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Benjamin Grimm wrote: Of eleven voters so far, I'm the only one who's cutting all ties. I'm with you.

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The Swimmer aired on TCM last week. I recorded it and finally got around to watching it. I caught the last half of this movie on late night TV when I was a teenager and never forgot this strange movie. Ned (Neddie) Merrill, played by Burt Lancaster, is the swimmer, a suburban resident of an affluent town in an unnamed Westchester-like county. Ned realizes that his well-to-do neighbors' homes are in such proximity to each other that their swimming pools form a path to his own home that he can navigate, like a symbolic river. And that's exactly what this movie is all about. Lancaster travels to his home by swimming all the pools in the river (and also walking to and from each pool). Hijinx ensues along the way. From a John Cheever short story (this pretty much confirms my Westchester hunch), which I read yesterday (free text available online). If I read the story before I ever saw the movie, I woulda guessed that the story was unfilmable.

Most people who follow the team today simply refer to the purchase of the Mets in 1980 from Charles Shipman Payson as when �Doubleday and Wilpon bought the team.� Speak for yourself.

Said Wilpon: "To have all the kids come in later to see all this stuff freshened up will be really neat." http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/jeff-wilpon-says-mets-hands-aren-t-tied-financially-1.6341513 Best quote of the interview. It's probably sanitized, too. Jeff probably said "And then I was like, to have all the kids come in later will be really neat. You know?"

Mets � Willets Point wrote: Thing is I'd wager more people are watching baseball now than when it was "The National Pastime". More teams, more ballparks, more sellouts, greater annual attendance, more tv coverage, more internet streaming, more international audience, more officially licensed products sold, et al. No doubt about any of that. When I was a kid, I could buy a Mets ticket in the infield field level a few days before the game. Today, those are season tickets owned by entities that wouldn't part with their seats even if the Mets went 0-162. Back then, teams were probably thrilled to draw 20,000 fans to a single game. Just look at what teams are worth today. Values have skyrocketed, even accounting for inflation. And the networks wouldn't be paying what they're paying to broadcast the game unless lots and lots of people were watching.

Jeff Wilpon says Mets' hands aren't tied financially Speaking publicly for the first time since organizational meetings in Florida earlier this month, Wilpon reiterated Tuesday that the Mets will be free from the financial shackles that have stunted their efforts to add talent in recent years. And another thing: Wasn't the Wilpon line that Alderson had permission to spend whatever he saw fit and that the Mets reduced payroll (reduced by an amount that was historical) was Sandy's decision?

Mets� Wilpon Says Only �3 Or 4� Players On Solid Footing http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/10/30/mets-wilpon-says-only-3-or-4-players-on-solid-footing/ Between this headline and RealityChuck's post up above, I'm reminded of that old Bugs Bunny gag where the Japanese guy says like one or two words (in Japanese) yet the subtitles are like two paragraphs long.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Well, I wouldn't say that the Mets are "well-stocked" at first base. Me neither. Benjamin Grimm wrote: They have quantity, but not a lot of quality. And other needs may be more pressing, but not by such a wide margin. nWoCJjz6He8 Benjamin Grimm wrote: The next four or five months might be very interesting. I'll be glad when the World Series gets out of the way and the off-season will get started in earnest. For someone like me, who has no interest at all in a postseason that doesn't include the Mets, October is the deadest month. Same here,too.

The interviewee barely left me any material to work with. He's about as articulate as Choo Choo Coleman.

