Ceetar

long way to go yet.

Mex17 wrote: What I really wanted to title this thread was "Depth at second base, clearing salary, and making up for losing a first round pick". Unfortunately, character limitation prevented me from doing so. Whatever. . . Anyway, assuming that the next move will be a trade for a shortstop using pitching as bait (forget Tulo. . .too expensive and injury prone. I say either Syndergaard or Wheeler for Castro or Gee or Montero for Alexei Ramirez), then you can very comfortably leave second base to Flores and Herrera to compete for. You can save quite a bit of dough by moving Murphy and I would have to think that he would be worth one or several prospects that can make up for losing the 15th overall pick. Do those two things, on top of this Cuddyer signing, and we are pretty much in business. Maybe they don't actually need to clear salary to trade for a SS. Especially as Flores and Herrera are hardly proven commodities.

There is no such thing as 'leadoff skills' Just get a goodish hitter. I sorta favor playing Wright leadoff actually. high OBP, not slow, hasn't really been hitting for home run power but is still one of the guys you want up most often. Otherwise I also kinda like Lagares there.

Frayed Knot wrote: Ceetar wrote: I personally doubt the Mets give up their first round pick for just Cuddyer, suspect this means they'll at least be in on other Qualifying offer guys. I don't quite get this statement. They're giving up pick #15 next June because of this signing no matter what else they do. If they also opt to sign some other player who has received the minimum QO then they'll give up their 2nd round pick as well. If that happens, which one will be because of Cuddyer and which is from Player X hardly matters. Right. Just speculating on if they're "in" on other top free agents. It seems less likely to give up a first round pick _just_ for Cuddyer, but if you've got bigger plans and will possibly be losing it anyway..

Claudia Cuddyer

I personally doubt the Mets give up their first round pick for just Cuddyer, suspect this means they'll at least be in on other Qualifying offer guys. Cuddyer is getting older, but he's very much above average (49% last year in 200AB) so you give a little on defense but are getting quality plus a solid guy to play at first against some lefties and maximize Duda as well.

d'Kong76 wrote: http://nblo.gs/11h4lv Matt Kemp is a great fit, but I hate his contract. through 2020 at more than $20 per.

Edgy MD wrote: An increasingly sequel-dependent Pixar has announced a fourth installment on the franchise. Rumors ebberywhere about plot concepts. Woody and the gang are beat up and decrepit. There are shiny new toys that work correctly and the gang has to save themselves from the trash heap and reestablish the value of old favorites. or Child isn't playing with toys anymore, she's always on her iPad or playing video games with super graphics. Woody and the gang lament the loss of imagination and venture to try to cultivate it in their child.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: d'Kong76 wrote: Ashie62 wrote: McFaddens is a glorified dump. Glorified by whom? I've never read one nice thing about it. Well, those nice orange gum-chewing ladies who stand outside the Robinson Pavilion sure seem pretty enamored of it. oh, they speak?

themetfairy wrote: d'Kong76 wrote: McF's is a bad place for the number of people that showed up last year. That second room is too small, maybe some of the stuff that was in the bigger room would better in the small room. The bigger area adjacent to the bar should be where the speakers and stuff are? Also, I'll know to eat before hand this time; and bring a lemon for my club soda if I plan on not having beer haha. Yes - the Caesar's Cub/Acela Club would be a better location. And G-d knows that the food cart offerings last year were beyond piss pour. If you're going to have an event that runs from noon until six or seven, you need to feed the people who show up! McFadden's is a piss poor place for anything imo. All those complaints, and (this is just stupid) the audio is only piped around the edges of the room so if you're in the bar area (or the back room) you won't hear it. Makes it hard to announce things. And they don't clean the place at all

themetfairy wrote: The QBC was fun last year, and I've already bought my tickets for next year's event. But it's shameful that the team itself doesn't put on a FanFest. The FanFest is a great way to pump up fans during the offseason, and I believe that the teams that do this garner a lot of goodwill. It should be noted: Goodwill from the mainstream Mets fans. The angry tweeters will just be all "Good, you should've been doing this all along anyway." Honestly the Mets should just give the QBC their blessing, hire a handful of players to come and sign and speak, and let us/them run it. Maybe lend usage of the Caesar's Club too. January 10th at McFaddens btw. Mookie and Wally.

