Edgy MD

* to recap: leadoff single was followed by the bunt on which MR made the throwing error putting runners on 1st & 2nd w/0 outs. The next batter, Jay Bell, also bunted but Rivera was able to throw to 3rd for the force. Rivera then felt free to say (but only after Brosius's announcement) that after throwing to 3rd he turned towards 1st expecting to see a throw whiz across the infield to get the batter - but a throw never came, Brosius simply got the force and called for time therefore dooming the entire inning/season. You know, we have these text-editing tools for a reason.

Amazin' how people still call Mariano Rivera the classiest guy to ever class up a classy classics department, even as he emerges from retirement to throw a former teammate (and alleged friend) under the bus --- for no reason other than to sell a few books, I guess. The unknowable Robinson Cano�s �heart is still� in New York, but this divorce with the Yankees has gotten really weird NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Wednesday, May 7, 2014, 8:54 AM Andy Martino Between enduring weirdly vicious spurts of booing during his return to Yankee Stadium last week, Robinson Cano had the chance to reconnect with some old friends in the organization, people to whom he reveals more of himself than he ever does to the public. �His heart is still here,� says one person who had the chance to catch up with Cano in New York. We never get to see these thoughts and feelings from the opaque superstar, who is now rendered even less knowable by 10pm Eastern start times and his decision to join a franchise that barely seems to exist. But his departure from the Yankees has become strange, a referendum on the heart and guts of a man. Cano arrived in the big leagues with limited English skills, so it is not fair to just call him quiet, and leave it at that -- but even after working to learn the language, he shared little. In the absence of information, we speculate, argue, boo, defend -- everything but actually understand this man who is now gone. The latest flare-up in this divorce between player and city began with an unlikely instigator, Mariano Rivera. In his new memoir, The Closer (written with the great Wayne Coffey and excerpted Tuesday in the Daily News), Rivera said: �This guy has so much talent I don�t know where to start... There is no doubt that he is a Hall-of-Fame caliber (player). It�s just a question of whether he finds the drive you need to get there. I don�t think Robby burns to be the best... You don�t see that red-hot passion in him that you see in most elite players.� Well. You appreciate Rivera�s candor, far preferable to canned compliments. If he believed this, he was right to say it, rather than add another layer of B.S. to a sports world full of it. But you also feel for Cano, who has to be wondering why, after playing 160 or so games every year under a relatively team-friendly contract, he continues to find himself in moments like this. You�ll recall that another Daily News scoundrel, John Harper, wrote the column of the spring this year, giving Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long the opportunity to critique Cano�s vexing decision to run to first base at reduced speeds. �If somebody told me I was a dog,�� Long told Harper, �I�d have to fix that. When you choose not to, you leave yourself open to taking heat, and that�s your fault. For whatever reason, Robbie chose not to.�� I was at Mariners camp in Peoria, Ariz. when this blew up, and asked Cano the first question about it. He was sitting at a table in a news conference room at the team�s complex, probably wishing for an easy, softball, �Welcome to your new team,� sort of Q and A, and instead dealing with the troubling animal comparison. �Robbie, Kevin Long --� At the first three words of the question, Cano stiffened, sitting taller in his chair. More amateur psychologizing, which is all we can do in reading this man: He looked pissed. But then he interrupted with a calm, mature and final response. �I don�t even pay attention to that,� Cano said. �I just want to talk about Seattle. I�m here now. Whatever they said, I�m not going to pay attention to that.� Nor did he seize an opportunity to defend himself last week, when faced with the dumbest fan behavior in recent New York memory. The myopia of a Yankee partisan criticizing anyone for jumping to the highest bidder was thoroughly chronicled after it happened, so we won�t digress here. But none of the heat came from Cano, who instead proved adept at deflecting controversy, and preventing the story from advancing. And yesterday, with Rivera�s comments bouncing all over talk radio and TV, Cano again refused to engage. His measured, classy response to reporters before the Mariners� game in Oakland was: �Everybody has a different opinion. That�s his opinion and I have to respect his opinion. I�m not going to go too far into this. That�s the only thing that I can say. My focus right now is this team. I�m here, we�re winning. I was over there already and now I�m here and now I�m focused on the team. I�m going to be excited for my teammates.� We know little about Robinson Cano, and that will not change. But we now know that when under duress, he prefers to keep his interior life private, or at least among friends. We know that he is able to muster composure and -- well, it�s not grace exactly, because there is awkwardness, but it is at least restraint. We know he is savvy enough to diffuse, rather than inflame. And that�s about it. Cano is a filthy rich Seattleite now, a few years from beginning a quiet physical decline, with the country�s attention elsewhere. The story is almost over, and we hardly learned anything. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/baseballinsider/unknowable-robinson-cano-heart-new-york-divorce-yankees-weird-news-ny-mets-young-pitchers-yankees-win-blog-entry-1.1782657#ixzz312GO24pw First of all: "...his decision to join a franchise that barely seems to exist." How pathetic. If New Yorkers are scarcely able to imagine life in other US cities, doesn't that make them the provincial ones? Second of all: "Well. You appreciate Rivera�s candor, far preferable to canned compliments. If he believed this, he was right to say it, rather than add another layer of B.S. to a sports world full of it." No, it would have been candor if he said it while the two were teammates and there was an actual risk. With Cano in another uniform and Rivera sipping cocktails at 3:30, it's, well, "small" is the best word for it I can come up with. Real small. Third of all: Cano isn't being enigmatic when he doesn't take the bait and dive into your back page war of words, he's taking the high road. At least, that's what you'd have written if Rivera if that's what he did.

