Valadius

According to the Daily News, the Mets are waiting for Rudy Jaramillo's contract with Texas to expire at the end of the month before finalizing the coaching staff for next year.

If Ted Simmons hadn't been playing most of his career in the shadow of Johnny Bench in the NL and Carlton Fisk in the AL, I think he would be in Cooperstown by now. It seems as if he never had a chance to be perceived as great because of his contemporaries. While he played, however, Ted Simmons put up some numbers at his position better than anyone else in the major leagues during that time. The two players he can best be compared to in looking at his stats are Bench and Fisk, who were playing at the same time. During Simmons' peak of 1971 to 1983, which was Bench's last season, here's how the three catchers compare: Simmons - 901 runs scored, 2043 hits, 405 2B, 40 3B, 219 HR, 1168 RBI, 3185 TB, 681 BB, 537 K Bench - 747 runs scored, 1309 hits, 241 2B, 14 3B, 269 HR, 933 RBI, 2385 TB, 674 BB, 858 K Fisk - 773 runs scored, 1367 hits, 239 2B, 38 3B, 199 HR, 722 RBI, 2279 TB, 509 BB, 733 K

Can someone please explain to me why the hell Ted Simmons is not in the Hall of Fame? Comparing his stats with the catchers currently in the Hall of Fame, it's absolutely ludicrous that he's not in yet. He hit .285 with 248 HR and 1389 RBI. He had 2472 hits, 1074 runs scored, and 483 doubles. He batted over .300 seven times, and was an All-Star eight times. Put in a group with the 13 catchers currently in the Hall, Simmons is: 5th in runs scored 1st in hits 1st in doubles 5th in home runs 2nd in RBI 6th in batting average 5th in games caught 7th in fielding percentage Seriously, what the hell?

I disagree with Bill James. Being an ass ought not exclude you from the Hall of Fame if you were that good of a player.

LMAO. He sounds like the Mets fan version of Jerome from Manhattan.

LOL. No problem seawolf. I can see where you might get us confused, seeing as we both showed up here around the same time.

Who said I was doing any bitching? All I've done is pointed out an oversight on Zvon's part in his rankings. I haven't said a thing about players from previous seasons.

Two observations about Brad Hawpe: He's shorter than I thought. He swallows his words. He sounds like Boomhauer from King of the Hill.

What a way to end it! Miguel Montero overslides into 2nd on a double, flying past the bag, and is tagged out. Rockies win!

Arizonans throwing crap all over the field.

Chip Caray is an imbecile. Did he seriously forget that Tony Gwynn was in the World Series in '84? Tony Gwynn has developed a lisp. He now sounds like Daffy Duck.

Chip Caray sucks.

Schoeneweis might be suspended for steroids: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Al51ZneY_asoWX31vNMqCwARvLYF?slug=ap-steroids&prov=ap&type=lgns

Um... Z? Are you seriously leaving out Aaron Heilman?

Well, they may have cast a new Captain Kirk. Actor Chris Pine is currently in talks to play Captain James T. Kirk in the upcoming Star Trek movie. However, he has to decide between this role and a supporting role in a new George Clooney film, as the shooting schedules overlap. Also, Eric Bana has been cast as the villain in the film.

Damn you, Greg...

All right, here we go. So we start out with 49 players. Let's work them down to 30. First, I'll weed out the players who barely made an impact. So that removes Vargas, Humber, Collazo, Williams, Park, Muniz, Adkins, and Urdaneta on the pitching side, initially, and Franco, Conine, DiFelice, Ledee, Johnson, Alomar, Ambres, and A. Hernandez on the hitting side. So that whittles it down to 33 players. There are three more players to cut. First one to go is David Newhan, who didn't do enough. Next is Brian Lawrence, who was simply atrocious. Last is Ambiorix Burgos, who unfortunately couldn't pitch enough. So that leaves 30 players. Next, I'll rank the position players and pitchers individually: Position Players Wright Beltran Reyes Delgado Alou Green Lo Duca Castillo Easley Milledge Castro Gotay Anderson Chavez Valentin Gomez Pitchers Perez Maine Wagner Heilman Glavine Hernandez Feliciano Sosa Martinez Smith Schoeneweis Pelfrey Mota Sele And now, to combine the two: 30 - David Wright 29 - Carlos Beltran 28 - Oliver Perez 27 - John Maine 26 - Jose Reyes 25 - Billy Wagner 24 - Carlos Delgado 23 - Moises Alou 22 - Aaron Heilman 21 - Tom Glavine 20 - Orlando Hernandez 19 - Shawn Green 18 - Paul Lo Duca 17 - Pedro Feliciano 16 - Luis Castillo 15 - Damion Easley 14 - Lastings Milledge 13 - Jorge Sosa 12 - Ramon Castro 11 - Ruben Gotay 10 - Pedro Martinez 9 - Marlon Anderson 8 - Joe Smith 7 - Endy Chavez 6 - Scott Schoeneweis 5 - Mike Pelfrey 4 - Jose Valentin 3 - Carlos Gomez 2 - Guillermo Mota 1 - Aaron Sele

