Great Sense of Humor

[Bleedgreen]

Official announcement from the Mets website entitled:

"A-Rod Who"

-Mets sign Randy Keasler to a minor league deal.

I thought that was pretty funny.

[FloridaJet]

Originally posted by Bleedgreen@Feb 18 2004, 02:23 AM
Official announcement from the Mets website entitled:

"A-Rod Who"

-Mets sign Randy Keasler to a minor league deal.

I thought that was pretty funny.

As a Met fan I find it sad that they just like our Jets just don't know how or when to be proactive and pull the trigger. Great signing for the Yankees but a lil shady from Bud Selig.

[djaparz]

what was shady about Selig?

[metjet]

As a Met fan, they better get off to a respectable start. After 30 games, I want to see at least a .500 record. At that point, if they suck I'll refuse to watch.

Wilpon better get his act together or sell the team. He is becoming a laughing stock. If it weren't for the Red Sox, he'd probably be taking even more heat.

[psalty14]

Originally posted by djaparz@Feb 18 2004, 12:27 PM
what was shady about Selig?

I'll preface this by saying I'm a Met fan...

Selig was shady because he hesitated before pulling the trigger and THEN admonished the parties for the amount of money changing hands. I think he wanted to reject the deal, but he painted himself into a corner.

He could have rejected the deal out of hand, but the Yankees would have cried foul and rightfully so (I can't believe I just wrote that!). MLB was so desperate to get ARod out of Texas that they bent the rules of the CBA in the negotiations between Texas and Boston by allowing an additional 36 hour window to get a deal done.

If Selig had nixed the Yankees deal then the Yanks could have argued that the Sox were getting preferential treatment or that MLB was "anti-Yankee" and we can't have that.

Selig's shenanigans have further weakened the following: his position as commissioner of baseball (see 2002 All Star game; expansion; proposed contraction, et al); competitive balance in baseball (although the Yanks haven't won anything yet and haven't won a WS since 2000); the resolve of baseball fans to enjoy the game (let's see how much it will cost to take your family to a game in 2005!).

I actually don't care what the Yankees do and how much money Steinbrenner spends. They make so much money that they can spend without consequence. Even though the Yanks just added $17M in salary per year and launched their payroll over $200M, they probably just added at least $50M in revenue. If you're a business man that makes good sense.

It is a major concern, however, about the lack of empathy that Yankee fans have for fans of other teams (namely the Mets and Red Sox). They would rather rub it in our faces than enjoy their good fortune with grace and class. It's unfortunate and pathetic.

[djaparz]

actually i heard that the happiets guy in NY yesterday was not any Yankee fan or player but Glenn Sather (coach/gm) of the NY Rangers - he would have been on the back page of every sports section in NY ripping him apart

[Bleedgreen]

psalty,

Good post, I especially liked the comment on the attitude of Yankee fans. They're so arrogant as if they are actually in the front office making the deals. What's even more funny is how they embrace every mercenary that the Yankees buy as their own:

Examples: Roger Clemens who used the Yankees as leverage to get more money outta the Blue Jays, then pissed and moaned when they weren't winning and demanded a trade to a winning organization. He then proceeded to act as if he's been a Yankee his whole life.

Gary Sheffield who also used the Yankees to drive up the price on the Marlins in '97 only to get traded when they couldn't afford him. He even said at one point that he didn't want to play in New York.

Alex Rodriquez who once said that Derek Jeter was "not a leader." He can just do his job and has everyone else around him to help.

So to conclude this little diatribe, you were right on the money psalty.

This is how "funny" the Mets are.

He says he has a friend who can get us box seats for cheap, at Yankee Stadium, third base line. I'm a huge Mets fan, but I figure it would be nice to catch the ARod/Jeter show this year.

Then he says, "It's for the Mets series at the Stadium."

I turned him down flat because I am committed to not having one penny of my money go anywhere NEAR Wilpon's pockets, as even the visiting team gets part of the gate now.


The '04 Mets are a slap in the face to Mets fans everywhere.

[psalty14]

thanks

[Bleedgreen]

TomShane,

You might be pleasantly surprised this year. I'm not saying playoffs, but an 85 win season is seriously not outta the question.

