batmagadanleadoff

May 5, 1979 http://leaptoad.com/mets/gamedetail.php?gameno=2791&tabno=A

As a teen-ager, I used to play softball on an asphalt field with painted on bases. First base was longer -- rectangular rather than square -- presumably to allow the first baseman to set up for the play at first so as to minimize the risk of injury from colliding with the oncoming batter/runner. __________________________ Is the neighborhood play gone for good? By Larry Granillo @wezen_ball on Jun 27 2013, 12:03p It's been a part of baseball for decades, but increased supervision and better television cameras threaten the traditional (and technically incorrect) "neighborhood play." The neighborhood play. It's what we call it when a middle infielder, in making the turn at second base during a double-play, gets the call from the umpire despite never actually touching the bag while in possession of the ball. Ask any of the older men in blue, however, and they'll tell you it doesn't exist; umpires can (and will) call a runner out only if the fielder touches the bag after cleanly receiving the ball. But we all know they're lying. The neighborhood play was an accepted part of baseball for decades, no different than a hit-batsman taking first despite no effort to get out of the way or a pitcher running his hand through his greased-up hair before every pitch. In the 2009 American League Championship Series, when Angels' shortstop Erick Aybar never came close to touching the bag on a double-play in the tenth inning of Game 2, the complaint wasn't that second-base umpire Jerry Layne got the call wrong when he signaled "safe" -- it was that he got it right. You can hear Joe Buck and Tim McCarver defending Aybar in the original television broadcast: "They will give -- as odd as that may seem to viewers or a casual baseball fan -- they will give that play at second base always." "Always." "Always." Elsewhere, the Orange County Register excoriated the call. MLB.com spent 600 words explaining how the call -- the correct call, remember -- was a departure from the norm. The New York Times, meanwhile, felt it was important enough to explain to its readers that these unwritten rules don't actually exist, including this quote from a particularly unbiased source. "There is no such thing as the neighborhood play," said Rich Garcia, a Major League Baseball umpire supervisor for seven years after spending 25 years in blue. "You either touch the base or you don�t." Umpire says umpires make the correct calls and The Times is ON IT! Players on the field saw things a bit differently. In 2010, J.J. Hardy admitted that there were "some shortstops and second basemen" who use the neighborhood play. "I might have done it a couple times. Not on purpose. I always try to be on the bag, but maybe there's a time I might be a little bit quick." Not that he was complaining. The play keeps middle-infielders safe, the argument goes, by taking them out of the line of the hard slide quicker. With umpires calling the neighborhood play less and less frequently, as Hardy and a number of other players and managers (including Michael Cuddyer, Mark Grudzielanek, and Manny Acta) attested, the danger goes up. That's not to say that the play has been completely eradicated from the game. Here is an example, from July 2011, of the White Sox getting the benefit of a neighborhood call over the Cubs. The call enraged then-manager Mike Quade enough that he got himself ejected from the game in only the second inning. But how about today? Since neighborhood plays aren't exactly tagged in the MLB.com database, it's very difficult to track them over time. What if, instead, we took it into our own hands and watched every double-play for signs of the neighborhood call ourselves? If this unwritten rule is even a third as common as it was, surely it wouldn't be too hard to find one in a large sampling, right? To test this theory, I watched every GiDP from last weekend (Saturday & Sunday, to be exact). That's 53 double-plays across 30 games. Of these, seven had no turn at second base. In the remaining 46, there were a few chances where it seemed like maybe, if I just squinted my eyes and believed really hard, the second baseman or shortstop might have pulled his foot off a tiny bit early. But that was it. Nothing to get too upset over, and certainly nothing obvious. Well, except this one. That was Saturday afternoon in the third inning of the Marlins/Giants tilt. Marco Scutaro grounded the ball directly at Miami second baseman Ed Lucas, who tossed it to shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, who made the throw to first. It was a simple enough double-play that San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy barely reacted in the dugout. But watch that turn again. Hechavarria clearly catches the toss from Lucas with his feet straddling the bag. As he fires to first, you can see Hechavarria shift his feet, but enough to tag the base and secure the out? Second-base umpire Laz Diaz thought so, but it's a bit hard to believe. This could very well be the neighborhood play that we're looking for! Now watch it again. As Hechavarria lifts up his right foot to make the jump, a bit of infield dirt comes up with it, covering the side of the base for the briefest of moments. When the foot lands on the opposite side of the bag, the dirt falls to the ground. It's from these two pieces of evidence that I feel confident in saying that this was not a neighborhood play. This proves nothing, of course. The only way to say for sure that the neighborhood play isn't called any more is to watch all 2,000 double-plays in a given year. Even I'm not that crazy! Still, this exercise does provide one data point. Over two days, thirty games, 550 innings, and 50+ double plays, there was not a single neighborhood play. Maybe J.J. Hardy and his pals were right. If this unwritten rule is not yet dead, it's certainly on life support. That's a win for those of us who hate to see a game decided by a bad call from the umpires, but what about those middle-infielders who feel endangered by wild takeout slides? Is the tradeoff worth it? Well, we don't have much of a choice. Five or six years ago while working on his outstanding book about umpiring, As They See 'Em, Bruce Weber asked major-league umpire Tom Hallion about the neighborhood play. Hallion acknowledged the existence of the play, called that way if "everything stays in an ordinary progression of what's supposed to happen, what should happen, what normally happens ... even if he's not right on the bag." Why? Because if I call the guy safe, here's what they say: "Do you want this guy fucking killed?" But nowadays you can't give them as much, you can't give them a foot off the bag. Your life's on the line to get it right because they have sixteen freakin' cameras on you. Again, this was five or six years ago. Today there are more cameras, more Web watchdogs, more people watching the games on iPads in the stands. Video killed the neighborhood play. And nobody's going to miss it, except maybe a few scaredy-cat infielders.

