Edgy MD

I always thought that Girardi kept Posada from getting serious Hall of Fame consideration, by playing ahead of him at the front end of Posada's career and by benching him at the end.

If you get to host a game, watch The Kentucky Cannonballs crumble when they're exposed to that 5,700-foot elevation. Dan Uggla's boys won't know what hit 'em.

Being that nobody agrees on what a good manager is, it's very hard to say she would or wouldn't. I imagine she might get interviews, but unless they're desperate for a p.r. game-change, the organization that makes a move such as hiring a female leader for a role that has been traditionally exclusively male would typically do it at the junior level first, and so I imagine the first American female professional baseball manager would probably have to survive a gig with the Delmarva Shorebirds first. Or perhaps an independent league team like the Sioux City Explorers would take the plunge, knowing that the national spotlight wouldn't be as bright, and that publicity at that level is worth as much as wins. Corporations — consciously or unconsciously — tend to look for a win-win situation before breaking a gentleman's agreement, I think.

It looks like the firing of Clint Hurdle and the retirement of Bruce Bochy leaves only two ex-Mets in the managerial class. Are the Padres in the marketplace or are they sticking with Throb?

Yeah, that's a vicious middle of the lineup, but they lock up against DC in the first round, and the Big Trains are not afraid of that pitching staff.

Fun fact: Buddy Bell, Mike Bell, Barry Larkin, Stephen Larkin, Ken Griffey, Jr., all. graduated from Cincinnati's famed Archbishop Moeller High School and went on to play for the Reds. That's about all I can tell you about Mike Bell, apart from his family's longtime baseball heritage.

The funny thing is they were both clearly (and openly) a little lost when it came to the current personnel when they each entered the booth. Now, they really seem to have a grasp of the whole league, speaking with familiarity about games in the American League West from the night before, aware of who the players are out there, though Keith seemingly won't form an opinion of a guy until he's seen his act in person a few times. Keith can really seem intellectually lazy sometimes, but he genuinely seems to like following the whole again league these days.

In fairness, 1994 and 1995 were wilderness years for a lot of people, being that both the Mets and MLB were self-destructing.

It's like Highlander. Some things are terrific without ever really being particularly good.

There you have it: value!

When Gary recalls TB, he tends to mention that the one time in his Mets career he was playing well enough to win the shortstop job outright, he got badly injured. BASEBALL; Bogar Is Trying to Reverse a Career Slide By Jennifer Frey Feb. 25, 1994 https://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/25/sports/baseball-bogar-is-trying-to-reverse-a-career-slide.htmlThe New York Times Archives February 25, 1994, Section B, Page 11 The perfect day came to an end at 3 A.M. in a hotel room in Center City, Philadelphia. Tim Bogar awoke with an awful ache in his left hand, the pain so great he could not get back to sleep. His wife, Karrin, was there with his baby son T. J. Earlier in the night, friends had joined him to watch sports highlights on television. He had gone 4 for 5 with two homers, 4 runs scored and 4 runs batted in in the game against the Phillies. All those numbers represented career highs for Bogar, who was trying to prove to the Mets that he just might cut it as the team's starting shortstop, rather than as the utility infielder they had pegged him to be. Big Opportunity Wasted But Bogar made a stupid mistake. On his last at-bat he hit an inside-the-park homer and slid head first into the plate. His left hand twisted, the ligaments tore and suddenly his season was over on Aug. 15, his big opportunity wasted away. "It didn't seem bad at first, not until I woke up in the middle of the night in pain," Bogar said. "I didn't even realize what I had done until the next day." Bogar went to the park, avoided the trainer and tried to take batting practice. He could not swing the bat. He was placed on the disabled list that day and had surgery exactly one month later. While the hand healed over the winter, the Mets went shopping for a shortstop and signed the veteran Luis Rivera on Jan. 19. Now, Bogar, 27 years old, is competing for the shortstop job at the Mets' spring-training complex and faces an uphill battle if he wishes to establish himself as the everyday guy. "I sat there and thought about how much opportunity I missed in that month and a half," Bogar said. "If I would have played the last month and a half and done some more positive things and proved to them I can be an everyday player, they might have had different priorities this winter. But by hurting myself, I put doubt in their minds about my abilities." Knee Injury in 1990 Once a strong prospect at shortstop, Bogar was labeled a utility infielder after he returned from a 1990 knee injury that forced him to miss most of his minor league season. At that time, the organization correctly predicted that Bogar would have a quicker route to the majors in a utility role. But when the Mets traded shortstop Tony Fernandez to Toronto last June, they suddenly found themselves without a shortstop and Bogar found himself with a chance. He made the most of that opportunity, surprising Manager Dallas Green with his performance -- at least, until that head-first slide in August. "I think when the general manager broke him down, he was valued at best in our minds as a utilityman who can play a variety of positions," Green said today. "But when we traded Tony, he stepped forward and did the most with it. I gotta give him credit, he did more with the bat than I expected." Bogar has never been a high-average guy, not even in the minors, and he has been criticized for a lack of range in the field. Last season, he hit .244 with 3 homers and 25 r.b.i. in 78 games. "I've never made an all-star team, I've never been a star, not even in the minor leagues, but I'm here," said Bogar. "I'm the type of guy that's never noticed, but I'm needed." INSIDE PITCH FRED WILPON, co-owner and president, addressed the team for five or six minutes before the start of workouts Thursday morning. He commended the players for their attitude and warned them that any player who did not give 100 percent effort would be gone. In addition, Wilpon announced that all team members must participate in 90-minute seminars on dealing with the news media. . . . BUTCH HUSKEY continues to work out on a special program and Manager DALLAS GREEN said that Huskey must recognize that this is going to be a transition year for him -- a transition from out-of-shape to in-shape, that is. "He's not going to be able to do much here by the looks of it," Green said, alluding to spring training. Huskey is expected to start the season with the Class AAA club.

