metirish

I totally just copied and pasted yesterdays thread title and changed the date. Rubin Reyes scratched � By Adam Rubin Jose Reyes has been scratched from today's game. He said the initial physical raised a small concern with doctors, so he needed to do additional blood work this morning. He'll visit the doctor again at noon. Reyes added that he has no physical problems. "I'm fine," he said. "Nothing serious." * Lining up the rotation for the season, Mike Pelfrey makes his Grapefruit League debut Saturday, Oliver Perez on Sunday, John Maine on Monday and Johan Santana on Tuesday. * Lefthander Hisanori Takahashi has returned from the Dominican Republic after securing his work visa. * Righthander Josh Fogg, set back by a problem with a side muscle while swinging, hopes to be on a mound within days. He's only been long-tossing. * Jason Bay still makes his debut today vs. Cardinals. The lineup: Matthews, cf Castillo, 2b Wright, 3b Bay, lf Murphy, 1b Francoeur, rf Tatis, dh Blanco, c Tejada, ss Dickey, rhp Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/#ixzz0hDoy3gMG

Not having Beltran leaves that lineup looking rather thin. Opening Day last year had a stronger lineup perhaps? Reyes, SS Murphy, LF Beltran, CF Wright, 3B Delgado, 1B Church, RF Schneider, C Castillo, 2B Santana, P

Great read , a lot of fun in there.

Expansion surely did expose a lot of borderline pitchers to big time hitters but I would think there was always plenty of rubbish pitchers in both leagues at all times. Expansion would have exposed plenty of rubbish hitters to decent pitchers too, right?....did SO go up , any way to tie the two together?

Can't find anything online that references Mays in "Ball Four" but this article from "Time" dated 1985 during the coke trials has this. The Cocaine Agonies Continue By Richard Lacayo;Joseph N. Boyce/Pittsburgh Monday, Sep. 23, 1985 The man on trial was Accused Cocaine Dealer Curtis Strong, but it was major league baseball on the defensive last week as testimony continued in a Pittsburgh federal court. Four more players took the stand to say that Strong had been a matchmaker in their love affairs with cocaine. They also kept naming names, bringing to 21 the number of current and former players alleged in court to have used coke. Shockingly, perhaps unfairly, the sorry tale of illegal drug involvement stretched back through the years to touch two of the game's immortals: Willie Stargell and Willie Mays. Among the new names mentioned by the player-witnesses last week were former Pirate Pitchers Eddie Solomon and Manny Sarmiento, as well as Montreal Expo Outfielder Tim Raines and onetime Outfielder Rowland Office. The most disheartening charges to come out of the trial, however, concerned not coke but amphetamines. Yankee Third Baseman Dale Berra, Yogi's 28-year-old son, said that while playing with the Pirates he got green speed pills from former Team Captains Bill Madlock and Willie ("Pops") Stargell. Berra claimed he , could get a "greenie" from Stargell "on any given day that I asked him for one." Both Madlock and Stargell denied the accusation, which was made again on the stand two days later by Cincinnati Outfielder Dave Parker, a former Pirate. It was an unwelcome charge anywhere, but especially in Pittsburgh, where Stargell is beloved as the man who led the Pirates "family" to its 1979 World Series victory. "I can't believe that Willie would be involved in that," Pirates President Daniel Galbreath said to the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette. "In fact, I doubt he was." Retired Pirate John Milner offered more curious recollections of how he got greenies: they were placed anonymously inside his locker. "They were in my stall, that's all I know," he explained. As a sidelight, Milner also claimed to have seen some "red juice," a fruit juice and amphetamine concoction, in the locker of Willie Mays when both played for the New York Mets in the early '70s. "The Willie Mays?" asked Defense Attorney Adam Renfroe. "Willie Mays -- the great one," replied Milner. An angry Mays denied the charge, and his doctor told CBS that the red liquid was cough medicine. "It's a shame that a man can be crucified (by) one statement," said Mays. When they were not calmly identifying fellow players last week, the witnesses all claimed to have purchased cocaine from Strong, a former caterer for the Philadelphia Phillies. The jury heard claims that Strong had easy access to the Pirates' clubhouse and met with players in hotels. Lawyer Renfroe has struggled to cast his client as a little guy who has become the scapegoat for baseball's sins. The players, says Renfroe, are rich "hero junkies" who get immunity while his client goes on trial. Cross-examining Parker, he shouted derisively at one point, "How is it that once you get immunity that you're not going to jail and won't lose your $20,000 diamond rings, that you now remember?" Though U.S. Attorney J. Alan Johnson says he has called his last player- witness in the case, Renfroe plans to put more players on the stand when he begins his defense this week. Meanwhile, players are also expected to testify in the trial of another accused cocaine dealer, Robert McCue. Jury selection in that case is scheduled to start in Pittsburgh this week. Two other related cases involving alleged ballpark dealers are also pending. Baseball's days of shame could stretch into months. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959943,00.html

