the Metropolitans, NYC's non-Satanic team [aka ALL THINGS METS THREAD]

that's funny, I did see him actually throw out a base-stealer the other night. First time I ever saw that.

http://www.nypost.com/sports/mets/17052.htm

Are they still allowing banners into Shea? Didn't notice last month amid the security shakedown. Idea: "Billy Beane Was Right."

And now Reyes' BACK is giving him excruciating pain. As Al Franken says, oy oy oy!

Jason Phillips has clearly cleaned his goggles.

The Mets' history is filled with much more suffering, and hence is of much greater human interest.

As for Fred Wilpon vs Steinbush, I would invoke Billy Martin and say "One's a born liar, the other's convicted."

I don't think Piazza's a homophobe... just "shy."

And what's WRONG with Mets players looking like Dagwood? Obviously you don't recall George "The Stork" Theodore!

http://www.rndng3rd.com/mets/playrssz/geothe.html

You know, as far as comic strip chicks go.

Ugh... sadly, there are people on the Astros mlb.com board who are proposing this very thing.

News: The New York Post reports Kaz Matsui is experimenting with contacts and glasses. He is expected to try the glasses in the field in the near future.

Analysis: Matsui has 11 errors this season and the Mets management believes his poor vision is a big reason for that.

Kaz is NOT having a bad year, especially in a weak year for NL shortstops (Renteria is faring far worse) and he's on the upswing.

Goggles for all!

Is Phillips the closest thing to indie in baseball?

hstencil, you hata, I hope you saw Piazza make that DIVING stop in the second last night; it was Keith Hernandez redux!

And Reyes was visiting in the dugout, and almost got hit by a foul!

The Yankees being home simultaneously didn't help, and the non-hardcore fans are still waiting for this team to flame out.

x-post - you're probably right about the pricing, Morbius -- I didn't realize that, since a friend had free tix from work.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=1818365

Yeah, why do the Mets need a young 2B with a .386 ON-BASE when they can play "Where to Throw?" Wigginton there?!? Especially when they need a roster spot for GERALD FREAKIN' WILLIAMS!!! *sob*

Your '04 Mets -- "Older and Less Athletic."

choice Times quotes:

Howe made his first foray onto the field when the first-base umpire, Mike Di Muro, ruled that the Mets did not complete a double play on Cleveland's Coco Crisp, resulting in a run. Then he challenged Di Muro again when Crisp was called safe on a high throw from Ginter that pulled Mike Piazza off first base, leading to two more runs. The Mets have had plenty of trouble with Di Muro, who called two balks Tuesday on Steve Trachsel, and will be behind the plate today.

As Howe left, Piazza was the one flinging his arms in frustration. Once he could not flag down a hard grounder, once he could not make a throw to first, and once he couldn't do either. All in all, Piazza had the kind of game that made him initially dread a position change.

He let one ball bounce off his chest, picked it up and threw it away for an error. He had made another wide throw earlier, but Ginter bailed him out with a backhanded scoop in the dirt. Piazza's only miscue that cost the Mets came in the first inning, when he let one of many shots to the right side slither down the line. Gerald Williams could not field the ball cleanly, and when he finally got it in, second baseman Ty Wigginton threw wild to the plate, another error, and another run.

"I don't think any first baseman would have had some of those," Piazza said. "Besides the one error, I don't think there was any mistake I had. The rest were doubles."

What are these numbers for Ricky Stone?

I'm not positive, but I think the BP stats don't require a subscription to view: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/statistics/

Mets have about 6 1Bs now, with Howe claiming he may put Shane and Karim there too. Jason Phillips may need to hit soon.

You should have given it to a kid, you big jerk.

Stone: 0.0 VORP, -2.3 Adjusted Runs Prevented

Nevermind, Stone got sent down this week.

I Love Baseball shines a little brighter today. Pray for sun too, eh?

I actually gave the ball away this morning to my coworker Ellen, who is the biggest Mets fan I know -- she's been calling people all morning telling them about it. I am officially a hero in the office for a day.

