Sunday, August 20, 2006

Whatcha Got?

So Mr. Hernandez...

You're starting today against Colorado.

Petey's on the shelf...

and now Tom Glavine's season may or may not be over.

Whatcha got?

Six innings of shutout ball? Very nice. What else can I give 'em?

A stolen base?

Really?

What's with you old geezers and steals lately?

Well that's pretty amazing. Tell me something...can you heal blood clots?

No? Oh well. You've done what you can. Thanks O.

Hey by the way, you wouldn't happen to have Jaerock Lee's number by any chance, would you? We're willing to try anything with Tommy. We were told that putting his cold fingers in Anna Benson's mouth would work, but trading Raynaud's disease for whatever Anna might have seems too big a risk...unless his doctor was Monty Hall or something.

***

If there is a higher power, I hope He will see it fit to give somebody...

anybody on the Mets...

the strength to put on a #31 model jersey...

bang his bat on the locker of our new acquisition and yell "BOO"!

(Nice of Omar Minaya to wait until after the Padres series to pull that one off.)

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I don't know how I feel about picking up Mota...

Mota's in that rare territory of wanting to root for him to fail and get DFA'd but also thinking, well, he'd be nice to have if he could regain even half of his previous form.

And by root to fail, I don't mean at the expense of the Mets... I mean bring him in a couple times for a low-leverage blow-out situation and root for him to give up four runs sort of failure.

Anonymous said...

I'd put MY fingers in Anna Benson to keep them warm but, hey, that's me. But does this bring Heilman closer to a shot at starting? Not that I necessarily care about AH, but they seemed to be stacked with middle relief now.

Anonymous said...

first tucker, now mota...must EVERYONE we acquire now made his bones bashing or slashing piazza? why must we defile the Met of years past (and homer-hitting foe of present) to be future champions?
if houston dangles clemens in minaya's face, i hope omar smacks him like a pinata. but you know he'd sign him.

Anonymous said...

I've had this argument with other Met fans but I'll stand by it anyway...

Minaya would be a fool to not sign Clemens (were it possible) regardless of any history. Clemens is a dominant pitcher and a fierce competitor even if he is a jerk.

The problem is that Mota is a jerk and not even that good. If Mota were working on 10 K/9 innings and a 1.85 ERA I would have no problem with this and get over the fact that I hate Mota.

Maybe that makes me Machiavellian but that's how I feel.

I'd like to say I'd never like the guy (Mota or Clemens) but you tell me if we somehow got Clemens and he pitched a 4 hit shutout or something in game 7 of the World Series for us it wouldn't go down as one of your fondest Met memories ever? C'mon... honestly.

But we're talking about Mota.

Mota is not dominant anymore and he's an even bigger bum than Clemens in my mind (or certainly close). My feeling is that if Mota starts mowing down Los Angeles Dodgers (or whomever) and goes on some ridiculous tear leading us through the post-season I'll probably come around on him.

Unfortunately, that's not likely and he'll just be an ugly face on a team he doesn't belong with.

Toasty Joe said...

dmg, is there a history between Tucker and Piazza that I don't know about?

Anonymous said...

it's not a hypothetical worth serious debate -- i intended it as a caustic throwaway line -- because clemens as met ain't gonna happen. but you ask:

" you tell me if we somehow got Clemens and he pitched a 4 hit shutout or something in game 7 of the World Series for us it wouldn't go down as one of your fondest Met memories ever? C'mon... honestly."

and i can honestly say that not only wouldn't it be a fondest memory ever, it would seriously tar and mock my enjoyment of the mets for this season and all going forward under an administration that would foist this abomination upon us. at the very least i would stop going to games. by your logic, it'd be ok to sign bonds too, as long as he kept taking the cream and the clear long enough to help win a title. i guess i inhabit a piece of metdom far removed from where you reside. that doesn't make me purer or better than you, it's just that there are limits on what wearing the uni can do for me.

i can hang with your other expression of sentiment, and even apply it to clemens:

"he'll just be an ugly face on a team he doesn't belong with."

well said.

Anonymous said...

The Mets scored many points and won against he Colorado Rocks and that is why they are a good team who will contend for to be chompions!

Ed in Westchester said...

Mota is another arm for the pen. Given the state of the rotation, these guys are going to used a lot, so another arm is needed. Heilman is not moving to the rotation, that is settled, not time to stretch him out ofr one, and he is doing to well to change the pen now.
As for his past with Mike, I loved Mike, but this is not Clemens beaing him and tossing a shard of bat. If Mota can help, good.
Now Omar, let's get Shawn Green here.

