Fail

I miss Benny Agbayani.

Thanks to Riding with Rickey for the link to the Fail Blog:

Captain Red Ass Speaks

Breaking his long silence since being named in the Mitchell Report, the author of the famous "my phone is TOAST" note on Dodgers stationary has expressed his deep sorrow and regret.

"In regards to Senator [George] Mitchell's report," Lo Duca said in a written statement, "I apologize to my family, all my fans and to the entire baseball community for [the] mistakes in judgment I made in the past and for the distractions that resulted. I am fully committed to being the best player and person I can be, on and off the field, for the Washington Nationals and the entire baseball community.

"I recognize the importance of my role in the community as a professional athlete, and I intend to focus my energies on making a positive impact in that regard. So that I can focus on making positive contributions and avoid creating further distractions, I respectfully decline to comment any further on the content of the Mitchell Report."

Good damage control Paulie, but you're still bat-shit crazy. Both for cheating on your playmate wife with Stoneonta's finest and trying to kill umpires after a strike two call.

Oh, and by the way, don't think that just because Crazy Eyes is off the juice he's not still going to go .500/6/36 in the 18 games the Mets play the Nats. The 2008 Mets: Your Beatdown at the Hands of LoDuca and Milledge Has Come!

Pedro's Juicing

On eggs, mangoes and OTC pain reliever/fever reducers. Link stolen from CSTB:

Martinez did have some pointed words, however, for the reporter who once called him a prima donna.

“I have a small frame and when I hurt all I could do was take a couple of Aleve or Advil, a cup of coffee and a little mango and an egg — and let it go!” he said.

Martinez’s point: He wasn’t going to try human growth hormone or any other performance-enhancing substance. In fact, he would welcome a more stringent drug-testing program in baseball.

“I dominated that era and I did it clean,” he said. “I can stand by my numbers and I can be proud of them.”

A couple Aleve? A badass if there ever was one. Juice on my friend, juice on.

Check It Out

I encourage each of this blog's 4 readers to check out Rany Jazayerli's new blog about everyone's favorite team, the Kansas City Royals. Rany is a great writer (Baseball Prospectus, ESPN.com, etc.) and his insights on the Royals should be a good read for anyone interested in baseball as a whole.

As for the Mets...Filthy Sanchez is working out the hardest he has since he was 19 and Spring Training is officially underway. Since there's no catchy slogan this year, (i.e. Your Season Has Come!) let me be the first to make a suggestion -The 2008 New York Mets: Willie's Ass is On the Line!

We Need Answers

The highlight so far of Jayson Stark's live blog of the Clemens hearings:

11:01 a.m. ET
Just a thought as the questioning of the Rocket gets rolling: Since he's under oath, any chance one of these Congressmen could ask Roger what the heck actually happened when he threw that bat at Mike Piazza? He didn't really think that was the ball, did he? Sorry to digress. Just thinking.

Enjoy the rest of the day.

Saint Tony

Did you know that Carlos Beltran not only speaks English, but also follows his team in the offseason? Shove that in your pipe LoDuca. And while Carlos apparently doesn't have access to a television or internet access in beautiful Puerto Rico to follow the team on his own - he never has to worry about being up to date on essential Mets-related news and information:

"I paid a lot of attention to this," the Mets' center fielder said of his team's offseason, made prosperous with the trade for Johan Santana.

Assistant general manager Tony Bernazard kept him apprised by phone, but Beltran wants to look down the aisle of lockers in the Mets' clubhouse in Port St. Lucie, Fla., to see Santana.

Well thank you Tony! We could have a CF who didn't even know we acquired the BPInB if it wasn't for you!

And guess what baseball fans...Carlos doesn't yet feel 100%!!!!!

Beltran had both knees scoped over the winter.

"I don't feel 100 percent, but I hope to be by the start of the season," Beltran said. "I couldn't play anymore like that. I didn't feel pain as much as I did weakness.

"I just want to be 100 percent and to be able to do a lot more."

Ladies and Gentlemen your 2008 New York Mets! Your Collapse Has Come!