The day of the parade for the Rockets' first championship in 1994, a buddy and drove to Houston from Beaumont for the event. After the parade, we decided to catch the Astros game that evening, so we went to the Astrodome, bought two Pavilion tickets and staked out two seats in the second row in left-center field. Jeff Bagwell hit three home runs that day, two in one inning. In that inning, the second bomb landed one row in front of me and the guy sitting there caught it with his bare hands. On Sportscenter highlight that night, you could distinctly see a guy standing there with a red Rockets jersey on. That was me. That was the closest I've ever come to getting a ball at a game.

I'll be at Leiter vs Tigers Saturday -- and after the game it's Merengue Night! So root for 22 innings and Bloomberg's noise police shutting the concert down.

I don't think I even made the Jumbotron though :(

(xpost!!!)

When Jose tripled with one out in the 10th, I explained to my ex-roomie that Detroit would fill the bases with Wigginton and Floyd to get to the pitcher's spot, and that Spencer would pinch-hit (Piazza already had). That's exactly what happened, to full-throated booing at the IBBs. I realize fundamental knowledge of baseball strategy is as scarce in the major-league stands as Fassbinder fanatics at a matinee screening of "DodgeBall," but it still bugs me. (Spencer hit into a force at home -- taa da! -- before Cameron hit one over the LF's head to win it.)

Goddamn Al (Pitch-Happy) Leiter... 37 thrown in the first inning, 123 over six.

Well, David Wright has arrived... he looks damn smooth at third, and I don't often say this about 21-year-olds, but he's HAWT.

Mike Stanton is the means by which Mets fans measure our pain.

EARTH TO JIM FUCKING DUQETTE!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1851559

Attended a major/minor-league double for the first time ever... First saw the Mets' "B" squad drop their fourth straight to the San Diego Lorettas 10-3 (game was NOT as close as the score indicates...I made several seat upgrades at 7-0 and 10-0), then got on the train to Coney where Brooklyn thumped Oneonta 11-2. What a reward, two blowouts in 9 hours.

Never before seen, at the Mets game: catcher Vance Wilson, without the ball and with no one covering home, shoving a Padre runner back toward third base. No obstruction called.

(Nelson Doubleday, we hardly knew ye...)

I wish there were more Met masochists here and fewer whiny Cub fans.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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god i fucking hate mascots

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/nym/schedule/tentative_2005_season_schedule.jsp

Now if Bonds can limit himself to 11 HR in the season's first third, I can see him pass Ruth when SF visits in early June...

Mets poised on the brink of history

Readers of this column know the real reason the Mets signed Carlos Beltran. It was to bring together the most accomplished base thief in history with the fourth-most accomplished base-stealing team in history so as to pursue this all-important team record, expense be damned!

Here are the top five all-time best basestealing teams ever:

1) 1994 Orioles (84.15%), 69 SB, 13 CS
2) 1995 Blue Jays (82.42%), 75 SB, 16 CS
3) 1975 Reds (82.35%), 168 SB, 36 CS
4) 2004 Mets (82.30%), 107 SB, 23 CS
5) 1962 Dodgers (82.16%), 198 SB, 43 CS

The addition of Beltran and his career 89% success rate nearly guarantee the Mets the record--especially if they don't let anybody but Beltran attempt steals. Kidding, of course. They've got a number of guys who just refuse to lose on the basepaths:
Jose Reyes: career 32 for 37 (86%)
David Wright: career 6 for 6 (100%)
Kazuo Matsui: career 14 for 17 (82%)

These are very small sample sizes from three players who haven't spent a lot of time in the majors just yet, but if stealing is limited to this core on a limited basis, the record is theirs for the taking. Now, if they could add Carlos Delgado and keep Mike Cameron (who is bound to bounce back from his 2004), then there will be more to talk about than team stealing records.

btw I'm wearing my mets hat today.

Man, Ishii's walk rates are horrible, and his ERAs are 5 or worse once you factor out Dodger Stadium. Rick Peterson needs to put him in the Miracle Lab with Victor Zambrano.

I wonder what the park factors are for Chavez Ravine & Shea - I'd imagine they're comparable, w/ Shea coming out on top...?

As a pitcher's park, I'm pretty sure Dodger Stadium is one of the most extreme, moreso than Shea.

And cutting Joe (White Way) McEwing is a good move.