Ceetar

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I think in order to do an auction you'd wanna at least be at your computer, yeah? In person is fun but I could see the logistic issues. although a couple of years ago they did invent this thing called conferences calls.

Vic Sage wrote: i like both those ideas, but wouldn't a "live" draft require an in-person meeting (which penalizes our out-of-town participants)? And keeper leagues require an optimism about our continued existence as a species (or even a CPF subset of our species) that i'm not sure i share. so you're saying I shouldn't really worry about trying to lose weight for the future? gotcha. I'm good with the keeper league idea. I don't think we have to do a live draft do we? It would certainly help with the randomness I felt like was inherent with trying to guess which fringe guys were going to get playing time if someone got hurt last year since we pretty much had every active player on the rosters.

destroyed the WBC too.

Edgy DC wrote: Beyond the park advantage, the Phils' offense has the advantage of batting against the Mets' pitching staff, while the Mets' hitters choke up against the Phils' pitchers for 18 games. The Mets' offense has the advantage of being awesome. yeah, but Cole Hamels is basically Miguel Batista when he faces the Mets.

Edgy DC wrote: Whether Tim Byrdak has a chance to pitch well. What number Frank Francisco is going to wear. Tom Seaver being held hostage. I'm sure you and I can easily build a logical bridge from any of these topics to Wilpon's finances (who's going to pay the ransom?). But to immediately respond to these topics with brief and out-of-left-field (and extremely tired) attacks on Wilpon without bothering to build any such bridge is clearly just an exercise in being obnoxious. Pretty much. Shocking as it may seem, there are plenty of Mets fans that don't even want to discuss finances, particularly in a thread about Tim Byrdak. Maybe I should start responding to all of them with "I think Duda will hit 30 home runs this year"

I"m not sure how to make it a 3 or 4 way bet, but sounds good to me.

Edgy DC wrote: I'm kind of asking a more specific question than whether or not folks think the Mets will be good. I feel like it was this way last offseason too, although fresher and we didn't have the hard evidence about the actual team's functioning and there were quotes about the payroll being like $30 million more than it is now. (Think about what you'd feel about the Mets chances if they still had Reyes, had redone the bullpen as they did, AND added say Kuroda) But it sorta became background noise for most once the season started, and it will again. The limited major roster additions also make a lot of the normal offseason stuff, predicting lineups and production and how guys fit, a little redundant.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: He could probably use an assignment on a new beat for a season or two. This. Or, like, a month in Tahiti, tweeting about young natives. well who _couldn't_ use that?

Anthony Rieber of Newsday uses the phrase "fully diagnosed" which I think is a little more clearly representative of what was going on. Is it a calf strain? nope, looks like it's the bone/ankle. Boots not working, Aha! Cartelidge. The good news is he can pull a 200pound sled with his ankle now. Rubin lamented he wasn't working the minors during his last twitter-fit last week. Maybe someone should just hire him to do a scouting job at this point.

Edgy DC wrote: Well, I don't know where we are. If you're saying I went off, I didn't. If you're saying Rubin went off, I took note of his excesses, and made that the theme of my presentation. I disagree that it isn't spin. I don't think it's terrible, but it's spin. Rubin, not you. It's obviously spin, but he's the GM, not the beat writer. He's never going to be completely honest and he's always going to twist things. Is Rubin expecting him to give intricate details about everything?

Edgy DC wrote: Ceetar wrote: Except why was it misdiagnosed? This happens all the time, everywhere, where doctors don't think to get a certain test to check for a certain problem because the symptoms often hint at a more probable problem. And I think I acknowledged as much in my second paragraph, didn't I? Yes, but I think going off on Alderson like it's spin because he didn't come out and claim it was an obvious screwup in process to put him in the boot is a little excessive.

Edgy DC wrote: Sure, but the misdiagnosis --- and the counterproductivity of the boot --- seems to be public knowledge, rather than merely a fan's opinion. It certainly seems to be an open question how costly that was and how incompetent it was --- and there's some level at which we shouldn't ever be taking initial diagnoses as fact --- but Sandy seems to be denying a misdiagnosis ever took place. Except why was it misdiagnosed? This happens all the time, everywhere, where doctors don't think to get a certain test to check for a certain problem because the symptoms often hint at a more probable problem. The same with Santana. Him throwing a bullpen session was part of the way they figured out what was actually wrong. Did Rubin expect Santana to say "My Anterior Capsule feels like it's torn." Were trainers supposed to determine this, not common, injury by poking and prodding him and his vague descriptions of where the pain was?

