This is just a note to say that the blog isn't meeting its end or anything. I still care about it. And I still care about the Mets, despite their efforts to crush me at the end of every season.
It's just that situations like this whole Johan Santana ordeal right now are hard for me to handle. When it first happened, Santana said that he didn't think he'd miss Opening Day...and then it turned into a story about how he was going to most likely miss Opening Day.
This is a manufactured story. It's one I didn't want to write about because each time I would have written something, it would have changed and I would have had to write something again. It's certainly a serious situation - if Johan Santana is hurt, the Mets' season is finished. And if that happened right now, it would be over before it even began.
But I won't believe Johan Santana will miss Opening Day until I see the Mets play on Opening Day without him. And that's still a month away. This is nothing more than a media needing something to write about from camp, with all of the other star players playing in the World Baseball Classic. Nothing more. Talk to me again in a month.
SPEAKING OF THE WBC: It was nice to see David Wright in prime late-season form, popping out in a clutch spot (with the bases loaded in the seventh) against Canada on Saturday. And J.J. Putz will fit right in with his new teammates, walking a tightrope and turning a two-run lead into a one-run win-and-almost-loss in the 9th inning. It's like he was born to be in the Mets bullpen.
Showing posts with label World Baseball Classic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Baseball Classic. Show all posts
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
REASON #4 - THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
Reasons to Look Forward to MLB 2009
Funnily enough (I like using the word 'funnily' every so often), I don't much care for the World Baseball Classic. Maybe I'll watch it, maybe I won't.
For me, it's more of an inconvenience than anything else. Players will get hurt. The season won't start until April 6th. The USA will get embarrassed by other nations.
But I have a theory about the World Baseball Classic, which I'm about to share with you. It could just be the salve to the Mets' late-season struggles we saw in 2007 and 2008.
You may have noticed I used the World Baseball Classic logo from 2006. That was intentional. 1) I couldn't find one from this year (or I didn't look hard enough - one or the other). But, more importantly, 2) 2006 is Exhibit A (and really the only exhibit) in my argument.
In 2006 the World Baseball Classic was held and the Mets put together their most complete season in the past 20 years. Even when they went to the World Series in 2000, and appeared in the post-season in back-to-back seasons in 1999 and 2000, they weren't as good.
The next two seasons following '06 were utter disappointments.
We all know - the team folded in the final two weeks of September. Now - I ask you to think back to 2006 - remember the Mets' struggles in mid-September, when they lost 3 games in a row to the lowly Pirates when they were attempting to clinch the division? They had a terrible September then, too, but it was overshadowed by the fact that they had built such a huge division lead.
What I'm here to tell you is this - the World Baseball Classic gave the Mets some prep time on the season, so that everything shifted up a couple of weeks. Like every funk, the Mets would have played their way out of the funks of '07 and '08 - they just ran out of games. In 2006, the funk came at the same time, games-wise, but earlier in September, because of the WBC. Then October came and the Mets righted the ship....until Game 7 of the NLCS.
I know it's slightly backwards logic - I hope you're still with me. But it makes sense. The other caveat is that more of the Mets' players will be tired because they will be involved in the games, which they weren't in 2006. I don't necessarily agree - I think the same thing will happen with the slumps those individuals (read: David Wright) would have gone through anyway.
So while I agree with those who say the World Baseball Classic is a bad thing, for this Mets fan, it's going to pay dividends in some fashion. Expect a big year in 2009....provided Wright doesn't get hurt playing third base for the U.S.
This idea was going to originally be "Reasons to Look Forward to the Mets in 2009", but I realized there are probably going to be some general baseball reasons as well as Mets reasons. So I've expanded it. Most will have to do with the Mets (like this one). Also, I'm counting up, rather than down, as we head towards the baseball season, because I'm just not sure how many items there will be in this feature. We'll go until we hit Opening Day.
Funnily enough (I like using the word 'funnily' every so often), I don't much care for the World Baseball Classic. Maybe I'll watch it, maybe I won't.
For me, it's more of an inconvenience than anything else. Players will get hurt. The season won't start until April 6th. The USA will get embarrassed by other nations.
But I have a theory about the World Baseball Classic, which I'm about to share with you. It could just be the salve to the Mets' late-season struggles we saw in 2007 and 2008.
You may have noticed I used the World Baseball Classic logo from 2006. That was intentional. 1) I couldn't find one from this year (or I didn't look hard enough - one or the other). But, more importantly, 2) 2006 is Exhibit A (and really the only exhibit) in my argument.
In 2006 the World Baseball Classic was held and the Mets put together their most complete season in the past 20 years. Even when they went to the World Series in 2000, and appeared in the post-season in back-to-back seasons in 1999 and 2000, they weren't as good.
The next two seasons following '06 were utter disappointments.
We all know - the team folded in the final two weeks of September. Now - I ask you to think back to 2006 - remember the Mets' struggles in mid-September, when they lost 3 games in a row to the lowly Pirates when they were attempting to clinch the division? They had a terrible September then, too, but it was overshadowed by the fact that they had built such a huge division lead.
What I'm here to tell you is this - the World Baseball Classic gave the Mets some prep time on the season, so that everything shifted up a couple of weeks. Like every funk, the Mets would have played their way out of the funks of '07 and '08 - they just ran out of games. In 2006, the funk came at the same time, games-wise, but earlier in September, because of the WBC. Then October came and the Mets righted the ship....until Game 7 of the NLCS.
I know it's slightly backwards logic - I hope you're still with me. But it makes sense. The other caveat is that more of the Mets' players will be tired because they will be involved in the games, which they weren't in 2006. I don't necessarily agree - I think the same thing will happen with the slumps those individuals (read: David Wright) would have gone through anyway.
So while I agree with those who say the World Baseball Classic is a bad thing, for this Mets fan, it's going to pay dividends in some fashion. Expect a big year in 2009....provided Wright doesn't get hurt playing third base for the U.S.
This idea was going to originally be "Reasons to Look Forward to the Mets in 2009", but I realized there are probably going to be some general baseball reasons as well as Mets reasons. So I've expanded it. Most will have to do with the Mets (like this one). Also, I'm counting up, rather than down, as we head towards the baseball season, because I'm just not sure how many items there will be in this feature. We'll go until we hit Opening Day.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
The annual frustration that is Sunday night after the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. I'm having one of my worst years ever. (Did anyone except me, notice, by the way, that during the Bradley-Pittsburgh game, the CBS score on the bottom right of the screen read: "Brad Pitt"?)
MATSUI: Kaz Matsui's spring training push for the second base job took a big hit since the last time I wrote - he sprained his knee during a game last Thursday, and will be out three weeks - and will definitely not play Opening Day. The biggest problem this presents is that the Mets can't shop Matsui - because the ultimate solution to their $8 million problem at second base is that the Mets will trade him.
It also means the Mets' Opening Day lineup will look something like this (as I continue to work on the newest feature on johnnymets.blogspot.com - good pictures):
Anderson Hernandez is the favorite to now start at second base Opening Day, leaving the right field spot as the only one still up in the air (although Xavier Nady looks to have the advantage right now over Victor Diaz).
WBC: The WBC Championship is Monday night, with Cuba playing Japan. The good news about that is that the Mets have all their key players from the WBC back in camp, with two weeks to go until the regular season begins.
I hear some people saying it's shocking that the first WBC doesn't have the Americans in the final four. I can't say I'm shocked - the way they were playing, the set-up of the thing, with the U.S. really not even having time to play together (and coming off a winter where a lot of them didn't touch a baseball), and the quality of the other teams indicated to me pretty early on that the U.S. was going to have a tough road. I love the fact that Roger Clemens gets the loss in the deciding game, too, against Mexico.
How many Cubans do you think will try to defect after the game on Monday night? I think the over/under has to be set at 1.5. Even with Castro's son posing as a team doctor to prevent such things.
SNY: Perhaps I'm wise not to hitch my star to the SNY wagon (or it's a good thing I was too lazy to ever give them a call). The station debuted on Thursday night, and there have been lots of errors - from blackouts to dropped ads. I'm sure things will get ironed out - but we're talking about a New York City television station - not something on the third floor of Boston University's College of Communication. Let's get it together guys.
SPEAKING OF WHICH....: Congratulations to the Boston University men's hockey team, champions of Hockey East, after a 2-1 overtime win over Boston College Saturday night. This is a fun team to watch - hopefully the Mets aren't the only champs I'm watching this year...the NCAA Hockey Tournament gets underway Friday - I'll keep you posted on BU.
