17
2011
Press Release: Mets Officially Sign Willie Harris
An article by 
Mets Press Release
The New York Mets today announced that they have signed outfielder Willie Harris, who has hit 30 home runs over the last three seasons, to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league Spring Training.
Harris, 32, hit 10 home runs, six doubles, two triples, with 32 RBI while batting .183 (41-224) in 132 games for the Washington Nationals in 2010. He played all three outfield positions as well as third base last season.
The 5-9, 190-pounder collected 18 doubles, six triples, seven home runs with 27 RBI in 137 games with the Nationals in 2009. Harris’ best season came in 2008 when he established career highs in home runs (13), RBI (43) and games (140) with Washington.
He has a career .239 (516-2157) batting average with 85 doubles, 24 triples, 37 home runs, 101 stolen bases and 187 RBI in 895 games with the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves and Nationals.
Harris had a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning and scored the only run in Chicago’s 2005 World Series clinching Game Four 1-0 victory over the Houston Astros.
Harris is also one of three natives of Cairo, GA to play in the major leagues, joining his nephew Earnest Riles and Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson.
Original Post 1/14 1:30 pm
Well, it appears as if the Mets search for a fourth OF may be coming to its end, as Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com has reported.
Outfielder/second baseman Willie Harris, who has tormented the Mets in recent years with his glove, will be joining the Mets, a source tells ESPNNewYork.com. Harris has agreed to a minor league deal with spring training invite, but appears a decided favorite to make the team.
Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, will be to see in Spring Training. Harris is coming off of a bad year, hitting .183/.291/.362 with 10 home runs, 32 RBI and 25 runs in 262 plate appearances. Last year, he spent most of his time in LF & RF, but backed up Ryan Zimmerman at third and played 4 innings in CF. In 2009 he started 53 games in CF. He has also played some 2B over the course of his career
What strikes me as a major plus, is his ability to get on base and curtail the strikeouts. His versatility gives the Mets a much better defensive backup then anyone short of Jason Pridie.
Plus, if he is on our team, he can stop making game ending catches and great plays AGAINST us.
About the Author: Sean Kenny
Sean Kenny is a student/writer currently attending school at the City College of New York. For more Mets news, notes and thoughts follow him on twitter @TheSeanKenny
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i actually like this signing, we’ve all seen this guy knows how to play the game, came up big against us in big spots. Hopefully he can get the bat going, good move.
I’ll second that. At the absolute worst, we won’t have to watch him rob us of hits/runs/wins via the diving catch for some other team.
Finally! I have been preaching this for awhile. Willie Harris screwed us on multiple occasions. To see him put on a Mets uniform makes me what to go nuts! Great signing in my opinion.
If i could figure how to edit these damn posts, I would’ve added he didn’t play much CF last year because Nyjer Morgan did most of the work.
I like the fact in 224 AB’s , not PA’s, he had 10 home runs. Nationals Park is a cavernous place. A lefty who can pull can feast on the lines at Citi Field
The Mets need players who are not afraid to play under pressure and we’ve all seen enough of Willie Harris to know he fits that bill. Again, hopefully he can get it going.
It’s the return of Endy Chavez.
Very, very interesteing as I had a conversation about this with Mr. North Jersey only a few days ago.
I read a post on Ted Berg saying that the Mets gave players with worst OPS the most at-bats last season.
He used Jeff Francoeur as the poster boy for that.
Using your saber “one size fits all” stat line:
Jeff Fracncoeur .249/.300/.383
Willie Harris .183/.291/.362
His partner in crime on SNY.tv Flood wrote,
“If Alderson did nothing else for the Mets besides dumping the out machines (and then playing just about anyone else in their stead), the team would probably improve a handful of wins.”
Then the top dog for sny Matt Cerrone pimps both of their articles and adds,
“Well, that says it all doesn’t it? I mean, make better decisions and field players who make less outs, right?”
So how does Willie Harris fit into this dynamic I ask?
he doesnt. he is terrible. i hope he never plays an inning. my guess is that they hope he has a good start in spring training, and a bounceback season. if he doesnt, he shouldnt be on the team.
Well I appreciate and respect your honesty. I hope other saber guys respond in kind.
all u r about is saber arent you? jeez
thats like saying the game is only about numbers on a scoreboard. yeah, it is, thats how you determine who wins.
there is also a difference between a bench guy that can be a defensive replacement, and a starting RF.
that, and it is a MiL invite. most of those guys don’t make the team, and if he doesn’t show he has something left, he won’t either.
Considering what an incredibly horrendous “team” Omar put together can it really be surprising that TWO starting pitchers had a higher OB% than all of the following players:
Cora, Arias, Duda, Cattalonotto, Fern, Nickeas, Feliciano, Turner, GMJ, Francouer, Tatis, Hessman, Blanco and Barajas.
That’s right guys, all those players Omar got who’s job it is to hit much more than it is the job of a starting pitcher got out hit by TWO of them in OB%.
RA Dickey .296 and Jon Neise .295. Very nicely done Omar. Bet that’s never happened before.
Omar Minaya did NOT put together incredibly horrendous teams. The Pirates are incredibly horrendous.
Get that through your THICK skull.
Agee,
I can make any Gm look bad naming all their backup players and minor league guys.
Lets see:
“Willie Harris, Boof Bonser, Hu, Emaus, you call that a team? That’s incredibly horrendous!”
see? That’s really not any different than what you’re doing.
Maybe in their first off season when the previous administration had already spent all the cash and draft picks going under .500 the last two years, but certainly not in year 5 and 6 with no budget constraints whatsoever and I do mean whatsoever.
Not the same thing Vinny and you know it.
You mean like this administration inheriting a team with a nucleus that can win, right? Who built that nucleus and is now surrounding this nucleus with hu, eamus, T. Bucholz, & boof bonser and 2 pitchers that were ALREADY injured and we just HOPE they do well.
Stop being a clown, agee
Please for a team that can win Minaya somehow still got fired I wonder why?
Oh I know cause they didnt win. Helloooo.
If you are unable to see that the players you mentioned are not added to help the Mets go to the W.S. but rather to put a team as best they can on the field while maintaining payroll where it is and at the same time not borrowing against the future until they can better evaluate and proceed next season when a lot of payroll comes off the books then as usual you will continue to hit your head on the wall never knowing why it hurts.
Clown, your the clown Bayonne. Nucleus that can win? What have they ever won? There’s only 3 guys on the team that have even been to the post season with us and two of them are in their walk year.
