Ceetar

HahnSolo wrote: Just to throw some more fat on the fire...does anyone think that maybe Saul knew something about Madoff, but that Fred and Jeff were left in the dark? Or is that too ridiculous to ponder? I don't think it's wrong to suspect different guys had different levels of skepticism, but they were both after the same thing so if he was seriously concerned he probably would've spoken up. I think Katz is just a little more shrouded in mystery so we like to assign him all sorts of nefarious deeds. hey, i wonder if he's Mr. Met?

I've liked Parnell. I actually think he'll do really well next year and improve. Biggest issue is probably the hits, which maybe means he needs to get his secondary stuff a wee bit better. I tend to worry, perhaps too much, about guys throwing that hard though. some can handle it, and speed guns are mostly new, but I think about Joel Zumaya who's body seems to explode whenever he throws. Parnell's a different build though. He'll pitch well enough to have everyone livid (livider) about K-Rod's option early on. I'm looking forward to seeing him come in in relief of Dickey. I want to see opposing batters cry trying to hit 102 MPH fastballs after flailing at knuckleballs all day. He'll maintain is 4 K/BB rate and cut back on the hits a bit. just a shade under a 2 ERA and 1.3 WAR earned.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: What square peg? He looked better at first-- quick, surprisingly decisive-- than he ever looked in the outfield; if he had one fault there, it was trying to cover too much ground... which is much less of a flaw at the keystone. Mora turned out to be just fine, maybe Murph will too. I'd be curious what Collins thinks, if Murphy ends up in the utility role, would he be a candidate as a 5th OF replacement guy?

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Speaking of doctors, I was goofing off on Twitter the other night and shot Jim Duquette a message. He said soething about his opinion on Vald to Baltimore and I asked why he passed him over in a soft market in 04. I didn't realize he replied to me till just now: Jim_Duquette Jim Duquette @ @Springer66 - the same doctor that said Kazmir would blow out said Vlad's back wouldn't hold up. 0 for 3. Overlooked VZ injury too. I really really hope the Mets don't employ that doctor anymore. They were somewhat right on Kaz though.

attgig wrote: 13-13 4.35 ERA pitches 190 innings. 1.44 whip 151 k's stays in the rotation all year, until september, after a horrific august, the mets being out of the race, and he's hitting a ceiling on his innings (the 20% rule for young starters). 20% increase in innings would put him around 216 actually.

Good year. .294/.344/.441/.785 (his Mets career line) 40 SB. 12 HR 4WAR (hurt slightly by playing RF, not that that actually makes him worth less to the Mets)

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Ceetar wrote: I'd rather have Frankie than not and I don't think the 13 million prevents the Mets from doing what they need to do to get better. There's a difference between optimism and willful ignorance. If you really believe the above, then you're due for a name change. 13 million on the open market-- added to, say, what's already been spent on the back end of the rotation-- gets the team a Peavy/Carpenter/Lackey/Oswalt-sized Band Aid. In-season, it nets an enterprising GM something like a Cliff Lee or a Halladay at reduced cost. It's the difference between starting shortstop Jose Reyes and starting shortstop Justin Turner. It's valuable. They already have a ton coming off the books. I haven't heard anything remotely related to not wanting to have a closer and buck that trend, so they're very likely going to put a fair portion of it back into the same position. I don't want them winging money at guys just to spend money. Sandy's already on record saying he'd like not to spend all the money coming off anyway, meaning he, as of right now, suspects he'll be able to fill the holes on the teams without maxing out the budget. There is no evidence that the extra money on a one year deal for an elite relief pitcher is going to prevent anything, and that money would likely be reinvested in a way that actually raises the budget for 2013 and 2014. In essence, the 17.5 million is something that we can bank on to be available for 2013 to fix problems that arise before then. Regardless, barring anything bad happening(i.e. losing games, losing our best relief pitcher to injury) his option is going to vest. So there isn't really reason to get worked up about it. There are certainly scenarios where his usage would be better for the team, but they're far fetched. He's going to be used primarily in a closers role. Anything else is rooting against the team and I don't care what he's making, and Terry better not either. also, just because we don't know who else may have been offering anything, doesn't mean no one was. Reporters always say no one else is interested when they might mean thety don't know of anyone else interested. some teams and offers and agents are more secretive. Some never make an official offer but keep negotiations open.

Who knows how really ridiculous it is? The Mets wanted a closer. Frankie may have been pushing for a 'highest paid closer' tag, which for some reason seems to be a thing. (Look at C.C's contract. conspiracy aside: I wonder if they didn't offer Lee the extra bit because it would've eclipsed CC and maybe they thought he'd leave next year?) Maybe Omar negotiated it this way to get his services at a "reasonable" rate and added the easy option as a way for him to get the highest closer thing, specifically in a year when he knew they'd have more money to spend. Which has been why I really don't care. I'd rather have Frankie than not and I don't think the 13 million prevents the Mets from doing what they need to do to get better.

Thole's in Vegas this weekend for a friends wedding anyway. Nickeas? The way he has the two fingers spread on his leg is catcheresque.

