Close Call
This story says one of two things to me.
1) People within the game really truly were ignorant about the PED use in the clubhouses.
2) People within the game really truly did not care about the PED use in the clubhouses.
If Willie had any sort of pull, the Mets would probably be unjustly in the middle of this shit storm whether or not one player got anything from MacNamee. I have no idea if MacNamee would have been slinging the stuff last season, but it is clearly something that would have been chewed on by the media and spit out time and time again.
Luckily for us and the Mets, Willie has no clout in the organization and has no say in personnel. I do not think MacNamee is an evil guy for supplying some players with the juice and HGH. For me, that is a victimless crime. I think Rick Down might have been trying to help some guy out in an innocent way, but that would have been a flat out disaster.
From a financial standpoint, it really has been a disaster. He was useless for two years. I would be OK with giving him another two years if he gives six healthy months, but I would be very wary and the dollar amount would have to be reasonable. I am not sure $24 million over two years would make me feel all warm and fuzzy, but I guess we will have to see what level he performs at.
Don't do it. Don't change a thing. Be yourself, don't be a robot. Don't tame the tiger, don't try to be like Jeremy Shockey who toned down his act and then fell off the face of the football earth. This isn't the No Fun League, this is baseball.
If you want to change something, lay off the high fastballs and don't joke too much with opponents on second base.
As for all the handshakes, the pure joy of playing, the first-to-third smiles, don't change a thing. Be yourself. Be the player God made you to be with that Hall of Fame personality. If teams like the Marlins think you are showing them up, too bad, you're not, you're just being yourself.
I want to see more choreographed handshakes, I want to see more joy, and I want you to make the game fun for everyone who watches you play. If opponents get upset, that's life.
The crazy part is that it does not seem to be coming from the Mets.
David Wright doesn't want to see you change, especially at Shea. "When the fans get going, it's tough as a visitor to come in there when that place is rocking and Jose is part of that reason because the fans feed off of his energy," Wright said.
Omar Minaya agrees. "I don't want him to change, " he said.
Hopefully Reyes revert back to old Jose when the season changes. The only thing he needs to work on is taking another leap forward in plate discipline and work on getting his GB/FB ratio back up to the 1.38 area.
"If he got that bunt down, I would have drilled the next guy," Wagner said. "Play to win against Villanova."
Frankly, Michigan wanted to win. The Mets did not care. The kids wanted to beat a big league team and played like that.
"He couldn't bring himself to drill the kid," Randolph said. " Nolan Ryan might have. Nolan or Roger [Clemens] may have done it, kid or not."
While the Mets viewed the game as their preseason tuneup, Michigan was fired up, and Randolph mentioned that all the Wolverines' chatter "-- me off a little bit."
They were pumped. Why can't the millionaires let the kids have some fun? Ridiculous.
Extra bases
Orlando Hernandez finally threw a batting practice session and looked sharp. El Duque has been delayed by foot problems.
Just when it seemed baseball was finally rid of Barry Bonds and the terrible blight he has brought upon the game, comes the report in the St. Petersburg Times Monday of internal discussions the Tampa Bay Rays have had recently about the counterfeit all-time home run king.
Why does baseball want to rid themselves of any talent? Would Bill Madden be saying this if the Astros were going to bring back Clemens for half of a season? Did he care when Pettitte came back? Again, Bonds is treated differently. Baseball would be 100% better off having him back because he is one of the top ten baseball players of all time and still performs at a high level. He is a legend and should be playing someone. Yes, he cheated. But if you ask me, it would be a travesty for him to never play again.
Labels: Barry Lamar, Brian Mac, jose reyes
posted by michael o. at 9:48 AM
12 Comments:
Are Randolph and Down truly that ignorant? Seriously, how in the world could they (Willie in particular) be involved in this industry for so long and not know at least a little about who MacNamee really is? His background and reputation had to follow him and I'm sure it wouldn't have been all that difficult for Randolph to do a little research before blindly recommending him to Omar purely on the basis that he was a personal trainer for Pettite and Clemens.
History has proven that just because you are a superstar ballplayer, that does not mean you use sound judgment when choosing a "personal trainer." Fact of the matter is that it has become apparent that ballplayers have chosen to associate themselves with certain so-called "personal trainers" simply because they can hook them up with the goodies.
And this whole Michigan story is such nonsense. These Platinum-spoon-fed, multi-million dollar crybabies need to get a little perspective.
Hey fellas, try going back in time and putting yourselves in their situation. Think about how incredibly difficult it is to crack a Minor League lineup, let alone a Major League one. Think about how most of those college kids (if not all) will never get an opportunity like this ever again.
Then think to yourselves: do I go all out cause I might never get to be on the same field as these guys ever again? Or do I lollygag it like a fuckin pansy cause a bunch of douche bags wanna get their throws and swings in?
If the Major Leaguers are honest with themselves, they will likely chose the former of the two options.
Fact is, if they don't wanna face competition that stiff this early in ST, then they shouldn't be inviting hungry college kids to camp this early. Bring em in some time in March when the players start playing actual games. Then everyone can have a little fun squaring off on the diamond. Or don't invite em at all. Cause they're gonna play hard whether the big leaguers like it or not.
11:32 AM
$24 million for 2 years of Pedro is in essence only $2 million more than what Gil Meche makes per year, I think it'd be worth it but I would have a hard to going higher than that.
That was a bad article by John Harper. I mean there's just no other way to say it. Eddie Kunz is just, he was on TV alot over the past year due to the college world series and because of the cyclones and he's just blah. I wasn't very high on him. An excuse was that he might have been tired, we'll see. Hopefully I see him in a spring training game and he changes my mind but for right now he's nothing special. I like joe Smith more than Kunz.