ON A LEITER NOTE: Al Leiter announced his retirement on Sunday. He was one of my favorite Mets to watch - ever. He'll also have one of the most successful broadcasting careers by a former player ever. More than the third-man-in-the-booth-for-big-games role he's been filling on FOX the past few years. I wonder if he'll do national broadcasts on an ESPN or FOX station, or do local team stuff.
'86 METS ROUNDUP: Some distressing news - Dwight Gooden was arrested again on drug charges. Very sad. I doubt we'll be seeing him at the big August reunion. Also, a couple of interesting notes about 1986 World Series rings, both involving Hurricane Katrina. Barry Lyons, backup catcher on that team, lost his ring when his home was destroyed in the hurricane. Keith Hernandez told a story that he was having some work done on the ring, to give part of it to his new wife, and it was sent to a jeweler in New Orleans around the time of the hurricane. The jeweler was evacuating, and walked out of his shop, and Hernandez said the man went back in because he remembered the ring was in a safe - and got the ring. Hernandez said the man was a Cardinals fan, and liked him, otherwise he may not have the ring.
Coming this week: My predictions for the 2006 season...standings-wise, anyway.
MATSUI: Kaz Matsui's spring training push for the second base job took a big hit since the last time I wrote - he sprained his knee during a game last Thursday, and will be out three weeks - and will definitely not play Opening Day. The biggest problem this presents is that the Mets can't shop Matsui - because the ultimate solution to their $8 million problem at second base is that the Mets will trade him.
It also means the Mets' Opening Day lineup will look something like this (as I continue to work on the newest feature on johnnymets.blogspot.com - good pictures):
Anderson Hernandez is the favorite to now start at second base Opening Day, leaving the right field spot as the only one still up in the air (although Xavier Nady looks to have the advantage right now over Victor Diaz).WBC: The WBC Championship is Monday night, with Cuba playing Japan. The good news about that is that the Mets have all their key players from the WBC back in camp, with two weeks to go until the regular season begins.
I hear some people saying it's shocking that the first WBC doesn't have the Americans in the final four. I can't say I'm shocked - the way they were playing, the set-up of the thing, with the U.S. really not even having time to play together (and coming off a winter where a lot of them didn't touch a baseball), and the quality of the other teams indicated to me pretty early on that the U.S. was going to have a tough road. I love the fact that Roger Clemens gets the loss in the deciding game, too, against Mexico.
How many Cubans do you think will try to defect after the game on Monday night? I think the over/under has to be set at 1.5. Even with Castro's son posing as a team doctor to prevent such things.
SNY: Perhaps I'm wise not to hitch my star to the SNY wagon (or it's a good thing I was too lazy to ever give them a call). The station debuted on Thursday night, and there have been lots of errors - from blackouts to dropped ads. I'm sure things will get ironed out - but we're talking about a New York City television station - not something on the third floor of Boston University's College of Communication. Let's get it together guys.
SPEAKING OF WHICH....: Congratulations to the Boston University men's hockey team, champions of Hockey East, after a 2-1 overtime win over Boston College Saturday night. This is a fun team to watch - hopefully the Mets aren't the only champs I'm watching this year...the NCAA Hockey Tournament gets underway Friday - I'll keep you posted on BU.
ON A LEITER NOTE: Al Leiter announced his retirement on Sunday. He was one of my favorite Mets to watch - ever. He'll also have one of the most successful broadcasting careers by a former player ever. More than the third-man-in-the-booth-for-big-games role he's been filling on FOX the past few years. I wonder if he'll do national broadcasts on an ESPN or FOX station, or do local team stuff.
'86 METS ROUNDUP: Some distressing news - Dwight Gooden was arrested again on drug charges. Very sad. I doubt we'll be seeing him at the big August reunion. Also, a couple of interesting notes about 1986 World Series rings, both involving Hurricane Katrina. Barry Lyons, backup catcher on that team, lost his ring when his home was destroyed in the hurricane. Keith Hernandez told a story that he was having some work done on the ring, to give part of it to his new wife, and it was sent to a jeweler in New Orleans around the time of the hurricane. The jeweler was evacuating, and walked out of his shop, and Hernandez said the man went back in because he remembered the ring was in a safe - and got the ring. Hernandez said the man was a Cardinals fan, and liked him, otherwise he may not have the ring.
Coming this week: My predictions for the 2006 season...standings-wise, anyway.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
ANOTHER 7-1 WIN
The Mets, one day after beating the Astros, 7-1, beat the Indians 7-1 on Wednesday. Not much of note from that game. More importantly, Pedro Martinez* had a good session throwing off some kind of mound - we'll see what the papers say tomorrow, but I think they're going to have to back off the "not making his Opening Day start" talk.
WBC ROUNDUP: I like watching these WBC baseball games - a real good one between Panama and Cuba when I got home from work today - I found myself rooting for Panama, perhaps because they were behind, perhaps because I dislike Cuba. Panama tied it in the 9th, but Cuba held on to win in extra innings.
While that game was ending, Canada built a big lead on the U.S., and the U.S. almost came back, but ended up losing 8-6. Now my worst-case scenario comes true - Roger Clemens pitches for a team I'm rooting for, in a clutch situation...so I have to root for him to come up lame or to get rocked early, then have the U.S. come back. Or maybe I just root against the U.S., so I can say it was Clemens' fault they lost.
What's all this Chase Field talk? The U.S. has been practicing/playing their games at Chase Field in Arizona. Is it Chase Field at Bank One Ballpark, or has Chase taken over Bank One, and there is no longer a BOB?
One last WBC note - Italy has a player named Mark Saccomano. I'm not sure if he's affiliated with a Major League team, but I think that's hilarious - and any 'Seinfeld' fan would probably think so too. I wonder if it's Bob's brother.
PROSPECT NOTE: The info on this guy is thin, so I haven't been able to dig up much on him - but watch out for Mitch Wylie. He's a pitcher who the Mets picked up in the Rule 5 draft out of the San Francisco Giants' organization. People have been raving about his stuff early on in spring training, including Ramon Castro, who caught him and started asking reporters about him. The Rule 5 rules mean that Wylie would have to stay on the Mets' 40-man roster or be given back to the Giants, so he might be making some Major League appearances - I'll keep you posted when I find out more about him.
Coming Tomorrow: Barring any big developments, Thursday I will deliver the promised fantasy baseball preview - meaning previewing what I have going on in the fantasy baseball department this coming year. Some interesting stuff - including an invite for you, the reader. So please check back!
WBC ROUNDUP: I like watching these WBC baseball games - a real good one between Panama and Cuba when I got home from work today - I found myself rooting for Panama, perhaps because they were behind, perhaps because I dislike Cuba. Panama tied it in the 9th, but Cuba held on to win in extra innings.
While that game was ending, Canada built a big lead on the U.S., and the U.S. almost came back, but ended up losing 8-6. Now my worst-case scenario comes true - Roger Clemens pitches for a team I'm rooting for, in a clutch situation...so I have to root for him to come up lame or to get rocked early, then have the U.S. come back. Or maybe I just root against the U.S., so I can say it was Clemens' fault they lost.
What's all this Chase Field talk? The U.S. has been practicing/playing their games at Chase Field in Arizona. Is it Chase Field at Bank One Ballpark, or has Chase taken over Bank One, and there is no longer a BOB?
One last WBC note - Italy has a player named Mark Saccomano. I'm not sure if he's affiliated with a Major League team, but I think that's hilarious - and any 'Seinfeld' fan would probably think so too. I wonder if it's Bob's brother.
PROSPECT NOTE: The info on this guy is thin, so I haven't been able to dig up much on him - but watch out for Mitch Wylie. He's a pitcher who the Mets picked up in the Rule 5 draft out of the San Francisco Giants' organization. People have been raving about his stuff early on in spring training, including Ramon Castro, who caught him and started asking reporters about him. The Rule 5 rules mean that Wylie would have to stay on the Mets' 40-man roster or be given back to the Giants, so he might be making some Major League appearances - I'll keep you posted when I find out more about him.
Coming Tomorrow: Barring any big developments, Thursday I will deliver the promised fantasy baseball preview - meaning previewing what I have going on in the fantasy baseball department this coming year. Some interesting stuff - including an invite for you, the reader. So please check back!
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
CONTRIVED CONTROVERSY
I think Pedro Martinez* is going to make his Opening Day start. I really do. It's too early right now to start shifting the rotation so that Tom Glavine can be available on Opening Day. (The big story in the papers Tuesday.) Glavine says it's 50-50 that he will be switched into the Opening Day start, and he sounds like he'll be mad if it ends up upsetting his schedule. I think I'll start panicking next week, if Pedro* gets off his schedule (he's supposed to go two innings on Monday, I think, which is the big milestone to watch for), but for now, this is a media-contrived controversy, because with the WBC, there is really not a whole lot going on at Mets camp.
