Centerfield

What a strange marketing plan they have chosen. I am a pretty avid baseball fan and I can't say I know what the Diamondbacks' colors are. And this is after flipping through pictures of their new uniforms.

I guess another interpretation could be that they really want him to take the QO. And they would undermine it by offering a multi-year deal. I don't know. I don't really see him taking it. But if last week told us anything, it's that we have no fucking idea what will happen. Ever.

Just looking at that clip I'd guess that the team from the Netherlands has very few guys actually from the Netherlands.

Isn't that one of those where you confer and agree that if the guy hits it to outer space it's a HR?

Need to get some points back. '85 Carter was the better year. I'll say Gary, in '85, at catcher, with a candlestick.

Edgy MD wrote: Centerfield wrote: I feel like the year of Olerud was 1998 Is this just a comment or a guess? 1998 should have been the Year of Olerud. But a loose doping regime turned it into the year some juicebox in St. Louis hit a gajillion homeruns. Not a guess. Just saying the year he was referencing was 1998, not '97, to see if he wanted to change his guess.

Same here. I wonder which way the Mets are rooting. I am trying to read into the fact that there have been no real substantive talks. I guess the simple read is that they don't want him back at all. But if you really didn't want him back, I wonder if you leak a bullshit offer (2 years, 24 million) and spur others to come in and move quickly, making it less likely that that he takes the QO. I kinda got the feeling that the Mets would only seriously consider bringing back Neil if they lost Cespedes.

I feel like the year of Olerud was 1998

I will continue to shamelessly pick low hanging fruit. Piazza. Catcher 1998.

Pitcher should be colon 2016. But I'll guess Hampton 2000. Pitcher.

Piazza. '99. catcher.

Say scouts about Shohei Otani. And if you believe the hype, about to be insanely rich. Just heard about this two-way player from Japan. As a pitcher, he was 10-4 with a 1.86 ERA. His fastball touches 100 mph. As a hitter, he hit 22 HR's and posted a 1.004 OPS. And he's just 22 years old. “I actually think the guy might get a $300 million deal,” said a scout who has had multiple looks at the righty pitcher/lefty hitter. “That is how special a talent he is. He has power No. 1 starter stuff. He is throwing 99 [mph] in the eighth inning. His secondary stuff is unhittable. He is big and loose. His fastball is electric and his curve, cutter and split are all 70s [on the 20-80 scouting scale]. “And I think he is getting better as a hitter. I think an American hitting coach teaches him to turn on the ball more and he can be a 45-homer guy. He has Darryl Strawberry power. He is the face of a franchise. He is a big, handsome guy and when he plays baseball you cannot take your eyes off of him.” Article: http://nypost.com/2016/11/09/meet-baseballs-next-big-thing-a-babe-ruth-pitcherslugger-who-may-get-300m/ Expected to Fight Ham for another year and not post until next off-season. What a cool story this would be if it happened. (You know, so long as he doesn't go to the MFY's. Then I'll be reporting to President Trump this foreigner who goes both ways.)

They've been saying the Red Sox will go strong after Encarnacion to replace Ortiz. Maybe Toronto saw the writing on the wall.

Road rage and Sultan. I really love how we get to re-live the season with these covers. Even if we weren't voting it's fun to just browse these. I think this is when we started realizing the Mets offense wasn't as good as we thought in April. Injuries and Conforto taking a downturn.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Are you guys saying you'd make that re-swap right now? Not right now. I'd want to see what happens with Walker and Cespedes. Then test the market and see what's available. My post was more tongue-in-cheek. I'd trade him right now for the catching version of Dilson Herrera. Plus we should get our pitcher back too.

RealityChuck wrote: I think it was simple. He wanted ten wins. He was not likely to start regularly for the Mets, who have six young pitchers ready to go, so he went with a team that could promise him he'll be pitching every five days. Plus they can score a bit. Second half Braves were 6th in all of MLB in runs scored.

