metirish

G-Fafif wrote: My Giants piece here. You mean this? http://bronxbanter.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1117990.html#fold Good read , one of my favorite sports books is DeFord's 'The Old Ballgame'

The way Cutter holds his arms in that picture is pure Lenny , great shot, silly name though.

seawolf17 wrote: I know it's a hoof, but it kinda looks like he's wearing pumps. True ,and very gay.

Harper is a hack , anyway a few interesting quotes in here from Tony B. ] Without Willie Randolph, Mets make sweeping changes Thursday, September 4th 2008, 12:08 AM MILWAUKEE - The subject of Willie Randolph was raised indirectly, although not incidentally, here Wednesday by Mets VP Tony Bernazard. He was touting Carlos Delgado as a legitimate MVP candidate, ticking off the usual reasons - mechanics, confidence - for his stunning resurgence, when he offered this telling tidbit: "The other thing," said Bernazard, "is that maybe it has something to do with the new people running the team." He didn't refer specifically to either Randolph or Jerry Manuel, but with that one sentence, Bernazard may as well have declared: "See? We were right." Bernazard still won't say so publicly, but it's clear in conversation with him about the state of the ballclub that he felt Randolph had to go, perhaps felt more strongly about the need for a change than anyone in the organization. And even though the Mets can never defend GM Omar Minaya's clumsy, insensitive handling of the firing, you can't argue these days with the idea that indeed the front office was right. This sweep of the Brewers, a team the Mets could face in the first round of the NL playoffs, served as punctuation of sorts to their dramatic transformation from moping underachievers to hungry, confident winners that has taken place since Randolph's firing on June17. With Wednesday's 9-2 victory, built mostly on Ryan Church's first-inning grand slam and Oliver Perez's continued development, the Mets are 45-26 under Manuel, playing with the look of a championship-caliber ballclub for the first time since early 2007. It's possible September will yet be cruel to them again and the Phillies will deny them a playoff spot once more, but you surely wouldn't bet on it the way the Mets are going, especially after this 6-2 road trip against the Phillies, Marlins and Brewers. So for whatever reason, whether they needed to change leadership to shake off the effects of last September's collapse, or the new manager has made some personal impact on players such as Delgado and Jose Reyes, the Manuel Mets barely resemble the Randolph Mets. Bernazard feels it's no coincidence. Although he avoided specific discussion of Randolph, his praise of Manuel seemed to be a commentary on the old manager as well. "You have to have the pulse of the team," Bernazard said. "You have to be prepared and you have to communicate with your players. Jerry does all of that." No player seemingly has benefited more from change than Delgado. His return to form as a feared slugger, after looking ready for retirement early in the season, already had been so remarkable you couldn't help but wonder if he was somehow lacking motivation under Randolph. Bernazard now has added to such speculation with his suggestion that the change in managers could be a factor in Delgado's renaissance. He wouldn't go into detail, but did make something of a cryptic comment that seemed critical of Randolph's managing. "Delgado is such a student of the game," said Bernazard. "If you're running a good game, he knows. When you're running a bad game, he knows." Delgado wasn't going anywhere near such talk. He insisted Wednesday that he didn't have a problem with Randolph, although he did acknowledge that the post-firing atmosphere under Manuel has been good for everyone. "In a more relaxed atmosphere you're going to do better," said Delgado. "But I didn't have a problem with Willie. I played my heart out for him. And it's not like I would embarrass myself by playing bad even if I didn't like the manager. "If I didn't make the adjustments I made at the plate, I wouldn't be getting hits for Jerry, either." Likewise Reyes, who seemed to be unfocused early in the season when he was making 12 errors by July2 (he has only three since) as well as some boneheaded baserunning mistakes, said his own return to being a dynamic player has nothing to do with Randolph - even if he does light up at the mention of Manuel. "Jerry comes and talks to me every day," Reyes said. "It makes me feel good. I have a lot of respect for that guy. I want to play harder for him." Not harder than he did for Randolph, Reyes was quick to add. It's hard to know exactly what Randolph did or didn't do, in terms of preparation and communication, but it's plain to see that Manuel continues to be more comfortable with media scrutiny, more open about his decision-making, so it's not unrealistic to think some of that carries over into relationships in the clubhouse. The bottom line is performance, and this is a team that suddenly seems to have big plans for October. Eleven weeks later, it's hard to imagine the Mets playing at this level if they hadn't changed managers.

Never been to either City but I'm thinking Syracuse is more appealing , it's closer and everything I have read about Buffalo is depressing.

The Nationals are playing some great ball lately , 7-3 the last ten games.

Fierce.

MILWAUKEE (AP) � Upon further review, the play stands. Major League Baseball's scoring review committee ruled Wednesday that official scorer Bob Webb did not err when he ruled that Pittsburgh's Andy LaRoche singled against Brewers pitcher CC Sabathia in the bottom of the fifth inning of Milwaukee's 7-0 win. It was the only hit Sabathia allowed on the soft grounder, that the Brewers ace dropped.

Martinez 3 Wright 2 Reyes 1 Church 1 Easley 1 Beltran 1 Evans 1

Pelfrey 3 Wright 2 Reyes 1 Castillo 1 Stokes 1

Beltran 5 Perez 2 Stokes 1 Smith 1 Castillo .5 Wright .5

Santana 2.75 Delgado 2 Figueroa 1 Smith 1 Ayala 1 Murphy 1 Beltran 1

Beltran 3 Figueroa 1.5 Stokes 1.5 Sanchez 1 Ayala 1 Murphy .5 Feliciano .5 Smith .5

I think I'm winning this thing.

Excellent link , hard to believe it's been ten years since Drew.

1) The first batter to face Jon Niese a) makes an out doesn't make an out c) BONUS: accurately predict the actual outcome Double to second base 2) Jon Niese's first hit against is surrendered to: Weeks a) BONUS: 1B, 2B, 3B, HR? double 3) Jon Niese's first strikeout victim: Hardy 4) Jon Niese's first walk surrendered to: Kendall 5) Jon Niese's first major league time at bat will be scored: K 6) Predict Jon Niese's final linescore tonight: a) IP - 7 H - 6 c) R - 4 d) ER - 4 e) BB - 2 f) K - 6 7) Predict the pitcher who relieves him Figgy

Nice grab by Reyes , Stokes on with Buchhart talking a mile a minute.

HD on Channel 11 is pure shite.

That GIDP by Rodriguez was his 11th this month , a MFY record. EDIT - Saw that just now on an ESPN scroll.

Tough to watch but you could see that happening , I don't care much for that strategy.

Good point FK , Romero really worked it with the chest pumping. Myers looked good .Gave up a lot of hits but kept getting out of it.

Come on Luis

I love you Carlos , I love you Jeff.

Come on Beltran.