This MMO Chat isn’t loading for me…
OK. Truth be told you didn’t miss this Mets Merized chat on account of the fact that it never happened. Here’s the back-story.
I’m a sucker for online chats and read them at MLB Trade Rumors, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, and wherever else I stumble upon them. I don’t know why I bother since I rarely find more than 10% of the questions and answers interesting or useful. But once you’re hooked, your hooked. Sort of like being a Mets fan.
The reason I don’t do a real chat is two-fold. One is that I’m not all that technologically advanced and probably wouldn’t be able to figure out how to do it. I’m the guy with the cell phone that has a crank on its side so I can call Mabel and ask her to connect me with Andy or Barney at the sheriff’s station.
And the other reason, a bigger one I suppose, is that I am nowhere near as knowledgeable as those guys who do the real live chats. These guys can tell you who the 11th rated prospect is for the Royals and what his chances are of cracking the major league roster. Me, I think I know that Josh Satin plays for Las Vegas – end of knowledge.
Another thing about those chat hosts is that it seems they all are expert in some other area too. For half of them it’s their ability to tell you what craft beer to order in any particular county in this country.
My beer knowledge consists of liking Samuel Adams and a few others. And I do know that my son likes Yuengling – but in the BOTTLE, not the can (won’t make that mistake again).
So my chats stay on topic for that reason.
Given all that, here’s the chat transcript you missed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Philadelphia Beans: You’re always so hard on Terry Collins. What is the thing that most bothers you about him?
LS: I suppose it’s that he plays too many Young guys (Chris and Eric) and too many old guys (Bobby Abreu). I’d prefer to see Chris released, Eric confined to pinch-running mostly, and Abreu restricted to pinch-hitting. Let Soupy Campbell share LF with Captain Kirk and let Flores, Murphy, and Duda share 1B and 2B.
Ted Pontiff: Clearly Ruben Tejada is a bad hitter but exactly how bad is he?
LS: Let’s give him this – he’s not the worst. My scale of awfulness begins with Rey Ordonez, the ABSOLUTE ZERO of offensive effectiveness. In Rey Rey’s illustrious career he batted .246 and had an OPS of exactly 600 (remember readers I use the Bill James method and toss out the decimal point when I discuss on base + slugging percentage). His career WAR (wins over replacement) is a ridiculously puny +1.2 and almost all of that is due to his defensive prowess.
Ruben has a career batting average of .255 with an OPS of 644. 44 points of OPS is not monumental but it is more than trivial. He already has logged a WAR of 3.8.
So bottom line is that Ruben is a poor hitter and really should be a team’s utility infielder. But he’s not the bottom of the barrel.
My Name Is Earl: In Washington they do the Presidents race and in Milwaukee it’s the sausages. What kind of race can the Mets do to entertain the fans?
LS: Certainly not a pennant race….
But let’s try this. We’ll have Mr. Met, a person dressed as a large apple, the Statue of Liberty, and someone impersonating Jeff Wilpon all racing towards a dollar sign that’s placed at the finish line. (Come to think of it, to save money maybe Jeff will do the running himself)
Strato Buddy: What was your reaction when the Mets came back dramatically in the 9th inning on Friday to win?
LS: I think this sums it up nicely:
[iframe]<iframe width=”420″ height=”315″ src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/UPw-3e_pzqU” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>[/iframe]
Bucky Dentine: When the Mets don’t make the playoffs (you know – most every year) what team do you pull for?
LS: There are other teams? Who knew?
Not Really Sandy Alderson: Should I be trading Murphy and/or Colon?
LS: Listen NRSA, questions like that are silly since we fans have no knowledge of what players are being offered for our guys. I don’t think any Met should be ruled untouchable – if the Angels want to offer Mike Trout for David Wright + Matt Harvey (or Syndegaard or friggen anyone else) I’m down with that.
I really like Daniel Murphy and would hate to see him go but knowing that Flores, Matt Reynolds, Dilson Herrera, and Mazzilli are coming on strong makes it more palatable to trade Murph IF the return is particularly promising.
Bartolo would be easier to deal but hopefully he can bring back someone to upgrade LF or SS. If all that is offered is another minor league arm then hold on to the guy and have someone teach him to bunt.
SNY Viewer: You’ve always been extremely complimentary towards the broadcast team of Gary, Keith, Ron, and the soon to be departed Kevin Burkhardt. Surely there’s something about them that ticks you off.
LS: You got me. There’s just one thing. It drives me nuts that none of them ever describe a player as “hot” but rather that they all use the term “red hot” exclusively.
I know that’s not a biggie but I always felt there were degrees of hotness. For example, if Ruben Tejada has three hits, all singles, in his last 10 at bats, I’d say he is “hot”. If he has four hits in his last 10 and one of them accidentally is a double, then OK he’s “red hot.”
If Chris Young is one for his last five – “hot”.
If he’s one for his last five and has two loud fouls – ok, “red hot.”
Depressed Mets Fan: With the commissioner retiring how might this affect the Mets?
LS: Good question. I’ve always suspected that Papa Fred Wilpon had a stash of incriminating photos of Bud Selig doing kinky stuff with Suzyn Waldman in the Yankees’ radio booth. What else could explain why the commish would let a big market team run such a barebones operation?
Hopefully the next commissioner won’t feel so beholden to the Wilpons. Perhaps he prods them to spend more on their team and less on the real estate market. One can hope.
Skeptic: So you say you’ve been a Mets fan since their inception in 1962. Who are your favorite players and least favorite?
LS: Check out this table for a semi-pleasant walk down memory lane.
(click on the graphic to embiggen it)
Stratogist: Where do you stand on the question of bunting?
LS: I’m not a big advocate of sacrifice bunting. What does puzzle me is why Terry Collins will have a good hitting pitcher like Jake deGrom give up an out with a bunt in order to bring up a pansy hitter like Eric Young Jr. Hell, I’d rather see Tejada bunting to bring up deGrom!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
LS: Sorry folks that’s all the time I have. Got to wrap up this chat. I have to go check on eBay to see if anyone’s bid yet on that Brad Emaus jersey I’m auctioning off. Damn, thought that kid was going to make it.