A-Rod implicated fellow players in doping investigation By Michael Radutzky "60 Minutes" has learned that members of New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez's inner circle in February obtained and leaked documents that implicated Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun as well as his own Yankees teammate, catcher Francisco Cervelli, in the doping scandal that has enveloped Major League Baseball. The leak came just days after the weekly newspaper Miami New Times published documents in January detailing Rodriguez's pervasive use of performance enhancing drugs. The handwritten documents of Anthony Bosch, the key witness in Major League Baseball's PED investigation, revealed comprehensive doping regimens that Bosch had engineered for a host of professional athletes. His cooperation with MLB has resulted in the suspension of Rodriguez and 13 other major league players. Braun and Cervelli's names were redacted in the Miami New Times documents. Members of Rodriguez's camp at the time obtained unredacted versions and leaked them to Yahoo! Sports, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The unredacted documents also implicated Baltimore Oriole Danny Valencia, who MLB later investigated and cleared. CBSSports' Danny Knobler: Among A-Rod's sins, outing other players is a new low In a statement to "60 Minutes," Rodriguez lawyer David Cornwell said, "The allegations are untrue and are another attempt to harm Alex -- this time by driving a wedge between Alex and other players in the game. While Alex focuses on baseball and repeatedly states that he is going to respect the appeal process, the drumbeat of false allegations continues." On July 22, Braun accepted a 65-game suspension for the remainder of the 2013 season for taking performance-enhancing drugs. And on Aug. 5, Cervelli, along with 11 other players, accepted a 50-game ban. MLB has suspended Rodriguez for 211 games. He is appealing. All three of the unredacted documents leaked to Yahoo! Sports list Braun's name. One document shows Braun on a Bosch list along with Rodriguez, Cervelli, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera and minor league pitcher Cesar Carrillo, all of whom have been suspended for PEDs. The revelation that members of Rodriguez's camp at the time leaked documents implicating other players to the media could present significant problems for Rodriguez's legal team as they enter the arbitration process to appeal his suspension. Baseball officials say they levied a harsher suspension on Rodriguez because of his continued use of PEDs over multiple years as well as his attempt to "obstruct and frustrate" MLB's investigation. Rodriguez's case is set to be heard by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz in the coming weeks. If MLB were to present evidence that Rodriguez's camp knowingly leaked additional Bosch business records, it might demonstrate that Rodriguez's camp had not only obtained them to keep them out of the hands of investigators, but that he actively sought to interfere with baseball's investigation by releasing other players' names. Baseball's collective bargaining agreement requires that any allegations of PED use are to first be dealt with privately before either the Commissioner's office or the Players Association makes any names public. The premature release of a player's name is a direct violation of the collective bargaining agreement. MLB Players Association head Michael Weiner has said he will support Rodriguez's appeal of the 211-game ban. "We feel what he (MLB Commissioner Bud Selig) did, frankly, was inappropriate and almost ridiculous," he said in an interview earlier this month. "Look at the penalties that have been [given] out and cases that have been decided by the commissioner's office along with the Players Association. Nothing comes close to 211 games." In early April, accusations arose that Rodriguez had purchased at least some of Bosch's business records. Rodriguez's spokesperson at the time flatly denied the reports. Rodriguez has denied any connection to Bosch and his clinic, and says he was never treated by him, advised by him, and that the Miami New Times documents implicating him are not legitimate http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57598805/a-rod-fingered-fellow-players-in-doping-investigation/

