Edgy MD

Google "Suck it, Russell Martin" and you'll see that Giants fans have built a whole sub-culture around gleeful antipathy for the guy.

Well, nobody's saying it's working. The idea is that the weak links aren't obvious, making for very challenging choices this off-season.

You've banished Reyes again? That's what I'm talking about, Willis.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Great work. It kinda snuck up on me how bad this staff was but I guess it was that stretch in late July where we couldn't keep Florida or Washington off the board. They were also exposed a bit when we lost Muffy, of all people. The strange part is there's no outright weak link --- like those years in the aughts when we spent the whole season looking for a number five starter. This year there's nobody in the rotation that won't be a big league pitcher next year --- and maybe only Igarashi among the top seven releivers. It's just that there's a whole lot of fair to middlin'. On the excellent-good-average-fair-poor continuum, there's a massive cluster around fair. I'm trying to think of what that cluster thing means regarding next year. Good news? Bad news? I don't know. Would you rather have two averages and three fairs, or two goods and three poors? Which is easier to build on?

Just thought maybe. You've called on many a tenure to end.

I don't think anyone said anything to suggest we don't want him given to us. (Although maybe Ashie has in another thread.)

The Thing wrote: He really tries hard to be Cal Ripken, doesn't he? More like Derek Jeter, I'm afraid. But really... �I think that when I got to Citi Field, and I don�t know if it was just the park or wanting to become a better all-around hitter, but I focused more on trying to become a better pull hitter.� You don't know why you consciously changed your approach after a pair of top-ten-MVP-voting season? Come on.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Edgy DC wrote: David Wright is so busy trying to be the type of guy he thinks he's supposed to be, he doesn't know if he's coming or going. I blame it on Citi Field's' dimensions. And the stupid Dodgers' rotunda. Not necessarily in that order. I blame it on David Wright.

David Wright is so busy trying to be the type of guy he thinks he's supposed to be, he doesn't know if he's coming or going.

Guys, I'd like to talk to some of you about what you'll be seeing next year. Jason, you can join us too if you want. Mets Dream About Next Year and Alterations to Citi Field The Mets front office is talking about making Citi Field more friendly to hitters. (Seth Wenig/Associated Press) By ANDREW KEH Published: September 21, 2011 ST. LOUIS � One day after General Manager Sandy Alderson provided reporters with the clearest indication to date that the Mets would make significant changes to the dimensions at Citi Field, he began working on enlightening the men who will play there next season. Alderson took a group of players aside before their game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night and gave something of an informal presentation, explaining the various options the front office had as it considered altering the park. Their comments overflowed with qualifying language, but as a group the players said they would welcome any changes that would make Citi Field more closely resemble the other ballparks in the league. Hours later, the Mets took the field at Busch Stadium � which Alderson and some players singled out Wednesday afternoon as a �fair-playing� park � and fell for the second straight night against the Cardinals, 6-5. More distressing than the result, though, was the sight of Lucas Duda crashing into the outfield wall in the first inning and leaving the game two innings later with dizziness. �I feel good right now,� Duda said after the game. He said he was examined by a doctor, who said a concussion was unlikely. Manager Terry Collins, who has witnessed an almost endless string of injuries this season, sounded cautious. �We�ll see how he is in the morning,� Collins said. Duda, a power-hitting rookie who has blossomed at the plate, is one of the players who would benefit from a structural change at Citi Field. �I think any time you talk about making a park more hitter friendly, the hitters are going to be on board with that,� David Wright said. �It�s nice to have a front office that recognizes the situation and tries to correct it. That�s obviously greatly appreciated.� Wright has become something of a human rallying cry for those pushing for change. After producing remarkably consistent numbers at the start of his career, his statistics worsened after the team moved from Shea Stadium to Citi Field in 2009. Wright has remained diplomatic in discussing Citi Field�s dimensions, but he recently began to reveal hints of frustration about them. On Wednesday, he was more open still about how the stadium had influenced his play. �I think that one of the things that played to my strengths at Shea was being able to drive the ball to right-center, and you really got to hit it at Citi Field to get it out there,� Wright said. �I think that when I got to Citi Field, and I don�t know if it was just the park or wanting to become a better all-around hitter, but I focused more on trying to become a better pull hitter.� Of the possible alterations, Wright said: �It�s obviously welcome, because I�m not great at pulling the ball with a lot of power. Most of my power comes from gap to gap. If they change the dimensions as it�s been hinted, I don�t think that could do anything but help my strengths.� Alderson and his staff have pored through copious amounts of data, culled from three years of the play at the stadium, to determine what changes might be most beneficial for the team. He presented those numbers and an array of alterations to a group of Mets players Wednesday. �I think it�s considerate,� R. A. Dickey said of Alderson�s decision to approach the players. �The thing to remember is that nothing�s for certain yet, and in our conversation he was clear on that, that there�s been no level of detail that�s been unanimous.� Alderson said the team would decide by next month what changes would be made. He said that the Mo�s Zone, an awkward and cavernous cut-out in the right-field fence, could easily be normalized and moved closer to home plate. Alderson has implied, too, that the 16-foot wall in left-center field, which has prevented numerous balls hit by Wright and teammates like Jason Bay from becoming home runs, would almost certainly be halved. �If you can go out there and be rewarded for hitting a ball well, that�s ideal for any situation,� Wright said. �There are some places in our ballpark that are a little, I guess, unfair at this point.� The issue that remains most unclear is whether the team will add a secondary fence in left field in front of the original one. The Mets can look to changes made by the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. That stadium, like Citi Field, was derided as a nightmare for power hitters when it opened in 2000. Before the 2003 season, the team installed a second fence 25 feet closer to home plate than the original one, and placed a bullpen area there. If the Mets make a similar decision, Alderson said, they are unlikely to have that much space to work with, meaning they could install a row or two of seats in the gap or perhaps install a grass-covered berm. Aesthetic concerns, he said, would take priority in that decision. The specifics, it was clear, remain uncertain. But that did not stop the Mets on Wednesday from voicing their support. �There�s certainly somewhat of a psychological barrier now when you play at Citi Field,� Collins said. Also: Draw Your Own Citi Field Blueprints

