metsmarathon

i'm about halfway through the 2013 season on the iootp 13 app. i've got an interesting team, and have made a number of moves. i'm not sure if they're helped or hurt, but my team is, to my mind, underperforming. i picked up carlos gomez and then flipped him to boston for jacoby ellsbury. i picked up michael bourne for buck and hawkins, then flipped him for austin jackson, who i then flipped for jay bruce. and i recently picked up yoenis cespedis for jordanny valdespin. it seems that, ellsbury aside, when i grab a player, they wickedly underperform, then blossom after leaving my team. very frustrating. also frustrating is david wright, who has 2 home runs (tejada has 3) almost 100 games into the season, and is batting 274/375/369. my team is 44 & 60, despite a 434/440 RS/RA split. i must be a godawful manager to have these guys so massively underperforming their pythagorean expectations...

billy wagner

juan lagares! tremendous answer! its wrong, but still tremendous! if he'd played a full season at the same level, he'd be right on top of this list. but he didn't, and he's not. he's a win shy of getting on the top 50. but 3.5 WAR in 421 plate appearnaces is not too shabby at all. is right answer dickey the answer to our quiz? he's wrong answer dickey. but your guesses are getting better and better! 1. lenny dykstra 5.18 WAR/600 PA 2. beltran 5.12 WAR/600 PA 3. john olerud 5.11 WAR/600 PA 4. lance johnson 5.10 WAR/600 PA 5. darryl strawberry 4.81 WAR/600 PA 6. david wright 4.70 WAR/600 PA 7. keith hernandez 4.32 WAR/600 PA 8. edgardo alfonzo 3.98 WAR/600 PA 9. angel pagan 3.94 WAR/600 PA 10. bernard gilkey 3.91 WAR/600 PA 11. john stearns 3.78 WAR/600 PA 12. mike piazza 3.70 WAR/600 PA 13. robin ventura 3.69 WAR/600 PA 14. 15. jose reyes 3.43 WAR/600 PA not in the top 15 dave magadan #16 3.38 WAR/600 PA tommie agee #18 3.13 WAR/600 PA kevin mcreynolds #20 2.93 WAR/600 PA mookie wilson #21 2.88 WAR/600 PA howard johnson #22 2.86 WAR/600 PA gary carter #23 2.77 WAR/600 PA wally backman #29 2.57 WAR/600 PA jeff kent #30 2.53 WAR/600 PA wayne garret #31 2.48 WAR/600 PA bobby bonilla #32 2.44 WAR/600 PA cleon jones #34 2.33 WAR/600 PA ra dickey (unranked) 2.14 WAR/600 PA gregg jeffries #41 1.95 WAR/600 PA felix millan #45 1.60 WAR/600 PA carlos delgado #47 1.42 WAR/600 PA rusty staub #49 1.40 WAR/600 PA juan lagares (unranked) 5.27 WAR/600 PA marlon byrd (unranked) 5.17 WAR/600 PA moises alou (unranked) 3.33 WAR/600 PA chris canizzaro (unranked) 3.19 WAR/600 mike cameron (unranked) 2.79 WAR/600PA kris benson (unranked) 1.60 WAR/600 PA bobby klaus (unranked) 1.40 WAR/600 PA eddie murray (unranked) 1.21 WAR/600 PA ron darling (unranked) 1.10 WAR/600 PA roger cedeno (unranked) 0.37 WAR/600 PA rey ordonez (unranked) 0.15 WAR/600 PA

