soupcan

attgig wrote: soupcan wrote: You won't have to worry about a train to Citi Field because we'll all be flying there...in our cars! It's 2010, I thought this was supposed to be happening TODAY! Just like the 7 extension...funding issues.

metirish wrote: Hey , here's an idea....if we are going to do this let's make sure that the train stops at the new Jets West Side Stadium. See my post above yours - it will!

All this is well and good for you New Jerseyans ('-ites'?), but you do realize that if it ever does happen (HA!) it will be at least 10, 15 or even 20 years from now. You won't have to worry about a train to Citi Field because we'll all be flying there...in our cars! Second Avenue Subway is in full swing and it ain't even close to being done. Fulton Street Transit Center is in full swing and it ain't even close to being done. Grand Central Extension (LIRR railroad link) has begun and it ain't even close to being done. That's 3 MAJOR projects that the cash-strapped MTA has fully committed to. Extending the 7 is a nice idea, and the fact that the 7 tunnel extension to 34th street & 11th Avenue is already completed makes this idea even easier to deal with but even if they agree to do it, it'll just take forever.

Yeah, they're right around there. The Gaslamp district was always nice but in the last 5-6 years or so the area has just boomed and it's hopping most of the time now.

Ceetar wrote: San Diego started with basically nothing around it. now they've got some skyscraping office buildings, and a lot going on nearby in the gaslight area, although it's not _right_ next to the park. San Diego's got it knocked. Hotels, restaurants, clubs, condos - all right around the park. Great park in what's become a great area in a great city. It's what the Mets hope will happen at Citi,

But...it looks so pretty...

Isn't that interesting - Gooden & Seaver are only one day apart. Never realized that before.

Collins only because I've read a bit more about him but honestly I'm with everybody else - 6 of one, half dozen of the other at this point.

Except without Ricco's balls flailing all over the place, right?

I liked how the crack of the bat sounded exactly the same for bunts as it did for homeruns.

Forget about intelligent player moves and developing a productive minor league system, the best part of this new, 'educated' front office for me is that I won't have to cringe through press conferences any more. Youknowwhatuhmsayin' Omar? No question about it, Steve.

Maybe this whole thing is a big reason why Selig/MLB was pushing Alderson hard for the job. "The Mets need cleanin' up and we got just the guy to do it..."

Yowzers! From the article Edgy linked: Samuels, who has not been arrested, is believed to have told Major League Baseball that he bet on baseball games, a strict violation of baseball rules. Samuels, the Mets' clubhouse manager for 27 seasons, was described by a source as a "spider who sat in the middle of a money web," a man who earned about $80,000 a year from the Mets but whose tax returns showed about $600,000 to $700,000 in income. He has homes in Huntington, L.I., and Port St. Lucie.

Frayed Knot wrote: soupcan wrote: Wow - that was quick. Well, quick from yesterday's news anyway. That's what I meant. R.I.P. Sparky.

Wow - that was quick.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Name the four members of the '86 Mets who played the last game of their respective MLB careers in 1986. George Foster OE: Oops sorry - you meant one name per post?

Come home Bobby! Brewers hire Roenicke as manager Posted: Wednesday, November 3, 2010 12:00 am Brewers hire Roenicke as skipper, source says The Milwaukee Brewers have hired Los Angeles Angels bench coach Ron Roenicke to be their new manager, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday. An announcement could come this week. Roenicke, 54, has been on the Angels' coaching staff for 11 seasons, including the past five as bench coach. He will replace Ken Macha, who was fired after two disappointing seasons.

Cross the highways of fantasy, help me to forget today's pain.

I felt old this past season when, at a Mets-Phillies game, my son and his friend were asking about the Phillies 1B coach and pronouncing his name 'Lopez'. Prior to that, the thought of seeing 'Lopes' spelled out and pronouncing it any other way never entered my mind.

There's lotsa whores in Japan too.

