Edgy MD

I don't recall them saying any such thing. If they had, this wouldn't be an issue.

I give that and all future interviews with EY, Sr. a thumbs up.

Choo is a bit thick in the frame, I think. And maybe a guy who'd be carrying extra weight by the back end of a long-term (or possibly a medium-term) contract.

Duke and Niese got the same exact hit.

By the way, this being the Reds, it is crucial to keep the heat on.

Shortest outing of Leake's [crossout:1s1nj4n0]Correa[/crossout:1s1nj4n0] [crossout:1s1nj4n0]Korea[/crossout:1s1nj4n0] career.

That Kaboom is so good that it regulates my bowel movements.

Murphy puts it right in the usher's gut. Got out in a hurry, too.

Teufel overplaying his hand there. It's a bad enough idea to run on Bruce, but doing it with him playing shallow against the pitcher is sooey-side. Mets have two doubles and two singles this inning, but only one run.

Tovar > Cozar

And just like that, Adam of the Rubin reports that Backman is expected back, man. Backman likely to be invited back to Vegas September, 23, 2013 SEP 23 6:00 PM ET By Adam Rubin | ESPNNewYork.com Adam Rubin Sandy Alderson expressed optimism Triple-A manager Wally Backman will be invited to return to the helm of the Pacific Coast League club in 2014. Alderson added that Backman would be considered if a spot on the major league staff became vacant. Backman managed the 51s to an 81-63 record and division title this past season. Las Vegas was ousted by Salt Lake in the first round of the PCL playoffs. So much for reading anything into Backs not joining the staff in September. well, you can still read into it if you like. Alderson saying "We still want to keep Backman around" is pretty much the least he can say. And the wording, if that's Alderson's, about 'major league staff' is the interesting part. That seems like the carrot to keep Wally happy about 'upward mobility'. Or, it could be Sandy hinting that he's the successor should things not work out with Collins. Or hell, it could be a hint that they're not happy with Geren. But it's not the least he can say. He said they expect to keep him around and are optimistic that he'll return. In saying that he's an option for the big league staff, whether or not there's an opening, does in fact, provide very strong evidence against concluding, based on his not joining the staff for September, that he's not expected to return, which is the notion to which I was referring.

Just had a 28 1/2 year flashback to Mattingly himself getting busted for public whizzing. Unfortunately, looking for that, I had to stumble upon stories of more recent vintage of Mattingly's son and then-wife getting arrested in seperate incidents. What a crappy private life that guy must have.

A little bit.

Reports of the Dodgers urinating in the Diamondbacks pool. Smeriously?

Six walks and one strikeout in six innings. I imagine we'd be hard-pressed to find a quality start with a lower game score.

And just like that, Adam of the Rubin reports that Backman is expected back, man. Backman likely to be invited back to Vegas September, 23, 2013 SEP 23 6:00 PM ET By Adam Rubin | ESPNNewYork.com Adam Rubin Sandy Alderson expressed optimism Triple-A manager Wally Backman will be invited to return to the helm of the Pacific Coast League club in 2014. Alderson added that Backman would be considered if a spot on the major league staff became vacant. Backman managed the 51s to an 81-63 record and division title this past season. Las Vegas was ousted by Salt Lake in the first round of the PCL playoffs. So much for reading anything into Backs not joining the staff in September.

I've long thought of Garrett and Donn Clendennon pretty much make up the totality of Johnny Murphy's stewardship of the Mets, personnel-wise, but maybe that's unfair. It's hard to tell what happened in the fall of 1967 that had Bing Devine's DNA on it or Murphy's. I found a clipping from a December 6 newspaper that has Bing Devine jumping ship to return to the Cards. Gil Hodges was obtained November 27, and that's generally credited to Murphy. Was he already on the stick at this time? How about for the Bob Johnson/Art Shamsky trade on November 8? A week after Devine joined St. Louis, the Mets completed their blockbuster of the winter, trading Jack Fisher, Tommy Davis, Billy Wynne and Buddy Booker to the White Sox for Tommie Agee and Al Weis. Was this Murphy's initiative or was he merely signing off on a deal set in motion by Devine before he left? Anyhow, his 1968 draft netted John Milner and Tim Foli, and that ain't bad. He got George Theodore and Buzz Capra in the 1970 draft too. He somehow traded another Jack DiLauro before the 1969 season and got him back in time to for the season to be key contributor to the bullpen. (DiLauro was a real yo-yo, transaction wise.) He traded Amos Otis and Bob Johnson for Joe Foy, and that sucked so much that it sent him tailspinning toward an early death, but a week before he passed, he made one last deal for Ray Sadecki. Go Johnny, go!

He's not being strung along. Plenty of guys (including dudes like Joe Torre!) take the team home without a contract. And nothing about Terry's performance suggests he's deserving of something more. And under any circumstances, they're talking to him this week, so we'll know soon enough. I haven't thought who would remain as the manager in waiting if he doesn't complete his term, but I think the buzz is strong that Wally doesn't stick around waiting for too much longer. He's sure to get at leat an interview with Washington. I guess Pedro Lopez gets his AAA job and joins Geren and Teufel as hopefuls. Maybe Geren bolts too. Terry seems healthy enough to me, though. I'm certainly curious about McEwing, and who knows if anybody is going to survive the White Sox' disastrous season.

Yeah, his walk rate was Wes Westrumesque. He and Wayno might have made an effective platoon. But I understand that his immoderate habits did him in as much as his production.

Well, I don't think anybody was a cretin, but him grabbing one appearance for him in four suggests the team itself never really took him seriously enough to use him there regularly in any season. That they continually tried (and falied) to displace him at third (Foy, Apromonte, Fregosi) says more.

Judging by how teams have looked going up against the Mets, I'd say the Reds and Tigers are the best teams in beisbol. I don't see how the Tigers don't have like 116 wins. Their bullpen is kinda shallow, and their defense is a trip (I'd bunt on them all day long), but they've sure got the starting-pitching-and-three-run-homer thing down. What an exhausting lineup.

They were always looking for a leadoff hitter and a thirdbaseman and maybe with a little more attention to the bird in hand, they might've realized they had both those things all along.

The 100th save for Hawinks is in the books. You know the best part was the hug from Anthony Recker.

Gooby-doo!! Big strikeout.