Right now, I have $26 in my pocket. If my pocket, myself and my $26 were in Port St. Lucie, FL, I could use them to buy thirteen Budweisers and thirteen hotdogs, both of which are being sold for $1, to celebrate the first game of the season for the Port St. Lucie Mets. Or, if I was feeling temperate, I could enjoy eighteen hotdogs, with a mere eight Budweisers while I watched Ruben Tejada take his first cuts of ’08, Indeed, any combination of hotdogs+ Budweisers equaling 26 or less could be mine for the having, if only I were in Port St. Lucie watching the Port St. Lucie Mets.
But I’m not. I’m in New York City, working in the sub-sub-library, with neither a hotdog, nor a Budwieser to my name. The only baseball on is the Yankees, and after work I get to walk to the train in the cold.
Congratulations, by the way, to Nelson Figueroa, on making the team while Pedro goes on the DL…if I were in Port St. Lucie I could drink up to 26 Budwiesers in honor of N-Fig’s return to the big leagues.
Showing posts with label NRI watch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NRI watch. Show all posts
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
NRI watch:
Ruben Tejada went 1-3 on Sunday to put his batting average at .500. In the same game Nelson Figueroa allowed one run over four innings, to bring his Spring Training ERA down to 3.38.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
NRI Watch Continues:
Nelson Figueroa's ERA has balloned to 3.86. Ruben Tejada's average climbed to .556, and he picked up his 3rd RBI.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Two Assholes
Mathew Wallace, of Newsday, is really annoyed that the Mets put out an add campaign last year that sort of implied that they would win, and then had the nerve to loose. He thinks that the Mets are old and bad, and that if they don’t win this year, next year everyone will be traded and fired. He poses this question: “Can the addition of Santana, who can help out only once every five days, really cure all that ailed the 2007 Mets, the failures of heart and discipline and character?”
Well, no, Santana can’t do that, and when the Mets compete for the “heart and discipline and character” pennant they just might be screwed. But Wallace seems to be confusing “heart and discipline and character” with “a bullpen.” And the failures of the bullpen are something that Santana actually could cure, since he will (hopefully) do a good job of pitching innings that otherwise would be pitched, badly, by the bullpen. And if the pitchers in the bullpen pitch fewer innings, than they might do a better job in the innings that they do pitch. So Santana does have a really good chance to help the Mets in one of the areas most closely associated with the collapse, even by only playing once every five days…as most people with a passing familiarity with the game of baseball are aware.
***
Utility infielder Scott Spiezio, formerly of the Cardinals, has a weird goatee that he dies red and a hard rock/grunge/metal band called Sandfrog, and he hit the Mets really hard in the 2006 NLCS. Now he has been release by the Cards, after a warrant was issued for his arrest, following a wild night of drinking, driving, fighting, and hiding in closets. My favorite: “As the two men were helping Spiezio, he began vomiting. Parisi asked Spiezio why he couldn't make it to the toilet. Angered, Spiezio grabbed Parisi and began wrestling him. Parisi tried to protect himself and Spiezio said, 'You know I can kick your ass.'”
…Sandfrog’s web page is just a black screen, so I guess that means they are more into Metal than the other stuff.
For more on these and other stories, take a look at “It’s Mets for Me” which also has a good picture of a man throwing a kitten.
RUBEN TEJADA WATCH: Tejada is now hitting .750 with two RBIs.
Well, no, Santana can’t do that, and when the Mets compete for the “heart and discipline and character” pennant they just might be screwed. But Wallace seems to be confusing “heart and discipline and character” with “a bullpen.” And the failures of the bullpen are something that Santana actually could cure, since he will (hopefully) do a good job of pitching innings that otherwise would be pitched, badly, by the bullpen. And if the pitchers in the bullpen pitch fewer innings, than they might do a better job in the innings that they do pitch. So Santana does have a really good chance to help the Mets in one of the areas most closely associated with the collapse, even by only playing once every five days…as most people with a passing familiarity with the game of baseball are aware.
***
Utility infielder Scott Spiezio, formerly of the Cardinals, has a weird goatee that he dies red and a hard rock/grunge/metal band called Sandfrog, and he hit the Mets really hard in the 2006 NLCS. Now he has been release by the Cards, after a warrant was issued for his arrest, following a wild night of drinking, driving, fighting, and hiding in closets. My favorite: “As the two men were helping Spiezio, he began vomiting. Parisi asked Spiezio why he couldn't make it to the toilet. Angered, Spiezio grabbed Parisi and began wrestling him. Parisi tried to protect himself and Spiezio said, 'You know I can kick your ass.'”