Couple things: What if Mike Piazza and Cliff Floyd were in the same lineup for more than 18 games last year?

What happens this year if everyone is healthy? The Mets this year will be predicated on speed and timely hitting. Ty Wigginton should have a better year this year now that he is "entrenched" as the starter as well.

Finally,

What if Mo Vaughn wasn't fat? What then?

[TheBrodyMan]

Originally posted by Bleedgreen@Feb 18 2004, 11:09 PM
TomShane,

You might be pleasantly surprised this year. I'm not saying playoffs, but an 85 win season is seriously not outta the question.

Couple things: What if Mike Piazza and Cliff Floyd were in the same lineup for more than 18 games last year?

What happens this year if everyone is healthy? The Mets this year will be predicated on speed and timely hitting. Ty Wigginton should have a better year this year now that he is "entrenched" as the starter as well.

Finally,

What if Mo Vaughn wasn't fat? What then?

85 wins? Are you accumulating the next two seasons? Look, I am a Met fan, but they would need a miracle. You mention the hitting might improve, but what about the pitching? There is a very outside chance of their staff coming together and doing well...real outside. Leiter and Glavine are insanely old, Traschel is bound to blow up, Seo didnt have a great 2nd half, and the 5th starter...your guess is better than mine.

[Green Jets & Ham]

Originally posted by psalty14+Feb 18 2004, 09:41 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (psalty14 @ Feb 18 2004, 09:41 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--djaparz@Feb 18 2004, 12:27 PM
what was shady about Selig?

I'll preface this by saying I'm a Met fan...

Selig was shady because he hesitated before pulling the trigger and THEN admonished the parties for the amount of money changing hands. I think he wanted to reject the deal, but he painted himself into a corner.

He could have rejected the deal out of hand, but the Yankees would have cried foul and rightfully so (I can't believe I just wrote that!). MLB was so desperate to get ARod out of Texas that they bent the rules of the CBA in the negotiations between Texas and Boston by allowing an additional 36 hour window to get a deal done.

If Selig had nixed the Yankees deal then the Yanks could have argued that the Sox were getting preferential treatment or that MLB was "anti-Yankee" and we can't have that. [/b][/quote]
I'm a Yankee fan but I think you just NAILED IT

I do believe Selig desperately wanted to nix this deal ... thus the delay

I do believe it would have been wrong to do so ... this was a legal trade and the Yankees sent a 40/40 Player to the Rangers ... this was no absolute heist

BUT ... I do believe Selig would have nixed this deal if he could have, mostly cause of his Yankee hatred for the way they spend money

And here's where you nailed it ... after spending most of the winter doing everything whthin his power to orchestrate Arod to Boston, bending every rule without shame, he made it impossible for himself to nix this deal with the creating the appearance of a BLATANT ACT OF FAVORITISM

Under those circumstances, you would have a commish who is viewed as using his position to ORCHESTRATE THE RESULTS ... assisting one team while damaging another

So yes, I absolutely believe Selig desperately wanted to nix this deal ... but boxed himself into a corner with the way he was equally as desperate to land Arod in Boston

Originally posted by psalty14@Feb 18 2004, 10:41 AM
It is a major concern, however, about the lack of empathy that Yankee fans have for fans of other teams (namely the Mets and Red Sox). They would rather rub it in our faces than enjoy their good fortune with grace and class. It's unfortunate and pathetic.

I liked your post for the most part but this paragraph baffles me. The Mets and the Red Sox are the Yankees most hated rivals. Why would there be empathy? Really I am being serious. The Red Sox came within one run or one ounce of Grady little common sense of beathing the Yankees. They will get no empathy from me.

I was 16 in 1986...and my Met fan friends showed me nothing but grief.

Originally posted by Bleedgreen@Feb 18 2004, 07:09 PM
TomShane,

You might be pleasantly surprised this year. I'm not saying playoffs, but an 85 win season is seriously not outta the question.

Couple things: What if Mike Piazza and Cliff Floyd were in the same lineup for more than 18 games last year?

What happens this year if everyone is healthy? The Mets this year will be predicated on speed and timely hitting. Ty Wigginton should have a better year this year now that he is "entrenched" as the starter as well.

