Frayed Knot

Hey, nose jobs are no big deal, half my graduating class in high school had them. Of course I'm from Long Island so ... -- George Costanza

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: So, how does this work? Do Rauuuuul and Damon submit, like, contractor bids? Personally, I'd think a steel-cage death match would be like real cool. But, however they did it, the winner is Ibanez. 1 year, $1.1mil

I tend to find the predictions in the [u:8orrtpz7]post[/u:8orrtpz7]-season magazines to be much more accurate. Want to know who'll win each division this year? ... I'll tell you in October.

Man when I tell you he was cool he was red hot, I mean he was steaming

Nymr83 wrote: Actually saw this on twitter as Dickey posted about it the other day, said he already felt lonely as the only active knuckleballer (is that true?) Probably is, at least for pitchers who use it as their majority pitch. Another side-note about Wakefield's retirement is that it leaves MLB without an active 200+ win pitcher for the first time since ... since 1879!! when Tommy Bond (you all remember ol' Tommy, right?) passed Bobby Mathews to take over the lead in the post-Al Spalding era with 195. The Ireland-born T.B. (as we who were close to him called him) went on to win 26 that year (after four straight seasons of 40+) to push him over the 200 mark. Of course, seeing how Wakefield didn't get #200 until September it would seem that last season didn't have a >200 guy either but Jamie Moyer (267) was considered active even though he didn't pitch due to injury. Moyer hooking on with a team (I think the Rox invited him to camp) would give him back the lead and continue the streak. If not it'll still only last this year as current leader Roy Halladay (188) is poised to break the barrier unless (heh, heh) something bad happens. There were a few close calls over the years such as Don Drysdale with 204 taking over the lead upon the retirement of Whitey Ford. But there were also decade-long streaks where the mark stayed at 300+

Edgy DC wrote: That's terrific. Nice job by Les Habitants. I thought of another memory of Carter. The '84 ASG (for which he'd be named MVP) as the other half of the battery for a teenage pitcher named Gooden. Dwight, making his AS debut in his rookie year, went out and quickly, as most NYM fans know, struck-out the side (Lance Parrish, Chet Lemon, Al Davis). The inning-ending K prompted vet catcher Carter (still in the game more than half way through we should note) to bound out from behind the plate with a grin on his face that could only have said, 'Golly whiz guys, how cool was THAT!' In the 5th inning of his 7th All-Star Game in his 10th big-league season, he was still a fan.

So they gave up on trying to get higher prospects in hopes of eating less money which in turn gives them more payroll flexibility (yes, even they are watching their pennies) to sign a lefty DH. One story said that whichever of Damon or Ibanez agreed to sign for less would get the job. That makes sense, but... well... if it's true, it's a little more than a little unseemly. Well I guess they figure that one aging but still decent LH bat attached to a rag-arm who should have his glove confiscated at the border is just as good as the other so why overpay? After all, this is a part-time DH slot we're talking about here. Sickels take on the prospects, both Venezuelans: Exicardo Cayones, OF: Cayones is 20 years old - LH hitter and thrower, His career got off to a good start in the Venezuelan Summer League in 2009 with a .302/.396/.424 mark, but he hit just .263/.369/.362 after moving up to the Gulf Coast League in 2010. A disastrous 2-for-32 beginning in the 2011 New York-Penn League sent him back to the Gulf Coast League, where he hit .293/.389/.427. Cayones has a keen eye and has posted solid OBPs, but he hasn't produced much power and doesn't run well enough to play center field. He is a marginal prospect at this point. Diego Moreno, RHP: Signed as a free agent in 2006, he turns 26 in July. Moreno throws very hard, hitting 98 MPH on his best days and consistently in the 94-95 range. He also has a good slider and is frequently overpowering, posting consistently strong K/IP ratios. He fanned 45 in 45 innings last year between High-A Bradenton and Double-A Altoona, and he posted a terrific 69/8 K/BB in just 46 innings at those two levels in 2010. However, the results sometime seem less than the sum of the parts, he hasn't been consistently effective in Double-A, and his makeup has been questioned. He profiles as a middle reliever if he can put everything together, and his component ratios imply that he has sleeper potential. His arm strength makes him worth a flyer.

