Ceetar

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I enjoyed Firecracker's post too, because Francoeur is one of the two 2010 Mets that I hate on a personal level. As a rule of thumb, I generally harbor strong resentments towards players who receive disproportionately positive press in relation to their less than stellar on the field accomplishments. I often wonder whether these players have questionable social personalities and deliberately and consciously manipulate the press in order to generate the unjustified rave reviews that they garner. Sometimes I'm proven wrong -- other times, I have no idea whether I'm right or wrong and admit to myself that I'm going on personal hunches. In Francoeur's case, I've convinced myself that he's a pathological liar, a player that's been pampered and coddled for so long -- like most professional athletes -- that he believes that the press will take for granted anything he says, no matter how idiotic or false or how easily refutable the statement happens to be. I've heard enough of these comments from Frenchy, and all the time gauging his accompanying tone of voice and facial expressions and the surrounding context, that I believe that there's no way even he can possibly believe the truth of what he says That's all I really wanna say here. Nothing else. I'm not gonna go into the details or share what it is that makes me feel the way I do about Frenchy lest we have another sort of World War that typically erupts after this kind of post. I just can't stand him is all. You mean there IS way he'd pay more than $50 a month for his phone bill?

batmagadanleadoff wrote: What it means is that Randolph was the luckiest, no? Well I'd say the 2006 bullpen was one of the better ones in recent memory, and even the early 2007 bullpen featured a lot of simliar qualities. Wagner was lights out in 2007 early. Closer no-hitter, etc. (sorta like this year..hmm...) HAving a good bullpen probably is what got him those 1-run wins.

Phillies drafted him two years ago. So he's already got a + in my book for snubbing them.

Vic Sage wrote: can Jerry's temperature be checked rectally? with a cactus? I'm pretty sure that would look pretty much like Monday-Wednesday's games.

Do you have any photographic evidence of our time in Cabo that would prevent me from firing you if you suck?

Vic Sage wrote: agonizing about the 4th OFer and the backup middle IFer on a team plunging into an abyss is really rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic. Unless Bay and Beltran start hitting like Bay and Beltran are supposed to hit, and unless Pelfrey and F-Rod get their heads out of their asses, this is all so peripheral as to be beneath notice. I disagree. Obviously those guys are going to have to hit. But when they do have to hit already having taken care of improving at C, or 4th OF, or Manager is only adding value. It's not going to be the difference between winning and losing if Pelfrey gives up 8 runs, but when Pelfrey gets back on track and gives up 2, it might be the difference between scoring 2 and scoring 3. Afterall, if the people in charge got the Titantic back on course, wouldn't you want to be able to sit on those deck chairs?

I think it's a survival tool. Even Pujols makes out more often than not, but if he went up to the plate in key situations thinking "I probably won't get a hit here" it probably wouldn't be a good thing. Players live at bat to at bat. But as an overall evaluation, one AB tells you just about nothing about a players value. Frenchy knows he's not as good as anyone else in the OF, but he also goes into each AB knowing what he needs to do.

Frayed Knot wrote: As far as Cora/Castillo, look, I know that when a player gets injured everyone wants the medical staff to issue an assurance that it'll be all nice and healed on the 18th around noon but life doesn't work that way. And whether they should have DL'd Castillo immediately instead of taking the wait-n-see approach, the fact is they tried taking the workload off him in hopes of avoiding the DL which means the manager has to turn to Cora. And then when Castillo was finally DL'd the 20 y/o replacement brought up in his place got most of the starts. The general word seemed to be that rest wouldn't help heal the injury. the "wait and see" was to see if he could play through it. And some of those times (grain of salt here, since it's jerry an all) Jerry said it was a scheduled start for Cora anyway. Even though he scratched Castillo out of the lineup. It just went on too long. There was a period of time where Cora made something like five starts in nine days. I have no problem with his contract or money. $2million may be a little more than a backup IF should get (but then again, he played hurt, he played hard last year, and how do you reward that with a pay cut?). I don't know if there were any given upgrades this offseason that definitely wanted to be a backup. It seemed like Omar decided he'd just grab the guy that he wanted, and move on.

