It's Almost Friday Applesauce

by Joe Budd on Mar 12, 2009 8:12 AM EDT

I've actually got a really busy morning, so this is going to be a fun-sized Applesauce. Here goes:

Around Port St. Lucie

Johan's spring debut is TONIGHT vs. the Marlins at 7:10. The game can be seen on SNY or MLB.TV.

K-Rod closed out last night's Venezuelan 5-3 victory over the United States.

Metsmerized yearns for what might have been with Scott Kazmir.

So much for Citi Field being an exclusively baseball stadium. A UFL football team will play its home games there this season.

The Village Voice hits the Mets for their high ticket prices. I still don't get the need for 20-something different price levels.

The 7-Train stop will no longer just be Willets Point. Welcome to the new Mets/Willets Point stop.

Around the NL East

The Nationals sign journeyman starter Kip Wells.

Met-killer and Marlin Alfredo Amezaga (I'd love to see his stats vs. the Mets) is out 4-6 weeks with a sprained left knee.

Meanwhile Marlin pitcher Chris Volstad was taken out of yesterday's game after getting hit by a line drive.

Here's a story on Jeff Francoeur's new approach to hitting that's not producing great results to date. Oh, and Chipper will be back in the lineup for Team USA this weekend.

Kyle Kendrick got roughed up in yesterday's game against the Braves. Looks like his chances to be the team's fifth starter have gone up in smoke as he has had just an awful spring.

Around MLB

MLB has begun investigating the large number of Dominican-born players who have misrepresented their age.

Jonathan Papelbon is not a fan of Manny right now.

That's all for me today. Have a good one!

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Amezaga

has actually mostly been shitty against the Mets. Career OPS .659, career OPS against the Mets .553. Couple HRs (including one in extra innings in 2008) but that’s about it.

by JoshNY on Mar 12, 2009 9:17 AM EDT reply actions

I hate to harp on this again, but the Village Voice article brought it up. The situation they’re describing (reasonably-priced seats selling out quickly, plenty of expensive club seats still available) reminds me of what’s going on with the Giants. I’ve been on the season ticket waiting list for them for a while and now that all the season ticket holders have been given a crack, my group is being offered a chance to buy PSLs (a whole other issue that I’m not going to start on right now) for the new stadium scheduled to open in 2010.

The catch? All the reasonably-priced PSLs in the upper deck ($1,000 per seat, plus $85/ or $95/ticket) are gone. Also gone are Mezzanine ($4,000/$120) and Loge ($5,000/$105) and a lot of the best field level seats ($20,000/$160 or $10,000/$140). But what’s still available are seats in the Mezzanine Clubs ($12,500/$500 or $7,500/$400) or, of course, the Coaches Club ($20,000/$700). With Coaches Club seats you get “complimentary” food and nonalcoholic beverages, but for $700 PER GAME on top of the PSL, that’s the LEAST they should be giving you.

by JoshNY on Mar 12, 2009 9:27 AM EDT reply actions

For $700 there should be a cheerleader ready to service you

At least I think that’s what Eric was getting at.

We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!

by kingcritical on Mar 13, 2009 11:35 AM EDT up reply actions

I like the way you think

by BobbyV_Incognito on Mar 14, 2009 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions

One of the things that really annoys me

that is mentioned in that article are the “online fees” and the “order charges.” I can show them many business models from around the internet which don’t seem to think that it costs anything to process an internet order. At least if they would just add it on to the ticket prices it would be part of the usual supply and demand price gauging, but he way they phrase it makes it obviously disingenuous attempt to keep the face value of the ticket down while really charging more.

There used to be a good way to avoid these ticky-tack fees, by buying cheap from Stub Hub right before the game (even hours) and picking it up at the Holiday Inn across the Grand Central from Shea immediately before the game and avoiding even shipping and handling costs, but now Stub Hub has done us the “favor” of teaming up with the Mets and you have to pick up the last minute tickets from a Shea (Citi) ticket window, and of course have to pay a ridiculous “processing fee” which destroys the cost saving of buying from Stub Hub at the last minute.

by Mount17 on Mar 12, 2009 10:53 AM EDT up reply actions

True, but

If you’ve bought the tickets online before (which I believe would describe most people buying the tickets), you’re aware of the fees and adjust your decision accordingly.

I hate to be curmudgeonly about it, but in a situation like selling tickets for a stadium with a fixed capacity, i.e. a fixed supply and no price elasticity of supply, the only thing that determines the price is the demand for tickets, and there’s nothing the Mets can do about that. Suppose they cut all their ticket prices—all that would happen is scalpers would immediately snatch them up and then sell them for over face value secondhand, because that’s the price the market will bear. That’s already more or less happening with tickets for Opening Day.

Brewers Baseball and other assorted nonsense (mostly the assorted nonsense) at my blog, What's a Tararrel?

by Lefti on Mar 12, 2009 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions

no

what the Mets can do about that is not build a stadium that’s 15,000 seats smaller than its predecessor

by JoshNY on Mar 12, 2009 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Wow another "Kazmir would help this team" article?

