Thursday Linkiness

by Eric Simon on Feb 22, 2007 1:43 PM EST in Applesauce

Over at Gotham Baseball, Howard Megdal gives us seventeen wishes for the upcoming Mets' and Yankees' seasons. Megdal, a Mets' fan, can't help but let his true loyalties bleed through despite writing about both New York clubs:

Yankees:
17. For a Subway Series.
Mets:
17. For a Subway Series victory.

Apparently, former Mets' third base coach and current Nationals' manager Manny Acta is making saber hearts swoon (via Federal Baseball):

I'm not going to do something as dumb as basing major decisions on five at-bat samples.
[...]
A guy is more likely to score from first with no one out than from second with one out, so if you ask me to bunt early in games, I'm going to beat your face in.
[...]
Lots of unnecessary caught stealings are bad; I'm not going to slit my wrists, strategically speaking, just so some morons will appreciate my aggressiveness.

I love him.

According to Chris Constancio at The Hardball Times, David Wright is one of the best young third basemen in baseball (duh!):

While some see Wright developing into an elite power threat, his most recent performance raises doubts about that. His HR/Flyball ratio dropped to average levels as he suffered through three- and four-week homerless stretches during the second half of the 2006 season. Whether or not Wright can hit 35 or more home runs in a season does not detract from his outstanding knowledge of the strike zone and solid play at third base. He likely will be one of baseball's best all-around third basemen for years.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Chris McCown's first article over at MetsGeek, in which he revisits the famed (and failed) trade that brought would-be hall of famer Roberto Alomar to Queens. Chris looks at all of the principals involved in the trade as well as some folks you might not even remember were involved.

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Manny!

Unbelievable interview. Manny Acta should be managing the Mets! How great must it be to have a manager who actually understands the reasoning behind in-game decisions that most veteran baseball guys think are instinctual gut calls based on small-ball vs. long-ball guessing. It's like he thinks statistics are a rational, comprehensible set of facts instead of mumbo-jumbo created by eggheads who don't understand the joys of the game!

by anonymous on Feb 22, 2007 2:17 PM EST reply actions

Amen

How did Billy Beane miss out on the opportunity to make Acta his manager? ;-)

"A guy is more likely to score from first with no one out than from second with one out, so if you ask me to bunt early in games, I'm going to beat your face in."

Yes! Manny, can you do us a favor and pass this tidbit of wisdom on to Willie? Maybe he'll pass on making LoDuca bunt with Reyes on 1st, nobody out, and Beltran, Delgado, Wright, and Alou coming up.

Driving the Oliver Perez bandwagon!

by Greenpoint Ian on Feb 22, 2007 3:53 PM EST up reply actions

That would be "principals"

Not "principles." The former refers to the major individuals involved in a transaction. The latter refers to a core set of beliefs. Ex.: "Steve Phillips adhered to a consistent principle during his tenure as Mets general manager--you can never have enough overpaid, washed-up veterans on your club, especially if you can obtain them in 3 or 4-for-1 deals featuring lots of talented, low-priced prospects."

That being said, I concur that the Alomar trade was essentially a wash based on the performance of the players, but when one considers the salary Alomar "earned", the Mets got the worst of the deal.

by madisonmetsfan on Feb 22, 2007 9:14 PM EST reply actions

Thanks

I'm quite familiar with the homophonous distinction between "principle" and "principal" and, though I appreciate the grammar lesson, sometimes a typo is just a typo.

by Eric Simon on Feb 22, 2007 9:50 PM EST up reply actions