Alderson didn’t run up the payroll and throw away draft choices like they were yesterdays newspaper. He didn’t sign Perez and Castillo. He didn’t give K-Rod a 17.5 million dollar vesting option. He didn’t give Cora 2 Million and a vesting option for another 2. He didn’t acquire 14 players in year SIX that couldn’t even get OB more frequently than TWO of his starting pitchers. He didn’t trade for an injured relief pitcher.
Omar re signed El-Duque at 40(?) coming off injury. He resigned Alou at 41 coming off injury. He signed Tim Redding, Kelvin Escobar, Jorge Sosa, Livan Hernandez, Brian Lawrence, Dave Williams, Jose Lima, Kaz Ishi, and Fernando Nieve as starting pitchers.
Alderson has not yet had a chance to put together a team. Omar had 6 years and those are the guys he signed. Not the same thing. Nice try though. Love the loyalty, hate the spin.
A nucleus that can win THIS YEAR. You already knew I meant that anyway but you want to write a manifesto.
Oh yes it is the same thing.
They could have had Fred lewis for less than a million. Bill hall would have been a solid backup for only 3.5 million. Plays almost every postion.Why couldn’t We couldn’t afford that? They would have been better than Hu, and willie harris
He spent 280 million dollars and lots of draft picks to play under .500 ball the last two years. This isn’t T-ball Bayonne. You don’t get a trophy for coming in 3rd in your division especially when you have the 5th highest payroll in baseball. Get a grip.
He hand selected 14 hitters in his 6th year at the helm that got on base not only well under league average, but less often than two starting pitchers. No matter how you try to spin it, that is horrendous.
A real team would never have a starting pitcher who got on base more than their right fielder and we had two of them that did. Spin that.
Agee – I know this isn’t t-ball. You can save yourself a lot of keystrokes and a lot of people’s time but just getting right to the point.
Omar Minaya did not put together incredibly horrendous teams. You already know that so why are you saying it? Don’t waste my time anymore on this subject okay? You’re losing respectability with me by telling me things that you already know are not true. Enough.
You want incredibly horrendous? The Mets of the late 70s – now that was horrendous.
Stop you nonsense, be a man and argue prudent points.
The Braves had Francoeur on their team too. Were they a “real team”? or how about the Rangers?
Okay 14 hitters…..but how many of those are backups/minor leaguers? And ALOT of those guys didn’t play that much for us at all.
Francouer was our starting right fielder because Cox got rid of him. The Braves had lots of guys who hit well got OB a lot and drove guys in. Chipper, McCann, Tex 1 year, Jones, Giles, Lopez, Diaz, Renteria, Escobar. Lots of guys that Francouer benefitted from hitting infront of and behind.
Defend Omar’s 5th year and 6th year teams all you want Vinny, they were ill conceived to heavy in payroll, brittle, and severely lacking in talent in the bottom third of the roster.
By year 5 and 6 the GM that has been doing a good job has assembled his vision of a good team both in the Majors AND the minors. This was not a good team, not close, not by a long shot. Your only saying that because you don’t want to give the new administration a chance.
If you really thought Omar had put together a good team you wouldn’t have been vigerously defending him when it was time for him to go, but you weren’t, you were silent, but your supporting him now?
The Braves weren’t good when Francoeur played for them. and the Rangers, well they actually used him correctly. If you noticed, Francoeur hit .340/.357 with an .848 OPS when he went to Texas. Frenchy should have been platooning with Evans in right the entire time Beltran was out. Then once Beltran was back Frenchy should have been platooning with Pagan in right. I know everyone’s man crush on Angel Pagan, but they forget the fact that he is just as bad against LHP as Frenchy is against RHP.
The old people in charge were absolutely clueless when it cames to splits and that was a major part of the problem.
Francoeur, Feliciano, Schoenweiss, etc.
Frenchy is not an everyday player, and Feliciano cannot be a crossover set-up man, and him or schoenweiss should have never been allowed to face a righty in a big spot. These players like to think otherise because of their pride, but they need to be shown the numbers. They strongly disagree with them.
Evans?, Angel does an awful lot of things that make it worthwhile to keep him on the field even against LHP but if you could “rest” him against LHP and bring him in say 7th-9th inning if necessary that would be smart. That would be a well conceived use of a roster spot. Two pieces that fit together really well. If that same RH bat could spell Ike 12 times a year also against LHP and Ike could get a big AB or even keep a tough RHP in the pen possibly allowing Wright to hit against a LHP that would be the product of a well conceived line up.
Your right Chris, the previous administration was totally clueless about platoon splits and how different combinations of players make your line up either easy or hard to pitch to. Ours has been way too easy for way too long now. Lets hope small moves like Paulino become bigger moves for guys without wild platoon splits.
Agee,
I always defened Omar. last offseason and during the the season, I was callled an “omar Apologist”, I was accused of wearing rose colored glasses and stuff like that because of my defnse of Omar.
I ALWAYS thought Omar was an average GM. He made ALOT of bad moves and he made ALOT of good moves…..Everyone just keeps harping on the bad ones….but nobody EVER talks the good moves he made. And I think it’s RIDICULOUS that you’re saying he did a bad job because of backups…..BACKUPS!!
I wonder if I went on a Phillies blog if they would be complaining about Dane Sardinha, Brian Bocock, Jaun Castro, and Cody Ransom – I don’t think so.
Vinny,
When Omar was first hired nobody was a bigger supporter of the move than I was. I told people over and over that he was the perfect guy for us. I would have bet anything that he would have our farm system chock full with talented prospects at every position and every level. I knew Pedro was signed foe more than his pitching, Beltran one of the best thought out free agent signings ever, but after that Vinny he went haywire, each move giving progressively less and less and the thought process behind them became shakier and shakier.
I defended him even though I had serious reservations right up until he sold Wagner for a DH Boston was going to be exposing to the rule 5 in a couple of months anyway. I wanted us to get those 2 kids and see if we could get something. Who knows that’s how we got Wright. We never get anything when our players are finished here, all we ever get is salary relief or they mercifully retire.
I bring the backups up for a few reasons. #1 the asinine idea that Omar put together a good team. Omar did not put together a good team. He put out a very credible starting 8 and patched the rotation and bullpen together to varying degrees of success. Overall more good than bad. Considering he inherited two of the starting 8 and basically added a great CFer, a power hitting 1Bman the 2-4 years what else did he do? Castillo sucks, LF he spent 100 Mil and its way more likely than not we’ll get s**t out of it. We never had a decent RFer Green sucked, Catcher was hit and miss every year but the biggest thing is the bench.
