44 Responses to “Link Dump: May 17th, 2008”

1. Comment posted by Simons on May 17, 2008 at 12:13 am (#695835)

   first

2. Comment posted by Chaucer on May 17, 2008 at 1:20 am (#695836)

   I left New York over thirty years ago when I was just a kid, and now I’m coming back. I’m moving the family to the New York area from Kentucky, which means I may actually get to see more than one Met game a year. And, yes, I’ll want to see more than one, even the way they’re playing these days. I might actually get to attend a Geek Day! The possibilities are endless.

   My workplace has a Metro North stop (Harlem and New Haven Lines) right outside, so I figure the best thing to do is to live somewhere up the line. What can my fellow Geeks recommend in communities in New York and Connecticut?

   Contact me, if you like, at my email address: ekelemen@windstream.net

   As for Mets hitting: maybe what we ought to do is call up Rick Down and tell him he’s fired — again. Something’s gotta be done!

   As for Reyes possibly playing poorly because he doesn’t get along with Willie, I know that when I worked for a creep of a boss, my work suffered, even though I wasn’t doing poorly intentionally. Of course, I wasn’t making quite so much money, either.

   Never mind.

3. Comment posted by Two-By-Four on May 17, 2008 at 1:41 am (#695837)

   A great article on Jason Giambi by Franz Lidz (wasn’t he a classical composer and pianist?) at http://www.portfolio.com/contributors/Franz-Lidz.

   In it Mr. Lidz writes:

   The deepest, darkest secret harbored by the New York Yankees first baseman is that whenever he is in a prolonged hitting funk, he wears a gold lamé, tiger-stripe thong under his uniform. “I only put it on when I’m desperate to get out of a big slump,” he confides.

   Over Giambi’s checkered career in the Bronx, he has left the “golden thong” in the lockers of slumping teammates Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Johnny Damon, Robin Ventura, and Robinson Cano. “All of them wore it and got hits,” he reports. “The thong works every time.”

   Perhaps he could send it over to the Mets.

4. Comment posted by littlefallsmets on May 17, 2008 at 3:59 am (#695838)

   In the immortal words of Nelson Muntz:

   Gotta nuke somethin’.

5. Comment posted by lucienlc on May 17, 2008 at 9:12 am (#695842)

   Has Figgy cleared waivers yet? Has Sosa? Has either or both accepted the demotion?

6. Comment posted by Dave Magadan on May 17, 2008 at 9:13 am (#695843)

   Figgy was put on waivers? He could’ve been a good long man. Sosa ehh I think he’s done. With us at least.

7. Comment posted by lucienlc on May 17, 2008 at 9:15 am (#695844)

   If we need a starter in Colo:

   Assuming Vargas does decently again and isn’t demoted, I don’t see Figgy getting the spot because he’s off the 40 man roster now. Same reason why I don’t think it’ll be Stokes or Tony Armas. (Unless, as I say, Vargas totally tanks his next start.) My betting would be on Bostick or Lugo, and my choice would be Lugo.

   Bostick (2-1): 43.1 IP, 42H, 6HR, 24R (24ER), 19BB, 28K, 1.41 WHIP

   Lugo (3-1): 40 IP, 36H, 16R (12ER), 5HR, 10BB, 33K, 1.15 WHIP

8. Comment posted by lucienlc on May 17, 2008 at 9:16 am (#695845)

   Figgy was put on waivers? He could’ve been a good long man. Sosa ehh I think he’s done. With us at least.

   We had to DFA Figgy — too many years experience, I think. Which means he passes through waivers before he can be reassigned to NO. That’s my understanding anyhow. I don’t think we could just assign him to NO.

9. Comment posted by lucienlc on May 17, 2008 at 9:17 am (#695846)

   I agree with you, though, about Figgy as a long man. I think he could be solid in that role. But we have to get our starting pitching sorted first.

10. Comment posted by Kneel Before Zod! on May 17, 2008 at 9:27 am (#695847)

    anyone get a chance to to see refs hand the cavs the game last night? embarrassing.

11. Comment posted by sheadenizen on May 17, 2008 at 9:54 am (#695848)

    Figgy has cleared waivers and has agreed to go to NO. Interestingly enough, I haven’t read anything about Sosa.

12. Comment posted by sheadenizen on May 17, 2008 at 9:56 am (#695849)

    Yanks will skip Rasner and pitch Pettitte today. I think that’s one of the reasons they didn’t want a DH today or tomorrow. They get to pitch Pettitte and Wang.

13. Comment posted by sheadenizen on May 17, 2008 at 10:08 am (#695850)

    11:05 start today because of threat of rain later. So says Chris Russo.
    Did anyone else hear this?

14. Comment posted by lucienlc on May 17, 2008 at 10:12 am (#695851)

    Figgy has cleared waivers and has agreed to go to NO. Interestingly enough, I haven’t read anything about Sosa.

    I never doubted that Figgy would go to NO. Heck, the guy pitched for Mexico last year, he so wanted to stay in baseball. And I do think he could come back up as a reliever. Sosa, otoh… who knows.

