Frayed Knot

MFS62 wrote: There will be a lot of waiver deals after the deadline because teams will want to replace the suspended players. The suspensions are to be announced after the trading deadline. But that doesn't mean teams don't know (or strongly suspect) that they're coming. The Tigers, for instance, got involved in the Peavy to the Sox deal yesterday in order to get SS Jose Iglesies, something they wouldn't ordinarily do with Jhonny Peralta on their roster but he is one of those on the list of expected suspensions. It seems to me that trying to fix the problem after it happens is tougher than doing so ahead of time, and that's even before you throw the whole waiver wrench into the works.

I think what a run analysis may show is that a bunt in that situation increases the likelihood that you'll score [u:n64jz06l]at least one run[/u:n64jz06l] even if the [u:n64jz06l]average number of runs[/u:n64jz06l] decreases overall -- and the argument can be made that an extra run or two there vastly increases the odds of winning the game so it's the better move than playing for the larger inning.

* Pittsburgh Pirates = Best record in Majors = 1-1/2 game lead on StL after sweeping them in DH on Tuesday. One would think that the Pirates would at least have their long sub-.500 streak kicked although where they are now (64-42) is just 4 games better than where they were at this point last season when they finished ... four games under .500, so it's not in the bag yet! Cardinals have now lost six straight. * Yanx lost on a 2-out/9th inning single out in LA after I hit the sack. Always nice to wake up to that news. And remember the fuss about Jeter and his 1st AB HR? (1st AB that is if you don't count the first comeback) ... well that HR remains the only ball he's gotten out of the infield in 12 ABs. Other than the HR he has nine ground-outs and two infield hits (neither were errors but both makable). * Steven Strasburg was sailing along in Detroit tied 1-1 in the 6th until an Alex Avila 2-out Grand Slam. At least somebody can beat that team. Maybe we would have had better success facing their good pitchers instead of getting limited to one run at a time by the back of their staff and assorted call-ups.

Joel Sherman NY Post -- One Mets official described �nibbles� on players, but nothing more serious. And the Mets have decided if they cannot obtain something they feel strongly about for their future, then why trade Marlon Byrd or Bobby Parnell. Outside executives have said the best the Mets could hope for on Byrd is an interested team�s 10th-15th-best prospect because the sport still eyes Byrd with suspicion since he was terrible last year, failed a PED test and has revived in his age-35 season out of nowhere. As for Parnell, outside executives say the return for closers is just not that strong. One cited, for example, that for Jose Veras, Detroit gave Houston Danry Vazquez, an A-ball player generally viewed as a likely fourth outfielder.

I don't believe that the lack of a deal (if that indeed turns out to be the case) will be because Sandy is handcuffed by orders from above

Given that, even during this season where anyone and everyone with a keyboard can start or fan a story, there hasn't even been a hint of a tidbit of a rumor ... I'd have to think that the team will look tomorrow night pretty much the way it looked tonight.

And Peavy is headed to Boston in a three-way deal involving the Tigers & ChiSox.

An extra-inning game where we WIN against the Marlins ... what a concept!!

1) Nice infieldin' 2) Do NOT let this inning get to Stanton

Ceetar wrote: Believe that if you like, but it's not true. An inch further on the plate and Ike crushes it. Maybe it ends up right at Stanton, but he was on the pitches. Well then you're watching a different game than I am. I'm reading words here like "hard smash" and "screaming liner" yet I'm seeing two-hoppers to infielders and foul balls landing in Row T. And it's hard to make judgments about pitches being altered by "an inch" when most of what he swung at were out of the zone by "a foot". and when we're talking about a guy who hasn't crushed anything (except maybe some ice) in months.

Y'all see that list of late-inning ball-busters, walk-offs, and extra-inning disasters that I posted in the KTE ... I get the distinct feeling that that list is about to be augmented by one.

Ceetar wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Fman99 wrote: Ike hanging tough with two strikes. Yeah, except that the result was ultimately unsuccessful and at no point was there hint that anything was in danger of being a hit. Well the half dozen liners. "Liners" is a very kind term for what Ike was hitting, and even if you want to classify them as such there was nothing that wasn't at least 20-30 degrees foul. The pitcher misses his spot by an inch and those are screeching doubles down the line. No, Ike merely hits a different foul ball somewhere

Fman99 wrote: Ike hanging tough with two strikes. Yeah, except that the result was ultimately unsuccessful and at no point was there hint that anything was in danger of being a hit.

I think there's some contract somewhere that requires a poor offensive output anytime a young NYM pitcher is in the midst of a gem.