METS BEAT THE ASTROS, 7-1: Notable from this game - Kaz Matsui had two hits, including a 2-run triple. He broke his 0-for-9 start to spring training (0-for-12 if you count the Puerto Rico exhibition game). I'm telling you, though - I'd be surprised if the triple gets much play in the New York papers - they're going to play up the 0-for-9/12 streak more. There was no mention of Matsui's good at-bat, where he moved the runner up, against Puerto Rico - just the fact that he was 0-for-3.
DELGADO FALLS: So apparently, Carlos Delgado took a backwards tumble off a dais on Monday during a Puerto Rican press conference for the WBC. Come on, why have I not seen video of this? Mets star risking injury or not, anytime someone falls off a dais, I need to see that. Thankfully, Delgado was not hurt.
USA: The U.S. WBC team shut out Mexico 2-0 in their first game. It was fun to watch some baseball - even if Chipper Jones was a major contributor to the win.
MORE ON KIRBY: A dip into the mailbag for another reader's take on Kirby Puckett, who died Monday of a stroke at age 44:
"i can not help but respond to what you wrote about kirby puckett. You say most people will remember him for 1991 and for the sexual abuse allegations.
In my opinion, it is absoloutely neccesary to mention the allegations.
That SI article was shocking when it came out, not just because of the one allegation, which he was ultimately legally cleared from.. but because it was apparently a pattern of behavior.
When his wife divorced him, she sited sexual and physical abuse.. and he had the lovely habit of whipping it out in mall parking lots in front of strangers. and he was kirby puckett.. the most famous man in the state. Imagine that scene. a lady gets out of her car because she needs to get something at sears, and she sees kirby puckett, and for a split second she thinks "oh my god, kirby puckett.. i can't wait to tell my husband and sons. he's their hero".. but suddenly her thoughts change to, "why is he showing me his weiner?" How does she go home and talk to her kids and her husband?
Basically for the last two days, all i have heard about is what a great guy he was because he was short and fat and single handedly won a world series. That's all true (though i don't neccesarily think he was such a shoo in for the hall of fame).. but i have heard some ridiculous statements. Even my hero peter gammons spoke about him as if baseball talent and a smile is all that rates... and harold reynolds made the most ridiculous statement i have ever heard in my life.. "if anyone can beat this, its kirby puckett". So, clearly he went to the same medical school as bill frist (check that out.. a political tie in. dave will get it, kev will not). But that statement is inherrently retarded. because he ran fat despite being a fatty... beating a stroke should be no problem? that's just dumb.
thank you for listening,
justin"
Justin, thanks for weighing in on the Puckett situation. I was starting to regret what I had written, because everyone - everyone - speaks so glowingly about Puckett, and it's just a footnote that he had all of these allegations against him. Until I read his obituary in the paper today, I barely heard about the allegations. So I was starting to feel like I was disrespecting the dead in some way. But you're right - there was a pattern and a history of this type of behavior. And mix in a frustrating end to a career that was the only thing Puckett ever really knew, a weight problem spiraling out of control, it's hard for me to imagine Puckett had a peaceful final few years....nor was he the "perfect/great/honorable" person everyone is making him out to be. A tragic figure? Yes. A hero? No way.
METS BEAT THE ASTROS, 7-1: Notable from this game - Kaz Matsui had two hits, including a 2-run triple. He broke his 0-for-9 start to spring training (0-for-12 if you count the Puerto Rico exhibition game). I'm telling you, though - I'd be surprised if the triple gets much play in the New York papers - they're going to play up the 0-for-9/12 streak more. There was no mention of Matsui's good at-bat, where he moved the runner up, against Puerto Rico - just the fact that he was 0-for-3.
DELGADO FALLS: So apparently, Carlos Delgado took a backwards tumble off a dais on Monday during a Puerto Rican press conference for the WBC. Come on, why have I not seen video of this? Mets star risking injury or not, anytime someone falls off a dais, I need to see that. Thankfully, Delgado was not hurt.
USA: The U.S. WBC team shut out Mexico 2-0 in their first game. It was fun to watch some baseball - even if Chipper Jones was a major contributor to the win.
MORE ON KIRBY: A dip into the mailbag for another reader's take on Kirby Puckett, who died Monday of a stroke at age 44:
"i can not help but respond to what you wrote about kirby puckett. You say most people will remember him for 1991 and for the sexual abuse allegations.
In my opinion, it is absoloutely neccesary to mention the allegations.
That SI article was shocking when it came out, not just because of the one allegation, which he was ultimately legally cleared from.. but because it was apparently a pattern of behavior.
When his wife divorced him, she sited sexual and physical abuse.. and he had the lovely habit of whipping it out in mall parking lots in front of strangers. and he was kirby puckett.. the most famous man in the state. Imagine that scene. a lady gets out of her car because she needs to get something at sears, and she sees kirby puckett, and for a split second she thinks "oh my god, kirby puckett.. i can't wait to tell my husband and sons. he's their hero".. but suddenly her thoughts change to, "why is he showing me his weiner?" How does she go home and talk to her kids and her husband?
Basically for the last two days, all i have heard about is what a great guy he was because he was short and fat and single handedly won a world series. That's all true (though i don't neccesarily think he was such a shoo in for the hall of fame).. but i have heard some ridiculous statements. Even my hero peter gammons spoke about him as if baseball talent and a smile is all that rates... and harold reynolds made the most ridiculous statement i have ever heard in my life.. "if anyone can beat this, its kirby puckett". So, clearly he went to the same medical school as bill frist (check that out.. a political tie in. dave will get it, kev will not). But that statement is inherrently retarded. because he ran fat despite being a fatty... beating a stroke should be no problem? that's just dumb.
thank you for listening,
justin"
Justin, thanks for weighing in on the Puckett situation. I was starting to regret what I had written, because everyone - everyone - speaks so glowingly about Puckett, and it's just a footnote that he had all of these allegations against him. Until I read his obituary in the paper today, I barely heard about the allegations. So I was starting to feel like I was disrespecting the dead in some way. But you're right - there was a pattern and a history of this type of behavior. And mix in a frustrating end to a career that was the only thing Puckett ever really knew, a weight problem spiraling out of control, it's hard for me to imagine Puckett had a peaceful final few years....nor was he the "perfect/great/honorable" person everyone is making him out to be. A tragic figure? Yes. A hero? No way.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
LET THE GAMES (THAT DON'T COUNT) BEGIN
The Mets opened their Grapefruit League exhibition season Thursday afternoon with a 12-7 win over the Cardinals. I know the games don't count, and I'll get real tired of them real soon, but it's nice to see actual scores of actual baseball games.
Supposedly at this point, the pitchers are supposed to be ahead of the hitters. Rare was the pitcher ahead of the hitter in this game. Steve Trachsel pitched poorly, Billy Wagner pitched well. The good news out of this game was Xavier Nady's four hits, with 6 RBI, including a grand slam. Carlos Delgado was 3-for-3.
MAILBAG/PEDRO* UPDATE:
"Dear JohnnyMets,
Just a quick email to say 'JohnnyMets called it.' Pedro pulled out of the World Baseball Classic. I guess the toe just proved too much.
Dave in Brighton"
Thanks Dave...although I'm not really sure I called it. I really thought Pedro* would pitch in the World Baseball Classic at some point. Turns out, the Dominicans didn't want to waste a roster spot on Pedro*, if he wasn't going to be available until possibly the final round, and it would have wasted Pedro*'s spring for the Mets. I didn't realize this, but Major League teams aren't allowed to use a guy in spring training if he's on a WBC roster (which I guess makes sense in all cases except for a guy who is somewhat injured like Martinez*). I'm cool with this whole thing, though, because now Pedro* can focus on the regular season, and get ready for the games that count, as far as I'm concerned.
DARREN DAULTON: Yesterday I promised more from Darren Daulton....so here it is. Turns out, the date he mentioned as the end of the world, as I'm sure you've heard somewhere by now, is the end of the Mayan calendar. But I already mentioned all of that - the new development is that yesterday I heard Daulton on Dan Patrick's show on ESPN Radio. Nearly all of the callers I heard at the end of the show called to support Daulton and tell him how brave he was to come forward with something like this, because he was subjecting himself to ridicule. Well, he sure is. I'm not buying it. I'm willing to take the risk that there will be egg on my face when the world ends in 2012.