Terry Collins with an interesting thought on instant replay and the neighborhood play: Mets� Collins Concerned That Expanded Replay May Increase Injuries By ANDREW KEH Published: August 15, 2013 SAN DIEGO � Like every other major league manager, the Mets� Terry Collins spent Thursday morning pondering the implications of baseball�s announcement that it planned to give teams the ability to use instant replay challenges during games. Collins supports the rule change, but he also wonders about the unexpected consequences it could have. Take the neighborhood play. Many around baseball believe and accept that umpires will call an out at second base on a double play even if the fielder does not properly touch the bag, so long as everything else about the play � the throw, the rhythm, the timing � is properly executed. The benefit is that the middle infielder covering the base can avoid being wiped out when the runner from first comes sliding into it. No matter how accepted this practice might be, no matter how little a manager might protest such a play each season, Collins said managers would not hesitate to challenge it if a game was on the line. �What you�re going to see happen one of these days is, someone�s going to challenge that the second baseman was off the bag and call the guy safe,� Collins said. �And now you�re going to make the second baseman stand on the base.� Collins offered a hypothetical situation: the second baseman will have to stay on the base with his back to the approaching runner, a star player like Robinson Cano will get hurt, and the league will consider taking another look at allowing a challenge on that play. �You�re going to see some banged-up second basemen,� Collins said. Collins also wondered how the challenges would be timed. All players and coaches have access to video replays inside the clubhouse. Would they not be able to run inside and check for themselves before wasting a valuable challenge? Still, Collins was far more enthusiastic about the rule change than the players at the ballpark Thursday, who seemed more cautiously curious. �I�m intrigued,� said Chris Denorfia, an outfielder for the San Diego Padres. �We have some talking to do between the associations. Anything that can make the game better, I�m intrigued to see how it might work, how it might shake out.� Dillon Gee, a Mets pitcher, echoed an oft-expressed concern that games would be extended and that momentum would be disrupted. �We hate changing,� he said of players. �At the same time, these games, the way it comes down to one call, you want to get those right. So I�d be on board, as long as we can find out a way to do it efficiently.� Several players declined to comment on the proposal, perhaps indicating a lukewarm attitude toward it, or at least wariness about its breadth. Mets reliever LaTroy Hawkins said he did not care one way or another about the rule, but he said he did not understand why the announcement was made. �We haven�t agreed on it,� Hawkins said of the players union. �The umpires haven�t agreed on it.� Hawkins went on: �I don�t know what the purpose was of making an announcement. I know every party has to agree, if I�m not mistaken, so what�s the purpose of it? Trying to put public pressure on us? No. It doesn�t work like that.� http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/16/sports/baseball/mets-collins-concerned-that-rule-may-increase-injuries.html?_r=0

It remains to be seen how much the Mets invest in their 2014 payroll. Ordinarily, what the current Ike Davis would likely be awarded in a salary arbitration case shouldn't burden the National League franchise from New York City, assuming the franchise wants to retain Ike. But these aren't ordinary times.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Ultimate Mets Database Facebook page wrote: John Olerud is the only other Met to appear in 162 games, but that was in the 163-game 1999 season.... The only game Olerud missed in 1999 was the one the Mets played on planet Mercury.

Edgy MD wrote: I disagree that the team was doomed to irrelevancy before the season started. Then I'm guessing that you'd probably disagree with what I'm already thinking about next year's Mets.

