Centerfield

Oops. Sorry. Big trousers.

All my Sexy's live in Texas. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22322489/rangers-sign-44-year-old-bartolo-colon-minor-league-deal

Report: Mets might target second tier starting pitchers. https://www.sny.tv/mets/news/mets-are-reportedly-starting-to-target-second-tier-free-agent-starting-pitchers/265774276 Guys, we are committed to winning a championship here. What I want you to do is go out and find the best pitchers that are available. The very best in their field. Come up with a comprehensive list. Then we're going to cross off all of those names. We will then pick through the remaining names, and consider signing one of them. Actually, anyone willing to accept a minor league deal is probably best.

How did you find that? Do you post on other forums?

If not for bullpen carts, Jake Taylor would never have tracked down Lynn.

Flores had a .765 OPS against righties last year. Harrison, by comparison, was .745. I know speed and defense and stuff, but do you want to give away talent for a guy who doesn't hit as well as Wilmer?

I want to believe in super buff Juan Lagares 2.0. That would be awesome if both ends of that platoon ended up happening. Right? Could totally be the next big thing. Juan Lagares hits 50 HR's. Juan Lagares is seen dating Selena Gomez Is Juan Lagares' bat more valuable than his glove? We discuss on Loudmouths at 6 p.m.! Selena Gomez: Juan Lagares has a "big bat" Juan Lagares to cameo as poolboy on Desperate Housewives reboot Juan Lagares wins Celebrity America Ninja Warrior Juan Lagares exposes corruption behind CPF Tabloid Cover Derby

Meanwhile. Dice-K STILL GOING STRONG. https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2018/01/3de3c73ab520-baseball-matsuzaka-to-join-chunichi-after-tryout.html Mori, a Seibu Lions pitching coach when Matsuzaka turned pro with that club, said he had few fixed expectations for the former superstar. "I'm not saying win 10 games or 20," Mori said. "He has established a body of work, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with our team." Ok. So maybe not "strong", but definitely still going. Last summer, he was on the verge of joining the Hawks' injury-hit starting rotation but was never fit enough for a call-up. "Because I've not been able to pitch these past years, I want to really demonstrate that I can pitch and am fit," Matsuzaka said. And by "still going" I mean that he would very much like to get back going. You get the idea.

I know we have a lot riding on Smith and Rosario, but I feel like someone (or sometwo) from the group of Nimmo, Lagares, Plawecki, Rivera and Flores is (are) going to break out in 2018. On Edit: And we shouldn't be giving these guys up for Josh freakin' Harrison.

I think I might be drinking the Kool-Aid here, but am I crazy for thinking Plawecki's improvement might be sustainable? After his recall last year, he .303/.411/.476. OPS of .885. Only 76 AB's, but that's pretty good. His numbers in LV were great too. .328/.375/.514. Again, he started slow in April but then heated up as the season went on. That's 300+ ABs where he was a very productive hitter. And yes, I realize that the LV numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt, but he improved on his production even in LV. He improved his LV OPS by 57 points from 2016, and by 281 points from 2015. Sustainable!

Things like this are additional downsides to having David Wright on the roster. Sucks to Smoker. Hope this new guy works out. But you know, we need a few lefties in that pen no?

I liked Hisanori too. I have no memory of Ken.

Was the 12th Japanese Met. Wouldn't have guessed it was that many.

Was all over the highlight reels for this "great" catch in the ALDS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffvL--nN5Hs Basically, he doesn't read the spin off the bat, takes the wrong route, realizes late that the ball is tailing away, then has to dive to recover. It was all over the highlight shows as a great diving catch. He did this a couple of time with the Mets too. Struck me that he's kind of an "anti-Beltran". Carlos would have tracked that ball, taken the direct route, camped underneath it, carried a stoic expression (maybe even yawn), then put it in his pocket. No highlight reels. No credit.