The bench is vital to a baseball team. It allows you to WANT to give guys a day off, it should be constructed with the idea that the bench could do a few things BETTER than the starter so you actually have a slight advantage when resting a regular example Paulino does the one thing Thole doesn’t, very well. The first couple years Omar did a good job here but in the last few years he was terrible. He just looked to skimp out and get the cheapest guy rather than the best or right guy and he did that because the payroll was so top heavy. Those very same older very expensive players that got hurt are the very same reasons we had to go cheap with Sheffield, Catalanotto, GMJ, Jacobs ect.
In 2009 he didn’t even stock the AAA with any serious help. Look at the roster of the Bisons that year. That’s a reason we fell so far out of it in 2009. He spent all his money AND his time on the 25 never the farm. Bad luck with injuries I’ll give you but cheapskate backups that can’t do ANYTHING, a couple of starters that weren’t really good Santos, Castillo’s numbers were very hollow, Church, the Murphy thing wasn’t done the best way possible that’s 4 of the 8 position starters. Guys that didn’t get hurt. Schneider was awful, Wilson Valdez could defend SS twice as well as Cora and at half the cost so Omar doubles Cora’s pay and lets Valdez go. Our pitching staff was at best an ace and 4 question marks and the pen was up and down as they frequently are. He let a bunch of guys go in 2007, got a bunch of high picks and whiffed miserably on every single one of them and drafting relief pitchers out of college? a chump move if I ever saw one and then everyone he does sign for the pen sucks, it happens but not every one. Gives up decent pieces for the bench, Chavez for Murphy/Beltran, Carp for Delgado for a relief pitcher with an injured elbow. If you want to say he put a credible team around the two future All Stars he inherited I won’t quibble but if you or someone else, for some other reason what to fondly reminice I’m going to bring the bad news because I want my team to win. Even if we got one in 2006 with 14 of the 25 guys aged 32 – 47 how were we going to avoid the crash? We had no farm. Omar knew this. Was he going to go expensive FA for every spot on the roster? 500 million dollar payroll? Lastly Vinny, If Omar was here this year what do you think he would have been doing? You think he would have had more money to work with than Alderson?
Agee,
I know Omar made ALOT of bad moves – I get that. And I understand that having a good bench is important and you’re right, he could have done a better job – I agree.
BUT you make the bench seem MUCH worse than what it was because you’re talking about players that BARLEY even played for us. Like Jacobs He only played 7 games for us. It’s like me saying the Phillies GM is terrible because Dane Sardinha played 13 games for them…..
Another thing you don’t get is GMJ wasn’t here to backup Beltran, Pagan backuped beltran. GMJ backuped Pagan.
And you bring up Sheffield, while he was actually good for us, look it up.
Vinny,
The GM cannot know for sure how someone is going to do. We know that. It’s his job to be prepared for anything within reason but it’s the thought process behind the move that makes me feel the way I do about it.
Ten months after Beltran initially gets injured the best Omar can do is GMJ.
Murphy, not a sure thing, is going to play LF. Endy has been a spectacular part of the bench and does exactly the things Murphy doesn’t and he does them very well, so he gets traded for an injured relief pitcher cause Omar was going with what looked good instead of what could likely happen. He didn’t cover us for things that could happen. No one would have expected Beltran’s injury but Murphy in LF HAD to be mitigated by Chavez and he may have thrived out there with only 6 innings instead of 9 and that could have saved us 80 mil on Bay and put some of that money toward Pinero last year, eaten Ollie’s deal and gotten someone for 2B.
Imagine your a rookie infielder trying to break into the majors and your chance comes with a switch to the OF. Now you gotta hit enough to stay AND learn a new position and then at the last minute they bring in a guy who could go into the HOF to share your position who plays even worse defense then you do. That’s not putting people in the best position to succeed and it’s not putting a roster together with pieces that fit together very well.
It’s next to impossible to get the right mix when the team is in such constant flux every year. Just look at how many different guys we’ve had at every position since Omar got here and not just due to injury either.
The whole roster has been in chaos since 2007 but 2009 and 2010 were crazy and the only consideration Omar was able to use for the bench was cost. He spent so much that he had to go the cheapest possible way with backups and in AAA. No other team would have wanted Jacobs, Cora, GMJ, Cattalanotto, Castillo, Perez, Reed, Carter, Shefield on their opening day roster and yet we had ALL of them and when you look at what they CAN do what do you come up with? Not much Vinny. None of them can play defense, not even one of them and run the bases? Maybe GMJ, pinch hit? Carter. That’s it. I don’t like to beat a dead horse but your bench has to be an asset, not a detriment. Ours in 2009 and 2010 was worse than that.
Agee,
I told you I know he made alot of bad moves okay? I get that. Do you want to talk about the good moves he made? or do you keep telling the same old stories that we have gone over 100 times already? And everyone agreed they were bad moves.
You’re ignoring all the good moves he made and mainly talking about players who Barley even played for us.
Bayonne you have lost all credibility you ever had when you started your diatribes against the new administration when you found out they were involved in money ball.
Before that you wanted Omar gone as much as anyone.
You know as well as I do that the 1975-1980 Mets didn’t spend a single nickel on those teams.
Lorinda De-Roulet and Donald Grant complained about the expense of BASEBALLS for crying out loud. Your credibility is down the toilet for constantly comparing apples to apes.
The only thing in common the 75-80 Mets have with the current team is the name and uniform. The Wilpon’s have spent billions in player salaries since they took over. Not the same thing at all and you know it. You be a man and argue prudent points, I’ve doing that since I started posting here, you just rail against the new administration because they like to look under the hood and do more than just a walk through before they buy unlike your swami who just did a drive by and then paid triple.
You won’t give the new administration a break because of your hatred of sabermetrics. That’s a fact and everyone knows it. I’m no fan of sabermetrics or moneyball but I’ll tell you one thing, Moneyball beats monkeyball any day and that’s what your swami practiced and that’s what your defending, but your not defending it because you like monkeyball, your defending it because you hate moneyball.
I’ve been arguing points but you can’t respond with any counter points because they’re are none that support your argument, that’s why you resort to name calling.
Tell the truth Bayonne, 14 hitters Omar signed failed to get OB more often than two starting pitchers. What’s your response to that? That he put together a pretty good team? Very transparent Bayonne, Very transparent.
No apparently there was some huge mis-justice done by firing Minaya it seems.
Somehow Minaya was “this close” but was wrongly dismissed with this Playoff team on the cusp of finally getting back into the playoffs.
Where does one go with that?
agee
I wanted Omar to go just as much as anyone here and you already know that. And I didn’t like his style of signing FAs to win. Steve Phillips was OUTSTANDING at making many very good trades and only failed when he started to do more signings than trades towards the end of his tenure.
