metirish

Didn't we read that Omar was happy to give him the two year deal because he wants Franco coaching in the Mets system when the deal is done, something like that anyway IIRC.

Great picture with Cook, what was that about?, was Cookie going after Bobby or was V keeping him away from the ump?

I found this cool pic, it's from pulizter.org, no idea what the origin of the pic is but these two lads got invited to a Mets game... caption under the pic says.. ]Alvaro and Shawn ordeal has made them closer than ever. They are invited to attend a N.Y. Mets baseball game, and they sit in the dugout as Mets manager Bobby Valentine makes a call. Alvaro, a huge Mets fan, later says he sat in the dugout and imagined climbing the steps and making his way to the plate to take a pitch.

Bobby wins another round with the umps..

Here THT'srates 1st basemen for fantasy leagues.. http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/top-20-first-basemen-for-2006/ ] Fantasy: Top 20 First Basemen For 2006 by Tim Dierkes January 17, 2006 It's time for the second set of fantasy baseball rankings, this time the first basemen. Every fantasy team employs a masher at this position. 1. Albert Pujols: A no brainer for the top spot. Pujols dominates the Triple Crown categories every year. He'll only be 26 and boasts a phenomenal .332/.416/.621 career line. Did I mention he's incredibly durable too? I think he has a shot at 50 home runs in 2006. As if all that wasn't enough, he swiped an excellent 16 bags last year as well. I think he'll crack 10 steals again, and will be just a hair below A-Rod for Fantasy MVP in 2006. 2. Derrek Lee: One of the big questions in fantasy entering 2006 is whether Lee will hold his gains after taking The Leap in 2005. I think he will, for the most part. Lee established new levels of slugging and on-base ability that held up month to month. He must have made some sort of adjustment to his approach. I see him hitting .310 with 38 home runs and nearly 120 RBIs. Juan Pierre and whoever hits second for the Cubs can't help but provide Lee more runners to drive in. 3. Mark Teixeira: Tex probably has a couple more seasons left as a Ranger. He'll move down a few pegs if he departs via free agency or gets traded. Over the last three seasons away from Ameriquest, he's hit .253/.334/.454, which looks a lot like Dmitri Young or Lyle Overbay. But enough ragging on the guy—he's good for .290, 45 home runs, and 130 RBIs in '06. 4. Richie Sexson: His health restored, Sexson should get even more at-bats and mash 40 home runs with tons of RBIs. The only mild drawback is an average near .270. 5. Todd Helton: Helton's early slump is owed mostly to a back injury he'd been keeping under wraps. You can mark him down for .325, 25 home runs, and 90 RBI in '06. Back problems are often chronic, however, so the long term outlook isn't great. 6. Ryan Howard: Howard can probably hit .280 and has a good chance to smash 35-40 home runs in 2006. After picking up the Rookie of the Year trophy, I can't imagine your league-mates aren't aware of this. Should be good for 110 RBIs as well. 7. Adam Dunn: Expect more of the same from Dunn in 2006. Great American Ballpark is giving his home run total a substantial boost, and he hits .250 or so. Still, there are only a handful of players who are locks for 40 home runs, and Dunn is one of them. 8. Carlos Delgado: Plan for the typical excellent Delgado stats. The move shouldn't have a major effect. 9. Lance Berkman: Should be closer to 30 home runs with some more playing time in 2006. Never hits below .290; a very safe pick. 10. Prince Fielder: In most projections I've seen for Fielder, the authors are tempering their expectations. Not me—I'm flat out optimistic that he can hit 35 home runs in 2006. He might not hitter better than .270, but the Prince will only be 22 and this might be your last chance to grab him in keeper leagues. 11. Paul Konerko: .280, 35 home runs, just under 100 ribbies. RBIs are tough to predict, but if the Sox keep Podzilla at leadoff and use Juan Uribe at #2, Konerko probably won't see a lot of ducks on the pond. Still, he's solid and reliable. 12. Brad Wilkerson: I expect Wilkerson's batting average to bounce back and maybe approach a career high .270. He's in the right lineup and ballpark to flash his 25-30 home run power once again. His shoulder condition is similar to Eric Chavez's, and he'll benefit from a better training staff in Texas. Wilkerson will also score around 90 runs and steal a few bags. 13. Aubrey Huff: As of this writing, Huff is likely to stay put. Huff's three year decline has been well documented, but he's still on the right side of 30 and should bounce back from 2005. I'm thinking .275 with 28 home runs and 105 RBIs for his numbers. 14. Justin Morneau: Thirty home run first basemen aren't difficult to find, and that's what you can expect from Morneau if everything clicks and he's healthy. I do expect a solid 2006, as he's always needed some time to master each level of play. An OK gamble if he comes cheap. 15. Chris Shelton: Shelton seems like a lock for a .300 average and 25 home runs. He only had 388 at-bats in 2005, so he'll pile on some more counting stats by virtue of playing time. 16. Dan Johnson: Outlook is fairly similar to Shelton's. Expect some improvement from Johnson and a good 25 home runs. A solid under-the-radar pick for your utility spot. 17. Chad Tracy: Tracy should add third base eligibility with Troy Glaus out of the picture, and that's where you should play him. His power breakout wasn't too streaky and he still hit plenty of doubles. I expect him to hold on to his gains and hit .300 with 25 home runs again. Can be used at first base and outfield currently. 18. Jim Thome: Thome looks like a .260 hitter at this point. U.S. Cellular inflates homers for lefties by a good 30%, so look for around 35 bombs in less than 500 at-bats. Thome has a bad back, and it isn't going to get better with age. I don't expect any more monster years for him. 19. Jason Giambi: The on-base skills don't help you in most leagues, and he's not a .300 hitter anymore. He'll likely supply the standard 30 home runs and 90 ribbies, but isn't that desirable among first basemen. 20. Sean Casey: If you want a .310 average and not much else, Casey's your guy. The shift to Pittsburgh shouldn't change this. Just missed the top 20: Mike Jacobs, Lyle Overbay, Jay Gibbons. Tim Dierkes runs two daily baseball blogs: RotoAuthority.com and MLBTradeRumors.com. He also contributes to fantasy baseball coverage at RotoWorld. He welcomes comments, questions, and suggestions via e-mail.

