batmagadanleadoff

Is that red hot Red or Reds Hot? red hot Red. And more redder hotter than the other day. Justin Turner takes shot at 'anonymous' Mets quotes Former Mets infielder unhappy about team's propensity to slam players in media without going on the record. By Kristie Ackert / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, March 17, 2014, 11:06 PM JUPITER, Fla. � Former Mets utility infielder Justin Turner had harsh criticism for his ex-team Monday when he told Capital New York that the franchise has a propensity to smear its players through anonymous quotes. He pointed to a recent article about Ruben Tejada that cited an anonymous team source as saying that for all of Tejada�s work at a nutrition and fitness camp, he had not made much improvement. Now with the Dodgers, Turner was also the subject of anonymous criticism after he was nontendered in the offseason. Turner is not the only player who has been critical of the anonymous critics in the organization. After the article that took a shot at Tejada�s fitness, David Wright said it was one of his biggest pet peeves. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/turner-takes-shot-anonymous-mets-article-1.1725017#ixzz2wIFkbbPN ________________ An ex-Met on his old team�s propensity to smear Former Met Justin Turner. PHOENIX�On Friday morning, Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Justin Turner, late of the New York Mets, offered up a defense of current Mets shortstop (and frequent media target, thanks to leaks by his own team) Ruben Tejada. "I think the issue is that nobody takes responsibility for what they say," Turner told me as we chatted in front of his spring training locker. "You've seen that with Tejada over the last few weeks. It's all 'a source said that they're not happy with him.' It's like, you know what? If you're gonna come out and gonna attack a guy's character, and his work ethic, be man enough to put your name on it. Don't say, 'This is off the record', and then off the record means they're gonna write it anyway." Turner had an interesting perspective on this, given the circumstances surrounding his departure from the Mets. He played three seasons in New York, and was widely expected to return for a fourth in 2014. He played all four infield positions, and the Mets are not swimming in infield options beyond David Wright and Daniel Murphy. Moreover, his hustle and enthusiasm for the game had earned him the support of manager Terry Collins and others in the front office. So it was puzzling when the Mets not only non-tendered Turner in December, but a "Mets official" leaked to Adam Rubin that the reason the Mets had gotten tired of Turner not running hard. It was the kind of story easily dismissed by anyone who'd watched the Mets play, and SNY's Kevin Burkhardt, for one, took to Twitter to do just that. "Obviously, I got a lot of support from a lot of our writers over there," Turner said. "Kevin just chose to do it a little more publicly, which, it was nice to read. I appreciate that from Kevin, and he pays attention, he does a really good job at what he does. And that's obviously why he's moving up the ladder at a crazy rate right now." According to Turner, the writers who cover the Mets are more concerned with non-baseball matters than the writers in Los Angeles he's encountered since coming to the Dodgers. "So far here, I've only done stories about baseball stuff," Turner said. "In New York, it doesn't matter what it is, everything's a story, and they want to know everything about it. It turns into a big ordeal. Stuff that doesn't even matter." But ultimately, the media is only reporting these stories, which have originated from sources within the Mets, and so often contain negative observations about their own players. Carlos Beltran talked earlier this month about being smeared by the Mets when he played with them. Jose Reyes once had to hold a teary press conference to defend his desire to return to the field after the Mets leaked damaging assertions about his character, and followed it by prematurely returning and further injuring himself. Ike Davis, R.A. Dickey ... the list of Mets who have had to defend themselves against their own team is a long one. Tejada is playing horribly this spring, with four errors already, after a 2013 season in which he hit .202 and struggled in the field. The public floggings don't seem to be helping. From his perch in Los Angeles (where, shortly after we finished speaking, he learned he'd made the Dodgers), Turner said he really couldn't explain why the Mets do it. "I don't have that answer for you," Turner said. "I've been there for three years. All I can do is say if I was running an organization, in charge of it, I would look at all my players as assets, and want to build them up. So even if I didn't want them to be on my team, they would have value. But for some reason, I don't know, that's not the thought process over there. "Like I said, I'm happy where I am now." http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/media/2014/03/8542065/ex-met-his-old-teams-propensity-smear

