batmagadanleadoff

Gayle Giacomo: Owner of The Gatsby Salon in Green Brook Township, New Jersey and 2012 Cy Young candidate attempts to serve her enemies, Cathy Giove and Alexa Prisco, knuckle sandwiches. Pass the popcorn.

When: 8/25/12 Time: 1:00PM Where: WPIX - 2nd home of the NY Mets What to Watch for: WPIX's Keys to the Game - Jerseylicious: Olivia questions her future at The Gatsby following a fight; employees at Anthony Robert Salon compete for a monthly award. Reality [TV/PG]

G-Fafif wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: The team's rebuilding; it's essentially in teardown mode. They're gonna suck for a while and there's no way around it. It's probably best to accept the status quo, suck it up and endure it. This was a long time coming. The FO was never willing to rebuild before, always believing that some past his sell date former star - a Mo Vaughn here or a Tom Glavine there - was enough to take the Mets over that last hump and to the promised land, all the while masking the barren foundation that the Mets were built on. The longer this rebuild was delayed, the more damage and rot there would be to fix. The day of reckoning has finally arrived and it makes no difference whether it was born from level-headed thinking or a financial crisis that threatened to strip the Wilpons of their team. The rebuild is here, and the team ain't gonna get fixed in half a season, watered down wild card or no watered down wild card. This is incisive analysis in the broad context of where this franchise stands, but after sitting through three of these four games, I'm utterly down with Screaming MF on this one. He's especially right about Collins and his BS about we tried, we were close. The last TC presser I sat in on, during the Marlin series, included "we're only losing by a little," which to me was an alarm bell rung by a desperate manager who has no idea what else to do or say. If I knew you were gonna respond, I'da written Gl@v!ne instead of Glavine. Collins isn't part of the solution, I agree. But in all fairness, a three headed triumvirate of John McGraw, Gil Hodges and Davey Johnson couldn't squeeze out a meaningful number of extra wins. I wonder who'd win the fight for the Rolaids tablets, though?

I'm starting to tire of all of the current griping about the Mets. Especially when it comes from some asshole like Francesca. The team's rebuilding; it's essentially in teardown mode. They're gonna suck for a while and there's no way around it. It's probably best to accept the status quo, suck it up and endure it. This was a long time coming. The FO was never willing to rebuild before, always believing that some past his sell date former star - a Mo Vaughn here or a Tom Glavine there - was enough to take the Mets over that last hump and to the promised land, all the while masking the barren foundation that the Mets were built on. The longer this rebuild was delayed, the more damage and rot there would be to fix. The day of reckoning has finally arrived and it makes no difference whether it was born from level-headed thinking or a financial crisis that threatened to strip the Wilpons of their team. The rebuild is here, and the team ain't gonna get fixed in half a season, watered down wild card or no watered down wild card. Of course, management has to market the team and sell seats, so they're gonna make unrealistic statements about the state of the franchise. We, the hard-core, should know better and shouldn't waste our time parsing Alderson's MetSpeak, looking for absurd guarantees that hint at near-future meaningful games in the late season. There's nothing wrong with hoping for the Mets to exceed expectations, but this griping when the team plays exactly as the so called expert expect them to play is wearing thin.

G-Fafif wrote: Gwreck wrote: I'd suggest that Daniel Murphy be given time in the outfield again. If we're not going to trade him, time for him to become more valuable as a utility guy who can fill in anywhere, and that means learning how to play left field again. Huzzah. Murphy seems like one of the more confident, less insecure players on the roster presently, perhaps possessing a different mindset than when overwhelmed by fly balls in 2009. It wasn't wrong to get him out of left field then but it wouldn't be wrong to try him out in left now. Murphy, Baxter, Hairston and Cedeno plus a legitimate righty-swinging backup catcher (and maybe first-half Valdespin, though you'd like to believe he could start) would form the nucleus of a reasonably reliable bench for a good team. Reminds me potentially a bit of the Mets of the Bambi's Bombers/Hondo's Commandoes period when you couldn't argue with Rusty as a PH, Jorgensen as a defensive 1B, Bailor as your all-around fill-in guy, but there was nothing much worth substituting for. Reminds me of the line from 1981 in Sports Illustrated about the great bench the Mets had then. The problem, though, was that the bench was in the starting lineup.