Big Wally Style

Even when just about everyone in baseball is high on the Mets, our old friend Wally just can't resist being a big downer. Apparently Met fans haven't been sleeping for a week - they've been planning on all the different ways they're going to boo Johan out of Shea:

What will be acceptable production? Twenty wins? Twenty-five? Thirty? Or just enough to get them to October, when the judgment process will begin all over again. For all his regular-season brilliance, Santana's postseason record with the Twins was a so-so 1-3 with a 3.97 ERA.

I was waiting for the first opinion on Santana's playoff record. You got him Wally, he's a regular A-Rod in the clutch. What Wal-Dog forgot to mention is that after his first 3 rocky outings in 2002 and 2003, Johan has allowed 3 ER in 20 postseason IP - that's a 1.35 ERA but who's keeping track? Oh, and Wally...one more thing. In 2004 Johan pitched 12 innings in the ALDS against the beloved Yankees. His line you ask? 1 W, 12 IP, 1 ER. What a C-H-O-K-E-R! Destined to make an ass out of himself on the grandest stage of them all!

The rest of the column was Wally praying out loud that Santana crack under the pressure of playing in New York. Because honestly, if Santana goes 20-5 with a sub-3 ERA, what will The Keeg's former radio partner have to write about?

Remember how Mets fans made Carlos Beltran's life hell for his first season and a half? And how last year, Carlos Delgado could barely poke his head out of the dugout without being showered with boos? The good news for them is, they've moved down the payroll list. There's a new kid in town, with a bigger paycheck and, presumably, a bigger target on his back.

Yes Wally, Mets fans just can't wait to boo the living piss out of the best pitcher in baseball. In fact, I just dropped $250 on a custom-ordered "Overpaid" #57 jersey. Honestly, someone at Newsday needs to tell Mr. Matthews that when he needs to reach this far to bash the Mets he should just stick to bashing Roy Jones Jr.

Jealous Much?

This link (and commentary) is swiped from Fire Joe Morgan...which is arguably the best sports blog on teh interwebs. The article is written by Rich Hofmann of the Philly Daily News, the commentary by KT of FJM (for anyone not familiar with FJM, the original article is bold and the commentary is normal):

The Mets themselves said all of the right things - third baseman David Wright said the Phillies were still the team to beat in the National League East, as did Randolph - but this was quite the welcome for Santana, the two-time Cy Young winner. And listening to the radio on the way home, you could tell it was clear that all of the pomp and circumstance has led Mets fans to the inescapable conclusion that they already have won the World Series, before the first golf club has been shipped to spring training.

Well, they did collapse last year, in horrific, almost 2004 ALCS Yankees-esque fashion. But they were 7th in the NL in team ERA, and 6th in Ks, and they really didn't have a #1 starter. Though their offense struggled late, if they had Santana last year, they'd've made the playoffs easily. So, despite Moises Alou being 58, and Glavine leaving, and Pedro being a wild card, you have to say that getting Santana makes them pretty effing tough.

And, in that spirit, Santana raised his hands at one point and showed off all the World Series rings he won in Minnesota.

Oh, wait.

Ha ha ha ha! He never won a World Series in Minnesota! What a douche. Only jerks and losers don't win World Series titles by themselves.

Santana has won 70 games in the last four years. Here's how the Twins have ended the season in runs scored in those four years: 12th, 8th, 14th (last), 10th.

"It takes 25 players," Santana said, more than once, in response to more than one question in more than one language. He seems a sincere sort, and he has been a great and durable pitcher (although only 15-13 last season).

His team had a .721 OPS. That's 13th out of 14 teams. The league -- the American League, mind you -- batted .225 off him with a .273 OBP. He had 55 more Ks than anyone on the Mets. And this was a down year for Santana.

His career ERA+ is 141. His career WHIP is under 1.1. He Ks 9.5/9 IP. His DERA is 3.20. He is left-handed. His change-up looks like it's being controlled by a dude playing RBI Baseball, who can maneuver it mid-air with a joystick. He is 28.

These are all things you could have written that would have been more relevant than "only 15-13 last year."

The RBI Baseball reference is gold. Pure gold.

Note that the sub-head is "

New York disgustingly canonizes new ace before he even pitches

I'm pretty fucking sure that it's ok to "canonize" Saint Johan before he pitches. A 141 career ERA+ entitles you to that kind of treatment. I'm sure if the Phillies had landed Santana Rich would have kicked him in the nuts threw a battery at his head and said "welcome to Philadelphia."