Jeff Wilpon says Mets' hands aren't tied financially GARFIELD, N.J. - As the Mets near the start of an offseason long considered to be critical in the team's rebuilding plan, chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon offered a glimpse into his team's priorities. Speaking publicly for the first time since organizational meetings in Florida earlier this month, Wilpon reiterated Tuesday that the Mets will be free from the financial shackles that have stunted their efforts to add talent in recent years. It remains to be seen just how much the Mets actually spend to revamp a team that finished with a losing record for the fifth straight season. But expiring contracts alone are expected to free up more than $40 million in payroll, signaling what the team insists is the end of an era marked by austerity. "That's always been part of the plan, to use the money that's coming off the books and try and improve the team," said Wilpon, who spoke at the Boys & Girls Club, where he and other Mets employees helped to restore a building that was damaged a year ago during superstorm Sandy. However, Wilpon also threw a curveball, saying that the Mets have a "logjam" of viable options at first base despite a season in which the position became a revolving door. Both Ike Davis and Lucas Duda spent part of the season in the minors because of their struggles, throwing into question their immediate future with the team. Yet, Wilpon said the Mets did not offer a contract to power-hitting Cuban defector Jose Abreu, citing what he called a "glut" of first basemen. "That didn't really seem like the point of need," Wilpon said of the highly touted Abreu, whom the White Sox signed to a six-year contract worth $68 million. "If he played left or rightfield, yeah, I think we probably would have offered the guy a contract." Wilpon said other clubs have already shown interest in trading for one of the Mets' first basemen, reinforcing the expectation that either Davis or Duda will be dealt this winter. Meanwhile, Wilpon identified four players -- David Wright and pitchers Dillon Gee, Zack Wheeler and Jon Niese -- as "the three or four that we're solidified on" heading into the offseason. Teams will be free to negotiate with free agents five days after the World Series ends. General manager Sandy Alderson will be tasked with filling in the rest of the roster, which has clear holes in the outfield and the back end of the starting rotation. "If the free agent doesn't present itself, is there a trade where you might pick up somebody else's larger-salary player and the swap out is the same thing?" Wilpon said. "I can't tell you which way it's going to go right now." Wilpon spoke shortly after applying a fresh coat of paint to a refurbished game room at the Boys & Girls Club, which suffered water damage during superstorm Sandy. Mets staffers also assembled new furniture for the building, which functioned as a shelter in the aftermath of the storm. Said Wilpon: "To have all the kids come in later to see all this stuff freshened up will be really neat." Notes & quotes: The Mets soon expect to officially announce their new radio rights deal with WOR (710) . . . During organizational meetings in Florida earlier this month, the Mets came up with theories about their struggles at Citi Field the last three seasons though Wilpon said they found "no exact answer." . . . Wilpon called Matt Harvey's decision to undergo Tommy John surgery "the right move," even though he won't pitch again until 2015. http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/jeff-wilpon-says-mets-hands-aren-t-tied-financially-1.6341513

Vic Sage wrote: my understanding is that the contracts are guaranteed, but not any option years. That's why they're called "options". So if the manager get fired on a long-term deal, the team still pays them. I could see the reason why a manager would sign a multi-year contract if the money's guaranteed. Not so if the money isn't guaranteed. Unless there's some signing bonus attached. Not that a bonus would make any sense in MLB where there's no salary cap to circumvent. I know that option's aren't guaranteed - that's why they're optional.

Are MLB managers' multi-year contracts guaranteed? Maybe some? Why would a manager sign a multi-year contract if the money's not guaranteed and, for sure, the job isn't?

Great piece. Grantland's been doing those oral history pieces for a while now. Here's a link to their oral history of the falll and then rise of WFAN, timely given the recent Mets departure from the radio station and the death of Bill Mazer. Other quotables include Howie Rose and Steve Somers. http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8016912/don-imus-mike-mad-dog-fall-rise-first-all-sports-talk-station-wfan

