Frayed Knot

They have got to be the weirdest franchise that's ever been, at least since the Cleveland Spiders were contracted. You can dismiss them and deride them and have many laughs at their expense, but then you can't help but come back to "...but they won two World Series." Two World Series wins but no division titles; not in those WS years, not in any other season. I kind of admire the sense of humor it takes to bring Piazza back. Reminds me of the sign a fan displayed the first time the Piazza-Mets visited: MIKE: IT'S NOT THE SAME WITHOUT YOU

And the Val Pascucci era has begun!

Yeah, let's just start out the game by handing them a shitty run!! At least make them get the fucking ball out of the infield.

Lefty Specialist wrote: Well, the nice thing about a 27.00 ERA is that it'll probably go down at some point. Plummeted to 9.00 it has.

attgig wrote: are we writing off 2012 in September? Apparently some are, and it's that attitude that I'm mocking.

I definitely think it was the right move for Arizona to declare 2011 a lost year and deal away Upton & Kennedy prior to the season starting. Maybe it'll pay off for them some day.

Schwinden's kind of getting dunked to death ... well he is as long as you ignore that 900-ft HR that Chipper hit.

Hey Roger, whatever you just told Minor (conference between hitters) it didn't work.

Edgy DC wrote: Are we actually getting injury information on Horowitz from Isringhausen? And probably more quickly and accurately than info that goes the other way around.

"They'll finally be called the Miami Marlins, which is what they should have been from the beginning" Supposedly the story behind that one is that when Miami/south Florida won the race against the Tampa/St-Pete area to have the first MLB team they chose 'Florida' as an in-your-face swipe and those uppity "northerners", as if to say; 'Y'know, even if you hicks eventually do get a team, WE will always be Florida's team on account of the fact that WE were here first. Look, it even says so right in our name'. Now they agreed to put Miami into the name as a condition of getting all the Miami-Dade county money for the building.

I'll third that sentiment. And while I don't think Miami is ever going to be a great pro sports town (recent Heat mania is LeBron/media driven and will be short-lived) a new stadium there is going to be a huge help. I think it was a couple years ago where right around 20 (or 1/4) of Marlins home games were either: rained-out, had the start time rain-delayed, or had a game in-progress rain-interrupted. IOW you're telling the fan-base that: the game tonight might actually happen, and if it does it might start on time, and if it does start it might end the same day it started, and if we do get all nine innings in the conclusion will be be somewhere between 9:30 and 2AM. But at least your seats will suck and face the wrong way most of the time. Tough getting repeat customers under those conditions.

Two games doesn't sound like a lot, but looked at another way it means that while the '86ers were able to cruise to a 15-8 finish (about their year-long norm and including that ill-timed, pre-clinching three-game losing streak) these Phils have to put together a much tougher 17-6 string just to match it, and that starts with their four-game series in Beer-town kicking off tonight*. What they do have a good shot at is the second best NL record since '86 which I believe belongs to the 104 win NL West Braves team that nudged out the 103-win Giants in the final season prior to realignment and then the introduction to the WC era. The AL, on the other hand, has 105-win or better teams about every other year it seems. * Just realized that I used the phrase 'kicking off' to describe a series opener which will coincide with the SB-champ Packers opener at home. The easy joke here is the one about whether the game actually counts if there's no one in the stands or watching on TV, although I recently heard a "stat" about how the Brewers TV gets the largest percentage of their market tuned-in to their games. Not the most pair of eyeballs by raw number of course because it's a smaller universe than many others but, when you add up the home attendance and TV viewers as a percentage of the whole, the Brews do as well as anyone and maybe better than all.

Ceetar wrote: metirish wrote: Mets finish 74-72 at whatever name stadium , per Rubin. tell him to get me a breakdown by each stadium name. That might be tough because I believe that place sometimes changed names during the course of a series.

I always heard Carlos objecting to the forced post-9/11 tie-in of GBA, along with a side order of Vieques thrown in for good measure. I remember an article which focused on his father and a real strident (and Socialist) Puerto Rican independence guy so maybe there was something there too.

