MFS62

What do they mean by "best record"? Most wins or best won-lost pct? Could be Babe Ruth. Has anyone given that answer yet? Later

="Frayed Knot"] "When he came into the game, I yelled "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" because I had the feeling he would do something to hurt the Mets." Was it just a feeling or a real hunch? Yeah, it was surprising. What's the difference? Yes, all , my opinion of Taguchi was based on a streak he had a few years ago. I hadn't followed his numbers very closely since then. But I had a feeling in my gut (OK so it was a feeling, but I'd still like to know how you differentiate between those terms)that So would do something damaging. Maybe not a homer (as your stats show), but something. Unfortunately, I was right. Sitting in the stadium, I didn't have the advantage of access to the stats that you did to challenge my post. I had to rely on memory. And I am a firm believer that if a player gives you problems, you use every game, including spring training, to work on way to solve him (pitcher or hitter). The fact that he once went something like 8 for 8 against the mets in spring training and he later went the 8 for 11 you noted was stuck in my mind. Did anyone else have an uneasy feeling when he entered the game? Honestly? Later

TheOldMole wrote: What can we make of the fact that last night's home plate umpire was James Joyce? I don't know what calling pitches four inches off the ground strikes against the Mets has to do with Joyce. I was seated at "ground level" and that's what they seemed to me. Was Joyce vision impaired? Later

Yep, nice meeting you folks. I have cautioned about Tagichi before. IIRC he once had a something like 11-12 streak (pre-season games carried over to the regular season) against the Mets. Since then, he has shown time and time again that they still haven't figured out how to pitch to the guy. When he came into the game, I yelled "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" because I had the feeling he would do something to hurt the Mets. I wish I had been wrong. The fukker. I later heard the replay. Howie Rose called the homer "unexpected". Maybe by Howie. Not by me. I wonder if he really has watched the games he has called over the years. Later

="Yancy Street Gang"] Lots of votes for NLCS Game 1. I hope it carries over to April when tallying resumes. YAYYYYY. Best news I've heard all day. Later

I won't bring my daughter anywhere near this group. But if the tix come through, I may stop by and say hi, too. EDIT: Just got confirmation on my tickets for tonight. See ya' . Later

Velocity is nice. But we all know that chicks dig the long ball. Stu Miller would probably have registered 95 on that gun. Later

Beltran 3.75 Delgado 1 Chavez .25 LoDuca .25 Glavine 3.75 Mota .5 Wagner .5 Later

I think they said the loge level, not the mezzanine. Later

Nice game by Glavine. But we all know that if Derek Jeter were a Mets pitcher, he would have thrown a no-hitter last night. Later

There's a chance that I could join you tonight. Someone couldn't make today's game after the rainout and was there last night. I'll find out later today if he was sober enough to have remembered to leave the tickets for me at the "will call" window. Hope to see you.... Later

I thought you were going to tell us that Anderson Hernandez is on steroids. (How else could you explain that late season home run?) Here's my secret. There's a chance that I could join you tonight. Someone couldn't make today's game after the rainout and was there last night. I'll find out later today if he was sober enough to have remembered to leave the tickets for me at the "will call" window. Hope to see you.... Later