Throughout Mets history, there have been a number of draft choices that we've made that chose not to sign with us. I've gone through the data courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and compiled a list of the best players that slipped through our fingers. Imagine what Mets history would have been like had we signed these players when we had the chance. Ron Cey Burt Hooton John Tudor Roger Clemens Rafael Palmeiro Matt Williams John Wetteland John Olerud Scott Erickson Todd Jones Mark Grudzielanek Darren Dreifort Rick Helling Darin Erstad Billy Koch Matt LeCroy Scott Proctor Aaron Rowand Garrett Atkins David DeJesus Mickey Rivers Bud Black Marty Barrett Kal Daniels

ESPN came up with their list of the 50 greatest moments in LCS history. Here are the instances that feature the Mets: ]48. Gary Carter beats Charlie Kerfeld in 12th inning, Game 5, 1986: Do you remember Kerfeld? He was a rookie with a gut, long hair and glasses. He also threw some serious heat. Game 5 had been a classic duel between Nolan Ryan and Dwight Gooden. Ryan fanned 12 in nine innings. Gooden went 10. With it still tied 1-1 in the 12th, Wally Backman reached on an infield single, went to second on an errant pickoff throw and, after Keith Hernandez was intentionally walked, Carter (who was 1-for-21 in the series at that point) singled to center for the winning hit. 34. Endy Chavez's catch, Game 7, 2006 (Mets vs. Cardinals): The greatest catch ever? Chavez's amazing, leaping, over-the-wall, snow-cone grab robbed Scott Rolen of a go-ahead home run in the sixth inning. Alas, the Cardinals would score two in the ninth for a 3-1 win. 32. Pete Rose and Bud Harrelson fight, Game 3, 1973 (Reds vs. Mets): Despite Rose's tying homer in Game 1 and winning homer in the 12th inning of Game 4, it's the dust-up between Rose and the smallish Mets shortstop that is most remembered. After Rose slid into second and popped Harrelson with an elbow, words were exchanged and both benches cleared, although neither player was ejected. The Mets, winners of just 82 regular-season games, went on to win in five. 31. Lenny Dykstra's walk-off home run, Game 3, 1986 (Mets vs. Astros): He wasn't yet the pumped-up Dykstra of his Phillies days, but he still had the chaw dripping from his mouth. Dystkra's two-run homer beat Dave Smith 6-5, leading to one of the all-time classic postgame quotes: "I haven't done that since Strat-o-Matic." 27. Mike Scioscia homers off Doc Gooden, Game 4, 1988 (Dodgers vs. Mets): Scioscia's ninth-inning, two-run line drive shot to right tied the game, leading to... 26. Kirk Gibson's 12th-inning home run, Game 4, 1988 (Dodgers vs. Mets): Gibson's blast off Roger McDowell gave the Dodgers the lead, and Orel Hershiser (who had started Game 3) would come on for the save, leading to ... Hershiser's pitching a shutout in Game 7, as the Dodgers pulled off one of the great upsets in LCS history. 18. Kenny Rogers walks in series-winning run, Game 6, 1999 (Braves vs. Mets): The Braves had won the first three games of the series. The Mets won the next two. Game 6 was a tug-of-war as Atlanta led 5-0, New York tied it 7-7, both teams scored in the eighth and 10th, before Rogers -- much-maligned in New York for his postseason performances with the Yankees -- entered in the bottom of the 11th. Gerald Williams led off with a double and, after a sacrifice, Chipper Jones and Brian Jordan were intentionally walked. The 3-2 pitch to Andruw Jones was wide. Series over. 9. Robin Ventura's grand slam single in 15th inning, Game 5, 1999 (Mets vs. Braves): The teams had been deadlocked at 2-2 since the fourth inning. The Braves finally pushed a run across in the top of the 15th on Keith Lockhart's RBI triple. Against Kevin McGlinchy, with rain coming down at Shea Stadium, the Mets loaded the bases. Todd Pratt walked to tie the game. Ventura then homered to center, although the play was ruled a single when Pratt failed to run the bases, instead mobbing Ventura at second base. 6. The 16th inning, Game 6, 1986 (Mets vs. Astros): Many call it the greatest baseball game ever played. Houston -- with Cy Young winner Mike Scott ready for Game 7 -- led 3-0 entering the top of the ninth. The Mets tied it. The Mets scored in the 14th. Billy Hatcher homered to tie it. The Mets scored three times in the 16th for a 7-4 lead. Houston rallied with two runs and had two on with two outs. Finally, on a 3-2 pitch, his 54th in relief, Jesse Orosco struck out Kevin Bass swinging. The unsung hero for the Mets: Roger McDowell pitched five innings of one-hit relief. Here's the whole list: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=LCSmoments/071008

I don't believe we can seriously contend next year unless we shore up the bullpen. That's my number one concern.

Except they're all very-long-tenured executives. I just think that's a little odd. GMs who've been with clubs 5 or 6 years is one thing. But three GMs with a decade-plus for their teams all going at the same time I find a bit strange.

I think Milledge is only going to get better. 20 HRs doesn't seem that big a stretch from him next season if he plays full-time. I think Gomez ends up being the odd man out in the outfield if we hang onto Endy, and I have very little confidence in Gomez as a hitter.

Holy crap! What's the deal here, with Schuerholz, Jocketty, and Terry Ryan all stepping down at once?

David Wright becomes less valuable if you move him from third base. And let's not forget, he's still getting better defensively.

That's just insane. No one is worth that much. Besides, teams ought to take into consideration the diva-like quality that A-Rod would bring to the clubhouse. It would be a total disruption.