Amazin' Avenue: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Around SBN: Headlines: BC Beats BU 4-3 in 58th Beanpot Championship

Slow Day Applesauce - All Star lineups, Acta's future, Mets and Carton, Valentine, and Victorino starting


David Wright is batting sixth tonight. That sounds about right. I've been surprisingly hooked to the last few All-Star games. I don't know if the new "This One Counts" mantra has caused the players and managers to take the game seriously, but it has been a really enjoyable exhibition, no matter how irrelevant some people may find it. The Home Run Derby on the other hand...

Star-divide

Meet the Mets

Manny Acta has friends among the Met management and clubhouse which might translate into a new job in the organization.

Baseball America awarded Binghamton pitcher Brad Holt "Prospect Pitcher of the Day" after 7 innings of shutout ball, giving up 4 hits and striking out 7.

His time as a free agent made Francisco Rodriguez realize that the game is a business

Mike Silva makes a strong point about the Mets' relationship with radio host Craig Carton.

Brian McCann still believes in his high school buddy Francoeur. On a side note, maybe Francoeur should have gone to Clemson.

The Mets are relying on Charlie Manuel and the Philadelphia coaching staff to keep Johan Santana off the field tonight. Good luck with that.

Toby Hyde agrees with Adam Rubin's assessment of the Mets.

Centerfield Maz remembers Robin Ventura

Parking at Citi Field for the Paul McCartney concert might run $30. I would just as soon hitchhike to the show.

Mets Geek ranks the biggest hits of 2009, so far.

Around the NL East

Charlie Manuel has given the starting center field job to Shane Victorino, the last player voted to the team, in tonight's All-Star game. He was the only player with sufficient experience at the position.

Philadelphia will apparently sign Pedro if he passes a physical.

The new Marlin stadium will cost $2.4 billion.

Washington continues to show interest in Bobby Valentine to replace fired Manny Acta. Grrrrrr.....

Around MLB

Look for Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay to start tonight.

Sports agents are the baseball players union to file a suit against MLB for collusion following last offseason's free agent market. It does appear as though they have a strong circumstantial case.

Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman has signed with an agent.

Lou Piniella pulls a Davey.

"Million Dollar Arm" winner Rinku Singh is the first Indian-born winning pitcher in professional American baseball.

Kansas City general manager pulls a Jeff Francoeur on defensive statistics.

And, for your enjoyment, here's an awesome grounds crew fail.

0 recs  |  Comment 28 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

I was hoping to A.C.T.A. link

was from a more official source, seemed too good to be true.

by Sokojoe on Jul 14, 2009 10:14 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Yeah

Sorry. I was probably too caught up in the possibility too.

by Joe Budd on Jul 14, 2009 10:53 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

i think that ground crew fail

is the funniest thing ever. is that bad?

"I used to be legit. I was too legit. I was too legit to quit. but now I'm not legit. I'm unlegit. And for that reason, I must quit."

by jaronson5 on Jul 14, 2009 10:25 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

not at all

Slapstick is one of the highest forms of humor. It’s even better when it involves the misery of someone else.

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

by kingcritical on Jul 14, 2009 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

this always makes my day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpzEF0D2xfE

Lets hope that when gut check time comes again the Mets will pass it with flying colors.

by kendynamo on Jul 14, 2009 11:10 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

nice one.

Also, it’s good to see that you’re still with us. I thought for sure that the Francoeur trade would make your head explode.

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

by kingcritical on Jul 14, 2009 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

hah

almost. i got a lot of crap from my friends about it.

Lets hope that when gut check time comes again the Mets will pass it with flying colors.

by kendynamo on Jul 14, 2009 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Dick Torino starting the ASG = Fail.

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

by kingcritical on Jul 14, 2009 10:51 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Dick Torino starting at the ASG = Fail.

by mets81 on Jul 14, 2009 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Dick Torino starting at the ASG existing = Fail.

I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!

by R_Adragna on Jul 14, 2009 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

The Rubin article is very good.

It manages to criticize the training staff, management, Omar, and the Wilpons all in one sweeping motion, without resorting to stupidity and fire and brimstone.

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

by squid92 on Jul 14, 2009 11:04 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Rubin's good

He’s usually even-keeled and not afraid to be critical. He also spends a ton of time (for a beat writer) reviewing the farm system.

by mets81 on Jul 14, 2009 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Did you see in Rubin's article

That the Mets are still paying Castro’s salary?? I didn’t realize that. Only freakin’ Minaya. This guy is made of Teflon. I’d love to see him in an ordinary job, he’d last two weeks.

by David G on Jul 14, 2009 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Excellent article

Rubin absolutely nails it.

by SQUAD on Jul 14, 2009 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Rubin

was both very good and very depressing. I guess I’m just happy that any part of my take on it includes the words “very good”.

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

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Jul 14, 2009 2:01 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions   0 recs

things a lot Adrian Gonsuckage

no swag for me.