Soakies Bath time isn't quite the same without your cartoon buddies! The most well known bubble bath container's name, Soaky is now generally applied to bath soap containers from all manufacturers. You'll find some great character items in this category and it is a must browse for any completist collector worth his/her salt! "Soaky" is actually a brand name (Colgate-Palmolive) that has been used freely as a general term for any figural (usually cartoon) bubble bath/soap container. These containers had their heyday in the 60's though there are examples from the 50's as well. The containers are figural and usually made of plastic with the head of the cartoon character hiding the screw cap. Exceptions to this design include those with just a screw cap at the top of the container above the full body and those with figural rubber sleeves in the shape of the body that simply slipped over the generic bottle. These are indeed a collectible in their own right but also cross over in many areas due to the massive amounts of characters represented. As with every collectible, condition plays a role as does original packaging and, to a lesser extent, soap contents in tact. Bath time isn't quite the same without your cartoon buddies. Includes Palmolive and other figural soap containers depicting classic characters. Ezrsywf38KU NgzxdSTHrEs [fimg=444]http://www.landlcollectables.com/catalog/images/SuperHeroes//refSBBatRobx2SoakyProSmall.jpg[/fimg] Two of the most sought after and collectible Soakies are Colgate's Paul and Ringo bubble bath bottles. (There are no Colgate Johns or Georges) [fimg=444]http://www.landlcollectables.com/catalog/images/Music//refBTLSoakyPaulSmall.jpg[/fimg][fimg=444]http://www.landlcollectables.com/catalog/images/Music//refBTLSoakyRingoSmall.jpg[/fimg] Check out this youtube video of one collector's impressive Soaky collection, including (at the 2:38 mark) the only sports themed Soaky ever issued by Colgate Palmolive, (hiding behind Humpty Dumpty). 3nJTbuwHe_E

[fimg=444:3v3v21t7]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3cjvd0BHQFs/UqZZdOqSVWI/AAAAAAAAJ1k/DQByogO0Hj8/s400/TheMETS1962-1970a2.png[/fimg:3v3v21t7]

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Turner lands on his feet at Dodgers camp GLENDALE, Ariz. � For a guy who was unceremoniously dumped and then impugned by his former team, Justin Turner is in a pretty good place. Not only did he latch on with his hometown team, the Dodgers, but he looks like a lock to make the 25-man roster.... They�ve seen no signs of a lack of hustle so far, manager Don Mattingly said, adding that he likes the way Turner �goes about his business.� read it all at http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/dodger-report/post/_/id/8917/justin-turner-lands-on-his-feet-at-dodgers-camp

Hey! Some of my best friends are pitching coaches! Mets' Daisuke Matsuzaka, translator defend Dan Warthen after racial slur

Comments from a disinterested and unbiased observer: Scott Boras: Teams weak at shortstop owe it to fans to sign his client Stephen Drew

