Mets Geek » Link Dump: February 11th, 2008

Comment posted by PHL on February 11, 2008 at 5:39 pm (#609387)

Rich Lederer’s top players, ages 24-25. I’m only including 10 from each age, cuz I’m too lazy to type ‘em all.

http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2008/02/best_young_play.php

25:

1. David Wright
2. Miguel Cabrera
3. Jose Reyes
4. Grady Sizemore
5. Joe Mauer
6. Russell Martin
7. Justin Verlander
8. Robinson Cano
9. Rickie Weeks
10. Jeremy Bonderman

24:

1. Hanley Ramirez
2. Prince Fielder
3. Ryan Braun
4. Cole Hamels
5. Scott Kazmir
6. Fausto Carmona
7. Francisco Liriano
8. Tim Lincecum
9. Nick Markakis
10. Brian McCann

Comment posted by Dep on February 11, 2008 at 5:41 pm (#609388)

those are pretty impressive lists. lots of young talent around.

Comment posted by PHL on February 11, 2008 at 5:43 pm (#609389)

The Reds at 50-to-1 look buyable.

Comment posted by Dep on February 11, 2008 at 5:46 pm (#609390)

yea, I think I’d rather just go NL pennant, but the odds get cut to 15/1 for obvious reasons

Comment posted by Dep on February 11, 2008 at 5:48 pm (#609392)

Here’s a NYTimes list for what TV show will be doing what and so on with the strike ending

http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/strike-fallout-a-complete-guide-to-how-your-favorite-shows-are-affected/

Comment posted by MetsFanSince71 on February 11, 2008 at 5:52 pm (#609393)

those are pretty impressive lists. lots of young talent around.

yes indeed, but I’m surprised Lederer actually listed Reyes ahead of Cano….I guess the Yankees haven’t gotten to him yet! LOL

Comment posted by Dep on February 11, 2008 at 5:54 pm (#609394)

Thank god Melky Cabrera isnt 24 yet. he’d be first!

Comment posted by MetsFanSince71 on February 11, 2008 at 5:56 pm (#609395)

Ah yes, Melky….by far the BEST young player in NYC!

beepskankssuckbeep

Comment posted by Dep on February 11, 2008 at 6:14 pm (#609396)

Orioles signed RHP Steve Trachsel to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.
Trachsel began last season with the Orioles, going 6-8 with a 4.48 ERA in 25 starts before being traded to the Cubs in late August. His 4.90 ERA in 29 starts overall makes it surprising that he couldn’t find a major league deal anywhere, but Trachsel is 37 years old and his horrible 56/76 K/BB ratio probably scared most teams off. He’ll compete with Troy Patton, Garrett Olson, Matt Albers and Hayden Penn for the final two spots in the Orioles’ rotation.

Comment posted by Dep on February 11, 2008 at 6:15 pm (#609397)

Pirates signed first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.
Mientkiewicz seemingly has little chance of taking on a prominent role in Pittsburgh given the presence of Adam LaRoche and top prospect Steven Pearce. LaRoche’s defense is solid and he’s a left-handed hitter, so Mientkiewicz’s skill set duplicates what the Pirates already have in a superior player. He’s still a useful player to have around, but Pittsburgh is a bad fit.

Comment posted by Joe A. on February 11, 2008 at 6:16 pm (#609398)

Do you think the Mets will still have the 2nd best odds now that the O’s have signed Trax?

Comment posted by Dep on February 11, 2008 at 6:17 pm (#609399)

hahaha, i think the O’s odds just got worse! they were 150/1, soon back to 200/1!

Comment posted by Confused on February 11, 2008 at 6:58 pm (#609400)

“Battlestar Galactica” (Sci Fi): Returns April 4 with the first 11 episodes of its final season. Second half will now almost certainly air in 2009.

Comment posted by Dep on February 11, 2008 at 7:00 pm (#609401)

bout friggin’ time. if they dont air the 2nd half, they should all catch STDs

Comment posted by Hiro Protagonist on February 11, 2008 at 7:10 pm (#609402)

I really, really hope all of Tony Armas’ starts this year are in the Pacific Coast League.

