Frayed Knot

Are you against bunting, Mags? If so you really should have said something earlier. Anyway, I think they listen to that record with a skip on it that says: fastest guy leads off and second guy bunts him over - skip - fastest guy leads off and second guy bunts him over - skip - fastest guy leads ... oh you get the picture. Problem is that not only that the record is about as old as the ones CBS-FM used to play but that many of the fans and writers still listen to it too and I honestly think much of the team's trepidation about going against that line of thinking is that they don't want to face the barrage of questions and criticisms that would come by making such a "unorthodox" move and about how it's a slap that displays a total lack of confidence in Reyes.

Not sure what you consider so controversial. The "controversial" move that should be made (but won't) from your list is swapping Castillo & Reyes. In a sane world the idea of having the higher OBA guy w/o power hitting in front of the lower OBA guy with should be an easy choice, but I think the Mets are too tied into Reyes's "identity" as a leadoff hitter and are unwilling to stand up to the fans and columnists who are sure to spout empty plaudits about how Jose is too "dynamic" up top to hit anywhere else. Jerry briefly floated the idea last spring (talked about Reyes hitting 3rd even) but not only never tried it more than once or twice even in ST games but somehow never managed to slide Luis up even when Reyes was gone and Castillo was getting on base at a 40% clip for much of the season, instead handing the top spot was handed to a seemingly endless parade of tryouts. It was almost as if they were afraid Castillo leading off would prove successful and they didn't want to set themselves up to answer a bunch of questions about whether this meant that Jose would be "demoted" come 2010.

That Lowell deal getting slam-dunked (I had a feeling that might happen) not only throws a wrench into the BoSox overall plans but probably takes them even further out of the Bay sweepstakes, assuming they weren't already out to begin with.

After Sullivan. I put them together like that because the two were virtual statistical twins vying for the same role; one could call them the Suck and Suck-A of backup OFers. Sullivan's near-freakish capacity for triples and the fact that he was awarded the starting job for a while instead of Reed gave him the edge.

As I suspected coming in to this, this season is going to produce a real wide variety of answers with certain players ranking near the top of some lists and sinking to the bottom of others. When we get a few more responses and some sort of consensus starts to emerge it’ll be a good spot for folks to make an argument for their choices - particularly in those spots where they vary from the pack. I haven’t concocted the full list yet, but I’ll start by sorting through the hitters * Wright - even in a down power year he was still out there everyday and put up .307/.390 BA/OBA with 52 XBHs and by far the most Runs Created on the team * Beltran - despite missing a huge chunk of the season and only coming back when things were virtually over, he was the best (and only) all-around offensive threat while he was in * Castillo - one of only three full-timers, his high OBA and middle IF glove partially makes up for the total lack of slugging * Murphy - leading this team in HRs is like being the best ice hockey player in Peru, but playing almost everyday and knocking 53 XBHs helped to obscure the low OBA. He loses out to Castillo due to his early failure in LF * Francoeur - despite the concerns about his future here it was a good half-season * Pagan - next among the fill-ins. His ridiculous triples total actually shoved his slugging above everyone except Francoeur and his ‘D’ would have pushed him higher if not for the atrocious base-running * Tatis - beats out Sheffield due to better durability and despite the seemingly endless string of rally-killing GiDPs * Sheffield - best thing about him was the bang for the buck we got * Santos - nice find and seemed to get a bunch of big hits along the way but mostly shined mainly as compared to the rest of the backstops * Reyes - wins the SS competition despite only half the ABs of the backup * Cora - this is what back-up short-stops look like folks * Church - the slugging we saw for half of 2008 never came back * Delgado - was going great for the first 100 ABs, then didn’t get any more * Sullivan - Reed - Cory wins the competition of virtually identical slappy 5th OFers * Thole - promising first 50 ABs * Castro - that 8 of his 20 hits were for XBs is the only reason for him getting this high * Schneider - just never hit * A. Hernandez - looked better than the last time we saw him * out of the running - F. Martinez, Valdez Evans, R. Martinez, Berroa, Brown, Anderson

I think we may have hit on the source of Johan's physical problems this year ... someone drove a big fuckin' spike into his head!

