Valadius

The Post: They should change their name to the New York Debts. The cash-starved Mets are desperately seeking a new loan -- totaling tens of millions of dollars -- to cover their basic operating expenses, The Post has learned JPMorgan Chase -- which led the banks that loaned the team about $430 million last year -- is trying to recruit other institutions to join a syndicate to put together a new loan that would tide the Mets over until they sell a minority stake in the ballclub. The Mets' financial health has been imperiled by investments by its owner, Fred Wilpon, in Bernard Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme. How the hell could Freddie and Jeffy have gotten a $430 MILLION LOAN??? And now they want more? Enough. They've gotta go.

I have a feeling that for many people, Snider's passing closes the book on the living history of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Marinus Vernooij. Here's his B-R page.

Good Lord, Nickeas looks like Gargamel from The Smurfs.

3 - Brad Emaus.

Straight out of Holland: Angels farmhand Loek van Mil is 7-foot-1, and if he gets a mid-season call-up as expected, he'd become the tallest major leaguer ever. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Ao0cLZRJuU6Db9e8bjOFDhARvLYF?slug=sh-vanmilangelstallestpitcher022311 Torii Hunter looks up at Loek van Mil � cranes his neck and looks up, up, up at Van Mil � and sees intimidation and dominance, a pitcher he wants on his side. Hunter is convinced the right-hander from Holland will become the first 7-footer to play in the major leagues, and soon. �I�ll take my chances with him,� the veteran Los Angeles Angels outfielder said. �He�s part of a rare breed. That�s a guy you want on the mound.� Hunter is in the same organization as the 7-foot-1 Van Mil for the second time. Last August, Van Mil was traded to the Angels from the Minnesota Twins, the team that signed both players. Hunter made a point of watching him pitch in spring training five years ago when Van Mil was throwing only 87 mph. Since then, his velocity has increased to 99 mph on a good day, 95 consistently. Van Mil�s first name is pronounced �Luke,� and his cool hand fires bullets. His stride is so long, it�s like he�s handing the ball to the catcher,� Hunter said. The tallest major leaguer in history is Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jon Rauch(notes) at 6-11. Mets pitcher Chris Young and retired pitchers Randy Johnson and Eric Tillman are 6-10. A common denominator is that all were late bloomers, none of them harnessing their ability before age 26. That�s how old Van Mil is now. Only Johnson threw as hard. Van Mil is 3 inches taller than Johnson, but figuratively can�t look down on the future Hall of Famer. Johnson won 303 games and possessed a mean streak that served him well on the mound. Van Mil is pleasant, chatty and not shy about revealing a quirky intellectual nature that sets him apart from most ballplayers. Ludovicus Jacobus Maria van Mil grew up in the small industrial town of Oss in south Holland, his family big in the slaughterhouse industry, his name a string of Catholic saints even though his parents weren�t especially religious. He enjoyed a playground game called Slagbal that involved smacking a ball with a stick and running from pole to pole so much that his mother sought out a baseball team for him to join at age 8. Van Mil was already much taller than the other kids, and he played catcher. At 14 he�d grown to 6-6 and transitioned to first base. Two years later a coach noticed he threw hard and put him on the mound. �The first batter I faced, I hit,� Van Mil said. �I had coordination problems.� Soon he began striking batters out, and within a year he was on the Dutch national team. Twins scouts Howard Norsetter and Larry Corrigan had already discovered him. �They�d fly to Amsterdam, drive 90 minutes to Oss, watch me pitch two innings and go back home,� Van Mil said. �That made me realize I could become a major league pitcher. They saw something in me.� The Twins made him an offer in 2005. Van Mil was about to enroll in law school, but with his mother�s encouragement, he signed and the next spring was pitching in Ft. Myers, Fla., with Torii Hunter gawking at his gangly frame and wicked slider thrown from a low three-quarters arm slot that caused the knees of right-handed hitters to buckle. Teammates noticed that Van Mil�s height wasn�t his only distinguishing quality. He rode a 24-speed bicycle everywhere, not bothering to lock it because the seat was set so high no thief could have pedaled away with it. He spoke four languages � English, Dutch, German and French � and spent free time reading and doing research online. Once a teammate came into his room and asked to turn on the TV. Van Mils had been in the room for weeks but had no idea where the remote control was because he�d never turned on the set. �My first year in the minors I studied Greek mythology, learned as much as I could,� he said. �My second year I was into World War II, specifically Nazi officers, their upbringing, what made them become such monsters.� He�s never bothered getting a driver�s license, in Holland or the U.S., so Angels manager Mike Scioscia gave him an assignment when Van Mil reported to camp last week: a research paper comparing the driving laws of the two countries. A couple days later, Van Mil delivered a witty PowerPoint presentation on the subject to the entire team. The exercise was one of several that Scioscia assigned to players as an ice-breaker, a way to connect with new teammates. For Van Mil, who still rides the same bicycle two miles to Diablo Stadium every morning, it might lead to a driver�s license. �I don�t see any need for a car, although my girlfriend visits from Holland two or three times a summer and it might be nice to be able to drive while she�s here,� he said. Money is something else most people consider essential but Van Mil doesn�t. When he breaks into the majors � Angels coaches say a midseason call-up is a realistic goal � he�ll be paid the major league minimum of $410,000. �It�s a Dutch way of thinking,� he said. �I don�t need $400,000 a year; $200,000 would be good. And I don�t mind paying more in taxes. I can still live a very good life.� Regardless of what he does with his paychecks, Van Mil will experience the prosperous big league life only if he can remain healthy. Shoulder soreness hampered him last season in Double-A and he�s taking it slow this spring; he isn�t scheduled to begin throwing off a mound for another week. �Loek is a guy who could get to the big leagues soon,� Scioscia said. �Once he is out there facing hitters we�ll have a better idea of where he ought to begin the season and what his timetable might be.� Once his arm is back in shape he can work on his command. Van Mil�s tendency has been to follow several excellent outings with a disaster. He�ll walk three or four batters in a row because of a minor mechanical hiccup. It�s a consequence of being so tall. �If my release changes by an inch, that translates to a big difference at home plate,� he said. �I have much less of a margin for error than a shorter pitcher. It�s hard for me to coordinate all my moving parts.� No wonder Randy Johnson didn�t post an ERA under 4.00 until he was 26 and led the American League in walks the next three years. He didn�t become dominant until he was 29. Rauch, like Van Mil, is a reliever, and he didn�t spend a full season in the majors until he was 27. For now, Van Mil must be content with being the tallest minor league player ever. The record has an asterisk because independent team owner Mike Veeck, always on the lookout for a goofy promotion, had a 7-3 man named Dave Rasmussen take one at-bat for the St. Paul Saints in 2007. Rasmussen�s credentials? He was president of the Milwaukee Tall Club. Van Mil has ascended to the brink of the big leagues because he can pitch. His ERA in 111 minor league games is a respectable 3.57. He�s allowed fewer hits than innings pitched and strikes out a healthy number of batters. His statistical blemish is that he�s walked too many, more a product of those periodic jags of wildness than of a consistent lack of command. The Angels are delighted to have him. At the time of the trade, general manager Tony Reagins said he loved �his upside,� pun perhaps not intended but noted. Van Mil plays along. He�s not sensitive about his height. But he doesn�t want it overshadowing his ability, either. �I don�t care about being the tallest major leaguer ever,� he said. �I want to get there and stay there. I use my height to an advantage, but I won�t make the majors because I�m tall. It�ll be because I can pitch.� And if he doesn�t make it, there�s always that other sport that prizes height. �I never played organized basketball,� Van Mil said. �But I will say that pick-up games are fun.�

I want it to be Ian Kinsler. I know it won't happen, but that doesn't stop me from wanting him playing second base for the Mets.

Apparently the locals have taken to calling it "St. Jetersburg".

Angels are most definitely under.

Jenrry Mejia will start the first game of the spring.

Don't you just love when douchebags turn on each other? Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner thinks his team�s celebration of its 2009 World Series championship may have lasted too long. �I think, maybe, they celebrated too much last year,� Steinbrenner said Monday. �Some of the players, too busy building mansions and doing other things and not concentrating on winning. I have no problem saying that.� Of course, it was Jeter who was busy building a mansion in Tampa last year.

11. Skincare. David Wright wrote: Playing over 160 games a season and training year round, I am always looking for skincare products that will perform in extreme heat and sun. I am excited to help MISSION develop innovative skincare solutions for everyone with an active lifestyle. Seriously, every time I go the CVS two blocks from me, I have to listen to David Wright, Steve Nash, or Serena Williams blather on about their skin creams.

Countdown for Ollie to blow out his elbow while bowling begins in 3...2...1...

You might want to fix that table, Edgy. Better than Russell Martin.

John Maine is Colorado-bound. I still think we fleeced the Orioles. However, I'll never forget meeting him at a Willie Randolph charity event and being struck by how quiet and awkward he is.

John Maine signed to a minor league deal by Colorado.

Did Bob Murphy get him the job?

In defense of Port St. Lucie, the city has actually grown rapidly during the last decade. Its population jumped from 89,000 to 155,000 between 2000 and 2009. Of course, besides the Mets, I can't quite speak for whatever attractions the city has.

Miguel is back on the booze: Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera was arrested late Wednesday on suspicion of drunken driving in Florida, police said, the latest episode for the first baseman who has struggled with drinking-related problems. The 27-year-old Cabrera was spotted by a deputy in a car with a smoking engine alongside a road in Fort Pierce. Inside the vehicle, Cabrera smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and took a swig from a bottle of scotch in front of a deputy, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff�s Office. He refused to cooperate and more deputies were called to the scene. According to the police report, Cabrera was wandering into the road with his hands up before he was handcuffed. He kept saying, �Do you know who I am? You don�t know anything about my problems,� and cursed at deputies who tried to get him into a patrol car. The mugshot: Dude, get some help.

Jim Cramer on Hardball: "If anybody knew about what Madoff was doing, it was the Wilpons." Cramer thinks it's suspicious that Madoff went out of his way to exonerate the Wilpons while trying to bring down other institutions in the Times.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I believe I read Izzy make some remark about Franco when he took that number. I'd argue 44 has more significance for Izzy than Bay, seeing that Izzy took 44 so as to remind him (others) of his lowly draft round and has worn it everywhere he played (he in fact was assigned 29 initially but switched before having made an appearance). The Mets rolled out 44 for Bay because he wore it in Boston but had no equity for him prior to that. In fact Bay wore 38 through all his years in Pittsburgh. 1999 was a fun year to be a Mets fan. The Billy Taylor trade, however, remains one of the all-time stinkers.

Both Beltran and Perez come off the books at the end of the year. There's your $30 million.

Deadline passed. Get ready for the Season of Albert.

I presume he's still blaming the swarm of gnats for his continued faults.

Frayed Knot wrote: �We�re not selling controlling interest of the team,� [Jeff] Wilpon said Wednesday at the Mets� spring training complex. �It�s not on the table. ... There�s a lot of interest and good interest from real people that you haven�t read about,� Wilpon said. �Most of what you�ve read about is not real.� Jeff Wilpon=Gamal Mubarak Desperate, undeserving sons who want their fathers to hold on to a crumbling empire so they can inherit it themselves, and are willing to do whatever it takes behind the scenes to keep the father from learning the true scale of the opposition to their continued rule.