Sunday Applesauce

by Eric Simon on Oct 12, 2008 1:39 PM EDT in Link Dump Comment 15 comments

Apparently nobody wants the Mets to sign Manny Ramirez, perhaps because he wants five years. Well, some Mets fans want him, as long as the price is reasonable.

Buster Olney heard that former Met (and current Diamondback executive) Jerry DiPoto is a frontrunner for the Mariners HM spot (subscription required).

Wallace Matthews contributes some cage-liner for the bird-owners among us. The article is practically unreadable, but the comments on the article make the whole thing worthwhile. Some highlights:

WHY IS THIS RELEVANT AT ALL??? FIRE THIS JERK RIGHT NOW --FIRE WALLY

This is one of the worst articles I have ever read. Actually its not even an article its an editorial by a dim witted slob. [...] This guy is an embarrassment to sports journalism --Ivan Katchadikov

hi i'm wallace matthews and i continue to prove that i just don't get it. newsday, fire this hack --andrew

It goes on like that. Nothing warms my heart like regular folks calling out journalistic ineptitude.

Arizona Fall League

Peoria Saguaros 5, Peoria Javelinas 2

Shawn Bowman went 2-for-5 with a homerun, a double and two runs scored.
Tobi Stoner pitched 2.2 scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out three.
Eddie Kunz pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing a hit and a walk.

Hawaiian Winter baseball

Honolulu Sharks 5, North Shore Honu 0

Ruben Tejada went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly. He also played an error-free game at shortstop, which is a rarity for him.
Jordan Abruzzo went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
Scott Shaw threw five perfect innings for the win, striking out seven in the process.
Roy Merritt pitched a scoreless ninth, striking out two and walking one.

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I love when the headline from a major Newspaper is grammatically incorrect

RMN:

by Reg Dunlop on Oct 12, 2008 2:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Try again

Postseason Insider: Beckett says his OK, others think differently

by Reg Dunlop on Oct 12, 2008 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The best part about reading that Wallace Matthews piece was . . . the end. It must be nice to be a sportswriter and use all those strawmen in order to get your point across, whatever that point might be. What a worthless hack.

'Catsmeat!' he cried. 'I see it all. It was that chump, Catsmeat.'

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Oct 12, 2008 2:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Seems To Me....

like he was saying the Mets aren’t as good as the Phillies, and that the Mets think they are, that they were the better team in 2007 & 2008. That’s how I read it. He indicates the Mets started to fade when the warmer weather did, meaning they faded down the stretch. I don’t think anything he said was wrong, in this case. I am not a regular reader of Wallace Matthews, so I have no reason to defend him based on any type of favoritism.

I think he’s right. The Mets aren’t as good as they think they are. They lost playoff opportunities two years in a row, when they could’ve won a place in them— if they were a better team. I’m not one that puts so much stock in “intestinal fortitude” or any of those cliche platitudes sportswriters and broadcasters like to parade around but, obviously, there is something missing for these Mets. What is it? Why can’t they win down the stretch? What is missing?

To me, Wallace Matthews didn’t say anything wrong.

My question to those who have commented, and to those who will comment: What do you find so objectionable in the article? Please share your thoughts and reasons. Thanks.

"We praise or blame as one or the other affords more opportunity for exhibiting our power of judgment." Friedrich Nietzsche, "Human,All Too Human" (1878)

by wgarrett on Oct 12, 2008 4:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'll get the ball rolling, and then let other chime in if they wish.

I’d start with the headline, but let’s start with the first two sentences instead:

There’s a feeling around the Mets that somehow they are the uncrowned champions of the National League, the best team with the worst luck, or some such nonsense.

They tell themselves they should have been in the 2006 World Series, and that they were by far the best team in the NL East in 2007, and that everybody knows they should be in the playoffs right now.

Really? Any authority for that, Wally? Do you have quotes? “Unnamed sources” within the team who have been spouting off about how great the Mets are? Anyone at all? No. He goes right ahead and pulls the “they” card. He doesn’t use, you know, actual statements from the players about how “the better team lost” like the Angels did after losing to the Red Sox last week:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/better-year-team-2183068-angels-red

Nope. Just a lot of BS about how “they” think they are the kings of the NL. Cheap, bush-league writing. Rather unbecoming of someone with a prominent job in one of the NYC daily rags.

'Catsmeat!' he cried. 'I see it all. It was that chump, Catsmeat.'

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Oct 12, 2008 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Here is more

They think they’re a lot closer than they really are to where they want to be. They rely on subject-changing cliches such as “we spent more days in first place than any other team” and “we competed right to the end,” but rather than obscuring the truth, they make it more obvious.

They were one win away from the World Series in 2006 and one win from the playoffs the last two years. I’d say that is pretty “close” to where the Mets want to be. It’s not like they finished at .500 and 8 games out. Also, hack sports writers should never accuse players of using tired cliches since they stay employed by using the same tired cliches

But truly, there are no quick fixes and no easy answers for this team.

Yes there are. 1. Better bullpen 2. Better starting pitching 3. Don’t rely on old, retread players to fill out your roster.

The performance of their front office and scouting department, even with a relatively blank check from ownership, does little to inspire confidence that they can buy their way out of this mess, either.

I kind of agree with this. But, if Omar has been good at one thing it is making the “BIG” move. Beltran, Santana, and Wagner all worked out pretty well. (Pedro not so much) It’s the smaller, secondary moves that have sucked

Secondly, even if the Mets had lucked up and nipped the Brewers for the wild-card spot on the last day of the season, by now they would be out of the playoffs, vowing revenge for next year and making excuses for how, once again, the Best Team in the National League made an early exit.

Or they could have knocked off the best team in the NL the way the 83 Cardinals did in 2006 or the way the 84 win Dodgers beat the 97 Cubs A WEEK AGO!

They went into 2008 assuming that once again, they were the best team in the league. The addition of Johan Santana in the offseason would only cement their rightful place atop the NL. So here we are in October, watching teams the Mets certainly believe are not as good as them, just luckier, continue to play meaningful baseball games.

No! They went into the season relying of positive contributions from: Pedro Martinez, El Duque, Moises Alou, Luis Castillo, and Duaner Sanchez, ad they didn’t have an adequate plan B when these guys inevitably failed. This, was the wrong assumption.

The Mets always seem to fall into that rut at the wrong time of the season, the time when good teams play their best.

The Mets were 7.5 out in June and under .500 as late as July 5th. They had to play great in the 2nd half to climb out of that hole and give themselves a chance. The rut this year was in April, May, and June.