[u:tv7up3n1]Mission Improbable[/u:tv7up3n1]: The 'Shams' Run to the Pennant [u:tv7up3n1]Bury My Season with Wounded Knees[/u:tv7up3n1]: The Carlos Beltran Story [u:tv7up3n1]The Pel Curve[/u:tv7up3n1]: My Search for a Secondary Pitch [u:tv7up3n1]Catcher on the Schneid[/u:tv7up3n1] [u:tv7up3n1]Adam's Fib[/u:tv7up3n1]: The Explosive Tell-All about how I lost my job because of a beat reporter - by Tony Bernazard [u:tv7up3n1]Tuesdays, I'm Laurie[/u:tv7up3n1]: My Secret Life as a Once-a-Week Transvestite - by Fred Wilpon [u:tv7up3n1]I Fail in Two Cities[/u:tv7up3n1]: The Ryan Church Story [u:tv7up3n1]Slump-Dog Millionaire[/u:tv7up3n1] - by Ollie Perez [u:tv7up3n1]It Takes a Village Idiot[/u:tv7up3n1]: Managing the Mets in 2009 by Jerry Manual [u:tv7up3n1]National League Lampoon[/u:tv7up3n1] [u:tv7up3n1]Buffalo Guys Won't You Come Up Tonight?[/u:tv7up3n1]: Managing the Mid-season Roster - by Omar Minaya [u:tv7up3n1]Out of Sight[/u:tv7up3n1]: Tales from the CitiField Visitors' Bullpen [u:tv7up3n1]Grand Theft Degado[/u:tv7up3n1]: How to make eight million dollars from 100 at-bats

$3mil over two years isn't bad for a middle reliever - unless he like totally suxx man. Nothing to do now but wait and see what he looks like come the spring thaw.

I'm telling Elvis Costello you stole that line from him!!

Within a year is perhaps reasonable. I just mean that he's almost certain not to be an opening day roster guy and if he never matched expectations he certainly wouldn't be the first Cuban pitcher to do so.

Jermaine Dye? A fading star to be sure, but a possible one-year stopgap.

Jack Cust is the only out-fielder in the majors who wonders what it would be like to field the position as well as Todd Hundley.

Is Marlon Byrd still unsigned? -- I know he was a FA this year. 32 y/o; one-time hot prospect for Philly Decent OFer who can play CF if needed .350-ish OBAs over the last three seasons; 65 of his 155 hits last year for extra bases (probably helped by Texas stadium) Not sure if he'd be willing to sign a 1 or 2 year deal.

I remember Daughtry's name from his time on WFAN a whole bunch of years back but don't really remember much about his loyalties or whatever. I had the idea he was from the Philly area (although maybe that's not right) but I'm pretty sure he worked there between various stints in NYC. I do remember hearing a story that involved him leaving Philly station for New York (or the other way around) due to getting bounced for either suspected or actual drug use. As far as who a media type roots for, I rarely care and actually think it's better if someone either doesn't care or manages to conceal his personal biases. My problem with Paige isn't that he's anti-Met (he's not) it's that he engages in the lowest form of intellectual "analysis" either because he's too intellectually stupid to do otherwise or because he thinks that's the best road to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

From another website (OK, it's MBTN): I made the mistake of listening to WFAN while I moved the car last night and was blown away by the fire of stupidity Mike Francessa was stoking among fans competing with one another to be the most wounded by the news that the Phillies were to acquire Roy Halladay (at the cost of Cliff Lee, a multiyear, multimillion extension and some prospects) and the Red Sox had signed John Lackey for five years and $85 million. Ira on the Car Phone announced his intention to stay away from CitiField forever and demanded the Mets part with Jose Reyes (cuz we need less offense) while Francessa just let him talk. I've been listening to very little FAN talk lately - mostly for a few minutes late at night - but the guy who's been particularly egregious at licking the wounds and stoking the whiners to do the same has been overnight yapper Tony Paige. It's like he's stuck the wet finger in the air to pick up on the trend of the day and is running with the prevailing breeze, probably figuring it'll land him a sub-culture of loyal callers. For a guy who I rarely thought anything about over the years he's either really turned into a real ass lately or maybe he's always been one and I'm just now noticing.

