MFS62

Reyes 2 Chavez 2 Glavine 4 Feliciano 1 Wagner 1 Later

]"If you want me to play second, I will think about it," Lugo said. "There's no reason why you couldn't do something for a good team." That's interesting. In prior interviews, he has maintained that he wants to play shortstop - only. And I recall several articles that speculated that he would be adverse to coming to the Mets specifically because he didn't want to have to play second. Do ya' think he's just trying to drive his price up, or is he really willing to change positions? In the mean time, another second baseman, free agent to-be Belliard, has been putting on a good show in the other NLDS. His gut is almost as large as that of David Wells, but he has made some dazzling plays in the field. Later

metsmarathon wrote: i like any time keith needs white out to fix his scorecard. I think it was Red Barber (after an official scorer changed his ruling) who I first heard say "That's why they put erasers on pencils". Later

Delgado 3 Wright 2.25 Floyd 1 Lo Duca 1 Green 0.25 Maine 1.25 Heilman 0.5 Bradford 0.25 Feliciano 0.25 Wagner 0.25 Later

FK- Any player that touches the ball gets credited with an assist if an out results. Like when a comebacker goes off the pitcher's glove to an infielder who throws the runner out, the pitcher gets an assist. Later

I know a guy who is a Tigers fan. He says Polanco is their sparkplug - like the year Eckstein had a few years ago - always in the middle of a rally, etc. He contends that the team went into their late season decline when he was on the DL, and the timing seems to support that. Maybe he's still not healthy. Later

Willets Point wrote: Rats, Casey pops up. Roid, Roid, and Rod up for the Yankees. I think you're onto something. Where do we petition to name the new Yankee Stadium Needle Park? Later

Scoring rules question: Did Green get credited for one or two outfield assists on that DP? Later

Rotblatt wrote: Can anyone tell me why Sean Casey is batting 3rd instead of, say, Ordonez or Guillen? I was going to say that it is because Casey is a lefty batter. But Guillen is a switch hitter, so that isn't it. Could be because the manager thinks Guillen is better protection in the lineup for Ordonez. (Betcha' you never thought you'd see a Mets fan use those words,eh?) Later

And Mr. Wagner tries his hand at writing. He apparently took Cliche 101 in school.]BULLPEN ANSWERS DOUBTERS -- Billy Wagner, the Mets' fire-balling lefty closer, offers his exclusive insights to Post readers throughout the Amazin's post-season run. Yesterday's game had all the drama of a well-crafted play. John Maine, as I predicted, rose to the challenge. My former teammate and friend, Jeff Kent, was thrown out at home, a huge momentum builder for us. Then Carlos Delgado and Cliff Floyd homered for us in dramatic fashion to tie the game and give us the 2-1 lead, much deserving since they are such good teammates and joys to be around in the clubhouse. After much talk-radio mocking and questioning of our pitching - one show host calling us "in crumbles" - we answered back with a great bullpen performance and more heroics from Delgado, who had a day that will live fondly in Mets history. I came on in the ninth, tempering the nerves. Wilson Betemit hit a pitch that kind of got away. I thought it was a pop-up and he ended up with a double. I was able to collect myself, and make some big pitches. I told David Wright at third base after the throw from Carlos Beltran almost got the runner, "How in the world did he hit that ball?" It's just like my papa said, "Calm yourself down. Don't worry about runners, just worry about getting the three outs and winning the game." The lesson paid off. Game 1, the must win, is ours! That was the end result, but it was a roller-coaster ride to get there. The day started off in typical electric New York fashion. I drove to the park early, amid the sad news of Orlando Hernandez's injury. I knew, however, that Maine was up to the challenge even before I reached the player's parking lot. My son Will's class even presented him with a poster when he left school to give to me: "Good Luck Mr. Wagner." Talk about pressure. I knew his class would be watching and I didn't want to let them down. The ride to Shea was filled with nerves and anticipation, but the moment I stepped out of my car the atmosphere rang out that Shea Stadium was "the" place. The energy was positive. Our fans hadn't listened to the critics who had counted us out for dead. What everyone forgot about was we were, and are, a clubhouse of 25 guys, one cab! We have heart and we intended to show the fans that we were wearing our true-blue Mets hearts on our sleeves. Everyone who was anyone was on hand to be seen and heard at the ballpark. I felt like a kid in a candy store. As luck would have it, one of my favorite television characters was in attendance, only as an accomplished adult. Nestled inside that crowded field was a personal favorite of mine - Ron Howard. Opie had come to New York. It took me back to my Mayberry days of signing the contract with Houston in Tannersville, where we had to have the receptionist at the hotel ring us up because there wasn't a direct phone line in the place. The Astros thought I'd sign at the first chance once they looked at Tannersville. But my uncle and Coach Naff were shrewd folk, and we countered. They accepted our counteroffer and the rest is history. Comforted in the pre-game drama, I thought back to my home roots, that there are no such things as pity parties. I grew up at the foothills of the mountains and whenever I felt pity coming on, my papa gave me a shovel and had me dig at the edge of that mountain. The lesson was learned. Work with what you've got and do your best! If you're good enough, you'll persevere in life. It's the same in baseball. I told the younger guys that we win as a team and that we can do it. They didn't need to be pumped up, but I knew that my grandfather's advice rang true today as much as it did when I was a kid.Later