A Boy Named Seo wrote: That Willie Mays mashup is great. Seriously right? Just a gem Zvon!

I will remember thinking he is a much better fielder than I ever knew. A terrific athlete, despite the body shape. I will remember how he taught all of our young pitchers and the joy with which he played the game.

Well this sucks. I get that this makes sense. $12 million is better spent on other areas. But man I will miss the big guy. My son will bummed. This week needs to be over.

I didn't realize Silver Sluggers did not differentiate between OF positions. Would think that this hurts centerfielders. Was surprised to see Charlie Blackmon there, but then I looked up the OPS for NL outfielders. Topping the list? Charlie Blackmon! Who would have guessed that before looking? http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/seasontype/2/position/of/league/nl/sort/OPS/order/true Some interesting stuff there. Jay Bruce slots in at 9. 1 spot ahead of Bryce Harper. Curtis Granderson, as tough a start he had to the season, ended up performing better than bigger names like Andrew McCutcheon, Marcell Ozuna and Jason Werth. Looking at the bottom of the list, we find Jason Heyward. Not towards the bottom, at the bottom. in fact, 60 points below the guy in front of him. The guy I wanted last winter ended up as the worst qualifying outfielder in the NL. I'm starting to think I am not a great scout. This does not bode well if you are Seth Lugo. It looks like Denard Span pretty much sucked too. Glad we dodged that bullet. I remember he was bandied about as a contestant in the "Cheap Replacement for Cespedes Sweepstakes". He's not alone though. Pretty much across the board, all of those candidates, (Colby Rasmus, Gerardo Parra and Alejandro De Aza, the eventual winner of the Sweepstakes) all kinda sucked.

I hear the Reds have a pretty good second base prospect. Little guy, but he's hit at every level and has surprising power. We are going to have a hole if Walker leaves. Maybe they can swing a trade there. Long shot though. Not sure any club would want to give up a hitterish 2B prospect for a one-dimensional outfielder.

Frayed Knot wrote: It was impossible to know it at the time, but that FORT KNOX cover turned out to represent the high water mark of the season for Conforto. It was later that night that the Mets would face Madison Bumgarner with Conforto, batting 3rd, going 0/4 w/3 Ks. That alone was no big deal of course, but foreseeing this past week's election results would have been more logical than thinking that night was the beginning of a season-long spiral for Conforto that would see him fall so fast that he'd wind up spending more than 1/3 of the remaining time in the minor leagues. Conforto prior to May 1st: .365/.492/.676 Conforto (in ML) after May 1st: .174/.267/.330 And he had to rally at the end just to even end up where he did. He's got to find himself. He has the ability to transform a lineup. For good or bad.

I realize that if Zack Wheeler is healthy, you start him over Bartolo Colon. The money, the upside, and the age make it a no-brainer. But I'm not sure that for 2017 Zack Wheeler is better than Bartolo. Bartolo just went 15-8 with a 3.43 ERA. His WHIP was 1.21. In his prior Met years, his ERA was higher (3.90 as a Met overall) but his WHIP was pretty consistent. (1.21, 1.24, 1.23). Zack Wheeler has a good career ERA of 3.50, but his WHIP has been 1.36, and 1.33. In his last full season, he walked 79 batters in 32 starts, 185 innings. Colon, by comparison, walked 32 batters, in 191 innings over 34 starts. And this was before Wheeler got hurt. Now this is not to say you should sign Colon, or that he's likely to come back. Just that when you assess this situation, Bartolo might actually be better than Wheeler. Maybe.

Edgy MD wrote: Yeah. If the return is the same, and the gun is firmly to my temple, then Bruce Magoose in a heartbeat. But obviously, inquiries are not going to be all equal. I think I would consider Granderson if the returns were equal due to age. I think Bruce would will hit better in 2017. But Granderson can play CF. So I don't know.

But seriously though, it's good that he has feeling back no? I heard that sometimes it doesn't work.