batmagadanleadoff

Centerfield wrote: Joel Sherman is reporting Starlin Castro and good, but not top, prospects going the other way. They are going to get Stanton without giving up their top prospects. But who cares about payroll right? Only on this forum do you hear the "payroll doesn't matter" bullshit mantra. And to defend the team from New York Fucking City, no less. Stanton should be playing for a team like the Yankees. Because the Yankees play in the greatest city in the world. So do the Mets. But the Mets have their fans so fucking brainwashed with their years and years of lowered expectations that to many Mets fans, the Mets might as well be playing in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I always feel a special sadness whenever a Polo Grounds era Met passes away. I don't know why this is, especially since I was too young, or not even alive yet to have ever witnessed or experienced this era of Mets history in real time. But it is.

I never would've gotten David Wright for 2012. When I first checked into this thread, I saw that the 2012 answer wasn't solved yet and I figured if it was a Met, it had to logically be Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey. I can't even remember Wright being so good that recently. In my mind, he was scuffling with one setback or another (stadium or health related) ever since the Mets left Shea Stadium.

I figuratively if not literally, pop a blood vessel whenever I hear talk of Gary Carter deserving to have his Mets # retired, because whatever Carter did for the Mets, Koosman did 10 times over. 20 times over! But for every time I hear someone advocating for retiring Kooz's #, I probably hear it 100 times for Carter.

41Forever wrote: 41Forever wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: You're seriously comparing (Name redacted) to the man responsible for the Holocaust because he disagrees with you about a Hall of Fame vote? I don't see how that helps advance the discussion, and I don't think it's good for the forum. If I'm the only one who feels this way, I'll stop. But I think someone needs to say that this is just wrong. He keeps trying to antagonize Namor, disregarding the fact that Namor can't see any of his posts, unless they're quoted by someone else, as has happened here. I'mm refrain from taking the bait in the future. Apologies to Namor. Where were you when he goes around calling me Batshit? I'd really like to know. Really. Because there's a real possibility that people here are going to think he's a real Nazi. And again with the apologies. Mr. Apology. Issuing bullshit apologies every four posts for things he knows needn't be apologized for. What a fucking bullshit act that is. I apologize too. I apologize for Betsy Devos being a crooked religious know-nothing nutjob. I apologize. I'm sorry if I offended anyone. I apologize.

Edgy MD wrote: In other words, let's screw some Venezuelan kid and his family in the name of competitive balance when it's all about the league restraining labor costs. Somewhere out there, Heinrich Himmler is smiling, because why should the players get any of the money that's out there? I'm surprised we're even drafting these players. Why not just chain them to the ship's galley against their will and ship 'em all here where the owners can grab em for free and force them to play under a reserve clause in perpetuity for minimum wage and if they resist, the owners get to whip the shit out of them because it's in their contract in the clause right after the reserve clause which takes effect even if they don't wanna sign the contract and if they don't wanna sign the contract, they get whipped for that too, because that's also in the contract. Fix that, Marvin Miller. I bet Heinrich would like this idea.

And Heinrich Himmler weighs in. And it figures, because Marvin Miller, I can say with indisputable 100% certainty, belongs in the Hall.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Two first place finishes since 1988. In a mostly five team division. In New York City. Not missing out? Really? All this during an era in baseball history where the correlation between payroll and wins was never stronger. And eating the back end of big bad contracts: that's what big market teams do. That's the luxury of being a big market team. It's a calculated outcome, not luck gone bad.

Two first place finishes since 1988. In a mostly five team division. In New York City. Not missing out? Really?

Those back pages are so uninspiring, I'm not voting in this round.