I agree with VBic , and not to knock Cora but he needs to handle those backup duties , with Tatis as suggested.

It's a bit of a leap to imply that mays would have taken steroids if they were "readily available" when he played, certainly a bit unfair IMO. But Willie doesn't help himself in my book with the old " I didn't know and didn't ask what the doc was giving me" routine. Love Joe Poz.

I'm seeing a rumor of his going to the White Sox but not the Mets.... Meanwhile Jon Harper is aghast that anyone(except him) would even mention a Mets prospect in the same breath as the great Mo Rivera. Darryl Strawberry sees young Mariano Rivera in New York Mets' prospect Jenrry Mejia PORT ST. LUCIE - You can feel the Jenrry Mejia campaign beginning to build in earnest. So far Jerry Manuel has only lightheartedly hinted at the possibility of express-laning the 20-year-old prospect to the majors to get big outs in the bullpen this season, but now Darryl Strawberry is trying to convince anyone who will listen. Even GM Omar Minaya. "I went to Omar and told him, 'You've got to make this guy a closer,'" Strawberry was saying in animated fashion Tuesday. "I'd definitely put him in the pen this year, I don't care if he's only 20. He's got a pitch that guys can't hit. "He's the only guy I've ever seen that reminds me of Mariano Rivera." Oh no. Here we go again. I chided Manuel in a column last week for referencing Rivera when he spoke glowingly about Mejia, and now I tried to tell Strawberry it's way too premature to talk about Mejia that way. "I'm telling you," Strawberry said. "I played with Mo, I saw it up close. I know what his cutter looked like and I'm telling you, I haven't seen a pitch move like his, with that kind of velocity, until I saw this kid Mejia." Strawberry, the former Mets slugger who is in camp for a week as a coach, sat close to the plate, behind a batting-practice screen, during Monday's intrasquad game and nearly fell out of his chair when he saw Mejia start dealing. "I said to Jerry, 'What was that?'" Strawberry recalled. "And Jerry said, 'You see what I see, Straw? You see it, right?' And I said, 'My God, that's unbelievable.' "And that's his fastball. He's not even throwing a cutter. It's all natural." Yes, Mejia continues to generate the biggest buzz in Mets camp, but the problem is that he is raw, and as a starter hasn't demonstrated anything close to major-league command of his fastball. Only five months ago, he posted a 12.56 ERA in six starts in the Arizona Fall League, giving up 25 hits and 13 walks in 14 innings. Manuel admitted as much yesterday, but pointed out that Mejia is showing much more command since the manager spoke to him last week about throwing to only one side of the plate, and simply letting his cutter-like movement work for him. "Giving him just the one side of the plate has helped him," Manuel said. "He's not trying to do too much with his pitches. If he had been this far along in the Fall League, we might really be talking." Talking, that is, about plugging that electric arm into the late-inning bullpen equation. Manuel is very concerned about who can give him a dependable bridge to Francisco Rodriguez, but as much as Mejia intrigues him, he concedes the kid would have to have a lights-out spring for the organization to consider such a move. The manager does think Mejia's future might be as a reliever, simply because of the Rivera-like cutting action. For now, however, Minaya said the Mets are going to continue to groom him as a starter and will likely have Mejia open the season at Double-A Binghamton, where he struggled in 10 starts last season after dominating the Class-A Florida State League. That's the plan, he said, even if Strawberry is trying to convince him otherwise. "Darryl came to me all pumped up about the kid," Minaya said with a laugh. "He told me he's going to stay after me about it." In making his pitch, Strawberry even invoked the name of his old buddy, Dwight Gooden. He reminded everyone that manager Davey Johnson campaigned to GM Frank Cashen to keep the 19-year-old fireballer in 1984, the year Gooden went on to win Rookie of the Year honors while leading the National League in strikeouts. "It's different because I think this kid is built to be a closer," Strawberry said. "But he's ready. He'll get people out. I will stay on Omar about it." Manuel didn't seem to mind having a new wingman. "Straw's got my back, huh?" he said with a laugh. "That's a good thing, right?" We'll see. I still think the Mets would be rushing Mejia, based on his track record. Gooden, it's worth remembering, was a much more polished pitcher at 19 than Mejia is at 20. But Minaya didn't rule it out completely. "Let's see how spring training goes," the GM said. Let's see indeed. jharper@nydailynews.com