Comment posted by MetsFanSince71 on February 11, 2008 at 7:17 pm (#609403)

Not that I agree with them, but….

Forbes Top 10 Most Miserable Cities:

1. Detroit, MI
2. Stockton, CA
3. Flint, MI
4. New York, NY*
5. Philadelphia, PA
6. Chicago, IL
7. Los Angeles, CA
8. Modesto, CA
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Providence, RI

* The Big Apple is the nation’s center for financial services, publishing, advertising and countless other industries, making job opportunities plentiful. But the costs can make all but the super-wealthy miserable. Housing costs are through the roof, and income tax rates are 10.5%, more than twice the U.S. average. Commuting times are also the worst, at an average of 36 minutes each way.

Comment posted by jas on February 11, 2008 at 7:32 pm (#609404)

According to mb-

The Mets signed Tony Armas Jr. to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.

Comment posted by Dep on February 11, 2008 at 7:43 pm (#609405)

lots of good met quotes from BP’s this week in quotes, some we’ve heard, some we haven’t.

ANATOMY OF A STEAL

“He told me that Jose Reyes would have gotten this deal done right away.”
–Mets general manager Omar Minaya, on his talks with Twins general manager Bill Smith.

“I don’t know what transpired between Bill Smith and the Yankees…I felt all along if we were around this deal, we had a chance to get him.”
–Minaya

“There was a point in time in which I thought he would not be traded until July 31st.”
–Minaya

“Once we decided to trade for him…Omar set it up very well, be patient, this will get back to us…once we pulled the trigger to give up that last kid, Guerra, we knew that we had to get him signed.”
–Jeff Wilpon (Mike and the Mad Dog, WFAN.com)

MUST BE THE VITAMIN WATER

“It was like right away. I’m barely on the team and he’s already reaching out. Shows what kind of guy he is.”
–new Mets catcher Brian Schneider, on David Wright.

“Am I a salty veteran? Absolutely not.”
–Wright, on being friendly.

“The biggest common denominator among guys who I’ve played with who I respect is that they do everything correctly. It takes a little something special, and not everyone can handle that role. David goes about his business and doesn’t let things go astray. That’s the biggest part about being a team leader.”
–Schneider

“That rubbed off. I’ve tried to emulate Glavine’s professionalism and the way he carries himself. John Franco’s leadership, the way he could get everyone on the same page. The one thing that all these guys had in common was that they had the ability to bring together people from different backgrounds and languages.”
–Wright (Ben Shpigel, New York Times)

Comment posted by Confused on February 11, 2008 at 7:56 pm (#609406)

Angelos To Nix Roberts Trade?

Some owners make headlines by talking to the press or releasing statements. This is best exemplified in New York, where the Steinbrenners aren’t strangers to reporters. Some owners, though, like to make headlines in other ways. Take Peter Angelos for example. People know him not because he speaks to the press, but rather because he’s always about to kill a certain move — a free agent signing or a trade. Yes, despite dealing Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada this off-season, Angelos still isn’t keen on dishing Brian Robers.

Jon Heyman is hearing that the haul for Roberts might not be enough for Angelos’s liking. The reported package includes pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielder Matt Murton, and infielder Ronny Cedeno. This isn’t the first deal for Roberts that Angelos has reportedly killed.

Heyman has an interesting bit on Angelos:

There is also a sense that Angelos has an unreasonable attachment to Roberts, who may well remind the owner of himself: a little guy who’s scrapped his way to the top of his profession (no, not baseball; Angelos is at the top of the legal profession, at least in terms of dollars earned).

Of course, there is no way to verify that this is the case. But if Angelos is holding back a possible Roberts deal, he might be doing a disservice to his team. They stand to benefit more in the future from the young talent they’d receive than they would from Roberts, who is 30 this year.

