Met Playoff Applesauce - Putz's option, Vlad Guerrero, FOX crowning AL champions

by Joe Budd on Oct 20, 2009 8:54 AM EDT in Applesauce

Is it sad that I've now started rooting for the Yankees because they represent the best opportunity to stop the Philadelphia madness?

Meet the Mets

I know I'm ready to be a part of the Met 2009 playoff run. Are you?

Joe D at Mets Merized makes the convincing case for dumping JJ Putz and his $8.6 million option.

The Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail says that Vladimir Guerrero and the Mets would be "a slam-dunk" if not for Omar Minaya's lack of job security and the Mets recent streak of injuries. Not to mention the fact that they would have nowhere to put him.

Steve Keane of the Eddie Kranepool Society stopped by the Daily News and represents himself pretty well, grammatical mistakes aside.

Around the NL East

Add yet another chapter to Phillies lore. A two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning by Jimmy Rollins. Ugh. Just to pile on, Brian Costello writes that Met fans should learn to live with this for a while. The only thing I can look to is that we were seeing the same things being written in 2006 after the Mets ran away with the division.

Around MLB

Joe Posnanski wishes Bobby Valentine had ended up with Kansas City.

Kenji Johjima is opting out of his contract with Seattle to return to Japan.

Jack Nicholson rocks the red Yankee hat. It was also pretty disconcerting to see Pat Sajak over every batter's shoulder.

Speaking of last night's Yankee loss, Bob Raissman destroys FOX's early crowning of the Yankees as AL champions. Oh, and Fire Jerry Manuel writes that Yankee fans shouldn't be too upset that their manager made a move based on a scouting report.

And, finally, Rick Peterson has finally signed with the Brewers. Maybe now he will stop his grand media tour.

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"Philadelphia madness"

From the increasingly insufferable Jayson Stark:

It all unfolded in a matter of seconds. But once the meaning of it all sank in, you began to realize what you’d just witnessed:

Namely, an October baseball game that is going to be talked about for the rest of our lifetimes.

Try to understand what just happened here. You can count the postseason baseball games that resemble what happened at Citizens Bank Park on this indelible Monday with two fingers. And those two fingers would be used to count games that can best be described with one word: “LEGENDARY.”

"He's definitely mixing it into his repertoire. That's French for 'repertoire' " - Keith Hernandez

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Oct 20, 2009 9:20 AM EDT reply actions

Again, please stop with the Jayson Stark!

It’s bad enough that the Phils won in such a fashion last night. It’s worse when some kiss-ass cockroach piles it on.

Beer is good! And stuff!

by R_Adragna on Oct 20, 2009 9:22 AM EDT up reply actions

Make the bad man stop

Thanks a lot Broxton

by James Kannengieser on Oct 20, 2009 9:23 AM EDT up reply actions

Too bad Broxton

wasn’t the closer for the Cards in 2006. He would have walked or hit Cliff Floyd.

by Mount17 on Oct 20, 2009 9:35 AM EDT up reply actions

Namely, an October baseball game that is going to be talked about for the rest of our lifetimes.

Jayson Stark thinks the world is going to come to an end next week.

RUN FOR THE HILLS

by Mount17 on Oct 20, 2009 9:34 AM EDT up reply actions

Wow

Are you making that up? I have a firm policy never to read Stark on the Phillies, but that’s so far beyond what I could have imagined. Ha, it gets funnier the more you read it, though.

What’s the single other legendary-for-our-lifetimes game?

by SuperT on Oct 20, 2009 9:48 AM EDT up reply actions

Take two guesses, but you'll only need one.

Hint: It happened last year.

Beer is good! And stuff!

by R_Adragna on Oct 20, 2009 9:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Actually

Gibson’s walk-off homer in ‘88 and Bill Bevens losing his no-no in the 1947 Series. Those two, along with last night’s game, are the only play-off games with walk-off extra-base hits by teams that were one out away from losing.

"He's definitely mixing it into his repertoire. That's French for 'repertoire' " - Keith Hernandez

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Oct 20, 2009 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions

To add to my own comment

If Stark gets to cover his beloved Phillies all post-season, why not have fans of all four teams write for ESPN.com to make the site even more worthless? Let Lupica write the Yankee recaps, with Francessa offering additional commentary.

