Edgy MD

Well, sounds like Pacino is playing a decade younger than his bad self.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Edgy MD wrote: It wouldn't be AAA. And I don't expect the Mets would be relegated. Because they're awesome. And they have me supporting them. But really, the idea of creating a fair and just system is to consider it not merely by guessing how it would affect us � for we have certainly been disproportionately blessed � but by how it would affect all members of society ... which would have a huge influence on how it would affect us. I expect there's probably a way to create a fair and just system that doesn't include the possibility of a team dropping out of the major leagues. I notice that you're not really thinking like a winner, here.

It wouldn't be AAA. And I don't expect the Mets would be relegated. Because they're awesome. And they have me supporting them. But really, the idea of creating a fair and just system is to consider it not merely by guessing how it would affect us � for we have certainly been disproportionately blessed � but by how it would affect all members of society ... which would have a huge influence on how it would affect us.

Vic Black gave up three in the ninth last night to blow a 4�2 lead, giving up two walks and four hits. Vegas falls out of first place for the first time in what seems like a very long time. Looking more and more like Vic Black won't be able to get is act together in time to be of much help to the 2015 Mets.

Al Pacino as a musician? Who is he analogous to? Dion? Johnny Maestro?

What kind of a misbegotten nightmare is this?

Or really, it seems, how to conduct a meaningful study. But yay, us!

d'Kong76 wrote: Changing American baseball to be more like English football is an absurd dream to me. I was told earlier in this thread, this is America. That's right, not bloody England. Yes, it's America, from where we spread the gospel of free markets. But we paradoxically run our sports leagues as cartels � presuming to control which consumers get access to major league ball, which pro-players are allowed to move to which teams, and which amateur players are allowed to begin their career, most of them getting chicken feed and they better like it. We believe it hurts both commerce and culture to let other industries operate this way, enriches the very few while gouging the consumer and cheating the entrepreneur, but in baseball, we accept it, because that's the way it was set up. But it's important to remember, that's the way it was set up in the Gilded Age � an era defined by robber barons, the greatest monopolies the country has ever known, gross exploitation, and deep social problems. The system we have is an outmoded vestige. To say it belongs in a museum is to understate it. It belongs in a very unpleasant museum.

Gwreck wrote: The London comparison is flawed because of the relative popularity of soccer there compared to everything else. Chicken/egg. If we allow the billionaires to artificially control the proliferation of professional baseball, of course it's going to artificially control the popularity, too, and we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Jos�! Jos�-Jos�-Jos�! Jos�! Jos�!

Frayed Knot wrote: Obsession with mortality is just a default mindset of mine. Give it up for Woody Allen ladies and gentlemen. Now we know he left the game early the other night to catch the late showing of 'Sorrow and the Pity' God, no.

Fine. Obsession with mortality is just a default mindset of mine.

The problem is that: [list:1p4dpbcg][*:1p4dpbcg]Maybe Verrett's starting on Sunday, maybe not;[/*:m:1p4dpbcg] [*:1p4dpbcg]So what? there are three days of rest before Sunday;[/*:m:1p4dpbcg] [*:1p4dpbcg]His pitch count was in the single digits for Pete Falcone's sake[/*:m:1p4dpbcg] [*:1p4dpbcg]Maybe an outing with 30 pitches or so with three days of rest is the right way to prep for that Sunday start;[/*:m:1p4dpbcg] [*:1p4dpbcg]A game tied in the eighth or ninth is a better investment of resources than a game tied in the first � win today, while it is within your grasp![/*:m:1p4dpbcg] [*:1p4dpbcg]I was there � for some of us it may have been our first game ever, and for many it was our last � honor me with the best strategy to win the day.[/*:m:1p4dpbcg][/list:u:1p4dpbcg]

And the hapless Knicks weren't forced to change their name oh no.

Nah, it never worked that way with the Dodgers, Yankees and Giants. This is America! You should be able to call yourself whatever you want! But yeah, I don't think a belief in the scarcity of talent should lead to rationing. And we're not necessarily talking about increasing the number of MLB clubs. With the blessed fall of the anti-trust exemption regime should come the end of affiliation in the sense that we know it today, and hopefully lead to a system of promotion and relegation, where lesser division clubs fight for their own glory and that of their fans and localities, instead of sublimating their interests in favor of those of the parent club. Young Trenton fans shouldn't be growing up wondering when the players on their team are going to be snatched by the Yankees. They should be growing up dreaming of their team beating the snot out of the Yankees. America!

d'Kong76 wrote: Soccer clubs are like churches over there, baseball isn't that way here. Yeah, we just have artificial controls on which churches you can join, sucking all the fun out of church!! And... what Willets said.

I think, really, there's room for about six teams in the New York City region. London has five Premier League football clubs (I think), and dozens more in the lesser divisions. Greater New York should be flooded with teams. Trust me that it would be awesome. I would never lie to you. No, not about this.

I certainly disagree. The metric system was one of the distinct charms about the team, along with Youppi! and French folk songs on the organ.

I know where the Texas Rangers play, but thanks for the map. Brooklyn has a team too, in the same spirit. I tend to believe that the Dallas/FW/Arlington region has the surfeit of monetary and population growth to support a second team with the Dallas name on the jerseys. Interesting Dallas fact: Nobody really agrees about why the place is called "Dallas."

I'm certainly of the belief that they will and do use their exemption for their own benefit. And that they hurt baseball fans and damage the culture of the game every day with it.

Yeah, the real dream for me isn't adding a team here or removing a team there. It's blowing the anti-trust exemption sky-high.

The Sacramento Goldies! The Austin Freaks!

[*:9m1zl4eh]Connecticut[/*:m:9m1zl4eh] [*:9m1zl4eh]Norfolk/Virginia Beach[/*:m:9m1zl4eh] [*:9m1zl4eh]Buffalo[/*:m:9m1zl4eh] [*:9m1zl4eh]Vancouver[/*:m:9m1zl4eh] [*:9m1zl4eh]San Juan[/*:m:9m1zl4eh] [*:9m1zl4eh]Charlotte[/*:m:9m1zl4eh] [*:9m1zl4eh]Mexico City[/*:m:9m1zl4eh] [*:9m1zl4eh]Monterrey[/*:m:9m1zl4eh] [*:9m1zl4eh]Honolulu[/*:m:9m1zl4eh] [*:9m1zl4eh]New Orleans[/*:m:9m1zl4eh] [*:9m1zl4eh]Um...[/*:m:9m1zl4eh] [*:9m1zl4eh]Er...[/*:m:9m1zl4eh] [*:9m1zl4eh]Indianapolis?[/*:m:9m1zl4eh] [*:9m1zl4eh]Dallas?[/*:m:9m1zl4eh] [*:9m1zl4eh]...[/*:m:9m1zl4eh][/list:o:9m1zl4eh]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Edgy MD wrote: ...if and when Fred dies... If? Are you suggesting that he might be immortal? What would explain that? Vampirism? When was Fred last seen in daylight? Or perhaps he made some kind of a deal with the devil... What can I say? The future is unwritten. I'm open to the unexpected.

I tend to think they have a succession plan firmly in place, and if and when Fred dies, we who survive him will hardly notice the change � at least for the first two years until Jeff decides to send his team on a 2005-like shopping spree. I mean, Jeff Wilpon is already the higher-profile executive and has been for some time. A more interesting question to me is who is Sandy's successor-in-waiting � Ricciardi, DePodesta, or somebody else.