Quick note on Wagner...

No time for a "real" post, but while Wagner Wait is on, and a guy named B.J. just signed with the Blue Jays, I realized that I haven't read much about Billy Wagner's post-season record. "Baseball Crank" has though, and it don't sound pretty...
In a survey of how relief pitchers fared after monumental post-season disasters, Crank writes this:

"Billy Wagner, 2001 NLDS Game 1:
Allowing a back-breaking homer to Chipper Jones in a tie game was actually the last of Wagner's postseason failures; we'll list him as Damaged, as his record is a smaller version of Benitez' and he has kept blowing big regular-season games. Personally, I expect Lidge to follow the Benitez-Wagner career path."

Oh-oh, the "B" word!
Here's what it looks like from Baseball reference.com:

Postseason Pitching
Year Round Tm Opp WLser G GS ERA W-L SV CG SHO IP H ER BB SO
+------------------+-----+--+--+------+-----+--+--+---+-----+---+---+---+---+
1997 NLDS HOU ATL L 1 0 9.00 0-0 0 0 0 1.0 3 1 0 2
1998 NLDS HOU SDP L 1 0 18.00 1-0 0 0 0 1.0 4 2 0 1
1999 NLDS HOU ATL L 1 0 0.00 0-0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 1
2001 NLDS HOU ATL L 2 0 5.40 0-0 0 0 0 1.7 1 1 0 3
+------------------+-----+--+--+------+-----+--+--+---+-----+---+---+---+---+
4 Lg Div Series 0-4 5 0 7.71 1-0 0 0 0 4.7 8 4 0 7
+------------------+-----+--+--+------+-----+--+--+---+-----+---+---+---+---+


Jinkeys! Food for thought.

Notes on the Delgado Affair...

I could get on Omar for not getting the Marlins to throw in Billy the Marlin's pants (not to be confused with Billy Martin's pants). And not even asking about the availablity of Miguel Cabrera or Dontrelle Willis.
But I won't.

This was a suprising deal. And as much as I was intrigued by Mike Jacobs and Yusmeiro Petit, and troubled by the rumors that Omar was willing to give up Milledge in this deal but the Fish turned him down, I think it's a good gamble to take. That the Marlins dealt within the division is a testament to the fact that they just don't give a damn. But even if this annual winter cleaning results in another competitive team in a couple of years, what player is going to want to go there, if stability matters to them?

Delgado should be a perfect fit for the Mets, but then so was Alomar. I gotta love this trade, but keep hearing whispers "Hand and wrist problems," "insane agent," he's "a man first" then a Spanish-speaker.

One other detail is bothering me. Isn't it odd the extent to which Tony Bernazard is riding shotgun on this deal? Why in the hell would the Mets have him make the first call to Delgado?

I mean, what did that conversation go like? (translated from street Spanish?)
"Hey como estas, Carlos, its your buddy Tony. Translate this, bitch, your ass is ours now--you're playing at Shea for the next two years, man. The toilets barely work here, hombre."

Come to think of it, why is Bernazard making public statements for the team even if it's on a Puerto Rican radio station?

"We have to go little by little," Bernazard said. "We're still scrambling with the matter of the Delgado trade. Our objective is to win next season. First we have to win some series and after that win in the playoffs. This is the moment of New York."

What is it with the Mets front office "special assistants" and "scouts"--are they all mixing alcohol with low-carbohydrate diets? You think they could stop pissing people off?

In any event, got to keep a level head, not get too caught up in the hoopla. Because you know John Schuerholz is about to trade for Albert f*&?!*& Pujols.

feedback: Kammy for Nady

Who knows what this trade will amount to in a few years, but I find a few of the breathless justifications offered on other blogs troublingly naive.

1) The trade "Frees up money" so that the mets can make other moves. You know you're dealing with a baffling trade when this is the number one benefit mentioned. Folks, why on earth would the mets need to prioritize salary dumping at this particular moment in mets history? You would be on firmer ground if you wrote that it "frees up locker space" so the mets could add a player to their locker-room.

