Ceetar

two days. August 18th: Mets on way home from SD, Cubs about to start a homestand against the Brewers. or, Sept 8th: Mets on the way back from Florida to play the Cubs, Cubs on their way to NY to play the Mets.

Frayed Knot wrote: Things ain't lookin' good http://beta.weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/graph/USIL0225 I'm torn on wanting it rained out. our bullpen is already really rested (Collins said he really wanted to get Isringhausen out there yesterday), and the Cubs suck. On the other hand, makeup would have our offense better but would require another trip, unless they can do it June 6th.

metirish wrote: Here he is, the new man according to tweets http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Einhorn_(hedge_fund_manager) And apparently he called for the CEO of Microsoft to step down. I like it.

Frayed Knot wrote: Ceetar wrote: And the Mets notch their first CG of the season. Go Gee! And there was much rejoicing yaaaaaay Phils get out of the jam ... again! Thanks to the freaking PO and the infuriating change pitchers constantly tactic. They play tomorrow too. Let's hope they beat their bullpen to a bloody pulp for us. Halladay went 7, but they've used 6 other pitchers. Hendon in with only Baez in reserve.

And the Mets notch their first CG of the season. Go Gee!

I'll be there friday for Ugly Orange Towel night against the Phillies.

Gwreck wrote: Solo Mets fan behind Cubs dugout giving standing O to Berg as he walks off the field: Cruel or unnecessarily cruel? Considering how loud they cheered when the next guy threw a strike, I'd say just Cruel.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I feel ancient asking this question, but why would a married couple want to post their wedding pictures on the internet? I don't see any good coming from that. ease It's just easier. when they finish touching up the pictures, viola! they're online for viewing. We had nearly 1000 pictures taken (after editting) and we got to see them as soon as she had them ready. Ultimately we had stuff developed, and sent to us, but that was a couple more weeks. (And now the albums arrive today, but they didn't leave 'em at the door so I have to pick them up omw to work tomorrow. disappointing) But actually, ours are password protected (not that it's hard to guess, it's the 6 digit wedding date) so much more secure than the hundreds of pictures that got uploaded to facebook immediately after anyway.

link the gallery? That reminds me, my wedding albums should arrive today.

G-Fafif wrote: Edgy DC wrote: Y'all are so Yankee-mindsetted. I'm hoping to retain them for the sake of victory, more than to pimp out the record book in the face of Yankee fans. Mets records for Mets records sake. And the winning -- that would be nice, too. yeah. I don't really mean it as a Yankee comparison. I've been watching their hits flip flop for a while now, and the idea that you could've a friendly 'race' to Kranepool and to 1500 and to 2000 with the fun-loving left side of the infield for years to come has to be marketing gold no? I envision a Sosa-McGwire type race to 2000 in 3-4 years with them having fun with it. Wright joking that Reyes has the advantage because he bats first. Reyes snipes back with "You have more WS hits though!"

Yes, that's fine. Let's get rid of those guys so that when Yankees fans talk about their Ruthian, literally, records and mention guys like Gehrig in the record books we can talk about our Ed Kranepool.

soupcan wrote: Ceetar wrote: I don't know why we're making this team out to be a 65 win team again? Are we really that reactionary? Is it really that wrong to think that everything won't fail? That Jason Bay won't hit .201 for his Mets career and that Johan will actually pitch again, and pretty well, in 2012? That Niese will get better or that Thole will look more like 2010 than 2011? Ceet - I appreciate the optimism but like I said, you sound like I did in the 70's man. Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'. Thole? Really? And let's add a Bay - George Foster analogy to my previous post (which is really an insult to Foster). Why not? Why can't Thole hit like he did previous to this year? or play defense like it? Why is Jason Bay's 140 or whatever games it's been more telling than his previous 1000? Players don't turn red when they're done.

I don't know why we're making this team out to be a 65 win team again? Are we really that reactionary? Is it really that wrong to think that everything won't fail? That Jason Bay won't hit .201 for his Mets career and that Johan will actually pitch again, and pretty well, in 2012? That Niese will get better or that Thole will look more like 2010 than 2011?

themetfairy wrote: Gwreck wrote: The Second Spitter's BFF Mrs. Dillon Gee is featured in this article. Every time Gee pitches I think of The Second Spitter making time with his wife. Apparently he should've offered them a place to stay!