The Sox got Schiraldi and Gardner and Christensen for him. The Mets got Hubie back.

Braunie, you're doing a great job.

And the Rockies were still no great shakes because they gave up a record amount of homers too. The "you" I refer to is the Mets.

There's nothing safe about it, I think.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Cavernous baseball stadiums are dumb. They undermine the home team's talent -- kinda like what it would be like if I played miniature golf against Tiger Woods. On a regulation golf course, of course, I'd never ever beat Tiger. But on the mini course, with the Dutch windmills and the loop the loop ramps, I'd win frequently. It would no longer mean a thing that Tiger could hit the ball a zillion feet with a seven-iron. And the Mets, when healthy, are a damn good hitting team. I think it could be the exact opposite of that. The closer the wall, or the hole, the more neutralized talent is. I think dreaming of a new ballpark is like dreaming of a new home and a new life in an faraway city. You get there, you wake up, and you find out that you're still you. Good luck, Jason Bay.

metirish wrote: Alderson in the booth, Cohen with the sneaky fastball like tough questions, on Citi Field dimensions , decision should come in October and changes "will not be subtle" . That's tittilating.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: And at Yankee Stadium. I think Topps figured that since most players come through New York during the course of the season, they'd save money on travel. Or, for two years there, they could get everybody at Shea Stadium, including the Yankees at "home." Lefty^!

1. WTF is in his pants? 2. Seriously, he's got a boner 3. He has that look on his face that says I hope the photographer doesn't notice my hard on 4. Is that awful hooped stripe on the pants or top? 5. Angels stadium? 6. What's with the uni? 7. Is there an earthquake under way? 8. I'm just now noticing that on 1976 cards, for pitchers, they included an illustration of a lefthanded pitcher for lefthanded pitchers and righthanders for righthanders. Did they have a separate illustration or just a reverse a single one? Did they do this for lefthanded outfielders and firstbasemen, too? 9. Them's some spindly legs in some baggy polyester pants. Almost looks like they're on backwards. 10.

Wow! What's in his pants?!

Sometimes meaning seeps through the holes in our intentions.

metirish wrote: be that as it may in his five year career he hit 2HR and had 26RBI. That's why I like it. If you have a guy who's just good enough to make it to the bigs and consistently fail once he gets there, how do you photograph him? Do you show him in action --- an action that any astute observer will know was likely just another in a string of failures? Or do you get a posed shot --- the figure shown paused on the mound or in the batters box, assuming a stance that, if you're paying any attention at all, you know has never intimidated anybody? This photographer has found a third way --- capturing the real narrative of the fringe player, watching from the (literal) fringes, searching for a clue to the edge that's going to get him over the hump as a big-leaguer, pricking his elven hears hoping to pick up a piece of the magic formula as Dave Kingman and Mike Schmidt guffaw around the batting cage. Your photo link, I'm sorry to say, isn't working for me.