Lefty Specialist wrote: When Thor comes up, I'd like to see them give away hammers. Hey, it'd be different. There are about a billion Marvel promotional tie-ins available for this, yes. I'm still waiting for some reporter to ask Noah if he's getting a sex change to match the comics. The only worry here is that we'd end up doing some stupid mockery Braves chant.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: And instead of "See you at Fanfest in February," substitute "See you at the cheap, non-free seasonal events we stick at CitiField in lieu of a proper Fanfest." Did you go? I saw on facebook someone from here went. I was wondering how it was. I thought about going but didn't work out. Fanfest really isn't my thing but I know it is for a larger part of the general fanbase (and particularly the non-reading blogs all day part) that they definitely should do..something. All I can say is, hey, the QBC ain't necessarily exactly that, but it's still a fun time so come on out.

Yes but those ideas are either twists on things that are already out there, or twists on things the Mets actually have already done. Why is a beret better than fedora or a bucket cap? I do like the musical instrument one. As for the 'event' ones, they have dabbled in some of that, though I'll agree that I think the execution could be (much) better. (I can speak specifically to beerfest type events) But I'm also not sure other stadiums are doing it much better as a whole or anything. The Art one is neat, actually Port St. Lucie did something like that in 2011. Similar, the Mets did a stitch and pitch night and there was definitely stuff decorating poles and what not in the upper deck. was interesting. They've played themed music from previous decades on anniversaries and such, maybe not the songs you would pick, or anything outside say the 'top 10' but... On the capitalizing on Noah type thing, they did do a shirt or something for deGrom last year didn't they? And they've been pushing the promotional pricing based on stars too. Not quite the same, but engaging at least.

G-Fafif wrote: Ceetar wrote: no, but for just $500 a seat you can get on the waiting list for 2015 postseason tickets. http://mlb.mlb.com/sf/ticketing/season.jsp No doubt the Giants like money as much as the next team. But nice to see correspondence from a team (or team owner) that is, as the anagram of Alec Guinness has it (which I learned from The Simpsons), genuine class. I dunno, I could easily see that same letter coming from the Wilpons. Sub in some Canyon of Heroes/New York supremacy stuff.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Speaking of Drew. I think he could be an intriguing buy-low candidate. Obviously we were smart not to have employed him last year but maybe this year he comes at 2/15 or something like that. In my pretend fantasy GM league, he signed for 1/$2 million. maybe he's more motivated now, maybe with a real Spring Training and prep and all that he's decent? 2/15 is almost 'take a flyer' territory. edit: Not almost. That's basically what Chris Young's flyer was last year, with a lot more options to play the position.

you got a deadline for this? I haven't gotten to it yet.

no, but for just $500 a seat you can get on the waiting list for 2015 postseason tickets. http://mlb.mlb.com/sf/ticketing/season.jsp

Lefty Specialist wrote: Well, the problem is not only are they derivative, they're late to the party and stingy. Notice that with the exception of the T-shirts which everyone gets, the giveaways are for just the first 15,000 fans? Used to be the first 25,000 fans. Even last year some of the giveaways were for the first 20,000 fans. Maybe they don't want any left over inventory. Or they're trying to drive up the value of the garden gnomes on eBay. Yes, I know every giveaway is sponsored by somebody and they're paying for it, but it's just annoying. hey, at least it's all fans and not 'all children' or 'first 15k women' or whatever. Also, when the attendance picks back up and they don't increase it, that's a gripe. But why, as a sponsor, would I authorize them to make another 5-10k objects that'll likely never get out of the box, and therefore never serve as advertising? LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: The problem from my standpoint isn't that they ape other teams, and have been aping other teams, and will continue to ape other teams. It's that they're not doing anything that other teams aren't doing first. Well, the shirts are 'first', though they're not exactly original. But I don't recall seeing other teams do a "special t-shirt and ticket deal!" all over the place before the Mets did. Did anyone else do a Cereal Bowl last year? Hats, caps, bags, posters, bobbleheads, t-shirts, etc. I'm not really sure what you want in a cheap giveaway at the park besides this sorta stuff. What exactly is going to blaze new ground? The Minnesota Wild are giving away drawstring bags, thundersticks, pucks, magnets, travel mugs.. SF Giants did the fedora last year for 20k fans. Not seeing the Growth Chart anywhere else. That new to the Mets? look at them! Giants also did BBQ Apron last year! Woo! Beach towel, Candlestick park replica, Brewfest themed Giants item, Polynesian kukui Giants necklace (that's kinda neat), Hello Kitty Bobblehead?

