MFS62

The entire history of the Mets against the Braves in one pitch - Castro hits a bullet that could have broken the game open- right at Rafael Fecal. Disembowelment with a rusty, dull, butter knife is too good for Braden Looper. EDIT: I told you I didn't think she looked like a virgin. Later

Is one outfielder Alex Ochoa? Edit: Bonus - first baseman John Olerud? Later

Edgy DC wrote: Dickshot has been nurturing him for quite long time --- back to the beginning of the adoption era. Nonetheless, I, as usual, don't like that deal. Seems like a fit, we have pitching, they have hitting (and I don't mean Soriano, who IMO would be a mistake). IIRC you have posted several times that the Mets need to add offense. Why would you be against such a deal? Is it the AL to NL? Is it because they are in a hitter's park? Something else? S'plain, please. What alternative do you propose? Later

I know. But you and I seemed to think he was a prospect around the same time, before he was adopted. I kinda' figured you still had a soft spot for the kid. Guess I should have asked forgveness from JD, too. Later

You have to love that Texas pitching staff (and I use that term loosely). Maybe Zambrano and a second line pitching prospect (Blake the Fake? - sorry Edgy) can pry away a hitter from them this off season. Later

Are you sure she's a virgin? Later

Is throwing goat entrails into a fire under a full moon considered cheating? Or is it just one of those quirky superstitious rituals that some fans go through? What about throwing Chipper Jones' entrails? Later

Edgy DC wrote: Nothing wrong with being a Red Sock. Well, he isn't a Met, and I was unsure if this was the proper forum. In any case, what he did (helping someone in dire need) is more important in the greater scheme of things that how I may have titled the thread. Don't you agree? Later

Edgy DC wrote: Either way, the un-named youngster will still be there come spring. If they think another look at Graves could help --- and they clearly hope so --- the last chance is now. That is, unless they lose that unnamed youngster in the Rule V Draft because they protected Graves. Later

Sometimes you never know when the Muse will appear. Later

I heard on ESPN Radio this morning that Curt Schilling will share his home with a refugee family from New Orleans for one full year. Good for him. I hope a lot of other athletes will do the same. Did anyone else hear this, find confirmation? Later

Hmmmm, A song parody KTE. How original: http://cybermessageboard.ehost.com/getalife/viewtopic.php?t=304 You stole from the best, kid. Later

Nice job, Doc Later

TheOldMole wrote: C is for Chiti, A cunning old elf; He came in a trade, Turned out 'twas for himself. Mole, that can make my Metalphabet any ol' time. Later

Are you sure, oh keeper of the 40?Did Graves have to pass through waivers in order to be sent down? Or was he just optioned (as a member of the 40 man roster)?If he was optioned, no problem, he gets recalled.If he went through waivers, then the Mets will have to find room on the 40 for him to enable his return.What is Graves' status?Later

The only time run differential means anything is at the end of nine innings. Thanks for the update. Later

