Frayed Knot

Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Babe Ruth have a lot of things in common - but what unique "accomplishment" do their careers, along with that of Dutch Zwilling, have in common?

My problem with WTMCB wasn't that it said "bad stuff 'bout the Mets' but that it contained too much author whining about how tough their job was. - Strawberry left and we had nothing to write about ... WAhhhhhhh! - they weren't nice to us in the locker room ... WAhhhhh! - you think this job's easy, try doing 'X' ... WAhhhhh! If I wanted to read a story on Klapisch and Harper I'd wait for their autobiographies. The subtitle should have been; 'The '93 Mets and how they affected US

Nice pitching matchup going on in da Bronx. Cliff Lee, 5-0 w/a sub-1.00 ERA (after pitching so poorly last season they left him off their post-season roster) up against the 6-0 Chien-Ming Wang. 3-0 Indians thru 5

Maine - 4.5 Church - 1.5 Anderson - 1.5 Casanova - 1.5 Castillo - 1.0

metsguyinmichigan wrote: I have a Mel Rojas road batting practice jersey. Coincidently, so did Mel.

[worthless lament]Why da fuck couldn't we have had one or two of today's hits last night?!?![/worthless lament]

="Triple Dee":3bof42r3]I recall somebody (I can't remember who -- not that I wish to name name's in any case) gave Heilman "4" for the two outs he recorded against Phillies earlier in the season, which struck me as a bit excessive.[/quote:3bof42r3] It's possible that was m.e.t.b.o.t. - he occasionally dips a bit heavy into the 40 weight oil. metsmarathon May 07 2008 06:54 PM nah... the little guy gave a 1.81 in that game. it was someone else. seawolf17 May 07 2008 07:19 PM It was me. I thought Heilman saved that game. *62 May 07 2008 07:55 PM When awarding points to relievers I favor inherited runners stranded - Feliciano K'ing one hitter with the bases loaded full of Ollie's walks is worth half a point every time, minimum ..... if Wagner pitches a clean ninth, I want to see who he faced first and whether or not it was a save situation ..... if everyone has their own preferences, which we obviously do, it should even out. themetfairy May 07 2008 08:01 PM Like *62, I feel that Inherited Runners Stranded is an important consideration. Benjamin Grimm May 07 2008 09:24 PM Let's try this again... SCHAEFER METS PLAYER AND PITCHERS OF THE MONTH, APRIL 2008 The Schaefer Mets Player of the Month for April 2008 is DAVID WRIGHT. This is the sixth time that David has been Player of the Month. (He won three times in 2007, and once each in 2005 and 2006. He's also won the Player of the Year award in each of the past three seasons.) David's productive first half of April allowed him to withstand a challenge from Ryan Church, who also had a strong month. Wright led the Mets in April with 4 home runs, 20 rbi, 47 total bases, a slugging percentage of .511 and an OBP of .409. His 8 doubles in April tied for the club lead with Carlos Beltran, as did his 22 walks. Church led the Mets with a .319 batting average and had 3 home runs and 18 rbi. The Schaefer Mets Pitcher of the Month for April 2008 is JOHAN SANTANA. This is, obviously, Johan's first win. He narrowly missed outpolling David Wright as Player of the Month. (The fact that his first game of the season was played on March 31 was a factor.) Santana was 2-2 with a team-best 3.24 ERA in five April starts. He led the Mets with 31 strikeouts and only walked 6. He also led the club in innings pitched with 33.1. And inaugurating a new category, the Schaefer Mets Relief Pitcher of the Month for April is BILLY WAGNER. Billy had a 0.00 ERA in April in 11 games. In 12 innings, he had allowed 3 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 12. He saved 6 games. Month-to-date totals for April 2008 Through game of April 30, 2008 RankNamePoints1David Wright18.782Ryan Church17.593Johan Santana17.314Carlos Beltran12.905Jos� Reyes12.216Angel Pagan11.737John Maine11.098Nelson Figueroa10.759Carlos Delgado9.9410Oliver Perez9.7711Mike Pelfrey7.6912Billy Wagner7.6313Aaron Heilman6.4514Jorge Sosa6.4215Luis Castillo6.0316Brian Schneider6.0117Joe Smith5.4218Damion Easley4.6319Raul Casanova4.4420Duaner Sanchez4.0221Pedro Feliciano3.7922Scott Schoeneweis3.5623Endy Chavez1.8623Carlos Muniz1.8625Marlon Anderson1.1326Brady Clark0.7027Pedro Martinez0.0428Gustavo Molina0.02 Season-to-date totals for 2008 Through game of April 30, 2008 RankNamePoints1Johan Santana21.722David Wright21.093Ryan Church17.834Carlos Beltran13.895Jos� Reyes12.916Angel Pagan12.247John Maine11.098Nelson Figueroa10.759Carlos Delgado9.9410Oliver Perez9.7711Mike Pelfrey7.6912Billy Wagner7.6313Aaron Heilman6.7514Jorge Sosa6.6515Luis Castillo6.1916Brian Schneider6.0317Joe Smith5.4218Damion Easley4.6319Raul Casanova4.4420Duaner Sanchez4.0221Pedro Feliciano3.7922Scott Schoeneweis3.6623Endy Chavez1.8623Carlos Muniz1.8625Marlon Anderson1.1726Brady Clark0.7027Pedro Martinez0.0428Gustavo Molina0.02

Hey give a brother a break, a full 15% of his career hits have been for extra-bases.

