Edgy MD

So, small sample size aside, we're doing pretty well against the defending champs, who are appearing to have more issues with their pitching than we are. (Chris Carpenter is skipping his next start after complaining about soreness after his opening day outing.) You think the American League has all the best non-Metly teams again?

Yeah, and the Mets aren't in that situation, yet. I agree that he'd be more useful on another team, and only as long as he hits. I looked up Staub's 1985. The only extra hitter the Mets burned as a pinch runner for him was three appearances by Terry Bocker, who really was a waste of a roster spot --- going 1-15 filling in for injured Mookie until they realized that Dykstra was more ready to help. Staub's Pinch-Hit Successes in His Last Season: 4/9: With the score tied at nine, Staub bats for Orosco with two out in the ninth and a runner on first. He walks and Darling runs for him. Wilson flies out with the bases loaded, but Carter wins it with a walkoff homer in the 10th. 4/17: With the Mets up 9-6 in the seventh, Staub bats for Champman with one out and a runner on second. Staub doubles the runner home, and Backman --- who was going in anyhow --- pinch-runs for him and dies at second. Mets win. 5/13: Staub pinch-hits for Lynch, down 1-0 and with two out in the bottom of the eighth. He singles and Blocker runs for him, failing to advance, as the Mets go on to lose. 5/18: In a 2-2 game, Staub leads off the eighth, batting for Lynch and singling. Blocker runs, fails to score and big sad late rally by the enemy causes the Mets to fall 8-2. 6/1: Mets are up 3-2 in the seventh. Staub bats for Chapman with a runner on second and one out. He singles home the runner. Blocker runs for him and the Mets win 5-3. 6/22: Down 2-0 in the seventh, Staub pinch-hits for Dykstra with two out and two on and hits a three-run homer to put the Mets on top. They go up 4-2 after that, but Orosco and McDowell give it back and they lose. Ouch. 6/25: Mets up 3-2 in ninth. Staub pinch-hits for Backman with runners on second and third with with two out. He walks and is pinch-run for Chapman, who is coming in anyway. Dykstra fans to end the rally but the Mets hang on and win. 7/4: Game is tied at 11 in the bottom of the 19th. Runner on second with one out, and Staub pinch hits for Gorman, where he is walked intentionally. He runs for himself and comes around to score as the rally continues and the Mets go up 16-11. Darling comes in for the bottom of the inning and yields two before the Mets win 16-13. 7/9: Mets up 10-2 in the ninth. Staub pinch-hits for Gooden with a runner on third and is walked. He runs for himself as Dykstra drives the run in and Backman grounds out. 7/12: Game tied at twosies in the top of the tenth. Straw walks but is caught stealing. Foster whiffs. HoJo doubles and Santana singles him home, going to second on the throw. Staub is walked intentionally batting for Darling and stays in as Dykstra flies out. McDowell seals it in the bottom of the inning. 7/20: Mets up 12-1 in the sixth, Staub pinch-runs for Gooden and runs for himself. 8/14: Mets down 2-0 with a runner on and no out in the ninth. Staub pinch hits for Santana and walks, putting the tying run on. Aguilera pinch-runs, but the Mets score only once as a Hernandez double-play ends it. 8/16: Mets are down four in the seventh. Staub pinch singles with one out. Darling runs for him and is on third when the inning ends. 8/25: Mets are up by three in the seventh. Staub bats for Santana with two out and singles home Straw. Bowa, going in anyhow, pinch-runs. McDowell doubles him home before Dykstra grounds out. 8/29: Game tied in the seventh, Staub pinch-singles for Aguilera with one out. Darling runs for him and is on third when the third out is made. 8/30: Tie game in the ninth. Heep scores the go-ahead run on a one-out double by HoJo. Hurdle is walked and Staub bats for Santana. After a wild pitch advances the runners to second and third, Staub is walked and pinch-run for with Bowa, entering the game anyhow. Johnson --- p[laying gutsy --- leaves Foster and Knight (among others?) on the bench and lets Darling bat for himself with the bases loaded. Darling flies to center, but gets them in the ninth after runners reach second and third. Wow, what a nail-biter. 9/1: Mets down by two in the ninth, Staub doubles in a run batting for Santana. Bowa, who was going in at short anyway, runs for him, and is thrown out going from first to third on a Mookie Wilson single. Mookie scores the tying run and Keith Hernandez the go-ahead on a pinch homer by Hernandez. 9/20: Mets down by two n bottom of seventh. Staub pinch-singles for Backman to bring the Mets within a run. Gardenhire, who was going in at second anyway runs for him, and scores the tying run. 9/21: Singled, stayed in to run for his fat self in a Mets blowout. 9/28: Mets up 3-1 in the ninth. Staup pinch-walks with one out and runners at first and second. Billy Beane runs for him before Mookie grounds out forcing Beane at second. Billy Beane's appearance is hardly a waste as the Mets would have had a deep bench on 9/28.

Rusty was an extreme case, but somehow we got away from Franco.