Yancy Street Gang wrote: Geez, 62, how many boards do you read? My wife says too many. Anyhow, here's the answer to the Neifi Perez question posted by another Tigers' fan. Enjoy, Later ]No one really took up the corollary question, but I will: Between the Tigers and Cubs, Neifi Perez somehow blackmailed his managers into 316 plate appearances in 2006. Now, thanks to the miracle that is espn.com sortable stats, I can tell you with confidence that, among all batters with 250 plate appearances or more, Neifi ranked thusly: 5th worst on-base percentage, having a mere one-point advantage at each step on Angel Berroa, Vinny Castilla, and Juan Uribe, but a 35 point advantage over the hideous Tomas Perez. 4th worst walk rate (BB/PA), just points ahead of baseball luminaries such as Shane Costa, Miguel Olivo and the hideous Tomas Perez. But what�s that you say? Those items up above can be made up for with a high batting average, a la Tony Gwynn, Sr.? Well, Neifi Perez is no Tony Gwynn, let me assure you. He�s better than he is in the other categories, having merely the 44th worst batting average, and a full 50 points better than Mark Bellhorn�s, but let�s remember that we�re talking about 267th place out of 310 players with 250 or more PA. Now, last night, the A�s threw Esteban Loaiza on the mound, and Jim Leyland played a hunch in starting the left-handed batting Alexis Gomez over the right-handed batting Marcus Thames at DH, and that worked out pretty well... So, what about Neifi? Despite getting only about 1/3 of his at-bats against lefties, Neifi had well over half of his extra base hits � and both of his home runs � against lefties. Read �em and weep: .265/.275/.408, 683 OPS v L; .232/.252/.271, 523 OPS v R. What about Leyland�s other options? If Loaiza is so weak against lefty batters (and he is � allowing 891 OPS v L, 685 OPS v R), then what about the other switch-hitter on the bench, the admittedly useless Ramon Santiago? Well, in a much smaller sample size (24 AB v L, 56 AB v R), he has batted: .208/.208/.250, 458 OPS v L, .232/.259/.268, 527 OPS v R. And Omar Infante, who admittedly would bat right-handed against Loaiza, who is tough on righties? .286/.333/.414, 748 v L, .273/.321/.416, 737 OPS v R. So, by not starting Infante, we�re just going to give away 200 points of OPS in production out of the shortstop position, although I must admit that we�ve gained 200 points of OPS in production out of 1st base by putting Carlos Guillen there over Sean Casey. On the other hand, we could have gained 100 points of OPS at the 1st base position by putting Chris Shelton in, and kept our advantage by having a great-hitting SS. So, wait, I�ve distracted myself from the task at hand... How bad is Neifi Perez? Well, maybe it was just a bad year for him, eh? Nope... In 2005, when he used photos of Dusty Baker raping babies to garner 572 at-bats (and, naturally, just 18 walks), he finished the season with the 5th-worst OBP among qualifying full-timers, just 8 points ahead of dead-last Adam Everett and Ivan Rodriguez. Of course, included in that was the 4th-worst walk rate, barely ahead of Robinson Cano and Angel Berroa, but comfortably ahead of Ivan Rodriguez�s divorce-induced hideous year. Again, he could have ameliorated this with a good batting average, and he did hit for average that year better than any other since he left Colorado. But that .274 average still ranked him 84th in MLB, out of 148 players qualifying. And in 2004? Well, he managed to steal a little over 400 plate appearances from other more worthy players, and again managed to stink out loud with the bat. Among those with 300 or more plate appearances, Neifi�s .296 OBP found him 24th-worst in MLB, but if you went with just his performance with the Giants (he hit .371 with a .400 OBP after being picked up by the Cubs � the Giants released him), it would have been the 8th-worst. By some miracle, his walk rate was merely 44th-worst. And that batting average, at .255, it was merely 59th-worst, but still, 218th out of 276 is nothing to write home about. Pardon my review of his 2003 numbers, but I�ll go over them quickly, because 2002 deserves special mention. In 2003, the Giants lost their minds and gave Neifi a touch over 350 plate appearances, and among those with 300 or more, he finished: 10th-worst in OBP, 11th-worst in walk rate, and in batting average, he was merely 78th-worst, or 194th out of 271. Now, in 2002, Neifi spent his entire season with the Royals for the first time after a trade-deadline deal the prior year that you just won�t believe: July 25, 2001, Neifi Perez traded by the Colorado Rockies to the Kansas City Royals for Jermaine Dye. Yeah, straight-up. If Allard Baird is wondering why he is sitting home unemployed (well, he�s probably a scout for somebody somewhere, I�d imagine), this is one of the best reasons out there. So, in 2002, the Royals were pretty much forced by the circumstance of what was traded away for him to give Neifi a full season to suck. And suck he did, for nearly 600 plate appearances. In the same year when Barry Bonds was re-writing the record books at the top of the OBP charts, Neifi occupied the bottom... .260. The same could be said for Bonds� other-worldly walk rate of .324 BB/PA, while Neifi finished 5th-worst at .034, with only Alfonso Soriano, Corey Patterson, Cristian Guzman and Randall Simon behind him. And his batting average was 6th-worst, ahead of only Aramis Ramirez, Melvin Mora, Vinny Castilla, Raul Mondesi, and Jeromy Burnitz. So, in sum, then, aside from a brief period of �blind squirrel finding a nut� immediately upon joining the Cubs, Neifi has stunk out loud for 5 straight years. Five. Yet, we keep him and the utterly useless Ramon Santiago on the roster, and leave Chris Shelton to rot on the bench. I�m sorry, but I don�t care how good Neifi�s defense is at shortstop, he ain�t worth it.

There was reported flooding in Fairfield County CT (the county closest to NY City). Some towns got as much as 4 inches of rain. Later

Johnny Dickshot wrote: I'm thinking he said "later" so as to get me to stop calling until later. It wasn't me. But if you can get me the guy's name, I'm gonna' sue him for copywright infringement. Later

Edgy DC wrote: "real-ball team"? The page is mainly about strat, and the league in which most of the posters on that page participate. "Real ball" is how they describe the posters' MLB teams as opposed to their strat teams. Later

="Frayed Knot"] Too bad for him and the Tigers ... especially if it means repeated sightings of Neifi Perez. As seen on another board. Seems a Tiger fan shares your concern. Later ] If your real-ball team suffered an injury during the postseason, and you found out that: 1) they didn't have a real backup player for that position on their playoff roster, having to switch another regular player to play out of position; 2) they did include on the roster 3 (count 'em, 3) other players who can reasonably play the position vacated by the regular player now playing out of position; and 3) of the 3 players available (let's call them Omar Infante, Ramon Santiago, and Neifi Fucking Perez) they were going to replace that player playing out of position with Neifi Fucking Perez... How pissed off would you be, on a scale of 1-10? As much as I want to say "In Leyland We Trust," I'm clearly developing a love-hate relationship with him. P.S. Corollary question: Just how bad is Neifi Perez? Count for us the ways...