One point in the Cardinals' favor, I've decided (though they need lots of points to gain my favor): Bill DeWitt really sweats the things an owner should sweat, as Paul Lukas found out over the past offseason. Uni Watch: How big a role did you personally have in the development of this new alternate uniform design? Bill DeWitt III: A big one. I led the whole effort. UW: What sorts of things did you consider along the way that ended up on the cutting room floor, so to speak? BD: Going back a bit, when we redesigned our logos in 1998, at that time we�d been using a circular primary logo with a cartoon bird. I always thought it was crazy that we had a cartoon bird for our primary logo and a different kind of bird on our uniform. That led to a redesign of the bird, which we then used on our uniforms and for a new logo and for some other things. It was a good refresh of our brand at that time. In the 14 years since then, there have always been little things about that 1998 redesign that bugged me, but none of them bugged me enough to go through the effort of changing them. Along the way, though, I gathered ideas of things I�d like to see. I love that [placket] piping on old retro jerseys, I love the old �St. Louis� script we had back in �32, I love off-white cream jerseys that teams like the Giants, Phillies, and Indians have used. And I thought, rather than messing with perfection by altering our home and road jerseys, let�s have an alternate jersey that incorporates some of these older, archival elements that go well together. So what didn�t we do? At one point there was some thought about doing a black bat, instead of yellow, because that�s what we used to have. We considered doing the really thick piping on the shoulders, we could have done belt piping, those types of things. But you don�t want to overload the Christmas tree. UW: In the announcements and press releases and so on about the new uniform, there were these quotes from you, and I could almost feel the tension between your desire to be thought of as one of the old-school franchises that don�t dabble in alternate uniforms, like the Yankees and Dodgers and Tigers, while also wanting to do something new. Was that a difficult internal conflict for you? BD: There�s no question about it. You nailed it. We proudly consider ourselves to be among those elite few who don�t change just for change. So that tension was clearly there. For part of me, it was almost like my wedding day � like, �Are we really unveiling a third jersey today?� UW: I�m sure your wife will be happy to hear that comparison. BD: I should be okay as long as she doesn�t read Uni Watch. But to get back to your point, yes, there�s some tension there. But the announcement �Cardinals Do Third Jersey� � that�s not the whole story. Once people see the jersey, they�ll see that this is still in keeping with who we are and what we�re about. UW: I�ll tell you one aspect of the design that disappoints me: Although the overall design is very retro, the birds on the bat are the exact same birds, in the exact same poses, as the ones on your home and road jerseys. Since the inspiration for the jersey comes from the early 1930s, why not go back to the version of the birds on the bat that was used in that era? BD: You�re referring to the tails-up birds, as we call them. And it�s funny you say that, because we gave that a little thought. But remember, this isn�t a throwback � it�s a modern uniform, and it�s part of our portfolio of modern uniforms. The guys are gonna be wearing it every Saturday. So for that reason, I thought the birds had to be modern. Also, we have this enhanced stitching technology that allows for better detailing of the birds themselves, and we think the modern birds showcase that better than the tails-up birds. And then finally, those older birds are much smaller, and that causes problems with the proportion of the birds compared to the script and the bat. So you�d either have to enlarge the birds, in order to fit the modern size of our bat and script, or you�d have to shrink the bat and script. So it�s a good thought, but it has a bit of a Pandora�s Box element to it. Try to picture certain other club owners in the National League a) giving such matters any thought; being able to articulate it; or c) not just leaving the whole thing to the discretion of the crooked equipment manager for a generation. The NYT catches up with the uni-conscious and detail oriented DeWitt On Baseball Cardinals� History Remains in the Details By TYLER KEPNER Published: October 25, 2013 ST. LOUIS � The apostrophe in the Baltimore Orioles� alternate logo faces the wrong way. The Mets have no pattern for their choice of jerseys on any given day. The Philadelphia Phillies forgot to make a press pin for their last World Series appearance. It was DeWitt�s bat-boy uniform that the St. Louis Browns� Eddie Gaedel wore in 1951. Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press In keeping with tradition, David Freese and the Cardinals will wear their Saturday alternate jerseys, with St. Louis across the chest, for Game 3. Such oversights might not bother most baseball executives. But most executives are not named DeWitt. In this family, whose roots reach back nearly a century in the game, details matter. When the St. Louis Cardinals take the field for Game 3 of the World Series against the Boston Red Sox, they will wear their cream-colored Saturday alternate jerseys, with St. Louis across the chest. In Game 4, they will wear their Sunday navy cap, with a red brim and the logo of a bird on a bat. On Monday, in Game 5, they will wear their usual home combination: primary white jersey, primary red cap. The Cardinals never wear a colored, softball-style jersey, and they never deviate from their schedule. The consistency of a classic look is part of who they are. �In some respects, what makes the Cardinals fun and interesting and cool is that some of these other franchises don�t do it,� said Bill DeWitt III, the team president, whose father owns the team. �If every team stayed to the pattern of home whites and road grays, there wouldn�t be anything special to preserving it. When other teams do that stuff, it doesn�t necessarily bother me, in the sense that we can play off of that.� Bill DeWitt Jr., 72, bought the Cardinals for $150 million from Anheuser-Busch in 1995. He had previously been a limited partner in the Texas Rangers, putting together the investors in George W. Bush�s ownership group, and had nearly purchased the Orioles. Owning the Orioles would have been fitting, since Bill DeWitt Sr., who died in 1982, had owned their ancestors, the St. Louis Browns. But the Cardinals also had special appeal, because DeWitt Sr. had started in baseball selling soda at Cardinals games in 1916. He soon became a favorite of Branch Rickey, the Hall of Fame executive and father of the modern farm system. �He was very focused on scouting and player development,� DeWitt Jr. said of his father. �He grew up under Branch Rickey, and when they were adding all those teams, he would go out in the field and do a lot of that work for Rickey. He thought a lot of him and would say so.� By the 1940s, DeWitt Sr. was running the Browns, winning their only American League pennant in 1944 and selling to the maverick Bill Veeck in 1951 but remaining in the front office. That August, Veeck hatched a stunt to send the 3-foot-7 Eddie Gaedel to the plate in a game against the Detroit Tigers. Gaedel wore the uniform of the team�s 9-year-old bat boy: Bill DeWitt Jr. �It was a doubleheader, and between games of the doubleheader he popped out of a cake,� DeWitt Jr. said, recalling that Gaedel pinch-hit for Frank Saucier, a top prospect who was struggling. �Bobby Cain pitched, and I think the first two pitches were overhand. They were up there � balls � so I think he threw the last two underhand. He couldn�t throw strikes, walked him, and then they pinch-ran for him. That was it. So I got my uniform back at the end of the game.� For 25 years or so, through DeWitt Sr.�s eventual ownership of the Cincinnati Reds, the uniform � with jersey number 1/8 � hung in a closet, part heirloom, part costume. DeWitt Jr.�s sister, Dede, once wore it for Halloween. When Veeck was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame, in 1991, the family lent the jersey to Cooperstown. Jeff Idelson, the Hall of Fame president, said the museum usually accepts only donations, not loans, unless no other artifact can be used to tell a story. DeWitt�s jersey � like Willie Mays�s glove from the 1954 World Series, on loan from the son of Giants pitcher Don Liddle � is the only known artifact of an indelible moment in history. �When you look at owners in the game today, there�s probably no one with a deeper historical sense of the game and its history than Bill,� Idelson said. DeWitt Jr.�s foundation in the game is reflected in the Cardinals� largely homegrown roster. DeWitt Jr. adopted his father�s interest in the farm system and has emphasized its importance over the last decade. He communicates daily with the Cardinals� general manager, John Mozeliak. DeWitt III, 45, oversees the Cardinals� business operations and spearheads the team�s Ballpark Village project, a restaurant/retail space on the site of the old Busch Stadium beyond left field. It will open next spring and include a St. Louis baseball museum, a special passion for an avid collector. DeWitt III owns a full set of World Series press pins, dating to 1911, and designs the Cardinals� versions. He took special care in designing the team�s Saturday uniform, wanting to give it a retro feel that fits with a modern portfolio, and not make it a Turn-Back-the-Clock-Day gimmick. He also added a touch of authenticity this season that fans cannot even see. Decades ago, DeWitt III noticed, uniforms included the player�s last name, chain stitched, on the bottom left tail of the jersey front. That part of the jersey was tucked in, out of view on the playing field, but it was there, and DeWitt III wanted to bring it back. This was surprisingly problematic. Retailers are supposed to market authentic jerseys to fans, down to the last detail, and adding a tiny, chain-stitched last name would add to the cost of an already pricey item. DeWitt III grew tired of the haggling. �Eventually I said, �We�re just going to do it for the players,� � DeWitt III said, and so it was done. When your name is DeWitt, you have the authority � and the sensibility � to make stylish statements of history. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/26/sports/baseball/cardinals-history-remains-in-the-details.html?_r=1&