]"He also felt playing wouldn't interfere too greatly with his goal of being a world champion.'' Huh?

Our National nightmare is over....... ] Alex Rodriguez to play in World Baseball Classic By JON HEYMAN STAFF WRITER January 17, 2006, 10:23 PM EST After much deliberation and some arm twisting, Alex Rodriguez has decided to play in the World Baseball Classic. "Alex will play for the United States," Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras, told Newsday Tuesday night. Rodriguez met last Tuesday with baseball commissioner Bud Selig and top union lawyer Gene Orza, and both Selig and Orza made personal pleas to Rodriguez to play. "In the end, Alex thought it was important that he honor his citizenship,'' Boras said. "He also felt playing wouldn't interfere too greatly with his goal of being a world champion.''

Just started skimming through this....it's quite a read with contributions form Rob Neyer, Bill James,Matt Welch and THT's Staff writers...

I did say it was a stupid question Willets......I'm bored.

IIRC Fred Wilpon's oldest Son is our man in the Far East not this lad, of course I could be wrong, I smell a reality show here...

I've not see it and will probably wait till it comes to DVD....stupid question for the men...would you go see this movie with a guy friend?....I mean peeps might think you are a gay couple.....not that there is anything wrong with that but you know what I mean.

You may have dreamed this seawolf, I don't ever remember anything like this on the old board..

Well that was a waste of 5 minutes................. ] �Poor baby. She�s in so much pain. She might pass away. I�m not leaving,� sobs Yuki, who is now lying on the floor, paralysed with grief. So much for Ms Wilpon being a neat freak...

Over the weekend I won the bidding for this Pedro jersey, $32 was the winner...it's authentic they say...

This might be of interest... ] Fantasy Leagues, Major League Baseball Going To Court Over Use Of Player Stats 1/13/2006 10:17:46 PM Hundreds of companies sponsor fantasy sports leagues, where the competition is based on a player statistics. One of those companies is taking on an entire league in court. CBC Distribution, a St. Louis based company that operates fantasy leagues, is suing Major League Baseball for the right to use players names and stats without a license. CBC claims baseball stats become historical facts when the game is completed. Major League Baseball claims it should have control over that information. Ben Clark is an intellectual property attorney in St. Louis. "It seems as though this right of publicity, or the right to prevent someone else from benefitting from the use of your name or picture, is the main issue that will be contested in this case," said Clark. CBC paid Major League Baseball a percentage of royalties from its fantasy league, for the right to use player profiles and statistics. But baseball took over exclusive rights to license those statistics last year. If this case goes to trial, and Major League Baseball wins, the impact could be far reaching. "If you are playing in a fantasy league yourself, if you own a trivial pursuit sports game or gamble in Vegas, this decision could impact you if you can play those games as you have before," according to Clark. That impact would eventually come in the form of money anyone using baseball statistics for profit would have to pay. That's something other leagues would certainly take notice of. Said Clark, "There seems to be no reason why football or basketball could not argue to have a right of publicity in names and stats."

