Edgy MD

Man, Abreu is a Rusty-type presence coming out of the dugout, isn't he?

Well, that's the first one I feel comfortable in saying, "Ike woulda had it."

Strikeouts lead to pitch counts.

It looks like a good day to put Flores at short, with Wheelie fanning the side.

Wheels really seems to be in command tonight.

Ump sure is giving Alvarez that high inside pitch.

I don't think he's saying that the team can't institute such a policy, but rather that Jay Horwitz in his current role can't.

Not much of a diver on defense is Stanton.

Mookie book was excerpted here: http://nypost.com/2014/04/25/mookie-wilson-feels-hes-become-mets-hood-ornament/ Mooooooooooooooooooookie wrote: Wilson also reveals that Gary Carter, who died of brain cancer in February 2012, never wanted Keith Hernandez to be named team captain. Hernandez wrote the forward for Wilson�s book. �Gary Carter let it be known he felt that Keith was unfit to play the role of captain,� Wilson writes. �Perhaps to appease Carter, the Mets made him co-captain of the team [in 1988].� That quote doesn't surprise me. [crossout]Kid[/crossout] Baby Carter crybabied, pouted and tantrummed his way into a co-captainship deal. Even back when it happened, we were so certain that Hernandez's captaincy was a snub to Carter's ambitions. The joke was that the equipment manager should fuck with Carter by taking the C off of the back of his jersey to use on the front of Keith's.

Dwight Gooden, not backing Pineda. So how exactly does pine tar give pitchers an edge? �It�s definitely used for movement,� the 1985 National League Cy Young Award winner told the radio duo. �It gives you a better grip to snap the curveball, makes it sharper than it would if you�re not using pine tar. Same thing with the slider, forkball (and) sinker as well, because it gives you a better grip. I know a lot�s been said about guys saying they use it to help them with control when the weather is cold. ��That�s totally false. Professional pitchers, there�s a lot of ways you can (stay warm and maintain control) � It�s definitely used to get a sharper break on all your offspeed pitches, without a doubt.�

Tim McGraw sports the family colors as he talks about his love of gas hogs. [fimg=500]http://global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/Leisure/2009/mcgraw-876.jpg[/fimg]

How much context would you like?

Ceetar wrote: "Blah blah blah, they disagreed with me and didn't let me make decisions and went with a different guy. Those bastards." I would be loathe characterize his quotes that way. Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have used "pissed."

I'm not trying to necessarily come down on the question of whether the 86ers are a good or bad thing for the organization, but only trying to cordon off whether Mookie's been sold or bought into an agenda or the movement within the zeitgeist that contrast-beloved-Mets-of-old-with-hateful-management-of-today-whether-it-makes-sense-or-not. I mean, check out this bit: �My concern was that the character of the players they were looking for superseded the talent they brought to the table. Character on a team is important, but you�ve got to have the horses to win.� That's coming from Mookie, who supposedly brought character head and shoulders above many of his teammates. And he's speaking primarily of the 2011 team he rejoined the coaching staff for. Does anybody think the problem with that team was they were looking too much for high-character individuals over talent? Ronny Paulino? DJ Carrasco? Chris Capuano? They went out there with $25 to spend on free agents and this was what they came home with.

According to Wilson, members of that team can forget about having positions of authority within the current organization. �The Mets have shied away from that iconic club because they don�t want the current one exposed to that hard-partying culture which, while well-documented, has also been somewhat exaggerated at times,� Wilson writes. �The guys from that championship team are older and more mature now and can warn the current Mets about some of the pitfalls of fame.� That's a head scratcher. I mean, Mookie, Hernandez, Darling, Ojeda, Teufel, Mazzilli, Gooden and Straw (for special assignments), Backman... . And if you go back to shortly before Alderson's regime, you also get Howard Johnson, Randy Niemann, and Gary Carter. Shit, everybody. I guess one can quibble over the qualifier "of authority," but I'd question whether any single squad has ever been so over-represented in an organization.

�I feel that I deserve to hear just some words to justify the actions of an organization that I have honored and promoted every day of my nearly thirty-year existence in it.� ---Mookie Well, every day until now, maybe.

