batmagadanleadoff

The Franchise riffs on the ASG ... hasn't spoken to Harvelous yet, but unlike the Jimmy Fallon interviewees, knows who Matt is ... The Doctor keeps a running Korman Kount of Harv's K's ... http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/sports/baseball/seaver-mets-hall-of-fame-pitcher-draws-standing-ovation.html?_r=0

Carlos Beltran Could See Himself Going Into Hall Of Fame As A Met Also, don't count your chickens ....

Frayed Knot wrote: Tom looking a bit thinner these days. He looks amazin'. He'll turn 69 in a few months.

Vic Sage wrote: I'm fine with all of it except: It's all bullshit. He's not gonna tell us what the Mets are gonna do or who's gonna get traded or who they have their eye on. Understandably. And he's gonna paint the future as reasonably optimistic as he can. Maybe even unreasonably optimistic. But the future will always be bright. Like every other speech.

Vic Sage wrote: For every advertisement you see on a baseball field, that's a $1 your ticket prices didn't go up. Are we just going to take this fat one down the middle? really? Just the Rock raising an eyebrow, and that's it? I"m deeply disappointed in the lot of you. C'mon. The Mets are hosting the ASG. It's a once in a lifetime event (my lifetime, anyway) Be nice to your neighbors. Or nicer.

Couldn't a team charge whatever the market bears for advertising? So in a down year, the team would charge less per square footage or whatever the rate is based on, and increase prices if there's an anticipated increase in attendance. I'm sure that each side has worked out these rates to some supposed science. Do teams really forego advertising in down years, or do they just charge less?

Ceetar wrote: For every advertisement you see on a baseball field, that's a $1 your ticket prices didn't go up.

You mean this? If MLB had any sense of style, they'd drape a gigantic bedsheet over the scoreboards for tonight's ASG.

Read for yourself: NL All-Star Game Notebook: Davey Johnson slams Citi Field By Denis Gorman Published: July 15, 2013 One of New York City�s favorite sons is not exactly enamored with the Citi. Davey Johnson, who is serving as one of manager Bruce Bochy�s coaches, used his time during the National League�s All-Star Game media availability to implore MLB to consider Nationals Park as a host venue for the Midsummer Classic while tweaking Citi Field. �The All-Star Game, I don�t know how they pick that thing, but I�ve been to a ton of ballparks and I think our ballpark is player-friendly, fan-friendly. Look around here,� Johnson said, alluding to the Willets Point neighborhood surrounding Citi Field before taking aim at the advertising throughout the park. �It�s awful. Awful. You have to pay for it [Citi Field] somehow.� http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/mlb/2013/07/15/nl-all-star-game-notebook-davey-johnson-slams-citi-field/

Thanks, Irish. First ASG I ever watched. Lindsey Nelson appear in a snowflake patterned jacket, perfect for a sweltering summer night in Detroit (4:30). Player introductions begin at about 5:30. [youtube:1c7buiup]dnNpsT1dccs[/youtube:1c7buiup]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/13/sports/baseball/all-stars-of-1964-recall-a-wild-show-at-shea.html?_r=1&&gwh=D3E2E9BFFB40D36C715B80D1916B116F Jesus H. Christ on a bun! I can't access this NYT Sandomir piece on the '64 ASG because I've exceeded my monthly limit of 10 free articles on the NYT web-site. I thought the restriction didn't apply to their Sports section. A little help.

