batmagadanleadoff

Edgy MD wrote: When I nominated Jim Bibby, I had no idea that he was considered a particularly valuable asset. I hadn't known he was a Met prospect until a few years ago when I saw a photo of a Met bigwig (possibly Whitey Herzog) staring at a wall displaying the Mets pitching depth chart sometime around 1969. I will seek more stealth success. Don't bother. You might find stealthier, but not as successful as Blair. Not even close. There are no other Blairs.

Three time all-star Scott Kazmir.

Edgy MD wrote: =roger_that post_id=82848 time=1639297983 user_id=128]I guess the tradition was started by Stengel, but the Mets seem to have a proclivity for hiring ex-Yankee hacks as their manager. Casey Stengel, Yogi Berra, and Dallas Green came over with 12 pennants and eight championships among them. They may be a lot of things, good and bad, but I wouldn't call them hacks.

They'd missed the playoffs in 1970 and '71, but finished with a winning record both years, and manager Gil Hodges in particular thought Fregosi, not Ryan, was the type of player who could help the Mets make an immediate postseason run. "You always hate to give up on an arm like Ryan's," Hodges said after the trade. "He could put things together overnight, but he hasn't done it for us and the Angels wanted him. I would not hesitate making a trade for somebody who might help us right now, and Fregosi is such a guy." https://www.mlb.com/news/mets-nolan-ryan-trade-legacyhttps://www.mlb.com/news/mets-nolan-ryan-trade-legacy Ironically, Hodges would never get to manage Fregosi, not even for a single game.

[FIMG=444]https://img.comc.com/i/Baseball/1972/Topps---Base/755/High----Jim-Fregosi.jpg?id=b99db9c9-03e7-4452-969d-d3a6b5d36103&size=zoom[/FIMG]

[FIMG=444]https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F61aMbiTlWQL._AC_SL1200_.jpg&psig=AOvVaw0muBfSGLmokeT57ZInUsn6&ust=1639244112590000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAoQ3YkBahcKEwiQgO-p4tn0AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQBA[/FIMG]

All I know is that if eff 'n jeff were still running things, Showalter wouldn't be within a million miles of the Mets radar and the managerial search woule be down to local NYC PSAL High School baseball coaches.

When I was consulting, our senior partner would tell us that if we were in the shower or on the toilet (not exactly his words) and thought of a customer, it was billable time. Of course that isn't ethical, but always got a laugh. Later That's pretty much how it is. I'm certain that the agents won't be shut out of their billables and deductible "expenses" during the lockout.

[FIMG=444]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51729016048_0f2ba33509_c.jpg[/FIMG]

Bill Madden: According to sources familiar with the presentations during the Golden Era meeting Sunday, the subject of the integrity/sportsmanship clause, which has been such a raging topic in the Baseball Writers elections ever since the steroid cheats began appearing on their ballot, was widely discussed when it came to Hodges. “You could make the case—and apparently somebody did—that no one in the game epitomized that clause more than Hodges, a quiet leader, an ex-Marine World War II hero who was universally respected by teammates and foes alike,” said one source. “I think that made the difference for him, especially in this day and age.” It didn't hurt either that the venerable Hall-of-Fame Dodgers announcer Vin Scully lobbied hard behind the scenes for Hodges with a lot of the committee members. And who could say no to Vinny? https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/ny-gil-hodges-hall-of-fame-brooklyn-dodgers-mets-20211206-wb347rrn5bchzc6satukgutrye-story.htmlhttps://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/ny-gil-hodges-hall-of-fame-brooklyn-dodgers-mets-20211206-wb347rrn5bchzc6satukgutrye-story.html Joan Hodges is 95 and rewarded at last for her patience. The way I anticipated the vote, I was certain that intangibles like character and integrity were what would finally get Hidges in, if it was gonna happen I can recall Joe Posnaski's piece on Hodges almost a year ago in his series about the best baseball players not in the HOF: the entire piece focused on Gil's character with barely any words devoted to Gil's playing or managerial record. And that now being the case, one could now easily see why it took this long for Gil to get the necessary number of votes for enshrinement.

=nymr83 post_id=82591 time=1638792819 user_id=54] I understand taking another look at guys like O'Neill who played in the negro leagues but it is so dumb to spend 15 years on a ballot deciding that Kaat and Oliva are NOT hall of famers just so a a handful of their buddies can show them in now.