Anonymous said...

toasty joe,
michael tucker, angel hernandez, the braves, turner field all rolled into one ugly memory.
from faith and fear in flushing blog -- the most pungent account:

"Angel Hernandez: Bad Man, Bad Umpire
"by Jason on Sat 27 Aug 2005 02:49 AM EDT

"July 5, 1998. Mets-Braves, 2-2, 11th inning at Turner Field. Last game of the first half. (Not a coincidence.) We're fighting for our lives. Ball hit to Gilkey, Michael Tucker on third. Gilkey throws a one-hopper to Piazza, ball beats him home, Tucker comes in with his spikes high, a dirty slide that gouges Piazza's thigh. Angel Hernandez, who's out of position as usual, calls him safe. Franco, Valentine and Piazza had to be restrained. Piazza called it "the most ridiculous call I've ever seen in 10 years of professional ball and 20 years of ball, period.''

"At least we're not alone. A 1999 USA Today poll rated him the fifth-worst ump in the game, as did a 2003 Sports Illustrated poll. Cub fans may hate him even more than we do -- he was the ump who ejected a Chicago Bear who sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and told the crowd he'd have words with the home-plate ump (Angel) after the game. (Actually, I can't really blame him for that one.) There's even a page of vitriol reserved for him.

"As for me, I've hated him ever since that play. And that goes for his little spikes-up pal too."

Toasty Joe said...

I remember the play well, but I did not recall that Tucker was involved. Angel Hernandez is the biggest piece of shit umpire in all of baseball.

Anonymous said...

At least Wallace Matthews at Newsday is optimistic - http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spwally214860080aug21,0,1364841.column?coll=ny-mets-print

Are Bobby Ojeda and Sid Fernandez still in town? They looked pretty good Sat. night - maybe Omar can claim one of them off waivers to replace Glavine?

Anonymous said...

Well Bonds is different... Bonds is a cheater and a horrible person.

Clemens is a guy that shoulda probably be on some type of anti-psychotic medication but is not Bond-like in his loathability.

This is all a pure hypothetical... but I'm just saying that I think we don't know ourselves as well as we assume. Based on observation of life and reflection on my own life expriences, I have a feeling somehow Met fans would find a way to excuse Clemens after a while if he were pitching well for us.

I could be wrong and it doesn't really matter. Let's just hope Mota has something left in him.

Toasty Joe said...

Some of us think Clemens is a cheater, too...

Anonymous said...

I've considered that as well but it really is totally speculative at this point whereas with Bonds or Giambi we basically know.

If it turned out that Clemens was on 'roids (and nobody has even officially accused him) that would change my opinion on this.

It would explain the bat rage incident.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you on Clemens-

Bonds misses most of last year, and the world assumes (correctly, I'm sure) that he's drying out from steroid DTs or whatever.

Then Clemens -- only the most seflish asshole in the game the past 25 years -- sits out the first half of teh season and everyone's praising him for wanting to be near his family, etc.

For my money, they're both asses, and they're both amazing players. But I've never understood why Clemens gets afree ride from the media when he acts much the same way Bonds does.

Anonymous said...

Roger Clemens is possibly the only player who, if he were to ever don the blue and orange, I would actively root against. This is a no-brainer. And, for that matter, so is the subject.

Anonymous said...

I agree with what you guys are saying. I'm just not so sure it's true about you or myself. I never thought I could root for Eric Lindros either. It's not quite the same thing but close.

Here's one, I never thought I would root for Bobby Holik. I hated that prick... until he was wearing Ranger blue.

Again, not quite the same thing but I'm not sure sure we know ourselves as well as we think.

Maybe this is a little too abstract of an idea for a baseball blog. ;)

Metstradamus said...

I never thought I would root for Bobby Holik either.

Then he became a Ranger.

I still didn't root for him.

Anonymous said...

Actually... you're kinda right on that one. I never liked him but I still rooted for him. I don't understand why every player this is nasty and detestbable on other teams comes to the Rangers and decides to go for the Lady Byng.

Totally OT at this point.

Anonymous said...

All I know is that when the Rangers had Holik I neither liked Holik . . . nor my own hockey team too much.

Let's say we forget the years '97-'04. Let's say they never happened. Sort of like '77-'83 or '91-'96 for our boys from Queens.

Anonymous said...

Hey... I still watched almost every game though. Those were some very sad years.

Anonymous said...

I do have to say, though, that I grew to like Holik towards the end a bit because of his willingness to stand before the press and admit that the Rangers sucked. That took some integrity.

Ed in Westchester said...

adoniram - OK, you rooted for Holik and Lindros. Now the real test. Could you have rooted for Potvin?

Anonymous said...

Aha... now there it is.

My instinct, of course, is to say no. However, like with Clemens I'm not sure how I would have reacted if Potvin had been an integral part of a cup winning team for the Rangers.

It's still possible that our desire to see our teams win will find an excuse to explain why so and so isn't really as detestable as we thought now that he's helped our team do such and such. How far does that go? Embracing a Potvin? Embracing Clemens? Maybe not that far... maybe even farther.

I kinda wanna say it's different.

It's different because if the Mets aquired Clemens you would have entire games where you had to root for Clemens or root against the Mets.