From today's Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. Enjoy, Later ************************************************************************** New Orleans will always possess powerful ties to national pastime MLB Insider T.R. Sullivan Former Rangers first baseman Will Clark is from New Orleans, Shoeless Joe Jackson played there before posting Hall of Fame numbers in the major leagues, and legendary Fort Worth Cats manager Jake Atz died there. The Rangers almost traded Alex Rodriguez to the Boston Red Sox during the 2003 winter meetings held in the Crescent City. But the biggest impact New Orleans might have had on baseball goes all the way back to 1887 and a man named Abner Powell, who was playing for the Pelicans in the Southern League. According to S. Derby Gisclair, the city�s ranking baseball historian, Powell noticed longshoremen on the New Orleans� waterfront covering mountains of cotton bales with a canvas tarpaulin when it rained. This kept them from becoming soaked and too heavy to load. Powell wasn�t worried about cotton so much as being paid. Back then, players weren�t paid if games were rained out, so Powell came up with the idea of using a modified version of the tarp to cover the infield during rainstorms and cut down the number of washouts. Powell also came up with the idea ofthe detachable rain check that is now used on all baseball tickets. The idea of the tarp caught on quickly, because after the Civil War and before World War II, New Orleans was both the first and a favorite spot for spring training. In 1870, the Chicago White Stockings came to New Orleans to play the touring Cincinnati Red Stockings, but ended up staying for several weeks while getting ready for the season. Others followed, most notably the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees trained in New Orleans in 1922-24 and having Babe Ruth around was no doubt a Big Easy bonanza for Bourbon Street. They�re not playing baseball today in New Orleans as the city endures almost unimaginable destruction and human suffering brought on by Hurricane Katrina. But one of America�s greatest cities has long been steeped in rich and colorful baseball lore that can never be washed away. You would expect nothing less from the hometown of Henry �Zeke� Bonura, the �Czar of North African Baseball.� Bonura, a native of New Orleans, played for the Chicago White Sox in the 1930s, but brought his career to an end when World War II broke out and he announced, �Uncle Sam needs me more than baseball.� Sgt. Bonura was posted to Algeria in North Africa where, to benefit the morale of American soldiers, he organized no less than six leagues comprising 150 teams and 1,000 players. The 1943 North African World Series between the Casablanca Yankees and the Algiers Streetwalkers � you can�t make this up � was broadcast on Armed Forces Radio and the winners received baseballs signed by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Rusty Staub, who collected 102 of his 2,716 major league hits with the Rangers, is from New Orleans. So was Connie Ryan, who was one of four managers employed by the Rangers in 1977; Mel Ott, who hit 511 home runs in a Hall of Fame career with the New York Giants; and Mel Parnell, a two-time 20-game winner for the Boston Red Sox who grew up riding the street car to Pelican Park. That area is now under water and so is the baseball field at Jesuit High named after Will Clark. �My baseball hero was Mel Ott,� Parnell told authors Harvey and Frederic Frommer in their book Growing Up Baseball. �When I got to meet him we became great friends,� Parnell said. �He and I used to go into the �Bad Boy Home� and play baseball with the kids who were in trouble. Mel would play on one team, and I would play on the other. We would talk with the kids and try to let baseball convert them from their bad habits.� Danny Murtaugh, who manage two World Series winners with the Pirates, was once the skipper of the Pelicans, and Earl Weaver played there as a minor leaguer. So did Tony La Russa, while studying to be a lawyer at Florida State. For many years, roughly 1959 to �93 � not counting one failed attempt in the 1970s � New Orleans was the largest city in America without a minor league baseball team, amazing considering that 63,625 people showed up in 1927 to watch the Pelicans play Wichita Falls in the first game of the Dixie Series. But the Denver Zephyrs relocated when the Colorado Rockies began play in 1993, and New Orleans has won two Pacific Coast League titles. Now they�re the Triple A affiliate of the Washington Nationals with Tim Foli as their manager The future might seem bleak, but one would think that the town famous for the first spring training, the infield tarp, Will the Thrill and �The Czar of North African Baseball� still has much more to give to the national pastime.

Thanks, Frayed. It was that May date I was searching for, but didn't know how it fit into the equation. Later

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/story/343022p-292935c.html BY ADAM RUBIN DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER MIAMI - Unhappy with the production from their farm system, the Mets quietly conducted a purge of their organization over the past two days. Vice President Gary LaRocque, who joined the organization in 1997 and oversaw the minor leagues and draft during his tenure, was the highest-ranking employee to take a hit, though he likely will remain in some scouting capacity, deputy GM Jim Duquette said. The Mets have fired or demoted at least nine other members of the scouting department. "It's still ongoing, so I don't have a number for you," Duquette said. "But there have been a fair amount of scouts fired or reassigned on the amateur side." Paul Fryer and Terry Tripp, the organization's two national crosscheckers, responsible for quality control of underlings' recommendations, were fired along with area scouts Dave Birecki (Arizona), Quincy Boyd (Illinois), Greg Morhardt (Connecticut) and Jon Bunnell (Florida), baseball officials said. Bob Minor, Gene Kerns and Joe DelliCarri, the three area crosscheckers, were reassigned. The Mets had been prepared to remove LaRocque a year ago, but Omar Minaya nixed the plan, wanting to observe the situation for a year before making moves. Russ Bove took over major responsibilities for the draft in June. Team insiders maintain the reshuffling was made at the highest levels of the organization, with special assistant Al Goldis having aggressively lobbied for a turnover since his arrival two years ago. Bove, the first-year director of amateur scouting, was said to be pleased with the job the scouts were doing and wasn't responsible for the purge. Special assistant Sandy Johnson has pushed for Rudy Terrasas, the assistant director of amateur scouting who joined the organization from Texas in December, to assume LaRocque's role, but Duquette indicated the position may be eliminated. The Mets have had some high-profile products of their system make an impact this season - chiefly, Jose Reyes and David Wright. However, only Heath Bell, Aaron Heilman, Mike Jacobs and Jae Seo are the other homegrown products on the major-league roster, and team brass generally hasn't felt like it could reach down into the system to promote major league-ready players in recent years. Critics of the reshuffling counter that internal studies commissioned by Fred and Jeff Wilpon in recent years showed the Mets to be near the middle, and in the upper half, in producing talent. One person intimately familiar with the team's inner workings pointed to the number of draft picks the Mets have forfeited in recent years in order to sign free agents. The Mets had no first-round pick in 1999 and no second- and third-round picks in 2002 (for signing David Weathers and Roger Cede�o), '03 (Cliff Floyd and Tom Glavine) and '05 (Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran). In 2001, the year the Mets had a rare extra pick after Mike Hampton signed with the Rockies, they used it to draft Wright 38th overall. Meanwhile, the Braves were compiling extra picks for losing free agents. Compounding the issue, Mets insiders said, is that the organization became tight with its purse strings. One prime example: The Mets drafted pitcher Kyle McCulloch - a University of Texas signee - in the 18th round two years ago, knowing he would command top-round money to sign, but figuring it was worthwhile because of the lack of early picks. After the draft, LaRocque was denied the money by superiors. McCulloch may go in the first round next June as a junior at UT. Critics of the dismissals also note that New York teams are reluctant to trust their talent, and that elsewhere, upper-level prospects like pitcher Brian Bannister would be given the opportunity to succeed the way rookie Zach Duke has in Pittsburgh. Tripp had been with the Mets for 20 years and was credited with signing 44th-round pick Jason Isringhausen. Minor signed the undrafted Bell and was responsible for Jacobs' 38th-round selection. ******************************************************************************** Comments? Later

