Centerfield

Was that not an intentional walk? Less than stellar debut for Carlos Torres.

Nice walk by Ike. Strasburg nearing his pitch limit for the season.

Poor Joe Garagiola. For many years, I made fun of this guy for having nothing to say during those broadcasts. But now I realize that Joe had the sense enough to realize how gold Scully was by himself and anything he said would only take away from the masterpiece that is a Scully broadcast. I picture it as being the equivalent of being told "Hey CF, grab a roller and help Michelangelo paint that chapel. Come on, get a move on."

How does anyone in the world think "Hmmm, national broadcast. Let's see, Scully is available...I know, let's get Kenny Albert." Fuck Fox.

Now we get to listen to Vin Scully. Awesome.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: My sigh of relief is a small one. Niese's shoulder was cleared just two weeks ago. I feel like this good news today means that he'll be okay until his next MRI in early April. Sounds like an Onion article. "Niese Cleared to Throw Until Next MRI" or "Niese Expected to Make his Next MRI".

This has to come from the top. Ownership and management have to explain to everyone that they are in NY, and everything will be scrutinized. Anyone making such comments will be disciplined or terminated. That's the only way. The backstabbing is cowardly, it does no good and paints the organization in a terrible light.

So did Mike Piazza.

Idiotic on a number of levels. Glad he apologized. Hope he and others learn something from it.

How did Flores look at ss?

I think he'll be really good if he stays healthy. Which is only slightly more of a prediction than "I think he'll be really good if he plays really good." I'll go for it. 12-9. ERA under 4.00 Only miss a start or two here and there with "dead arm" or "fatigue". No DL trips.

I think it's Ike Davis. He can put up an .850 OPS and hit 30 HR's or he can be released by May.

I would take any of these predictions. I'm a bit more pessimistic. .240 BA, .320 OBP, 11 HR, 75 RBI

He's going to suck for a month then be released.

We have three possible aces in the system. Obviously they are going to finish 1-2-3 in Cy Young voting for the next 15 years, but which of them will be the best? Put your prediction on record NOW!!!! (or feel free to write in Montero/Niese/Mejia/Gee whatever)

In camp as a guest instructor. How great is it to see Mike in blue and orange crouching behind the plate?

Not nearly as scary as pitchers not getting MRI's. I'm still irritated that the Mets would not give Wheeler a precautionary MRI last season when they shut him down with shoulder soreness. Why not just check it out and be safe? Anyway, I'm off topic. Hoping the best for Jon. The reports made it seem like it's not serious.

Edgy MD wrote: "I have a new workout regimen. Now I don't concentrate on just upper-body strength, but overall awesomenesszz. I can't wait to put this nu body into action." I know that guy. He worked on his flexibility this off-season instead of piling on the weights. Yeah, he looks great.

Sure. It's the most common one. But there are plenty more signs that a player is about to have a big year. "With the surgery now (one)(two)(three) years removed, he is pain-free for the first time in years." "He had gotten pull-happy during his years with the ___. But now, he is hitting the ball to all fields. He looks more balanced at the plate." And of course: "Last year I had an oblique injury. No I didn't. Yes I did. I'm not making excuses. Who told you that!?!?!"

Wait, so if I'm following this right, Ike Davis says he didn't want to mention the injury last year because of fear he'd get taken out of the lineup. So at the point you get sent down to AAA, doesn't it make sense to say, "Um, Wally, my oblique has been hurting for a while. Maybe I could take a week or two off before I find myself again?" And he didn't mention it after the season because he didn't want to make excuses. But he is mentioning it now. To a reporter. But he's not making excuses. Then when the reporter reports what he has said to him, in a one-on-one interview, Ike gets upset. Because now it seems like he's making excuses. But he's not. He had no idea that the stuff he said to a reporter was going to end up getting published. The nerve of that reporter. How Mike Puma isn't fired is beyond me.

I remember these types of articles being written about Robin Ventura.

CLASSY JETER RETIRES ON HIS OWN TERMS Crane Pool Forum News - October 14, 2014 By: Centerfield Leave it to Derek Jeter to retire the right way. This wasn't the way you�d hoped the Captain was going to go out � announcing it with little fanfare, at the conclusion of a disappointing season that saw the Yankees miss the playoffs for a second consecutive year. But you knew, in your heart of hearts, that this was the way it was going to be. There will be no victory lap for Jeter. No six months of adulation. See, Derek Jeter has always been about the team. And to put himself at the center of attention would be, simply stated, UnJetery. We all knew this day would come. When ultimately his fading physical talents would not be able to live up to his commitment to the team. We all knew Jeter would be the first one to tell us when he was done. Selfless player that he is. We first saw it in 2004, when Alex Rodriguez joined the Yankees. Jeter, the consummate teammate, gave up his coveted shortstop position, his birthright, to make room for the Gold Glover Rodriguez. Yankee fans bemoaned the move, but Derek knew it was for the good of the team. And now, the good of the team dictates that Derek will hang up the uniform for good. And we in Yankeeland will have to respect that decision again. But don't expect us to like it. As Brian Cashman explained, �We were caught off guard with his announcement (on Facebook). We wish we could have known what he was planning. We would have loved to be able to give him the proper sendoff.� Silly Cashman. It's like you just met Derek Jeter. So with his career now in the rear view mirror, Jeter goes down as one of the five greatest Yankees of all time, right there on their own position players� Mount Rushmore with Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle. He is their all-time hits and stolen base leader and though he could not be considered a power hitter, it is the home runs for which he�ll likely be most remembered: His first home run, off Dennis Martinez on Opening Day in Cleveland in 1996, that helped the Yankees beat the Indians and started him off to Rookie of the Year honors; his �Mr. November� home run off Arizona�s Byung-Hyun Kim to win Game 4 of the 2001 World Series; his 3,000th hit home run off the Tampa Bay Rays� Cy Young ace David Price in 2011, to name three. �I just know it took Joe Torre and I only two weeks into that first spring training in �96 to know we had a shortstop,� Don Zimmer, Jeter�s mentor, was saying by phone from St. Petersburg on Wednesday. �It wasn�t any one thing. It was everything, the way he hit, the way he fielded the position, the way he threw, the way he ran and mostly just the way he carried himself. Now all these years later you think of things like this: You know how Yogi always used to say DiMaggio never made a mistake? Well, how many mistakes do you think Jeter made in his entire career? I remember one time early on, he got himself picked off second base. What does he do? He comes back to the dugout, pushes himself right between me and Torre on the bench, just to aggravate us. So now, whether we like it or not, there will be no farewell tour. No video tributes, no waving his cap in visiting ballparks. Just the string of championships he leaves in his wake. "I'm surprised anyone would have thought he'd do anything else." Zimmer said on Wednesday: �Nothing Derek Jeter ever does would surprise me, except if he had announced his retirement before the season. That's just not him.� We know Don. We just wished he would have been a little selfish. Just this once.

I'm wiling to meet them halfway. If Jeter dies this year, I'm ok to reduce the waiting period to 3 years.

Oops. Brainfart. Totally in the wrong forum. No wonder I didn't see metfairy's post. Please feel free to merge or delete. Sorry.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: It's early yet. Let's see how we feel about him in, say, about another six or seven hours. This type of attitude breeds mediocrity.