Edgy MD

I don't see myself getting over my antipathy for Brett Myers. Or Derek Lowe, for that matter. Erik Bedard Dallas Braden Aaron Cook Freddy Garcia Justin Germano Jair Jurrjens Jeff Karstens Kyle Lohse Derek Lowe Shaun Marcum Daisuke Matsuzaka Kevin Millwood Dustin Moseley Jamie Moyer Brett Myers Roy Oswalt Carl Pavano Jonathan Sanchez Joe Saunders Tim Stauffer Chien-Ming Wang Kip Wells Randy Wolf Chris Young Carlos Zambrano

Screaming blonde chick --- Ensign Rand?

The teams that make it through without needing alternate starters are teams that win championships. I mean, look at our two championship teams --- fantastic health both times. It sucks to think about, but it takes a lot of luck in the injury department to win. You can build some insurance into the system, but it's a tough reality.

"Cannibalized."

Frayed Knot wrote: Swan Swan H wrote: To make room for Ian Stewart the Cubs DFA'ed Jeff Beliveau. This is mildly surprising, as he was penciled in as the left wing on the third line next season. Maybe that's been the Cubs problem for much of the last century ... too weak on the left wing. But suddenly much stronger on keyboards.

We also lost Feliciano at the start of that offseason and got him back at the end. Strange stuff.

What a disastrous offseason that turned out to be, that it took them doing something wrong for things to work out right. They fire Valentine. They keep Phillips. They hire Howe after a goofy jerkaround with that maniac Pinella. They sign future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine, presumably with some mileage left on him, and bring joy to absolutely nobody. They see David Cone out on blocks in the Red Sox front yard and actually haul him off. They sign Jay Bell, and he stays around all year, because he might be a good coach, and he never coaches for the Mets. Even good stuff, like Glavine, tastes bad. They go out and give a minor league dealio to his brother, and everybody wonders how Glavine has so much juice after four offseason months in the organization. They get Cliff Floyd and he rips Vee at his intro press conference. They bring back Shinjo but the shine is off of him. Best move that offseason may have been Tony Clark.

Hancock just used his superfingernails.

Collin is the 15th Met from Kentucky (#14 John Rauch is from Louisville) and the fourth from Lexington. He's the first Lexi to join the cause since Andy Green in 2009. The two other Mets from The Athens of the West: Doug Flynn and Matt Ginter. I don't yet know if Collin or Andy share Doug and Matt's musical bent, but that would be cool. Went to University of Kentucky, just like... Doug Flynn and Andy Green! Missed his junior year of college after having surgery on his hammate bone. He's 5'9". I'm 5'9". I'm sure a lot of Mets outfielders were 5'9". But I think of 5'9" outfielders, and I the first name I come up with is of Darren Bragg. Ms. Met loved Darren Bragg. Likes wearing Appalachian mountain man-style beards and shaggy light brown hair. Won't make you not miss Dickey, but might make you not miss his Appalachian mountain man-style beards and shaggy light brown hair so much. No particular shortcoming in his game. No overwhelming strength. could use more power. Cowgill is an indie folk rock outfit from Boston Had exactly one homer and nine RBIs at the big league level each of the last two years. That broken hand came by punching a dugout wall after striking out twice against the same pitcher in Visalia. I hope Crash Davis fined him for that. If he joins the team for any matchups against the Giants, expect him to get drilled.

metirish wrote: It's funny to see doubt about Piazza in the HOF. In his pomp he was regularly called such things as "a no doubter for the HOF", "a certain HOF player", "future HOFer Mike Piazza". Only doubt was the hat. Part of what's going on is that the ballot is getting crowded --- in part, I guess, because of (as Valadius will tell you) increasing stinginess, but even moreso because writers are having so much trouble dealing with the 80s, an era which played really neutral and close to the mean, and the 90s, an era with numbers (though we know not which ones) distorted by PED use. The conservative voter shrinks from the ambiguities these eras brought. Years later, backlogged candidacies from those eras leave a cold clinical guy like Davidoff spoiled for choice. He should've chosen Piazza over Lofton, but who knows? --- maybe by not giving Piazza his vote he's keeping worthy candidacies like Lofton's and Trammel's alive.