Really? He’s overrated, people. I just as much would like to have AJ Burnett, but you don’t hear anyone whining about him.

King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president

by Sam Page on Mar 12, 2009 10:01 AM EDT reply actions

Really?

Kazmir is pretty good.

by Eric Simon on Mar 12, 2009 10:10 AM EDT up reply actions

I'm not saying otherwise

but he’s not Koufax or Gooden, like most Mets fans like to think.

King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president

by Sam Page on Mar 12, 2009 10:23 AM EDT up reply actions

Does anyone here think that?

I think most would just say that he’s very good and that he’d be the Mets’ second-best starter right now.

by Eric Simon on Mar 12, 2009 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Got to agree with Eric on this one

I think most fans realize that he’s not an Ace™ due to not being able to throw 200 innings, but he’s still damn good.

by Sokojoe on Mar 12, 2009 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions

No

but I don’t think anyone here is typical of most Mets fans. I don’t think we’re really in disagreement here, I just hate these types of Kazmir stories. How pointless.

King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president

by Sam Page on Mar 12, 2009 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions

AJ Burnett

Of course, we didn’t trade AJ Burnett for a week-old ham sandwich, like we did with Kazmir. That will always create some yearning/hypothesizing/kicking ourselves/etc.

'Oh yes, I know all about that duty-of-a-citizen stuff. It doesn't go. There are exceptions to every rule, and this was one of them. When a man risks his liberty to come and root at a ball-game, you've got to hand it to him. He isn't a crook. He's a fan.'

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Mar 12, 2009 10:15 AM EDT up reply actions

LINDA HAM!

“I had a sandwich once named Linda. Guess what kind of sandwich it was?”
“A ham sandwich?”
“I don’t know, I guess.”

by JoshNY on Mar 12, 2009 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions

Harry Caray was a champ.

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Mar 12, 2009 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions

thank you for getting that

by JoshNY on Mar 12, 2009 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions

The fact that Victor Zambrano

showed up (getting hammered) in the WBC automatically brings back those feelings. If he wants to linger around he should at least change his name.

by Mount17 on Mar 12, 2009 11:01 AM EDT up reply actions

He's good

but enough is enough with the “why did we trade Kazmir?” stuff. The trade happened 5 years ago. To paraphrase Ed Norton in 25th Hour – move the f*** on.

by James Kannengieser on Mar 12, 2009 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions

It's part of being a fan for some

I still complain that we traded Amos Otis for a guy who smoked pot during a doubleheader. Sure Mets fans bring up Kazmir, Ryan and Seaver (for emotional reasons) but I think the Otis/Foy swap was the worst trade in our history.

by Sokojoe on Mar 12, 2009 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions

That's some funny shit

Thanks.

"Since we became accelerated readers, we never leave the house." - Los Campesinos

by Shomov on Mar 12, 2009 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions

Really?

Worse than Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi?

by BobbyV_Incognito on Mar 13, 2009 1:10 AM EDT up reply actions

Jim Fregosi was an All-Star

Not for us of course, but you know, whatever man.

by cjmulrain on Mar 13, 2009 2:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Oh, I know.

And he was a great hitter…just not for us. He wasn’t very good for us, but Fregosi was a really good player.

by BobbyV_Incognito on Mar 14, 2009 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions

Kazmir is not overrated.

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

by squid92 on Mar 12, 2009 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Kazmir is weird

He’s been around for so long my mind sees him as being old, when he’s actually younger than Pelfrey. If he stays the pitcher he is then he’s probably overrated, he throws way too many pitches to ever be able to be a 180+ innings guy, but if he improves, which at 24 isn’t impossible, then I’d agree that he isn’t.

by Gina on Mar 12, 2009 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions

This.

King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president

by Sam Page on Mar 12, 2009 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions

kazmir, pfft

and the red sox also had hanley ramirez in the org for a while. BFD. as dr farthing would say after betting on rocky to lose to Mr. T in Rocky III, “hindsight is twenty twenty, my friend.”

HELLO HELLO MR WILPON. WE WANT THE MANSION NOT THE CONDO.

by kendynamo on Mar 12, 2009 11:15 AM EDT reply actions

Nice

Dirty Work was just on the other day.

by Eric Simon on Mar 12, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions

You didn't count on my loyal army of prostitutes, did you?

a cinematic masterpiece if there ever was one.

HELLO HELLO MR WILPON. WE WANT THE MANSION NOT THE CONDO.

by kendynamo on Mar 12, 2009 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Random but a friend and I were actually talking about the Hanley trade

When you ignore the ends, and consider the fact that Lowell and Beckett both had career seasons way way above anything either of them had done in 07 and it’s hard to imagine anyone predicting that, It looks like a pretty poor trade for the Red Sox. Especially when you consider Theo didn’t actually want Lowell the marlins made him take him back and that it caused them to have to sign Lugo.

by Gina on Mar 12, 2009 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions

I dunno

I mean, the Red Sox made that trade with their eyes open, knowing Hanley was an awesome prospect (maybe the top-rated prospect overall at that point, I’m not completely sure), but making the trade for a young ace who already had experience pitching in the playoffs. Yeah Theo didn’t want Lowell and was just taking him as a salary dump, but Beckett was awesome in 2007, could’ve won the Cy Young, and was incredible in those playoffs, and the team won the World Series. It’s not like they traded Hanley for Victor Zambrano.

by JoshNY on Mar 12, 2009 2:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed.