Acosta got the benefit of a few friendly strike calls, but pitched a nice 9th inning otherwise. Terry got Herrera up to warm but then stuck with Manny anyway against the LHB Dobbs w/two outs in the 9th and the tying run on/winning run up.

metirish wrote: Doesn't he throw a slider at times? Yes, just not consistently a good one. It either misses a lot (results = walks) or it misses enough to allow hitters to just sit on the fastball (results = hits) or it's in the strike zone but not breaking very sharply (results = hits).

NYM prospects (or suspects) will be part of the [u:iwerzcc8]Peoria Javelinas[/u:iwerzcc8] (along with players from the Brewers, Padres, Cardinals & Mariners) in this year's Arizona Fall League. John Sickels gives scouting capsules for the Mets slated to be on that roster: - Collin McHugh, RHP This 24-year-old right-hander out of Berry College [was that named for Straw or Ken?] has a 2.89 ERA with a 100/32 K/BB and just two homers allowed in 93 innings for Double-A Binghamton. An 18th-round pick in 2008, he could be a surprise contributor next year. He has an 88-92 MPH fastball, a good slider, and a workable cutter and curve. - Taylor Whitenton, RHP This right-hander has attractive stats with a 2.51 ERA and a 118/48 K/BB in 111 innings in Low-A, with just 76 hits allowed, but is old for the level at age 23. A 39th-round pick in 2009 from Darton College, he has a chance to impress against better competition. - Reese Havens, 2B The 24-year-old former South Carolina star is effective when healthy (.288/.373/.455 this year in 198 at-bats in Double-A) but has problems staying that way, hampered by a variety of maladies. He needs at-bats and here is a chance for him to get them - Jefry Marte, 3B Scouts remain intrigued with his 20-year-old despite mediocre numbers in Low-A (.249/.314/.346). His power hasn't developed yet, but he did steal 14 bases in 15 attempts. His glove needs a lot of work, with a fielding percentage still hovering around .900. - Juan Lagares, OF A 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic, Ligares broke out big this year with a .350/.385/.500 season between High-A and Double-A, stealing 14 bases. He doesn't draw walks but has sound contact hitting skills and gap power. Skeptics think he's just been lucky with a high BABIP this year.

I think the Yanquis also believe it gives them an added home-field edge (not the players necessarily but the dolts in the front office) both by reminding those poor saps in the non pinstriped unis that they're in a house of royalty and by making their pitcher stand around and wait just when he's getting ready to go.

George always liked to act as if he invented patriotism* and this was one of his ways of showing it. Now, of course, no one has the guts to pull the plug on it. I think he took that born on the 4th of July** thing a bit too seriously. * Indeed hIs main reason for accepting the "life-time ban" from Fay Vincent was that he felt having the facts come out in a protracted legal fight would jeopardize his spot on the U.S. Olympic committee and that, he thought, was going to be too big a blow to his reputation. He changed his mind almost immediately after signing the papers of course but his initial reaction showed where his priorities were. ** That is his officially listed birthday, and while there's no evidence to suggest this isn't true it also wouldn't surprise me a bit if it turns out to be made up to fit the image.

This game would also secure a winning record in the history of this oft-named stadium. [crossout:3j6gy516]Last night's[/crossout:3j6gy516] this morning's win made it 73-72 Mets Remember the 5:10 start time. It's the old LAGAAMG (Late afternoon game after a morning game)

Stinson - 0.7 Isringhausen - 0.5 Parnell - 0.5 Igarashi - 0.4 Tejada - 1.0 Duda - 1.5 Harris - 1.2 Nickeas - 1.1 Wright - 1.0 Pagan - 0.7 Satin - 0.7 Bay - 0.7

Acosta - 1.2 Herrera - 0.3 Turner - 1.0 Wright - 1.0 Pagan - 1.5 Bay - 1.5 Evans - 1.5

Dickey - 2.2 Wright - 2.5 Duda - 1.2 Evans - 1.2 Stinson - 0.5 Byrdak - 0.3 Igarashi - 0.2 Herrera - 0.1 Pagan - 1.0 Reyes - 0.8

Igarashamon looking to vulture himself another win.

She sucks Cishek by the seashore