metirish

Found this in the comments section responding to Wally. ] Ron Darling Hey Moron, the mets likely have a contract with Citi for the naming rights. If Citi doesn't want to back out, there's probably little the mets can do. Aside from that, the company looks at citifield as an extension of their advertising, which is required to attract attention and bring in new business. So, as they try to avoid going under, it's really not stupid to keep the naming rights if they estimate that the Return On Investment will be higher with this advertising than with other ads they may cut. Nice job rewriting your colleague's article just to get a few jabs in at the mets. you're a worthless piece of trash, you no talent hack.

Reports have the Mets "reaching out" to the agents for Rodriguez and Fuentes , Paul Kinzer the agent for Rodriguez confirmed those talks. ] We talked for a little while, but nothing significant, We'll probably get together at the winter meetings, Dec. 8-11 in Las Vegas. reports have the Mets wanting Huston Street as the primary setup man to the closer and would send Heilman to Colorado to get him , the Rockies said they would like Feliciano with Heilman, the Mets said no.

Shinjo will no doubt just go there himself and do the job .

Synopsis: In the highly anticipated new installment of The Terminator film franchise, set in post-apocalyptic 2018, Christian Bale stars as John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet's operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.

I was wondering when Wally would write his piece. ] Welcome to Bailout Ballpark Wallace Matthews November 26, 2008 So what will that new stadium in Flushing be called next year, anyway? How about John Q. Taxpayer Field? Or Joe Sixpack Park, in honor of all the people paying for it who have no chance of ever sitting in one of its 40,000 high-priced seats? Bailout Ballpark, anyone? The one thing it should not be called, under any circumstances, is Citi Field. As my colleague Anthony Rieber so ably pointed out earlier this week, while the rest of their toxic-mortgage laden house of cards comes tumbling down around them, executives of the disgraced Citigroup are sticking with their plan of paying the Mets $400 million over the next 20 years for the ego pop of seeing their name up in lights above the new ballpark. But the truth is, they're not paying for it at all. You are. That $20 million per year - which, by the way, the Mets don't seem all that eager to invest in the free-agent market despite another dismal late-season collapse - is coming out of your paycheck and mine, funneled through the federal government to the failed executives of Citigroup, and ultimately winds up in Fred Wilpon's pocket. This amounts to not only the worst kind of corporate welfare, with no punishments meted out and no strings attached, it also adds up to 20 years of free advertising for a bank with nothing to brag about but a vault full of fail. The Mets should be embarrassed to emblazon their new park with the name of an outfit whose players performed even worse than the team did last year. They should be ashamed of using your money to advertise their (worthless) services. If they had any ethics, they would cancel the deal now and start looking for a sponsor that can actually pay its own bills. But they don't, and they won't. This is just the latest chapter in two sorry histories, the first being that of the U.S. banking industry and the second being that of the New York Mets. For all the hand-wringing about the way the Yankees go about their business, it is really the Mets, the "little brothers" in town, who are the most fan-hostile organization in New York sports. All last season, they used scare tactics on their partial-plan holders - people who weren't part of some corrupt and tax-sheltered corporation, people who couldn't afford to shell out for 81 games but could scrape together enough to come 15 times a year, or 20, or every weekend. The Mets told those people, many of whom had been coming faithfully since Shea Stadium opened in 1964, that there would be no partial-plans at Citi Field, that only full season-ticket holders would be welcome in the new park. They compounded the insult by offering "season-ticket plans," along with the much-coveted priority status to buy tickets for 2009 at the new park, when there were fewer than 10 games to go in the season. Translation: If you had a 15 game partial plan, you were out, but if you bought a "full-season plan" for the last 10 games, you were in. Then, economic reality slapped them in the face. The Mets missed the playoffs again. The recession apparently put a dent in their grand all-season-ticket plan for Citi Field. Suddenly, last month, the Mets told their partial-plan holders that there would be room at the inn for them after all, although they have yet to specify how many games, in which seats, at what prices. What it has done, however, is allow them to hold on to all the money sent for playoff tickets that were never used, a sum that could be as much as $50 million. That's a $50-million, interest-free loan, courtesy of the National Bank of You. So why should an organization like that have any qualms about playing footsie with an outfit like Citigroup, which thinks the multimillion-dollar, interest-free, no strings attached loan from the working stiffs they, like the Mets, would rather not have in their building is a fine idea indeed. These two deserve one another, but they don't deserve to divvy up your money in order to publicly flaunt their unholy marriage. The Mets are getting their new stadium, all right, and it will have big light-up signs on three sides proclaiming its name for all to see. How about Field of Schemes? Next up Wally writes a piece about how Cablevision( now owns Newsday) has been getting a real sweet tax exemption to the tune of over $10 million a year on MSG.

