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escapingNihilism
99 comments | 32 total rating | 0.32 average rating
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escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

I remember the night well. I was 17 and it was my first weekend night with a drivers' license. and to make it the best night ever on top of that, the Mets agreed to terms with Johan on the extension that completed the trade. never an optimist, I was convinced that by any reasonable measure, NYM were favorites to win the NL East. and then life happened

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: -5

the fact(s) that Hamilton is white and that's it's currently alcohol and not something illegal will help him from a PR point of view.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

I'm not so sure Lincecum is 'confident' he'll get a more lucrative deal, I think he's just... a bit aloof to it all. he says he has a distaste for long-term deals. I'd take him at face value. he must make his agent insane.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 2

AA starting to look smart for the Taylor-Wallace-Gose merry-go-round?

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

must mean no Prince Fielder. not that the smarter people were expecting it to begin with.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

I read that as "(Pomeranz) made his big league debut in the midst of undergoing an appendectomy". gave me a good laugh

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 1

you guys have to update the Blue Jays logo

Jan 03, 2012 7:04 AM on Second Times Around
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

*too

Dec 29, 2011 9:50 AM on Bailing Out of Oakland
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

Beane is just loading up on the prayer of a San Jose migration later in the decade. by that time Bailey would be either a free agent or way to expensive for the A's to want. so he'll pile up the longshots and hope to strike gold. now that all the secrets are out they cannot compete in Oakland.

Dec 29, 2011 9:49 AM on Bailing Out of Oakland
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

no Sammy Sosa to the DL for sneezing?

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

I have long dreamed up the following the scenario. consider: Phillies 6, Mets 0. top 5th, Phillies coming to bat. in the forecast, bearing down on Flushing Meadows is a tremendous storm that is almost certain to suspend play for good. why not continually issue intentional walks, then constantly make pickoff throws, etc. to stall? this of course requires the literal perfect storm of events.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: -1

was just about to ask the same. it's not like he is young at all.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

does Jason Marquis have a chance of coming back this year?

Aug 31, 2011 6:48 AM on See You in September?
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

I'm more interested in how it might impact a Lincecum price tag.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

another NYM-MIL here. a friend of mine makes three.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

are you shocked on Beede? I remember the podcast was certain that he would sign for way over slot when the Jays drafted him despite the (in)famous, Shermanesque letter.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

do you know why Mazzoni is working out of the bullpen? workload concerns?

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

of course he is better, but the Phillies are a <99% shot of making the playoffs this year.. what's Pence's value? a few theoretical October at-bats against Madison Bumgarner or Jon Lester or CC Sabathia? weigh that against a significant hit to a farm already devoid of near-term impact guys (though perhaps give them a pass on this due Worley and Brown). I think it's a bit of a reach.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 7

sort of a silly comp. Heilman was a college kid and never was thought to have a ceiling higher than a third starter. the Mets drafted him because they wanted a quick riser after decimating the farm under Phillips. and in fairness, Heilman was seriously valuable from 2005-2007, who knows what would have become of him had he been allowed to start over fools like Kaz Ishii and Steve Trachsel and Brian Lawrence in his prime.

Jul 28, 2011 8:00 AM on Beltran by the Bay
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

or maybe it's for the ad revenue.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

how does Berry Weiss compare to Blue Moon's summer honey wheat edition?

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 4

correct, but there's a "poor man's" loophole written into the statute. Rick Reed did much of the lobbying in the 90s to get the amendment passed.

Jul 08, 2011 10:26 AM on Pinstriped Recuperation
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

two good memories from Yoshii. first was a game against the Pirates in early 1998: 7IP, 0 R, 7K in his debut on a 47 degree day at old Shea. second was Game 1 of the 1999 NLDS, when he went toe-to-toe with Randy Johnson, keeping it close until Bobby Chouinard entered and allowed Edgardo Alfonzo to do the honors. 1999 Mets will forever be my favorite baseball team, I have a team photo-poster on the door entrance to my room.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

of course he isn't, unless you want to consider him an NPB top prospect. non-prospects still get mentions here if they play at an inhuman level: see Wily Mo and Burroughs.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

Nick Evans deserves some love from the blog. .489/.566/.733 over last 18 games.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

man how weird it would be to see Wang and Oliver Perez both crack the Nats rotation.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: -1

the only way to play it is to weigh the offer you get vs. the value of two draft picks you'd get as compensation. this way you end up on top any way you slice it, even in the incredibly unlikely scenario you sign Reyes back as a FA after trading him away.

