Edgy MD

It's a nice tribute to Ron Hodges to employ a third-string catcher, however briefly.

If Adams takes the mound, he will be the first University of South Florida alum to play for the Mets. The Bulls have previously been represented in the Mets dugout only by Callaway-era pitching coach Dave "No Man Is An" Eiland.

Sure, capital of Ohio!

Mets whose last names are US state capitals: Darryl Boston Bartolo Colón Al Jackson Austin Jackson Darrin Jackson Also: Robert Carson City Ed Charleston Lenny Harrisburg Brooks Raleigh

I guess that counts, but it's very interesting that, whatever advantages bloodlines and wealth give you, they've almost never created a two-generation Hall-of-Fame playing legacy. And I suspect when they do, it's as likely as not going to be in different sports. Maybe Charles Seaver will someday make the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine.

Question that I'm embarrassed to ask, but do we have any Hall-of-Fame father/son combos? I imagine that the Vladimirs have half a chance, and Ken Griffey, Sr. could break through on a veterans committee ballot, but I get the idea that I'm missing somebody. In fact, the only such combo I can think of in the four major US team sports is Bobby and Brett Hull. (I don't think Mark Howe was enshrined, but what do I know about ice hockey?) (Parenthetical Edit: Hey, wow! Mark Howe is in!)

Guys getting renewed at Guillorme's point in their careers are entitled to mandatory pay bumps. Free agents, beyond the minimum, just get what the market says they'll get. That's the only sense I can offer. I certainly prefer Guillorme as well. Interestingly, Wendle only played 106 games last year, all at short, after mostly playing second and third through his big league career to date. Maybe their scouts say he was mindblowingly efficient over there.

The weird thing is that, in November 2023, three million for a single season of 33-going-on-34-year-old Joey Wendle is about as modest an MLB free agent contract as there can be. I would figure I could get more value from any number of alternatives on minor league deals.

Interestingly, the Mets transaction page is sitting on the big Severino and Wendle news but is positively RUNNING with the blockbuster Adams news.

Joey Wendle is a native of Wilmington Delaware — a born Quickstep!!

Indeed, and that's almost always true. There's certainly a strong argument for adding depth pieces early in the offseason. The only issue is that today, on November 30th, he's the team's #3 starter.

I'm certain that you're thinking of Tyler Clippard de los Santos.

You don't really know, because you don't know how many voters will turn in their ballots. Last year, I think, about 389 ballots were turned in, which suggests a guy would need about 20 votes to survive, assuming a similar ballot total for this year.

A real enemy here is that the the Hall does a lot more pruning on the ballot than they used to, before it even gets to the BBWAA. It used to be that almost anybody who got their minimum years in made it onto the ballot. They'd trim a few guys who were backup catchers or mopup relievers their whole careers, but a whole bunch of Matlacks and DeShaieses and Garners who had no chance were still put on the ballot and got their balloons for participating. Now, there's virtually no name on the ballot without a conceivable real argument for inclusion. No names appear that would actually create a broad controversy if they actually got in. (Ok, Brandon Phillips might, but Victor Martinez was better than you might think!) A voter who endeavors to be selective and particular, confronted with a ballot of 50 names, and given a maximum of 10 votes, might check six or seven names, maybe 8 in a good year. But the same voter, confronted with a ballot of thirty names, is more likely to check four boxes, to satisfy his or her sense of high standards, without giving a good thought to the idea that those high standards have already been met with a much more selective ballot. If you want more guys getting past their first pass at the ballot (and by the mighty name of Lou Whitaker, I do), let more guys get on the ballot. Be a big-ballot person.

The way to go when bringing in guys you're hoping for a rebound from is usually one year plus an option, helping the two parties split the risk, but I'm kind've thinking that, in 2023, all pitchers should get one-year deals.

A pretty good player in the American League. Hasn't really shown much of anything on the National League side.

The Mets have been down this road before, signing infielder Gregory Guerrero, cousin of Vladi, Jr., and nephew of Vladi, Sr. In fact, they just released him on November 10th, less than three weeks ago. I guess the family doesn't hold grudges.

Wait — is Vladdy's sister romantically linked to Shohei Ohtani?

If I were to accept your categorizations at face value, I'd like to compare that success rate side by side with the team's success rate with US-born players, Canadian players, Venezuelan players, etc. Also, I'd want to compare it to other teams' success rate with players of Japanese origin.

What does Metsource say?

Andre Dawson says he has written the Hall requesting that his plaque be altered to depict him in a Cubs hat, rather than as an Expo. I'm relatively certain that it's simply a matter of far more financial opportunities being afforded to him in framing himself as a Cub, moreso than any animus toward Montreal, but he'd do better to make such initiatives discretely. Someday there will be Major League Baseball again in Montreal, and there will be a cost to actively divorcing his legacy from there.

A yes to Andruw Jones along with a no to Carlos Beltrán is tough position to stake out. To my thinking, anyhow.

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: ⚾️ Immaculate Grid 241 9/9: Rarity: 95 IMMACULATE! 🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩 Play at: https://immaculategrid.comhttps://immaculategrid.com @immaculategrid x @baseball_ref NYM/KC - Jeffries 2 KC/STL - Porter 15 KC/2000H - Brett 90 CLE/NYM - Baerga 7 CLE/STL - Orosco 0.4 CLE/2000H - Robinson 2 PHL/NYM - Mac Scarce 0.2 PHL/STL -Zeile 0.9 PHL/2000H - Abreu 2 Mac Scarce — good one. A fun, if very challenging, way to play, is to try to get a Met in all nine boxes. Today, though, that was actually pretty doable, though it may take some brainpower and faith to get Amos Otis as your 2000-hit Royal. (He had 2,020.)

Three appears to be John Stearns, but I didn't know Denver was known for its misery. I thought it was known for its funky airport terminal design.

I imagine, then, we speak of Tommy Herr.