Frayed Knot

He and the NYM staff ... not so warm and fuzzy.

Watson became the Yanx GM for the '96 season (replacing Gene Michael who was forever falling in and out of favor w/George) so the franchise was already pretty much turned around at that point. I don't remember if he had been with the organization prior to that or was poached from the outside. He then resigned the GM post in February before the '98 ever got going -- so just two seasons as GM for 'Bull' -- and was replaced by Brian Cashman who has now stunningly been there ever since. Nobody would have bet on THAT way back when. IIRC Watson was against the deal which brought Chuck Knoblauch to the Bronx, specifically it was the inclusion of LHP Eric Milton, a former NYY 1st round draft pick and a top prospect that winter. Watson didn't like that his calls were being overridden and walked away in protest over completion of that deal. Turned out that neither Knoblauch nor Milton were all that their acquiring teams hoped they'd be. The Twins actually got more out of the 'throw-ins' in that deal, Brian Buchanan (also a former NYY 1st rounder) was a role player for them before ending his career with 3 ABs for the 2004 NYM, and especially Christian Guzman who went on to be their starting SS for six seasons. As they always say, prospects can be summed up in one word: Yaneverknow! Another NYY passing: RHP Larry Gowell, 72 Yeah, I never heard of him either, and with good reason as he pitched in just two ML games, both with the 1972 Yanx at the tail end of the season. But those two games produced a couple of odd distinctions: the first was hitting a double in his only ML AB, and the second was having that hit be the final one by a pitcher in the pre-DH era. A handful of AL pitchers have notched hits since on account of their teams losing the DH via double-switches and the like, but Gowell's hit was the final one on the final day of the '72 AL season. From the baseball hotbed of Lewiston, Maine (where he apparently died also), Gowell stayed in the minors through 1975 but never got back to 'The Show'. P.S., his double didn't help matters as he wound up being the losing pitcher in that game, leaving him with a lifetime line of 1-for-1 as a batter but 0-1 as a pitcher. Sucks when the only run you allow in your career (7 IP in total) gives you a losing record. Gowell started that day and went five innings but the Yanx lost 1-Zip

And I didn't even print Snell's comments to say that he's wrong for being concerned with the chances of players getting the illness ... excuse me: 'the Rona'. But, jeeez, he's got to find a better way of saying it than: 'I gotta get me mine first'. It's due to statements like this that, even when the players' side is more in the right, they still manage to lose the pr war during these negotiations and a sizable percentage of fans wind up taking the seemingly odd choice of backing the owners in these millionaire-v-billionaire tussles. It doesn't surprise me that any number of players are going to support at least the end game of what he's trying to say - even if most are smart enough not to quite put it in those terms. But I also think a lot of this has to do with the players, egged on by their union chiefs, wanting to keep their record intact of never agreeing to anything that even resembles a salary cap, not even for a half season under extraordinary circumstances. They've already shown that they're buying into the slippery slope theory, that agreeing to a quasi-cap here will somehow lead to permanent caps in the future, as if that can happen without their consent. It's a stupid argument when it's used politically -- 'If I agree to let you take away my rocket-launch bazookas then it's only a matter of time until you take away my single-shot hunting rifle' -- it's a stupid one here and it's another way in which they manage to lose the pr wars on these types of issues.

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=36858 time=1589486017 user_id=68] Jesus Christ, what an asshole that Snell is.

Edgy MD wrote: Players should totally not be having this conversation through the press. That's precisely what I mean by potentially losing the pr war even if they manage to 'win' by holding out for all the pro-rated money AND have the owners blink about canceling the season. I mean the Alex Wood stuff (above) wasn't too bad, but now for exhibit A in how NOT to handle things, I give you Blake Snell, Tampa Bay Rays: "I gotta get my money. I'm not playing unless I get mine, okay? And that's just the way it is for me. Like, I'm sorry you guys think differently, but the risk is way the hell higher and the amount of money I'm making is way lower, why would I think about doing that? Like you know, I'm just, I'm sorry. ... “Like, I ain't making s–t. [his contract for 2020 is $7 mil] And on top of that — so, all that money's gone, and now I play risking my life. And if I get the ‘rona — on top of that, if I get the ‘rona — guess what happens with that? Oh yeah, that stays, that's in my body forever. That damage is not gonna be like — the damage that was done to my body? That's gonna be there forever.” https://nypost.com/2020/05/14/blake-snell-slams-mlb-coronavirus-plan-risking-my-life/https://nypost.com/2020/05/14/blake-snell-slams-mlb-coronavirus-plan-risking-my-life/

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Will there be a public address announcer so that we know when the pinch hitter is officially in the game? Yes, but he'll only have to whisper since he doesn't have to be head over crowd noise.

ESPN, Fox, NBC, CBS and Turner Sports, according to sources, have experimented with the idea of using virtual reality to enhance the at-home viewing experience, by superimposing realistic-looking fans onto screens. The idea is in its infancy and there is a mixture of opinions toward it, but it is something the networks are playing with as fan-less games appear to be the immediate reality. https://nypost.com/2020/05/13/espn-fox-bracing-for-unprecedented-sports-broadcasts/https://nypost.com/2020/05/13/espn-fox-bracing-for-unprecedented-sports-broadcasts/

=metsmarathon post_id=36800 time=1589389629 user_id=83] how much money could the owners possibly lose this year, if they ended up paying the players for 50% of their salaries?