SCHEDULING STUFF: I just discovered that Sunday afternoon, the Mets' split-squad game against the Puerto Rican WBC team (featuring Carloses Beltran* and Delgado) will be on ESPN. Monday's game will be too (against Cleveland), but I'll be working...maybe I'll TiVo that. Also, it seems I do not have ESPN Deportes, so hopefully a lot of these games in North America for the WBC will be on regular ESPN and ESPN2 so I can watch them.
I'm determined not to screw up this year on Opening Day. The Mets open up Monday, April 3, against Washington, at 1pm. I'm going to try to avoid human contact, TiVo the game (last year I had to rely on the old-fashioned VCR), and not set the TV to ESPNEWS before I watch the game on delay. See last year's April blog entry to see how I messed up on Opening Day. The good news about this year is that I have a shorter commute to watch the game.
SNY UPDATE: I don't want to have to write a letter to SNY, but there is no e-mail contact on their website (which is up and running), and I really want to be the official blogging partner of the station. Also, it doesn't appear that I have SNY on my DirecTV package...at least yet. This won't affect my ability to watch the Mets games, because I'll still get them through the baseball package - but I do want to watch all of the Mets programming (and Jets programming) the station will feature when it's not showing baseball.
This was a fast week. TGIF. I'll be updating all weekend - especially postgame Sunday. Also coming within the next week - the promised fantasy baseball updates (maybe that will be within the next couple of weeks) and some insight from the wife about our newest addition, coming World Series time. The newest addition is coming World Series time - the insight from the wife is coming in the next week. Think baby names, a la Shea Jones, offspring of Chipper.
Supposedly at this point, the pitchers are supposed to be ahead of the hitters. Rare was the pitcher ahead of the hitter in this game. Steve Trachsel pitched poorly, Billy Wagner pitched well. The good news out of this game was Xavier Nady's four hits, with 6 RBI, including a grand slam. Carlos Delgado was 3-for-3.
MAILBAG/PEDRO* UPDATE:
"Dear JohnnyMets,
Just a quick email to say 'JohnnyMets called it.' Pedro pulled out of the World Baseball Classic. I guess the toe just proved too much.
Dave in Brighton"
Thanks Dave...although I'm not really sure I called it. I really thought Pedro* would pitch in the World Baseball Classic at some point. Turns out, the Dominicans didn't want to waste a roster spot on Pedro*, if he wasn't going to be available until possibly the final round, and it would have wasted Pedro*'s spring for the Mets. I didn't realize this, but Major League teams aren't allowed to use a guy in spring training if he's on a WBC roster (which I guess makes sense in all cases except for a guy who is somewhat injured like Martinez*). I'm cool with this whole thing, though, because now Pedro* can focus on the regular season, and get ready for the games that count, as far as I'm concerned.
DARREN DAULTON: Yesterday I promised more from Darren Daulton....so here it is. Turns out, the date he mentioned as the end of the world, as I'm sure you've heard somewhere by now, is the end of the Mayan calendar. But I already mentioned all of that - the new development is that yesterday I heard Daulton on Dan Patrick's show on ESPN Radio. Nearly all of the callers I heard at the end of the show called to support Daulton and tell him how brave he was to come forward with something like this, because he was subjecting himself to ridicule. Well, he sure is. I'm not buying it. I'm willing to take the risk that there will be egg on my face when the world ends in 2012.
SCHEDULING STUFF: I just discovered that Sunday afternoon, the Mets' split-squad game against the Puerto Rican WBC team (featuring Carloses Beltran* and Delgado) will be on ESPN. Monday's game will be too (against Cleveland), but I'll be working...maybe I'll TiVo that. Also, it seems I do not have ESPN Deportes, so hopefully a lot of these games in North America for the WBC will be on regular ESPN and ESPN2 so I can watch them.
I'm determined not to screw up this year on Opening Day. The Mets open up Monday, April 3, against Washington, at 1pm. I'm going to try to avoid human contact, TiVo the game (last year I had to rely on the old-fashioned VCR), and not set the TV to ESPNEWS before I watch the game on delay. See last year's April blog entry to see how I messed up on Opening Day. The good news about this year is that I have a shorter commute to watch the game.
SNY UPDATE: I don't want to have to write a letter to SNY, but there is no e-mail contact on their website (which is up and running), and I really want to be the official blogging partner of the station. Also, it doesn't appear that I have SNY on my DirecTV package...at least yet. This won't affect my ability to watch the Mets games, because I'll still get them through the baseball package - but I do want to watch all of the Mets programming (and Jets programming) the station will feature when it's not showing baseball.
This was a fast week. TGIF. I'll be updating all weekend - especially postgame Sunday. Also coming within the next week - the promised fantasy baseball updates (maybe that will be within the next couple of weeks) and some insight from the wife about our newest addition, coming World Series time. The newest addition is coming World Series time - the insight from the wife is coming in the next week. Think baby names, a la Shea Jones, offspring of Chipper.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
BILLY, BARRY, AND BOONE....AND MUCH MORE
Leading off, good news leading up to the World Baseball Classic - Billy Wagner is not participating. Wagner withdrew from the WBC on Wednesday, saying he didn't think he'd be effective enough this early on. He says he's not a good pitcher in March, and didn't want to bring down the U.S. team. I'm glad he won't be suffering a season-ending injury during the WBC, but part of me was hoping Wagner got that "bad pitching early on" out of the way in the tournament, and was ready to go by the time the Mets' season started.
Secondly, 2B Bret Boone retired Wednesday, saying he just didn't have the motivation to play anymore. Boone's numbers have fallen off dramatically the past couple of seasons...just saying....I don't think he was going to give the Mets those types of huge numbers this year. Actually, I'm willing to bet he wouldn't produce anything close to those numbers. And he was probably thinking the same thing.
Lastly (in my opening remarks, anyway), one day of Barry Bonds dressed like a woman for 'Giants Idol' was amusing. Day Two, on Wednesday, was borderling disturbing. Also, take note, ESPN - Pedro Gomez isn't suited to doing anything that isn't remotely serious. He looked pained trying to smile in his stand-up (on-camera piece) in his 'Giants Idol' report from Arizona.
IN OTHER 'BALLPLAYERS I DISLIKE' NEWS: Roger Clemens is pitching for Team USA in the WBC. With the Astros the past couple of years, and now with the U.S., I've decided I am tired of rooting for the team Clemens plays for, while rooting against him. I don't want to root for him to pitch poorly, get knocked out in the second inning, and then root for the Astros/Americans to come back and win. So despite my like of the Astros (in other words, they're a team I usually don't mind rooting for), I will root for no further Astros success until Roger Clemens is no longer on that team....unless they call up his son Koby. And speaking of Koby....are you kidding me that he homered off his dad the other day? And then Clemens brushes him back? Yeah, how long have they been planning that media coup? For 18 years, probably.
AND NOW TO 'BALLPLAYERS I LIKE': Al Leiter is entering the rotation of Team USA - replacing C.C. Sabathia, who withdrew from the team along with Wagner. That'll be fun to watch - I like rooting for Leiter still.
HE'S NUMBER ONE: The talk out of the Atlanta Braves' camp on Tuesday was that Tim Hudson will be the team's Opening Day starter, taking over the number one role from John Smoltz. Smoltz said he's fine with it - he's just happy to be starting and healthy entering the year. You may remember Smoltz' arm almost fell off at the end of last year's playoffs. (Hopefully the Mets will give Smoltz plenty of time to rest this year, with a nice October off.) Meanwhile, I was surprised to read that Hudson will be the Braves' sixth Opening Day starting pitcher in the past six years. I thought there'd been more stability there recently.
COMMENTS ON THE 'COMMENTS': It's only fitting that Kevin would be the first to comment - he's done so much for this site out of the Southern Bureau (also, the publicity he has given the site is unmatched - both on the web and over the airwaves). More on him later. As for The Wife, I'm anticipating many a comment from her, and yes, I do feel very bad for Mrs. Wilk. But this is a Mets site, darn it, not a 'Scrubs' blog.
AS PROMISED, MORE FROM KEVIN/MAILBAG/'86 METS ROUNDUP: Three topics in one shot here - first, the e-mail:
"Johnny...
You going to see this movie??
http://www.game6film.com
Before you get all excited - watch the trailer. I think its a Red Sox love story. Ugh.
kevin
JMDBSDC Southern Chief."
Well, I watched the trailer. If you're going to do the same, I recommend you treat yourself to the "Large Trailer". Why would you choose the small one, that's what I want to know. Go ahead - check it out....I'll wait.........