News on the WBC.. http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060112&content_id=1294742&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Klap on Wally... ] For a few precious weeks in December, Wally Backman was convinced his exile from baseball was over, and that it was his former team, the Mets, that would rescue him. Backman had had two spirited conversations with Omar Minaya about the Class AA managerial position and everything in the general manager's tone suggested to Backman the path was clear. But then came a devastating phone call from Shea. Minaya said there "wasn't a good fit" at Binghamton. Maybe at some point in the future, Backman heard the GM say, which was the corporate equivalent of a death notice. Backman hung up, wondering how much longer the blacklist will continue. His reputation has been irreparably damaged ever since the Diamondbacks, who hired the former second baseman to be their manager in 2004, discovered they were inheriting not just Backman's fiery leadership skills, but his damaged past, as well. Turned out that Backman had been arrested for drunken driving in 2000, pleaded guilty to a harassment charge involving a female friend of the family and was tarnished by allegations of spousal abuse made by his ex-wife. In a matter of four days, Backman's career in Arizona was over. The D-Backs were embarrassed for their failure to conduct a thorough background check, and were determined to wash their hands of the matter -- even as Backman accepted responsibility for the DUI and pointed out that a restraining order filed by his wife against him eventually was dismissed. Since then Backman continually has apologized, but that has yet to impress the baseball community. Backman showed up at the winter meetings in Dallas last month, hoping for a break. The Pirates seemed interested, but had no openings. Maybe next year, they said. "I'm stumped why I can't get a job, even on the minor league level," Backman said by telephone Saturday. He was speaking from his home in Pineville, Ore., where, he says without embarrassment, he spends most of his time hunting and fishing. The former second baseman, an integral part of the Mets' championship team in 1986, pays his bills with his Major League Baseball pension, which players can begin collecting at age 45. Without a cash crisis threatening him, Backman is content to wait out the blacklist, the same way Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry once did. Only, how long can the high-strung Backman keep fishing without eventually moving on and starting another career? It might be tempting, but to give up now, Backman says, would mean validating the Diamondbacks, who not only fired him without clemency, but didn't pay a penny of the $1 million contract that had been verbally agreed upon. "It's not like I robbed a bank or did drugs," Backman said. "The whole thing boils down to a lousy divorce and a DUI. I've paid for that mistake. The president of the United States has a DUI on his record and he's still president. I made a mistake and learned from it. I've grown up." The Mets, of all teams, might've been ready to believe Backman. He spoke to Jeff Wilpon, the COO, who offered no objection to his return. With clearance from ownership, Backman's candidacy was referred to Minaya for what Backman thought was a baseball-only evaluation. And here's where he thought he was home free. If Backman could offer the Mets anything, it was the ability to groom prospects. He twice was named by Baseball America as the magazine's best managerial prospect -- in 2002, when he was managing Class AA Birmingham in the White Sox' organization, and in 2004, after one season in the Diamondbacks' system managing Class A Lancaster. Backman made an imprint on at least one of Arizona's younger stars, first baseman Conor Jackson, who played for Backman at Lancaster. "I hope he gets back in the worst way," Jackson told the Arizona Republic in September. "He definitely had a huge impact on me. That was my first professional season and he taught me how to win, how to play hard, how to make a difference. "If anybody needs a reference, tell them to call me." Backman figured that kind of endorsement had to count for something. And it only could help him that the '86 team is, one by one, being welcomed back to the flock. Darryl Strawberry, once an untouchable in the Wilpons' eyes, is now a guest instructor in spring training. There's a similar internal movement to honor Dwight Gooden, putting he and Straw in the club's hall of fame. And just last week, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez were named as co-color broadcasters for the Mets' SportsNet New York cable network. With that kind of momentum, Backman was more than hopeful. After all, the Mets were ready to interview him for their managerial vacancy after Art Howe was fired in 2004. He skipped the interview, though, believing he was a can't-miss in Arizona. This time, Backman wasn't asking for work at Shea, only a chance to prove himself from the bottom. "What I don't understand is how the Mets were willing to interview me for a job on the major league level, and now they won't consider me for the minor leagues," Backman said. "It's not even like I'm asking them to take a risk. I've proven myself on the minor league level. I know how to manage kids. My track record proves that." However close the Mets came to relenting, the campaign ended with that phone call from Minaya. Polite and professional, the conversation nevertheless sent Backman back into isolation, where he'll be hearing that familiar tease. Maybe next year. E-mail: klapisch@nothjersey.com

Jackson IIRC picthed a few decnet games against the Mets, or one at least, has good stuff, rays like those young pitchers, looks like a decent trade for both teams. on edit, checking yahoo stats he never pitched V the Mets

Yeah it will be great Dickshot...it would have to be one of the greats though, someone like David Halberstram would fit the bill...

OK, my comment about Francesa hating the Mets was perhaps a bit much, but I have watched him enough to know he takes glee when the Mets fuck up, yes for his show it helps if the Mets are doing good or at least making the back page, I could really care less that he's a huge yankee fan, what I hate about francesa is that he treats the people that call in llike shit a lot of the time, yeah some are fools but those fools make that show and talk radio, he is so dismissive of them, Russo from what I see is not, Francesa is though.

