batmagadanleadoff

Zvon wrote: What's Greg Luzinski doing in there? And McCarver...oh, these aren't all Mets/Phils? I see a lot of traitors up there. Except those playing out their careers, like Koos, Buddy, Tug, Sid, McDowell, Dykstra, Turk, Wally(?), Hahn, Thomas, Pratt, Pedro, and Pheil. The rest are bums. The '71 Deron Johnson: top 5 koolest 71t card. McCarver, like Bobo Newsom might have, talked his way into this thread. Luzinski's the interloper. No bull. You win. We have a DIY 1973 Topps Bob Miller Padres card -- regular version or the Steve Rogers version. Step right up and pick a card to claim your prize.

G-Fafif wrote: John Stearns for Mayor? In a Phillies cap? It was either Stearns for Mayor or ... [fimg=266]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/618/21683279259_30655ec49a_o.jpg[/fimg]

d'Kong76 wrote: That Pat's Steaks card is pretty cool. Ugly, but cool. Luzinski gets a card for feeding the booth the other night? That's all the food references I got. I was watching the game when the Mets booth was talking about "Greg" serving them ice cream that was masterfully double scooped. Was that Luzinski they were talking about?

Frayed Knot wrote: Having said all that, I do happen to think that MLB IS in an era where there's more of what folks like to call parity as compared to most eras in its history, I just don't think the statistical oddity of 'setting a record' for the longest time with no b-t-b winners is proof of it even though it's sure to be cited as just that in some quarters. I sort of agree. I don't necessarily agree that we're in a parity era. But I agree that counting the number of different WS champions in x number of years wouldn't be the best way to determine the level of parity. Frankly, I'm really astonished at the current number of -- not repeat champs -- but frequent champs. I figured to myself as soon as baseball expanded the playoffs more than 20 years ago that having repeat WS champs would be a much rarer feat. I also figured that in my lifetime, I'd never see a team win three in a row anymore -- difficult enough even before the wild card era. The Yankees proved me wrong on that one and to this day, I'm still stupefied by that accomplishment.

Frayed Knot wrote: Giants being eliminated ensures that MLB will have its 15th consecutive year without a repeat champion, something that has never happened before. The previous record had been the 14-year streak from 1979 until 1992. I tend to think this is more fluke than some sort of proof that parity nirvana has been achieved even though I'm sure this is going to be touted in places as just that (it's a prominent story on the MLB site). This span, after all, does have two 3-time champs (Giants & BoSox) and one 2-timer (Cards) meaning that three teams have won more than half of the championships during these years. But, in general, I think MLB is in a good place as far as competitive balance goes. Certainly much better than the 15 year span that preceded this latest one when a huge explosion for certain markets in local media money made the income gap between teams so lopsided that it was as if some teams weren't playing by the same rules as others. Things are also a lot more balanced now as compared to the so-called 'golden age' of the sport which only seemed to be golden for those who lived in NYC but not so much for anyone else. I don't think it's a fluke. Quite the opposite, what surpises me is that there are two recent three time champs. Expanded baseball playoffs, to me, means that teams no longer have to assemble, on paper, dominant squads to have the same chance that they once needed to win the crown. I don't think it's a question of parity, either. There might very well as many dominant teams out there as there ever was. But there's so much luck in baseball that, coupled with more playoffs teams, the best team is less likelier to take home the crown.

