metsmarathon

"it is what it is"

that's just silly. what they should do is gingerly remove each and every peice the way it was originally put in, and delicately hand carry it out of the stadium grounds, stepping only on the red carpet laid across the field, and place each dutifully salvaged quantum of the stadium into its own velvet lined receptacle wherein it will remain interred through the end of time.

m.e.t.b.o.t. would require defensive data to use as an input, preferably data that could be compatible with WPA.

my goal in the very near term is to wind up m.e.t.b.o.t. so he can finish his retroactive schaeffer voting, and then work with him to figure out an equitable way to apply win percentages towards seasonal rankings. he's tried it in the past, and collectively, we've never been happy with the results. he needs to figure out what to set as 'zero' to wit, brian schneider contributed -0.65 WPA (meaning he basically took away a win and a third) in his 377 or so plate appearances. ramon castro contributed -0.57 WPA (meaning he took away a win and a sixth), but did it in only 156 or so plate appearances. not to speak for the little guy, but i think m.e.t.b.o.t. would end up considering brian schneider to be more highly ranked than castro. but by how much? and how do they compare to brady clark's negligible 0.04 WPA in 9 plate appearances, or ramon martinez' 0.44 WPA in 18 plate appearances? m.e.t.bo.t.'s job isn't easy, i'll tell ya. especially when i don't give him enough of an opportunity to whir his gears.

go that way, really fast. if something gets in your way, turn. what a sham! highway robbery! what may well be my favorite movie ever, ousted by coming to america! jeez! what kind of forum do i post at?!

i'll bet jeffy drives a big truck.

i would think that the problem with the stanky maneuver is that he's outside the basepath.

i think that it'd be cool to have larger than life sized statues for each of the retired numbers. i mean, the pic only shows the big blue 42, but there could be a 41 under another escalator, a 'shea' under another, etc., and perhaps one day a 31 at the top of a flight of stairs - who knows! ok, so im not entirely serious about hte placement, but the idea of abstract numbers i like. 'we can't put them on a freakin' jersey - they're too damned big to fit on the back of a normal man'

="Centerfield"]If one day I buy the Mets and decide to make their stadium look like the Milennium Falcon... i guess i'm the only one who thinks that would be a freaking awesome baseball stadium, huh? i should find some free time and photoshop that...

]Randolph is very unstated ... i can't tell if that's a misprint, or not...

who was the big free agent last year? i cant remember... was there one? oe. right.... arod... i don't think he proves edgy's point tho, due to his age and the wackiness of his brief free agency.

say... what's happening to the tomatoes anyways? are they getting sold off too?

psst... pelfrey...

texiera would've been our most productive player last year, using WARP. 10.0 to wright's 9.6 and beltran's 9.3 his 30 win shares put him 3 behind beltran's 33, and just ahead of wright's (and reyes') 29

technically, clone wars makes seven, doesn't it? of course, they shoulda really stopped at three...

unless we're talking closer, i'd like to think that delgado is worth more than just bullpen help. that said, i'd be more than happy with an arrangement that gives delgado to some al team, and in return we get, say, jj putz (if he's going to be healthy next year), or perhaps eric bedard (which might be me dreaming)

i should update my netflix... but tehn i've gotta watch daylight first for that to matter.

this one is tough. i love the untouchables. but i think i'm unfairly allowing the pitiful sequels to affect my love for robocop... with either, i cannot skip them when i surf their wave. just with robocop, i hafta doublecheck the channel guide to see if i'm wasting my time or not with an awful sequel. have i mentioned that the robocop sequels are awful? hmm... alright, i think i'm gonna settle on the untouchables. the tommy guns get me every time.

i think i've seen risky business, and i'm pretty sure i haven't seen werewolf, no no vote for me here...

empire. natch.

my vote goes to the bunny.

="cot's baseball contracts"]Robinson Cano 2b 4 years/$30M (2008-11), plus 2012-13 club options * signed extension 2/08 (avoided arbitration, $4.55M-$3.2M) * 08:$3M, 09:$6M, 10:$9M, 11:$10M, 12:$14M club option ($2M buyout), 13:$15M club option ($2M buyout) * 1 year/$490,800 (2007), re-signed 3/07 * 1 year/$0.381M (2006) * signed 1/01 as amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic * ML service: 2.153 for comparison... ="cot's baseball contracts"] Carlos Beltran of 7 years/$119M (2005-11) * signed as a free agent 1/05 * $11M signing bonus o $5M at signing 1/05, $2M 6/15/05, $2M 1/15/06, $2M 1/15/07 * 05:$10M, 06:$12M, 07:$12M, 08:$18.5M, 09:$18.5M, 10:$18.5M, 11:$18.5M * full no-trade clause * $22M ($5.5M annually from 2008-11 salaries) deferred at 1.72% compounded interest * club agreed to not offer arbitration after 2011 season * award bonuses: $0.1M each for Silver Slugger, Aaron Award, Gold Glove, most All Star votes in league, BA/TSN/AP MVP or Player of Year; $0.15M each for LDS MVP, LCS MVP; $0.2M each for 2nd-5th in MVP vote; $0.25M for WS MVP; $0.5M for first MVP; $1M for second MVP; $1.5M for third and subsequent MVPs * perks: hotel suite on road, 15-person suite at home games, player to purchase post-season tickets, club agreed to lease ocular enhancer machine (device that throws numbered & multi-colored tennis balls at 150 mph) * Beltran to donate $0.3M annually to charity (half to club charity, half to charity of player's choice) * 1 year/$9M (2004), avoided arbitration 1 /04 * 1 year/$6M (2003), lost arbitration 2/03 ($6.95M-$6M) * 1 year/$3.5M (2002), avoided arbitration 1 /02 o award bonuses: $0.1M for MVP, $25,000 for ALCS MVP, $50,000 each for All Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, WS MVP * 1 year/$0.425M (2001) * 1 year/$0.35M (2000) * 1 year/$0.2M (1999) * drafted 1995 (2-49) * agent: Scott Boras * ML service: 9.014 so that's $12.5M in '09, $9.5M in '10, and $8.5M in '11 that we'd save, even if the yankees don't pick up a nickel, plus a minimum of $2M if the team doesn't pick up the $14M option in '12... hmm... for further comparison, beltran vs. cano: win shares 2008: 33 vs 12 win shares 2007: 27 vs 21 WARP 2008: 9.3 vs 6.0 WARP 2007: 8.8 vs 9.5

cano is better than we're giving him credit for, but beltran is better than he's generally given credit for, so i think it evens out. on that end. the problem with cano is that i don't like what appears to be his mindset. he needs to be better motivated, at least thats what the sports talk radio tells me. beltran, while very laid back, never makes me question whether he's motivated to play. if what this team really needs is grit, then this trade is a step in the wrong direction. from a cost vs. production standpoint, though, its tough to beat. especially if the yanks were to really eat all of cano's money. the one problem, natch, is what do we do with the rest of our gaggle of 2bmen, and what do we fill centerfield with? mike cameron? what is cano signed for anyways?

the sole benefit of this trade is that it would clear a ton of salary. if that salary can afford you a cc sabathia, and a thick bullpen, then it might be worth considering. but generally, no, i do not support this deal.

the one knock against hojo is that the mets didn't do a terribly good job, i don't think, of hitting situationally. maybe that got better as the season went along, or got worse after he got here, but that'd be the one thing i'd like to see the team do a better job of.