15. Comment posted by lucienlc on May 17, 2008 at 10:13 am (#695852)

    You had to know the Yanks would skip Rassner when they got the rainout. It was only logical. Let’s face it — if it had been Vargas scheduled instead of Santana, we would have done the same thing.

16. Comment posted by sheadenizen on May 17, 2008 at 10:18 am (#695853)

    Luci, did you hear it’s an 11:05 start or did I get it wrong? Seems bizarre to me. Wonder if anyone informed ticket holders?

17. Comment posted by sheadenizen on May 17, 2008 at 10:20 am (#695854)

    Russo just said that Howie won’t make it to the game in time, so he’s going to do the radio until Howie gets there. I feel like Alice falling through the rabbit hole. This is getting curiouser and curiouser.


18. Comment posted by Dep on May 17, 2008 at 10:22 am (#695855)

    that’s crazy if they moved it up! mets.com doesnt even have it

19. Comment posted by sheadenizen on May 17, 2008 at 10:23 am (#695856)

    I’m thoroughly confused dep. I have no idea what the hell Russo is talking about. Maybe he’s drunk?

20. Comment posted by sheadenizen on May 17, 2008 at 10:25 am (#695857)

    Maybe he’s just putting everyone on?


21. Comment posted by Dep on May 17, 2008 at 10:25 am (#695858)

    i guess i have to turn him on, i mean, he’s getting it from somewhere. i dont believe he’s wrong automatically like i usually do here.

    so strange, i cant remember this ever happening.


22. Comment posted by Dep on May 17, 2008 at 10:27 am (#695859)

    the forecast doesnt even look that bad today, maybe he is kidding. i dunno lol i’m not even awake yet


23. Comment posted by Dep on May 17, 2008 at 10:32 am (#695860)

    i’m so confused, i cant tell if he’s joking or not

24. Comment posted by sheadenizen on May 17, 2008 at 10:35 am (#695861)

    I’m listening to him and he keeps insisting the game starts at 11:05 because there’s a threat of rain at 4:00. So do the Yankees think they’ll be playing 15 innings? This is beyond ridiculous. Howie and wayne aren’t there. Eddie C is not there. Did anyone call the players? They’ll all be sleepwalking through this.


25. Comment posted by Dep on May 17, 2008 at 10:37 am (#695862)

    i think he’s kidding, but its not really funny imo. kinda a cruel joke to ppl going to the game n the such.

26. Comment posted by sheadenizen on May 17, 2008 at 10:39 am (#695863)

    He was kidding. Someone just called into him screaming about doing that.


27. Comment posted by Dep on May 17, 2008 at 10:40 am (#695864)

    ok, now i know he was kidding lol

28. Comment posted by sheadenizen on May 17, 2008 at 10:40 am (#695865)

    What a moron. What the hell was the point of that?


29. Comment posted by Dep on May 17, 2008 at 10:43 am (#695866)

    he felt it was funny i guess. just part of why i hate them, they’re jerks


30. Comment posted by grex in austria on May 17, 2008 at 10:43 am (#695867)

    yo dep!

    http://wwtdd.com/post.phtml?pk=6572

    did you see/hear that? good thing she is hot…


31. Comment posted by Dep on May 17, 2008 at 10:46 am (#695868)

    hey grex!

    good lord, i had heard the cd version of that song, but not live. even worse. her raspy voice is kinda hot but she cant sing lol


32. Comment posted by grex in austria on May 17, 2008 at 10:48 am (#695869)

    yep. cant sing at ALL.

    i cant wait for gametime, me thinks bob alou is going to have a big, big day!


33. Comment posted by Dep on May 17, 2008 at 10:54 am (#695870)

    i hope so man, we could use a win. a good ole ass-kicking


34. Comment posted by grex in austria on May 17, 2008 at 10:57 am (#695871)

    yea, a win would do wonders for everyone. i hope they kick hgh-boys butt.

    i feel very comfortable in santana today. i think he’ll kick some ass!

35. Comment posted by sheadenizen on May 17, 2008 at 10:58 am (#695872)

    The Yankees told Russo to shut up….hahaha!


36. Comment posted by Dep on May 17, 2008 at 11:09 am (#695873)

    hahahaha, that’s awesome, i wish i heard that part!

37. Comment posted by lucienlc on May 17, 2008 at 11:11 am (#695874)

    The Yankees told Russo to shut up….hahaha!

    I bet they did. He probably confused the hell out of a lot of people. And caused a lot of angry calls to the Yanks’ switchboard. Not funny at all.

38. Comment posted by lucienlc on May 17, 2008 at 11:12 am (#695875)

    I think Santana will pitch better as the weather improves. He keeps getting games in crappy weather. I think his best-pitched game was out West, where the weather was good.

    I don’t think anyone has really factored in the fact that he played his home games in a domed stadium these last few years. Probably hasn’t had that much experience playing in the elements.

39. Comment posted by lucienlc on May 17, 2008 at 11:13 am (#695876)

    BBIAB

40. Comment posted by sheadenizen on May 17, 2008 at 11:28 am (#695877)

    Santana has a hard time putting people away. He gets 2 strikes and then wastes 4 or 5 pitches on foul balls. I’m sure he’ll be fine, but he needs to get those outs and cut down on his pitch count so he can go 7 or 8 innings.

