Frayed Knot

"Willard Hunter-never heard of him" That's why all the players are linked. Click and learn.

Just in case you didn't think this game was long enough already ... FREE BASEBALL!!!!

"... NOW!!!!" was definitely adopted from the posts of 'SELL THE TEAM NOW!!!, a particularly unctous poster who used to show up only during or after Met losses to put up (no exaggeration!) 30 or 40 posts an hour essentially saying the same thing over and over again; whining and complaining how the the team stunk, how they were ruining his life, and how it was all Wilpon's fault and only an ownership coup d'etat would save us. He also had a Joe Benigno-like ability to reverse field in a heart-beat and complain about the opposite of whatever it was he was complaining about the day before. Folks who liked his stuff (and there were plenty) adopted the "NOW!!!!" in admiration, while others did so in mocking derision. The funny part about the whole thing looking back was that his (and others) idea of a white knight who would swoop in to buy out Wilpon and make the future bright and sunny for all Met fans: The Dolan clan and Cablevision

WATP - Wild Ass Trade Proposal Used to acknowledge that the trade you've heard about or are proposing is pretty unlikely to actually occur due to either: - wild complexities: multiple teams, high # of players, serial trades (A & B for C & D, then package C & D w/E for ....) etc. - or uneven compensation: and, oh yeah, maybe we'd have to t'row in a coupla prospects too

In a way it's knid of fascinating to watch -- when I saw him HR last night down by 8 I just started laughing. He's the only guy in the league who would have been better off grounding out in that situation. Of course it's almost totally based on pre-conceived notions. I mean how many times did all three sets of announcers (SNY, FOX, ESPN) say things like; 'here's the type of situation Jeter thrives on' over the weekend? Virtually every time he was up basically - and if/when he came through they had a 'we told ya so' moment and if he didn't they just ignore it and dust the same line off the next time. Jeter had 6 hits over the weekend for instance (although 1 was that mis-played Sac Bunt and another should have been a 'E' on Wright) but also GiDP'd with 2-on/1-out down by 2; K'd w/a runner on 3rd and 2 outs; and ended Wagner's disaster inning by grounding out with go-ahead runs all over the place. His 2-RBIs "single" past Wright was a great example. If Wright gloves that it's an inning-ending GiDP. One batter later, ARod hits an absolute bullet w/the bases juiced ... but right at Cliff in LF. But in this example, Jeter's clutch and Alex is a choking dog. btw, if Jeter HRs while down by 8 runs it's not stat-padding, it's an example of his 'never say die' attitude.

]And of course Scully and Gargiola were CLEARY rooting for the better story in the 1986 World Series. That would be the Red Sox over the nationally hated Mets! I never bought that. Announcers root for good series so the Scully/Garagiola duo had to be happier than pigs in shit when Game 6 occured. From an outsiders/national P.O.V. it had been a lackluster and not very well played series up to that point. The factor of who wins creating the best "story" is mostly written by those writers and historians who cover the aftermath, not the in-game announcers who, for the most part, couldn't care less who wins so long as it's interesting along the way. Re: "Sac Fly" Major leaguers do hit outfield fly balls w/runners on 3rd and less than 2 outs at rates greater than just what can be explained by random chance implying that there's at least some degree of intent going on; here's a pitch I might not normally swing at in this count but I can at least 'lift' it so here goes ... -- hence the term "Sacrafice" and the rationale for not tallying it against the batter's AVG.

All the stragglers finally reached the Quarter-Pole over the weekend. Teams shown as they were at their 10th, 25th, and 40th games TEAM10 Games25 Games40 GamesMETS8 - 217 - 824 - 16PHILS4 - 611 - 1422 - 18BRAVES4 - 611 - 1420 - 20NATIONALS2 - 88 - 1713 - 27MARLINS3 - 77 - 1811 - 29 CARDS5 - 517 - 828 - 12REDS7 - 317 - 823 - 17ASTROS6 - 416 - 922 - 18BREWERS6 - 414 - 1121 - 19CUBS6 - 414 - 1117 - 23PIRATES3 - 77 - 1813 - 27 PADRES3 - 710 - 1522 - 18GIANTS5 - 513 - 1222 - 18D'BACKS5 - 512 - 1322 - 18DODGERS5 - 512 - 1320- 20ROCKIES6 - 415 - 1020 - 20 TEAM10 Games25 Games40 GamesRED SOX7 - 314 - 1125 - 15YANKS5 - 514 - 1123 - 17BLUE JAYS6 - 413 - 1223 - 17ORIOLES5 - 513 - 1218 - 22D-RAYS4 - 611 - 1416 - 24 TIGERS6 - 416 - 927 - 13WHITE SOX5 - 518 - 726 - 14INDIANS6 - 413 - 1219 - 21TWINS5 - 59 - 1617 - 23ROYALS2 - 85 - 2010 - 30 A's5 - 513 - 1221 - 19RANGERS3 - 713 - 1221 - 19MARINERS5 - 510 - 1517 - 23ANGELS5 - 512 - 1317 - 23

Man he was awful - just another example of relievers who look great one year but burn you in long-term deals. He ws indespensible during their WS year but has been injured, lousy, or both ever since. He's signed thru next season still. -- After getting the 2nd out of the 9th (on a 400' fly) with an 8-run lead - Foulke suddenly served up: 2R-HR, HR, 2B, 2B, before finally getting the last out as Papelbon was warming in the pen. And as if the Saturday loss didn't suck enough - holding on to that lead would have meant a 5-game losing streak for the Yanx including 4 straight to NYM & Boston. Shirley that could have set off a panic somewhere.

