Edgy MD

I would say that it's probably not minimal, so much as not maximal enough to entice the Mets to deal just yet.

And there's people up there, too. That was their third walkoff win of the week! The Sunday before they had swept a double-header from the Phils, winning both games 3-2—on a Kranepool double in the first game, and a bases-loaded wild pitch scoring Al Jackson in the second. That crazy Stengel had sent Jackson in to run for Frank Thomas and it paid off in spades.

Just watched this again. Amazin'. Dancin' in the upper deck.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I'm pleased he hasn't traded Bruce on the cheap. Yeah. The end of the winter meetings certainly isn't a real deadline.

Aurora? Tebow will go to minor league camp and get floated once or maybe twice to join a travel roster, ride a bus and maybe get a couple of at-bats. No problem.

Farmer Ted in the 'Things Ya Didn't Know' thread wrote: Pete Rose was the matchmaker for Doug Flynn and his wife, Olga, a former Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader. I didn't know that! That's also good Wifey Watch material. I wonder if Pete was additionally responsible for booking the reception hall with the low-hanging dropped ceiling. [fimg=450]https://metsinpeace.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/doug-and-olga-flynn.jpg[/fimg]

It used to. But not anymore. Those two are gone.

Almeida? That's a scratcher. Good strikeout rates, but not knock-you-on-your-pants numbers or anything, and TERRIBLE walk rates. And has thrown all of 2 1/3 innings above Kingsport. That's a project for sure. Good luck, Angels.

Had a great half season out of the pen for St. Lucie, but then was promoted to Bingo and got utterly lit up. Lit up like a sparkle pony.

I'm telling you, by the end of the contract, it won't look so big.

Rule 5 Draft (Former team) Minnesota: RHP Miguel Diaz (MIL): Expected to be traded to San Diego, per MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo Cincinnati: C Luis Torrens (NYY: Before hurting his shoulder, was as highly regarded in some quarters as Gary Sanchez.) San Diego: SS Allen Cordoba (STL) Atlanta: RHP Armando Rivero (CHC) Arizona: RHP Tyler Jones (NYY: Yankees again!) Milwaukee: LHP Caleb Smith (NYY: Oh, the humanity!) Los Angeles (AL): RHP Justin Haley (BOS) Chicago (AL): RHP Dylan Covey (OAK) Pittsburgh: LHP Tyler Webb (NYY: Such carnage!) Detroit: LHP Daniel Stumpf (KC) Baltimore: 2B Aneury Tavarez (BOS) Toronto: RHP Glenn Sparkman (KC) Boston: IF Josh Rutledge (COL) Cleveland: LHP Holby Milner (PHI) Texas: RHP Michael Hauschild (HOU) Cincinnati: C Stuart Turner (MIN) Baltimore: 1B/OF Anthony Santander (CLE)

Bullet Joe Rogan was also a star centerfielder on days he wasn't pitching.

McCutcheon wouldn't look nearly as good as Joseph F. Votto. That's what I say.

TRAID HARVEY!!1!1!

I have Sandy's ear. He relies on me a lot. Should I put a bug in there with regard to Jonathan Lucroy? We can package Bruce with Harvey and get a monster return. Just say the word. Sandy listens to me.

Also, with regard to Ian Desmond, player movement that fills a(n alleged) need in one place can open up a new need elsewhere. So now Texas is down an outfielder, with relief pitching to trade.

A lot of movement of Wades: LeBlanc, Davis, ... can Miley be far behind?

The agent called and I said, ‘Really? Jose is a villain in Baltimore and I’m not going to go tell our fans that we’re courting Jose Bautista for the Orioles because they’re not going to be happy.'” — Baltimore GM Dan Duquette That's refreshing in a goofy way. Good grudges make for good baseball!

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: [youtube]0f6l1QljpMo[/youtube] I mean, except maybe a whole lot of those escort-ad cards, and Nevada sunburn. Nobody can soothsay with the clarity and authority of Ted Knight. Bully to him and all you Bernadina non-believers.

Amazin' Avenue's #7—Gavin Cecchini: I think a lot of rankers are finding it easy to put Rosario and Smith on top, but find #s 3–8 pretty interchangable. They like his consistent contact hitting a lot but are concerned that none of his secondary skills are standing out. He's got to see more time at second, but if Rivera doesn't make the big league roster, that job will mostly be his in AAA.

Also (5) the Mets may get really raided in the Rule 5 draft.

It totally happened!

Man, and you used to argue for Bruce winning a Gold Glove.

My takeaways. (1) The system looks closer to recovering from the 2015 purging than I realized, and some steps forward by some backenders like Woodmansee or Mazeika could go a long way. The depth seems back, if not the same volume of blue chippers. (2) Given a chance to choose between Rosario and Gleyber Torres, he hedged, and even seemed to lean toward Rosario, which is amazing, considering Torres just buzzed through the AFL like a boss and his stock couldn't be any higher. (3) There's this question ... Neil Diamond (Brooklyn): Hi Matt, wondering about Harol Gonzalez, is he a prospect worth watching off of his big year for my Cyclones. Matt Eddy: Yes, RHP Harol Gonzalez is a prospect of interest. He doesn’t have huge stuff, but he has fine command for his age and quality secondary pitches. It’s easy for pitchers of this ilk to dominate the lower minors, so if Gonzalez continues to excel at Double-A then we can start to get excited. Neil Diamond! (4) Also ... Death Of A Gsellman (Pasadena, CA): I have seen Gsellman rated as 70/60 from BP to a B- from Sickels to a 45 somewhere else. I watched a couple of Mets games recently on MLB.tv and he looked pretty dang good. Why such the range of views and what FV grade would you slap on him? Matt Eddy: OK, I will post this one because of the creative user handle. I can’t comment on rankings from other sources. Yes, Gsellman looked good during his September callup (see above comment for September evaluations). And he gritted through a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, which speaks to his toughness. We put a future 50 grade on him: playoff-caliber No. 4 starter. Death of a Gsellman! Sign that guy up!

If Alderson has demonstrated nothing else during his tenure, he's demonstrated a willingness to wait out the marketplace and work alternate partners in order to get the deal he wants.