Ceetar wrote: You'd need an eye in the press box and a way to communicate with the manager. The dugout is a lousy place to view a play. Would they throw out a red challenge flag? The big concern is that it'll make games, already too long, even longer. No time in most cases. You'd really only have until the next pitch. Not really. New gamesmanship tactics would evolve. If it's the team at bat contemplating a challenge, the batter will delay his at bat. If it's the team on the field, the pitcher won't pitch. Ceetar wrote: But It'd probably only happen on plays the manager was already going to come out and bitch about, and hopefully the people in charge have already started looking it it more closely in anticipation as that happens. Shouldn't take that long. Not even a clue.

The promotion is limited to the following sections: Baseline Box (Secs. 104-106) Approx. Face Value Price Range (Dynamic Pricing) $50 -$90 Baseline Box (Secs. 130-132) Approx. Face Value Price Range (Dynamic Pricing) $50 -$90 Left Field Landing (Secs. 334-339) Approx. Face Value Price Range (Dynamic Pricing) $25 -$46 Promenade Outfield (Secs. 532-538) Approx. Face Value Price Range (Dynamic Pricing) $15 -$35 It's not as if the Mets are gearing up to offer 25% discounts on the choicier seats.

Believe It Or Not: Ike Davis By Mark Simon | ESPNNewYork.com Should the Mets believe in the long-term prospects of Ike Davis? For the next three days, we�re going to write about Mets who have performed well recently, taking a closer look at their strengths and weaknesses, then get a scout�s perspective on a longer-term outlook for that player. Yesterday, we wrote about Juan Lagares Today�s piece focuses on Ike Davis. Believe It ... Davis� overall body of work shows promise, though most of that came in the earliest stages of his career. In each of the last two spring trainings, Davis has impressed and flashes of that show up from time to time, like last season, when he clubbed 20 homers in 251 at-bats after the All-Star Break, and since his recall from Las Vegas, in which he has a .478 on-base percentage and a .920 OPS. Ike Davis in 2013 Before Demotion Since Recall BA .161 .302 OBP .242 .478 Slug pct .258 .442 Chase Rate 23% 17% Miss Rate 33% 20% The biggest positive for Davis since his recall has been the drop in both his chase rate (how often he swings at pitches thrown out of the strike zone) and his miss rate (how often he misses on his swings). We�ve noted those in the chart [above]. Davis has also shown himself to be a competent, if not slightly above average defender at first base, based on advanced defensive metrics, though he�s yet to be as good as his rookie season, when he had 10 Defensive Runs Saved. ... Or Not Davis has had not one but two bad multi-month stretches, one in each of the last two seasons. Those have been highlighted by wild swings and misses, sometimes on pitches that look like they�re going to hit him. This recent run of success has been an odd one. His only homer during this stretch came against the Nationals in a game the Mets were winning 8-0 at the time. He does have nine doubles, but a bunch of those have been bloops rather than the potential long balls that fans grew used to seeing. We utilize a video-review service that rates every batted ball as being either �hard-hit,� �medium-hit,� or �soft-hit� (several major league teams use either this service or others). Davis� rate of balls hit that were classified as �hard-hit� prior to his demotion was 14.9 percent. With an increase in performance since his return, you�d expect that number to go up a little bit, but it�s actually about the same, 14.5 percent. His season rate is 14.8 percent -- the same as New York Yankees reserve infielder Jayson Nix. Scout�s Take The scout we spoke to acknowledged not having seen Davis much during this hot streak, but he wasn�t sold on what he did see. �Ike needs to reinvent himself as a hitter. I know he�s not chasing as much lately. But my concern for him is that every pitch, whether he�s taking it or at the point of contact, he never looks balanced. He can hit the ball on the screws and still look like he�s early or late. I would not bet on him lasting on that. If he can keep doing what he�s doing and have a 10-year career, God bless him.� http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/75349/believe-it-or-not-ike-davis

