batmagadanleadoff

Vic Sage wrote: This is not the job of the team's spokesman. You cannot control what your players do on social media on their own time. At best, you can show them examples of Tweeting and Facebooking gone bad so they know what can happen and hope they don't act like high school kids. You cannot ban anyone from using a Twitter account. i don't know that this is true at all. teams have rules about dress codes, facial hair, and all sorts of public comportment. The team has given the player a public profile by giving them a job in MLB; if the player uses that platform in a way that reflects badly on the organization, i'm not sure at all they couldn't require them to forego social media while they are a member of that team (or whatever subsection of that time period they may choose), at least in any way that specifically identifies the player. Perhaps there is a contractual right in the CBA to either do (or stop teams from prohibiting) this (either specifically or in relation to the team's control over marketing, and branding, and dilution of their trademark, etc), but i don't see why its necessarily one way or the other. There are legitimate arguments both ways. I don't know what the CBA says about social media either, but if the CBA's silent on that, eventually some team is gonna ban either a specific player, or the whole team from using it. It's inevitable that in time, some player is going to use social media to create some national shitstorm by doing something outrageous and unjustifiable --- something that crosses every single boundary of what is reasonable -- something that would disturb even the most tolerant people. Then we'll see what happens.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'm starting to feel optimistic about d'Arnaud, but an increasing sense of gloom about Granderson. I think he'll snap out of it, but I want him to do so before the George Foster/Jason Bay stuff becomes permanently stuck to him. Uh oh. [fimg=344]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5144/13983511362_98ec957b12_o.png[/fimg] http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grandcu01.shtml

I could care less about this story. I couldn't give a shit if Harvey tweeted a picture of his asshole or his cock or his wisdom teeth either. It'll entertain me for about 20 seconds, and it might affect my opinion of Harvey, and I might post a snarky comment here if the mood strikes me, but I'll mostly move on. This story says less to me about Harvey than it does about today's new world, where cameras are as accessible and ever-present as ball point pens and everyone under 25 is conditioned to announce every breath they take and every fart they make.

Vic Sage wrote: yes, by all means, lets cycle through retreads while we're up to our armpits in talented minor league arms. After all, its not as if using young starters out of the pen ever works, either in bolstering the pen or in developing the arms as eventual major league pitchers. Surely no lesson can be drawn in this regard from our current opponents in St.L, who've seemed to have done this expertly. This was standard operating procedure for any Earl Weaver team. His rookie pitchers generally worked their way into the starting rotation through the bullpen. If it was good enough for Earl ....

Did the Mets shrink the scoreboard portion of the scoreboard this season? Not enough ad space, I suppose. [fimg=855:1bwe9s1m]http://www.uni-watch.com/wp-content/uploads/photo112.jpg[/fimg:1bwe9s1m]

Ceetar wrote: The Padres have equally ugly uniforms. In fact, a lot of teams are doing the ugly-camo thing. The Mets earn extra-ugly points for copying a stupid trend. They can't even think up their own ugly shit.

Ugliest uniforms in baseball featured on the ugliest scoreboard in baseball: [fimg=844:3g7ry3eu]http://www.uni-watch.com/wp-content/uploads/photo112.jpg[/fimg:3g7ry3eu]

[fimg=555:1bh8c400]http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/photo/2013/1111/ny_camojerseyjay1_300x300.jpg[/fimg:1bh8c400] [fimg=644:1bh8c400]http://tlokireviews.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/pattonavsxylonbd4.png[/fimg:1bh8c400]

41% of respondents in this poll taken after Ike's rookie 2010 season thought that Ike's career would mostly resemble Keith Hernandez's among the choices given: [fimg=444:2uug0bz4]http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/476086/ike_mex_medium.gif[/fimg:2uug0bz4] http://www.amazinavenue.com/2010/11/2/1787217/ike-davis-ceiling [fimg=544:2uug0bz4]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ApGpJ-2CIAAHr6V.jpg:large[/fimg:2uug0bz4]

The Ikeman Goeth [fimg=622:31z7wrdw]http://www.post-gazette.com/image/2014/04/19/ca0,0,2210,1473/20140419IkeDavisSports1.jpg[/fimg:31z7wrdw]

Edgy MD wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'd stop at Seaver. Statues should be the most exclusive honor of all. I agree. For the rest maybe they could get one of those butter carvings they do at midwestern state fairs. Number retirement is the greater honor, I think, as available numbers is a more finite set than available places for statues. What are teams doing? Are there plauers who've been honored with a statue by a team that hasn't retired that player's #?