But it does not take away the fact that Omar did build some good teams here and unfortunately some historic injuries changed the course of history and so far I see nothing impressive at all from the new administration. And yes they did receive a very good nucleus of a team to win from Omar Minaya.
agee,
And for the record I always maintained that I really didn’t mind Minaya staying on at all that I would have always preferred that Jerry Manuel was the one to be fired, Minaya stay on and hire Bobby Valentine since they were friends.
THAT would have been a MUCH BETTER way to go for this Mets team than the route they took now. Throughout the whole season I always complained about the way the played the game in the shoutbox, the lack of hustle, dumb plays, etc.
This team would have been better off keeping Minaya and hiring Valentine.
Look Bayonne, There is no question that injuries took a big toll, but when you have so many older players that can not be unexpected. When you trade prospects or give away draft choices it’s going to leave you exposed. You know what I’m saying. You know that’s true.
Omar did leave the farm in much better shape than it was when he arrived and I respect him for not trading guys like Tejada, Flores and Mejia when he knew he was in his last year but none of that excuses the fact that he built a team that was destined to, at best, win once and crash. There were 14 guys on the 25 man roster in 2006 aged 32 or above. And he KNEW the condition of the farm when he took the job and then he sold the two picks we could have had for Wagner just to save money because he had gone over budget on the 2009 team and expected revenue’s were 25% of what they had planned.
The Mets are a part of our summers and to constantly piss away, on a hope and a prayer part of our summer by recklessly gambling and doubling down on one bad investment after another really pisses me off.
Omar had about a 1 in 10 chance to pull it off in 2006 and everything went right but after that he just kept gambling and selling the teams future for bigger and longer long shots and now here we are, starting all over again. The best two position players we ever developed were never adequately surrounded and just when THEY should be taking the lead with a whole new crop of young ready for prime time players we have to break it down again cause we have no one.
I hold you to a higher standard because you of all people would know how shortchanged from a roster standpoint Manuel was and yet your adament in not giving the new administration a chance to try it a different way with a more long term idea of winning every year, not getting one and crashing.
I supported Omar right up to the point when he sold Wagner because I wanted those two young players here in 2013 or 2014. I’m sick of hearing “but who else were we going to sign” to defend yet another bad signing that we have to live with because the Wilpon won’t jettison a mistake and give us a decent player that can help us win.
You know as well as I do Omar was handed two young future All Stars to build around and had no payroll restrictions. Sandy inherited two horrendous contracts and no payroll to work with. To compare those situations and to expect anyone to fix this mess in one off season would be like asking for a miracle.
He did inherit some very good players but many of them are in their walk years, coming back from injuries and poor seasons and overall we just don’t have pieces that fit together very well and we don’t have the payroll to change that.
You have to face the possibility that Bud Selig may have released Alderson from working for MLB to straighten out this mess. Madoff himself probably didn’t sink the Wilpon’s but there is no denying that waking up one morning and finding out that you had considerably less money than you thought wouldn’t have concerned you especially after you have sunk so much of your own money into the new stadium and then received so much less in revenue than you had expected and then you faced giving back another 50 million in the clawback plus Bonilla gets a mil a year that almost assuredly was with the crook and you can see where the Wilpon’s could be getting squeezed here. They might be liable for lots of deferred money and who else would they have had it with?
The bottom line is the Wilpon’s have tried to get us a Championship, not in the wisest way, but they certainly have been committed owners and it has only gotten them deeper behind the Phillies, Yankees, Redsox, Braves and everyone else. Well I’m going to support them and the Mets because at least they tried and while the build from within approach may not work as quickly as you would like, it certainly won’t cause us to crash yet again.
Bayonne, It was time for Omar to go. The ill conceived rosters, the over reliance on the Wilpon checkbook every off season, the under performing players, rookie’s not taught to run out pop ups, 34 year olds blowing games to the Yankees because they weren’t ready to come into a non save situation, kids not ready to play in the majors, constant injuries, off field nonsense, pissing away high draft choices. It was high time to end this circus.
And another thing Bayonne, something you should know as a manager, the primary reason players don’t hustle is because they have no competition pushing them and they have no rest because they have no competent backups, which is my point.
With the type of backups that Omar had on the roster, Wright had no backup, Reyes and Castillo had Cora, Jacobs and GMJ were opening day starters, Catalanotto backed up who? Jacobs? Wright had Tatis, Francouer? If there was anyone decent to backup Francouer he would have been the starter. Bay? Who knows.
You call this a team? What kind of a Major league roster is this?
Still counting on Ollie last year when Pinero was available for 2/16?
You crack me up man.
no agee, that’s not the primary reason an athlete doesn’t hustle. There can be a number of reasons why but if you have to be pushed to hustle than it’s a problem. They have plenty of rest. The game is 3 1/2 hours long and after you enjoy the free food in the clubhouse you have plenty of rest before you go back to work for 4 hours. No excuses for not hustling especially at the professional level.
The human being in ALL walks of life respond to competition. These guys already have, that’s why their here. But playing baseball, getting paid well, having no one nearby capable of playing your position with any competency makes people complacent. Even All Star athletes. If you don’t know that you couldn’t have managed for very long.
agee don’t make a fool of yourself with a comment like that unless you can honestly tell the board you KNOW what it’s like.
I do. If you’ve never experienced it – you don’t.
Can a guy who plays everyday get tired? OF COURSE. But in the course of a 9 inning game when you come to bat 4 times you better RUN HARD those 4 ABs. If you need a day off that’s another story. If you didn’t already have that understanding when bringing up the subject than you DON’T KNOW because you have NO experience.
Don’t you EVER tell me.
I have plenty of experience playing baseball and softball. If your not aware that people take their starting position for granted when there is no competition around then you haven’t been around many teams in your life.
Hey Bayonne,
I found the 2010 story from the New York Times which led you to go ballistic. You said all the info was from 2007. How about this?
Sports of The Times
Call to the Bullpen Crackles With a Last Laugh
By GEORGE VECSEY
Published: October 3, 2010
“The last couple of days have been the toughest,” Manuel said before the game.
Manuel made a gracious gesture by taking out his two stars, Jose Reyes and David Wright, in the top of the ninth to let them hear a round of applause from the paltry crowd of 30,849. On a team stripped bare by injuries and decline, that did not leave much room for offense. But what did it matter?
Manuel also gave Mike Pelfrey a friendly little shove up the dugout stairs for a curtain call after his seven innings, a way of rewarding somebody who pitched hard for him this year. But then he brought in Perez, who had not pitched since Sept. 6 — he had nobody left, he said — and the inevitable wildness brought virulent life to the stragglers.
