TransMonk

The Korean runner was safe at third. The 3rd baseman didn't hang on to the ball for the tag. It's now 2-1 Korea in the bottom of the ninth. This game has been by far the best in the tourney so far...in fact both of today's games were excellent.

So, I plunked down $50 on 2 New Era 5950 Ballcaps last week. One is home blue and the other is road black and blue. I haven't bought a new cap since 2000, which was, at the time, the new black alternate style. Over the past year, that cap has been misplaced, so I figured it was time to restock. I ordered them online since I live in 'Sconsin, and unless you like the Brewers, Cubs, Twins or Yanks, you either go hatless or have them shipped to you. My new headgear should arrive tomorrow or Monday and I've been trying to research the best way to break in new ballcaps. I have the same problem most do with brand new New Era caps, they sit too high on my short, wide head until they break in after about 2-4 months of constant wear. I've done some Google searches and found links to guys on forums asking the same question that I'm asking here and getting a variety of answers. These 2 were the most informative: http://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20050227203716867 http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/18523 along with the New Era Website. But, because I trust yous guys a lot more than I would some stranger on another forum, I thought I would ask if anyone had tips or methods of breaking in new caps. My plan is to follow the advice of soaking the caps and letting them dry on my head. But if anyone has any horror stories on why I shouldn't, please let me know. Also, has anyone cut the backing out of the front of their cap? I would be afraid of looking like David Wells if I did that, and that's a little more broken in than I need.

OPS+ Olerud 1997-1999 : 136, 163, 131 Piazza 1999-2001: 137, 159, 150 (Piazza's time as a Met in '98 produced a 167) Strawberry 1985-1987: 165, 140, 162 (Straw also had 165 in '88, take which 3 years you want) Hard to calculate 3 year stints across eras and lineup roles. Straw did better in the mid-80s vs. the league average of the time. Piazza did a tad better vs. league average during the same era has Olerud. I'll give this to Johnny, he did very little wrong in those 3 years with the Mets, put up some great numbers and helped win a lot of games. On the all-time list of Mets players with 2000+ plate appearances he is #1 in average, OBP and OPS.

I like how they even list the 8 days in November of 1998 when Frank Cashen came back to fill in as interim GM so that Phillips could sort out his skirt chasing issues. I guess I forgot that Cashen actually inked the Mel Rojas for Bobby Bonilla II deal. Now that was a true crap for crap deal. Bonilla released after one non-productive year (although he did win the clubhouse poker tournament), and Rojas traded to the Tigers, then released by Detroit in May of the following year.

Sweet swing, sweet smile, sweet man. One player that I never doubted would do his job day in and day out. One of my favorite memories was from May 23rd of 1999 when the Mets were down by 4 to the Phils in the bottom of the ninth. Johnny O capped the 5 run rally with a single to drive in the tying and winning runs as Cedeno got under the tag at the plate to seal the massive come from behind effort.

You see...this is why even though I spend 98% of my time here lurking rather than posting, I would never leave. No where other than the Crane Pool would anyone understand my Eagles of Death Metal avatar and why Fugazi sig lines. Although, I may change my sig line to "Who loves LoDuca, who'll sing his song, I will love LoDuca and his song."

Are you actually claiming LoDuca is a better hitter than Piazza, even now? No. But I believe LoDuca will help this club win more in 2006 than Piazza would if we brought him back to catch full time. I think Piazza will make a good DH for a couple more years, but his days as a catcher are over. If that were not true than I'm sure Omar would have at least offered a deal. I agree that LoDuca batting second is a lame idea.

Nymr83: I still am in favor of the deal. While batting average does not a player make, I was merely pointing out that LoDuca has been consistent over his career with his batting average. He will not hit as many HRs as Piazza or Hernandez or Molina, but he will hit for average and drive in 60 -70 runs hitting in the #6 or #7 slot in the lineup...which is something that Castro or Piazza could not do next year in the same spot. So, yes, he is an upgrade over what the Mets had last year and what they were going to get next year had they signed nobody. I would have been excited with the younger Ramon Hernandez had the Mets signed him, but the offer was there and he didn't bite and I'd rather eat Castro's game soiled jock strap than watch him be the full time Mets catcher. As for re-signing Piazza, I never heard any deal being offered by either party so that is a mute point. LoDuca has averaged more RBI's than Piazza over the past 4 years anyway, even though Piazza has hit over 4 times the HRs. OPS is a neat stat, but driving in more runs than your opponent is how ballgames, and ultimately championships, are won...LoDuca has averaged more RBI over the past 4 years than Hernandez for that matter. As for him being a 3 time All-Star, there is a little more to it than Joe Girardi's token trip. (Although, Joe Girardi has more rings than LoDuca, Piazza, Castro, Hernandez and Molina combined so correlations are up to interpretations). He is a solid player chosen by three different managers to represent his league as an elite player at his position. All star jerseys do not add up to rings, but if being selected had no baring on a player's merit than they would let the idiotic fans choose all of the players. In all, were there slightly better catchers out there? Yes. Better by a huge margin? You're kidding yourself. And it's not as if deals weren't offered. We have holes to fill this winter and we did what we had to do to get one more filled. And I can think of dozens of worse catchers that Omar could have gotten to fill the hole. I'll stick with LoDuca.

I love the LoDuca trade: a) he's 2-4 million dollars cheaper than Hernandez or Molina he's consistent with his average at .285 for his career while hitting .283 last year c) he is a great clubhouse guy and a Brooklyn native d) he has backed up the guy he's replacing at the past 3 All Star games e) upgrade from having to go with Ramon Castro f) certainly a defensive upgrade from Piazza I don't know how people can't be happy with this trade...we are getting another All Star added to the line up for a prospect that may or may not have impacted the team 3 years from now.

I'm good...busy, but good. Thanks for asking. Trying to keep up with the Mets as much as I can this summer. I like lurking in the Pool, not only to be up to date on the news with the team, but also because I enjoy the personality of the forum. The band's new disc came out in July, so I've been doing alot of playing and promotion for it. We also opened a new recording studio this summer so it's been non-stop action. I try to catch a few innings a week on the radio when I can and wish I had more time to post.[url]http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?userid=Xy6as2dBHb&EAN=665776112427&ITM=2[/url]