Mark Teixeira, now with ESPN, suggests that the players accept the proposal of of a revenue split for this season only but https://nypost.com/2020/05/13/mark-teixeiras-mlb-proposal-stance-just-so-stupid-dodgers-alex-wood/that's not going over too well with at least one player. Alex Wood (LAD) Tweet: “I refuse to judge someone I don't really know off of one comment but damn this statement is just so stupid" Teixeira: “This is unprecedented in the history of the Major League Baseball Players Association ... every other year, I would stand together and say, ‘The owners aren't going to do this to us and we're going to get paid our full fare. If I'm going to put myself out there, I'm going to get paid a full day's wage.' “Players need to understand that if they turn this deal down and shut the sport down, they're not making a cent" Talks on the owners proposal began on Tuesday but reportedly they haven't gotten to the revenue splitting topic as of yet.

I'm have a hard time buying the idea that, even if the owners lose half the season and then lose out on something like 40% of revenue from the half they do play, every team is still going to be awash in cash. I think sometimes some writers start with the premise that the teams make so much money (although if the sport is the mega-profit machine some claim there'd be no reason for anyone to ever get out of the business) that they go about concocting scenarios to prove their predetermined conclusion that there's no way they ever could lose money ... even in the short term. Look, I've generally been on the side of the players in most of these labor wars during my lifetime, but I think the union needs to carefully consider how they handle this particularly because it seems to me that their biggest fear is that the ghost of Marvin Miller is going to smite them all in their tracks if they agree to even a temporary fix that smells like a salary cap. And, yes, limiting overall pay to a fixed portion of revenue IS a form of cap no matter how much the NFL (or the folks who shill for it) sell it as if it's an act of Christian Charity when they raise the roof by 2% at the same time the players agree to a season that will be 6.25% longer. But this would be just for one season and only for the most unusual season in the sport's history. And they need to decide whether they REALLY want to be standing on a principle which no one cares about (keeping their cap-free streak intact) during a time of 'Hooverville' unemployment figures and deaths that will likely be into six figures before they get around to starting this thing. This doesn't mean they have to bite at the first bait the owners dangle at them, but the voices we've heard from so far have all said that the issue of pay has been pre-decided and that the idea of even discussing anything beyond the part about prorating salaries based on the length of the season is a complete non-starter to which they have no intention of hearing. This even though the March 26th agreement clearly (in my mind anyway) had a clause indicating that the two sides would at least talk "in good faith" about what to do in the event of a season with reduced revenues. They obviously couldn't nail down any terms like that in late March because no one had any idea what the conditions would be like at that point. So the union might go all out to try and win their battle here but that win could come at the expense of: a) their entire 2020 salaries (I think they get 4% in the event of a canceled season) if the owners decide that they'd lose less money by ditching the entire season a lot of bad PR as a season gets scuttled because your guys can't take a partial pay cut off your multi-millions while millions of others have lost their jobs completely Both sides have a lot to lose here. It would be nice if they handled it like adults.

Here's the line from that March 26th agreement that is being subject to differing interpretations: “the Office of the Commissioner and Players Association will discuss in good faith the economic feasibility of playing games in the absence of spectators” Union head Tony Clark has said there are no needs for a new pay negotiation because the deal called for players to be paid their 2020 salary prorated for games played. Not surprisingly, several agents have said the same. MLB interprets this sentence to mean a new arrangement would have to be discussed since revenue derived from attendance is said to represent some 40% of their total.

=MFS62 post_id=36726 time=1589238282 user_id=60]TV revenues are already in the bank.

Holy Shit!!

NYPost -- "According to multiple sources, Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez are no longer interested in buying the Mets. That decision was reached after negotiations with potential partners failed to materialize and it became clear that the Wilpons' reluctance to part with SNY makes it almost impossible for anyone without many billions of dollars to afford owning the team." https://nypost.com/2020/05/07/alex-rodriguez-jennifer-lopez-end-their-quest-to-buy-the-mets/https://nypost.com/2020/05/07/alex-rodriguez-jennifer-lopez-end-their-quest-to-buy-the-mets/

I suspect those who opt out might be willing to forego the salary but they/their union would still want the service time ... and that's where things might get sticky. There are going to be a lot a questions like those that'll need to be dealt with over and above just the logistics of the the schedule/travel/season itself. Meanwhile, the German Bundesliga (their top level soccer league) is returning to action next week. Looks like the last game played there was March 11th.

