Centerfield

Is there a rationale behind the years listed in the thread title? Was the last year cut off?

NY Citi for me. I like both covers, but the determined look on Granderson's face wins out over the somewhat awkward photoshop.

I think I numbered mine backwards. 1. deGrom 2. Harvey 3. Granderson 4. Murphy 5. Familia 6. Duda 7. Cespedes 8. Syndergaard 9. Colon 10. Conforto 11. Flores 12. Niese 13. d'Arnaud 14. Wright 15. Tejada 16. Johnson 17. Uribe 18. Matz 19. Clippard 20. Lagares 21. Cuddyer 22. Plawecki 23. Robles 24. Reed 25. Gilmartin 26. C. Torres 27. Verrett 28. Gee 29. Nieuwenhuis 30. Goeddel

Edgy MD wrote: New home of the Low Balled thread. Let's try to remember we're friends here. Agreed. So long as we understand that by "friends" we mean it in the way cliques of high school girls mean "friends". Where we agree upon one set of thinking and look down upon those who do not fall in line. Where we can make catty, passive-aggressive comments to others then feign surprise and horror when they respond with anger. Direct, forthright anger. "Like, I don't understand what she's so worked up about, all I said was that she gets distracted and jealous of shiny objects." Then we can ostracize those people as trouble-makers and give them lectures about how to respect other people. So they will learn to leave us alone so we can go about our condescending ways in peace. Like good friends should.

Not pictured: Pop Star Jacob deRulo.

That's going to be a tough call. The win that dealt the first blow, versus the win that finished them off.

Doesn't Cespedes have reverse splits? Or did I make that up?

I think it is the Holidays. The board has been dead overall.

Me neither. Of course, I'm not the one doing any of the work so...

The Utley Rule. A baserunner who, in the ump's discretion, is being a dickhead, will be ruled out, and the DP will be awarded.

Sure, I miss the good old days too. But today is a pretty terrific time to be a baseball fan. A couple of new (or newish) things I love, right off the top of my head: CitiField An entire TV station centered around the Mets. Win or lose, Mets highlights come first every night. Drug testing. No more turning a blind eye toward the cheaters Alternate Uniforms StubHub Pitch trackers on the scoreboard, on the TV screen, on your phone That the beat writers are on twitter (sorry KC) GKR Message boards!

Frayed Knot wrote: I don't believe there's a set number written down anywhere since 'domestic violence' can run the gamut from somewhat scary to serious felony and anywhere in between, so the commissioner has a lot of leeway on how he chooses to act although I suppose there's always a grievous process for the player if he and the union thinks the punishment is too extreme. There are currently no charges being filed in this case as there were conflicting stories on exactly what went down and it'll be tougher to make a case for a lengthy suspension if charges never are sought. Joel Sherman in the Post is guessing 10-25 and also points out that 40 or more would be enough to kill his FA qualification at the end of this season - which is something that might get the union's attention also. Yankee fans are downright giddy over this move. Nice to see how much "pride" and "class" and the "Yankee Way" matters when a guy can bring it at 100 MPH. Reports are that he threatened his girlfriend with a loaded gun and fired shots. To me, this is much closer to "serious felony". Good news is that if he gets charged with a serious felony before ever throwing a pitch, I think this immediately qualifies him for "True Yankee".

I wonder how much of the reaction to Cuddyer/De Aza is influenced by when they occurred in the off-season and the implied messages each carried. The Cuddyer deal came early in the offseason, and gave the impression that the Mets were being aggressive, and many thought it was a great "first" move. In other words, it symbolized optimism. The Mets were saying, screw the draft picks. We're going for it. The De Aza deal came late, and its' message has been largely interpreted as "Well, that's all folks". And it became the symbol of disappointment and anger. Unquestionably it was the trigger for a ton of Wilpon backlash. I think that's what makes it hard to assess each individual deal in a bubble. Even if you try to separate them out, it's hard not to be influenced by the larger group of moves around that deal. If for instance, if last winter, the Mets were intent on, and signed, another top tier free agent, it could have made the draft pick lost from Cuddyer less painful.

Oh, and I miss what baseball cards used to be before everyone blew up that industry.

d'Kong76 wrote: Bobby Murphy telling us they'll be right back with the happy recap Yup. Miss Murph and Kiner. I miss the McCarver I grew up with, not the douchebag on Fox that showed up later. I don't know that I can say I miss them, since I have very little memory of them, but I wish they would bring back bullpen cars. I think it's funny what it says about the attitude toward pitchers. "Can he pitch multiple innings, multiple days? Of course. Why not?" "Can he run in from the bullpen? Hell no! Get that man a ride!" I miss afternoon games being the norm on Saturday.