I'm talking elite in their prime free agents. It doesn't matter who they last played for before the Mets signed them so long as they were in their prime elite free agents. This would include Cespedes, who entered the free agent market after the 2015 season having last played for the Mets, but not Santana or Piazza, who weren't free agents when they signed with the Mets. Pedro, like CF said, was past his prime even though his first Mets season was sublime. The Mets signed Pedro for his 33-37 age seasons. Coleman was an extremely overrated outfielder who did in fact have a few good seasons before signing with the Mets. That didn't make him an elite top tier in his prime free agent when he signed with the Mets. Edgy makes some fair points that Coleman wasn't the worst everyday position player on the '85 Cards, but rather the 6th best, or 2nd worst from the bottom. Picky, picky. That makes Coleman the 6th out of 8 regulars. And, if as Edgy says, the '85 Cards were playing with half a lineup, then what does that say about the 6th best or 2nd worst from the bottom position player? Mo Vaughn was in his mid-30s, 100 pounds overweight, and hadn't played a MLB game in a year and a half when the Mets signed the over the hill free agent first baseman. That's hardly elite top tier free agent territory. It's funny that the Mets needed a first baseman that off-season, because coincidentally, there actually was a top tier elite free agent who played first base that same off-season. That would be Jason Giambi, the toppingest free agent of that market, coming off, if I remember correctly, an MVP season. He signed with the Yankees, who when it comes to signing top tier free agents, eat the Mets lunch like the Globetrotters eat the Washington Generals lunch. That's the Mets and Yankees in a nutshell. They get the most sought after most desirable free agent available and the Mets get Fatty Arbuckle in baseball polyester. This reminds me of one of the presentations I attended at the Hofstra 2012 Mets 50th. The topic was the economics of the Mets and Yankees (again, if I'm remembering correctly) and the presenter noted that one of the tremendous advantages the Yankees have over the Mets is in the quality of the Yankees free agent signings. One way he measured this was to compare the all-star appearances of the two teams free agent signees. As you would imagine, it wasn't even close. Beltran, Bonilla and Cespedes. In 40 years of free agent history. From a team that calls New York City its' home. Another fucking embarrassment.

Only the Al Harazin Mets could've though that Coleman was an elite player. He never was. As a rookie base-stealing sensation, Coleman sucked all the attention away from the rest of his teammates --- a real shame because Coleman was probably the worst of the '85 Cards starting eight.

Centerfield wrote: Vic Sage wrote: they're not moving either Cespedes or Conforto to 3b, injury or no, and neither should they. Enough with playing guys totally out of position. Wait, so my scenario had the Mets spending about $750 million, and that's the part that was unrealistic? Lol. I would say there is a better chance Conforto learns to play an adequate 3B by catching the ball with his teeth and then punting it over to 1B than the Mets signing five top tier free agents in one winter. Five top tier Mets free agent signings in one winter? I don't think the Mets signed five top tier in their prime free agents in their entire franchise history. I'm struggling to think of anyone other than Beltran and Bonilla. OE -- Cespedes. That's three.

Ceetar wrote: Torre said the suspension "sort of lost its impact" once it became clear that Utley, who signed a one-year, $7-million deal with the Dodgers this winter, would not miss any postseason games. They tried to expedite the appeal, and they could have, if they really wanted to. The players association asked for more time and hence didn't agree to a hearing before game 3. They very well could've done the same thing here, and at the very least (From MLB's standpoint) it would've shifted the blame to the players association if they dragged their feet. I don;t know how much the process could be expedited. A player can't reasonably assemble his appeal in a day or two. And the MLBPA would gladly take the hit for accepting any "blame" on behalf of their players. That's their job -- taking the blame so that a player doesn't miss any WS games is what they're supposed to be doing.

Frayed Knot wrote: Personally, I think it should have been the two WS home games. Five games in April isn't a punIshment, it's a cop out. A longer suspension during the season, as opposed to two games now, hits the player harder but the team less, which I think is the right idea. Plus, since the players don't get paid per-game during the post-season in the way that they do during the season, the five-gamer hits him in the wallet as well (a shade over 3% of his pay). I'm OK with it. I don't care about his pay, I care about punishment. Keeping him out of two WS games is a punishment - no one knows when you'll get back to one so you go watch in the clubhouse and think about how much of a childish dick you were. 2 WS games and 5 games in April is an even better idea. Remember the Utley/Tejada take-out slide? Of course youse do. That's probably why MLB didn't bother to have Gurriel's suspension take effect during the WS: because Gurriel has the right to challenge the suspension and the process would take longer than the Series itself. A challenge by Gurriel would guarantee that the suspension, even if upheld, would never take effect during the WS. That's what happened in the Mets/Dodgers playoff series of 2015.

