Met Nicknames

So far during the season, Met fans have come up with several new nicknames for players on this team. There was Sugar Pants for David Wright, The Undertaker for Paul LoDuca from Metstra, Monday from some genius for Victor Zambrano, The Truth for Lastings Milledge from Benny, Jose "In the Clear" Valentin, and others that are escaping me right now. So, let's get this out of the way and get nicknames.

David Wright = Sugar Pants
Paul LoDuca = The Undertaker
Victor Zambrano = Monday
Jose Valentin = Jose "In the Clear" Valentin
Lastings Milledge = The Truth
Steve Trachsel = The Human Rain Delay (too priceless to throw aside)

If you got a better one for anyone above? Let's hear it. Else, figure out a fitting one for everyone else including Willie. Let's try and keep it interesting as well and stay away from things like A-Rod and other typical crappy nicknames. Swearing is ok, being lewd is ok...just make sure it is good. Think before you suggest and try not to lay any clunkers. I'll be compiling a list for the side bar when all is said and done.

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John Donovan on Benny's shit list?

Four quick hitters for a Friday E-Bag:

Let's forget about the Mets for a second, shall we? I mean, I know that's practically blasphemy at this point. Everybody, suddenly, loves the Mets. The Mets are winners again.

Bring your kiddies, bring your wife/Guaranteed to have the time of your life.

Yeah, OK. The Mets are good. We get it.

Why must you urinate on the Mets parade? Since the Mets last playoff trip, the A's made the playoffs three times, had 100+ wins twice, 90+ wins four times and 88+ wins five times. Is it exactly a story that the A's are good? Yes, the Mets were good on paper, but being good on paper and playing the games is totally different.

The Mets not only have not been good for while, but the butt of just about every joke that related to Major League baseball. Met fans have taken a lot of abuse from Yankee fans over the years and now the Mets are good. Really good. Do not trivailize that because you don't like the Mets. The Mets are all over the place for their play of late because they are THE STORY.

David Segui was one of the people implicated in Jason Grimsley's affadavit.

Segui emphasized that he obtained hGH legally from a doctor in Florida. He said he still takes it because he has a natural deficiency of the hormone. He said that when he saw the section of Grimsley's affidavit pertaining to him, he knew he had been implicated, though his name was blacked out.

"It was almost word for word the conversation we had, except there's a couple key words that were left out," Segui told ESPN. "You know, 'legal' was one of the major - probably the most major omission in the affidavit. ... I was under doctor's prescription, under doctor's supervision."

Riiiiiiiigggght...

He would not speak specifically on the validity of Segui's case, but said: "You wouldn't expect it in an athlete because elite athletes cannot perform at an elite level if they have hGH deficiency or at least you wouldn't expect that they could. ... Having said all of that, he may have had a head injury or a pituitary tumor and didn't tell anybody about it. We don't know."

All very interesting indeed. Is Segui telling the truth? Who knows. The doctor could have been crooked and said guys were low hGH and prescribed the drug. It would certainly not be the first time a doctor prescribed drugs illegally though they are definitely the minority.

Baseball America has an interesting story about Ernie Young, who has just hit his 300th minor league homerun.

The Devil Ray's AAA team really puts into perspective the 'problems' the Mets have had with Lastings Milledge.

Upton's arrest and Dukes' suspension continue a frankly embarrassing year for the Bulls and the Rays farm system. Most notably, outfielder Delmon Young was suspended 50 games by the International League for throwing a bat at an umpire. Young is due to return to the field Tuesday.

Three stars...three suspensions.

Um, yeah.

Kevin Millar and the Baltimore Orioles were recently in Minnesota. Knowing the Red Sox were the next team coming in, Millar left a gift for his former manager, Terry Francona. It was a wrapped bag of dog poop. "I opened it and reached in before I realized what it was," Francona said. "I just called him back and said, 'Any chance you had of ever coming back here just went right down the toilet with that bag.'"

He called the shit poop.

Ken Oberkfell has returned to the bench.

Ken Oberkfell, manager of the Mets' Triple-A team in Norfolk, was on the bench for the first time this season yesterday after undergoing multiple surgeries during spring training because of blood clots in his left leg.

Tom Glavine netted his tenth win and it was not a pretty one. Thankfully Sugar Pants went deep and hit a grand slam while driving in five and Eli Marrero was impresseve defensively to save a few runs.

"Every time you looked up, Eli was doing something," said Glavine. "Not just offensively, either. That catch he made was huge."

Ask BA on Evan MacLane:

Mets fans have been hearing about Mike Pelfrey and, to a lesser extent, Philip Humber as potential future stars in the New York rotation. However, I've noticed that a prospect I'm not familiar with, lefthander Evan MacLane, has put up very impressive Triple-A numbers this year and was rated by Baseball America as having the best changeup and control among Mets prospects. What can you tell me about him and his ceiling?

Josh Marker
San Francisco

Like Natale, MacLane has a humble draft pedigree. A 25th-round pick out of Feather River (Calif.) CC in 2003, he went 23-10, 2.74 in the lower minors and reached Double-A in mid-2005. He seemed to hit a wall there, going 3-2, 4.14 in nine starts. MacLane didn't fare any better in six starts at Binghamton this year, but he has been lights-out since arriving at Triple-A Norfolk, posting a 6-0, 2.11 mark in seven starts. His other numbers (47 innings, 42 hits, 14 walks, 33 strikeouts) aren't as impressive as his record.

MacLane, 23, is a typical finesse lefthander. His mid-80s fastball and his curveball are fringy pitches most notable for his ability to locate them in the strike zone. His changeup is his best offering and he has little margin for error. He'll probably pitch in the majors but I don't see a huge ceiling. He looks more like a middle reliever than a starter to me.