As you might expect, I have lots of thoughts on this movie. First of all, it's a brilliant concept. I love the idea - "What were you doing that night?" It's great. But I think it's all wrong here. First of all, the game seems to serve as something of a backdrop (I have no basis for this, but that's what it seems like to me), and I feel like it would be torture for me to see the movie (which, of course, I'm probably going to do anyway). I think I'll be sitting there with my antennae up looking for any clues as to what it was really like to be a Red Sox fan at that moment - or looking for factual errors....or trying to re-live that night. It's an obsession for me. So I think I will be disappointed. But I have to check it out anyway.
Next, if you explore that site (how long did it take you to even figure out where the links were? I dragged my mouse across the screen about ten times before I realized those words on the newspaper were the links...but that's just me. I thought it was a big screen that was just promoting the "Where Were You?" contest.), you'll see that you can read other people's submissions about where they were. This is another obsession of mine - I like hearing about the champagne and T-shirts being hurried away from the Red Sox clubhouse after the Mets tied it up....Keith Hernandez in the clubhouse after making the second out....Ron Darling's yet-to-be-told on johnnymets.blogspot.com story about that night.
I skimmed through the stories about where people were, and I came across one that particularly struck my fancy - a guy who was a freshman at BU, from New York, living in Warren Towers (a dorm at Boston University where I and every one of my readers has lived...unless my readership increases dramatically soon), surrounded by Red Sox fans (both true blue and wannabe). He has a good story going, and answers my question about what it would be like had the Mets been any good when I was in college in Boston...but he loses me when he insists that Ray Knight was on third base after the wild pitch to Mookie Wilson. The wild pitch advanced Knight to second, not third, and he scored when the ball went through Buckner's legs. Now, the other fact that disappoints me about this guy is that he insists that Wilson would have beaten Buckner to the bag (which I agree with) had Buckner caught the ball. But he says that would have won the game for the Mets. All that ensures is that Knight would have gone to third, and Wilson would have been at first for, I think, Howard Johnson. So at best HoJo wins the game - at worst it's extra innings. I hope that guy doesn't win the contest - because he needs to get his facts straight.
Speaking of getting facts straight - I have a very poor long-term memory, unfortunately. I know people who can remember things from when they were 2 or 3 years old. I have trouble remembering much about when I was younger. So, sadly, I'm not sure where I was the night of Game 6. Chances are, I was at home, or at my friend Steven's house. I know we watched some of the World Series at Steven's. I feel like those were Games 1 and 2, though. Either way, I need to talk to my dad and try to remember about the night of Game 6. I can't believe this hasn't come up before - but I DON'T know where I was. I sure do remember the game, though - perhaps all of my future watchings of Game 6, on ESPN Classic and on tape, etc. - have diminished my original memory of the event. But that's probably a topic for the day I appear on Dr. Phil, with my wife and future child - as to why my obsession with the '86 Mets makes me an awful husband/father.
Oh - one more thing about that movie - seeing Bebe Neuwirth in the movie would probably also confuse me, because while the guy Michael Keaton plays is cheating on his wife with Neuwirth, I'm going to be thinking that Neuwirth is cheating on Frasier. Because if that movie is taking place in '86, she's Lilith, darn it.
I need to go to bed - it's too late for a school night - but coming tomorrow, I'm going to try to touch on Wednesday's Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio, on which I heard Dan talk to Darren Daulton for a little bit. And callers came to Daulton's defense!
Secondly, 2B Bret Boone retired Wednesday, saying he just didn't have the motivation to play anymore. Boone's numbers have fallen off dramatically the past couple of seasons...just saying....I don't think he was going to give the Mets those types of huge numbers this year. Actually, I'm willing to bet he wouldn't produce anything close to those numbers. And he was probably thinking the same thing.
Lastly (in my opening remarks, anyway), one day of Barry Bonds dressed like a woman for 'Giants Idol' was amusing. Day Two, on Wednesday, was borderling disturbing. Also, take note, ESPN - Pedro Gomez isn't suited to doing anything that isn't remotely serious. He looked pained trying to smile in his stand-up (on-camera piece) in his 'Giants Idol' report from Arizona.
IN OTHER 'BALLPLAYERS I DISLIKE' NEWS: Roger Clemens is pitching for Team USA in the WBC. With the Astros the past couple of years, and now with the U.S., I've decided I am tired of rooting for the team Clemens plays for, while rooting against him. I don't want to root for him to pitch poorly, get knocked out in the second inning, and then root for the Astros/Americans to come back and win. So despite my like of the Astros (in other words, they're a team I usually don't mind rooting for), I will root for no further Astros success until Roger Clemens is no longer on that team....unless they call up his son Koby. And speaking of Koby....are you kidding me that he homered off his dad the other day? And then Clemens brushes him back? Yeah, how long have they been planning that media coup? For 18 years, probably.
AND NOW TO 'BALLPLAYERS I LIKE': Al Leiter is entering the rotation of Team USA - replacing C.C. Sabathia, who withdrew from the team along with Wagner. That'll be fun to watch - I like rooting for Leiter still.
HE'S NUMBER ONE: The talk out of the Atlanta Braves' camp on Tuesday was that Tim Hudson will be the team's Opening Day starter, taking over the number one role from John Smoltz. Smoltz said he's fine with it - he's just happy to be starting and healthy entering the year. You may remember Smoltz' arm almost fell off at the end of last year's playoffs. (Hopefully the Mets will give Smoltz plenty of time to rest this year, with a nice October off.) Meanwhile, I was surprised to read that Hudson will be the Braves' sixth Opening Day starting pitcher in the past six years. I thought there'd been more stability there recently.
COMMENTS ON THE 'COMMENTS': It's only fitting that Kevin would be the first to comment - he's done so much for this site out of the Southern Bureau (also, the publicity he has given the site is unmatched - both on the web and over the airwaves). More on him later. As for The Wife, I'm anticipating many a comment from her, and yes, I do feel very bad for Mrs. Wilk. But this is a Mets site, darn it, not a 'Scrubs' blog.
AS PROMISED, MORE FROM KEVIN/MAILBAG/'86 METS ROUNDUP: Three topics in one shot here - first, the e-mail:
"Johnny...
You going to see this movie??
http://www.game6film.com
Before you get all excited - watch the trailer. I think its a Red Sox love story. Ugh.
kevin
JMDBSDC Southern Chief."
Well, I watched the trailer. If you're going to do the same, I recommend you treat yourself to the "Large Trailer". Why would you choose the small one, that's what I want to know. Go ahead - check it out....I'll wait.........
As you might expect, I have lots of thoughts on this movie. First of all, it's a brilliant concept. I love the idea - "What were you doing that night?" It's great. But I think it's all wrong here. First of all, the game seems to serve as something of a backdrop (I have no basis for this, but that's what it seems like to me), and I feel like it would be torture for me to see the movie (which, of course, I'm probably going to do anyway). I think I'll be sitting there with my antennae up looking for any clues as to what it was really like to be a Red Sox fan at that moment - or looking for factual errors....or trying to re-live that night. It's an obsession for me. So I think I will be disappointed. But I have to check it out anyway.
Next, if you explore that site (how long did it take you to even figure out where the links were? I dragged my mouse across the screen about ten times before I realized those words on the newspaper were the links...but that's just me. I thought it was a big screen that was just promoting the "Where Were You?" contest.), you'll see that you can read other people's submissions about where they were. This is another obsession of mine - I like hearing about the champagne and T-shirts being hurried away from the Red Sox clubhouse after the Mets tied it up....Keith Hernandez in the clubhouse after making the second out....Ron Darling's yet-to-be-told on johnnymets.blogspot.com story about that night.
I skimmed through the stories about where people were, and I came across one that particularly struck my fancy - a guy who was a freshman at BU, from New York, living in Warren Towers (a dorm at Boston University where I and every one of my readers has lived...unless my readership increases dramatically soon), surrounded by Red Sox fans (both true blue and wannabe). He has a good story going, and answers my question about what it would be like had the Mets been any good when I was in college in Boston...but he loses me when he insists that Ray Knight was on third base after the wild pitch to Mookie Wilson. The wild pitch advanced Knight to second, not third, and he scored when the ball went through Buckner's legs. Now, the other fact that disappoints me about this guy is that he insists that Wilson would have beaten Buckner to the bag (which I agree with) had Buckner caught the ball. But he says that would have won the game for the Mets. All that ensures is that Knight would have gone to third, and Wilson would have been at first for, I think, Howard Johnson. So at best HoJo wins the game - at worst it's extra innings. I hope that guy doesn't win the contest - because he needs to get his facts straight.