Gosh, looks like the Jessica Mendoza theory has preceded me.

Jessica Mendoza Darryl Strawberry Kurt Russell Bobby Bonilla Gary Carter. This sucks. Now I'm going to be so disappointed if it's a boring old "qualified" candidate.

Yeah, I'm sorry. He's coaching for the PA team. I'm still happy about the Minooka thing, though.

Frank Stallone?

I've had two very similar comeuppances in this thread: First, I was surprised that Reggie Jackson was coaching for the New Jersey team, because in my mind, he's so Oakland, that I always just assumed he was born there. Then I was surprised that Rickey Henderson was coaching for the Illinois team, because in my mind, he's so Oakland, that I always just assumed he was born there. Beyond that, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be happy all day today, because I just learned there is a town called "Minooka."

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Mets by the Numbers has http://www.mbtn.net/?p=3162officially endorsed Tim Bogar, even though he's behind in Iowa. This is good stuff. For a guy who didn't get on with Valentine, he seems like a real Valentinian candidate. Marginal but memorable former player for the team. A long career of coaching including an impressive managerial track record in the minors. An audition with Texas (much briefer than Valentine's but still.) Vic Sage wrote: Were you intending this to be a satire of the Mulvaney press conference? Because it's spot on. Not at all, but damn, yeah. It must have been a sub-conscious thing. I frankly suspected I didn't even have a sub-conscious, but there it is.

Did he bet another Speedo modeling session on it?

Still, umps have long been prone to a host of male morbitities. It's a challenging life. I'd be fat as a whale if I lived out of hotels.

The US Merchant Marines Watchmen are coming together nicely. Like the hardy seamen they are, players are lining up to get creamed by California in Round One.

I am ignoring him, but not out of oversight. This is an if/then question. While I don't know what will be the Mets' primary 2020 lineup from day to day, I assume that, like 2019, there will be days that both those guys will be in the lineup, one at third and one in the outfield. Maybe these days will come regularly, maybe not.

My deteriorating mind tries to challenge people that way.

I knew it! Ben Grimm is Santa Claus!

I think it's fun that Davis took over the "Just hit man, and if you keep doing that, we'll figure out some place to play you" chair just as Wilmer vacated it. Previous occupants include Victor [CROSSOUT]Davis[/CROSSOUT] Diaz, Gregg Jefferies, Jordany Valdespin, Kevin Mitchell, and Butch Huskey. Most of them are also known as "utility corner guys," but more than a few got some time up the middle. Utility guys who led with the bat. Clint Hurdle was one too, I guess.

I wonder what it's like trying to throw to a base when Judge's massive back is screening you from your target. Brantley = hero. But I'd particularly like to thank the Twins for not giving the Yankees a proper warmup before this series.