soupcan

Beltran - 2.5 Pelfrey - 2.5 Reyes - 2.5 Rodriguez - 1.5 Castillo - 1

New York Post wrote: Beltran was ruled safe, and later scored the tying run on Luis Castillo's sacrifice fly, leaving Chipper Jones dumbfounded. "The baseball gods owe us," Jones said. "That game came down to one play, and the umpire got it wrong. I never had a guy slide into my glove and be safe. That's the whole game right there. We played a perfect game tonight and had it taken from us." Paraphrasing Bob Ojeda last night on the post-game - "Bad calls happen to everyone, you know its going to happen, get over it, move on."

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Complaining about people doing the wave is actually lamer than doing the wave itself. There. I said it. Translation: JCL does the wave.

I agree with Edgy about Reyes making the error because he thought the groundball would hit the bag. If everybody knew (me included - and if I knew then you can believe it was pretty fucking obvious) Feliciano should not pitch to Diaz then why the hell would Jerry let him? Amaz-azing. The wave: Hate it, hate it, hate it. There is however a solution: The Anti-Wave. Unfortunately the Carrier Dome in Syracuse is very conducive to waves. We did figure out a way to squash them though. When a wave has gained momentum and is coming to your section, you stand up and try to get as many wave-haters as you can to stand with you before the wave hits your section. When it does come to your section- you all sit down. It throws off the timing of the next section and the whole thing then dissipates. The only problem with the solution is that you look as much like an idiot as the wave people do. Just keep telling yourself that its for the greater good.

="Fman99"] Yeah, somehow I can't see Edgy wearing this.

="Kong76"] Great pic!

="John Cougar Lunchbucket"]Ken Takahashi Fan Club +++++++ You can join these guys - I spotted them at the game last night... Fun game last night, my second win at The City (now 2-2), and the first time I've seen the Apple go up in person (thank you Carlos). I also happened to scream "Show me the Apple Carlos!" immediately before he launched that shot (I've got witnesses), so my supernatural Mets powers seem to still be strong this season. The key I think is that I use them in moderation... They also put in the base markers in the parking lot where showing where they were in Shea. (home plate, 1st, 2nd & 3rd and the pitching rubber). The Yankee fan is my son's friend.