[fimg=245]https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5457/18063229141_5eb9e40531_o.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5350/17271726419_dbef8bcb86_z.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YDwUVuuwoC8/SrrHXbR7s6I/AAAAAAAACVg/IKzGu8FkGFg/s1600/11+Offerman.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8830/17458132285_37cf8b40be_z.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gHPmiovBllo/UQ_5jWDatdI/AAAAAAAAOZk/ee7yUw-jkPw/s1600/2013+Chachi+Transactions+%2316+Schneider.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/536/18563679660_bc11090bb5_o.jpg[/fimg][fimg=263]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/571/21855167115_cf766ee4e4_o.jpg[/fimg][fimg=265]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/611/21843177692_5cb96475b6_o.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/722/21234058933_5b3ae0ae0f_o.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5774/21234058913_3d7f1f43d8_o.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iyEsAfVrY0Q/Tu0-m4zyewI/AAAAAAAAHdc/aV_TiVwH-WU/s1600/1988+Topps+%2523PR1+Almon.jpg[/fimg][fimg=236]http://www.tradingcarddb.com/Images/Cards/Baseball/109527/109527-24792452Fr.jpg[/fimg][fimg=245]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YDwUVuuwoC8/TAMGXTXgvFI/AAAAAAAAECA/uIttPujZauQ/s1600/41+White.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XEpxYnbegK0/VGFzBK1FCzI/AAAAAAAAVpU/v7V7sb2VP0s/s1600/1999%2BPhillies%2BTeam%2BIssue%2BPerez.jpg[/fimg][fimg=250]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/755/21843177592_3fb0aa1983_o.jpg[/fimg]][fimg=255]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LlPgtUwaIIw/VT7qH20RQoI/AAAAAAAAXPU/vTIVrAkMuxU/s1600/2015%2BChachi%2B%2314%2BFrancoeur.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/656/21234058883_92b9d1962f_o.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/685/21234058773_6cb936d052_o.jpg[/fimg][fimg=250]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/618/21683279259_30655ec49a_o.jpg[/fimg][fimg=245]https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8708/17272250939_ab9394ffcd_z.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZnWw4VESJsw/U88nj7c0NoI/AAAAAAAAUiE/0BaibrFhV-k/s1600/2014+Chachi+%2349+Cedeno.jpg[/fimg][fimg=245]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-liLxsszuScs/T_jfC-ysR9I/AAAAAAAAJFE/By1Gd3xKr-g/s1600/2012+Chachi+%2342+Pridie.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pics/wayne_graham_autograph.jpg[/fimg][fimg=245]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YDwUVuuwoC8/Se_U7yvZazI/AAAAAAAAAnY/B4uhudak1_Y/s1600/2000+Topps+Newhan.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KM97z8glj3M/Ts2PIyzl4AI/AAAAAAAAHIU/RkpII8IlmdQ/s1600/1986+Topps+%2523PR4+Gorman.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=245]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31hTTIpLLhL.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=230]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CasUoVd3TZU/VTr2smmtdkI/AAAAAAAAXLY/NaVDoLRDz1Q/s1600/2015%2BPhillies%2BTeam%2BIssue%2B%2334%2BHarang.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=350]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/570/21843177632_e00ec47c9e_o.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=350]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iwPyG-WAfqA/T2NZyvnKQ6I/AAAAAAAAH5s/DVxutw9AGtM/s1600/1999+Sports+Illustrated+%2361+Anderson:Welch:Bennett.jpg[/fimg][fimg=383]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/667/21843177662_190454a04d_o.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=383]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5740/21234058873_331b706085_o.jpg[/fimg][fimg=383]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5674/21234058843_6cb936d052_o.jpg[/fimg][fimg=433]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5625/21843177712_f173e6e2dc_o.jpg[/fimg] And a can for Lefty: [fimg=255]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5652/21843177732_4acfd31438_o.jpg[/fimg]

[fimg=366:2crcp1mp]http://cconnect.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2014-Topps-For-Mayor-Wall-Art-Tom-Seaver.jpg[/fimg:2crcp1mp]

I am Curtis Granderson even though I didn't choose the apple pie. [fimg=655:vz63fa0u]http://worth1000.s3.amazonaws.com/submissions/514000/514039_a16a_625x1000.jpg[/fimg:vz63fa0u]

I missed this quiz, but going back to the original post, I was also thinking about Dillon Gee yesterday -- after just realizing that Logan Verrett's wearing Gee's old #35. Isn't that kinda mean?

Edgy MD wrote: I calculate that the Mets have a 0.01220703% chance of blowing this, so if I take that bet, you're totally going to have to give me odds. The odds that the 2015 Mets don't make the playoffs is totally irrelevant here.

If the Mets blow this one, I bet Terry's gone.

http://grantland.com/features/studying-art-pitch-framing-catchers-such-francisco-cervelli-chris-stewart-jose-molina-others/ Start here and you'll get to "saving his team 50 runs a year". Granted, it takes an extraordinarily skilled outlying pitch framer to save his team the 50, but it can be done. Ozzie Smith never saved his team 50 runs a year on defense. Never came close. Pitch framing is scientifically proven. Like with numbers and all. BTW, I posted this same article the day it ran, two years ago and your response was to fucking mock me, which is what you've been doing for like eight years now. Catchers have been engaging in all sorts of trickery since the dawn of baseball. Why shouldn't they? It shouldn't surprise anyone that baseball at its highest level should be a cutthroat affair. I remember reading about an old-time (Pre WWII) catcher -- I forget his name -- who, at the right moment, would snap his fingers to mimic the sound of a bat nicking the pitch. He would do this on certain checked swings to trick the ump into thinking that the batter made contact with the pitch in order to induce an incorrect strike call. The umpire's blind spot exists because the ball is smaller than the catcher's mitt and as it approaches the mitt, it disappears from the umpire's vision. Think about it. The umpire can't see the ball hitting the catcher's mitt. He can only "hear" that sound of ball hitting mitt.

d'Kong76 wrote: One more thing, umpires are graded and monitored more and more these days than ever before. I doubt one to a man would admit that he allows pitch framing to alter his calls. Where the ball crosses the plate!!! It's not rocket science. Some of you sound like I'm disputing the existence of dinosaurs or something. Truthfully, I have no idea what you're disputing. No. Idea. Not a clue. Allow? I guess you do think that umps screw up calls with intent.

