Frayed Knot

I didn't say there weren't any others, only that I likely wouldn't have come up with any. I wouldn't have thought of a single one of those names and, even if I had, I wouldn't have known that any of them played for both CHC & CLE

Got a 61 Ralph Kiner (0.7%) - Gaylord Perry (15) - Nap Lajoie (4) Lance Johnson (1) - Pedro Martinez (15) - Wally Backman (1) Rafael Palmero (9) - Fergie Jenkins (8) - Ivan Rodriguez (6) Glad I remembered Ralph cuz I don't know that I was coming up with anyone else for CHC/CLE

I think today is the first time I remembered to play I.G. since my previous post, but I'm still counting it as two Immacualtes in a row, hi-lighted by an all b&w photo trio in the right hand column. Jim Kaat - Wilson Ramos - Walter Johnson Hoyt Wilhelm - Ken Singleton - Rogers Hornsby Octavio Dotel* - Sean Doolittle** - Jimmie Foxx * Pure guess to complete the grid ** 22 of the 50 rarity points although I c/should have known Gil Gonzalez, Dan Haren or others

Unless there's some kind of clause involved -- 'You must pitch at least 40 innings in order to use your opt-in' -- it's gotta be an automatic from Giolito's pov, especially since he likely won't know at the end of '24 whether or not the '25 season will be a total loss or just a partial one.

But at least they're asking Cashman about college basketball. I wonder which network is going to be covering the shit out of that sport over the coming weeks?

Actually it spilled over the wire at 10:56 AM EDT via this thread.

This sounds like he may never throw a pitch for the Sawx It's a two year deal where the second is a player option.

=kcmets post_id=148293 time=1709659107 user_id=53] No TV, No DVR, No $200.

That is one very large contract. ZW turns 34 in May, so this deal would be for his age 35-37 seasons.

A decent showing today with 39 rarity score PHI/MIL - John Vukovich PHI/BOS - Curt Schilling PHI .300+ - BA Len Dykstra MIL/SDP - Rollie Fingers BOS/SDP - Craig Kimbrel SDP .300+ BA - John Kruk MIL RF - Ben Ogilvie BOS RF - Dwight Evans .300+ BA/RF - Starling Marte Schilling (11%) for PHI/BOS was the only answer in double digits. Surprising (to me anyway) that Jonathan Papelbon was the most common answer and almost double that pct.

=MFS62 post_id=147926 time=1709159843 user_id=60] Saw this today, posted on that international baseball site I frequent (membership only) By hours I'm sure I also watch the most baseball. There are a few booths that I will automatically go to. The Mets booth is the best in baseball, hands down. Gary, Ron, and Keith have great chemistry and talk about relevant topics around the league.

Remember that the early reviews for Ronnie (on a one year stint w/the Nats) were at least the length of a Pete Alonso HR from being good. Now there were extenuating circumstances: he was rushed into the job with little prep time and essentially had to get to know his pbp man (Bob Carpenter) on the fly. But, still, he came off as stiff and uninteresting both from the one or two times I heard him back then, and from other more professional opinions, and also by his own admission. But I think most of us would agree that he's grown into the job and the suits at least three networks seem to agree. (SNY, TBS, MLBN). So give Murph some time. It's his first toe-dip into the water and it's not a given that he's even going to want to pursue this as a full time gig (he's got four kids at home). Besides, it was kind of nice having someone in the booth who had actually played against some of the guys on the field rather than against their fathers or against the elder members of the coaching staff. A couple of fewer 'back in my day' comments might be a welcome change whether it's from Muffy or someone else and it's going to be somebody else before too long. No broadcast team lasts forever and this one is already the longest lasting one we've had.

Didn't Nimmo sit out almost all of last year's ST games until towards the very end even though not injured? Maybe they're repeating that plan.

