Gwreck

batmagadanleadoff wrote: metirish wrote: So weird to see the Phillies playing the Rangers on Opening Day Just as weird as having the Mets and Astros close the regular season against each other, what with the Astros now in the AL. Of course, 15 team leagues means that there'll always be an interleague series going on. I guess the schedule makers figure on both of these teams being eliminated by season's end -- so might as well have them play against each other, rather than against a team that might still be in contention. Don't think that's a consideration. Seems to me the Tigers ended last season in Miami. They do try to limit interleague games to one series at a time in April and September however.

With Young not in the lineup, looks like that debate will be moot for now. I think it's been [crossout:2k9njvhr]a while[/crossout:2k9njvhr] since there was only one new Met debut in the starting lineup of a new season. Edit: not that long actually. Met debuts in opening day lineups, recent vintage: 2013 - Cowgill, Byrd, Buck 2012 - Torres 2011 - Emaus, Harris 2010 - Barajas, Cora 2009 - None 2008 - Schneider, Church, Santana 2007 - Alou 2006 - LoDuca, Delgado, Nady 2005 - Mientkiewicz, Martinez 2004 - Gutierrez, Matsui, Cameron, Garcia

Ryan Zimmerman is the Nationals' version of David Wright. Face-of-the-franchise, plays third base, has power, well-regarded defensively before having some throwing problems; missed time for injury in 2011. They're even from the same area of Virginia and played youth baseball together (Zimmerman is two years younger). Zimmerman doesn't hit quite as well as David but it's not too shabby: .344 OBP, .465 SLG last year in 147 games. 26 homers. Ryan is signed to a long term contract (through 2020) and in 3-4 seasons should be passing Tim Wallach (hits, runs, RBI) and Vladimir Guerrero (HR) for most of the Expos-Nationals career offensive records. Tim Raines' stolen base record is secure. Ryan is unrelated to starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann, who has an extra "N."

I don't think I've ever done the Cubs KTE before. So I'll take that one this year. And, lessee...how about the Athletics?

Just like it was in the mid-00s:

Nice job hitting the cutoff man there.

Umm, I'm not seeing much improvement from Ike here.

Is this where I make my annual plea to leave the voting threads open longer? Love the process but sometimes it's not possible to get all the votes in.

John Candelaria (?)

Scott Atchison

G-Fafif wrote: Batting eighth, the pitcher, warming up in the bullpen... That will/would be strange. Back when Tony L. was doing that, I had given some thought to making custom scorecards -- to accommodate extra substitutions in the 8 spot instead of at the bottom of the card. But if it's now going to be our thing, I think I may well need to do it after all. Got my ticket. 6 days until baseball is back!

1. Reach base safely Wright 2. Get a hit Wright 3. Draw a walk Duda 4. Hit a double Wright 5. Hit a triple Chris Young 6. Hit a home run Granderson 7. Steal second base Eric Young 8. Reach by error D'Arnaud 9. Hit a grounds-rule double Wright 10. Score a run Wright 11. Drive in a run Granderson 12. Get hit by a pitch Tejada 13. Drive in more than one run in a single plate appearance Granderson 14. Hit into a double play Davis 15. Get caught stealing OR picked off base Eric Young 16. Strike out Davis 17. Bunt for a base hit Eric Young 18. Get tagged out at home Chris Young 19. Pinch hit Satin 20. Be pinch-hit for Gee 21. Commit an error Tejada 22. Play a batted ball by an opponent in fair territory Tejada 23. Be called on to relieve Torres 24. Strike out 6 or more batters in the same game Matsuzaka 25. Hit an opposing batter with a pitch Matsuzaka Bonus: score the first double play the Mets turn 6-4-3

82-80 Third place No playoffs

Dodgers over Tigers No playoffs for MFYs. 4th place in the East.

Missed this thread before. My everlasting memory of Byrdak is, for whatever reason, him involved in a mix-up in signaling for relievers in a game in Detroit a couple of years back and was brought into the game cold, promptly giving up a two-run homer to Andy Dirks.

Zvon wrote: The patch is for the uniform, do something else special for Ralph on the OF wall (or wherever they are going to add a tribute to the stadium itself). At the risk of sounding unnecessarily curmudgeonly, I fail to see any need for something on the outfield wall, or naming part of the park "Kiner's Korner" or anything similar. Ralph didn't play for the Mets. They rightfully named the television booth after him. They're honoring him this year with a very nice patch. Several other stadiums have put up statues or similar for longtime announcers. Seattle, for Dave Niehaus. I remember seeing something nice in St. Louis for Joe Buck. Something like that -- perhaps in the Mets Hall of Fame -- would be far more appropriate.

For the record, I accidentally voted 2006 when I meant to vote 2000. This entire topic makes me sick to my stomach. Not that it's not a valid topic of discussion (it is).

Jeff Cirillo?

Made a couple of changes so it wasn't the exact same but I will freely admit that I cribbed liberally from Edgy: Dear Mr. Puglise: Congratulations on securing the broadcast rights for the New York Mets. As an avid fan and regular radio listener, I was very glad to hear that the Mets will be calling your 50,000 watt clear-channel station home. I have heard the recent news that the broadcasting team for the upcoming season is somewhat unsettled, particularly regarding whether both Howie Rose and Josh Lewin will be returning as broadcasters. It would be a terrible mistake for WOR to not retain both Mr. Rose and Mr. Lewin. They comprise the best baseball radio team in the majors. They both have a deep, passionate understanding of baseball and the Mets. As broadcasters, their styles complement each others' better than any other broadcasting team the Mets have ever had. They make each other a better broadcaster, and the Mets fans listening on the radio reap the benefits. Please ensure that both Howie and Josh remain in their broadcasting for both the upcoming 2014 season and the foreseeable future. It would be a catastrophic loss to lose either of these fantastic, talented broadcasters. Very truly yours, Gwreck

Henry Blanco

Ceetar wrote: And I love Josh, I think he does a great job and I'll be pissed if they don't keep him, but he's been here two years. How long he's been with the Mets is irrelevant. He is FANTASTIC and the Mets and/or WOR would be idiotic to replace him. Losing him would be be an unquestionable travesty.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: and a 25-year-old two-time Cy winner At the risk of sacrilege here, it probably should have been 3. No matter how good the R.A. Dickey narrative was.

I bet he turns out to be worth it

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I think that's a wise decision. Now, instead of embarrassing himself on the field, he can retire and go home and start bullying his neighbors into cutting down their trees. I thought that was Olerud who had the problems with his neighbors' trees.

I think that's a fair definition, even though it's likely there was plenty of steroid use before then. Mostly I have little use for the voters who suggest they can't vote for anyone in the "steroid era" but show little understanding of that term.