Kolb!

I have a theory that their bioclocks can catch up with the brutal travel schedule just in time for them to grab this game.

Just clubbed his first homer for Bingo.

Zack Wheeler puts his 5.13 ERA on the line against Tom Koehler, whose ERA is less than half that. At least I think it is. I didn't go to Stony Brook, so I don't know. The Marlins sideliney woman was asking us to tweet in suggestions for Derek Dietrich's walkup music. I think we should storm them with "La Vie en Rose." Mets will win. Mets. Big.

That was a nice quickie.

EY just looked at a strike three that had a LOT o' plate. Can't imagine what you can ask Colon to do if you aren't going to even scratch a run or two out.

Ashie62 wrote: What is it with the Fish when they play the Mets.. I mean jeezuz... The Marlins want to win too. Colon seems on top of the game, more or less, but over 40 and hefty. Definitely not pitching good enough to win with zero runs. Just jammed Stanton but the ball dropped in.

Of such minor lat issues are major league careers launched.

His ass isn't the only thing expanding. His 1.53 ERA at Bingo last year has ballooned to 4.09 this season --- at the same level. This is not the day of the expanding man.

Kyle's doing what they pay him to do, as a 24-year-old most-everyday-ish outfielder for Bingo. .281 / .348 / .421 // .770. You want a walkoff sac fly? Kyle's your man. A pro's pro, I tells ya. He's 11 for his last 31, and I wouldn't want to be the guy that makes him cross.

Poor Jeff doesn't have a lanyard with an access badge.

Royce Ring becomes pitching coach of the GCL Mets, shattering all theories that they don't trust 2006 Mets in positions of authority.

Allow me to disagree. Now who is this "Degroom" fellow?

One hit in his last seven games has seemingly cooled him off, but he's walked eight times in that period, and even plated three RBI. [list:2fa102zp]BA: .324 (19th in the PCL) OBP: .485 (2nd) SLG: .595 (10th) OPS: 1.079 (4th)[/list:u:2fa102zp] That's him cooled off.

I was thinking there should be a Beltran Bunch thread, but it's really just the two of them: Belty and Grandy. No other peer contracts.

.250 / .318 / .290 // .608 And the Rey Ord��ez farewell tour continues.

No, his failure was certainly not knowable. I'd just like to see some guys tuned for short roles and some guys tuned for longer ones. Terry's graduated one long guy, then another, to setup work, which is fine, if he tunes them for that work and reciprocally is tuning somebody else for the long jobs.