Since when is it over the top to hold a press conference after a major trade/FA signing and have the player talk to the media/take pictures with the team? Didn't they do the same thing at the Brad Lidge press conference...

And just for shits and giggles, Hofmann throws the obligatory collapse punch right at the end:

The Mets do not want to find out [what will happen if they are in a long divisional fight]... Because they just spent up to $150 million on one of those green Christmas-tree things you hang from the rearview mirror. They would hate to find out that it failed to mask the stench of 7/17.

(That's 7-game lead with 17 to play, not July 17th.)

I'm failing to comprehend how Johan Santana is the equivalent of "those green Christmas-tree things you hang in the rearview mirror." First of all, it's called an air freshener Rich. Second of all, does Santana smell like Pine Sol? Last time I checked making a trade for a dominant starter wasn't to mask the stench of a previous season - it was to make next season's team better.

But alas, that wasn't even the best line that Hofmann scribbled. My favorite part? The spot where he takes a swipe at the fact that Santana doesn't have any rings. You're right Rich, we probably should have signed Livan and his championship instead.

D-U-N Done

According to Metsblog and ESPN news...Santana is officially a Met.

Celebrate.

We Still Have One Prospect Left!

Attention, attention: This utterly fantastic piece of "artwork" is Used by Permission from Youth Change Workshops.


Voros McCracken manages to slam the Santana trade from both sides:

From the Mets point of view, considering that they look pretty incapable of developing a coherent plan for the future other than spend, spend and hope Wright and Reyes carry the lineup for the next decade, this is an excellent deal. If you don’t know how to use a scalpel, power up the chainsaw and carve away. The Mets are doing that by adding Santana to the rotation.

While the positive commentary vastly outweighs the negative commentary, those who are shining light on the dark underbelly of the Santana deal make some valid points.

I'd assume McCracken's premise is that instead of grooming their young pitchers for the majors, they shipped them off to the frozen tundra for one of the greatest pitchers of the past 5 years. Point taken. The fact remains, however, that the Mets held onto a pitcher who was once considered a "no-brainer" in Pelfrey and didn't give up their highest ranked prospect in Fernando Martinez. I understand that trading away Mulvey, Humber and Guerra was like taking a chainsaw to the farm system, but the deal also has the earmarks of a carefully prepared surgery as well (needed to get that scalpel reference in there somehow).

If Omar really took the McCracken-proverbial chainsaw to the body of the organization, he would have happily pulled the trigger at the Winter Meetings where we can only assume (based on the Red Sox & Yankee packages) that the asking price was much higher. Instead, Omar (again, I assume) trusted his instincts and sat back and waited for the price to get reasonable. When the price was reasonable (and nobody is arguing that it wasn't) Omar pulled the trigger. It just so happens that he employed both the chainsaw and the scalpel in executing this deal.

The second piece of not-so-happiness comes from JP at Blastings! Thrilledge. On the whole, JP isn't upset with the deal - it's the direction the Mets are headed in that he criticizes:

We won't forget [the collapse]. We will not be forced into optimism. And we will never give up hope that one day, the Mets will be an organization that develops young players and gives them starting jobs in the major leagues. As great as Santana is, his acquisition is a blow in that regard.

The Santana deal appears to be Yankee-ball at its finest. Trade away your young talent for a premier player. Well, we all know where that got the Yankees since 2001, and JP has reason to be concerned for the future.

I will not say the Mets philosophy will change and that they'll begin to develop prospects and give them a chance to succeed in the majors. I will say that as long as the Wilpon's are running the show, the constant pressure to win and compete with the Yankees - as asinine as it may be - will continue to permeate the organization as it has for as long as I can remember.

As fans, we should be thankful that we acquired the premier pitcher in the game in this deal. Based on past performance of an unnamed, semi-retarded BBTN analyst, Mets fans know that we could have traded those 4 prospects for a Gil Meche equivalent.

I don't condone the activity or philosophy of the Mets front office, nor do I think it will be beneficial in the long run - but for this trade, at least for the moment, the philosophy appears to have helped, rather than hurt, the team.