NYPost -- By the beginning of next week at the latest — perhaps even before this week is concluded — MLB is planning to present to the Players Association a proposal that will include what is currently the most optimistic hope: What would a season look like if spring training 2.0 began in June and the regular season in July? The sides are doing this now just in case the rosiest scenario plays out and — among many current hurdles — health officials open up enough locales to allow the renewal of spring training in 6-8 weeks. The obstacles to returning to play, though, remain significant. ... And there is much to settle between MLB and the union, nothing bigger than: 1. Can MLB present a plan that brings confidence to the players that a return can be done with limited health risk and 2. how will the players be paid? MLB is expected to propose a pay scale in the coming days, the union almost certainly will reject it and this will be one of those items that needs time to be negotiated in the coming weeks, which is why it is important to begin now https://nypost.com/2020/05/06/mlb-ramping-up-plans-for-best-case-july-start-to-2020-season/https://nypost.com/2020/05/06/mlb-ramping-up-plans-for-best-case-july-start-to-2020-season/ Ceets: Sherman is a hack so, by definition, none of the above is true. He made it all up.

I'm thinking July-ish also, maybe some time between the 4th (symbolic date I know they'd love to push for) and the would-be ASB (reminiscent of the re-kickoff in '81) Apparently Cleveland recently informed their players to be prepared to report for a reopening of ST in mid-June in anticipation of a July resumption. That's nothing official of course and there are lots of hurdles to clear still. But I guess they wanted to get the word out so as to mentally prepare for such a time frame. I think we could also see fans in the stands. Not immediately maybe but as time goes on and on a limited basis. Maybe they sell tickets in blocks of four and your block of four is sufficiently away from all other four-blocks, etc. You'd be far below capacity that way but it beats nothing from both an atmosphere and checkbook standpoint.

=LWFS post_id=36391 time=1588659327 user_id=84]Also, [the Kiwoom Heroes] play in a dome that looks like an ashtray you bought at the MoMA Store, and have a wicked-good 3-4-5 in Junghoo Lee, Byungho Park, and Haseong Kim.

=MFS62 post_id=36395 time=1588679264 user_id=60] I got the LG Twins. (Affectionately knows as the appliances.)

A handful of other Matt Keough factoids that I hadn't previously known - his father Marty (who survives him) and his uncle Joe (died last year) had 11 and 6 year careers in MLB in the 60s although I don't remember either one of them - though Matt was a RHP, neither the father nor the uncle were pitchers and both threw and hit lefty - Matt managed to snag himself a Playboy model/ZZ Top video girl as a wife, which I'm sure seemed like a good idea at the time - Shockingly a) the marriage didn't last; and she went on to become a 'REAL HOUSEWIFE' of somewhere .. probably Orange County - the marriage did last long enough to produce three kids including son Shane who played a couple years of minor league ball but well short of MLB - it also produced a daughter who herself is now residing in 'REAL HOUSEWIFE'-ville somewheres in part due to her marriage to the brother of football star/bust/character Brian Bosworth

I wonder if Toronto manager Bobby Mattick got raked over the coals for pulling Steib and going to his bullpen too early in that one? Prolly not, neither the internet nor sports talk radio were nearly as mean back in those days. Keough was one of the pitchers that Billy Martin put through the wringer in that same year of 1980. 24 y/o at the time, Keough pitched a mere 250 innings in 32 starts/20 CG, a total which still had him trailing teammates Mike Norris [33 GS; 24 CG; 284 IP] and Rick Langford [33; 28; 290]. Steve McCatty [31; 11; 221] and Brian Kingman [30; 10; 211] (who famously racked up 20 losses that year) rounded out the staff. That's 93 complete games!! No wonder the entire team recorded just 13 Saves. Only three games that year were started from someone other than those starting five who also combined for seven relief appearances and threw a stunning 85.4% of all Oakland innings that season. The A's employed just 15 pitchers over the entire year and only eight of them (the above starters plus relievers Bob Lacey, Jeff Jones, Dave Hamilton) pitched as many as 20 innings. Hamilton, a 32 y/o lefty who was in the final season of a nine-year career, was the only pitcher on the staff over 30. He, plus Lacey and Craig Minetto, started the three games NOT started by the big five. Those were also the only three Oakland games that season started by a lefty. And then the bills came due: - Keough had really just one more effective year as a starter in the truncated season of '81. After that his ERA ballooned (led AL in RA & HR in '82) then kicked around in the bullpen for several seasons. - Langford, 28 y/o at the time, went on to have two more complete seasons but was essentially done at age 30 - Norris, 25, started just 67 more games in his career over parts of three seasons - McCatty, 26, had a terrific 1981 (2nd in CY) but was done as a starter by age 30 and out of the game by 31 - Kingman, 25, made just 35 more starts in MLB and was retired by age 28

Plus the HoF is neither meaningless nor arbitrary, and it certainly doesn't simply become so by one not agreeing with some of the choices made (for entry or for not).

Maybe it was just because the name Joel Youngblood sounded like someone who should be on the Braves.

=Ceetar post_id=36120 time=1588167978 user_id=102]it's possible we've seen the last pitcher AB.

Baseball's HoF is expected, in the next few days, to announce the postponement of the 2020 induction ceremonies with the idea that this year's class would be inducted along with the 2021 class next summer ... meaning of course that not only is Derek Jeter not going to go in as a solo act but will now be forced to share his date with even more lesser mortals. In the immortal words of Colonel Kurtz: 'The horror ... the horror'