Tuesday Applesauce

by Eric Simon on Jul 29, 2008 10:23 AM EDT in Applesauce

Jerry Manual throws his support behind Fernando Tatis, and for good reason. The Mets don't have any better options right now, and Tatis continues to defy all logic by hitting incredibly well. Ryan church *may* be back soon, and the Mets *may* trade for Raul Ibanez, but right now Tatis is the best corner outfielder they've got.

JC Bradbury takes Buzz Bissinger to task for writing a lazy article in the New York Times about how baseball players are rich and lots of folks are poor and unhealthy.

Philly.com's Paul Hagen interviews Phillies GM Pat Gillick about the forthcoming non-waiver trade deadline, though half of it is just about Jimmy Rollins' benching last week at Shea.

Over at MetsGeek, Chris McCown dissects a possible trade for Raul Ibanez.

Jorge Posada will have shoulder surgery and is done for the year

Xavier Nady is happy to be back in New York.

Mark Teixeira is officially on the block.

The Indians are in full-on sell-mode, and Beyond The Boxscore breaks down GM Mark Shapiro's recent deals.

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mets interested in Bengie Molina?

http://www.mercurynews.com/sharks/ci_10030331?nclick_check=1

according to this article, they Bengie has been linked to the Mets

by wallybackman on Jul 29, 2008 3:27 PM EDT reply actions

NY Times article...Rich players / poor fans

I don’t know why Bradbury called Buzz’s article ‘lazy’. I just finished reading it and it seemed quite lucid and well put together. I don’t know how much “news” it gave us. Buzz basically told us something we already know; We humans who inhabit this beautiful blue marble known as earth are…STUPID!

Until fans form grass root groups saying (and demonstrating) that they’re not going to support professional athletes by refusing to go to the games, purchasing swag and all of the other high priced garbage that professional sports teams heap on the fan, then owners and players are going to keep making obscene amounts of money.

Yes, you and I are stupid. The majority of us are most likely between the lower middle class to middle class people (as far as earnings are concerned) and yet we throw our money at these organizations because basically, we are trying to find some enjoyment in otherwise dull and/or frustrating lives. I don’t think that any of us sit there and dwell on the fact that we may spend anywhere between $30 to $200 to attend a baseball game. We tell ourselves that it will be an one time occurrence for the year and move on. Some of us go to numerous games and spend thousands of dollars a year to be entertained by sports.

But you know what? If that’s what you want to do w/your money, by God, so be it. But we’re all stupid for doing it. Like I said earlier, unless fans stop going to games of their own will or can’t afford to go to games all together, owners and players will continue to make money hand over fist. And for what? Watching a human hit a ball w/a piece of wood, throwing a ball, catching a ball and running around in a well manicured field.

In closing, do I ever expect owners and players to become altruistic and say; “You know what? The fans just pay too damn much. I’m going to reduce prices for tickets and concessions. I’m going to ask for less money to play a sport.” NO, I don’t ever think that will happen. It’s human nature to want more. It is a flaw in the human being’s design. So, was Buzz’s article lazy? No. Did it tell us anything new? No. Will consumer behavior change? I highly doubt it.

"DUDE...I LOVE IT WHEN DAVID WRIGHT GETS PUMPED UP!"

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Jul 29, 2008 3:48 PM EDT reply actions

you need to read bradbury's article

by gogomets on Jul 29, 2008 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions

i tried...

the link wouldn’t load.

i’m too pissed off to go research it elsewhere

"RICH PEOPLE'S WAR...POOR PEOPLE'S BLOOD."

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Jul 29, 2008 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions

gogo...i didn't feel right about not making an effort to read bradbury's article...

...so I tried again and the link worked.

Bradbury isn’t telling me anything new either. Seems to me he has a grudge against Buzz. Maybe they have some kind of lousy history w/each other.

Bradbury makes good arguments and writes better than Buzz via his vocabulary, but in the end they both make the point: “It is what it is.” The way I read it, one is for the system in it’s current state and one isn’t.

I still believe that we are stupid to accept such an expensive price on…”TALENT”.

"RICH PEOPLE'S WAR...POOR PEOPLE'S BLOOD."

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Jul 29, 2008 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions

a grudge against Buzz

It might have something to do with the fact that Buzz is a douchebag.

by JoshNY on Jul 29, 2008 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions

never heard of the guy...

BUT I HAVE NOW!

"RICH PEOPLE'S WAR...POOR PEOPLE'S BLOOD."