BP also posts an article dealing with the whys and wherefores of the deal which brought him to NY Now I'm not going to be one of those guys who'll claim to have KNOWN at the time that this was the put-em-over-the-top kind of trade. In fact, I'll admit to being luke-warm to the deal upon first hearing about it. I was a big Hubie fan living with a friend at the time who was even more so - boy was HE pissed that night! I also had hopes for Herm Winningham to the point where I remember thinking that I bet they wished they could have subbed Mookie into the deal now that Lennie was here. Plus I was leery of Carter due to that odd circumstance where you begin to get numb to the greatness of a player who had been as good as he had for such a long time and start to think of him as yesterday's news and not the kind of younger, dynamic player the '85 and beyond Mets needed. Good thing they didn't have a dope like me running the team, huh? In retrospect - and probably to smart people at the time - he was so clearly the missing piece; the RH bat on the lefty-heavy squad, the veteran catcher to guide all those young pitchers, the clean-up hitter to take pressure off of Strawberry, and so on. The most frequent mentions this week were the opening day HR and the post-season hits. I tend to think back to the absolute monster of a September he had in '85 as that team surged to 98 wins and were a bloop or two away from yanking the lead away from the Cardinals. The over-the-hill fear of course did show up in years 4 & 5 of his NYM career and the years in between have blurred the memories of some pretty harsh fan treatment in those final seasons, but no same person could possibly want to un-do the deal even with the warts that eventually showed up.

attgig wrote: finally done. 5 mil in 2012 and 8.5 in 2013. the return is reliever Diego Moreno and OF Exicardo Coyones. don't know anything about those two, but money wise... it probably is right around where it should have been where it comes out close to even. Plus, if AJ does return to form, Pirates could probably trade him in 2013 for prospects and only eating a portion of the larger annual salary. - So are those figures what the Yanx are going to eat of the $33 he's owed over the next two season or what the Pirates are going to pay? - Sickels doesn't mention either player in his recent overview of Pitt Prospects, and his list goes out to 30+ guys so we're talking minor prospects here (BP's Pitt Top 20 didn't mention either guy either) What it sounds like happened is that the Yanx desperately wanted to get rid of AJ prior to the formal start of ST next week, especially now that the rumors of them wanting to dump him were out there. So they gave up on trying to get higher prospects in hopes of eating less money which in turn gives them more payroll flexibility (yes, even they are watching their pennies) to sign a lefty DH. One story said that whichever of Damon or Ibanez agreed to sign for less would get the job.

SteveJRogers wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: - famously served up Aaron Bleepin' Boone's ALCS-losing HR but came back to play a HUGE role the following post-season when his innings-eating durability allowed the spent Sawx staff to recover for games 5, 6 & 7 of the 2004 ALCS Hate to bring up Uber-douche Wally Matthews, but this does bear mentioning as it is a clear example of his douchebaggery. Heading into that 2004 ALCS, Matthews had declared that, thanks to the Aaron Boone homer, the Yankees had "solved" Wakefield, and that Wakefield was DONE when it came to pitching against the MFYs. Yeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhhh, about that... Yeah, like anyone ever solves a knuckleball pitcher. Or that one pitch to one batter (especially one who was only on the team for about an hour) proves anything about anything. That theory is stupid even by Wally standards.

