Edgy MD

Yankees play in Panama, salute Mariano Rivera, then proceed to get no-hit by four Marlins pitchers. Oh, well, it's spring. You just know the Yankees, taking a road trip like that, packed their lineup with high numbers and no-names. Looking at the lineup now, I'm finding names like Derek Jeter, Carlos Beltran, Alfonso Soriano and Brett Gardner. Who ever heard of them? The Marlins, by the way, are looking pretty Oriolian in their springtime togs: Here's to more victories over the Yankees by teams clad in that color scheme.

Not familiar with this Bray fellow. Looks like a lefty, though. Perhaps that means a job just opened up somewhere for Tim Byrdak.

The blockbuster trade may not ship him out, but may instead open up a position for him. I think he goes, however. To... to San Diego.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Friend, you are impressed by unusual things. Well, I don't necessarily mean "impressed" in the delectable sense. It made an impression on me. When the Mets were serious about re-signing Scott Hairston, were serious about re-signing Scott Hairston, and then announced that they were going in a different direction, even though Hairy's eventual pricetag wasn't a big spike from where the negotiations were at, it told me they saw something they thought was for reals in their analysis of the different direction, which turned out to be Byrd. Which isn't to say that I think Young is going to be awesome, only that I think the Mets think they spotted a value they believe the market wasn't reflecting, but might if they left him out there too long. An impression, for lack of a better word, was left. And it's only grown deeper amid the subsequent hay that's been made of the market receding on the likes of Cruz. And maybe Byrd, I guess. Alderson and his friends have publicly put it out there that they think they see things the marketplace doesn't see.

Ceetar wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: We understand that but not sure that Reiber's Readers will. He in fact comes out and says it "marks an apparent change in the Mets' thinking." also sticks to the "Tejada is lazy and doesn't care" trope about motivating him. I kind of smelled a transition to a "Tejada cares SO MUCH that he's tightening up and putting too much pressure on himself trope" --- at least that's what Terry would hope to do. Whatever the organization's plans, Terry has to work under the assumption that what he's got is what he's going to have on April 1, and if that means massaging the guy's psyche and protecting him from the outrage of fans buying into the "fat and lazy" narrative by coming up with a new one, that's what it means.

Well, a good word from Terry probably won't stay his execution any more than three weeks if he starts poorly, but part of Terry's job is knowing when to use the carrot and when to use the stick.

I was impressed with how early in the offseason the Mets landed him. And I imagined some application they concocted displayed projected-cost/projected-value ratios and had just been plugged in when his name exploded to the top with off-the-chart numbers.

I'm very curious as to what the outcome of training with Rod Carew will be. 1) He won't be particularly more of a contact hitter, but will bring more polish to the power hitter he was/is. 2) He will be more of a contact hitter, and it will up his game considerably. 3) He will be more of a contact hitter, but it will get him away from what he does best and make him less effective. 4) No discernible difference. His decline continues apace.

Will definitely be more captainy this summer, for better and for worse.

He may leadoff, but I can't see him starting regularly in center. I think he's about fifth on the depth chart there.

And didn't hit until the last five weeks of the season. Red vs. Satin will be a rivalry to watch this year though.

Part of me thinks poor Ralph died trying to figure out how to pronounce this guy's name.

I'm not sure how much teams fear trading players to intradivisional rivals. Sometimes I think they care a lot. Other time I think, if the team feels like the deal they want is there, they don't care who it's with. Probably the attitude is different on March 30 than it is on June 30.

Well, I guess I don't have to put up that Ben Grimm IPP thread I was gonna do.

Jimmy and Missus Jimmy, Johari Smith, letting the dogs out.

Rendon to me (and maybe me alone) still feels like a thirdbaseman faking it in the middle of the diamond (and that's coming from a Murphy endorser). They may want to keep their plan B around a little longer.

Terry's already announced that he's got a spot nailed down, so any battling is going to be for which seat he gets in the pen.

Led all the minors in saves last year with 38. I believe that's the most in the Eastern League since the legendary Brent Stentz logged a mighty 43 of them for the New Briton Rock Rock Cats in 1998. But, you know... saves. Problem is, Stentz never made the bigs and I fear... I don't want to say what I fear.

metirish wrote: They are starting Freddy Galvis over Rolins, is he their future or just another kid SS? He was their future. They carried him last year, even though they were convinced his bat wasn't ready. Utley couldn't answer the bell for opening day and they thought they could hang in there with a glove-first shortstop at second for four weeks or so. Turned out to do a little better than expected with the bat. Showed some power at any rate, though not much else. Then he got popped for PEDs and it's now an open question regarding whether the power was real. But he's a great guy. A GREAT guy. Just a wonderful human being. If Sandberg isn't trying to fuck with Rollins then I don't know what.

Terry seems to like him an awful lot. I do too, but it seems kind of silly to announce in mid-March that a guy's made the team as the last reliever/swingman. Gotta keep guys motivated.

Am I the only one terrified that Wheeler '14 will be a clinical study in wildness? I'm telling you, it keeps me up nights. When he was all over the place in his first big league start, it was reported as debut jitters, but a quick look at the minor league record (and now the major league record, such as it is) suggested that, no, that's a big part of who he is. Unhittable, but untameable. After watching Matt Harvey pounding the strike zone relentlessly last year, I fear he may drive Mets fans a little crazy.

Familia. If they press, then Familia and Tejada. I might go higher, and throw in Dustin Lawley, as his salary isn't particularly prohibitive. Funny that he never got a superstar contract. Ryan Howard is getting paid like a druglord.

Wouldn't it be something, though? For an organization that has been eating it on outfield defense for a few years, that is now bending over backwards to improve their outfield defense, to suddenly decide that they are willing to eat it on infield defense to get a better bat in there? That would be something. Be a longshot to work, but it would be something. i'd love to have Flores in a supersub role, playing four-five days a week in four-five different positions, excelling at none, but putting all his focus on murdering the ball with his bat.

I thought everybody liked Rollins. I think "The biggest thing, I like his energy and his positive influence that he sets out there. He's a positive influence on everybody around him." Is code for saying Galvis' locker is PED Central.

I'm not arguing that he's destined for shortstop. I'm dismissing the notion that he was deliberately buried behind Wright. He wasn't. The idea that his hitting forced consideration of him at second and first --- I agree.