Strikeouts for savings when Mets face Padres starting tomorrow night Mets Fans Save on Tickets When Mets Pitchers Strike Out Opponents The New York Mets today announced the launch of "Strikeouts for Savings" when the Mets visit the San Diego Padres for a four-game series starting tomorrow night. For every strikeout Mets pitchers record during the series vs. the Padres, August 15-18, fans will save on future ticket purchases for Mets home games August 24-29 against the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. For every strikeout the Mets pitching staff records during the four games in San Diego, fans will receive one percent off the purchase price on tickets for the following sections: Baseline Box, Left Field Landing and Promenade Outfield. So if the Mets pitching staff records 20 strikeouts during the four-game series at San Diego, fans would save 20 percent off tickets purchased, 33 strikeouts would result in tickets being discounted 33 percent. The more strikeouts the Mets rack up the greater the savings for the fans. Matt Harvey, who leads the National League with 181 strikeouts, is scheduled to pitch on Sunday in San Diego. The Mets are averaging 7.3 strikeouts per game this season. Tickets for this promotion will go on sale beginning one hour after the conclusion of the game on Sunday, August 18 using the promo code STRIKES at Mets.com/strikeout. Tickets also will be available over the phone Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., or until the end of the fifth inning on home game days, by calling 718-507-TIXX. The offer concludes Thursday, August 29 at 2:00 p.m. All prices will round to the nearest dollar using traditional rounding techniques and ticket, order and delivery fees still apply. SNY will broadcast the games tomorrow and Friday nights (10:10 p.m.) and PIX11 will carry Saturday night's broadcast (8:40 p.m.) and Sunday afternoon (4:10 p.m.) Games Eligible for the Strikeout Offer: Saturday, August 24 vs. Detroit (4:05 p.m.) Sunday, August 25 vs. Detroit (1:10 p.m.) Monday, August 26 vs. Philadelphia (7:10 p.m.) Tuesday, August 27 vs. Philadelphia (7:10 p.m.) Wednesday, August 28 vs. Philadelphia (7:10 p.m.) Thursday, August 29 vs. Philadelphia (1:10 p.m.) http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130814&content_id=56985792&vkey=pr_nym&c_id=nym

Had field level front row tickets, behind home plate, behind the screen for that game. I've still got the tickets. They're somewhere around. Did not know that that was the last canceled Mets game at Shea, and in fact, ever, not to be rescheduled. Was working on a big work related project on the computer for hours when the lights went out. Lost all of my work. No save work.

"Home games mean dining at Grauman's Chinese".

Frayed Knot wrote: Well, this "gruesome" lineup (or some variation of it) is a hair above league average in runs scored for the year and has them four games over .500 since the end of June. I know. I thought of that as I wrote the post. Let's see if they can maintain their somewhat under .500 pace without Wright's star season contributions.

G-Fafif wrote: Eric Young, Jr. � LF Juan Lagares � CF Daniel Murphy � 2B Marlon Byrd � RF Josh Satin � 1B Justin Turner � 3B John Buck � C Omar Quintanilla � SS Gruesome. Just gruesome. If someone told me in March that this is what the Mets regular starting lineup (more or less) would be, I wouldn't think the team capable of winning 50 games. Byrd's been a surprise, but back in March, I woulda said that the 3-4-5 middle of that order wouldn't hit 20 HR's combined.