I honestly don’t know who gets the two LA teams . . . Plaschke?

"He's definitely mixing it into his repertoire. That's French for 'repertoire' " - Keith Hernandez

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Oct 20, 2009 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions

JA Motherfunky Adande!

Straight pimpin’ at the Adande Lounge!

Beer is good! And stuff!

by R_Adragna on Oct 20, 2009 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions

blaorghghag'fhdjaflf

vomitvomitvomit

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Oct 20, 2009 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Why can't the Phillies just fucking die?!?!?!?

Beer is good! And stuff!

by R_Adragna on Oct 20, 2009 9:25 AM EDT reply actions

they remind me of Jason Vorhees

"[The Giants] beat us down. We were beat by a grown-man team, a team we want to be like one day. They came in here and took it to us. Out-manned us, out-gunned us. ... It wasn't even close." - Raheem Morris, 9/27/09

by cjmulrain on Oct 20, 2009 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions

Pardon the heresy . . .

But I’m actually rooting for the Phils as the only team that can stop the Skanks.

by TomDC on Oct 20, 2009 10:51 AM EDT reply actions

I am very reluctantly

moving in this direction. A Yankees win would represent the most blatant “buying” of a championship.

by deadspy3 on Oct 20, 2009 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions

I'm still optimistic

about the likelihood of a Y-P (Yankee-Phillie) Extinction Event. Haven’t had a good meteor impact in a while.

by Eric Simon on Oct 20, 2009 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Meteors not happening, unfortunately.

You’re likely to take matters into your own hands, if you know what I mean.

Beer is good! And stuff!

by R_Adragna on Oct 20, 2009 11:57 AM EDT up reply actions

Or

A volcano works just as well. I bet there are unknown magma plumes or faults under their stadiums.

by mnbv on Oct 20, 2009 1:03 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

think outside the box

flooding. its coming. we’ll need two of everything for the ark—two roided out monsters, two pretty boys, two wife beaters; seems like phillie’s got it all.

I.M. Forme
"When you get yourself into trouble is when you feel you have to do something, and then you get yourself in trouble." --Omar Minaya

by itsmetsforme on Oct 20, 2009 8:36 PM EDT up reply actions

also. an earthquake can stop a world series

Joe buck kidnapping?

I.M. Forme
"When you get yourself into trouble is when you feel you have to do something, and then you get yourself in trouble." --Omar Minaya

by itsmetsforme on Oct 20, 2009 8:39 PM EDT up reply actions

No, that happened once.

But it didn’t stop the ’89 Series.

Either an F5 or the resurrection of Chthulu will do.

Beer is good! And stuff!

by R_Adragna on Oct 20, 2009 9:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Me too

I had been thinking that I’d root for the Yankees just to cheer on a New York team, but I’m starting to think that I’d actually root for the Phillies, for much the same reason as deadspy. Well, maybe not so much for the Phillies, but against the Yanks. It’s funny, but when the Yanks played the Braves in the WS both times I cheered for the Yanks, but that’s probably because I was in school in Atlanta and hated anything associated with the city, especially pitted against a NY team.

by dcmetsfan on Oct 20, 2009 11:57 AM EDT up reply actions

ugh, no

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Oct 20, 2009 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions

If the dodgers can't pull it out I'll be rooting for the Yanks

I hate the Phillies with a passion. I also hate the Gaytriots and would like to see there fans suffer. A yankee win would destroy Red Sox/Patriot nation. Even more so because they could have had Texiera had they not been so cheap. A-Rod hoisting the world series trophy would haunt them in there sleep.

by Delgado on Oct 20, 2009 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm still hoping the Angels manage to pull out a win so i have to cheer for neither

but I’ll take Phils over yankees as much as it burns to say, and i feel violated for even having to type it. Lets hope i’m given some other option. Gotta go NL over AL in this case where both options suck.

by KeithsMoustache on Oct 20, 2009 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Why do you have to go NL over AL?

