A Boy Named Seo

I'm not jumping off any ledges over this one (Julio is young and throws hard may turn out great and I like the prospect, too), but it does seem unnecessary if there's nothing else to come. It adds another guaranteed contract to an already full bullpen (still full if Heilman moves to the rotation), and as good as Heilman may be, he's still a bit of an uncertainty as a starter.

Mets.com says it's done, too. The Duke, that's what I'm calling John Maine, has some pretty dern good minor league numbers, and he's just 25 this May. 3-year cumulative minor league totals: 337.2 IP, 257 H, 104 BB, 384 K, 19 HR, 2.75 ERA, 1.07 WHIP

Jorge Julio is married to a woman called Tewuy Iriarte. Google image searches came up empty. With a name as unique as Tewuy Iriarte, if an image exists it can be found. Peace out, Anna.

I think it was a cool idea. Still is. Something should happen with it.

I thought LOOGY was a CPF-coined term? Are those guys CPeffers?

Jackson's been a mystery for a while, but is still just 22 and has a world of potential. When Edwin went MIA, Tiffany assumed his position of "Gem of the Organization" for a while, and he's younger than Jackson, a lefty, and both of them are starters. Seems a steep ransom to me to pay for a very good relief pitcher and an okay one. A couple of interesting lines in this morn's LA Times. Would that "win NOW!!!" quote scare you, or does it remind you of Omar a bit? Seems to me he's trying to cut the criticism off at the pass with this justification. Dodger Trade a Real Setup Colletti gets All-Star Baez from Devil Rays for prospects Jackson and Tiffany, adding depth behind Gagne. By Steve Henson, Times Staff Writer The Dodgers finally loosened the lock on their prize prospects, picking up short relief for the short term and sending an unmistakable message to anyone who hasn't gotten it already. By acquiring Danys Baez and Lance Carter from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Edwin Jackson and Chuck Tiffany on Saturday, General Manager Ned Colletti again made it clear he wants a championship team in 2006. "I can't sit around and wait," he said. "I want the Dodgers to win now." Colletti's whirlwind of wheeling and dealing since taking the job two months ago has resulted in five free-agent signings and the acquisition of four pitchers via trade. This time he picked up a top reliever in Baez, who saved 41 games and was an All-Star last season. He will be Eric Gagne's primary setup man and serve as insurance in case Gagne doesn't recover from the elbow injury that restricted him to 14 appearances in 2005. "We've got one of the all-time best closers in Eric, and I thought we needed more support for him," Colletti said. "Without a strong bullpen, you are going to struggle most days." Dodger trainer Stan Johnston said Gagne's recovery from his June surgery has gone well and that he will be ready for spring training. Colletti said he has no plans to trade Gagne, who is under contract for one more season at $10 million, or Baez, who will make $4 million in the last year of his deal. "I don't have any information that leads me to believe Eric will not be healthy," Colletti said. "He gave me every indication he was feeling great and is looking forward to being back to where he was in 2004. "Baez can close on a day when Eric has been out there two or three days in a row. There is strength in numbers." Carter, 31, has been a solid setup reliever since losing the Devil Ray closer job to Baez, 28, two years ago. Both will help fill the void left by departed Dodger relievers Duaner Sanchez, Giovanni Carrara, Steve Schmoll, Wilson Alvarez and Elmer Dessens. The Dodgers also will receive an undisclosed amount of cash or a minor leaguer in the deal. Although Colletti has said starting pitchers are generally more valuable than relievers, he gave up two starters in Jackson, 22, and Tiffany, 20, who were among the group of Dodger minor leaguers coveted by opposing teams. Jackson had been considered the team's top pitching prospect until last season. However, since out-dueling Randy Johnson in a memorable game near the end of the 2003 season, he has posted some frightful earned-run averages � 9.28 in 2004 spring training; 7.30 with the Dodgers in 2004; 8.79 in 2005 spring training; 8.62 at triple-A Las Vegas in 2005; and 6.28 with the Dodgers in 2005. "I'm not disappointed," Jackson said of the trade. "I'm not mad at anyone. As far as I'm concerned, it's a new start and a clean slate." Tiffany, who grew up in Covina and has been a lifelong Dodger fan, tempered his disappointment with the realization he might get to the big leagues faster with Tampa Bay. The left-hander was 11-7 with 134 strikeouts in 110 innings at Class-A Vero Beach last season. "I was shocked at first and the Dodgers were nothing but good to me, but it's another opportunity," he said. Trade talks between the Dodgers and the Devil Rays began weeks ago when the New York Mets tried to acquire Baez and the Dodgers sought Met starter Jae Seo. Colletti was able to trade for Seo without involving Tampa Bay, and he recognized an opportunity when the Mets wouldn't part with pitcher Aaron Heilman for Baez. Baez said he didn't want to be a setup man when it appeared he might be traded to the Mets � who already have star closer Billy Wagner. Colletti got a different impression in a conversation with him Saturday. "He knows we have Gagne and he said he wants to be on a team that wins a lot of games," Colletti said. "He knows it's a long season, there will be twists and turns in it, and he's ready to do whatever it takes."