Manuel, who kept his dignity in recent months as the team disintegrated around him, conceded the pall he felt “once you see yourself scrolled on the bottom line” — meaning speculation on the sports channels that he will not be retained and that Minaya could also be in for a career shift.
In the cosmic sense, Manuel and Minaya will be all right. They are both grownups. Manuel has booked himself for a flight home to California on Tuesday, with a coaching job waiting at William Jessup University, a small Christian school outside Sacramento, where he can impart his respect for Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/sports/baseball/04vecsey.html
P.S.: The program is in the last phase of the $25Million fundraising drive. The plan is to build the baseball field and incorporate other improvements. Money is hard to get now so they are pushing it back about two years. Jerry Manuel has been the planned coach. He had a meeting earlier this week at the school. I don’t know if the delay will change plans.
I will keep you posted.
Terrible job des – you keep making yourself look worse and worse
That link just goes to an article that discusses the Feb 2007 fund raiser.
The bottom line is this:
You keep talking about something that was supposed to happen in 2007 if he didn’t stay in the bigs. Manuel stayed in the bigs so he scrapped that idea.
He has not spoken of it since and to this day there is no baseball team at that college.
Still where is your link saying he flew to Sacramento?
if he was that good against the mets and was a benchwarmer for the last-place Nats, you can only imagine how bad he was against everybody else.
it would have been cheaper to give him the old Duaner Sanchez treatment.
benchwarmers or starters it doesn’t matter, as long as you can find players who know how to play big in big spots that’s what builds a winner. We already have one starter who has great numbers but can’t come through with a big hit in a high pressure situation to save his life. Todd Pratt was just a backup but had the uncanny ability to come up off the bench and get huge pinch hits, i know you guys remember that. Ramon Castro, a guy too lazy to want to be a starter, just a pt player – another guy although he had terrible work habits boy he can come through in a big spot. Those are just examples of backups who came through under pressure that’s all
As long as you guys that have a set of nuts it doesn’t matter if they’re backing up or starting those are the type of players you need to win.
so you see him as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement ?
If he hits I see him as competition for the 4th outfielder role. Of course we won’t know until spring training because I like Duda too. Maybe Duda will win that role, I don’t know.
seems to be a different role though, since they want a 4th or 5th OF that can cover CF too, and even though I am president of th eDuda fan club, even I don’t want to see him out there!
I actually prefer he is starting in AAA vs. sitting on the bench up here.
duda will not win that role, he is too young and they will need him to get AB
So, a lazy guy with crappy work ethic is the key to success?
actually, the mets can save a ton of money by eliminating most scouts, and all statistical analysis people.
just get a nurse, and line the guys up and have them drop their shorts. Get out the calipers, and sign the guy with the biggest balls.
That’s right always,
Give me guys who have a spine, who have nerve, who love the high pressure situations and I’ll give you a winner. Not guys who don’t blink when stared down like David Wright does, who pisses in his pants each time the game is on the line…and I don’t mean a big HR vs. the Pirates in a meaningless game.
Like Hall Of Fame GM Pat Gillick said – it’s 60% character and 40% ability.
Obviously in preparation for the coming smart alex response. Naturally, in any business be it sport or whatever you always want to acquire good talent/product. That beings said, I agree with Gillick.
Another day, another day to talk bs about Wright. So you’d rather have Ramon Castro up in a big spot over Wright…..
Every day you pound your own chest about what you know, and prove to the rest of us what little you know.
Do you actually know how many times Ramon Castro came off the bench to hit, and do you know how many times he actually game through? Hint, I can count it on ONE hand and still have digits left over.
I must be wrong, because YOU saw it on TV and dont’ are what the numbers say. You played the game…..yeah so did I.
No Donal,
A lazy guy with crappy work ethic is not the key to success. I said Ramon Castro was a lazy guy with a terrible work ethic but man when called up, he can roll out of bed and get a big hit in a big spot at will. If he did not want to work hard to be a full time guy than that’s his business.
I know you understand me but you will still come up with a smart alex response even though you know where I’m coming from.
Tell me the times he actually did this. Don’t tell me you saw it with your own eyes – I want actual proof.
Like Cora, GMJ, Catalonotto, Sullivan, Jacobs and Reed? What big spots did they come through in?
Interesting move. When I read on MLBTR about 2-3 teams interested in his services, I had a strange feeling the Mets were one of those teams. Basically, the Mets got themselves a new “Endy” on the bench: Pretty meh with the bat, but very good defensively.
Wish they would’ve went after Podsednik, but apparently he wants to play full time. Oh well.
is bobby crosby next …
I’m honestly indifferent. Its a minor league contract. He may not even make the team. I find it funny though that he’s seen as clutch by a few of you usual suspects
Why is that? Because of a few plays during Mets games? He made a few big plays against the Mets when his own team didn’t need to win… that’s clutch to you?
What about the other games he played?
A) 41 out of 199
B) 23 out of 106
Letter A) is his success rate of just getting a hit with runners in scoring position in 08, 09, 10 combined
Letter B) is his success rate of getting a hit with 2 out and runners in scoring position in 08, 09, 10
Now, I realize we’ve witnessed 3 great catches by Harris against the Mets. 2 of which happened in April or May.
I mean, to call him clutch is focusing on the world through Mets eyes and not the rest of the sport.
thank you – that’s exactly what I’m trying to say.
C) 0 out of 1,000,000
Letter C) is the number of Jessup posts that had any value.
Yeah, cause all I do is talk non-sense right? Sorry if pointing out the fact Willie Harris made 3 catches in 3 years doesn’t make him a clutch player.
There is a world of baseball outside of Mets games. They matter also.
I am not sure how Harris is any better than Nick Evans?
Is Harris glove that good defensively in LF?
Personally I would have went with Evans.
You’d have to show me that Harris is that much better defensively and all i know is he seems to play well vs the Mets with the glove based on a few games.
In any event I hope they paid him very little.
Mr North Jersey…. In all seriousness about Harris.. his glove is absolutely awesome anywhere in the outfield. He’s Chavez in the field. At the plate, he might not even make the ’62 club.
well until last year he barely played RF but if his glove is as good as you say then if he can hit at least above .250 imo I guess that will do but I would like to see Evans get a good look in camp as well b4 finalizing on Harris as the 4tf OF.
Harry check this out.