Jun 29, 2011 8:09 AM on Perrotto's Picks
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 1

we're winning the war. even the most optimistic among us would have 5 years ago had problems believing that WAR would go semi-mainstream and ESPN would poach Christina Kahrl. there will for much longer be reactionaries that cling to the old comfortable order but they are not worth the time of day, no matter how reviling they may be.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 1

Wilmer Flores devoid of a mention: how the sky has fallen.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 4

Christmas comes in June this year.

Jun 24, 2011 5:59 AM on Minnesota Miscasts
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

KG: any word on 2009 Mets top pick Steven Matz? he doesn't appear to be on any of the short season rosters.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

if a Reyes deal could pry away Banuelos or Betances, why not? nothing would be more painful to a Yankee fan than watching one of them develop into a frontline starter across town.

Jun 22, 2011 6:10 AM on Indian Summer
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

this is a painful read for a Mets fan

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 2

so much for "continuing to contribute" :-/

Jun 20, 2011 10:58 AM on A New Delivery
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

would Jeff Loria of all people be willing to commit perhaps eight figures to somebody like Bobby Valentine?? seems hard to imagine.

Jun 20, 2011 6:19 AM on Edwin Rodriguez Resigns
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

KG: how much has Jeurys Familia's stock risen this year? double-digit whiffs on Sunday at AA.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 1

has Brackman's stock fallen far enough to be a potential Carlos Beltran haul?

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

also I see Harper has played 13G at CF this year... any prayer of him pulling that off down the road?

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

KG: is there any practical chance Carp can handle the outfield over any serious period of time? or is this another Lucas Duda?

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

Jack Zduriencik was on WFAN New York over the weekend and stated that Ackley will likely be promoted "in June or July"

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

small nit-picky fact-check: the '04 Tigers contract was four guaranteed seasons plus a $13 million club option for 2008, which was exercised.

May 26, 2011 10:14 AM on The Jose Reyes Shortage
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 1

devoid of context the answer is obviously very clear. in Game 6 of the ALCS there is no question. over the course of a 162-game regular season certain variables can pop up that at least make the question competitive.

May 26, 2011 10:10 AM on The Classic Second-Guess
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 2

best blog on the site: to be expected from the last remaining Old Bolshevik.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 1

wow, Sean Burroughs. blast from the past. one of the few to have the rare honor of being a BA top ten prospect three times.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: -1

how is Ackley defensively? does he project to have any problems sticking at 2B in the majors?

Apr 25, 2011 11:11 AM on Monday Morning Ten Pack
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

this is the better example: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN200006300.shtml

Apr 14, 2011 8:15 PM on Never Tell Me the Odds
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

it shows WPA in the play-by-play. Met win probability bottomed out at a rounded 2%.

Apr 14, 2011 8:14 PM on Never Tell Me the Odds
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

he reminds me a bit of a poor man's Lidge. I doubt he ever touches Lidge04-05 levels of dominance because the slider just doesn't have the vertical break, but so long as he is cost-controlled he provides for a sick weapon out of the bullpen. it's hard not to wish he could have panned out as a started, but not to be.

Apr 08, 2011 12:56 PM on Parnell Adds a Weapon
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 3

should be noted that the Sox in 05 had a ton of picks in the 1R + Compensatory 1R. netting Jed Lowrie, Clay Buchholz, and Jacoby Ellsbury.

Apr 06, 2011 7:54 PM on Craig Hansen Released
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 3

love the writing. second the comments on the format. us baseball addicts can recognize a team's logo before we know we've seen it -- makes for easy browsing if they're included.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: -1

3/2 is 40% yes... 2/1 is 33.33%. so the O's stuff is backwards as the Boston stuff once was

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

lots of innings from the SPs

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

I presume his presence can be inferred by the 'missing' 48% of PT for Hernandez/Murphy (?)

Mar 23, 2011 9:52 AM on October 6-13
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

also where is Brad Emaus? he's being treated as the odds-on favorite to win the 2b job by the NY media.

Mar 23, 2011 9:52 AM on October 6-13
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

sort of disappointing to see even the 90th percentile slugging percentages for Wright and Reyes not even touch their 2006-2007 heydays. perhaps Citi Field-influenced to a degree, but, still. how much this has all fallen apart.

Mar 23, 2011 9:48 AM on October 6-13
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

Vazquez way too kind. HUGE velocity drop for him. once it goes in the mid 30s it usually is gone forever.

Mar 15, 2011 7:52 PM on October 5-12
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

what other team has a top 5 (6) SP without red crossbones?

Mar 11, 2011 6:59 PM on Tampa Bay Rays
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

I think the cpu spit out Rivera as a high injury risk last year too and the disclaimer offered went something like, the cpu will always think a 40+ yr old power relief pitcher to be one hell of an injury risk.