Creep threatened to skin Mets manager, GM alive By Mike Puma, Christina Carrega-Woodby and Natalie O'Neill October 23, 2013 | 1:06pm A creepy baseball fan obsessed with horror movies was arrested on Wednesday after he allegedly threatened Mets players � and plotted to slash a team manager in a �Friday the 13th�-style attack. Aryn Leroux, 42, of West Haven took to Twitter for a violent tirade against Mets reliever LaTroy Hawkins and the team�s GM Sandy Alderson and manager Terry Collins � who he threatened to skin alive, according to law enforcement sources and his own Twitter page. �Tomorrow is Friday the 13th� lets get a gang of us to wear Jason Vorhees masks to Citi-Field and go skin us a GM-Owner-Manager,� Leroux Tweeted on Sept 12. �Think of it� it would be the lead story on CNN�. #mets fans kill the team owner-gm-manager. before they kill us #selfdefense,� he proclaimed before taking it one disturbing step further. �What are some good ways to dispose of Wilpon-Alderson-Collins, any ideas? �there will be a blood bath at Citi-Field tomorrow night,� he tweeted. The horror movie buff also hatched an elaborate plan to sneak into the team clubhouse and hide bombs in every player�s cleats, a team source told The Post. Modal Trigger Jason from �Friday the 13th�Photo: New Line Cinema NYPD officers and West Haven police arrested Leroux in Connecticut and charged him with misdemeanor threatening and breach of peace, law enforcement sources said. Leroux also threatened to blow up Citi Field and has repeatedly harassed fans and players, earning a reputation as a much-loathed Twitter troll, sources said. Hawkins called him a real threat to the team. �The guy is a bad person. On Twitter he made some threats that can�t be tolerated in this day and age, � he told the Post. The horror movie buff also harassed utility infielder Justin Turner, sources said. Law enforcement sources declined to give specifics about the ways in which he had threatened players. Leroux uses the handle @danxtanna � but his account was pulled down on Wednesday afternoon. His Twitter bio describes him as a �Mets-Cowboys-Celtics-Rangers-Uconn� fan and �Horror Movie Buff.� The Queens District Attorney�s office helped identify Leroux�s Twitter account, which was registered under his father�s name, law enforcement sources said. Leroux posted $2,500 bail and is awaiting arraignment in Milford. Hawkins, who is active on social media, recently tweeted about Leroux, urging Twitter users to block him. �Let�s block and report as spam and shut him up for awhile @danxtanna he want to do bodily harm on our team.� The arrest comes one day after Giants running back Brandon Jacobs revealed on Twitter that he had received a death threat. http://nypost.com/2013/10/23/man-arrested-for-twitter-threats-against-mets/