I remember re-acquiring him. And I remember thinking this was the perfect move to make for expanded rosters. Moves like this I felt really showed how committed Sandy was to going for it, and made me feel like we were in great hands for the future. I don't remember if EY actually played a crucial role at any point in September. But we can thank the Nats, and to a lesser extent, the Braves, for making much of it obsolete.

Maybe we create another thread, with spoilers, for folks who have seen the movie and want to discuss?

Edgy MD wrote: Hitting Davis in the back the next day was Buffalo pitcher and fellow owner of a current "Memories of" thread Dillon Gee. I believe Gee matched up against Steven Strasburg (in his final minor league tuneup) and pitched a three-hitter that day. Agree or disagree with the offseason strategy as you will, but I'm a little bummed that between Murphy, Niese, and the already departed Dillon Gee, we are going to seem a lot less Metly in 2016. Parnell too, is likely gone.

He strangely came up the same day as Nick Evans, both coming from AA, and assigned to platoon together in left field, even though neither was an outfielder. Evans looked as lost as you'd expect from a guy put in that situation, but Murphy hit everything thrown at him, and even fielded with some aplomb initially. I remember Gary astounded by his success after one big hit, having a rhetorical conversation with himself, "But can he do it in the clutch? YES! But can he do it against lefties? YES! But can he do it off the bench? YES! But can he do it day in and day out? An emphatic YES!!" So successful was his launching that some of the faith he engendered rubbed off on Evans. And the Mets initially waited patiently for Evans' bat to come around, though it never quite did (though he put up good numbers against lefties). When Citi Field was complete and not ready to occupy, Mets execs asked three Mets to come across the street from Shea and take some batting practice: Wright, Murphy, .... and Evans. I imagine Nick Evans is somewhere reading the news of this signing, saying, "Go to Hell, Daniel Murphy!" His fielding shortcomings in 2009 really showed me everything I'd grow despairing of in Jerry Manuel, who gave up on him in left, and then declared no intention to try him at an infield position, declaring that as off limits because it's "closer to the ball." "If he can't play outfield, how's he going to play infield?" asked a surprisingly pigheaded Jerry, displaying not only the bias of a former infielder, but seeming ignorance that Murphy had been an infielder all through the minors. Jerry ended up cycling through every option possible for a replacement at first for an injured Carlos Delgado — including allowing Jeremy Reed to lie his way into the lineup — before finally giving Murphy a chance to give him the better part of a season of perfectly effective first-basin', which he did, along with a team-leading home run total of 12. Great memories Edgy. Keith liked his swing from the very beginning. He called Murph "the Mets future 3 hitter". I scoffed at the idea and thought maybe Keith was displaying his bias toward high-contact, medium power guys. I'm glad he ended up being this, and for a World Series team at that. When he first came up he seemed like a high OBP guy, but never really replicated that eye. I suspect a lot of it had to do with how little he would swing and miss. Had that stretch a few seasons ago where he went half a season or something without hitting a HR. That's ok. He was saving them for this October. Had a terrific attitude. Never once complained no matter where they put him in the field, where they batted him in the lineup. Ended up being a far better second baseman than I ever would have thought. I'm still pissed about the year we didn't get where some asshole took him out in the minor leagues. I will miss Murphy. But I will hate facing him 19 times.

Frayed Knot wrote: 'Tears of Joy': A bit too much Jim Breuer for my tastes and somewhat skimpy on actual hi-lights (possibly because FOX didn't own enough of them) but still worth seeing. I think that's all I need to hear to skip it. Am I the only one that finds no entertainment value at all in Jim Breuer's recaps? To me, it just seems like an annoying guy screaming.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Classy or not... it's pretty smart. Cynical, mebbe, yeah, but smart. Clearly not classy. But I guess it's smart. They're up there with KC now. But does anyone know how long the suspension will be for the domestic violence? This one seems like a pretty severe case. I'd go 162 at him if I were Manfred.

But .680 OPS in 19 ABs as a PH last year. And .411 OPS in another 19 ABs as a DH. Michael Cuddyer was shot guys. I was hoping that the oblique surgery would serve as a turnaround as well. But his decision to retire basically confirms what we saw all year long. The guy had nothing left in the tank.

So that's what that last series was about. Well played Mets.

This fucking blows. I know there are a lot of reasons letting Murphy go makes sense, but it still fucking blows. That he went to the Nats just makes it worse. I fucking hate this winter.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I voted indifferent. I don't think I'll mind having De Aza on the team, but I don't like the fact that this seems like it may preclude other and better deals. What he said. I went indifferent too. The deal itself is not the problem. What the deal represents about the Mets and their offseason plans is the issue. But that's not De Aza's fault, and not fair to blame him for it. Plus, there is still the chance, however small, that the Mets still do something significant this offseason. Everyone knows I would have re-allocated assets in a different way, but whatever.