="Fman99":tnttr1nc] Sorry, but I read most of this thinking of Phil Hartman's super-fantastic Admiral John Stockdale, to Dana Carvey's Ross Perot, from the old SNL days. But that's a good thing.[/quote:tnttr1nc] Me too! "Who am I?! What am I doing here?!" LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 08 2009 08:09 AM ="Edgy DC":2wdx080n] Closer Matt Capps opened the season with six straight scoreless appearances, but has blown a gasket since then, giving up a run in two thirds of an inning (loss) in appearance seven, two runs on five hits in an inning in appearance eight, and a Green-like four runs in an inning (blown save and loss) his last time out. Lets keep him from getting any save opportuinities in which to right himself. [/quote:2wdx080n] Mr. Capps reported feeling sharp elbow pain, got an MRI on Tuesday ("bruise on the bone" but no ligament issue); he's a coinflip for the weekend. If he's out, we'll see the aforementioned Mr. Yates and/or John "Pinch-Eek!" Grabow closing whichever game in which we blow a lead. bmfc1 May 08 2009 08:37 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 09 2009 06:17 AM Great KTE. We're getting too formal in the KTEs and not expressive enough. This was an excellent mix of information and personal reflection. G-Fafif May 08 2009 08:43 AM ="John Cougar Lunchbucket"]I think the important point was that theior backup catcher is named Robinzon Diaz. How cool is that? I once came across, in a press release, a person who had a semi-colon in his name, as in Robin;on Diaz. We checked and checked again and it was really his name. What's up with th;t? Frayed Knot May 08 2009 08:49 AM Pirates started out 11-7 on the strength of the NL's best pitching. They've since lost 5 in a row and 9 of their last 10 during which time their pitching dropped to 3rd best. Not quite as schitzoid as the Marlins so far in 09 but kinda close. ]I once came across, in a press release, a person who had a semi-colon in his name, as in Robin;on Diaz. We checked and checked again and it was really his name. What's up with th;t? He was named by someone who was only semi-conscious at the time. G-Fafif May 08 2009 08:56 AM ="Frayed Knot"]]I once came across, in a press release, a person who had a semi-colon in his name, as in Robin;on Diaz. We checked and checked again and it was really his name. What's up with th;t? He was named by someone who was only semi-conscious at the time. At least whoever named him didn't slip into a comma. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 08 2009 09:04 AM ="G-Fafif"]="Frayed Knot"]]I once came across, in a press release, a person who had a semi-colon in his name, as in Robin;on Diaz. We checked and checked again and it was really his name. What's up with th;t? He was named by someone who was only semi-conscious at the time. At least whoever named him didn't slip into a comma. If we can't pause to appreciate a dash of naming ingenuity, then we oughta let this little enterprise come to a full stop, period. G-Fafif May 08 2009 09:10 AM Stuff I forgot to follow up on that I'd been thinking of that doesn't involve Tyler Yates or Matt Capps: If this weekend seems strange having the Pirates in town, it is: Pittsburgh hasn't been in Queens on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday since 2004. (They did play a weekend series at MFYS II in '07.) Even rarer is the month this is happening. The Pirates, as a National League Central representative, have never visited the Mets in May. They didn't step foot inside Shea in the merry, merry month of May after 1993. themetfairy May 08 2009 09:30 AM Superlative knowledge Greg! G-Fafif May 09 2009 05:45 AM Not sure if this qualifies as irony, but ironically, after last night's Mets-Pirates game had reached its satisfactory conclusion, I found ESPN Classic was running Game Seven of the '92 NLCS. I picked it up in the ninth, the Bucs leading the Braves 2-0, three outs from the World Series, Doug Drabek in command, Atlanta barely hanging on...and here come the Braves, and there goes a ball to Chico Lind that he can't handle and in comes Belinda and next thing you know Cabrera is up, Justice is scoring, Bream is tearing as best he can around third, Bonds sets and fires, LaValliere has to reach a little to his right, Bream slides and, by about a second, Pittsburgh doesn't go to the World Series. And they never come back to the playoffs, at least not from the vantage point of 2009. Of course Fulton County Stadium is enraptured and Braves are piling all over the leadfooted Bream. I was a Braves fan in that series, a Braves fan in the N.L. West, a Braves fan when it didn't conflict with anything the Mets were doing (and goodness knows the Mets had stopped doing anything long before the NLCS rolled around in 1992), so I was happy and almost ecstatic when Francisco Cabrera made himself fleetingly famous. But watching in the future, watching Leyland, Bonds, Van Slyke, Lind, people in a sports bar in Pittsburgh all grasping what got away...geez. There would be no return trip, there would be nothing. Some on that team would go elsewhere and do fine. Their fans haven't had anything since that night. They still wouldn't have had anything since that month, probably, even if they had won. Bonds would have left, money wouldn't have been spent and sixteen consecutive losing, hopeless seasons would have commenced. But what a way to take the plunge. John Cougar Lunchbucket May 09 2009 06:32 AM I've told the story here before of finding myself seated next to Mike LaValliere's mother one time at a spring training game in Bradenton. She told me that that scene was especially sad personally because Bream was among the first of the guys the Pirates gave up because they couldn't afford him, and that Bream and LaValliere were close friends. G-Fafif May 09 2009 07:01 AM I was thinking, as his new mates pummeled him joyously, that maybe it was strange for Bream scoring the pennant-winning run at the expense of his old team. He didn't look the least bit conflicted at the moment of triumph. metirish May 09 2009 07:22 AM Great KTE and great thread. G-Fafif May 09 2009 05:22 PM Still no sign of Matt Capps in this series. And Sid Bream remains safe. Elster88 May 10 2009 09:14 AM Arrrrrr. Where be cooby? Avast ye scurvy swabs.

Wright - 2.5 Beltran - 2 Pelfrey - 2 Reyes - 1.5 Rodriguez - 1 Castro - .5 Delgado - .5