Zvon wrote: Have we established who this guy is?^ That's Craig Anderson. I assume there's gotta be a Bob Botz BF card in the works. Lute's last name is spelled B-A-R-N-E-S.

Gwreck wrote: History tells us that it is unlikely that the Cardinals will win. One league has not won four consecutive World Series since 1979-1982 (NL); before that 1947-1953 (AL). You sure about that?

In the last 10 or so months, I've only read Uni Watch about two, maybe three times tops. But that Cards piece was one of my reads. I remember thinking to myself: that's the kind of team uni history knowledge every team bigwig should be required to have?

Here's a photo of Gil Hodges that you've probably seen more times than you can count. And now you know exactly where at Miller-Huggins he's kneeling for the cameraman.

dinosaur jesus wrote: As weak-hitting shortstops go, I see Harrelson in the second tier, with Larry Bowa, Don Kessinger, Roy McMillan, and Dick Schofield (both of them). First tier is guys like Maury Wills and Ozzie. Third tier is, like, Roger Metzger, Rafael Santana, Ozzie Guillen. Rey is in the fourth tier with Dal Maxvill--about as bad a hitter as you can be and play every day. After that you're in Ray Oyler territory, where the best glove in the world won't keep you in the lineup. Rey Ordonez was about as bad a hitter as Ray Oyler was, maybe a hair better. A hair. Ordonez ought to be ranked in whatever tier Oyler is ranked in. That Rey played everyday is on the Wilpons, or perhaps Steve Phillips -- definitely not Bobby Valentine. But that the Mets were stupid enough to let this fraud of a baseball player play as much as he did shouldn't elevate Rey in any rankings. By playing more instead of less, Rey O probably hurt the Mets more than Ray O hurt the Tigers. I like the way the Tigers played Stanley at short in the WS. Just more proof that hitting is way more important than fielding. Ordonez would've needed five years to hit as many HR's as Melvin Mora hit for the Mets during the couple of weeks he played short in 2000 before the media seemingly ran Mora out of town because he made a couple of errors, too.