No time like the present to appreciate Matt Harvey and David Wright By Howard Megdal 12:21 pm Jul. 16, 2013 It's pretty revealing, that video of Matt Harvey (via the Jimmy Fallon Show) out in New York interviewing New Yorkers about Matt Harvey. For all the joy Harvey has given the New York Mets' fan base this year, it is easy to forget that he has only been pitching for the Mets for just under a full calendar year, having debuted last July 26. The fact is that there aren't a lot of people overall who have taken the time since he came up to watch Matt Harvey, or the Mets in general. So Tuesday night's All-Star Game, which Harvey will start for the National League, will be the first time many fans get a look at him. The Mets have other promising pitching prospects at or near major league level. There's Zack Wheeler, who debuted last month, and had his best command in his most recent start last Wednesday. There's Noah Syndergaard, off to a roaring start in Double-A, who wowed fans at the Futures Game at Citi Field on Sunday. And there's Rafael Montero, who started opposite Syndergaard Sunday, and is currently toiling for Triple-A Las Vegas. But they're still prospects, with all the uncertainty that entails. Harvey doesn't belong in their class, anyway, and hasn't for some time. The dominance Harvey exhibited in 2012 had only been matched by some of the game's finest pitchers. And then, in 2013, he got even better. It is tempting to project Matt Harvey's future, picture a Baseball-Reference.com page filled with eye-popping numbers repeating what he's already done for the next decade-plus. It is the nature of baseball fandom to surround Harvey in our minds with supporting players in the rotation, just as the current roster invites us, by necessity, to do the same around David Wright. Wright, too, is in a different category. He's actually logged that decade everyone is imagining for Harvey already, and he's playing at a level that few have ever reached at his position. Through age 30, in case you've forgotten (and through his constant presence, some apparently have), here's the list of third basemen, through age 30, with a higher O.P.S.+ than Wright: Eddie Mathews, Wade Boggs, Mike Schmidt, Chipper Jones, George Brett. That's four Hall of Famers and a shoo-in, in Jones, when he's eligible. And lest you think this is the result of Wright's early-career success, since like Harvey, Wright came up and immediately played like a finished product, his 154 O.P.s.+ this season would be a career-high mark, while 2012's 144 is second-best in his career among full seasons, trailing only 2007's 149. There's no telling how long Wright's dominance will overlap with Harvey's, given the differing ages, and given the added instability brought on by the owners' financial problems. Who believed in 2006, when the Mets came within a pitch of the World Series, that Wright and Jose Reyes had just played in their last postseason together? Who thought Mark Fidrych, the baseball world's Matt Harvey back in 1976, would be finished by 1980? Tuesday night is about the present, and the Mets have a pair of representatives, there legitimately, for the home crowd to cheer on. By this time tomorrow, many fans will have been reminded of how important David Wright is to his organization, and many more people in New York and around the country will be able to recognize Matt Harvey when they see him. http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/sports/2013/07/8531926/no-time-present-appreciate-matt-harvey-and-david-wright

[youtube:1mcymwfl]XmLPCtwFU64[/youtube:1mcymwfl]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: In memory of those 1973 Mets who are no longer with us, and will not be able to attend the long awaited 40th anniversary reunion of this remarkable team. A few more.... Fd4uZqP17Pk

Jeff Wilpon: Mets will have higher payroll for 2014 season after big contracts come off books Mets COO Jeff Wilpon told WFAN radio on Monday that the team is prepared to invest aggressively in the club's payroll for 2014, helped by improved flexibility because big contracts such as those of Johan Santana and Jason Bay are set to expire. "We haven't set a payroll for next year, but I can tell you we're ready to invest with those big contracts coming off the books," Wilpon said. "We have the money to invest. We're going to invest it prudently. Sandy [Alderson, the general manager] is going to set a path. "There's no predetermined, set way we're going to spend the money, but we do have the money to spend, and depending how it all falls out . . . what trades can be made or can't be made, and where Sandy thinks the best use of those funds are." Wilpon expressed optimism that fans will turn out to support an improved, exciting young team. "It has some effect on how many people come out and support us," Wilpon said. "But we think the product we're going to be putting on the field, [the fans] are going to come out and support it because they're going to be excited about it, with the young kids as well." Wilpon was asked what the biggest misconception is about the organization and said "I think that ownership and the organization doesn't care about the fans. We care about the fans. We want to put a good product out there. "We live and die with the team, and we wouldn't own it if we didn't want to live and die with the team. This is our life, this is our business and we'd like to do a better job at it. And we need to do a better job, and we will . . . We're going to do what we need to do to win." http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/jeff-wilpon-mets-will-have-higher-payroll-for-2014-season-after-big-contracts-come-off-books-1.5698883

Matt Harvey on the Jimmy Fallon show. Funny stuff. Check out the video. http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/07/15/video-matt-harvey-asks-new-yorkers-what-they-think-of-matt-harvey/