Ceetar wrote: I'm so done with Dice K. I don't get it. He's clearly not ready or prepared for the bullpen and is seemingly warming up constantly throughout the game. Well, there's a role for guys who've been starters all along but find themself on a staff where there is no room in the rotation or they are not quite up to the rotation's standards. This role is "long relief." But instead of using Matsuzaka and Torres in such a role, Terry has become enamored of them and used them as his righthanded setup guyzzz. I think he'd be better advised to use Germen and Familia (and Valverde) in this role. As their position in the pen now is geared for neither high leverage nor long stints, they don't really have a role.

What a sausage fest your family is.

A few things I learned in my research: 1) The Mets, hanging onto contention down the stretch in 1998, but with their bullpen depleted, turned in the in desperation the last six weeks to two journeymen (desperadoes!) from Mexico: Ricon and Ayala. 2) The Mets had no Mexican representative on the roster for the trip to Monterey. They had a Cuban, a Puerto Rican, and a couple of Venezuelans, but not Mexican. But they had one for most of the next 12 years. 3) The Mets have never signed an amateur out of Mexico. The closest they have come is with those first two catchers, who were purchased as young players from professional Mexican teams. For all I know, this was and is the typical way Mexican players are procured, but it seems odd.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Hey you overlooked my Rigo Beltran (RP, 1998-99) and Ricardo Rincon (2008) nominations �Vaya, Cubo! Francisco Estrada_, C, 1971, Nacido en Navojoa �lex Trevi�o_____, C, 1978-1981, 1990, Nacido en Monterrey Armando Reynoso, SP, 1997-1998, Nacido en San Luis Potosi Juan Acevedo____, RP, 1997, Nacido en Ciudad Juarez Rigo Beltran_____, RP, 1998-1999, Nacido en Tijuana Karim Garcia_____, OF 2004, Nacido en Ciudad Obregon Oliver Perez_____, SP, 2006-2010, Nacido en Culiacan Luis Ayala_______, RP, 2008, Nacido en Los Mochis Ricardo Rincon___, RP, 2008, Nacido en Cuitlahuac Elmer Dessens___, RP, 2009-2010, Nacido en Hermosillo And with 10 minutes to go in El Cinco de Mayo, I'd say you guys have demonstrated you are South of the Border champs!

Karim Garcia: 2004 OF �El Urinator! Elmer Dessens: 2009-2010 RP �Usted est� en fuego! Francisco Estrada_, C, 1971, Nacido en Navojoa �lex Trevi�o_____, C, 1978-1981, 1990, Nacido en Monterrey Armando Reynoso, SP, 1997-1998, Nacido en San Luis Potosi Juan Acevedo____, RP, 1997, Nacido en Ciudad Juarez _______________, RP, 1998-1999, Nacido en Tijuana _______________, OF 2004, Nacido en Ciudad Obregon Oliver Perez_____, SP, 2006-2010, Nacido en Culiacan Luis Ayala_______, RP, 2008, Nacido en Los Mochis _______________, RP, 2008, Nacido en Cuitlahuac Elmer Dessens___, RP, 2009-2010, Nacido en Hermosillo

Juan Acevedo: 1997 RP. �Vamos a la playa! Francisco Estrada_, C, 1971, Nacido en Navojoa �lex Trevi�o_____, C, 1978-1981, 1990, Nacido en Monterrey Armando Reynoso, SP, 1997-1998, Nacido en San Luis Potosi Juan Acevedo____, RP, 1997, Nacido en Ciudad Juarez _______________, RP, 1998-1999, Nacido en Tijuana _______________, OF 2004, Nacido en Ciudad Obregon Oliver Perez_____, SP, 2006-2010, Nacido en Culiacan Luis Ayala_______, RP, 2008, Nacido en Los Mochis _______________, RP, 2008, Nacido en Cuitlahuac _______________, RP, 2009-2010, Nacido en Hermosillo