AAOP and a Humblebrag

by Balsley on Jul 30, 2011 2:37 PM EDT

I didn't have the time to complete an entire AAOP post during the off-season but I came up with a couple suggestions I'd like to revisit. Also, I'd like to preface I'm a very humble person this is just in jest and in good fun. Who knew my aim would be so good.

I mentioned Matt Kemp and Chad Billingsley as likely attainable players due to the Dodgers and McCourt fiasco. Kemp is having an unreal season while Bills is having quite a bounce back year. Both would have been huge gets for the Mets had they produced these numbers in orange and blue. For longshots I had Clayton Kershaw and Andre Ethier. Kershaw is having one of the better under the radar seasons in baseball. Overshadowed by off the field stories, Kershaw and Kemp have been the two of the better stories for the organization. Either has struggled more often than not but he is up for free agency at season's end so he could have been acquired much easier in hindsight.

My best suggestion, Asdrubal Cabrera. Coming off injury and in a rebuilding year, no one expected the start Asdrubal and the Tribe got off to begin the season. Wow what could have been if the Mets showcased Reyes and Asdrubal in a battle of I can be more awesome than you offensively and defensively. If I could have one of these predictions come true Asdrubal would have been the one. As I mentioned in my original post, Asdrubal would play 2B and I'm not sure anything would get by him or Reyes. Yes, I patted my own back because I wondered was I the only one to think about this guy? Baring someone's mispelling, I was the only person regarding AAOP to suggest Asdrubal. Ahthankyou. With Fausto he's been on a roller coaster season, he still shows flashes of greatness but his control is his Achilles' heel. Santana hasn't seemed to pick up where his rookie campaign was abruptly ended. The Mets would still like him over Thole at this point.

Again, sorry for the humblebrag. I hope you guys understand I just found it impressive and surprising how well my suggestions turned out, especially Asdrubal and Kemp. Have a great weekend folks.

LeggoMets

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Comments

I would love to have Asdrubel

But I don’t know how you could say you would rather have him than Kemp right now. Especially the way Murphy and Turner have performed at second base. I honestly could see Ruben Tejada turning out just like Asdrubel in a few years.

Bobby Baseball - The future of Amazin' Avenue.

by Bobby Baseball on Jul 30, 2011 5:59 PM EDT reply actions

we def need help in the outfield....

I hope they wont be shy to pursue salary dumps on the waiver wire for any solid ofers or releivers. They set themselves up payrollwise dumping krod and this team deserves the investment at this point.

Undefeated is the new "Winning".
Duh, undefeated....

by The real Julio from Paterson on Jul 30, 2011 6:36 PM EDT reply actions

We should have also traded for

Cameron Maybin, Alex Avila, Ryan Vogelsong, Glen Perkins, Joel Hanrahan and Vance Worley.

Then gone back in time and retained Jose Bautista and Phil Humber.

"..."

by Thaddeus Ballpheasant on Jul 31, 2011 7:38 AM EDT reply actions

or just reacquire them right before they got good

I LIKE IKE!

by astromets on Jul 31, 2011 8:25 AM EDT up reply actions

that guy.

I made a post back in December about Asdrubal and Kemp. Why not include Adrian Gonzalez or Brandon Phillips? What about Billy Chapel and Roy Hobbs while you’re at it?

And by the way the technology for time travel doesn’t exist yet, you must be kinda stupid. – Aziz Ansari

by Balsley on Jul 31, 2011 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions

or how about Jake Taylor and Rick Vaughn

And by the way you think Aziz Ansari is funny, you must be kinda stupid. — Metman726 (just kidding…couldn’t resist the opportunity to bash a bad comedian)

"Anybody with ability can play in the big leagues. But to be able to trick people year in and year out the way I did, I think that was a much greater feat." -Bob Uecker
"Who is the girl in the dugout, with the long hair? What's going on here? You have got to be kidding me. Only player personnel in the dugout. I won't say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don't belong in the dugout." -Kieth Hernandez

by metman726 on Aug 1, 2011 4:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Belmonte Up With It

Aziz’s special on Comedy Central was the best stand up I’ve seen since the late Mitch Hedberg. At least I thought so, but I’m no stand up critic.

by Balsley on Aug 1, 2011 7:01 PM EDT up reply actions

I liked it

but if that was the best you’ve seen since Hedberg, you need to see some Louis CK pronto.

Save Jenrry Mejia!
Keep Reyes, Trade Wilpon.

by Ogre39666 on Aug 1, 2011 7:39 PM EDT up reply actions

how would you rank those 3, what do you recommend watching from each, do they have a best skit

by jadedeed2327 on Aug 1, 2011 10:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Louis CK's stuff is just flat out good. His worst material is like other comics' best material.

Personally, I think Louis CK is the best comic since George Carlin. And Ansari only has one special I know of where he is doing his own stuff (not playing the character he played in Funny People) so it’s hard to say how good he is. And I haven’t actually seen that much of Hedberg.

