Comments on: Alex Rodriguez Could Be Finished In Pinstripes

By: joe blow

joe blow — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 20:35:49 +0000

a rod, get the f..k out of baseball you creep

By: Metro12

Metro12 — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:22:49 +0000

Teams that spend a lot of money and lose will always be the butt of jokes. So the Mets were a joke around baseball well before Sandy got to the Mets, and not just because of the high payroll and losing either.

It was also because of the two September chokes, two years in a row; the really bad contracts to Ollie, Castillo and Bay; and Bernazard and the Rubin fiasco.

Sandy had the huge task of taking that perception of lousiness and turning it around. I think for the most part he’s done that, though it’s not nearly enough at this point. However, I expect the turnaround to continue through 2013 and beyond.

By: Metro12

Metro12 — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:11:43 +0000

The Wilpons, like all MLB owners, always make the final decision on major expenditures. But in regards to Citi Field, that would likely only encompass the overall design and ambiance of the place. If Omar had come to them in the beginning and said he wanted to make the fences 10 feet shorter all around, they would have done it. The outfield dimensions are NOT a critical part of a ballpark’s design aesthetics and look and feel, and it’s more likely than not they were originally set on the advice of Omar and his baseball people.

Omar was asked many times during 2009 and 2010 if the Mets should bring the OF walls in. He was always adamant that they should not, and always added that he wanted to build a team on pitching and defense. Which was a silly response given that long OF dimensions is a faulty way to achieve solid pitching and defense.

Compare that to Sandy who said almost the second he got to the Mets that it would be something he would be carefully watching and considering throughout the 2011 season.

By: Just-Da-Damaja

Just-Da-Damaja — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:02:57 +0000

Considering most MLB teams dont play in the biggest media market in the world, I dont think thats an apples to apples comparison. A team like KC is totally understood if they do that move.

and when it gets leaked out that our offer was 500K more per season that what we are paying Frank Francisco….folks are cracking jokes….

when it gets leaked out that upper management thinks RA Dickey is self-centered…folks are cracking jokes…

when our GM is cracking jokes about a team he has assembled…folks are cracking jokes…

By: JeffMcKnight'sGlasses

JeffMcKnight'sGlasses — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:12:59 +0000

Yeah Jeffie did say that…but that was after they made the decisions to change the dimensions. That sorta wreaked of pointing the finger. Since in the preceding years (before the criticisms) the Wilpons talked about their own involvement in building the stadium the way they did.

They probably did consult the opinion of Omar and others (like Tony B), but it certainly sounds like the Wilpons made the final decisions.

By: Metro12

Metro12 — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:14:32 +0000

Actually, the general consensus around baseball was that Sandy made out like a bandit in that deal, which is refreshing after having a GM who was the one usually taken advantage of in negotiations. Even Cashman recently gushed on the FAN about Sandy’s moves.

By: JeffMcKnight'sGlasses

JeffMcKnight'sGlasses — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:08:28 +0000

They have Youkilis

By: JeffMcKnight'sGlasses

JeffMcKnight'sGlasses — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:07:31 +0000

If that’s all it took to get Stanton the Yankees would have just traded for Stanton. Or Stanton would’ve already been traded elsewhere.

By: Metro12

Metro12 — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:07:16 +0000

Jeff — Jeff Wilpon said it was the “baseball people” (meaning Omar and his staff) who wanted the huge dimensions. It wasn’t Fred. It wasn’t Jeff. It was that baseball genius, Omar, who thought the way to get a good pitching staff was to make the dimensions huge! LMFAO! .

The model rolled out in the 90s was just that — a model and prototype. That model had ZERO to do with Omar’s later decision to make the dimensions huge.

By: jessep

jessep — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:03:51 +0000

Considering most teams in the Mets situation would do the exact same deal the Mets did – I’d say you’re over blowing the public perception of the Dickey deal.

By: Metro12

Metro12 — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:01:33 +0000

What’s truly mind-boggling is someone like you who doesn’t know how to read and instead makes things up. No one said Wright isn’t streaky. Almost every hitter in baseball is streaky. Seasons are made out of little streaks.