This link here has a better picture of the lines and the foul pole. http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=60954&page=341 Also there are drawings of the park. (Merged from More Citi Field photos, 11/25/2008)

From baseball-fever (Merged from More Citi Field photos, 11/25/2008)

Nothing much that I know about but Thanksgiving has been good in the past for Met news.

Cool signs , are they really long or are you short?

That's some funny stuff right there G-Fafif

Just finished reading parts three and four , if it's possible for me to like Bobby Valentine more than I did then reading this did it for me.

This article is in Newsday today. ] Citigroup sheds workers, keeps Mets deal Anthony Rieber 10:32 AM EST, November 24, 2008 You might have missed the news because it came on Friday, but Citigroup announced it was not planning to back out of the naming rights deal for the Mets' new stadium, Citi Field. That's the 20-year, $400-million naming rights deal. From a company that: -- Earlier in the week announced it was going to let go of 52,000 workers by early next year. Anthony Rieber Anthony Rieber Bio | E-mail | Recent columns Related links * Citi Field construction Citi Field construction Photos * Free agency forecast What do you expect from the Mets when free agency begins? A huge splash and a big name closer (K-Rod?) They'll make a trade and maybe one or two bullpen signings They'll make some additions to the bullpen, but not much else They'll try to go with cheap options and hope for the best -- Saw its shares on the stock market lose more than half their value. -- May have to sell parts of the company or merge with another company. -- May require a massive government bailout to stay in business. But that $20 million per year check to the Mets to keep the Citi Field sign up (yes, it's already up)? That check is in the mail, don't worry. And the Mets can count on $20 million more just like it each of the next 19 years. Uh-huh. We've heard that one before. Heck, some of us have probably said it. Sure, we can afford that new sofa. The big flat-screen. The i-Phone. Don't worry ... we're a little cash-poor now, but we're good for it. Let's hope the Mets aren't banking their winter free-agent plans on getting that $20 million from Citigroup, or whatever the company will be called by April 13, when the new ballpark opens. Francisco Rodriguez or Brian Fuentes or whoever else the Mets have on their shopping list expect to be paid in cash, not IOUs. I'd say the Mets should be sweating the arrival of that money, but the Mets have to be smart enough to know the naming rights deal is never going to survive the full 20 years, or maybe the next 20 minutes. Here's what the Citigroup spokesman told Reuters on Friday: "We remain committed to our relationship with the Mets. It's an important marketing priority for us." Well, by all means, don't scrimp on that marketing budget. I mean, 52,000 people are going to get pink-slipped between now and Opening Day -- want to bet that spokesman has updated his own resume in the last week or so? -- but Citigroup remains committed to giving the Mets nearly a half a billion dollars to see its name in lights on a baseball stadium. Seriously, with decisions like that, it's not hard to see why Citigroup is in such trouble. You have to wonder if the whole naming-rights thing is just an ego trip for the company executives. Are you more likely to put your money in a Citibank account because your Mets' tickets say "Citi Field" on them? (Actually, that's a trick question. In the current economy, you don't have any money to put in the bank, and you can't afford tickets to Citi Field.) Or maybe naming rights deals really are good business. Maybe Citi Field will become a shining beacon of sports/business synergy, just like Enron Field and Bank One Ballpark and Pacific Bell Park and SBC Park and Ameriquest Field and Edison International Field and Network Associates Coliseum and McAfee Coliseum. All of those are past names of current baseball stadiums. Some have been renamed more than once. The naming rights deals either changed hands when the parent companies were sold or merged, or the deals were not renewed for one reason or another, or the deal went belly-up when the company when kaput and took all of its employees with it. That one was Enron Field in Houston, now Minute Maid Park. Good thing people still drink orange juice. We're not saying Citigroup is going to go the way of Enron, but wouldn't that $400 million help even a little? Maybe the Citigroup spokesman and some of the 52,000 can keep their jobs? And do the Mets really need that $20 million? Maybe they'd make better decisions if they had less money to spend. They spent $19.9 million in 2008 on this: Moises Alou ($7.5 million), Luis Castillo ($6.2 million), Scott Schoenweis ($3.6 million), Aaron Heilman ($1.2 million), Marlon Anderson ($1 million) and Ambiorix Burgos ($400,000). The Yankees, who have turned their new stadium into an ATM even more than the Mets have, did not sell naming rights. It will be called Yankee Stadium. Good for them. Which got us to thinking ... sure, the Mets can probably get another company to pony up the dough if Citigroup backs out. Maybe by Opening Day they'll be playing in Taco Bell Field or Staples Stadium or Enzo's Pizza Park. We've got the perfect name for the new ballpark, though. One that won't cost a dime and won't have to be changed with every hiccup in the corporate world. Shea Stadium.

