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Triple Happiness, 3/28/07: The season is starting in four days. The season is starting in four days. The season is starting in four days.

FK is made of stronger fiber than I. I just read that and had to wipe the drool from my chin. But you're right. It's all posturing at this point. Still, he does hit well. And the pitching ain't store brand cereal either.

John Olerud had 8 ABs in 1989. John Gibbons hit a cool .474 in 1986 in 19 ABs, but I'm guessing we're looking for a plate appearance minimum that's a bit higher?

I rooted hard for the Tigers to remain inept a little longer than they did. Let somebody else wear the ass crown, as it were. A reasonably professional 60-102 probably wouldn't have harmed the '62 Mets as a desirable business entity, but if you think about it, do you ever hear about the '62 Astros or '69 Royals or '93 Marlins, et al? Maybe if we were Astros, Royals or Marlins fans we'd say "of course," but the '62 Mets do stand out among first-year expansion teams. Should a team come along and do what the '03 Tigers failed to do and lose those last few damn games to get to 39-123, the '62 Mets will still be the '62 Mets.

Johnny Dickshot wrote: Could you imagine having your own "theme song" play when you walk into a room? And if so would you let some kid choose it for you? I'd be grateful if it weren't "The Baby Elephant Walk".

Was en route to see Soler throw against the Orioles last June (his last better than decent start, it would turn out) when I crossed paths with JD. Told him where I was going. Ah, he said, Soler...gotta go see him soon. Yes, I thought, this is quite a bonus, watching a hot new Met take the mound. I once felt the same way about getting a gander at Masato Yoshii. Those feelings hardly ever last.

K-Mac and Dub-Huck aren't related. Except spiritually.

Wilbur Huckle? Tom Seaver's roommate at Jacksonville! From The Perfect Game by TS and Dick Schaap: ]My first year in professional baseball, I roomed with a fellow named Wilbur Huckle, who played the infield for Jacksonville. We had a rather unusual relationship. I never saw Wilbur Huckle in our room -- at least not awake. I never talked with him. I never heard him. I never ate a meal with him. When I came in at night, early or late, he was either out or asleep. And when I got up in the morning, he was always gone. He got up early and went on long walks by himself. Apparently Wilbur gave life to the cliche about saying goodbye when you should be saying hello, or perhaps he never said hello: ]Lots of guys tried, but nobody ever beat Wilbur Huckle getting into street clothes after a game...Once, I heard, when Wilbur was playing in a lower minor league, his team was on a losing streak, and when they lost their sixth or seventh in a row, the manager started screaming at his players as they entered the clubhouse. "Sit down on the benches," he hollered. "This has gone too damn far. Just sit down and think about your mistakes. Think about your errors. Nobody's taking a shower until I say so." The manager was facing the whole team, scowling and storming, and right behind him stood Wilbur Huclke, fresh out of the shower, toweling himself dry. Wilbur never made it to the big club, but his nephew Kevin McReynolds had a nice career.

Rafael Santana's BA reached .290 just before the 1987 All-Star break and I was mildly livid that Hubie (whom I still adored) got the reserve nod over him from his own manager. Brooks first half '87: 7-30-.284 Santana first half '87: 4-28-.284 Close enough, I thought, for home cookin'. While he didn't keep it up, Ralphie was a representative eighth-place batter on an offensively stacked club every year except 1986, and then it was in first half (.164) only that he was dreadful. He was that ideal shortstop of his time: got to most balls, didn't mess up too much, hit just enough. Didn't distinguish himself that postseason, however.

Damn, those commercials, not unlike Billy Crystal, suck. They show three vintage Mets pictures, one of which is clearly from Shea and another from inside a clubhouse which could be anywhere while they're supposed to be illustrating the Mets' Florida heritage. And all the modern-day Mets action is from like five years ago (Piazza singling by Kent of the Giants). I visited and liked Al Lang/St. Petersburg a great deal toward the end of its day in the Met sun. Never been to PSL. Anybody got anything good/bad to say about it from experience? It always looks like the Mets are playing in a lonely shadow.