Prompted, apparently, but his disagreement over the way Alderson represented the handling of the Ike injury. (And full of the 'reporter as medical expert' stuff we were talking about in the other thread)

Anybody else feeling the Wilponian cloud across the Mets blogosphere? So many blogs I read, the first response and too many afterward is always a fuck-you-Freddie. Blog Theme: Tim Byrdak is capable of repeating his numbers or even improving them if he cuts his walk rate, but even if he backslides or falls apart, the Mets' investment in his arm is relatively modest. First Response: I can't get overly excited about Tim Byrdak. Wilpons should sell. Blog Theme: It'll be interesting to see which number the new guy gets, considering the number he's worn throughout his career is unavailable. First Response: The only numbers that matter are the time and date the Wilpon's sell the team. Blog Theme: Tom Seaver has been taken hostage at a strip mall in Portland! First Response: We're all hostages to Fred Wilpon. Sell the team, Fred! Paraphrasing. I certainly realize it's the story of our time, and bloggers are doing their best to discuss it (and in some cases, break parts of the story), but absent any other news, they try and look at the other angles of the team, and BAMMO! the Wilponian left hook from their readership. Move the fences in! Freddy Coupon! There's always something.

Frayed Knot wrote: Well it's the nature of fans in general and not just 'The FAN' in particular to not be a medical professional yet play one on the air and/or the web. Mets fans specifically have killed the team's medical conduct in recent years* but if they were to suddenly switch their allegiances elsewhere they'd find the same complaints. * and isn't it funny how losing seasons seem to exacerbate that trend? -- Of course one could claim that the 'malpractice' was part of the cause of the losing but I think we're into a chicken and egg thing here. Maybe I don't follow enough Red Sox fans, but are they killing Crawford for waiting? Or they blaming it on out of shape from fried chicken and beer? Are there beat writers tweeting every skeptical medical decision, right or wrong, from the last 6 years? Don't forget finance experts. It's obviously not just the radio, but I find the radio makes a good scape-goat, seems to draw out some of crazier people. Or maybe it's just that I've learned not to read Mets blog comments, and unfollowed some of the ignorant ones on Twitter so that I see it most in my 45 minutes of WFAN a day.

Frayed Knot wrote: Also wrist surgery for Carl Crawford which may cause him to not be ready by opening day. You're always surprised by surgeries done at this time of year rather than in October or November but it just goes to show you that medicine isn't an exact science (except on talk radio and websites). Presumably due to the topical nature of WFAN, there are still people calling up killing the Mets for Beltran having surgery in January. Or Blaming Beltran for purposely waiting to have it.

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Much weeping and gnashing of teeth here in the Mitten State. Local sports talk callers were demanding Prince Fielder -- which is not going to happen -- then turned to David Wright, citing to the hole at third, where Brandon Inge and his .215 stick reside. Assuming Justin Verlander would not be coming over, I don't see too many of these guys that we'd want at Citi in exchange for our one drawing card. Murphy really would be a perfect fit.

1. Strasburg threw 24 innings. That's practically nothing. Miguel Batista pitched to a 2.64 ERA in 30 IP with the Mets. Strasburg is of the same ilk as Tim Tebow, in terms of ESPNs opinion of him. [indent:wh5ah5pl]btw, if we're going to annoint rookies on small sample sizes, Lucas Duda had a higher OPS than every Phillie except Pence and was only .002 behind Mayberry. He was better than Werth and Heyward. It's this sort of inconsistency in analysis that makes me reject it.[/indent:wh5ah5pl] Santana does _not_ appear unable to contribute from day one. That's complete speculation. "He's been throwing and doing his long-toss program," "By mid-month, he will be on the mound, making his progression, like our other pitchers. The shoulder strength is good. I think his spirits are good. Everything is pointing in the right direction. We can keep our fingers crossed that the injuries of last year are behind him, because we need him to lead our rotation." "missed a majority of 2011 with right shoulder inflammation. The plan is for the pitcher to be at full speed, with no restrictions, when pitchers and catchers begin workouts in Fla." Those quotes could easily be about Santana, but they're about Johnson. Yes, he pitched into May but he was shut down late the year before and says he was in pain throughout spring training and until he was shut down. But I'm sure he's fine. No red flags there, of course not. 2. I'll take my chances with Wright considering he played with a broken back for a good portion of last year. He did seem to be making some strides in the second half. There's also the "possible contract year" thing too. I don't see any indication that Davis may not come back 100%. Roy Halladay could trip on his way to his car too and break his ankle. He's healthy. Why wouldn't he be quite the player he was at the beginning of last year? There's a lot unknown about Ike Davis, but I dont know that there's any reason to think he can't do it. Duda has a .815 career OPS, Pence's is .828. Maybe the best he can do is improve .13, but considering he was at .852 last year, I wouldn't bet on it. Thome hasn't played the field since 2004. He's 41. I'm sure he can probably still mash it a bit, but hard to know what the added load of playing the field will do to him. And I imagine even I could probably drag bunt for a hit with him there. I'm willing to wager on this. The Mets will score more runs than the Phillies. Even ignoring park factor.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: I feel like I'm arguing with a billboard-- I keep arguing different things, and yelling louder, and it just says what it says. sorry, why are we changing the argument again? Maybe stop putting words in my mouth and pretend I'm arguing something different? You asked which lineup I wouldn't trade for the Mets. I gave you one. I think the reasons I laid out were pretty fair.