Yancy, that domain's one of mine. I had all those pictures stored on a computer and just pushed them to that site. I've got to dress it up now that peeps are peepin'.

Here's the article where I found that Glavine shot. http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/nym/news/nym_news.jsp?ymd=20030925&content_id=543736&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp

Grey background unfortunately, but he's got a blue hat at least. The other Glavine:

Here's some in-action alternates, with fewer glassy eyes and grey backgrounds: Springer: Velandia (in orange!): Mark Little: Jersey: Guthrie: Esix:

Can't help you with a blue hat, but here's a couple Guthrie's. Don't ask me why I have two photos of Mark Guthrie. Snead: Jersey Jones: White: Kane: Cerda: Thomson: Brady Clark: Strange: Middlebrook: Steve Reed:

A while back I adopted Carlos Muniz, a right handed closer out of Long Beach St., and he's bounced around the bottom rungs of the Met organizational ladder since he was drafted in the 13th round of the 2003 draft. He started last year at Hagerstown and finished at St. Lucie. He's now got 3 full season under his belt and has put together some good cumulative numbers. He's 13-7 out of the pen with an ERA of 4.02. You don't really want your closer in the neighborhood of 4 when discussing ERA, but it's understood that one or two big innings can seriously bloat the ERA and it's hard to shave back down. That said, the rest of his numbers look great. 112 IP in 93 appearances (all relief). In those 112 innings, he's allowed only 93 hits, walked just 44, and struck out 124 batters. That equates to an impressive 6.8 hits/9, 3.5 BB/9, almost 10 K/9 (9.96 to be exact), and a tidy 1.22 WHIP. I said this last year and say it again this year. With his age (25 in March) and experience, I expect to see him start at Binghamton and hopefull see some action in Norfolk. Lastly, he's a cool dude, and did a Q&A with me last April with the help of Jason Gordon, the gracious Manager of PR/Broadcasting for the Hagerstown Suns. Before we had Frank Thomas or Steve Zabriskie, we had C-Los. Here's that Q&A: ... Crane Pool Forum 15-ish Questions with the 'Los 1) I read you were recovering from thumb and hand injuries sustained last year. How are both? Any lingering effects? CM: I fully recovered from both injuries. I’m looking forward to a healthy season. 2) You saved 13 wins in your first year at Brooklyn. Did you get the feeling that the Mets were grooming you to be a closer specifically, or just an effective overall reliever who could handle any role? Do the Mets as an organization differentiate between the two? CM: I feel the Mets are grooming me to be a late inning reliever (closer or set-up) Yes, the Mets differentiate between setup and closer. 3) Were you ever a starter? CM: Yes. 4) As a player who's played for 3 different teams at different levels of the minors for one organization, have you gotten a feel for an overall philosophy the Mets may have for the development of their pitchers? CM: Yes, the Mets have an excellent philosophy on the development of their pitchers. It’s more of a mental philosophy. -For example, how important do pitch counts seem to be (may not necessarily apply to you as a reliever, but still...)? CM: Pitch counts are important early in the season. Later, when pitchers arm is in shape, pitch counts are just a number. -Have your off-day throwing programs been consistent from team to team? CM: Yes. All teams have the same throwing program. -Are there any philosophies that Pitching Coach Rick Peterson may have introduced at the Major League level that have filtered down through the minors? CM: Rick’s mental aspects of preparation, and understanding the strike zone have filtered down. 5) Recently, a lot has been made of SABRmetrics (in-depth statistical analysis) being more commonly used by various organizations to help evaluate talent. Have you seen anything to lead you to believe that the Mets lean one way or another with regards to the importance of statistical analysis? Have any of the teams that you've played for employed a stat geek that you know of? CM: The Mets pay close attention to stats. It’s very in depth! It’s unreal the information they have on the players. 6) What's your own personal time-table for getting to the show? Do the Mets have a time-table for you? Or do you get the impression they're more concerned with refining all aspects of your game now, and when you get there, you get there? CM: I feel the Mets have a time-table for every player. I’m looking forward to excel as quickly as I possible so I can get to the show. 7) Who's been the most influential manager/coach you've worked with in the Met organization? Why? CM: The most influencial coach I have worked for is Blaine Beatty (Capital City). He really helped me when I was coming off my injury. 8) Do you follow the progress of other pitchers in the organization with roles similar to yours? CM: No. 9) When you played for Brooklyn (or any other time for that matter), did you check out a game at Shea? What'd you think? CM: Yes, It was awesome. The organization took the Cyclones inside the clubhouse to meet the players and the front office staff. I’ll never forget that day. 10) I think every closer in the majors enters the game with an intimidating song blaring out from the stadium PA. What song would be blasting from the speakers when you enter a game to close it out? CM: I really don’t have one. I’m still trying to find “that one song�

I'll never read the name John Wockenfuss again without thinking of Wide's Tigers preview a few years ago. The Spring Training Capsules, or whatever they're called, are probably coming up again soon. This thread has been an absolute pleasure to read. Thanks for participating, Mr. Thomas. I'll certainly be picking the book up.

I don't know why I still had this on my computer, but knowing them helped little as the Dodgers won 2 of 3. Paul LoDuca was white-hot! ... KTE � Trolley Dodgers Return to New York With an off-day today (Feliz Cinco de Mayo!) for both the Mets and Dodgers, we can get an early jump on gathering some enemy intel before the Dodger Blue venture into Queens tomorrow to square off in a three-game set against the Mets - the franchise that filled their vacated slot in the senior league standings when Dem Bums bolted for LA almost 50 years ago. Still wearing Dodger blue as a tribute to the team that obeyed their manifest destiny, the Mets have quite a bit more in common with the Dodgers in 2003 than just their primary color. The NOffense The Dodgers enter the series with the best pitching staff in the majors (2.79 team ERA), but find themselves struggling to stay at .500 due to a fantastically anemic offense that is tied for dead last in the NL in runs scored (only 114 in 31 games � worse than the Mets even!). Similarly, the Metropolitans, who are tied for 13th in the NL in runs scored (only 4 more than the Dodgers) and hitting a paltry.234 as a team, had been bolstered by fairly solid starting pitching led by Tom Glavine and Al Leiter, until the staff and their ERA took a beating on a recent 5-game losing skid. The Dodger offense has been racked by a number of injuries lately, from the kooky ones (Brian Jordan � severe flu, Daryl Ward � infected wisdom teeth), to the normal ones (Dave �Don�t call me Bip� Roberts � hammy, Mike Kincaid � wrist), but they should be at full strength by the first pitch Tuesday night. Right-handed reliever Guillermo Mota continues to suffer from an acute case of vaginitis but shouldn�t miss any action in the series. Stubborn as a Bull Even better than the Dodgers starting staff has been a bullpen that entered the weekend with a NL-best 1.47 ERA. The Mets, conversely, have the highest bullpen ERA in the National League. Paul Shuey (0.68) and Tom Martin (yes, that Tom Martin � 0.77) both have ERA�s under 1.00, and Paul Quantrill (1.32), the aforementioned Mota (1.59), and Troy Brohawn (1.64) solidify the bullpen, all with stingy ERA�s under 2.00. And should the Dodgers get to the ninth with the lead� French Toast (He�s French Canadian and the hitter�s are toast... French Toast� Get it?!? Bwhahahahh!!!!) As stupid as Eric Gagne�s season was in 2002, he�s been even frickin� better so far in �03. During a Sunday save against the Bucs in LA, he finally surrendered his first run this season, but his numbers are still staggering. In 16.1 IP, he�s given up 1 run on 7 hits, has a perfect 10 saves in 10 opps, and has walked only 4 hitters while striking out an astounding 28 for a video game-like 15.43 K/9 innings. Aside from the silly goggles, fuzzy chin hair, and that dorky Tiger Woods arm-thrust thing he does after he converts a save, Gagne�s piecing together the two finest back-to-back seasons for a reliever, since, well, a really long-ass time. Plus he�s not afraid to roll with the French pronunciation of his last name as opposed to long-time Twin shortstop and former Dodger, Greg Gagne (say Gag-nee). Hotter than Soleil Moon Frye (No, sincerely. Have you seen her nowadays?? ga-ga�) Paul LoDuca. 9 hits in his last 24 AB�s including a homer, 3 doubles, and 2 walks. That equates to a .375 clip and a 1.069 OPS. His 2001 power has yet to return but LoDuca still be representin� the 213. Colder than a Dixie Chicks tribute to Dubya Daryle Ward. Getting more PT with Kincaid and Roberts hurting, he�s hitting a buck ninetly over the last week with an OPS of .381. Not exactly the numbers the Azul had in mind when they acquired this young lefty slugger with wicked potential. The Matchups Tuesday: Odalis Perez (1-1, 2.83) vs. Pedro Astacio (1-1, 9.90) Wednesday: Hideo Nomo (3-4, 3.44) vs. Steve Trachsel (0-1, 5.45) Thursday (likely): Kaz Ishii (2-1, 3.21) vs. Tom Glavine (4-2, 3.64) X-Met Factor Former Met battery Hideo Nomo and Todd Hundley, plus Tom Martin and Mike Kincaid. X-Dodgers Former Dodger battery Pedro Astacio and Mike Piazza, plus Roger Cede�o. The Skinny Mets avoid the Dodgers two recuperating righties, Kevin Brown and Darren Dreifort who are both putting up solid 2003�s and striking out mad hitters, but the Mets draw two tough lefties in Perez and Ishii, and in �03 the Mets are hitting only .244 with a .672 OPS against port siders. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, they draw two right-handers and are hitting only .248 with a .668 OPS against their kind, and even worse for the Los Angelinos is they�re hitting .230 with a .640 OPS away from Chavez Ravine. JG sez: Look for this to be a low-scoring, well pitched series, with quite possibly three scoreless ties. Raise your Guiness, por favor! Baseball fans across the globe will be watching intently on Tuesday at a chance to witness what Elias confirms would the first ever occurrence of an Irish-Dominican pitcher squaring off against and Irish-Dominican batter in a Major League game. Making things all the more interesting is that both participants share the surname Perez. Good luck to the pride of Las Matas de Farfan and of course, Dublin, Dodger pitcher O�Dalis Perez! And best of luck as well to Bani�s favorite son (and Limerick�s also), Met outfielder Tim O�Neil Perez. We�re pulling for you, Timmy! Lets Go Mets!