If the Mets pick up the option on Steve Traschell for 2006, is there a rule concerning the earliest they can trade him? (An NBA-type sign and trade deal) If the Mets don't pick up his option, can they still offer him arbitration? If not, and he becomes a free agent, when is the earliest they can re-sign him? I think there's a two week window after the World Series when only they can sign him. Is this true? If they don't sign him during that two week window, isn't there some rule that says they can't re-sign him until next Spring Training? Later

R R's for Mel Rojas His name seems to fit. But each time we saw him Ol' Mel pitched like shit. Later

Baseball rap?Remember this?What ever happened to the old song parody threads, anyhow? Are they going to be saved to this new forum somewhere?Later*******************************************************************If you’re a Leiter lover Better stay under/cover Don’t admit you feel ‘dat way. Don’t tell me nutin’ About your ballot/ stuffin’ He ain’t no all star any way You want to be Al’s cheer/ leader He ain’t never been a crowd/pleaser As far as I can remi/nisce But the best thing, lover Is that wild-high motha’ Throws balls that always miss, like this Batters weren’t/swingin And dat ain’t fans/ singin As the ump’s left hand fly up in the/ air Hey diddle diddle just toss it down the middle So they might swing at it, take a /dare So take a /chance This ain’t no high school/dance Maybe someone can make a/play Hitters you ain’t been/foolin Cause they know what he/doin when Al lets them walk this way Chorus: Al lets them Walk this way! Get him outta’ Shea! (repeat 2X) (repeat all 2X) Well just let me smack you head! Oooh, a-like this! He tries hitters /teasin’ Ain’t no fuckin’ reason He can’t throw a pitch at the knees Or throw three strikes over To the other club’s socker Or let his teammates play some/ D He’s a consistent/loser Throws like a Tampax/ user Never throws up something they’ll miss He just tries to nibble Not like that ol’ Rob Dibble And give the fans some wanted bliss, like this Batters weren’t/swingin And dat ain’t fans/ singin As the ump’s left hand fly up in the air Hey diddle diddle just toss it down the middle So they might swing at it, take a /dare So take a /chance This ain’t no high school/dance Maybe someone can make a/play Hitters you ain’t been/foolin Cause they know what they/doin when Al lets them walk this way

For the first time in a long time, I actually felt tears welling up over a sports article. I know it sounds silly, a mature man misting up over someone else's memories.The article got to me on a level I don't fully understand.Maybe several levels.I can't explain it. Later

Willets Point wrote:Guys who grew up in Greenwich, CT just don't have the street cred to rap.Guys who grew up in Greenwich CT don't know what street cred is. :wink: Later

Bret,You've got to proofread better before you his that "submit" key.You typed "kissed".You must have meant "kicked".Later