City must reject plan for mall at Willets Point In 2008, the Bloomberg administration declared 62 acres of property in Flushing to the east of Citi Field called Willets Point, on which there were more than 200 small auto businesses as well as others, a blight. Auto repair shops in and of themselves cannot be considered a blight, much like a factory that manufactures glue. To the extent there was blight, it was caused by the city, which for decades collected sewer rent from the owners, notwithstanding that there were no sewers, and collected real estate and other taxes without repairing the area�s infrastructure. The Willets Point plan approved in 2008 was clear and unambiguous. The city would acquire 62 acres in Willets Point through the voluntary sale by property owners or if need be through eminent domain. A private developer would construct on the site retail stores, office buildings, a convention center, a school and luxury housing with a portion set aside for affordable housing. The developer would be required to remove whatever contamination existed on a 23-acre portion of the site. There was no mention of a 1.4-million-square-foot shopping mall at Citi Field or connection to Citi Field. Bearing in mind that of all the developers interested in the plan, it was only the New York Mets and its Related Cos. that held the lease at Citi Field. Bloomberg saw to it that it would be selected as the developer because what was really on the horizon was a huge shopping mall at Citi Field. That became evident in 2013 when the Mets and Related Cos. sought what they described as a minor change to the 2008 plan. All they wanted was the right to construct on the 23-acre area a parking lot. A parking lot in and of itself would indeed be minor and probably not subject to much opposition. The claim the amendment sought was minor and, if not an outright lie, a hoax. The change was major. The reason for a parking lot at Willets Point was to enable the Mets to move its parking lot at Citi Field to Willets Point and on the vacated Citi Field parking lot construct a 1.4-million-square-foot shopping mall. The mall would have nothing to do with Willets Point or the plan approved in 2008, and on that basis the amendment sought should be rejected. But there exists a variety of other cogent reasons for a rejection: 1. The Willets Point property the city has so far costs tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, will cost much more in the future and will be sold to the Mets and its companies for $1. 2. The city will subsidize the Mets and its companies to the tune of $99 million. 3. After construction of the parking area at Willets Point, the highest priority will be the 1.4-million-square-foot shopping mall. 4. The housing, which was a significant part of the 2008 plan, without which it is doubtful it would have been approved, is not only given the least priority but will not be built until 2025, if ever. I say �if ever� because housing will not be built until there is in place traffic ramps to accommodate the huge increase in traffic that will ensue from the development. The only vehicular arteries that can service the area are the Grand Central Parkway, the Van Wyck Expressway, Roosevelt Avenue and Northern Boulevard � arteries that are choked to capacity and cannot in any way be increased in size. So-called ramps are akin to the infamous bridge to nowhere. We will have a huge shopping mall and some commercial areas, but no housing. 5. Does Queens need a huge mall that will decimate the many small businesses on Roosevelt Avenue and Northern Boulevard and in downtown Flushing, as well as the malls in Rego Park and on 20th Avenue? No. 6. The fact that Borough President Helen Marshall has approved the amendment is meaningless, given her history of considering the real estate moguls and the wealthy her true constituents, and that Community Boards 3 and 7 considered the amendment. CB 7 approved it 22-18 while CB 3 rejected it 30-1 with one abstention, The result was 48 against and 23 in favor. Marshall refused to consider the CB 3 vote, an example of ineptitude. 7. Since a vote to approve the parking lot on the 23-acre Willets Point site does mean a go-ahead for the 1.4-million-square-foot shopping mall at Citi Field, another reason to reject it is the fact that in so doing a mockery is being made of the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure principles. ULURP was enacted to make sure there was transparency in land use changes with community input. It is to be noted that the Mets and Related Cos. have pursued ULURP only with regard to a parking area at Willets Point. There is no ULURP pending with regard to a huge mall. The Mets claim that because of their lease they can do whatever it wishes and the community has no say in the matter. Furthermore, Citi Field and its parking areas are on Flushing Meadows Corona Park land. Again, the Mets claim that, by virtue of its lease, it can ignore the fact that a change from a parking lot on park property to a mall can be ignored and that it is not required to replace parkland taken for a mall. These positions are absurd yet consistent with Bloomberg�s partnership with big business and the public be damned because he has gone along with the Mets� position. A mayor who cares about transparency in government would reject these claims and, if need be, litigate the matter. Suffice to say, Bloomberg, a foe of government transparency, will do nothing. Ultimately, the decision will rest with the City Council. It remains to be seen if the majority of the Council will be true to their constituents. Given the dictatorial manner reminiscent of the banana republics of old, Bloomberg has pursued this matter for the benefit of his friend Fred Wilpon, the multibillionaire owner of the Mets. It comes as no surprise that eviction notices were sent to the small business owners (�Auto shops rail against city plan at Willets Point,� July 19). At eviction proceedings, the court always takes into account whether eviction should be held in abeyance until the evictee can find other suitable space for its business. Given Bloomberg�s lack of diligence in finding space for the shop owners, eviction should be postponed for at least two years. Benjamin Haber Flushing �2013 Community Newspaper Group http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2013/32/haber_all_2013_08_09_q.html