October 27, 2010 Alderson Set to Get to Work on Mets By DAVID WALDSTEIN SAN FRANCISCO � Sandy Alderson was in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, attending to his duties for Major League Baseball in its efforts to clean up the player procurement process. But he has already begun working on his next assignment, which may be equally as challenging � resurrecting the Mets. Alderson will become the Mets� general manager, and he has begun compiling a list of potential field managers and is looking into re-signing at least one potential free agent, reliever Hisanori Takahashi. Whatever he decides to do, it will most likely be his decision alone. Alderson is expected to be granted full control over the Mets� baseball operations, within the framework of a budget set forth by team ownership. Essentially, the Mets will be handing the keys of the franchise to him. �I think he�ll be able to keep ownership at bay,� said Steve Phillips, a former Mets general manager who acknowledged he was too young and inexperienced when he held the position to have the clout that Alderson will. �Young guys do need some guidance, but Sandy has the credibility and the maturity to set forth a plan for the entire organization,� Phillips said. �If Sandy says, �No, this guy doesn�t fit into our budget,� or �It doesn�t make sense for us,� everyone will know it�s really coming from him.� Alderson is expected to begin asking teams for permission to speak to potential managers. There are indications he will at least interview Wally Backman, manager of the Mets� Class A Brooklyn Cyclones; Chip Hale, the Mets� third-base coach; and Bob Melvin, a former manager of the Seattle Mariners and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Of more immediacy is to decide whether to re-sign Takahashi. By rule, the Mets have until Oct. 31 to get a contract worked out or Takahashi will not be able to sign with them until May 15. Complicating matters, Takahashi recently switched agents after the Mets had begun negotiations with his old agent, Peter Greenberg. But the Mets have reached out to the new agent, Arn Tellem, in hopes of completing a deal before the deadline. While that may be the most time-sensitive issue for Alderson, the more vital one is the next manager. Alderson has said in past interviews that he favors low-key managers who follow the overall philosophy and strategy set forth by him as general manager. The reasoning is: why set policy and formulate a tactical plan only to have a maverick, charismatic manager make decisions that do not follow the plan? Managers like Melvin and perhaps Hale could fit into that framework, but the fiery Backman does not seem to. Alderson has already told others he would not favor hiring Backman, the former Mets infielder, because he has no major league managing experience and would be better served honing his skills in the minors. Ownership is fond of Backman, however, and Alderson is said to be willing to have an open mind. The last manager Alderson hired was Art Howe in 1996, when he was general manager of the Oakland Athletics. Mets fans may cringe as they recall Howe�s listless campaigns in Flushing in 2003 and 2004, but he was more successful with the Athletics from 1996 to 2002. Working closely with Alderson, and later Alderson�s prot�g� Billy Beane, Howe finished with a 600-533 record with the A�s. He won two division titles while taking Oakland to the postseason in his last three years there. The A�s never won a playoff series under Howe, but he did win more than 100 games two years in a row with a team that had a modest payroll. It has been suggested that most of the decisions, even in-game tactical decisions, were made in the front office by Beane, and when the A�s decided they wanted to turn to their bench coach Ken Macha as manager, they were only too happy to let Howe go to the Mets. When Howe got to New York in 2003, replacing Bobby Valentine after a 75-86 season, the Mets did not need a laid-back button-pusher to follow a plan. Howe finished well under .500 both years with the Mets. Before Howe, the Athletics had Tony La Russa, who is not a managerial automaton by any means. But La Russa was an exceptional talent who has worked well within organizational parameters. Alderson will be introduced at a news conference at Citi Field on Friday. He hopes to begin interviewing candidates almost immediately.

With the Eiland thing I'm curious too, but I've got to believe that all the reporters, tweeters, etc. know what the deal is and have been respectfully asked not to report whatever it is. That's cool with me. It's refreshing to think that some requests to not report a salacious but not necessarily newsworthy story can be honored. If in fact that is the case.

Why is the blender on the front lawn with them?

Cliff Lee's team for me.

