Gwreck

The key is that the ball cannot be put in play except by a pitch. And the pitch made by the pitcher was clearly illegal (ie. foot not on the rubber), hence the call of balk.

It's a balk and the ball is dead. Whatever the batter did with it does not count.

="G-Fafif":3732cwf6]I would have kept Mazz and dropped Matt Yallof.[/quote:3732cwf6] My preference would be to drop both. Not sad to see Mazzilli go. Vic Sage Nov 14 2008 02:20 PM my preference would be to drop both... off a cliff.

That's some strange voting there. Even Lincecum didn't appear on all ballots.

I will accept Lincecum winning over Santana (even if I disagree) but they're clearly 1-2. I would vote Lidge third, Webb fourth and Sabathia fifth.

Inconvenient (trip to the) Disabled List?

From 2008: What's listed as "May 24, 2008, Marlins at Mets" -- but must be May 28, 2008. Tuesday, 11/11, 2:00 PM From the past: August 27, 1986, Mets at Padres Monday, 11/10, 7:00 PM

Guess that makes Santana's win in '07 with the Twins that much more impressive.

smg is also low on Beltran. Not everybody will agree with me and put him at 30 but I can't see how he could fall to 26.

Can you give a link to the article? I missed this one apparently.

Not mentioned anywhere in the Cliff Floyd posts is that he didn't even play a single inning in the field in '08. He'll remain one of my favorite Mets regardless -- but I don't think we need him. I suspect Cliff retires.

smg58 wrote: Speaking of which, Juan Cruz pitched 51 innings last year. He'd be the kind of reliever the Mets should avoid anyway, but he's absolutely not worth a first round pick. Keep in mind that the compensation rules only apply if the club the player was with offers them arbitration. Ex. we're obviously not offering Moises Alou arbitration, so even if he signs somewhere else, we're not getting a compensation pick.

Why the Phillies won't be as good next year: 1. Injuries. In 2008, they had none, other than Geoff Jenkins. Four starters made 30+ starts, and the Blanton/Eaton combo had another 32. Bullpen healthy all year. Most of their key players are relatively young but having essentially zero major injuries is definitely a factor of luck as well. 2. Players who overperformed in 2008: Werth, Dobbs, Lidge, Moyer, Durbin Players who underperformed: Ruiz (?) I wouldn't be shocked to see Werth have a good year as a full-time player in '09. But the rest of those players won't be better in '09. 3. Ryan Howard's steady decline: 2006: .313/.425/.629 2007: .268/.392/.584 2008: .251/.339/.543 4. Plexiglass pinciple.

He could probably sell some of the jewelery to afford it.

="Edgy DC":29dbtj1c]It's as valid as any. I'll guess there's maybe four more combined among Woodward, Anderson, Offerman, Cairo, and Daubach. That's about six more wins. It gets them up to 89. If one of those wins comes at the expense of the division-champ 90-win Braves, we're tied! Crikey![/quote:29dbtj1c] Cairo 5, Woodward 4, Anderson 4, Offerman 1, Daubach 0. Of course most of those win shares were done at other positions. I think 4 is a valid estimation for the first-base contributions of those players. Frayed Knot Nov 05 2008 08:34 AM "Omar is obsessed with getting .... " Edgy DC Dec 02 2008 08:32 AM "We really liked the schools.' Let it go. HahnSolo Dec 02 2008 09:18 AM I'm fond of : "Sources familiar with the Mets' thinking..." G-Fafif Dec 02 2008 10:17 AM The Willie Randolph Edition: --Music and facial hair --The funk --"When we sip champagne..." --My guys --Three in the morning John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 02 2008 10:23 AM How dare you roll out the Willie edition without: "I've been around winners all my life..." Edgy DC Dec 02 2008 10:26 AM Just so we're clear: by consigning these Met references to hell, you don't get to use them as a writer any more without looking hopelessly outr�. John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 02 2008 10:34 AM Yeah, I kinda like "Willie the Winner." I'm not ready to cashier it yet. Edgy DC Dec 02 2008 11:24 AM 'Zactly. KC has a way of making ol' nuggets retain a certain freshness. He also has a good sense of what's "so 2003" and needs to stay there. G-Fafif Dec 02 2008 12:51 PM ="Edgy DC":hthd8qtk]'Zactly. KC has a way of making ol' nuggets retain a certain freshness. He also has a good sense of what's "so 2003" and needs to stay there.[/quote:hthd8qtk] The funk hasn't really come up in conversation lately, but the champagne line stays in circulation until the Mets complete a September intact. And three in the morning I'm keeping around in case of boneheaded management emergency. But yes, I can't believe I forgot "been a winner all my life."