ah, good ol' kringle canizzaro. not quite good enough to make the list. but still pretty good in his time here, and for our purposes. the positional adjustment and his defensive goodness overcame his weak bat. he's our third-highest unranked met. 1. lenny dykstra 5.18 WAR/600 PA 2. beltran 5.12 WAR/600 PA 3. john olerud 5.11 WAR/600 PA 4. lance johnson 5.10 WAR/600 PA 5. darryl strawberry 4.81 WAR/600 PA 6. david wright 4.70 WAR/600 PA 7. keith hernandez 4.32 WAR/600 PA 8. edgardo alfonzo 3.98 WAR/600 PA 9. angel pagan 3.94 WAR/600 PA 10. bernard gilkey 3.91 WAR/600 PA 11. john stearns 3.78 WAR/600 PA 12. mike piazza 3.70 WAR/600 PA 13. robin ventura 3.69 WAR/600 PA 14. 15. jose reyes 3.43 WAR/600 PA not in the top 15 dave magadan #16 3.38 WAR/600 PA tommie agee #18 3.13 WAR/600 PA kevin mcreynolds #20 2.93 WAR/600 PA mookie wilson #21 2.88 WAR/600 PA howard johnson #22 2.86 WAR/600 PA gary carter #23 2.77 WAR/600 PA wally backman #29 2.57 WAR/600 PA jeff kent #30 2.53 WAR/600 PA wayne garret #31 2.48 WAR/600 PA bobby bonilla #32 2.44 WAR/600 PA cleon jones #34 2.33 WAR/600 PA gregg jeffries #41 1.95 WAR/600 PA felix millan #45 1.60 WAR/600 PA carlos delgado #47 1.42 WAR/600 PA rusty staub #49 1.40 WAR/600 PA marlon byrd (unranked) 5.17 WAR/600 PA moises alou (unranked) 3.33 WAR/600 PA chris canizzaro (unranked) 3.19 WAR/600 mike cameron (unranked) 2.79 WAR/600PA kris benson (unranked) 1.60 WAR/600 PA bobby klaus (unranked) 1.40 WAR/600 PA eddie murray (unranked) 1.21 WAR/600 PA ron darling (unranked) 1.10 WAR/600 PA roger cedeno (unranked) 0.37 WAR/600 PA rey ordonez (unranked) 0.15 WAR/600 PA so.. what... have i just drug this quiz out long enough? is nobody else playing? i'm telling you guys, the answer is right there. i don't know how many more times i need to tell you it. it's right there for the taking. i know. you're all pissed that you've failed this test. you probably want to suspend my membership on the board for a time. i get it. i understand. you're sick and tired of all this belly itching. you want it to be over. and it can be. if you just give me his name. say his name. you can do it. it's right there on the tip of your tongue. do you need a key? no, you don't need a key. you're better than that. you can do this. i know you can. if you're really looking for another hint, this is the best i can do. during his career, chris canizzaro wore one of the same uniform numbers as our mystery met also wore during his career. i've siad too much! pease peas pretty please give me the name i'm looking for so we can end this.

definitely kemp. the back end of the contract is onerous, but i think he's a better shot at making up for it. especially if he's moved from center field to right. his range in center isn't great, and between lagares and young, we've got good defense in center already on the roster. so you could look to get a boost to his existing numbers from that switch alone. maybe you recover as much as a win each season...? ethier isn't a great defender either. and while he's more consistent, he'll consistently give you 2-3 wins. whereas kemp will give you anywhere from 1-8 wins, and should be on the high side of that when he's ever healthy. for hte record, per fangraphs numbers, ethier has never had a season where the value of his production exceeded $15M, whereas kemp has had two such seasons. kemp has, granted, a much better chance of turning into a massive bust, due to the injury factor. so i might look to getting some cash money thrown at the deal, preferably towards hte end of the contract if the dodgers would be amenable to such a thing. also consider, ethier's contract equals/exceeds that of granderson's, and granderson is the better player.

have you all given up? does nobody want to crack the case? or is the writing on the wall that i need to give up and disclose the answer?

all stats per fangraphs: last year, eric young produced -6.9 batting runs above average (based on wOBA) in his 418 metly plate appearances. in his career, ruben tejada produced -29.3 batting runs above average (based on wOBA) in his 1359 career plate appearances, which works out to -9.0 batting runs above average per 418 plate appearances. last year, eric young produced 9.5 baserunning runs above average in his 418 metly plate appearances in his career, ruben tejada has produced 0.3 baserunning runs above average in his 1359 career plate appearances, which works out to 0.1 baserunning runs per 418 plate apearances. offensively, last year, eric young was a better player than ruben tejada has been for his career. what does it mean going forward? honestly, i don't know. tejada shoulld still be capable of improvement whereas young may not be, being on the wrong side of hte aging curve. for what it's worth (and i don't know what's going into their defensive valueation), but the "oliver" projections on fangraphs show them both at about a 0.9 WAR player next year, assuming 600 plate appearances. oliver uses weighted mean of hte prior three seasons, plus aging and regression to the mean. so its not really pretending to know anything about hte players. but, it's something, right? with very small sample sizes to go on, if i look at their defense, young and tejada are both about slightly above average at 2b/lf and ss, and by slightly above average, i mean a run or two over the course of a year.

