Centerfield

Posting from my Blackberry here from the Mezzanine at Shea. What a beautiful night to be at the ballpark. At times I complain about this place, but I'm glad we don't have some bland corporate named Stadium with stupid deep dimensions.

It's crazy that: 1. Beltran won. After not being a Met for the last two and a half months. 2. Davis is tied for fifth when he played 4 games this season.

Vic Sage wrote: Centerfield wrote: Gwreck wrote: Because the Yankees wanted Tampa to win. Exactly. So if Reyes should play all innings of the last game, so should Rivera pitch that 9th inning. that's total bullshit. The Yankees have every competitive reason to play their roster in a way that best prepares them for the post-season. If that means resting Rivera the last day of the season, then so be it. It is in NO WAY comparable to a guy deciding for himself to play or not play as a strategy to achieve an individual statistical goal unrelated to the team. I looked up his appearances, and you are right. I thought the Yankees next game was Saturday, but it's Friday. And Rivera pitched Tuesday, so yes, pitching him back-to-back games is probably not a good idea with that fast of a turnaround. Well, it's at least a defensible move. (Disregard what I said about Rivera in the other post.)

I don't know if any of this is directed at me but since I'm one of the "not a big deal" guys, I feel compelled to chime in. I acknowledge that it's a shitty thing to do (said so in my first post). If I were Reyes, I would have played. And if my manager had taken me out after a hit or two, I'd put up an objection but I'd secretly be very glad he did so. After all, no matter what anyone says, every person on earth wants to win a batting title. I don't think it's a big deal, not because there's no honor component to it (there is) but because I just don't think the transgression is all that great. Ideally he should play the whole game, but there's a lot of things I'd like to see that just don't happen. I think teams that have clinched have an obligation when playing a contender to put their A team out there and not treat it as a spring training game. I think Rivera should have pitched the ninth yesterday (when is his next game? Saturday? I don't see it realistically affecting his post-season at all). I think sack dances in football are terrible, scripted touchdown celebrations even worse. But when I see these things, I don't get that bent out of shape. And when a player does something great like win a batting title, I don't think that skipping his last few at-bats outweighs the greater accomplishment. But that's my opinion. Others may feel otherwise.

Valadius wrote: Going over to Facebook this morning made me want to barf. I can't belief the disgusting glee that the MFY-loving people I grew up with have over the Red Sox choking. Unbelievable. Oh, come on. That's their biggest rival. Of course they're going to be happy. I was openly rooting for that Chinese team to beat up Georgetown.

Gwreck wrote: Because the Yankees wanted Tampa to win. Exactly. So if Reyes should play all innings of the last game, so should Rivera pitch that 9th inning.

They are who we thought they were. Still, it was fun along the way. I, too, miss baseball already. If there is a heaven, I picture it to be a place where I can play baseball every day with my kids, then come home, relax and watch a game at night. No off-days, All-Star breaks, rainouts or off-seasons.

Why was Rivera not pitching the ninth?

Why hasn't Jose been re-signed yet?

It was a shitty thing to do but not a big deal in my book. It should not overshadow the fact that he won.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. (By the way, how much easier would it have been for Jack Torrance to write his book if only he had CONTROL-V back then?)

seawolf17 wrote: Edgy DC wrote: I'm not sure why I've been quote above there. We haven't mentioned it in a while, but in light of Darryl's comments, it's worth reviewing that Reyes can still take the money and run without leaving New York, if you get my drift. And I think you do. I would probably quit baseball if he wound up with the Phillies or Yankees. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible. This is not possible.

If the biggest criticism of our homegrown superstar is that he's an all around swell guy, give me that any day of the week. He could sulk. He could openly complain. He could hint to ownership that if the fences aren't brought in and some protection in the lineup isn't provided he's bolting when his contract is up. Instead, he stays out of trouble and wants to be a Met for life.