=stevejrogers post_id=82585 time=1638762443 user_id=57] The Mets made a HOF plaque for Gary Carter, with an NY on his cap, instead of the Expos one on his Cooperstown plaque, and hung it in Shea's Diamond Club lobby with the Met HOF busts, wall photos and other artifacts. No clue of its whereabouts today.

=G-Fafif post_id=82572 time=1638747366 user_id=55]Tears of joy.

Frayed Knot wrote: And those folks who relieve themselves of the burden of proof also get to sidestep the inconvenient question of how such an obviously deserving member was voted down so consistently by contemporaries who actually saw your guy play. This. The only thing I'm pretty confident in saying is that Gil Hodges's playing career, alone, doesn't merit enshrinement in Cooperstown. And his managerial record, alone, doesn't merit inclusion either. So is Gil's managerial record enough, when combined with his playing record, enough to get him in? I dunno. The 1969 Mets were spectacular, one of the greatest stories in baseball history, and still, one of baseball's most beloved teams ever, even though its fans are dying off. Everybody rooted for the '69 Mets. But still, Gil's managerial record is brief. HOFer's that needed their managerial record to bolster their playing stats to get in, tended to have a larger managerial record than what Hodges accomplished as a manager. It was simply too brief. Gil himself was as beloved as those '69 Mets and his case will no doubt rely on the almost universal respect he received to get in. Gil has a unique resume, for which there is virtually no comp.

[FIMG=444]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51726979193_236154faf1_b.jpg[/FIMG]

Well, the Hall would be tremendously bigger if all a candidate needed to get in was a majority of the vote. I'm with FK on this one. Which doesn't mean that I'm against Gil's enshrinement.

I say "I dunno" because being better than the Nutjob Bunter Wee Willie Small Balls isn't much of a bar to beat.

=MFS62 post_id=82480 time=1638558428 user_id=60] He asked what I thought and I did that. If you think he should be hired, tell us why you think that. Later

Sure. Because the dozen or two post-season games Showalter managed is so much more telling than the thousands and thousands and thousands (did I say thousands?) of regular season games Showalter managed. Don't even get me started on the total crap-shoot lucky charm nature of post-season baseball, where good teams play against other good teams and anybody can take the title. Anybody. And Al Weis was one of the greatest power-hitting infielders there ever was.

Edgy MD wrote: Worth noting that Wills would be the only one alive to enjoy enshrinement. Probably shouldn't be a factor, but it's probably likely to be a factor. "Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Roger Maris, Minnie Miñoso, Danny Murtaugh, Tony Oliva, Billy Pierce and Maury Wills are the candidates the Golden Days Era Committee will consider for Hall of Fame election for the Class of 2022. All candidates are former players except for Murtaugh, who was a manager with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kaat, Oliva and Wills are living, while all other candidates are deceased." https://baseballhall.org/discover/golden-days-era-ballot-2022https://baseballhall.org/discover/golden-days-era-ballot-2022

Edgy MD wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: Anthony DiComo and Jim Duquette were talking about Stroman on Mets Hot Stove. Implied that he may have been a bad influence in the clubhouse and said that Scherzer is an upgrade over Stroman. I don't know about the bad influence thing, but Scherzer/Stroman isn't an either/or, so that spin doesn't make any sense at all. Yeah, this is bordering on some racist bullshit right here. Upgrade on the field? Absolutely. But you don't know shit about the clubhouse, Middle Aged White Guys. Sit this one out. They know more about it than I do. I'm certain of that. That's what I was thinking. We have no idea what went on in that clubhouse with Stroman, especially since Covid. Me, I don't know, but if it turns out that Stroman was a difficult and polarizing asshole or something like that, I won't be so surprised. Not that I'm hoping for, or even expecting any revelation like that.

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=82342 time=1638410681 user_id=68] Looks like the Mets prefer Carrasco and Walker over Stroman. Also, is there gonna be a lefty starter?

Looks like the Mets prefer Carrasco and Walker over Stroman. Also, is there gonna be a lefty starter?

Edgy MD wrote: Also a wonderful way to incentivize teams to try to stay competitive and out of last place — promotion and relegation. Also, I'd like to see more pepper games.

3137. With a comma.