So, apart from the dominant rotation, superior 'pen, and the fact that Reyes and Beltran don't live here anymore... you'll take the Mets, right? The Phils, by my estimation, have the better player at 5 of the 8 positions (C, 2B, SS, CF, RF), at least... and I think I'm being generous when I say "at least." [And "this guy says things that I perceive as wrong or negative" doesn't constitute "bias."] calling it writing to the narrative if you want, instead of bias. The inconsistency of it for instance. Steven Strasburg has been here 5 minutes. He's thrown less than 100 innings in his career. He's better than Johan Santana? Oh, you're factoring in injury? Josh Johnson was injured almost all of last season. Here's an injury report from August. Since the end of last season, Johnson has been dealing with the effects of some sort of muscular or capsular issue at the back of his shoulder. Even the full offseason didn't help, as Johnson said it's been sore since spring training. Johnson's heavy workload in the two years since he returned from elbow reconstruction are both positive and negative. The Marlins have to figure out how to heal the issue and to keep it from recurring under a normal workload. Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/will_carroll/07/01/injury.report/index.html#ixzz1jlHIrfgr Capsular issue? That's what Johan had repaired. It's certainly not out of the question for me to say Johan, who's already had the injury repaired, could very easily be 'better than' Johnson. whatever that means. Johnson hasn't pitched healthy since late 2010 either. I'll obviously give you Hudson and Halladay. The Mets offense has taken a clear hit, but they're also basically adding a healed-back Wright, Ike Davis and a full season of Lucas Duda. The Phillies have Dominick Brown to look at for improvement on their end, but many of the rest of guys are trending downwards and aging. Especially given the state of the two teams right now, I absolutely would rather take the Mets offense. That's the question I was answering. It certainly seems to have more growth potential.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: And I suppose you'd take the Mets pitchers over the Phillies too? The Phillies pitchers are what got them to 100 wins. The Mets scored more runs than them last year, and had a higher OBP. (That's without adjusting for park factor btw) Although they do seem to turn seemingly crappy relievers into contributors, which seems surprising given the stadium.

this is just off the top of my head, but give me the Mets 8 hitters over the Phillies. It's less obvious without Reyes, but still.

that's pretty much the opposite of definitive analysis. I saw that last week, it's so full of anti-Mets bias and just stupidity I couldn't even make it through the whole thing.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Ceetar wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: I think the 2012 Mets could end up being the best last place team they've ever had. And yeah, competitive could mean that you have a good chance to win each game that you play, which could lead to a winning record, but it means a different thing if you mean competing to win a playoff berth. That seems extremely unlikely for the 2012 club. In addition to a lot needing to go right for the Mets, a lot would need to go wrong for four other teams. That's overstating it a bit, but stranger things have happened. It's not like the Mets are completely devoid of talent. Well, no. They're just far more devoid of it than anyone else in their division right now. hardly.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I think the 2012 Mets could end up being the best last place team they've ever had. And yeah, competitive could mean that you have a good chance to win each game that you play, which could lead to a winning record, but it means a different thing if you mean competing to win a playoff berth. That seems extremely unlikely for the 2012 club. In addition to a lot needing to go right for the Mets, a lot would need to go wrong for four other teams. That's overstating it a bit, but stranger things have happened. It's not like the Mets are completely devoid of talent.