Edgy MD

I think one could put too much worrying into the atheltic defense a player on the corner provides. Sluggers are rarer things than ballhawks.

Lucas C. Duda Pos: LF/RF/1B (BL/TR) Born: 2/3/1986 in Los Angeles, California (25 in 2011), four days before the dramatic release of Ross Jones. Acquired: Drafted by the New York Mets in the 7th round of the 2007 MLB June Amateur Draft. 2010 Stats: TmLgGPAABRH2B3BHRRBISBCSBBSOBAOBPSLGOPSOPS+TBGDPHBPSHSFIBBBB-R WARFG WARAwardsBinghamtonEL (AA)451971613046170634102927.286.411.503.9148126011BuffaloIL (AAA)7029826444832321753003157.314.389.610.99916142013Team MVPTotalMinors115495425741294022387106084.304.398.569.96724268024Sterling Org. PotYNYMNL29928411176041300622.202.261.417.6788235210100.0-0.3TotalAll14458750985146462271001066106.287.375.472.84627789034 Wifey: None known. Last Word: Jerry Manuel tipped his hand regarding his own expected fate when he praised Duda's skills, stating that he hoped the team would find a place for the big galoot in 2011, implying that he would have no place in that decision process. Seeing as Jerry would have no reason to lie about a world he wouldn't be in, we can take him at his word that Duda is a genuine MLB talent despite the disastrous start to his career. Amazin Avenue posted an excellent interview with Duda this offseason, in which we learned, among other things, that the mentor who helped him finish strong in September was Carlos Beltran. Best Day in 2010: Duda had too many good games in the minors to isolate one, but his best two moments on the big club were:September 17, when he followed the two-double day that ended his slide with a 2-3 game that included his first big league homer; and September 25, when his pinch-hit, three-run double off of Chad Durbin provided the winning margin in a 5-2 victory over the Phillies, helping the Mets take the last series of the season between the teams and providing the last ounce of demoralization which undercut the Phils' championship hopes. Nice cut, Duda! What do you expect of Lucas Duda in 2011?

Almost no knuckler gets the love he deserves. Even as Niekro's in the Hall of Fame, you got folks acting like he snuck in the back way.

Asides, I'm guessing the Mets are eyeing Pelfrey for their opening day start.

Well, virtually whoever he catches against the Phillies is going to be a tough draw, but let's bounce this forward when those first four starts happen and see if it shakes out that way.

Don't believe for a minute that opening day starters have their record meaningfully affected by any tendency to get more challenging matchups than other pitchers.

I may be wrong, but I think those 235 innings totalled is the most for any Met pitcher since 1990.

Pos: RH SP Born: 10/29/1974 in Nashville, Tennessee (36 in 2011), on the day the Mets traded Ken Boswell to Houston for Bob Gallagher. Acquired: Signed as a free agent December 21, 2009 away from the Twins, as recalled in no thread I can find. 2010 Stats: TmLgWLW-L%ERAGGSGFCGSHOSVIPHRERHRBBIBBSOHBPBKWPBFERA+WHIPH/9HR/9BB/9SO/9SO/BBBB-R WARFanGraphs WARBuffaloIL (AAA)42.6672.2388021060.67552115380373142431.0388.20.41.25.54.63NYMNL119.5502.8427260210174.3316562551342310440117131381.1878.50.72.25.42.483.42.9TotalAll1511.5772.6835340420235.0022083701650314171159561.1498.40.61.95.42.82 Wifey: Anne. Last Word: R.A. is to be honored by the BBWAA for the You Gotta Have Heart award, which is nice, but there was supposedly some Official MLB "Breakout" or "Breakthrough" Award, and the Mets official nominee was Angel Pagan, who fans visiting the Mets website were urged to vote for. I loved Angel's season, and thought he may have been the most valuable Met, but what he really did was have a full-year version of 2009's fine half a season. R.A. kicked through the wall and saw what was on the other side in 2010, and it was good. There were hints that the Mets might be negotiating a multi-year deal for him earlier in the offseason. They continue to negotiate as arbitration approaches, but nobody's really mentioned "multi-year" in a while. He also earned himself a Craig Swan Award. Best Day in 2010: Rodney Allen Rippey pitched the equivelant of a perfect game for Bufalo on April 29, a day that perhaps turned his life around, but it wouldn't have meant all that much if he didn't follow up the promotion it earned him with the silly goodness embodied in this game, a 1-0, one-hi, one-wak shutout for the not-yet-dead-in-the-water Mets of Cole Hamels and the Phils on August 13, which simply personified the Bearded Wonder's Don't-Quittiness --- and, as demonstated in this thread, also demonstrated the magic clairvoyance of John Cougar Lunchbucket. What do you expect of Reluctantly Arbitrating Dickey in 2011?