Edgy MD wrote: Just socked that ball hard down the line, but into the shift. Not that hard.

Ashie62 wrote: Perfect park and opponent for Zach to shine... Accurate so far. Nothing not to like about 3 perfect innings in under 30 pitches.

Well Jake Peavy has been pulled from tonight's start. No announced trade yet but ...

And the Mets signed Piazza for Seven years just after he turned 30 -- whereas the Angels problem is that they inked Pujols for TEN years just as he was turning 32. Now you could argue that the whole catcher thing negates some of that difference, but Geeez, there was no one who liked the Pujols deal even though he was probably the consensus choice for best hitter in the majors at the time.

Pujols Offensive WAR progression: 2009 - 7.9 2010 - 6.6 2011 - 4.3 2012 - 4.2 2013 - 1.3 Now obviously the injuries this season have a lot to do with that last number so you'd expect some bounce back assuming this foot thing gets taken care of. But still, the progression wasn't headed in a good direction back before his FA deal w/Anaheim was signed between 2011 and 2012 and it's unlikely, seeing as how he's likely to turn 34 before he plays another game, to return to the years when he was averaging around 7.5 per season (2003-2009)

Ceetar wrote: Quick, somebody photoshop Swannie's face onto Parnell's!

I saw Scott up close down in Florida during a ST one year. He had come out of the game by that point and was not too enthusiastically doing some exercises in the outfield while the end of the game played out. He had gotten quite large by that point but would smile broadly and do a little jig as Sox fans yelled out "Disco George" in his direction, clearly more interested in the fans and their reaction than he was in the "work" he was doing.

bmfc1 wrote: Excellent points above. The MFYs are being allowed to manipulate the system and the union isn't doing anything on the player's behalf. The MFYs are stalling (claiming that Rodriguez is hurt) until Selig bans him for the season. Somehow, the MFYs won't have to pay him and it will all work out just swell for them. Well, the MFYs are paying ARod NOW whether he plays or not so this stalling act isn't saving them a dime. They certainly will NOT be paying him during the time he's suspended but that's more MLB's doing than the Steinbrenners & Levines of the world. When and for how long that suspension comes is still up in the air especially since Alex and lawyers threaten to fight ANY punishment in the face of MLB claiming they've got enough to throw an entire library of books at him that will ban him for life. Where this is all going to help the Yanx is in their desire to get under the salary cap next season. They were determined to do so with him but it'll probably be a breeze if Selig has enough to keep him out all of 2014. The reason they're so anxious to get under that cap is that the penalties for going over the cap multiply the longer you're over it and, let's face it, the Yanx have been over it since it was invented. But getting under, even just once, in effect 'resets the clock' so even if they head back over the cap in 2015 they'll do so at only the lowest level of tax rates, not the multiplier rates they're paying now. So whatever money they save on even a temporary ARod ban could pay off for them in larger savings down the road.

metsmarathon wrote: jeez, how could you not blatantly root for arod here? the alternative is for hte yankees to get off scot-free on one of the worst signings in the history of baseball (second, unfortunately, to pujols). i don't think the teams should have a get out of jail free card when one of their players gets suspended for ped use. otherwise, i think very soon, you're going to see arte moreno spiking pujols' gatorade. This is kind of funny in that the prevailing wind from the collective sports media on this topic is that increased player penalties in the form of voided contracts in the case of dirty tests is the only thing that will keep them off the juice. Braun, it's being argued, got a $100+ million dollar contract on at least partial account of his drug use and the penalty for being caught (twice really) is a loss of about $3 mil.

I mentioned this in a thread we had on the int'l signings from a few weeks ago. Here's what I wrote: You may be aware that international bonuses are now capped, not on a per player basis but, like the draft, on an overall yearly budget per team which varies based on order of finish from the previous year yadda, yadda But did you know that the "slots" that determine the amount of money available can be traded or traded for? Well they can and the Mets have done just that, dealing away minor leaguers OF Julio Concepcion (currently in Brooklyn) and RHP Andres Perez (Appy Lg) to the Angels in exchange for $360,500 of extra bonus money which pushes the Mets' total international bonus pool to $3,025,100. Details here if you're interested in the Int'l pool money which is quite likely being given a tryout for a future Int'l draft

Havens was quietly bumped-up to AAA Vegas about a 100 ABs ago and is doing ... well, about what he was doing in AA: taking his walks but not a whole helluva lot else. AA - 325 ABs - .215/.340/.351 AAA - 97 ABs - .237/.312/.330