Speaking of getting facts straight - I have a very poor long-term memory, unfortunately. I know people who can remember things from when they were 2 or 3 years old. I have trouble remembering much about when I was younger. So, sadly, I'm not sure where I was the night of Game 6. Chances are, I was at home, or at my friend Steven's house. I know we watched some of the World Series at Steven's. I feel like those were Games 1 and 2, though. Either way, I need to talk to my dad and try to remember about the night of Game 6. I can't believe this hasn't come up before - but I DON'T know where I was. I sure do remember the game, though - perhaps all of my future watchings of Game 6, on ESPN Classic and on tape, etc. - have diminished my original memory of the event. But that's probably a topic for the day I appear on Dr. Phil, with my wife and future child - as to why my obsession with the '86 Mets makes me an awful husband/father.
Oh - one more thing about that movie - seeing Bebe Neuwirth in the movie would probably also confuse me, because while the guy Michael Keaton plays is cheating on his wife with Neuwirth, I'm going to be thinking that Neuwirth is cheating on Frasier. Because if that movie is taking place in '86, she's Lilith, darn it.
I need to go to bed - it's too late for a school night - but coming tomorrow, I'm going to try to touch on Wednesday's Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio, on which I heard Dan talk to Darren Daulton for a little bit. And callers came to Daulton's defense!
Monday, February 27, 2006
WBC FEARS
Yesterday I wrote how I was getting pretty excited to see some baseball, in the form of the World Baseball Classic - of course if there is high quality baseball on, I'm going to watch it (I need to check my listings to see if I get ESPN Deportes). But lately, I've been thinking about the wrench it could throw into my dream Mets 2006 season.
I've talked many times about Pedro* and his toe, and how I think the toe problem is a good thing as far as Pedro*'s participation in the WBC is concerned. The likes of the WBC is the whole reason Pedro* has an asterisk next to his name - and I don't want to jinx anything, but last year made me believe we could have dropped the asterisk this year.
Not so with Carlos Beltran*. He proved he was very worthy of an asterisk...but a successful season this year could result in dropping the mark. But what if Beltran* gets hurt while playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic? That's on the Mets' dime...and it would be quite fitting, with their history of free agent signings.
I haven't touched much on the Carlos Delgado signing. I'll get more into it down the road, but I'm not expecting huge things out of Delgado this year. That's why he hasn't even merited getting an asterisk to this point. Delgado will put up good numbers, I think, but they won't be typical Delgado numbers. I expect a dip in his batting average, and I'd be very surprised to see more than 30 homers out of him this year. All that said, it would be just the Mets' luck if Delgado got hurt in the WBC and wasn't effective for the duration of his contract.
Those are some big names - but what about the youngsters? THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, has already dealt with his share of injuries. Last season was a joy to see what it would be like with Reyes playing healthy. We all wanted to see more of that. But isn't his participation in the WBC (for the Dominican Republic) playing with fire? Seems that way to me.
And David Wright plays every game hard. You better believe, if he ends up replacing Chipper Jones on the U.S. squad, he's going all out for his country, if he gets to play behind A-Rod. We don't need him risking his body in any games but the Mets' games.
I guess I agree with all the WBC naysayers - the tournament is a cool concept...but the timing is poor. The ideal time for the tournament would be after the season - not instead of spring training. By the way, there are more Mets than the ones I mentioned above participating in the WBC - among them, pitchers Juan Padilla, and closer Billy Wagner (see free-agent signing Delgado, above). And as for the players I mentioned above, I'm not entirely sure what their playing status is with their countries (whether or not they're starting, etc.) The information around all that is vague...and perhaps it's because some of these players still haven't given their official commitment. I just hope everyone gets out healthy.
PERSONAL THOUGHT: I am so glad I write this thing. It really keeps my excitement for the baseball season in check. I had a conversation with a friend the other day about how the Winter Olympics really did a nice job of helping us get through the down time of winter - after football season and before baseball season starts up. This year, the New York Rangers are doing very well, so there will be some meaningful hockey to watch down the stretch, as well as some meaningful college hockey, with my B.U. Terriers hoping to do well in the post-season. There's also the NCAA Tournament. But none of that can quell my excitement for the baseball season. Writing this helps a lot, though. After each posting, I know I'm one day closer to Opening Day, and all the great things that come with it.
SNY NEWS: The New York Daily News is reporting SNY is very close to a deal with Cablevision, so it doesn't seem like SNY is heading towards the same impasse that the YES Network dealt with. Every time I read about SNY, though, I never hear about DirecTV. I'm still hoping there's no problem there. Also, I wish I could break the big news of an SNY deal - as the official blogging partner of the Mets' new network. I suppose there's still hope - I've gotta get in touch with them somehow!
COMING THIS WEEK: There are a few interesting fantasy baseball-related events/topics that I want to address with my readership. I will try to post those sometime this week.
I've talked many times about Pedro* and his toe, and how I think the toe problem is a good thing as far as Pedro*'s participation in the WBC is concerned. The likes of the WBC is the whole reason Pedro* has an asterisk next to his name - and I don't want to jinx anything, but last year made me believe we could have dropped the asterisk this year.
Not so with Carlos Beltran*. He proved he was very worthy of an asterisk...but a successful season this year could result in dropping the mark. But what if Beltran* gets hurt while playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic? That's on the Mets' dime...and it would be quite fitting, with their history of free agent signings.
I haven't touched much on the Carlos Delgado signing. I'll get more into it down the road, but I'm not expecting huge things out of Delgado this year. That's why he hasn't even merited getting an asterisk to this point. Delgado will put up good numbers, I think, but they won't be typical Delgado numbers. I expect a dip in his batting average, and I'd be very surprised to see more than 30 homers out of him this year. All that said, it would be just the Mets' luck if Delgado got hurt in the WBC and wasn't effective for the duration of his contract.
Those are some big names - but what about the youngsters? THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, has already dealt with his share of injuries. Last season was a joy to see what it would be like with Reyes playing healthy. We all wanted to see more of that. But isn't his participation in the WBC (for the Dominican Republic) playing with fire? Seems that way to me.
And David Wright plays every game hard. You better believe, if he ends up replacing Chipper Jones on the U.S. squad, he's going all out for his country, if he gets to play behind A-Rod. We don't need him risking his body in any games but the Mets' games.
I guess I agree with all the WBC naysayers - the tournament is a cool concept...but the timing is poor. The ideal time for the tournament would be after the season - not instead of spring training. By the way, there are more Mets than the ones I mentioned above participating in the WBC - among them, pitchers Juan Padilla, and closer Billy Wagner (see free-agent signing Delgado, above). And as for the players I mentioned above, I'm not entirely sure what their playing status is with their countries (whether or not they're starting, etc.) The information around all that is vague...and perhaps it's because some of these players still haven't given their official commitment. I just hope everyone gets out healthy.
PERSONAL THOUGHT: I am so glad I write this thing. It really keeps my excitement for the baseball season in check. I had a conversation with a friend the other day about how the Winter Olympics really did a nice job of helping us get through the down time of winter - after football season and before baseball season starts up. This year, the New York Rangers are doing very well, so there will be some meaningful hockey to watch down the stretch, as well as some meaningful college hockey, with my B.U. Terriers hoping to do well in the post-season. There's also the NCAA Tournament. But none of that can quell my excitement for the baseball season. Writing this helps a lot, though. After each posting, I know I'm one day closer to Opening Day, and all the great things that come with it.
SNY NEWS: The New York Daily News is reporting SNY is very close to a deal with Cablevision, so it doesn't seem like SNY is heading towards the same impasse that the YES Network dealt with. Every time I read about SNY, though, I never hear about DirecTV. I'm still hoping there's no problem there. Also, I wish I could break the big news of an SNY deal - as the official blogging partner of the Mets' new network. I suppose there's still hope - I've gotta get in touch with them somehow!
COMING THIS WEEK: There are a few interesting fantasy baseball-related events/topics that I want to address with my readership. I will try to post those sometime this week.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TEAM!
Good news, as far as I'm concerned, from mets.com Sunday. There was a big article about Cliff Floyd, and how he's convinced he will be hitting sixth this season. The reasoning: Carlos Delgado is hitting fourth, in the cleanup spot. That's pretty much as definite as things get this season. Floyd says Randolph won't hit the two lefties in a row, so that eliminates the third and fifth spots in the order, and Floyd says he definitely isn't hitting second. So he's hitting sixth. The big deal, though, is that it isn't a big deal.