2) This trade just must, must be part of a vast and brilliant plan, or"there is a plan" and "i trust omar", or "the other shoe will drop". Sure, Omar might well turn and spin Nady to the Cards for Puhols and McEwing, but then again, this trade might well get the annual "Brad Penny Award." No one has pointed to anything in Omar's history that suggests we should just give him the beneifit of the doubt as a trader. I tend to suspect that he is seen as an easy mark, maybe even an amiable buffoon by the other GMs, but thats just me. I hope I'm wrong. Give Omar the credit for convincing Pedro and Beltromar to come to the mets, but how hard is it really to buy something if you have the money?Walk into yer local Walmart and offer the cashier $3 for a $2 item--were you able to buy that product? I bet he sells it to you.

3) Omar got even value for Cammy. Look into your heart. No. No he didnt. However great Nady turns out to be, give me a break with this. In fact, I wonder if pulling the trigger so fast on Cammy was such a good idea. Imagine if Cammy fails the eye test so early in the off season--who's gonna take him then? Maybe Omar should have waited till Cammy was at least done reporting his continuing headaches to the media! With two of the free-est spending clubs (Sox and Yanks) in need of centerfielders this offseason, one has to think that cashing in this chip for a marginal player so early is not great market strategy. You could say that Omar had to take a deal, any deal, now, in case Cammy is unable to fully recover, but the fact that there is still a required eye test makes that a non-issue. You could also point to the Cammy's most recent rumored trade request as reducing Omar's leverage, and its true, but doesn't make the timing of this trade any less troublesome. You have to guess that, lacking nerves of steel, and having already (hopefully) got a signal of some sort that the Red Sox would not want Cammy in any possible later Manny business, Omar both felt pressured by his trade request, and likes Nady as a player for personal reasons.

Finally: Is it a bit mean to trade a man to a club where he will have to relive his worst professional moment every time his team has a home game?

A Belated Tribute to Mike

From your ArtistFormerlyKnownasPrince facial hair stylings, your love of heavy metal, playboy bunny "beard" wives, and pseudo-intellectual political conservativism, to your "I'm Not Gay" press conference and chase of Moto ("hello,Moto") in the Dodgers spring training clubhouse, you were a class act, Mike, and we'll miss you! Sure, you never won me a world series, and we had our differences, but we'll both always have our hatred of Rodger Clemens (but at least I'd kick the living sh*t out of him if he threw a ball or bat at my head.) You are a true Met, Mike.

Thanks for the memories! And best of luck with the Blue Jays in 2006!

they took my floobie chatterbox away...

Well, it's almost time for something to happen in the HOT STOVE! season. And as every Metsfan knows, its time to wait for the money to flow and the other cleat to drop. Is Omar M. a genius or an idiot? Is he one splashy deal away from a meltdown, or a playoff berth? How many silly stories about Rapheal Furcal and the Japanese catcher will we have to endure? Who will TranAlomarNitzK (TANK) this season--i.e., come to Shea, take the money, and fail spectacularly? Who will be my Baerga? Questions burn like a mysterious rash after a picnic.

But while the stories and commentary swirl ("Manny to hire Delgado's agent and star in 'the Producers'!"), I find myself strangely uninspired.

We can be sure the Mets are getting tooled by at least one of the free agents, whose agents cross their fingers behind their backs and aver that Shea is A-Ok for their clients. All three of the main available catchers have significant drawbacks (old/expensive; overrated/expensive; speaks only Japanese). Playing the closer game will be either expensive, and risky or a big dissappointment. Some deflating rumors have Omar trying to get the Mets a) older, b) more prone to DWI's or, c)Sorrianoer. And, after the latest round of Lastings hype, the big swap i was so excited about for Manny during the season now seems a bit, well, ill-advised. And the doofus is saying he doesn't want to wear blue and orange skrunqies in his dreads. And will the damn starting pitching get upgraded?

NY beat writers are outdoing each other with speculative nonsense, M. Cerrone has expanded Metsblog, Metstradamus is publishing retrospectives, Metsgeek insightful analysis, and i got...

nothing.

I got no inspiration, and thus, no content to peddle. I was shut out of the awards this season. I have lost total control over the site's layout/template. And...they repo'd my floobie chatterbox, the crown jewell of this site!

what to do, dear reader(s)?