41. Comment posted by sheadenizen on May 17, 2008 at 11:49 am (#695878)

    At Baseball America, Jim Callis predicts that the Mets will select Stanford C Jason Castro in the the first round of this year’s MLB Amateur Player Draft, which will begin on June 5.

    According to Callis, “New York has the financial wherewithal to spend as much as any team does on the draft, but it apparently will stick to slotting once again in 2008.”

    In the Supplemental First Round, Callis predicts the Mets will draft Georgia RHP Ethan Martin.

42. Comment posted by DoctorK16 on May 17, 2008 at 11:58 am (#695879)

    The key to turning the Yankees season around could be under Jason Giambi’s pinstriped pants.

    The Yankee slugger revealed Friday he slips on a gold lamé thong with a flame-line waistband when he’s trying to get out of a hitting slump - and he’s shared it with his teammates.

    “It works every time,” Giambi told the Daily News after his secret was outed on Portfolio.com.

    Derek Jeter agreed that Giambi’s thong works, although “it’s so uncomfortable running around the bases.”

    “I had it over my shorts and stuff,” he said. “I was 0-for-32 and I hit a homer on the first pitch. That’s the only time I’ve ever worn it.”

    Johnny Damon also admitted donning the golden panties “probably three times.”

    “I may need to wear it again soon,” said Damon, who is batting a mediocre .255.

    What is the secret of Giambi’s golden thong?

    “You’re not worrying about your hands or your balance at the plate,” Damon said. “You’re worried about the uncomfortable feeling you’re receiving.”

    In the earlier interview with Portfolio.com, Giambi claimed he also hung his thong in the lockers of teammates Bernie Williams, Robin Ventura and Robinson Cano when they had trouble generating runs.

    “I only put it on when I’m desperate to get out of a big slump,” Giambi said.

    The News showed its support for the sagging Yankees by delivering 26 golden thongs to the clubhouse - one for every player on the team and manager Joe Girardi.

    Damon accepted his with a smile, saying, “I will definitely wear it if I can.”

    The Yanks need something - they scored just six runs so far this week and are mired in the cellar despite having the biggest payroll in baseball.

    Giambi - whose 2008 salary, $23.4 million, is the second highest in the majors - is struggling. He’s hitting .181 with 7 homers and just 20 RBI.

    While Giambi’s silky secret may come as a shock to his fans, it wasn’t news to his teammates.

    “Whoever is on slumps, puts it on,” catcher Jorge Posada admitted yesterday. “I don’t know if it works. I haven’t worn it yet.”

    Posada added that “a lot of players have worn it,” but he didn’t name names. Asked if the thong got washed between wearings, he gave a cringe-worthy answer. “Ask Jason,” said Posada. “Jason is a little strange.”

    Yankee outfielder Bobby Abreu recoiled and threw his arms up in the air when a reporter waved a variation of Giambi’s shiny underwear in his face.

    “I don’t know anything about that,” Abreu insisted, though his bulging eyes said otherwise.

    The question that appeared to get Abreu’s boxers in a bunch made Mets catcher Brian Schneider chuckle before last night’s Subway Series opener was rained out.

    “There’s no thongs being passed around the Mets,” Schneider said. “Everybody’s got their own lucky charm.”

    Giambi said the thong gets washed between wearings and he’s had it since 1996, when he played for the Oakland Athletics. He said the company that provided him with undergarments made it for him as a joke - and he’s been sharing the joke with his teammates ever since. The lucky undies were hanging in his locker yesterday.

    “You’ve got to come and ask for it,” he said. “That’s the way it works.”

    Giambi’s performance-enhancing trick ranks as one of the flashiest in a sport rife with superstitions, but the 37-year-old slugger is probably not the first ballplayer to boost his game by wearing offbeat undergarments.

    Baseball lore is rife with stories about superstitious players wearing lucky boxers, or lucky T-shirts, or lucky socks - over and over again.

    In the movie “Bull Durham,” up-and-coming pitcher Nuke LaLoosh (played by Tim Robbins) was talked into wearing a black garter belt.

    That way, LaLoosh explained, he can “keep one side of my brain occupied when I’m on the mound, thus keeping the other side slightly off-center, which is where it should be for artists and players.”

    In the Portfolio.com interview, Giambi didn’t explain his thinking behind the thong, but then that’s not his style.

    The hard-partying, heavy-metal-loving, strip-joint-frequenting, Penthouse-reading Giambi said he is a Yankee cut from the Mickey Mantle mold.

    Giambi bragged that his teammates called him a “modern-day Mick because I could play all day and party all night.”

43. Comment posted by griffyusc on May 17, 2008 at 10:47 pm (#696556)

    Yes, I prayed to God that the Mets choose a College Catcher in the draft, why not select two-three just to be sure in the first 10 rounds

44. Comment posted by griffyusc on May 17, 2008 at 10:48 pm (#696557)

    When was the last time we drafted a second basemen in the first or second round. Maybe we can draft a catcher and a second basemen in the first two rounds, then go get a pitcher or two

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