""He couldn't bring himself to drill the kid," Randolph said. " Nolan Ryan might have. Nolan or Roger [Clemens] may have done it, kid or not."
Is Willie calling Wagner a pussy or is he just impressed by what Ryan or Clemens would have done? That's nothing to be proud of.
Barry Bonds used steroids but if we truely believe that since testinghe hasn't used then all the steroids in the world cannot make you a man with a .480 OBP that is just magical!
I had to share this, this is from WIll Carrol, its great!
http://lh6.google.com/theinjuryexpert/R8M-Q3CrzbI/AAAAAAAAALE/c6ejPCzYxz0/IMG_0282.JPG?imgmax=576
NEw mascot? Latest draft pick? SIlent partner is the ownership of the Rays? Regardless he's closer to world domination.
11:58 AM
It does not leave Willie looking too good that is for sure. Either he is ignorant to some huge problems or he doesn't care. What is worse? I don't know myself.
Any personal trainer for any player has been attached to something bad.
Or do I lollygag it like a fuckin pansy cause a bunch of douche bags wanna get their throws and swings in?
Spot on...these kids have every right to have fun and try and win. How many times do they get a chance to win off of Billy Wagner? Most likely never again.
I agree, they should do it later if they don't want them to actaully try and win. And is a bunt dangerous? I must have missed that. I could see anger if they brushed David Wright back, but they did not. They bunted and were rowdy.
12:06 PM
2 for $24 is doable. But he'd have to prove himself this year big time and be healthy all year. But I'd rather still wrench him down a few because of risk and try and bring back Ollie as well. They'll need a lot of cash for that one.
RE: Willie...I don't think he was saying that about Wagner. He was speaking poorly of the fact that Clemens and Ryan would have. He was saying Wagner is a good guy and wouldn't actually do that.
That Stewie thing is great. Great!
12:09 PM
Wagner has always rubbed Rickey the wrong way ever since that note on the locker nonsense. He's a punk who occasionally chokes in clutch situations.
Pedro for a few more years? Uh, no thanks...
12:24 PM
Bonds should be back, and not blackballed. That said, ever notice how notorious criminals get the 3-name treatment? Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wayne Gacey, John Wilkes Booth, um, Barry Lamar Bonds. Hmmm, what's Rodgah's middle name?
Wagner doesn't choke as much in clutch situations than Armando did. Was there an unwritten rule here about not showing up the Mets that no one told me about? If so, it's ridiculous, and should be removed from the unwritten rule book.
5:00 PM
Blackballing Bonds is just good business sense for the owners. The faster they make the "baseball = roids" perception go away, the better. And the smaller fish don't matter. Clemens, Bonds, OTOH...
"Would Bill Madden be saying this if the Astros were going to bring back Clemens for half of a season?"
I dunno about the Yankee homers, but many, many people would say it, yes.
And they'd be right.
12:26 AM
As one of the few, possibly the only, poster that actually saw Koufax pitch I can see why Wagner spoke with him. Koufax actually threw harder than Wagner. Although the measuring instruments were crude compared to the present ones, it was thought that Koufax more than occasionally hit triple digits with his fastball. But even with this attention catching fastball it was his curveball that was incredible. I truly believed he doctored the ball. I didn’t believe any human being could get that type of action on his curveball.
Koufax pitched back in the day when players were not babied. Young players were plentiful in a sprawling minor league system. Kids were basically thrown to the wolves and if you hurt your arm you either worked though it or were gone. Surgery was definitely a prelude to another career. It’s amazing that with an arthritic elbow in his last year Koufax still managed to be 27-9, completed 27 out of 41 starts, 323 IP, 241 hits, 317Ks, 1.73era and a .985 whip.
Randolph and Down endorsing the potential hiring of McNamee makes me question the intelligence of both individuals. Even if they don’t read the newspapers or watch the cable news networks or browse the internet the information should have filtered down to them. Obviously it did to Omar.
If you rummage through the history of baseball you will see that players did not like to be “shown up” even in meaningless games. Early Wynn when questioned about the alleged quote that he would hit his mother if she hit against him replied something to the effect that his mother was a good hitter. When Tommy Agee first came over from the AL to the Mets he was greeted by a Bob Gibson bean-ball in a ST game. Mickey Mantle would say of Don Drysdale that you had to hit him before he hit you. And so it went. It’s the competitive nature of the beast.
Kevin Kernan’s remark about Jeremy Shockey reveals his ignorance of the sport of football and the difference in the approach required between the two sports. Shockey did not fall off the face of the earth because he changed his attitude but rather he was injured and lost for half of the season. Any Giants fan would tell you that Boss is not as good a tight end as Shockey and that Shockey was having a fine season and had developed into an outstanding blocking, as well as receiving, tight end. The Giants proved that if anything submerging your individuality and focusing on the team entity could result in a less talented team beating what was considered one of the best teams in history. Kernan should have just stuck to his theme that Reyes should be allowed to relax and just be himself.
Bonds could definitely help a struggling team, not only win, but put fannies in the seats.
12:59 AM
I don't know where you got your info about El Duqster throwing a 'sharp' batting practice? What i saw on TV was him lobbing balls from a 1/2 stretch with no leg pump. He is not even close to being ready. In fact he is not even close to being close to being ready.
10:23 AM
Am I the only one to see that as "not so bad news"? I want to see me some Pelfrey this April.
4:03 PM
Closer to home, didn't Mota throw at Piazza in a spring training game when Mota was with the Dodgers?
4:15 PM
Shawn Green retired, because no one close to Cali gave him a deal. He could still hit righties, but didn't have it in the field.
10:44 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home