Mr. Zero wrote: maybe not hire him in the first place? We're not sure its a "him". What if the applicant was as alluring as Edgy's "Ms. S" the Yankee fan? Later

soupcan wrote: ="MFS62"]He was originally a shortstop and I doubt many other "pure" second basemen would have had a strong enough arm to make that throw. It was a throw from a deep infield position. My mom could've gotten it to the plate from there. Was your mom a shortstop? From the replay, it looked like Green's throw barely would reach the dirt part of the infield, if that far. And the weakest arm in the infield usually plays second base. I have no doubt an average shortstop or third baseman could have made that throw, But having an ex-shortstop at second is an indication to me that the karma is going the Mets' way. Later

From Tom Verducci at SI.com;]Postseason chatter It's hard to take the Twins seriously as a big-time postseason team when Rondell White, who can't throw a lick, is your left fielder and Jason Tyner, who is tied with me for lifetime career home runs, is your DH. As brain cramps go, Torii Hunter and Jeff Kent earned their places in playoff infamy on the same day. Hunter's game-blowing dive for Mark Kotsay's line drive was incredibly ill-advised for any player, but especially one of his experience -- and that's even accounting for the ball tailing on him. Kent's failure to score from second base on a ball off the wall that right fielder Shawn Green had zero chance of ever catching was a profoundly awful read made worse by J.D. Drew's Little League baserunning behind him. Somewhere Lonnie Smith was smiling.... The Mets won Game 1 with what's been their style all season and what worked for the 2002 Angels: decent enough starting pitching not to let the game get away, then turning it into a bullpen game while a relentless offense keeps hammering away.Later

My response; ]First answer: Let him/her go. Show him/her that Mets fans are nice people. Business answer: Besides, how much work do you expect to get out of him/her? He'll either have a radio plugged into his ear or watch the game/ updates on his computer. Or both. Its not like you're going to be losing much productivity if he/she isn't there. Real answer: Fuck him/her. Yankee fans think they're just as special as their team. Keep the MFY fan at work, micromanage their every move this day, so they can't follow the game, and (knowing you'll now have a very unhappy worker) post their job description on Monster and Hot Jobs. Follow-up. The person who posted that said he let the person go to the game. Later

Who made the throw on the home plate DP? Was it Valentin? I coldn't tell from the replays I saw. He was originally a shortstop and I doubt many other "pure" second basemen would have had a strong enough arm to make that throw. Later

I saw this on another Mets board and wondered how CPF-ers would answer it. ]One of the people who reports to me is a die-hard Yankee fan. He's young, single and went to see about 40 Yankee games this year. He eats, sleeps and breathes the Yankees. You know the type. The Derek Jeter screen saver. The full lineup of bobbleheads. The works. He had tickets and was at the game last night for hours before they cancelled it. They've rescheduled for today at 1PM. Do I let him go? Well, would you? Later

="Johnny Dickshot"]Byrnes was the head Jeter ballwasher and compared him to Jordan. He's a dummy. Lewis Black joke reference. Nice. Later