I heard two smart ass local NY News sports reporters last night start the sports segment with " hey the NY Mets are 1 and 0" to much guffaws from the news presenters.

I thought Ted was ok, certainly a calm voice to Healy's loud one. Ted did know the history IIRC and his style was one where story telling was part of it all. Seemed to really like the baseball Giants(he called them for years) and loved it when the Mets were on a home stand during the US Open going on in Flushing.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Should I be concerned if I find myself aroused by that photo? No , but your missus should be.

Gary is great but I don't doubt for a second that Howie is and has been just as good in the TV booth.

The MFY's provide ample examples of proper doucheness with their annual " bonding trip" in Tampa... Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Joe Girardi head for the Yankees' yearly bonding trip in Tampa, Fla. (Mar. 2, 2010) Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Mariano Rivera and Jesus Montero head out for the Yankees' annual spring training bonding trip. (Mar. 2, 2010) Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli gets ready to join his teammates as they head out for their annual spring training bonding trip. (Mar. 2, 2010) Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa ick Johnson, left, leads his teammates as they head out for the Yankees' annual spring training bonding trip. (Mar. 2, 2010) Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa The newest Yankee, Chan Ho Park, tries his hand at air hockey with RHP Chad Gaudin. The Yankees went to Gameworks in Tampa Bay where they participated in three arcade game tournaments as part of a team bonding activity. (March 2, 2010) Credit: Photo by NY Yankees RHP Christian Garcia [L] and Nick Swisher [R] face off in an arcade game. The Yankees went to Gameworks in Tampa Bay where they participated in three arcade game tournaments as part of a team bonding activity. (March 2, 2010) Credit: Photo by NY Yankees The Yankees watch as Mark Melancon takes his final turn at basketball. Melancon would finish second to LHP Royce Ring in the event. The Yankees went to Gameworks in Tampa Bay where they participated in three arcade game tournaments as part of a team bonding activity. (March 2, 2010) Credit: Photo by NY Yankees First Baseman Mark Teixeira takes his turn at Skee-Ball with [L-R] Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Jesus Montero watching. The Yankees went to Gameworks in Tampa Bay where they participated in three arcade game tournaments as part of a team bonding activity. (March 2, 2010) Credit: Photo by NY Yankees Randy Winn and CC Sabathia with Kevin Russo [far left] shoot some hopps with Sergio Mitre looking on. The Yankees went to Gameworks in Tampa Bay where they participated in three arcade game tournaments as part of a team bonding activity. (March 2, 2010) Credit: Photo by NY Yankees Yankees Manager Joe Girardi explains the tournament ground rules to the entire Yankees team. The Yankees went to Gameworks in Tampa Bay where they participated in three arcade game tournaments as part of a team bonding activity. (March 2, 2010) Credit: Photo by NY Yankees Mariano Rivera [foreground] takes his final shots against Bullpen Coach Mike Harkey with Alex Rodriguez looking on. The Yankees went to Gameworks in Tampa Bay where they participated in three arcade game tournaments as part of a team bonding activity. (March 2, 2010) Credit: Photo by NY Yankees You know the Mets need to copy this genius stuff from Girardi and head over to Duffy's .

You crack me up LWFS .

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: By the way some guy first wrote me with this question like 3 years ago, anticipating this day. I had no idea then or now. "thanks for writing back asshole"

Valadius wrote: I'm surprised they haven't been able to grab someone like Al Leiter for the broadcast booth - a former relatively-recently-retired Met. No thanks , I really dislike the boys club they have going over at MLB Network.

Ed is just not an announcer , he's at least seven seconds behind the play and starts telling stories at the wrong time, like 2 outs.

Mets Classics featured Fran Healy the other night, I think the game was Piazza's first as a Met. Fran was all about Carlos Baerga and how his personality never changes from slump to slump to hot streak......."It never changes , what a guuuuuuuuuy"