Frayed Knot wrote: Ballplayers don't always provide the best perspective on things, even when they were a part of them. Thought of this insightful statement about half an hour ago listening to Dan Patrick interview Lou Piniella on ESPN Radio regarding where Alfonso Soriano will hit in the Cubs' order. Since Soriano has so much power, would you move him from leadoff? was Patrick's question. Piniella answered with an inspirational story about how the Yankees got Bobby Bonds in his, Piniella's, first year with the team, when "we were playing at Shea Stadium," and Bonds was inserted into the cleanup slot and hated it and was doing miserably, so he was switched back to leadoff and he thrived so much that he hit 40 homers and "the Yankees almost won the pennant." Let's see... --Bonds came in '75, Piniella's second year as a Yankee, team's second year at Shea --Bonds was traded for and replaced Murcer who had a devil of a time at Shea, so I'm guessing Piniella kind of blurred them together (having gone out of his way to invoke the ballpark) --Bonds, for the most part, batted either third (33 times) or first (101 times). He indeed hit for a much higher average as a leadoff man and hit with more power (five homers from the three-hole where he hit until mid-May). --Bonds hit 32 homers. Very nice, but not 40, not particularly close to 40. Tailed off in the second half, too. --The Yankees battled the Orioles for the A.L. East crown, right down to the wire in 1974 while Bobby Bonds was still in San Francisco. In '75, Bonds' only year, they were very much an also-ran. Piniella's overriding point, that sometimes a power hitter is more comfortable batting leadoff, is proven out. But most of the points he used to make it were askew. But how would he remember? He was only a player then.

No. 225!

Jeff Pearlman on Ed Hearn, the Good Guy from the "Bad Guys"... http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=pearlman/070307&sportCat=mlb

Meanwhile, back in Klap Land... ]Whether he admits it or even wants it, Glavine has become the Mets' captain, as steadying as Pedro Martinez was electric.Somebody tell all those everyday players who look up to Delgado and Franco to divert their eyes toward the guy who pitches every fifth day. Funny that after all these years of being told pitchers aren't really players in the eyes of their teammates that Glavine has emerged, in Klapisch's mind, as their leader. He's steadying. Pedro was electric. Pedro going out and pitching seven great innings time after time before his injury wasn't steadying, huh? He just had the fielders dancing happy jigs, apparently. But Glavine's a calm, reassuring presence. Captain material! At least until he hands it off to Wright, another calm, reassuring presence on a team of otherwise electric players.

Jose got to me first, back in the darkest of dark 2003 days, and I remain loyal. I love David a bushel and a peck but have always harbored the slightest resentment that he moved to the head of the class (5, 5, everywhere a 5) a year later.

Wow, there's more of a story there than I thought. All apologies to Klap.

