Edgy MD

Peter Gammons tweets that November will see Houston change divisions, leagues, and ownership.

That article is impressive.

Thanks for catching me up.

It's been a while for me.

I'm guessing Doc isn't operating from a comprehensive knowledge of the league at large. I don't know if it's still like this, but I seem to remember when all WFAN caller trade proposals called on the Mets to trade for: [list:24ft0app][*:24ft0app]All-Stars[/*:m:24ft0app] [*:24ft0app]Yankees[/*:m:24ft0app] [*:24ft0app]Former All-Stars[/*:m:24ft0app] [*:24ft0app]Former Yankees[/*:m:24ft0app] [*:24ft0app]Former Mets[/*:m:24ft0app][/list:u:24ft0app]

Well, he'd have to put a question mark after it, as he's got one un-named team source. If nothing else, the story gives him a few ounces more leverage in maneuvering for his 2012 assignment in Metville.

Wowser. Does Beane finally take the Boston job and ruin the end of his own movie?

Adam Rubin reports that Buster Olney reports, that J.P. Ricciardi, special assistant to Sandy Alderson, is a finalist for the Orioles GM job. Also in the final heat with Mets DNA is Gerry Hunsicker (currently senior vice presidentof baseball operations for Tampa Bay). Rounding out the field are Josh Byrnes (Padres, vice president of baseball operations, was in the mix for the Mets job last year, I think), Thad Levine (Rangers) assistant general manager), Tony LaCava (Blue Jays, vice president of baseball operations and assistant general manager), and Dan Jennings (assistant GM, Marlins). I'd guessing LaCava gets the job. He and Jennings have been long-time candidates for the big chair, but have been passed over. But being in the division, he likely knows the personnel best. On the other hand, the O's have a history of going with experience. They also have a history of dividing up the front office jobs to the point where it's unclear who answers to whom.

Ain't no cruising in the post-season. The competition is much harder, the stakes are much higher, and the sample size is much smaller.

Yu? I see them as more likely to pay 40 cents on the dollar to take on a pitcher from the team that that signs Yu --- maybe Matsuzaka or Zambrano.

Mike Puma, sinking his teeth into the story like the cat that shares his name. Backman could leave Mets for Nationals Mets Blog Mets on Twitter By MIKE PUMA Last Updated: 3:49 PM, October 11, 2011 Posted: 3:13 AM, October 11, 2011 Wally Backman, a candidate for the Mets' managerial opening last offseason, could soon leave the organization, according to a team source. The fiery Backman, 52, is considering the possibility of joining Davey Johnson's coaching staff with the Nationals -- likely as the third-base coach. The Nationals have not yet officially announced Johnson will return next season, but that is considered a formality. The source said 68-year-old Johnson may look to groom Backman for the managerial job, much in the same manner Bobby Cox took Fredi Gonzalez under his wing with the Braves before retiring. Johnson was Backman's manager with the Mets in the 1980s, a run that culminated with a World Series title in 1986. Backman spent last season managing Double-A Binghamton to a 65-76 record in the Eastern League. He is the front runner to manage at Triple-A Buffalo next season if he stays with the Mets, but he is not a candidate for the major-league staff. The Mets recently promoted Tim Teufel, who spent last season managing at Buffalo, to third-base coach with the major-league club. Chip Hale, who had been the Mets' third-base coach, last week was named Athletics bench coach. The Mets are still searching for a bench coach and first base coach. Ken Oberkfell and Mookie Wilson will not return next season. Backman was a finalist -- along with Hale and Bob Melvin -- for the managerial job that went to Terry Collins last winter. The Mets recently picked up Collins' option for 2013, and Backman could view the Nationals' coaching opportunity as a quicker path to managing in the big leagues. Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/backman_may_go_to_nats_0qi0tpzVVZ14obpAxe1RpK#ixzz1aXM3XAbn

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My Yankee fan college roommate was furious. Unknowing the world beyond the Yankees, he could not abide Houston manager Hal Lanier leaving in gray-haired bowlcutted Dave Smith. "Put in your ace!" he kept screaming. "Joe," I told him after the homer, "Dave Smith is the ace." "He sucks!" "Third in the league in saves." "The whole league sucks!" Frayed Knot wrote: I don't recall specifically, but I'm sure he slid into first, allowing him to avoid a tag and kick up some dust to obscure the play. He did slide. Actually more like a lunge as the big controversy on that play was the Astros claiming he went out of the baseline to avoid the tag. Remembering this vividly now.