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: If I'm making statues for citifield (which, let's face facts, probably never crossed the minds of the Wilpons while they were busy building luxury suites) I'm commissioning the following: Boy are those Met fans who think Gary Carter's number oughtta be retired gonna be pissed with you.

Ceetar wrote: I'd actually guess that 24-25 is right around the end of where (most) guys really start getting set in their ways. A college draftee or non-top tier prospect probably is just starting to get to the majors so there's probably still a little bit of polish to go around. If I had to guess, I'd guess that they're mostly set by 24, at least philosophically and stylistically. Hopefully, they'll improve their skill-sets, but they won't change the fundamental nature of their skill-sets. A 24yo with a low walk rate probably won't ever become a great walker, for example. And if I wasn't so lazy, I'd look this up so I can back up this post with some research, instead of just giving myself some wiggle room with the "If I had to guess" opening.

G-Fafif wrote: Tom Seaver isn't worried about his sculpted immortality not appearing outside the home park of the team for whom he was and is their greatest player, he tells Boomer Carton. �That�s for other people to do,� said Seaver, who holds the record for the highest voting percentage in Hall of Fame history. �I understand that I�m part of the history of the game of baseball. It is going to be what it is. The wonderful thing are the memories that I have about the game, and I loved it. And I loved pitching.� But is Seaver being sincere, or merely diplomatic? I mean, who the hell would openly lobby for his or her own statue? Besides Kim Kardashian?

Ceetar wrote: Ceetar wrote: It's not about home runs though, it's about making solid contact. Tejada has had a high line drive % in the past. It's no secret that pitches on the outside corner are harder to drive. I know. I used HR's as an analogy. How many 25 year olds with terrible walk rates transformed themselves into excellent base on ballers? a handful. But Tejada doesn't have terrible walk rates. average more likely, and both 2010 and 2011 he had about a half percentage above average. (he's at 7.5% career and average from 2010-2014 is around 8.1%ish) He's also got above average bordering on great K%. (14% compared to league average up around 19%.) Tejada also has a career .301 BABIP but it was .228 last year and is .258 this year. Also his OBP is a tick above league average so while that's not 'excellent' it's still well, average. If anyone's following up on my posts, this isn't specifically about Tejada. I'll take the blame for not articulating my point better than I did.

I used Tejada only for the general idea that maybe, a 24 or 25 year old major leaguer is mostly set in his ways. My post wasn't specifically about Tejada or about HR's. And I guess that Tejada isn't yet 24 or 25, so he wasn't a great example, I suppose. Neither was using the HR stat, because hitting HR's prolifically requires sheer physical strength at least as much as, and probably more so, than technique.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Ceetar wrote: It's not about home runs though, it's about making solid contact. Tejada has had a high line drive % in the past. It's no secret that pitches on the outside corner are harder to drive. I know. I used HR's as an analogy. How many 25 year olds with terrible walk rates transformed themselves into excellent base on ballers?

Ceetar wrote: It's not about home runs though, it's about making solid contact. Tejada has had a high line drive % in the past. It's no secret that pitches on the outside corner are harder to drive. I know. I used HR's as an analogy.

The issue is whether a major leaguer whose natural hitting style is inconsistent with this Met metric can adjust. I mean, you can take Ruben Tejada into a room and tell him from here to eternity how a home run is worth more than a single until you're blue in the face. But if you expect ol' Ruben to start hitting HR's like he's Mike Trout, you're nuts. If it's true that Chris Young scores high on this metric --whatever this metric is-- then his acquisition might be worthwhile if the metric really does correlate highly with winning. Because it's probably easier to exploit this metric by getting guys like Young who might be extremely undervalued according to this metric than it would be to hope major leaguers mostly set in their ways are going to change their stripes dramatically. We'll see.

