Methead

"the "Rated Rookie" shirt" That. Is. Awesome.

Greg Maddux, RHP, 42 years old, 6'0", 170 lb, future HOF, genius Positives : 347 wins, career ERA of 3.11, ERA+ of 134, 3273 strikeouts, career BB/K ratio of 3.37 etcetera etcetera yada yada. He's posted ERA's over 4 the past few seasons, but he's still at or below the league average anyway. You can't argue with his legacy, his ability, or his competitiveness. Little injury history to speak of. His knowledge would benefit the young pitchers on the staff. My first instinct when considering this guy is "Screw Maddux", but the fact is, he turned in a better season than Glavine did, at the same age, for less money. He's tossed close to 200 playoff innings as well. Negatives : For what it's worth, he's got the former Brave tag, but that was a few years ago. He doesn't throw as many innings as he used to. Wears glasses. I dunno. The more I think about it, the fewer negatives I find. Upside : I don't know about a HUGE upside, but it would be reasonable to expect 190-200 IP with an ERA around 4.00 given what he's been doing the past few years. Downside : With geezers like Maddux, there's always the possibility of a precipitous decline in ability, or an increased risk of injury. Health Status : Suffered from a strained back last September which limited his innings down the stretch. Tweaked a hamstring back in July or something, didn't miss a start. what it would cost the Mets : He's got an $8.75 million player option (he'll probably decline). The team holds an $11 million option. Padres GM Kevin Towers is confident the Padres can bring him back at approximately the same price as last season ($10 million). It would likely take a significantly higher offer (or at least a guaranteed second year) to pry him out of sunny San Diego. Would you go 2 years/18-20 million for Maddux? Would it be worth it : Sure, why not? I think the Mets would have to take a serious look at the guy, and at least find out what it would take to bring him in. 10-12 million should buy you league-average performance, superior knowledge, and playoff experience, right?

Manny smokes a ball into Boston Harbor to win Game 2. Combined with Cleveland's walk-off win, tonight has been some great baseball to watch. But these two dramatic victories have me asking myself, how come our team can't do that?

Reyes y Castillo y Beltran y Wright y Alou n Delgado y Green n LoDuca n Milledge y Chavez y C. Gomez y Easley n Anderson n Gotay y Valentin n A. Hernandez n B. Johnson y Newhan n Castro y Alomar Jr. n DiFelice n P. Martinez y Glavine n O. Hernandez y Maine y O. Perez y Wagner y Feliciano y Heilman y J. Smith y Mota n Sosa y Schoeneweis y Sele n Pelfrey y Humber y Collazo y Muniz y Bostick n Vargas y D. Sanchez y Randolph y Peterson y H. Johnson y Henderson n Manuel n Alomar Sr. y Conti y Minaya y

Sawx. I want my grandfather to witness another Red Sox World Series win after waiting his whole life to get just one.

Tough call.

I can't believe I turned off the TV after Julio gave up the homer. I was pulling for the Rockies too. Even as I was closing my eyes, I was telling myself "No lead is safe in Denver..."

They deserved the division, no doubt. With their core of young players, they'll probably be Phightin' for the division for a while, too.

Your postseason has come... prematurely.

Fuck Maker's Mark in a glass. Hook up the IV.

"Quality Start" for Pedro. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

It's almost as if the Braves don't want us winning the division.

Way ahead of you, Seo. Yet, I can't take my eyes off the screen. It's almost intervention time.

I resized my photo to the point of excess blurriness, and the Simpsons machine didn't care... at least you'll get a starting point that you can customize from.

Nah, it started out as Meathead. At some point I just removed the "a" and became Methead. It has the dual purpose of including the word "Met" as well as the standard "-head" suffix used to describe anyone who's a fan of anything. And now you know... the REST of the story....

Cool, I didn't know my 1986th was approaching. Moorhead died a day before I turned 14.

Just got done watching the game... I had programmed the DVR to record 3 and a half hours, and it cut off right after Endy crossed first base. It was destiny, I tell ya.

"Any player or person connected with a Club who shall offer or give any gift or reward to a player or person connected with another Club" He could probably wriggle out of a suspension based on this technicality, right? If he didn't offer a gift to a specific person but instead sent it to the whole team (nudge nudge wink wink), then the rule as written would seem to say he's in the clear. edit : I meant to add... he'll probably get fined for it, though.

"When did they start?" Groundbreaking ceremony was May 2006, looks like excavation began sometime that summer.

Pics from the construction site of their new ballpark right here. edit : Renderings too!

My boss (in Florida for a long weekend) called me from the game. Castro's double happened while I was on the phone with him, apparently the fielder ran headlong into the wall trying to make the play.

When I first discovered ebay, I went nuts buying a lot of cards I wanted as a kid but couldn't afford. When I lived in Brooklyn, I focused on Dodgers cards from the 1950's. My favorite set is the 1952 Bowman. They're awesome. For example, I've got this Gil Hodges card... As well as this Pee Wee Reese.

Apologies if this was posted already... http://baseballcardblog.blogspot.com/

They're re-orienting home plate... not that it matters much now that every ballpark is oriented differently anyway. I got curious as to what the correct orientation should be according to the official rules, and apparently the old Shea was sited exactly the way it should be... the line going from home plate to 2B should go east-northeast. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/stadium/ballpark_NSEW_NL.shtml

I remember driving to my parents house for Christmas when I heard the Hampton trade news on the radio. I'm hoping for an even better present this year. As you said, it's not my money!