Thanks for the link , all said that was a fun read and Lambin seems like a good guy.

] Each team is allotted four roster spots for foreign players and they have the WHOLE world to choose from (Australia, Dominican, Korea, Puerto Rico, the US etc.) Funny. This is hilarious , Chase expects that the Continental check in girl would be impressed that he is flying to Japan....like she never checks in people going there , Chase is not one bit happy that he didn't get extra leg room for the flight....horror .

Just watched a report on NBC Evening News that Citi are right now in talks with the Government to"save the bank ", that's the term the financial expert used .

A bad idea , sorry.

Inspired by the thread title......to the tune of "man in the box" from Alice in chains I'd need help though as I am no good at this I'm the man in the Bronx

Ashburn Alley

From Mets.com -- Ambiorix Burgos R/R 6-3 245 04/19/84 25 Pedro Feliciano L/L 5-10 190 08/25/76 48 Aaron Heilman R/R 6-5 225 11/12/78 44 Brandon Knight L/R 6-0 195 10/01/75 -- Eddie Kunz R/R 6-5 265 04/08/86 33 John Maine R/R 6-4 200 05/08/81 32 Carlos Muniz R/R 6-1 190 03/12/81 49 Jonathon Niese L/L 6-4 215 10/27/86 39 Bobby Parnell R/R 6-4 200 09/08/84 34 Mike Pelfrey R/R 6-7 230 01/14/84 50 Duaner Sanchez R/R 6-2 210 10/14/79 57 Johan Santana L/L 6-0 210 03/13/79 60 Scott Schoeneweis L/L 6-0 190 10/02/73 35 Joe Smith R/R 6-2 210 03/22/84 43 Brian Stokes R/R 6-1 210 09/07/79 -- Jason Vargas L/L 6-0 215 02/02/83 13 Billy Wagner L/L 5-11 205 07/25/71 Catchers B/T Ht Wt DOB 40 Robinson Cancel R/R 6-0 190 05/04/76 11 Ramon Castro R/R 6-3 260 03/01/76 23 Brian Schneider L/R 6-1 195 11/26/76 Infielders B/T Ht Wt DOB -- Mike Carp L/R 6-2 215 06/30/86 1 Luis Castillo S/R 5-11 190 09/12/75 21 Carlos Delgado L/R 6-3 265 06/25/72 4 Argenis Reyes S/R 5-10 165 09/25/82 7 Jose Reyes S/R 6-1 200 06/11/83 5 David Wright R/R 6-0 215 12/20/82 Outfielders B/T Ht Wt DOB 9 Marlon Anderson L/R 5-11 200 01/06/74 15 Carlos Beltran S/R 6-1 205 04/24/77 10 Endy Chavez L/L 6-0 170 02/07/78 19 Ryan Church L/L 6-1 190 10/14/78 6 Nick Evans R/R 6-3 210 01/30/86 28 Daniel Murphy L/R 6-3 210 04/01/85 16 Angel Pagan S/R 6-2 195 07/02/81 17 Fernando Tatis R/R 5-11 195 01/01/75 34?

Good to see a column to balance out the love letters that I have been seen the last few days in some media.

Citi were/are one of the banks bailed out by the taxpayer , as a taxpayer I would ask the treasury to void the Citigroup contract with the Mets. not that they will listen to me.

I can't think of any in baseball but I can in soccer , Roy Keane had been taking painkillers for a year before finally having hip surgery in September of 2003 , it so happened that he was facing a lengthy suspension for various things at the same time. Keane came back in December of that year but has said many times that he thought that the hip problem would force him to retire at an early age, his surgeon has told him that he will require hip replacement surgery at a young age. I would think for an athlete a gimpy hip must be one of the worst kind of problems to have.

] not to trade him and also pledged to re-dedicate himself to offseason training to assure he is in top condition next season. I am usually skeptical when I hear an athlete talk about re-dedicating himself for the new season , still my feeling is that Castillo will be here so I hope he does get back to form.

I have wondered for a long while how Citigroup can justify this deal with the Mets with all the layoffs , on top of these 52,000 job losses they have laid off over 20,000 already this year.

="Frayed Knot"]Meanwhile, the Daily News was calling it a hamstring problem Update from Lennon ] Update on Murphy It appears that what the Mets intially believed was a knee issue for Murphy is actually a hamstring strain. Good thing they got him to an MRI machine. Here's the full update from the team below: The Mets Daniel Murphy underwent an MRI this morning at New York�s Hospital for Special Surgery and the test revealed that he has a Grade 2 Strain of the right hamstring. Murphy felt discomfort in the leg in pre-game batting practice of his November 11th Arizona Fall League game. He will skip winter league ball in Puerto Rico so that he can be ready for the opening of Spring Training this February in Port St. Lucie, Fla.