The mystery scout is quoted by Baseball-Prospectus: Mets C Travis D'Arnaud: �I haven't liked him so far. He hasn't looked good defensively, including allowing a bunch of passed balls. I've seen him miss some fastballs, almost like he has a blind spot. It's slider bat speed and he just doesn't look very strong. He hasn't had a whole lot of energy either. It's been pretty rough overall.� Defensively, I'm not going to worry. There have been errors, but they haven't looked like representative ones. I also disagree about the bat speed, as he's been more under the pitches than late on them. What I agree is a concern is the energy. I think there's not a lot of difference between a starting catcher and a backup, as far as production goes, but a starting catcher has to be a little bit of a cocky rooster out there --- not only keeping his energy up despite the grind of the position, but feeding it to the team. Maybe it's a product of his slow start, that he doesn't think he's over the hump enough to carry himself like that yet, but he sometimes looks a little heartbroken out there.

Mookie's got a huffy side, man. He's long had mixed feelings about his stature with the team. He appreciates the fans' love and appreciation, but at times bristles and finds it a little patronizing. Perhaps more than a little.

Seems like most of the regional sports networks use bubbly young women as sideline reporters. That's one place they've zagged.

Can't click thru to ESPN at work, but Rubin's got some downer headlines he's posting today: > Mookie's apparently pissed that the team employs him more as a symbol than as a well-rounded talented baseball individual (I feel like that's been coming for years.) > Burkhardt's leaving SNY (Hard not to see that one coming, too.) > Scout critical of d'Arnaud (Well, he's hitting under .200. I didn't expect raves, but... well, who is this scout?)

Patience, paduan.

Likelihood of an organizational sweep on a day when (like yesterday) all teams are in action? 3.125%. When short season ball starts and all eight teams are in action? 0.390625%. I think we maybe had one of those last year, but probably not.

Here we are now! It's McGeehee! Jerky retread! From Milwaukee! Playing third base! For Miami! Hit .280! Wonky hammy! Lost my power! Which is vital! Played in Nippon! Won a title! YEAH! [fimg=300]http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Casey+McGehee+Pittsburgh+Pirates+v+Milwaukee+r-O85pu12G3l.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=300]http://usatthebiglead.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/kevin-youkilis-japan.jpg?w=1000[/fimg] [fimg=300]http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/03/16/sports/DOG-KEPNER-2/DOG-KEPNER-2-articleLarge.jpg[/fimg]

A LOT of asses kicked yesterday. New York 4, St. Louis 1 Colon: W, 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 SO Matsuzaka: S, 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 SO Murphy: 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI C. Young: 1-4, RS, RBI, LOOONG HR [*]Las Vegas 11, Tacoma 4 Campbell: 2-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI Dykstra: 2-5, 2B, RS, 2 RBI Lutz: 3-3, BB, 2 HR, 4 RS, 3 RBI Montero: W, 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO Thornton: 1.0 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO [*]Binghamton 5, Portland 4 (10) Bradford: W, 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO Clark: 2-5, HR, RBI, RS Johnson: 0-0, GW PH SF Peavey: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO Vaughn: 3-4, BB, 2B, RS [*]St. Lucie 15, Palm Beach 5 De La Cruz: 2-6, 2B, 3 RS, 4 RBI Evans: 3-6, 2B, 2 RS, Error Matz: 5 2/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 SO Nimmo: 1-2, 4 BB, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 RS Pina: 3-5, 2 RS, 2 RBI Ad. Rodriguez: 2-5, HR, 2 RS, 4 RBI, Error [*]Savannah 10, Lakewood 3 Biondi: 2-4, RS, RBI, CS Cruzado: 2-4, BB, 2B, HR, 2 RS, 2 RBI Frias: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 SO Glenn: 3-4, 2 RS, RBI McNiel: 2-5, 3B, 2 RS Mincone: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO Sabol: 2-5, 2B, RS, 3 RBI Whalen: W, 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO That, folks, is an ORGANIZATIONAL SWEEP! A malicious organizational sweep, I'd say. Too many heroes to choose from. I'm giving Hero of the Day to Lutz, but so many other qualifiers showed up. How about this? 1. Lutz 2. Colon 3. Matz 4. Nimmo (4 walks!) 5. Cruzado