Frayed Knot

="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr":1yzr80ie]... somewhat predictably, callers on WFAN are _killing_ Manuel for this .. so were hosts like Steve Somers and Tony Paige. [/quote:1yzr80ie] Somers will say anything he thinks he can make a clever line out of and therefore keep his rather sycophantic callers happy. I understand that a lot of people like him (and even partially understand why) but the next original thought he gets in his head will be his first so one can see where merely contemplating this kind of move would blow most of his circuits. metirish Feb 17 2009 07:38 AM There was a time I would listen to Somers every night , I lived alone and my computer and TV were not in the same room so I listen to games on the FAN , I liked Steve a lot , found him quite funny and not a bad bone in his body, his monologues at times were hysterical and not just in a funny way. John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 17 2009 07:59 AM Hafta say, seeing his face on TV totally ruined Somers for me. I pictured a bald round guy with round glasses and a mustache. attgig Feb 17 2009 08:22 AM go ahead and try it out in spring training. that's what spring training is for. I like that aspect of it. a LOT of it will hinge on how Castillo plays this season. Hopefully, he gets his obp back to career numbers. Reyes has consistently shown he can amass hits, and while his walks have improved, it's never been his specialty. I can see reyes upping his rbi's massively. It's just, will he mature as a hitter to give David right a chance to drive some runs in as well behind him. Frayed Knot Feb 17 2009 11:35 AM ="metirish":3jyb2su9]There was a time I would listen to Somers every night , I lived alone and my computer and TV were not in the same room so I listen to games on the FAN , I liked Steve a lot , found him quite funny and not a bad bone in his body, his monologues at times were hysterical and not just in a funny way.[/quote:3jyb2su9] Definitely not a bad bone in his body and the monologues can be quite clever ... but then the schtick wears thin very quickly as you start to realize that it's all style over substance and that he doesn't really have a lot of knowledge on the topics he's supposed to be addressing. It's like when Keith says he always listens to Steve's monologues during his drive home ... and then turns him off. seawolf17 Feb 17 2009 11:46 AM ="John Cougar Lunchbucket":2onlcmk7]Hafta say, seeing his face on TV totally ruined Somers for me. I pictured a bald round guy with round glasses and a mustache.[/quote:2onlcmk7] So true. He was quoted on one of the drive-time evening news TV shows a few months back, and my wife was horrified. I really enjoy Steve; I'm disappointed during the off-season when there are Rangers/Nets games on in the evenings. Zvon Feb 17 2009 12:24 PM I don't like moving Reyes out of the lead off slot but lets see how it goes. Edgy DC Mar 28 2009 09:36 AM ="David Lennon":1ck4bepb]My colleague Jim Baumbach caught up with Luis Castillo in this morning's Newsday and it looks like he may be convincing Jerry Manuel to use him in the No. 2 spot -- at least against lefthanders. That's where Castillo batted Friday night with John Lannan, the pride of Long Beach, on the mound for the Nationals.[/quote:1ck4bepb] Makes all the sense in the world. Whether it's Murphy or Tatis against lefthanders (that's still unclear, isn't it?), they're not the same weapon at number two that they are against righthanders.

24 times is occasionally - and not all of those were full games IIRC. The larger point is that Met fans are so interested in wanting Castillo gone that many have already decided that Murphy is/will be a decent enough 2Bman. Problem is, almost no one who has seen him play there agrees and there's probably not a lot of track record for those considered only mediocre in corner spots making a transfer to the middle of the diamond all while doing so at the major league level with very little practice. I hope he gets enough reps over there to play in a pinch and, yes, Davey would be more willing to do that than most. But I still don't think he would have made it a permanent move.

]Davey would have played Murphy at second Occasionally, yes. Everyday, probably not.

="G-Fafif"]The original 2006 starting rotation was (in the order they first pitched) Glavine, Bannister, Martinez, Trachsel and Zambrano. Bannister went down in late April, replaced by Maine, who was injured right away. The day before Lima took Maine's/Bannister's spot, Zambrano went down. He was replaced by Geremi Gonzalez. Lima got three starts before giving way to Alay Soler. Gonzalez got two before El Duque came aboard. In a span of 29 games, the Mets used 10 different starting pitchers. They went 17-12 and their divisional lead lost only one game, from 4-1/2 to 3-1/2. Either pretty remarkable or pretty lucky (or both). Lima got one more start, in early July when Pedro had gone down, Soler had pitched his way out of town and a doubleheader loomed the next day for which Pelfrey was being held; Maine had come back and pitched earlier in the week. Lima had all of four starts for a division-winning team, all of them dreadful but none of them fatal. Yet the first thing I thought when I heard about Livan Hernandez was, oh no, Lima Time. Sure, but as your time-line shows it wasn't exactly like the Mets put together a rotation with the idea that Lima was an integral part of it ... even if the revisionist historians now spout it as if it were. ]CONTRACT QUESTION: Does the $1 million award kick in in full if he's brought up in midseason (rather than breaking camp with the squad), or does it get prorated? Almost certainly prorated while he's paid at a lower rate while in the minors. It's also possible that there's a clause in there where if he isn't called up by a certain date he could hunt around for his own deal. That way the Mets would have him as a ST body while he auditions for other clubs.

