Zvon

Nymr83 wrote: Bret- if you want to have a serious discussion about salary vs. talent why not use an example of a player without such an amazing track record... i'll give one: it's April 30th, 2006. Nady and Diaz have been splitting time in Right Field and have both been tearing the cover off the ball to the tune of .325/.375/.550 in roughly equal playing time. Meanwhile, Cliff Floyd, much more highly paid, is hitting .240/.280/.380 in full-time duty and does not appear hurt. How soon do you pull the plug on Floyd here? This is a tougher one, especially after what Floyd accomplished last year.

Bret Sabermetric wrote: One of my complaints about Willie's testosterone-level has to do with his ability to recognize and fix a problem regardless of salary involved. Obviously, Matsui and Piazza got me started on this, but let's leave those aside to address a hypothetical because I don't want to fan old flames just now. Say Pedro gets off to a terrible start--gets through the lineup okay first time around, but consistently runs out of gas around the 3rd inning. All Spring Training, this goes on and on, and into the season. The other 4 starters (Glavine, Trax, Heilman, and Zambrano) are performing well, and Soler has been doing very well in a starting role in ST and in his first few starts at AAA). Soler gets promoted to MLB, does very well in a start or two at this level, while Pedro keeps gettting roughed up the second time through the lineup. The obvious solution is to take Pedro out of rotation and put Soler in. This move might not take too much brains after a while, but it definitely will take some balls to make that call. To my mind, I'd pull the trigger on that move around the middle of April. Some of you would delay longer, and risk taking more hits (literally) on Pedro's record, giving him longer to play his way off the rotation. May, maybe you'd stick with Pedro until June. I maintain that Willie would literally never make that move until Pedro publicly requested a demotion. That's where I fault him him for testosterone-deprivation. He will play big-salary over big-talent every time. Does anyone disagree with my assessment of that hypothetical situation? No way do they give up on Pedro in April, unless he says he's hurt. You say big salary over big talent,..but come on. Pedro is huge talent, experience and smarts. Lets face it, if Pedro falters this soon in his Mets career the team is in trouble. The run for the pennant in 2006 is as well. Because they will stick with him until 1)He says he cant do the job or 2)If he continues to fail thru June towards the AllStar break. (even then I dont think sending him to the bullpen will be an option- but his rotation spot would be in jeopardy.) As we've seen with Glavine, good pitchers in flux are given every opportunity to come around. If he loses velocity like that, he will have to make adjustments in later innings. Pedro will be given time to work things out if he should find himself in such a situation. It dont take balls, or lack there of, to respect a man whos done his job, and done it well for a long time.

Everyone I speak to, fans of other bb teams, say the same thing. "Your Mets look good. You still have to get by the Braves first." Bastages >

^those were the days when tickets had personality.

I did find this in my oh so unorganized files:

Bret Sabermetric wrote: Done. I sent you two attachments in separate e-mails. LMK if there's any problem opening them. Got the tickets. Ill shrink/cutout them and post them, if you wish. Or just the playoff one? Mine looked just like that, with Mr Met, but the backround was light blue. The Times game article didnt open. Should be an accessable adobe file. Ill try afew more things to try and open it. Id probly have to take a screenshot to post that. Thanx for the stuff Bret. I really appreciate it.

Edgy DC wrote: He brandishes that ring like he's in the mob, doesn't he? wonder if thats the '69 or the '86......

great pics! Last time I saw Buddy was afew years ago in AC when he was manager of that minor league BB team from Long Island. They were playing the AC Surf. I hung out after the game and saw Bud about to head thru the tunnel. I was like "Hey Buddy!" And he looked up and says "Hi!" And I didnt know what to say. I never had these kind of problems when I was a kid with players or celebs, but here I was tongue tied. So blurt out, " You still playin the guitar?!?" He says " Yea! You play?" So I go " Yea." "What kind a stuff do you play?" he asks. Im like OMG this is gonna turn into a conversation.... I got all deer in the headlights. I say," a lila this, a lil a that, ya know Beatles, Dave Matthews...." And he must have seen how nervous Im sure I suddenly looked. This was the same guy who gave me my 1st autograph in '71. I was like frozen. He goes " Thats great," and he gives a wave and says," Cya around, " and proceeds down the tunnel. I really think he woulda stayed there and talked if it wasnt for this look of frozen blank stupidity that overtook my face. I was really pissed at myself for chokin up like that. But it was Buddy!

Bret Sabermetric wrote: ="Zvon"](If anyone can tell me who hit that drive and what inning, that would be kool) Dan Dreisen, 11th inning, Zvon. If you PM me with an e-mail address I'll send you the NY Times article about that game. It even has a grainy photo of Staub writhing on the ground following the catch One of my prized possessions is a ticket stub from the Rose-Harrelson fight game. I was sitting in the RF nosebleed seats (some asshole had sold me tickets with the assurance that they were box seats)--I was pissed off because the outrageous, unheard-of price was seven bucks. I was there. Left field mezz box (had to sleep over outside Shea, was 2nd in line at one window, and thats the best I could get- I think I paid $7 a piece myself for a block of 3), and that bottle was thrown from somewhere up behind me. Saw it fly right over my head down to Rose's feet.lol. Thanks for that info! Id love to see that article Bret!! I dont think my Email is any secret. Zvon58@hotmail.com .....well, it aint now anyways,lol. PS: When Rose smacked that homer in the 12th, remember how he ran around the bases with his fist raised, shakin his arm? That bastage >:X

Its gonna be Buddy week and its gonna run more than a week and I dont wanna hear any lip about it

Johnny Dickshot wrote: I don't count spring training #'s as "official," but I do like arcana and IDing photos can be fun. I'd guess just from the description that was from his February mini-camps. I read Casey came away very impressed with Harrelson first time he saw him, which woulda been February of 1964. Ill make it Buddy week in the pic thread and post the picture there. You can tell by the field its something like a mini camp. Stengels talking to someone in the backround, and he looks curiously familiar. Maybe someone here can name him. And yea, Buddy looks like a kid.

