duan

1) The first batter to face Jon Niese makes an out - fly ball to cf 2) Jon Niese's first hit against is surrendered to: Ryan Braun 2b 3) Jon Niese's first strikeout victim: Lots of options here but going for Prince Fielder 4) Jon Niese's first walk surrendered to: Mike Cameron 5) Jon Niese's first major league time at bat will be scored: grounded out to 2nd 6) Predict Jon Niese's final linescore tonight: a) IP 5.1 H 8 c) R 4 d) ER 4 e) BB 3 f) K 3 7) Predict the pitcher who relieves him Stokesy.

myself and Irish can agree to disagree on this one, I'm european all right!

can we not just be grateful that he's back hitting the ball well and leave it there. I know I am.

i'd be saying to mr murphy to go to a winter league with a 2nd baseman's glove and work your ass off at it. Could someone draft in a Rey Sanchez type maybe to work with him over the winter or something like that.

bmfc1 wrote: ="holychicken"]Why is the batter given the benefit of the doubt on a sacrifice fly, but not given it on a groundout that drives in a run? I agree with you on that--the batter that hits a GB that brings in a run is 0 for 1 but a batter that hits a flyball that brings in a run is 0 for 0. E.g., on Thursday night, the Mets had 2nd and 3rd, nobody out. Delgado, batting 4th, hit a GB that scored a run and advanced the runner to third who scored on a Beltran flyball. Delgado directly lead to 2 runs but was 0 for 1 while Beltran was 0 for 0. i assume, because a ground ball inherently has a level of fielder's choice about it that a fly ball does not.

I don't mind taking the same kind of flyer on Pedro that we did with Moises back in winter of '06. Good but not great money, with an option . No problemo. But don't want to spend $15 million on him.

i'm not putting a price I'd be willing to pay on Perez yet. But there's NO reason the mets can't be in on Sabathia. Rotation wise Maine & Pelfry are still cheap for a year & Pedro's salary is coming off the books. For the last number of years we've had at least 2 very upper end pitching salaries no reason why we can't next year.

i thought it sounded like a fun game to play during an IGT. try and match them with real life namesakes jobs. I was high on remembering Shawon Dunston at the trade deadline.

Frayed Knot wrote: Match the name with an alternate career: Emilio Bonifacio - Opera Tenor Ronnie Belliard - WNBA shooting guard Ryan Zimmerman - Soap Opera Actor Lastings Milledge - Music Producer Austin Kearns - Private Eye Jesus Flores - Dance Instructor Aaron Boone - Cop Willie Harris - NFL Wide Receiver Collin Balester - Partner in an Irish Law Firm oi FK, you can't put these things out there and not the answers when one tries.

Partner in an Irish Law Firm gotta be Austin Kearns

sheffield would be a more expensive version of the Moises Alou whirl but with the man in question being a dick too.

up for 43 stokes if I was still in college i'd be hoping he got 69.

please get a cool number Brian. any word on what he wore in spring training mbtn?

metsmarathon wrote: according to baseball prospectus, the reds are getting 24yo 2b danny richar , whose pecota predictions see him as a 260/325/430 peak hitter with limited speed, and 26yo rhp nick masset, whose pecota predictions have him out of baseball in a few years, with a mid-five era, 3.5 bb/9 and 5 k/9. this season, richar is playing below those pecota predictions, while masset is playing just above them. i like griffey a lot, and am left wondering a) wouldn't that've been an easy package to beat and is he a player we would've wanted to add? I think the main deal is that we wouldn't really have wanted to add him, another fragile outfielder with a circa 750 OPS isn't really what the mets need. Ok, if there was NO hope of Church coming back then he might be a worth while bit part.

might be wrong but what about Shawon Dunston for 1999

I discount Laroche, because doing it in a pennant race always starts to count to some degree. I discount Tatis because his rate stats are noticeably lower. I think whichever of the Braun/Delgado/Hardy hits the 10th HR is the one who'll win. Great month for the mets though - two players not named, Jose, David or Beltran in the running for the POTM - who'd have thought that.

ignore. fuller thought below.

sure and i wasn't necessarily arguing but for the pieces that we were trying to acquire at the last trading deadline, there was very little reason to trade key chips.

I wouldn't want a totally energised Manny Ramirez 99 miles down the road in Philly

="Frayed Knot"]]Not for nothing but many of us (including Omar) felt the Mets wouldn't/shouldn't/needn't go get relief help at last deadline either. It's not that I don't want to improve the pen, it's just that I'm dubious about finding the one guy who's going to have enough of an impact to nudge the needle on the Pen-o-Meter scale away from the 'Shakey" end and far enough towards "Lockdown" to make it worth the gamble and the asking price. A Jayson Stark quote from last year's thread: the Mets are now telling clubs Milledge is on a list of six young players they won't change under any circumstances. The others: outfielders Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez, and pitchers Mike Pelfrey, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra ... four of whom were later dealt. Not at the deadline, of course, but just a few months later. Just a reminder that the word "Untouchable" is frequently nothing more than a challenge to the trading partner to up their offer. I think there's a HUGE difference between tradable for bit parts or 2 month rental at the deadline and tradeable for y'know one of the best pitchers in baseball with a window for negotiating an extension. That wasn't happening at the deadline at all. I think that's a reasonably consistent position.

Each of our relievers has had bouts of effectiveness, but where we've really had trouble is in stranding inherited runners. I had thought that at least part of it is was getting a manager to play matchups and/or go with the hot hand, but looking at the stats, all our main relievers Wagner, Sanchez, Heillman, Smith, Feliciano and the show (sp much easier!!) had negative Inherited Run Prevented scores. That's pretty bad. But I do reckon that relief pitching is a bit of a crap shoot, a bunch of the guys who've performed best this year are either retreads or cast offs. Say hello to Grant Balfour for example and of course Dan Wheeler & Heath Bell would look pretty good in our uniforms right now (well I don't think heath bell could actually look good in any uniform but y'know what I mean).

and Pat Burrell's having a monster year. Playing Werth in Center might be an option.

for Pat Burrell + prospect? Jason Werth would hardly be traded.

i think he's letting mitchell pay back the rest of the pitching staff for his lousy outing on Friday that got them into this mess.

poor old boggsy started the first game - and it looks like it.