…Sandfrog’s web page is just a black screen, so I guess that means they are more into Metal than the other stuff.
For more on these and other stories, take a look at “It’s Mets for Me” which also has a good picture of a man throwing a kitten.
RUBEN TEJADA WATCH: Tejada is now hitting .750 with two RBIs.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Ruben Tejada is Hitting .500 (but he needs to work on his RBIs)
10. Ruben Tejada, 2B/SS
DOB: 9/1/89
Height/Weight: 5-11/165B
ats/Throws: R/RAcquired: NDFA, 2006, Panama
2007 Stats: .283/.401/.367 at Rookie-level (35 G)
Year In Review: A previously obscure Panamanian, Tejada put up a .400+ on-base percentage in the Gulf Coast League in his stateside debut.
The Good: Tejada earns high praise from Mets officials for his advanced approach (he walked more than he struck out) and his baseball intelligence. He has a line-drive bat and uses all fields, and he shows excellent fundamentals defensively.
The Bad: Unlike most Latin American teenagers, Tejada isn't especially toolsy. He has little power or projection for any, and his speed and arm are both no more that average, leaving him with the likely profile of a second baseman in the end.
Fun Fact: Tejada hit just .186 with the bases empty, but more than doubled that with a .377 mark with runners on base.
Perfect World Projection: An everyday second baseman and ideal No. 2 hitter in the lineup.
Timetable: Tejada might lack upside, but his polish is more than enough to handle a full-season debut at Low-A as an 18-year-old.
-Baseball Prospectus
BP ranks Tejada as the tenth best prospect in a system that they think is awful. Their blurb about him interested me, because you have to love the high on-base percentage, and I think it’s neat that what he has going for him is an “advanced approach,” “baseball intelligence,” and “polish,” when he is only 18 years old. And his high walk totals and lack of power seem somewhat a-typical. Since the Mets will need a new second basemen in the next couple years, I had thought about saying something about him here, but then I figured “Nah, what’s the use, he’ll probably just get traded for something, or rot in the minors, so why get folks’ hopes up?”
Well, if I had mentioned him, I would have seemed smart when he drove in the winning run in today’s game against the Braves. In his only at-bats of spring training (so far), Tejada went 1-for-2. Still, you’d think he should have more than one measly RBI to go along with that .500 average…
I did, however, mention Nelson Figueroa, a finesse pitcher who hasn’t been in the majors for a while, but had a good run in Winter Ball this off-season. So far in Mets camp, Figueroa has pitched three innings and allowed no runs, three hits, no walks, and 2 Ks. Hope I’m not jinxing him by pointing that out…
DOB: 9/1/89
Height/Weight: 5-11/165B
ats/Throws: R/RAcquired: NDFA, 2006, Panama
2007 Stats: .283/.401/.367 at Rookie-level (35 G)
Year In Review: A previously obscure Panamanian, Tejada put up a .400+ on-base percentage in the Gulf Coast League in his stateside debut.
The Good: Tejada earns high praise from Mets officials for his advanced approach (he walked more than he struck out) and his baseball intelligence. He has a line-drive bat and uses all fields, and he shows excellent fundamentals defensively.
The Bad: Unlike most Latin American teenagers, Tejada isn't especially toolsy. He has little power or projection for any, and his speed and arm are both no more that average, leaving him with the likely profile of a second baseman in the end.
Fun Fact: Tejada hit just .186 with the bases empty, but more than doubled that with a .377 mark with runners on base.
Perfect World Projection: An everyday second baseman and ideal No. 2 hitter in the lineup.
Timetable: Tejada might lack upside, but his polish is more than enough to handle a full-season debut at Low-A as an 18-year-old.
-Baseball Prospectus
BP ranks Tejada as the tenth best prospect in a system that they think is awful. Their blurb about him interested me, because you have to love the high on-base percentage, and I think it’s neat that what he has going for him is an “advanced approach,” “baseball intelligence,” and “polish,” when he is only 18 years old. And his high walk totals and lack of power seem somewhat a-typical. Since the Mets will need a new second basemen in the next couple years, I had thought about saying something about him here, but then I figured “Nah, what’s the use, he’ll probably just get traded for something, or rot in the minors, so why get folks’ hopes up?”
