Frayed Knot

DocTee wrote: I wonder what his epitaph will be. 'Signing Off'

^ Hey check it out ... not only are Soupy & Nymr dueling John Stearns' but they ^ have identical post totals !! (or at least they did when I wrote this) ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

="Nymr83"]] ... stricter than baseball's at least, and its been in existence for alot longer. The NFL had it earlier, yes (although Lawrence Taylor used to openly talk about how easy it was to beat) but it's no stricter now in terms of test frequency or penalties than MLB. The main difference in terms of attention paid is simply that the fans & media just don't care. Most of the players in the NFL are nothing more than faceless cogs to fans so, unless a Manning or Brady were to get caught with a van-full of vials, the news usually gets broken in the agate type in the back of the paper and the fans generally give a collective yawn. The NFL also controls the media to such a degree that they just seem to take whatever the league gives them and rarely attempt to strike out beyond those boundries. The NYPost's Joel Sherman has been the one guy I've read who has actually called out the football-covering press for doing a lousy job. soupcan Feb 09 2008 02:17 PM Frayed Knot wrote: Unaffiliated docs would probably make it worse. (Heath? ... Elvis?) Hell, I could probably find one to declare that I'm in need of menopause meds. Go all the way back to 'Ball Four' where the players were getting their stash from outside docs while keeping the who and how info from the in-house MDs and training staff because they knew that those guys would squeal to mgmt. 'Tis true. I have a brother-in-law who is an anasthesiologist. I asked him for some Ambien. He lectured me on the addictive qualities of it and every sleep med out there and absolutely would not give me a prescription for it. Instead he suggested that I try an herbal tea that he recommended. A week later I'm talking to a dermatologist friend and I mentioned the tea and how I came to know about it. The dermatologist then says to me "well if you still want it, I'll write you a prescription for the Ambien..." Nymr83 Feb 09 2008 02:59 PM ]The NFL also controls the media to such a degree ... that much is certainly true, remember that fictional show on ESPN about the misfit football team? i forget what it was called but it was a good show and got good ratings but the NFL made ESPN cancel it. Frayed Knot Feb 10 2008 08:35 AM ^ Hey check it out ... not only are Soupy & Nymr dueling John Stearns' but they ^ have identical post totals !! (or at least they did when I wrote this) ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ AG/DC Feb 10 2008 10:02 AM Joined on the same day also.

Ehrhardt had a falling out with the club at some point over some matter or another. They later made up at least to some extent (or the offending persons in his mind left) but I'm not sure where the 'relationship' was in recent years. At minimum some photos in the new place acknowledging him in whatever area they set aside for NYM history/HoF (assuming they still have room after building their Jackie R shrines).

So does Billy Joel avoid all his Yanqui-mentioning tunes when he plays Shea? Or maybe he just changes the lyrics. - Rose he knows he's such a credit to the game, but the Yankees grab the headlines every time - they sent a carrier out from Norfolk, and picked the Yankees up for free Not to mention the Yankee cap he wore on the back cover of one of his albums (The Stranger?)

Nymr83 wrote: Were there any other pictures of her inside? (don't lie, you know you subscribe) No, they just used that first one. ]How does HGH help a person prepare for a photo shoot? A single, or even short-term, use certainly wouldn't do much if anything. But some doctors are (illegally) prescribing the stuff as an anti-aging potion (for vain aging boomers largely) and enhanced body image is one of the benefits.

"perhaps MLB needs a rule that any prescriptions that will require you to get an exemption from a banned substance rule require the consent of a doctor not affiliated with an MLB team?" Unaffiliated docs would probably make it worse. (Heath? ... Elvis?) Hell, I could probably find one to declare that I'm in need of menopause meds. Go all the way back to 'Ball Four' where the players were getting their stash from outside docs while keeping the who and how info from the in-house MDs and training staff because they knew that those guys would squeal to mgmt.