The New York Mets are likely to shut down right-hander Matt Harvey when he reaches the 200-inning plateau next month, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. __________________ Harvey likely to be shut down after 200 innings By Anthony DiComo / MLB.com | 8/13/2013 3:10 A.M. ET excerpt: LOS ANGELES -- At the start of the year, many players avoid making hard statistical goals for the season. Matt Harvey does not. One of Harvey's aims heading into his first full big league season was to pitch 200 innings, which he might have done over two levels last year had the Mets not shut him down in mid-September. This year, 200 innings sits near the upper limit of what the Mets will allow Harvey to achieve. Though the organization has not revealed any hard numbers regarding a shutdown of its young ace, the working assumption is that they will not allow him to exceed last year's total of 169 1/3 innings by much more than 30. Assuming Harvey continues to average seven innings per start, as he has up to this point, he will hit the 200-inning mark around the second week of September. That would prompt the Mets to shut him down with as many as three full weeks left in the season -- a fate they could have delayed by roughly a week had Jeremy Hefner not suffered an elbow injury, forcing them to whittle their six-man rotation down to five. Harvey understands all that, and will ultimately accept it. But he also feels there is value in lasting through the end of September. "Obviously, I'm not going to be happy to miss any starts, but if it's a week, I'm not going to look at it like I didn't finish a full season," Harvey said. The only ways Harvey might last deeper would be if he pitched some clunkers, if the Mets skipped him once or twice in the rotation, or if they removed him prematurely from successful starts. None of those scenarios are ideal. So Harvey, who actually prefers the five-man rotation because it helps him maintain his normal routine, may have to accept an early shutdown for the second consecutive season. His silver lining? Finishing around 200 innings would all but guarantee that he will have no workload restrictions in 2014. "I try and go nine every start," Harvey said. "So obviously if they start adding up and they decide it's time to shut it down, that's their call. I'm never going to want to give up the ball or not go out there, but I like the fact that it's a five-man rotation. It's been like that forever for a reason, and if they decide that I've had enough, then I've had enough." http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130812&content_id=56779662&notebook_id=56782522&vkey=notebook_nym&c_id=nym

The Mets� Lost Minor-Leaguers Tejada and Duda Were Once a Big Part of the Mets' Plans; Now They're Toiling Away in Las Vegas By Jared Diamond LAS VEGAS�On most afternoons, in the quiet time between batting practice and first pitch, the television in the musty old clubhouse at Cashman Field remains tuned to the Mets. The players here consider it a rare benefit of having a Triple-A affiliate 2,500 miles away: The three-hour time difference allows them to observe the team they aspire to join someday. Lucas Duda and Ruben Tejada pay attention in a different, more personal way. More than anybody else in this room, they believe they deserve a job in New York. They spent much of the past four years there, ingraining themselves, they thought, as linchpins of the organization�s future. And yet here they are, toiling away in anonymity, like a pair of forgotten soldiers lost in the Nevada desert. Their place on the Mets feels increasingly distant, as the TV taunts them with this horrifying reality: We�re better off without you. Right now, that�s true. After a miserable start to the season, the Mets have gone 33-32 (.508) since Tejada injured his quadriceps in May (entering Monday). They�ve gone 25-20 (.556) since Duda strained his intercostal muscle a month later. The Mets don�t view this as a coincidence. If they did, Duda and Tejada would probably be back in the majors by now. Neither player is hurt anymore. Their rehab assignments are over. Instead, they are bona fide minor-leaguers, suddenly fighting for their baseball lives. �Guys get hurt sometimes,� Las Vegas manager Wally Backman said, �and they never get their spot back.� In separate interviews last weekend, Duda and Tejada both said it came as a surprise that the Mets optioned them to Las Vegas after reinstating them from the disabled list. What�s worse, there is no evidence to indicate that the Mets plan to bring them back soon, at least in a meaningful role. Manager Terry Collins recently referred to Tejada as �the other guy,� while praising the current starting shortstop, Omar Quintanilla. With Duda, he said simply that �right now, there�s not a spot for him.� Though the Mets will likely promote both players when rosters expand in September, they probably won�t give them back their starting jobs. In Duda�s case, this leaves him at a career crossroads. It could even signal the end of his tenure with the Mets. Duda is a first baseman. He isn�t an outfielder. The Mets experimented with him in the outfield for the past several seasons. The experiment failed miserably. A large portion of the Mets� recent resurgence stems from their vastly improved outfield defense, particularly Eric Young, Duda�s replacement, in left. �You know what you�re going to get with me out there,� Duda said. �I�m a better first baseman. It�s clear to see. Anybody can see it.� One problem: The Mets already have a first baseman. It isn�t Duda. By bringing Ike Davis back from the minors and leaving Duda in Vegas, they signaled that, at least for now, they see Davis as the better long-term option at the position. Considering that Davis entered Monday with a .482 on-base percentage since returning from Triple-A, it is hard to blame them. It makes sense that the Mets tried Duda in the outfield. They hoped his offensive potential would overshadow his terrible defense, and Davis and Duda could play together. The issue is Duda never hit as well as they hoped�perhaps because of the position switch. Knowing that he needed to produce monstrous offensive numbers to compensate for the runs he would allow in the outfield, Duda admitted �I did feel a little bit of added pressure because of my lack of defensive capability.� �They�ve got to make a decision about what they�re going to do,� Backman said. �If you can�t have both of them playing at the same time, somebody�s gotta go. That�s just the way baseball is.� So where does that leave Duda? Despite his slow start since arriving in Vegas, there is little doubt Duda provides value offensively. Among Mets players with at least 100 at-bats (entering Monday), his .353 OBP this season still ranks second on the team. His 11 home runs rank fourth. Will the Mets try him again in the outfield? Will they give him another chance to play first? Will they attempt to trade him to an American League team where he can be a designated hitter? The answers could determine Duda�s future. �I like DHing,� Duda said. �That�s a position, too.� Tejada, still just 23, finds himself in a different�and more mysterious�situation. When he got hurt, he was hitting .209, and his defense at shortstop appeared to have regressed. He looked nothing like the player who hit .289 a year ago. His performance hasn�t improved much in Triple-A, where he entered Monday with a disappointing .313 OBP. He is hitting too many fly balls for a player who doesn�t hit many homers. At this point, the Mets don�t know what to make of Tejada. Collins has said he arrived at spring training out of shape, which likely contributed to his slow start. Though Backman said Tejada is in good shape now, he probably wasn�t ready for game action when the season started in April. �At the end of the year when he gets back, there�s going to be a conversation of what he needs to do this winter to make sure next spring he�s ready to go,� Collins said. �You got to look down the road and say Ruben Tejada�s got to get it going because he�s 23 years old for heavens sakes.� Something needs to change. Franchise shortstops don�t come around often, and the Mets thought they had one in Tejada. They still think he can recover and emerge as a reliable performer. Tejada does, too. And clearly, he still sees himself as a major leaguer. When asked about the whereabouts of �Perry,� a pillow shaped like a cartoon platypus that he used to keep in his locker, he responded, �home.� He was referring not to his native Panama�but to New York. �Everything happened pretty quick,� Tejada said. �I have to work a lot and come back ready to make the team.� Tejada and Duda both just want a chance. At this point, a chance is something they will have to earn. http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-299903/