Comment posted by Dep on February 11, 2008 at 7:57 pm (#609407)

Rocker is such a moron, and back in the news.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3241448

Comment posted by Confused on February 11, 2008 at 8:02 pm (#609408)

Day One in Port St. Lucie

By Ben Shpigel

Tags: Billy Wagner, brian schneider, carlos beltran, carlos delgado, David Wright, duaner sanchez, guy conti, joe smith, Johan Santana, John Maine, jose reyes, Mets, mike pelfrey, oliver perez
The New York Mets

It’s been a full 10 months since I last set foot here, and it’s calming to see that not much has changed — a few more stoplights on Peacock Boulevard, a new shopping center (PETCO! Panera!) under construction. I’m a creature of habit, and as long as the weather is good, the iced tea at Camille’s is cold and the storylines are intriguing, I’m a happy camper. Spring training is all about routines, and I’m sure those players working out on the minor-league side this morning would certainly agree with that.

Brian Schneider, who lives about 40 minutes south in Palm Beach Gardens, showed up, fresh off his brother’s wedding over the weekend in Illinois. John Maine has been here since last week. “I had nothing better to do back home,” Maine said.

Mike Pelfrey, who you can read more about in tomorrow, may have grown another inch or two over the winter. Just kidding about that. Joe Smith stopped in and threw a bullpen session. It was encouraging to see a trimmer Duaner Sanchez, whose shoulder problems have prevented him from pitching since July 2006, out on the field. The bullpen coach Guy Conti dropped in, and he had barely said hi before he started raving about the acquisition of Johan Santana (he’s scheduled to get in tonight). Right before I left this afternoon, Oliver Perez popped his head into the clubhouse, too.

I wandered over to the major-league side this afternoon, just for a second, and performed my annual rite of spring: scoping out which players have been given their own spaces in the private parking lot. The obvious ones - David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Billy Wagner - have them, of course, and Aaron Heilman received one this year too. So did Scott Schoeneweis and Perez. It goes without saying that Santana has one, but the team’s other important acquisitions, Ryan Church and Brian Schneider, do not — at least not yet.

Comment posted by Dep on February 11, 2008 at 8:04 pm (#609409)

HEILS GOT A PARKING SPOT.

thank god.

Comment posted by Confused on February 11, 2008 at 8:05 pm (#609410)

per mlb trade rumors

Catchers
No starters available.

First basemen
No starters available.

Second basemen
No starters available.

Shortstops
No starters available.

Third basemen
Corey Koskie (35)

Left fielders
Barry Bonds (43) - Type A
Kevin Mench (30)
Reggie Sanders (40)
Shannon Stewart (34) - Type B

Center fielders
Kenny Lofton (41) - Type B
Corey Patterson (28)

Right fielders
Shawn Green (35) - Type B
Kevin Mench (30)
Trot Nixon (34)
Reggie Sanders (40)

DHs
Barry Bonds (43) - Type A
Mike Piazza (39) - Type B
Sammy Sosa (39)

Starting pitchers
Tony Armas Jr. (30)
Kris Benson (32)
Shawn Chacon (30)
Roger Clemens (45)
Bartolo Colon (35)
Josh Fogg (31)
Freddy Garcia (32) - Type B
Livan Hernandez (33) - Type B
Byung-Hyun Kim (29)
Kyle Lohse (29)
Rodrigo Lopez (32)
Eric Milton (32)
Tomo Ohka (32)
Russ Ortiz (34)
Odalis Perez (31)
John Thomson (34)
Jeff Weaver (31)
David Wells (45)

Closers
Armando Benitez (35)
Bob Wickman (39)

Middle relievers
Antonio Alfonseca (36)
Shawn Chacon (30)
Jose Mesa (42)
Akinori Otsuka (36)
Aaron Sele (38)
Ron Villone (38)

i guess armas should be taken off.

Comment posted by MetsFanSince71 on February 11, 2008 at 8:07 pm (#609411)

“He told me that Jose Reyes would have gotten this deal done right away.”
–Mets general manager Omar Minaya, on his talks with Twins general manager Bill Smith.

So is he saying that if Reyes were the GM he would’ve gotten the deal done faster? :-)

Comment posted by Confused on February 11, 2008 at 8:07 pm (#609412)

one less thing for him to complain about. but is that a good thing.

watching mets classic. mike’s for game as a met. that line up woulnt scare many. hey look, its stache.