Then maybe we'd get a brand new Major League NL team in New York City. Lacking their own history, initially, the new team might build a Tom Seaver Rotunda. Or erect a statue of Cleon Jones cradling the last out of the '69 series.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Ike's PoTW score is the highest all year for a non-pitcher. OE. Unless the runner-up in the week of Dickey's 10+ score topped Ike. Was Ike that good last week, or is his high score a Schaefer quirk, the result of most other Mets sucking? Schaefer's super at determining the player of the game, but very flawed when relied on to accumulate season stats, or to compare performances from different games.

Ike's PoTW score is the highest all year for a non-pitcher. OE. Unless the runner-up in the week of Dickey's 10+ score topped Ike.

Ceetar wrote: So guys that can sorta fake it even when they're not hitting that well can be extremely valuable. I'll say. If you don't count any of the outs Ike Davis made, he's probably the best hitter in the history of baseball.

In which the Mets push Johan Santana to the breaking point By Howard Megdal 12:01 pm Aug. 21, 2012 It would have been funny, if a man's health and one-third of the Mets' 2013 payroll hadn't been at stake. But apparently the team's brain trust, including Sandy Alderson, a man brought in as general manager to make the best long-term decisions for the team, decided to ask the man the Mets owe $31 million next year to keep on pitching. Here's Terry Collins before Monday night's game, which turned out to be a 3-1 loss to the Rockies, describing what sounds like a used car you'd never, ever buy. "There's is nothing really physical--outside of why we disabled him the first time," Collins said. "His arm is fine. His shoulder is fine. His ankle is fine. You know, does his ankle still bother him? Yeah, it might on certain pitches. It may covering first. That's one of those ankle-sprain things that doesn't go away for three months anyway. I've had a million of them. But he's taped up. He's fine. He's ready to go. He's got a little stiffness in his back that's a minor thing that has come out after just working. He's fine." Alderson's logic was that he wanted Santana to end on a "high note," without mentioning that pursuit of that high note will mean exposing a fatigued and beaten-up pitcher to more chances to get injured. Maybe this is also a good time to mention the Mets are 10 games out of the final wild card spot, and 19 games behind Washington in the National League East. Santana was willing to oblige, of course. This is the man who threw 125 pitches on the second-to-last day of the 2008 season, on three days rest, with a torn meniscus in his knee. This is the man who was asked to throw by the Mets in 2010, after having complained of pain in his shoulder that turned out to be the massive injury that cost him all of 2011. This is the man who refused to come out of his June 1 no-hit bid, even as he reached a career-high 134 pitches. A large aspect of what makes these athletes great is their willingness to play no matter what. And a large part of why the Mets end up with worse injuries to their stars is an unwillingness to make smarter decisions for them. It wouldn't be right to suggest that the Mets are the only team to push their players. But it's funny how some oft-injured Mets have fared after they left. Jose Reyes, who was once pressured by the Mets into attempting to come back for the final weekend of the 2009 season, resulting in a more significant injury and surgery, is with the Marlins now, and has played 121 of 123 games since his move. Carlos Beltran, whose decision to get the knee surgery he needed so angered the Mets that the front office held a conference call to discuss their fury, has played in 115 of 121 games for the Cardinals. Both players are excelling. The Mets, it appears, learned nothing from Reyes, Beltran and so many others (take a look at J.J. Putz's numbers before, during and after his season with the Mets, when he was asked to pitch through elbow pain) even though the decision-makers were supposed to have changed. So when David Wright hurt his thumb early this year, the Mets went public with an intimidation campaign. Wright, fortunately, managed to play through it and thrive. But what that ultimately did for the team's relationship with Wright isn't clear. And now Santana, asked to go throw another bullpen session on Monday despite his nagging injuries, came in saying his back had stiffened up. Collins got to deliver the news after the game that the car he'd just tried to sell reporters pregame was now on the side of the road again. "He came in stiffer today than he had been," Collins said. "Actually, they got him loosened up. He threw his pen. He felt fine. When he was done, he got a little tight. He had the doctor look at it. And the doctor thought they should look at it tomorrow. So they're going to do that." If it hadn't been his back, it probably would have been something else. Why did the Mets take that risk? After all the fanfare surrounding a Monday meeting of the brain trust and a thought-out decision? Collins said pregame that it was Santana who wanted to pitch, as if that settled it. It is all so disspiriting because it fits a pattern that was supposed to end under Alderson. Things like the inexplicable public announcements and plans to pitch R.A. Dickey on short rest long after the Mets were out of contention, continued shifting of Jenrry Mejia from starter to reliever and back, holding onto Scott Hairston for meager 2012 gains instead of adding a prospect to the team's young talent base. It's not like a better decision-making process can prevent all injuries. But it can limit the impact of the injuries that do occur, and prevent others. (See the Yankees' handling of CC Sabathia for an example of how it's done.) It's not Alderson's fault that the Mets' roster is so limited, given the extreme budgetary restraints forced upon him by ownership's financial problems. But if he's not providing the steadying influence that stops the team from making reckless decisions, what's he there for? http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/sports/2012/08/6481028/which-mets-push-johan-santana-breaking-point