There's a lot of words I can think of to describe pitch framing. "Stupid" isn't one of them. An extraordinarily skilled pitch framing catcher can save his team about 50 runs a season. No other defensive player comes even remotely close to having such an impact. The home plate umpire has a tiny blind spot, usually "on the black" and a skilled catcher can exploit the blind spot to his team's advantage. Why is that stupid? Are you saying that the catcher's stupid? Do you think that the umpire is calling some pitches incorrectly on purpose? Maybe you can respond with a thread about how Rey Ordonez was the best Mets shortstop ever.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-travis-darnaud-new-york-mets-injuries/

I used to post the standings in this thread semi-regularly earlier this season. Here are some stockpiled images I was certain I'd have the opportunity to post: [fimg=444]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5652/21257316430_470e3a5fc6_o.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=364]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/697/21257316490_f1064fef9a_o.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=444]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/658/21257316530_27f2900a49_o.jpg[/fimg] Don't ask: [fimg=544]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5622/21257316440_8831a863a3_o.jpg[/fimg] I didn't anticipate and so had nuthin' for the Cespedes Babe Ruth show and the juggernaut that the Mets have transformed into.

Ceetar wrote: Gwreck wrote: And I'm saying he's not worthy of "MVP points" as he isn't one of the 10 most valuable players in the league. value is only part of it. What about 3. General character, disposition, loyalty and effort. Value is probably most of it, and in practicality, all of it. That third paragraph might, might, just might be used to separate players that are otherwise statistically inseparable . You're not saying that Granderson's good-guyness might get him this year's MVP, or in the top 10? Are you?

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-new-york-mets-bartolo-colon-the-hitter/

dinosaur jesus wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Kingman 76 was certainly one I was thinking of. Not so much. He did have a 41-game stretch in 1976 (April 27-June 10) where he hit 15 home runs. His line was .244 / .275 / .549, with 25 runs scored and 33 rbi. But Strawberry had a stretch in 1990 that beats Cespedes. From June 8 to July 25 (41 games), his line was .336 / .421 / .718 // 1.139, with 17 home runs, 34 runs scored, and 42 rbi. The Mets went 30-11, and went from 9 1/2 games behind the Pirates to 1/2 game back. That doesn't have the neat storyline of what Cespedes has done, but it's pretty stunning. Straw's 1990 stretch landed him on the cover of SI.

dinosaur jesus wrote: I'm baffled by the difference in the World Series odds between the Mets and Dodgers. A series between them seems like a tossup--edge to the Dodgers, I guess, in strength of schedule, but not much else to distinguish them. Is it because of the Mets' terrible record (3-17) against the Central Division teams they'd face in the second round? Has to be; but the Dodgers are only 6-11 against those teams. I was thinking about this same thing yesterday. My guess, which hasn't even convinced me, the guesser, is strength of schedule -- that the Mets play in an awful division and won a disproportionately high number of games against bad teams and the Nats, who were obviously compromised this year. I got nothing else. I'm not even worried about a Dodger home field advantage. The Mets flametrowers should benefit from LA's legendary pitching mound as much as any other staff in baseball.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Ceetar wrote: Wrong on so many levels. Such as ....? I'll tell you what I disagree with. I think that Cespedes is putting on a Babe Ruth show, not a Donn Clendenon show.

Ceetar wrote: Wrong on so many levels. Such as ....?