Frayed Knot wrote: Hey she had to prep for that SI swimsuit issue. I was kidding when I wrote this earlier but apparently that was exactly the timing of the whole thing. (as per Bill Madden on WFAN)

="metsguyinmichigan"]AP is announcing the Bedard trade to the Ms. I think we're better off with Johan! "Baltimore received outfielder Adam Jones, who probably will start in center field in opening day. The Orioles also obtained reliever George Sherrill and pitchers Chris Tillman, Tony Butler and Kam Mickolio." Jones is the real prize here and is considered starter-ready now, a lot less of a question mark than anyone the Mets gave up for Santana. Also this Tillman guy is getting high praise from the prospect gurus. The biggest plus with Bedard (other than the fact that he's real good) is that he's been cheap(ish) and is under control for another two years. But he'll get expensive via arbitration and those two years are only one more than what Santana came with. IOW, that sounds like a high price the Marniers paid and, between that one and what Arizona gave up for Haren under similar circumstances, it makes the booty sent away for Santana seem quite reasonable in comparison.

metirish wrote: Well you can't just tell us that without giving us the details. Well, this one time in band camp ...

metirish wrote: Newsday is reporting that McNamee told the federal prosecutors Thursday that Debbie Clemens took HGH....doesn't say when....... Hey she had to prep for that SI swimsuit issue. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, yaknowwhattimean?

soupcan wrote: Do I get any points for naked in a van with a woman? We'll need to see pictures of the woman before we decide on how many points we give you.

AG/DC wrote: (Devil's advocate)Understood, but the key difference there is jurisdiction. That should matter to a DA, but should it matter to a team?(/Devil's advocate) There are a helluva lot more differences than merely juristiction.

More stuff on Fernando Martinez and on what remains of the farm system in general from the crew at Baseball Prospectus Fernando Martinez - OF DOB: 10/10/88 Height/Weight: 6-1/190 Bats/Throws: L/R Acquired: NDFA, 2005, Dominican Republic 2007 Stats: .111/.200/.333 at Rookie-Level (3 G); .271/.336/.377 at Double-A (60 G) Year In Review: Martinez is a high-ceiling outfielder, and was holding his own as an 18-year-old in Double-A before finally getting shut down with a hand contusion that was bothering him all year. The Good: To hit .271 in Double-A when you are as old as most high school seniors is an impressive feat. Martinez has outstanding bat speed and tremendous power potential to go with a rapidly improving approach, and could develop into a middle-of-the-order force if everything falls right. He's a good athlete with average speed and a solid arm. The Bad: Martinez is far more about what can be at this point. He puts on a show in batting practice, but he's yet to bring his power into game situations. The Mets have rushed him up through the minors, but injuries have limited him to just 139 games over the two years of his career. While he's playing center field now, his range and instincts are well short of what is needed to play the position at the big league level, and he'll move to a corner--likely before he gets to the big leagues. Fun Fact: In 16 games batting leadoff for Binghamton, Martinez hit .343, compared to a .243 mark when he hit third. Perfect World Projection: Scouts have varied opinions on Martinez, but there are a good number out there who see him as an impact player when he can stay healthy and develop. Timetable: Martinez' breakneck pace through the minors will slow down finally in 2008, as he'll likely return to Double-A, but he'll nevertheless likely be the youngest player at the level. A 2009 big-league debut is a distinct possibility

I liked the real high leg kick on Marichal's chicken.

'Twas fun listening to Jeffie claim that they didn't go past their standards for this contract. His spin is that it isn't a 7-year deal but actually just a 5-year since Johan was already signed for 2008 (even though they tore that one up and tacked it on to the entire deal) and that the final year is an option. Oh, OK.

A Boy Named Seo wrote: Johan = clich� machine. I'd pretty much defy anyone NOT to be a cliche machine in that kind of setting with those kind of questions. Would be kinda fun if someone would drop a few bombshells at one of these things: - Q: "Why'd you want to come to the _________s" - A: "Cuz they dropped a fuckin' trcukload of money in my lap"

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I've yet to see or hear Santana being interviewed. Does anyone know how good his command of English is? I'm betting it's better than Omar's

What pitching "expert" is that injury quote from? And after 8 injury-free years in MLB - including the last 4 as a full-time starter w/134 starts & 900+ IPs - I'm guessing that whoever it is he has a fairly adaptive definition of "waiting to happen". * Hey, I'm HoJo !!