Davidoff gets crossed off my ballot for using the phrase "redonkulously good."

Davidoff publishes his ballot and gives Mike Piazza a cold clinical no. http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/baseballinsider/my_hall_of_fame_ballot_rC1PsqLR9XhGn3vaUJMYNL#axzz2FWjS3xyI Can't argue too much with him, as he came armed with data. I'll just say that our searches for a final bottom-line number on a player's value hasn't necessarily given us a number that adequately accounts for the greater value in offense when it comes from a catcher. These guys have a harder time maintaining peak productivity because they play a position that allows other guys to be productive. That's something.

Good point. Other potential accouterments: [list:1bhez0xw][*:1bhez0xw]lanyard connecting the ends of the sunglasses,[/*:m:1bhez0xw] [*:1bhez0xw]sunglasses case in the breast pocket,[/*:m:1bhez0xw] [*:1bhez0xw]straw fishing hat in lieu of baseball cap,[/*:m:1bhez0xw] [*:1bhez0xw]liver spots/melanomae,[/*:m:1bhez0xw] [*:1bhez0xw]tickets to see Jimmy Buffett in back pocket.[/*:m:1bhez0xw][/list:u:1bhez0xw]

Strange. Not bad.

So, was this the acceptable package that the Mets announced they had last week? Was this a package that came in and topped that? Was this the acceptable package augmented with a some Wiulmer sauce to hold off other bidders?

Not all that is smaller than New York is a small market. They're now the home team for all of Canada, for goodness sake.

There is a world of difference between Wipon and McCourt. The Wilpons threw money into the Mets. Too often money that they didn't actually have. The McCourts took money out of the Dodgers.

They have five and a half million in the greater Toronto area and it's growing.

Unless they don't get the books balanced by next year, and then the austerity rolls over into another season. There's a third prong of that strategy: AAAA Types + Veteran Retreads + Sudden Debuts by Out-of-Position Prospects Who will be in 2013 what Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans were in 2008? What Jordany Valdespin was last year? I'm guessing Wilmer Flores makes a 2013 debut with perhaps enough time to get a dozen minor league outfielding games under his belt as a warmup. Reese Havens? Maybe he'll find the outfield safer than the getting slid at. Zach Lutz? I got news for you, kid: That Wright fella isn't going anywhere. Better learn a new trade.

I dunno. I mean, Reyes had a track record, and the Mets had plenty of holdover personnel with reams of files on him. The question that remained was whether his health-impeded seasons would continue. He had totaled 169 games total over the two previous years, with a .750 OPS. I think what kept Sandy aloof was concern about whether that was the player he was becoming. I think that concern would have been there had Sandy been aboard a year earlier. It would have been for me, at any rate.

Isn't it possible that they were seriously interested, but they were just $90 million serious and not $102 million serious? Isn't it possible that the Mets judged exactly that the Marlins were willing to pay more than that and walked away with a pile of money unspent? I mean yeah, you can call them not signing him in the 2010-2011 offseason a misjudgment, but as to the the free agency period, what's to misjudge? They were in the marketplace, so there's no surprises. They were told the Marlins were willing to go higher and they walked away. There was no reports of shock that Reyes and his agents didn't come running back to them. Is that the misjudgment? That they expected Reyes' asking price to come down and meet their offer?

Mets have a media conference call going with John Buck, Travis d'Arnaud, and Noah Homophaab. Wuilmer Becerra suspiciously absent.

RA repents, counterclaims against postulating, consummates an opinion as to his career's redemption. ruminates on timing. There may never be another like him.

I'm with Willets of course. Certainly all good things must pass, but not before their time and of the team's volition. A really attractive trade. That's a big part of why I hate trades --- they're attractive enough to lure you into heartless action.

A lot, I think. Very curious to see if he's looking like a starter or a penboy at the start of spring training.