Jeff Wilpon's mother wears combat boots. ______________________________ Alderson can dream, but the Cardinals are in another league By Howard Megdal 2:37 pm Oct. 14, 20131 ST. LOUIS�It's a time-honored tradition in baseball for the teams at home in October to watch the playoff teams and dream of emulating them some not-so-distant fall. Mets general manager Sandy Alderson reportedly harbors such an aspiration: "Sandy Alderson dreams of an October sometime in the next few years when the Mets are in a similar position, trying to win a championship on the strength of their young pitching." A Daily News column on Alderson's dream goes on to allude to the Mets' "surplus of pitching prospects ..." The Mets do in fact have lots of decent young pitching compared to, say, what Alderson inherited when he took over as the team's G.M. in October 2010. There's Matt Harvey, who we'll include on this list, despite the fact that he will be recovering from Tommy John surgery next year, as a pitching prospect who will arrive in 2015. There's also Zack Wheeler, who held his own in a half-season with the Mets in 2013. There's Noah Syndergaard, who dominated for Double-A Binghamton in 2013. There's Rafael Montero, who pitched quite well at Double-A and Triple-A. And there are a handful of second-tier and third-tier guys, like Jacob deGrom and Cory Mazzoni. So all the Mets need to do is let those guys come to the big leagues, form a Cardinals-like pitching staff in concert with established starters Jon Niese and Dillon Gee, and they'll be all set. That is, if absolutely everything goes right with health and performance of these guys; if Jenrry Mejia, who's never stayed healthy, stays healthy, then sure, the Mets would have enough pitching. Unfortunately, that never happens. And it didn't, by the way, even happen for the Cardinals. The Cardinals are where they are because they built up a massive pitching surplus. Jaime Garcia was their Jon Niese entering the season, mid-20s, signed to a long-term, team-friendly deal. And his season ended in May, thanks to a shoulder injury requiring surgery. The same thing happened to John Gast, who'd posted a 1.16 E.R.A. in seven Triple-A starts, but was lost for the season, having shoulder surgery. These weren't two random guys, but two highly-touted pitching prospects. Among those who remained, Shelby Miller is five months younger than Zack Wheeler, the current best combination of potential, big league success and health the Mets have. He put up a 3.73 x.F.I.P. this year in 173 1/3 major league innings, compared to Wheeler's 4.21 in 100. Miller can't crach the Cardinals' postseason rotation. Wheeler is expected to form part of "a Big Three of Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Noah Syndergaard that could finally make them serious contenders again", per Harper. The Cardinals have Michael Wacha, Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn in their playoff rotation, along with that Adam Wainwright guy. "These guys are pretty talented, immensely talented, actually," Wainwright told me at his locker following Game 2 Sunday. "They're great guys, they work hard, they're very talented. What more do you need? From our standpoint, we're kind of in awe what all these guys are doing." Miller, a truly gifted young pitcher, has so far thrown one inning, total. Why? Because the Cardinals have even more young pitching out of their bullpen. There's electric Carlos Martinez, who routinely throws in the upper 90s with his sinker, his four seamer, and then counters with a ridiculous changeup nearly 20 miles per hour slower. Oh, and he's throwing his slider now, which is "a game-changer for him," per Cardinals pitching coach Derek Lilliquist. There's Trevor Rosenthal, one day older than Wheeler, who put up very similar minor league numbers to Wheeler, then pitched out of middle relief for much of the season in St. Louis, striking out just under 13 batters per nine innings. He can't crack the rotation, either. Neither can Kevin Siegrist, a lefty starter in the minor leagues, a lefty specialist in the big leagues with a 0.45 E.R.A. this season. Neither can Seth Maness, an ultra-control artist who walk 0.7 people per nine innings in the minor leagues, and posted a 2.32 E.R.A. in relief for the Cardinals. Neither can Tyler Lyons, a Rafael Montero type who can't even get onto the Cardinals' roster. By contrast, the Mets's dream bullpen, as described in that News column, is this: "If closer Bobby Parnell returns to form from neck surgery, the Mets could build a similar bullpen, filling it with power arms such as Jeurys Familia, Vic Black, and perhaps a Montero or Mazzoni, plus hard-throwing lefty Jack Leathersich." I hope so! But that's a pretty big "if" when it comes to Parnell, who is recovering from a neck injury severe enough that his manager said it caused him to lose 30 pounds. Vic Black is a power arm who can't generally find the plate, which is why the Pirates were willing to throw him into the Marlon Byrd/John Buck deal. Leathersich was actually demoted earlier this year, from Triple-A to Double-A. This is not to say some of these guys couldn't eventually help the bullpen. But any kind of comparison to how the Cardinals did it, staffing their pen with massively successful minor league starters, not fringe minor league bullpen guys, falls apart quickly. At least the idea is merely that the Mets have enough young pitching, rather than holding onto the idea, propogated back when Matt Harvey (who is super-awesome, but also, just one guy) was healthy, that the Mets have some kind of super-abundance of young pitching they can trade for, you know, hitting. It didn't look terribly realistic then, and it sure doesn't now. And if you're wondering how the Cardinals got enough hitting to go along with that pitching: Carlos Beltran, the hero of Game 1, signed via free agency. So did Matt Holliday. They developed Yadier Molina, but then they kept him with a massive long-term deal. Even their pitching isn't purely made up of young, low-cost talent. They traded for Wainwright as a minor leaguer, then signed him long-term. The Cardinals have a lot more young pitching than the Mets do. They've also spent a lot more money than the Mets have. And even if the Mets manage to bridge that enormous talent and budget gap, they'll still run up against the Cardinals, right in their own league, not going anywhere. "We're still playing this year," Wainwright said. "But it's pretty promising, going forward the next few years, with what our staff is capable of doing." Other than that, sure, the Mets are the new Cardinals. Maybe they can even trade Zack Wheeler from that pitching surplus for the hitting they desperately need, which is one scenario that's being kicked around. I mean, you've got to dream, right? http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/sports/2013/10/8534629/alderson-can-dream-cardinals-are-another-league