“Once the signing becomes official, New York’s roster of position players should be set. In addition to Beltran, Bay, Pagan and Harris, outfielder Nick Evans is a favorite to make the team as a right-handed pinch-hitter.”
mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110114&content_id=16439886&vkey=news_nym&c_id=nym&partnerId=rss_nym
So there is a chance they both make the club.
thats what I think.
based on the guys currently on hand, and of course pending ST surprises, the tentative bench would be paulino, Hu, Emaus/murphy (with other one starting), evans and the spare OF/PH bat (Harris).
not an either/or.
Now the bench will be Harris,Evans,Hu, and Emaus or Turner. All bases will be covered by this group. Murphy will be the 2nd baseman and now all we need is a starting pitcher which should be any day now.
You forgot about Paulino. I would replace him with Turner. Paulino is a guarantee and I just don’t see Turner making the opening day roster.
My error as I should have put Poulino in the group of 5. Turner was added as a fight between him and Emaus for the 4th spot.
Jerry M,
Daniel Murphy will NOT be the starting second baseman and you already have the bench decided before spring training? Wow.
I like the Harris signing but even I’m not sure if he can make the team. Spring training will tell. I guess Duda is already not making the team, huh? What happens if Hu, Eamus and Evans all get cut in spring training?
um, how is saying Daniel Murphy “will NOT be the starting second baseman” before spring training any different than deciding the bench before spring training? Seems like you got it all figured out who will or will not be starting at 2B. Why is Jerry not allowed to predict the bench?
You’re right that it does sound hypocritical. In Murphy’s case though I’m just trusting my own personal judgement on that one. I cannot, for the life of me, ever imagine him as a starting second basemen. If you want to win you have to be strong up the middle, as you already know and to me Murphy does not have the ability to leap over sliding runners and make throws to first base, or dive into the hole towards the 2B bag, get up on his knees and fire to 1B. That’ not him. I see him as a very good backup player with no real position or a AL DH.
I Saw him play 2nd base in winter ball (on my computer) and he plays it well. Scouts say he has the range and is satisfatory at 2nd base. But you Bayonne seem to think you know better. We will see in ST.
Thanks Chris,you are right on with your comment to Bayonne. We all have a right to predict what we feel will happen.Then we will all step back and watch to see who is right.
Somebody had brought up the propect of signing Harris sometime last week, and I thought it would be an interesting signing. I’m happy to see that it came to fruition. I said it with the Tankersly signing and I’ll say it now, how can anybody hate on a minor league contract? If it works out, AWESOME! If it doesn’t, he’ll be in Buffalo and if some team is looking for a extra fielder for their bench, flip him for something.
And I believe he could play 2nd base as well if I’m not mistaken.
Yes he did play 2nd base a while ago but has been in the outfield since.
In the last 5 years He has played all of 31 games at 2b.
baseball-reference.com/play-index/split_stats.cgi?full=1¶ms=defp|as%202B|harriwi02|bat|AB|
That still leads most Mets in MLB games spent at 2B. 31 more then Daniel Murphy & Brad Emaus.
This isn’t the signing to end all signings. Its good filler. He sucks, you toss him. Low risk. If he could even turn a .260/5hr/30rbi season w. at least league average defense, this is a big win for the BENCH. Trotting him out as a starting LF or RF or even CF more then once a week is suicide.
“31 more then Daniel Murphy & Brad Emaus.”
Sure OK not sure why is that significant since he is not competing to play 2b but sure statistically your 100% correct I guess.
Other than trying to understand the reason for comparing him to Murphy and EMaus at 2b I have no dispute with anything else you said.
its versatility…although that isn’t saying much, because Ike Davis may be a significantly better offensive option in RF then any other Met…coincidentally, he’s their best first baseman.
Will he (really…stupid play on words) play any 2nd base? maybe in a pinch. But having a guy who can play 4 positions on the field has much more value then a guy like Pridie, unless he was an absolute defensive wizard and his low BA could be forgiven. This position will hopefully be for around 200 AB’s only, because if the 4th outfielder is seeing more then that, then I guess Beltran or Pagan is injured.
Fair enough.
if the bench shakes out like it seems, with a semi-platoon at 2B and Hu on the roster, that is 3 guys that play 2B. If we ever got down to Harris playing there, something went terribly wrong in a game.
and without jerry managing the moves, I am not so worried about that happening.
I have seen a few Mets killer come to the Mets and keep killing them. Hopefully he plays good defense at a number of positions and gets a few key hits.
at this point, no reason to even pencil him on the team.
it was a MiL contract, so at this point, he is at AAA replacing Jesus Feliciano. Competing in camp with guys like Pridie, and whoever else they pick up. May the best amn win!
he really did have crappy numbers last year, but on a non-guaranteed deal, doesn’t hurt to give him a look.
Hes a left hand bat off the bench and good at defense.
Harris happens to be a great left fielder, a terrible RF and a decent at best CF.
But he’s one of the worst “clutch” hitters of all time. His career OPS in high leverage situations is .568. You get that? .568. For those who prefer other stats, he’s got a .190 batting average in high leverage situations. He’s a bad base stealer (career 74% success rate).
For a minor league deal, I could care less, but I desperately hope he never sniffs the big leagues.
I don’t give a darn what your numbers tell you, Willie Harris KILLED the Mets in big spots. You defend David Wright and he’s the worst clutch hitting star in Mets history. There are NO numbers for that category because it’s IMPOSSIBLE to numerate it. The only thing I’ll concede is I don’t know how Willie performed in big spots against other teams but again, there are NO numbers that can describe it.
Great he killed the Mets in a “handful” of spots. What does that mean?
Here more numbers for you Harris career clutch stats. They show the following categories.
2 outs RISP
Late Close
Tie Game
Within 1 R
Within 2 R
Within 3 R
Within 4 R
Margin 4 R
Ahead
Behind
baseball-reference.com/play-index/share.cgi?id=TunIv
As far as your hatred of Wright well we know that is all it is so no point wasting time addressing that.
btw if your interested in Harris career batting vs the Mets they are: .159/BA 113/AB 18/H 1/HR 3/2B 15/R 8/RBI
baseball-reference.com/play-index/share.cgi?id=TfaOZ
Yes, there are Bayonne. Leverage is based on win expectancy. I won’t go any further because your head is already probably spinning, but it’s measurable, it’s based on years of reasearch and there are websites dedicated to the matrix’s that outline the expectancies.
Nope sorry,
There’s no way to enumerate when an athlete’s competitive juices are put to the ultimate test and that’s watching how nervous or not nervous he is in high pressure game-changing situations. Unless maybe you have a doctorate in DNA testing then maybe..
You’re right. Thaat’s not what leverage measures. But thanks for playing. You constantly lose. It’s getting too easy.