This is a great idea WP. I remember lots of things about Rusty. Especially his penchant for making foot first sliding catches. It would look like he was sliding into a base, but he'd slide into a hard hit liner and snag it right before it hit the grass. A memory that comes to mind is from the '73 playoffs. In game 3, the Harrelson/Rose fight overshadowed Rusty's huge bat. But what I remember most was from game 4. I had mezzinine seats, but because of the anticipated possiblility that the Mets could clinch (you only had to win 3 of 5 those days) me and my buddy snuck down to the box seats. All I could think of was trying to get on the field and jump around when they won. During game 4, the closest I could get was on the 1st base side out in right ( game 5 I was alot luckier). I was about right across from where Rusty was positioned, not down by the rail but more up towards the main walkway in a knot of people. The Reds had tied it and it was 1-1in late innings. This was the game where Rose hit the homer in the 12th to beat the Mets, but that was still to come. Now, Im a little hazy with the details here. Not sure which inning, not sure who hit it. It had to be late innings because I was out there in the right field box seats. A Reds batter hit a booming drive to right that looked like it could go. In the very least it was gonna be off the wall for extra bases. Rusty took off and went after this shot like a knight on his horse. He charged after it. He never once took his eyes off the ball. Just kept tracking it and picked up speed as he went. He was flying after this fly ball. There was a brief moment of awe as I realized he was going to catch it. Running full speed, Rusty threw up his glove in a backhanded stab, snagged the ball, and smacked into the wall. It really happened, to my naked eye, all at once. Rusty was went flat against the outfield wall, and slowly, almost in slow motion, collapsed. He held the ball. Im sure the play ended the inning because the players all went to aid Rusty, and not to retrieve the ball. Staub hurt his shoulder real bad there, but still managed to continue to play throught the post season. I know he had to really mess up his shoulder because what I clearly remember most about the play was that Rusty hit the wall so hard, the wall rippled. You may not believe this possible, but I saw it. From the moment of impact the outfield wall shook, and there was a visable ripple effect as the vibrations spread out in either direction. I can only compare it to a wave, because thats how it looked. The wall wavered ~~~~~ from where he hit it well towards centerfield and back towards the bullpen section. I have never seen anyone before or since track a ball with such total abandonment and hit a outfield wall so hard in my life. Thats what I remember about Daniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub. (If anyone can tell me who hit that drive and what inning, that would be kool)

Edgy DC wrote: Maybe. JD lives and loves to find strange apparitions of guys in an unusual numbers and track down when he actually wore it. Ill dig up the pic and post it tomorrow. If I remember right, Stengels in it. So it would have to be 1st half of '65

Edgy DC wrote: I hope you sent him that info. I didnt know it was JDs joint. I just went back and checked the #60's. No Buddy there either. I doubt Harrelson wore it in a MLB game. (This pic looks like spring training of '65.) Does that matter?

Willets Point wrote: ="Zvon"]Thats from Mets By The Numbers, right? That is a kool site. Who runs that place? Johnny Dickshot. no kiddin. Cuz I found a pic of Buddy Harrelson wearin number 6 and the first thing I did was head to MBTN to see when he wore that. MBTN's doesnt have him listed under the number 6.

mlbaseballtalk wrote: Hey Jon, is that neat shot of the 69 guys from the WS or Opening day? I would think WS. Cuz Clendenons battin cleanup.

Thats from Mets By The Numbers, right? That is a kool site. Who runs that place?

Boswell, of all people. HA. He did hit triples tho, and thats the hardest hit to get. *Z heads to UMDB to see if Da Bos ever hit for the cycle.

="Edgy DC"]Turned on my HBO Same show they've had for years Mackey on the Gumbel show He's popular with queers Steve Sax would overthrow Mackey would pump for years Doctors, they think they know Why Mackey pumped and pumped When offseason has me down We post the craziest shit around ROTFLMAO ....mackey would pump for years. )

Edgy DC wrote: Well, the fans tried to boo him into submission in 1998. Hopefully, whoever writes the history book will be of cool head. I think Piazza will look good, when we look back, after a time. Who will not consider the late 90's till the mid 2000's the Piazza years in Met history?

Frayed Knot wrote: So Trachsel's 37 IPs @ 1.32 WHiP & 4.14 ERA somehow ring up more negatives than: - Graves' 21 IPs, 1.82 WHiP, 5.57 ERA - Aybar's 25 IPs, 1.50, 6.04 - DeJean's 26 IPs, 2.10, 6.31 ?? 37 innings from a starter though. And 4 losses out of 6 games started. I seriously consider Trachsels performance not worthy. Those three you mention does make that a tuff call. But they were relievers. And I think Graves threw more innings than that.

mlbaseballtalk wrote: Now is not the time for that particular argument, save it for the day an annoucement comes that Piazza gets his number retired and/or goes into the Mets Hall of Fame Agreed. Piazza will get his just due and deserved place in Met history. Its the fans who will make that a certainty. Not idiot radio hosts.

="cooby"]Just ignore the guy on the right I used to love collecting obscure crap like that^ Remember when they put cards on the bottom of Drakes cakes?