Frayed Knot

* Rep of a meathead? -- Check * MFY taint? -- Check, two+ seasons worth. They were never too happy with him though. He was also with them back in the day when no Yanquis had visible tattoos so he, along with Giambi, had continual "arm injuries" that required a wrap from the moment they signed until the malady mysteriously cleared up upon leaving town. Once they signed Sabathia and Burnett the Yanx lost all hope of hiding this shameful "secret". * Looks like he smells? -- Or smells like he looks, one or the other * Straight fastball? -- Oh most definitely. He's long had the rep of a guy whose stuff was better than his results and for someone who's been strictly a reliever for 14 of his 15 seasons and has thrown fairly hard during most if not all of that time, he's rarely been trusted with the closer's role amassing only 54 in that time and almost of all that in just two seasons: he notched 16 in 2005 which he split between Detroit & Atlanta, and then 25 (nearly half his career total) with the 2011 Rays. In only one other season did he get more than two (6 as an MFY in 2006). * No harm, no foul on the invite? -- Depends on how much they want to use/trust him if he makes the team.

Well, apparently if it's one of the Kyle variety of Farns, it's worth a minor league deal and an invite to Spring Training. The 15-year vet who turns 38 in April appeared in 48 games for the Rays & Pirates in 2013, starting none - finishing 17, notching a 4.70 ERA and a 1.38 WHiP

For some reason the name Mike Schmidt leaps to my mind.

Michael Kay's ESPN radio show started simulcasting today over the YES airwaves after Francesa/FAN's contract with that outlet ran out at the end of January*. So to kick off his first show, Kay and side-kick Don LaGreca staged, without explanation but with a symbolism easily familiar to most NYC area sports-talk listeners/watchers, a tossing of a Diet Coke bottle into a nearby garbage can. Francesa responded, via Newsday's Neil Best, with: "Classless, loser move from two guys I have been burying in the ratings for over a decade." Nothing like a good drama queen war between two plus-size divas. * Although the FAN/YES arrangement involving Francesa's show was said to be fracturing before hand, Francesa has hinted that his steadfast backing of ARod to the dismay of YES was part of the reason for the split. He expects to be back on some yet-unnamed simulcast outlet--probably MSG--by April 1st

G-Fafif wrote: Won't Joe Benigno be relieved? Benigno picks some of the oddest topics to get worked up over. In the past he's had entire rants based on John Miller's pronunciation of Carlos Bel-TRAHN.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: NEXT! Well next is Anne VI of course.

Maybe it's just me, but aside from the brief mention and lack of details about MMA (did he train them? ... was he himself a fighter? ...) I'm missing the "creepy, mysterious" part about this guy. As a trainer for "just about every sport" at at least two universities his resume seems to be pretty much an open book as long as one cared to look.

Oh good, a low-BA / high-K / decent walk-rate / slow / LH-hitting 1st sacker. I was wondering when we were going to get one of those.

Think back to a moment to the NY (football) Giants of the 1970s when there was no more disliked owners than the Maras (uncle & nephew). Season tickets were publicly burned, planes were hired to fly over the stadium during games trailing anti-onwer banners, etc. But then they found (read: had forced on them) the right GM who found the right coach, who drafted the right (though disliked at the time) QB and two Soup Bones later there were tearful fans wondering how life would go on without him by the time the old man (Uncle Wellington) died. And do we even need to remind folks of the Hate - Love - Hate - Love relationship that YLDBs had with George von Steinbrenner? Winning is a great deodorant.

I suppose you could do worse than having Flores available for at least part time SS duty. Of course I've never seen him actually play the position so exactly how bad (or not) he would be there remains speculation to this point.

Memories of Lance Berkman 1) His nickname of 'Fat Elvis' is one of the best of the recent crop. Fit him perfectly. 2) He, along with his early Houston contemporary (and future NYM) Richard Hidalgo formed a great example of a tools vs skills debate. Less than a year apart in age and coming up in the same system at a similar time (Berkman, going via the college route, made his ML debut nearly 2 years later) -- if you were measuring the two just on pure skill, Hildalgo would best Berkman in probably every category: better speed, much better arm & glove, more pure power, etc.. But Berkman, despite his "lesser: skills and less-than dreamy body, was much more skilled at putting the bat on the ball and controlling the strike zone and, as a result, had the clearly better career while lasting an extra five years and getting nearly double the ABs as Hidalgo was out of the majors by age 30. Career stats: LB = .293/.406/.537 RH = .269/.345/.490

So it's settled then, Drew will be taking his NYM physical tomorrow.