Nothing to do with Boone/Alomar, but Galarraga had a good spring IIRC, and was set to make the team, but retired. He wasn't cut. Edit: Google tells me I was right about the retirement part, wrong about everything else. Proceed.

CPF, Suzi Boone. Suzi Boone, CPF.

ESPN confirms Boone. I hope Matsui's around to bury him in spring training.

Dodger Blues guy nicknamed Duaner "Dirty Sanchez". That makes me like the deal in itself.

Do not judge me, people. Just finished "Shopgirl" by Steve Martin. It's super short and I thought it was okay. He developed the characters pretty well, I thought, but ended it kinda abruptly. I still want to see the movie. I dig all of Martin, Schawartzman, and the lovely, lovely Claire Danes (more like Claire Daaaang!).Also reading "Timequake" right now by Vonnegut. So far my favorite Vonnegut book (edging "Breakfast of Champions"), but I read "Slaughterhouse- Five" and "Galapagos" so long ago, I remember now that I don't remember enough about them. The timequake causes a crack in the space-time continuum (hello, McFly?) forcing humans to relive a decade's worth of life from 1991-2001, knowing exactly how each day would turn out. All the successes and mistakes we've made would happen exactly the way they happened the first time, but we have no free will to alter the course of any of it. Can you imagine? Great, extremely funny commentary about mindless, robotic humans. Very neat.

It always seems like starters have a heckuva time getting through the fifth inning, and most of our guys averaged around 6 before they got yanked. Pedro averaged 7 IP per start last year, but I'd be pleasantly surprised to see that again over the rest of his contract. It'd not be fun to see our guy run out of gas right at the most critical part of the game. Didn't the Royals org talk about, or actually try this in the low minors?