In the Potvin scenario you can still root for the Rangers and just boo lustily every time Potvin touches the buck. You never have to come around and confront the fact that he's part of your beloved team.

That is a good hypothetical though. Potvin is a better example than Lindros or even Holik... maybe even too good of an example. Potvin may actually be even more hated by Ranger fans than Clemens by Mets. Maybe not...

Good question Ed.

Metstradamus said...

On Holik and his willingness to say the Rangers sucked: First off, he saved his truly "juicy" quotes for Larry Brooks of the Post (in exchange for every Larry Brooks hockey column turning into a love letter to Bobby Holik) so his so-called "openness with the media" is a joke. And whenever Holik did say the Rangers sucked, it was always under the backdrop of "I was a Devil, I won two Cups, so I'm the only one trying here, why can't everyone try as hard as me?" I've seen him during games pull bush league acts like bang his stick like a child and yell at his teammates in full view of 18,000. So I have absolutely no use for him.

On Potvin: While there is no chance Clemens will ever be a Met, did you all know, or do you remember, that Mike Keenan actually asked Potvin to come out of retirement to play for the Rangers at the end of 1994 to provide depth for the backline? That would have been jarring to say the least. But I suspect if the Rangers had still won the Cup with Potvin on the roster, he would have gotten cheers at the parade. But the "Potvin Sucks" chant would not have died.

I really don't want to think about that anymore.

Anonymous said...

I guess my feeling on Holik is that I wanted to yell at his teammates in front of 18,000 people as well so I kinda vicariously appreciated it. Seeing someone on those teams that was bothered by the awfulness was refreshing for me anyway.

True about the Larry Brooks partnership.

Anonymous said...

Hi.

beezermess said...

Metsradamus....

For the first time in decades, we agree on the sentiment of Bobby Holik, the face of an organization that went belly up in that period...an organization that had no direction until they realized after 7 long years, this is not how you do it...
Bobby Holik epitomizes the Rangers in the late 1990's, collect money and play like crap....
Ed...I would never, ever, ever root for that piece of crap, whose name ends in "sucks". I never rooted for Lindros (because he sucked and he was a joke). I liked LaFontaine...I still do, but I will remember him as a Sabre more than an Islander...even though that hit he took in the 1990 Playoffs still brings a smile to my face....
Then again, I have a passionate hatred for the Islanders that I actually cheered when Dale Hunter murdered Pierre Turgeon, essentially ending that playoff run...
Bottom line is this...there are certain athletes that no matter what, you can never root for...Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are on top of that list...

Anonymous said...

I'm starting to think all these questions are moot. Afterall, in 28 years of rooting for the Rangers, I believe that every man who ever scored 50 goals eventually played for the Rangers. And none of them (except the current Big Man) repeated the feat at the Garden.

And some of them, by definition, played for Ranger rivals. For instance . . .

Guy LeFleur, a member of the hideous '79 Habs, the team that introduced me to the concept of, "Hey Mike, your team always loses." Came to the Rangers after his induction to the Hall of Fame.

Marcel Dionne, a member of the Royal Crown Line, on the late-70's & early 80's Kings. But the Rangers annihilated them both times they met in the playoffs so I didn't mind when he came to Broadway.

Lindros: Punk.

Espo: Had been the defining member of the Big, Bad Bruins, the Rangers' arch-rivals in the early 70's. Against all odds he became a beloved Ranger.

Bobby Carpenter, Tim Kerr, Pat Lafontaine, Blaine Stoughton: all 50-goal scorers for divisional or conference rivals before coming to the Blueshirts. No one gave a rat's ass about them one way or the other.

Jagr: we're doing ok here; the fans cheered him even though he was Ron "Fucking" Francis' teammate in '92. I can't talk about this.

Gretz & Mess: both scored 50 (ohhh, a couple times in that Gretzky guy's case), and we liked em just fine.

Of course any notion that the Rangers & Oilers were rivals in the 80s would be fanciful, to say the least.

I'm sure I'm forgetting others. If Bossy was a Ranger I'd have rooted for him.

And, no, I have no real point here. Just rappin' Rangers with some fellow fans. These Mets off days kill me.

Anonymous said...

ESPN.com reports that Glavine's problem can probably be cured with "baby aspirin!"

Anonymous said...

By the way...

That anonymous response to Ed from Westchester was me... oops.

Anonymous said...

I loved that... all Glavine needs is some baby aspirin. I guess that means it's not career ending.

Ed in Westchester said...

Metstra - I do recall the Brooks "story" on Potvin. I personally think Larry was partaking in some wackus weedus at the time he wrote that. Potvin had been retired for a couple of years, with a bad back no less.
Brooks is a flipping hack. I hate him. He could write the most praiseworthy article on the Isles, and I would still hate him. He sucks. Every story is the same BS, nasty jibes about the Isles, and praise for the Rangers/Devils/whoever is paying him off that week.
I am so happy about Glavine, I could spit.
Did I mention I hate Larry Brooks?