Clayton Kershaw: Decision to start Matt Harvey 'hurts' Matt Slovin, USA TODAY Sports Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is apparently feeling slighted that he wasn't chosen as the National League's starter for Tuesday night's All-Star Game. "It hurts," Kershaw told reporters Monday. NL manager Bruce Bochy, who managed the San Francisco Giants to a World Series win last year, opted to go with Matt Harvey of the New York Mets instead. Kershaw said Monday he learned he wouldn't be starting the game while watching TV. Bochy said that it doesn't matter that Harvey has the opportunity to pitch in front of his hometown fans � his first-half performance merited the honor. "Kershaw, (St. Louis Cardinals starter Adam) Wainwright, all of those guys were candidates," Bochy said. "I just think we've got the perfect guy, with the year he's had, and he plays for the Mets." ALL-STAR GAME: Youth reigns But Harvey didn't even make his most recent scheduled start. The Mets skipped over their ace in the rotation, partially because of a blister on his pitching hand. Kershaw expressed his disappointment with Bochy's decision, saying, "That's (Bochy's) opinion." He has previously said, however, that he's "got no problem" with Harvey starting at his home ballpark. Kershaw's Dodgers and Bochy's Giants have a deeply rooted rivalry, one of baseball's best, and perhaps Bochy's decision to pass over Kershaw will further ignite it. Bochy had already left Dodgers rookie Yasiel Puig off the roster. Kershaw is 8-6 this season with a league-leading 1.98 earned-run average and .908 WHIP. By comparison, Harvey went 7-2 with a 2.35 ERA in the first half and leads the league with 147 strikeouts. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2013/07/15/clayton-kershaw-matt-harvey-bruce-bochy-nl-starter/2518757/ Didn't Kershaw say, a few days ago, that Harvey deserves to start the ASG? Believe me, nobody needs to tell me that athletes and celebrities are as full of shit as everybody else, probably more so, but c'mon, stick to one story and go with it.

Spin's big mistake: GM witnessed tantrum Collins's new spin on Spin: "He didn't call me a **********". By Adam Rubin | ESPNNewYork.com NEW YORK -- New York Mets manager Terry Collins said infielder Jordany Valdespin made a major miscalculation when he acted insubordinately Saturday over getting demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas. �One of the mistakes he made when he had his tantrum is the general manager was there,� Collins said, referring to Sandy Alderson happening to be attending that day�s game and in the room when Valdespin received the demotion news. �That probably was not the best timing.� Collins, speaking on Monday at Citi Field, where he is serving as an All-Star coach, said Valdespin became angry after Saturday�s loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates when informed he was being demoted to clear a roster spot for reliever Scott Atchison�s activation from the disabled list. �He wasn�t happy,� Collins said. �When he left the office, he was angry. The easiest way to put it is: I went out to the clubhouse to calm him down. It was not accepted very well by the other 24 guys, I can tell you that, too. We all know he�s an emotional kid. That�s how he plays and that�s how he goes about things.� Collins disputed a New York Post report that Valdespin called him an expletive to his face. �First of all, he did not,� Collins said. �Now, I can�t say what he did on the plane. I can�t say what he did walking out of the clubhouse. I wasn�t there. By the way, he doesn�t speak all that good English. It could have been �cockroach,� for all I know.� After the demotion meeting went badly and teammates became upset with Valdespin�s clubhouse histrionics, Collins and Alderson met a second time with the emotional infielder, this time about maturity, according to the manager. Valdespin will not be disciplined, Collins added. He will have plenty of time to report to the minors, though. Triple-A Las Vegas currently is in its All-Star break and does not resume play until Thursday. Collins said Valdespin behaved better in the second meeting. �They�re always fine. They�re always OK -- the second time,� Collins said. �I sent him down first and then I met with you guys,� the manager added, referring to his postgame media session. �And afterward I brought him in and pretty much explained the process of maturation dealing with this level.� Valdespin, in a series of tweets early Monday morning, wrote: �Though I try not to get upset about things that are written about me, it�s tough for me not to react to the article about me disrespecting my manager. I was very upset with myself for not helping the team when I was given the opportunity to play. I respect my manager [and] organization's decision to send me to Triple-A and am working very hard to become a better player and teammate and will hopefully be back to NY soon to do whatever is needed of me.� Valdespin has been suspended multiple times during his minor league career for behavior issues. �By me,� Collins noted, referring to suspensions when he oversaw the farm system before becoming Mets manager. Asked if Valdespin, now 25 years old, should know better, Collins said: �One of the things you�ve got to understand is you can�t take for granted anything. You�re saying, �Geez, he should have known.� You can�t take it for granted.� Added Collins: �You expect Jordany to understand it because he�s been sent down before. He didn�t get it.� http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/72776/spins-big-mistake-gm-witnessed-tantrum