Well, if I had mentioned him, I would have seemed smart when he drove in the winning run in today’s game against the Braves. In his only at-bats of spring training (so far), Tejada went 1-for-2. Still, you’d think he should have more than one measly RBI to go along with that .500 average…
I did, however, mention Nelson Figueroa, a finesse pitcher who hasn’t been in the majors for a while, but had a good run in Winter Ball this off-season. So far in Mets camp, Figueroa has pitched three innings and allowed no runs, three hits, no walks, and 2 Ks. Hope I’m not jinxing him by pointing that out…
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Met's Martinez honored at Dominican Sporting Event
I feel deeply irresponsible for not having responded more promptly to the Pedro Martinez/cockfighting incident. In that I have an excuse, it is because I find the matter utterly trivial, and was unable to resolve the debate about what form my sarcastic response should take. The principle objections to cockfighting, that it is 1) brutal and 2) unkind to chickens, are inarguable, in and of themselves. However, in that we live in a society where people frequently eat chicken McNuggets and frequently watch pro-wrestling or hockey (not to mention financing and implicitly supporting murderous wars, but whatever) without being subject to any form of public condemnation or censure, all objections to cockfighting are pretty much hypocritical and preposterous.
I’d actually like to take the opportunity to put in a plug for Roger Corman’s Cockfighter (1974), starring Warren Oates. Oates plays a man who has vowed not to talk, until he wins the Kentucky Cockfighter of the Year Award, which is actually given out, oh, not necessarily annually, but only when there is a deserving recipient. The brilliant thing about it is that, story-wise, it perfectly mirrors your classic inane sports movie about an introverted athlete who needs to make peace with himself or his love ones, en-route to the success that he craves. Only its about cockfighting. It’s also amusingly permeated with skevy ‘70s sexual mores. Any movie where someone loses their girlfriend to Harry Dean Stanton over a cockfight gets tons of points.
******
The Clemens Hearing:
Nigel: I haven’t seen anyone in such unabashed self-righteous denial since Nixon.
Sam: yeah, well at least Nixon didn’t try to pin it on his wife.
*******
I recently subscribed to Baseball Prospectus, and found an article about the top performers in the Winter Leagues. The top rated pitcher was Nelson Figueroa, who, while he hasn’t distinguished himself in the majors lately, won championships in Taiwan and Mexico this winter. He is an older player, who works mainly with off-speed stuff: if he fits in, in the majors, it would seem to be as a durable, back of the rotation guy, or a long-man in relief. Apparently he is a non-roster invitee at the Mets camp, although I haven’t been able to find any mention of this on the Mets website.
******
Further Pedro Speculation:
Part of me thinks that Pedro put the video on YouTube himself, since he was tiered of everyone paying attention to Santana. Either that or he was attempting some sort of reconciliation with Anna Benson.
I’d actually like to take the opportunity to put in a plug for Roger Corman’s Cockfighter (1974), starring Warren Oates. Oates plays a man who has vowed not to talk, until he wins the Kentucky Cockfighter of the Year Award, which is actually given out, oh, not necessarily annually, but only when there is a deserving recipient. The brilliant thing about it is that, story-wise, it perfectly mirrors your classic inane sports movie about an introverted athlete who needs to make peace with himself or his love ones, en-route to the success that he craves. Only its about cockfighting. It’s also amusingly permeated with skevy ‘70s sexual mores. Any movie where someone loses their girlfriend to Harry Dean Stanton over a cockfight gets tons of points.
******
The Clemens Hearing:
Nigel: I haven’t seen anyone in such unabashed self-righteous denial since Nixon.
Sam: yeah, well at least Nixon didn’t try to pin it on his wife.
*******
I recently subscribed to Baseball Prospectus, and found an article about the top performers in the Winter Leagues. The top rated pitcher was Nelson Figueroa, who, while he hasn’t distinguished himself in the majors lately, won championships in Taiwan and Mexico this winter. He is an older player, who works mainly with off-speed stuff: if he fits in, in the majors, it would seem to be as a durable, back of the rotation guy, or a long-man in relief. Apparently he is a non-roster invitee at the Mets camp, although I haven’t been able to find any mention of this on the Mets website.
******
Further Pedro Speculation:
Part of me thinks that Pedro put the video on YouTube himself, since he was tiered of everyone paying attention to Santana. Either that or he was attempting some sort of reconciliation with Anna Benson.
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