No, because he used a starting pitcher that wasn't getting into the game anyhow. As for power. You know, singles are inportant in ninth inning situtations too. I don't get this at all. Every team has a primary pinch hitter who doesn't do much else. I'd beat up on Chris Jones or Matt Franco or Lenny Harris first.

I'd expect his runs scored totals to look a lot like his home run totals, as he was lifted for pinch runners after every hit. Your point that I was responding to was that he was ineffective. Did you and Davey Johnson talk about this in your dream?

I don't agree that Staub was ineffective, nor that there were other guys ready to do it. Staubs OPS+'s in his second tour as a Met 1981: 147 1982: 79 1983: 122 1984: 84 1985: 127

Franco's the number one bat off the bench because he's the first pinch-hitting option in a game-turning situation in the eighth or ninth. The primary pinch-hitter is like the closer. You get fewer spots because they're saving you for the biggest ones.

I agree with all that.

metirish wrote: I really have a hard time thinking that if the Mets finish a few games out it might be because of Franco,aren't we putting too much stock into a bench player? Maybe.

Sure. But they've won a few standing by while many wanted a player dispensed with --- Oliver, Valentin pop to mind. And lost a few --- Matsui, I guess, and Danny Graves. They might again. Certainly players have performed after a team (or several teams) bet definitively on them being done. Every team goes through this. It's tough. When Franco flails and some Greg Turtletaub starts burning it up in AAA, may he become our pinch hitting specialist. I still think Milledge was a better choice than Tucker for the playoff roster. But Franco hasn't had his first at-bat this season.

The Pesky story stated that uniform personnel in dugouts during games was limited to players, managers, and six coaches. Now, there's plenty of ambiguity there. (1) They don't mention trainers, and (2) they don't specify bullpen personnel. The Mets currently have seven guys listed as coaches, with five stationed in the dugout during the games, and two --- plus the bullpen catcher --- stationed in the pen. Dugout: Jerry Manuel: Bench Coach Sandy Alomar Sr.: Third Base Coach Howard Johnson: First Base Coach Rick Peterson: Pitching Coach Rick Down: Hitting Coach Bullpen: Guy Conti: Bullpen Coach Tom Nieto: Catching Instructor That implies that there's room for one more, but, as I said, there's ambiguity. Plus, Franco wants to play, and if someone claimed him off of waivers, he might well continue --- not that fear of losing his coaching services should scare the Mets away from cutting him loose if otherwise necessary.

I don't think anyone will be surprised when Franco fails. Everybody else has by his age. I think what happened to him the second half of last year was mostly about his strike zone judgment going to hell. Not him overswinging.

I'm speaking to the notion of hoping he fails. It wasn't a comment of yours. I don't think you'll find, "Well, who knew?" attached to any comment I made. I don't think his salary is an issue. When his roster sport becomes an issue, I hope it's not a lingering one.

Wagner heat doesn't scare righthanded batters anymore, and Duaner and Bradford aren't around to help him out with them.

After some slow goers (Joe Serfass, Edgar Alfonzo) and non-starters (Tyler Fucking Davidson), I finally have a big-leaguer in the brood. I picked this freak and he took off like a damn rocket. All credit goes to Joe. And his freakazoid arm angle. Welcome to the Show, Bazooka.

See, chicken loves Franco.

I don't get what the hate is about with Franco. He is what he is, but the idea that he's been suckin' it up is just unfounded. He was better in the first half than in the second, but that job is hard. I won't sit here and tell you he was good, but rooting for him to fail is right out.

Yeah, neither do I. Just a suggested adaptation. My foresight was to keep him the hell away from the homer contest. I'd claim that I was right, but don't ask me to be able to demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship.

If David would get off the catwalk, I'd be a little less worried. Little is more depressing than a guy overexposed and regressing --- with tons of sad jerseys marked down at Modell's. On the ohter hand, he went into a big second-half slump back in 2003 that left him with end-of-year numbers that were fine but hardly justified the scouts' drooling over him. The Mets diagnosis, and the consensus, was that he worked too hard and tired himself out. That may be too much buying into the all-American boy scout crap, but his vicious start the next year supported that. So maybe Willie gives him a little more first-half rest this season.

Yes, players on better teams received bonus points in the forumula for playing on those teams, with additional points for post-season wins. Why should a player lose points?

Well, I was sorta reading it that way also. Not that I think irish is overtly racist --- I'm sure he's not --- but there are plenty of media and social filters between reality and perception that we have to be wary of. I guess Hoffman's relatively alright, for a guy who married a cheerleader and gave all his kids lastname-firstnames. It's funny that they stil play "Hell's Bells" for him when his fastball now comes in at about 72.

What makes them particularly good? Not challenging it, just curious.

He had the eighth-most doubles in team history while playin only 124 games.

I'm going to guess that Wright won't go into August hitting .150 without getting booed. Aaron Sele has half a chance to get the Jorge Julio treatment.

Guess I didn't. I'm still intrigued.