blue and orange piping on the sleeves and a Mr. Met patch on the right sleeve. Mets Amazin' Memorabilia will auction off the jerseys to benefit the Mets Foundation on www.mets.com/gameused. In addition, the Mets have begun installation of photographic imagery of famous players and historic moments in team history on the Field and Promenade Levels as well as the display of team championship banners on the left field wall. The Mets were created after the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants left for California following the 1957 season. Major League Baseball granted New York a National League franchise in 1960, and the Mets played their first two seasons in 1962 and 1963 at the Polo Grounds - the former home of the Giants.

="Edgy DC":2tbev31w]I wonder if Castillo had ever previously slugged .447 over a month in his life.[/quote:2tbev31w] Twice in more or less full months. August 1999: .450 in 27 games. Also struck out 22 times, which he never again matched. May 2008: .472 in 22 games. That was the month of his last three homers. Frayed Knot Aug 11 2009 04:37 PM "Castillo led the Mets in July with 28 hits, a .368 batting average, a .447 slugging percentage and a .478 OBP, as well as 4 stolen bases. " OK, that's kind of disturbing. Centerfield Aug 11 2009 04:39 PM Wait until August when the slugging title goes to Santana. Nymr83 Aug 11 2009 04:39 PM ="Frayed Knot"]"Castillo led the Mets in July with 28 hits, a .368 batting average, a .447 slugging percentage and a .478 OBP, as well as 4 stolen bases. " OK, that's kind of disturbing. Mostly everything about this season has been disturbing. Edgy DC Aug 11 2009 07:39 PM ="Ashie62":vhq9ah1x]="Edgy DC":vhq9ah1x]I wonder if Castillo had ever previously slugged .447 over a month in his life.[/quote:vhq9ah1x] only his wife?[/quote:vhq9ah1x] Anybody get this?

PRATT'S PROGENY Pagan CF Castillo 2B Wright 3B Francoeur RF Tatis LF Murphy 1B Santos C Hernandez SS Pelfrey P MANTEI'S MISHPACHA Drew SS Oeltjen LF Parra CF Reynolds 3B Montero C Tracy 1B Romero RF Ojeda 2B Davis P

="Edgy DC":1gm1itry]did the Mets get any interesting compensation when the Braves signed away Washington?[/quote:1gm1itry] John Christensen was the comp pick in a very interesting[/url:1gm1itry] June 1981 draft. Benjamin Grimm Aug 14 2009 01:31 PM Wait... my memory of baseball history seems to be fuzzing up on me. There were draft picks as free agent compensation all the way back in 1980, before the 1981 strike? I thought that came along years later. And didn't it start out as a "pool" compensation? (That's how the Mets lost Tom Seaver to the White Sox, because Chicago had lost a free agent to some other team.) Frayed Knot Aug 14 2009 02:21 PM There were compensation picks going back, but the rules were different than today -- I don't know the specifics. The Mets, for instance, had multiple 1st round picks in '81 when they picked Strawberry with #1 and Billy Beane at #18 'Pool' compensation was the compromise reached when the players' association wouldn't agree to direct ML player transfer for a team losing a FA. Later that was dropped in favor of draft picks, although maybe it was a pool player AND a draft pick prior to that. Edgy DC Aug 14 2009 02:39 PM You're thinking 1980. Straw was number one, Bean #23, and (don't forget) John Gibbons at #24. Other future Mets taken in that first round by other teams include Don Schulze and Ross Jones. Frayed Knot Aug 14 2009 02:53 PM Beane, it turns out, was for losing Andy Hassler; Gibbons for Skip Lockwood. I think ML player compensation (via the pool process) was a result of the '81 strike. Owners wanted direct team-to-team compensation to act as a drag on FAgency, the pool process was the compromise. The current system of draft picks and supplemental picks (tweaked several times since) did away with that and was either a result of the mini-strike in '85 or put in a short time after that. Benjamin Grimm Aug 14 2009 02:58 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Aug 14 2009 03:09 PM I guess the "pool" thing was the result of the 1981 settlement. (Seaver was lost to the Sox after the 1983 season, so it wouldn't have been from the 1985 settlement.) My memory (apparently wrong) was that the big fuss in the 1981 strike was that the owners wanted to introduce compensation as a way of reining in free agency at least a little, and the players were, naturally, opposed to that. The "pool" idea came about as a compromise; the team that loses a player gets compensation, but there's no penalty to the team that signs the player. Thinking more about it, I guess the 1981 settlement was the one that abolished the "re-entry" draft. Remember that? A draft would be held that determined which teams could bid on which free agents. I remember getting all excited when the Mets "drafted" Reggie Jackson. Of course, they had no intention of ever talking to him. (Like there was any chance at all that the de Roulet Mets would sign a Reggie Jackson.) EDIT: Frayed Knot's post snuck in there while I was composing the above. If it looks like I didn't read his post, it's because I didn't! Benjamin Grimm Aug 14 2009 03:03 PM The Wikipedia 1981 strike article seems to support my recollection: ]Reasons for the strike The strike was called in response to the owners desperately wanting to win back the prerogatives over the players. The owners had already lost at the bargaining table and in the courts on the issue of the free agency draft. At issue during the seven week long negotiations was the owners demanding compensation for losing a free agent player to another team. The compensation in question was a player who was selected from the signing team's roster (not including 12 "protected" players). The players maintained that any form of compensation would undermine the value of free agency. The strike ends On July 31, 1981, a compromise was reached. In the settlement, teams that lost a "premium" free agent could be compensated by drawing from a pool of players left unprotected from all of the clubs rather than just the signing club. Players agree to restricting free agency to players with six or more years of major league service. [1] The settlement gave the owners a limited victory on the compensation issue. Frayed Knot Aug 14 2009 05:00 PM ="Benjamin Grimm"]... the 1981 settlement was the one that abolished the "re-entry" draft. Remember that? A draft would be held that determined which teams could bid on which free agents. I remember getting all excited when the Mets "drafted" Reggie Jackson. Of course, they had no intention of ever talking to him. (Like there was any chance at all that the de Roulet Mets would sign a Reggie Jackson.) The stupid thing was that when FA-gency was first forced on the owners they tried everything in their power to limit it (FA "Drafting", limits on how often a player could declare FA, etc) which is exactly what the players wanted; by reducing the supply (fewer FAs each year) the demand and therefore the prices went up. The owners were so far in over their heads on that issue that Miller had them both coming and going. G-Fafif Aug 14 2009 11:11 PM Two pieces from the archives that might be of interest: � 25th anniversary retrospective on baseball's longest midseason strike here[/url:cbc2l7rf]. � Who the Mets didn't have to protect in that stupid compensation pool here[/url:cbc2l7rf].