="Valadius":3ex0r9pw]Manny suspended because he couldn't get it up. Hilarious.[/quote:3ex0r9pw] Valadius - where the hell have you been? We're still waiting for your song parody entry! Frayed Knot May 07 2009 02:23 PM Quinn jumped from the NYDN to ESPN at least a year or so ago. Seems to have been hired specifically to work on their drug reporting (for baseball of course, there are no drug problems in the NFL) Not sure if Fainaru-Wada is still with his SF paper and just doing extra work for ESPN or if he's switched to them full time too. metirish May 07 2009 02:25 PM Player reaction Manny caught[/url:huygi4c3] Kong76 May 07 2009 03:45 PM Good thing the Mets didn't cave in and get him. My birthday's coming up in August if anyone wants to send me a grill like the one pictured with him on the other page. Ashie62 May 07 2009 04:55 PM Good Lord...sad part..the game is harmed and more surely to come my Prediction 1. Pujols 2. Jeter 3 Nolan Ryan 4 Carlos Delgado 5 Vladimir Guerrero How come Brady Andersons 50 HR year never comes up? Anybody here think Hojo turned into a slugger through something other than a corked bat. His career did end early. themetfairy May 07 2009 05:11 PM ="Kong76":eme8bbh8]Good thing the Mets didn't cave in and get him. My birthday's coming up in August if anyone wants to send me a grill like the one pictured with him on the other page.[/quote:eme8bbh8] You'd take that over a Keg-a-Cue? MFS62 May 07 2009 09:33 PM Hmmm Let's see: Giambi Clemens A-Rod now Manny What do they all have in common? Torre If you'd like to see him implicated, raise your hand. Later metsguyinmichigan May 07 2009 09:59 PM ="MFS62":3s3rbjyk]Hmmm Let's see: Giambi Clemens A-Rod now Manny What do they all have in common? Torre If you'd like to see him implicated, raise your hand. Later[/quote:3s3rbjyk] Only if you take Tony LaRussa right behind him. SteveJRogers May 07 2009 10:03 PM ="MFS62":2jbrur59]Hmmm Let's see: Giambi Clemens A-Rod now Manny What do they all have in common? Torre If you'd like to see him implicated, raise your hand. Later[/quote:2jbrur59] Yeah, they all were clean BEFORE joining Torre managed teams. I get you want to get him for "looking the other way" but when you think about it, do you really expect anything different from a hands off guy like Torre? Edgy DC May 07 2009 10:16 PM ="MFS62":26yfbcxw]Hmmm Let's see: Giambi Clemens A-Rod now Manny What do they all have in common? Torre[/quote:26yfbcxw] Well, yeah, he was naming Yankees of recent vintage and Torre was the manager for 13 years. They all have a lot in common. Yankee Stadium, Steinbrenner, Billy Crystal, Madonna. The point is the double standard Kay displayed. smg58 May 08 2009 05:00 AM ="Ashie62":3157mime]Good Lord...sad part..the game is harmed and more surely to come my Prediction 1. Pujols 2. Jeter 3 Nolan Ryan 4 Carlos Delgado 5 Vladimir Guerrero How come Brady Andersons 50 HR year never comes up? Anybody here think Hojo turned into a slugger through something other than a corked bat. His career did end early.[/quote:3157mime] Because Brady Anderson's career was otherwise so forgettable that he's been, well, forgotten. If he was a HOF candidate, people would be talking about him for sure. At this point, everybody's a suspect. I see no point in singling anyone out before clear evidence comes up against them. Edgy DC May 08 2009 05:30 AM Anderson used to come up all the time. But now (1) he's retired, (2) he's eclipsed by people from whom we actually have failed tests from. And (3) what's the point? cooby May 09 2009 08:00 AM I like Manny, I'm sorry about this. I'm keeping him on my fantasy team, too. Nymr83 May 14 2009 12:01 PM ]"When you take steroids you have a direct outcome of the game, that's the integrity of the game. And when you can change records when you do something illegal, it's just not right. ... Baseball records are sacred. If you do something illegal to surpass those records, it's just not good." --Pete Rose, Guardian of Integrity in Baseball metirish May 14 2009 12:04 PM Didn't Rose then go on to say that Alex Rodriguez should still go to the HOF. I didn't read the article but saw that blurb.... Nymr83 May 14 2009 12:05 PM ="metirish":3sqflmah]Didn't Rose then go on to say that Alex Rodriguez should still go to the HOF. I didn't read the article but saw that blurb....[/quote:3sqflmah] Yeah. I wonder what other cheaters he thinks belong in the hall... Benjamin Grimm May 14 2009 12:08 PM I got to about the fourth paragraph and then thought, "Why does anyone care what Pete Rose has to say about all this?" And then I stopped reading. metirish May 14 2009 12:11 PM ="Benjamin Grimm":37sj3ba0]I got to about the fourth paragraph and then thought, "Why does anyone care what Pete Rose has to say about all this?" And then I stopped reading.[/quote:37sj3ba0] Exactly why I didn't read it. Nothing he says really interests me. Fman99 May 14 2009 12:57 PM ="Benjamin Grimm":2eyfx6w2]I got to about the fourth paragraph and then thought, "Why does anyone care what Pete Rose has to say about all this?" And then I stopped reading.[/quote:2eyfx6w2] Pete Rose is a retard. That's why other retards always have Pete Rose's haircut.