Frayed Knot wrote: The problem with Cora playing "too often" is that the other middle IFers keep getting hurt. I mean it's not like he plays instead of a healthy Reyes and only occasionally is inserted instead of a gimpy Castillo and, despite fears to the contrary, started about 1/4 as often as the similarly bat-challenged Tejada. Tatis was/is in the same boat w/Met fans - the U.S.S. Hate. Don't hate on these guys because they're not good enough to play everyday - they were never designed to. Instead, blame the circumstances that forced them into ~ 700 & 500 PAs over the last couple seasons. That depends on what you consider 'forced'. I think Jerry overused Tatis like crazy last year, and not because he was "forced to". But there is really no need for me to get into a Murphy vs. Tatis argument. Earlier this season Castillo was dealing with the bone bruise. supposedly this didn't affect his ability to play, and he didn't need to rest it. So either he should've been on the DL earlier or Cora shouldn't have been playing as much as he had. There was a short stretch where they came close to playing nearly as often as each other. Cora does not need to play even 1 in 5 games. I understand Castillo got a day off the other day, and that's fine because It did seem they rushed Castillo's rehab. But we're in a rough spot, so let Castillo play the four games, he'll get another rest off-day, and let him continue to play everyday. I'm not sure actively playing him everyday has ever led to him breaking down, and possibly the opposite.

How would you balance the NY media's thirst for information against protecting your players from outside distractions and pressure and keeping them focused?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Cora's been hated on since he arrived, and I don't understand it. Just for the record, i don't hate Cora. I think he's fine. But if we're going to only carry one backup IF, and Castillo and Reyes are always better options, there is little reason to play Cora. Which, again, is fine. That's what a backup infielder is for.

Edgy DC wrote: I really don't want to get a whole lot of radical adjustment of bullpen usage out of this thread. But I do most certainly want to get across to any who would hear that holding your closer out of extra-inning games on the road unless/until a save situation can be presented to him is a domonstrably counter-productive strategy. I don't think Jerry's listening. Also of note is that K-Rod probably threw as many pitches yesterday as he would've if he'd pitched the 9th inning and come out.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Ceetar wrote: What'd you use to calculate this anyway? I was trying to find somewhere to do and and couldn't. I have a vast and powerful database at my fingertips. <----jealous.

Edgy DC wrote: Well, until they run out of guys at a position he can man, but sure. Cora's gritty enough. He can play any position on the field in an emergency! 2B, 3B, CF, C, he'll pitch, hell, he'll even step in for Manuel in a pinch.

Interesting. thanks. I maintain that jerry's a bad close game manager. He has had a top closer, excepting 2008, for his entire tenure, which you'd expect to help. Willie's numbers are probably largely reflective of how good the 2006 bullpen was. *shrugs* What'd you use to calculate this anyway? I was trying to find somewhere to do and and couldn't.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: 3-11 in walkoff games this year (as per Grimm in another thread). Also, the Mets are 46-63 in one-run games over his Met career. I was wondering what this record was. What was it for Willie? For the Mets since their inception?

metirish wrote: Ceetar wrote: btw, Mike Francesa is implying Frenchy is demanding to be traded. I know everything I believe he was spouting off about things the Wilpons told him too.

btw, Mike Francesa is implying Frenchy is demanding to be traded.

The solution to that is really easy. Don't play Cora. ever.

Edgy DC wrote: I'm certain that Carter is prepared for first base duty, and probably others as well. It's an imbalance, certainly, but a single transaction (Francoeur out, Hessman in?) will restore something like normal ratios and it will problably occur by the end of the Dodger series, if not sooner. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Yesterday's Rubin articlereally does seem hysterical and out-of-bounds... until you actually look at the roster. It's a disaster and I was embarassed to see Rubin's name on it. Rubin seems to have an axe to grind with Ollie. Not that he hasn't sucked, but where is the objectivity? He got pissed last night when I suggested his "scout" was an idiot. (Again, it was not objective. Purposely classifying Perez's couple of fastballs as one to make it seem like his velocity has even taken a hit since April.) I know Oliver sucks. But can I get a report on how he pitched in Buffalo without implying that he sucks with comments like "liberal strike zone" He then did the same thing with a scout's report about Cordero. just seemed to be a negative spin on everything .

I'll be at the game on Wednesday the 28th. yah, baseball!

You know, the more I hear about this the more it sounds like a completely bs story. Sounds like Cora wasn't directed it at Pelfrey (although he may have been backtracking today) but the media. Adam Rubin said cora looked pissy at the noise before Pelfrey even showed up (glad to know Rubin spends his time staring at Cora thinking "gee, this guy looks annoyed. why is he glaring at me?) Sounds like Cora was depressed after the game and in a bad mood, and in roars the media, looking for quotes, making jokes, enjoying life. pissed Cora off more. misery loves company. Love how Martino, who's the one that pointed the finger at Pelf anyway, jumps on the Cora bandwagon with a "He's right, it was too loud for a loss." so my tweet to Andy? Ceetar : @SurfingTheMets since you are the authority, what is the appropriate decibel level post loss? Post win? Different for close/blow out? #mets (in reply to SurfingTheMets)