multiple guessing bad! darling, also bad. but he had exactly 600 metly plate appearnces, so the math was super-easy. 1. lenny dykstra 5.18 WAR/600 PA 2. beltran 5.12 WAR/600 PA 3. john olerud 5.11 WAR/600 PA 4. lance johnson 5.10 WAR/600 PA 5. darryl strawberry 4.81 WAR/600 PA 6. david wright 4.70 WAR/600 PA 7. keith hernandez 4.32 WAR/600 PA 8. edgardo alfonzo 3.98 WAR/600 PA 9. angel pagan 3.94 WAR/600 PA 10. bernard gilkey 3.91 WAR/600 PA 11. john stearns 3.78 WAR/600 PA 12. mike piazza 3.70 WAR/600 PA 13. robin ventura 3.69 WAR/600 PA 14. 15. jose reyes 3.43 WAR/600 PA not in the top 15 dave magadan #16 3.38 WAR/600 PA tommie agee #18 3.13 WAR/600 PA kevin mcreynolds #20 2.93 WAR/600 PA mookie wilson #21 2.88 WAR/600 PA howard johnson #22 2.86 WAR/600 PA gary carter #23 2.77 WAR/600 PA wally backman #29 2.57 WAR/600 PA jeff kent #30 2.53 WAR/600 PA wayne garret #31 2.48 WAR/600 PA bobby bonilla #32 2.44 WAR/600 PA cleon jones #34 2.33 WAR/600 PA gregg jeffries #41 1.95 WAR/600 PA felix millan #45 1.60 WAR/600 PA carlos delgado #47 1.42 WAR/600 PA rusty staub #49 1.40 WAR/600 PA marlon byrd (unranked) 5.17 WAR/600 PA moises alou (unranked) 3.33 WAR/600 PA mike cameron (unranked) 2.79 WAR/600PA kris benson (unranked) 1.60 WAR/600 PA bobby klaus (unranked) 1.40 WAR/600 PA eddie murray (unranked) 1.21 WAR/600 PA ron darling (unranked) 1.10 WAR/600 PA roger cedeno (unranked) 0.37 WAR/600 PA rey ordonez (unranked) 0.15 WAR/600 PA

el sid... el no! oh, i have kris and klaus' hitting stats wrong in the preceding list, not that it changes anything. 1. lenny dykstra 5.18 WAR/600 PA 2. beltran 5.12 WAR/600 PA 3. john olerud 5.11 WAR/600 PA 4. lance johnson 5.10 WAR/600 PA 5. darryl strawberry 4.81 WAR/600 PA 6. david wright 4.70 WAR/600 PA 7. keith hernandez 4.32 WAR/600 PA 8. edgardo alfonzo 3.98 WAR/600 PA 9. angel pagan 3.94 WAR/600 PA 10. bernard gilkey 3.91 WAR/600 PA 11. john stearns 3.78 WAR/600 PA 12. mike piazza 3.70 WAR/600 PA 13. robin ventura 3.69 WAR/600 PA 14. 15. jose reyes 3.43 WAR/600 PA not in the top 15 dave magadan #16 3.38 WAR/600 PA tommie agee #18 3.13 WAR/600 PA kevin mcreynolds #20 2.93 WAR/600 PA mookie wilson #21 2.88 WAR/600 PA howard johnson #22 2.86 WAR/600 PA gary carter #23 2.77 WAR/600 PA wally backman #29 2.57 WAR/600 PA jeff kent #30 2.53 WAR/600 PA wayne garret #31 2.48 WAR/600 PA bobby bonilla #32 2.44 WAR/600 PA cleon jones #34 2.33 WAR/600 PA gregg jeffries #41 1.95 WAR/600 PA felix millan #45 1.60 WAR/600 PA carlos delgado #47 1.42 WAR/600 PA rusty staub #49 1.40 WAR/600 PA marlon byrd (unranked) 5.17 WAR/600 PA moises alou (unranked) 3.33 WAR/600 PA mike cameron (unranked) 2.79 WAR/600PA sid fernandez (unranked) 1.66 WAR/600 PA kris benson (unranked) 1.40 WAR/600 PA eddie murray (unranked) 1.21 WAR/600 PA bobby klaus (unranked) 0.84 WAR/600 PA roger cedeno (unranked) 0.37 WAR/600 PA rey ordonez (unranked) 0.15 WAR/600 PA