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Jul 29, 2008 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions

buzz's article:

whining about how much baseball players make. he makes “suggestions” to combat rising salaries, but as bradbury says, they’re lazy and wouldn’t work. you probably didn’t understand all the economic jargon (and i wouldn’t hold it against you at all-economics is ridiculously complex) bradbury uses to refute buzz’s points.

also, the baseball economist is an excellent book and i highly recommend it if you haven’t read it yet.

by gogomets on Jul 29, 2008 11:35 PM EDT up reply actions

economics

the science of scarcity.

i don’t find bradbury’s article economically puzzling. i just find that it isn’t that much more illuminating than buzz’s article which bradbury call “lazy”.

what i do find puzzling is that the majority of people in western societies (capitalist societies) continue to swallow the “it is what it is” mentality and just go along with paying obscene prices to be entertained by sports. this my friend is my argument. though the baseball economist may be a fine book, i hardly doubt it’s any different from the majority of propagandist items out there made to make the majority of consumerist boobs think that it’s o.k. to purchase $10 nachos or a team jersey for $180.

thanks for taking the time to…educate me

"RICH PEOPLE'S WAR...POOR PEOPLE'S BLOOD."

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Jul 30, 2008 9:13 AM EDT up reply actions

some illuminating economic information

If you’re interested in reading I recommend:
The Creature from Jekyll Island
by: G. Edward Griffin

If video serves you better you can take a gander at the following:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6507136891691870450

"RICH PEOPLE'S WAR...POOR PEOPLE'S BLOOD."

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Jul 30, 2008 9:21 AM EDT up reply actions

BREAKING TRADE NEWS!

ESPN reports

MARK TEXIERA traded to LA Angels for CASEY KOTCHMAN and pitching prospect.

Man, the Angels just got a whole lot better!

"RICH PEOPLE'S WAR...POOR PEOPLE'S BLOOD."

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Jul 29, 2008 6:07 PM EDT reply actions

not that much better, really -- about 100 OPS points, and three years older

The Angels make weird decisions sometimes. Anaheim is hardly where I was expecting Tex to end up, though I’m certainly glad he’s out of the NL.

by anonymous on Jul 29, 2008 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions

mentally...psychologically...

B-E-T-T-E-R

i’m not THAT impressed w/STATS

"RICH PEOPLE'S WAR...POOR PEOPLE'S BLOOD."

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Jul 29, 2008 6:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Stats are what wins baseball games

mentally and psychologically are just crap for journalists to write about

That said, Teixeira is a LOT better than Kotchman. 60 points of OBP is huge.

by JoshNY on Jul 29, 2008 7:40 PM EDT up reply actions

well in my opinion people like to throw arond stats in here like they are nasa engineers

and i for one am not impressed.

"RICH PEOPLE'S WAR...POOR PEOPLE'S BLOOD."

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Jul 29, 2008 7:55 PM EDT up reply actions

OBP is hardly rocket science

by JoshNY on Jul 29, 2008 8:09 PM EDT up reply actions

but OPS, on the other hand...

Maybe OBP is too pedestrian, but I still think OPS is mighty impressive—we didn’t cover plussing two numbers together until multivariable calculus, at least not where I went to college. (Clown college.) That’s why I always wear the pocket protector when I post about it.

by anonymous on Jul 29, 2008 8:26 PM EDT up reply actions

so by your (exhausting) answer

i guess Texiera wouldn’t be worthy of playing for the METS?

"RICH PEOPLE'S WAR...POOR PEOPLE'S BLOOD."

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Jul 30, 2008 9:15 AM EDT up reply actions

nah

I think Tex is a fine player, and I’d be glad to replace Delgado with him. But I also think he’s not quite as mega-awesome as he sometimes gets made out to be, and he’s likely to get substantially overpaid in his upcoming contract. Much as I’m surprised how little the Braves got in return for him, I still think signing Tex long-term is probably not the best possible use of resources.

by anonymous on Jul 30, 2008 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions

respectably put

i’m wondering if he’ll perform better now since he’s back in the AL? i find it interesting that Torii Hunter said: “I’m surprised at the lack of respect this team is getting.”

Well it seems as if management didn’t think the team was that respectable anyway after deciding they had to go out and get Tex.

Personally I don’t think it’s a lack of respect, I just think it’s that the Angels are an afterthought in baseball. They still can’t shake the Anaheim moniker from the team. They also seem to be…Dare I say it? Boring?

"RICH PEOPLE'S WAR...POOR PEOPLE'S BLOOD."

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Jul 30, 2008 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions

not to mention the gold-glove defense

though i’ve no idea what kotchman’s defensive rep is.

by gogomets on Jul 29, 2008 11:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Kotchman

Kotchman is also a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman.

by Alex Nelson on Jul 30, 2008 12:37 AM EDT up reply actions

Worst Deadline Deals. Mets have 3 of the top 5

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/pgStory?contentId=8385692#sport=MLB&photo=8386360

I hate to relive this, but I thought everyone might like to share in my misery and basic desire to not add to this list this year.

by losangelesmets on Jul 29, 2008 6:46 PM EDT reply actions

Whoops, yeah

I can understand the Isringhausen one, since he was probably the first example of the Billy Beane “any failed starter can be a good reliever” school of thought, as far as I recall, and the Mets were basically ready to give up on him (right or wrong).

Kazmir, on the other hand, was just fucking stupid.

by JoshNY on Jul 29, 2008 7:43 PM EDT up reply actions