Save Jenrry Mejia!
Keep Reyes, Trade Wilpon.

by Ogre39666 on Aug 1, 2011 10:46 PM EDT up reply actions

thanks ill watch some youtube of them and get back to you, remind me if you can in a week or so

by jadedeed2327 on Aug 1, 2011 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions

WHAT?!

You need to watch Hedberg, phenomenal delivery. He’s comedy’s equivalent of Arrested Development. So much potential, so many great jokes and gone before their time.

Louis CK is solid. And I sit corrected, Ricky Gervais stand up and show are hysterical. Y’all should check out Talking Funny with Ricky Gervais, Louis CK, Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock. Awesome stuff.

by Balsley on Aug 2, 2011 12:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Not to nitpick, but knowing Matt Kemp was going to have a good year doesn't make it any more reasonable to think Jason Bay would have been an acceptable return for him and Billingsley

Not even Ned Colletti is that bad at his job

by Stephen Schmidt on Jul 31, 2011 12:14 PM EDT reply actions 3 recs

a good ole 'you were wrong humbling'

to add:

Catcher
I like Thole and I think he’s gonna be a solid #1 catcher, I think he’ll be a lot like Paul LoDuca offensively and defensively.

I LIKE IKE!

by astromets on Jul 31, 2011 12:32 PM EDT up reply actions

about that.

There’s a macro on my computer so when I type “average catcher offensively and defensively. Later in his career might liken him more to LoDuca, likely without the AllStar nods” it populates “solid #1 catcher.”

I really need to fix that. Don’t want to make that mistake more than once.

by Balsley on Jul 31, 2011 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions

agreed.

Even after Bay’s great year in Boston, Colletti wouldn’t be dumb enough to trade Kemp and Billingsley for him. Both had pretty disappointing seasons last year so it was more a buying low, wishful thinking thought.

Then again Colletti was dumb enough to trade Carlos Santana for Casey the original beard Blake, so who knows. Ethier is a FA after this season so I’d like to think if the Mets were aggressive they could have acquired one of the four Dodgers I mentioned.

by Balsley on Jul 31, 2011 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions

I think this is more of a brag than a humblebrag

by anonymous on Jul 31, 2011 2:05 PM EDT reply actions

dynamite drop in Monte!

by Balsley on Jul 31, 2011 3:05 PM EDT up reply actions

i see those announcing classes are really paying off

by metman726 on Aug 1, 2011 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Just wanna say, none of that is/was realistic

Coming off of injury, did anyone expect Asdrubal to break out to the point he has? Not many- I know I passed him over in my fantasy baseball draft. At any point have the Indians expressed they’d be willing to deal him, or Carmona, or the Dodgers Billingsly, Ethier, Kemp, Kershaw,? Nope.

That’s like being, “Oh, the Mariners suck”, so they should just randomly trade King Felix to [whoever], just because.

This probably should also be a FanShot!

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

AA Gamethread Embiggening Record Holder- 453 posts (10/03/10)
3rd Place- 2011 AAOP Contest

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Jul 31, 2011 6:56 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

says the pot to the kettle

You boast about your “3rd Place – 2011 AAOP Contest” in your signature, yet are comfortable from your high horse to take shots at me? I did, I expected Asdrubal to break out. I made my original post in December saying the Mets should pursue him as well as the other above mentioned.

When I made my post, like we mentioned, Asdrubal was coming off injury so, were I Mets GM I’d have gone after him while his price was down. Obviously when the season started Asdrubal became untouchable but that was after I’d have him in a Met uniform.

You can read my indepth reasons in my original post, nothing has changed. Asdrubal is due a big contract and Tribe don’t usually like to spend. Carmona is a FA and unlikely to be retained plus coming off another roller coaster season. Bills and Kemp had down years so their stock was down and the McCourt divorce was heating up so I hoped to take advantage of their intent to unload bigger contracts. Ethier is a FA in the offseason and if u read the post Ethier/Kershaw were labeled long shots anyways.

Again, the season hadn’t started when I wrote my post. Teams level of sucking was only determined by on paper not standings. Let’s know what we’re talking about before we sit down at the bigs table next ok?

by Balsley on Jul 31, 2011 8:23 PM EDT up reply actions

None of those players were on the trading block during the off-season,

and none of them were reportedly on the trading block during the season. End of story.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

AA Gamethread Embiggening Record Holder- 453 posts (10/03/10)
3rd Place- 2011 AAOP Contest

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Jul 31, 2011 8:32 PM EDT up reply actions

splitting hairs.

Will listen to offers and on the trading block are two different things.

You had James Shields. End of story.

by Balsley on Aug 1, 2011 2:02 AM EDT up reply actions

And the Rays were going to move either him or Garza.

