Talking Farm, Olympics, and Operation Shutdown...

Let me direct you to a great article by Michael Oliver of The Metropolitans and Mets Geek, who breaks down the catchers and first basemen the Mets should look at acquiring for the future.

I have nothing of value to add to the analysis. But it was an excuse to post this cool picture of the two Redhawks players that Michael mentions: Adrian Gonzalez and Jason Botts, shown here in New Orleans against the Zephyrs. Botts, in addition to being a tree, smacked a long HR to center field, contributing to a 7-6 10 inning victory over the Zephyrs before this picture was taken.

The only thing I worry about is how much power numbers are inflated in the PCL, where warm cities like New Orleans and Las Vegas, along with thin air cities like Albequerque and Colorado Springs jack up power numbers. Redhawks who get called up to Texas would make a seamless transition from the PCL to Arlington, would Shea be such a seamless transition? But if the Mets wanted to go and get a Botts or a Gonzalez, I would be impressed with that kind of forward thinking. And I'm growing more and more intrigued with this Conor Jackson character that is creeping more and more into my consciousness. Jackson is in the Triple A All Star game which will be aired on ESPN2 at 10PM, July 13th. It will be nice to get a first hand look at him.

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Item: Baseball and softball out of the 2012 Olympic Games...

Must be to make room for the newest olympic sport...poker.

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Friday: Victor Zambrano (4-7, 3.80 ERA) vs. Josh Fogg (4-4, 4.42 ERA)
Saturday: Kaz Ishii (2-7, 5.50 ERA) vs. Dave Williams (6-6, 4.37 ERA)
Sunday: Pedro Martinez (9-3, 2.80 ERA) vs. Kip Wells (6-8, 4.25 ERA)

I can't think of the Pittsburgh Pirates anymore without thinking of the man known as "Yo!", Derek Bell. Bell was a productive member of the Mets during their 2000 run to the Subway Series until he was injured in game 1 against the Giants, paving the way for Timo Perez's meteoric rise and faster fall in that post-season. Bell, who lived on a boat during his time in Queens, flipped that success into a 2 year $10 million free agent contract with the Bucs. After hitting .173 for Pittsburgh in 2001, he was expected to compete for the job during the spring of 2002. This is when Bell announced "Operation Shutdown". That brought about this quote which David Schoenfeld's hate article on ESPN.com reminded us of:

"Nobody told me I was in competition. If there is competition, somebody better let me know. If there is competition, they better eliminate me out of the race and go ahead and do what they're going to do with me. I ain't never hit in spring training and I never will. If it ain't settled with me out there, then they can trade me. I ain't going out there to hurt myself in spring training battling for a job. If it is (a competition), then I'm going into Operation Shutdown. Tell them exactly what I said. I haven't competed for a job since 1991."

The Pirates released "Yo" soon after. It was named the most embarassing moment in Pittsburgh sports history.