seawolf17

It's funny that even though I've been around since 2005 and am even a sometime contributor as a moderator around here, I still see myself as a "newbie." We need to reach out to some of our lost souls and get them back.

We really only have six pitchers? Doesn't sound like enough.

Remember Good Ollie? What a joy to watch. I wanted so badly for him to succeed.

metirish wrote: metsguyinmichigan wrote: That was Endy-esque. no way, not even close was it really? Carpenter is a bit of a wanker I think, lots of gesticulating on the mound after an out. Dude's three innings from a WS ring. He can gesticulate all the hell he wants.

Eight years, $160 million. DONE.

Edgy DC wrote: Dykstra's ring sold for $56 G's and change. Are these worth that sort of money, or is it more like $5,000 and the rest is all the provenance of owning a ring formerly owned by a baseball champion turned scofflaw? The latter. I wonder if the "give everybody rings" is a recent phenomenon; there were stories about Arthur Rhodes being guaranteed a ring because he played with both teams this year, but they also referenced some other player who was released last April by the Giants getting a ring despite never actually putting on a Giants uniform.

This will rev up probably in the second week of November. I got the list from FK, and I'll get the setup/seeding post up next week, once I get through Halloween weekend.

How about the other Bob Johnson, then?

sharpie wrote: The Golden Compass which was part one of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. Looks like the other two won't be made anytime soon. Enjoyed the books.

Edgy DC wrote: Barry Lyons in 1986: 10 plate appearances, one walk, and no hits. Improbably though, he had two RBI, one on an groundout to the pitcher and one on a groundout to third. And as such, the most confusing of the many Mets featured in Topps' "Fan Favorites" sets from 2003-2005.

Old Barry Lyons looks like my dad. Or like Future Me.

But that's the Japanese system. You're not going to ask them to change a bazillion years of cultural growth just so a handful of ballplayers can hit some home runs 6,000 miles from home.

I'd think that almost every team in the minor leagues has at least one Spanish-speaking coach/manager on staff, if not an entire Spanish-speaking staff.

And I guess my point is that maybe it's just not that easy. By place of birth, with ASG selections in parentheses: Japan: 52 (Ichiro 10, HMatsui 2, KSasaki 2, Nomo and four others 1) Taiwan: 6 (Kuo 1, CMWang 1) South Korea: 13 (BHKim 1, Park 1) That's it, pretty much. Add Chan Ho Park and SK's Shin Soo Choo to the list of Asian success stories, but that's it, since 1995 when Nomo debuted. And I guess I have zero faith in the Mets to be able to craft any sort of innovative program to buck the trend. Not that some team can't do it, but it ain't gonna involve the Wilpons.

Edgy DC wrote: I wonder a lot about the Mets lack of success with players from the Orient. Two things jump out at me. One is the lack of a broader communications plan beyond hiring an interpreter --- leaving the players confused and alienated. The other is getting them too late to effectively coach. Japanese players come over here benefiting from a marvelous physical conditioning program, but both the hitters and the pitchers seem to have these complicated and studied motions with a lot of moving parts. Western coaching, I would think, would have simplified these motions at a young age, to make them more adaptable to new circumstances, but now they're ingrained in the players' game as they face the most profound new circumstances they'll ever see. That difficult adaptation combined with the cultural isolation is a tough load to bear. If I'm a Japanese player considering the US, I'd probably gravitate toward San Francisco or Seattle. There's definitely something there, but at the same time, you can count one one hand the list of successful Japanese imports in the past ten years -- Ichiro, Nomo, Hideki Matsui, and Kaz Sasaki, who had a decent albeit short run closing for the Mariners. It might not just be a Mets problem.

I distinctly remember filching that issue from my pediatrician's office. Thole Paulino Nickeas

Edgy DC wrote: Jeff Weaver? Who ever heard of him? Jeff Weaver, in 2001-02, carried my fantasy team. Looking back at the stats, he was mediocre, but it felt like every time out, he was throwing a complete game. He got traded to the Yankees midseason in 2002, and I was cahnfident he was going to carry me to a title with all the complete game wins he was going to get. Never quite did.

I miss how Shea used to literally shake.

Topps released a version of this too, with an autograph.

Vic Sage wrote: the sinking feeling it gives me is to realize we lost Rottblatt, Valadius and Zvon, but we still have Steve Rogers and Cleon/Ashie. not a good trend for the Pool. And Willets.

Beltran Pagan Bay Duda Pridie Pretty sure Pridie did not have an .082 SLG, as the chart indicates.

FINE, I'll do it.

Thanks for reminding me about that book; I had wanted to check that out. Just submitted a library request.

Pretty sure you made up all four of those guys.

Reyes Wright Murphy Turner Tejada