Frayed Knot

metsmarathon wrote: i'm exhausted. i hope those all went to the right places... If we find any votes for Art Shamsky we'll know that your spreadsheet has a bug in it.

Murphy sez: 'I laugh in the face of your Lefty-switches Davey'

It's the Danny, Juan & Jenrry show: Starring ... Danny, Juan & Jenrry!!!

Mejia looking gooooooood

... yeah, we're already in progress but there's still 3-1/2 to go and, besides, I've been seeing a lot of these guys lately as I've been fascinated by their free-fall and particularly with their inability to score. Yeah, they put up nine last ngiht but half of them were gifts. And the thing with their offense is that no one person is stinking up the joint, it's just that their RiSP numbers are RIDONCULOUSLY BAD. As of the other day they were like 6 for their last 80 or something unthinkable like that. Think of us during those long games w/Miami when we'd have runners all over the place but never get them in -- that's what the Nats have been like over the last three weeks or more. Classic example of the whole being less than the sum of the parts. Individually: - Span hasn't been all they hoped and has been demoted to 7th in the order w/Harper moved to the leadoff spot - Werth's been their best hitter lately and most of their power - Zimmerman's throwing is still shaky as has their defense in general - their bench has been pretty bad and that's been a big difference from last year - their bullpen has pretty much sucked, again a big change from '12 On the mound we'll see Zimmermann (duh!), Ross Ohlendorf (6th starter/long man), the pretty sucky Dan Haren and Taylor Jordan (or maybe it's Jordan Taylor ... same thing) meaning that we'll miss Gonzalez & Strasburg and that's kind of a good thing right now. Zimmermannnn had been their best starter until just a few starts ago.

More from the international front: 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

Wheeler - 1.5 Aardsma - 0.5 Parnell - 0.5 Hawkins - 0.5 Buck - 2.0 Murphy - 2.0 Wright - 1.2 Byrd - 1.2 Brown - 0.3 Young - 0.3

Germen - 2.0 Edgin - 0.5 Murphy - 2.0 Byrd - 1.5 Quintanilla - 1.0

Soriano to Yanx deal complete. Probably some nothing prospect going to Chicago in exchange. Also Cubs picking up around $17 of the $25mil still owed through the end of next year. So the Yanx, who knew coming into the season that their position players were too old and too expensive, have added and/or re-signed since the winter: Ichiro (39), Lyle Overbay (36), Travis Hafner (36), Vernon Wells (shockingly only 34 - he merely plays like he's older), and now Soriano (37) and, even though they got all those guys either at reduced rates or with their old club paying for a good chunk of the salary (Wells & Soriano) they've still got all except Hafner & Overbay under contract for next year.

It's possible to be in 2nd place NLEast by tomorrow.

Wow! I stopped paying attention to the Nats game when they built a 7-3 lead and took that into the 9th. But then closer Soriano and relief help after him blew the entire lead meaning that you can add shaky bullpen to the increasingly large list of problems they've been having. Harper then won the game with a 2R walk-off HR in the bottom of the inning. It was his first HR in like three weeks and seemingly the Nationals first win in almost as long, but, streak breaker or not, this still couldn't have been a comforting afternoon for them.

At a 14-4 hit ratio and some less than stellar defense by the Braves, we should be winning this game by more than 3 runs. I'd feel much better with another hit here.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Even with this bad call, we should be winning this game hugely and we're not. Now we are as Buck drives one into the LF corner (or semi-hugely anyway).

Frayed Knot wrote: Should have been a G-R Double but that's not a reviewable call. The Braves problem was that their OFers assumed it was going to be called and stopped playing it. Fredi has been ejected. And then the ALMOST problem is that Murphy assumed the call too and slowed down but Wright didn't. If the Braves were more alert they might have had a play on Murph at the plate even though they didn't have one at David at 3rd.

Should have been a G-R Double but that's not a reviewable call. The Braves problem was that their OFers assumed it was going to be called and stopped playing it. Fredi has been ejected.

Wild pitch on the intentional walk - long the argument against the idea of the automatic (just wave him to 1st) IW

The Nats finally figured out how to score this afternoon ... have the opposing pitcher (AJ Burnett) hit the first batter of the game and then have the Pittsburgh defense make THREE 1st inning errors. 4-1 Nats, top of the fifth

Zvon wrote: Byrd attributes his good hitting to real long hugs from Recker. Swannie is going to attribute his future first and second heart attacks to hugs from Recker.

Vic Sage wrote: what happened to Young? Apparently he tweaked his ankle while in the midst of breaking other people's ankles. Guess it started to bother him as the game went on.

The .278 IsoP number isn't bad either.

Among ARod's complaints, apparently, is that Jeter gets to be in uniform and in the dugout while on the DL for the same supposed injury but yet he's being treated as if he's got leprosy.

What did Kate Hudson have to say? Better yet, did Henry Hudson have any opinions, like: 'Damn Mets, they left me adrift up here in the cold. Friggin cheap-ass Wilpons, the least they could do is name a damn river after me or something'

A story I heard earlier today (not sure of the accuracy) says that ARod wants to hear what he wants to hear and if he doesn't he simply fires the guys telling him otherwise. Supposedly he's gone through three lawyers and at least two pr flacks in the last six months for just these reasons. I suppose if you do that it's only a matter of time until you find a guy who says; "Sure, fighting this to your last breath is a good idea ... there's no way they have proof you did anything"

In addition to his ongoing problems with the league, it's ARod & the Yanx who are squabbling at the moment. He claims he's healthy and to prove it he went and got a 2nd opinion on the MRI on his quad. His doc claims he's good to play and ARod wants to play by Friday. Cashman though is saying Alex is going against policy by getting a 2nd opinion without first obtaining club permission and that he'll play when they tell him he's ready to play and not a minute sooner. As Irish would say: handbags at twenty paces.

Fractured ankle is the word.