metirish wrote: Nice career, wanted to look up his numbers versus the MFY's but Baseball Reference is a real pain in the arse these days, used to be you could click on career and go from there...... 58 Games 36 starts including 2 CGs 10 games finished incl 1 Save 255 IP -- 231 Hits -- 167 K, 130 BB -- 5.01 ERA; 1.414 WHiP [vs 4.41, 1.350 career averages] -- 12 Wins 18 Losses Not surprisingly, the Yanx, along with the other ALEast teams, are among the teams he pitched against the most. Toronto was way out in front as his most faced team while Baltimore was slightly higher than NYY.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I own this card somewhere. Rare to see Carter wearing another uni number than 8 -- 57! (he was born April 8 and married Feb. 8) There was that story Frank Cashen told about negotiating the trade and/or contract extension with Carter and hearing him repreat; I gotta keep #8 - or words to that effect. Cashen, wondering what clause #8 in the contract was all about, worried that it was some over-the-top privilege the Mets would consider a deal-breaker. Turned out that all Gary was interested in, citing his birthday and anniversary, was being able to continue wearing #8 as his uni.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Drafted as an outfielder or first baseman if I recall correctly. Yup! Played all of '88 and most of '89 as a 1B, 3B & 2B Was full-time pitcher by 1990

The knuckle-baller to make his announcement today at Boston's ST complex in Florida - 45 years old - Drafted in the 8th round by Pittsburgh in 1988 out of the Florida Institute of Technology (really!). I wonder if he tried picking up girls by telling them he went to F.I.T. and therefore knew a lot about fashion? - 3rd in ROY in 1992 (behind Eric Karros & Moises Alou) despite not making ML debut until July 31. Went 8-1; 2.15 over 13 starts - Spent all of 1994 and early '95 in minors before being released by Pirates in late April 1995 - Signed with Boston six days later where he stayed for the remainder of his career. - 3rd in CY that same season (in back of R. Johnson & Joe Table, ahead of D. Cone & M. Mussina). Those were the only CY votes he'd ever get - got his 200th win last season although not easily, 7 starts plus a relief appearance came between 199 and 200 - Appeared in just two games after win #200 (lost them both ... finishes at 200-180) but still managed 33 games, 23 starts, and 150 IPs in his final season - made lone All-Star appearance at age 42 - famously served up Aaron Bleepin' Boone's ALCS-losing HR but came back to play a HUGE role the following post-season when his innings-eating durability allowed the spent Sawx staff to recover for games 5, 6 & 7 of the 2004 ALCS Nice career dude.

I dunno, I guess it's on the order of: Even I, on the opposite side of the country and certainly not one of his fawning fan-boys, can still appreciate the player/person he was.

Marty Noble chimes in ... of course. And also a statistical analysis of his career and placement among all-time catchers from Baseball Prospectus

Well despite the public optimism of both Gary and his blogging daughter - an optimism that seems genetic in that family - we don't know what the medical people told them.

smg58 wrote: http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7520886/hall-fame-catcher-gary-carter-was-ferocious-competitor Tim Kurkjian has a nice write-up. Kurkjian's the best at those kind of write-ups/narrations.

