Elster88

Willets Point wrote:Dude, who's being adverserial? We're just offering input as you asked. If you don't like the input because it doesn't jibe with your thesis, don't use that material.My post could be seen as adversarial. I'm slightly embarrassed, though I stand by my remarks.

Willets Point wrote:="Mark Healey"]Durocher. Martin, Ruth, Reggie, Valentine, Tug, Dykstra = funTorre, Willie, Jeter, Beltran, Piazza = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzI would like a profanity-laced tirade from the manager once in a while, throwing dirt on the umpire, etc.On the other hand players/managers that make asses of themselves all the time can get tiresome. Sometimes it's fun enough to watch talent players play the game of baseball.I guess some people get bored watching the game and need to watch a player make an ass of himself.I mean for who would think that Pedro has lost some of his aura because he doesn't throw beanballs or come inside? (Especially a week after he threw hit Gonzo, as metirish pointed out.) Have you watched the guy pitch this year? Can you appreciate his performance without using him as a reason to lament the lack of players who fight with umpires?Edited for needless rudeness.

Valadius wrote:And that brings up a good point: why do we have the Tides constantly run away with their division while we languish in mediocrity?]Kaz Ishii has been pretty good since joining Norfolk: 2-2, 1.76 in 16.1 innings. He was awful with the big club earlier this year. That's why._____________________________This was the last post Elster88 made under the posting designation 169)Ellis Valentine

It's the Jeff Pearlman syndrome.This post was made under the posting designation 167) Braden Looper

Ugh. I'll post after the afternoon game.This post was made under the posting designation 167) Braden Looper

Mark Healey wrote:Well, Pedro will be one of my "Wha' Happened?"Hasn't been anywhere near as nasty as advertised..in fact, he's been cuddly and cute.No bean ball wars, nada. Especially after last night's debacle, he didn't even dust anyone!Has NY become a place where nasty players get soft?So the only way someone can be a larger than life character is if they throw beanballs and start fights?This post was made under the posting designation 167) Braden Looper

Bret Sabermetric wrote:="Elster88"]Bret Sabermetric wrote:I can't believe you've got me ranting on Piazza again. I think there's only one person responsible for your rants. And it ain't me.i know. I've got a problem. I have to learn to walk home the long way, avoiding the block where the liquor store is. I tell myself, "Just pass the store, don't buy anything," but the next thing I know, I'm pissy drunk in the gutter all over again.I know the feeling.

Moobak.

No Met pitcher will pitch a no-hitter with Beltran in the outfield. Which means we're waiting at least six more years.

Bret Sabermetric wrote:I can't believe you've got me ranting on Piazza again. I think there's only one person responsible for your rants. And it ain't me.

Bret Sabermetric wrote:Benson set the market for a bunch of pitchers more or less his equalWho are these pitchers, please? See the Benson Bunch thread before saying that all of these pitchers are created equally. Maybe JD can provide an update.

That's true, since he makes all that money, it's perfectly fair to verbally abuse the guy every time he steps on the field.SC = high_____________________________This post was made under the posting designation 168) Ellis Valentine

I thought the Big Eunoch was Ed Coleman._____________________________This post was made under the posting designation 168) Ellis Valentine

Well, Bonds didn't play. Is it right to call him a bust?_____________________________This post was made under the posting designation 168) Ellis Valentine

The only surprise about Cornelius is his lack of injury, so I guess he counts?_____________________________This post was made under the posting designation 168) Ellis Valentine

The point I think you're missing is that, if you believe in OPS+, Piazza is an above average hitter. This has nothing to do with how badly most catchers hit.And if catchers as a group hit poorly, and you find one that hits better than average, then I don't see the problem with playing him or "wasting" a roster space on him, since you obviously need a catcher for your team.

LOL.But it's not spouting nonsense to say Piazza is a better hitter than most catchers.The problem here is not the statement which you claim is nonsense, or Piazza. The problem was that he hit fourth or fifth for most of the year when it was pretty clearly that he wasn't able to do so._____________________________This post was made under the posting designation 168) Ellis Valentine

I thought you'd say first, not second.

Bret Sabermetric wrote:="Elster88"]What are his stats for the year again? Where would he play on this team?Uh,how good do his stats have to be--O and D--to beat out Cairo/Matsui for the 2b job?OE: Wiggy OPS .717, Cairo .634, Matsui .594. Do you really want to propose that they have some kind of defensive edge at 2B? The only worse defensive second basemen I've seen are Helen Keller and Stephen Hawking, though Hawking has a slight edge in range over Cairo.Any further snotty rejoinders?I'd say that Kris Benson makes up for the difference in OPS. Or are you still convinced that it would have been just as easy to sign if he hadn't been brought over mid-season last year?And since when is Wiggy an option at second?