Secret Service threatened to kill Mr. Met if he got close to Clinton, mascot claims A former Mets mascot claims in his new book that in 1997 a Secret Service agent threatened to shoot and kill him if he got too close to President Bill Clinton. A.J. Mass wrote in �Yes, It�s Hot in Here� that while working at Shea Stadium on April 15, 1997 � the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson�s first major league game � that a federal agent threatened to take a �kill shot� if the mascot tried to approach the president. Mr. Mass said the agent had his sights on him as soon as he saw that Mr. Met�s enormous head wasn�t able to go through the on-field metal detector. It wasn�t long before �the man in the dark suit� approached him for a little chat. �[He] is staring directly into the recess of Mr. Met�s mouth, knowing full well that even though he isn�t able to see inside, it�s exactly where I am looking out from. It�s hard to explain how utterly creeped out I am by this,� Mr. Mass writes, as excerpted by The Huffington Post. � �We have snipers all around the stadium, just in case something were to happen,� he says. �Like I said, do whatever it is you normally do. Nobody will bother you. But approach the president, and we go for the kill shot. Are we clear?� � �He pauses for a moment to let the words sink in, and it feels like he isn�t only looking into my eyes, but also into my very soul with his blank, unblinking stare,� Mr. Mass writes. � �Approach the president, and we go for the kill shot,� he repeats. �ARE�WE�CLEAR?� � http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/17/secret-service-threatened-kill-mr-met-if-he-approa/?cache

Mets minor league team is hosting �Seinfeld night� Aaron Gleeman Apr 16, 2014, 11:19 AM EDT Jerry Seinfeld is a big Mets fan, so he�ll probably love this. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of �Seinfeld� starting on NBC the Mets� Single-A affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Penn League, are hosting a �Seinfeld Night� at the ballpark on July 5. [fimg=333]http://nbchardballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/keith-hernandez-jerry-seinfeld.jpg?w=200[/fimg] Darren Rovell of ESPN.com reports that the first 2,500 fans will get a Keith Hernandez bobblehead depicting him from the �Magic Loogie� episode of the show. Some other details of the festivities, via Rovell: During the game, the team will become Vandelay Industries Park, named for the latex company George Costanza tells the unemployment office he might work for. The Cyclones say that anyone who can present a legitimate business card that shows they are a latex salesman will get in for free. Thanks to Newman, mailmen in uniform will throw out the first pitch. Fans will have a chance to take part in an eating contest featuring cereal, Jerry�s favorite food, and there will be a dancing contest where fans will try to dance just like Elaine. To commemorate one of Jerry�s most awkward moments, the Cyclones will wear puffy shirts during batting practice. I�m sure it�ll be super cheesy, but as a huge �Seinfeld� fan I can�t imagine the whole night not being really fun. Some other possibilities that the Cyclones are free to use/steal: - Every time a hitter on either team gets to first base they have to wear a Keith Hernandez mustache on the bases. - Roundtable discussion of whether Jay Buhner-for-Ken Phelps was a good trade or not. - Any player who follows in Paul O�Neill�s footsteps by hitting two home runs* for a sick child wins a free black-and-white cookie for everyone in the crowd. - George Constanza look-a-like giving hitting tips to the players during pregame batting practice. - And of course anyone with a baby named �Seven� gets in for free. http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/04/16/mets-minor-league-team-is-hosting-seinfeld-night/

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Celebrating some other Mets 42's in The Man From Topps style because, really, if youse haven't already run out of things to write about Larry Elliot, you'll run out of things to write about Larry Elliot in about another minute. Painted Taylors. Chuck and Ron wore the forty deuce for the Mets, and were once even traded for each other in a non-Mets deal. [fimg=333]http://img.comc.com/original/96777b74-aa14-4acf-8b04-8c6e0357f97e.jpg[/fimg][fimg=333]http://img.comc.com/original/ec17ff10-1140-45a9-9221-7d7190fdd1ea.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=333]http://img.comc.com/original/40a266aa-94b1-45a3-ae65-5609491fbe1a.jpg[/fimg]

Celebrating some other Mets 42's in The Man From Topps style because, really, if youse haven't already run out of things to write about Larry Elliot, you'll run out of things to write about Larry Elliot in about another minute. Painted Taylors. Chuck and Ron wore the forty deuce for the Mets, and were once even traded for each other in a non-Mets deal.

Larry Elliot faux '67 with dot separator [fimg=274:3nefetul]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7274/13883501263_c71d79e5b3.jpg[/fimg:3nefetul]