Good for the Dodgers then

I wonder if the Dodgers have to pay him. Stupid question I guess, I don't think Boras would allow any clause like that in a contract but in this day and age why wouldn't a club insist on a clause like that in a contract? The players union has come out against performance enhancers (in public anyway). They could hardly object to clauses like that and still convince anybody they're anti-'roid.

For 50 games for testing positive for banned substance. According to WFAN.

If his knee has been hurting him all this time why did we first just hear about it on Sunday afternoon? How come it wasn't mentioned after any of his other meltdowns? None of the quotes I've read says anything about Ollie being remiss in not saying anything earlier. A bad knee doesn't seem like something you'd want a guy guaranteed $36mm to keep pitching through.

You just reminded me... I was paying attention to where guys were standing in the box last night and snapped this shot of Utley.. At what point does an umpire say 'Dude, get back in the box..!" His back foot is clearly out of the box - what's up with that? Is he automatically out if he hits a fair ball? What's the rule?

The Wilpons are no where near the worst owners in MLB. All they really need is a good marketing department.

I think if you want to hang out there in bad weather or during a rain delay and just have a drink and watch the game its fine, but I won't have dinner there again any time soon. Too much good food to be had elsewhere in the park. Walked through the Caesar's Club on my way to my seats after dinner (I don't think my tix gave me access to it, but no one seemed to be checking). Nice, spacious but no views of the field! WTF? Are you coming to a game to watch the game on the field or are you coming to hang out in a bar and watch it on a flat screen? Why come and spend the $$ if you're going to spend your time in there? That I do not get. One other observation - Loud Phillie fans all over the place at the beginning of the game - didn't seem to notice or hear them as much after their team made 3 errors and blew the game. Strange.

Santana - 5.5 Feliciano - 1 Rodriguez - 1 Delgado - .5 Murphy - .5 Tatis - .5

I know the Met offense is sputtering night in and night out, but man a 1-0 game is a pretty cool thing. On the edge of your seat with every single pitch. I'll continue take a pitcher's duel over a slugfest any day. That kind of game is to me, what baseball was meant to be. -Was there last night for my first ever night game. Maybe its just me but the place seems a lot brighter than Shea was at night. Proud to say that I am now 1-2 at games at Citifield. -Yes it was ugly visor night -I do not recommend the Acela Club for dinner. Its a prix fixe kind of deal. $48 per person to start. $10 more per person if you want a seat that has views of the field. The prime rib is $5 extra. Side dishes are also $5 extra. The food isn't bad but the service is l-o-u-s-y. We sat at 5:30 and didn't walk out of there until 7:15, mostly due to waiting too long for food, drinks and the check.

It just amazes me that all of these adjustments are so tiny and have to do with getting the most miniscule edge one way or the other. I mean how much more or less break is a pitch going to have going 80+ mph over the course of what 3"-6"? And being able to time a swing so precisely so that you will either pull a pitch or go 'oppo' (as Keith said at some point last week) just astounds me. It speaks to how talented these guys are.

Right - I saw that and thought about yesterday's discussion. I also recall that they showed Escobar (I think it was Escobar, maybe it was the Prado at-bat you were referring) standing very forward in the box and indicating that his toe was actually on the frontmost line of the box. This perplexes me because I always thought that the conventional thinking was to be as far back in the box as one could in order to have that fraction of a second more to see and hit the pitch. This is also evidenced by every single player that walks into the box and promptly scratches out the back line with their foot. I understand moving up in the box to try to pull pitches but I would think that would put a hitter at more of a disadvantage generally.

Hernandez - 3 Degado - 1.5 Beltran - 1 Castro - 1 Rodriguez - 1 Wright - 1 Murphy - .5 Parnell - .5 Putz - .5

I don't know. I guess so. This kind of crap always bothers me though - did Beltran just gut it out and focus more and just decide 'damn it, I'm taking control of this game!' or did Vasquez just run out of gas and start to make bad pitches? The Braves took an early lead and then stopped hitting (sound familiar?). So did the Mets overcome or did the Braves choke?

I guess that's common sense if you think about it. Apparently I never really thought about it. Learn something new and interesting everyday. Thanks FK.