MFS62

Since this was going to be split off anyhow, why wasn't it moved to the non-baseball forum? Later

The way this was originally announced (rported on radio) it sounded like the O's were giving, rather than receiving money in this deal. That doesn't sound right. Anyone hear any confirmation one way or the other? Edgy, why don't we just use the Hot Stove League thread? Works for me. Later

It has also been reported in the Spanish version of ESPN, ESPNdeportes. Later

Yancy, you're right. Pronouncing it as two words does give it a certain retro ring. Later

Blane Beatty's back in the organization? I remember when he was a soft tossing lefty with great numbers as a Mets minor leaguer (The Blake McGinley of his day). Then, IIRC he hurt his arm. Its interesting that with most teams trying to load up (draft/ trade) with as many hard throwers as they can get these days(mostly righty), folks like Beatty and Jackson are counted on to teach them how to pitch. Later

metsmarathon wrote: mike piazza is available. i know, i know - i've long favored his use as a shortstop, but with reyes entrenched there, maybe he could shift over a spot on the infield. Piazza at second would probably at least equal the defensive skills that Todd Walker has been accused of exhibiting as a regular second baseman throughout his career. In fact, if you watched Chuck Hiller play second as some of us did, Piazza might actually be an improvement. Brilliant idea! LOL! Later

Edgy DC wrote: Credit where it's due department: I've seen Mazzilli called a traitor a lot of times on this old internet. Yours may be the first time I've seen it with the word "traitor" correctly spelled. (channeling Colonel Parker here) "Meadow muffins!" Later

Aside from looking out of place, that is one ugly-arse building. The only times I've been to Queens in the past few years have been to go to Shea, and I come over the Whitestone Bridge and go home the same way. Where is it? Later

Hawaii Winter Baseball Feature: Mike Carp and Blake DeWitt By Stacy Kaneshiro November 10, 2006 HONOLULU--Players in Hawaii Winter Baseball still can't believe their good fortune to be assigned to play in paradise. With two days off a week most weeks, players have found a lot of down time for hitting the beach or sightseeing. "It's tough playing baseball in Hawaii," joked New York Mets farmhand Mike Carp with a smile. Recently, Carp has had a lot to smile about. In a league where the top five pitchers in earned run average is under 2.00, Carp is fifth in the league in batting at .283 (as of Nov. . After starting off trying to pull the ball, the North Shore Honu's lefthanded hitting first baseman reverted to what made him hit .287/.379/.450 with high Class A St. Lucie: going the other way. "He tried to pull everything," Hono hitting coach Mike Lum said. "Now he has a better idea of what to do." Carp went hitless in four of the Honu's first six games. He got his first hit in the seventh game of the season to start a modest six-game hitting streak. Lum said some of Carp's biggest hits in HWB have come when tried to use the whole field. "Mike Lum really knows his hitting," said the 20-year-old Carp, a ninth-round pick by the Mets in 2004 out of Lakewood (Calif.) High. "He's helped me out when I struggled when I started off." Carp hopes to improve on what his best pro season. His batting average at St. Lucie was a career-high, as were his 27 doubles and 88 RBIs. His 17 home runs were one shy of what he hit at low Class A Hagerstown in 2005. His performance got him ranked as the eighth-highest prospect in the Florida State League by Baseball America. "I just want to improve on what I did, using the whole field and getting more at-bats," he said. Although the pitching in the league has made it hard on the hitters, Carp likes the challenge. "The better the pitching (you face), the better chance you have of moving up the next year," Carp said. Later

Edgy DC wrote: I'd really rather not have a field name that morphs so easily into ShitiField the moment the disgruntled start grumbling about something or other. Or hearing the "Flushing Toilet" comments from Yankee fans about Shea. I agree. ShitiField is just too close to get unnoticed - even by Yankee fans. Later

For all of us who have been holding our breath: ]Carlos Delgado-1B- Mets Nov. 6 - 6:53 pm et Mets GM Omar Minaya said Carlos Delgado and his agent, David Sloane, have informed the club that the first baseman does not plan to exercise his right to demand a trade this offseason. "Carlos has notified us that he is very happy to be here," Minaya said. "He enjoys being with the New York Mets and enjoys being in the city. He enjoys everything about this organization." It was obvious Delgado wasn't interested in leaving, but it looked like he might use the possibility as leverage to get his 2009 option picked up. Minaya said that the idea was briefly discussed. "I'm hopeful that at some point in time, we will exercise that option," Minaya said. "Right now, we feel it's not the right time, but I'm hoping he plays and we're able to exercise that option the year we go into the new stadium." Source: Mets.mlb.com His leaving didn't seem likely, but it was possible. Later