Bret Sabermetric wrote:="rpackrat"]As much as Piazza has fallen off the past couple of years, he was still a better-than-average hitting catcher.I expect to be reading this for about a decade after he's in the grave.And you complained about my snotty remark?Without being cute, can you really not see that Piazza hit better than most catchers? Obviously he didn't justify his contract, but it's also obvious that rpackrat's statement is true.

You really have a man-crush on Wright don't you?I don't blame you._____________________________This post was made under the posting designation 168) Ellis Valentine

Overly sentimental, but I liked it: [url]http://www.nypost.com/sports/mets/52095.htm[/url]August 31, 2005 -- WE already are up to next. David Wright is the fair- haired boy. The present and future of the Mets plays third base. The past of the Mets stands outside the clubhouse about two hours before a game against the Phillies, wearing gray shorts, a gray T-shirt and a blue mood. The last time the Mets played a series this big, late in the 2001 season, Mike Piazza was still the unquestioned star of this realm. Now he is a bystander, possibly for good this season. The hairline fracture near his palm has kept Piazza from playing since Aug. 16, and GM Omar Minaya, asked yesterday for his update of the catcher's healing process, said, "This is going to take some time." But time is not on Piazza's side. The season and his Mets career are coming to an end. The Mets will not publicly slam the door on a future with Piazza out of respect to his honored place in organization history. But he will not be back. The Mets are thinking younger and looking for better defense behind the plate. Piazza turns 37 in five days. If he has a baseball future, it is in the American League for a team that thinks there is still life in his bat, especially if he is liberated from full-time catching. "I'm not going to look too far," Piazza said about his Mets days possibly being over prematurely. "I'm just going to go day-to-day right now." Piazza wants to believe there are still swings left in his 2005 season, still a few more impact moments left in his Mets career. This is no way for the best position player in team history to go out, getting heat, ice and electric stimulation treatment rather than star treatment. "I was actually kind of praying that it would be some sort of miraculous recovery," Piazza said. "Basically, three or four doctors I've talked to said broken bones take six to eight weeks to heal. Based on that fact, it's going to be painful no matter what time I try to test it. Obviously, we don't have a lot of time left. "There is a point that I have flexibility and I'm able to respond and play at the major-league level and be effective, then I'm going to do that." Piazza will try to play in pain just to play. The earliest that will be is mid-September. But it is not as if the Mets are awaiting his return as a seminal moment. On truth serum, most members of the organization probably would admit that a healthy Mike Cameron or Doug Mientkiewicz would have more overall value the rest of the year than Piazza. This part of the morbid reality of an athlete's life, one that Wright is about 15 years away from learning. Careers fizzle out in public, and the cold assembly line of big-time sports moves on. Thanks for the memories, now get the bum out of here. For a few years, the Mets remained tethered financially and emotionally to Piazza. His decline and more regular injuries left the organization paralyzed. The Mets had become addicted to a Piazza who no longer existed. Even if the Mets fail to make the playoffs this year, they have distanced themselves from that debilitating condition. Pedro Martinez arrived and changed the Mets' culture with his arm and confidence. Wright and possibly Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran have a chance to dominate the lineup for years. Wright already is becoming the face of the team, the smiling youngster happy to do the live shots on the field with the local TV crews before the big series begins. Mike Piazza is relegated indoors now, out of sight and more and more ebbing out of mind. He tries to stall the aging process and hurry healing. He wants a few more chances to be a great Met as the clock ticks toward what already feels like an ending.

Willets Point wrote:* Long threads - Obviously a topic that engenders a lot of responses is probably something of interest. Length alone does insure Featured Archives status though.I think you meant to say does not here.Cool, thanks for the info.I thought this was Squid's job, though. Where is the Squid?

Frayed Knot wrote:Hold all new entries, we have our winner for 'Subject Heading of the Week'.I'd say of the month even._____________________________This post was made under the posting designation 168) Ellis Valentine

]we all expect him to go DH in the AL. I am not part of this we. I doubt there are many teams who would want him as a DH with the numbers he put up this year._____________________________This was the last post Elster88 made under the posting designation 169) Joe McEwing. Goodbye, Super Joe!