He needs 30 hits in 40 games to tie Kranepool. That's a scrub's 120 hits in a full season pace. Wright'd either have to see major DL action or hit like Doug Flynn the rest of the way for Krane's hit record to survive 2012. Whaddaya guys talkin' 'bout?

It's perfect karma for us Mets fans because the team is mostly unwatchable, anyways.

D-Day is Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at home against the Phillies.

I thought he'd be good. But Beato was naughto.

metsmarathon wrote: Ceetar wrote: If you have a run of heads, the more likely you'll have a run of tails no. If you flip a coin and get 10 heads in a row, the most probable result for 100 flips is 55 heads. yup. So? That doesn't contradict Vic's post. It's still trending towards a reversion to the mean. After 10 flips you had a 100% outcome for heads. After 100 flips, it's down to 55%. Keep on projecting and you'll get closer and closer to 50% with every single projected marginal flip.

And they put Teufel's mug on one of this year's tickets. WTF?

I think Backman would represent the kind of bad choice that Alderson seems too smart to make.

So what about the 18 teams that have better records than the Mets? Can't they make the same adjustments to improve? You remind me of a friend I had who would always return from Atlantic City having won big at the casinos. He never lost. So he said. Of course, he calculated his winnings by counting his two big winning hands doubling down at Blackjack but wouldn't count the 30 straight losing hands in between that he suffered. You remind me of that guy. Because you'll remember the dramatic game winning bomb Torres or Valdy hit but ignore the thirty or forty outs they make for every homer they hit. Then you'll extrapolate next year's projection for these guys based only on their highs.

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Ceetar wrote: But the thing is, we have a year more of data (with some yet to come) in which to make the assessment on which of those players are average, which are good [yada yada yada] ... So now the Mets make a couple of adjustments to roster, but acquiring players to replace the ones they've determined not to be part of the solution. And why wouldn't that hold true for every other struggling team? Hey! Maybe next season, there's so much improvement going around that the league sets some sort of record when every team finishes over .500. You know what? I think the Mets are gonna need to win 105 games in 2013 just to qualify for the one game WC eliminator.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Whoever arranged for the Mets to pitch so well, play so hard, and luck into so many wins in the first half... congrats. You got me. You can fool Pythagoras some of the time....