Chavez has now replaced Pagan in LF Penny: He Hate Us

Volquez was pulled after 7 IPs with 10 Ks & 6 BBs. Maybe an inning earlier would have been better depending on his workload leading up to this point. 4 HRs against in one inning for Jon Leiber ... Ouch!

="Willets Point":30rr8469]I think the whole "coming in at the top of the 9th to get three outs and a save" thing is something that doesn't deserve a lot of reward much of the time. [/quote:30rr8469] And that's fine, except that at times the guys getting three outs by coming in at the top of the 7th of 8th ARE being rewarded for the same thing we seem to think is routine in the 9th - and I think it's because the expectations factor comes in to play. It would be a bit like rewarding - oh let's say Schneider - more for a 2 HR game than Delgado on the same day (all other things being equal) based on the logic that 'it's what we pay Delgado for' while from Schneider it's unexpected. metsmarathon May 07 2008 03:30 PM wagner is screwed by the fact that he usually only performs in wins. his performances are always normalized and derated due to the increased performances by his peers. in wins, there simply isnt enough schaeffer to go around. in losses, which wagner does not participate in often unless they are by his own hand, a lesser performance is often rewarded by greater beering. for nearly every other player, this effect should balance out. for wagner, it cannot. i think, too, that for teh same reason that we would give wagner more points for a one run save than a two run save - that there is less of a safety net - we should award more points for pitching hte ninth inning than the eighth. if, in his next start, nelson figueroa goes out, pitches a perfect first inning, and leaves the game due to an extended rain delay, the game gets to the eighth inning tied 0-0, wherein duaner sanchez throws a perfect inning, followed by the mets plating a run in the bottom of the eighth, and wagner ices it with a perfect ninth, which of the three pitchers would get the most schaeffer? i'll tell you right now, it wouldn't be nelson. take the same game, and switch it up. lets say it gets to the eigth, and sanchez gives up a run - a perfect inning aside from one measley home run over the center field fence. but the mets score two runs in the bottom of the eighth, and in comes wagner. he, too, pitches a perfect inning, save, of course, for a home run over the center field fence. did one home run affect the outcome of the game more than the other? if we were giving out negative schaeffer points, would more go to sanchez, or to wagner? Frayed Knot May 07 2008 05:11 PM ="Triple Dee":3bof42r3]I recall somebody (I can't remember who -- not that I wish to name name's in any case) gave Heilman "4" for the two outs he recorded against Phillies earlier in the season, which struck me as a bit excessive.[/quote:3bof42r3] It's possible that was m.e.t.b.o.t. - he occasionally dips a bit heavy into the 40 weight oil. metsmarathon May 07 2008 06:54 PM nah... the little guy gave a 1.81 in that game. it was someone else. seawolf17 May 07 2008 07:19 PM It was me. I thought Heilman saved that game. *62 May 07 2008 07:55 PM When awarding points to relievers I favor inherited runners stranded - Feliciano K'ing one hitter with the bases loaded full of Ollie's walks is worth half a point every time, minimum ..... if Wagner pitches a clean ninth, I want to see who he faced first and whether or not it was a save situation ..... if everyone has their own preferences, which we obviously do, it should even out. themetfairy May 07 2008 08:01 PM Like *62, I feel that Inherited Runners Stranded is an important consideration. Benjamin Grimm May 07 2008 09:24 PM Let's try this again... SCHAEFER METS PLAYER AND PITCHERS OF THE MONTH, APRIL 2008 The Schaefer Mets Player of the Month for April 2008 is DAVID WRIGHT. This is the sixth time that David has been Player of the Month. (He won three times in 2007, and once each in 2005 and 2006. He's also won the Player of the Year award in each of the past three seasons.) David's productive first half of April allowed him to withstand a challenge from Ryan Church, who also had a strong month. Wright led the Mets in April with 4 home runs, 20 rbi, 47 total bases, a slugging percentage of .511 and an OBP of .409. His 8 doubles in April tied for the club lead with Carlos Beltran, as did his 22 walks. Church led the Mets with a .319 batting average and had 3 home runs and 18 rbi. The Schaefer Mets Pitcher of the Month for April 2008 is JOHAN SANTANA. This is, obviously, Johan's first win. He narrowly missed outpolling David Wright as Player of the Month. (The fact that his first game of the season was played on March 31 was a factor.) Santana was 2-2 with a team-best 3.24 ERA in five April starts. He led the Mets with 31 strikeouts and only walked 6. He also led the club in innings pitched with 33.1. And inaugurating a new category, the Schaefer Mets Relief Pitcher of the Month for April is BILLY WAGNER. Billy had a 0.00 ERA in April in 11 games. In 12 innings, he had allowed 3 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 12. He saved 6 games. Month-to-date totals for April 2008 Through game of April 30, 2008 RankNamePoints1David Wright18.782Ryan Church17.593Johan Santana17.314Carlos Beltran12.905Jos� Reyes12.216Angel Pagan11.737John Maine11.098Nelson Figueroa10.759Carlos Delgado9.9410Oliver Perez9.7711Mike Pelfrey7.6912Billy Wagner7.6313Aaron Heilman6.4514Jorge Sosa6.4215Luis Castillo6.0316Brian Schneider6.0117Joe Smith5.4218Damion Easley4.6319Raul Casanova4.4420Duaner Sanchez4.0221Pedro Feliciano3.7922Scott Schoeneweis3.5623Endy Chavez1.8623Carlos Muniz1.8625Marlon Anderson1.1326Brady Clark0.7027Pedro Martinez0.0428Gustavo Molina0.02 Season-to-date totals for 2008 Through game of April 30, 2008 RankNamePoints1Johan Santana21.722David Wright21.093Ryan Church17.834Carlos Beltran13.895Jos� Reyes12.916Angel Pagan12.247John Maine11.098Nelson Figueroa10.759Carlos Delgado9.9410Oliver Perez9.7711Mike Pelfrey7.6912Billy Wagner7.6313Aaron Heilman6.7514Jorge Sosa6.6515Luis Castillo6.1916Brian Schneider6.0317Joe Smith5.4218Damion Easley4.6319Raul Casanova4.4420Duaner Sanchez4.0221Pedro Feliciano3.7922Scott Schoeneweis3.6623Endy Chavez1.8623Carlos Muniz1.8625Marlon Anderson1.1726Brady Clark0.7027Pedro Martinez0.0428Gustavo Molina0.02