Puerto Rico doesn't have an entry because they didn't have a league this year for the first time in decades. Financial problems killed the season. There are some PR players on the other teams.

Some place did such a study of franchise-trades a few years back (Hardball Times maybe?) and the Mets did indeed come out at the bottom of the gained/lost scale. Much of their negative came in the form of the Nolan Ryan deal as he racked up so many brownie points during his lengthy post-NYM career. Problem was that much of the response to the article pointed out flaws in his methodology (I forget exactly what the "scoring" system was) that even the author admitted that it wasn't a very accurate accounting. The other problem is that - unless you've got the same people making the same kind of deals via the same kind of logic - those past deals say virtually nothing about current or future ones.

="Elster88"]Is risk-averse a synonym for stupid? Not to speak entirely for Val here, but let's not forget that this trade/contract has a whole lotta risk attached to it. An injury to Santana early in the contract puts an anchor around the salary structure for years and the farm system could take at least as long to recover. One of the lessons in 'Moneyball' was that it's often easier to recover from the player you don't sign than it is from the one you sign at the wrong price. Now I disagree with him in that I think this WAS the right price (money + players) and will take my chances that we'll beat the odds of the roof caving in but there's a price for every deal at which you should walk away from the risk.

Elster88 wrote: Joe Smith #7?? You need remember that this isn't a list of who's closest to MLB but rather one trying to figure out the best long-term career potential - and a side-winding middle reliever only has so much up-side to him. Or, if you're wondering why he's even on the list at all, it's because he didn't pitch enough innings last year to kill his rookie status.

My point is that I don't think the Mets & Twins were going to ever reach an agreement except as a conditional one based on striking a long-term deal -- it seemed to be what all three sides wanted. Then, once the deal was in place, ANY player could kill the deal just by making outrageous demands. IOW, the existence of a N-T clause may have been partly responsible for directing him towards the Mets but once a deal was reached the N-T became irrelevant.

The state of the farm system post-Santana deal (acc to BA): 1. Fernando Martinez, OF So far ahead of the rest of the system, but still a long way from his ceiling 2. Eddie Kunz, RHP It's not a good sign when a reliever from the most recent draft is your No. 2 prospect 3. Brant Rustich, RHP It's worse when a reliever from the most recent draft is your No. 3 prospect as well 4. Jon Niese, LHP Young lefty with solid stuff will pitch in Double-A at age 21 5. Nathan Vineyard, LHP Sandwich pick last June has the potential for three average or better pitches 6. Robert Parnell, RHP Gets whiffs with his fastball and slider, but must refine his changeup to stay a starter 7. Joe Smith, RHP Sidearm reliever made his big league debut 10 months after getting drafted 8. Scott Moviel, RHP He's 6-foot-11 and already touches 94 mph, though his breaking ball needs work 9. Danny Murphy, 3B His third-base defense is an issue, but he has the second-best bat in the system 10. Wilmer Flores, 3B/SS Signed out of Venezuela for $750,000, he draws some Miguel Cabrera comps Also: In our organization rankings in the (already completed) Prospect Handbook we had, based on the Twins' depth and the Mets' lack thereof, New York (ranked) at No. 17 and Minnesota at No. 18. With the exodus of four of their best prospects, the Mets now have Fernando Martinez (who has a ton of upside but is far from a sure thing) and not much else. When we update our rankings in our Minor League Preview issue in March, I suspect that New York will drop to No. 27, ahead of only the Tigers, Astros and White Sox. Restocking obviously needs to be a priority in the near future. The good news - aside from the presence of Santana being the reason it took such a sudden hit - is that they own picks #18, #22, and #33 in this June's draft. Between that and the int'l market there'll definitely be some pressure to land decent talent in order to keep them from depending solely off the trade/FA market for the next half-decade or more.