Edgy DC wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: I think it will be very difficult for anyone to think that a sudden shift after nearly a decade of All-Star caliber performance in essentially the only role he's ever filled and clearly the one he was signed for wasn't done for any reason other than to intentionally make him fall short of his contract trigger. When confronted by such a move the remedy at the union's disposal is an arbitration process that exists for the purpose of deciding whether such moves violate the spirit of the contract even if not the actual wording. Absent injury or extended ineffectiveness, if the club suddenly "decides" as he nears the threshold that KRod is no longer the closer, I can't see them winning that argument. While I understand that, nobody's responded to the notion that this is almost exactly what they did with Alex Cora --- releasing him not because they had a better player, but clearly to dodge the vest. Also, keeping him out of games (if it's via innings reduction) could affect his type A status and cost the Mets a first round pick. My hope is the option vests in early August so that if the Mets do fall out of it for real, there's no need to talk about it.

Frayed Knot wrote: Ceetar wrote: Given that the usage of a player is not in the contract, I have yet to hear anything about how the players association would have a leg to stand on, were the Mets to decide to use him abnormally. They can bitch and moan, sure, but they don't have any legal ground. Given the way he's been used for both his entire career and to-date in his time with the NYM, to suddenly use him in a manner which looks solely designed so as to avoid a contract clause reached in good faith I'd say they would have a leg on which to stand. I'd also say that given the track record of the owners vs players in legal matters that they'd have more than a good chance at winning that argument. Any precedent? Does Beltran have a leg to stand on if they move him to Right? Perez if/when they made him a reliever? Posada because they made him a DH? They won't win that argument. The Mets simply say "We used our players in a way that gave us the best chance to win" they can site rest days, or work for other pitchers, or keeping him fresh for a 'big' series. But contracts do not stipulate role. (I'd like if 'games finished/started' weren't part of the equation either. ) The language does not stipulate (as far as I know anyway, but I'm pretty sure this is the case) "Francisco will be used as the primary game finisher, being the first choice of the Mets in at least 90% of the opportunities"

Given that the usage of a player is not in the contract, I have yet to hear anything about how the players association would have a leg to stand on, were the Mets to decide to use him abnormally. They can bitch and moan, sure, but they don't have any legal ground.

Edgy DC wrote: If he needs help, Pedro Beato can warm up in the pen. And if they need another day, Josh Thole can get 'em tomorrow. edit: Actually, year st arts early this year and they've claimed they're going to cut out some of the playoff off days. they may indeed clinch the title on the 27th. might need to be a 4 game sweep though.

G-Fafif wrote: That fact about his birthday will seem kind of depressing if it's brought up in the second half. Nah. It'll make a great story piece that day. "When Jon Niese was born, 25 years ago today, the Mets won the World Series. Today the Mets have a chance to clinch an NL pennant over the World Champion Giants. "

I expect a pretty damn good year out of this guy. (although not good enough that the Mets will bother actually selling shirts/jerseys with his name on it) 16-9 (picks up a lot of wins early through some nice offense) 3.8 ERA. 190K, 210 IP, 2.4 WAR

Edgy DC wrote: No, maybe not. But it'd be nice if we had something to talk about. Baseball. churn out more of these expectations of 11!

smg58 wrote: If I'm Sandy Alderson, I let the reporters get distracted by this all they want, and politely ignore them while doing the best job I can to get the team to win some games. And tell my manager and players to do likewise. Exactly. And really, is Adam Rubin gonna stop talking about the Wilpons spiral into disaster if the Mets put out a release saying they're going to have Perez be a reliever in camp or that they've signed some no name crappy pitcher to pitch for Binghamton?

Frayed Knot wrote: So they either made money, lost some, or lost a ton depending on what day of the week it is. I can't get too involved in this stuff until we're within a Prince Fielder HR of what the facts are supposed to be. Also depending on how you define complicated words like "loss" and "profit". And people really do this for a living? I'm going to kick a laywer the next time I see one.

Another guy I pretty much expect to see virtually none of. Maybe he gets the day game after night game start on 4/3 or 4/7. I expect he'll probably disappear to Buffalo unless somone gets hurt though.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: You know what would be awesome? A fistfight. between two goalies! wait, that was yesterday.

let's just say that the Mets stand a better chance of winning the World Series than some guy does of keeping his scrap heap behind the outfield. *sigh* no timetable though..think they can have the immediate street outside the Bullpen Gate cleared by say...July of 2013?

I expect him to get the job. While I think Castillo will put up an admirable showing, his game will never 'wow' Collins, and he won't look that much better than Murphy, who has that growth potential. I think Murphy looks a little tentative at second through April but settles in, works hard, plays hard and in the end we say he played a good second. I expect him to hit around .280/.330/.450 with 19 HR, 92 RBI and only a shade more Ks than BBs. about 1.8 WAR.

Willets Point wrote: seawolf17 wrote: Valadius wrote: You know, I just took a look at this, and I'm disappointed to see that we're not at home on September 21. ?? So the Mets can clinch the division at home, of course. come on, I've been telling you forweeks its going to be Espn Sunday night baseball, september 25 against the phillies. Bobby V calls it

Gwreck wrote: http://www.twitter.com/jose_thole Did Josh choose this twitter handle to curry favor with Omar? After all, we all know he prefers Latino players. (In all seriousness, it's twitter.com/josh_thole). I never claimed to be able to spell.

Edgy DC wrote: Leiter and Piazza talk catching. speaking of catchers, Thole is apparantly on Twitter now. what, wrong thread?