="AG/DC":2yn5xsty]On the other hand, if there's anything to it, how many more games might the Mets have won with Delgado at first in 2005?[/quote:2yn5xsty] I know it's not a truly valid comparison, but Delgado had 31 win shares in 2005, while Mientkiewicz + Jacobs had 8. G-Fafif Oct 30 2008 08:28 AM New York's gonna love Bill Pecota. Still. Edgy DC Oct 30 2008 08:28 AM It's as valid as any. I'll guess there's maybe four more combined among Woodward, Anderson, Offerman, Cairo, and Daubach. That's about six more wins. It gets them up to 89. If one of those wins comes at the expense of the division-champ 90-win Braves, we're tied! Crikey! Gwreck Oct 30 2008 09:18 AM ="Edgy DC":29dbtj1c]It's as valid as any. I'll guess there's maybe four more combined among Woodward, Anderson, Offerman, Cairo, and Daubach. That's about six more wins. It gets them up to 89. If one of those wins comes at the expense of the division-champ 90-win Braves, we're tied! Crikey![/quote:29dbtj1c] Cairo 5, Woodward 4, Anderson 4, Offerman 1, Daubach 0. Of course most of those win shares were done at other positions. I think 4 is a valid estimation for the first-base contributions of those players. Frayed Knot Nov 05 2008 08:34 AM "Omar is obsessed with getting .... " Edgy DC Dec 02 2008 08:32 AM "We really liked the schools.' Let it go. HahnSolo Dec 02 2008 09:18 AM I'm fond of : "Sources familiar with the Mets' thinking..." G-Fafif Dec 02 2008 10:17 AM The Willie Randolph Edition: --Music and facial hair --The funk --"When we sip champagne..." --My guys --Three in the morning John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 02 2008 10:23 AM How dare you roll out the Willie edition without: "I've been around winners all my life..." Edgy DC Dec 02 2008 10:26 AM Just so we're clear: by consigning these Met references to hell, you don't get to use them as a writer any more without looking hopelessly outr�. John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 02 2008 10:34 AM Yeah, I kinda like "Willie the Winner." I'm not ready to cashier it yet. Edgy DC Dec 02 2008 11:24 AM 'Zactly. KC has a way of making ol' nuggets retain a certain freshness. He also has a good sense of what's "so 2003" and needs to stay there. G-Fafif Dec 02 2008 12:51 PM ="Edgy DC":hthd8qtk]'Zactly. KC has a way of making ol' nuggets retain a certain freshness. He also has a good sense of what's "so 2003" and needs to stay there.[/quote:hthd8qtk] The funk hasn't really come up in conversation lately, but the champagne line stays in circulation until the Mets complete a September intact. And three in the morning I'm keeping around in case of boneheaded management emergency. But yes, I can't believe I forgot "been a winner all my life."

30 Beltran 29 Santana 28 Wright 27 Reyes 26 Delgado 25 Pelfrey 24 Perez 23 Tatis 22 Maine 21 Wagner 20 Church 19 Schneider 18 Easley 17 Murphy 16 Smith 15 Schoeneweis 14 Castillo 13 Feliciano 12 Castro 11 Sanchez 10 Heilman 9 Stokes 8 Chavez 7 Pagan 6 Alou 5 Figueroa 4 Evans 3 Cancel 2 Martinez 1 Vargas

Too many.

It's somewhat refreshing that nobody was dumb enough to shell out the ~$5000 the greedy MeiGray group was asking for it.

You may have heard about Tampa doing this last night, bringing in their right fielder for a fifth infielder with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the 9th in a tied game. My memory is hazy at best, but didn't the Mets do this once in the mid-90s, bringing in Tim Bogar from the outfield?

They're the numbers from the out-of-town scoreboard, where the score, or number for the pitcher would be. It's called "88" because those are the shape of the lightbulbs. If every bulb was lit, it would show "88."

Wow. I would have expected Say Anything in a blowout. Iconic scene that you only wish you could've thought of yourself; superior use of music. Maybe it's boring now that it's been played to death but the Gabriel song is fantastic.

They do. Main page is here. They have a Willets Point-Shea Stadium sign currently going for $1180!. You can also get a miniature replica for $20.