Catching up with Bobby Valentine..... ] Bobby V's gamble paid off KEN DAVIDOFF STAFF CORRESPONDENT January 15, 2006 UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Part revivalist preacher, part stand-up comedian, Bobby Valentine was on a roll here in his home state. On stage at the Mohegan Sun, the Mets' former manager bounced and knelt, joked and swore -- sometimes alternately, sometimes simultaneously -- with occasional sips from a water bottle his only respite. "I can -- -- about baseball as well as anyone out there," Valentine asserted proudly Thursday night, and none of the roughly 500 attendants at the World Baseball Coaches Convention disputed it. The schedule called for Valentine to answer questions from 10:00 to 10:30, but the session went until 11, with no shortage or range of issues to discuss. Bobby V, never at a loss for words, can dissect pitching strategy in scientific terms; he can recall his infamous "glasses and mustache" disguise from a 1999 Mets game like a master raconteur; he can lobby for industry changes as well as any politician. Versatility has always been the trademark of the former Mets and Texas Rangers manager. Which is, largely, why his current job suits him so well that he turned down two opportunities to become a big-league manager for a third time. Rather than take over the Los Angeles Dodgers or Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Valentine will return shortly to Japan to try to guide his Chiba Lotte Marines to a second straight Nippon Series title. "I feel like I am right in the middle of something very special in my life," Valentine, fired by the Mets after the 2002 season, told Newsday. "Not that managing a major league team wouldn't be special, because of course it would. But it would be something that I would begin and it would just start to be special. This is something I'm already in the middle of. And it's turning out to be what I want it to be." Valentine will enter the third year of his second stint managing the Marines; his first run, in 1995, concluded with his firing after clashes with his general manager. He returned only when he was assured full control of the club. It's a level of authority that no MLB manager even approaches. In addition to engineering all player acquisitions -- he imported former Mets Benny Agbayani and Matt Franco as well as American pitcher Dan Serafini, all key players in the Marines' shocking championship -- Valentine oversees the team's amateur draft, stadium operations and promotions. Valentine was personally involved in changing the club's theme song, and he initiated such innovations as daily autograph sessions with the players -- which helped boost the players' confidence, he believes -- on-field fan contests and kids' baserunning days, none of which existed previously in Japan. "It was an exciting atmosphere there, because he was always trying new things," said Nippon Ham Fighters manager Trey Hillman, who spent many years managing in the Yankees' minor-league system. "Some of it worked and some of it didn't, but it was evident he wasn't afraid." For his myriad efforts, Valentine became the first foreigner to win the prestigious "Shoriki Award," presented annually to a person who makes great contributions to Japanese baseball. "Because it worked, it was very meaningful," Valentine said of his all-encompassing role. "Because I'm 55 and maybe, the way things are changing, I probably won't have an opportunity like that here. I like that. I hate to say it, but I like that." After the season, Valentine agreed to manage the Marines, at $4 million a season. That obviously impacted Valentine's decision-making process. But this never escalated into an intercontinental bidding war for Valentine's services. "When I had the opportunity to talk to people from those organizations, we were in the Asian Series [which the Marines also won]," Valentine said. "When decision time was coming for those teams, without leaving them hanging, I was in a parade with my owner. It wasn't a situation I could actually remove myself from." At his question-and-answer session Thursday, a person asked Valentine whether he'd ever return to MLB. "Probably, eventually," he responded. Yet, as evidenced by his recent rejections, the offer must possess significant intrigue. "I don't think I'm ever going to have to manage, as things have turned out, for financial reasons," Valentine said. "I'm going to say as long as I'm really digging it, as I'm inspired, I'll do it." It will be a challenging title defense for the Marines. Their top slugger, Korean native Seung Yuop Lee, just signed with the Yomiuri Giants. Serafini opted to take more guaranteed money with the Orix Blue Wave than sign a more incentive-laden deal with the Marines. Asked whether he can build a Japanese dynasty, Valentine responded, "We don't have that kind of talent. But I think before everyone else's attitude catches up with , I think we can make a run where we can build on it." It has never been easy to keep up with Valentine or to anticipate his next move whether it's on stage or on a baseball diamond, no matter the hemisphere. Bobby V's Title Defense figures to be just as entertaining as every adventure leading up to it. http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-spbobbyv0115,0,2738787.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines

Yeah Francesa hates the Mets, I've heard him admit it when pressed by Russo.

F&*k them both, they both HATE the Mets, especially Francesa.

nevr going to happen although it would be an interesting ruling.

Willie is going on Oprah today,damn liar is all he is,George O' Leary got canned fron the ND job because he lied, pity we did't catch Willie in this lie before he "set the room alight" in his interview.