Frayed Knot wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: This is the part I didn't get either and was biting my lip all along to refrain from commenting on. The team was a hair away from winning the pennant and going to the WS and you're all mocking them because your 70 win team .... did what exactly? Well the thread was titled back in [crossout]February or so[/crossout] late January so it's not like the season results were in at that point. That's so hubris.

Centerfield wrote: Maybe it serves us right that our 2017 MFY thread was titled "LOL Yankees" and they were one fucking game away from the World Series. This is the part I didn't get either and was biting my lip all along to refrain from commenting on. The team was a hair away from winning the pennant and going to the WS and you're all mocking them because your 70 win team .... did what exactly?

He couldn't ignore my posts if his life depended on it. And the block only works when he's logged in.

Nymr83 wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: The only thing the draft "equalizes" is how much $$ the bosses make dragging salaries down. i dont think it drags overall salaries down, it just distributes cash to established players over newcomers - which is why the union isn't ever going fight it - they actually prefer it even if they occasionally might feel the need to pay lip-service to the idea that it isnt fair. It figures you'd believe this. The whole world is run by bullshitting scumbags and bastards who exploit everybody and everything underneath. Baseball's no exception. And in this country, the Republicans, whom you worship, are the worst example.

Me neither.

Boy does everyone know how to talk, talk, talk and talk without saying a single thing of substance.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/andrew-miller-doesnt-have-any-saves-and-hes-the-best-reliever-in-baseball/

Good. Blevins pitched like a star last season. Not like Paul Sewald.

Were Gardenhire and Ausmus even on the Mets' lists? I don't know if they've lost out on anyone they actually wanted. Maybe the Mets never bothered to openly announce Handsome Brad Ausmus as a candidate because Ausmus made it clear from the get-go that he had no interest in managing the Mets. Report: Handsome Man Not Interested In Managing Mets excerpt: Recently ousted Tigers manager Brad Ausmus is looking for another team. Just, uh, not one as messy as the Mets—the man has standards, you know. Per a new report from FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman, Ausmus has taken his name out of the running for the Mets’ open position at manager. He’s not alone, as former White Sox manager Robin Ventura has reportedly done the same. Who does want to manage a team known for its recent history of poorly handled injuries, a weirdly high number of minor public relations crises, and a dysfunctional connection between ownership and front office? The Mets are reportedly banking on working something out from a list that includes current hitting coach Kevin Long, former player Joe McEwing, or Astros bench coach Alex Cora. (The last one there seems unlikely, as Cora is rumored to be a top candidate to reunite with the Red Sox, with whom he won the 2007 World Series as a player.) https://deadspin.com/report-handsome-man-not-interested-in-managing-mets-1819596857 __________________ For more than 10 years now, the only managers the Mets were able to sign were those who weren't going to get any other offers and had no other place to go. I predict that Alderson's eventual retirement will unchain Jeff Wilpon in ways never before seen which will result in some Trump-like performances a couple of times a year.

Edgy MD wrote: At least some of the McEwing myth of "He plays the game the right way — if I had a team of 25 Joe McEwings ..." is just that, right? Mythmaking? Mythmaking? I dunno, but I can tell you that if you had a team of 25 McEwings, you'd have the worst team in baseball. McEwing wasn't gonna hustle his teams into anything more than an early October vacation, a coupl'a hits against Randy Johnson a million years ago notwithstanding. Who should manage the Mets? I dunno, but it looks like all the candidates who had more options went elsewhere and the Mets are left with the leftovers because, really, who'd wanna manage for eff and Jeff when there are other offers?