Comment posted by Metswin2008 on February 11, 2008 at 8:09 pm (#609413)

Im actually suprised knowbody has picked up Fogg. He’s not too bad. Better than most of the pitchers on the list. Mench is still available (hint, hint Omar)

Comment posted by Confused on February 11, 2008 at 8:11 pm (#609414)

from a phan:

Update on Benson~

Word is that positive negotiations took place over the weekend and that he’s in Philly to today to take his physical. A 1-year deal + incentives is what’s on tap. The Phils want him in Fla. for the start of ST.

Comment posted by MetsFanSince71 on February 11, 2008 at 8:14 pm (#609415)

Im actually suprised knowbody has picked up Fogg.

Me too, metswin….btw, how are ya, buddy??

Russ Ortiz (34)

I thought I read that someone just gave him an ST invite?

Comment posted by Confused on February 11, 2008 at 8:14 pm (#609416)

another phan being classy:

I wouldn’t count Anna as being a “hollywood insider”, but more likely she’s had more of Hollywood inside of her.

how can he say that about ms clause?

Comment posted by MetsFanSince71 on February 11, 2008 at 8:17 pm (#609417)

I wouldn’t count Anna as being a “hollywood insider”, but more likely she’s had more of Hollywood inside of her.

LMAO….that’s freakin brilliant!!!

Comment posted by Confused on February 11, 2008 at 8:23 pm (#609418)

from the metropolitans:

No No, No, No No No, No No

Joe Posnanski had a nice post about something weighing heavily on our feeble minds.

There are so many fun things to be found in The Bill James Handbook. I was glancing through it again in my flu-ridden stupor and ran across his pitchers most likely to throw a no-hitter along with their percentages.

1. Scott Kazmir, 24%
2. Erik Bedard, 23%
3. Jake Peavy, 20%
4. Johan Santana, 17%
5. Daisuke Matsuzaka, 13%
6. A.J. Burnett, 12%
7. Ch

ris Young, 12%
8. Tim Lincecum, 12%
9. Javier Vazquez, 11%
10. Oliver Perez, 11%

Mind you, this actually has some statistical relevance. There was actual thought and number crunching that helped comprise this list. I am a bit shocked at Vazquez’s inclusion here, but the rest have that domination factor. When they are on, they are unhittable and they have devastating out pitches that are second to none when they are working. Joe also assembles his own list in a non-scientific manner, but it is hard to argue with his list.

Comment posted by Confused on February 11, 2008 at 8:23 pm (#609419)

hmm, frakked that up.

Comment posted by ITAC on February 11, 2008 at 8:24 pm (#609420)

This is a great read for those of you interested in seeing what the state of baseball is in Puerto Rico these days:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-catcherside11feb11,1,6554831.story?track=rss

Comment posted by Confused on February 11, 2008 at 8:26 pm (#609421)

does pita know about this?

Comment posted by Chris in GA on February 11, 2008 at 8:39 pm (#609422)

Tony Armas is actually a nice signing for what it is, a backup plan. Better than previous back up starter signings

Comment posted by Chris in GA on February 11, 2008 at 8:45 pm (#609423)

great article Ramon. I knew a lot fo what was mentioned but didnt know the reasons behind the fans leaving the sport for other things

Comment posted by Confused on February 11, 2008 at 8:56 pm (#609424)

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSN1114968920080211?sp=true

just in case your bb isnt working, this is why:

RIM reports “critical” BlackBerry outage
Mon Feb 11, 2008 6:31pm EST

By Wojtek Dabrowski

TORONTO (Reuters) - Research In Motion’s ubiquitous BlackBerry experienced a “critical severity outage” on Monday afternoon that left users stranded without wireless e-mail access, its maker said.

RIM notified its clients of the outage in an e-mail. Company officials were not available for comment.

“This is an emergency notification regarding the current BlackBerry Infrastructure outage,” RIM support account manager Bryan Simpson said in the e-mail, which was sent to the company’s large clients. The message said the outage affected business clients and “users of the Americas network.”

