metirish

I'd guess not a Spring Training rolls around where we don't mention Brian Cole, it's still sad to read about him and I suppose what might have been for him. Tragedy haunts New York Mets in suit over prospect Brian Cole's 2001 death On March 31, 2001, a 22-year-old outfielder named Brian Cole climbed into his 2001 Ford Explorer, a two-door SUV, and headed west from Port St. Lucie. His 17-year-old cousin, Ryan Cole, was along for the ride. Spring training was over, and Cole - one of the brightest prospects in the Mets' farm system - was bound for a Double-A assignment in Binghamton, but not before he returned the Explorer to his parents' home in Mississippi. Brian Cole never made it to his hometown of Meridian. In an accident whose cause remains a source of legal debate, Cole rolled the vehicle while traveling westbound on State Highway 8 near the Florida-Georgia border, was thrown from the vehicle, and died several hours later in a Florida hospital. His cousin, Ryan, was released from the hospital hours later. While the Mets turn the page to a new season, one former team official is reliving that nightmarish episode in the organization's history: Former Mets general manager Jim Duquette traveled yesterday afternoon to Laurel, Miss. He is expected to testify there this morning, on the opening day of Gregory Cole v. Watson Quality Ford. Cole's family, including his father, Gregory, contends the promising baseball player's 2001 death was caused by his Explorer Sport's tendency to roll over and because of a defective seatbelt. Undeniable in the tragedy is that Cole never had the opportunity to realize his potential. Along with Duquette, Mets '86 World Series hero Mookie Wilson is scheduled to take the stand in the coming weeks. Their belief: Brian Cole should have been a major-league star. "He probably would have come on the scene right with Jose Reyes in 2003," Duquette told the Daily News yesterday. Cole, having completed spring training, was driving home before reporting to Double-A Binghamton when, the lawsuit contends, he veered to avoid a car that entered his lane on State Highway 8. Cole's attorney says a defective seatbelt loosened while fastened, allowing Cole to be tossed from the vehicle, which was traveling at 45 mph. The attorney also suggests, as had been widely claimed at the time throughout the United States, that those Explorer vehicles tend to roll over when a tire blows out because of instability in the faulty design. The player's cousin, Ryan Cole, was also buckled. Ford blames speeding, up to 70 mph, and reckless driving. The trial is taking place in Judge Billy Joe Landrum's courtroom at the Jones County Courthouse, not far from the home of Cole's parents. The Cole family is represented by Tab Turner, an Arkansas attorney who has made a career out of bringing product-liability lawsuits against the Ford Motor Company and Bridgestone-Firestone tires. Ultimately, 3.85 million Firestone tires were recalled a decade ago because of a defect that resulted in tire tread separation. Walker W. Jones, a Jackson attorney representing Ford, did not immediately return The News' requests for comment yesterday. Turner will seek to prove that the design of Cole's seatbelt enabled the ejection. The case already has been brought to trial once, and ended with a mistrial. Jury selection took place Monday in a case that could take several weeks, while both sides bring various engineering experts to the stand to speak about the Ford Explorer. Wilson was a Mets coach during Cole's time in the organization. According to Turner, he will suggest that Cole could have had a career comparable to that of Kirby Puckett, the Hall of Fame outfielder who played for the Minnesota Twins. Padres closer Heath Bell, a teammate of Cole's in the minors, yesterday predicted the outfielder could have earned $100 million in a major-league career. Bell recalled Mets officials once asking Cole to go to instructional league to learn to switch-hit. Cole immediately proceeded to pick up a bat and, albeit with an ugly lefty swing, Bell says "he crushed the ball." "I don't remember him swinging and missing ever," Bell said. "We used to have conversations. I said, 'I would never want to face you because I never see you swing and miss.' "He was one of those guys you wish you saw him play in the big leagues. He was a little guy, but he hit for power. He had speed. And he hit for average." Duquette remembered Cole as having the total athletic package, so much so that Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden continued to recruit him as a defensive back even after Cole signed a professional baseball contract for $100,000 and was playing in Columbia, S.C., in 1999. Cole would put the football coach on a speakerphone in the clubhouse so his teammates could listen. He then would good-naturedly decline Bowden's overtures. "Brian would say, 'No sir. No sir. If you want me to be tailback, I'll come and play for you,' " Duquette recalled. Cole was so popular, and his minor-league teammates were so devastated by his death, that pitcher Pat Strange named his son, born in February of 2003, Brian Cole Strange. A tribute, which includes a bat and photos of Cole, remains in the front office of the Class-A St. Lucie Mets, the last full-season team on which he played. His No. 6 is retired there. "You plug David Wright in the middle of the lineup," Duquette said, "and we would have had an unbelievable core group of guys from our own system." Walker W. Jones, a Jackson attorney representing Ford, did not immediately return The News' requests for comment yesterday. Turner will seek to prove that the design of Cole's seatbelt enabled the ejection. The case already has been brought to trial once, and ended with a mistrial. Jury selection took place Monday in a case that could take several weeks, while both sides bring various engineering experts to the stand to speak about the Ford Explorer. Wilson was a Mets coach during Cole's time in the organization. According to Turner, he will suggest that Cole could have had a career comparable to that of Kirby Puckett, the Hall of Fame outfielder who played for the Minnesota Twins. Padres closer Heath Bell, a teammate of Cole's in the minors, yesterday predicted the outfielder could have earned $100 million in a major-league career. Bell recalled Mets officials once asking Cole to go to instructional league to learn to switch-hit. Cole immediately proceeded to pick up a bat and, albeit with an ugly lefty swing, Bell says "he crushed the ball." "I don't remember him swinging and missing ever," Bell said. "We used to have conversations. I said, 'I would never want to face you because I never see you swing and miss.' "He was one of those guys you wish you saw him play in the big leagues. He was a little guy, but he hit for power. He had speed. And he hit for average." Duquette remembered Cole as having the total athletic package, so much so that Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden continued to recruit him as a defensive back even after Cole signed a professional baseball contract for $100,000 and was playing in Columbia, S.C., in 1999. Cole would put the football coach on a speakerphone in the clubhouse so his teammates could listen. He then would good-naturedly decline Bowden's overtures. "Brian would say, 'No sir. No sir. If you want me to be tailback, I'll come and play for you,' " Duquette recalled. Cole was so popular, and his minor-league teammates were so devastated by his death, that pitcher Pat Strange named his son, born in February of 2003, Brian Cole Strange. A tribute, which includes a bat and photos of Cole, remains in the front office of the Class-A St. Lucie Mets, the last full-season team on which he played. His No. 6 is retired there. "You plug David Wright in the middle of the lineup," Duquette said, "and we would have had an unbelievable core group of guys from our own system." Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2010/01/27/2010-01-27_tragedy_haunts_mets.html?page=1#ixzz0dosaCH6x