Clayton Kershaw: Decision to start Matt Harvey 'hurts' Matt Slovin, USA TODAY Sports Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is apparently feeling slighted that he wasn't chosen as the National League's starter for Tuesday night's All-Star Game. "It hurts," Kershaw told reporters Monday. NL manager Bruce Bochy, who managed the San Francisco Giants to a World Series win last year, opted to go with Matt Harvey of the New York Mets instead. Kershaw said Monday he learned he wouldn't be starting the game while watching TV. Bochy said that it doesn't matter that Harvey has the opportunity to pitch in front of his hometown fans � his first-half performance merited the honor. "Kershaw, (St. Louis Cardinals starter Adam) Wainwright, all of those guys were candidates," Bochy said. "I just think we've got the perfect guy, with the year he's had, and he plays for the Mets." ALL-STAR GAME: Youth reigns But Harvey didn't even make his most recent scheduled start. The Mets skipped over their ace in the rotation, partially because of a blister on his pitching hand. Kershaw expressed his disappointment with Bochy's decision, saying, "That's (Bochy's) opinion." He has previously said, however, that he's "got no problem" with Harvey starting at his home ballpark. Kershaw's Dodgers and Bochy's Giants have a deeply rooted rivalry, one of baseball's best, and perhaps Bochy's decision to pass over Kershaw will further ignite it. Bochy had already left Dodgers rookie Yasiel Puig off the roster. Kershaw is 8-6 this season with a league-leading 1.98 earned-run average and .908 WHIP. By comparison, Harvey went 7-2 with a 2.35 ERA in the first half and leads the league with 147 strikeouts. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2013/07/15/clayton-kershaw-matt-harvey-bruce-bochy-nl-starter/2518757/