[fimg=222]http://a1.nyt.com/assets/article/20150910-133236/images/foundation/logos/nyt-logo-185x26.svg[/fimg] Best Move for Matt Harvey: Shield Arm, and Ears SEPT. 6, 2015 by Michael Powell Good God, the kid has gone pusillanimous on us. A coward, a phony, a fugazi. As a wealthy 60-something tabloid columnist puts it, Mets pitcher Matt Harvey is quitting on his stool. Please. Harvey has, with sweat and determination, returned from serious elbow surgery and, with minimal batting support, given the Mets a stunning comeback, one gritty, smart start after another. The Mets stumbled in Miami over the weekend, but this season has so far turned out better than we could have imagined. Now Harvey�s agent, Scott Boras, talks in a common-sense fashion of limiting Harvey�s remaining innings because, well, Harvey is in recovery from a very serious elbow procedure. And New Yorkers, as we excel at doing, lose our minds. Tabloid columnists administer a vitriol shower. I dig the angst. I�ve rooted for the Mets since Ron Hunt manned second base and this kid Tom Seaver tricked an 11-year-old into thinking that 1969 magic was baseball as usual. This season has been great fun, and not just because of Harvey. Wilmer Flores has grown into a sweet-hitting second baseman, and Yoenis Cespedes, to date myself thoroughly, has put on a Donn Clendenon show. Travis d�Arnaud has a cobra bite of a swing, and David Wright is back to enjoy it. An insightful and occasionally amusing package of the sports journalism you need today, delivered to your inbox by New York Times reporters and editors. This is no morality play. The Mets have done a fine job of nursing Harvey. Manager Terry Collins, who has had a nervous breakdown of a year � try managing a June game without a backup catcher and a July game in which your third and fourth hitters have batting averages under .200 � has carefully monitored Harvey�s innings. Only once has Harvey exceeded 110 pitches. Credit also goes to General Manager Sandy Alderson. I get why Alderson is annoyed at Boras; no one wants to be accused of not having an employee�s best interests at heart. It�s also true that it is in the Mets� enlightened self-interest to see Harvey take his alpha-dog act deep into October. This has led team executives and coaches � who in spring training spoke of an innings limit of 185 � to talk of pushing Harvey harder and longer, well beyond his career high of 1781/3. Boras, by contrast, is looking out for the enlightened self-interest of his client. As Keith Hernandez has noted, a major league club almost always wants you to recover a little faster and play a little longer. He credited Marvin Miller, the pioneering baseball labor man, with giving players the right to seek second opinions and take some control of their tenuous careers. Over the weekend, Alderson spoke to The Daily News�s Mike Lupica, who functions as the Mets� Boswell (James, not Ken). Alderson said that Harvey was 26 years old and that he should decide how far to push himself. In other words, man up and lose Boras�s cell number. Harvey is an intense competitor, and like 26-year-olds everywhere (I�m a father to two 20-somethings), he thinks of himself as immortal. Last year, Harvey wanted to speed his recovery and pitch in September. Alderson wisely turned deaf to that demand. This season, Harvey bridled at talk of a six-man rotation. On Sunday, he even felt obliged to write an online column for The Players� Tribune titled �I Will Pitch in the Playoffs.� Boras, fortunately for Harvey, is not 26. In mid-August, he and Alderson spoke, and Boras looked into the what-ifs of a playoff run. Two surgeons, he said, told him they were concerned about the innings Harvey was piling up. Harvey said he then talked to his surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, who told him: Be careful. You really should not go over 180 innings. The orthopedic surgeons in the press corps acted as if this were far-fetched. Who sets such limits? This isn�t science: 150 innings, 250 innings, who knows? Sometime in the next few years, I may need Achilles� surgery. My surgeon, who also handles pro athletes, said we would set specific numeric goals, month by month. My recovery will be carefully managed. My goal is to get back to running around Prospect Park at a nice clip. Harvey hopes to thrive as a dominant pitcher in the best baseball league in the world. It�s hard to imagine that his surgeons would not talk of careful limits. My colleague Tyler Kepner talked to Neal ElAttrache, a noted orthopedic surgeon. He noted that it was reasonable to set a 180-inning limit because of the maximum stress to which Harvey�s arm was exposed. �To be fair to Matt,� ElAttrache said, �that number does start to raise some flags, because now he�s in no man�s land.� As Newsday pointed out months ago, the American Journal of Sports Medicine published three studies and found that 80 percent of pitchers who had elbow surgery returned to pitch at least one game. That was the good news. The bad was that only 67 percent returned to anything like their former level of performance. More than half ended up back on the disabled list. Pitchers are like summer swallows: They disappear, and you forget their brilliance. Harvey is often compared to Stephen Strasburg, the young Nationals ace. In 2012, Strasburg was in his first season back from the same operation, and when he reached his innings limit, his team sat him. Washington failed to win a championship that year, and many now talk of that decision as disastrous. That conclusion draws on an empty well of facts. Strasburg, who has had back problems this year, has by and large pitched brilliantly. In 2014, he struck out 242 and walked 43. If the Nationals win this year, or next, they can count themselves lucky to have a healthy Strasburg. �Imagine the future a kid like that would command on the open market,� Collins, the Mets� manager, told Lupica in spring training as they watched Harvey throw. Right now, Harvey�s salary is $614,125. If he stays healthy, he could make $20 million per year someday. If I were Mr. and Mrs. Harvey, I would be very happy that Boras had the enlightened self-interest to look after my son�s health. Email: powellm@nytimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/07/sports/baseball/best-move-for-matt-harvey-shield-arm-and-ears.html?_r=1

Frayed Knot wrote: Mini KTE Q: Who's on Atlanta right now? A: I have no idea That's all. I could tell you from my baseball card threads that ex-Mets Dana Eveland and David Aardsma are on the Braves. I thought Aaron Harang was a Brave, too, but I looked it up -- he's a Phillie.

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