Mar 10, 2011 6:07 PM on New York Yankees
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 1

Zito still - as of last reliable indication, 2010 = has serious value at the back of a rotation. it must be hard for the specter of the contract not to hinder objectivity in such a situation, but, please, this isn't Mike Hampton ca. 2005.

Mar 04, 2011 5:10 PM on Rays of Sunshine
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

any chance of a Ryan Anderson reference? ranked in BA's top ten in three consecutive years.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

such an effect would be imperceptible.

Feb 24, 2011 8:49 AM on PS Odds, I Love You
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

after looking at the spreadsheet and Pagan's, Davis', etc. batting lines I thought PECOTA hated the Mets. roughly .500 is a pleasant surprise.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 1

would Hernandez still have won were his record 12-13?

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

Takahashi want(ed) $5 million per year not total.

Nov 13, 2010 11:09 AM on Boston Red Sox
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

Davis was between a 2.5 and 3.3 win 1B in 2010 depending on who you believe. his offensive numbers are more like Adam LaRoche than we'd like to get excited about, but, still: 12% walk rate, .176 ISO, I think there is plenty there for intrigue and to write off his star potential at this point when, remember, it was assumed he'd be spending much of the year in AAA, I can't agree with.

Oct 08, 2010 7:34 PM on Top 11 Review: NL East
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

Hot Rod Kanehl! awesome

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

probably the most unique skill set of the BP staff.. likely irreplaceable

Sep 29, 2010 8:29 AM on Fade To Black Album
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

if we extend the DS to 7 games 4th starters have to pitch and revenues go up. a positive for both purists and profit-maximizers

Sep 28, 2010 12:29 PM on An LDS Menage a Trois?
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

why not trade Bautista? outside of potential fan base indignation.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: -1

I'd love to see Bobby Valentine too. but I'm hardly convinced it is the best thing to do; he'd require big bucks, $6-8MM a year, I'd imagine. I'd rather see that money put into the actual player payroll... with competent management the Mets should be in good enough position by 2012, when we can expect certain degree of attrition in Philadelphia with Halladay, Utley, Howard, Werth likely defecting this offseason, and so forth. the Mets will clear Beltran (18.5M) Castillo (6M) Perez (12M) and possibly K-Rod (13+M) if his option doesn't vest from the books and the surprisingly impressive crop of talent we've seen with Niese Pelfey Thole Davis Dude Nieuwenheis F. Martinez, Matt Harvey and Reese Havens further down the line, etc. will be approaching theoretical prime seasons or at least low-cost big-league usefulness. being saddled with the Bay contract sucks but it is an indicator of what the next GM needs to avoid - squandering the team's resource advantage with multiyear contracts to players on the tail end of their theoretical prime. if that can be avoided even decent intuition by the front office should put the Mets in decent position to contend in 2012 and 2013. the real question that can largely invalidate all I just said is, whether the Mets GM position holds any degree of meaningful autonomy. it is possible that Minaya has managed to linger this long by happily serving as figurehead and fall-guy for Jeff Wilpon's inane personnel decisions. now he must go because, as this article says, the fan base is in state of revolt and ticket sales will crash and burn very very hard in 2011 without some facade of serious changes in organizational philosophy and leadership. the only reason I think Bobby V has a chance is because he would instill the highest degree of interest in a fan base that feels repeatedly stepped over.

Sep 24, 2010 2:19 PM on New York Mets
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 1

re Hamilton: are the more addictive analgesics such as opiates ever used on baseball players on a daily-dose, prescription type basis? is it possible or safe to be a functional baseball player when on codeine or tramadol or etc?

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

it's been reported all over the place that Johan Santana's surgery was non-arthroscopic and he could hence miss the entire 2011 season. do you have any word?

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

reducing the FA threshold to 4 yrs would increase the supply of labor significantly thereby decreasing premiums paid to free agents. likely why it was rejected; also why Miller agreed to the rules he did back in the 70s when everybody was slated to become an FA with the expiration of the reserve clause.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 2

a friend once told me THC is chemically similar to estrogen and thus makes it harder to build muscle. is this potentially of concern for Lincecum?

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

gutsy move shutting down Leake in the middle of a pennant race.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 1

any chance we can get KG's word on the 3 pitchers traded to Chicago?