YAWN!

Well it's not like Lima was just handed a job either. That was the year they wound up needing 10 starting pitchers just to get through the first 50 games or so. Lima, IIRC, was number 7 or 8 in that conga line which didn't really stabilize until the trade for Livan's bro in late May.

Livan might be the first of Omar's long-rumored "obsessions" that he's actually signed. All the others: Sammy, Manny, Vazquez, Chad Cordero, plus others that everyone just KNEW he was going to ink at the first opportunity have never materialized. I've already heard panic that his $1million plus incentives salary is a sure sign that he'll make the team no matter how he pitches (plus, y'know, the obsession thing) but that money only kicks in if he makes the ML roster and Omar has said this is mainly a way to stock ST while the WBC folks are away, a way to stock Buffalo for the summer, and an insurance policy against the unexpected.

Acc to Adam Rubin's blog, Jerry Manual says: Luis Castillo may bat leadoff for the Mets. Potentially, Carlos Beltran could bat second and Jose Reyes third. It may make more sense to bat Carlos Delgado fourth and David Wright fifth in that scenario, since otherwise the Mets would be stacking a ton of lefties at the bottom of the order. Assuming Castillo is healthy (I know, I know) and even similar to where he was just a year ago I was thinking him at leadoff may be preferable to him anywhere else and I like the fact that he's not welded to the idea that Reyes has to stay up top. Jerry also talks about challenging Reyes in other parts of his 'State of the Team' speech: * Reyes needs to take his game to another level by relying on his headiness as much as his athletic ability. Manuel said Reyes needs to do such things as understanding pitch counts and take pitches when an opposing pitcher is in trouble. In the field, he wants him to align the other infielders and visit the mound to speak with the pitcher. * hopes Brian Schneider will be the No. 1 catcher, with Ramon Castro the clear-cut backup, rather than a more equitable distribution. That should help Castro stay healthy, too. * A Daniel Murphy-Fernando Tatis platoon is envisioned in left field. * No captain will be named, since Manuel believes there's a "core" of players.

Think of it as an image of Koosman throwing the final pitch of the '69 WS. It could be Orosco/'86 too but it looks more like Koosman.

An hour-long 1969 WS highlights show on today at 9:30 AM and again at 6:00 PM

Yeah that's probably part of it. Plus there were several sources this winter saying that GMs are taking an increasingly close look at OF defense in particular and factoring that in to how much they would otherwise pay for bat-only FAs - something they could have affected the likes of not only Dunn but Abreu, Manny, Burrell, too. As for Dunn himself, he may not have gotten worse with the glove as much as the early hope that he'd at least grow into a mediocre glove at some position never materialized. Both defensive metrics and eye-ball observers rate him as a virtual train-wreck wherever you plop him.

That's Pelfrey w/his new required headgear following an afternoon where he tipped over a golf cart.

="Vic Sage"]]Dunn probably more one-dimensional than ever feared. OB% = .381 SLG% = .518 looks pretty 2-dimensional to me... What I meant was that back when they were young pups Kearns was considered the better all around player/athlete while Dunn the better hitter but only a hitter. Now years later hiding his glove is becoming more of a problem than even previously imagined and I think part of the reason the offers were slow in coming.

An Okie-State pitcher has been restored to his team after winning a lawsuit against the NCAA who had previously ruled him ineligible for having a lawyer/advisor present during negotiations that never led to a pro contract. Erie County judge Tyge M. Tone ruled that the NCAA cannot restrict a player�s right to have legal representation when negotiating a professional contract ... the decision invalidated the NCAA�s "no agent" and "restitution" rules. "I�m ecstatic," said the lawyer, ... "The NCAA is a bully, and they�ve been beating up on these kids and these schools for years, and everybody�s been taking it. I can�t believe people put up with it, I really can�t." ... the judge wrote: "no entity, other than that one designated by the state, can dictate to an attorney where, what, how or when he should represent his client. With all due respect, surely that decision shall not be determined by the NCAA and its member institutions, no matter what the Defendant utters is the purpose of the rule." This will probably have more meaning to college football or basketball players it will for than baseball. But I find it amazing how long the NCAA has gotten away with rules that ended a player's eligibility the minute they contract to just be advised about the decision on whether to turn pro.

Easy to confuse the two, they're both Venezuelan lefties.

Maybe someone should mention to Hugo about the players who were thinking about not playing because they believe that bureaucrats within the gov't of Venezuela are pocketing much of the money intended for the players.

Yeah, but I got my Garcia money down under the old odds. Big Payoff Baby!!