Finally,

What if Mo Vaughn wasn't fat? What then?

I hear ya dude, on paper, when you consider some of the bats in the line-up, you could almost make an argument that they're going to score some runs, buty what you're missing is the all important stat of on-base percentage.

The Mets are not going to be able to play long-ball all season, so they'll need men on base repeatedly (think '03 Marlins, '02 Angels). However, their line-up is full of free-swingers and low OBP guys::

Reyes: Windmill
Matsui: Windmill
Floyd: Solid bat control
Piazza: Excellent bat control
Cameron: Holy Windmill
Phillips: Solid
Wigginton: Windmill
Spencer/Garcia: Windmill
Pitchers: 'Nuff said.


The decrepit pitching staff will be finished by mid-July and applying for AARP cards, and we'll have another season of Steve Trachsel's 4 hour games to look forward to. The Mets are a disgrace.

[JetsMan57]

Selig approved the deal in this situation because he does nto anticipate a hideous contract like Arod's ever being handed to a player ever again. So he had to make an exception for this one time.

In addition, like others have pointed out Selig knew he had to get Texas out from under that contract in order for them to have a chance to compete, at the sametime they were getting the best bargain in baseball in Alfonso Soriano making a cool $4.5 mill.... And lastly, if Selig nixed the deal he knew the lynch mob would have come looking for him.

[Bleedgreen]

TomShane,

You forget that you can't look at on-base percentage on an individual basis. Historically, on-base percentage has always gone up when all the pieces of the puzzle are in place. I'm not sure what you're saying when you said that Reyes is a windmill. For a 20 year old, the kid has a tremendous eye at the plate. Plus, noone can argue that the Mets would not have had 15 extra wins last year had Piazza and Floyd been in the same line-up all season.

That would put them at 81 wins, .500. When you break it down, that's only 4 and 1/2 more wins a month during the time Piazza lost to injury. Sounds pretty feasable to me even with this team. The difference this year will be Reyes and Matsui full-time at the top of the lineup.

To all Mets fans.....it's not as far blown as you think!

Originally posted by Bleedgreen@Feb 22 2004, 04:41 PM
TomShane,

You forget that you can't look at on-base percentage on an individual basis. Historically, on-base percentage has always gone up when all the pieces of the puzzle are in place. I'm not sure what you're saying when you said that Reyes is a windmill. For a 20 year old, the kid has a tremendous eye at the plate. Plus, noone can argue that the Mets would not have had 15 extra wins last year had Piazza and Floyd been in the same line-up all season.

That would put them at 81 wins, .500. When you break it down, that's only 4 and 1/2 more wins a month during the time Piazza lost to injury. Sounds pretty feasable to me even with this team. The difference this year will be Reyes and Matsui full-time at the top of the lineup.

To all Mets fans.....it's not as far blown as you think!

I am a Yankee fan and I agree with that. They need Leiter and Glavine to pitch well and they should be okay. Hopefully they play well and the team makes a big move to bring in more talent at the deadline.

[mbn007]

Originally posted by Bleedgreen@Feb 22 2004, 04:41 PM
TomShane,

You forget that you can't look at on-base percentage on an individual basis. Historically, on-base percentage has always gone up when all the pieces of the puzzle are in place. I'm not sure what you're saying when you said that Reyes is a windmill. For a 20 year old, the kid has a tremendous eye at the plate. Plus, noone can argue that the Mets would not have had 15 extra wins last year had Piazza and Floyd been in the same line-up all season.

That would put them at 81 wins, .500. When you break it down, that's only 4 and 1/2 more wins a month during the time Piazza lost to injury. Sounds pretty feasable to me even with this team. The difference this year will be Reyes and Matsui full-time at the top of the lineup.

To all Mets fans.....it's not as far blown as you think!

As a Yankee fan, my comments may not be with as much insight as they would if I followed the Mets more. However, Pitching is stil a major component and your 3 top starters are on the wrong side of 35. Your new closer couldn't get the job done in laid-back Florida, so how will the NY pressure treat him. There are major questions at the back end of the rotation, and the middle relief.

At least you guys did get Guerrio. Unfortunately, it was Lisa, not Vlad.