Read this this morning... 10/12/10 8:11 PM ET Mets' Holt rebounds, wins AFL debut Former first-rounder yields one hit in three shutout innings By Danny Wild / MLB.com The relief in Brad Holt's voice was evident. The confidence and command that made him a first-round pick seem to be returning even if it's only the first day of the Arizona Fall League season. Other than Jenrry Mejia, Holt was considered the Mets' top right-handed prospect heading into Spring Training. But a rough season at two Minor League levels left him looking to straighten things. He's only three shutout innings into his AFL journey, but it's already been a positive experience. "It's good having a little success. It feels real good, it's nice," Holt said Tuesday. "It was a good start, it's good to get back out there." On the eve of his 24th birthday, Holt (1-0) allowed one hit in his Fall League debut as the Mesa Solar Sox beat the Phoenix Desert Dogs, 7-3, in the AFL opener for both teams. Holt is looking to move forward after a rough season at Class A Advanced St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton, where he combined to go 3-14 with an 8.34 ERA in 24 games. The struggles, he said, were all mental. He dug himself a hole and, as the season wore on, battled to regain his stuff on the mound. "I've been looking forward to [the AFL] a lot. That was the biggest thing toward the end of the year," Holt said. "I knew it, the coordinators knew it -- it was a mental year, I got caught in the quicksand and it's hard to come out of it. It was just all in my head, it was frustrating all year." Holt was one of the Mets' three first-round picks in 2008 along with first baseman Ike Davis and shortstop Reese Havens. Davis batted .341 in 21 AFL games last year, and the Mets would love to see Holt find similar success this fall. "I'm getting a fresh start out here," he said. "I went to instructs, and just being down there, it helped clear my head after the season and allowed me to get back in the zone. I felt comfortable, I started throwing strikes and I think it's continued." The North Carolina native threw 23 of 37 pitches for strikes, walking one and fanning one. He retired two of the first three batters he faced on fly balls to center fielder and fellow Mets prospects Kirk Nieuwenhuis, working around a one-out walk to Trayvon Robinson (Dodgers). Nieuwenhuis contributed an RBI double in the second off Phoenix starter Jon Link to plate Pirates farmhand Andrew Lambo for a 1-0 lead. "I got out to a fast start. I was filling up the zone, so it was a good start coming off a pretty rough season," Holt said. Brandon Laird (Yankees) reached on an error in the second for Phoenix, but Holt erased him by getting A's prospect Michael Taylor to hit into a double play. Holt said his top priority this fall is to find his groove again and consistently spot his pitches. "Just keeping my command and getting that back, that was the main thing this year. The whole year, there was no command with the fastball," he explained. "It would come and go with other pitches, but that's the main emphasis right now. "I'm throwing four pitches for strikes, keeping it down, and right now everything is positive. And I want to keep it that way. It's coming back together to the point where I feel like the old me." The "old" Holt is one who went 5-3 with a 1.87 ERA in 14 starts for short-season Brooklyn in 2008. The Mets pushed him along in his first full season in 2009, sending him to Double-A. The AFL likely won't be as easy for Holt as the instructional league -- the Fall League is a collection of the top talent in the Minors. Occasionally, players with limited Major League experience are sent to Arizona to get in some extra work against top talent. "It's exciting, this is the farthest west I've been. I've never been out in Arizona," Holt said. "I was looking forward to coming, just to get away from the humidity, and it's always fun to play with a new group of guys and see how they do stuff. You're making new friends and it's a lot of fun." Not too much fun. Wednesday is Holt's birthday, but he said he won't be out celebrating much with his new teammates. "I'm keeping it low-key," he laughed. "I don't do too much with birthdays anymore." NOTES: New Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly made his AFL managerial debut with Phoenix after serving as bench coach under Joe Torre. ... Holt will be working with Mesa pitching coach Ricky Bones, a former Major Leaguer who fills the same role at the Mets' Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo. ... Mesa RF John Mayberry (Phillies) left in the third inning with a leg injury. He was replaced by Texas League All-Star Jeremy Moore (Angels). ... Taylor, who was held to six longballs in 2010, homered in the fourth. He had 39 over the previous two seasons. Danny Wild is an editor for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.