The Willet Points Thread (or: Why Didn't They Ask Me? I Would've Paid At Least Two Bucks) Why Is NYC Destroying A Thriving Immigrant Economy To Bail Out The Mets' Owners? In his last days in office, Mayor Bloomberg scrambled to put the finishing touches on his signature project for Queens: the redevelopment of Willets Point, which involved removing hundreds of small business owners to build a new shopping mall and parking lot. In early October of 2013, the City Council approved the plan, all but sealing the fate for workers who had been laboring in the auto work shops that currently populate the beat-up 23-acre site next to the Flushing River. A new lawsuit even contends that the city broke the law while approving the project. Why was the Bloomberg administration so eager to push through a deal that will install yet another mall in Flushing, only blocks away from the just-completed Skyview Parc, a mall that is home to the same low-wage chain stores that will soon grace the entrance to Flushing-Meadows Park? One reason is because the City has long disdained the independent, somewhat unregulated auto businesses operating near a major sports stadium. Another reason, and one of the least remarked upon, is Bloomberg's cozy relationship with the owners of the Mets, his friends the Wilpon family. Mets owner Fred Wilpon (and, by extension, Citi Field) has teetered on the brink of ruin since the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme fell apart�in addition to taking a financial hit when Madoff went down, the Wilpons were accused of being complicit in Madoff's scheme. When Bernie Madoff was found to be ripping off investors in 2008, few knew that the fallout would reach the baseball diamond. And yet, when attorney Irving Picard went after those behind the Madoff scheme on behalf of defrauded investors, he sought hundreds of millions of dollars from the Wilpons, alleging not only that they knew about the Ponzi scheme, but that Madoff had advised them on how to structure contracts for Mets players. While desperately working on reaching a settlement with Picard, the Mets slashed their personnel budget, contributing to a precipitous fall in the standings that continues to this day. But throughout the litigation, the Mets owners insisted that they were not only solvent, but thriving as businessmen. This was simply not true�their company, Sterling Equities, which focuses on commercial real estate�but also includes the Mets and their cable company, SNY�took on huge amounts of debt while trying to recover from their losses from the Ponzi scheme, eventually exhausting their credit line from banks and having to take out an embarrassing $25 million worth of loans from Major League Baseball, just to keep the lights on at their new stadium. Capital New York�s Howard Megdal laid out the sorry state of the team�s finances in 2012, after they sold off some minority shares in the team. Simply put, the Mets finances were bad. Real bad. So they had to leverage everything they could get their hands on to keep themselves afloat. In an email to Gothamist, Megdal elaborates: [The Wilpons] have been tapping out their equity stakes in the Mets and SNY to stay afloat for the past few years, first by selling minority shares in the team, then by increasing their debt against the network to more than $600 million. To the extent that Willets Point can alter a picture so dire that the trustee for the Bernie Madoff victims, Irving Picard, determined he'd never get any money from them if he won his suit against him, it will be vital to them. It was at the same time that the Mets were hemorrhaging money that the city began to aggressively push its redevelopment plan for Willets Point. And in June of 2012, Bloomberg announced that the City had awarded Sterling Equities Incorporated (the real estate company controlled by the Wilpons) the contract to redevelop the Willets Point area, with the City's capital fund paying $100 million for demolition, remediation, and infrastructure. The land itself would be sold to the Mets and their partner, Related Construction, for $1. All of a sudden, the Mets had a major new development project on the horizon, all for the cost of a candy bar. Of course there was one thing standing in the way of this mall: all of those auto repair shops. For outside observers, it would appear that a project to replace a polluted open-air auto market with a brand new mixed-use neighborhood would be to the benefit of both the city and community. Obviously the owners of the auto shops (largely Latin American immigrants) would receive the short end of the stick, but that�s just how cities develop. To build housing projects, you have to clear out supposed slums. However, after the Wilpons and the Bloomberg administration announced the deal, the grand scale of the project was reduced from a lively, green neighborhood�complete with affordable housing�to simply a new mall and parking lot. It should be noted that Flushing, and central Queens in general, does not hurt for malls; quite the opposite in fact. By the time the current iteration of the Willets Point development project finally reached City Council for approval in 2013, much of the original plan had completely disappeared. Instead of 1,920 units of affordable housing, only 875 units were included. But critics suspect that even those will most likely never even be built. While phase 1 of the project calls for the mall and parking lot (which is to begin construction immediately), phase 3 is the one that contains the housing units. Phase 3 is scheduled to be developed in 2025, but only if the Mets consider the housing units to be good for business. If the Mets don�t ever build the housing (which was the main concession to nearby communities) they will only face a $35 million fine, a drop in the bucket for a potential windfall commercial project. Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras, who represents the Willets Point area, dropped her opposition to the project after the Wilpons agreed to make a $15.5 million donation to a non-profit she controls, which looks to revitalize Flushing Meadows Park. "They know I expect them to contribute," Ferreras told City Limits last summer, pointing at the Mets stadium, implying that if they wanted to develop land, they would have to donate money to her non-profit. "I am knocking on their door." In an interview with Gothamist, councilwoman Ferreras said that the timeline for the affordable housing was contingent on the building of exit ramps from the Van Wyck expressway, something that has yet to be funded by either the developers or the city. Until those are built, there can be no housing on the site at all. �I have asked the city to find other lots where we can build affordable housing right now," Ferreras said. "This was not part of the original plan. At the end of the day, we have a potential for 330 new units in addition to the 875 that will hopefully be built sooner than 2025.� Asked about the potential for the developers to opt out of building affordable housing at all, Ferreras told us, �The mall just can�t be built until the land is entirely remediated. The entirety of the land, not just for the mall. The developers have told us that they have a true desire to build affordable housing, and we�re going to have a quarterly meeting that keeps the project on track. There is true investment from the developers, and the developers have built affordable housing throughout the city. They want to follow through on their commitment.� Sterling Equities' spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, but we spoke with Seth Pinsky, who was president of the city's Economic Development Corporation when it chose the Related and Sterling Equities bid for the land. Pinsky argues the $1 price tag was the highest that the project would bear, because of the state of the economy at the time of the proposals. "We got three proposals," Pinsky explained. "One was to build a mall with no housing, and that wasn't what we had asked for in the request for proposal. The one proposal that realized the various elements that we had envisioned was the Related/Sterling proposal. It was a very easy decision on that proposal." When asked why the project had been reduced to a mall anyway, Pinsky disputed this characterization. "The first thing that's going to happen is the site is going to be fully remediated. One of the most important parts of the plan was to clean up the site. Second of all, the first phase also includes some retail and a hotel on the Willets Point site. And a mall provides services and jobs that are needed for the community. Third, the city will get back the remainder of the land, if the development company doesn't in fact build the rest of the project." Some locals aren�t buying the idea that there will be anything more than a mall on the site for decades to come. �Giving our land over for free, we deserve better,� Arturo Olaya, a car shop owner in Willets Point told me in his office above the shop on a cold February morning. Willets Point, despite a series of evictions by the city to move out business owners, remains active, with several businesses still fighting for a better deal on their relocation or reimbursement. �Ferraras made a deal without us so they could build a mall. Why would anyone want a mall?" Olaya asked. "The jobs there are no good. Where are people going to get their cars fixed? The dealerships? We give good prices, and the community needs us.� Part of what local politicians have been trumpeting as a major victory for the shop owners is that the city is paying $9 million in relocation costs, as well as trying to secure leases for the car shop owners elsewhere. Indeed, just this week, a group of car shop owners agreed to move to Hunts Point in the Bronx. �Hunts Point? They already have car shops there," Olaya said. "Also, it�s far away from Queens, where the workers live. They�re just trying to get rid of us.� Some residents of Hunts Point, which already has the highest rate of asthma in the city, are less than thrilled about this development. Walking around the decimated streets of Willets Point, it really does feel like you�re in a different world. With dogs roaming the streets and car shop employees jockeying for a chance to fix your bumper, it seems like the furthest possible place from the cold, sterile transaction of a shopping mall. And yet, in just a few short years, this is what will become of the neighborhood. This offseason, the Mets' biggest signing was Curtis Granderson, an injury-prone power-hitting centerfielder whose best years are behind him. But this was supposed to be the year that the Mets were finally able to spend money on a good team. Their refusal to do so shows just how shaky their finances remain as attendance at Citi Field continues to plummet. But thanks to the city�s willingness to bail them out, the Mets and Sterling Equities will likely remain in Flushing for decades to come. In December, the developers who received the land for $1 asked for $43 million in tax breaks. They also expressed a desire to open a casino in the development. Even lawyers behind the lawsuits trying to delay the Willets Point development admit that they�re simply buying time in hopes that the new administration will somehow intervene. Mayor de Blasio has remained quiet on the development, which can be seen as a bad deal he inherited and doesn�t stand to gain politically by interfering with. A mayoral spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment about the project. Despite all of the corporate welfare handed out by the City of New York, and the destruction of an entire small business community, the Mets outlook still looks absolutely abysmal this Spring. They couldn't even get that right. http://gothamist.com/2014/03/14/willets_point_mets_madoff.php