Zvon wrote: It's true the quality of play is lower, ... Well, sometimes.

That's ridiculously high on Smith so soon. I would think you'd want to have some kind of pro track record before you started breaking top-50. I mean, he does, but <200 ABs at Rookie Lg level. One report I read on Smith recently loves his bat but added that he isn't sold on the power and isn't sold on his body. Bottom line: Long way to go.

Why not big boy?

Anthony DiComo - MLB.com In a telephone interview Tuesday evening, general manager Sandy Alderson reiterated that his team is "unlikely" to sign Stephen Drew, despite the shortstop's perceived lack of suitors on the free-agent market. ... Alderson recently checked in again with Drew's agent, Scott Boras, [but] he described the talks as "sporadic." "We haven't ruled it out, but I think doing anything is unlikely," Alderson said. "I think that Stephen will always have other opportunities. We continue to monitor his situation. We're looking at other free agents that are still available and trying to judge their status, and how they might fit with us. I know there's been a lot of speculation about Drew and the Mets, but at this point, that's what it remains -- speculation."

Batting helmets were uncomfortable and uncool for a while too. The comments from McCarthy, who had the most serious recent injuries from a come-backer, makes it seem like he's stumping for a different padded hat, so maybe he's got a competing interest here.

They can pad if they want to, they can leave felt hats behind. Cuz line drives don't glance, and if they don't glance, then their lives aren't worth a dime.

I suspect they (the pitchers themselves) would argue that a helmet is too hot, too heavy, too cumbersome. As it is I think most will take a wait and see approach with this one until they can test drive them during ST.

New padded hats approved for use by pitchers starting this year in ST. Use will be optional, but a model with extra padding in the front and over the temples is there for the using if the individual so decides. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/major-league-baseball-approves-padded-cap-for-pitchers?ymd=20140128&content_id=67202016&vke

Frayed Knot wrote: I have no problem believing that Piazza took steroids (as I've said before, anyone and everyone is suspect from that era) but parts of what Chass here is basing it on is either demonstrably false or highly speculative. �There was nothing more obvious than Mike on steroids,� says another major league veteran who played against Piazza for years. �Everyone talked about it, everyone knew it. Guys on my team, guys on the Mets. A lot of us came up playing against Mike, so we knew what he looked like back in the day. Frankly, he sucked on the field. Just sucked. After his body changed, he was entirely different. �Power from nowhere,� we called it.� Fine, but Piazza was always big, bigger than his brothers (even the older one), bigger than other kids his age, and worked at his strength from a young age. And this "power from nowhere" stuff doesn't hold up either, not as an amateur and not when he was hitting 50+ HRs over two seasons in the minors as a 22/23 y/o. The bottom line is that what Chass seems to be doing here is looking for one instance, one second-hand rumor, or one twice-relayed statement that will allow him to disqualify someone for taking PEDs. So if some third party says that he thinks Biggio took drugs or that someone told someone else that he did then that's good enough for him. He's allowed his opinion but it's a stupid way to go filling out a HoF ballot. The "fact" that Piazza was a player who "sucked" until suddenly becoming a late bloomer as a power hitter gets further rebuttal over at Amazin' Avenue

Frayed Knot wrote: MLB.com kicked off the overall prospect list season by revealing their Top-100 Syndergaard = 11 d'Arnaud = 22 Montero = 85 Baseball Prospectus chimes in: Syndergaard = 11 d'Arnaud = 48 Flores = 71

Hey, yaneverknow. Actually, I was just wondering whether that was the guy's actual name or something he was using as an internet handle. Or even, going back to his parents, whether they were aware of the mythical figure or if it's all just a coincidence.

Sobriety and recovery (in various forms) can be a bitch, both to yourself and to those around you. Occasionally hi-jinx ensues. Mark Ruffalo Tim Robbins Josh Gad Gwyneth Paltrow Joely Richardson Pink (yeah, the signer Pink) Patrick Fugit Carol Kane

Jon Presser is an interesting handle, wonder if it's real. [u:1edajwq8]Presser John[/u:1edajwq8] (often 'Prester') was a mythical (we assume) figure in Christian Europe during medieval times who was said to live somewhere in the east (variously the middle-east, India, the Orient, sometimes Africa) where he maintained a refuge of Christianity among the 'heathen' hordes of the non-Christian world.