The notice gave no estimate on the cause, when service might be restored or how many people could be affected.

By about 5:30 p.m. Eastern time — more than an hour after RIM notified its customers of the problem — some customers said a few e-mails were trickling through. Others, however, continued to be without service.

Still others appeared to enjoy a respite from a device affectionately dubbed the “CrackBerry” by its more compulsive users. On Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Liberal Party spokesman Jean-Francois Del Torchio said things seemed very relaxed for a while.

“It made my life a little bit easier, since I didn’t have to reply. But when I arrived at my desktop and I saw all the e-mails I received, I was like, ‘Oh, I still need to work’,” he told Reuters.

But Carmi Levy, senior vice-president of strategic consulting at AR Communications, said service reliability is a serious concern for companies like RIM, because if problems become routine, they can turn customers and prospective buyers away.

“It’s a big issue and it’s a growing issue,” he said, adding that huge outages can prove to be “a major Achilles’ heel” for RIM.

Last April, a massive outage crashed BlackBerry service across North America, leaving thousands of users without access to wireless e-mail.

Co-CEO Jim Balsillie said at the time that such incidents were “very rare” and the Waterloo, Ontario-based company was taking steps to prevent such an outage from happening again.

Executives, politicians, lawyers and other professionals rely on the BlackBerry for its ability to send secure e-mails.

RIM is also adding more retail customers to its subscriber base, which late last year reached about 12 million people worldwide.

RIM shares fell to $93.25 in after-hours electronic trade, from their regular-session close of $94.47 on the Nasdaq market.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, the shares finished the day C$4.73 higher at C$94.62.

($1=$1 Canadian)

(Additional reporting by Randall Palmer; Editing by Rob Wilson)

Comment posted by ITAC on February 11, 2008 at 9:15 pm (#609425)

great article Ramon. I knew a lot fo what was mentioned but didnt know the reasons behind the fans leaving the sport for other things

Yeah it sucks. PR was the center of baseball in Latin America for decades, now it is falling further and further behind the rest.

Comment posted by Future on February 11, 2008 at 9:28 pm (#609426)

The other thing that sucks is that MLB probably didn’t even think about the effect making PR part of the draft would do.

Comment posted by tim from STL. on February 11, 2008 at 9:30 pm (#609427)

reason why Randy and Tom opted out of the ProBowl…….NSFW language

Comment posted by Ed in Westchester 2.0 on February 11, 2008 at 10:08 pm (#609428)

ed was impacgt by the blackberry outage. He was deeply depressed about missing the Geek for 2+ hours.

I demand restitution!

Howdy all

Comment posted by Chris in GA on February 11, 2008 at 10:11 pm (#609429)

Howdy Ed

Comment posted by Future on February 11, 2008 at 10:20 pm (#609430)

What was the reason Randy and Tom opted out?

True story, my wife hates Peyton Manning and she saw him on the sidelines during the Pro Bowl.

“Why is he there.”

“At least he’s there unlike Randy Moss and Tom Brady.”

“Well they were injured.”

“Yeah…sure. Hate on Manning all you want but an ankle sprain wouldn’t keep Manning out of the Pro Bowl.”

Comment posted by Jessica on February 11, 2008 at 10:39 pm (#609431)

I give Brady a pass for skipping the Pro Bowl. After all, he was less than 100% BEFORE the Giants repeatedly introduced him to the turf. Moss, on the other hand…

Comment posted by Ed in Westchester 2.0 on February 11, 2008 at 10:52 pm (#609432)

hey Chris.

Comment posted by DoctorK16 on February 11, 2008 at 10:58 pm (#609433)

Spending a frigid weekend in NYC ravishing Gisele > flying 12 hours to play in the shitty Pro Bowl

Comment posted by BOB A. BOOEY on February 11, 2008 at 11:28 pm (#609434)

hjmmmmmm allo gang ,,,

Comment posted by Chris in GA on February 11, 2008 at 11:34 pm (#609435)

Allo

Comment posted by BOB A. BOOEY on February 11, 2008 at 11:47 pm (#609436)

hmmmm wht up chriss ?/

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