Keith Law: Igarashi is a slightly wild power reliever who missed all of 2007 and part of 2008 due to Tommy John surgery, but has fully recovered and handled a regular workload in 2009. He has a very quick arm and has been clocked at 98 mph, although he'll probably pitch at 93-96 in a one-inning role in the U.S. His best off-speed pitch is a mid- to upper-80s splitter with good bottom, and he can throw the pitch for strikes instead of waiting for hitters to chase it in the dirt. He has some deception in his delivery, and he's almost a "drop-and-drift" guy without great forward momentum towards the plate. Frayed Knot: Beats the hell out of multi-year deals for the likes of LaTroy Hawkins

The NYPost's Mike Vaccaro, on the other hand, tries staying a bit more on the sane side: Mets fans aren't going to like this, mostly because so many of them have taken full advantage of their First Amendment right the past 24 hours or so to express their disdain for the way things have shaped up this postseason. And, sure, for anyone who had their hearts set on Roy Halladay or John Lackey wearing orange and blue, yesterday was a blue Monday. But I don't believe it was a Black Monday, as it's been described elsewhere. And here's why: If you were thinking rationally -- and I don't expect Mets fans to do that; they've been beaten up repeatedly by inept ownership and poor management the last three years, and are allowed to punch back -- ask yourself these two questions: 1. Would you really have included Jose Reyes in a deal for Roy Halladay, even if Halladay had agreed to waive his no-trade clause and accept a trade to the Mets? I think it's a fair question. I think there are a lot of folks who have hopped off the Reyes bandwagon, who are spooked by his leg injuries, who remember how much heat he was taking immediately prior to landing on the DL last year. But I also think it is useful to remember just how good Reyes is at his very best, and I firmly believe he has an MVP-level season or two in him, and if that's true then you have to keep the guy who can impact 70-80 games for you rather than one who will impact a maximum of 33 or 34. You just do. 2. Would you really have paid John Lackey five years and $85 million, even if Lackey had expressed a deep-seeded interest in switching to pitcher-friendly CitiField? Look, Lackey is a terrific pitcher, and he gives the Red Sox an eye-popping rotation, and he surely would have been a nice wingman to Johan Santana. And if we are playing with Monopoly money, sure, spend whatever you have to spend on whomever you wish to spend it on. But Lackey hasn't thrown 200 innings in three years. He has never won a Cy Young, and even in his career year of 2007 (19-9, 3.01) only finished as high as third, the only time he's even placed. Maybe you answer yes to 1 and yes to 2. Me? I wouldn't even go to a fifth year to secure Jason Bay's services, because as much as you want to scream at the Mets to do something, anything, to throw money at members of a weak free-agent class just because you want to throw it around is the kind of dangerous precedent that sets clubs back five or 10 years; and since the Mets already seem to have been set back five years or so by their shenanigans of the past few seasons, isn't it better to pick and choose from the vast list of non-tendereds, hope that the injured of 2009 are the healthy of 2010, and then wait for next year's free agent class that will possibly include the likes of Lance Berkman, Joe Mauer, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, Cliff Lee and even Albert Pujols?

John Peter (Juan Pierre) to the ChiSox for dos/duex PtbNL For the sake of the Sox I hope those two players are either real low priority or that they got the Dodgers to stick a large suitcase full of money in the crate when they boxed up Pierre (or both). JP had a nice (partial) year last year while Manny was "on vacation" but he's still grossly overpaid and a lot closer to the end than the beginning. Kenny Williams is an odd GM. Not afraid to make a move - just doesn't always make good ones.

Phillipe Aumont -- Quebec native throws strikes, but a 5.09 ERA out of the pen after promotion to AA makes him look very expendable. We will get to heet the Canadian * * 'In Bruges' joke

But ... but ... Matsui playing anywhere in the U.S. other than with the Yanquis is just plain wrong ... Tim McCarver told me so. I guess this officially means bye-bye Vladdy as far as the Halos are concerned. And, no, I don't want him here.