I feel no rivalry against the AL at all.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Oct 20, 2009 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions

too many AL fans around me

that always talk about how the AL is the better league, which annoys the hell out of me. Plus I hate yankees and their fans nearly as much as philly, so its almost a coin toss anyway.

by KeithsMoustache on Oct 20, 2009 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions

yep if it's phillies-yankees i'm going phillies

and not even giving it a second thought… i know way too many obnoxious yankee fans who bother me about the mets constantly… i dont know any phillies fans, so its an easy choice for me

"Solo homers usually come with no one on base." -Ralph Kiner

by metsguy234 on Oct 20, 2009 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions

After that stark article, it's not an option.

You can’t root for the Phillies. The least you could do is root for no one.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Oct 20, 2009 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions

I won't root for the Phils

but I’ll root against the Yankees. Mostly I want a lot of injuries.

"We must win and we must know how to win rather than win because we have statistical people."

by Evan_S on Oct 20, 2009 6:53 PM EDT up reply actions

I hate the Yankees, I don't particularly hate the Phillies

I know plenty of obnoxious Yankees fans, I don’t know any Phillies fans.

I think rooting for Philly is perfectly justifiable here.

"Solo homers usually come with no one on base." -Ralph Kiner

by metsguy234 on Oct 20, 2009 8:41 PM EDT up reply actions

spend a week

no, a day. Hell, an hour in Philadelphia, and you’ll change your mind quickly.

by cjmulrain on Oct 20, 2009 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions

I've been to Philly once

for a Mets-Phillies game in 2006.

Don’t remember anything particularly bad about the fans then.

"Solo homers usually come with no one on base." -Ralph Kiner

by metsguy234 on Oct 20, 2009 10:00 PM EDT up reply actions

they weren't bad in 2006

well, I mean, they were…but they only cared about the Eagles then.

by cjmulrain on Oct 21, 2009 12:53 AM EDT up reply actions

If you haven't been since then, you definitely don't understand

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Oct 21, 2009 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions

ultimately

I think it comes down to which fans you know more of/which are more annoying. To me, it’s Phillies fans by a country mile. If it were 1999, I’d definitely be pulling for the Phillies (I know that b/c I wanted the Braves to beat the Yankees that year). Unfortunately, in the past decade I’ve learned that Yankee fans aren’t even close to the worst.

by cjmulrain on Oct 20, 2009 7:33 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm one more asinine Dodgers loss

from buying a Derek Jeter jersey, just to stop the Phillies.

by cjmulrain on Oct 20, 2009 11:31 AM EDT reply actions

When even MetsMerized realizes picking up Putz's option is a terrible idea...

then you, MetsToday, need to reevaluate your intelligence quotient.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Oct 20, 2009 12:06 PM EDT reply actions

Janish is the tooliest of tools.

by SuperT on Oct 20, 2009 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions

Great logic in that post

So the Mets traded a lot of players to get Putz, so that means their hands are forced and they sort of have to pick up the option.

Yeah.

by dcmetsfan on Oct 20, 2009 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Of course,

the logic is flawed. However, from the post, I would not conclude that this is Janish’s logic. Rather, this seems to be Joe’s view on how the Mets might evaluate the situation. And his perception might actually be quite accurate.

Btw, not that it really mattered, but Putz’ option salary is not $8.6m, but $9.1m – b/c of bonuses already kicked in. On the other hand, given $1m buy-out, the Mets are deciding on $8.1m. As everyone else, I really hope they are not seriously contemplating that.

by alexSVK on Oct 20, 2009 3:11 PM EDT up reply actions

I stand corrected

Somehow when I read this the first time it seemed like Janish himself was trying to push the argument.

by dcmetsfan on Oct 20, 2009 3:32 PM EDT up reply actions

I cannot believe what I'm reading

If Gandhi came back from the dead and was playing for the Yanks or Phils, I would still root for him to get beaned in the head and for the ambulance to crash off a bridge on the way to the hospital.

Some people need a remedial course in keeping it real.

by hotspur on Oct 20, 2009 12:32 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

This

by fxcarden on Oct 20, 2009 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Big Bad Vlad

played almost exclusively as a DH this year (when he wasn’t injured), had terrible range in the outfield the three years before that (UZR/150 -13.7 in 2006, -17.5 in 2007, -15.1 in 2008), and at 35 is almost certainly entering his decline years. Even if he stayed healthy and his bat returned to what it was in 2008, his defense would mitigate a lot of the value it provided. I wish we could’ve had him from 2002 to 2007 or so, but at this point it doesn’t seem to make much sense.

by JoshNY on Oct 20, 2009 12:50 PM EDT reply actions

If we didn't sign him back when because he had a bad back,

why on earth would we sign him now that he is much older ?.

oh wait……….

by fxcarden on Oct 20, 2009 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions

1 year, $800k with recurring club option like Wakefield has.