1. Foster looks like a 14-year-old. (He was 25!) 2. He looks about 130 pounds. 3. The real signature lends validity to the print one, but he's picked up some flourishes along the way. 4. Uniform patch, probably celebrating the 1976 centennial of the National League. 5. Kinda looks like a Darryl Strawberry baby brother. 6. Lousy cutting in the Topps factory that day leaves us a quarter inch border to the west but a mere millimeter to the east. 7. Looks like shaving isn't a big concern of his. 8. Elven ears. 9. "3B"? Who would put this bantamweight at third? Might as well just forfeit. 10. Despite all these juvenile traits, he nonetheless looks like a focused student of the game, trying to pick up tips as he carefully watches a batting practice that you know the big kids only begrudgingly let him participate in after they were all done. Good photo.

Kimmy tells all. Gary Carter attends college's practice By Adam Rubin ESPNNewYork.com ST. LOUIS -- Gary Carter's battle with cancerous brain tumors has taken much of his energy, but the Hall of Fame catcher was able to briefly help coach his Palm Beach Atlantic University baseball team this past week. Carter was due to begin taking a second, higher-dosage round of chemotherapy pills Monday night, but his white-blood-cell count was too low, his daughter Kimmy Bloemers wrote in an online family journal to which ESPNNewYork.com has been granted access. "There is no doubt that dad is fighting an extremely difficult battle," Bloemers wrote. "He is exhausted, sad at times, unmotivated and frustrated that his body won't move like it used to. However, there are moments where we will see dad laugh, smile and show that determined attitude to win. "This past week has been a rollercoaster of emotions again, with a mixture of ups and downs. Dad has done a lot of resting and sitting around the house -- not because he wants to, but because his body and mind lack the energy to do much of anything." Carter attended a practice of the Palm Beach Atlantic baseball team he coaches and sat in a chair as players took batting practice. An associate head coach has been hired to handle the bulk of the activities. Carter managed to play seven holes of golf with friends this past week. He swam 10 laps and walked on a treadmill and rode an exercise bicycle for five minutes each Sunday. Earlier, he also played catch with his daughter Bloemers, the Palm Beach Atlantic softball coach. "His reactions were perfect as I threw the ball to him at about 80 percent speed," Bloemers wrote. "He caught every single ball. Dad sort of flipped the ball overhand to me instead of actually throwing. He said it felt weird since he hadn't thrown since May, but he appreciated the encouragement to try something that he loves -- anything that deals with baseball. "Down at the beach, dad enjoyed sitting on the chair listening to the waves and watching his granddaughter play in the sand and water. Toward the end of our time at the beach, we helped dad walk down to the water. Unfortunately, it was a sad moment to see dad struggle. He was unbalanced and weak. We headed home and dad rested at home for the night." Carter is a Hall of Famer catcher who played 18 seasons in the big leagues, most notably for the New York Mets and Montreal Expos. Follow Adam Rubin on Twitter: @AdamRubinESPN

Duda also looks about 25 feet tall. (Which is kinda great.)

1. The whole inset photo paradigm turned on its ear, with the portrait photo the main shot and the inset photo being an action shot. 2. The unibrow. 3. The rim of the hat betraying a white lining, in contrast to the dark green underbill. 4. Most unibrows at least thin out or grow narrower between the eyes. Wally's doesn't and may, in fact, grow thicker. 5. We're between eras on cards here, where the inset photo displays Sport magazine design values where figures were cut out and placed against solid background, where the main photo displays the Sports Illustrated aesthetic of framing the whole lovely composition. 6. He's got some nice, chiseled fingers, and could pretty much pass for a handsome, athletic guy, if he could do something about the unibrow. 7. The frame of the inset photo comes right up to the edge his knuckles and hat. Somebody thought that buffers were for suckers. 8. The first couple of glances, you think the guy is wearing glasses. 9. The bill of his cap shows it's exact function, providing just enough shadow to spare his eyes the glare of the sun. 10. Dipping down in the middle and at the corners, it's kind of flying like a bird.