Aug 19, 2010 1:38 PM on The Lee Deal
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

if Young comes back for SD how do they handle the rotation? a Padre fan at the physical rehab place I go to claims it'd be LeBlanc, as he could serve as the second lefty out of the bullpen, but logic would seem to push for Correia to be bumped. I'm far removed from the Padre beat so I can't say what the thinking might be

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: -1

the Ordonez injury is a blessing in disguise. now his '11 option won't vest providing payroll flexibility for a team in dire need of it.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 1

Dunn was historically bad in the OF the last few seasons. dragging him far closer to replacement level than anybody with his bat should be. his value is as a 1B/DH

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 2

because we can usually, but not quite always, count on the Mets to do the wrong thing.

Jun 28, 2010 10:41 AM on The Red Sox Report
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 2

I wish the Mets would try Maine in short relief; he may be terrible, but the entire righthanded side of the bullpen save K-Rod is waiver wire trash, so it's worth a shot, especially given Maine's past success first time through the order, high pitches/PA earlier in the year, and lack of endurance.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

you mean Edgardo Alfonzo didn't peak at age 24-25??

Jun 08, 2010 8:27 PM on A Battered Ram
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: -1

obligatory: anything on Beltran? seems to have been no news since his warning track jog two weeks ago.

May 24, 2010 9:32 AM on Monday Update
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 1

Rays really should dig into that notoriously deep farm and look for a bat this summer.

May 19, 2010 4:33 PM on The Upper Cust
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

the Mets have a 24 year old pitcher in AAA named Dillon Gee who has nice numbers this year: 7.7 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 in 47 innings. he posted similar figures of 7.8 and 3.0 in 48 innings last year at AAA. I certainly think he could outperform Perez at the major league level and maybe even generate a few tenths of a win above replacement.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

could we approach WPA like we approach the PECOTA-adjusted playoff odds? every night the season is simmed a million times and weighted back to what should have been expected at the beginning of the year, according to the system.. so if we were to sim an individual game a million times, or a thousand, or whatever, we could say that the Reds have .55 chance of beating the Mets tonight, and start the graph there. and then weight each individual outcome over the course of the game back to what should be expected. this does penalize good players, as if the Yankees start a game with a .7 win probability there is more (-) that their players can achieve than positive, but I'm not certain that WPA can be adapted into a meaningful individual player stat.

May 04, 2010 11:16 AM on WPA
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: -2

the more I think about it the more I see the Bay contract as another mild disaster for this organization

May 03, 2010 9:43 AM on A Case of the Mondays
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 2

one important difference between Beltran and Dawson is walk rate. Beltran's walk rate has been encouraging the past few seasons, above 15% in 2006 and 13%+ two of the last three years. players with diversified offensive skills (ISO and Walk%, namely) tend to age better. so I think Beltran can remain somewhere between productive and elite at the plate from now through the end of 2011, when I can potentially stop caring. but could watching him play CF on one leg be horrendous? he posted a negative UZR last year for the first time in a while and I direly hope he doesn't follow the GriffeyJr path - because of his stature as a star, he stays in CF far too long and is such a liability that it cancels out what he can give you at the plate. in Griffey's case the effect was more than countervailing, he drifted towards replacement level because of defense. with Bay in LF indefinitely the Mets' hands are tied; I doubt Francoeur can really play CF. perhaps Fernando Martinez will be the CF sometime between now and 2011, with 1B being an (inherently undesirable but perhaps necessary) destination for Bay or Beltran should Ike Davis flunk, and Francoeur could be non-tendered or traded in the offseason.

May 03, 2010 9:42 AM on A Case of the Mondays
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

I check this every day, 2x a day, in the desperate hope Jenrry Mejia's name is not listed.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

Latos dominated at every minor league level

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

Billingsley is the key player

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

if Kennedy indeed puts up those innings and Jackson is 80% as good as Scherzer it will be slightly more difficult to demonize the deal.

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 1

best $40 I ever spent, dear God.

Feb 24, 2010 8:43 PM on An Experiment
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: -1

Russ Branyan will be a cool little piece for this club.

Feb 08, 2010 8:54 PM on October 5-12
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: -1

how does the Chicago media allow Kenny Williams to survive?

 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

frustrating thing about the '10 Mets is with competent management and a few helpful additions this team could contend... nothing shabby about Reyes/Wright/Santana/Beltran. unfortunately the Wilpon definition of 'helpful' is 'sells tickets & jerseys'... which is why the Mets reportedly do not operate on a budget, but instead analyze each acquisition independently (ie, weigh the money they're paying Bay against how many 44 t-shirts they sell and how much of the season ticket base will hold as a result)

Feb 08, 2010 10:27 AM on October 6-13
 
escapingNihilism
(53306)
Comment rating: 0

with that offensive projection Bay may only be a two-win player in 2010. replacement level by, say, 2012? dear God.

Feb 08, 2010 10:24 AM on October 6-13