I have seen a lot of maturity out of Floyd in his years with the Mets. It's not that he was ever a selfish player - I've always liked him. But he was injury-plagued, and the Mets had some very unsuccessful seasons during his tenure, so he had nothing to pursue but individual accomplishments. Last year, during the first half of the season, Floyd carried this team...and he did it because he sensed they could do special things. Now, he knows this season can be even more special...and I think he knows that his time is running short. So Floyd (and, it seems, everyone else on the team) is really playing up the "if we're going to win a championship, we're going to do it as a team". He says even though he was the cleanup guy last year, he will hit sixth if that's what it's going to take for the team to win. The "we" and "team" aspects of the article on mets.com were very good to see - and the number of players who feel this way is also very encouraging. I think a big clubhouse guy this year is going to be Julio Franco - and I think his influence is already starting to show in the way the Mets are acting.
2B UPDATE: Jeff Keppinger will be in New York Monday to have his back checked. He apparently tweaked it doing some jumping exercises...I may have to take back what I said about Keppinger taking over 2B for the Mets. This injury, combined with Kaz Matsui's conditioning really point towards Matsui winning back his job.
WBC: I was looking for some information on the World Baseball Classic today, and found the World Baseball Classic Website. It's pretty thorough, and looking through that website a bit will get you psyched for the tournament. It starts Thursday, by the way, with games in Japan. I figured out why it hasn't been talked up that much here yet (at least the games - the players who won't be playing have certainly been talked about plenty) - it's because there are opening round games in Japan, then North America. From what I can tell, the Japanese games start first, so that by the time the North American games end, the teams that come out of Japan will be able to travel, and won't be at a disadvantage when they have to head this way. The North American games, by the way, start a week from Tuesday - around March 7th.
'86 METS ROUNDUP: A couple of bits of information here - I was driving back from upstate New York early Sunday morning, and caught some WFAN programming. I was listening to a little of Ed Randall's 'Talking Baseball', live from Shea Stadium with members of the 1986 Mets (who were greeting fans buying tickets at Shea). Unfortunately, I could only hear one complete interview, but it was a good one. I heard Ron Darling talk about a few things - among them growing up a Red Sox fan, and his experience the night of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series (a good story, which I will relate in a future '86 Mets roundup). And I have to apologize - the other day I wrote that Ron Darling wasn't as good an analyst as Keith Hernandez. He's a captivating speaker, at least he was on the radio Sunday morning. And I thought about his work for the Nationals, and I am realizing that the Nationals played a very boring brand of baseball. So I'm not going to hold that against him. I'm looking forward to Darling's analysis this season.
Also in '86 Mets news: Darryl Strawberry will be at the Mets' Spring Training Complex all next week in many different capacities. Strawberry is apparently a huge draw still for fans and for players. He will serve as an advisor for players, and a P.R. draw for the rest of the organization.
SNY UPDATE: I am working very hard to make sure that the Mets' new network, Sports Net New York, is going to be carried on DirecTV. I've been looking forward to this Mets' new network ever since I got the dish, and I would be heartbroken if they don't end up carrying the network. This week, time permitting, I am also going to step up a new effort: I want to be the official blog of SNY. Think about it - I can link to their website - they can link to mine! (I might benefit from that relationship a little more than them, but still....) This has some very good potential. I went looking for some information about the new network, and I will say this - right now my website is in much better shape than theirs. But that means nothing - I still want this partnership to work!
I have seen a lot of maturity out of Floyd in his years with the Mets. It's not that he was ever a selfish player - I've always liked him. But he was injury-plagued, and the Mets had some very unsuccessful seasons during his tenure, so he had nothing to pursue but individual accomplishments. Last year, during the first half of the season, Floyd carried this team...and he did it because he sensed they could do special things. Now, he knows this season can be even more special...and I think he knows that his time is running short. So Floyd (and, it seems, everyone else on the team) is really playing up the "if we're going to win a championship, we're going to do it as a team". He says even though he was the cleanup guy last year, he will hit sixth if that's what it's going to take for the team to win. The "we" and "team" aspects of the article on mets.com were very good to see - and the number of players who feel this way is also very encouraging. I think a big clubhouse guy this year is going to be Julio Franco - and I think his influence is already starting to show in the way the Mets are acting.
2B UPDATE: Jeff Keppinger will be in New York Monday to have his back checked. He apparently tweaked it doing some jumping exercises...I may have to take back what I said about Keppinger taking over 2B for the Mets. This injury, combined with Kaz Matsui's conditioning really point towards Matsui winning back his job.
WBC: I was looking for some information on the World Baseball Classic today, and found the World Baseball Classic Website. It's pretty thorough, and looking through that website a bit will get you psyched for the tournament. It starts Thursday, by the way, with games in Japan. I figured out why it hasn't been talked up that much here yet (at least the games - the players who won't be playing have certainly been talked about plenty) - it's because there are opening round games in Japan, then North America. From what I can tell, the Japanese games start first, so that by the time the North American games end, the teams that come out of Japan will be able to travel, and won't be at a disadvantage when they have to head this way. The North American games, by the way, start a week from Tuesday - around March 7th.
'86 METS ROUNDUP: A couple of bits of information here - I was driving back from upstate New York early Sunday morning, and caught some WFAN programming. I was listening to a little of Ed Randall's 'Talking Baseball', live from Shea Stadium with members of the 1986 Mets (who were greeting fans buying tickets at Shea). Unfortunately, I could only hear one complete interview, but it was a good one. I heard Ron Darling talk about a few things - among them growing up a Red Sox fan, and his experience the night of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series (a good story, which I will relate in a future '86 Mets roundup). And I have to apologize - the other day I wrote that Ron Darling wasn't as good an analyst as Keith Hernandez. He's a captivating speaker, at least he was on the radio Sunday morning. And I thought about his work for the Nationals, and I am realizing that the Nationals played a very boring brand of baseball. So I'm not going to hold that against him. I'm looking forward to Darling's analysis this season.
Also in '86 Mets news: Darryl Strawberry will be at the Mets' Spring Training Complex all next week in many different capacities. Strawberry is apparently a huge draw still for fans and for players. He will serve as an advisor for players, and a P.R. draw for the rest of the organization.
SNY UPDATE: I am working very hard to make sure that the Mets' new network, Sports Net New York, is going to be carried on DirecTV. I've been looking forward to this Mets' new network ever since I got the dish, and I would be heartbroken if they don't end up carrying the network. This week, time permitting, I am also going to step up a new effort: I want to be the official blog of SNY. Think about it - I can link to their website - they can link to mine! (I might benefit from that relationship a little more than them, but still....) This has some very good potential. I went looking for some information about the new network, and I will say this - right now my website is in much better shape than theirs. But that means nothing - I still want this partnership to work!
Friday, February 24, 2006
DAY TWO OF CAMP
I guess the most important thing to note from Day Two of camp was the lack of Pedro Martinez*. He had some "personal business" to attend to, and left camp, but will be back on Saturday. Willie Randolph said Martinez* was still in Florida, within two or three hours of Tradition Field. Martinez* has been a good soldier so far, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that this was something important, and not Pedro* up to his old tricks (read: pulling a Manny).
Speaking of Pedro*, and Manny, the big news in the Friday papers was that Manny would not be participating in the World Baseball Classic, and it looked "very doubtful" that Pedro* would be participating too. Well, I don't know what's up with Manny, but I said here on Thursday that Pedro* would probably play, just not in the first round (based on what I could glean from various reports). On Friday, a date was set for Pedro*'s participation - he's scheduled to pitch in a second-round game in the Classic on March 13th. I like getting one over on the papers.
There's some good stuff in the Friday papers too. It might be too late by the time many of you read this, but John Harper had an excellent article in Friday's New York Daily News basically outlining why it's impossible not to like David Wright. In case you can't get to it in the Daily News archives, Harper told how there was a photo shoot on Thursday for ESPN The Magazine, on which Wright is supposed to be the baseball cover boy in a couple of weeks, and how Wright also has an endorsement deal with Wilson, the glove manufacturer. He quoted Wright as saying these types of things bring attention to him, which means he only has to perform better. The article also talks about Wright's friendship with Cliff Floyd, and how he has stayed well grounded despite his growing fame. (I just hope he stays that way throughout his career - I would hate to see him change into the cocky athlete that has come to typify Major League Baseball.)