The Mets haven't had a manager as good as Terry Collins in 10 years. I'm not braggin' about this. I'm just sayin'.

Check with Sandy': Mets plead ignorance on plans for next year By Howard Megdal 12:26 pm Aug. 15, 2012 If you don't have any idea what the debt-plagued Mets are capable of doing this winter to improve a 55-61 team, you're not alone. Apparently, general manager Sandy Alderson and owner Fred Wilpon don't have any idea, either. On Saturday night, Newsday's David Lennon approached Wilpon prior to the game at Citi Field and asked him whether the team will be able to improve this winter. "Check with Sandy," came the reply from the man who will determine just how much Sandy can spend. Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal asked Alderson on Tuesday what payroll will be going forward. Alderson said he isn't sure. "I haven't had any conversations with ownership about it," Alderson said. "I'm still focused on 2012, as is the rest of the front office. Over the next several weeks, that focus will shift, but it really hasn't yet." That's strange for a number of reasons. For one thing, the Mets just acquired a catcher, Kelly Shoppach, who the Mets view as a possible contributor in 2013. And earlier this year, the team told Costa it was preparing to offer David Wright a long-term contract. So by the team's own acknowledgement, they are thinking about 2013, at least a little. That should be a welcome relief to those who believe a multi-million dollar corporation ought to plan at least two months ahead. It also flies in the face of Alderson's planning last year. Alderson spoke of payroll projections all year, revealing a number between $130 and $150 million in February, $120 million in May (after Fred Wilpon had asserted in Sports Illustrated that the number would be closer to $100 million), and between $100 and $110 million in September. Ultimately, the Mets clocked in at just under $92 million. If, as the Mets have maintained, the settlement of the lawsuit against them by the trustee for the Bernie Madoff victims and a concurrent minority sale eliminated the uncertainty they were facing, wouldn't things like payroll be stable enough to be revealed just two months until free agency begins? And if Alderson was willing to discuss it last year, why wouldn't he be willing to this year? The answer is that stability never made sense as a reality stemming from the settlement and minority sale. The sale paid a number of past-due obligations, and runs out within 2012, leaving ownership with massive debts and a money-losing team to address them. And the settlement, which likely requires the Mets' owners to pay nothing, came about because the trustee didn't believe the owners had any money to pay even the $83 million judgment that served as a floor in the litigation before the trial was to begin. The reason the payroll question is so massive, as Alderson undoubtedly knows, is that the Mets have a large amount of salary already committed for 2013. Jason Bay and Johan Santana will make $50 million in 2013, between salary and buyouts of their 2014 options. Without contract extensions or other renegotiation, R.A. Dickey and David Wright will earn another $21 million; any extension would probably have to revise those numbers upwards, to entice either to stay. Jonathon Niese and Frank Francisco will earn another $9.5 million. That's a total of $80.5 million for six players, including two in Bay and Santana who are anything but certain to contribute to the Mets in 2013. So if Alderson is to do anything but fill out the roster with league-minimum players--that salary is $490,000 in 2013, or $9,310,000 for 19 players, bringing the Mets to around $90 million--he'll need an increased payroll. The catcher he just acquired, Shoppach, a free agent this winter, will require more money than the minimum to be retained. Yet Alderson's comments yesterday are based on the idea that he hasn't so much as discussed whether he can retain the catcher he just traded for. Of course, at this time last year, Alderson was busy insisting that the then-ongoing Madoff litigation would have no effect on the team's ability to spend, something he then insisted had changed once the litigation had conclded. With the team eager to lock in its season ticket holders for 2013, pushing that renewal date forward several months in 2012 to August 31, they have a clear commercial incentive to trumpet any newfound ability to spend money on players to the world. The fact that they are instead falling back on the implausible claims, like the owner of the team referring budget questions to a general manager who says he hasn't discussed or thought about them, is as revealing as anything they could have said. http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/sports/2012/08/6448277/check-sandy-mets-plead-ignorance-plans-next-year