One of the things Red Sox Nation didn't like as the talk of hiring Bobby V started to swirl this past off-season was that so many of them KNEW going into the managerial search that whoever they hired was simply going to be an interim choice until the inevitable Joe Maddon signing which was slated to happen just as soon as he became free at the end of 2012. Yeah, but as the red-highlighted news below indicates, that's not going to happen is it? TEAM2011 MgrSTATUS2012 MgrRED SOXTerry Francona - since 2004Option not picked upBobby Valentine - 2 year dealYANXJoe Girardi - since 2008Signed thru 2013Same ORIOLESBuck Showalter - since 2010Signed thru 2013SameRAYSJoe Maddon - Since 2006Signed thru 2012Signed to extension thru 2015BLUE JAYSJohn Farrell - Hired Oct �10Signed thru 2013SameTIGERSJim Leyland - Since 2006Signed thru 2012SameWHITE SOXOzzie Guillen - since 2004Contract terminated via mutual consentRobin Ventura - "multi-year" contractTWINSRon Gardenhire - Since 2002Signed thru 2013SameROYALSNed Yost - Since May �10Signed thru 2012SameINDIANSManny Acta - Since 2010Signed thru 2012 + 2013 optionSameRANGERSRon Washington - Since 2007Signed thru 2012Extended thru 2014MARINERSEric Wedge - first seasonSigned thru 2013SameA�sBob Melvin - hired June �11Signed thru 2014SameANGELSMike Scioscia - since 2000Signed thru 2018SameMETSTerry Collins - first seasonOption picked up thru 2013SameBRAVESFredi Gonzalez - first seasonSigned thru 2013SameMARLINSJack McKeon - since 6/20/11Not re-hired for 2012Ozzie Guillen - signed thru 2015NATIONALSDavey Johnson - took over 6/26/11Signed w/org but not as managerOption picked up for 2012 PHILLIESCharlie Manual - since 2005Signed thru 2013SameCUBSMike Quadde - since 2010Signed thru 1012 - FiredDale Sveum - 3 year deal thru 2014BREWERSRon Roenicke - first seasonSigned thru 2012 + �13 optionSamePIRATESClint Hurdle - first seasonSigned thru 2013SameCARDINALSTony LaRussa - since 1996RetiredMike Matheny - 2 yrs + 2014 optionREDSDusty Baker - since 2008Signed thru 2012SameASTROSBrad Mills - since 2010Signed thru 2012 w/option for �13SameDODGERSDon Mattingly - first seasonSigned thru 2013SameDIAMONDBACKSKirk Gibson - hired Aug �10Signed thru 2012 + �13 optionNew deal thru '14 w/options for '15 & '16GIANTSBruce Bochy - since 2007Signed thru 2012SamePADRESBud Black - since 2007Signed thru 2013 + options for �14 & �15SameROCKIESJim Tracy - since May �09Signed thru 2013Same

Not that I think statements like this prove anything one way or the other - particularly seeing as how it does nothing to solve problems in the short run - but just to throw a few more of Sandy's words on the fire: �I�m very hopeful this is a temporary situation,� Alderson said of the team�s financial problems. �I didn�t come here to operate the Oakland A�s, and I don�t expect to have to do that on a long-term basis and am not doing it currently. �[The franchise] will be revived in short order.� Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/youth_move_met_JCGo04lZ9m68J5Ekezv7yN#ixzz1mSTj5GOA

According to Wikipedia (so you know it's true) Lewin was born in Rochester, grew up outside of Boston, went to college in Illinois, and got his big break doing hockey in Detroit - so it'll be interesting how he explains his NYM fandom. Not that I think it matters really, I just think he'd be better off NOT trying to claim it unless it actually is true. It's an open question, but that comment about WFAN gives me pause. Hey, FAN was not only the first but is Masterpiece Theatre compared to most sports talk radio.

If he turns out to be more of a gap hitter rather than a pure power hitter he might like that stadium a lot ... except for all that foul territory of course. What he'll probably hate (or at least take some time getting used to) is the weather.

NYPost saying that the not-yet separated Brian Cashman only went to the police to report the stalking/harassment by his girlfriend when the girlfriend started to harass his other girlfriend. Hate when that happens.

metirish wrote: A's land Cespedes with four-year contract http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120213&content_id=26674580&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb Be interesting to see how this one works out over time considering that few if any people connected with MLB have ever seen this guy play meaning that decisions are being based on controlled workouts and that initial recruiting film/music video. Projections on how good he is going to be vary as would be expected with such limited info.

Buster Olney sez that "the Pirates and Yankees have a framework of a possible A.J. Burnett deal in place, and they are now working through conditions of that framework" Beyond that he doesn't even appear to speculate about what body(s) would be coming back other than to say that how much of Burnett's salary would be eaten by each club is going to have something to do with things. Burnett is owed $16.5 mil for each of the next two seasons and has a limited no-trade clause.