Kranick https://nypost.com/2024/02/26/sports/lifelong-mets-fan-max-kranick-starts-bid-for-rotation-spot/gets a NY Post write-up which reveals, among other things, his lifelong NYM fandom.

Both Kingstons are in a foreign country for the Blue Jays so it works either way.

Had no idea they were starting already. I'm gong back a ways here, but the first ST game of the year used to land right around my birthday which is still more than a week and a half away. And many of the players back then needed to use ST as a time to get in shape*, as opposed to now when they all show up that way. Add that to the idea that the WS was held in early October and the whole thing is six or seven weeks longer. Not sure that's a bad thing ... but I'm not sure it's a good one either. * Curt Blefary on coming in to ST with some excess poundage: Just 'water weight' he explained. 'Melted ice cubes no doubt' countered Jim Bouton.

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: I had to go with Chipper Jones for a .300 shortstop. I kept my streak alive of never guessing Derek Jeter.

I was going for an all-Mets grid, which I had through the top two rows. Alonso - Mays - Seaver Ron Hodges - Piazza - Delgado Then I had to fill out the bottom row with scrubs like: Oneil Cruz - [CROSSOUT]Bonus[/CROSSOUT] (frickin' auto-correct) Honus Wagner - Alex Rodriguez Piazza (32%) and ARod (33%) wrecked any chance at a good rarity score. Alonso, Mays, Seaver, Hodges, Delgado, and Cruz were all 2% or under.

This is also a cautionary tale about blowing the salary cap out of the water. Mainly that it's a lot easier to get over the line one way than it is to get back over it in the opposite direction. The Yanx made noises for years about wanting to get under the line before finally managing to cut off the multiplier penalties that are levied for being over the threshold in multiple consecutive seasons. And the penalties have only been stiffened in recent years. CAN Steve afford to pay players 110% more than his competitors? Well, yeah ... to a point anyway. But it looks like he's decided that it's not a particularly good business practice to do so. I assume that once the Verlander and Scherzer payments start to fall off the books then they've got a better shot at getting under in order to at least 'reset' the penalties to a lower figure should they decide to go over it again in the future. The upside to agreeing to pay the bulk of their contracts was in getting better prospects in return. Currently we're seeing that there's also a downside.

As ST gets going in earnest (as well as in Florida and Arizona) Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, Jordon Montgomery, Matt Chapman, and J.D. Martinez, all clients of one Scott Boras, remain not just unsigned at this late date but seemingly in a rumor free zone for any imminent signings. Ya figure something will get done for each before too long but, yaneverknow. S.B. and various GMs could be having a stubborn contest which could last for ... ?

"Forearm tightness" is often the precursor to TJS. 'Arm fatigue' is a more common, and usually more benign, ST malady although it usually shows up later in the process. Maybe Kodai was ramping things up early this year.

=Fman99 post_id=147407 time=1708438786 user_id=86] LAD/1RD - Straw 3

I DESTROYED your rarity score I got a 74 Thome (32%) - Cory Snyder (0.5%) - Sandy Alomar Jr Balboni - Lorenzo Cain - Beltran Keith Moreland (0.7%) - Kris Bryant - Seiya Suzuki

It's not like his recent track record is all that enticing - his last good season is now six years in the rear view [2018, 25 starts, 3.03 ERA] and even that wasn't a complete one - 2019 was so-so at best [4.28 ERA] and was his last full season - missed all of 2020 and 2021 (aside from two token innings at the end of the year) Since leaving the Mets his '22-'23 seasons have seen him throw for four different clubs and just 43 games total (42 starts) with an ERA just a hair under 5.00, more than a hit/inning (9.8/9), and barely 6 Ks/9 (151 in 223 IP). Not sure anyone believe he actually can be a bad-ass bringer of heat.

And speaking of Pablo Sandoval, he is now attempting a comeback to MLB at the age of 37 and two years away from the game. Maybe somebody will put together an all fat guys team featuring the likes of Vogelbach, Choi, Panda, Voit.