Edgy, just so you shouldn't feel alone: (Lost the link) ]BOSS NOT IMPRESSED BY METS By DAN MARTIN October 5, 2006 -- An ornery George Steinbrenner stormed out of Yankee Stadium shortly after the Yankees game against the Tigers was postponed last night and promptly knocked the league and his team's crosstown rivals. Steinbrenner was asked if he was happy the Mets won their game yesterday afternoon to take a 1-0 lead in the NLDS over the Dodgers and responded, "Sure." When a reporter followed up by asking if he was "scared" of the NL East champs, he fired back, "Not with the way they played today, I'm not," before climbing into his awaiting town car. Steinbrenner was referring to the Mets' 6-5 win over Los Angeles that featured a strange play that saw two Dodgers thrown out at the plate, one after another, and a shaky performance by closer Billy Wagner. Steinbrenner saved some of his displeasure for the league, saying that the game, which was called shortly after 10 p.m. after the rain had stopped, could have been played last night instead of this afternoon. "I didn't like it," Steinbrenner said of the rainout that pushed Game 2 of the ALDS against the Tigers to this afternoon, with Game 3 scheduled for tomorrow in Detroit. "We should have played. Or we should have made up our minds sooner." In the playoffs, such matters are made by Major League Baseball and the umpires, along with discussions with both teams. The issues bothered Steinbrenner, who arrived to the Stadium nearly four hours before the first pitch was scheduled in a significantly better mood, still raving about Derek Jeter and the rest of his team. "He's a good player and a great leader," Steinbrenner said outside of the Yankee offices, regarding Jeter's 5-for-5 showing in Game 1 on Tuesday in an 8-4 win over the Tigers. Jeter tied a postseason record with his five hits and became only the second player, along with Atlanta's Marquis Grissom in 1995, to go 5-for-5. He also extended his record for career hits in the playoffs to 147. Steinbrenner, as he has been throughout the early part of this series, appeared buoyant as his team attempts to get closer to its 27th World Series title. "We're going to do all right," Steinbrenner said. "We've got a good team." Later

metirish wrote: Jeter Vs Jordan..yeah Joe Jordan was a very decent player for Manchester United and Scotland in the 70's and 80's...more than decent in fact,one of the best to play in his time....ESPN should be ashamed. irish, that had just the perfect touch of sarcasm. We baseballcentric Americans deserved that. LOL! Later

Yesterday I was at a client site for a 3:45PM meeting. It had been scheduled far in advance, and I couldn't get it changed. Needless to say, I had no idea what had happened in the game. About 6PM there was a break in the meeting, so I hopped on one of their PCs to check the IGT and/or Yahoo Sports to get a recap. Their friggin' Internet connection was down!! The meeting ended about 6:45 and I jumped in my car to listen to the game if it was still on. I heard the last inning and a half. I couldn't get WFAN, but was able to get ESPN radio. I recognized the voice of the color guy - Dave Campbell, but didn't get the name of the play-by-play guy. He was awful. For most of the hitters, he didn't say what they had done in their previous at bats. For some, he gave partial info. For example, when Delgado came to bat, he said he was 4 for 4 up to that point, but said nothing about homers, RBIs or runs scored. At the end of the game, there was no scoring recap. As I got closer to home, I was able to get WFAN. The game ended around 7:10. WFAN went to their post-game show. I listened from about 7:15 until I got home around 7:50. They never gave the sound bytes of the scoring plays like they usually do, even though they announced that they were "upcoming". It wasn't until I turned on SNY that I was able to see the highlights of the game. Thank you, SNY. Later

Currently 0 - 0 in the Twins - A's game after 2 innings. In case anybody cares. Later

]Mets shortstop Jose Reyes today suffered a mild concussion when a passing bird defacated on his head. Where are Randy Johnson and Dave Winfield when we need tham? Sorry, I will not provide an addition to this list. Ya' never know...... Later

metirish wrote: If the Mets advance and El Duque somehow recovers can he then be added to the NLCS roster? That's a good question. I believe thay can because they still hold some wild cards - several pitchers were on the 60 day DL this season, and Orlando was on the active 25 man roster as of August 31. Adding another position player would be dicier. Later

metirish wrote: Dodger fans.... think. From that limited sample, I'd have to say that is an oxymoron. Later

Yancy, that card was ok I guess. I was a little disappointed that you used "wife" as her position. I'm prety sure that there must be some pictures of Anna in (how do I put this delicately?) other positions. Later