Klapisch is a moron. ]PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Hand on his heart, David Wright swears he wasn't trying to steal Alex Rodriguez away from the Yankees, or tell the Mets' front office how to build a dynasty to last through the next decade.All Wright was doing when he offered to surrender third base to A-Rod was make it politically easier for the Yankees slugger to cross enemy lines in 2008, should he decide to opt out of his current contract. Nice guy, David Wright. "Maybe too nice," one Mets veteran said. "He's the guy we need to be the leader here, not A-Rod." That sentiment resounded throughout the organization on Monday, a day after Wright made his surprising, public offer to Rodriguez. Even if the future Hall of Famer were to consider leaving the Bronx, the Mets have no plans, now or ever, to move Wright off third base. Instead, they're counting on Wright to be the hitting machine who had 20 HRs and 74 RBIs in the first half of the 2006 season. An All-Star at the age of 23, Wright had the can't-miss credentials of someone preparing for a long, uninterrupted run of stardom in New York. But then came the All-Star break -- and, specifically, the Home Run Derby -- and Wright was evicted from Olympus. He hit just six HRs in his final 243 at-bats, and was uncharacteristically vulnerable in October, too, batting just .160 in the NL Championship Series against the Cardinals. In fact, while it appeared the Mets were doomed when they lost Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez in the postseason, it was Wright's untimely slump that sabotaged them. What exactly went wrong? Scouts say Wright became vulnerable to sliders down and away, chasing pitches out of the strike zone. There's a fine line between an aggressive swing and one that's fueled by panic; Wright crossed the line as October's pressure mounted. One bird dog who watched Wright during the Cardinals series described him as "tight as a drum." Wright didn't disagree. "Next time, I'll know how to control my emotions better and relax," Wright said. "Everything is under a microscope in the postseason, and it's easy to get carried away. I definitely got too excited." That's hardly a sin for a player who debuted at the age of 21 and became a bona fide star in just two summers. Sometimes it's hard to believe Wright is still so young; he looks and acts like a veteran who understands the challenges of being a big city superstar. In some ways, though, Wright looks like an easy target for the professional parasites: He's open and honest and approachable, which is the first mistake in the celebrity instruction manual. None other than Derek Jeter says Wright has to be careful about choosing his friends as his star quotient grows. "Not many people can understand what David is going through," Jeter said recently. "I don't know him that well, I've met him only a few times, but he seems to have a good head on his shoulders. But he has to ask himself every time someone wants to get close to him, 'How did this person get here?' and, 'Is this person telling me the truth, or just telling me what he thinks I want to hear?' "David has to be really careful, if he isn't already." For his part, Wright says Jeter is "a role model for younger players like myself. He knows how to conduct himself on and off the field. He's the best there is at that kind of stuff." In many respects, Wright has it easier than Jeter, simply because the Yankees shortstop has such a larger footprint in the celebrity culture. While Wright says he mostly hangs out with his high school buddies from Virginia, Jeter told Newsday that he spent his last vacation in Europe with Michael Jordan. But the professional gap between Wright and Jose Reyes and Jeter and A-Rod is closing. The left side of the Yankees' infield obviously has a longer, more impressive resume, but the Mets have the younger, more athletic profile. So why would Wright offer to vacate third base? Partly because he's truly a nice guy with an ordinary, you-and-me ego. And partly because Wright knows a superstar when he sees one. "You're talking about one of the game's greats, and at the end of his career, he could be the greatest of all time," Wright said of Rodriguez. "He does everything in the game exceptionally well. He's a huge addition to any team." When informed of Wright's comments, A-Rod told the Bergen Record, "Did he really say that? Wow. Tell him I'm flattered." Where, exactly, would Wright play in this fantasy crossover? He smiled and said "anywhere," but the two most realistic choices would be left field or second base. Then again, it's probably A-Rod who'd have to be willing to switch, assuming he wanted the Mets to take him seriously as a free agent. After signing Wright to a six-year, $55 million deal last summer, it's clear the Mets are banking their future on him -- at third base. The Mets think they have their money parked in the right place. Who'd dare to disagree? Can we stop this lazy Jeter-Wright nonsense? They're two different people. And if the subject is A-Rod, the last guy I'd go to for any kind of perspective would be the guy who has sent one of the best players of this or any generation simpering to the media to publicly decompose on the subject of sleepovers. David was giving a perfectly reasonable gee-whiz answer to the hypothetical surrounding A-Rod opting for the Mets if given the chance. Doesn't mean it's going to happen. Doesn't mean David's building his life around it. If the Mets have no plans of signing Alex Rodriguez, then it doesn't really matter anyway. I know it's spring and pots have to be stirred, but Klapisch is useless. The blind quote (Wagner's, I'm guessing) proves what? That somebody else doesn't feel so charitable toward Rodriguez? It's a free country. As for that "he sucked the second half and in the postseason...but that's no sin" line of reasoning? Translation: I want to make a big deal out of David Wright's slump but I don't really have enough ammo to do so. So go ask Jeter what he thinks. Jeter's the fucking authority figure on every fucking thing these horrible, lazy hacks who infest our baseball dialogue can manage to scrape together until we have actual, real games to talk about. Jeez, these guys get under my skin.

From Bill Madden's obit in Saturday's News: ]Labine was 77-56 with a 3.56 ERA in a career that began in 1950 and ended with his release by the original Mets in 1962. But it was his unparalleled success against Musial, an otherwise notorious Dodger-killer, that Labine maintained was his proudest accomplishment. He retired Stan the Man an incredible 49 consecutive times. "My pitches were neutral," Labine said. "They didn't run in on a batter or away, just straight up and down, so I was just as efficient against lefties as I was with righties. With Stanley, I didn't have a good changeup - which he loved - so I just never threw him one." He could certainly be proud of holding him to .238 and 3 RBI.

Available to the Mets and Colt 45s via the expansion draft: A pool of 15 players from each N.L. team -- seven from the active roster as of 8/31/61 and eight from the rest of the players under their control. No individual club could lose more than four players to one team (or eight to both teams). In other words, you could protect just about everybody you wanted to protect. In those reserve clause days, leaving seven major leaguers and eight minor leaguers out by the curb was probably doing the existing clubs a favor. Quotes from the front offices right after the draft: Paul Richards, Colt 45s... ]We have a strong nucleus for a fine young club, which should help us build a contender in a hurry. From now on, we ask favors from no one. George Weiss, Mets... ]We did as well as we expected to do, maybe a little better, but please don't think this will be our starting club on opening day. We plan to purchase many more players and have some deals in mind. Richards, in retrospect, was kitting himself. Weiss tamped down expectations yet was still ("a little better?" A little better than what?) kidding himself. With all that dreck in the air, may as well revel in the opportunity to bring back Clem Labine and other expatriates.

