Frayed Knot

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 good thing about there being so many votes for the HoF is that no one guy's ballot, no matter how screwy, can affect things all that much. So while the back and forth between the likes of Neyer & Chass is sometimes fun to read, I can't get too worked up over it all.

G-Fafif wrote: ...Went home, threw up and never permitted that stuff splotched on my popcorn again. Hope nobody was in your line of fire.

Probably because the apostrophe is standing in for the missing letters rather than indicating a contraction. Also I think it's because [u:218s7b5m]As[/u:218s7b5m] by itself looks funny This all reminds me of the time one of John Gotti's grandsons opened a tanning salon (what else?) and hung a sign saying: GOTTIS TAN'S

This poll is definitely NOT bringing sexy back!

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Yeah Parker's been an idiot on more than a few occasions (he was writing for NEWSDAY for a short spell) but there's actually more in his piece there that I agree with than disagree. That's not to say that my ballot would be identical to his or that I agree with all his reasoning, but I like the fact that he realizes that you just can't pretend that the 1990s never existed and that by doing so you risk falling into the trap of over-rating non-steroid era players just to compensate. My frustration is that he automatically dismisses Piazza -- and others -- simply because he didn't get 500 homers or 3,000 hits. Like I said, I disagree with some of his logic regarding individual choices, but not with his overall philosophy on the big roids issue of the day.

MFS62 wrote: A writer saying its time for the HOF to do something about steroids. Some other interesting stuff, especially about Ted Williams. http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/26/time-for-a-hall-of-fame-stand/ Later I think it's a bit early to be panicking over this. The HoF/steroid issue--meaning the era where known 'roiders have been coming up for votes--is only a few years old at this point and I think a lot of the writers are still sorting things out in their own heads. If this is still a muddled issue a decade or so from now then maybe some pow-wow needs to take place. But right now all that has happened is that a handful of players are left waiting longer than they thought based on some choices they made a while back; not something I'm going to lose sleep over.

Yeah Parker's been an idiot on more than a few occasions (he was writing for NEWSDAY for a short spell) but there's actually more in his piece there that I agree with than disagree. That's not to say that my ballot would be identical to his or that I agree with all his reasoning, but I like the fact that he realizes that you just can't pretend that the 1990s never existed and that by doing so you risk falling into the trap of over-rating non-steroid era players just to compensate.

And finally, seawolf17 is our newest mod. We hope that all posters show him the same respect and courtesy that the other admins have received in the past. Uh ... And finally, seawolf17 is our newest mod. He may yet do some actual mod-ing at some point, but only if we can pry him away long enough from his collections of baseball cards and hair-metal records.

Morales only briefly played the OF and is no longer an option there. Some have questioned whether he's even a 1st baseman going forward or is strictly a DH from here on out.

Yeah, but ARod was low on options. He wanted out of Dallas (and Rangers mgmt wanted out from under ARod) and, even with Texas agreeing to eat as much as $75 million future dollars, no one would accept that contract except for the Yanx. Even the BoSox' deal, you'll remember, couldn't be arranged in a way so as to satisfy the PA. So he went with his money intact and an out-clause in his pocket, agreeing to give up SS no doubt but also most likely seeing enough championshipS in his future to cement his legacy from that end. After all, how could a team that had won four times in the previous six years add HIM and not win at least as often going forward? Drew on the other hand, having multiple teams to talk to and in an age where the money gap between the MFY and those also-rans that make up the rest of MLB isn't nearly as stark as it was a decade ago, can be a full-time SS somewhere for probably the same money that the Yanx would give him and not be the 2nd or 3rd option depending on the whims of 2 or 3 other players or the hatred of being the one who shoved St Derek permanently out of his position.

Well yeah, the Yanx might want to put him at 2B for a season where he'll share time with Brian Roberts & Kelly Johnson, and maybe play some 3B depending on the length of ARod's suspension, all while he waits for Jeter to get [even]old[er] and to the point where both he and the team no longer automatically see him as having the right of first refusal at the field's most important defensive position ... but if you're Stephen Drew, coming as you are off a great year for a championship team at SS, why would you possibly agree to that set-up at a time when you have other options?

On the flip side, I think the stRangers have every reason to be happy with Darvish to this point.

Nymr83 wrote: Drew isn't even close to being a good enough hitter for an AL team to consider him as even a part-time DH ... I'm not suggesting he is. What I'm saying is that I don't see (despite an article claiming otherwise) a spot for Drew in the Bronx because of Jeter's image being tied to getting as much time at SS as possible and about the Yanx being tied emotionally to Jeter at SS. IOW, why the hell would Drew agree to go there knowing the shit storm he'd be heading into (and the DH time he'd be forced to log) even if it's just for year one of the deal?