Before the long cold winter. Fuck the pennant races. They're overrated anyway. Tell me what you want to see before 2011 is put to bed. We all want to see Reyes win the batting title and for someone to beat Beltran's 15 HR mark. But what else? I'd like to see them sweep the Phillies and let them know that next year is going to be different. I want to see Lucas Duda hit 4 more HR's.

G-Fafif wrote: "I don't know why they always take my picture batting here. They should really see what I can do with a glove at Shea." Do you see how he's squinting? I think he just had trouble seeing things in this ballpark.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: 10. The redundancy. (What year is that card from, 1982? 83? Pretty much the only years I can identify for sure are those from the 1970's.) Anyway, the closeup in the circle was designed to give us a look at the guy's mug that we couldn't get from the action shot, but for this card, that doesn't come into play at all. Exactly. "Ok, this time, let's try it meaner, but no glove."

Not exactly within the rules on the first two, but I'll post anyway... Musings #1: I never quite understood the school-photo type of baseball card. I guess times were different then and it was hard to get an action shot of every player. But how about Orel Hershiser? Hershiser who went 19-3 with a 2.03 ERA? I mean, something is wrong when Hershiser and Tom Niedenfuer have the same exact card right? Musings #2: Has anyone aged more between baseball cards than Tom Paciorek between 1985 and 1986? I didn't realize it at the time, but I think sometime in the fall of 1985, Tom relinquished his ring of power to his nephew Frodo. Musings #3: Ten reasons 1. This is his rookie card. 2. "He's a future Hall of Famer! Let's feature a shot of his ass!" 3. The uniform. A testament to how many different shades of brown, orange and yellow we can squeeze on while staying predominately white. 4. The socks: Different colors no? 5. "Mr. Gwynn, will you sign your ass for my son?" 6. Topps Design Meeting: "I think we should have little insets for their portraits, see, this way we can feature more ass-shots" 7. The ass-shot may actually be the more flattering of the two pictures. 8. Every time I see a picture of Tony Gwynn, I think of his voice. 9. After this picture was taken, the ass would only get bigger and bigger, but he would still find a way to steal 319 bases in his career. Good for 143rd all time. That's more than Lenny Dykstra, and only 8 less than Mookie Wilson. EIGHT! 10. Would have been better off with the school-picture type card.

You know, I wonder if Reyes had signed a huge extension in July whether people would be saying he's already slacking off.

Now we know it was Ben.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Wow. I love this forum.

Brilliant. Thank you Greg.

They're still his words. That makes him a shitbag. He doesn't need the job, he doesn't need the money. If he's being asked to endorse something his heart isn't into, he can always decline. I doubt if Selig came to him and asked him to endorse "separate but equal" locker rooms he'd be on board. Perhaps it's unfair, but I feel like Torre supports this decision. When he was asked why the Yankees didn't wear the hats after 9/11, he spouted something about the brand being too important, bla bla bla. I think he was always hoping it would go away. Now it's a bigger issue than ever.

Even this guy gets it: He didn't wear the hat during the match. How is what he did different than the Mets wearing it pre-game? Because he's not the Mets. Yet he still saw the significance of the hat.

David Newman gave me a call. To summarize: 1. The Mets are very proud of what they did. They executed their ceremony without a hitch. Officials at FDNY and NYPD all were thrilled, moved and called it perfect. 2. Hats are "immaterial". He quoted Terry Collins by saying "It's not what's on your head, it's what's in your heart." 3. They tried several times to get permission, they were denied, they complied. They are part of MLB and have to respect their rules. 4. They will not issue a press release. The topic is over. 5. They do lots of other great stuff, visiting hospitals, fire departments, some make press, some do not, and this is much more important than the hats. I told him that I respectfully disagree. The hats are a very important symbolic gesture. It would be in the organization's best interest to understand that. Calling the hats immaterial really shows a disconnect between the fans and the organization. He should understand by the buzz around this issue how important this is to many people. I wish he would read the quotes from Valentine and Zeile to see what this is about. A shame. I really came away with the feeling that he didn't get it.

Even this guy gets it: