Vic Sage

fuck yeah

That's the logical solution. But what are your thoughts on whether a team should even have to justify in the first place, to an arbitrator, the playing time it allocates to a grieving player? i disagree with your premise. I don't think an arbitrator would require a team to justify its playing time per se, but only as a factor in determining whether the intent of the contract's option provision was frustrated by subsequent bad faith practices by the Mets. My point is simply that (1) its not "bad faith" to engage in baseball decisions that increase your team's chance of winning, and (2) the possiblity that this could be a strategy for a "closer's" use was known at the time the contract was entered into, and should have been known by the parties, and was forseeable, so F-Rod bears the risk that the Mets might subsequently adapt such a strategy. If he wanted to negotiate a clause for "appearances" instead of games finished", he was able to do so (and Omar probably would've agreed, since he was stupid enough to agree to the clause in the first place), and would've been protected. He didn't do that. The Mets are under no obligation to renegotiate his deal to protect him from his own agent's ineptitude.

metirish wrote: Not being a prick here but I heard Bridges say on the radio yesterday that they made a movie from the book and didn't remake Wayne's movie, apparently that was a big distinction for Bridges and the Coen's. yes, i remember hearing them say that, too. but the book is utterly unknown to me (and, i think, is relatively obscure to most) and the film is quite familiar to me. If there was a radical difference in the narrative or characters, i would've necessarily have called it a remake of the book, to point out the differences in the films. but i found the movies quite similar... in narrative, if not in tone and quality. The Wayne film is really mediocre, with irritating performances by Kim Darby and Glen Campbell, and a cartoonish turn by the Duke. He was owed an Oscar, so for his sins they gave him this one. I much prefer this version. I really appreciated the restraint the Coen bros demonstrated... not their usual pyrotechnics, just good solid storytelling. Its got sentiment, without sentimentality. Great performances by all. It's not UNFORGIVEN, but its a damn good western, which is good a thing as i can think of in this ole world, i reckon.

The Coen Brothers have remade the John Wayne western which earned Wayne his only Oscar. Thoughts?

my wife thinks i'm very trying.

there may be, quite literally, a ton of scholarly research and analysis on the inefficacy of limiting your best reliever to the last inning, instead of using him in the highest leverage late-inning situations as they arise. whether the new Met management team subscribes to this philosophy is currently unknown but is quite likely, given that Alderson is seen as the granddaddy of the "moneyball" gm movement, which included his Lieutenants DePodesta and Ricciardi. It wouldn't be about F-Rod becoming less effective or Parnell being more effective; the strategy would rely on F-Rod's effectiveness being employed at more important moments in the game. Now sometimes this would mean using F-Rod in the 9th, and sometimes not. It's not a strategy being employed to void a contract, it's being employed to maximize the team's chances of winning (a claim they could easily back with that ton of sabrmetric research i mentioned.) If they decide to adopt that philosophy, and F-Rod happens to fall short of an incentive clause as a result, you think F-Rod wins a lawsuit against them? I don't. The "good faith" of the parties at the time the contract was negotiated and entered into is not an issue. But this is a new management team with a new philosophy. Are you saying the F-Rod contract prohibits the ownership from hiring smarter management? Surely, that was a forseeable possiblity by BOTH SIDES when the deal was entered into. The Mets were stupid then, but surely their getting smarter (however unlikely) was at least a forseeable possibility by F-Rod's agent, no? And so, by settling for non-guaranteed option, they bear the risk of that forseeable possibility. Now if F-Rod is the closer all year and they then suddenly switch him to a setup role (or bench him) on the virtual eve of his vesting option, that would look bad to an arbitrator. But if they state going into ST that this is going to be their BP approach, and that starters betters stop walking guys, and their hitters better stop hacking at pitches out of the zone, or they too will find their roles changing, I think an arbitrator will be hard-pressed to hold the Mets liable. the fact is, using your best reliever in highest leverage situations is a valid baseball strategy to employ, and the Mets have 17.5 million reasons to employ it this season. If i'm sandy, i like those odds. Of course, if Collins actually tried to use F-Rod this way, with F-Rod's emotional instabiliy, he's more likely to implode than actually go along with it. Which would be ok, too, cuz this team ain't winning this year anyway, and shedding bad deals should be the highest priority, to build us for the future.

starts in RF and hits on a .285/10hr/25sb pace, until Beltran is traded. Then gets moved to CF, starts overswinging and... wait for it... blows out his knee.

i loved Kevin Mitchell at SS.

*avi*

mediocre #5 starter, forced to be a #3 due to Santana's injury and lack of anyone better, at least gives us innings... right up until he blows out an elbow in late August. ERA+ = 100 / 10 wins

metirish wrote: I expect a full report from our resident lawyer on this. i only use my powers for good.

Andy & Boomer Wells (see sim scores) can waltz into the hall together... if they buy tix.

even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Escobar, smescobar. He's been compared to Escobar for too long... ... but let's try and broaden our frame of reference a little bit. ok, lets... 1st & 2nd round OF prospects drafted by Mets over the last 20 years: 2008 (2) Javier Rodriguez 2003 Lastings Milledge 2001 (2) Alhaji Turay 1998 Jason Tyner 1996 Robert Stratton 1994 Terrence Long 1994 Jay Payton 1992 Preston Wilson 1991 Al Shirley ...not a list that inspires confidence in this franchise polishing a gem in Fartinez.

Perez gets the 12th man slot, and they end up losing Misch on waivers. Then, in April, Collins kneecaps Perez with a 7-iron and they bring up Mejia. Mejia gets overextended by our interim manager, Hojo (They finally find a slot for him, so he doesn't have to give out handtowels in the men's room anymore), and blows out his arm. They then trade a top prospect to Seattle for... Misch. ladies and gentlemen, your 2011 Mets!

Did i mention that, right before the trading deadline, he blows out his knee?

...Is removed from the lineup one week later after a red-eye flight for a series in LA. Well, the flight went to LA... he got on the wrong plane and ended up in Guam. His bags ended up in Ontario.

...there are many challenges to sort out, including the years of industrial waste that must be cleaned, and the raising of the entire site by 7 feet to meet flood-plain requirements. Also there will be dead bodies dug up that need identifying. heh heh heh. its funny cuz its true.

.275/10hr/60rbi-runs, better range than you'd think, strong arm overcomes technical flaws on DPs, decent hands. all in all, an adequate ML 2bman... until he blows his knee out in July.

cuz he would've been a backup OFer and PHer, primarily against RHPers, for which role i already had the aforementioned legend, Gates Brown. And Jim Northrup, too. If i needed Singleton, he was on the roster, i just never used him that i recall. I did however use that OTHER Brown... downtown Ollie Brown, from SD, once or twice. I think i just liked his nickname.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: and so I used ... the Padres (who had slugger Nate Colbert and pitchers Dave Roberts, Clay Kirby and Bob Miller) I'm suddenly remembering how bad the 1971 Padres were. They had to have been one of the worst teams of the '70s, even with Dave Roberts pitching like a Cy Young candidate. Ed Spiezio, Enzo Hernandez, Don Mason and Clarence Gaston were everyday players who all on-based under .300. Even the de Roulet Mets woulda made mince meat outta that squad. As i recall, my `71 MetPodgers were: SD 1b - Nate Colbert SP - Clay Kirby, Dave Roberts RP - Bob Miller NY c - Grote 2b - Boswell SS - Harrelson CF - Agee LF - Jones UT - Teddy Martinez SP - Seaver, Sadecki RP - frisella, McGraw DET C- Bill Freehan 1b - Norm Cash 3b - Aurelio Rodriguez LF - Willie Horton RF - Al Kaline of - Gates Brown of/ss - Mickey stanley OF/1b - Jim Northrup SP - Mickey Lolich, Joe Coleman RP - Fred Scherman lineup Agee CF CJones LF Kaline Rf Norm Cash 1b Bill Freehan C Boswell 2b Aurelio Rodriguez 3b Harrelson SS bench: Colbert 1b Grote C TMartinez IF Gates Brown OF W.Horton OF J.Northrup 1b/OF Stanley IF/of Rotation: Seaver Lolich Roberts Kirby Coleman bullpen: McGraw Frisella Miller Scherman Sadecki I can't tell you how many games Gates Brown won with a big pinch-hit in late innings, with Scherman closing it out for Seaver.

Dolly Parton's bra doesn't hold up well. This thing sags like... well... Dolly Parton's bra. times 10. or something.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I'm with Ben on the Gopher business. It was stupid. This should have been a movie about a poor kid weighing an invitation to privileged adult society against the cost to his soul. yeah, it should have been alot of things, but it wasn't. The central story was (a) badly written, and ( badly acted, so all that was worthwhile in it was Bill Murray insanely ad-libbing entire monologues, and Chevy's womanizing zen golfer. Oh, and the gopher dance. And the boobies. which are nice.

this is it! http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/original-1971-sports-illustrated-67539587

Was this it? I'm not sure. I never saw the box cover, and only remember the actual team charts themselves. The game was stored in the HS social studies office, and we'd sit in there and play between classes, keeping track of our games in a ongoing league throughout the school year. You could use up to 3 different team charts, and combine them to create your team. That edition of the game had the 1971 teams (you could order other years, too), and so I used the Mets (mostly for Seaver's incredible `71 season), the Padres (who had slugger Nate Colbert and pitchers Dave Roberts, Clay Kirby and Bob Miller) and Detroit (with Mickey Lolich, and Norm Cash, Willie Horton, Al Kaline and Gates Brown off the bench). I did alright.