Even though Hanley was an awesome prospect, the Sox still thought he was a couple years away when they dealt him. Do not forget that Anibal Sanchez was also part of this deal (as was Guillermo Mota, who went to the Sox along with Lowell and Beckett). The Sox threw in two other minor leaguers who I don’t recognize.

The Sox needed a young ace to front their staff with Pedro on the outs and Schilling getting older. In the end, the Sox really can’t complain because it netted them a WS title. However, I think Gina raises an interesting point. Compare what the Sox gave up for Beckett in comparison to what we gave up for Johan. Beckett was a big time talent, however he didn’t have anywhere near the track record of Johan. Depending on how Gomez and Guerra turn out, I would say Minaya pulled off a better deal for an ace pitcher.

When you think about the Beckett, Bedard, and Johan deals, you really have to give it to Omar. Now, I know there were other teams that could have had Johan if they had decided to part with better prospects, and I know that the Sox and Mariners had to pry Beckett and Bedard away from their respective teams, however, the Twins didn’t HAVE to trade Johan and they had to know Minaya was under a lot of pressure to make a “splash.”

Anyway, sorry for the tangent, but I thought it should be acknowledged that in comparison to other deals involving big name pitchers, Omar actually comes out on top, IMO.

by SQUAD on Mar 12, 2009 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Two ways to look at it

One would be to say that Beckett didn’t have the same track record as Johan, but another would be to say that Beckett had his best years in front of him while Johan had already started to show some early signs of decline

by JoshNY on Mar 12, 2009 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Right.

But Beckett also had the injury thing though, so the Red Sox were hoping he would get his act together.

by SQUAD on Mar 13, 2009 12:45 AM EDT up reply actions

and didn't he?

at least to the extent that he was a big part of them winning the 2007 WS? (not to mention he’s still only 28 and could have many good years ahead of him)

by JoshNY on Mar 13, 2009 8:51 AM EDT up reply actions

As bad as it looks in hindsight

I really don’t think the package the Twins got for Santana was as awful as some make it seem, especially considering the no trade clause and the money the team taking Santana would have to put up. At the time, at least according to baseball prospectus, the 4 players we gave them they’re top two prospects, both 4 star players at the time, and two 3 star prospects, 3 of their top 5 and 4 of their top 8. Compared to some of the rumored deals with the Sox and the Rangers it’s bad, but I think it’s at least better than Hughes + Cabrera, which was one of the rumored packages from the Yankees I believe.

by Gina on Mar 13, 2009 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions

But the Hanley trade helped the Red Sox in some ways.

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

by squid92 on Mar 12, 2009 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah i know

i didnt mean to compare trades or anything. just to point out that every team can drive themselves crazy with coulda woulda shouldas. plus i wanted to get in a dr farthing quote.

but the bookies killed dr farthing anyway.

so he’s dead.

HELLO HELLO MR WILPON. WE WANT THE MANSION NOT THE CONDO.

by kendynamo on Mar 13, 2009 10:11 AM EDT up reply actions

This UFL business is total BS.

So the Mets build a new baseball specific stadium and they’re going to rent it out to a freaking UFL team?

I wonder how much they’re getting to let them use the field?

by SQUAD on Mar 12, 2009 11:54 AM EDT reply actions

Agreed

This annoys me, a lot. And i wonder how much of the money they’ll get from renting it out will be reinvested back into the mets.

by Gina on Mar 12, 2009 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions

Exactly.

The Wilpons better hope this news doesn’t get widely reported or the “We Want Manny!” contingent will get rowdy.

by SQUAD on Mar 12, 2009 4:05 PM EDT up reply actions

First of all:

What in the hell is the UFL?

Secondly, is this really the only league in which Jim Fassel can get another head coaching job?

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Mar 12, 2009 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions

answers

1) It’s a league that’s going to fold well before it can start its second season

2) I know, kinda sad, right?

by cjmulrain on Mar 12, 2009 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Flappin'-gums (Papelbon) needs to shut the hell up!

What a stupid analogy to use (Manny was a cancer) when one of the pitchers on the team was almost a victim to cancer (Jon Lester). The guy is a %*$&ing idiot. His comment and that stupid look on his face prior to pitching a ball are equally ridiculous.

" (Stewie) Wait a minute. Germany is building WMD's? Then, why doesn't America go in there and kick their a$$e$? (Brian) I don't know. Maybe it's because they don't have any oil? (Stewie) Ohhhhhhh. Clap, clap, clap, clap, claaaaap. "

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Mar 13, 2009 4:44 AM EDT reply actions