oh, right. i forgot to add benson and klaus to the list. my bad. both are unranked, but deserve mention, i suppose. 1. lenny dykstra 5.18 WAR/600 PA 2. beltran 5.12 WAR/600 PA 3. john olerud 5.11 WAR/600 PA 4. lance johnson 5.10 WAR/600 PA 5. darryl strawberry 4.81 WAR/600 PA 6. david wright 4.70 WAR/600 PA 7. keith hernandez 4.32 WAR/600 PA 8. edgardo alfonzo 3.98 WAR/600 PA 9. angel pagan 3.94 WAR/600 PA 10. bernard gilkey 3.91 WAR/600 PA 11. john stearns 3.78 WAR/600 PA 12. mike piazza 3.70 WAR/600 PA 13. robin ventura 3.69 WAR/600 PA 14. 15. jose reyes 3.43 WAR/600 PA not in the top 15 dave magadan #16 3.38 WAR/600 PA tommie agee #18 3.13 WAR/600 PA kevin mcreynolds #20 2.93 WAR/600 PA mookie wilson #21 2.88 WAR/600 PA howard johnson #22 2.86 WAR/600 PA gary carter #23 2.77 WAR/600 PA wally backman #29 2.57 WAR/600 PA jeff kent #30 2.53 WAR/600 PA wayne garret #31 2.48 WAR/600 PA bobby bonilla #32 2.44 WAR/600 PA cleon jones #34 2.33 WAR/600 PA gregg jeffries #41 1.95 WAR/600 PA felix millan #45 1.60 WAR/600 PA carlos delgado #47 1.42 WAR/600 PA rusty staub #49 1.40 WAR/600 PA marlon byrd (unranked) 5.17 WAR/600 PA moises alou (unranked) 3.33 WAR/600 PA mike cameron (unranked) 2.79 WAR/600PA kris benson (unranked) 1.60 WAR/600 PA bobby klaus (unranked) 1.40 WAR/600 PA eddie murray (unranked) 1.21 WAR/600 PA roger cedeno (unranked) 0.37 WAR/600 PA rey ordonez (unranked) 0.15 WAR/600 PA

garret's a fine guess, and yes, he was good with his glove. but he didn't have nearly the arm* of our missing met. *at least not as far as their respective reputations wouldtend to indicate... 1. lenny dykstra 5.18 WAR/600 PA 2. beltran 5.12 WAR/600 PA 3. john olerud 5.11 WAR/600 PA 4. lance johnson 5.10 WAR/600 PA 5. darryl strawberry 4.81 WAR/600 PA 6. david wright 4.70 WAR/600 PA 7. keith hernandez 4.32 WAR/600 PA 8. edgardo alfonzo 3.98 WAR/600 PA 9. angel pagan 3.94 WAR/600 PA 10. bernard gilkey 3.91 WAR/600 PA 11. john stearns 3.78 WAR/600 PA 12. mike piazza 3.70 WAR/600 PA 13. robin ventura 3.69 WAR/600 PA 14. 15. jose reyes 3.43 WAR/600 PA not in the top 15 dave magadan #16 3.38 WAR/600 PA tommie agee #18 3.13 WAR/600 PA kevin mcreynolds #20 2.93 WAR/600 PA mookie wilson #21 2.88 WAR/600 PA howard johnson #22 2.86 WAR/600 PA gary carter #23 2.77 WAR/600 PA wally backman #29 2.57 WAR/600 PA jeff kent #30 2.53 WAR/600 PA wayne garret #31 2.48 WAR/600 PA bobby bonilla #32 2.44 WAR/600 PA cleon jones #34 2.33 WAR/600 PA gregg jeffries #41 1.95 WAR/600 PA felix millan #45 1.60 WAR/600 PA carlos delgado #47 1.42 WAR/600 PA rusty staub #49 1.40 WAR/600 PA marlon byrd (unranked) 5.17 WAR/600 PA moises alou (unranked) 3.33 WAR/600 PA mike cameron (unranked) 2.79 WAR/600PA eddie murray (unranked) 1.21 WAR/600 PA roger cedeno (unranked) 0.37 WAR/600 PA rey ordonez (unranked) 0.15 WAR/600 PA