metirish wrote: Do all those missing fans come back with a competitive 85 win team?, I don't think so , playoffs is what's needed to get the excitement and fans back IMO. I dunno. I think that's very much up in the air, and I'm glad i'm not the one predicting it and budgeting for it. Johan coming back plays in too. I know regardless of standings if he returns I'm going to make a point to get to a game he pitches. I do think 85ish wins gets some fans. If they're still "in the race" so to speak in August going into September, even if it's mostly a gutshot chance, fans will come. It might just be the difference between fans coming that were already buying tickets and picking up some deals on stub hub. But that's parking an concessions revenue. The park looks fuller, it seems better to prospective advertisers. And more importantly, I think an above .500 season keeps the status quo at least for season tickets. Keeps more people from jumping ship. Just that mental step forward from last year as "progress" leaves a better feeling with the team, that they're getting better.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Ceetar wrote: I'm sure there's a limit, a budget, an idea. But Alderson has made that clear that .... Alderson said this and Freddie said that. Between the fact that nobody in the Mets FO is ever bound by anything they tell you (Whaddya gonna do if they lied to you? Sue them? Root for the Phillies?) , the vast wiggle room that they enjoy from their purposely vague comments, and the changing-every-minute nature of the Madoff affair, what Alderson or Wilpon say is absolutely meaningless. To hang your hat on their every word, parsing their comments to the ridiculous nth degree for some guidance that you think you're gonna discern is a waste of your time. yes, and that includes "maybe it'll be 100million." I don't know when budget season is for MLB teams, when they put out numbers for 2012. (Presumably this is something they want to include in the pitch to the partial buyers) If the Mets get/stay healthy and win 85 games, i.e. if they remain competitive throughout, that estimated 70million loss could easily become 50. Of course, if they stay hurt, trade Reyes and Beltran, 70 can become 80. More importantly, if the Mets remain competitive, people will buy in to the growth process, buy tickets for next year, and increase the base expected revenue for 2012, which allows the Mets to raise payroll (this is not inconsistant with stuff we've heard from Alderson). so the bottom line is, the best way for the Mets to be good next year is to be good this year. Just win. Factor this in to the idea that if they trade Reyes, especially for non-ML talent that no one will even see, the despair and disappointment and the losing in August and September is going to sour potential buyers of season tickets and renewals. Plenty of people are throwing out numbers and basically pulling them out of thin air. While the quotes of Alderson, and less so Wilpon, are basically meaningless, it's the only thing we have to go on because trying to guess based on what goes on with the trade deadline. Obviously if they sign players like Alderson has claimed they'll be able to do if they need/want to, that suggests one thing, and if the sell Beltran and Reyes and Frankie and Misch and the water cooler in the visitors dugout, it says another. We don't know anything. We never know anything. The Phillies looked tapped out and signed Cliff Lee. The Yankees last year didn't want to resign Matsui or Damon despite coming off a world series and seemed to infer they did have a budget. I just refuse to be all doom and gloom and guess that they're going into a 3-year rebuilding process of suck when there are no more signs out of Flushing that they will than won't.

metirish wrote: Ceetar wrote: doh, my post today was about overreacting. I swear I hadn't read this yet! Freddy basically said it'd be up to Alderson, which is what we knew anyway, which is why what he says doesn't mean much. Won't stop everyone from overreacting to it despite Alderson already being pretty clear about the budget for next year. Are you saying that next years payroll "is up to Alderson"?, like if he goes out and signs a bunch of players and the figure is then $150 million that it's OK? Maybe I am not understanding you Ceetar, which is why I am asking. I'm sure there's a limit, a budget, an idea. But Alderson has made that clear that A. the payroll will likely be less than this year and B. He'd like to be somewhat below his 'cap' so that he has flexibility. So yeah, the payroll is going down and barring a playoff run that results in an extra 30million in expected revenue.. that's where it's at, but he's in the past shot down the 90-100 million range and seems to do so again here. He's specifically stated that Reyes would fit if they needed him to. (With the caveat that he didn't know if they could fit much else) All Fred was saying is that you CAN be competitive with less, and if Sandy's budget for next year is 100, he's not going to force him to spend more or less.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I don't see where Sandy says that the $100 million figure is untrue (which is what I was hoping to see) just that we shouldn't overreact to it. All I can say is, if the Wilpons can't afford to run a large-market team like a large-market team, they need to step aside. The sooner the better. Let's ask it this way: Are you comfortable or aware the payroll could be at that $100 million level? "No." http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/23907/alderson-on-wrong-said-fred-injuries

soupcan wrote: I remember a story that I read years and years ago from the late '50s early '60s where the Cincinnati Reds organized a movement among their fans to stuff ballots for the All-Star game. The result was that the 8 starters chosen (not the pitcher) were Reds. The Commissioner, not being pleased with this outcome, then hand-picked 2 players from other teams (one being Willie Mays) to start alongside the 6 other Reds. Now I'm sure I remember reading this somewhere but thinking rationally about it now I doubt it happened. Primarily because I don't think fans voted back then and I'm not even certain that fans voted at any point during Mays' career. Anybody know if there is any shred of reality to my story or was it possibly a dream I had as a child? Wikipedia confirms. Was actually 7 Reds and Stan Musial. Commissioner Ford Frick appointed Willie Mays of the New York Giants and Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves to substitute for Reds players Gus Bell and Wally Post, and took fan voting rights away in future games. (until 1969)

Frayed Knot wrote: Once upon a time teams that wanted to see their guys in the ASG had enough class to limit their actions to subtle encouragement - and even then such stuff was seen as a sign of small-town hucksterism. MLB should be embarrassed that now virtually every team engages in a some kind of blatant rooting that often falls just shy of handing out pre-punched ballots at their stadiums next to a neon path of arrows on the floor directing fans as to where to drop them. I'm fine with that, but stop pretending that it's a competitive game instead of an exhibition to show off the players the fans want to see most. (i.e. popularity) But also mandate that they to do the skills competitions, like the Home Run Derby. Fans love watching Jose Bautista hit home runs? well make him hit home runs.

seawolf17 wrote: I like voting for all Mets in the NL and the worst players on the ballot in the AL. I always vote (almost) all Mets and then whoever has a chance at beating a Yankee.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: You kids and your weird beat writer obsessions, I don't get it. Twitter is loaded with douchebags trying to pick fights with these guys everyday. I unfollowed most of them. (the douchebags and the beat writers)

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Gwreck wrote: In that case, I absolutely withdraw the analogy (edit above). I don't think that's necessary. no, probably not. I still think he's a hack, just a hard working hack.

themetfairy wrote: Telling someone not to overreact almost assures that there will be overreaction. And 30% is not a small number.... doh, my post today was about overreacting. I swear I hadn't read this yet! Freddy basically said it'd be up to Alderson, which is what we knew anyway, which is why what he says doesn't mean much. Won't stop everyone from overreacting to it despite Alderson already being pretty clear about the budget for next year.