Having said that, Wright’s first and second half performances have been remarkably consistent …

Career Split –

1st Half — .303/.389/.509
2nd Half — .298/.373/.503

LOL. Chew on that!

By: JeffMcKnight'sGlasses

JeffMcKnight'sGlasses — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:01:26 +0000

Was that the field on wheels?? LOL

I think it was actually Jeffie who liked the porch idea though. I remember him talking about how he liked that about Tigers Stadium. (Though maybe he didn’t intend to have the porch with the crazy dimensions)

By: Just-Da-Damaja

Just-Da-Damaja — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:00:25 +0000

Right now the mets spend more money on their 3 GM’s than they do on their entire OF !!!

LMAOOOO

By: Just-Da-Damaja

Just-Da-Damaja — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:43:19 +0000

LMAO

the former pitcher Fred Wilpon actually had those dimensions ( along with the porch ) in mind back in the late 90′s

there was an interview where Fred whips out a mini model of the stadium ( this one had a dome )

and the dimensions were supposed to be even bigger than what it was in 2009…

to jeff wilpon’s credit, he was against the larger dimensions b/c he thought it was going to be harder to attract hitters

By: Just-Da-Damaja

Just-Da-Damaja — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:40:25 +0000

right…b/c trading a Cy Young award winner/philantropist + then taking a dump on him on his way out sure earned the respect of fans around the league.

Since 1992, with the exception of a few years, this team has been a joke.

By: Just-Da-Damaja

Just-Da-Damaja — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:37:12 +0000

In 2009 –

The first 16 games the season, Wright hit .302
The next 16 games of the season, Wright hit .333
The next 16 games of the season, Wright hit .368
The next 16 games of the season, Wright hit .390
July hits

The next 16 games of the season he hit .206
The next 16 games of the season he hit .328
The next 16 games of the season he hit .298
The last 18 games of the season he hit .246

Wright’s 2010 – very similar
Wright’s 2011 – very similar
Wright’s 2012 – very similar

Wright is a streaky hitter…

how this is a foreign concept to you is mind-boggling

By: jessep

jessep — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:33:28 +0000

Damaja, we are far from the laughing stock of MLB right now. Sorry – that just isn’t true. Right now the doormats of the league are Miami

By: JeffMcKnight'sGlasses

JeffMcKnight'sGlasses — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:30:50 +0000

I agree I think the park (and partially the Mets sucktitude) is what messed Wright up.

I don’t think its fair to put the park design on Omar though. Maybe he (and others) had some input…but the design was largely the brainchild of the Wilpons.

By: JeffMcKnight'sGlasses

JeffMcKnight'sGlasses — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:25:38 +0000

Any player could have used…we don’t really know. But your statements that Wright’s performance dropped off when testing began was incorrect. Testing has been in place since Wright has been in the league.

Obviously people are free to voice their own opinions, but to me throwing accusations out there about players is pretty much a pointless exercise when there isn’t any real evidence. We could do so about every player b/c there is no way to know for sure a player didn’t use. And it’s not like there is any one tell tale sign of use. People can point to almost anything and say its a sign of PEDs. . It could be guys who had a dropoff in performance (though if you believe PEDs help…the “dropoff theory” is less likely to apply to guys who have been around since testing began). It could be guys who had a big uptick in performance. Could be guys who have had an even performance bc either they are always using or used but it didn’t have much of an impact. Could be guys who got hurt (PEDs have been linked to injuries). Could be guys who have been healthy (some PEDs help recovery time). Could be guys who played well despite being old. Could be guys who broke down and had to retire early. And it could be any type of player….there is the misconception that its only power type hitters who were on PEDs.

Maybe the ultimate golden boy Jeter is on PEDs…if he wasn’t Jeter maybe people would be suspicious about him having one of his better years in awhile at age 38.

By: Just-Da-Damaja

Just-Da-Damaja — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:25:11 +0000

“Because if it happened, the next step would be the franchise becoming the laughing stock of Major League Baseball.”

When your GM is constantly making fun of the team…you ALREADY are the laughing stock of MLB