If Newsday didn't use the headline "Matsui, Seo for Baez?", I'm not even sure I would conclude it was those three from the way the article was worded. "Package centered around Seo" tells me Seo and some as yet unnamed peeps for Baez. "Also has interest in Kaz Matsui" kinda makes me think that would expand the deal in both ways. Maybe that's just the way I'm reading it. But if it is those three, I'd completely make this deal if I were TB. Getting the cheap and newly matured Seo and his new, top-shelf out-pictch, and putting Matsui back on turf in front of a pressure-free 65 home fans a night for a talented, but certainly not lights-out Baez would be great. If it is just Matsui, a huge sack of cash, and Seo for Baez, then I'll channel Roblatt and call this fucking retarted. And lastly, I still don't understand why Matsui is such a blight that the Mets would pay 5 or 5.5 mils for him to play somewhere else.

I offer theory #7, which may be tied in (or tied up) with the playas not sleeping in their own beds. The millionaire road warriors perform worse on the road because they are exhausted after a late night of vigorous sex with some traveling ho show they "bumped into" in the hotel lobby. A few vodka Red Bull's later, all inhibitions, along with his expensive suit and her yesteryear fuck-me pumps, are discarded, and the next day we're wondering why our hero looks like he's going through the motions and and his bat looks decidedly slower, despite those three hits on getaway day. And as to the cahnfidence angle, I never gave it all that much credit until I started noticing how many athletes in pre-game and post-game interviews, athletes in the booth, etc., were citing confidence as a real, tangible part of their game. I know Fran wore a lot of you out on it, but if athletes are readily admitting that there is part of their game that needs help at that moment and it's something they have no control over whatsoever, then that's a pretty vulnerable spot to be in and talk about, and I totally buy it. It may be completely in their head, but that's the point.

We seem to keep hearing that Omar wants to strike and get something done before something else in the market drives up the price for whatever it is he's shopping for at the moment. He seemed to be right about Wagner (yes, I'm talking 'bout you, Mr. Tom Gordon), and maybe was right about Delgado, too (see the price tags on Thome and Konerko). The rags kept saying he was growing impatient with Benji and Hernandez, and maybe he got a strong impression from their agents or just from the waiting and silence that his 3-year/8-mils per deals to each wouldn't get the job done. That it might take 4 years (crazy for Benji anyway) or upwards of 9 or 10 mils or more for either of them (who would've thought Furcal would've got that much per year? Desperate teams in bidding wars to silly things). So maybe he thought the "price" on LoDuca would go up if he tried to land him after one or both of Benji/Hernandez signed elsewhere. All that nonsense said, I still don't dig it especially. And Knot is dead-on about the LoDuca "heart" angle. After DePo traded him, everyone ripped him to shreads for tearing the heart and soul out of the Dodger organization. Heart and soul apparently doesn't help you throw out runners with a brilliant efficiency or hit for much power. Welcome abordick, LoDuca.

I'm trying to show my face more. Less so in the main forum because by the time I check in, somebody's already said what I'm thinking about this potential trade proposal, that free agent guy, or that crazy looking bowl of chili that Mrs. Ishii is proudly holding on display.And I like the flow of the Parody Challenge quite a bit more when I have nothing in the world to do with it. And if I never enter again, my winning percentage will still upper echelon, so I'm cool with dat.

Edgy, I dug that one a lot, though I've heard a bunch of critical critics didn't. Maybe it's because I was depressed when I read it and wished I was in their suicide gang. The only Hornby book I haven't really enjoyed was How to be Good and I loved the ending.I recently finished Silent Bob Speaks, and was pretty disappointed. I think Kevin Smith is really smart and funny, but this collection of essays from his weblog or whatever just provided a less-than-funny insight into the creator of a bunch of dick and fart jokes. I'd pass like gas on this unless you just love the guy.I've now just started Bob Dylan Chronicles, Vol. I and have Speaking with the Angel going on the side. That's another Hornby book, but it's really a bunch of short stories by a bunch of different writers. I think Hornby himself only has one contribution.This weekend my bro got me Music Lust by KCRW morning DJ Nic Harcourt. It looks like a book full of look-how-smart-I-am lists and I-know-all-these-bands-and-you-don't essays and I can't wait to jump in. I'm insecure like that.