There but for the grace of Selig go the New York Mets By Howard Megdal 2:37 pm Oct. 16, 2013 LOS ANGELES�Mets fans could be forgiven for watching the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, and thinking that the Dodgers' story could easily be unfolding at Citi Field. After all, Major League Baseball managed to force out Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, while extending a loan to Fred Wilpon and his partners that kept them afloat financially. The two were very different, insisted Bud Selig, commissioner of baseball, back in 2011. He never explicitly said why, of course, suggesting distinctions that largely boiled down to intent. McCourt looted the Dodgers for his own financial gain, lowered payroll drastically, and his only way out of his own financial mess was to use the equity in rapidly expanding television value, something Selig rejected. By contrast, according to this thinking: "In New York, the Wilpons -- Fred and his son Jeff -- generally have tried to act in the best interests of their team for 30 years," Jon Heyman wrote back in April 2011. "They certainly haven't used the club as their personal piggy bank, which is what Frank McCourt appears to have done in his seven years in Los Angeles." Yes, well, about that. In March 2012, Wilpon and his partners sold minority shares in the team, not for any gain for the Mets, but simply to stay afloat. $110 million of that $240 million went to pay down some principal on a massive loan against the team, the rest to pay back loans from Major League Baseball and Bank of America that kept them from insolvency, along with debt service. And even that minority sale, largely to S.N.Y., came in exchange for the Mets extended their way below market television deal with S.N.Y. Put another way, the Mets monetized their local television deal like so many other teams, but used it to hold onto the team. You know, like Frank McCourt tried to do. As for that payroll, which was over $140 million in 2011: it was in 2013, functionally, lower than McCourt's $83 million that was so untenable for Major League Baseball back in 2011. That's a bigger gap than it even seems, with salaries climbing in the intervening years. This, despite Mets ownership borrowing another $160 million against their stake in S.N.Y., something only worth as much as it is thanks to the below-market television rights deal the network enjoys with the Mets. And payroll, incidentally, looks to be dropping this winter, even more, as Mets ownership figures out how to navigate that large loan against the team. �I keep reading they�re similar but they�re clearly not similar,� Selig said in April 2011. �Anyone who portrays that as similar is wrong.� They're sure not similar anymore. In the 2011 offseason, while the Dodgers could offer Matt Kemp eight years, $160 million as part of the course of normal business operations during a bankruptcy, Jose Reyes headed elsewhere as the Mets lined up a bridge loan to stay afloat until March. Dodger Stadium gave thunderous cheers to Adrian Gonzalez Tuesday night when he lined an R.B.I. single down the right field line. Gonzalez, acquired from the Red Sox, is due another $106 million over the next five years. Kemp is injured. Doesn't matter: the new Dodgers ownership is willing, and able, to spend whatever it takes to get to the playoffs. The team's best hitter, Hanley Ramirez, was acquired as a salary dump from the Miami Marlins, earning $15.5 million this year, and $16 million next year. The team's Game 5 pitcher, Zack Greinke, signed last winter for six years, $159 million. The most exciting player they have is Yasiel Puig, purchased by new Dodgers ownership as, essentially, a seven-year, $42 million lottery ticket. And if he hadn't paid off, they'd just go out and get somebody else. They can afford to, and you can argue, given the link between payroll and attendance (certainly reflected at Dodger Stadium), they can't afford not to. Mets ownership, meanwhile, can't afford much of anything these days. Bud Selig is right, finally. The situations sure are different. Why'd that happen again? http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/sports/2013/10/8534693/there-grace-selig-go-new-york-mets

Dave Kingman ... the batter's eye black tarp at Miller-Huggins in the background. I think. What's the patch of dirt right behind him? It looks like what should be left field at Butterball Field. And then what's the dirt field in the far background? The dirt right behind Kingman is throwing me off.

The one player I figured shoulda been there, but wasn't, was Keith Hernandez, who broke out into superstar territory that season. I figure he was young enough that he'd be eager to go. Wonder what his story was? Dave Winfield and J.R. Richard are also notable MIA's. I'll give Bench, Perry, Brock and Stargell a pass on age.