Bob Raissman's column from today's Daily News; ]Guilt & regret, but Dog barks on Monday, it was business as usual for Mike Francesa and Chris (Mad Dog) Russo. While rehashing the Yankees' Detroit debacle, they descended on Cory Lidle and pounded him. Pounded him pretty hard. Still, longtime listeners have heard worse crunch jobs from the boys. But Randy Miller, a reporter for the Bucks County Courier Times, who covered the pitcher when he was with the Phillies, text-messaged Lidle and suggested he call WFAN to defend himself. So, there was Lidle phone-to-phone with FranDog. Lidle said he was just trying to "enjoy my day" in New York when he heard he was getting trashed. The idea of a guy whose team was embarrassed in baseball's sacred postseason enjoying himself offended the sensibilities of Mr. Russo, who, on this particular occasion, elected to deliver a sermon on the proper protocol for handling playoff defeat. "First off, no Yankee fan should enjoy the day in New York," Russo said. "If I'm a Yankee I'm in hiding. I'm not enjoying a day in New York." "So I'm not allowed to enjoy the day in New York?" Lidle asked. "What am I supposed to do go cry in my apartment for the next two weeks. Is that what I'm supposed to do?" Two days later, Cory Lidle was dead. As Francesa and Russo reported news of Lidle's plane smashing into a 50-story skyscraper on the upper East Side, that usual spark in Russo's eyes turned into hollow shells. His face portrayed disbelief. And perhaps some guilt. Since May, Russo had put a bull's-eye on Lidle. He let it all hang out on the pitcher, showing exactly why he is known as Mad Dog. He blasted Lidle for hammering Barry Bonds about steroids in Sports Illustrated and giving his former high school buddy - and A's teammate - Jason Giambi a pass. Russo even threatened to stick his gripe in Lidle's face when the Phillies came to Shea. In August, after Lidle was traded to the Yankees as part of the Bobby Abreu deal, Russo brought Brian Cashman into the Lidle hit parade, calling the Yankees GM a liar for saying he would have never made the deal if the pitcher was not included. Cashman, taking the bait, totally lost it on the air ("I'm not lying," Cashman screamed) but Russo continued his relentless pursuit of Lidle. Off the air yesterday, standing at a Shea Stadium bar while talking over a cell phone, Russo recounted these moments. His voice was questioningly sad. "Do I wish right this second I had a better relationship with Cory Lidle? Yeah, I absolutely do," Russo said. "(But) you got to do what you got to do. I don't know what to tell you. You can make the argument that I look like a heel....I've been ripping him for five or six months. Does that make me a bad guy? I'll let others evaluate that." Russo's mouth is not equipped with a set of brakes. Opinions must be offered unconditionally. Those with vanilla flowing through their veins need not apply. When the job description is to slice and dice, you never wonder if the object of your scorn is going to wake up breathing tomorrow. Things move fast. Saturday it was the Yankees hitting rock bottom. Sunday morning George Steinbrenner wanted to fire Joe Torre. Tuesday afternoon Torre is still the manager. And yesterday afternoon Lidle dies after his plane flies into a side of a building. Now, Russo is wondering what would have happened if Steinbrenner had fired Torre followed by this tragedy. What would he and Francesa had have said then? The idea quickly leaves, replaced by one realization: Yesterday afternoon the talkies were at Shea to talk about a Mets playoff game. Under normal circumstances, Russo probably would have laughed about the Mets - due to circumstances beyond their control - once again being relegated to a media afterthought. On this day, there was nothing to smile about. Only a strange feeling. When you make your living offering opinions - many harsh and offensive - there are no give-backs, no do-overs. But yesterday, for Chris (Mad Dog) Russo - there was sadness. And even some regrets. Originally published on October 12, 2006 Later

When Steve Mura and John Stuper are two of your four starters (along with volatile Joaquin Andujar), that staff would have had serious heartburn against the Mets lineup. The Cards had great team speed and the Mets starters would have had a tough time holding them on first. But I'm not sure if they could have gotten on base enough for that to have mattered. Mets win! Mets win! in 5. Later

The Tigers had better overall balance in their lineup. The A's had Rickey setting the table for the Bruise Brothers and a closer (Eckersley) who was as hot at the end of the season as Hernandez had been at the start. Gotta' go with the balance and the hot closer. Detroit. Later

Centerfield wrote: Tim McCarver: And there is Jeter cleaning out his locker, I tell ya Joe, just the way he carries himself in these situations, it just goes to show you that October is his time of year... And, in an associated story, Reggie Jackson held a press conference yesterday. He said he is gving up all claim to the name "Mr. October" so that it can be bestowed on Derek Jeter. He continued, "I am not as worthy of that name as Derek". Later

A list of sports-related people who have died in plane crashes was in today's NY Daily News. Until I saw that list, I had never known that legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne died in a plane crash. And he was only 44 when he died. Later

Maybe that's why he is only an associate professor and not the department head. Or maybe, just maybe, why he is at NJIT and not MIT. Later

soupcan wrote: That guy's gotta be playing George Foster. Yep, the jaw and the sideburns would make me think its Foster. Later

DARN! That takes all of the mystery out of watching the games. I guess we now know who's going to win. Later