Centerfield wrote: That hurts man. I mean, do you not remember the last four starts that closed out my season? I'm just sayin' is all. We also remember the 50 wins (33 of them in the first two seasons) that the Red Sox got from you for their $100+ million. Years three-thru-six of the deal looked more like 17-22; 5.53; 1.54 WHiP on a total of 55 starts/296 IPs Matsuzaka was 26 when he signed with Boston, Tanaka just turned 25 And while it's not totally fair to compare Japanese pitchers strictly to other Japanese pitchers as if they all come off the same assembly line (it's like in the NBA where white players only get compared to other white players and black to black) the pitchers from there do tend to hit FA young but only because they come up younger and also tend to be worked hard (even if somewhat less often) from a young age.

New transfer rules for NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) players to MLB: - NPB can notify MLB of a player it wishes to be 'Posted' any time between November 1 and February 1 - any MLB team wishing to meet the posting price can do so at a posting price that can be set at any level not exceeding $20 million dollars. Obviously with this guy it'll be for the max amount but future posting may be at lesser levels for lesser players. - all teams willing to meet the posting price can negotiate with the player, but only the one who eventually signs him to a deal owes the NPB team the fee. Also the player and/or his rep are not required to meet with each MLB team who met the posting price - Once posted, there is a 30-day window for negotiations and for an agreement to be reached - in this case that means a January 24th at 5 PM (EDT?) deadline. - If no contract is agreed to the player's rights revert back to his NPB team and he can not be posted again until next November 1st IOW, the fees are now capped and salary will be determined by more of an open market rather than via the old system which pretty much operated the other way around. The obvious intent here is that more of signing team's money winds up with the player while being less of a windfall to his old team. Various reports list the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, Braves, Rangers and Diamondbacks as current frontrunners, with one adding the the Cubs "will not be out-bid" for Tanaka but that convincing him to come to Chicago might be difficult.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Adult movie theater experiences? Oh, I've got plenty of good adult movie theater experiences. As do I, although in my defense I was young and needed the money.

Having flicked by a few minutes of MARY POPPINS recently on TV I found myself thinking one thing, that I wish Travers had succeeded in resisting old Walt's pitch. I'm not one given to automatically rejecting all things Disney, but that was one bad movie, and was even more so, from what I understand, if you were a fan of the book.

Trachsel My Tears wrote: He turned 26 years old this afternoon. And that's another strike against him. Fans tend to think of him as a young player still searching to reach his potential and harness his emotions ... but 26 really isn't that young.

There was something in one of the papers today about Drew possibly winding up with either NYC team - although no evidence was given in either case, most just a statement, "it could happen". Personally I can't see him going to the Bronx and having to sit and/or DH half the time, and I sure can't see the Yanx telling Jeter that HE is going to be the backup. As far as the Mets go, the article speculated that Drew/Boras wanted three years while the Mets wanted to hold things to two. I suppose you can call that progress as I think the early reports were that Drew was looking for five years coming off his first good and healthy year in a while.

Desi Relaford

I have this one plus the one on the Muscle Shoals studio as music docus to watch early in the upcoming year.

Well, what they're doing this year is a 'Go-For-It' season with all these elderly signings even as there was a school of thought that between the Pettitte & Rivera retirements, the ARod & Jeter situations, plus Cano leaving that they'd retrench and at least go partially into re-build mode and actually make good on that threat to get under the lux-tax threshold. And there's still the possibility of this Hail-Mary strategy all working out for them, at least in the short run, as the additions of McCann, Ellsbury & Beltran mixed in with the (probable) returns of Teixeira and Jeter shouldn't be totally dismissed out of hand. But this could just as easily all go south on them in one big hurry and end in a spectacular fireball (and wouldn't THAT be fun to watch). No doubt that the last-minute changes over posting rules for Japanese imports threw them for a loop too as I think they were counting on blowing everyone else out of the water (posting fees don't count against the salary cap) and gaining unchallenged rights to this Tanaka guy. Now the rules aren't as lucrative for the current employers and suddenly his team isn't so anxious to post him nor can one team lock him in exclusively to just one club with which to negotiate.