Also, not a lot of great expansion options for N.L. teams in '62. Maybe the Mets could have drafted younger and with less of an eye toward old hometown heroes, but (and I'd have to look up the details) the existing teams were given great latitude in who they could protect, greater than it would be in later expansions. Also, no free agency, something the '90s expansioneers (especially the Diamondbacks) would take advantage of.

Clem Labine did not like Dick Young, which makes Labine all that much more likable. From Boys of Summer: ]I've got no bitterness. I'm here and he's still in New York with his column. I remember when the Mets dropped me. I deserved it. Still, it was the end. All Young could say, he'd known me thirteen years, was this. He said, 'That's the way it goes.'

My main man Jason gets to the root of his collecting in today's Flashback: http://faithandfear.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2007/3/2/2774506.html

HoJo was up as a coach at the very end of 2005. Sat on the bench mostly, but was sent out to stand in the first base box on the last day of the season (just the last inning, I recall). He wore 52 that day. Not a big story considering it was Mike Piazza's farewell. Thread title sounds a little like phone sex dialogue for ex-Major Leaguers.

Hub bids Mags hello. ]Hired in October to replace Ron "Papa Jack" Jackson, Magadan inherits one of the most talented offenses in the game. "When I was let go from San Diego in June, I gave the Red Sox a call -- Theo Epstein was obviously in San Diego before he came here," Magadan said. "The Red Sox happened to be going to Tampa, which is where my home is, to play the Devil Rays. I met with Theo at that point and started a dialogue with him." Magadan began to get a feel for the organization early on in his time with the Red Sox. "I came on board at first in an undefined role," he said. "I went up to Boston and was in on some meetings, talking about players and stuff like that -- Minor League players -- and I was on board in that respect. Then it kind of evolved after the letting go of Papa Jack, and they interviewed me for the hitting coach job, and here I am." Magadan has already watched hours of tape on each hitter while charting their tendencies. "He's very organized," manager Terry Francona said. "He watched everybody's mechanics before he got here so there's a lot of familiarity, or as much as there could be, which I appreciated. He'll do fine." As was Magadan's approach during his career with the Mets, Marlins, Mariners, Astros, Cubs, A's and Padres, patience will likely be a recurring theme. "Obviously, I'm a hitting coach who believes in patience at the plate and taking your walks when they're there to be taken, and I think that fits really well with the philosophy of the organization," Magadan said. "Instead of taking what I feel and jam it into these guys who have been established for a long period of time, I think my job is to realize what these guys do well when they're going good and being able to approach them when they're getting outside of that and going through periods of not hitting the ball hard. Really, that's most of your job at the big-league level." A legendary hitter at the University of Alabama, where he led his team to the NCAA Championship game in 1983 before falling to Roger Clemens and Texas, Magadan is excited to be working with a lineup that includes David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and J.D. Drew. "It's very exciting," Magadan said. "Obviously, there are great expectations on this team, especially offensively. I'm looking forward to seeing these guys on an everyday basis. I've looked at them from afar for a long period of time and admired the work that they do. It's going to be nice to be in the trenches there with them and see what they do." Magadan has spent most of his time in Fort Myers at the batting cages, watching countless swings and getting to know his hitters. "Most of the time in Spring Training, 90 percent of the time, is for the pitchers," Magadan said. "With the hitters, most of these guys have been hitting in the offseason. Now, it's just fine-tuning, getting used to the live pitching. Really, after a week or so of facing the live pitchers, they're good to go for the games. "I know as a player, it seemed I was ready to go two weeks into Spring Training, or at least two weeks into when the games started. The last two weeks or so was about surviving and staying away from injuries and fine-tuning things here and there." As is the case with nearly every player, Magadan has been influenced by others in the game. "When I was with the Mets, Mike Cubbage was a guy who had some influence on me," he said. "Then I went on to the Marlins and Doug Rader was our hitting coach one year there, and he kind of attacked the mental aspect of it and how to grind out at-bats and not give away at-bats." Magadan believes both teaching and learning about hitting is an ongoing process. "I think the good ones are the ones who feel that you never stop learning," he said. "No matter how old you are, you can still get better." And that's true whether you're Ortiz, Ramirez or their hitting coach.

Fonzie not ready for the Rico Brogna thread.