Here's the best thing about Wright - which is touched on in the article. He talks about how much he wants to win - and how much he wants to win for the fans of New York. He says there was a game last year, when the Mets were chasing the Phillies, and were just a game out, where Shea Stadium was sold out, and was rocking because it was so loud (say what you will about Shea, it's a dump, good riddance when they get a new stadium.......but when that place is packed and gets loud, it's an awesome place to be). He says he wants there to be 50,000 cheering like that all summer. Here's a point that comes up a lot - and in most cases I believe it. I heard this argument last on Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPNRadio. The argument: fans care more about the results on the field, in some cases, than the athletes playing the games. Athletes say they have to put losses behind them because they have to turn around the next day (or in the case of pro football, the next week) and get ready for another game. For the fans, the loss sits with them until the next win. And there's no reward, really, for being a fan. The athletes get paid, we pay lots of money - on merchandise, tickets, etc. So, in most cases, I believe a fan cares more about a game than certain athletes do. But it's players like David Wright (at this stage in his career...and hopefully, throughout his career) that appreciate the fans, and want to win as much as the fans want a win, that make it worth rooting for. So a good article on Wright by John Harper in the Daily News, with some editorializing by me.
By the way - it's that desire to win that has David Wright diving all over the field for ground balls hit by a coach during Day Two of spring training workouts,
SPECIAL: In his address to the players on Day One of Spring Training Thursday, Willie Randolph told the players that they needed to "get ready for a special season". This is going to be a fun season - I just hope everyone can stay healthy.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Kaz Matsui has reported to camp in incredible shape. He's been working with his own personal trainer - a former teammate from Japan. (In accordance to club policy, the trainer won't be able to go into the clubhouse, either at home or on the road, but Matsui is welcome to work out with him on his own time.) Matsui's condition has been drawing raves. And on Thursday, in opening workouts, Matsui hit a homer off of flamethrower Billy Wagner. Might not want to read into that too much, though - don't forget that Matsui has homered on the first pitch he's seen each of the past two seasons - so the first day of spring training is no different. Willie Randolph had a funny comment about it too - first he complimented Matsui because at this point of spring training, everyone says the pitchers are way ahead of the hitters, so for Kaz to get a homer was a good sign. But Randolph went on to say that Matsui probably got lucky, and just stepped into one. I'm going to say this one more time - and it might not be the last one. I really have always liked Kaz Matsui, from the beginning. He's started to wear out his welcome, but if he earns the starting second base job, and performs well this year, I'll be thrilled. He has been a great clutch hitter, so I can see him contributing. I would love to see Matsui at second, and let Keppinger have another year at Triple-A, and if that happens, I will be leading the "Comeback Player of the Year" charge for Kaz Matsui.
RESPECT FOR RANDOLPH: I think part of the reason Pedro Martinez* has been such a good soldier for the Mets has been the fact that he has a lot of respect for Willie Randolph, being a former player. There was a throwaway line in one of the papers about Randolph, and how the players respect him since he played the game - among the players mentioned were Martinez* and Cliff Floyd. I'm thinking back to Pedro*'s past managers - Felipe Alou, with the Expos, where he didn't act up - I'm sure he respected Alou. And breaking in with the Dodgers, he would have had to have been crazy to disrespect Tommy Lasorda. With the Red Sox, Pedro* played for Jimy Williams/Joe Kerrigan/Grady Little/Terry Francona. I don't think he necessarily DIS-respected any of those guys, I just think he has more respect for a former player (Randolph) than he did for any of the above. Just a thought.
USING THEIR HEAD: The Mets are among a few teams (I've heard the Angels mentioned as another) that will be using a new form of aerodynamic helmet this season. The helmets are supposed to help cool the head, but also provide better protection. They have air holes in them, and the Mets have one style that will actually be two-tone. Should be neat.
I'm away for the weekend, and school resumes next week, so though I will try my best to keep updating during spring training, I can't promise everyday updates. Please check back often - I'll get into regular updates during the regular season.
Speaking of Pedro*, and Manny, the big news in the Friday papers was that Manny would not be participating in the World Baseball Classic, and it looked "very doubtful" that Pedro* would be participating too. Well, I don't know what's up with Manny, but I said here on Thursday that Pedro* would probably play, just not in the first round (based on what I could glean from various reports). On Friday, a date was set for Pedro*'s participation - he's scheduled to pitch in a second-round game in the Classic on March 13th. I like getting one over on the papers.
There's some good stuff in the Friday papers too. It might be too late by the time many of you read this, but John Harper had an excellent article in Friday's New York Daily News basically outlining why it's impossible not to like David Wright. In case you can't get to it in the Daily News archives, Harper told how there was a photo shoot on Thursday for ESPN The Magazine, on which Wright is supposed to be the baseball cover boy in a couple of weeks, and how Wright also has an endorsement deal with Wilson, the glove manufacturer. He quoted Wright as saying these types of things bring attention to him, which means he only has to perform better. The article also talks about Wright's friendship with Cliff Floyd, and how he has stayed well grounded despite his growing fame. (I just hope he stays that way throughout his career - I would hate to see him change into the cocky athlete that has come to typify Major League Baseball.)
Here's the best thing about Wright - which is touched on in the article. He talks about how much he wants to win - and how much he wants to win for the fans of New York. He says there was a game last year, when the Mets were chasing the Phillies, and were just a game out, where Shea Stadium was sold out, and was rocking because it was so loud (say what you will about Shea, it's a dump, good riddance when they get a new stadium.......but when that place is packed and gets loud, it's an awesome place to be). He says he wants there to be 50,000 cheering like that all summer. Here's a point that comes up a lot - and in most cases I believe it. I heard this argument last on Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPNRadio. The argument: fans care more about the results on the field, in some cases, than the athletes playing the games. Athletes say they have to put losses behind them because they have to turn around the next day (or in the case of pro football, the next week) and get ready for another game. For the fans, the loss sits with them until the next win. And there's no reward, really, for being a fan. The athletes get paid, we pay lots of money - on merchandise, tickets, etc. So, in most cases, I believe a fan cares more about a game than certain athletes do. But it's players like David Wright (at this stage in his career...and hopefully, throughout his career) that appreciate the fans, and want to win as much as the fans want a win, that make it worth rooting for. So a good article on Wright by John Harper in the Daily News, with some editorializing by me.
By the way - it's that desire to win that has David Wright diving all over the field for ground balls hit by a coach during Day Two of spring training workouts,
SPECIAL: In his address to the players on Day One of Spring Training Thursday, Willie Randolph told the players that they needed to "get ready for a special season". This is going to be a fun season - I just hope everyone can stay healthy.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Kaz Matsui has reported to camp in incredible shape. He's been working with his own personal trainer - a former teammate from Japan. (In accordance to club policy, the trainer won't be able to go into the clubhouse, either at home or on the road, but Matsui is welcome to work out with him on his own time.) Matsui's condition has been drawing raves. And on Thursday, in opening workouts, Matsui hit a homer off of flamethrower Billy Wagner. Might not want to read into that too much, though - don't forget that Matsui has homered on the first pitch he's seen each of the past two seasons - so the first day of spring training is no different. Willie Randolph had a funny comment about it too - first he complimented Matsui because at this point of spring training, everyone says the pitchers are way ahead of the hitters, so for Kaz to get a homer was a good sign. But Randolph went on to say that Matsui probably got lucky, and just stepped into one. I'm going to say this one more time - and it might not be the last one. I really have always liked Kaz Matsui, from the beginning. He's started to wear out his welcome, but if he earns the starting second base job, and performs well this year, I'll be thrilled. He has been a great clutch hitter, so I can see him contributing. I would love to see Matsui at second, and let Keppinger have another year at Triple-A, and if that happens, I will be leading the "Comeback Player of the Year" charge for Kaz Matsui.
RESPECT FOR RANDOLPH: I think part of the reason Pedro Martinez* has been such a good soldier for the Mets has been the fact that he has a lot of respect for Willie Randolph, being a former player. There was a throwaway line in one of the papers about Randolph, and how the players respect him since he played the game - among the players mentioned were Martinez* and Cliff Floyd. I'm thinking back to Pedro*'s past managers - Felipe Alou, with the Expos, where he didn't act up - I'm sure he respected Alou. And breaking in with the Dodgers, he would have had to have been crazy to disrespect Tommy Lasorda. With the Red Sox, Pedro* played for Jimy Williams/Joe Kerrigan/Grady Little/Terry Francona. I don't think he necessarily DIS-respected any of those guys, I just think he has more respect for a former player (Randolph) than he did for any of the above. Just a thought.
USING THEIR HEAD: The Mets are among a few teams (I've heard the Angels mentioned as another) that will be using a new form of aerodynamic helmet this season. The helmets are supposed to help cool the head, but also provide better protection. They have air holes in them, and the Mets have one style that will actually be two-tone. Should be neat.
I'm away for the weekend, and school resumes next week, so though I will try my best to keep updating during spring training, I can't promise everyday updates. Please check back often - I'll get into regular updates during the regular season.
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