No real point here, except that the recent discussion of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA got me thinking about lengthy movies. In the case of L-of-A Vic's comment of "four hours long and still not long enough" was dead on. I make no claims about the list here being by any means complete, I pulled these off an interweb search as all were either made during the lifetime of many of us here or at least still easily findable via cable station rotations in the present day (although I have absolutely no memory/knowledge of either GETTYSBURG or MAGNOLIA despite their release date and name casts). Personally, I've only seen about 1/3 of these but still count several all-time favorites among them (GODFATHER II, REDS, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. THE RIGHT STUFF) Feel free to add, comment, etc. GETTYSBURG - 1993 -- 4 H, 31 M THE TEN COMMANDMENTS - 1956 -- 4 H, 0 M ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA - 1984 -- 3 H, 49 M GONE WITH THE WIND - 1939 -- 3 H, 46 M LAWRENCE OF ARABIA - 1962 -- 3 H, 36 M BEN-HUR - 1959 -- 3 H, 22 M EXODUS - 1960 -- 3 H, 28 M WAR AND PEACE - 1956 -- 3 H, 28 M SEVEN SAMURI - 1954 -- 3 H, 27 M MALCOLM X - 1992 -- 3 H, 22 M LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING - 2003 -- 3 H, 21M THE GODFATHER, PART II - 1974 -- 3 H, 20 M [Part 1, btw, clocked in at 2:55] DOCTOR ZHIVAGO - 1965 -- 3 H, 17 M SCHINDLER�S LIST - 1993 -- 3 H, 15 M RYAN�S DAUGHTER - 1970 -- 3 H, 15 M TITANIC - 1997 -- 3 H, 14 M REDS - 1981 -- 3 H, 14 M THE RIGHT STUFF - 1983 -- 3 H, 13 M NIXON - 1995 -- 3 H, 12 M CLEOPATRA - 1963 -- 3 H, 12 M GANDHI - 1982 -- 3 H, 11 M THE GREEN MILE - 1999 -- 3 H, 9 M JFK - 1991 -- 3 H, 9 M MAGNOLIA - 1999 -- 3 H, 8 M FANNY AND ALEXANDER - 1982 -- 3 H, 8 M KING KONG - 2005 -- 3 H, 7 M SHORT CUTS - 1993 -- 3 H, 7 M BARRY LYNDON - 1975 -- 3 H, 4 M SPARTACUS - 1960 -- 3 H, 4 M PEARL HARBOR - 2001 -- 3 H, 3 M THE DEER HUNTER - 1978 -- 3 H, 2 M DANCES WITH WOLVES - 1990 -- 3 H, 1 M FIDDLER ON THE ROOF - 1971 -- 3 H, 1 M THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK - 1959 -- 3 H, 0 M

Based on the idea that lengthy--both in time and in pages--posts should eventually be put out to pasture, I�m starting up a new thread to follow the exploits of the 2014 MFYs while allowing the old one to drift into the sunset just as the team it followed did. But I�m going to use one of Vic�s posts from late in that thread as a bridge to this one, specifically the part where he said: "... and they just keep getting older and more expensive" And onto that comes Joel Sherman�s column in today NYPost where he adds the delightful observation that, �The Yankees have accomplished the near impossible � they had the oldest player in the majors (Mariano Rivera) and the oldest starter (Andy Pettitte) retire and yet somehow have gotten older this off-season." He goes on to point out that Teixeira, at age 34, will be MLB�s 3rd oldest starting 1st baseman this year, just months behind Adam LaRoche & Ryan Howard (both are also 34). At 2B, probable starter Brian Roberts (36) will be the 3rd oldest at that spot, behind only Marco Scutaro (38) and Mark Ellis (assuming he starts for the Cards over rookie Kolten �Pick-off� Wong) who is just months older than Roberts. At SS -- Derek Jet-uh, Numbuh Two -- 40 at mid-season, will be the oldest starting SS by some 4-1/2 years (Jimmy Rollins) At 3B things get a bit dicey. If ARod manages to play he�ll be the oldest by a gap of three years over Aramis Ramirez. If not they�ll go to Kelly Johnson who�ll be the baby of the indield despite being 32 and the 4th oldest starting 3B in baseball. In the OF things are looking much brighter. Assuming that the recently signed (Angels) Raul Ibanez is there to DH and put his glove in moth-balls, then Four of the oldest Six OFs are currently on the Yanqui roster: Ichiro (40 - oldest in MLB), Soriano (38 - 3rd), Beltran (37 - 4th), Vernon Wells (35 - 6th) [non-Yanx Toriiiii Hunter and Ryan Ludwick are the missing two] It's possible that they'll trade either Ichiro or Wells before the season starts. Of course it's also possible that they'll deal Brett Gardner (31 during the upcoming season ... not as young as you thought, eh?) and become even older. Among starters, Hiroki Kurada with be 3rd oldest (Colon & Dickey) and Sabathia 7th And while age usually doesn�t matter a whole lot with relieving specialists, it should be noted that the major pen move for the Yanx this winter has been to swap out their 29 y/o LOOGY (Boone Logan) for a 37 y/o LOOGY (Matt Thorton).