Edgy MD

OK, um, the Reds. I haven't really done the reading, but Ms. McGrath says Tommy Cushing is sick so I have to present today. I've written about 'em before this year: here and here, so take from that what you will. Catching is still Ryan "Toad" Hanigan. He's still a righthanded Thole. First basing is no longer Joey "Meech" Votto, so you are the LUCKIEST FAN IN THE WORLD. I don't care if the team is doing well without him. Stop being an idiot. The guy eats chains and spits nails. Any team facing the Reds without Votto is blessed. BLESSED. Moving over from third to the first bag is Todd "Oswald" Frazier. He gets the job done. No standout stat, but he can beat you. He's also got nine hits in his last four games. Second basing is still Brandon �Beep-Beep� Phillips, who's got power, speed, class, and a good baseball build with big arms. He's a little over-aggressive, so tease him. But don't please him. He's also been hot. You may see Frazier over at first and wonder what AAA stooge is filling in at third base. You, my friend, are an ass of the jack variety. Playing third nowadays is Scott Rolen, the original model of which David Wright was a later version. Yeah, he's only hitting .240, but he's got 313 career homers and has spent his entire career with a big red ass, so this is the team he was born to play on. Back in school, you called him "Bubbles," and he beat the shit out of you. Left Fielding and doing far more than you might have otherwise expected is Ryan �Warrior� Ludwick. He's slugging .555 and his son, as noted in an earlier thread, is named "Stetson Tyler." For reals. It has been revealed in recent weeks that a witch swapped his skill set with that of Jason Bay, but Bud Selig won't get off his ass and DO SOMETHING! Center fielder Drew Stubbs was injured in our previous go-around. His name may sound like that of a black guy but his skin says otherwise. He's a real striker outer, so if you have to pitch to somebody with a guy on third, Stubbs is the guy. He's probably comparable to Torres and having a slightly worse year. And Torres doesn't whiff like that. Back in school, you called him "Ramda Guy." He took pledging way too seriously and only dated sorority chickz. He struck out then too. In right field is the right fielder, which works out very nicely. His name is Jay Bruce, and he shares Lucas Duda's prodiguous power, .240s batting average, awkward face, and such. He also looks awkward in the outfield, and his batting slump has been mirrored in right, but the numbers say he's not really bad at all, despite the occasional this... With Duda, the numbers have tended to agree with the eyes. Starting tonight against Chris Young is Mat Latos, a big husky righthander (6-6, 225 --- looks fatter) who sticks his tongue out when he pitches. He's 10-3 and has a bunch of tatts all over him. He's given up seven earnies over 22 1/3 over his last three starts. So he's on. He's good when he's healthy, but has had the occasional oblique betray him, and the Pads moved him to Cincy. Note the inexplicably missing "t" in "Mat." Ugh. Power pitcher in the mid-nineties. Tyler Walker stuff. Keeps the ball down and gives up few homers, which the Mets hit infrequently enough already. Tomorrow is Mike Leake, a mullet-wearing righthander who is the weak link here (and his kid Kelly is greasy rebel who shouldn't be allowed on a ball field). He throws it all --- four-seamer, sinker, cutter, slider, curve, change-up. The sinker is what beats you. Down and in. Lay off of that shit. Doesn't throw hard either. Chase him early. Lastly is Homer Bailey, who's worn the odd mullet before also. He can make goofy Stan Laurel faces when he hits his release point (Google it yourself, I'm late for my train). He's a former big time prospect who ain't quite come around. Mid nineties heat that peaks at 97, but can never figure out how he wants to deliver it --- two seams, four seams, cutter, or sinking. He's a little like Pelfrey in that regard I guess. I GOTTA GO!

Blue Jays moving to acquire Yorvit Torrealba. Cue festival of buyer's remorse.

Slugs large against lefties, and is Nickeasesque against righties. I wouldn't be surprised if they want to test drive him in 2012 for potential usage in 2013.

You don't. You can try, but life is fraught with peril. You've got to move from risk aversion to risk management. The former is paralyzing. The latter is crucial.

I guess Bobby J., but he had 74. But I see, you're talking about some general All-Time list. But really, agents work like hell (and the union does too) to keep players' salaries from being pinned to their actual performance.