="Benjamin Grimm":p0mutx33]"The Vigilantes of Texas?"[/quote:p0mutx33] I guess the program saw 'Vigilantes' as a literal translation of 'Rangers' Fman99 Feb 13 2009 10:10 AM Unless he comes with a Delorian and a flux capacitor, pass. TransMonk Feb 13 2009 10:45 AM 1.21 Gigawatts!?! Benjamin Grimm Mar 03 2009 09:38 AM ="David Lennon in Newsday":39ew4cha]Speaking of high-profile free agents, the Mets have Pudge Rodriguez on their radar again, and that pursuit could heat up later this month. They still aren't sold on Ramon Castro, who has not been the most durable backup, and Omar Minaya has always loved Rodriguez. This is his chance to get him on the cheap.[/quote:39ew4cha] John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 03 2009 09:41 AM As I've said often before, I'm not at all averse to the Mets looking for alternatives to either or both of their catchers. It seems a little farfetched to consider Pudge to be the answer, but... Benjamin Grimm Mar 03 2009 09:44 AM Having two Rodriguezes would complicate Schaefer voting. Would it be IRodriguez and FRodriguez? Or PRodriguez and KRodriguez? metirish Mar 03 2009 09:44 AM They still aren't sold on Castro?...he's going into his fifth year with the Mets... Gwreck Mar 03 2009 09:44 AM Very similar numbers to Schneider. Schneider: .257 AVG/.339 OBP/.367 SLG, 10 2B, 9 HR, 38 RBI Rodriguez: .276 AVG/.319 OBP/.394 SLG, 20 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 35 RBI Edgy DC Mar 03 2009 09:55 AM It depends on what you believe he still has left defensively. You've got to sign him accepting that this is where his offense is. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Mar 03 2009 10:04 AM The difference between Castro and Schneider defensively is a LOT smaller than you'd probably imagine it. (Can't find the link now-- check the UZR ratings the last two years.) Sadly, Darth Catcher's bat kicks the living mierde out of Pudge's these days. Unless Pudge throws out runners at a historically-good clip, he's of less value to us than a healthy Ramon. metirish Mar 03 2009 10:12 AM Weather true or not I hate to read reports or rumors that Castro would rather be the backup , it's hard to pull for Castro these days. TransMonk Mar 03 2009 10:15 AM ="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr":2kaquirz]Unless Pudge throws out runners at a historically-good clip, he's of less value to us than a healthy Ramon.[/quote:2kaquirz] Sadly, I'm not sure what a healthy Ramon is. metirish Mar 06 2009 08:08 AM ] I-Rod lobbying for job with Mets BY DAVID LENNON | david.lennon@newsday.com March 6, 2009 PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - The Mets continue to monitor Ivan Rodriguez as a possible backup to Brian Schneider, and yesterday in Fort Myers, Rodriguez made it known that he'd be happy to join them. Rodriguez, playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, had three singles and an RBI in a 9-5 victory over the Red Sox. He then lobbied for a job with the Mets. "I think that's a great fit," Rodriguez told The Associated Press. "Having me there [with] a young pitching staff ... could be good for the team. Hopefully, the Mets can do whatever they need to do to have a spot for me." That probably won't happen unless the Mets can move Ramon Castro, who is owed $2.25 million this season. The biggest issue with Castro is his health, and if he has a productive spring training, the Mets could keep him. If not, Rodriguez might get another opportunity in New York. Insert any team name and I'm sure he'd say the same thing. Rockin' Doc Mar 07 2009 06:08 AM Someone should let Pudge know about the Dodgers' upcoming job fair.

]pudge wants to be a met? I'll translate that: Pudge wants to be employed

35 CPF bucks on Garcia

OK, so he really didn't quite say that. Mostly he just laughs off the talk-show host's (yet-to-be substantiated) claims from last summer that Ryan "hates it here", and at one point asking Jay Horwitz (with a grin) "When's Francesa coming down?" "I think he's a Yankee fan ... [and] everybody's entitled to their own opinion and stuff like that but I know what I said and what I didn't say. I'll have to get an 'I heart NY' shirt if that makes anybody feel better." And then there's the usual bag of "looking good, feeling good Billy Ray" and 'ready to get going' type quotes from Dave Lennon's Newsday column

Robbie will be part of next year's 1st timers club for HoF consideration.

Don't know what's happened to Kearns - and specifically his power. He and Dunn were the 1st & 2nd round draft picks in the same year by Cincy (Kearns = 1st, Dunn = 2nd) back when Bowden was the GM there. Dunn of course had the better power but Kearns was considered to be the better all-around player: better BA, better glove, etc. Now Bowden's got them back together but, yeesh, Kearns has gone downhill in recent years and Dunn probably more one-dimensional than ever feared.

The problem with Cruz is that you're giving up a draft pick (yes, a 2nd rounder not a 1st, but still) for a guy to slot in as your 3rd line reliever for one year. Or ... do we really want to be giving out multi-year deals for an up-again/down-again reliever while Putz is still under control for another year and F. Rodriguez for another two?

Jose Valentin back on a minor league deal. I have no idea if he'll agree to play minor league ball if he doesn't make the team. This could just be a way of either; - filling out the NYM roster while a bunch are away w/their WBC teams or - giving him an audition for other teams looking around