Heyman says O Hudson is down to two teams. Nationals & another

Agree with Grim on this , and it's not like those three were brilliant in 08 either....for me if it's the likes of Garland and Smoltz for several million on a one year deal then I just don't see what they have over what we already have in guys like Figgy.

And according to Rubin the Mets see Smoltz as a starter.

Good news with Ollie New York Mets pitcher Oliver Perez says knee not a problem PORT ST. LUCIE - Oliver Perez has gotten rid of his modest Mohawk and grown a beard. But of much greater interest to the Mets than the lefthander's follicle follies, Perez declared himself "strong," with no lingering knee problems after an injury-wrecked 2009 season. After spending the winter training in Phoenix at a well-regarded facility with other major leaguers at the Mets' behest, Perez undoubtedly is in better shape than a year ago. Last March, Perez drew criticism from pitching coach Dan Warthen for returning from the World Baseball Classic unprepared for a major-league season. Perez relocated this offseason from his native Culiacan, Mexico, to Arizona to train at Fischer Sports, the facility credited with preparing Randy Johnson during his career. Other than two weeks spent in Mexico around Christmas, Perez said he's spent the entire winter in Phoenix working out at that training center with major leaguers including Kerry Wood, Chris and Shelley Duncan, Sergio Mitre and Mike Hampton. "A lot of good players there," Perez said. Perez said he's religiously at the facility by 7 a.m. and stretching 90 minutes later. The southpaw went 3-4 with a 6.82 ERA in 14 starts in 2009, in the first season of a three-year, $36 million deal. He spent May 7-July 8 on the disabled list with right patellar tendinitis, and ultimately underwent Sept. 1 surgery to remove scar tissue from the knee. "Right now I don't feel anything," he said Monday. "I think that's why I'm really happy. I feel really strong." Of course, Perez's trademark wildness comically remained Monday. As he long-tossed with Johan Santana on a windy morning at the Mets' complex, Perez twice overshot Santana with throws on a back field and cleared a fence. "It's going to take a couple of weeks," Santana turned and offered with a smile.