="Yancy Street Gang"]This can be refuted: ]But that's one thing that, definitely over the years of growing up in New York, you never had a Met team that was a speed team. I'll cut Omar some slack on that one. I think he meant a team that almost exclusively relied on speed to generate most of its offense, like the '59 "Go Go" White Sox or LA in '63. Neither team had a player who drove in 100 runs (Lollar and Tommy Davis had 88, respectively, for those clubs) or hit 30 homers (Al Smith had 17 and Frank Howard had 28). The '86 Mets had both speed and power, and that's what I think he meant. But other comments above are well taken. Later

Edgy DC wrote: Some pretty refutable stuff in there. So, refute. Like what? Later

Do you think (hope?) that "diversity" comment alluded to a certain Japanese pitcher? Or was it in response to the "Los Mets" (too many Latino players)comments? Later

="Yancy Street Gang"]="MFS62"]Is there a UMDB box for the game? Of course there is! There are boxes for every regular- and post-season game since 1962! I just went there and couldn't find them. I must need new glasses. EDIT: I looked again and still couldn't find the link to the boxes. But under game memories, I saw a note that Dyer hit a three run homer for the Mets in that first game against the Expos. That must be what I remembered, and is still a fact about Duffy. Can we resume the thread, or did I essentially kill it? Is it still on life support? After your admonition about posting answers too frequently, I tried to only post a new factoid/response every new page or every new day. But then this stuff happened. Sorry Edgy. Pease forgive me. Later

Then I must be thinking of someone else. Thanks, But looking at the 1969 exansion Expos roster, I can't figure out who it might have been. Don Hahn? One of the pitchers? I dunno. Is there a UMDB box for the game? Now I'm going nuts. Later

Edgy DC wrote: The good news is my lawyer says the thread qualifies for a FEMA grant. Ding Ding Ding In the running for best line of the day. Later

Edgar's lack of playing a regular position in the field may have intitially been due to injuries. But when he did play (third base) he barely drove in more than he let in. He made Butch Huskey look like Brooks Robinson. (Welllll, maybe not quite that bad) Later

Johnny Dickshot wrote: ]Dyer - hit a home run against the Mets (his first major league team), in the first regular season game played by the expansion Montreal Expos. Not so. Dyer was a Met through 74... Maybe it was the first game he played for Montreal against the Mets. I know he hit one. And it was the season opener at Shea. Think it was either a high scoring affair or an extra inning game. But this is all from memory. Later

HoJo? Didn't he wear 6 for a while? Later

AL first again? I wonder if that's because they won the All Star Game? Later

Dyer - hit a home run against the Mets (his first major league team), in the first regular season game played by the expansion Montreal Expos. Pumpsie Green. Later

ScarletKnight41 wrote: How do they ship Yogi? In a carton labelled "This End Up" and "Fragile", silly. How could you not know that? Later

Nymr83 wrote: ]ESPN's Buster Olney put forth another shady arrangement; one where some team like Baltimore or Toronto puts in a sky-high bid and then low-ball the Mataszka/Boras team in negotiations. With no other teams to bargain with, he'd have to return to Japan and try again next year when he'd be a true FA. Meanwhile, the O's & Jays would keep him out of the hands of the Yanx & BoSox for at least one more year. Olney said he did NOT expect this to happen, only that it could. of course, this could backfire on them if the Japanese team decides it wants the money, they could tell Matsuzaka to accept the "low ball" offer with the understanding that they'll pay him 1/3-1/2 of the gigantic fee. My devious mind has come up with another possibility. For many years, Japanese Corporations have entered into clandestine agreements with each other to manipulate a market. For example, when FAX machines were new, the seven major manufacturers of those devices would meet on a quarterly basis and decide which company would be the first to introduce a new function/feature to the worldwide market. That said, it has been mentioned here (I think by Edgy) that there are tremendous marketing possibilities for an alliance between Japanese Companies (which already give their teams corporare names) and the US market. IIRC, this was in a discussion about the YES network cross-marketing Hidecki Matsui. So, I wouldn't be surprised if the Japanese team holding Matsuzaka's contract to tell one "preferred" large market US suitor, "I'll tell the bidders that the price is X. If you bid X+ 1 million, he's yours". It wouldn't be ethical. But it wouldn't be prescedent setting, either. Later

Yancy Street Gang wrote: Unless, perhaps, the frozen head of Ted Williams is available. LOL! I think it might be easier if the players just read Ted's book on hitting, which some say is the best how-to book ever written on the subject. Later