Edgy MD wrote: Cousin Oliver replaced Cindy Brady as the cute one. Chrissy Seaver replaced Ben Seaver as the cute one. Ricky Stevens replaced Chris and Tracey Partridge as the cute one. All good ones. Except Cousin Oliver was not in any way cute. I think they had a new baby in Fresh Prince too. Vivian Banks must have been close to 50 years old.

Tina Yothers looks sheepish to be there. Just like she did in all of the later seasons of Family Ties. I think Jennifer Keaton is the most egregious example of "cute baby child grows up, loses relevance, is replaced by another baby (no matter how improbable) to restore cuteness." It didn't help that she entered her awkward years at the exact same time. I think by the end of the show she ended up just being the new kid's babysitter. Raven Symone coming in as Rudy aged out was another example. Others escape my mind. I can see Maja's buttcheek. Terrific job BG! The TCD was the only fun thing to happen in the 2017 season!

Edgy MD wrote: Centerfield wrote: Long overdue. The only downside to this is hearing "Well I'm Irish and I have no problem with Notre Dame..." I'm Irish-American and I TOTALLY have a problem with Notre Dame and their stupid brawling leprachaun. Send 'em my way. Sometimes I'd like to just get the portable version of Edgy and carry him around with me.

Long overdue. The only downside to this is hearing "Well I'm Irish and I have no problem with Notre Dame..."

Wasting our 2015 first-rounder on Michael Cuddyer certainly didn't help.

Edgy MD wrote: He's probably capable of more offensively than he's shown. And if that's not true, he probably improves a weak defense from day one, while being an average hitter. But no, he's not what you cash in the Nimmo chit for. Not me, anyhow. And not for $10 million+ per year. He doesn't walk, he doesn't hit for power, he's never even stolen 20 bases. No way. I mean, the only way I get behind Harrison is if you tell me he costs nothing in a trade and their other option is Eduardo Nunez.

I'm not sure I'd want Harrison even in a salary dump. How are we not seeing that this guy is not a very good hitter? I keep hearing speed and defense. Defense maybe, but the speed is 12 stolen bases. Really?

We are at 17 now. Any last minute voter?

It hurts now when you look back, but Mitchell for McReynolds is a trade you have to make. Mitchell was a nice looking young hitter, but he was undersized and hadn't proven anything yet. McReynolds was already an established good to great hitter.

I just want to point out that even McReynolds got his own thread and I'm still buried in Johan's.

Ceetar wrote: Davidoff might be on to something. The way they handled Reyes in 2004 is super relevant to 2018. He also randomly ascribed other injuries to meddling or mismanagement with absolutely no sourcing. The only actual sourced information is the idea that it's a pressure cooker, the influenced the decision making stuff is the source's opinion, and the rest is Davidoff spin. The other stuff isn't really news. we kinda knew that the Mets meddled with the PR of injuries, always want to control the message and always put the best spin on things. It's generally super easy to see through, but at least it's consistent. I've never understood why I'm suppose to be mad that they try to downplay the devastation of an injury or are super optimistic about how fast a guy will be back. They're heavily incentivized to do so. Well that's Davidoff's thesis right? That the prior injuries are relevant. Check out this quote from the Daily News: Last season, some in baseball wondered and whispered about how the Mets handled their injuries when they lost multiple stars to physical issues. Does that sound familiar? I edited it slightly for effect, but that was written in 2010. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/carlos-beltran-arthroscopic-surgery-knee-opening-day-new-york-mets-article-1.462470 This was following the 2009 season when the Mets recommended rest and rehab for Beltran's knee. Even after the season ended, they never recommended any further action. (They did, however, whisper about his toughness and shame him for sitting out with a "bruise") Frustrated when the pain returned, Beltran went to his own doctor, got it cleaned out, rested 12 weeks and put the issue behind him for good. We heard rumors from the Mets staff that the knee condition was career-threatening. He saw his own guy then went on to play 7 more years. This is no accident.