Lets hope that when gut check time comes again the Mets will pass it with flying colors.

by kendynamo on Jul 14, 2009 11:11 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

So, you guys know that Subway commercial with Johan and CC Sabathia?

I figured out the problem. The argument they’re having is totally unrealistic. I mean, wouldn’t Johan have to cede to CC’s obviously-superior expertise in the field of giant sandwiches?

by JoshNY on Jul 14, 2009 12:18 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

unless

Johan is relying on Livan’s expertise.

by jasondg on Jul 14, 2009 12:21 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

good call

but it really should be Livan and CC in the commercial, rather than Johan as Livan’s proxy

by JoshNY on Jul 14, 2009 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Good for Singh

I doubt that either one will make the majors, though.

"I have discovered in twenty years of moving around a ball park, that the knowledge of the game is usually inverse in proportion to the price of the seats." - Bill Veeck

by Prince on Jul 14, 2009 1:01 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

victorino starting

is a complete JOKE.

"I told him the next time he does that, I’m going to get my blade out and cut him, right on the field. Hey, I’m a gangsta now. You go gangsta on me, I’m gonna have to get you now."
- Jerry Manuel

by dave the rave on Jul 14, 2009 1:06 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

The worst part is Werth and Howard being on the team

when there are three other first basemen already and the NL needs a CF. If Cholly wasn’t too busy covering his ass with his own team (which most all-star managers do) he could’ve put Matt Kemp on the team and given the NL a legit CF.

by dtro on Jul 14, 2009 1:24 PM EDT reply actions   1 recs

At least there's no Rollins

You can make a modest argument for Werth, but there’s no way Howard should be there. Oh, wait. I forgot. He hits a lot of homeruns and I believe – and I could be mistaken about this – he’s from St. Louis.

As bad as Cholly is, I don’t think anyone will ever surpass Cito Gaston in sheer nepotism. Torre was pretty bad some years as well.

by dcmetsfan on Jul 14, 2009 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Totally.

I wonder if players are ever privately annoyed when they are snubbed for an all star game. In addition to being fun and ego-serving, I believe most players also receive a nice fat bonus for being selected.

by TheBigStapler on Jul 14, 2009 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

given that the bonus comes from the team,

I wonder whether a team might ever pressure the manager not to select his own players

by JoshNY on Jul 14, 2009 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

If I ever find the time

I’m going to use all our speculation about baseball ownership and management to write a juicy 500-page airport novel.

The Manchurian Third Baseman or Michael Bourne Identity, perhaps.

by TheBigStapler on Jul 14, 2009 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

Start posting about the Mets »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Mr-met-r_0_small
Do the Media and Blogosphere owe Omar an apology?
159714144_040c6c1501_small
Our National Baseball Laboratory
Small
Looking At What We Have, Part 1: Position Players
Small
Looking at what we do have, Part 2: Pitchers
Headshot_small
Omar Minaya's UltiMET Lineup

Recent FanPosts

Small
I Believe in Comebacks... and Chan Ho Park?
Small
The Truth about the Mets' 2010 Budget
Small
2010 Most and Least Improved Teams
Misc_007_small
When Cliff Floyd Spoke, Players Listened
39135485-59af19dbb26654095f910f34176af094_4ae8a81e-scaled_small
Predictions Group
Buckner_small
Updating the 'Diamonds in the Rough'
Small
Debunking False Childhood Memories

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

FanShots

Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.

Recommended FanShots

Omar's off-season contract strategy.  (Get it?)
(Yes, I'm having too much fun with GraphJam)
I'm doing a little study on the NL East and thought I'd share an interesting little tidbit.  To all of the self-loathing Mets fans/lazy 'MLB insiders' and journalistic parrots who have 1) Condemned the entire Mets organization as a joke 2) Written off this core's impressive run to date and 3) Deified the Phillies as unstoppable juggernauts w/ no chance to lose this division:

Yes, those wins are weighted towards '06-'07 and yes, the Phillies' are more recent but the fact remains that no other team in that span can even come close to the Mets total of days in first place, which should be garnering a lot more respect than it has.  If only because we still have nearly the same core in place that has clearly had a lot of success and health-willing can very easily do so again in 2010.

Recent FanShots

Another Ken Rosenthal fail..
Mets reach agreement with Pagan
Mets close to minor league deal with Mike Jacobs
FORBES RIPS WILPON
Mets Equipment Truck Leaves for Spring Training
Mets Claim OF Jason Pridie Off Waivers From Twins
Ted Berg on the Mets offseason
Dykstra is at it again..
Phillips admits he made some mistakes

+ New FanShot All FanShots >

Sponsors


THE BIG GUY

Aa_avatar_small Eric Simon

THE INCREDIBLES

Blackfish2_small Alex Nelson

Mos_def_def2_small Sam Page

Aaavatar_small Mark Himmelstein

Best_infield_ever_small James Kannengieser

THE NEWS GURU

Wrightfront_small Joe Budd

THE POET LAUREATE

Hamheadshot__1__small Howard Megdal