A graph with pictures would be nice Newton....

It must put more stress on the legs for one, and it's probably one of those old baseball things that is just part of the way things are done.

Great to see him have that season and as a fan I hope he continues it. It's pitchers like him that make me tune in to watch other teams , unfortunately that didn't happen last season. Hopefully MLB Network shows some Royals games , or if they play the MFY and he's pitching I'm watching.

Hardly sounds like a "foxhole" guy .

Frayed Knot wrote: Also, if Sheets, as I've read in places, is looking specifically for a one-year deal so as to cash in big for next off-season, that alone reduces the risk. That makes sense , if that is the case then factors other than money would come in to play for Sheets I would think, in his mind he must be looking at the teams talking to him and wondering where is his best chance for success. Oakland and Texas hardly fit that bill. Citi Field might.

Smoltz was just worse than brutal last year , wasn't he? Bedard has a chance to be really good I think...

Rubin's article today , a few interesting things , all the top men from the front office are in PSL....... PORT ST. LUCIE - When Johan Santana delivers the first pitch of the Mets' season on April 5, Omir Santos very well could be behind the plate to receive the offering. What's more, John Smoltz could follow Santana in the rotation. With 23 days until pitchers and catchers report and the Mets' roster still a work in progress, chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, GM Omar Minaya, assistant GMs John Ricco and Wayne Krivsky and manager Jerry Manuel huddled Monday at the team's Florida complex on Day 1 of a voluntary players minicamp. The Mets' brain trust still needs to decide whether to sign free-agent catcher Yorvit Torrealba or Rod Barajas or go with what the Mets already have behind the plate. Also at issue is how to round out the rotation, with Ben Sheets, Jon Garland and Smoltz the best remaining free-agent options. Team insiders say the Mets have been particularly active in dialogue with the 42-year-old Smoltz's reps and would use him as a starter. Still, one source labeled it a toss-up which pitcher the Mets could land to join Santana, Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez and John Maine in the rotation. Sheets, who did not pitch last season while recovering from elbow surgery, is looking for a substantial payday on a one-year deal, with Oakland and Texas reportedly among his most serious suitors. Regardless, Minaya feels like his winter work is largely complete, even as the Mets' roster continues to have openings. "We're close to the team that we're going to start with," Minaya said. "That being said, things can still happen during spring training. "Early on, we addressed certain areas as far as the bench by bringing on (Alex) Cora and by getting (catcher Henry) Blanco," the GM continued. "Our big piece, of course, was getting Jason Bay on board. We still need to fill some other needs. The catching front, if we need to go with the guys we have, we will. We're still talking to teams and also looking at some of the free agents. And pitching is something we have to continue to look at. There are some free agents that are available and we are talking to their agents." Daniel Murphy is the highest-profile position player at the voluntary three-day camp, and team insiders continue to project him as the starting first baseman. Minaya said he's spoken with Carlos Delgado and the veteran still wants to play first base rather than DH. But Delgado has looked slow at the position and limps, a Mets official acknowledged. More recently in winter ball, Delgado has served as a DH, which Minaya said was because the games are largely on artificial turf, which causes more of a pounding on the body than grass. While Minaya won't completely rule out re-signing Delgado, his troubles could pave the way for Fernando Tatis to be re-signed, or a comparable righty hitter for a limited role at first base. As for catcher, Manuel seems to favor Santos over Blanco, Chris Coste and Josh Thole if neither Torrealba nor Barajas is signed. "He has some familiarity, obviously, with the pitching staff, so he'll probably be the guy that if you had to rank them or whatever, he'd probably be the top-ranked guy right now," Manuel said about Santos. "And we definitely will continue to take a good look at Josh. The one thing about Josh that is definitely different than Omir is that Josh kind of balances out the lineup. He's a lefthanded hitter. We'll take a look at him and talk to the people who saw him in winter ball and see how much progression he made and go from there. It's not out of the question." Manuel also wasn't ready to anoint the newly acquired Gary Matthews Jr. the center fielder over Angel Pagan in Carlos Beltran's absence. "I still have to give Angel every opportunity to play as well," Manuel said. "He played extremely well there for us as far as statistically speaking. He hit .300, had a number of triples, a number of doubles. He played well. And at least the last couple of years he's started off real well. So we need that." Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2010/01/26/2010-01-26_mets_eye_upgrades.html#ixzz0dj8D4wnG