Twenty-five years ago, the Mets are back at home against the Astros, tied 1-1 in a newfangled best-of-seven NLCS. They kept it even with two well-pitched games from Dwight Gooden and Bob Ojeda. But Ron Darling? He comes out with nothing! Before 55,052 at Big Shea, he gives up two in an ugly first: Groundout-Doran/1B-Hatcher/SB-Hatcher/1B-Walling (1st run)/WP (Walling to 2B)/HbP-Davis/SO-Bass/1B-Cruz (2nd run)/ PkO-Davis. Maybe that pickoff is a momentum turner, but the Mets go down in order against Bob Knepper in the first, and the Astros grab two more in the top of the first on a Doran homer. That's the way it goes, until the bottom of the sixth, when a run-scoring error by Craig Reynolds on a groundout by Carter followed by a THREE! RUN! HOMER! by Darryl Strawberry. And they're going wild! Curtain call! Short lived? Oh, yes, because Rick Aguilera, who gets more love from Davey Johnson than he has perhaps earned, is now in the game, and gives one up in the seventh. It's not all on himself, though, with a walk to Doran and an error on Ray Knight leading to a run on a groundout. That's it, until the Bottom. of. The. Ninth. Wally Backman, already swapped in for Tim Teufel, leads off. If you've watched the Mets at all that year, you know what's going down. The Mets need a run, and Wally --- intent on being the baserunner that is going to score that run, pulls a bunt down the first baseline. He's... SAFE! I don't recall specifically, but I'm sure he slid into first, allowing him to avoid a tag and kick up some dust to obscure the play. Danny Heep pinch-hits for Rafael Santana --- OHMANAPASSEDBALLONALFUCKIGNASHBY! Backman is in scoring position with no outs. Almost any Met manager knows how to play this one. You can score this tying run just by making outs! Have Heep bunt! But Davey Johnson --- he's not just any Met manager. He swings away with Heep. Danny flies harmlessly to center. But are the Mets undone by that non-productive out? No, they are emboldened by their manager's faith. Up comes Lenny Dykstra, pinch-hitting for the pitcher. Not having to just make contact to score a runner from third, he gets to swing --- like a winner. And OH MY GOD, IT'S A DEEP DRIVE DOWN THE RIGHT FIELD LINE! LENNY DYKSTRA HAS HOMERED!!! AND HE'S NOT EVEN ON THE JUICE YET ACCORDING TO THE HISTORICAL RECORD! THE METS WIN!! THE METS WIN!! THEY LEAD THE SERIES, TWO GAMES TO ONE!!!

That Julio Lugo deal sure made the Castillo contract look good. Who is rumored to inherit the Sox job?

You say "Ted Simmons," and my almost immediate response is "Darrell Porter!"

Ted Simmons, photographed in more or less the same spot at Shea as everybody else in 1976. Appears to have given blood that day, too.

I would certainly lean toward White Sox fanmanship if they brought back the player-manager.

Before Bench, the Hall of Fame had a very different standard for catchers. They were expected to bat eighth, earn their paycheck on defense, and any offense was a bonus. And a rare one at that. After Bench, the Hall of Fame had a new standard, and pretty much shut down the shop, not admitting a catcher for a long time, and when they did, Carlton Fisk had to wait a few years and Gary Carter had to wait a few years more than a few years. I wouldn't dismiss the old-time entries so lightly. It's still the most defensive of positions after pitcher, but we're a long way from quantifying what Gabby Hartnett was worth defensively.

I mean does, yes. If Reyes doesn't return, Tejada will spend his time at shortstop and modeling in the nude.

I think the defense is the biggest issue. Hard to address without severely disrupting the offense. [list:qg14ds8a][*:qg14ds8a]The coaching changes are a big start, but it's hard to figure how much is correctable at that level. I'd love to see some defensive whizzes on staff.[/*:m:qg14ds8a] [*:qg14ds8a]If Reyes doesn't return, Rub�n Tejada has to be a big part of the mix at second.[/*:m:qg14ds8a] [*:qg14ds8a]Then where does Daniel Murphy get his at-bats? Does moving the walls neutralize the defensive shortcomings at all?[/*:m:qg14ds8a] [*:qg14ds8a]Is there any room for improvement with Thole or is he what he is? Let's get Stearns back![/*:m:qg14ds8a][/list:u:qg14ds8a]

I don't think all four have to happen to improve the staff. I think bringing in a couple of Youngs and Capuanos is a good answer.

The more I think about this, the more I think this worstness thing isn't the best way to frame this Mets team. They had 149 of their 162 games started by one of five guys. That's meaningful. They didn't really have anybody carrying them at the front end, but didn't collapse at the back end either, leading to a rotation of sadsacks with 7+ ERAs getting three starts on the long road to oblivion. With some semblance of Johan Santana returning in 2012, a small glut of talent reaching AA last year, and the Mets aware of their defense's contributions to the pitching staff's effectiveness, I'm thinking maybe tweaking beats overhauling. But then I think of what X-factor the new distances are going to throw into the equation, and I have no idea what to do. Johan is something of an X-factor too, I reckon.

The Hatteburg guy had my favorite scene --- the 10 bitter soul-searing seconds of silence of him sitting around the house at Christmastime waiting for the phone to ring and tell him his life isn't over. You got the idea he had been sitting in that same place since October 1, watching his model family coming and going in his model home, wondering if he was worthy of any of it, and if it's all going to disappear on him at any moment... if that fucking phone doesn't ring. I imagined the same fear and ice in dozens or hundreds of ballplayer homes every Christmas. Ron Washington had the best line in the movie. Ron Washington!

Well, I didn't get to post, but yesterday minus 25 years, Bob Ojeda matched up against future Hall of Famer and 1969 Mets ringwearer Nolan Ryan, and managed to go the distance despite giving up 10 hits --- nine of them singles, but combined with two walks yielded, such a complete game is all but untinkable today. The Mets lefthanded contingent had no problem getting around on Nolie, with six hits and two walks out of the first three batters. Hernandez two-run fifth-inning triple put the game well in hand for the Mets, But there's something about it being over when it's over, so Bob Ojeda stuck around until it was over. Both Aurelio (Senor Smoke) Lopez and Charile Kerfiled got into the game. That's a lot of fun times and hard-working elastic. The Mets escape the Astrodome with one win in their back pockets.