He can hit it out of any park in America though, so if he can just find one more pitch that he's the master of, it can really raise his profile. He wasn't particularly consistent last year --- kinda bad in August, very good in September --- so maybe he can smooth that out a bit. Maybe.

Pos: 1B Born: 3/22/1987 in Edina, Minnesota (24 in 2011) Acquired: Selected by the Mets in the 1st round with the18th overall pick of the 2008 amateur draft, noted in this dramatic thread. 2010 Stats: TmLgGPAABRH2B3BHRRBISBCSBBSOBAOBPSLGOPSOPS+TBGDPHBPSHSFIBBBB-Ref WARFanGraphs WARAwardsBuffaloIL (AAA)10423381230240095.364.500.6361.1362100000NYMNL (MLB)1476015237313833119713272138.264.351.440.7911152301310562.53.4RoY-7TotalsAll1576435568115036121753281143.270.364.451.8152511310562.53.4 Wifey: None. Last Word: Not much has come out of Edina this winter, and maybe it's good that the unspecatcular but solid debut of Davis is largely going untrumpeted. A lesser Met team and it's "Is he the savior?" and a better one and it's "Is he coming along fast enough?" What do you expect of Ike Davis in 2011?

Why no, I can't tell you a single fact about Jim Lindeman.

Dallas was certainly the comparable I was thinking of, but I coudln't come up with instances, and I wonder if we did, would we find the cases as strong as Jerry's. I mean, a guy going from the starting lineup to spending the last two months of the season healthy but only playing in extra innings, second games of doubleheaders or occasional pinch-bunt appearances... Or Castro getting lifted with two out in the ninth in the middle of a furious rally for a career minor leaguer who is wearing shinguards and warming somebody up in the pen. That's some severe doghousing.

Jerry's doghouse was a curious thing. I can't recall a manager who was so firm and complete in marginalizing a player once he decided he didn't have the goods.

Actually, seeing as few think there's a chance in hell of him presenting himself as a useful Met ever again, and as Manuel had previously stuck with Castillo through some tougher times (shitty production in 2008 while Easley was available on the bench, dropped popup days in 2009), I'm still a-ponderin'.

That ballad was comically ubiquitous.

This almost seems to be the film from which sprung all the elements of the classic John Wayne imitation: his gestures hitting different beats than his words, referring to his buddy as "Pilgrim," turning on the charm as if he believes he's 25 years younger and 40 pounds slimmer.

The real mystery to me is how he got so deep in Manuel's doghouse midseason last year that he could scarcely unhook himself from the bench, even as less productive players were trotted out every day and the season hadn't completely gone cold yet.

An aging Senator of a Western State returns from Washington for the funeral of a friend, a forgotten cowboy of the old school, and looks back on the confrontation that made his career --- a showdown from when he was a young idealistic lawyer facing down a ruthless gunfighter. John Ford directing at the end of his career, Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, and Lee Marvin, who's always drunk and violent.

It was the year without a Santa Claus.

Jon Adkins is scouting for the Red Sox.

Yeah, the pingpong between "Laugh at the stupid Mets too afraid to eat money" and "Laugh at the stupid Mets eating money with Bonilla" is too much to get involved in.

Am I right about the bedtime story scene, though? Comic joy with every pageturn.

Yabbut, the refs always give unfair leeway to the guys with the razzle-dazzle. I thought that was one of the themes. It was to me, anyhow.

Here's one way of framing it... what Met will he most resemble? Hassler? Rick White? Mike DeJean?

Ceetar wrote: Probably very similar to last years numbers. (btw, you left off his Pittsburgh numbers for last year). How about that? I'll fix it. He's an Arizona native. Both he and his wife grew up near Tucson, in fact, so he's probably been as sick as I was this weekend.