The Men at Topps filed this Man From Topps photo of me in their Kansas City Royals section, even though I'm pictured in a Mets uniform at Shea Stadium. So who am I? [fimg=333:1y7nkhq2]http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2640/13151569545_aa11ea4120_o.jpg[/fimg:1y7nkhq2]

Terry Collins is on at least as many Mets cards as Ol' Case. [fimg=282:1r7z5mlf]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7314/13150968235_4031aabd77_o.jpg[/fimg:1r7z5mlf][fimg=222:1r7z5mlf]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3719/13151017995_ea6296f899_o.jpg[/fimg:1r7z5mlf][fimg=222:1r7z5mlf]http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2676/13151139673_b620509332_o.jpg[/fimg:1r7z5mlf] [fimg=222:1r7z5mlf]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7422/13151018925_535f3d4428_o.jpg[/fimg:1r7z5mlf] It's like one of those Presidential before and afters, where the President ages like 10 years in just one term.

In 1965, Travis's last name was spelled with a leading small capital D ----> D'ARNAUD

The 1965 style 2014 Topps Heritage cards are here. [fimg=222:37fddscu]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3806/13149689895_b4ab15e6ef_z.jpg[/fimg:37fddscu] [fimg=422:37fddscu]http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2700/13149969364_dffa47d293_o.jpg[/fimg:37fddscu] [fimg=222:37fddscu]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3714/13149690815_9004d0038f_o.jpg[/fimg:37fddscu] [fimg=422:37fddscu]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3772/13149970114_62437df64a_o.jpg[/fimg:37fddscu] [fimg=222:37fddscu]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7403/13149691555_f53ee0b282_o.jpg[/fimg:37fddscu] [fimg=282:37fddscu]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3699/13149970934_dbbe49deff_o.jpg[/fimg:37fddscu] [fimg=222:37fddscu]http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2297/13149692545_8eeae1a6b0_o.jpg[/fimg:37fddscu] [fimg=422:37fddscu]http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2309/13149693115_40e302a372_o.jpg[/fimg:37fddscu] [fimg=533:37fddscu]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3800/13150953463_fc0898cf8d_o.jpg[/fimg:37fddscu]

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One of the keyest 1973 Mets, and wife. The 1973 Keystone Met ...