Just discovered: Another murder at the Feline Club. "Now they're killing off the centerfolds." One of the suspects is Victor, who comes on too strong. But according to Jill Monroe's sources, "Of course he's struck out more times than the '62 Mets." See for yourself at approximately 16:15.

I can't let the kid from Hicksville go by, not after his Mets-lovin' pedigree was revealed. He may be only a 34th-round pick, but you know any player who wanted to be the PA announcer at Shea Stadium is going to try his best to make it to Citi Field. Six games since signing, scattered over July and August. Batting .300. Learning his craft as a catcher, particularly his footwork. No word on whether he's painted his room in St. Lucie blue and orange. It must have pained him to have been a Long Island Astro, but considering he was born more than four years after Jesse Orosco struck out Kevin Bass, maybe he took it in stride.

No gray area a la Steven Matz here. This year's 34th-round draft pick, Cam Maron is the Met-lovin' goods, according to Newsday. ]Hicksville's Maron begins long road to Metsville August 8, 2009 Hicksville's Cam Maron says he's been a Mets fan since the day he was born. He auditioned for "Announcer for the Day" at Shea Stadium when he was 7 years old, and the room he shared with his brother was painted wall-to-wall orange and blue. And now he's playing ball for them. The Mets selected the recent Hicksville High School graduate and Newsday first-team All-Long Island catcher in the 34th round of the draft June 10. Maron signed June 29 and left for Port St. Lucie, Fla., the next day to play for the Gulf Coast League Mets. "There was no second guessing or regrets," said Maron, who was offered a scholarship to attend C.W. Post. "When I got the call, I knew I was going to sign with them." Although he is being used in mostly a backup role at St. Lucie, his numbers are good. Through Friday (in his first six professional games), he was hitting .300 with six runs, four walks and one RBI. He went 2-for-2 with a walk Wednesday against the Nationals. "Now I'm really starting to get used to it," Maron said. "There's a lot more mental preparation on this level because you face so many different pitchers. In high school, you knew just about everyone you were facing, because you grew up playing with and against them." His high school coach, Frank Ciaramitaro, had no doubt Maron would make the necessary adjustments. "His baseball acumen and work ethic are unparalleled," Ciaramitaro said. "There isn't anything he wouldn't do 100 percent." Maron said he's experienced upgrades in every facet of his game, including throwing runners out and calling a game behind the plate. "Most guys know the fundamentals already," Maron said. "But learning pitch sequences and calling defenses takes a lot of preparation." Maron said the Mets felt his footwork was good but noticed he was dropping his elbow on his throws. Maron is confident he'll master the position and said: "You're only going to get better through trial and error."

Fman99 wrote: ="Ashie62"]West Coast Mets Travel list..all signed at MLB minimum which would be a nice raise for myself themetfairy metsmarathon m.e.t.b.o.t. Metirish MFS62 SwanSwanH Fman99 Kong76 JCL LWFS EdgyDC Valadius bmfc1 Nymr83 Gwreck FrayedKnot Piggiesntomatoes Ashie62 Gwreck Mendoza Line A Boy named Seo Transmonk Metsinmichigan soupcan seawolf17 Travel Secretary- Stevie Jetes Put me in, Coach. I'm ready to play, today. Did Charlie Samuels leave me off the manifest again?

MFS62 wrote: m.e.t.b.o.t could never pull a muscle - doesn't have any. Couldn't the same be said for Angel Berroa?

Valadius wrote: Why have I never heard of Roger Ramjet? And I used to watch the Cartoon Network almost exclusively as a kid. RR goes back a ways. Faded from view by the early '70s.

Mention of Roger Ramjet always reminds me of Ram Jam.

Mets have to push the fences back next year. Citi Field plays too much like a bandbox.

We don't just owe this guy. We Pi�eir-owe him.