I think that’s reasonable.

by TheBigStapler on Oct 20, 2009 1:48 PM EDT up reply actions

That's the best contract in baseball, in my opinion.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Oct 20, 2009 4:54 PM EDT up reply actions

agreed

that was a great move on their part, and it has paid off

by KeithsMoustache on Oct 20, 2009 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions

I say Yankees over Phillies

we only play the Yankees 6 times a year…. Phillies 18

"We're investigating the investigative procedure of the investigation of Tony Bernazard"---Omar Minaya (he really didn't say it but he would"

by firejerrynow on Oct 20, 2009 3:50 PM EDT reply actions

the phillies dont bother me much

because i dont know a single fan of that team… i know a bunch of obnoxious yankee fans who i’d love to see get pissed off

"Solo homers usually come with no one on base." -Ralph Kiner

by metsguy234 on Oct 20, 2009 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions

where do you live?

I want to move there.

by cjmulrain on Oct 20, 2009 7:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Go to Canada.

No one will ever bother you there…except Maple Leafs fans.

Beer is good! And stuff!

by R_Adragna on Oct 20, 2009 7:39 PM EDT up reply actions

staten island

home of lots of yankees fans, not many phillies fans

i don’t know a single fan of the philadelphia phillies, i’ll say it again

"Solo homers usually come with no one on base." -Ralph Kiner

by metsguy234 on Oct 20, 2009 8:39 PM EDT up reply actions

you're very, very lucky

by cjmulrain on Oct 20, 2009 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions

I live in Rhode Island

and by bad luck, 2 of my teachers in 2007 were Philly fans. horrible.

"We're investigating the investigative procedure of the investigation of Tony Bernazard"---Omar Minaya (he really didn't say it but he would"

by firejerrynow on Oct 20, 2009 8:45 PM EDT up reply actions

can't stand the phillies

I would much rather see the yankees win the world series than the phillies

by nymrjk on Oct 20, 2009 4:45 PM EDT reply actions

I can live with the Phils winning a second title.

I can’t deal with another Yankee run.

by fxcarden on Oct 20, 2009 7:51 PM EDT reply actions

yeah at this point it seems okay to let the phillies win again, the yankees winning would successfully complete the worste 3 year run in mets history; 07 collapse, 08 collapse w/ phils world series, and 09 atrociousness, with a yanks world series.

i shudder thinking about it

by Rey-O on Oct 20, 2009 9:00 PM EDT reply actions

Speak for yourselves...

I am rooting for the Phillies all the way so they can beat the Yanks! I know I’m not alone here. EVERYTHING comes before the Yankees winning the Series. EVERYTHING.

You may have Utley, Howard, Rollins, Hamels, and Lidge...but, WE have Fernando Tatis, baby. Two grand slames in one inning. Hello??

by ZaBlanc on Oct 20, 2009 11:48 PM EDT reply actions

I wonder...

…if the Phillies win the Series, will it spur the ’pons to spend more to try to unseat them, or fill them with excuses for standing pat?

At any rate, I agree with you entirely, ZaBlanc. Nothing, literally nothing, must happen that would let the Yankees win the Series. The quiet, incredibly deep satisfaction I will certainly feel all offseason should the Yankees lose, well, I’d hate to miss that. Too, if the Phillies beat the Yankers, beating them for the division crown in 2010 will be all the sweeter.

by SeanSchirmer on Oct 21, 2009 12:36 AM EDT up reply actions

I think the Wilpons are more concerned about the Yankees than the Phillies

they’ve proven well enough that they really don’t give a crap about the Mets being competitive for the sake of being competitive. But I like to think that the 1996 Yankees Championship reminded them that it wasn’t the 80’s anymore, and they began a turnaround in ’97 that brought us the best Mets team of my lifetime. So if it takes another Yankees championship, so be it.

by cjmulrain on Oct 21, 2009 12:59 AM EDT up reply actions