They ended up moving Garza because of the hype. There were no rumblings that the Indians were looking to move Cabrera or the Dodgers were looking to move one of their core.

Save Jenrry Mejia!
Keep Reyes, Trade Wilpon.

by Ogre39666 on Aug 1, 2011 2:17 AM EDT up reply actions

I thought it was Garza on the block. There probably weren’t rubblings because Asdrubal was recovering. I could have sworn Kemp was available. He wouldn’t be cheap but he had issues on and off the field with a big contract to boot.

by Balsley on Aug 1, 2011 2:24 AM EDT up reply actions

It was widely known that the Rays were going to move one of the two.

Because Shields had a hard-luck year last season and Garza had the image of a playoff performer, Garza got moved. And for a boat-load.

Save Jenrry Mejia!
Keep Reyes, Trade Wilpon.

by Ogre39666 on Aug 1, 2011 2:29 AM EDT up reply actions

I thought it was Garza who would be dealt, unless they were wow’ed for someone else. Shields is on the cheap and under contract for a couple years.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/6356/should-rays-trade-their-no-3-starter

by Balsley on Aug 1, 2011 2:51 AM EDT up reply actions

To nitpick, you didn't actually suggest any trade for Cabrera.

You just threw out the names of some Indians who might be available. And your research was incomplete – Carmona’s not an FA this winter, he has club options for the next 3 seasons, at $7, $9, and $12 million. You think they won’t pick up that option for 2012? Something else you overlooked is that the Indians have a lot of young, cheap players, which is depressing their payroll. You looked at their total spending and thought, “They’re not willing to spend”, but given their youth, the parity in the AL Central, and the fact that they just picked up Jimenez, I’d say they’re definitely willing to spend to field a contending team.

To be fair, you did suggest a trade for Kemp/Billingsley: it seems to be a proposed package of Bay/Luis Castillo, which wouldn’t look attractive to anyone, not to mention that that’s pretty much the opposite of “unloading bigger contracts”.

"And that's why anybody who invested with Lenny Dykstra should really call that number. Lawyers are standing by."

by BobbyV_Incognito on Jul 31, 2011 9:41 PM EDT up reply actions

LOL Bay/Castillo for Kemp or Billingsley?!?!?

For real?!?! Even in a somewhat down year for Kemp, Ned Coletti would laugh Sandy Alderson out of his office if he’d proposed that (and Billingsley had a solid year last year).

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.

by Steve Schreiber on Jul 31, 2011 11:30 PM EDT up reply actions

I know.

A young man can dream. It’d take quite the illusion to pull a fast one like that. I was considering Bills for money reasons on the Dodgers side more than poor performance I guess. And we still might be giving Coletti too much credit.

by Balsley on Aug 1, 2011 2:19 AM EDT up reply actions

I'll bust on Coletti for a lot because he's just awful

but I think even he would know that’s a terrible deal.

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.

by Steve Schreiber on Aug 1, 2011 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions

agreed.

He’s just an easy target. It would be a terrible trade. Shades of Minaya’s Expo killing trade: Colon for Grady, Lee and Phillips.

I didn’t take the time to look into a feasible trade, even one Ned would accept, since I was simply offering ideas for others to run with.

by Balsley on Aug 1, 2011 7:06 PM EDT up reply actions

lol

by jadedeed2327 on Aug 1, 2011 10:32 PM EDT up reply actions

fair enough.

I didn’t complete an actual AAOP list so it was more my thoughts for someone to run with or a way for me to waste time babbling about something I have no control of.

Yes they went out and got Ubaldo but that’s the first time in how long? And again I wrote this in December when this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Tribe. No one expected the entire ball club to start the season the way they did, much less in contention for the AL Central. They have a lot of youth because they traded their best players the last few years.

Again it was wishful thinking. Were I GM I would have gone after Asdrubal. After investing so much money in Pronk and Grady Shapiro and Co. might be less likely to pay huge contracts again. Fausto’s 9yr deal was very team friendly but he’s produced at that lesser level. I wouldn’t count on Carmona finishing his contract with the Tribe is all I’m saying. Like you said their young and there are players they’d rather pay than Fausto at this point.

Yeah that package falls somewhere between wishful thinking and yeahright. I didn’t thoroughly do my homework like I would if I submitted an actual aaop. Best case scenario, throw one in a package deal. At this point the Colletti wouldn’t listen to anything for either or Ethier. ahthankyou.

by Balsley on Aug 1, 2011 2:17 AM EDT up reply actions

I am also humble

And I dont want to humblebrag either, but the fact is that I woke up this morning and just knew – KNEW – that I was going to take a killer dump in short order. Sure enough, just twenty minutes later the sweet poetic sound of my toilet flushing proved me a genius yet again. Not to brag, you know.

"Good hitter. Shitty team -- good hitter."

by Dandy Salderson on Aug 1, 2011 3:28 PM EDT reply actions 3 recs