despite his bbref-referenced nickname of "jumpsteady" (wtf!?), garry templeton was indeed bad. very bad indeed. -1.1 WAR in a meager 234 plate appearances bad. i won't bother putting him on the list, if you don't mind.

hooray! i get to close out a quiz! i didn't think it would take quite so long to name al leiter. the other quiz, well, that's a whole 'nother thing entirely. 1. matt harvey 7.27 WAR/250 IP 2. armando benitez 7.06 WAR/250 IP 3. billy wagner 6.61 WAR/250 IP 4. tom seaver 6.25 WAR/250 IP 5. brett saberhagen 5.53 WAR/250 IP 6. mike hampton 5.41 WAR/250 IP 7. johan santana 5.30 WAR/250 IP 8. r.a. dickey 5.23 WAR/250 IP 9. al leiter 5.15 WAR/250 IP 10. jesse orosco 5.12 WAR/250 IP not in top 10: randy myers: #11, 5.10 WAR/250 IP dwight gooden: #13 4.79 WAR/250 IP rick reed: #14, 4.64 WAR/250 IP john matlack: #15 4.59 WAR/250 IP jae seo: #17 4.41 WAR/250 IP sid fernandez: #18 4.37 WAR/250 IP frank viola: #19 4.28 WAR/250 IP pedro martinez: #20, 4.16 WAR/250 IP tug mcgraw: #22 4.04 WAR/200 IP david cone: #23 4.03 WAR/250 IP john franco: #24 3.99 WAR/250 IP jerry koosman: #26 3.88 WAR/250 IP bobby ojeda: #33 3.17 WAR/250 IP ron darling #38 2.48 WAR/250 IP roger mcdowell: #43, 2.30 WAR/250 IP jonathon niese: #49 1.63 WAR/250 IP unranked pitchers: terry bross: 7.50 WAR/250 IP braden looper: 4.03 WAR/250 IP orlando hernandez: 3.69 WAR/250 IP larry bearnarth: 0.37 WAR/250 IP

no, sorry, leiter had the right answer. i'm just waiting for him to clarify which one it was. multiple guessing. boo. ruins everybody's fun.

oh yeah. the cat. felix millan is not the correct answer, though there's some convergence here. when they were not mets, both he and our mystery man wore the number 11. these hints are too good. i couldn't give away the answer any more if i straight up told you his name. batmags probably wants to corner me in a dark alley and punch me out... 1. lenny dykstra 5.18 WAR/600 PA 2. beltran 5.12 WAR/600 PA 3. john olerud 5.11 WAR/600 PA 4. lance johnson 5.10 WAR/600 PA 5. darryl strawberry 4.81 WAR/600 PA 6. david wright 4.70 WAR/600 PA 7. keith hernandez 4.32 WAR/600 PA 8. edgardo alfonzo 3.98 WAR/600 PA 9. angel pagan 3.94 WAR/600 PA 10. bernard gilkey 3.91 WAR/600 PA 11. john stearns 3.78 WAR/600 PA 12. mike piazza 3.70 WAR/600 PA 13. robin ventura 3.69 WAR/600 PA 14. 15. jose reyes 3.43 WAR/600 PA not in the top 15 dave magadan #16 3.38 WAR/600 PA tommie agee #18 3.13 WAR/600 PA kevin mcreynolds #20 2.93 WAR/600 PA mookie wilson #21 2.88 WAR/600 PA howard johnson #22 2.86 WAR/600 PA gary carter #23 2.77 WAR/600 PA wally backman #29 2.57 WAR/600 PA jeff kent #30 2.53 WAR/600 PA bobby bonilla #32 2.44 WAR/600 PA cleon jones #34 2.33 WAR/600 PA gregg jeffries #41 1.95 WAR/600 PA felix millan #45 1.60 WAR/600 PA carlos delgado #47 1.42 WAR/600 PA rusty staub #49 1.40 WAR/600 PA marlon byrd (unranked) 5.17 WAR/600 PA moises alou (unranked) 3.33 WAR/600 PA mike cameron (unranked) 2.79 WAR/600PA eddie murray (unranked) 1.21 WAR/600 PA roger cedeno (unranked) 0.37 WAR/600 PA rey ordonez (unranked) 0.15 WAR/600 PA