Getting too easy huh? I KNOW you know that’s not true. I don’t care what you mean by leverage is based on win expectancy. I’ve been involved in baseball all my life and I don’t need a term like that to know how to win so get off your arrogant high horse like your leader Saber Sandy.
You pointed to numbers to allegedly prove Willie Harris is clutch and I said you CANNOT dictate how athletes perform in high pressure situations with numbers. You never coach or managed in your entire life and I DOUBT you played. I know what it’s like to motivate, I know what it’s like to lead players, lose control of players, get nervous when the game is on the line. Don’t give your stupid excel spreadsheet CRAP and tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about because I understand this game BETTER than you ever will in your lifetime.
You examine numbers and think they tell the story but you have NO baseball sensibility or acumen whatsoever. I don’t even know who the hell you are but I know my place and my knowledge when it comes to baseball pal.
I’m starting to know your place, too, and it’s making perfect sense why you defend Omar the team killer so much.
And I’m glad you think I never coached or played. Because it just goes to show what happens when you assume. But you don’t need to wrongly assume to make a you know what of yourself. You do a perfect job of that anytime you post.
i think what bay meant to say was
There’s “one” way to enumerate when an athlete’s competitive juices are put to the ultimate test and that’s watching how nervous or not nervous he is in high pressure game-changing situations. Unless maybe you have a doctorate in DNA testing then maybe..
scary, im learning bayonese.
I can tell Bayonne’s getting stressed right now. He’s no good in the clutch, he pees on his leg.
Win.
True,
I have low tolerance for stupidity but when it comes to the game I bring up the front line while followers like you sit there and analyze the results
Now it all makes sense. You don’t analyze results. So that’s why you’re still on the Omar train after nearly a half-decade of epic, epic failures.
Oh man, After calling people all kinds of names, not responding to valid points, taking things out of context, spinning, twisting accusing OTHER people of not knowing the language, insulting other peoples wives, Bayonne is now going to the internet authorities to seek relief.
Whew boy Bayonne, I can tell you got run out of every playground you ever set foot in as a kid, and dared not to return.
I think you’ve nailed it right on the head X. Bayonne and Omar are truly a pair that would beat a full house.
X, I’ll tell you, that was the funniest one I ever read. Thanks for the laugh.
when you make the results you already know what to do so you don’t have to analyze them.
and agee – yeah i twist, i spin, i take things out of context. Next time remind me so i don’t have to read your 10 paragraph responses that cover the history of the Mets for each response.
and for your other comment if you don’t want me to respond to your posts anymore then let me know and I won’t, I will respect your wishes. I don’t play internet games, i get them solved.
Except Bayonne’s not playing with a full deck.
I don’t mind one bit if you respond to my posts. I would prefer to do it by just a simple exchange of different ideas and opinions but I know you ulterior motive and so does everyone else Bayonne. Your very transparent and single minded, unable to see the big picture.
My recommendation for you would be to take a look at why we had such epic failures over the last two years, look beyond injuries, that what losers do, they blame things out of their control rather than controlling them beforehand, expecting them, planning for them, BEING PREPARED FOR THEM. Don’t be a loser Bayonne. Sports are a result oriented business. The results here sucked. They were very disapointing. To want to continue on that same path would show absolutely no awareness of reality.
After calling people all kinds of names, not responding to valid points, taking things out of context, spinning, twisting accusing OTHER people of not knowing the language, insulting other peoples wives, Bayonne is now going to the internet authorities to seek relief.
yup that pretty much says it all. ladies & gentleman i give you the twilight zone.
Too deep. All of Bayonne’s preferred literary choices come with bubble gum.
Bazzoka Joe, Baseball cards, Pokemon.
He won’t even stay on topic, won’t respond with a valid point, twists, spins and calls names.
He even brought up the DeRoulet owned Mets to compare them with the way the Mets are being run by Alderson with a 140 million dollar payroll because he had no way to refute the fact that 14 of Omar’s handpicked hitters in year 6 of his plan had a lower OB% than TWO of his starting pitchers, and this on a “pretty good” team no less.
Whew! I wonder what Omar’s ideas were for year 7. I’ll bet it would have been more guys like those 14.
No CLOWN,
You’re putting words in my mouth. You said Omar Minaya built incredibly horrible teams I said no he built GOOD teams. If you want incredibly horrible teams then look at the Mets of the late 70s.
THAT’S WHAT I SAID jerk.
I HATE when people make things up. Get it right and you don’t get called names!
You call those guys a GOOD team? What exactly is your definition of a team jackass? Your a transparent fool Bayonne, unable to stay on point, trying to compare the DeRoulet Mets with the Alderson/Wilpon Mets. And you STILL haven’t responded to how a GOOD team could have 14 hitter in the 6th year of a GM’s “plan” have a lower OB% than TWO of it’s starting pitchers. Stay on point jackass.
Yes I did you moron.
Are we going to rehash this again. We already went over the FACT that Omar built GOOD teams when he was here and all the reason why it didn’t work and how Alderson inherited his nucleus from Omar.
Are you mentally challenged or something that you have to keep repeating this? And spare me your 10 page editorials.
No you didn’t. You changed the subject JACKASS. Like you always do. Then you started with the names. Like you always do. Then you wigged out and went wishy washy.
Worst clutch hitter in Mets history??????? Why bother, you don’t care what the numbers say, YOU SAID IT, it must be true.
You are a piece of work.
You guys should go to couples therapy or something. These are responses to a minor league signing? Either you REALLY care about the Willie Harris signing or you have VERY deep issues. This is New York, there are a million therapists. Find one!
Bayonne,
“Steve Phillips was OUTSTANDING at making many very good trades”
You REALLY need to let this love affair you have with Steve Phillips go. You are doing your best to destroy any credibility you have when it comes to criticism of Alderson.
I’d bet my life that if you polled every owner in baseball in terms of respect and ability to run a franchise a large majority would take Alderson over Phillips.
At the trade deadline in 2002, according to Keith Law, Phillips inquired about Jose Cruz Jr., and put David Wright on the table. Now, this is a terrible knock on JP Ricciardi as well for not taking the deal. But again, JP isn’t the one making decisions for the Mets and nobody here is asking him to like you are asking for a Phillips-esque GM
Every GM makes great, good, bad, ugly moves. You’re sitting here wishing for Steve Phillips like trades based on your knowledge of Phillips over a 5+ year career and you’re giving Alderson 4 months to match him.
Sure Phillips got Piazza in a nice trade, but he also traded for Bobby Bonilla which lead to his joke of a salary story we read about today. What about trading away Isringhausen who went on to be a very successful closer? Trading Mora and others for Bordick, trading Ventura for Justice, trading Jason Bay for Steve Reed.