Washburn would be for AAA? , do we not have guys down there a better bet that him?...

I'd really like to see Razor a good twenty feet away from Santana.

Ruben Amaro, Sr. Ruben Amaro, Jr. Father & Son? John Hairston Jerry Hairston, Sr. Father & Son? Bobby Valentine Fred Valentine Never mind....

Hilarious JCL.....they must have Flame & Citron then , a Danish movie. I saw it on previews last night and it looked a delight...

I joined Blockbuster last week....the wife had a membership but it's been more than a few years since that was used. I used to hate the place , late fees and all that crap....not big selections on movies that weren't huge hits....so I joined Netflix....loved it at first . I had the 3 movies at home deal.....$18 IIRC....problem was that I noticed that the movies would sit there unwatched for weeks at a time and it just kept going like that. Plus one thing that really annoyed me about Netflix was that certain movies they just didn't have and more than a few new releases wouldn't be available for ages after it's release elsewhere. But my main problem was the fact that I'd have movies sitting at home not watched while they were billing me monthly , not their fault of course but I put my membership on hold last year. So last week I went looking for the movie Hunger and it's not available on Netflix until next month while BB has it, so I went and joined and was surprised to see that they had a wide selection of independent and foreign movies ....and a decent rewards program(which I've not joined yet, but will), the place seems to have had an overhaul in how they do business and I think I like it better now. Where do you go?

Edgy DC wrote: The last time Chris Rock went shopping for ideas to steal in Europe (and this movie is only kind of European), he came home with I Think i Love My Wife --- a bomb whose fallout is still raining down on his career. Ouch....a terrible idea to remake "Death at a Funeral"

But didn't Bay get two more opinions after the Sox Doctor and said he in fact did not need surgery? I didn't click on your link but I've been following this story.

A harrowing telling of the prison protests in the Maze that culminated in the hunger strikes that in the end claimed ten men.The first part of the movie deals with the �blanket protest" , the men refuse to wash and wear clothes. Prison cells full of shit and piss and rotten food and you hear Thatchers voice refusing herself to bend. The movie is so deliberate , one scene has a prison custodian mopping the hallway between cells after the prisoners pour their piss out the cell doors. The director Steve McQueen shows the guy mopping the floor for what seems like five minutes, it's gripping. The movie then turns itself to Bobby Sands who while always in your mind (if you knew about what happened) was never seen as yet, Sands played by Michael Fassbender, is charismatic and a natural leader of men and in flashbacks events help explain the making of him. Hunger is not going to explain the "Troubles" of the North and really the movie doesn't really attempt to explain fully these protests that took so many lives , instead we see how they did it and the effects on the prisoners and indeed the staff . There is a scene where Sands sits with Dominic Moran (Liam Cunningham), a priest he has summoned to the prison to talk with and to try and explain the why of it all. It's mesmerizing to watch as we get a single side shot of both men sitting at a table smoking and talking, the scene takes 20 minutes or more and the banter back and forth is both witty and then very serious but all the while absolutely brilliant. The final scenes of Sands dying are both horrifying and in a way beautiful , there is clearly nothing glamorous about what happened and this movie is at times very brutal to watch but it will be well worth your time.

Thanks for the heads up , not sure if I could take a whole movie of Ricky Gervais.