I saw Henry Rodriguez's name in the papers the other day; is he the same one who played in the majors a few years back, including a marvelous stint w/the Yanx where they paid him $1.5mil for 8 ABs w/6 Ks?

COOL! (from CF's link) [u:fc9c667f27]All Runners[/u:fc9c667f27] Single - 27.8% Walk - 25.5% HBP - 28.0% Errors (to 1b) - 28.4% Force out/FC - 20.7 (makes sense that it's lower since now there's an extra out) Total - 26.6% [u:fc9c667f27]Leadoff Batters[/u:fc9c667f27] Single - 40.3% Walk - 40.8% HBP - 40.4% Errors (to 1b) - 42.6% Total - 40.5% I always suspected there was little or no difference between how a runner got on vs his odds of scoring; there's just no logical reason why there'd be anything other than a random difference. Of course that doesn't stop generation of broadcasters from saying otherwise.

]I mean it was ALL OVER the media that Anna was clearly a factor but it was months ago. Let's be fair here; SPECULATION is/was all over the media that Anna was the major factor in the deal. Warner's merely stating an opinion on why the deal was made and how it's turning out. It's not like he's mis-stating known facts in this case.

The fact that I've never seen/heard any stats that'll back the notion that a leadoff walk will score more often than a leadoff single leads me to believe that it's NOT actually true just something that people say because either they think it is or want it to be. I'd like to see some data on the topic and somebody's gotta have those stats around.

Nymr83 wrote: he left the game because of an organization "rule" that a pitcher won't throw more than 40 pitches in an inning no matter what, no way of knowing what would have happened. That's still not a pretty line, either for that one game (face 7 hitters - get two out) or for his brief AA life to date - particularly for a guy who a segment of Met fans have been demanding in the big leagues for weeks now.

Shawn Chacon DL'd and one-time Met Terrance Long called up to roam the OF (I didn't know he was even in their system)

Glavine - 3.5 Delgado - 2.8 Wright - 1.4 Heilman - 0.6 Sanchez - 0.4 Wagner - 0.9 Floyd - 0.2 Reyes - 0.1 Matsui - 0.1

Willets Point wrote: Do we really need to ruin this victory celebration with Meatloaf's mug? Maybe you're right. I tell you what ... let me sleep on it.

There's usually not more than 3 or 4 good teams in any one league in any year (that's one reason why going to 4x4 divisions/per is a bad idea but that's a seperate thread). I still suspect the AL is deeper this year (as it was last year) but I just don't think it'll be as lopsided as some predicted. The Angels are looking bad despite being considered one of the "good" teams pre-season. Minnesota to some degree also although they might still turn in around. NL has the very slight edge over 9 years and I don't think either league has ever won more than 55% in any one season.

Effin weird game: - Yanks had all those baserunners but rarely came close to hitting a ball hard. - 12 hits in all, 3 of which never left the infield. 10 were singles and one of them should have been an error. Plus even one of the 2 doubles never left the infield - 7 friggin walks, which really sukked because we kept walking all their shitty and replacement hitters: Bernie twice, Melky 1, Stinnett 1, Cairo 1, plus ARod & Giambi once each - and then we hit two guys, including Kevin Freekin Reese - 3 GiDPs bailed our asses out

Early returns on 2006 Interleague play shows the (by most accounts) "superior" AL going 20 - 22 this weekend.

As the "non-clutch" label gets driven a little further into ARod's hide. We gotta smack Scott Erickson for a run or two here.

Pelfrey on Sunday: 0.2 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 3 BBs, 1 K AA stats now include a 1.85 WHiP, 4.03 ERA, 12 BBs in 22.1 IP, and the league is hitting over .300 against him.

I didn't think much of it either. Maybe partly because I just stumbled on it on cable one night and it was censored in various parts (y'know, if you're not going to show the movie as is, then don't schedule it!) - but it was mostly stupid. What it's become is a bit of a cult movie, especially among 20-something techies or others with similar jobs at suburban office parks. That's the source of much of its appeal.

Willets Point wrote: I think it's premature to suggest trading Wagner now. Well Willets, I don't think the dope that started this thread was all that serious about trading him anyway (although I could be wrong). Besides, one of the reasons Wagner signed here was for those all important three words - say 'em with me folks: No. Trade. Clause.

I simply never saw the point in removing Sanchez as he wasn't PH for and didn't throw a lot of pitches during his one inning. Changing in favor of Wagner reeks of switching just for the sake of switching. No reason for it. But, having said all that, let's not act as if the situation determined the results. Bringing Wagner in at that point didn't make the resultant disaster any more likely to occur than it would have been with someone else in there, merely an unnecessary waste of rescources that blew up in our faces. The burden's all on Wagner here for the meltdown; totally inexplicable and unexcusable, especially since it was facing that soft underbelly of a patchwork lineup. Yeah, Willie was one batter too slow in yanking him but getting out of it by then would have required a ton of tap-dancing no matter who was called. I feel sick.

Evan MacLane - 23 y/o lefty, 6' 2" 185 Control pitcher who's pitching well at Norfolk right now: 3 starts, 2-0, 1.31 ERA, 20.2 IPs, 17 H, 4 BBs, 19 Ks after a decent season last year split between St Lucie & Binghamton