There are no head to head matchups in this contest. 40% of the field will advance to the second or final round. Any forum member who wants to compete, but hasn't signed up yet, may still do so. Since there aren't any head to head matchups, we can squeeze anybody in at any time. Just submit your song parody to my private mailbox before the deadline and you're in. You know my name. Look up the number. And on behalf of our corporate sponsor, I hope you all pass the audition. Song parodies are due on or before March 17, 2014, 11:59pm. [fimg=255]http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/logo.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/logo.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/logo.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=255]http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/logo.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/logo.jpg[/fimg][fimg=255]http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/logo.jpg[/fimg] bump. [fimg=426]http://www.contemporaryworks.net/VintageWorks_Images/Full/8840DailyMirror.jpg[/fimg]

Oliver Perez, Diamondback.

Vic Sage wrote: I think Mags is saying you already have asked that question, in essence. But i disagree with him. If by "key" we're talking about the player whose unpredictability is tied to the widest possible range of outcomes, where if he's at the top of the range he's the Mets best player, but if he's at the bottom, he drags the team down like an anchor (which is my interpretation of the question), then i guess it's not really a question of who is the Mets best player, but who we think WILL be the Mets best player in 2014 despite that not necessarily being the case as of today, and despite the fact that he might end up as one of the worst instead.... I would also disagree with myself after reading your post, but that's only because you gave a definition to the phrase "key Met". I guess that "key Met" is subject to different interpretations. I loved George Stone in 1973 but I have a hard time understanding how he was more key than, say, Tom Seaver. If the Mets couldn't have afforded to be without Stone's contributions, then doesn't that go quadruple for Seaver's season? This exercise seems more like a word game than anything else. I also like your analysis of d'Arnaud, but unfortunately, this all reminds me of the talking heads who pontificate that this team has to stop the other team's cleanup hitter in order to win the Series. And then the other team's cleanup hitter goes 10 for 15 with four HR's in the series anyway but his team still loses.

It's a trick question, because the Mets'll be out of it by the Fourth of July. Otherwise, they're gonna need a lot contributing. Why don't you just ask us who we think will be the Mets best player? The best player is usually also the most valuable player, and the key player, too. I mean, it'd be a nice surprise if whoever the hell gets most of the starts at first base can hit 25+ homers and on-base close to .375, but if Wheeler pitches like Harvey 2013, it's gonna take some convoluted and contrived thinking to convince me that the first baseman was more key than Wheeler.

I don't even know if I understand this question. Who, for example, would you say was the key 1973 Met -- so I get an idea of what I should be predicting? OE - If you wanna know which Met I think has the broadest range of outcomes, wouldn't that have to be the Met with the highest ceiling?

Tom Seaver could come out of retirement and win the Cy Young Award pitching for the Mets or he could stay in California, overseeing his grapes.

Did anyone yet mention that Colon could be the Mets best inning-eater? 'Cause I'll go with that one if no one else did.

I still get him all mixed up with Jeurys Familia.

I still get him mixed up with Jennry Mejia.

Edgy MD wrote: Funny that you list all those names and leave out Bono. He was demonstrating good sense and taste. Because, really now, someone else says "the Muscle Shoals sound", and the first thing I think of is Bono. What a fucking attention whore he turned out to be. Hasn't the world had enough of Bono pontificating? And what the hell does Bono have to do with Muscle Shoals anyway? Less Bono. More of Duane Allman wailing on the the back end of Wilson Pickett's Hey Jude. 0y8Q2PATVyI

TheOldMole wrote: Another solution, which I'm too traditionalist to love, is the electronic strike zone, which would put guys like Glavine and Franco into trouble, but would ensure that umpires don't have wide strike zones. My hunch is that the electronic strike zone is inevitable, as soon as they can get it to work well enough. Though I suppose you can say that about anything. I mean, if they invented an infallible robot first base umpire whose accuracy is perfect, why wouldn't they use that, too?