Extensions in photo #2?

I would love it if every player in Met history got a Randy Jones clause in his contract, reading "Player only gets paid if he doesn't play as poorly as Randy Jones." But I think you're thinking of Bobby Jones.

I hope you cross-check that indispensable resource and alert the etymological big brains.

Woulda been nice six weeks ago, but welcome. Got six more weeks to pass Kelly Stinnett on our All-Time Mets Catchers Named Kelly list.

seawolf17 wrote: Ten years, $400 million. Make it happen, Sandy. Ummm....

Of all the dorky terms gaining currency around the Mets' clubhouse at the time --- "gamer," "big fly" --- that's not the one I would have guessed that Carter coined.

I can't imagine that, on the verge of a Cy Young Award, he'd cash in for less that $10 million a year. I'd jump all over it if he would.

I stand corrected. Suck it, White Sox!

Damn, we are sliding out of the zeitgeist with alacrity. The "the rules of horror movie 'stay a virgin' guy in Scream"? Seriously? The standup-comic-with-lousy-dreadlocks guy from The Nutty Professor wasn't available?

Yeah, Bill James did an essay speculating that the pattern of Hall of Fame inductions suggests that there is a depression among WWII-era players and that there are a cool dozen players who would have been in the Hall of Fame, hadn't an important chunk of his career --- or perhaps the bulk or totality of it --- been otherwise taken from him. Acknowledging that some of these may have been teenagers killed in action whose game we never really got to see, he came up with the dozen best candidates. Pesky was fourth, right behind Dom DiMaggio. Speaking of Dom DiMaggio, he, Pesky, and Ted Williams leave Bobby Doerr as the last of them.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Bullpens aren't worth really investing in anyway, the whole thing is a crapshoot, guy to guy, appearance to appearance. What you want are good arms and good luck. And redundancy and, frankly, either the control or the guts to throw strikes.

2004 Red Sox who became Yankees: [list:2ssqsgig][*:2ssqsgig]Mark Bellhorn[/*:m:2ssqsgig] [*:2ssqsgig]Johnny Damon[/*:m:2ssqsgig] [*:2ssqsgig]Alan Embree[/*:m:2ssqsgig] [*:2ssqsgig]Derek F. Lowe[/*:m:2ssqsgig] [*:2ssqsgig]Ramiro Mendoza[/*:m:2ssqsgig] [*:2ssqsgig]Doug Mientkiewicz[/*:m:2ssqsgig] [*:2ssqsgig]Mike Myers[/*:m:2ssqsgig][/list:u:2ssqsgig]

Derek Lowe on the Yankees is just so right. It's like the universe self-correcting. It's like water finding its level.

I think, I think, I think. I think there were at least two guys I'd prefer before Francisco, and three counting Edgin. They could have been up earlier and been brought into a stabler situation. Francisco needs demotion in his status and is hardly an improvement on anything. I'd bring the right guy in when he can help, not the designated closer exactly when the situation becomes a save situation. I disagree about how many times Edgin hit the strike zone. I disagree with designated closers. I disagree to going to one there even if he is the best pitcher. I think it's demonstrably evident that Francisco missed the strike zone more consistently or decisively than Edgin or anybody. And I disagree that I deserved your sarcasm. But I opened it up with how I criticized the move, so I guess I'll clean my own house.

Frayed Knot wrote: Edgin wasn't squeezed There are no excuses for this inning by anyone. Yes he was. That's not an excuse but a reality confronting a manager. If you feel different, that's fine, but spare me the "Yeah, and..." sarcasm. I didn't walk anybody and neither did you.

Frayed Knot wrote: Edgy DC wrote: Edgin getting seriously squeezed and bases are loaded. Technically a save situation, and so Terry goes to Frank Francisco, because it's the law. Yeah, and also because Edgin retired just 2 of the 5 batters he faced. And please re-read the "squeezed" part. Come on. Francisco, pitching terribly, now has the tying run on third.

Dan Warthan needs to be a-slappin'.

Edgin getting seriously squeezed and bases are loaded. Technically a save situation, and so Terry goes to Frank Francisco, because it's the law.

Two outs in the ninth.