no. no you don't. i'm actually looking forward to the big reveal. mwu-ha-ha-ha

regarding granderson's power, if you look to hittrackeronline, you can take a loot at grandy's home runs, normalized for atmospheric conditions, and compare them against ballpark dimensions. last year, each of grandy's homers easily clears our right field fence. in 2012, all but 9 of hte 43 homers he hit clear our fences. last i checked, 34 homers wouldn't be so bad. and a lot of them are gappers that could turn into extra bases and not just long fly outs. with his speed, maybe there's some extra triples in there. who knows. in 2011, there's 4-6 of his 41 homers that might not make it out. dude's got power. he's no cheap yankee stadium sham-homerun illusion.

Ceetar wrote: metsmarathon wrote: do you guys really need another clue after all i've given you? over the course of the mystery met hitter's career, he was lucky enough to play enough seasons to get his name on a hall of fame ballot. come time to tally the votes, he fell short of enshrinement. got so few votes, he fell off the ballot altogether, though some think his fate was a little unfair. Still holds plenty of Mets records. shush, you! my quiz, my hints. besides, i think the hall of fame ballot thing was a perfectly fine hint. its not like everys single player who plays 10 years or more gets on the ballot (is it?). he had to be quite good enough to get on there. i mean, each year, sure, there's a bit of mediocrity at the bottom fringes of it, but there's a merit thing to getting on the ballot... or am i wrong...? regardless, the answer is there just waiting for you.

i like this a lot. i like granderson at 4/60 a lot better than i would have liked ellsbury at 7/150, or cano at 10/240. also, i really hope not to see eric young take a meaningful, everyday role on this team. he's a useful spare part, but should not be an everyday player. if he's in our outfield and lagares is not, i'll be quite unhappy. moreso if he's at second and murphy is not, (unless there's a massive return).

if you need me to spell it out, i certainly could....

do you guys really need another clue after all i've given you? over the course of the mystery met hitter's career, he was lucky enough to play enough seasons to get his name on a hall of fame ballot. come time to tally the votes, he fell short of enshrinement. got so few votes, he fell off the ballot altogether, though some think his fate was a little unfair.

yes, of course, the yankees would be a better tem if they re-signed granderson and cano, and also signed ellsbury. the issue is that the yankees thought themselves a better team signing ellsbury instead of re-signing granderson, and they are likely right, in th short term at least, and especially since yankee finances aren't remotely liek real-team finances (not that the mets have real-team finances) i also think that in signing ellsbury, they are in a better position to tell cano's agents that their remaining money isn't limitless, so dont go asking for 300 mil that you're never going to get. getting ellsbury allows them to play harder with cano, whereas signing cano early and to an (even more) ridiculous contract could preclude them from getting in on ellsbury and weakening boston. and believe me, weakening boston (both in the baseball sense and the PR sense) is a huge factor here.

they have ichiro and (a practically free) soriano in addition to the undervalued brett gardner. bringing back granderson doesn't improve the team and weaken the sawx in one fell swoop. adding ellsbury does.

because they liked ellsbury better perhaps...?

in kris benson's two years with the mets, h amassed a grand total of 2.8 WAR combined between his pitching and his hitting. that's way less than our correct answer guy. and neither he nor bobby klaus ever wore the uniform number 17 in the majors.