I mean when you light your torch for Steve Phillips and declare him the type of GM the Mets needed because of his ability to make trades… why do you ignore the truth about him?
The fact is you’ve given Sandy Alderson 4 months and 0 games played to turn a franchise around that has been treading water for the last 15-20 years. All because you think you know what saber metrics are and you think you know what is inside a 250+ page book.
Like we all knew what Jason Bay was capable back then. What a load of bull. Steve Phillips also acquired Robin Ventura and traded only after he hit around .230. You’re knocking Steve Phillips for entertaining the idea of trading Wright? That’s nice – well it never happened did it.
You, as usual, conveniently left out Phillips acquiring of Leiter, Zeile, Turk Wendell, John Olerud, Dennis Cook, Heath Bell, Melvin Mora, Roger Cedeno (first time around) Armando Benitez (very effective his first year), Mike Hampton, Steve Trachsel (did a good job here for the most part), Cliff Floyd. Yes he re-acquired Bobby Bonilla but traded Mel Rojas to get him.
Steve Phillips and Frank Cashen are the 2 best GMs in Mets history. Fact.
..and 2 guys drafted and signed under Phillips’ watch – Jose Reyes and David Wright carry his influence on the team to this day.
but Wright sucks and pisses his pants……..according to you
Oh he does. There’s no denying Wright is a gifted athlete but he’s an awful competitor.
Still waiting for you to answer the question, what big moments did Ramon Castro come through on?
Please explain to me how a guy who consistently has over 100 RBI’s every year, and hits about 30 homeruns every year, NEVER comes up in the big moment. Are you attempting at saying that everyone of his RBI’s never meant anything?
That’s good – ahahahahahahahhahah I needed a good laugh, you seem to be a guy that provides many of them. Thanks
That’s part of a GM’s legacy, just like Phillips inherited Ordonez and Alfonzo and Cashen inherited Orossco and made the most of Mazilli.
It always comes down to how well you fill in around those you inherit.
Wait so you’re allowed to disregard today’s knowledge of how good Jason Bay turned out to nullify a bad trade Phillips made while at the same time judging Alderson on every single move he’s made without seeing a single game played?
That seems a little convenient for your own argument no?
Steve Phillips also acquired Robin Ventura and traded only after he hit around .230.
He acquired Ventura in 1999 via Free Agency… the year after he traded Ventura, he had his best year in 3 years with the Yanks and the Mets dealt Justice away who would then retire right away. Some trade.
Phillips didn’t acquire John Olerud, he was traded by Toronto to the Mets in 96 and then signed with the Mets after. So giving Phillips credit is weak.
Heath Bell was an amateur free agent, so I’m not sure why he’s listed here?
Mora was signed as a free agent, as was Trachsel, as was Cliff Floyd.
So you’re holding a torch for all these wonderful trades, you’re talking about a select few trades and MOST were done past an entire year from when he took over… and you’re comparing Alderson to him in his 1st 4 months
Cmon it’s clear Bayonne’s feelings toward Alderson has blinded so much so that Alderson could trade Ollie for CC Sabathia and he would find fault in it.
It’s clear he just wants to complain cause he refuses to give Alderson the time or the benefit of the doubt for what appears to be obvious reasons but even if it was for totally different reasons the fact is Bay just does not care to give Alderson the chance to fail but rather he wants to say he is failing already even though he admittedly will tell you he has no clue if any of these moves will pan out.
That alone says all that needs to be known. Nothing will make him give Alderson the chance to fail 1st in his eyes Alderson has already failed.
I for one have beaten this horse to death with him so if he wants to keep on this path I say to you Bayonne Knock your head against that wall all you wish. It’s clear he doesnt wish to recognize anything even approaching a reasonable rebuttal so what else is left to say?
Well MNJ, considering how competative we were the last couple years, why change? I mean it was working so well. Top 5 payroll, late September beginning to the off season and a protected pick, again. One cannot dismiss the way the players Omar signed really busted their ass for him when the chips were down either.
Phillips best deals were with the Marlins due to their fire sales. Leiter, Cook, Piazza. Normally those players wouldn’t be available and the certainly wouldn’t be available within your own division. Not from a team attempting to compete against you.
Ahhh,
No wonder Phillips made so many great deals – it was the OTHER team’s fault.
That’s the type of logic i have to put up with on a daily basis ladies and gentlemen.
Normally this is where the “Did I say it was the other team’s fault? stop twisting my words” Oh wait wrong person thats Bay’s routine. Sorry T Agee got confused for a sec.
Other team’s fault? Where did you get that from Bayonne? No where in my post did I say it was the Marlins FAULT. Don’t purposely take other peoples words out of context Bayonne. That’s childish. Belongs in a sandbox, not an adult conversation.
What everyone else reading my post would get from it is: Because of the Marlins CIRCUMSTANCES. Fault was never mentioned once. Steve Phillips did a good job of meeting the Marlins needs and extracting high value players that played great here in Queeens but to count on the good fortune of being able to acquire a front line starter and one of the best offensive players in the game, who also plays a position not normally associated with such high output, and from your division rival, as a plan would be Omar like.
The real shame of the whole Phillps era was his inability to provide even a league average outfielder during his tenure, let alone 2 or 3. After inheriting 3 incredible pieces in the infield and adding a tremendous thirdbasemen and a phenominal catcher one or two more pieces from more traditional sources of offensive production would have been huge and probably would have allowed us to torment our neighbors with joyous cries of 2000! 2000! for years to come.
That said he was the only GM since Cashen to provide 2 front line starters and that made a huge difference.
Then it at least proves Phillips was smarter than the other 28 GMs at the time including the venerable Sandy Alderson.
It isnt enough for the Moneyball dupes to praise Alderson for essentially sitting on his ass and signing crippled players and hitters who couldnt hit their way out of a paper bag. But now they have to spend their time knocking other GMs for their moves after the fact in hindsight. Wow you guys Moneyballers are sooo smarttttt!
While I am no fan of Moneyball I would take it any day over Monkeyball.
By the way if Omar was still here how much money would he have had to play around with this year?
If you took the checkbook away from Omar he’d really just be another fantasy baseball player, albeit a pretty uninformed one.
Wow you guys should spar in the ring, you are ready to kill each other. Calm down and lets see what happens in ST.
I dont even know what you guys are arguing about anymore. After reading through the first 5-6 comments you completely lost me, but I love the passion you have for whatever it is your arguing about. Carry on.
I’m beginning to think like Mike
I love the Mets.