Mets' ballpark revenue from Citi Field dips for 3rd straight year Originally published: July 13, 2013 7:09 PM Updated: July 15, 2013 4:26 PM By JIM BAUMBACH AND RANDI MARSHALL jim.baumbach@newsday.com, randi.marshall@newsday.com People walk outside of Citi Field during Gatorade All-Star Workout Day in Queens. (July 15, 2013 ) The Mets' ballpark-related revenue dropped last season for the third straight year, to $121.5 million, slightly more than half the $234.3 million the team had expected. Analysts expect that figure to decline even more because 2013 ticket sales are 10,000 fewer per game than the team projected. A portion of the team's ballpark-related finances are far from what the Mets anticipated before opening Citi Field in 2009, when they told prospective bondholders they expected to sell the majority of their game tickets for five years. Had that come true, the Mets projected that annual revenue from a part of their ballpark revenue for such items as premium seat tickets, suites, concessions and parking would eclipse $200 million each year and reach more than $240 million this year. A Mets spokesman declined to comment, saying the team does not talk publicly about its finances. Earlier this month, the team announced the hiring of Pittsburgh Pirates chief marketing officer and executive vice president Lou DePaoli as its new chief revenue officer. Despite the Mets' inability to meet projections -- and the downward trend of their finances -- the team's bonds are still attractive to investors. Thomas Metzold, the co-director of municipal investments at Eaton Vance Investment Managers, said the Mets' bonds are regarded by investors as "money good" -- meaning they still expect the team to continue to make bond payments. The Mets' inability to meet projections has the potential to financially impact New York City, which was hoping for an economic boost from the new stadium, experts said. "If attendance is dropping and activity within the stadium is dropping, then you're going to have less economic activity [in the city] and less tax revenues coming from it," said the city's Independent Budget Office spokesman Doug Turetsky. Getting the numbers The five-year projection figures for Citi Field revenue come from a bond prospectus published by the New York City Industrial Development Agency in January 2009, as the Mets received an additional $82.28 million in tax-exempt bonds to complete the construction of Citi Field. Newsday obtained that document, along with quarterly financial statements, through Freedom of Information Law requests with the NYCIDA, which issued the bonds. The financial statements are filed with the city by Queens Ballpark Company LLC, the Mets' subsidiary that leases the stadium from New York City. The statements present a partial window into the cash flow of the franchise and are designed to show only that the Mets can repay its annual bond payments of about $43 million. Not included is the revenue from the Mets' television contract with SportsNet New York, minor league operations expenses, revenue from 30,000 non-premium seats at Citi Field and the player payroll, which this year is $90.9 million. The Mets' revenue projections in the 2009 bond prospectus show how optimistic the team's management was that Citi Field would provide revenue far greater than Shea Stadium, which opened in 1964 and had grown antiquated by modern ballpark standards. Low sales on premium seats From 2009, the team's actual ballpark revenue has fallen well below its projections. That year, the team projected $224 million and received $180 million. The following year, it projected $226 million and received $144 million. The most significant financial difference between the Mets' forecast and actual revenue took place within Citi Field's most expensive seats. Revenue from these 15,000 seats is included in the team's revenue stream to pay back its bonds. The Mets expected $123.5 million in 2009 from "retained seats revenue," which represents 10,635 premium seats, about a quarter of the stadium's capacity. The Mets expected to build off that an annual average increase of about 3 percent for five years, through this season. But the "retained seats revenue" never met 2009 projections and continues to drop. The Mets reported $99.3 million in ticket revenue in 2009; last year it received only $43.9 million, 67 percent shy of their 2012 projection. Sports business experts said the Mets' projections were consistent for teams opening new stadiums before the economic downturn that began toward the end of 2008, but two ratings agencies that study the bonds -- Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service -- described the Mets' forecasts at the time as "aggressive." Jodi Hecht, a Standard & Poor's analyst who has issued annual reports on the Mets' bonds since they were first sold in 2006, said the team's projections were overly optimistic because game attendance is largely related to the team's performance. The Mets have not had a winning season since 2008. The Mets' estimates assumed paid attendance would decrease slightly in five years, dropping from an anticipated 39,981 tickets sold per game in 2009 to 37,983 this season. In reality, the Mets averaged 38,942 in 2009 and have averaged 26,655 through 44 home games this year. Smaller crowds than Shea The Mets' attendance of 2.2 million last season was lower than its 2.4 million average during the team's last 20 years at Shea Stadium, one reason Hecht said S&P's slightly lowered its rating on the Citi Field bonds last December. "It was surprising to me personally that they had fallen last year below what their 20-year historic figure was at a less modern arena," Hecht said. With smaller crowds than projected lately, companies have been less willing to advertise at Citi Field. Records show revenue from stadium advertising and signage has averaged $46 million per year since 2009, about 25 percent short of the team's annual average projection of $62 million. Concessions' revenue has also dropped each year, from $15.2 million in 2009 to $11.4 million last year, well short of the Mets' annual projection of about $21 million. Citi Field hosts Major League Baseball's All-Star Game Tuesday. The Mets have said most of the revenue generated that day goes to the league, not the team. Robert Boland, academic chair of New York University's Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management, said the Mets did not enjoy "the honeymoon period that was once typical for a new stadium" because fans quickly discovered they were paying to watch a team that was not as good as previous seasons. The Mets opened Citi Field after four consecutive winning seasons, including a 2006 postseason appearance. The franchise sold more than 4 million tickets during its last season at Shea Stadium in 2008, leading the Mets to believe there would be a carry-over into Citi Field, Boland said. "Those predictions, they're rosy, but they were rosy within the range of what the Mets had been doing in the latter half of 2000s at Shea Stadium," Boland said. "They thought they could replicate that in their new stadium and add to that, which was logical." http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/mets-ballpark-revenue-from-citi-field-dips-for-3rd-straight-year-1.5682633

Edgy MD wrote: There are guys whose numbers have stood out in clutch situations on something like a regular basis Really? Who? Actually, I read a piece many years ago on this topic, claiming that in the entire history of baseball, there were only two players who performed better in the clutch over a large enough sample size and with a large enough difference that the findings might be statistically meaningful. Of course, another conclusion to be drawn is if that study could only come up with two out of all players who ever played the game, then those two might be outliers. Whatever. Wanna guess at who the two players were? Hints. They both played baseball for a NY team and are both in the Hall of Fame. That they're both HOF'ers probably undermines the idea that they were clutch hitters. They were probably great hitters who did well in the clutch and in the non-clutch. If clutch hitting was a real skill, independent of regular hitting, you should be able to find hundreds and hundreds of players who were terrific in the clutch, but average overall.

metirish wrote: Keith often harps on about "clutch", which surprises me and it shouldn't. Keith loves the hit and run, too. Groan. The problem with Keith is that he was once Keith Hernandez. Even at the major league level, more than half of the everyday players either struggle to hit, or outright suck at hitting.