Chris Jaffe has a nice interview with Rob Neyer at The Hardball Times. For better or worse, Neyer is largely responsible for my interest in objective baseball analysis and is probably the biggest reason you are even reading anything I write. (If you're short on things to read today, the Primer Newsblog discussion of the Neyer interview will kill some time).
Speaking of Neyer, he counts down the top ten baseball miracles at ESPN.com (insider subscription required, currently a free preview). He ranks the Mets' Game 6 comeback in 1986 in slot #9. The Red Sox's comeback from 0-3 to win the 2004 ALCS tops the list.
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The Sporting News is spearheading a Strat-O-Matic simulation of the 1986 baseball season featuring teams managed by current and former ballplayers as well as baseball bloggers. The Mets are managed by Ba Ba Booey from The Howard Stern Show. The season kicks off on November 5 and should be pretty damned neat. Go Mets!
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Marty Noble has a new mailbag up at Mets.com. Nothing really new or exciting there, but he addresses some questions that apparently a fair number of Mets fans care to get his opinion on. We could do a mailbag here. Or a chat. Ask me some questions; I've got answers, folks.
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Sixty-eight Japanese ballplayers were granted free agency on Monday, including hotshot outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. ArmchairGM has a nice profile of Fukudome, as does Mike Plugh of Baseball Prospectus. Fukudome, who turned 30 in April, has terrific on-base skills, good power and high-efficiency stolen base marks. His power will diminish somewhat when he come stateside, but his plate discipline and baserunning should translate pretty well, even if his batting average drops a bit.
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The Rangers stink, apparently. The Devils haven't been much better, but at least they can use a wicked long road trip as an excuse for their mediocrity. They finally play their first home game this Saturday at the brand spanking new Prudential Center in... err... Newark.
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Anything else? Nothing really going on in Metsland, though I'll have a Luis Castillo 2007 eulogy up later today. Anything else you want to talk about? See any good motion pictures lately? Read any good novellas? Try a new goulash recipe?