Frayed Knot wrote: Centerfield wrote: But it bothers me because it's symbolic of how this Wilpon regime runs things. They are always ones to follow. Other teams have black uniforms? Let's do that too! Wow, Boston loves Sweet Caroline. Let's try that here. Wow, look at those Padres uniforms. Let's get one of those. Nationals had a garden gnome give-away in 2014 for their long-haired star (Jayson Werth) - and now lookie what's on the sked for 2015 at CitiField!! These things are very heavily shared among MLB. It's a corporate thing and it's not like the marketing people are Mets fans, just trying to pull people into the park, line up sponsors, etc. I'd be willing to bet any owner, Wilpon included, would be able to name more than maybe 1 or 2 promotional items from this/last year. The same with playing Sweet Caroline (Not a Red Sox thing. They stole it from others. the NY Rangers were playing it too. everyone was) All 30 teams are some shade of ridiculously corporate and conservative. I'd love it if the Mets got wacky, but on that same note, there is plenty of "don't deviate from our established uniform and tradition!" sentiment in this thread. Not that t-shirt giveaways are particularly unique, but it's not like that idea was specifically pilfered from anyone, it was just a thing. The idea to give out the 2015 schedule on the last day of 2014 was a nice touch, but one that many teams suddenly did last year. Canvas prints are something that got popular in society as a whole, so MLB decided to incorporate it. It probably showed up in a catalog some promo company sent to MLB and all 30 teams. Same with the gnomes. everyone's doing them. 5-10 years ago I definitely read criticism that other teams were doing bobbleheads and the Mets needed to do that more. Conformity. you just can't win.

Centerfield wrote: You know, I've had some time to think about it, and I realize that my dislike of that uniform is not really based on the uniform itself. It's ugly. Big deal. I don't have to wear it. But it bothers me because it's symbolic of how this Wilpon regime runs things. They are always ones to follow. Other teams have black uniforms? Let's do that too! Wow, Boston loves Sweet Caroline. Let's try that here. Wow, look at those Padres uniforms. Let's get one of those. They are the irritating rich kid that lives on your block that doesn't know what he wants, but goes and gets whatever you get a week after you get it. Meanwhile, a fantastic Mets-only tradition unfolded right before their eyes when the players wore first responder hats. They fucked it up and actually made them stop it. Fucking idiots. I realize now there is only one way the Mets will ever wear first responder hats on 9/11. If some other team does it first. Fuck the first responder hats, put a patch if you want. stop messing with the uniform for non-baseball stuff. period.

Edgy MD wrote: Sure. What do you have in mind? Patriotic and pro-service member gestures are the exact sort of thing folks mail in. (The Nats are a notable exception here.) I mean, an Air Force Master Sergeant did a head-scratchingly weird "God Bless America" during Game Seven of the World Series. And you just know that nobody from the team or the league vetted her. "She's an active service member, and she sings? GREAT! HIRED! We're so great and patriotic and everybody should love us." (Not that I got the idea anybody in San Francisco vetted that tool from Staind when he sang.) They could do the exact same thing they do, which isn't mailing it in. (Also could work on having fewer service members, veterans, particularly wounded ones, but that's a different thing) And not mess with the uniform on the field. "Hi, we'd like to take a few moments to honor.. " "Okay, now BACK to the game." Keep 'em separate. Or they could use those jerseys for some/all of the community outreach. I mean, the Mets do a lot of veteran charity work. Wilpon helped found one. They invite them to games, make them feel welcome. The uniforms seem more directed outwards to the rest of us as a PR (Hey, we support Veterans!) than actually at the vets themselves.

Mets � Willets Point wrote: May 16 will be a night for discussing the ethics in Mets game journalism. I want a Mets fedora. Also, May 16th..think that's warm enough for a 9 month old's first Mets game ever?

themetfairy wrote: The big thing was getting into the World Series, where the Winner's Share was $20,000 apiece and the Loser's Share was a generous $15,000. That was considered huge money! Now that barely gets you a ticket to watch.

SteveJRogers wrote: I miss trading cards... I don't think they've been given out since, probably the 2006 Topps 1986 pack. I've got some sort of SNY trading cards from 2009 i think, and there was a 1973 pack in 2013 wasn't there?