This sez it all. Lotsa Psych 101 in this small piece: Lucas Duda: 'I like DHing' By Adam Rubin | ESPNNewYork.com LOS ANGELES -- Lucas Duda finds himself at first base for a second straight day Monday with Triple-A Las Vegas, after exclusively playing left field or serving as designated hitter throughout his minor league tour. Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson indicated that was Wally Backman's decision, not a directive from New York. Duda had just spoken with the Wall Street Journal about being taken off a rehab assignment and optioned to Las Vegas, rather than returned to the majors when it was deemed he was healthy. "You know what you're going to get with me out there," Duda told the newspaper about playing left field. "I'm a better first baseman. It's clear to see. Anybody can see it." Duda added that outfield did weigh on him. "I did feel a little bit of added pressure because of my lack of defensive capability," he said. As for his ultimate position, Duda told the Journal: "I like DHing. That's a position, too." http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/75226/lucas-duda-i-like-dhing

dinosaur jesus wrote: metsguyinmichigan wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: Behind the front row, it's Ike Davis ( hair on his head, sunglasses tucked in his shirt) and five guys who are all blood relatives of DEA agent (ABQ division) Hank Schrader. Ah. I confused Ike and Niese. No, that is Niese. Okay. Behind the front row, it's Jonathon Niese (hair on his head, sunglasses tucked inside his salmon colored shirt) and five blood relatives of DEA agent (ABQ division) Hank Schrader.

Zvon wrote: Edgy MD wrote: And he corrects himself. I caught that. He didn't really correct himself. He glossed over it. I think he had a slip there. Slip? Or sip?

Behind the front row, it's Ike Davis ( hair on his head, sunglasses tucked in his salmon colored shirt) and five guys who are all blood relatives of DEA agent (ABQ division) Hank Schrader.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I wonder if these two pictures were taken on the same day, seconds apart? They were. I was able to match several of the fans at the edge of the wall.

I wonder if these two pictures were taken on the same day, seconds apart?

All good guesses. But the correct answer is .... Dennis Cook, 1998.