Church - 1.2 Reyes - 0.6 Alou - 1.6 Pagan - 0.4 Schneider - 0.5 Heilman - 1.2 Castillo - 0.6 Wright - 0.2

]Can he field his position at all? I'll let you know as soon as we make contact.

Opportunities are definitely part of it, and even in Wagner's near-perfection so far only a couple of his outings have been cliff-hangers. It's just that there have been numerous times where I've found myself shaking my head at votes like: Feliciano - 1.0 (7th) Heilman - 1.0 (8th) Wagner - 0.5 (9th) as the result of virtually identical situations - and if Wagner's inning isn't "clean" (ie. he allows a baserunner) or comes in something other than a 1-run game his points can disappear almost completely.

I think that's at least partially the result of a prejudice that's common to baseball fans in general and is reflected in the PotG voting. What happens is that when a middle reliever throws a scoreless 6th, 7th or 8th he's usually lauded with cries of 'great job' or 'kept us in the game', while a closer tossing a scoreless 9th it's considered 'just doing his job' and not looked at as anything special. It's like we expect the middle guys to give up runs and therefore a scoreless inning is considered a huge plus while with closers we expect perfection so anything short of a 1-2-3 inning in a 1-run game is treated as merely ho-hum and not worthy of much praise. Now I'd have to go back to each game to see if that's the specific reason why this looks skewed, but I've definitely seen Schafer voting where that's been the case.

6-4 DBacks in the 8th

Figgy playing with fire too - and this lead, which should be bigger, could disappear to nothing in a hurry if he's not careful.

]I can't wait to see this one on the highlights Twas the old delayed double-steal deal. Alou on 3rd when Pagan on 1st takes off for 2nd -- Moises breaks on the throw. Was helped out by a double-clutching SS and a high throw home but was legit safe.

]Never saw such a group for complaining about how runs are scored It's not how, it's just that there should be more of them. Between all the hits, walks, errors, steals, sacs, etc., it's a bunch of sound and fury signifying ... well, not as much as it should.

Maybe it's just the small sample we've seen but, for the most part, these Japanese pitchers are a chore to watch. Even when they're good - Nomo for a while or Matsuzaka now - they take forever to throw and are forever nibbling around the zone and use up a ton pf pitches. Dice-K gave up one hit thru 7 the other day but [u:ab896dd7c1]walked 8[/u:ab896dd7c1] and another low-scoring game took 3-1/2 hours. Now here we are 75 minutes into this one and it's only the bottom of the 3rd.

You can't stop Moises Alou you can only hope to contain him

Well the HR was the only hit he gave up and it would have been a fly out in most other parks. What he was mostly was wild. DBacks throw up a 5-spot in the 4th, lead Philly 6-2

Maybe not so lethal a bantamweight

Braves have already won (vs SD) Marlins also win (Milw) Phils up 2-1 in 4th in Arizona: Johnson vs Eaton

And the jinx works. No way does Minnesota get a hit if we here didn't mention it.